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Drawing his Nichirin sword, he plants his foot firmly behind him, and holds his blade close to the left side his chest. The tip of the blade remains angled at the sky.
The demon before him cackled. She smiled, cracked open lips just touching her bright pink eyes.
Breathe. He exhales heat through his teeth, that familiar warmth of Hinokami Kagura dusting over his face. The demon speaks first, that sadistic grin plastered on her face falls, changing into what he believed to be of faux concern.
“You poor human! You’ve been working so hard, haven’t you? You and your friends have been trying so hard to behead me, all you want to do is kill me.” She smiles, her voice laced with innocence and care. He needed to be careful. This demon wasn’t apart of the 12 Kizuki, but she had good regeneration, and strength enough to pull him apart.
He kicks off, bolting towards her. No good. He swung, but his eyes didn’t find the opening. She ducked down, bringing up her leg and connecting her heel with his jaw. He balanced himself, turning his fall into a flip. Water Breathing, second form. Water Wheel!
His blade sliced through her torso with little to no resistance. He kicked his legs out, allowing him to land on his feet. She snarled, the gash through her chest already sewing itself up. He didn’t give her time to think, before striking at her again. Hinokami Kagura, Flame-!
“Blood Demon Art! Blossoming Heart!”
Suddenly, he couldn’t see. Something filled his senses to the max, and he tumbled over, coughing and trying to clear his eyes. His sense of smell was overwhelmed with a sweet vanilla and lavender. He choked, still desperately trying to clear his eyes. Damnit! Every part of him screamed to get up. To continue; but how was he supposed to do anything like this?! His eyes were watering, and he could hear the demons footsteps grow closer.
Crap, crap, crap! He tried to force himself up, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. What was this?! He couldn’t smell, see or even taste! He felt dizzy. His body began to slack and his mind fuzzed slightly.
Voices. A shout and a cry. Inosuke! Zenitsu! They’d found him! Thank goodness. He heard the demon growl, and the sound of cutting flesh. He could only hope his friends could take it from here.
Inosuke charged headfirst at the demon, shouting and screaming. He swung his swords at her, slicing off an arm and kicking her backwards. She grunted and pushed herself up.
“You’re too late my dears!” She grinned, “I’ve already convinced your friend here that it’s so much nicer to love than hate.”
Inosuke glanced at Tanjiro, who was kneeling down and clutching his head. What did he think he was doing?! There’s a fight clearly going on here! It’s not nap time!
He focused back on the demon. No time to worry about him. He could see Zenitsu wasn’t sharing the same sentiment. He was wide-eyed and goggling at him. Fine!
“You deal with this guy, I’m gonna see Tanpyre-o!” He dashes off to his friend.
“WHAT?! ME?!” Zenitsu cried back.
Focus Tanjiro, focus! His eyes still watered, and his throat felt chalky. What kind of Blood Demon Art was that? He coughed again. His mouth tasted metallic. Blood? Damnit, his mind continued to fog. The demon… that demon. That girl. Wait- no. He panicked. Knowing now what that art was about. He inhaled it. A lot of it. Crap! His thoughts started feeling like they were blurring together.
His eyes stung, body fighting against him the longer he tried to resist. It wanted his mind. His heart. Damnit, “Blossoming Heart” seemed to want him to fall over a demon.
He had to stop it, but he didn’t seem to be changing anything. He heard Inosuke’s voice, and someone coming towards him. If he couldn’t stop it, could he maybe… redirect it? With that single goal in mind, he took a huge gamble, and let it take him.
“Monjiro? PINTYRO!?” He shook his friend aggressively, but he didn’t wake. He felt pressure on his back, and someone kick him away. He shoved himself up the moment he could, and his eyes landed on the demon. She towered over Tanjiro, tracing circles on his shoulder with her claw-like fingers.
Something struck him, and he clenched his fists around his swords. An emotion? He grit his teeth. He found himself really wanting to cut her hands off so she could never touch him like that again.
“Rise, my lovely soldier. Profess your true feelings to your friends.” She cooed.
He watched as Tanjiro pushed his hands into the dirt, shakily dragging his foot forward and pulling himself up. His back was bent, and his hair was messily covering his facial features.
