Chapter Text
Nature. The very word conjured up various images depending on the person. Rationally so, for nature is vast and forever changing. Snow-covered peaks, lazy rivers, deserts crawling with underappreciated life - all nature. Humanity, too, played their part, however ephemeral that part may be, in the world’s biological machine.
Such a truthful observation fed directly into a powerful point. There was an aspect of nature that most chose to forget. It evolved. The past left its mark, but it couldn’t exist forever. Even the ocean and land, both terrible forces in their own right, were subject to constant mutation. Nature persisted. Nature marched onward. But nature could never be exactly the same.
Kamado Tanjirou learned that lesson the second lightning kissed his brow.
Hot days made the skin swim with sweat. Tanjirou, despite being utterly unbothered by the temperature, was no exception to this simple fact. Nezuko’s box didn’t help one bit; even though she shrunk down as much as she could to make things easier for him, the overall reduction of weight was minimal at best. Still, he forged onward. With every mission, he seized the power to save more lives with his bare hands. How could he justify slowing down?
But ah. The sky’s lovely today. He smiled softly at the altostratus clouds that stood out against endless blue. So long as no puffy towers formed too, it’d stay lovely. Breathing in carried lovely scents too, dirt and life and-
… Distress?
Tanjirou slowly cracked open his eyes to the sight of a sparrow crying. “Please help me!” It said. “My Slayer’s not listening! He’s too busy wooing an engaged woman!”
He felt lucky that he understood birds, but the words sounded strange enough that he doubted his ears. “Mmhmm?” He went, not counting on a sparrow of all things to understand his difficulties with speech.
“I mean it! He’s too flaky, and he doesn’t get what I say at all! Can you sort him out for me? I’m Ukogi.” It settled on his outstretched hands, sobbing from clear frustration.
Careful not to hurt the poor creature, Tanjirou lifted it up to his cheek and nuzzled it gently. “Mmm.” He grunted, internally vowing to help out. What other Slayers did wasn’t explicitly his business, and he knew that, but he hated the thought of leaving Ukogi to suffer on its own.
Walking for less than a minute brought who the sparrow was venting about into view. Strangely, though he could only see his fellow Slayer from behind, their hair was a very visible pink-and-green choppy mess. Add in the custom pink haori, and Tanjirou presumed he knew exactly what sort of person he was dealing with. Wretched Ukogi was tied to a serial heartbreaker. One with a pleasant scent, all peaches and sakurasou, but a heartbreaker nonetheless.
From what he could tell, the engaged lady found the Slayer to be incredibly funny and charming. He caught her in the middle of a boisterous laugh. “Of course,” the Slayer laughed too, “I-”
Tanjirou tapped him on the shoulder. “Hm?” He said, turning around and revealing glowing golden eyes. “Oh, hello… Do you need anything from me?” More than a little unnerved by the other Slayer’s expression, he handed off Ukogi, waved, and continued on his way.
“Hey!” came a scandalized cry from behind. “Are you not going to say anything to me?!? It’s been forever since we last saw each other, and I’ve thought of you, so obviously it’s been the same thing on your end, right? I’m unforgettable!”
Unforgettable? This, of all things, made him turn back around. He wouldn’t forget this person now, but surely he didn’t know anyone quite as flashy. Doing his very best to channel his apologies into his smile, he shook his head before moving to walk off and get to where he needed to be.
This proved to be a mistake.
One second, Tanjirou was heading southeast without any issues. The next, he had an upset Slayer clinging to his arm. “Final Selection!” He wailed. “You forgot after all?!? But I even called you handsome! That had to be the highlight of your life! Don’t tell me it wasn’t! I won’t believe you!”
Being in close proximity to a newly rancid scent made his head ache. To make things worse, the woman trapped in the middle of this new confrontation looked equally affronted, if not more so. Frankly, he wanted no part in whatever drama was forming. His head shake this time took on a more vehement air. It said what he needed to say: Please let go of me.
Luckily, his silent plea was granted. The other Slayer let go, though that didn’t stop him from pouting. “Honestly! A pretty boy like me holds onto you, and your only reaction is a frown? Are you a prude?” Hearing this odd stranger handle the word like a curse almost made him laugh from bewildered amusement. It was a close thing.
As the jilted woman strode up to them, Tanjirou felt more relief than fear. Where some might see an angry person, he saw an out. “Do you just flirt with everyone you see? How awful!” She hissed. Fixated on his mission as he was, he took a step away while hoping for the best.
But then he heard the other boy.
“Flirting? I was only making conversation.” At once, his voice went from warm to ice cold. “Don’t tell me you thought otherwise. Aren’t you engaged? Be happy with what you already have.”
Ukogi produced a horrified screech that matched his feelings exactly. How did he turn on her so quickly? She looked utterly destroyed, felled by words that morphed into blades instantaneously. Tanjirou wanted to reassure her despite everything, but the words wouldn’t come. They stuck in his throat the very moment the other Slayer looped their arms together.
“Let’s go! I’ll remind you of how we know each other on the way to your next mission!” He smelled like an odd mix of delight and offense. An aroma like that… A boy like that…
Nature rewarded persistence. Stubbornness could keep a whole way of life afloat. Whoever this person was, he seemed to already know the value of their world’s truest lesson.
Once, the storm decided to strike him with a most deadly spark. Lightning moved faster than a mother’s feet, though he was content with the fact that he served as a proper shield for Takeo, poor Takeo who never forgave himself. When it happened, his mind gained a clarity he never anticipated. All he could do in the face of a real force of nature was accept its gifts and pray to survive.
This other Slayer was not exactly like that, but Tanjirou thought he might be close.
