After some encouraging words and Tanjiro insisting that he would be okay, Zenitsu had finally agreed to go back into the mansion, on the condition that Shoichi came along. Of course Zenitsu had no doubt that Tanjiro could protect him if it came down to it, especially after that display earlier, but he'd still feel better if Shoichi went with them.

Unfortunately to Zenitsu's luck, Shoichi didn't agree with it. Leaving Zenitsu a sniveling mess behind Tanjiro as they walked through the mansion, lead by that fancy nose of his. He clutched the back of Tanjiro's checkered haori as they walked down a corridor.

Shoichi, Teruko, and Kiyoshi stayed outside to help by digging graves for the victims that remained in the house. They had buried the Beta from earlier that fell from the second story and they were patting dirt on the grave.

Tanjiro had told them beforehand that they didn't have to force themselves to help out if they were tired and to rest whenever they needed. He especially told Kiyoshi not to push himself but the boy insisted on helping out as much as he could.

Zenitsu glanced around his surroundings when they entered a room. It was lit by lamps on the ceiling and to the right there seemed to be an open doorway to a kitchen. The grip on the fabric in his hands tightened when the smell of copper hit him.

When he looked over Tanjiro's shoulder he spotted two people on the ground, blood covering everything around the bodies. Zenitsu guessed they must have been there for a few hours at best, for it to smell this way. Tanjiro walked over.

He followed holding the haori in his hand. Zenitsu couldn't see Tanjiro's face but he sounded sad, guilty, and upset. Zenitsu let go once they were next to the two bodies.

"Zenitsu do you think you can pick up the other person while I carry him?" Tanjiro asked as he kneeled down next to them. Zenitsu nodded and went around the Alpha to the other corpse. He wrapped an arm under her legs and back, gently picking her up.

When they both left the room behind Tanjiro spoke to him again. "I know you were scared Zenitsu, but thank you for coming"

Zenitsu looked over and nodded his head. He felt bad for how he acted earlier, he just got terrified at the thought of going back into that house of horrors. Feeling somber, Zenitsu's head hung low. Tanjiro didn't need that.

Zenitsu grabbed a large rock and walked over to where Tanjiro and the kids were. He sighed as he carried the heavy thing. They had buried the two people and were helping out the kids, Kiyoshi had gotten a bit tired so they compensated for it by having Zenitsu, Shoichi and Teruko get the rocks this time around.

All of a sudden a loud yell rang out that made Zenitsu jump out of his skin with a yelp. When he turned around he saw Inosuke yelling and then broke into a run after him.

"AHHH! HE'S AWAKE!" Zenitsu immediately dropped the rock and ran.

DOES HE ALWAYS WAKE UP ANGRY? I HATE THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING!

"FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME! HEY YOU-"

Zenitsu ran behind Tanjiro, gripping the Demon Slayer Corps Uniform. Tanjiro winced at the action as his body was turned to shield Zenitsu.

When Tanjiro looked up to see a confused Inosuke looking at the graves and back to them, Inosuke pointed at them accusingly.

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" He questioned them.

"It's a burial" Tanjiro answered.

"Hah?"

"You help out too Inosuke" Tanjiro pointed to the current deserted house. "There are still people who were killed inside the house"

"What's the point of burying the corpse of creatures? I'm not doing that! I'm not helping! Forget that! Fight me!"

Zenitsu furrowed his brows.

Man, he really is a loon, what does he mean what's the point?

"I see" Zenitsu lifted his head a little from the Alpha's shoulder when he spoke. "You can't do it because your wounds are hurting you"

Zenitsu looked at Tanjiro in disbelief. And Inosuke had looked even more upset, a vein visible on his forehead from where Zenitsu stood.

These two are beyond help! There are both crazy!

Zenitsu heard caring and thoughtfulness in Tanjiro's words. Zenitsu was shocked. Not only had he never met an Alpha or heck even another person so nice, but Tanjiro hadn't shown any anger or annoyance at Inosuke, he only sounded, bad for him. Weren't Alpha's like, super territorial when another Alpha wants to challenge them?

I mean he's seen it before. He saw two Alpha's one day in the street fighting over a girl. When the aggressor had said those two words "fight me" it was almost like a trigger button and the two were battling it out on the ground until the police came.

It was almost scary how easy it was to set off an Alpha like that, but...

"No that's okay! Afterall, we all have a different pain tolerance. Moving everyone who died outside the house, then burying them with dirt takes a lot of work" Tanjiro said as he moved his arms and hands in gestures.

"Zenitsu and these kids and I will do our best, so don't worry!"

"You should get some rest Inosuke. Sorry to ask so much of you!"

Inosuke grinded his teeth in anger and Zenitsu flinched when Inosuke blew up again saying he would bury two hundred more corpses then Tanjiro and everyone else. It was an obvious display of a challenge that even a five year old could tell.

