Pinky Promise {InoTan}

9

Timeskip.. two months :)

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"Onii-chan, are you excited to go back home?" Nezuko blinked, shifting on the stool she was sitting on.

Tanjiro nodded. "Very. I think Inosuke and Zenitsu will like it there, too."

"Zenitsu will," Nezuko said thoughtfully. "I'm not so sure about.. him." Her gaze fell onto Inosuke, who was sprawled face down across the mattress. His boar mask was set backwards on top of his head as he slept, making it look like his neck was broken. The pair just stared at him for a moment before returning to their conversation.

"He'll be fine," Tanjiro assured his sister. "He grew up on a mountain, so he'll probably enjoy getting to live on one again." He reached out and tipped the mask to the side so he could pet Inosuke's hair. When he retracted his hand again, Nezuko let out a soft hum.

"He's pretty attached to you," she noted, resting her elbows on the blankets and her chin on her palms.

Tanjiro blinked, then laughed quietly. "That's just Inosuke being Inosuke."

Not convinced, she continued. "Maybe, but he doesn't act so fondly around anyone else."

"Maybe it's because I headbutted him that one time? Or because I gave him my food?" Tanjiro looked perplexed.

"I think he just likes you," Nezuko smiled, a small teasing glint in her eyes. Before her brother could interject, she got to her feet. "I'll be back soon- I just remembered I promised Aoi-san I would help with the laundry!" With that, she turned and skipped away.

Upon reaching the laundry room, Aoi glanced up at her. "So?"

"I tried my best," Nezuko sighed, shrugging as she bent down to pick up a basket of linens. "These go outside?"

"Mhm, but set them up in the shade," instructed Aoi. "And quit meddling, they'll figure it out on their own."

"But will they? It'd be painful to have to watch them dance around it for months while we all live in the same house."

"Trust me, it's been bad for a good while now," the butterfly girl said plainly.

"Oh finee," Nezuko huffed, a tiny snicker rising from her throat. "Has anyone warned Zenitsu?"

"No, and don't be the one to tell him. Let him suffer."

Giggling at the level of mischief this would cause, Nezuko headed outside to set up the towels and cloths on the clothesline. Over the past two months, Inosuke had practically just moved into Tanjiro's room. He slept in there, ate in there, and spent a good majority of his time there. She didn't know at what point she had started to think they'd look cute together, or when she'd thought there might be more than one reason for Inosuke's clinging, but she stood by it. After a bit of convincing, Nezuko had Aoi on her side, too. It wasn't wrong of her, right? It was just a bit of sisterly teasing she finally got to make up after being a practically mute demon for so long.

Back in Tanjiro's room, the scarred boy was still stuck trying to work out whether there was any reason Inosuke might enjoy his company more than the others'. Curse Nezuko's suggestion- now he was noticing all the little things, all the little moments when Inosuke was quiet or when he was gentler whenever Tanjiro got hurt. 'Considerate' was never a word that could be used to describe him, but favoritism was. Questions and confusion swam into and around Tanjiro's brain, feeding his never-ending and jumbled train of thought. One question ran above the rest, though.

Had Nezuko been suggesting that Inosuke liked Tanjiro? Not just in a friendly way?

He thought about that quite a lot over the next hour or so.

Inosuke stirred quite a bit in his sleep, tossing and turning as his dreamy state pleased. Sometimes Tanjiro wondered what he was dreaming about. Something about demons, maybe? His boar head had long since been cast aside, laying on its side on top of the thick comforter.

He caught himself many times spacing out as he thought, his mind wandering to think solely about Inosuke instead of how his friends would adjust to living in his old home, or if he was going to lose contact with any of the surviving demonslayers. Each time this happened, he smiled and looked outside, instead.

He peered through the crystal clear window panes, admiring how the cherry blossoms twirled and pirouetted as they floated slowly down from the tree they were whisked from. In a few instances he could spot Kanao wandering around the grounds. He considered going out to talk to her, but ultimately decided against it, as Inosuke had found a comfortable position that just so happened to be hanging half off the bed, and Tanjiro had to make sure he didn't fall off and hit his head. Not wanting to disturb him, Tanjiro just sat back and kept one eye on Inosuke while he looked outside again.

Swirling clouds lilted and shifted in the distant sky. If he focused, he could make out the dark dots that were crows, soaring through the infinite possibilities that the freedom of having wings granted them. Wings, buffeted by gale after gale, had carried the corvids to and from their assigned demonslayers for years- decades- centuries, even. Taken the messengers into battle, and flew them away if they were careful. Tanjiro made a mental note to thank the next Kasugai Crow he came across.

Interrupted, his bubble of thought burst as Inosuke tumbled from the bed with a grunt. Tanjiro winced and bent over to look around the mattress at him. He'd dragged half the covers with him, from which he hastily untangled himself as he sat up.

"Inosuke, are you ok?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be??" Inosuke stood and looked around for his boar head, reaching over the bed to grab it and stuff it back on. "Where'd Nekozo go?"

"She left to go help Aoi," Tanjiro hummed.

With a small grunt of satisfaction, he walked over to the door. Maybe there was something to eat in the kitchen that he could steal.

Tanjiro pushed himself up when he saw Inosuke moving to leave. "Where're you going?"

"Gonna get some food."

"Can I come?"

Inosuke paused, staring back at him from behind his mask. After a moment he yelled "Yeah!! Come on, Bankito!" and ran out the door.

Sighing fondly, Tanjiro listened to his footsteps thundering down the hallway before he got up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and easing his weight onto them. Making his way into the hall, he waved cheerily to Sanemi and followed Inosuke's chaos towards the kitchen. His smile grew when he saw Inosuke peer back around the corner to make sure he was still there. He waited there for Tanjiro to catch up, only the top and eyes of his mask visible.

"Sorry I'm so slow," Tanjiro apologized guiltily.

Inosuke shrugged. He took hold of Tanjiro's hand, pulling him along.

His conversation with Nezuko briefly flashed across his mind when Inosuke reached for his hand. There was no way she was right about him, right?

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Tanjiro is the type to help Inosuke steal food, but leave money on the counter before they leave.

How is Tanjiro the youngest of the trio but also the most mature-

Also, I'm so sorry for not working on this story more- I'll try to stagger what books I work on from now on.

(And sorry if the end of the chapter seems rushed)