Flames of jealousy

Chiyome, with a mixture of shame, relief, and utter disbelief, looked at Bai Mo, who stood unharmed before her. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't mistaken.

"You... you're still alive? I thought you were already..." Chiyome's voice choked with emotion, but the next moment Bai Mo spoke:

"Didn't I tell you I'd be fine? What did you think?"

"But didn't you duel with Uesugi Kenshin?"

"Isn't winning enough?"

Hearing Bai Mo's matter-of-fact tone, Chiyome's carefully cultivated emotions shattered instantly. She chuckled, but her eyes were filled with relief.

"Okay, okay, the doctor is really amazing... Wait, did I just fall asleep here? Oh no, will someone see me?"

"No, I left some runes; no one noticed your presence today."

If he had said that from the beginning, Chiyome might have believed him to some extent, but after Bai Mo said that he had defeated Uesugi Kenshin in a duel, she took it as a joke.

Looking at the pure white blanket covering her, she was quite petite; the blanket had completely covered her. Most of the patients probably thought she was a corpse; after all, it was wartime, and it wasn't uncommon for bodies to be temporarily stored away after treatment failures.

She was confident that if someone pulled back her blanket while she was sleeping, she wouldn't fail to react. As a ninja, she was certain of that.

"Never mind, it's good that you're alright. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do... What I mean is, the Mochizuki Clan really needs you, yes, that's what I mean."

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Chiyome mumbled in a daze. Bai Mo didn't pay attention to her words, but instead took two items from under the cabinet and handed them to her.

It was a pair of pale wild boar tusks, with very obvious vertical growth lines on the surface of the teeth, and they were extremely sharp.

"Here, this is the tusk of the wild boar you shot down. Polish it up a bit, and it should be enough as a return gift for the snake slough."

Looking at the boar tusk that Bai Mo had thrown at her, Chiyome stroked it lightly with her fingers, and said with a hint of reproach:

"Why do you always like taking risks? You even let Uesugi Kenshin give you this thing. It's a miracle you came back alive. What if she got angry..."

"I told you I won. Do you want her ribs?" Bai Mo said helplessly. Hearing this, Chiyome's lips pursed slightly, but quickly softened.

"I just realized you're surprisingly funny. But... thank you so much, you brought this back for me, right?"

The thought of Bai Mo, an ordinary person, doing such a thing for his own sake under those circumstances brought a gentle smile to her face.

"I was the one who accepted the snake skin, and you were the one who killed the wild boar. It all belongs to you; you don't need to, and shouldn't, thank me."

Upon hearing this, Chiyome's smile vanished instantly. She pouted, inwardly thinking:

No wonder this guy is so good-looking and has excellent medical skills, yet he's still single.

After finishing, Bai Mo stood up and said, "Alright, I'm going to the market to buy some things. You've been out for so long, you should go back now."

"Um... I'd also like to buy some things. If it's alright, could I come with you?"

"Aren't you supposed to be protected from being exposed?"

After some time, Bai Mo picked out a box of rice candy balls and other snacks, sighing inwardly. Now he understood what Chiyome meant by staying by his side.

In my perception, the Chiyome above the roof almost blends into the color of the roof tiles.

"So what exactly is this guy here to buy?" Bai Mo wondered to himself, somewhat puzzled by Chiyome's cryptic behavior.

Not only him, but Chiyome was also asking herself this question: What exactly was she doing?

"Hmm... I'm just observing. Yes, why does the pain of the curse almost disappear when I'm with him? As a member of the Mochizuki Clan, I must figure this out."

Chiyome told herself this, a reason that seemed perfectly reasonable, but she simply watched and followed along for almost the entire way.

As Chiyome passed through a small alley, just as she was about to browse through the book, a man emerged from the casino next to the alley. Chiyome frowned; clearly, the man's appearance had dampened her otherwise pleasant mood.

It was her former betrothed, Takeda Moritoki.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw Takeda Moritoki feel something in his pocket, then shout, "Chiyome! You're here, aren't you? Aren't you coming out?"

