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“Zeni..? I can't.. I can’t sleep..” Inosuke gently pushes the door open, a soft creak echoing through the room. Zenitsu blinks groggily, sitting up. “Really..? Same. come here..” they mumble, beckoning to the boy in their doorway. He doesn’t move. He just stands, one foot in the doorway. “Inosuke..? Come.. come here..” the boy tilts his head. Unnaturally, an angle it shouldn’t be able to achieve. “Actually. Never mind. I think I can get to sleep on my own." His voice isn’t how it usually sounds. Zenitsu swallows, nodding. “Okay.” they whisper, voice cracking. They lay down, watching as the small boy walks out. They lay in complete silence, eyes wide and watery. “What the fuck. What the actual fuck.” their heart throbs with horror as the footsteps of whatever that was fade down the hallway. They pull the blanket all the way over their head, breathing heavily. The door creaks open again, the sound of a small foot hitting the ground taps in Zenitsu’s ear. Someone gently places a hand on their shoulder. “Zeni. I can't sleep. Can.. Can I sleep in your bed tonight..?” Inosuke’s voice cuts through their heavy breathing. They gently pull the blanket down to their chin. The boy is centimeters away from their face, breath warm. He looks normal. He sounds normal. He smells normal. He seems normal. “Inosuke..? Were you in here earlier?” Zenitsu whispers, staring up at the boy. He blinks, tilting his head to the side. A normal head tilt. “No, i.. I was in my room. I got up about thirty seconds ago. Why? Did you, like, see something..?” he mumbles, pressing the tip of his nose to Zenitsu’s. Zenitsu shivers. Not because of the nose touch. Because they had clearly seen him in their doorway no less than a minute ago. “I was gonna ask if you were up earlier. ‘Cause you came into my room and kissed me on my forehead.” Inosuke murmurs. “It was.. Weirdly cold, like there was water on your lips.” Zenitsu grabs Inosuke by the wrist. He’s warm, the same as always. He’s real. This is him. “Inosuke. That wasn’t me. I’ve been right here all night. Get under the blankets. Right now.” they tug on his arm, pulling him close. Inosuke jerks back slightly. “Just- just let me get Hana. i thought she’d be fine but if there are ‘us’ who aren’t really us she needs to be close to me.” he whispers, eyes wide. Zenistu nods, gently letting go of his wrist. They watch as he pads out of the room, breathing heavily again. Footsteps thud down the hall, eventually stopping. But someone walks into the room. The footsteps haven’t returned yet. It isn’t Inosuke. “Zenitsu.” He doesn't call them that. Ever. It's always Zeni. “Yes? What- what is it?” Zenitsu whispers, voice cracking timidly. A hand brushes against their hair. There were no footsteps approaching, they couldn’t possibly have just teleported, right? They look up, shaking slightly. Inosuke is crouched by their bed, eyes too large, smile too wide. “Hi, darling.” he would never call them ‘darling’. It’s always just their name, or ‘babe’. That’s it. They’re the one that says darling. “Hi, sweetheart.” They know it’s not him. They know. It’s so clearly not him. His eyes are the wrong shade of green. Too yellow. But somehow too blue as well. Footsteps echo down the hallway again, soft. Inosuke’s footsteps. The real one. The door opens, and he walks in. The other Inosuke is still crouched next to Zenitsu, combing its fingers through their hair. Inosuke freezes halfway to them. “Zeni..? What- what is that?” he whispers, voice cracking hard. He clutches Hana close to his chest, causing the baby to whimper in fear. The fake stands up, bones scraping. It’s too tall, just barely. It moves unnaturally, jerky and sharp. It starts changing, crunching and snapping into a new form. It’s not even mimicking anymore, just there. A tall, pale, emaciated, corpse-like figure. It has blood dripping from its teeth, smiling. It doesn’t have eyes, at least not visible ones. Just empty sockets and sunken undereye bags. “I- i’ll cut off your head!!” Inosuke yelps, though the cracks in his voice suggest he’s absolutely terrified. The creature turns its head towards him. It shrinks down again, body crunching and grinding. It’s still the same creature, just smaller. It cracks and scratches as it limps past him out of the room, lifting a hand to his cheek. He doesn’t move, just staring in horror as blood drips down the claw mark on his face. Hours seem to pass after it’s gone as Inosuke just stands in the doorway, sobbing. “Inosuke. Come here. Please. Let me just hold you.” Zenitsu whispers, reaching out to him. Inosuke swallows hard, nodding. He gingerly steps over, wobbling slightly. He slips under the blanket, tucking his head under Zenitsu’s chin.