Day 1: Slipping Through My Fingers

For ninety-nine point nine percent of the population, their soulmate's first words to them were written on their left wrists.

Yup, that's right. Their destined one; their significant other; the person that they're meant to spend the rest of their lives and many lives after that with! To think that their world has evolved so much to the point that the great powers up there were kind enough to give the everyday man or woman that nudge they needed to find their true love. You didn't need money or power to be happy. All it took was some luck plus those little bits of patience and hope that fate would work its wonders. Who wouldn't be excited?

People who don't have hearts, that's what! Zenitsu made sure that no one was oblivious to this very correct opinion of his. That small blue writing on his arm was protected and cherished by the blond almost as much as his prized violin. In Inosuke's words, he was a hopeless 'rumontic.' He is. He won't deny that. Growing up in an orphanage and picked on by the others, sometimes it was only those words staring back at him that kept Zenitsu going until the next day. And the next, and the next, until that fateful morning when Gramps adopted him. Countless times, fears that he was somehow hallucinating the ink plagued his mind. The inevitable episodes of depression that came from predictions about his soulmate coming to hate him like everyone else did were even more frequent and horrible. But still. These words were his and his soulmate's alone no matter what anyone said. That made them special.

That part of him was brought out yet again as he waited at the subway. It was crowded. The train heading the opposite direction pulled up. He hugged his left arm to his chest by instinct as rush hour was dying down. People carried varieties of steaming coffee and lunches that Zenitsu would very much prefer not to spill on his soulmate's first words, thank you very much!

Which was why the next few seconds felt like a slow-motion horror film. One old man brushed against his shoulder right at the exact same moment that a boy his age rushed down the escalator. He had a bottle half clenched between his fingers, kind of like in those typical cartoons where the very cute girl was running late for school. This situation was positively not cute, not especially their inevitable collision at the bottom of the steps happened. The water splashed all over Zenitsu's left side.

"I'm sorry-!"

The teen didn't even get another word out before the blond was screaming. He ripped his sleeve up, some unfounded fear that the words would rub away overtaking his panic. "LOOK! LOOK WHAT YOU DID! I don't care what kind of cheap outlet you think my old man bought this jacket from but this is a clear sign of your disrespect towards fate—no, against the very gods themselves! How will you repent for such selfish actions…?!"

What Zenitsu expected was for the other to run off, possibly continue apologizing, maybe even ignore the weirdo next to the vending machine whose screeches were attracting the attention of those around them. It wouldn't be the first time. But instead, the redhead froze. The backpack he wore on one arm slid off. The lack of response caused Zenitsu to eye the stranger warily. It was only the ding indicating that the train he was rushing towards just a moment ago was leaving that snapped Zenitsu out of whatever was happening.

"Wh-What?" He stepped back but the other only matched him by moving forward. Zenitsu shivered when he felt the boy's eyes roving over his face like he was being x-rayed. Whoa, wait, was he going to get assaulted here? Honey eyes swerved around, begging for assistance but the subway seemed almost eerily quiet now that the train had left. His back hit the wall of a support pillar, and his soon-to-be assailant only continued towards him, a sharp glint to his expression.

So Zenitsu did the only logical thing, he ran with his tail between his legs. But he had dignity, damn it! He wasn't about to sprint out of a public place while screaming for his life. All he had to do was calmly speed walk to the other side of the subway and to a more crowded place. Stalkers only attacked when no one was around, right? Right! The blond felt pretty confident in his plan.

Because logic made no sense, the man only speed walked after him. He had the gall to look offended, confused, and concerned at the same time while doing it too! All of a sudden, nothing made sense to Zenitsu anymore. "Hey-! Wait, why are you running away…?!"

"WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?"

"I'll stop following you when you stop running away!"

"Why on earth would I stop?!" Zenitsu screeched back even though Gramps taught him not to speak at all in this kind of situation. He rounded down the platform and towards the exit, praying that this wasn't happening. "This is straight out of a horror movie, I tell you! You're a suspicious guy who I've never seen suddenly following me around in the shadows until I drop my guard and you find the right moment to stuff me in the back of your car. Well, I refuse! I refuse to associate with someone like you! Please find something else to do with your time. Read a book! Go see a movie with your long lost cousin! I don't want to be a part of your scheme to end up in prison!"

The man stopped, finally. He had a difficult look on his face, the intensity of which had Zenitsu halting in his spot too despite every warning signal in his head blaring otherwise. Finally, with all the remorse in the world, the teen looked up at him. "I apologize! I didn't mean to give off that impression! Let me start over."

"Start over…?! No, please, you don't have to do that. I beg of you-" Zenitsu stepped forward, hands up to try to physically gesture the strength of which he didn't want what was happening to actually happen.

"I am Kamado Tanjirou, seventeen years old and have five younger siblings."

"That's great but I never asked for this-!"

"I live next to the bakery on Rosebranch Avenue and leave the house at six in the morning and return at eight after my job. My favourite colour is green. My hobby is playing chess with my hospitalized sister, Nezuko! I keep the house key hidden under the mat but only on every second Saturday when my siblings go out to the park with my mother and she sometimes forgets to bring it with her."

