Chapter Text
Every night it’s the same dream. Since he lost both his grandfather and brother, that is. Zenitsu finds himself standing in the middle of a meadow. Judging by the ever-warm weather, you could mistake it as a good dream. A shallow river runs through the meadow and on the other side is his family, slowly turning their backs on him and walking away. Zenitsu called many times after them, asked them to stop- to wait for him until he, too, crosses the river but he can’t. Spider lilies tangle around his feet and even his sword by his side can’t cut them.
Having gone through that same play many times now, Zenitsu only sits down on the grass and holds his sword close to him as he watches his self-made family leave him - again. And as he watches them, he can hear a faint sound. It’s a sound so gentle and welcoming that it makes him feel like crying. It’s the only thing actually worth dreaming about. This sound is his only comfort.
And as it is with dreams, he isn’t be able to hear it once he wakes up. That’s not so tragic though, after having heard it countless of times in his sleep he could almost completely recreate it by now.
But as Zenitsu opens his heavy eyelids he can still hear the sound. His eyes are burning, and his sight is still blurry from sleep, however, Zenitsu could still tell that he was laying somewhere unfamiliar.
“Chun, Chun!” His companion, Chuntaro, chirps by his side.
So Chuntaro was still with him…
“You’re awake! Thank the heavens!” A young man cheerfully calls out to him as he hurried to his side. He places a tablet with two cups of water beside him and helped Zenitsu in his attempt to sit up.
Zenitsu looks at him. Confused, but too tired to show it, he holds onto the stranger. “Who...?”
The young man smiles and holds a cup to Zenitsu’s lips as he steadies him in place with his other arm. “Don’t worry about that now. Here, drink.”
He tipped the cup and Zenitsu was surprised at how good he was at feeding him water. He drank the whole cup empty in one go. Apparently, he needed water. Lots of it. Even the drops of water running down his chin were a welcoming chill. Why was he feeling on fire like this?
The young man switched the empty cup for the second one out and after Zenitsu gulped that down, too, he lays him back down. Zenitsu’s eyes finally adjusted to the lights in the room and with his thirst quenched as well, he could finally look at the kind stranger.
He was a tall young man about his age. He was tall, very much so or it was just the perspective that made him appear so. With his long red hair, red eyes shining bright like a fire in a fireplace and his checkered green haori the man looked like…
He looks like a stunning and powerful dragon.
The young man carefully adjusted the pillow underneath Zenitsu’s head and as the pillar didn’t show any sign of discomfort he spoke up. “I am Kamado Tanjiro, Sir. I have found you passed out in the forest near my home.” He opens his palm in the air and Chuntaro immediately settles atop of it. “Actually, your friend led me to you.”
Zenitsu runs his hand over his chest and down to his stomach. His torso is completely bandaged. Right. Right, right! Everything came back to him in a flash. He got injured in his last fight and while
wandering, looking for a place to rest he must have passed out in the snow. “I remember… ugh. How pathetic.”
Tanjiro blinks at him. “Why would you say that? Ukogi told me that you got injured while fighting against a demon!”
“Ukogi?”
“Yes, your bird here. Her name is Ukogi.” Tanjiro points at the sparrow which chirps in approval.
Zenitsu cringes. “Her?! Ukogi?!” A sudden wave of fatigue stops him from freaking out anymore. He sighs, “What- whatever... I can’t think about that now.”
“Is there anything you need? My sisters are currently cooking dinner, you can eat it in a bit.”
Zenitsu’s eyes widen in surprise. “We are not alone? You have siblings?”
Tanjiro nods. “Yes. Two little sisters and three little brothers. I’m the oldest and in charge here.”
An older brother, huh. For a second, Zenitsu is reminded of his own big brother even though Tanjiro in front of him is nothing like him. He has gentle eyes and since he woke up and has been smiling the whole time. Completely different from his unhappy, angry brother.
The pillar closes his eyes to push every memory of Kaigaku back deep down. It was enough that he was haunting him in his dreams. At least awake he should find some solace.
When he opens his eyes again, Tanjiro is still quietly watching over him. It was kind of unnerving even though he didn’t feel any threat by it. “By the way, my name is Agatsuma Zenitsu.”
Tanjiro beams at him, “Agatsuma-san! It’s nice to meet you!”
