WILD BOAR COMIN' THROUGH!

🍶 (boba after class :3)

it might not be the weekend yet, but something tells him that after a long day at school, with all the tests that he himself had to do today--he deserved something sweet. and he still had some allowance left over, so why not go out to get some boba?

and as he turned the corner to exit the school, his eyes took in inosuke and he was smiling even brighter as he rushed over to him.

"Ooooh! You mean the thing with the little pearls that I can eat?!" As opposed to the ones he had been explicitely forbidden from putting in his mouth, to his great dismay. "Sure! I was gonna ask if you wanted to watch me break my pushup record at the park, but this is better!"

His hands went digging in the depth of his uniform pants, a flash of fear across his traits, only for Zenitsu's offer to illuminate his face with renewed joy.

“Your name, hmmm. If I name you, would you like that? It will make you stronger, and myself as well, granting a name to what you are now, is the rarest of things not many get to do.”

As she looked at them, as a stallion, he would have been a coveted prize to be tamed; he would have faced the whip of a trainer, the heavy bit of a conqueror, and ultimately, the slow erosion of his spirit until he became nothing more than a beast of burden, sold to the highest bidder. By intertwining his essence with that of a nymph, she had not only transformed his form; she had safeguarded his dignity.

“You are a nymph now, take a moment to breath and relax, don’t panic, we are safe, for the time being, but that time is short, they will have there way with us both, it is only a matter of time.”

A nymph embodied grace and resilience, a living extension of the earth’s own unyielding heart. To be a nymph was to be a secret cherished by the wild, a role she cherished above all others. It was a profound privilege to belong to the forest and the stream, and in this new guise, the former warrior possessed a tenacity that no iron chain could truly suppress.

"They believe they have captured a goddess and her pet." She murmured, her voice hoarse from the salt and the blow, yet infused with a sudden, playful brightness. "They think they have stripped the world of its magic, yet they overlook that the most perilous magic is the kind that learns to wait."

Her smirk was a glimmer of gold in the shadows, a secret shared between two captives. She observed the youth, now a nymph with obsidian hair and wide, bewildered eyes, quiver with a lingering, primal fury. The former stallion still struggled against the chains as if they were predators, his muscles coiling with a strength that felt raw and untamed.

“There are things in this world that can weaken me and my magic, seems they have magical chains, expensive, hard to make, they knew what they were doing.”

He had much to learn about the dynamics of power. He had spent his days as a horse believing that strength lay in the clash, in the thunder of hooves and the crushing force of a gallop. He had yet to understand that a nymph's power was not a hammer, but a whisper capable of toppling mountains.

"Patience, my dear one." She whispered, her eyes wandering to the ceiling of the hold. Above them, the ship creaked, a colossal being of cedar and pine bound together by iron nails and the toil of enslaved hands.

"What do you perceive in the world around you? Cold stone? Iron bars? The scent of brine and stale sweat?"

She watched as the nymph blinked, their initial confusion giving way to a spark of curiosity. They surveyed the wooden beams above, the salt-encrusted planks beneath them, and the rhythmic, pulsing heartbeat of the ocean pressing against the hull.

"You are now a child of the wild, the world bows to you, nature bends the knee to your whims." She continued, her voice a soothing melody that resonated deep within the nymph's bones. "You are not just a traveler on this ship; you are connected to everything that comprises it. The vessel is crafted from wood, taken from ancient forests, wrenched from the earth with iron axes. The sea is a vast, undulating mirror of water, embodying the very essence of your new spirit. Can you not sense it? The way the timber quivers? The way the currents push against the hull, eager for a reason to release?"

She was the one who held all the keys. She knew of their past, present and future. Only she could make sense of this current form of theirs, the long, smooth limbs, the silky locks of hair that cascaded all the way down their back, the power that pulsated inside their core.

A hearty laugh left the Hashira, his eyes closing as he gives a small nod. "Of course! One must have a hearty meal before fighting!" He moved to turn the fish over, letting both sides of the massive catches cook thoroughly. "From bears, you say? That is impressive!" His tone is light, shifting to make sure all the fish has been cooked evenly. He moved to rest his forearms on his thighs, his eyes looking to the young boar for a moment before nodding. He seemed excited to eat, that was good. The Hashira himself was as well!

"Yeah! They may look big and bulky, but they can actually get real quiet when they fish. They have really good aim! One swipe of their paw, and the fish stand no chance!" He told his tale with wide gestures aplenty, the poor hide dangerously close to sliding off his head.

The Hashira's compliment had been enough to fill his chest with warm fuzzies, but it was his question that truly made Inosuke feel special. The Hashira were always so busy, chasing one thread after another, being sent on especially dangerous missions... They didn't usually have time to sit down and have pleasant chit-chat. Not Rengoku was taking that time, but the interest in his wide googly-eyes seemed genuine.

"Everything I know, I learnt it in the mountains." Inosuke reached for a fish with the same sort of vigorous swipe he'd described earlier, and took ravenous bites between his words. "I never had a teacher or anything. I fought the toughest creatures on the mountain, and that's how I came up with my breathing techniques! I just had to watch how they move, and see where it hurt most when they attacked me!"

