The rain poured down the muddy path along the edge of a village, far off from average civilization as the thick forest surrounding it drowned out most of the noise of the downpour.

Heavy footsteps trudged down the road until padded feet reached the property of a large estate.

There were sounds coming from inside the building, everyone still up and about despite the gloomy afternoon.

His hair was sticking to his neck as he walked through the downpour, his swords clanking and in need of repair by his sides but he didn't care. His fists were clenched as he trudged, steps stiff as he neared the entrance of the Butterfly manor. The mask he wore starting to get itchy and uncomfortable.

Green eyes flashing behind his mask, he pushed the gates open.

Tch.

Inosuke wasn't one to keep silent and mull over past transgressions, but the mission he had finished left a sour taste in his mouth. There were three demons in total, to his disappointment none were moons, but they were a little challenge if to just be turned into a stepping stone to his road to greatness.

It was smooth sailing, nothing a wild man like him couldn't accomplish with a twist of his swords.

But what ticked him off was when the last demon collapsed, head rolling to his feet, it made eye contact with his own, despite the boar mask he wore. He remembered the disgusting cackle of the creature as its lips stretched even in its last moments as it spoke.

"Breath of the Beast? What a joke."

"Still talking sore coz you dead? Now that's a joke." The demon slayer sneered back, sheathing his swords back on his hips. "Aren't you supposed to have your life flash before your eyes like other dying youkai?"

When it didn't answer, Inosuke crouched down. The looming clouds casting a dark shadow over its face and it replied, "Let me look at you, boy."

Inosuke scoffed but smirked as he indulged the creature, slipping the mask up his head until his bright emerald green eyes glowed down at it. He can see the demon exhale, its remaining eye widening slightly in surprise.

"What? Pissed your group got taken down by a human?"

The disintegrating head only curled its lip before the remainder of its face crumbled away, its words drifting in the starting wind.

"I see no human here."

-;-

"What are you doing?"

Inosuke paused, fist halfway from slamming against the wooden dummy's knees. He turned slightly to the smooth voice to see two women watching him from under the shelter of the mansion.

Shinobu narrows her eyes slightly as he straightened, not missing the way he tightened his fists harder before letting it loose. The silence was new to her, as it was new to see the young man tense. He had been going at it for hours since he had arrived, the heavy rain not letting up, him throwing punches and kicks at blocks of dummies until half had been demolished, the limbs either broken or sliced from all the scratching as if he had claws.

The sight made her realize that there was something with this particular boy that unsettled her amongst the other slayers that had passed under her watch.

Inosuke never had any proper training, not from anyone she knew of. He was brash, violent and loud. Shouting half the time and brutal with his remarks. His obsession in becoming stronger was not lost to anyone as he made it clear with both bark and bite wherever he went. He can be mistaken to be someone like Sanemi, but no, Sanemi was just misunderstood, covering a past to protect the people he loved.

Inosuke was different.

There was no one. She knew nothing of what drove him, his past, his intentions. Her eyes slid to his two jagged blades buried on the ground near him, the glinting of broken silver against the rain. Who taught this child how to fight, how to hold a sword, and not just one, but two? And why did he want to fight demons in the first place?

She heard from the Kamado boy that his breathing style was self taught, and that in itself was strange if not garnering on impressive. For sure, she wasn't the only one who thought so, as the other pillars merely kept silent to his presence and stayed with merely observing the teen for now.

It was almost genius, to teach oneself how to fight and survive, honing a skill until perfection, owning it until it becomes branded as the one and only technique amongst many others. It can almost be mistaken as demonic instinct from how wild of a madman he is if people were not aware of him growing up alone in a mountain.

It piqued an interest in her to see of what would happen now when he receives proper training, on how to be stronger, faster. To learn through others instead of his own experience of survival which she understood left a deeper impression than the former. Could this boy become as strong as the Pillars now, if not stronger? Kamado Tanjirou had already made his place in their minds as the best candidate to become a Pillar because of his strength and determination to protect others.

