THE COLOR OF THE WORLD

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Disclaimer: Kimetsu no Yaiba belongs to Koyoharu Gotouge

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Genre(s): Adventure/ Hurt/Comfort

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Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC and a lot of Angst. I hope. Not Beta.

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Manga: Chapter 26 & 27

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In the past, Agatsuma Zenitsu possessed the same sharp hearing he did in the present.

It was something that he hated as he grew up. To be able to hear other people's heart beats, to be able to hear people's hidden voices. He could even understand what others were saying as he slept through the night, which really creeps him out. The world is a loud, loud place and no matter where he went. No matter where he hid, true peace never existed.

(So I just resigned myself to this life I had and hoped for the best)

"The demon's sound has disappeared, so Nezuko-chan has defeated the demon," he mused in the back of his head, while on the outside, he was panicking over the fact that he was bleeding after sacrificing a small part of his body to saved Shoichi; the kid's word, not him. He said they were blown out of the house as the layout of it changed, sending them flying from the second story window, crash-landing into the hard ground below. Zenitsu was simply glad that they were not inside the creepy house anymore, he didn't even realize he was injured and now was regretting over it because the pain had started to kick in. He accepted Shoichi's words just for the sake of appeasing the child's heart, saying that Zenitsu had saved him where he was definitely not because I'm nothing I'm weak I'm useless—

CRASH

The entrance of the estate was suddenly knocked from its hinges, garnering the pairs attention and almost shocking them to death. There, standing in the entrance was the Pig Mask they met moments ago, shouting uproariously like some kind of buffon. Zenitsu was too distracted by his fear when he first saw him, but now he knew. He recognized his voice; his heart voice. This person—

"—is the fifth person that qualified," he frightfully murmured, "he was the fastest person during the Final Selection to go up and down the mountain!" A hot-headed sort of person! A type he couldn't handle because their voice is always so loud—

Then Pig Mask flung himself towards the box Nezuko-chan left behind to keep the siblings safe. And Zenitsu moved so fast it was as if he had teleported, stopping the said hotheaded from advancing any further.

"Stop! I won't allow you to lay your hands on this box!" he glared, "this is Nezuko-chan's most precious possession!"

"Hey, hey, hey...what are you talking about?" Pig Mask questioned, one of the blades was rested on his shoulder as he stood over menacingly, almost relaxed and feeling a bit confused over Zenitsu's behavior, "don't you know that there's a demon inside the box?"

"OF COURSE I KNEW THAT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!"

All living things will produce sounds, lots and lots of different sounds. The sounds of breathing, the sounds of the heart beating, the sound of blood flowing, the sounds of their hidden feelings. A 'demon sounds' and a 'human sounds' are fundamentally different from each other. All he had to do is concentrate and listen hard, then Zenitsu will be able to know what that person is thinking about. He knew. He knew.

But, even if he escaped from the ugly side of the demon's cruelty, he keeps getting deceived by people instead; always trusting only those he wanted to trust.

(Because when you can hear their lies, you won't know what's the truth even anymore)

Then he met Nezuko.

She produced the sound of every girl he ever met before; lively, cheerful, nice, her scary hook aside—seriously, he kinda had nightmares after seeing her downing the scared guy with one punch in the Final Selection weeks before. And now he experienced the fist himself, his horror is totally justified—So he kinda brushed her aside (didn't want to get deceived anymore. Didn't want to face the betrayal anymore). However, one thing Zenitsu is good at, aside from sobbing like a crybaby is listening. And he listened.

Aah...she's crying. Deep within her heart, she's crying. Begging for someone to help her. Begging for them not to leave her alone because she's lonely, lonely, lonely—

How could she still freely give them that beautiful, beautiful smile? Saving someone else and not asking for anything in return? For a helping hand in return?

(So different from those women who deceived him. Acting weak and frail and begged him to support them. While on the inside, they were laughing at his cluelessness. Foolishness)

It hurt, it hurt, it hurts so, so much—

Nezuko is a demon hunter, yet she also carried a demon with her. For a girl like that (for a girl who doesn't lean on other's shoulder when she clearly needs one), she must have an important reason to do this. He's willing to trust in her judgment. Her judgment is definitely something he can accept.

