Work Text:
Inosuke considered himself a very observant boar. His sense of touch allowed him to detect minute changes in the atmosphere, after all. He’d grown up with a second sense for danger, something enhanced by his Beast Breathing now that he had that.
Most of the time, he simply chose not to pay attention to the many things going on around him. Monitsu rarely said anything worth listening to, and Tankatsu made him feel all warm and giddy, which was confusing.
But even if he didnt give a crow’s caw about what his underlings said, he still paid attention to what they DID.
That’s why the book confused him. He first noticed it when it had fallen out of Monjiro’s bag. It was plain, brown leather binding it and many pages.
Monjiro had been quick to place it back in his bag, almost as if he wanted to hide it. Inosuke obviously couldn’t let this stand. His underlings should report everything to him!
So he concurred, he had to investigate.
He tried to look for signs of the book for the next few days, but it didn’t reappear. That was until about a week later - Inosuke woke up from another nightmare, of a strange cliff and a mysterious woman’s face - and realised there was a light, once he’d managed to muffle the last of his sobs.
Monjiro was up. And what was more, the book had made a reappearance, with Gonpachiro bent over it with a furrowed brow. Inosuke didn’t move or speak, glad his tears hadn’t caught the sensitive nose of the overly compassionate slayer. Instead, he simply watched Monjiro scratch at the book with a stick, tongue poking from between his teeth.
It was definitely curious.
So Inosuke had to continue his search.
“What’s this?”
Inosuke gestured to the book on the ground, which Tanjiro had left under his futon. Inosuke had quietly removed it, laying it down so it would seem he’d accidentally stumbled upon it.
Tontaro jumped, skipping over as Inosuke reached out to flip the pages open, snatching it away. “That’s- mine!”
Inosuke rolled his eyes. “Monjiro, I can’t read. You cant hide things from me.”
“Oh, right, sorry,” Monjiro turned red. It made his eyes and hair look brighter. Inosuke thought it was a nice touch, like fall leaves.
“What is it about?” Inosuke asked. He knew what books were, of course. But this one looked weird.
“It’s- it’s not ABOUT anything,” Tanjiro said, slipping the volume into his belt. “It’s my journal. I write about things that happen, notes about breathing styles and training. Also some poetry,” he said the last bit quieter, and his cheeks turned pink again.
“Oh,” Inosuke flopped onto his futon, lifting a leg up and settling it over his shoulders, behind his head, the other tucked underneath him. Tontaro’s eyes widened at the position, and Inosuke snorted, knowing he was impressed. As he should be.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
Inosuke rolled his eyes. Typical Monjiro. “Aren’t you going to read your book? As the King of the Mountain, I should know what you’re saying! I dont want my underlings keeping secrets from me!” He tried to be stern, like the butterguy Hashira, the small mean purple one.
Tanjiro’s mouth fell open. “Um- Inosuke, I’m not sure if you’d want to…” he trailed off, scratching at the back of his neck. Inosuke narrowed his eyes. “What? Are you writing lies about your leader?”
“No!” Tanjjro threw up his hands, looking alarmed. “I just- it’s private, Inosuke.”
He stepped back, and Inosuke realised that he would have to resort to his most drastic measure. It was humiliating, but sacrifices would have to made were he to solve this mystery.
Dropping his head, he lifted his hands, sliding off the boar head, and shaking out his matted hair. Looking back up, he could see Tanjiro had gone pink, eyes wide. Good.
That was the hook.
Now came the hard part.
Forcing his glare to settle, he looked his underling in the eye. “Tanjiro.”
Monjiro sucked in a breath, eyes widening. That was the line.
“Please?”
Sinker.
Tanjiro’s eyes melted into soft amber, and he let out a gentle “Oh, Inosuke,” that made Inosuke remember exactly why he didn’t do this. His chest felt all uncomfortably tight and his stomach kept thrashing like a wild snake. Like the one the stripey mean treefrog had.
Sighing, Tanjiro opened his book and flipped, shaking his head slightly at a few pages before finally settling on one. “Um- here. This one is..”
Taking a breath, he started-
“I dance with blue nichirin, married myself to it’s blade,
I’ve promised each step of the trail to the axe I wield,
Even nine-tailed boys live only one life,
And I’ve given mine to a shallow grave,
Am I a fool to think I can still take your hand
When each step pulls you farther under
Til’ we both lie six feet from the truth
The moon said to set my heart in a box
And let the river carry it out to the sea
But the sun said to let my heart burn free,
Can I split a rock without splitting my soul?
