Douma was able to learn about the siblings when he was with a few of his followers enticing others to join them back at his temple two days later. He had been given a well shaded house to temporarily stay in near the center of Yoshiwara and invited a few poor souls and their families to dine in for a late dinner. A show of his wealth and ability to provide for themselves was essential in getting others to join him in the mountains. Of course, he refrained from eating himself which just accentuated his selfless personality.

Ume's beauty was admired but Gyutaro was making a name for himself as a violent debt collector. Rumor had it his own boss was thinking of cutting ties with him but was terrified of what Gyutaro would do to him in response. All his guests advised him to stay away from them, even Ume since Gyutaro was so protective of her. He assured them he would be fine and that everyone deserved his kindness and an offer into Paradise.

Not that he intended to extend that offer to them. They were to be Upper Rank Six after all and he felt as though he was already messing up the timeline just by talking to them. It didn't stop him from considering taking food to them though. Gyutaro's funds were spent on their house. He decided against it, in the end. They had not starved in the original timeline.

His guests thanked him profusely for the meal and his followers offered him their prayers and praise as well. He patiently waited for them all to sleep before he slipped out to the poor district to check if Ume had been burned yet.

She hadn't, but she spotted him from a distance and quickly dragged him inside. Douma suspected this was just to get into his pockets rather than any real desire for his company.

"Eager, aren't you?" Douma asked teasingly.

Ume paused from retrieving the tea kettle, uncertain.

Douma smiled reassuringly and gestured for her to continue. As she did, she spoke, beginning the conversation on her own this time.

"I overheard that the Tsugumi family was invited by a visiting sovereign for dinner earlier tonight," she said. "Hers and other poor families. Some from the richer district too but mostly from this area."

"You wanted an invitation?"

"So it was you!" she said dramatically, pointing at him.

Douma blinked. "I, um, never hid that I was a sovereign."

She flushed. "You never said it either!"

"I suppose not."

Ume relaxed for a moment, then clenched her fists on her lap. "But yes. I want an invitation to the next dinner you have."

Douma considered this for a moment longer than he should have.

"Ume, the invitation is a prelude to an invitation to my village. It is not an easy journey. I don't invite children as they are less likely to survive the mountains without a guardian."

"I don't care about that!" Ume snapped. "I just want those rich bastards to see me! If I can start off in a well-known House, I can rise to Oiran status faster!"

Douma was surprised she didn't care that she insulted his cause to his face while asking to be invited to it. It didn't matter though, he couldn't risk bringing her. Before he could reply though, the sheet in the doorway was ripped open.

"Out," Gyutaro said.

Ume put her hands on her hips as Douma stood and brushed himself off. "Gyutaro, I'm in the middle of work!"

Gyutaro was glaring straight into Douma's eyes. Douma could swear he saw red tinging the whites of his eyes.

"Out. Now."

"A pleasure as always, Ume," Douma said, bowing and placing money on the broken table before sliding out of the house.

Gyutaro's dislike had come off in waves, so Douma wasn't surprised when he confronted him outside.

"My sister isn't very bright," Gyutaro snarled. "She can't see through your act, but I can."

"Act?" Douma asked, snapping his fan open. "What act?"

"That fake smile. That damn laugh. You got all that money to throw around and you prance around in your fancy clothes. Bet you think you're real special with those eyes of yours. Smooth skin, shiny hair. Ladies must throw themselves at your feet."

Douma turned Gyutaro's words over in his mind. The rude girl with good eyes had said something similar. This time he knew it had to be false. He knew what it felt like to feel something thanks to Shinobu. He could still remember it clearly, even though it happened about twenty years ago now. He had great memory. Gyutaro was just being a jerk.

He also remembered Gyutaro being rather rude to others! Even though Douma had been the one to turn the siblings, he didn't spend much time with them. Not from lack of effort on his own part. The other Upper Moons always seemed oddly averse to spending time with him. He never experienced the rudeness firsthand. If anything, Gyutaro had always been curt with him while Ume was disinterested.

Douma smiled at Gyutaro, lazily fanning his face. "Mmhmm! They do. I'm always happy to serve them."

Gyutaro sneered. "Smug bastard."

Douma twisted his smile, which certainly made Gyutaro look more lively.

"I'm afraid I don't see what the problem is. I pay for your sister's time. I paid for yours as well," Douma said. "By all means I'm- Oh!"

From a demon's point of view, Gyutaro's movements were in painful slow motion. He saw the attack coming a mile away.

Gyutaro lunged at him, knocking him to his knees and aiming his sickle towards his throat.

Douma allowed most of this.

He did not allow the sickle to cut into him, tilting his head at just the right moment so that it sunk into the wood of the house next to them. He didn't think now would be a good time to show he demonic nature.

Gyutaro sucked in a breath of frustration through his teeth. He pulled his sickle out and lined it up with Douma's throat instead, his other hand gripping the back of Douma's head by his hair. Douma was not a fan of people touching him there, but this seemed to be very important to Gyutaro.

"Goodness, Gyutaro, you could have simply asked I stay away from Ume!" Douma said with a light laugh.

His laughter seemed to infuriate him more.

Maybe Gyutaro and Akaza would have gotten along if they had gotten to know each other.

"We'll see how funny you think it is when I slice open your stomach and let you bleed out in the middle of the street."

