Our Halcyon Days || Reader x Tanjiro | RESUME 2022!

* f o u r *

Thud.

The demon's head tumbled onto the ground.

Tanjiro landed gracefully on the other side of its decaying body, next to you.

It crumbled until only one arm was remaining. Its splayed hand seemed to beckon. Without any words, Tanjiro slowly walked up to it and gently grasped it with his own two hands. He closed his eyes and tucked his head slightly, as if... praying.

A myriad of emotions overcame you.

Triumph over the fact that the demon was dead,

Anger and confusion at his sympathy,

And... something else, upon seeing Tanjiro's kindness once more.

You finally decided to speak up as the last of the demon disintegrated. "This demon killed fifty children in the past, thirteen of whom shared your master."

He turned to you. "I avenged them," he said, words tinted with a hint of sorrow. "Sabito, Makomo, the others... We avenged them. And you're mistaken if you think I regret killing it."

You sheathed your Nichirin Sword.

He doesn't seem like a liar...

His dark, reddish eyes met yours directly. He did not avert his gaze.

"Let's say I believe you," you proposed. "It still makes no sense that you could have any compassion for that murderer."

To your unending surprise, he admitted, "You're right. But even so, in his last moments, that demon emitted the scent of an overwhelming sadness... As if he'd longed for warmth again."

Again, with the nose and smelling.

You sighed.

"I suppose it doesn't matter, as long as your kindness doesn't get in the way of carrying out our duties as Demon Slayers."

"I know. It won't. Promise."

You gave a small smile.

"Good. Now, we should hurry and get to the east si-"

Suddenly, dizziness hit you.

Come to think of it, your ears had been ringing ever since you hit your back and head on the tree. Feet stumbling, you pressed your shoulder to a tree trunk for support.

A minor concussion, maybe?

You lifted your hand to touch your left ear. When you looked at it, it was red with blood.

Shit. And it's only been, what -- two hours?

"(Y/n)!"

Tanjiro rushed to your side. "I'm sorry. If only I'd acted sooner, if only I'd seen it coming, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt like that-!" He slung your arm over his shoulders and eased you over to a small boulder. Slowly, you sat.

He's blaming himself for my carelessness?

You frowned.