Chapter Text
It was times like this that Zenitsu hated how good his ears were.
Rested up against a broken wall with Inosukes head cradled in his lap, all he could do was listen as the various slayers slowly succumbed to their injuries.
All the Hashira had already been killed by Muzan or Tanjiro. Their bodies strewn about to show their final moments.
The pale face of the Love Hashira looked like she was peacefully sleeping. Only if you ignored how the bones sticking out of her body were just as pail.
The Snake Hashira layed not too far away, his white serpent curled in front of his face slowly prodding it in an attempt to wake him up. Not that it would work, Zenitsu heard his heart stop beating ten minutes ago.
All that was left of the Water Hashira was his arm easily defined by his colorful haori. He tried not to think about how Tanjiro had bit his head clean off.
Nezuko laid not too far away with her only injury being the gaping hole in her chest showing that she died a human. He would have brought her over to rest by him if only the bones in his legs weren't turned into dust by overusing his godspeed.
There was a shift of the stones nearby and Zenitsu slowly lifted his head to look at the only other living person in the immediate area. Tsuyuri Kanao. As she stood up one of her arms was hanging limply by her side with bite chunks taken out of it. The same was for her leg as she slowly limped towards him.
When she eventually made it to his wall she leaned against it before roughly sliding down and coming to rest next to him. Using her working hand she grabbed his wrist finding a faint but steady pulse. Zenitsu could now see the hole in her torso that she was previously covering up, slowly leaking blood. (A fatal wound his mind unhelpfully supplied)
Taking a shaking breath, Kanao spoke. “We lost.”
Although it was worded as a question it was clear it wasn't. And all that Zenitsu could do was nod his head as tears streamed down her cheeks.
The two of them sat side by side watching the sun slowly rise up into the sky. It was peaceful and for the first time this night Zenitsu felt he would be allowed to join Jigoro. But of course the universe wouldn't let him die in peace.
The inhuman roars of the Demon King had finally stopped and turned into the pained cries of a human. The sound of the demon rapidly, approaching them caused Zenitsu to shift, knocking Kanao out of her own trance.
The two of them watched as their friend, now turned demon, landed softly in the center of the clearing. His eyes took in the destruction before landing on his sister. Like a marionette with its strings cut he collapsed, sobs racking his body.
It was silent except for the Demon Kings crying, even the morning birds that had begun to sing also stopped. It was almost as if the universe had stopped to mourn with him.
But as it goes, all things must come to an end and Zenitsu was finding it harder to keep eyes open as Kanao let out a small cough wet with blood.
Tanjiro’s face snapped up at the sound and Zenitsu was ashamed to admit it but he flinched when the demon's eyes met his. The blood red eyes with cat like slits softened slightly at the site but turned sad when they dropped to look at the boar head in his lap that was missing the rest of its body.
He stood up with new tears streaming down his face. Zenitsu and Kanao sat in silence as he slowly made his way over to them.
Collapsing once again by their still conjoined hands he softly picked them up like a mother would with their new baby.
“I'm sorry.”
It was barely spoken but the two of them heard it just as well.
The three of them sat there as Zenitsu felt his body get colder and his eyelids get heavier. However before his eyes could close for the last time he heard his best friend speak again.
“I promise to make this all right. Blood Demon Art Rise of a New Sun.”
And with those parting words his world went black.
However when he opened them again instead of seeing Gramps on the other side of the river he found himself within a Wisteria forest.
Next he noticed he was falling as his legs weren't prepared to support him. Collapsing onto his hands and knees he looked around and realized he recnoised this forest.
It was the clearing for the final selection exam.
“Are you ok?” A hand entered his field of view.
Looking up he looked into the face of an older teen that he didnt recnoise. Grabbing the hand he pulled himself up taking a few steading breaths before letting go and nodding his thanks.
Getting a better look around he tried to see if he recnoised anything else. Freezing as his eyes on Genya who was looking much younger then when he last saw him. Over between the two poles were the two Ubuyashiki siblings. The one with white hair eyeing one with black hair in concern, Kiriya if Zenitsu remembered correctly.
Lastly holding onto a pillar for support stood Kanao, her eyes darting around the clearing before eventuling meeting his own.
Her eyes held the pain of seeing everyone you know and love die. It felt like the two of them stared at each other for hours but what really could have only been seconds.
“Do you remember?”
It was spoken so softly.
Barely an exhale of her breath.
But still Zenitsu heard it all the same.
So he nodded in response. Feeling relief well up in his chest at the knowledge that he wasn't alone dealing with this.
Suddenly his ears picked up the familiar sound of his best friend once turned demon now back human.
Turning around to face the entrance way, Tanjiro's red hair came into view. However instead of the familiar green checkered haori he had on a blue jimbei with a cloud pattern.
Looking into his eyes they were no longer that demon red but his original human color. However they held no recognition within them.
“Greeting Everyone.” Spoke the two Ubuyashiki kids in an unnerving sink. “We thank you for coming here tonight.”
