ιℓℓι¢ιт ∂єѕιяєѕ || 密欲望

A Little Rest

Miyuki's POV

Some time later, Hisa arrived at the room with a doctor. "Hello," he greeted as he entered.

I sat up as the doctor began to check us over. "Hmm... Hmm... Hmm..." he muttered, carefully examining each of us. "You've been playing 'Smash the bones' instead of fighting demons!"

"Yes. Severe!" the doctor announced after finishing his examination. "You all have serious injuries, with each of you having multiple broken ribs."

"Hahah, as expected," I chuckled. The doctor and Hisa bowed to me.

"We're glad to be of service to you, mistress," they said in unison. I rubbed my neck, feeling a bit awkward. "Thank you for your help."

That night, we all slept together in a room with four futons. Inosuke and I took the corners, while Tanjirou and Zenitsu were between us.

"Who would've guessed that all four of us had broken ribs?" Zenitsu commented, wincing as he adjusted his position.

Inosuke uncovered his mast to show a bump on his head. "This knot hurts more than my ribs," he grumbled. Tanjirou looked at him with guilt. "Sorry," he said softly.

Zenitsu, still sore, wasn't satisfied. "Hey, you'd better apologize. It really hurt, you know, getting pounded to a pulp like that." Inosuke didn't reply, and Zenitsu demanded again, "Say you're sorry!"

"I'll pass," Inosuke said stubbornly.

"Just say you're sorry!" Tanjirou urged him. "Apologize already!!" I stepped in, serious. "If you're gonna be like that, we're not eating with you anymore."

"Huh? What's up with that?" Inosuke asked, confused. "Meals always taste better when you eat together, you know," Zenitsu replied. "He's right about that," Tanjirou agreed.

"Did you guys hurt your heads or something?" Inosuke asked incredulously. "Look who's talking!" I laughed. 

Just then, Hisa appeared behind the door, having heard our ruckus. "Is there something I can help you with?" "No, nothing," I replied, and we all became silent, deciding to close our eyes.

Unable to sleep, I spoke up. "Based on Ryo's explanation, Demon Slayers once rescued the owner of the Wisteria family crest. They offer their hospitality in exchange."

Inosuke, curious, asked, "Just how great is the Demon Slayer Corps?"

I chuckled. "Didn't you have a teacher?"

"No," he replied bluntly.

"You really are something else," I said, shaking my head with a smile. 

As the room settled into a quiet lull, Tanjiro broke the silence with a question. "Now that you mention it, Inosuke, why did you join the Corps? You had some kind of reason, didn't you?"

Zenitsu, curious as well, added, "Yeah, what made you join up?"

Inosuke grunted, clearly not thrilled about sharing his story. 

"A member of the Corps slipped into my territory, so I challenged him to a duel. After that, I heard about the Final Selection and learned about demons."

"So that's why you joined the Demon Slayer Corps? And hey, so you and I, and my sister, all grew up in the mountains, huh?" Tanjirou said, trying to find common ground.

"Don't lump me in with you! I don't have any parents or siblings!" Inosuke retorted, his voice sharp. "All I want to do is fight other people and creatures."

Suddenly, Zenitsu sat up, a troubled expression on his face. "Ngh... Tanjirou, no one else is asking, so I'm gonna ask myself. Why are you two traveling with a demon?"