By your side [Tanjiro x oc]

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
He Found Me At Least

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When I woke up, I was surrounded by warmth and the smell of cinnamon. Cinnamon. It reminded me of home.

My eyes widened, maybe it was a dream. I whipped the blanket off me and slid the door open.

It wasn't what I was hoping for. In the slightest. But what I did see was an old man, sipping some tea.

"W-who...wh-where am I?" I asked, frightened why I was brought here. The old man smiled kindly at me, setting the glass on the round table.

I gripped the door, getting ready to just run. However before I had the chance to think of an escape route, the old man spoke. "I was walking by and saw you passed out in the cold. You were going to catch a bad illness if I just left you out there."

Looking around the old man's home, I saw swords on the wall. Was he a murderer or something?

I turned to him, bowing to him. "Thank you for helping me..." Even showing my appreciation, I couldn't help but be scared by all the stores.

"Come sit." The old man said, gesturing towards the pillow in front of him. Doing what he said, I sat on the pillow, tucking my feet under my legs.

I fidgeted with my fingers, I didn't normally get anxious, but this was a common sign of it.

The old man poured me some tea, however I tried to hold back my multiple questions.

Why am I here? What's with the swords? Is he an assassin? Why is he being so kind?

The old man raised an eyebrow at me, "I suppose you must have some questions, dear?" I nodded slowly, "Why do you have so many swords?"

"Ah, that's always the first one people ask me." He said simply, sipping his tea. I picked up my cup and took a sip as well. It was green tea, but it was sweet. Exactly how I preferred my green tea.

"I'm a swordsman, or was one." He set down the cup and stood up. Swordsman? He grabbed a sword with a deep blue blade and a black handle. He traced the pattern on the handle.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curiously. He set the sword back and walked back to the table. "Tell me this first, dear, do you believe in demons?"

I scoffed at his ridiculous question. Demons were a myth. I mean, the idea of monsters that kill people in the night mysteriously was ridiculous.

"No, it's just a scary story kids make up."

Smiling and shaking his head, the old man spoke once more. "They're plenty real. Haven't you ever wondered why people in the village go missing? Or when other people talk about mysterious disappearances even though they saw the person moments earlier?"

That's ridiculous. No way.

My eyes slowly widened as the realization set in. I had heard stories and talking going around about demons. I always assumed people were trying to scare others. I never thought they could be real.

"Y-You're being serious," I muttered, looking down at my tea.

"I used to kill those demons, in the Demon Slayer Corps. That was my purpose in life," The old man explained. "A demon killed your parents."

Those words made me turn my attention back to him, my eyes widening, and I gripped at my pants. I felt the tears threatening to leave my eyes, but held them back.

"Do you want to avenge them?" He asked, to which I nodded.

"What do I have to do?" My grip tightened on my pants, I was willing to do anything to avenge them. My parents were my only family left, but they were gone.

The old man grinned and walked back to the sword stand. When he came back, he put a sword in my hand.

"You train to become a demon slayer,

Hoshiko Akira."

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A/N: TIME TO KICK BUTT HELL YEAH.

I'm really excited to write the next chapters. Sorry for not having Tanjiro x oc parts. It's coming I swear 😭