As James and Mukago walked around the side streets of Yoshiwara, the two began talking about the similarities and differences between Muzan and the Jackson brothers. "Muzan controls those loyal to him purely by fear," Mukago explained. "If anything, he should be an honorary demon slayer given all the demons he's killed for the pettiest of reasons. The environment he forces all of the Twelve Demon Moons to work under is incredibly toxic, even in the upper ranks. When I came to the corps, I was shocked by how well I was treated, even as a demon myself."
"Muzan's ego and fears will probably get him killed one day," James theorized. "Seems like the only thing prolongin' his war on humanity is the fact he can remotely kill any demon under his curse and venture into their minds. If, somehow, someone's able to implement the strongest Progenitor Release Spell known to man against him, that would spell the end for his rule."
"I would bet everything I have that at least half of the entire demon population in Japan would revolt against him if given the chance."
"While Muzan is pretty damn scary on his own," James further explained. "I still think he doesn't scare me as much as Thaddeus and George do."
Mukago, wondering why he thought so, asked him, "What makes you say that?"
"Those two don't keep their demons on a leash. Sure, it results in some of 'em fightin' against him like me, but many voluntarily choose to side with the two of 'em. They also permit 'em to breed, which increases the demon population without the need to always hunt humans down. Overall, they're a bit kinder and are willin' to listen to new ideas and tactics from their subordinates, and that's another thing: They use real military and espionage tactics 'cause both they and most of the Knights of the Moon have real-life military combat and leadership experience. The fact there ain't an organized American national equivalent to the Demon Slayer Corps is a testament to how good they are at keeping resistance to 'em scattered and fractured across the Union. If Muzan was as loose as they are… Japan would be fucked."
"Saying 'Japan would be fucked' is an understatement," Mukago agreed. "The whole God damn world would be fucked, Colby-san."
"We need those two dead sooner rather than later." The two then spotted an American man dressed in the uniform of a Confederate soldier up the street and ducked into a narrow alleyway to avoid being spotted, with James whispering, "Fuck.. Way too close."
Mukago asked, "How many of these bastards are there in Yoshiwara?"
"Too many. This is gettin' dangerous, Mukago. We can't keep walkin' 'round here."
"Hey," then shouted the same American Confederate soldier in English. "The fuck are y'all doin' over there? Come on out!" When both James and Mukago turned around, he immediately raised his rifle and shouted, "You're the traitor!"
James quickly drew his revolver and fired a shot before the soldier had a chance to shoot his rifle, striking him in the chest and sending him down in pain. Mukago then drew her sword and told the man in Japanese, "Walk away! We were never here!"
The man then staggered back to his feet as his bullet wound began to heal. "You're dead!"
Realizing she had to act, Mukago charged forward and declared, "First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze!" She then thrusted her sword in front of her just as the soldier fired on her, the bullet barely missing her head and nicking her left ear, and decapitated him with ease. As a crowd of people all gathered around to see what had happened, Mukago sheathed her sword and told James, "We gotta hide. Now."
"Let's get the Hell outta here before the rest of these fuckers find us!"
…
Tengen presented the three boys plus Nezuko to the owners of a brothel while James and Mukago were busy being chased around. The two owners, both in their forties, looked at the four 'girls' that Tengen had in confusion. "Uh," said the male owner. "This is… Certainly unique. I don't think we're looking to hire at this time, sadly."
"I beg of you to look into your heart and reconsider," Tengen offered. "I bet with the proper training, these girls could make fine courtesans. I've given them some training already of my own, so they'll just need a little more to get them ready. You won't be disappointed in them."
"I, uh…" The female owner then looked at Tanjiro. "I suppose we can take one of them in. We'll take that one. She looks the most obedient."
The male owner asked her, "Are you sure?"
"Of course. When have I ever been wrong?"
"Well-"
"Don't actually answer that."
"Thank you very much," Tanjiro, disguised as a girl named Sumiko and using a higher pitched voice, replied. "I promise to work as hard as I can for you."
"Very well," Tengen bowed. "Thank you. Sumiko will serve your house very well."
Nezuko then whispered to Tanjiro as quietly as she could, "Be safe, oniichan."
"I will."
…
A few minutes later, as the rest of the team walked around, Tengen remarked in contempt, "Now I just have to find someone dumb enough to take the rest of you. What pisses me off is why nobody's taking the only actual girl in the group. Am I gonna have to pay someone to take you three?" He then looked at Zenitsu, who looked at him in anger, and asked him, "Hey, what's wrong? What's with that look on your face?"
"It's your attitude," Zenitsu thought in his head, wanting to say it directly to him but knowing it would only cause him trouble. "It's this whole attitude of being able to swoon every girl you come across. That face of yours makes you think you're such hot shit, and it pisses me the fuck off!"
Inosuke then noticed a large crowd forming at the intersection of two streets. "Hey, look over there! There's a whole crowd watching something going on!"
As all of them ran over to see what the commotion was all about, they saw a large procession of people following a very exquisitely-dressed woman, who was in fact the head oiran of the Tokito House, down the street. As she slowly and carefully made her way down, Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Inosuke all looked on in amazement at the beauty and grace she placed in every step she took. Tengen told the three of them, "That's Koinatsu, the most prestigious oiran of the Tokito House. She's going off to meet with a suitor so she can get married."
