Work Text:
Inosuke wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, that was for sure. He didn’t know a lot of words still even though every chance he and Tanjirou got, the burgundy-haired boy was teaching him everything he knew. Inosuke was able to read and write now ever since becoming a Pillar, and it was all thanks to Tanjirou. They spent a lot of time together now that Muzan was long gone. They still had plenty of demons to eliminate across the region, but they had no leader; no hierarchy. While mostly being a peaceful life, they fought demons and they had close calls as a result.
Inosuke could count on one hand how many times he had been scared for his life and Tanjirou’s now that he could actually count. He never counted before the battle with Muzan as he was still surprised that they lived through any of that; he couldn’t remember much from back then anyway. Maybe it was all of the headbutting…
Inosuke remembered the five times he thought he was going to lose Tanjirou. Weirdly enough, they had all been from battles with demons after Muzan’s death. It almost seemed like without a leader, the demons went more feral than they already were. They became ballistic, using techniques that the two had never seen before.
The first time was a month or so after the Final Battle, and they were mostly done grieving the fallen. Inosuke and Tanjirou were sent on a mission quite close to the Final Selection grounds, closer to the Wisteria Trees than they thought any demon would dare go. Inosuke remembered coming face to face with a large, putrid-colored demon, laughing hysterically in the night. As soon as the demon saw them, he began throwing large metal disks at them, the two of them just barely dodging out of the way. They didn’t know what to expect even after fighting against so many different blood techniques. Inosuke definitely didn’t expect the disk to explode like an atomic bomb. He thought they were similar to that old Sound Pillar’s exploding techniques.
“Kentarou, watch out!” Inosuke shouted as he leaped towards a disk that was headed straight for Tanjirou’s head. He was already dealing with the aftermath of two other explosions. Inosuke knew that if they didn’t act fast, they would both be dead in a second. He managed to parry one of the disks away from Tanjirou’s head, making it explode a few feet away from them instead. Tanjirou dodged one and blocked another, sending it flying and detonating in mid-air.
“When I get one, two more take its place,” Inosuke gritted out as swiped at another disk. He faintly heard the demon cackling from what seemed like all around them.
“We need to find a way to get closer to him. If I could just-” Tanjirou gasped and pain flashed across his face. Inosuke felt a rush of panic as he saw a disk and then an explosion a few inches from Tanjirou’s back.
“Monjirou!” Inosuke yelled as he saw Tanjirou being blown a few feet away from the blast. He landed face first and his uniform was on fire. He wasn’t getting back up. Inosuke gritted his teeth and bared his fangs under his mask as he tore through three more disks, running towards the laughing, maniacal monster in front of him. A scream tore through his throat and he launched his Sixth Fang attack on the demon, slicing off the creature’s head.
He didn’t remember a lot after that besides putting out the fire on Tanjirou’s uniform and trying in vain to wake him. He was unconscious but breathing, and Inosuke knew he needed to get him back to the Butterfly Estate. He remembered running for what seemed like forever, but it felt like nothing compared to the anxiety he was feeling in his heart over Tanjirou’s well being.
Tanjirou ended up having third degree burns on the right side of his back, stretching from his waist to the end of his shoulder blade. He had to lay on his stomach or side for a month while Aoi and the girls cleaned the wound every day until it was healed. He also had two broken ribs from the landing after the blast, but other than that he was fine and would recover.
“You know,” Tanjirou whispered when he and Inosuke were alone after everyone went to sleep. “I’m glad you were there, I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t… Thank you.” Tanjirou smiled at the boar boy, the candlelight highlighting his cheekbones. Inosuke felt his heart skip a beat and he was sure Tanjirou could feel his temperature rise.
“Of course! The great Inosuke will always be there for his subordinates!” He posed dramatically and he felt Tanjirou pat the top of his mask. Heat bloomed in his cheeks again and he faltered in his pose slightly. Inosuke promised himself one thing at that moment.
He vowed that this would be the last time that they had a scare like this.
--------
The second time was similar to the first, only they both came out scathed and bleeding. They hobbled back to the Estate, stopping every few steps to breathe through the pain.
“Just a little more, Sentarou,” Inosuke hoisted Tanjirou up onto his back when the boy stumbled for the millionth time. This demon had used poison on them and it was ruthless on Tanjirou. Every ragged breath the boy took went right to Inosuke’s soul.
“Ino… Inosuke,” Tanjirou whimpered and Inosuke faltered slightly, but kept his pace up. “You’re hurt too. You… you can’t,” Tanjirou trailed off as he passed out. Inosuke sped up his pace to a jog.
