“Uh, um,” he stammered. “I-if you don’t mind telling me, why are you crying? I might be able to help!”
The girl said nothing and continued to weep.
“I’m Zenitsu Agatsuma. I’ve been studying swordsmanship with an old man way up high on this mountain,” Zenitsu explained, trying to quell her unease at not knowing the first thing about him.
“Swords … manship?”
To Zenitsu, the “sound” of the girl shifted slightly, like she was anticipating something. He could hear in her a faint hope emerging from a place where despair prevailed. Becoming that hope for this girl delighted Zenitsu.
“Okay. You can just tell me whatever you can tell me.”
The girl finally stopped crying.
“My name is Sayuri,” she told him in a trembling voice. “I live with my mother, stepfather, and two stepsisters in a small village up ahead. It’s protected by wisteria flowers.”
“Oh, you do? Sayuri, hm? What a sweet name.” Thrilled to know the lovely girl’s name at last, Zenitsu wriggled in place. “So, why’d you come up the mountain today, and in such a kimono? It looks hard to walk in.”
“The truth is …” The girl’s eyebrows dropped sadly. “One evening a few days ago, my stepfather encountered a demon here. He barely managed to escape by promising to send his daughter to take his place.”
“Whaaat?!” Zenitsu cried. “A demon? You? How could he do that?! That’s awful! That’s so awful!”
“He had no choice. My mother and my stepsisters couldn’t live without my stepfather.” She lowered her eyes, and the tears clinging to her eyelashes plopped onto her cheeks. She said no more.
The black hair tied back high on her head was indescrib-ably beautiful. Heedless of the consequences, her unbearable loveliness spurred Zenitsu to shout, “I—!”
“I’ll go to the demon in your place, Sayuri, and take care of it lickety-split! You just wait at the foot of the mountain!”
As he walked along the dark mountain path, Zenitsu already regretted blurting that out. He’d put on Sayuri’s kimono to complete the deception, and he kept tripping over the uselessly long sleeves. The sword hidden on his back made the outfit even harder to move in.
On top of it all, he was so scared of facing the demon, he could hardly stand it. Wait. It’s totally hopeless, right? I mean, taking down a demon all by myself? And what was that “lickety-split” part? Lickety-split?! There’s no way I can do this.
Maybe I could go slinking back to Gramps and get him to come with me. No, I don’t have the time for that. Aaah, I’m going to die. I am definitely going to die.
Zenitsu moaned and groaned to himself. He wanted to bawl pathetically and run away that very moment, or sooner if possible. Still, he knew he was the only one who could halt the tears of that lovely girl. Sayuri … She was super happy too.
She had shed tears of anxiety and relief when Zenitsu said he would take care of the demon. The bright sound of hope and joy in her grew louder, but he could also hear clear sounds of regret, apology, and … confusion. It was an extremely complicated and painful sound. Most likely, she had qualms about sending Zenitsu, a total stranger, into this dangerous situation.
She’s such a nice girl.
He remembered the trembling sound she’d made as she had gripped his hands and told him to be careful before they parted. Not once did she blame her stepfather for immediately offering her up as a sacrifice because she wasn’t related to him. Nor did she hold it against her mother for not trying to stop him. It was precisely because she had such a kind heart that Zenitsu sincerely wanted to help.
Even his burning love for the girl and his sense of chivalry couldn’t overcome his intense fear of the demon. Heading toward the meeting spot the demon had given the stepfather, Zenitsu nearly ran off a thousand times. Each time, he managed to stop himself somehow.
A slender crescent moon hung in the night sky. He looked up at it through the breaks in the trees and prayed, “Please let it be a tiny, weak demon!”
He heard the sound of the demon.
“Eeep!” He clamped his hands over the scream that threatened to slip out of his mouth.
The demon sounded like lips being licked, waiting for a beautiful girl to come along so they could eat her tender flesh. A greedy, inhuman sound.
With his whole body shaking, and unable to utter a word, Zenitsu came to a stop. He absolutely couldn’t make himself go any farther. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t take another step.
As Zenitsu held his breath and stood immobile on the dark mountain, an enormous demon stepped out of the brush. Even with a quick glance, Zenitsu could tell that this was no person. The demon had an enormous arm growing out of its back, and each of its three hands held an enormous sickle. A large mouth stretched from ear to ear while six small, merciless eyes glimmered with darkness.
Oh no. This is it. I’m dead. Sayuri … I’m sorry.
Zenitsu’s teeth chattered harder than ever as he stared up at this terrifying and massive creature, tall enough that it looked like it was touching the clouds.
Haah, haah, haah! Haah, haah, haah! Haah, haah, haah! Haah, haah, haah! His breathing was wild like that of a virgin maiden.
“You’re the old man’s youngest daughter?” the demon asked in a gravelly voice.
Zenitsu’s heart nearly pounded right out of his chest.
“Y … Y-y-y-y-y-yes!” he barely managed to squeak out. He couldn’t stop his voice from jumping up unnaturally. “M-m-my name is Zeniko.”