As tired as he was, sleep didn't come easily for Zenitsu this day. Thinking about traveling to Iruma gave him anxiety. Oh sure, when one is human, traveling is easy, but when you're a demon and you HAVE to find sun-blocking shelter every day or DIE...it's a different story. So far, he'd been lucky in finding shelter, but what if he got caught in an open field?! Eventually he had to stop thinking about it and try to get some sleep if only to calm himself down.
Soon, it was dusk again, and time to get going. He crawled out of the den for the last time and looked around for Chuntaro. Thankfully, the bird didn't go anywhere this time and immediately started to show the way. He sighed and followed the bird down the road, hoping that this would somehow work out in the end.
Several hours later, Zenitsu was getting tired and was beginning to feel hungry.
"Hey Chuntaro," Zenitsu asked, "can't we take a break; I'd like to get something to eat." He got his answer in a form of a dive bomb that he barely dodged.
"Alright fine," Zenitsu barked back, "I'll just starve and die of exhaustion on the side of the road! Then you can drag my corpse to Iruma by yourself!" He folded his arms in a huff and continued to walk. Near dawn, they were still in the woods. Thankfully, he found an old hollow tree near the roots, but it needed work to be sun-proof. He gathered full tree branches from the top of trees and soil to pack in crevices, then once he sealed himself in, he took his haori and hung it up like a curtain.
'Hope this works.' Zenitsu thought. The tree hollow was cramped, but not so much that he couldn't turn around if needed. When the sun was up, the reflection of light made his 'room' a greenish orange and that made him very paranoid. Needless to say, he didn't get any sleep that day.
That night of traveling, the forest was left behind them, and now new anxiety bubbled in his chest. What would happen now that he didn't have the safety and the familiarity of the forest? He didn't want to think about it too much, it just made his stomach hurt worse than it already did.
The whole world was different at night, he was slowly discovering. Walking down the road past the rice paddy fields at night was certainly one of those different experiences. Looking at the moon reflecting off the water was nice and all, but he couldn't help but think about the sounds in the field. When he was human walking around at night, nocturnal creatures would fill the night air with their sounds and songs, filling the world with a different melody he wasn't used to hearing. Now that he was a demon, wherever he went, the surrounding area would hush at his approach. There had been creatures in the field chirping, singing, and swimming, but as he walked past— silence. Like it was a sixth sense of theirs, knowing something dangerous was coming. For the longest time, he had wished that he couldn't hear so well and that the world would be quiet for a moment at the very least, just to let his nerves calm down. Now that he got his wish...he kinda wanted to take it back.
Three days of traveling had been exceedingly hard. It wasn't so much the walking, (well...that was hard and exhausting as well) but it was the sheer panic he'd get into when it came to finding a place to stay for the day. He ended up repeating what he had done several days ago and hid inside someone's house...actually IN their house. There had been no crawlspaces to...well, crawl into and this farmhouse was his only option...again. He entered as quietly as he could through a window and listened to see how many people were here: only two; their hearts sounded old. He looked around and standing in a corner, was a wooden closet. He prayed that they didn't need anything out of it today, as he entered and curled up tightly inside of it.
The day went agonizingly slow. The older couple, (from what he could gather were in their early eighties) spent much of their time at home. Perhaps it was his impatience with the situation, but it seemed as if the old couple did everything agonizingly slow. Every time they slowly walked past the closet, he thought his heart would explode. There was one time the closet door did open and he thought his world was ending. It was all he could do to restrain himself from screaming his lungs out and jumping out of the closet. However, he must have been tucked in deep enough that whoever opened it didn't see him because as soon as the door opened and the garment they wanted was fetched, the door closed. There was a pause, and he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He started trembling in relief and nearly sobbed from it. God could the day hurry up, please?! His nerves couldn't take more of this!
He did somehow manage to get some sleep in, even if it was through power naps here and there. Anything to hurry the day along. Night finally came, but he had to wait until the couple was asleep to leave and that was even worse than waiting for night. He sat inside the closet just…waiting for those two to go to bed. Didn't older people normally go to bed like at sundown or was he mistaken?! These two were driving him nuts, talking about weird stuff he didn't understand! Two torturous hours later, he could hear the couple's gentle breathing in the neighboring room and he could FINALLY move out of the closet. He opened the door and quietly stepped out of it, only to be greeted to a strange sight:
On the floor near the closet was a wooden ozen table; on top of it was what he could only describe as an offering. He didn't know what type of meat it was, but it had been neatly diced and cut up on the plate and in a yunomi cup, was blood. Was this for him?
'How did they know I was here,' he wondered, 'I didn't make any sounds or move...did they see me when they opened the closet?' Then he thought about WHY even have this offering. Was it to try to appease him to not attack them? He wasn't planning on doing that, really he wasn't. He rubbed his neck and looked over towards the bedroom.
'Well, they did go through all the trouble,' he thought while sitting down at the meal, 'and I really am starved.' As he ate, he realized it was hare meat, 'They must have caught it just for me', and while he was slightly disappointed that he didn't get any of the bones or some of the internal organs, at least they provided the blood. The blood, however, was beginning to clot so it wasn't so nice to drink. Soon the meal was finished and he was left wondering what he could do to repay these nice people.
'They probably only did it so I wouldn't go after them.' he thought sadly. He dug into his pocket and pulled out what little money he had left on him: one hundred yen. He decided to give them forty sen, that would be more than enough, and it's not like he could use coins anymore anyway.
