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"𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳?" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘯𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦, "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 5 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯!"
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵?"
"𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦? 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 6 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰?"
"𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴? 𝘎𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦.."
"𝘚𝘩𝘩! 𝙄𝙩 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺'𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘐𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱!"
"𝘏𝘦𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴."
"𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵!"
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘡𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶'𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯.." 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺.
𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦.
𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.
“𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦.”
𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.
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High-school was a terrible time for Agatsuma Zenitsu. Spat on for his looks wherever he went, he was greeted with disgust, cruel remarks, and bullying.
It was torture.
Everyday, he'd return home, pretending everything was alright for the sake of not alarming his gramps. He wished he could speak to his older brother about it, but he was in college, so he'd likely be too busy. Wouldn't want to add onto his already stressful academic life.
So, there Zenitsu was, in his second year of high-school, stumbling into the males bathroom with a bloodied nose, and bruises all over his body.
'𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱, 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.' they had said, as they ruthlessly threw him around as if he were a ragdoll. As they cut bits of his hair. As they filmed their horrendous deeds. As they kicked and shoved him. As they treated him as if we wasn't a living being.
It didn't help that Zenitsu was already insecure of his looks before, due to the constant nitpicking from his early childhood days, the constant abandonment and the cheating of his previous lovers. All they had done was add fuel to the fire that was slowly eating away at him.
"They were harder on me than usual today." Zenitsu groaned softly as he stared at the boy in the mirror. His voice was hoarse. Naturally, Zenitsu had a loud voice but after years of screaming and crying, it had gradually softened.
By then, the tears were falling freely as he violently trembled, not only out of pain but from sheer exhaustion. Even standing upright was becoming a struggle for him. They had gone straight for his legs. 'To ensure he didn't run away!' they said.
"Gramps won't.. I can't go home like this.. So what do I.." he let out a deep exhale and shuddered again, the tears falling faster than before. He dreaded how his gramps might react. Report the bullies? That'd only make everything worse.
He sniffed and wiped at his nose with his dirtied sleeve. He had no protection outside of home. It all started in his first year. But, the bullies hadn't been so rough since his brother was around to keep them in place. But with his older brother gone..
Everything went downhill.
He was so utterly and terribly, alone. He had no friends - who'd want to be friends with someone as ugly, and awful as him? He was a loser, for all he knew. And, he couldn't blame people for avoiding him. It'd mean they'd become a target too, and he didn't want that. Didn't want anyone having to share this burden he carried.
So, what did Zenitsu plan on doing?
He planned on waiting it out until his graduation, of course. That was all he could do. It was his only option.
At this point in time, to him, he didn't even bat an eye when his awful bullies demanded his money from his part time job, when they'd jump him for no reason, when they'd scratch awful things onto his desk, when their physical bullying would be taken to extremes.
It was the norm for him. It was normal. Because, it was okay.
He was the lowest of the low. The lowest of all trash. Beneath scum, even.
He wasn't even sure when he'd gotten so used to it, or why. Maybe it was because he lacked friendships in his life, to the point where he craved any sort of contact with people around his age group.
Although, it didn't even matter 'why', anymore, because it's not like figuring that out would change anything. Nothing would change.
Who was he kidding?
How could he ever hope to think that life after graduation would be better, if he could hardly survive high school?
He wondered how his gramps put up with him. How he could ever love such a useless child.
He wondered why he was even put on this planet. For endless torture?
He was trampled on, no matter where he went. Even his own birth parents did not want him. He went from orphanage to orphanage, because even they did not want to live with such a useless child.
He wondered if he should just give up, here and now.
Life was meant to be a blessing, wasn't it?
So, Gods' above, why did Zenitsu feel this way?
"How do I even clean this up without arousing gramps' suspicions?" Zenitsu thought out loud, his voice cracking on the last note.
"Alright. Time to to get to work." Zenitsu mumbled and took a clean cloth out of his bag, and ran some cool water on it from the tap.
"It really hurt today." He mumbled as he slowly began cleaning himself up.
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱
Zenitsu froze. Someone was approaching from outside.
Wait, it was just the school bathroom. Nothing weird about that, right? It must just be the average person approaching. Not those bullies.
"𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘡𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶."
He couldn't help it. He was scared. So terribly scared of just about everyone in the school, teacher and student alike.
"𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘡𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶." he thought to himself again, clutching the cloth in his hand tighter as his trembling intensified, his chest tightening as his breaths quickened.
"𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦." he thought to himself over and over in his head like a mantra.
Amidst his panicking, he failed to pick up on the gentle tune said person had. Although, you couldn't really blame him - his bullies words and laughter echoed in his head most, if not all the time.
Zenitsu shut his eyes tight. Walking into the bathroom was that new student everyone was talking about. Kamado Tanjirou. In everyone's eyes, Zenitsu's included, he was the perfect person.
He always knew what to say, was 'incapable of lying', and to add on to his list of good traits, he was unfairly attractive, too.
It had always been like that. It had become apparent to Zenitsu that from the beginning, it was clear who would do well in life and who wouldn't. From the second their homeroom teacher introduced him, everyone liked Tanjirou. He was extremely easy to get along with and talk to.
In such a short amount of time, he'd become the ‘school star’ effortlessly.
He always tried his best no matter what, was friends with all the other ‘cool’ people in the grade, and- you could go on and on about him.
.
.
Zenitsu was terrified of him.
As quickly as he'd glanced up to see him, he looked away and continued cleaning himself.
He felt self-conscious. This incredible boy was walking in on him doing something so humiliating. I mean, he didn't really care at all that much, but this was technically Tanjirou's first impression of him, to make matters worse.
Zenitsu's anxiety spiked.
What if he was secretly the violent type? After everything he'd been through, he'd learned not to trust anyone, no matter how nice they seemed, because just about anyone and everyone could harm him.
Compared to Tanjirou, Zenitsu was nothing.
He was slimmer than before, since nowadays, he couldn't even find it in himself to eat as much as he wanted to, or even enjoy sweets like he used to.
All because of them.
"𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵."
Much to his surprise, Tanjirou said nothing, and walked right past him. Good.
In the past, Zenitsu hated constantly being ignored and left out. But now, he took such things as a blessing. Better be ignored than bullied.
After a few minutes, Tanjirou left the bathroom stall and went to go wash his hands.
He hummed happily as he did so. Sometimes, Zenitsu wished he could be so carefree. He envied Tanjirou, and just about anyone else in the school.
It wasn't fair. Why did the target have to be him?
Tanjirou turned his head to look at Zenitsu while he rinsed his hands.
He vaguely recognized this boy. Wasn't he in his class? He was always bullied by 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 people, wasn't he?
Shorter than him. Chubby, round pink cheeks and an extremely vibrant hair colour. Likely much more bruises, scars and cuts on his body than he could've ever possibly imagined. And, the smell of peaches and sweets mixed with anxiety, fear, and-
Why was the scent of fear growing stronger?
Was 𝘩𝘦 scaring him? He? Kamado Tanjirou?
The thought made Tanjirou chuckle softly, for whatever odd he reason he may have. Of course, Zenitsu's sensitive ears picked up on this. He shuddered.
"Hello there." Tanjirou smiled gently at Zenitsu and waved.
Zenitsu, however, froze.
The schools popular boy was greeting him? No, it couldn't be.
Zenitsu forced himself to meet Tanjirou's gaze - even for a split second, before immediately looking away again. He clenched his hands tightly, and opened his mouth, yet no words would come out.
He only realized then that the trembling and turned into full on shaking. His body was not listening to him.
If Tanjirou wanted to beat him up, could he just get on with it already? The tension and anxiety was seriously killing Zenitsu here.
Tanjirou frowned at Zenitsu's silence. The scent of fear and anxiety was still growing stronger. He didn't like that.
"I'm sorry. I startled you, right? I won't talk if you don't like it." Tanjirou said, trying his utmost best to make his voice as sweet as possible.
Zenitsu finally looked up again to stare at Tanjirou.
.
.
.
Why did he make it sound like he didn't intend on leaving?
Realizing that he was staring, he quickly shook his head.
"N-no.. You're.." Zenitsu finally managed to stumble out, his voice barely audible. It was taking everything in him to do this.
It had been so long since he ACTUALLY had a proper conversation with someone, and his social anxiety and lack of social skills were becoming increasingly apparent.
"Hm?" Tanjirou hummed, indicating that he was listening.
"Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong. It's that there's something wrong with me.." He whispered quietly, finally making eye contact with Tanjirou.
Tanjirou looked stunned. Why was he suddenly blaming himself?
