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"You and Inosuke seem to be extremely good friends. I'm sure it was like that from the beginning, right?"
That had been the beginning to all this nonsense. That sweet, innocent question that Kanao had asked led to this entire comically stupid situation.
This comically stupid situation that felt like torture to the poor boarheaded boy.
A few minutes prior..
"You stupid boar! I already gave you all my food, and now you want more?! Do you want me to starve?!" Zenitsu snapped at Inosuke while protectively holding his food against his chest.
"You're my minion, so naturally! Just hand it over!" Inosuke cackled as he chased Zenitsu like he hadn't been fed in days.
"WILL YOU STOP WITH THAT 'KING OF THE MOUNTAIN' BULLSHIT? NOBODY'S BUYING IT!" Zenitsu practically screamed.
"HAAH? YOU DARE DEFY YOUR KING?! COME HERE, MONITSU! COME RECEIVE YOUR PUNISHMENT!" Inosuke barked as he picked up the pace.
Truthfully, he could've caught Zenitsu by now, but he was having far too much fun.
"AAAAA! NOOOO! TANJIROUUU, WHERE ARE YOU?!! SAVE MEEEEEE!" Zenitsu wailed.
Somewhere outside in the training grounds..
"I feel like Zenitsu called for me just now." Tanjirou mused to himself, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
"No, I must be imagining things. I need to focus on getting stronger.."
Oh well.
"INOSUKE, THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH! LEAVE ME ALONE AND LET ME EAT IN PEACE!" Zenitsu shouted. By then, Inosuke had tackled him and brought him down to the floor.
At this point, it wasn't even a matter of stealing the food from Zenitsu for Inosuke, it was just him enjoying seeing Zenitsu this way.
"YOU'RE NOT EVEN TRYING TO STEAL MY FOOD ANYMORE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Zenitsu half sobbed, half screamed at Inosuke.
Why was this stupid boar so infuriating?!
"I'VE FOUND A NEW SOURCE OF ENTERTAINMENT!" Inosuke shouted back, trying to get Zenitsu to stay on the floor while he squirmed beneath him.
"..."
The two hadn't even realized that Kanao had entered the room and was watching the entire exchange.
But the moment Zenitsu did-
"AAAAAA! INOSUKE, LOOK! NOW YOU'VE JUST HUMILIATED ME IN FRONT OF A GIRL! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" Zenitsu screeched, shoving Inosuke off of him violently. He immediately stood up to make himself look presentable in front of Kanao.
"..?" Inosuke huffed and didn't try to hide the fact that he was staring at her. He'd seen her a couple times around the mansion, and had learned that she was Shinobu's tsuguko, but so what?
And why did Zenitsu care so much? Why did Zenitsu caring what she thought bother him so much? Shouldn't he care about 𝘩𝘦 thought? I mean, Inosuke was his king, wasn't he?
Inosuke pouted and folded his arms, suddenly in an awful mood.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Kanao asked politely, genuinely intrigued in the two's dynamic.
"You? No! Nothing at all! We weren't doing anything." Zenitsu lied with a huge smile.
"Sure we were.." Inosuke quietly grumbled.
"Shut up." Zenitsu shot at him, still having that huge smile, before he turned back to Kanao.
'Is this what some friends are like? They talk to each other like that? Isn't it disrespectful? Do they not mind? But I have seen this behavior a couple of times before..' Kanao thought to herself, the gears visibly turning in her head.
She could never imagine talking to someone like that.
Perhaps it just had to be the right people..?
"You and Inosuke seem to be extremely good friends. I'm sure it was like that from the beginning, right?" Kanao blurted out.
The way Zenitsu froze made Kanao think that she had said or done something wrong.
"I dunno.. Monitsu has always been my minion from the beginning, I'm sure. I don't really remember how it happened, though. Does it matter?" Inosuke carelessly spoke, shrugging his shoulders without a care in the world.
Zenitsu's eyes twitched.
How dare he ask '𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳?'
Of course it does!
Zenitsu would never forget that day!
"Inosuke," Zenitsu's face contorted between a scowl and a glower, "What do you mean by '𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳'?" Zenitsu asked, his voice dangerously low and deadly.
"Am I supposed to?" Inosuke asked.
Zenitsu clenched his fists tightly.
"Are you?" Zenitsu laughed, although it was humorless.