He placed the sen on the ozen and wondered if there was anything else he could possibly do. Looking around, there was a bit of scratch paper near him so he took it and with the last of the hare blood, he dipped his index claw into it and wrote a small note of appreciation and thanks to the couple. Without thinking, he signed his name and placed it on the ozen with the sen on top of the note and with that, left the house the way he came in. As soon as he left the house and was far enough from it, he got attacked by Chuntaro.
"AHH! HEY! STOP IT," yelled out Zenitsu as he waved his arms around trying to stop the bird from harming him, "I had to wait till they were asleep alright?!" Eventually, Chuntaro landed in his hair and settled down.
"Let's just keep going," Zenitsu sighed as he continued down the road, "I don't want another repeat of yesterday."
Around midnight, Zenitsu came up to a small grove of peach trees. He took in a deep breath to smell the ripe peaches; they smelled extremely good. They reminded him of Gramp's house, the closest thing he had to a childhood home. He licked his lips, the hare he had at the old couple's house was admittedly large, but to him, it was nothing more than a snack now. He wanted something else right now, and these peaches were right here, so why not? He walked up to a tree and picked a low-hanging peach and sniffed it. It smelled and felt ripe. He went to take a bite but for some reason, he hesitated. He didn't know why, but he got the same sense of dread one would get if they were about to do something they knew was bad for them. He shook his head, huffed, and took a bite anyway.
The peach was sweet, juicy and the texture was perfect...so why did it make him nearly gag? As he chewed, he got excess saliva in his mouth but for all the wrong reasons. He didn't hate the taste, but for some reason, his body was rejecting this peach, especially when he tried to swallow. Eventually, he did manage to get it down. It sat slightly heavy inside but nothing seemed to happen. He took another bite, but this time his body was less nice about it. He was beginning to feel nauseous, and despite how hard it was, he swallowed the second bite. He started to feel weird and cold, when he wiped his forehead there was a thin layer of sweat.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," he said faintly to Chuntaro, however now it was too late. When he got the rush of watery, metallic taste in his mouth, he knew what was coming next. He quickly made his way over to a tree and leaned on it while sinking down to the ground, waiting for the inevitable. He hated this feeling of deep nausea and just wished it would just hurry up and be over. Soon enough, after several waves of heavy heaves from his torso the first of the sick came up, and it was disgusting. It reeked of heavy acid and rot and was dark brown and black...not what he was expecting. Eventually, there was nothing left to vomit up and he was left feeling drained with a bad taste in his mouth.
"Well, that was a bad idea." Zenitsu weakly mumbled, rubbing his forehead. At least the nausea was starting to go away. Suddenly a hand was gently placed on his shoulder and he thought he would literally jump out of his skin. He'd been so preoccupied with…everything else he hadn't heard whoever sneak up on him! Well…so much for Gramp's training; he'd truly made good use of it. He turned to face whoever it was to see a weird sight. It was an older man who was wearing a cloud-patterned jinbei kimono (hadn't he seen that somewhere before?) and stranger still; a tengu mask with a white cloth over his head. As Zenitsu looked him over, he noticed that he had a drawn Nichirin Blade and from what he could hear from the man, was ready to use it if needed. There was a slightly tense standoff between the two of them, however, the old man was the first to make a move and slowly handed him a gourd canteen.
"Thanks," Zenitsu mumbled in relief as he took the gourd and took a sip of water. (He seriously thought that the guy was going to kill him for a moment there! His poor heart!) Thankfully, he didn't get the same reaction as the peach, so he felt it safe enough to swallow. He looked over at the man, who in turn was looking at the discarded peach.
"What were you trying to do?" the man gruffly asked.
"Well," Zenitsu replied feeling kinda embarrassed, "I—"
"Demons can't eat anything other than flesh and blood." the man stated it as it was a hard common fact...probably was. It kinda made Zenitsu feel all the dumber for even trying, but could anyone blame him? He wanted something different! The man then looked over at the gross pile of vomit, and Zenitsu could hear the drums of anger rise in him.
"It's not what you think," Zenitsu quickly said, "that's hare meat, hare meat I'm tell—" but he was quickly silenced when he felt the Nichirin Blade placed to the side of his neck. He looked at the blade, then up at the man, wondering what he would do. After what felt like an eternity, the blade was lowered and Zenitsu thought he'd faint right there.
"You," the man finally said, "come with me." His words had the weight of finality to them; Zenitsu clearly didn't have a choice in the matter. He stood up and looked at the man who still had his blade out, but his back to him. For some strange reason, he was afraid of this man but was also curious about him. Why didn't he just kill him when he had the chance? He pushed the thoughts away, just happy to be alive for the moment, doing his best to keep up with the old man.
They had run the rest of the night to reach their destination: a simple house on the farthest outskirts of a village. Zenitsu had heard stories about killers who lived in near isolation and would find helpless victims to take advantage of them...was this about to happen to him?! However, the sun was just barely peeking above the horizon and that made him scuttle inside of the house as quickly as he could before he could think of any consequences. He looked around the room and saw how...quaint it was. It was simple but had everything one would need. He heard the door close behind him; he turned around to see the man take off the white cloth, but never sheathing his sword.
"Um," Zenitsu finally said, "thank you for inviting me into your house? It's very," he looked around once more, "cozy." He looked at the man; normally it was easy for him to hear people's thoughts, but this guy? It was all he could do just to hear emotions coming off of him, and that mask made it hard to see what he was thinking too. He really couldn't tell if he liked him or not...probably not.
