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Chapter Text

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Tomioka P.O.V

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"Ne Ne, Tomioka-san," I sighed a little bit, "what do you want Kocho?"

She smiled sweetly, "Haven't you heard? All of the hashira are having a sleepover. Why don't you join us?" "Hard pass,"

A vein twitched on her cheek, great, two seconds into the conversation and she's already tired of me.

"Now now Tomioka, why don't you at least think about it first." I stayed silent a couple seconds, pretending to think, "still a no." "How about we make a deal?"

I stared at her blankly, "if you go to the sleepover, just tonight, ill stop messing with you every time I see you." I felt my eyes widen, was she really willing to stop, or was this a joke? I gave in, "fine, but just this once."

She smiled a little wider, "meet me at Uzui's estate at 7 tonight. Make sure to wear something other than your uniform." I nodded, relieved when she finally walked away.

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At Uzui's estate

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"What is he doing here?" Obanai demanded as Kocho herded me into Uzui's main room, "all hashira were invited, were they not Iguro-san?"

He huffed unhappily, turning his attention to Kanroji, engaging her in a conversation. I was uncomfortable for a few reasons.

1. Kocho was pushing my back, forcing me to walk

2. Almost every hashira was staring, surprised I actually came to one of the monthly sleepovers

3. I actually came to one of the monthly sleepovers

Kocho sat me down next to Shinazugawa then sat down on my other side. "How'd you get him to come?" He asked her, A little respect in his tone.

She smiled back, "I have my ways." Uzui's pulled a bottle out from behind him, catching my attention, "alright we're going to to be playing spin the bottle truth or dare," kill me now,

"if you don't want to participate, say so now, otherwise you have to do whatever the person landed on you says."

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it when I felt Kocho's menacing glare from the other side of Shinazugawa.

"You go first Kocho, since you just got here." Uzui said politely as he handed her the sake bottle. It landed on Kanroji when she spun it, "truth or dare Kanroji-san?"

She thought about it for a couple seconds before saying, "Truth!"

Kocho's smile got a little smaller, "is it true that one of the 2 guys you were supposed to marry before joining the corps said that only a bear or a boar could love someone like you?"

I could feel Iguro's murderous aura from where I was seated. Kanroji looked down uncomfortably and nodded.

"Name, address, date of birth, family names, I want to know everything about this guy," Iguro said dangerously low.

Beside him, Rengoku laughed nervously and patted him on the shoulder, "Loosen up Obanai, its all in the past. Kanroji has people that love and respect her now."

Kanroji blushed a deep pink, "thank you Rengoku-san!" Kanroji finally spun the bottle, it landed on Uzui, "truth or dare Uzui-san?" "Hm, truth,"

"Is it true that the relationship you have with your wives is platonic?" "Indeed it is Kanroji!"

Uzui grabbed the bottle, presumably to avoid any questions, and spun it. It landed on me this time, "Tomioka!" Great I have to speak, "Truth or dare?" The game was boring so far, so, "Dare." He grinned widely making me immediately regret my decision,

"I dare you to kiss Shinazugawa."

What?

"On the lips."

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"Um, excuse me what the actual FUCK is going on here?" Shinazugawa yelled from beside me.

I flinched a little, he didn't seen to have an indoor voice. I stared at Uzui, desperately hoping that this was all a joke.

He didn't look like he was joking. I looked over at Shinazugawa, letting some of the mortification I felt show in my face while trying not to be hurt by how disgusted he looked.

"Is there anything else I can do?" I asked quietly. Uzui shook his head, "I gave everyone a chance to back out before we started.

Its too late, now you gotta do it." I took a deep breath, this was not how I expected to spend my one day off.

I turned to Shinazugawa, jaw squared, I was not going to listen to the other hashira make fun of me for weeks because I couldn't kiss an aggressive dog for a dare.

He looked me in the eye with a look that said, 'don't you dare.'

I grabbed his cheeks with both my hands and pulled his lips to mine. I held him there for a moment before pulling away and letting him go.

"wow Shinazugawa, are you actually speechless for once? Did you enjoy it?" Uzui taunted, which was a mistake on his part.

A few veins in Shinazugawa's forehead popped out, "You bastard, ill cut your dick off and turn it into earrings if you ever say something like that again."

Uzui scooted a few inches in the opposite direction as he shot a glare at Iguro, who was shaking with silent laughter.

I brought my fingers to my lips, they tingles a little. I hadn't been kissed in 8 years. I grabbed the bottle to continue the game, hoping other peoples dares would distract them from mine.

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Time skip - bedtime

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"I set up sleeping bags for everyone in Uzui's guest room down the hall," Kocho announced. She put me and Shinazugawa next to each other before moving to the last open spot next to Kanroji.

I eyed her suspiciously, I bet she was working with Uzui doing suspicious stuff involving me and Shinazugawa.

I sighed before laying down as far from Shinazugawa as I could get. I was stiff from trying not to touch Shinazugawa accidentally, I could still feel his anger. I eventually fell asleep to the sound of Uzui obnoxiously snoring.

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The next morning

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In the morning, we were all woken up by Kanzaburo, "CAW, *COUGH COUGH* GIYUU TOMIOKA, MITSURI KANROJI, *COUGH COUGH* YOU HAVE *COUGH* A MISSION ON ******COUGH* MOUNTAIN! YOUNG *COUGH* CHILDREN HAVE BEEN *COUGH* DISAPPEARING!"

My Crow started falling. I quickly grabbed him out of the air before he could hit Tokito in the face, he somehow slept through all that.

"Why don't you let that crow retire?" Uzui asked groggily, "He can barely give orders."

I glared at him, "Kanzaburo is old enough to be your crows grandpa, show a little respect." Kocho giggled, "My Tomioka, it seems you speak your mind more after you wake up."

I ignored her, instead choosing to get and and prepare for my mission with Kanroji. I got dressed and waited for her outside the estate, still holding my tired crow.

I heard her before I saw her, she was skipping towards me happily, "Hello Tomioka-san!" She greeted, I nodded back.

I saw Iguro glaring at me from around the corner Kanroji came from. I started walking in the direction of the mountain our mission was on.

Just as we were almost out of sight of Uzui's estate, someone called out, "Oi, wait up." I turned to see Shinazugawa jogging toward us.

I didn't remember him being ordered to join us. "I want to come, I need to kill a demon."

He said when he made it to us, "I don't have a problem with you joining us," Kanroji said with a blush. I nodded to show I didn't particularly care either.

We all started back towards that mountain.

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A few minutes after we left, Kanzaburo flew out of my hands and onto my head muttering, "Giyuu," before falling asleep. Kanroji, who had been watching, squealed, "Kyaaaahhhhh!! He's so cute and precious!"

"I think he would like you." I replied without looking at her, "Wow, you can actually speak?" Shinazugawa asked in a harsh tone. I ignored him.

"Fucking bastard," he grumbled making me roll my eyes. Kanroji giggled, whoops, she caught me.

"Tomioka-san do you like cats?" She asked, I nodded, "I love cats," she grinned and proceeded to tell me every detail of her 4 darling cats she had back at her estate. I listened very carefully, trying not to forget a single detail.

After her cats she moved onto her family, then how she joined the demon slayer corps, then her embarrassment of having a huge appetite, then how sweet all of the hashira are to her.

With one obvious exception, I thought with a glance at Shinazugawa. By the time we got to the mountain, I knew almost every detail about her.

"Finally," Shinazugawa said when Kanroji stopped talking. I worked hard not to glare at him, I really like Kanroji, especially because of who she reminds me of.

There was a rustling sound that made us all pull out our swords. I was very impressed by Kanroji's, it was very unique, I'd never seen another like it. I stared at it a few moments longer before remembering why it was out.

The rustling got louder and louder until a girl stepped out of the bushes, then a boy. All the air left my body, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. They looked exactly like Tsutako and Sabito.

My hands shook a little, " Giyuu!" Tsutako exclaimed in relief, "Im so glad your here! A demon captured us,"

"We barely managed to escape with our lives!" Sabito added. They both took a step forward making me take a step back. "Giyuu?" Sabito asked, sounding worried, "What's wrong? Didn't you miss us?"

Shinazugawa shifted beside me, "Tomioka, do you know these people?" My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears, almost drowning out every other sound.

Just then, Tsutako turned all bloody like the night she was murdered, "Giyuu," she said angrily, "If you hadn't been so small and weak I wouldn't habe died. I was supposed to get married, be happy, its all your fault."

My breathing turned labored, "Tomioka-san?" Kanroji asked uncertainty just as Sabito's head started to look like it was being crushed.

I drew in loud breaths, my hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold my sword, "If you hadn't been so weak during the final selection, I might not have died. I was too busy making sure you were fine to notice someone else in danger. That hand demon wouldn't habe crushed my skull had you been strong enough to help. Its your fault I died Giyuu."

I felt their deaths all over again. The shock, the despair, the agony. It all washed over me like a bucked of cold water. It was too much to handle.

I collapsed to my knees, struggling to get air into my lungs, "Tomioka!" Someone yelled. I couldn't tell who it was because at that moment I fell to the ground, the world turning black.

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When I regained conciousness, I felt that I was laying on something cold and hard. The first thing i saw was Kanroji's face,

"Tomioka-san in do glad your awake!" She shouted. I winced slightly, not used to loud noises so soon after waking up.

That's when I remembered why I was unconscious in the first place. I sat up and looked around, "What happened to the demon?"

I asked quietly, already sure if the answer. "After you passed out we took care if it." Shinazugawa said, his face coming into view just over Kanroji's shoulder,

"It was weak as hell so I don't know why both of you were originally needed for this mission."

