Zenitsu had been running for so, so, so long, that by the time he was deep into the forest surrounding Mount Natagumo, his throat was dry, his lungs ached, and his legs felt like they were on fire. Sweat poured down his face and back, his chest heaving in and out shallow breaths, and he had to clutch onto a nearby tree for support.
But nothing destroyed his determination to find and rescue Nezuko!
"Ne…Ne… zu…k-ko," He choked out staring hard into the air and into the trees around him. His eyes tried to pinpoint an adorable demon girl in pink, or Tanjiro's brown box, but he found nothing in his sight. "Wh-Whe… Whe… Where are you?"
He couldn't run anymore, so he walked. But then, he found he couldn't walk anymore.
Zenitsu was so tired and so exhausted, the fear he had stifled inside him for the sake of saving adorable-tiny Nezuko had risen out of him, and he was so hungry, too! Groans and moans escaped his mouth, tears of loneliness and fear poured out of his eyes, and his body was trembling more and more with every glance into the creepy dark forest he made! He just wanted to find his precious Nezuko but ended up getting lost in the forest instead!
He fell to his knees, leaning back against a tree, wiping away the waterfall of tears, screaming, "Nezuko! Where are you?!" With a hoarse throat.
But it was no use. She was nowhere to be found.
"Nezuko! N-Nezuko," Zenitsu cried into his arms, sniffing back his snot, and thought of his friends who had abandoned him. He wished he saw them right there and then, or they found him following his voice. "Waa! Tanjiro… Kagami… Chuntaro… Even the wild boar… Where did you all go? I'm sorry for everything, okay? Waa!" He cried into the air.
Zenitsu was so hopelessly lost and so hopelessly alone! He wished there was someone or something—!
CHIRP!
He gasped out at the familiar and short chirp that emitted from above him. His eyes looked upwards and he felt something tiny land on his head. "Chuntaro?" He mumbled out.
The familiar brown and white sparrow had landed on his head and chirped his arrival. He was still angry at him, having turned his head away from Zenitsu's in defiance, but ultimately stayed on his spot atop his head! He thought the sparrow would've left him behind, seeing how he didn't follow Zenitsu into the forest, but there he was!
"You decided to come check in on me!" Zenitsu immediately praised, grabbing the bird and pressing it into his cheek, rubbing his head back and forth in violent affection. The bird seemed to have been flapping its one wing trying to get away but Zenitsu didn't let up. "You're so wonderful and adorable, Chuntaro! Not as adorable as Nezuko but I say a close second! I really appreciate this! Waa! I'm sorry for everything! How about we just start fresh and go look for Nezuko together?!"
The sparrow released himself from Zenitsu' tight and loving grasp, placing himself atop Zenitsu's head. He seemed to have been in a better mood, still angry about Zenitsu blowing him off and rubbing his cheek hard on his face, but he didn't seem to be going anywhere!
Zenitsu is finally not alone!
Then, he walked some more.
He was already extremely exhausted, tired, hungry, and so alone. Even though Chuntaro kept him company, he just wanted to find Nezuko and get out of there! The forest was so creepy he thought something was watching him from the darkness!
"Nezuko! Where are you?!" He screamed into the air breathlessly, Chuntaro's chirping for her following close behind his.
Zenitsu stopped moving, heaving in and out shallow breaths, placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He thought his legs were hurting before but they were in more pain! He didn't think walking would ever make him winded but there he was! Struggling to even breathe properly! The worst part, he hasn't even seen a single soul!
"Where the heck are you, Tanjiro? Even you, Inosuke? I'm sorry I pushed you aside for Nezuko, Kagami, but please show yourself, if you're out there! Don't just leave me here all by myself in this terrifying forest!" He called out shaking to his wits.
Suddenly, a whole flock of crows erupted from the trees behind him, scaring him and causing him to scream out his lungs. It was completely still in the forest… so what caused the birds to fly away from the area behind him?
"You know what?" Zenitsu growled to himself clenching his fists. "This is starting to make me really mad. I'll find Nezuko as soon as possible, and then it's so long, scary forest!"