"My name is Sakonji Urokodaki." the man said walking past. Zenitsu waited for any follow-up but seeing one wasn't coming he decided to speak himself.
"I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma, and um...I'm sorry, but...why are we here exactly?" There was a pause, this wasn't exactly going the way Zenitsu was hoping it would. Also, why did that name sound somewhat familiar to him, like he had heard it at least once before.
"Tell me, Zenitsu Agatsuma," Urokodaki finally said, "How long have you been a demon?" Zenitsu paused and had to think.
"I...can't be absolutely sure," he said sheepishly, "but I think it's been about four months. It happened during my first mission after Final Selection." He paused, looking at Urokodaki's jinbei kimono when he finally remembered where he had seen that pattern before, "Hey wait a minute, at Final Selection there was—" he went instantly silent when Urokodaki's blade came back up to his neck.
"And how many lives have you taken?" Urokodaki asked very sternly, ready to decapitate him with a simple flick of the sword. Zenitsu was shocked.
"None," even he was surprised how calm his voice was, "I've never killed anyone." Urokodaki's blade started to dig slightly into and cut his neck, which caused him to flinch.
"So you're saying you never went berserk," Urokodaki asked, "never thirsted for human blood?" His tone of voice was Zenitsu's only indication that he didn't fully believe him. Zenitsu had the most genuine look of confusion on his face, which made Urokodaki stop digging his blade into his neck slightly.
"I don't know what you mean about berserk but," he looked away in shame, "it's true that I do crave..." he went quiet. Another long pause, then finally the sword was taken away from his neck. Zenitsu reached up to his neck to feel the cut, but the wound had already healed, and all that remained was his blood. That…was the closest he had EVER come to dying…well…probably the second time. He looked around for Urokodaki but he had left the room and had gone into the back room and started to...clear it out?
"Um...what are you doing?" Zenitsu asked, his voice was trembling from earlier but he was confused about what was going on to not ask.
"What I was asked to do," Urokodaki finally said turning towards him, "now get in the room." Zenitsu did as he was told, but all the signals in his head were telling him something bad was about to happen. When he entered the room, all there was in it was a rope. Now he was SURE that something bad was going to happen! He started to back up but was quickly pushed to the ground and before he could even think was hogtied.
"W-What are you doing?!" Zenitsu yelled out in a panic. He tried to look around and Urokodaki wasn't saying anything. Finally, he felt a knee in his back. Oh God, he shouldn't have come into some psycho serial killer's house! He knew better but he was so fucking stupid!
"If you pass this test," Urokodaki said, "then you live to see another night. We shall see." He took his blade and cut his thumb on it.
"I don't under—" Zenitsu started to say but was cut off when Urokodaki pushed his thumb into his mouth. His eyes shot wide open as he felt Urokodaki spread blood over his teeth and gums, and then quickly pulled his hand away. He had never felt or tasted anything quite as...wonderful as that blood before in his life. It made him feel good, damn good for just that small amount he got. His mind went very hazy, and all he could think about was getting more.
Urokodaki on his end however was witnessing a whole other side. It was dangerous to be around a demon when they were going berserk, especially for the first time. Most demons went berserk when they first transformed; it was how they usually got their first meal. It was also when a demon was their most feral. To linger on killing a berserking demon was inadvisable even for experienced demon slayers…and he was going to do just that. Doing this favor, was probably one of the most dangerous things he had ever done. This demon had been telling the truth though, he could tell just from the reaction the demon was showing from the small amount of blood. The demon was growling and shifting underneath him, trying its best to get up. Finally, the demon turned his head to look up at him: what humanity and intelligence had been in its features before were gone. All there was left was a single thought and an overpowering smell coming off of it. Urokodaki sighed.
"I should just end you," he said looking down at the drooling, scowling thing underneath him, "but I'm giving you more of a chance than I've ever given any demon." He kept digging his knee into the demon's back, waiting for any change in its behavior; but after an hour, the demon was still nearly howling in pain. He looked down at it, seeing that the demon's claws were actually cutting through its hands it was clutching them so tightly. Urokodaki hummed and decided that there was no point in prolonging it any further. He cut the ropes and stepped away, expecting it to immediately attack him, giving it an honorable chance before decapitating it. He was surprised though when all it did was scuttle to the corner of the room, curl up tightly into a ball, and hid its face behind its hands.
"You surprise me," he said, still not dropping his guard, "I'll give you a little more time, then." Urokodaki found himself giving more time than he was originally going to give, seeing that it was actively scratching and biting itself rather than at him, defying everything he had previously seen in a berserking demon. Nearly two hours later, the demon's growling, clawing, biting, and heavy breathing finally died down. He walked over to it, and knelt beside it, seeing that it had fallen asleep.
He finally sheathed his sword for the first time since meeting Zenitsu.
Zenitsu woke up a few hours later, his head ached badly. He tried to remember the last few hours, but all he could remember was being in a lot of pain and being afraid. He almost didn't want to leave the room, but seeing he was still alive, he probably wasn't in any real danger...right? He stood up and shakily walked out of the room to find Urokodaki sitting next to and tending to the irori.
"So," he said turning towards him, "you're finally awake."
"Yes," Zenitsu said cautiously, still not knowing what Urokodaki thought of him, "I—"
"I've prepared you a bath," Urokodaki interrupted him, "the water should still be warm; it's in the other room over there," he pointed towards it, "leave your clothes outside the room and I'll clean them."