"You've got it all wrong! I was the one who scared you, so I 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be the one to apologize!" Tanjirou declared adamantly.
Zenitsu looked away.
"Mhm." He nodded, and went back to cleaning himself up.
Tanjirou frowned, the conversation seemingly having ended. But, he would not give up there! He was determined to make friends with this boy. He had to. Needed to.
"My name is Kamado Tanjirou. You're..?" Tanjirou tried again.
"Z- Zenitsu. Agatsuma Zenitsu." Zenitsu replied quietly.
"Zenitsu, I thought so! You have a nice name. A nice name to match your nice face." Tanjirou bubbled.
That was a like a slap to the face for Zenitsu.
Was Tanjirou throwing a backhanded compliment at him? He wanted to ignore it, but what if he suddenly got angry at him for that?
A nice name to match his nice face. His face was anything but nice, according to just about anyone.
"Thank you." Zenitsu said weakly.
Now he smelled even 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 sad!
Luckily, Tanjirou was not as hardheaded of a fool like he appeared to be.
"Oh, you took it in the wrong way. I meant what I said, no strings attached. I really do think Zenitsu is a nice name, and your face is adorable." Tanjirou said earnestly.
"O- oh." Zenitsu muttered and nodded meekly, just the fainest blush tinging his cheeks.
It felt nice to hear someone other than his gramps complimenting him.
Even if alarm bells were going off in his head, telling him to take his things and run, he didn't. Not that he trusted Tanjirou, he was just too weak to.
"I rarely ever see you around, you know. And, judging by your state, the answer is really obvious as to why." Tanjirou said.
Zenitsu looked down, ashamed.
"It's pathetic. I know." He said sadly.
"Them, not you. Why are you calling yourself pathetic if they're the ones who're harming you for no reason?" Tanjirou asked, his voice no longer so gentle. It had an ominous undertone that made Zenitsu shudder. It suddenly felt very heavy. He felt trapped.
His legs were too heavy to back away from Tanjirou even if he wasn't that near him, his tongue felt too heavy to defend himself. Even the air felt heavy.
Why was he getting so upset on his behalf?
Tanjirou stared at Zenitsu, his expression hardened before it morphed back into his usual gentle expression.
"They're all idiots. I never even knew until now how difficult it is for you. I'm sorry for not seeing it and taking action sooner. Do you forgive me, Zenitsu?"
His tone scared Zenitsu even more. How could someone go from scary to sweet so quickly?
Also, what on earth is he talking about?! He's acting like he's obligated to helping him!
Maybe he had Tanjirou all wrong. This boy was really weird! And scary! And terrifying!
"You shouldn't be apologizing. You have nothing to apologise for." He managed to mumble out very softly.
Zenitsu finally managed to take a step back.
This seemed to snap Tanjirou out of his trance.
"Ah. I scared you again, didn't I? I'm sorry. And, don't refuse my apology this time. I approached you because I want to be your friend." Tanjirou said, giving Zenitsu a hopeful look like he hadn't been terrifying just moments before.
Zenitsu wondered how he did it.
"You shouldn't.. Your reputation will get ruined if you're found with me. I don't want anyone else suffering like me." Zenitsu replied, his voice shaky.
He wanted a friend. Maybe not Tanjirou specifically, but someone, anyone. Tanjirou could smell it, and see it. But, Zenitsu, despite everything, was selfless and still thought of others before himself.
It made Tanjirou's heart go crazy.
"You're really nice, Zenitsu. But, I don't care about something like that. I'll be fine. It'll benefit the both of us! Nobody will bother you, and you'll be mi– my friend." Tanjirou said, determined to get Zenitsu to say yes.
And Zenitsu, being the way he was, gave in. Turning down the popular boy? He shuddered to think what might happen.
"Okay. If you really think it's okay, then I'll be your friend." Zenitsu said hesitantly, still worried about what backlash Tanjirou might receive.
Tanjirou grinned widely, watching as Zenitsu began packing his things back into his bag, looking as if he hadn't just gotten beaten up brutally earlier.
"I'm heading home, now. Um.. I.. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then..?"
"How about I walk you home? You must need help carrying things, given your injuries." Tanjirou suggested with a grin too bright.
Zenitsu's heart sank.
Why was this boy so insistent on spending time with him?
Although, Tanjirou was right. His knees were extremely weak right now, thanks to his bullies.