But what of this boy?

What was the foundation of his strength?

The rain continued to pour over his masked head, heavily drenched as he stood quietly still in the middle of the training grounds. His motionless form disturbed her, like a predator studying its prey in the open, legs itching and ready to pounce. She opened her mouth to ask again, when the young woman beside her moved forward.

"Inosuke."

It was nothing more than a muffled whisper but like a spell that was lifted, he suddenly twitched and cocked his head at the sound, fully facing the girl as he threw one last punch at the last standing dummy, flexing his fist at the sticking woodchips before crossing his arms over his chest proudly, "you see these?" he yelled over the rain, "soon I can knock off those demon joints faster than you could blink!" he was laughing again, arrogant and cackling under his mask as he walked towards them, as if he wasn't destroying the grounds like a wild beast just a minute before they arrived. Oddly enough, he felt easier to be around when he was loud.

Shinobu slid her gaze to the rose-eyed girl beside her as she watched the boy approach them.

She wasn't sure if the demon sensed it, or if she was just good at hiding her reaction to the pressure in the air. After all, when she arrived at the training grounds on patrol this late in the night, Nezuko had already been here watching him silently.

As if she knew.

The Insect Pillar moved to the edge of the rail, "You're going to wake everyone if you kept going." She said sweetly, eyes smiling when he grunted, picking his swords from the muddy ground, "yeah, yeah, I'm there." He snapped, swinging them sharply to whisk off the wet dirt.

"What were you doing training this late?" Shinobu asked as he jumped over the banister, shaking himself dry like an animal. He only puffed his chest at her as he landed on the wooden floor between them, "couldn't sleep," was all he said, as he made his way down the hall, not sparing the demon girl a glance as he passed.

"Need help in your training, Inosuke?" she called out after him, smile in place. It didn't escape her when he paused in his steps to turn his head back at them, his boar mask hiding away any expression that can give anything away.

"Yeah," he started, voice deep and rich, "but not from you."

It should've irritated her how forward and insulting his words can be, but from the time she knew the boy, she understood that he was just as brutal as he is brutally honest. It's admiring and annoying at the same time if one didn't have as much patience to understand him more. But she knew it was a trait he shared with the other pillars who weren't afraid to be frank or speak their mind.

They watched as he left them then, the padding of his footsteps silent as he had been since he had arrived. She turned to the young girl to invite her to return together, when she noticed the bamboo mask in her mouth bent and cracked, amethyst eyes misty and glowing as they never left the direction the boy had gone.

Inosuke stared up at the ceiling from where he lay in the futon, a certain blankness in his mind welcomed and settling as he deeply breathed, honing in to the sound of rain pouring outside. His wet mask sat beside his futon, probably should skip using it til it dries, he thought, slowly blinking in the darkness.

His two other male companions were nowhere when he arrived, hearing from the butterfly girls that they have both left for a mission the day before. He remembered being ticked and shouting about not having anyone to spar off his distress with when he spotted the wisp of pink passing behind him. He turned to see the other Kamado sibling walking down the hall, holding a basket of linens with her, probably helping the other girls in their chores.

"Why is she here?" he asked, wondering for a moment if the other guys finally arrived from their mission. One of the girls, Aoi, just shook her head, "Tanjirou wanted to leave her here for a while" she told him, "the mission probably wasn't major enough to bring her along."

The mountain boy scowled, "so what is she? Backup?" He didn't know why it irked him but he concluded it to them relying on her as backup instead of him. The girls only narrowed their eyes at him, calling him rude and noisy, that he shouldn't look at sweet Nezuko that way.

But it's true though? Those dumb girls don't know anything, he thought, making his way to the training grounds. His fingers were still twitching from restlessness and sparring partners or none, he'd have to get this annoying frustration off even if he had to do it himself.