"Thank you, but you don't need to go to the trouble for me," Zenitsu said with a small smile.
"Yes I do," Urokodaki said flatly, "you stink." Zenitsu blushed hard and fast from that. He quickly entered the bathroom, just to get away from Urokodaki's judgmental gaze. He sighed and looked around, just a simple bathroom. He took off his clothes and tucked them outside the room and proceeded to scrub himself while sitting on the stool. It was also the first time he got to look at his body since turning, and he found that he had fractal pattern markings on his body than just his solid markings on his cheeks. They were golden colored as well, but unlike the ones on his face, these looked like...what was that word his Gramps had used to describe lightning strikes...Lichtenberg figures? He had the same kind of markings on his skin when he was struck by lightning, but those markings eventually faded. It was going to take time to get used to these permanent ones. He quietly scrubbed his hair, trying very hard not to cut his scalp. After rinsing off the suds he looked at his hands.
"I wonder if I could trim these," he mumbled, "I'm tired of being so paranoid about them." He got into the tub (which was still very warm) and for the first time since turning, started to truly relax. It was nice, just for even a half-hour, to forget all his troubles and just Zen for only a bit. Eventually, he got out and there was a set of yukata waiting for him folded neatly near the door. He hadn't even heard the door open! How quiet was this man!? He emerged from the bathroom slowly and looked around for Urokodaki, and he was sitting near the irori again but this time it looked like he was cooking something.
"Are you cooking some dinner?" asked as he approached and sat across from Urokodaki.
"It's your laundry," Urokodaki answered flatly. Zenitsu cleared his throat in embarrassment again. He wasn't sure what to do in this situation. He couldn't tell if he was genuinely being nice to him or not.
"Um...thank you, for...you know," Zenitsu said quietly looking down and away, "not killing me." Urokodaki looked over at him, then got up and patted him on the back.
"I've set up your futon in the bedroom," Urokodaki said, still in his gruff voice, "it's probably best you get some sleep; it's nearly noon now." Zenitsu merely nodded in reply and went to do so. Having slept in or on the ground for the past four months, sleeping in an actual bed felt like heaven. He nearly fell asleep instantly as soon as he crawled into it, it felt so comfortable. It made him appreciate what he had taken for granted. Urokodaki peeked inside when he heard the gentle snoring and saw that the dem...no, Zenitsu had fallen asleep. He closed the door and went over to his desk to begin writing the letters.
Evening came, and Zenitsu woke up feeling refreshed but famished. He sat up and noticed that his clothes were waiting for him, cleaned and even ironed. He smiled, perhaps Mr. Urokodaki did like him to a degree. He changed into his clothes and went out into the main room. Mr. Urokodaki was once again near the irori, but this time he had just finished his dinner.
"Good evening Mr. Urokodaki," Zenitsu said, "thank you for cleaning my clothes. They feel very nice." Urokodaki merely nodded in recognition.
"Your meal is outside," Urokodaki said flatly, much like the previous day.
"Oh, well...that's more than what I was expecting," Zenitsu said with a smile, "thank you." He opened the door and saw that there was a small pig tied to a rope to the side of the house.
"I'll join you momentarily once I've finished cleaning up," Urokodaki said. Zenitsu nodded and went out the door, taking an old rice sack with him and took the pig by the rope to lead it away from the house a bit. When he felt it was far enough to not bother Mr. Urokodaki, he bent down to get ready to bleed it dry when the pig started to nuzzle his face.
"Gah, don't do that," Zenitsu said pushing it away, "don't be cute! I won't be able to do it if you're being cute!" He quickly poked the hole in its neck and started to drink. He was surprised that the pig didn't panic, he must have done it quick enough that it didn't feel it. As he was drinking, the pig started to cuddle him, and it only made him feel worse for literally eating the pig alive. The pig died in his lap and when he pulled away from its neck, he felt the tears streaming down.
"Why did it have to go and be cute like that," he said as he wiped the tears away, "now I just feel bad." He started to gut the pig and placed the unwanted bits inside the rice sack; he'd bury the unwanted parts away from the house later. While eating he could swear someone was watching him, but as he looked around he didn't see anyone. He sighed and turned back to his meal.
"One thing never changes," Urokodaki said right behind him, making Zenitsu nearly choke on his mouthful, "is that demons are messy eaters." Zenitsu turned around to look at Urokodaki, who simply stood behind him with his arms folded neatly.
"I didn't even hear you approach," he said completely amazed, "I usually can hear people coming up, even before turning. How are you able to do that?" Urokodaki didn't answer him but circled him to sit in front of him on a rock. Zenitsu realized he wasn't going to answer him so he nervously chuckled and continued eating. It was really weird having someone watch him so...intensely. It was a weird and gross situation in the first place and having Mr. Urokodaki watch him eat a raw, dead pig didn't make it any easier. Urokodaki had such a...how would one describe such a sound? It was kinda like his Gramps, but not as thunderous, it was like...like a distant waterfall but he was sure if you got on his bad side: a tsunami.
"Aren't you nearly full," Urokodaki asked. His voice had a hint of annoyance for some reason.
"Well," Zenitsu said sounding embarrassed, "it's not very big, so I was just going to eat the...entire...um..." he looked up at Urokodaki and could feel the eyes drilling into him behind that mask.
