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#tanjirou did the same thing to that girl on the train now he knows how it feels
sarcastic-kaz · 1 year
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akaza’s backstory
heyo so i decided to do live notes on me reading this guys backstory. my mom says she literally cried when she read a year before me, and that its really sad so i wanted to keep my live reactions bcs this isnt my first time screaming at the plot twists in demon slayer. i start the live notes in the beginnings of chapter 154 and im also reading the manga in japanese so i might have mistranslated/misunderstood some things lol
SPOILERS BELOW THIS IS YOUR WARNING
initial thoughts on akaza: idk hes pretty fruity like the mugen train arc “oni ni nare, kyoujurou” in japanese was omg just. so fucking fruity. and he said the same freaking thing to giyuu omgs- also he hates douma and wants to kill kokushibo but idk what to really feel about him. anyways ive seen the little hints at the girl holding his hand and he tried to punch it, and his head grew back bc he said he had to get stronger???
live notes start here (just jot notes):
- damn she pulling out the existential crisis on akaza
- oh his dads sick boo hoo
- woah wait is he a pickpocket?
- oh my fucking wait is that why he looks like a basketball???
- holy shit is this where he becomes a basketball?
- like every time he gets caught stealing he gets a mark as punishment
- damn how many times did u get caught bruh
- welp idk how hed steal without his hands
- oof he just got called a demon child well hes a demon moon now
- oh wait my mom specified for me it means a kid who was born with teeth
- HOLY SHIT NAME DROP DUDE THATS A NICE NAME
- OMG HIS DAD KILLED HIMSELF JUST LIKE ZENITSUS TEACHER
- dude this suicide letter like ‘i cant take medicine bought by stolen money sorry for making myself a bother for you live a good life’
- oh hes mourning by hurting himself fighting people
- “even if it took 100 years for my dad to heal” and he kept half of that promise
- damn akazas backstory is just him getting beat up by everyone he meets
- and hes just like taking the beatings bc he wanted his dad to get medicine
- well fuck medicine for special diseases does cost a lot poor akaza
- and his dad just killed himself anyway
- still dont know who the girl is
- damn i wouldnt be able to stand getting whipped and bones broken for my parents
- huh he beat the living shit out of seven adults
- and he didnt get a scratch and hes also a kid
- who tf is that guy it seems akaza also has the same question
- oh is this guy who applauded akaza some sort of sensei i mean he has a dojo
- why does akazas personality sort of remind me of inosukes ‘fight me bitch’ type thing
- oh shit theyre gonna fight
- that wasnt so much of a fight than a man slapping a kid silly
- nother name drop keizou
- OOF AKAZAS FACE LOL
- oh akaza is gonna take care of a girl?
- HOLY SHIT ITS THAT GIRL I THINK WAIT HER NAME IS KOYUKI
- I SMELL BUDDING TEEN ROMANCE HERE JUST SAYING
- OMG ITS SO AWKWARD AND CUTE
- and akaza has someone to take care of again!
- aww cute moment between them
- also fireworks! yay! hes saying he can piggyback ride her there that so sweet
- oh shit shes crying
- oh thats so cute that their only purposes are to protect those they love
- omgs and akaza on his little training arc with keizou like how tanjirou did with urokodaki and both are taking care of a younger girl who is bedridden- the parallels
- holy shit three year time skip
- oh ok koyuki is better now
- OMG THEY DO LIKE EACH OTHER AAAAAAAAA THEYRE SO SWEET AND SHES SO NERVOUS AND HES SO NERVOUS
- OH HES GONNA SAY YES TO THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL
- HES GONNA FOLLOW HIS DADS SUICIDE NOTE AND LIVE A GOOD LIFE
- HE EVEN VISITED THE GRAVE HELP
- WAIT SHIT NO HES A DEMON SOMETHING GOES WRONG
- NONONONONO WAIT SHIT I WAS ACTUALLY SORT OF STARTING TO LIKE THESE TWO 
- OMG HES ADMITTING THAT THEYRE HIS TWO FAVOURITE PEOPLE
- wait whats this abt poison
- WAIT WHAT POISON
- THIS IS TURNING VERY FAST WHAT THE FUCK
- WHAT THEY WERE BOTH POISONED AND FUCKING DIED WHAT
- BECAUSE OF THE FREAKING DOJO WTFFFFFF
- I- I NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS
- ok were back and ready to react
- wait what promise
- CALLBACK TO THE FIREWORKS
- ohh shes saying she wants to watch the fireworks with akaza next year and the year after too... oh shit she died.
- damn so both their parents killed themselves bc of their kids
- ohhh this is so sweet but sad knowing she just died
- AND HE PROMISED TO PROTECT HER BUT OH NOOOOOO
- OH SHIT HES KILLING THEM ALL WITH HIS BARE HANDS
- DAMN THATS BRUTAL AND TWISTED OF AKAZA
- BUT DAMN THIS IS HIS WAY OF MOURNING HOLY FUCK
- EVERY SINGLE STUDENT OF THE RIVAL DOJO?!?!?!?!!??!
- HOLY SHIT ITS MUZAN JACKSON
- DO THE MOONWALK PLS
- OH SHIT THIS IS WHEN MUZAN WAS THINKING ABOUT MAKING THE TWELVE KIZUKI
- OH SHIT AKAZA RLY SAID MOVE BITCH TO MUZAN
- HE PUNCHED AKAZA I REPEAT HE PUNCHED THROUGH AKAZAS SKULL
- i feel like this is sad because it wasnt even muzans fault that the two of them died it was just poison
- he even admits it out loud himself that his own story is sad help
- hes even completely ok with the fact he wont go to the same place as the three most important people in the world to him
- and giyuu is just standing there
- lmao tanjiro is just always yelling for demons to stop
- wait what tanjiro ur sword-???
- oh shit it slipped from his grip
- sorry i snorted at the fact that tanjiro decked akaza in the face instead
- i think im gonna stop there the backstory is over
- i feel horribly empty inside after finishing that chapter
- think i might just go cry
current thoughts on akaza: damn i understand why ppl are so sad about this, holy shit this is so sad like i have no words im probably gonna have to come back to this post tomorrow to give my thoughts after thinking about this all night
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heyiwrotesomethings · 2 years
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Flirting/ Pick-Up Lines
ShinoMitsu Week 2022 Day Four
A/N: Do you know how hard it is to write about flirting when you yourself are not a flirter? Brain empty! Anyway, please enjoy! Word Count: ~1,760
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Mitsuri was positively buzzing with energy.
Today she was going to totally sweep Shinobu off her feet with all she had learned from Uzui! She already had all the lines memorized. All she had to do was recite them, ask Shinobu to go see the festival in that famous hot spring village a few days walk away and kiss under the fireworks then, boom! Mitsuri would propose! She could hardly wait, her heart was pounding!
“Kanao-chan, hello!” She waved, bounding up to the young Tsuguko sitting on the engawa. “Is Shinobu-chan around?”
Kanao smiles and tilts her head in a slight nod before turning her attention back to the butterfly sitting on the toe of her boot.
“She’s in her office.” Aoi informed, stepping out from the open doorway with Sumi, Kiyo and Naho and several baskets of laundry. “Do you know where that is, Kanroji-sama?”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Mitsuri nearly blinded all the Kakushi with her radiance as she skipped through the halls. Finally she spotted the door to Shinobu’s office and knocked out a playful tune against the door.
“Who is it?”
Mitsuri could have melted upon hearing her voice alone.
“It’s Mitsuri!”
“Oh, Mitsuri, come in.”
Mitsuri jumped, clutching her hands to her chest, this was it! She pulled the door open, ready to put all her chips on the table, she took a breath and… proceeded to choke on air.
“Good afternoon, Mitsuri.” Shinobu greeted, moving to sit up straight in her chair, giving Mitsuri all her attention. “Sorry, I must look like a mess right now. It’s rather hot today and the airflow isn’t very good in here.”
Mitsuri’s mouth felt unbearably dry. Shinobu was bathed in glittering sunbeams streaming in through the open window. Her haori was draped on the back of her chair, showing that the sleeves of her uniform rolled up to the elbows. Even the first couple buttons of Shinobu’s uniform were undone, revealing a wrinkled white button up underneath, the first two button also undone. Mitsuri’s eyes followed the movement of the paper in Shinobu’s hand as the Insect Pillar used it to fan herself, her hair swaying with the motion. Mitsuri had never seen her look more ethereal (although she thinks the same thing every time she sees her).
“You, you look great— wonderful! Amazing! Don’t worry!” Mitsuri assured. Wow, it really was hot in here. Shinobu wasn’t kidding.
“Thank you very much.” Shinobu chuckled, crossing one leg over the other. “So, what brings you by?”
“Oh yeah!” How could Mitsuri forget? Well, she could think of a few good reasons. Now, how did that line start again? “Um,” Mitsuri began to sweat, uh oh. She totally forgot. Wait, she could still save this! She just had to start talking and give herself some time to remember and bring it up organically. “I just wanted to come see you. How have you been?” Mitsuri almost tripped as she walked forward, but saved it by making it look like she just wanted to lean over Shinobu’s desk.
“Oh?” Shinobu paused her fanning, tapping the corner of the paper against her bottom lip thoughtfully, “I’m doing fairly well. Tanjirou and Co. are out on assignment, I’ve been trying to get all this paperwork done while there is still peace.”
Ah! She’s so cool and responsible!
“What have you been up to, Mitsuri?”
“I was training with Uzui-san for awhile.” Mitsuri answered. Learning how to flirt counted as training, right? Uh-oh! Did Shinobu’s expression become a little cold just now?
“Ah, Uzui. You know, I’ve been meaning to see him about how he scared my girls while I was away. The way he treats people sometimes… it’s a wonder he has three wives. Those poor women.”
“Aha, yeah…” Mitsuri’s smile twitched. Just what exactly had Uzui done? Should she not have gotten advice from him? Probably not if Shinobu was angry with him. So visibly angry! Gods, Shinobu is so beautiful when she’s angry, but scary too! Mitsuri couldn’t use the lines that Uzui gave her on Shinobu of all people! Quick, come up with something else!
“S-so um, are you hot in here? Wait, sorry, new around— that’s not right either… did you fall from Tennessee because I’d put… letters together…” Mitsuri petered out and decided that it would be a good time to close her mouth. Sweat was rolling off her in buckets.
Shinobu giggled behind her paper, “What is Tennessee?”
“I don’t even know!” Mitsuri moaned pitifully, laying her upper half flat against Shinobu’s desk.
“Careful with my papers.” Shinobu warned, though she didn’t look too worried. She patted Mitsuri’s back affectionately, “What’s got you all flustered, hm?”
“Shinobu-chan?” Mitsuri asked, still face down on the desk.
“Yes?”
“Do you think you are free for a couple of days at the end of next month?”
“My my, that’s quite a ways off. I suppose I could. My schedule hasn’t been built out that far yet.”
Mitsuri perked up, hope swelling in her chest. She opened her mouth to propose her plan, but Shinobu still had more to say.
“However, there was something I was hoping to do during that time.”
“Oh.” Mitsuri tried to hide her disappointment, which was easy given her current position. “What might that be?”
“Mm, well you see, there is this girl I know and I’ve been wondering if I should ask her to go to a certain festival with me.”
“Huh? What girl, Shinobu-chan?” Mitsuri could just about cry right then and there. Of course there would be other girls Shinobu could be interested in, what was she thinking! This was all a huge mistake! …Except it wasn’t really. Although they had been together for a long time, Mitsuri seemed to not understand just how head over heels Shinobu was for her.
