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

* t h i r t y - e i g h t *

A/N: Dearly sorry for the late update, in my unpreparedness I had trouble thinking through the new arc but I should be good now :)

Also since this arc is original story the pictures I put up will be kinda random >.< that being said have this lovely shot of Tanjiro!

I hope everyone is staying safe in these troubling times <3

• • * • • * • • * • •

The dreadful feeling in your stomach just wouldn't go away.

The herbal tea helped only slightly; as did Tanjiro's warm palm, which rested gently atop yours.

For so long, you'd wanted to escape the confinements of your recovery room, regain your liberty in walking about. Now, all you wanted was to stay shut in, head buried in the blankets, unable to see or hear anything.

...Out of sight, out of mind.

But you'd be foolish to believe things could be that simple.

"The nearby hospitals did not have enough room for all the victims, so the Butterfly Estate agreed to take them in."

Shinobu's sing-song voice broke up your thoughts. Her posture sitting across from you and Tanjiro was formal and upright, and her deep, thoughtful eyes were locked unflinchingly on yours. The night sky outside the open window remained. In that moment, you felt grateful for her straightforward approach and candor, in spite of her being in an undesirable situation.

"You witnessed the gravity of the victims' situation yourself. And as Tanjiro had already informed me of your trauma, I thought it best to break the news after you'd made a complete recovery, nice and slow." She bowed her head slightly.

"We are sorry you had to find out this way. I sincerely hope you do not still harbor any ill feelings towards us — our only intention was to protect you."

She had thought it best to hide the truth from you, and now that you forced her hand, she delivered it with integrity. That was respectable.

"Of course I don't," you replied, giving Shinobu a small smile. "And don't apologize... My own stubbornness is at fault as well."

Her serious face softened as relief took its place. Tanjiro slipped his hand under yours and gave it a tender squeeze. It remained there.

"What matters is what we do from this point onward," the Insect Pillar resumed, closing her eyes briefly. "The cause of the fire, as you are aware, was a Demon. Not only a powerful one, but an anomaly as well."

You nodded, watching puffs of steam lazily rise from the piping hot tea in front of you. "Right. Since fire is closely associated with the sun, a universal weakness of Demons, there are not many who wield it."

Glancing over to Tanjiro, you added, "Nezuko's Blood Demon Art does deal with fire, but I'm lead to believe it is directly correlated with the Kamado bloodline. Something about it is special. She's a demon who has never eaten a human, and Tanjiro struck Rui down with that strange Breathing Technique."

Shinobu lifted her gaze, let it settle on yours.

"You seem to have already been quite familiar with this subject, (Y/n)."

The polite words yet hinted at her underlying question, which you answered without further hesitation.

"I'm a survivor of the Hellfire, so... I studied up on it."

A survivor.

Bitterly, you thought, more like the only survivor.

The girl gave a grim smile, eyebrows knit closely together. "...I was hoping that wouldn't be the case."