So, in the end, Zenitsu ended up nodding.
Tanjirou smiled softly, and went to help Zenitsu carry his things.
————
The two were walking side by side to Zenitsu's home, Tanjirou a little too close to Zenitsu for his liking. But, he said nothing. I mean, he 𝘸𝘢𝘴 doing him a favor. He was now Zenitsu's friend, and was carrying Zenitsu's schoolbag, something Zenitsu doubted he'd be able to do himself.
And on top of that, there was the risk of getting jumped on his way home, something that was happening more frequently than not nowadays.
"We live in the same direction," Tanjirou commented after a while, snapping Zenitsu out of his thoughts.
"Oh.. That's.."
"Great, right? Now we can walk to school together, hm? I'll be able to protect you all the time, now." Tanjirou beamed.
Zenitsu nodded meekly and looked down at his hands.
His thoughts were all over the place.
Seriously, he had mixed feelings about Tanjirou.
On the one hand, he was a nice person, and had caught onto the fact that Zenitsu hated speaking a lot quite quickly, and he somehow seemed to genuinely like being around him.
On the other hand, he scared Zenitsu to no end. Not only because of the shift in his tone earlier, but because it was Zenitsu's way of protecting himself - being overly cautious of everyone.
Or, maybe it was Zenitsu's anxiety spiking again. He has neglected his pills recently, and being confronted by the popular boy on top of his bullying didn't seem to help.
Tanjirou, however, was already planning ahead, daydreaming about how he'd walk Zenitsu to school the next day.
"But, he still seems scared of me. Maybe it's something that'll fix itself along the way..? Ah, but I have to admit that it's a bit cute.." Tanjirou thought to himself, a frenzied look in his eyes.
"My place. It's over here." Zenitsu mumbled, tugging on Tanjirou's sleeve to get him to stop walking. Tanjirou looked surprised at the contact, and Zenitsu immediately retracted his hand.
"Sorry!" He squeaked, looking down in shame.
"It's not a problem, I was just surprised!" Tanjirou said with a smile, handing his bags over to him.
"Oh. Right.." Zenitsu whispered, relief washing over him.
"So.. I guess I'll see you tomorrow.. On the walk to school."
"Right. I can come to your house first to get you, if you want." Tanjirou said, more so requesting if he could than suggesting.
"Do what you want." Zenitsu said, not really thinking much about it. He didn't care. He just wanted to get home, finish his damned homework and sleep!
"Awesome! I'll come to your house just before seven, then! I'll see you!" Tanjirou beamed.
Zenitsu nodded, and scrambled away into his house.
His chest heaved with the effort of supporting his schoolbag and upper body, but he couldn't let it show. Because..
"A new friend of yours?" Jigorou asked, looking up from where he sat, a newspaper clutched in his hands.
"Yeah. I only met him today, though." Zenitsu mumbled in reply, dragging his feet along the floor to reach the kitchen.
"That's good. I think I've seen that boy around before. His mother owns that new popular bakery in town, doesn't she?"
"Oh. I didn't know." Zenitsu replied with a shrug.
Jigorou gave Zenitsu an unamused look. "You don't seem too engaged with the people at your school."
"Not into that kind of thing, gramps. Anyway, he was the one who approached me today. And, he says he'll come tomorrow morning to walk to school together, so don't be surprised when he shows up tomorrow morning, alright?"
Jigorou nodded in approval, already liking this ‘Kamado Tanjirou’ boy.
————
It was just as Tanjirou had said yesterday - at around ten minutes to seven, he was already outside and waiting for him.
"Zenitsu! Morning!" Tanjirou beamed as Zenitsu opened the front door tiredly.
"You're using my first name already, Kamado.." Zenitsu mumbled as he stepped outside into the early morning, closing the front door behind him.
"I called you that yesterday, too! And, you can call me ‘Tanjirou’ if you'd like. Actually..." He looked away, an almost crazed expression on his face, "I'd prefer it if you called me by my first name." He whispered.
"Ah, um.." Zenitsu figdeted nervously with his hands.
"Of course, the decision is up to you! Aha.." Tanjirou's face was flushed slightly red as he laughed. "Okay, let's go, Zen!" Tanjirou extended his hand towards the older boy.
"He's given me a nickname already," Zenitsu thought as he hesitantly took Tanjirou's own hand. Warm. Callused, yet gentle.
