Work Text:
Every floor.. every floor of this damn place was an obstacle that Tanjiro Kamado wanted nothing more than to destroy if it meant getting one step closer to the man who had caused all of this. His legs were moving as fast as they could carry him, as he kept up the pace of the ravenette hashira in front of him, though lagged slightly behind.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, and his crimson eyes darted around for a sudden moment as the sound of a demon's roar echoed throughout the infinite space. His grip on his sword tightened, though the handle still threatened to slip from his grasp and through the endless floors; maybe the blade would slice a demon or two on the way down.
As the pair ran, a sudden flutter of wings caught their attention, and a Kasugai crow entered their sights. Tanjiro's heart dropped, for he knew that the crow likely had bad news. They had just lost Miss Shinobu; he couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone else..!
And then, the entire world seemed to stop turning, as the crow squawked its message.
"Inosuke Hashibira is dead! I repeat, Inosuke Hashibira is dead! He was killed during an ambush involving an Upper Moon!"
Tanjiro stopped dead in his tracks, nearly dropping his sword, his eyes going wide and his body completely freezing and tensing up upon the crow's message invading his eardrums.
Giyuu too halted, before turning around to face the boy, his own eyes also wide. After a few seconds or so of deafening silence, he whispered the other slayer's name; a strange ache panged his heart, which lasted but a moment, as he waited for the Hinoe to react.
Another moment of silence passed, though it felt like an eternity. Giyuu watched as Tanjiro's knees buckled a little; his body danced with a light tremble, and then, without warning, the redhead tilted his head upwards and looked straight up, before letting out an echoing scream of anguish.
A barely-audible gasp escaped Giyuu's lips, but before he could do or say anything else, Tanjiro suddenly took off at breakneck speed. The boy jumped over and through buildings, slashing a handful of demons as he did so, tears flying like delicate dewdrops in the morning breeze.
Tanjiro finally came to a stop outside a small building, which appeared to be upside down. He lifted his head a little and sniffed the air, and instantly knew that Inosuke was inside; without hesitating, he burst through the door, and laying before him on the wooden floor was Inosuke, who was on his back, covered in blood and wounds.
Most prominently, a large, gaping slash was carved right down the left side of his body, starting at his shoulder, and going under his pelt, near his hip, its end unknown. Blood was splattered absolutely everywhere, and the odour of hot iron immediately began its assault on Tanjiro's nostrils.
"INOSUKE!!"
Everything felt like a blur. The young slayer ran over and practically slung himself forward on his knees, so he was kneeling beside Inosuke's body. The latter's mask was almost completely destroyed; it was torn in multiple areas, and it was stained with blood.
Tanjiro quickly removed the mask and placed it to the side, before being met with the ghastly sight of Inosuke, whose face had been mauled; almost the entirety of the right side of his face had been completely torn off, including his eye, meaning that only his left eye, which was closed, remained. Though, the right side of his mouth was just barely spared from the onslaught.
In that moment, Tanjiro could have sworn that he could hear Inosuke's desperate screams of pain and pleas for help echoing in his mind; they were mocking reminders that he couldn't get to Inosuke in time, that he couldn't protect him, that he couldn't save him. Stop. S-Stop. Please. Get- Get out of my head. GET OUT OF MY HEAD. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-
The redhead nearly screamed, but he managed to swallow it, almost choking in the process, as he struggled to hold back from just completely shattering right there and then. "No, no, no! Inosuke, please, just hang on!" he cried.
He awkwardly reached a shaky hand out towards the huge, gaping wound on the aforementioned boy's body, as though he was about to touch it, but stopped himself; he just sat there, his trembling arm still outstretched, unable to comprehend just how much blood his best friend had lost, and the fact that half of his face was missing. He covered his mouth with the same hand, before feeling the familiar sting of tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes once again.
Then, Inosuke suddenly let out a soft, weak sound, causing Tanjiro to stare down at him with wide eyes. Shortly after, his remaining eye weakly opened a little, and after a few seconds, he managed to croak, "..W.. W-What.. are you.. d-doing here..?".
The younger boy managed to compose himself, but not before gripping at his own chest and crying, "Inosuke, please stay with me! I'm so sorry that I couldn't be here to protect you; please forgive me!". Tears blurred his vision, and almost seemed to test the waters by dancing on his lower lashes, yet ultimately refusing to fall.
Inosuke coughed weakly, and whispered, "W-Why are you saying sorry..? This i-isn't your fault..". His voice was cracked and barely-audible, and soft wheezes escaped alongside his words; one of his lungs may have been punctured, or damaged in some other way.
"Don't speak, p-please, save your energy! Someone, anyone, please help us!! Please, anyone!!"
