THE COLOR OF THE WORLD

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Disclaimer: Kimetsu no Yaiba belongs to Koyoharu Gotouge

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Genre(s): Adventure/ Hurt/Comfort

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Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC and a lot of Angst. I hope.

Beta'ed by LamboLover36

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Manga: Chapter 70, 71, 72

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(A/N): Now I remembered why I created Nezuko's swords that way! IT'S ZIDANE WEAPON AAAAAAAAAA!

Somewhere, within my mind, you haunted me with your handsome face. Especially after Dissidia NT #plak XD

But I really love Final Fantasy 9, so maybe that's why `3`

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"A…demon saved him?"

Shinobu nodded mutely, caressing Kyojuro's messy locks as she explained what had happened in the circle of fire a few months back. Telling the Rengoku family about Nezuko's disrespect towards Demon Hunter's law. That she brought in a living demon that was her older brother. How he was the first tamed fiend that ever existed, who cared about humans, eating normal human food instead of people. That he has unique fire as his Demon Blood Technique and used said fire to close the wounds of the Flame Pillar, "not only did he burn the skin to stop the bleeding, he somehow burned the wrecked organs inside. But not in a bad way. He forced them to connect and made them function like normal,"* the pretty woman stares wistfully at the sleeping Kyojuro. He looked so peaceful, dozing under the warm blanket. Shinobu turned her attention back to the father and son; one was too busy drinking and being a failure of a father that he was while the other was wringing his fingers in worry, "however, that is not an ideal treatment. The shock of being put together in an instant cause him to lose his consciousness. And because he lost a lot of blood and his blood type is the one we don't stock that much unfortunately, we can't do anything regarding his immediate treatment. When he regains all the blood he lost, we will do proper surgery on him."

"W-What about…Tanjiro-san?" Senjuro asked, eyebrows furrowed, "is he…okay?"

"Well…he is, but…" Shinobu trailed off. She remembered the day they were admitted to the Health Bay. The boys were frantic beyond measure, babbling about the injury Nezuko received and how she also need a blood transfusion along with the downed Kyojuro. Both of them somehow received the same type of wound—that pierced their skin, organs, and exited through their back—though the girl's version was not a life-endanger inducing one. Nezuko herself was not in her bed as of now. Again. Most likely she was visiting her brother that they had put in the other room, where sunlight did not shine. Really, Shinobu knew it was only been a week since the unofficial mission had happened. But if Nezuko keeps this up, her wounds won't heal and her health won't replenish at all.

(Although, the Insect Pillar contemplated. She preferred the junior to rebel rather than…that. Where in the second night of recovering, Shinobu and Zenitsu—who was just back from a kitchen to grab some snacks for them to munch on—accidentally saw Nezuko go for her sword, thinking nobody wasn't looking. She saw how…contemplative her gaze was. How blank and devoid of hope it was. Shinobu was pretty sure Zenitsu realized the implication as well, that on the third day, he mostly stayed with her, conversed with her, anything to keep her attention away from…whatever thing that plagued her mind. And if seeing her brother will make her forget about doing that stupid thing, then so be it)**

BAM

The loud noise Shinjuro made when he forcefully put back the bottle of sake on the railing of the bedroom startled her back from her thoughts. His expression was sour, mouth turned down and sharp eyes furrowed in anger, "peh! Who cares about this talentless piece of crap anyway? He's garbage without value, riffraff that thought he could protect anyone," the father spat like no tomorrow, the younger brother could only flinch in fear, "Kyojuro was like that, lacking in any great talent. Weak and useless! I don't even care if he won't wake up and die in his sle—"

"Sir."

He immediately snarled low the moment Shinobu cut his rambling, informing her how upset he was at the impoliteness. Then stopped short when he saw her expression. The soft quirk of lips was still there, eyelids close in a guise of having a pleasant conversation. Her aura, however, flared like a predator. Without the need for explicit words, her intention was palpable enough. Speak badly about my comrade one more time, I'll end you. I don't care if you're former Pillar or some shit, there'll be no bad-mouthing someone that is under my care here. Instead of saying that out loud, though, Shinobu just waved her palm to the door and said, "the exit is over there, sir."

"…whatever." Shinjuro rose from his seat and marched to the open hallway, nearly colliding with Naho who brought a new damp towel that will be used to clean Kyojuro's body. Shinobu turned back to the younger brother.