“Oh, I believe you know her, quite well in fact.” Shinobu said as she switched from rubbing Mitsuri’s back to playing with one of her braids, “She’s tall and strong, endlessly kind and sweet, very beautiful too. It’s incredible that a woman like that can even exist, let alone live at the same time as me. She really is extraordinary.“
Mitsuri could not for the life of her imagine who this woman could be. It wasn’t often she encountered women in the corps… maybe she was a civilian?
“Still haven’t figured it out?” Shinobu hummed in Mitsuri’s ear, making Mitsuri shiver involuntarily. “She’s my girlfriend, Kanroji Mitsu—!”
“Ah! Shinobu! Oh gods, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Mitsuri panicked, rubbing the back of her head.
Mitsuri, in her excitement, had jerked upright and knocked her head into Shinobu’s jaw with an awful clonk.
“I’m alright,” Shinobu tested her jaw, moving it side to side, “you just caught me off guard is all.”
“I’m really sorry Shinobu,” Mitsuri sighed.
“Apology accepted.” Shinobu chuckled, “That is, if you’ll do something for me.”
“Oh anything, Shinobu!” Mitsuri begged, “Please tell me!”
“How about we go enjoy something cold together, your treat? We can discuss an itinerary for our upcoming trip. That is, if you want to come with me?”
“Yes! Yes, I can do that. I very much want to do that!” Mitsuri bounced in place. She was too excited to be disappointed when Shinobu began fixing up her uniform.
“Great!” Shinobu snapped the last button in place and stood up, dusting herself off in the process. Walking up to Mitsuri, she presented her fist, a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “Will you hold this for me?”
“Sure! What isszzzzEEEEEP! So smooth! How do you do that?” Mitsuri’s skin lit up like a paper lantern as she found herself holding Shinobu’s hand.
“It’s mostly confidence.” Shinobu explained. “You’ll get the hang of it I’m sure. Want to give it another try?”
Confidence… okay! Maybe some courage too! Mitsuri could give it a shot.
“I- If I was a gardener, I’d put our two lips together!” Mitsuri squeaked. Her shoulders relaxed when Shinobu praised her attempt.
“Well done, Mitsuri. I may not call myself a gardener, but I do dabble in botany. Maybe I could put our two lips together, hm?”
“Please do!” Mitsuri had no qualms about such a suggestion. When Shinobu guided Mitsuri’s face down to hers, Mitsuri wished she didn’t need to breathe. She pulled back just enough to catch her breath, looking at Shinobu like she hung the stars in the sky, “I love you so much.”
“I… I love you too.” Shinobu could hardly look Mitsuri in the eye. Her skin prickled with heat at the admission.
Although Shinobu was a rather good flirt, nothing could compare to the way Mitsuri could speak with such unbridled honesty and compassion. Her candor never failed to leave Shinobu weak in the knees.
“Wahhh, Shinobu, are you okay? You look a little pink.” Mitsuri pulled a page out of Shinobu’s book and pressed their foreheads together, humming thoughtfully.
“I’m alright my sweet.” Shinobu giggled when Mitsuri nuzzled her nose. “Don’t worry about flirting. You are plenty successful on your own without having to resort to cheesy lines you picked up from Uzui.”
“You knew about that?” Mitsuri blushed.
“Of course my dear. After what he did to Aoi and Naho, the man can’t even sneeze without me knowing. Now,” Shinobu jokingly pushed Mitsuri towards the door, “let’s get going, I’m positively baking in this room.”
“Okay!” Mitsuri regained her hold on Shinobu’s hand and together they exited the estate and waved to the girls as they passed by.
“Shinobu-sama and Mitsuri-sama are so cute together, don’t you all agree?” Naho asked.
“Mhm mhm, Shinobu-sama always seems to be glowing when they are together!” Sumi added.
“So you think they’ll get married soon?” Kiyo wondered.
“Who knows.” Aoi scoffed, “Shinobu-sama would never outright tell us her plans. Right, Kanao? Or do you know something?”
Kanao thought back to a couple weeks ago when she found her sister asleep at her desk and smiled. She shook her head and Aoi sighed. Kanao felt a little bad, but it wasn’t her place to tell them about the ring box, fancy bottle of saké and an envelope full of yen she saw sitting on Shinobu’s desk that night. Still, she decided she could give the girls a little insight.
“I suspect we will hear something once summer ends. Perhaps early fall.”
“You do know something, don’t you?” Aoi crossed her arms, though a smile tugged at her lips when Kanao simply smiled at her and kicked her legs over the engawa’s edge.
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senjuroubby · 3 years
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Butterfly Nurse! Senjurou Headcanons
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1) He was personally recruited by Shinobu.
= Shinobu wanted her girls to have an extra hand. She's very picky about it. In the end, she chose Senjurou because he fits the bill. She trust him enough not to harm her girls.
2) Senjurou almost rejected the offer.
= Mostly from embarrassment. He didn't to further disgrace the Rengoku name (for choosing a different path.) It took a lot of convincing from Kyojurou before he finally agreed.
3) Senjurou now stays at the butterfly estate.
= He still visits home to check on Shinjuro. A kakushi would take over his duties.
4) Senjurou initially wore the white uniform.
= It was the only uniform available. Despite his embarrassment, Senjurou went on and wore it on his first week (much to the butterfly trio's delight.) He later altered it into an apron. He wears it over a Yukata.
5) Senjurou is often mistaken as girl.
= especially to those who had no idea what the hashiras look like. Senjurou is not aware of this.
6) He has his own butterfly clip.
= It was given by Shinobu after his first week. It's similar to Shinobu's clip except it's orange. He wears it with pride.
7) He's part of the rehabilitation training crew.
= He,Aoi and Kanao are usually the ones in charge. Senjurou used his past trainings to test his patients. Rehabilitation became challenging because out boy is fast.
8) The Butterfly Trio loves Senjurou.
= It's not often they find someone close to their age, so Senjurou's arrival is definitely a breath of fresh air. Shinobu finds it adorable and endearing. Senjurou now has at least one butterfly nurse walking beside him.
9) Senpai-Kohai relationship with Aoi
= Aoi was the one who showed him the ropes. She was intimidated at first, but grew to respect and understand him. She's strict with her lessons and would make Senjurou repeat if she's not satisfied.
10) Good at mixing medicines
= It's the one of the first things he learned from Shinobu.
11) He's assigned to look after injured Hashiras.
= he makes sure they won't escape. This usually happens with Kyojurou, Giyuu and Sanemi. He guilt trips Kyojurou. He distracts Giyuu long enough to put him back to bed and he could somehow make Sanemi stay. No one knows how.
12) He's the first nurse to befriend Tanjirou.
= They met after Tanjirou's trial. At first, Senjurou was hesitant. But Tanjirou was fast to reassure that Nezuko was safe. They became fast friends.
13) Nezuko loves him.
= The moment Nezuko saw him, the first thing she did was to hug him. Tanjirou panicked. The nurses panicked. Shinobu was ready throw hands. Imagine their surprise when Nezuko proceeded to squish his cheeks. Senjurou had no idea what was going on. Tanjirou would later explain that Senjurou reminded her of their younger siblings.
14) Senjurou's growing friendship with the Kamado siblings made Kyojurou apologize.
= After witnessing Senjurou interact with the Kamado siblings. Kyojurou realized how much he misjudged them. He went on to visit Tanjirou and apologize for being rash. He did so before leaving for the mugen train.
15) Senjurou has a harem. (According to Shinjuro lol)
= Shinjuro caught the butterfly trio and Senjurou napping during his suprise visit. All three girls were huddled closely to his son, who seemed oblivious to their presence. Shinjuro was so shock, he instantly ran home, where Kyojurou was training. Imagine his surprise when Father, the same man who hadn't look at him in the eye since mother's death, proceeded to shake him and demand why Senjurou has THREE girlfriends. It was utter chaos. Shinobu could only laugh.
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kumeko · 3 years
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A/N: For the @knyfutureauzine! I’m grumpy we didn’t get any aftermath whump or hurt/comfort in the series.
i.
Someone knocked on the door. It was a quiet sound, barely audible in the yard. The rough scrubbing of dirty clothes drowned out any other noise. Arms deep in soapy water, Aoi wasn’t even entirely certain she hadn’t imagined it. No one else seemed to have heard it. Not Kanao as she diligently hung every cleaned shirt. Not Sumi, Kiyo, or Naho as they swept the house, the soft pitter-patter of their feet echoing through the hallways.
Just as Aoi went back to work, she heard a second sharp rap. This time Kanao noticed as well, her blank eyes turning toward the entrance. “Someone’s there,” she murmured, halfway to hanging a pair of pants.
“I’ll get it,” Aoi replied quickly, before Kanao could move. While her now-blind sister could navigate the butterfly estate without help, Aoi didn’t want her to exert herself more than she had to. “It’s probably a pillar.”
Leaping to her feet, she left a trail of droplets as she hurried to the front door. They used to guess, before it all went down, just who’d dropped by. Nine times out of ten, the answer would have been Mitsuri. She had liked to appear for no other reason than to hug and spread her love. Obanai had lurked in her shadow, begrudgingly taking a cup of tea whenever a nervous Kiyo gave it to him. A rarer visit had been a clueless Giyu, who never understood why Shinobu only offered terse replies and sharp smiles.
Aoi’s favourite had been Rengoku, with his sunny smiles and even sunnier disposition. Part of her still expected his golden hair as she yanked open the door.
Instead, a beaming Tanjirou stood at the entrance, and Aoi tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. It had been at least a year since they’d all died. She should have known better than to expect a ghost. “You’re late,” she huffed, letting the irritation wash over her and mask her emotions.
“Sorry about that.” He didn’t look the least bit contrite for that. In his hands was a bouquet of sunflowers and he gently held them out. “Nezuko picked these.”
“It couldn’t have been you,” she muttered half-heartedly, carefully taking the bundle. There’s no flowery scent when she sniffs, just the usual weak smell of leaves and plants. “They’re pretty. Is she coming later?”
“Yep, with Sanemi!” Tanjirou lightly stepped inside, slipping off his shoes and putting on the slippers she pointed at. They were the same ones from when he’d trained here. “He’s really nice to her, but he still doesn’t seem to like me. I wonder if I did something to him?”
“Who knows?” Scratching her chin, Aoi thought about the scarred wind pillar. They didn’t cross paths often, no reason to outside of funerals and memorials, but his sharp edges seemed to have softened. Whatever bark was left in him was brittle, easily cracked. Rumour had it that it was because of his brother’s death. She could believe that. Aoi didn’t feel like the same person she had been before Shinobu’s death, before Kanae’s or her parent’s loss.
Grief had a way of changing a person.
“Inosuke and Zenitsu are coming soon, they’re just getting some more flowers,” Tanjirou added, not sounding too bothered by it. Maybe he knew more than he let on. His burn mark was bright in the morning light and maybe, limited time had a way of making problems less important.
“Then they’ll be on time for once,” she snipped, resting a hand on her hip. Aoi frowned up at him. “Though they weren’t the ones who promised to help clean up.”
“Right, right.” Tanjirou laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck. His smile was disarming. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry—just don’t do it again.” With that resolved, she led Tanjirou toward the yard, her arm still laden with sunflowers. The bright yellows contrasted with the dreary walls of the compound, their footsteps loud against the silent backdrop. Everything felt unusually muted and the rooms utterly depressing. It was irrational; the décor hadn’t changed since Shinobu’s death and the estate had always been some flavour of quiet. With Shinobu and Kanao often out for missions, Aoi had gotten used to a certain level of absence. Though, there had been one exception, one time that the halls had been filled with noise. The time that those three had studied here, when rooms had been filled with Zenitsu’s cries, Tanjirou’s laughter, and Inosuke’s overconfident roars.
