A/N: Hello! Welcome to the second chapter of this fic. I'm really excited to write this-more excited than I've ever been about anything. Watch how easily that excitement goes away, lmao. Don't forget to check out the fics I based this fic on, on A03. ;)

Um yeah so I did a thing because I did and I can and I will do not test me

When Zenitsu woke up, it was unexpected, to say the least. For a moment, he thought he was back at the Infinity Castle and immediately jumped up to fight. Realization hit him that this was not the case. He didn't know what the case even was. He didn't know where he was. The place was warm, and light surrounded him. It was white as far as the eye could see. He looked at the ground, hoping to find Murata (though the man was dead), but found only more white. There were no shadows to show what was wall, what was floor-what was anything. It was disturbing, and Zenitsu couldn't help but be disoriented.

He looked around, doing a double-take (he once again saw all white). Then the shrieking began. "WHERE THE HELL AM I-"

"You're in my domain."

A soft voice sounded behind him, and Zenitsu whirled around to find nothing but a spark of light. It looked like a star, and despite being just as white as his surroundings, it glowed brighter and stood out among the white. His fear and distress faded away, leaving him in absolute awe. 'This must have been how Tanjiro felt when he met the Master.' Zenitsu thought, thinking back to when the younger told him about the experience. 'Never mentioned why he had been there, though.'

He focused back on the star(light?). "You're domain?"

"Yes." The star flickered as it spoke, though it was without a mouth. "You're here for reasons vital to the thriving of the very fabric of the universe."

Zenitsu felt his mind short-circuit. "Eh ?"

The star sighed, it reverberating through the room(?) like an earthquake. "I suppose you won't make this easy, will you?" Another sigh. "Well, I can't tell you much anyway-I'd be overstepping my boundaries."

"Boundaries? Vital? Universe?"

"Ah, It was right-tossing them in might be the only option..."

The blonde freaked at the word "throwing." "TOSSING?! ARE YOU GOING TO TOSS ME INTO HEAVEN?!"

The star giggled. "Goodness, no! If you were going to Heaven, you would be with your Jii-chan already!"

The slayer froze at that. "I'm not...going to Heaven?" He isn't ('of course I'm not, I'm weak')? But what about Jii-chan? What about Murata? Panic filled him-he'd been happy to die if he could see them again ('a wimp like me doesn't deserve to'). Now that he couldn't-what was he going to do ('go to hell like the fucking bastard I am')? What about his friends? WHAT ABOUT MUZAN, THE WAR, THE DEMONS, THE HASHIRA, THE INNOCENTS? God, he'd been so stupid! If only he'd killed Kaigaku the first time, if only he hadn't been so stupid, if only Murata lived, if only his legs had worked longer-

'If only I hadn't died.'

The thought entered his head and filled him with guilt and hate. Guilt-for being so willing to die, and hate for his better. For the man, he foolishly thought of as his brother. The man who killed him. His hands closed into fists, dull fingernails digging into his palms. Yet he hated himself more than anything. Murata had been foolish, being content dying hand-in-hand with the most selfish demon slayer on the planet. He'd rather the older die lonely than with useless, trashy, scum company like himself.

"Neh, neh, no need to start berating yourself now of all times, Zenitsu-chan!" The star's words had an air of joyful teasing that made Zenitsu inwardly cringe as he blushed awkwardly.

'Zenitsu...CHAN?'

The star hummed as if answering a question he didn't ask (aloud, at least). "Well, Zenitsu-chan, we've been acquainted enough now, so I must inform you of your mission!"

"You are one of few who actively changed the timeline. Something in your person changed this run-through that completely broke the timeline."

The teen couldn't even begin to understand what the star was saying. 'Broke down the timeline? What?'

"Time is a fickle thing, as one should know. Small changes in an event, a place, or a person, can ultimately change everything. That's what happened here. You changed the timeline."

Honey-golden eyes grew wide. "C-changed? I changed the timeline? Like-like the universe?" 'God, don't tell me I fucked up the universe-I can't possibly be that weak-that useless-that scummy-'

The star gave a noise of confirmation. "One could call it the universe, yes. Your universe, at least."

"My-my universe? T-there's more...?"

"Ara, ara... Of course, there are! You can't expect this to be the only universe the Gods have made!" The tone of voice made Zenitsu imagine himself as a child being scolded by a mildly-disappointed parent. He can see the head-shaking already (but that's beside the point).

"I-eh?"

Ignoring Zenitsu's confusion, the star continued. "Anyway-as you are the reason behind the timeline being messed up, you're the one who's going to fix it!"

The blonde teen didn't know how to feel about this. Him? Fix the universe? Messing up the universe is one thing, but fixing it? She, he, it, whatever this star is, can't possibly expect a fuck-up like Zenitsu to rectify the literal fucking UNIVERSE. Nope. Never. Impossible, impossible, it's fucking unthinkable-

"YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO FIX ALL OF THIS MYSELF," Zenitsu screeched. He would have blown the eardrums of anyone there. But the star didn't have any ears, and Zenitsu was never bothered by his own screams.

The star outright laughed at his assumption. "Of course not, silly Zenitsu-chan! You of all people couldn't do this alone!"