Zenitsu gives him a little smile in return, which he instantly regrets. Not only was his body weak like that of a newborn but it has also been too long since the last time he smiled. You could say he was out of practice. When he realizes how Tanjiro is staring at him with wide eyes, his worries were confirmed: He must look weird when smiling.
He fakes a cough. “So… You found me? I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”
Weirdly enough, it takes Tanjiro a few more moments before he snaps out of it and realizes what has been said to him. He shakes his head with a big pout - like a child, Zenitsu notes. “I’m just glad that we were able to help you! You see, when I found you, you had already lost so much blood that the snow around you was dyed red! Not to mention how ice-cold your body was-”
Zenitsu runs blue and raises his hand to stop him, obviously disturbed by the details. “Thank you but I don’t want to hear how you found my corpse.”
“Nii-chan. Dinner is ready!” A sweet and just as cheerful voice as Tanjiro’s calls from outside.
Tanjiro turns to the paper door. “Thank you, Nezuko! Agatsuma-san, I will bring your food in a second. Please wait here!” As he heads towards the door, he feels a pull on his leg’s sleeve.
Zenitsu’s cheeks flush a light red. “You don’t have to bring it here. I would gladly eat with your family.” And don’t want to miss another second of hearing your sound.
At the dinner able, Zenitsu is clearly the odd-one-out in a swarm of dark hair and, most importantly, cheerful faces.
“Agatsuma-san? Why were you hurt?” Zenitsu turns to the big and curious eyes of the youngest boy and child of the family. Kamado Rokuta.
“Hey, Rokuta. Don’t bother our guest!” His older brother scolds him but before Tanjiro can apologize for his little brother’s bluntness, Zenitsu shook his head.
“It’s fine. I, uhm… Got injured while fighting a demon?” He says that but Zenitsu had to wonder if the people living this far away from any village, anyone else, are even aware of the existence of demons. The people in the city and the government are still too stubborn to believe them, after all.
The little family exchanges awkward and serious glances between them, making Zenitsu realize that the people with him are more than just aware of them. They have encountered a demon before.
Zenitsu carefully locks eyes with the only person he is familiar with, “Kamado-san, have you met a demon before?”
The man in question nods, the sound coming from him, coming from them all, changing into a serious and sad tune. “Unfortunately, yes. We were attacked by one at night when I was still a child. Thanks to a Demon Slayer, who finished him off and protected us all, we survived with injuries.” He looks over to his little siblings, “My mother tried to protect us all and got badly injured. She couldn’t be saved.” Zenitsu can tell that since that day, Tanjiro was no longer just an older brother, he was his family’s father, mother, protector and nurturer all at the same time.
Zenitsu shudders as the tragic fate of the Kamado family causes a chill running down his spine. He feels bad for even asking more about the topic, at the dinner table to boot.
Just as he was about to apologize for his carelessness, Nezuko serves him another plate of side dishes. “It’s been so long but we’re really thankful for that man, right?” She looks at her siblings who one by one agree with her statement.
“I’m really sorry...”, Zenitsu mumbles, still too ashamed to say anything else despite Nezuko’s attempt to cheer everyone up.
He regrets that he brought up bad memories but more than that, he regrets that he couldn’t be there to prevent their mother’s death. Sure, it’s unreasonable to feel like this – he must have been still training under Gramps when that happened, but he still feels it. And it was exactly his unreasonable way of blaming himself for things out of his control that clearly differentiate himself from his fellow pillars.
Thanks to his bandaged wound he couldn’t do anything to help with cleaning up the table or doing the dishes. He had to watch the family run around him to finish the tasks at hand after dinner. If you want to feel useless, really useless, just sit in the middle of a room full of busy people. Zenitsu sighed, he usually spent his recovery by himself with no one but the girls in charge at the Butterfly Estate coming to look after him. A Pillar who was hurt and weak was just pathetic, Zenitsu would agree this much with Kaigaku. He was pathetic.
“Agatsuma-san”, someone calls for him in weird loud whisper, “Agatsuma-san, wake up!”
It’s only after he is softly caressed awake by Tanjiro that Zenitsu realizes he had fallen asleep while sitting. To his own surprise, the blond man recognizes him by his green haori before hearing his sound.
