38. Hinoto

The sun hung low over the Yoshiwara District, Hana and Tanjiro were assigned as attendants at the Tokito House.

"They really work hard," one of the courtesans said with a smile. She watched the two lift heavy bags. "When we took off the younger girl's makeup and found the scar on her forehead, the hostess was absolutely furious, but.. well, these two make up for it.."

Another whispered, "The older one is so pretty! Once she is promoted, she's going to be more famous than the ones from Kyogoku and Ogimoto!" she squealed, looking at Hana.

While carrying luggage to Oiran Koinatsu's room, Hana and Tanjiro overheard hushed whispers from the girls in the hallway.

"I heard the hostess of the Kyogoku House fell from a window and died," one girl whispered her eyes wide with terror.

"It's frightening. Lately, a lot of ladies have been losing their footing and disappearing. It's so scary."

"What do you mean, 'lose their footing'?" Hana asked softly, turning toward the girls.

The girl blinked in surprise. "Huh? Hana-chan, you don't know?"

Tanjiro set down the bags carefully. "We're new here."

The girl explained, "It means running away without paying your debts. If they find you, bad things happen."

Hana frowned. Running away, hmm.
"They say some even ran away with their loved ones. Even a few days ago, Suma did..."

Hana and Tanjiro froze. Did she just say Suma?

Before they could ask more, the sliding door opened. Koinatsu, the oiran, entered gracefully. Her presence instantly commanded the room.

"Stop spreading those rumors," she said gently but firmly. "Nobody really knows whether they ran away or not."

The girls bowed apologetically. "Okay..."

Koinatsu turned toward Hana and Tanjiro, her sharp eyes softening. "Thank you for carrying all this baggage. Here, a little something for your effort." She handed them each a small pouch of candies. "Don't let the others see these."
Tanjiro bowed low, smiling. "Thank you so much."

The younger girls whined. "Oiran, we want sweets too!"

Koinatsu chuckled. "No, you already had some earlier, didn't you?"

As she turned back, Hana hesitated. "Um, excuse me, but did Suma-oiran really lose her footing?"

Koinatsu's expression shifted ever so slightly. Her gaze sharpened. "Why are you asking that?"

Tanjiro's face went pale. Oh no, she's suspicious. "Suma-oiran is our... our..." He came to a pause, his eyes widening and face tensed as he tried to lie.

One thing about Tanjiro was that he was so honest that he could never lie without his face twisting into painful expressions.

"She's... our older sister," Hana said quickly, stepping in.

The room went silent. The younger girls gasped. "Your sister?!"

Koinatsu studied their faces. "And you were sold here after your sister?"

"Y-yes," Tanjiro stammered, trying to hold the lie together. "We used to exchange letters all the time. She wouldn't just run away."

Koinatsu's gaze softened a little. "I see. I never thought Suma would lose her footing either. She was genuine and kind She wouldn't just run away without telling us. But when we found her diary, she wrote that she'd decided to desert..."

"Desert?" Hana repeated, her thoughts racing. A demon must've used that as a distraction. If people think the women ran away, no one will question the disappearances. I hope she's alright. She clenched her fists quietly. Hold on, Suma. We'll find you.

A while later, Hana, Tanjiro, and Inosuke waited on the roof for Tengen to arrive.

"There's a demon at my House, all right? It was a thing! Like this!" Inosuke was already agitated. He started making weird hand gestures, waving his muscular arms around in the air to explain what he had seen.

"No... yeah, that's, uhm... just wait a second. Hana and Tanjiro looked at him curiously, trying to make out what the frantic waving was supposed to represent.

"Like this! Do you understand this?!" Inosuke yelled.

"Inosuke look, Tengen and Zenitsu will be here soon for our reports, so..." Hana began to explain trying to calm him down.

"Like this! I know what they're like! It was like this, okay? It was clear to me!" Inosuke interrupted.

Tanjiro and Hana shared confused looks. They couldn't understand a single thing he was trying to convey.

"Zenitsu won't be coming," a voice announced from behind them.

The three of them turned to see Uzui sitting on the roof beside them. When did he get here? He didn't make a sound! Hana thought.

