Chapter 18: Investigating the Red-light district
"Well, they were certainty interesting, weren't they?"
"I not sure about that, but I have to admit they were entertaining. I like their personality."
"Personality? How so?"
"Well, I like that I can tell what type of person they are with just one conversation. The man is an honest muscle head who loves his wife earnestly. You can tell by his clothes and hand that they're not from a rich family, but they were full of positive energy."
"He's also a loud spoken person who likes to tease people. For his wife she's even easier to read. She clearly loves him no matter how much she has to deal with his trouble."
"When she arrived, she smacked her husband's head with a fond look in her eyes that said, 'What am I going to do with you...' while she was scolding him." (My mom used to have that look.)
"Overall, they're nice honest people. *Heh* I admire people like them who can get through everything with a smile just like Rengoku-san. I hope I have more people like that among my friends in the future."
"Yeah, me too." (Fufufu, it'll be amusing to mess with them.)
We tried walking randomly in the town trying to see if we could encounter one of them, but luck was not on our side.
"Sigh, we even waited for them but looks it didn't work." (*Sigh* It was a bad idea, wasn't it?)
"Well, I think your idea was great Ren." She patted my back for moral support.
"Thanks, but I guess it's time... for Plan B."
We walked toward the inn before renting a room and sat down in the room to discuss plan B.
"Tamayo is a doctor and, in the anime, she is known to help terminally ill people. If I pretended to be a sick person and look for her as a doctor, then it might work."
"But this plan depends on your skills Shinobu."
"I understand, leave it to me." (I've been acting my whole life. This much is nothing.) She got up from the floor and turned toward the door. I tried to think of any powers or abilities that could help her and a scene from Kyuranger entered my mind.
"Wait." I stopped her.
"What is it Ren?"
"Just remember this Shinobu. If you feel like you're out numbered or need someone's help, change into a Kyuranger. You'll know what to do."
"...Ok?"
"I'm counting of you Shinobu."
"Um." She nodded and took out the white rose that she has been wearing all this time from her hair. She placed it in a nearby vase for safe keeping and went out of the room.
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Shinobu's POV
(Ok. I have to get the demon doctor to come to me instead of going to her. According to all the information I have on her she is gentle, kind and over all a good person to everyone except Kibutsuji Muzan.)
(She works as a doctor so if I can act like someone dear to me is sick then it should create the perfect cover for me to meet her.)
(I could go to nearby doctors and try to get them to come with me to cure Ren. When they almost agree, I'll scare them off. Then I should go near the alley where Tamayo's house is and try to get her attention somehow.)
(I also have to make sure she doesn't find out that we tricked her. The only weak point in my plan that I see is the doctors.)
(If she about investigates about whether I went to other doctors in the area, then questions will begin to appear in her mind. Questions which we don't want to answer.)
(...*Sigh* I'm sure we can do this way easier that we're doing right now, there's eve no guarantee that she'll even investigate about me from the nearby doctors but... it's kind of fun, scheming and everything.)
(Oh well, it never hurt to be too cautious.) Shinobu kept thinking what she should do while leaning against a wall.
(The problem with this plan is that I can't use it effectively with my own personality. So, who should I act like? Desperate wife? No. Obsessive lover? No. No. I can't act like myself. I need someone cheerful with the right amount of airhead mix with a dash of crybaby.)
After thinking for a while, Shinobu thought of a person who fit her description. Someone who she knows very well. Someone who she's been in contact with for a long time.
*Ting*
(I need to act like Mitsuri!) She hit herself in the head. (Why didn't I think of this sooner? She perfect. All I need to do is convince myself that I'm a sweet innocent girl who emotionally weak, a glutton and a loudmouth.)
(...Yeah, it's going to be kind of hard to pull off. I'm almost the complete opposite of her. Agggh!! Why is my female friend's ratio so low compared to the male ratio!! I have to push my hardest to be like her but...)
(I shouldn't have a problem acting like her. *sigh* Now, Let's see if this reckless plan of mine will work.)
Shinobu went around Asakusa and carried out her plan. She went to almost every doctor and made them refuse her. But there were some honest and courageous people among them who tried to help her no matter what, so she had to scare them so much with her killing intent that they wetted their pants and passed out.
After phase one of her plan is completed, she moved onto phase two.
(I could try this with the invisibility powers, but Ren said Yushiro could see the arrows in the anime even though they were invisible. I can't make such a risk and I also need to me in the perfect position when they see me.)