He then continued calling for Nezuko, Chuntaro's chirps following behind his as he usually did, even if it made his throat and voice hoarse. He'd do anything to save his precious, adorable, little Nezuko, but will avoid and run away from demon attacks if he could!
The night continued on for a very, very long time! It felt like forever!
The full moon that had greeted him from the east and straight up into the sky began to slowly descend down the west. Every step he took became closer to daylight, and he found nothing within those hours he had ran and walked! He didn't even find Tanjiro, Kagami, or the boar monster! He was all alone, except for Chuntaro keeping him company perched on his head.
Zenitsu was about to call out again for Nezuko when a sharp pain pierced his hand.
"Ouch!" He groaned out loud looking down at his palm. "Something just pricked me! What the hell? This is so annoying!" He grumbled to himself getting angrier and angrier.
He began to stomp through the forest, his hands balled into fists by his side, with his teeth gritting together in frustration. The fact he couldn't find his friends angered him but, when he stumbled upon a fork path, it pushed him over the edge! Not to mention the disgusting scent that was filling his nose made him furious and the skittering of the spiders that roamed near his feet scared him! He was sure they were doing their best to survive but they were still creepy as hell!
He was so… angry that he thought he was going to cry.
An angry growl fell from his mouth at the sound of loud skittering moving across the ground and through thick bushes behind him. He turned around to scream at the creature to shut the hell up and to stop moving around, but large eyes met his. A bald, pale gray, human head with eight spider-legs protruding out of the side was staring straight up at him. The eyes were completely bloodshot and had a creepy menacing glare in them!
WHAT THE HELL AM I EVEN LOOKING AT?!
With a loud shriek he produced from the core of his chest, Zenitsu immediately took off in a fast run, forcing Chuntaro to flap his wings quickly to keep up with him, as fear and horror took over his senses.
WHY DID THAT SPIDER HAVE A HUMAN FACE?! WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?! Please be a dream! Please be a dream! PLEASE BE A DREEEAAM! If I wake up now, I promise to work harder! If I were to wake up in the presence of my precious Nezuko with my head resting on her lap, then I'll do anything! I'll do hard manual labor! I'll even plow fields! A whole acre! NO! TWO WHOLE ACRES! I PROMISE! LET ME WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMAAAARE!
As he screamed in his head for mercy, he ran with his teary eyes closed without caring what direction he was running in! He just wanted to get away from the spider that had a human head! It was a freak of nature so, by default, he didn't care where he was running to!
But when he opened his eyes, he wished he did!
Suspended in mid-air was a wooden shack. No, it only looked like it was floating, but he could see spider-webs reflecting off the moonlight holding it high up. Off those spider-webs were dangling human bodies! Some of them wore clothing that resembled the Demon Slayer Corps, the other just regularly civilian clothes! A few didn't even have human bodies anymore; their arms and legs had turned into one of spiders, their heads balding and their eyes pushing out of their skulls! The Demon Slayers still looked relatively human, but it was all so scary!
Zenitsu stood there with his mouth wide open in complete horror! Those humans were being turned into spiders, like the ugly one he saw minutes earlier!
The smell surrounding them awful! Holding his nose closed did nothing to distill the awful pungent! It would've definitely killed Tanjiro with his keen sense of smell! It was making his throat ache and irritating his eyes!
The suspended wooden shack suddenly creaked, a yelp flying out of Zenitsu's mouth, and something began to descend from within. To his horror, a giant spider revealed from the darkness and it lowered itself to the ground! The giant spider even had a human head with pure white skin, red dots decorating its face, and short white hair, its eyes possessing dark red, almost black sclera with deep blue irises and pupils.
It's ginormous! What the hell?!
The demon spider turned to him and smirked, a low menacing chuckle coming out of its mouth.
Tears falling out of his eyes, his hands shaking at his sides, and his body tensing up in terror, Zenitsu screamed, "You better not start talking to me! Whatever you are, I don't want to hear it from you!"
The spider said nothing. It only kept smirking down at Zenitsu.
