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Chapter Text

1.   

Sanemi had just finished his mission and was reporting to Master Ubuyashiki.

He stood up straight and tried not to grit his teeth at the pain in his abdomen. The way he had injured himself had been a rookie mistake, and Sanemi was honestly feeling a little ashamed. He planned to go home and treat himself. He had absolutely no desire to face Kocho and explain to her how he had gotten hurt.

Everything was going well until he made a wrong move with his arm, which immediately reopened his wound and made him grit his teeth in a very visible way. This, of course, caught Ubuyashiki-sama's attention.

"Sanemi, is everything alright? You don't look well." At that moment, he should have said yes, finished the meeting, and gone home to treat himself. But looking at his master's worried face, Sanemi could only sigh and answer honestly.

"I'm fine, I just hurt my left side a little, nothing serious, it will heal quickly." Oh, how he wished the conversation would have end there.

Ubuyashiki-sama frowned worriedly at Sanemi. "If you're hurt, you should go see Shinobu at the butterfly domain."

"I'm fine, really, nothing to worry about." Sanemi would have preferred to go back on mission right away than to go see Kocho and explain how he had injured himself.

Silence fell between them until Ubuyashiki-sama's frowning, worried expression turned into a sad but still worried one. "Sanemi, please... I really don't want anything to happen to you, it's safer to get yourself checked out. At least do it to ease my mind, please." And seriously, what was Sanemi supposed to do in front of his master's crestfallen expression, tell him to get lost?

So he sighed and opened his mouth, immediately regretting the words that came out. "Fine, I'll go to the butterfly estate to get treatment, master." And at that moment, he should have said yes, gone home, and continued with his life. But when he saw the relieved smile on Ubuyashiki-sama's face, Sanemi sighed inwardly and mentally prepared himself to face the woman.

That's how, 20 minutes later, he found himself in front of the butterfly estate. He was already gritting his teeth at the prospect of Kocho's interrogation as he entered the building. The butterfly estate was similar to all the other times he had been there: white, sterile, clean, smelling of wisteria and medicine. In short, not his favourite place at all.

Sanemi sighed again, for the umpteenth time in the last half hour, and began his way to Kocho's office, before being stopped in his tracks by a voice.

"Hello, are you hurt? Do you need medical attention?"

Sanemi turned slowly to find himself face to face with... Wow! One of the most beautiful human beings he had ever seen.

Flashy blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, with thick eyebrows. Two large yellow eyes with brown highlights stared at him. Pink cheeks dotted with a few freckles if you looked closely. And a very pretty mouth that held itself in a straight line.

Sanemi was interrupted in... whatever it was he was doing by the boy's eyes widening as he faced Sanemi. The boy's mouth opened slightly, making it very kissable, and his eyes fixed on Sanemi's face reflected a slight feeling of fear, or perhaps surprise? Probably both. 

Sanemi didn't really blame him, between his scars and unwelcoming facial expressions, he tended to scare people. The boy continued to stare at him with what looked like an internal battle or a fight-or-flight response.

So while the blond boy stared at him, Sanemi didn't hesitate to do the same, his eyes shamelessly glazing at the blond boy from head to toe. He was dressed the same way as the bossy girl with two pigtails that Sanemi saw from time to time, but instead of blue, his outfit was brown and yellow. And he was smaller than him and certainly younger. But what interested Sanemi the most, aside from the fact that he was absolutely adorable, was his posture. Sure, he was in fight-or-flight mode, his instinct leaning towards flight, but his feet and the way he stood indicated that in case of danger, he was ready to fight, and he probably knew how to do it. And that was interesting.

Sanemi's reverie was interrupted by the boy's voice after several long minutes of silence during which they had stared at each other. Seeming to have finally won his inner battle, he appeared to have made a decision.

"Do you... um... need help? Are you hurt...?" repeated the... doctor?

Sanemi did not immediately register what the boy was saying. He was too busy watching the boy wring his fingers and try to avoid his gaze. But finally the sentence reached his brain, and Sanemi hesitated. On one hand, he didn't know this boy or his abilities, and was he really comfortable enough to let a stranger treat him? But on the other hand, it meant he wouldn't have to give Kocho an explanation, and as a bonus, he'd get to enjoy the pretty hands of a pretty blond boy on him.

...

Sanemi was a weak man when it came to pretty eyes and kind manners.

"Yes, I'm injured on my left side, nothing serious, but I'll probably need a few stitches."

Apparently, “nothing serious“ and “stitches“ weren't words that were often put together in the same sentence. It was easy to guess, given the blond's pronounced adorable frown in his direction at the end of his sentence.

"Um, p-please follow me! ... If you don't mind... Please!"

Sanemi followed the blond boy, who led him to a bed, where he sat down. Then the boy's cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink as he spoke again. "I-I'm going to ask you to take off your shirt, please..." Sanemi laughed inwardly at the boy's... embarrassed? Frightened? expression. But he did as he was asked and took off his uniform. He was even more amused when the boy's cheeks first turned from pink to red, then completely blank when his eyes fell on Sanemi's wound, and any other emotion he might have felt turned into intense concentration.

"Hmm, I'm going to have to clean, stitch and bandage the wound..." Sanemi didn't answer because, given the way the sentence had been said, he had the impression that the doctor was talking more to himself than anything else. The blond raised his head and raised an eyebrow in Sanemi's direction. "Do you think you can handle alcohol? It will disinfect and heal better if I use this." Was this a joke? Had he really just asked a pillar if he could handle a stinging wound? Kocho would have doused him with it before he even realised what was happening.

"Yes, of course you can, a little alcohol in a wound isn't going to kill me!"

The doctor nodded and left, probably to get what he needed. This gave Sanemi the perfect opportunity to see him from behind, his long blond hair swaying down his back, the way he placed his feet on the ground without a sound, and his cute bum jiggling as he walked, which Sanemi paid no attention to whatsoever.

The blond man returned quickly and got to work, his brow furrowed in concentration. Sanemi was still a little offended that he thought a pillar could be afraid of a little stinging water. Until it finally clicked in his head. Sanemi's eyes turned to the boy as the connection was made. Sure, he didn't come here often, but he had certainly never seen the blond here before, of that he was sure! He would never forget someone so cute. So the boy must be new! Which meant he didn't know Sanemi or his position, and that explained the request! It all made sense now.

"Careful, I'm going to start stitching."

"Hmm."

With the mystery solved, Sanemi spent the rest of his consultation watching and analysing every detail of the blond doctor's appearance. The way his fingers moved delicately, the tip of his tongue sticking out when he was concentrating, his hair gently framing his face. Honestly, Sanemi didn't notice the time passing. Until their eyes met, and the boy's concentrated expression changed to something smaller and slightly shy. All sprinkled with a slight pink colour on his cheeks, which Sanemi could only attribute to him staring intently at him.

"I'm done... You should rest for a few days and avoid sudden movements to not reopen the wound..."

The blond ran his hand through his hair to tuck a few strands behind his ear as he looked at the floor. And God, how Sanemi wanted to grab his face and cover it with kisses! But instead, he got up, said a quick "Fine, thank you," and walked away in the opposite direction without looking back.

Honestly, there were two main reasons for this decision. One, if he stayed there any longer, he would have ended up covering the boy's face with kisses. And Sanemi couldn't see how that would have ended with anything other than a slap in his face. And two, well, he didn't really have one, just an overflow of emotions in the form of blond hair and pink cheeks.

