───

     "HIMARI, WHY DO YOU KEEP GETTING into problems?!", rumi worried, to which the red-haired woman had only yawned in response.

     "it's not my fault that I'm a snacc!"

"huh?"

the woman sighed, waving her hand as she leaned against tōji.

"you guys were supposed to say that I'm a full course meal...", himari pouted, scratching sukuna's pink bunny fur.

     "you're a full course meal", tōji stated, making himari cough, as the male raised a brow in confusion.

     "y-you can't just say that!"

     "but you just said that you wanted someone to".

     himari cleared her throat as she adverted her gaze.

     "t-thanks".

     tōji simply hummed, as he didn't understand the woman's weird logic.

     it didn't take long for the group to finally arrive at the yamadaku village, where it was actually quite lively and took up a substantial amount of land.

sukuna reverted back to his human form as the group walked their horses, skimming around for an inn that they could stay at for the night.

himari suddenly halted in her footsteps as she saw a cage-like room with long bars from top to bottom, showcasing the interior chamber of women.

by first glance, himari could tell that they were oirans and not geishas, just by how their flirty personalities were presented, with them sticking their hands in between the bars to catch the attention of men.

"himari, what's wrong?", rumi asked, causing everyone to look at the repulsed woman as she slowly stumbled towards the prostitutes.

the red-haired woman then kneeled down as the oirans tried to capture himari's attention, but everything was tuned out for her.

     "child...how old are you?", himari quietly asked, to which the little girl could only stare back, as she lifted up her fingers: six.

himari felt her heart drop, as she couldn't believe that a six year-old was at a brothel.

it was undeniably disgusting.

"hey mister! is this your first time here?? no worries, we have plenty of ladies that could suit your taste! come on!", the owner of the brothel urged, clutching onto himari's forearm as she dragged the woman inside.

     "h-HEY! W-WAIT, NO!!"

rumi was about to follow the kidnapped woman before gojō had promptly stopped her.

"minors aren't allowed. why don't you and yūji-kun go to that inn first?", gojō pointed, handing the girl the reins to their horses.

"we'll bring her back, no worries", getō smiled, to which rumi had nodded as her and itadori left.

the four men then shuffled into the brothel, glossing over the two-story bordello, as they found himari sitting at a table with many mats.

     the woman was obviously very uncomfortable with how many men that were surrounding her, each flirting and some making out with a prostitute.

     marching over to himari, getō helped himari stand up as the owner of the brothel suddenly returned.

     "oh my!! I didn't know that you came with friends! luckily I brought a wide variety of women. please, pick a few to your desires", the middle-aged woman smiled, showcasing rows and rows of teenage girls and woman with flashy kimonos.

     "actually, we were just leavi—"

     getō was then quickly interrupted as madam yume — the brothel's owner — had ushered two women to cling onto the man's arms.

     gojō, tōji, and sukuna were given the same treatment, forcing them to sit down, as himari had to contain her jealousy that she didn't even have the right to possess.

after all, neither of them were romantically in a relationship with her.

himari then softly sighed, as plates of food was served by the younger oirans, though her mind still lingered upon the little girl that she saw earlier.

     "why the long face, mister..."

     "u-ummm...hima...and you are?"

     "hima-sama, you can just refer to me as yuki. so, how may I help you tonight?", the woman smiled, batting her eyelashes as himari had to hold in a snort.

"I-umm...actually, I was wondering about that little girl that I saw at the bars earlier...she looked really young, maybe around six?"

"would you like me to go get her for you? we all call her chīsana", yuki stated.

     himari nodded.

     "that would be ideal. thank you!"

     yuki's smile faltered ever so slightly, only nodding, as she elegantly stood up, leaving the table.

     "how are your eyes so pretty, gojō-sama?", a woman flirted, practically pressing her assets against the daimyo, who very much enjoyed the attention.

getō just smiled as he politely rejected those that tried to get near him, meanwhile tōji and sukuna actually remained unbothered, even though girls were draping themselves across their toned bodies.

"it's just part of my lucky genetics, I suppose", gojō grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind the woman's ear.

himari rolled her eyes as she suddenly felt a gentle tug on her sleeve, causing her to turn around.

     it was the little girl from before.

     "chīsana?"

     the dark-haired girl only nodded, seemingly to be mute.

     "say, is there a reason that you're at this place?", himari asked, to which the child had pointed at one of the oirans, who the girl held a dear resemble to.

     "because of your mother?"

     the little girl nodded once more.

     "do you like it here?", himari quietly whispered, to which chīsana had hesitated, not knowing how to answer.

himari incidentally bit the inside of her cheeks, her eyes slightly watering as she just patted chīsana's head.

     "are you hungry? would you like to eat anything?", himari asked, causing the petite girl to shyly nod, knowing full well that she wasn't supposed to, but her hunger was just too overwhelming.

     himari then picked the girl up, making her slightly flinch, as she relaxed once she figured that himari wasn't going to harm her.

     intimidated by the gazes of the four men, himari slid the plates of food forwards, as she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started feeding her.

     "is it good? do you like it?", himari asked, to which getō had extended his hand forward, making chīsana lean deeper into himari's embrace, as she saw the man hand her a napkin.

chīsana hesitantly accepted it before footsteps had stormed their way, making her shiver, as she clenched onto himari's nagagi.

     "CHĪSANA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING EATING OUR GUESTS' FOOD?!", madam yume shouted, causing the little girl's tears to start spilling.

     "I'm so sorry, hima-sama. let me take the child and properly discipline her—"

     "no! don't touch her!", himari defended, holding the child closer to her as the madam now held an irked expression.

     "hima-sama, this is a private matter concerning the broth—"

     "then I will buy this entire bordello", himari interrupted, causing gojō to drop his chopsticks as the other three men and others around them widened their eyes in surprise.

     the middle-aged woman scoffed.

     "excuse me?!"

     "you heard me correctly. I'm buying this entire franchise, today, right here, right now".