Tanjuro forced his anger down, and focused on his concern. "Sayuri, are you alright?" he asked, walking towards the two little girls. "M-Mama!" the little Demon girl cried, as she turned to see him. Daki glared at him, "who the hell are you?! How dare you interrupt me! I'm trying to punish these two for their uselessness! Damn, you're so ugly! Who even hired you?!" Daki snapped, looking at him with a sneer. She turned back to Sayuri and the other girl, "I'll deal with you later. Right now I have some brats to discipline!" Daki said.
She reached for the little girl, who let out a terrified whimper. Tanjuro grabbed Daki's wrist firmly, a glare fixed firmly on his face, "leave them alone. They are children" Tanjuro said firmly. Daki sneered at him with fury, but he could tell that she wasn't about to attack him. "Who do you think you are?! I am the Kyogoku House's Oiran! I make more money than an ugly whore like you could ever dream of!" Daki said furiously. The air was filled with tension, while the two children trembled. "What is going on here?!" a male voice called. The group turned to see an older man walking towards them.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing to Oiran Warabihime!?" he yelled. Tanjuro let go of Daki's wrist and turned to look at the man, "I apologise for barging in without permission. My name is Nikko. I work at the Tokito House. Sayuri is my daughter, and she sent me a letter recently, saying that she was feeling uncomfortable here, so I decided to come and check on her to make sure she was okay. Then I saw your Oiran about to hurt these two, so I had to step in. I apologize once again" Tanjuro said with a bow of his head. "Oh! I see. Are they alright?" the Master of the house asked, peering down at them. He noticed the bruise and swelling forming on the human girl's cheek, "oh! You are hurt little one! Why don't you go get that treated" the man suggested.
"O-okay. Thank you Master" she said softly, before turning to smile at Sayuri, "thank you for trying to help me Sayuri," then she looked at Tanjuro, "and thank you very much Mrs Nikko! Please excuse me!" she said, slipping carefully past the Upper Rank Demon and out of the room. Tanjuro noticed the raging Demonic aura Daki was producing, as she barred her teeth. Tanjuro narrowed his eyes and stepped protectively in front of Sayuri, who clung to his Kimono nervously. Then he let out the slightest hint of his Demonic presence, which completely engulfed Daki's. The Upper Rank Demon's eyes widened, and she let out a slight shiver.
There was a moment of tension, where he thought Gyutaro might emerge. But instead the other Demon simply huffed, and turned around to leave. Sayuri nearly collapsed to the floor, but Tanjuro caught her, "hey, are you alright?" he asked softly, kneeling down to be at the little Demon's level. "I-I haven't been that scared since Rui was alive. I thought I was gonna die!" Sayuri cried, sobbing into his Kimono. Tanjuro rubbed her back, "shh. Do you want to come with me instead? Now that we know Daki is here, you don't need to stay here anymore Sayuri" he suggested. Sayuri sniffed, a tear falling down her cheek, "but, those little girls- they get hurt a lot by Daki, and they have no one to protect them! They're only 7-years-old, and they've been nice to me. I can't just leave them here all alone with her!" she said, her voice firming up in determination.
Tanjuro smiled and pat his youngest Demon gently on the head, "you're very brave Sayuri. And I'm glad you've made some new friends here dear. Alright. But if anything happens, don't hesitate to contact me. And keep and eye on Daki when you can, okay?" he asked. "Yes Sir! I'll do my best!" she replied. Tanjuro sighed and stood up, preparing to leave the house, "just be careful Sayuri" he said, as he walked back down the hallway.
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Tanjuro was on edge as he headed back to his House. He had a very bad feeling, which only increased as the sun fell further in the sky. He paused as he felt Daki's Demonic aura flare from back at the Kyogoko House. Tanjuro's eyes widened, "Shit! She's going to attack!" he cried, racing back to the other house, just as multiple Obi sliced the building apart. Sayuri and those girls! He had to find them! "Hakuji!" Tanjuro cried, as the black-haired Demon leapt down beside him as he ran, "find any survivors and get them out of here!" he ordered. "Yes Sir!" the former Upper Rank replied, as his Compass Needle flared into being under his feet, spinning before locking onto Sayuri's fighting spirit. Hakuji then vanished.
Tanjuro paused, as he felt Tengan land next to him, "YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO BE FLASHY AT THE WRONG TIMES, DON'T YOU?!" He snapped. "Just free those hostages damn it! And while you're at it, get your Wives to evacuate the District! I don't know how large the scale of the damage will be!" Tanjuro replied. Tengan huffed at being ordered around, but tossed him his sword. Tanjuro caught it, "just keep the fight away from the unflashy civilians, got it!" he ordered, before heading to do as ordered. Tanjuro gripped his Sword tightly, as Hakuji appeared with Sayuri at his side, and the three little girls from the now destroyed house in his arms. They weren't too injured, thankfully, but they did seem to be unconscious.
"Mr Tanjuro!" Sayuri called. "Sayuri, take those three and get out of here! Hakuji, you're with me! Shizu, go help with the evacuation, your Blood Demon Art won't have any effect on those Obi! Yukito!" Tanjuro ordered. The Shadow-using Demon appeared nearby, "go get my Wife! When the moon comes out, her Blood Demon Art will be helpful. Though I hope this battle won't take that long" Tanjuro narrowed his red eyes on the destroyed building, 'alright. Here we go' he thought.