Tanjiro's plea for help fell on deaf ears. His tears finally broke the dam and began to roll down his cheeks. A few moments of silence went by, but there was no sign of the pair's potential saviour. Inosuke meekly peered up at the other Hinoe, before his cracked voice managed, "..N-No one is coming.. t-they all think I'm dead.. you're just going t-to attract the demons..".
Tanjiro grit his teeth, and slammed his fist against the wooden floor, inviting splinters in for a place to rest. His mind was spinning, and his thoughts were eating him alive. He just wanted to fall into a hole and drag the wild boy with him; he didn't care where they ended up, he just wanted to be anywhere but in this nightmare.
He sniffled, before whispering, "N-No, Inosuke, please.. just stay with me, you're going to be okay..! You're so strong, y-you defied what the crow said..!".
A few moments of nothing but Tanjiro's soft sniffles, and Inosuke's weak, desperate gasps for breath and soft sounds of pain went by. The latter's life was slipping away by the second, and it seemed like hope couldn't play the hero this time.
"..Inosuke, please.. tell me who the demon that did this to you is.."
Said slayer looked up at the utterer. "..I.." he started, before letting out a weak cough. He then continued, "I-It was originally.. Upper Moon 2.. the same d-demon that killed Miss Shinobu.. but then.. there was an ambush of weaker demons.. a-and he allowed them to drag me away..".
Tanjiro could feel his blood boiling; the perpetrator was the demon who killed Miss Shinobu, and now possibly his best friend. When he found that bastard, he was going to slice his head off and make sure he'd never find it. But before he could say anything, Inosuke began to speak again.
"D-Damn it.. I just can't believe that I-I was taken out by a group of weak, useless demons.. and I didn't even get to kill any of the big guys.. i-it's not fair..!"
And to this, Tanjiro was speechless. Inosuke had held such high standards for himself, that he was upset about the fact that he was taken out by 'weak' demons. He was upset about the fact that he didn't get to kill any 'strong' demons. That same voice was now small, and it whispered, "I-I'm sorry.." before the younger could respond; this time, the latter was determined to get a reply in.
"W-What are you apologising for..?" Tanjiro whispered, genuinely confused and wanting to grasp the beast-breather's reasoning. However, nothing could prepare him for the answer he would receive.
"I-I couldn't do anything.. I s-should have fought h-harder.. but I-I couldn't..". Inosuke sounded like he was on the brink of tears.
The redhead blinked, and it felt as though his best friend had reached into his chest, and ripped his heart out. He shook his head, refusing to believe that Inosuke was blaming himself for being overpowered by an Upper Moon and an ambush, especially when he was all by himself.
"No, no, Inosuke, you have nothing to be sorry for.. p-please, don't blame yourself, you fought with everything you had.. and I know I wasn't here to witness it, but I'm so, so proud of you.." Tanjiro whispered, every word that left his lips filled with nothing but the truth. He was so proud of Inosuke for holding his own and being brave enough to fight an Upper Moon alone.
The other Hinoe's eye widened a little, and small tears formed in the corner. That sensation he despised, that horrible, overwhelming, sickening feeling of sadness, was playing a game in the back of his head, and he wanted to just gouge it out, grab it by its throat, and tell it, "Time out.".
He gasped weakly, and stuttered, "N-No, it's not just that.. I.. you always said that we would make it out of this together, a-and I always gave you my word.. but in the end, I-I couldn't keep it.. I'm sorry..".
Oh.
Don't apologise.
Please don't apologise.
I should be the one apologising.
Please.
Don't apologise. Don't apologise. Don't apologise don't apologise don't apologise don't-
And in the end, Tanjiro found that he just.. couldn't accept the apology.
Because Inosuke had nothing to apologise for.
But he knew that he had to say something, and that's where his next words came in. "It's okay, Inosuke.. I'm just so proud of you, and the fact that you kept fighting until the end; you never gave up.. and I could never ask for anything more from you.."
Then, there was a sight that Tanjiro didn't expect to see: a smile. A small one appeared on the wild boy's face. Why.. Why..?
More silence followed.
"..You know.. you're one of the only ones who has ever been nice to me.. a-and I know I don't show it, but.. it means a lot to me.. I-I guess what I'm trying to say is.. I-I'm just so happy I met you.."
Then, in that moment, Tanjiro's eyes softened, and much to his shock, a small smile appeared on his own face. He just.. he couldn't accept it. Inosuke was going to be okay. He was going to live. Would that crow hurry up?!
