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Inosuke had always known Zenitsu was sad. They displayed this sadness constantly, always crying and wailing. He’d always figured they had some dark shit buried deep inside them. They had even said that, sometimes, they wanted to hang themself. But he didn’t expect to find them holding their own sword to their own throat, completely prepared to slit it at any second.
“Zeni? We gotta go to training today! Where are you?” Inosuke calls, picking up his pace. His small feet patter against the floor, sending small vibrations through the wood. “Oi! No running in the halls!” Aoi shouts, pointing her finger at Inosuke. He apologises, grinning timidly. He softly jogs down the hall, yelling out for Zenitsu every minute or so. “Zeni, where are you? We need to train and get strong to protect Hana from Tanjiro if he ever finds us!!” The house isn’t big enough for Zenitsu to not be hearing him, especially with their advanced hearing. Hell, they can probably hear his pattering footsteps. “ZENI!! I know you can hear me!! Come out, we gotta train!!” he yells, stopping outside their door. He raps on the wood a few times, hoping they’re just asleep and didn’t hear him. The knock would have woken them up if they were asleep, but they’re still silent. He places a hand on the doorknob. “Zeni..?” he murmurs, voice fearful and wavering. He gently pushes open the door. There’s blood on the ground, still wet. “Zeni?” Inosuke can barely speak. “Get out. Go away.” Zenitsu rasps, tears streaming down their cheeks. But Inosuke won’t. He can’t, not when Zenitsu is sitting on the floor, wrists soaking everything with blood, sword to their throat. He steps forward, gingerly, timidly, like a rabbit after escaping a fox. “Don’t. If you take one more step, I'm doing it.” Zenitsu whispers, voice cracking hard. Inosuke stares at them, freezing like a deer in headlights. “Zeni.. Zeni please no.. I love you.. I love you, please..” he whispers, tearing up as he reaches out with one hand. Zenitsu looks away, lip quivering. “I know you do. And I'm so sorry for doing this.” they start dragging the sword across their neck. The sword flies out of their hand as Inosuke knocks them over, pinning them to the ground. “No!! No, you can’t!! If- if you go, I'm going with you!! And then Hana will be all alone!! You don’t want her to be alone, I know you don’t!!” he sobs, tears dripping off his face onto Zenitsu’s chest. He looks so small and vulnerable. So tiny and sad. Like he’s just a little kid. “Please, Zeni. I love you.” Zenitsu lifts their hands to Inosuke’s face, cupping his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I.. I'm so sorry for scaring you like that.. It’s all my fault.. Everything is my fault..” they whisper, pressing the smaller person’s forehead to theirs. “Everything that’s ever happened to me was my fault.. My fault for changing my uniform, the skirt was too short.. My fault for following Iguro into the forest.. My fault for not running away..” Their voice grows smaller with every syllable. Inosuke’s tears are starting to hurt his eyes now. “No! No, that was never your fault, you’re an innocent victim and he’s just a disgusting creep!! You did nothing wrong!” he sobs, tears blurring his vision. “I was basically begging for it.. My skirt was too high up on my thighs..” Zenitsu laughs, a broken, pained little thing of a sound. Inosuke’s fingers tighten in their shirt, tugging them forward to meet his eyes. He looks like a tiny child who was just told their grandparents were dead. Absolutely terrified, whimpering and breathing heavily. He doesn’t say a word, just leans in and kisses Zenitsu. The two stay completely still and silent, just sitting with their lips pressed together for minutes. When they finally part, Inosuke’s tears have dried up, and the bloody incisions on Zenitsu’s wrists have started to coagulate. “We- we should get you to Aoi, she’ll disinfect your wounds and stuff..” Inosuke mumbles, linking his fingers with Zenitsu’s. They nod, eyes downcast and watery. The two of them walk together, leaning on each other as they go. “Please never do that again..” Inosuke whispers, pressing a soft kiss to Zenitsu’s jaw. They sigh, tilting their head back. “I.. I won't. At least, I'll try not to.” their voice is soft, barely audible over the rushing wind outside. “You won’t just try. You just won’t, full stop.” Inosuke squeezes their hand as he says it, gazing up at them. They nod, closing their eyes and stopping for a second. “I need to just breathe for a second..” their body is heavy, leaning against Inosuke as their legs turn to jelly. He leans down, hooking his arm under their legs. He scoops them up close to his chest, tucking their head under his chin. “Oh! W- wow Inosuke, you’re so strong..” Zenitsu murmurs, pressing a kiss to the boy’s neck. He laughs, blushing slightly. “Aw.. I’m not that strong, you’re just light..” His voice is small and timid, a tiny rasp rolling through in the soft whisper. Zenitsu presses their nose into his neck, breath warm on his husband’s collarbone. “Zeni, that tickles..” he murmurs, pressing their nose with his finger. “But your skin is so soft.. I love it.. I want to feel it..” they whisper, nuzzling in. Inosuke smiles, face flushing a deeper pink. He laughs, soft and gravelly. “Fine, you can.. But only ‘cause you’re cute..” he patters down the hall, Zenitsu bouncing in his arms. The pair are almost to where they want to be when a shrill scream echoes through the entire house, followed by loud sobbing and something hitting the floor. Inosuke freezes in his tracks, breath hitching. Zenitsu covers their ears, preparing for another scream. “What was that..” Inosuke breathes, eyes wide. He steps forward cautiously, stopping just outside where the scream came from. He gingerly pushes on the door, wincing slightly as it creaks. Nezuko and Kanao are crowded around Aoi on the ground, gently shushing her and petting her hair as she cries. She looks terrified. Just like Zenitsu did after what happened with Obanai. Zenitsu slips out of Inosuke’s arms, crouching down next to the girls on the floor. “What happened?” they whisper, gently taking Aoi’s hand. She can hardly speak, sobbing so hard she’s barely breathing. “I- i was gathering fi- firewood and- and someone grabbed me from- from behind and- and they- and they pinned me to a tree and- and then-” she breaks off, voice transforming into a soft wail. “Who were ‘they’? What did they look like?” Kanao whispers, placing her hands on Aoi’s shoulders. Aoi pulls her knees up to her chest, voice breaking into tiny whimpering sobs. “I don’t- i don’t want to say who-” she glances at Zenitsu, fresh tears welling up. “I don’t want to cause them too much pain.” she whispers, curling up into a tiny ball. That’s a clue. A huge clue. Zenitsu covers their mouth, eyes going wide. “Oh god. Him? I- I thought he- he was jailed for it..” they rasp, hands shaking against their face. “He- he was, i was there! I- i watched as they took him away, i..” they shake their head, breath hitching. “He must have escaped. I’m gonna go into the forest and fucking murder him.” Inosuke growls, fists balling up beside him. He’s out the door before anyone can stop him. Zenitsu pushes themself upwards, rushing after him. “Inosuke NO!” they shout, slamming the door behind them. Their feet are quieter than Inosuke’s. Probably because they’re much lighter. “INOSUKE! Please! No, don’t! Please! You’ll get hurt!” they’re too late. He’s already disappeared into the forest. And the person who hurt Aoi is in that forest. And Zenitsu knows what’s going to happen.