And... Sanemi absolutely needed to pull himself together, because there was little chance he would ever see him again, and in any case, his thoughts were simply not right at all!

Far too many emotions in one day. Sanemi was going to go home, not go out for a week, obviously not talk to anyone, sleep, and without thinking about pink lips, that was for sure!

Chapter Text

2.  

Technically, Sanemi loved his job. He didn't like the fact that his job existed, but he loved doing it. Killing demons was pretty awesome, and as soon as he killed one, he felt fulfilled in the knowledge that he had helped people and rid the planet of another one of those bastards. That was normally his train of thought when he wasn't sent on a mission with two deadweights! Deadweights who were now dragging him towards the butterfly domain. The butterfly domain he had done his best to avoid for the past month.

Perhaps a little context would help. 

Sanemi had been sent on a mission by Ubuyashiki-sama, nothing unusual so far. But Ubuyashiki-sama had decided that this particular mission deserved three pillars. Which meant that Sanemi found himself on a mission with Mr. Flashy, aka Uzui Tengen, and Miss Pink Candy, aka Kanroji Mitsuri. With both of them screaming in his ears for the ENTIRE mission. Well, after all, the master had been right to send so many pillars, as the place was a real den of demons, and even with the three of them, he had sustained some injuries. But he could have sent anyone else but those two with him! Well, anyone except Kocho and Tomioka. Oh my God, going on a mission with those two would be the worst thing in the world. In the end, Uzui and Kanroji weren't so bad, at least they wouldn't be so bad if they didn't drag Sanemi to the place he'd been trying to avoid for a month!

But trying to stop Kanroji and Uzui when they had an idea in their heads was as impossible as getting a smile out of Tomioka. And he tried! To stop Uzui and Kanroji, not to make Tomioka smile. He gave them a string of excuses like, «I'm not hurt,» or «I can take care of myself!» And as a last resort, a charming, «Go to hell, leave me alone!» Which, of course, didn't work, and he still ended up in the butterfly mansion.

"Don't sulk, Sanemi! We'll just get a few wounds bandaged and we'll be on our way!" shouted the Hashira of Sound.

"We'll be gone before you can say boo!" added the girl of the group.

As Sanemi was about to respond with something surely bloody, a young girl with black hair tied in two pigtails, and blue eyes stood in their way.

"Wow, three Hashira at once, what can we do for you?"

"Hello, Aoi!" Ah yes, Aoi, that was her name, thank you, Kanroji.

"Heyyy butterfly girl! We're back from a mission, we've got a few wounds that need patching up, is Shinobu around?"

"Shinobu-san isn't around, unfortunately, but if it's just patching you up, I can do that."

Kanroji gave the young girl a worried look. "Won't it be a bit complicated for you to take care of the three of us on your own?"

Aoi smiled at him as she led them further away. "Yes, on my own it might take a little time, but I didn't say I'd be on my own!"

Sanemi and the other two pillars raised an eyebrow at her as she turned back towards the door to let out a call.

"ZENITSU!" she shouted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Uzui grit his teeth a little at the sudden noise, and Sanemi could only think of it as karma. As he and the other two pillars found themselves sitting in chairs, waiting for the Zenitsu guy.

In Sanemi's defence, the scene that followed wasn't really his fault. After shouting, Aoi had turned around to get the equipment to treat them. And when Uzui asked for a glass of water, and when Aoi poured a glass for him to give to Uzui, Sanemi didn't know at what point she thought it was going to end well.

So yes, she probably didn't expect that, but in his defence, neither did he. He hadn't expected the blond boy he'd been thinking about every night once or twice lately to walk into the room. And neither he nor anyone else in the room expected Sanemi to simply blow up the glass with his hand.

"WOW," Uzui, sitting to his right, gasped.

Kanroji, sitting to his left, let out a small yelp of surprise before turning to him: "OH MY GOD! Sanemi-san, are you okay?"

And finally, Aoi, standing somewhere to his left, turned around suddenly, surprised by the noise, and immediately started to dispute him. "Sanemi-san, the glass!" 

But all Sanemi was paying attention to was the blond boy in front of him who had just entered the room, his beautiful eyes wide with shock at the untimely demise of the glass in the pillar's hands. He continued to stare at him as the boy quickly blinked in surprise, then rushed over to take his bloodied hand in his own.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Sanemi had missed the sound of his voice.

And while everyone was shouting and fussing around him, the boy—Zenitsu—corrected his brain. And as Zenitsu set about treating his bloody hand, all Sanemi could think about at that moment was how soft his hands were, and how much smaller than his they were. Or that today, unlike last time, his hair was tied up in a bun, and it really suited him. So absorbed in his daydream, Sanemi didn't even notice that a voice had fallen silent, it was Uzui's voice. Oh, of course it was already suspicious that Uzui was silent, but the reason he had piped down was even more suspicious. Uzui had become silent because he had started looking at something other than Sanemi's hand, and that something else was Sanemi's face.

At first, Uzui was shouting like everyone else, or rather, he was whining. Why? Because when Sanemi shattered the glass, he had splashed water and bits of glass on him, so Tengen was complaining.

So he turned his head in Sanemi's direction for yet another complaint, when the words died in his throat at the sight of Sanemi's gaze. 

In love. That was the only word his brain could come up with to describe the scene before him. Sanemi looked in love, and oh boy, was it surprising! Sanemi was looking at the yellow-haired boy, whose name Tengen had completely forgotten, as if he were the sun itself! His face wasn't smiling. But seeing how all the muscles in his face were relaxed and how completely at ease he looked, it was frankly the equivalent of a smile for him.

Tengen's eyes widened, feeling as if he had stumbled upon a state secret or interrupted a secret conversation. His eyes left Sanemi's face and eagerly and fearfully sought out Mitsuri's. Tengen wasn't entirely sure why, but it was surely to confirm that he hadn't gone mad. Mitsuri, meanwhile, was focused on the bossy doctor, who was reassuring her about Sanemi's hands as she began to treat her. Tengen wanted to shout, yell, cry, but he was too afraid of breaking the Wind Pillar's trance, so he contented himself with clumsily trying to get Mitsuri's attention.

Finally, a miracle! The girl looked in his direction, and Tengen could have cried with relief. And it was visible, or so he assumed, because he saw her face change from a smile to a confused frown. She opened her mouth, presumably to speak. But Tengen made a slightly hasty gesture to tell her to be quiet, which only reinforced her frown. Tengen made a movement to his left, followed by a pointed glance in Sanemi's direction, to try to get his message across. And finally, the girl, still confused, turned her eyes to their third friend. Tengen saw the exact moment when she saw what he was seeing. One moment she was frowning, disturbed, at Sanemi, and the next her mouth was open in an O shape, and her eyebrows had reached the roots of her hair. Her gaze shifted away from Sanemi to meet Tengen's equally shocked gaze.

What followed was a series of erratic movements, open mouths without words, and shocked looks, which were stopped by the black-haired girl who patted Mitsuri to tell her to stop moving.

The unknown blond boy smiled slightly at Sanemi as he finished bandaging his hands. "Well, that really surprised me! The glass was probably already cracked, don't worry about it." The only sound that came out of Sanemi's mouth was a kind of humming in agreement. "Since I've already started, I might as well finish. Would you mind showing me where your other injuries are?" asked the blond boy with a slightly uncertain smile. And without a word, grunt, or other sign of disagreement, Sanemi obeyed.

The look of dismay on Mitsuri's face would have been hilarious, if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he had exactly the same look on his own face. 

