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Chapter 165: Shinobu: You Really Are My Good Sister
The next morning, the sun was already high in the sky.
Suyan squinted against the glare, eyeing the crow circling above him before letting out a lazy yawn.
He never expected to actually end up running errands for the Demon Slayer Corps. Just this morning, he had woken up fully intending to enjoy a little post-coital affection with Shinobu. Instead, she had practically kicked him out of bed and pawned her demon-slaying mission off on him.
What else was he supposed to do? He had to obey.
After all, he had completely worn Kanae out the night before last, and last night, he had thoroughly ravaged Shinobu.
Through his own sheer prowess, without utilizing a single violent martial art, he had managed to incapacitate two Hashira-level combatants in record time. With both Kocho sisters physically unfit for duty, he could hardly dump a lethal mission on Aoi, who panicked at the mere sight of a demon.
"En, how much further to the target location?" Suyan stretched, calling out to the circling crow.
Hearing him, the crow flapped its wings and descended to eye level.
"If Lord Suyan maintains this walking pace, it will take approximately seven more hours," the bird replied in perfect human speech.
An ordinary person might have been shocked by a talking crow, but Suyan was entirely unfazed. He was used to it. This was no ordinary bird—it was a Kasugai Crow, specifically bred and trained by the Demon Slayer Corps, possessing intellect that rivaled humans.
It was basically a massive rip-off of the messenger owls from Harry Potter. Or a homage, depending on how generous you felt.
In the Demon Slayer world, passing the Final Selection granted a swordsman three things: a Corps uniform, a Nichirin Sword, and a Kasugai Crow for communication.
This particular crow, named En, belonged to Shinobu. She was a very docile female bird. Even though Shinobu hadn't accompanied him on the mission, she had forced her crow onto him as a guide.
"Seven hours?" Suyan muttered to himself.
"Yes, Lord Suyan," En replied.
"Too slow." Suyan shook his head.
Seven hours meant he wouldn't arrive until mid-afternoon. And since none of his girls were here to keep him company, why on earth would he subject himself to a seven-hour hike? Unless his brain had leaked out of his ears last night, there was zero reason to walk.
"If Lord Suyan feels it is too slow, I suggest—"
Ever dutiful, En immediately began offering alternatives. While the Taisho era didn't have widespread automobiles and the roads were terrible, horse-drawn carriages existed. And in a couple of years, during the Mugen Train arc, locomotives would become relevant.
But Suyan cut her off before she could finish. "En, are you absolutely certain this is the right direction?"
"Yes, Lord Suyan," En answered, slightly confused but firm.
"Perfect." Suyan nodded, giving the crow a sharp look. "Then you'd better keep up. Don't get left behind."
With a thought, Suyan activated his Nen, instantly conjuring Minami Rika's beloved vehicle.
Not the heavily modified armored Humvee that had escorted Lady Tamayo and Yushiro a few nights ago, but the sleek, high-powered motorcycle he had used to drive Saya Takagi home during the Highschool of the Dead apocalypse—the exact same bike that had led to his fateful encounter with Minami Rika.
"Nani?!"
Seeing the massive metal beast materialize out of thin air, En nearly had a heart attack. She had no idea where he pulled it from.
This violates the laws of physics! the crow screamed internally.
Conveniently forgetting that, as a bird capable of fluent human conversation, she was currently the biggest violation of physics in a ten-mile radius.
"Let's go!"
Ignoring the dumbstruck crow, Suyan just wanted to finish this mission as quickly as possible. The sooner he killed the demon, the sooner he could use the Dimensional Gate to teleport back to the Butterfly Mansion. If he timed it right, he might even have a shot at having both Kanae and Shinobu in his arms tonight.
The very thought filled him with motivation.
He twisted the throttle hard. The motorcycle unleashed a deafening, mechanical roar.
"Caw! Caw!!"
Watching Suyan nearly vanish over the horizon in a cloud of dust, En's beak hit the floor. In her sheer panic, she completely forgot how to speak human, reverting entirely to standard crow noises.
Snapping out of it, she frantically pumped her wings, desperately chasing after the roaring machine.
"Lord Suyan! Please wait for me~~!"
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Butterfly Mansion.
Time rewound to half an hour ago.
The moment Suyan left the estate under the guidance of the crow, Shinobu snapped her eyes open.
She tried to sit up, only for her body to lurch. She collapsed heavily back onto the mattress.
"Scumbag!" Shinobu hissed through her teeth. She reached under the covers, tracing the fresh marks he had left all over her skin last night. "Why was he so rough?! Doesn't he know the meaning of the word 'gentle'?!"
Despite her cursing, a lingering sweetness bloomed in her chest.
So this is what it feels like? she thought.
It was vastly more intense—and infinitely more wonderful—than the phantom sensations she had synchronized from Kanae the night before.
Her face burned. She actually found herself looking forward to doing it with him again...
Is this what they mean by 'getting a taste for it'?
"Stop! Stop!" Shinobu slapped her own cheeks hard with both hands, trying to force herself to sober up. "I can't keep thinking about this."
If she did, her body was going to start acting weird again.
Shoving the chaotic thoughts to the back of her mind, she forced her aching body out of bed. She grabbed her discarded clothes from the floor and threw them on, completely ignoring the fact that she was still covered in Suyan's scent.
She marched out the door. Her target: Kanae's room next door.
Knock, knock, knock!
The rapping on the door instantly woke Aoi.
"Ngh?" Aoi's eyes snapped open. Hearing the knocking, she looked down at Kanae, who was still clinging to her like a limpet. A deep sense of impending doom washed over her.
Aoi gently shook Kanae. "Kanae-nee, Kanae..."
"Hmm? Is it morning?" Kanae mumbled, pouting as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She released Aoi and sat up, looking adorably clueless.
