Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This is where you can request your favorite characters taking care of eachother while sick / hurt! Here’s some things that I will and will not do:

WILL DO:

Angst

Fluff

Slight gore (not too graphic please!)

Ships

Long or short stories

 

WILL NOT DO:

Heavy gore

NSFW (this is strictly a fluff / alight angst fic)

 

Keep in mind:

I wouldn’t say I’m the best writer so please be kind 😭

It might take a bit for new chapters to come along.. I get quite busy.

 

To request a chapter please give me the characters you would like to be featured & a general idea of what you would like to see (angst, fluff, both, ship, slight gore, sickness, sick character, care giver character)

I can’t wait to write for you all!!

 

<3

Chapter Text

Aoi was ill.

It had started when she woke up that morning with a sore throat. She had made some tea to hopefully soothe it but the soreness just lingered on.

With a small sigh and her throat still aching she stumbles out of her room and off to the bathroom, stretching her arms above her head before doing the same in circles. As she enters the bathroom she immediately moves to the sink, splashing herself with some cool water to wake herself up.

“Jeez..” aoi sighs softly as she dries her hands on her sleeping yukata as she looks up into the mirror and sees how pale her face was, eyebags dark and her eyes slightly red, her lips being chapped as well. Slowly she raises her hand to rest on her forehead.

Warm.. she was really warm.

“crap no no no.. i can't be getting sick” aoi softly groans to herself, how could she have gotten sick? She couldn't let this get in the way of her duties, that simply isn't an option for her. Aoi pushes herself off the sink as she starts to stumble out of the bathroom, her head in her hands.

“It’s.. just a sore throat.. Im fine” aoi mumbles to herself, walking the empty halls of butterfly mansion, it's around 6 am no one should be up. Her eyes were glued to the ground as she turned into the hallway leading to her room.

Aoi had been so focused on convincing herself she was fine that she hadn't noticed naho, one of the triplets was coming down the hallway, a pile of freshly washed white sheets, pillows and the hospital uniform in her arms.

“A- ah!” naho yelps as she collides with aoi, she couldn't see over the laundry in her small arms, though she was able to stabilize herself once more. Aoi however tumbles over naho’s small frame, tumbling to the ground with a loud thud.

“Ow-!!” Aoi hisses as she falls to the ground, she catches herself on her hands, her head pounding as her body trembles. Slowly aoi picks herself up from the ground, brushing the dust gathered on her yukata as naho frantically apologizes to her.

“Oh miss aoi! I- I'm so sorry! I couldn't see you, are you ok?!” naho cries out, falling into aoi’s arms for a tight hug. Aoi sees small tears in the girl's eyes as she looks up.
“...” Aoi pauses before giving a weak smile to naho, ignoring her head pounding profusely as she comforts the girl, patting her head with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. “Hey hey.. It was an accident, I'm fine. Anyway i should have been paying attention, its my fault”

“Dry those tears and let me help you pick these up, hm?” aoi gently coos as she lets go of naho, kneeling down to pick up the dropped laundry from the floor. She takes her time to fold the sheets and hospital outfits before placing the pillows atop. As Aoi works she gently sways back and forth slightly as the sudden movement makes her dizzy. She ignored it. “You're up early today, any reason?”

“Oh well.. I thought I would get up early today to set up for rehabilitation training” naho smiles softly as she picks one pile of the folded laundry, letting aoi carry the other pile. “That's the sweet naho i know, always thinking of others” aoi thinks to herself.

“Hm well that's very kind of you” aoi says as she lets naho lead the way to an empty room for slayers to rest and recover.

“Mmh, well i just wanted to help anyway i can… I mean- looking at the slayers here now.. I wanna fully support them even if im not out there fighting with them” naho opens the door to the recovery room, the wooden door gently creaking. The two walk into the room, naho going to one bed to place all the stacked laundry, aoi doing the same.

“Well that's the spirit naho, but you have to know your limit with things. I don't want you to burn yourself out” aoi says as she grabs a sheet, pillow and hospital outfit off the bed, going to another to start making it. Aoi sighs softly, if only she could take her own advice..

“Heh you always worry for others miss aoi, it's sweet. I've only set up a bit, im doing my normal chores now” naho starts to also prepare the beds with aoi, her gaze moving to aoi every few minutes, she noticed aoi would pause and hold and massage her head for a few seconds or to let out a soft cough.

“Miss aoi.. Are you feeling alright this morning?” naho asks with concern as she finishes the last bed that needed to be made, she moves over to aoi who was still on her last bed that needed to be made. Naho takes the sheet out of aoi’s hand, pushing her onto the bed to sit.

“Ah naho stop- i have things to do after this, i can't afford to move slowly” aoi protests as she is pushed to sit down, she knew it was in her best interest to rest so she could quickly get better and continue her work but a small voice echoed in her head.

“Useless girl..”

“Should have died during final selection..”

“You don't deserve to wear the slayer uniform..”
“Waste of space..”

“If you're not a nurse then you're nobody..”

Aoi sighs softly, her gaze turning to naho who looks worried. She gives naho her normal soft but stern smile, trying to show her she's ok. These voices.. Those insecurities were all truthful, they had to be-! At least in aoi’s eyes. How could she have possibly passed the final selection, she was so weak.. She had no talent, she should have died! And yet here she is, a nurse because she was too afraid to fight. What a coward..

“Oh naho.. Dont worry about me, I just had a rough morning is all. Once I eat a little something i'll be fine” aoi gently presses down onto the bed to stabilize herself as she slowly stands, not wanting to make herself even more dizzy. She gently rests her hand on naho’s cheek, stroking with her thumb. “Go run along and find kiyo and sumi, meet me in the kitchen alright? I'll be there in a jiffy”

“Hm..” naho sighs softly, a worried look on her face as she watches aoi leave the room stumbling towards her own room. “Poor miss aoi..”

—-

Aoi stumbled through the halls, using the walls to hold herself up as she finally made it to her room and collapsed onto the bed with a heavy sigh. Oh how her body ached, her head was pounding as her nose was unbelievably stuffy.

“Ugh..” aoi groans as she eventually pushes herself to sit up, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her yukata. Even if she was feeling shitty, Aoi forced herself to stand up and stumble to her dresser.

“I gotta get ready.. Stuff to do” aoi mumbles to herself, she didn't hide her unsteady words as no one was around to see just how ill she actually was.

Aoi grabs her slayer uniform as well as her nurse's apron to go on top, she changes slowly as the slightest movement makes her incredibly dizzy and her eyes blurry. Aoi breathes heavily as she buttons her uniform and ties her satchel around her waist holding up her apron.

Aoi finally puts her socks on and slips her sandals on before stumbling to her wall mirror, seeing just how pale and clammy her skin was, nose puffy and stuffed, lips chapped and those horrid bags under her eyes had gotten worse than before.

“If I go out like this.. I'll be busted for being sick..” aoi sighs softly, honestly it was a miracle naho didn't notice how ill she had looked when she was helping her..

“No.. no.. this won't do at all” aoi reaches to her small dresser, there sits a box of simple makeup items, usually she wouldn't wear anything but today would simply have to be an exception. Picking up her powder she gives herself her normal pale complexion, no longer looking clammy while also hiding her pink nose and heavy eyebags.

“Ok.. and now some of this..” aoi mumbles as she gives herself some rosey blush to give herself some color back in her cheeks, finally adding some lip gloss to hide the chapped look of her lips.

Aoi slowly backs away from the mirror as she takes in her work, she looks good as new! The only thing that could give her away now was sneezing, coughing and the slight roughness of her voice, aoi shrugs. “Eh i don't need to talk, i have too much stuff to do to chat”

Aoi grabs her hairbrush, brushing through her knotted hair before tying them into her typical pigtails, adding her butterfly pins before turning to her mirror once more, making sure she looks nice before hurrying to the kitchen where the triplets should be waiting for her.

“Sorry i took so long girls-” aoi announces softly, trying not to strain her voice too much. As she enters the kitchen she sees the triplets already having the ingredients out as well as the pots and pans needed for today's breakfast.

“It's ok miss aoi, you gave us enough time to set up!” Kiyo smiles happily, the bubbly girls voice sweet and cherry as always.

“Yea, at least- I think this is everything we need..?” Sumi hums softly as she looks down to a small notepad, the girls must have made a list of everything they needed.