The men on the beach shouted, their voices rough and jagged, yet they did not flinch in fear as they typically would. Instead, they held their ground with a chilling, disciplined precision.

“Hm ..”

This was a different crew. They came prepared and organized, moving as a single man with a common goal. Not only did they know exactly who ruled this island, but they did not fear her.

Their confidence was not hubris. It was the cold certainty of the truly powerful.

He's having FOOD? And he didn't even think of inviting the loudest, most bothersome boar that he knows? Shame! Shame on Giyuu for a thousand years!!!

It wasn't long before Tanjiro got the scent of relief from the other, smiling in return at the happiness that radiated off his friend. "I guess seven days is a long time to sleep. Sorry, Inosuke. I didn't mean to worry you." He does check out the bandages and bruises as subtly as he could; but since Inosuke was up and about he figured he had little reason to worry.

"Don't worry! I'm tired, but I won't sleep that long again." I promised as he sat up, cringing at the wound to his side. Pushing that aside, he thought back to their fight and....couldn't really remember much either.

"Good. We need you back on missions as soon as possible! I don't want you falling a rank behind us!" Not that he was allowed on the battlefield yet, but he certainly planned on making it happen sooner than later. "If you behave and recover quickly, I'm sure they'll let you out. You won't even have to try sneaking out!"

His head tilted slightly to the side in slight confusion.

"What? You're never eaten one? But they're so delicious! Sometimes, they even come with a surprise little worm inside!" Which seemed to be a true delicacy, judging by Inosuke's excited tone. "Maybe it's because humans don't like to eat their food right from the ground, for some reason... Maybe we could try putting them in hot water! Or even grill them on the fire like fish!"

He seemed content with her choice, the boar's snout practically dancing before him with his eager nods.

"To the river, then! Maybe we'll see some other animals drinking there! Oh, maybe even a bear! It's been too long since I've fought one!!"

He almost rushed ahead of her, only to recall a gesture he'd seen Tanjiro and her perform a few times. A way to lead the other towards an exciting adventure. His calloused hand reached for Nezuko's sleeve, a little hesitant, before it wrapped around her own palm instead.

She merely stood there, the sunlight reflecting the amber hue of her eyes, allowing the space between them to widen until he became a mere charcoal blur against the lush green backdrop of the interior.

HE WAS A CREATION OF HER OWN DESIGN, A LIVING PROOF THAT SOME MEN WERE TOO PROUD TO BE SWINE, YET TOO OBSTINATE TO BE HUMAN.

The ensuing months flowed in a hazy rhythm of blooming jasmine and crashing waves. She watched always from afar as the stallion transformed into a specter of the highlands, a tale murmured among the nymphs who beheld him racing through the mist-laden valleys with a wild, unrestrained elegance. He did not seek refuge in the groves or the gentle waters of the springs; instead, he pursued the loftiest summits, the realms where the air thinned and the horizon unfurled like a promise.

He became the quiet guardian of the cliffs, his jet-black coat merging with the shadows of the rocks, his gaze eternally scanning the azure expanse for the white sails of the world he had abandoned.

One afternoon, as the sun's heat shimmered off the limestone cliffs in dizzying waves, she materialized beside him. She did not herald her arrival with a thunderous clap or a burst of light; she simply existed there, her presence a refreshing breeze against the stifling humidity of the day.

“I told you, they always come here, willing or not, but they always come.”

As she looked at him and the stallion remained unperturbed. He merely shifted his majestic, weighty head toward her, a deep, resonant nicker echoing from his chest. She saw that he regarded her not as a subject would a queen, but as a soldier would a general who has finally returned to the battlefield.

“They will take you and others as well, most deserve that fate truly, to be taken, do you?”

Together, they gazed down toward the cove. Below, the rhythmic crashing of the surf was disrupted by the arrival of three longships. These men did not come as driftwood, salt-encrusted and battered. They arrived with the swagger of the living, shields gleaming like mirrors, swords drawn and shining, and coils of thick hempen rope ready to seize whatever they deemed precious.

They stepped onto the sand with the heavy footfalls of conquerors, their eyes scanning the treeline for gold, for wine, or for the fabled beauty of the sorceress they had heard of in the taverns of Ithaca.

“Take me down to them.”

He was a silent guardian of the shores. There was never a day without some intrusion, without some foolish souls barging upon the beach uninvited. Some would fail before they even landed, their ships crashing into the cliffs, lacerated by invisible boulders, reduced to timber and rubble by the relentless winds. Only the most organized parties made it to the shore, their chances of survival only proportional to their greed.

Only the vilest souls made it unscathed. Ripe fruit for her to pick.

Her sudden appearance did not startle him. At every given moment, from his deepest slumbers to his most alert instants, he could feel her there. Her very presence was palpable to him in every corner of the island, from the tiniest blades of grass to the highest cliffs. He greeted her with a soft noise, letting her decide what sort of fate would be bestowed upon this particularly nasty crew.

