Chapter Text
‘Nezuko. Tanjiro. Inosuke.’ Their names played like a loop in his head, over and over again. He was close, he was so close. Ukogi chirped curiously when Zenitsu absentmindedly twisted his hands again in a rare show of anxiousness.
“Chun? Chu-chu?” The boy blinked at the bird on his shoulder before sighing softly and shaking his head.
“No, I’m fine. I’m just waiting for someone,”
“Chu? Chun-chun?”
“Yeah. The boy from Final Selection, Tanjiro. I know he’s going to be here soon, but I don’t know when,” He chuckled mirthlessly. “It’s making me impatient,”
“Chuun, chu-chun!”
“How do I know that?” Zenitsu smiled mysteriously at his sparrow, though didn’t say anything else, even when the bird nipped at his fingers.
Perhaps he should have delayed his interaction with the young woman—whom he didn’t remember the name of. Huh.
Oops.
Whatever. His heart would forever lie with Nezuko— the first girl who had ever told him that she loved him and actually meant it (and begged him not to go as she watched life seep out of his body with agonizing slowness—)
“Hey! I know you!” A cheerful voice brought him out of his spiraling thoughts.
Zenitsu choked.
A burgundy-haired boy with eyes the color of the setting sun waved at him enthusiastically. His smile was light and warm and his checkered haori fluttered in the wind. A large wooden box sat upon his back and
Tanjiro, in all of his kind and well mannered glory. Zenitsu stopped, turning to smile genuinely at his best friend.
At least, future best friend, Zenitsu amended in his mind.
“Tanjiro! It’s good to see you,” The blonde haired boy eagerly trotted towards the other with a wide grin. If there was anyone, who could make Zenitsu actually feel like a teenager again like he was supposed to be, it was Tanjiro and Inosuke.
The feeling of pure but vaguely unfamiliar warmth surged from into his fingertips. He glanced at the box that held one extremely important person.
‘Hello to you too, Nezuko. I missed you,’
——————
Tanjiro waved to the boy enthusiastically. The wind blew Zenitsu’s welcoming and kind scent over to him, furthering his good impression of him.
When they first met, Tanjiro was astounded by the amount of immediate happiness clouding Zenitsu’s peach-like smell. It was so…friendly, as if he was over the moon about their interaction. Tanjiro had no idea why, but the thought of Zenitsu was comforting, almost confusingly so. Which made no sense, as Tanjiro had only talked to the boy once.
But conversation flowed between the two as if they had known each other for years. Tanjiro couldn’t help it—Zenitsu was just so easy to talk to.
The only problem was that Zenitsu absolutely hated demons. With a passion. A raging, fiery passion that could potentially burn down the entire world.
So introducing Nezuko to him was an out. Even if Zenitsu was kind, that kindness may not be extended to demons. But Tanjiro was sure that once Zenitsu knew that she hadn’t harmed a single human, that he would warm up to her.
(Zenitsu snickered to himself when this particular thought floated through this ears)
Underneath the fruity scent was a darker, more… violent smell. Tanjiro didn’t know how to describe it— like Zenitsu held secrets that no one else could comprehend, something that was not meant to be told to anyone else. Something was weighing Zenitsu down, chaining him to the ground.
Tanjiro sympathized. No one chose being a Demon Slayer as their first career option. Only the ones who had faced loss and despair could ever hope to pick up the sword.
Tanjiro blinked when a rice ball was pressed into his hand, effectively distracting him.
“Oh, thanks! I’m not too hungry though, so you can have it back,” He chirped, ignoring the growl of his stomach. Zenitsu scoffed lightly.
“I can literally hear your stomach— it’s alright, just accept it. I have more,” The other boy shoved it back into his hand ungraciously. The bird on his shoulder chirped in agreement.
Tanjiro hesitated.
It would be rude if he gave it back to Zenitsu, who already said that it was okay. And he was hungry. But… then again… what if Zenitsu was hungry as well? Tanjiro wrinkled his nose. It was better to just have a compromise. He broke it in half, and gave one side to Zenitsu, who thanked him in a strangely strangled voice.