This guy seemed to have no intention of concealing his voice at all, attracting a lot of attention, but as he tapped the hilt of his sword, revealing the Takeda Clan crest, the surrounding commoners all chose to avoid him.

After a while, Chiyome landed in front of him from the air. She was somewhat puzzled; she thought her disguise was perfect, so how could the person in front of her see her?

"Heh, so you're nearby, Chiyome. It seems like you haven't been at the Mochizuki Clan all day. You're even lurking in the city in full ninja gear."

As a member of the Takeda Clan, I expect you to give me an explanation.

This request seems reasonable, but it's actually just nitpicking. Even if we were to give an explanation based on the reason, it wouldn't be his place to explain something that has absolutely nothing to do with military affairs.

But since his surname Takeda, he has the right to do so. It's unreasonable, but that's the system of human society.

Chiyome naturally understood all this, and she couldn't help but feel fortunate and grateful to Bai Mo, as she now had something she could use to complete her task.

She took out a pale, sharp boar tusk and said:

"To repay Takeda Shingen for his gift, I went hunting. I believe this material will be beautiful after some carving. As for this outfit, since I'm going out, I've changed into ninja attire. After all, these things have to be done personally."

Furthermore, I do not wish to attract too much attention, so please refrain from shouting in the city, Lord Morotoki.

Chiyome's words gave the guy a sharp rebuke, and at the same time, Chiyome focused her attention, trying to figure out why he had been able to find her.

But... a voice echoed in her mind, the voice of Takeda Moritoki. Even though he didn't speak, Chiyome heard it.

After a while, Morotoki frowned and said, "Heh, since that's the case, then I'll help deliver it to Uncle. Besides, for the sake of the situation in the city, you should probably go and explain things to the soldiers."

To demonstrate his kinship with Shingen, Morotoki snatched the boar tusk from Chiyome's hand. Just as he was about to launch another attack, his pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

In an instant, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, unable to feel his heart beating. Morotoki he looked up, he saw the shadow of a beast above the eaves, its fur as thick as clouds, its body enormous, and it had two horns on its head.

He had hunted ferocious beasts with Shingen before, but the beast before him was completely different from any he had ever hunted. Just its shadow alone gave him a sense of fear deep within his soul, a fear that was almost a biological instinct.

With a low growl, the Morotoki's body betrayed him instantly. His biological instincts made him lose control, and a stench emanated from his body. He lost control of his bladder in front of Chiyome. The veins on his hand, which was holding the boar's tusk, bulged, and drops of blood flowed from the sharp teeth.

With a mournful cry, Takeda Moritoki fled like a madman, running away without looking back.

Chiyome watched the man flee, a deep disdain in her eyes. But she immediately drew her sword, facing the beast behind her. The huge beast's shadow was reflected on the wall, causing her to instinctively use her Electric Current Push.

"Come on, it's time to go."

Just then, a familiar voice came from the alley entrance. Bai Mo slowly walked in, avoiding the middle of the path. Then, Chiyome saw that under the beastly shadow was a rather cute white creature, which jumped straight into Bai Mo's arms.

Bai Mo stroked its pure white fur, and seeing this scene, Chiyome's face flushed slightly.

To be scared by such a small animal... how embarrassing. But then again, if someone were to lose control of their bladder from being frightened by such a cute creature, that would be... truly...

Given that he ran away like that, committing seppuku was the only option to preserve his reputation.

"I'm done shopping. It's getting late, you should head back too." Hearing Bai Mo's words, Chiyome nodded, glancing curiously at the pet in Bai Mo's hands.

It's so cute, is it a cat? Its fluffy fur must feel amazing to the touch...

Chiyome couldn't resist stroking Cathy Palug's fur with her fingers, and left somewhat reluctantly. Bai Mo took Cathy Palug away, saying as they walked:

"You're always up early for something; you get up the moment you see food."

"Fou, Fou--." (She had just finished processing the Manaka, but unfortunately you couldn't feel the jealousy she felt at that time, tsk tsk tsk)

"Fou." (That man's jealousy was barely noticeable.)