~BRAVE~ (Tanjiro X Reader)

Rope

He stepped back nervously and cleared his throat. Tanjiro had jumped in to help his friend against the other two. But he made sure to keep an eye on me. He knew that I hadn't gotten used to my sword yet again. But he thought that my emotional state would distract me long enough to forget about it. They would have to see.

"Tell me...Demon. How long have you possessed that body for?" I asked him as I advanced. He gulped nervously. It was like he forgot he had inhuman capabilities. Though I think my being able to pin him down the last time we met, scared him. If I could do that again, I could get answers.

"Three weeks." The man said.

"Now if I remember correctly, you gave me some detailed info last time we encountered stating that you needed at least a week to eat the soul completely." I nodded along with my statement. This time, He didn't answer. I knew I was right. So if he's had more than one week to consume his soul. That means he has completely eaten away at this man's life. I stabbed my sword into the ground and cracked my knuckles.

"What are you doing?" He asked me. "What makes you think you can kill me without a sword?" He started to gain his confidence back at my lack of a weapon. I sprinted towards my target and he stepped forward with his right foot. A gust of strong wind was sent my way. It almost had me flying, but I managed to grab ahold of my sword in the ground. I made sure it was there just in case something like this happened. Smart right? I started to run at him again. This time, I ducked behind a building into an alleyway. The demon chuckled low. Proud that he had me cornered. But when he turned into the alley, I was nowhere to be seen. He looked around and behind some of the barrels in the alley but it was like I just disappeared.

I watched him move from the roof before I found an opening. I dropped behind him silently as he turned his back and kicked him behind the knees. He yelped with surprise and fell backward. I grabbed him by the hair and slammed his face into the ground. He tried to get up but I quickly sat on his back with my upper body pressing his face harder into the brick. "I'm gonna have so much fun with you." I sang. But getting closer was a bad idea. He quickly lifted his head with force and slammed it against mine. I stumbled back but only a bit. He rolled up swiftly and pushed me against the wall with a gust of wind.

"Eager to die are we?" He asked me. His hand held onto my throat and he lifted me off of the ground. I would lie if I said that it wasn't painful. His cheek touched mine as he whispered into my ear. Mocking me "I'm gonna have so much fun with you."

I started to gasp for air. But I knew that I was gonna have to be the one to save myself. My hands clutched onto the man's arms and I used his arm to get my lower body high enough to kick him in the face. Now he was the one to stumble back. But blood was shown. He held onto his nose in pain as I gasped for air. He groaned and held onto the wall for support. My hand found the dagger tucked away in places that should remain secret and I held it up to his throat. The man froze and he straightened his back.

"Move without permission, you die. Send me flying, You die," I said as a precaution. He chuckled once again.

"I can't die. I'm immortal." he bragged.

"You sure as hell won't be soon." I threatened. "Move so that your friends can see you. You must be valuable to them right?"

"They wouldn't care. I can just find another soul to eat. No biggie." He opened his mouth to say more but I stopped him.

"Talk anymore and you die," I told him. If he's not wanting to die, then why is he obeying me? They might be able to feel the pain of death. They don't like it. Yeah... That explains it. We stepped out into the opening where his other friends were. They stopped moving on the sight.

Inosuke almost started to laugh because of how it looked. This tiny girl threatened a bulky man's life with a small dagger.  He smiled underneath his mask. Proud of what his friend could accomplish. "I need answers, and you're going to provide them. Tell them to surrender." I ordered.

"Hell no." He sneered. My, he's persistent. But the others dropped their weapons anyway, holding their hands up. Tanjiro quickly tied them up and sat them far away from each other.

"What are you?" I asked them first. The man who I captured cursed and mumbled at the other two as they answered for him.

"We are called Entities. Beings that possess the mind, body, and soul."

"Who do you work for?" Inosuke asked. He wanted to beat the ultimate boss.

The man who we met first laughed hysterically at his question. "You don't know?" his head lowered and his eyes grew sharper. "He's been waiting for you all. I'm surprised that you haven't figured that out yet." He revealed his hands to be now untied and he shrugged. We all paused for a moment at the action.

How... how did he...???

"Now with that said..." The other two stand up and then behead themselves with the rope. Tightening the rope so tight around their necks that they beheaded themselves. How could someone do that? Couldn't they feel the pain? The Man followed suit after saying "Don't keep him waiting for too long now... He gets really angry." He giggled.

I covered my mouth with my hand and I turned away from the scene. Once again, the black dust lingered over the bodies before completely disappearing into the thin air. Tanjiro patted my back while Inosuke threw a temper tantrum. I couldn't stop the tears running down my face. But I wasn't sad. I was disgusted and scared. Of course, I would be after seeing something like that...

They were in our grasp. And just like that, they vanished to possess yet another person right in front of our eyes and there was nothing we could do.

Zenitsu finally arrived at the scene after multiple wrong turns. The explosion came from one of the shops that was now long gone into rubble. His eyes widened at it all. It was hard to take in. What did he miss? He questioned himself. His eyes laid on the beheaded bodies laying on the floor and he knelt over to throw up.

"It's okay..." Tanjiro spoke softly at me. He would be lying if he said he wasn't disturbed himself. Though he had seen some things equally as gross as this. "How about we head back to the Hotel? It's becoming night and I'm sure Nezuko would love to stretch her legs." Tanjiro suggested. I nodded silently at his suggestion and started to walk with them back to our temporary home.

He never let go of my hand on the way there.
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original release date: June 24, 2020