Purple Lotus [Kimetsu no Yaiba]

~Forty-Nine~

"Is Makio alright?" one lady asked another. "She's holed up in her room and won't come out."

"She said she didn't feel well but didn't want to see the doctor," another replied. "The Okami will drag her out soon." 

"Still, she has to eat something. I just left a tray out for her."

Meanwhile, Inosuke was hiding just a corner away from them, listening to their exchange. Makio? That's Uzui's wife. Finally, I know where she is! And I found out before the brat! He mentally rejoiced. They say she doesn't feel well. Could that be the reason for her silence?  Should I go see? 

The two women passed him and he contemplated following them to gather information, then it dawned on his that he couldn't speak, which would make the task difficult. The kimono that covered his entire body also greatly dulled his senses as well, so he couldn't tell if there was a demon or not. Conflicted, the boar sighed and ran into the opposite direction of Makio's room.

As he ran, he found Tsubasa along the way. Without waiting for a reaction, he grabbed her wrist and they both sped into a room where the boar soon found himself in an awkward and hard to to position, trying his hardest to sense the presence of the demon.

Just as he was pinpointing the location, the House Mother walked in and exclaimed. "Inoko! You've changed clothes already!? What on earth are you doing!?"

"M-meditation," Tsubasa said off the top of her head. "Inoko meditates daily, you've caught her in the middle of..." she trailed off when he suddenly stood up and stormed out of the room. She followed him, wondering why he looked so serious all of a sudden.

That's Makio's room. It gives me a really creepy feeling. she read his mind and charged the second he did. He opened the door to see an empty, messed up room. "A breeze," Tsubasa spoke. "But all the windows are closed."

"Suke," Tsubasa tugged at his arm and pointed. "In the rafters."

"I knew it, a demon!" he exclaimed. "It's daytime now so it's taking cover!" He threw a bowl at the rafters and yelled as it broke. "Oi! Come out here and fight!!" There was a rumble, and then, suddenly, they felt the presence moving at an insane pace. Inosuke was quick to catch up to it. "I'm not letting you get away!"

There is goes! The duo chased blindly, following the creature that was running through the walls. Maybe if I punch the wall I can catch up to it!

"Suke!" Tsubasa exclaimed then dashed in front of him and, with strength even she didn't know she had, she punched an unsuspecting man into the wall in front of them, hard. He got hit so hard the wall slightly broke. "Don't lose it!" she yelled to the boar who continued to run after whatever he was running after until he himself bumped into the Madam of the House.

"Inoko!" she exclaimed. "Why are you running around! And did Tsumiki just punch one of our clients into a wall!?"

Damn it! The hag distracted me! Inosuke cursed in his head. Hopefully, the brat can... He looked back at the purplette only to find her covering her ears and grimacing as a number of people suddenly surrounded her, bombarding her with questions. The feelings they were giving off weren't do her any good either. 

"Why did you punch him!?" 

"How on earth are you so strong!?"

"That was a client! Imagine what will happen to the reputation of the house!"

"Loud," she whimpered and slowly got to her feet. "Sorry, sorry. I'll clean up everything. Excuse me." She dashed out of the room and out the building, only stopping when she came across a balcony that provided both quiet and air even in the bustling Entertainment District. The second she was out, she let out a deep breath she barely knew she was holding.

The girl was close to tears. The way everyone yelled at her, and the things they were thinking really struck deep. But now wasn't the time to be crying! Taking in another deep breath, she slapped herself hard in an attempt to focus. No matter how fast the demon was, it couldn't have gotten as far as out of her range to hear people. She just had to read everyone. Go through every light-hearted, sinful or cynical thought that came her way. All of them, one by one.

She'd soon gotten into the zone as was cruising through people's minds like it was nothing, looking for a certain feeling in particular. But while she was at it, she felt another presence just behind her. The brat has been standing there for a while. Is she sad? Maybe she's  using her gift to try and locate the demon. The brat really is amazing. 

She smiled faintly, though the red that colored her cheeks was an obvious giveaway of what she was actually feeling. "You can join me, I don't mind," she said and the boar- who was standing several paces away from her at the very end of the hallway- flinched. He didn't want to be detected by her. "Come on then, you're loud, standing all the way over there."

But... wouldn't standing closer make me even louder? The girl glared at him and he raised his hands in surrender. Deciding not to question her logic any further, he went and stood beside her, looking at all the lights and people below, though he'd much rather be looking at one person in particular.

"The demon," she sighed. "It's strong. No one can hide from me. No one. But for some reason, every time I pinpoint it's location, it moves before I can react. There's no pattern, not from what I can tell. It's so annoying, it's not trying to hide, it's just trying to confuse anyone who would try to track it."

"Leave it for now," Inosuke advised, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "When we give our reports back to Uzui, we'll figure out a plan. So just leave it for now."

"Right." He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her from behind as she leaned into his touch, enjoying the warmth and comfort he provided. "I'll leave it for now," she yawned. A part of Tsubasa wanted to continue her search for the demon. Maybe if she tried hard enough she'd be able to decipher a pattern of some sort and catch it off guard?

But another part told her just enjoy the short moment of bliss she was living in at that point in time, because she had a strong feeling it would be the last one for a very long time to come.

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~✨Blu<3✨