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

* f o r t y - o n e *

Quick A/N: As some of you may know, I have not been in the best of health. However I've recovered quite nicely — enough to start writing again. To reward you for your patience, this chapter is longer. Thank you for your support, and stay safe <3

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It was cold, walking amidst the rows of ruined houses. Though you weren't quite sure if it was the night air or just your imagination, either way, it was ironic.

Charred pieces of wood that strayed on the path crumbled to ashes under your heel. The eery quiet made you nervous, despite knowing that no powerful demons should be in the area. For the first time, your mother's scimitar felt like a stranger to your hand, as if the memory of its former owner was claiming it in this place.

You kept walking, letting your legs carry you down a familiar route.

Finally, you stopped.

Just barely, it was recognizable —

Your old home.

The roof had long since caved in, the walls long since burned down. Seared, wooden supports stuck up from the ground like graves here and there. The whole ensemble was blackened and covered layers of soot and ash. Three rooms were now merged into one...

Tanjiro looked confused and disturbed -- how did you manage to discern this one from the rest?

I wonder that, too.

You stepped inside the threshold. Stepped over the beam that had trapped you by your ankle on its way down,

All those years ago.

You sighed.

There's nothing here.

No walls, no roof, no floorboards. To think that you came back for some measly books, and this was what welcomed you instead.

Disappointment welled up inside.

Well... I feel like an idiot.

Afraid of his reaction, you glanced tentatively at Tanjiro -- to your surprise, his eyes were closed, and brow creased with concentration.

Without thinking you placed a hand on his shoulder. "Um--"

"Underground."

You gave a quizzical look.

"What?"

He opened his eyes and quickly handed you his Nichirin Sword. Bewildered, you took it and watched as he made several strides forward. Knee hovering over the ground, your ally stooped low to inspect the ashen floor. After careful thought and praying through painful memories, you realized he was staring at a spot where a bookcase had always stood.

"There were a set of shelves there," you told him uneasily, "But I never saw the books we're looking for on there. In fact, I think I only ever saw them once..."

Tanjiro remained there for a moment, apparently drawn deep in his thoughts. Then at last, his shoulders rose as he took a huge breath and then suddenly expelled the air from his lungs. The strong breath burrowed into the layers of soot, dispelling the particles from the ground in a single moment. What remained was not a patch of bare earth, but rather a sheet of metal.

He said underground. Which means, this is a door, and we some sort of cellar or basement that I never knew of.

A feeling of discomfort settled upon you. Even if some bookshelf was in the way, how could you not have known?