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

* t h i r t y - f i v e *

It was a simple song for a powerful and striking performance, leaving Tanjiro only to wonder how he could ever forget such a moment.

With a bold, accentuated touch, his father crossed his blade in front of his arm.

"Hey, Mother."

Tanjiro's little mouth moved on its own.

"How can Father dance like that in the snow when he's so frail?"

The memory started to fade away. He didn't want it to go.

"I bet my lungs would freeze," murmured little Tanjiro, right as his consciousness was pulled along to the next scene.

This time, he lay comfortably on his father's lap. Tanjuro smoothed down his son's fluffy hair, patting it slowly.

"There's a breathing technique.

A way to breathe so that you won't exhaust yourself, no matter how much you move."

The young Tanjiro did not know what he meant.

"Breathe?" he repeated, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. And if you can perfect your breathing, you can dance forever, too. Even in the cold."

For a reason the boy could not comprehend at the time, a hidden melancholy lurked behind the man's eyes as he said,

"Tanjiro. If nothing else, make sure this kagura and these earrings get passed down to you uninterrupted."

Tanjiro's vision blurred -- not from dizziness, or illness, but as a call back to reality. It was time to go.

"That's what I promised."

As much as he wanted to stay, to indulge in the lost comfort of his family,

he had to go back.

To those who exist not in the past,

but the present.

Goodbye, Father.

In that instant, he vanished.

The present was brought back in full,

and flow of time resumed.

He was still looking at (Y/n). The light in her eyes was fearful, tinged red from the sanguine threads, saturated with demon blood.

He turned away.

He breathed in deep, letting his instincts guide his breathing and movements. The air whistled loudly between his clenched teeth.

The Dragon of Change, formed with water, dispersed.

Tanjiro's foot came crashing to the ground; the well of deep-rooted anger that had flooded his body with energy and vigor turned into a blaze,

starting at his palms.

The searing heat that did not singe his own skin was willed to inhabit the broken sword. Its ominous, pitch-black blade ignited --

the coal which fueled the flames.

Dance

of the Fire God!

They blossomed into fruition, scorching the air with great ardor and zeal, completely obscuring the pitiful, broken edge of the sword.

In a single swing, he slashed open the cage of red threads surrounding (Y/n) and himself.

(Y/n) dropped to her knees.

Instantaneously, Rui launched himself back and brought his hands together, sending several red threads at Tanjiro.