"OF COURSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO! HOW DARE YOU NOT REMEMBER? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? HOW COULD YOU EVER EVEN FORGET?!" Zenitsu practically barked at him.
"WELL IF I DON'T REMEMBER, THEN OBVIOUSLY IT DIDN'T LEAVE AN IMPRESSION ON ME, AND IT'S NOT WORTH REMEMBERING!" Inosuke shouted back, refusing to admit to his wrongs.
Zenitsu screeched. Loud.
Kanao could only watch in shock. What should she do? Sit back and watch? Intervene?
Should she flip her coin and make a decision? Right, right! She'll just flip her coin and make a decision!
She took her lucky coin out, and flipped it.
It was facing down when it landed, meaning that she should just sit back and watch.
But was it really okay to do that?
"YOU PRACTICALLY ASSAULTED ME WHEN WE FIRST MET! I'M STILL EMOTIONALLY SCARRED, YOU KNOW? I USED TO BE TERRIFIED OF YOU! IN FACT, I STILL AM, SOMETIMES! THAT'S HOW BAD IT WAS! TRAUMATIZED! I HAVE EVEN MORE TRAUMA THAN WHAT I ALREADY HAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" Zenitsu screeched.
"Good! You should know your place as my minion." Inosuke beamed.
Zenitsu let out a strangled sound. It was physically paining him that he couldn't jump at Inosuke, not when Kanao was watching.
"YOU BEAT ME UP IN OUR FIRST MEETING! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED! UNPROVOKED, SHOULD I REMIND YOU! YOU INJURED ME REALLY BAD, AND YOU REFUSED TO APOLOGIZE! I DON'T THINK I CAN EVER FORGIVE YOU!" Zenitsu continued, shaking Inosuke back and forth as he did.
"Oh." Was all Inosuke said, not thinking much of it. (He still didn't really remember anything.)
"OH? OH?? THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY TO YOUR OWN TRANSGRESSIONS? OKAY, FINE! BE LIKE THAT, INOSUKE! BE LIKE THAT! I'M NOT MAD AT ANYTHING, NOOO, I'M DEFINITELY NOT MAD! YOU ASSAULTING ME FOR NO REASON DEFINITELY DOESN'T BOTHER ME!" Zenitsu yelled, taking a few steps back from him.
"Okay. So, then, can we move on?" Inosuke asked.
"NO! NO, WE CAN'T! ARE YOU GENUINELY STUPID?? CAN'T YOU AT LEAST PRETEND TO BE ASHAMED AND SAY SORRY?" Zenitsu asked incredulously.
"No."
"AAAAARGH! YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE! DON'T TALK TO ME, I'M LEAVING! KANAO, YOU ALSO SHOULDN'T TALK TO HIM!" Zenitsu yelled, and scrambled out the room, his face flushed with anger.
.
.
.
"..." Neither Kanao nor Inosuke said anything.
"Why didn't you apologize?" Kanao finally asked.
"Cuz I'm not sorry. Duh. I still don't remember it happening." Inosuke replied, the nonchalance clear in his tone.
"But, Zenitsu seemed very upset."
"He'll come back, eventually. He's my minion."
"I still think you should apologize, out of respect for him."
"It'll be fine! Just you watch, Kono."
"Pardon...?" Kanao asked.
Inosuke ran out the room, after Zenitsu, leaving a very confused Kanao.
'Was he referring to me just now..?' She wondered to herself.
———
"That stupid..pigheaded...freak! How could he not remember? And, just how did we become such good friends, despite that?!" Zenitsu mused to himself as he stormed outside.
"Is he following me? Has he chosen to apologize?" Zenitsu thought, hearing the sounds of Inosuke's footsteps rushing after him.
"Monitsu, do you want to go train together? Or eat tempura?"
Zenitsu's eye twitched. Again.
"Say you're joking." Zenitsu said through gritted teeth, his anger barely contained.
"Why would I be joking about that? Come on, let's go!"
"..." Zenitsu was going to snap at Inosuke, but decided against it. He would not fall for Inosuke's attempts at riling him up.
So, he walked away.
"Huh?" Inosuke thought for a bit, and decided to follow after Zenitsu.
It hadn't even occured to him that Zenitsu just might be a tiny bit upset at him.
Zenitsu closed his eyes and tried his utmost best to ignore him.
"Fight me, Monitsu!"
"Wanna go get tempura?"