Board after board he smashed, kicking low and twisting his body until his joints loosened from being used too much on the same move. He had set up ten dummies, sprinting and aiming the joints, the tendons, anywhere that can cause more pain when down. He observed in all his fights, what can not only kill a demon, but what can make them suffer. It was twisted, but it was his way of making sure that if a certain move cannot garner him a quick kill, then his mind can calculate another plan if he can land a blow even just so he can buy time. He rolled and dug his heel on the mud, pushing his body forward, crossing his arms to mimic a double slice and aimed both hands on makeshift hips, gripping and with a hard twist, tearing it in two.

He was breathing hard now, no, not enough, faster. I have to be faster. He thought, clenching his fist in disgust as he landed away, taking note of how his lungs were tightening and he curled his lips sneering at himself. Weak. Too slow, this breathing is all wrong.

A memory passed through his mind, golden strands, jagged claws against a young face.

Green eyes were flashing when he bolted again, seething now, wrist raised as he plunged his hand through a wooden board, he can hear his fingers crack at the force and he growled, jumping away again as he shook his hand as if the pain would also be whisked away. Again and again, he leaped, rain blurring his vision but this is what he needed. He wanted to evolve his senses under circumstances he cannot control. He felt every drop on his skin, distracting him from feeling his target and his hand pulled back again, over and over he repeatedly slammed his hand through the board until it broke. But he wasn't satisfied. He wanted his arm to pass through the board like a sword would pass through a rib.

A voice whispered in his mind, like an echo of distant past hidden away, "it's a pity," it sounded like a lullaby, "how so very human you are, so very fragile and weak."

The downpour was clouding his senses, mixing all the signals around him and he stilled to concentrate, knowing every second counts in a fight. Any second can flip the game if he wasn't focused enough. Why wasn't I focused enough? The air was cold and unforgiving on his skin, but that was too irrelevant at the moment. He wanted to see without seeing. If his eyes were clouded and his ears were tricked, he needed to concentrate on every tremor that moved through his feet, his hands, and the air around him despite of the rain.

"…if you were going to be human…"

He can feel every drop on the ground near his feet like a ripple that bounced, and the muscles on his legs twitched as they all vibrated back to him like a honing signal, as if he was molded into the ground itself.

His fingers itched for his swords but he steeled himself. Demons didn't need a sword. And if he had once survived without them, then he could at least sharpen his body if he ever finds his hands empty of them. I am my own weapon, his mind seethed, once again, lunging from his crouch and slamming his bruising hand once more into the wooden plank, gritting his teeth as it speared through in a single thrust.

"…you might as well aim to be the greatest."

His eyes widened at the hollowed center where his hand passed through, chips and debris flying out from the gaping hole, wanting to laugh maniacally but he couldn't, the blood being washed off by the rain, as splinters cut deeply through his skin. He wanted to gloat as pride welled in his throat but he gasped instead, his chest contracting as exhaustion finally crept up, his mind now quiet as all he can think was the cold rain on his back and the searing pain on his limbs.

How long had he been at it? Three hours? Four? Was it five? He didn't keep track of time from the darkness of the sky.

He gulped in air like a fish out of water until he felt, like a cold snake slithering up his spine, something behind him. His skin prickled like burns and he whirled his head around, seeing nothing but trees and rain around him, the estate now dark and looming far ahead as the sun had set beyond it.

He wanted to shout his lungs out at whoever is hiding in the darkness to challenge him, but the prickling crept up until it crawled on his neck, settling like steady warmth on his skin. He stilled, how familiar.

He lowered his welting arms to his sides and turned his head in the direction to where he felt the person was. He couldn't smell her like Tanjirou can, or even hear her the way the blonde coward could, but he felt her footsteps approach up to the beat of her heart as she grew close. And he knew from the way his nape bristled, who this person was without meeting her large pink eyes.

