FLOW {inotan}

fifteen

Tanjiro was a bit confused. Why? Well, here he stood in front of his open locker, a heart shaped letter in his hands. It had fallen out when he had opened it. On it, was a note written in a... very familiar handwriting.

'Please meet me on the school rooftop after school.'

He pressed his lips into a thin line as he glanced around a bit nervously. The school day was over. He wasn't too sure what this note was about, but he could guess who it was from. What was Zenitsu up to?

And where was Inosuke? He had left as soon as class was over, and practically disappeared before Tanjiro could catch up to him? Did he know something about all this?

After a few minutes of wondering and pondering, Tanjiro decided the best way to figure all this out would be to go see for himself.

Zenitsu stood by the railing, the warm afternoon breeze lifting strands of his hair out of place as he practiced his lines. And practiced. And practiced. Look, it would be a bit of an understatement to say he was nervous. For one thing, it had already been ten minutes since the school day ended.

Tanjiro... wouldn't stand him up, would he? He really didn't think so. But he couldn't help but worry about all the things that could go wrong with this. He was starting to regret it. Part of him was ready to turn and find Tanjiro, tell him it had all been a joke—

And then the door to the rooftop swung open. Zenitsu's heart leapt into his throat as he whipped around, gripping onto the railing like his life depended on it.

There stood Tanjiro, letter in hand, a slightly perplexed look on his face.

Oh, jeez.

"Zenitsu, is something wrong?"

Quickly, Zenitsu cleared his throat and shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak.

Nothing but a high-pitched wheeze left him.

Oh, JEEZ.

Tanjiro arched a brow in confusion. "Uh...?"

Zenitsu groaned in frustration at himself, before suddenly bowing at a 90-degree angle.

"I LIKE YOU!"

Inosuke sat by the stairs to the rooftop, staring at his feet as he listened to Zenitsu stumble through his confession.

"I like you... I've liked you since the day we first met...! You've always been nothing but kind to me... and everyone else. And I really admire that about you."

Inosuke clenched his jaw. Zenitsu continued.

"You're always there to help me, even though I've never really done anything to deserve it. I don't think I can ever repay you for that. Which makes what I'm about to ask seem selfish... but... but..."

Inosuke narrowed his eyes, hands gripping onto the fabric of his pants. It was then he realized why he was so angry.

"Tanjiro..."

It was because...

"... will you go on a date with me?"

Zenitsu had mustered up the courage to say what he himself had been feeling for so long now.

What followed was a silence so tense it set Inosuke on edge. He stood and quietly walked up the stairs, stopping right by the door and leaning forward just slightly to see what was happening.

Zenitsu was shaking. He had tears in his eyes. It was clear he was terrified. Inosuke couldn't see Tanjiro's face. He had no idea what the guy was thinking.

Part of him wished Tanjiro would say no.

But, when Tanjiro reached out to gently wipe at Zenitsu's tears, before pulling him into a tight hug, Inosuke wasn't really surprised.

They were... pretty much perfect for each other, after all.

"I'd love to," was Tanjiro's reply. "Where did you have in mind?"