"Monitsu, let's go train."
"Kernitsu, do you think I'm strong? Say I'm strong!"
But even doing that was 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 difficult.
"Why are you ignoring me, Monitsu? I know you have freakish hearing, so you pretending not to hear me won't work." Inosuke said after a brief period of silence.
He smiled to himself, feeling smart for having figured that out.
But instead -
"Tanjirou! Can I join you in training?" Zenitsu asked and rushed towards his side.
Inosuke stopped moving and stared.
He felt a pang of.. something.
This wasn't like Bonbitsu at all!
Sure, there were times when Zenitsu would get mad at him, but it's never gone this far!
And, he offered to train with him 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, so why was he going to Monjirou?
He quickly pushed aside those thoughts, and approached the two like he wasn't having an internal battle.
"Well, if we're going to train, you should obviously learn from me, the best, your one and only King of the Mountains, Hashibira Inosuke!"
"Okay then, Inosuke. We don't mind-"
"Actually, something came up! I just remembered I had to do something!" Zenitsu interrupted Tanjirou.
"See you later, Tanjirou!" He gave his biggest smile at him and waved, before trotting off to who knows where.
"Aha.. Bye.. Zenitsu.." Tanjirou replied weakly, smelling the awkwardness in the air.
"..." Inosuke said nothing while staring at the grass, contemplating his life choices like it was the end of the world.
"Inosuke.."
"I've failed, Tanjirou."
"What? What are you-"
"There's no hope for me anymore."
"Wait, wait! What are you talking about? Did something happening between you and Zenitsu?" Tanjirou asked, looking back and forth between Zenitsu's retreating figure and Inosuke's downcast expression.
"Me and Monitsu are over." Inosuke mumbled.
"Huh..? Over? What do you mean by that?"
"He's mad at me, Gonpachirou. That's why he ignored me just now.." He spat out reluctantly.
"Well.. What did you do then? I'm sure he won't be mad at you for long.. as long as it's not anything serious." Tanjirou reassured.
"I.. I forgot our first meeting. You know, when all of us met."
"Oh."
"...? Was it really something that important?"
"Well, you see, Inosuke.." Tanjirou smiled awkwardly and looked away.
"He said I assaulted him and beat him up."
"That's.. not false. You did, sort of.. beat him up. And you fought me, too." Tanjirou said softly, trying his best not to make Inosuke feel any worse.
"Well, I guess now that I think about it, I do sorta remember it. But Nezuko is a demon, and if you think about it, I was technically doing my job, so-"
Inosuke cut himself off and shook his head.
"He's mad at me because I forgot."
"So, he's being petty.." Tanjirou mused, remembering how his own siblings used to behave the same way.
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Wh- no, I didn't say anything, forget that! The point is, I don't think Zenitsu will stay mad at you for long. He's usually like that. Just give it some time."
"Time? But- but he's talking to everyone else 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 me! He's my minion, Gonpachirou! You know! He's part of my pack, like you are!" Inosuke practically growled.
The scent of jealousy was overwhelming for poor Tanjirou.
"R- right, right.." Tanjirou nodded.
"Look! He's talking to Aoi! Usually, she's just yelling at him, but they're actually having a proper conversation! Tanjirou, what do I do?!" Inosuke began shaking his shoulders vigorously.
"Well..my mother used to say that communication is key.."
"But he's not even listening! Should I just forcibly get him to talk?"
"No! But.. Maybe if you were to express your honest feelings.."
"My honest feelings?"
"Inosuke, I've actually been wondering this for a really long time, now." Tanjirou spoke, now looking Inosuke in the eyes directly.
Well, the boar hides eyes, anyway.
"Do you have any feelings for Zenitsu?" Tanjirou asked.
"I-" Inosuke paused, and realized he didn't really understand what the question meant. Feelings? He had feelings for everyone! Some people he hated, some people he admired and respected, so on!
"Monitsu is my minion, how many times do I have to tell you? Of course I feel something for him. I mean, who's going to protect him? He's in my pack, remember." Inosuke replied.
Tanjirou gave him an awkward smile.
"No, I mean.. Do you 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 him? But- obviously, if you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to tell me, I'm just curious..!"
What?
Oh.
𝘖𝘩.
So, that's what he meant.
Now that he really thought about it, why was he so bothered about Zenitsu being away from him?
He was the King of the Mountains, he didn't need anyone else to survive, but himself!
