Why Is Your Bond Value Negative Too?

"Holy shit! Don't pass out! Whatever you do, don't pass out!!"

Kiyohiko had only just experienced how terrifying the Sleep Hashira was. If this guy fell asleep again, his freshly healed neck would probably be in trouble all over again.

Without thinking, Kiyohiko thrust out both hands, grabbed the flesh of Zenitsu's cheeks, and pulled hard in both directions as if stretching dough. At the same time, he wiped every trace of his frightening expression away and replaced it with a look of helpless frustration.

"Shut up! Don't pass out! I'm not eating you! I don't eat people! Got it?!"

"Mmph mmph mmph?!"

Zenitsu's face was squeezed out of shape, and tears shot from his eyes, but at least the pain forced him back to reality. He stared at Kiyohiko in terror, shaking like a sieve as tears streamed down his face.

"Waaah... You're lying! You just said, 'Time to eat'! I heard you! You're going to eat me, aren't you?! You'll start chewing on my ears, won't you?! I can't take it... I'm going to die... Grandpa, I'm sorry, I'm going to turn into demon poop..."

Zenitsu sobbed and babbled at breakneck speed, both hands clamped tightly over his head.

[Zenitsu Agatsuma detected: current Bond Value: -10]

If only he'd known, he wouldn't have scared him. Another negative value.

Kiyohiko let go, rolled his eyes dramatically, and plopped down on the grass opposite Zenitsu. He casually pulled out a blade of grass and stuck it in his mouth, doing his best to suppress the hunger that kept surging inside him from being so close to a living person.

"If I wanted to eat you, do you think you'd still be sitting here with snot running down your face? I was just trying to scare you. Got it?"

Kiyohiko was genuinely afraid of him now.

"Look, I haven't even laid a hand on you. Besides..."

He pointed at the large patch of blood on his collar that still hadn't fully dried and grumbled irritably:

"Besides, I was the one who got hurt just now, okay?! You sleep way too violently. You even slash people in your dreams! You nearly chopped my head off to kick it around like a ball. Which one of us is the monster here?"

Zenitsu froze for a moment, sniffled, and cautiously peeked at Kiyohiko through his fingers. The guy in front of him did have a demon's teeth, and his aura was terrifying too, but... he really hadn't lunged at him and bitten him. And he was even complaining like some old man?

Especially since... he was kind of handsome, too.

"Y-you really won't eat me?" Zenitsu's voice trembled, thick with tears.

"No. You're covered in tears and snot. Just looking at you puts me off my appetite."

Kiyohiko waved a hand in disgust, though he was actually trying to hide the way he swallowed his saliva. Heaven knew how hard it was for him to hold back. Zenitsu had just slashed him, and his hunger had flared up again.

"My name's Kiyohiko. I'm a demon... no, a person. What about you, blondie? What's your name? How did a scaredy-cat like you dare come to the selection? Are you tired of living?"

Kiyohiko already knew the answer, but he asked anyway, trying to steer the conversation in a normal direction.

When Zenitsu heard "scaredy-cat," it seemed to hit a sore spot, but his desire to survive was stronger. He hunched his shoulders and slowly sat up, though he remained ready to run at any moment.

"I... I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma... I didn't want to come either! Grandpa beat me up and kicked me over here! Waaah... There are demons everywhere. It's so scary... I want to go home..."

As he spoke, Zenitsu was about to start crying again.

Kiyohiko pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. This guy really was exactly like he was in the original story-genuinely noisy and genuinely cowardly. But seeing such a vivid character right in front of him made his transmigration feel real, lifting his mood a little.

If I help him pass the selection, his Bond Value should go up a lot, right? And his hearing is excellent, so he can help me find someone, too. That's better than running around like a headless fly.

But... Kiyohiko really couldn't figure out how Zenitsu had passed the selection in the original story.

Could he have slept through the whole thing?

Kiyohiko sighed, stood up, and dusted the dirt off his backside.

"All right, all right, stop wailing. Since you were forced into this too, I'll do you a favor and watch your back for a while. Come on. It's more dangerous to stay here. The smell of blood will attract guys who really do want to eat you."

"But..."

Kiyohiko wagged a finger. "I have a condition. Your ears are so good, you have to help me find someone."

"M-my ears? How do you know my hearing is good?"

"Ahem... ahem..."

Kiyohiko broke into a fit of coughing, and Zenitsu immediately stopped questioning him and just nodded.

Kiyohiko patted Zenitsu on the head. It felt nice, so he gave it another rub.

"Don't worry, it's not hard. That person should be easy to find. As for what he's like..."

Kiyohiko remembered that Zenitsu probably didn't know Tanjiro yet. He racked his brains for quite a while before finally coming up with an answer he thought was reliable:

"He's probably the kind of guy who sounds very gentle, but actually has an especially hard head, as hard as a rock. Can you hear a distinctive sound like that?"

"Huh? The sound of a h-hard head?"

Zenitsu sniffled, his face saying, Are you kidding me?

"How could I possibly hear whether someone's head is hard or not?! And all I can hear around here are those crunching and chewing noises, and screams of 'Help!' It's terrifying! I want to go home!!"

"Shut up! Focus!"

Kiyohiko smacked Zenitsu on the back of the head.

"Block out all those messy fears of yours and find a sound that... uh, sounds full of life, or like someone's fighting! Hurry up, or I'll leave you here to feed the Hand Demon!"

Driven by the fear of being left behind, Zenitsu was forced to switch on high-precision radar mode. He closed his eyes, his ears twitching slightly as he filtered out the sounds of the wind and leaves.

"Uh... over there... there's a sound over there. It's very faint... It sounds like it's about to disappear..."

Zenitsu pointed southeast, his finger still trembling.

"About to disappear? Could Tanjiro be in trouble?"

Kiyohiko's heart tightened. Tanjiro was powerful in the original story, but no one could predict the butterfly effect. He grabbed Zenitsu by the back of his collar and dragged him along like a chick as he raced forward.

"Come on! Let's take a look!"

However, when they pushed through the bushes, the person they saw wasn't the red-haired boy.

A selection candidate wearing a kimono of the same style lay in a pool of blood, his body covered in claw marks. He had clearly just been through a fierce battle. Though the demon was nowhere to be seen, the man had only one breath left.

"..."

Kiyohiko looked at the completely unfamiliar, ordinary face and felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

"This is the 'hard-headed' person you were talking about?"

"I... I only said it was a sound that was about to disappear! I never said it was that hard-headed guy!" Zenitsu hid behind a tree, peeking out with half his head as he defended himself. "And he's bleeding so much... There's really no saving him, right?"

"What do we do?"

As he spoke, Zenitsu was about to start crying again.

Kiyohiko sighed.

Now that they were here, he couldn't just watch the man die.

Kiyohiko strode over to the injured man. He was still conscious, and when he saw a demon approaching, he tried to grab his sword in terror, but he couldn't even move a finger.

"D-don't come any closer..."

"Shut up and save your strength."

Kiyohiko crouched down, ignored the fear in the man's eyes, and gently pressed his palm against his mangled chest.