Chapter Text
Words could not describe the amalgamation of fear, anxiety, and panic that swirled within you after Tanjirou had finished explaining what was going on. The teen had been kind enough to stop and let you sit down as a wave of realization slammed into you.
"Are you okay, Rengoku?"
The formality made you grimace, your response automatic. "Please call me [Y/n]."
Inwardly, though, your brain was running wild, outlandish theories cropping up in your head, but first, you needed to confirm one more thing.
"Tanjirou," you started slowly, "what year is it?"
The teen cocked his head to the side, but answered your question nonetheless. "1913."
At his swift answer, you froze, and seeing you unresponsive Tanjirou helpfully tacked on, "We're now in the Taisho Period."
No.
No no no no no.
Leaning forward and resting your head in your hands, your fingers curled into your hair.
The Taisho Period. The shift in politics is way too confusing here. I wish I could have a way to travel back in time so I could learn firsthand, aghhhh.
God, no. No way, there was absolutely no fucking way.
This couldn't be real. Somehow, you had gone back more than a century in time. But was it really time travel? No way Tanjirou (and, presumably the rest of the Kamado family) would be here if that were the case. An alternate reality? That thought made you want to scoff at the sheer ridiculousness of it, but unfortunately for you it did make sense.
His hand on your shoulder caused you to look up, teary eyed, and Tanjirou crouched down so the two of you were eye level. "It'll be okay, [Y/n]. Okay?"
Tanjirou's voice was gentle and soothing, and you impulsively brought him into a hug, burying your face into his shoulder. The teen tensed, not that you could blame him, but after a moment he returned the hug, patting your head once. A few moments passed and your crying subsided into softer sniffles. Finally, Tanjirou pulled away, and you wiped your eyes to rid them of the previous tears.
"I'm sorry," you quietly croaked, and Tanjirou chuckled good-naturedly, helping you to a stand.
"Don't apologize, it's a confusing situation."
Giving him a grateful smile, you nodded once. "Yeah . . . It does confirm my suspicions, though." Tilting his head almost like a puppy dog, you took a deep breath, knowing you were about to shock the teen. "I don't know how . . . But I'm not in my time period anymore. Or maybe even my reality. Where I come from . . . It's 2026, and 'demons' and 'demon slayers' don't exist."
"EH?!"
After both you and Tanjirou had gotten over your guys' shock, your journey to Tanjirou's destination continued. You weren't sure how far away it was, but Tanjirou promised that the two of you would arrive before tomorrow at noon, which left one little problem.
Where were you going to sleep?
When the sun had started to set, the two of you were still traversing in the forest, and finally Tanjirou came to a stop. You were a bit confused until he unloaded the large box off his back, gently setting it on the ground. You had wanted to ask about it, but figured you'd learn soon enough, and didn't want to pry.
"Are . . . Are we sleeping out here for the night?"
Tanjirou nodded in confirmation, and you couldn't help the frown that tugged your lips downwards. Camping wasn't new to you, but you generally had at least a tent and a sleeping bag. You didn't even have outerwear or shoes for crying out loud!
Not wanting to complain though, especially after everything else you had put Tanjirou through, you dutifully began to gather sticks for a fire. The only thing that pulled your attention was the creaking noise coming from inside the box as the door opened, and you watched in wide eyes as a figure stepped out, slowly growing in size.
"N-Nezuko?!"
The aforementioned girl looked over at you, tilting her head mutely. She didn't respond, more like couldn't respond, thanks to the piece of bamboo that was held over her mouth as if it were a muzzle. Like Tanjirou, she was dressed in more traditional clothes, and weirdly enough, you noticed how her hair turned orange at the tips.
"O-Oh! I didn't want to bring it up before, but Nezuko's safe, she won't hurt you!"
"I wasn't worried about that," you stated, words slow. "Um, how did she fit in that box, though? And why is she muzzled?!"
"Aha . . . About that . . ."
Tanjirou had explained that Nezuko had turned into a demon, the rest of the Kamado family deceased. He kept it short and concise, but you still cried, mourning for the people whom had become like a second family to you. As he had told his story, you had used your lighter to light the sticks on fire, ripping up pages out of your math book to help with the kindling. It wasn't an item you usually carried on you—it had been a gift from your eccentric older brother, the plastic casing decorated in flames that almost seemed tacky. It was carried more as luck than to actually use it—and certainly, you had been lucky enough to have it with you when arriving here.
With depressing recollections of the past aside, as Tanjirou had found game to roast for the two of you, you decided to lighten up the mood with stories of your own world. You kept it limited to the Kamado family considering that Tanjirou apparently didn't know any of your other friends, and the teen listened intently. Even Nezuko was intrigued by the stories, staring at you with round, pink eyes.
"You said you won a sports 'scholarship' . . . What sport?"
Smiling sheepishly as you bit into the rabbit leg, you hummed. "Um, well, the scholarship I won was for the cheerleading team at the University of Tokyo. My school's oendan club was pretty popular," you shared. "But I also participated in competitive gymnastics, archery club, kendo, and our school's track team... among others." This year, anyways. Your over-achieving abilities in after-school curriculars was what had weighed down on your grades, in the end.
"What's cheerleading?"