"The door! The door!" Aoi hissed, pointing frantically.
"Ah?!" Kanae finally registered the knocking.
Worse, as the fog of sleep lifted from her brain, the horrifying reality of what had transpired last night came crashing down on her.
If she could have wiped her own memory, she would have.
"Sister, open the door," Shinobu called from the hallway. "I heard voices. I know you're in there."
"Um, give me a second, Shinobu!" Kanae yelled automatically. "I'm coming!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Kanae wanted to slap herself. Why did she respond?! She should have just pretended to be asleep! If Shinobu saw her in this state, it would be an absolute disaster. The sheer embarrassment was enough to make her head explode.
Aoi. Where's Aoi?
Kanae looked around for help. After all, Aoi was in the room too. If Shinobu walked in now, Kanae wouldn't be the only one dying of shame.
To her horror, she watched Aoi grab her shoes and prepare to bolt into Greed Island via the Dimensional Gate.
Right!
Kanae instantly lunged forward, intending to follow Aoi through the portal.
Without a moment's hesitation, Aoi shoved her back out.
"Aoi?!!" Kanae puffed her cheeks, glaring at the younger girl in utter betrayal.
Aoi didn't speak. She just waved her hands frantically, explicitly denying Kanae entry.
Shinobu's voice from the hallway provided the perfect explanation for Aoi's ruthless betrayal.
"Sister, are you ready?"
Exactly. Because Kanae had already answered, running into Greed Island now would be the ultimate admission of guilt.
All the color drained from Kanae's face.
"Um..." Kanae stammered toward the door. "Can you come back later, Shinobu? I'm currently—"
A knowing, incredibly dangerous smile crept onto Shinobu's face on the other side of the door. "Or are you hiding a certain filthy scumbag in your room?"
Kanae looked down at her completely ruined sleepwear. She wanted to cry.
If only she was hiding Suyan! Her current situation was infinitely worse!
With no other choice, Kanae grabbed her blanket and rolled herself into a tight burrito, covering every inch of her body. Shinobu had forced her hand. All she could do was let her in and try to bluff her away.
Kanae hurried to the door, unlocked it, and sprinted back to bed, using her blanket-wrapped body to completely hide the damp patch on the sheets.
Shinobu pushed the door open.
Seeing her sister swaddled like a mummy, she sat down on the edge of the bed and asked, feigning total innocence, "Sister, whatever is the matter?"
"Shinobu, um... I'm just feeling a little under the weather, so I..." Kanae forced a desperately fake smile.
"Well, since you're sick, let me examine you. I am half a doctor, after all."
Shinobu smiled warmly, reaching out to peel back the blanket.
"Don't!" Kanae let out an entirely undignified shriek, halting Shinobu's hand.
"Why not?" Shinobu tilted her head, playing the part of a confused sibling perfectly.
Kanae clutched the blanket tighter, terrified Shinobu would launch a surprise attack. Unable to come up with a valid excuse, she stammered, "Because... because..."
"Because you wet the bed last night, right?"
Shinobu bypassed the blanket entirely, sliding her hand underneath and hitting the nail directly on the head.
Kanae shuddered violently at her sister's touch. She stared at Shinobu in utter shock. "How did you know?!"
"Because my sheets were exactly the same yesterday morning," Shinobu stated flatly, rubbing her damp fingertips together.
Internally, Shinobu let out a massive sigh of relief. If she had been the only one to suffer that indignity, she really would have died of shame.
"What?!" Kanae was stunned.
"You finally experienced it last night, didn't you?" Shinobu asked.
"Experienced what?" Kanae was more confused than ever.
Seeing Kanae's blank expression, Shinobu elaborated. "What I experienced the night before last..."
Under Kanae's bewildered gaze, Shinobu finally laid out the truth about the Nen contract and the empathic link they now shared.
Listening to the explanation, Kanae's eyes widened in sudden realization.
But instead of the lingering horror Shinobu had expected, Kanae's face blossomed into an expression of pure, unadulterated relief.
Why relief?
Because it meant that what happened last night was merely the side-effect of synchronizing with Shinobu's sensations! It wasn't because she herself had somehow devolved into a deeply perverted, uncontrollable woman!
Seeing that Kanae understood, Shinobu pressed the advantage. "So, you understand the gravity of the situation now, right? If this happens while we're out on a mission—"
"So, you and Suyan did it last night?!"
Kanae hadn't heard a single word about missions or gravity. Instead, now that the air was cleared, she dramatically threw off the blanket, looking at her younger sister with a beaming, teasing smile.
"Sister?!!" Shinobu's eyes widened, entirely unprepared for Kanae to derail the conversation like this.
Kanae gently stroked Shinobu's cheek. "My little Shinobu has gotten so brave~"
"No, seriously, what goes on inside your head?! Can you please think about the future? If this keeps happening, how are we supposed to—"
A vein popped on Shinobu's forehead. The blood rushed to her face in sheer exasperation. She slapped Kanae's hand away. In that moment, she genuinely wanted to crack her sister's skull open just to see what kind of nonsense was rattling around inside.
"Then we'll just do it together from now on!" Kanae smiled brightly, tilting her head at her deeply flustered sister.
"EH?!" Shinobu instantly turned to stone.
"The logic is simple," Kanae explained earnestly, raising an index finger like a scholar. "When I do it with Suyan, you feel awful. When you do it with Suyan, I feel awful."
"So, if we both do it with him at the same time, neither of us will have to suffer alone!"
"See? Problem solved!"
"KO! CHO! KA! NAE!" Shinobu gritted her teeth, glaring directly into Kanae's eyes, her voice dripping with sheer disbelief. "You really are my good sister!!.
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