[Of course he doesn't--and he doesn't need to. Sousei knows that. Perhaps that was a jab as well...an offer of help from someone who did not even want to see his face. A reminder of how Sousei can tackle the supernatural head-on with the assistance of his sword...just like the Orochi.

Though honestly, the main thing is simply--]

It was not for him. [He would not do anything for Shirasu at this point. He may save his life, were it to be in danger, but it would only be for Tenka and Soramaru again. Not for Shirasu.]

I decided the ghosts were troublesome enough that they needed to be removed.

[You know, since one of them rendered him deaf, and another stole Tenka's body, and still another took Soramaru's.]

As for the delay... [... really, it's that he's human too, with human emotions, no matter how bad he is at showing them. He doesn't like Shirasu. He hates him for what he did to the Kumou family. So when he's getting nasty messages in return, it's all too easy to fall down to that level. Even for him.]

... I will attempt to avoid it in the future.