Evening, Butterfly Mansion.
The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the wisteria flowers in the courtyard with a soft layer of warm orange.
Yamada lifted the curtain of the private medical room in the backyard and immediately saw Shinobu sitting at a table organizing medicinal herbs.
Since completely destroying the Wisteria Toxin intended for a mutual-death strike last night, Shinobu seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
She was no longer wearing that oversized butterfly-patterned haori, but only a very form-fitting black Demon Slayer Corps uniform, with the collar slightly open, revealing her slender neck.
Without the fake mask of a gentle older sister, her current capable and sharp temperament while slightly frowning and seriously checking prescriptions instead exuded a different kind of stunning beauty.
"Yo, our Insect Hashira is in a good mood today, even the medicinal herbs are sorted so neatly." Yamada leaned lazily against the doorframe, teasing casually.
Hearing the familiar voice, Shinobu's hands paused, and she turned back to give him a glare.
"You have the nerve to say that? I heard you shut Sanemi and the others up so hard today in front of Master that they didn't dare to make a sound? You're really not afraid of being ostracized by all the Hashira together."
Although her tone was full of coquettishness and blame, a hint of a smile was clearly hidden in Shinobu's purple eyes.
"Ostracized? They'd need the guts first."
Yamada strode over, pulled over a chair, and sat down beside Shinobu. Not only that, he even stretched his legs out, slid down, and very skillfully rested his head on Shinobu's rounded and slender thighs.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Shinobu stiffened as if hit by an electric shock, and her hands, which were organizing herbs, suddenly didn't know where to go. Her cheeks turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, all the way to the roots of her ears.
"Borrowing a thigh to lean on." Yamada muttered casually, closing his eyes comfortably.
"I didn't sleep well last night, and I had to put on a big show with those guys today. I'm exhausted. Your legs are much softer than a tatami pillow."
"You... you rogue! Get up right now! What if Aoi or Kanao sees this?" Shinobu reached out in embarrassment and annoyance, wanting to push Yamada's head away.
But when her fingers touched Yamada's soft black hair, her pushing motion stopped as if possessed.
She looked down at his face so close at hand. With his eyes closed, Yamada lost the arrogant and overbearing pressure he had during the day. His high bridge of the nose and long eyelashes even showed a bit of defenseless tranquility.
"Truly a domineering and self-centered idiot..."
Shinobu bit her rosy lower lip, but in the end, she didn't push him away. Instead, she very gently ran her fingertips through his hair, her movements incredibly light.
"Master already told you the information about the Mugen Train, right?" Shinobu asked in a very low voice while gently massaging Yamada's temples, a hint of concern in her tone.
"That might be an Upper Moon."
"Yeah. When there's definite news, I'll go twist its head off and kick it like a ball." Yamada didn't even open his eyes, his tone extremely casual, as if discussing what to eat for dinner.
Hearing these arrogant words and feeling the warmth from his body on her thighs, Shinobu didn't think he was bragging. Instead, a sense of unprecedented security welled up in her heart.
"If you really encounter an Upper Moon..."
Shinobu's fingers paused slightly, her cool voice carrying a hint of spoiled behavior she hadn't even noticed herself. "You are absolutely not allowed to get hurt. Get your tail back here in one piece. Do you understand?"
The corner of Yamada's lips curled into an arc. He opened his eyes and grabbed Shinobu's hand that was massaging his hair.
Looking into Shinobu's purple eyes, which were a bit panicked due to the close proximity, he chuckled. "You haven't even married me yet, and you're already worrying about my life and death?"
"Who... who wants to marry a violent maniac like you? You're full of yourself!"
Shinobu snapped her hand back and covered her burning cheeks in shame, but she didn't move Yamada's head from her lap. She just turned her head away and stared intently at the herbs on the table, as if trying to stare a flower out of them.
Seeing this sharp-tongued butterfly turn into a ripe red tomato, Yamada closed his eyes with satisfaction, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.
— — —
Time flew by and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
During this half-month, besides occasionally swinging by the headquarters, Yamada almost treated the Butterfly Mansion as his own back garden.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, the three lively characters, gradually recovered from their heavy injuries at Mount Natagumo under the extremely strict medical care of the Butterfly Mansion.
Following that was the "Rehabilitation Training" that could be described as hellish.
In the backyard of the Butterfly Mansion.
"Aaaaah! Just kill me! This kind of stretching isn't a pain humans can endure!"
Zenitsu, wearing white hospital pajamas, was being brutally forced into a split on the floor by Aoi. Tears and snot covered his face, and his screams were worse than a pig being slaughtered.
Nearby, Inosuke, wearing his wild boar mask, sat in a corner, exuding a very low and gloomy aura, constantly muttering, "I'm too weak... I'm a piece of trash... I'm sorry, everyone..."
Only Tanjiro, though also drenched in sweat and grimacing in pain, was still working extremely hard to cooperate with the stretching training of Kiyo and the other little girls.
"Next is reflex training!"
Aoi clapped her hands and pointed to a row of wooden cups filled with extremely pungent, cloudy medicinal liquid on the porch.
"The rules are simple: use these cups to splash the opponent. If the cup is held down, you can't take it. Your opponent is Kanao."
As soon as Zenitsu heard he would be interacting with a cute girl, he jumped up as if he had been injected with adrenaline.
However, ten minutes later.
"Pfft! Cough cough! It stinks! It stings my eyes!"
Zenitsu and Tanjiro were both covered in the medicine that emitted a strange stench, lying miserably on the ground.
Kanao, sitting opposite them, didn't have a single drop of water on her, still maintaining that extremely calm, even dazed appearance with no change in her breathing.
"Too fast... I can't see Kanao's movements at all. It's not just hand speed, even her anticipation is flawless." Tanjiro wiped the medicine from his face, filled with frustration and shock.