Then the Love Pillar's astonished expression turned into a big, delighted smile, and Tengen understood because his face did something similar, even if his was more of a teasing smile, announcing that he was going to make Sanemi's life hell. But it was essentially the same thing.

Sanemi, meanwhile, was very focused on Zenitsu. What a pretty name, he watched him work on him, and isn't that what paradise is all about? He was interrupted from his daydream by an insistent gaze on him, and he looked up to his left to see the biggest smile he had ever seen on Kanroji's face. And oh my God, no.

As he watched in horror at the delighted smile on the girl's face, which only grew wider, he heard a clearing of throat that made him turn to his right to meet the biggest smug smile he had ever seen on Uzui's lips. Both of them were looking at him with a gleam in their eyes, and at that moment Sanemi remembered Zenitsu's fight-or-flight instinct during their first encounters. Because right now he had the same instinct. Sanemi was fighting the urge to run away or pull out his katana and kill them both on the spot. And judging by Uzui's amused look, he understood it perfectly well.

Speaking of Uzui, he turned back to Zenitsu with his smile still in place, and the only thing that prevented Sanemi from killing him right then and there was the Blond's fingers brushing his neck to heal a wound.

"Tell me, um..." Uzui frowned. 

"Zenitsu!" Kanroji piped up excitedly.

"Yes! Zenitsu! I've never seen you before, where are you from?"

Zenitsu's eyes left Sanemi's neck for half a second to look at Uzui. "I—" he cleared his throat. "I'm an apprentice doctor under Shinobu-sensei, I've been here for five months."

Tengen's smile stretched even wider, if that was possible. "Really? An apprentice of Shinobu? How amusing!" And Sanemi really wanted to hit him, but he understood his amusement. If Kocho found out that he was in love, had a crush on his apprentice, he would surely lose his life in mysterious circumstances.

Zenitsu glanced nervously in Uzui's direction before continuing. "Um, I guess?" Sanemi understood from his tone that he thought he was being mocked. This made him glare at the taller man. Which was working as he saw the sound pillar close his mouth and swallow hard, this was satisfying. He then turn his attention back to the prettiest creature in front of him.

"Zenitsu is excellent at his job, Shinobu-san even considers him her successor in medicine! So Uzui-san, you should get used to his presence and be more polite!" Aoi said to the pillar of sound with a sharp look, and Sanemi decided he liked her.

Mitsuri smiled eagerly at the blond boy, "That's great, Zenitsu! Very impressive, Shinobu must be proud!" 

Zenitsu's cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not that good, Aoi is exaggerating... She would surely be better than me, miss, um, er... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name..."

Aoi rolled her eyes, muttering something about Zenitsu's lack of confidence. Meanwhile, Kanroji smiled even more broadly. "Oh, that's right, we haven't introduced ourselves! I'm Mitsuri Kanroji, Pillar of Love! The very tall one is Tengen Uzui, Pillar of Sound! And I think you already know Sanemi!" She finished her speech with a small smirk towards Sanemi, who responded with an annoyed tongue click. In the background, he heard Uzui greet him. But what struck Sanemi most were Zenitsu's eyes, which widened at the sight of Kanroji, then quickly shifted to Sanemi, his mouth half open.

"You're... you're pillars...?"

"Yeah." Sanemi had always been a very eloquent person.

Kanroji's expression changed from teasing to surprise, then to confusion. "Didn't you know?"

"I—no! Oh my God, I'm sorry, I was very rude the last time we met." Zenitsu bowed in front of the pillar, very panicked and worried. And Sanemi had only one desire, and that was to kneel in front of him and tell him that everything was fine.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the confused expressions on Kanroji, Uzui, and Aoi's faces. Although for the latter, it was not for the same reason.

The girl turned away from where she was dressing Uzui's wounds to look at her friend. "You know the Wind Pillar?"

"We met once, he needed treatment... I didn't know he was the Wind Pillar!" Sanemi could hear a tremor in his throat and see tears welling up in his eyes. Adorable.

But what he could see most was the disconcert looks on Uzui and Kanroji's faces. 

Sanemi stood up abruptly, fed up with the whole situation. But he had forgotten how close he was to Zenitsu, and sent him stumbling backwards. It was his sharp reflexes, acquired after years of training and fighting, that allowed him to catch the blond before he fell. Which led them into a situation straight out of a romance novel.

There was a moment of silence, during which no one spoke, only Zenitsu and Sanemi staring into each other's eyes. Until Kanroji let out a small squeal at the situation, and Uzui following her with a whistle. Sanemi closed his eyes, he was going to hit them, he was going to hit them hard. But when he opened his eyes again, he saw Zenitsu still in his arms, his eyes trembling, his face and ears completely red, and he wondered if the blush went lower... And nope! Bad train of thought! 

Sanemi set Zenitsu back on his feet, checked that he was stable, and ran off. He heard voices calling after him, but he ignored them. Once home, he collapsed onto his bed and shouted into his pillow. For a long time.

He really hoped that was the last he'd heard of this.

Of course, with Kanroji and Uzui in this, it was just a futile dream. 

Some time after what Sanemi liked to call the glass accident, the pillars were summoned to a meeting. Sanemi went there, somewhat reluctantly, but he went anyway. And oh, how he wished he hadn't. Directly after he had set foot in the room, than a dozen voices attacked him from all sides by surprise.

"SANEMI MY FRIEND, YOU'RE IN LOVE?! THAT'S WONDERFUL!"

"Humph, I didn't know that was an emotion, you were capable of."

"My apprentice Sanemi? Really?" 

"Congratulations. Is that what I'm supposed to say?"

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Sanemi, today is a good day!" 

"I wish you luck."

Once the surprise had passed, Sanemi's dark, angry gaze shifted to Uzui and Kanroji. The latter at least had the decency to look guilty, while Uzui gave him his most charming smile. Sanemi wondered if he would be executed for ending off the other pillar right there and then.

Unfortunately for him, fortunately for Uzui, his thoughts were interrupted by Master Ubuyashiki, who entered the chaos that was this room.

"Oh, you're all in a good mood today, it's nice to see."

As always with the arrival of Ubuyashiki-sama, the room fell completely silent and everyone paid their respects to the man. Sanemi could have cried with joy at this intervention, but as fate has liked to remind him since birth, they are not friends. And Uzui decided to open his huge mouth again.

"Master, we were giving our best wishes to Sanemi! He is in love, and we felt it was something to celebrate!"

Sanemi was about to take his sword and decapitate Uzui right then and there. He already had his hand on the hilt of his katana when Ubuyashiki-sama spoke.

"Really? Oh Sanemi, that's wonderful news! I hope you'll introduce me to this person when the time comes!"

At that moment, he should have said that Uzui was talking nonsense and trying to annoy him. (Which wasn't technically untrue.) But if there was one thing Sanemi couldn't do, it was to lie to Ubuyashiki-sama. So, with what he imagined to be a grim face, he opened his mouth and...

"I hope to be able to introduce them to you when the time comes."

Sanemi assumed he must have looked extremely funny, as he heard several of his former colleagues behind him sniggering. Ubuyashiki-sama smiled at him and began the meeting.

Unfortunately, he could still feel the amused stares of his former acquaintances on his back, but he tried to focus on what the master was saying.

Once the meeting was over, they were all dead. Uzui was the first.

Chapter Text

3.

Sanemi knew he should have killed all his “colleagues“ last time.

Now he finds himself heading to the butterfly domain (again), because Obanai couldn't aim properly and stabbed him in the fucking leg.

