章 39: Entertainment District Arc (Part 1)
Bobbing side-to-side, I stare at Uzui who has one of his feet placed at the helm of the rickshaw. We enter an area lit by lanterns.
As we travel underneath an arch with a woman holding a shamisen, Uzui spoke, "You four, let's try not to stand out. We're only here to case the joint. …But allow me to introduce you to the Yoshiwara Entertainment District, awash in vanity and desire. Flashy, isn't it."
"Yeah," I begin, earning three glares almost immediately, "But it's not really my style. Abstinence is the only answer after all, so these places don't really sit that well with me."
"Well, that's just the business." Uzui explains. "And it's not like they care for your opinion. Firstly, cause you're too young for that kinda stuff. Secondly, because a lot of these woman become courtesans and are sold to pay their debts. In return, they're given food, clothing, and lodging, and if they climb up the ranks, a rich man might buy out their contracts. So, this line of work tends to be the most appealing to them. Even if at first, they don't wish to do it."
Uzui stops for a moment before explaining, "The highest-ranking courtesan is referred to as oiran, she's on a whole different level. Her beauty and intelligence are unrivalled, and she's mastered every traditional art. A woman of distinction bathed in her house's resources to become their shining star."
Upon hearing Uzui say this, I give him a certain look.
Uzui seems to feel this look as he turns around asking, "What?"
"Wouldn't the oiran be the demon we're looking for?"
"Huh! And why would you say that?"
"Well, you said that she has unrivalled intelligence and has mastered every traditional art, and a demon would certainly have the time to do those things."
"Hah, you really know nothing about brothels, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Every house has an oiran," Uzui begins. "It's not just limited to one head oiran."
"Oh, then I'd believe that it's an oiran of either the Tokito House, Ogimoto House, or Kyogoku House. Plus, if she were to be an Upper Moon, she could cloak her presence. After all, Doma and Akaza both had that power, only being felt when they wanted their opponents to know they were there."
"Well…, you might be right, but let's first scout out the different areas before making any rash decisions. If were wrong, it'll cause a huge uproar and us Demon Slayers will receive a lot of flak." Uzui declares.
"Alright, if that's what you want to do."
Ending our trip on the rickshaw, we arrive at a Demon Slayer 'safe' place. Entering promptly, Uzui properly explains that Kanao, Shinobu, and Mitsuri will be the ones searching for his wives while me and him will be searching for any info on the demons. However, Uzui did add that we would be keeping a special eye on the oiran, hopefully sending Mitsuri to the correct house. Along with that, he revealed all the Kasugai crow letters that have been sent to him.
"As much as I hate it, the three of you," Uzui begins while pointing at Kanao, Shinobu, and Mitsuri, "Will have to get disguised in a rather drab way since we want you to have more interaction with the house than the customers themselves."
"That works for us." Shinobu states with relief.
At that moment, the house bearer opened the fusuma door, presenting the courtesan disguise items that'd limit the beauty of the three of them. Along with that, there were a few male beauty products.
"Time to put that appearance of yours to use."
And now here I stood, an entire five inches shorter than Uzui, standing in front of the Tokito House.
Pushing forward Shinobu, Uzui says, "Would you please consider taking this one into your service. Under your training, Madam, I'm sure she'd turn into a diamond."
Unsurprisingly taken by Uzui's charm, the house retainer says, "Well, I guess that taking her in wouldn't be a problem!"
"Then, please take her. Though I must advise you to have her do housework, she's not quite ready for 'that' yet. Sorry to impose madam."
"I'll be under your care." Shinobu calmly states.
Walking towards the next house after assuring Shinobu, we encountered a large horde of people. Breaking past the crowd, we cast our eyes upon an oiran.
"Oh, that's a procession of Courtesans. That's Tokito House's Koinatsu Oiran. The highest-ranking Courtesan is going off to meet her client. How flashy is that?"
"Slow." I hear Kanao state.
Yet the person behind her seemed to have caught wind and immediately spoke up to our group.
"Hey, misters… I'll be taking this girl back to my house. Is that all right?"
"Oh, and you are?" I ask.
"The Ogimoto House chaperone."
"If she caught the eye of the Ogimoto House," Uzui claps, "I couldn't be more thankful."
Saying our farewells to Kanao, Uzui drops his cheerful act.
"Now onto the Kyogoku House, where it's most likely that the Upper Moon resides."
Employing Mitsuri wasn't all that hard as her beauty was enough but add onto the fact that she apparently knew how to play the shamisen with power and precision, they took Mitsuri like hot cakes.
Having the two of us left alone now, Uzui and I returned to the Demon Slayer safe place. Changing back to our original appearances, we lay sitting at the tops of rooftops, waiting for reports to come back from any of the three. And we stayed like that for a while.
"All quiet today, too." Uzui says aloud. "I'd feel real uneasy right now if I didn't have the help of two other Hashiras. But this demon sure is convenient at hiding her presence."
---
(Daki POV)
~One day before infiltration~
"I want you to stop it right now!"
"Stop what?" I ask.
"Stop causing people here to get hurt and commit Ashinuke and suicide! That's what! As for the ones who killed themselves, you may as well have bullied them to death, Warabihime!"
"That's a harsh thing to say, Madam." I begin. "You're not going to take my side, then? You don't think it's their own fault for irritating me?"
"Until now, I've looked the other way more times than I can count! But something's not right about you! I can't protect you anymore!"
Now irritated, I state, "And exactly whose earning was it that allowed this House to prosper so, you hag?"
The woman then went into my own past, digging at the times that I'd been oiran before, only to 'kill' myself and raise the House's prestige as a 'new' person.