The two began walking together in sync, Tanjirou talking about mundane things while Zenitsu nodded along.
"Did you sleep well last night? With your injuries and all, I mean. It's okay if you need me to carry your things."
Zenitsu shook his head. "Thank you for asking, but it's okay." Zenitsu mumbled in reply.
"I see. You don't need to be so formal with me, you know? I'm not going to bite your head off, I promise." Tanjirou squeezed Zenitsu's hand and laughed.
"..." Zenitsu said nothing and forced a smile towards him. Ah, he wished he could believe that, but..
Ugh, why was he so complicated?
"Ah, we're finally here." Tanjirou beamed as the two arrived at the school. Tanjirou strolled in casually, still holding Zenitsu's hand, greeting people as he walked along. Zenitsu kept in time with him, his head hung low. He could feel their gazes on him. Their mutters and whispers to each other, all no doubt wondering why Kamado Tanjirou was with such a sore loser like him.
"A- are you still sure about this whole friendship thing?" Zenitsu asked once they were in a more secluded spot.
Tanjirou turned around to look at him in surprise, before nodding. "Of course I am! Are you worried about what others are saying?" He asked, moving to reach out and cup Zenitsu's face.
Zenitsu's eyes widened in surprise, before he felt an unfamiliar warmth spread across his face. He tried to say something, but no words would find themselves coming out of his mouth.
"Don't be. And, if anyone tries giving you a hard time, just tell me. Okay?"
Zenitsu nodded, feeling as Tanjirou reluctantly removed his hands from his face.
Zenitsu stood in silence, watching as Tanjirou rummaged through his locker.
"Sorry. I wasn't thinking, and my impulses got the best of me." He admitted, and yet to Zenitsu, he sounded anything but apologetic. "If he got the chance, he'd definitely do it again," Zenitsu thought.
"So, you're very.. physically affectionate. At least, that's what I've noticed." Zenitsu said casually, trying his best to make small talk.
Tanjirou nodded. "Aha, well.. When you live in a household with so many younger siblings, it's something that's bound to happen!" He grinned. "Or, don't you like it?"
"I guess I don't mind it." Zenitsu replied.
"A very cautious answer," Tanjirou thought out loud.
"Huh?"
"It's nothing." He stood up and turned to face the shorter boy. "Come on. You'll be sitting next to me today."
Tanjirou led Zenitsu to their homeroom. If he was being completely honest, he'd never noticed that Tanjirou was in any of his classes due to the bullying. So, of course, it came as a shock to everybody else in the class when Kamado Tanjirou walked in with Zenitsu, and even more shocking, allowed Zenitsu to sit next to him.
He could feel everyone's gaze on him - judging and whispering, and Tanjirou next to him, smiling like everything was alright.
Before anyone had the chance to approach the duo and question them on it, Mr. Himejima walked into the classroom.
"People are staring." Zenitsu whispered to himself as he fidgeted with his sleeve. He wasn't used to receiving this level of attention, and he wondered then if he'd made a mistake by agreeing to be Tanjirou's friend the day before.
Tanjirou turned to look at the older boy curiously. "Does that bother you?"
"..." Zenitsu said nothing, choosing to ignore him. Well, it didn't take a genius to realize that yes, it was in fact bothering him. He knew this was a bad idea! Maybe if he ignored him, he'd eventually stop wanting to be his friend.
——
The first period of the day was chemistry. Zenitsu waited for Tanjirou to move ahead and stroll his way to class, hoping that by the time he got there, somebody else in their class would be next to him. But, of course, that wasn't the case. When have the tides ever turned in his favor?
"Ah, sorry, I'm saving this seat for somebody else.." Tanjirou said with an apologetic smile to the crowd of girls surrounding his desk. “Where is he?” he thought, feeling a flicker of irritation at having to constantly blurt out the same excuse.
The moment Zenitsu finally chose to step into the classroom, Tanjirou's gaze locked onto his. "There he is! Here, Zenitsu! I've saved you a spot!" He said all too happily, while Zenitsu in question, felt like he might've just dropped dead on the spot.
"Oh.. Thanks.." He said back quietly, although everyone in the class might as well have heard since the second Tanjirou uttered his name, it fell quiet.
The crowd of girls surrounding Tanjirou's desk shifted out the way to allow Zenitsu to go sit in his seat, some watching him curiously, while others watched with disdain.
