A/N: There's something I wanted to address here and now since recently I can't even go into the comments without getting so annoyed that I want to curse out every single person who is guilty of this.
In most, if not all, of my reader insert stories:
The reader is American: Half Mexican, and Half whatever nationality YOU want.
You don't have to like this, in fact, you are more than welcome to stop reading.
ESPECIALLY FOR THIS STORY!!!
I'm getting so sick and tired of reading the comments in the first few chapters saying "oh but I'm not American" and "I'm actually Chinese/ Filipino/ British/ etc" and something along those lines.
Let me tell you right now: I do not care. It's so annoying wanting to read the comments so I can reply to some people and all I see is THAT. Do you understand how frustrating and discouraging it is?? It's just so annoying and I have half a mind to just delete those comments, the only reason I haven't is because THERE IS TOO MANY OF THE SAME COMMENT THAT IT TAKES UP TOO MUCH OF MY TIME!!
Please, just STOP commenting that! If I see a new comment in a similar caliber, I WILL DELETE IT!
I didn't think I'd have to remind you all about something like this, but it's gotten to a point where I just hate reading comments from the first few chapters.
The reason I even made (Y/n) American/Half Mexican was because I didn't want her to be boring, or just an empty shell. I tried that at first, but I was becoming unhappy with how she was turning out. That's why it takes a while for me to even say she's half Mexican.
Like I said before, you do not have to like this. You are more than welcome to stop reading.
♪───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ────♪
"My sex life is not depressing!" You scoff at your male friend.
You and your good friend, (F/n), were in the middle of a forest, (Wait, where even was this place?) talking about the many escapades you two most certainly never had. You don't remember how the topic of interest even got to this point. But you remember it started with you teasing him about a rubber duck and him being alone in his room for hours.
"You don't even have a sex life," Your high school friend replied.
"Well, you're not better off, you know," You sigh as you stand up from the ground to stretch.
"Wh-What would you know, huh?!" (F/n) blushes in shame.
"I know or a fact that you suck in bed."
You, absolutely did not know this for a fact, but it hit a nerve.
(F/n) scowls at you, but says nothing. You almost feel bad for what you're about to say.
"Okay, so it's probably sad, depressing vanilla sex with the lights off and your socks on. I wasn't going to bring it up, I swear. But you did use my duck, so I think you deserve this," You reach out your dominant hand to help him up.
He rolls his eyes, accepting your hand before you pull him up on his feet: "That's so considerate of you."
"I'm a fucking angel." You grinned.
"Is that why you're falling?"
"What?"
You look down at your feet, suddenly aware of how the Earth beneath you was, well, no longer beneath you.
You scream as you start to fall to your certain death. But...why does it feel like you're falling towards the sky? You shut your mouth, a voice in the back of your head telling you not to breathe in the water. But you were still in the sky. What was happening?
——
You wake up with a jolt shocking your body, your heart beating unnaturally fast for someone who was just sleeping.
You attempt to sit up, but that action was immediately dropped when pain stabbed your entire underside. You yelp in pain, what the hell...wait, are those trees? Ignoring how your body ached in protest of your stupid decision to sit up, your brain finally realized it's surroundings.
The forest looked mucky, the dirt was slightly damp, the smell of rain lingered in the air, and the air danced around you, making you aware of how cold you were.
You looked down at your attire, simple jean shorts, sneakers, and an over sized, black hoodie with a design of an astronaut vacuuming the stars. The astronaut was half way done cleaning the universe. You pulled the hoodie back to look down, you only had a thin, dark blue tank top underneath.
No wonder you were so cold, (you live in Arizona so it was always hotter than Satan's balls there. The rare days when it was cold, it was only chilly enough to wear a sweater, even then it got warm pretty quickly) you were dressed like you just walked home from school.
School! You were on your way home from school! How the fuck did you manage to get in the middle of the forest?
You looked around and saw your backpack not too far from you. You crawled over to the bag, pulling it close to you before sitting in a crossed leg position. You unzipped your bag to look inside. Your school laptop looked in decent condition, your notebooks were wet though because one of your water bottles had burst open.
Wait.
You touched the bottom of your bag, only then noticing the wet spots. You shouted in frustration as you pulled your phone from one of the smaller pockets; it was soaked.