So, then, why did it feel as if his heart was calling out for Zenitsu's return? Why did it feel natural to have that stupid blonde by his side?
And, why was his heart racing? Was it always this stuffy in his boar mask?
"Inosuke?" Tanjirou asked, seeing that Inosuke had spaced out for 5 minutes. Maybe he shouldn't have asked him that question..?
"Monitsu will be the Queen of the Mountains." Inosuke suddenly declared, his voice dead serious.
"So you do like him?"
"I- yes! Now, don't make me say something so embarrassing again!" Inosuke grumbled.
He glanced back at Zenitsu who was now walking away with Aoi, then back at Tanjirou.
"Just you watch." Was all he said before he took off in a random direction.
"I hope he doesn't do anything reckless.." Tanjirou thought worriedly, knowing that Inosuke could act impulsively at times.
-
Needless to say, Inosuke's attempts at talking to the blonde were unsuccessful.
Zenitsu was always either 'busy', training on his own, talking to someone else, or nowhere to be found.
When he did finally find Zenitsu, he would either glower and glare at him, make a 'Hmph!' sound, stomp his foot and turn away, run away from him, or straight up ignore him.
It had been 5 days. 5 days without Zenitsu, and Inosuke finally felt like he would go mad. And so, he picked himself up to go find Zenitsu, who was rightfully his.
He tried, he really did. He wanted to respect Zenitsu's personal space, and give him time. But it had gotten to a certain point. A point where Inosuke just couldn't take it anymore.
——
"Nezuko-chan?" Zenitsu asked, feeling the demon girls' soft hands gently tug at his hair in an attempt to form a small side braid on his head.
"Hehe.. If you like braiding hair, I'll grow my hair out, so you can make even more braids." Zenitsu giggled, a warm blush colouring his face as he listened to the sounds of Nezuko's happiness. Oh, how he'd do anything to preserve her happiness.
"Mhmm!" Nezuko hummed, pleased with the idea.
The two were sitting outside together in the evening while the sun was blocked by the clouds.
The atmosphere was so peaceful that Zenitsu had momentarily forgotten about his anger at a certain boarheaded boy, and the constant sound of the voices in his head that would never let him forget his past.
It truly was a blessing he'd met both Kamado's.
"Nezuko-chan, you and your brother really are great people. I'm glad I met you both." Zenitsu spoke, his voice barely audible as he spoke into the wind.
Nezuko, however, seemed to have heard this. She hummed quietly in response, as if to see return the sentiment.
"Haha. You don't need to say that, I already know I'm not the most pleasant person to be around. I'm sure both you, your brother, and everyone I've ever met would've been better off without meeting me." Zenitsu continued quietly, the smile on his face dropping as he did.
Nezuko quickly finished braiding Zenitsu's hair and gave him a confused yet worried look, tugging at his hand while she did so.
"I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry. It's just.. I'm really grateful. Perhaps I don't say it enough, or I haven't shown it enough, but.. I'm really glad I have all of you. You, Tanjirou, Inosuke.." Zenitsu's eyes softened, his voice trailing off.
"I act the way I do, yet all of you insist on being around me. It makes me wonder if I'm selfish sometimes. Perhaps I am selfish. I never did receive attention like this, before.
It makes me glad that I ended up trying in life. Did I ever tell you, Nezuko? When the going gets tough, I sometimes try to-"
Zenitsu snapped his head backwards, hearing a not so subtle sound that belonged to a certain person he was still upset at.
Nezuko frowned, upset at the cliffhanger. Every evening Zenitsu would open up to her, but often, the topics were mundane. And just when he'd finally began telling her something important..
"Inosuke. I know you're there. For the record, I can't tell if you heard what I said before, but that doesn't mean I'm not mad at you!"
"Hmph! You were talking too loud, and I just so happened to be here." Inosuke immediately shot back.
Both Zenitsu and Nezuko deadpanned.
"Don't give me that look, Queen of the Mountain and my minion with privileges above other minions!" Inosuke grumbled.
"Huh? Nezuko's definitely not the Queen of your Mountains!" Zenitsu said hurriedly, the panic clear in his voice.
Nezuko looked confused. Her?
"No, Zenuko's not the Queen of the Mountains, duh! You are!" Inosuke corrected with a tinge of irritation in his tone, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Nezuko sighed with relief at the clarification.
