Plum Season

Chapter 6

   The group arrived at the next inn a few hours before sunset. Tanjiro and Inosuke were grateful to have a moment to rest before their mission, having no trouble falling asleep as soon as they got comfortable in the room. Nezuko stayed tucked away in her box, while the boys lined up their beds next to each other, with Tanjiro in the middle.

   Despite having gone on many a mission, Zenitsu never failed to expect his imminent death. He would have napped with his friends, but his anxiety kept him painfully awake. His blood coursed through his veins so strongly that to him it sounded as if he were lying next to a raging river.

For hours he laid there, listening to his own heartbeat and Inosuke's grating snores. He could barely subdue his fears, but knowing his friends needed all the rest they could get, he forced himself not to speak of it. Anxiously clinging to fistfuls of his blanket, Zenitsu tried his utmost to think happy thoughts.

   As the sun crept lower in the sky, Inosuke woke up quietly. Zenitsu noticed immediately when his snoring had ceased, and peeked over at him. Inosuke gazed sleepily at Tanjiro, who was snoozing on his back with his face turned towards him.

   After looking him up and down a couple times, Inosuke ever so slowly reached for Tanjiro's hand, which rested above his blanket, over his belly. He hesitantly placed his own hand atop it, careful not to link their fingers as he knew it might wake him.

   Then, he sensed some movement from Zenitsu's direction and glanced over at him. Realizing he'd been being watched, Inosuke swiped his hand away and hid it beneath his blanket, looking almost as if he'd been burned.

   "Just tell him you like him already," Zenitsu whispered as softly as he could manage. He was still on edge, but the emergence of Inosuke's gentle side was a sight endearing enough to distract him.

   Inosuke could infer that Zenitsu had good intentions, so he wasn't angry—despite being opposed to his suggestion. "I can't tell him right before a mission," he muttered. "That would be stupid."

   Zenitsu was astonished that Inosuke had already come to terms with the way he felt about Tanjiro. He started to wonder if perhaps the feelings had been there long before, only unnamed. "Well, don't wait too long afterwards. You never know what could happen as a slayer, you know?" He gulped.

   "We're not gonna die," Inosuke huffed flatly. "You just get scared all the time." He pointed at Tanjiro. "Should we wake him up yet, or what?"

   "Yeah, probably." Zenitsu propped himself up on one elbow. "You want to?"

   Inosuke nodded and sat up in bed. As he tucked his chin down to look at Tanjiro, his chest felt warm with a mix of admiration and curiosity. When he wasn't plagued with nightmares, Tanjiro slept so modestly. Neatly bundled in his blankets, lips shut; silent breaths drawn through his nose.

He was so pleasing to the eye, and Inosuke couldn't help but stare. He wished he had just as much confidence in sharing his emotions as he did in his own physical abilities. Then, he could have made a move by now. And maybe, instead of looking down at Tanjiro, he could have been there with him, asleep in his embrace.

   Zenitsu could sense the hearts in Inosuke's eyes beneath his mask. "Handsome, isn't he?" he offered gently.

   "Handsome?"

   "Pretty. In a more guyish way." He smiled.

   Inosuke inspected Tanjiro's face, tilting his head to one side as he considered the word. "Yeah, he is." Hovering one hand over Tanjiro's forehead, so close to his skin he could feel the heat radiating from it, he hesitated. Then, he ran his fingers through his bangs, trying to mimic the way Tanjiro had played with his hair before. "Gotta get up," he announced.