(For this part of the plan, I need someone to bring Tamayo-san to me. Looks like I have to follow your advice Ren. It's like you can see the future or something.)
"Gokai Change."
"Gokaiger!" She transformed into Gokai Pink.
"Again. Gokai Change." Shinobu once again pressed the belt, and a pink Ranger Key comes out.
"Kyuranger!"
"Washi Pink!" Shinobu did the pose and called out the name. After that, she pressed the Kyu Buckle while mentally requesting a Kyutama.
"Futago Kyutama." She put the Kyutama onto the Seiza Blaster, dialed it back as it yelled out.
"Seiza Attack!"
Bang
Whoosh
And just like that, one Shinobu became two Shinobu.
"Alright, good luck with the plan, me." Shinobu reverted back into her normal clothes to carry out phase 3.
"Umm, good luck with your act, me." The clone Shinobu then pressed her other belt and picked out another pink Ranger Key to carry out phase 2.
"Magi Pink."
"Maagi Magiiro." She pressed *1-6* on the MagiPhone and a pink light flashed at the tip as Shinobu transformed into a pink cat with a bow around her neck that had Magi Pink's helmet design.
(Alright, I don't know if this'll work or not, but here we go.) The cat Shinobu headed into the alley and after reaching a wall, she went through it. Behind the wall was a two-story house with a wooden western front door.
(The light on the front door is on. They must be inside. Ok Shinobu, you can do this. Ren is counting on you.) She slowly approached the front door as not to alert the demons and sat down in front of the door.
"Meow~" Then, the cat started scratched its claws on the door trying to get the attention of the two demons inside.
3 Person Pov
*Scratch* *Scratch*
"Huh? Do you hear something Yushiro? It sounds like something at the front door."
"Please wait a moment Tamayo-sama. I'll go check it." Yushiro got up from the chair and headed toward the front door.
(There shouldn't be anything near the house, but my blood demon art is still not perfect yet. I don't sense any malice, maybe it's another drunkard accidently stumbling in here again.)
(*Grrr* How dare they intrude my time alone with Tamayo-sama. I'll smack them in the head so hard that they'll forget their own name.)
Creak...
Yushiro opened the door and saw nothing.
(There's no one here. I suppose it was the win-)
"Meow~" He heard a voice from below and when he lowered his head, he saw a pink cat with a tie around its neck.
"A cat?" He crouched down to the same level of the cat to get a good look.
"What is it doing here. Shuuu. Shuuu. Go away. Don't disrupt my time with Tamayo-sama."
"Meow!! Hissss." The cat hissed and jumped up to scratch Yushiro's face. He jumped backward and saw that the cat was hissing on the ground. Suddenly, Tamayo appeared behind Yushiro and walked toward the cat.
"Oh my, what a beautiful kitten. Are you lost?" She crouched down and extended her hand toward the cat. The cat calmed downed and sniffed Tamayo's hands before slowly coming forward and rubbed its head onto her hand.
Tamayo slowly swiped up the cat from the ground into her hands. The cat kept rubbing its head onto Tamayo's hand.
"Tamayo-sama, shall I get rid of it? It's a stray, we should throw it outside the barrier."
"Hisssss~" The cat swiped its claws at Yushiro.
"Now, Now, He may seem scary but try to get along with him, alright?"
"Meow~" The cat meowed and licked Tamayo's hand.
"Oh my, that tickles. Fufufu, can you tell me what you are here?"
"Meow." The cat nodded and jumped off Tamayo's hands as it ran out the door. It stopped after it was out of the door and looked back at them.
"Are you telling us something?"
"Meow~" The cat took a few steps forward before looking back at the two of them again.
"Should we follow you?"
"Meow!" The cat took off without waiting for them.
"Let's follow it Yushiro."
"As you wish Tamayo-sama."
Tamayo Pov
We followed the cat as it ran toward a nearby road. It turned a corner and when we arrived at the road, the cat was nowhere to be seen. But there was a sound coming from shadow.
"Tamayo-sama, please be careful." Yushiro raised his arms to stop me.
"It's ok." I approached the crying woman and heard some of her words.
"Hic. Hic. ren... please don't leave me... Hic."
"Excuse me, but are you alright?"
"Hic. Hic." The crying woman stopped for a second before turning away from me.
