demon Slayer oneshots (Mainly Muitan)

not another story about love (yuizen)

Angst with a somewhat happy ending also the twins are like 5'10 because I can

(Zenitsu's POV)

"Give me my phone back, Yuichiro!" I screeched, flailing my arms like a maniac as Yuichiro dangled my phone above my head. I wasn’t that short—okay, fine, I was short compared to the towering 5'10 twins. But this was just unfair! "Come on, crybaby, jump for it!" Yuichiro taunted, his smirk widening as I made a pathetic grab for it. "You can do it! Reach for the stars!"

"Over here!" Muichiro's voice chimed from behind me, and before I could even process what was happening, my phone sailed over my head like some twisted game of monkey-in-the-middle.

"Stop it, Yuichiro! Give him his phone back!" Tanjirou's voice rang out, his tone firm but with that same warmth he always had. Of course, he had to swoop in to save the day like some kind of hero. Inosuke stood beside him, looking more confused than anything, probably wondering why I wasn’t punching Yuichiro in the face.

"Ta-Tanjirou!" Muichiro stammered, his face flushing a deep red. He was so obvious. It was painful to watch him try to act cool whenever Tanjirou was around, and yet somehow, Tanjirou remained oblivious. I mean, come on—how do you not notice that your mere presence turns someone into a tomato?!

"Stay out of this, redhead," Yuichiro snapped, though his attention was still mostly on me. He had this annoying way of acting like I was his favorite target at the carnival, but—ugh—I guess I didn’t totally mind. Not that I’d admit it.

"H-here you go," Muichiro muttered as he handed my phone back, clearly trying to look like the good guy in front of Tanjirou. I snatched it and glared at him, but my glare quickly shifted to Yuichiro, who was now shooting daggers at his twin.

"Muichiro, why would you do that?!" Yuichiro barked, stomping toward his brother.

"Because you’re being mean, and Tanjirou wouldn’t like that!" Muichiro shot back, puffing up his chest like a tiny, righteous puffball. It was kind of cute, really—though still annoying because I had been the one suffering while they had their little sibling drama.

"Yuichiro, you need to stop picking on Zenitsu," Tanjirou added, his voice stern. Yuichiro froze for a second, his expression unreadable, before crossing his arms and glaring at me like it was my fault.

"Fine," Yuichiro muttered. He turned back to me, his smirk returning, though now it felt more... playful? "Next time, maybe don’t leave your phone out where I can grab it, crybaby."

I groaned, clutching my phone to my chest. "You’re the worst! And why do you always have to call me crybaby?! I’m not a crybaby—I just... I have strong emotions!"

Yuichiro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." He nudged my shoulder as he walked past me, and I swore I saw the faintest hint of a smirk that wasn’t completely mean. My cheeks burned, and I quickly turned away before anyone could notice.

---

Later, as we all sat under the cherry blossom trees, I found myself next to Yuichiro. Of course, he had to sit close enough that our shoulders brushed occasionally. I tried to focus on my phone, but my screen was blurry because—ugh—okay, maybe I was still tearing up a little from earlier. Stupid Yuichiro and his stupid antics.

"Are you seriously crying?" Yuichiro muttered, leaning closer. His voice was quieter now, almost... gentle?

"I-I’m not crying!" I sniffled, wiping at my eyes quickly. "You’re just a jerk, and I hate you."

"You don’t hate me," he said matter-of-factly, and I wanted to scream because he was right, but also how dare he know that?!

"You’re insufferable," I grumbled, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"Yeah, well, you’re pathetic," he shot back, but there was no venom in his voice. If anything, it sounded almost... fond? "But, uh... here." He reached into his pocket and handed me a small, slightly crumpled packet of tissues. "For your 'strong emotions.'"

I stared at him, my brain short-circuiting. "Are you... being nice to me?"

"Don’t get used to it," he huffed, looking away. But I caught the faintest hint of pink on his cheeks, and for some reason, it made my chest feel lighter.

"Thanks," I mumbled, dabbing at my eyes with the tissue.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, but his shoulder bumped against mine again—this time, not accidentally.

For once, I didn’t pull away.