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

Cracked Heart Steeped in Nightmares

"Zen...itsu...?" Tanjirou whispered.

It was like time had stopped. In that moment of reunion, Tanjirou's everything—every cell in his body, every thought occurring in his brain—stopped working, slow-motioned the outer world in order to focus on one and only thing. Zenitsu. Right now, he was in front of Tanjirou again. The snowflakes, the hideous cold, nothing mattered—the physical sensation gave way to the emotional flame of Tanjirou, and he stood.

"Zenitsu...!"

"Tanjirou! Are you okay? You're not hurt?"

Saying so, Zenitsu performed the Sixfold of Thunder Breathing Technique, Form One. The demon's infinite arms were all slashed away in a flash—and his neck, too—and Zenitsu gracefully put his sword back in its sheath.

"Is it really you? Zenitsu...."

"Let's get away from this place first. We'll be crushed by cold, you know." Zenitsu said quite coldly, and Tanjirou nodded. Was it Tanjirou's imagination, or...did Zenitsu's personality change a little?

***

Tanjirou had dreamt of this moment for so long. Every night, Zenitsu would come visit Tanjirou in his dreams—waving his hand, sometimes crying like his usual self—and Tanjirou would totally think it was a reality. He was disappointed so many times in the morning, waking up with tears.

But now, this was not how Tanjirou had imagined Zenitsu to be when they met again. With an indifferent expression and a pair of eyes that did not reflect a fragment of emotion, looking into a distant place near the horizon while quietly sipping tea.

"How...have you been?" Tanjirou asked, a sweat travelling down his cheek. Why was Tanjirou nervous? It's only been three months, and last time they saw each other, they were in really good terms. At least Tanjirou thought that was the case.

"I've been good. Training." Zenitsu replied shortly.

"Yeah, it seemed like you've gotten way stronger and faster than before. Great job." Tanjirou turned his eyes sideways, looking away from Zenitsu. "By the way...I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit you once back in the butterfly mansion. I've had so many missions from Oyakata-sama, so I've been travelling all over Japan non-stop."

"No, I figured. No need to worry."

"Your hair...has grown a bit, hasen't it?"

"Yes."

Zenitsu's hair, now long and tied up cleanly in a ponytail, flowed gracefully and travelled down his shoulders. It seemed to hold a certain shimmering quality to it, the golden yellow of his hair appearing more brilliant than Tanjirou remembered it to be.

His expression, though. He never even smiled once, ever since they came across each other in the snowy battlefield. It was like three months of time had frozen up his smile.

"Hey, Zenitsu." Tanjirou opened his lips again hesitantly.

"What's up?"

"Did something...happen to you while I was gone?"

"Not really."

"Ah, I see."

Another silence occupied the air between them. This one, more heavy than before, squeezed Tanjirou's heart in a way that was painful. He glanced at Zenitsu. His arm muscles seemed tighter than before, and he could see some faded scars on his chest. He probably did go through a lot, Tanjirou hypothesized, but Zenitsu won't tell him anything—he just kept his slightly red lips shut tight.

***

The night fell in the mansion they were all staying. Inosuke and Tanjirou used the same room, but Zenitsu used a different room. While asleep, Zenitsu sweated profusely—he grunted as if in pain, and flipped his body left and right.

"Ugh...."

In his dream, Zenitsu saw it again. That horrifying dream of his. A dream that, due to Zenitsu's inability to stand, Tanjirou's legs are being sliced by Muzan. Zenitsu saw Tanjirou screaming and crying in pain, yet biting his lips so hard that they bled in order to stand back up again. Zenitsu gritted his teeth, reached out his hand toward Tanjirou, but it never reached him. All he could do was just helplessly watch Tanjirou's body being sliced to pieces by the most horrific demon of all era, Muzan Kibutsuji.

"No!!!!" Zenitsu sat up in his futon, gripping his blanket so tight that his knuckles turned white, and breathed coarsely. "Hah, hah...so it was a dream again...that's good."

He soon took his sword and went out into the moonlit garden to train. He first swung his wooden blade—made solely for the training of swordsman—against a tree, until it broke. Zenitsu breathed deeply, splashed some pond water on his warmed face to diffuse heat, and went back to training, this time with a real sword. The metal, being quickly swung around, reflected off the moonlight like a brilliant jewel. The white light scattered across the garden and the water near it—his training, thanks to the immaculate blade, looked like a star had descended to the ground, and was dancing around.

Tanjirou opened his eyes slightly to peek what was happening in the garden. A smell of cold metal...a sword? And this bright light, which is swinging around in all directions...this is clearly no normal circumstance. I am curious what's happening outside, he wondered. Tanjirou could not detect a strong smell of blood, so that was good, but...

When he cracked open his tatami door ever so slightly, he was shocked. Zenitsu was swinging around his blade so hard that he was almost coughing blood. His golden, lengthy locks fluttering violently in the night wind, he danced around with his sword.

However, he seemed to have used up his strength, and now he was even spending his life force a little bit in order to keep wielding the sword in the same intensity.

"Stop!!!"

"Huh...?!"

Tanjirou reached Zenitsu in a flash of an eye, and stopped him from swinging the blade another time by holding his hands and wrist, blocking his movements.

"Tanjirou...?!"

"Why are you training so hard right now? It's night, so you should sleep and recover! You've had such a hard fight yesterday, you even saved me from that oddly shaped demon!"

"It...doesn't matter...."

"What?"

"Let go of me." Zenitsu untangled Tanjirou's hands from his wrist, and turned around. "Why, Tanjirou? Why are you stopping me?"

"I...."

"You don't have to protect me anymore."

Zenitsu whispered in his mind—'Now, I will protect you. So, please don't die like you do in my dreams.'

But, when Zenitsu saw Tanjirou's large red eyes being inundated with confusion and sadness, something inside his dried heart shifted.