"How did you figure out who the demon was?" Kanroji answered this time, "She walked out of the bushed after you collapsed.

She was bragging about how her BDA could work on even a hashira. She said that it searches through peoples memories to find something tragic that happened to the person during their life.

Then she uses it to make them so emotional it consumes them and she can eat them easily." Kanroji shuddered, "It didn't work on Shinazugawa because he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice."

Her eyes held such sympathy that I had to look away. It seemed like she had forgotten about my panic attack for the time being.

Suddenly everything turned black again, for a moment I thought I had passed out for a second time, but soon realized that it was Kanroji crushing me in a hug.

"Im so sorry that you had to witness that Tomioka-san! I wish you didn't have such a tragic past, no one deserves that!"

She hugged me tighter, making it harder for me to breathe, that woman has some muscles. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her back, Iguro's face flashed in my mind for a moment before she pulled away.

Shinazugawa stood behind Kanroji awkwardly, looking like he desperately wanted to get out of there. "Would you like to get some food with me to Tomioka-san?" Kanroji asked hopefully,

"I find that food always makes me feel better." I would've preferred to be alone, but the thought of making her more upset than she already was didn't sit right with me, so I nodded.

She squealed and the me another quick hug, "what about you Shinazugawa?" He shook his head, "I have to head out for a mission somewhere a little ways away from here," huh, so Shinazugawa can be polite.

Color me surprised. At the foot of the mountain we all departed, Shinazugawa left for his mission, Kanroji and I headed towards a town that supposedly had a really good food place that she visited often.

"Welcome!" A cheery voice called out once we entered the small building. Immediately a variety of smells assaulted my nose.

Kanroji led me to her favorite table, a small one in a corner towards the back. It was a cozy spot that she said Iguro brought her to all the time.

I looked at the menu and was happy to see that they had sake daikon. It brought back good memories every time I ate it.

Kanroji ordered one of everything they had, taking up most of the table with her food. I just ordered sake daikon with a cup of tea.

I felt a small smile appear on my face as soon as I took my first bite. A memory of Tsutako feeding me a spoon full of the same meal when I was sick with a cold.

"Kyaaaaa Tomioka-san, you look so cute when you smile!" Oops, I forgot I had company. Kanroji hid her face behind her hands with a blush, "Im so sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud. How embarrassing!" I waved a hand, "its fine Kanroji."

We ate the rest of our meals in a happy silence. I wondered how a girl as skinny as Kanroji could eat over ten plates of food while I could barely finish one bowl.

Afterwards, I paid for the food, even thought Kanroji strongly protested, and we left. "I have another mission, but I hope you feel better Tomioka-san," I nodded,

"I really enjoyed the meal, thank you Kanroji." I hoped she could see how grateful I was, even though it was hard to me to express my emotions.

"it was no problem, I hope we can become great friends in the future!" She said as she walked off. I smiled to myself, friends.

I liked the sound of that.
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I sighed as I made it to my estate.

All alone again. Except this time I had horrible memories to accompany me.

I hated being alone where I only had my thoughts to fill my head, but at the same time I hated people trying to get close to me. What if I lost them too?

I walked through my very boring and undecorated estate on my way to my room

When I got there I took off my haori, gently folding it and putting it inside my wardrobe.

I flopped down on my futon, feeling exhausted. I wanted to fall asleep and never wake up.

Maybe then I could meet Tsutako and Sabito without them blaming me for stuff I've been blaming myself for for the past 10 years.

My brain, however, had other ideas. As soon as I closed my eyes I saw my most precious loved ones all bloody and angry.

I got up and ran outside as fast as my legs would allow.

I threw up the serving of sake daikon I ate earlier in the day. How unfortunate, it had been really good.

I wiped my mouth while suppressing a gag, food tastes better going down.

I walked towards that back of my estate where I kept my well.

It was inconvenient to have to walk outside every time I wanted water, but I had no choice in where it went.

I drank a couple sips just to make sure it would stay down.

On my way back inside I saw a figure in the corner if my eye that looked like Tsutako.

I turned to the side so fast I cricked my neck.

I sighed when I saw it was just a low hanging branch. I really was going crazy.

The worst thing about my encounter with the demon is the knowledge that everything she had Tsutako and Sabito say is right.

If I hadn't been so weak, I could've protected Tsutako instead of the other way around.

If I had trained more before the final selection I wouldn't have been injured by the first demon I came in contact with.

I wouldn't have been half blinded by my own blood and could've went to slay the demon in Sabito's place.

I kept my eyes on the ground in front of me as I made my way back to my room.

I undressed quickly, tossing my uniform off to the side, and put on the kimono Kocho forced me to buy for the sleepover.

I untied my hair, letting it fall down as I tossed myself on my futon for the second time, hoping there would be no more problems.

It was just my luck that someone chose that moment to knock at my door.

"Tomioka-san, are you here?"

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Kanroji? What's she doing here? We just ate together a few hours ago.

"Sorry to bother you," she said with an apologetic smile, "I was out shopping and saw the cutest socks that reminded me of you."

Socks? Like the ones she wore?

She brought her hands out from behind her back and held them out to me.

They were short, only meant to go a few inches above the ankle, with the pattern of the ocean so realistic I could almost hear the waves.

I carefully grabbed them, they were soft too. I wanted to say something, thank her for the gift. It was unnecessary for her to waste her money on me, but I was grateful.

"Thank you Kanroji, they're beautiful."

Her smile grew impossibly wider, "Im so glad you like them!"

It took me a moment to realize we were still standing in my doorway, how awkward.

I might as well invite her in since she came alk this way with a gift, "would you like to come in?"

"I would love to!" I noticed a small blush on her face as she stepped in, looking around at my empty estate.

I led her to the sitting room, "Wait here, ill make some tea."

She nodded and sat down at the small table in the middle of the room while I left for the kitchen, stopping in my room on the way to put the socks Sith my uniform.

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Mitsuri

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Kyaaaa!

What an honor to be the first hashira to see Tomioka-san's estate!

He's looks so cute! I can't believe I saw him in something other than his uniform, with his hair down no less!

My heart melted at the sight of the slight softness in his eyes when I gave him those socks.

I hope he likes them, I bought the stores whole supply in case they got messed up during a mission.

I hope we can get closer during my visit, maybe I could convince him to let me help decorate his estate just like Iguro-san did.

His house also used to be almost empty until I bought him a few things.

I gave a little start as Tomioka-san walked back into the room, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"It appears that I have run out of tea, I only have sake."

He looked like a child that was told he couldn't have candy, so cute!

"Its ok Tomioka-san, I've never drank before, but I'm willing to try it."

His expression turned the tiniest bit less somber, "ill go grab it."

I hope I don't get drunk, I might say some embarrassing things and not remember it.

I bet ill be a lightweight the first time, and Tomioka-san doesn't seem like the type who would get drunk, he'd probably remember everything.

He came back in with a sake bottle and a couple of small cups.

He sat across from me, pouring us both a small amount.

"Thank you Tomioka-san," I said with a smile and took a sip.

It tasted better than I thought, there was a sweetness to it that tasted like watermelon.

"Wow, this isn't what I expected it to taste like,"

He took his own sip, "Me neither. This was a gift to me from one of the families I saved, they called it ginjo sake."

Maybe he is the type to get drunk, that's the biggest sentence I've ever heard him speak in the years I've known him.

"Thats so sweet of them to give it to you."

"I suppose it is,"

We drank in silence for a while. Going through a few small servings each.

I felt myself start to get tipsy and knew Tomioka-san was too from the way his features softened into almost a calm expression.

"Where did you get your socks from?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, a couple years ago, Iguro-san got me these because I was self conscious about my uniform,"

"Did he?" He mused, there was a look on his face I couldn't quite read.

"Iguro doesn't seem like the gift giving type to me,"

"Whaaaaat? But he's so sweet,"

Tomioka gave me a small look of disbelief, "he's sweet to you, he hates everyone else, except maybe Shinazugawa, but that's different."

"Different how?"

He mumbled something that sounded like, "Iguro doesn't love Shinazugawa," but I could be wrong.

I just let it go, the alcohol was getting to my brain.

I started rambling, the words slipping from my mouth.

Tomioka-san didnt seem to mind, he was a good listener.

After a couple more drinks I started talking about my life before becoming a demon slayer.

"He said what?!" Tomioka-san said, a little louder than I thought him to be capable of.

"He said, 'no one can love you but a bear a-'"

"No, I know what he said, but WHAT?!"

I giggled at his tone of disbelief, he showed quite a bit of emotion with alcohol in his system.

"Does Iguro know about this guy?'

" No. I don't usually like to talk about it."

He nodded in understanding, "I think its best he doesn't find out, you'll find that guy in a grave behind your estate. Probably a sacrifice for your love,"

Laughter bubbled out if me, "'sacrifice for my love'?"

He nodded, a bit sluggishly, "the headstone will read, 'here lies trash, he dared insult Kanroji. R.I.P."

I raised eyebrows, "R.I.P.?"

"It'll stand for 'rest in pieces'. I guarantee if Iguro gets a hold of that guy he'll be dismembered."

I laughed again, who knew Tomioka-san had a sense of humor? Ill have to tell Shinobu when I see her again.

I saw him try to hide a yawn behind his hand, "you should get some sleep Tomioka-san,"

He layed his head in his arms on the table, "ill sleep right here, my rooms too far away," he mumbled.

"ill leave, my estate isn't far,"

He peeked up from his arms, how adorable! "Yes it is, its a three hour walk. You can stay here,"

His eyes started drooping slightly, "alright, I can head out in the morning,"

He looked nullified as his eyes slowly closed completely, "thank you for coming over Kanroji, I enjoyed myself."

