Chapter 58: Warabihime Oiran
It's been over a day since they arrived at the red light district. Hiroto and Zenitsu hadn't been able to find Uzui's wife since they were too busy trying to blend in with their roles.
They both met up away from everywhere and started to discuss what to do next.
"*sigh* I somehow lost sight of myself… We were supposed to be looking for Hinatsuru, but I can't do much about being really good at playing the shamisen and the koto." Zenitsu grumbled.
"I can't really argue against you there. They would barely let me leave just to meet with you. Girls are scary." Hiroto said, thinking back to how he was forced to sing for hours on end.
"I've been trying to listen out for any clues the whole time, but there's nothing about Hinatsuru-san. I've heard about the madam dying two days ago or something." Zenitsu said.
"Yea, that must be why the feeling around here is so gloomy, not a lot of people are talking," Hiroto added. "Do your ear thing again, try and see if you can hear anything else."
"Don't treat my ears as a gimmick," Zenitsu said, before cupping his ears once more.
Listening closely, he could hear faint whispers of various voices from around the building.
'Take that!'
'I'm so hungry.'
'Is the hair-dresser here?'
'Hic, hic, sniff'
'Hurry up now!'
Zenitsu concentrated more on the sounds of a girl crying and could hear it more clearly. "A girl is crying! That's a big problem." Zenitsu said, turning to Hiroto.
Hiroto didn't know how to respond, was this Zenitsu's love for women acting up or did he have a genuine lead? Either way, Hiroto followed behind Zenitsu and the two arrived in a room that was in complete disarray.
"Wha… What happened to this room? It's all messed up!" Zenitsu yelled out.
Hiroto saw a girl who was kneeling in the room and crying when she heard Zenitsu's voice she turned around. Her face was bruised and the corner of her mouth was bleeding as tears streamed down her eyes. Hiroto frowned and approached her.
"Are you okay? Did you get into a fight with someone?" Hiroto said. The girl looked towards Hiroto and didn't know what to say.
"UH, A F- A fight?! Did you fight?! Are you okay?!" Zenitsu screamed at the girl. The girl got frightened and covered her eyes as she continued crying.
"Dammit, Zenin- Zeniko, keep your voice down, you're scaring her." Hiroto reprimanded him.
"Ah! Sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to get ma… mad at you!! Sorry!" Zenitsu apologized to the girl.
In the next moment, Hiroto felt a disturbing presence approach them from behind. His instincts were yelling at him, telling him that there was something dangerous behind them. Zenitsu also froze up, as he could hear the person's sound.
"What're you doing in someone else's room?" A woman's voice said. Turning around, Hiroto saw a beautiful woman with her black hair tied up in a geisha style. She had a very prideful look on her face, as he looked down at the 3 people.
Zenitsu started sweating as he thought, 'It's the sound of a Demon. A Demon is behind me right now. This isn't a 'Human 'sound' I didn't notice at all until it raised its voice. Isn't this an Upper Moon Demon? It's a terrible sound, but it's so quiet it actually frightens me.'
Hiroto saw Zenitsu freeze up and could tell that Zenitsu must have also felt threatened about the person behind them.
"Hey, are you deaf over there." The woman's snarky voice came, as he started to get angry.
From outside, two girls were shivering and huddled to each other as they spoke. "W… Warabihime Oiran. Those two are the girls that came in yesterday or the day before, so…"
The woman, Warabihime, turned and scowled at them, "Huh? So what of it?"
Hiroto then adopted a polite tone and spoke up, "We're so sorry Warabihime Oiran. We did not realize that this was the room of yours truly. Now that I realized, of course, such a room can only befit a woman as grand and beautiful as yourself." 'This wasn't the time to be picking fights, I need to kiss up to her to warn the others. There are too many people around, and angering a possible Upper Moon Demon would be disastrous around here.' Hiroto thought.
"Hmph." Warabihime looked pleased when she got complimented, as her facial expression softened up. "I'll let you off on the account that you know who you should respect around here."
Warabihime then turned to the girl that was crying and grabbed her by the ear, lifting her. "Kyaah!" The girl cried out in pain.
