Beast Hunter |Inosuke Hashibira|

Chapter 9🌲The Stars Were Made for Falling

 ↪Pivotal chapter time, yeet yeet.↩

↣The Stars Were Made for Falling↢

"Why do we have to sit here? Can't we just wait until the demon comes out of the water?" Inosuke, already developing a pure hatred from riding the fishing canoe, growled as he watched you sternly stare at the water.

You shook your head at him, yet still stared deeply into the abyss, "No, the demon only attacks when there is a boat out at midnight."

Inosuke let out a mix of a guttural yell and a groan, leaning back in the boat till his head hit the floorboards. You let out an airy chuckle from his childishness, quickly going back to examining the water with your hawk like eyes. Obnoxiously cold wind, smelling thickly of the sea, swayed your boat forward and a collective shiver ran down your backs. Yet you sat there unwavering; waiting to strike at whatever monster lurked in the murky shadows. Somehow, a peaceful silence settled between the two of you, Inosuke staring up at the starry night in bored wonder, and you glowered at the body of water you currently floated in like it was the bane of your existence.

Your face twitched. Once. Twice. At first it was your eye, then your slight frown went further down. You refused to look at the peaceful boy across from you, instead leaning an arm on the boat's side and resting your chin on it. Still staring out at the sea, though paying just a bit less attention, you quietly asked, "Are we friends?"

Behind Inosuke's mask, he raised a eyebrow and deepened his own frown, though he still lied on the wooden floor, stubborn to the fierce cold, "What do you mean?"

There was no brashness in his voice like usual, instead it was a grumble, like he was half asleep and curious at the same time. Your eyes saddened and you slumped, "Well, do you see me as a friend? Or just a helper? Someone to stitch you up when damaged and keep you company like a dog?"

He was quiet for a moment, tilting his head up just enough to glance at you, then looked back at the night sky. Your eyes were unusually pretty tonight. "We're friends, I guess. And demon slayer partners technically. I've never had a friend so I can't say. Why're you talking like that all the sudden, woman?"

You turned your own head to glance at him, though only able to see half his lower body that was atop the wooden seat, "Well, I don't know... I guess I'm kinda confused with you sometimes is all... I've never really had a friend until recently either, no one is my age at the village, they're all little."

"You confuse me." Was all he replied with, squinting further at the sky to spot constellations and faraway galaxies full of aliens and gods.

You gazed at him once again, seeing his little boar snout somehow wiggle like he had snorted, "Inosuke, why do you wear that boar hide?"

And again, Inosuke was silent for a moment, getting up to hunch and look at you, "It's my mother. She died when I was younger... I thought I should keep her with me. Why are you asking so much questions all the sudden?"

"I don't know, I'm just curious... My mother had died as well..." You grimaced to block out her screams within your mind, "What happened to your human parents? Before your boar mother."

The boy shrugged like it was no big deal, falling back, "I dunno. They probably died when I was born or something."

"That's really... That's actually really sad." You managed to get out of your momentarily shocked body, "My parents had died protecting the village from a demon. Perhaps yours had died for a noble cause such as that as well."

"I don't care about stupid people I've never met."

Sighing awkwardly, you snuggled your chin further into your elbow pit to protect yourself from the cold lake air. It had still amazed you how the shirtless Inosuke could stand such nights like this in the winter, let alone right now, with the last blooms of spring yet the chilling air of saltwater seas cooling down the heat tremendously. You shivered as another blow of wind rocked the canoe the two of you lazily scouted upon, freezing you to the bone with icy winds. A ripple in the water made your eyes narrow in, searching for something, anything, to pop out from it. A striped bass, plump and tasty looking, peeked out the water before ducking back in when you unconsciously reached a hand to it. You let out a breath you didn't know you held, wiping your eyes with a free hand. Perhaps I should sleep soon, more than twelve hours of being awake makes my eyes fuzzy.