The Fate of Ophelia - Inosuke Hashibira x Reader (Demon Slayer)
Summary: This story follows an orphan girl who was taken into custody by Shinobu and Kanae at the Butterfly Estate after her parents brutal death when she was a child of ten years old. She suffers from trauma from the incident, but tries her best to fit into the estate. Years after the events of her parents death, she is in charge of taking care of an injured Inosuke, who turns her entire world upside down in the best way possible.
I have aged up the characters (mainly Inosuke, Tanjiro and Zenitsu). For example, Inosuke in this story will be 17 years old.
This is my first ever fanfic on here and I hope whoever reads it enjoys it as much as I enjoy writing about Inosuke. English isn't my first language, so please excuse any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
Chapter 1
In a world filled with demons, happiness seemed to be lost. Nothing could fill the void that was clawed away by the hands of the devil. They took away every means of joy, comfort, and safety, along with the people that you desperately cared for. They stole everything precious and dear during their wake. The minute the moon illuminated the night sky, blood sprayed endlessly in the gluttonous battle for human flesh.
Violet Rivers was no stranger to the despair of the loss inflicted by those demons. At the age of ten years old, she watched as a demon broke into her parents’ home and viciously clawed into their lives, damaging it forever. She heard their terror-filled screams in the dead of the night, as their flesh was ripped, shred by shred, life escaping their eyes. She felt helpless, hopeless; nothing she could do but stand there as an endless stream of tears fell down her face.
She opened her mouth to scream, tried to move her shaking legs, but nothing seemed to be working anymore. She felt as if her own life was slipping too, deeming her utterly useless.
In a short moment, a dark shadow appeared and disappeared from Violet’s vision in a snap. In her shaken haze, she assumed it was another demon making its way to finish her off. She shut her eyes, her entire body shaking in fear, succumbing to her inescapable death.
“Hello there,” spoke a voice ever-so-gentle, catching Violet off guard. At first, she kept her eyes deeply shut, afraid to open them again and behold the monstrosity that lay in front of her.
“It’s alright, nothing can hurt you anymore,” the voice continued, their hand softly touching her cheek, causing the broken girl to open her eyes slowly, timidly. “I promise.”
What felt like a vow was spoken in a tone so sincere as the butterfly woman wiped a fallen tear from the girl’s face. And protect her, she shall, as long as she lives.
Shinobu Kocho knew what it felt like to lose one’s parents at a young age, to watch them be murdered in front of your own eyes. It was a traumatic experience she wished on no one, yet it happened too many times. She and her sister, Kanae, had tried to help those unfortunate girls who had undergone the same misfortune as themselves. They offered these girls a chance to build a new life for themselves, and supported them on whichever path they wished to take. This opportunity was offered at the Butterfly Estate, which was a new home for the girls, and also a healing spot for injured members of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Violet soon joined the estate, while being in complete shock as one would be after undergoing such circumstances. She was quite different that the other girls who inhabited the estate. Violet was born to an American father and a Japanese mother. She had spent most of her life abroad with her parents. They had decided to visit Japan for the summer holidays to expose Violet to her mother’s heritage. Unbeknownst to them, their daughter would be spending her next years in Japan, alone without them, and eternally scarred.
The small, frightened girl was destined to be taken in by both Kanae and Shinobu, and to live in a world where demons roamed the lands at night. The two sisters did their very best to provide all the comfort, support, and love they could for her. It wasn’t easy at first, as the child stayed in her room in solitude and in a state of shock, as if her brain was not able to comprehend what had happened. She barely spoke, only managing to utter a few simple words in English due to the language barrier, as she only knew a bit of Japanese.
For various nights, the estate would be shaken with loud, terrorizing screams of a young girl haunted by endless nightmares, depriving her of the calmness of slumber. Shinobu and Kanae would rush to her, one hugging the thrashing girl, trying to calm her down, the other one whispering soothing words as she caressed her hair gently. They’d both eye each other with worried glances, their hearts twisting deep inside as they wished to take her pain away.
