Chapter Fifty-Four: I Accidentally Broke Into Your House
Note: In the original story, Tamayo is supposed to have changed her location, but it was never mentioned where she went or whether she left the city. So yes, there is a difference from the original story.
Question: Did you like Sakurai's character?
We will see Sakurai's newly created Breathing Style soon!
Enjoy~~~
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"Excuse me, miss… do you have some time?"
Inside a famous clothing store in the heart of bustling Asakusa City, Ren was casually leaning against a wooden wall beside the fitting rooms. He was waiting for the "idiots," as he liked to call them—Hakuji and Sakurai—until they finished wearing the clothes he had chosen for them with his refined taste.
At that moment, Ren was the embodiment of perfection. He wore a luxurious black kimono with a long black haori, its lower edges adorned with crimson flame patterns that looked as if they moved with every breath he took. His long black hair flowed like silk over his shoulders and back, with a few messy strands partially covering his left eye, adding an air of mystery to his soft, snow-like white skin.
As for his eyes… they were a different story. Emerald green eyes, whose charm had increased unnaturally after he obtained the "Six Eyes" from Gojo Satoru's template. They shone with an enigmatic brilliance that captivated anyone who looked into them.
Just as Hakuji had expected, it was extremely easy to misunderstand Ren's appearance. His transcendent beauty, combined with these clothes, made his masculine features blend with an excessive softness. Ren turned toward the shop owner and sighed deeply; he sincerely wished the speaker had been a man so he could beat him for his rudeness, but it was an elderly woman who seemed to have lost her mind in front of his beauty.
Ren smiled that smile that could melt rocks, but inside he was cursing the "Character Template System" that had given him Gojo Satoru's and Yoriichi's handsomeness in a soft body.
[This is funny to me. This is your punishment for increasing Agility points. You get this in exchange for the speed you have.]
Damn it, Reina, stop mocking me!
"Miss?" Ren sighed internally. "If this woman knew that this 'miss' erased an Upper Moon from existence just hours ago, she'd have an instant heart attack."
[That won't happen, since she probably doesn't even know demons exist.]
Oh, right.
The shop owner kept staring at Ren in astonishment, holding a piece of silk fabric and whispering, "My God… your skin is clearer than a spring of water. Do you use a specific type of herbs? My daughter would die of jealousy if she saw you!"
Before Ren could open his mouth to deliver his usual sharp reply, the door of the first fitting room burst open.
"Hey! Ren… don't you think this is a bit too much?"
Hakuji stepped out, completely flustered. He was wearing a dark blue kimono, simple yet elegant, with a long gray haori over it that covered his hands entirely to hide those tattoos that reminded him of his past.
Hakuji now looked like the descendant of a prestigious samurai family or a respectable martial arts master, not the demon who once wore a short jacket and jumped around like a madman.
The shop owner turned toward Hakuji, then back to Ren, and gasped, "Oh! Is this your older brother? He looks very strict… what a family blessed with beauty!"
Hakuji froze in place, the veins on his forehead beginning to bulge. "Her brother…?" He looked at Ren, who was barely holding back his laughter, then shouted, "You bastard! Tell them that you—"
"Tell them what, my dear brother?" Ren winked mischievously at Hakuji, making the latter feel an overwhelming urge to smash the shop over their heads.
At that moment, the second door opened and Sakurai stepped out. He was wearing a light green kimono with leaf patterns, and his small face looked like it was drowning in the clothes.
"Ren-sama! Look, this kimono is very comfortable, but I feel the haori is a bit wide…"
Sakurai stopped when he noticed the shop owner's stunned gaze moving between them.
"My God, another young lady as well?" the woman said as she looked at Sakurai, who had soft, childlike features.
A deadly silence filled the shop. Hakuji was on the verge of exploding, Sakurai's face began turning deep crimson with embarrassment, while Ren… Ren was living the best moment of his life.
"I'm happy that someone admires my handsomeness, but why miss?" Sakurai muttered, almost crying.
