Kochou Shinobu's clothing was quite conservative; she wore a high-collared Corps uniform, with beads of sweat faintly sliding down.
From his position pinned to the ground, Kiyokawa Izumi could see her snowy-white neck appearing and disappearing from view at this angle.
He could smell a faint fragrance coming from the young girl.
"Mr. Kiyokawa Izumi, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Actually, asymmetry is also a kind of aesthetic beauty."
After a long while, Kiyokawa Izumi finally squeezed out this sentence, "Like this, it also looks quite good."
Blue veins faintly throbbed on her fair forehead; such praise was unable to soothe her petty mood.
"Mr. Kiyokawa Izumi, you probably haven't been liked by a girl before, have you? Speaking like that will make people hate you."
"Oh my, I'm so sorry, should I not have been so direct?"
The young girl added a black-bellied finishing blow.
In contrast, Kiyokawa Izumi curled his lips dismissively—you've got to be kidding, you're the one who's never been liked by a girl.
As early as kindergarten, there were already little girls saying they wanted to marry him when they grew up.
Setting aside whether it was just playing house, although his romantic experience wasn't abundant, it wasn't non-existent either.
By comparison, you're the one who's a blank sheet of paper, right?
"So, does that mean your romantic experience is very rich? Being so popular among the male Team Members, you should know what kissing feels like, right?"
"Then, could you tell me, a poor soul who isn't popular with girls, about it in detail?"
"Hey, taking a walk hand-in-hand with a loved one in the evening must be wonderful too, right?"
Kiyokawa Izumi raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, unwilling to show weakness.
A mature adult like you must have had quite a few experiences, right?
Why aren't you saying anything?
Is it because you don't like to talk?
My, my, I'm being so direct, you wouldn't hit me, would you?
Hearing these words, the smile on Kochou Shinobu's face could no longer be maintained, and the blue veins throbbing on her forehead became increasingly obvious.
It seemed like he was asking, but in reality, it was full of mockery.
"So, you're saying you're very experienced?"
"I'm definitely more experienced than a certain Hashira. Hey, don't misunderstand, I'm not talking about you... maybe it's Lord Water Hashira?"
Kiyokawa Izumi's eyes had returned to normal. Meeting those eyes that were like purple gems, his smile didn't fade as he continued to provoke her point-blank.
Then—
"Don't hit the face!"
"Ah! I really didn't mean to mock you!"
"I was talking about Lord Water Hashira! Don't take it personally!"
"A girl as beautiful and cute as you must be very popular in the Demon Slayer Corps... why are you still hitting me?"
"Help! The Insect Hashira is abusing an injured person! Aoi, save me!"
...Kiyokawa Izumi clutched his slightly blackened eye socket, feeling that a certain someone was a bit of a sore loser—why was she so gentle with Tanjirou but so cruel to him?
It was just some honest truth, was it really necessary to resort to violence?
An honest man like him was always bullied by black-bellied bad women.
"You really have a big mouth. Here, a towel!"
Kanzaki Aoi, who had been watching from not far away, finally walked over holding a towel and spoke irritably.
She simply felt that Kiyokawa Izumi got exactly what he deserved!
He really dared to say anything.
"Sigh, I was just telling the truth... You were just watching from the side? You didn't even come to save me?"
?
Kanzaki Aoi kept a cold face, wearing an expression that asked if she looked like she was close to him.
After hesitating for a moment, unable to contain her curiosity, she still asked, "Your Breathing Technique?"
"I created it myself; I call it Dark Breathing."
Kiyokawa Izumi answered casually, "It's more suitable for the night than the day."
"Is it derived from Water Breathing?"
Kiyokawa Izumi thought for a moment and shook his head, "Not entirely. It has the influence of Water Breathing, and also..."
He didn't finish his sentence—it also had the influence of Sun Breathing.
But there was no need to tell her that.
She didn't come to save him in his moment of need, so fine, he wouldn't tell her!
"Also what?"
"Eat, let's eat!"
Kiyokawa Izumi picked up his nichirin blade, brushed the dust off his body, and just as he was about to eat, a certain culprit landed on his shoulder.
"You still dare to show up? I think you were just waiting for me to be beaten to death! Tell me, who taught you to say that? Is someone trying to frame me?"
The Kasugai Crow tilted its head and looked at him with an expression that said it didn't understand what he was talking about.
Too lazy to argue with this little bastard, Kiyokawa Izumi dusted off his pants and left.
"Older Sister Aoi, do you know where the Flame Hashira's house is?"
?
Kanzaki Aoi's mouth twitched slightly, realizing this bastard was very pragmatic; when he needed her, it was 'Aoi' or 'Older Sister Aoi.'
When he didn't, he wouldn't even bother to answer a question!
"What do you want to do? Don't do anything reckless!"
"Why so guarded? I just want to pay a visit and consult on some questions regarding Flame Breathing."
Kiyokawa Izumi indeed had no intention of doing anything reckless.
If he was lucky enough to meet him, he definitely wanted to challenge the Flame Hashira—Big Brother has a good temper too, so it's possible he would accept.
As for the consultation, that wasn't a lie either.
The Breathing Technique he created wasn't perfect yet, and he wanted to reference Flame Breathing and Thunder Breathing.
Looking at the deep-in-thought Kiyokawa Izumi, Kanzaki Aoi hesitated slightly and then just shook her head.
It wasn't that she didn't believe him, it was just that she didn't really know where the Flame Hashira's house was either.
Probably only Lady Kochou Shinobu would know.
Having just been beaten up, would you dare go find her?
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