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dxncingwithastrxnger · 6 months

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baby, we're just reckless kids - Part 1 (Inotan)

A/N: Hello!! So sorry that this is so late, I didn't mean for it to be!! I've been pretty busy these past couple of days, plus, in my free time, I was very much distracted binge-reading this tarzan-inspired Inotan fic on ao3 that's soooooo good, I'm almost done with it. It's called Wildflowers, I highly recommend it. If you can't find it and would like the link, just lemme know!! Anyways, here's the story for day 4!! I'm hoping to get at least day 5 also posted today since today is day 6 and then I'll only be a day behind, not two, lmao. Day 5 is actually gonna be a continuation/part 2 to this, though it is gonna mostly be smut, so watch out for that if you'd like to read it!!

Pairing(s): Inosuke x Tanjiro, Zenitsu x Nezuko (mentioned)

Prompt: Day 4: Domestic

Summary: Tanjiro and Inosuke enjoy a sweet, soft morning together in their brand new home before taking themselves to the pet store and picking up some new family members.

Tag(s): Aged up characters, fluff, a slight bit of spice at the beginning, but it's not really much at all, just a lil makeout session that doesn't last very long

Word Count: 1,990

Song Inspiration: Lights Down Low By MAX

Not beta'd, all mistakes are my own.

~*~

[Author Masterlist]

[Read on AO3]

~*~

It’s officially been about a week since Tanjiro and Inosuke moved in together, three months since they started dating and about four months since they first met. Today, the two of them are hoping to adopt a pet together, something the two of them had been talking about for a few weeks now, ever since they’d officially found a house.

Zenitsu claims they’re moving too fast, no matter how many times Tanjiro explains to him that different couples go at different paces depending on their own boundaries and how they work as people in general, both together and separately. While Nezuko and Zenitsu have been dating for five years now and only reached the “I love you” stage around a year ago, here Tanjiro and Inosuke are, sharing the same space and home and already expressing their feelings of love on a daily basis and not even half a year has passed yet.

And Tanjiro is aware that it’s quite soon compared to how people usually do things, but he also knows that it feels exactly right for the two of them. I mean, it just suits how the two of them are as people. Inosuke is someone who charges in without hesitation, goes after what he wants right away, and doesn’t let anyone else dictate his actions. On the other hand, Tanjiro is the most patient person in the world when need be, but knows how to be extremely selfish with what he wants when he knows it’s okay to do so and he spends most of his time just going with the flow, taking whatever the universe throws at him and then whatever Inosuke throws at him as well.

The two of them compliment each other perfectly, Tanjiro believes. They can read each other so well and when they’re in the same space, more often than not, they end up perfectly in sync. He’s never met another person that suits him so well. That can know what he wants before he asks, know what he needs before he even knows himself, can pick up on each of his emotions and knows exactly how he expresses them, knows how to respond to them without him having to explain a single thing to the other man. It’s incredibly freeing. That’s how Inosuke makes him feel. Free.

And now he’s waking up beside the man, bright red eyes opening and immediately finding bright green ones already staring at him. “Morning.” Inosuke says quietly, his voice gruffer than usual due to sleep.

Tanjiro leans forward to press his forward against the other man’s. “Morning.” He says just as quietly, closing his eyes and smiling as he basks in the warmth surrounding him from the sunlight peeking through the crack in the curtains, the large comforter covering his body, and his boyfriend’s strong arms holding him close.

“Someone slept well last night.” Inosuke says teasingly, leaning forward to close the small inch of space left between their faces and nuzzling his nose against the redhead’s cheek.

“It’s impossible not to with you here.” Tanjiro says softly, returning the action.

Inosuke makes a small, happy noise and brings one of his hands up from the other man’s waist to place it on his cheek instead and then he’s moving his lips to the side in order to brush them against Tanjiro’s. The red-haired man sighs happily, melting further into the mattress beneath him as he presses himself closer to Inosuke and returns the almost kiss.

They do that a few more times, brushing lips and tangling their bodies together even more than before, trying to be as close as possible. Tanjiro has one hand on the side of Inosuke’s face, fingertips touching his black-blue hair, while his other hand is placed on the man’s muscular shoulder. Inosuke’s hand on his cheek had moved down in order to rest against the side of his neck instead, his thumb brushing back and forth against Tanjiro’s jaw, and his other hand is holding his side, the arm attached to it wrapped around his waist tightly.

