A demon slayer story

Chapter 16: A blessed Reunion

"Are you sure you're alright?"I asked the woman.She had been crying into my uniform for about an hour before she let me take her elsewhere."Y-yes...I think I'll be okay..."She sniffled and I nodded, smiling sympathetically.

I could sympathise with her, I knew what it was like to lose loved ones, I knew all too well...

"Anza!Quick!Theres another mission over in the east in need of your assistance!"Atlas cried, making me groan."I only just finished a mission, do I really have to go now?"
Atlas nodded, flapping her wings with urgency and flying away.

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It didn't help that I had no idea what kind of demon I was up against, let alone how roughed up I was from my recent mission.My feet dragged along the floor and my hair hung across my shoulders.

I was talking to myself out of exhaustion.I guess 'sleep for the weak' was taken seriously as a demon slayer but man, I needed to rest.I felt like I was going to crash right there in the field.

That's when I heard it."Please!"
My head whipped to the side, the voice unusually familiar.There I saw him, Zenitsu Agatsuma.He was kneeling in front of some poor lady and begging her for something?
"Please, please, please marry me!"
I nodded, understanding what he was trying to do and walking towards him.
"Marry me so I don't die alone!"

"What is he doing?What on earth"I turned my head in excitement, only to see Tanjiro stood in front of me, crow on his shoulder.
"Good to see you Anza, how did your mission go?"
"It went okay, was quite sad..."
"How so?"
"I'd rather not say..."
He nodded understandingly, turning back to Zenitsu as we began to walk towards him.

A little sparrow came and landed in Tanjiro's hands.Zenitsu's sparrow...
It was chirping loudly at us, trying to tell us something that I couldn't make out.Thankfully, Tanjiro did.

Zenitsu was crying and getting snot all over the poor girl Kimono.I knew the feeling, Nari and Suske had most of their tantrums into my clothes and snot is a pain to wash out.
Tanjiro grabbed Zenitsu's Haori, pulling him up to his feet."why are you making such a scene in the middle of the road?!Shes clearly not interested in you.Also, you're stressing your sparrow out!"Tanjiro scolded and I stood idly by with a stifled laugh.

"A-aren't you guys from final selection?"
"Don't go pretending like we know eachother 'cause we don't, Kay?!"
I stepped in.
"I actually do know him, I helped him at final selection"
Tanjiro just nodded my way, turning back to Zenitsu.
"Don't get angry at me when you're the one with the terrible memory!"
Tanjiro seemed to realise something, letting go of Zenitsu and sending the poor girl off home.

We both made a disgusted look at Zenitsu, telling him how weird he was being.
"I'm just a weakling, you understand!You have to help me until I manage to get married Mister!"
"My name's Tanjiro and you are?"
"Tanjiro?Thats good to know...I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma.Please you gotta do what you can to save me!"
"Aren't you being a little dramatic?Why'd you
even become a swordsman ?You're acting utterly pathetic right now."
"That's a harsh way to put it?!I got conned by a woman and racked up a lot of debt"
He continued telling some story about how he became a swordsman but in all honesty I had stopped listening because it was starting to give me a headache.I just stood with a hand on my hip, eyes half hooded in exhaustion.

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We had begun walking down the road towards the next mission.I still wasn't really listening to either of them, more occupied with my thoughts as the sun started to set.

There it was, my favourite time of the day simply because my little brother and sister liked it.I smiled at the sight, a wave of memories washing back over me.
The way Suske's hair glistened in the light and how the sun reflected in Nari's innocent eyes.
Innocent...I had almost forgotten what that word meant...

I only started listening again when Tanjiro's crow began shouting at us."Run Tanjiro, Run Zenitsu, Run Anza!You must travel to your next destination!Run Tanjiro, Run Zenitsu, Run Anza!"
And so we did, sprinting forward.