𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒. - kny modern!au x reader

Roadrunners

There's an uncomfortable, unbearable, and near suffocating swarm of silence draped over the six of you. Your ears, still ringing from the explosion from five minutes ago, makes it difficult to understand the conversations that are happening in the background. Tanjiro says something about Zenitsu bleeding out, Kanao says something about putting pressure on the wound. Inosuke butts in to yell about casualties, while Tanjiro yells back and tells him to calm down. You can barely process it through. Your body had numbed, and the only thing that you were capable of feeling right now was the way your little brother tugged on your clothes.

Someone's calling your name. Far, distant, and muffled.

Until finally, it clicks.

You look up. "What?"

"I said, are you alright?" Tanjiro's eyes bear nothing but worry as he cradles his unconscious friend in his arms and scans your stiff body. "Were you hurt anywhere? Do you need help, too?"

Your head shakes by itself. "No," you respond, voice soft and nearly emotionless. "I'm fine."

"Is Taro fine, too?"

"He's fine."

"That's good." Tanjiro doesn't say anything else after that. He can only watch in concern as your blank eyes move to stare outside of your window. There's guilt inside his chest, swelling up until it makes his lungs and stomach ache. He feels bad for exposing you to everything that's happened. Your little sibling, especially. He can only imagine how scary all of that must have been. He sits in silence, hand placed behind Zenitsu's head, as the car speeds through the highways and cuts through red lights.

"Oi, Tsuyuri." Inosuke's voice comes from the front seat. "Slow down. You're going to kill us by driving like that."

"If I take any longer, Agatsuma-san may die." She twists her arms and makes a turn so sharp that it flings you to the other side of the car. "Hold tight, everyone."

You do as she says, holding onto the handle above your head as Taro buries his face on your chest.

"Wait."

Your breathing grows shallow.

"My dad-"

A large thump from the roof of the van interrupts you.

"Gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" Inosuke complains, drawing his sword out for a second time.

"I-Is there a demon on the roof?!" Nobody answers you. Nobody needed to. The demon answers you itself by punching its clawed fist through the roof and tearing pieces of the van off. Taro screams an ear-splitting cry; understandably so, especially since the demon seems to be targeting him. "Mother fucker!" you exclaim, going on your back to kick its arm so hard that it comes off. Tanjiro was unable to move as fast, since he still had a heavily-bleeding Zenitsu in his grasp. The demon continues to pry itself into the car and grab both you and your brother.

The limited space makes it difficult for Inosuke to protect you. "Shit!" he exclaimed, rushing to get his seatbelt off. "Hang on, I'm coming!"

You flip over to move to the farthest seat in the back. It takes some time for the demon to grab you again.

"Inosuke," Kanao calls, calm, relaxed, and polite despite the deathly situation at hand. There are dozens of cars surrounding your van; dozens of lives at stake. The demon attacked the moment you entered the highway. "Let me handle this. Take the wheel."

"Fuckin' hell, really?" Inosuke raises an eyebrow, finally out of his seatbelt. "You want me to drive?"

"There is no time to question me. Take the wheel."

For a split second, the van slows down. Kanao jumps off to hold onto the roof, throwing herself out the window to land on top of the van. Inosuke's eyes widen, and he rushes to take her place. His foot steps on the gas, and the next thing you know, you're running 80 kilometers per hour. "Just so you know!" the boy exclaims. "I failed my first driving exam!"