Is it selfish to let myself fall for you,
When I know that I’ll fall on my own blade
One foot in the doorway of your arms,
The other by the axe
They buried in my neck”
He looked up, seeming surprised to find Inosuke still listening. Flushing, he closed the book, shrugging. “I know, it’s boring, sorry for-“
“Some of the language has a lot of Chuuya reflected in it. But I’m gonna guess you wanted to go for a Kambara Ariake feel, huh?
“I…” Tanjiro stared at him, mouth slightly agape. Finally, he coughed, then whispered- “Akiko Yosano, actually.”
“Oh” Inosuke wrinkled his nose. “The lady with the younger brother she wants to drop out of the corps?”
“Yeah!” Tontaro nodded enthusiastically. “‘Oh my brother, you must not die.’ That’s one of my favourites.”
“Ngh,” Inosuke grunted, shifting around and rolling his ankle until it popped. “Whatever, Monjiro.” Pointing with his pinky and index finger, he added. “But if you wanna make that poem sound good, you gotta tie it down more. Too much loose language! Not enough flow! No one knows what the hell yer talkin’ about!”
Tanjiro stared some more. Inosuke didn’t see what the big deal was. Was Tanjiro having some kinda malfunction?
“Look,” Inosuke said, huffing. “You’re always going on bout’ how you gotta have a purpose to fight. Ya cant just knock heads to knock heads - which is stupid, but whatever. It’s like that with poems. Ya gotta have a reason to talk.”
Tanjiro blinked, considering it, then slowly nodded.
“Like in the River of Stars poem,” Tanjiro said, eyes lighting up. “It’s all metaphors until the end, where she reveals it’s about her sister’s death.”
“Eh? Haven’t read that,” Inosuke snorted, shaking his head. He was starting to feel prickly without the comforting fur of the mask.
“Nevermind,” Monjiro shook his head, then edged closer. “This one…” he ducked his head, avoiding Inosuke’s gaze. Inosuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What?”
“The poem I wrote is about having romantic feelings for a person, but also being a Slayer. Since it’s so dangerous… I don’t want to hurt someone by loving them.” He was all pink again. Inosuke had started to grow fond of the colour.
“Then say that, Monjiro. No one wants to read about nothing.”
“But it’s embarrassing!” Tanjiro argued, hugging the journal to his chest.
“Sounds like you’re being a coward!” Inosuke poked him in the chest. “Be better than that! I want a REAL opponent to train with!”
Tontaro did more blinking at him-
then smiled.
Dammit, the giddy feeling was back.
“Alright, Inosuke. I’ll work on it some more. Thank you.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out, and squeezed Inosuke’s hand. Then he stood, and walked away.
Inosuke sat for a bit longer, hand limp at his side, trying to hold onto the feeling of Tanjiro’s fingers longer.
———
Three days later, Tanjiro found Inosuke alone again - he was stretching, his toes touching the back of his head as he arched himself into a loop. He’d seen the stripey tree frog wearing a necklace with a snake eatings its tail, and wanted to twist himself the same way.
“Um… Inosuke?” Tanjiro asked cautiously. Inosuke sprang around, eyes narrowing. “Monjiro! Whadya want from your leader now?”
Tanjiro flushed slightly, holding out two books - the journal, and another one, thicker and black leather bound. “I… brought some poetry over.
“Oh,” Inosuke sat cross-legged, tilting his head and waiting. “What’d ya do this time? Did you fix it like I told you too?”
Tanjiro shook his head. “No- I talked with Shinobu, and she helped me find a book with the poem I mentioned last week! River of Stars! I thought… I could read it to you?”
Inosuke thought- then nodded. “Alright! Read it! Your leader commands it.”
Tanjiro smiled softly, sitting down and flipping through to a bookmarked page. Inosuke laid at his feet, hands under his chin and eyes wide like a down dog.
“Left on the beach
Full of water
A worn out boat
Reflects the white sky --
Of early autumn.
Swifter than hail
Lighter than a feather,
A vague sorrow
Crossed my mind
Feeling you nearby,
how could I not come
to walk beneath
this evening moon rising
over flowering fields.
It was only
the thin thread of a cloud,
almost transparent,
leading me along the way
like an ancient sacred song.
I say his poem,
propped against this frozen wall,
in the late evening,
as bitter autumn rain
continues to fall.
What I count on
is a white birch
that stands
where no human language
is ever heard.
A bird comes
delicately as a little girl
to bathe
in the shade of my tree
in an autumn puddle.
