𝐁𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 ✓

chapter 15 :: mount natagumo : an emergency summon

WARNINGS: the following chapter will contain

foul language , mentions of blood and arachnophobia.

Once the chaos had subsided, Tamashii had watched in amusement as Tanjiro struggled to explain that Nezuko was merely his sister that he'd been carrying around in the box.

"Is Tamashii a cousin of yours then?" he'd demanded right after.

"Er...well...not really...she's not related to us by blood but we're close―"

"Then I still hate you!!"

However, despite all of this, she became troubled. Between the two Kamado siblings, she did have a much closer bond with the sister than her brother, having been around the same age as the girl. They were very close, so much so that she embarrassedly remembered the time she'd proposed to the girl when they were younger, and Nezuko responded that she would but not at the time since they were children.

Adding onto this, she was more used to the girl's constant attention. Even when she'd turned into a demon, the two girls were pretty close as Tamashii would often find herself chatting away to the box when they rested in the night, and Nezuko would listen and nod her head in understanding.

So it was understandable as the days flew past with Zenitsu constantly harassing her friend.

No, that wasn't quite the word. He was a bother: he never left the girl alone and was there when she'd exit the box at times. He chased her around (which was a lot), and bowed and nodded constantly. But he always knew when to stop whenever Tanjiro would intervene.

"You're jealous?" she recalled Tanjiro commenting and recoiled at the sentence that followed right after. "I mean, Zenitsu sure has been giving Nezuko all of his attention. I think it's understandable you'd feel a bit annoyed now that he's no longer around, you know?"

And Tamashii had never moved so fast in her life. Afterwards she'd apologized for attempting to suffocate her friend, but still, jealous, of Nezuko? No no, that couldn't be right. Why would she suddenly be upset with Zenitsu hanging around her friend?

Although, the boy was partially right. She was jealous, but not because of what he'd assumed. Moreover, Tamashii was jealous that Nezuko seemed to be giving more of her attention to the blond more than her.

Of course it wasn't intentional. The boy just happened to be around every time Nezuko was there. It's not like the girl could avoid him forever as the only safe haven was her box, but even that became tiresome after a while.

To be fair, she was also a victim of Zenitsu's odd behavior. Whenever Nezuko would return to her box, his attention would tend to focus on her, and she'd find herself having to run to Tanjiro or even Inosuke for safety, mainly because she didn't want to hit the boy too hard and hurt him in the process.

She wouldn't say she disliked the blond.

Other than Tanjiro and his brothers, Zenitsu was the first actual guy who treated her nicely. He was blunt sometimes but he had good intentions, even offering to help her out whenever she seemed to be struggling with something. He was admirable in a way, and very cute too. It was a shame his personality was different compared to his looks.

No, she didn't dislike him. Just jealous, and irritated.

Inosuke on the other hand was someone she'd wholeheartedly agree to sell in the blink of an eye. The boy was violent and feral, like an actual boar and she lost track of the amount of times Tanjiro ended up getting headbutted whilst trying to part their fights. She wouldn't lie when she said she'd felt bad, but it was his fault for meddling in the first place. He needed a lesson and she claimed that she would be the one to teach it to him in a not-so-nice and brutal manner.