The two butterfly women were unaware of the extent of the situation. Not only did the young girl see her parents’ mangled, bloodied bodies in her sleep, but the images continued to haunt her during the day as well. Whenever she would close her eyes, all she'd see was deep red, the color of their blood. She'd shake her head to get rid of the illusion, but would see their mouths open wide in terror instead. No matter what she did, she couldn’t shake the images away. There was no escape this horrific memory; it had been engraved inside her mind, forever she feared.
As the months passed and the seasons changed, the nightmares had reduced. The walls of the estate became calm again, with more frequent silent nights. Shinobu would let out a breath of relief at another night without any screams; Violet was getting better.
Soon, Violet became another victim of the arrows of time. Her mental wounds started slowly healing, allowing her to bloom again and start anew. The scars, though, remained tattooed in her heart. Not that she'd ever truly allow herself to forget that night. A part of her hated how important, powerful memories would fade and dull into something that happened in the past, due to time. She needed to always remember, never forget, how fickle life is. How in one single moment, everything could get snatched away from you and there is nothing you can do except stand and watch it happen. Stand and cry endlessly, as if the fallen tears could magically bring it all back the way it was. It cannot and will not. Her parents were gone, and there was nothing she could do but hold on their memory and fury that came with it.
Six years later
Colorful butterflies moved elegantly across the field as the sunshine rays illuminated the space, reflecting rainbows from the raindrops that had fallen the night before.
Violet let out a breath as she finished hanging the last piece of clothing onto the laundry line, running the back of her hand atop her sweaty forehead. Her long dark brown hair moved with the wind, the light pink butterfly clip holding a portion of it in place.
“What another exhilarating day of endless chores.” She mumbled to herself with a small smile. It was always the same routine here at the Estate:
Cook breakfast
Eat breakfast
Feed the chickens
Milk the Cows
Wash the laundry
Hang the laundry
Cook lunch
Eat lunch
Fold the laundry
Dust the Estate
Cook Dinner
Eat Dinner
Sleep
In the occasional shift of routine, she would sometimes tend to any slightly injured members of the Corps. However, mostly she’d be in charge of making their meals, giving them their medicines, and making sure they had comfortable surroundings.
Aoi mostly took care of the deeply injured, with assistance from Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo. Shinobu had told Violet that she should focus on preparing meals along with other cleaning duties, and need not worry herself about any of the injured, simply to divide the roles. Violet knew Shinobu's division of labor was solely to protect her from frequent panic attacks she had at witnessing the deep wounds and injuries caused by demons. It reminded her subconsciously of that ill-fated night.
Deep down, Violet hated herself for it. She despised how weak she is, how useless. Ever since that day, she felt like a part of her had been crushed to dust and blown away. She always had resilience, but after that incident, she doubted if she ever truly had it.
Shinobu and Kanae had believed in her wholeheartedly, they trained her in hopes she would become a Demon Slayer. All she needed to know to be an excelled and powerful Demon Slayer was granted to her. Yet, Violet had failed them. At least, that was what she thought.
She wasn’t terrible at training, quite the opposite, actually. She’d clung to every word they had instructed, executed it perfectly, understood concepts, and applied them instantaneously. The perfect model student.
However, Kanae’s death had dragged Violet back into the deep hole she desperately tried to climb out of. Her fear of demons resurfaced as strong and intense as it used to be, the drive of hate that pushed her turned into terror that drowned her. Whenever she’d hold her sword, her hands would shake endlessly, weakening her grip. Her legs shook as she attempted to dash through the trees, the images of her parents blinding her, the eyes of the demon who killed them glowing fiercely red.
As the day of the Final Selection grew closer, her nerves got worse, feeling as if ice was running up and down her spine, freezing her insides in dread.
I can’t do it.
I am weak.
A failure.
I will get myself killed like my parents.
Everything will be for nothing.
I can never be like Kanae and Shinobu.
