The Days That Must Happen

ARC III-ACT II

What happens next shocks you. For a moment you had expected Sanemi to land a sucker punch on you, perhaps Obanai would throw in an attack. Heck, Uzui and Shinobu were on the list of suspected attackers.

Forehead stinging, the pain itself wasn't a surprise, but rather that it came from Nezuko who held another eraser up in a threatening motion towards you.

"N- Nezuko!" Tanjiro and Zenitsu gasped, jumping up to claw the eraser out of the grasp of the girl. Two men against her brute strength, she dodged and pushed against them, finally pulling her arm free with a grunt and throwing the second eraser in your direction.

Thankfully, this time it hit the wall though, toppling to the ground with a few taps. Nezuko continued to whine and groan against the hold of the boys.

Tanjiro gasped, grabbing her cheeks. "Nezuko! You can't throw things like that, what if you-" but his eyes widened mid sentence, realisation running through his spine like a cold shiver. "Wait..."

Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, the bamboo muzzle that once rested over her lips was thrown carelessly to the ground. Tanjiro pulled at his sisters cheeks, beckoning her to speak.

"I- I-" she stuttered as if she was speaking with an unfamiliar tongue. The movement of her lips and jaw and tongue felt foreign and strange, jaw aching from the amount of time it spent locked onto that muzzle.

But she was speaking, and her fangs were long gone. That alone brought stars to Tanjiro's eyes. "Of course! We were walking in the sun before, how didn't we see this sooner?!"

"Nezuko-chan is human again?!" Zenitsu gasped, reaching out to the girl but never fully touching her, hands hovering over her shoulders.

It's as if he couldn't believe his eyes, blinking away tears that brimmed his lashes. But before he could do anything else, the girl reached down and grabbed a cushion, hitting you square in the face when she threw it.

"E- Evil!" Was the first word Nezuko spoke in years, chanting it like a spell with venom dripping from her tongue.

And though Tanjiro couldn't bring himself to agree with her, he also couldn't disagree. Regardless, he hated that the first word that came from his sister in years was so ill. "Nezuko!" He gasped, not to defend you but to save the innocence of his sister. "Dont say such mean things!"

"For once, I agree with the demon." Sanemi chuckled, cracking his knuckles as he moved forward to tower over your form on the floor. "So you're telling me you created us."

"In this reality!" You defended. "Maybe you already existed prior to me writing it!"

"And that's supposed to make things better?" Shinobu chuckled. "Who's to say your writings didn't have any influence on our lives?"

Mitsuri clasped her hands together, anxiety running up and down her body. "We can't be sure though! They must be telling the truth!"

"Mitsuri, you can't trust them so easily." Obanai narrowed his eyes on you, warning the girl.

To which she continued to defend you. "But there must be another way we can know the truth, right?! Hey, author!" You perked up at her callings. "We know the next mission that was coming up before we got sent here."

They had yet to tell you how they arrived here, you noticed, but decided against questioning them now.

"Does your book tell of the next mission?"

You stopped for a moment, looking around the group. There was no way to tell for sure at what point of the story they were, maybe it wasn't even the same story, but you could only go about what you knew.

The Hashiras met Tanjiro and Nezuko after the fight against Rui meaning the next mission must have been the Mugen train. You gulped, nodding.

"In my version I wrote Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke getting sent on a mission with Rengoku on a train."

Nezuko stood frowning in the arms of her brother, the boy in question tilting his head. "Then it can't be true because we got no such mission." He turned towards the fire pillar, whose lips sat in a firm thin line. "Right Rengoku?"

However, the fire Hashiras didn't turn to the boy, staring you down with eyes you once envisioned to be so warm. They sent a shiver down your spine, assuring you that they'd haunt you forever. Finally, he looked down at his crossed arms.

"Just a few days ago I got reports of demon activity on a train and was ordered to go check on it." He spoke.

The room fell eerily quiet, those who were refusing to believe that such a simple person could have such control over their existence now having their eyes opened, and those who were cold towards you at the mere idea only further seethed at your existence. Rengoku continued, turning to look at, not Tanjiro, but rather Zenitsu and Inosuke.

"Oyakata-sama had mentioned that he would be sending Tanjiro and his three companions when they recovered fully at the butterfly estate."

Zenitsu gasped, and for a second you thought it would be because this meant he was, to some degree, your fictional character. Except it wasn't.

Much to his nature, he scurried over to you on his knees and hugged your torso, head laying on your chest as snot quickly dribbled down his cheek and onto your shirt. "You saved me! Had we stayed any longer and I would've been eaten on a train! A train!" He stopped suddenly, eyes wide before snatching himself away from you.

"But then if you wrote that..." he gasped dramatically, pointing an accusing finger. "You were going to kill me on that train! How could you?!"

"What? No!" You shook your head. "You weren't the one who was going to die!"

"So there is someone who dies?!" He screeched, immediately snapping some sense into you as you realised your mistake. He stood up and ran towards Nezuko, hugging her protectively despite her whines. "You better not hurt my Nezuko!"

"Oh shut it!" Sanemi growled at the boy. "We have better things to deal with than your senseless fears!"

Obanai scoffed, walking to stand beside the wind Hashira, both glowering down at you. "I must agree. We have a lot to settle."