𝒟𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒? [[Inosuke Hashibira x (fem) reader]] (complete)

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"Tanjiro?"

You called out as you struggled to keep up with the rest of the group, dragging your feet along the path with a worn-out look in your now half-lidded eyes. You tried your best to stay awake and standing upright, but the throbbing pain in the soles of your feet and the base of your spine were starting to get to you.

Tanjiro tilted his head and looked back at you over his shoulder, and much to your surprise, he was just as exhausted as you were. "(Y/n)? What's up?" He chirped, still managing an optimistic tone.

You swallowed hard, trying to keep an even tone as to not upset the other travelers "I hope you don't mind me asking, but, when will we be stopping to rest? It's dusk already and we still haven't come across a safe shelter for the night."

It's been about two days since you've had access to any water and even more so since you've had a bath; to say the least, you were tense, and you got the feeling you weren't the only one harboring a lot of frustration at that moment.

Upon looking around at your fellow travelers, they all seemed pretty beaten and exhausted--even Inosuke, whose head was almost always held high.

"mmh.." Zenitsu let out a silent groan "So tired...so thirstyyy..waaa" and although he hid it well at this moment, you knew he was going to have a lot of complaints the moment you all sat down.

Feeling an odd sensation that someone might be staring at you, you turned your head in the direction of the source, which turned out to be Inosuke, but he quickly turned his head away and grunted softly to himself. Hmph, rude...

Tanjiro cast his gaze up towards the sky and inhaled deeply, grasping at his thoughts internally and trying to find the right words to say. He exhaled finally, looking straight ahead "I don't know,(Y/n), but I have a good feeling that we'll finally have better luck tonight. Inosuke, how close do you think we are to the nearest water source?"

"Last time I checked, we were pretty far. We've covered a lot of ground since then...hmm.." Inosuke puffed out his chest arrogantly "ALRIGHT, LEAVE IT TO ME"

Oh boy, here we go. You thought to yourself as the beastly maniac planted both of his feet into the ground on either side of him. Although you tended to be irritated by Inosuke, you had to admit that you had fun watching him act like that sometimes.

Inosuke inhaled deeply, muttering something to himself that you couldn't hear from behind the group.

After a short moment, he stood upright again, suddenly full of energy "STRAIGHT AHEAD! INTO THAT FOREST" he shouted, breaking out into a sprint before the others even had a moment to think.

Suddenly forgetting your exhausted condition, you took off after him with Tanjiro trailing behind you. Finally! Some good news--if this water is fresh we can spend the night here You thought to yourself already daydreaming about a warm campfire and a soft bed of leaves or something.

"INOSUKE? (Y/n)? TANJIRO!! WAAAAAIT!!" Zenitsu wailed "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE YOU JERKS!!" and soon enough, he began to jog (a little clumsily) at the back of the group, still too tired from trekking along the path day in and day out to reach his full potential.

As soon as they started to catch up with Inosuke, he spun on his heels and leaped off the trail, his pale muscular figure bounding into the thick undergrowth and weaving past the trees. You came in second, darting right after him, but faltered as soon as you waded into the prickly bushes. SHIT! How the hell is he getting so far ahead of us?! Is my leg stuck?? It's too dark, I can't see anything-

You could hear the leaves crunching under the feet of the other demon slayers surpassing you, and eventually disappearing into the dark ahead of you, filling you with dread instantly.

You fought against the thistle bushes, which seemed to be clinging to you like little claws in the shadows now."Guys, wait-" you started to call out until you finally broke free of the thorns and fell.

Face first. in the leaves and dirt.

Just my fucking luck.

"YO!! (Y/n)!! There you are!" a timid voice called out; you could hear light footsteps coming your way. Oh no.. OH FUCK. he CAN NOT see me like this you steeled yourself for whatever bullshit was about to come your way, quickly sitting upright and brushing the leaves off of your chest and face.

Zenitsu stepped out from behind a tree and came to stand over you.

"OH! it's just you, oh thank god" you sighed, not realizing you were holding your breath "Yeah? Whaddya want Zenitsu?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, smiling down at you awkwardly "Hey! Ah, let me help you first" he bent over and held his hand out to you.

You took his hand and stood, making sure you didn't put any weight on your right foot. When you were both relaxed, he started ahead and beckoned you to follow him.

"I heard you fall while I was following Tanjiro and the others. Sounded like you fell pretty hard, so I went back to look." Zenitsu explained, his fingertips brushing against your own as the two of you strode peacefully on.

"U-um...thanks!" You replied, wanting to take your hand away from him. But because you didn't want to seem ungrateful, you left it there "I didn't expect you guys would even notice, ha."

Zenitsu turned to you with a look of shock "What? Why?"

You swallowed hard, scratching the back of your head in guilt

Damn it, he's going to think I'm weak or something

"I don't knoww...I guess it was just silly thinking like that."

Zenitsu studied your facial expression with a straight face--it seemed like he was sensing dishonesty in your voice, almost as if he could read you like a book. He shook his head slowly.

"(Y/n), you're with us now okay? No one gets left behind."

You didn't realize it at first, but tears were welling up in your eyes.

I hope that's true