Dinner had barely ended when Mitsuri dragged Haruto out onto the veranda like she was abducting him.
"Come with me! I have questions! LOTS OF QUESTIONS!"
Haruto didn't even get a chance to answer. He simply glanced back at Shinobu with a helpless look
Shinobu froze mid-cleaning, chopsticks in hand, eyes narrowing like a venomous butterfly ready to sting.
Oh no, Tanjiro thought. She's jealous.
Zenitsu saw it too, trembling."O-Oh no… Miss Shinobu looks like she's about to poison someone—"
She gave Zenitsu a death-stare. He immediately shut up.
Mitsuri's Rapid-Fire Interview
Mitsuri sat Haruto on a wooden bench and stood in front of him with hands on hips.
"First question! How long have you known my Shinobu!"
Haruto blinked."…Your Shinobu?"
"Yes! She's my precious friend! I have a right to know everything!"
"Oh. Since we were children," Haruto answered calmly.
Mitsuri gasped."So it's a childhood romance?! SHINOBU, YOU NEVER TOLD ME! THAT'S SO CUTE!"
Haruto chuckled."I don't know if she'd call it a romance."
"Did you confess first?"
"Yes."
Mitsuri squealed."And she accepted?!"
Haruto looked to the sky."She didn't say anything. She just cried."
Mitsuri froze mid-squeal."…Eh?"
"She was… hurting. A lot back then."His voice softened."Kanae-san had just passed. Shinobu was a wreck. But she still tried so hard to pretend she was fine…"
Mitsuri's chest tightened.She didn't interrupt.
Haruto continued quietly.
"So I just… stayed with her. Helped the estate. Took care of Kanao. Cooked for her when she forgot to eat. And then one day she asked—"He smiled faintly.'Is your proposal still valid?'"
Mitsuri put both hands on her mouth.
Tears.Actual tears.
"That's… that's SO ROMANTIC—!"
She glomp-hugged Haruto from the side.
At that very moment—
A cold, murderous aura radiated from inside the house.
Shinobu stepped out onto the porch with the most serene, polite, absolutely terrifying smile.
"Oh? Having fun, Mitsuri?" Mitsuri flinched like a rabbit spotting a hawk.
"Shi— Shinobu! Haha… I was just— just asking Haruto some questions—"
Shinobu's smile didn't fade. It sharpened.
"Questions? About what?"She tilted her head.Her tone was sweet enough to kill a grown man.
Haruto stood, raising both hands carefully."Shinobu, she was just being friendly—"
"A bit too friendly," Shinobu muttered.
Mitsuri panicked."WAIT—NO— I WAS JUST— I REALLY EAT A LOT SO I WAS CHECKING IF HE CAN COOK! THAT'S ALL!"
Shinobu sighed dramatically."Of course you were."
Mitsuri bowed repeatedly in terror."S-Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'll leave you two alone!!!"
She sprinted away faster than Zenitsu running from danger.
Silence fell.
Haruto held back a laugh.
"You're jealous."
Shinobu crossed her arms."I am not."
"You are."
"I am NOT."
"Your eyebrow twitched."
She glared."That does not mean I'm jealous."
Haruto stepped closer.One step at a time.
Shinobu's bravado faded.
"…Stop coming closer."
He smiled softly.
"I don't like anyone touching me the way you do," Haruto said."And I don't like touching anyone the way I touch you."
Shinobu stopped breathing for a moment.
"…Idiot," she whispered.
He reached out, brushing a thumb against her cheek.
"See? Only you."
Her eyes softened.Her walls cracked.
"…Come inside," she murmured.
The Night
Shinobu led him to her room.The hallways were quiet. The children asleep, the boys exhausted, the estate dimly lit.
Inside, she closed the door with a soft click.
The moment it shut —she exhaled, shoulders dropping.
"…I really was jealous," she admitted in a tiny voice.Haruto didn't tease this time.He simply pulled her gently into his chest.Shinobu melted instantly.Her forehead against his collarbone. Her fingers gripping his robes.
"I missed you so much it's disgusting," she whispered.
He kissed the top of her head."I know."
Her voice trembled."Six months… I went crazy without you. I cried when Kanae died. But when you left for Western Korea… it was a different kind of pain. I felt alone all over again."
Haruto cupped her cheeks, lifting her gaze. "You're not alone."
She nodded, swallowing hard.
They sat on her futon, close enough their knees touched.
Haruto brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.Shinobu's breath hitched.
"Haruto…" she whispered.
He leaned closer—
And Shinobu closed the distance first.
Their lips met — slow, warm, deep, unhurried.A kiss filled with months of longing.Her hand slid to his chest.His arm circled her waist.
They didn't rush. They didn't speak.
Just held each other, foreheads touching, breaths mixing.
"This is enough," Shinobu whispered against his lips. "For tonight… just stay."
Haruto nodded, pulling her into his arms as they lay side by side on her futon.
Shinobu rested her head on his chest, finally calm.Haruto stroked her hair gently.
"Good night, Shinobu."
"…Good night, Haruto."
Her hand found his under the blankets.Their fingers intertwined.
And for the first time in years—
Shinobu slept peacefully, or she tried to.
The night had settled thick over the Butterfly Estate—too quiet, too slow, the kind of silence that made the smallest heartbeat feel loud. Shinobu lay on her futon, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts looping like a curse she couldn't dispel.
Haruto wasn't doing any better.
Both of them restless. Both of them burning.
Both of them pretending they weren't waiting for the other to make the first move.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours. The tension became unbearable, like the air itself had weight.
Finally—at the exact same moment—they turned toward each other.