(And there is this sound. Somewhere, he couldn't really pinpoint it. A sound he never heard before in his life)

"I want to ask Nezuko-chan about this, face to face," the yellow hunter hissed. Even though he was scared, body trembling and sweat pouring, he didn't move. Hands spread, covering the rattling box with his own body, "so you...you should just get the hell out of the way first!"

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And Nezuko kicked the hell out of the Pig Mask.

"Uwaahh. His ribs are totally broken!" Zenitsu wept, watching as the brash teen was sent careening towards a tree trunk, letting out a loud thud. He didn't even need to use his uncanny sense of hearing, he definitely heard something crack after that kick. Sure, the sunny boy was glad she saved him from the possible murder, but still, "she's scary as always..."

"Aren't you a member of the demon hunters?" Nezuko exclaimed, helping Zenitsu get up from the dirty land before she dumped him with the siblings to be treated, "do you know why Zenitsu won't pull out his swords? Because it's taboo for a team member to pull their blades out and bully others. Despicable...despicable..."

"Enjoying yourself while others are in pain...YOU'RE DESPICABLE!"

(No. No, Nezuko-chan. Don't let me hear your heart crying even more than this. Its tearing me apart)

"Cough...cough...hahaha...hahahahaha, is that so. I'm sorry. It's a pity I can't test your dual wielding swords technique but..." Pig Mask hoarsely spoke as he backflipped himself to a stand, throwing his blades aside, "let's duel with our bare hands, then! That way, we won't be breaking any law whatsoever!"

"No, I don't think you understand anything at all," Zenitsu started to explain, letting Shoichi wiped the blood from his nose while the others tended to his other injuries, "in the first place, we—"

"OKAY, BRING IT ON!"

"EEEH! NEZUKO-CHAN?!"

"W-Wait, Nezuko-chan, hold up!" it was morbidly funny, to see her so comically mad, smoke coming out of her ears, gritted teeth and all. However, this is wrong. He has to stop the madness before it was too late; Pig Mask, he understands. But Nezuko? He didn't think she's the same type as that weirdo. But when he tried to go over there and separate the two, it was clear that anything he could do would not help the situation in the slightest. Their onslaught was too intense for a third member to join in; a kick to the face, Nezuko dodged. A swipe from the back of her head, Pig Mask ducked. Zenitsu would have to be suicidal if he still wanted to go over there and add other bruises to his already tingling body just to stop the fighting. Fortunately, the coward was not suicidal, "You know fighting team members is a taboo right? You just said so yourself! So why—"

"BECAUSE HE HURT YOU!" She roared, dishing out another leg swipe, Pig Mask jumped. He threw a punch to her thigh, she managed to block it at the last second. Just from watching him move, it was obvious even from Zenitsu's spectators point of view that Pig Mask's strikes were abnormally low. His movement, his gesture, he felt like he was seeing a girl fighting a four-legged beast instead. The burgundy-eyes slayer tried to aim even lower, yet Pig Mask managed to fuse into the earth himself, evading Nezuko's circular kick by doing an impressive split. Followed by his own spinning kick by bending his back backward and sending the girl into the dirt face first, her mouth started to bleed. She rolled to the side when Pig Mask's other leg almost descended over her head for the second time, stood up and now the pair were back to face each other at minimal distance. She wiped the blood from her mouth before she continued, "he hurt you. He hurt you for the sake of his own amusement. Consequences be darn—"

"I can't forgive someone who hurt my friend!"

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Friend?

Zenitsu… hasn't had any friends in a long, long time.

His heart panged.

"And you!" Nezuko pointed to the Pig Mask. W-What is he doing? Were his eyes working right? Because he definitely saw him bending his legs forward while the teen was laying stomach-down. The flexibility of his joints is a literal monster! "don't do that sort of position too much! You're going to cause a problem to your bones and your body will deteriorate! My teacher is going to go ballistic if he knows you have such atrocious behavior! Think about your future!"

