Chapter Thirty Seven: What Are You?
In the Edo era in a brothel in the Yoshiwara district an Oiran was putting on her makeup when she was confronted by an attendant. The attendant accused the Oiran of multiple disappearances within the house. The woman entered the room and closed the door only for the prostitute to exit moments later! and then the attendant suddenly vanished without a trace?!.
In the Ogimoto House in the present day.
A captured Makio was being being questioned who the letters were for, with the demoness calling her by name. Sensing something Nezuko and Inosuke had decided to investigate, while in the Kyogoku House, Zenitsu pondered that since entering the the house he has yet to hear about Hinatsuru despite his vigilance, and the resent death of the house's owner had also hampered his mission as everyone was tight-lipped and afraid. But Zenitsu did not let this deter him. The young Demon Slayer decided to try again, Zenitsu honed his hearing and was able to detect multiple voices throughout the house. He suddenly heard someone crying and deduced that it was a young girl, while back at the Ogimoto House, the demoness detected someone approaching, she was absolutely annoyed at the house's busyness. Makio took this opportunity to think of a way to inform Tengen, but the demoness's sashes rapidly twisted and contorted around Makio's torso. The demoness threatened to crush Makio's organs if dared makes any commotion!.
Nezuko and Inosuke looked at the quite room with food left out for Makio, they felt a creepy vibe from the room so they decided to think of a plan, and then Inosuke suddenly muttered that sitting and thinking with out taking action is not who he is so he barged into Makio's room with Nezuko running right behind him. Upon entering, the two were shocked at the state of the room...it was destroyed and disheveld, with papers and pillows torn and slash marks throughout the walls, they also noticed the debris floating about despite the windows being closed and no wind entering, then Inosuke hurled a bowl of ramen at the attic and angrirly shouted that he was on to the demon. The ceiling began to shake and the demon left the room, with Inosuke and Nezuko running through the halls in pursuit. Inosuke crashed threw multiple walls an attempt to fallow the demon, even punching a client for getting in his way leaving a large hole in the wall. Using the seventh form of Beast Breathing: Spatial Awareness, Inosuke was able to sense the demon fleeing downstairs, Inosuke and Nezuko rushed to the bottom of the staircase but but the kimono was hampering Inosuke's senses so he lost track of the demon. Inosuke and Nezuko were so angry, the demon was able to escape due to the people that got in Inosuke and Nezuko's way.
Meanwhile in the Kyogoku House
Zenitsu had entered a room where he sensed a young girl crying, inside Zenitsu was shocked by destruction in the room, and loudly questioned the crying girl, asking if she had been in a fight. Shaken the little girl cried harder, but luckily Zenitsu was able to comfort the child and get her to calm down.When Zenitsu asked the girl if she was ok, Zenitsu quietly assured the girl that he was not angry and was simply asking if she was in trouble, then suddenly Zenitsu sensed a demon lurking behind them!. The demon woman angerily asked what they were doing in her room?!. Zenitsu was terrified, he also noticed that she only appeared when she started to speak to him, was she an Upper Rank demon?!. The demoness was also the Kyogoku House's Oiran Warabihime. The two young girls explained to Warabihime that "Zenko" had arrived only two days ago, but Warabihime ignored their words, frightening the girls.
Zenitsu apologized for intruding but Warabihime only mocked him for "her" ugly appearance and yellow hair. She then approached the girl assigned to clean the room and harshly grabbed her ear ignoring her scream of pain. The girl cried and begged for forgiveness...promising to clean the room as her ear began to bleed. In a instant Zenitsu grabbed Warabihime's arm and demanded her to stop.