Oh, Kanae, why did you leave me, too?
I need you, big sister.
I am so scared.
What if my legs freeze the same way they did when my parents died?
I cannot face another demon.
After various internal battles, she came to the conclusion that no amount of her weak willpower would allow her to go to the Final Selection exam. She'd then decide to join the staff working at the estate, with the word failure printed on her forehead. Kanoe would later take her place in training, following in Shinobu’s steps and on the way of being her successor, destined to be a future Hashira.
Aoi was the only one who truly understood Violet; she too couldn’t get herself to go to the Final Selection phase. Fear had engulfed them both.
Violet grabbed the empty laundry basket and headed back to the estate to start working on lunch. As she entered the kitchen, she found Aoi and the three girls bickering.
“We cannot be arguing about this now; we need to go back in there and help them!” Aoi spoke with frustration, her hands pointing towards the door. “We are professionals, we shouldn’t be doing this.” She continued shaking her head.
“You take care of him then,” Naho spoke, crossing her arms over her chest, “we three will take care of the blonde boy.”
“I already said I will be taking care of the brown-haired boy! I cannot take care of two injured people by myself!” Aoi spoke louder, “Why is it you three get to work on one person?!”
“We are younger, and we will assist with other matters, just –“ Sumi spoke gently, gulping before opening her mouth to speak again, “don’t let us take care of that boar!”
Violet raised her eyebrow as she overheard their conversation, “A boar?”
The four girls’ attention shifted to Violet, who was standing in front of a big pot, cutting vegetables in it.
“Yes!” squealed Kiyo loudly, making Violet slightly jump, “the weirdest looking person was brought in this morning!”
“Person? I thought you said he is a boar.” Violet responded, letting out a light laugh as she added a bit of salt to the soup broth.
“He is BOTH!” Naho exclaimed, as Aoi facepalmed herself.
“Don’t listen to them, they are delusional,” Aoi sighed. “Three boys were brought in this morning, severely injured from a fight with multiple demons.” Aoi explained.
“Two of them are normal looking, but one of them has a boar’s head mask placed at the top of his head, and it’s got them freaked out.”
“Why on earth does he have a boar’s head on his head?” Violet asked, amused. This is a first.
“MY WORDS EXACTLY!” Naho yelled, but quickly clutched her head, as Aoi lightly hit her for being too loud.
“Stop it or you’ll disturb the patients!” Aoi scolded, “This is ridiculous, it’s not like he’s truly a boar, it is JUST a mask!”
“Well, what if he looks ghastly under there?” Kiyo asked, her eyes wide. “You never know!”
“You girls are acting as if you’ve never seen weird men come and go from this place. We’ve seen them all.” Aoi comments, as Violet nodded in silent agreement.
“But not a boar-headed wearing man!” Naho insisted, causing Aoi to let out a loud groan of frustration, feeling defeated.
“Fine, I’ll –" Aoi began before Violet cut her off.
“I’ll do it,” Violet spoke, her face focused on the soup letting out steam from atop the fire. “I’ll take care of him.”
“You?” Aoi let out softly, her eyes softening with concern, “It's okay, Violet, I can take care of it.”
“No, I want to do it.” Violet turned to look her in the eyes, silently telling her that it is truly okay.
“But...he’s badly injured, and he does look a tad bit intimidating...”
“Don’t worry about me, I can do it, honestly.” Violet insisted, her voice firm. “You girls do too much already. I want to help.”
Aoi stayed silent for a moment, turning her head towards the three young girls who simply stared back, guilt filling their features.
“Alright, I’ll lead you to their room once you are done with that soup. They have already been patched up before being brought here, but we need to check on their injuries, the bandages, and overall condition.” Aoi explained.
Violet nodded in understanding, smiling slightly to assure Aoi.
She needed to do this, but why today, she didn’t know. She just felt tired of feeling so useless at everything. She needed to get past her trauma, force herself to do it somehow. She had to help and give back to Shinobu, even if it was just a quarter of what she given her.