Inosuke tilted his head. Something was off. Tanjiro was clearly struggling to keep himself upright. His movements were weird. Unusually zombie-like. He dragged his eyes up to meet Inosukes, though he supposed it was hard to pinpoint where they sat with his mask on. Instead of the typical red he was used to greeting, they glimmered a similar pink to the demon’s.
His stomach twisted. “KOMPACHIRO, SNAP OUT OF IT!” He shouted, but his friend gave no response. The demon cackled, rubbing his shoulders and ghosting her lips over his ear.
“Express your love, dearest! Confess your true feelings for all to hear!” She threw her hand up for emphasis and snaked the other around his waist.
Tanjiro swayed. Inosuke had never felt so sick in his life. Why wasn’t he trying to help him?! Why was he just standing here?! MOVE DAMNIT! He couldn’t make himself.
His friend tried to choke out a word, but the sound came out wrong. The demon grinned.
“Little louder dearest~ your friends didn’t hear that.”
Tanjiro’s head shifted to the other side. His lips parted, and his managed to croak out:
“In…ino… suke….”
The demon faltered. Inosuke froze, and Zenitsu probably would’ve screamed if he wasn’t so lost for words.
“What?” Her smile vanished completely.
“Inosuke…” he repeated, before stumbling forward, eyes focused on Inosuke. His stumble became almost a run as the demon tried to hold him back.
“What- what is wrong with you?! Why hasn’t- this worked?!” She held him by his jacket collar as he tried desperately to break free.
Inosuke couldn’t help but gape. Tanjiro was… what the hell was he doing?!
Eventually, Tanjiro seemed to come to grips with the fact that he couldn’t escape her grasp like this. Using his sword still clutched in his hand, he swung around, managing to slice off her recently-regenerated arm and knock her down.
She landed on the ground with a thud, Tanjiro climbing on top of her. She tried to fight him off, struggling to hold his wrists.
“What are you doing?!” She shrieked. “You’re supposed to love me! Why are you still trying to decapitate me?! You- you idiot! Why isn’t this working! Bastard!”
He rammed his skull into hers, causing her to lose her grip, and giving him ample opportunity to slice her head off.
It rolled to Inosukes feet. Her glossy eyes shift to look at him.
“What did you do to him?!” Inosuke demanded, grabbing her by her hair. “How do we fix him!?”
“Don’t be such a brat!” She bit back, “Have a little respect, I’m dying here!”
“Answer my question damnit!”
“I don’t know what he did, okay?! He somehow redirected my Blood Demon Art’s focus! That’s not supposed to be possible!”
Her mouth faded, the ashes produced by the Nitchirin sword scattering through the air like dust in wind. Her eyes roll; just a twitch and nothing more. Her hair crumbled in his clenched fist.
Inosuke looked up at Zenitsu, who looked sick to his stomach. He turned his focus back to Tanjiro, who was heaving heavily. He forced himself up, slowly turning back to look at Inosuke.
His eyes still glinted a sickly pink as he smiled dreamily at Inosuke. Tanjiro shuffled forward, throwing his arms around Inosuke and holding him tightly.
“Uhm- Conjure-o?” He muttered.
Tanjiro just hummed happily. He sighed, before scooping up his legs and making his way towards Zenitsu.
“Hey! Zenkeetzu!” He called. The yellow man turned to face him.
“W-Why are you carrying Tanjiro?” He asked with a puzzled expression.
“He won’t let go. Let’s go back. Miss Shiny-boo can deal with a cure or whatever.”
Zenitsu frowned, but the three boys made their way back.
Tanjiro certainly had no problem making himself comfortable in Inosuke’s arms, nuzzling his face into his neck and rubbing his cheek against him. Inosuke shivered, but pushed forward. What in the world was wrong with him?
“Dear god…” Zenitsu mumbled, his voice cracking slightly. “How is he so attached to you? Gosh this is so weird…” Inosuke sighed heavily.
After what felt like forever, they finally arrived at the Butterfly Mansion. He pushed the shoji open, storming inside and plopping himself down. Shinobu frowned slightly.
“Hello to you too Inosuke. Can I help you?”
Zenitsu burst in after him. “SO SORRY ABOUT HIM MISS SHINOBU!”
