Opposites - Inosuke x Zenitsu

18. Weird

Inosuke's Pov:

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"Hey!" I heard someone whispering next to me and felt a slight tug on my pants. I was completely pulled out of my own thoughts and turned around in surprise.

Of course, it was none other than (my sweet) Zenitsu sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling at me. For me, the whole thing was still a bit new and, honestly, a bit embarrassing. I had no previous knowledge of the world of love, but still, I smiled back (albeit a bit more shyly and reserved than Zenitsu's radiant smile). I took his hand, and we stood up.

As quietly as possible, we headed towards the door, but luckily, I had Zenitsu with me because he had this unbelievable hearing talent, which was now quite handy as he could hear exactly which floorboards creaked and which didn't. So, he told me exactly where to step, and we reached the door almost without making a single sound.

Carefully, Zenitsu pushed down the handle, and we went through the door. We were about to be happy that no one had noticed us when suddenly, a woman with pink hair and green tips, three braids (two in the front, and two), and wearing a rather revealing uniform appeared. Wasn't she that Pillar... The Pillar of Hearts, or something?

Unfortunately, the young woman noticed us, and there followed an awkward moment of silence where the three of us just stared at each other. Suddenly, the girl turned extremely red and quickly buried her face in her hands. "Uh-oh!!!" she exclaimed, and in the next moment, she was gone. "Huh..?" both I and Zenitsu said almost simultaneously. What was wrong with her?

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Zenitsu's Pov:

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Huh? What was wrong with Miss Kanroji? She just ran away with a red face after seeing us. Suddenly, we heard a door behind us open. Inosuke and I got the shock of our lives and turned around. A dressed Tanjiro with his sister Nezuko in tow looked at us in surprise.

"You guys are already awake?" he asked somewhat surprised, as if he had expected us to sleep for 10 years! "Y-yes! Sorry... Good morning, Tanjiro!" Inosuke and I both got such a shock that, out of surprise, we withdrew our previously intertwined hands and hid them behind our backs. Just out of reflex.

"Yeah! Good morning to you too, Zenitsu and Inosuke!" Tanjiro also raised his hand and waved. He smiled as friendly and kind-hearted as always, but... something was different... somehow, it was as if he wasn't fully present or something like that... Oh, nonsense! I probably just imagined it because of the thing with... yesterday...

"Uh, Miss Kochou said yesterday that we'll have breakfast together with a few Pillars today, and probably also with some from the Butterfly Estate..." Oh, so Aoi too? I had no idea how Inosuke felt about that. I mean, they were kind of friends now, but I'm still unsure. Carefully, I glanced over at Inosuke, who simply nodded to Tanjiro.

But if I concentrated really hard, I could hear Inosuke's heartbeat, which was about 3 beats faster than usual. So, he was a bit excited after all. Carefully, and in a way that neither Tanjiro nor Nezuko noticed, I nudged Inosuke's soft palm with my fingertips as a sign that he should take my hand. At first, he pulled his hand back in surprise, but only a few seconds later, he enclosed my hand.

My self-confidence increased a bit as we mutually tightened our hands, and I believe Inosuke felt quite similar. "Okay, let's go then!" I replied a few awkward and silent seconds later, and then followed Tanjiro and Nezuko, holding hands with Inosuke, as they walked down the hallway towards the dining room.

Although Tanjiro was just like always and also chatted with us as usual while we continued down the hallway, the whole situation was strangely tense. Somehow... I don't know... Maybe Inosuke felt the same way.

I'll test that: Without Tanjiro and Nezuko noticing, I secretly turned my head towards Inosuke and poked his skin with my fingertips. Inosuke immediately looked at me but just stared at me questioningly.

Hm. Maybe not. I just shrugged and looked straight ahead again (just in time because I almost ran into a wall... Phew... Lucky me...)

Inosuke apparently didn't notice anything, and he would be the first to notice something like that. But then a thought suddenly occurred to me: Could this (slightly) cringe situation be related to how Miss Kanroji had behaved today?

Could there really be a connection? Well, maybe I'm just hungry and can't think clearly...

(Oh man... I'm becoming like Inosuke...) But that would probably be the reason for my weird feeling. I don't know what happened to Miss Kanroji - Uh, I mean; I don't know what was going on with Miss Kanroji today, but oh well.

The others (read: Inosuke) apparently didn't notice anything either. So, I should just look forward to the delicious food now because Shinobu, Kanao, Aoi, and the others could really cook well, and it would surely be exciting to eat with the Pillars!

I mean, they were much stronger than us, and maybe I could even learn something from them! I hadn't thought about that until now! Oh man... now I'm a bit excited... Tanjiro now took the handle of the sliding door and swung it open with a single motion.

At the table, almost all the girls from the Butterfly Estate were sitting, every Pillar, and even Genya was there! There was a bang as the door opened, and suddenly, it became completely silent; all conversations stopped, and they just stared at us.

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