He took the chance to turn around… and run away! He screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to get away as far and as fast as he could, but the spider demon was still laughing at him!
"Haha! There's no point in running away! You've already lost!" He heard the spider scream after him.
Still crying from fear, Zenitsu turned his head, skidding to a halt in his step, shrieking, "I told you not to talk to me! I don't wanna hear it, so stop talking! Things like you give me the creeps, all right?!"
The spider's devilish smirk widened and it cackled, "You already know how dire your situation is, don't you?"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Take a look at your hands," It cackled.
Body trembling, and eyes wide, Zenitsu lifted his hands up to his face and the beating of his heart abruptly stopped. Sweat creased his fore-head and armpits looking at the ghastly sight; His veins were protruding out of his skin, the tan color of his skin slowly becoming a deep purple, and a large round mark was growing on the palm of his hand. He had no idea where it came from! What did he touch that is making his hand all gross?!
The spider's smirk widened at Zenitsu's horror. "You got bitten by a spider, right? That poison will turn you into a spider, too."
Zenitsu held his hand close to his chest, his beating heart thumping erratically, as he heard the spider continue to laugh like a complete maniac. It took obvious joy at its ensured victory seeing Zenitsu's face scrunch up in realization and terror. He was bitten only minutes earlier by a spider he didn't even see! Now, he was going to turn into one?!
"In half an hour, you'll be my slave, crawling across the earth!" It cackled before whipping out a golden pocket watch. "Look at this. It's a clock. By the time this long hand goes around once, you'll have joined the spiders!" It explained to the crying Zenitsu while gesturing to the numbers on the pocket watch. "By the 10th minute, you'll start to feel tingling and pain in your limbs. By the 20th minute, you'll also feel dizzy and nauseous! You'll experience intense pain, your body will start to shrink, and you'll black out by the 25th minute! And by the time you wake up… AHAHA!"
It didn't bother to finish explaining for Zenitsu. It didn't need to! By the way its eyes squinted on him and its mouth opening to release a loud laugh, he knew by the time he would wake up he'd be one of the creepy spiders on the ground!
He couldn't move, not even when his life was on the line! The inevitable doom of being transformed into a spider forced all the breath out of his body, all the courage—or what he had—was gone, and he couldn't move a single muscle. Not even to scream, yelp, or cry for help from his friends. That was until he saw the second hand move precariously fast and dozen spiders crawling for him! Zenitsu let out all of his fear and terror in one large scream before beginning to run away!
"Hehehe! Running away—" He heard the spider cackle but he quickly interrupted him.
"Is useless! I know! But you're crazy if you think I'm not gonna try and get away!" Zenitsu shrieked climbing up a tree that was far away from the crawling bastards! He pulled himself onto a high branch and planted his face into the trunk of the tree, whimpering, trembling, and crying to himself like a baby.
The spider wouldn't stop talking, mocking, or taunting him! Talking about how once the poison goes into effect, he will lose his humanity and he will no longer be afraid! He doesn't want to hear that! That stupid spider probably doesn't have friends or a girlfriend! That's why it is acting like a complete psychopath! Zenitsu thought Inosuke was a terrible monster, but this stupid spider takes the cake! Oh, if only he could see his friends! Even the boar monster!
Zenitsu couldn't help but cower more into the tree, pressing his body against the cold and hard trunk for comfort. There was nothing he could do to stop the poison process but he was dreading it. It was inevitable, he was going to die…
He was going to die a coward.
Hm, Zenitsu couldn't help but think back to the time before his hair was yellow and orange, and how, even back then, he climbed up trees.
Trees that adorned the yard of his sensei were tall and strong, and held deep green leaves that flew proudly in the wind. The trunk was secured to the ground with the giant roots twisting and digging deeper into the ground. He could just imagine the cloudless bright blue sky with the sun shining down on him. Even though it was a peaceful scenery with a calm wind the air, the situation of why he climbed the tree wasn't.
He was crying as he hugged the trunk. His sensei was pushing him through extreme training that hurt his soul, body, and mind. It was the most excruciating thing he had ever experienced. Never in his life would he have thought of becoming a swordsman, and later a Demon Slayer.