"I see," said Urokodaki, "it only makes sense, considering what kind of demon you are."
"Eh?"
"Hurry and finish up," he said walking back into his house, "and I'll explain things to you." He did as he was told; ate everything except the unwanted bits, cleaned up the mess, and then cleaned himself up before he went back inside. Urokodaki was inside looking through a book.
"There you are," Urokodaki said, "come here." Zenitsu came up and sat right next to him to get a good look over his shoulder.
"In our world, there are demons, and with demons come different subtypes. Some are more powerful when first created. Others become more dangerous as they age and consume humans, more so than your average demon. Some look and act more animalistic than others," he said turning the pages of the book, "Demon Slayers have documented and categorized similar traits found in demons; determining their threat levels and so on."
"That's interesting," Zenitsu said, "my Gramps told me about demon sub-whatevers before," he said placing his hand on Urokodaki's shoulders to get a better look at the book, "but he left out the whole documenting part. So how did they do it, while fighting them? Did they catch them and study them," Zenitsu asked rapidly, completely fascinated by the subject, "if not how—"
"Moving on," Urokodaki said gently removing Zenitsu's hand from his shoulder and looking down at it, "your claws are a very, how should I put this...worrisome sign of what you are."
"About them," Zenitsu said, missing the entire point, "is there any way I could trim them? They're very bothersome and I cut myself all the time." Urokodaki was silently looking down at him for a moment.
"No," he finally said turning the pages of the book, "they'll just grow back instantly."
"Ahhh~, damn my luck," whined Zenitsu, scratching one of them with two other claws.
"Zenitsu," Urokodaki said a bit more firm to get his attention, "you need to take this very seriously. When a demon is categorized in a dangerous section, they become a higher priority," he turned to him, "a Hashira priority." Zenitsu became silent and folded his hands in his lap.
"There are over a hundred lower categories of demon," Urokodaki continued, "so identifying them became less and less of a priority. However, there are seven known higher, more dangerous kinds of demons that every Hashira is trained to keep an eye out for. Each has unique features that are uncommon among demons." Zenitsu found himself looking at his hands and clenching them.
"What," Zenitsu found himself asking, "what are the seven kinds?"
"They were named similarly after the Seven Deadly Sins from the west since they seemed to describe them well enough: Disdain, Enmity, Lethargic, Avarice, Lecherous, Esurient, and Opulence. Which one do you think you belong in?"
"I'm not one of these kinds of demons now," Zenitsu said with a nervous laugh as he came around to sit in front of Urokodaki, "I'm too average to be considered anything special. Also, I never acted anything like this when I was human."
"It may not depend on how you acted as human," Urokodaki said turning towards him, "it might be based off genetics. Who knows, what I do know is," he said tapping the book on top of Zenitsu's head, "is you are most certainly one of them, no doubt." Zenitsu sighed, defeated. Urokodaki reopened the book, turning the pages to what he was looking for.
"You're an Esurient," Urokodaki said quoting the book, " 'they're never satisfied, and are always hunting humans,' "
"But I've—" Zenitsu started, but was hushed when Urokodaki placed a finger over his mouth.
" 'One can tell an Esurient Demon by their thick elongated claws, animal-like growling, and how frequent they hunt. They will go on a mass massacre compared to the average demon, or if they only catch one person, the body will be completely consumed. This all depends on how long the demon has been active.' " Urokodaki looked up at Zenitsu, who in turn looked very pale and grave. Urokodaki closed the book and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"What makes an Esurient so dangerous as well," Urokodaki said sincerely, "is that they also grow in power from taking animal life as well. Not as much from humans but it still happens." Zenitsu finally let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He was trying his best to not cry over this, but he was sure it was going to happen VERY soon.
"The good news is," Urokodaki said, "all the seven kinds are very rare. The last one was spotted sixty years ago, and your kind was over two hundred years ago...until now that is." Urokodaki waited for him to say something, but Zenitsu was quiet for the longest time, grabbing his arms tightly.
"If it makes you feel any better," Urokodaki said, " Enmity demons are more dangerous. They are highly aggressive and kill just to kill," he turned towards Zenitsu, "one of the very worst kinds of demons. If you had been one, I would have killed you as soon as I saw you."
"You wouldn't have even given me a chance?" Zenitsu asked shocked.
"Nope."
"How can you tell an Enmity Demon from a regular," asked Zenitsu, "are they like...monstrous-looking or—"
"No, if anything they're the hardest ones to detect," Urokodaki said, "but a good way to tell is their eyes."
"Their eyes?"
"Yes. The sclera of the eyes will often look different on demons. Sometimes white, some red, or yellow. However, a good indication that you're dealing with an Enmity Demon is that their sclera is black." Zenitsu hummed in thought; he hoped he would never have to deal with any demon like that. There was a birdsong outside; both of them turned towards the open window to see the small sparrow dancing on the window sill. Zenitsu paused then reality smacked him hard and fast.
"I forgot," he yelled standing up smacking his forehead hard, "I'm supposed to be going to Iruma as soon as possible! I have orders! I'm grateful for your help," he said bowing to Urokodaki, "but I have to get going now!" Zenitsu went to leave the house but was stopped short when something grabbed him by the collar and he ended up falling onto his back, hard.
"Not yet," Urokodaki said calmly, "preparations are not ready. Probably by tomorrow night, they will be."
"What's not," Zenitsu started but had to pause to cough from being throttled, "what's not ready yet?"