“You already had a lot of stuff to do.. So you shouldn't have to worry about the small things” naho says softly as she looks to aoi with concern. Aoi seemed off but the girl couldn't place her finger on why.

“Oh girls.. Thank you.. Thats- thats really sweet..” aoi smiles softly, her voice still low and quiet as she stumbles to the kitchen counter grabbing one of the big pots the triplets set up.

“Come on girls, breakfast isn't gonna cook itself, naho come help me with the rice, kiyo start the tea and sumi can you lay out seaweed strips” aoi gently orders the triplets, watching them nod and rush to do what was asked of them.

“HAI!” the triplets yell, grabbing what they need for each one of the tasks given. Aoi waves naho over who had a big bag of rice in her arms, she struggles to get to aoi, tripping into the older girl's arms.

“Oh- careful!” aoi yelps as she catches naho and the bag of rice, she had raised her voice by accident making her go into a coughing fit. She gently pushes naho away and puts the rice on the counter before covering her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Miss aoi.. You really don't sound good..” naho says softly, her expression turns more worried for aoi as she takes a closer look at the older girl. Aoi looked fine thanks to her makeup but the subtle things she was doing gave her away.

The way aoi’s eyes were squinting, the way she was heaving and the coughing fits.. Something was definitely wrong with Miss aoi. Naho grabs onto aoi’s arm trying to pull her to one of the kitchen stools, catching the attention of kiyo and sumi.

“Miss aoi.. You should sit down please, let us cook today” naho insists, struggling to get aoi to move. Kiyo and sumi have questioning looks on their faces as they move naho and aoi, trying to pull her from aoi.

“Naho? What are you doing, don't harass miss aoi!” kiyo yelps softly, grabbing one of naho’s arms while sumi grabs the other. The two girls manage to pull naho away from aoi who lets another cough out quietly.

“W- whats gotten into naho..?” sumi asks softly, cupping naho’s cheeks in her small palms. she could tell something was wrong with how worried naho was, she watches as small tears cling to naho’s eyelashes.

“I-.. miss aoi” naho whimpers softly, looking back to aoi for a moment before turning back to kiyo and sumi. She leans in, the other two follow as naho whispers something aoi couldn't hear.

“What are you girls..?” aoi says as she stumbles over to the triplets, her hand moves to rest on naho’s shoulder. The three girls turn back to look at aoi, looking among themselves and then to aoi.

“R- rest, you need rest at once!!” kiyo let a small yelp out, her small voice strained slightly, she grabbed one of aoi’s arms pulling aoi to the door gently.

“Yes, rest at once miss aoi! Naho said you looked ill this morning!” Sumi yelps next , the girl's voice a bit louder as she grabs Aoi's other arm and helps Kiyo pull her towards the door.

“Miss aoi please.. Let us take care of this, just rest” naho says softly, her voice was demanding but pleading, making aoi gasp softly. Naho gets behind Aoi, pushing her from the back.

The triplets had successfully pushed aoi to the door of the kitchen, they were chanting “rest at once” it was kinda creepy.. The door was gently slammed in aoi’s face who let a soft sigh out, leaning against the door and looking up to the ceiling.

“What.. what should I do now?” Aoi quietly asks herself, her most important job here in the mansion was taking care of the injured slayers, cooking being one of them. With cooking being taken care of she only had simple chores like dusting and doing laundry. Sure it was helpful but aoi knew she could do so much more.

“This.. this is stupid, i'm not even that ill” aoi pants softly, finding it a bit harder to take deep breaths and had to take quick shallow breaths instead. Her hand moved to shakily rest on her forehead, she felt warmer than before.. Or maybe she wasn't? She couldn't tell..

“...” as aoi tries to catch her breath she hears footsteps coming down the hall, her eyes turn to the right, vision slightly blurry. “Oh.. good morning kanao..”

There before her stands kanao, she always thought the silent girl was extremely weird.. And just kind of there not doing much, in fact she was like a delicate doll. However that didn't stop aoi from being polite to kanao.

“...” kanao stares at aoi with a small empty smile always on her face, and she eventually gives a small bow. The tsugoku was in her usual uniform with the white cape over it, her hair slicked back into a neat ponytail with her butterfly clip.

“Um.. is there something i can help you with kanao?” aoi asks softly after a few minutes of awkward silence, kanao slowly digs into the pocket of her uniform skirt and takes out the copper coin she always has on her, flipping it in the air before catching it on the back of her hand.

“...” kanao stares at the coin for a moment before looking up to aoi, her hand sliding the coin back into her pocket where it stays safe. The girl looks up to aoi and says in a monotone voice. “Lady shinobu said to inform you to prepare three beds, three slayers are coming here.”

“Ah.. thanks for letting me know” aoi bows and so does kanao, she watches kanao turn and walk away down the hallway she came from, disappearing out of sight.

“Ah.. three new slayers” aoi sighs softly, she knows she shouldn't complain, it was her job to take care of slayers and she took a lot of pride in that but she unconsciously hopes that today would be simple chores only even if it made her feel useless.

Aoi takes a shallow breath as she stumbles to one of the empty slayer rooms, lucky for her naho and her prepared some beds this morning so it was one last task she needed to do. Aoi sets up a small table to set some medical supplies and medicine.

—

As aoi finishes up preparing for the incoming slayers she hears a commotion out the hallway, turning to the door she watches as kakushi carry the slayers in who just so happened to be tanjiro, zenitsu and inosuke…

“Fuck.. these three” aoi groans to herself, tanjiro himself was lovely, very kind and mostly quiet but the others.. Were loud, disruptive and caused a lot of commotion.

With a small sigh aoi puts a smile on her face and turns to the kakushi who places tanjiro and his friends on the made beds. “Thank you for bringing them here, what are the injuries?”

“Ah yes, mr kamado has a broken leg and multiple broken ribs” the kakushi start explaining, helping to change tanjiro into the hospital outfit.

“H- hi miss aoi” tanjiro coughs out, his voice was strained as he weakly lifts his arm to wave at aoi, who gives a small wave back

“Mr agastuma needs multiple stitches” another kakushi says as they too try to get the hospital outfit on the whiney slayer, struggling with all zenitsu’s squirming.

“M- MISS AOI HELP MEEE-! I'M DYINGGG!!” zenitsu cries loudly as he squirms around the hospital bed, he was the least injured of the three and still acting like a baby.. Aoi sighs.

“Um anyway..” the last kakushi clears their throat to get Aoi's attention, carefully helping inosuke into the hospital outfit as well. The usually bright and loud slayer groaning in pain, a small cloth pressed on his wounds. It was extremely bloody making aoi wince. “Mr Hashibara has a pretty deep gash on his right side”

“Yes thank you!” Aoi says quickly, ignoring the burning in her throat from speaking loudly as she moves beside inosuke, taking the cloth from his wound to see the deep gash.

 

“Oh lord..” aoi gasps softly, unbuttoning the hospital shirt more to get better access to the wound, the gash was deep and looked slightly infected. As the other two kakushi watch over tanjiro and zenitsu the last one helps aoi, grabbing disinfectant and the bandages from the small table.

Aoi throws away the old bloodied cloth and grabs a new one, she pours disinfectant on it before looking at Inosuke with a stern look. After waiting a few seconds to let it soak into the cloth she presses it against the wound making inosuke hiss.

“GAH-!!” Inosuke groins, weakly squirming on the bed as he instinctively tries to pull from the burning sensation. The kakushi helps aoi hold inosuke down as she holds the cloth firmly against his wound, she successfully stops the bleeding and finishes to clean the wound. Aoi gently shushes Inosuke to try and calm him. “ sh sh sh.. I know it hurts, just a little longer ok?”

Aoi quickly glances at the others, both kakushi looking over zenitsu and tanjiros wounds, she turns her focus back to inosuke, the other two weren't as injured so all her focus was on inosuke.

“I'm going to stitch your wound up now ok? Take this medicine, it will help with the pain. Take deep breaths too” aoi carefully instructs inosuke, gently pressing the medicine cup to his chapped lips, tipping it to make sure all the medicine is taken.

“The stitches and scissors please-?” Aoi calls out to the kakushi who was helping her, she holds back a big cough as the kakushi hands her what was asked for and she starts the stitching process.