Tanjirou's gaze remained on Zenitsu, carefully taking in his mannerisms until he was sitting next to him.
"..." Neither of them said anything, but Tanjirou still wore that smile, still had his eyes on him.
"Did you have somewhere to stop by? Is that why you didn't walk with me to class?" Tanjirou asked, tilting his head with an almost innocent curiosity.
Zenitsu's breath hitched as he looked away, suddenly feeling very trapped. He wasn't sure how to describe it, but Tanjirou was unsettling, and made the room feel so heavy from time to time, and then proceeded to behave as though nothing happened.
Not in the same way his bullies made him feel trapped. Tanjirou could do it without so much so as lifting a finger. No, he didn't even need to talk. All he had to do was give Zenitsu 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 look. Or, was he imagining things?
Tanjirou chuckled softly before shooting Zenitsu an apologetic look. "Sorry, sorry! I couldn't help myself." He laughed, lightly patting him on the shoulder. “Cute,” he thought, again.
"So, he knows what he's doing.." Zenitsu thought, looking down at his open textbook, trying to ignore Tanjirou's piercing magenta eyes gazing into what seemed like his soul with morbid fascination.
"But, seriously, you should stick by my side. That way, I can protect you and we can be friends, right?" Tanjirou went on, finally turning his gaze away from the blonde and into his bag.
Zenitsu nodded wordlessly, reaching into his pencilcase, already beginning to count down until the day was over.
Tanjirou pouted, poking Zenitsu with his own pen. "Heyy, I kind of feel like I'm talking to a stone wall here, you know? Cmon, I get that you hate talking and all, but even one worded answers would be nice.."
"Okay." Zenitsu spoke quietly, looking up to the board to write his notes.
Tanjirou sighed deeply, as if terribly pained. "Alright, alright. I'll try not to tease you like that anymore."
"So, you know.." Zenitsu mumbled, forcing himself to make eye contact with the burgundy haired boy.
"I know what?"
"That you.." Zenitsu's voice trailed off, before he shook his head. "Never mind."
Tanjirou giggled softly in response, taking Zenitsu's hand under the desk where nobody else could see.
He leaned in and whispered, "Zen, you know I want to stop, but you make it really difficult to stop teasing you."
Zenitsu shivered, his hand falling limp in Tanjirou's own. "What's that supposed to mean?" He wondered to himself.
Tanjirou, as if reading his mind, said, "It means you're really cute, is all."
"Huh?!" Zenitsu yanked his hand away, an apparent blush settling onto his face. That was the loudest his voice had ever been, and yet, nobody else in the class but Tanjirou heard.
"I must have misheard." Zenitsu muttered in reply.
"No, you heard right. I think you're really cute. In fact, it was all I could think about yesterday once I'd arrived at home."
"...!" Zenitsu gasped quietly, feeling another wave of heat rise to his face.
He was right!
This Kamado guy was really weird!
"Um.. Thank you.." He whispered. Although, he had to admit that it did feel nice having someone other than his grandfather complimenting him. It made him feel warm. A small, rare smile crept onto his face as he finally met Tanjirou's gaze. This time, however, it wasn't forced. Tanjirou could feel and smell it. He was beginning to trust him.
"And so easily.. H̶u̶m̶a̶n̶s̶ People are so fascinating."
Their sweet moment, however, was interrupted.
"Hashibira, you're late by 20 minutes. I don't need to spell it out to you that you need to head to the office!"
"Haah? Why?! How is it my fault that those annoying first years walk so slowly through the hallways?!"
"Hashibira, 20 minutes. There's no way that the first years took 20 minutes to get to their classes. You're late, and there is no excuse."
"Well, clearly they did, other wise I wouldn't be ‘so late!’"
Mr. Iguro felt his patience wear thin as he glared at the feral boy. "Go to the office!"
"Why?!"
"I—" he sighed deeply. This boy truly was beyond him. "Just.. Find a seat and go sit down. And to the rest of the class, don't take this as an excuse to suddenly start showing up late!"
Inosuke grinned and looked around, before realizing that someone was in his seat.
"Hey, somebody's in my seat!"
Mr. Iguro rolled his eyes. "If you'd shown up earlier, I'm sure you would've been able to claim your seat. This isn't my problem. Go sit somewhere else."
Inosuke glared at the poor boy sitting in his seat, before scanning the classroom with a critical eye. It seemed the only seat open was the one by Tanjirou's table.