"Now you're making ME look like a stalker! This is too much information. Please, at least let me introduce myself as well so this is less weird!" The blond pulled at his hair.

"I was on my way to see my sister again which is why I was in a hurry. I'm so sorry!" Tanjirou bowed down, hanafuda earrings splayed from the force. At that, Zenitsu slowly lowered his arms, the genuine sounds of kindness ringing back at him. He didn't have time to notice before, but the gentle music emitting from this boy lulled Zenitsu's ears like a lullaby. What an amazing sound. "But I am your soulmate. Please forgive me for scaring you!"

Zenitsu froze. He was about to retort and deny when Tanjirou closed the distance between them, revealing his wrist with a long sprawl of words that he couldn't have possibly written there himself.

That's when it hit. Of all things, his soulmate was a guy. Not only a guy but also not someone that Zenitsu would even classify as prince charming in any sense of the word. With his dark green checkered hoodie thrown on over a worn shirt, dried dough caking rough palms from where was helping out at the bakery, and scar marring his forehead a painful shade, Tanjirou looked as haphazard and flustered as they came.

Yet, Zenitsu couldn't deny. The ruby tone of the boy's eyes was breathtaking. It was like a gem, shining with determination after the apology in a way that he'd never seen anyone else, not even the prettiest girl, able to match. His features were striking in a way that would catch anyone's attention. But what was the most incredible was his melody. It combined the serenity of a harp together with the strings of warmth and endless tenderness. Such a sound far exceeded any that Zenitsu had ever heard before.

So he reached out. Clasping Tanjirou's wrist with his fingers, Zenitsu read it again and again. Still, the sentences staring back at him didn't change. If he were to write that very thing on a piece of paper, anyone in his class would be able to discern that it was him. Running a finger over it in some cynical despair that it was a prank, the ink stayed just as clear and permanent as ever. By the time he looked up to meet his soulmate's eyes, he realized that his own were wet with emotion.

The fears, the doubts, the what if my soulmate doesn't exist, what if they don't like me, suddenly felt like it didn't matter anymore. Zenitsu should've been angry when those rough hands lifted to cup his cheek, leaving specks of dough in his hair and jaw. "Why are you crying?"

He was. "I-I don't know." Zenitsu knew that he wasn't a quiet crier. As soon as the first tear was shed, the familiar feeling of snot blocking his airways and threatened to spill out followed. He breathed it in, the sound of it grating ugly in his ears. "A-Agh, this sucks! I can't stop. I know it's gross! I'm- there's just this feeling in my chest that wants to get out and now you have to see me like this! S-Sorry."

But his soulmate, and Zenitsu swears that the more he interacts with him, the more that part of his brain just melted, only gently pushes Zenitsu into his shoulder so to hide his sobs from everyone else. Now the music was everywhere. It played from the man's heartbeat. It was a rushing river in the other's veins. And each breath of air that he could hear Tanjirou take in made Zenitsu cry harder. He knows Gramps would kill him later for this, for getting so close to a random stranger, but this was his soulmate here! A person who could exude such a sound couldn't possibly be ill-intent. The blond didn't hesitate to wrap shaky arms around him.

At some point, Tanjirou migrated the both of them to a bench. He waited like a saint until Zenitsu's bawls died into small sniffles. He felt too embarrassed about it to leave the safety of the other boy's hoodie. He can't believe he did that. Zenitsu had played the scenario of their first meeting in his head countless times and none of them involved him making a fool of himself so quickly.

For those reasons, it was not a surprise to either that Tanjirou was the first to speak. "What's your name?"

He felt like kicking himself. That's right. He hadn't even introduced himself yet. He mumbles into the hoodie just loud enough for the two of them to hear. "Zenitsu. Agatsuma Zenitsu."

"Zenitsu," Tanjirou tries it out and the addressed can tell by his voice that he's smiling. "I'd love to know more about you."

That was how the two of them ended up spending the next few hours in a dark subway, talking away like nothing around them even mattered. Zenitsu learned that the boy was homeschooled so then he had time to take care of his sickly father and sister while his mother doted on his four remaining siblings. Zenitsu was shocked to learn that his tutor was the same Giyuu Tomioka who harassed Zenitsu on a daily basis. Tanjirou's favourite day was Christmas. It wasn't because he liked receiving gifts so much as it gave him an excuse to give them away without any suspicions or questions attached to it. Tanjirou loved all of his friends and family that he sometimes spontaneously did that. Zenitsu would normally call bullshit on that but Tanjirou? He knew from just his smile alone that he truly was like that. It was frustrating. It was unbelievable. But most of all, Tanjirou was so utterly perfect.

That is until Zenitsu realized the other had horrible taste. Who on earth thought that Samurott was the best starter?! It was blasphemous. Zenitsu almost left right then and there. That was until Tanjirou explained his reasons why. "It reminds me of Tomioka-san."

