B. L. U. E. (InoAoi // Inosuke x Aoi // Kimetsu no Yaiba)

Chapter 14: The Savior of Aoi V

"No. No, no, no! I won't allow such cruelty to come from me!" Aoi screamed, too horrified to the point of hitting the rusted wall behind her.

"I don't care how you do it. You must attend to these girls and make sure that they'll contribute as much as possible before they get old," the woman insisted, circling another girl who had a mole on her lip. "Some of them have even been booked. You know what that means, right? I need you to start working."

"Like hell I will! I want you to let them go!"

All of a sudden, the pressure had become too much for Aoi. Her desire to run away, her need to bring those girls with her—her wish to see Inosuke.

She wanted to bang her forehead on the wall. Even during trying times, she couldn't get her head out of that person.

Aoi wasn't thinking much about him coming to get her. Instead, she was more concerned whether he'd eat properly if she was not around.

Why can't I stop thinking about him?

Which was absurd for her. She had more consequential things to ponder upon.

"Watch me," the woman replied.

A knife appeared in her hand and she cut of the rope tying the girl in one move.

The woman seemed to know how to handle weapons. "Now, get up!" she commanded the girl.

The girl didn't move. Upon feeling her body getting lighter, she slumped onto the ground. "See? They don't even want to run away. Like I said—puppets."

"They. Are. Not. Puppets!"

"I'm giving you only this night to think about this. If you don't agree, I will end you."

It was Aoi's turn to laugh. Her rage had drowned her fear deep inside her heart. "I'm not scared of death. Kill me and you'll need to find someone else. That honestly sounds like the better option to me."

"Fine. Good threat," the woman hissed, losing her cool. Still having the knife in her hand, she brought it to the girl's neck.

"What are you trying to do?" Aoi asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Just look," she continued, pushing the blade against the girl's skin. "If you don't listen, I'll hurt her."

Instead of getting angry at the woman, Aoi scolded the girl. She was free and her limbs were able to move. She should learn to defend herself too. "You! Push her and move away! Don't stay put!"

Under two seconds, the woman slit her shoulder, just enough to injure her, but not kill the girl. To Aoi, wounds make people suffer worse than murder.

The fact that the girl did nothing caused Aoi to be very vexed.

"No! What are you doing, you beast?!" Aoi scurried to the girl, putting pressure to stop the bleeding.

"If you refuse, I'll do this to all of them. One for each night you won't agree to our deal," she threatened, wearing a mocking smile. "You don't want to see them be in this way because of you right?"

"Please. Help," the girl croaked.

The woman lifted her face up by grabbing the girl's hair. "Oh, you have a voice! I thought you'd let yourself die. Fufu, interesting."

Aoi didn't move. She only continued to glare, her eyes sharpened with blood-lust.

"If you try to run away, I'll slaughter all of them. Trust me, I can get more from the black market, but you don't like being the cause of their death, don't you?" the woman added, walking towards her blank-faced son.