The estate had been full those days. Hopeful, even. Aoi remembered believing that they could make it through with a minimal amount of casualties. Now she had more deaths than she had fingers.
“It’s quiet,” Tanjirou murmured, startling her out of her thoughts.
She glanced at him. Was he thinking of those far gone days too? “Yeah, it is.”
“And peaceful,” he added, smiling fondly. “I’ve always liked that about here. I can just sit and think, without worrying.”
It was strange, really, how the same thing could appear in two different ways at once. How the same observation could lead to two different conclusions. He wasn’t wrong. Neither was she. Before she could reply, they reached the veranda.
“Tanjirou?” Kanao guessed from the clothesline, slowly turning around to greet them.
“Yeah.” His expression softened to the same degree that hers brightened, his voice catching slightly. Aoi wondered if he realized just how much his love showed through him, that love that powered him through to save his sister’s life and now was focused on the single girl in front of him. Even if Kanao couldn’t see it, she must have felt it.
Aoi knew when she was the third wheel. Gently, she pushed him toward her sister. “You two, finish the laundry! We don’t have much time before the others get here!”
“Okay, okay, got it.” Over his shoulder, Tanjirou smiled at her as bright as the sun, as bright as Rengoku, and she felt a familiar lump in her throat.
ii.
Someone knocked on the door. Aoi heard it at the same second Naho walked past, her arms full of blankets. “Someone’s at the door.”
‘Yeah.” Naho nodded.
Aoi rested her hands on her hips. Standing on a stool, she felt marginally tall, though she just made Naho’s height now. Everyone had to grow taller but her. “Is someone going to get it?”
“How?” Nahro gestured at the blankets with her head.
“And the others…” Aoi trailed off, her cheeks puffing slightly. If they hadn’t responded to the door by now, they were either too busy or didn’t hear it, and it’d take longer for her to find them than it would to just open the door herself. Hopping off the stool, she grumbled, “Fine, fine, I got it.”
With Sanemi, Nezuko, and Uzui already in the house, it wasn’t too hard to guess who it was. There were only three people left, after all. Yanking the door open, Aoi wasn’t surprised to find a stoic Giyu on the other side, several white lilies in his hand. “Sorry about the wait.”
As usual, his countenance was as tranquil as a still lake, his mood impossible to read. Was he irritated she’d taken so long? Did he not care at all? She had known him for several years now and was no closer to the answer than she’d been when they’d first met.
“It’s okay,” he answered politely. His expression didn’t change.
After a few minutes, when it was clear he wasn’t going to move, Aoi stepped back and gestured. “You can come in, you know.”
Giyu looked at her, then at the entrance. Hesitantly, he stepped inside, as though he wasn’t certain if he could come. It had been months since she’d last seen him and she’d forgotten how annoying he could be. Even now, as he pulled off his shoes and placed them, they were a whole space away from the others.
“You can put them right next to the others, you know.” When he didn’t move them, Aoi sighed and nudged them closer to the others. Things would get messy enough when Inosuke arrived; she didn’t need more to clean up. Turning around, she led the way to the kitchen now. “The incense sticks are too high for me to grab. Could you help me with those?”
“Yes,” he replied, another monosyllabic response.
“We’ll visit Shinobu after lunch.” Aoi was proud she made it through that entire sentence without wanting to cry. “We just need to finish cleaning up. You can help.”
From the corner of her eyes, she watched him nod silently. Aoi had the urge to apologize—it was insane, that she was giving a pillar an order. But with no demons, there were no pillars, and the people she’d idolized were now just ordinary citizens like her. The thought wasn’t as comforting as she’d hoped. Part of her still expected demons every night, that Shinobu would stumble through the door in the middle of the night, tired and bloody.
Maybe she’d never shake of this feeling of unease whenever the sun set. Forcing herself out of her thoughts, she added, “I think it’s just moping…”
Giyu wasn’t beside her anymore. She spun on her heel. “Giyu?”
Three doors down, he stood at the entrance to Shinobu’s workroom. When he didn’t reply, she quietly approached him. “Is something wrong?”
Still, he kept quiet. Aoi followed his gaze into the room. The blinds were pulled back, letting sunlight in. Shinobu used to keep them drawn, preferring utter darkness for her experiments. Despite her strict organization of her samples, her books had always been scattered around haphazardly, an accident waiting to happen.
“It’s all gone,” Giyu murmured.
“Yeah…” Aoi rubbed her arms awkwardly. She had scrubbed the room clean of Shinobu’s presence, shelved the books, tossed the samples. It was a simple office now.
“She’s gone.” His voice was soft, almost too soft to hear. Despite his teary eyes, Giyu didn’t break down, just stared into the room with the same emotion she had when she’d finally forced herself to clean it.
Resignation. Acceptance. Aoi had always thought of him as a doll, but that hadn’t been fair. Despite how Shinobu ragged on him, she’d often drag him into her workroom. The candles would flicker well into the morning, the two of them quietly sharing a drink as they watched the moon. Whenever Giyu would visit, his shoes used to be on the far end, neatly tucked next to Shinobu’s.
Her throat burned, remembering the sight of Shinobu’s shoes next to his. She’d almost forgotten what they’d look like, what that space used to be for. Reaching down, Aoi grabbed his hand. His skin was warm. “She is.”
Aoi hoped Shinobu had done this once too, reached out and clasped his hand. That she had done something for herself before she died. That Giyu would remember this long after Aoi had forgotten what Shinobu sounded or felt like.
Maybe some part of Shinobu could linger, long after her presence disappeared from the house.
iii.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Got it,” Aoi yelled automatically, used to the drill by now. She yanked open the door. “Everyone’s here already, Shinobu—”
There was no one at the door. Of course, there wasn’t, because Shinobu was dead, because this was Shinobu’s one year anniversary and Aoi should have remembered that by now. It was irrational, really, the way she kept doing that, the way she kept expecting Shinobu whenever candlelight crept out of a room in the middle of the night.
It had been a year. Only a year. As long as a year. It hurt and Aoi thought she knew how it felt to miss someone. She’d forgotten how much it hurt at first, how dull that pain could get. Behind her, she could hear Tanjirou’s laugh, Sanemi’s angry growl, Giyu’s confused squawk. It wouldn’t be long before she lost them too, before she had to go through this all over again.
Death was the constant companion of demon hunters. She didn’t know how she’d forgotten that.
As she stared blankly out onto the dirt pathway, a bright purple butterfly lazily floated by. Shinobu, she thought irrationally. It made no sense. That was a butterfly. Shinobu was happy in the afterlife. Yet Aoi couldn’t stop herself from chasing after it. Its wings looked like Shinobu’s cloak, delicate and ethereal.
What would she do if she caught it? If she didn’t catch it? I miss you, I’m sorry, and are you happy ran through her head in a loop.
Yet the butterfly stayed out of reach, away from her questions. As she ran around the corner, she almost ran into Inosuke as he charged past her.
“I made it first,” he roared, heading straight for the door.
“S-sorry…we’re…late…” Zenitsu panted and she turned back to find him standing in front of her, winded and half-collapsed. He smiled.
“I-it’s fine.” Aoi glanced around but the butterfly was gone.
“W-we got flowers,” Zenitsu gasped, holding out a hand before realizing it was empty. “A-and we dropped them…” He glared over her shoulder at the long-gone Inosuke. “Because someone had to have a race.”
It was utterly like them and Aoi laughed. God, it felt good to let it all out, to just feel without remembering anything else. Maybe this was what she’d needed all this time. As usual, Aoi had been over thinking things.
Her present could be shattered in a blink of an eye. Most of her friends wouldn’t make it past five more years. But she’d lived through loss before, and she’d learned the most important lesson: there was an after.
There was no need to dwell on the past, to chase after ghosts. Better to just embrace what she had, for as long as she could, and prepare herself for the future.
Aoi could almost hear Shinobu’s approving hum.
Shaking herself out of it, Aoi offered Zenitsu an arm. “Come on, let’s get going. There’s plenty of work left.”
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alitaimagines · 4 years
Text
“hey I heard you were a wild one. if I took you home it’d be a home run. show me how you do. I wanna shut the club with you, hey I heard you like the wild ones. ” 
INOSUKE HASIBIRA - DEMON SLAYER
note: so I’m halfway through the season but I’m like dying to write KnY fanfic. in order to get myself through this dilemma, I’ve turned it into an AU. I’m barely dipping my toes into this fandom so don’t slaughter me for my writing.
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you had gotten out of the gym with sweat running down your face and your heart beating at what felt like the speed of sound. Nezuko had offered to come along with you for moral support. 
“hey, did Zenitsu call you at all?” you asked Nezuko looking down at your phone. Nezuko shook her head no, “he called me like ten times and that’s unusual, even for him.” 
you quickly called him back before hearing screams on the other end. you gave Nezuko a look before trying to get the blonds attention, “ZENITSU, WHAT IS GOING ON?” you yelled. 
it took a few more minutes before you heard shuffling, “hey, can you come to our place as soon as possible,” you sighed hearing Tanjirou’s voice, “is everything alright? why do I hear things shattering?” you asked now a bit more nervously, “just get here and prepare yourself.” 
Nezuko remained silent as she scanned the plethora of messages from her brother. your hands gripped the steering wheel wondering what it was that triggered your best friend to go feral. 
Inosuke had been seeing a girl for a few months now and you knew it was such a big step for the emotionally stunted boy. Zenitso and admittedly Tanjirou had been very hesitant on accepting her. 
it wasn’t news. Inosuke underneath his boar mask was very attractive and although he wore it anywhere he went, he was starting to wear it less in public which caused for girls who regularly ignored him to start paying a little more attention to him. 
the few of them noticed that his current girlfriend might’ve gotten with the blue haired boy for that reason. although you hadn’t seen it for yourself, you knew that Zenitsu and especially Tanjirou wouldn’t try to sabotage their best friends relationship just for the hell of it. 
you and Nezuko arrived to their shared apartment to hear Inosuke’s growls from inside. Nezuko had known of the issue so she saved herself the time and waited a bit longer in the car. 
“hey, it’s me,” you whispered as Zenitsu cried of relief, “what is going on?” you asked him as Tanjirou ran into the kitchen, “so, you know of Inosuke’s girlfriend, right?” you nodded, “well, they broke up. she wanted him to stop wearing his mask and he didn’t want too so she broke up with him.”
you sighed knowing this moment was inevitable. you told the two of them to give you a few minutes with him. 
the boys plus Nezuko had hundred percent preferred you with Inosuke instead of some random girl. you were one of the few selective people who knew how to calm the feral boy. you had met him when he wore his boar mask 25/8 and didn’t actually judge him for it. 
“Ino?” you asked as you tiptoed into the now destroyed living room, “Hashibira, are you calm yet?” you asked again as he grabbed a pillow ready to rip it. 
he immediately turned to you as you put your arms out for him. you knew Inosuke wasn’t a man of many words and preferred actions over speaking when it came to his emotions. 
“it’s okay Ino, it’s okay to cry,” you whispered as he shook his head no, “if you don’t feel like crying, you can always talk about it,” you offered as Inosuke shook his head again and stayed silent. 
you moved him to the couch and grabbed his hand softly, “listen, like I said, you don’t have to talk about it but anger is not the best outlet to let your steam blow off,” his boar head mask was covering his face as you slowly took it off, “one day, you’ll find someone who will like you, boar face and all,” you joked as you managed to actually make him laugh. 
feeling your phone go off in your pocket, you read that it was Tanjirou asking if it was safe to come in. you texted him a quick yes as heard the three of them walk in as slow as possible. 
