The situation had reached a critical breaking point. There was no more time to hesitate.
As things spiraled out of control, Horitake's mind raced, cursed the demon with every fiber of his being. He blamed his own momentary lapse in judgment—if he hadn't let his guard down, how could things have ever come to this? How could it have escalated so far?
Lest it be forgotten, Shinobu wasn't the only one hit by that pink toxic mist; Horitake had also inhaled a fair amount of the haze.
Though Horitake had managed to suppress the effects earlier and regain his rationality, Shinobu's own reason had long since evaporated. Worse yet, her presence and her touch were acting as a constant catalyst, chipping away at his self-control.
With mutual feelings already serving as their foundation, coupled with the insidious effects of the pink mist, what followed was as inevitable as water flowing downstream.
The only problem was the location.
They were in the middle of the desolate wilderness in the dead of winter. This was absolutely no place for what was about to happen.
We have to go back! Horitake realized. Even though there were two yuna—bathhouse attendants—sleeping in the room back at the inn, he could no longer afford to care about such details.
Deciding in an instant, Horitake swept Shinobu into a bridal carry.
"Sister Shinobu, hold on. I'm taking you back right now!"
As he spoke, purple lightning crackled across his body. He unleashed his maximum speed, a blur of motion as he bolted toward their lodgings.
A distance of four kilometers was nothing to Horitake. In less than two minutes, he had carried Shinobu back to the inn where they were staying.
Moving like a ghost to avoid detection, he leaped over the various structures and landed silently in the inner garden. He located the window to his fifth-floor room and vaulted inside.
Because Horitake had departed in total silence and the two yuna were currently fast asleep, no one in the establishment noticed that he had gone out, slain a demon, and returned with a Hashira in his arms.
The suite they had booked for the night remained as luxurious and cozy as before.
The only remaining obstacle was the two women sleeping on the tatami mats.
A dilemma presented itself: how should he handle them? He couldn't just throw them out into the hall; that would be cruel, and if they were discovered, he'd have no way to explain the situation.
What do I do? How do I handle this?
In his eyes, these two attendants had become the largest, most inconvenient "third wheels" imaginable. Even if they were women, and even if they were sound asleep, their presence was still a glaring intrusion.
Horitake gently laid Shinobu down on the tatami and looked around, his mind frantically searching for a solution.
There's no other choice. I'll just have to make do!
Horitake hurried over to the sleeping women. Channeling a faint trace of lightning, he delivered a precise electrical shock to a specific nerve in their bodies, forcing them into a state of unnaturally deep, heavy sleep.
How deep was their slumber now? Even if a thunderclap rang out right beside their ears, they wouldn't wake up.
Next, Horitake hoisted the two women and opened the nearby oshiire—the bedding closet. He tucked them inside among the spare futons and shut the sliding doors. The thick quilts would help muffle any noise and ensure they didn't catch a cold.
With the emergency handled, he turned back.
Shinobu's condition was clearly worsening. She was weakly observing the room, trying to use her Total Concentration Breathing to alleviate the symptoms, but it was to little avail.
"So..." she whispered, her voice strained. "This is the kind of room you booked, Horitake... It's... it's actually quite nice. Very luxurious. Very... fitting."
Horitake swallowed hard. He sat down beside her and gently pulled her into his arms. He felt he had to make one final confirmation.
"Sister Shinobu, have you truly made up your mind?"
Clutching Horitake's arm, Shinobu grit her teeth, her reply filled with a mix of helplessness and heat.
"Is there... any other way? I suppose I'll just have to let you have your way with me!"
"What does that matter?" Horitake murmured. "In my heart, you've always been the woman I've chosen to be my wife. This was bound to happen sooner or later. I just didn't expect it to happen like this, under these circumstances."
He paused, his voice dropping an octave. "Forgive me, Shinobu. I'm taking advantage of your vulnerability."
"At least you're self-aware, you scoundrel..."
The scene that followed is one that cannot be described in detail; it must be left to the imagination.
What can be said is that the commotion they made was... considerable.
Fortunately, Horitake's previous "treatment" of the two attendants had worked perfectly. They remained in a deep stupor within the closet, oblivious to the world. Moreover, the suite was high-end and the construction was solid; the soundproofing of the fifth-floor rooms ensured that their activities didn't disturb the other guests.
The storm eventually subsided, and the night passed in silence.
When the morning sun rose, Horitake and Shinobu both woke up.
Facing each other once again, a sense of awkwardness was unavoidable as the memories of the previous night flooded back. But there was no turning back now. The boat had sailed; the rice was cooked.
Shinobu merely sighed, her gaze lingering on him with a trace of quiet resentment and lingering emotion.
Horitake was no blockhead. At a time like this, he knew his only job was to coax her and do whatever it took to make her happy.
As they were sharing a tender, lingering moment, they suddenly realized they had neglected something important. Without a word, they quickly dressed and sprang into action.
The first order of business was to pull the two yuna out of the closet. They couldn't leave them in there forever; oxygen might become an issue if they stayed too long.
Even as they were dragged out, the two women remained dead to the world. It seemed Horitake's electrical stimulation had been a bit too effective. However, it wasn't a problem; he estimated they would wake up naturally in another four or five hours.
He settled them back onto the tatami and tucked them in properly to keep them warm.
With that taken care of, Horitake and Shinobu's business here was finished. They pushed open the door, stepped into the fifth-floor hallway, and headed downstairs.
Horitake had initially suggested that Shinobu should rest more and let him handle the check-out process alone. However, Shinobu's personality was far too resilient for that. Combined with her elite physical conditioning, she was able to endure the lingering discomfort of her body. Refusing to act fragile, she insisted on moving with him.
And so, on the surface, Shinobu followed behind Horitake looking perfectly composed, while in reality, she was quietly bearing the physical traces of the night's events.
Horitake felt a profound sense of guilt.
When he had been on vacation in Kusatsu with Mitsuri, everything had been prepared meticulously. It had been perfect.
But with Sister Shinobu, the circumstances hadn't allowed for such grace. It had been, by necessity, a rushed and frantic affair.
Horitake made a silent vow in his heart. He would make it up to her in the future. No matter how one looked at it, he had technically taken advantage of her state, and he felt his conduct hadn't been entirely honorable.
What should have been a beautiful, cherished first time had turned out to be a bit too hurried.
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