After grudgingly choking down the breakfast Yushiro had prepared for him, Marcus took Ivy and Pearl down to the laboratory.
The moment he opened the door, a faint herbal aroma spread through the air.
Tamayo was sitting in front of the experiment table, with her back to the door.
When she heard the sound, her shoulders gave a slight jolt, but she didn't turn around.
"You're here already?"
"Yeah."
Marcus stepped inside. Ivy and Pearl followed behind him, heads lowered, walking cautiously.
Tamayo took a deep breath and finally turned around.
Over her sleeping robe, she had put on a white lab coat.
Her hair was carefully tied up and her delicate face didn't betray a single expression.
Except for the tips of her ears, which were still glowing a deep red...
Marcus noticed it and a smile drew itself across his lips.
Tamayo didn't dare look him directly in the eyes, so she limited herself to looking at the two newcomers.
"They're..."
She didn't directly say "test subjects".
After all, not even she herself had ever imagined that Marcus would come back home with two such cute demons.
"Ivy, Pearl. Greet her."
Marcus stepped aside.
Both of them stepped forward in unison and bowed with full respect.
"Tamayo-sama."
"My~ aren't the two of you adorable~"
Tamayo got up and gently stroked their heads. Then, she shot a glance loaded with questions toward Marcus, who was still standing behind them.
'You really intend to use these two for the experiments?'
Marcus nodded and gave her a broad outline of the situation of the two of them.
And when she found out that they had practically been forced to live on Mount Natagumo, with no other options...
Her gaze softened even more.
Memories from many years ago came back to her.
Back then, she was in exactly the same place. Held captive by Muzan. Unable to escape. Unable to hide. Surviving day by day like a bird locked in a golden cage.
"Don't be afraid. Here, no one is going to mistreat you."
Ivy lifted her gaze, her eyes a little red.
Pearl pressed her lips together tightly and nodded her head.
Neither of them was expecting to be spared from the experiments. Marcus had already made that perfectly clear from the start.
The only thing they were asking for was not to be mistreated during the process.
Just that simple… Just that little.
Meanwhile, Marcus pulled a small vial from his clothes.
Inside was a liquid of a dark red that, under the light, gave off a strange shimmer.
"Blood of the Fifth Waning Moon," he said as he set it down on the table. "I want to use it to strengthen them. Can it be done?"
Tamayo took the vial and held it up to the light to examine it.
"So that's why you asked me to prepare those two filters back then..."
Pressing her lips into a smile, she lifted her eyes to look at him… and in a single instant she quickly looked away again.
At that fleeting glance, a tingle ran through Marcus.
"Ahem... So it can be done?"
"... Yes. It can."
With her cheeks slightly flushed, Tamayo set the vial back down on the table.
"I'll completely eliminate the part of the blood that's tied to Muzan's curse, and then I'll dilute it."
"Considering the level of adaptation those two already have to the Blood of the Fifth Waning Moon, if we take a little more time for a slow and controlled fusion, there's no risk of their bodies not being able to handle it."
She looked at Ivy and Pearl.
"And, while we're at it, I'll take advantage of this window to modify their bodies and sever the bond that still ties them to Muzan."
"How long will it take?"
"Three days."
'That fast?' Marcus raised his eyebrows, surprised.
Noticing his puzzlement, Tamayo explained.
"The Blue Spider Lily you brought me had been dried out for too long, and that caused it to lose a good portion of its pharmacological activity. Which, at first, caused me quite a few complications with the new experiments…"
"But, precisely thanks to that, my previous research took an enormous leap forward. Modifying Yushiro took me a tremendous amount of time back in the day. Now, on the other hand..."
The corners of her lips curved with a certain pride.
"To modify them and leave them just like us, three days is more than enough."
"You mean…" Marcus's eyes lit up. "The next experiments are going to be even faster?"
"That's right. With this experience under my belt, next time will be much simpler."
Pleased, Marcus stepped forward and placed his hand on Tamayo's shoulder.
"As soon as we get the funding from Kagaya, we'll be able to upgrade all the laboratory equipment. And the experiments are going to flow more and more smoothly!"
"And then…"
He leaned a little closer to her ear and lowered his voice, "We'll go together to Tanjiro's hometown to gather a few more flowers."
Tamayo was stunned, "It's already flowering season?"
