[Open]

[zapdope]

♥ Who: Zenitsu and you!
♥ Where: Diacht Temple then around town
♥ When: Back-dated to earlier this week/May 11th-ish for first prompt, later prompts are for throughout the month
♥ What: Zenitsu's got a canon update and he's not really happy (warning for some death mentions, also a lot of KNY spoilers)
♥ Rating: PG...PG-13 at most

[ 1 - Re-awakening, at Diacht's temple ]

[ Zenitsu had fallen into a coma for the past week. He himself wasn't aware of it, as he fell asleep as usual the night before. Then the priests came and took him back to the temple. The week went by with him sleeping like the dead, and if anyone were to visit him towards the end of the week, they may have seen some mysterious cracks appearing on his skin. The cracks are gone by the time you see him awake, though.

Zenitsu himself definitely wasn't having a good time. He's pulled back home, where the demon slayers are faced with another big battle again. When he wakes back up in Havenwell, he's extremely groggy, barely alive, with some struggle to figure out what month it is, not to mention he's in tears and wary. ]

What month is it??? Are my friends still here?! That was scary to wake up to!! Hello???

[ Who missed his noisy whining? ]


[ 2 - Around town, a little awkward ]

[ After he's recovered at the temple enough, he would make his way out of the temple and wander around in the city. He's tired, even though he's just woken up, and he would prefer to spend time in a quiet place. He's gotten used to all the sounds here at this point, it wasn't as dreadful as the ones he was hearing back in his home world, at least for the moment.

He's not whining, but his overall demeanor would be restless although he's trying his hardest to hide it after waking up.

If he's not paying attention, you may also see him scratching at his cheeks, as if something is supposed to be there. When he notices you, he'll immediately pull his hand away from his face to give a wave, if he knows you already. ]

Uhm... Hi?


[ 3 - Wildcard! ]

[ Or anything else! Let me know what you'd like to play out with Zenitsu!! ]


((Zenitsu got a canon update! There may be a lot of KNY spoilers that the anime hasn't covered, so if you do not want to be spoiled, please let me know via karasalis or PMing this account. As usual, if you want to opt in/out of having Zenitsu's keen hearing pick up any of your characters emotions, I do have a permissions post here))

Comments

1

[iustaegis]

[ She had visited him within the temples during the time he had been asleep. She had stayed by him for a few moments of her day to hold his hand as he slept, occasionally catching glimpses of the mysterious fissures upon his otherwise youthful appearance. She hadn't known what they meant, but she did know that it meant something was happening in-- to wherever his consciousness had returned.

And so when he awakens-- ]

Shh... [ She's already holding his hand, and her voice is soft, careful. ] Deep breath, Zenitsu. [ He looks... haggard, as if he had just been put through trial after trial. Sorrow crosses her expression for an instant-- sorrow for him, for not knowing just what he experienced, but wanting to help regardless. ] You're safe.

[zapdope]

[ As soon as he registers in his mind that Pyra is next to him, his crying goes from panicked to something closer to a relieved one as he takes a few deep breaths, calming his nerves down... a little. His memories are still a little jumbled up, but seeing Pyra reminded him that he's back in Havenwell. ]

Pyra...!! Thank goodness you're still here! I was so scared!! [ he still is. ] Everything felt so real, then I'm waking up here like it's some dream!!

[ Since Pyra's already holding his hand, he latches onto that, gripping tightly. ]

[iustaegis]

[ And now it seems like let's letting out something he had been keeping in for a while. I was so scared, he confesses... Of what, she wonders.

She smiles for a moment, seeing that even in his sadness, he's quite energetic. But this doesn't ease her concern. ] You're safe, Zenitsu.

[ She repeats, and wants to add: he's here. Whenever someone falls asleep, she's worried that they might vanish. It's a miracle that he's returned and awakened. ] ...And I'm glad you're awake. [ She squeezes his hand in return. ] You're not injured, are you?

[zapdope]

[ As the initial freaking out is out of the way, Zenitsu starts calming down he also quiets down as well, lowering his gaze to the kind hands that are holding his as he hears Pyra's comment.

If he had stayed sleeping and then disappeared, that would have been one less person Pyra would be able to see. He's reminded of the conversation they had back at the end of March, which also had him think about the things he had experienced when he was back in his home world. ]

I'm...okay... I think. [ Zenitsu gets himself to answer. That wasn't completely true, he wasn't okay. He goes silent as he mulls over his own thoughts that are still a mess, absentmindedly touching his face and realizing that the injuries are gone.

No wonder there's no physical pain for him to distract his mind with. Otherwise, he'd have kept whining about his injuries. ]

...I was back at home. I was in a battle and I was injured. [ He could have died. ]

[iustaegis]

[ He fights... monsters. He also carries a sword with him wherever he goes. His hands are slightly calloused, perhaps from years of training. With all of this in mind, is no surprise to her that he had encountered a battle back in his world... but it is a surprise to see him appear so-- deflated.

