Inosuke X Aoi. Forming Bonds

Part 17: Burning Passion/Thunderous Beast Training

The arms wrapped around Inosuke tighten with each crashing of tears from the eyes of his girl. A wide range of emotions sweep over Aoi leaving her not too sure what to feel in this moment. Joyous that her lover returned just as he promised, but also guilt that she was thankful Rengoku gave his all to protect the beast breather. She knew the Hashira would have stopped at nothing to make sure all of his juniors were protected, even if it did cost him his life.

"I.. I was so worried." She pulls away to bring a hand to her face to wipe away a tear only for more to take its place. "When I heard.. About Rengoku-san..." Her head starts to tilt down while she remembered how it felt like someone reached into her chest to pull out her heart when the thought of Inosuke had been killed entered her mind. "I thought if someone like him could be. ki-..." She couldn't bring herself to even finish her thought.

Inosuke could feel every bit of pain his Aoi was feeling in her heart. The raw emotion of sorrow made him bitter, made him want to find Akaza right that moment to carve him up with his blades in a blinding rage for being the source of why Aoi shed tears. He lets out a breath to calm down his own emotions knowing if he were to find the Upper Ranked 3 at that very instant, the fight would not even last a minute at his current skill.

Instead, he knows he is needed here. Not only to train to close the distance to his goal of becoming the best slayer, but he understands that Aoi needs him. A thought he is still getting used to, but one that he is already getting comfortable with. He brings a hand to her cheek to wipe away her tears as she slowly starts to get control of her emotions. "How many times do I gotta tell you? I will always come back! I already told you, This was my last defeat I will face again!"

The last statement sends Aoi reeling back slightly. She knows she never physically heard the claim before. But somehow she felt that outer body experience to know exactly what her boy was talking about. Perhaps it was her own intuition, or perhaps it was how her soul burns so passionately for the boar almost as if the two were intertwined, showing her the visions Inosuke had.

She crashes her head back into his chest with the arms wrapped around his waists tightens. Her warmth had to be the most comfortable feeling Inosuke had ever felt. Her heartbeat seem to be in the same rhythm as his as the two held their embrace.

Inosuke had always fought to only better himself and to prove his strength to all of those who doubted him. Now he knows he fights for something even greater. He fights for his friends he had grown so close to. Fighting Lower One alongside Tanjiro showed the boar that his strength is sometimes needed for others rather than just himself. Inosuke could have easily gone for the kill on Enmu himself to secure the glory of slaying a Kizuki all on his own when Tanjiro was a victim to the sleep spell. It wasn't the beast breather's duty to ensure the life of the red head when he brought his own blade to his throat. Perhaps if it was the Inosuke from when he first joined the Demon Slayer Corps he would have not wasted the time nor the energy to slam his brother's hand down to the ground to snap him out of what he thought was a dream.

Above all else, he now fights for Aoi. This girl that had this magical pull on his heart that he thought was annoying or meaningless at first. Come to find that this is the bond he needed in his life. Seeing how hard Tanjiro fights for his sister is how Inosuke wants to be driven to fulfill his goals. The fight with the acid demon was just a glimpse of power the boar thought he could obtain if he dedicated each battle to the one he loves. The thought of Aoi's safety was enough to push past and even break down the barriers of the limits Inosuke had on his own power.

The two back away with slight smirks on their faces. Aoi brings a hand to her opposite arm while darting her eyes away knowing that Inosuke had to depart on training eventually. "So.. I guess you will be back in training soon huh?"