“......Tch…..Mnnngh…”

Kintoki’s eyes slowly fluttered open, just barely peeking out past a disheveled set of sunglasses. His thoughts were a fog, murky and unclear as he strained to collect himself. It felt as though a sort of demonic presence danced around him. Something unseen and intangible, and yet elating in the fact he now stirred. He felt a familiar grin in that presence. One leering at him from seemingly all angles.

Quickly fighting off his fatigue, Kintoki rose to his feet and took in his surroundings. That of a pristine, beautiful beach at the edge of a multicolored and otherworldly sea. An awe-inspiring sight were it not for the fact that he recognized this shoreline. A survey of the land itself confirmed what he expected. Opposite the beach stood the beginnings of a long and winding mountain pass. One that led up towards a mountainous peak in the shape of a horned skull. A bone-chilling sight at the best times, but one woefully familiar to any who considered themselves a demon slayer. Especially since Kintoki had traveled these paths once before. 

Onigashima. 

But...how had he come to this place? Had he been called to this place through some quirk of his Servant origin? Was this some sort of illusion or trap from an enemy of some sort? Was he simply reliving an old memory? Or was his Master somehow…

“…! Master!”

Alarm shot through the man’s body as Kintoki hurriedly scanned the beach, stopping only when his eyes fell upon a familiar red-haired woman clad in white. Unconscious right where the tides met the sands.

“Master!”

Ritsuka Fujimaru did not respond. Not to Kintoki’s voice, nor to his rapid approach. The blonde servant took his Master into his arms and rolled her around, shaking her to no avail. Frustration and concern wrinkled the man’s brow. Was his Master already...No. No, she was still breathing. He still felt the magical energy that gave him physical form flowing out from her. She was fine. Just unconscious and...flustered?

Frowning, Kintoki brought a gloved hand to Ritsuka’s brow. Feverish. Though not from any sort of sickness he could discern. No, she almost seemed…

That was when he noticed the scent. The incredibly potent, almost toxic stench of alcohol. The sort that no human could ever consume without perishing. Alcohol of such demonic strength that simply breathing it in was enough to render his Master hopelessly drunk. 

“I was wondering when you would notice. Poor Boy, always so quick to jump to action but so slow to use that head of yours. You really should learn from Master and relax~” 

Much like his surroundings, the voice was familiar to Kintoki. It was louder than he was used to, almost like it was spoken right beside him, but there was no mistaking that sense of honey against his ears. The chills that coursed his spine and the goosebumps that broke out across his body. The shuddering sensation that somehow walked a line between bone-chilling terror and erotic temptation. It was a voice that Kintoki heard almost every day.

“Shuten Douji.”

Kintoki stood with Ritsuka buried in his arms, his expression uneasy as he scanned the mountainside and assorted forestry for any sign of the devious oni. Despite how clear her voice rang in his ears, she was nowhere to be seen.

“So serious.” Shuten sulked. “Just once I wouldn’t mind hearing you say my name the same way you do Master’s. Wouldn’t that be lovely? Taking my bare body into your strong embrace and-”

“Shuten.” Kintoki said a bit more firmly. A front of bravado betrayed by the lone bead of sweat trickling down his cheek. “S-Show yourself.”

A moment of silence. He could almost feel Shuten’s eyes studying him for a moment. A look of pity perhaps? Or amusement? It was broken by a giggle, one that was almost deafeningly loud. “But Boy…”

“I’m right here.”

Kintoki had to shield his Master as a mighty gust of wind blasted across the island. Seas parted and the stormy skies split as though all that existed was unceremoniously shoved aside. Though it wasn’t a clear night sky that laid behind that dark gray curtain.

It was Shuten.

“A….A…..Ah…” Words caught in Kintoki’s throat as he took a hesitant step back. His mind was blank as far above him the grand visage of the oni unpursed its lips and retreated backwards. That incredible burst of wind that could split the seas - that was her blowing. 

“Though I suppose you can’t be blamed. You are only human after all…”

Her words were paradoxically soft and sultry, and yet they shuddered with the might of absolute thunder. It seemed impossible to even begin to fathom the sheer scale of Shuten at that moment. Her face, framed by lustrous violet hair, loomed miles above everything and was massive enough to fill the heavens with her impossibly beautiful features. Dark eyes as large as mountain ranges stared down at Kintoki from on high, somehow singling him out from the countless other specks beneath her. Her every breath was an alcohol-laden breeze that gusted over all, breaking apart more clouds to expose the borders of this world Kintoki now found himself in. 