Well, admittedly, he was going there with a little more enthusiasm than usual. But that had absolutely nothing to do with the pretty blond doctor with gorgeous hair who worked there!

Still, that didn't stop him from going to the domain with more enthusiasm than usual. 

Enthusiasm that he immediately lost when his gaze fell on his brother Genya sitting nearby with bandages on his cheeks.

Sanemi was fighting the part of him that wanted to stay and see Zenitsu, so he could run away. When Genya's eyes fell on him and lit up.

"Aniki!"

"Who are you calling Aniki? I'm not your brother."

Genya's face went from a smile to a crestfallen look as Sanemi finished his sentence. Don't feel guilty, Sanemi, it's for a good cause, he repeated to himself over and over.

But apparently that wasn't enough for Genya, who continued. "Yes! You're my brother and I'm yours!"

"Leave me alone, I don't know you!"

"Aniki, listen to me, I beg you!"

"Not your fucking Aniki!"

The tone began to rise, especially on his side.

And out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of Kocho's little butterfly girls running away while he and Genya continued to yell at each other.

"Aniki! I beg you, listen to me... I didn't mean to! I love you, you're my brother. And-"

Sanemi didn't let him finish his sentence, he couldn't if he wanted to stick to his resolutions. He grabbed Genya by the collar and pulled him towards him so that they were face to face.

"Listen to me carefully, I'm not your fucking Aniki. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR YOU-"

Sanemi was stopped by someone pulling him back, causing him to stumble. Someone had pulled him back.

Already angry from his argument with Genya, Sanemi turned around with the intention of destroying the person who had dared to do this. But once again, the words died in his throat at the sight of Zenitsu.

Zenitsu in all his glory. With his hair tied back in a braid this time, cleverly supplied his brain. His eyes were wide open, his expression terrified, his lips trembling, and in fact his whole body was shaking. And behind him were the three little butterfly girls.

Zenitsu looked at him in panic, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and, still panicked, locked eyes with Sanemi.

"This is a medical environment, and this boy is my patient! Please refrain yourself from hurting him!" You could hear the tremor in his voice, but also the determination as he continued to stare at the older man.

Sanemi had just fallen a little more in love, if that was possible.

But what the older Shinazugawa didn't see was the look of pure panic that his younger brother sent to the blond. Genya loved his brother more than anything! But he also knew that he could be quite hot-tempered, and he would surely be even worse with the poor, scaredy cat doctor than with him!

But he was surprised when, instead of shouting, getting angry, insulting, or attacking Zenitsu, his brother relaxed and, miraculously, apologised.

"I'm sorry."

Honestly, if it weren't for his friend visibly relaxing, Genya would have thought he was hallucinating.

Zenitsu's face broke into a tiny smile as he replied to his brother. 

"It's okay."

"It's not okay. This is a hospital, or some kind of hospital. I shouldn't have yelled or gotten physical."

Was he dead? Was someone playing a joke on him? A Blood Demon Art?

But apparently that was enough for the blond, because his tiny smile turned into something more genuine and bigger. "If you understand, everything's fine!" And apparently that was enough for his brother, who gave him a slight smile in return. Genya, for his part, was half-sure he had slipped into a parallel world.

Sanemi was looking at the most beautiful thing, Zenitsu's smile, but more specifically, Zenitsu's smile directed at him. Sanemi had to send a fruit basket to Obanai, or some other nonsense like that, to thank him. In fact, thinking about Obanai reminded him of the gaping wound in his thigh, which still hurt. 

And he must have made a funny face, because Zenitsu's pretty smile turned into a pretty frown. At any rate, everything he does is pretty.

"Shinazugawa-san, are you all right?" And as if remembering that he was a doctor, and that people only came to where they were if they happen to be injured. He added with pure panic in his voice. "Why are you here?!"

But all the pillar could hear was that he had remembered his name! No, wait, question! Focus, Sanemi.

"I got impaled by a sword in the thigh during training."

There was a silence for about ten seconds before Genya and Zenitsu shouted "WHAT?!" at exactly the same moment. He was pretty impressed by their synchronisation.

The next thing he knew, he was sitting on a bed with Zenitsu treating his leg and Genya hovering anxiously around them.

"Genya, if you don't get out of here right now, I'll swear I'll make you get out."

"But, aniki—"

"Don't call me ani—"

"Oh my god, Genya, is he your brother?"

And as if Zenitsu's question had lit a lantern, Genya's eyes began to shine. "Yes! He's my big brother, Sanemi Shinazugawa!"

Under Sanemi's astonished and dismayed gaze, the two smiled animatedly at each other. Before Zenitsu turned his attention back to him.

"Oh, I didn't know you were Genya's older brother!"

"You... You know him well?"

The two exchanged glances, then Zenitsu smiled, while Genya rubbed the back of his head.

"Genya hurts himself quite a bit, so he often comes here to be treated. So we see each other frequently," what a good person he was, thought a part of his brain, while the other shouted that Genya was weak and that he had to leave the corps.

"And Zenitsu helps me train sometimes!" added his brother Genya.

Zenitsu blushed and immediately began to refute the information. "I don't really help you, you're much better than me! I just help out when needed..."

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself, Zenitsu, you're really good!"

The two boys began to argue slightly, Zenitsu insisting that he wasn't that good, while Genya insisted that he was actually doing really well. Now it was Sanemi who wondered if he had stepped into another dimension. Seeing his brother and the love of his life Zenitsu arguing and being domestic was not at all part of his plans for the day, or any other day for that matter.

During all this confusion, part of Sanemi's brain was celebrating, because first of all, Zenitsu and his brother were getting along, and that was great. And secondly, the doctor apparently knew how to fight? Sanemi knew his footwork wasn't random!

A slight chuckle escaped Sanemi's lips. This immediately stopped the two younger men in their tracks and made them look at him. Sanemi looked at Zenitsu with amusement before speaking. "Well, if your merits are being sold so well, you must be good. I'd like to see you in action." This turned Zenitsu into a red, stammering mass, who tried to dissuade the pillar, shouting that he was really bad. This only accentuated Sanemi's affectionate grin.

Finally, Zenitsu realised that he was technically teasing him, and gave him the cutest pout. "That's not nice, Shinazugawa-san. If you want to make fun of me, you can heal yourself!" grumbled the blond, turning his back on him. 

Technically speaking, Zenitsu had already finished healing him, and they both knew it. But Sanemi saw what it was, a pleasantry, they were pleasantrying. And Sanemi hadn't spent the last two months thinking about him every day, to turn down the opportunity that was being offered to him on a silver platter.

So with a slightly amused and falsely guilty expression, Sanemi replied. "Me? I'm not making fun of you, I swear!"

"Liar, you are making fun of me!"

And the two began to bicker lightly. In front of Genya, who had been completely forgotten in the background.

Genya watched the scene as if Muzan had just arrived and offered him to have tea. His friend, and his brother, his angry, unpleasant, uncompromising, and slightly violent brother. Were bickering amicably! Or was it really friendly? A glance at his brother told him it wasn't. His brother had an amused, teasing, and slightly sarcastic expression, but if you looked closely. His eyes looked at Zenitsu with what could only be considered pure affection.

Oh, his brother was in love. 

In love with his friend, no less... 

 It was wonderful! Genya was delighted! Zenitsu was a great person, he was kind, thoughtful, a good listener, and skilled with his hands. And yes, he could be a emotional wreck, anxious, shy, and he had a serious lack of confidence in his abilities, but nothing serious. Plus, he was an excellent doctor, a good cook, and even if he denied it, a decent fighter! And he was very pretty, one of the most prettiest men he had ever seen. His brother had excellent taste, Genya would love to have Zenitsu as a brother-in-law!