"Ē to, sumimasen, misu. Daijōbudesuka?" A gentle voice spoke out suddenly. (Um, excuse me, miss. Are you okay?)
A/N: For whatever is being said in Japanese, it's going to be underlined. English will be left alone! I think it would be a bit funny that the reader has no idea what's being said and you're just yelling at the screen like "HE SAID TO RUN AWAY NOT TO GO AFTER HIM" or something like that.
"Ah!" You scream in surprise, your body jumping at the sudden voice.
You look up from your bag to see a boy-he looked to be your age-with dark red hair with a gnarly scar on his forehead.
"Jesus fucking Christ! You scared me!" You scolded.
You put your phone in your back pocket before closing your bag. You stood up and gave the boy (Why does he look so familiar?) a smile.
"Hey, sorry. But where am I? And what's your name?" You ask softly, putting on your backpack.
He only looks at you in confusion, "Uh, I...don't know what you're saying."
You furrowed your eyebrows, "Do you seriously not speak English?"
He only smiles sadly and shakes his head, "I'm sorry, I don't understand you."
You felt your heartbeat speed up in fear.
No...no way...
"Do you. Understand. The words. That are coming out of my mouth?" You spoke slowly and made sure to enunciate your words.
(James Cater from the movie Rush Hour would be so proud of you.)
He looked lost, his face held a sign of defeat.
You felt tears swell up in your eyes. No way was this actually happening to you. This shit only happens in movies and fanfiction! This can't be real!
You let out a shaky sigh, closing your eyes to will away the tears, but that only made them fall.
"Ah! Hey, are you okay? What's the matter?!" The boy spoke frantically, he sounded in distress.
You shake your head.
Now was not the time to cry, (Y/n)! You need to get your shit together!
You look up to see the boy's face close to your own, his kind eyes looked glossy. Oh God, was he going to cry? Wasn't that your job in this situation?
You pointed to yourself: "(Y/n)."
He smiles softly and puts his right hand on his chest: "Tanjiro!"
You put your own hand out for a hand shake, "Tanjiro-"
Your heart dropped, the smile on your face faltered just a bit.
Did he say Tanjiro? As in...Tanjiro Kamado? As in...the 15 year old Demon Slayer with his demon sister?
You dropped your hand and leaned to the side to get a look at the brown box resting on his back.
No, this has to be a cosplayer, it just has to be. This was the saddest fucking manga you ever read! And you were all caught up to the latest chapters, too! There's no way you were in the taISHO ERA! OH SHIT, YOU WERE AROUND BEFORE TECHNOLOGY WAS BEGINNING TO ADVANCE! AND TOILET PAPER WASN'T EVEN INTRODUCED TO JAPAN YET!
Tanjiro looks concerned, turning around to look to where your gaze was directed.
You knew too much, the fate of Tanjiro, of Zenitsu, of Inosuke, of Nezuko, of everyone! You shake your head. No, this had to be a dream, it had to be.
"Tanjiro," You called out to the boy to gain his attention.
He hums and turns to look at you, "Yes?"
You hesitated, you wanted to ask him if you can follow him for now until you find somewhere else to stay, but you remembered you don't speak Japanese, and he doesn't speak English. You groaned before taking his calloused hand into your own.
You point in some random direction in hopes he understood that you wanted to get out of the forest: "Let's go."
He cocks his head to the side before lighting up, "Oh! I see!"
Tanjiro pulls you along by the hand, walking through the forest with you in tow.
You wonder what part of the manga you were in. Was this right before Tanjiro met Zenitsu? Or was this after the Infinite train and they started going on solo missions? Or was this during Tanjiro's first mission where he goes to that small village, or was he on the way to that city where he meets Muzan, Tamayo and Yushiro?
Oh God, you hoped it was before Tanjiro meets Zenitsu, the fight between him and those weird demons with the ball and arrows was fucking intense.
You can see a clearing not too far away, the dirt road you didn't even notice you were walking on began to get wider. You took this time to notice that Tanjiro's hair was more red at the tips than in the anime. And his haori looks really soft, too. He was very cute, but you knew under that uniform was another story. Like that meme of that cute cat but it had a muscular body.
