The closet was trembling slightly. Or, more accurately, the person hidden inside it was.
Marcus reached out his hand.
And, just at the instant his fingers were about to brush against the closet door—
"Senpai! Are you there?"
Tanjiro poked half his head through the door, which had been left improperly closed. The moment he saw Marcus, his face lit up at once with a smile.
"I heard you'd arrived!"
Marcus pulled his hand back, turned around, and, as if nothing had happened, looked toward Tanjiro.
"Yeah, I just got here."
Tanjiro walked in, glancing around from one side to the other.
"Whose room is this?"
"No idea."
Tanjiro nodded without giving it a second thought.
His greatest virtue, after all, was that he had never been very good at being suspicious of people.
"How have things been going lately?" Marcus asked, leaning against the closet.
"How's Zenitsu doing with his training?"
Tanjiro furrowed his eyebrows and summed it up in a few words.
"A hell with tears."
Marcus laughed.
He could picture it perfectly.
"And Inosuke?"
At that name, Tanjiro's expression turned a little more serious.
"He… has pretty serious fractures in both legs. For the moment, he can only train his reflexes from a wheelchair. But he's putting in a huge effort…" he added with a smile. "Inosuke won't stop yelling that one day he's going to defeat you. Who would've thought you're also capable of motivating people every now and then."
"Look who's talking." Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you also make rapid progress thanks to my help back in the day?"
Tanjiro rolled his eyes. "That was harassment, not help."
"You don't get it. That's the only way to get enough motivation."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, thank you very much, Senpai!"
From Tanjiro's tone, you could tell he had all the resignation in the world, but the smile at the corners of his lips was impossible to hide.
"And the gourd-blowing training?"
"I already managed to burst the biggest one!" Tanjiro puffed out his chest with pride.
"Zenitsu just managed to burst the small one, and Inosuke, with his fractured ribs, can't even blow at all for now."
Marcus nodded.
"Good. Keep working hard."
"Don't worry, Senpai. I won't bother you anymore."
As Tanjiro spoke, his eyes kept scanning the room.
"And Nezuko?"
"With Tamayo. I didn't bring her this time."
"Oh…"
Tanjiro's mood visibly deflated.
Marcus smiled.
"Go on, get to training. I have a few things to take care of here."
And, as he said it, he shot a sideways glance at the closet behind him.
The most casual of glances.
But, even so, Tanjiro caught it.
He followed that glance with his own eyes and stayed there, staring at the closet.
His nose twitched slightly, sniffing the air, and then…
He sighed with a hint of melancholy.
"Marcus…"
"Mmm?"
"…No, never mind."
Tanjiro turned around and headed toward the exit.
When he reached the door, he stopped, turned his head, and shot Marcus a strange look.
And Marcus was left thrown off by that look.
"Ah, by the way." He remembered something. "Go and bring those three little ones too."
"Little ones?"
"Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho."
Tanjiro froze and a moment later… exploded.
"MARCUS!!!"
"You can't do something like that! The three of them are just little girls!"
Marcus was stunned for an instant, and his own face shifted color as he caught what Tanjiro was insinuating.
"YOU BASTARD!!"
He threw a kick at him.
"What kind of person do you think I am?!"
As he was sent flying through the door, Tanjiro muttered:
"What kind of person you are, you know better than anyone… This is what's called 'reputation'!"
"What the fuck did you just say?!"
"Nothing! I'm going to call them!"
The door slammed shut.
And the footsteps quickly faded into the distance.
Marcus took a deep breath.
Why does this kid have thoughts like that about me? Did I ever do something bad to him? Have I mistreated him at any point?
"Tch."
Shaking his head, he turned back around and walked toward the closet again.
And this time, without any more interruptions, he yanked the doors open in one pull.
"Kyaaa!!"
A girl's high-pitched scream echoed from inside.
Inside the closet, in the dim shadows, there was a girl curled up.
She was wearing the blue uniform of the hunters, and two pigtails decorated with blue butterfly ribbons.
At that moment, she was covering her face with both little hands, pressing them down hard.
"L-Lord Demon Pillar! I didn't see anything! I didn't hear anything! I, just a moment ago… I simply fell asleep inside the closet!"
Marcus looked down at her from above.
"Oh really?"
"Then answer me one thing: those sounds from a moment ago, 'Smack, smack, smack'… what were they?"
The girl pressed her hands against her face even harder.
"Those were absolutely and under NO circumstances the sounds of you spanking Shinobu-sama!"
"…"
"…"
Realizing what she had just said, she went completely stiff.
And she immediately waved her hands frantically.
"I-I didn't mean to spy! Please… please, don't suck out my life essence!"
"…"
Marcus watched her in silence for a few seconds.
Then, reaching out his hand, he pulled her out of the closet effortlessly.
"Stand up straight."
The girl ended up standing in front of him, with her head down, her face full of unease, and her hands clenched nervously together.
"What's your name?"
"Ka… Kanzaki Aoi…"
"Can I just call you Aoi, then?"
"Yes… yes, that's fine…"
Aoi lowered her head even more.
"What was that you were saying a moment ago about 'sucking out life essence'? What exactly does that mean?"
Aoi's shoulders shuddered.
"Well… well…"
"Well what?"
"Well… Lord Serpent Pillar said…"
She swallowed.
"He tells everyone he meets that you're a demon consumed by lust, who specializes in sucking out the life essence of women… and that we all have to be very careful around you…"
Marcus's smile froze on his face.
_____
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