"Tanjiro is being taken care of at the second room from the very end of the hallway," she smiled serenely, "just remember to keep quiet if you want to visit him, alright?"

Senjuro meekly nodded, thanking her for the direction. He was out of the room a minute after, promising to come back and turned to the left, to the destination where his brother's savior was located. There was a brief silence in the main medical bay, the only sound audible was Naho scurrying across the room, putting up the medicine bottles to the right place or making up the used bed. Shinobu hummed.

"If I killed Rengoku-san's father using poison, will anyone notice?"

"S-Shinobu-nee, no!"

"You're right. I should use a knife so they won't track it down to me."

"That's not the point!"

Senjuro tightened his short ponytail and patted his yukata clean from the invisible dust. He was in the middle of swiping the courtyard when the news of her brother came to him via the Kasugaigarasu. They said they finally managed to stabilize him since the second day the Kakushi brought him in, but settling on to supervised his condition for a couple of nights before they decided to inform the family, not wanting to give them any hope if his health somehow worsened and the Golden Man's demise came knocking on the door. Senjuro was happy it did not happen, fortunately. All thanks to the weird demon who's sided with humanity instead of their kind. And he wanted to thank him for it.

When he peered inside the dim-lit room, he saw the said beast. Ginger and in the form of a small kid, Shinobu described. And another person who sat at his bedside, head hung low and both palms cupped over the child's hand. She was a girl, maybe six years younger than Kyojuro. She was wearing a pink haori on top of her Demon Slayer uniform, black locks put up in a ponytail, some strands uneven. Like she was trying to braid her hair but had failed miserably***. Shinobu said Tanjiro has a little sister, was this her? He didn't want to disturb other people's visits, however. Maybe he should come back here another day—

Nezuko's head snapped upward and swiftly turned to the door. Her burgundy eyes were bloodshot, a tint of hope and desperation were drawn in those quivering orbs. Then realization dawned upon her when she saw Senjuro, who tensed after the sudden attention. Her shoulders drooped almost instantly, fog clouded over the glimmering hope like a thick mist. The smile on her pale complexion was still genuine, sure. Except it was more of a grimace than a grin, tired and on the verge of disappearing, "hello. You must be Rengoku-san's younger brother," she greeted him, Senjuro hesitantly stepped inside. Nezuko patted the empty chair on her left side, a silent invitation for him to join her, "You looked just like him. And your color is just as bright as him. I thought Rengoku-san finally woke up," then she uttered the last words so softly that he almost didn't hear her, "and…and then niichan will…"

"I'm Kamado Nezuko. This is my brother, Kamado Tanjiro," the girl said as a way to change the subject, the grimace returning, "what's your name?"

"Um…Rengoku Senjuro…"

"Senjuro-kun," Nezuko nodded, "are you here to visit your brother?"

The youngest Rengoku shook his head, "I did. But um…right now, I want to…thank your brother. For saving my aniki."

"Is that so…" she murmured, turning her attention back to the sleeping demon.

"Is he…okay?" Senjuro carefully asked, "I heard from Kocho-san that he's…sleeping because he overused his Blood Demon Technique."

Nezuko snorted, the sound of it doesn't suit the nice looking girl. It was so bitter and hollow, "of course he was. Niichan is notorious for his hardworking tendencies, shouldering all the burden by himself and offer his own life if that means his precious people are safe," she pulled her palm away from the brother's hand, clenching it on her thighs, "you know. If fate decided to reverse our role and he's the one who becomes the demon hunter while I'm the demon, I'm pretty sure nothing would really change. He'll be just as nice and kind. Self-sacrificing to a fault and not staying still when the enemy puts him down. Instead, he'll get back up the next day. Heck, maybe even the next hour. He's too headstrong for his own good and I'm sure…I'm sure if I was a demon and disappeared from his life, he can still go forward. Not forgetting me but moving on for a better future."

Senjuro panicked when Nezuko suddenly started to cry. Lips trembling and salty liquid started cascading her milky cheeks.

"But me? I'm not nice. I'm not strong. I'm just a coward trying to look brave or else I'll crumble right away," tear after tear fell to her tightened fist. There's light on her eyes now. Yet it was so full of guilt, sadness, hopelessness, despair, despair, despair, Senjuro's breath hitched, "this is cruel of me but Zenitsu's smile or Inosuke's encouragement will never replace the one coming from my niichan. No matter how relieving their presences are, niichan's absence left a gaping hole in my heart. If he dies, I can't live. If he's gone, I can't move on."