"South-southeast! Your next location is south-southeast!" An annoying voice squawked out.
You jump suddenly at the voice, looking up to see the crow flying overhead. You decided that you'll do some real time commentary, since no one here spoke English, you figured you'll be safe with your remarks.
"Oh God, that's more terrifying in real life." You said.
Tanjiro spares you a glance before letting your hand go to cup his mouth to speak to the crow. You didn't pay attention to what Tanjiro was saying, if it was following the manga, then you had a good idea what most things would be said. Instead, you looked forward in search of a certain sobbing blonde, wondering if you'll see him.
The crow got very close to your face, flapping its wings in your face.
"Aye! That's rude, you emo parrot!" You frowned as you gently pushed the bird away.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Tanjiro cups the bird in his hands and pulls him away from your face.
"Uhh..." You rack your brain for an ounce of Japanese you might have stored in there, "Thank you...?"
Tanjiro beams at you for your attempt in communication, "Ah! Did you just say 'thank you'?"
You just shrugged with a smile on your face, "Uh...sure-"
A loud scream interrupts you both before you can get any further with your talk. You peaked up at the familiar screech and turned your head in the direction it came from. Zenitsu was on his knees, holding onto a girl who was trying to get away from him. You haven't seen the anime often enough to know exactly what he was saying, but you knew he was begging her to marry him.
(You might have been weeb trash, but it's hard to learn Japanese! They used the same word for like 7 different things!)
You smile when you see the small sparrow flying towards you and Tanjiro.
You didn't understand how the anime managed to convey emotions with just "chu", but you can see it now. Tanjiro holds out his hand for Chuntaro to land on. The sparrow flaps his wing, chirping at Tanjiro to explain the situation.
The manga nor the anime ever explained how Tanjiro knows how to speak the language of bird.
Tanjiro looks alerted by whatever Chuntaro says and takes your hand in his and starts to walk towards the sobbing mess that is Zenitsu. Chuntaro flies off Tanjiro's hand and onto your head. You didn't mind it, so you did nothing to shake him off. Tanjiro let's go of your hand to pull Zenitsu off the girl by the back of his yellow haori.
"What do you think you're doing right in the middle of the road?" Tanjiro scolded, "Can't you see she wants no part of you? And don't go making trouble for your sparrow, either!"
"That uniform!" Zenitsu says, "You're that guy from Final Selection!"
Oh, I remember this part, it's actually really funny! You catch yourself thinking.
Having this part of the anime memorized by heart, you start to grin.
"No one I know is anything like you! I don't know you!" Tanjiro yells.
"Eh?! But we met, remember? We met, remember? You're the one with the problem! Like your memory!" Zenitsu screech.
You hide your growing grin behind your hand, trying hard not to laugh at their chaotic energy.
Tanjiro seems to remember finally, he lets Zenitsu go. He walks over to the girl that was being harassed.
"All right, it's been taken care of." He smiles, "You can head home now without any worries."
"I will. Thank you very much!" She bows at Tanjiro.
You smile at their interaction, turning your attention towards Zenitsu, you realize a few things. His hair is a lot more yellow than you remember. Then again, you got used to the black and white manga. And he was actually pretty cute, not that you thought his character design was bad, but it's not often that you find people you think are attractive in your real life. You jump suddenly at his loud voice.
"Hey!" He yells at Tanjiro, "Stay out of my way! That girl is going to marry me! Because she's in love with me, all ri-"
The girl marches up to Zenitsu and slaps him hard across the face. You winced at the sound that came from it, that was a lot harder than you expected.
Instinctively, you go over to the girl and hold her back from the arms to prevent her from getting another hit on him.
(You noticed absentmindedly that Chuntaro flew off your head.)
Zenitsu cried, a big red hand mark was bright against his cheek. You knew this was intended for comedic relief, but seeing it in real life wasn't funny for you.
"When did I ever tell you that I loved you?" The girl struggled to get out of your hold to hit Zenitsu, "You were crumpled up on the side of the road looking ill, and all I did was speak to you!"
"You mean, you didn't reach out to me out of love because you were worried?" Zenitsu turns around to look at the girl.
"I already have a fiance, so not on your life!" She shouted, "With all that energy, you must be fine now, right? Goodbye!"
