"Makeovers?"
"Exactly. I've currently narrowed it down to three suspicious houses. You'll need to dress as girls and infiltrate them to find my wives and gather intelligence on the demon."
With that, Tengen Uzui produced a hoard of supplies. After a flurry of activity, the four of them were dressed in kimonos. All that remained was the makeup.
Aoi Kazama looked skeptically at Tengen, who was practically vibrating with eagerness. "Uzui-sama, are you sure about this?"
"Of course!" Tengen puffed out his chest confidently. "My makeup skills have been certified by all three of my wives! I'll give you a look that is nothing short of transformative!"
Aoi felt a cold sensation on her skin before she could blink; Tengen was already closing in with a powder puff.
"Wait, Uzui-sama—I can do it myself!" Aoi tried to scramble backward, but Tengen was faster, pinning her shoulder with one hand.
Resistance was futile.
"Perfect! Now this is a flashy makeover!" Tengen set down his tools with a satisfied flourish, stepping back to admire his 'masterpiece.'
"Alright, time is of the essence. Let's move!" Tengen clapped his hands. "Remember, stay calm once you're inside. Keep your eyes peeled for clues. Understood?"
"Understood!" Tanjiro and the boys shouted in unison.
Only Aoi remained in a deep, traumatic silence as she looked at the faces of her companions. She stole a glance into a bronze mirror.
The girl in the reflection had a face so white she looked like she'd been dunked head-first into a flour barrel. Her eyebrows had been reduced to two tiny, round dots, and her lips were painted a bizarre, aggressively high-saturation crimson.
Was he trying to create a makeover, or a jump-scare?
Tokito House
The master of the house looked at the four strangely painted "girls" and his lip gave a slight twitch. "Oh dear... these children are... exceptionally homely, aren't they?"
"Well... our house might not be..."
Hearing the rejection, Tengen didn't miss a beat. He stepped forward with an effortless grace. "Couldn't you make an exception? I'm sure that if the Madam were to style them personally, they would truly shine."
Aoi looked up at Tengen's stunningly handsome face. Even without his usual headbands and gems, he was radiating pure, unadulterated charisma.
As she watched the Madam fall head-over-heels under his spell, Aoi mentally facepalmed. Uzui-sama is cheating. He's literally using his face to brute-force the mission!
The Madam blushed and relented. "If it's just one, I suppose it's fine."
"Then I'll leave her in your capable hands."
And just like that, "Sumiko" (Tanjiro) was accepted into the Tokito House.
Aoi, Zenitsu, and Inosuke stood there watching Tanjiro follow the Madam inside, their expressions a mix of awe and bewilderment.
So, having an honest-looking face really can pay the bills.
Tengen led the remaining three toward their next destination. Along the way, Inosuke was distracted by a boisterous crowd gathered for an Oiran procession.
"What's that?" Inosuke stopped abruptly, pointing at the parade in the center of the street, his eyes wide with wonder.
At the front of the procession, a woman in an impossibly lavish kimono and intricate hair ornaments walked with slow, deliberate grace. She wore a faint, distant smile, her eyes carrying a hint of allure that drew gasps of admiration from the onlookers.
"That is an Oiran," Tengen explained. "The most popular women in the Entertainment District."
"She walks so slow," Inosuke muttered, squatting down to dig a finger into his ear. "In the mountains, a beast would've killed her by now."
Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. He looked up to find an older woman staring down at him with an intense, discerning gaze.
She was the Madam of the Ogimoto House, and she had taken an immediate interest in Inosuke—or rather, "Inoko."
"I'll take this one. Is that acceptable?"
Tengen grinned. "Of course. It's his—her good fortune to be chosen by the Ogimoto House."
Inosuke followed the Madam away, leaving Aoi and Zenitsu to stare at each other in disbelief.
What! Are Zenitsu and I the only ones left over?!
Aoi touched her face, experiencing a mild existential crisis.
In the end, it was Tengen's silver tongue and handsome face that did the work again. After a few "sweet" words to the master of the Kyogoku House, Aoi and Zenitsu were finally taken in.
Aoi tried to comfort Zenitsu, who was currently slumped over her shoulder in despair. "It's okay, it's okay. At least the two of us have each other."
Zenitsu lifted his tear-streaked face, his eyes watery and pathetic. "Waaaah... Aoi-chan, are we so ugly that nobody wants us?"
Aoi looked at the horrifying reflection in a nearby mirror, then at Zenitsu's smeared, tear-stained makeup, and sighed. "Probably... yeah."
Just then, the Madam of the Kyogoku House—a stern-looking, middle-aged woman who looked like she hadn't smiled in a decade—emerged from the inner chambers.
She looked Aoi and Zenitsu up and down before her gaze locked onto Aoi. "You. Come with me."
Aoi's heart did a nervous little flip. She had a very bad feeling about this.
"Starting today, you will be responsible for attending to Warabihime Oiran."
The Madam leaned in, dropping her voice to a threatening whisper. "Listen well. Warabihime has a foul temper. You serve her with the utmost care, do you hear me? If you upset her, watch your skin—I'll have your hide!"
Leaving that ominous threat hanging in the air, the Madam turned and left, leaving Aoi standing alone.
"Y-yes... I understand, Madam."
Aoi was escorted to the entrance of an incredibly opulent room.
The house-maid knocked on the door, saying respectfully, "Warabihime Oiran, the new maid is here for you."
There was no response from inside.
The maid knocked again, her tone even more subservient. "Daki Oiran?"
"Get out!" A charming but incredibly irritable voice shrieked from within.
The maid flinched violently. She shot Aoi an urgent look, gesturing for her to go in alone, and then bolted down the hallway.
Aoi sighed and pushed open the wooden sliding door.
A figure sat with her back to Aoi in front of a vanity, slowly and methodically brushing her long, silken black hair. She wore a kimono of breathtaking extravagance, the hem embroidered with complex, vivid patterns. She radiated an aura of haughty, untouchable arrogance.
Warabihime didn't turn around. She merely spared Aoi a cold, sideways glance through the mirror.
When she saw the absolute disaster that was Aoi's face, her movements came to a dead stop.
"You are hideous!"
Aoi: "..."
Those three words were like an icy dagger plunged straight into Aoi's fragile soul. She could practically hear the sound of her own heart shattering into pieces.
Mentally, she began cursing the names of every one of Tengen Uzui's ancestors.
Uzui-sama, your makeup skills aren't 'flashy'—they're a walking crime scene!
"What are you standing there for?" Warabihime waved a hand impatiently. "Come here and brush my hair! If you so much as hurt a single strand, I'll pull yours out one by one!"
"Y-yes, right away!" Aoi stammered, picking up the comb with trembling hands and walking behind her.
Just as the comb was about to touch Warabihime's hair, Aoi caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. A strange, twisted smile was curling at the corners of the Oiran's lips.
Aoi's heart sank like a stone.
Something is very wrong here!