I smiled softly at his now asleep form, "sweet dreams Tomioka-san."

Chapter Text

Giyuu

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I woke up slowly to the feeling of my hair being played with. It felt all too familiar to the way Tsutako played with it when I wasn't feeling well.

I kept my eyes closed, hoping to keep the pounding headache at bay.

Is this how alcoholics feel? Why do they subject themselves to this pain?

I layed there for a while, focusing on pushing the headache away with total concentration breathing constant. I seemed to have stopped using it in my drunken stupor.

After a while I realized my head felt like it was laying on a squishy pillow, I didn't remember there being any pillows in my sitting room and opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was a burst of pink and green. Then, when I managed to focus, I saw Kanroji sitting above me.

My head was in her lap, she was carding her fingers through my hair, playing with it softly, and smiling down at me.

"Did you sleep well Tomioka-san?"

I sat up slowly, "Yes, thank you,"

Flashes of the night before went through my mind. Oh god. Did I really act like that? In front of another person?

"I apologize for my behavior last night Kanroji."

She waved her hands in front of her, "There's no need to apologize! I had a lot of fun and it was nice to see you opening up."

I blinked, "It doesn't bother you that I think like that?"

"Think like that?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"There's a saying, drunk words are sober thoughts,"

Her eyes widened a little, "So you really are like that. That's so cute!!"

I blushed a little in embarrassment, "Can we keep this a secret between us?"

She smiled wider, "Of course we can Tomioka-san, does this mean we're friends? Since I was able to get you to be yourself around me?"

I sighed softly, "Yes Kanroji, we can be friend."

She squealed, "Kyaaaa, we're going to have so much fun!"

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After we talked and ate some food, we both changed into our uniforms and left my estate.

Kanroji offered to help with my patrol of the village, and since she didn't have any missions, I agreed.

We walked around and searched for demons, Kanroji chattering away while I listened and sometimes added some input.

"Oh! I just remembered, next week me and Rengoku-san are going to meet up in a village a few hours away for food and to catch up. Would you like to join?"

I thought about it for a minute. Rengoku was loud, but he was nice and considerate. He didn't ever push me to speak and filled the silence with lively talking and boisterous laughter.

"Sure, why not,"

She clapped her hands together in excitement, "I can't wait! I'm prettier sure this restaurant has sake daikon, but if they don't we can find somewhere else."

I felt my heart warm, "That's alright Kanroji, ill go even if they don't have it."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to eat something you don't want."

I felt a small smile tug at my lips before I could stop it, "Im sure,"

I saw her huge grin of satisfaction out of the corner of my eye.

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"I have to get back to my estate now Tomioka-san. See you next week!"

I waved as Kanroji walked away. I turned back to my estate.

It felt lonely as I walked inside, it seemed a bit more lively when Kanroji was there.

She talked endlessly and seemed to have an infinite supply of enthusiasm.

I could use some of that.

I ate a quick bowl of rice before bathing and changing into a yukata.

I sat on the engawa outside of my room and watched the sunrise. It was really beautiful and peaceful.

The birds were singing in the forest beside the estate, the wind blowing a gentle breeze that felt nice in the first light of day, the sky shining a bright pink and orange.

I found myself dozing off right there, waking up only when Kanzaburo flew in.

"CAW CAW, GIYUU *COUGH* TOMIOKA. MEETING AT *COUGH COUGH* THE MASTERS ESTATE. *COUGH* MEETING AT THE MASTERS *COUGH* ESTATE"

I blinked blearily at the bright sun now all the way up in the sky.

Had I really fallen asleep for that long?

I watched as Kanzaburo layed on the small pillow bed I made for him before getting up to get dressed.

I got my uniform on, complete with my new socks from Kanroji, and followed Kanzaburo to the masters estate.

"Tomioka-san! Over here"

I followed the sound of Kanroji's voice when I walked in the gate, finding her smiled widely next to Rengoku.

"I was just telling Rengoku that you agreed to join us."

"Im glad you decided to join us my friend!" Rengoku said in that loud voice of his.

I winced on the inside before nodding politely at him.

"Kyaaaa! Are those the socks I got you?!"

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Iguro (you know there's about to be lots of jealousy)

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What. The. Hell.

I was in my tree, looking down and frequently peeking at Kanroji as she talked with Rengoku when she called Tomioka over.

That wasn't unusual, she usually tried to talk to him, it almost always ended in him ignoring her and Sanemi yelling at him.

Except, this time he actually walked over to her, his eyes softening in the slightest.

The bastard had agreed to go out with her and Rengoku for a meal.

How dare he hang out with Kanroji. He didn't deserve to even breathe the same air as her.

"Kyaaaa! Are those the socks I got you?"

I looked down at his socks, Kanroji picked them out so of course they were amazing, but he didn't deserve her gifts.

I watched as he imperceptibly nodded, making Kanroji grin widely.

I gritted my teeth, but tried to tone down the jealousy. At least she seemed happy talking with him.

And he actually answered when she asked a question. It was quiet enough she was the only one who could hear, but she smiled and laughed and I couldn't hold a grudge on him for making her happy. (what a domesticated guy🐕)

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Mitsuri

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I talked with Tomioka-san joyfully. He actually replied to most of what I said.

Its not like I didn't expect him to, but it was nice either way.

And it still surprised me a bit at how snarky he could be, funnier still by how he said stuff with an emotionless look on his face.

I was oblivious to alk the stares from the other hashira as we chatted.

I was about to ask him a question, but I was interrupted.

"The master has arrived"

Chapter Text

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"CAW CAW GIYUU *COUGH COUGH* TOMIOKA YOU HAVE A MISSION IN *COUGH* THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT WITH *COUGH COUGH* TENGEN UZUI AND SANEMI *COUGH* SHINAZUGAWA"

Kanzaburo then promptly collapsed on Giyuu's pillow and started to take a short nap.

Doesn't matter, Giyuu will wake him up later to lead him to the red light district.

He got up and walked to the bathroom, drawing a bath.

What kind of mission was this that it required three hashira? There must be a kizuki there, especially for there to be strong hashira like Shinazugawa and Uzui there.

So why Giyuu? He wasn't exceptionally strong and muscular like the other two. He didn't have an advanced sense of hearing or marechi blood.

He stored those questions away for later as he undressed and sank into the bath, breathing out a sigh as the warm water hit his skin.

He'd worry about all that stuff later, for now, he needed to get ready and mentally prepare himself for the mission with two of the loudest hashira.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"Took your good ol' time, didn't you bastard?"

"Oh don't be like that Shinazugawa, we have plenty of time."

Great. He just met up with them and he already couldn't wait for this mission to be over.

Uzui led the way, the jewels hanging from his head and jingling in an annoying way that made Giyuu's skin tingle unpleasantly.

He could hear the red light district from several kilometers away, he wondered how people could stand living there.

"Ah, we're almost there," Uzui said observantly.

"Really? How could you tell?" Shinazugawa asked sarcastically

"Aww, don't be like that Shinazugawa, your just mad about you role in this mission."

"Like hell I am! I can do it better than anyone,"

"But your not a girl, I'm sure Kanroji could do it better."

Giyuu listened in more when he heard Mitsuri's name.

"That's different, I can do it better than Tomioka"

Giyuu was confused, do what better? What did he miss?

Uzui noticed his slight change in demeanor and threw an arm around his shoulder.

Giyuu stiffened, "Don't tell me you don't know what you need to do Tomioka."

"Slay a demon. Right?"

"Wrong! Well, not entirely, but still wrong."

Giyuu shrugged his arm off and took a step away.

"Why don't you explain Shinazugawa? You guys are in the same situation."

Shinazugawa had a few veins sticking out in his forehead, "I'm not explaining shit. You tell him"

Uzui grinned, undeterred by Shinazugawa's attitude, "Well, my lovely water hashira, you and Shinazugawa are going to be disguising yourself as women to help me get my wives back."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu wasn't one to use swear words often but,

What. The. FUCK?!

Dress as a woman and go to a HOSTEL to pretend to be a prostitute?

Giyuu had disguised as a woman before for solo missions, he was quite good at making his voice sound female, but he had to do this with others.

He could feel his stoic mask slipping into one of shock and discomfort and quickly fixed it.

He continued walking silently, getting closer and closer to the red light district with each step.

He lifted his right arm and clutched the left side of his haori, an old habit of his discomfort.

He could feel all the wear and tear on the poor piece of fabric, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything other than repair it every time it got ripped.

"-rth to Tomioka" he heard and sawToke perfectly manicured hand wave in front of his face.

He looked up at Uzui.

"You gonna keep daydreaming, or are you going to follow me to where we need to be?"

He slowed his pace to where he was behind Uzui, now keeping pace with the surprisingly quiet Shinazugawa.

They walked in silence, well, Giyuu and Shinazugawa did, Uzui talked loudly and greeted many people along the way, until they made it to a small building closer to the back of the city.

"This is where I will be staying while you two are in a brothel, this is also where you guys are going to get ready and where we'll have meetings."

"Hold on, your not going into one too?" Shinazugawa asked angrily, his fists clenched. "There's no way in hell I'm going in a house full of prostitutes with this guy alone."

Giyuu couldn't agree more. Being stuck dressed like a woman in the same brothel with Shinazugawa sounded like a torture worse than hell.

How was Shinazugawa even going to disguise himself good enough to be remotely convincing?

Was there good enough make-up to hide his scars? Could he change his voice? Probably not, it was too deep and gravelly.

He'd have to keep quiet, like Giyuu usually was.

