~BRAVE~ (Tanjiro X Reader)

Why

1,000 view special extra chapter.
(Recap: there are now over 223,000 views...)
—————————————————————————

"Ah dear sister your back! Come to play?" He asked. A laugh erupted from his throat and I scoffed in disgust. How dare the demon address me like that. I gripped my blade, ready to attack but then that gust of wind pushed me back once again.

It wouldn't stop this time, all five of us were sent into the air, crashing into the walls of the alley, crashing into each other. This is what Zenitsu must've gone through. Tanjiro was smart and used the wind direction to his advantage, but I wasn't able to gain control of my movements.

I had been paralyzed. "Oh it's taken effect? Finally!" My limp body had landed onto the floor harshly. The fall knocking the wind out of my lungs. "This is the true question! Do I want to switch and be in your body? Or stay in your brothers? Either way you're both dead." He laughed.

"How?" Was all I managed to get out. The rest of my partners were flying in the air. Zenitsu was subconscious. Tanjiro was nowhere to be found, Inosuke and Nezuko failing at gaining balance.

"You see that scratch there on your cheek? That's how!" He cheered. "Wouldn't last too long though so I've gotta act fast." He looked over me, ready to practically eat me alive. Then Tanjiro had cut off his hand from reaching me any further. My eyes shut due to the gore. Instead, I tried to focus on moving.

First was my finger, and then my hand as they fought. Tanjiro had distracted the demon, causing him to drop his whole wind act. Zenitsu landed subconsciously on his feet. His eyes open but nothing but white could be seen.

Instead of focusing on the fight I tried harder with my movement. Yells could be heard behind me but I paid no mind. My arms, finally were able to move. Then my torso. legs? not yet.

I screamed in frustration. As I screamed,
so did Diakoku. A gust of wind sent all of my friends flying into buildings. Luckily, the wind didn't affect me. My legs were shaky as I stood up slowly, and my sword was in my hand.

Diakoku laughed. Then his eyes became hazy. The boy grew silent. And so did the atmosphere. He took a few steps before grabbing my sword with his own two raw hands. The began to bleed upon the sharp contact but he didn't seem to mind the pain.

He cut his own head off with it.

My eyes widened as even more tears started to pool out of my eyes. I sobbed at the sight. My brothers head laid on the ground. A black cloud came from the blood, evaporating into the air.

"It's okay, rat." I heard him say. It was him. Diakoku...though it was comical, Rat was a nickname he gave me while we were still in training.

I wasn't able to form a proper sentence to reply. My feet failed on me as I witnessed my brothers death. I couldn't think. I couldn't function. All that time spent together. Gone in less than a minute.

I couldn't breathe. I had forgotten how to. But I didn't let that bother me. I stared at the sky, looking at the stars. I heard feet shuffling behind me, signaling my friends were nearby. Fortunately I was able to say one single word that held no sense of justice.

"Why?" A simple question. But one that would never be answered.

🌸

The cloth of Zenitsu's haori was wet as I cried on it. Every once in a while I would clutch it hard and wipe the tears away. He had said he didn't mind. The group stayed silent as we moved through the streets.

Nezuko held my other hand while I used the other to keep my balance on Zenitsu's back. Every now and then I would receive sympathetic pats from Tanjiro and soft mumbles from the other two boys. But I couldn't understand them. My cries drowned out everything.

He had stuck by me for my whole life. He told his own stories to me about his day with his friends or at his training. He was the only one who truly understood me, now he was gone. I couldn't accept it.

My head shook on Zenitsu's shoulders in disapproval.

"Five tickets to Tokyo please," Tanjiro said. His face was contorted with sadness for his friend. Constantly trying to think of ways to make me feel better. But he came up with nothing.

"Hooyyyy! If ya keep crying, your eyes are gonna get all swollen, and then your gonna look ugly!" Inosuke yelled at me. Tanjiro immediately turned around from the ticket desk and slapped Inosuke on the head. I laughed a bit at the sight but continued to cry.

"I know. But, that's okay right?" I asked in between sobs. I must've caused a disturbance at the station because people were looking at me, but it seemed abandoned due to the time. The boys exchanged worried glances with each other hearing my question.

"Here you go sir, five tickets to Tokyo. The train is on your left." The lady said. Zenitsu's hold tightened a bit in an effort to comfort me. I tried to quiet myself as we went into the train, though tears still stained my cheeks.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I got off of Zenitsu to take my own seat on the train.

"The train ride goes all the way to Tokyo. We're actually going to the butterfly estate. Shinobu requested us. Well to be more specific, you." Zenitsu said. My head lowered in contemplation. Why would she want me?

The boys chattered while I looked out the window at the stars. I tried to constantly avoid looking at the sand because I hated it.

Nezuko had climbed back into her box and was sitting in between Tanjiro and I. I could feel glances coming from the boys but they kept me out of their conversation. I didn't want to talk too much anyway.

The adrenaline wore off once I finally got relaxed and I could feel every individual scar I had from getting tossed around. But my hand immediately flew up to the scar on my cheek. It had finally begun to sting. I looked around for my bag but realized I left it at that hotel. My head dropped in disappointment.

"Here," Tanjiro said. I looked up from the floor to see Tanjiro holding out a bandaid. "It's medicated so it should help." My eyes scanned his face before I pushed it away.

"No, you should use it for yourself. You've got more scratches than I do." I said, reaching over to his own cheek to lightly touch his scratch. He had them all over, aside from the scar on his forehead. After all, he did get tossed around more than me.

I was looking over his face for any more scratches, but he was looking at my eyes. He couldn't help but remember that moment with the sand demon. He hadn't had a girl his age that close to him before, and his heart drove him crazy. He had also managed to convince himself that the desert heat was getting to him.
—————————————————————————
Original release date: April 26 2020