Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Sorry for the missed update...
Enjoy Reading!
---
The Yoshiwara pleasure district.
It was a splendid place, even more so at night.
Many pedestrians walked on the road, doing business and other work.
A few drunk men were huddled together in front of an izakaya. Their face flushed from alcohol as they spoke in a hushed manner and with a little fear.
"Hey, have you heard the recent news?"
"Huh?"
"What, did you get glared at by the top courtesan of the Kyogoku House?"
His companion raised his cup and teased. "Did you wet your pants? Hahaha!"
"Tsk, no!" The man shook his head, his expression serious.
He lowered his voice and carefully looked around before daring to share with his companions.
"In the past few months, people often heard extremely strange roars in the middle of the night." He looked flustered remembering.
"Last night, about a week ago..."
"I heard it too."
---
-Location: Kyogoku House-
The sunlight pierced through the paper window and shone on the corridor of the second floor. Dust particles can be seen by the light beaming down.
The sound of running footsteps on the wooden floor grew louder and louder.
The girl hurriedly tied up her hair with the hair tie in her mouth while jogging to her chores.
Her eyes were filled with terror and flushed from her running. Sweat kept pouring out of her forehead.
'No, no, no!'
'The room must be a mess; I haven't cleaned it yet!'
'If Warabihime sees this...!'
The young girl felt a chill in her heart, and the speed of her jog increased even more.
That courtesan...
She was the most famous throughout the Yoshiwara district.
Her skin was so smooth, her eyes so captivating; her beauty would be enough reason to go to war.
—A Goddess in Human Form.
But only the master of the Kyogoku House and her personal attendants knew the truth.
Warabihime Oiran was a terrible excuse of a human being.
If you were not careful, you would be beaten, abused, or even disappear the next day.
Sometimes, just because you annoyed her that day, she would force you to commit suicide.
Several maids in the Kyogoku House have already taken their own lives because they were afraid but had nowhere to escape.
Warabihime had a terrifyingly short temper and cruel nature and was a nightmare figure in the young girl's heart.
'No.'
'She is the nightmare of everyone in Kyogoku House.'
The girl had just turned a corner of the corridor when she faintly heard the sound of conversation coming from one of the rooms.
Hearing the familiar voice that induced dread in her heart, the girl's face turned pale.
Warabihime Oiran... has arrived!
---
Inside the room.
The windows were blocked by various luxurious screens and woods, causing the room to be extremely dark, and no sunlight penetrated into the room.
Only the candle on the table provided light as the fire flickered lightly.
"Okami-san."
The woman wearing the heavy and gorgeous clothes of a courtesan tilted her head toward the old woman in front of her. Her tone of voice held no warmth as her indifferent gaze swept over her.
"Have you heard anything about the thing I wanted to find a few days ago?"
"...Um." Okami-san held her breath as she looked up at her with trepidation on her face.
"Al-All here."
The master of the house quickly opened the long strip of cloth she was holding in her arms and showed the neatly arranged blue flowers to Warabihime.
"I-I asked a customer, wh-who is a florist, to buy all the blue flowers he could find." Her voice was trembling slightly.
"These are all newly picked flowers. If you take good care of them, they won't wither for a few days, or even a week." She hastily added as she carefully observed Warabihime's expression.
"I also stopped the guest from getting what he wanted."
"...if it's not enough, I'll continue my search..."
The current master of the Kyogoku House, Omitsu.
It has been several years since she took over the brothel from the previous proprietress.
In all these years, she noticed the increasing abnormality of Warabihime.
It's not just her cruel personality.
Thinking of the scene she saw a few days ago, Omitsu sweated her nervousness on her forehead.
The hideous appendages waving in the night sky and the screams that pierced her eardrums. She still sees that scene in her dreams.
And in just one month, she had accidentally stumbled upon it three times!
She asked the previous bosses, and they all told her the same thing. To turn a blind eye and pretend she didn't see anything.
Omitsu swallowed.
One thing she was convinced of, though...
...is that Warabihime is not a human!
Omitsu timidly lowered her head as she waited for the answer from the courtesan in front of her.