Ah, well. Tanjiro was content to eat pickled plum rice balls (his favorite! What a coincidence that Zenitsu packed them!) with his best friend anyway.
Wait.
Best friend? Tanjiro glanced anxiously at the boy next to him. They had only talked once—it made no sense that his mind would immediately classify Zenitsu as family.
Yet the sensation of pure comfort and familiarity exuded from the blonde in waves. Very strong, tsunami-like waves. Tanjiro was practically drowning in the good feelings that Zenitsu emanated.
(And Tanjiro doesn’t know what to do with this revelation. So he stores it away, tucks it underneath layers of thoughts until he can analyze it later. For now, he’ll just bask in the warmth that is Zenitsu’s scent)
“And then, all three of the demons came out of weird dark holes, and I had to use a bunch of techniques to kill them,” Tanjiro waved his hands around in a futile attempt to describe how he did it.
“You utilize Water Breathing, right?”
“Yeah. My trainer was the former Water Hashira— he was pretty tough on me,”
“I know the feeling. My grandfather trained me and I’m pretty sure that he has a sadistic streak. I bet he likes making me suffer,” The burgundy-haired boy huffed out a laugh.
‘Should I ask him? Or wait? But… he smells like a kind person. My nose is telling me to trust him. That doesn’t make sense though! I’ve only talked to him once! No, Tanjiro, you can do this. Your nose has never told you wrong before!’
“Yeah… Hey, I know that this is pretty sudden but…” Tanjiro worried his lip between his teeth and looked down.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“…What do you think of demons?” Zenitsu blinked.
“Demons… Well, they all need to die, I guess,” Zenitsu’s expression shifted into something somehow more sinister, something that promised painful, painful death. “And I want to be the one who pulls out their organs and rips out their spines,” Tanjiro resolutely kept his gaze on the dusty path underneath his sandals anxiously.
‘Ouch. Maybe I shouldn’t introduce him to Nezuko…’
“Oh. Um. That’s… violent,” Tanjiro pulled the box on his back closer to him. Zenitsu glanced at him curiously, his gaze flicking to the box for a second before dropping back to Tanjiro.
“We are Demon Slayers. It’s just part of the job— actually, it’s in the name,” He paused for a second. “But. There could be demons. Who don’t hurt humans,” Zenitsu smiled warmly.
“And we just haven't found them yet. I don’t think that those deserve to be killed,” He added on as an afterthought. Tanjiro brightened with hope.
“So… if you found a demon who didn’t support the demon king… you would let her- them live?” Zenitsu barely batted an eye at Tanjiro’s slip-up, only offering a kind smile.
“Yeah. If there were demons that didn’t hurt humans,” The corners of his smile twitched, as if laughing silently at a private joke.
The wooden box on his back seemed lighter than usual.
Honestly, Tanjiro had no clue why he felt so safe in the presence of this person. Like he could tell the blonde anything and everything, and still be accepted. He’s even on the cusp of sharing the secret of Nezuko! What’s wrong with him?
Still though. His instincts and nose had never led him wrong— so why would they start now? So… it was alright to indulge in the blonde’s kindness, right?
Zenitsu pretended not to notice when Tanjiro stepped just a little bit closer to his side.
——————
Zenitsu sighed inaudibly in relief. It seemed that his answers about demons relaxed Tanjiro enough to let go of his vice-grip on the strap of the wooden box. Sure, he could have lied and told Tanjiro that he was open to all demons but… any lies told to his friends felt bitter and twisted when they escaped his mouth.
Plus, he was pretty sure that Tanjiro would be able to smell it anyway, no matter how hard he tried to believe that he was right.
The faint stirrings of warmth seeped into his chest as he and Tanjiro filled the air with meaningless chatter, just like they used to. Though, Zenitsu couldn’t deny the gaping hole making itself present in their group.
Inosuke wasn’t here, and as much as he hated to admit it, their little squad felt so incomplete without him. Hell, Zenitsu even missed his annoying affinity for stealing tempura!
He couldn’t stop himself from looking at Tanjiro every few minutes. His friend looked so… young. His face held youthful roundness that disappeared so quickly after their first couple of missions. A child wearing the mask of a soldier.
