"Mei—"
Gyutaro lifted his head the moment Daki called out to him, eyes brightening for a second. But he quickly realized he had nothing useful to offer his little sister. The light in his eyes dimmed again as he lowered his head in defeat.
Useless.
Daki clicked her tongue internally and turned back to Shuya.
Looks-wise, this man was easily the most stunning person she had seen in centuries. Loyalty to Muzan had never been strong for either her or Gyutaro. The only real problem was that Shuya was human.
After hundreds of years of seeing humans as nothing but food, the idea of letting one stand above her as her master felt… wrong.
Unless—
"Guest! It's bad!"
A young girl's panicked voice came from outside. The door burst open and a cute little girl rushed inside, only to freeze the moment she saw the scene in front of her.
Daki's hair ornaments were gone. Her makeup had been wiped clean. Even her hair looked a little damp.
"So beautiful~"
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Daki's expression darkened instantly.
She had heard plenty of compliments about her looks over the years. What she hated was this little brat seeing her in such a messy, vulnerable state.
"Who let you in?" she snapped.
The girl snapped out of her daze and remembered exactly whose temper she was dealing with.
"I-I'm sorry, Lady Kekki!" she stammered. "There's a samurai outside causing trouble! He's been harassing Sister Kohong ever since she came back from buying food—"
"Samurai?!"
Gyutaro's head shot up. His voice came out hoarse and agitated. Even though he was still bound, he started struggling violently.
His little sister Mei had nearly been burned to death by a samurai before they became demons. The word alone made something ugly twist inside him.
"Tell me where he is! I'll kill him!"
The little girl took a step back, clearly terrified by Gyutaro's appearance.
Shuya placed a hand on her head.
"Don't be scared. He won't hurt you."
The girl looked up. The moment she saw Shuya's gentle face, she went still again.
So handsome… and his hand feels so warm.
Shuya rubbed her head lightly. "Can you tell me what happened, little one?"
The girl blushed, embarrassed that she had spaced out.
"Um… you're the strange big brother who came here just to eat, right?"
Shuya paused. "…Strange big brother?"
"Ah! I'm sorry!" the girl bowed quickly. "I didn't mean it like that!"
Shuya waved it off. "It's fine. Keep going."
"Everyone's been talking about it," the girl said, relaxing a little. "They said a really good-looking big brother came to Kyogoku House but didn't ask for any of the big sisters. He just wanted to eat."
Shuya had no comeback for that.
He really had only come to eat and find Daki quickly. Apparently that was considered weird here.
He sighed. "Your name's Koharu, right?"
"Mm!" The girl nodded brightly, then added, "Like the season spring!"
"Got it. So what exactly happened with this samurai?"
Koharu explained quickly. The maid who had gone out to buy food for Shuya bumped into a samurai on the way back. He started harassing her and wouldn't leave her alone.
Daki's face twisted with disgust at the mention of a samurai.
Since she was already exposed as an Upper Rank, she figured she wouldn't be staying at Kyogoku House much longer anyway.
"Let me go kill him," she said immediately.
Shuya shot her a sharp look.
Daki shut her mouth.
Shuya rubbed his chin. So the maid who had greeted him earlier was in trouble because she went out to buy food for him?
He looked at the little girl. "Koharu, can you take me there?"
The girl hesitated. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to involve guests. If the other people in the house found out she had even let Shuya see Daki in that state, she would definitely get punished.
Shuya's voice stayed gentle. "Koharu?"
Koharu looked at Shuya, then at Daki, who was currently behaving strangely quiet. She thought about how kind Sister Kohong always was to everyone.
She grabbed Shuya's sleeve. "Please, big brother guest! Help Sister Kohong! She's a really good person!"
"Take me there first," Shuya said. He wasn't about to blindly agree without seeing the situation.
He turned to Daki. "You two stay here and think about the offer I gave you. I'll be back soon."
"I'm going with you," Daki said without hesitation.
Shuya raised an eyebrow. "You're not scared I'll just throw you into the sunlight?"
"I don't care. I'm going with you."
She clung to him like a spoiled child, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. For some reason, being near him made her feel strangely reluctant to leave. Even the thought of sharing her demon blood with him — turning him into one of her kind so he could stay by her side forever — had crossed her mind.
Shuya looked down at her. "So you've decided to be my pet?"
"Not yet," Daki said stubbornly, still holding onto him. "But I'm still going with you."
"Big brother guest—" Koharu tugged on his arm anxiously.
Shuya sighed. He picked up Daki's discarded kimono from the floor and handed it to her.
"Even without makeup, you're fine with going out like this?"
"It's fine. As long as no one sees my face."
Daki quickly put the kimono back on. One of her ribbons extended and wrapped around the lower half of her face, hiding everything below her nose. Then she jumped onto Shuya's back without warning and clung to him.
Shuya instinctively supported her thighs to keep her steady.
Daki herself was surprised by how naturally she had done it — and how easily he had accepted it.
She stared at the back of his ear, suddenly feeling a strange urge to lean forward and lick it.
She quickly buried her face against his back instead, fighting down the impulse.
"What's your name?" she asked, voice slightly muffled. "If you want to be my master, I should at least know what to call you."
"Shuya. My name is Shuya."
Daki went quiet after that. She kept her face pressed against his back, too afraid that if she looked at his ear again she really might do something embarrassing.
Shuya shook his head and looked at Koharu. "Lead the way."
The little girl nodded and started walking ahead, still internally shocked that the usually terrifying Lady Kekki was acting like this.
Before leaving, Shuya glanced at Gyutaro. He manifested a cloak to cover the bound demon and used In to hide the chains, then pulled Gyutaro along with them using the invisible chains.
A strange sight, but Shuya had already come to a red-light district just to eat. This was hardly the weirdest thing happening today.
The crow, meanwhile, stayed behind until they were long gone before finally flying out the window in a panic.
"Scared this bird to death~"
She headed straight for the Butterfly Mansion to report to Shinobu.
Shuya followed Koharu through the streets until they reached the source of the trouble.
A man in a Demon Slayer uniform stood there, a massive Nichirin blade almost as tall as he was strapped to his waist.
Shuya recognized him instantly.
Kaigaku.
The future Upper Rank Six. A born piece of shit.
"Kaigaku!!"