His brother finally turned his head in his direction as their eyes met. 

Sanemi froze at the sight of his younger brother. The brunette was looking at him with the biggest smile the elder had seen in a while. He glanced at the blond to check, but he was busy putting away his equipment. He sighed with relief, but it was short-lived when he noticed that his brother smile had grown wider.

Genya opened his mouth to speak, but Sanemi only heard the beginning of an "Aniki" as he used all the speed and agility he had learned after hours of training. He then grabbed a pillow and threw it at Genya with full force, who, taken by surprise, stumbled backwards and landed on the floor. Sanemi heard only a vague sound of surprise from Zenitsu before he himself shouted...

"NOT A WORD!"

And ran off.

He really had to stop running away every time he came to the butterfly domain, Zenitsu was going to end up thinking he was crazy.

That is, if he didn't already think he was crazy after he attacked his brother with a pillow.

Chapter Text

4.

Sanemi was heading to the butterfly domain, again. This was starting to become a habit, not that he was complaining, and he was complaining about it.

Kocho had asked him to fetch something for her, from her laboratory. Well, “asked“ wasn't quite right, she had given him one of her smiles that meant, "If you don't do what I ask, you'll wake up in the middle of the night with itchy skin, and no one will be able to prove it was me." For someone so small, she was truly terrifying. At least she had said that someone would bring it to him, and that he wouldn't have to crawl around her laboratory to find her stuff.

The other thing that had started to become a habit was finding himself at the butterfly estate with someone he couldn't stand. And once again, Sanemi entered the building to find himself face to face with the Kamado Brother.

His gaze met the boy's, and the younger of the two froze like a rabbit in front of a wolf, his eyes wide. 

They stare down at each other for a long time, which would surely end with a scathing remark from Sanemi, until they were interrupted by a third person.

"WHO IS THAT?! WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT?!"

Sanemi broke off his stare contest with Kamado and turned his head towards... What on earth was that? A boy? With a boar's head, yelling at him.

He must have made a funny face because the boar yelled even louder.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!"

The shout seemed to snap Kamado out of his stupor, and he turned back to his friend. "Inosuke! He's the Wind Pillar, show some respect!"

"THE WIND PILLAR?! SO YOU'RE STRONG?? FIGHT ME!"

The brown-haired boy threw himself at his friend to try to calm him down, while the boar-headed boy continued to shout about fighting. The pillar watched it all with confusion.

Finally, Kamado lost his grip on the boar, who rushed at Sanemi and headbutted him, causing him to stagger backwards in surprise.

"You can't be that strong! I, the great Inosuke, will defeat you!!!" 

A vein exploded on Sanemi's forehead, he straightened up and grabbed the boar's skull with his hand, squeezing it tightly. The anger could be heard in his voice as he spoke. "I can tell what you're up to. If you wanted to lose your life, all you had to do was ask." He had always been told that he had a scary angry smile, and judging by the shiver that ran through the two boys, people were right.

He continued to squeeze the boar's head until it brought him to his knees. This seemed to wake up the two young slayers, and the boar began to struggle and try to escape, which failed miserably. While The Kamado boy began to approach, asking him to let the other boy go, which he did not do.

The three of them stood there shouting at each other for a while, before being interrupted by two new voices.

The first voice was Aoi, who poked her head into the room, "WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?! WE'RE IN A HOSPITAL!" Ironic.

The second voice belonged to Sanemi's future husband, who was following Aoi's footsteps with a cute frown. "Inosuke! If it's you, I've already told you to stop attacking patients!" His brain whispered vaguely to him that, Hey, today he has two pigtails like Aoi.

But both were stopped in their tracks by the scene in front of them. Inosuke, he assumed, was on his knees, his hands clinging to Sanemi's arm, trying to escape. Meanwhile, Kamado was trying to grab the pillar's other arm to pull him away from his friend. And finally, Sanemi was in the middle of the two. Holding the boar's head with one hand and pushing the other boy away with his other hand.

The five of them, minus the boar, all stared at each other, not really knowing what to do next.

Surprisingly, the silence was broken by Zenitsu. "Inosuke! Leave Shinazugawa-san alone!" Which surprised everyone a little.

Admittedly, it was really the boar's fault for attacking him without warning. But anyone else who had seen the scene would have thought it was his fault.

"WHAT?!" was all Inosuke could say before Sanemi let go of him and Zenitsu hit him on the head.

The boar began rubbing his head, while Zenitsu put his hands on his hips. "Aoi and I have already told you to stop bothering people!" The blond began scolding him while Sanemi witnessed a new side of the boy's personality, which he greatly appreciated. Suddenly, Zenitsu seemed to remember the audience and turned back to him, his eyes darting away and looking embarrassed. "I'm really sorry, Shinazugawa-san, he's not mean, just a bit stupid..."

This made Sanemi let out an amused breath. "No problem, it's not like he can really hurt me."

Zenitsu let out a giggle, and the two shared an amused look. Behind them, Aoi looked confused, then a sense of realisation dawned on her face. Tanjiro, meanwhile, remained completely baffled by the he scene in front of him.

The moment was broken by a realisation crossing the blond's face. "Oh! Right, you're here for Shinobu-sensei's package, aren't you?

Sanemi shook his head as if to regain his composure. "Yeah, that's why I'm here."

"One minute please!" And he ran off.

Sanemi stood for a moment staring at the spot where the doctor had disappeared, before turning around. On one side, he could see Aoi dragging the boar further away to dispute him. Yeah, he really liked that girl. And on the other side, his gaze fell on Kamado, whose expression betrayed understanding and a very obvious smile.

Shit, thought Sanemi.

"Sanemi-san!"

"Shut up."

It was a short, clear, and precise answer. But it didn't bother Tanjiro any more than that. 

When Sanemi-san looked at Zenitsu, Tanjiro could smell the sweetest, most affectionate scent he had ever smelled!

He must have been smiling, obviously, given the dark look the Pillar gave him. But Tanjiro wasn't afraid anymore! Sure, he had been mean to him and especially Nezuko, and he was pretty terrifying. But someone who could smell so kind and tender towards someone else couldn't be fundamentally bad!

Tanjiro was sure that Sanemi-san and Zenitsu were a good match. The Pillar could help the blond become more confident, less fearful, and help him defend himself. And the doctor could help the older man breathe, think calmly, and be gentler! Really, the young man was sure that only good things could come out of this union!

And he was going to let Sanemi-san know! As he sensed Zenitsu returning, Tanjiro flashed his best smile at the Wind Pillar.

"I wish you luck, Sanemi-san! I'm sure this union will be wonderful!"

Tanjiro turned around to find himself face to face with a confused Zenitsu.

"Good luck to you too, Zenitsu!"

And the eldest Kamado left. Leaving behind a confused blond and a rather enraged pillar.

The blond turned to the older man, who was still glaring at the spot where Tanjiro had disappeared. Still looking confused, he began to speak. "Shinazugawa-san? What do Tanjiro was talking about ?"

This brought Sanemi back to reality. "No idea! I don't even know the guy, maybe he's crazy?" replied Sanemi as he turned his full attention back to the doctor.

Zenitsu could hear a hint of falsehood and irritation in Sanemi's usually pleasant voice. 

The blond bit his lip, they weren't close enough for Zenitsu to ask questions. With a final sigh of defeat, he handed the package to the pillar.