“do you want to go and work out for a while? letting out steam by working out is actually a very healthy thing to do,” you asked Inosuke as he nodded yes, “do any of you want to come?” Tanjirou and Zenitsu let out a flat no as Nezuko reminded you that you had just came from the gym for yourself.
you ignored her comment and waited for Inosuke to come down the stairs to head out. Zenitsu couldn’t help but pout. you were a cute girl. a very cute girl and he hated that you were off limits according to Tanjirou.
Tanjirou was adamant on the fact that you were going to end up with Inosuke once he realized his feelings for you and until then, you were off limits to Zenitsu. 
“be careful!” Tanjirou yelled as you laugh, “I will, I’ll text you and let you know once he’s actually back to being the regular Inosuke,” you joked before shutting their door. 
the two of you drove back to the gym and got greeted excitedly by the receptionist. he knew Inosuke personally and even got a few training tips from him. 
“Inosuke, if I’m working out with you, please be easy, you know I can’t work out as hard as you can,” you begged making him laugh now, “no!” he exclaimed.
there was only a few who could actually work out and keep up with Inosuke. Tanjirou was one of them. the few times you actually tried to work out with him left you sore and bedridden for days on end. 
the two of you started out at the weight stations and slowly progressed to different stations before making your way to the punching bags. you had sweat running down your face and felt like your arms were ready to give out from lack of rest. 
“how much of this do we have to do? I’m going to pass out,” you groaned as Inosuke shook his head, “just enough,” he murmured before hearing you groan again. 
he propped up your arms to give you the right pose to start punching. although you loved to complain about Inosuke’s rigorous workouts, they did actually work and gave you a bit of muscles on your arms. it was nothing compared to Inosuke himself or even Tanjirou or Zenitsu but you took pride in the bit you had. 
once Inosuke realized that you were on the verge of actually passing out, he stopped and told you to chug down the water you brought. you instantly gulped down the two bottles of water and sat on the ground trying to catch your breath. 
“remind me to never ask you to workout again,” you groaned as you felt your body fall limp before feeling Inosuke pick you up with ease and throw you over his shoulder, “hey!” you yelled, “put me down!”
Inosuke shook his head no and continued to carry you out until you got back into your car. he slammed you down into the drivers seat before making his way to the passenger side. 
“eat,” he yelled as he gave you a handful of protein bars, “aw, you do care about me!” you laughed before ripping open a bar and scarfing it down. the two of you remained in the car eating them and listening to music before you received a message from both Tanjirou and Nezuko asking where the two of you were. 
-
a few months had passed since Inosuke’s ‘break up’. you remained working out together and tried your hardest to get his mind off the girl who broke his poor emotional heart. 
you were over at their apartment trying to help Zenitsu with assembling something he got in the mail. Tanjirou nor Inosuke were home but you knew it was a matter of time before they got here. 
“god Zenitsu, you put the wrong nails in the hole!” you exclaimed as you unscrewed the tiny nails, “hand me the instructions? I don’t want to sit here and build this wrong and have to do it all over again!” you said snatching the instructions from his hand. 
as you read over the instructions, you hadn’t heard Tanjirou or Inosuke come in. they both had quietly walked into the living room to see you and Zenitsu in deep though. 
“hey guys!” Tanjirou said excitedly. you gave him and Inosuke a small wave without giving them a look. 
Tanjirou had dismissed your attitude completely but Inosuke on the other hand didn’t actually like that you were alone with the blond idiot. seeing you alone with him triggered the anger he hadn’t felt since his previous relationship. 
Inosuke sat down to watch the two of you to see if his feelings remained the same and they did. you would laugh at whatever dumbass comment Zenitsu would say and each time, Inosuke would feel his hand clench. 
it was until you and Zenitsu finally finished what the two of you were doing when Inosuke dragged you to the kitchen to eat whatever Tanjirou made. you were caught a bit off guard but didn’t question him. 
“the food is really good,” you told Tanjirou as he gave you a thank you, “would either you or Zenitsu be able to drive me back home? I let Nezuko drive my car today since her car is in the shop and she isn’t out of work yet.” 
before their boys could respond, Inosuke immediately grabbed the keys from the kitchen counter, “I’ll take you,” he told the two boys as they backed off from the offer. 
the rest of dinner remained relatively silent until you told Inosuke you had to head home. he nodded and grabbed the keys once again as he opened the door for you. 
you hopped into the passenger seat and waited for Inosuke get himself situated. you could tell that he was a bit upset about something but you learned that unless something was really bothering him, he wouldn’t tell you. 
once he pulled up into your drive way, you were about to leave when he grabbed your wrist. you were a bit taken back by the action but let him do what he wanted. 
he slowly brought you in for a kiss on the cheek which made your face go warm immediately. you stared at him with in surprise before he muttered a single word into your ear. 
“mine.” 
ALITA
174 notes · View notes
wisteriashouse · 3 years
Text
between us.
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pairing: kamado tanjirou x sumiyuri hayami (oc)
genre: fluff
word count: 7015
remarks: commission by @hinokami-s​!! i hope you enjoy this one... i feel like i went a bit off with hayami’s personality at the end (too much... humour?) but i tried my best! as usual tanjirou and hayami’s relationship is so sweet i cry 😭
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The cherry blossoms are blooming.
That’s the first thing Tanjirou notices as he makes his way down the path to the Butterfly Estate, their slight fragrance drifting along the wind and lending their floral perfume to the spring breeze. The last time he’d parted ways here with the rest of his friends for individual missions, the cherry blossom trees still had fresh green leaves clinging to their branches. Now, it’s almost been months without seeing a glimpse of their faces.
He hopes they’re all doing alright.
Hiking Nezuko’s box more comfortably up his back, he lets out a slight wince as the straps jolt against the makeshift sling his left arm is in - the demon he’d faced on his latest mission had left a nasty injury there, and he needs to get it checked by one of the girls at the Butterfly Estate before he’s clear to continue taking new missions.
With a sigh, Tanjirou looks down at his wound to inspect it briefly. He’s not trained in medicine like Aoi and Shinobu are, but he’s been injured enough - he can tell from the bruising around his arm that he’ll need to recuperate for a week at least, or perhaps even longer. Hopefully, either Zenitsu or Inosuke will happen to be at the estate as well so that he won’t have to be so alone, or maybe even-
The faint scent of lavender touches his nose, and Tanjirou perks up at the familiarity of it. Could it possibly be her?
“Oh! Tanjirou, it’s you!” 
Tanjirou glances up towards the source of the voice only to see a familiar figure silhouetted against the noonday sun, waving enthusiastically in the distance. Hayami is standing at the entrance of the Butterfly Estate, dressed in a snow white yukata and her platinum hair blazing gold in the light of the evening sun. Although he can’t make out her features clearly in the distance, Tanjirou somehow knows that their eyes have met - it’s like the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle falling into place.
He waves in response with his good arm, feeling the corners of his mouth lift in a smile - it’s an involuntary reflex, one that he can’t help whenever he sees her. As Tanjirou draws closer, Hayami, apparently too impatient to wait for him to come to her, takes off at a run - within seconds, she’s already standing before him with a radiant smile and lilac eyes that sparkle like gems.
“Tanjirou, it’s been so long since I’ve last seen you!” Hayami exclaims excitedly, holding out her arms to catch Tanjirou in her usual greeting hug when her gaze falls to his arm. Instantly, her eyes widen with concern, brows pinching together as she inspects the reddened area. “You’re hurt! What happened?”
A sheepish laugh escapes him, his good hand reaching up to scratch at his head. “Well, it’s a little embarrassing, but I got taken by surprise.” Hayami frowns in worry, moving as if to gently touch the wound, but right before her fingertips can brush his skin, she pulls back with a shake of the head. Tanjirou can’t help the slight twinge of disappointment, before he feels heat prick at his cheeks at the thought - he blames it on the warm weather. “What about you? Why are you at the estate?”
“We all make mistakes, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Hayami chides, apparently unaware of his wandering thoughts. “I just finished a mission, so they’re giving me a short break. I’ve been going continuously for a few months now, and I don’t want to collapse out of exhaustion.” Giving him a cursory glance, she leans in closer, the scent of freshly laundered fabric and lavender tickling his nose - what a pleasant scent, Tanjirou thinks. Her lilac eyes stare right into his, and suddenly it registers to him that Hayami is standing too close - far too close. 
“That’s true, I would hate to see you overworked.” He tries to brush off the feeling in his chest, smiling up at Hayami. “I’m glad that you’re here as well. I was worried I’d have to spend the next few weeks training all by myself!”
“That would have been quite lonely, but don’t worry, I’m here too! We can spar together if you want, but only when your arm gets better!” Hayami replies instantly. With a smile, she takes Tanjirou’s uninjured hand in his. “Come on, let’s get back to the Butterfly Mansion and get your injury looked at. I’m sure the other girls are excited to see you too.”
Tanjirou looks down at their conjoined hands, something akin to warmth fluttering in his chest. He’s lucky that Hayami doesn’t have the same keen sense of smell that he does, because now, the air is almost pungently sweet with the scent of his happiness.
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“Knock, knock, are you there?” Hayami raps her knuckles lightly on the box Tanjirou always wears on his back. From the inside, she can hear slight scratching noises and rustling, the sound of its contents awakening. She knocks again, a playful sing song tone to her voice. “Oh dear, this box isn’t making any noise. Is anyone home?”
“Mmph hmph!”
All of a sudden, the lid to the box bursts open and a tiny Nezuko spills out in a mess of pink fabric and an assortment of wildflowers. Tanjirou must have given Nezuko those to play with while she was inside the box, Hayami reasons, colours and variations of all sorts strewn on the floor. With a smile, Hayami mentally promises to clean up the mess later and stretches out her arms. “Nezuko! It’s Big Sister! Did you miss me?”
Before Hayami can so much as reach for the younger girl, Nezuko is already toddling over and throwing herself into Hayami’s arms, making muffled noises of excitement behind her bamboo gag. Cooing, Hayami reaches down to brush some stray flower petals out of Nezuko’s hair before wrapping her arms around the younger girl. She’s as adorable as usual. “How have you been? Did you help your big brother Tanjirou fight any demons?”
Nezuko makes a little ‘mmph!’ noise proudly, her pink eyes sparkling. Hayami beams down at the younger girl, ruffling her long locks. They’re a little tangled, she notes with a frown. Tanjirou usually does this, but he must have been unable to with the injury to his dominant hand.
“Nezuko, sit here,” she pats her lap, before looking through her sleeves, before producing a little wooden comb. Carefully, she begins to run the comb through Nezuko’s locks, being cautious not to hurt the younger girl while undoing the knots. Doing this feels relaxing, the repetitive movements helping to calm her mind and soul.
“Hmm!” Much to Hayami’s surprise, Nezuko suddenly turns around in Hayami’s lap and points at her hair, before gesturing at her own excitedly. Hayami tilts her head to the side, momentarily confused. “My hair? What about it?” 
“Mmhh mm!”
Hayami lets out a noise of realisation. “You want your hair to be tied into a ponytail too?”
“Mmm!”
“Alright, give me a moment.” Looking into her sleeves again, she searches for her spare hair ribbon - a short length of pink silk that would go beautifully with Nezuko’s eyes, she thinks. Humming lightly, she moves to gather Nezuko’s hair into a long ponytail, before securing it neatly with a ribbon. “There, all done.”
