Wrestling In The Sand | InoTan

Fuck.

Cool saltwater drips from Tanjirou's curling hair as he sweeps it back with his hand.

He sticks his light green surfboard in the sand as he scans the entrance of the beach, waiting for Inosuke to arrive at the budding party. The sun has just about set, and almost everyone has shown up beside the ravenette.

Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and the redhead's younger sister Nezuko had set up a personal spot around the rest of their friends.

Nezuko is a year below the best friends, and she's constantly hanging around them though neither one of them mind. She and Tanjirou have matching tan freckled skin, but that's where most of the resemblance stops. Unlike him, she has long wavy brown hair that fades to vibrant orange tips and big light pink eyes that always have an innocent brightness behind them.

Zenitsu tosses a water bottle in his direction, and he catches it out of mid-air with a light chuckle. He graciously unscrews the cap and takes a greedy sip. Unfortunately, they were still in the midst of the heatwave, and Tanjirou wants to keep himself out of the emergency room.

He's despised its existence since his dad's sudden passing a few years prior.

One second they were talking with his father sitting up in the bed perfectly fine until he just . . . wasn't.

The only things Tanjirou has left of his father are hazy yet vivid memories and a pair of dangly hanafuda earrings he refuses ever to take off. They keep him grounded in the present moment because you never actually know what's going to happen in your next few minutes.

"So, where's the buffoon that makes you feel things?" The blonde asks from his spot, laying on a beach towel laid out by their personal cooler.

Tanjirou instantly sputters, choking on his water as a dark flush rises to his exposed skin. "He doesn't make me feel things!"

The surfer's blush only intensifies more as his friend's incredulous laughter violates his ears.

Even Nezuko, who's sitting on the towel next to Zenitsu, joins the laughing with her tiny giggles.

Sure, Inosuke increases his heart rate and makes his cheeks feel like someone lit them on fire, but he doesn't make him feel things.

Okay, maybe he makes him feel something.

"You say that like your whole body didn't shut down when he came at us like an animal," Zenitsu laughs again, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Who knew your type was feral."

Tanjirou sputters face burning hotter as he scrambles to come up with a retaliating remark. Nothing comes to mind quick enough, so he throws the water bottle back at his friend, and it hits the blonde in the face. He almost doesn't feel bad as he walks a bit away to his bag.

The redhead grabs a couple of black hair clips to pull the longer pieces of his bangs back before standing up and catching sight of Inosuke, where the sand starts after the pavement.

The wild boy stands still for a moment before he barrels at Tanjirou like a wild boar. He doesn't notice how the other man isn't slowing down; all he can focus on is how pretty the sun looks reflected in his light eyes. The redhead feels a toothy smile stretch across his lips as Inosuke gets closer before proceeding to headbutt him in the stomach.

The wind is knocked out of Tanjirou as his world tips, and he groans, falling back onto the sand, Inosuke standing over him victorious.

"I've been practicing to take you down, Kentaro!" The ravenette cackles, hands proudly balled into fists, and the sight dulls the ache in Tanjirou's abdomen.