Opposites - Inosuke x Zenitsu

28. Heartbeat

Inosuke's Pov:

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... Wait?! What was I thinking?!?! As if I would just give up now! That would just be playing into fate's hands! It could go to hell with that!!! I won't let myself, Zenitsu, or the others down now! I am Inosuke Hashibira, head over heels in love with Zenitsu Agatsuma, who I learned the names of my friends not too long ago, and I will now save my friend! I'm not giving up now! Since when was I so emo?! I decide when I'm going to kick the bucket, got it?! I! And I say NO! I'M NOT DYING!... But damn... I'm falling so fast... I'll only have a few seconds to— Suddenly, I saw Nezuko appear at the edge of the cliff, and she had—SHE HAD MY KATANA IN HER HAND! She took her bamboo out of her mouth and shouted, "CATCH." I had never heard her speak before... funny... I somehow imagined her voice differently... Haha... Her voice is kind of high... I thought—OH DAMN IT!!!! INSOUKE DAMN IT! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, OR YOU'LL BE DEAD SOON! And in the next moment, she threw my katana downward, in my direction! Oh God, did she want to stab me?! But—OH, I SEE! In mid-fall, I extended my katana and caught it. So, just a few milliseconds until I hit the ground, so I have to act very quickly! A form! A good form! I need a good form to stop my impact! But—What form can I apply while FALLING... Second... Third... OH, DAMN IT! "BEAST BREATH, SPONTANEOUS INFUSION PART TWO, SAVE ZENITSU AND DON'T DIE!!!!" I swung, and with as much strength as possible, I rammed my katana into the rock wall. Frau Kocho had said earlier that due to the rain, the stones were hollow and broken, and therefore easy to break, right? And if the cliff could break because of Zenitsu's almost weightless body, then it wouldn't be a problem to ram two ridged iron katanas into the wall, right? Please... Please let it work! Please! Please let it— "YES!!!" I shouted joyfully and relieved as the katana embedded into the wall. There was a deafening squeak as they scraped over the crumbly wall. I placed my legs against the rock wall to have even more strength to press them into the rock wall. I quickly turned my head away as sparks appeared, and a strand of my hair singed. Fortunately, it was raining, and the sparks were quickly extinguished, just like my strand of hair that had almost started to burn. I really didn't want my hair to be in flames, and that's why I was almost, for once, a bit grateful for the thunderstorm. (Well, only almost... and only a bit... and only for once...) But in the end, the katana embedded themselves in the cliff! "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I shouted again and had to laugh with joy, and I heard a lot of people above at the edge of the cliff cheering enthusiastically. I would have liked to look up smiling, but I couldn't. Just one wrong move, and either one of my katanas or the crevice in which they were stuck would break. I had fallen several meters in depth, but I still couldn't jump... well, at least not without landing on poor Zenitsu and breaking all my bones. Until now, I hadn't even noticed that Zenitsu was now much closer to me, and I saw more and more blood from a gash on the back of his head... Oh God... I hope he's still alive... What do I have to do now to not fall?... Think... Inosuke, at least once in your life... think...!!! YES! I got it! If I was very careful, I could pull out one katana and then—YES! IT WORKED! Carefully, I pulled out the second one, letting it slide along the wall. Gently... If I didn't have extreme body tension right now, I could fall. I heard renewed cheering from above, which somehow made me stronger. Yes! I can do it! And—YES, I'M DOWN! (...Phew... adrenaline kick...) Actually, I wanted to be happy first, but then I saw Zenitsu again, and my smile froze instantly. "Zenitsu!!!" I screamed. Carefully, I nudged his cheek, hoping he would just wake up. I forgot everything around me. Even the storm above me, and the cold raindrops that had been pouring down on me the whole time, my mind and body completely ignored. I only had eyes for Zenitsu now. "...Hey... Hey, Zenitsu... say something!" But Zenitsu didn't move at all. He didn't even breathe anymore. "...This... this is really not funny anymore... please... wake up!" I smiled desperately and shook Zenitsu's shoulder a bit. When I did that, he was ice-cold. "...No... we... we wanted to do so much together... you- you wanted to learn at least one more form of Thunder Breathing, and— we really wanted to go to Yokohama (City in Japan) together someday... you- you really wanted to watch the snow hares near the Mugen Train station together in winter, and—..." I started to cry. I reached out two shaky fingers and placed them on his carotid artery. Nothing. No heartbeat. "...This... this can't be... this isn't real... this isn't really happening..." I felt the horrified stares of the others above at the edge of the cliff weighing on us. I felt so sorry for them. They had just understood that Zenitsu... now finally... is dead. "...No... Zenitsu... if..." I rested my head on his cold, wet chest, which didn't rise and fall to breathe, and this time I couldn't perceive his reassuring heartbeat. "...If... if you're dead... then... then I want to die too! I don't want to be alone Please! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!" I hugged his cold, lifeless body as tightly as possible. "ZENITSU! I LOVE YOU!" Suddenly, I felt a... somehow... warm hand on my head, ruffling through my wet hair. "...I... I love you too... Idiot..."