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

11- The love pillar makes an appearance!!

"Gyoumei-sama, Oyakata-sama has called for you! Oyakata-sama has called for you!"

Gyoumei was pushing a huge boulder throughout town when suddenly, a crow had arrived. He had stopped in front of a store for a moment and it happened to be a sweets store where Mitsuri had just finished her tea time with a more than full Obanai on tow.

Mitsuri, who was about to greet Gyoumei as he had stopped by in front of the shop, heard the message and beamed. "Good afternoon, Himejima-san! May I accompany you to Oyakata-sama's? It has been a while since I last saw him! I'd like to at least exchange greetings with him!"

Obanai's eyebrows slightly scrunched, obviously annoyed but didn't say anything. He respected Oyakata-sama for being able to hold on for long in the state he was in. Albeit having a weak body, he made sure to be a good leader and was doing great.

"Good afternoon to you too, Kanroji-san," he started, "I'm sure Oyakata-sama won't mi-" Before he was able to finish his thought, the crow screamed, "Come alone! Come alone! Private conversation! Private conversation!"

Mitsuri's mood dampened slightly but she still was in high spirits and smiled cheerfully. "Please send my regards to him! Come Iguro-san! Let's go visit Shinobu-chan for a bit." Mitsuri pulled Obanai who didn't resist and let himself be dragged to the Butterfly estate where the insect pillar resided.

....

Zenitsu was sitting on the wooden veranda with Nezuko beside him, looking out to the field. A very peaceful and sunny day. No noises around- "ZENJUROUUU!!!" -except for that.

Inosuke and Tanjirou was back to their usual routine. Training with Aoi and the others, then sparring 'til lunch. And that's what they were currently doing. Sparring.

"Ugh. Can't that stupid boar shut up!? Right, Nezuko-chan?!" Zenitsu turned his head abruptly to Nezuko's direction and complained while Nezuko nodded. He really was noisy but it's part of his charm.

"Nezuko-chan, Nezuko-chan. A flower for you!" Zenitsu handed Nezuko a flower from out of nowhere. Nezuko was confused on where he got it but accepted it, much to Zenitsu's delight.

"It's beautiful, right?" Zenitsu asked with a stupid smile. He completely ignored the other two again. Nezuko nodded. "Just like you! You're as beautiful as a flower!" Zenitsu did his very best with his flirting but so far, Nezuko's responses were just nods of agreement and 'hmph hmph'.

"You're much better. You look exactly like a flower, Zenitsu. A dandelion!" Nezuko responded. Zenitsu stopped talking and stared at Nezuko like he'd seen a ghost. "Nezuko-chan!!" Zenitsu hugged Nezuko and rubbed their cheeks together. Nezuko wondered how he can change his expressions so easily.

"You complimented me Nezuko-chan! I'm so happy! Do you wanna take a stroll later? Wanna take a nap? You can lay your head on my lap! Come, come! Don't be shy!" Zenitsu was so focused with Nezuko that he didn't see Tanjirou flip Inosuke and march over to them.

Tanjirou was clearly jealous and Zenitsu, having sensitive hearing, should have noticed it by now but for some odd reason, he didn't.

Zenitsu was just about to force Nezuko down to his lap when he felt weight on them. Zenitsu looked down and saw a smiling Tanjirou looking up at him from his lap.

Zenitsu's face exploded to a shade of bright red. "Tan... jirou!? W-what are you d-doing!? Eh? Eh!?" Zenitsu started stuttering and he completely forgot about Nezuko. Tanjirou lift up his hand and boldly placed it on Zenitsu's heated cheeks.

As the scene continued to unfold, Inosuke stared at them silently wishing he could do that with Nezuko. Inosuke realized what he just thought and blushed beet red, fortunately, he was wearing his mask so he didn't have to worry about someone seeing him blush.

Inosuke huffed and stomped over to them. "Kentaro! We're not finished yet!" Inosuke screamed in fake anger. He stared at Nezuko without being noticed and his "anger" turned into something else.

Tanjirou spared Inosuke a side-glance before looking at Zenitsu again. Tanjirou knew that he wasn't angry but his scent had dangerously changed into something sweeter when he stopped in front of them. 'Does he like Zenitsu?' Tanjirou thought and frowned with his brows furrowed. 'That's not good.'

Just like how Tanjirou noticed it, Zenitsu did too. Zenitsu stared at Inosuke, 'conflicting emotions' he thought. Inosuke's sound was incredibly softer than usual but also chaotic in the background. Zenitsu's face isn't red anymore. Tanjirou let his hand fall and he stared at Inosuke together with Zenitsu and Nezuko.

"What's wrong, Inosuke?" Nezuko asked, oblivious to what the trio was thinking about. "M'fi-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence because the love pillar, Mitsuri's cheeeful voice rang aloud and covering the entirety of Inosuke's sentence.

"Shinobu-chan~! Where are you, Shinobu-chan!" Mitsuri called out as loud as she can. Beside her was Obanai, letting her be as loud as she can. "Kanroji-san! Iguro-san!" Tanjirou sat up and cheerfully greeted Mitsuri and Obanai. Though the enthusiasm in his greeting to Obanai wasn't as much.

"Kamado-kun! How are you?" Mitsuri greeted back just as cheerful. Obanai scoffed and looked away. Zenitsu looked at them with a small smile, blush evident on his face. He'd heard them earlier at the entrance. He didn't know who they were but by looks of it, Tanjirou seems to know them.

Tanjirou introduced Mitsuri and Obanai to Zenitsu and Inosuke. "Good morning, Agatsuma-san, Hashibira-san. I'm sorry we ignored you earlier when we arrived." Mitsuri shyly greeted, blushing furiously and poking her forefingers together. She refused to look at Zenitsu straight in the eyes for more than five seconds like he could kill people with just five seconds of eye contact.

"No, no! It's not your fault at all! I didn't greet you even though I heard you from the entrance! I should have greeted you earlier!!" Zenitsu denied, his voice unnaturally high pitched and shamelessly blushed beet red.

Tanjirou was becoming jealous again and he was shamelessly doing so. Mitsuri could sense his love for Zenitsu and Inosuke's for Nezuko. She'll give some advice to them later on, but for now she'll look for Shinobu and have some girl talk.

"Bye Kamado-kun, Hashibira-san, Agatsuma-san, and Nezuko-chan! I'll see you later!" Mitsuri said her goodbyes and left, Obanai followed closely behind her.

"That sakuramochi girl and snake guy... they're weird! I want to challenge them! OIIII!!! SAKURAMOCHI- GEH!!" Inosuke, who had been quiet since the hashira pair arrived, shouted and got cut off by a punch to his stomach. He took a few steps back then glared at the culprit.

"Tanitsu! Why did you punch me?! You want a piece of me!? HUH!?" Inosuke shouted and pointed an accusing finger to Zenitsu. Zenitsu glared back and didn't back down. At least no yet anyway.

"You know that they're strong and you still want to fight them?! Are you stupid or what!? Wait- do I still have to ask that? NO!  You are stupid! You want to die that bad?! Huh? HUH!?" Zenitsu continued his rambling while Inosuke covered both of his ears to lessen the volume of Zenitsu's voice.

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1 chapter down, 4 more chapters to go! Sorry for this incredibly late chapter! I know you're probably tired of waiting for this and I know that this book SUCKS! Like really sucks! I hope you enjoyed and sorry again!  Until next time! Bye dears!!