|·Idiots With Swords·| Inosuke X Reader

17

"Oi kid. Why does the doll have six arms?" I asked as they walked up next to me.
He doesn't look away from the battle for a moment. "Well.. According to my dad, this doll is modeled after an actual swordsman. My ancestors who built it, had to give it six arms or they couldn't recreate his movements."
"And what happens if it breaks?" Tanjirou asked.
"Then I'm the one that has to fix it. After my dad died, that task was passed onto me.. But I don't have the talents or the skills to do that.." He mumbled with an audible gulp.
I cringed, "then I have bad news for you kid.."
The machine is broken apart and left in a heap while Muichirou just stands there. The kid runs off in tears Tanjirou's run off after him and I approach the Pillar with my eyes narrowed.
"(Y/n). Why do you have an idiot in your company?" He asked suddenly before I could speak.
"None of your damn buisness. Stop being an insensitive jerk off!" I scolded snatching the robots arm from his hands.
"You're not the boss of me." He pulls the sword from the machines grip and walks off.
I grumble in frustration as I try to attach the joint. "Sorry about this, Yoriichi.." My eyes widen in shock. I knew his name.. What the hell.. As I rest my hand on the robot, I feel a strong wave of melancholy. But its not from the metal, its from whom it was modeled after. I don't even realize a tear escaped my face until it hits the dirt in front of me. I wipe it away and reattached the arm with ease, but it crumbled off back into the dirt. I hiss angrily to myself, "goddamn it all.."
"Lets see if it still works, Kotestu- Kun!" Tanjirou said hopefully as they walked back over.
We stood it back up and instantly it takes a battle stance, that nearly made me jump out of my skin. (Y/n) You idiot.. This isn't your fear.. Its his! And you have to strike this fear into his heart as well!
"You have to beat that moron! That kelp head! Tell him to slice his own belly!" Kotestu said angrily.
"That's too harsh!" Tanjirou said in a panic. "But I'll do my best to beat him!" He tried, but he couldn't even land a single hit on the doll, being launched off to the side. "Six arms is pretty tough!"
"It has 5 arms now. That shitty brat broke one off so its capability has decreased. If you die from this, you'll be nothing more than crap." Kotestu seemed more annoyed than anything, and it amused me. "You're moving by habit. You're not making decisions after watching your opponent's movements. That's why nothings working for you, get it? The point is, you have no foundation. I'm surprised you managed to live this long. I bet you've been on thin ice this whole time. So I'm gonna fix that, and if you don't listen, I won't let you eat!"
"Well. Aren't you foul?" I said with a yawn.
The boy turns to me, "what? You think you can beat the doll?"
The color drained from Tanjirou's face, "Kotestu- kun, you're treading in dangerous waters..."
He was dismissed with a lazy wave, "a weak girl like you? You look way too fragile to even live through a single hit! Have you even been through an actual battle?!"
I narrow my eyes and walk past him, walking right up to the doll. I hand one of my swords off to Tanjirou. If i really want to show this kid my abilities in a training session, I'll just stick to using one sword so I have the same disadvantage as Tanjirou. It immediately swings at me and I block it easily. It attacks me several times, not landing a single hit, and each time, I rest my sword over what would've been its vital points before swinging my sword towards its neck, stopping just below the jugular. I avoided any contact with the doll, and figured out which arm was gonna hit where. Neck, right breast, left flank, right shoulder, head. I dodged again and punched the doll in the chest, causing it to stop moving.
"A weak girl huh? I'll have you know that I've defeated enough demons to become a pillar twice over. The only reason why I'm not one currently, is because my Master, the Wind Pillar, is still alive. I've faced off against the strongest demon more than once and survived without a single wound whatsoever." I stepped away from the machine and glare down at Kotestu. "If you think I'm still weak, then you can take this sword and come after me right now." He shook his head nervously. "Then I'll take my leave. Good luck, Tanjirou. You'll figure all this out eventually." I grab my weapons and walk off by myself, as I'm out of their hearing range, I bow my head to the machine. "Yoriichi- sama, thanks for being strong enough to make my father tremble in fear." I worry I may be hallucinating the faint feeling of a hand on my shoulder, but I just go on my way.
I make my way back to my room and write out a letter, leaving little doodles after my signature and along the margins.
"Who's that for?" Kazumi asked as he flew in through the window, landing on my shoulder.
"Inosuke." I answered softly, "he's kinda dull though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he can't read it. If he can't, I'm going to need you to read it for him."
He nodded and nibbled on my hair, "oh! Message from Oyakata-Sama!"
I turn to face him, "..how's he doing?"
Kazumi looks almost upset for a second, "... He's really sick.. And its getting worse. But he says that he loves you very much, and that he is glad you found someone that makes you happy."
I nod my head slowly, ".. Thanks for telling me.." This means that he won't live much longer at all.. And that scares me more than anything in the world. I hand the rolled up letter to my crow and he nuzzles my face before flying off. Leaving me to grieve the fact that Kagaya is dying and i can do nothing about it.