The hope that he'd now plastered all over himself and shoved down his throat had kicked itself into gear, and was now doing the talking. "You mean so much to me too, Inosuke.. I promise you, when we make it out of this, I-I'll take us all somewhere, and you can eat as much tempura as you want..!".
The small, weak smile on Inosuke's face then disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. "..Don't get me excited f-for something that we both know isn't going to happen, s-stupid Monjiro..". Yes, stupid Monjiro indeed; stupid, stupid Monjiro. Do something. Do something. SAVE HIM.
"Don't say that! Everything's going to be okay! O-One of the crows must have heard me, and went to tell the others; they'll be here..!". Damn it. The hope is still talking. Though, at the same time.. I would give my life for it to be real.
Inosuke weakly shook his head. "T-The only reason I'm still alive right now is because I-I rearranged my heart, so it's not at much more of a risk of g-getting exposed to the open air.. n-no one is coming.. we both know that, so please stop holding onto false hope.." he whispered.
Damn it, he'd finally been called out. "False hope". Ah, Inosuke, let the others say what they want, but you are not stupid.
Suddenly, the duonette coughed violently, and blood splattered out of his mouth. Tanjiro grit his teeth, before tilting his head upwards, and looking straight up; he covered his eyes with his left wrist, and began to quietly sob, angry at himself for not being able to do anything to help Inosuke. Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT..!!
And then, the world went silent, and Tanjiro went still, though not before removing his wrist from over his now-wide eyes. Oh, please.. don't. Don't.
Because Inosuke had meekly looked up at him and whispered, "Do you think I'll get to see my mother again..? A-And Mr. Rengoku, and Miss Shinobu..?".
Your heart is supposed to be in your chest, right? But then, why was Tanjiro's in his throat? His vocal cords wouldn't work. Because he knew that no matter what he replied with, he'd just instantly break down. So he just stayed silent. The only sounds that left his lips were soft, shaky pants, though he knew that if he didn't have such a deathly grip on his emotions, those pants would be accompanied by the ugliest, most despicable sobs.
After receiving no response, Inosuke looked to the side, and went quiet. He turned his head so he was completely facing away from Tanjiro, and after doing this, he whispered, "I-I just wish that I would be able to tell you when I get there..".
There it is. The straw that broke the camel's back. And finally, after bottling it up, all of Tanjiro's emotions came flooding out; he began to sob loudly, and tears streamed down his cheeks like twin waterfalls as he struggled to catch his breath. Inosuke turned his head and peered back up at him, his breaths short and quiet, and his eyesight beginning to go blurry, before looking off to the side.
Once Tanjiro had calmed down a little, he slowly lifted his head, and stared down at Inosuke, feeling completely numb. 'Don't cry? Noted(!)' , he thought. Though he supposed that he had just been strong for too long.
A weak gasp teared itself from Inosuke's throat, before being followed by, ".. Heh.. I-I bet I look hideous, don't I..? N-Not as bad as those demons, but.. I-I bet I come pretty damn close..".
In that moment, Tanjiro wanted nothing more than to cup Inosuke's- well, where his right cheek used to be, and tell him that he still looked as beautiful as ever; no amount of blood and torn flesh could ever change that. And then, his heart suddenly decided to take over, and his words came spilling out like a faucet turned on by careless hands.
"..You're still as beautiful as the day I met you..".
Rather than being shocked that he had accidentally spilled his thoughts, as he imagined he would be, Tanjiro.. wasn't. His face remained the same; his soft eyes and lips which were stuck in a small line, but almost a smile.. the only difference then was that his cheeks were slightly flushed. It was then or never.
Inosuke's eye widened a little, before softening, and a small smile appeared on his face, while a soft blush spread across his remaining cheek; he then weakly lifted his marred arm and placed his hand on Tanjiro's chest, specifically where his heart was. The latter looked down at the hand, then almost immediately placed one of his own on top of it, essentially sandwiching the other slayer's trembling hand between his chest and his own hand. The two gave each other weak smiles. Does he.. feel the same..?
Although Tanjiro did not receive an exact response to his mental question, he did receive a response that made the crack in his heart spread even further.
"..Y-You.. always said that.. you wanted to save your sister, right..? ..Well, you saved me too.. n-never forget that.."
The water-breather's eyes softened. I.. saved him..?
But Inosuke wasn't finished. "You know.. I-I don't think I'd want anyone else but you t-to be by my side right now.. a-and hey.. just because.. I'm gonna be going away.. doesn't mean that you can stop smiling, y-you hear me, Kentaro..? Promise me that you won't, o-okay..?".
Tanjiro swallowed the lump in his throat, before squeezing his best friend's hand tightly, and through his tears, he whispered, "I-I won't.. I.."; he knew what he wanted to say next, but his vocal cords wouldn't work. "I love you.."; the words just wouldn't leave his lips for some reason. Say it. Say it. TELL HIM.