And she still has a heart to fuss over the weirdo. She's too nice!

"Deteriorate is good! Nothing can be compared to that sudden thrill I felt just now, hahaha!" he put the legs down and decided to pounce on four legs, painting his movements into those of an actual boar.

"You are really starting to—" Nezuko leaned, right fist pulled back to store the utmost momentum, "—piss me off!"

BUAK

Somehow, Zenitsu expected it'll end like this; with her infamous right hook—or punch to the ground, in this case—stopping the Pig in one swift hit.

He didn't expect the weirdo to have a beautiful face that almost rivaled Nezuko-chan under that fur and skin though.

After a bout of short commotion—the moment Pig Mask woke up, he immediately asked the nearest person, Zenitsu, to fight him—a belated introduction from each other ("My name is Hashibira Inosuke! Remember that, Kamaboku Nedukon!", "You got the name wrong!"), and a burying ceremonial for the poor victims ("Your wounds still hurt, that's why you're unwilling to help, right? That's okay, you can rest easy~", "Don't underestimate me! No matter if it's 100 or 200 people, I'll bury them all! I'm a better grave-digger than anybody else!", "Nezuko-chan, did you just trick him into helping?", "Hehe. I'm starting to understand how to handle him, Zenitsu.", "Sly. You're too sly..."), their mission is now officially over.

Ignoring Kasugaigarasu's incessant nagging about their next destination, Nezuko offered to accompany the siblings home. Even though the bird already gave Kiyoshi an incense bag that smelled of wisteria to ward off the demons, she was still worried, giving them some snacks to chew on for their short journey. Because their house is actually not too far from their current location and this is Zenitsu's only chance to ever feel safe by following Shoichi The Strong ("How did he get that idea, Shoichi-kun?", "It's...hard to explain, Neechan") before he went back to this hellish lifestyle, the two boys followed along.

The crow was still pouting even after an hour of traveling.

"Matching my strength against other creature is my only hobby, see!" their third member bragged, now that the siblings were safe and well in their residence. His pig mask was back in place, hiding his rosy complexion under the guise of an intimidating, dead animal. Zenitsu still couldn't get over how pretty he was. White, milky skin. Black hair with blue highlights at the bottom of the locks. Long eyelashes and shiny, glittering green orbs as his eyes. If only he didn't have a ridiculously muscled chest and six-pack, the Thunder Breath user was sure a whole lot of men would like to propose him based on looks alone. Inosuke guffawed to the sky as he unsheathed his swords, making them glimmer under the moonlight, "I would like to cross blades with you one day, Nedukon! That way, we'll know I am the best dual sword wielder ever exist in the world!"

"Sure. We can spar after you apologized to Zenitsu for hitting him."

"Okay, Zenbiksu! I apologized!"

"That is totally not a sincere apology! And my name is Zenitsu!"

Well, he couldn't really hope for too much from a hot-headed guy like him. From the stories alone, they knew Inosuke acquired his blades by matching his strength against demon hunters. Hearing about the existence of demons as well as the final selection through the same method. He didn't rely upon a 'cultivator' like Zenitsu or Nezuko. And he seemed to directly join the demon hunters association after participating in that dangerous exam. For someone who recklessly went head-long into danger like that, a normal courtesy is definitely not in his life's dictionary.

The crow led them to a house with the crest of wisteria printed upon the wooden door. Based on the enormous gate that traversed from here to the furthest corners of their sight, they could tell this house is massive. Even with the door closed, they could still see the building peeking from behind it; it was another two-story, ancient house. Although different from the Drum Demon's—as Nezuko named him—house, this one is definitely not haunted and scary. Okay, the old caretaker lady with white hair tied in a high bun scared him, but he didn't let his mouth run this time because it was rude of him and he didn't want to get smacked by Nezuko for impoliteness. Kasugaigarasu said this family with the wisteria crest is a family that rescues the lives of demon hunters such as them. As long as the person is a member of the association, the family will serve them and ask nothing in return. Basically, this is the resting place for injured slayers and they should heal themselves now that the battle was over. Nezuko was not happy with this revelation.

