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Inosuke tried to breathe. It was so hard to breathe.

He'd come with Tanjiro and Zenitsu under the Demon-slaying Corps orders, on a mission. Supposedly, there was a demon lurking in the forest, terrorizing a small village nearby. It had taken a few victims from the village every few weeks to go unnoticed. Unfortunately, the demon wasn't cautious enough.

He'd come into the cold woods, not worried from the snow and his bare chest. Tanjiro tried to give him a haori or a scarf to wear, even a shirt. Sadly, he was let down. Zenitsu kept on whimpering about the cold and the demon they were to face ahead.

Inosuke, having a haughty and brave yet callous personality, teased the blonde. He'd said that he'd take down the weak demon without 'Monitsu's' help. This reassured and angered the blonde.

It was early morning. Tanjiro and Zenitsu were sleeping. A wooden box was placed beside the red-haired boy, the box which contained his little demon sister.

Inosuke couldn't sleep. He had been staring out into the snow outside the room. He'd sensed the presence of a demon earlier, but he wasn't so sure. The sense came and disappeared in a flash, as if it hadn't been there. It made him uneasy.

Obviously, he went outside.

He had to find the demon. If he did, Monitsu and Gonpachiro would've finally treated him like the (delusional) king he was. As quiet as a mouse, he'd grabbed his swords, removed the stupid pyjamas and put on his pants. And being his typical self, ran out into the woods without telling anybody.

He was sure that he'd defeat the demon, come back and tell his underlings he'd killed the demon.

It never occurred to him that the demon could've defeated him instead.

◇●●●◇

He was running. Running into the woods on the mountain ahead. Strangely, it snowed there all year, as he'd heard from Gonpachiro.

"Could it be happening from a demon blood art?" Inosuke pondered. "It's weak if it is. I'll show the demon who the king of the mountain is!"

That's when it hit him.

It was fast; too fast for the boar headed boy to see. The melee directed to his face wasn't hard enough to make him spit blood, but it did result in winding him.

The demon appeared out of nowhere. Bulging violet eyes, pale white skin, blue haired and ugly, the thing immediately plucked Inosuke from the air and threw him into a tree. That made him spit blood.

He estimated something had broken, but didn't heed to the pain. The boar-headed boy had charged. He spun as he used different beast breathing techniques. The swords whipped and slashed at the demon, occasionally cutting his hands.

After five minutes, the demon had no hands, many scars and blinded eyes. Inosuke had a few broken bones and a few bleeding cuts.

That's when the demon showed his blood art.

The shadows casted by the tree melted. They moved like inky liquid, moving from the ground to the demon's severed arms. The shadows materialized with each other, forming new arms.

"That explains how he's so fast," Inosuke thought. "If this fight drags on too long, I'll have to retreat. But the great Lord Inosuke doesn't retreat!"

"Who are you, demon?!" Inosuke spoke loud enough for the gross thing to hear.

"I am Rhim," the demon responded immediately in a far-away voice, "A past Lower moon. I known for my skills at my prime. Unfortunately, the demon lord disregarded me, sent me to this lonely place to feed on. I haven't had hashira blood in years....but you, young boy...WILL DO WELL!" He bared his fangs at the last sentence and leapt onto Inosuke.

Luckily, that talk gave the boar-headed boy time to regain his bearings. The two fought, viciously, shadows versus swords.

Alas, Inosuke's only human.

At some point, the demon overpowered him. The white thing's shadowed hands split into two more; two grabbing Inosuke, and two grabbing the boy's swords.

He threw the boy far into the forest, far enough from the border of the woods and deeper into it. He'd fallen in some clearing, empty of vegetation. His head had hit a tree branch hard, leaving his mind crumpled and in pain.

"I can't move my body...my mind's gone sluggish...is this how I'm going to die?" Inosuke mumbled to himself. The demon's claws had scratched his chest area, leaving a dark gash of blood seeping through it. The red liquid made him nauseous. It never made him nauseous before though.

The demon came to the clearing. The thing was about to continue with its barrage, when the first rays of sunlight came through the trees. The demon's head whipped in the direction, only for his shadow hands to vaporize. He bared his fangs in annoyance.

"You won't survive till the next night." The demon had said. "I've made sure of it. Pity I couldn't kill you with my own hands."

The thing had left Inosuke in misery and agony, staring at the green canopy of trees above him. Small flakes of snow fell and they glimmered like glitter from the sunlight, making them beautiful.

"It's getting colder...." The boy noticed as his eyes fluttered closed. He groaned a bit from the pain and gave in to the darkness.

The last thing he felt before falling unconscious was the light touch on his chest.

◇●●●◇

Inosuke was moving. He could tell that much.

He seemed to be in the air; he could feel two soft hands tugging on his arms, dragging him across the snow. The pull was light, as if the person didn't want to hurt him.

He opened his eyes a peek. Glaring white light came; he immediately closed his eyes. He risked opening the again. This time his eyes adjusted to the white. The first thing he noticed was the blood.

That was a lot of blood coming from his chest. He felt light-headed; as if he'd ran through the rain and fought fifty demons at the same time, or when he'd drank a carbonated beer with Tanjiro and gone hyper (don't ask). He also felt dizzy, and each movement he did with his limbs hurt like hell. He wondered if this was how demons felt when someone severs their head...

His chest felt like fire. Every breath he took made him feel winded. He wasn't getting enough oxygen and it was slowly making him fall asleep again. The thin air only made it worse. It was getting hard to breathe.

Then his eyes registered the hands. Pale white hands were dragging him by his arms with feather-like touches, trying hard not to make the boar head register any pain.

Then his eyes moved up to the owner and he almost gasped. Which was surprising, since he'd never gasped in his entire life.

A person, with long white tresses, was dragging him. Warm, sparkly brown eyes were focused on the destination ahead. Inosuke could tell the difference between genders now; Tanjiro had taught how to identify a male and a female.

And this female, to Inosuke, looked so kind.

It made him remind of Tanjiro...those warm brown eyes...a fluttery feeling in his heart cut through the pain, giving him ease for a moment. Yet the sensation came and went too quickly, making him whimper.

He was aware he felt hot all over. Which was weird, since it was snowing all around. The boar-headed boy felt drowsy all over again. He gave in to sleep, trying to believe the pain would go away if he did...