Animal Insticts - Inosuke x Reader

Ch. 6 - Sharing is Caring

"I think it will be best if you stay here. You've been through a lot today - pretending to be a girl shouldn't be your top priority,"

"What, you think I can't pretend to be a girl?!"

"No, no! That's not what I'm saying at all!" her hands waved in the air. "I'll have to talk to people to find out what they know, so you'd just be following me around, which could get boring. Plus, I'll draw less attention if it's just me,"

He huffed loudly. "That's stupid..." but his cross-legged position on the bed told her he wouldn't be protesting.

"Alright, I'll be back soon," she reached over and ruffled his hair, leaving him with a goofy expression as she stepped out into the hallway, sliding the door shut behind her.

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With the sun dipping below the horizon, several of the Lotus House girls were already standing around in the main lobby, the scent of flowery perfume hanging heavy in the air. Y/N poised herself, stuffing her hands into the sleeves of her kimono and descending the stairs.

Reaching the lobby, she looked around and headed towards some girls who looked receptive.

"Hello, my name is Y/Nickname! I'm fairly new here," She smiled at two girls who were lingering towards the back. They looked fairly young, so they probably weren't serving customers - but they might know something all the same.

"Hello! I'm Hani, and this is Luota," the older of the two cooed, returning her smile. "Your hair is sooooo pretty!" Luota remarked, reaching out a hand to stroke a lock of her hair.

"You are just the sweetest! I like your hair, too!" she gave the girl a soft pat on her head, causing her to squeal. "Since I'm so new, I was wondering if you two would be able to tell me about this house and the surrounding district,"

The two girls grinned at each other, then at the undercover demon slayer. They told her about all of the delicious sweets they could get, pointed out customers who were known for being kind, and even promised to help braid Y/N's hair if she wanted.

After one of them had finished a sentence, the demon slayer cut in. "Can I ask you a question?" The two girls nodded excitedly, probably happy to have someone who was actually listening to them for once. "Well... the truth is, I'm a little scared. I heard some rumors..." Y/N looked around, feigning nervousness. She leaned close to them and spoke with a hushed voice. "I heard that some girls have... gone missing,"

Luota gulped, and Hani looked at the floor. "...Nila went missing last week," Hani looked at her friend, her eyes welling up. "She was so nice, and she always shared her candy with us! None of the adults will do anything, but we know she would never leave us like that!"

"...something terrible must have happened..." Luota sniffled.

Y/N's heart broke for the girls, her sadness genuine. Kneeling, she put a hand on each of the girl's shoulders. "Thank you for telling me. I believe you," they both looked so hopeful. "And I'm going to do everything I can to figure out what is going on. Okay?"

Luota balled up her fists, determined. "You will?!"

A sharp nod made their eyes sparkle. "But, I don't want anyone else to get hurt, so this has to be our little secret," peering at the girls beneath her lashes, she gave them a small smile. "Do you know about any of the missing girls from the other houses?"

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The girls had told her everything they knew, which was surprisingly a good amount. I guess when you're this young living in the pleasure district, there's not much better to do than to eavesdrop on everyone's conversations...