Chapter 48

I woke up to find Eri quietly eating some food. 'How long was I out?' She noticed I was awake, she stood up and shyly walked over. "You missed lunch." she said softly. "The lady from before left some food."

I followed her gaze and spotted the meal she pointed to. "Alright, thanks Eri. How about after I eat, we go for a walk? I need to get that check-up from the lady, okay?"

Eri nodded in response and I sat up to start eating. 'Wonder if Shinobu has anything that could speed up my recovery.' I mused while munching on the food alongside Eri.

After finishing and tidying up, we retraced our steps from earlier, searching for Shinobu. After a few minutes, we came across her.

"Sasaki-san, Eri-chan. It seems you're both out and about." Shinobu greeted us with a soft smile. Eri hid behind my leg, giving a small nod while I responded. "Yeah, I was looking for you to hold up my end of the deal."

She nodded and motioned for us to follow her back to the room we had been in the day before. When we entered, the only person inside was Tanjiro, lying on one of the beds. He glanced over. "Oh, hello again." He looked like he was about to get up, but Shinobu gestured for him to stay put, then turned to me.

"Sasaki-san, please sit on one of the beds. Would you like Eri-chan to stay while I examine you?"

I looked down at Eri, then glanced at Tanjiro. He seemed to understand and gave me a reassuring nod. I knelt down to speak to Eri. "Can you stay close to the young man in the bed?"

She hesitated for a moment, glancing at Tanjiro, but after a pause, she nodded and slowly walked over to him. Tanjiro simply smiled, putting her at ease.

"Sasaki-san, could you please remove your top?" Shinobu asked. I complied, sitting at the edge of the bed and taking off my upper clothes, revealing the various scars on my torso. The most noticeable, of course, was the large one on my right side.

Shinobu examined me, gently pressing on different parts of my body. "Hmm~ seems like you're still recovering from a tough fight." she noted before moving to my right side. "Could you lie down, please?"

I lay down as instructed, and her small hands lightly touched the scar. I winced in response.

"May I ask what happened?" she inquired.

'I can't exactly tell her I fought gods.' I hummed thoughtfully. "I fought a powerful opponent who landed a solid blow on my side. Then I had another fight after that when the wound was still healing. The second guy slammed a club into the same spot."

She traced the scar with delicate fingers, applying light pressure, which still made me tense up. "It's fortunate you're alive." she said seriously. "If you get hit in this area again with enough force, you'll likely die from severe internal bleeding."

'Good to know. Avoid getting hit.'

"Is there anything I can do to heal it?" I asked.

Shinobu gestured for me to turn onto my stomach. "As far as I know, no. It looks like both incidents broke your ribs and damaged your liver to the point where they were close to collapsing." She inspected more scars on my back before continuing, "The best advice I can offer is to take it easy, no difficult fights for a while."

I hummed in acknowledgment.

"I mean for at least two to five years, Sasaki-san."

That made me tense. 'That might be a problem. Maybe Muramasa can heal it, but I'd rather not rely on that until I know how much lifespan I have left.'

Once Shinobu finished the examination, she drew some of my blood. "I'll have this tested, it won't take long." she said, giving a small smile before heading for the door. "In the meantime try to relax, you don't need to worry about Eri-chan."

I turned to see Eri curled up and asleep next to Tanjiro, who was gazing at her with a fond look, almost as if he were remembering something.

I gave a quiet cough to get his attention. Startled, he looked up at me. I sat back, leaning against the headboard of the bed. "Seems like she's taken a liking to you. You good with kids?"

He laughed awkwardly. "I was an older brother to five siblings."

I nodded. "It's good that she's comfortable around you. It means she's getting better."

Tanjiro frowned. "Can I ask why she's so nervous and shy?"

I hesitated for a moment, thinking about how much to reveal. 'If I tell him, maybe I can learn something that'll help me take care of her better.' So I explained Eri's situation, leaving out certain details. Like quirks, other worlds, and specific names. "I rescued her by slicing the guy in half." When I finished, Tanjiro was wide-eyed, staring at Eri. He shuffled closer to her protectively. "Thank you." he said softly.

I raised an eyebrow, and he explained. "Thank you for saving her and giving her a chance at a better life."

We stayed in silence for a bit until we started hearing noise. Zenitsu and Inosuke suddenly barged in, their loud entrance waking Eri. I noticed her horn beginning to grow as she grew more nervous and scared. 'Right, I almost forgot about her quirk.' While the others were distracted, I quickly went over to her and Tanjiro. He noticed me approaching and realized something was wrong with Eri. She reached out for me, and I picked her up sitting back on a bed next to Tanjiro with her in my lap.

"Could you quiet down? There's a child here you two,. Tanjiro calmly spoke.

Zenitsu and Inosuke finally looked over at us. Inosuke froze when his gaze met mine, raising my eyebrow in response. Zenitsu however, noticed Eri and looked like he was about to do something stupid. Before anything could happen, Shinobu entered drawing everyone's attention.

"I thought I told you to be quiet?" she said, her voice sharp. Both Zenitsu and Inosuke immediately ran to their beds and laid down without another word.

Shinobu then turned to me. "Sasaki-san, you should return to your room now." I nodded, standing up with Eri still in my arms. As I was about to leave, Tanjiro spoke up.

"Do you think we could talk later, Sasaki-san?"

I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Sure, I'll bring Eri along if that's okay?"

He gave a nod and I walked out, heading outside instead of back to the room. I gently set Eri down, and she began walking beside me.

"I said we'd take a walk outside. Do you want to join me?" I asked softly.

She shyly nodded and grabbed a part of my clothing, holding on as we walked.

"They call this place the Butterfly Mansion, so maybe we'll see some butterflies. You can try and chase them." I said, trying to lift her spirits.

She nodded again, this time with a bit more enthusiasm, and I smiled at the small progress. 'Small steps, Ryou.' I reminded myself.