When the woman of his dreams forced him to raised money so she could run away with another man, and found himself with a mountain of debt, his sensei, Jigoro Kuwajima, rescued him. Zenitsu was eternally grateful to him, so much he always called him "gramps" instead of "sensei" because of how he much he loved him. He always wanted to live up to Gramp's expectations and make him proud, but he didn't know how to do it. He cried all the time, he cowered in the tree whenever training got tough, and he always felt bad for being the way he was.
Zenitsu wanted nothing more than to make Gramps proud. He skipped out on sleeping so he could train more, but he believed he had absolutely nothing to show for it. He didn't think he'd be able to achieve anything.
That was until he was struck by a large lightning bolt. From that day on, everything in his life changed.
He led a miserable life only for it to almost be cut short by an electrocution. The lightning bolt changed the color of his hair and gave him the ability to learn Thunder Breathing. Even then, he still hated himself more than anyone else. He always tried to get his act together, tried to act brave and courageous, like Tanjiro, Kagami, and Inosuke, but he always ended up running away. The three of them showed unwavering confidence in their ability to fight demons, and never ran away from a battle, while he would cower behind them.
I'm pathetic, he cried silently to himself, pressing his face tighter into the tree. I want to change. I want to be a capable individual. Even then! I'm doing absolutely everything that I can! So, why do I have to end up going bald and turning into a monster?! It can't be! Say it isn't true!
The grip he had on the tree tightened. It tightened so much the bark broke into tiny pieces underneath his fingernails. It was out of sheer fear that his solid grip on the trunk would make it break into pieces, but the fear couldn't transform into confidence or bravery. He let out a small yelp and a scream when he saw the creepy spiders beginning to crawl up his tree after him!
Crying out loud, Zenitsu gripped his hair tightly, screaming, "Just leave me alone for one minute! This is all too much for me to handle right now—! Huh?!"
His hands suddenly came free from his head, gripping something dirty but soft. Confusion entered his stomach and his tears momentarily stopped in their tracks, his body freezing abruptly at the sudden loss of contact from his head. He slowly brought his hands to his face and his eyes widened in terror at what he was holding. He was gripping large strands of his yellow and orange hair! It was falling out of his head faster than he thought it would! How long had he been cowering up in the tree wallowing in self-pity?!
He never mentioned that part to me! Zenitsu thought angrily but fearfully, staring up at the large spider.
The tiny bit of confidence that somehow managed to seep into his heart… immediately spilled out at the large smirk and the small maniacal cackle the spider sent his way.
It was all… It was all too much for Zenitsu to handle. He went in looking for his adorable precious Nezuko who never revealed herself to him. He wanted to save her because no girl that beautiful and pure should ever be put in danger. Instead, he ended up getting lost, lonely, and being the one who needed to be saved. Now, he was trapped in an ugly spider's den doomed to become one of the creepy human-headed spiders that roamed the forest floor.
He never got to say goodbye to his friends, or hello. All he wanted… was to be accepted by them. More importantly, he just wanted to be brave and confident like the three of them.
The fear, the insurmountable fear, that had been coursing through his veins took over his entire body. He felt darkness close in around his eyes and fell unconscious. He fainted on the tree branch he had been cowering on, letting the creepy spiders come in close contact with him. That was until his body slipped off the branch, headfirst, and began to fall towards the ground.
Even though he was asleep, he was still very much aware of his surroundings. Although, he couldn't exactly understand what the hell was going on, he knew enough that he was in immediate danger.
Zenitsu's body acted for him, and he could feel the unwavering confidence, bravery, and courage in him.
He took in large, deep breaths, using Total Concentration Breathing, his face scrunching together in concentration, as his hand found the hilt of his yellow-bladed katana. He grabbed it with a strong, firm grip and unlatched it from its sheathe. His body twisted around and his feet got into an offensive stance, landing on the roots of the tree and pushing him high into the sky.
