Tanjuro, or Nikko, as he'd decided to call himself in his woman's disguise, bowed to the Madam of the Tokito House. "It's very nice to meet you Ma'am. My name is Nikko, and I hope you let me work here so I can provide for my family" he said politely. "My, you're so well-mannered. We don't usually hire older woman, but we're short-staffed recently, so I might take you" the older woman said. 'Nikko' bowed in gratitude, "please teach me so that I can help my children and Husband" 'she' replied. Tengan, who had wiped all of his make-up off and dressed in a fancy Kimono waved as he left with Tanjuro's Demons, "I'm glad this worked out so well. Take care of yourself Nikko". Tanjuro waved back, but there was a warning in his eye 'you'd better keep your promise to not hurt Kie!'
"Well, I'll show you around then. Please follow me Mrs Nikko" the older woman said as she led him through the building. "Your quarters are down here, and you will be helping with chores, and keeping the place clean for guests" she explained. Tanjuro let out a silent sigh at hearing that he wouldn't have to do anything, 'unfaithful' while he was here. "I understand" he said, voice soft and high, as his Shape-shifted body had a more feminine-sounding voice as well. While they walked through the building, Tanjuro kept his senses alert for Upper 6's Demonic presence, but he couldn't sense anything. One thing was for sure- she was good at hiding herself.
"Here are the bathrooms, and the bedrooms. You're responsible for keeping your own space and clothes clean" the Madam explained. "Since you are known to have a Husband, you'll mostly be doing chores for your earnings. Some of the other Oiran's might even want to take you on as an assistant if you work hard enough" she said. "I'll do my best" Tanjuro said softly. He was given a more thorough tour, then the Madam gave him new clothes to wear, "since you'll be helping with chores, you want a Kimono that you can get dirty. Just don't get in the way of the other workers, or the Lady Oiran" the woman said.
Then she left him alone. Tanjuro entered his room, and unfolded the Kimono he'd been given, looking it over. It was a plain black one, good for cleaning, since any stains wouldn't be as noticeable. He quickly got changed, and looked around his new room. It had a wardrobe for his clothes, a Futon, and a dresser with a mirror to help him get ready. Tanjuro decided to remove his earrings and put them with his other clothes. After all, Muzan was after the Demon wearing Hanafuda earrings, no need to advertise himself to all of the other Demons after him. He wrapped them up carefully in his old clothes, before getting ready to start working. And start looking for information.
Hopefully this wouldn't take too long, and his other Demons would be okay.
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Tanjuro did his chores, and helped the girls when he could. Thanks to his practice in shape-shifting, no one noticed that 'Nikko' was actually a man. He listened out for any rumours about missing girls, and especially the Sound Hashira's Wives. Lucky him, because in a few days, as he was cleaning the halls, he overheard a conversation between two of the younger girls who mostly worked with the Tokito House's Oiran. "Did you hear? Oiran Suma committed Ashinuke!" one of them whispered from a room he was heading to clean. "I can't believe she just ran away like that! It's not like her!" the other little girl replied worriedly.
"Ashinuke? What's that?" Tanjuro asked as he entered the room. The little girls looked up at him. "Oh! Mrs Kamado! It's you!" the first little girl said in surprise. "So you don't know what Ahsinuke is?" the other one asked, "it's when you run away with the man you love without paying your debts. It's really bad!" she explained. Tanjuro frowned. 'But Miss Suma has a Husband already. And Uzui said that he hadn't gotten any reports from any of his Wives for ages. But something like Ashinuke is the perfect cover for people going missing. No one would bother to look into them if they'd thought they'd just run away with a lover' he thought to himself.
"How do you know Miss Suma committed Ashinuke though?' Tanjuro asked. "They told us they'd found her diary, where she'd written about the man she loved and her plans to run away with him and abandon her debts" one of the girls told him. Tanjuro looked down in thought, before a new voice spoke up, "now, now, you mustn't say such things!" a kind voice spoke up. The Demon turned to look behind him to see his house's Oiran, Miss Koinatsu standing behind them. "No one knows where she went, or even if she's alright. Just like the other girls who went missing" the woman looked very worried, "I don't like thinking about what could have happened to them" she said.
"Sorry," Tanjuro apologised, bowing slightly, "I was just curious, but I didn't mean to sound insensitive" he said. "You didn't. I'm glad that you care about other people so much Nikko. You're sweet" Koinatsu said with a smile. The Demon nodded at the Oiran, "well, I should get back to work now Ma'am. Thank you for the information" he said. Then Tanjuro turned and walked away. 'I should definitely let the Sound Hashira know about this' he thought. Then he frowned, 'I wonder how everyone is doing? I hope they're alright and that Kie is safe' the Demon went into the laundry and took the clean washing to fold up.
'Maybe tomorrow I should take a look around and see if I can pick up on Upper 6's Demonic signature. I can't do it today or tonight, because I'll be busy, but I might have time to do it then' Tanjuro wondered.