He runs a dry tongue over his just as dried out lips, tasting the palm of Tanjiro’s hand that had been supporting his head for a while now. He jumps at the shameful contact, his hand practically flying to cover his mouth, yet Tanjiro hasn’t moved his hand at all. Just giving him an understanding smile. “You are sweating a lot because of your fever, Agatsuma-san. I will help you wash up before going to bed.”
The second oldest brother, Takeo, comes with hasty steps to them, “Nii-chan, I will help you carry him!” For Zenitsu, Takeo just appeared out of thin air beside Tanjiro. Even though Takeo had short hair, it was like looking at two Tanjiros.
“No- no, no! I can walk myself!” Zenitsu tried to protest still flushed red from the accident a second ago. But two pairs of very bright and innocent eyes, eyes that screamed “Leave this to us!”, looked down at him. Without saying much, they both lifted him up and carried him to the bathroom.
-
Zenitsu cries into his hands. There was no shred of pride left in him as Kamado Tanjiro scrubs his back for him. A white cloth spread over his lap was the only thing saving him from completely turning into dust. Yet the young man was giving off a happy sound.
“Do you like this Agatsuma-san? I can even massage your back if you want!” Tanjiro filled a little bucket with water and let it slowly drip over Zenitsu’s back to rinse out the soap, carefully avoiding the edge of the patch on Zenitsu’s side.
Zenitsu whines, face still very much buried in his hands. “No, thank you. Let’s just - please just get it over with!”
Tanjiro replies with an energetic laugh, it’s bright and warm and in no way condescending or making a fool of Zenitsu. In a weird way, it makes Zenitsu want to laugh as well. Even though there was nothing to laugh about in this situation! He is completely ashamed right now!
His lifesaver takes a second to move, with crab-like steps, around Zenitsu. He takes his left leg by its calf and lifts it slightly, scrubbing it with a sponge in his other hand. Zenitsu’s initial reflex is it to kick him away but successfully suppresses that urge. He was doing this for him after all!
But was really Zenitsu the weird one for feeling so self-conscious in this situation? Sure, he was injured and maybe he did sweat a lot for a few hours or maybe even days, no one has told him how long he yet. And maybe it does hurt when he lifts his arm or bends down but if you asked Zenitsu, only Ubuyashiki-sama or someone of his rank should be served like this.
“I’m grateful for your continued help but,”, he tucked a few strands of his wet hair behind his ear, eyes fixated on Tanjiro’s movements, “You really don’t need to do it to this extent.”
Kamado just laughs again and - perhaps as protest to Zenitsu’s words- he goes straight to his other leg and- just does his thing, Zenitsu guesses. “Agatsuma-san, you’re as innocent as a young maid, aren’t you? My brothers usually love it when I scrub their bodies for them.” Red eyes look up to him and Zenitsu fails to understand the meaning behind their intense gaze. “Between men there is really nothing you have to be embarrassed about.”
Zenitsu runs red, really runs red, red like the blood that will be bleeding out of Tanjiro when he musters up the strength to punch him on the nose. However, all he can do now is to try and hide his flushed face behind his long bangs. “I- I should decide whether I want to touch or be touched by another man or not.” He pouts, feels even more childish for doing so.
“Agatsuma-san...,”, Tanjiro sighs, suddenly even he got flustered. “This isn’t really 'touching another man’.” Even his sun kissed skin can turn red, Zenitsu realizes. Whatever, he will take this win.
-
After changing into the de-saturated red kimono given to him, Zenitsu was finally laying back in his bed in the guest room. His sword was placed beside an old brown shelf. Chuntaro was sleeping quietly on top of a pink cloth placed atop of it. And beside his animal friend and partner, a plate full of wrapped candy was left for him, too. His uniform and haori are missing but he guesses that it was probably placed in one of the drawers. Come to think of it, Tanjiro said that he was bleeding a lot when he found him. Perhaps his clothes were so soiled that they decided to just throw it away. Good. Zenitsu doesn’t want to see that uniform ever again. Yet he cringes when he remembers that he was about to die because of his own carelessness. Some Pillar he is.
