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It was such a lovely and peaceful morning at the Kocho Mansion. You took a deep, calming breath, inhaling the scent of the steaming hot tea you held in your hands. You pressed the cup to your lips, taking a small sip and sighing with content as the taste danced across your tongue. The sun filtering through the windows warmed your skin and you took another leisurely sip of tea as you thoroughly enjoyed the morning.
The garden just beyond the screen doors was bustling with life, the familiar sounds of three boys filling your ears and drowning out almost any other sound. A fond smile tilted your lips as you took another long sip of hot tea. You took a liking to the mansion's temporary residents. The three Demon Slayers had been in terrible shape when they first arrived, clinging to life after a hard-fought battle against some nasty demons. You read the reports and you were amazed they came out alive. You had gotten to know them well during their rehabilitation and you considered them all friends now. Even Tanjiro's younger sister, though she was asleep most of the time.
You pondered the thought of opening the sliding doors and sitting out on the veranda. You liked to watch them all train together and you wanted to monitor their individual progress. You hummed as you considered it. Perhaps when you had finished your tea you would sit outside in the fresh morning air.
You pressed your cup to your lips again, only to pause when you heard loud voices in the garden. Your eyes flicked up, even though you couldn't actually see what was going on without opening the screen door. It seemed they all had stopped training momentarily to bicker. Not unusual but your ears perked up as you eavesdropped on the conversation.
"You couldn't catch a girl even if you tried!"
That was defiantly Zenitsu's high pitched whine that graced your ears. You weren't sure how his voice could go so high without cracking. His statement caught your interest as you lowered your cup, leaning forward slightly as you waited for a response. Who was he talking to?
"Yes I could!"
That was Inosuke's rough voice shouting back at him. The pitch sounded a little strained. He had only recently recovered his voice and no matter how many times he was reprimanded, he still continued to scream at the top of his lungs. If he wasn't careful, he would damage his voice box again. You heard another muffled voice and you already guessed that it was Tanjiro trying to calm the situation. But by the sounds of things neither of his friends were listening. You were quite curious how exactly they had suddenly gotten on this topic of speaking about women. A frown tugged at your lips. On second thought, Zenitsu was involved and so you really didn't need to think too hard about it. Your attention quickly snapped back to the argument outside when you heard Zenitsu shouting once more.
"Prove it!" he challenged.
"Fine!" Inosuke yelled back.
You let out a loud sigh through your parted lips. This conversation was really none of your business. It was just a regular squabble between friends and you decided not to intervene. You took another sip of tea before placing your cup down on the little coffee table in front of you. The mug had only just touched the lacquered wood when you heard loud, approaching footsteps. Suddenly the sliding doors were thrown open with force, completely breaking your peaceful atmosphere. The wood rattled in the frames, almost completely becoming unhinged as they banged together loudly. You looked up to see Inosuke standing in the doorway, hands placed firmly on his hips and bare chest glistening faintly with sweat in the morning light. Your jaw became slack at the sight as he stood proudly before you. You blinked slowly, trying to process what was happening. All you could do was stare at his naked torso, watching a bead of eager sweat roll down his rippling muscles.
"Uhhhh..."
You didn't know what to say. You were completely dumbfounded as you stared into the soulless eyes of his boar mask. Why had he suddenly barged in here? Before your mind could make any sense of the situation Inosuke lunged for you, jumping over your small table and almost knocking your tea over in the process. You didn't have time to jump out of the way as he suddenly grabbed you by the shoulders, hauling you to your feet with ease. You gasped sharply; eyes wide as the sudden vertigo made your head spin. He didn't stop as he used your momentum to keep lifting you up, arms around your torso as he suddenly hoisted you into the air.
Oh no.
At this point, you had already accepted your fate and allowed Inosuke to man handle you however he pleased. You were so used to this by now that you barely flinched whenever he got his hands on you. He wasn't exactly gentle either as his calloused hands pulled your clothes and his palms dug into your skin. You stared at the ceiling as Inosuke held you above his head, one hand supporting your thigh and the other placed on your back as he paraded you around like a trophy.
Tanjiro and Zenitsu raced into the room, watching the display with a mix of bewilderment and concern as you hang in the air, an impassive expression settled on your face.
"See? I got one!" Inosuke proclaimed.
His chest was puffed up as a loud rush of air blew past his mouth, the nostrils of his boar mask flaring with pride. Zenitsu's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull, his jaw almost hitting the floor as he gasped with abject horror.
"Put her down you animal!" Zenitsu screamed.
