XII

***********A/N:This chapter shall be short. The next one will be longer, don't sweat.

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***Kokushibou's POV***

I never realized how fun it was to do laundry. Don't be fooled, in my past life, I did my children's laundry most of the time.

My wife wasn't really the strongest human, so I didn't like her doing work when I was free from missions.My eldest son and I would normally wash the clothes while the younger ones would run around, or hang by me to see what I was doing.

To be honest, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about them. Hopefully, they are still alive.

They have to be. They will be.

"You're surprisingly good at this." Nakime chirps and I look up at her. She was hanging some bedsheets on the line.Specifically the sheets we exercised on.I have no regrets.

"You thought I didn't even know the first thing about laundry, right?" I ask and she only shrugs and puts some clips on the sides of the sheets. I went back to washing the clothes I soaked in the bowl but looked up again when I heard her hiss.

I raise an eyebrow when she sighs and rubs her stomach. She then glared at me and then I blinked in realization.

"Sorry." I say with a smirk, even if I wasn't apologetic in the slightest.This way, when that sorry-excuse-for-an-existence sees her, he'll know that she's taken.

She scoffs at me and goes back to clipping some clothes on the line. We spent the rest of the calm hours of our evening spreading clothes and occasionally teasing each other. By nightfall, Nakime started getting ready to work in Lady Yusa's shop.

"Pepper spray." I murmur and wrap my hands around her waist.

She giggled, but still ignored me as she tied her hair into a low ponytail and wrapped the ends into a neat bun. Her eye was covered perfectly by her bangs and the way her skin highlighted those pink lips.

Nobody deserved to see such a beauty.

"I mean it." I add and she turns to look at me. She sighs and places a kiss on my forehead before leaving my grip and walking out of the room.

I followed her around (like a lost puppy, what has come over me?) the house as she gathered things into a small bag.

"I'll be back around ten o'clock." She says and I raise an eyebrow, "Ok, nine thirty."

"Lower." I say and she glares at me.

"Come on! If I continue to get tips like that, I can actually get us a lot of things in this house. Things you would enjoy."

My raised eyebrow didn't falter, "What makes you think I can't get those things?"

"I don't want to use your money anymore." She whines and quickly clears her throat, "I mean, I don't want you wasting your money on me."

I narrow my eyes at her.

"Until further notice." She says quietly and I hum, still offended.

"Bye bye." She waves at me and blows a little kiss before walking out the door and closing it. I walked back to my room, grabbing my haori and putting it on. I grab my sword the moment I am downstairs and blow out the active lanterns, making a mental note to check the time at intervals.

I shut the door and locked it, putting the key in my pocket before walking away.

Demon slayer corps do go on patrols.Especially Hashira, whether it be a mission or not. But even the fact of them specifically going towards the house during the short period I left was much to precise to be a simple stroll in the woods.

I have to see just how they made it that far.

I quickly jumped on top of a roof, moving in that manner until I was considerably far from the house. I stopped jumping on roofs when I spotted a small building, with light coming from inside.

I frowned.It was a little late for pubs to be open, and all the men were obsessed with the more accommodating Oiran houses in the district. This wasn't just a coincidence.

I quickly jumped down from my rooftop perching and walked to the building. It was quite rickety and looked like something poverty would reject.

There was a small neon sign with the promiscuous image of a woman.

Oh, it was a strip club.

This didn't surprise me. Western ideologies were becoming rampant these days.I turned back but stopped when two people came out of the doors, chattering aimlessly. I kept quiet and pretended to continue walking away.

"I cannot believe you got over a thousand yen just for yapping your mouth."

"Mmhmm, I can't believe it either. The guys in the uniforms look like they'll pay loads of money just to hear of 'demons' walking around."

" Right?"

I subtly turned back and walked past them, slipping a blindfold over the other two pairs of my eyes before walking into the club.

It looked like your regular lewd house. Neon pink walls, metal poles with women doing all sorts of things on them, dim multi colored lights, a bar conveniently placed at one side of the club where everything could be viewed.

"Hello sir" A woman says, gluing to my side and shamelessly pressing her chest on my hand, "What would you like me to do for you?"

Disappear.

"I am actually searching for people. Men in black and white uniforms, kanji at their back. Have you seen people like that? " I say and she places a hand under her chin in thought."Yeah, I saw a few of them just a moment ago. They left after a while." She says and then gives me a flirtatious wink, "Is there anything el-"

"Did you see where they went exactly?" I ask and she blinks at me.

