A New Type of Affection. || Inotan.

4.

Inosuke's POV;

I blinked awake, taking a moment to recall where I was. Then I noticed Monjirou resting in my arms. Monitsu was talking quietly with the flowery girl across the room, and Monjirou's younger sister had appeared at some point.

She was leaning against my arm. As I snapped out of my sleep-hazed mindset, I hesitated, but wrapped my arm around her shoulders the way I'd seen Monjirou do it. She glanced up at me and pressed closer, making some sort of happy noise.

I hate when these two make me feel all giddy, damnit.. I thought, fighting to keep the warmth off my face. I sat there, staring blankly at the wall for a while. Monitsu eventually turned to glare at me as the flowery girl walked out, and I glared back. Neither of us blinked, nor broke eye contact.

Until I felt movement against my body. Monitsu blinked, and, however bad I wanted to cackle at him, I held back and simply turned back to the guy in my arms.

Monjirou lifted his head, his cheeks a soft pinky color. Similar to the color of a.. fading sunset. Yeah.

He looked up at me and smiled tiredly. My eyes widened , and this time, I failed to keep the blush off my face when I turned my head away.

He chuckled and broke out of my grasp, standing up and stretching. I eyed him anxiously. I knew he'd gone on a mission recently, and I wasn't sure he was fit enough to do much.

But he gave me a reassuring look. A look that made my stomach and heart swap places without me trying.

I adored that look, no matter how much I tried to tell myself I didn't. It was full of some emotion I didn't recognize, but it looked like a good one.

Monjirou's sister wriggled away from me and ran up to him. She was back to her little kid size. I watched as Monjirou bent down and scooped her up, greeting her brightly. She seemed to return the bright gesture and hugged her brother.

My heart twisted. In a good way. I adored watching those two. They had a strong bond and weren't afraid to show that they cared for one another. I envied them, in a way. Care came so easily to them, and even though I knew they were siblings, I still got jealous.

Monjirou must've noticed, because he turned to me and smiled, offering an open arm to invite me in for a group hug. I quickly accepted and wrapped my arms around his waist. He slipped his arm sweetly around my shoulders.

Then Monitsu screamed and leaped up from his seat. " Can I join?! "

Monjirou chuckled. " Of course. Come over here, Zenitsu. "

Monitsu didn't skip a second, immediately running to us and throwing one arm around the demon girl , and one around me.

It felt weird, but I didn't move as eventually the flowery girl came back and joined us wordlessly. Then a new pair of arms wrapped around all of us.

This is weird. I thought, trying to convince myself it was true. But it was only a half-truth. While it felt strange, that was only because I wasn't used to it. But it also felt nice. Maybe I wasn't used to it yet, but I'd get there.

Timeskip, brought to you by the armadillo under my bed.

I braced my body, shoving Monjirou away with my swords as he raced toward me. He landed perfectly on his feet and leaped at me again. I ducked, expecting an attack from above, but he hooked my legs out from under me, causing me to fall flat on my back.

I blinked in confusion. How did he move so quick-?!

He walked back toward me and held his hand out to me. " Come on. You aren't hurt, right? "

I shook my head as I leaped to my feet, ignoring his offer. " Let's rematch!! I'm sure I can beat you now!! " I felt adrenaline rush through my veins.

To my disappointment, he shook his head. " I have to match with Zenitsu. I promised. But you can practice with Kanao! She's strong. "

I huffed. " But I don't want to train with Fawna. I wanna train with you. "

" Kanao. And she's nearly the same as me. " Monirou paused. " If you train with her, I'll take you and you alone on my next mission. Okay? "

I felt my heart leap at that idea. I could show him how powerful I really am! " Okay, fine. "

Monjirou smiled purely at me, then ran off, calling for Caribou. I turned away and met up with that flowery girl. I explained the situation, and she nodded and unsheathed her katana.

I took up my stance, and she leaped gracefully at me. I ducked under her while she was in the air and knocked the back of her knees with the dull side of my katana, forcing her to fall and land clumsily. I cackled and declared a rematch.

We trained for a while, and by the end , we were both sore all over. We'd ended up tying in wins, and agreed to train again together soon. Then we went inside for food, water, and rest.

Pigtails gave us one look and rolled her eyes. " You two are both disasters. Go bathe first, then come back. "

Kanao nodded and Pigtails directed me to the boy's hotspring, where I met Monjirou and Monitsu.

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thats enough. enjoy this while you wait for the next chapter. not sorry.

word count; 930