"That's right. In half a month they'll be in bloom. This time we can't let them pass us by... because if we miss them, we'll have to wait another whole year."
Tamayo's expression turned serious.
"Then I have to have everything perfectly prepared by then."
"Don't get so tense."
Marcus shook his head.
"We're going to have money soon. When we do, the first thing we'll do is buy the most advanced preservation equipment out there. Anyway, there's no need for us to finish the entire experiment in the two or three days that the bloom lasts. Just securing the quality of the flowers is enough for us."
"And, while we're at it, we'll grab some seeds, so you can try to grow them yourself here. We'll have plenty of money to spare, so the laboratory can be as big as you damn well want. And the experimental field too, plan it however you like."
Tamayo lifted her gaze to look at him, with a glint of teasing peeking through in her eyes.
"Right now you sound like a nouveau riche."
Marcus laughed.
"You don't get it. As rich as a nouveau riche may be, what he spends is still his own, so it stings him more or less. Our case is completely different. We're spending someone else's money. And that feeling is nothing like it."
He puffed out his chest with pride.
"From now on, you just pick the best and most expensive equipment you can find. If the money doesn't stretch, I'll go ask for more. The one thing the Ubuyashiki family has in surplus is precisely money."
"Fufu..."
Seeing that smug pose, Tamayo couldn't hold back a small laugh.
"All right~ whatever you say~"
"Shall we get started, then?"
"Let's get started."
Tamayo nodded. And, right after, she gave him a soft little nudge on the shoulder.
"You don't have anything left to do here. You've been very busy these last two days, so go get some rest."
But Marcus, with a mischievous smile, slid his hand down, grabbed one of Tamayo's ass cheeks, and gave it a soft squeeze.
"If I'm bothering you that much, just say so directly, huh?"
Tamayo's face flushed red all at once, and she swatted his hand away with a slap.
Marcus chuckled under his breath and turned around toward the door.
But, just as he was getting there...
"Wait."
Tamayo called out to him.
Marcus pivoted on his heels.
Tamayo had turned her face off to one side, "In the closet... I left some clothes ready for you. Remember to change."
Marcus stayed silent for an instant and then smiled at her.
"You even know my size already?"
"Stop being so shameless!"
….
Back in his room, Marcus opened the closet.
Inside there were several articles of clothing folded with care.
It was good quality clothing, in muted colors, and at a glance you could tell that Tamayo had picked them out one by one.
On the inside of each cuff, what's more, the character "白" had been embroidered in elegant calligraphy.
'Seems like in this era it's also customary to embroider distinguishing marks on clothes…'
Without giving the matter any more thought, he grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bath.
After a good hot bath and putting on clean clothes, he felt like a new man.
Though, at the same time, drowsiness began to come crashing down on him all at once.
Inside the room, Nezuko was already asleep, sprawled out in the middle of the bed.
When Marcus slipped under the sheets, the little one sniffed the air in her sleep and, without opening her eyes, crawled over to him.
She curled her tiny body up between his arms and kept on sleeping even more peacefully than before.
Marcus closed his eyes.
He was tired... so tired.
These last two days had left him absolutely wrecked.
From here to Mount Natagumo, and then to Headquarters. More than a day of travel back and forth. Fighting for more than half a day. And, on top of all that, negotiations, meetings, without a single moment to sit down and catch his breath.
He felt even more wiped out than after training sessions with the Old Man.
Breathing in the sweet aroma that Nezuko gave off, he fell asleep in a matter of seconds.
He slept deeply.
….
When he woke up, the clock on the wall didn't seem to have moved a single millimeter.
It was still just a little past five in the morning.
Conclusion: he had slept at least a full day straight through.
Sitting up, he stretched his arms lazily, and noticed that Nezuko, at some point during the night, had rolled all the way to a corner of the bed.
She was curled up on top of his legs, sleeping like a kitten balled up into a little knot.
And suddenly, from the room next door, the unmistakable rustle of fabric sliding against skin reached his ears.
It was Tamayo.
She had just come back from the laboratory.
Listening to that sound, he remembered yesterday.
He remembered the warmth of Tamayo's body in his arms. He remembered that intoxicating fragrance. He remembered her clouded eyes, her parted lips...
With extreme care, he started easing his legs out of Nezuko's hold, trying not to wake her.
He got up, opened the door, and walked straight to Tamayo's room… And, without even bothering to knock, he flung the door wide open.
__________
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