"I don't know if I can keep up this façade up any longer. Nothing is worthwhile if he's not there to see me grow. Nothing's useful if he's not there to give me a smile. What should I do? What should I do?" Nezuko covered her face as she hiccupped, sobs tore through her entire being and her self was covered solely by sorrow and pain.

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"What should I do?"

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"Are…are you okay now, Nezuko-san?"

She numbly nodded while wiping her tears away using the handkerchief the Golden-haired child lend to her. Nezuko promised to wash the white-red cloth after this, but he refused that offer with a tiny smile. She felt a bit embarrassed, now that she managed to clamp her emotions down. It was rude, not to mention, insensitive of her. To complain about her brother's condition when the kid's own family is in the same boat. May actually be worse than Tanjiro because he's a human. He doesn't have a recovery skill to help in speeding up the treatment like a demon does. With a fatal wound like that, Senjuro must've been worried sick about Kyojuro's imminent fate. Will he hold on or will he succumb? She hoped it's the latter.

(Part of her wishes it because she doesn't want to see anyone die in front of her again. Part of her wishes it because, if he survived, then her brother's sacrifice will not be for naught)

(Petty, selfish, morbid. She really hated this part of her)

(Why can't I offer my own life instead?)

"When our mother died, Kyojuro-aniki cannot stop crying," Senjuro began to speak, jerking Nezuko from her pity party. It was his turn to clasp Tanjiro's hand as he continued, "I don't really remember her, too small to even understand the concept of dying. But Aniki didn't. He knew our mother would never come back. That he would never feel her warmth any longer. Nor hear her sing him a lullaby when he couldn't sleep. Her absence hit him hard and every night, away from anyone, he kept on crying."

("Mother…why would you leave us alone?" Senjuro hid behind the cracked door, gnawing his bottom lip as his ever strong brother broke down like a piece of glass, "why would you leave me alone?")

"What I want to say is, being selfish doesn't mean you're a bad person. And being weak doesn't mean you can't get stronger," Senjuro looked at her, grinning. Innocent and full of expectancy, she gasped. Nezuko felt like she was staring right at Kyojuro himself and her heart tightened once more, "in actuality, crying is one way in realizing your limit. You don't have to rush yourself, Nezuko-san. Just know that there will be someone who's ready to support you and take your fall when you want to rest," he put his palm on his chest, expression serene, "And they will be there to see your growth too, even if they're not present in person. Always exists and always ready to encourage. I'm sure…"

"I'm sure Tanjiro-san agrees with me."

"Thank you for your time, Nezuko-san. I'll be going now."

"Okay. Take care of yourself!"

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"Don't rush myself…huh. What do you think about that, niichan?"

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"I know. What an optimistic view of life. He's so pure and innocent. Kinda reminds me of our siblings."

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"But…I can't do that, right? If I want to find Muzan and fix all of this, I have to stop moping. I have to get up and train. I can't…not rush myself."

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"Sorry, niichan. I know you don't like me pushing myself. But…I have to. I'll rest now, so I can heal myself a lot faster. Just-Just promise me…"

"Promise me to wake up sometime soon, okay? I really, really want to see you smile again."

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"…I hold you onto that."

Four months have passed since the train fiasco. Since Kyojuro and Tanjiro fell into their coma. In the meantime, three of them obeyed the orders from the Kasugaigarasu during their breaks in everyday training. Each of them went out to defeat demons as usual, some of those missions needed to be done solo if they thought the difficulty of it was not too hellishly crazy. Zenitsu honestly wept whenever they got that kind of mission. While Inosuke pouted like there was no tomorrow. But at least he didn't protest much and was actually happy that he developed more 'Pig Assault techniques' because no one was there to scold him for doing reckless things (Nezuko squinted at the passive-aggressive jab). The girl herself, even after Senjuro's pep talk, still a bit mellow in her everyday life. She let the butterfly estate occupants take care of her older brother so she was truly alone when they sent her on a mission. No matter how the second Kamado wished to bring him along, she could not. Or she did not. Nezuko wanted him to get as much rest as he could. Being cooped up in a box, without a room to truly stretch his body is not a good environment for a sick patient. So, much to her chagrin, she left the box and the boy himself in the medical bay. Away from the danger that'll worsen his situation.