From the happy noises Nezuko is making, Hayami assumes that she likes it. Feeling pleased with herself, Hayami pats the top of Nezuko’s head with a smile. “I’m glad you like it!” 
Nezuko whirls around, pointing at her forehead and making curious sounds. Hayami understands who she’s talking about almost instantly.
“Oh, where’s Tanjirou? He’s getting looked at by Shinobu-san for his arm, but I’m sure he’ll be alright in no time. He asked me to keep you company in the meanwhile.” Hayami answers, smiling as comfortingly as she can at Nezuko. This seems to abate the young demon’s concerns slightly, but then Nezuko tugs at the sleeve of her kimono, brows furrowed.
“Hmph hmm!”
“You’re still worried?” Hayami twirls a lock of hair around her finger thoughtfully. It is dark out now, so it should be safe for her to bring Nezuko out of the room.  “Well, I suppose Tanjirou should have finished his examination with Shinobu-san by now, unless he’s more badly injured than I thought. Do you want to go find him?”
“Mhm!”
“Alright, hop on.” Lowering herself closer to the ground, Hayami allows Nezuko to clamber onto her back and wrap her legs around her waist. Once she’s satisfied that Nezuko is securely on her back, she straightens up. Behind her, Nezuko makes tiny muffled noises of excitement, and Hayami has to stifle a giggle. Nezuko really is too cute. 
“Hold on tight to me, alright, Nezuko?” Hayami glances over her shoulder. Nezuko wraps her arms around her neck.
“Mmm!”
Setting out, the two of them make their way down the corridors of the Butterfly Estate to the medical wing, Hayami humming along the way to keep Nezuko entertained. Once they reach the medical wing, Hayami slides open the door, only to see Tanjirou sitting on the only occupied bed with a bowl of porridge on his bedside table. His eyes light up the second he sees the two of them.
“Nezuko!” Tanjirou says brightly, and in an instant, Nezuko is leaping off Hayami’s back before hopping straight onto Tanjirou’s bed, wrapping both arms around his middle tightly. Tanjirou lets out a grunt as he catches with his good hand, before he lets out a laugh and reaches up to pat the top of her head gently. “There, there, Nezuko. Big Brother is completely fine, there’s no need to worry, see?” He wiggles the fingers poking out of his cast to reassure her. Seemingly put at ease now, Nezuko tugs at Tanjirou’s sleeve, before pointing to her hair. 
“Hmm mm!”
Tanjirou smiles at Nezuko. “Did Hayami do your hair for you? Wow, it looks beautiful on you, Nezuko!” Nezuko huffs proudly. He turns to look at Hayami. “Thank you very much for keeping her company for me, Hayami.”
“It was no problem, you know how much I love to spend time with Nezuko’,” Hayami says, sliding the door shut behind her. Stepping over to Tanjirou, she gives the cast a cursory glance. “That doesn’t look ‘completely fine’ in the least. How bad is it?”
“Just a hairline fracture.” Tanjirou explains, as Nezuko curls up in his lap like a large cat. “Shinobu-san said that it’ll heal in about a couple of weeks or so, as long as I don’t aggravate it. She gave me some painkillers too, but apparently they can only be taken after a meal, hence the porridge.” He lets out a sigh as he looks down at his dominant hand, casted and wrapped in a sling. “It’s a little hard to eat with this on, though.”
Crossing over to his bedside table, Hayami picks up the bowl, scooping a spoonful of porridge and holding it out to Tanjirou. “Here, I’ll feed you.” Hayami nudges at his lips with the spoon. “Say ‘ah’.”
“Ah, Hayami, there’s no need to!” Tanjirou’s face is burning red for some reason, and Hayami frowns in worry, setting down the bowl to the side.
“Tanjirou, your cheeks are flushed.” Tanjirou looks like he’s about to hyperventilate any moment, the flush on his cheeks deepening into a shade of wine red. He doesn’t seem like he’s about to admit anything, so Hayami simply leans forward, brushing the hair back from Tanjirou’s forehead to press their foreheads together, just as Shinobu had taught her to check for a fever. As expected, his skin is a little hot in comparison to hers. “Hmm, you’re a little warm. You might have a fever- Ow!”
Hayami staggers back with a yelp of pain, both hands clutching her forehead. “Tanjirou!”
“I’m so sorry! Are you alright? I didn’t mean to do that! You just leaned in all of a sudden and I panicked and I accidentally headbutted you!” Tanjirou panics, clambering off the bed to check up on her. Hayami rubs the sore spot where Tanjirou’s forehead had collided with hers, slightly relieved that her fingers come away bloodless - she’s seen what that deadly weapon is more than capable of before. It really is as hard as a rock, she thinks to herself. 
“I’m alright,” Hayami manages. Nezuko looks concerned, pink eyes wide as she stares from the bed. Maybe she should go to Shinobu for an x-ray tomorrow, just in case. He might have fractured her skull. “Well, I suppose that you’re fine, seeing that you seem so energetic.” Picking up the bowl, Hayami holds out the spoon to him once more. “Here. You should eat so that you can take your pills and go to sleep.”
Apparently too traumatised by the earlier incident to argue any further, Tanjirou obediently opens his mouth and swallows, chewing silently. It doesn’t take him long to finish the entire bowl, and by the time Hayami is handing him a cup of water to wash his painkillers down with, Tanjirou is already yawning and rubbing at his eyes. He must be tired just having returned from a series of missions without break, Hayami thinks sympathetically.
“Lie down and sleep for now,” Hayami tells Tanjirou, moving over to help him fluff up his pillow. Nodding tiredly, Tanjirou moves to lie down, and Hayami tugs the blanket over him, tucking him in carefully to make sure he doesn’t catch a chill during the night. 
“You should rest too, Hayami,” Tanjirou says between yawns, and Hayami turns to give him a quick smile. He’s looking up at her from the bed, almost half asleep at this point, and Hayami’s heart squeezes in her chest at the innocent sight. He’s so cute. “I will as soon as you go to bed,” she says, fetching a spare blanket from one of the empty beds to drape around Nezuko’s form. The younger girl had already fallen asleep a while ago at the foot of Tanjirou’s bed.
“Alright then,” Tanjirou says sleepily, letting out a final yawn before his eyes slide shut. “Goodnight… Hayami…”
Hayami looks up from putting the blanket around Nezuko to see Tanjirou already fast asleep with his eyes shut, the beginning of light snores escaping his mouth. For a moment, Hayami simply watches Tanjirou with a contented smile, before she shakes herself out of her stupor.
“What am I doing?” She mumbles to herself in confusion, before turning around to leave the medical wing. Before she slides the door shut, however, she gives Tanjirou’s sleeping form a final glance. He looks a couple of years younger like this, his face relaxed and a gentle smile on his lips.
“Goodnight to you too, Tanjirou.”
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After a couple of weeks at the Butterfly Estate, Tanjirou’s cast finally comes off. 
“See, good as new,” Tanjirou shows Hayami, as the two of them sit on the engawa next to the training grounds. Carefully, Hayami picks up his arm, checking it over. She knows it’s a little silly - if Shinobu, their medical professional, has declared that he’s fit to return to duty, he’s definitely more than alright - but she can’t help but worry until she sees that he is completely fine with her own two eyes. 
“I’m glad,” she finally smiles, setting down his arm. Tanjirou beams at her, before he picks up his sword from where it had been lying next to him, before hopping off the engawa onto the training grounds below. 
“Come on, let’s spar!” He calls brightly, testing the grip of his sword carefully. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to practice. If Urokodaki-san found out how much I’ve slacked off on training, he’d…” Tanjirou trails off with a shiver at the thought. Hayami winces in sympathy. As a former student of Urokodaki herself, she can only remember all too clearly the times the old man had booted her into the waterfall that flows down Sagiri Mountain.
“You’ve just recovered, though,” Hayami points out, concerned. Tanjirou only beams.
“I feel perfectly fine!” Grasping his sword with both hands, Tanjirou takes a few practice swings with it. “No pain at all, my muscles are just stiff because I haven’t used them in a while. It’ll be fine after a bit of exercise.”
“Well, if you say so,” Hayami says, reaching for her own boots to pull them on. As usual, Tanjirou’s drive to improve himself is unrelenting. Adjusting them so they fit comfortably, Hayami hops to her feet, testing the blade mechanisms. As expected of Ginjiro’s work, they still work perfectly, much to her satisfaction.
She picks up her blade and slides off the engawa, raising her own blade with a smile. “I won’t go easy on you then, Tanjirou! Ready whenever you are!”
In the blink of an eye, Tanjirou is already lunging at Hayami, swinging his blade down with a fierce strike. “Water Breathing, Fourth Form, Striking Tide!”
Hayami twirls out of the way, landing lightly on her toes before she leaps at him. “Breath of Swan, Third Form, Wingspan.” Balancing on her hands, she executes a scissor cut with her legs, but before the blades can so much as touch Tanjirou, he’s already leaping out of the way, using the jump to flow into the next attack.
“Water Breathing, Second Form, Water Wheel!”
Blocking the attack with her sword, Hayami jumps into the air and strikes once more. “Fourth Form, Drifting Feathers!” 
Her sword clashes hard against Tanjirou’s own, the sound of metal striking metal ringing out through the air. As she keeps up the pressure, Hayami catches sight of the wince that Tanjirou bites back, before his grip on the sword in his hands just happens to slip.
It’s a small mistake, but it’s enough.
“Tanjirou!” The two of them go crashing to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs and swords, Hayami falling flat on top of Tanjirou. “Oh my god, are you okay?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t break my arm a second time.” Tanjirou wheezes, looking completely winded. Distressed, Hayami leans over to check the back of Tanjirou’s head for any injuries. “Really, I’m fine, Hayami…”
“A potential concussion is not fine, Tanjirou.” Hayami scolds, reaching over to feel for any bumps along the back of his head in case. She doesn’t notice the way Tanjirou is trying his very best not to breathe, his eyes squeezed firmly shut. 
“Yes, but you’re a bit… close…”
“Eh?”
Hayami finally glances down at Tanjirou to see the poor boy’s face burning crimson, as if he’s about to combust spontaneously any second. That’s when she realises just how close the two of them are, the ends of her hair tickling his nose, the way that she can feel his breath on her skin…
In classic Hayami fashion, she panics. “I-I…” She stumbles over her words, frantically torn between wanting to apologise immediately and explaining that she didn’t mean it. “I just… I thought-”
“Squawk! Message from headquarters! Message from headquarters!”
Saved by the crow! Hayami looks up to see her crow, Aiya, flying around in circles over their heads. “Message from headquarters! Sumiyuri Hayami and Kamado Tanjirou are to depart at once on a mission!”
“A mission?” Hayami repeats out loud, rolling off Tanjirou and reaching down to help him up. “A joint mission together?”
“It would seem so.” Tanjirou answers, quickly sheathing his sword. Still worried for her friend, Hayami turns to glance at Tanjirou. “Is your arm alright, though?”
Tanjirou nods honestly. “It really is! I’m just a little rusty after so long.” Stretching his arms over his head to loosen himself up, he holds out a hand to Hayami. “Well then, shall we go?”
Hayami purses her lips, but then lets out a sigh and smiles. “If you say so,” she says, putting her hand into his.
“Let’s go!”
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Splitting up was, is and has never been, a good idea.
Well, that assumption might not always be wholly accurate, Hayami thinks to herself as she speeds through the trees, but it does seem that only the most terrible things happen to her whenever she is split up with her mission partners.
Or perhaps it is because she is split up with Tanjirou specifically that she feels such worry.