"What do you mean Zenitsu isn't coming?" Tanjiro said his voice filled with immediate concern.

"I think I put you guys in real danger," Uzui said. "I wanted to help my wives, but that led me to make some bad choices. Now Zenitsu is missing. I haven't heard from him since last night. Tanjiro, Inosuke, you will not be proceeding further."

Uzui looked at them seriously. "You're not up for this. If there's an upper-rank demon here, you can't handle it. When someone disappears, we must count them as dead. From now on, Hana and I will continue this mission alone."

"But-" Tanjiro was cut off.

"There's no shame in this. To survive means victory. Do not squander this chance," Uzui interrupted.

​"Why Hana? What about her? How can she stay?" Tanjiro asked, his voice cracking with worry for his sister.

"Hana is stronger than you think, Tanjiro," Uzui interrupted once again.

He looked at Hana for a second, his eyes flickering with a moment of uncertainty before he gave a firm nod. "She has the skills to keep up. I'll see you later." He gave Hana a final nod before vanishing into the sky, leaping off the roof with incredible speed.

"Maybe he didn't trust Inosuke and me because we are the lowest rank?" Tanjiro questioned, looking dejectedly in the direction Uzui had disappeared.

"We are four ranks from the bottom. We're Kanoe now!" Inosuke said flexing his fist and puffing out his chest.

"How do you know that?" Tanjiro asked.

"I do! We have moved up!" Inosuke turned suddenly. "Hana! Show us your rank!"

"What? How?" Tanjiro asked. "You can't just show ranks..."

"Oi, watch this! Monjiro, look!" Inosuke ordered. He lifted his arm and tensed his muscles. "Show me my rank!

For a brief second, nothing happened. Then dark lettering slowly formed along his fist, spreading like ink seeping into skin.

Kanoe.

Tanjiro and Hana leaned closer, their eyes widening. They had no idea.

"...So that's how you do it," Hana murmured. She repeated the same motion, her voice steady. "Show me my rank."

The markings appeared again. And the word that formed made both boys freeze.

Hinoto.

It was two ranks above kanoe. There was a long silence. Tanjiro blinked in surprise. Inosuke stared at her arm like he was seeing a ghost. Then both of them reacted at once. "WHAT?!"

"Oh," Hana said, glancing at the lettering. She looked a bit confused herself she hadn't realized how much she had progressed.

"That's amazing, Hana," Tanjiro said. He was beaming with pride, his eyes sparkling. "You've been working really hard. I knew you were strong, but to reach Hinoto already...that's incredible!"

Inosuke, on the other hand, looked like someone had just hit him over the head with a rock. "...Huh?" He leaned in. He grabbed his own arm, checking his rank again. "Wait. No. That's wrong," he muttered. "How are you higher?! We fought the same demons! We even trained together!"

Hana shrugged. "Maybe I just did better."

Inosuke froze. Tanjiro laughed under his breath at Inosuke's reaction. Inosuke pointed at her dramatically. "NO. We're training later. I refuse to lose to you!"

After a lot of arguing and pleading, and one very dramatic attempt by Inosuke to prove he could "handle anything," Hana finally exhaled in defeat.

Tanjiro did not want to leave the mission behind, and Inosuke was ready to charge into any building.

"...Fine," she said, clearly reluctant. "You two can come with me."

Tanjiro's face lit up immediately. "Thank you, Hana. We won't slow you down."

"That's not why I agreed," she replied, crossing her arms. "You're coming because you'd follow me anyway and probably get into trouble trying to 'help.' This way, I can keep an eye on you."

Inosuke grinned. "So you do need us! The Great Inosuke is in for the victory!"

Hana gave him a flat look. "No. I'm making sure you survive this."

He just laughed like she had just complimented him. Hana turned toward the road ahead, her expression sharpening.

"Stay close," she said. "From here on, you listen to me. I'll make sure you're both alright... but only if you don't do anything reckless. Especially you, Inosuke."

"Understood!" Tanjiro shouted, while Inosuke just huffed, still bothered by the rank difference.