He wasn’t even close to adulthood. The urge to beat up his last self for acting so childish was stronger than ever. Tanjiro always was the one who slipped into the role of an older brother, being the responsible one out of their group of… eccentric individuals. Tanjiro was the one you could go to for anything. Tanjiro was the mature one.
And Zenitsu hated it.
Teenagers shouldn’t have to bury their families. They should not have to grow up so soon. They should not have to be ‘mature’.
His teeth clenched together.
God, he was so going to torture the shit out of Muzan. Fucking rip out his eyeballs and stuff them down his throat or something.
“Hey, um… are you alright? Your scent is kind of… scary?” Tanjiro’s voice lilted upwards at the end of his sentence in a slight question. His nose wrinkled when Zenitsu patted him on the head with a small smile.
“Don't worry about it. Just thinking about… something,” Zenitsu hummed lowly. Tanjiro shivered.
“Ah… I see,” Wisely, Tanjiro does not ask what he was thinking of. “Do you think that this mission will be difficult?” The blonde shrugged, letting the subject change without much fight.
“No. We’ll make it through—we always do, anyway,” Tanjiro nodded after a moment, completely glossing over the latter of his sentence with cheer.
“Yeah! The both of us can take down any demons in our way!”
Zenitsu decisively did not point out that the other boy was quite literally holding a demon in his back. After all, Nezuko was too lovely to be considered something as foul as a demon.
Tanjiro stopped abruptly, sniffing the air curiously.
“I think we’re at our destination,” He murmured darkly, as the pair walked into a forest clearing.
A large mansion, filled with the aura of death greeted them emptily. Tanjiro’s lips pulled into a disgusted frown, the putrid scent of blood thick in the air.
“Hold on—I heard something,” Zenitsu muttered, slowly approaching the thick underbrush. Two, wide pairs of eyes stared back into his own. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. It’s alright,” His voice softened gently, slowly drawing out the kids from their hiding space.
Tanjiro kneeled down next to him with a comforting smile.
“What are your names?” The older of the two swallowed shakily, while the little girl hid behind his slightly bigger figure.
“…Shoichi. I’m Shoichi a-and this is Teruko,” His voice trembled weakly. Zenitsu waited expectantly as the boy opened his mouth again. “My big brother… the monsters…” He trailed off, staring at the ground with tearful eyes.
“They took him, didn’t they?” Barely disguised fury and disgust filtered through Zenitsu's voice when the little boy nodded. “We’ll get him back, I promise,” Tanjiro subtly poked Zenitsu in the back, his hand outstretched.
“I know something that’ll cheer you two up right away!” Zenitsu passed Ukogi (who only nipped Zenitsu’s fingers once in annoyance) to the other boy, gently placing him down with care. “A very special magic trick! Tada!”
He revealed the sparrow sitting in his palm with a smile. “See? He’s cute, right?” The children crowded around him, temporarily forgetting their problems to see the bird excitedly. Zenitsu got up to look at the mansion, promising silently to rip off the heads of every single demon that lived in the wretched house.
“Let’s go, Tanjiro. We gotta get their brother back, right?” He nudged him impatiently while the burgundy-haired boy shrugged off the box from his shoulders.
“Yeah! Don’t worry kids, we’ll be back soon— stay here okay? If something tries to hurt you, the box will protect you two,” He patted both of their heads and stood up carefully.
Zenitsu frowned when the sound of doors sliding open and something hurtling through reached his ears. Quickly, he covered the children’s eyes when the resounding splat of a body landing harshly on the ground made itself known.
“Don’t look,” He whispered softly, using his haori to block the sight. “Tanjiro! Don’t try to check that guy— he’s already dead,” The boy in question hesitated for a second before nodding.
“Yeah… okay. Let’s go, Zenitsu. And Shoichi, Teruko, stay out here. The mansion’s dangerous,” Both slayers carefully put the body somewhere where it wouldn’t be seen by the children, Tanjiro trying to avoid looking at the blood dripping out of it.
Zenitsu said nothing while Tanjiro prayed for the man, a murderous aura exuding from him in strong waves, promising a violent end to the monsters inside.
The same, poisonous thought burned through his head, over and over.
‘You’re dead. You’re all fucking dead’