“Remember deep breaths” aoi coos to inosuke as she works, although numb inosuke could still feel the uncomfortable pull off his skin as aoi pulls the wound together.

“O-w.. ow!! This doesn't feel good!!” Inosuke complains, his usual attitude slowly coming back as he squirms more harshly on the bed, the kakushi holding him down struggling to keep him still.

“Ah- hey stop struggling-!!” the kakushi yelps as they are thrusted around by inosuke’s movements. Aoi sighs, relieved that inosuke was acting himself but struggling to finish the stitches.

“Mr Inosuke please! You have to stop moving, hold onto me if you must, I'm almost done!” aoi says sternly as she tries to steady herself when a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea washes over her. Inosuke did as told, quieting down and holding onto aoi’s sleeve surprisingly gently.

Aoi was finally able to finish the stitches, gently pressing a clean cloth onto them before wrapping the wound in bandages. With a soft sigh aoi backs away from inosuke’s bed, letting the kakushi help inosuke lay back comfortably as he snores away. He'll be ok.

Aoi finally turns to look at Tanjiro and Zenitsu who have been patiently waiting.. Well tanjiro has been waiting patiently, zenitsu however..

“MISS AOI-!! HELP ME, ME!! I'M DYING HERE CANT YOU SEE??!” Zenitsu screams and cries as he jumps from the bed, the kakushi who carried him here tries their best to calm him but to no avail.

“Ugh.. must you be a baby? You're barely injured.." Aoi's strained voice catches zenitsu’s attention, he immediately wraps his arms around aoi’s waist when she's close enough, nuzzling his face in her apron.

“Miss aoi! Miss aoi my savor!!” Zenitsu whines as Aoi tries to push him away with a groan, she grabs the left over stitching supplies and inspects zenitsu.

None of his injuries were major, just slight deep cuts on his arms and face, something aoi could easily fix. “Ok ok i'm going to stitch you up, hold still”

Aoi gives zenitsu the same medicine she gave inosuke, letting it settle before starting the stitches. Surprisingly Zenitsu was well behaved while she stitched, and quickly fell asleep as the kakushi helped him lay down.

Aoi sighs and turns to tanjiro, the last one she had to help. He was patiently waiting, chatting to the kakushi about the mission they had just gotten back from that left them like this. Aoi stumbles over to his hospital bed, inspecting his broken leg and feels around his ribs as well.

“Sorry for the long wait” aoi says calmly, she made sure to be gentle while poking at the wounds. Tanjiro’s leg looked and felt to be cleanly broken, meaning it wouldn't take a long time to recover. Aoi takes two thin pieces of wound to help keep tanjiro’s leg straight, bandaging them up together.

“Oh no worries, I'm fine with waiting, after all I'm not really in pain” Tanjiro gives Aoi a weak smile, she smiles back as she wraps bandages around his torso, his ribs were not broken horribly so with some rest and pain management he'll be ok. Aoi takes a short break to catch her breath, all this work leaving her panting. Tanjiro notices.

“Hey aoi.. Are you feeling alright?” Tanjiro says with concern on his face, her scent was off and he could tell something was definitely wrong.

“Huh? Oh I'm alright don't worry about me.." Aoi smiles softly, her face slightly strained as she finishes bandaging Tanjiro's torso.

“Hm.. if you say so.. But aoi I think maybe you should rest, even nurses need breaks after all and you look stressed, Tanjiro says as the kakushi helps him lay back comfortably, his leg propped up on a pillow. Aoi helped cover tanjiro with a blanket.

“Right i'll do that” aoi says as she turns back to zenitsu and inosuke who were in bed sleeping peacefully, inosuke snoring loudly. Tanjiro wasn't far behind them as he gently yawned.

With a small wave goodbye aoi exits the room, closing the door behind her. She didn't actually plan to rest like Tanjiro had said and she was sure he also knew that but secretly hoped he was too tired to notice.

Aoi thinks for a moment, the triplets must be done serving breakfast by now and would most likely insist on making lunch and dinner so Aoi only had simple chores to do around the mansion. She decides to start with some sweeping, as she starts to walk to the utility closet, eating completely slips her mind.

—

Aoi sighs as she flops down onto her bed, she has finished all the small chores and yet she feels like she's done hard core training or something. Her makeup had been washed off at this point since she was sweating hard. Her pale clammy skin, eyebags and chapped lips once again visible. Much worse than before.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door, with a sigh aoi sits up slowly, lifting a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and tidy up her nurses apron before calling out.

“Yes, who is it?”

There is a pause for a moment, aoi can hear dishes rattling and the hushed voices of kiyo, naho and sumi. Did they bring dinner for her?

Aoi watches as her bedroom door creaks open, the small faces of the triplets peek through, all looking concerned, their small faces twisted into frowns. Kyo speaks up first:

“Miss aoi? May we come in?” she asks in a soft voice, kiyo moves out the way so naho could hold out a tray of food.

“um… we thought you might be hungry, we didn't see you grab anything to eat” naho whimpered softly, aoi could see concerned tears threatening to fall from her small eyes.

“And tea!” Sumi calls out from behind the other two girls, she holds the tea pot and cup in the air to show aoi.

“Ah girls.. Thats very thoughtful, thank you” aoi says softly, moving her hand to motion the girls into her room, watching the girls walk in as she crosses her legs to sit properly.

“Miss aoi your pale..” Kiyo says as she walks closer to the bed, her hand moving to rest on aoi’s head, checking her temperature. Heat was radiating off aoi making kiyo whimper.

“Im fine really, i just need some rest after working all day” aoi coos to kiyo, gently removing the small hand from her forehead giving it a gentle squeeze. Aoi turns to look down at her lap as she feels naho set the tray down there, it was a simple meal, some soup and rice. It's not like aoi had a huge appetite anyway.

“Dont forget the tea! We added some of Miss Shinobu's medicine since you look unwell.." Sumi butts in, gently pushing the filled cup into aoi’s shaky hands, insisting she take a sip right away.

Aoi looked down at the tea, it had a faint caramel color and smelt sweet, slowly she brought the cup to her lips, taking a small sip. Aoi lets a sigh of relief out as the warm liquid goes down her throat, it feels great against the soreness. It tasted sweet as well, no sign of machine taste.

“Thank you girls really, you all did an amazing job today taking care of the meals.. I appreciate it, thank you” aoi gives a small smile to the girls, they all did amazing jobs today taking over even if she didn't have a choice in it.

The girls let out a squeal, bubbling up together as they jump happily. They say thank you too aoi in union before they left, aoi insisting that she was fine and was going to eat and go to bed.

Aoi stares down at her bowl, she has eaten less than half her food, she already feels full and slightly nauseous so she finishes the tea and sets the food tray on her side table. Aoi flops down on her bed, nuzzling into her blankets as she drifts off to sleep almost immediately.

She would feel better in the morning, definitely.

—

Aoi was wrong.

She did not feel better, in fact she felt worse than she did the day prior. She had tried to get out of bed but the room went spinning and she almost fell to the ground. Aoi was able to flop back in her bed, wrapping the blankets around herself as shivers run down her spine.

Aoi felt extremely cold, shivering as her teeth clatter together but she also felt extremely hot, she was sweating profusely, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Aoi turns to her clock, it says 8:30am.. She was already late with making breakfast, she had to get up but doing so was easier said than done.

20 minutes pass of trying to get up before aoi hears a small knock on the door, weakly she calls out expecting it to be one of the triplets. “Sorry girls, I know I'm late with breakfast, could you start without me perhaps?”

There is a moment of silence before aoi watches as her door is kicked open, to her surprise it wasn't the triplets who barged in, it was inosuke..? How was he moving so crazy he was still healing!?

“M- mr inosuke? What are you doing up? You should be resting- cough cough cough!” aoi says before she goes into a coughing fit, sitting hunched over.

“Tch! The king of the mountains doesn't need rest! He needs breakfast, why aren't you cooking?” Inosuke laughs out loudly as he walks over to stand over aoi’s bed, tilting his head to the side. “Hm, is something wrong?”

“Ah.. n- no nothings wrong ill get right on breakfast just be patient” aoi sighs as she slowly starts to stand up and stumble out of bed, she trips over nothing, her body struggling to support itself as she falls to the ground.