Finally, their lips connect fully, no more simple brushes. But even then, every single action is soft, sweet, and slow, like they have all the time in the world to just lay here in each other’s arms and show their affections. Their lips move in sync, just like they always do, and when Inosuke tentatively runs his tongue along the seam of Tanjiro’s lips, he’s more than happy to welcome the dark-haired man in.

His boyfriend lets out a sigh that turns into a soft, subtle moan and Tanjiro can’t help but return the noise as their tongues roll together lazily. He starts a slow, languid exploration of the other’s mouth and receives the same in return, the two of them just enjoying the taste of the other and the feel of their bodies pressed together. Eventually, hands started moving, tender, affectionate touches being exchanged, and when both of their bodies started to fill with heat and hands started to wander past what’s acceptable for simple affection, they pulled away, eyes opening and observing each other.

Inosuke’s face is flushed deep pink, as he’s sure his own is, and his pupils are dilated, what’s still visible of the green seeming deeper somehow. The man’s lips are dark, swollen, and very obviously chewed on, a bit of saliva on them. Tanjiro is certain he doesn’t look much different. Usually in a moment like this, the pause between them would be a “we aren’t ready to go farther than this” kind of pause, but he felt that it was different this time. This time, it felt more like a “we’ll continue this at a later time” kind of pause, which is confirmed by the look in Inosuke’s eyes, a desire and need that Tanjiro feels low in his gut. Yes. Not right now, but later. They silently communicated such a promise before untangling from each other in order to gain some breathing room.

“We should make some breakfast.” Inosuke speaks up, stretching his entire body before sitting up. Tanjiro follows his lead, agreeing with his suggestion

~*~

When discussing what animal they wanted to get as a pet, they decided on cats. Cats, as long as there’s more than one of them, are usually pretty low maintenance, meaning that when both of them are at work for the day, there’s not much to worry about as long as the animals have all of their necessities available to them. Plus, they both just really enjoy cats. Inosuke is always talking about how fascinating they are and Tanjiro can’t help but agree.

Walking into the pet store, Tanjiro can’t help but smile, taking Inosuke’s hand in his and entwining their fingers together. They’d already called ahead and informed one of the store employees that they were on their way and what they were wanting to do, which is meet their kittens, so all they had to do was go up to the counter and let them know that they’re the ones who had just called.

One of the people behind the counter smiles kindly and leads them to a back room where about a dozen different kittens are playing together. “You can sit and play with them for a little bit, see which one you like the most.” He tells them.

“Thank you.” Tanjiro nods to him as the man stays by the door before walking over to sit near Inosuke in the center of the room. Upon first glance, just by look alone, he immediately has his eye on a kitten with long, reddish-orange fur who’s currently attempting to climb the wall. He then chuckles to himself as he watches a brown, striped kitten walk up and paw at the other one, as if they’re trying to get the one climbing to get down.

“Babe.” Inosuke speaks up after a few minutes. “I’ve been claimed.” He says as the redhead turns to look at him. Tanjiro bursts into giggles. Sitting on Inosuke’s head is a gray kitten with crystal blue eyes, sitting straight with their little nose pointed upwards as if they’re proud of their current sitting spot. It’s easy to tell that Inosuke is being very careful not to disturb the kitten, keeping his head completely balanced.

“You’ve been claimed?” Tanjiro questions, an eyebrow raised and his voice filled with an amused tone.

“He came right up to me and headbutted my leg, so then I knocked him over onto his side. Then he ran around behind me and pounced on my back, climbed up to my shoulder, and headbutted the side of my head. So then I put him back on the ground and knocked him over again. Then he did the same exact thing except he just kept climbing until he was on my head, and now he’s just there.” Inosuke explains to him.

“So, you’ve been claimed.” Tanjiro states rather than asks.

“I’ve been claimed.” The dark-haired man repeats, closing his eyes and looking rather pleased with himself.

He grins at his boyfriend before pointing across the room at the kittens he’s been watching. “And what do you think of those two?” He asks.