"We can rest. Even though I fought against demons with wounds all this time?!"

"...gulp."

"Come back here, you heartless bird!" she screeched toward the ascending creature, tears of frustration and anger visible in her burgundy eyes, "I'm going to pluck out all of your feathers and skewer you good! Come back here!"

("Zenitsu, please. Let me trade my messengers with yours. I can't handle its abuse anymore...", "I'm sorry, Nezuko-chan but I won't do it.")

The old lady asked a doctor to come over, checking and bandaging their terrible injuries. Somehow, all three of them have broken ribs—Zenitsu, two broken ribs. Nezuko, three broken ribs. Inosuke, four broken ribs—and the healer said that they should rest for several weeks because of this. Nezuko's room was at the opposite of them. But she decided to dine in their room because having a meal with your friends is a lot more fun than eating by yourself . Changing out of their stiff uniforms into comfortable yukata, they were now consuming the food that the old lady had prepared, chatting animatedly and amicably. The Breath of Beast user was trying to taunt Nezuko into fighting him. In which she boldly refused because they're not in tip-top shape. Speaking of Inosuke though—

He completely forgot about the box! Zenitsu growled in exasperation. If this guy doesn't care about it now, why the hell did he beat me up?! This bastard! Idiot! Long-eyelashes freak!

"Nezuko-chan? Can I ask you about something?" he questioned, as a way to distract himself from his hatred towards the weirdo. She hummed in confirmation, "what are you lugging around a demon for?"

Her teacup fell to the tatami with a loud clunk.

Everything went silent, air turned colder. The only sound that could be heard was Inosuke shuffling his legs toward the futon so he could finally get some well-deserved sleep—the bump he got after Nezuko's punch of reality was still throbbing after all.

"You...did you know about this all along?" she asked, almost in a whisper. Her face was pale and sweat started drenching her pretty complexion, "I should've know...you have an excellent sense of hearing. Seeing and hearing are different but in this case, their job is one and the same," she turned to him, lips thinned, "are you going to tell the other hunters? Are you going to kill him now that you know his existence?"

"N-No. Uum...I would like to hear your explanation first before I take any actions," Zenitsu stated, trying to soothe the disgruntled girl by pulling his hand away from the handle of his sword. The yellow-haired boy saw how her body language had tensed, figure leaned over to the direction of the said box, now rested peacefully at the corner of the boys' room (she may not want others to poke around the thing. Or was just plain worried, especially how Souichi and Teruko left it alone for too long and Inosuke trying to destroy it. Whatever it is, Nezuko keep the box by her side. To be there and ready to protect whenever that scenario happen again). Zenitsu didn't like how anxious she looked at that second. How she rested her suspicious eyes to him like he was someone dangerous and not to be trusted after saying that he is her friend. No. He didn't like this one bit—

"Is...Is that so," she breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxed the instant the crisis was averted. For now. The pink haori wearer smiled at him, grateful and happy, "was that the reason why you protected the box even if it cost you your body?"

Zenitsu nodded.

"You are a good person. Thank you," Nezuko chuckled gratefully, he blushed. She really is pretty, even more so now that she didn't put her hair up in a ponytail. She tapped her index finger at the side of her temple, silently asking him to look at her eyes, "my sight is very sharp, see. I can see the color of someone in the form of a fog. It tells me their location, like a trail left by an animal. What kind of person they are. The emotion they're feeling at that moment. Or what kind of relationship they have," oh, so that's what she meant when she said the girl before has other fog intertwining her own, "Zenitsu, you're kind, gentle and very strong. That's why I said you're going to be fine when we enter the Drum Demon's residence."

"M-Me? Strong?" the cowardly hunter pointed at himself, at which Nezuko nodded, "no, no, no, no, Nezuko-chan. You're wrong! There's no way I'm strong! Shoichi-kun saved me from the demon, remember?"

