Half-Demon! Tanjiro AU

Chapter 11: Old Scars

Warnings: A panic attack and some angst

Word Count: 6260

  Zenitsu walked through the halls of the Infinity Castle with a fast paced heart. His walking speed was rather quick and he tried to avoid even the sight of the Kizuki. Matsuemon flew above him, seemingly careless of the demons around him. "Run, Zenitsu!" He cawed. "Lord Tanjiro wants to speak with you!"
  "I know that!" Zenitsu snapped. "I'm going as fast as I can! Without looking weird of course." Matsuemon laughed. "Then why are you taking the long way? It would've been much more efficient if you went through the main lobby! Caw!" Zenitsu shook his head. "You wouldn't want to be in there with all those hungry demons, would you?"
  Matsuemon flew closer to Zenitsu's head. "They don't bite! Lord Tanjiro prohibits it!" Zenitsu sighed in annoyance. "Who knows if they're faking or not.." Matsuemon tilted his head. "It seems like you have some animosity towards them! Why is that?" Zenitsu looked down towards the ground.
  There was a plethora of reasons why Zenitsu never told Tanjiro about Kaigaku. He knew that his ashes were floating around here somewhere, but he hoped that Tanjiro never found them. In all honesty, he had no idea if redemption was possible for the demons. He still remained supportive in spite of this, yet he still urged Tanjiro to be cautious. Nearly loosing him once tore Zenitsu's heart out and he didn't want to truly lose him.
  Despite all the anger he had for Kaigaku and the demon species as a whole, he still longed for the connection he could've had with him. Zenitsu wanted to trust in Tanjiro's ability to persuade. There were so many conflicting feelings that created such confusing turmoil. If redemption was truly possible, then maybe..
  "Caw! Giving me the silent treatment, huh?" Matsuemon cawed, snapping Zenitsu back into reality. "Whatever! I'm a crow, not a therapist! Caw!" Zenitsu only rolled his eyes at the crow's statement. He then skidded to a stop in front of a sliding door. "He's here. His gentle sound is here." He said with a soft, admiring voice.
  Matsuemon laughed. "You sound like you're in love!" Zenitsu's face immediately turned as red as a tomato. "I'm not in love with him! You don't know what you're talking about!" The crow only made a "Mhm" sound and flew through the room as Zenitsu opened the door.
  Tanjiro sat in the middle of his newfound office with Nezuko by his side. A small desk stood against the right wall while a rocking chair was sitting near the left. A small, open bookshelf was set up behind the two. Warm light radiated from two lanterns that hung from the side walls. A journal laid open in front of Tanjiro, who held a quill in his hand.
  "Hey, Zenitsu." Tanjiro said with a bright smile. Zenitsu couldn't help but return it. "Hi, Tanjiro." He sat in front of the new Demon King. "Why did you call me here?" Matsuemon flew past him and sat atop Tanjiro's shoulder-receiving an annoyed look from Zenitsu. "Just to talk, really." Tanjiro sighed. "A lot has happened recently.."
  Zenitsu nodded in agreement. "Are you okay?" He asked with a soft voice. Tanjiro's sound was off pace. The breakdown Tanjiro had after he killed Ran'yō seemed like it ripped open some old wounds. His sound reflected that. Strifles's situation just seemed to hit Tanjiro in an extremely sensitive spot. Zenitsu had an idea of why, but he didn't dare to bring up that old scar.
  Despite this, Tanjiro replied with a warm smile. "I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me. I'm more worried about Inosuke and Strifles. Speaking of which, how is he doing?" Zenitsu huffed irritably. "Despite him having broken ribs, the stupid boar was running around when I visited the Butterfly Estate. Poor Aoi was chasing after him, saying that he absolutely refused to rest." Tanjiro chuckled lightly. "I'm glad to see that he's still being his rambunctious self." Zenitsu rolled his eyes. "I guess you could say that."
  "Have you been able to learn anything about that ram?" Zenitsu asked, changing the subject. "Unfortunately, no. Nobody knows anything about him. Douma told me that this ram knew Muzan and he was supposedly as strong as Kokushibo. I'm not sure if that's exactly true though. Their Blood Demons Arts have been severed in half by becoming a half-demon. Still, that ram nearly killed Douma and Inosuke with ease."
  A shiver crawled down Zenitsu's spine. This ram was clearly dangerous and the lack of information about him only made Jackyll that much more terrifying. "Hey, brother." Nezuko spoke up with a soft voice, turning Tanjiro's attention to her with a soft rumble. "I spoke with Strifles to try to help him and he did give me some information about Jackyll."
  "Really?" Zenitsu asked, widening his eyes. "What did he say?" Nezuko held onto her brother's arm. "He told me that Jackyll sought them out because both he and his brother were half Humanoids. Strifles doesn't know exactly what that means, but he made it clear that they were rare. He also said that at the end of every month, Jackyll would give Ran'yō a dead jaguar for.." Nezuko put a hand over her mouth. "For Strifles's flesh."
  Tanjiro winced from disgust and anger while Zenitsu closed his eyes and turned away with a furrowed brow. "That's just disgusting." The blonde said, gagging. "That poor kid is just a baby! Who knows what hell that ram put him through." Zenitsu's words cut into Tanjiro's heart like a knife. He gritted his teeth and growled. "We need to find out more about him..to stop him from causing anymore harm."
  "But how?" Nezuko looked at him with worried eyes. "I even asked Mister Kokushibo if he knew anything, but he said that he had no clue." Tanjiro nodded. "Yes, but I do believe that there might be one other demon that might know." Nezuko's eyes widened and nodded. "Tamayo."
  "Who's that?" Zenitsu asked, raising an eyebrow. "She's the one who created the medicine that helped us defeat Muzan and the medicine that attempted to turn demons into humans, alongside Miss Kocho of course." Tanjiro explained. "As of now, She's the oldest person alive. If anyone is going to know who these Humanoids are, it's her."
  Zenitsu closed his eyes and nodded. "Alright, but I'm going with you." Tanjiro gave him a warm smile. "I wouldn't mind that at all." Zenitsu's heart fluttered when he saw Tanjiro's smile. "So umm.." He stuttered, face turning red. "I guess we should go, huh?" He grinned. Tanjiro nodded and both he and Nezuko stood up. "Yeah. Let's get Strifles. It would probably make more sense if we brought him with us."
  Zenitsu nearly jumped to his feet and walked right next to Tanjiro. "Of course!" Nezuko giggled to herself as she watched the boys before following them. Matsuemon flew over to her and landed on her shoulder with a laugh.