"You will see. Patience is a virtue, and something you sorely lack." Zenitsu sighed. He sat up and immediately had Chuntaro sit on top of his head.
"That's unusual," mumbled Urokodaki.
"This is Chuntaro," said Zenitsu, "my Kasugai Crow, well sparrow in this case." Urokodaki looked at the bird and hummed at the idea. Zenitsu looked around the room and spotted Urokodaki's sword in the corner of the room.
"Urokodaki," he said, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you. You have a Nichirin Blade," he said subconsciously reaching up to his neck where it had been previously digging into it, "does that mean you use to be a Demon Slayer too?"
"Yes." Urokodaki answered firmly but for the first time Zenitsu could hear 'Isn't that obvious' from him and that made him blush with embarrassment.
"Of course," said Zenitsu rubbing his neck sheepishly, "I mean, obviously right?" he nervously laughed and looked away. Then another embarrassment happened; there was a low grumble in the room. Urokodaki hummed at it.
"Excuse me," said Zenitsu flatly standing up, "while I go over into the corner and die."
"Might take a while," said Urokodaki, "need help?"
"I-CAN-DIE-ON-MY-OWN-THANK-YOU-VERY-MUCH," yelled Zenitsu as he rushed into the other room and closed the door behind him. Hours later, and his stomach was still making noises, if anything they were getting louder. Of course, he knew why, it was just embarrassing because...it was just embarrassing okay?! Out of all damn demons he could have been...especially those seven kinds...why couldn't he have been like, the sexy kind? Yeah, all the ladies fawning over him, couldn't resist his charm.~ But no, he had to get the most inconvenient, embarrassing one. There was a knock on the door of the bedroom.
"I got your meal ready for you," came the voice of Urokodaki. Well, now he just felt bad. He didn't have to do that for him. He came out of the room to see that Urokodaki was sitting down to his own breakfast of miso soup, rice, tsukemono, kobachi, natto, and his personal favorite grilled salmon. However, when he saw where he was to sit was...a bucket? He walked over to it and looked inside. Inside was water and a still-living salmon fish, cramped but still trying to swim around.
"I went fishing while you were sulking in the back room," Urokodaki said, answering his unasked question.
"Um," Zenitsu said as he picked up the fish, it began to thrash around so he quickly put a stop to it by taking his claw and stabbing it directly into its brain, "thank you, for getting me this." He then started to rip its head off when blood started to squirt near the base of the mouth, so naturally, he started to drink from there. Urokodaki hummed at Zenitsu's actions, then turned his back to him to focus on his meal. Eating a whole raw fish was...definitely a first for him. It wasn't like eating sushi, it was much more...bloody and scaley. However, it was salmon, and salmon was his favorite, so he could pretend that this was a perfectly normal meal. He looked over towards the closed window and saw the morning dawn's light shining through the cracks of the shutters. He thought about just going to bed when he saw the demon book sitting near the irori. He picked it up and started thumbing through it. He wasn't particularly interested in the information, just the pictures.
"Looking for something in particular," asked Urokodaki.
"I was just wondering about those seven types," Zenitsu said still looking through the book, "just...you know, curious is all."
"Here," Urokodaki reached for the book, "I'll open it to the chapter; which one do you want to know about?"
"Well," Zenitsu replied, twirling his index fingers shyly, "I kinda wanted to know about-"
"Ah, I see," said Urokodaki, "that one." Zenitsu blushed a little but nodded with a small smile.
"Very well," Urokodaki said as he turned the pages, but Zenitsu couldn't help but hear a small hint of amusement in his voice, was there something he was missing, "I'll show you their...delightful pictures." He found the dedicated chapter and handed the book back over to Zenitsu.
"Here we are," Urokodaki said with that same hint of amusement, "the Lecherous Demons." Zenitsu looked at the page for a second, froze, yelled, and flung the book as if it was a hot piece of coal in his hands.
"WHAT-THE-HELL-WAS-THAT?!"
"That," Urokodaki asked, the amusement only raising slightly higher in his voice, "Why that was a Lecherous Demon. They're quite the lookers, aren't they? Especially their- how shall we say, exaggerated parts, wouldn't you say?" He looked over at Zenitsu who at the moment had his completely red face covered by his hands in mortified embarrassment.
"Now those are what the male demon look like," Urokodaki said reopening the book, "if you think they're amazing, you should look at what the female ones look li-"
"NO," yelled out a flustered Zenitsu, "NO. NO! NO-NO. Going to bed now," he got up and quickly made his way over to the room, "Thank-you-for-the-meal-have-a-good-day-Mr.-Urokodaki-now-kindly-go-to-Hell," and he slammed the door closed. Urokodaki quietly chuckled, closing the book. Out of all the children he watched over the years, this one was certainly...interesting.
The next evening, Zenitsu woke up early thanks to Chunturo, biting and pecking him to get him up early. Zenitsu usually didn't take well being forcefully awakened and was in a sour mood. He tried to stay quiet though, not wanting to wake up Urokodaki but noticed that he wasn't in the room.
'He must already be up,' he thought, 'then again, I must be upsetting his sleeping schedule badly. I'll have to apologize for that.' He got up and went out of the room; there wasn't anyone in the house. There was a note though so he opened it up and read:
Went to town to get something. Will be back soon. Your uniform and haori are also clean and waiting. There's water boiling in the kettle for you to clean up with. Urokodaki.