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That night Tanjuro lay in his bedroom, waiting for everyone to go to sleep. Once he heard every human's heartbeat and breathing slow down to indicate that they were unconscious, he slipped out of bed. Tanjuro crept to the window to leave the building, but a flash of Demonic presence stopped him in his tracks. He looked around carefully, the darkness no issue with his Demonic sight. He couldn't see anything. Tanjuro focused his senses around the building, but he couldn't- no, wait.
He focused on his hearing. There. A soft rustling of cloth, it was faint, but he was able to pick it up. Tanjuro spread out his senses more to try to find the Demon. It wasn't very strong, but there was a Demonic signature below the building, moving like a snake through the ground. Tanjuro crept silently through the house, following it, out of the building and into the street. Then it abruptly dipped even deeper into the ground. Tanjuro hissed when the faint aura vanished after a moment longer. Damn it! Just when he had a lead!
He decided to meet up with Tengan to let him know what he'd discovered, jumping to the roofs and running towards their designated meeting spot. Surely the Sound Hashira would be happy to hear this.
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"I see. You picked up a lead on the Demon then" Tengen said with his arms crossed, looking serious. The Demon Kamado nodded, "I did. I picked up a small Demonic presence moving under my house. I followed it, but it went underground too far. I've also found out that one of your Wives, Suma, apparently ran away from the house with a lover, even wrote a 'Diary' about her plans, but I doubt that was the case if she's already married" Tanjuro explained. "Alright, good work. I'm surprised, you've actually been pretty useful on this Mission Demon King" Tengen replied, impressed.
Tanjuro breathed out a sigh at the Hashira calling him 'Demon King' again. Just because he was one, didn't mean that he liked being called that, especially if it was meant as an insult. He moved on to more important matters, "have any of my Demons found out anything else so far?" Tanjuro asked. "Nope. So far, you're the only one who's actually given me anything useful" the Hashira replied. Tanjuro frowned slightly, "I'm sure my Demons are doing their best. Also, I'm surprised Hakuji hasn't found anything yet, considering his abilities" he replied in thought.
Tengan sighed, "yeah, well, maybe he's withholding information from us" he said. Tanjuro glared at him, "Hakuji's plea for Asylum was genuine. He has regained his human memories and has left Muzan. I fully trust him as one of my own" he replied firmly. "Okay, okay, settle down. Sheesh, you're clingy" Tengan said with a roll of his eyes. "So, what do I do now? Just keep an eye out for any more activity, or should I try to find the Demon myself?" Tanjuro asked.
"Hell no! We need to have all the information before we strike! We're dealing with an Upper Rank Demon here!" the former Shinobi cried.
Tanjuro stared dryly at him, "I did fight Hakuji on my own twice when he was Upper 3 still, and we were pretty evenly matched. I doubt Upper 6 is going to be too much for me to handle. I thought you wanted to save your Wives?" he asked. "I do. But charging in before we have all the information is reckless and dangerous, especially for any unflashy humans the Demon has captured, including them. If we rush in now, the Demon might just kill them all. After all, the humans don't have to be alive to be eaten" Tengan replied. "Hm, true. Alright, so should I try to find where the Demon's presence went then?" the Kamado Father asked.
"Let me handle that. Despite my flashiness, I am a former Shinobi. Sneaking around and gathering information without being caught was something I was trained in since I was a toddler, and I still know how to do so" Tengen replied. "Alright. But I'll send Yukito with you in that case. His Shadow Manipulation Blood Demon Art should come in handy for that" the Kamado decided. The Hashira raised an eyebrow, "that's his Blood Demon Art? Sounds like he would have fit right in back home" he replied. "Although if you hurt him or try to kill him, I will not hesitate to do what I need to protect my own" Tanjuro said darkly.
"Sure, whatever" the former Shinobi replied, standing up, "have him meet me tonight, we'll see what we can find" he said, before he vanished. Tanjuro sighed and sat back on the roof. "Hopefully we can end this without a massive loss of human life" he said to himself.
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Later that night, Tengen waited on the roof for the Demon that Tanjuro was sending to help him. Suddenly he drew his double blades, and slashed at the air behind him. "That's not very hospitable" a voice said from behind him. The Sound Hashira turned to see a Demon emerge from the shadows. Literally. He examined the Demon's appearance. He had short black hair with purple tips and grey slitted eyes. He wore a simple grey Yukata. "Lord Tanjuro asked me to help you investigate the area without being seen." He explained. "Yukito, right?" Tengen asked.
"That's right. Now, stay close to me. That way I can wreath you in my shadows and transport you with me. Better hold on just in case, I've never actually transported anyone except for Sayuri after Lord Tanjuro saved her, and she had quite a tight hold on when while we moved" Yukito explained. Tengan nodded after a moment and walked over to him. He gripped the Demon's shoulder, before shadows began to consume them, "hold on, this'll feel fast" Yukito said. Then the shadows swallowed them up. And just like that the two were gone from the roof.
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Tanjuro looked up at the moon in the sky as he walked towards his room. 'Hopefully we can save everyone' he thought determinedly.