Inosuke would never admit it, but he was probably more in tune with Tanjirou’s body than his own. He knew when he was pushing himself too hard. He knew when he was getting sick, when he was getting tired, or when he was hungry. Tanjirou was always open with most of his emotions, but if they inconvenienced anyone else, he would keep them hidden. Inosuke knew though and he would be there for Tanjirou in a heartbeat.
Just like this, Inosuke felt Tanjirou’s heart slowing as if it was his own. The poison was taking over his body like back in the Red Light District. Inosuke didn’t know if he could handle another two month coma from the Kamado man.
He will be fine. We’re almost at the house. He has to be fine!
That was Inosuke’s mantra as he kept his mind on Tanjirou’s faint beating heart against his back. Inosuke felt each step as pain went up the soles of his feet through his legs and to his chest. It was hell, but Inosuke would travel through anything for the man on his back.
He saw the Butterfly Estate in the distance. If he had any extra energy, he would have yelled for Aoi or the three girls.
Just a little more, Inosuke.
He gritted his teeth and ran as fast as his fatigued legs would let him. He scratched at the wooden doors to the Estate and slumped slightly forward, feeling the weight of Tanjirou hit him all at once.
“H-help…” Inosuke stuttered out as the doors opened and he fell forward on his knees, passing out like the boy on his back.
Later, when Inosuke awoke, he was disoriented and starving. He blinked his eyes a few times before he focused on the ceiling above him. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep or what had happened to Tanjirou. Tanjirou.
He jolted slightly and winced as his chest muscles constricted in pain. He looked around and his eyes fell on the bed next to him. In it, there was a sleeping Kamado boy and Inosuke let himself smile slightly as he saw his chest rise and fall. He was alive.
--------
That had only been scare number two and Inosuke was already tired of it. It had only been a few months when the third time came around and Inosuke was ready to go up and fight whatever god was making these situations happen.
They were both recovering from their last mission when they were assigned a mission where two demons had been sighted working together. One witness said they had seen a whip-like weapon and a flash before their companion was captured and taken away. That was all the two Pillars needed to set out on their mission.
When they arrived, Tanjirou commented that it smelled horrible, even in the town. Inosuke noticed too even though no nose could rival Tanjirou’s. It was as if the demon existed in the town as a whole and the boys were immediately on their guard.
“Hehe… Two Pillars, huh?” Inosuke heard a voice from behind him and he whipped around, a grayish-blue demon peering at him and Tanjirou about ten feet away, whip in hand. Tanjirou’s face hardened when another demon appeared in front of them, this one being a red-orange color.
“Think we can take them out, brother?” the red one spoke and grinned in a way that made Inosuke’s blood curdle. Tanjirou breathed deeply beside him, as calm as ever. It was as if Tanjirou sent waves of emotion over to Inosuke and he felt that same calm come over him.
“Oh, of course we can, brother,” the blue demon’s voice was sickly-sweet and Inosuke felt the need to vomit. Tanjirou touched his hand slightly, squeezing it once before releasing.
“I have your back,” this was all Tanjirou said before he lept toward the red demon, black blade at the ready. Inosuke nodded, even though Tanjirou couldn’t see it, and he heard the clang of metal against metal. He didn’t remember seeing a sword in the demon’s hand. He ignored the thought and turned his head towards the sickly-looking demon. He grinned ferally under his mask.
“What the hell are you supposed to be with that ugly boar mask?” The demon chuckled and twisted the whip in his hand. Inosuke’s grin widened, not fully having abandoned his wild side.
“Your worst nightmare,” Inosuke muttered and charged headstrong towards the abomination, swords blocking lashings from the whip. He flipped over the demon’s head and predicted an attack, catching and wrapping the end of the whip around one of his swords. He plunged it into the ground and grinned as the demon pulled on the handle.
“Too easy, demon! Was this really all you could do? Just the whip?” Inosuke laughed as the demon tried to pull the whip from the sword, but it wouldn’t budge. Inosuke opened his mouth to say something else when he felt it. Something twisted in his stomach and he looked behind him at Tanjirou. His eyes widened as he saw Tanjirou dangling from the demon’s grasp. The demon had only one arm, the other lying limp on the ground having been cut off by the Pillar, but the arm was huge. How had it doubled in size?
“Gonpachirou!” Inosuke grabbed his lone sword, forgetting about the zombie demon in front of him in favor of saving Tanjirou. His Tanjirou.
He screamed in anger as he saw the demon squeeze Tanjirou’s head. He lunged for it’s arm, swirling his body and slicing the thick muscle. The limb dropped to the ground and Tanjirou went with it. Inosuke ran to his side, checking him over. He had a large handprint going from one side of his face to the other, red and blue already appearing on his soft skin. He was whining softly and clutching his eye socket, the hold having broken it.