He grumbled and stomped towards the table, sitting down with a petulant look.
"Hi there! Hashibira, right?" Tanjirou greeted happily.
Inosuke raised a brow before grinning widely. "Hah! That's right, new boy! I'm Hashibira Inosuke, King of the Mountains!"
Zenitsu frowned at how loud he was being, but said nothing. If anything, he didn't want to get on Inosuke's bad side.
"I'm Kamado Tanjirou!" Tanjirou spoke, the smile never once disappearing from his face.
"Hah? You? You're the boy everyone's been talking about!"
"It's strange, isn't it? I've been here for around 6 weeks, and yet we only meet now."
"Yeah! It must be.. Fate! Oi, Monitsu!"
Zenitsu looked around to see if there was anyone else, before coming to the realization that Inosuke was talking to him. "Me?" He asked, pointing at himself.
"Yeah, you! You and Gonpachirou are now my minions, just as fate foretold!"
"Huh? Those aren't our names!" Tanjirou spoke, giving Inosuke a very concerned look.
"Listen, as my minions, you don't get to decide what I call you!"
Zenitsu lightly kicked Tanjirou's foot, and shook his head as if to say, ‘It's not worth arguing, leave him.’
"Ah.. Okay, then."
The table fell silent once they'd noticed the sharp glare Mr. Iguro was giving them, but it didn't last for long.
Inosuke let the curiosity get the best of him. "Monitsu, aren't you getting bullied?"
Zenitsu sighed, not entirely caught off guard by Inosuke's question. He was expecting it. This boy had no idea what boundaries were.
He was about to respond, until he noticed the sharp look Tanjirou was giving the boy. It was angry. He didn't look angry outright, but Zenitsu could hear it. Feel it, even.
It was just like yesterday, like how angry he'd got on his behalf when his bullies were mentioned in their conversation. And for some reason, he got the feeling that if he didn't reassure him now, something bad may happen.
Or was he overthinking it?
"It's okay, Tanjirou." Zenitsu muttered, hoping the boy heard his words.
"And yes, it's true, Inosuke.. But, hopefully they won't bother me as much, now that Tanjirou is.. Well.." His voice trailed off, but the implication was there. Those words alone managed to get him to stop glaring at the feral boy, his gaze softening as he turned to look at the blonde.
"Aw, Zen-"
"Why don't you just beat your bullies up?"
Zenitsu facepalmed, while Tanjirou cringed. "If it were that easy, I think I would have tried that.."
Inosuke stared, processing Zenitsu's words before grinning widely. "Well, luckily you have me now! As your gracious king, I'll just have to beat them up for you!"
Zenitsu shook his head. "Actually, please don't. That'll only make it worse."
"Huh? How? They'll be scared away if I do!"
Zenitsu stared at Inosuke in silence for a few more seconds, not able to believe what he was hearing. Before he even knew it or could stop himself, he was quietly laughing. Genuine laughter.
"Huh?! Why are you laughing at your king?!" Inosuke growled, pointing an accusatory finger at the blonde, even if he wasn't really mad.
"You're ridiculous.." Zenitsu said in between gasps of laughter, trying in vain to contain himself.
Tanjirou watched in awe. Inosuke had managed to make him laugh before he did. Perhaps he should feel a bit jealous at that, but the sound of his laughter was beautiful. He wondered then why anyone would choose to bully somebody so adorable.
He was about to comment on it, but just then, the bell decided to ring.
"Inosuke, will you sit with me and Tanjirou at break?" Zenitsu asked quietly, still afraid of rejection.
Inosuke gave him a dumbfounded look. "Is that not a given? You two are my minions, of course you have to sit with me at break!"
Again, Zenitsu smiled, seemingly having forgotten all the misery of his past. The walls were coming down.
"So, this is what having friends is like.." He thought to himself, finally feeling hopeful towards the future. Even if that feeling from before, that feeling telling him that something was terribly wrong was still there, he ignored it. He pushed past the walls of his past, the ones meant to protect him, to embrace his new friends.
"I'm glad." Tanjirou said as the three made their way towards the door.
"Huh?" Inosuke and Zenitsu asked in unison.
"Ah, it's nothing! Just thinking aloud." Tanjirou spoke gently, even as he held Zenitsu's gaze particularly.
"Let's go, shall we?"