A Pretty Face (KNY x Reader Fanfic)

Chapter 23

Her entire aura was menacing, everyone could sense it. There was a way she walked and talked that demanded attention over everything else. Just the bright makeup around her eyes alone made her appear intimidating.

You were debating on quickly running away while no one was looking. It was easy to assume Gyutaro was threatening Daki in keeping you here. Who knows what he would do to her if you were to escape?

Someone was watching you. The hair on your arms became raised at the sensation. Looking towards the corner Daki warned you of, you saw that the young samurais were no longer standing there.

A part of you wanted to retreat back to Daki's side, knowing she could ward off any threat coming your way. For a moment, you thought you had seen her eyes flicker to where you stood. Was that a sign of anger or concern? She looked back and forth between you and the people was talking to.

She broke away from her group, quickly striding back over to where you stood. Three older men stopped her. They all blushed and smiled while grabbing onto the sleeve of her kimono. Daki cringed at their dirty hands, but then glanced back over to you.

"Are you new?"

Before you could answer, he was already tugging at your clothes, wanting you to turn around. You saw Daki turn whiter than her own makeup.

Your cheeks burned, but not from shyness or admiration. The main samurai, a young man that looked slightly older than you, had one hand resting against the hilt of his blade and the other clenched around your sleeve. One of his eyes was covered by a white bandage. A tinge of redness seeped through the center.

He wasn't very cute, either.

It had been so long since you had felt a blade's hilt rest in the palm of your hand. After so many decades of not wielding a nichirin sword, you retained no knowledge on how to use it properly. Your mediocre skills of being a demon slayer were now gone and wasted.

And after such a long time, you barely remembered why you were so insistent on following your mother's footsteps. You didn't even know her. That crow of hers should have known better than to summon you for training.

There wasn't even a small culinary knife you could hide in your clothes. Daki took away your boots that were falling apart at the seams. The little shoes you had on now were uncomfortable and you couldn't hide any weapon in them.

Then you remembered the cold pieces of jewelry sitting in your hair. They were shaped like needles, albeit thicker and shined with gold. Some of them had dangling charms and colorful flowers. Would the hairpins serve as a weapon if needed?

"Are you deaf? I asked if you were new." the other samurai laughed as their friend tapped the side of your head. You frowned at their bullying.

"...Yes, I'm new," your head turned to look back at Daki. Her face now burned red with anger. "Did you need something?"

Their thin and tight lipped smiles made you take a step back.

"We wanted to buy your services for the night. How much would it be?" They rummaged through their pockets, producing their money.

Gulping, you turned your head again to look for Daki. She was nowhere in sight. Your panic began to rise higher.

"I-I'm not for sale. She said—" You were cut off when the main samurai squeezed your wrist.

"Who's she? Oiran Warabihime?" He asked. When you nodded, he looked back to his friends and laughed.

Her eyes burned into you from some corner of the room, but you didn't know where. Why wasn't she helping you? Didn't she understand the danger you were in? No one else realized you were slowly being surrounded and isolated. You couldn't speak up.

How come you weren't this scared with Gyutaro?

"That Oiran should be ashamed of herself. There's plenty of other women that deserve her place! You shouldn't listen to that wench."

Another pair of eyes focused on your figure. This one was induced with more rage; it was brighter than Daki's by twice as much. You saw the walls slightly tremble.

"What are you trying to say? Did Oiran Warabihime offend you somehow?" Your question made their smiles disappear.

"I was gonna buy her out...that wench thought I wasn't good enough for her. Let us buy you. What about for one night?"

Their hands tried touching you everywhere. You felt yourself beginning to gag from the awful sensation. Why couldn't they just leave you alone and go bother someone else?

"Aren't you just mad that she stabbed one of your eyes? That's what happened, right? No wonder you're so resentful!" Quickly reaching upwards, you grabbed at the edge of the white bandage covering his eye and snatched it away. The fabric dwindled to the floor.

Blood was caked all around the area. Some of it freshly oozed out of his swollen eye which was squeezed shut. People started to whisper and look at the scene taking place.

He covered his eye out of embarrassment, cursing when he tried to hide the damage from his friends and the onlookers. Not even his friends knew the extent of damage his eye suffered. They all withdrew from you, instead branching out and leaving just the one samurai in your bubble.

"You're blind in that eye, and it's infected. You'll die from the infection soon enough." You wanted to reach back up again and dig your thumb into his wounded eye.

"You...shame me. And now you've got everyone staring...I'll fucking kill you—"

His hands wrapped tight around your throat, just like Daki had done when they first found you in that rotten cellar. People just wanted to use you. No one genuinely wanted you. They either wanted your blood, or your body. Didn't that count as the same thing? Work, work, and more work. You lived for no purpose other than to exist as some miracle.

You grabbed one of the hairpins from your hair and aimed it for the other eye.