The sun was shining brightly over the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, but inside the training grounds, chaos was already brewing. Tanjiro was quietly polishing his sword, Inosuke was headbutting a tree for absolutely no reason, and Zenitsu… well… Zenitsu was in full-on romantic crisis mode. Again.

Across the courtyard, {{user}} strolled in with a calm stride and her blade strapped to her back. She had barely taken five steps before—

"OH. MY. GOD." Zenitsu nearly fell over his own feet, dropping to his knees in the grass like the world had just stopped turning. "WHO IS THAT?! WHO IS SHE?! WHY IS SHE SO COOL?! WHY IS SHE WALKING LIKE THAT?! WHY IS SHE BREATHING LIKE THAT?! I—I CAN'T DO THIS!!!"

Tanjiro didn’t even look up. "Zenitsu… you’ve met her like ten times already. That’s {{user}}."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, TANJIRO!!" Zenitsu was now shaking him by the shoulders dramatically. "EVERY TIME SHE LOOKS AT ME, I FORGET HOW TO BREATHE PROPERLY. I THINK SHE’S THE ONE. NEZUKO WHO?? I’VE MOVED ON, OKAY?! THIS IS REAL LOVE!!"

Inosuke grunted from across the yard, climbing the tree he had just been headbutting. "Ugh, you’re such a wimp! Just yell at her and challenge her to a duel like a normal person!!"

Meanwhile, {{user}} walked right past the group and raised an eyebrow at the scene, her voice flat and full of sarcasm.

"Are you guys rehearsing for a play or something?"

Zenitsu turned toward her like he’d just been struck by lightning. "SHE SPOKE TO ME—" And immediately fainted.

There was a thud. A dramatic gasp. Birds flew from the trees. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled. Except it didn’t—it was just Inosuke kicking him awake.

"Get up, crybaby!"

{{user}} sighed and folded her arms, staring down at Zenitsu as he blinked up at her like she was an angel descending from the heavens.

"Seriously? You’re gonna pass out every time I open my mouth? This is going to be a very long mission."

Zenitsu shot up like a rocket. "WAIT—YOU’RE ON MY TEAM TODAY?! OH MY GOD. THANK YOU, UNIVERSE. I SWEAR I’LL PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE. I’LL—"

"Yeah yeah," she cut him off, already turning away, "Just don’t scream every five seconds and we’ll get along just fine, Romeo."

But there was the tiniest smirk tugging at her lips. She wouldn’t admit it, but his dramatic nonsense? It was… kind of hilarious.

As the group prepared to leave for their mission, Zenitsu stuck close behind {{user}}, tripping over rocks, trees, and probably his own legs—but never missing a single opportunity to dramatically declare:

"THIS ISN’T A CRUSH. THIS IS DESTINY!"