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Tanjiro awoke peacefully for the first time in a while. Usually, when waking up, it was sudden or frightening, so it was nice to arise from slumber slowly. He took a deep breath. The air smelled of warmth, a sweetness on the breeze that was approaching just as Summer was. The smell of cherry blossoms was still there, however faded slightly. He could lie here forever with the feeling of peace calming him.
But duty calls, and knowing his friends, he would be up sooner or later. He cared for them deeply, but boy, were they loud.
It’s comforting though, somehow, he thought to himself.
Tanjiro finally opened his eyes and sat up from the tatami mat on the ground, stretching. They had come back from a mission yesterday, nothing terrible, but there had been enough close calls that the sleep afterwards was well needed. They had made their way to the Butterfly Mansion, as it was closer than the Wisteria House, with thoughts of food and rest on their minds. They had been really tired, leading to a quick dinner and Zenitsu basically collapsing on their mats with a quick, ' See you all in the morning,' before promptly falling asleep.
Tanjiro looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. As expected, Nezuko was in her box, and Zenitsu was still sleeping next to him. Inosuke was nowhere to be found, which means he was probably either working out or getting into his antics in the forest. He made a note to look for him as soon as he got up.
Zenitsu made a noise next to him,m causing Tanjiro to look back over to the blonde demon slayer. He was curled up under the covers, only his head sticking out. The noise in question was just him rolling over to be closer to Tanjiro’s side. Tanjiro smiled and placed a hand on his friend’s head, patting his hair softly.
“I know you’re not a morning person, but you really should get up soon, Zenitsu.” Tanjiro said quietly. Zenitsu was always the last to get up, no matter the situation. In a perfect world,d Tanjiro would like to let him lie there peacefully for as long as he needed, but their professions were too high-maintenance for that, sadly.
“Mmmm, just a little while longer. Yesterday was so tiring, pleeeease just a little bit longer?” Zenitsu replied, most of it muffled as he snuggled more underneath the covers. Tanjiro laughed softly, patting his head again. He liked rubbing Zenitsu's head. His hair was really soft, and the contact seemed to bring him comfort, so it was honestly a win-win situation for both of them. Tanjiro recalled the times when Inosuke had tried patting Zenitsu’s head as well, but every time his hair always ended up a mess.
(“Augh! Be careful, my hair is going to be all over the place, chill out a little!” Zenitsu had exclaimed when Inosuke had ruffled his hair after a mission.
“Hahaha, your hair looks all funny like this! Hey Santaro, next time you pet his head, you should do it like this!”
Tanjiro watched as Inosuke ruffled Zenitsu’s hair before ruffling his own. He came over and did the same to Tanjiro as well.
“Hahaha, now we all look funny!” Was his only reply.
Later that night, Tanjiro brushed Zenitsu’s hair back while Zenitsu brushed Inosuke’s.)
Tanjiro looked at Zenitsu for a while longer. His eyes were still closed, slowly drifting off to sleep again with incomprehensible mumbles. He didn’t mean to stare; it just wasn’t often Tanjiro got to see him so relaxed. Zenitsu was always complaining or worrying about something, but during the times when he was calm, Tanjiro was so happy for him. He wished he could take every worry away from his friend’s shoulders. He found himself about to trace Zenitsu’s slight worry lines before he brought his hand back to the top of his head.
“Okay, you can sleep a little longer. Just be ready for breakfast later.” Tanjiro whispered with a slight smile. Zenitsu made a noise of understanding as Tanjiro patted his head one more time before getting up and making his way over to his sister’s box. He knocked twice, a nonverbal ask if she was awake.
There was a slight noise from inside the box before Nezuko slowly opened the door, eyes half lidded and swaying slightly. She had worked hard yesterday as well, climbing into her box as soon as the fight was over. Seeing how tired his sister and Zenitsu were, Tanjiro decided today would be a lazy day.
He gently grabbed Nezuko’s hand. “It’s okay, you can go back to sleep. I just wanted to tell you that I was awake. I’m going to go find Inosuke, but Zenitsu is in here if you need anything.” He reassured her.
She made a noise signaling she understood before quietly moving back into her box. Tanjiro stood up again and got dressed in his uniform. With that done, he placed his hands on his hips. Now time for what would probably be the most difficult task for today: finding where Inosuke went.
Tanjiro made his way across the estate, thinking of the most likely place his wild companion could be. Part of him said that Inosuke could be getting food from Aoi, but the more reasonable part of him said he was probably in the woods. Ever since Zenitsu had mentioned that eating together makes the food taste better, Inosuke had always made sure one of them was around before eating.