"You! Who are you!" She screams, "Could it be… th-that you… You're not human?"
Upon hearing the utterance of this, I can't help but let my real self out. Chaining her up with my sashes, I pull her out into the fresh night air, dangling her above the entrance of the Kyogoku House.
Holding her face between my hands, I sadistically say, "That's the kind of thing… that you should keep your mouth shut about when you realize it. It's the smart way to live. That's how everyone's survived until now. But it looks like you're far more stupid that I ever thought. It's a real pity, Omitsu. There's no need for you to be scared! You're old, therefore I won't consume you! This is goodbye, Omitsu."
Releasing my hold on her body, I watch as she falls headfirst into the ground, landing with a pleasant *thunk*. And hearing the distraught screams of the civilians down below made it all the better.
Entering back through the window into my room, a pleasant surprise greets me.
"How are you doing?"
"Master Muzan!" I drop to my knees.
"I can see that you've devoured scores of humans. You've gained even more power than before. But will that really be enough." Muzan states calmly. "You are the most beautiful and have the chance to get stronger, but if you act in a way like Doma or Akaza, you won't last much longer. You think that everything is falling into place, but that just leaves you more open to having the rug pulled out from under you…"
"Understood."
"A skilled member of the Demon Slayer Corps, especially 'that' one," Muzan states with venom, "will detect you in a heartbeat. On the other hand, aside from those as capable as Hashira, we cannot see any differences between humans immediately. Daki…"
"Yes? Yes, Master Muzan?" I ask fervently.
"I have high hopes for you. You're going to become even more powerful from her on out. You'll become cruel. You're an extraordinary demon. But you need to act with caution, lest you become a useless pawn like those two."
~Present Time~
"Now then, answer me. Who were you writing these letters to? What was your name again? Oh, that's right. It's Makio. Answer me… Makio."
Having this ever-beautiful demon slayer in my grasp made me feel so much better, but I'm rudely interrupted by a foreign entity getting close to Makio's room.
"Someone else is on their way. Ogimoto House certainly has no shortage of busybodies. Make a commotion, and I'll pulverize all the organs in your body."
Yet, unlike leaving like I thought they would, the person was rude enough to open the fusuma door, causing me to rapidly absorb Makio into my sashes, ready to be questioned later.
The intruder seemed to have realized my presence in the attic as they store at my exact position for a period. Thinking it would be annoying to stay here the entire time, I began to run back to my Kyogoku House. Yet, even as I was running through the attic, the individual followed me relentlessly, even pushing past a few of her housemates to try and reach me. Unfortunately for her, I had a greater escape path than she could know. Keeping in the darkness, the girl eventually gave up on her chase for me.
Finally reaching my Kyogoku House again, I change into my elegant human disguise of Warabihime, walking among the halls with no one being any the wiser. Yet the unpleasantness of today certainly kept on coming as the moment I entered my room, I found that my courtesan slave child hadn't cleaned the room yet but was instead being consoled by a woman with light pink hair. The woman seemed to have noticed my presence immediately as her head was turned and she was boring one of her eyes into me.
"Hey you… What are you doing in my room?"
Her response was silence.
"Hey! Are you hard of hearing or something?"
My two other child slaves answered for her instead, "W-Warabihime Oiran… That girl just started here the day before yesterday, so…"
"Hah! So, what if she did? Wouldn't she be better off dead? And what's up with her hair color? It's like she wants to stand out." I then look around at the room. "The room is still in shambles. I thought I told you to clean it up."
Grabbing the courtesan slave child by the ear, I yank it upwards hard enough to cause her to start bleeding. "Shut up! Stop that screaming! You clean up this room!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll do it right now! Please forgive me!" the girl pleads.
At this, the pink haired girl finally moves, grabbing into my wrist, and there's a surprising amount of pressure where it feels like it'll break in a mere moment.
"What?" I glare down.
"Let her go. I won't repeat it twice." She demands, a fire burning in her eyes.
"Tsk, you're such an ugly human being."
Breaking my hand free of her grasp, I backhand her across the face. Yet, I'm overly surprised when a stinging sensation is left on my knuckles.
"You don't have the right to touch me in such a familiar way! Don't flatter yourself, you rotten little punk! It looks like you're in need of some discipline! Some severe discipline!"
Yet before I can inflict such discipline, the Master steps in.
"Warabihime Oiran… I beg of you. Please. Please forgive her. It's almost time for us to open. Our customers will be arriving. I'll be sure to reprimand her harshly. So please, for now… Please, just help me save some face."
It rather irritated me that I had to listen to humans like this, but I can't let all my hard work for centuries go to waste.
"I suppose I may have lashed out at this newcomer too mercilessly." I say in a sweet tone. "Tend to her wounds, please. Master, please raise your head. I'm the one who should be apologizing. Lately, so many things have left me feeling irritated. I'm heading off to work, so get this place tidied up right now."
As I walk away, I think to myself, 'That little brat… From what I can sense, her injuries are only minor. Even though she's blacked out… she went on the defensive and there isn't even a definitive injury that can be seen. She's no civilian. She's probably with the Demon Slayer Corps! That said, she doesn't have the skill of a Hashira. But why is it that I feel that assumption is wrong? Why is it that I, an Upper Moon Demon, feel so much unease?'
To try and solve my unease, I place my sashes around the room where she's resting once she had blacked out. The moment that my slaves leave the room where she's staying, I send my sashes to converge down upon her. Yet, instead of the look of fear that I normally receive, a chilling smile greets me instead, making my skin crawl.
And she states, "Good luck."
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