You were sprawled across your bed, the cool glow of your phone illuminating your face as you mindlessly scrolled through your feed. The house was unusually quiet; your parents had headed downtown for some errands, leaving you with nothing but your thoughts and a high-speed internet connection. It was peaceful, if not a little dull—the kind of afternoon where the loudest sound is the occasional hum of the refrigerator.
That peace didn't last.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass and heavy impact echoed from the living room downstairs, jolting you upright. Your heart hammered against your ribs like a trapped bird. A break-in? In broad daylight? Adrenaline surging, you shoved your phone into your pocket and instinctively reached for the wooden baseball bat tucked in the corner of your room. Gripping the handle until your knuckles turned white, you crept toward the door. You moved like a shadow, light-footed and breathless, as you began your descent down the stairs.
As you neared the ground floor, the heavy silence was replaced by a chaotic jumble of voices—voices that sounded strangely familiar, yet entirely out of place.
"Where am I?! Reveal yourself!" a raspy, aggressive male voice barked, punctuated by the sound of heavy breathing.
"Inosuke, please, just lower your voice for a second! We need to figure out where we are," a softer, more composed voice pleaded.
"Is it a demon?! Tanjiro, I’m telling you, it’s a demon! I’m too young to die like this!" another boy wailed, his voice reaching a glass-shattering pitch of pure terror.
You reached the final step and pressed your back against the wall, peeking around the corner into the living room. Your jaw nearly hit the floor. Standing amidst the wreckage of your coffee table were three figures who looked like they had stepped straight out of a screen: Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu.
Frozen in shock, you shifted your weight, and a floorboard let out a traitorous, high-pitched CREAK.
"WAAAAAHH! It’s here! The demon is coming for us!" Zenitsu shrieked, diving behind Tanjiro and trembling so violently he looked like a human vibrator.
Inosuke, sporting his iconic boar mask, puffed out his chest and brandished his jagged blades. "Come out and face me, you coward! I'll turn you into mincemeat!"
Tanjiro, however, remained remarkably calm. He tilted his head, his keen sense of smell likely picking up on your lack of malice. His expression softened, and he stepped slightly ahead of his chaotic companions.
"Who's there...?" he called out, his voice steady and remarkably kind.
Realizing you couldn't hide forever—and that a baseball bat was probably useless against a trio of trained swordsmen—you slowly stepped out from behind the wall. You stood a safe distance away, clutching your bat awkwardly as the three pairs of eyes (well, two eyes and two snout-holes) locked onto you.
The silence was thick with confusion, but Tanjiro’s gentle gaze somehow managed to take the edge off your rising panic.
Note: If you're a girl... well, prepare yourself. Zenitsu is about to become your shadow. Good luck, you're definitely going to need it!