Chapter 10

Zenitsu: "I wonder how is it going to be... you know, my first mission." Zenitsu said while walking down the road, gently caressing the head of Chuntaro with his finger.

Chuntaro chirped a few times in response, swinging his little wings around.

Zenitsu: "Hahaha. I will keep it in mind. But if things go south, then it's better if you fly and get some help. *Pek!* Ouch! Hey, don't do that!" Growled Zenitsu when his sparrow stabbed him in his finger using his beak.

After a while, when Chuntaro settled down and flew somewhere away, Zenitsu started pondering about his first individual mission. The message Chuntaro brought was to head to the Kanna, a small town around 90 miles next to Tokyo and around 100 miles from the Jigoro's house. By the way, it was the second day of his journey.

The Demon Slayer Corps get intel that many people who stopped by the town, be it merchants, lost travelers, or just people stopping in the town to rest, everyone vanished without a trace along with their belongings. At first, everyone thought the bandits were at fault, but the area was very peaceful. But when the organization sent one of the Slayers to investigate the matter, he also vanished without a trace, along with his belonging and even his crow.

It was more of a reconnaissance mission. He had to make sure that the threat was real, and if possible, rescue or find missing Demon Slayer and other people, and of course to eliminate the threat.

Zenitsu: "The threat is definitely real, people are missing..." He said aloud.

With nothing to do, he started humming random melodies, just to make the journey more bearable. That was the next thing about him- he disliked long travels. He hated when there wasn't anyone to talk to, he felt more lonely that way. And no, he didn't count Chuntaro as a companion, in the end, he would always fly away for x time doing his...well, bird things?

An hour later, Zenitsu saw a cart at the center of the road, and a man walking from side to side of his carriage, kicking and punching it in random places. Zenitsu could hear how he was cursing Gods, his cart, his luck, his neighbor, and even birds that were sitting on the branches.

As he was getting closer and closer, he slowed down, his hand on the sword. Zenitsu was afraid that this all could be just a scene to rob him. In the end, that was the time they were in. He observed the forest on both sides of the road, but it was more that he was "listening" to the forest. He sighed in relief when he didn't spot anyone trying to ambush him. Zenitsu wasn't sure if he would be able to deal with humans without hurting them. Let's be honest, he was trained to kill, not to pacify.

Zenitsu: "Hey mister!" Shouted Zenitsu standing just a few feet away from the man.

Man: "For fucks sake!" He jumped in his place and turned around with something that looked like a screwdriver. "Who the hell are you?! Trying to rob me, eh?" He glanced at Zenitsu's hip where his katana was placed. "Then do it! Take this piece of crap away from me! I'm done!" The man shouted and kicked it once again in anger.

Zenitsu just blinked a few times. And again.

Zenitsu: "Haha... I guess something terrible happened?" He didn't know how to start a conversation. The man's sudden outburst took him aback.

Man: "You ain't a robber? Good, good, I could kill you if I wanted to, lucky you." He threw the screwdriver on top of the cart and said with a serious expression. "

'I didn't deny nor admit that I'm robber tho...' Thought Zenitsu.

Man: "As you can see this old bitch just decided to break a few miles from the town. The wheel broke in a few places. I somehow managed to take it off, but soon I found myself with another problem..."

Zenitsu looked at the cart again, this time more carefully. There was a fixed wheel, as the man said, and he also saw that "another problem".

Zenitsu: "When you took off the wheel, the carriage lowered. And now you don't have the strength to lift it and put the wheel back in place?"

Man: "Yep, exactly." He admitted helplessly. "But even with you we won't lift it...what the fuck..." The man couldn't believe his eyes, as Zenitsu walked to the cart, took a deep breath, bent his knees, and stood straight lifting the carriage high enough. All with a casual look on his face.

Zenitsu: "Hey, put it back in place. I'm not going to hold it all day."

Man: "Y-Yeah, yeah... Kids these days just can't respect their elders. What did they even feed you?"

