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

₊˚✧ 8

Day turned to night as the pair continued to walk towards the metaphorical finish line. There was a sharp chill in the air tonight, causing (Y/N)'s teeth to begin to chatter. Inosuke still had his arm wrapped around her waist even though she insisted she could walk by herself- but she appreciated the sentiment. She had her hand ready to grab her sword if things turned dicey at any time.

"That kid earlier was strange" She giggles, her chest still tight. She hears a soft chuckle emit from his mask, and she smiles in satisfaction. The two had only known each other for over a week now, but she felt as if they had grown close. 

"You can let go you know, right? Don't me burden you" She murmurs, causing him to scoff slightly. He pulls her closer towards him, causing her cheeks to flush pink.

"Shut up, dumbass" He grunts as they continue to walk. Just the presence of his hand on her waist made her stomach do cartwheels, and she didn't know what to think. A scratching noise sounds in the bushes, causing them to both snap their heads around- alert.

"Stupid ass demons" He hisses as he lets go of her, and he gently leans her against a tree. She immediately pulls out her chipped blade and she stands still, her eyes fixed on Inosuke's back. He grasps his nichirin blades in his hands tightly as he sprints up to the bush head on.

"Now who's the dumbass! Don't run into things blind!" (Y/N) yells after him, causing him to grumble in reply. He disappears into the bush with a scream, causing her to roll her eyes.

"He always does this shit" She mumbles to herself as she pushes herself off the tree to follow her dumb companion. She shouldn't be fighting in this condition, but if she regulates her breathing enough she should be able to get a few attacks in. Pushing past the thick leaves with her sword she scans the area for the feral boy. Her bag luckily wasn't as heavy due to the food obviously being consumed over the past 6 days, so she was able to pick up her pace a bit more.

"Inosuke? Inosuke?!" She yells, her heartbeat increasing with every second. Where the hell could he have disappeared to in the space of a few seconds? Her hands shake as she looks around, and she tries her best to control her breathing.

'Calm down...Calm down (Y/N)' She thinks to herself as she clutches her sword in her hands- her knuckles turning white from how hard she was holding it. Several minutes go by with no sign of the boar boy, and she drops to her knees. 

"Please be okay" She whispers as she stares at the earthy forest floor. How has she grown such an attachment to someone so strange? She feebly hits the floor with a balled fist, gritting her teeth harshly. Several more minutes go by as she sits in a heap on the floor. A gurgle breaks her out of her blank stare, and she recognizes it to be her own stomach. Begrudgingly she removes her ratty bag from her back, and she pulls out one of the wax paper clumps. Tears stream down her face as she unwraps it and takes a bite, cringing slightly at it's sour taste. That's what you get for leaving rice in your bag for a week.

With the rice ball in her mouth she pushes herself off the floor and puts her sword back into her holster. 

"Why am I crying?" She mutters to herself through a mouthful of rice, and she turns back to the path they were taking. Birds fluttered above her, surprising her slightly. She was surprised she hadn't encountered a demon recently, but that was probably due to most of them being killed. The gravel crunches beneath her feet as she walks, and she feels her chest contract over and over. She was almost definite that when she gets changed, she'd be faced with black and blue bruises.  Going to reach another food parcel from her bag, she falters slightly. 

'Inosuke might get hungry' She thinks to herself, making herself more upset. Where did he even run off to in such a short space of time? 

"Inosuke!" She yells once more- not caring if she attracts any unwanted attention. Faint sunlight began to peel through the waxy tree leaves as she walked closer to the exit, and her heart sunk even more with every step. She would reach the exit to freedom in 20 minutes- this is something she worked so hard towards. But she wanted to share this moment with her newfound friend...if he even was a friend. A bang to the right of her causes her to squeak, and she shakily pulls out her broken sword. She wouldn't fair up well to a demon attack right now, but she had to try her best.