“HEY AOI?!” Inosuke calls out in a panicked voice, barely catching aoi before she hits the floor. He gently lays her down on her back, snapping his fingers slightly above her face. She didn't stir.

Inosuke freezes not sure what he should do and he couldn't help but get flustered, he always felt a strange warmth in the pit of his stomach around aoi..

Ah! That's not what he should be thinking about right now he had to help her!

With a panic inosuke picks up aoi and lays her back on her bed, gently sweeping her loose hair off her face. Covering her up messily with a blanket, Inosuke runs out of her room, slamming the door shut as he runs to Shinobu's office. She'll know what to do!

“MISS SHINOBU!!! OPEN UP PLEASE I NEED HELP!” Inosuke yells as he bangs on the door of Shinobu's office, little did he know Shinobu wasn't at the butterfly mansion. She went on a mission early in the morning.

“Ugh why isnt she answering??” inosuke thinks as he bangs on the door harder, he hears footsteps coming down the hall, hoping it was shinobu he lundeges forward.

“MISS SHINOBU I- you're not shinobu..?” inosuke sighs as he realizes that it is actually kanao that was who he heard. He shakes his head, she can still help! He hopes..

“ Follow me Miss aoi needs help!” Inosuke says as he takes kanao’s hand, dragging her off to aoi’s room in a hurry. Kanao blindly follows, not sure what to say or do.

Inosuke busts through the aoi’s door once more, this time kanao by his side, he wastes no time going to aoi’s side, his hand gently brushing against her forehead, she was so damn warm..

“Well, another butterfly girl? What's wrong with her??” inosuke turns to kanao with a demanding tone, he watches as kanao slowly walks over to look at aoi, her face completely blank as she leans in slightly. After a while her small hand moves to press on aoi’s face, feeling how warm and sweaty she was. Her skin was sickly pale and clammy.

“She must have had a cold that started off small but grew worse as she ignored it” kanao states in a calm voice even in this situation, her expression never changing as she turns to look at inosuke. “ master has some medicines in her office, ill go grab some”

Inosuke watches as kanao leaves the room, there was no worry in any of her steps as she walks slowly. Inosuke turns back to aoi, his heart racing with a surprising amount of worry as he sees how sickly she looked. Inosuke sits onto her bed, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her gently.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” Inosuke demands aoi like she’ll magically get better, it's not until kanao comes back with the bottles of medicine that he stops, kanao having to rush over and pull him away.

“D- don't do that you'll make her worse-!” kanao shouts as loud as she could, still quiet as she was still working on her assertiveness. She successfully pulls him away before taking the cup of tea she brought and slowly mixing the medicine she grabbed into it, just like she’d seen shinobu do it.

—

Aoi stirs to a commotion around her, the voices barely audible, her vision blurry as her eyes flutter open, squinting for a moment from the harsh light before focusing on inosuke and kanao.

Aoi groans as she thinks, The last thing she remembered was trying to get up and get started on breakfast before everything went black. What happened?

“Ah miss aoi you're awake, we have medicine for you” aoi hears a soft voice, she recognizes it as kanao’s but.. when did she get here?

“ aoi you passed out! What the hell is going on??” aoi hears a loud roaring voice, making her whine softly. Ah thats right inosuke was here before everything went black, he said she passed out?

“I- im fine.. Just.. just felt dizzy is all..” aoi croaks out as she shakily tries to sit herself up only to fall back against her soft bed… inosuke was ready to grab aoi by the shoulders and shake the answers right out of her, kanao stopped him.

“Aoi, you have a pretty severe cold, why didn't you say something sooner?” kanao asks plainy, she hands inosuke the tea mixed medicine carefully, making sure he didn't spill the important drink. “Weve gotten some medicine for you but master isn't here at the moment”

Inosuke sniffs the drink, liking the pleasant smell, he was going to drink it for himself but seeing how ill aoi looked he immediately passes it into her shaky hands, holding it for her as she dranks slowly.

“Since ms shinobu isnt here ill take care of you!” Inosuke insisted instantly, remembering all the times aoi had taken care of him and his wounds, the king of the mountains would extend his generosity.

kanao gave a small bow before stepping out of the room, figuring her job there was done. now it was only so and inosuke. “This cant go well..” Aoi mumbles to herself as Inosuke looks around her room, looking for some doctor stuff he's seen aoi use 100 times before.

Inosuke had no idea what he was doing, how will she get better in his hands? She guessed it was better than nothing; she simply had to instruct him a bit.

“H- hey inosuke..” Aoi says as she sips the medicated tea, it helps her regain some strength to sit up slightly against her pillows. Quickly Ali thinks of all the things she'll possibly need to help her recover, there was no way she could refuse help now.

Inosuke turns to aoi, his hands resting on his hips as he holds his head up high, he didn't have his boar mask on like usual. “What is it? I'm thinking of how to heal you!” inosuke yells to aoi making her wince at the loudness.

“Please.. Quiet down..” aoi whimpers softly, she places the now empty cup on the ground, before giving a weak look to inosuke. “ I trust you ok..? I'm the nurse though, so let me tell you what I need to get better, don't you want me to get better?”

“I-” inosuke pauses for a moment, his green eyes meeting aoi’s weak looking blue ones. He did want her to get better- he wanted to help her get better! Though he wasn't completely sure why it meant so much to him. “ yes..”

“Ok good..” aoi’s voice trails off as she goes into another coughing fit, inosuke moving to her side to gently pat her back- or what he thought was gentle. It in fact was not patting but smacking.

“H- hey! ow!! “ aoi hisses as she pushes inosuke away. “ be gentle- jeez!”

With a sigh aoi begins with what she needed. “Listen closely ok? In the hall closet where all the supplies are is a rag cloth, I need you to wet it with COLD water and squeeze it to get all the extra water out ok? The closet is down this hallway to the right”

Aoi watches as inosuke processes what she just told him, she could swear she could see the gears tuning in his head. Eventually he shakes his head, a determined smile on his face. “ I got it! The king of the mountains will get the job done!” Inosuke yells before rushing out the room, sighing aoi lays herself back down, wrapping the blankets around herself tightly. Who knew how long this would take inosuke? Might as well get some rest in.

—

Inosuke had no idea where he was going.

He couldn't remember if he had to go right or left after he walked down the hallway, he ended up just going straight, walking in circles. His pride stopped him from trying to get help so everytime a kakushi tried to see if something was wrong he snapped at them before storming off.

Eventually he ran into someone useful, tanjiro! The red headed boy in question was carrying some thick blankets, helping the butterfly triplets with their chores. Tanjiro was still covered in bandages just like inosuke.

“GONPACHIOOOO!!!” Inosuke yells as he runs towards Tanjiro, knocking him to the ground. The freshly folded blankets he was holding now scattered on the ground. Tanjiro slowly sits up, holding his head gently.

“Ah inosuke.. What's up?” Tanjiro smiles as Inosuke looks up to him, the two move to sit against the wall of the hallway, Tanjiro folding the scattered blankets as they talk.

“Ok so, miss aoi is sick right? So as the king of the mountains it's my duty to take care of the peasants!” Inosuke starts, his hands finding his hips as he stands up, striking a pose.

“Miss Aoi's sick? I should have known..” tanjiro sighs, he felt terrible he didnt say something more when aoi was bandaging them up! He could smell it! He should have done more than tell her to rest..

“Uh yea i already said that keep up! Anyway, I was going to get a wet rag for her but I got.. Lost” inosuke says in a hushed voice, he grabs tanjiro’s arm and forces him to stand up. “I bet you know where this hall closet is!”

“Hall closet? You mean where they keep all the supplies? Yea, I know where that is, follow me" Tanjiro smiles softly as he leads Inosuke to the closet, Inosuke holding onto the hem of Tanjiro's hospital shirt.

They make it to the hall closet, Tanjiro opening the door showing all the supplies. It takes a bit of searching until they find the little box of fluffy white rags aoi asked for. Tanjiro hands one to Inosuke. “Here you go, do you want me to help take care of miss aoi?”

“...” inosuke scoffs at tanjiro, giving a judgy look before speaking. “Uh no? Why the hell would the king of mountains need help!" Inosuke huffs as he storms out the closet, making his way to the kitchen.

“Uh..” Tanjiro mumbles as he’s left in the hall closet.

