January 25, 1914

Early in the morning, Jubal and George met with the overseer of the Kyogoku House to discuss the events of the day before. An older man, he had been dealing with a lot of stress recently, and the killing of Thomas had only compounded onto it. "Did the police ever find who killed your business associate?"

"No," George replied, speaking on Jubal's behalf in Japanese. "They're not really doin' too much to investigate it anyway. Besides, we have a suspect in mind already that we have plans to take care of on our own."

"You do? Who is he?"

"He's a rival of our's in a way," George explained, not giving away too many details that would identify him or James as demons. "He's no one you should be too concerned about. Our men will take care of him very soon, and he and his little friends will never bother you or your business ever again." He then turned to Jubal and told him in English, which the overseer of the house could not understand, "I'm tellin' him without lettin' him know of our real status."

"I see," Jubal replied in kind. "Tell him that we'll take care of it."

"I already did, sir."

"Oh, very well, then."

The overseer then asked George, "What did he say?"

"He says he appreciates your concern, but we'll be fine in takin' care of him. He's been a real pain in our asses for a while now, and killin' him is gonna be pretty fuckin' satisfyin' for all of us. I assure you."

"Killing him, huh? You'll go that far?"

"It's our only option when dealin' with this asshole."

The overseer then warned him, "I better not get questioned by the police about this shit. I'm at my wits fucking end already."

"Trust us," George assured him. "They won't be botherin' anyone anytime soon."

In the middle of the day, Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Nezuko all met on the roof of one of the buildings in Yoshiwara to discuss their findings so far. "I swear," Inosuke told the others. "There's a demon inside my building! I could hear that little fucker running through the walls and in the ceiling. He must have been really slim, because he just flew through the walls and ceilings like it was nothing! It was way too damn weird!"

Perplexed by his description of the demon, Tanjiro asked him, "Uh… That sounds more like an animal got into the walls and attic, Inosuke."

"It's not a God damn animal! It's a demon! It has to be!"

"Calm down, calm down," Nezuko told him. "There's no need to cause such a commotion up here. People could hear us, including those American soldiers from the Kyogoku House. Besides, I think me and Zenitsu-san have a good idea of where the demon really is."

"Yeah," Zenitsu replied in agreement. "We think it's actually in the Kyogoku House. The oiran there is acting really strange, as are most of the other staff. There's a lot of foreigners running around, too, including those soldiers Nezuko-chan mentioned. It's really weird."

Nezuko said to the group, "Guys, so, um… The oiran of the Kyogoku House pulled me aside and talked to me in private. She says there's a bunch of Americans inside the Kyogoku House because they're associates of its owner. However, she mentioned something that lines up with that guy that Colby-san killed yesterday."

"You mean Thomas Eaves?"

All four were startled to suddenly find Tengen standing at the edge of the roof. Tanjiro called out in shock at his sudden appearance, "Holy shit, where did you come from?!"

"I've told you guys before. I can move fast. Anyway, what did that oiran mention, Nezuko?"

"She mentioned one of the associates was killed yesterday," Nezuko explained to him and the rest of the group. "And the timeframe lines up with when Colby-san killed that American Demon Moon."

"Then it's settled," Tengen concluded. "The demon we're looking for is definitely in the Kyogoku House. Daki has to be there."

"But what about the sounds I heard in the Ogimoto House?!" Inosuke was adamant the demon was at his house of operations. "He has to be there!"

"Don't you remember there are also a bunch of American demons here? It easily could have been one of them, Inosuke. Also, Daki is a girl, not a boy."

Inosuke admitted, slightly embarrassed, "Right… I forgot about that."

"We need to move in tonight," Tengen told the others. "Every day we wait is another day we risk not just my wives, but any number of innocent people getting killed. Complete your investigations and meet me in front of the Kyogoku House late in the evening. Mukago-san and Colby-san will be with me. There's a lot of these guys around, so it'll be really difficult fight. We have our work cut out for us."

All four of them replied, "Understood."

In Tengen's head, he thought to himself, "Even with seven of us, it may not be enough. If we aren't careful, all of us are gonna get fucking killed before we even reach our primary target. There's at least twenty or so American demons running around, including the two remaining American Demon Moons. This fight will go down in corps history, no matter who wins. Let's just hope it goes down as our finest and flashiest victory!"

Zenitsu had already left to join Tanjiro and Inosuke at the Ogimoto House, but Nezuko had stayed behind a bit. As she walked over to Daki's room, she calmed herself down and tried to control her nerves. She thought to herself, "Is Shiraume-san really Daki? I don't want to believe it, but my gut tells me she is." She then took a deep breath and knocked on her door.

Daki replied in an annoyed tone, "Who is it?"

"It's Nezuko."

Immediately changing her tone to a more happy one, she told her, "Come on in, Kie-san."

As Nezuko came in, shut the door behind her, and sat down across from her, she asked her, "Hey, um, Shiraume-san, can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable."

Daki replied, "Of course."

"Are you aware of the disappearances and murders that have been happening recently around here?"

Daki's eyes widened with shock. "Oh, well, yes, I am." In her mind, she thought to herself, "How the fuck does she know?! Did she figure out the truth?! Please, tell me she didn't find out about the truth!"

"What do you know about them?"

"They're very unfortunate," Daki replied, doing her best to lie about her involvement. "And I feel bad for the ones they left behind." Changing the subject matter, she then asked Nezuko, "So, Kie, are you aware of a group called the Demon Slayer Corps?"

"Fuck," Nezuko thought to herself in a panic. "Did she figure me out?!" She replied to her in a half-truth, "Yes, I know they exist, but that's really all I know."

"I figured as much. They're a very secretive organization that has been snooping around this area of the city recently. They think there's a demon here."

