"Ah?" A faint sense of unease rose in Mizuki's heart.
Tamayo smiled slightly, "I just happen to need your help with something."
Mizuki: "..."
It was so unfamiliar that she was scared.
When had Tamayo ever been so polite to her?
Except for when they first met, Tamayo would always politely invite her to join whenever she picked up corpses to eat. After they became familiar, she would just state her business directly.
Could it be that she wanted to draw her blood again?
"...Tell me," Mizuki said honestly after a moment of silence.
She couldn't possibly refuse, could she?
"It might require a tiny bit of sacrifice from you," Tamayo made a small gap with her index finger and thumb, "If you're uncomfortable, I can ask Yushiro to leave."
Yushiro: "???"
Why did he suddenly feel like a clown?
Mizuki: "???"
Why was she suddenly so scared?
Hearing Tamayo's words, Kochou Shinobu's eyes flickered twice, first looking at Tamayo with gratitude, then casting an expectant gaze at Mizuki.
Mizuki's mouth twitched, "What do you want me to do? Draw blood?"
At most, she'd just eat more afterward. Who are you looking down on?
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, looking as if she was about to make a heroic sacrifice.
"Ah, that... wouldn't be impossible," Tamayo's tone shifted midway, "Let's draw blood later."
Tamayo looked at Yushiro apologetically, "Now... Yushiro, please leave for a moment."
Yushiro's face twitched. Lady Tamayo... why is she playing along with these idiots?
He nodded warmly, "I understand."
Yushiro bowed and was about to leave.
"Wait!" Mizuki stopped him, looking at Tamayo warily, "First, tell me what you want to do?"
Yushiro couldn't be bothered with her. Tamayo's words were everything. He turned and stepped around Mizuki, exiting the room.
With a whoosh!
He closed the door.
Mizuki: "..."
Tamayo and Shinobu wouldn't harm her, would they?
Tamayo waved at her, signaling her to sit down.
Mizuki retreated two steps towards the door, her hand almost on the doorknob, "You tell me what it is first."
"I'm not going to eat you," Tamayo raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to come and sit down again.
Kochou Shinobu sat quietly beside her, not saying a word.
She wanted to see, just waiting to see.
Mizuki had never been able to win an argument with Tamayo, and Tamayo was a very special existence to her.
She initially wanted to find Tamayo to help her research how to overcome sunlight through the spider lily.
However, she couldn't find Tamayo until she herself had overcome sunlight.
Their later chance encounter was like an unintentional planting yielding unexpected results.
Living with Tamayo, to be honest, also had reasons related to fearing loneliness.
Tamayo appeared to be only nineteen years old, but the maternal aura she exuded from within made others feel that Mizuki was the younger one when they stood together.
Of course... whether in terms of age or life experience, she was indeed far behind Tamayo.
With that kind of aura, it was hard not to listen to her voice.
Over hundreds of years of interaction, Tamayo was like an older sister or a mother figure.
Therefore, Mizuki always found it difficult to refuse Tamayo's requests.
Mizuki calmly sat in front of Tamayo, looking resigned to her fate.
"Tell me, how do you want me to die?"
Tamayo was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "You're much more lively now than before."
Mizuki rolled her eyes, "You make it sound like I was always gloomy before."
Tamayo smiled slightly, "Not exactly gloomy, but like a discarded puppy, quite pitiful."
"Pfft~" Kochou Shinobu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Mizuki looked at Tamayo with a resentful expression.
Tamayo didn't say much, only a trace of recollection appeared in her eyes.
The saying 'bystanders see most of the game' also applies to self-perception.
Perhaps Mizuki didn't think her personality was gloomy, but Tamayo truly understood the heaviness in Mizuki's heart back then.
But Mizuki didn't bring her burdens to Tamayo; instead, she concealed her inner heaviness and chose to bring her conviction.
Their conviction that they would eventually defeat Muzan.
For Tamayo, it wasn't Yoriichi or the Demon Slayer Corps who gave her the conviction to defeat Muzan, but Mizuki.
Every time Tamayo saw Mizuki, she would recall that time of mutual support.
Tamayo leaned close to Mizuki's ear with a smile, whispering a few words.
Mizuki's expression shifted from helpless to utterly bewildered.
Huh?
She leaned back slightly, looking at Tamayo with an incredulous expression, "That's it?"
Mizuki let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought you were going to do something serious, turns out you just want me to..."
At this point, her voice suddenly paused, and she abruptly turned to look at Kochou Shinobu.
Kochou Shinobu's expression panicked, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Mizuki: "..."
She knew it. What kind of experiment could there be in changing one's body shape?
And there was no need to make it so serious, making her think it was something grave.
If Shinobu hadn't been present, she wouldn't have connected the dots at all.
But what made her feel a little unnatural was that she hadn't felt anything at first, but now that she realized it, she felt a strange sense of shame.
"So Mizuki agrees?" Tamayo smiled, her clear eyes showing a hint of eagerness, "To be honest, I'm also very curious about what Mizuki looked like as a child."
"I feel like she'd be as cute as Nezuko~"
Kochou Shinobu's head was nodding so fast it was almost a blur.
Yes, yes, yes!
She really wanted to see it!
Mizuki felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
Why are you joining in the teasing, Tamayo!
Are you really raising her as a daughter?
Ah... should she have just not realized it? Would that have been better?
Mizuki's eyelid twitched, "Can I refuse?"
It wasn't that she didn't want Shinobu to see... it was just a simple feeling of shame.
"Dame yo~" Tamayo's smile hadn't faded since earlier.
"Isn't it just shrinking the body? What's so interesting about that?" Mizuki felt both ashamed and a little exasperated.
You two are in this together.
Kochou Shinobu pursed her lips and said, "If Mizuki is uncomfortable, then never mind."
"Actually, I was the one who asked Young Miss Tamayo..."
"I'm sorry, I was too willful."
Mizuki: "..."
This was putting her on the spot.
Well, it was just like that. Nezuko often grew and shrunk in front of them, it wasn't a big deal.
Mizuki sighed, "First, promise me you won't laugh at me."
"Mm-hmm." Kochou Shinobu's troubled expression vanished in a blink.
Seeing that, Mizuki almost wanted to back out.
This damned feeling of shame, she was beginning to understand Kokushibou.
These human emotions, it's better not to have them.
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