Demon Slayer Oneshots

☁️Zenitsu/Reader: The Rouge Ruse Part 7

Chapter 7: Accidental Encounters

Your eyelids felt heavy as expected when you awoke this morning. You turned over in your bed with a groan, burying your face in the silken pillow in a pitiful attempt to evade the cruel daylight. After staying out half the night, it was only natural to be this tired, but the exceptionally high level of noise outside your door was really starting to test your patience.

Gritting your teeth you snatched up your comb, readied yourself, and opened the door. To your bewilderment, every girl that lived on your floor was lingering about the hallway, chattering in small groups, while some stood alone, backs to their respective rooms. The maidservant passed by your feet, clipboard in hand, and you grabbed her arm to stop her movement.

"Hey. What's going on?"

"Oh, good. You're awake." You saw her lift an ink pen to the clipboard and mark something off. "I think that's the last." Balking at the way she blatantly ignored you, you could only watch in silence as she stepped towards the middle of the passage, raising her volume. "Alright, listen up! Everyone have your numbers?" You blinked twice and looked around the crowd, only now noticing that the door across from you was adorned in the number seven, before turning to see the great big wooden eight hanging on your own, swinging back and forth from the momentum of you sliding it open.

"In light of recent events, we will now be taking role first thing in the morning and every night before curfew. You will quietly assemble and await instruction. After hours all girls are to be escorted back to their rooms by a chaperone. Manager's orders." Collective murmurings and the parting of bodies lent your gaze down the hall, where Zenko was looking bug-eyed and worried, clearly wondering the same thing as you: if the Oiran had found out about last night's excursion...

"All daily duties done outside the Okiya must be performed in pairs. No exceptions." With that the maidservant began walking down the line of girls, assigning tasks based on each one's newly designated number.

"What is all this?" You whispered warily to Chiyo.

"Didn't you hear? Ima-chan lost her footing." She sounded positively dispirited, and you knew how she must've felt. She, just like you, had realized the severity of the situation early yesterday morning, and was forced to suppress her call to action throughout the entire day. No doubt she must've been riven with guilt, plagued by the constant nagging of what-ifs.

"No way..." You replied shakily. Granted, by now you were fully aware of this, but still had to act surprised to save face. Eventually the maidservant made it down to you, glancing at her clipboard and then back up at you.

"Today your assignment is market duty. Here is your list of items."

"Oh." Frankly, you were downright shocked to receive such an easy job. After the foul mood you'd been in yesterday, you were certain the instructors would give you some kind of punishment work. And even that wouldn't be sufficient comeuppance for the little overnight foray you had taken last night. But then... perhaps you hadn't been found out after all. "Alright." You half-stuttered when the maidservant looked at you expectantly. "I'll clean up after breakfast and grab someone on my way out."

Your first thought was to take Chiyo with you in an attempt to raise her spirits. It would be nice to snack on peaches at the market together, just like you used to do before all this happened. But almost instantly afterward your mind flashed back to Zenko, and you felt torn, chest stinging with the urge to repay after she helped you last night. She had easily saved you from an arrest at best, and at worst... well you didn't even want to think about that...

Fortunately, you didn't have to make that tough decision, as the blonde in question approached you just as you finished up your breakfast. She was clearly jittery in her movement, and those big doe eyes of hers swam with guilt and fear. For a moment you wished she weren't so damn obvious. Behavior like that was bound to spark suspicion in the eyes of the manager.