Inosuke touched Tanjirou’s face as gently as he could and he looked into his eyes. His left eye seemed to be crushed, blood pouring from everywhere. Tanjirou went to stand but Inosuke stopped him.
“I’ve got this. Work on slowing the blood flow or whatever you do with breathing,” Inosuke lifted his mask slightly and gave him a weak smile. “The great Inosuke of the mountain’s got you.” With that, Inosuke let go of Tanjirou’s cheek and turned towards the two demons, now standing side by side.
“Well, I’ve only got one sword, but the one and only Beast Pillar will cut you down; no doubt about it,” Inosuke cackled wildly as he lept slicing the whip demon’s head off easily and flipping to grab his other sword from the ground.
“And this one is for my Sentarou,” he said with finality, using his Third Fang to cut the monster’s throat with both swords. He landed with a huff on the ground and walked to Tanjirou. He hoisted the boy up and put his arm over his shoulder.
“You really are amazing, Ino. You seem to be saving me a lot lately,” Tanjirou trailed off, still clutching his eye. “I’m sorry for not being strong enough.” Inosuke shook his head slightly and hit Tanjirou on the head gently.
“You are strong, dummy,” He wasn’t very good at reassuring Tanjirou the normal way, but he’s been trying to learn little by little. “You became a Pillar didn’t you? Now, come on, your eye is going to fall out of your head.” Inosuke ruffled Tanjirou’s hair and picked up the pace toward the Butterfly Estate.
--------
Tanjirou’s eye wasn’t salvagable as when the demon squeezed, the optic nerve was severed from the eye itself. Tanjirou wore an eye patch on his left eye now, and Inosuke thought it made him look even more attractive, if that were even possible. It was another few months when the next incident happened.
Inosuke was worried about Tanjirou going on missions because his spatial awareness was still off from the missing eye, but he reassured the wild boy that he was getting used to it. Inosuke still didn’t feel right about it, but he went along because there was no way he could stop an immovable object like Tanjirou.
Their mission was to eliminate a few demon stragglers still dwelling on Natagumo Mountain. The Corps would have sent lower ranking Slayers, if only there were any. Nobody felt the need to hold the Final Selection anymore because the big threat was gone, and if no Final Selection was held, there wouldn’t be any new recruits to come into the Corps. The job then fell to the Pillars.
They both felt a sense of nostalgia as they headed to the mountain, having very significant fights in their Demon Slayer careers there. They hoped to defeat these demons quickly and be done with the mountain, but that never seems to be the case for them lately. All of the demons they had faced lately were tougher than they seemed. They were all running rampant, almost as if all of Muzan’s power was dispersed among the rest of the demons that were alive. It was a curious thought that Tanjirou mentioned to Inosuke when they first started fighting demons after Muzan’s death.
Inosuke didn’t have much to say intellectually about it, but he did make Tanjirou feel better about the sick feeling that was growing in the pit of his stomach every day. Cuddling was enough to make Tanjirou feel better on days when he was feeling his worst.
The first few demons that they encountered on the mountain were relatively easy to deal with, if a bit confusing to understand as their power felt like it was fluctuating. Inosuke and Tanjirou were grateful that they didn’t have to traverse the whole mountain-side. The Corps sent another group of high-ranking Slayers, like Zenitsu, to dispose of any possible demons on the other part of the mountain.
Tanjirou and Inosuke came to a small clearing. After using Inosuke’s Seventh Style, his spatial awareness, they were able to locate the strongest demon on the mountain. They left him for last, picking off the weaker demons around the base of the mountain and around where the strongest was dwelling. When the two laid their eyes on the demon, he didn’t seem any different from any of the other they had faced previously, besides the fact that Tanjirou could smell that he held more power than the other had. This demon was stronger, but also more feral than the others were. It growled at the two like a hungry wolf, sniffing the air and grinning.
The demon was fast, launching an attack immediately and making both of the Pillars dodge in separate ways. Inosuke found himself landing on a tree branch and Tanjirou jumped a few feet away from the demon.
“It seems like this guy doesn’t have a lot of intelligence. A lot of speed, but no brain,” Inosuke shouted to Tanjirou as the other dodged some minor attacks from the enemy.
“He definitely seems like he’s acting with just bloodlust,” Tanjirou yelled back to his companion and Inosuke laughed wildly as the demon completely ignored Inosuke and focused solely on Tanjirou. It was completely exposing himself to the Beast Pillar.