He didn't know when he started memorizing her person or the feel of the air around her, but when his shoulders slacked a little to her gaze, he thought maybe it was his unconscious idea of danger that he had labeled her with that amplified his superior sense of touch to her aura.

"Came to watch the show?" he yelled, voice booming so she can hear him, her face finally peaking through the darkness of the manor. The building was far from where he stood but they held each other's gaze despite the distance. He can feel rather than see her curiously blink at him through the rain.

There was question in her eyes and he sighed, walking closer to her.

Her glowing pink orbs shone through the rain like a beacon, but the skin on his arms thought otherwise when he can make out the feel of her stare raking his wounds, her gaze unusually hot on his skin despite the cold rain.

Is she judging me? He thought, almost missing a step from the assumption. He knew she was just worried, as was her nature. But his gloomy mood from his last mission only made him think of the bullshit that can make him feel worse. He felt like he wanted to pick a fight with anyone, and she just happened to be around to receive the burn of it.

"What?" he scowled, when he finally reached her. She was standing under the shelter of the roof while he stayed on the other side of the deck, unfazed by the rain. "You think I can't handle a little scratch?"

Her eyes widened at his sharp voice.

"You think that only demons can accomplish the things you can do? Humans aren't weakshit as your kind make them out to be."

He knows he was being an ass, that he wasn't making any sense trying to rile her up but he can't stop, "I can do more, more than you, you know it."

Fuck, shut up, why can't he shut up, "all you can do is pick up the scraps of the fight;" he ground out, his throat itching at him to cease, "all you have is inborn demonic strength, take that away from you and you are nothing. Nothing special compared to the humans that worked their way through greatness. You don't deserve what you got."

Her silence irked him, "what? You're not denying anything?" he barked, taking a step closer until his mask loomed over her face, "If you think you can do better then fight me. Right here, right now."

When she didn't reply he glared, green eyes flaring behind his mask and Nezuko's breath hitched as if she can see them glinting bright and furious "FIGHT ME! RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The night sky seemed darker and his chest hurt. He can see her biting the mouthpiece harder and his jaw clenched. The silence was thick and heavy and he can see her eyes wide and shock, almost hurt. And he deserved every biting pain on his body at the way she looked at him, unmoving from where she stood, the tremble of her lips not escaping him. "If you're only going to be a hindrance, demon, then leave. I don't need you in my business."

I'm not sorry, but I'm not wrong.

When she remained unmoving, he forced himself to turn away from her glistening eyes, marching back to the centre of the grounds to resume his drills. He ground his teeth as he threw punch after punch, now not caring about tactics and calculations. Blindly hitting anything around him now, he can feel his lip bleeding from grounding it out, his bad mood not lifting even after the outburst. He knew she was innocent to personal issues, he knew it was wrong of him to take it out on her of all people who have been nothing but kind to him and it just made him feel worse. The hurt in her eyes were engraved in his mind as he launched kick after kick, the way her lips trembled against the bamboo mask, he hurled a welting fist at a broken post, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. He felt rather than saw her take a step forward and he growled, not raising his head.

"DON'T. EVEN."

She took a wary step back when he grabbed for his swords, ripping the cloth off the handles and wrapped them around his arms in a haphazard bandage despite the pouring rain before getting back at fighting his anger out.

Or was it guilt? He clenched his jaw; damn I'm such a fucking ass.

Hours passed and his breathing had relaxed, getting used to the mechanical motion of throwing punch after punch, just to keep his mind blank. When the lady of the mansion arrived late that night to halt him, he was already tired and spent his body numb from the cold.

There was a silence that went on as the rain fell on him, his eyes fell on the doe-eyed girl that stood beside the older woman, he can feel the worry all the way from where she stood and he wanted to shake her, scream again like a deranged madman he was. How can she still look at him like that when he hurled all that bullshit in her face.

Annoying, so fucking annoying. She was worse than her brother who actually knew how to get mad.

The guilt was eating him alive.