After a decent amount of distance had been established, the stranger let go. “Sorry about touching you again, sweetheart. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” He sighed wistfully, giving off the energy of an artist bogged down by his own genius. “Anyway, about Final Selection, I was standing right next to you! What can I possibly do to jog your memory?”
Handsome. He said he called me handsome… Tanjirou reflected. Most of his memory of the event was dominated by an unpleasant confrontation, but not all. There had been a girl there, hair in disarray, and… and…
Ah. His lips formed a silent ‘oh’. Now that he tried his best to recall everything, what the other Slayer said proved itself to be true. But it wasn’t some flattering bit of dialogue. He distinctly remembered a disdainful look peering out through a thick layer of muck and a mutter about handsome people surviving anything.
Instead of commenting on that, Tanjirou inclined his head in an attempt to make amends. Everyone had their bad days. Casting judgment on a statement born from stress didn’t sit well with him.
“That’s better! I’m Agatsuma Zenitsu. And you are?” He extended his hand outward like he expected him to kiss it. Tanjirou tentatively grabbed on.
“Ka…” He coughed. “Ka. Ma. Do. Ta. N. Ji. Rou.”
The other Slayer’s eyes lit up with a mischief that he didn’t like. “Kamado Tanjirou? Is that it? Alright, Tanjirou-chan, I’ll grant you the honor of calling me Zenitsu-chan! Okay?”
Satisfied with their handshake and a bit confused by those terms, he made to let go. The grip around his hand didn’t make that possible. Zenitsu raised Tanjirou’s hand to his lips in what looked to be slow motion. “Okay?” He said again, breathing out over the skin.
People, he thought faintly, shouldn’t look at people like that.
“Zen. Zenitsu-chan?”
“Perfect!” said the other boy before depositing a kiss and releasing him. Tanjirou wondered how many people he had done that same move to. “Ah, you have such a pretty voice, Tanjirou-chan. I’ll hope you’ll talk more with me one day, but don’t strain yourself! I can do it for the both of us!”
As Zenitsu babbled on, Tanjirou thought some more. When no one expected you to have anything worthwhile to say, the only option left to many was contemplation. He didn’t contradict that facet of life one bit.
Love was another part of nature, a force that gave and took away. His parents loved each other, so far as he knew. They rarely fought, and always resolved their disputes quickly whenever they did. According to them, romantic love demanded effort and empathy.
He recognized familial love too, both that between parent and child and the kind that siblings understood well. This love was respectful, supportive, fun. His childhood was full of that love, and even now, those bonds kept him going.
If Zenitsu were to represent a type of love, Tanjirou suspected it’d be the more hedonistic variety.
The other boy walked with purpose. No doubt existed in his steps, only bouncy flair. What he had to offer to the world was confident appeal, and he wanted everyone to know it. Even his shoes screamed affluence. Did any of this benefit him? Peculiar people intrigued him, without a doubt, because their minds worked in mysterious ways.
Since I’m analyzing you, are you doing the same to me?
If he was, he didn’t bother to broach the subject. “I’m soooo hungry!” Zenitsu whined instead. “Roughing it like this is not a good look for me at all. I’m a delicate flower! I’ll wilt!” So he was preoccupied with his looks too. Hm.
His teary gaze added a fresh layer of pitifulness to his otherwise dramatic grimace. Sympathetic, Tanjirou fished his final rice ball out. He also didn’t come prepared with provisions, but that didn’t matter much. His broken ribs distracted him from any hunger he could potentially feel. No doubt his temporary companion was suffering more.
“Wow! Is this for me? Aw, you shouldn’t have.” Without making a big fuss, he split it down the middle and handed half back. “Can’t starve without me, handsome.”
Ukogi groaned. Tanjirou felt like doing the same.
“You know…” So far, Zenitsu’s smiles ranged from soft to sharp. This particular one was hovering around the less cute end of the spectrum. “Agatsuma means ‘my wife’. So, if you were to introduce me, you’d basically be calling me your wife! Isn’t that a thought that makes you all fuzzy on the inside?”
Before he could splutter, the other boy moved on. “That’s basically what I want to be to someone! Preferably a very rich someone. I’m not picky so long as they treat me okay. By the way, that’s why I’m here! That and ‘bringing honor to our family’. Traveling’s easier when you have someone guiding you all over the country.” While none of it showed, a sudden wave of sadness flooded his nose. Family had to be a sore subject.
Concern implored him to tenderly pat Zenitsu’s shoulder before heading on. Southeast. He repeated to himself, trying to suppress his own sadness at the thought of family. Multiple disappearances. Someone needs my help.
As if she sensed the return of his melancholy, Nezuko lightly scratched at the inside of her box. Hopefully, Zenitsu wouldn’t hear a thing.
“You’re awfully focused… Say, is your mission close by?” He grimaced. “Count me out. I’m tired enough after my last mission! I need beauty sleep!”
Normally, Tanjirou accepted everyone for who they were. Now, he let his irritation show and gritted out “Ter-ri-ble.”
“Huh?!? Me? Tanjirou-chan! Why are you being so mean?”
“Ter-ri-ble.”
“Okay, okay, okay! Fine! I’ll do the nice thing and kill the demon for you! See? Not terrible! Not terrible at all!” And now he was desperate for approval. Wrapping his head around his life’s most recent newcomer took an incredible amount of brainpower, but Tanjirou thought he had cracked a code for now.
Agatsuma Zenitsu was close to being a force of nature, but he was also more trouble than he was worth. He could only hope none of this - whatever this even was - would backfire.
After all, it'd be impossible to fight against his life being on the verge of change.