Zenitsu couldn't be blamed for snorting. He knew it was bad of him, okay! But Tomioka totally deserved it! It finally goaded him out of his corner of shame to face Tanjirou with a laugh. If the lunch of lemon-crusted salmon (his favourite!) that he shared with him when their stomachs started rumbling was any indication, he also learned that his soulmate was a really good cook. It was second nature at that point that they shared phone numbers without even needing to be asked.

But alas, all good things come to an end. It was seven at night by the time either of them realized how late it was getting. At the time, the both of them were staring at their phone screens in slight disbelief that this was really happening. Their matching numbers blaring back were only proof that none of this was a dream. Unfortunately, it was a notification on Tanjirou's phone in the corner blinking at him from above Zenitsu's contact information that broke them out of their little world. He swiped it down in a growing panic. "Ah, it's Nezuko! I totally forgot."

Zenitsu blinked. That's right. He did mention something about visiting his hospitalized sister. All of a sudden, he felt a crushing guilt weigh heavy in his chest. He was the one who kept him. "It's all right. We can catch up some other time."

"Are you sure?" Tanjirou looked at him with pain in his eyes. He was making such a big deal of it, that moron! But from their short time together, Zenitsu could tell that Tanjirou had a heart bigger than half of Japan's population put together. "I'm such a bad nii-chan and soulmate."

"Oi, I don't want to hear that from you, Tanjirou!" Zenitsu accused him with a glare. He also knew that Tanjirou had no business existing as a person for how selflessly amazing yet frustrating he was. "If you think you're horrible at being a brother or soulmate, then you're making the rest of us guys look like trash."

Tanjirou let out a breath of laughter. Instead of responding like he normally would (normally? They've only known each other for less than a day!), he stood up to check the train schedule. There was still enough time to make it before visiting hours were over. Zenitsu, trying to be at least half a gentleman, made to walk Tanjirou the five steps he had to take to the platform. They stood next to each other. When the other boy made to grab his hand, the blond didn't hesitate to squeeze it back.

Zenitsu felt like there was this rosy haze in his head for the past two hours now. Just being around Tanjirou made him feel so much lighter, and the thought that this was who he would be with so much more in the future sent that haze into giddiness. Was- Was this really his significant other? The one he was destined to be with forever? Zenitsu wasn't sure if he deserved him.

Tanjirou- sweet and kind but idiotic Tanjirou, his mind supplied- seemed to have some second sense of smell that could detect whatever emotions of doubt that the blond was feeling. He didn't hesitate to lean forward, cupping his face once again to give him a concerned glance. At noticing how close they were, Zenitsu felt a blush overtake his cheeks. However, that didn't stop Tanjirou from leaning forward to land the sweetest peck on his cheek. The action had Zenitsu combust. His friend (boyfriend?) looked almost just as flustered when he pulled back.

"I think I already like you." Tanjirou confessed, face red as the wind of the train arriving rushed past them.

Zenitsu didn't have time to react before his soulmate stepped onto the moderately crowded vehicle.

Tanjirou Kamado had five siblings. He was home schooled to look after his bedridden sister and father. He had a family who loved him, who sang songs with him every holiday and sat around the table to talk about their day. He made little paper cranes with Nezuko on the weekends, playing board games with the rest of his siblings into the evening. He worked two jobs in order to help pay bills as well as purchase gifts for those he cared about.

Tanjirou Kamado was the amazing person who was his soulmate.

The doors were already closing before Zenitsu could blink past his stupor. He moved, trying to wedge his way in but finding his body hitting the solid glass instead. Ruby eyes peered at him in confusion.

Zenitsu pulled back his sleeve to show that wonderful yet dreaded sentence. The doubts clouding his mind returned with a force and despair that he didn't know was possible. He screamed. "Stop the train! Get off of it! Please, TANJIROU!"

The hiss of the metal gears turning felt like an out-of-tune organ, each crank prickling his heart like a bed of needles. The train moved and Zenitsu did too, starting at a brisk walk to keep Tanjirou within his sights. The boy, his soulmate, did the same but backwards while blinking worriedly at him. "Z-Zenitsu…?! Zenitsu, I can't hear you!"

But Zenitsu, both blessed and cursed with his sharp ears, could. He was running by now. "I SAID STOP THE TRAIN!"

For ninety-nine point nine percent of the population, their soulmate's first words to them were written on their left wrists. For the remaining point one percent, their arms displayed their soulmate's last.

Yup, that's right. Their destined one; their significant other; the person that they're meant to spend the rest of their lives and many lives after that with. To think that their world has evolved so much to the point that the great powers up there were heartless enough to give the everyday man or woman that small bit of hope that they could save their true love. Until you realized that your money or power had no influence. All it took was some luck plus those little bits of patience and hope that fate would work its wonders, before inevitably falling back into the way things should be. Who wouldn't be excited?

Sometimes it was only those words staring back at him that kept Zenitsu going until the next day. Countless times, fears that he was somehow hallucinating the ink plagued his mind. The inevitable episodes of depression that came from predictions about his soulmate coming to hate him like everyone else did were even more frequent and horrible.

But when Zenitsu stood where he was, small crowd forming around him in horror as news of the train derailing just miles away from them flashed red above, he could only fall to his knees.

The reality was much worse.