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

* t w e n t y - o n e *

Suddenly, it became hard to breathe.

You were holding a limp and bloody corpse in your arms. A mere two seconds ago, the body had been living — the warmth of life still remained within him. But now, the young man's eyes stared off into the empty space beyond you. They had witnessed the sky outside the house, had seen freedom before his last moments...

But that alone wasn't enough. He had said,

'I don't want to die.'

The burn scars on your shoulder and ankle flared up in a negative response to your emotions. Alarmed, your hands slipped out from underneath the young man's back and he fell to the ground. You had no time to apologize to the deceased.

"Breath of Snow," you said, voice wavering.

"First Form: First Snowfall."

You drew your blade and tapped it to the scars, but your shaking hands almost caused you to cut yourself. Thankfully, the ice that spread onto your skin stopped the edge from cutting you.

You purposefully bit the inside of your cheek, and hard.

Pull yourself together, (Y/n), you scolded.

It's not like this is the first time you've seen a dead body — you already saw a hundred of them. How can you call yourself a Demon Slayer if you can't even handle one more?

But despite your efforts, you simply couldn't regain control of yourself. It was as if your limbs had been locked in place, the key to them nowhere to be found. The close proximity was making you nauseous.

Your loose fingers released your blade. You barely managed to grab hold to it again.

Get up.

You knew horrid memories would soon surface; panic sought to take advantage of the internal strife.

Stand. How dare you fall here-!

"(Y/n)."

All of a sudden,

you found yourself being hugged.

His strong arms wrapped tightly around you, whisking you away from the corpse.

"(Y/n), it's alright..." he said quietly. "You're alright."

While turning you around, he placed his body in between the corpse's and your own so you couldn't look upon it any further. After struggling for a few moment, you gave in to temptation and sank into his comfortable, reassuring embrace.

Able to move again, you shuddered, breaking free from the spell that rendered you so weak.

He is always saving me. Even from traumas I thought I'd left behind for good...

You breathed a long, deep sigh, grateful that your heart had finally calmed down. Your thoughts, however, remained plagued with three words:

Nothing has changed.

You were no different from the girl you were way back then. The years had done little to help you. Your body, you had honed as a weapon, but your mind lacked an aspect integral to being a swordsman.

However,

You were not one to indulge in self-pity.

To stoop down to such an inferior level and give up was the trademark of a fool, and you wouldn't have any of it.

My present flaws must wait... Right now, I must do all that I can, and doubting myself won't make that happen.

So you lightly tapped Tanjiro with your hand, letting him know you were back. He held you by your shoulders in front of him and stared into your eyes. He said nothing — you knew he was asking you if you could fight.