Opposites - Inosuke x Zenitsu

25. Southeast

Inosuke's Pov:

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I don't want to lie, given the situation, it would be really disrespectful, but; I honestly had no idea where southeast even was. I couldn't even read a compass. I just didn't understand why all those white and red arrows pointed to different letters. I probably wouldn't even have been able to roughly understand the time if Tanjiro hadn't explained it to me in great detail and had to repeat himself often.

Yet, despite all that, he remained friendly and always took the time. Even when I shouted at him in frustration because I didn't understand something, laughed at the strange terms for numbers, and sometimes even hit or really hurt him out of anger, he didn't give up and continued to teach me... until I had memorized all the numbers and terms in my little brain.

I don't want to downplay it, and certainly not deny it: I'm extremely dumb. And the worst part is, I know it. I knew how Zenitsu used to go to Tanjiro often, making fun of me when I couldn't grasp something that was totally obvious and self-explanatory to him. I knew that Tanjiro always said that everyone had their strengths and weaknesses and that I was surely good at something Zenitsu couldn't do, but, of course, I knew deep down that Tanjiro thought the same as everyone else.

I also knew that practically the entire Demon Slayer Corps made fun of me as "the stupid boar boy with the face of a girl." It hurt a lot to know what others thought of me. Honestly... it hurt like hell. That's also one reason why I wore the mask: under the mask, no one could see it when I sadly looked away when someone made fun of me. Under the mask, no one saw that even though it looked like I was laughing at the stupid comments and allusions to my stupidity, my face contorted with pain.

Instead of acknowledging my feelings, I often just hid them under a boar mask and cried inwardly about myself. Why did I have to be so incredibly dumb?! Why was I always the one who didn't understand anything?! But that wasn't the only reason I wore the mask: everyone made fun of my face looking like a girl's! EVERYONE! Even Zenitsu had made fun of it for a long time until he got bored. I could practically feel people turning around behind my back, saying, "Hey! Have you seen him? - Yes! That's the crazy one with the girl head! - Really sick! His face looks just like my sister's!" HOW DO THEY EVEN DECIDE WHICH FACE LOOKS LIKE A GIRL'S AND WHICH DOESN'T?! I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT MY FACE! I WAS BORN THIS WAY! I- But probably, once again, I was just too dumb to understand.

But still, I wonder about something: Why did Tanjiro teach me the times? I mean, I was very quick-tempered, and I even hurt him! But despite all that, he kept sitting down with me, going over everything again and again. Was he stupid or just suicidal? I mean, I almost always had fits of rage, but he— Well, as I said before: I'm probably too dumb for that. But what if we find Zenitsu, but he's still angry with me and Aoi? Will he refuse to come with us?! Will he want to die wherever he is right now?! No, he wouldn't. Zenitsu is smart enough and knows what he's doing (that rhymed :-)... unlike me. Apparently, I was too dumb for everything. Even to know where 'southeast' even was! I should probably stick close to Nezuko, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu's little sparrow. At least they knew how to read such things...

Tanjiro nodded to me and then walked with Nezuko in a direction that was probably southeast. I ran as fast as I could after them. The fear for Zenitsu and the anger at the fate that was currently causing him such terrible things had transformed into energy and spread into my legs. I had to find Zenitsu, as fast as humanly possible. But as we kept running deeper into the dark forest, a sudden thought occurred to me. A terrible thought. What if a demon or something found him?!?! Apart from the fact that he doesn't have his katana with him, I don't really believe he's capable of fighting at the moment! When that crossed my mind, my stomach turned. "Zenitsu. I-I will find you alive, okay?!? I will save you, even if it costs my own life, UNDERSTAND?!?!" I shouted loudly and was already on the verge of tears again. After those words, my throat tightened, and I felt that if I said anything else, I would start crying again. Even Tanjiro and Nezuko turned their heads sympathetically toward me. I think they said something sympathetic, but I couldn't hear them. My body had completely tuned out all the sounds around me, and all I could do was just keep running.

Even if my legs were probably already completely tired, I definitely didn't want to stop. And even if I did, I wouldn't be able to. I didn't even feel my legs properly anymore. I think my brain (if I even had one) had officially shut down now, and apparently handed control of my body over to my heart. That was definitely not a good idea... but who am I to judge that? I, who until recently couldn't read, write, or even tell the time? Suddenly, I stopped as I noticed a cliff... more precisely, a really rundown one. The... the edges were completely broken and crumbly, and— Suddenly, something clicked in my mind, and I quickly approached the cliff to see what was down there. I couldn't believe my eyes: IT WAS ZENITSU!