The Art of Hearing Everything and Nothing

[igiko]

As usual, his eyes roll up into his head when the demon makes a suggestive slurp at him. He crumples onto the ground like a sack of rocks, hearing the distant call of his name by Beau nearby. Then there's a dreamlike crackle, followed by the fantastical roaring of thunder, and he awakens to Beau's leaning over him with the line of her face creased in concern.

For a second, he thinks that they've both perished and wound up in the afterlife together. Fortunately, Beau's much stronger than he is. Phew!

"Then Beau faced the demon all by herself and slayed it, just like that!" he narrates with the stretch of both arms in the hopes of emphasizing the breadth of Beau's power. "Isn't she amazing? She's incredibly strong!"

"That's amazing, Beau. How did you manage to slay the demon without a nichirin blade, though?" asks Tanjiro, smiling that kind smile of his.

Beau melted at the sight of that smile when they first met. Her reaction was so understandable even to Zenitsu that he couldn't fault Tanjiro for it. Actually, it rather warms his heart to see Beau and Tanjiro's getting along like he imagines siblings would.

But now that Tanjiro has asked, Zenitsu blinks and wonders for the first time how she managed to pull off the incredible feat of defeating a demon without a nichirin blade. Maybe she picked mine up after I passed out, he thinks—not that he managed to draw it when he was awake.

It would explain the strange looks she's been shooting him throughout his recount, which is admittedly full of holes from his loss of consciousness. Did he relay something erroneous? Anyway, the end result is that Beau slayed the demon whereas he slept the moment away. The sounds of confusion pulsating from her in small steady waves must be over Tanjiro's curious question.

Something like reluctance also sounds off. Zenitsu's cheeks warm out of fondness. Beau's explanation of her own abilities is informative, but her response to Tanjiro and Inosuke's praise is rather slow and short. What a great person! She's so humble. Mr. Nie is seriously lucky.

They partake of dinner later, and it's afterward that Beau approaches him for what she calls a talk. Zenitsu pads after her with a wide smile that progressively turns downward as his bafflement grows.

"The one who slayed that demon was you," says Beau.

She asks if he doesn't remember, and of course he doesn't. He can't remember something that didn't happen. Oh, he realizes, this is just like that time with Gramps.

"Are," he starts slowly with the tilt of his head, "you saying that, because I didn't run away? I didn't run away, so it means the same thing as my slaying the demon. Right?"

His cheeks flush as he presses the tips of his index fingers together, swaying left to right.

"You're really nice, Beau! That's not true, though. The one who slayed the demon was you. I always knew you were strong, but not like this! After what happened last night, there's no way I could steal your thunder! I know—why don't you join the three of us? I'll definitely live if I have you to protect me!"

Nodding triumphantly despite the pathetic reality of his own incompetence, he misses the way Beau opens her mouth in protest when Inosuke bodily throws himself between them, shouting, "Fight me! Fight me!"

Well, it's fine. Beau can definitely thrash Pig Face in no time, leaving plenty for her to protect me.