You cringed slightly, his voice almost bursting your eardrums with his pitch alone. Inosuke simply laughed in response to Zenitsu's plea, continuing to parade you around the room with gusto like you were the catch of the day. You couldn't help but softly laugh at his macho display. He stopped just a few feet short of Tanjiro, slightly jostling you as he halted. You saw the flash of panic cross Tanjiro’s face when he thought you were going to fall, but his worry was quickly washed away when he realised that Inosuke had a firm hold on your body.
"I can lift her above my head now!" Inosuke exclaimed before he let out a maniacal laugh. "I am stronger than you, Genpachiro!"
You snorted softly, doing your best to hold in your laughter. Tanjiro let out a nervous chuckle, his tense shoulders relaxing as he rubbed the back of his head.
"That's great, Inosuke" he replied. "But maybe you should put her down?"
Inosuke ignored Tanjiro's suggestion, too caught up in the moment to listen to him. You chuckled softly and offered Tanjiro a warm smile.
"It's okay, I'm used to it" you said.
"Inosuke, you shouldn't treat a lady like this!" Zenitsu cried, pulling at his hair in frustration.
You offered the blond a smile, hoping that if he saw that you weren't in distress that he would see that you were okay. He immediately perked up at your charming smile and for a brief moment he forgot about his gripe with Inosuke. You hummed softly as you observed Inosuke. You were impressed that he could hold you this high without his arms shaking. Only a few days ago he could barely lift you above his shoulder height without struggling a little. And now look how far he had come. You were glad his rehabilitation was going so well. You rubbed your hand between the ears of the boar head, running your fingers through the soft fur on top of his head.
"Look at you go" you praised. "You're so strong Inosuke."
His hands twitched and his chest swelled at your words, his head starting to feel giddy as he got warm and fuzzy. He let out a loud and happy grunt, causing you to giggle softly. He moved your body again, lowering you until your torso was resting against his strong shoulders. He wrapped one arm around the back of your legs as his other came to rest on your back to keep you steady. Your body was slightly curled around his neck and he was basically wearing you like a scarf now. Tanjiro decided not to speak up because it looked like you were having fun. But Zenitsu didn't share that same sentiment. Instead, he rolled his eyes at the display as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Stop showing off" he grumbled. "This is not what I meant when I said you couldn't catch a girl!"
If Zenitsu was within reach you would have started pulling at his cheeks and hair and teased him about being a grumble guts. But Inosuke seemed reluctant to let you go. He let out a loud huff, air blowing out of his mask once more as his grip on your body tightened.
"What are you talking about?!" Inosuke exclaimed. "I caught one fair and square! And here she is!"
Zenitsu's eyebrows pinched together with confusion as he gave the boar man a confused look.
"Huh?"
Even Tanjiro looked a little confused as he scratched at his cheek idly, trying to understand what Inosuke was saying. You playfully rolled your eyes before you decided to speak up.
"He means we're dating" you supplied.
"What?!"
"How?!"
Both Tanjiro and Zenitsu were taken by surprise by your statement, looking at you like you had suddenly grown a second head. How was a pretty good question that you were tempted to answer. Thinking back, it kind of just…happened. The transition had been so natural you never really gave it that much thought.
Inosuke continued to laugh heartily without a care in the world, proudly showing you off as he stomped around the room. You were quite amused with their reaction. It was obvious that Inosuke hadn't bothered to tell either of them that you two had gotten together. Well, the same could be said about you. It wasn't like you were trying to hide your relationship. You just never really brought it up. If someone had asked you would have told them but that was the thing. No one ever asked you. It seemed no one had suspected a thing.
After the initial shock started to wear off, a bright and genuine smile lit up Tanjiro's face as he laughed.
"That's wonderful news. Congratulations" he grinned.
Your face felt warm as you smiled back at him, your heart touched by his sincere words. His blessing made you feel giddy.
"Thank you."
You heard a loud sob to your left and you turned your head to the side to see tears streaming down Zenitsu's face. He sniffled, dabbing the sleeve of his shirt under his nose as tears continued to pour down his face, a grimace settled on his lips.
"How could this happen?" he muttered. "My beautiful flower, stolen away."
Inosuke laughed proudly. "She's my flower now!"
Zenitsu cried harder, falling against Tanjiro as he started rambling and blubbering, burying his face in his friend's shoulder. You felt a little sorry as Inosuke continued to laugh, completely oblivious to the damage he had caused. He didn't realise he was rubbing salt into the wound, the boar too proud to take any notice.
You gently patted his shoulder to gain his attention, muzzle turning to the side as he stared at you. "Put me down, big guy. I'm starting to get dizzy up here."
Unfortunately, your forgotten tea had gone cold at this point.