“T-That’s not possible…” He muttered in disbelief.

At the edge of the sea and just below Shuten’s neck was a smooth red wall. A grand barrier that surrounded Onigashima on all sides. Miles and miles out, but also miles and miles high. Surrounding it at key points were equally monolithic ivory pillars - Shuten’s fingertips. The challenge was not identifying what it meant, but reconciling that fact with the reality he now faced. This was unlike any sort of spell or Noble Phantasm he had ever seen, and yet he had no choice but to accept what his eyes and mind told him. He knew what this was. How could he not? After all, Shuten Douji was never seen anywhere without a cup of sake in her hands.

A cup he, his master, and all of Onigashima now found themselves lost within.

“Fufu~” Shuten chuckled in a low, rumbling tone. Her each and every word came out slowly and deliberately, dragging out each syllable with skin-tingling mastery. “What a lovely face you’re making right now, Boy. Like that of a butterfly caught in a web. Careful...If you keep making such a wonderfully terrified expression I might just…” Her tongue, a great pink world serpent, danced across her plush lips. “...have to eat you up.”

Kintoki’s blood turned to ice, the man turning on his heels and sprinting off on nothing but survival instinct. Despite all appearances otherwise, it was not a woman watching at him, but an oni. A very large, very powerful, very dangerous oni. With Ritsuka nestled safely in his arms, Kintoki made for safety as fast as he could. “Master! Wake up Master! Come on!” He shook the young woman in his grasp, earning only drunken mumbles and sheepish grunts. It was no use, this place had rendered her all but useless; and her purpose had been served. She had been a means to an end. A means of bringing Kintoki here, into Shuten’s web. 

From the heavens, Shuten frowned, her eyes quietly studying the man as he fled from her. “Silly Boy, I know it must look like such a biiiig island to you, but to me it’s just a bit of dirt in my cup.” She teased with a drunken lilt to her voice. “You could sail for weeks on end, and all I would have to do is…” 

All of a sudden Kintoki felt the world shift around him. The flat surface of the island was suddenly at a steep, almost vertical angle as waves of oceanic sake crashed against its shores from above. He nearly fell from the island entirely had he not managed to claw his fingers into the earth. The rationale of what had happened seemed ludicrous when compared to the absolute chaos of the situation. Onigashima was almost on its side and the ocean gushed over the landmass from above. A torrential downpour of sake crashed into Kintoki and ripped him from the ground, slamming him into the base of Onigashima’s mountain. Pain surged from within as he clutched Ritsuka as tight as he could, his Master blissfully slumbering in ignorance. 

All of this because Shuten tipped her wrist ever so slightly. 

That was all it took to cause the apocalypse. So long as everything was safely within her fingers, there was no escape. Shuten was many things, but here she was absolute. That message rang painfully clear as the sake seas settled themselves and all began to reorient back to normal. Kintoki fell to his knees with Ritsuka still in his embrace, coughing up mouthfuls of booze.

“What a waste of good sake.” The gigantic oni mused. “Is it really that bad? I for one think it would be fun, wouldn’t you? Here we can drink and cut loose and enjoy each other to our heart’s content. I’m sure Master would love to join in too.” Shuten chuckled. “We could ravish each other for days on end and then bring our blades at each other’s throats until the seas are red with our blood. Every drink a shared kiss. Every broken bone another thrust of our-”

“Not with Master.” Kintoki interjected. “You can play your games all you want with me, but endangering Master like this?” He stared seriously at the looming visage in the heavens. Cutting quite the impressive figure for a man soaked head to toe in sake. “I won’t let you.”

Once again Shuten’s smile dimmed. She regarded Kintoki with something between disappointment and confusion, but then came a dramatic shrug. “Such a good Boy. You’ve been listening to the Cow too much again I see. Oh well…” Shuten sighed, her breath blasting the island again. “That’s what makes you fun I suppose. Even if you are a killjoy. I like a man who sticks to his principles. Even if he has nothing to back them.” 

Another chuckle rumbled from the heavens, something about this one bringing a change to Shuten’s expression. It was subtle, but the air shifted to something more menacing. Her gaze grew more...inhuman; and her fangs bared themselves in a wicked grin.

“Very well. If you will play the hero, then I will play the man eating villain, and wouldn’t you know it? Look at where you are.”