The slayer wasn't whether he should be glad or offended.

"Neh, you're going to have friends join you!" That line perked up the blonde. 'Tanjiro-Inosuke-'

"Ah, naive 'Nitsu-chan," the star sighed while 'Nitsu-chan gasped confusedly at the nickname. "I meant different friends, of course!" Zenitsu deflated at that. 'Dammit.'

"Tee-hee! You're so fun to talk to Zen-chan!"

'How'd she change from a disappointed mom to a cheeky sister so quickly-'

"But on a serious note-"

He straightened up at the tense tone she used.

"There'll be 5 others working towards the same goal. All of them are being talked to right this second."

"Who are the 5 others?"

"I can't tell you."

'How the hell does she expect me to fix anything when I don't even know the people I'm working with-

"But I can show you the one whose life you're most connected to." The star had a hint of giddiness in her voice.

" 'Life you're most connected to?' "

"The person of the 5 that has the largest connection to you. One whose life or death affected your death the most."

"The one you have a universal bond with, transcending time itself."

That line-Zenitsu could hear how important it is. 'Universal bond...? Transcending time itself...' To him, it sounded the same as a soulmate.

Soulmates. Once, a long time ago, Zenitsu heard people on the street talk about it. They said that everyone had a specific person, just for them, out there in the universe to love. When he heard that all those years ago, eyes widening with wonder, he thought it was the most remarkable thing in the world.

The older he got, the more deluded he became at the prospect of him having a soulmate. Chasing women left and right. Wishing for a wife. For a lover. Hoping he would find his soulmate. Because he had to have one somewhere, right?

Bullshit.

As if Zenitsu had a soulmate. As if there were anyone who was destined to love such a wimp-a wimp like him. He's not just a wimp anymore anyway. He's a fuck-up. A fuck-up who fucked-up so badly he fucked-up the fabric of the universe itself. What was more fucked-up than that? And to think he ever believed he had one-it's so utterly stupid.

"I suppose it could be described as a soulmate." The star mused.

Zenitsu found himself wishing he could punch her.

The star giggled the second time that day(?). 'Talking to 'Suma-chan is so fun! Especially his thoughts~!'

"No need to get violent, 'Suma-chan! You'll see be going soon enough anyway!"

"Wait-you never actually told me how I'm going to fix the universe. I mean-I'm dead," the blonde said confusedly. 'How the hell is this going to work?'

"Neh, another thing I can't tell you! But I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough..." The star turned around to look(?) somewhere else. "AH! Seems time has passed faster than I thought! It is waiting on me..."

The star muttered something under her breath Zenitsu couldn't hear: "So much *mutter* being *mutter* time."

"What'd you say?"

"Oh! Nothing worth your time, I'm sure." He could hear the smile in her words. "I suppose I should wrap this up!"

"As I said, you somehow messed up the timeline, and it must be fixed. We're giving you the tools to accomplish this, but it's you who must make the effort.

It's your goal-your job to make sure the timeline goes smoothly this time, without a hitch.

You'll try again and again until you get it absolutely perfect.

Don't expect to be done until then."

Zenitsu didn't know why he felt so afraid when she said that. Something in her tone just screamed MENACING to him. It's surprising that he hasn't had a mental breakdown yet since he's talking to a literal fucking star.

"If one fails, you all fail."

"Get it done, Agatsuma. The universe itself depends on you." The tense atmosphere dissipated in an instant. "Now you'll see your "soulmate." Neh, what a nice comparison you made 'Nitsu-chan! Bye-bye!"

With that, Zenitsu dropped into the dark void.

After falling for what felt like hours at a time, Zenitsu finally landed. Well, landing on his ass is what he did.

"O-ow..." His throat was sore from screaming so long, and now his butt hurt? Damn star.

Getting up, he looked around. There was nothing. It was a replica of the place he was before, but black. And dark. And damp. And had no star in it.

"Where in the world did she drop me?" He (once again) did a double-take. Still black. Still dark. Still damp. Still without a star. It fucking sucked.

Zenitsu started to walk. Nowhere in particular, but just somewhere. If this place was even somewhere at all. Not that it mattered-he was dead and had just talked to a star. That alone was crazy enough. Him being nowhere? Pft-child's play.

"Uh, helloooo? Universal bond mate?"

It took a full minute for Zenitsu to realize it wasn't him who said it. His eyes widened, and he was off in a sprint-towards the direction of the voice. He heard the beat of a heart getting closer and closer, the sound of a song-a song-

A song he knew.

"Just don't want to die alone, y'know?"

Honey-golden eyes locked onto black ones.

"Don't want to die alone, y'know?"

He watched how they lit up, bright against the black like the star was against the white. So was his hair. Like a black beacon miraculously cutting through more black. Zenitsu thought about how pretty his hair was and his eyes and the star and the black and the white and beacons and death and soulmates until he fell through the floor and stopped thinking at all.

A/N: So I did a thing. Don't ask questions. It happened and now it's a thing and you can't fucking stop me from making it one.

I also based the writing of the last paragraph on the book "The Haymeadow" by Gary Paulsen. It just seemed to fit ;)