These people are way too nice though, Zenitsu thinks. It’s been too long since Zenitsu allowed himself to be taken care of like this. Being taken care of is a sign of weakness, Kaigaku always said that when Zenitsu had let himself be pampered by Gramps after a long day of training. It was unworthy of someone striving to become a Pillar, even more so for someone who already is one.
However, he couldn’t deny that it felt nice to have all these nice people look out for him. He feels warm and content in the worn-out clothes of his lifesaver. The food was delicious, and the bath felt great, too. Zenitsu is about to fall asleep when the sound of two people in front of his door pull him out of it. The sound of his dreams was one of them.
“Don’t go in there now, Nii-chan. You will just disturb his sleep.” A young voice warns him quietly and Zenitsu recognizes it as Hanako’s, the younger sister.
Sorry, but I am already awake.
“I know, I know.” Tanjiro complies. “Hanako, did you hear his name? It’s Agatsuma. Agatsuma. I saw it on his clothes, it’s written as 'my wife’.” He giggles at the name.
Zenitsu was about to bury him under his own home. At least try to laugh quietly at my name, you stupid forehead!
Hanako just sighs in response. “Nii-chan, I know. You mentioned that so many times now.”
Zenitsu chocked on the pool of spit in his throat and it took everything in him to suppress the coughing fit that is supposed to save his life. No, thank you, he would rather die than not hear the rest of this conversation in which his lifesavers make fun of him.
Tanjiro opens the sliding door slightly, when he sees Zenitsu sleeping quietly with his back to the door, he closes it again. “I hope he isn’t getting sick, too.”
He isn’t about to get sick; he is about to die! Why does he have to hide and pretend?!
“Anyways, I just think he has a very cute name.” With that he and Hanako walk down the floor until they are too far away for Zenitsu to hear them anymore. With nothing to listen to he falls asleep within seconds.
Without change he still dreams the same dream again but that gentle sound was noticeably louder that night.
-
The following morning, he is woken up by Nezuko and Hanako together. With one sitting on either side of him, they pull him up and wash his face with a soaked-wet cloth and comb his hair. Alright, he will accept that this family altogether is hellbent on treating their guest like a king.
“Agatsuma-san, breakfast will be ready soon. Do you want to eat in your bed?” Hanako asks him, and he is grateful for the younger lady to be this thoughtful of his condition.
He shakes his head, “No, thank you. I want to eat with everyone.”
They snicker between them but Zenitsu is still too sleepy to think about it. They adjust his kimono, check his bandage, and support him while walking to the shared room where breakfast will be eaten.
“Agatsuma-san, I hope you slept well tonight. Was it cold?” Nezuko asks with a smile. She opens the sliding door and all three go towards the prepared table.
Zenitsu immediately notices that it was prepared for three people. “Where is the rest?”
Where is Tanjiro?
The girls help him sit on a cushion and sit down around the table. Hanako serves him his rice. It’s warm and smells delicious.
“Nii-chan and the others went out early to collect coal to sell in the village at the foot of the mountain. They should be back for lunch.” She explains.
So, they sell coal. No wonder they live this far away from civilization.
Zenitsu picks up his chopsticks and starts eating. His hair falling to the front as he lowers his head.
Nezuko, as attentive as ever, places her dishes down, “Agatsuma-san, shall I tie up your hair together? You can’t eat like this!”
Without waiting for an answer, she runs out to get a hairband or something else to tie up his hair with.
The Pillar throws his hair back and calls after Nezuko, “I have a hairband of my own! Please bring that!”
Hanako looks at him in surprise. “Agatsuma-san, in your uniform was nothing but a little bag with money.”
“Right, but I was wearing the hairband when I was looking for shelter in the forest. Didn’t you guys pull it out so I can sleep better?” Zenitsu points to his head with an increasing uneasiness growing in his stomach.
Hanako seems flustered, “Uhm, when Nii-chan carried you inside your hair was already loose. Perhaps it fell off somewhere on the way here?”
Zenitsu blanches. The only - the only memory of his dead brother - gone! Lost! He kept his brother’s choker as a memento and used it as a hairband - fool! He should have kept it safe in a box with the other items of his deceased grandfather.
Nezuko enters the room with a merry stride, triumphantly showing a black hairband in between her fingers. “I found one!”
It’s the tension in the room and Hanako’s eyes looking for help from her big sister that makes her understand that something happened while she was gone.
