𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊˚ʷⁱˡᵈ ᵒⁿᵉ‗ ❍ ⁱⁿᵒˢᵘᵏᵉ ˣ ᶠ.ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ [ ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ ]

₊˚✧ 5

After gathering all their luggage, the two awkwardly make their way towards the front desk. Inosuke had his boar head tucked between his arms, most likely because he wants to eat straight away and doesn't want to have to spend time removing the head. Humming, (Y/N) looks around the main area in search of a food section. But sadly, she doesn't find one.

"I saw some food stalls on the way here, so we'll grab some stuff from there" She murmurs to Inosuke as she thanks the person at the front desk. He just nods and follows close behind her just like a lost puppy. Her mind wanders back to the bathroom, and she feels herself blushing once more. How touch starved would you have to be to enjoy a stranger drying your hair?

The sun peeks out at them as they exit the building- the bell ringing gently behind them. Even though it was considerably early all the stalls were open, and the streets were somewhat busy.

"What would you like to eat?" She asks and she turns to face the boy. He still clutches his boar head in his hands, and there's a permanent blush on his face. He shrugs his shoulders and she chuckles slightly, an idea springs to mind. She spots a small bench near all the stalls, so she cocks her head for him to follow- which he does without any complaints. She sets her bag onto the small wooden bench and she beckons for him to sit down.

"You stay here, i'll go get some food. Stay put" She says sternly, and he rolls his green eyes. He sets his boar head down next to him and begins swinging his legs.

"I'm not gonna go anywhere, am I dumbass?" He says sarcastically and she scoffs at him. Before she sets off to grab some snacks, she sends him a look.

"You could at least call me by my actual name if i'm buying all this shit for you" She hisses before storming off. It wasn't absolutely necessary to buy more food- after all her bag was packed full to the brim. But she'd need that for Final Selection, and now she had a glutton following her she'd need all the food she could get. She taps her fingers against her kimono as she lets her eyes wander around all the stalls. There was sweet food, hot food, cold food.

"What would someone like him like?" She asks herself, and her eyes settle upon a Taiyaki stall and she feels herself begin to drool. The coins in her purse jingle together slightly as she jogs towards the stall. There was so many choices, so she chose at random.

"Good morning. Please can I get two of the red bean paste Taiyaki?" She asks politely, and the stall owner sends her a bow. Luckily she wouldn't be putting too much of a dent in her purse as stall food was never too expensive. She hums as the stall owner places the pastry into a small paper bag, and (Y/N) sends them a huge smile. She quickly hands over the money and rushes back over to Inosuke- she knows how hungry she must be. The dust and pebbles crunch beneath her shoes as she makes her way back over to the feral boy. He was kicking a stray stone with his foot, and he perked up when he saw her approaching.

Before she hands over the food, she pulls her heavy bag back onto her back and she begins walking.

"Stop walking so fast!" Inosuke groans as he catches up to her and they exit the town. She giggles and gently pulls out one of the Taiyaki, and she hands it to the now agitated boar man.

"I didn't know what sort of food you like, so I hope this is okay" She says gently and he wastes no time digging into the pastry. He ate like he had been starved for years, which caused her to giggle once more. She digs into her own pastry, smiling as the sweet taste coats her tongue. The air was a lot more gentle than yesterday and the sun wasn't as harsh, so the remainder of the journey should be a lot more bearable.

¬ Timeskip to about 3 hours later ¬

The smell of wisteria fills (Y/N)s nose as they approach the forest. 

"We're here" She whispers, more to herself than anything else. The sun was still up and it shone through the wisteria trees, casting a soft purple light onto the forest floor. She looks over to Inosuke who now had his boar mask fixed onto his head.

"Hey, Lord Inosuke" She asks, causing him to break his stare away from the tall trees. His hands go to his hips to check his swords were still there, and he grunts in reply.

"We're gonna stay paired together, right?" She says anxiously and she looks down at the dust coating her shoes. A hearty chuckle emits from underneath the mask and he claps her shoulder.

"You're too weak to fend for yourself, dumbass. You need me there to fight off the demons" He teases, and she sends him a harsh glare. She pushes him slightly and breaks off into a sprint before he can fight back. He screeches as he realizes what just happened and he chases after her. As she runs she double checks mentally that she has everything. As they approach the entrance to the ceremony she halts to a stop, causing Inosuke to run into her. 

"Why'd you stop, you bastard!" He yells, causing (Y/N) to turn around and shush him. There was already people standing around, and they all looked nervous. She walks towards the center and she feels a pit begin to form in her stomach. Inosuke takes note of this as he stands next to her, and he gently barges her shoulder with his own.

"Don't panic, weakling. Lord Inosuke is here to protect you" He teases, and she nods along- deciding to humour him. She wasn't going to admit it, but hearing that made her feel a lot better. There was quite a few other young people all waiting to start the exam, now including (Y/N) and Inosuke. One had bright yellow hair, and looked like he was about to burst into tears any moment. Another was a girl, and she was stood quietly with a colourful butterfly pursed on her fingertip. There was one guy that stuck out the most though. The aura he held around him seemed considerably different to that of his peers. He had maroon hair, and an impressive scar that stuck to his forehead.

A gentle voice breaks her out of her thoughts, and she shifts closer to Inosuke to listen. Two twins stand directly in front of the entrance, the wisteria leaves falling gently onto them. They both looked rather...strange but somewhat cute at the same time. One had black bobbed hair while the other had the same hair cut but in white- making them look like ying and yang. 

"Good evening, thank you all for joining us today" They start, speaking in unison. For some reason, them speaking at the same pace caused shivers to trickle up her spine.

"They look weird" She whispers to Inosuke, and he snorts quietly through his mask. One of the participants send them a dirty look, before turning back around to the twins.

"Your task is to survive seven nights at the top of this mountain" The black haired twin continues, pointing to the steps behind her. The steps were cracked, most likely due to excessive use.

"However there's a twist. The wisteria trees stop here, meaning they will no longer protect you as you venture on" The white haired twin picks up, and (Y/N) feels a lump form in her throat. 

"Shit" She whispers to herself as she clasps the sword attached to her kimono. Inosuke glances at her out of the corner of his eye, however she can't see this due to his mask.

"Good luck, and may the gods be with you" They say at the same time, and they step away from the entrance. People begin to rush forward, and (Y/N) feels frozen in her place. She feels a rough hand tug on her own, and she looks to see Inosuke trying to pull her along.

"C'mon dumbass, it's started" He grunts and she simply nods, adjusting her grip on his hand. This was the start of her journey towards revenge, and just the thought of that caused bile to rise in her throat.