Chapter 41: Inosuke and Kotoha
Notes: Part 3 of the Infinity Castle Arc.
Everyone stared in shock, until Tanjirou burst out in laughter.
"Inosuke, you are a godsend!" he said with a huge smile, "Your arrival is well received."
"Hm? Hmm?" Inosuke had made a circle with his thump and point finger, staring at Douma, "Two! You! You're Upper Moon 2! Your secret is out! I know you're second from the top! If I beat you I'll become a Pillar!" he laughed.
"Well, I don't exactly hide the fact that I am Upper Moon 2. You look interesting."
"When I become a Pillar they'll call me the Beast Pillar… No, the Boar Pillar. Which one do you think is better?! Hey…" Inosuke continued, before turning to Tanjirou, "Hrngh! You…You're breathing funny! What are you doing?!" he said, "Did you do that thing again?! You'll…you know! Shinobu'll get mad at you! And she gets really angry, you know!"
Tanjirou patted Inosuke's head.
"Yes, she will, won't she?" he smiled wistfully.
"Oi. What happened?"
"Shinobu is not in the best of shapes right now." Tanjirou looked back towards Kanao and Shinobu.
The Insect Pillar had long since fallen unconscious, Kanao having done all she could to manage her sister's wounds.
Inosuke stared. Then looked at Douma.
"I'll chew you up, you scum." he deadpanned.
And charged.
"Inosuke! Don't breathe in the cold air he spreads!" Tanjirou and Kanao called out.
Tanjirou took a moment to breathe and settle his heart and lungs, allowing Inosuke to take the lead for a second. He watched as Inosuke used his Fourth Fang and how Douma defended himself.
Douma was playing with him, anyway, finding Inosuke interesting.
"Ah ha ha!" the demon laughed, "What a sloppy technique! With that chipped katana and your strange swordsmanship! Very interesting!"
Inosuke dodged the fans, flipped back on his hands and kicked the fan away. He landed beside Tanjirou.
"Wow! You're flexible! Impressive! That head is a mask, right?" the demon asked.
"You need more time?" Inosuke asked the Sun Pillar.
"Yeah." Tanjirou breathed.
"Leave it to me."
"You're quick." the demon said, attacking Inosuke.
Douma created ice with his fans, only for Inosuke to counter it and kick him in the gut. He nearly got his leg cut off for that, pulling it back just in time.
"Not bad!" Douma grinned.
Inosuke slashed wildly at Douma from a distance and the smug look in the demon's eyes dropped, when the slashes reached his face.
"Tsk." Inosuke seemed disappointed, "Argh! The precision of my new technique still is not so good! I was aiming for your neck but missed!"
Tanjirou drew in another breath, eyes closed, trying to calm his anger, while Kanao was staring in shocked surprise Inosuke dislocate all his joints and put them back together.
"Nice move, Inosuke." he praised his friend.
Douma was laughing, seemingly excited.
"So you can immediately reset your joints. Doesn't that hurt? Right… Everything about you is really…sloppy." he said, "I've been alive for a really long time…but I've never seen a kid like you."
"Yeah, of course you haven't!" Inosuke huffed, "Compared to all the rabble…I, Inosuke-sama…" Tanjirou blinked, surprised, "…am completely different!"
"Inosuke!" Kanao shouted.
"Yeah, I knew it. It was a mask." Douma said, "Hmm… This boar hide has been through quite a lot. How did you do the eyes?" he wanted to know, examining at the boar head with interest.
"You… Give that back!" Inosuke said, furious.
"Hm? I feel like I remember…your face." Douma said, looking at Inosuke, "Have we met somewhere before?"
"I don't remember meeting a maggot like you before! Don't touch my fur with your dirty hands!" Inosuke called.
"No..., we have met. I know you." Douma smiled.
"And I'm telling you we haven't! You creepy shitface!" Inosuke called, angrily.
"Inosuke, calm down." Tanjirou said.
"Stay calm. He's just spouting random nonsense." Kanao spoke up, from Shinobu's side.