-
Zenitsu sighs for what feels like the 20th time as he watches the girl hang up washed clothes in their garden. With his wound still healing, he is stuck on the edge of the wooden veranda. He can’t even go to the toilet by himself let alone walk out and search for his lost treasure in the forest.
“Agatsuma-san seems livelier since he realized that he lost his hairband. But in a bad way….” Hanako says in a low voice, unaware that Zenitsu can still hear her.
Nezuko glances over to him, eyes full of empathy for his situation. “I know. He seemed hollow before like he wasn’t really living in this world. I guess it must be really important to him.”
Zenitsu nods his head, agreeing with Nezuko. Well, for them he must look crazy, now that he is nodding without even having a reason to do so. Fine by him, he will be the crazy quest who lost his mind because of a hairband.
“Should I go look for it, Nee-chan? He looks so sad.” Hanako’s worries grow with the mindless nodding of Zenitsu.
Nezuko pats her head, “You know what Nii-chan always says. Because of the thick coat of clouds, demon can even walk around during the day here.”
Hanako purses her lips, doubting the truth in those words. “Is that really true? We haven’t seen another demon in years! I just want to help outside of this house, too.”
“I know but”, Nezuko looks to Zenitsu again, “Agatsuma-san got hurt while fighting a demon near our home, right? That means there really are demon around us.”
Hanako, still showing displeasure with their situation just picks up the empty basket and sighs in defeat. “Alright, alright. I understand. I will tell Nii-chan that he should look for it then.”
“Cheer up, Hanako! Nee-chan will make you the sweet rice crackers you like so much now!” She hugs her from the back. They waddle into the house like that, their cheerful laughter echoing through to halls.
-
Completely white, untainted snow crunches under Zenitsu’s every step as he makes his way back into the forest. Yes, he said he could barely walk by himself, but this wasn’t the time to be sitting and waiting for someone else to do the work for him! When the girls were gone, he dashed out of the house without hesitation. He barely gave himself enough time to pick any haori he could find to shield himself from the biting cold wind. This was basically theft. At least he took his own footwear but without his socks he might as well walk barefoot.
As a swordsman using the thunder breath, he should be quick on his feet, yet after having walked a few minutes he is about to collapse, slowing down immensely. He holds his stomach - the wound under all the bandages and can feel it throbbing.
Endure it, endure it! This is your own fault!
Zenitsu doesn’t know if that is Gramps, Kaigaku or his own mind telling him this but whoever says it’s Zenitsu’s fault is by default right.
He lost the only thing he clings to like it is his lifeline.
The blond man stops - has to stop, next to a big tree. He leans against it for some support, decides he will rest a little until his lungs stop overreacting and his throat stops feeling like he had needles for breakfast. His body is getting weaker and-
Down he goes. Oh, well, might as well start searching while he is resting on his knees.
He digs his fingers into the snow. When he is knuckles-deep in he realizes that the snowfall here is no joke. He digs left and right- was this even the place he fainted at?
His wound stings again as if it were an attention seeking child and Zenitsu remembers: Tanjiro said that he bled so much that the snow turned red. He should look for that.
So, he gets back up and walks deeper into the forest. His fingers already bright red. Numb and full of pain at the same time, Zenitsu tries to bring new life to them by rubbing them against the sleeves of his coat. Time passes and while, unlucky as he is, he hasn’t found any red snow or his hairband - he found something else.
Two threads hang between the trees on either side of the snowy road and attached to them are a dozen bells. The chilly winter breeze moves the bells enough to emit a light sound.
Now, that’s curious. Zenitsu approaches the bells, pulls both threads down as far as they can go and - lets go. He watches the threads swing up and down, first with vigor and then only vibrating in place. The bells chime is loud, deafening Zenitsu for a moment.
He looks around himself, waiting for something to happen. Was this an alarm? The threads look like a fence of some sort but just between Zenitsu and the haunting voices of everyone he lost - what were a few bells going to do if someone, something wanted to enter or leave this forest?
He almost plays with the thought of just going through this make-shift fence, just to see if a bell demon will come for him, hand absently pulling one of the threads down again.
“Agatsuma-san!!”
Zenitsu startles and the thread slips out of his hand, bells chiming just as loud as before. He turns around. It’s Tanjiro running towards him while carrying an axe in his right hand.