Nezuko was walking along the street, she was just coming back from another solo mission the girl has easily taken care of. But she tried not to think too much about this one. Just know that she hated cockroaches. Hated with all her being that human Tanjiro made her promise not to stand near a kitchen cupboard that one time, or else other people heads will be the one who meets the end of the knife instead of the bug itself. The pink haori wearer was glad Zenitsu and Inosuke were not there with her yesterday night. As she kind of…went a bit overboard with her attacks.

("DIE! DIE, YOU DISGUSTING VERMIN! DIE AND DON'T EVER COME BACK!")

Yeah, she really was glad her friends were not there to see that.

Anyway, she was on the way to visit the Butterfly Mansion and intended to see her brother as usual. When a shadow descended over her and she suddenly went flying, "w-wha—!" or being thrown over someone else's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Someone with a broad back and muscles on his biceps. Easily recognizable by the sleeveless uniform he wore, especially those golden rings snuggling on his arms. She knew one person who donned this type of clothes, "Uzui-san, what are you doing? Put me down!"

"Stop struggling, girl," Tengen huffed, smacking her bum in the meantime, she shrieked, "I was going to visit the Butterfly Mansion and grab some flamboyant girls. Then I saw you so I decided to use you instead. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything bad."

"Saying that makes you sound incredibly suspicious! And creepy!" Nezuko shot back. The man was walking across the road in a big stride. The diamonds dangling on his turban jingled and jangled. When he moved too fast, it smacked Nezuko on the back of her head and her sting of patience was on a verge of snapping, "put me down this instant or I'm going to shout!"

"Heh," he snorted, "even if you do, there's no one who can flamboyantly stop me. Well, maybe other Pillars. But they're not here so tough luck~"

"Oh, we'll see about that," she took a deep breath, cupped her palms on each side of her mouth and screamed, "HELP! I'M KIDNAPPED BY A PERVERT! HE'S GOING TO 'EAT' ME!"

Everything happened in an instant.

"WHAT?" a random villager emerged from another pathway.

"A PERVERT?" a mother with a pan came out of the house.

"I'LL CALL A GUARD!" a farmer ran to the nearest post.

"I ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU'RE BAD! YOUR APPEARANCE IS TOO GIRLY!" Inosuke, who appeared out of nowhere, screamed an accusation.

"You don't have a right to say that, Piggy. Also…DON'T YOU TAKE ANOTHER STEP, YOU BRAWN! LET NEZUKO-CHAN GO THIS INSTANT!" and Zenitsu, who also appeared out of nowhere, cried a ton.

"Gah! Girl! You're ruining my flamboyant image!"

"That's what you get for being so rude! Now, put me down or I'm going to holler once more!"

"Alright, alright, fine! You two, flamboyantly follow me to the Red Light District!"

"KYAAA! YOU REALLY ARE A PERVERT!"

"What's Red Light District?"

"BASTARD! BECAUSE NEZUKO-CHAN CAN'T MATCH YOUR STRENGTH, YOU WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER, HUH? I'LL KILL YOU!"

"I'VE BROUGHT THE GUARD, GIRL! PLEASE, HANG ON!"

"DAMMIT! THIS IS ALL A MISUNDERSTANDING!

After Tengen explained to the suspicious guard that nothing was wrong, just his juniors throwing a temper tantrum so she could get away from her training, and the said juniors had calm themselves down, they arrived at their destination. Rather than the Red Light District itself, he brought them to the Wisteria House near it, saying that they need to prepare for their next 'mission' as soon as possible.

The Sound Pillar explained that he's not there to search for a bride, 'playing around', or whatever indecent thing Zenitsu proposed, stop accusing me! He believed the Red Light District was an ideal place for demons to lurk, proven by how many girls had disappeared in the past few months. Unfortunately, when he infiltrated as a customer, he couldn't find any trace of them. So for that reason, he went a bit deeper than a mere customer. Mainly, he asked his three, kunoichi wives ("WHY DO YOU HAVE THREE WIVES? CUT THE CRAP OUT!" Tengen indeed sucker-punched the crap out of Zenitsu for that insolent comment) to go as prostitutes themselves, gathering intel as their employee. However, it's been a while since he received any response from them, even the letters had dwindled down to nothing as of now ("Aren't your wives dead already?" Tengen indeed sucker-punched Inosuke for that quip, hard enough that he wished he was dead. Nezuko didn't blame him for that one). They managed to narrow the number of suspicious stores down to three. For now, he wanted them to infiltrate as well and find the three women while he takes care of the rest. Tengen said as he started putting makeup on them. Suma in the Tokito House, Makio in the Ogimoto House, and Hinatsuru in the Kyogoku House.

