Seeing Yamada drink the medicine she brewed so readily, a flash of joy and sweetness that even she didn't notice flickered in Shinobu's eyes.
She naturally took out a handkerchief, intending to hand it to Yamada to wipe the corners of his lips. But the moment she leaned in close, her movements suddenly stopped.
"Wait..."
Shinobu's eyes, which had been filled with a bit of embarrassment and annoyance, were now fixed intently on Yamada's eyes.
As the medical head of the Butterfly Mansion, she was extremely sensitive to subtle changes in the human body. At such a close distance, she clearly perceived that Yamada's eyes seemed to have undergone some kind of indescribable transformation.
Before, those black pupils were deep, but they would occasionally reveal a sharp sense of pressure. Now, these eyes were extremely clear.
Not only that, but the aura around him, which had previously been like an unsheathed sharp sword, was now completely internalized. He exuded a sense of returning to simplicity, yet possessed a steady and profound presence that made people want to draw closer.
"Your eyes..." Shinobu subconsciously reached out her finger and lightly touched the corner of Yamada's eye.
"They feel different from yesterday. Are you uncomfortable?"
The cool touch from her fingertips, carrying a faint scent of wisteria flowers, brushed against Yamada's cheek like a feather.
Looking at the exquisite face so close at hand and those eyes filled with worry, a mischievous smile appeared on Yamada's lips.
He suddenly raised his hand, grabbed Shinobu's hand that was resting on his cheek, and gave it a slight tug.
"Ah!"
Shinobu let out a soft cry as she lost her balance, falling into a broad and solid embrace.
Yamada adjusted his posture, letting her sit astride his lap. One hand steadily held her slender waist, while the other toyed with a lock of hair falling across her chest.
"You... what are you doing! It's broad daylight, let me go!"
Shinobu blushed from her neck all the way to her ears. She pressed her hands against Yamada's chest, making a symbolic struggle, but that bit of strength was no different from acting spoiled in front of Yamada.
"You threw yourself into my arms, how can you blame me?" Yamada acted like a rogue with perfect justification.
"Nonsense! I was just looking at your eyes!" Shinobu retorted in embarrassment, trying to change the subject to hide her racing heart. "Be honest, what did you do last night? Why do I feel like your aura has completely changed?"
"It's nothing much, I just broke through a bottleneck."
Yamada gently rested his chin on her shoulder, taking a deep breath of her pleasant scent. "My vision has improved, and I can see you more clearly now. I can even count the frequency of your eyelashes fluttering."
This flirtatious remark, delivered with a hint of laziness and magnetism, pierced through Shinobu's psychological defenses.
Shinobu bit her lips, knowing she couldn't out-talk this thick-skinned guy.
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly reached into her sleeve and pulled out a dark brown pill. Taking advantage of the moment Yamada was speaking, she popped it into his mouth with lightning speed.
"Mmph?" Yamada subconsciously held the pill in his mouth.
Instantly, a bitterness, ten times worse than the tonic from before, exploded in his mouth.
"Haha! Serves you right!"
Seeing Yamada's expression stiffen slightly, Shinobu laughed triumphantly. "This is my specially made Concentrated Coptis Sophora Pill, usually used to punish patients who don't take their medicine properly. Who told you to bully me so early in the morning?"
Her eyes curved into crescents as she laughed.
"It's very bitter, right? Let me go quickly and go drink some water—umph!"
Before Shinobu could finish her sentence, her voice was blocked in her throat.
Yamada didn't go for water. Instead, he cradled the back of her head with one hand and pulled her waist tight with the other, kissing her incessantly chattering red lips.
Their lips met.
That Coptis Sophora Pill, bitter enough to make one question life, was skillfully pushed by Yamada's tongue to the center of their intertwined lips.
The bitter taste instantly spread through both of their mouths.
Shinobu's eyes widened, and her hands tightly gripped the front of Yamada's clothes, her mind going blank. She wanted to push him away, but her body seemed to melt into this invasive yet exceptionally gentle kiss.
The medicinal taste, which was originally bitter to the extreme, actually fermented into a trace of intoxicating sweetness in this heart-pounding intimacy.
A gentle breeze blew through the backyard, scattering a few wisteria petals that lightly drifted onto the shoulders of the embracing pair.
After a long time, Yamada reluctantly let go of her.
Looking at the panting Shinobu in his arms, her eyes misting over and not even daring to look at him, Yamada licked his lips, savoring the sweetness mixed with the medicinal scent.
"It really is quite bitter."
Yamada leaned close to her ear, his voice low and husky, filled with laughter. "However, eaten this way, the taste is just right."
"You... you unreasonable bastard."
Shinobu pushed Yamada away in extreme embarrassment and frantically tidied the slightly messy hem of her kimono.
She didn't even bother to pick up the tray that had fallen to the ground. Covering her burning cheeks, she turned and ran toward the laboratory.
"I... I'm going to prepare medicine. Eat at the dining hall yourself this noon. Don't come looking for me."
Accompanied by her flustered and exasperated voice, the purple silhouette quickly disappeared at the end of the long corridor.
Watching her flee in panic, Yamada leaned against the wooden pillar and couldn't help but chuckle.
In this high-risk world filled with demons and death, having such a girl who could be teased at any time, who was both tsundere and protective, was something that could make one feel happy.
"Boss!"
A yellow head suddenly peeked cautiously over the courtyard wall.
Zenitsu looked around sneakily, and after confirming that Shinobu was gone, he flipped over the wall and jumped in.
"Shinobu-san is gone?" Zenitsu looked at Yamada with a face full of envy, jealousy, and hate.
"Boss, teach me. How can you make such a beautiful girl so devoted to you? I want to experience this kind of sweet love too. I don't want to just stay with that pig-head and the blockhead Tanjiro every day."
Yamada withdrew the smile from his face and returned to his usual lazy and cold demeanor. He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"Want to learn?"
Zenitsu nodded frantically, his eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge.
"Sure."
Yamada pointed to the largest stone lock in the center of the yard. "Go, lift that up and run fifty laps around the yard. When your strength is enough to one-shot an Upper Moon, girls will naturally flock to you."
The smile on Zenitsu's face instantly froze, and he let out a howl of despair, "You're lying, right? That stone lock weighs three hundred pounds. Boss, you're just using your public office to settle a private grudge."
"Sixty laps."
"I'll run! I'll run right now!"
Looking at Zenitsu, who had returned to the hellish special training, Yamada nodded with satisfaction.
Relaxing daily life is always brief.
Next, he should think about which big fish that old schemer Muzan will send to his chopping block.