But would that even work? What if a random guy got too handsy? He'd probably beat the guy to a pulp.

Yeah. Sounded like Shinazugawa.

"Oh, but who said it was just you two?" Uzui said slyly.

"What do you mean?" Giyuu spoke for the first time in a while.

"We have another person joining us in our mission." He said like it was obvious.

"You never said anything about this other person bastard! Don't peak to us like we're stupid"

Giyuu felt surprised for a moment. Us? Did Shinazugawa like him enough to consider them an Us?

No. It was probably easier to word it that way.

"Calm down Shinazugawa. Don't get your panted in a twist. The per-"

"You flashy bit-"

"-son joining us is-"

Knock knock.

Uzui ignored Shinazugawas annoyed threats and turned to the closed door.

"Ah, that must be him"

The door opened to reveal....

"That shrimp?!"

Chapter Text

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"Tokito?"

A Kakushi stood next to Tokito, clearly the one who led him there.

"This is the comrade joining you both" Uzui said and threw his arm around Tokito's shoulder.

"Your going to let a child in a hostel?" Giyuu asked in a slightly disgusted tone.

"As much as I hate to agree with this bastard, he's right" Shinazugawa spoke up gruffly.

Uzui grinned, "Nothing to worry about, this kid can handle himself."

"Where am I? How did I get here?" Tokito asked in a misty voice that made Giyuu and Shinazugawa send Uzui a skeptical look.

Uzui sighed, "Well fine, if anything goes wrong you two will be there with him, it shouldn't matter. Plus, he's the only one here who looks close enough to a girl to pass without make-up."

Giyuu glanced at Tokito, he was right. The loose and flowy uniform only hid the fact that he didn't have any curves, if he didn't talk you would never know he was a boy.

"Why couldn't Kocho or Kanroji do this?" Shinazugawa asked.

"Kanroji's on a mission and Kocho had a bunch of junior slayers transported to her estate after a battle on some mountain."

Shinazugawa crossed his arms with an annoyed look, "Tch, weaklings. Why does master even take them in?"

The Kakushi took that moment to sneak away, only noticed by Giyuu.

Tokito looked around and made eye contact with Giyuu, "oh, its decorative object."

Giyuu blinked. Decorative.... Object?

Is that how Tokito saw him?

Uzui barked out a laugh (or actually barked, with Uzui you never know) "Good one kid" he said and clapped Tokito on the back.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Shinazugawa said angrily, "We're supposed to go to thks whore house tonight right? What are we supposed to wear?"

Uzui looked like Shinazugawa offended his whole ancestry, "Whoa whoa, whore house? Those are girls trying to make money for their families."

Shinazugawa rolled his eyes, "yeah, by sleeping with every guy who spends a little money."

Uzui made an angry sound, taking a step towards Shinazugawa.

Giyuu tuned them out. He was surprised Uzui could get so angry, he'd only ever seen him act like an idiot, especially around Rengoku.

Giyuu walked over to Tokito, "I can help you get ready," he offered.

Tokito looked up at him with blank eyes, "Get ready for what?"

Giyuu patiently explained, "Our mission. We have to dress like women to save Uzui's wives"

"The guy who acts like a monkey? How did he even get married acting like that." There wasn't even a hint of malice in his tone, just genuine curiosity. That's what made it so funny.

Giyuu actually had to work to keep a straight face, "I don't know, I don't pay attention to those things. Would you like my help?"

"I guess, I don't know how to dress like a girl,"

Giyuu nodded, he couldn't recall how many missions he'd been sent on where he had to disguise as a woman.

He looked around, ignoring the angry yells from Shinazugawa and Uzui, he saw a door that looked like it led to another room.

"This might be where we get ready," he said and walked over, opening it to find make-up products on a small table and kimonos hung over a privacy wall.

He waited for Tokito to walk in before shutting the door behind them and mostly drowning out the shouts from the other two annoying hashira.

He turned and saw Tokito sitting in front of the make-up curiously looking at the different brushes, "this looks complicated," he said absentmindedly.

"It is, that's why I offered to help," Giyuu said and walked over, sitting with his legs tucked under him in front of the younger hashira.

Tokito turned to him "Will it hurt?"

Giyuu shook his head, "applying make-up is easy, as long as you stay still."

"Alright, ill probably forget though,"

"Ill remind you." Giyuu said and grabbed some of the make-up, he decided that less is more with Tokito.

He put on a small amount of blush, a bit of eyeshadow to accent his big round eyes, and some lip coloring.

He leaned back and studied the younger man, he just needed to put his hair up, that would make him look even more feminine.

"Tokito, could you turn around please?"

Tokito blinked as if remembering he wasn't alone, "ok decorative object"

He turned around. Giyuu wondered how that nickname was the only thing the mist hashira seemed to remember.

He grabbed a brush and started to gently brush Tokito's hair, there was a few knots here and there, but he didn't want to risk hurting him nonetheless.

Once he was done brushing he took the hair in the back and tested different styles.

Pigtails made him look like a little kid, ponytail was too plain, a bun was too basic, a braid was too thick and could've classified as a weapon.

He couldn't figure out what to do, that was until he accidentally messed up another bun and most of the hair spilled off the bottom, but in a fashionable way.

Giyuu's eyes widened at the sight, he pulled out a few large strands on either side of Tokito's face and brought them in front of his shoulders.

Perfect, it just needed one more thing. He looked around the room, seeing a selection of really expensive looking hair pins, he crawled over and checked them out.

He found the perfect one. It had dark blue flowers with silver rhinestones in the middles surrounding a bigger flower that perfectly matched Tokito's eyes.

He grabbed it and crawled back over to Tokito, noticing that the young male had dozed off, still standing with his head hanging down a little.

Huh. He hadn't even noticed. Tokito was so quiet, he found he liked being in his presence.

He carefully inserted the pin onto the side of the bun and leaned back to look at the job he'd done.

Wow. If he didn't know Tokito and someone tried to tell them he was a boy, he wouldn't believe them.

He decided to check out the kimonos while Tokito took a short nap.

He was in awe of the selection. There was dozens of them in every size and color. There were so many different designs, his eyes hurt just from looking at them.

That's when one in the back caught his eye, he pulled it away from the others.

It matched Tokito's hair pin perfectly, designed in the same colored flowers as the pin, it looked about the size of the small boy too.

He walked over and gently woke up Tokito.

"oh, decorative object, why are you here?"

Giyuu explained the mission quietly, earning a nod from the other hashira.

"So that's the kimono I'm going to wear?"

Giyuu nodded.

"Its quite girly," Tokito remarked.

"That's the point Tokito, its a disguise remember?"

"Ah, I forgot."

Giyuu handed it to him, "You can change behind the privacy wall over there, if you need help let me know, try not to mess up your hair."

Tokito grabbed the kimono and walked behind the wall on the other side of the room. There was rustling for a while before the noises died down.

There was a knock on the door, "You decent?"

Uzui. So him and Shinazugawa must've stopped fighting.

Took them long enough, Giyuu and Tokito had to have been in that room for at least half an hour.

Without waiting for a reply Uzui slid open the door, "Hey, what are you two doing?"

Tokito stepped out from behind the privacy wall, looking every part a woman.

Uzui's eyes went comically wide, "Woah Tomioka, is this your doing?"

Giyuu nodded shortly.

"Well, I guess this is a good time to tell you your helping Shinazugawa disguise himself too."

"Excuse me, what?"

Chapter Text

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"Excuse me, what?"

Uzui grinned widely, "You heard me. Shinazugawa needs help with his disguise,"

Somehow, Giyuu doubted that Shinazugawa would admit to needing help.

Tokito tugged at Giyuu's haori, "Decorative ornament, why am I dressed like this?"

Giyuu faced him, "We're on a mission that requires it."

Tokito nodded, "Alright," he paused for a moment before adding, "I can't tell if I'm a boy or a girl anymore."

Giyuu was glad he'd turned away from Uzui because his lips turned up in a small smile, "I can assure you your still a boy Tokito."

Tokito nodded again before Uzui pulled him out of the room, being careful of his disguise.

"Well, ill leave you both to it." He said before he closed the door.

You both? Was Shinazugawa in there already?

He turned and saw Shinazugawa sitting on the ground in front of the make-up, looking up at him.

He underestimated the quietness of the usually angry man. With the way he was looking up at him, Giyuu had no doubt that Shinazugawa had seen his small smile.

He turned himself silently, he really should pay more attention to his surroundings. He's a hashira for crying out loud.

Giyuu finally spoke up, "Do you want my help?"

He already knew the answer.

"I don't need shit from you, if you can do it I can do it."

And with that, Shinazugawa turned to the make-up and began to make it look like he knew what he was doing.

Giyuu leaned his back against the wall, waiting for the moment Shinazugawa very reluctantly admitted defeat.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

It took less time than he thought.

After an hour of aimlessly trying to figure out how to use make-up, Shinazugawa threw his hands up with a loud groan.

"Tomioka, get over here. don't get a big head about it."

Giyuu looked up from where he had been staring at a dirty spot on the ground.

The scene before him was almost enough to crack a smile, except it was Shinazugawa.

There was make-up containers strewn about, a couple brushes snapped in half, his hair tangled in spots where he tugged at it in frustration, his cheeks an angry red.

"You need help now?" Giyuu asked for the sole purpose of annoying Shinazugawa.

It had the effect he wanted, his signature veins in his forehead popped out, "I don't need anything from an arrogant bastard like you, " he spat, "I would just prefer we don't stay here all night waiting for me to figure out how to use this useless ass shit."

Giyuu raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the excuse, but walked over and sat in front of the angry man nonetheless.