Gyutaro seemed to love violence. He made a good demon.

"My death wouldn't mean a thing to me!" Douma said honestly. It wasn't as though Gyutaro could kill him, but if he did… Been there, done that. He gave Gyutaro a sad smile. "It may be inconvenient though. I was hoping to meet with someone in the future."

He was mildly curious of what would happen if he did die again. Would time be reset? Would he actually stay dead this time? All humans he's met, including Shinobu, seemed absolutely certain that demons would end up in hell until they were reborn into their next life. His glimpse into the afterlife seemed to support this, so he was inclined to believe it as well. As with his emotions, the timeline resetting around him was an outlier. At least, that was his reasoning so far when he bothered to try to make sense of it.

"Inconvenient?" Gyutaro sputtered. "Are you serious?"

He looked baffled by Douma's complete lack of fear or concern over his own life. It couldn't be helped, though. Douma was pretty sure emotions were on a spectrum and the one he learned from Shinobu was on the opposite end of fear. It would probably be harder for him to grasp than the other emotions. On top of that, there was nothing to fear, since a normal human couldn't harm him.

He looked forward to feeling fear one day. Would Shinobu be the one to unlock it as well? He thought he felt his heart flutter at the thought.

"Don't be mistaken! I would rather not be dead," Douma added. "Threat received!"

Gyutaro adjusted his grip and Douma could see the minute movements of his eyes, taking in Douma's expression. Gyutaro huffed. He seemed confused and a little disappointed.

"You should be terrified," he said. He shifted the sickle so that the flat side brushed Douma's neck. "Of the blade. Of my face. I almost killed you. I can still kill you."

"Er…" Douma was not good at pretending to be scared. Not even Muzan was able to strike fear into Douma, and he'd been in his head for almost two centuries.

"Mm, well, you're not pretty," Douma offered.

Gyutaro's eye twitched.

"You singled me and Ume out," Gyutaro pointed out. "You don't revisit any of the other courtesans. You don't invite us to dinners. You have to want something. When people want things, they'll take it. I'll be damned if I let you take from me and Ume."

Douma bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from pouting. "I don't really want anything?"

"Bullshit."

"Hm, well, I do want to see people happy! Does that count?"

Gyutaro's arm shook as if restraining himself. "No."

Douma sighed wearily. "I don't know what to tell you, Gyutaro!"

"You have to want something from my sister, I just don't know what. You can't just want to talk."

As Gyutaro shifted, tugging a little at Douma's hair, it occurred to Douma he could just break Gyutaro's arm and leave. Gyutaro was rather thin and unhealthy though. It might be lethal and Douma would have to turn him into a demon now and then go back for Ume and he wasn't sure if the two being attached was because he turned them at the same time so if he were to do Ume too late then they wouldn't be Upper Moon Six… Such a hassle.

He hummed, taking a moment to instead consider Gyutaro's words and concern. If he was worried more about Ume then…

"If you want me to be honest with you, dear Gyutaro… It's mostly you I'm interested in now!"

Gyutaro looked stunned for a second, then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why."

"I heard about you. I've seen you're strong and fierce! You work hard! So, so, hard and I think I'd like you to work with me! I think you have great potential!" He held up a finger at the thought that just occurred to him. "Oh! Ume too! She matches your spirit I think!"

Gyutaro furrowed his brow. It made his features look even more distorted. "Ume…? You want her to… work?"

Douma figured it was close enough. He nodded enthusiastically. Gyutaro's blade should have nicked him, but it couldn't pierce his skin. Gyutaro didn't notice. Douma used his raised finger to push against the blade and to his surprise, Gyutaro absentmindedly shifted it so that it was farther from his neck.

"I can do ten times as much work as her. She doesn't have to do anything," Gyutaro insisted.

"If you say so, I believe it! I just don't think she'd want to be left out. In any case, I still need to work out the details before I can fully extend my offer to you." Douma smiled sadly and extended his arms in a what-can-you-do gesture. "It's not an easy process and is not as simple as inviting you to dinner."

Gyutaro was frowning, but he released Douma's hair and lowered his sickle. Douma waited patiently for him to backup a few steps before standing up and brushing dirt off his knees. He noticed a human or two watching them from a window a few houses down and waved at them. They quickly ducked out of sight. Gyutaro gave him a funny look when he looked back at him and Douma just smiled pleasantly.

"What kind of work?" Gyutaro asked.

Douma scratched at his cheek. "Ah, its not much different from what you're doing now! I can guarantee you'll have plenty to eat and you'll grow very strong."

Gyutaro scoffed. "And you think Ume could do it?"

Douma shrugged. "I wouldn't underestimate her."

"And you're fine with offering the man who tried killing you a job?"

Gyutaro was barely a man. He was still pretty small in Douma's opinion. But then, maybe he was just tall.

"Trust me, Gyutaro, you'll be perfect for it!" He looked up at the moon, gauging the time. He still had time for dinner. He'd probably choose from the rich district tonight. He didn't want Gyutaro following him.

He held up a few coins and let them drop. Gyutaro's hands reflexively shot out to catch them.

"For your time!"

Gyutaro looked at the coins in his hands and then back up at Douma.

"…Are you stupid?" he asked bluntly.

Douma ignored the question.