"Can you tell me what happened? Maybe I could help?" I offer the woman to lend her my ears for a bit.
"My husband got sick *sniff* an-and all the doctors rejected to cure him... *sniff* I don't know what to do..." *Wahhhh* She cried really loudly into her hands.
"I see. In that case, please let me help you."
"Huh?" She looked up from her crying. I saw her face was a mess from the tears, but I saw a spark of hope in those eyes. Not the child-like innocent of hope but a kind of hope that appeared when people are desperate, and she looked like she was desperate enough to sell her soul to a demon.
"My name is Tamayo, and I am a doctor."
"Really!? You'll really come with me!?"
"Yes. If you allow me to get my tools, then I'll come with you to see your husband's conditions." (I have to make sure this woman doesn't go on to become like me.)
"Thank you very much! I will never forget this." She bowed.
"It's fine. Please wait for us near the main road, we'll be back shortly."
"Yes!" Shinobu said with a large smile on her face and ran off to wait for them.
(She's so desperate she didn't even doubt us on whether we'll keep our word or not. Poor girl...)
Shinobu Pov
(Plan success!) Shinobu did a mental fist bump and wiped her face. She turned a corner near the main road so that no one could see her and from the shadows, a pink cat appeared.
*Wiiing*
A purple light flashed as the cat transformed back into Shinobu.
"Good job, me." Shinobu complimented the cat Shinobu.
"Thanks. I knew I could always count on myself. Fufufufu."
"*Sigh* You know you don't need to pretend with me, right?"
"Ara, whatever do you mean?"
"Heh, I never knew the fake me would be this annoying." Shinobu sighed. "Now I feel bad for the other Hashiras for having to put up with me all the time."
"Well, you know you could thank them if you want."
"Nah, pass." She rested her hand on her katana. "But you know, after splitting myself, I thought what I'd do if a doppelganger or a clone of me showed up in the future pretending to be me."
"Well, I guess now we know." The two Shinobu smiled menacingly as the both of them held their katana.
""I will kill you without hesitation."" *Shing* They both pulled out their katana and put the tip of the blade against each other's throat.
"..." They both stared down at each other but eventually, actor Shinobu gave up first and retreated her katana.
"Then, I suggest we merge again before that happens. What do you say?"
"*Sigh* ...fine. There are some things I really want to forget. Especially how Tamayo-san's hand tasted like...*shiver* so you should be grateful to me, me."
"I'll think about it." *Wheeh* The two of them shook hands and a light flashed as Shinobu became whole once again.
(...that was certainly an experience. But I don't think I'll be trying this again anytime soon.)
Meanwhile with Tamayo...
"Tamayo-sama why should we help her. She's clearly a Demon Slayer. Can't they even take care of their own members. Tch, what a lousy organization."
"Don't say that Yushiro. Even if she's a Demon Slayer, it's our duty to help people in need."
"But Tamayo-sama, what about the cat?"
"It's fine. She must've gone back to her owner. I'm sure we can meet her again someday if she lives near here."
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Ren's Pov
I heard a couple of footsteps coming toward the room and the door slammed open. Shinobu dashed into the room as she tackled me onto the ground with a large smile and tears on her face.
She embraced me tighter and whispered the word "Act." into my ear. Just then a look of realization hit me as Tamayo and Yushiro came into the room.
(I see. Good job Shinobu. Now that she's here, all I need to do is to choose my words carefully and manipulate her.)
Shinobu cried and said, "Ren, I brought us a doctor! I'm sorry for leaving you alone all this time. You were lonely weren't you." She wiped the tears with a handkerchief and rubbed her face on my chest.
"Oh, and I brought a doctor here so she could look at your condition."
She gestured toward Tamayo who entered the room along with Yushiro. Tamayo sat down on the tatami floor and introduced herself to me.
"Hello. My name is Tamayo and I'm here to check on you on the request of your wife."
"Nice to meet you Tamayo-san. My name is Kosuke Ren." I tried to stand up but then he felt a sting in his shoulder as he fell down. "*Ark* Sorry, I can't greet you properly because of this."
Tamayo quickly came beside me to help. "It's fine. Please lie down so I can examine your injury."
"Ok." I lie down back onto the futon and took off my clothes.
"Tamayo-sama! Please allow me to treat him!"
"...Very well. I'll see if you've made any progress in your studies."
"Yes!" (There's no way I'm allowing Tamayo-sama to touch his filthy body!)
