Therefore, You and Me • TanZen × ZenTan | Highschool AU

Chapter 1: Mission Clear

[Zenitsu]
"AAAAAAAHHH I'M GONNA DIE, I'M GONNA DIE, DIEDIEDIEDIE!!! SERIOUSLY GONNA DIE!"

"Zenitsu! Just focus on searching for the object!"

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M RUNNING AROUND THIS CREEPY HOUSE?! AHHH SERIOUSLY THIS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE LAST CREEPY SPIDER FOREST! ARE THEY TWINS?! COULD THESE TWO FORESTS TWINS?! WHY IS THIS HOUSE EVEN IN THIS FOREST?!"

"Zenitsu, what kind of idiotic questions are you talking about?!"

"SO HARSH!!"

"Shut up, Zenitsu! You should just go unconscious again."

"SHUT UP, PRETTY BOY."

Ahh this is hopeless. I woke up just now and find my sword was cracked. Not only that, my body is beaten up everywhere. I can see blood splattered everywhere on the ground. Are these all the blood of the demons we've killed?

And now I'm getting chased by a creepy old lady. Hm? Wait, could this be the old lady that we met in Wisteria? No wait, this creepy old lady has some sounds. This is a different old lady then?

WAIT

WHAT USELESS THINGS AM I THINKING ABOUT?! I should just focus on getting the objective. But if I keep running around, I won't be able to search the forest properly. What should I do to get rid of the old lady? Is there anything I can use?

As I ran and ran through the forest, I found an old-looking barrel in the distance. Yes! I shrieked mentally. Lucky~

I immediately fasten my speed and rushes towards the barrel. Once the barrel was close enough, I grabbed the handle and threw it to the old lady. It hit her right in the stomach and she fell down. As the barrel crashes, a faint sound of a glass bottle broke was heard. Whoops, was there a beer or something like that?

But still, that was easy. Now I can focus entirely on searching. Good thing there was only the old lady chasing me. I wouldn't know what to do if there were two demons.

Then again, it's a demon. There's no way she'll get knocked out that quickly. Uhhh, let's just take this chance and search quickly. Then we can get out of this CREEPY forest. Ahh, I can't wait.

Let's see. We were told to retrieve something. Uhmm~ The talking crow was talking about something like a bottle that contains a dangerous liquid that can teleport you to a different world. A different world? Damn.

The talking crow also said it could be stored inside something. But when Inosuke and I searched the house, there was nothing like a bottle with a dangerous looking liquid. Heck, there wasn't any liquid there except for the water flowing from the kitchen sink's tap.

...

...

A bottle?

Wait, uhm. Uh. Could it be..? The bottle that just broke inside the barrel just now?

...

...

Nonononono, it must be some other bottle right?

Right then and there, the sound of someone coming out of the bushes made me jump and screamed my lungs out.

"Whoa! Calm down, Zenitsu. It's me, Tanjiro."

"... Tanjiro?"

"Yeah! Tanjiro."

I cried immediately and hugs Tanjiro. "Uahhhh Tanjiroooo~~ What should doo~?" Tanjiro, looking confused, he pats my back and asks, "What happened, Zenitsu??"

As I sob, I try to calm down so I could speak more clearly. Taking a few breaths, I begin explaining.

"Well you see, I was running around with the old lady chasing me.."

"Yeah."

"It was hard to look around the house with the old lady chasing me.."

"And then?"

"And then, I found a barrel. So I threw it at the old lady and I heard a bottle broke inside the barrel."

"Ooh..— wait. A bottle? You mean, the objective?"

I nod, "Not sure but I think so."

Tanjiro stared at me with disappointment and though I was used by it, having seen it again and by Tanjiro really hurts. "Hey! To be fair, I didn't know there was a bottle inside the barrel. Think if you were in my position!!" I cried, defending myself.

Tanjiro looked down, "Hm, when I think about it, that's true. Sorry for looking at you like that, Zenitsu." He smiled at me and pats my head.

I rubs my eyes as I nod. "That's alright. As long as you understand."

"So, where did the barrel crash?"

"Follow me." I turn around back to the direction I was running. As we walk, Tanjiro commented, "I smell something."

I tilt my head, "Maybe it's coming from the bottle?" Tanjiro glanced at me and then to possibly where the smell was coming from. "Possibly. Let's hurry."

I did as told and it ended up as Tanjiro leading me to the bottle by his good sense of smelling. The old lady was still knocked out, on top of her was pieces of wood. There was some pieces of broken glasses but the liquid was nowhere in sight.

"Ah, thank god. It really was a different bottle."

"...No wait. The smell isn't coming from here. It's to the right!"

"What— Wait, hey! Tanjiro, don't rush on your own!!"

I sprint along, following Tanjiro from behind. Sometimes, Tanjiro would stop to take a moment to smell then sprint again. It feels like I have a dog.

"The smell is getting stronger! It's here."

Tanjiro said as he smashes through a tall bush and disappeared from my sight. "Tanjiro?!" I quickly smashes through the tall bush too and was stopped by bumping into Tanjiro's back.

I fell down on my butt from the sudden force. I grumbles and stand up. "What is it, Tanjiro?"

"The bottle."

"Huh?"

I go to stand beside Tanjiro to see why he stopped. And then I see it and understood. I immediately got a big surge of guilt. The bottle was there, smashed into pieces. There were also some kind of jelly blue liquid.

My face went to pale and I wanted to cry again. "Sorry, Tanjiro.. Not only did I not help you with finishing the demons, I also broke the bottle."

"No, it's fine. I wonder if we can somehow gather the leftovers of the liquid and store them using something?"

I lit up, "That sounds like a good idea! Use my handkerchief."

"Huh, but—"

"It's fine. This is a handkerchief bought from the cheap store in town."

"..Then."

We both squat down. Tanjiro lays out the handkerchief in the middle of us so Tanjiro can gather the left side while I gather the right side.

Shortly after we had finished gathering the sticky blue liquids and Tanjiro ties the handkerchief into a small pocket, Inosuke came running. "Inosuke! We found the objective! Let's go back now!!" Tanjiro informed Inosuke.

"Is that so?" Inosuke commented. "Why's it covered in handkerchief though? I thought it was supposed to be inside of a bottle—"

"Ahh! You heard it wrong. It was handerkerchief, not bottle."

"? But the wording for handkerchief and bottle are differen—"

"Le-Let's hurry up and go back. I can't wait to take a rest. We're all beaten up here and there."

Tanjiro said panicly as he pushes both Inosuke and me towards the exit. He covered for me! He's such a great guy.

I turned around to Tanjiro and quietly whisper, "Thank you, Tanjiro. You're really a great friend!"

"....Yeah! Don't mention it. You're my friend, after all."

"What are you guys whispering about?"

"Nothing!"