Kaigaku fled faster than a startled rabbit and vanished in an instant. Only then did the Sapphire Star turn back and slap Inosuke's rock-hard back.
"Not bad, kid! Haven't seen you in a while, and you've really grown. You've learned some restraint!"
Inosuke was grimacing as he tried to tighten his cracked Boar Headgear back into place. He paused at her words. "Huh? What're you talking about?"
"That bastard..." The Sapphire Star jerked her chin toward where Kaigaku had disappeared.
"When he used Thunder Breathing to kick your head, I saw it clearly. For a second, you wanted to use your Breathing Style to hit back, didn't you? But you actually held off and only used it to defend!"
"Hmph!" Inosuke whipped his head away. "I'm not a piece of trash like him!" He clenched his fists as if he wanted to punch the air.
"Tanjiro's big speeches, Zenitsu's blubbering, all the crap everyone else keeps saying... I've been listening! Sure, I grew up wild in the mountains, and nobody taught me all that complicated stuff, but I'm not a bad guy!"
The Sapphire Star's gaze lingered on his trademark Boar Headgear, curiosity stirring. "Speaking of which, that thing..."
"My boar mom raised me!" Inosuke cut in, craning his neck stubbornly. "Don't ask about anything else!"
"Sure." The Sapphire Star promptly shut her mouth. Her gaze swept over his flat belly-which immediately let out an earth-shaking series of gurgles.
"...What? I'm just hungry!" Inosuke snapped. Beneath his headgear, his ears turned suspiciously red.
The Sapphire Star rose and slipped into the woods. Before long, she had pinned a wild deer with her bare hands. A professional hunter taking on this world's wildlife was honestly a bit of an unfair matchup. (Deer: Speak up for me!)
The campfire crackled, and the