—

Inosuke wet the cloth without a problem, straining out the extra water before making his way to aoi’s room again. He enters quietly this time, seeing Aoi asleep in her bed. She looked peaceful but her eyebrows were slightly scrunched with a small frown.

Inosuke slowly inches towards aoi’s bed, folding the wet cloth before gently placing it on her forehead. For a moment he just stares at her for a while, taking in her pretty features he hadn't noticed before. Even with her asleep Inosuke enjoyed aoi’s presence, it made him feel strangely calm.

“...” aoi starts to stir as she feels Inosuke's presence, whining softly as her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight from her window. Aoi takes a hand slowly to her forehead to feel the cool cloth that soothed her cold slightly, an unexpected smile forming on her lips.. She hadn't expected inosuke to actually get it, or to be so gentle.

“Inosuke..?” Aoi coughs out, looking up to see inosuke through her slightly blurry vision. Her throat felt pretty dry and her head ached even if it was slightly less now. “ w- would you mind getting a glass of water for me?”

“No problem for me! You know what i’ll get something to eat too, I'm famished! Oh- im sure your hungry too” inosuke says as his hand moves to gently pat aoi’s head, he moves to leave the room but feels a weak hand on his arm. “ what-?”

“Uh inosuke.. Just please dont take too long.. Being alone while sick sucks.. You know? Aoi whispers softly as her eyes fall to the ground. She didn't want to be alone when she felt so ill and vulnerable, Inosuke's presence was nice and warm and she found herself not wanting to lose it.

Inosuke stares at aoi with a questioning look, he felt a shiver run down his spine as Aoi's weak eyes slowly met his- it.. Made him feel things. “Uh.. right sure”

Inosuke slowly pulls away from aoi, mumbling he'll be back before once again leaving aoi alone with her thoughts. Slowly she sits up against her pillows, head aching as she holds the cloth against her head.

One of aoi’s hands played with her nurse's apron. She hadn't changed since yesterday, she felt pretty gross and sticky from sweating so much. She hated being stuck in bed.. Hated having nothing to do but.. She felt so weak.

Aoi tries to get up anyway, she should change from her dirty clothes to something more comfortable, she thought. Aoi slowly stands up on trembling legs, stumbling to her dresser and opening the top self, where all her sleep clothes were.

She picks the first yukata she sees, not exactly caring how she looked at the moment she just wanted to get back to bed. With a dizzy head she slowly undresses herself, first taking her satchel and nurse apron off and then starting to unbutton the top of her uniform.

Aoi had to steady herself multiple times as she undressed, the world around her starting to spin as her dizziness got worse. Before getting her uniform pants off aoi felt herself falling before hitting the cold wooden floor, when did she lose her balance?

Aoi lets a soft groan out as she slowly curls herself into a small ball. Even if she tried to get up, aoi knew she would definitely fail, and the floor just felt so comfortable and cool right now..

Inosuke soon walks in with a big tray of food in his hands, two big bowls of steamy soup along with two smaller bowls of white rice and finally two cups of tea. He wasn't paying attention and almost stepped on aoi if he hadn't stopped after hearing a small cough.

looking down with a gasp inosuke places the tray on the top of aoi’s dresser before sitting on the ground. He wraps his arms around aoi’s waist, slowly lifting her so her head rests on his lap. Aoi lets a soft groan out.

“What the hell- what are you doing outta bed, get your ass up!” Inosuke hisses in a panicked voice, he looks back down to aoi.. She looked worse than before, Was she not getting better? But surely after getting some food in her belly she’ll feel better.. He hoped.

“Ok ok um.. I'll help you back into bed and then we can eat, I'm starving!” Inosuke tries to lighten the mood as he slowly helps aoi into a sitting position, hearing her groan softly. Each movement made her body ache, as inosuke slowly helps her stand the room starts spinning again and she leans heavily onto him. He holds aoi up by her underarms, practically dragging her back over to her bed.

“...” aoi immediately falls against her pillows as inosuke sets her down, curling up with a small sniffle. She weakly takes an arm to wipe her nose, god her nose was so stuffed.. So runny.

“What the hell were you doing up, I didn't say you could!” Inosuke yells sternly at aoi, he didn't mention how worried he was seeing her motionless on the ground like that..

“I.. I was going to change into something comfortable, since I've been wearing my uniform since yesterday..” aoi says weakly as she looks up to inosuke, she could tell inosuke was worried without being told, she felt horrible for that..

“Oh..” Inosuke says softly, he hadn't realized aoi was only in a bra and her uniform pants. Inosuke shakes his head, she should have waited!

“You idiot! You couldn't have waited for me? I'm not a slowpoke you know!” Inosuke yells slightly, stomping his feet on the ground with a pout. Aoi looked to the ground, she hated this.. Oh how she hated being babied.. Not being able to do things herself.

“H- hey dont blame me- i.. I was fine, just got a bit dizzy.." Aoi sighs softly as she looks down to her soft blankets, she's had it with being sick. This was the worst! A frown forms on Aoi's face, she was pissed.

“..” inosuke watches aoi for a moment before turning away and walking to her dresser where he had left the tray of food, making his way back to aoi he sets the tray on her lap. Slowly taking his portion of food silently, that frown aoi had made him feel disappointed in himself.. But why? “here..”

“Ah thank you.. I- it.. It looks great..” aoi says as she slowly picks up her chopsticks, deciding to eat her rice first. The air in the room felt thick and awkward as they ate, eventually inosuke puts his chopsticks down and speaks up. “I.. I want to help you get better youknow..? I really do but.. You have to lean on me, you're not alone, I'm here. I mean- that's what tanjiro says people who like eachother do..”

“Ah-..” aoi gasps softly as her eyes drift to Inosuke's face, she could see the worry and sincerity in his eyes… leaning on people has always been something aoi struggled with but.. she trusts inosuke fully, she could tell he truly means what he said, it made her heart flutter.

 

“Right.. Then after we eat, could you help me change into a more comfortable yukata? I trust you… I know I'm safe and can lean on you..” aoi smiles softly to inosuke, picking up her bowl of soup after finishing her rice.

As she gently sips the soup she lets a soft sigh out, the warmth helps soothe her throat even more, no longer feeling so scratchy. She had already trusted Inosuke before to help her.. But saying it aloud felt more meaningful..

“Hahahaha!! That's no issue for me, the king of the mountains!!” Inosuke laughs loudly as his usual cocky grin spreads across his face, he too brings his own soup bowl to his lips. Unlike aoi he quickly slurps it loudly while making a mess.

“O- oh hell no! If you're going to make a mess you better clean it!” aoi coughs out, covering her mouth as she goes into a small coughing fit. Inosuke moves to pat her back, actually being gentle this time.

___

“...” aoi watches inosuke throw her yukatas out of her dresser, different patterns colored her wooden floor. Inosuke was apparently looking for the best one but Aoi couldn't care less, she just wanted to sleep, her headache slowly creeping back. “Inosuke just pick one already!”

“I already said I'm looking for the best one!” Inosuke yells back before turning to the dresser once more, only two yukatas remain. On the left was a neatly folded yellow one, small pale suns were its pattern, A red cloth meant to be tied around the waist aswell. Inosuke stares at it for a moment, rubbing his fingers on the rough fabric. Definitely no good to sleep in.

“It doesn't matter just pick one!” aoi sighs annoyed, she lays back in her bed staring at the ceiling. Inosuke hisses back once more “ im picking a good one! All of these feel rough and not comfortable!"

“It doesn't matter just pick one!” aoi sighs annoyedly as she lays back against her sheets staring at the ceiling, the two sounded like an old married couple. Inosuke hisses at aoi. “Be patient, I'm picking out a good one! All the others have rough ass fabric, don't you want to be comfortable?!"

Inosuke looks to the right where the last yukata was folded nicely, it was a light blue one with pink and purple flowers as its pattern, soft pale blue swirls along the sleeves and bottom. Along with a big piece of yellow fabric to tie at the waist, best of all it was soft, so soft it was perfect! “This one..”

“Ugh! What do you know about fabrics, you only wear pants!” Aoi yells at inosuke, watching as he pulls out the last yukata from her dresser. Inosuke threw the yukata at aoi, hitting her in the face. “This is the best one, so wear it!”

“Hey-! Whatever.. Just can you please help? And clean up the floor!” aoi says as she slowly sits herself up with a groan, she still felt pretty weak but her strength was coming back slowly.