Inosuke opens his eyes and follows the direction of his finger, spotting the two kittens right as the reddish-brown one tackles the striped, brown one, the two of them rolling around. Inosuke chuckles a little as he watches the wrestling match. “You thinkin’ both of ‘em?” He asks, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Tanjiro shrugs. “I mean, maybe. Unless that’s too many?” He asks hesitantly, looking back at him.

Inosuke’s face softens and he shakes his head just slightly, smiling. “Not at all. Let’s get all three.” He says. Tanjiro lights up immediately, eyes sparkling with excitement as Inosuke waves to the worker still at the door to the room.

He walks over and smiles, eyes flicking to the kitten still on Inosuke’s head for a moment before looking back at their faces. “Have you guys decided who you’ll be taking home today?” He asks.

“Yes!” Tanjiro confirms as Inosuke grins.

“Definitely taking this lil’ one.” Inosuke says, reaching up and pulling the kitten off his head in order to hold the animal instead, even while the kitten struggles and tries to get out of his arms, to which Inosuke just coos and nuzzles his face against the soft gray fur.

“And then those two, the striped and the reddish-orange.” Tanjiro says, pointing the two of them out.

“Wonderful!” The man says. “Those three usually get along great, so that’s something you won’t need to worry about.” He informs them, walking over to pick up the other two, separating their wrestling match. “This red-orange guy and the little gray you have over there are boys and this striped one is a girl. All three of them are about eight weeks old.”

Tanjiro stands as the man is talking to them, Inosuke following suit. “That’s great.”

Nodding, the man holds both of the other kittens out to Tanjiro. “Would you like to hold them while I go get a carrier for you to take these little ones home in?” He asks, to which Tanjiro nods eagerly and takes both of them from him, holding them close. The man then walks past them and out of the room.

Inosuke steps right in front of Tanjiro, holding the gray kitten right between the other two. The gray kitten calms down instantly once he notices the presence of the others and Inosuke and Tanjiro laugh softly as both of the kittens Tanjiro is holding start to groom the one Inosuke is holding, proving the employee’s words about the three getting along. Tanjiro then looks up to find Inosuke already staring at him, his bright, green eyes sparkling with joy. As soon as they lock eyes, Inosuke leans in to press a gentle, loving kiss against his lips and Tanjiro returns the affection happily.

~*~

A/N: Please lemme know what you think!!! The second part is gonna be a continuation of this taking place on the same day, in which Inosuke and Tanjiro have that later time that they agreed upon in the beginning of the fic ;) I hope you enjoyed this!! I'm starting to pick up a habit of ending fics/fic chapters with kisses, whoops

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trashyshrew · 6 months

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#kimetsu no yaiba #kny #demon slayer #tanjiro kamado #inosuke hashibira #inotan #...ish?#modern au where it's just a sports manga?#silly sketches #i have no explanation for this colour scheme

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lisandra-phillips · 2 years

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Babysitters

#kny #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #rengoku #akaza #douma #kotoha #inosuke #tanjiro #inotan #modern au #l.p.

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solqau · 11 months

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breaking necks at break-neck speed til the reinforcements can arrive

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belovedmuichiro · 3 months

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Demon inotan, I’ll never forget you my loves🩵🩵

I imagine that after Tanjiro conquers the sun, his freckles come through and his skin gets a lot tanner. Inosuke is, of course, obsessed with it, but also a little pissy he can’t also hang out in the sun.

#emmie speaks #I LOVE THEM I MISSED THEM #inotan #demon slayer #kimestu no yaiba #demon inotan au

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cjs-51703 · 7 months

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(Modern!AU)

Inosuke, texting Tanjiro: WAT R UR ADJECTIVES

Tanjiro: U mean my pronouns?

Inosuke: NO I ALREADY KNO UR PRONOUNS WAT R UR ADJECTIVES

Tanjiro: Uh I dunno? What r urs?

