Collared (Uzuzen) (Uzui Tengen x Agatsuma Zenitsu)

Untitled Part 2

Summary: Uzui capturing demon Zenitsu.

Zenitsu's heart was beating so fast that it was ready to burst out of his chest. His steps were agile, jumping from one branch to another. His wings flapped lightly and gave him enough lift to maneuver between foliage skillfully. The tree crowns were so damn dense that he couldn't simply fly off without losing speed. And speed was most crucial at that moment. Death himself was on his tail.

Zenitsu could hear them. The steps of his pursuer were light, agile and confident. In the eerie silence of the night, they had a steady rhythm, making the boy wonder how could they belong to a human being. The hulking man, a demon slayer, had followed Zenitsu from the village, dashing at him suddenly as the demon was hiding under a bridge. If his hearing wasn't so sharp, he would have died right there. But Zenitsu had managed to fly off, only for the slayer to start chasing him.

"How much longer can you run, little bird? I'm impressed!" That overbearing voice sounded so close that Zenitsu almost tripped in shock.

His mind was empty, only picking up the sounds of the forest and his panicked heart. The slayer had been trailing after him for what felt like forever. Even worse, he had an arrogant smirk on his face that deeply unsettled Zenitsu. It was the look of a predator toying with his pray. The boy couldn't lose him using cheap tricks that worked with others in the past. Why was he so persistent and fast? It almost matched his demon speed. It was insane.

Just as Zenitsu was beginning to lose hope, an escape from the thick foliage finally showed itself. The boy plunged with desperation and opened his wings fully. He could fly, he could finally get awa-

Swishhhh.

A sharp sound pierced through Zenitsu's ears as he looked up at the night sky. He felt an enormous pain in his back, so stabbing that his vision blurred for a few moments. The stars in night sky suddenly vanished, and he hit the unforgiving cold ground full force.

What had happened? Zenitsu looked around with a disoriented expression on his face. His mind was racing with so many thoughts that he couldn't grasp the situation fully. Why had he crashed, what had he done wrong? The pain of his back was excruciating. Had he fractured the wings in the fall? Trembling, he tried to touch the base, but his fingers only brushed against short bloody stubs.

As pure horror dawned on him, his desperate eyes searched the ground and finally spotted his severed wings. They had been cut off clean, not even a single splatter of blood on the golden feathers.

While his regenerative powers would kick in, he could not grow them fast enough to escape. Hell, it would take almost half a day to have all the feathers in place and actually be able to use them in flight. He couldn't take off without his long flight feathers. Zenitsu was done for and he couldn't stop his tears from streaming down his cheeks. He didn't remember how much he lived as a human and neither as a demon. Time had stopped for the boy when he was changed, and days turned into years in a blink of an eye. But in the light of death, all the decades still felt like mere moments. He wanted to live so much more.

" I didn't expect such a fight from a runt like you. You are the fastest demon I had encountered so far. Consider yourself lucky, I'll give you a flamboyant death! " The slayer's voice was coming from behind him, but Zenitsu made no move to escape, still in shock from his crash.

" W-why me?"

"Pure chance! " The slayer chuckled as he pointed one sword at him. "You were not my initial target. I was seeking the demon that decimated the fisherman village. By the time I realized you are not the one, I was already having too much fun hunting you down."

"It's not fair!" Zenitsu began to wail in pain as the bones of the wings started to slowly regenerate." I did nothing wrong! I don't deserve to die!"

The blond had not killed anyone in the village. He had only spent time there briefly, to rest and wait for the sunlight to fade.

"Really, brat? I wonder how many humans have you eaten to keep your feathers shiny?" The slayer scoffed at him and lifted his swords.

Zenitsu was not entirely sure himself. His first years as a demon were clouded in murky memories of mostly intense hunger and emotions. He couldn't recall scenes, but voices and sounds were forever imprinted in his mind. Screams and wails of pain. If they were his or belonged to poor victims, he couldn't tell.

The boy closed his eyes and braced himself for what was to come. He could no longer see the slayer, but his keen earing provided enough clues. One light step forward crushing the dead leaves, a soft rattle from the chain attached to the swords and a sharp intake of air as the man prepared himself to lunge.

Suddenly, a fast flapping of wings, perhaps belonging to a large bird, alerted his ears. It was followed by a faint thud as the creature landed somewhere behind them. How ironic that a bird was going to witness his final moments.

" Craw-craw Uzui Tengen! Bring the demon alive to the Butterfly Estate! Craw-craw! to the Butterfly Estate!"

Zenitsu had never witnessed in his whole life a talking crow. The bird's speech had an uncanny tone, fast as if it wasn't putting his own thoughts into words. It creeped the hell out of him.

"He is not the demon I'm looking for!" The slayer's dismissive tone irked Zenitsu. His life was at play there, damn it.

"Craw-craw, bring the demon to the Butterfly Estate! Craw-craw!"

Uzui Tengen jeered yet again, shouting at the crow that arrived out of nowhere. But the bird didn't change its message. It kept repeating the same phrase. Bring Zenitsu to the Butterfly Estate. Could the Butterfly Estate be their headquarters? The boy opened his eyes and watched with a glimmer of hope their heated exchange. Uzui seemed distracted enough. He was gesticulating angrily at the crow, who in turn kept trowing craws and bits of human speech at him. Zenitsu rose silently from where he wept earlier, filled his lungs with air and dashed madly in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think you are going, you little shit!?" The pissed slayer was on his tail in an instant. "I'm going to cut your fucking legs next, just watch! Send you back in pieces!"

" Stay away from me, you m-monster!" Zenitsu screamed at the top of his lungs. "P-praying on innocent demons like me!"

" Even without your wings, you're fast! Damn." Zenitsu heard the familiar swing of his swords and dodged by jumping. Uzui was indeed targeting his legs. "Shinobu will have fun ruining you. You'll wish for death, you fucking coward!"