He studied Shinazugawa's face. Taking in every angle and scar and figuring out how to make it look more like a woman's.

Shinazugawa fixed his gaze somewhere else, the veins in his forehead eventually becoming less noticeable the longer Giyuu studied him, doing the make-up and hair in his mind.

He looked around for the brushes he needed, a little annoyed at how everything got thrown around.

He just had to throw a fit. Shinazugawa was really like a little kid.

Don't hit me." Giyuu said before he started gently applying powder to the other mans face to hide the scars.

He would personally prefer to keep the scars out, he'd always thought they were kinda cool, but in a hostel they'd be seen as gross and no one would take him.

Shinazugawa closed his eyes and stayed silent, his fingers clenching at the pants of his uniform. Probably in anger at being told what to do.

The powder was working just fine until Giyuu got further up the other hashiras face. His hair got in the way of what he was doing and he didn't have a free hand to push it away.

He looked around, noticing a stray clip on the ground from Shinazugawa's tantrum.

He grabbed it and used his other hand to gently brush the bangs back from his forehead.

Shinazugawa cracked one eye open, looking up at him questioningly as he clipped his hair out of the way.

He noticed Giyuu caught him looking and snapped his eye shut again.

He looked kind of like a small children's teacher with his face relaxed and eyes closed.

Giyuu shook his head, glad he wasn't one of those people who unconsciously spoke out loud, Shinazugawa would probably kill him if he heard someone describe him like that.

He continued powdering up the rest of his faces effectively hiding his scars completely.

Shinazugawa looked like a whole different person without his scars. His face was surprisingly childlike.

Giyuu added some red tint to his eyes, a small bit of blush along his cheeks, making it look natural, and some light red coloring to his lips.

He leaned back, almost satisfied with how womanly he managed to make him look.

He just needed one more thing, longer hair.

It had been easy with Tokito because he had naturally long hair, but Shinazugawa kept his short.

He looked around the room, hoping for some clue of how to fix this.

He saw a black chest beside the kimono rack he hadn't seen before labeled 'Hair'

He made his way over, leaving Shinazugawa to look his face over in the hand mirror on the table.

He opened the chest, seeing lots of....hair?

Well, the box did tell him what it was. He shouldn't be surprised.

But was it real hair. He shuddered at that thought, hopefully not.

He dug through it, feeling the faintest bit of plastic, hair extensions then.

That'll work.

There were all sorts of colors and sizes ranging from bright orange to dark purple and from really short to really extremely long.

He almost gave up hope when he saw a light gray lump out of the corner of his eye.

He quickly scooped it up and saw that it was a ponytail extension the exact shade of Shinazugawa's hair.

It was perfect.

He went back over to Shinazugawa, sitting back down.

"Your gonna put that on me?"

Giyuu nodded, "This will make you look more like a woman."

Shinazugawa seemed to weigh his options before sighing deeply, "Fine, whatever. Just hurry it up."

Giyuu made a motion for him to turn around, making the other clench his jaw before doing what was asked.

Giyuu gathered as much hair as he could at the bottom of the other mans head, which wasn't much, and tied the hair extension to it.

He gave it a gentle tug to make sure it would stay and unclipped his bangs.

He grabbed Shinazugawa's shoulders and spun him around to face him, eliciting a sound of anger from the other man, but he wasn't paying attention.

Something just wasn't right.

He grabbed a bottle of hair spray, running his fingers through Shinazugawa's bangs to make them stay back and sprayed them in place.

His natural hair spiked out in a messy look, the extension matching perfectly.

"I assume you can pick out a kimono yourself?"

"Damn right I can bastard, get out so I can change."

"There's a privacy wall,"

"I said get out!" Shinazugawa growled.

Giyuu gave him a flat look before turning on his heel and leaving.

He saw Tokito sitting in the doorway that led outside, looking up at the sunset, Uzui nowhere in sight.

Giyuu assumed he was getting ready himself. He closed the door behind him quietly, leaning against the wall beside it.

He closed his eyes and waited.

And waited

And waited

Finally, the door slowly slid open.

.

.

.

"Oi! don't just stand there and stare like an idiot, is this a good enough disguise for you or not?"

Chapter Text

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°

Woah.

There's no way that's Shinazugawa.

He looks like a totally different person, which was the point, but it still surprised Giyuu.

The kimono he chose was a simple pure white one, but that didn't bring down the look.

He also stuffed it with something, probably cloth, on the chest. He didn't make it super big and that just added to the appeal.

He still looked stunning in his disguise.

Giyuu blinked and looked away when he realized he was staring, "Yes, it looks fine."

Shinazugawa scoffed, "It better look more than fine if you were staring like a love sick puppy for that long."

"I was not-"

"Yeah yeah, just hurry the fuck up and do your own disguise so we can get this mission over with."

Yeah, he shouldn't talk in a hostel, they'd send him away without a second glance.

He walked past Shinazugawa into the room, closing the door behind him and breathing out.

What was wrong with him? Getting that distracted by the person who hated him most because he looked nice as a woman.

He shook his head, putting on a disguise always helped him clear his thoughts.

He walked over to the make-up table and got to work.

All he usually did was put on some mascara and lip color, that was enough to get men on their knees.

He didn't know why though. Men are weird.

He finished the make-up in no time at all, already having perfected finishing a disguise in less than an hour.

He fixed his hair into a bun that needed up looking a little loose and resembled a bow, his bangs brushed off to either side of his face.

He just went with it and added a bunch of cute pins. He couldn't pick one so he got a little carried away.

After disguising himself for so many missions, Giyuu developed an appreciation for cute things, like pins and the socks Kanroji gave him.

He put on a blue kimono with black and white flowers on it, opting out on a haori, he kept his safely tucked away in the corner of the room.

He stuffed some cloths into the chest of the kimono, adding enough to make it the average size of what men prefer.

He might get more information if the men stare longer.

He looked in the hand held mirror, which for some reason was the only one Uzui got, and once he deemed the disguise good enough he walked out the room.

Uzui was talking to Shinazugawa, Tokito was still in the doorway watching the now almost completely dark sky.

"Damn Tomioka! You know how to make it good," Uzui said with a wink.

Shinazugawa's eyes widened for a moment before he turned away, "It could look worse,"

Tokito turned, "Who's that?"

Giyuu walked over and sat next to Tokito, "Its still me, Gi- decorative ornament."

Tokito's eyes widened slightly, "oh, hello. You look like a girl."

"That's the point, we have a mission remember?"

"No"

Giyuu sighed to hide the laugh that almost escaped, he really enjoyed being with Tokito.

He patiently explained the mission again.

"Oi, stop the chit chat, we need to go"

Giyuu stood and held out a hand for Tokito, "My Lady," he said soft enough that only Tokito could hear it.

The younger mans lips turned up in a small smile, "Good sir" he said back just as quietly and took his hand.

Giyuu easily helped him up and kept his hand so Tokito wouldn't get lost while they were out.

"Aw, big brother Giyuu" Uzui cooed with his hands on his chest.

Giyuu scoffed and ignored him, he did e need to explain himself to someone like Uzui.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

The red light district wasn't all that amazing like people thought. It was just flashy lights and stalls that attracted people.

Once you get down to it, the bright lights and sales were what hid all the prostitution.

Giyuu kept a secure hold on Tokito's hand, tightening his grip slightly when he saw men checking him out.

They could clearly tell he was young, even if he looked like a beautiful young girl, that was no excuse.

Uzui had warned Shinazugawa about keeping quiet, his voice was too low and gravelly, even if he tried to make it sound like a woman's voice he would fail miserably and blow his cover.

Shinazugawa looked surprisingly calm considering the situation, he always had something to say about everything and was never afraid to say it.

Having his ability to complain and argue taken away for a mission must've been killing him, but he didn't show it.

Giyuu walked along silently, ignoring the stares he was getting by crusty old men.

Uzui got most of the stares, the ladies in the hostels hung out the doors and windows to get a good look on him. He looked surprisingly good with his hair down and a yukata on.

Although he kept nonstop talking to everything that breathed, he would definitely flirt their way into a hostel.

One brave older woman walked up to him, "Excuse me sir. I couldn't help but overhear," Giyuu was sure she could, "But I have enough room for these lovely ladies you have with you."

Giyuu listened as her and Uzui conversed, she introduced her husband, who stared at the three of them like they were five course meals while she wasn't looking.

Giyuu cringed and positioned himself more in front of Tokito, he was too young to be stared at like that.

He noticed that Shinazugawa's hands are clenched, but he hid them behind his back and kept a straight face.

Uzui introduced them once they came to a conclusion. "This here is Saori," he gestured to Shinazugawa, "Kanami," he gestured at Giyuu, "and this young lady here is Misami." he gestured at Tokito half hidden behind Giyuu.

The woman stepped closer to them, "Hello there, my name is Ayamachi, your going to be staying with me from now on."

A fitting name for a woman like her.

"Me and my husband Ryuuya are going to take good care of you."

A fitting name for him too.

Giyuu took a step forward and shook her hand with his free one, he prepared his female voice.

"Thank you for taking us in ma'am, we are very grateful,"

He heard small noises of shock from Uzui and Shinazugawa behind him, but ignored it.

She shook his hand with a wide smile, "Oh your lovely, everyone is going to love you."

Giyuu turned to the other three, Tokito looked at him in wonder, his grip on his hand loosening.

Shinazugawa gave him a look that said 'your explaining later' and Uzui looked offended that he didn't know about his ability to change his voice sooner.

Giyuu nodded at Uzui, saying goodbye for show and gently pulled Tokito along with him, Shinazugawa following closely behind as they made their way to the hostel.

