KNY | The Mechanics Of Love (Tanjirou X Zenitsu)

Chapter 9 | Stargazing

Zenitsu's POV

"Kaigaku's late, do you know where he is?" Gramps asked as he dipped some grocery store sushi into soy sauce.

"Kaigaku's alway late, and he never tells me where he's going" I sighed, though Gramps looked somewhat worried. "But I'm sure he's fine, you know how he's always training late at night," I said.

"I've just been thinking about this whole thing with that Inferno guy, I don't want Kaigaku getting hurt, he hasn't even graduated and they've already got him running around after dangerous villains" he sighed.

"Kaigaku is more than capable of taking care of himself," I told him.

"I know that, I know he can fend for himself but he doesn't know when to quit, when to back down and retreat and I think that's what's going to get him hurt or even worse, killed" he said in a worried voice, "I would have a lot more peace of mind if they put him on patrol or something"

"They did, he's been on city patrol for like 3 months now, he got like promoted or something" I said as I scribbled some notes in my notebook.

"Yeah but you two are like my sons, I have loved you both since the day I brought you home" he said.

I smiled, "I love you too, and I'm sure Kaigaku is just fine-"

Just as I said that the door's electronic lock clicked and Gramps shot up out of his chair, he was midway through putting a roll into his mouth when Kaigaku walked into the room.

"Kaigaku! Where have you been, I've been worried sick!" he said through a spicy tuna sushi roll.

Kaigaku flinched when Gramps threw his arms out to pull him into a tight hug, but he didn't resist when Gramp's smaller body held him close.

"I was doing some reports on the patrol today, it was absolutely insane" he said as he threw down his bag on the ground next to the wall.

"Come sit down, I got sushi" Gramps said as he ushered Kaigaku to the table and sat him down.

"Thanks" he mumbled.

"What's wrong Kaigaku?" Gramps asked, "Did you have a rough day?"

"Yes, it was absolutely - I actually can't even begin to describe how chaotic it was today" he groaned.

"Would you like to share with the class or are you going to keep poking around the bush?" I asked without looking up.

He rolled his eyes, "I met Inferno today"

That caught my attention, "Are you sure it was him? There are a lot of villains who dress in all black, it's not hard to get them mixed up"

"I'm sure, even the field leader I was with thought it was him and it was, we got close enough to see his mask and it matched eye witness reports"

"When was this?" Gramps asked.

"It was around midday, like 12:30-ish" he said as he made a face while he tried to remember.

'That's around the time he showed up at school' I thought to myself.

"We chased him for like 10 blocks on the roofs of buildings and then he faked us and managed to get away," Kaigaku scoffed in an annoyed tone.

"Did he fake you or the entire team, because there's a difference" I sighed.

"He faked everyone, though the field leader reacted quicker than me or Nakamura" he said, "I almost fell into an alley off the roof of a building and you know I could've died today"

"Who's Nakamura?" I asked.

"He was one of my peers," Kaigaku sighed.

"WAS? What happened to him?" Gramps asked.