“It’s fine Zenitsu, will one of you explain what’s going on?”
Inosuke grumbled, muttering the story incoherently. Zenitsu translated for him.
“We were facing a demon on our mission, and it used its Blood Demon Art on Tanjiro. We think it was supposed to make him worship the ground that stupid demon walked on, but he somehow managed to reapply that effect to… Inosuke.”
She stuck her bottom lip out in thought. “Interesting. I’ll need to take a look at him.”
“Good friggin luck, he won’t let go-oaahh?!” His words became babbling as Tanjiro ran his hands along his back. Damnit! His hands were so soft and warm, calluses lined his palms and his fingertips.
Shinobu crossed her arms. “Tanjiro, I’m going to need you to let go of him.”
Tanjiro tightened his grip slightly. “I- I don’t want to…” he mumbled. It was so strange seeing him act so out of character.
“It’s just for a bit. You can do whatever you want to after.”
Before Inosuke could protest, Tanjiro hesitantly peeled himself off him, turning to face the Hashira.
Zenitsu stood up. “I’m gonna get outta here before things get any weirder.”
“WHAT?! YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME HERE-“ Inosuke began, but he was already gone.
Miss Shinobu was taking Tanjiro’s blood. Inosuke turned back to the two of them and sighed heavily.
“This could be an issue.” She concludes, sliding the needle into his arm. He flinched, his other hand finding Inosuke’s. He let his head thud against the wall. It was going to be a long day.
After several hours of trying to mind his own business and having Tanjiro chase him around, he finally just settled on his bed, giving up and letting Tanjiro lay on top of him.
He buried his mask-covered face in the crook of his arm. Tanjiro made himself comfortable on his chest, tracing circles on his stomach.
“What are you doing Sen-try-o?” He asked, forcing his head up to look at him.
“You’re so beautiful Inosuke…” He murmured dreamily. He sounded almost mesmerized as he ran his hands across his muscled stomach. “So unbelievably perfect in every way… did you know that? Do you believe that?”
Inosuke shuddered. Keep it together damnit. This wasn’t even the real Tanjiro! He was under some stupid spell. Not that his words were affecting him at all! “I’m the King of the Mountains, you’re damn right I’m great!”
Tanjiro smiled. “You’re so pretty and wonderful and strong and perfect ‘nd…” he words became muffled as he pushed his face into his stomach. He felt fuzzy. What was this?!
“Gumpachiro…” he clenched his jaw. He felt the warm press of lips against one of his abs, and he jolted up, causing Tanjiro to fall backwards.
His friend’s face fell, knitted with concern. “Y-You can’t just do that!” He exclaimed. God… what was this feeling budding in his stomach? Some kind of warmth, mixed with… want? There’s no way he wanted this. What the hell was going on?! Was he also somehow infected with that stupid Blood Demon Art?!
“I’m sorry, I didn’t- I didn’t mean to make you- I just- I… I’m sorry Inosuke… I- can’t help myself… it’s in my head… coursing through my veins. I can’t… it pains me to be separated from you. Like I’ve lost my purpose in life.”
He felt his breath catch in throat.
“I don’t want to hurt you Inosuke. I… I just want to be close to you… closer… always closer.” Tanjiro crawled towards him slowly, and Inosuke backed up until his back touched the metal barred bedframe.
“My mind is so fuzzy, and I couldn’t care less. I want to be closer. I can’t… I can’t breathe without you. I can’t function, I can’t think!” He was close enough now that he could climb onto his lap. He cupped Inosuke’s face, his eyes themselves pleading with him. “It’s not enough… it’s never enough… I…”
Inosuke, for the first time in his life, had nothing to say. He was completely frozen, lost for words. Tanjiro’s fingers found their way to the hem of his boar-head, pushing it off his head and gently tossing it across the bed. Now with the mask off, he could see the problem more clearly. His eyes were more prominently pink than he thought, and that crazed look in them. So full of desperation and insanity. Finally regaining his composure, he went to push Tanjiro off, but he’d already gotten his hands on him.
He grabbed Inosuke’s wrists before he could push him off, and tied them behind his back. Shit, shit, SHIT! This was bad. This was really bad. He struggled against the bonds, but whatever stupid knots Tanjiro knew, it had made it near impossible to escape. “Tanchikamo, damnit, stop…! Let- let me out of here!”