Once they got there, there was a beautiful woman standing in the front, a smile on her face.

Ayamachi introduced the three to the woman, "This is our houses Oiran."

The Oiran smiled at them, a slight sinister look to it.

"nice to meet you ladies, I'm Warabihime"

Chapter Text

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu held out his hand for her to shake it, him being the only one with a passing female voice.

"Nice to meet you Warabihime, I hope we can get along."

The Oiran looked at his hand, something flashed in her eyes for the smallest moment before he could detect what it was.

She shook it, her hand really soft and smooth, but underneath all the products and options she used, there was hard layers of skin, close to what demon slayers had from training with wooden katanas.

Fuck. That reminded him.

If he had to make contact with people he usually wore lace gloves, ones that had extra layers to hide how battle worn his hands were.

Warabihime definitely noticed.

"You have very masculine hands," she noted and let go of it.

Giyuu felt Shinazugawa tense behind him, "Yes, we used to live on the mountains. We've gotten very acquainted with chopping wood and harvesting our own food. Its very taxing on the body."

Ayamachi interrupted their talk, "Yes, Tengen-san did mention something about harsh living conditions while we were talking."

Giyuu was glad they'd talked over close to every possible scenario.

Not that Tokito would remember any of it. But Giyuu was willing to help him as much as he needed.

A few beautiful ladies walked over to Warabihime, "My lady, its time to go."

Warabihime smiled sweetly at them, "Thank you ladies, lets go,"

The five of them watched her walk away, Ryuuya especially.

He seemed to be very fond of every woman but his wife.

Giyuu took a subtle step closer to Tokito, making sure not to let go of his hand for even a second.

Shinazugawa took a hint and got a little closer too.

Ayamachi turned to them with her signature smile, it was starting to remind Giyuu of Kocho, "Im sure you ladies would like some rest. I have a room for the three of you, you don't mind sharing do you?"

"We don't mind at all, thank you Mrs.Ayamachi" Giyuu replied to her.

She looked at Tokito and Shinazugawa, "Tengen-san said they were quiet, do they talk at all?"

Giyuu shook his head, "They prefer not to speak,"

She nodded before turning to her husband, "Ryuuya dear, wait in our room for me alright?"

She asked in what Giyuu guessed was supposed to be a seductive voice, but it ended up sounding like she was an eight year old with a smoking problem.

Giyuu suddenly understood why he didn't seem to like her much, that voice among other things.

Ryuuya nodded curtly and walked in the building, leaving Ayamachi to lead them to their room.

She smiled, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes before she pushed it away and started walking towards the building, "follow me ladies."

Giyuu held Tokito's hand a little tighter and led the way, Shinazugawa taking the rear. (I can smell all the dirty minded comments already)

She walked them through the big house, pretty girls stopping their cleaning and others sticking their heads out of rooms to see them.

There were some rooms where the doors were closed and dirty sounds could be heard.

Giyuu pulled Tokito along a little faster to get away from those rooms.

Once they got to their room, one at the end of a less populated hallway, Ayamachi left almost immediately.

"This is your room, get comfortable. Tomorrow someone will give you a list of chores. Kanami, the other two will be with you because of their quiet nature's and Misami's short term memory loss."

Giyuu nodded, "Thank you again Mrs.Ayamachi." he said with a polite dip of his head.

She smiled briefly before sliding the door closed and hurrying away.

He turned to the room, looking around with a sigh, glad to finally stop having to change his voice for the time being.

"Oi, Tomioka." Shinazugawa said from behind him, "When the hell were you going to mention that you could do that to your voice?"

Giyuu cleared his throat and let go of Tokito's hand, surprised he hadn't asked questions in a while, "I figured you'd find out when necessary," he said in his usual deep(er?) voice.

Shinazugawa scowled, pulling at the front of the kimono uncomfortably.

Giyuu turned to Tokito, "Tokito? You've been quiet for a while."

Tokito looked up at him, "Decorative ornament, we're on a mission disguised as women correct?"

Giyuu felt his eyes widen slightly, "That's right,"

Tokito nodded and walked around the room, exploring without another word.

Shinazugawa made a small noise of disbelief, "Did the kid remember something?"

"Seems like it,"

"Decorative ornament, what is this?" Tokito asked from across the room.

He'd found a small box near the three bed rolls on the ground, in his hand was a...

"Is that a fucking condom?!" Shinazugawa whisper shouted.

A part of Giyuu's mind was surprised that Shinazugawa could shout quietly, another part was glad a place like this even had any condoms, they weren't commonly used in that day and age, and another part wished Tokito never explored anything.

Giyuu walked over and gently plucked the condom from Tokito's hand, picking the box up and tucking it under his arm, "This is not something for someone your age Tokito,"

Tokito's face stayed blank, "What isn't?" Ah. There it was.

"Nothing to worry about." Giyuu carried the box back over to Shinazugawa.

"We should probably hide this,"

Shinazugawa snorted, "you think?" He asked in a mocking tone.

Giyuu decided to ignore him and put the box on a high shelf, knowing Tokito could easily get it if he wanted to, but most likely the younger man wouldn't even remember what was in it.

"Decorative ornament, " Giyuu really was starting to hate that nickname, "What is this?"

Giyuu turned, hoping it wasn't some kind of sex toy or something equally as bad.

It was.

Giyuu walked back over to Tokito and took a small clear packaging full of what looked like aphrodisiac pills.

"These aren't something you should worry about either."

Giyuu looked around, finding a small basket full of hair pins, he grabbed it and handed it to Tokito, "Why don't you look at these?"

Tokito took an interest to the pins and they seemed to distract him, for the moment at least.

Giyuu put the pills with the box of condoms, "This place is a shithole," Shinazugawa grumbled. "I get its a whore house, but having those things in a room with a fourteen year old kid is absofuckinglutely disgusting."

Giyuu couldn't help but agree. He kept his voice low, knowing he had to speak a lot for the mission so decided to get some practice in.

"Did you see how her husband stared?"

Shinazugawa scoffed, "Hes a fucking pervert, a pedophile too if he was staring at the shrimp like that too."

Something caught Giyuu's eye. He walked past Shinazugawa and looked at the wall.

There was a hole, a small hole big enough to fit his pinky finger, just as knee height.

He bent down and looked through it, he could see into the room next to theirs.

"Shinazugawa, come look at this."

Shinazugawa grumbled about being told what to do, but came over.

"What the hell?"

Giyuu stared through it for a moment longer, just as he was about to move away the door to the room slid open.

He now knew who the room belonged to.

Warabihime.

Chapter Text

Im really sorry for not posting in a while. I just recently got my first job and I've been focused on it. I haven't had any inspiration to post lately and I'm sorry for those who have been following the story. I promise I'll post another chapter soon, ive already got the next one started. I just need to focus on getting used to working, doing school, and all my chores in one day and still have the time to write.

I hope you understand, thanks for reading💖

Chapter Text

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu backed up from the hole and looked around for something to cover it up with.

"What is it?" Shinazugawa asked, Giyuu held a finger up to his mouth, Shinazugawa didn't take kindly to that and opened his mouth to argue.

"Its the Oiran" Giyuu said, reverting back to his female voice as he whispered.

Shinazugawa closed his mouth in understanding, apparently he'd sensed something off about her too.

Giyuu found a small cloth and stuffed it in the hole, making sure no one could see through it, at least from the other end.

It'd be useful to see if Warabihime was up to anything when she thought no one was watching.

Giyuu went over to Tokito, if the Oiran was back from her rounds that meant it was late, the three had been up all day, they needed rest.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Knock Knock

Giyuu sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, wondering if the knocks were just a figment of his imagination when he heard another small knock.

He got up, fixed his kimono, a plain one meant for sleeping, and opened the door.

He saw a short pretty girl. Her eyes a bright brown, almost hazel, her hair a pale blonde at shoulder length, her kimono a bright pink with cherry blossoms on it.

"Hi," she said with a smile, "Im Yui, Miss.Ayamachi assigned me to get you and your two companions situated here."

Giyuu brushed a strand of bangs out of his eyes, he must look like a mess having just woken up, "Nice to meet you Yui, I'm Kanami. Me and the other two will be out soon if that's alright with you,"

Yui nodded, smile still on her face, "That's alright, I know I woke you up so take your time. Just meet me at the front entrance in an hour and I'll give you a tour of the place."

Giyuu nodded, closing the door as she walked off.

"Who was that?" Shinazugawa asked in a slightly raspy sleepy voice.

"She said her names Yui, she's supposed to help us around here."

Shinazugawa nodded, pushing the covers back and sitting up.

°°°°°°°°°°°°

I have no fucking idea what to put there so I'm just skipping until they're ready, I have not been able to decide how they'll get ready for over a week now so my lazy ass is going to move on

°°°°°°°°°°°°

"No Tokito, those aren't for eating." Giyuu told the younger male for the third time when no one was around to hear his real name.

Tokito kept trying to eat the flowers they were putting around the building.

"They smell good," was his simple explanation.

Shinazugawa was surprisingly good at handling the flowers, he gave them the right amount of water and flower food, cutting the bottom of the stems for better water flow.

Giyuu didn't dare to say that though, not wanting to get yelled at.

Shinazugawa tended to be loud, he might accidentally blow their cover.

Once they finished with the flowers Giyuu looked at their list of things to do.

Next, they had to make sweets for the guests that came in.

There was lots of men that came and went throughout the day, much less so than at night, but still quite a bit.

Giyuu noticed a lot of them slip rings in they're pockets before walking in, those men clearly didn't care about their spouses, so why marry?

Giyuu grabbed Tokito's hand and led the other two to the kitchen, which was thankfully empty.