Her request was met with a little snort. He could have made the cliff crumble upon them with a mere stomp of his hooves, but perhaps she wished to play with her toys a little longer. He knew what happened to the lowlives who washed upon her shores - he had seen the result of it, but not the process. Admittedly, he was rather curious to see her in action.

He lowered his stance ever so slightly, allowing her an easy climb onto his broad back. He was an omen of death, jet-black coat and burning pits in his gaze, bringing the divine down to the realm of the lowly. It almost felt like an insult to her grandeur.

The men's gazes felt like as many daggers sinking into his flesh. He could feel the ravenous greed oozing from them, the thirst for conquest, the firm belief that this island alreayd belonged to them. These mindless bastards were too thick to understand who - what she was.

Bankotsu snorted as sharp little teeth snapped harmlessly through empty air where his fingers had been a heartbeat earlier. He pulled his hand back without the slightest urgency, having expected the bite from the moment he'd flicked the boy's forehead. "There he is," he said with a crooked grin. "I was starting to worry the hot spring had boiled what little sense you had left." Water continued to drip from both of them into the steaming pool, and the ravenette finally released the back of Inosuke's neck with a casual shove that was just firm enough to keep him sitting upright. "You've got a nasty habit of proving people wrong in the dumbest ways possible."

His laughter faded into something quieter as Inosuke launched into his next declaration with all the confidence of someone who believed the future could simply be wrestled into obedience. "Thirty seconds. Forty seconds." Bankotsu rolled the numbers around with exaggerated consideration before clicking his tongue. He lifted a finger as though unveiling some profound secret. "Or if you could learn when something's worth proving." Blue eyes settled on the half-demon with surprising steadiness. "Strength isn't collecting the biggest pile of stupid things you've survived. Otherwise, cockroaches would rule the world." The corners of his mouth twitched upward again.

He crouched in front of Inosuke, resting his forearms across his knees as steam drifted lazily between them. "You keep talking about becoming stronger every time you kill. So fine, maybe you do." His gaze lingered on the boy's bright, untamed eyes before continuing. "However, if every victory leaves you too broken to enjoy the next one, that's a lousy bargain." The jewel shards buried within his body remained silent beneath his skin, though for just an instant they pulsed with a rhythm that echoed memories far older than either of them cared to name.

Then, just as quickly, the weight of the conversation vanished beneath another grin. Bankotsu reached over, grabbed one of Inosuke's damp ears between his fingers, and gave it an unapologetically firm tug. "Don't get ahead of yourself, piglet." He released it before the inevitable retaliation could land, already leaning back with an amused glint in his eyes. "You held your breath because I dragged you back out. If I'd waited another five seconds, your grand debut as a 'real yokai' would've ended with me explaining to everyone how the mighty mountain beast got defeated by bathwater." He barked another laugh, shaking his head. "Now quit trying to impress me for ten minutes, and that'll be a challenge worthy of a demon."

He eyed Bankotsu with all the animosity he could muster, a pout tugging down at his lips. He utterly failed at making himself look intimidating, between the childish expression, the locks of hair clouding his gaze, and the wet ears flopping on top of his cranium.

"Cockroaches don't seem all that strong when I'm eating them." He retorted with a snort. It was getting harder and harder to keep up the bravado, when Bankotsu's tone veered dangerously into proper lecturing territory. "The things I survive aren't stupid! I don't always get to choose what's happening to me, y'know!"

An uneasy scowl tugged at his lips as Bankotsu crouched before him, his stance and words both keeping Inosuke cornered, forced to face his own stupidity. Was this really what he sounded like? Some shaggy brat deluding himself into dreams of grandeur, when he was hardly a threat at all? He'd always believed that he could bend without ever breaking. That every battle was worth fighting. Did he have it wrong the entire time?

"I wouldn't let it happen. I'd know when to stop!" Empty words. It would have been an outright lie, if Inosuke wasn't so good at lying to himself.

He couldn't let that last offense slide. The second Bankotsu finished his sentence, his advice falling into deaf (and one ruffled) ears, Inosuke lunged at him with full force, determined to sink the man under water with his entire body weight.

"Let's see if YOU can hold your breath for those ten minutes, you fucker! Nobody touches my ears and gets away with it alive!"

closed  fan  finds  the  delicate line of flesh  where  cheekbone  meets  hollowed  skin,  douma's  head  tipping  slowly  to  the  side.  he's  watching  with  curious  jeweled  eyes,  expression  a  mixture  of  perplexed  focus  and  …  amusement.  after  a  moment  or  two,  a  hum  loosens  past  his  lips.  “  wow!  look  at  you!  ”

claw  tipped  fingers  reach,  only  for  the  little  boar  creature  to  bite  at  them? nibble, even?  oh  my!  laughter  bubbles,  and  he  finds  himself  tipping  toward  the  small  one,  resting  one  hand  on  his  knee.  “  I've  never  seen  anything  quite  like  you  before!  ”

The little creature kept his response to a growl, his desperate attempt to gnaw the man's fingers off amounting to mere dents in their skin. He was distracted from his goals as he spotted the peculiar shiny of the fan in the other hand, his impulsive nature urging him to spring to his hind legs, dirty little palms trying to snatch the fan next.