Kiyohiko froze in the doorway, one foot already inside while the other desperately wanted to retreat.
He whipped his head toward Aoi Kanzaki.
A traitor!
I only walked a little slowly, and you used that time to report me?!
“Cough, cough!
Slander!
That’s definitely slander!”
He pointed righteously at Aoi beside him.
“Miss Blueber—Miss Aoi Kanzaki must have misheard me!
I was shouting, ‘Long live Lady Shinobu!’ I swear!”
“I never said anything!
You admitted it yourself just now!”
Aoi exposed him without the slightest mercy, shoved Kiyohiko into the dark dojo, and slammed the door shut behind him.
With the heavy doors closed, the last trace of natural light disappeared.
Now, only two people remained inside the sealed room—
A demon and the woman whose profession was killing demons.
Shinobu smiled and beckoned him closer, twirling the wooden sword in her hand through an elegant flourish.
“It’s perfectly all right.
I don’t mind.”
“After all, dreams are said to reflect the subconscious.”
She advanced one light step at a time, dragging the wooden sword gently across the floor with a faint scraping sound.
“Since Kiyohiko-kun seems so energetic, let us begin today’s rehabilitation exercises.
As your doctor, I have a duty to determine how much of your physical ability has recovered.”
Kiyohiko swallowed and pressed his back against the door, leaving himself nowhere else to retreat.
“Um… Doctor Shinobu, since this is supposed to be a physical examination, couldn’t we use a gentler method?”
“A stethoscope, perhaps?
Or checking my pulse?”
He pointed toward the wooden sword in her hand.
“No matter how I look at it, that thing doesn’t resemble medical equipment.”
“This is a tool for testing your reflexes.”
Shinobu tilted her head, a mischievous glimmer passing through her eyes.
“The rules are very simple.
I will attack, and you may dodge or run.”
“However…”
Her voice suddenly lowered, though her smile became even brighter.
“You are absolutely forbidden from attacking me in return.
If you display even the slightest intention to harm me—even a moment of killing intent—I will replace this with a real sword.”
This woman really is a demon!
“That isn’t fair!
This is nothing but one-sided bullying!”
Kiyohiko protested.
“Did demons ever concern themselves with fairness while eating humans?”
Shinobu asked softly.
So fast!
Kiyohiko’s pupils contracted.
She had not even used a Breathing Style, yet her raw speed had already surpassed the limits of an ordinary human.
A fierce gust struck his face as the wooden blade tore through the air toward his left shoulder.
His body reacted before his mind.
Kiyohiko threw himself to the right and rolled across the floor in a thoroughly undignified manner.
Crack!
The wooden sword struck the door where he had been standing hard enough to shake loose several wisps of dust.
“Waaah!
You’re actually serious?!”
Kiyohiko crouched on the floor, cold sweat running down his face.
“If that hit me, it would’ve broken a bone!”
Fortunately, he had obtained a speed increase from Zenitsu.
Otherwise, that strike would have landed without question.
“My, you dodged?”
Shinobu turned around and raised one eyebrow in mild surprise.
“Then I suppose I can speed up a little.”
A game of cat and mouse began within the darkened dojo.
Shinobu moved like a butterfly dancing through the air, graceful and completely at ease.
Her strikes were not especially heavy, but every angle was viciously precise, targeting the joints and pressure points where pain would be most intense.
Kiyohiko, meanwhile, resembled a terrified monkey.
He leaped, rolled, scrambled, and fled in complete disorder.
“Time out!
Time out!
My shoelace came loose!”
“Waaah!
Don’t hit my face!
My livelihood depends on it!”
“Not there!
That’s a man’s dignity!”
Despite the miserable screams pouring from his mouth, Kiyohiko gradually noticed something surprising.
His body felt lighter.
Every dodge and contraction of his muscles became more controlled than the last.
As time passed, Shinobu’s movements remained extremely fast, but they were no longer completely impossible to follow.
At first, Kiyohiko had relied entirely upon instinct to escape her attacks.
Now, his thoughts had begun keeping pace with his body.
Twenty minutes later, he collapsed against one corner of the dojo, panting heavily.
Shinobu stood several paces away without the slightest flush on her face.
She held a handkerchief and delicately wiped away sweat that did not exist.
“Hmm… Your movements were rather unsightly, but your reaction speed is barely acceptable.”
She lowered the wooden sword and looked down at him.
Some of the coldness had faded from her violet eyes, replaced by curiosity.
“You truly are a strange demon, Kiyohiko-kun.”
“Even when I forced you into a corner, you never bared your fangs.”
“Why is that?”
What do you mean, why didn’t I fight back?!
You were the one who said you’d pull out a real sword if I attacked you!
How was I supposed to dare?!
I may not fear death, but I certainly fear pain!
Naturally, Kiyohiko did not dare say any of that aloud.
He considered himself an honest man.
Speaking directly and saying exactly what he thought had always been his style.
And so, he chose to follow his heart and remain a coward.
Looking at the exquisite face only inches from his own, Kiyohiko forced out a roguish smile despite the wisteria scent making his head spin.
“I simply didn’t want to hurt you, Miss Shinobu.”
“Besides, if I damaged such a beautiful face, who would bring me deer blood in the future?”
Shinobu blinked.
She had apparently not expected such an unserious answer.
Then a soft laugh escaped her lips.
This time, the smile seemed just a little more genuine than the flawless mask she had worn before.
“What a smooth talker.”
She stood and lightly tapped the top of Kiyohiko’s head with the wooden sword.
“Rest for ten minutes.
After that, we will test your Blood Demon Art.”
“Prepare yourself.”
My Blood Demon Art?
How did she intend to test a healing technique?
“Um… Miss Shinobu, I think you may have misunderstood something.”
Kiyohiko raised both hands in surrender, attempting to cool down this activity that was supposedly a test but had so far consisted entirely of him being beaten.
“My Blood Demon Art isn’t offensive.
It can’t create cannons, ice, or any other impressive attack.”
“It’s a healing ability.
Pure support, understand?”
“I’m the healer!
The party’s healer!”
“So I can’t activate it by pointing at empty air.
There needs to be an injured person.”
“Since no one here is hurt, perhaps we should simply stop for today—”
“My, my.
Of course I know what your Blood Demon Art does.”
Shinobu interrupted him, her smile never fading.
If anything, it became even more brilliant, while an unsettling light appeared within her violet eyes.
“As for there being no injured person…”
“Who said no one here was injured?”