Zenitsu breathes out to calm his nerves, “You scared me, Kamado-san.”
Tanjiro, face looking like he saw a ghost, dropped his axe into the snow and quickly took off his blue scarf just to wrap it around Zenitsu. “That’s my line! What were you thinking? You’re injured and there are demon and wild animals running around and-”, he gasps, “Sandals! Why are you only wearing sandals?!”
Zenitsu pushes the scarf around his face down to free his mouth, “Who cares! I’m a demon slayer, remember?”
Tanjiro scoffs, “Yeah, an injured one. You don’t even have your sword!” He glared at him and Zenitsu shivered - in fear.
“Don’t - don’t look at me like that. I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry for worrying you.” The Pillar didn’t think he would lose against the anger of a coal-seller, but that man was super scary when angry!
Fortunately for him, Tanjiro’s expression softened with the apology. “We have to hurry back, you’re ice-cold. Again.” He bends down to pick up Zenitsu by his legs, but he steps back.
“I can’t go yet! I haven’t found my hairband yet! I can’t-”, he averts his eyes to hide his wet eyes, “I can’t afford to lose it.”
He is still picked up despite his protests, almost coming to terms with never finding his hairband again when Tanjiro gives him a supportive pat on his arm. “Nezuko and Hanako told me. It’s okay, I will find your hairband for you!”
Zenitsu, holding onto Tanjiro’s shoulders, almost starts crying because of the relieve he felt when he said those word. Thank God, Tanjiro will find it. He doesn’t know why but he felt like he could trust Tanjiro’s every word and promise.
“But”, Tanjiro begins, picks up his axe with his free hand and starts walking the same way back, “Why did you come here for that? I found you on the other side of the forest.”
What.
“What?!”
It’s just like Zenitsu to be on the completely wrong route. To think he risked his life for this! This is why he needs Chuntaro in his life. He could pull his hair out, that’s how frustrated he was with himself.
Zenitsu passes out for good this time.
He wakes up in his warm, by now familiar bed and just like yesterday, Tanjiro is by his side quietly watching over him.
“Agatsuma-san, how are you feeling?” He asks, helping him sit up again and Zenitsu realizes, his clothes were changed. On him is now a pale green kimono.
“I’m fine. Uhm, did you find it?” He says the first thing that comes to his mind.
Tanjiro smiles at him and opens his palm to show a light blue hairband with a little drop, resembling a mitama, attached to it. “Is this it?”
Zenitsu grabs his hairband and holds it close to his chest. “Thank you! Oh, I thought I would never see it again. Thank you, Kamado-san!”
The redhead just smiles at him, glad that he could make Zenitsu happy like that. “Was this a present from someone important?”
Zenitsu shakes his head. “No. No, this belonged to my brother.”
“Ah,”, Tanjiro breathes out, seemingly relieved about something Zenitsu can’t tell. “You must love your brother a lot in that case. That’s a good thing. Family should be close to-”
“I didn’t love him. We …” Zenitsu trails off, unclenching his fist to look at the only memory he has of him. “We weren’t a family like that. We weren’t related, you know. Actually, I - I hated him.”
God, was he really about to unload everything plaguing him to a somewhat stranger, somewhat friend?
“Nii-chan, dinner is ready!” Shigeru calls from outside.
No, he wasn’t.
Zenitsu wipes away the tears at the corner of his eyes and pulls his hair into a loose ponytail. “I guess we should go. Can you help me up?” He looks into serious red eyes.
Tanjiro doesn’t move, opening his mouth then closing it again. He pulls Zenitsu up by his waist. “Of course.”
At the dinner table, nobody really talked about the events of the day. Hanako and Nezuko were happy for him that he got his hairband back and were overall relieved that he was back up on his feet. The boys were too tired from working the whole day to really participate in any conversation before their second to third serving of rice.
Rokuta, to his left, just finished his second serving. “More, please!”
Hanako doesn’t even look into the pot, “There is no more, Rokuta. Eat more of the side dishes!”
Rokuta whines and looks around to his brother’s. Shigeru and Takeo turn their bowls away from him as they realize that this is their last serving as well.
“Come on!”