"Random? Nonsense? Oh, that's surprisingly hurtful." Douma said indignant, "My only saving grace is that I'm being serious. And besides, I have a good memory. I even remember the time I was human quite well." he said, sticking his index finger inside his head, holding his fan in his mouth.
"Gross." Tanjirou said.
"UEEEEGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! EEEEW!" Inosuke screamed in disgust, "YUUUUCK!"
"Hmmm. Hmmm? Ahh! Here we go! This is it. Was it only fifteen years ago? That's fairly recent. There was agirl roughly 17 or 18 years old came to me, carrying a baby. She said her husband punched her everyday and that her mother-in-law bullied her daily, too. So my Eternal Paradise cult took in that poor woman." Douma was saying, playing with the boar head, "She had no parents or siblings. And she didn't have anyone to rely on oranywhere to go or be safe at. When I first saw her, her face was swollen so badly her features were wrapped, I couldn't tell what the original shape was. It was pretty rough." he was saying, "And she had partially gone blind in one eye because of her husband beating her face. But when I touched her face, shereturned to normal after treatment. She was so pretty, and she left quite a lasting impression on me. She had the same face as you, but more delicate and had softer features, but… I bet she was your mother, am I right? Oh yeah!There's no doubt about it!"
Tanjirou froze.
'Inosuke's mom had been part of Douma's cult? Did that mean she, too, was…?'
He tightened his hold on his sword.
"I ain't got no mother! I was raised by the wild boars! This has nothing to do with me!" his friend called back.
"Did a boar give birth to you? You're a human, so a human must've given birth to you."
"Zip it already, you stupid piece of trash! Give that back!" Inosuke charged.
"Inosuke!" Tanjirou called out, reaching towards his friend.
"Hey now, listen to my story to the end. Fate bringing us together is a miracle." Douma smiled, cutting at Inosuke.
Tanjirou leaped and picked his friend, getting him to safety, away from Douma's attack.
"Inosuke, are you okay? Please, calm down." he said, staying in a defensive position before him.
"So, about your mother." Douma continued as if nothing had happened, "I had no intention of eating her. Having someone beautiful next to you feels pretty good, you know? Ah, maybe the Sun Breath user does, that's why keeps getting between me and the poison girl?" he grinned at Tanjirou, "Well, that's fine, I guess. She wasn't very smart, though, your mother. That was unfortunate. But she was pretty and good at singing. She used to carry you and sang to you a lot. It was that pinky promise lullaby for some reason. 'Pinky promise, pinky promise.' That was all she always sang to you. And every time she sang that pinky promise song, the lyrics were different. At some point it became a village song partway through, or something. It was so cute." Douma kept talking, "I wasn't going to eat her. I purely planned to keep her alive by my side until she passed away. But your mother…oh, right, 'Kotoha', was as perceptive as she was foolish. She found out I was eating my followers. And despite all my explanations, she couldn't understand my benevolence. So she cursed me…and accused me of being a cruel liar. It was insult after insult. Then she fled my temple and ran. Straight through the forest and to a cliff, where she threw you off." the demon said, sadly, "So I ate her – bones and all. If she went back home, she'd get beat by her husband. And she couldn't do anything on her own, so she would have ended up dead by the road with you since she was hopelessly pathetic." Douma narrated, "Kotoha was so unfortunate. Wasthere ever a happy moment in her life? She had a pointless existence."
"Cut it out already! You sleazebag!" Kanao shouted from behind Tanjirou.
"No life is pointless, demon." Tanjirou spoke up, "But you wouldn't know that."
"You are contradicting yourself there, Sun Breath user."
"Sun Pillar to you. And you are talking shit about the mother of my Tsuguko."
"It truly is a miracle, meeting you here." Inosuke stood up, slowly, "After all the demon who killed…my mother and hurt my friends…is right before my eyes!" he growled, "You have my gratitude for making me remember. But just cutting your head won't be enough! I'll show you what true hell is like!"