Inosuke: NOISY AN CHAOTIC

Tanjiro: I've never had something go from making no sense 2 making complete sense so fast

#anime #incorrect quotes #manga #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #incorrect kimetsu no yaiba #incorrect demon slayer quotes #incorrect demon slayer #inosuke hashibara #inosuke demon slayer #kny inosuke #inosuke kimetsu no yaiba #tanjiro kamado #tanjiro demon slayer #kny tanjirou #tanjiro kimetsu no yaiba #inotan #modern au

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catladywriter · 2 months

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Inotan Fan Comic: Stares in this Town - Tanjirou's Tempura Therapy

Context: The above work is a comic adaptation of a scene from my Inotan fic Stares in this Town, illustrated by the talented ReName_重名君. It's set 2 years after the main story ends. Tanjirou and Inosuke are 17 years old. Their hair has grown a little longer, they're a little taller with less roundish faces. They work in the Wisteria Garden, an eatery that the Kamados have just inherited from their neighbour. Tanjirou is the head chef, assisted by Nezuko, while Inosuke and Zenitsu work in the front of house. Inosuke doesn't wear his boar mask but he still tugs at Tanjirou's clothes when he's stressed.

If you read Stares in this Town, this scene comes after the point where Inosuke, initially reluctant to take up his new role, starts his first work day proper after mistakenly believing that Tanjirou has challenged him to do so.

Support banner by @cafekitsune

Author's Notes I'm absolutely thrilled to share this collaboration with the incredibly talented ReName_重名君, whose fantastic works you might have come across in my tumblr (ahem, I promise I haven't forgotten about this translation project, life's just been a whirlwind lately, but I'll definitely get around to it soon!). I'll spare you from my gushing (I already left ReName_重名君 a semi-essay about how incredible I thought her work was), but let me just say that seeing one of my favorite scenes brought to life in her art style and interpretation truly brought tears to my eyes. Inosuke's shirt-pulling and the feeding trope are some things I really enjoy, so I'm over the moon to see them visualized here. I barely provided any art direction beyond using my fic as a reference, so I was absolutely astounded by how seamlessly ReName_重名君 incorporated elements from canon (like the chibis and that first frame on the second page from the famous "you make me feel secure" scene) with her own interpretation of my story. Also, can we take a moment to appreciate how handsome and grown-up our boys look in her style? And Tanjirou's gentle and domestic demeanor is just too adorable - they look like such a cute newly-married couple! (though, in these scenes, they haven't actually gotten together yet). Okay, I'm getting carried away with excitement, so I'll stop gushing now. I hope you enjoy this comic as much as I do, and while this collaboration was definitely initiated for my own enjoyment, it would mean the world to me if you let me know that you're also enjoying it. And if you haven't checked out the fic yet, please give it a read here. Additionally, if there are any scenes from my other works that you’d like to see a visual interpretation of, feel free to let me know in the work’s comments. I cannot promise that it’ll happen, but I’ll certainly consider it if ReName_重名君’s schedule allows! Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, it’d really make my day if you could drop a like, reblog, and/or comment to let me know! This comic is also published on AO3 where you can comment anonymously! Although I mostly create for myself, your encouragement keeps me motivated to post and share my work.

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lesbiantabes · 24 days

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them 💕

#inotan #I love this au!!!

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sapphickocho · 10 months

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Ive always felt that Demonslayer felt very much akin to studio ghibli in a strange way despite their vast differences, but it got me thinking, what about a princess mononoke as a kny au?

More specifically, Inosuke as princess mononoke (aka san), and Tanjiro as Ashitaka. I mean their personalities already match, with Inosuke being a wild and reckless that is very attune to nature which is exactly what San is like in the movie. Maybe instead of being raised by the wolf gods we could switch it over to being raised by the boar god before it is turned to a demon. Ashitaka is kindhearted like Tanjiro and share the same determination. Maybe the curse that the boar demon gives manifests on his forehead to match the original story instead of his arm.

Of course there would be liberties that would have to be taken to fit other charachters in. Like who would be Lady Eboshi or the forest spirit? Still the worldbuilding is similar in the way that they both have demons and curses.

I mean I just want to see Inosuke and Tanjiro interact in this au. Like imagine;

Inosuke: I'll cut your throat, that will shut you up!

Tanjiro: Your..... beautiful......

or something less classic like;

Inosuke: Thats my mom *gestures at a frothing boar godess*

Tanjiro: ....Uh nice to meet you too.