"Listen, ma'am," Ren stepped forward, his emerald eyes gleaming playfully. "This 'brother' here is angry because we haven't found him a fiancée yet, and this little one is our obedient servant. As for me being a 'miss'…"
Ren leaned close to the woman's ear and whispered in his deep, sharp masculine voice, "I suggest you focus on the quality of the silk instead of the customers' gender. Understood?"
The woman's face went pale as she staggered back trembling. She couldn't understand how such delicate beauty could suddenly emit such a terrifying aura.
"Let's go," Ren said as he threw a bundle of banknotes onto the counter without looking. "Hakuji, Sakurai… carry the purchases. Eiri is waiting for her dresses, and if we're late, she'll turn my life into hell. She's more dangerous than ten Upper Moons."
"I'm curious to see how strong this Eiri is…" Hakuji said, and for some reason he remembered his wife scolding him in very old memories.
"She was terrifying when she got angry," Hakuji sighed, shaking his head.
The three left the shop—Ren in front with his flowing hair and eye-catching charm, behind him Hakuji muttering, "I'll kill him… one day I'll kill him," and Sakurai adjusting his clothes sadly, saying, "Ren-sama, do I really look like a girl?"
"That old woman is blind. You're too ugly to be pretty as a girl…" Hakuji said mockingly.
"Hakuji, she said 'miss,' not 'beautiful miss,'" Ren said with a sarcastic smile.
"You too—… forget it," Sakurai almost mocked Ren, but Ren turned and smiled at him.
Ren laughed, then with a victorious smile said, "Welcome to Japan, guys… where beauty and money are power!"
"You talk as if we were in Europe…" Sakurai and Hakuji thought internally.
…
As the dazzling lights of Asakusa sparkled and reflected in the emerald shine of Ren's eyes, he suddenly stopped walking in the middle of the crowd, causing Hakuji and Sakurai—loaded with colorful shopping bags—to almost crash into his back.
"Hey Ren! Why did you suddenly stop? Did you see another dress shop? Seriously, stop messing around!" Hakuji complained as he raised his hand to wipe sweat from his human forehead, still unaccustomed to ordinary physical exertion.
But Ren didn't answer. His "Six Eyes" were working at full capacity, piercing through layers of reality and concealment that even the strongest Hashira might miss.
"There's something here…" Ren muttered softly, then suddenly turned and entered a narrow, dark alley that smelled of old incense and chemical medicine.
"Where are we going? This alley looks like a place for organ trafficking!" Sakurai whispered while trembling, gripping the hilt of his sword hidden beneath the green kimono.
Ren reached the end of the alley, where there was nothing but a sealed, dilapidated brick wall. He stopped, tilted his head at a strange angle, then extended his hand toward the wall.
"It's a dead end, genius. Did you finally lose your sense of direction?" Hakuji mocked, but his words froze in his throat when he saw Ren's hand sink into the brick wall as if passing through the surface of water.
"Ryōiki Tenkai? Of course not… it's just a demon blood art for concealment—primitive but refined," Ren said with an irritating smile as he stepped fully through the wall.
"Ren-sama! Wait!" Sakurai shouted and followed him, with Hakuji following behind, feeling a familiar chill—a demon's scent, but without Muzan's usual 'stench.'
Beyond the wall, the world changed completely. The noise of Asakusa vanished, replaced by the serene beauty of a traditional Japanese house courtyard, surrounded by a wooden fence and carefully arranged ornamental trees.
"Who are you?! And how dare you trespass into Lady Tamayo's territory?!"
An angry voice erupted from behind one of the bushes. Before Sakurai could process what was happening, a young man with light green hair and narrow eyes filled with hatred lunged forward. It was Yushiro, and he looked as if he had been struck by lightning at the sight of intruders invading his "sacred sanctuary."
"Die, you intruders!" Yushiro shouted as he launched a fierce flying kick toward Ren's face.
With complete calm, in a movement that seemed to slow time itself, Ren raised only his index finger. Yushiro's foot collided with the finger as if it had struck a wall of solid steel. Ren didn't move a single millimeter, while Yushiro was thrown backward, clutching his foot and silently writhing in pain.
