Let Me Down Slowly (Kamado Tanjirou x Agatsuma Zenitsu from Demon Slayer)

Part 3: This Is Home

The sky turned an orange hue after the clouds have parted. The sound of drizzle was no more but neither is the chirping of birds. It was getting darker, and the room was only lit by a couple of dim candles.

In the middle of the room lay two boys. The two were sleeping soundly, the blonde's hair entangled in the other's hand.

Tanjirou was the first to wake up. The first thing his eyes saw was the sleeping face of Zenitsu. He smiled, and lightly stroked the ends of the blonde's yellow hair. Zenitsu didn't move and eventually, Tanjirou got bored of doing nothing. He sat down on his knees and stretched his arms out while yawning. His shifting movements seemed to wake the other since Zenitsu also woke up to sit beside him a few moments later.

The two sat next to each other, staring at nothing in particular. "Morning," Tanjirou said, his voice still sounding drowsy.

"...Morning," Zenitsu replied, he rubbed his eyes and yawned, his sharp teeth clearly visible. He looked out the window then turned his face to Tanjirou, his eyes half-open.

Tanjirou chuckled, causing Zenitsu to cock his head confusingly. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing funny," He said, still laughing. "Other than the fact that it's clearly not morning."

Zenitsu snorted and slightly nudged Tanjirou. "That's a stupid thing to laugh about," He muttered under his breath, smiling. He rested his head onto the raven-haired boy's shoulders. Strands of yellow hair dangled in Zenitsu's face. It tickled him, so he tried blowing them away. The sight of it made Tanjirou laugh. Zenitsu snickered before slowly closing his eyes.

"Zenitsu?"

"Hmm," He lazily answered.

"Are you... okay?"

"Mmm."

"....Zenitsu?"

"I'm feeling a bit sleepy right now, sorry."

Tanjirou smiled at him softly, even knowing that Zenitsu didn't see it. "Alright, get some rest."

"Right," He said dimly. His mind was starting to scatter and before they knew it, Zenitsu's light snore echoed through the room

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"Pig assault! Pig assault!" A deep and deafening voice rang across the hallway, followed by heavy, yet fast, footsteps. Inosuke was running across the hall shouting his signature catchphrase before a similarly loud voice yelled at him to stop. He glanced behind his shoulder to see a pig-tailed girl, face red with anger.

"You...! Didn't I tell you to be quiet?!" She questioned.

"Yeah, a million times." Inosuke rolled his eyes, Aoi did the same thing. Both of them were pretty sick of the other. Inosuke groaned in annoyance. "Gimme a break, I'm training right now. Unlike some people!"

"Wha- Are you implying I never train?"

"Duh."

"Ugh! Unbelievable!" Aoi stomped her foot and crossed her arms in anger. "First of all, I do train. Second of all, just because I'm not fighting doesn't mean I'm not practicing something."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes! Even now I'm training just like you, but in silence."

"Right," Inosuke said, raising an eyebrow even though the action was concealed by his boar mask.

"Uh-huh. I'm practicing patience just by talking to you. Isn't that amazing?"

The way Aoi phrased that sentence and the self-confident smirk she gave made Inosuke pop a vein. "Oh, now you've done it-"

"Ah, you two," Their brief fight was interrupted by Tanjirou who was walking down the hallway with Nezuko's box on his back. His face was ever so innocent, like he had no clue a rumble was about to transpire. "What are you guys doing up so late?"

"We-"

"I was going to visit Zenitsu," Inosuke cut Aoi's sentence off, annoying her. "Before somebody stopped me."

"Wha?! You didn't tell me you were visiting Zenitsu!" She shouted, fuming.

"Oh my god!" Inosuke shouted in fake shock. "I am so sorry about that! I didn't realize I have to tell you everything."

"What- Why you- Of all the people in the world- You are such a dic-"

"Alright, alright you two," Tanjirou stopped her in the middle of her sentence, making her glare daggers at him. He placed himself between the two to stop any further aggression. "Speaking of! Inosuke, I think Zenitsu's sleeping right now, so you'll have to wait 'till morning."

"Morning?! That's like, two hours!"

"Not even close," Aoi scoffed.

Inosuke ignored the girl's response and resumed the conversation. "What am I supposed to do now?!"

He crossed his arms and gazed around, then to the floor, before noticing something amiss with Tanjirou. "What's with the box?"

He blinked, then he realized that Inosuke was referring to the box on his back. "Nezuko's in here."

Inosuke rolled his eyes. "I know that. I was asking why you're carrying it around."

"Oh, I was on my way to Zenitsu's room," Tanjirou beamed. "Maybe he gets a little lonely without a demon friend so I'm gonna drop Nezuko there and go back to my room to sleep."

"I thought you said Zenitsu was asleep?" Aoi asked.

"Yep, so is Nezuko. I mean, maybe he needs a little sleeping buddy?"

"Sleeping buddy?" Inosuke scoffed at the idea, then proceeded to laugh a bit too hysterically. "Pretty sure if you left her there he won't just get a sleeping buddy if you know what I mea-"

Tanjirou punched Inosuke in the stomach before he could finish his sentence, making him tumble to the floor. He was looking down but Aoi knew his face was full of rage. She giggled nervously before she spoke up. "Well, uh, I'm gonna go now."

"Ah, I was just about to say the same thing!" Tanjirou announced, his lips curled into a (forceful) smile. "Time to go, see you later Aoi and Inosuke!"

Aoi waved Tanjirou off until he disappeared into the distance. She was still standing in the same spot, unmoving. She stared as Inosuke slowly rose up. A groan spilling out from his mouth. "That fucking hurt," He said, his voice low.

She wanted to laugh, but decided not to and helped carry him to the infirmary instead.

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author's note :
yes, this is filler. yes, i'm running out of ideas. yes, i kinda forced this chapter to come out a bit sooner. no, i'm not stopping here.

unrelated question but do u think i should put some art in this fic? obv i would use my own art so it would fit the narrative but let me know what yall think