I mean I feel like they would just be perfect in this au, platonic or not. I could also see other aspects and charachters of kny being princess mononoke and Ashitaka like Kanao and Tanjiro, Muichiro and Genya, Giyuu and Sanemi, Shinobu and Giyuu and heck even Obanai and Mitsuri if you squint.

But still we need more kny Studio Ghibli aus and if you see my vision of Inosuke as princess mononoke (or prince in this au), then you get it.

#kny #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #kny au #inosuke #tanjiro kamado #tanjiro #princess mononoke #studio ghibli #inotan #inosuke hashiriba #inosuke x tanjirou #platonic #demon slayer kimetsu no yaiba #kny incorrect quotes

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potatobugz · 6 months

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various Drawings that are Loosely Connected to this post

#demon slayer #kny #kimetsu no yaiba #potatart #demon slayer au #kny au #kny oc #demon slayer oc #tanjiro kamado #inosuke hashibira #zenitsu agatsuma #inotan #for that last one :]...#genya shinazugawa #kanao tsuyuri #gentan #tangen #(?)#a little bit. ever so slightly. if you squint #its so hard to put the thoughts in my head into words but.... this au really is just me putting htese characters #into more situations #its just one big “what if” scenario #i dont have a name for the oc i came up w yet but they go along with zenitsu on that one mission he did off screen #during the swordsmith village arc #i lauve drawing these characters interacting w eachother genuinely genuinely #i dont have much info abt the oc yet .... but i like her. i like creating neurotic women characters. what if a girl was so scared scared sc #context for the 1st doodle is in the tags of the post i linked but basically genya and kanao #go on a mission together and they are both unable to say. a single word to each other #basically im just having lots of vaguley connected thoughts abt these characters

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scardyasgrotto · 9 months

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WRESTLED CONTEST AGAINST EIJI!

I saw this comic strip several times witch some cartoons and wanted to try it too.

#oc #inotan child #fan child #original character #kny oc #au #digital painting #digital drawing #original characters #kimetsu no yaiba oc #modern au #draw meme #demon slayer oc

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dxncingwithastrxnger · 6 months

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i knew from the first time, i'd stay for a long time (Inotan)

A/N: Tada!!! Day 3!!! Super late and since it's past midnight for me, technically not posted in time, but oh well!! I actually really love this one more than I thought I would, tbh, and I actually finished up the majority of this just in the last few hours cause I was determined to get it finished and posted tonight so that I'll have all day to focus on tomorrow's story!! This one is just filled with fluff all the way through, so enjoy!!!

Pairing(s): Inosuke x Tanjiro, Zenitsu x Nezuko (Implied, kinda?)

Prompt: Day 3: Meet-cutes

Summary: Tanjiro's day is full of disasters that leaves his head reeling, but just when he thinks he's officially experienced the worst day of his adult life, something very special happens.

Tag(s): Fluff, like honestly that's the only tag I can think of to add, besides Tanjiro being an absolute disaster himself 💀

Word Count: 2,731

Song Inspiration: I Like Me Better By Lauv

Not beta'd, all mistakes are my own.

~*~

[Author Masterlist]

[Read on AO3]

~*~

At first, everything was going fine. It was great, even. Tanjiro was going about his day just as he usually does. He wakes up at six, starts a pot of coffee, jumps into the shower, gets dressed, makes breakfast, feeds his new dog, Axel, lets Axel into the backyard for awhile, checks his email, and calls Nezuko. All perfectly normal things for a Wednesday during summer break.

Then, on a call with Nezuko, he calls Axel back inside, puts on his shoes, grabs his wallet and keys, and leaves the house to run some errands. He listens to Nezuko catch him up on everything she’s been up to for the past week, Zenitsu occasionally making comments in the background, and Tanjiro enjoys his day so far.

But it all starts turning to shit when he steps into the grocery store and…immediately trips and falls flat on his face. Groaning in pain and face red from embarrassment, he pushes himself up and grabs his phone, which had slid about a foot away from him, grateful the screen isn’t cracked.

“-jiro? Everything alright?” Nezuko’s asking when he puts the phone back to his ear, brushing dirt off of his knees.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Nez, just tripped and fell. Dropped my phone, too.” He explains with a pout as he walks over to the cart and tugs one out.

