~BRAVE~ (Tanjiro X Reader)

Train

"You don't have to worry about me. My pain is mostly focused on my ribs at my moment." He laughed out. "Zenitsu and Inosuke have Injuries themselves but it's nothing we haven't experienced before." Tanjiro looked over at the two now sleeping boys. They were snoring quite loudly and were leaning on each other as pillows.

"For how much they argue, they're really close aren't they?" I mentioned, pulling away from the boy. I don't think I've ever had a friend like that. To be honest, I haven't had friends in a while. It was hard to count the pillars as friends though. I barely saw them. So having these people around me was a change of pace. It was nice. But I couldn't just disregard all of the other people who were in my life.

"I think it's better that they argue sometimes. The angrier the person is, the more truth they speak. That's what they say isn't it?" Tanjiro smiled.

I hummed in agreement before leaning up against the window. There was nothing in sight. The void or heights may be my fear but, it was also very calming. Nothing around to stress you out. But also no one to make you feel anything.

I thought back to one of the stories that Diakoku had told me when I was little. "Listen here (y/n)! My teacher told me another story today that I know you'll just love. A man had friends who were just the best. They would do anything for him and he would do anything for them. Friends for life. But he had gotten new friends as his life moved on. Friends who were not good people like his other friends. They did bad things. Stealing, smoking, lying to people, you name it. They had misled him one day so he fell into a well. He screamed and shouted for help. But his bad friends wouldn't help him out. Later that evening one of his good friends came along. But turned their back. The man sobbed at the disapproval that was as clear as day on his friend's faces. Even more later in the evening, all of his good friends helped him out, including the one who turned their back. So here's what I want you to tell me. What did you learn from this story?" And to this day, I still didn't know. Because I never had real friends. But it was obviously going to change.

🌸

"Arriving in Tokyo in 10 minutes. Please collect all personal belongings and prepare to be boarded off of the train." The lady on the intercom spoke.

My eyes squinted before they opened fully. My whole body rested on Nezuko's box and the boys were asleep. Tanjiro had shared the opposite side of the box with me. My eyes traveled to his face to the scratches indent into his skin. I felt guilty. If I hadn't tried to avoid the boys hurting Diakoku, they wouldn't be hurt. Even though I knew deep down in my mind he would be gone anyway. Tanjiro looked peaceful while he slept. As if nothing was wrong in the world. But I knew that wasn't right. His situation had him twisting and turning all around. My eyes then drifted to the lack of color on his body.

His haori had been misplaced. Only his demon slayer uniform remained. I sat up in concern as the familiar cloth fell off of my shoulders. How clichè. I smiled at his thoughtfulness. But I hoped he knew he probably wasn't gonna get this back any time soon.

As I slipped Tanjiro's haori onto my arms, I began to pack up our bags.

"Hey Inosuke," I mumbled, poking his mask's cheek a bit. I figured waking up the loudest first would result in all of them waking up all at once. The boar head started to squeal in the discomfort of waking up. Zenitsu jumped and started to scream himself, only to see the source of the sound.

The boys started to argue and failed to notice me in front of them. Behind me, Tanjiro rubbed away the sleepiness in his eyes as he watched the scene unfold.

"You damn pig! Can't you learn how to wake up people normally? I bet (Y/n) would wake people up way better than you with her angelicness!" Zenitsu yelled. The train started to slow down and I could hear other people around us starting to gather their things.

"Hah? No one is better than me! Not even Kentaro!" Inosuke pointed over to the burgundy haired boy. Tanjiro held up his hands in defense and smiled nervously.

"No one is better than anyone here. Considering the fact that we're all S-class." I mentioned. I get how it's easy to forget considering it's a new rule. My hand rested on my hip as I stood up from my seat. The cloth on Tanjiro's haori foreign on my fingers.

Zenitsu noticed my slight change of an outfit and looked between Tanjiro and I. He promised himself that he would ask about it once they reached the butterfly estate. He couldn't decide if something was happening between us or if it was just his manners. Tanjiro smiled at his friend's silliness but noticed the lack of movement on the train. He began to lift up Nezuko's box but a hand stopped him.

"Zenitsu, do you mind carrying Nezuko for today? Unless you have broken ribs too." Tanjiro looked up at me with confusion as I spoke while easing up on the straps on the box. He asked himself how I even knew about that. But it was clear.

I could tell by his eyes- the constant pain he was in. He had a bit of trouble breathing and I could tell he subsided his total concentration breathing just a bit so he could get a little more breath in. For now, we couldn't do anything about broken ribs. But once we got to Shinobu's she could use her witchcraftness to help them.

"Yeah I don't mind. A concussion doesn't affect my strength does it?" He questioned himself.

Inosuke continued to scream as we boarded off of the train. People looked at us nervously as we passed by. Tanjiro tried to shush him but he kept on yelling beneath his hand.

It was a bit hard for me to see as we moved through the crowds. My eyes were still swollen from crying the previous day. "Inosuke, one more peep from you and I swear you'll wish you had vocal cords to scream with from me ripping them out." I threatened. The air was caught in his throat and I smiled victoriously
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Original release date: April 29 2020