fire & water (TanjiroxReader)

Chapter 7:Underground

(Y,n)'s POV
    "Hey Nezuko, yesterday I found a river nearby, and I was thinking about freshening up a bit over there! Do you want to come with me?" I finished up the berries, putting the small pouch in my pocket. She quickly responded with a nod while jumping up onto her feet. We still had some time to spare before our next mission, it'd go to waste if we didn't use it.

    I stood up, stretching my limbs before walking into the trees, trying to relocate the river with Nezuko following. I wondered where the others had wandered off to, I was planning on searching for them later. Oh... but it seemed... I didn't have to.

    Not only did we find the river but the boys aswell, they hadn't yet noticed us since we were on the opposite side of the water source, concealed by the trees.

    Guess they must've gotten a similar idea to ours. Standing knee-deep in the water was Inosuke, while Tanjiro was sat down on the riverbank, shirtless.

    They were having a small argument, I probably would've been able to hear what it was about if my heartbeat wasn't thumping like a literal drum!

    My eyes were mainly on the burgundy-haired slayer, analyzing each detail that my gaze could catch ahold of.

    I mean I know Tanjiro is good looking but dear lord did he have a great body! My entire face was beginning to heat up at the sight of his toned and sculpted muscles. Why was I acting like this? Inosuke never wore a shirt, how was Tanjiro any different...?!

    Nezuko pulled on my haori sleeve, grabbing my attention as I looked down at her. I shakily smiled, my extreme blush making it incredibly hard to keep a straight face.

    "L-lets come back later..." I mutterd, facing away from the river, resisting the strong and sudden urge to turn my gaze back onto the well-fit boy that was her brother.

    As we walked back towards the camp I could see Zenitsu, who was just now waking up. "(y,n)... Tanjiro wanted me to tell you that him and Inosuke were going to some river close by..."

    "Thanks, you couldn't have told me at a better time." I sighed with a thick hint of sarcasm in my voice as I plopped down onto a blanket.

*Time skip*

Tanjiro's POV
    "Squawk! Find the demon hidden underground, woman and young children being abducted!" (Y,n)'s crow flew above us in the now sun-lit sky, repeating the mission announcement a few more times before Inosuke promptly threw a rock at it to get it to leave.

    "Hey, (y,n), what breathing technique do you use? But it's probably flame breathing, right?" Zenitsu played with the sleeve of his uniform, giving the (h,c) haired girl a big smile.

    I wish I'd been warned about what she would say next, because her response absolutely shocked me! "No, it's not flame breathing. Though I do have a breathing technique, I barely ever use it..."

    "S-so that means... all those crazy strong attacks... you do them a-all on your own?!" All (y,n) answered with was a quick nod, we all snapped our attention towards her, stunned. Was that even possible for a slayer!? I racked my brain, excitedly trying to think up all the possibilities for how someone could be capable of doing that!

    "How do you do it, and why?!" Inosuke questioned, eager to know more, If I wasn't lost in my fascinated thoughts I would've been asking the same questions.

    "I don't know how I'm able to do it, but the reason why is because my body just isn't compatible with my breathing technique. I only use it when it's positively neccessary." She exhaled, resting her hands on the back of her neck.

    Positively neccessary??? But wasn't it always neccessary to use a breathing technique?

    "Anyways, we need to find a way to get to the underground demon, we might be able to find some information in a village not too far from here." (y,n) was right about that, we had absolutely no clue whatsoever how to find a demon that could literally hide in the ground beneath!

*Time skip*

    "R-recently... my daughter went missing from the village, there weren't any clues about her w-whereabouts, she just kind of... disappeared..." The chief of the village mumbled, allowing (y,n) to sympathetically pat his shoulder while he choked out the sentence.

    We'd gone to the village she suggested, even though we didn't find a way to get to the demon, we heard many rumors and claims of women suddenly vanishing without a trace.

    "Have there been any rumors of boys disappearing?"

    "No...none." the chief shook his head, and it seemed to me that (y,n) must've been on to something.

    "Ok, that's all we needed. We'll find your daughter sir, I promise." (Y,n) bowed to the chief as we walked out of the village limits with the new information.

    "Gah!! Where is that coward of a demon?!" Inosuke yelled, pumping his fist in the air. (Y,n) suddenly walked a few feet ahead of us, her brows furrowing together as she starred down at the ground. She lightly tapped the heel of her foot into the ground, her eyes diving deep into thought.

    "(Y,n) what's wron-"

    "Hold on." She cut Zenitsu off, everyone went silent when the ground beneath her began to shake like a miniature earthquake. She looked back at us, smirking as the ground disappeared from under her. Instead of moving out of the way, she let herself fall out of sight.

    "(Y,n)!" Zenitsu and I both called out, I ran over to where she once stood in confusion at what had just happened. The ground was shaped into a circular shoot, large enough for someone to easily drop down into. The ground began to shake again, telling me I had to do something quickly!

    "Zenitsu, hold Nezuko's box!" I slipped the box off my back, I wouldn't be able to fit with it on.

    I jumped down into the shoot, looking up I could see the ground above me closing as I slid deeper into the earth. It took a little while before I was met with solid ground, ungracefully landing on my hands and knees.

    I dusted myself off, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The way I came through sealed shut, leaving only a wall of hard rock. "Looks like I'm not getting out any time soon..." I mumbled to myself, but my first priority right now isn't getting out, it's finding (y,n).

    I sniffed the air, her undeniable scent meeting my nose on the first attempt. I began tracking it, taking turns here and there. This place was almost like a maze!

    "-I'm not telling you shit!" Someone shouted from around another turn, their voice laced with both fear and hatred. I followed the voice, hesitantly looking around the corner to see what was happening. There was (y,n), holding a demon up by the collar of their shirt.

   She said nothing, simply bringing her sword up to the demon in a threatening way. "Ok, ok, I'll talk!! Just don't kill me!" They quivered in her grasp, trying to compromise.

    "Thankyou, and don't you dare try to lie." She smiled menacingly, inching her blade ever so close to the demon. I unintentionally flinched at the tone of the girls voice, I didn't know she could be so scary!

    "T-there are more demons like me, working for this one really powerful guy, you'll know it's him because he's the only one dressed nicely. H-he's a ruthless guy, if even one of his demons tells him there are slayers here, he'll send all of them after you!"

    "See, that wasn't too hard." (Y,n) let go of the demon's shirt, moving her sword away from their neck.

    "Sorry about that..." (y,n) chuckled, facing my way. The demon behind her lunged forward, bearing their fangs. As if she'd already seen it coming, she sliced her sword through the demons neck and let their head fall to the ground.

    "It's a shame, even if I could keep you alive, I can't risk you giving away our presence." (Y,n) mumbled as the demon turned to ash.