ADORATION { Kny / Demon Slayer }

{¥} 39 - House Kyogoku {¥}

You kneeled behind Zenitsu as he furiously played the shamisen, veins bulging from his hands and forehead as he took his anger out on the instrument.

Uzui had decided to abandon you guys there for free, telling them to make Zenitsu clean toilets or something.

Of course, the blond was not happy at that outcome. He was determined to prove himself as useful as a form of payback for the both of you; you appreciated his drive, but weren't so sure as to how this could get back at Uzui.

You didn't bother to point that out though, opting to stay silent beside him since the ladies of the house seemed to enjoy his playing.

Kind of...

It's been a couple days now since you've entered House Kyogoku. You had gotten more accompany requests from men than you expected. Even though you were 'blind', apparently your face was pretty enough to garner attention anyway.

During one your rare free periods, you and Zenitsu walked through the halls together while you both used your advanced hearing to eavesdrop on the conversations happening within the establishment. There wasn't much talk going on between the ladies and patrons, a strange sad atmosphere always seeming to linger in the air.

Your ear twitched when the soft sound of somebody crying came from somewhere within the house. Not wasting another second, Zenitsu grabbed your wrist and ran towards the source of the sobs.

You both came upon an open room and peeked inside. The space was completely trashed with a girl in the middle, crying into her hands. The scent of human blood wafted into your mouth, your face scrunching up a little under your veil. Zenitsu ran forward to fret over the girl and you made a move to follow but froze when your chest suddenly seized.

Thump

Thump

Thump

"What are you doing in my room?" A woman had suddenly appeared behind Zenitsu, glowering dangerously down at the disguised boy. The blond broke out into a cold sweat, his heart beginning to hammer against his rib cage that you could hear clearly, the sound thrumming against your eardrums.

You and him both knew that the woman glaring down at him was a demon.

And a powerful one at that.

"Hey. Did you hear m—!" The woman stopped, lips parted and tasting the air for a moment before her eyes snapped towards you. "What...do you think you're doing here?"

She knew.

With her narrowed eyes scrutinizing you from across the room, you could tell she immediately picked up on the fact that you were a demon as well.

And she wasn't happy with you infiltrating her territory.

"Oh! Warabihime Oiran!" Two human girls nervously made themselves known at the entrance behind you, a tremble in their voice as they addressed the angry woman. "These two girls just arrived a day or two ago."

'Warabihime' sent a nasty glare towards the kneeled humans, rooting them in place.

"So? What does that matter to me?"

Zenitsu had finally snapped out of his terror-struck trance, quickly turning around to address the woman.

"I'm sorry! I came in on my own! The room was messy and this girl was crying, so..."

Warabihime sneered down at him, disgust written all over her face.

"You're ugly. And creepy. Maybe you'd be better off dead, no?" Zenitsu gaped up at her as she verbally assaulted him, "Whats with that hair colour? Trying to stand out?" She clicked her tongue, "You're right, this room really is a mess. But I left orders to have it cleaned." The demon leaned down, harshly grabbing the crying girl by the ear and pulling her up, drawing out a pained, choked cry from the young woman. "Shut up, you! No yelping! Just clean up!" The girl's ear began to bleed under the woman's ruthless hold, a fresh round of tears falling heavily down her cheeks as she began to cry louder.

Your eyes shook, red hot anger flushing through your body at the way this demon treated humans.

Zenitsu grabbed Warabihime's wrist in a tight grip, and you tensed your muscles just in case you needed to jump in.

"...what?" The dark haired woman sent the blond a dark glare, veins bulging from her forehead.

"Please...let her go." Zenitsu commanded, a mix of fear and determination set on his features.

The demon's hand lashed out, your body moving before you could think and shoving Zenitsu aside to take the hit for him. You let out a grunt, the strength of her swing sending you crashing out of the room and into the one across the hall.

'Agh...that hurt!'

"Tsk, protecting an ugly thing like her is disgraceful." Warabihime stalked closer to you, watching as you slowly sat up from the pile of debris.

The woman stopped just short of you, eyes widening a fraction as she took in your now uncovered face—your veil having fell over the back of your head when you landed. You let out a small groan and placed a hand against your face where you were struck, the bruise under your palm already healing over in seconds.

"(Y/n), are you alright?!" Zenitsu called out from his place beside the injured human and you let out a sigh.

"You shouldn't treat these girls so harshly, Warabihime Oiran." You opened your eyes, glaring darkly into her own from the spaces between your fingers. Just as quickly as you did so, you pulled the covering back over your face and stood up.

"Hah, don't tell me what to do, brat. I'm above you, and it would do you well to remember that." The woman spat, trying to ignore the strange feelings that had developed in her chest. "Both of you require discipline. Harsh discipline."

"Warabihime Oiran!" A man was quick to intervene, getting on his knees to bow before the woman. "Of course you are right! Please forgive me! It's almost opening time! Customers are coming! I will scold the both of them sternly, but for now please don't bring shame on me."

You narrowed your eyes to see a fake smile stretching across the woman's face directed at the man.

'Her acting is so good it's scary...'

"Master, raise your head." She chimed, her voice far more friendly now with no trace of the previous rage she displayed before. "It is I who should be sorry. Of late, many things have gotten on my nerves. I was too hard on these girls. After all, they're still new to our house." The woman sent a side glance at you, smiling like a cat.

"Please, tend to their injuries."