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Chapter 123: Shinobu, It's Big Sister
"No."
The corner of Suyan's mouth twitched, and he complained with a look of dissatisfaction, "Do you really hate seeing me do well that much, Shinobu? Cursing me with something so vicious?"
Hearing this, the venomous girl's lips curved upwards. A subtle, completely imperceptible smile graced her face—one she didn't even notice herself.
Immediately after, Shinobu reverted to her deadpan expression. "After all, my first kiss was ruthlessly stolen by the Scumbag sitting in front of me last night."
"If my memory serves me right, wasn't it a certain Ms. Kocho Shinobu who took the initiative to kiss me?" Suyan retorted weakly.
"Arere? Did that happen? I don't recall."
Shinobu narrowed her eyes, playing dumb. "Could it be that Mr. Scumbag had a dream last night and mistook it for reality? How could a beautiful young girl willingly kiss a man she already knows is a total scumbag?"
Faced with Shinobu's shameless denial, Suyan was left momentarily speechless. "Does your sister know you twist the truth like this?"
"My sister?"
Hearing the word 'sister', Shinobu's expression stiffened for a fraction of a second, but she recovered quickly, putting on a mischievous front. "Well, I am a maiden, after all."
"If it were that little girl Nezuko, at my age, she probably would've been tricked by a scumbag into having his children by now, right?"
"Faced with such an incorrigible womanizer—and the man who took my first kiss, no less—is it so wrong for me to feel a tiny bit of possessiveness?"
"Possessiveness?" Suyan asked, confused.
"Oh my, I accidentally let it slip."
Shinobu quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, looking exactly like someone who had said too much. She explained, "I honestly thought Mr. Scumbag's body had given out. I was planning on waiting until you killed Muzan Kibutsuji, and then I'd drug you. I'd take away your mobility and keep you by my side forever. You'd become something that belongs exclusively to me."
"I can't believe you saw through my plan. I was much too careless."
Shinobu lightly tapped herself on the head, adopting the persona of a 'clumsy, foolish girl,' and winked at Suyan.
But seeing such an adorable expression paired with those words only made it infinitely more terrifying.
"So Shinobu is a yandere? How terrifying," Suyan said, dramatically patting his chest in mock fear.
"Therefore..."
Shinobu leaned closer to him, pressing her body against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Half-joking, half-serious, she whispered, "In the future, Mr. Scumbag better not even think about laying a hand on Kanao. Otherwise, I really might not be able to hold myself back from doing exactly what I just said."
Suyan broke out in a sweat, completely unsure of how to answer that.
The atmosphere in the room fell silent for a few moments.
"Strange."
It wasn't until Shinobu, still leaning against him, suddenly murmured, "Why does this feel different from last night?"
Suyan curled his lip.
No shit. The person sleeping with you last night was your sister. It would be a miracle if it felt the same.
"Whatever."
Shinobu didn't dwell on it. She pulled away from him and asked, "Now then, Mr. Scumbag, what are this good news and bad news you mentioned?"
Under the bed, Kanae flinched.
She suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. He wasn't going to drag her out, was he?
To be honest, when she realized Suyan had been sitting there watching her the whole time, her brain had completely short-circuited. She had crawled under the bed purely on reflex.
But with Suyan and Shinobu striking up a conversation and flirting like that, popping out now would be incredibly awkward.
Come to think of it, she was already regretting her decision. Why did she hide under the bed in the first place? Why couldn't she just greet Shinobu normally?
Oblivious to Kanae's internal crisis, Suyan looked at Shinobu and asked, "So, do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
"Bad news."
Shinobu answered without a second thought. "After all..."
After all, that was the story of her life.
First, her beautiful, happy family was destroyed by a sudden demon attack.
Then, after she and her sister were saved by the Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei, and they joined the Demon Slayer Corps and built a new home at the Butterfly Mansion... she lost her beloved sister in the most agonizing way possible.
A life that gives you sweetness first, only to follow it with unimaginable bitterness, makes the suffering feel far more deeply etched into your soul.
Because of that, ever since that day, Shinobu instinctively always chose to hear the bad news first. She wanted to save the sweetness for the end.
"Alright," Suyan said. "The bad news is, everything I told you yesterday was a lie. I never saw your sister."
Suyan's words struck Shinobu like a bolt of lightning on a clear day.
She snapped her head up to look at him, her eyes swirling with emotions too complex to describe. Her hands, resting on the mattress, unconsciously balled into tight fists, a surge of intense, betrayal-fueled anger rising in her chest.
"Why?" Shinobu demanded, fighting to suppress her rage, her voice dropping to a dangerous register. "Why not just keep lying to me?"
Yes, she wasn't asking why he lied. She was asking why he stopped.
"My sister is already gone. Even if you kept lying, no one would have ever exposed you, right?"
"So why? Why reveal it? Why couldn't you just lie to me forever?!"
"Did Mr. Scumbag foolishly believe that just because I kissed you, I'd fall for you and accept your lies?"
"And here I was naively thinking you were actually a decent man."
Shinobu gritted her teeth, spitting out every word. "Tell me! Why?!"
This was the very first time she had felt her heart flutter for a man.
Just moments ago, she had even entertained the thought that after Muzan was dead, she could carry her sister's share of happiness and live peacefully at the Butterfly Mansion with the man sitting in front of her. She could finally live the life of a normal girl, just like her sister had wished for her on her deathbed.
And yet, he had let her lose so miserably.
Looking at Suyan's face, Shinobu felt an overwhelming urge to smash her fist right into it. But logic screamed at her that she couldn't do that. She and the Demon Slayer Corps still needed him to destroy Muzan.
Thinking of that, Shinobu felt as though all her strength had been drained away. She slumped weakly against the headboard.
"Aren't you going to listen to the good news?"
Suyan hadn't expected her reaction to be this explosive. He quickly threw out the lifeline.
Without even looking up, Shinobu muttered, "I'm tired. Get out."
"Shinobu, look here!"
Without another word, Suyan reached under the bed and dragged out a completely bewildered Kanae.
Snapping back to reality, Kanae instantly threw her arms wide open toward her sister. "Ta-da! It's Big Sister~"
"Sister...?!"
Shinobu's eyes went wide, staring in absolute disbelief at the woman who had just been pulled out from under the bed.
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