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Some time after the three of them were assigned to a new mission.
When they had met with the flame hashira they were already in the train, Tanjiro seemed happy to meet him. He enjoyed talking with the hashira, who introduced himself as Rengoku, but Zenitsu could tell something was bothering him.
Zenitsu already knew about the burden his friend carried, he had sent Chuntaro to the butterfly mansion with a message for Shinobu. He tried to be direct about what Tanjiro had done to himself and how he suspected his friend to be depressed. Shinobu's answer wasn't what he expected, she would check Tanjiro once they were back from their mission and if she deemed it necessary she would give him antidepressants.
After some time they all fell asleep.
Zenitsu woke up to find that not only had they defeated a lower moon but Rengoku had died fighting an upper moon.
They cried for a while until the Kakushi arrived to the scene and started moving them to the Butterfly mansion, where they would get their injuries treated.
But before they had to make a stop, they would spend the night in a wisteria house. The next day they would arrive to the butterfly mansion where they would stay until they were fit to fight.
He hadn´t been able to save Rengoku, he wasn´t stong enough to protect him, he even got himself stabbed. He was a complete waste of space, no one needed someone so useless.
So no one would bother saving him from himself.
Maybe he should give Zenitsu his katana, maybe he should live long enough to kill another demon.
But the damage was done he couldn´t even keep his stupid coping mechanisms a secret. He was the one to blame for his dead family.
If everything worked out, this would be the last time he would ever cut himself.
Zenitsu knew something was wrong, he hadn´t seen Tanjiro since they arrived which was weird since they were all sharing the same room. Inoske had gone to get some food. And he had been left alone with his thoughts.
After a while he decided to go look fot his friend, he had to be around.
He could hear someone in a supply closet, they were breathing too slow.
It was Tanjiro, the floor underneath him was full of blood. He got help from the people that owned the house. His friend would live and he had already sent a crow with a letter for Shinobu. She would be here at any moment to check Tanjiro.
He wouldn´t be allowed to go on missions alone anymore.
The next morning was hard to say the least, since he woke up his friend hasn´t stoped crying and rambling about how they would be better off without him. It was hard to listen his friend´s opinion of himself.
Shinobu had asked him some questions when he woke up, she said that he was depressed. She gave Zenitsu some pills for his friend and told him that it was dangerous to leave Tanjiro alone with them because he could try to kill himseld again.
Recovery would be hard but he could make it. Tanjiro was strong.