You understood what Goodbye was in Japanese, so you thought this was your cue to let go. It's times like this you really wish you listen to more subbed anime though because you felt left out and confused. But it wasn't your fault! You liked to multi-task, so you needed to have dub anime so you can keep up with the show so you can do other things too.
The girl more or less shoved you to the side as she walked away; you pouted.
"W-Wait, come back!" Zenitsu reached out to her, still on his knees, "Come..."
You looked over to the blonde, he was staring at you. You didn't know why he was looking at you, but you gave him a smile anyway.
You stumbled back a bit from the sudden force thrown on you. You look down to see Zenitsu clutching your black hoodie, staring up at you with tears streaming down your face.
"Please! Please! You have to marry me! I can die any day now! You gotta understand! I-"
"-Hey! Cut it out!" Tanjiro shouted, trying to pull Zenitsu off.
This time, Zenitsu held on tighter. You had no idea what they were saying, this wasn't part of the manga!
What would Jesus do?
With that thought, you started to pet Zenitsu's hair.
"Hey, snot-face, you're getting your mocos on my hoodie." You said calmly.
They had no idea what you were saying, so you took advantage of that. As long as you met their energy, you could say whatever you wanted! Zenitsu, of course, didn't understand what you were saying.
He only looked at you in confusion, which surprised you a bit. It wasn't really explained, or maybe it was and you just don't remember, but Zenitsu poked fun at Tanjiro and Inosuke for being country bumpkins. So you figured that Zenitsu might be more educated in different languages since he was out more in the city.
"Hey! She doesn't speak Japanese, she has no idea what you're saying!" Tanjiro explains.
Whatever the redhead told him, that managed to make Zenitsu let go of you. He looks at Tanjiro.
"Wait, really? Where is she-wait! That's not what's important right now!" Zenitsu turns his full attention to the redhead, "Why'd you get in my way? That had nothing to do with you!"
You look up to see Tanjiro look at Zenitsu with a disgusted look. You laugh but quickly covered your mouth.
"What's with that look on your face? Stop it! Why are you staring at me like I'm a creature or something?" Zenitsu points at Tanjiro accusingly, "Hey you! You're responsible for it! Since it's your fault that I missed out on getting married!"
You look back at Tanjiro and you couldn't hold in your laughter this time.
"Jeez, say something! Listen up! I'm going to die soon! During my next job! The thing is, I'm horribly weak, okay? I'm not kidding! You gotta protect me until I managed to get married, all right?" Zenitsu cries.
"My name is Kamado Tanjiro!" Tanjiro introduces himself then he points to you, "This is (Y/n)...uh..."
You tilt your head in question, why did he say your name?...Oh!
"Oh! Sorry!" Last name then first name, right? "(L/n) (Y/n)!"
"Is that right? My apologies! I'm Agatsuma Zenitsu!" He crawls to Tanjiro and holds onto his uniform, "Please save me, Tanjiro!"
Okay, this is getting a bit boring.
It was going to get more interesting, more intense, more traumatic later on, you knew. But even so, you were going to be left out a lot in these moments because of the language barrier.
You turned your back towards the two boys before pulling out your smartphone from your back pocket.
The screen only had a hairline fracture, and it was soaked in water earlier, but other than that, it was in good condition. You pushed the power button, prying to whatever God that brought you here that it would work.
...
It didn't turn on. Maybe the power was off? You thought as you held down the power button this time. You thought that maybe it might just be dead, but you felt it vibrate!
"Oh!" You jumped in excitement before quieting down.
You didn't bother to check if Tanjiro or Zenitsu looked at you, your phone was brought back to life, and that in itself was fucking magical.
You could hear Tanjiro and Zenitsu still talking in the background, so you knew that you still had time to check out your phone. Your lock screen was a picture of a sunset you had taken when you were in Sedona, it was fucking beautiful. The time on your phone said 3:27, the date wasn't there, though. You had no signal, of course, and your battery was at 86%.
You swiped across the screen of your phone and entered a five digit code to unlock it. The home screen wallpaper was a text that said, "oh my god, they were roommates".
Before you can do anything further, you feel a breath being blown by your ear.
"Oh wow! What's that?" It was Tanjiro.