"All of them..."
Warabihime's eyes swept over the row of flowers. The coldness on her face slowly melted, and her tone gradually warmed up.
"I'll have to trouble you some more, madam."
She turned her face slightly as a rare smile appeared on her face, seemingly in a better mood than before.
"You can go now."
Omitsu was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly and walked back in a fluster. She opened the door to the room and exited.
She was the master of the Kyogoku House, but with Warabihime, it was as if their positions were switched.
Click.
Omitsu breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door and making sure that no sunlight would leak into the room.
"O-Okami-san?"
The young servant girl stood at the door in a panic. She looked at the landlady, who had just walked out of the room, with anxious eyes. Her hands clasped together, fidgeting.
"I...I..." She was so anxious that she was about to cry. "The r-room is not yet—"
Her eyes drifted to the door, and her feet subconsciously shuffled in nervousness.
"It's okay."
Omitsu sighed. She took a step forward and hugged the girl in her arms, patting her back gently.
"I've already cleaned it, so Warabihime won't be angry." She comforted the girl softly. "Relax."
The girl processed the words said by her employer and couldn't help the tears welling up in her eyes. She sobbed quietly in her arms.
---
Warabihime didn't pay attention to the drama outside her door and focused her gaze on the flowers.
No, her real name is Daki.
Warabihime is just a fake name. She has changed her name several times during her 200 years of living.
Every ten years, she would change her name, her appearance, and her brothel.
What hasn't changed is that she is still the top courtesan in Yoshiwara and the most popular one.
Daki picked up a blue flower and observed it closely. Her slender fingers twirled the flower around.
"...what does the blue spider lily look like?"
Under the darkness of her room, her eyes changed from her disguise to the written kanji for "Upper Moon" and "Three."
She doesn't know what happened, but she had climbed the ranks in the Upper Moon echelon.
Although each advancement is accompanied by the trembling of her cells due to overwhelming fear, it is worth it.
The concentration of Muzan's blood in her veins is increasing and intoxicating.
But...
Daki had a doubt nagging her mind.
During the period between the last Upper Moon meeting and now, she didn't even eat a Hashira. Though, she already devised a plan to lure one.
So she doesn't understand the sudden increase of Muzan's blood in her. In the end, she could only attribute it to Muzan-sama's magnanimous favor toward her.
She inspected all the flowers that Omitsu had brought her, when she frowned and turned her head to look around.
She felt... a sense of malice just now.
After waiting for a moment, Daki withdrew her gaze and thought back to the past few days.
The current Upper Moon One, Doma, suddenly came for a visit at her residence.
Although Doma occasionally came to the red-light district to feast on the women. He didn't dare do it that often.
Muzan usually punished the Upper Moons if they were within the vicinity of each other.
---
-Flashback-
Doma gently waved his golden copper fan. The fan blades reflecting the fire of the candle, giving it a sharp impression.
"Doma..." Daki looked at Doma with confusion. His visit was so sudden that she didn't hear what Doma was saying clearly.
"What did you just say?"
Daki had a good impression on Doma. He was the one who turned her and her brother into demons and introduced her to Muzan-sama.
Clap.
The copper fan was snapped shut as Doma's mouth twitched at Daki's dizziness.
Doma smiled creepily. Bright red blood drooled from the corner of his mouth. He flicked his tongue out and licked it clean.
"You haven't forgotten what Muzan-sama ordered at the last meeting, have you?" He said flippantly.
"The blue spider lily."
The fire of the candle flickered.
As if agreeing with Doma's sentiment.
The obi behind Daki moved to sweep away the remaining limbs of a woman that Doma had eaten and inserted into her Demon Art.
"In a few days, Muzan-sama will personally control our bodies to check our search for the blue spider lily." Doma smiled. His eyes curved happily as he informed his fellow friend.
"Get ready, Daki-san."
Doma cautions Daki to naturally prepare the blue spider lily.
But Daki blinked her eyes in disbelief as her ears heard something else. Her mouth hung open slightly as her face morphed expectantly.
"R-really?" She leaned her body forward.