Even at nineteen,
I had come to realize
that violets fade,
spring waters soon run dry,
this life too is transient
He stood by the door,
calling through the evening
the name of my
sister who died last year
and how I pitied him!”
The words slowly built with emotion as Gonpachiro read, slipping in with the character the story focused on. Inosuke listened intently, feeling himself brought to a lull by the soft words. Tanjiro’s voice was soothing, a bit like the man with the purple vines on his face. But that man had always set Inosuke on edge, what with his serene smile and empty eyes. Tanjiro felt…. safer, somehow.
“‘s good,” Inosuke grunted, sitting up and leaning back on his hands. “Akiko Yosano, right?”
“Yeah!” Monjiro beamed. Setting it down, he picked up the other book. “Thank you for letting me share this with you. It means a lot to me.”
The giddy feeling was back, and Inosuke felt his cheeks grow hot. “Don’t mention it,” he huffed, turning his head away. “It’s what any good King would do.”
Tanjiro laughed softly. “… I actually did do some revisions on that poem you asked me to. If you want to hear them?”
Inosuke perked up. “Show me! Now! I wanna see! I wanna see!” He headbutted Monjiro in the shoulder, hoping to make the boy move faster. He didn’t have all day, dammit.
“Okay, okay!” Tanjiro batted him away, trying to navigate to the entry while fending off the attack. “Sheesh…”
Inosuke settled down once he was sure Monjiro had found it, tilting his head expectantly.
Tanjiro took a deep breath, and started to read.
“I dance with blue nichirin, in the soft fog of mountain morning
One hand holds a blade, the other yearns to hold yours
I’ve promised each step of the trail to the axe I wield,
Even nine-tailed boys live only one life,
And I’ve given mine to a shallow grave, staking my life on
my latent vengeance
When each step pulls you farther under
Til’ we both lie six feet from the truth
Can I ever truly lie beside you?
The moon said to set my heart in a box
And let the river carry it out to the sea
But the sun said to let my heart burn free,
Can I split a rock without splitting my soul?
Is it selfish to let myself fall for you,
When I know that I’ll fall on my own blade
Selfish to crave your touch, when I know hands of death wrap my throat?
One foot in the doorway of your arms,
The other by the axe
They buried in my neck”
Inosuke sat, processing, then huffed. “It’s better-“
“Really?” Tanjiro’s eyes lit up.
“-but you still don’t have it organised,” Inosuke crossed his arms, frowning. “Like in the Akiko poem, you got all the images and then you got the reveal about the sister and the lover! You gotta say what you want to say but say it in order. Don’t give everything up right out the gate, got it?”
“Right!” Tanjiro was scribbling down notes intently, brow set in determination. His eagerness, the passion - it set Inosuke’s heart aflutter.
He wondered if there were any poems for the way he felt right now, giddy and buzzing and all colors of weird and wild.
He thought maybe if he knew the words to this feeling, then he might play along with it’s song and feel slightly less afraid.
——
It became a routine-
Each night, while Zenitsu made to visit Nezuko in her box and tell her of the day’s adventures and the small gifts and trinkets he’d found for her, Inosuke and Tanjiro would sit on their futon’s, and Tanjiro would read a poem.
Sometimes, Inosuke liked them. Sometimes, he would offer harsh critiques of the author’s words, making Tanjiro sigh and shake his head, or give a crooked smile that took Inosuke’s breath away.
It was unfair how much those words meant.
Tanjiro’s own poems never graced the stack of literature they consumed.
Not until a week later, that is.
“I finished it,” Tanjiro was panting slightly, as if he’d just run a race, not finished a poem. Bags hung from under his eyes. “It’s… it’s done. Finally.”
Inosuke studied him, then huffed in approval, raising his chin in a bid for Monjiro to continue.
Taking a second to regain Total Concentration: Constant, Tanjiro looked down and shakily began.
“I dance with blue nichirin, in the soft fog of mountain morning
Can I split a rock without splitting my soul?
The new air answers with the whistle of steel-
Even nine-tailed boys live only one life,
And I’ve given mine to a shallow grave,
My vengeance it’s own death sentence
I know- I have promised each step of the trail to the axe I wield,
I know- each step pulls me a foot deeper, til’ I lie six feet from the truth
But deep in my mind, I ache to know
Can I ever truly lie beside you?
Wrap my arms around your neck,
And declare my fluttering heart to your rough hands?