Nezuko giggles, the sounds of dishes being washed as she cleans up from the breakfast that Zenitsu had made earlier. “You and your two left feet, brother.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad anymore, okay? I’ve been doing really well at not falling over this week.” He points out stubbornly, forcing himself not to whine like a child.

“Yes, because it’s perfectly normal for someone to keep track of how many times they fall in a day.” Nezuko quips teasingly.

“Tanjiro, don’t make me get out our old fall counter board, we haven’t had to use that since middle school.” He hears Zenitsu call from somewhere nearby Nezuko.

Tanjiro groans again, throwing his head back in exasperation as he pushes the cart towards the back of the store. “Guuuyyysssss!” He whines, unable to help himself. Both of them laugh, finding amusement in his misery. Reaching for a few bags of soba noodles and udon noodles and placing them into his cart, quickly stopping a bowl of pre-made ramen from falling off of the shelf before continuing down the aisle.

“Oh, hey, Tanjiro.” Zenitsu suddenly says in his ear, as if he’s taken the phone from Nezuko. “Have they sent you the email about the new P.E. teacher yet?” He asks.

“Huh?” He raises an eyebrow at the question as he reads the label on a box of crackers. “No, I don’t think so, though it may have just been delayed. I’ll check my email for it again later today, though. Why?”

Zenitsu scoffs. “Apparently the guy’s been in America for the past decade, just moved back to Japan recently. He needs a reminder on how things work in our schools, I guess, and Himejima wants us to be his, like, “buddies”, help him out a bit.”

“Wait, really?” He questions, surprised. “That’s new. Not everyday we get someone who’s been away from Japan that long. Was he born here, do you know?”

“Yeah, he was born here. Don’t know much else though, not like he’s gonna give us the guy’s whole life story or anything.” He hears something on the other end that sounds a lot like sweeping.

“Yeah, I know, I was just curious. Seems like a nice way to make a new friend, though.” Tanjiro hums, adding soy sauce into his cart alongside rice, chocolate mochi, beef, and eggs.

“Yeah, says the guy who’s managed to befriend literally all of our coworkers since we’ve started working there.” His best friend snorts.

“Not all of them.” Tanjiro frowns. “Still haven’t been able to win over Shinizugawa. Either one of them.” He sighs.

“Screw the Shinizugawa brothers, they’re both assholes.” The blonde mutters and Tanjiro can hear the pout in his voice.

“You’re just upset because Sanemi won best teacher over you.” Tanjiro rolled his eyes with a smile.

“He’s the rudest person I’ve ever met, Tanjiro! There’s no way that his students like him that much! Those results were rigged and I’ll accept nothing less!” Zenitsu exclaims indignantly.

He laughs at his friend’s argument, but it quickly dies down when a container of panko slips out of his hand and to the floor, bursting open and spilling all over the place. “Ah, shit!” He curses.

“Tanjiro Kamado, what a dirty word that’s come out of you.” He hears on the other end of the phone, a voice that he vaguely registers as Nezuko again, but he’s only halfway paying attention as an employee comes over, bringing a sign to place over the mess until a broom can be brought over to clean it up.

“I’ll pay for it.” He promises, placing a hand over his phone mic. The employee shakes his head, reassuring him that it’s not necessary no matter how much he insists. He internally sighs. The second disaster in the past hour, not exactly a great start to what he knows is already gonna be a long day.

He takes a moment to speak on the phone again. “Listen, guys, I got some more errands to run and I don’t wanna run out of phone battery, so I’m gonna go. I’ll call again later or tomorrow?” He asks.

“Yeah, of course, Tanji, do what you need to do.” Nezuko reassures him.

“Okay, great. I love you guys.” He says warmly.

“Love you, too!”

“Love you. Give Axel lots of treats for me, okay?”

Tanjiro rolls his eyes. “You’re not supposed to spoil my dog more than me, Zenny.” He points out. All he gets in reply is a laugh and he shakes his head at the man as he hangs up the phone and puts it in his pocket.

The rest of his errand run consists of many more incidents, each one worse than the other. Knocking over a display of boxed snacks, almost accidentally running a red light when it changed too quickly, dropping a few books and grabbing the attention of everyone inside the small bookstore he was browsing, tripping and falling again, this time gaining a few new cracks on his phone. Then, it starts raining in the middle of him walking through a parking lot towards his car, the clouds pouring down on him, a bag of dog food splits open at the pet store and that time, he did pay for it, then his usual lunch place closed early and once he finally made it home, his car decides to inform him that one of his tires has started to lose some of its air.