Oh boy.
Scratching the side of your cheek with a finger, you hummed. "It's like . . . gymnastics? But we cheer on sports teams to encourage them and to hype up the crowd?"
It was clear that Tanjirou still didn't quite understand it, but he nodded nonetheless.
Up until the two of you were getting ready to sleep, you both continued to talk. It was a strange feeling. Clearly, there was now a huge generational gap and so sometimes one of you would be confused by something the other talked about, but underneath it all, it was still Tanjirou. It was easy for you to lull yourself into a sense of ease, and you could see that Tanjirou had warmed up to you just as quickly. By the time you had turned in for the night, it felt as if you had the old Tanjirou with you, and not a weird doppelgänger.
For the first time since you had arrived in this peculiar (reality? world? you weren't sure what to call it yet), you felt comforted. The exhaustion, both mental and physical, that the day had brought upon you finally had settled in, and you were quick to fall asleep on the soft grass, the crackling fire helping keep you warm.
Around the time that Tanjirou had started to get up, so had you. Sometime during the night, the fire had dwindled down to just a few embers, and yet you weren't entirely cold. Sitting up, you were quick to realize why—sometime while you had been asleep, Tanjirou had draped his haori over you.
He seriously was the sweetest boy you had ever met.
"Good morning!" Despite the early hours, Tanjirou was already bright and ready to go—unlike you, who was most definitely not a morning person.
"Morning," you grumbled in response, trying to detangle your hair. Tanjirou chuckled, which you ignored as you glanced over at the tightly shut box. "Mm, Tanji . . . Why do you carry Nezuko in that box?"
Getting his belongings together, he spare the box a glance. "Demons can't be exposed to sunlight, or they'll die."
Pity filled your expression as you looked back at Nezuko's box. Poor thing . . . I really hope there is a way to cure her.
Stretching out your limbs which were sore from the improper sleeping arrangements, you let out another yawn. The sun had just risen, and you pulled your phone to check the time, only to frown.
It's frozen on January 16, 16:08 . . .
There was nothing you could really do about that, and you decided to shut your phone off. Who knew how long you would be here? You wanted to conserve your phone battery as much as possible, because you were certain that once it died, it was gone for good. Maybe. What year did electricity become a thing, again?
"Are you ready to go?"
Tanjirou's voice broke you out of your stupor, and you nodded after a moment. "Um, yeah." Standing up, you handed his haori back, thanking him before picking up your school bag. At first, you had been against getting an Anello bag, finding it boring, but now you were thankful. Having to carry it on your back instead of over your shoulder like a traditional school bag would definitely decrease the stress on your shoulders and back, not to mention it was at least weatherproof and pretty durable. After a moment of hesitation, you slipped your phone into the front pocket, not trusting it to not fall out of your shorts pockets.
Seeing that you were ready to go, the two of you set off again. You doubted you would be back in this forest any time soon, but you took everything in nonetheless, engraving the beauty of nature into your mind. It was only when you started to take in everything, though, that you slowed down, squinting in confusion.
"[Y/n]?"
You didn't answer, rubbing your eyes before rapidly blinking as if it would change anything. It didn't.
"My vision . . ." You trailed off, bewilderment lacing your voice.
Tanjirou got the wrong idea as he began to fret. "Wait, is something wrong with it?!"
This snapped you out of your daze. "No, no! It's just . . . Everything is more clear. Sharper." You had always had good eyesight, but now it seemed almost inhumane. Unnatural. With everything that had happened yesterday, you hadn't noticed it before, but now that you were somewhat calm, your brain was finally processing everything else.
"That's a good thing, though, right?"
"I guess . . ." Was your uncertain response. After a moment, you shook your head—you didn't want to dwell on this right now, and certainly didn't want to hold up Tanjirou any longer. "I'm just a bit floored is all. Would you like some cookies?"
The drastic subject change didn't sway Tanjirou right away, but after a second of analyzing your face he nodded with a smile. Pulling out the cookies you had made back at home, you took one before passing the bag over to Tanjirou, the two of you beginning to walk again.
"Whoa, these are really good!"
You flushed at the compliment. "They're butter matcha cookies. I originally made them for your mom, back home."
Keeping your eyes forward so you didn't step on anything sharp, you weren't sure what facial expression he had made as he chewed on them thoughtfully. ". . . You were really close to my family, huh?"
A fond smile lifted your lips upwards. "When my younger brother was born, my mother fell ill and passed away shortly after. Kie-san was the only mother figure I had growing up."
And yet, in this world, she was dead, having been devoured by a demon. It was unfair—how could somebody so kind, so caring, be snuffed out so cruelly?
Just imagining it made your heart quiver with both sorrow and rage.
Glancing over at Tanjirou, you could see the warm and thoughtful look on his face as he walked, looking straight ahead. "I'm glad you were with them in your universe, then."
Conversation fell short after that, although it wasn't awkward. The two of you felt comfortable enough to not fill the silence, and before you knew it, your odd group had arrived at the village Tanjirou had been aiming for. As he predicted, the two of you had arrived before noon—a good thing, too, because already was your friend roping you into his investigation.
You had absolutely no clue on what to expect—you just hoped this village had a good store for you to get better wear from.