"Thunder Breathing technique, First Form," He spoke lowly to himself launching at the large spider dangling in the sky.
The Son Spider Demon, who had been watching Zenitsu like it was pathetic puppy who was curb stomped into the ground, gasped at the sudden change in the human's demeanor, mannerism, and facial expression. It actually looked strong, powerful, and meant to fight him! What happened to whiny, crying, little baby that was cowering in the tree waiting for its inevitable doom?! The demon thought it was going to be as easy as taking candy from a stupid human baby!
Then, he'll have to fight until the human turns into another of his mindless spider minions!
Poison Sputum!
The Son Spider Demon quickly spewed out a gallon-worth of purple poison from his mouth towards the human. Once it is hit, it will transform into a spider within seconds!
Except, his poison didn't hit his target!
It happened during the blink of an eye; the human managed to dodge it in mid-air, rolling away from it and landing safely on the ground! The spider's poison splattered against the tree the human had been cowering on seconds earlier and created a large acid indent within the wood! The demon didn't care about that, though! All he cared about was how the human was surviving against him!
Suddenly, the human extended its left leg all the way back and hunched its body forward entirely on its crouched knee. One hand held the sheathe of its sword and other still held onto the hilt. Shadows coated and hid its face from the demon, and an unusual wind began to blow all around them. It felt like static was coursing through the air, biting and nicking at their skins, but the demon couldn't feel or see anything! What the hell was going on?!
"Thunder Breathing, First Form," He suddenly heard the human mutter under its breath.
The human was actually getting powerful! It was starting to act more like a Demon Slayer swordsman rather than a coward! Was that wimpy display of such utter pathetic-ness a lie?! A way to get the demon's guard down?! He won't have it!
"Go take him down!" He angrily ordered his spider minions before it could have a chance to kill him!
The spiders immediately jumped into action, crawling and trying to surround it with their large numbers. But the Demon Slayer just jumped backwards multiple times, then sideways, and all the way forward away from their reach! What the hell?! No, no, no! He won't allow the human to get close enough to slice his head off!
"Thunder Breathing, First Form," He heard the Demon Slayer mutter again.
In a display of frustration, the Son Spider Demon spewed out more poison from his mouth, forcing the Demon Slayer to jump backwards far away from him.
Then, the demon noticed something.
Every time the Demon Slayer was attacked, it would jump away and lose its offensive stance. Then, it would immediately get back into it. The same stance since the very beginning. It would assume the first form of its thunder breathing technique with every instance it was forced out of it, by either the spider demon's spider minions or his own power of poison spewing. It was as if the Demon Slayer didn't know anything other than that one! It was only capable of that one attack!
Hehehe! The little human was going to die! Die a coward and a weakling!
Gramps Kuwajima knelt down in front of a defeated Zenitsu as the sun was beginning to set below the horizon. He was only able to perform the first form of the Thunder Breathing technique. He thought getting struck by lightning would enhance his abilities and change his personality. Instead, he was only capable of just performing the one form and was still the same coward he had always been his whole life. He couldn't understand why gramps would even continue to train him.
"It's all right, Zenitsu," Gramps smiled down at him, patting his head affectionately. "Even mastering one form is cause for celebration. If you can only do a single thing, hone it to perfection. Polish it to its utmost perfection!"
Even though Gramps looked scary, mean, and strict, he had a soft spot and unwavering dedication to his students, especially to Zenitsu.
Although, Gramps was furious with him at first. When he couldn't learn the other 5 forms, when Thunder Breathing had 6 forms to master, his gramps couldn't understand why Zenitsu couldn't master the others. He thought Zenitsu training day in and day out, even during nights, could get him to learn and master the other forms. He would clobber him during those times as well, even when Zenitsu wanted him to stop. Even when he thought he was going to cry.
Soon, Gramps learned to understand and believed that, even though Zenitsu couldn't master the other forms, learning and perfecting one was enough.
Laying a hand on Zenitsu's shoulder, Gramps smiled and spoke, "Zenitsu, perfect it! It's alright to cry or go off by yourself. Just don't ever give up! Believe in yourself. You endured all that hellish training. You'll be rewarded for that without question! Work to forge yourself like a tempered blade... and become the most resilient of all! Focus on what you do best!"