Tanjiro is about to give his own bowl of rice away when Zenitsu beats him to it by nudging his own between them. “You can have mine.”
“No!!” The whole family, including Rokuta, screams. The blond holds his ears, startled by the bomb of voices dropped on him.
“What’s- What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?” He asks confused.
“I’m sorry, Sir, I don’t want to eat your meal!” Rokuta whines.
“Agatsuma-san, you’re still hurt please eat up!” Tanjiro urges him, hand hanging midair with his own bowl in it. “I will share with Rokuta, it’s fine.”
“But I’m full”, he turns to Rokuta and pushes his bowl in front of him, “Can you eat it for me?”
The young boy hesitates, looks for to his older brother across the table for permission. When Tanjiro places his own bowl down, Rokuta digs in. “Thank you, Sir!”
Zenitsu smiles and pets Rokuta’s head. The bowl-cut hair reminds him of himself and they feel as soft as they looked. “Just Zenitsu is fine. That goes for all of you.” He looks directly at Tanjiro while saying that who then chokes on his radishes.
“Then Zenitsu!” It’s Nezuko who calls him by his name first. “Can I braid your hair after dinner? You were gone suddenly so I couldn’t ask you before!”
Hanako pouts, “Not fair, Nee-chan! You said we would ask him together!” Nezuko just giggles, playfully sticking out her tongue at her, Hanako laughs with her.
-
Tanjiro was gone half an hour at most since the bathwater is already lukewarm when he enters it as the last person, yet Zenitsu didn’t feel as alone as he did this morning. His siblings are very much just like him. Cheerful, hardworking and humble kids with pure hearts.
Shigeru and Takeo asked him a lot about his life as a demon slayer and how to become one. Zenitsu said that only a few people can become one, which is of course a white lie. He felt like he owed it to Tanjiro to stop his only family from going into that cruel world. Rokuta and Chuntaro became friends and today, when Chuntaro tagged along, he (she? What did Tanjiro say again?) led Rokuta back to his brother’s when he got lost - or so he tells him excitedly as his mouth his full of crackers at the same time. Zenitsu made the right call to give him the rest of his rice. Behind him the girls are playing with his hair and Nezuko brew served everyone a delicious tea. Zenitsu could almost cry from how warm this family was making him feel.
“Nii-chan, Zenitsu said he got hit by lightning when he was my age! Do you think the gods will choose me, too?” Rokuta jumps Tanjiro who just came back from his bath.
Tanjiro turns blue just thinking about his precious little brother getting hit by lightning, “Remind me to keep an eye on you before you climb a tree during a storm, alright?” He goes over to sit right beside Zenitsu and Hanako nudges Takeo with her elbow, pointing at them, oh so discreetly or so she thinks. Zenitsu can not only see it but also hears the snickering all around him.
“Nii-chan, you’re three hairstyles late but how do you like this on Zenitsu?” Takeo gestures at Zenitsu’s braided hair and judging from his big grin he enjoys teasing his brother lot.
Tanjiro blushes but looks Zenitsu into the eyes when he says, “It looks beautiful.”
.
.
.
Silence. Everyone is turning red in different shades and, ironically, it’s Takeo who looks like a ripe tomato. Zenitsu giggles, “Uhihihi, you really think so? What should I do, should I keep it like this?”
It’s the first time they hear their guest laugh and it’s such a unique little laugh, like a little boy entered the respectable, strong demon slayer and laughed in his place. The family laughs with him whereas Tanjiro is silently combusting in his seat. Chuntaro flies over to him and settles on his head, stretching his wings over it as if she was giving him a hug. For her, it was the first time in many, lonely years that she heard Zenitsu laugh again.
“Zenitsu has a funny laugh!” Rokuta says the obvious and goes to hug him as well, feeling with the little bird.
Zenitsu huffs out when his wound is stinging from the pressure, but he would endure anything for this family right now.
They keep talking for just a bit longer until the youngest falls asleep while on Tanjiro’s lap and Nezuko tells everyone to go to bed. One by one, they wish each other a good night and return to their own rooms. Of course, it’s Tanjiro who carries him to his bed like the knight he proved himself to be.
“Here you go.” Tanjiro lays Zenitsu down onto his bed and pulls the blanket over him. “Are you sure you want to sleep like this?”
