The cave of Manyuu Yama, a gate that leads to other demon realms stands before the girls. Wakumi sees pitch darkness in it as Tsurumi observes.
"It's my first time to see a dimensional gate like this," Tsurumi replied.
Kongiku stands next to it and places her hand on it. "It has been a long time since I left the realm." She said.
Without further due, they walked into the cave together. The moment they enter, Kongiku brings out a lantern and lights it up and so Tsurumi with her staff. Wakumi holds Kongiku's sleeves tightly.
"Onee-sama, do some demons eat humans?" Wakumi asked.
"Not many of them, they will if they are higher rank demons feeding on living or dead corpses," Kongiku replied.
"That reminds me, Japan used to have lots of evil spirits but seldom appeared a hundred years ago," Tsurumi said.
"Those radical demons went to the north as spirits and lone demons live in the west," Kongiku said.
With a spot of light appearing in front of them, they arrived on the other side of the cave. While stepping out, Wakumi is astonished by the view she is looking at, a vast land of dark forests and mountains as the sky is bright orange.
"This doesn't look so bad from my expectation," Wakumi said.
"This is the Manyuu Realm where I was born and live, one of the peaceful domains in the demon world," Kongiku said.
With excitement, Tsurumi asked, "So where are we going next?"
A smile appears on Kongiku's face. "To a shrine where my beloved lives," she said.
On the way through the dark plain grassland, Wakumi askes Kongiku tons of questions.
"I never heard you had a lover before, what does he look like?" Wakumi asked.
Kongiku puts the lantern aside and continues. "He was a generous man, but kinda perverted. I fell in love with him back when we first met in this realm." She said.
Kongiku begins to tell the others her backstory.
-^-^-^-
Before Kongiku met her first love she was a demon guardian of the Tree of Lust, a tree that bearded devil fruits with passionate power that none mortals and demons can possess. However, there was a moral challenge to take the fruit.
One day as Kongiku was sleeping under the tree, her ears flickered and jumped up instantly, someone was coming toward it. She quickly hid behind a bush, looking from the spot, a male samurai walked slowly toward the tree and stopped.
The samurai looked at the tree with a smile on his face. "So this is the Tree of Lust, I shall be the first to bear the power of its devil fruit." He said.
"How come a mortal like him appears in the demon realm?" Kongiku said.
The man looked up and stared at the fruits, he held up his sword and poked one of them as a fruit dropped onto the ground. He picked up the ripped fruit and smiled.
"Easy as usual," He said.
Before he could turn around and leave, a blue flame struck in front of him as he stopped, a beautiful Kitsune girl appeared.
"Stop right there, mortal samurai!" Kongiku halted.
The man seemed surprised but tried to remain calm. "Hello there." He said.
"Give it back!" Kongiku shouted.
The man was curious. "What?" He asked.
"The fruit you just picked, give it to me now!" Kongiku said.
The man wondered for a moment. "No, it's mine now." He said.
As the man was fooling around, Kongiku was out of patience. She cast a sword in her hand and pointed to him. "Last warning!" She said.
The man smiled and drew his sword too, then they ended up in a duel. As they faced each other, Kongiku seemed an opportunity and slashed the samurai's chest. To his surprise, he was not being cut. But something was happening to his body.
"What the..." The man cried.
In an instinct, the man dropped onto the ground feeling a sharp heat pain in his heart. The fruit he stole dropped from his sleeves and rolled just in front of Kongiku's feet. She picked it up and tapped the dust out of it.
"Wha...What have you done to my body, you filthy beast!" He shouted.
"Oh, that's harsh to address a higher rank demon like me~" Kongiku chuckled.
She squatted down in front of him, held the fruit in front of his sight.
"My my, aren't you going to take it? This should be your chance." Kongiku teased.
While swinging the fruit, the man tried to take it but failed from the pain in his body. Kongiku stood up and made her sword disappear in thin air.
"By the way, your face and body disguised me. Maybe a small transformation would be delightful." She said
Suddenly, the samurai felt his body unease and began to change. Not into a beast or demon, but a young woman.
The moment he touched his body, he was in shock. He was no longer himself and covered his body with his clothes which were no longer fit.
"Why did you change me into a girl?" He shouted.
"It's just for fun, how about a deal?" Kongiku said and held the fruit in her hand.
"Be my servant, and I will let you have the fruit." She said.
-^-^-^-
"What did he say?" Wakumi asked.
