It was not a dark and stormy night. It was a humid afternoon, the lazy sort, and Zenitsu was lost in the woods.

Getting lost had not precisely been his fault. He was a young boy after all, merely seven summers old, and far too susceptible to the tricks of others. His grandfather, being a man full of good intentions but not too much caution, had allowed him to enter the forest for the sake of entertainment. "Don't eat anything you don't recognize, boy, and be back home before the sun sets!" Being far more paranoid than the man he called Jii-chan, the young boy readily agreed and set off in search of something to do.

He had never been told to stay on any paths; nonetheless, he didn't stray from them. There were plenty of interesting stones scattered about on them, the sort that glinted and gleamed in the light. Zenitsu held each one up to where the sunlight peeked through the leaves of the trees and appraised their worth. This one will be for Kaigaku-nii. He'd think before pocketing one. Oh, and THIS one! This one too! By the time he bumped into the nurikabe, he had collected many a rock, handily adding 10 to - if all went well - his big brother's stash.

But bump he did.

Zenitsu bounced off the mound of flesh with a cry. Unfortunately for his poor behind, the boy absorbed himself too deeply in the task of gathering his gifts to notice the yokai at first, and swiftly paid the price. What it could be eluded him for a moment. He stared at the white mass that stretched out into infinity with only confusion in his heart. Not once did he remember the name - nurikabe, nurikabe, nurikabe - until the beast exhaled all over him.

Like a flame being struck into existence from a match, fear found its rightful place within his body. Before the nurikabe could utter a single word, Zenitsu let out a horrendous shriek and fled. He ran until the nature around him clustered together more, blocking out the glow from the heavens above. In mere moments, he had lost his way.

"Wh-What do I do now?!" He sobbed. Not only did he lose most of his stones, but it was already afternoon, and the woods at night were no place for anyone, much less a little boy. The thought of vanishing - for he knew naught what death truly was at the time - and abandoning his family scared him more than anything else in the world.

Now, he was only seven, and distraught to boot, but that did not detract from his cleverness. Zenitsu turned on his heel and tried to walk back the way he came, hoping for a glimpse of the path he knew so well. It was an intelligent decision, and it was equally useless. The thicket refused to let him past. Sharp branches scratched at his face and body so fiercely that he made no progress at all.

Stumped by his inability to find his way home, the little boy plopped himself down onto the soft grass and settled in for a long cry. Cleverness only went so far, and he was the epitome of a child.

Time passed. It could have been minutes or hours, but none of that mattered. Tears spilled forth from his eyes, enough to mess with his lungs and throat. Right when everything seemed lost, he heard the sound of too light footstep. Zenitsu had been cursed with sharp ears since birth, but they never caused him such potent panic before that day. Who could it be, out here in the woods, and why were they walking in his direction?

"Hello!" A young boy's voice called, dispelling part of the mystery. "Are you alright?"

Before he could properly react, the other child was sitting right next to him, a bright smile on his face. "Hungry? A rice ball might do you good!"

"You have four ears." Zenitsu said plainly, holding in a sniffle. "Are you another monster?"

"I don't think so! Mother says I'm a little boy! Are you a monster?"

"Uh… No? I'm a little boy too." Saying so did not feel right to him however. "But I've never seen one that looks like you."

If he looked, he could see the boy's tail twitch. "That's because I'm not human! Rice ball?"

"Then what are-"

"You really should eat, you know!" And, because Zenitsu had no idea what else to do, he took the offered treat and began to devour it.

The not-a-monster little boy seemed pleased by this sight. "Can I have your name?" He asked.

"No." Zenitsu replied automatically. No matter how kind someone looked, he knew better than to agree to that. "Why do you want my name? Is yours so bad that you need mine?"

If he was offended by his rudeness, it didn't show on his face. "Oh, I like it just fine! I'm Tanjirou. Can I know what your name is?" Better.

He nodded. "They call me Zenitsu back home."

"Well, why are you out here, Zenitsu Back Home?" Tanjirou kept prodding at him verbally. "This isn't a good place for a human! Or so they say."

"It's not 'Zenitsu back home'. My name's just Zenitsu." He corrected him. "And I'm lost."

Tanjirou hummed. "Is that why you're crying, Just Zenitsu?"

"It's- Nevermind." He stared down at his feet. "Y-Yes. Jii-chan will be worried!"

"Well, I like your hair. It's pretty like the night sky!" The ears protruding from the other boy's hair moved so quickly that he almost missed it.

Zenitsu hiccuped. "What does that have to do with this? Does that even mean anything?"

"It means that I'll help you go home, so long as we're friends!"

Friends? "I've never had one before." He admitted. "Only a big brother and a grandpa. Are you sure you'll help me if we are? It's hard to get through."

Tanjirou nodded enthusiastically. "I will! I promise, Just Zenitsu. I'll never ever break one of those!" He exclaimed. "Will you trust me?"

So far as he saw things, there was nothing else for him to lose. "A-Alright."

They wandered out of the clearing, paw in hand. He still had no idea what Tanjirou could be. His earrings were pretty, he felt, but the leaf atop his head only made him look more strange. Still, he thought, he must not be a monster. Monsters never want to be friends.

The two of them walked and walked until the woods looked more familiar. "This is as far as I can go." Tanjirou spoke up at last, letting go of him. "I'm sorry! But you can find the way from here, right?"

"Yes!" He could already see his home from here. "... Thank you."

"Oh, you're welcome, Just Zenitsu! Anything for a friend!" He beamed. "When you next come in the forest, we can play! I know all the best games!"

"Zenitsu. And I will! Goodbye!" Terrified by the thought of how his grandfather must be worrying about him, he started running off down the path. There was no time to look back.

"Jii-chan! I'm sorry I took so long!" The little boy screamed as he burst into the house. "There was this huge scary wall and-"

The old man turned to look at him, puzzlement written all over his face. "Hm? Why are you back so soon? You only just left!"

"But… But I… Huh?"

Jii-chan hobbled over, frowning carefully at his genuine terror. "Are you feeling alright? Hungry?" He asked.

"No…" Zenitsu told him. "It's okay! My friend gave me some!"

"Ah." His grandfather said, using a tone that implied a usual lack of belief. "I hope you and your friend had fun then."

"I don't think so. But maybe we will next time." After all, Tanjirou said he knew the best games. He'd very much like to play them.

In the end, Zenitsu came out the other side with a friend and five stones. He could only hope that good fortune would last.