His Demons

The Darkest Night

Inosuke's POV

I wake up, drenched in sweat, panting. A headache sets in within the second, and I know that Monjiro is watching me, even though my eyesight is blurry and messy.

"Inosuke... I apologise for the invasive question, but what was your past like?" He asks. I grunt, pretending I didn't just bolt up from a demon venom induced nightmare.

"Zenitsu will be out training for a bit, and the next time the woman walks in to check on you won't be until the sun goes down." Gonpachiro slides out of the bed he was sitting in, and walks over to me, one of his legs clearly stiff and uncooperative. He sits down on my bed. "Talk. You don't have to tell anyone but me."

I sigh. Knowing Sanjiro, he'll be stubborn, and won't leave until I talk about my past. "Fine."

"I lived with an abusive father until I was two years old. My mother took me away, to a different village. I can't remember exactly what happened, but there was a form of danger there, too. My mother threw me off a cliff, sacricing her chance to raise me, and her own life, for mine. The venom made me relive that..." I don't realize that I'm crying until Tanjiro takes my boar mask, and pulls it over my face. I am grateful for what he's done, but I can't help remembering my mother's words.

"Oi, Gonpachiro." I say. The boy pauses. I sit there, mentally preparing for what I'm about to do. "I don't want to be left alone right now..." I admit quietly. I see Tanjiro nod as I remove my mask.

"I must have got injected by the venom, too. I replayed the moment when my sister became a demon. I don't know if it was worse the first or the second time." He shrugs, laughing sadly. I can do nothing more than nod in empathy. I guess broken things call to broken things.

"You know, I'm lucky, compared to some. I still have my sister, despite the fact she's a demon. I can't really complain." He smiles, appearing to be hiding his pain.

"Sure, your pain isn't much compared to others, but it's still there. Don't deny your feelings." I tell him. Tanjiro's eyes widen at my words.

"I'm supposed to be the one comforting you, Inosuke..." He smiles, laughing awkwardly. I pull my mask down, blushing. He notices my mask down. I shrug. I wonder if my sight will ever be the same. Zenitsu has an incredible ability to hear, and Gonpachiro can smell anything. For me, my eyesight is my special skill. I didn't know how I could manage without it.

"You're worrying, aren't you?" Tanjiro asks. I go to ask how he knows, but he cuts me off before I can. "I can tell. I'm always worried, about Nezuko, about if something bad happened to you and Zenitsu, about demons coming for us when we're vulnerable."

"Heh, yeah." I say. I don't think he understands my kind of worrying, though.

Word count: 509

Guess who's back!?

My mental health has been shit, so prepare yourself for some of the most angsty chapters you have ever read.

Author-kun. 💕