"Here's Shinobu-sensei's package. Sorry again for keeping you waiting..."

Sanemi shook his head as he took the package. "No problem, it's not like I'm in a hurry." He gave him a small smile and the blond responded with a similar expression.

The two fell into an awkward silence.

Sanemi opened his mouth, ready to say something, under Zenitsu's slightly expectant gaze. But in the end, he backed down, only to come out with a banal...

"Well, um, thanks for the package, see you next time?"

Sanemi watched the blond's lips form a straight line and his eyebrows furrow in concentration, like a condemned man. The doctor opened his mouth as if to ask something, before closing it again, still with that slightly confused look.

Zenitsu finally relaxed his face and gave him a little wave as he left. "Well, see you next time, Shinazugawa-san."

The two exchanged one last glance as Sanemi escaped the conversation with little dignity. As Zenitsu disappeared inside the building.

As he headed back towards Kocho to give him his damn delivery, Sanemi thought. What was that last interaction? He really, really felt like he had screwed something up, but he didn't know what! And that disappointed frown? Confused? He wanted to commit seppuku for daring to disappoint the most perfect person!

Eurgh, Sanemi was starting to get a headache.

He was also getting extremely fed up with the fact that the entire corps knew he was madly in love with the pretty blond doctor. What was the next step? Demons?!...

...

He had just cursed himself, hadn't he?

Chapter Text

5.

Sanemi had been injured on a mission, nothing too serious, but serious enough to warrant a doctor. Preferably blonde and adorable. At this point, Sanemi had stopped lying to himself, he was madly in love with Zenitsu. 

And to be honest, it was difficult to lie to himself when more than half of the corps were aware of it themselves.

All this to say that Sanemi was on his way to the butterfly domain. Accompanied by a group of wounded soldiers he had saved.

The group entered the building, where they were greeted by Kocho and her team, who had been warned in advance by a crow. The chief physician gave her instructions, while everyone rushed around the building, much to Sanemi's chagrin.

The group that was with him was quickly led away, but not before one of them had time to shout to the pillar, "Thanks again for helping us, Sanemi-san!" Followed by someone else, "See you next time!" And finally, "Say hello to Zenitsu-kun for us!" Ending with a myriad of pleasant humming.

Seriously?? How many people knew about this? It was all Uzui's fault. He was going to kill him.

Kocho, attracted by the noise, glanced vaguely in his direction, assessing his condition, before giving his instructions. "Aoi! Take care of Shinazugawa!"

Aoi turned to him and led him to a quieter place. "Sanemi-san, where are you hurt?"

"..."

"Sanemi-san?"

"Where's Zenitsu?"

The girl looked at him, blinking rapidly. "...Zenitsu?"

"Yeah, to heal me."

"YOU-" She paused mid-sentence, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before continuing more calmly. "Unfortunately, Zenitsu is busy at the moment, so I'll treat you."

"Busy with what?"

"Busy treating someone else."

"My injury isn't serious, I can wait."

The two stared each other down. The young girl looked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. And Sanemi didn't blame her. But at this point, his dignity had gone out the window, so he might as well own up to it.

They continued to stare at each other for a moment, before Aoi threw up her arms in exasperation.

"Second corridor, third door, ask him when he's finished!" She rolled her eyes forcefully, looking him straight in the face. Sanemi loved this girl.

He nodded to her before leaving and heading towards Zenitsu. He didn't see the girl's amused smile, nor did he hear the quiet "This is going to be fun" that escaped her lips.

Honestly, after the fifth time, Sanemi should be used to the cascade of emotions he felt every time he came to the butterfly estate. But apparently not.

He entered the room Aoi had pointed out to him, only to find himself faced with a tumult of different emotions.

In order. He noticed Zenitsu's long blond hair, loose, falling like a waterfall behind him. He noticed the black-haired man sitting on the bed, arguing with him. He noticed the blond's wrist in the stranger's hand. And finally, the light and friendly atmosphere that reigned in the air.

Sanemi stood there, stunned by the scene, with a slight feeling of horror in his gut.

The two continued to argue familiarly, under the pillar's bewildered gaze. Until the unknown black-haired man turned his eyes slightly, and their gazes met. The stranger frowned in his direction, and Sanemi frowned back. 

Realising his interlocutor's lack of reaction, Zenitsu then turned around to find the Pillar behind him.

The blond's eyes widened as he spoke. "Shinazugawa-san?!" The youngest of the group began to panic in his direction as he tried to fix his hair and look more presentable. The blond began searching around him for a hair tie, Sanemi assumed. Before giving up his search, letting go of his hair and turning angrily towards the stranger. "Eurgh, this is all your fault!"

The stranger broke off their confrontation to look at the blond indignantly. "Me?! I didn't do anything!"

Zenitsu puffed out his cheeks and pointed at him. "If you hadn't pulled my hair, my hair tie wouldn't have broken!!!"

The brunette's indignant face turned into a mean smile. "At the same time, long hair like that tied up in a ponytail is just asking to be pulled."

"Eurgh! You're worse than boys who pull little girls' pigtails!" replied the blond, crossing his arms.

As he watched the scene, Sanemi's stomach twisted unpleasantly. Something was twisting his guts and making him want to vomit. He wanted to run away, scream, punch this guy with all his might, and many other disturbing emotions.

"Why does he look like that?" asked the intruder, who shouldn't be there.

"What are you talking about?" The blond turned to him, and his face went from confusion to horror when he saw his face. Honestly, he didn't know what kind of face he was making, but it apparently looked bad. "Shinazugawa-san?! Are you okay?? Of course not, if you're here, it means you're hurt!"

Sanemi swallowed hard. "I have a few injuries, but nothing serious."

"Sit down, I'll treat you!" 

"What about me?!"

"You've already been treated, go away and leave me alone!"

"How dare you treat your patients like that! As punishment, I'm staying here!"

"YOU- ARGH! Don't pay any attention to my idiot brother, Shinazugawa-san, and sit down," said Zenitsu as he pulled the pillar down to sit.

Who was this man, how dare he look at Zenitsu, talk to him, or even breathe in his direction. He had no right, he had no—

"Wait, did you just say brother?" 

"Oh! I haven't introduced you! Shinazugawa-san, this is my older brother Kaigaku."

The black-haired man raised an eyebrow at the doctor. "How are you introducing me?!" " He turned back to Sanemi. "I am Kaigaku, disciple of the former Thunder Pillar Jigoro Kuwajima! And future Thunder Pillar!" He smiled with pride and arrogance.

Zenitsu turned back to him and hit him on the head. "Don't show off in front of a real Pillar, you idiot!"

Kaigaku looked at him in shock. "He's a pillar?!"

"Yes! He's the Wind Pillar, Sanemi Shinazugawa!"

Sanemi looked at the two... brothers. Arguing about his affiliation, he could finally breathe again. His brother, he was his brother, everything was fine.

Sometimes he resented Zenitsu for making him feel so many emotions.

The blond finished arguing with his brother, turning his full attention to the older man. "All right, Shinazugawa-san, I'm here for you! Where are you hurt?"

Sanemi showed him his wounds while the doctor busied himself with the task at his hand. The blond began to talk enthusiastically about everything that had happened since they last saw each other, while smiling. In which the pillar responded with slight smiles and humming in agreement.

All this under Kaigaku's sharp gaze.

The brunette watched the two interact with shock. The Wind Pillar's affection for Kaigaku's brother was obvious, and even if he walked around with a sign saying "I love Zenitsu!", it would have been less obvious.