The horror in Tanjiro’s face at his request made him shiver. “I- I can’t! I can’t let you go. I need you.”
Before Inosuke could respond, Tanjiro caught his lips in a fierce kiss. They were as soft on his lips as they were on his stomach. Soft, sweet and perfect. Crap, he was playing right into this! He was the King of the Mountains for crying out loud! A king shouldn’t fall so easy! He had to stop this. Tanjiro licked his closed lips, seeking entrance. Instead, Inosuke bit the man’s lower lip. Hard.
When Inosuke finally let go, Tanjiro pulled back in shock. He didn’t seem disgusted, more like fascinated. He ran his tongue over the mark, tasting Inosuke’s bite, saliva and his own blood. Then, this horrible look spread across his face, and he grinned ludicrously.
“Beautiful…” he whispered, “It’s perfect. Again…! Bite me again Inosuke! Show me how strong you are! Ravish me! Do what you want with me! I- I can’t take this anymore, I need you! I-“
There was a soft whump, and he stopped, his mouth falling and his eyes closing slowly. His hands slipped off him and he collapsed on the bed. Inosuke’s eyes darted up to meet the closed eyes of Zenitsu, who still had his hand out flat. He must’ve knocked Tanjiro out.
“Menitzu, wake up!” He barked, thrashing violently against his bonds. That seemed to do the trick, as Zenitsu’s eyes shot open, and he yelped at the sight before him.
“I-Inosuke?! Why are you tied up?! Why is Tanjiro knocked out?! What happened here?!” He whined. Damn. Maybe he should’ve kept him asleep.
“Doesn’t matter, untie me!” Inosuke continued to fight his restraints.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” Zenitsu took a look at the knots binding his friend. He frowned nervously. “Uhm, they look tied well. Not sure what kind of knot this is- sorry, what happened to Tanjiro?!”
“Ugh, he’s gone crazy! Tied me up and tried to headbutt me with his mouth!”
“H-HE WHAT??”
“Yeah, it was weird! Can you get me out now!? I hate not being able to move my arms!”
Zenitsu took another look. “I don’t know how to untie these…”
“THEN CUT ME OUT IDIOT!”
“R-RIGHT!”
Zenitsu ran off to find something strong enough to cut whatever Tanjiro had used to tie him up. After he’d left the room, Inosuke took another look at his unconscious friend. He stuck a leg under Tanjiro’s torso and pulled him closer, using the other leg to help. He took the man’s face between his knees.
Blood dripped from his nose and mouth. Would a simple knifehand strike cause him to bleed like this? He thought back to a few minutes ago. That crazed look in his eyes. His absolutely insane words and his stupid soft lips harassing him. He wasn’t sure how to feel about this. On one hand, he was basically attacked and was completely powerless to stop it, which frustrated him to no end. On the other, this new side of his friend made him feel things he couldn’t understand, which confused him.
He thought back to Tanjiro’s words, and made a quick decision. He looked over his friend, before finding a nice spot on his shoulder. Using his legs to push him closer, he sunk his teeth into that spot, almost soft at first, and aggressive right after. He let go and pushed Tanjiro back, blood flowing from the wound. He asked for it.
When Zenitsu came back, he gave Inosuke an earful about biting his friend, despite Inosuke trying to tell him that Tanjiro had specifically asked him. Zenitsu kept yelling though. Something about how Tanjiro wasn’t in his right mind, and even if he was, you’re not supposed to bite people. He figured that being in his left mind was fine too, but he didn’t say anything about it.
In the morning, Inosuke found that Tanjiro and Zenitsu were nowhere to be seen. He frowned, climbing out of bed, shoving on his boar-head and poking his head out the door. No one. He made his way down the hall, checking rooms and windows for any sign of his friends.
Eventually, he heard voices down the hall. Quiet speaking and upset complaining. He grabbed a piece of wood on the ceiling, using it to pull himself up and crawl across it, peeking into the room with the noise.
Inside was Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Miss Aoi and Miss Shinobu. Tanjiro was restrained and struggling angrily, while Zenitsu and Aoi tried to stop him from escaping, and Miss Shinobu was… well, she was doing something. Whatever she was experimenting with, he wasn’t quite sure.
