They sat side-by-side on the cool overturned metal of a giant spindle, so close that the warmth of their bodies seeped through their clothes.
Shinobu leaned against him, tilting her head and resting most of her weight on his shoulder, like an exhausted kitten who had finally found a safe place to rest.
Shinichi carefully adjusted his posture to let her lean more comfortably, his arm naturally wrapping around her shoulders.
The tension, the embarrassment, and the overwhelming joy of the last hour swirled together inside him, leaving him feeling wonderfully, terrifyingly complicated.
"So, it was Lee who turned you into a demon? Not Muzan?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Combined with what happened to Shinobu, he had a strong suspicion that they hadn't joined Muzan's side willingly.
But that was just a guess for now.
"I can't remember the details… not clearly," Shinobu's voice was soft, laced with a lingering confusion.
"I just remember the fight with Lee… it was… brutal. And then… everything was chaos. When I came to, I was already… like this." She raised a hand, looking at the dark purple lines that snaked up her pale skin.
"It felt… strange. But also powerful. And there was this… urge."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"As for how it happened, my memory is foggy. But I'm sure of one thing. I never felt that disgusting presence of Muzan."
After speaking, she shook her head and nestled closer to him.
Shinichi pondered this, then turned his head to look at her.
He met her watery violet eyes and, though he hated to ask, he knew he had to.
"Shinobu," he began hesitantly.
"After you… became a demon… have you… done anything to… humans?" His words trailed off, but a mind as sharp as hers immediately understood the unspoken question.
A cunning, playful light flashed in her eyes.
In an instant, her body began to tremble slightly. Her expression shifted to one of pure panic, and her eyes welled up with a fresh layer of mist.
"I… I didn't want to, Shinichi!" she cried, her voice choked with theatrical sobs.
"I really didn't! But… but my body… it was out of control! The desire for blood… it was too strong! It was like a thousand hands were tearing at my soul! I fought it! I really, really fought it! But… but…"
She grew more "agitated" as she spoke, her tears threatening to spill over.
She clutched his shirt with both hands like it was her only lifeline, her body shaking like a leaf in an autumn wind.
"I really don't want to hurt anyone, Shinichi!" She lifted her tear-streaked face to his, her expression one of desperate helplessness.
It was a look that could shatter a man's heart.
"But that impulse… I… I think I… I couldn't control it… I ate… I ate someone…"
'What!? Eat someone!?' Shinichi's eyes went wide.
A chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, and his mind went completely blank.
Looking at Shinobu's devastated, hopeless expression, he was instantly overwhelmed by a huge, crushing heartache.
"Shinobu!" He instinctively pulled her into a bone-crushingly tight hug, his arms a steel cage, as if he could physically shield her from all the pain and self-blame.
"Stop talking! It's okay! I believe you! No matter what, I believe you! It's not your fault! I should have protected you! Lady Tamayo is working on a cure! You'll get better! You will! I…"
He stumbled over his words, his mind racing incoherently.
He tried to think of comforting things to say, of a future where this could be fixed.
He even began to imagine how he would face the Demon Slayer Corps, how he would plead with them to accept not one, but two demonized Hashira.
But just as he was spiraling into a panic, holding the "trembling" Shinobu tightly in his arms, he noticed the shuddering in her body change.
It was no longer the racking sobs of a breakdown, but… a strange, tiny, and very suppressed tremor.
Shinobu continued her tragic tale.
"I couldn't stop myself. I ate… I ate all those other demons. It was like an instinct. I really didn't want to, Shinichi. Will you… will you dislike me for this?"
"No, of course not! Even if you ate… ate? Wait." Shinichi, who was halfway through a comforting platitude, suddenly froze.
He felt like he had just heard a record scratch in his brain.
'What did she just say she ate?'
He slowly lowered his head and met a pair of sparkling violet eyes, now filled with a sly, triumphant smile, without a single tear in sight.
"Pfft… haha… hahahaha!"
Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer.
A clear, sweet laugh like a silver bell burst from her lips.
She pulled her head back from his chest, not a trace of panic on her face, only the dazzling, victorious smile of a successful prankster.
"You stupid blockhead," she giggled, poking his cheek.
"Your expression right now… haha, it's just too cute."
Shinichi just stared, his own face a mixture of confusion, dullness, and dawning suspicion.
"Did you really think I would eat people?" she teased, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly. Who do you think I am? I'm the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho! Even if I become a demon, I'm a demon with principles." She held up her hand, shaking the fingers with the strange purple lines.
A wisp of deep purple mist lingered on her claws.
"To be precise, it's not really 'eating' them," she explained. "When I poison other demons, my body can absorb energy from their dissolving blood. It replenishes my strength. So," she leaned in, her smile turning sinister, "if you really dare to look down on me for that, hehe…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but the sudden thickening of the poison mist at her fingertips made it clear that the consequences would be severe.
"You… you…" Shinichi was both furious and utterly relieved, and for a moment, he couldn't find a single word to describe the impossible girl in his arms.
"Aaaahhhhrrr…"
Behind them, Maru-ni who had been lying on the ground watching the whole drama unfold, let out a loud, bored yawn, his dark eyes rolling up to show the whites.
'Hmph, Just two overly dramatic humans.'