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

Kind Hands

-Zenitsu's POV-

"Zenitsu, breathe, breathe...."

I opened my eyes half-way, hearing Tanjirou calling me softly. It was just for a briefest moment but I felt happy to hear his tear-inducingly kind voice. But then, a flooding, piercing pain inundated my whole body, being most sharp at the end of my two legs.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

"Zenitsu!"

I think there was a surgery. Tanjirou was there, on the other side of the white cloth that shielded his sight, holding my hands tight. As the bloodspill was stopped, I bit on a yet another thick white cloth to stop screaming, divert my attention to Tanjirou's warm, reassuring hands. The sensation of his hard skin forged by years of intense training.

I lost consciousness again before waking up in a more peaceful room. The birds were chirping, the sunlight was again spilling onto my familiar green futon. I forgot to breathe for a moment, and then started gasping busily as if I was underwater and was just rescued to a seashore. I looked down at my legs. Below my knees...I didn't see anything.

"Kyaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

A quick succession of the sound of footsteps resounded across the hall.

"Z, Zenitsu, you're awake?!"

"Tan~ji~rou~~, my legs are gooooneeeee!!"

I was bawling so hard as I clung on to Tanjirou's purple yukata that he tried to uncling me. He took my hands into his and strengthened his grip, just enough to not hurt, and said:

"Zenitsu, calm down. You'll be okay."

"How is this okay~~I'm not gonna be able to walk ever again~~I'm done for, retiring Demon Slayer corps~~...is that a good thing?"

"No! Listen, Zenitsu. We're working with the Swordsmiths to locate a good prosthetist. And that person is going to help you, definitely! No doubt!"

"Oh, okayyy...."

I sniffed as I stopped crying temporarily. Kind Tanjirou wiped my tears with the sleeve of his yukata, and smiled. That smile seemed to communicate to me that everything would be okay from now on, even though I had faced such a huge problem, a gigantic roadblock for my career as a swordsman. After all, I did not even know if I would be able to continue being on the same journey as Tanjirou and Inosuke...