"That's very funny, he bowed to the ground and asked me to teach him the demon art of lust," Kongiku said.
"That was unexpectedly straight forward," Tsurumi said.
Kongiku continues. "Although I have a liking for him, I accepted him because he said a word that pleased me." She said.
"What would it be?" Tsurumi asked.
Hiding her smile under her sleeves, Kongiku chuckled. "Whatever it takes, I will be your slave," she said.
In an awkward silence, the girls burst into laughter. They have no idea such a man would do that for what cause it takes. While chatting on the road, a small old shrine slowly appears beyond the horizon.
As they pass the shrine gate, crows crawl on the orange trees with a small breeze passing through them. In the distance, they hear someone singing.
"I am just a lonely broom~ Keeping the shrine nice and clean~"
The moment they reach the pathway, Wakumi sees a tiny person with a straw cap around its head.
Tsurumi is thrilled by what she just sees. "It's a Hahakigami, a broom spirit!" She said.
It seems the Hahakigami don't notice them, still sweeping the leaves away from the stone path and continuing to sing.
"Once it's all nice and clean~ Kongiku-sama will praise... me?"
The Hahakigami slowly stops its singing as it raises its head, and there it sees them.
"Nicely clean and no dust, you did a great job, Hoki-chan." Kongiku said.
Hoki looks astonished, its eyes starting to weep and rushes into Kongiku's arms with its face on her chest.
"Kongiku-sama! Welcome back! It has been 1000 years since we met!" Hoki cried.
As it wobbles its face on Kongiku's chest, Wakumi and Tsurumi get annoyed but Kongiku doesn't see it as a matter. As Hoki lets himself go, he sees the other girls.
"Kongiku-sama, it seems we have visitors," Hoki said.
"Don't worry, they are my companions so treat them well. Anyway, how is he?" Kongiku asked.
"Do you mean your lover?" Tsurumi asked.
Kongiku nods and Hoki cuts in. "He is doing fine, just grumpy all the time. I will lead you to him" He said.
They arrive in front of a small wooden shrine, Kongiku opens the small door and revives a katana in a dark-purple scabbard. While stepping back, Kongiku lets out a sweet voice.
"Darling~ I am home~," She said.
Then the sword emits blue flames around it into a small blue flame with a man face that flies out from the sword and floats in front of them.
"For Inari's sake! Why don't you visit me frequently as you are still in the mortal realm?" It shouted.
"Don't be that upset, you know that I have so much fun out there." Kongiku teased.
"But you didn't even let me do it once!" It said.
Wakumi and Tsurumi look at each other. "So he is a virgin." They said.
"WHO IS A VIRGIN?!" The flame flew closer to them and shouted.
While the girls get frightened, Kongiku smacks the flame with her umbrella as it mumbles from the pain.
"Don't be so rude to our cute guests, I have got you a new apprentice," Kongiku said.
"Wait, a newbie? Who is it then?" The flame asked.
As Wakumi raises her hand, the flame looks at her with a curious face.
"Hmm... I think I smell something, you have a "little rod", huh?" It asked.
With such words, Tsurumi goes blush red but Wakumi's face goes steamy red. Wakumi lets out a massive scream and slaps the flame onto the ground, the moment it knocks onto the path, she continuously steps on it with all her rage.
"You absolutely hentai!!" Wakumi screamed.
Tsurumi pulls Wakumi away as she still wants to beat it to death, Kongiku picks it up with her horrified face with a smile. "Time to boil you alive~"
With an instinct, the flame is wrapped in demon chains and ready to put in a pot full of boiling holy water. It screams and struggles to escape.
"Yaaw! Atsui atsui atsui! It's super hot! I will never do it again! Please release me Kongiku-sama!!" It cried.
After it is freed, it apologises to Wakumi and introduces itself. "I am Joichiro Nishikawa, a ronin samurai who mastered the Chichi Ki Style, a demon art of lust." It said.
"Now take good care of my little kamuro, or I'll send you into that boiling pot again~," Kongiku said with a dark smile.
"Uhh... I got it." Joichiro mumbled.
As Kongiku and Tsurumi leave, Joichiro turns to Wakumi. "As Kongiku insists, I will teach you with all I know." He said.
"Please take good care of me," Wakumi bows.
"Hmm, but I have a condition," Joichiro said.
"What is it?" Wakumi asked.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Joichiro asked.
With these words, Wakumi is bright red again and punches him continuously. "No, You can't!!" She cried.
"YAAAAW! YAMETE!" Joichiro cried.