Her silence was grating on his nerves and he resisted the urge to clench his fists, I'm going to lose my fucking mind if you don't—

"Inosuke."

His mind suddenly went blank for a second, wondering if what he heard was a trick of the rain, then like his senses suddenly found him, he jerked a little, awkwardly snapping out of his reverie. His normal self started to return as his body recognized the feel of exhaustion from the hours or battling it out with his mind.

"Need help in your training, Inosuke?" he had heard Shinobu ask as he made his way down the hall to his room. He turned to her, feeling a pair of eyes watching him.

"Yeah," he told the pillar, "but not from you."

The air around him sparked as his eyes met Nezuko's gaze before turning on his heel.

The nape of his neck burning as he walked.

-;-

Morning arrived uneventful, the rain from the day before not fully letting up, leaving the sky dark and cold even in the early hours of the day.

He was sitting cross legged on the patio, idly watching the droplets fall from the roof, bored out of his mind. The girls of the manor had fussed over his arms but were scared away when he glared and shouted about how bug bite wounds like this were nothing to him. He tapped on the floorboard, thoughts drifting away when he heard the light padding of footsteps moving to where he was from the hall before stopping a few feet away as if hesitating.

After a few seconds, the wavering footsteps continued until they reached the door to the room he was in and he turned his head, not surprised to see her innocent face peeking from the doorway, holding something to her chest. She was balancing her weight from one foot to the other as if unsure and he sighed, turning his back to her.

She didn't move from her spot and Inosuke waited cautiously, wondering if she wanted to catch him off guard and suffocate him for all the things he said the night before.

Flashbacks of his screaming and her trembling mouth made him swallow harshly, he actually rather accept the fate of being strangled by her than apologize for his garbage.

Tch.

When the silence dragged on he turned his head a little to see the frame empty, save for a bundle of cloth by the foot of the door. He knew she was still hanging around there, he can practically sense her heat standing behind the wall beside the entrance. He carefully stood up and slowly walked towards the entrance and stilled to catch a glimpse of her kimono at the corner outside the door, moving closer, he sees her figure standing beside the frame, her head down and staring at her hands.

Words stuck to his throat as he looked from her to the cloth on the floor which he recognized as bandages. He pursed his lips, feeling very awkward and restless with how nothing came out his mouth or hers.

They were both looking down now, stiff from the uncomfortable air around them.

He perked when he noticed her move, but she wasn't looking at him as she lifted her hand and hesitantly pointed at the pile on the floor then at his arms. He knew she wanted to look at him, but she was strongly holding back, choosing to stare now at her feet as if looking at him would only incite another fight.

His eye twitched, why does it seem like she's the one who's apologetic?

"hey." His voice came out gruff but she only blinked, eyes not leaving the ground.

He combed his hands over his hair and sighed, picking up the bandages on the floor when an idea struck him.

He slowly straightened with a smirk and moved until he was in front of her, "are you really sorry though?"

He blinked when she suddenly looked up with shiny eyes, nodding furiously, hands clenched together under her chin. Guilt wormed its way up his chest but he pushed it down, telling himself that taking advantage of this situation was needed to be done to make progress.

"Then I want you to train with me."

His lip curled as he tilted his head to the side, studying how her face brightened in surprise and confusion before furrowing in worry. The air around her was close to stifling now, and it was like his skin can read every thought of hers written in the space between them. She's worried about hurting me, he thought, thinning his lips in disdain. She's worried I'd hurt myself?

Tch.

He narrowed his eyes. What was he? Glass? He wouldn't admit it, but it was like a punch to his ego.

He straightened and took a step around her, entering his room, "forget it if you won't" he huffed, hiding his defeat and sliding the door closed between them.

He leaned his back on the frame, feeling her exasperation over the paper wall. He waited for her to change her mind, but he only stood surprised to hear her huff as well and stomp away.

The empty hallway now feeling cold behind him.