'Muzan-sama... will take control of my body~!'
Daki's face flushed with excitement and unparalleled worship for Muzan-sama.
Knowing what awaits her now, Daki's expression became serious as she sat upright and nodded.
"I'll prepare myself well!"
Though she was disappointed that Muzan-sama didn't want to come and meet her in person, Daki didn't complain.
After all, isn't it better to have her body controlled directly by her King!?
She looked up at the ceiling with longing and expectation. Her face was still flushed, and her body was wriggling in anticipation.
Doma nodded in satisfaction, seeing Daki's enthusiastic response.
After the death of Kokushibo, Muzan promoted Doma as the most powerful demon and carried Muzan's will among the demons.
Since he didn't understand emotion, Doma became the best trash can for Muzan to vent his anger and depression.
Daki's senses came back because of a reflected light from a curved piece of iron tied to Doma's arm.
"Doma-san?" She reached out and pointed at the exquisitely polished item. She remembered that Doma didn't have that particular piece of item when they met last time.
"What is that?"
Doma looked down at the ninja headband tied to his arm.
"Ah, a new accessory of mine." He smiled easily and opened his fan to cover his face. "It is said to be a ninja's forehead protector."
"Just a small thing, don't worry about it." He waved his hand casually.
"Are there still ninjas today?" Daki glanced at him in surprise.
...
...
-Location: Butterfly Mansion-
The kakushi staff at the mansion finally had some time to rest.
Kanzaki Aoi, who was pulled by the staff to help, proved to be more efficient in household chores and greatly helped the kakushi in the maintenance of the mansion.
She sat in the corner of the room where the staff rested, looking up at the sky outside of the window.
Hearing the tired breathing of the people around her, Aoi slowly relaxed.
She felt that this kind of work was not so bad.
...
"Sister."
Shinobu muttered to herself as she sat at her workbench, holding a syringe filled with purple liquid.
She took a deep breath as she rolled up her sleeves and aimed the syringe at her arm. She prepared herself to inject the liquid when a knock was heard from the door to her office.
Knock knock!
Shinobu was startled and quickly put away the syringe, stuffing it into the drawer next to her.
"What is it..."
She pushed her door open as she composed herself.
What greeted her at the other side of the door was Tomioka Giyu, along with his trademark blank expression.
Throb. 💢
"Tomioka...-san?"
Shinobu's forehead veins pulsed seeing him.
Giyu stands there with his hands behind his back; he brought a snack with him.
It was ginger tsukudani that Shinobu liked after some inquiries. He made it with his sensei.
Of course, after explaining his situation to Sakonji, he was scolded by the man and told to apologize and bring some gift with him.
"If you don't apologize, the butterfly wrath will rain on us all."
Thus, Sakonji taught his foolish disciple the Way of Kowtowing.
...
Now back to our MC's family, the Kamado family.
Tanjuro was sitting at a writing desk. Some rustling sound was heard as he wrote on several papers while holding a brush.
"Dad!" The youngest, Rokuta, curiously stretched out his little hand and grabbed the edge of the table. He stood on his tiptoes to look up.
"What are you writing?"
"Rokuta." Nezuko rubbed her wrist. She had just finished disciplining Takeo and Shigeru for waving wooden swords inside the house. She walked over and picked up Rokuta.
"Don't bother your father; be good."
"It's okay." Tanjuro smiled as he reached out and patted Rokuta's head. "Daddy is writing a letter to Ubuyashiki-san."
Shigeru walked over. He had a red bump on his head as he threw away his wooden sword to the corner of the room. He looked over the letter.
"Yoshiwara? The red-light district?"
He turned his head and looked at Tanjuro in confusion. "Dad, are you going to Yoshiwara?"
"What kind of place is it?"
Clang!
A sound from iron falling to the ground was heard from the door.
Everyone's eyes turned to look.
Kie was standing at the door; the hairpin in her hand fell to the ground as Shigeru's words registered in her mind. "...red-light district?" She looked at Tanjuro in a daze.
Tanjuro sat upright in fright as his pupils shrank and shouted.
"Wait! It's not what you think!"