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

* t w e l v e *

Thump,

thump,

thump.

Your heart ran a mile a minute.

That look in the man's blood red eyes was one of pure disdain. It was intimidating. It was scary. And you hated being fearful, for fearing was a sign of inner and mental weakness. But the aura that this man exuded...

Your skin prickled. Every ounce of your body screamed run.

Slowly, you reached for Tanjiro.

I know my limits. I know our limits. Tanjiro, please... This is a demon we cannot kill.

"Is there..."

You shivered. The demon's voice was like silk. It was calm -- too calm.

"...something I can do for you?"

He addressed Tanjiro, his stylish black and white hat casting a shadow over his gleaming eyes.

"You seem to be quite flustered."

Tanjiro did not reply, and only stood there, huffing. A pretty woman dressed in a white and baby blue gown approached you next. Her eyes were dark and thoughtful. She wasn't a demon -- and on that topic, you noticed the child in the man's arms wasn't one, either.

Then... why-?!

"Oh, my," the lady said. She betrayed no sense of fear. "What's going on?"

The little girl beamed. "Mother!"

You flinched hard. Mother, she had said.

They're both being played.

The man that stood next to them which they endearingly called 'father' or 'husband'... Just how many humans had he devoured? And how many lies had escaped his bloodthirsty lips? And by the looks of it, he spoke them with ease.

Tanjiro clenched his stomach. You, yourself, had a queasy feeling in your core.

"Do you know him?"

The wealthy demon looked back to Tanjiro.

"Much to my consternation," he said, "I do not know this child. Or..."

Suddenly, his piercing gaze shifted to you. It was quite obvious that you and Tanjiro travelled together, given your Demon Slayer uniforms. It came as no surprise that he'd have noticed you as well.

"Her. She, too, is a stranger."

Your muscles coiled and tensed up. Adrenaline already began to pump through your veins, heightening your senses to the utmost degree. The choice of 'fight' or 'flight' was a very human one indeed -- you were sure that this demon would have never considered it before.

Full focus breathing...

Quietly, unnoticeably, you prepared your breaths. No way were you prepared to kick the bucket here. You had to protect yourself and Tanjiro.

"They must have mistaken me for somebody else."

As the demon suggested this, his black fingernails extended into claws; your (e/c) eyes narrowed. In a blur of motion, his arms reached out and he scratched the exposed neck of an unsuspecting passerby.

At that point, you finally knew what exactly you were facing.

The first demon. The original demon. The one who turned humans into monsters.

Kibutsuji Muzan.

No wonder Tanjiro recognized his scent.

This was the bastard that that turned Nezuko into a demon, and probably killed...