All but about three of the girls there slept during the day because they were...busy at night.

Tokito looked around at stuff, messing with ingredients with childlike curiosity.

"What should we make?" Giyuu asked Shinazugawa, figuring that he out of the other two was more likely to actually know of desserts.

"I don't give a fuck, just make something," Shinazugawa grumbled.

Giyuu decided to ignore him, he only asked a simple question anyways.

In the end, he let Tokito point at random things to make. Tokito chose sakura mochi and ohagi.

Chapter Text

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Sanemi

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Sanemi left Tomioka and Tokito to make the sweets, he decided to learn every secret about the place.

He had to try hard not to adjust his kimono every two seconds, the way it was so close to his neck to hide his scars made him uncomfortable.

He walked around, glad barely anyone was awake and around because he didn't have to act like a sweet little girl in front of anyone.

He looked around, searching for anything off about the place.

There was flower pots everywhere, filled with different flowers whose scents clashed in a bad way.

As he walked he saw small holes at the bottom of some of the walls, most likely where mice came in and out for food.

There was quite a few, some of them big enough that the women there had to know about them.

When he passed the showers Sanemi almost gagged on the suffocating smell of flowery body wash and perfume.

He held his breath until he was down the hall.

He never understood why women wore that fake stuff, they didn't need anything for a man to want them.

Unless they were really ugly, there did exist women out there who were hideous.

Mostly demons though.

He kept patrolling, walking along slowly and silently until he felt it.

A demon presence.

A demon presence strong enough to make the hairs on his arms stand on end.

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Giyuu liked hanging out with Tokito. It was like having a younger brother.

A younger, clueless, brother.

Every couple seconds Tokito was asking how to make the desserts, what ingredients to use, how much, why, but Giyuu never felt annoyed at the questions like he would be with anyone else.

It made him wonder what made Tokito lose all his memories, something traumatic no doubt, involving a demon if the kid was a hashira at such a young age.

He patiently showed Tokito how to make the Ohagi, they decided too make that first.

(I was too lazy to look up the recipe, so insert super awesome cooking/baking of ohagi scene)

Once they were done there was a huge mess and a nice big plate full of mostly good looking ohagi.

Some were more lumpy than others, but its the thought that counts.

Giyuu patted Tokito's head, "Not bad" he said, "but are you ready to make the Sakura mochi?"

Tokito got a small determined look, his brows slightly furrowing, "it can't be that hard"

Giyuu nodded, "Alright then, this is what we need."

He had Tokito gather the ingredients, noticing that the younger boy seemed to remember pretty well where the stuff was, he only needed help a couple times.

His memory was a bit better than it was before, so Giyuu tried to ask him things from a few minutes ago as much as it came up to help Tokito remember more.

(Insert amazing scene of Sakura mochi being created because I'm such a professional writer)

"Ok," Giyuu said once all the mochi was done, "This should be enough"

"Well I sure hope so," Tokito said as he looked at the two plates stacked high with desserts, "Those girls don't need all that food, they aren't demon slayers"

"Tokito," Giyuu said in a slightly exhasperated tone, "Just because they aren't in the corps doesn't mean they can't eat a lot,"

Tokito blinked in confusion, "But, pinky pie eats a whole lot of food and she's a hashira."

Giyuu's face went blank in confusion.

Pinky pie?

Who-?

"You mean Kanroji?"

Tokito placed a finger on his chin, seemingly deep in thought, "Is she the loud one with pink hair?"

Giyuu didn't know many loud people with pink hair, so, "Yes"

Tokito nodded, "Then yeah, the Kintoji chick"

"Kanroji" Giyuu corrected.

"Thats what I said"

"No its- you know what, you want to help me deliver these to Ayamachi?"

Tokito tilted his head to the side, "Who that?"

"The head of the hostel,"

"Oh...sounds boring"

Giyuu's lips twitched, threatening to let out a small amused smile, "It probably is."

Giyuu then held the player of ohagi while Tokito grabbed the Sakura mochi, they walked together through the house.

Weaving through the mostly empty hallways until they made it to the top floor of the place.

He felt unsettled once they made it to the top of the stairs, the faint smell of...copper.

"Tokito, stay here" he knew that if there was a demon that Tokito was more than capable of taking care of himself, but he couldn't help his worrying about someone sorevealing

"Hm? Ok, can I eat some of this?"

Giyuu wasn't really paying attention, "Yeah, go ahead, just don't move,"

Giyuu slowly walked towards the room at the end of the hall, Ayamachi's room.

The closer he got the stronger the scent got, and the more it actually smelled like blood instead of metal.

He had been warned that the demon he might face on the mission was a strong one, possible kizuki level, and that made him uneasy.

He didn't have his katana, neither did Tokito or Shinazugawa.

Speaking of Shinazugawa, where was he? He went to patrol, but that was before they even started making the desserts.

The uneasy feeling grew in the pit if his stomach as he reached out to knock on the door.

"Mrs.Ayamachi?" He called out in his female voice, "I got the desserts you wanted"

...

No answer.

"Mrs.Ayamachi?"

He slowly slid the door open, revealing that Ayamachi was definitely in there.

In a pile of her own blood

Someone had brutally murdered her in her bed, a huge slash through her abdomen.

He sat the ohagi down outside the door before walking in to investigate further, making sure not to let his guard down.

He looked back real quick to make sure Tokito was still there, he was, but the Sakura mochi was a quarter of the way gone.

Oh well.

That wasn't his biggest worry at the moment.

He moved closer to the body, noticing that there was several cuts and bruises along her body.

She was probably tortured before she had been killed, but some of the cuts were almost healed and the bruises were days old.

Something didn't add up.

A slight movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He turned just in time to see a piece of pink patterned cloth slide through a small crack in the corner of the room.

.

.

.

"Tomioka!"

Chapter Text

••••••••••
Giyuu
••••••••••
Giyuu turned around and saw Shinazugawa beside Tokito and his now empty plate.

"Is this where you went? You can't just go leaving without telling me knowing that there's a demon here"

Giyuu blinked, knowing he was right, but, "I didn't know you cared Shinazugawa"

A vein in his forehead twitched before he noticed the body in front of Giyuu-finally.

"Isn't that the owner chick?"

"Yeah, we just found her"

"Giyuu-san found her, I ate the Sakura mochi" Tokito corrected.

Shinazugawa scoffed, "No shit kid, I didn't notice before."

Tokito just gave him a blank stare, "Didn't notice what?"

Giyuu decided to intervene when Shinazugawa looked angry, "Why don't we investigate this body more, we need to figure out how this happened."

Shinazugawa crossed his arms, "Fine, whatever" he muttered, probably not wanting to admit that he thought Giyuu was right.

Giyuu walked back over to the body, crouching down in front of it to get a better look at the slashes.

He studied them for a while, they were really deep, it only would've taken one slash to kill Ayamachi, but whoever killed her slashed her three times.

Something that didn't add up though was the old cuts and bruises on her body. Did the demon beat her before killing her?

Giyuu had never heard of anything like it, but he had also never heard of a demon like Nezuko before so he couldn't rule it out.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Just then out of the corner of his eye, Giyuu saw a colorful piece of fabricin Ayamachi's left hand.

It was black with flower patterns on it, very intricately made. He carefully grabbed it, holding it up for the other two to see.

"Wasn't Warabihime wearing this last night when she went out in the district?"

Shinazugawa looked closer at it, "Yeah, that bastard ran into me last night on purpose, I remember that design."

"Who is Warmihigaye?" Tokito asked without actually looking at the cloth.

"Some random whore, don't accociate yourself with her kid." Shinazugawa said gruffly.

"Shinazugawa,he's just a kid, don't say that."

"Like hell i'll listen to you-"

"I hear someone coming," Tokito said absently.

The other two froze, hearing the footsteps in time, by the time the person rounded the corner they were all gone.

---------------

A faint scream was heard from above as the person found Ayamachi.

The hurried footsteps of several people followed, then more screams and gasps.

For the rest of the day the three hashira had to pretend they never knew about her or already found clues on who it was.

Especially since Warabihime seemed to have her eyes on them.

For a couple weeks they layed low and didn't do anything that would make them suspicious, they were the new ones after all.

Giyuu had to work a little harder as he had to not only keep his head low, but keep Tokito from straying far and Shinazugawa from dealing with Warabihime.

During the day, they slept, cleaned, cooked food, and helped the others with what they needed.

At night they would do whatever the next head wanted them to. Luckily they were still too new to take "customers".

The bad thing about being so well behaved though, the ladies talked on and on about how customers would just love the three of them.

"Saori has such a quiet beauty about her"

"Kanami is so refined and elegant, not to mention her body. I'm so jealous"

"Misami seems to love all the flowers here, shes so dainty and mysterious"

Yui often was with them after she was appointed to stay with them by Warabihime, most likely because she found them suspicious.

She would chat, mostly to herself sine the three rarely answered, but she seemed content with it.

If anyone had anything to say about the three, whether out of jealousy or just annoyance, Yui was always immediately defending them.

Giyuu thought she was good, too bad she was stuck in this lifestyle.

Chapter Text

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Giyuu

----------------

Giyuu wanted so bad for someone to slit his throat before he did it himself.

Not only was Warabihime watching over the three hashira like a hawk, but he just got amazing news that he was able to have his first customer that night.

He hid his horror well, but Shinazugawa didn't. Giyuu practically had to knock him out to get him not to protest.

He couldn't blame him though, they're cover was about to be blown and they'd only ben there a bit over a week.

Tokito, bless his little heart, had no idea what was going on.

He was pacing around their shared room, thinking deeply about how he could get himself out of this situation, but nothing he thought about would work.