Their eyes met in the half-light.
"Kocho… I think—" Haruto started.
"Haruto… I think—" she whispered at the same time.
And they froze.
Not out of hesitation—but because the truth hung there between them, naked and undeniable.
They knew what they wanted.
They knew what the other wanted.
So it happened.
Haruto crossed the distance first, but Shinobu met him halfway, their mouths crashing together with weeks—no, years—worth of restrained affection. Soft at first, then desperate, then something wild.
No one held back.
Not him.
Not her.
Shinobu tugged him closer, fingers trembling as if she feared he'd disappear again. Haruto wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her effortlessly, pinning her against the nearest wall like he couldn't stand even a breath of distance.
It wasn't just passion.
It was everything they never said.
Everything they tried to bury.
Everything they had been terrified to feel.
Their kisses grew heated, uneven, deep. Breathless words slipped between them as clothes shifted and hands searched for reassurance rather than skin.
Shinobu broke the kiss first, panting softly, her forehead pressed against his.
"…Haruto," she murmured, emotion cracking through her voice, "I thought you were with someone else. While you traveled. While I was gone. I thought you found another woman."
He froze.
Then he cupped her face with both hands, firm but gentle, forcing her to look right at him.
"Shinobu," he said slowly, voice low and raw, "no woman on this earth could make me feel the way you do."
Her breath caught.
He leaned closer, lips brushing her ear.
"No one touches me like you can," he whispered. "No one gets to. You're the only one. Mine."
His thumb brushed her lower lip.
"And I'm only yours."
Her hands tightened around him at those words, almost shaking with relief she never allowed herself to show. She kissed him again—harder, deeper—her jealousy melting into something hungry, something possessive.
For the first time in her life, Shinobu Kocho let herself want without restraint.
And Haruto matched her every step, every whisper, every breath.
Two people who had lost too much finally giving in to the one thing they never wanted to lose:
Each other.
Shinobu's nails dug lightly into Haruto's shoulders as he kissed down her neck, every touch making her breath stutter.
"Haruto…" she whispered, half-voice, half-plea.
He pulled back just enough to look at her, chest rising and falling with heat and restraint."Tell me," he murmured, brushing his thumb along her jaw. "What do you want?"
She swallowed, eyes shimmering with something she rarely showed.
"You," Shinobu admitted. "All of you. I— I've wanted this for so long I started resenting myself."
Haruto's breath caught — as if those words hit harder than any blade.
He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers."You think you're the only one who suffered?" His voice trembled. "I thought you didn't want me anymore. I thought you didn't trust me enough to share your life."
Her lips parted, shocked.
He kept speaking — soft, but raw.
His voice cracked, revealing the months of suppressed pain."I thought you were slipping away from me."
Shinobu exhaled shakily."Haruto… I broke. Those six months? I was barely alive. I couldn't face you. If you saw me like that— you'd never look at me the same again."
"Shinobu."He lifted her chin gently. "You could come to me bleeding, crying, hating the world… and I'd still choose you."
Her breath hitched.Then their mouths crashed together again — harder, deeper, desperate.
This time, Shinobu pushed him back onto the futon, climbing over him. A rare spark of possessiveness lit her eyes.
"Mine," she whispered against his lips."You're mine."
Haruto smirked, breathless."Then prove it."
Her reply was a kiss that stole his air.Their bodies moved with unfiltered need, tangled in tension and heat, whispering the deepest pieces of their hearts.
Between breaths, Shinobu confessed:"I hate every woman who looks at you."
Haruto laughed softly, pulling her close."Good. Because I hated every man who came within ten feet of you."
Their jealousy, their longing, their months of fear…All of it burned away in the heat of that night.
The Morning After —
Sunlight slipped into the room, warm and gentle.
Shinobu blinked awake first — only to realize she was wrapped tightly against Haruto, her leg tangled with his, his arm heavy around her waist.
Her face flushed crimson instantly.
Oh gods… We actually— We…
Haruto stirred, half-asleep, mumbling,"Five more minutes… Shinobu's warm…"
Her entire soul left her body.
"Haruto!" she whispered sharply, poking his cheek.
He opened one eye slowly — saw her flushed, flustered face — and a slow, annoyingly smug smile spread across his lips.
"Morning, fiancée."
She slapped his shoulder lightly."Don't say it like that!"
"Aww, why? You didn't complain last night—"
She covered his mouth with her hand, mortified."Haruto!"
He only laughed, kissing her palm.
The Small Fight — The Consequence of Love
As they got dressed, the atmosphere shifted.Soft… then tense.
Haruto noticed a bruise on her hip — one he accidentally left.
His smile faded."…Does it hurt?"
Shinobu stiffened."It's nothing. I've had worse."
"That's not the point."
She froze.Tone. Sharp. Worried.
Haruto continued quietly:"I don't want to hurt you. Not ever. Not even like this."
Shinobu folded her arms, defensive without meaning to."Haruto, I'm strong. I'm not made of glass."
"I know that, the strongest there is," he said, voice lowering. "But you're still the woman I love. Let me worry a little."
Her breath softened.But her pride warred with vulnerability.
"Sometimes you treat me like I'll break," she whispered.
"And sometimes you act like you don't feel anything at all," he countered gently. "We meet in the middle, okay?"
Silence.
Then…
Shinobu stepped into him, resting her forehead against his chest."…Okay."
His arms wrapped around her instantly, warm and protective.
"Next time," he whispered with a teasing undertone,"just tell me where it hurts."
She elbowed him lightly, face burning.
"Haruto!"
And he laughed into her hair, the sound warm enough to melt every last piece of her doubt.