Chapter 11

"Now then, answer me." said the female voice again. "Who was it that you were writing all these little letters to? What was your name? Oh, I remember. It's Makio, isn't it."

Makio raised her head, glaring at the strange voice.

"Answer me at once, Makio."

Back with Inosuke, he found a staired passageway. He walks up the stairs, determined to find out more about the Makio situation.

In the Kyogoku House, Zenitsu was dully walking down the hallway of the building. All around him, young girls were getting ready for the day, making sure to stay busy. Zenitsu tuned them out as his thoughts kept swirling in his mind.

I almost forgot why I came here in the first place. I'm supposed to be looking for Mr. Uzui's wife, Ms. Hinatsuru. Playing the shamisen and koto probably won't help much with doing that. But it's not like anything else is happening here.

I've been all ears since I arrived, and I still haven't heard a word about Ms. Hinatsuru. Then again, the owner of this house died two days ago, which makes sense why everyone is somber around here.

Zenitsu stopped thinking and he closed his eyes to see if he can hear anything. He heard girls trying to get themselves ready but out of the chaos, he heard a young girl crying.

Back with Inosuke, he jogged in place, acting as if he was on his way to that certain room. Inside the room, Makio was mentally trying t plan a way to warn Tengen but then the ribbons surrounding her lifted her up and tightened around her.

"I wouldn't want you to make a scene." said the strange voice.

Outside the room, Inosuke looked to see a tray of food on the floor. That must be the food that woman left for her, which means that room must be Makio's. It's weird. Her food's still there. Is she sick or in trouble? I can't tell. Something creepy's going on. That's for sure.

Then Inosuke had enough with his patience. "Here I am, sittin' around, doing nothing! That's not my style!"

Inosuke ran to the room and slammed open the door. He gasped. Inside, the room was empty except for a torn-up mattress, clawed up walls, and a board full of written papers and pictures.

There's wind, even though the windows are closed. Inosuke looked up towards the ceiling. The attic. Inosuke grabbed a bowl of food, and he threw it up against the ceiling. Soon after, the ceiling above him shook, having Inosuke confused but on high alert.

Then Inosuke started running down the hallway, following the demon that's above the ceiling. He ran through rooms, pushing people to get them out of his way. He then detected the demon, and he was about to punch the wall but instead he punched a guy that came from around the corner. The girls who witnessed it screamed in shock. But Inosuke was too early.

He ran downstairs, sensing it going down but the kimono he is wearing is blocking all his senses, so he is having trouble detecting where the demon is within the walls.

Back with Zenitsu, he managed to find the girl who was crying. He slid open a door to a room. He gasped at what he saw inside. Inside, the room was a mess and the young girl was in the middle of the room, crying.

"Hey! What the heck happened here? Seriously! Your room's a mess!" he screamed at her.

The young girl turned around to face him.

"Wait! Did you get in a fight? Are you okay? Who did this?" Zenitsu asked in panic.

The young girl turned her back on him and began to cry again. Zenitsu looked at the girl in surprise. He looked both ways to see if anyone was looking or if anyone was nearby. With the hallways cleared, he rushed inside, speaking in a low soft gentle voice.

"Hey, don't cry. What's going on? You all right? Sorry I yelled like that. I wasn't angry or anything, I swear. It's just I was surprised. That's all."

Then out of nowhere, Zenitsu felt a sense of dread. A sense of danger. A woman was standing right behind him. He didn't even hear her come in.

"You there... what do you think you're doing in my room?" said the woman.

Zenitsu stayed there, frozen in fear. That sound... that's not a human standing behind me. That's a demon. I didn't even notice she was there until she started speaking. How is that possible? This sound is bad news. I've never heard one so ominously quiet before. Which means... this is an Upper Rank demon.

"What's wrong? Are you hard of hearing or something, girl?" said the woman.

"Um, please wait, Oiran Warabihime." said a young girl behind the Oiran.

"That girl is brand new." said the other young girl who was next to the first. "She just started here the day before yesterday."

Both young girls were shuddering in fear.

The Oiran looked over her shoulder to glare angrily at them. "And? So what if she's new?"

"Forgive me if I intruded. I saw this room was a mess, and I heard a girl crying in here." Zenitsu said.

The Oiran turned to look at him. "Why are you so damn hideous? My goodness. Looking at you makes me ill. Girls like you are better off dead. Also, what's with that hair color? You look like a sore thumb."

All those words she just said hit Zenitsu hard.

"In any case, you're right. This room is still in shambles, isn't it?" the Oiran walked past Zenitsu and towards the young girl who was crying.

"If I'm not mistaken, I told you to clean it up." the Oiran grabbed the girl by the ear harshly. The girl started screaming and crying.

"Shut your mouth! Stop all that screaming and start cleaning, brat!" the Oiran yelled at her.

"I'm sorry! Forgive me, Oiran! I'll clean it all up! Just please let go!" said the girl. Her ear started to bleed.

Then Zenitsu took a firm grip onto the Oiran's wrist. The Oiran glared at him.

"What's this?" she said.

Zenitsu looked up at the Oiran. "Please... take your hands off her."