Shinobu Kocho Seems to Hate Me

His consciousness was like a bubble slowly rising after sinking into the deep sea.

His sense of smell returned first.

There was still the suffocating stench of Wisteria, but mixed into it was a complex assortment of smells-alcohol, herbs, and... the exceptionally foul smell of Wisteria.

"Ngh..."

Kiyohiko let out a dry, low groan and struggled to open his heavy eyelids.

An unfamiliar white ceiling came into view.

He instinctively tried to raise a hand and rub his eyes, only to find that his arm wouldn't budge.

Startled, he tried to struggle, but found himself lying spread-eagled on a single bed. His wrists, ankles, and waist were all firmly secured to the bed frame with special, thick leather straps.

My body... feels so heavy.

His injuries had healed and his body had returned to its normal size, but a hunger that reached deep into his bones burned in his stomach like wildfire.

So hungry. I want to eat. I want blood.

It wasn't just the almost instinctive craving for humans and blood.

Kiyohiko was genuinely hungry. Even houttuynia and cilantro, which he hated most, were things he wanted to eat by the basinful right now.

My body...

Kiyohiko keenly noticed the changes in his body and checked the system, only then learning the details of the rewards he had received.

Thank goodness, I didn't die.

Kiyohiko breathed a sigh of relief and, still lying on the bed, managed to shift himself up a little to get more comfortable.

But where am I now?

Kiyohiko looked around. The room was dim, the heavy curtains were drawn tight, and even the gap beneath the door had been stuffed shut, obviously to keep sunlight out.

"Oh my, are you finally awake?"

A cheerful, almost unreal voice sounded beside his ear.

Kiyohiko turned his head sharply and saw a young woman standing by the door. He had no idea when she had arrived.

She wore a haori with strange patterns like those on butterfly wings, and a dark purple butterfly ornament adorned her black hair. With her cheeks resting in her hands, she looked down at him with a smile, her pale purple eyes curved into crescents.

Shinobu Kocho?

[System notification]

[Target Shinobu Kocho detected. Current bond value: -25]

Kiyohiko: "..."

Tanjiro, where have you brought me? Her bond value was second only to the Hand Demon's. The thing was, when Kiyohiko had first met the Hand Demon, his bond value toward him had still been 5. At least it had been positive; it had only dropped to -50 after a few unexpected incidents. How was this woman's negative the moment they met?

I'm not going to be turned into a specimen or a lab rat, am I?

In his previous life, Kiyohiko had only properly watched half of the first season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He hadn't seen any of the movies, and had learned much of what he knew from Doushou videos and some pairing videos.

For example, he had only seen Shinobu Kocho's appearance on Spider Mountain and that famous "moshi moshi" scene. That clip had been so popular in 2020 that it was impossible not to know about it.

"You slept for two whole days and nights. What a sleepy little demon."

Shinobu Kocho interrupted Kiyohiko's thoughts. She walked to the bedside, extended a finger, and gently poked his cheek. Her fingertip was cold and carried a faint medicinal fragrance, along with the faint scent of Wisteria poison that demons loathed.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Shinobu Kocho, and this is the Butterfly Mansion, where injured members are treated."

Her smile remained flawless, but there was a scrutinizing look deep in her eyes. "I'm terribly sorry for tying you up. But the Master said to keep you alive for observation, and I'm a frail girl, after all. If you suddenly attacked and bit someone, I'd be in a lot of trouble."

"I heard you saved a lot of people? You even left yourself in tatters to save them?"

"That red-haired child is called Tanjiro, right? He stayed by your side for a whole day and night and only agreed to have his own injuries treated after he was sure your life wasn't in danger."

As Shinobu Kocho spoke, the smile in her eyes became a little more genuine. "And that loud blond boy-the first thing he asked when he woke up was, 'They didn't kill that demon, did they?' You really are a rather special demon, aren't you?"

Shinobu Kocho leaned a little closer, bringing her delicate face within centimeters of Kiyohiko's. He could even make out her long eyelashes.

"Why did you do it? Don't demons love eating people more than anything? Right now... you probably want to eat me too, don't you?"

To Shinobu Kocho's surprise, however, the demon didn't fly into the beastly frenzy she had expected. He didn't even show a trace of desire.

Kiyohiko's face turned ugly, his features nearly scrunching together. He desperately pulled his head deeper into the pillow and held his breath until his cheeks turned red, as though the beautiful Insect Hashira before him were some fearsome beast.

Shinobu Kocho paused. Is he... restraining himself? It seems this demon has stronger self-control than I thought.

So she decided to increase the dose. She reached out with her other hand and gently lifted Kiyohiko's chin, forcing him to look straight at her. The smell of Wisteria entered his nostrils even more strongly.

Kiyohiko finally couldn't hold his breath any longer. He drew a sharp breath, and his face instantly turned green. He looked as desperate as if he had swallowed a dead fly.

"Um... cough, cough..."

Kiyohiko's eyes wandered, too afraid to meet Shinobu's. His voice was full of awkwardness at having to say it and a hint of tactful apology:

"This might be a little rude to say... but, um, could you not get so close?"

Shinobu blinked. Her finger still held up his chin as she tilted her head. "Oh? Are you afraid of hurting me? What a kind Mr. Demon you are."

"No..."

Kiyohiko took a deep breath, then nearly passed out from the smell. He had no choice but to steel himself and speak in a very sincere, very honest tone, as though stating an objective truth:

"It's because... you smell a little bad."

Shinobu Kocho: "..."

[Shinobu Kocho, current bond value: -30]

The air suddenly fell silent.

Shinobu Kocho's signature, impeccable smile visibly stiffened on her face at that moment, like a fine mask developing a tiny crack.

Kiyohiko had troubles of his own that he couldn't voice.

He was already extremely sensitive to Wisteria. The Wisteria fragrance that smelled pleasant to ordinary people was, to him, a stench that could rival canned herring. For some reason, the smell was so strong on this woman that it even overwhelmed his craving for blood.

Did she grow up eating Wisteria?

Shinobu slowly stood up, casting a shadow over Kiyohiko.

He's telling a girl she stinks? He finds me disgusting?

"Stink?"

She repeated the word, her voice still gentle, but the temperature around them seemed to drop ten degrees in an instant.

"Yeah, it's like... the smell of rotten Wisteria pickled in a jar of salted vegetables for ten years..."

Watching Shinobu's face grow darker and darker, Kiyohiko's survival instincts urged him to explain, but he only made things worse. "I really didn't want to say it, but I'm about to throw up... Really, did you fall into a pile of Wisteria and get pickled in it? How about we open a window and air the room out?"

Shinobu Kocho slowly withdrew her hand.

She straightened up with her back to the sunlight, her face shrouded in shadow.

As an eighteen-year-old girl, she paid great attention to her personal hygiene and appearance, even though she was a Hashira who fought disgusting demons every day.

This was the first time in her life that a member of the opposite sex had told her to her face that she stank.

"Hehe... hehehehe..."

Shinobu Kocho let out a string of silvery laughs, but the sound made Kiyohiko's scalp tingle.

Shinobu Kocho smiled. At some point, a Nichirin Blade had appeared in her hand, and its sheath tapped rhythmically against the edge of the bed. "Tap, tap."

"Um... I was wrong, really. How about... putting the sword down?"

"No!"