Back in the Tokito House
Tanjiro continued to do his chores quickly and diligently. The house's madam was stunned at his desire to do chores, the woman had run out of tasks for him to do!. Meanwhile in the Ogimoto House, the chaperone and two attendants had witnessed the giant hole made by Inosuke. When the chaperone decided to confront "Inoko " for the vandalism, she was surprised to see Inosuke focusing with his legs over his head, trying to sense the demon. While at the Kyogoku House, Zenitsu was still confronting Warabihime Oiran. Zenitsu repeated his words demanding that Warabihime let the poor girl go. Infuriated, she let the young girl go and ripped her hand from Zenitsu's grasp. But suddenly she swinged her fist back and struck Zenitsu in the face.
Two days before the Yoshiwara mission
The owner of the Kyogoku House a woman named Omitsu, was confronting Warabihime. Warabihime was terrorizing the girls at the Kyogoku House, she was constantly hurting the girls and had driven many of them to commit Ashinuke or even suicide, Warabihime was literally bullying the poor girls to death. Warabihime denied the accusations,and tried to shift the blame on the victims, saying that their actions annoyed her, she then scathingly reminded Omitsu that most of the Kyogoku House's earnings were from her as an Oiran. Omitsu relayed a story she was told as a child by an older woman about certain Oirans, incredibly beautiful but incredibly twisted. The woman had seen such Oirans when she was young and later when she was middle-aged, the Oirans had "hime" in the end of their name and would cock their heads to the side and glare angrirly if something annoyed them, and seeing Warabihime doing just that, Omitsu armed with a knife, angrirly confronted the other woman for what she was, questioning if she was even human.
In a flash Warabihime grabbed Omitsu in her sashes and took her to the sky, she dangled the helpless woman over the ground, she mockingly told Omitsu that she should have kept quiet the moment she sensed something. Now undisguised, her eyes revealed her true identity as Upper Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuke. The demoness told Omitsu not to be afraid, for she heated the teast of the old and the ugly and the dirty, before mercilessly dropping Omitsu to her death below. As people on the street happened upon Omitsu's corpse, Warabihime returned to her room only to see Muzan Kibutsuji inside. Addressing him as Master Muzan, she kneeled before him as the Demon King commends her for eating numerous people and gaining more strength. Muzan advised the demoness to remain vigilant as she gets stronger, as any skilled Demon Slayer can immediately distinguish demons from humans. Calling her by her demon name Daki, Muzan praised Daki for her beauty and strength as she had previously claimed the lives of seven Hashira before telling her that she is an extraordinary demon.
Back at the present day
Zenitsu got flung through several walls and was knocked unconscious. Daki angrirly demanded that she isn't touched. The house master appeared, he calmed her down and asked that she forgive Zenko, and remind her that customers will soon arrive at the house. Daki smiled and calmly stated that she was perhaps too merciless, and asked that they treat Zenko's wounds, she then told the master that she should be apologizing as things have left her irritated. The master quickly demanded the mess be cleaned up and nothing done that displeased "Warabihime". Daki realized that the blow to Zenitsu hasn't damaged him severely, and he quickly went on the defensive, deducing him to be a Demon Slayer but not a Hashira. "You did a good job bringing him in" Daki muttered to herself as she was putting on her makeup...she will devour them all!. While in the Tokito House, Tanjiro was still doing his chores when he suddenly detected a murky scent in the air that has only appeared at night.
Zenitsu woke up and saw the three young girls, glad that "Zenko" is now awake. They told him he was punched and knocked unconscious, the girls offered him some food and a towel for the mark on his cheek. Hearing the pain in his voice as he tends to his injury, the girl he protected sadly told him that pain is what he got for defending her from Warabihime. " Any man would rescue a damsel in distress. That's a given." said Zenitsu dissuading the girl from her words, but then he realized what he said so he doubled down on his words and told them that he was the eldest daughter and can't stand when a younger girl cries. The girls bid Zenitsu goodwill and leave him to rest. As the Thunder Breathing slayer was quietly admiring the girls kind attitude by himself, Daki suddenly abducted him in her Obi sashes, without warning!.
Author's Note: i'm so glad that this story is doing so well! i thank everyone who took the time to read and leave a comment/ review it means a lot to me and it really helps encourage me to keep going.
