Oni | Kimetsu No Yaiba x Reader Oneshots

7. Inosuke Hashibira- By Your Side

We've been together since the start. I found him in the mountains, battling a tree with some sticks when I was younger. Being an orphaned kid, I also happened to live near where he resided. So we became neighbors, in a sense. At first Inosuke was reluctant to even near me, but as soon as he opened up, we clicked immediately. 

Every day was spent either running together, playing, or training to become demon slayers. I didn't know the exact motive behind his mission, but I knew mine and that was all I needed to know. We often talked together, wondering about how the future would play out. Most of the times it would end with him proclaiming that he'd kick the future's ass.

The years passed by and we remained inseparable. We traveled across bamboo forests and explored the roughest terrains together. Taking the final exam made us official demon slayers, and despite him running off before everyone else, we eventually met up not long after I chose my ore. Turns out he was waiting for me near the river, a spot where we would usually hang out together. 

Finding the notion out-of-character, I immediately began to tease Inosuke, poking fun at the fact that his usual gremlin-like attitude wasn't this proper or polite. He responded by chasing me all around the woods, with me just laughing my head off at his screaming. 

"I'll kill you!" he raged, roars echoing in the distance. I whooped, daring to test him at this point.

"If you can get to me, loser!" The rest of the evening was filled with screams, shouts, and the rustling of grass as we sprinted around until our lungs gave out. The boar head and I passed out from exhaustion, even in our last moments of consciousness breathlessly throwing insults at each other. It was in loving fashion, of course.

Good times, good times.

__

"Inosuke?" The ravenette with neon blue tips turned to me, grunting unpleasantly. His mouth stuffed full with food, I realized that it wasn't the best time to ask him a question, refraining from speaking further until he finished his onigiri. To my surprise, my companion swallowed everything with a large gulp, just a few grains of rice surrounding his mouth, which he wiped off with the back of his hand.

"What?" he responded, blaring voice sending the nearby sparrows flying into the air, "Want to ask me something?" I crossed my arms and tilted my head upwards, looking at the bright blue sky above us. I sighed, furrowing my eyebrows with uncertainty.

"When we're at the house, do you think it'll be an easy mission?" He snorted, apparently finding my question funny. I clicked my tongue and kicked his behind, not amused with his response. Hashibira shouted on impact, then growled at me, clutching the boar skin cloth. We glared at each other for a few moments, then burst out laughing, stomping the ground with our feet. The howls spread far and wide, the boisterous noise filling the valley.

Inosuke slung an arm around me and smirked, bright eyes envisioning the path ahead. 

"If it's not already easy, we'll make it easy. Some lowly demon can't beat us." I tousled his hair in good nature, ruffling his locks so they jutted out everywhere, then brushed them back into place so he could actually see.

"That's the spirit!" Hashibira chuckled in response, a mad grin spreading across his features. I knew that look all too well. I prepared myself for the race, feeling Inosuke's heart rate rise and muscles get all tensed up.

"Man, now I'm all hyped up to go kill it, I wanna run!" Loosening his arm from around my shoulders, he broke into a sprint, charging towards the woods in front of us. I followed close behind, my robes flying out behind me, wind weaving through my hair. It felt so free, to be with Inosuke. I felt like I could do anything with him. 

No matter the hardships we suffered, what horrible circumstances we endured in the past, or even conflicts with each other, we stayed together and kept fighting. The way he always approached things made me laugh, since it was so different to how I usually dealt with certain scenarios. I guess over the many, many years he rubbed off on me quite a bit, as I now was being the same way he was: reckless, bold, daring. 

His fighting spirit was contagious, and I felt like anyone who got the joy of battling with Inosuke would inherit his passion. Admittedly, it was a passion for blood, and at times he could be a little overly violent, but I still enjoyed the experience, the rush of having adrenaline continuously pump into your veins during the heat of a battle. 

Breaking away from my thoughts, I noticed that up ahead, in a small clearing resided a house. I stopped running and ducked behind a bush, feeling that something wasn't quite right. By now, Inosuke had also seen the building, and knelt beside me, a small frown apparent on his face.

"This is where the demon is," I spoke, checking the instructions I'd written down, "A large, traditional Japanese house in the middle of a clearing. It's said that there are three demons in here, so we better be caref-" Immediately, the boar-headed man jumped up, steam pouring from his nostrils.

"Three?" he exclaimed, excitement bursting from his voice, "Then I can have triple the amount of fun!" He rushed in, not listening to my shouts of disagreement and disappeared inside the demon-infested building. I folded the papers and shoved them quickly into my robes, a thin layer of sweat coating my brow.

Dumbass idiot.

Grumbling as I bolted in behind him, I hoped that I wouldn't lose sight, or lose feel of Inosuke, as I knew one of the demons had the power to change the room you were in. The house was incredibly large, so that didn't make it any less difficult. 

I could only hope I'd find him soon.