(“You know you don’t have to always wait for us before eating, right Inosuke?” Tanjiro had told him when they were eating after both he and Zenitsu were done getting patched up after a hard fight.
Zenitsu brought his chopsticks to his mouth. “Yeah, you don’t want to starve or anything, you don’t always have to wait.” Inosuke had pounded his chest with one of his fists.
“I have to wait for you two! If it’s true that it tastes better with others around, then I’m never going back to eating by myself. I am the leader here after all, I deserve the best.” He placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest. “Besides, what if Monitsu chokes. Someone has to save his weak body!”
Stupid boar! I’m not eating with you anymore!”)
Tanjiro chuckled at the memory as he made his way into the wooded area of the mansion’s grounds. Zenitsu had obviously not meant it, as he still ate with them every meal. It had made Inosuke tackle him, though.
“Inosuke? Are you in here somewhere?” Tanjiro called once he was further into the trees. Silence responded to him. He sniffed the air, finding his friend’s scent easily. Inosuke always smelled like soil to Tanjiro. Damp ground along with tea roots and berries. It was very grounding. It reminded him of the mountains where he grew up and allowed him to relax.
Tanjiro followed Inosuke’s scent, trying to find him. Now that he thought about it, he enjoyed both his and Zenitsu’s smells. They were comforting but were very different. While Inosuke’s reminded him of his hometown, Zenitsu’s reminded him of the city. It was sweet like candy and peaches. There was a hint of rain as well, right before a thunderstorm.
Both of his companions' auras mixed together nicely in a way that brought Tanjiro complete peace. It made him feel safe. Who would have thought that some of the wildest people he’s ever met would bring him such comfort?
Wow, I sure am sentimental today, Tanjiro thought to himself as he made his way to a clearing. The trees had opened up just enough to form a nice grassy area. There was a stream flowing steadily through the trees, along with flower bushes lining the clearing. A few cherry blossom trees were still in bloom, along with some peach and apple trees that had not grown fully yet. That’s where he found the boy in question, hunched over, digging in the dirt.
“Ah! Inosuke, there you are. I was looking for you.” Tanjiro made his way over to him, trying to look at what he was digging at. “What are you doing? Is there something in there?”
Inosuke turned to face him, immediately perking up once Tanjiro was close. “ Gonpachiro! Look, look, look what I found!” Tanjiro looked over Inosuke’s shoulder to see him holding three different things. In one hand was a solid, smooth stone, and in the other was a peach pit and some cherry blossom leaves.
To be honest, Tanjiro had no idea why Inosuke thought this was so impressive, so he asked. “It’s nice that you’ve collected all these things, but what are they for?” Inosuke stood up to full height before shoving the acquired items closer to Tanjiro’s face.
“Duh! They’re for you and Monitsu, obviously. Well, the stone is for me, but the other stuff is for you guys.” He shoved the stone in the pockets of his pants before taking the cherry blossom leaves and placing them in Tanjiro’s hands. “I picked them out so there’s no way you two can get hurt with them on you.”
Ahh, they’re good luck charms, Tanjiro thought sweetly.
Inosuke had a habit of going out into the woods and bringing back whatever he liked when they were resting. That ranged from fruits to roots, to a squirrel once.
(“AHHHH WHY DID YOU BRING A SQUIRREL IN HERE?!?” Zenitsu had screamed when Inosuke placed the animal in their room.
“He’s my new underling. Now I have four instead of three!” He had replied as the squirrel ran around their room.
“Uhhh, Inosuke, this really wasn’t a good idea, it’s going to tear up our stuff.” Tanjiro had said, watching the squirrel claw at the walls.
“Underling number 4 would never!” Inosuke had reassured right before the squirrel tore up Zenitsu’s pillow.
“AHHH MY PILLOW HOW AM I GOING TO SLEEP NOW THIS WAS A HORRIBLE DECISION!”
In the end, Nezuko came out of her box and threw the animal out the window with fire in her eyes, much to Inosuke’s disdain. Zenitsu slept on top of Inosuke and Tanjiro that night with the explanation of “My head needs some comfort!”)
He looked back up at Inosuke after inspecting the cherry blossom leaves. “Inosuke, this is so nice, thank you so much! I’ll keep them in my pocket all the time.” Tanjiro replied, placing them in his pocket just as Inosuke had.
Steam came from Inosuke’s mask, signaling he was excited. “Of course you will! I didn’t expect anything less from my underling!” He placed his hands on his hips and posed. Tanjiro laughed before hearing a noise in the trees.