But Tanjiro Kamado, due to his occasional foolishness, had forgotten that moments can be wasted just because you're too afraid. Because then, the internal demon that he had been fighting the entire time, the fear he had fought so hard to keep away, finally caught up to the pair.
"..T-Thank you.. Tanjiro.." Inosuke whispered. And then, at the same time, he closed his eye, and tears began to roll down his remaining cheek, as he gave said boy the biggest smile he could muster.
Then, Inosuke's arm went limp, and his hand fell from Tanjiro's chest; his arm then fell to his side, and his own chest stopped rising and falling. The redhead's eyes went wide, and his breath hitched.
"Inosuke?! Inosuke?! INOSUKE!!"
The last howl of the beast-breather's name was broken and animalistic, and it echoed all throughout the room, shattering the silence that had observed the death of a wild and energetic, yet innocent and loyal boy.
Tanjiro collapsed forward, and began to sob loudly into his dead best friend's bloody upper abdomen. He momentarily lifted his head and let out a scream of anguish, before his head collapsed back down, and he continued to sob, his entire body trembling and shaking wildly.
After a few minutes, he finally lifted his head back up, and stared down at Inosuke's body with dull, teary eyes; Inosuke's remaining eye was barely open, and what could be seen of it was lifeless. Tears were still beading at the corner of it, his remaining cheek was stained with dried tears, and his lips were curled into a small smile. A small, beautiful smile.
His two-toned hair was pooled neatly around his head, and his bangs were messy. Some of his hair, particularly on the right side, had been completely torn off, making it look rather uneven, but still as beautiful as ever.
For yet another moment, Tanjiro remained silent. He knew that the duonette wouldn't hear it, but.. he would never forgive himself for not finally saying it.
"I love you, Inosuke.."; his voice was barely a whisper. He gently cupped the beast-breather's remaining cheek, his fingers bruised and trembling.
He then looked over at Inosuke's mask, which was barely being held together, before reaching over and picking it up; he held it in both hands, and stared down at it with a wobbling lip. He then weakly stood up, still holding the mask, and looked out of the window of the strange upside down building that they were in. His hands began to tremble, and he tightened his grasp on the mask as he bit back tears.
Tanjiro's eyebrows narrowed, and he closed his eyes for a moment, before reopening them. He mentally made a plan, no, a promise, that once he and the others defeated Muzan, he was going to carry Inosuke's body into the mountains, and bury him; his final resting place would be his home. Not just the place where he was born, but his home; he was the King of the Mountains, after all.
"I will take you home, Inosuke; I promise.."
Though.. he also couldn't help but mourn what could have been between them. Perhaps in the next life, destiny would be kinder to them.
________________________________
- Epilogue -
~
The gentle evening breeze caressed Tanjiro's hair, and kissed the tips of his ears, while coaxing his earrings to sing their song of that familiar soft clattering sound. His cheeks were adorned with a small smile, and his crimson orbs were filled with what could only be described as peace. His left leg hung over the cliff edge, and he just sat in silence, his thoughts finally gathered in one place.
He slowly turned to the grave beside him, before reaching out a hand, and caressing the smooth stone with the most gentle, loving touch. Tears threatened to form, but the former slayer was quick to blink them away. Inosuke wouldn't want him to cry over the past; he'd want him to look towards the future.
The sound of laughter rang through the air. Tanjiro turned his head, and was met with the sight of Zenitsu and Nezuko, who were stood a good few meters behind him; they were slowly swaying back and forth beneath the gentle evening rays, which were just about ready to bid their goodnights.
The redhead smiled, though he couldn't help the ache that silently plagued his heart; the ache of wishing that Inosuke was still here, of wishing that he could hold Inosuke in his arms, of wishing that he could tell Inosuke how much he loved him, and that he would never, ever leave him.
But even though he knew that Inosuke was safe with his mother, and Tanjiro's own family, and Mr. Rengoku, and Miss Shinobu, and Tokito, and all of the other fallen demon slayers, he also knew that Inosuke was watching over him, and would continue to do so until it was his time to join him. And when that time came, they were going to walk hand-in-hand into the light, where they could be together forever.
A call of his name soon returned Tanjiro from his thoughts. Nezuko waved him over, holding Zenitsu's hand with her other, a large smile present on her face; her fangs were no more. The former slayer slowly stood up, and just as he was about to turn around and join the other two, he looked down at the grave of his lost love for the final time that night with a small smile, and three simple yet special words left his lips in the form of a soft, heartfelt whisper.
"Good night, Inosuke."