The Sun Will Always Rise Again

Chapter 36: Splash Time

"You seem to be doing well!", a new voice interrupted the laughing and everyone halted to see who had entered the room.

"Ah- Murata!", Tanjiro spoke with relief upon seeing the black-haired male.

"Hello!", he waved friendly and you waved back at him "It's really nice to see you're okay too!"

Murata smiled and scratched his neck "Yeah...After all, a lot happened that day, right?"

"Definitely", you nodded with a chuckle and gestured towards one of the wooden stools in the room, "Come on, sit down and let's chat for a bit!"

"Gladly", he smiled at your offer and walked towards one of the chairs and pulled it in front of Tanjiro's bed. You also made your way towards you friend's bed to be part of the conversation.

Zenitsu looked at you and the unknown male in confusion. He was also slightly sad that you left his side. Besides, he did not like the way this guy smiled at you one bit...

"I'm also glad that you're all right", Tanjiro started, when all of you settled down around him. He even wrapped part of his blanket around you for more comfort, which made your heart fill with warmth.

"Well, my body was almost dissolved, but I was pretty lucky. I heard that you're severely injured though?", Murata spoke and then turned his head towards you "And what about your injuries? You seem to be pretty well again already!"

"Ah- Oh-", you slightly stumbled over your words, "I always heal pretty fast, I'm kind of durable you know haha", to avert the attention from you, you leaned your head onto Tanjiro's shoulder for a short amount of time, "But Tanjiro will probably take a while to heal."

Said boy nodded at you with a small smile on his face at your sweetness "That's right."

Murata then turned towards Inosuke, who was laying silently in the bed next to you all "And what about boar boy? What's wrong with him? Hasn't he lost his voice or something?"

"He has been through a lot, so you'd better leave him alone", Tanjiro pointed out with a worried look on his face.

"Poor Inosuke has been a bit down lately", you said gently, while gazing at him with worry yourself.

Murata wanted to say something, but closed his mouth again when he saw your distraught expression. It clearly was not a matter for him to comment much on.

Then, Zenitsu chirped up "Angel, Tanjiro! Who's this guy?" He was quite curious now and he also felt a bit excluded, which made a small cute pout settle on his features.

"This is Murata, who fought with us at the Natagumo mountain", Tanjiro explained and said boy introduced himself after he had blinked a bit in surprise at the way the blonde referred to you "I'm Murata. Nice to meet you. Say, what happened to your arms?"

"I almost turned into a spider. My arms and legs became short."

"And that is exactly why you should take your medicine without always complaining about it!", Aoi swooped in and took this opportunity to scold the blonde, "You can't always expect [name] to take care of you like an infant!" The girl was fighting for your honor here.

Zenitsu flinched back a few inches "But it tastes so bad! It's much worse than what I could stand! And I know I shouldn't bother [name], but-"

"No buts!", Aoi accusingly pointed a finger into the boy's face, "[name] needs their own rest and it is going to be your fault, if your limbs don't grow back to normal!"

"You're mean! You're way too mean to me!", Zenitsu complained as tears stung in his eyes.

"You have no idea how lucky you are! Only by taking your medication and spending more time in the sun, you'll shed your residual effects. Don't be so ungrateful!", Aoi shot back relentlessly.