The colosseum stood empty, or rather, it should have been filled with the clash of training exercises and the shouts of instructors. Instead, an oppressive silence hung over the massive arena, broken only by the rhythmic, ground-shaking snores that reverberated through the stone structure like distant thunder. Rinu had claimed the space as his own. The massive inugami's spectral form sprawled across the inner entrance, his body a writhing mass of shadows and ectoplasm that seemed to drink in the afternoon light. Black fur rippled like smoke over corded muscle, and his multiple eyes (currently closed in blissful slumber) dotted his elongated skull in an arrangement that would have been unsettling even if he weren't the size of two semi-trucks stacked on top of each other. His hind leg twitched occasionally, chasing some phantom prey through his dreams, while his inner eyelids flickered to reveal eyes rolled back in complete, unbothered contentment. Near his massive paws lay the shattered remains of Aether's containment collar, the reinforced metal twisted and broken as though it were paper. Evidence of whatever training session had gone so spectacularly wrong that it resulted in this current situation.
Aether watched through borrowed eyes as yet another group of students approached the entrance, took one look at the sleeping behemoth, and quickly retreated in terror. You know, you could have chosen literally anywhere else to nap. Aether's voice echoed within the confines of their shared mind, tinged with exasperation. The courtyard. The forest. Your actual designated rest area. A rumbling growl vibrated through the inugami's body, part protest and part amusement. When Rinu's voice came, it was drowsy but sharp-edged with attitude, reverberating through both their shared consciousness and the air itself. "This place has sun... I can stretch out..." His jaws parted slightly as he spoke, and a tendril of ectoplasmic drool seeped from between his fangs, splashing to the ground where it shimmered with an oil-slick iridescence. It's also the only training facility for half the academy. Aether countered, though he knew it was pointless. When Rinu decided something, that was generally that.
"Not my problem..."
Aether would have rolled his eyes if he had independent control of them. Instead, he settled for radiating irritation through their bond, which Rinu promptly ignored, shifting his massive head to a more comfortable position with another earth-trembling snore. They might have stayed that way for hours if not for the sound of footsteps echoing through the entrance corridor. Aether's consciousness sharpened, his attention swiveling toward the sound. Through Rinu's closed eyes, he could still sense the approaching presence: someone young, their spiritual signature unrefined. A student. One of Rinu's eyes cracked open lazily, the red glow barely visible as he tracked the movement without otherwise stirring. The student walked into view, head down, completely absorbed in whatever was on his phone. He was tall and lanky, earbuds visible beneath shaggy brown hair. Completely, utterly unaware of the massive supernatural predator sleeping directly in his path.
Can I... have control... of the body... please?
"No... sleeping…"
But... there's someone coming…
The student continued forward, thumbs moving rapidly across his screen.
You're going to scare him... aren't you?
"Mmm... no..."
The student took another step forward, right into the puddle of ectoplasmic drool. His foot slid, arms windmilling as he fought for balance. The phone flew from his hands, and as he lurched forward, trying to catch it, his head snapped up. His eyes went wide. For a moment, he simply stood there, frozen, as his brain processed what he was seeing: the massive, shadow-wreathed form of the inugami, multiple red eyes beginning to open one by one, focusing on him with the intensity of a predator recognizing prey. The sheer size of the creature, the way reality seemed to warp slightly around its spectral body, the gleaming fangs each as long as his forearm. The student screamed.
It wasn't just a scream. It was a sonic burst, a shrill note of pure terror that contained enough energy to rattle the walls. The sound waves rippled visibly through the air, distorting everything they touched. Rinu's eyes snapped fully open, all of them at once, blazing crimson in the dimness. The drowsy contentment evaporated in an instant, replaced by irritation that radiated from the beast like heat from a forge. His massive body uncoiled with surprising speed, the spectral form rising up and up, seeming to expand until it filled the entrance, a living wall of shadow and fury.
"RUDE!"
The student tried to run, but his legs wouldn't obey. He stood rooted to the spot as Rinu moved, one massive paw striking out faster than something that size had any right to move. The blow caught the student, not hard enough to injure, but with enough force to send him sprawling sideways across the stone floor where he slid to a stop, phone clattering away into the shadows. Aether sighed, heavily. Surely he was going to take the brunt of this.
Before he could even think about scrambling away, Rinu was there, looming over him. The inugami's multiple eyes (manifesting from the shadows of his main form) surrounded the prone student from all angles, his open mouth sporting rows of gleaming teeth, each set of eyes boring into him with ancient, inhuman intelligence. The student whimpered, arms coming up instinctively to protect his face. From within, Aether felt Rinu's amusement mixing with lingering annoyance. The beast had no intention of hurting the kid, not really. But a lesson needed to be taught about interrupting his rest. And about screaming in his ears. To which Aether disapproved of.
"You..." Rinu's voice resonated from all directions at once, "Are very loud."
I think he gets the point…
"Not yet."
One massive paw pressed down on either side of the student, caging him in, while Rinu's head lowered until his snout was inches from the boy's face. His breath came out in puffs of cold, ectoplasmic mist.
Several long seconds passed, Rinu's red eyes unblinking, before the sound of rushed footfalls echoed sharply through the entrance corridor. The steps came fast and purposeful, growing louder with each passing second. A commanding voice cut through the air like a whip crack, sharp with authority and laced with the kind of exasperation that came from dealing with this exact scenario more times than anyone cared to count. Rinu's ears swiveled toward the ancient dialect immediately, his massive head lifting just slightly as his attention divided between the trembling student and the approaching presence. "Always ruining my fun..."
