you're my favourite star | inozen oneshot

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Zenitsu had always been a day sleeper, but it seemed no matter how short a nap he had meant to take, he always ended up sleeping until evening.

Tonight was no different, and he woke up to find the room dark, the house silent telling him everyone else was asleep. Grabbing a bite to eat became his first priority, since he had slept all day and he headed to the kitchen to get a snack.

Zenitsu carefully made his way through the dark kitchen, avoiding the creaking floorboards. He found a stash of rice balls in a cabinet, quietly taking one out and nibbling on it to quell his hunger.

He was peacefully enjoying his rice ball, but the sudden sound of heavy footsteps made him freeze.

He quickly put the half-eaten rice ball down and jumped behind the kitchen counter, holding his breath. He waited, terrified and trembling, as the footsteps drew closer to the kitchen door.

When he finally dared to peek over the counter, he was relieved to see that the footsteps belonged to Inosuke. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but he slowly emerged from behind the counter.

Inosuke gave him a confused look, but then spotted the rice ball, grabbed it and ate it before Zenitsu could say anything.

"What the... Inosuke! That was mine!" He said to Inosuke, who was still chewing. Inosuke laughs, and Zenitsu doesn't know whether to laugh too or stay angry. He feels his face warming up.

"I can never have anything all to myself, can I?" He mutters, but of course he doesn't really mind all that much.

"Anyways, why are you up this late? I thought everyone else was asleep?" Zenitsu asked Inosuke, who was now hunting for more rice balls.

"To look at the things, duh!" he responded, still searching everywhere for more rice balls.

"...The things?" Zenitsu tilted his head in confusion.

"The mountain gods, up in the sky! They only come out at night to talk to me by sparkling, I think they're telling me I'm the king of the mountains!" Inosuke said, proudly.

"The what?!" Zenitsu thought Inosuke was going insane... or he was just being Inosuke.

"The mountain gods! I told you!"

Zenitsu thought carefully about what Inosuke was saying. They're in the sky, they sparkle and only come out at night. Wait, was he talking about...

"Stars?" Zenitsu held in his laughter.

"No, I'm talking about mountain gods, the hell are stars?!"

"Oh my god... Stars are what you can see in the night sky. They're kind of like the mountain gods that you were talking about. They can't always be seen though, only at night." Zenitsu explained to Inosuke, who had just realised his whole life was a lie.

"But... those are mountain gods..?

"You can believe they're mountain gods if you want. But I'm saying that those mountain gods are also known as stars. When we look up in the sky and see those bright and shiny objects, that's what stars are."

"I still think they're mountain gods"

"Okay then... nothing I can say will really change that I guess, so believe what you want" Zenitsu said, knowing that its stupid but he let Inosuke believe whatever he wanted.

Inosuke was about to go outside to watch his 'mountain gods', until Zenitsu asked if he could go with Inosuke. "Do what you want, I don't really care" Inosuke said, as he walked outside. Zenitsu followed him.

Zenitsu and Inosuke made their way outside, into the cold night air. The stars twinkled above them, bright and shining. Inosuke gazed up at them, fascinated, while Zenitsu watched him with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Woah, I didn't realise there were so many of them," Inosuke said, his voice filled with wonder.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Zenitsu replied, his voice soft and affectionate.

"Yeah," Inosuke agreed, still gazing up at the stars.

Inosuke took off his boar head, and layed down on the grass. It was probably to see the stars better, Zenitsu thought.

"What if... the mountain gods and stars are actually seperate things but they can take the forms of stars..." he pondered out loud. A look of amazement passed over his face as he continued, "What if the mountain gods can turn themselves into stars just to communicate with us?"

Zenitsu held in his laughter. Inosuke was just making up things at this point, but Zenitsu knew he was probably just sleepy.

He considered Inosuke's idea for a moment. It was certainly an interesting concept, but he wasn't sure if it made sense. "But why would they do that?" he asked. "And how would they be able to change their form like that?"

Inosuke shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they just like to mess with our heads." he replied with a shrug. Zenitsu laughed.

"When I die, I'm gonna become a mountain god!" Inosuke said, proudly. "I'll shine brighter than any of the other stars, cause I'm just the best!"

Zenitsu laughed at Inosuke's strange dreams. "And I'll thank you by giving you a single glance. Nothing more than that though, don't get too excited."

Inosuke scowled at Zenitsu's comment, but couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh come on, is that all I get?" he said, a hint of humor in his voice. "I'll be a mountain god! That's way cooler than being a regular star. I deserve better than just a glance!" he added with a grin.

A few moments passed as they just watched the stars, not saying anything. Inosuke broke the silence. "That one's my favourite!" he said, pointing up to the sky. It took Zenitsu a while to figure out which one he was actually pointing to, but he found out it was the biggest and brightest one in the sky.

"Why is that one your favourite?" Zenitsu asked, looking up at it. He knew it was probably because it was better than any other stars, but he just wanted to see what Inosuke had to say about it.

"It shines brighter than any other star, it's the best. It stands out!" Inosuke said, proudly, pointing up to it.

Zenitsu smiled, watching as Inosuke spoke with a sense of awe and wonder about the stars. He found himself drawn to the star that Inosuke had pointed out, it seemed to shine the brightest and had a unique quality that made it stand out. As he gazed at it, Zenitsu couldn't help but say, "Just like you..."

Inosuke looked at Zenitsu with a surprised expression, as if he had never been complimented like that before. He smiled, feeling a warm sensation in his chest, as Zenitsu continued to gaze up at the night sky.

"Inosuke..." Zenitsu said, with a smile on his face. "You're my favourite star."