"What..? I'm not- do you even know what you're implying?! And- and- you—! I'm mad at you, okay?!" Zenitsu looked away, his face turning slightly red.
‘𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦! 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵?! 𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵!’ Zenitsu thought to himself.
"Of course I do! I'm the King of the Mountains, and you are now the Queen of the Mountains!" Inosuke repeated.
"No, you clearly don't! You're implying that we.. that we're... UGH! Inosuke, just- just go! You've interrupted my conversation with Nezuko, and I'd rather much prefer being your 'most loyal minion' again!"
"The Queen of the Mountains is a very special position, Monitsu. The reason that you're-"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! WHATEVER REASONS YOU HAVE, KEEP THEM TO YOURSELF!" Zenitsu screeched.
Nezuko tilted her head in confusion.
‘If Inosuke is the King, And Zenitsu is the Queen, then—!’
The realization finally dawned on her. Was Inosuke trying to ask Zenitsu out? Were they already a thing?
"And Nezuko's here too! Must you always embarrass me, Inosuke?! In front of girls?! Do you hate me that much?!" Zenitsu wailed at him.
"I could ask the same thing, given how you've been ignoring me these past few days!" Inosuke barked back.
The frustration in his voice was finally beginning to leak through.
"..." Zenitsu said nothing. He could hear the underlying tone of sadness and longing in Inosuke's voice. Longing for what? To see him?
Had he actually hurt Inosuke?
"..." Inosuke said nothing, staring at Zenitsu hard.
Nezuko took this as her sign to leave, and quickly rushed to the entrance if the Butterfly Mansion. She immediately closed the front door to make sure nobody could bother them.
"Inosuke, I.. You've got the wrong idea. I don't hate you. I was just.. mad.." Zenitsu said, the reality of what he'd done finally settling onto him.
Sure, Zenitsu was petty, but he wasn't heartless. Not at all. In fact, his heart was comparable to even that of Kamado Tanjirou's. He had lots of love to give, whether it be to his ex's, his brother who couldn't care less, his master, the hashira, his friends-
The point being that, out of him, Inosuke, Tanjirou and Nezuko, he was amongst if not the most mature, despite how petty he might act sometimes. With how many years he'd spent critiquing and criticizing himself, spotting his flaws had become second nature to him by then. And that meant seeing he was wrong in doing what he did.
And with that, a heavy feeling of guilt settled with those feelings in his heart.
"Inosuke.." Zenitsu's voice trailed off again. His apology was on the tip of his tongue, but even it felt too heavy. He quietly sniffed and rubbed at his nose.
Inosuke, on the other hand, seemed to be panicking internally.
Had he just guilt-tripped Zenitsu?
That easily?
He was just frustrated was all, damn it! Why did Zenitsu have that expression on his face now?
"Zenitsu. Look at me." Inosuke ordered, although unlike usual, his voice wasn't rough. It was surprisingly gentle.
Zenitsu looked up at Inosuke and saw that the boy had removed his mask. Much to his surprise, Inosuke didn't look sad at all.
"I think what I said flew over your head. I was.. I wasn't being for real, okay? Don't- don't give me that look!" Inosuke huffed as he averted eye contact with him.
"Oh.. You damn prick, Inosuke.." Zenitsu mumbled, half smiling as he sniffled quietly. How dare he, after everything! Though, for some reason, Zenitsu couldn't find it in himself to screech at him like he usually did, or be mad for that matter.
"I don't hate you, and you said you don't hate me. But seriously. I.. Listen, I'm sorry. For beating you up when we met and stuff. It was wrong of me, and I think I understand better why you were so upset at me." Inosuke spoke, the sincerity in his voice clear.
Zenitsu raised a brow.
"You don't sound like yourself at all, Inosuke.. Who told you to say that? Tanjirou? Aoi?" Zenitsu asked, a small laugh escaping him as he did.
"Err.." Inosuke kept looking away, never having felt this bashful and unsure what to do before. He fidgeted awkwardly with his hands, before finally deciding to take a seat next to Zenitsu. Extremely close, for some reason.
"Well, whatever. I guess I can't be mad at you forever, can I? I forgive you." Zenitsu finally relented.
"Mhm." Inosuke hummed in response. He turned his head and stared into Zenitsu's eyes. Had they always been that yellow and magical? They looked even better, now that he was up close.
.
.
"Is there something on my face?" Zenitsu finally asked, having had enough of being stared at.
