#neversurrender ; suk-ja

[xamassed]

⟬ @never-surrender ⟭

There's a buzzing giddiness in her step as she approached the younger woman, blue eyes sparkling to match the pure joy that beamed from one empath to another. "They had a vegan option!"

Her reaction might have been an exaggerated one, but it truly made her happy to know that the two of then could sit for a spot of lunch and not worry about Suk-ja's dietery choices leaving her out.

"It smells good too." She sat across from her companion and slid a small container of street food towards her. "Let me know if it's any good."

[whirling-fangs]

next time something like this happens, you have to promise to tell me.

With any other person, at any other time, Inosuke would have refused to answer and walked away. He would have raised his voice, claimed that he didn't need anyone's concern, that his life was his to rule and that he didn't report to anyone but himself.

He didn't need to be cared for. He had spent all those years alone on the mountain, so why would it be different now?

It was different. When she was the one speaking those words, looking at him with those serious, yet gentle eyes, it was different. She took away his urge to protest, to claim that he didn't need anything or anyone – because he wanted to see it again. That light in her eyes, that feeling it sent through his body, like a warm, gentle caress running across his cheeks.

He didn't mind if she cared for him. No... perhaps he even liked it.

"... okay. I won't hide my injuries from you... even if they're not that bad."

She best be ready for him to come up to her at the slightest bruise or cut. Not out of malice, not to mock her wishes, but because he took everything to his heart.

[whirling-fangs]

Time seemed to tick by a lot slower in this world without demons.

The euphoria of victory had faded away day after day. While his comrades found solace and relief in this peace, performing their daily outings with the joy of people who had been born again, Inosuke's limbs grew a little heavier each day.

Their little house was by no means luxurious, but it was comfortable. They had a roof over their head, walls to protect them from the wind, the rain and the cold. They could sleep with both eyes shut at night, with the quiet of the forest for lone companion. The forest was so peaceful that she never seemed to notice him slipping away into the dark, and coming back before the sun could rise.

It should have been bliss. It should have been paradise.

Then why did he feel so restless?

Inosuke's strength hadn't faded on bit. He had kept his muscles trained with the nearby trees and the occasional beast for sole brawling partners, the heavy load he carried hardly a burden to him. With the packages reached far above his head, Inosuke didn't immediately see what was waiting for them. He only heard her scream, his blood freezing in his veins as he threw the boxes to the ground, hands reaching down at his waist for blades that weren't there.

He had taken a step forward, his hand reaching for Suk-ja's instead. A firm, reassuring grip, while his senses remained on his alert. There was no one around, nothing but the gruesome package left behind by their visitor. Inosuke frowned as his gaze scanned the traced words, the gears of his mind rushing to decipher the characters.

His eyes widened.

His heart pounded to his ribs, his hand squeezing hers a little too tight. When he heard those words the night prior, he didn't take them seriously. Those last words pronounced between two spluttering coughs, as he removed the blades from his victim's chest. Some lowly merchant who had stolen from his clients' business. The blood had formed a large stain across his clothing, but Inosuke remembered the pattern of his haori.

A flock of swallows soaring across a light blue sky.

"... I'll clean this up." Inosuke muttered. "You... you take care of the groceries."

@whirling-fangs

It had been nearly a year since the war with demons had ended, a year of trying to find a new way of life together with Inosuke. Finding a home in the woods where Inosuke could feel most at home, Suk-ja found herself happier than ever... though she wasn't entirely certain Inosuke could say the same thing.

No matter what he went through though, Suk-ja was right there along beside him, taking care of him.

She could only hope that the year made their new reality easier on him, however. Walking through the woods with Inosuke in tow, arms loaded down with products from the nearby village, Suk-ja had a smile on her face as their quaint little cottage came into view...

Though the moment they walked through the door and came upon the gruesome view, the items in her hand land to the ground as her hands come to fly to her mouth, a horrified scream ripping from her throat. It takes but a moment for her to turn away from the gore, instinct telling her another human had done this to them...

For in their home, a small pile of dead birds rest in the middle of their kitchen, words written in blood that read "you're next."

[whirling-fangs]

“  you’re actually kind of amazing  ” (you know who)

 fire emblem : three houses  // accepting

"... kind of? What d'you mean, kind of? I'm full-on amazing! Take it back!"

He's a little more offended than he would like to show. A nerve popped along his forehead, his teeth gritted as he went on.

"I'm gonna keep doing my best 'til you find me just amazing, then. You better watch me! I'll be the strongest damn slayer of all! I'll kill so many demons that you won't be able to count them! And they'll make me a Hashira right away! So make sure you watch me, alright? And praise me more!"

[whirling-fangs]

He was going to die. The blatant, unavoidable fact hit Inosuke at once, a certainty that no amount of denial could hold back.

The demon would be onto him in the blink of an eye. Would it bite his arm off first? Perhaps his leg? Would it punch a hole through his ribcage, and carve out his organs before he could breathe his last breath?

His hands went still. Perhaps it was just a trick or his feverish mind, but he swore he'd felt the girl move in the background. Good. Perhaps she'd make it out alive, and she'd have time to run while the demon feasted on his entrails.

How pathetic. Was this really the end? He was going to die a pitiful death, a wounded animal, beaten by a weak opponent who struck at the worst possible time. It wasn't an end worthy of a King.

Blood splattered at his feet. For a few seconds, his brain couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He felt it, that unspeakable rage coursing through the silhouette that stood between him and the demon.

The girl. He barely recognized her, with a blade in her hands, and that aggressive stance. Sparkles of relief danced in his eyes, a faint smile tugging at his traits. There it was again, that insane strength he had glimpsed in her as she pushed him away. He couldn't wait to see it in proper action.