"There," the pillar huffed victoriously, putting down the brush now that he finished 'preparing' them. He then pulled up a mirror, "what do you think about that?"

The sight that greeted them almost made Nezuko punch the glass.

The make-up was too thick. The blushes were too red. The lipstick was all over the place. And the fake eyelashes didn't help the case. Nor the ribbons, or the twin-tail, or the dual pig-tails or…or…what the hell? What the hell is all of this?

"And you said you're the most flamboyant person in the whole world! Even proclaiming as the God himself!" Nezuko exclaimed with all of her might, ripping the ribbon out of her ponytail and smacked it to ground. Everyone cowered, "what is this? What is this…amateur looking polish? Explain yourself!"

"Chill! I'm trying not to make you stand out too flamboyantly, okay?" Tengen answered, he unconsciously scooted back (the sight of her wrath kind of reminded him of one of his wives'. And she exploded because of the same reason too), "you need to be stealthy if you're doing an infiltration work."

"Have you ever thought…" she practically grinds the sentences, letting the words drawled from behind the gnashed teeth, "that by making us ugly, you're actually attracting unnecessary attention to us? Not to mention, discouraging the master of the houses from buying us. You want to sell us, right? Did you even try?"

Silence.

"…okay, bad choice of words. But you know what I mean! The real definition of stealth is being normal. Normal! In this case, that means not too pretty and not too ugly! Just. NORMAL!"

"That…actually made sense…"

"Then go clean their face and let me do the work!" Nezuko shouted once more, throwing a towel right at his face. Fortunately—for Tengen, not for the pissed off girl—he caught the cloth with ease, "my late mother is going to go ballistic if she knows about this. Honestly, boys and their ridiculous logic…"

(The Sound Pillar grouched about the subtle jab, mumbling some things along 'girl and their high expectation' while wiping the boys' face in tandem. Finished with Inosuke—who was screaming obscenities toward the white-haired slayer for his manhandling, his face turned red from all the scrubbing—he went for the awaiting Zenitsu, wet towel ready to use. Before he could start on his job, however, the sunny boy whispered, "hey, even though I don't like you for being so freaking popular, I still want to thank you."

"Huh?" one of his eyebrows rose, "for what?"

"I heard your Voice," he said, wincing when Tengen accidentally poked his eyes. He glared for a second before he continued, "you decided to include her in this mission so you can take her mind off of…things. Because you're worried about her. Nezuko-chan sounds mostly annoyed right now, but she's not as depressed as before. So, yeah. Thanks."

Tengen was silent for a moment, staring at the only woman who was cleaning her own face, grumbling all the way. He huffed and spoke, "I don't like seeing a frown in a flamboyant girl's face")

(Besides…)

(That's the least I can do to thank her brother, anyway)

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(For saving the life of my dearest friend)

The Yoshiwara Light District. The night district where the lust and charms of men and women swirl in a storm of love and hate. The Red Light District is called the Flower District because, as the name implies, this part of the city is shaped like a flower. The prostitutes that live here were either living in poverty or sold due to loans. They bear a lot of hardships. But in exchange, they're guaranteed the necessities of life. If they can make their way up as prostitutes, they could potentially become part of a wealthy household by getting bought out.

The most prominent among them, the 'Oiran', are completely different altogether.

They are special women who have acquired everything; beauty, education, performance. You simply can't meet a high ranking Oiran. To gain an audience with them, men have to frequently visit the Red Light District, as if they were competing with each other.

Nezuko never thought she would visit this place in her life—not because she felt disgusted towards those who readily sold their body in exchange of wealth. In a way, she felt bad at them. For having to choose this path just to survive in a cruel reality that is called 'life'. But now that she's here, staring at a beautiful Oiran being paraded in the middle of the street solely for greeting one of her customers, if you ignore the true purpose of this specific district, this place was not so bad. There's a lot of places for them to buy a snack, a shop for girls to buy some cute and pretty ornaments. All in all, people were having a fun time as they conversed with others. Just like a good, old any other town. She wanted to release herself, throwing all the pent-up energy and just, indulge with all the funsies.