Pulling into the driveway of his house, he parks and turns it off before throwing his head back and running his hands down his face, moaning out his misery. The universe is truly testing him today. Hopefully, he can still turn it around. He gets out of his car and starts the long process of getting all of his bags of food and other items into his house, thinking the whole time about how much easier the whole thing would be with two people rather than just one.

An hour later, everything now inside and completely put away finally, he stands in the kitchen and looks out the window, enjoying the view. Despite the earlier downpour, it’s still very nice out and the sun has made its way out of the clouds once more. He looks down at Axel, his two year old mixed breed laying on the floor and staring up at him.

He smiles at him fondly. “C’mon, Axel, how does a walk sound?” Tanjiro asks him, patting his thigh and walking towards the front door. Axel immediately perks up and follows him, nails clicking against the floor as he trots out of the kitchen and across the living room. Tanjiro grabs his leash from the hook beside the door and bends down to hook it to his collar, making sure he still has his phone, keys, and wallet on him before stepping out the door and closing and locking it behind him.

Tanjiro hums softly to himself as they walk through his neighborhood and a few blocks farther, going at a steady, easy pace as he makes his way to one of his favorite parks. Axel thoroughly enjoys the walk, panting and trotting along, occasionally barking or yipping as he watches everything around them.

Once reaching the park, they wander around for awhile, Tanjiro smiling softly at all the families and kids running around, watching the animals skitter about, stopping and admiring a few plants and flowers that have started to bloom since he was last there.

He’s been out for about an hour and a half now when, suddenly, Axel starts barking and pulling at his leash roughly, causing Tanjiro to stumble forward as he holds tight to his dog’s leash and tries to keep him in place. “Hey! Axel! Calm!” He orders, though it seems as if Axel didn’t even hear him. He looks around to look for anything that could’ve made him act this way, but he sees nothing out of place from just a few minutes ago. Thankfully, Axel’s reaction doesn’t seem violent, exactly, just excited, but he still needs him to calm down.

Axel tries even harder to get away now, twisting and jumping, gaining the attention of people nearby and Tanjiro starts to panic slightly. “Axel, baby, please, calm down.” He says gently, hoping for a different reaction than before but there isn’t a single change in Axel. And then, right as he reaches out to touch the reddish-brown canine, Axel twists, faces his head downwards, rears back, and suddenly his neck is bare, having managed to slip out of his collar, and Tanjiro is now gasping as his dog starts running full speed across the park.

“No! Axel!!” He shouts, keeping hold of the leash and collar as he sprints after Axel, that small panic he felt before increasing tenfold. He runs as fast as he can after him, praying that there aren't any other dogs around right now. Other people? Axel gets along great with. Other dogs? Not so much. Tanjiro’s learned that the hard way. It’s why they don’t go to dog parks anymore.

Damn this day, damn it all. He curses mentally, completely hating every second that he hasn’t caught up to his dog yet. Every single bad scenario ran through his head, all of them leading to him losing his dog and the pain that rocks through his chest at such a thought makes him grit his teeth.

Finally, finally, he sees Axel coming to a stop. But his relief is quickly wiped away when he realizes that Axel is stopping right in front of another dog. “Shit. Axel!!” He shouts once more, stumbling to a stop right behind him, bending down and placing his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath, never taking his eyes off of his dog.

“Uh, hey, dude, you good?” Someone asks, most likely the owner of the other dog.

“N-no, Axel, h-he’s not-” Tanjiro pauses, straightening up as he realizes. A fight hasn’t broken out yet. Axel hasn’t attacked. He looks at his dog and watches as Axel simply sniffs curiously at the other dog in front of him, which appears to be an all white husky. “...not good with other dogs…” He trails off, watching the interaction with disbelief.

“Well, seems like he likes my Senshi just fine.” The other man says.