Ң
Tanjuro and Hakuji landed in front of Daki, who's Obi were slithering around her like two snakes. "So, you're a Demon too, huh?" She asked, sneering down at Tanjuro from her position on top of the rubble. Tanjuro simply glared at her, feeling his fury building at all of the destruction Daki had already caused. "What's with that look you ugly traitor?! These people are ugly, that means they're worthless! Just like you are!" she cried, her Obi shooting out towards them. Hakuji used his Air-type to deflect the attacks, and Tanjuro sent out streams of flames towards them, burning them up. The Upper Six Demon yelped in pain, retraction her Obi.
"What the- burns like sunlight! How?!" she demanded. Then Tengan appeared over the roof, "Hey, Tanjuro!" he called, tossing him his sword. Tanjuro caught it, and glanced back to see his Wife beside him, "we'll take care of the hostages! You two take care of her!" the Hashira called, as he and Kie leapt away. "Hostages? Oh, you're going after my food storage! Well I won't let you!" Daki cried, shooting her Obi at the two as they fled. Tanjuro and the Sound Hashira sliced them apart simultaneously, causing the enemy Demon to let out a shriek of anger.
"Lord Tanjuro, maybe it would be better for you to go with them" Hakuji suggested. "What?" Tanjuro asked, as he sliced apart multiple Obi with his Sword. "Daki can reabsorb her Obi once all of the humans trapped inside it are free. That will increase her power. But if you go, you can burn all of them once the hostages are no longer an issue!" He explained. He knocked away several Obi that were moving to decapitate him with a fluid series of kicks. Tanjuro frowned as he sliced apart more of them, "but you can't kill her! I'm the only one who can decapitate Daki!" he replied. "Don't you remember what I told you?! If you decapitate her, Gyutaro will emerge, and we don't want that while the District is still being evacuated!" Hakuji explained.
Tanjuro nodded and sheathed his sword, "alright, I understand. I'll leave this to you. Make sure she can't attack anywhere where humans still are" he ordered. "Right!" Hakuji agreed, before Tanjuro leapt away.
Ң
Tanjuro hurried to where Yukito had told him Daki's food storage was, and eventually reached a large hole in the ground. 'This must be how Tengan got down there. I have to hurry, before Daki calls back her Obi!' he thought, jumping down into the hole.
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Daki continued to attack Hakuji, who dodged or deflected all of her strikes, "you damn traitor! Hold still already!" she shrieked furiously. Hakuji stayed focused, his compass flaring under his feet, as he forced a strike away from a nearby house. He couldn't let anyone get hurt here! Memories of his lost family from the past burned through him. No! He would never fail to protect those who needed it again!
Ң
Emerging into the cavern Yukito had told him about, Tanjuro saw all of the torn Obi laying on the ground, the missing humans slowly being freed from them. Tengan was patting two young women on the head, and Tanjuro assumed they were two of his Wives. He watched the pieces of Obi carefully, waiting until all of the humans were free. One of the women, with short black hair saw him and shrieked in fear: "another Demon! We're going to die for sure now!" she cried, before the blond and brown-haired woman smacked her over the head, "I told you to stop that Suma!" she snapped. Tanjuro stepped forwards with his hands out in a show of peace, "I promise you that I am not an enemy. I'm actually on your side. It's a long story" he said with a smile.
Then he turned towards all of the sliced up Obi Pieces, counting them and all of the humans who had emerged, "alright, that looks like all of them. Time to get rid of these!" Tanjuro said, sunlight flames engulfing him, as he threw multiple fire balls towards all of the Obi. They shrivelled and writhed, like snakes, as they all burned up. "That should help with fighting Daki!" Tanjuro said. He looked over all of the freed humans, who seemed to be unconscious. He turned to Tengan, who was talking to his Wives, "have either of you seen Hinatsuru?" he asked, as Tanjuro walked over. Both women shook their heads, "we haven't, I'm sorry Lord Tengan" Suma replied tearfully. The Sound Hashira clenched his fists.
Tanjuro looked down, thinking of his Wife, before he made up his mind, "I'll go deal with Daki. You take these two, and go look for her. Yukito!" he called. The black and purple-haired Demon faded into view, "get these people out of here, take them to the outskirts of the District. Do whatever it takes to keep them safe, alright?" Tanjuro asked. "Yes Sir" Yukito replied, gently picking up the humans and bringing them closer together. Then he engulfed them all in his shadows, and they disappeared. "Wow. Was that Demon listening to you?" Makio asked in confusion. "Again, it's a long story. Let's wait until this is over before we talk" Tanjuro said. He turned to look at Tengan, "good luck finding your Wife. I hope she's safe" he said, before leaping out of the hole in the ground.
Makio looked over at her Husband with a worried look on her face, "Lord Tengan, are those Demons really on our side" she asked. "They are. They have proven themselves time and time again. Let's let them handle this and find Hinatsuru. I have a bad feeling about this" he said, as the Ninja leapt out of the hole.
Ң
Kie woke up in her box. Pushing the door open, she blinked as she looked around. The female Demon huffed, squealed and moaned through her muzzle, but Tanjuro wasn't anywhere nearby. She grew to her full size as she stood up and looked around. She was in a bedroom with no other people in sight. Kie whimpered, moving to the window, as she saw an explosion of dust in the distance. Her veins grew as she began growling, feeling the presence of one of Muzan's Demons in the city. She opened the window and leapt out, heading towards the battle with fury boiling in her blood.