“Better now than later, they say. Hahaha! It’s Inosuke the Great’s turn!” Inosuke lept from the branch, straight towards the demon, only he wasn’t there anymore.
In a flash, the demon was behind Tanjirou’s left side. Tanjirou turned, not being able to see far enough, and barely missed a claw to the neck. He kept turning, equilibrium completely off from the missing eye, and twisted his ankle in a hole he hadn’t seen.
“Monjirou!” Inosuke ran towards the brunette and caught the demon’s next attack with his swords. “What happened? Missing eye getting to you?!” Inosuke sounded almost taunting, but Tanjirou knew he didn’t mean it that way.
“Yeah, I guess a little bit. I thought I could handle it, but I tripped on a hole in the ground and twisted my ankle,” Tanjirou told the man above him, protecting him. He winced as he tried to move his injured foot. The walk back to the Estate would be hell.
“Do you have this? I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I can move this foot.” Tanjirou asked and groaned inwardly. He sounded like a damsel in distress and he hated it.
“Of course, I’ve got this. Leave it to the great Inosuke!” It was the only reply Tanjirou got before he saw Inosuke flip around and immediately slice both of his swords through the demon’s neck.
“See? No need to worry when I’m here, hahaha!” Inosuke posed and laughed for a minute before coming over to help the injured Tanjirou. “Didn’t I say that you weren’t ready? You shouldn’t put yourself so far.”
“Yeah, well, if I don't push myself, how am I going to stay at your level?” Tanjirou grinned up at the boar headed man he was leaning on and he heard the other scoff.
“Yeah, sure, Tontarou! You’ll never be at the level of the great Inosuke!” Inosuke laughed once again and Tanjirou shook his head, but smiled nonetheless.
--------
A few months after Tanjirou sprained his ankle and let his spatial awareness come back to him, he was given a mission to go on alone. This was something Inosuke whined to Tanjirou about the whole day he was preparing to leave.
“Gonpachirou, we always go on missions together! Take me with you!” Inosuke demanded as Tanjirou packed food into his bag for the trip. It wouldn’t be a very long one, but it would take at least a day and a half to go there and back.
“Inosuke, you know I can’t take you. What if your crow comes with orders for you?” Tanjirou asked him and Inosuke huffed like a child. He didn’t care about some stupid crow or stupid orders. Right now, his priority was Tanjirou and nothing else. He didn’t like all of these bad things happening to Tanjirou. What if something happened to him while he was alone on this mission? It left a bad taste in Inosuke’s mouth.
“I don’t care about the stupid crow or any stupid orders!” Inosuke was angry that he couldn’t be there to protect Tanjirou if need be, but he knew that if he told Tanjirou, it would make him feel weak. Tanjirou looked at him, exasperatedly.
“Inosuke, I know you don’t mean that. Now, you’re going to stay here in case you get orders and I’ll be fine.” Tanjirou said with the finality that Inosuke knew he couldn’t argue with. Tanjirou grabbed his bag and put it around his shoulders. He turned toward Inosuke and gave him one of his best Tanjirou smiles. Inosuke knew he couldn’t be too mad when Tanjirou gave him one of those smiles.
“Listen, you know I love you, Ino,” Tanjirou lifted the mask and placed a small kiss on Inosuke’s cheek, not missing the blush that immediately spread across the man’s face. “Be good while I’m gone.” Inosuke flushed hotly under his mask but followed his boyfriend out to the front of the estate.
Tanjirou waved to him as he left and Inosuke watched him go for a moment before returning to the house, slightly defeated. What was he going to do now that Tanjirou wasn’t here to entertain him? He decided he would raid the kitchen and maybe bother Zenitsu for a while until Tanjirou returned tomorrow.
Inosuke didn’t expect to be woken from his sleep by a screech, but that was what happened and his gut immediately told him to get up and move. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew that he very clearly heard one of the girl’s shout Tanjirou’s name. He ran faster than he felt he ever had.
“What happened?!” He shouted when he got to the infirmary room, where they had Tanjirou lying on a white bed, covered in cuts and bruises. Inosuke’s blood boiled under his skin.
“He’s fine. He just collapsed outside of the Estate, so I thought something worse was wrong. Right now it looks like cuts and bruises and maybe a few broken ribs. He probably collapsed from fatigue,” Aoi spoke as she worked on bandaging Tanjirou’s wounds.
“I swear, I’m not ever letting him out of my sight again,” Inosuke hadn’t even realized he’d said those words until they were out of his mouth, but he didn’t feel like being embarrassed. Frankly, he had no capacity to be embarrassed at that moment. All his emotions swirled around at once inside of him, but the biggest one was relief.