"I...still don't understand how you reached that conclusion, but..." the black-haired girl collected the fallen cup and put it on the table, she started cleaning the spilled tea using the available rag, "You really are strong, Zenitsu. You may not believe in other people's words, but the colors never lie to me. You didn't lack any strength, you only lack confidence. And I'm sure one day, you can face the world with your eyes wide open."

"I believe in you, okay?"

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Zenitsu...Zenitsu was speechless. Nobody ever talked to him like that, other than his own mentor. Nezuko was just a stranger until today. A scary lady with a scary punch. Yet she believed him. Even after his pathetic display, crying his eyes out at every second he could, she still believed in him.

(Believed in him even more than he could ever believe in himself)

The electric teen didn't know how to react to that sincere compliment, "b-by the way. About the box..." that's why he decided to steer them back to their previous topic. He was ready to utter the same question. But then her sentences regarding the demon inside finally clicked, he looked up "wait, did you say him?"

The box decided at that moment to rattle around.

So don't blame Zenitsu when he yelped in fright.

Nezuko clamped her palm over his mouth. Saying that everything is okay and don't shout too much, it's already night you're going to wake up the neighborhood. But...but they're talking about a demon here! A demon! Right in this room! And trying to escape from his confinement! Was actually escaping as the door of the box creaked open—aaaaaa that thing wasn't locked?—presenting the scary beast to the world, the horrifying beast that will eat him alive—

A ginger-haired kid rolled out of the box like a caterpillar instead, with a stick of bamboo nestled firmly in his mouth.

Eh?

The demon moved again, still laying down, now rolling over to Nezuko while growing his body size at the same time; he's in the form of a teenager now instead of a ten year old kid. He gave her a pleasant eye smile and a fond hum under the mouthguard, the only girl in this party giggled at the beast's antics. As he stood up to face the spectator better, she turned, "Zenitsu, this is Tanjiro. He's my nii—wait. Why are you crying?"

Huh? Crying?

Sure enough, he could feel tears rolling down his cheeks. One tear. Two tears. Before it turned into a waterfall gushing, "I don't..." he tried to wipe it away but to no avail. It kept pouring and pouring and pouring and he couldn't stop it—, "I'm...I'm sorry. I don't know what—"

Tanjiro approached him, concern clear on his reddish-brown eyes. He tilted his head to the side and offered him a rice ball as a token of introduction. That small gesture only made sunny hunter cry even more, sending the demon into panic. He frantically whined at Nezuko, asking her what's wrong with her friend, although the sister didn't know the reason herself (this is not his famous exaggerated cry. This is...something else. Something she couldn't fathom and it really worried her). Zenitsu wanted to say that everything is okay, fine and dandy. Except he couldn't. Because he was too caught off over the fact that—

Such a gentle sound.

This...this is the sound that he couldn't pinpoint before. The sound that trailing after Nezuko. The sound he never heard in his whole, arduous life.

How could a demon—an evil, scary demon—has this kind of sound? Whereas the nicest human he ever met doesn't even have this melodic sound. Like a lullaby. Like a shelter under the sun—

Like a protection of a caring, big brother.

(What happened? He bawled. Sniffling and hiccuping. A nice girl with a broken heart. And a demon with a heart purer than any human. What actually happened? Who dare hurt this kind, kind siblings? Breaking them to the core. Destroying this happy family to smithereens?)

Nezuko and Tanjiro patted his head to console the upset boy as Zenitsu's sobs continued all the way till dawn.

(A/N): "A sound so gentle that it makes me want to cry" indeed TwT

By the way, it bothers me that Tanjiro always becomes the other character's punching bag in this series, especially from the crow. I know it's for comedic purpose but still! You're just too nice!

That's why I changed it. Nezuko doesn't take any crap from anyone, okay? Don't you dare try to cross her! X(

And she's sly because she has to be. For the sake of keeping her youngest siblings in line so they don't bother Tanjiro too much when he was clearly working :P

(LL- I really like this chapter, it was very calm and it was great to see Zenitsu's perspective. Also I agree Tanjiro is way too nice. But even he gets pissed on occasion)