I dance with blue nichirin, in the sunlight of broken days
One hand holds a blade, the other yearns to hold yours
The moon said to set my heart in a box
And let the river carry it out to the sea
But the sun said to let my heart burn free,
When twilight comes, I wonder if I fall short of either
A burning comet, chasing after your distant starlight
Is it selfish to let myself fall for you,
You and your wild heart
You and your tangled hair
You and your green agate eyes
Harsh tongue and ragged palms hiding soft morning dew lashes
When I know that I’ll fall on my own blade
Selfish to crave your touch, when I know hands of death wrap my throat?
I live vicariously in fever dreams, where my love can run free
One foot in the doorway of your arms,
The other by the axe
They buried in my neck”
Inosuke’s feelings were finally translated. Wavelengths given meaning and frequencies to beat at, butterfly wings to shakily attach to his fluttering heart.
He didn’t speak.
Tanjiro flushed. “Was it… was it any good?”
“… it’s acceptable,” Inosuke declared, glaring.
Tanjiro’s face brightened with a smile. “Really?! Thank you! That’s wonder-“
“Who is it?”
Tanjiro blinked, smile faltering. “What?”
“Who is it? That you love?” Inosuke demanded.
Tanjiro’s mouth fell open- before he flushed hard. “I don’t know- why do you need to know- that’s personal!”
Inosuke snorted, annoyed. Typical Monjiro and his stupid customs. “Why? If I know, then I can tell them for you. Cause’ you’re too much of a damn coward to do it yerself!”
For some reason, Tanjiro blushed harder, shaking his head. “No! That’s even worse, Inosuke! I’ll tell them. One day. Probably. I’m just… not ready.”
Inosuke sighed, seeing it was probably a lost cause fighting Bonkujo on this one. Sad. “Is it a girl?” he asked; deciding he still could try and get some answers this way.
Tanjiro hesitated, then shook his head. “…. no. It’s not. That’s part of the problem.”
Inosuke huffed. “Why’d it be a problem? My boar mother was a guy and had a guy partner! I called her mother cause’ that’s what she was, but she liked a dude and that was fine.”
Tanjiro sighed. “It’s different in real life, Inosuke. Boys can’t do things like kiss or hold hands. It’s not allowed.”
Inosuke shook his head. Stupid Monjiro. “Is it Zenitsu?”
Tanjiro spluttered, face going pale. “W-what? No! No way. I don’t like him in that way at all. Promise.”
“Good!” Inosuke said, nodding in approval. “If you did, I’d hafta kill you. Just so you know.”
“Okay,” Tanjiro nodded amicably, shoulders shaking lightly with laughter.
“Good,” Inosuke turned away, but felt a hand catch on his wrist. “Wait.”
Inosuke turned back, eyes locking on Tanjiro. Tanjiro stared back, and Inosuke could feel his pulse was quick beneath his skin.
“… if I tell you… will you promise not to be mad?” Tanjiro breathed, gaze pleading.
Slowly, Inosuke nodded, grunting in agreement. Relieved, Tanjiro leaned closer, before saying-
“Inosuke, I like you a lot. I want to be your boyfriend, if you’d let me, but I’m scared. So please be nice.”
Inosuke’s breath caught. The giddy feeling was so overwhelming. He couldn’t breathe. His chest was being split apart by… warmth. It was good. So good. Sweet. Was this what dumb Monitsu felt when he acted a fool, tripping over his feet for Nezuko?
“Shut the hell up! Don’t mock me!” he declared, never backing from a challenge. “Kamado Tanjiro, I love you, and I’m gonna be your damn boyfriend whether you like it or not! Okay? I’m gonna make you so happy, so your stomach bursts with all those damn butterflies.”
Tanjiro stared. “Really? Inosuke, you don’t have to feel like you need to return my feelings, please don’t-“
Annoyed his message wasn’t getting through, Inosuke growled. “No! Shut up! I’m serious, Monchiro! You make me feel so damn giddy!”
And for good measure, he kissed him.
Tanjiro went almost slack, melting into Inosuke’s touch. Inosuke kept their lips together for a good few seconds before leaning back, a grin creeping over his face. “I win,” he declared, seeing Tanjiro’s flushed cheeks and wide eyes.
“… I think we both win,” Tanjiro said, face cracking into a smile. “But I think I have to write a new poem now.”
Inosuke huffed. After all the work he’d done just making Tanjiro’s current one acceptable! “Idiot! Why the hell would you have to do that?”
Tanjiro blushed heavily, smiling faintly. “Because my old one was all about liking you but not being able to tell you. Now I have you.”
Inosuke’s heart fluttered. Then he grinned. “Now that’s a challenge fit for the King of the Mountain!”
Tanjiro kissed him again.