you’ve heard tales of the secluded onsen that is nestled much too close to the king of curses’ domain. heard stories shared over bonfires and quiet nights of the man turned demon who ate everything and everyone in his path, who killed without reason, and would gain the strength of his enemies from bathing in those healing waters. you were always warned to stay as far away from the onsen as you could, no matter how gifted it sounded.
but nobody else understood the ache you felt, you carried with you, every single day. nobody understood that the risk, to you, was worth it. what, some fairytale? of a seven foot man with four arms and a mouth on his stomach, that only grew stronger with every dip in the onsen?
you weren’t looking for some enhancement of your body, of your limbs. you just didn’t want to be in pain anymore.
the onsen is silent. empty, save for the occasional stray animal that never stayed for too long. you feel eerie, like something is staring over your shoulder, but you chalk it up to the stories meant to scare you, and strip of your clothes. you rest, naked, in the naturally warm waters. feel your entire body fall lax, too lax, as you breathe in deeply, smelling of the forest and the condensation on the ground, the rain that is coming soon.
too lax—you don’t hear him, somehow. how someone of such stature could move with such silent grace of a predator is still something you can’t truly comprehend, but he’s there. hovering over you, two pairs of arms crossed, the other resting on his thick hips. the mouth on his belly smiles at you, unkindly.
“you’re in my onsen, human,” he says, plainly, yet there’s a bit of a grin tugging at his mouth. like he likes the challenge of you being in his space, how you can only sit there, eyes wide and mouth agape as you take in this—this fairytale come to real life.
“I didn’t tell you to leave, did I?” he asks you when you go to jump out, holds a hand up when you stumble back to your spot, body still and stiff as he rakes crimson eyes over your form. water rolls from your collarbones down your chest, rests on your mound and pubic hairs. the monster of a man (thing? creature? demon? god?) flickers his gaze between your thighs and is quiet for too long. he smiles, wide, and you can count one too many incisors along his gums.
“stay for a while. we’ll have fun,” he tells you, and you don’t think it’s much of a suggestion. you don’t think you would’ve tried to leave, even if you could; your jugular reflects back in his irises at the very thought of your defiance. you think you’d like to stay in one piece, although you doubt you’ll come out of this onsen unscathed, if you are ever let out in the first place.