Chapter 11: Uninvited Guest

Words : 1383 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 11 - 11: Uninvited Guest Jotaro lowered his head and walked into the house, conveniently closing the door behind him. Outside, the fierce wind had already begun to blow, and before long, a blizzard would fall. The house was small, but it could tightly shelter a whole family. Some previously unnoticeable holes and gaps that often leaked wind and rain had been completely repaired by Jotaro during this time. Outside, the cold wind was piercing, but inside, it was warm and peaceful. Tanjiro took off his boots, which were covered in snowflakes, then suddenly thought of something and said, "Right, Nezuko, if the weather is nice tomorrow, let's take Takeo and the others and go visit Grandpa Saburou together." His eyes softened, and his hands stopped moving. "Grandpa Saburou is all alone, he must be very lonely..." Hearing this, Nezuko was first stunned, then smiled brightly and said, "Okay, big brother." From not far away, Kie called out, "Jotaro-san, Tanjiro, Nezuko, if you're done tidying up, come eat." After speaking, her expression darkened. She sternly said to the children playing around her, "You lot quiet down and go wash your hands quickly!" Nezuko smiled gently, picked up the shoes that Jotaro and Tanjiro had taken off, and placed them neatly on the shoe rack by the door. As she passed by Jotaro, a faint scent drifted into her nose. A woman's sense of smell isn't necessarily keen, but when it comes to the scent of her own man or the scent of another woman, she is always extremely sensitive. She was very familiar with the scent on Jotaro's body, it was a kind of warm gentleness, like sunlight shining on a standing mountain. But the scent in her nose at that moment... This kind of scent, a woman only wants to smell it on herself, and never on a man, especially not on the man she likes. 'Where did Jotaro-san go today?' Nezuko's willow-like brows slightly furrowed, and her eyes repeatedly scanned Jotaro's body. In their village, there were some households where the young men had lost their wives. Every time those men went to town for work, they seemed to come back with this same smell. Flirtatious, blatant, indulgent, alluring... Sometimes those men would even gather together and talk about indecent topics unfit for children. Nezuko had heard some of it before. Even though she rarely went into town, she knew there were some places in town that every man wanted to go. Even if those places cost money, even if they would lead to their decline, they still willingly indulged. Thinking of this, Nezuko covered her mouth in disbelief. A blush appeared on her face. 'Jotaro-san... could he have gone to that kind of place today?' After all, Jotaro wasn't just a man, he was a man among men. In a place like that, even if he didn't want to go in, those women would drag him in. Nezuko shook her head, deciding to stop imagining things. But just at that moment, she smelled that exact same scent again, and this time, it was coming from her own hand. Nezuko's beautiful eyes widened, her long eyelashes slightly trembling. This scent absolutely didn't belong to her. She suddenly remembered, before entering the house, this hand had touched Jotaro's palm. The scent must have been passed to her hand from his. For this scent to come from his body, maybe it was just something he brushed against outside. But for it to also be on his hand... 'This... this...' An unpleasant image suddenly formed in Nezuko's mind. Her brain froze. A voice screamed in her head, 'Jotaro-san... is not that kind of person...' "Nezuko! Nezuko!" Kie had set the bowls and chopsticks on the table and called out to Nezuko, who was still standing there in a daze, several times. "What's wrong with you?" Nezuko slowly came back to her senses and shook her head. Her strength felt like it had been completely drained. She weakly responded and walked toward the dining table. Kie served food for everyone. Takeo and the others looked at the delicious food on the table with watering mouths. Once Nezuko sat down, they all began to dig in with great appetite. The meal was very lively. Jotaro sat quietly to the side, just like usual. Nezuko secretly glanced at him. For some reason, just looking at his calm and indifferent face made all those wild images in her mind vanish without a trace. 'Jotaro-san is a proper person! Probably...' "Right, big brother, just now you were holding a package, what's inside it?" Nezuko calmed her emotions and remembered the package she had taken from Tanjiro earlier. She asked him. She was indeed curious about what was inside the package, but she was more concerned with hearing from Tanjiro about Jotaro's whereabouts in town. Upon hearing this, Tanjiro's eyes gently trembled. He was silent for a moment, then put down his chopsticks and answered truthfully, "That's clothing Jotaro-san bought for everyone." "Eh?" Nezuko's face instantly bloomed with a relieved smile, brighter than spring sunshine. 'Jotaro-san really is different from those people. He went to do something proper.' The other children all revealed joyful expressions and chattered excitedly, imagining what the new clothes would look like, full of anticipation. Unlike the excited children, Kie felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Jotaro-san, this is too extravagant. You've already helped us so much, buying clothes for us... we really feel bad." Jotaro calmly said, "No need to mind it. I don't like owing others things." Kie was stunned. The meaning behind those words sounded like... Tanjiro's voice trembled slightly, "Jotaro-san... is leaving tomorrow..." Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the Kamado household immediately turned heavy. The joyful family fell silent in an instant. "I knew it..." Kie muttered quietly. Jotaro's words earlier had given her this feeling. Everyone unconsciously lowered their heads. The chopsticks in their hands felt exceptionally heavy. "Yare yare daze..." The sound of liquid dripping onto the table echoed in their ears, so clear, so sharp. Hearts seemed worn and weary. This was a scene Jotaro wasn't good at handling, so his face remained as calm as still water, not showing even a trace of excess emotion. But sometimes, having no expression is the richest expression. Jotaro's mood, perhaps, was the same as everyone else's. Kie understood the sadness and reluctance in the children's hearts. She said some comforting words. The meal continued, but the atmosphere remained heavy. To this, Kie could only sigh softly. "Jotaro-san. Eat more deer meat, I made it all myself." At some point, Nezuko had lifted her face, picked up a piece of meat, and placed it into Jotaro's bowl. The gloom on her face vanished completely, as if she had never been sad at all. Her lively and cute smile was just like usual. But her slightly reddened eyes, and the faint trembling of her hand while picking food, they betrayed her heart. Perhaps she wanted to leave the best impression of herself in Jotaro's memory. Dinner began in laughter and ended in silence. After the meal, Kie cleaned up the leftovers and washed the dishes while urging the children to wash up and go to bed. Jotaro leaned alone against the wall, no one knew what he was thinking. Normally, after dinner, he would go outside to smoke a cigarette, but tonight, he didn't. Was it the howling wind and the growing blizzard outside that prevented him? Or did he simply not have the mood for it tonight? Nezuko stood alone in front of the window, her empty eyes watching the snowstorm outside through the glass. Countless snowflakes fell before her eyes, yet she still hoped the snow would fall heavier, longer, best if it never stopped. Just as she was lost in thought, a dark blurry figure appeared in the snowy landscape outside the window. In such darkness, in such heavy snow, how could anyone still be out at this hour? ═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═ patreon.com/XenosX ????Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.????

Chapter 11: Uninvited Guest

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