Inosuke looks to the floor, slowly bunching up all the yukatas on the floor and shoving them in her dresser without even folding them. Guess she'll have to fix that later when she feels better. She watches as Inosuke comes over to her bedside with the yukata he picked for her, grabbing the waistband of her pants trying to pull them down. “Come on now!”

“H- hey quit it!!” Aoi yelps at Inosuke, grabbing the waist band of her pants. Her face slightly flushed. “ I can do that myself!!” She makes inosuke turn around as she takes off the last part of her uniform, her pants.

I just need you to tie it really” aoi sighs softly, her arms already through the sleeves, aoi gently taps inosuke's shoulder to tell him to turn around, folding the fabric over each other. “Ok now tie”

Inosuke gives a small nod, surprisingly tying the cloth around aoi’s waist gently. it wasn't perfect, quite crooked actually but it didn't really matter, aoi appreciated the effort.
“Ok anddd done!” insouke says proudly as he steps back from aoi to appreciate his work, the cloth was lope sided and the string tied around was sloppy and loose but it was good enough for the both of them.

Slowly inosuke helps aoi lay back down against her soft pillows just as kanao walks into the room, coming to check on aoi. “Thank you inosuke.” aoi coughs out.

“Hm! Hey- what do you want? I can take care of myself!” inosuke says he surprised himself by how protective he felt of aoi, he puffs his chest out at kanao who stares blankly. “I have more medicine for miss aoi”

“Eh? Hey, what do you want? I can take care of aoi myself!” Inosuke huffs out as he sees Kanao in the doorway holding a cup of medicated tea. He surprised even himself with how protective he felt about aoi right now, he puffs his chest out to kanao who stares blankly. “I have another cup of medicine for miss aoi..”

“O- oh.. Well give it here already!” inosuke says as he snatches the cup of medicated tea from kanao’s hands, aoi scolding him softly as shes handed the cup. Slowly bringing it to her dry lips, taking a small sip. “Thank you kanao..”

“Hm!” inosuke huffs as aoi praises kanao, that should be him! Quickly he shoos the quiet girl out the room, slamming the door loudly behind her, the sound echoing through the halls. Inosuke turns back to face aoi, pointing towards her. “Hurry and finish that tea! Sick people need rest!”

“I can't just fall asleep on command, inosuke!” Aoi sighs as she places the now empty cup on the night stand, her eyes soften as she looks down to her trembling hands. Aoi was feeling incredibly exhausted but also not at the same time, her head hurt, her nose was stuffy and her stomach ached making it hard to even try to fall asleep.

“Hm.. then how can i help..?” Inosuke asks softly as he moves to sit on the edge of aoi’s bed, he brings a hand to gently brush against her forehead to move some loose strands of hair. Aoi blushed at the slightly intimate moment as Inosuke brushes his fingers through her hair once,he never noticed how silky aoi’s hair is.. Or how long it is when not up.

“Um.. sit with me maybe..?” a calming presence sometimes helps people sleep..” aoi asks in a hushed voice as she scoots back slightly to give inosuke more room, despite his loudness inosuke was nice to simply sit with, it was.. Comforting.

Calming presence? Did aoi really think he was calming to be around?

“I have a calming presence?” Slowly Inosuke gets comfortable on aoi’s bed, sitting cross legged as he pulls the blankets higher on Aoi's shoulders. Aoi gently turns onto her side with a yawn, she could feel her eyes starting to grow droopy. “Well when you're not acting all crazy then.. Yea i suppose”
The two sit in a comfortable silence for a while, the room filled with soft breaths and the shift of blankets as Inosuke gets comfortable on the bed, this was really nice.. He looked down to aoi, her breath was evening out, she was starting to fall asleep.

He watches aoi for a moment, finding himself enjoying watching as her chest rises and falls or how peaceful her face looks when sleeping. Inosuke brings a hand to rest on her cheek, leaning in slightly. He felt drawn into her.

With a deep breath Inosuke presses a soft kiss to aoi’s forehead, staying there for a moment before pulling away slowly. The kiss left a warm feeling in his stomach along with butterflies, it just felt so right in the moment.

Inosuke's face flushes quickly as he turns away from aoi’s sleeping form, why did he do that- it felt so right, He wasn't thinking! Inosuke slowly lays himself down next to aoi, turning away from her as he forces himself to fall asleep.

What was this feeling, why did he feel so strongly towards aoi..

 

___

“...” aoi’s eyes slowly flutter open as she wakes, she felt a lot better then yesterday the medicine helped alot. Though she was still not feeling 100%, she still felt warm to the touch and her stomach felt more queasy.

“Hm.. -Ah!” Aoi yelps as she shifts to her right side, her nose right against Inosuke's as his arm lays wrapped around her waist. In a panic, Aoi shoves inosuke off her bed, startling him awake.

“What the hell-!!” Inosuke cries out as his back hits the cold wooden floors, he looks up to aoi seeing her holding the blankets tightly around herself panting softly. “What on earth were you doing sleeping in my bed, even worse with your arm around me?!”

“Um Nothing! You said to be close so I was, it's not my fault you forgot!” Inosuke huffs out as he stands up quickly, moving to grab one of aoi’s pillows and hitting her with it.

“Hey-! I meant SIT not lay with me! I expected you to go back to your room to sleep, idiot!” Aoi screams as she's hit with the pillow, she couldn't help but giggle a bit. Inosuke being childish was nothing new.

“Well whatever! Um.. so how are you feeling today, any better..?” Inosuke asks as he drops the pillow and moves to slap a hand onto aoi’s forehead to check her temperature, she didn't feel so warm anymore so that's good!

“Dont be so rough!” aoi whines as she pulls away from Inosuke's touch, she gently rubs her forehead with a sigh. “I feel a lot better than yesterday so that medicine kanao got must have helped alot”

“Hey what-! Forget stupid kanao, I was the one taking care of you!” Inosuke grumbles, his foot tapping on the ground annoyed. “i got you that rag, I brought you food and got you dressed, I even helped you sleep! Where's my thanks!”

“Heh, very defensive? I really appreciate your help too Inosuke, thanks to the BOTH of you I feel a lot better. My stomach just aches. "Aoi smiles softly, making Inosuke's heart race, he quickly turns away stuttering. “I- ill go get um.. Some breakfast for us, I’ll be back ok?”

“Uh yea” aoi calls out as she watches inosuke exit, after awhile of waiting aoi swings her feet over the beds edge, her feet touching the ground as she slowly sits up. Aoi was a little wobbly but she didn't fall as she walked to her dresser.

She goes through her dresser finding a simple day yukata to wear, it was a royal blue color with silhouettes of flowers in a light blue and light yellow color, a red cloth to wrap around her waist as well.

Aoi walks back to her bed to undress, struggling a bit as the dizziness comes back, Slowly she gets her arms through the yukata sleeves before tying the cloth around her waist. Once done she grabbed her hair brush from the bedside table, she had to deal with the 2 day old knots in her hair.

Aoi finishes up just as Inosuke walks back in with a tray of rice balls and two cups of green tea, the meals staying light for aoi’s aching stomach. That was really fast, Aoi thinks as she gives inosuke a small smile and places her brush away.

“I got yummy food!” Inosuke says as he stops mid step, looking aoi up and down in her new outfit. The color looked gorgeous on her.. Shaking his head, Inosuke walks over to her, his face flushed as he places the tray on her lap.

“Mhm this looks great” aoi says softly as she looks down to the food, honestly she wasn't feeling very hungry, her stomach still felt strange but she tried to eat as much as she could anyway.

“Yea those strange little girls had this prepared already isn't that cool?” Inosuke beams as he shoves a whole rice ball in his mouth, eating loudly and messily. Aoi watches inosuke with a small smile, she decides to skip the rice ball for now and goes for the tea. “Those girls are so sweet..”

“I guess, they put that medicine stuff in your tea so drink it all!” Inosuke shoves another rice ball in his mouth, almost done with his three. Aoi gives a gentle nod as she slowly drinks her tea, she could feel the tea disturb her stomach.
“U- ugh..” aoi groans softly as she hunches over herself, a hand moving to hold her stomach as she wobbly puts the half drank cup back on the tray, almost spilling it.