Violet turned off the stove and put the soup aside, removed her apron, and headed towards her room to fetch her special first aid kit. Aside from her chores, she enjoyed occupying her time learning a multitude of skills. Shinobu had taught her how to create potions that healed, and Violet expanded on that. She never got to use the kit too often, due to her condition; however, it did not stop her from creating and trying different remedies.
She headed to the room that held the three boys, as Aoi had instructed her, and took the surroundings in. The boys each lay in separate beds, in a deep coma and bandaged up quite heavily. Violet’s heart clenched at their sight.
Her eyes landed on the sleeping boar-man, who did truly look astonishing. He was shirtless, his body toned with muscles, causing Violet’s eyes to widen slightly. She shook her head, rolling her eyes. This was no time to be taking note of his masculinity.
She sat on the chair placed next to the bed, placing her bag on top of the bedside table. Violet grabbed his file, reading what was scribbled on it.
“Hmm let’s see...” she spoke softly, her finger sliding down the page as she read, “your name is Inosuke Hashibira, huh?” She looked up from the pages and eyed Inosuke.
“Nice to meet you, Inosuke. I am Violet, and I will be doing my very best to take care of you.” She spoke, as if the boy could hear her. “Let us hope for your sake and mine that I don’t hyperventilate from this.”
“Alright, as this chart says, you’ve got a badly injured throat...crushed by the hands of a demon...yikes,” she grimaced, “your voice will definitely suffer from this one. Nothing I cannot handle, though.”
“Multiple broken bones, internal bleeding, yadda yadda yadda...”
“Alright, doesn’t look too bad for me...but for you...pretty bad.” She continued, mostly talking to herself to smooth the anxiety bubbling inside of her.
She inspected his bandages that were wrapped around his arms and a part of his torso; some needed changing already. Violet held her breath as she slowly and gently unwrapped one of the bandages on Inosuke’s arm. She felt her fingers tingle, though she didn’t know if it was due to her nerves or due to touching his toned arm.
“Yes, focus on his muscles, don’t focus on the blood,” Violet muttered to herself as the injury was released from the covering.
A deep, long gash went through his arm, with dark red blood oozing out. It looked painful and gruesome. She gulped, breathing in and out to stop the queasiness arising from her stomach, refusing to let herself remember things she shouldn’t.
Focus on his muscles
With trembling hands, she opened her bag, grabbed a fresh roll of bandages and a bottle of green gel that she had created to help soothe wounds as well as quicken their healing process. It also had a pleasant smell, which helped make the patient relax and enter a state of bliss.
Violet took a breath, tried to steady her hands, and started applying the gel gently over Inosuke’s injury. She spread it out with care, trying her best to focus on the boy in front of her and not on the blood.
“I hope you get better soon, Inosuke.” She whispered as she closed the cap of the gel bottle. “What an unusual mask you have. I wonder what's the story behind it.” She continued, as she started wrapping the bandages on his arm, “It says on your chart that you are older than me by a year, so perhaps when you wake up, we can be friends, and you’d tell me all about it.”
Once she was done wrapping his first wound without losing her mind, she blinked and smiled widely with victory.
“We did it, Inosuke!” she squealed in delight, then covered her mouth, her face reddening, before she let out a small giggle. “Thank you for being a great patient so far. You are incredible.” She continued, enjoying this roleplay she’d built for herself.
“Now, let’s do your other arm....”
Violet redid the same steps successfully, and another surge of excitement flowed through her. She felt glad she decided to do this, that she pushed herself.
“Alright, your arms are all patched up again.” She smiled, staring at her handiwork with pride. “Now comes the difficult part...your torso.”
“Everything alright in here?” A voice suddenly asked, causing Violet to jump, but it was only Aoi.
“Y-yes, everything is just great, I changed his arm bandages, see!” Violet pointed at Inosuke’s arms excitedly, before realizing that to Aoi, this was nothing major to be celebrated. “I am sorry, I am just...happy I can do this after so long.”
