Unlikely Meeting

Screams can be heard in the cold night air. It awokened many; however, nobody can do anything, but fell to their control, as one by one disappeared...

Walking in a path peacefully, Tanjiro made his way towards the next town. In his journey, he had encountered a lot of demons, but he didn't got anything out of them. He sometimes cursed the curse of that Michael Jackson wannabe.

"Curse you, Muzan Jackson." He muttered, but suddenly stopped when he realized something—'Who the hell is Michael Jackson!?' He thought with a shudder, as he was weirded out that some random name popped in his head.

His eyes then glanced at the river flowing below him and he decided that he should take a rest. Its almost midnight and it will be a few hours before daybreak and the first peek of sunlight.

He walked down the slope, as his eyes glanced at the serene scenary. The moonlight shone upon the surface of the calm and still water. The clear water sparkled under the moonlight making the view breathtaking.

Tanjiro walked along side the river, as he enjoyed the silence. However he stopped when he saw a silhouette moving in the distance. It was to dark, so he couldn't see, but he got his sword ready if it's a demon.

Slowly, he walked towards it. Making himself invisible, as he slowly hid in the shadow. He stopped at a near bush to cover himself, as he readied a stance. However, he stopped when his nose had captured the whiff smell of lilacs and different smells of flowers.

He froze, as his eyes met with the silhouette he saw before. The silhouette was under the moon, but the moonlight didn't truly shown her. It only highlighted her figure which was a girl; however, that wasn't the only thing that surprised him.

His eyes widened when he saw small flowers falling down from the girl's hair. The flowers slowly fell on the river's surface, leaving a beautiful flowery trail.

If the girl wasn't a demon, Tanjiro could have mistaken her as a beautiful river spirit or flower spirit...

He admits that the sight of her was more breathtaking than the serene scenary of the river. If Tanjiro was a painter, he would call the sigh in front of him a heavenly masterpiece. His eyes only continued on watching her, he was to entranced, as if he was under a spell that won't let him go.

He was to distracted that he unconsciously moved forward and stepped on a twig. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes close at the sound of the stick snapping under his sandal. When he opened them again, the girl wasn't there anymore and Tanjiro breathed a sigh of disappointment.

However, he realized something. A red blush appeared on his face, as he registered his actions. 'I look like a creep.' He thought with a horrified expression, 'Also, it looks like she was also na—stop it Tanjiro! You spineless fool, that was rude. Staring at a girl like a pervert! I should be ashamed of myself!'

The yelling in his head didn't stopped until three minutes have passed. Seeing that the girl wasn't there anymore and it looks like she isn't going back. Tanjiro stood up with face flushed and heart beating, 'Maybe, I should go on my way now...'

With that thought in mind, Tanjiro quickly climbed back up to the path that he was walking on earlier. While walking, his mind couldn't stop recalling the girl in the water with flowers falling from her. When he would remembered her, he would sometimes hit himself and muttered about thinks like "Stop being a pervert." and "Don't think creepily."

However, he has to admit that if the girl was a demon. She had almost got him wrapped around her fingers since he had easily fallen under her spell or blood demon art.

He let out a sigh and slapped both sides of his face with his hands. 'Focus!'

"..."

Tanjiro stopped for a second to rest under a shaded spot. He leaned his back on the tree behind him, as he let out a breath. His finger instinctly trailed on his neck and face. He felt roughness under his finger tips and his red crimson eyes glanced at the red rashes around his hands.

He sighed, as he glanced up the sky to glare at the sun. His mind recalled a distant memory and his body trembled when he remembered it. Letting out another sigh, he slumped further on the tree and he closed his eyes to take a nap.

"..."

Tanjiro finds himself in a path. He scanned his surroundings and the only things he saw are just rice fields. However, his eyes widened when he saw two children, a girl and a boy. He moved towards them and was about to asked where he was when the buy walked trough him, as if he was a ghost.