Yet all Tanjiro did was give a simple smile "oh, so you do want to help!"

Lord help him, he's tagging along with the most mentally impaired Alpha in the world and a crazy savage one to boot.

The sun was setting behind the trees, the blue hues of the sky turning into bright oranges and pinks through the trees, as the wind blew through them.

Zenitsu, Tanjiro and the kids were giving prayers to the ones they buried. Zenitsu blocked out the noises of Inosuke headbutting every tree in their vicinity, getting annoyed by them.

"What is that person doing?" Teruko asked.

"I think it's best not to look" her older brother replied his eyes closed while trying to concentrate on giving his prayers.

"Yeah" Shoichi agreed.

The guy had a concussion or even a fracture on his skull, how the hell could he keep hitting it? Zenitsu was sure he was crazier than any person he's met so far.

"Caw!"

Zenitsu jumped when he heard the voice and wing beats of the freaky talking crow.

"Descend the mountain! Descend the mountain! Caw!"

"That crow is talking!"

"Just, don't think anymore" Kiyoshi said.

Teruko nodded. "Okay"

The crow began to circle them in the air as he continued to speak.

"Alright then, follow me! Follow yours truly! Caw! Caw!"

"Alright, let's head down" Tanjiro said to the three kids as he lifted the box on his back. He gave them a comforting smile and they nodded their heads, when they started heading onto the dirt path through the forest, Inosuke stopped them in their tracks.

"Oi! Where are you going?"

Obviously where leaving, Zenitsu grumbles in his head.

"Where descending the mountain" Tanjiro said.

"Where not done with our battle yet!"

"Your tired aren't you? Come on, where heading down"

"HAA?! I'm not tired!" Inosuke got into a running stance and sprinted "Fight me!"

"AHH!" Zenitsu cried as he used Tanjiro as a human shield again "Stay away!"

The three kids glanced at him.

"Fight me!" Inosuke said when he reached them.

"Nope" Tanjiro answered as he continued walking down the pathway.

"Come on! I'm ready this time! You won't knock me out now!"

Tanjiro shook his head.

"I said I wouldn't fight you anymore and that's that. Those are the Corps rules."

Inosuke grumbles and runs ahead of them to bang his head against another tree.

Zenitsu sighed and puffed his cheeks out in annoyance. What's up with this guy? He removed himself from behind Tanjiro. Glancing next to him, he sees Tanjiro smiling.

"What's that look for?" Zenitsu pouted.

Tanjiro shook his head "You just remind me of one of my siblings"

He sounded fond as he looked up to the sky, probably lost in some memories.

Oh? Zenitsu never thought Tanjiro could have siblings, but now that he thought about it, he did give off a big brother vibe when he interacted with the kids.

The sun was getting closer and closer to setting and it was getting close to being dark.

When an Intersection of the road came up Kiyoshi was the first to pipe up about it.

"We can head home from here Tanjiro-san" Kiyoshi said as Shoichi and Teruko stood on either side of him.

Tanjiro turned around to face them "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we-" Shoichi began.

"No way! You can't leave me Shoichi-kun! You have to stay!" Zenitsu cried as he drapes himself on the younger kid with tears.

Shoichi tries to pull away from Zenitsu's hold but he wouldn't budge.

"Zenitsu! Let go! I don't want to!"

"I won't have it! I won't have it! You can't go Shoichi-kun!" Zenitsu yelled as he shook the young boy. Kiyoshi and Teruko looked on worriedly at their brother, unsure of what to do.

"Your powerful, Shoichi-kun! Shoichi is the one that's gonna protect me!" And he's one of the only people in this crazy group that's sane!

Tanjiro grabbed the back of Zenitsu's two toned haori, trying to tug the blond off of Shoichi, but he still persisted on keeping his grip on the boy.

"Can't you see Shoichi doesn't want to stay?" Tanjiro tried to reason.

"Please don't leave me behind!" Zenitsu begged ignoring Tanjiro.

"You stop that right now!" Tanjiro said suddenly with a hint of annoyance and authority. Before Zenitsu could react though his vision blackouts for the third time today.

Tanjiro said his goodbyes to the kids after his crow gave Kiyoshi some Wisteria to keep the demons at bay.

Looking down, Tanjiro saw the blond still knocked unconscious and drool had escaped his mouth. He sighed and slipped off Nezuko's box to place it in front.

He struggled to pick up Zenitsu's limp body to carry on his back, his ribs yelling at him to rest as soon as possible. But he pushed through the pain and continued following the crow with Inosuke not far behind.

At some point Inosuke had approached Tanjiro on their walk down.

"Fight me checkered haori!"

"No Inosuke. We can't fight each other it's the Corps. Rules"

"Forget that! Fight me! I swear I'm gonna find a weak point and bring you down loser!"

"My names not "loser!" Its Tanjiro Kamado!"