--------
Inosuke had been glued to Tanjirou’s side since he had come home from his mission. He never wanted to leave him and he’d never felt something as strongly as this. It was summer and almost Tanjirou’s eighteenth birthday. The Butterfly Estate was planning a big party for him, even going as far as to invite Nezuko, Zenitsu, and some of the other Pillars who were retired. Inosuke just wanted his Tanjirou to be happy, so he couldn’t wait for him to see everyone again.
Tomorrow was the day of the party and the two of them couldn’t sleep. Tanjirou was too excited to see Nezuko, Zenitsu, and maybe even Giyuu, and Inosuke couldn’t ever sleep lately unless he knew that Tanjirou was sound asleep.
“Are you excited to see everyone tomorrow?” Tanjirou asked, excitement laced in his low voice. Inosuke huffed slightly, eyes closed. He cracked them open to see Tanjirou’s grinning face and he sighed, smirking slightly. He sat up and stretched, yawning and scratching his bare chest.
“I’m excited to annoy the shit out of Monitsu,” Inosuke replied, plainly. Tanjirou just stared at him and let out a tiny giggle.
“You shouldn’t be so mean to hi-” Tanjirou stopped at the end of his sentence and sniffed the air. Inosuke looked at him questioningly.
“What’s-” Inosuke was about to ask, but Tanjirou clapped a hand over his mouth. He made a ‘shh’ gesture with his other hand.
“Don’t you notice that? It smells like a demon and fire,” Inosuke was about to question the fire part, but then it hit him and he smelled the same thing.
Suddenly, the Estate shook and a loud crash and bang was heard from below them. They both snapped their heads to the window and saw smoke start to billow from the first floor.
“Shit! We have to get out of here!” Inosuke shouted as he pulled Tanjirou out of the room by his wrist. He entered the hallway and had to cover his mouth from the smoke. Tanjirou pulled back on him to get his attention.
“What about the others?! We can’t just leave them!” Tanjirou yelled as another bang came from the other side of the house. Tanjirou pulled them downstairs and towards the other rooms, but Inosuke wouldn’t let go.
“Inosuke, let go! We have to help the others! What if they need our help?” Inosuke could barely see his pained face in between the smoke and rubble, but it was there. “I… I can’t just leave them.”
“No, we have to leave. We just have to hope they get out.” Inosuke pulled Tanjirou once more, but he wouldn’t budge. Inosuke’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach.
“No, Ino. I won’t. I can’t just stand by.” Another clash was heard from above them and Inosuke looked at the ceiling. It was just barely holding on and they had to get out now.
“T-Tanjirou, please,” Inosuke knew that using Tanjirou’s name would get him to pause. It worked and the man looked at him, a hurt look in his eyes. “Please, the house is going to collapse, we have to go.” The house shook again and Tanjirou grabbed Inosuke for balance.
“Okay. Okay, let’s go.” Tanjirou finally let himself be led towards the exit and Inosuke hugged him close to his chest as they headed to the exit.
Another loud boom was heard very close above them and they both knew that the ceiling was going to fall. Inosuke went as fast as possible through all of the rubble and smoke, but it wasn't fast enough. He heard the ceiling giving way and he felt Tanjirou pushing him towards the exit and away from him.
“Tan-Tanjirou, what are you doing?!” Inosuke saw him mouth the word ‘go!’ but he couldn’t hear him through the crashing. Tanjirou pushed him one last time with all the strength he had in him.
“Tanjirou!” The rubble came crashing down and Inosuke forced himself to move out of the front door of the Estate.
He coughed and looked up at the burning house. He didn’t see the demon anywhere or sense it at all. He saw Aoi and the others a few feet away, crying and singed.
“Inosuke! Are you okay?” Aoi looked him up and down quickly before she noticed something missing. “Where’s Tanjirou?”
Inosuke looked at the ground; he couldn’t face her. He really wished he had his mask right now, but it went up in flames like his love.
“He’s gone.”
--------
In the rubble, they found two hanafuda earrings, but Inosuke was already long gone. He knew in his soul that Tanjirou was gone and he had nothing to say about it. He retreated to the mountain that he came from before he was a Demon Slayer, before he met Tanjirou. He stood at the top of the mountain and looked up at the sky, not understanding why fate would give Tanjirou to him only to take him away from him.
He found himself screaming at the top of his lungs, if only to take some of the pressure off of his heart. He knew it wouldn’t work, things like that never did. The one thing he learned from Tanjirou was that only time could heal the gash in his heart. Only time could bring him closer and closer to Tanjirou.