Nezumi To Inoshishi (ねずミ と いのしし) || InoNezu

Fights and happy endings (Christmas special)

I'm sorry if it sucks.

•••

Zenitsu cried silently. He was in the infirmary, laid on his belly with his face buried on the pillow.

He had a fight with Tanjirou, and that in itself, was rare. Moreover, the fight wasn't one of those playful banters he had with Inosuke. It was serious. And it ended with him crying and Tanjirou guilty.

Genya, Inosuke, Kanao, and Murata just left the infirmary after their visit. They felt bad that he was faced with Tanjirou's punch. It was also their fault for messing around in the library. Except for Kanao. She just went with them to visit.

His own words rang through his head. And his right cheek hurt so much! Zenitsu half-heartedly cursed Tanjirou's strength. His thoughts went back to the time when they were at the library before it all begun.

....

It was a pleasant afternoon. With them having no class and tests coming up, Tanjirou and Zenitsu decided to study Math together in the library with their friends.

"So, when looking for the square root, make sure that you know what a perfect square is. For example, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100..."
Zenitsu listed down what he knew.

He tried his best in teaching Tanjirou, Math. Since he already went through that topic last year, he decided to help Tanjirou. After spending minutes studying, Tanjirou finally understood.

"Hey, Tanjirou. You look tired. You should rest for a while." Zenitsu pointed out. "I'm not tired or anything but I'll take you up on that offer." Tanjirou's droopy and tired eyes closed as he laid his head on Zenitsu's lap.

Zenitsu let him be and stared at their noisy friends messing around. Inosuke was hitting Murata, while Murata laughed at him. Genya was laughing on the sidelines. Kanao smiled at their fight and cheered silently.

At one point though, Inosuke punched Murata and he yelped in pain. "Hey! Don't punch Murata! You can't do that! Do unto others what you want others to do unto you!"

Genya laughed but agreed with Zenitsu. It's not like he had anything to lose. "Huh!? What's this 'unto others' nonsense you're talking about!? I don't get it!!" Inosuke hit the table loudly, and the librarian shushed them.

"Well, for example. If I hit Tanjirou, that means I want him to hit me?" "Hahaha yeah, something like that!" Genya laughed again and Inosuke hit Murata one last time and slumped on his chair. Kanao just stared silently at them while smiling.

Tanjirou stirred lightly. He looked like he wanted to sit up and Zenitsu leaned back to give him space. Tanjirou punched Zenitsu and they were all caught off-guard. Why would he punch Zenitsu?

Zenitsu was terrified! What did he do to deserve the punch?! He touched his right cheek that got hit as tears filled his eyes. He didn't let the tears fall and he stood up from the chair.

"What did I do to get punched, Tanjirou!? Huh!? Tell me! I only gave an example to Inosuke and now you're punching me for no reason!? I only gave an example for them to understand! And I get punched for that!? Don't you think you're too much!?" Zenitsu kicked Tanjirou's chair, not wanting to deal any damage to the younger boy.

"I'm sorry, Zenitsu! It wasn't my intention! My body just moved on its own when I heard the threat!" Tanjirou explained guiltily.

"I said that as an example! A verbal example! A statement!" Zenitsu's tears fell slowly.

"Zenitsu, listen! It was an accident! I didn't do it on purpose!" Tanjirou caught Zenitsu's wrist and looked apologetically at him.