Zenitsu smiled, he couldn't help but feel slightly sad that he was leaving tonight. Strangely, he was reminded of Gramps from Mr. Urokodaki. He took the kettle into the bathroom and mixed it with the water already there to get it a good temperature to clean up for the night. He did just that and got dressed in his Demon Slayers uniform. Before putting on his haori, he noticed that it had been patched up, and he also noticed that his tabi socks while still having holes for his claws had been hemmed so they wouldn't continue to fray. The front door opened and Urokodaki came in causing Zenitsu to shrink back from the rays of light seeping in from behind him; he was carrying a paper package in his arms.
"You're already dressed I see," he said taking his white cloth off of his head.
"Yes," Zenitsu said, "I figured that I would head out as soon as it was dark."
"I need to give you two things before you go," Urokodaki said unwrapping the package, "first, I need you to put these garments underneath your clothing." Zenitsu looked at the strange, uncomfortable-looking black clothing. That kind of material, at this time of year? He'd get heatstroke!
"Then put on this balaclava hood and these gloves with them." Zenitsu looked at everything, the garments were meant to cover him from literally head to toe.
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful Mr. Urokodaki," Zenitsu said, "but I don't see the point in wearing these."
"Put them on," Urokodaki said, "and I will show you why." Zenitsu sighed. He got up, went into the back room, and undressed and redressed first in those hot black garments, then in his normal uniform. Yep, it only served to make him feel itchier. Thankfully, it wasn't too unbearable to be in it, and it didn't feel all that hotter, it just looked like it. He came out of the room and Urokodaki looked at the material of the cloths and nodded.
"Now come over here," he said, "and stand by the side of the front door." He did as told although was a bit nervous, and was surprised when Urokodaki opened it, having the last hour's light spilling into the room.
"Put your arm into the light."
"What," yelled Zenitsu, "are you crazy?! I'll be burned!"
"Those garments have been designed to block out the sun's rays," he said to him, "and are made of the same materials that your uniform is made of, if it was made correctly, you will not feel the sun's effects. Go on, try it." Zenitsu held his arm reluctantly in his hand, he was terrified to try. But, at the same time, he longed to go back into the light. Would this suit truly protect him? He hesitantly raised his hand out, closed his eyes, and put his hand out:
He didn't feel much at first, but then he did feel a warm feeling in his claws...too warm. He opened his eyes and looked at his hand. It was fine. His claws, however, felt like he had put them into a fire pit. He pulled it back.
"It made my claws hurt," he mumbled sadly, "will they catch fire?"
"Your claws are the toughest thing on you," Urokodaki said but with a happy undertone behind his usual gruff voice; a rarity for him, "if they didn't catch fire then and there, they won't at all," he placed his hands on his shoulders, "Now we just need the mask."
"Mask?" Zenitsu asked.
"To help protect you from the sun," Urokodaki said while walking towards the closet, "and to also hide the fact to humanity that you are a demon. You will be able to walk in towns and not cause a panic, but don't think you'll be able to fool everyone," he said pulling out the mask, "Old people and children and very gifted individuals will be able to tell what you are, so be sure to keep to yourself." He showed the mask to Zenitsu. It was a white demon mask, but it didn't look terrifying, it had a calm, almost happy look on its face. What made the mask stand out was it had Lichtenberg burnings on the top and bottom sides of the mask. One side painted the burnings red, the other gold.
"This is a warding mask. It's been enchanted with a protection spell to protect the one who wears it from harm. It may help protect you from the sun," he said handing it to Zenitsu. Zenitsu didn't know what to say, he was feeling overwhelmed so he did what he always did when he was overwhelmed; he started to cry. He hugged Urokodaki around the middle and buried his face into his chest.
"I don't know what to say," he wailed loudly, tears streaming down, "you've been so, SO very kind to me! I can't express my eternal gratitude towards you! You've been like an uncle to me; can I call you Uncle Sakonji?"
"No."
"Thank you Uncle Sakonji," Zenitsu said still wailing, "When I get married, I'm going to invite you to my wedding!" Urokodaki finally pushed him away, not wanting his jinbei kimono any wetter than it was.
"It's time for you to continue your journey," Urokodaki said. Zenitsu sniffled hard, trying to regain composure. He gathered his belongings, placed his sword at his side, and finally placed his mask on his face. It was strange, it felt right. They both exited the house, the light feeling warm on Zenitsu. There was a large satgat hat near the house. Urokodaki picked up the hat and placed it on top of Zenitsu's head.
"There," he said, "now you're ready to travel to Iruma. Once the sun is down, you can take off the hat and balaclava hood, but make sure to put them back on before sunrise. Take care," he said placing his hands on Zenitsu's shoulders, "and be sure to stay strong. You know what I mean." Zenitsu nodded. He smiled, there was a gentle sound coming from Urokodaki that reminded him of Gramps, nowhere near as loud when he had first set off to be a Demon Slayer...but it was very similar.
"Thank you again," Zenitsu said, properly bowing, "for everything. I'll write to you, and let you know of my progress."
"Isn't there someone else you should write to first?" Urokodaki asked. Zenitsu froze, and for a moment he stopped breathing. There felt like there was a weight in his chest, and he subconsciously grasped at it with his hands.
"I-I can't," he said sadly, trying not to cry, he couldn't take off the mask to wipe the tears away, the light was still out, "they'll be so..." he couldn't even finish, "I just can't." Urokodaki hummed.
