WHITE SWAN|| 𝙆. 𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙟𝙞𝙧𝙤 🦢 (ON HOLD)

4 | ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏx?

This is by far my longest chapter, i apologize T.T

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

"Tanjiro! What is a mission?" Athena asked slowly. The twins followed after Tanjiro like a lost puppy, asking him questions.

"Like an order from the Master to defeat demons." He explained. He found it nice to see people so interested in what he did, and it made the job feel more worth it.

"How do you.. Defeat demons?" Aphrodite asked.

"With a nichirin katana." Tanjiro responded. The girls looked at each other, letting out an audible 'Whoa!'.

"Could we.. see katana?" Athena asked, looking at him warmly. He turned around, nodding. They followed him into one of the general rooms. The girls sat on the bed beside him, excited to see the sword.

"Are you ready?" He asked them playfully, bending onto his knees and recovering something from under his bed. He rested his hand on an abnormally large box as he bent down, using it for support. I wondered what was inside that, Aphrodite wondered.

Tanjiro set a large piece of metal onto his bed. The sheets creased due to their weight. His hands hovered as he grabbed the handle and slowly picked it up. Slowly unsheathing the sword, its obsidian gradient revealed.

The girls were captivated as Tanjiro showed them the sword. It was sharp to the touch, afraid they'd cut themselves if they ran their finger down the long metal.

"It's better not to play with it. Someone could get hurt." He chuckled lightly, putting the sheath back down and laying it on his bed.

"Very.. Good." Athena complimented.

Is 'good' the only adjective they know? Tanjiro laughed at his thought, nodding and thanking her. He opened one drawer and took his clothes out, standing up.

"I'm going to change." He stated sheepishly, signaling the girls to leave.

"Oh! Right. Bye!" They giggled, walking away and talking about how cool his sword was. Tanjiro undressed and dressed quickly. He sighed, sliding his katana into his belt.

I needed to train a little longer. I need to be stronger. I can't let someone die again.

Tanjiro clenched his chest tightly, looking down at the box. A small smile drew across his face, "At least I still have you right?" He asked, kneeling as he looked at the box intently.

"Hmm hm!" A gentle voice spoke, earning a large smile across his face. He grabbed the straps of the box, lifting them onto his back as he tapped the bottom.

"Ready?" He looked over his shoulder as he spoke, earning another hum from the demon girl.

All three boys remained at the gate. Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo giving them rice balls. "Safe travels!" Sumi giggled, handing Zenitsu three rice balls for his mission. The other two girls repeated those actions as the twins stood behind them. This was the first time they had seen slayers leave for a mission. Their curiosity ran through the roof, but they knew they'd never take part in such work so they didn't bother to try to find answers quickly.

"Tanjiro! Question." Aphrodite walked closer to him, grabbing his attention.

"Yeah, Athe- Aphrodite?" He quickly corrected himself, trying to remember the difference between the girls. They smelt extremely identical to him, so he tried to focus on their physical features. He knew Athena didn't have a beauty mark under her eye like Aphrodite, so he relied on that.

"What.. Is it.." Her vocabulary was limited, so she pointed to the box on his back. Air caught in his throat.

"Just.. Things we need for the mission!" His teeth gritted together as he felt his face turn, biting his lip as he looked away. Aphrodite assumed he was constipated, not asking any further questions. She nodded slowly, taking steps back to her sister.