My Instincts Never Lie || Demon Slayer Nezuko

14. Hashibira Inosuke

Zenitsu has always had good ears. The murmurs of leaves, paper quietly blowing in the wind, dog barks, coins clattering in someone's pocket, buns being broken in two to share, the slight difference between a lie and a truth, and yet he floundered like a fool---drunk on making sweet melodies out of the misery that was his life. He'd long learned that one can tune out any number of sounds without clutching their hands over their ears. Many sleepless nights had him laying half conscious in the bushes, far away from the streetlamps and the little bugs tapping against the glass; it was better than the city.

Fainting was a different story. He only ever got true silence whenever he blacked out, so he'd been putting off opening his eyes since Nezuko's sword had stopped the drumming echoing down the mansion's endless halls.

"...! ...itsu! Zenitsu!"

Zenitsu stirred.

"Are you okay? The room rotated and then--- and then we were flung out from that window. I'm so glad you're awake." The boy sniffled as Zenitsu sat up rubbing the back of his head. "I misjudged Mr. Zenitsu. You me protected from getting injured."

"Heh, is that so?" his cheeks bloomed with a flowery tint. This felt great, he thought, he wanted more. "So what's the matter? Why're you crying?"

Shoichi hiccuped and motioned to his hands. He drew a breath like he wanted to say it but stopped before the words could ever come out. Zenitsu looked down and his palm was coated with red.

"Gah! I hit my head?!"

"Yeah... I thought you were going to die..."

"Am I going to die?! Am I dying?! I think I'm feeling dizzy—"

A set of erratic clattering rushed closer and closer. Zenitsu's teeth began to chatter, the muttering from behind the mansion's walls echoed down his ears and suddenly his entire skin was alive with shivers and goosebumps.

The entrance doors crashed down. Zenitsu shrieked. The monster from earlier stood upon their ruins, glossy boar's eyes scanning the scene like he was out on a hunt. Under the sunlight, his skin was marbled with scars, tanned and had the impression that a thick coat of dust stuck to him at all times. "Hohoho... There's sum demon 'ere." His voice was gruff and had an ugly tune, blurring the line between a growl and a heavy country accent.

"Oh, oh! It's that voice, the fifth survivor," Zenitsu muttered, ghosting a hand over his ears. "He drove me crazy during the final selection..."

The two boys stayed clutched in fear as they awaited his next move.

A gurgle bellowed from the monster-man's throat. "Found it," he said, aiming his blades at the lone brown box sitting in the shade.

The man charged in like a wild animal, ready to score an easy kill and Zenitsu compelled himself to do so as well. Just before the monster-man could strike, he'd slid before the box, forming a barrier around it with his arms. "Y-You can't touch this."

"Hah? What're you doin'? Whu-Whut's this?"

"My... My name's Agatsuma Zenitsu, I'm a mizunoto ranked member of the Demon Slayer Corps! Just like you! And this box—"

"Move."

"—belongs to one as well."

"Psh, Demon Slayer Corps? There's a demon right there, for god's sake. Y'stupid or somethin'?"

"Of course I know there's a demon in there!"

"Then kill it or I will."

"No."

"Aight, then get outta my way."

"I won't!"

"Move or I'll dispose o' both you an' the box!" The man posed his blade against Zenitsu's neck, but he only yelped in his spot with his hands clenched into fists. Zenitsu heard the demonic sounds way before he'd even set eyes on Nezuko. Though similar to that of humans, those differences were distinct. Their hearts beat at a slower, heavier rate and their voices carried a slight deep warp under any pitch or tone, but Nezuko's demon was off. It was demonic, yet even as it whimpered and deigned to know the circumstances outside, his sound lacked any strong conviction to malice or bloodlust for that matter. Nezuko must've had her own reasons, he thought and that piqued his interest.