"My God, is this how guests are welcomed in this house?" Ren mocked as he brushed imaginary dust off his black kimono. "I only came to ask about a tailor for my sister's dresses, and I end up getting kicked by a teenager with anger management issues."
"You bastard… how dare you mock me? I'll tear you apart!" Yushiro tried to attack again, but suddenly stopped.
Yushiro's breath froze, his eyes widening in terror he had never felt before. This time, it wasn't Ren—it was the man standing behind him. Hakuji had slowly placed the shopping bags on the ground, lifted his head, and looked at Yushiro with eyes as cold as ice.
Even though Hakuji was human now, the "aura" he had honed as an Upper Moon for centuries had not completely vanished. His presence was saturated with the scent of blood and battle, making Yushiro's demonic instincts scream: "Run! This is death itself!"
"You… you…" Yushiro stammered as he backed away. "That aura… you're the Second Upper Moon… Akaza?!"
"Yushiro, stop immediately."
A calm, composed voice filled with wisdom and femininity came from the sliding door of the house. Lady Tamayo stepped out, wearing a dark purple kimono adorned with delicate floral patterns. Her expression was serene, but the moment her eyes fell on Hakuji, her beautiful face went pale and she placed a hand over her chest in shock.
"This is impossible…" Tamayo whispered. "Akaza? But… how? Kibutsuji's scent is completely gone from you… and you… you're fully human!"
"An interesting scene…" Ren said, making Sakurai want to punch him hard.
A heavy silence fell over the courtyard. Sakurai looked at everyone in confusion, trying to comprehend that this beautiful lady was a demon, and that the "angry teenager" Yushiro was also a demon.
"Sorry for the disturbance, Tamayo-san," Ren said with a fake diplomatic smile as he bowed slightly. "I am Yukihara Ren, and this angry servant behind me is Hakuji. He used to be 'Akaza,' but he decided that living as a human carrying my shopping bags was a better future."
"Damn you, Ren! I'm not a servant!" Hakuji shouted, but quickly calmed down and looked at Tamayo with dignity. "I apologize for the intrusion… this kid with a girl's face doesn't understand the meaning of privacy."
Tamayo stepped forward a few steps, her eyes shining with scientific curiosity and existential dread at the same time. "I have lived for hundreds of years trying to find a way to return demons to humans… and I only succeeded in freeing myself and Yushiro from his control… how did you do this, Ren-dono? How did you erase Muzan's curse without killing the host?"
Ren leaned against the garden fence and began playing with a strand of his black hair. "It's simple. I filed a case against him in my own court, and the verdict was the execution of his demonic part. 'Judgeman' never makes mistakes—it's a secret technique."
Yushiro, still trembling, shouted, "Liar! There's no such technique! You're not human!"
Ren turned toward Yushiro and winked mischievously. "Oh, you noticed? Maybe I'm Kibutsuji Muzan in disguise—what do you think?"
"Ren-sama, please stop teasing them…" Sakurai sighed as he stepped forward. "My lady, we're not here to cause harm. Ren-sama is the new 'Sun Hashira,' and he's trying to gather allies to end Kibutsuji Muzan once and for all."
At the mention of Muzan's name, Tamayo's body trembled. She looked deeply at Ren, then at Hakuji, who stood as living proof of this boy's power. "If you were able to turn an Upper Moon back into a human… then you're not just a Hashira… you're the miracle I've been waiting for."
"A miracle? I like that title," Ren laughed as he stood up. "Now then, since we're friends… can you tell me where I can find the best tailor in Asakusa? And also, do you have tea? I haven't had tea in a while."
Hakuji clapped his hands together angrily. "I'll really kill you! I swear I will!"
Yushiro shouted, "Don't touch Lady Tamayo's tea, you rude bastard!"
"Oh? Is this Lady Tamayo-san's pet cat?" Ren said mockingly, but fell silent when he looked at Yushiro, who showed a slightly angry expression—but a small, happy smile appeared on his face.
"Sakurai… we're supposed to kill demons, right?" Ren said, his eyebrow twitching as he felt anger for a reason he didn't understand.
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This is today's chapter, and if we reach 100 energy stones before the end of the day, I will publish an additional chapter...