He sniffed the air for any danger, but was relieved by the smell of candy and rain filled his nose.
“Tanjirooooo! Inosukeeeee! You won’t believe what just happened to meeee!” Zenitsu made his way into the clearing carrying a basket and a blanket. He still looked tired, but then again, Zenitsu never looked fully awake.
Zenitsu walked over to them before placing the blanket down. “I woke up this morning, right? And I heard Aoi calling for me, so I-” Zenitsu began to rant while placing everything down carefully. It was pretty impressive how he could be so delicate while going off the rails. Tanjiro and Inosuke just watched as he did his thing.
“...and then I got kicked out of the kitchen because apparently Aoi didn’t want my help in the first place! She wanted Nezuko’s! But the bright side is she gave me some stuff so that we could eat together.” Zenitsu finished his rant and his setup at the same time. And it was just as he said. There was a full breakfast spread in front of them in a nice formation. A breakfast picnic.
Inosuke had obviously zoned out during the rant, but when he zoned back in, his eyes widened at the food in front of him. He sat down quickly and took his mask off. "I wasn't paying attention because I didn't care, but you brought food, so I guess it was worth standing here!”
Zenitsu glared at him before continuing. “I'm choosing to ignore you. Anyway, how did you guys find this area? It’s so pretty.” He looked around as Tanjiro sat down and grabbed a rice ball. “Inosuke found it! I just found him here a little while ago.” They both turned to Inosu,ke who was already done with his first two fried eggs.
He looked up at the attention and swallowed what he was eating. “I was looking for fruit and then found it.” He blinked, remembering something. “Oh Monitsu here!” He threw the peach pit at Zenitsu, who barely caught it.
Inosuke went back to eating right after, not watching Zenitsu’s confused face. “Ah! Oh, uhhhh, thank you? For the peach pit? Why are you giving this to me?” He held it up to the sun, looking at it.
Tanjiro turned to him with a smile on his face. “It’s a good luck charm. I got cherry blossom leaves, he has a stone, and you have a peach pit now.” He took another bite of his food. “It’s a little strange, but I like it.”
Zenitsu turned back to Inosuke before looking at the pit again and blushing. “That’s… actually really sweet. Who knew you could be sentimental!” That got Inosuke’s attention, who took it as a challenge.
“HEY! I don’t know what that word means,s but I’m definitely it!” He said with a huff. “I picked those out for each of you! I think that’s pretty senti- uhhh- sentimental! Ha! Got it!”
Tanjiro finished his food before sitting back on his hands, looking to the sky. “It was pretty nice, Inosuke. Thank you. I don’t think Zenitsu meant it as an insult, I think it was his backwards way of complimenting you.” He said with a slight smile.
Zenitsu placed his peach pit in the pocket of his uniform. “Well, duh! It’s nice, I think I was just more surprised than anything.” He looked to the side with a slight blush still on his face. “I guess it is nice you were thinking of us.”
Tanjiro’s face got warmer at that thought, but he decided to blame it on the sun.
Inosuke’s face reddened a bit before he clapped suddenly, startling Tanjiro and earning a small yelp from Zenitsu. “What was that for, boar head?! You can’t just do that out of nowhere!” Inosuke didn’t listen as he jumped up and ran to the flower bushes. He grabbed a fistful of yellow, blue, and red flowers before sitting back down.
He placed red flowers in front of Zenitsu, the blue flowers in front of Tanjiro, and the yellow ones in front of himself. “Call me impressive because I just had the best idea!” He pointed to Zenitsu. “Teach us.”
Tanjiro looked to the flowers on the blanket before realizing what this meant. “Inosuke, that’s a great idea! Zenits,u you should teach us how to make flower crowns! You like doing that.”
The boy in question blushed with all the attention on him, waving his hands in the air. “Ah, uh, you guys remember that? I mean,ean I can if you want it, just came out of nowhere hahah.” He cleared his throat quickly. “Okay, I can teach you both.”
They spent the rest of the morning crafting their flower crowns. When they got back to the mansion, Zenitsu had a beautiful red crown, Inosuke had given up and just placed the yellow flowers in his hair haphazardly, and Tanjiro himself had a blue flower headband.
As Tanjiro looked at Inosuke and Zenitsu, who were arguing about which form of breathing was the best, Tanjiro couldn’t help but look at the flowers decorating their hair. He looked to his two best friends and realized how much they all just fit together.
He felt the cherry blossoms in his pocket and looked at his headband, and his chest filled with warmth.
He had no idea what tomorrow would bring. What injuries they would get, or what they would have to fight. But he knew that right now he was truly happy.