electrifying | zenitsu x reader | kimetsu no yaiba

21: a fateful night with the insect pillar

electrifying | kimetsu no yaiba

chapter twenty-one
a fateful night with the insect pillar

For the next couple of days, the demon slayers continued their rehabilitation training at Shinobu's household. (y/n) would spend a lot of her time outside at the courtyard again to practice her daily routine of sword brandishing and warmup exercises. Almost the same procedure would follow every single day; she would sprint several laps around the large estate, and the next thing she would do is to work on her fighting stances.

Sometimes, she would change it up a little. She would ask Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo to provide the necessary equipment for her work. (y/n) would stay under the sun, with a training bag right in front of her to enhance muscle reinforcement. There are other times when she just asked the girls to scatter literally anything out of place (boxes, crates, and the like), using them to jump and avoid the objects as a means to build up flexibility and awareness towards her surroundings.

(y/n) would meet up with the others at the dining quarters. Tanjiro and Inosuke looked like they were dead inside. While feasting on onigiris, katsudons, and other delicious meals, they sometimes would not make a fuss as if something terrible had happened to them. Inosuke never spoke, but there was always that steamy feeling of anger that fumed out of his boar mask. He would just stress eat for the sakes of getting the thought out of his head. The Kamado boy with the strange earrings would tell (y/n) that the training they had weren't exactly great. Usually clear, his voice muffled in a way that he somehow felt embarassed of himself.

"If I could find a way to corner, and make the first move before Tsuyuri-san," he murmured while looking sadly at his wooden chopsticks that were holding juicy pork cutlets.

"You can still do it, Tanjiro-kun!" chriped (y/n), but for the first time in quite a while, the burgundy-haired boy did not respond to the girl. Understanding the mood and assuming that what they were going through was somewhat tedious (since the feisty Aoi probably took most of the lead), she returned to her own rice bowl meal.

"Thank you," Tanjiro bluntly said after being super conscious whether he was acting a bit rude or not in the situation. His voice was like he was already blown up into smithereens.

Fortunately, Zenitsu recovered greatly, which meant her advice has of good help to him. Yes, he still needed to take more medicine to guarantee the treatment, but he was now healthy enough to get back on his feet to start his training. On his first day, (y/n) had heard that he settled in just fine. Perhaps for the sake of flirting with more girls and trying to win their attention, to which he obviously fails. He lasted a few days 'till he became like the other two boys. Flushed out and looking completely depressed like an abandoned doll. This is what (y/n) had to face every lunch and dinner from the moment they all started their rehabilitation training, and the thought of them acting demotivated saddened her.

"I think you're all thinking too negatively," she tried speaking up to encourage the boys to lighten up their dull attitudes, "There's a reason why they're being strict with you. Their feedback, well Aoi's feedback to be fair, can be down to earth, but they're just trying to help you overcome your weaknesses. As long as you keep in mind of that, you shouldn't have a hard time with training."

"You know, that's easy for you to say, considering you're so great at everything," Zenitsu blurted, his doubts shrouding his thoughts, making him forget who he was saying these words to. He said this while eating more rice and pork cutlets in between.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, and to actually listen to what they're trying to teach you," (y/n) reasoned out, raising her voice a little, "Plus, it never hurts to ask them what you're lacking on. I'm sure they'll be able to help you out."