"Kochou-san!" Your mother's hazel eyes lit up when she spotted the purple-haired girl standing in the doorway. Placing down a bucket of freshly picked lemongrass, you followed your mother.
"I haven't seen you in a while," your mother noted. "What brings you here at the store today?"
Shinobu waved a sheet around. "I'm here to place some orders, of course," she beamed.
Your mother gestured her to come in. Pushing her reading glasses up her nose bridge, she took Shinobu's paper. "Red ginseng, chrysanthemum leaves, wisteria flowers," your mother read. She scanned the rest of the long list. "Y/N, I think you can help Kochou-san today."
You nodded as your mother handed the sheet to you.
"There's a lot of customers outside looking to buy something." Your mother started heading to the storefront. "I will see if there is anything I can help them with."
Once she left, you approached the shelves of herbs that lined the shop's walls. "What are these herbs for, Shinobu-san?" you asked as you threw a handful of willow bark into a bamboo basket.
"Poison. I use it to kill demons."
You raised an eyebrow. Most people visiting your store look for ingredients to brew traditional Japanese medicine, not for demon-killing venom.
She smiled. "I am a student in the pharmaceutical sciences. Being a demon slayer isn't just about swinging a sword, you know."
"I see."
Suddenly, Shinobu scrunched up her nose. "Wait, this smell." She took another sniff of the air.
"Shinobu-san, are you okay?" You glanced at the basket in your hands. "Oh, the eucalyptus leaves have a very strong smell, don't they? Well, if you want, I can..."
"Y/N-chan," she interrupted. "Has there been anything weird going on recently?"
Your eyes fluttered at the question. "Something weird?"
"You know, people disappearing? People getting hurt? People becoming strange?"
"No, why?" You threw a large batch of wisteria flowers into the basket.
"You smell a little different." The smile on Shinobu's face had faltered and the cheerfulness that had sparkled in her purple eyes had disappeared. "You smell like a demon."
Instinctively, you took a step back. "W-what? I'm not a demon."
"Oh!" Shinobu waved her hands in front of her. "No, no. I'm not accusing you. I'm not saying that you are the demon, sweetie! Sorry if there was a misunderstanding," she reassured with a returned grin.
You raised an eyebrow. "Then why do I smell like a demon?"
Similarly confused, Shinobu placed a finger on her chin. "I think you have been near one recently."
"Me? Near a demon?"
She hummed in agreement.
As you recalled your recent encounters with others, there was no one who you could suspect would be a demon. Your mother, your housemaids, your husband... There was no way that any of them could possibly be one of those man-eating monsters.
"Are you sure?" You cautiously looked around. Thankfully, your mother was busy outside talking to a customer and no one else was in the store. "Giyuu came by to visit me the other night," you said with a lowered voice. "He didn't say anything about any demon near me."
"Oh, that Water Pillar." Shinobu placed her hand on her mouth as she giggled. "Tomioka-san was only recently promoted to Hashira, so I doubt that has gone through enough training to detect such a faint scent. But, it's there."
You tried taking a whiff of yourself, thinking that you could detect the scent, too.
Shinobu smiled. "I would just be careful if I were you. You're lucky that you are alive. Most regular demons eat whatever humans they find." She tilted her head to the side. "Whatever this demon is doing, it's holding off eating you and it is really trying to hide its scent."
You nervously bit your bottom lip. "What does it want?"
She shrugged. "Even I am not sure, but it may be watching you."
You turned your head in different directions. "Watching me?" There was nothing interesting about you. You were an eighteen-year-old girl-turned-wife that ran an herb shop with your mother.
"Keep these on you." Shinobu plucked a few wisteria flowers from the basket and stuffed it into your kimono pocket. "When Tomioka-san finishes his current mission, I will tell him drop by and keep an eye on you," she added.
Your heart skipped a beat after hearing the familiar name. "N-no, he should be focused on his missions. They are so important to him."
"You are even more important to him." Shinobu reached into her uniform and handed an assortment of coins to you. "The last thing Tomioka-san would want is for you to get hurt."
"But Shinobu-san..."
"Ah." She silenced you by placing a finger in front of your lips. "Hey, it's our job. We're demon slayers after all."
You quietly exchanged the money for the herb-filled container.
"Well." Shinobu happily received the basket and started heading out of the store. "Thank you so much for your help today. You did such a good job! Let me know if you need anything, honey."
The door chimes rang as the girl left.
You sighed, slumping into a nearby seat. What would a demon want from me?
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THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT! <3 I read all your comments even though I don't always have time to reply.
By the way, I finished the Demon Slayer manga a long time ago!!! Anyone else did/doing the same?