“Ah-”

Nothing could’ve prepared Kintoki for what came next. As Shuten’s immense lips began to split apart. Lines of saliva connecting her mouth began to break as her cup was brought upwards and began to tilt once again. It didn’t stop until the warm, humid chasm of the oni’s gullet laid beneath it. Like a gateway to Hell itself. 

Nobody, not even a Heroic Spirit, could’ve done anything as the seas descended the edge of the cup and down into Shuten’s mouth, bringing with it all of Onigashima and, by proxy, Kintoki and Ritsuka both. Even now he valiantly held onto his Master, determined to shield her to the end as the island sank to the depths all around them. Roaring tides devastated the trees and broke apart the mountainside while countless lesser demons and other creatures native to it were all swept in the riptide. Kintoki and his Master were no exception either, holding out until the tides swept them away too. 

Each moment brought it all closer to the unending waterfall at the edge of their world. A drunken blush warmed Shuten’s cheeks as she greedily swallowed mouthful after mouthful of her drink until Onigashima, and all who once stood upon it, were cast out into the open air. The last little serving before the cup was dry as it would turn out. The island crashed upon the bed of the giant’s tongue and broke apart into unrecognizable debris atop it. Other demons were less fortunate, many meeting unfortunate ends against the ivory mountains of Shuten’s teeth or in the depths of her gums. Others still missed her mouth entirely and were caught in little droplets that slid down the demon’s jaw and along her body. Even fellow demons were not safe, countless perishing all over Shuten.

Kintoki was much like the island itself and landed within the forest of Shuten’s tastebuds. An endless array of pink, fleshy trees savoring every taste of her drink and its added morsels. A delighted hum rumbled from deeper within the cavern of her mouth as the light dimmed, everything growing darker and darker until her lips finally closed. The Servant held onto his Master, unable to do much else as his world shifted again. An idle flick of Shuten’s tongue was enough to send him careening into the sludgy remnants of the island. Lost in total darkness and with no idea what was even happening, Kintoki was tossed and turned and thrashed in the maw of the dainty oni.

All he knew for certain was when it was time for the games to come to an end. All fell still as Kintoki gasped and panted, covered head to toe in half-masticated food and alcoholic saliva. Then his world shifted one final time as Shuten reared her head and all fell towards the back of her throat. To the soft, hellish embrace of her greedy throat muscles that hungrily took everything and sent it along her gullet. A single sensual moan roared over all as Shuten swallowed. Onigashima, the ocean, her Master, and even Kintoki himself were all thrust into an endless freefall; and it was in this final moment that the man’s fear showed itself in a scream as he began the great descent into the pit of Shuten’s stomach.

---------------

“Hmmmm…? What an interesting face you’re making.”

Within a dark, dimly-lit room Shuten chuckled to herself. Beneath her was a certain man with blonde hair and attractive features. One who, despite his incredibly masculine appearance, more closely resembled a child when asleep. A child lost to the throngs of a nightmare evidently, all the color having been drained from his face across the past hour.

“I wonder…” Shuten tilted her head to study the man curiously as she remained mounted over his torso. She leaned in, her face inching ever closer to Kintoki’s own. “Is it a dream about me?” The oni giggled. “Is that wonderful expression meant for me?” She asked again, tracing a lone finger against his jawline. There was no answer of course. Just the ever-so-slightly pained gasp of a man deep within a bad dream.

Shuten paused mere inches away from him, staring intensely at every subtle shift of his expression. “...You’re so terrible, offering me such a wonderful meal when you aren’t even awake to enjoy it.” She pouted with a cute puffed cheek. “...Still...I don’t suppose you’ll mind if I take just a morsel...right Boy?” Her lips curled into a smile as she leaned in, fangs baring themselves. What did she intend to do? Eat him? Kiss him? Often times, Shuten Douji wasn’t even sure. She simply leaned in, the temptation too great to ignore.

“Shu….ten…”

“...!” She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide as she stared at Kintoki’s slumbering form. There she sat for a long while, awaiting more. More never came alas, but rather than lament it, Shuten sighed. A resigned smile hung loosely across her lips. “What a truly terrible, selfish boy.”

Her appetite was spoiled now. Oh well. Shuten pulled away and sidled herself against the man’s side, lithe arms draping themselves across his torso as she nestled her head against him. It was no meal, but things like this were nice in their own way, she supposed. Come dawn she would be treated to a lovely flustered reaction anyway; that would more than make up for it. 

Besides...This was a meal she could have any time she wanted. So there was no rush.