As the two of them did their opening speech Zenitsu made his way to stand next to Kanao who did the same.
As the speech finished and they were released into the mountain Zenitsu and Kanao by unspoken agreement entered together and walked in silence until they were out of earshot of the other test takers.
Making it to a small clearing they faced one another and after a moment he tried to speak. Opening his mouth he found no words.
Closing it and trying again he found no matter how hard he tried, his body refused to cooperate and produced words.
Feeling his heart and breathing start to pick up pace he made to try again however was stopped by Kanao gently grabbing his hand.
Raising her other hand she used the standard demon slayer sign language.
“Do you understand me?” she asked.
Letting go he raised his own hands and signed a quick affirmative.
“How much do you remember?” she asked in a whisper as if she was afraid of what his answer might be.
“The final battle with Muzan. Tanjiro turning into a demon. Everyone dying. Tanjiro coming back and then using a Blood Demon Art.” replied Zenitsu, his hands going through the signs a little faster than necessary.
Kanao, having no trouble following along nodded.
“I remember the same. After closing my eyes I found myself back here.”
The two of them paused for a moment before Zenitsu spoke again.
“How likely is it that we are back in time and not just in an illusion?”
“I believe we are in the past. All illusion type demon arts I've encountered have had a flaw that I was to see. Even so Tan- … I don’t think his art would put us in an illusion.”
Zenitsu nodded in understanding the sounds everything was making where to actuate to be an illusion. “If we are in the past, what should we do?”
Kanao was going to answer but before she could, a scream cut through the night. Before a conscious thought had formed the two of them were moving blades drawn towards the screams.
Thankfully the demon slayer sign language was made with swordsmen in mind so it could be used one handed as Zenitsu relayed what he could hear to Kanao. “Two slayers. One low level demon. Has eaten at most fifteen people.”
She squinted through the trees before replying. “One of the slayers has a broken arm. The other one seems to be holding on fine for now but probably not for much longer.”
Nodding back the two of them picked up the pace a little quickly reaching the demon and slaying it. However they quickly moved on when Zenitsu heard another scream.
The first night of final selection proceeded much the same with the two of them hoping between slayer hopefuls and helping them. Most were thankful for saving them, but some were mad for stealing their kills. In the end they managed to kill twenty three demons between the two of them before the sun rose causing the rest to go into hiding.
Zenitsu found them a small stream sitting in the sun on top of a little cliff as Kanao found some berries to eat. After a quick breakfast they sat in silence not knowing how to breach the topic that was very clearly on their minds.
After a few minutes Kanao spoke the loudest that he has ever heard her speak (which was still a normal conversational tone for most people).
“I want to try and save everyone. The Hashira, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Shinobu-neesan, the Master, the rest of the slayer core, all of them. I want to try and save as many as I can and make sure we win.”
Zenitsu gave a small smile at her confidence before trying to speak again but was still unable to.
“I want to try and save them as well. Everyone deserves to live.”
“I suppose we should plan then Agatsuma-san.”
“Please call me Zenitsu it feels weird if you call me Agatsuma”
“Then you may call me Kanao, Zenitsu. But we still need to plan.”
“We should probably get through the final section first before we make too many plans.”
Her sound turned into soft amusement at that and took a moment to think before she replied. “Shinobu-neesan once mentioned that you had very good hearing. Is that true?”
“Yes that is true.” said Zenitsu, feeling the heat rise up into his face. No matter how many times he’s explained it he still gets embarrassed by it.
“Could you give me an example on how good it is?”
Zenitsu hummed for a moment before closing his eyes and listen. “There are currently seventy demons on the mountain.”
Kanao’s sound shifted to surprise before he continued. “None of the demons have eaten more than thirty people. Of the twenty slayer hopefuls that started out last night only one died.”
Kanao tossed that information around her head before speaking again. “My eyes are the same way.”
Confused, Zenitsu asked what she meant. So she showed him.
“Do you see that tree over there?” she pointed to a tree about a kilometer away that was weirdly sticking above the rest. “There are two Kasugai Crows sitting in it.”
He focused his hearing towards the tree and sure enough he could hear the unmistakable sound of the Kasugai Crow in it.
“Where were you going with this?” he asked after a moment.
“I was thinking it would probably be best to do what we did last night by going around and helping the other slayer hopefuls. However I am uncertain if changing the timeline could be detrimental.”
“We said we were going to save everyone. So let's start here.”
“Very well then.” a small smile ghosted her lips. “We should probably get some rest. The past couple of nights have been …”
Zenitsu nodded in understanding and quickly prepared themselves to try and get some sleep in the sun. Both of them have no problems sleeping in the woods.
After a few moments of getting comfortable Zenitsu eyes eagerly closed themselves and he quickly fell asleep. Only to find himself back inside the Infinity Castle.
Taking a deep breath to help calm his beating heart he looked around and realized he recnoised where he was. This was the room where he fought Kaigaku.
And sure enough there was Kaigaku standing before him with his back turned. Zenitsu’s hand automatically came to rest on the hilt of his sword as the demon started to turn around.