Regardless of whichever it is, Hayami has a bad feeling about this. She and Tanjirou had agreed to split up earlier, and while she has complete trust in Tanjirou’s ability and skill in battle, she can’t help but worry - it’s been too quiet, ever since the two of them had parted ways to search for the demon. 
Trust your instinct, she remembers Urokodaki saying. And right now, her instinct is warning her about something bad.
Before Hayami can make up her mind whether to regroup with Tanjirou or not, there’s a rustling in the distance that captures her attention almost immediately. Slightly alarmed now, she rests a cautious hand on the hilt of her sword, eyes narrowed. 
What’s going on over there?
She barely gets a second to wonder - a single moment later, there’s a gigantic groan, and right before her eyes, a tree in the distance sways and collapses, vanishing into the thicket of the forest. Hayami’s legs are moving before she can consciously process the information, leaping over protruding roots and ducking around trees as she makes a beeline straight for the source of the noise. There’s no way a demon would cause so much damage and alert them to its presence - it’s likely that Tanjirou has already encountered the demon and is currently battling it, hence the disturbance in the forest.
Hayami remembers the way he had winced when they sparred earlier in the day. Sure, he’d hold her that his arm was fine and all, but then again, Tanjirou has always been someone who endures pain better than anyone she knows.
Pressing her lips together, she forces her feet to move faster. Not much longer now… Approaching the thicket where she’d last seen the disturbance, Hayami leaps into the trees for a better view of the forest ground, and almost immediately hears the sound of steel clashing coming from her right.
“Tanjirou!”
Just as she thought, Tanjirou is already engaged in combat, his sword swinging in defensive arcs to block the attacks being thrown in his direction before he goes on the offensive once more. To Hayami’s confusion, however, she spots two identical demons simultaneously attacking - the report had only mentioned a single demon. There’s no time for her to ponder too long about the matter, not when Tanjirou is being forced to take on two demons on his own. Drawing her blade, she leaps out of the trees, taking in a deep breath to send oxygen to the very tips of her fingers and toes.
“Breath of Swan, Fourth Form, Drifting Feathers!”
A mirage of white feathers erupt into the air as she slashes down at one of the demons, her sword cutting cleanly through the flesh and bone of the demon’s neck as if slicing through warm butter. Tanjirou gasps at her sudden appearance, clearly surprised as he blocks another attack, the force of the demon’s swing forcing him a few steps back.
“Hayami!”
“You looked like you needed a hand there,” Hayami says as brightly as she can, even as the headless corpse of the demon she’d beheaded a few seconds ago begins to crumble to ash. “Hurry and take care of the other one, then we can go back to the Butterfly Mansion together-”
“Wait, that’s not it-” 
Hayami leaps back in alarm just as a massive clawed hand swings at her, the ends of its razor sharp fingernails coming a little too close for comfort with her face. Eyes wide, she watches as the demon Tanjirou was battling slowly pulls itself in half, before each half morphs and shifts… until they both become identical copies of the original.
This seems like it’s going to be troublesome.
“Right. As I was going to tell you earlier, this demon forms copies of itself,” Tanjirou explains as he takes up a stance behind Hayami, covering her blind spots while she covers his. “I killed quite a few of them earlier, they’re not very strong, but they simply keep dividing again and again. The original is a lot stronger than the rest of them are!”
“So one of them has to be the main body.” Hayami says, blocking an attack with her sword and sending another clone stumbling back with a high kick to the face. “Can all of them divide?”
“No, only the original. But it’ll be difficult to find it,” Tanjirou answers. The second he cuts down a demon, another steps up to take its place. “All of them have the same scent!”
 There’s a thin sheen of perspiration on his face. Hayami frowns in worry. She needs to end this fight, and she needs to end it fast.
“Let’s start by clearing as many of them as we can,” Hayami says, readying her sword. The demon must still be dividing at a rapid pace, because she counts seven enemies now. “After we whittle their numbers down, try to spot which is the one who’s doing the dividing and keep your focus on it. Our main priority should be to take it down!”
Tanjirou takes a deep breath and assumes a different stance, holding his blade to the side. “Got it!”
“Breath of Swan, Ninth Form, Fleeting Flight!”
“Water Breathing, Third Form, Flowing Dance!”
Both of them move in unison, taking out the clones left and right as their blades sing into the night. Hayami moves between the demons with light, practiced steps, almost as if she’s dancing, her sword swinging with ease. Behind her, she can hear the whistle of Tanjirou’s blade as it splits the air in two, followed by the death screams of a demon.
Good, just a few more, and then-
All of a sudden, something yanks her by the ankles and Hayami goes crashing to the ground with a cry of surprise. The side of her knee has been scraped by a tree root, dull pain radiating across her leg, but such a small injury is of little bother to her. Flipping out her heel blades, she raises her leg high and brings it down in a furious kick, cutting off the neck of the demon that had grabbed her.
Getting to her feet, Hayami readies her blade once more, glancing around the battlefield to take stock of the situation. They should have significantly cut down the number of demons by now, so-
“Tanjirou!”
To Hayami’s horror, she catches sight of two demons relentlessly pressing Tanjirou back with a continuous barrage of attacks, her friend struggling to fend off their advances. Too preoccupied by them, he doesn’t seem to notice what danger lurks behind him - yet another demon creeping up from the back, ready to pounce.
“Tanjirou-” Hayami tries to call, but before she can rush to his aid, another of the demon’s copies lunges at her out of the bushes, attempting to bite off her legs. Kicking out with all her strength, the demon goes flying back some distance, crashing to the ground hard. “Tanjirou, behind you!”
Tanjirou whirls around at the sound of Hayami’s voice, but it’s too late - the demon has already lunged, its claws outstretched and teeth bared. At the same time, the demon that she’d been dealing with picks itself off the ground, spitting grass out of its mouth, and charges at her again, ready to tear her to shreds.
Hayami doesn’t hesitate. Flipping the blade in her hand, she draws her arm back and throws, with every ounce of strength that she has.
The blade severs the demon’s neck cleanly just as pain erupts across her torso. With a cry, she stumbles back, her hand pressed against the wound, hot blood seeping through her fingers. All she can do is take shallow breaths to try to cope with the agony, doing her best to remain on her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, the remaining copies of the demon let out wails of despair as they begin to crumble into ash. Then, the one that had tried to attack Tanjirou must have been…
“Hayami! Hayami, are you alright?” Tanjirou’s voice comes from above her, and it’s only then that she realises that she’s sagged to her knees. “Oh god… the blood…”
“It’s… not as bad as it seems,” Hayami manages to breathe out. “It just looks like a lot of blood… but it’s not deep. The demon?”
“It’s dead. The demon you threw the sword at ended up being the original.” She can hear rustling as Tanjirou crouches next to her side, rummaging about the inside of his haori for his first aid pack. “The second it died, the rest of the copies turned to ash with it.”
“That’s good to hear…” Hayami mumbles. The blood loss is making her feel slightly dizzy, the canopy of the forest almost blending with the night sky overhead in swirls of dark green and deep indigo. “If I puke… don’t mind me.”
“Don’t be silly, you saved me,” Tanjirou’s voice is a little shaky, and that makes Hayami want to frown. Does he feel guilty over it? He shouldn’t - she just did what she wanted to, and that was that. She’s sure he would do the same for her, were their positions reversed. “I’m going to bandage your wound now to slow the blood loss before I take you back to the Butterfly Estate for proper treatment.” He lets out a quiet wince. “It’s going to hurt.”
“Can I hold your hand?” Hayami asks before she can fully run that question past her mind. The second the words leave her lips, she desperately wants to swallow them back - this isn’t the time for that! Before she can tell Tanjirou she was just joking, however, she feels a warm, callused hand wrap around hers firmly, lacing her fingers with his.
“Of course you can.” Tanjirou whispers quietly. When she glances up, she is surprised to see Tanjirou looking right at her, his eyes nearly brimming over with worry and concern. “I’ll try to be as gentle as I can, alright?”
Hayami wonders if her cheeks can still turn red with the amount of blood that she’s lost, and finds herself momentarily relieved that the answer to that is likely a ‘no’. That’s when she realises just how far she’s gone and simply nods her head in acceptance. “I know.” She squeezes his hand reassuringly. “I trust you, Tanjirou.”
She says that, but the pain that seems to surge out of nowhere when Tanjirou wraps the bandage around her waist almost knocks her flat and has her vision white. Hayami isn’t sure if she’s crying, all she knows is that it hurts and it burns and it-
“I’m so sorry… I’m so, so sorry…” Tanjirou’s voice is like a balm, spreading over the fear and anxiety. It cuts through the thick haze of pain clouding her mind, and when Hayami forces her eyes open once more, she sees Tanjirou gently stroking her cheeks, his eyes wet with tears. He’s crying. Hayami hates to see anyone cry. She hates it even more when it is Tanjirou who is crying, worse of all, over her.
Oh, she realises, as his thumb brushes along her cheekbones. He’s wiping my tears as well.
“It’s fine,” Hayami croaks out. She can’t bear to see him cry because of her - that stings far more than any demon’s claws or teeth could. Her throat stings painfully with each word, as if she’s just swallowed an entire gourd of acid. Was she screaming the entire time? Only slightly embarrassing… “Wasn’t… your fault....” 
She lets out another cry of pain when Tanjirou ties off the bandage tightly, although this one is quickly cut off when she hunches over and lets out a quiet whimper. “Really, I’m fine… or at least… I think I will be.” 
“I’ll get you to Shinobu-san right away.” Gentle arms wrap around her, careful to avoid her bandaged midsection as Tanjirou lifts her into a bridal carry. Hayami thinks she might be embarrassed, but after a few seconds, it doesn’t come - all she feels is warmth, safety and comfort.
His arms feel like the home that she never had.
Something that she could only dream of.
“Don’t fall asleep just yet,” Tanjirou’s voice interrupts her thoughts, and when Hayami has to blink her eyes open again she realises that she was about to drift off into sleep. They’re running, or well, Tanjirou is running, feet slapping lightly against the ground and trying his best not to jolt her about too much. Hayami is grateful for that. “Please, wait until I get you to Shinobu-san at least.” 
His voice is trembling slightly. He must be terrified.
“I don’t think that’s proper first aid protocol, but alright…” Hayami can’t help the small smile that tugs at the corner of her lips as she looks up at him, the determined line his mouth is pulled into. Handsome… what? Is her mind bleeding out of her along with her blood? “Talk to me? I’m feeling… hnng… a little sleepy…”
She’s just so tired.
“Sure,” Tanjirou agrees almost immediately as he leaps over a large tree root protruding out of the ground, continuing to race through the trees. From what Hayami can see, the forest is already starting to thin, more distance between the trees. They’re leaving the forest soon, and for some reason, Hayami doesn’t want this to end. She wants to stay in Tanjirou’s arms longer… “What did you do during all those weeks we were apart? Did anyone try to propose to you again?”
A laugh, weak as it is, bubbles out of Hayami. Light and fluttery, even though it tugs at the slashes along her midsection and makes a dull ache radiate outward through her body. Of all the questions he could ask... “No, not really… most of my missions happened in remote areas, so I didn’t interact with a lot of people. Why do you ask?”
A pause, before he answers. “No reason.” It doesn’t sound like there is no reason. “I just… wanted to know.” There’s another pause, longer this time, before he speaks again. Another question. “Earlier, during the fight… how did you know that the demon you threw your sword at was the original?”
The cherry blossoms are blooming, Hayami notices, even though her eyelids feel as though there are weights on them, their pink petals outlined in the gold of the lamps that burn around the Butterfly Mansion. 