His body began to crackle and light up a blinding light like fireworks on Chinese New Year. Energy like nonother coursed through his entire body, crackles of lightning skimming and snapping all around him, and he took off in run!
Zenitsu dodged an array of poison spew, hearing and smelling the disgusting acid stench burn into the ground, and felt a wall of human-headed spiders right in front of him.
"Get lost."
Zenitsu gasped and his heart filled with an aching pain staring at Gramps Kuwajima's other pupil. Kaigaku had been eating a peach, his black hair falling down the sides of his face, and his turquoise eyes landed on Zenitsu. They were not only filled with anger and annoyance but also frustration and irritation. He was one of the many that looked down upon Zenitsu, the one who voiced their opinion. Their opinion of him being hopeless… and useless.
"Don't make me repeat myself. Get lost!" Kaigaku growled at him. "You know why."
Holding his shaking hands in front of him, his eyes wavering and burning with tears, Zenitsu couldn't get the courage to look his peer in the eyes. He knew what he was talking about… but didn't know what to say to him.
At his silence, Kaigaku scoffed, "Aren't you ashamed of crying like a baby all day long? Good for nothing laggard! Any time spent on you is wasted! Sensei is an extraordinary man—"
"But Gramps said—!" Zenitsu began to speak back in his own defense, remembering Gramps' unyielding patience with him, but immediately got smacked in the face with something hard, wet, and soft. It was Kaigaku's peach, and he had hurled it at him in disgust.
Clenching his hands into fists, Kaigaku growled, ""Gramps?" Don't speak of him in that familiar way! Sensei is a former Hashira! Someone who earned the highest rank in the Demon Slayer Corps! It's a rare chance to receive instruction from a former Hashira! The time Sensei spends training you is all for nothing! It's infuriating to see! I hate even looking at you, so get lost! Why are you even here?! Why do you insist on clinging on like a patch of mold?!"
As Kaigaku screamed, growled, and scowled at him, calling him a waste of space and a useless human being who should've never been born, Zenitsu took it all with silence. He kept his head tilted down, his eyes far from Kaigaku's, and stayed in that one spot listening to his berating. Even when he known as a crybaby, he couldn't help but keep his cheeks dry at what was confirmed for him.
As an orphan, Zenitsu had no one to expect anything of him. No one thinks or dreams that he will grasp or accomplish something one day. That he'll prove himself useful to someone, like Teruko, Shoichi, and Kiyoshi. That he'll manage to protect somebody and make that person happy, someone like Nezuko, just once in his life. Not even a simple future like that. There's no one who hopes he'll have one. If someone were to fail, cry and run away even once, others say, "Oh, this guy's no good," and they move on.
But not Gramps!
When everyone else had abandoned him, deeming him unworthy of learning Thunder Breathing from the great former Thunder Hashira, Gramps Kuwajima never gave up on him. Even though he ran Zenitsu through his paces, keeping him from running away every time he tried, sometimes he goes too far with dragging him back, but he never abandoned him!
Because of that, Zenitsu refuses to give up! If Gramps believes in him, so can he!
"Pierce him! Inject him with more poison!" The Son Spider Demon screamed at the top of his lungs seeing the Demon Slayer still standing.
The swarm of dozens of spider minions tried to inject him with the poison spikes protruding from their mouths, but the Demon Slayer dodged every single one of them! But the demon smirked widely seeing the blood pour of its mouth and its entire body beginning to go rigid! It was too late! The poison in its system was beginning to slow it down!
The spider minions quickly covered it from head to toe, leaving no room for it to breathe or move!
Before the Son Spider Demon could cheer, he watched in horror and shock as the clearing, his spider minions, and the Demon Slayer light up in a blinding white and light blue light! Electricity crackled along the ground, all over his minions, and released a devastating explosion, forcing the minions off!