-;-

Night rolled in pretty fast for someone who didn't do much except sit around and work on his blades all day. He wouldn't admit to anyone how his hands still felt like fire from his ordeal the night before. He'll probably end up breaking his own body with how his training continued with memorized jabs to the bamboo dummies he practiced on.

It wasn't enough.

He had thought his other two companions would've arrived by now but from the bits and pieces of information from the girls in the manor and a comment from Shinobu, it seemed that it would be a while until they returned.

He made his way to the training grounds again, blades bumping against his hips as he walked. He left his mask in his room, noting how drenched it still was, since the lack of sunlight from the day didn't help it dry at all.

When his feet neared the edge of the manor he sighed, grateful for the rainless night despite the heavy clouds above him. The moon was covered and the only light came from the lamp hanging on the post by the training area. He scoffed, leaping out of the patio and unto the ground. He could've practiced in the covered court, but fighting in the dirt and darkness suited him best. It was like he still had his mask on.

His feet trudged on the grass until he felt sand, he sighed, burying his blades in the dirt beside him in a sharp flick of his wrists.

"game time." He grinned, crouching into position.

An hour passed and Inosuke dropped to his back with a growl of frustration, kicking his arms and feet as he did.

I'm fucking stuck!

He gritted his teeth, punching the ground below him before biting his lip from the shooting pain.

"This SUCKS."

He screeched, annoyed with himself. What was he suppose to do alone? Where was he supposed to start? It irked him that he lost interest in honing in his original breathing technique and instead got his head obsessed with demonic hand to hand combat.

He knew for a fact he could harness it into sword fighting but it didn't sit well to think his skills were only until there. He was being greedy and he knew it but he also knew it would be a major piece into reaching his goal.

He was in the middle of muttering obscenities under his breath when a familiar heat trickled up his skin. His heart skipped a beat as he swiftly rolled his body backwards into a cross-sitting position, his emerald eyes catching a pair of large amethyst orbs.

He smirked her way, his chin resting on his hand, "so you decided to change your mind then?" his voice sounding unusually deep even to his own ears and he coughed awkwardly, not breaking her gaze,

"So what'll it be?"

Nezuko was standing under the roof of the patio as she watched him curiously. She didn't know what made her come back here unless she was expecting another one sided shouting session from the beast boy. But the grin he sent her was so inviting and deceiving at the same time, she couldn't help the childish smile that wormed up her face as she bounced her way towards him.

He watched her happily approach, the feel of the air around him becoming soft and light that it made him blink at how innocent it felt. If it weren't for the bamboo mouth piece, he wouldn't have thought that demon blood ran through her veins.

She dropped to her knees beside him and he leaned towards her, ignoring the tingling heat on his skin when his knee bumped into hers. "Up for my challenge, Nedukon? Ey?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

She giggled at the way he said her name as wrong as he did to the others but she shook her head to his question, lightly tapping his bandaged arms.

He scoffed, drawing back "it's just a little pain. It'll be gone in 3 days tops."

When she shook her head again, he groaned, "then what are you even doing here if you aren't going to help me? Watch me break my arms some more?"

Her wide eyes only turned furious as she grabbed his wrists roughly to her person upon hearing that, as if holding him down like that would stop him from abusing them further until they healed properly.

"Oy-hey, don't-" he tried to pull back but her claws dug on to his skin and on instinct he twists his wrist inwards then out, escaping her grip so fast that she could only stare in amazement.

He stared at her wide-eyed "that surprised me." He admitted, flexing his wrist, the area she grabbed on still warm from her touch.

Nezuko eyes suddenly shined in the dim light and she beamed at him, clapping her hands together as if she was met with magic.

Inosuke grinned, amused "you like that?"

Her bobbing head only made him grin wider and he straightened in his seat, ego inflating as he stuck his arms out in front of her, the air around them now feeling like silk.

"Alright, grab me again."

-;-