Work Text:
Kaigaku awoke to a shadow standing over him. Before he could do anything, the figure slumped over him and slipped into his futon. It was Zenitsu. Kaigaku sighed heavily. Thin arms wrapped around him. He looked over his shoulder, and yet again, Zenitsu's eyes were closed. He was asleep.
"Let go idiot," Kaigaku grumbled, weakly shoving Zenitsu off of him. Zenitsu squeezed tighter in response. Kaigaku had seen Zenitsu walk around in his sleep, but this was the first time Zenitsu ever approached him. Zenitsu always had an amazing sense of hearing, though it did nothing for his breaths, at least when he's awake.
In the many spars he's had with Zenitsu, Zenitsu had won only once, even if he himself doesn't remember any of it. He lost while Zenitsu was asleep of all things. The Zenitsu that defeated him was the opposite of the Zenitsu he knew. He was quiet, and blunt. Despite having the same annoying face, that Zenitsu was actually kind of.. cool. The memory of it was crystal clear. Wooden sword on his neck, ass knocked flat on the ground, his eyes wide with shock. Zenitsu had defeated him in moments.
"I won." The two syllables echoed in his mind. He didn't hate the Zenitsu that was asleep, rather, the memory always turned bitter whenever Zenitsu woke up.
"Can you hear me?" Kaigaku asked on a whim.
"Mm."
"Then get off."
"No." Kaigaku rolled over to face him. 'Annoying.' "Why're you bothering me of all people?"
"Because I like you, Aniki." Kaigaku resisted the urge to hit him. 'What the hell? "Aniki"?'
"We're not brothers. You should be careful who you say that to." The other Zenitsu frowned, squeezing Kaigaku enough to hurt a little. "Ack- shit! Stop it asshole!" He pulled Zenitsu's cheek. Zenitsu groaned and lessened his grip.
"It hurts Aniki.." Zenitsu grumbled, "You're always hitting me." Why was he always hitting him? Kaigaku always had a simple answer to that.
1. Zenitsu had a very punchable face.
Zenitsu was ugly, and he was even uglier when his face twisted and tears ran down his cheeks.
2. Zenitsu had a very punchable personality.
He was annoying, and a coward. Always wailing and crying, his voice would screech all day and all night.
3. Zenitsu was very weak, it made him very punchable.
Compared to him and Master's skill, Zenitsu was absolutely pathetic. With one breath learned, Kaigaku couldn't understand how Master let such a parasite walk around.
In short, Zenitsu himself was very punchable. "You're very punchable," Kaigaku said out loud. Zenitsu pouted. "Whatever, you're always going 'Jicchan' this and 'Aniki' that, aren't you embarrassed?"
".why should I be embarrassed I-"
"If you're going to say 'I like you' again I'm going to hit you." Zenitsu pursed his lips. "What do you even like about me?" he asked out of simple curiosity.
A moment passed. Then two.
"Nothing?!! You little shit-" Kaigaku grabbed a bunch of Zenitsu's hair and tugged hard enough to lift his head. Of course, there wasn't any screaming. The other Zenitsu had harder skin than that. He shook Zenitsu around out of frustration.
"ugh- Aniki it hurts please stop-" Zenitsu quietly protested.
"Shut-" In the dark, tears glistened in the moonlight. "What the fuck?!" He was so shocked his mouth moved along with his thoughts. "Are you fucking crying?!" He let go. Zenitsu didn't say anything, he only knitted his eyebrows harder. He never thought the other Zenitsu was the type to cry, ever. "..what the hell??"
Zenitsu pressed his face into Kaigaku's chest. Kaigaku felt a twinge of guilt, and reluctantly stroked Zenitsu's hair. He stared into the dark, the silence periodically interrupted by the other Zenitsu's hushed cries.
"Y-You have good ears right?" Kaigaku asked, hoping to do away with this awkward tension, "How good are they?" Zenitsu thought of what to say for a few seconds.
"..if I really concentrate, I can hear the sound of a healthy body, the sound of organs and muscles contracting as a person walks, and how many people are behind a wall.." Zenitsu seemed to be listing examples off the top of his head, and Kaigaku didn't know whether to be deeply impressed or utterly disgusted. "Did you know there's an organ in everyone that's also not there at all?"
Kaigaku would normally call Zenitsu crazy for saying something ridiculous, but for some unknown reason, he knew Zenitsu was smiling as he talked. He stayed quiet for once. "I like to call it a box of happiness. It makes a pleasant, unique song. Everyone's is different."
Zenitsu got up suddenly, "Oi wha-" and put his ear on Kaigaku's chest, listening quietly. '...what?'
"..you have a sad sound." Kaigaku hated Zenitsu's tone, it was like he was pitying him. He looked away from Zenitsu's direction. "Your box is broken," Zenitsu said softly.
"So what of it?" Kaigaku said bitterly. He was done entertaining Zenitsu's rambles.
"I wish I knew how to fix it for you." Zenitsu's voice trembled, and he was crying again. Kaigaku didn't respond. Though it was much quieter and much less annoying than awake Zenitsu's crying, the other Zenitsu's tears pissed him off way more.
Maybe it was because he secretly knew Zenitsu cried for him.
"Aniki, I love you." Kaigaku didn't answer, more like he didn't know how. It doesn't matter anyway, this conversation, or tonight or tomorrow. Nothing matters.
"It's not like you'll remember when you wake up tomorrow," Kaigaku spat out, not that he knew who he was angry at.
Kaigaku closed his eyes, and fell asleep, shutting out the memory of the night, like it was just some passing dream.