That demon stood absolutely no chance.

whirling-fangs​:

Nothing could have prepared him for that reaction. Inosuke wasn’t certain what he’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.

His weakened body was of no help against her assault. His muscles felt like tofu, his frame shoved to the ground as if he weighed nothing. How did such a small human pack so much strength?

He barely had time to process what had just happened. As he tried to heave himself up into a sitting position, a cloud of dust came to cloud his vision, covering his boar mask in a layer of dirt.

Inosuke snatched his mask off, trying to recover just a little bit of visibility. His heavy fever still cast a veil before his eyes, but at least his real eyeballs had no dust in them.

Not that he relied much on his vision, anyway. He could still vaguely feel the girl in the distance, her distress palpable even from afar. Just what kind of sleep images had she seen? Did she wake up in the middle of a battle, and imagine that he was attacking her?

The boar’s breath hitched. He felt another presence in the far distance, one even more menacing.

A demon. It was coming their way, fast. No, it was coming his way.

His lips parted to let out a warning cry, but his throat couldn’t make a sound. He was too weak. His mask rolled to the ground, hands searching for his blades. Out of reach.

The demon had been attracted by the sound of Suk-ja’s screaming … and the closer it got? The more of the sickness of Inosuke’s infection it was able to smell … and on some animalistic level, it understood that it meant a free meal. Or an easy one, anyways. Not that Suk-ja knew the demon was coming as soon as Inosuke did… too lost to her own thoughts, too lost to the reminders of her trauma at every fucking turn, she remained in ignorance for a little while longer… 

At least until a shrieking sound filled the air that was loud enough for even her to hear from a distance. Feeling a cold sweeping dread come over her as she quickly processed what was about to happen, Suk-ja expected panic to overtake her … expected fear … 

And got sheer, blinding rage instead. 

Turning to look at Inosuke as he reached for his swords, her own was laying by the bedroll she had been sleeping in … and a flicker of movement drew her attention in yet a different direction. The demon was moving fast, its body like a striking mantis … and it was going right for Inosuke. Feeling her rage bubble in her chest, a flicker of the appearance of her mother still burned in her minds eye … Suk-ja moves. 

The demon, meanwhile, lingers just before Inosuke and well out of reach, toothy mouth wide in a smile as it laughs with a crackling sound akin to the rustling of plastic. Suk-ja didn’t hear a single word that was said … but it at least gave her time… time to grab her sword and act just as the demon lunged forward to her friend… 

And just before the mantis claws could do any damage, Suk-ja surged forward, rage tunneling her vision. Sweeping her sword down, a spray of demon blood coated her skin as the remnants of the fire breathing technique fizzled out, causing the demon to scream in pain and real backwards … leaving Suk-ja standing between Inosuke and the demon itself. Her face was shrouded in shadows, though her grip on her sword was so tight it turned her knuckles white. Slowly, Suk-ja looked up and over her shoulder to the demon … and her gaze? Was nothing short of a black hole, sucking in all light and diminishing it, anger and rage dripping from her body like a dark haze. 

“…How dare you..” hissing the words, Suk-ja’s lips curled in disgust.

[whirling-fangs]

never-surrender​:

She was a dead woman, and she damn well knew it. She wouldn’t be quick enough to truly run away from the slayer, so she had to get creative … and how that was going to work she had no idea. Not truly. if it were any other slayer, Suk-ja wouldn’t think that they were being serious … but from what she heard of Inosuke? 

He might just go through with it. 

The sound of him closing the distance between them was lost to the medic, though a quick look over her shoulder showed that it was so. And instead of continuing this little ordeal? She opted to come to a swift halt, spinning on her heal to face the slayer with her hands held up, palms facing him. 

“Wait! Wait wait wait I can explain!” Was that laughter coloring her voice? Oh she really hoped he couldn’t hear that, taking a cautionary step backwards.

She was quite right to take his words seriously. Inosuke had never been taught how to tell a lie, after all. He planned to catch her, knock her out with a solid punch, and dump her body in the nearest river. See if she liked to suddenly be doused in water.

The fact that she would probably not survive such a plan didn’t seem to cross his mind.

He didn’t expect her to suddenly give up the chase. In his wild rush, he failed to slow down in time, arms crossed in front of him to form a makeshift shield. A collision was inevitable.

He rammed into her with full force, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Inosuke was quick to roll away, wet fur now covered in sticky dirt.

If she thought that he couldn’t get any angrier... she was wrong.

[xamassed]

"More places are trying to branch out. It might be slow-going at first, but the second I saw this, I needed you to try it." If this was a resounding success, she would make it a point to keep this place in mind from now on.

Holding her breath, Himari watched as Suk-ja speared a piece onto her fork. It was natural to be curious and want to try a piece herself, but she would happily sit back and find joy in her companion's opinion.

The anticipation was too much. She leaned forward and was about to ask, but the confirmation brought her immense relief. "Oh, good! I'm glad. I was worried it might not taste the best, but if you like it, that's all that matters."

"They do!?" she gasps at the fact, impossibly dark eyes brightening to a point that it seemed as if they shimmered with their own light. Clapping her hands before her lips, Suk-ja watched in awe as the food was slid before her.

"Oh my gosh it does smell good..! You're so good to me," she smiles warmly to Himari, her expression softening considerably at the thoughtfulness of her friend. She hadn't known kindness like this in a long time, and if she were to think about it too much it would undoubtedly bring her to tears.

Taking up her fork, she stabs into the food, taking her first bite... and immediately closes her eyes and hums in pure delight. "Its as good as it looks..!"