However instead of the face of his brother he stared into the eyes of demon Tanjiro. Zenitsu flinched and took a step back not wanting to be anywhere near this thing.
“Why didn't you save us?” Zenitsu flinched again when it spoke in the voice of Inosuke.
He was about to reply but before he could a door slammed open revealing Nezuko standing there with a hole in her chest dripping with fresh blood.
“Why didn't you save us?” her voice sounded so wet as blood leaked out of her mouth.
Another door slammed open and there stood the Butterfly girls covered in blood
“Why didn't you save us?”
Another door and there stood Kanao fresh from the final battle asking the same question.
Another door, this time a slayer, he didn't stop to help in favor of trying to get another hit on Muzan.
Door, this one the Water Hashira.
Door, another slayer from the final battle.
Door, Stone Hashira.
Door, the Ubuyashiki children.
Door, slayer.
Door, Love Hashira.
Door, civilian holding her child.
The doors kept on opening as more and more bodies kept piling in all in various states of dismemberment. Every single one of them asking the same question.
“Why didn't you save us?”
Zenitsu could no longer control his breathing as his pulse thundered in his ears. Everyone had slowly been making their way towards him either by walking or dragging themselves when they couldn't walk.
They were grabbing at his clothes, dragging him down and piling on top of him asking the question over and over again. It was getting dark, from the bodies piling on top of him or the blood leaking into his eyes he did not know.
He could not move. He could not do anything. So he stood there waiting for the darkness to eventually come.
Just before that moment could come Zenitsu bolted upright, a scream logged in his throat unable to escape. His hands shot up to his ears covering them hoping to try and block out the questions.
He doesn't know how long he sat there shivering even though he was sitting in the sun.
…
He doesn't know when he started to hear something other than the questions but he did.
It was breathing he eventually realized
It was the slow familiar hum of Total Concentration Breathing Constant.
There was also a presence by his back producing this sound.
Slowly but surely Zenitsu slowed down his breathing and matched the other. After a few minutes he cautiously opened his eyes and looked around.
He was back in the camp he and Kanao had set up though it was now late afternoon rather than early morning. Tilting his head to look over his shoulder he could see Kanao was sitting back to back with him. Her legs drawn up to her chest with her head resting on her knees.
Her sound told him that she was awake but was most likely meditating. Leaving her be for now Zenitsu closed his eyes and tried to pay attention to the animals in the area.
A few minutes later Kanao shifted and stood up stretching a little before walking in front of him and sitting down face to face. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying, tear tracks staining her cheeks.
“Are you ok?” she asked using sign instead of her voice.
“No.” Was his reply. “But I will be. It was a nightmare.” he gave in an explanation.
“I figured. I had one as well.”
The two of them sat in silence watching the sun slowly travel across the sky. As the two got ready for the night Zenitsu suddenly declared.
“I'm going to learn the rest of Thunder breathing forms.”
“Why?” asked Kanao, her voice much quieter barely being able to be heard by anyone other than Zenitsu.
“Because I need to be stronger.”
Accepting his answer the two of them took off into the forest heading towards the nearest demon.
-O-
The rest of their time spent on Mount Fujikasane was much the same with the two of them spending the night hopping between helping the slayer candent and demon hunting. At dawn the two of them would find a place to make camp and eat some food that they scavenge before going to sleep.
Only to usually be woken up by a nightmare. If the two of them started laying their bedroles closer together because it seemed to hold off the nightmares a little longer none of them commented on it.
Truly the one of the most eventful things to happen was on the sixth night Kanao was lagging behind as they ran towards the next demon. Concerned Zenitsu asked what was the problem.
“Truthfully you are very fast and this almost non stop sprinting for the past few days has been very tiring for me. Flower Breathing does not put as strong of a focus on the legs as Thunder Breathing does.”
Apologizing for not realizing Zenitsu slowed down his speed.
By the seventh night there were only ten demons left and they had all gone into hiding. Deciding it was more trouble than it was worth to hunt them, the two of them made their last night a rest night and to lay down some basic plans for the future.
The next morning they met up in the starting clearing once again, this time filled with the people they had saved instead of the five of them like the first time around.
Zenitsu was happy to see that he still got Chuntaro the little sparrow. Who he happily let hop onto his head. He has no idea why he likes it but Zenitsu assumed it had to do with his terrible bed head.
Genya still demanded his sword with Tanjiro stopping him like last time. He grabbed a random ore remembering how many times Tanjiro had to replace his sword so he didn’t see much point to this ceremony.
Waiting to get fitted for his uniform was annoying because he already knew his size (he was thankful he only heard Inosuke briefly and was sorry for the person in charge of fitting him).
By the time everything was done a few people tried to thank him and Kanao but the two of them were too exhausted to really pay attention to them. At the foot of the mountain the two split ways promising to write to one another.
It was a two day trip to reach Gramps hut within the peachtree forest. However with it finally came into view he was happy to see his Gramps, tears streaming down his face standing on the correct side of the river.