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Lucy felt the hair’s on the back of her neck stand up and she sweatdropped at the familiar feeling of being watched that was starting to become more frequent the past couple of days. Quickly whipping her head around to look behind her she barely caught a glimpse of the familiar boar head before it was gone. It had been a week since the small group of demon slayers had been taken in by the butterfly estate to aid in their healing process and it had been a couple of days since the strange behavior from the boar headed boy had started. When the group had first arrived she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Inosuke when she saw him. His sulking form on the bed was a sad enough sight to see but it only became more so when she’d heard from those that knew him that apparently he was actually a lot more lively than how he was at the moment. She sympathized with the boy’s plight though, she knew what it was like to feel weak especially when experiencing defeat at the hands of a stronger enemy but it also motivated her to want to help him even more. She had been assigned to help with their rehabilitation training alongside Kanao and Aoi and it was just her luck that she had been assigned to help the sulking boy.
While she was by no means as strong as Kanao, Lucy still prided herself on her quick reflexes which made a major difference against him in training. At first, the boy didn’t seem very enthusiastic as he sat across from her at the small table covered in cups of medicinal water. He kept silent throughout her explanation of the game to the point where it unsettled her and she wondered if he had fallen asleep or if he was still moping. Her question was answered when she noticed his twitch of anticipation just before she quickly grabbed her cup, soaking him in the green-tinted water. The boy didn’t seem to react at first but by the third failed attempt of not being able to even touch one of the cups, she couldn’t help but jump at the sudden cry of anger that came from him. He had blown steam out of the nostrils of his mask before hurling insults and threats toward her in a voice much deeper and gravelly than what she had expected to come from such a young boy. She had taken it as progress at first, a sign that maybe the boy was finally coming back to his old ways only to become disappointed when she noticed that the boy’s mood actually seemed to be getting worse day by day. It was when the blonde boy had finally joined them for his first day of training that the strange demeanor had begun.
After explaining to the boy what the training would entail everyone was taken aback by the boy’s sudden outburst followed by him dragging his friends outside to lecture them on their apparent ungratefulness of their situation. Lucy and the others awkwardly listening in as the boy Zenitsu chastised his friend for his apparent lack of experience when it came to women, followed up by Inosuke’s confident proclamation that he could get as many girls as he wanted. Despite the awkwardness of the situation and how uncomfortable working with Zentisu was, it actually seemed to motivate the others to work harder in their training. Lucy didn’t think much of it, simply glad that the boys were showing improvements day by day that was until Zenitsu and Inosuke completely stopped coming to training altogether. She could understand their frustration, Kanao was one of the strongest people at the estate and was no doubt on the same level as a pillar in terms of strength losing to her over and over again could either motivate or discourage someone in an instant. Soon her assistance with training came to an end and she was free to simply help with other things around the estate. It was around this time that she started noticing the feeling of his lingering glances on her which were soon followed by outright following her around the estate. He never approached her though, whenever she tried to confront him he always managed to escape her before she could get near him.
Or at least that’s how it was until recently. She came into the boys’ room to give them their medicine when it happened. Approaching his bed, she had turned around to get something from her tray and when she turned back around he was less than an inch away from her face. She couldn’t help the blush that bloomed across her face as she stared into the lifeless blue eyes of his mask, her heart hammering in her chest before she realized what he was doing. Sniffing. He was sniffing her. The snout of his mask tickling her neck and its rough bristles rubbing against her skin.
“What are you doing you, weird pervert!?” She shouted before sending him flying into the nearest wall.
It didn’t take long for the boar boy to recover before he was back on his feet and screaming angrily at her.
“What was that for you stupid sow!?”
She thought that that would be the end of his weird behavior but it only persisted much more aggressively to the point where it unsettled her. Inosuke continued to sniff and nudge at her whenever he would get close to her which usually led to her either sending him flying or running away from him as fast as she could. Lucy sat atop the roof of the estate that night looking up at the stars and pondering her situation. As much as he was getting on her nerves with his sudden bouts of physical attention she couldn’t deny that she found herself intrigued by the strange wild boy and his aggressive ways. Mostly wondering how so much rage could be held within such a small boy.
