Chapter 07: Initiating Pest Control.

The sun had already set when Zenitsu arrived at the foot of Mt. Natagumo, just standing there he could hear the carnage that was going on in the mountain. The scuttling sounds of spiders crawling around, the demon slayers being overwhelmed, manipulated and toyed to their deaths.

Zenitsu closed his eyes and exhaled, making blood circulate faster, the oxygen saturated blood rushed through his body and he rushed up to the nearest target.

He found a spider with a human head and several miniatures look alike demons scuttling around. He started with reducing the number of the mini spider demons, despite his speed and reflexes, he was slowly getting overwhelmed, the boss spider demon shot a blob of corrosive poison from its mouth.

That made him fumble and a mini spider caught up to his feet and sunk its fangs on his left calf. Zenitsu breathed in and stood in the first stance, KAMINARI NO KOKYU~ ICHI NO KATA—HEKI REKI ISSEN~ HACHI BAI.

Zenitsu flashed eight times, slashing through everything in his path and rushed towards the boss demon. KAMINARI NO KOKYU~ NANATSU NO KATA HONO IKAZUCHI NO KAMI.

A flaming thunder dragon roared and chased Zenitsu's blade and devoured the demon as Zenitsu slashed its neck. The dragon left nothing in its path, not even the ashes remain of the demon Zenitsu faced.

Zenitsu knew that the poison from the demon will slowly paralyze him and render him immobile. He used the breathing technique to hold the poison back from spreading.

Seeing a flash of fire on the mountain Zenitsu rushed towards it, he was already poisoned, so the faster he ends the mission the better for him. Sending off Chuntaro to ask for medical help, he flashed towards the fire sparks.

Rushing in Zenitsu saw a demon with the same patterned white face like the one he slayed about to end an injured looking Tanjiro's life, who was covering Nezuko with his body and broken blade.

KAMINARI NO KOKYU~ KYUU NO KATA—RAIJIN NO NAGEKI!

Zenitsu jumped from the tall branch and struck down like lightning, severing the neck of the demon, the parts the blades touched burned through. The attack the demon was about to launch vanished and it fell on its knees, the headless body crawled towards Tanjiro who was covering Nezuko.

Tanjiro who woke up from the last exchange, had tears in his eyes as he placed his hand softly on the vanishing back of the demon.

By then a demon slayer with long black hair appeared, wearing a half red and half patterned haori. Tanjiro had recognized him and called out, "Giyu-san!!"

The demon slayer replied in a calm voice, "good job holding the demon back till help arrived."

He turned towards Zenitsu, "You must be Zenitsu Kuwajima, right?"

"I am, and there is one demon still alive five hundred meters to the west. It is nice to meet you Water Hashira-san."

Looking down Zenitsu saw his left leg was slowly turning purple and was growing numb with the ticking clock.

A shadow flew in and was about to slash Nezuko, Giyu blocked the srike and the assailant flipped back and landed a few meters away. Zenitsu's blade was on her neck, he open his eyes to see beautiful dark purple, he blinked thrice to see a beautiful girl in a butterfly patterned haori.

"Beautiful" he uttered without knowing.

"Thank you for the compliment, but to prevent me from slaying demons is against the rules of the Demon Slayer corps." She spoke in a soft voice.

"But we also can't draw our blades against the innocent. Nezuko is Tanjiro's little sister, the only family he has and she has never hurt any human. Can you please not kill her?" Zenitsu asked as he withdrew his blade from her throat.

"Moshi moshi, Giyu-san, can you please explain this boy that he is in the wrong instead of just standing there and protecting a demon." She spoke drawing her blade again.

…..

Seeing Giyu just standing there motionless, she taunted him, "you do know that, you are hated by everyone, right?"

"I am not hated by everyone." He shot back.

"Oh, sorry for not realizing that you did not know about that." He said with the same smile.

Zenitsu who stood beside her decided to chip in, "this pretty big one-chan, can you please let us explain? And Giyu-san is not hated by everyone, he sounds like a kind person. But you sound angry and annoyed, so please calm down."

"Thank you for the compliment, but let me introduce myself. My name is Kocho Shinobu, the insect Hashira, so I can order you around unlike Giyu-san who is a Hashira himself." She smiled again, this time a bit smug.

"Tanjiro, I don't care if you can move or not, just run away with Nezuko and Giyu-san, please be my witness that I can't hear because I was injured in a fight against a lot of spider demons and then I saw a very pretty girl and tied her up to bring her back for marriage." Zenitsu said and embraced Shinobu in a tight hug leaving her no way to move.

Tanjiro who was about to run, Shinobu who was about to give chase and Giyu who was confused on what to do, were all shocked to see Zenitsu wrapping up a red faced Shinobu.

Tanjiro started running and Giyu, who had sensed Kanao, went to delay her to let Tanjiro run away safely.

"Please don't be offended Shinobu san, I have no other way. I can't let the only family my friend has die before me and I also can't bear arms against you, if you can't bring yourself to forgive me I promise to commit seppuku after I apologize to my master and save Nezuko. So, please bear with my selfishness for a bit longer." Zenitsu whispered into her ears softly, his voice carried the powerlessness because of his dilemma and then the resolve to bear the consequence.

Shinobu was not sure whether to smile or cry now. Her image as a Hashira was going to be destroyed because of a brat who decided to protect a demon, what's worse that she was wrapped like a dumpling and was rendered immobile.

Zenitsu, started to use the power of Avalon to heal his leg and neutralise the poison in it. A murder of crows flew in screaming, "KAAAA~ message, KAAAAA!"

"Capture Tanjiro and Nezuko and bring them to the head-quarters. Tanjiro, a boy in green and black chequered haori and has a scar on his forehead. Nezuko, a demon girl with a bamboo muzzle in her mouth. KAAAAA~."

In a single slash Zenitsu freed Shinobu, cutting the ropes yet not a single thread on her was touched, shocking Shinobu yet again. She knew that the boy standing before her would surely be a Hashira if he does not suffer an untimely accident.

[I AM DOING A POLL FOR GOD'S SAKE !!!! TELL ME THE WORLDS YOU WANT TO SEE...]

[BNHA IS COMMING NEXT... DROP THE NAME HERE !!!!]