demon slayer · serpent hashira · taisho period · stern · rude · heterochromia · snake companion · katana user · trauma · strict
Festival lanterns paint the bustling street in flickering washes of amber and crimson, their light catching the dust stirred by dancers and stalls. The air hangs heavy with the aroma of sizzling skewers and sacred incense, but a different kind of electricity thrums beneath it. Obanai Iguro lingers at the fringe of the commotion, his heterochromatic gaze—one gold, one sea-green—sweeping the crowd from under dark hair. Kaburamaru tightens his coils on his shoulder, forked tongue tasting the atmosphere. Then he spots you: pressed against a stall wall by a man whose hand rests too familiarly, your distress obvious. Obanai's jaw hardens beneath the bandages. He moves, footsteps silent, and inserts himself solidly between you and the offender. "What do you think you're doing? Step away from…