Heavy Heart

The sand shuffled beneath her as Yuki walked on. Despite her restraints, she dragged her feet, walking in tandem with those around her.

Her breaths hitched. This wasn't normal. This place, this atmosphere. It was wrong. Fundamentally wrong.

A thick sheet of oppressive gloom lay in the air, almost like a fog. Yuki's breaths hitched. This feeling. Was this the true power of Omake the Oni? 

She looked up, letting the white moonlight wash over her face. The thick and tall gates of Haiirosan Castle loomed over her. They were opened, letting the lines of shackled prisoners enter the compound. Some of them would not come back.

She entered the main courtyard, surrounded by people. Some of them she even recognised. They averted their gazes whenever their eyes met with Yuki's. She couldn't blame them. There was no hope here, no dreams or happiness. To the already beaten down people of Tengoku District, trying to find any sort of reprieve here was a fleeting dream.

Suddenly, the sound of the gates closing began to be heard throughout the courtyard. When they closed, the impact reverberated through the courtyard.

They were now sealed in here. With a powerful daimyo, and a supernatural threat beyond human abilities.

Suddenly, a pair of doors on the ground floor of one of the tall, imposing buildings, opened up. A group of soldiers filed out. Led by a single man.

The man walked onto a wooden stage that had been placed there before. He spoke with a loud and commanding voice that boomed through the night air.

"Good evening! Welcome to Haiirosan Castle! Those of you here have been specifically chosen and given the great privilege to be servants of our two lords, Mori Terumoto and Omake. It is imperative that you do your duty to the utmost, in order to satisfy our great lords. Is this understood?!" the man asked.

His words were met with a deep, oppressive silence. He cleared his throat.

Suddenly, soldiers all around the civilians brought out and aimed their weapons at them. The civilians squirmed and panicked, backing away from the sharp weapons.

"It seems I'll have to repeat myself. Is that understood?" the man asked again.

His question was now met with a resounding "Yes." "Good. We will now begin the assignment of your roles here."

Multiple scrolls were then handed to him. He opened the first one, those appointed to be Mori's personal soldiers. From there he began to call out names. Those who were called separated themselves from the rest.

As the number of opened scrolls increased, the number of people in the courtyard decreased with equal proportion. By the end, only a group of women were remaining, Yuki included.

She was confused. They all were. The opened scrolls were now being rolled up again and arranged, yet the man continued to look upon them with disdain, almost pity.

Finally deciding to speak, the man cleared his throat. "Now we have gotten to the end of the sorting. But I'm sure you're all wondering what your role is here."

The women nodded. "Running an army is a tasking thing. Men need food, water, a place to sleep and a certain level of comfort, lest they turn on their superiors. Yet, all these pale in comparison to the horros of war. Sir Mori is a very ambitious man, and he is still earnestly trying to expand his territory and destroy weaker daimyo."

The man continued, making his point clearer as he went on. "After hard days of fighting and pain, the men need to engage in...special relaxation. The kind only women can offer."

As soon as he said this, the temperature of the courtyard seemed to reduce by a few degrees. The women shifted back unconsciously as a wicked glint showed itself in the man's eyes.

"You women gathered here have perhaps the most important use. You are for the personal pleasures and comfort of the soldiers. Perform your job well and you may be blessed with the opportunity to serve Mori or Omake personally. That is your role here. And this is your new life."

Once he finished speaking, the women displayed an array of reactions. Some vomited, disgusted by the thought. Some cried, others fell to their knees. 

Yuki shook with terror once the man finished speaking. Despite the cold night air, sweat flooded her body. Her mind struggled to fight against the thought. She had known things would be bad, but now she was being confronted with the harsh reality.

From today on, she was officially a prostitute.