“No, no, I completely understand,” Aoi exclaimed, “you are doing a great job, I am so proud of you, and so is everyone else.”
“Do you need help re-bandaging his torso? You can lift him slightly, and I can wrap.” Aoi offered.
Violet agreed, grateful for the help, as it would have been difficult for her to do that on her own. Though when she attempted to lift him without hurting him, he was too heavy for her, and obviously, she wasn’t surprised by this. Not to mention her reddened face at touching his naked chest. They opted to call the reluctant triplets to help get the job done.
“Alright, that just leaves the medicine.” Violet let out a breath, feeling relieved. “The poor guy has an injured throat, completely crushed. He’ll wake up with a strained voice.” She explained as she dug through her bag looking for the suitable treatment.
“Lucky for him, though, I have just the perfect remedy here!” She continued as she took out the medicine bottle. “This should help with the pain and also reduce the side effects to his voice, while quickening the recovery.”
Aoi watched in glee as her friend explained the medicine’s attributes, her face glowing with a joy she had rarely seen. She was aware that her friend enjoyed making various medicines and treatments, among many other things, but was deprived of doing anything with them due to her trauma. She worked really hard but rarely had anything to show for it. That was hard to live with.
“I need to remove his mask, though, to be able to give him this...” Violet hesitated, as if for the first time truly wondering what kind of face lay under that mask. She was too preoccupied with her situation to really wonder about Inosuke’s face.
“Well...good luck,” Naho spoke, as she hid behind Aoi, causing Aoi to roll her eyes.
Violet shrugged before reaching forward and touching the boar’s fur, which was matted and rough to the touch. She shuddered slightly but immediately grabbed hold of it and pulled it off gently.
Sleeping Beauty lay in front of them.
Violet blinked, as if feeling her mind and vision were deceiving her. There is no way....
She turned her head quickly to look at Aoi, who gaped at the boy in front of them, and so did the other three girls.
The astounded girl returned her gaze to Inosuke, trying to connect his toned body to his beautiful features. “So... beautiful,” she whispered, before realizing she’d said it out loud.
“He really is,” Aoi spoke, still gaping slightly, “who would have thought that’d be under that dreadful mask?”
“It smells dreadful, too,” Violet added, scrunching her nose. “It needs a good wash.”
Aoi nodded while scrunching her nose. She took another glance at the boy, then went to check on her patient as the three girls followed her to check on the blond boy.
Violet, still holding on to Inosuke’s mask, took another glance at the sleeping boy, taking note of his features. His hair, with the dark blue edges, splayed over the pillow, his long dark eyelashes, his eyebrows scrunched slightly even in sleep. His neck had a purple hue due to the bruise from his injury. She smiled as she looked at him, thinking how serious and focused you must be, even in sleep.
“Oh, well, Mr. Sleeping Beauty, it is time to give you your medicine.” She spoke to the sleeping figure, placing his mask onto the table and pouring a spoonful of medicine. She gently lifted his head and inserted the spoon between his lips, then tilted his head to ensure he swallowed it.
“Hopefully, this will soothe things up a bit. I wish you a quick and smooth recovery, Inosuke.” She whispered into his ear softly, pushing a strand of hair away from his face.
Inosuke, who lay fast asleep in his dreamland of minions and glory, sensed everything happening in the real world. Something, no, someone kept calling to him in the gentlest voice he’d ever heard...a voice like a soft melody, entrancing him. He’d screamed at his minions to stop talking repeatedly whenever the voice spoke again, and he’d scrunch his face in an attempt to decipher the spoken words, yet failing. He’d occasionally make out the heart-melting Inosuke, but nothing else.
He'd then smell a pleasant, calming scent that sent him to utter bliss. He’d try to fight it; this had to be a demon trying to curse him to win the fight, but he kept falling under the spell. A soft, warm blanket seemed to be wrapping around him, lulling him to close his eyes and let himself go.
Damn it, this demon is good.
