Seeing Nezuko lost in thought, Zenitsu swallowed hard, his fingers unconsciously pressing into the door.
With his sensitive hearing, Zenitsu clearly heard his own rapidly accelerating heartbeat. He desperately covered his chest with his other hand. Zenitsu even suspected that if Nezuko-chan said she didn't remember him, he might just collapse to the ground and die on the spot.
Being forgotten by Nezuko-chan… no!
He would really die!
His earthy-yellow eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at Nezuko. Nezuko-chan, having returned to human form, was even cuter! He didn't mean that the former Nezuko-chan wasn't cute!
Yoizumi looked at Zenitsu, or more accurately, at the door Zenitsu was pressing against, which was almost being damaged.
Yoizumi was a bit confused. He had been complaining outside earlier, so why was he acting so shy now?
Nezuko stared at Zenitsu, trying hard to find his figure in her blurry memories. It seemed there was such a person who had saved her many times when she was in danger.
Is it this gentleman?
Accepting too many jumbled memories at once made Nezuko frown uncomfortably. She opened her mouth, but for a moment, she couldn't call out his name.
It was this moment of hesitation that made everyone present seem to hear Zenitsu's heart break. Tanjirou looked anxiously at Zenitsu, who seemed to have lost all his spirit, and eagerly wanted to open his mouth to introduce him to Nezuko, but Yoizumi manually silenced him.
He raised his hand to cover his younger brother's mouth. If Tanjirou had said Zenitsu's name at that moment, Zenitsu would have been even more upset.
Tanjirou looked up blankly, casting a puzzled gaze at his older brother.
Inosuke scratched his mask, not understanding the situation, and before he could make any move, Yoizumi covered his mouth.
?
What are you doing! Yoizumi, you bastard!
Inosuke used both his hands and feet but couldn't escape Yoizumi's restraint.
She doesn't remember… Nezuko-chan doesn't remember me… Zenitsu hung his head in dejection and despair. The light in his earthy-yellow eyes instantly faded, and his hand, which had been pressing against the door, dropped powerlessly.
He really did scratch it.
Yoizumi thought, seeing the obvious finger marks on the wooden door.
"I… I'm sorry to bother you…," Zenitsu said, his head bowed, slowly turning around, sniffing, his voice hoarse.
Nezuko looked apologetic, nervously picking at her fingers, opening her mouth several times, but the name of the yellow-haired man rotated several times in her mouth without making a sound.
Seeing his dejected, hunched figure, Nezuko frowned, searching hard.
Until… [Because you said it was more important than life itself.]
When she was in danger, there was a person who protected her with his body, regardless of his own safety, even though he was already covered in wounds… [Nezuko-chan, I will protect you!]
A piercing thunderclap ran through the entire train car and came to her side… [Nezuko-chan~ Look, it's a goldfish! I secretly brought it over~]
The young man held the glass fish tank, brought it close to her, and presented the goldfish to her as if offering a treasure.
…These figures gradually overlapped and merged with this familiar yet strange person.
"Zenitsu… sir…"
Zenitsu, feeling down, was about to sneak off to cry for a while when Nezuko's voice suddenly came over.
"Hmm?" Like a body infused with a soul, Zenitsu suddenly lifted his head, his eyes shining as he looked in Nezuko's direction.
Nezuko-chan remembered him!
She hadn't forgotten him!
Zenitsu sniffed, and tears streamed down his face. He rushed to Nezuko, grabbed her hand, and was overcome with emotion.
"I knew Nezuko-chan couldn't possibly forget me!"
"Nezuko-chan actually called my name!"
"Can you call it a few more times for me to hear?!"
"Ah ah ah ah! It's like a dream!"
"Nezuko-chan is indeed cute, and even cuter up close!"
"Nezuko…"
Zenitsu hadn't finished speaking when, with a loud "bang," he fell straight to the ground.
Nezuko's hand paused in mid-air. Because she didn't know what to do, she instinctively flicked Zenitsu's forehead. Perhaps due to her previous state as a demon, her current power far exceeded what it used to be.
Inosuke, who had been making a fuss, suddenly fell silent, looking at Zenitsu, who lay on the ground with a large bump on his forehead, and then at Tanjirou, who was equally stunned.
He raised a hand to touch his wild boar mask. That glutton, Tanjirou, his head is so hard, it must be because Douzi flicks his head every day.
For a moment, Inosuke actually wanted to try Nezuko's forehead flick, but seeing Zenitsu's swollen bump, he thought better of it.
"Mr. Zenitsu? Are you alright?!" Nezuko asked, flustered with concern.
But Zenitsu had already fainted.
Yoizumi walked over to Zenitsu, checked him, and after confirming there were no major issues, patted his younger sister's head and said softly,
"He's fine, but… you should use this less often in the future."
Yoizumi suddenly remembered the day he, Tanjirou, and Nezuko reunited. If Nezuko had used this then, it might have hurt even more.
Zenitsu was carried back to his room by Tanjirou, while Inosuke curiously stared at Nezuko's fingers.
"Mr. Inosuke?" Nezuko didn't understand his behavior.
With his hand on his chin, Inosuke clearly didn't get the answer he wanted from Nezuko's slender fingers.
"Hey, Douzi, give me what you just did to him!" Inosuke, not believing it, decided to try it himself.
"Mr. Inosuke, it will hurt."
"That's nothing! Come on! This great me will definitely be fine!"
Unable to refuse him, Nezuko hesitantly raised her finger, facing the expectant Inosuke.
"Bang!"
"Thud."
Sighing softly, Yoizumi helplessly looked at Inosuke, who lay at his feet. Nezuko, still not accustomed to her current body, ultimately couldn't control her strength.
Yoizumi bent down, hoisted Inosuke onto his shoulder, cast a reassuring glance at his younger sister, and at the doorway, Yoizumi turned back with a gentle smile.
"Nezuko."
"Welcome home."
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