Tanjiro finally turns to look at him and is immediately stunned. Standing in front of him is a man a few inches shorter than him with long, black to blue ombre hair pulled up into a loose bun and the brightest green eyes he’s ever seen. The man is wearing a gray, sleeveless, hooded sports vest with blue outlining and accents, the zipper only halfway up, and a pair of loose, blue track pants. He’s got one hand in his vest pocket and the other hanging by his side, holding onto a purple leash. Tanjiro gulps as his eyes trace over the man’s muscular arms, quickly looking back to his face.

“S-Senshi?” He speaks up, looking to the man’s dog and back to him again. “That’s the pup’s name?” He asks curiously.

“Yep!” The man confirms, popping the ‘p’ with a grin. “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” He turns to his dog, looking at her with pride. “She’s part husky, part wolf.”

Tanjiro raises an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? That’s awesome.” He says. He looks to Senshi and Axel and watches as the two of them circle each other slowly, before sniffing at each other’s faces, getting so close that their noses are nearly pressed together. “Axel doesn’t usually get along with other dogs, no matter the gender. I’ve never seen him be so nice to one before.” He admits.

He turns back to her owner as he shrugs. “That’s just Senshi, she’s good at making friends.” The man informs him.

“Usually I am as well.” Tanjiro sighs, taking a step forward to bend down and stop Axel’s friend making just long enough to put his collar back on, feeling much more relieved once it’s secure. “I’m Tanjiro. Tanjiro Kamado.” He stands back up and holds his hand out to the black-haired man.

“Inosuke Hashibira.” Inosuke grabs his hand in a firm, strong grip, shaking it once and lingering. If Tanjiro didn’t know any better, he’d say that there’s a hint of flirtation in the other man’s eyes as he continues. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Tanjiro feels warmth in his cheeks as he pulls his hand back, smiling warmly. “The same to you, Inosuke.” His eyes flicker to the dogs who have now started yipping and playfully pawing at each other, chewing his lip thoughtfully. “You know…considering Axel doesn’t usually make friends, it’d be kinda nice if we could have some playdates every once in awhile with the two of them.” He suggests shyly, looking away from the other man. “I-If that’s something that you’d be o-okay with, it’s not like you have to say yes o-or anything like that.” He fidgets with his hands, holding them in front of him.

Inosuke lets out a deep chuckle that fills Tanjiro up with a warmth he’s unfamiliar with, but it’s not unwelcome. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Besides, I just moved back here not that long ago, it’d be nice to have someone to help me get used to how things work around here again.”

That time, there’s no mistaking the flirty tone of his voice and Tanjiro knows his cheeks are pink as he looks back at him. “Well, I am a teacher, so I suppose it wouldn’t be too difficult to reintroduce you to the basics.” Tanjiro flirts back, as rusty as he may be with such a thing.

There’s a sparkle in those green eyes that pull him in, the feeling only increased with every word out of the other man’s mouth. “What a coincidence, I’ll be starting out as a P.E. teacher in the fall at the high school a few blocks away from here.” Inosuke informs him.

Tanjiro’s eyes widen at his words. “Wait, no way, you’re the new P.E. teacher my friend, Zenitsu was telling me about?” He questions. “Him and I are supposed to be your learning buddies once the school year starts back up again!” I tell him. “He was just telling me about that earlier today.” The redhead laughs at the coincidence.

Inosuke’s eyes light up with surprise as well. “Well, damn, look at that.” He laughs lightly, Tanjiro joining in his amusement. “I can’t wait to get a head start on that, then.” He says.

“Yeah?” Tanjiro asks.

Inosuke steps forward, closer to him. “Yeah. We get together, let the pups play. And then you and I, we can spend some time together.” He says, his voice quieter than before. “Get to know each other a little better.”

Tanjiro bites his lip as a giddy grin spreads across his face. “Sounds good to me.” Maybe today wasn't so bad after all.

~*~

A/N: What did you think?? Inotan first meeting and getting straight to flirting just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, hehe. But also, since I didn't find a way to mention in the actual story itself, Axel is a mix between a rhodesian ridgeback, an australian cattle dog, and a chow. I used to have a dog with those exact same breeds and he was the sweetest. And to anyone who doesn't know, Senshi is actually "warrior" in Japanese. Seemed like a pretty fitting thing for Inosuke to name his dog, imo. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!!!

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