Chapter Text
Kalopsia - the delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are.
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Summer. The hottest and driest time of the year. It was hardly morning and the air felt dry upon waking up. Tanjiro winced as the sun glared through the curtains, the bed creaking under his weight. He threw the blankets off of his heated body. The ceiling looked as familiar as ever, staring back at him with the faint lines in the wood. His eyes started to droop once more and his body went still. Though, the calm was short-lived when an ear-piercing caw came from outside the window. “Wake up! Wake up!”
The crow calling out his name was hobbling around on a perch, his beak pecking at the glass. Tanjiro finally sat up and stretched. His hair pointed in all directions as he padded over to the window. His crow stopped his yapping before puffing out his chest once them flying into one of the cherry blossom trees. Was that all for nothing?
Tanjiro licked his dry and cracked lips, almost flinching at the bitter taste in his mouth. He closed the curtains so he could get dressed. It was already so hot outside, he didn’t want to wear his haori and his uniform. He grimaced upon stripping himself of the clothes he wore previously, the bandages around his chest were not helping with cooling down. His fingers grasped the green and black fabric of his haori then he threw the clothes he dreaded wearing on. The last thing he did was tuck the sheath of his katana under his haori.
The hallways of the Butterfly Mansion were strangely vacant of life. He could smell the faint scent of fried fish and tempura, but it seemed like it had been a while since they had been made. Tanjiro figured he’d see Nezuko or even one of his friends by now. The sunlight formed lines on the floor where doors had been left open, almost like a pathway down the hallway. He had already reached the front door that led out to the side of the Butterfly Mansion where the laundry was hung up outside.
Aoi was standing near the clothesline, throwing damp towels over the strings. Her white uniform blew gently in the low breeze as she muttered something incoherent under her breath. Tanjiro stepped down from the porch, catching her attention. Blue eyes turned to meet red eyes. “Ah, Mr. Tanjiro, good morning.” She nodded respectfully.
“Hi, Ms. Aoi, have you seen Nezuko or Zenitsu or Inosuke?” He bowed down and a soft smile graced across his lips. The light smell of Nezuko’s perfume was barely there, meaning that she was here before.
Aoi blinked before nodding once. “Yes, Ms. Nezuko and Mr. Inosuke went that way.” She pointed to her left where the koi pond was located on the other side of the estate. “As for Mr. Zenitsu, he left for a mission an hour ago.” Those were all the answers he needed, at least, Nezuko was supposedly safe with Inosuke despite his unruly nature.
“Okay, thank you!” Tanjiro bowed his head once again, meeting Aoi’s blue eyes briefly before he turned on his feet and bounding off to where Nezuko was.
As he stepped through the hallways, he could make out the lingering aroma of wisteria, Shinobu must be around somewhere. That ‘somewhere’ became clear when the woman came out from one of the patient rooms. She looked at Tanjiro, her usual smile had been washed down into a grimace. It was best if he didn’t bother her. He walked past Shinobu while humming some old melody, already forming a conversation with Nezuko in his head.
The other side of the estate was more shaded, having the sun shining on the roof instead. Tanjiro could already see Nezuko and Inosuke sitting at the edge of the koi pond, the surface rippling subtly from the movement of the fish. “Nezuko!” He called out, the other two turning to face him. His demon sister stood up and came up to him with a toothy smile on her pale face. “You two looking at the fish?”
Inosuke huffed, the boar-head facing Tanjiro’s direction. “Yeah!” He appeared to be a bit annoyed upon being disturbed. There were those times where Inosuke acted mature, however, he’d rather die before blatantly admitting it.
Nezuko’s hands gripped the front of Tanjiro’s haori, her sharp nails barely pressing into the fabric. “Fish!” Her voice came out broken yet filled with fascination. He looked past her towards the pond where he could see the colorful fish swimming around.
“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” Tanjiro smiled and approached the rocky border of the pond. Inosuke huffed again, thrusting his hand under the still surface and disrupting the fishes’ calm.
“Yeah, yeah. Where are you going?” He snorted, shifting his hand deeper into the water. Tanjiro perked up at the question and crossed his arms over his chest.
