[Hah. Even with her arm pinned against her throat and her back pressed against the wall she still manages to goad the demon slayer against her. She really is something else, isn't she? Leave it to an oni to taunt the idea of death even as it stands before her, listening and watching, scrutinizing every twitch in her expression as though she were a specimen under glass. Did she truly have no fear even after what happened last time? Did she think she could talk her way out of this— trapped as they are?
Shinobu thinks to ask her when the band at her waist is suddenly snagged.]
'Exhilarated'— !!
[She barely reacts when Shuten wretches her arm out of that grip, ensnaring her wrist between pale fingers. She lets out a grunt as she reflexively tests the grip— and knows she won't be able to pull away so quickly. A curse crosses her mind with the speed of a passing arrow.
Fast. She's too fast—
And then: stillness. An unfathomable silence, before:]
... 'Exhilarated?'
[Her lips spread the syllables of the word in a stretched whisper, like the last verses of some lost sutra. Her eyes narrow slightly as her skin reacts to the crooning against her ear— shivers following that warmth breath along the circumference of her neck. Exhilarated. Was that the word she should use to describe what she was feeling now? Was that the sensation she was currently being blindsided by, now that she and the oni were practically melded against each other?
Was such a feeling... normal under these circumstances?
Don't be ridiculous.
This is the talk of an oni.
And yet— her heart pounds despite herself. It thuds steadily in her chest and sends heat rushing to her limbs, to the tips of her ears and her fingers. It itches, coaxes her to spring into action— to rip her arms away, to wrap her hand around Shuten's throat, to cut her open, to punch her, to kill her, to ki—
—Ah.
Unbeknownst to Shuten her smile vanishes, replaced by a firm line of consideration. Her lips part slightly and drift up to the oni's ear, mimicking what she had done just seconds ago.] I'll admit: perhaps you're not so far from the truth. But in the end, all those little details fall wayside. Do you know why... Shuten-san?
[Her voice softens.]
It's because you're an oni. A detestable oni that I will eventually be rid of.
[The muscles beneath Shuten's fingers flex. She lowers her chin. A faint smile— one tinged with tightness, sealing away a hundred curses— graces her lips once more.
She does allow one indulgence: to brush that ghost-like smile against the curve of the oni's shoulder. When she speaks the words brush against Shuten's skin like the beating wings of a butterfly.]
no subject
Shinobu thinks to ask her when the band at her waist is suddenly snagged.]
'Exhilarated'— !!
[She barely reacts when Shuten wretches her arm out of that grip, ensnaring her wrist between pale fingers. She lets out a grunt as she reflexively tests the grip— and knows she won't be able to pull away so quickly. A curse crosses her mind with the speed of a passing arrow.
Fast. She's too fast—
And then: stillness. An unfathomable silence, before:]
... 'Exhilarated?'
[Her lips spread the syllables of the word in a stretched whisper, like the last verses of some lost sutra. Her eyes narrow slightly as her skin reacts to the crooning against her ear— shivers following that warmth breath along the circumference of her neck. Exhilarated. Was that the word she should use to describe what she was feeling now? Was that the sensation she was currently being blindsided by, now that she and the oni were practically melded against each other?
Was such a feeling... normal under these circumstances?
Don't be ridiculous.
This is the talk of an oni.
And yet— her heart pounds despite herself. It thuds steadily in her chest and sends heat rushing to her limbs, to the tips of her ears and her fingers. It itches, coaxes her to spring into action— to rip her arms away, to wrap her hand around Shuten's throat, to cut her open, to punch her, to kill her, to ki—
—Ah.
Unbeknownst to Shuten her smile vanishes, replaced by a firm line of consideration. Her lips part slightly and drift up to the oni's ear, mimicking what she had done just seconds ago.] I'll admit: perhaps you're not so far from the truth. But in the end, all those little details fall wayside. Do you know why... Shuten-san?
[Her voice softens.]
It's because you're an oni. A detestable oni that I will eventually be rid of.
[The muscles beneath Shuten's fingers flex. She lowers her chin. A faint smile— one tinged with tightness, sealing away a hundred curses— graces her lips once more.
She does allow one indulgence: to brush that ghost-like smile against the curve of the oni's shoulder. When she speaks the words brush against Shuten's skin like the beating wings of a butterfly.]
Now... won't you release me?