“Let me go!” Tanjiro shouted, cutting his thoughts off. He focused his attention back on him. “Can’t you see?! He bit me! Me! He does want me! I have to go see him- NO! Don’t touch me!”
Zenitsu jumped. “I- I have to clean the wound, hold still!”
“NO! Get away from it! It’s mine, you can’t touch it!” He snarled, ramming his forehead into Zenitsu’s. Miss Aoi was trying to hold his head still, but he was practically barking at her too. Seeing Tanjiro act so insane unsettled and interested him. He wondered how far Tanjiro would push himself. Miss Shinobu stood up and turned to face them.
“This should work. Hold him steady.” She ordered. Tanjiro struggled, hissing and screaming at them. Then, his eyes landed right on Inosuke, and he froze. His scowl flipped instantly, curving into a wild grin.
“You came for me!” He cheered. “You came! I knew you would!”
Shinobu paused, meeting Inosuke’s mask’s eyes. “Don’t come closer Inosuke. We don’t know what he could do.” She flicked the tip of the syringe.
Tanjiro flipped another switch in his mind, his smile returning to a scowl. “You can’t do this! He’s perfect and he wants me, and you’re keeping him from me! Shame on you!”
Before Shinobu could administer the drug, he tossed Aoi and Zenitsu aside like rag dolls, and shoved her away. “How dare you try and keep him from me! You monster! You dirty, pathetic little nothing!” He swiped a glass beaker off her desk, smashing it against the edge of the table and pointing the broken end at her.
Inosuke moved without thinking, waving his arms dramatically and shouting, “I’m over here! I’m the one you want! Come and get me!” He hopped off the wooden ceiling and charged down the hallway, hoping to anything that Tanjiro would take the bait. He did.
His friend slid out the door, beaming. The broken beaker still in his hand, though he tossed it away. “You wanna play Cat and Mouse dearest? Fine! Prepare to lose!” And he charged after. Inosuke ran, darting through the mansion, finding the nearest exit and bolting outside, Tanjiro not far behind.
He leaped over plants, streams and rocks, trying to tire the man out, but it only seemed to backfire, as Inosuke was out of breath and his pursuer hadn’t seemed to break a sweat. Damnit! He had to keep going! He turned to keep running, but stumbled over his own feet and collapsed. Crap, crap, CRAP! He could hear Tanjiro getting closer, but his body wouldn’t let him get up.
Tanjiro circled around him once, before standing in front of him. Inosuke forced his head up to meet his friends eyes. Still horribly pink. His smile was no longer friendly. It seemed more crazed and… lecherous. He leaned down and pulled Inosuke up. “Caught you little mouse~” he whispered. Damnit, how was he this tired already?!
Tanjiro caught him in a kiss, not giving him a chance to fight back. His mind was a million times ready to relinquish control to him. Without realizing, he tried to kiss back, but it came out sloppy and poor. His friend didn’t seem to mind. His exhaustion was too much for him. He couldn’t push Tanjiro off if he wanted to… and did he want to? He was insane like this, but still gentle. Soft and sweet, incomparable to anything else. The idea of anything else felt disappointing now, as he became lost in the worshipful touches his friend bestowed on him.
Someone pulled Tanjiro off him, and he gasped for air, coughing horribly. Gazing up, his eyes met that of Tomioka, who was holding Tanjiro’s arms with his, which were in a sort of L shape. Tanjiro frustratedly struggled, thrashing and screaming to no avail. “Miss Shinobu informed me of the situation. You shouldn’t’ve let him climb onto you like that.” Tomioka commented.
Inosuke was too tired and oxygen deprived to bite back. He saw Shinobu finally get a good grip on Tanjiro’s arm, and managed to administer the cure. He shrieked, kicking his legs and biting at nothing, before… calm. His breathing became calmer, and he stopped struggling. His eyes fluttered closed, and he slumped forward. That was it. The end of this nightmare. Inosuke closed his own eyes, succumbing to exhaustion. Let’s hope this works.
Tanjiro’s eyes flickered open. What had happened? Damn, think Tanjiro! He tried to sit up, before feeling a sharp pain in his shoulder. Ouch! Pulling down his sleeve, he revealed a nasty looking bite mark. Jeez, what had caused this?! He rubbed his eyes, lower lip feeling sore.
