DAMSEL IN DISTRESS • 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐲 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

five

CHAPTER FIVE, king of the mountains

"So only a few of my children survived the Final Selection," the sickly man says quietly, staring at the graves before him with white-casted eyes.

"Nobaru. Yoko. Hishuri." he murmurs, lifting a pale finger. A far away crow swoops noir feathers , ruffling its wings as it lands on his hand. "Michiko. Sachiko. Koji. Takechi. My children.." he trails off in a throaty cough, the white haired woman catching his shoulder and looking at him worriedly.

"Kagaya-kun," she gasps, pulling at his sleeve, lip bitten in anxiety. "shouldn't you take a break? It's not good for you to be outside for this long." As he rights himself, still inhaling shakily, he shakes his head.

"No. No, I'll be fine." He continues reading the faded names of the graves, each teenager that died, every child that lost their life. He strokes his crow as he walks, black hair ruffling in the wind. "Tell me, Amane, my love.." He pauses to look back at her, even with his failing eyesight . "..have you heard of the analogy of a mouse yearning for cheese?"

After a few moments of silence, he continues, with his ever present smile, gentle and patient. "If you place cheese in front of a mouse, then place a wall between the two, the scent will drive the thing insane as it tries to reach it." As he speaks, his crow gives a parting screech to his master, spreading its wings and lifting its body above. His eyes follow it, even though no sight follows.

"The same is with people. L/N's trap has been set, and they will go mad trying to reach her. Like rodents to a goddess, a dog to a divine deity.." A spurt of blood erupts from his throat, and he kneels down in pain. "they'll fall, Amane."

You had met Insosuke inbetween your mission with Tanjiro and Zenitsu, travelling with them to a large building that multiple men had gone missing. He had been arguing with a policeman for having his swords out, and with Tanjiro's rational way of talk, he had managed to convince him to let him go.

Tanjiro sighed, leading him away from the fuming officers.  "You know you can't have your swords out in public, Inosuke.." he scolded lightly , grabbing his toned arm.

"I'll do what I want, Kambako!"

"That's not my-"

"I'm the king of the mountains, you hear me!!??"

As you four started to walk to your next mission,the floor beneath you began to change in consistency. Inhaling sharply, you clutch unto Zenitsu and Tanjiro, who both seem delighted. You had a bad experience with water related demon arts, from your last mission.

"Hey, Tanjiro," you mumble in an attempt to distract yourself. "You said you were Urokodaki-sama's student, right? Why have I never seen you?"

"Oh..." He ponders for a moment,  then shrugs. "I'm not sure. Maybe we were taught at different times or something."

Continuing on, Inosuke races ahead, claiming he can smell the demon due to his superhuman senses. None of you believe him, but follow him anyway.

"It's here! It's here!" He yells, puffing out his chest. A sweatdrop appears on all of your faces. "Inosuke...this is the same tree." You try to explain, sighing. He doesn't listen.

Inosuke was clearly obsessed with being strong, superior and mighty..so maybe if you appealed to his mindset, you could have someone that had a better sense of direction guide you to your mission.

"Inosuke," you say sweetly, batting your eyelashes. He grunts and turns to you. "A mighty king like you shouldn't be doing this kind of work. Let your loyal subordinates handle the dirty work, okay, my lord?"

His posture relaxes, and he lets out a softer grunt, hesitantly moving behind Zenitsu. You let out a sigh of relief, then analyse where you are. Turns out you were more lost than you thought - your criw did tell you to head into the forest, but this seemed a bit too far in the wilderness.

Zenitsu smiled, a light pink coming across his face as he watched the panic in your eyes. This forest wasn't meant for delicate things like you. But you needn't worry like you were doing, clinging into Tanjiro's arm at every noise. He would protect you.

"Tanjiro," you start, looking at the sky. The low hue of it, the shining cobalt reminds you of water breathing. "Do you ever like, struggle with Water Breathing? I mean, nothing is wrong with it!" You backtrack, panicking at the thought of disrespecting Urokodaki-sama's area of beloved expertise. "Maybe it's me, but I feel like if I had something more flowing, I could work better." You're rambling, now, but he seems to understand.

"Ah!" He perks up, smiling brightly at you. His eyes seem a little to focused, but you ignore it. "I heard that there are some subtypes of forms. I think Mist Breathing would work well for you."

"Why? And oh, I think we're here. There's a pretty big house right there." You point ahead of you, gesturing to the towering mansion hidden behind the mess of leaves and crowds of bushes.

"It seems like-" he's interrupted by the sound of thumping in the building, and looks towards it with a hint of concern in his maroon eyes.

"I feel like something big is coming," Zenitsu says suddenly, looking down. "But it might just be my imagination." He says causally.

"Shut up, Menitru!!" Inosuke barks, brandishing his swords and rushing into the building. An irk mark appears on the blondes face, and he races after him furiously. "Shut up, boar-headed-bastard!"

You watch the pair with a smile on your face, turning to Tanjiro.
"Let's head inside," you say, grabbing his hand and running forward. He grins, and his hold on you is a little too tight the whole way there.

The signs were subtle, but it didn't change the obvious. The trio would die for you, kill for you, an animalistic desire that enveloped them like a parasite.

|| TAISHO SECRETS !

|| Inosuke ended up running too quickly into the mansion, and knocked his head into the wall. Zenitsu laughed the whole time he was blacked out.