"I better get going," Zenitsu said, trying to cover his sadness with mock joy, "I've taken too much of your time already. Again, thank you!" He started to walk away waving goodbye. Urokodaki also waved, but not as enthusiastically as Zenitsu did.
Zenitsu walked for the entire night. Normally he would have thrown a fit about it, but for some reason, he was feeling extremely happy that night. Maybe because he now had a friend, or now it was because he had a way to protect himself from the sun without feeling like he was going to instantly die. Whatever the cause, he was just happy. When dawn was near, he pulled up the hood, placed the mask on his face, and tied the satgat hat tight around his chin so it wouldn't blow away. Two hours after sunrise, and he was still walking around in it! It was a damn miracle! He was still concerned about the heat he felt in his claws, but other than that, he felt fine.
'It probably would look weird to have the claws covered,' he thought looking down at his hands, 'I guess this way, it looks like the claws are part of the gloves. Makes sense.'
"Hello there," called out a voice, Zenitsu looked up and saw a farmer with a farming cart being pulled by a mule, "where are you going?"
"Iruma," Zenitsu said, "I've been walking all night, and I'm a bit tired." The farmer raised an eyebrow.
"Iruma isn't too much far away from here but you've been walking all night you say," he looked at his clothes, "you're a Demon Slayer, yes? We haven't had a demon in these parts in years."
"I've received orders to go to Iruma," Zenitsu said, "but no order to kill any demon. I'm not sure why I'm going to Iruma myself, to be honest." The farmer scoffed once but then smiled.
"I'm on my way there to deliver my barley load, would you like a ride? Hop on the back and I'll give you a lift. My son, Akio is in the back as well."
"Thank you, I'd appreciate it," Zenitsu said climbing into the back of the cart. A few minutes into the ride, Zenitsu was getting an uncomfortable feeling with a buzzing sound. He looked around and saw Akio, a boy about twelve was looking at him with daggers.
"It was very kind of your father," Zenitsu said trying to break up the tension, "to give me a-"
"You don't fool me, demon," the boy growled at him, "I know what you are."
"Akio," the farmer said shocked at his son's behavior, "apologize to the young man! He is not a demon."
"He is too," Akio said pointing towards Zenitsu, "can't you feel it?"
"If he was a demon," the father reasoned, "how is he out during the day? Demons can't be in the light, remember?" Here Akio seemed confused and looked at Zenitsu harder. Zenitsu felt bad, it seemed the kid had razor-sharp senses but was now questioning them due to an irrefutable fact.
"I'm sorry," he finally said, "I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's fine," Zenitsu said raising his hand without thinking, "it happens all the time." Akio's eyes went wide when he saw the claws but didn't say anything; Zenitsu curled his hands up and silently cursed himself. Eventually, they made it to Iruma. Zenitsu got off the cart and offered to pay the farmer for the ride.
"Don't worry about it," said the farmer, "I'm more than happy to help someone who needs it." They said their goodbyes and parted ways.
"Stay near the cart while I do business with the merchant, alright Akio," said the farmer. Akio nodded silently.
"Are you alright son," he asked, "you've been very quiet since we've gotten to town."
"It's nothing," he said in a near whisper. His father only shook his head and went inside to talk to the merchant. Akio looked around...what if that demon in disguise was watching him? Grandma never mentioned demons traveling during the day, this was too scary! Worst of all, it was posing as a...he looked up and saw someone in the crowd in the shops. How lucky could he be?! He looked behind him, he could leave the cart for just a second. He ran up to the person, hoping that they would believe him, they HAD to believe him!
"Mister," he called out, "hey mister, please don't go! I need to talk to you!" He grabbed the box that the real Demon Slayer was carrying to get his attention. He turned around to look at him. He seemed a bit shocked but then smiled and knelt beside him.
"Hello," he said to Akio, "what seems to be the problem?"
"Please sir," he said pulling on his green and black haori, "you need to come quick! There's a demon in town!" The Slayer's face got serious and he stood up and followed him to the cart.
"My dad and me were on our way to town when there was a demon in the road," Akio said, "but you need to believe me, I know it may sound weird but it was past sunrise when dad picked it up and brought it to town. It tricked my dad to bring it to town! It was right here," he pointed to where Zenitsu had sat, "please believe me..." The Slayer leaned down and...sniffed? What? But then his face was more serious.
"I believe you," he said "it's certainly a demon but," he took another sniff, then another, "it's weird...nothing like a normal demon."
"That's what I'm telling you, sir," said Akio near tears, "it was walking around in the day, all covered up wearing a mask!" The Slayer put a hand to his chin in deep thought, then stood up.
"I'll go look for it, don't worry," he said placing his hands on Akio's shoulders, "you did very well for remaining so calm. Where did you drop off the demon?"
"At the front gate."
"It could be anywhere then," mumbled the Slayer, "don't worry, I'll handle everything. Stay by your father's side and remain calm. I'm going to go after the demon now, alright," he said placing a gentle hand on top of Akio. The boy smiled at the Slayer who stood up and started towards the entrance in town.
'What an unusual sent,' Tanjiro thought, 'I've never smelled anything like it before. It's confusing me, I can't tell if it's dangerous or not. If it can move around during the day, its blood is vital towards Nezuko's cure! I have to find it!'
I had wanted the chapter to end a little later than it did, but as you can see, the chapter is already VERY long. :3
Thank you all for the nice comments I've gotten so far! Keep washing your hands and be safe everyone!