"Kamaboko Gonpachiro! I'm gonna bring you down!" Inosuke stated as he did weird gestures with his arms in a sort of flexing way.

"Who are you talking about?"

"That would be you!" Inosuke shouted.

"No, it's someone else!" Tanjiro yelled back.

"AHH CAN YOU TALK ANY LOUDER!?!" Zenitsu screamed behind Tanjiro.

"Is that a challenge yellow hair!" Inosuke says with goad. Zenitsu just gives him this look of 'Are you serious right now?'

Annoyed with not getting either of the Demon Slayers to fight him, Inosuke carried on with his "I'll get my head stronger than yours" workout.

Zenitsu's eye twitches at the sight. Maybe this was all just a weird fever dream.

"Sorry Zenitsu, for waking you!" Tanjiro said, his voice genuine with apology.

Zenitsu just huffs his displeasure with having been disturbed, he hadn't gotten much sleep lately and he was really comfortable when he was sleeping around Tanjiro's scent, that is until he was rudely awakened.

He lays his head back on Tanjiro's shoulder taking in his cinnamon and cherry wood smell. He took a deep breath, letting it all go as he relaxed again. He closed his eyes and concentrating his hearing to listening to the sounds that surrounded him.

He listened to the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees, birds chirping their last songs before dark, the crickets coming out to play their nightly routine along with the cicadas. He could hear the distant sound of water rushing down a nearby creek, the splashes from fish, and the croaks of frogs.

He faintly heard the hoots of an owl, the footsteps of Tanjiro, and Inosuke's headbutting as the trees shook from the force, breathing, a small yawn beside him and the pitter-patter of Tanjiro's heart and the jingle of his hanafuda earrings as he walked. And soon his hearing singled out the sound he heard when they first met. That boundless kindness that he will most likely never find anywhere else.

He felt warmth from his neck and he enjoyed it as the coming of night began to chill the air. So lost in his mind as he was borderline between being conscious and unconscious and practically drunk off of Tanjiro's scent growing stronger by the second, he would've missed what Tanjiro said if it wasn't for his good hearing.

"What are you doing?" Inosuke's voice inquired.

Hmm? What was what? Was Tanjiro doing something? Zenitsu couldn't really figure it out through his sleepy haze but it didn't matter to him right now. He was happy and content at the moment.

He wouldn't let Inosuke's stupidity ruin it for him.

"Oh, have you not scented before Inosuke?" Tanjiro asked curiously.

Scent?

"Scenting? Your just rubbing necks!" Inosuke shouted.

Wait what-

Zenitsu's eyes shot open when he heard Inosuke say that. He felt like reality had crashed down on him the second he opened his eyes, and it felt like a log smacked into his face like that one time when he was under that hellish training from Gramps.

Zenitsu blushed when he realized what that warmth was from earlier and realized why Tanjiro's scent got so overwhelmingly strong, and Zenitsu shrieked, jerking his head away so fast that he had made gravity favor his. He felt around quickly to try and grab Tanjiro or anything so he wouldn't fall but it was already too late and he fell backwards with a hard thud.

"Oww..." Zenitsu coughed painfully, his ribs aching for some reason. That fall made it feel worse.

"Zenitsu!" Tanjiro turned around swiftly to see if Zenitsu was okay.

Tanjiro had tried to catch Zenitsu before he fell but he couldn't react in time with how unexpected it was.

When Zenitsu opened his eyes to see the Alpha hovering over him he screeched and shoved his hand in Tanjiro's face who only looked confused at Zenitsu's actions.

"Zenitsu-"

"You idiot! You dumb dumb idiot! Why did you do that! You can't just scent me like that!" The blond yelled as he used his other hand that wasn't in Tanjiro's face to wrap around the swollen gland on his neck.

"But Zenitsu, you liked having my scent around earlier what's wrong with it now?" Tanjiro had sounded disheartened but Zenitsu's antics overlooked it as he panicked again.

"WHAT'S WRONG?!- WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT'S WRONG!?!! YOU DON'T JUST SCENT PEOPLE WITH YOUR NECK GLANDS THAT'S SO INTIMATE! AND EMBARRASSING!"

"But, I do that all the time with my family, and it's easier doing it that way then with our wrists since it's stronger" Tanjiro explained.

Zenitsu looked at him like he was crazy as he hiked his knees up to wrap his arms around. Was he just as dumb and oblivious as Inosuke? Did that mean he wasn't culturally educated like Inosuke? Surely he would have known of something so basic.

Well, he did calm down rather quickly but he knew it was the work of Tanjiro's scenting. He sighed heavily. What did he get himself into?

At least he had something to ground himself. He blushed as he rubbed his red gland, looking up to see Tanjiro's was the same.

"Are you two just gonna sit there all night?!" Inosuke hollered at them from the distance.

______

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! it was really fun to write and I'm excited to do the next part when Tanjiro finds out Zenitsu's a Omega and not a Beta.