Demon Slayer: Breath of Desire

Obanai stayed rooted in place, his body trembling uncontrollably.

His lips parted in complete silence.

Something in his mind seemed to snap beneath a constant ringing.

On the mountain path, Mitsuri tugged at Marcus’s clothes, her face flushed and buried against his chest.

She was curled up completely in his arms, like an ostrich burying its head. That image, projected before Obanai’s eyes, was the equivalent of a knife to the heart—with the blade twisted for good measure.

Why?

Why was Marcus with Mitsuri? Why had they gone to bathe in the hot springs together?

He himself had guarded the foot of the mountain all morning, blocking the way for any visitors...

Wait a second!

Could it have been that gust of wind?

He remembered an unusual breeze passing by him, so fast that it had seemed like an illusion. But even if it had been Marcus, there was no way he should have failed to catch even a trace of his scent.

What he didn’t know was that Marcus was the cautious type who, out of his sheer fear of death, had perfected his Breath-concealment ability from day one.

With his forest camouflage technique and a minimum of attention, he could completely suppress both his scent and any disturbance in the wind.

There were far more urgent matters, however.

The truly decisive question was obvious: why was Mitsuri in his arms like that, and in different clothes!?

What the hell had happened between the two of them up there!?

Obanai’s hands began to shake.

He had kept watch all morning to keep intruders out, to protect her from prying eyes while she wore nothing but a towel, to drive off anyone with bad intentions.

He himself had held back the entire time, forcing himself to stay far away from the water!

And Marcus?

He’d simply walked up, taken off his clothes, gotten into the hot spring, and now he was coming down carrying Mitsuri.

Everything that had happened in that span of time was a mystery to him.

All he knew for certain was that Mitsuri was allowing it!

At that very moment, Mitsuri was voicing her embarrassment in a pitifully small voice.

"Marcus-kun... I can actually walk on my own. My legs are just a little weak."

"How can you say that?" Marcus looked down at her with a tone of complete matter-of-factness. "The state you’re in right now is my fault. I’m obligated to take responsibility."

Mitsuri’s voice dropped even lower. "It’s not necessary... M-Marcus-kun, you really don’t have to do this..."

"That’s for me alone to decide."

Marcus shook his head and raised his eyebrows provocatively in Obanai’s direction.

"After all, you fainted in my arms while we were taking a bath, so I have to take responsibility for your safety."

In his arms?

Taking a bath?

Fainted?

A grinding of teeth echoed in Obanai’s mouth, threatening to break his own jaw.

He held the firm conviction that Mitsuri was a modest girl. And yet... his mind was flying off in the worst possible direction.

He burst out from the shade of the tree, his voice gone completely hoarse.

"MARCUS! Damn you! What did you do to Mitsuri!? Put her down, now!"

The sudden roar of rage startled Mitsuri. She turned her head, looking at Obanai in bewilderment after he leapt out from the edge of the path.

"Iguro-san? What are you doing here? Didn’t you promise you weren’t coming?"

Obanai opened his mouth—and suddenly got stuck.

He had no excuses...

Confessing that he’d secretly followed her and stood guard at the foot of the mountain all morning would make him look exactly like a pervert.

Marcus cut in. "Iguro-san was helping keep watch at the foot of the mountain so nothing would interrupt our little world for two."

Mitsuri, mortified, gave him a soft smack. "W-What... what do you mean, world for two...?"

Marcus let out a low chuckle, and just before he could answer, he felt a light tug on his hair.

Nezuko was perched on his shoulders, dressed in a small-sized yukata. With a sulky expression, she tugged at his hair.

Marcus grimaced and quickly corrected himself. "My mistake—it’s a world for three. With our adorable Nezuko included!"

She was very easy to please. One nice word was enough to dispel her irritation and make her laugh.

"I said...!" Obanai’s voice seeped out through his teeth, his face darkening. He took a step forward, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Put Mitsuri down! Did you not hear me?!"

Seeing the tension, Mitsuri panicked.

She was completely baffled by Obanai’s behavior. Remembering the rule about avoiding infighting among Corps members, she started squirming, trying to get down to the ground and stop the confrontation.

Marcus felt her attempts to free herself. He glanced down at her for an instant, then lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at Obanai.

Then, with an imperceptible movement, he adjusted his arms to press her even tighter against him.

Mitsuri’s flushed face ended up pressed directly against his neck.

Feeling the brush of her burning cheeks against his skin, Mitsuri went completely still.

Obanai was equally stunned.

How dare he act so shamelessly with Mitsuri!? And why was she allowing it!?

Then he suddenly recognized the nature of that paralysis. It was pure shyness. She had gone stiff out of sheer embarrassment!

Marcus softened his tone of voice, speaking to the girl in his arms the way one would to a small child.

"Actually, Mitsuri, you should thank Iguro-san profusely. Thanks to him keeping watch, we avoided a huge problem a little while ago."

Hearing those words, Obanai instinctively straightened his back. He craved Mitsuri’s recognition for everything he’d silently done, hoping for her understanding.

But Mitsuri kept her eyes averted. Utterly mortified, she hurriedly reached up to cover Marcus’s mouth, trying to silence him.

Marcus went on anyway. Even with Mitsuri’s hand over his mouth, he held his gaze on Obanai with an expression of total smugness, speaking through her fingers.

"Think about it, Mitsuri. Thanks to Iguro-san keeping watch at the foot of the mountain, we had privacy when you fainted and I was forced to take off your towel, dry off your body, and change your clothes... Imagine the disaster if a stranger had witnessed that."

Those words came down on Obanai’s head like a bolt of lightning.

Take off her towel...? Dry off her body...? Change her clothes...?

He froze where he stood. He lifted his head, revealing a pair of lifeless eyes.

"All of that... is it true, Mitsuri?"

At this point, Mitsuri couldn’t have cared less about Obanai.

Her embarrassment was so overwhelming that all she wanted was to disappear.

But hearing the question, she answered on reflex. "Marcus-kun thought the hot spring had made me dizzy, so he decided to get me out of the water. And he was worried the wet towel would give me a cold, so... so..."

She couldn’t go on, so she quickly shot Marcus a reproachful look and hid herself away again, just like a moment before.

She buried her head against his chest, clinging to him stubbornly.

She had absolutely no idea what effect her confession was having.

Every one of her words landed like another stab wound to Obanai’s heart.

One after another, tearing him apart until there was nothing left.

It was really... it was true.

Obanai’s face had gone pale, his lips trembling. He stood there like a statue.

He was muttering something over and over, but no one could hear him anymore.

A satisfied smile bloomed across Marcus’s face.

’Serves you right, you bastard, for trashing my reputation everywhere you go.’

’I’m your punishment.’

In an excellent mood, he kept walking downhill.

As he passed the petrified Obanai, he glanced at the sword that was already half-drawn in his hand.

Unfazed, he stopped in his tracks to add:

"Snooze and you lose. If you just stand there staring at the dish because you’re scared of getting burned, then hold back the tears when someone else devours the feast."

Obanai’s body shuddered violently, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Seeing that reaction, Marcus felt even better.

The grudge over having a sword drawn on him a moment ago was now settled.

’Obanai, I forgive you.’

"Nezuko, Mitsuri, hold on tight!"

"Yes!"

"..."

Marcus picked up the pace and shot off like a bolt of lightning toward the inn he’d spotted on his way in.

Not because he was afraid Obanai might suddenly attack.

Mainly, it was time to seize the opportunity and feed the shy little glutton he was carrying in his arms.

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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎

And don’t forget to comment, I wanna know if you liked the Chapter 👀

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And if PS aren’t your thing but you still want more Chapters...

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