14. Zenitsu Agatsuma

"What on earth?" Hana muttered, her eyes darting around the chaotic scene infront of them.

On the ground, a yellow-haired boy was kneeling, clinging desperately to a woman's waist. "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!" he bawled. "I could die any day, you know! That's why I want you to marry me! Please, I'm begging you!"

A frantic sparrow swooped down and landed on Tanjiro's outstretched hand, chirping violently and flapping its wings to emphasize the situation.

Tanjiro's eyes narrowed, his grip steady. "I see! Got it! I'll do something about it."

The sparrow gave a relieved chirp, as if glad someone finally understood.

Hana's jaw dropped. How... how could Tanjiro understand what the bird was saying?

"Please! Please marry me! I'm begging you-" the boy's cries were cut short as Tanjiro yanked him back by the collar of his haori.

"What do you think you're doing in the middle of the road?! Can't you see she wants nothing to do with you? And don't cause trouble for your sparrow!" Tanjiro snapped.

The boy blinked in shock. "That uniform...You're that guy from Final Selection!"

"No one I know acts like you. I don't know you," Tanjiro said sharply.

Tears streamed down the boy's face comically. "Eh?! But we....we met? You don't remember? You're the one with a memory problem!" he cried dramatically.

Hana's eyes widened. Ah! I remember him now! He's the one from the Final Selection!

"All right, it's been taken care of. You have nothing to worry about anymore. You can head home now," Tanjiro reassured the woman.

"Thank you very much!" she said, bowing gratefully.

"Hey! Stay out of my way! That girl is going to marry me! Because she's in love wit-" the boy started, but a hard slap across his face cut him off.

The woman continued slapping him repeatedly.

"Hey! It hurts! Stop it! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" he screamed, covering his head.

"Please, calm down!" Tanjiro said firmly.

"When did I ever say I was in love with you?! You were crumpled up on the side of the road looking sick! All I did was call out to you!" the woman shouted.

"You mean...you didn't reach out out of love, but just because you were worried?!" the boy asked.

"I already have a fiancé, so not on your life! Since you're so full of energy, you must be fine now, right?! Have a very nice day!" she exclaimed, stomping away.

"W-wait! Come back!" the boy cried.

"Can't you see she's not interested? Just cut it out. Stop acting so desperate," Hana snapped, having seen enough of his tantrums.

The boy suddenly stared at Hana, eyes wide with admiration.

Hana and Tanjiro exchanged awkward glances.

Before she could react, the boy latched onto her waist. "Please marry me!" he pleaded.

"Don't touch me!" Hana shouted, kicking him in the face..

"Haaa! A beautiful woman just kicked me!" he squealed, falling back dramatically.

Tanjiro's eyes darkened. Without a word, he pushed Zenitsu, sending him tumbling on the ground. "Don't bother my sister."

Hana and Tanjiro looked at Zenitsu with disgust, making him burst into tears.

"What's with those looks?! Why are you staring at me like I'm some kind of creature?!" he wailed.

"Hey, you! It's your fault I missed out on getting married! Listen up! I'm going to die soon, during my next job! The thing is, I'm horribly weak, okay? You need to protect me until I manage to get married, all right?"

Hana and Tanjiro just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Say something!" he screeched, grabbing at Tanjiro's waist.

"I'm so scared! Scared! Scared! Scared! Scared! I just know I'm gonna get devoured by a demon! My brains are gonna get sucked through my ears while I'm still alive!" He rolled on the ground, bawling. "Nooo, please save me!" he wailed so loudly Hana covered her ears clearly annoyed by the boy.

Tanjiro leaned slightly toward him. "Are you okay?" He asked kindly.

"I'm Tanjiro Kamado! And this is my older sister, Hana Kamado!" Tanjiro introduced while Hana facepalmed.

"I-I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma," the boy replied more calmly.

---

After finally having Zenitsu calmed down, the three of them walked in silence for a few minutes.

"How are you feeling?" Tanjiro asked kindly.

"Now that I've calmed down...I'm hungry," Zenitsu muttered.

"You don't have any food on you?" Hana asked.

"Nope" Zenitsu said sadly, tears brimming again.

"Tanjiro, are you hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah." he nodded.

Hana smiled, pulling two onigiri from her bag and handing one to each boy.

"Here, you both take these."

They started devoured it happily.

"You're not going to eat?" Zenitsu asked Hana.

"No, since that's all I had." she replied.

"You can take a bit of ours." Tanjiro suggested. They broke off pieces and handed them to her.

"Thank you!" she said, smiling brighly as she took them.

"Start running! Start running! Hana, Tanjiro, Zenitsu get going! You must run!" her crow cawed, circling above.

"That crow is talking!" Zenitsu shrieked, collapsing and flopping like a fish out of water.

---

The three of them walked through the dark forest while Zenitsu whined.

"Hey, Tanjiro, Hana on second thought, I'm not gonna make it. Even if I go along, I'll be totally useless. I'm so scared. Maybe if I'll feel less scared if Hana-chan held my han-"

"Ahhgh!" he screeched as Hana glared at him.