"No. I just.. missed you a lot. Don't want to scare you away again." Inosuke quickly looked away and pretended like he hadn't been staring a few seconds ago. He added that last part quietly, though. Zenitsu thought he might've misheard.
"I guess I missed your presence, too. No matter how loud and annoying you might be. But.. you're eerily quiet. You're not plotting something, are you?"
"I just remembered something. Something you said a few days ago. You said you were scared of me sometimes." Inosuke mumbled.
"Oh.. That... Well, I.. I didn't actually mean it..! Entirely.. Ha.." Zenitsu chuckled awkwardly.
"Well, then, why didn't you say anything? That's not how kings treat queens."
"Enough of this nonsen- okay, I.. You just act really crazy sometimes, alright? It's not like I'm terrified of you, or anything! Okay, maybe sometimes I am, but—! It's- it's hard to explain!"
"I'm sorry. For scaring you." Inosuke apologized again.
If you'd told Zenitsu that Inosuke would be willingly apologizing to him just yesterday, he wouldn't have believed you! Laughed at you in your face, even!
So, just what was going on in Inosuke's head? He couldn't figure it out.
"It's- it's fine, it's not something I expected you to apologize for." Zenitsu attempted at reassuring him.
"No, it's not! You shouldn't forgive me, Monitsu. You're too kind. Maybe it's because I was too focused on Gonpachirou, but I only noticed now how much worse you are than him in this regard. Too forgiving, too soft, and too blind. I told you to toughen up, since I'm not always gonna be there to protect you, you know.." Inosuke replied, still not looking Zenitsu in the eye.
"Huh? What are you.." Zenitsu's voice trailed off, realizing that Inosuke just might be right. It was a terrible habit he had. Forgiving too easily, trusting too easily.. In all his rudeness, even Kaigaku had made a comment on it, although Zenitsu wasn't sure if it was out of concern or not.
But he'd never let him know that..
"But, thanks for forgiving me." Inosuke added.
"Did you hit your head? Seriously, what's going on, Inosuke? I feel like I'm talking to a completely different person."
Inosuke finally met Zenitsu's gaze, his face crimson. It was still noticeable, even in the faint moonlight. But Zenitsu could also tell since he could hear Inosuke's racing heart.
"I'm just treating you how a king should." Inosuke replied, his voice shaky.
"Seriously? You're still going on with that nonsense? Seriously, do you actually even know what you're implying?!" Zenitsu felt the colour returning to his face.
"Yes! I do! And I mean every part of it! You can hear it, can't you?" Inosuke asked, yanking Zenitsu's hand and bringing it to his chest. More so, where his heart was.
Zenitsu felt his face heat up even more - not from the fact that Inosuke's heart was racing, but from the fact that he could 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 his heart racing, and his hand was on Inosuke's bare chest. His bare skin.
Screw Inosuke!
Could he not wear a shirt, even for once!?
He attempted to pull away, but Inosuke didn't let him.
"Inosuke, do you.." Zenitsu swallowed hard, his own heart hammering in his throat, "Like-"
"-you? Yes, I do. I want you more than anyone else ever will." Inosuke declared.
Zenitsu squeaked and looked away.
Inosuke let go of his hand, allowing it to finally drop back to Zenitsu's side.
"Do you not feel the same?" Inosuke asked, pretending to be nonchalant about it, but the way his voice came out said other wise.
"I.. You- no, it's not.. I obviously love you very much back, and I-" Zenitsu let out a strangled gasp, realizing what he'd just said then.
Inosuke perked up.
"Hah! Repeat that!" Inosuke cackled, his usual vigour returning just then.
"No! I said what I said, and if you clearly heard it, there's no need for me to repeat it!" Zenitsu squeaked out again, attempting to move away, but of course, Inosuke didn't let him.
He practically snatched Zenitsu and pulled him close, so close, Inosuke swore he could feel every individual vibration coming from him.
"Fine! Fine! I said that I love you very much, okay? Even if you're a jerk sometimes.."
Inosuke grinned, not even caring how much he was blushing by then.
"I love you more." Inosuke pulled poor Zenitsu onto his lap to trap him in a warm embrace.
"Must you always turn everything into a competition?" Zenitsu grumbled, resigning himself to the fact that he was not escaping any time soon.
