#kappa boy

Suneo in a Kappa costume is a great outfit to welcome Halloween Day

My piece for @opdilfzine!! So honoured to have been able to work on this amazing project with so many talented people <3 Aftersales are open right now but stuff is disapprearing really fast so don't hesitate to check it out!

I wrote two more fics for the digital add-on that i'm excited to share soon as well!! :D

[ READ ON AO3 | KO-FI ]

Alternate summary:

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Making his way through the snow-covered lands of Ringo with fried tofu in hand, Kawamatsu the Kappa couldn’t help but remember the last time he had walked this same path. Back then, he couldn’t appreciate how pretty the winter region looked with its small shrines and toriis, snow sparkling in the sun above.

Thirteen years ago, he was looking only at his feet, searching for a place to rest for the final time. He had ignored the way Sotomuso cried at his waist, the blade knowing its master was ready to atone for his failure, yet unable to do anything.

It was a twist of fate that had brought him to the eternal graves just as the graverobbers had attacked Onimaru. He truly owed the flame-fox—and ironically, the robbers—his life.

Kawamatsu wasn’t expecting Onimaru to still be waiting for him… but he hoped he was doing well despite having been left alone.

He looked up at the sound of steel clashing together. Fighting on the Bandit’s Bridge… that brought back memories. The thought of Gyukimaru and Onimaru protecting the graveyard just beyond—it made Kawamatsu smile.

But, looking at the warrior monk and samurai crossing blades, it didn’t seem like the same scene from years before. His hand closed around Sotomuso’s hilt—the blade’s presence familiar as if it had never left his side—and slowly pulled it out of its scabbard.

“Cease this fight!” he called, throwing Sotomuso towards the battle that lacked any bloodlust.

He only huffed when the samurai stopped the shirasaya as if it were nothing before throwing the blade back. It was reassuring, seeing that the Land of Wano wasn’t completely void of capable samurai after all these years.

A laugh bubbled out of his chest as he caught Sotomuso in his hand once more. “What do I find here? A samurai and a monk, doing battle in this remote place? Yet neither of you is trying to kill the other. A curious sight!”

“Kawamatsu?!” a woman’s voice cried out then. “Is that you?!”

Kawamatsu frowned, his gaze turning in the direction the voice had come from—a young woman hiding behind a tree; her hair long and turquoise in colour, her features soft and pretty, her eyes wide with shock where she stared right at Kawamatsu.

The samurai felt a pang of nostalgia looking at her… but why?

“How do you know my name?” he asked.

Tears appeared in the woman’s eyes when she covered her mouth. “Kawamatsu!” she gasped, taking a step forward, then another, and another. Soon, she was rushing towards him; as soon as she was close enough, she buried her face in Kawamatsu’s chest, her shoulders shaking as she clutched at the fabric of his kimono.

Kawamatsu wasn’t sure what to do. Just who was this person? He had been in prison for thirteen years. If she had known him before… she had to have been quite young.

There was only one young girl who knew him well enough.

Kawamatsu’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open, heart beating fast in his chest. He gulped heavily, his hands coming to gingerly touch the woman’s trembling shoulders.

“Don’t tell me—” he paused, taking a deep breath. “Don’t tell me you’re… Hiyori-sama?”

Immediately, the woman lifted her head. She looked up at him with big eyes that glistened with unshed tears, her lips stretched into a bright smile. “Yes! I’m so happy to see you safe!”

The moment he looked into those eyes, it was like he was thrown back in time.

Suddenly, he was back at Oden Castle with tiny hands clutching at his webbed fingers as the little human girl learned to walk. A smile spreading on his face in response to the adorable grin she would give him any time he’d accept one of her lovingly folded origami creations—a ball, a crane, a fox, or even just a simple boat.

He could almost hear a shamisen playing, the song clumsy and slow, the instrument a little too big for the four year old thrumming at its strings with utmost focus. Even while she was still learning, the melody was already so beautiful. Kawamatsu wondered… How sweet would it sound today?

Also Zoro: So yeah, funny story...

THEY

Bonus: