Spider Lily

°•~Chapter 4~•°

As Muichiro walked out of the room, he glanced back at Natsuki.

"Natsuki is strong, but she's not invincible," he thought, redirecting his focus to the mission. "We need to be careful."

***

Back at the Festival of Light, the search continued. Tanjiro was questioning villagers and searching for any sign of the Blue Spider Lily or demon activity but had no luck finding anything.

Meanwhile, Zenitsu was with the lady, his nerves visibly frayed. He took a deep breath and approached the woman with the Blue Spider Lilies in her hair.

"Excuse me, miss," he said politely, trying to keep his voice steady. "Those flowers in your hair... where did you get them?"

The woman turned to face him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Why do you ask?" she replied.

"I'm... a botanist," he lied quickly, trying to come up with a believable excuse. "I've been searching for those flowers for a long time. They're very rare, you see."

She eyed him for a moment before her expression softened. "Oh, a botanist? How interesting. I found these flowers near the edge of the village by the old shrine. They were blooming just this morning."

"Thank you so much," he said, bowing slightly.

As he turned to leave, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was watching him. "We need to check out that shrine," he thought, making his way back to Tanjiro.

Sitting down, he saw Tanjiro after his awkward encounter. His eyes did not leave the sight of Nezuko as she sat beside her brother. He approached the two with a heavy heart.

"I found out some information about the Lilies. I saw a lady wearing them in her hair; she said she found them in a shrine. We should check it out," he said.

"That's a good idea, but we should tell Muichiro," Tanjiro replied.

"Tell me what?" Muichiro's voice came out of nowhere. He was standing there looking curious.

Zenitsu quickly explained what he had found out. Before they could act, they noticed people around them starting to run. They all looked at each other in confusion and decided to follow the crowd.

They ended up at a stage where the same woman was performing. Without saying anything, they all watched as Zenitsu walked up to her after she finished her performance and tried to grab the Lilies out of her hair to check if they were real.

*Smack!* With a swift motion, the lady slapped him, causing causing people to react staring at  them in shock. Embarrassed, Zenitsu made his way back to the group, all looking at him with disbelief.

"What were you thinking?" Tanjiro asked, a bit dumbfounded by his audacity.

Zenitsu rubbed the back of his head, feeling the sting of the slap. "I just wanted to see if they were real," he mumbled, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Next time, maybe try asking first," Muichiro said, shaking his head.

Back at the inn, everyone was quiet. The mission had taken a toll on everyone, and the events at the festival added a layer of tension.

As they entered the inn, Mitsuri greeted them with a concerned look. "How is she?" Muichiro asked. Mitsuri was near the village and offered to take care of Natsuki while he wasn't there.

"She's resting," Mitsuri replied, her tone reassuring. "The wounds were deep, but she'll recover."

Muichiro nodded, feeling a slight relief. "Thank you for taking care of her."

Mitsuri smiled warmly. "Of course," she said, glancing back at Zenitsu, who was still nursing his bruised ego from the slap at the festival. He slumped into a chair. "That was so embarrassing," he muttered, covering his face with his hands.

Nezuko patted him on the head, trying to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Zenitsu. You were just trying to help. We'll figure this out," Tanjiro said.

Inosuke laughed loudly. "You should've seen your face, Zenitsu! It was priceless!"

"You weren't even there!" Zenitsu scowled.

Inosuke's laughter only grew louder, causing Zenitsu to groan, but a small smile tugged at his lips as he felt Nezuko's comfort.