By now, he had fully regained consciousness. The very moment he woke, he realized he was nearly naked. His entire body was uncovered, save for a patch of faded, white cloth draped over his lower abdomen.
He had no idea how he had returned here. His last memory was seeing Ume lunging toward him after he had been poisoned. When he finally opened his eyes again, he was lying on her thin bedding.
Izumi Kiyokazu vaguely recalled a soft, moist sensation pressing against his skin while he was drifting in and out of consciousness. Now that he was awake, he discovered several "hickey-like" marks scattered across his body, looking as though they had been sucked.
Given that he had been poisoned, it took only a split second for Kiyokazu to piece together what had happened. But right now, he was less concerned with whether the toxins were fully purged and far more worried about who had sucked them out!
There were marks even on his inner thighs!
He ruled out Gyutaro immediately; the guy was still unconscious. Moreover, during their previous conversation, he had noticed sores in Gyutaro's mouth. If the poison had entered the bloodstream through those wounds, it would have been a death sentence. Even with the limited knowledge of people in this era, basic common sense like that was understood.
That meant... the person who had sucked out the poison was either the "Rengoku Kyojuro look-alike" from the Demon Slayer Corps, or Ume.
The thought of that mark on his inner thigh—paired with the image of that sunny, thick-browed, muscular Rengoku swordsman—made Kiyokazu's entire body shudder uncontrollably.
Please, please let it not be him!
I'd rather just be dead!
Of course, he was only ranting in his head. If a member of the Rengoku family truly had saved him, he would feel nothing but gratitude—mixed with a heavy dose of awkwardness.
However, when he caught sight of Ume huddled beside him, nodding off in small bouts of sleep, Kiyokazu's expression softened instantly.
Since transmigrating into this world, his life had been nothing short of miserable. Because of the "Check-in" locations assigned by the system, he had spent almost all his time on the road. Japan in 1788 was, frankly, little different from an uncultivated wilderness.
Moreover, perhaps due to the existence of demons, the animals in this world were different from those he remembered from his previous life. They were craftier, stronger, and more ferocious. On his journey, Kiyokazu had nearly died several times in the jaws of beasts. If not for sheer luck, he wouldn't have even made it to Yoshiwara.
He had sustained numerous injuries while evading those predators. The heat, combined with his festering wounds, had caused him to collapse. Even though he had obtained the Sun Breathing technique by then, if he had remained unconscious under the scorching sun, he would have died in no time.
It was Ume who had brought him into this shaded shack and placed a wet towel on his head. It was no exaggeration to say that without her, he would be dead.
He carefully compared the size of the marks on his body. Judging by the size of a Rengoku's mouth, it likely wasn't him. Otherwise, they wouldn't be "strawberry marks," they'd be "apple marks."
Glancing at Ume's currently parched lips, he suddenly remembered the warm, moist sensation from his hazy stupor. She had saved him again. Counting the first time, this was the second time he owed her his life.
Kiyokazu's gaze lingered on her. Ume was clearly exhausted; she was slumped by the bedding, drifting in and out of sleep like a student trying desperately to stay awake during a lecture. He knew why she didn't dare fall into a deep sleep—she was likely terrified of lurking danger, or worried that his condition might take a turn for the worse while she wasn't watching.
Ume's long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes. Her beautiful, delicate face was currently a bit of a mess—dried tear tracks, dirt, sweat, and red bumps from mosquito bites. Even her once-rosy lips were dry and peeling, a lingering consequence of sucking the poison from his body.
Looking at this girl, who was so starkly different from her tragic fate in the original story, Kiyokazu felt as though something had gently nudged his heart. Gratitude, a pang of heartache, and an indescribable fluttering of emotion intertwined.
He instinctively wanted to reach out and brush a stray lock of hair from her forehead, but he feared waking her. His fingers twitched slightly, and in the end, he simply gripped the bedding beneath him, gently pulling the covers over her.
Since he had come to this world, he had to do something. At the very least, he would rewrite the destiny of this pair of siblings who had saved him. Doing so would undoubtedly derail the plot, but so what? If he spent his life worrying about this and that, wouldn't his journey through this world be utterly dull?
Besides, as he watched the sleeping Ume, Kiyokazu knew the truth in his heart. If he hadn't appeared today—if Ume hadn't gone to save him and had let him die—the original plot would have likely unfolded: Ume kidnapped by thugs, and Gyutaro beaten to the brink of death while trying to rescue her. If Gyutaro wanted to survive, what was the only thing a ten-year-old girl like Ume could do to save them?
The answer was self-evident.
Thinking of these stifling possibilities, Kiyokazu let out a soft breath. He looked at Ume again, his brown eyes reflecting her beautiful silver hair.
As if sensing his gaze, Ume slowly stirred and woke up. Her beautiful azure eyes were still clouded with sleep, but the moment they met Kiyokazu's, they widened instantly, and all traces of drowsiness vanished.
"You... you're awake?!"
Ume's voice was raspy from sleep, carrying a hint of joy she couldn't hide. She sat up abruptly, causing her tattered clothes to slip down slightly, though she was too focused on him to notice. "How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Does the wound still hurt? The poison... I already helped you..."
As she mentioned the poison, Ume suddenly froze. In an instant, several incredibly embarrassing images flashed through her mind. She dropped her head immediately, her face flushing a crimson so deep it looked as if it might bleed.
Seeing her like this, Kiyokazu's mood lightened considerably. He gave a soft laugh and said, "I'm okay now. I feel much better. Thank you, Ume."
As he spoke, his gaze instinctively drifted toward her lips.
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Demon Slayer: Starting by Snatching Daki(83 Chapter- Ongoing)
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