“Oh my, it’s quite late for you to still be awake Lucy-chan.”
Lucy jolted as she was suddenly faced to face with her mentor and the insect pillar herself, Shinobu. She gave her her usual smile as she sat next to her looking up at the sky full of twinkling stars.
“That pig boy is bothering you isn’t he?”
“How did you know?”
“I’ve seen everything that’s been going on. He seems to have gotten a bit of an infatuation with you. Hasn’t he?”
“Is that what you’re calling it? I think that just him being a creep.”
Shinobu giggled at her student’s obliviousness. “You know that boy was raised by boars, right?”
“I heard.”
“Which means he tends to act rather boarish doesn’t he?”
“Are you trying to tell me something or is this some kind of questions game you’re playing with me?”
“Do you know what boars tend to do when trying to attract a mate?”
Lucy blinked at her mentor before a bright red blush spread across her face. Shinobu stood up and gave her an unsettling smile before laughing. She wanted to see where this would go.
“Just make sure to use protection if you decide to let him mount you, Lu-chan!”
“Eh!?”
Her mentor was gone before she could even blink.
Lucy looked over her shoulder at her apparent admirer the next day when he was back to his usual antics of following, nudging, and sniffing at her. Even though she couldn’t see his face she could feel his proud attitude radiating off of him in waves. She blushed and sighed as she stood up from her place on the floor before she approached him. Inosuke tensed as she got closer to him, prepared for any attack that she may try on him again but was taken aback when her demeanor was calm albeit embarrassed. The annoyed look on her face contrasted by the pink blush that dusted her cheeks, she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Inosuke made the mistake of letting his guard down, not sensing any danger coming off of her unthreatening demeanor only to be proved horribly wrong as she delt a strong punch to his gut causing him to fall over.
“What the fu-”
“You’re such an idiot!”
“What!?”
Inosuke looked up at the red-faced girl who had her fist clenched and her eyes closed, her eyebrow twitching further showing her distaste.
“I’m not just gonna bend over and let you mount me just because you nudge at me a bit!”
“Why not!?”
‘Isn’t that how this usually works?’ From what he’d seen the best way to attract a sow for mating was to be dominant and show interest first by nudging and sniffing at her. At least he was polite enough not to sniff at her genitals the way boars actually did, he wasn’t an idiot. So why wasn’t she giving herself to him already!?
“Because that’s not how people work! I’m not a boar, there are proper things you have to do before you can even think about doing that kind of thing!”
“Like what!?”
Inosuke was startled as the girl suddenly bent down to get on her knees in front of him. He leaned back as she got closer to his face, her hands on either side of his torso, almost getting on top of him.
“Oi, oi, oi! What the hell do you think you’re-” He was cut off at the feeling of her small hands gently placing themselves on either side of his mask before slowly removing it from his head. Placing it on the ground next to them, Lucy took in his surprisingly feminine appearance that contrasted his muscular physique. Inosuke couldn’t help the slight jolt at the feeling of her soft hand against his face before he noticed her leaning in. He was about to ask what the heck she was doing before her mouth suddenly covered his. ‘What the hell is this?’ Whatever it was, Inosuke couldn’t deny the feeling of excitement it gave him or the disappointment that came when she pulled away. Lucy avoided making eye contact with him despite how wide his eyes were, instead opting to look at the floor.
“W-we can start with that. But you better not go around doing it with anyone else! I’ll beat the crap out of you if you do, okay!?”
Inosuke didn’t know what the big deal was but he didn’t care, it didn’t even matter that boars didn’t mate for life like other animals did because he liked her. He’d never met any other female that matched his stubbornness like she did and he enjoyed it. All he needed was her, every other female could go jump off a cliff for all he cared because he had the greatest one of all. Inosuke headbutted her gently the way he’d seen so many other boars do, grinning at her unamused reaction. He couldn’t wait to rub it in Zenitsu’s face that he’d gotten a woman before he did.