"A demon, huh? Do you really think there's one here, Shiraume-san?"

"I know there is," Daki told her with a half-truth of her own. "And it's those foreigners. They're the demons. They've been harassing people here ever since they came to Yoshiwara and began trying to run the Kyogoku House."

Nezuko thought to herself, "She's telling me half of the truth. I know for a fact already about the Americans, but she's not telling me anything about Japanese demons here."

"Kie-san," Daki then told her as she held her hands in her own. "Please, stay safe. If any of those foreigner demons give you any trouble, let me know. I don't want to see you getting hurt. You need to support your brother, after all."

Nezuko then nodded. "Thank you, Shiraume-san. I really appreciate that." As she got up and left the room, she thought to herself, "When she's all alone like this, she's a totally different person. She can either be incredibly controlling or cruel, or caring and actually kind of nice. I wonder… Which one is the real her?"

As Daki got up and closed the door, she thought to herself, "I really hope Kie-san isn't involved with the Demon Slayer Corps or worse, she's the traitor my master told me about. I've had a sneaking suspicion she is based on her looks, but I don't want to believe it. Tonight, I'll have to do something to finally get the corps off of our backs for good."

Inside the Tokito House, Koinatsu was painting her lips and nails for the night when she heard a knock at the door to her room. "Hello? Who is it?"

"It's me, Sumiko," Tanjiro replied, now fully-dressed in his normal corps uniform and green-and-black haori. He had plans to formally leave the house and reveal his true identity. "May I come in?"

"Of course," she replied, not expecting anything shocking but having her expectations destroyed when Tanjiro walked in. "Huh… Sumiko, what the Hell?"

"Sorry to startle you," Tanjiro then explained to her. "But my name is not Sumiko. My real name is Kamado Tanjiro, and I'm afraid I'll have to leave today."

"Leave… I think I've seen that uniform before…" Koinatsu asked him, "Are you a soldier?"

"Sort of," Tanjiro replied. "I'm a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. I disguised myself as a girl so I could try to find a demon that's been inside Yoshiwara for a while now."

"The truth is… I knew you were a boy the whole time, but I didn't know why you dressed as a girl, so I didn't say anything."

Tanjiro, dumbstruck that Koinatsu knew the truth the whole time, replied to her, "So, uh… You did, huh?"

"Now that you say the reason, I can see why. I don't know if there's a demon here, but I know it's been pretty crazy in Yoshiwara for the past few months. Ever since that large fire we had and those foreigners came last year, nothing's been the same. That's one of the reasons why I'm actually leaving."

"You're leaving? How?"

"A man offered to buy out my contract," Koinatsu explained. "With the way Yoshiwara's been going, I'm taking the opportunity to leave this place behind. In fact, I'll actually be leaving tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, huh? Well, I wish you the best of luck." Tanjiro smiled and told her, "You'll make that man very happy. I'm sure of it."

Koinatsu blushed and smiled in response. "Sumiko- I mean, um, Tanjiro-san… Do you have anyone that's special to you like that?"

Tanjiro nodded, immediately thinking about Kanao. "I do. I have a girl in my life who I love very much. One day, if the two of us are still alive, I want to marry her. We're both demon slayers, so the risks are always there."

"I bet she really loves you."

"She does. I can't wait to see her when I come back from this mission. I miss her already, even though it hasn't been that long since I left for this mission."

Koinatsu then stretched her arms. "You really are one of the nicest people I've ever met, Tanjiro-san. I wish you luck."

"Thank you," Tanjiro replied as he turned around and left. "Please, Koinatsu-sama, stay safe."

"I'll be fine. It's you who's the one at risk. Stay safe, Tanjiro-san."

"Thank you."

Once Tanjiro was gone, Koinatsu went back to preparing for her final night as a courtesan in the Tokito House. However, as she was about to finish her makeup, she heard the door behind her suddenly open. "Huh? Did you forget somethi-?"

Koinatsu immediately stopped in her tracks when Daki walked into the room. "I didn't forget a thing, actually," she said to her as she shut the door behind her. "I heard everything, and since you're supposed to go away tomorrow, how about I eat you tonight? I bet you would taste really nice, given how beautiful you look."

Koinatsu screamed, "What the fuck?!"

Daki then wrapped her obi sashes around her arms and yelled at her, "Don't make a fucking sound unless you want me to kill you slowly! Do what I say, and I'll make your death painless and kill you before I eat your body. If you don't do what I say, I'll just have to start taking bites out of you while you're still alive!" She then covered up her mouth with another obi sash. "Yes, this will be perfect… Such a succulent and tasteful meal indeed…"

Outside the room, as a male guard of the Tokito House was walking down the hallway, two American soldiers ran up behind him and stabbed him twice in the back. "Agh, fuck! Shit!"

One of the two American soldiers then covered his mouth and shushed him before slicing his neck open, killing him as he then laid him down on the floor. "There ya go… There ya go…" Once the male guard was on the floor, he told the other soldier, "Go follow Daki and help her with the head prostitute here."

"On it," he replied before running down the hallway. As he did, one of the younger girls at the Tokito House tried opening a door to see what was going on, but the second soldier slammed it shut on her, crushing several of her fingers and causing her to scream in pain. He then aimed his rifle at the rooms surrounding him and yelled in English, "Get the fuck back in your rooms! Don't come out! Stay in your rooms or we'll shoot ya!"

As Daki dragged a kicking and screaming Koinatsu out of the room, her yells of pain and anger muffled by the obi sash across her mouth, she repeated the instructions in Japanese, "Everyone, stay in your rooms! We have some business to take care of! Don't come out unless you want to get shot! That's an order!"