As for his annoying younger brother... Hmm, he didn't really seem interested. Sure, he was listening to the older one brag about his mission, but he would do the same with Kaigaku and... Oh. What the hell was that look? Shit.

The future pillar looked at the two a little longer before finally making a decision. He rolled his eyes hard, with an inaudible tongue click of annoyance, before speaking.

"Zenitsu."

The blond turned around with a slight annoyance on his face, what an ingrate. "What do you want?"

"Bring me my katana, I left it in the room earlier."

Zenitsu frowned with a pout. "Go get it yourself!"

He was really starting to annoy him. "I don't know this place, I'll get lost, plus I'm your patient, you have to take care of my needs!"

The blond's eyebrows furrowed even more as he debated internally. Finally, the blond let out a sigh of defeat as he turned back to the pillar. "I'll be right back, Shinazugawa-san, don't move!" One last slight glare in his direction, then the doctor disappeared.

The two remained silent for a moment before Kaigaku turned around and stood right in front of Shinazugawa. The apprentice pillar stood as straight as possible and gave the pillar his best glare.

"Listen to me carefully, you bastard. This guy is a coward, a weakling, and a bit of a disgrace, but unfortunately he's still my brother. So if you ever make a single wrong move in his direction, I'll smash your face in!" Kaigaku stared daggers at him, as if to emphasise his words.

Sanemi looked at him, blinking. Had he really just threatened a pillar? Was this the famous shovel talk? The guys had guts, you had to admit, and Sanemi liked people with guts, and he liked people who loved the love of his life.

The pillar looked at the young man a little longer, saw the determination and stubbornness in his blue eyes, and finally decided to answer him.

"Threatening a pillar? You've got guts," he said as he placed his hand threateningly on his shoulder. Sanemi saw the black-haired man shudder violently at his touch as he assumed a fighting stance. A predatory smile spread across the pillar's lips as he continued. "I like that." He could see the confusion dancing in the blue eyes. "And I always respect someone who protects their family." He removed his hand from his shoulder. "I would never hurt Zenitsu." The blue eyes stared into the mauve ones, searching for a lie, but all they found was disarming honesty and determination.

The black-haired man finally backed away with a click of his tongue. "Pff, disgusting, what's to like about this crybaby." Maybe Sanemi should hit him after all. Unfortunately, his train of thought was interrupted by the “crybaby“ returning to the room.

"I'm back, and I brought you your stupid—Is everything okay?"

The black-haired man glared at him as he snatched his katana from the blond's hands. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know! The atmosphere is tense and... oh my God! Kaigaku! Were you provoking Shinazugawa-san?"

"No, damn it!" He was, a little. "And why are you accusing me and not him?!" A question Sanemi would like an answer to.

"Because Shinazugawa-san isn't the kind of person who would attack someone without being provoked first!"

This silenced the two older men as an awkward silence settled over the room. The elder looked at his younger brother with confusion, as if what he was saying was nothing but a bunch of nonsense. And honestly, Sanemi didn't even blame him, he was as disturbed as he was by what the blond was saying. 

He was pretty honest with himself about his flaws, and he knew he wasn't a good person. Above all, he knew he was exactly the kind of person who would attack someone before being provoked. So why, and— Oh.

Kaigaku, still confused, looked at his younger brother with irritation. "What are you talking about?! He's the pillar of the Wind, Shinazugawa Sanemi! He's known for—" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before he was elbowed in the ribs, causing him to double over in pain.

"Kaigaku?! Are you okay??"

"He's fine, probably just hungry." Sanemi saw the two brothers mouthed the word "hungry" silently, confused, and could see the resemblance between them at that moment. "We shouldn't stay in your way any longer, we'll be going now, see you soon Zenitsu," he said as he left, dragging Kaigaku with him.

Zenitsu waved goodbye confusedly as the two disappeared. The black-haired boy pulled himself together enough to shout, "DON'T FORGET TO SEND A LETTER TO MASTER JIGORO!" as Sanemi dragged him outside.

Once outside, the pillar released the black-haired man and took a deep breath before turning back with a dark look in his direction.

"Not a fucking word."

And he left, in a less humiliating manner than usual, leaving behind his future brother-in-law, who was, rightfully so, taken aback.

A few days later, while Sanemi was at home, he received a letter. The letter was simple. "Hello, Sanemi Shinazugawa. I have heard from my disciple Kaigaku about your relationship with my grandson Zenitsu. I know Kaigaku has already warned you, so I will simply say, thank you for taking care of him. I hope to see you at the next family dinner. Signed, Jigoro Kuwajima, former pillar of Thunder."

BAM!

Was the sound of Sanemi's head hitting the wall.

Chapter Text

6.

Today Sanemi was heading to the butterfly domain, but more precisely, he was going there of his own free will! No injuries, no one dragging him by force, and no deliveries, just him and his determination. 

Sanemi's hands were sweaty, his guts were twisting, and he felt like vomiting. He had never felt so stressed in his entire life, and that was saying a lot considering his job involved putting his life in deaths situations. 

When he entered the building, the first person he came across was Kocho. Their eyes met, and judging by the way her eyes widened, the reason for his presence must have been very obvious.

He barely had time to open his mouth before she cut him off. "He's in the courtyard."

Sanemi closed his mouth and nodded in the young woman's direction. He started walking towards the court, but Kocho stopped him in his tracks by grabbing his arm. 

"Sanemi, take care of him. That's not a request, it's an order. If you hurt him even once, I'll make you disappear. And you know I'll do it."

The two stared at each other, challenging the other to speak first.

Finally, it was Sanemi who broke the silence.

"You don't need to tell me, I'll never hurt him. But if it ever happens, you won't even have time to get to me before I've already made amends by offering my life."

Their staring contest continued for a moment, as if Kocho was looking for a lie in his statement. She could search for a long time if that was what she wanted to find. Then, finally, she released him with a nod.  

"Good luck," she said before leaving.

Sanemi watched her go, before finally continuing his way to the courtyard.

Honestly, the fact that everyone knew and continued to give him amused glances, looks of pity, understanding, or even complicity was driving him crazy. And that was seriously easily thirty percent of why he was there today. The remaining seventy percent was simply because he was starting to become really pathetic, with the way he sighed like a lovesick teenage girl all the time. And also... He really wanted to be able to call Zenitsu his.

Sanemi stopped when he heard the infamous blond's high-pitched voice in the distance. "No, Aoi, it's not 'okay', it's catastrophic! Awful, horrible, dreadful, abominable!" 

"Are you going to list me all the synonyms?" replied the voice that Sanemi recognised as Aoi's.

"Maybe!" 

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"

"No, I'm not exaggerating!" The Pillar could hear the sobs rising in the young man's voice, and it turned his stomach. He rushed in the direction of the two apprentice doctors, worried about the blond.

And the sight that awaited him was not what he had imagined. Zenitsu, in all his splendour with his long short hair. Short hair, Zenitsu had short hair. 

He stood there for a moment, staring at the blond's back in shock, before the girl noticed him.

"Oh, Sanemi-san."

The doctor's head turned so quickly that Sanemi felt pain in his neck for him. The blond had tears in his eyes, red cheeks, and an embarrassed look on his face. In short, he was absolutely adorable.

"SHINAZUGAWA-SAN?!" Acute, he thought. 

"You have short hair." Was all that came out of his mouth.

Zenitsu's face turned a rather disturbing shade of red as he tried to hide behind his arms.