"Y-yes. They went towards the opposite side of the district." She says and I nod at her.

"Thank you." I say and turn to leave.

"Wait, don't you want something else?" She calls out and I mutter out a no before walking out of the club.

Stupid bitch. I scoff internally as I walk past the crisp air outside. I make a beeline for the path away from the district.For them to be more than one, they must be cooking up something and I was determined to find out what and end it before it even began.

Pictures of Nakime covered in her own blood and a sword lodged in her throat flashed in my memory and I clenched my jaw.I'll make sure to savour killing these ones.

Speaking of Nakime, I looked up at the moon. It was slightly brighter than before, and a tad to the left. An hour had passed, which means she would be back in the next thirty minutes. I quickened my pace, determined to find what I came out looking for. The subject of that day has been very touchy for her; she gets triggered at the sight of a sword so much that I have to keep mine hidden. And she doesn't like talking about it either.

So, if she finds out I'm searching for them, things will not go down easily.

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3rd POV ************

"Thank you. Please come again."

"Oh, I most definitely will." The lady at the door says, waving before shutting it.The bell at the top gave a nice ringing sound before settling.

Nakime smiled and went back to stacking up some papers on the desk she was on. It seems Lady Yusa's shop got a lot more customers these days.

"It seems customers have taken quite the liking to you." She says, opting Nakime to look up at her.

"What makes you say that?" She asks and the woman chuckles and points to her furnace aisle. Most of the woodworks were gone, only a few miniature tables and such remained, "They've been disappearing like women when they see a rich man."

Nakime gives her an embarrassed smile and goes back to stacking the papers on the desk.

"How is our gentleman doing?" She asks and Nakime chuckles.

"He's doing just fine. A little protective though, but other than that..."

"Mm, I understand." Yusa says and picks up a rocking chair, putting it close to the display window, "My husband was all over me in our youthful days. Wouldn't let me go anywhere without a pocket knife."

"That sounds troublesome." She sighs and the older woman laughs.

"That's just their way of expressing how much they care. Men tend to be the dominant ones in the relationship, so they do everything in a leading fashion. Sometimes, they irritate their partners without even realizing it, thinking it's a way of protecting them."

Nakime didn't know why, but her mind flashed back to that of her past life.

Her drunkard of a husband, that got violent not too long after.

The countless sacrifices she made for him.The way he still beat her after everything.

The way she killed him.

"It seems I struck a nerve." Yusa murmurs and she jumps.

"O-oh, no you didn't, Lady Yusa." She stuttered and rubbed her temples, "I just spaced out a little."

Yusa gave her a small smile. She knew there was more to this girl than what meets the eye. And it intrigued her.

"Why don't you go rest for the night? You seem a bit tired."

Nakime looks up at the clock in the shop, it read 9:20."That's very nice of you, Lady Yusa. Thank you." She says and slightly bows.

"Don't mention it, my dear." The older woman replies and watches as she packs her things. A smile, a genuinely mischievous one, forms on her face and she walks into the back rooms of her shop.

Once she returns, Nakime is seated on a chair, near the entrance, watching the bustling streets outside.

"Here you are, my dear."

She looks up and stands, walking to her to see what she was offering.A small packet was in her slightly wrinkly hands. A purple packet with beautiful designs.

"Oh, Lady Yusa, you shouldn't have." Nakime says, oblivious to the cheeky smile the middle aged woman bore.

"Please take it, my dear. It's good tea, very calming to the senses. Plus, it will act as a thank you for all your help today."

She wanted to decline but fell for the older woman's charming smile.

"Of course. Thank you very much." She says and carefully takes the packet from her, placing it in her bag, "I'll make sure to try it the moment I get home."

"Do try to take it with your partner." She says and Nakime gives her a confused look, "It's very soothing when you sip with loved ones. It will give the two of you a sentimental feel."

"As you wish, but may I ask the ingredient that makes it so calming?" She asks.

The older lady gave her an oh-too-sweet smile, "Viagra."

Nakime blinks at the foreign word, but smiles back at her. It must be a calming herb for Yusa to recommend it for her.

"Thank you. And have a good night." Nakime says as she waves and leaves the shop.

The old woman waves back at her retreating figure and smiles to herself, "I'd love to see how this goes down."

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