He glanced around, finding no one in the room with him. He recounted the last thing he could remember. His crow came to him with a warning about a demon in the north. They found the demon. He was about to kill her, then… c’mon, think! His- his eyes stung. Right, his eyes stung and his senses were thrown off. He’d felt… wrong. Sickly and losing his grip on his mind. That’s right! The demon was trying to make him fall over her, so he redirected his focus to Inosuke! How long had it been?
He pushed himself out of bed, fatigue coursing through his body. He dragged himself down the hallway, making his way to the main room. Once arrived, he sat down and made the quick decision to make himself some rice balls. He made a decently sized batch. Enough for himself and a few for his friends if they found him. The first person to come was Miss Shinobu. She walked through the doorway and froze, a small bag slipping from her hands. Without thinking, he dived forward, catching it before it could hit the floor.
He stood up, smiled and handed her the bag. She looked surprised. Tanjiro wavered. “Is everything alright Miss Shinobu?” He asked, concern painting his face. “You look distressed.” She blinked at him.
“Uhm, yes. Sorry. How clumsy of me…” She reached for the bag, and he gave it to her.
“Would you like to sit down and eat with me? I have a few questions I wanted to ask.”
“Ah- I suppose I can make time.”
The two settled on the floor. Tanjiro immediately set the plate between them, letting her take as many as she wanted.
“So…” he began, “I apologize for anything that could’ve happened while I was out.” He smiled nervously, cupping the back of his head. “I don’t really remember much. I was fighting a demon, then it kind of goes a bit blank. Do you know what happened?”
Shinobu pursed her lips, staring at her food. After a few moments, she spoke: “Do you remember the Blood Demon Art that the demon used on you?” She questioned.
“Uhm, vaguely. I remember it was like a pollen. One moment I was going to decapitate her, the next I was on the ground coughing. It was in my eyes, my nose, my lungs. It smelled sickly, like a strong vanilla and lavender. Unlike other demons I’ve faced, where the Art fights your physical form, this one appeared to attack the mental. If I remember correctly, it was trying to alter my train of thought. Trying to make me fall to the demons will. So I tried to change its trajectory. Instead of the demon, I focused on the first person that came to my mind, which was Inosuke.”
Shinobu set down the rice ball. Exhaling heavily, she met his gaze. “Yes. You did successfully manage to alter its trajectory. You have been out for almost three days now.”
Tanjiro frowned. 3 days? From just a simple pollen? Shouldn’t it’ve gone with the demon? Wait… “How do you know my plan worked?” He asked. She closed her eyes for a moment, before responding.
“If you do not remember, I will not remind you. Though you have been out for three days, you have been here for five.” She told him, pushing the plate away from herself. What? How could he be missing two days of memories? He reached for another rice ball, and a spark of pain shot through his arm. He winced, pulling it back. The Hashira looked at him puzzled, before seeming to realize.
“You should speak to Inosuke.” She pushed herself off the floor. “Apologize to him while you’re at it. He’ll fill you in.”
Apologize? For what? Before he could ask, she was gone. He sighed. Guess he should go find Inosuke.
He knew Tanjiro was awake, and he knew he was probably looking for him. He fiddled with the leaves in the tree he was sitting in. With any luck, Tanjiro was back to his regular self now. Wouldn’t chase him around. Wouldn’t kill for him. Wouldn’t want to kiss him. That should make him feel better. He should want Tanjiro to be back to normal, but some part of him deep down whispered that he liked being seen as perfect by Tanjiro specifically. That he liked that Tanjiro wanted him and nothing else.
He shook his head, trying to stamp that out. He licked his lips. In some ways, he could still feel his friend’s soft lips pressed against his. Could still feel the want and desire emitting from him. That aura of pure insanity and lust. Those shiny, pink eyes.
He gazed up at the sky. He wasn’t sure if he could even be around Tanjiro now without thinking about those kisses. Those revering words. Sparing a glance at the Butterfly Mansion, he saw Tanjiro was heading into the forest, likely to look for him. Now the question was how long could Inosuke go without trying to kiss the man.