He was older, so people assumed he had experience, he was quiet so people assumed he wouldn't complain about anything, he was calm in bad situations so people assumed he never got scared.

Maybe he could-

"Oi, Tomioka. Stop pacing around, it's pissing me off."

Giyuu didn't even bother looking at him, he just had a crazy idea that might actually work.

Most of the men that came in were drunk, so if he knocked one out when he woke up he would think he was too drunk to remember.

All Giyuu had to do was position them both so when the guy woke up he thought they had a great time and left on his merry way.

"Tomioka, stop fucking pacing, its time for you to go out there"

Giyuu jolted back to reality, he hadn't realized that he had spent so much time thinking.

Shinazugawa was going to keep Tokito in control elsewhere while Giyuu engaged in activities with the customer.

As the two left, Giyuu reapplied some of his makeup, if the guy had good memories of him before he had the horniness knocked out of hm then he would't know what happened.

Just as he finished there was a knock on the door.

"Come in,"

The door opened to reveal none other than Uzui, a wide grin on his face.

"Yoo, Tomioka. Bet you weren't expecting to see me were ya?"

Giyuu blinked, then his shoulders relaxed in relief.

The only reason he would have for knocking someone out that night is because he was annoying.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, dropping his female voice.

Uzui closed the door behind him, "You didn't possibly think i'd let some guy have his way with you and ruin this whole mission did you? I've booked you the whole time we're here so we can talk about the mission and avoid being caught."

Giyuu had to give it to him, he didn't think Uzui had many brain cells to think of something that smart. You learn something new every day.

"So," Uzui said, dropping down on one of the three futons, Shinazugawa's, "Learn anything?"

Giyuu told him about everything he knew while he had been there. Ayamachi's death, the strange old bruises on her body, the cloth, Warabihime's behaviour.

Uzui listened without interrupting, a finger on his chin while he thought when Giyuu finished.

"Well, theres two reasons there could be for those bruises. One, the demon was beating her, highly unlikely because they would probably be worse wounds, and two, her husband was beating her."

Giyuu raised a brow at that, wondering how he came to that conclusion.

"Think about it, he seems to want every girl but her, and she doesn't even notice. Maybe this was his way of trying to get her to leave him."

That actually wasn't completely out of the question. When he worded it like that it made the demon doing that sound downright laughable.

Giyuu couldn't even count on both hands how many times he'd caught Ryuuya checking him and the other two out.

It made him sick every time, the guy had a hunger about his gaze that made it seem like he'd pounce at any moment, married or not.

Now that his wife was out of the way, what would he do now? Did the demon even kill her or was it him so he had free reign over the girls? He could've planted the cloth there to make people suspect it was Warabihime instead of him.

This made Giyuu question everything about why they were here, maybe there was no demon in the first place, it was Ryuuya killing the girls himself.

Uzui broke the silence, "We have two options here, we figure out who the demon is, if there is one, or we keep our eyes on him. Watching him would enable you to protect him from messing with any other girls. But I'm sure there is a demon because my wives wouldn't go out of contact because of a guy who probably has the fighting ability of a five year old."

Giyuu thought about it, he forgot that Uzui's wives were involved, but it made sense. Maybe he killed his wife and not the others, or maybe he was working with the demon. It wasn't unheard of. Humans were worse than demons sometimes.

Knock Knock

Giyuu panicked a little, he was supposed to be "getting it on" with the customer right now, they weren't even next to eachother.

The door was slowly being opened, by the time someone peeked their head in Uzui was on top of Giyuu, his kimono hanging off of his shoulder, he smudged the lip color around his lips before he peeked around Uzui.

They looked the perfect picture of two people who were being intimate.

The person, a random girl trying to find an empty room for her and her customer, left with many flustered apologies.

After the girl and her customer left, someone replaced them before Giyuu and Uzui could separate.

The last person they wanted to see, looking drunk and alight with something no one wanted to mention.

Ryuuya

Chapter Text

------------

Sanemi

------------

Sanemi was watching Tokito eat some random bun he found in the kitchen.

There was men ogling him, men ogling Tokito, and he had no idea how Tomioka was going to handle his first customer.

Many girls came by offering him to take a customer, even going as far to offer Tokito as if he didn't obviously look the youngest there.

Sanemi silently declined everyone for him and Tokito.

It was frustrating not being able to talk, but his gravelly voice would give him away immediately.

He was just considering leaving when he saw someone approaching him out of the corner of his eye.

He turned to see Tomioka looking disheveled, hair a mess almost out of its updo, lip paint smeared along his face, his kimono just barely hung off his shoulder like it had been lower before.

He raised a brow qeustioningly, hoping that the bastard didn't actually engage in activities with some random drunk guy.

When Tomioka was close enough only Sanemi could hear him he muttered, "You need to go to the room, Tokito too." And was gone before Sanemi could ask just what the hell was going on.

Sanemi grumbled internally as he grabbed Tokito by the arm and dragged him away. At least he didn't have to be stared at anymore.

It took everything in him not to beat every man in there to a pulp. When him and Tokito arrived at the room they were shocked at the sight of Ryuuya tied up in the middle of it, a bright red hand print on his cheek.

"Who's that?" Tokito asked.

No one bother answering him, Sanemi was even more shocked seeing Uzui come out from the back of the room.

"Yoo, Shinazugawa, Tokito, your in for a treat."

"Why the hell is this fucker here?" Sanemi asked, Ryuuya's eyes going wide at the sound of his voice.

Tomioka was fixing himself up in the mirror, his hair down as he got rid of the remnant makeup on his face.

"This guy here tried to barge in here and have his way with me," he explained off handedly.

Uzui chuckled, "Yeah, don't forget the part where you slapped the hell out of the guy and sent him flying."

Sanemi raised a brow, he didn't think the guy had it in him.

Tomioka turned away from the mirror, done with what he was doing, "Well, next time he should listen to the word no."

Tomioka approached Sanemi and explained to him everything he and Uzui talked about before they got their hostage.

Hearing those words Ryuuya started to struggle, rightfully so as it was impossible to miss the murderous look in Sanemi's eyes.

A woman beater, his least favorite type of scum.

He unconsiously cracked his fingers, wanting to beat the shit out of the guy.

"Calm down Shinazugawa, we need to get information out of him," Uzui said.

"You can do whatever you want afterwards," Tomioka added, sensing something off.

All of them, except Tokito who somehow pulled another bun out of thin air, turned to Ryuuya.

The guy looked panicked, his hands and feet were tied, he had a cloth covering his mouth.

"So," Uzui started, "Who should interrogate him? Not it,"

Tomioka looked at Sanemi, "I think it should be me, he might make you mad and end up beat before we get anything."

A vein threatened to show on his forehead, he knew logically that he was right, Ryuuya was the type of guy to get under someones skin to get out of stuff, but he didn't want Tomioka just thinking he was right about everything.

Before he could deny the truth Tomioka was already walking up to him, getting on his knees at his level, "I'm removing the cloth, if you scream I'll cut of your air flow."

Sanemi crossed his arms.

Not bad.

Tomioka removed the cloth, Ryuuya opened his mouth as if he didn't hear the warning, but nothing came out of it.

It took Sanemi a couple seconds to realize that Tomioka had a hand on his neck, squeezing in just the right spots that he could breath but not make a sound.

Uzui let out a low whistle, "He warned you did he not?"

----------

Giyuu

----------

Giyuu put just enough pressure to Ryuuya's neck to make his pupils shrink in panick.

His mind though he couldn't breath so he'd agree to stay quiet in order for Giyuu to let go.

"Make a sound and I'll go further than taking your ability to speak." He warned lowly.

Giyuu had been investigated many times when he wasn't careful with his slaying. It was rare that someone was, but he knew a lot of methods to get someone to talk if it came to it.

He took his hand off of the filthy man, he coughed took in breaths like he hadn't breathed in forever.

It took everything in him not to recoil at the pungent odor, he didn't think Ryuuya had so much as ever even look at a toothbrush, much less use one.

"Did you beat Ayamachi?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Whats it to you?" Ryuuya spat, "She was a nasty whore anyways, all she wanted was to have sex. 'Lets go somewhere private Ryuuya. I can take care of you Ryuuya. Why don't we go have some fun Ryuuya?' I'm sick of it. Whether I beat her or not its not like anyone cares."

Giyuu stood up and walked slow circles around him. An intimidation move.

Ryuuya knew how strong he was from the smack he got.

People liked you to be in sight, so every time Giyuu walked behind him Ryuuya tensed and untensed when he was back in sight. This happened many times until Giyuu stopped in front of him and spoke again.

"So because your wife wanted attention you beat her?"

Ryuuya scoffed, "Attention is putting it lightly. Never shut up about it that one. I'm glad shes gone."

Giyuu bent down, grabbing hair from the back of Ryuuya's head and moving his head to force him to look up, his grip just shy of pulling the hair out, "Did you kill her?"

Ryuuya gulped, visibly trying not to make a sound at the pain. A pathetic try at being tough if you asked him.

"Why? Did you want her? Would've fit huh? Three men, disguising themselves as women in a brothel full of them. Was that your plan all along? Get these women on your side and have your way with them? What a good plan, why didn't I-"

SMACK

Everyone in the room was stunned into silence at the sound, even Tokito.

Ryuuya landed in a sprawl of limbs on the other side of the room, his face already swelling from the sheer force of the blow just delivered to him.

Giyuu had gotten tired of that sick man, he really was no better than Shinazugawa in that area.

Just when he turned to tell Shinazugawa to have his way with Ryuuya he saw a figure in the doorway looking outraged.

"What is going on here?"