....

Zenitsu sat at the back of the cart, swinging his legs forth and back, observing the passing trees as the carriage slowly made its way toward its destination.

Man: "Anyway, you have any business in Kanna, or are you just passing by?"

Zenitsu: "The Former."

Man: "...You didn't hear of all these nasty rumors about that place? The people are missing, you should just skip it, kid."

Zenitsu: "I heard the rumors, but they are just rumors, aren't they? People can't disappear like that, locals are probably overreacting." He said lightly. Of course, he knew about the rumors and even about the possible cause of this, but he knew he shouldn't bother the man with something like that. The less you know, the better you sleep, or something like that.

Man: "They aren't just rumors!" He suddenly spat with anger.

Young Demon Slayer was taken aback by the sudden outburst, and by the emotions, he heard in the man's voice. Anger, frustration, and sadness.

Man: "Sorry, kid. Lastly, it's just not my days..." He turned his face at Zenitsu and smiled wryly. Zenitsu sat cross-legged, now looking at the man's back.

Zenitsu: "Something happened? You know, you can let it out. Usually, it helps..."

The man at first didn't want to talk at all, saying it's not Zenitsu's business. But feeling that it could be connected it his mission, he didn't let go, and after a few minutes, the man decided to confess whatever he had on his heart.

After he listened to the man's story, Zenitsu couldn't help but feel sad for him. It turned out that the man's younger brother was a traveling merchant. Young, healthy, cheerful, full of vigor, and curious of the world, that's how he described him. His younger brother didn't become a merchant to get rich or pay back his debts, he decided to become a town to town vendor and make enough money to pay for his travels. He was inspired by his older brother who used to work for the big merchant company until it has to be shut down due to unspecific reasons.

Anyway, the man's younger brother was doing fine, they were in touch via letters they sent whenever they could. And one day one of these letters came. His brother said he was going to stay in a small town next to Tokyo to get some money before he eventually goes there, and he will send another letter once he gets there. But the day passed, nights switched their places with days, and even after a few weeks no letter came. The older brother was worried, he was scared that something could happen to his little brother, so he decided to look for him. Everyone told him to just forget about it, that maybe he just settled down, or forgot about him.

But he knew his brother wouldn't do any of that. He wasn't like that. It was then when decided to exchange some money and other things for mule and old cart, and set off to find his dear brother. On his way, he asked a lot of people about his brother, hoping someone could have remembered him, but sadly none did. Panic and fear started growing inside of him when the rumors about the infamous town reached his ears. He tried to stay optimistic, but the whispers at the back of his head couldn't be ignored, that perhaps something did happen to his brother and the only thing he will return with will be his brother's cold body.

Man: "You know what, forget it! I can't believe it I just confessed to some brat. Fuck me! When my brother hears about he'll make fun of me for days! Hahaha!"

Zenitsu couldn't help but look at the man with pity and sadness. He knew that man was just acting carefree, trying to cheer himself up and distract from bad thoughts.

The yellow-haired boy didn't say anything for the rest of the journey, as there was nothing he could say to the man. It wasn't like him to cheer someone or make friends with random people. Besides, he could hear that the man wasn't in the mood for talks either, so with nothing to do he lay down on the cart and fell asleep. He hoped that he could save the man's brother and others in time.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Man: "HEY! Wake up! We are almost there."

Zenitsu: "Don't yell. I'm not sleeping for an hour." Said annoyed Zenitsu, a little startled by the man's shout.

Zenitsu sit up and stretched his arms and neck. He looked past the man's head and saw the valley surrounded by the thick forest, and in the very center, he saw the very first buildings of the town.

Suddenly Chuntaro flew out from nowhere and sat at the top of Zenitsu's head. The little sparrow chirped a few times and waved his wings.

Zenitsu grabbed the handle of his sword and squeezed it hard.

Zenitsu: "Yeah, I'm a little nervous." His lips bent in a tense smile. His own very first mission!