pages of attraction [kny x reader|oneshot]

mask - inosuke (fluff)

Masks often come loose to the person you don't want to lose.

___

You never really knew what's going on his mind, even now.

He's uncultured, he's rambunctious – the very description of audacious and a noted king of caprice. The way he thinks is a mystery. But maybe it is a mystery because he doesn't think at all – and rather act proactively with no sense of shame.

You would akin him to a toddler or an unrefined child with no discipline. His loudness marvels well with his idiocy, and his whole identity as a slayer match well with his state of mind: wild.

Sometimes, you like to think he's nothing more than that. Just a wild man, in a structured world. You know you're being too hard on him; but sometimes, you have to think worse of a person to know why they value you, right?

You scrunched your brows.

Or maybe it's just you.

Watching Inosuke sleep on your lap makes you wonder what made you value him too.

Because you've never thought that you'll treasure someone else as much as you treasure your life.

Your fingers traced his nose absentmindedly, and they twitched – deep, sleepy grumbles replied to your silence before a rough hand grabbed on your own and kept it nestled under his jaw. Soon, there's a bubble of slumber growing by his nose.

The action was swift, and yet it felt natural for you.

You can't help but chuckle at his reaction, because even in his sleep, he would look and cling on your being as if you were his lifeline.

You find it oddly adorable – despite his overbearing flaws; he seems to look for ways to show you his better ones. A face like his, the mask on his stomach and his personality.

They are all so different, and yet... he made them feel the same.

You wondered how he did that, and perhaps you wonder too much about masks lately.

That because there's a Japanese proverb that spoke well about the faces one carries in a lifetime. You've always been obsessed with it after you heard it in a passage and you can't help but relate to it.

It says there that one individual carry three masks in their lifetime: One, it's a face that you show to the world without fear.

And it made you think at the first time you met him, and how well it resonated with you.

When you first saw him, it was when you were preparing dinner for the slayers in the estate. It wasn't a normal occurrence to find yourself beating up a man for stealing, but he was a first amongst many. Perhaps you did that out spite, or out of frustration of the day's work – maybe both.

But you always thought it was justified.

You're in charge of taking care on those who were hospitalized due to the severity of their injuries, and you made each dish appropriate for each patient's speedy recovery.

Different ailments need different medicine – and such is your craft of preparing food for the sick.

So, you were provoked when you noticed some of the dishes were touched, lingering with the scent of a mountain - notably the leaves of hinoki and sugi – and you set out to manhunt the thief.

You saw the man eating in the corner of the kitchen, mauling over the meat covered honey on fours, empty plates decorating around him that's strategically placed to blame him as the culprit. He was like a beast, and whatever was on his head made him feel and look like that.