The forest air was cool as you made your way back from gathering water by the riverside, following the faint trail that led to the group’s temporary campsite. Tanjiro and Zenitsu had gone ahead after an argument with Inosuke about food, leaving you behind with the intention of catching up later.
Branches crunched nearby—heavy, agitated footsteps and sputtering insults drifting through the trees.
You paused.
A familiar boar-headed voice broke through the quiet.
“PUT ME DOWN, YOU WET BLANKET! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL—HEY! DON’T YOU DARE—”
You followed the noise and pushed past a tangle of brush—
And froze.
Inosuke was dangling upside-down from a tree branch, wrapped in layers of rope in a way that was both aggressive and confusingly neat. His arms were bound so tightly behind his back he looked like a furious, wriggling caterpillar. Feet tied together. Boar mask askew. Still yelling.
And standing beneath him, utterly unbothered, was Giyu Tomioka, dusting off his haori sleeves as if tying up feral boys was a perfectly normal midday task.
You blinked. “…Giyu?”
He glanced slightly in your direction—barely a nod of acknowledgment—then went back to checking the knot with the same calm he reserved for breathing forms.
“I FOUND THIS GUY DESTROYING OUR FIREWOOD PILE!” Inosuke roared, still fighting the restraints like a wild animal. “I WAS GOING TO BUILD A THRONE OUT OF IT—LET ME GO, FISH-FACE!”
Giyu didn’t even look up. His voice was as flat as ever. “He bit me.”
“You put your hands near my face! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM THE KING OF THE MOUNTAIN?!” Inosuke thrashed harder, nearly spinning.
You rested a hand over your mouth to hide the grin threatening to break through. “So… you tied him to a tree?”
“He wouldn’t stop,” Giyu said simply.
“From talking or attacking you?”
“Yes.”
Your amusement slipped through before you could stop it. “You know Tanjiro’s going to ask about this, right?”
Giyu finally glanced your way again—eyes steady, unreadable, a touch resigned.
“I’ll tell him I handled it.”
From above, Inosuke let out another guttural war-cry and tried to chew through the rope.
You stepped closer, looking up at him. “Inosuke, did you try to fight a Hashira again?”
“YES, AND I WOULD’VE WON IF HE DIDN’T FIGHT LIKE A SPIDER! LET ME GO!”
“He was headbutting me,” Giyu added blandly.
You snorted. “And you let him get close enough to do that?”
Giyu gave you a long, quiet look. “I didn’t expect him to launch himself from a tree.”
“That’s called strategy, you soggy pond!” Inosuke snarled.
You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. “Can you at least hang him right-side up? He’s starting to look like a slaughtered pig.”
“I am NOT a pig!”
Giyu hesitated. “If I untie one knot, he’ll attack again.”
You locked eyes with him—someone who’d traveled with him long enough to understand the unspoken communication behind his stoicism.
“I’ll keep him from biting you.”
After a beat, Giyu finally relented. He stepped forward and cut the rope keeping Inosuke upside down, lowering him carefully until he was dangling by his ankles instead.
Inosuke huffed, upside-down boar face staring at you like this was your fault. “You better get me out of this or I’ll fight you too!”
Without missing a beat, you answered, “You can try—after Giyu un-gifts you to the tree.”
Giyu paused beside you. “He’s staying up there until he’s quiet.”
You glanced at him with a soft, amused smile. “And here I thought you didn’t like dealing with people.”
“I don’t,” he said calmly, turning away. “But I dislike noise more.”
From above, Inosuke bellowed, “I’M GOING TO HEADBUTT THE MOON!”
You and Giyu exchanged a look.
You: “Ten more minutes?”
Giyu: “…Twenty.”
And the two of you walked back toward camp, Inosuke’s muffled threats echoing through the trees.