He was shocked for a second, but snapped out of it when the girl spoke, "Yoriichi, do you promise not to leave me? " She said and the boy who was behind Tanjiro or Yoriichi replied to the girl's question.

"Of course, I won't. I promise to you Uta that I'll stay with you forever." He answered and suddenly the scene changed around Tanjiro. He was now standing in a battlefield and in front of him was a man who has a striking resemblance to the boy he saw before.

Tanjiro watched as the man decapitated every demons coming towards him and his eyes widened when familiar flames appeared around the man's blade.

"Sun breathing..." The man would say, but some of his words were muted, as if Tanjiro wasn't ready to hear them yet.

The man fought until there were o demons left. The man glanced up the moon, as he let out a sad sigh. "It's been a year now and how I still miss you, Uta." He whispered, as he continues to glance at the moon with a longing look on his face.

The man then bowed his head and sheathed his sword before walking away. Tanjiro only watched as the man's back disappeared before everything went dark.

"..."

Tanjiro awoke from his dream, he slowly blinked when the sunlight had made its way trough the bundle of leaves on the tree. He got up, as he held a hand on his head. Ever since he had first used Hinokami Kagura on a demon, he started having dreams of a man who had a red mark on his forehead and wore a familiar hanafuda earrings like Tanjiro's.

In those dreams he would see the man fighting or just sitting on a porch with another man that Tanjiro couldn't identify. Although, the dream he had now was a weird one because in his previous dreams of the man. He hear no sounds, but in these particular dream he did.

Sun breathing, Uta and Yoriichi...

So, the man's name was Yoriichi and he loved a girl name Uta. Then, there's his breathing style that really looks like Tanjiro's family traditional dance in offering to the fire god.

Sun breathing was the name of the breath style Yoriichi used.

His mind ached at all the hard thinking, 'I need answer on why am I dreaming about him.' He thought to himself, as his mind recalled Yoriichi's face. 'Sun breath, huh...'

He stood up and stretched his limbs. While stretching his mind recalled the demon's sliced bodies. When Yoriichi cut of their arms, the demons' lost body parts didn't regenerated quickly. If his dream was real, that is one powerful breathing style.

He then remembered his family's dance. Hinokami Kagura is the name of his family's traditional dance that turned into real flames when Tanjiro used it to defend himself from a demon. It was obvious that the dance was a breath style, but what breath style.

Tanjiro's mind recalled the swordmanship of Yoriichi in his dreams.

His eyes narrowed, 'I need answers.'

"..."

It was already afternoon when he reached the town. The town was more or less the same as the previous one, the only difference being that there was a forest almost surrounding the town and no bridge at the entrance.

However, in the distance, he could see a stairway that leads up to a hill. It looks like there's a shrine or a temple on the top of the hill, judging by the building's structure.

However, as he stepped further in the town's entrance. He felt a strong smell of—"Fear." He muttered quietly, as he glanced at the almost deserted streets. There was no people outside and most of them are in their home; however, it was to quiet for his liking. Tanjiro feels like he's standing in a ghost town.

Deciding to book a room in a nearby inn, he went inside a building called "Snail's Inn". He went towards the counter where an old woman was standing, "I would like to book a room please." He requested and the old woman in front of him nodded.

Tanjiro decided to ask the old lady a question, "Hey ma'am, has there been strange disappearance in your town lately?" He asked and the old woman across from him flinched and the scent of fear entered his nostrils. Before he knew it, the woman turned abruptly towards him with a fearful look on her wrinkled face.

"No!" She denied; then, pointed her finger towards the inn's entrance. "If you wanna ask those questions, go away!"

Not wanting to further agitate the old woman. Tanjiro sighed and nodded politely before exiting the building.

He has to admit that interaction of his with the old woman was weird. His eyes scanned the scared look of the townspeople. It looks like he needs to investigate the town first since asking questions might scare them further.

Sighing, he gripped the sheath of his blade before walking towards the east part of the town. He decided that he'll start there and he might find the demon's scent.

To be continued...