“Um.. are you ok-?” inosuke says as he looks up from his food, he scoots closer to aoi, placing a comforting hand on her back, rubbing softly. He wasn't exactly sure what to do. What was wrong with her now? “Whats going on?”

“N- nothing.. The tea is just settling..” Aoi croaks softly, she wasn't completely sure what was going on but she ignores it, weakly sitting up as she brings a shaky hand to reach for a riceball, bringing it to her lips.

Inosuke gives a questioning look as he sits back down, not very convinced aoi was telling the truth. He shoves his last rice ball in his mouth, chewing loudly as he pushes the last of the rice balls towards aoi. In a mumbled voice he says. “Come on eat, sick people need food”

“U- uh right..” Aoi mumbles as she finishes the rice ball in her hand before reaching for the last one, slowly taking a bite of the lightly seasoned riceball, perfect for her uneasy stomach.

“Gosh you're so slow! I could eat that in seconds!” Inosuke cackles out, some rice flying out his mouth before he grabs his cup of tea, gulping it down quickly.

“Hey, keep your mouth closed, that's disgusting!” Aoi says in a firm but raspy voice, shaking her head gently and rolling her eyes. “Honestly I'm not really hungry.. You can finish this one if you'd like”

Aoi places her rice ball back onto the tray, she barely ate that one. Inosuke frowns, knowing eating is important when you're sick. “I guess.. But you better eat a lot more later for lunch”

Aoi simply nods as she slowly lays herself back down, her stomach was feeling worse even though she had a light meal, she only drank half her tea as well.

Aoi simply watches as inosuke finishes up the meal, he ate so fast! And messily.. Small pieces of rice stick to his face and her sheets. With a sigh, Aoi quickly wipes them off her bed before motioning inosuke to lean in. “ hey come here”

“Ugh what do you want?” inosuke groans as he reluctantly leans a bit closer to aoi, when hes close enough she raises a hand to inosuke's face, gently wiping the remaining rice off of his face. Inosuke flushes, quickly pulling away not facing aoi.

 

“You eat so messily, at least clean up after yourself” aoi sighs as she lays back, her head starting to hurt. She brings a hand to her head. “Would you mind getting a new cool wash cloth?”

“A new one? The old one is just fine!” Inosuke moves to grab the washcloth on the little side table, it is all dried up and no longer cool. Aoi gives inosuke a side eye. “That one is literally dried up! Just get a new one please..”

“Ok ok, ill be like right back” inosuke says, putting down the old washcloth and running out the door to get a new one, hopefully he remembered the directions..

“...” aoi sighs as she turns to lay on her side trying to help her headache calm, her stomach was feeling more queasy than before, saliva started to fill her mouth but she quickly swallowed it. She felt like she was going to puke.

Aoi starts to breathe in and out deeply, trying to settle her stomach anyway she can. Her eyes keep flickering between the clock and the door, counting the seconds till Inosuke would appear at the door again, then she he could help her.

However it was too late as saliva started to fill her mouth quickly, her stomach queasy as she quickly stumped out her bed trying to at least reach the small trash bin next to her dresser. After a couple unsteady steps aoi trips, hitting the ground and puking all over herself with a sob.

Aoi heaves as she stares at her hands, the only thing keeping her up beside her knees. Her yukata and mouth were covered in disgusting puke.. Oh lord. She sways side to side as she instinctively tries to wipe her face and clothes, only she was really just spreading it more.

Aoi hears footsteps, though they seem distant even if they weren't. She slowly looks to the door, seeing inosuke with the wet washcloth in hand and a cup of what aoi assumed was more medicine. Aoi opens her mouth to say something but all that came out was a weak sob, was she crying?

Aoi watches Inosuke's lips move but his words were jumbled together, a blur. His mouth was moving fast like he was yelling but aoi just couldn't process what was coming out. Oh.. he must be yelling at her for making this so hard, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes spill down her cheeks as she croaks. “I- im sorry..”

Inosuke kneels down in front of her, his face filled with worry as he tilts her chin up so he could see her face. His mouth moves slowly and aoi tries to read his lips to no avail, she just lets Inosuke guide her to stand.

“lets get you washed up..” inosuke mumbles more to himself, he noticed aoi wasn't understanding what he was saying, probably too overwhelmed. He wraps an arm around aoi’s waist, holding her close as he guides her to the shower room.

As the two finally make it to the shower room inosuke quickly moves to sit aoi on the small bench in the shower, gently wiping her puked covered face with a washcloth on the shelf. Aoi was feeling slightly better after puking, her body having pushed some of the sickness out.
“Ah.. y- you don't have to clean me up.. I should have.. moved quicker when i realized i h- had to puke.. Or at least call out to you..” aoi croaks softly as she watches inosuke get up and grab random soaps and soft towels from the shelves.

“Jeez, how many times do I have to say I'm taking care of you! I'm capable of this, you know!" Inosuke huffs as he moves to untie the string around aoi’s waist, slowly undressing her. Aoi was too weak to protest, shivering as the cool air hit her heated skin.

“H- hm..” aoi whimpers as she watches inosuke go to the wooden tub, filling it up with some soaps before coming back over to her. He lifts her from her armpit and into the tub before filling a smaller bucket of water and pouring it over aoi, soaking her.

“Is that warm enough?” Inosuke asks softly, he dips his finger into the soapy water, swirling his hand around. Aoi gave a simple nod and so inosuke continued, grabbing the washcloth and squeezing it before starting to wash aoi’s face and body.

Aoi coos softly as inosuke starts to wash her, it felt really nice. Inosuke was gentle, making sure to get every spot. He slowly dips the washcloth back into the water before passing it to aoi. “Wash your bits”

“...” aoi paused before taking the wash cloth and turned her back to face inosuke, slowly she started to wash herself, arm moving weakly. Aoi stopped for a moment… it felt like she was being watched..? Aoi slowly turns slightly back to inosuke who was staring very intently at her, aoi gasps as her face flushes. “H- HEY, TURN AROUND!”

“Huh why-?! There is nothing wrong with looking at a good body!” inosuke argues back with a huff as he turns around, aoi doing the same. She goes back to washing herself before stopping. Wait a minute.. “What do you mean good body..

 

“Even though you don't train like a slayer you got a good body like one, must be all that running around huh?” Inosuke says, he was impressed with aoi, more so than before. Aoi blushes slightly, putting the rag back in the soapy water. “Thank you..? Healing wounds is a workout”

“Right” inosuke nods as he sits behind aoi, grabbing a random soap bottle that was luckily shampoo and squirting some on his hands before threading his fingers through her hair, gently washing.

“Inosuke you dont have to wash my hair” aoi pulls away slightly but inosuke continues anyway, enjoying the silkiness of her hair. “You got some tangles, it's ok” inosuke hums, he was actually quite enjoying helping aoi.

—
After aoi soaked in the warm bath water awhile she was brought back to her room, inosuke helping her dress before the triplets drop off dinner. As they eat, Inosuke rambles on about his latest mission.

“And then the demon came out of nowhere! Luckily I was there to save the day haha!” inosuke cackles out, some food flying out of his mouth. Aoi let a soft giggle out, Inosuke was quite a story teller.

“That sounds like it was a hard mission, thank you for the hard work” aoi says as she takes another bite of her food, she wonders if she could ever be that brave.. Probably not.

“That’s got me thinking! You wear the slayer's uniform and yet i dont think ive ever seen you on a mission! I wonder why.." Inosuke hums as he tilts his head to the side, his face scrunching up adorably.

“Oh.. i- um.." Aoi whispers as her eyes drift to the floor, how could she tell Inosuke she was too weak and a coward to be a slayer.. Would he look down upon her if she said something? Aoi glances back at Inosuke.. She could trust him. “ i.. I'm not strong or brave enough to be a slayer, during final selection.. I should have died but i was saved, i was too afraid to fight demon after that”

Aoi lets out a sigh as her hands play with her yukata fabric. She had worked so hard as a nurse, she was quick and precise with it all. And yet a small voice in her head told her she was worthless, that she was a useless girl who should be dead, it was a stressful weight on her shoulders.

“But.. You are strong, and brave! Taking care of so many slayers is awesome! We can always count on you, youknow?” inosuke beams proudly, making aoi gasp and slowly look up to him, he did his best to explain just how amazing aoi truly was! She was so very pretty, smart and extremely hard working!