"We'll take the middle girl, please."

A voice of the Tokito's hostess jolted her out of her want, however. Reminding her again that this is a real mission she needs to complete.

"Good for you, Nezuko-chan," 'Zenko' congratulated her.

'Inoko' silently nodded.

"Thank you," Nezuko bowed, "and madam? I'll work hard under your tutelage."

(She did a good job of polishing the other two boys to resemble a real girl. Inosuke was easy, his face was already pretty. She just had to sprinkle a bit of prussian eyeshadow, a faint blush on his rosy cheeks and voila. Zenitsu, however, is a bit of a challenge. Mainly the shaped jaw that defined him as a man. That one was a bit recognizable. Using foundation and face powder, Nezuko created an illusion of a rounded face, like he was still having a baby fat and in the middle of losing them. Fortunately, his eyes were wide enough and have a pretty color in it (the boy involuntary blushed at this) to pass it on as an innocent stare of a girl, so an amber eyeshadow that matched his hair to make it wider even more. She smoothed his hair down and (taking a deep breath, trying not to think too much about it) started braiding it—Nezuko need to connected them several times as Zenitsu's hair was long enough to be styled yet not that long to imitated a single, uninterrupted braid—circled the styled hair around his head and pinned the thing in place with orange, marigold ornament she ordered Tengen to buy.

Nezuko, a real girl here, styled a part of her hair in a simple princess-hairstyle, tightening the tail using her precious pink, sakura hairpin while she let the rest fall on her back)

"Good luck on your new life, Nezuko," Tengen said, patting her head in encouragement. The man himself decided to drop his turban, causing his white, sparkling hair to fall down to his shoulders. Wiping off the red tattoo on his left eye and showing the whole world his real face underneath the mask. She had to say, he looked handsome in this casual look of his. No wonder he managed to nab three wives at once. Tengen left the house with the others, not before he leaned down and whispered, "I'll wait for your report tomorrow."

She subtly affirmed.

The instruction was simple. Do not attract any attention, reject the 'order' from customers if it included the '18+ rated' stuff, and make friends with everyone around. Especially the girls. Women tend to gossip. No matter how ridiculous it was or a baseless conjecture as such, it may be something to take note of. They need to keep their eyes peeled and ears strained. Tengen reminded Inosuke not to talk, his voice was too manly for a young girl. And Nezuko begged them both not to do anything rash even if they find the demon. This beast managed to cause the disappearance of the three women who are elite kunoichi, trained under the tutelage of a ninja master and the Sound Pillar himself. For Tengen to sing praises to them, they must be very skillful. Yet they're nowhere to be seen.

Nezuko has a feeling whatever demon it was, it must be very powerful.

In a blink of an eye, a day had passed. She didn't get anything useful yesterday night, too busy welcoming the guests and refusing the orders if it's started to tether on the uncomfortable line. The mistress was okay with that, the pink slayer was a newbie and clearly new to this kind of world after all. Nevertheless, her natural beauty still invited a lot of customers. So even if this is her first night, she already worked as hard as a normal employee was. It was in the evening of the next day, in her way of helping the other putting up a couple of presents to the Oiran's room when she finally got her first bit of intel.

Two of the servant girls, both of them looked three to five years younger than her, whispering with each other in the room that was her destination. Nezuko heard them talking about a hostess from Kyogoku House who met her demise after she fell down from the window. Then about the ladies that lose their footing before they disappear, nowhere to be seen in the hustling and bustling of the Red Light District. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, "hello. Would you mind sharing your thoughts with me?" she interjected herself into their conversation and asked for a confirmation. 'Lose a footing' means running away from here without paying any debts, in which if the debts collector find you, something bad will happen. That's one of the many reasons. Or they could be running away with a loved one, not wanting to live in this hellish lifestyle any longer. A few days ago, there's also a word about Suma-oiran hey, that's one of Uzui-san's wife, what—

"Please, stop spreading these rumors," then the owner of the room herself, Koinatsu, appeared at the doorway, stopping their conversation short. She is a pretty lady, with droopy, ocean blue orbs and small lips. Her luscious hair was styled in a butterfly datehyougo, a sapphire comb and white pins were stuck inside to keep it in place. Every time she moved, her grandiose kimono swayed in elegance, captivating anyone who landed their eyes on her curved figure. Even when she frowned, as she did right now, she didn't lose that beauty a single bit, "nobody really knows whether they ran away or not. We should not trample on others' reputations just because they're not here to hear us."