Zenitsu, grossly misunderstanding the situation, turned around in shock and asked Tengen, "Wait a minute, that's her?! That's your wife?! How the fuck did you of all people get with a hot lady like her, much less three of them?! What the fuck?! Do they all look like her?!"
Tengen punched him to keep him quiet, reminding him, "She's not my wife, dumbass!"
As Zenitsu fell to the ground, Nezuko helped him back up. She felt sorry for him, but also knew he was being ridiculous. "Come on, Zenitsu-san. Did you really think that was Uzui-san's wife? Really?"
Meanwhile, Inosuke remarked about Koinatsu as he knelt down on the ground, "My question is why she's walking so slowly. She'd get ripped to shreds in the mountains if any kind of predator found her." He then saw a shadow tower over him and looked up to find a woman staring at him. He was about to say something to her, but then remembered Tengen's warning regarding his rather unfeminine voice and kept his mouth shut.
Tengen looked over and asked the woman, "Are you interested in her?"
"Very," said the woman to him. "I'll be taking her if you don't mind."
"And who might you be, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, pardon me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the chaperone of the Ogimoto House."
Tengen knew immediately that he had struck gold. "I'm glad this girl was able to get the attention of someone from a house as prestigious as the Ogimoto House. What about her caught your eye?"
"Her beauty is unlike anything I have ever seen," she replied. "Do we have a deal?"
"Absolutely," Tengen replied with a bow. "Thank you for your interest." After handing Tengen a payment, she walked away with Inosuke. "Good luck out there, Inoko! Stay safe!" He then turned back to Zenitsu and Nezuko, asking the latter, "Why is it that nobody's picked you up?"
"I have no idea," Nezuko shrugged. "But, um…" She then got close to Zenitsu, holding his hand. "If you sell me, I want you to include Zenitsu-san with me."
As Zenitsu blushed and tried his best not to panic from Nezuko touching him, Tengen replied, "I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do, Nezuko."
…
"I insist," Nezuko said to the head of the Kyogoku House. "Please, take Zenko-chan alongside me. I may have beauty on my side, but she has talent on her side."
"What kind of talent?" A woman named Omitsu, who ran the house, was interviewing both Nezuko and Zenitsu as Tengen watched.
"I can show you on a shamisen," Zenitsu replied in his best feminine voice. "I'm actually really good at that."
Omitsu turned to another girl alongside her, who shrugged. "Okay then." She then got up from the floor and grabbed a nearby shamisen mounted on the wall. As she handed it to Zenitsu, she told him, "Here you go."
Zenitsu then took a deep breath and began playing the stringed instrument. Starting off slow at first, he then increased the tempo of his playing after a few bars of a nice and slow melody. As he continued to play the shamisen at a fast pace, even Tengen and Nezuko were amazed at how good he was. Meanwhile, in his head, he thought to himself, "Just keep playing. Just keep playing. Focus your anger at Uzui-san into your playing! This is for Nezuko-chan's sake!"
Daki, who was walking outside the room in her garb as Warabihime, heard Zenitsu's playing and stopped just as she was about to pass the room. She thought to herself, "That's the best damn shamisen work I've heard in all my years as a demon. Who's playing that?" She then suddenly opened the door, startling everyone except Zenitsu, who kept playing and ignored her.
Omitsu, scared by her sudden appearance, asked her, "Oh, um, Warabihime-sama! What an unexpected visit!"
Putting on a nicer demeanor for the visitors, she apologized with, "My apologies. I was just really amazed by the sound coming from here. That shamisen playing is really good."
As Zenitsu finished playing, he looked up and noticed Daki in the room. "Oh, hello."
Omitsu explained to Daki, "We're hiring the girl on the right, but she also wants us to hire the girl on the left who just finished playing the shamisen. I was unsure of whether to hire both or just one."
"Hire both," Daki ordered her in a slightly more demanding tone than her fake gentle demeanor from just seconds prior. "Do it."
"Yes, ma'am," Omitsu replied with a bow.
Daki then smiled at Nezuko and Zenitsu and told the two of them, "I'm Warabihime. I'm the head oiran of the Kyogoku House. Omitsu-san here is the actual owner, but I make many of the business decisions here too."
Tengen told both Daki and Omitsu, "I'm glad we were able to make a good deal. If you ever get bored of her musical skills, you can have her clean the toilets or do other menial labor. Hell, if you want, you can take both of these girls for the price of one."
Daki then asked Tengen, "What are their names again? I wasn't present for the initial part of the meeting, so I didn't hear anything about them before I walked in."
"Zenko and Nezuko," Tengen told her.
The latter name immediately sent chills up and down Daki's body. "Nezuko," she thought to herself. "That's the name of the demon who escaped my master's grasp! Is this girl really her?! I'll need to make sure, but for now, I need to play it calm and act professionally. I can't raise suspicion, not after what Mukago did." Pretending that nothing was wrong, she smiled and told Tengen, "Zenko and Nezuko, huh? We'll be glad to take them in."
"I'm glad to hear it. I must say, your reputation certain precedes you, and if an oiran of your stature approves, that gives me a lot more confidence."
"Why thank you." As Omitsu and Tengen continued to discuss the sale of Zenitsu and Nezuko to the Kyogoku House, Daki thought in her head, "Admittedly, this guy selling these girls is pretty handsome. I can see how he convinced Omitsu to give Zenko a chance despite her ugly looks. Maybe if he isn't busy or careful, I could invite him for a little private session… One he might never leave alive."
