KNY | The Mechanics Of Love (Tanjirou X Zenitsu)

Chapter 25 |

Tanjirou's POV

I brought the phone from my ear to look at the number that was calling. No one was on the other side, I sighed and ended the call.

"What was it?" Rui asked as he handed me a familiar white envelope. I ripped it open and looked at the cheque, "Nothing, a prank call" I said as I slid the envelope into my coat.

"Hmm, alright," he said, "Goodnight then."

And then he turned and went towards the truck that was parked in the large warehouse he always gets me to bring the shipments to.

Though the call somehow made me anxious, 'Zenitsu's waiting for me' I thought. I turned and left the warehouse on the outskirts of the city. I jumped and lept over buildings swiftly.

I stepped down in an alley a few blocks away from the apartment building, I pulled my mask off my face and slipped it into my jacket, I pulled my scarf off and started speed walking down the street and towards the apartment. The night was dark and there was no one else from what I could see.

I stopped frozen in my tracks when I walked down the hall of the first floor towards the stairs and I saw the limp body of Zenitsu by the phone. There was a small pool of blood at his side and one of his bloodied hands was clutching the receiver of the phone. My blood went completely cold and it felt like the wind was squeezed out of my lungs.

I rushed over to the body, he was cold and his pulse was faint. I choked out a breath when I ran out of air and had to breathe. I picked him up in my arms and jumped up the stairwell right to the floor our apartment was on.

I pushed open the door and saw the mess in the place, though there was no one. Only blood and a faint burning smell, I noticed the glove slipping off his hand.

'What the hell happened while I was gone?' my mind raced as I carefully placed him down on the bed, 'How long has he been like this?'

Before anything else I threw open the cabinet and pulled some bandages out, I grabbed another rag from the kitchen and abandoned the one drenched in his blood.

Quickly I placed the rag on the still, very slowly, bleeding wound and used the bandages to hold it tightly in place.

I grabbed a backpack and stuffed it with clothes for the both of us and my wallet. I took the glove off his hand and threw it in the bag. I slung it over my shoulder and took him in my arms once again. I closed the apartment door behind me and jumped up only a few more floors to the roof of the building.

From there I jumped off into the city.

I stared at him on the large bed. From that night I had broken into a random hotel room and called Shinji, he was kinda pissed because of the very late time. Though he must've heard the urgency in my voice because he gave me the information I needed.

A lady doctor came, stitched him up and diagnosed him with a concussion, a broken nose and a small cut on the back of his head that thankfully only needed some antibiotic cream to keep it clean. She told me that he might not be able to maintain a constant state of consciousness but that I should still try to keep him awake to drink water and eat some food. He's been drifting in and out since then. Not saying anything, taking a few sips of water and some scoops of soup and then falling asleep again.

I abandoned that hotel room and checked into a different place in the city. The next morning I saw a brief news story about how a maid had discovered blood stains and a broken balcony window in an empty room on one of the top floors. So now there was some sort of boogeyman conspiracy going around.