丨Soar丨 Kimetsu no Yaiba x OC｜

Birthday specail (3)

Grandma Suzuki had come to see the school sports day despite her injured leg, yet Chizuko failed to win a place, only a step behind the second runner up.

"Chizuko?" Grandma Suzuki patted her head, "It doesn't matter if you win a medal or not. You have tried your best, and grandma is proud of you for that."

"I... I understand," Chizuko's tone softened, "I... I wish I could have made my grandma more proud before she passed away too. I'm sure you can do it! Zenitsu-kun! Y-Your grandpa is still here! You still have the chance!"

"Y-You think so?" Zenitsu was surprised that someone besides his gramps believed in him.

Nodding furiously, Chizuko replied determinedly, "Of course! And I'm sure it's not only me! Tanjiro-kun and Inosuke-kun will definitely standing on your side too! So don't give up! We all have your back!"

"Thanks, Chizuko-chan," Zenitsu loosened his eyebrows knitted in self doubt, "Let's go check out the candy store before we go back~"

***
Chizuko happily danced between the tall shelves stacked with piles and piles of candy.

"I wonder how Tanjiro-kun and the others are doing," Chizuko whispered to Momo, her kuda-gitsune.

"Caw!" Hachi flew in front of Chizuko, "Everything is readied! You can start coming back with him now!"

"H-Hai, Hachi, thanks," Chizuko caught the pyramid of chocolate frogs that was threatening to fall because of her bumping into the table, "just a moment."

"Get out of my sight!" a harsh shout from the other side of the store caught Chizuko and every customer's attention.

"A-Aniki," Zenitsu started, but was again scolded by a black haired boy, "Stop calling me that! I don't want to see you! Someone coward and dumb like you should focus on training or else you'll never graduate with a golden robe*!"

Chizuko's blood boiled, who the hell is that?

"I don't understand why master is asking me to write you a birthday card!" Kaigaku took out his displeasure on Zenitsu, "Someone weak like you do not deserve a card from me!"

"Stop it!" Chizuko stomped in front of Kaigaku, her usual timidness gave way to the anger bubbling in her stomach. She glared straight into his eyes, imitating Obanai's dark aura.

"Who are you," Kaigaku glanced at Chizuko who was a lot shorter than him.

"You don't need to know who I am! Now Listen up!" Chizuko pointed at Kaigaku, "Let Zenitsu-kun off the hook! He is braver than you think! A-And he is kinder than you! He cares a lot for his friends! Though he is whiny at times, he is just not confident enough! At least he isn't like you! Don't you realise you are ruining Zenitsu's day? You are a self-centred meanie who has no right to spew nonsense! Compared to a bully, Zenitsu-kun is a thousand times better!"

Zenitsu's eyebrows lifted, his lips parted slightly and his upper lip was trembling. He never expected Chizuko to speak up for him, nor did he ever imagined that Chizuko could think of so many tiny things to praise him.

He is loved by his friends.

Tears gathered in his eyes. He wasn't alone, he wasn't unappreciated, he wasn't useless. He was the friend of Tanjiro, Inosuke, Nezuko and many others. Who cared if they remembered his birthday or not? The gift of friendship was always something he took for granted in daily life. And that gift was one of the best gifts in his life.

"Hmph! Let's go! Zenitsu-kun!" Chizuko turned and whipped Kaigaku's face with her hair intentionally.

***
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZENITSU!!!"

Tanjiro and Nezuko pulled the confetti canon.

"Surprise! Zenitsu!" Tanjiro clasped his friend's shoulder, who was too shook to move, "We thought it would be a good idea to throw you a surprise party!"

"TANJIROOOOOO~" Zenitsu hugged Tanjiro tightly, "Thank you thank you thank you!!! You guys are the best friends I'll ever have!!!"

"Mhahaha!!! Monitsu!! Gonpanchiro!! The cake is ready!" Inosuke pointed to the door, cheering on as Aoi and Kanao moved the cake into the empty classroom .

"Ara ara, time to take a group photo everyone!" Shinobu smiled.

Scrambling to their feet, everyone looked for a comfortable spot.

Inosuke grabbed a piece of cake when the flashlights started blinking.

"INOSUKE!!!!!" Everyone screamed as the cake was splattered across Zenitsu's face.

"MHAHAHAHA!!!!" Inosuke finished with his victory pose.

Flash.

The photo captured the precious moment where Inosuke slapped the piece of cake on Zenitsu's face.

***
Extras:

"Mui-kun? I-I need to go back to the girl's dormitory..!" Chizuko pouted.

Muichiro refused to let go of Chizuko's arm,

"Only if you promise to bring me to that cafe too, without that french fry."

"Of course! I-I thought you don't like places like that. I can bring you there as many times as you want!" Chizuko beamed.

"Can you two lovebirds go talk somewhere else!!?" Yuichiro pushed pass the two of them.

I hate third wheeling.

* Kuda-gitsune : Spirit like yokai in Japanese folklores. Families with kudagitsune have the ability to tell fortunes, make prophecies, as well as send their kudagitsune out to haunt their enemies (or the enemies of their clients), causing sickness and ill fortune. As a result, these families are often distrusted or shunned by their neighbors. Households with kudagitsune are known by various names such as kuda mochi, kudaya, kuda tsukai, izuna tsukai and kudashō.

*golden rope : Mahoutokoro students are presented with pink robes which morph into gold as they gain knowledge and achieve satisfactory academic results.

Hi, it's me again. University is busier than I thought and I was busy for the whole day today (French class is the most interesting at the moment, though I can hardly pronounce anything properly ヽ(ヅ)ノ)

I'm sorry that I only have time to complete the birthday special before I go to bed. I'll be posting chapter 40 tomorrow as soon as I finish writing it. Sorry for the delay (╥_╥)