" Let see, the wound is closed up with a normal first aid. Though not the best work I've seen, It's decent enough. The wound happened because of an animal's teeth..." He continued to applied bandages to my wound.
(Wow, he's taking this more seriously than I thought.)
"There, it's done. Put this healing ointment on every morning and drink this two times a day. Although you'll still feel some occasional pain, it'll be fully healed in about one week or so."
"Nicely done. I can clearly see that you've improve since last time. Keep on practicing and I'm sure you'll be a great doctor one day."
"It was no problem, Tamayo-sama." (Yes!!! Tamayo-sama praised me!!!)
"Now then Tamayo-san, please take this." I presented her a pouch full of money.
"Excuse me?"
"You're a doctor, right? I'm sure Shinobu bothered your work. I would like to thank you for everything so please take it."
"It's fine." She pushed the money pouch back toward me. "I did not come her for the money, but because I saw a person in need of my service. I believe it's my duty to help a person in need no matter the circumstances."
"Wow, you are really kind Tamayo-san. I'm sure you'll be a good person and you're beautiful, I bet you'll be a great bride one day...but not as good as mine of course."
"Ara. Fufufufu, thank you for the compliment...but I'm already married."
"Really!? Then your husband must be a really lucky guy have you as his wife, but not as lucky as me of course because I have Shinobu as my wife!"
"Grrr..." Yushiro hit the table with his fist and stood up. "How dare you compare her to Tamayo-sama! Even after Tamayo-sama helped you! She's a hundred NO! A thousand times better than this woman!"
"You can clearly see that Tamayo-sama is the most beautiful woman in the world!" He said while hitting the floor with his hands.
(*Sigh* I don't think I can talk freely to Tamayo with him. He's too quick to be angered when it's something related to Tamayo-san. I have to make him leave.) I secretly gestured to Shinobu without them noticing.
Shinobu nodded and we started the plan.
"No way! Tamayo-san may be beautiful, but she's second rated compared to my Shinobu!" I exclaimed while showing him my fist.
"Why you!" He leaped at me.
"Yushiro!"
I leaned backward and as soon as he reached above me, I kicked him in the chest with both of my legs. That action made him flew toward the door roll on the ground.
*Kuh* (That kick was strong.) He steadily got back up using his left arm as his right arms touches the place I kicked.
"I'm very sorry about his behavior. I hope you can forgive him." Tamayo bowed her head at me as she apologized.
"It's fine, really. I don't mind. I was just surprised, and my instinct took over me."
(Yet, the moment Yushiro leaped at you, you were able to move quickly and countered him without reopening the wound on your shoulder.)
"I can understand his enthusiasm about you. Besides, I still owe him for treating my injury. Oh, where are my manners? Shinobu, please give our guests some refreshments."
"Ok, Ren." She brought out a cup of green tea and as she walked toward Yushiro, she tripped, spilling hot tea on him.
"Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!"
"I'm so sorry!! Please let me wipe it off!" She quickly took out a cloth and smothered him with it as he struggles. "Khuh! Phuu! ukk" *Smack* After a second or two, he slapped away Shinobu's hands and glared at me.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Please forgive me!" Shinobu kept loudly apologizing as she draws Tamayo's attention to her. I made sure Tamayo-san was focused on Shinobu and gave Yushiro a smug look from behind.
"Grrrrr..." Yushiro ignored Shinobu and continued glaring at me as if he's going to attack me at any moment.
Tamayo turned her attention back to me and I decided it's time to have the talk with her.
"Tamayo-san, I'm sorry but can we speak with you, in private? We would like to discuss a matter of upmost importance."
"How dare you try to be alone with Tamayo-sama. I'll kic-"
"Not a chance!" Shinobu blocked his path with her body.
Just when he looked like he was about to jump at her, a voice stopped him.
"...Yushiro, can you leave the room."
"What!? But Tamayo-sama..."
"Please Yushiro."
"Yes, Tamayo-sama. I'll be right outside the door." He said with a low growl before existing the room.
"Please pardon her behavior. She's a little overprotective of me." I bowed my head a little and apologized to Tamayo.
"No. No. It's quite alright." She shook her head and said, "I understand the felling of want to protect someone you care about."
"I haven't introduced him, have I? That boy just now was Yushiro. I am sorry about his behavior. He's not usually like this."
"It's no problem but Tamayo-san... both of you are not human, are you?"