Chapter 10: Resting at a Wisteria Crest House
Tennouji led them to a Wisteria Crest House.
Tanjirou sighed in relief.
"Caaww! Rest! Rest! Rest until your wounds fully heal!"
Tanjirou caught his crow.
"We can rest? Really? Even though I had to fight a demon already hurt?"
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh…you say…?" he sighed, letting the crow go, before knocking on the door.
"Hello?" an old lady came to answer.
"Ah, good evening! We're sorry for disturbing you at such late hour." Tanjirou bowed.
"A GHOST!" Zenitsu screamed at the same time, hiding behind Tanjirou.
"Cut it out!" the red-haired teenager admonished him, missing Inosuke poking the old woman\s bumped his friend's head.
"You must be Demon Slayers, right? Please, come in." the old lady welcomed them in.
The three of them followed her inside and she led them to a room, with a meal ready.
"Please have something to eat. Your meal is already prepared for you…"
"Ah! Thank you very much, um…Please forgive me, I am Kamado Tanjirou and these are Agatsuma Zenitsu and Hashibira Inosuke." Tanjirou bowed once more.
"My name is Hisa, Kamado-san."
"Pleased to meet you, Hisa-san! If I may, we would need to see a doctor. Do you know anyone near here we could go to?"
"I'll call for a doctor for you and your friends, Kamado-san."
"Thank you very much!"
"Once you're done with your meals, please come in here," Hisa-san went to the opposite room, "to rest. Your bad is already prepared for you…"
There were already three futons ready for them.
"Thank you very much!"
Once Hisa-san left, Zenitsu turned to Tanjirou.
"Tanjirou, that old lady is a ghost!" he cried, "A monster! She's unnaturally fast." he screamed, "Old monster lady–"
Tanjirou whacked him over the head.
They wore the sleepwear that was given to them and they sat down to eat.
Inosuke at some point started taking food from Tanjirou's plate.
"If you're still that hungry, Inosuke, you can take my share, too. Here." he smiled kindly at his friend, which for some reason seemed to aggravate him.
Not too long after, the doctor came to see them.
They were laying in their futons, staring at the ceiling.
"We all had broken ribs." Tanjirou said, from the middle futon.
"My bump really hurts…" Inosuke said.
"Sorry…" Tanjirou apologised.
"Hey! Apologise for trying to kill me earlier!" Zenitsu demanded.
"No!"
"Hurry up and apologise!"
"Never!"
"Inosuke, you should. It's the right thing to do!"
"I am not going to!"
After a while, once Inosuke had fallen asleep, Zenitsu turned to Tanjirou.
"You should apologise, too! You left Shouichi-kun behind." he sulked.
"Eh?"
"He was strong! He protected me!"
"Zenitsu, I have a sharp sense of smell. So I can tell things about others. And I knew from the start that you are a kind and strong person."
"No, I am not strong." he deadpanned, "Do no joke about that."
Tanjirou sighed.
"Sorry. Shouichi-kun isn't a swordsman, so he couldn't come with you. But I did promise to take care of you in the first place. So, I'll do better next time, is that alright?"
Zenitsu paused for a moment.
"Alright." he nodded.
In the days that follow, Tanjirou trains as he heals and gets headbutted by Inosuke every other moment.
"I said I won't fight you, Inosuke." he said, rubbing his back.
"But you did fight him earlier. When you headbutted him." Zenitsu pointed out, "And you were saying that comrades shouldn't fight each other."
"I can ask Oyakata-sama's understanding and forgiveness for that time." Tanjirou smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
Zenitsu stared.
"I am going to die." Zenitsu stated, with frightening calmness.