Zenitsu brushes over the long braid on his shoulder. “Just for tonight. They worked very hard on this.”
Tanjiro smiles. “Well, if you should need anything don’t hesitate to call -”
“Actually! Well, uh… I was wondering if you could sleep next to me tonight. I feel like I would sleep better... if you did…” His cheeks heat up and he slowly disappears under the blanket up to his nose. “Is that a bad idea?”
Tanjiro’s usually therapeutic tune stops for a moment, a loud stumping playing in its place, however, his expression stays the same. “Of course not! In fact, I would be glad if I could help you sleep better.”
With those words he leaves and renters with another set of bedding.
What the hell - not even a second passed! Zenitsu already felt an intimidating power from him when he first came to himself, but this is too much!
Just as quickly, Tanjiro sets up his bed, blows out the oil lamp, their only source of light, and settles into his sheets.
“Thank you for accepting my weird request, Kamado-san.” Zenitsu says bashfully.
“It’s Tanjiro, Zenitsu.” He teases him with a smug smile.
“Tanjiro…”, he repeats and could repeat it a dozen times more just to see that shining in his eyes again. But there were more important things on his mind that needed to be addressed. “Tanjiro, were you taught a breath style?”
Tanjiro blinks, “A breath style? I don’t even know what that is - let’s starts with that.” He laughs but he seems embarrassed for not knowing at the same time.
Zenitsu fixes his gaze on the ceiling above them. How is he going to fall asleep when he freaks out under Tanjiro’s gentle eyes? “It’s a way of breathing that enhances and, in some cases, allows us to go over the power limit for humans. With it we’re able to fight demons as equals.”
Tanjiro hums, “I see. But how come you think I have learnt such a technique?”
“Well, that’s-”, he thinks long and hard for an answer - to no avail. “I just kind of feel it. The same thing I feel from other breath users. Besides, you have that.” He points at his forehead. “A demon slayer mark.”
“This?” Tanjiro traces the big scar on his forehead, and chuckles. “I got this through an accident when I was little. I’m sorry but this is not a demon slayer mark.”
Zenitsu falls silent. How can that be? It’s almost identical with the demon mark he has seen on the training puppet in the swordsmith village. They even have the same earrings! But he would hear it if he was lying to him - which wasn’t the case.
He just sighs. “I’m sorry. I must have confused many things.”
Tanjiro says that it is fine, of course he does, Zenitsu knows him that much. His following request took him by surprise though.
“Talk about myself? I don’t have anything to say about myself though.”
Tanjiro pouts, with puppy eyes and everything that makes him look way too cute for Zenitsu to keep his cool. “But you are a demon slayer, right? You must have gone through some incredible things!”
“Not- not really.” It’s not that he didn’t have anything to talk about but most his tales are about his incompetence so he would like to never mention them. “I’m the weakest among us and even those with a lower rank are by far more amazing than me.”
“I’m sure you’re just as amazing yourself. Chuntaro told me how you fought a strong demon all by your-”
“And got hurt.”
The redhead studies Zenitsu’s tense figure, eyes stubbornly looking up even though the strain is making his eyes water. He blindly sneaks his hand underneath the blankets, looking for Zenitsu’s hand and comes in touch with the soft flesh of his forearm, startling Zenitsu.
“I know we barely know each other but I can tell that you’re an amazing person. We all can.” Tanjiro’s voice is soft and understanding. His words fill Zenitsu’s heart with something he hasn’t felt in a long time and so do the little strokes of his thump on his arm.
When the demon slayer doesn’t reply, just looks at the spot on his blanket where they are connected, Tanjiro flushes. “I’m- I’m sorry! I’m overstepping here and my hands must feel like the bark of a tree. Ah, Nezuko even bought me a fancy hand cream but I never remember to use it!”
Embarrassed, he pulls his arm back but Zenitsu takes his hand and pulls it back to his side. The redhead eyes widen, visibly glimmering even in the dark. His heartbeat is so, so loud and even though Zenitsu came to hate hearing strong emotions - his own or that from others - every sound from him was special. It makes his heart swell, makes him cry, smile, he wants to flee from all of that and never leave his side at the same time.
Zenitsu squeezes his hand, golden eyes shimmering at him through a coat of water. “They’re perfect, Tanjiro.”