“Ah- you.. Do you really think so?” Aoi whispers softly to Inosuke, her eyes widened as she lets Inosuke's words sink in properly. Inosuke gives a nod, his praises continue. “I mean it takes someone who's extremely skilled to do all that! Heh i could never do that, fighting is my thing!”

“Oh..” aoi sighs softly as she watches inosuke mimic some of his fighting moves, with a small smile she gently takes his hand. “Hey.. thank you, truly that means so much to me..” aoi felt as her face warmed with flush, she realized talking with inosuke was giving her butterflies.

“..” the two stare at each other for a while, instinctively moving closer and closer until their thighs touch, Inosuke's hand resting on Aoi's as She takes a deep breath. Slowly aoi leans all the way in till their lips connect in a sweet and gentle kiss. It wasn't until she heard Inosuke's gasp had she opened her eyes to see they were kissing, aoi pulls away quickly, turning her face slightly away as she tries to make an excuse, her body moved on it’s own.. It felt.. right “Sorry- that um.. That was dumb-”

“That's interesting, thank you? I know im a great caretaker!” inosuke says after a moment with a wide smile on his face, that was awesome! Inosuke quickly initiates a second kiss, this time the kiss was longer, letting inosuke enjoy the sweet taste of aoi.

Aoi melts into the kiss, her hands moving to rest on Inosuke's shoulders as she lets herself enjoy this moment. Eventually they pull away from each other's lips to breathe, their foreheads resting against each other's. Staring into inosuke’s eyes aoi blurts out. “I.. I think I really like you..”

“Like me? I don't ...?" inosuke mumbles softly as he tries to understand what aoi meant, too focused on the warm feeling in his stomach. Aoi thinks of how to explain, eventually speaking up with a smile. “I mean that.. I want to be around you all the time.. And I.. I want to hold your hand.. cuddle .. and uh, kiss”

“Oh.. so like.. Being married?” inosuke says softly as that was the only other relationship he truly understood other than friends, he quickly stands up almost knocking the untouched food try down onto the floor. Aoi stares at him for a moment, slowly blinking. “Um no.. not like that-”

“HEY HEY, I'M MARRIED!!” Inosuke shouts proudly, aoi could swear the whole damn mansion heard him. Before she could get another word in inosuke bolts out of her room, his voice echoing in the halls as he shouts the good news. Aoi shakes her head as she neatly places the food tray onto the ground before laying down, she was feeling tired after all that.

“I guess.. That means he must feel the same way.. I'm glad” aoi mumbles softly as her eyes begin to droop slowly, with a yawn she lets her eyes flutter closed as she falls into a peaceful sleep.

—

Aoi woke up with a groan as the sun shined brightly in her eyes through the curtains, she sleepily blinked to wake herself up and looked out her window. It was a beautiful day. She takes a moment to evaluate her health, noting how much better she felt, only a small headache now.

Slowly she sits up, feeling a weight on her left side, turning her head around to see inosuke asleep by her side, an arm around her waist. Aoi smiles softly, gently moving Inosuke's arm from her waist and onto the bed. He must have snuck back in her room while she was asleep.

“Mhmmm!” aoi moans as she stretches her body, deciding since she's feeling better she'll cook breakfast, those poor girls have been doing most everything after all. Aoi quietly leaves her room, walking the halls with a wobble after being bedridden for so long.

She makes it to the kitchen and turns the light on, the girls must not be awake yet. She decides to make lots of dishes, soups, rice balls and inosuke’s favorite tempura (for celebration of course). It was a lot to do alone but she wanted to make up to all the slayers since she hasn't been working.

As she works aoi hears the kitchen door open, she assumed it was the triplets but she was surprised to actually see shinobu standing there with her signature smile. “Ah lady shinobu, what can i do for you?” aoi asks as she cleans her hands on a rag.

“Good morning aoi, I'm glad to see you feeling better hm?” Shinobu says in a soft tone as she walks slowly over to aoi, leaning in to look at the ingredients she gathered. “You.. knew?” aoi asks softly, a bit embarrassed.

“Why yes, kanao informed me when i came back from my mission i believe. Inosuke insisted on taking care of you, so i simply supplied medicine for the girls to give him” shinobu says as she grabs one of the finished rice balls aoi made to taste test.

 

“Ah yes.. It was very kind of him.. I'm so sorry lady shinobu.. I couldn't get to my duties” aoi says as she bows to shinobu, her face flushing as shinobu mentioned inosuke. She thinks about last night and that kiss.. It was all her mind was filled with but she shakes it off.

“It's no problem aoi, after all your health is much more important to me. The triplets had everything covered, you taught them well "Shinobu smiles as she finishes the rice ball, just like always aoi cooking was delicious.

“Yes i owe it to the girls, ill make something sweet for them after breakfast as a thank you” aoi says as she sets the rice balls to the side to start some soup in a large pot. She almost drops the pot as shinobu says. “Dont forget inosuke, i heard he took amazing care of you, and that you're married..?”

“A- ah it's not what you t- think!” aoi is quick to say, that dumbass inosuke must have hollared to everyone in the damn mansion! “Its just.. All the time we've spent together.. Our feelings really bloomed for eachother..” aoi whispers.

“Well that's wonderful, I'm glad you're happy aoi” shinobu says as she gently pats aoi’s head, she was glad aoi was finally getting out there and talking to others, she's always been incredibly sheltered, not going out of her way to chat with people.

“Thank you..” aoi smiles softly, pulling away after a while as she starts the stove and grabs some ingredients for the soup. She grabbed some potatoes, carrots and some greens along with some meat. “I should get back to breakfast, though it's nearly lunch”

“Mhm, most of the slayers here are resting late at the moment, though tanjiro zenitsu and inosuke went out training” shinobu says as she leans against the wooden counter, she decides to keep aoi some company.

“Really outside? It's so early..” Aoi says as she turns from the pot to the wall clock, it was 8:20 at the moment. She hadn't expected anyone to be up that early though knowing those three it's normal, when she got up Inosuke was still asleep when did he get up? Aoi turns back to the soup, watching as it bubbles nicely.

“The three said they liked to train quite early, they will definitely need a good meal afterwards” shinobu smiles as she watches aoi take the pot of soup off the stove, now she just needed to make the tempura. Aoi makes sure she gets a plate just for inosuke.

“Well ill have breakfast done soon” aoi says as she starts frying the tempura, shinobu gives a nod as she walks out the kitchen, letting aoi get back to the work she loved so much.

__

That morning as the late breakfast was starting and the slayers were walking in, aoi kept an eye out for inosuke, their eyes meeting almost instantly both blushing as aoi waves inosuke and the group over to her.

“Good morning aoi! This breakfast looks incredible thank you” tanjiro says cheerfully, his injuries looking much better than before, the bandages tightly wrapped around him. Shinobu must have checked on the three of them when she got back.

“Miss aoi where have you been? I haven't seen you around in awhile "Zenitsu says, unlike inosuke and even tanjiro zenitsu hadn't known aoi was ill, he was genuinely worried. He jumped into her arms, twirling around as she tried to escape.

“Hey, get off of her!” Inosuke yells, the other slayers looking over to the commotion. Inosuke pulls Zenitsu away from aoi, putting a protective arm in front of her.

“It's.. fine” aoi sighs, giving tanjiro a small. “ thank you, after being gone since.. I was actually ill. I wanted to make a big meal for everyone” she moves to start serving the trio, giving inosuke bigger portions.

“Wow miss aoi that's so sweet~ wait a minute- why is this stinky boar getting the biggest portions!!” Zenitsu cries, grabbing onto aoi’s sleeve. Aoi simply sighs, inosuke laughing out as he immediately starts to dig in.

“Inosuke helped me while I was ill, it's simply a thank you,” Aoi says as she watches Inosuke eat, smiling softly as she taps his shoulder. As Inosuke looks up to aoi giving her a small peck on the lips.

Zenitsu was speechless as he watched, mouth agape and eyes wide. How could that pig get a girl before him! “W- what is this-! Tanjiro-”

Zenitsu looks over to tanjiro who was happily looking to aoi and inosuke, happy for them. This is so unfair.. Zenitsu thinks.

Aoi slowly pulls away from the kiss, her expression softening as she waves the trio goodbye and starts to serve the other slayers.

Hm, it turned out nurses did need breaks once in a while.