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

Part 17: Human Errors

It was at the break of twilight. The sun hid from the world and birds' chirps were no longer echoing through the air. In front of a large mansion, five figures stood.

Tanjirou and Zenitsu thanked both Yushiro and Tamayo for their kindness. They bowed sincerely, Tanjirou pushed Nezuko's head down to a lighter one. Nezuko walked over to Yushiro and patted his head before Tanjirou could pull her away, Yushiro's face red with anger and embarrassment. Tanjirou opened his box and his little sister proceeded to walk inside, yawning while doing so. He shut the door close and muttered "Good night..." at the girl.

Tamayo smiled seeing the sight, but took the time to sneakily hand Zenitsu a pouch. Zenitsu stared at it curiously before accepting. Tamayo didn't clarify what it was, but Zenitsu knew it was a pile of blood.

Tanjirou smiled and hugged Yushiro, the latter trying to pull away desperately to no avail. The demon slayer's body had too much muscle. Finally, Tanjirou released Yushiro and the white-haired boy dramatically pushed him away. The raven-haired boy did the same gesture to Tamayo, but this time the recipient answered with another hug back.

Yushiro glared at Zenitsu, daring him to embrace Yushiro. Zenitsu awkwardly chuckled and pat his shoulders instead, to Yushiro's relief. Zenitsu bowed again to Tamayo. While his head was down, Tamayo ruffled Zenitsu's hair, causing the blonde to laugh at how ticklish it felt. The other two stared with envy.

After everyone was done saying their goodbyes, the two demon slayers turned their backs and left. Yushiro went back inside the building after he's seen them walk away. Tamayo continued watching their backs until it could no longer be seen on the horizon.

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It was a dull forest, the pine trees gently shook at the push of the winds and there were no animals in sight. The ground was covered in snow and for every step Tanjirou made, a footstep appeared to mark his arrival.

Three days have passed since they left Tamayo's residence. The snow has stopped falling and started melting, Tanjirou noticed. Though the day got darker, Zenitsu was still holed up in the box.

"Zenitsu, what was your teacher like?" Tanjirou asked, his feet still walking.

Zenitsu answered from the box, "He was the nicest person alive! And he makes good food."

Tanjirou chuckled. "Oh really? How nice is he?"

"If I can give him a rating it'd be a 9.8/10. I subtracted some points 'cause he's so strict!"

"Oh, same for me! My teacher, Urokodaki can be a real pain sometimes but..." Tanjirou recalled all the memories he had of his beloved teacher. "I never regretted training under him."

Zenitsu sighed dramatically. "I guess it's a must for teachers to be harsh on us, huh?"

"People say that our elders are hard on us because they love us," Tanjirou said with a smile. "I bet he loves you lots, Zenitsu."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "That's a dumb phrase. Why do people have to be mean to show love?? That's stupid! We should just burn that saying."

"Calm down, it's just a phrase," Tanjirou laughed. "What was your teacher's name, again?"

"Jigoro Kuwajima," Zenitsu answered. "But I just call him gramps."

"Is that so?" Tanjirou felt his stomach grumbling.

"You hungry?" Zenitsu asked.

"Yeah. I wonder what Kuwajima will cook for us."

"I dunno," Zenitsu said. "Hey, can you stop for a bit? I'd like to walk."