“I didn’t…” Hayami yawns. She’s really tired now, and the night sky and cherry blossoms blend together into swirls of pink and black. It reminds her of Nezuko’s hair. “Just saw it coming for you… moved without thinking... got a lucky hit… that’s all.”
Faintly, she feels Tanjirou’s arms stiffen around her. His warmth is like that of a charcoal furnace, radiating heat and making her wonder if that’s what home is supposed to feel like too.
“Thank you, Hayami.” Tanjirou’s whisper is the last thing she hears before her eyes slip shut. “Thank you.”
She just did something she wanted to, Hayami thinks as she slips into darkness. 
There was nothing to thank her for.
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The beds in the medical wing are soft.
They’re all very soft, very comfortable. But Hayami’s starting to get a little bored of soft and comfortable, after having been confined to bed rest for about two weeks now. Luckily for her, the weather today seems to be pleasant, the sun shining brightly in the sky and a gentle breeze moving through the air, so she makes to climb off the bed to open the windows at the very least because she’s desperate for any reason to get off the mattress-
The door to the medical wing slides open. “Hayami, you’re not supposed to be out of bed!”
It’s as if he just knows! Every! Single! Time! Hayami freezes with one foot on the floorboards like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, an awkward laugh starting to bubble out of her. “Well, yes, I know that, I just… wanted to open the windows.”
Before she can even finish that sentence, Tanjirou is already hurrying to her bedside, hands gentle as he helps her back into the bed, tucks her blanket tightly around her - whether it’s intentional or not, she doesn’t know. “You wanted to open the windows, didn’t you?” Turning around, he does so for her, and the sunlight falls onto her lap, golden and warm. “You should be resting!”
Three slashes. About five inches each. A handful of stitches. Not the worst Hayami has faced, in her opinion, but enough to warrant a month’s worth of bed rest. And it’s driving her crazy.
“But Tanjirou,” Hayami doesn’t normally pout, but she does now. Being forced to stay in bed for two weeks will do that to you. It changes people. “I’m already resting. I’m so rested I can’t possibly rest any more. If I lie in this bed for one more day, I’m going to end up becoming one with it. Please let me out.”
Tanjirou only hesitates for a few seconds before he shakes his head, holding both hands out in front of him as if trying to physically block her puppy dog eyes. “That’s not up to me, that’s Shinobu-san’s decision…” His gaze falls to the floorboards, brows pinching together slightly. “And besides, it was my fault you ended up in this position in the first place…” 
Before he can wallow in his guilt any more, Hayami reaches out to poke him squarely in the forehead. She’s mildly sure that hurt her finger more than it did his head, but it seems to have done the trick - Tanjirou looks up at her, surprised. She can see the slight worry in his eyes, the way his lips press together whenever he looks at her.
Knowing that guilt is what Tanjirou feels when he looks at her… Hayami doesn’t like that in the least.
“Hayami?”
“Hey,” Hayami says sternly, reaching out to tug Tanjirou closer to her bedside. Tanjirou only looks up at her, a nervous, slightly pained expression on his face. “If you had been in my position, and you saw me about to get slashed by a demon, would you have done the same thing?”
Tanjirou looks away for a moment, chews his bottom lip and sighs. His answer is obvious, and both of them know it. 
“Yes,” he answers, but from the look on his face, he doesn’t seem to have entirely let go of the guilt he feels. “But you probably wouldn’t have needed saving, like I did. If only I could become stronger… become better… then-”
“That’s not what matters.” Hayami tells him, putting a finger to his lips so that he falls silent, looking at her with those kind, kind eyes. “I did for you what you would have done for me. We’ve got each others’ backs, am I right? I just happened to be the one with a choice this time.”
Tanjirou’s lips press together, his face suddenly scrunching up. For a moment, Hayami wonders if he’s about to cry.
“Yeah, I just…” a soft sniff, “I’ll make sure it won’t happen again next time.”
“See?” Hayami smiles, tugs at his cheek. The corner of Tanjirou’s lips twitch up in response. It’s not quite a smile, but it’s better than that pained expression he’s been wearing for the past two weeks whenever he thought she wasn’t looking. “Positive mindset, am I right?”
“Right, I just… Ah, I forgot the reason why I came here. I had something I wanted to tell you.” Tanjirou’s face suddenly falls again. “I have another mission assigned already. I’m heading out right after this.” He looks at her, and there’s something about his gaze that makes Hayami want to dive under the blanket. It looks like longing… “I wanted to stay until you healed completely, but you know…”
Hayami knows, but it doesn’t mean that she has to like it. A little, selfish feeling nudges her in her chest. She wants Tanjirou to stay longer with her. Just a little longer. Just a bit more...
“The corps are always understaffed, I understand.” Hayami answers, reaches out to take his hand in hers. Her fingers trace patterns over the rough skin, the calluses. “Kibutsuji Muzan isn’t going to wait for any of us. Always demons out there to slay…”
“Always people out there to save,” Tanjirou finishes her sentence for her. He doesn’t look like he wants to leave though, his fingers still wrapped firmly around her wrist, his touch, lingering. Part of her can’t help the happiness welling up in her chest. “I’ll send letters.”
“That’ll help keep me occupied while I get all well and rested.” Hayami smiles. “Then, I can look forward to you telling me all about your missions?”
Tanjirou nods, his hand finally falling away from hers. In that instant, however, Hayami finds herself immediately missing his touch. “Definitely.”
Hayami raises her hand to wave goodbye, but before she can bid him goodbye, she feels a gentle pressure against the side of her cheek, so fleeting she wonders if she had imagined it. Then the pressure is gone, and Tanjirou is looking at her with eyes so gentle she can hardly stand it.
“See you soon, Hayami!” Tanjirou flashes her a quick smile, pink tinted cheeks and all, before he runs out of the medical wing. And all Hayami is able to do is sit there in shock, mouth hanging slightly agape as she stares after him, long after he leaves. Slowly, she raises her hand to her cheek, touching where the warmth spreading over her face seems to have originated from.
His lips were soft...
“See you soon too, Tanjirou,” Hayami whispers to herself.
27 notes · View notes
biznichwrites · 4 years
Text
A Dream Come True
Length: 5K Pairing: Giyuu x Reader
This is to go hand in hand with @dudeandduchess‘s accompanying post in which we had alternative endings with this fic. I wrote until the end of the smut, after which we created our own endings. Think of it as yin and yang.
If you would like to read Jen’s nightmare version check it out here.
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She had filled her head with pretty lies, thoughts of soft, fluffy things that tickled her stomach like butterflies. The sight of one of the few other water breath users - the pillar, in fact - brought a smile to her face. He was perfect for the role - eyes as blue as the ocean, steady like the waves, strong like a deep current, carving his own path like a river, yet calm like the water's surface at night. 
What started as infatuation became a crush, leaving her whole world centered around him. Inside she knew she wouldn't grab his attention, even if she was one of a handful of slayers at the water estate. Their rarity made them all busy on missions, there wasn't much time to see each other in passing, so she treasured every moment spent in Giyuu's presence. 
Despite their schedules, she tried to do more for him. The maintenance he had performed almost single handedly was spread among the both of them. Mending his uniforms when they were damaged, even his beloved haori once. Salmon was always stocked once she figured out it was his favorite, even going as far as to cook it just as he liked. That was a mistake on her part - his glowing smile pulled her in deeper. 
Still she felt her heart ache over the months. No matter what she did he never spoke a word to her, not that he really spoke to anyone else. Had she done something to make him hate her? 
The day she had given up on his heart came shortly after. It wasn't often she needed help or saving, but a lower moon was a bit beyond her hope to slay. She had kept neck and neck with it for some time, praying that a pillar would arrive to slay it before it ate her. Like written from a bad romance novel, her Pillar came just as she felt weak after hours of battling, his blade cutting through the neck of the lower moon with ease. 
Her knight in shining armor, so to speak. He came to save her, specifically him. Her heart fluttered in joy, tears gathering in her eyes. Maybe he would be impressed that she managed to last so long, to stay alive and keep the moon busy until someone stronger arrived. Her breath hitched as she heard him inhale, as if to speak. 
"He wasn't much trouble, you should have been able to slay him. If you're weak you should know not to challenge a moon." He hadn't spared a glance her way, simply flicking his sword to clear it of blood before sheathing it. Her heart broke as he walked on, leaving her to watch the mismatched haori on his back as the distance between them grew. 
***
"Giyuu, you should try to get close to others! I know it's scary but there's plenty of people out there that are nicer than the way Shinobu makes it seem." Tanjirou smiled at the elder water slayer, urging Giyuu to connect to others the way they had, at the very least. 
"I'm not sure about that. People don't like me." Giyuu sat with his legs pulled up by the bank of the river they stopped at. 
"All you can do is try! Didn't you want to become friends with Sanemi?" Tanjirou wasn't going to let Giyuu escape this time, even if it meant some friendly pestering. 
"Yeah, I think he likes ohagi so I was going to give him some." Giyuu stared into the distance, trying to imagine the violent man attempting to receive a gift. 
"What about (Y/N)? She's been nice!" Tanjirou was hoping to point out anyone who had been kind to the pillar, at least someone who wasn't filled with malice. 
"Who?" Giyuu's face went blank at the name, unable to recall who the name was attached to. "I quit remembering names of most slayers since they die so fast."
Tanjirou deflated at that, finding it sad for Giyuu to view life in such a bleak manner. It felt him grasping at straws to find the correct words to express himself as he thought of what to say next. 
"You remembered me before I was a slayer! She survived a solo fight with a lower moon, I don't think she's dying any time soon, you know." Tanjirou hoped the other would understand what he was saying, at the very least. 
"Oh… She didn't beat the moon, though." Giyuu, like a child that was done with the conversation, drew idly in the sand below them with a stick. 
"Well we can work on the ohagi for Sanemi, how about that?" 
***
Giyuu thought of the girl Tanjirou had mentioned. He didn't know what to make of it all - she had survived, which is what he was looking for in a friend, but she wouldn't have without help. At the same time neither would have Tanjirou. Perhaps he was being too critical, she was still alive and kicking to this day. 
However he hadn't seen her much since then. Maybe she was training more? That was enough of an explanation for him. It wasn't unusual for the entire water estate to be empty with as few of the water breath users completed the final selection, much less survived long enough to rank high enough to live in the estate. 
The next time he saw her, presumably after a mission as she was returning at dawn, he recognized her more than just a name. He bit his tongue, unsure what to say as he stood on the engawa staring at her tired body limping closer. The moment her eyes caught his she glanced away, turning towards another part of the estate to rest in.
He would have questioned it more, but occurrences like this weren't uncommon. People avoided him, that was normal. Yet the way she kept herself at a distance made him want to find out why she did such a thing. Why did she hide away from him? 
His breath caught in his throat one morning, watching as she sat on the far end of the engawa in a simple yukata. She must be getting ready to sleep, given most slayers were nocturnal, but he thought she looked nice in the morning sun. Pretty even. 
Months drug along, her eyes never meeting his own. Yet he felt himself drawn to her. All the actions she had taken before - he hadn't forgotten them, but he hadn't fully appreciated them at the time either. She had done something for him without being asked with nothing in return. Someone that selfless couldn't be a bad person. He still felt a bit bitter with himself for being so critical with her, the same he felt with Tanjirou. Neither deserved that. 
***
It wasn't until Murata and a few others had saved up a large sum of money to buy enough alcohol to drown all the demon slayers, that he had a chance to interact with her. The whole time he was tense, almost awkwardly staring at her the whole time. 
"Earth to Giyuu, you there?" Really, Murata was the only one that talked to the pillar so freely, with the exception of Tanjirou. Having kept the pillar alive at one point gave him a bit of the right, so no one spoke of it. 
