"Ah... Yoizumi-nii!" Tanjirou saw Yoizumi waiting for him in the corridor as soon as he returned from his mission.
He quickened his pace, rushed to Yoizumi, and hugged his brother's waist tightly.
"That's great, it's great that you're awake..." Yoizumi stroked his brother's head, hearing the faint sob in Tanjirou's voice, and comforted him in a low voice.
"Don't cry, Tanjirou."
The wooden box behind Tanjirou opened with a 'pop', and Nezuko bounced out, grabbing Yoizumi's pant leg, her pink eyes glistening with tears. Yoizumi bent down and picked up his sister.
Nezuko hugged her brother's neck, unwilling to let go.
Feeling his sister's suffocating grip, Yoizumi didn't stop her.
"Sorry, I made you two worry."
"You worked hard on your mission, go and rest now."
But after such a long separation, Tanjirou and Nezuko refused to leave Yoizumi's side, so Yoizumi gained two little shadows, following him wherever he went.
A strange sight appeared in the Butterfly Mansion: Yoizumi walked slowly in front, followed by Tanjirou, then Nezuko.
Miss Shinobu, who was passing by, smiled and said, "Are you playing some game?"
"Shinobu," Yoizumi naturally took Shinobu's hand when he saw her.
Shinobu blushed but didn't refuse.
"Eh?"
Seeing this, Tanjirou and Nezuko's beady eyes blinked simultaneously. Had they missed something important after only one day on a mission?
Were they imagining things?
Yoizumi-nii and Miss Shinobu seemed very intimate... "Shinobu and I are in a relationship now," Yoizumi simply explained the current situation.
A relationship... huh?!
A relationship!
Tanjirou covered his mouth, shocked by the news, yet surprisingly a little relieved.
That's great!
Tanjirou had thought Yoizumi-nii would never find someone he liked.
He had even worried if he would end up alone.
At home, his mother had also worried about Yoizumi-nii in this regard.
After all, Yoizumi-nii only showed a gentle side to his family; he was generally indifferent to others.
Mother... Yoizumi-nii has a lover, and it's a good person like Miss Shinobu, please rest assured!
"Mmm!" Nezuko happily ran to Shinobu's other side, held her hand, and shook it with a smile, clearly approving of Yoizumi and Shinobu.
Tanjirou wiped away tears from the corner of his eyes, his voice filled with reluctance.
"I'm entrusting Yoizumi-nii to you, Miss Shinobu..."
"?" Yoizumi heard this, and confusion flashed in his eyes. Was something wrong?
Shinobu, beside him, responded with a faint smile, "Don't worry, Tanjirou~"
"I will take good care of Yoizumi."
"Isn't that right, Yoizumi~" Facing Shinobu's smiling question, Yoizumi, who had been lectured all night about the requirements of a relationship, knew what to do.
He had to listen to Shinobu and not contradict her.
"Mm," Yoizumi nodded. Anyway, he just had to listen to Shinobu...
"Drink up~" Shinobu placed a cup of milk tea in front of Yoizumi. After waiting a while and seeing no movement from him, she looked up at Yoizumi behind her, puzzled, and asked,
"Aren't you going to drink it?"
Yoizumi slowly picked up the teacup and drank it all. But why was Shinobu sitting in his lap?
He felt like he had become a comfortable cushion. Shinobu leaned against Yoizumi, her eyes half-closed, her left hand still holding the teacup, clearly enjoying herself.
He couldn't understand, but Yoizumi accepted it, leaning back slightly to make Shinobu more comfortable.
His expression was bland, showing no emotion, yet the tenderness hidden in his eyes spoke volumes.
Shinobu... is cute.
But... even though the murderer of Shinobu's sister was dead, and her revenge was complete, why did Shinobu still seem so tired?
His thumb gently pressed against the dark circles under Shinobu's eyelashes. Was she hiding something from him?
"What's wrong?" Shinobu asked, puzzled by the tickle on her eye.
"Shinobu, back then... why did you do that?" Yoizumi didn't explicitly state what he was referring to, but Shinobu knew clearly that he was asking about what happened in the Red-light district.
"..." Shinobu opened her eyes, turned her body to lean against Yoizumi's chest, her hand resting over his heart, her gaze lowered.
This question had finally come... Yoizumi wouldn't lie to her, and if she continued to hide things from him, it wouldn't be fair to him.
So Shinobu told him about injecting poison into her body for years. She was prepared for Yoizumi to be angry.
After a moment of feeling his chest heave, a pair of hands gently embraced her.
She heard Yoizumi say,
"Isn't Shinobu in pain?"
More than blame, Yoizumi was concerned about the poison's effect on Shinobu's body.
No wonder Shinobu always avoided him when he wanted to use his Blood Demon Art on her.
No wonder the scent of wisteria on Shinobu became stronger day by day... It turned out that she had already made up her mind back then to sacrifice herself for a chance at revenge.
Now, Yoizumi felt only relief.
Relief that Upper Rank Two was already dead, and Shinobu no longer had to do such things.
500 times the poison in Shinobu's body – such a staggering number made Yoizumi feel intensely uncomfortable just hearing it.
"I'll help you... Shinobu?" His hand, wanting to use his Blood Demon Art, was pushed away. Shinobu shook her head, her tone light.
"Didn't Yoizumi promise me not to use his Blood Demon Art casually?"
"But..." Before he could finish his sentence, Shinobu pressed a finger to his lips.
"I'm a doctor~ Won't I be able to cure myself?"
Yoizumi gently held Shinobu's hand, his sapphire eyes filled with unresolvable worry, "But Shinobu will suffer."
Indeed, the poison constantly affected her body, causing chest tightness and dizziness, which she felt acutely.
But she dared not gamble. She was afraid Yoizumi would suffer irreversible harm.
2000 times the poison, a toxin that caused immense damage to demons, she feared Yoizumi would melt in front of her the moment it was transferred.
"Yoizumi said he didn't want to lose me, and I don't want to lose Yoizumi either."
Shinobu held Yoizumi's large hand back, feeling the warmth emanating from his palm.
"Doesn't Yoizumi trust me?"
"...No."
"If you really want to do something for me..."
"Then please hug me more often~"
Facing Shinobu's smile, Yoizumi couldn't refuse, and he wouldn't refuse.
Because he had promised Shinobu.
He had to listen to Shinobu.
"Okay."
Yoizumi raised his hands and pulled Shinobu into his embrace. No matter how many times he hugged her, his first thought was always:
Shinobu is too thin.
He needed to ask Kanzaki Aoi to make more nutritious food for Shinobu.
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