Ice Breathing/氷の呼吸 (A Demon Slayer Kanzaki Aoi Fanfiction)

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Inosuke watched the girl sleeping alone in the female recovery room from the door.

He had been told off many times to stay outside and while he didn't like listening to others, the only girl he followed who would usually scold him couldn't.

She was the only one who hadn't woken up. Makio, Suma and Hinatsuru, Tengen's wives, already seemed to be getting better while Aoi, the strongest one in that room, had not opened her eyes since she fainted after their last mission.

Her name finally stuck when she wasn't always correcting him.

"You really like Aoi-san, huh?"

Inosuke remembered Tanjiro's words.

He didn't completely understand what he meant. Really like? He really like Aoi's cooking for sure or how she taught him some words. He didn't understand why fighting wasn't her priority but it saved him.

But what did Jantiro mean that he liked her?

He shook his head and crossed his arms.

It was unthinkable for a mountain King to worry about trivial things.

"Aoi." He repeated under his breath. "Zanzaki Aoi."

Although it was probably just in his mind, he could've sworn that he saw her eyebrow twitch at mentioning her name.

"Ah, you were here, Inosuke-san." One of the three little girls whose names were impossible for him to tell apart approached the room carrying supplies that might be for the patients inside.

It didn't look heavy but Inosuke took the tray from Naho so he had a reason to be inside the room.

"Oyakata-sama has been just as worried as you. Aoi-san's supposed to be a hashira by now."

"Tempura hashira." He remembered. "Hey!" His voice startles Naho but he continues, "Wake up and become the tempura hashira!!"

Zenitsu charges inside to shush Inosuke and kick him out. Once he was dragged out, Zenitsu began telling him off.

"My hearing is sensitive enough to know that your non-soothing voice can make a patient's condition worse!"

"And after I finally got inside!" Inosuke grumbled, completely uninterested in being lectured by Zenitsu.

His protests were forgotten the moment he smelled lunch in the room they were supposed to be recovering in.

He enjoyed it as usual; food was food. Still, he noticed that something was missing while he was eating.

"Disappointed that it wasn't Aoi-san that prepared your plate?" Zenitsu said, half-teasing and half-full of hatred.

"Hah?"

"He's right. You usually eat like an animal when it's your favorite being served." Tanjiro agreed.

Inosuke felt the question forming from the two again.

You really like Aoi, don't you?

So he started stuffing himself like he usually did. "Delicious!" It tasted just a bit different but tempura was tempura.

"You really-" He cut off Zenitsu by taking something from his plate and starting another pointless argument. Meanwhile, Tanjiro's suspicions were slowly being confirmed.  Their friend seemed to develop an attraction to Aoi.

Well, who wouldn't? Tanjiro was also struck with Aoi's rare laugh when he first heard it.

Inosuke's feelings were different from Tanjiro's though. Her kindness, cooking and helping made Tanjiro feel like she was filling in for the mothers the three of them didn't have.