Opposites - Inosuke x Zenitsu

12. Meeting

Zenitsu's Pov: 

We were just around 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM noon, sitting in the shade of a big tree (I have no idea what type of tree it is, I'm not a tree expert), along with Nezuko and Tanjiro. We were only talking about one thing: 'How could I apologize to Inosuke.' We had informed Nezuko about the situation with the kiss (after walking around and thinking in circles for an hour).

"I have another question, Tanjiro..." I began. It was pleasantly warm. The midday sun's rays gently tickled my face as I turned my face toward the sun. Before continuing, I took a deep breath, absorbing the pleasant early summer atmosphere fully. "...How do I know if I really have feelings for someone?" I turned my head back to Tanjiro, who was sitting cross-legged next to Nezuko, stroking her head. His gaze became contemplative, and he looked up at the sky. Man, he looked just like Mr. Tokito!

Then he looked back at Nezuko. Nezuko lay on her stomach, happily drawing with various colored pencils in her new sketchbook. Kanao had given her a box of colored pencils and the sketchbook just this morning, and for hours Nezuko had been doing nothing but creating various pictures. Mitsuri had also braided her hair into two pigtails, so they wouldn't get in her face and bother her in the light summer breeze. Nezuko seemed to enjoy the feeling of being "the little sister" for a change. Her pink eyes were shining with happiness as she drew stroke after stroke on the paper.

This cheerful smile made Tanjiro smile too. "Well..." he began after an awkward 10-second pause, looking thoughtful and glancing up at the sky. "...What exactly do you feel when you see Inosuke?" Now it was my turn to become contemplative. To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it in detail before. While turning away, I observed a buttercup growing next to a forget-me-not flower.

"Well... I get sort of nervous... but not the scared kind of nervous, more like the embarrassed kind of nervous," I started, watching with a slight smile as the two flowers danced in the breeze. "...But it also makes me sad to see him sad. Actually, that's an understatement: It hurts as much as a deep stab to the heart." I bit my lower lip. It was crazy how much I was pouring out of myself right now. I hadn't even realized how deeply I felt about Inosuke until this moment.

"And I just want to hold him in my arms and protect him forever!" I finished my monologue with a shy smile, my cheeks turning a bit pink as the petals of the forget-me-not and the buttercup met. It was as if fate was perfectly symbolizing Inosuke (as the forget-me-not) and me (as the buttercup), telling me: 'Don't worry! Everything will be alright.'

As this beautiful thought occurred to me, I buried my heated face in the cool grass. Thankfully, Tanjiro and Nezuko couldn't see that my face was probably as red as the tips of Mr. Rengoku's hair. Damn... that comparison was just way too fitting.

"Well then, congratulations Zenitsu!" "What?!" I asked in complete disbelief, sitting up with a jolt and looking at Tanjiro in confusion, who was smiling even more brightly. Nezuko also glanced up for a moment, putting down her colored pencil and looking surprised. "Huh?" Tanjiro didn't react to that and just kept smiling. "Zenitsu!" he exclaimed happily. "You—you've fallen in love for the first time!"

As those words reached my ears, my face turned as red as a beet. I must have been making the dumbest expression ever, but internally, I was screaming with happiness. With my heated face, I collapsed back onto the grass.

Both Nezuko and Tanjiro burst into laughter, and I turned even redder, my face feeling like it was about to burst into flames. Nezuko and Tanjiro both laughed heartily. "Hey—hey, Zenitsu! It's alright!" Tanjiro laughed, patting my back just as he always did with Nezuko when she felt uncomfortable. "Hmm!" Nezuko chimed in, gently patting my head. And just like that, she transitioned from her "little sister" role back into the "big sister" role.

Great. My supposed crush had now become something like a big sister figure for me. Kind of funny. "Thanks, Nezuko. You must be relieved that I won't be bothering you anymore, right?" I asked eventually, lifting my head slightly, feeling like it was about to start emitting smoke from all the heat.

Nezuko nodded eagerly, smiling. I laughed. "By the way, I'm sorry for always annoying you." I looked away shyly, but I felt Nezuko's reassuring "it's okay" glance and felt a bit better. Then, she suddenly got excited, stumbled over to her sketchbook, picked up one of the drawings, came back to me, and placed it in my hand. I looked at her with confusion at first, but then I saw what Nezuko had drawn!

(She showed me the drawing) Oh my... OT WAS A PICTURE WITH ME AND INOSUKE AND WE WERE... KISSING!!! I didn't know what to say, but I knew that my face was as hot as the sun. "T-thank you, Nezuko!" I said happily, gently patting her head.

Suddenly, Tanjiro's gaze shifted to the side. He seemed to have noticed something, as his eyes widened immediately. He grabbed me by my haori and whispered excitedly, "Zenitsu, look!"

Inosuke's Pov: 

"11:58 AM..." I whispered almost inaudibly to myself. I was lying on my bed in the guest room. I had no idea where the others were. I assumed they were outside since it was getting really warm out there. One more reason not to put on the mask again.

I turned the sky-blue letter with dark-blue ink and delicate handwriting in my hands. "12:00 PM... 12:00 PM..." I kept reading over and over. I still wasn't really sure if I should go to this weird meeting. I mean... Ah, screw it! I had nothing else to do in this stuffy room except stare at the ceiling!

I got up with determination and headed towards the garden. Even if I wasn't ready to admit it to myself: My biggest concern wasn't the meeting itself, but who I was meeting. And even if the person I was meeting wasn't Zenitsu, he would probably be in the garden... and I would see him... OH MAN! NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!

For a moment, I thought about turning around and throwing myself back onto the sweaty guest bed, but I told myself that 'the great boss Inosuke Hashibira' would never do such a thing. So, with mental agony, I forced myself to take one step after another. Finally, I pushed the wooden door open with a swift motion. But as I sensed the presence of a particular person, my self-confidence, which I had somewhat built up while I was alone in the guest room, plummeted once again.

I was ashamed of myself and simply looked down. But even though he was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he kept stealing glances at me from the corner of his eye. I didn't really care, though, and kept my gaze lowered, focusing only on the impending meeting. "Ignore... ignore..." I thought to myself. There were only a few more meters to the pond. Eventually, I reached it, still with my gaze lowered. I just didn't want to look Zenitsu— I mean, 'the kid'—in the eyes.

But suddenly, I noticed another presence beside 'him', Tanjiro, Nezuko, and me! So, I reluctantly looked up: