Work Text:
Zenitsu's alarming good hearing was a blessing the people would say. But if you were to ask him, he'd say it's a curse.
He always knew when someone was lying, even if he chose to ignore said warning when it came to his former fiance. But, he could also hear a demon loudly break open the door to the thunder estate. He could hear it kill the only family he had known -and Kaigaku as well. He could hear the screaming, the feeding, and then the silence. All while he slept, sweating through his sheets and clean pajamas.
He waited until it left before he woke himself up. He shakily crept through the estate, blood becoming a common sight as he neared the crime scene. He gagged when he saw gramps decaying body on the floor, half eaten with some of his organs hanging out.
Next to gramps was a sight that almost made him faint. He slapped his hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming as he shook. Kaigaku was sitting next to the body, blood free. He had cat ears and a tail that matched his hair that now had electric blue tips. Weird markings on his face that Zenitsu couldn't describe as anything other than a tiger stripe with the same blue as his hair down the middle.
He was just staring, blankly, at the hole in the wall where the demon had escaped from. He showed no signs of attacking, even when Zenitsu stepped on a particularly squeaky floorboard. “K-Kaigaku? Please tell me you’re not what i think you are...” He whispered, voice cracking as tears spilled from his eyes.
Originally, Zenitsu hadn’t planned on running away. He didn’t want to disappoint Gramps beyond the grave but when Kaigaku snapped his head towards him at breakneck speed, hissing, razor sharp claws pointed directly at him, just ready to pounce, his instincts kicked in. He ran away faster than he ever did in training, screaming apologies to everyone he could think of.
God, he was such a coward.
Eventually he got tired and had no choice but to stop. Zenitsu flopped down on the ground, panting heavily. “Hello, are you alright? I didn’t see you when I first entered the town.” A soft yet concerned voice called out, snapping him out of his thoughts. His eyes shot open and above him was a beautiful woman with pink and green hair, the love hashira. Luckily, gramps had told him about each of the hashira, past and present.
“I’m so glad you’re here!” He exclaimed, throwing himself on her, sobbing loudly. She stepped back in surprise but returned the hug awkwardly anyway. “You’re a hashira right? Please help me! Gra- my master was killed and my uh,,, brother I guess got turned into a demon!” He clutched onto her white haori as her face twisted with concern.
“Oh no!” She gasped, eyes blown wide as she covered her mouth.”Led the way!” He quickly wiped his eyes and led her to the estate. The walk was mostly quiet except for the girl offering her condolences and Zenitsu’s
obnoxiously loud sobs. It was awkward, two strangers who knew nothing about each other walking to go find a dead body and a demon. Zenitsu felt bad for acting the way he did but in his defense, he was panicking. He had to apologize and ask for her name later.
When the pair arrived Zenitsu realized he hadn’t even ran that far. Looks like the small amount of training he did when gramps was alive didn’t help much at all. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep. He wasn’t sure anymore, the day was already blurring together.
He paused in the middle of the peach field when the realization hit him, Gramps was dead. The first person who loved him is gone forever. So he did what he was best at, he sobbed. Loud wailing could be heard from the town if anyone was actually still alive. He choked on his sobs as he gasped for air, he was crying so hard he couldn’t breath. Grief ran through his body like a shiver on a cold winter morning and made him double over in pain.
His shoulders shook with the force of each sob. He was trying so hard to breathe but he couldn’t, air was just out of his reach. None of this would’ve happened if you had just gotten out of bed in the first place, idiot! It's all your fault! Gramps is dead and it's your fault!
He felt a comforting hand on his back and the hashira whispered “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. It's okay to cry but never blame yourself for something someone else did.” The words were faint yet calming. She continued to comfort him as he finally forced air back into his lungs after crying for what felt like long excruciating hours. “There you go, take nice deep breaths.”
He blinked up at her, she had a very motherly aura, well at least to his knowledge of mothers. And she was very beautiful too. “I’m sorry.” He croaked out, voice raw. The hashira wiped his face with a pink handkerchief that was decorated with many different types of flowers. None of which he could name.
“It’s quite alright, no need for apologies. I’m Mitsuri Kanroji and you can tell me yours when we get you some water.” She stood up and held her hand out for him to grab, which he gladly took. They continued walking the rest of the way until they reached the broken door, where the strong scent of blood hit them. Begrudgingly, Zenitsu followed Mitsuri into the place he once called home. Tears welled up in his eyes at the sight of Jigoro and she quickly ushered him out of the room telling him to prepare a spot for his burial.
The temperature dropped as the moon rose in the cloud free starry sky. It was about midnight by the time Jigoro was buried and Zenitsu’s tears had dried up. All he felt was numb, mentally and physically. Zenitsu’s dead-like eyes stared at the makeshift grave with only a hint of sorrow. Hopefully by the time he gets his revenge what little of Gramps that remained would be in a real grave.
Zenitsu turned to look at the sound of movement coming from behind him. It was Mitsuri holding a cup of water and a demonic cat’s hand. Kaigaku. He seemed somewhat docile now, less like a ferocious tiger and more like an adorable kitten. Zenitsu had to snicker at the sight, earning him a muffled growl in response.
He had a pink wooden muzzle in his mouth that clashed with his blue hair, courtesy of Mitsuri, stopping him biting anyone, mostly Zenitsu.
The water was handed to him which he took gratefully and gulped it down. “You don’t have to worry about telling me your name anymore Zenitsu. Kaigaku told me already.” She said sheepishly. Looks like those sign language lessons were good for more than one reason. “Well, let's go back to my estate.” He grabbed Zenitsu’s hand with her free one and they left, leaving everything behind.
A heart once full of love now empty and cold. Next to him was a heart that had love seeping out of every pore. One slow, one stopped. Maybe he could learn to love again.