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

Bloodlust, and A Breach

 When Tanjirou suddenly assumed the battle stance, I was so surprised that I almost fell backwards. Even though Tanjirou supported me and didn't let me fall, I was quite surprised at the events that took place afterwards.

"Ta, Tanjirou! Is it the demons?!"

"Yes! I sense a strong bloodlust. And most importantly, I smell blood!"

"What?! Should we call Inosuke?"

"Yes! And most likely, Shinobu-san too! This demon seems quite strong!!"

"Okay!"

I turned my wheelchair around abruptly that the wheels caught on a boulder. I sensed my body lurching forward to the ground, and saw a demon approaching me with a sharp claw in a blink of an eye. Ah, I forgot that I was immobile right now! Damn it, I have to dodge...!

Before I could do anything, Tanjirou was slicing the demon's neck, and gushing blood poured out onto the ground. The blood splattered on my cheek, and it felt hideously warm.

"Ahhhh!!!" I was so shocked that I screeched out loud as I hit the ground face-down. Tanjirou looked at me and held his hand out, and I took his hand with a shaking limb. My whole body was shaking; I was not used to this.

"Zenitsu. Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. Thanks...."

"No problem. Could you board the wheelchair again? Let's get back to the mansion now and notify Shinobu-san. The demons could be more dangerous than we imagine them to be, since we never know what battle techniques they're hiding."

I nodded, and climbed back on my wheelchair. For some reason, the shaking didn't stop immediately. Tanjirou also noticed that, and squeezed my hand. I felt my mind becoming more calm at his touch.

Once we got to the mansion, Shinobu-san was already waiting for us. Her flowing Hashira uniform fluttering in night wind, she silently drew her sword.

"Tanjirou-kun, Zenitsu-kun. I've sensed the demons. Thank you for trying to inform me."

"Ah, Shinobu-san!"

"Since Zenitsu-kun's hurt, you can stay at this mansion. The demons won't be able to come into this area because of wisteria trees. I will go and take care of them."

"Ah, Shinobu-san, wait...!" Tanjirou tried to stop her, but she disappeared in a fraction of a second like an invisible hurricane.

"I have to help her! Zenitsu, you should be safe here. I'll be back after the fight is over—I have to protect everyone from the demons!"

Tanjirou also vanished in a second, and I was left in the moonlit garden all alone. I clenched my fist so hard that my blood vessels might have popped out, but I felt so powerless. Powerless to the point that I wanted to go hide in a hole, conceal my face from the world with my own palms.

What if Tanjirou dies? Then who would I blame but myself, for not being there to protect him? Stupid, stupid injury. Stupid battle loss—this sucks, it all sucks, not having my legs sucks. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't even do that because of the boiling anger at the depths of my heart. It was like someone had placed a giant rock on top of my heart, to stop me from feeling sadness.

"Stupid...." I muttered quietly before suffering a hard blow at my head from behind.

"You moroooonnn!!!!"

"?! Inosuke?!" I grabbed my head and turned back swiftly. I felt my head going numb because of the pain. "That hurt!!! What's your deal?!"

"You stupid, you can help Tanjirou!"

"What do you mean?! Can't you see, I can't fight! I KNOW I'm stupid! I can't do a thing right!" I screeched. Inosuke flinched and stepped backwards—Even he seemed surprised at the loudness of my voice.

"What...."

"Yes, I lost my legs! I won't be able to run again soon, maybe never! I was originally stupid and couldn't do a thing correctly, so what am I supposed to do now? Now that my body's worse than ever?!"

"Zenitsu—."

"I don't know! I don't know! I hate myself. I'm better off dead—."

At that moment, I suffered a second hard blow aimed directly at the back of my head. The world spun around once before my face landed on the dirt-covered ground. I couldn't see what just happened, but I heard Tanjirou's enraged voice.

"Zenitsu! You'll never say such a thing in front of me again, ever!!! If you do, we're over! Our relationship, friendship, everything!"

"Ta...njirou? You're safe...Thank God."

"We just returned! The demon ended up being not that strong. I wanted to check on you and Inosuke, but I didn't know you'd be here spatting such horrible words to yourself!"

I was quite surprised that Tanjirou could make such a scary face—and that he would direct that expression to me. I just sat on the ground staring at his face, observing his seething uneven breath (this was quite unusual, since he performed Total Concentration breathing technique all day and night nowadays) and his reddened cheeks. It was as if they were inflamed by rage. After a while, Tanjirou turned his back and walked away without even saying a good night. I just sat there for some more time before eventually getting back to my room and penetrating into my green futon to desperately forget things that happened today with Tanjirou.