The demon watched angrily as the Demon Slayer stayed crouched, unmoving, but with its hand still on its sheathed sword! Except, it was lighting up like a lightning bolt! The air all around it was vibrating, pins and needle-like feeling stabbing into his spider legs, and he could barely see a damn thing! Then, his horror, he watched the Demon Slayer's eyes open up to reveal nothing but glowing white light!
Falling on the ground, ready to challenge the Demon Slayer, the demon almost screamed for his minions to come to his aid but stopped!
"Thunder Breathing, First Form… Thunderclap and Flash!" The Demon Slayer screamed, its face full of concentration and determination, even with blood spilling out of its mouth.
The ground underneath the demon's legs suddenly crumbled to nothing but large pieces of dirt as lightning and electricity struck down on the ground all around them. The demon let out a terrified scream as powerful wind began to emit and protrude from the Demon Slayer forcing him to keep back! What the hell is going on here?!
"Sixfold!"
The electricity began to glow brighter, hotter, and more blinding! Electricity and lightning crackled and pulsed more powerfully around its body as if it was some sort of conductor! The Demon Slayer's body was emitting a powerful yellow aura and it was continuing to increase! Why the hell isn't his poison immobilizing its body?!
The Son Spider Demon immediately spun back into the air and spewed more poison at the Demon Slayer! Except it disappeared in the blink of an eye, as fast as a lightning bolt! It vanished into complete thin air and he had no idea where the hell it was! He could almost see the electric current, sparks, and bolts dash around in the darkness of the forest around him. It was moving so fast it was beginning to light it up as if it were daytime! But, no matter where he looked, the Demon Slayer was gone!
The demon quickly retreated back into the safety of his high wooden shack, thinking the Demon Slayer couldn't reach from there… but he was dead wrong!
It bounced across the trees in a yellow/white beam of light six times before launching upwards! The next thing he knew, a sharp excruciating pain flicked across his neck and his body was pushed through the roof of his shack!
Blood gushed and poured out of his head that was severed from his body. It couldn't be… How'd he get slashed?! He almost didn't feel it and he definitely didn't see it coming! How the hell?!
The demon's eyes found the Demon Slayer falling out of the sky, his body illuminated by the moonlight, and growled angrily to himself. To think he was killed by someone like… him! By that human! It was ridiculous! How could he be defeated by someone who barely had the strength to move their arms and legs! Who was crying like a whining baby up in a tree like a damn coward?!
No one, not even Zenitsu, would hear the infuriated words of the Son Spider Demon, for his body had disintegrated mere moments later.
Zenitsu had woken up with blood pouring out of his mouth, his entire body aching and in pain, and exhaustion threatening to overtake him. The poison was beginning to run its course and all he wanted to do was dream away. He was weak, he couldn't move a muscle. His body had slammed into the roof of the wooden shack, so even if he could move, he had no way of getting down. So, he might as well let himself dream something happy, peaceful, and calming.
A dream where he was more powerful than anyone. Where he can help the weak and anyone in trouble. Anytime. Everything that Gramps taught him, all the time he spent on him… It wasn't for nothing. In that dream, thanks to Gramps, he became powerful and helped out a lot of people. But… the time for dreams was over.
CHIRP! CHIRP!
A weak smile spread across Zenitsu's face and tears lined the brim of his eyes at the familiar chirping of a sparrow.
"Is… that you, Ch-Chuntaro?" He weakly spoke out.
He turned his head slightly, barely managing the smallest of movements, and stared lovingly at the sparrow. Chuntaro's eyes were wavering, whimpers falling out of his beak, and tears threatened down his feather cheeks.
"I-I'm… so s-sorry," Zenitsu had whispered to Chuntaro… but the sparrow had already flown away from him.
Zenitsu thought he was going to die alone and so desperately wanted to close his eyes… but his Gramps words of never giving up pierced his brain. He began to use Total Concentration Breathing to slow down the poison. Even if it was painful and agonizing, he couldn't take the easy way out. His Gramps would definitely let him have it. Tanjiro and Kagami would yell at him for it, too.
And… he wouldn't be able to see his precious… Nezuko… a-again…