Beneath the cherry blossoms, Giyu Tomioka sat across from Aoyama.
After holding it in for quite some time, he finally asked,
"Why did they all leave?"
Ever since that incident where Giyu had voluntarily gone to "join the others for tea," Aoyama had realized something—
In Giyu's understanding, his relationships with the other Hashira were perfectly normal.
And today's uninvited appearance only proved it further.
He had no idea he wasn't actually invited.
"Well… about that…"
For once, Aoyama struggled to find the right words.
If nothing else, Obanai Iguro definitely harbored strong resistance toward Giyu.
Seeing Aoyama hesitate, Giyu spoke again.
"Aoyama… am I being disliked?"
His face remained mostly expressionless.
Mostly.
There had been the faintest crease of hesitation in his brow.
Perhaps he wasn't entirely certain.
Aoyama blinked, genuinely surprised.
"Tomioka-san… you're only realizing this now?"
"…Not exactly." Giyu paused. "I'm simply different from them."
With that, he stood and walked away from beneath the cherry blossoms.
"Ha—!"
Aoyama opened his mouth, then closed it.
There was no point.
If Giyu lacked the self-awareness, explaining it would only waste breath.
Left alone under falling petals, Aoyama sighed.
Meanwhile, Giyu walked away thinking—
He truly was different from them.
He hadn't passed Final Selection through pure strength like the others.
Standing among them…
Perhaps he was unworthy.
In the infirmary, Zenitsu Agatsuma was once again refusing to take his medicine.
"No! I can't drink any more of this!!!"
"Don't force me! I'll suffocate myself with a pillow if I have to!!!"
The words sounded absurd.
A man who cried daily about being afraid to die was now threatening self-suffocation over bitter medicine.
"Every day you shout the same nonsense. If you're so capable, go ahead and suffocate yourself. Show us."
"Drink it or don't. If you die, that's your business."
The new nurse assigned to the ward was far stricter than the previous one.
Sometimes, she didn't hesitate to beat Zenitsu with physical means.
Seeing his crying tactic fail, Zenitsu turned pale.
"Y-you're so heartless! I demand a different nurse!"
Smack—!
That did it.
A crisp slap landed across his face.
"Pervert! Because of you, my sister's too scared to even come to this ward anymore!"
Zenitsu froze, hand clutching his swollen cheek, turning helplessly toward Tanjiro Kamado, who was quietly taking his medicine nearby.
Another assistant shoved the medicine cup into Zenitsu's hands.
The nurse glared at him with undisguised disgust.
A grown man crying like this over medicine.
How had he even joined the Demon Slayer Corps?
She turned to Tanjiro, voice softening.
"Kamado-san, your medicine."
"Thank you."
Tanjiro accepted it politely and drank without complaint.
The nurse shot Zenitsu one last look of open disdain.
Zenitsu exploded.
"What is that look?! I don't like that look at all!!!"
The nurse replied coldly,
"When you start acting like a man, then you can tell me how to look at you."
She left with her assistant.
Zenitsu trembled.
She said he wasn't a man.
"Hey! Hey, Tanjiro! Your medicine must be sweeter than mine, right? She's doing this on purpose! She likes me, that's why—"
Tanjiro's eyes widened.
Behind Zenitsu stood the nurse again—
This time holding a spiked club.
Tanjiro frantically gestured for Zenitsu to stop talking.
Zenitsu, however, was muttering to himself, not looking up.
The nurse leaned down slowly, club resting on her shoulder.
"Oh? I like you?"
Zenitsu nodded happily.
"Yeah, yeah—mmph?!"
He turned—
And his face collided with something soft and warm.
It covered his mouth, muffling his words.
He instinctively rubbed against it.
Realization dawned.
His entire world bloomed with flowers.
This was the closest he had ever been to a girl in his entire life.
"AHHHHH—!!!"
The nurse shrieked.
She had just been—
Assaulted.
The club swung down mercilessly.
Tanjiro moved to intervene—
Then paused.
Zenitsu was being beaten black and blue, nose bleeding—
And yet.
He was smiling.
Radiantly.
Tanjiro slowly withdrew his hand.
No.
He deserved this one.
The ward erupted into chaos.
On the far bed, Inosuke Hashibira, mostly recovered, lay unusually silent.
Normally shouting "Boar Charge!" at the top of his lungs—
Now he stared at the ceiling.
His dual blades had been shattered.
He had been beaten nearly to death.
He hadn't slain a single demon.
For the first time—
He felt weak.
Outside the ward, Aoyama leaned casually against the doorway, watching the spectacle.
Since he hadn't gotten to witness Uzui versus Sanemi—
Zenitsu getting pummeled was decent entertainment.
The nurse finally stopped, breathing heavily, and stormed out with her club.
Zenitsu lay curled on his bed, bruised beyond recognition.
Still smiling.
"Zenitsu… that's a steep price to pay," Aoyama said dryly. "You can't treat girls like that."
Zenitsu wiped blood from his lip.
"Worth it! Totally worth it! Aoyama-senpai, you don't understand, just now I—"
A sharp, deadly glare shot in from the doorway.
The nurse had returned.
Zenitsu swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"Drink. Your. Medicine."
The roar echoed.
Zenitsu grabbed the cup and chugged without hesitation.
No complaints.
No theatrics.
He collapsed back onto the bed.
After swallowing that terrifyingly bitter dose—
Something seemed to float out of his soul.
"So bitter…"
And thus, touching what shouldn't be touched—
Came at a painful cost.
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