"I'm the best at everything. And, obviously, the Queen of the Mountains deserves only the best, strongest, most handsome, incredibly strong.." Inosuke's voice trailed off, his lack of vocabulary showing.
Zenitsu laughed softly.
"Well, I guess you really are perfect then, aren't you?" Zenitsu asked and planted a gentle kiss on Inosuke's cheek.
Inosuke instantly tensed, his entire body going rigid after he'd received what he now considered a blessing.
"Hm?" Zenitsu hummed sleepily as he nestled against Inosuke's chest. Why had he ever wanted to leave this place? Only now did he realize how comfortable it was here. He really could fall asleep here...
"You.. Again." Inosuke whispered.
"No." Zenitsu smiled innocently, feeling cheeky.
"You can't do that, Zenitsu. It's not fair. Also, you did it wrong! You're supposed to do it on the lips!"
"I can do whatever I want." Zenitsu smiled and closed his eyes with a yawn.
"Please? Please Monitsu, it's seriously not fair!" Inosuke whined as he looked at Zenitsu, who was looking far too comfortable in his arms.
‘𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶.. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺..𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦..𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!’ Inosuke thought to himself, slowly accepting that Zenitsu now had him on chokehold, and that he was powerless to the very man he loved chasing around. Who also so happened to be getting ready to fall asleep in his arms.
"Hmm.." Zenitsu giggled again, only because of how ridiculous this was - him, of all people, making Inosuke beg. How the tables have turned.
Looking up at Inosuke's pout, he relented. He supposed he should, after all, he'd been ignoring Inosuke for a few days. This should suffice as compensation.
Zenitsu sat up and before Inosuke could complain again, stole his words away with another kiss. Only, this time, it was on the lips.
"Mmph-" Inosuke's words could only be swallowed whole by Zenitsu.
Inosuke, for one, had no idea how to kiss someone, so his first instinct was to decide to try and and bite his Queen or use his tongue to taste. Out of curiosity.
Zenitsu's hands moved up to cradle Inosuke's face gently. And of course, Inosuke took this as an invitation to act on his impulses.
But before he could even get a taste of Zenitsu, he pulled away.
Inosuke frowned, feeling the warmth of Zenitsu fade away from his lips and cheeks.
"That kiss should make up as compensation, right?" Zenitsu asked as he slowly untangled himself from Inosuke's grip so that he could get up.
The reality of what they'd done only seemed to dawn on Inosuke then. Without thinking, he nodded his head, even if he wished he'd gotten more.
Well, he had to respect his Queen, and it wasn't like Zenitsu would give him another. He couldn't get greedy. Not yet, anyway.
So, he obviously had to prove himself, right? Prove that he was worthy of another kiss.
"Where are you going?" Inosuke asked, and in the blink of an eye, he was on his feet and tugging at Zenitsu's hand.
Zenitsu's face turned redder and he looked away.
"I guess we can go in together." He looked down.
"Also, what does this make us?" He blurted out.
"Huh? What do you mean? We're King and Queen, obviously."
"No, not that, Inosuke. I mean.. What does this make us, for real? After this, we can't just go back to being friends."
"Oh, so you mean like, husband and wife? I'm the husband, and you can be the wife."
Zenitsu flushed even more red.
"You- you idiot! That's.. Ugh, fine. So, that means we're dating, right? That's what I'm asking. If we're boyfriends."
"Sure. If that's what you want to call it. You can be my boyfriend. But, it doesn't really matter because you're my mate, and that means that you're mi-"
"Inosuke!" Zenitsu placed his free hand on top of Inosuke's mouth.
"I get it. No more, okay? No more."
Surprisingly, Inosuke listened and fell silent.
Zenitsu raised an eyebrow, then deadpanned.
"That's not going to make me kiss you. From now on, you'll only get cheek kisses. If you want more, you'll have to work for it." Zenitsu declared with a cheeky grin. Inosuke sulked.
"Fine, I accept your challenge. I'll show you.." Inosuke said, his voice suddenly filled with determination.
"Heh." Zenitsu smirked, feeling powerful with this newfound discovery and power.
Again, he planted another kiss to Inosuke's cheek before pulling away and running into the Butterfly Mansion.
"It's only to boost morale!" He called out.
Inosuke froze, his face heating up again, before he finally began chasing after Zenitsu.
"Come back here! That's not fair at all!"
Again, Inosuke began chasing Zenitsu.
I guess some things really don't change.