"Shut the hell up! Don't just scream! Clean the damn room!" Warabihime shouted.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I will do it right away! Please forgive me…!!" The cry cried out desperately.
At that moment, Zenitsu stepped forward and grabbed unto Warabihime's arm.
"... What's this?" She asked in a menacing tone, as the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped.
"Get your hands off her!" Zenitsu shouted, looking tense as he started to sweat.
At the next moment, just as Warabihime was about to hit Zenitsu, Hiroto walked forward and dragged Zenitsu to the ground, before pretending to scold him.
"Don't just casually lay your hands on Warabihime Oiran! If you value your place here, you'd do well to learn your place!" Hiroto said, as he gave silent signals within his eyes to Zenitsu, who seemed to finally have caught on.
Hiroto then turned to Warabihime, and said, "I apologize in Zeniko's place, I will help the girl clean your room as a token of your mercy." Hiroto bowed, giving off a deceptive glint in his eyes that no one could see.
Warabihime looked appreciatively towards Hiroto and nodded, "Good, it seems that we have gotten a fine girl this time around. I'll make sure to take care of you since you're my junior." Warabihime said, before turning to the others and smiling. "Maybe I was being too rough on the girl, I'll get everything ready before we open up, so clean this mess up."
"Y… yes!!" The girl inside the room responded, as well as the two girls outside. Hiroto looked over to Zenitsu, giving him a sign to speak.
Zenitsu gritted his teeth and said, "I apologize for overstepping." He bowed his head.
"It's all taken care of, no need to dwell on the past," Warabihime said, before turning to walk away. She then thought to herself, 'That brat, judging from how she touched me, she's quite weak. However, that red-haired girl… She instantly reacted when I was about to slap the blond girl away… she's no ordinary person, and that was no coincidence. She might be a Demon Slayer, but I can't tell just how strong she is yet.'
As Hiroto watched her walk away, he swiped a sweat away from his forehead and relaxed. Turning to Zenitsu, he whispered, "Remember, we're here to find Uzui's wife. Although that woman might be a Demon, we can't act yet. There are too many civilians around if we made a move it could get chaotic and lead to unnecessary lives being taken."
Zenitsu nodded his head, "I know… Thank you for stepping in."
The girl that was being bullied on the side stepped forward and said, "Um… Thank you for stepping in for me."
Hiroto smiled and said, "It's no big deal. We all need to look out for one another."
The girl blushed slightly, seeing Himiko's *cough* Hiroto's smile. Zenitsu looked on from the side, and the girl also smiled towards him and thanked him for helping her.
This led to Zenitsu being giddy for the rest of the day.
As night descended, Hiroto and Zenitsu tried getting more information throughout the day but couldn't find anything. They went their separate ways in the hope of hearing more rumors.
In Warabihime's room, she was sitting and doing her makeup as she talked to herself. "Kuku, Fufufu. It took a bit of time, but I did a good job of baiting them here. I'll welcome them slowly. Kill them all and have a feast." Her eyes dilated, as fangs grew from her mouth.
As Hiroto just finished singing, he was pulled to a side room where a girl told him to follow. "Come with me, Warabihime wants to see you."
Hiroto acted naturally but was secretly guarded, wondering what she wanted. As they walked to her room, Hiroto could hear some laughter and drunken words being spoken from some of the rooms they walked past.
Arriving outside of Warabihime's room, the girl spoke up. "Ma'am, I brought Himiko over as you have instructed."
After a moment of silence, Warabihime's voice came from the other side. "Good, send her in."
The girl nodded to Hiroto and slid the door open, gesturing for him to enter. Hiroto stayed guarded as he slowly walked into the room that was previously in a mess but was now cleaned.
Hiroto walked up to Warabihime, who had her back faced away from him. "You asked to see me, Warabihime Oiran?" Hiroto said respectfully.
Warabihime turned around, with her eyes dilated and laughed. "Fufufu, you don't need to keep up the act..."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Suploly
Suploly oooo I wonder what's going to happen. Too bad cliff-kun came to visit me.
Let me know what you thought of the chapter in the comments, hope you enjoyed this one!
Peace out!
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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