Tsunami of Dead Tears: Part 2

Chapter 30

"How're you holdin' up?"

Inosuke rolled his shoulders around in an exaggerated manner, as if to show that he wasn't in any pain.

He smirked behind his boar mask. "Better."

Giyuu chuckled, but didn't forget the very apparent danger that bringing Inosuke along would have. "Now remember, just because you don't feel anything doesn't mean you aren't completely healed up. Take it easy with the jumping. Bend your knees, not your waist."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Inosuke said, dismissing Giyuu's warnings.

They had both been travelling across the rooftops of Tokyo for about two days now, getting by with rations Giyuu had carried along. Of course, since the food was mostly intended for one person, they had to split the rations equally, which left them pretty hungry a lot of the time. During the daytime, they would purchase rooms in cheap motels, nap, look over maps, and plan their next move. Of course, with Inosuke being a bit erratic in his fashion sense, Giyuu had to force him to take off his boar mask and wear plain shirts. This obviously pissed the boy off, but after a few more days of acting like a civilized person, it grew on him.

But during the nights, they would climb on the unlit safety of the rooftops, blades in hand and eyes wide open. Even in the city, nights posed a very clear danger.

This was because they both sensed the presence of demons radiating all over Tokyo.

It could be a pedestrian seemingly minding their own business, a shop vendor, or even an entire family, but the fact of the matter was that the demons were hidden everywhere, scouring the streets for any sign of a slayer. The sheer number of them made Giyuu forbid ever purchasing food from vendors, whether it be night or day. Who knows what kind of concoctions the demons were dropping into that stuff.

With this many sentries and this much demon activity, it was clear that Muzan was up to something. Perhaps even his ultimate goal.

But that mattered little to Inosuke. Even though Giyuu had decided to bring him along to rescue Hirohito and possibly even assassinate Muzan, he still didn't feel like he fit in. Whenever they had to cut their way through a demon-infested corner, or clear an entire warehouse full of demons, Giyuu would always prevent Inosuke from doing anything useful.

Sit back, let me clear the way, don't try to intervene.

Those words were constantly spouted before a fight. Being the apprehensive type, Inosuke was naturally upset with these orders.

But there was another aspect to it that didn't sit very well with him. Whenever Giyuu said those words, there was always a sense of distrust in his eyes. He always said them clearly and concisely, even repeating himself a lot of the time, and before he went to leave, he would continuously glance back at Inosuke before he left. Not only was it frustrating, it was also worrying. Did Giyuu really not trust him? Was Inosuke a fragile ornament to him, or even worse, a nuisance he had to make sure didn't move?

Inosuke didn't like it. The last thing he wanted was for Giyuu to regret bringing him along. If that happened... then that night, the night when Giyuu decided with his heart instead of his mind, to not leave Inosuke, would be completely worthless.

But he didn't want to bring up the subject too quickly. No, that would end with Giyuu shutting him up. Inosuke knew he needed to ease him in, make him comfortable as they talked, then he could gradually push the conversation over to that subject. He was worried that his impatience might override and make him go over too fast, but he remembered the last time that happened.

On the rooftop, when we first tried to free Hirohito. Inosuke thought. I was frustrated that I couldn't shoot the driver. So I...

That memory was more than enough to get his impatient side to shut the hell up.