He says he's okay, yet "okay" is the furthest from the reality of what she sees. Even had he been smiling, there's no way he could have hid it. ]

A battle...? Against a demon?

[zapdope]

[ Zenitsu's mind is still remembering the latest memories he now has, including the sensation of cutting off Kaigaku's head before he fell down the depths of the Infinity Fortress. He realizes his entire body tensed up from remembering it when he hears Pyra's voice again. ]

Yeah... A demon.

[ He stops right there for a moment, reconsidering speaking further about it. Pyra shouldn't trouble herself to listen to his woes, especially when it came to demons, most demon slayers are those whose family members either became demons or were killed by demons. His depressing thoughts weren't any different from it...

Except that who he deemed as older brother was also a demon slayer before he became a demon. It was the ultimate sin for a demon slayer to choose to become a demon himself.

He shook his head, getting his usual personae front back up, letting his tears start up again. ]

A super strong one too!! The demons found out where we are and attacked! It was super scary!!

[iustaegis]

[ The demons found out where we are--

Where, she wonders. In his home, in a fort, or perhaps at campsite he had been? How, too-- were they simply not careful enough, or were the demons planning this all along, with the slayers being none the wiser? Or is it worse-- did someone inform the demons?

Regardless, they were attacked in an unprepared, perhaps entirely unsuspecting way. And he's rattled enough to spontaneously burst into tears.

Pyra's hand lifts to his shoulder, her touch tender and careful in a way she hopes might be supportive. ] I'm... so sorry, Zenitsu. [ Her voice lowers. ] You couldn't have known.

[zapdope]

[ Usually, his whining would have people get tired of him or to tell him to quiet down. The soft touch instead gets his front to break down a little, wanting to lean onto the offered support. He hesitates, his body stiffening for a second before falling limp again as he continued to cry quietly. ]

...I should have, though.

[ He knows Pyra's talking about the general situation. His mind went to Kaigaku instead, and now that the first words are out, he hears himself continuing to talk. If he were still back at the fortress, he probably wouldn't have gotten a chance to talk about it all. ]

The demon... He was someone who I thought of as an older brother. I should have known. I've always heard him angry, never satisfied with what he's got. ...If it weren't for me being around, he probably wouldn't have become a demon.

[ And his teacher wouldn't have taken his own life. ]

[iustaegis]

[ When he slumps, she moves closer, bringing him into a loose embrace: not too overwhelming, but giving him space to express himself. ] Zenitsu...

[ She doesn't have a lot of information to go by, but she does her best to understand what she can: someone close to him, like a brother, becoming a demon. Even though he was close, apparently it wasn't enough for Zenitsu to truly know the extent of his "brother"'s turmoil.

Her other hand goes to the top of his head, patting down his hair. ]

...Sometimes... whether quiet or loud, no one can know the extent of another's suffering. [ ...And perhaps like his "brother", Zentisu is on that "louder" end, too. Perhaps this means hhe has his own grievances besides this.

She repeats, more quietly this time, but also more urgently: ] You are not to blame.

[zapdope]

[ He's sorry that he's not exactly giving the full story. It was hard to figure out where he should start from and where he should end when it was about himself.

He listens quietly to Pyra's words, doing his best to ignore the dark voice that had been planted into back of his mind since he was younger, that would manage to convince him that this was his fault. ]

...I hope you're right.

[ That's the most he can say at the moment. There was no way to confirm it at this point. Kaigaku seemed to have enjoyed being a demon from the short conversation they had prior to the battle, and his teacher is no longer in the world of the living to gain any other knowledge about it all.

He gives a sniffle, trying to clear out tears-covered face, and tries to give a smile at the other. ]

Thanks for listening to me, Pyra.

[iustaegis]

[ He accepts her words with only a hope, and she hopes that he believes them. If not now, then later, or that in time he will come to mature and see that he isn't. He's still so young...

How can he thank her, when tears still stain his cheeks? She's only said a few kind things to him-- as if that would be enough. ] I'm not... sure what I have done for you. [ She admits quietly, bringing a hand up to his cheek. Should he not move away, she'll use her thumb to wipe tenderly at a tear. ]

But if you ever need someone with whom to talk... I'm here.

1/2

[zapdope]

[ For a second, Zenitsu tenses up when he sees Pyra raise her hand, and then he's left confused for another second when his tears are swept away from his eyes. Tears are almost consistent for him so it's nothing new to have his face get drenched.

Having someone scoop them away, though, was something new and it leaves him dumbfounded for a moment... ]

[zapdope]

[ ...And Zenitsu goes back to smiling again, in higher spirits than before. ]

Just listening to me helped me so much. You've helped me calm down right after waking up, too.

[ Not to mention that she's also offering to listen to him whenever. ] ...I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'm more than happy to return the favor too, okay?