𝑇𝐸𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑁 𝑈𝑍𝑈𝐼

き ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀𝒯𝘩𝘦 𝒮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝒫𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 め つ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ♪ ˖ ݁♬⋆.˚𝄞. の や ⠀ ⠀ 𝑯𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑰𝑹𝑨 𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑵 𝑼𝒁𝑼𝑰 い⠀ ⠀ ————————————— ば ⠀⠀ ⠀ㅤㅤㅤ⟳ ʀᴛ / ♡ ʟɪᴋᴇ

@Tasty_Hashira Cue the boyish grin. “Whatever do you mean?” He knows 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 what his comrade means.

@TheSoundPillar OH. Well, then yes! Did you have to phrase it like that though?!

I HAVE 5 KIDS. One of which has gotten into the habit of throwing trees.

𝑺𝑳: 𝑹𝑬𝑭𝑳𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺. ————————— ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Tengen watches her. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Not the surface reaction—the surprise, the deflection—but the subtle things beneath it. The way her shoulders don’t tense the way they once did. The way her hands stay still instead of retreating. The way she 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 him close. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀That alone tells him more than her words ever could. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀A slow breath leaves him through his nose, something quieter than his usual bravado settling into his chest as he leans back just enough to properly look at her—really look at her—as if committing the moment to memory. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“Exaggerating?” he echoes, one brow lifting. There’s the faintest hint of a scoff—but it isn’t sharp. Not dismissive. Almost… amused. “Kiki,” her name rolls off his tongue slower this time, grounded, deliberate. “I don’t exaggerate. I 𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓮.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀He pauses a beat. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Then he reaches forward again—not abrupt, not invasive—just enough to hook a finger beneath a loose strand of her hair, tucking it back into place with absent-minded precision. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“And you,” he continues, quieter now, “make it easy.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀There’s no teasing in it this time. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀No performance. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Just fact. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀His gaze doesn’t waver from hers—not intense in a way that traps, but steady in a way that holds. Anchors. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“You think beauty is something that belongs to people who’ve lived easy lives,” he says, tilting his head slightly, studying her as though piecing together something fragile. “Something untouched. Untarnished.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀A soft exhale. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“That’s not how it works.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀His hand drops, but he doesn’t retreat far. He never really does. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“The kind of beauty people notice—really notice?” he gestures vaguely toward her, toward the way the light catches in her hair, the way she sits there despite everything. “It’s the kind that makes them stop and wonder how.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“How is she still standing.”
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“How is she still kind.”
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“How is she still here.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀His voice lowers slightly on that last thought, something quieter threading through it—something that understands far more than he says. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Then, just as easily, the edge softens. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀A faint grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“And for the record,” he adds, folding one arm loosely across his chest, the other resting casually at his side, “if anyone so much as tries to clamor over you—” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀A pause. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀His eyes gleam, just a flicker of something sharper beneath the warmth. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“—they’ll have to get through me first.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀The statement lands lightly in tone. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀But not in meaning. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀Then, with a quiet huff, he shifts—back into something easier, something that gives her room to breathe again. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“Though,” he adds, glancing over her like a critic appraising his own work, “I suppose I should take partial responsibility for that outcome. I did this, after all.” ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀A boyish grin whispering over his lips. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“You’re welcome, by the way.” The tease is whispered.

@Tasty_Hashira Are you certain? The Kamados? The boar-headed boy, and the screaming lunatic in yellow?

@TheSoundPillar Not possible!! Did you hit your head perhaps!

/. I have a sneaking suspicion I have missed like 12 replies I owe somewhere…

@itsinherblood . . . YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS

// You please the pretty blond ninja? 🤔

Using his most 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 speed, Tengen is already a step out of reach by the time the bowl slips from her hands, the clatter echoing far louder than his crime ever did. He turns at the sound of her outburst, utterly unrepentant. If anything—he looks 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥. “Ah, there it is,” he hums, grin sharp and dazzling as ever, arms folding across his chest like a man admiring his own handiwork. “A most spirited reaction. I’d say the operation was a success.” Not a hint of shame. Not a shred of regret. Only audacity. His gaze flicks to her glare, and somehow—𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸—that grin widens. “What?” he adds lightly, tilting his head. “You left yourself completely unguarded. As your mentor, I’d be failing you if I didn’t correct such a glaring weakness.”

@itsinherblood /. . . I will put you over my knee I swear to bob.

@TheSoundPillar // Aww then I suppose you have a couple of options: find out if it is a trap, or remain fearful for all eternity! 🥹

/. Being bitten in the butt is the weird kinda shit you can expect if you ship with me.

@Tasty_Hashira My friend, I’m certain half of them are yours.

@TheSoundPillar Oh, wow!! Congratulations!…..I think!

WELCOME TO MY WORLD.

@itsinherblood /. See when you say nice things IT FEELS LIEK A TRAP

@TheSoundPillar // Then I wish you continued success on this current endeavor ✨

/. . . I plead the ——

The towering figure glanced down at the sword-smith, maroon eyes glinting like cut rubies in midday sun. His expression was stoic, were it not the faint amused smile creeping across his lips. “Balance.” Was all he said with a throaty chuckle before the hand at Hotaru’s back moved to pat the man’s shoulder. With his other hand, Tengen reached out, large hand grasping the hilt with a grip that caused the leather bindings to hiss under his palm. The blade was easily heavier than any of his wives. “Sturdy,” he remarked, lifting it with one hand. “I dare say its weight alone will cripple any bone unfortunate enough to meet it in battle.”

. . . The lunatic who was crawling across the ceiling? . . . Are we certain he’s…. ‘All there’?

The Pillar nods in observation, knowing what’s to come before the sword smith. The sword’s weight coupled with momentum was going to override the smithy’s body weight. And when it did, Tengen shot out an arm to catch and support the man’s balance with a broad hand to the smith’s back. “I see someone’s been… ambitious. Very flashy.”

Correct. The other one? No idea what he’s training for.

The man blinked, before looming in over the other’s shoulder. “Four-legged beasts, eh?”

“. . . Now I know that’s not Himejima’s — a sword that gaudy isn’t his style.”

Honestly this is what it’s like training @kindnessofasoul and the boar headed boy.

@itsinherblood /. I AM THE MASTER SEDUCER

@TheSoundPillar // making me laugh is a step in the right direction 😂