キミノカオリ ー Moonlight, Wisteria Petals, and Thunderclap

How Suddenly a Danger Damages Us

-Zenitsu's POV-

How are you standing? I ask,

faltering, my knees wobbly and I get

tipsy from all the blood I lost

and you smile slightly, saying

"To protect you, of course."

I opened my eyes. It was morning. The blinding sunlight spilled onto the green futon I was sleeping in, and I felt a familiar warmth at my hand's reach. Contacting my fingers was Tanjirou's pink cheeks, soft and round to the touch. I smiled.

I straightened my upper body, sitting up. Inosuke and Tanjirou were still sleeping—yet they were still breathing in their best way, executing their Total Concentration breathing technique relentlessly—and Nezuko chan's box was sitting at a corner of the room where sunlight failed to penetrate, its door tightly shut.

"Oh yeah, we survived the last fight...I'm relieved."

Hearing my voice, Tanjirou flinched his hand. Next second, he opened his eyes half-way, looking over to me.

"Zenitsu...? Are you awake?"

"Ah, sorry, Tanjirou. You can go back to sleep...."

"No, it's fine. I was actually going to wake up, too. I wanna go on a walk."

"A walk?"

"To recover my legs."

Saying so, Tanjirou stood and reached out his hand toward me.

"Will you join me?"

The house with a Wisteria crest that we were staying was right at the edge of a flat ground and the bottom of a mountain. Tanjirou and I headed to the entrance of the forest, and walked a bit into the morning shrubs. There was a misty fog flowing gently through the void between our feet, and we walked silently. Soon, Tanjirou turned to me.

"Zenitsu. I've been thinking recently about how grateful I am to have you and Inosuke beside me."

"Huh...?"

"I wanted to say properly, thank you. Thank you so much for being with me in this fight."

"Wh, where'd that come from so suddenly...! I...."

I looked at Tanjirou's pretty red eyes. Ah, they're just like beautiful rubies. And for them to gaze at me so intently, and so kindly...

"I...have to thank you, too. I would've already died if it weren't for Tanjirou...."

"Haha. Zenitsu's strong, so that's definitely not the case."

Yes. That day, as we were having an amicable conversation, our friendship was strengthened and the morning sun shone softly upon us, and as the fog cleared up and mist went up to the sky, we were showered in pure light.

Everything was supposed to stay that way—peaceful, delightful.

In our next battle together, a menacing demon who used a dangerous Blood Demon Arts technique penetrated through our battle strategy, and landed a heavy blow on me. And to stop my movements, he cut off my legs. Yes, both my legs were flown afar, and I instantly opened my eyes from sleep at the impossible pain. I screeched, overwhelmed in such extreme confusion and piercing pain, as Tanjirou and Inosuke cut off the demon's neck instantly. My blood kept spilling in large clumps, and I soon lost consciousness.