◇INDIGO◇ (Inosuke x OC)

Chapter 33

"S-Slithering?!" I shuttered, finding the movement unsettling.

"Yeah! Like this!" He rubbed his hands together outstretching them into my face as if I could see it.

"Alright." I put my hand over his, gently lowering his hands. "That's enough of that."

"Yeah anyway, Mr. Uzui and Zenitsu should be coming to check in soon." Tanjiro stated as he tried to get Inosuke to stop mocking the demon.

"And it was like this!" Inosuke took his hands away from mine and shot his arms up in the air. "I couldn't be clearer here if I tried!" He yelled.

"Uzui said he had a few things to do before checking in, so that's why he isn't here yet. However... Zenitsu should've been here by now and I'm starting to get a little worried." I stated, concerned that Zenitsu had also run into a demon and wasn't as lucky as Inosuke to get out unscathed.

"Zenitsu won't be coming." Uzui's voice suddenly rang through the air, causing all of us to jump.

When did he get there?! I can almost always sense when someone is nearby and I didn't even know Uzui was close until he spoke up! He must be extremely skilled to not make a single noise or any noticeable movements. Man that's scary... he's gonna give me a heart attack if he keeps that up...

"Wait, Zenitsu's not coming? What do you mean by that?" Tanjiro asked, and I turned to where I had heard Uzui.

"I feel bad now about putting you all through this. It seems I was so desperate to rescue my wives in time that I made some poor decisions regarding the mission." Uzui spoke in a neutral voice as he sat on the edge of the roof. His words disturbed me a bit because he was making it seem like something bad had happened to Zenitsu.

"As it stands, Zenitsu is missing. There's been no contact since last night. You three should leave now. You're ranked too low for this. If the demon here turns out to be an Upper rank, you'll be dead weight. If you vanish from here, they'll just assume that you're dead. Therefore, I'm continuing on my own." Uzui explained, and my stomach dropped. He wants us to leave?! And while Zenitsu is missing?! There's no way I'd be able to forgive myself if I left and Zenitsu was never found again...

"Please Mr Uzui, we can help-" Tanjiro was cut off by Uzui quickly.

"Don't be ashamed. Life is all about survival. So take this chance and get out." Uzui stated before suddenly vanishing.

"He's gone!" I exclaimed, leaning back on my hands.

"Hey, get back here, old man!" Inosuke shouted after the Hashira. Tanjiro let out a sigh as he shifted on the roof.

"Maybe he's not able to put his trust in us... Is it because we're the lowest rank?" He hummed, disappointed that Uzui had just up and left.

"We're not the lowest rank now. We're Kanoe. We did get promoted." Inosuke corrected, and I jumped.

"Huh?!" Tanjiro and I exclaimed at the same time.

"Did you two forget the rankings? We used to be Mizunoto at the very bottom, right? But now we're fourth from the bottom, Kanoe." Inosuke explained, and I tilted my head a bit in confusion. When did that happen...?

"You guys ready? Watch this!" Inosuke announced, and I sighed. I can't...

"Show me my current ranking!" I sensed him lift his arm and I guess he was checking his rank on his hand like they had explained to us so long ago during the test on the mountain.

"Cool huh?!" He laughed and Tanjiro gasped in awe. I frowned letting out a sigh.

"I can't see it." I deadpanned, and the boys got silent.