"Uum…" Nezuko started, pocketing the candy Koinatsu gave to her as a way to deflect her curiosity away. Making her promise to eat it in secret because the mistress of this house was not keen on them having an early snack, "did Suma-oiran really 'lose her footing'?"

Her dreamy eyes narrowed, "why are you asking me that? Do you know her?"

"Yes," the second Kamado instantly replied, not thinking about it too much as she mostly flies by the seat of her pants here. Koinatsu was being overly vigilant, she needs to be careful not to reveal too much. So, "Suma-nee is my neechan," she easily lied, glancing down to the tatami and biting her lower lips for the dramatic effect, "we were constantly exchanging letters but for some reason, I didn't hear any news from her. And I'm worried. There's…there's no way she could lose her footing. Or ran away with her lover. At least not without informing me!"

"And you come here to search for your sister? Selling yourself in the process?" Nezuko nodded sadly (while evilly smirking on the inside, whooping victoriously for a sham well done). Koinatsu gave her a reassuring smile, trying to appease the dejected junior and she relented, "I honestly never thought Suma-chan would lose her footing either. She was a very gutsy girl, never acted conceited with the boys and anything. But then we found a diary of hers."

Nezuko's act of chewing the bottom lips becomes real when she heard the information, fake concern turned genuine immediately. What a convenient story, leaving your 'goodwill' in the form of a journal. People would just think they ran away from the District if that kind of thing suddenly popped out of nowhere, no question asked. It's no wonder Tengen surmised this place is an ideal place for demons to lurk about. She let Koinatsu and the girls consoled her while Nezuko worriedly prayed for the wife's safety, wishing for her being. We will save you no matter what, Suma-san.

Please, hang tight a little bit longer!

OMAKE chapter 72

Inosuke wandered through the Ogimoto house's hallway with scowls on his pretty face. Sweat drenching his face as the heat from the clothes started to bother him. This kimono is fucking hot. It's constricting, it's hindering! For someone who lived his whole life in a mountain, this kind of lifestyle was near torture, his senses naturally get duller. Don't even start about his restriction of absolutely not to speak either. Because he sucks at the falsetto (of course) and has a manly voice (of fucking course!), he'll jeopardize the mission if he does speak. This role made the process of gathering intel becomes a lot harder for the Pig, annoying him even further.

But he managed to acquire good information just now. That Makio—the Flamboyant Man's wife—wasn't feeling well for the past couple of days, shutting herself inside her private room. Was it true or was it just a ploy of a demon? Inosuke didn't know. Unless he checks and sees it for himself.

Anyway, this cloth is fucking itchy! Seriously, can he just shout fuck this and strip right here, right now?!

Meanwhile, in Kyogoku House…

"I'll show that jerk of a Pillar!" Zenitsu strummed the shamisen with all his might, the audience gasped in wonder by the overwhelmingly good sounds he produced, "I'll definitely become the greatest Oiran in Yoshiwara ever! Just you watch, you bastaaarrddd!"

(A/N): Not possible, Zenitsu. Not possible :'D

*I googled and you can actually cut your small intestine as an alternative way to diet, wow. Except that, having a SMALLER small intestine will cause you to get easily hungry. I think the reason why people who eat so much but never get fat even tho' they don't exercise existed because of this, they have a smaller small intestine; easy to get hungry but doesn't absorb too many calories. What I want to say is, Akaza's attack wrecked Kyojuro's small intestine so Tanjiro can easily fix the organ by burning them and connected them back. You can see from the manga that his hand penetrated the stomach anyway, so I'm not moving away too much from the canon `3`

**Nezuko thought she is still trapped in a nightmare Enmu created. So, she was contemplating to…wake up for good this time.

***Tanjiro is the one who's braiding her hair this whole time. It's not like she couldn't do it on her own. It's just that…it's Tanjiro's privilege. Here, she was trying to braid it herself. Then she remembered Tanjiro and her emotion overwhelmed her, causing her work to become clumsy aaaanddd…she decided to forgo the braid entirely TwT