Seeing that her friend wasn't going to speak, the young girl spoke up. "Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho spilled a mixture on Zenitsu's hair, and it was impossible to remove, so we had to cut it."

Tears began to fall from the blond's eyes as he spoke. "I know, it's horrible..."

The pillar didn't have time to think, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "No, it's beautiful, you're beautiful."

The blond blinked, wiping the tears from his eyelashes as he looked at him, and asked in a small voice. "...Really...?"

Being honest and sincere wasn't something Sanemi did, or something he knew how to do. But as soon as he was speaking with Zenitsu, everything became easier. 

And, how could he lie to those eyes? "Yeah, you look really good."

The most sublime smile lit up the blond's face, his cheeks covered in pink dust. Sanemi couldn't help but respond with a similar smile.

The atmosphere, which could only be described as romantic, was abruptly broken by a sudden look of concerned from Zenitsu.    

"If you're here, it means you're injured! And I'm talking about my hair. My God, I'm a terrible doctor!!! Where are you hurt? What can I do for you?" he asked as he moved near him anxiously, to examine him more closely.

Sanemi smiled, somewhere between amused and embarrassed, at the doctor's reaction. "I'm fine, I'm not hurt, and besides, you're not a bad doctor."

Zenitsu looked confused. "If you're not hurt, what are you doing here? Did Shinobu-sensei ask you to get something for her again?" 

Sanemi bit his lip, "No. I... I came to see you." Damn it, his job was to risk his life, why did this conversation terrify him so much!

The boy's cheeks took one of the prettiest shades of red as his eyes widened. "To... to see me...?"

The pillar nodded, and the two found themselves in a heavy atmosphere, sweating with innuendo and unspoken words.

He remained silent for a moment, before Sanemi cleared his throat to speak. "You-I- I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go out for a meal together, if you're up for it...?"

The blond looked at him for a moment, as if taken aback. "Eat... together?"

"Yeah, kind of like... a thank you, I guess? For all the times you've taken care of me?" 

Zenitsu looked at him, as if searching for something, or rather as if listening for something? And then, as if he had found it, his eyes widened, he opened his mouth, closed it again, looked at the floor, fidgeted with his hands, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and finally looked at him again.

"You... You mean like a date...?"

Sanemi felt his cheeks flush at the question, and a sudden urge to run away and scream, or hit something, or someone, Uzui for example. 

But he planted his feet firmly on the ground and gathered his courage, he wasn't going to back down.

"Yeah, like a date."

The doctor's cheeks turned blood red as he let out a gasp of surprise at the other man's brutal honesty.

And suddenly everything made sense in Zenitsu's mind.

That strange, unfamiliar melody he had been hearing ever since he met the pillar. The one he had convinced himself didn't mean what he thought it did. The one that sounded like others he had heard before, but never directed at him.

That was what he had been hearing from the man all along.

The older of the two looked at the younger one staring at him with a dazed expression. He understood why he was so shock! But he would really like an answer, because right now he was killing him with the wait. 

The blond finally seemed to snap out of his stupor as he blinked rapidly, as if coming back to earth.

He watched the blond swallow with difficulty, while out of habit trying to tuck his now short hair behind his ear.

The yellow eyes shyly met the mauve ones as he clasped his hands anxiously.

And finally... "If—if you're sure you want to ask me out..."

"Yes!" His brain hadn't even had time to process the information before his mouth had already answered. And answered well, for once.

The yellow eyes sparkled with a kind of... hope? "Really?"

"Absolutely." Fuck nonchalance if it meant he could take his blond on a date.

A silence followed Sanemi's declaration.

Then, with red cheeks and the sweetest smile.

"If you're okay with settling for me... Then I'd be delighted to accompany you!"

Sanemi frowned. "I'm not 'settling' for you! I'm inviting you because I want to, otherwise I wouldn't invite you!" was what came out of his mouth with a kind of grunt.

Fuck, he shouldn't have said it like that.

"Oh," the Pillar looked at the blond's radiant expression as he tried again to tuck his hair behind his ear, and decided that maybe his response wasn't so terrible after all. "If... If you're sure, then I'll be happy to have lunch—to go out—to—I—I'll be happy to go on this date with you!"

"I'm sure, I want to go on this date with you."

The two smiled at each other with a mixture of ecstatic happiness and embarrassment.

Their bubbles of loving gazes, red cheeks, and blissful smiles continued for a moment.

Until a frown appeared on the blond's face. 

Which, of course, made Sanemi very confused, since they had been in a perfect moment ten seconds earlier. Even more so when Zenitsu turned away from him, he felt like a stone had fallen into his stomach. Was this the famous other shoe?

"GO LOOK ELSEWHERE IF WE'RE THERE!" STOP SPYING!" yelled the doctor, red with embarrassment, into the void.

The stone disappeared, leaving Sanemi confused for a few moments, until he heard six pairs of footsteps running away amid a chorus of laughter and giggles. And a voice shouting, "CONGRATULATIONS!" which he recognised as Aoi's. 

"Eurgh, no one can mind their own business in this bloody organisation," he muttered.

"I bet everyone will know about it in an hour at most," replied Zenitsu, with a pout that was somewhere between embarrassment and exasperation.

The pillar sighed, annoyed, before turning his attention back to the love of his life with curiosity. "How did you know they were there? Even I didn't sense them."

Zenitsu looked at him for a moment, before a blush spread across his cheeks and he looked away. "I have... A very good hearing..."

The blond's gaze was evasive and embarrassed, like someone who was ashamed of something.

The older of the two didn't understand why, having good hearing was a good thing, why was he embarrassed? And then suddenly his brain made a connection he didn't even think he was capable of making. He thought of his brother and his powerful mouth, of the boy Kamado and his highly developed sense of smell, of the boar he had seen writhing in impossible ways, and finally of Kocho's tsuguko and his overly sharp eyesight. And it gave him cold sweats.

"So dinner! Do you have a specific date or not? Because I'm free now," he said as he started walking, clearly trying to change the subject.

Sanemi began to follow him, panic and above all shame gradually overcoming him. "When you say 'good hearing', how good are we talking?"

"Oh, well, you know... Good hearing?"

"No, I don't know!" The pillar looked at him a little (a lot) erratically, "Normal good hearing, or good hearing like Kamado has a good nose, or like Kocho's Tsuguko's eyesight?" Because if it was like them...

The doctor's red cheeks and evasive gaze answered the question without the need for words.

"YOU- I- WHAT?? You knew? Or not? Have I been embarrassing myself this whole time?? Why didn't you say anything! Maybe you didn't want to... But you were up for it when I asked you! So why?? YOU-"

Sanemi didn't have time to finish his panicked tirade before a pair of hands grabbed his collar and pulled him forward.

His brain barely had time to register the lips against his before the blond pulled away almost as quickly as he had come.

With the reddest face he had ever seen, an embarrassed and slightly authoritative pout, he looked him in the eyes.

"I thought you were supposed to take me on a date, Sanemi-san? Shinobu-sensei won't let me off for the whole day!"

And he ran off, leaving Sanemi where he stood with the confidence of someone who knew he would follow him to the ends of the earth. 

The latter stood upright in the middle of the room, looking like someone who had just had a religious experience.

He stood there, stunned, for another moment, before finally running off after the blond. 

As he hurried through the corridors, he passed Kocho and her girls, who all had amused and knowing smiles on their faces. Yes, everyone would definitely know within the next hour.

But he didn't even pay any attention to them. All that went through his mind at that precise moment was...

He called me by my first name, fuck yeah!

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