He clicked his tongue from the roof of his mouth. “I was going to Tokito’s estate.” The image of the Mist Hashira appeared in his head; those turquoise eyes, his long and soft hair, and the sound of his gentle voice. Tanjiro shook off the heat that began to rise into his cheeks, not wanting to make it seem like he was full-on pinning over Muichiro.
“Toki-who?” Inosuke stopped for a moment, like he was trying to remember the exact face that fit the name. He hardly remembered the names of people unless they were actually rememberable to him. “Oh, the squirt with the mist and stuff, huh?”
“Yes, he invited me over to make origami.” Tanjiro smiled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. It was far too obvious about his constant persistence to be around Muichiro. Hell, some of the other Hashira might be catching on. Tanjiro wasn’t blind to the grins Shinobu and Mitsuri threw at him when he talked about Muichiro. He should’ve guessed that Obanai had a clue too, considering he threw glares at him when he went to find the Mist Hashira.
Inosuke seemed disinterested in the topic, only replying back with a snort. Nezuko looked at him then went back to gazing at the fish like they were the first animals she had ever encountered. By now, the sun had reached the middle of the sky and brought light back to the pond area.
Tanjiro turned away, walking off towards the gate of the Butterfly Mansion. He pushed it open and stared out towards the thick forest that seemed to engulf the estate. His feet carried him down the slope, on the path that broke off into many separate paths that led to different places in the Corps. The sounds of birds chirping and the wind lightly blowing provided a serene atmosphere as he continued through the forest.
He was already forming thoughts in his mind about what he’d create with Muichiro. Maybe a crane? A cat? A sun? There were too many things to think off, his finger rested under his chin while his mind began to wander. Maybe, at some point, as they created the origami, their hands would subtly brush against each other. Maybe, Muichiro’s eyes would linger a second longer on Tanjiro. Ah, forget it. It was completely hopeless to fantasize about romance in the Corps.
Tanjiro snapped back to reality upon realizing his foot hit something faint. He looked down and found vines entangled around the sandal. As he bent down to rip them off, he noticed that the grass in front of him was darker. He swore he saw a flash of color flickering. Was this a Blood Demon Art? But how? It was midday, demons should not be out now. His hand fell back to the handle of his katana as he looked around warily.
Silence.
Tanjiro didn’t trust it. He stood back up and picked up his pace, his senses heightened now that he felt like something was wrong. He kept moving and moving with only the breeze carrying him forward.
His feet landed on another patch of ground that was darker than the actual ground. Then, he felt himself starting to fall through the ground. “No-“ Tanjiro cried out as the sun disappeared above him and was replaced by darkness. The air suddenly became cold like ice, biting at his skin until it wasn’t.
He hit the ground with a thud; pain blooming in his left arm that he landed on. His vision was blurred and his senses now extinguished into a mess of not knowing what had just happened. The forest was gone, replaced by yellow walls that were chipping with paper and bright lights from beams he didn’t even recognize.
The smells finally came to him, it reeked of stale air and old floorboards. He stood up and brushed himself off. What happened to the forest? What happened to him? This must be some type of Blood Demon Art. But, when he reached for his katana, he found himself grabbing at nothing.
He was alone. He was defenseless.
“Hello?” Tanjiro yelled out, wincing at the echo of his voice through the turns of this strange place. He could hear a faint buzz coming from the lit beams above him. Where was everyone else? Was nobody else affected by this strange event?
He shivered as he slowly stepped forward, the floor was a strange texture of soft yet firm. This place was like no place he had ever seen before, it looked… modern. Tanjiro wrinkled his nose at the stale scents that threatened to overwhelm him. He thought about Nezuko, was she still with Inosuke? Was she okay?
Maybe, it was just a fever dream, a horrible nightmare that he’d awake from soon. Tanjiro sunk down onto his rear and cradled his knees to his chest as he tried to close his eyes. He imagined that if he thought hard enough, he’d reawaken in his bed with Nezuko by his side. When he opened his eyes, he saw the yellow walls once again. This wasn’t a dream.
It was reality. He was stuck here. Alone? Maybe so. At least, that’s what he thought.
Unbeknownst to Tanjiro, everyone had suffered the same fate. They were trapped her in this endless place.
Will they ever find their way back..?