"Hm?" Giyuu's head turned back to Murata, clearly not aware of anything he had just said. 
"I was seeing if you were going to drink with us. We're celebrating a year of not losing any water breath users. I figured of anyone you'd want to join." Murata handed him a bottle, not really waiting for a response. Was it responsible for a pillar to drink? Not at all. Had they organized this with Kagaya in mind? Of course, they had consulted with him to make sure they could celebrate freely. 
Giyuu stared at the bottle then back to Murata, eyes flickering between the two. "I've never drank before…"
"Now is a good time to start!" Murata laughed with a pat to the pillar shoulder before disappearing into a small bunch of slayers. 
***
Giyuu had drank nearly half the bottle in the course of a few hours, but he didn't find himself relaxed. Rather he found himself in a flurry of emotions - sad remembering everyone he's lost, angry with himself for allowing his life to be ruined by both demons and his own mismanagement of his emotions, but most surprising of all he found himself jealous. 
The only female slayer of the bunch was flirted with endlessly. Most of the less than classy lines were met by laughter by the slayers. He knew they were treating it as a joke, even when she pretended to be the man hitting on Murata pretending to be a woman, but he didn't like it. He rested knowing that it was all in fun, though. 
His drunken eyes met hers, making her already flushed cheeks even more red than previously before she glanced away. He was happy she was mindful to wear hakama, least the drunk young men around them get any ideas. 
"Murataaaaa, when are you gonna get a wife? You keep talking about settling down but you're doing a shit job at it." Her laughter was kind enough, even if she was poking fun. 
"(Y/N)! You know I-I-I---! I'm trying! It's just difficult!" Murata floundered under the playful scrutiny before returning a rebuttal, "So when are you getting married (Y/N)?" 
"You know I'm dying alone, don't ask dumb questions." She laughed, but the laughter joining her was awkward, quiet and confused. Technically she could pick any slayer and they'd say yes - just for a lack of women around them, especially ones that understood the nature of their jobs. A moment passed but no further comments or banter had been added to the conversation after her bleak comment. Her face heated realizing she had made a fool of herself, not that Murata was much better as he fumbled moving the conversation forward. 
Giyuu watched as she tilted up the porcelain of her heated sake, taking in how her throat contracted as she gulped. Was it proper for her to drink like that? No. But it technically wasn't traditional for women to wield swords and hunt demons, so it wasn't like social protocol meant much to her anyway. 
Almost silently she slipped away, padding over to her room at the far end of the estate. His eyes followed her movements, taking in the dejected way she looked. Was she broken-hearted? He didn't understand why, she was pretty in her own way, stronger than most gave her credit for, smart enough to stay alive. Maybe he was more fond of her than he let on. 
After some time the men grew rowdy, playing games and raising their voices. Murata seemed to stop drinking after a certain point, clearly aware of his limits. 
"Murata?" Said slayer turned his attention to Giyuu, almost surprised that he spoke. "Is there something wrong with (Y/N)? She left a bit ago." 
"Oh… I made a mistake and brought up something I shouldn't have, she's probably just having some time to herself." Murata prayed the Pillar didn't press for more info, being one of the few she admitted the situation to. He was far too drunk to stop himself from slipping up. 
"Is she sad?" The lower ranked slayer blinked at the question, taken aback at how simple it was. 
"Yeah, she just has her ways of dealing with it - wait! Where are you going?" Giyuu stood, moving toward the woman's room without another word. Murata prayed it didn't make things worse. 
***
The pillar stood outside her door, listening as her crying was muffled into hitched breaths and harsh inhales to quiet herself. He wasn't sure what he was doing with the alcohol in his system, but he slowly pushed the shoji open and closed it quietly behind him. 
"Is there something wrong?" He was trying to be nice but the jump of surprise from her was clearly not the reaction he was searching for. Her hand rested above her heart in surprise before gripping the cloth in anguish. 
"I'm fine. You can go back to the others." Her head tilted away, not meeting his eyes. 
"I'm sure Murata didn't mean to upset you. Did something happen? Did you lose your fiance?" It was the only explanation he could rationalize why she wouldn't take a spouse when she had her choice of men flirting with her earlier. 
"I said I'm fine. Leave me alone." She flopped back down on her futon, facing away from him. He wished she didn't look so pretty or the light of the moon didn't accentuate the curves of her waist and hips. Despite her words he never left, she knew at the lack of sound her shoji made when open and shut. 
Rather he shuffled closer, nowhere near as elegant as he usually moved. Still he slid his fingers into her hair, finding himself rationalizing the feel of her hair with the need to sooth her. 
"I'm sure you could find a husband in the slayers if you're worried about that." He didn't like it, especially the thought of not being able to freely look at her and the risk of never being able to touch her again. 
"I said my plan was to die alone, it's not that complicated."
"Why?" 
"Men don't want a woman like me." Her words croaked from her throat and he could help but sink into the futon and pull her back to his chest. His nose was pressed to the back of her hair and he could bask in her scent. 
"That's not true." The more of her he got, the greedier he became. He wanted to remind her that the other water breath users would marry her, but she clearly wasn't interested. 
"You don't know that." He felt her back trembling as she held back her distress and he hugged her closer. "I'm covered scars, I can barely fight and I'm a pitiful slayer, I don't have anything to my name but what I wear, I'm not pretty and dainty like other girls-" 
Her hands covered her mouth. She was complaining to the very person that filled her with insecurities. Deep inside she wanted to hate him, but she couldn't. It didn't mean she wasn't bitter. Her love for him had soured, painting her into a corner of self depreciation. She knew this wasn't him, this was some drunken version of the man likely looking to have a piece of her. 
For what it was worth, she would let him. At least it would be the final chapter to the broken heart saga of her life. 
"None of that is true."
"I don't need lies to make me feel better." 
He was growing a bit frustrated. His hand gripped her waist, both keeping her still and holding her to him. He was painfully aware he could slide his hands lower to grip the curve of her hips or slide his hands upward to cup her breasts.
"You're pretty. A good slayer. You're good as you are." He couldn't think of anything more grand to say, not that he was eloquent with words anyway. He prayed she understood, but the pause in her response made fear eat at his chest. Had he said the wrong thing?
"...Did you want to sleep with me?" That was the only conclusion she could think of. He was drunk and needed a body that was willing. If he was into women she was the closest one, and considering she was the only one in the estate he had to act fast. 
"Sleep with you?" His words were quiet, as if he was scared to say them loud enough. 
"As in sex. Did you want to have sex with me?" She was only so bold because she was facing away from him. The alcohol and bitter feeling in her chest brought up the question, but she could never work up the nerve to ask if she was looking directly at him. 
He buried his face against her neck weighing the options. She was drunk, but so was he. There was no way either should do this. At the same time he doubted the option would ever be available again, especially as his attraction to her grew. 
"Yes…" 
***
He hovered over her, pushing in deeply with a moan. Her eyes had shed so many tears through the night, even more when he undressed her, but he couldn't help but to find her more addicting than before. 
"You're so warm, oh fuck…" His head rested against her shoulder as he found himself able to thrust into her depths. "You're so beautiful, so perfect."
He heard her crying harder, moans of pleasure breaking through her moans of agony. Long had passed the attempts to calm her tears, especially when she grew nervous when he saw her naked. 
He never missed her whispers of self depreciation, how she fought all compliments that slipped from his lips as he undressed her layer by layer. Even if she found herself disgusting he couldn't agree with her. Every scar he uncovered, every little imperfection his eyes found cemented his infatuation. 
It was her, something so unique to only her. No one else could replicate every little aspect of her. 
Yet he couldn't make her stop crying. Soft whispers of praise didn't just fall on def ears but only pushed her into further despair. Every kind thing he said only brought more tears. 
He didn't miss how her hips canted into his, how her eyes grew hazy as pleasure set in - the way her lips trembled after he kissed her, the second of hope in her eyes before she turned her head away. 
The soft hiccups between whimpers were never lost on him. They came at his every kiss and praise, every moment he touched her in a way she enjoyed. As if some part of her wanted to receive his adoration before becoming buried in negativity. 
She couldn't deny it, either. Simply knowing he didn't despise her, or at least a part of her, both healed and hurt her. For a moment she had some value to him. She was someone worthy of his sole attention. 
Rough hands graced her body, pushing her hair from her face before guiding down her neck to cup her breast, gently squeezing her nipples before tracing her scars down her torso. When he reached her hips one hand held firm while the other graced the area above where they were joined. He remembered in a haze that men had talked about women feeling good there. A clit? All he knew is that her legs tightened around his hips the moment his thumb grazed the tip of the bud. 
Abusing such a sensitive spot to see her reactions was a bit cruel on his part, but he wanted to see her relieved of her tears. It was time she felt good - both in terms of sex and about herself. He basked in the moment he hands left her face to cling to the bedding below her. 
Dipping down he kissed her lips again, taking in how she seemed to squeeze tighter at the simple piece of affection. Despite the fact she felt inferior he adored having her like this - seeing her broken, in a way no one else has seen before, and the ability to see her put back together again. The vulnerability neither showed the world, only shared with the other. 
He shifted his hips, thrusting deeper than before. She clenched around him in ways that made him regret never considering doing this sooner. At the same time he knew their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. Their suffering was similar in a sense, they both could understand not having any value in themselves. Had he really been so blind to her all this time? 
"You're so good." His head fell to her shoulder as his hips jerked into her warmth. The man felt elation when she gave in and clung to him. At first her hands were lightly touching, only loosely circling his back. Even if he wasn't sober he recognized enough of her reactions to make her react how he wanted. 
Kisses were placed to her cheek and jaw as he tilted his head from her shoulder. Her breath shuttered, her nails timidly scratching his skin as her hold grew more firm. 
He didn't expect her to orgasm from such simple affection but he couldn't explain why else her core felt as if it were milking his cock. Her arms and legs tightened around him, pulling him flush against her as her face buried into the curve of his neck. 
It was welcoming to hear a cry of pleasure rather than anguish. The sound graced him, bringing him to climax shortly after her. Had he been sober he would have been more mindful of mindlessly cumming inside her without a second thought. For the moment he wanted to bask in the feeling. The after glow of sex was only highlighted by the feeling on her nuzzling into his neck. 
For a moment she accepted him. Someone liked him, even if he could still hear her hiccup as warm tears covered her cheeks again. He considered wiping her tears away but decided that he would rather let her hide against his chest. It was somewhere safe, where the judgements of the world that had brought her so low couldn't touch her. 
Her heart throbbed at the feeling of him holding her close, even as they shifted to lay chest to chest on the futon. His cum dripping out to dirty her thighs wouldn't deter her for enjoying the moment. Regret and shame could come later, for now she wanted to accept just a grain on the validation he gave. Even if he regretted in the morning she wanted to savor the moment. 
***
The next morning, or rather afternoon, came too soon. Her eyes hurt, presumably from all the crying she had done, and her body was simply tired. While she wasn't sober, she remembered the previous night. Perhaps with less clear detail than she'd prefer, but the feeling hadn't changed. Tension gnawed at her stomach as she felt the water pillar's warmth against her skin even before she opened her eyes. 
Giyuu woke silently, as always, but with a shadow of a smile on his face. Not that anyone could see it, not even his bedmate. Still waking up with her in his arms was a pleasant feeling. She hadn't run away from him, hadn't pushed him away again. She had accepted him, at least for the time being. 
The futon wasn't made for two people so it was to be expected they were pressed flush together. Yet neither felt uncomfortable. His back blocked the light faulting through the shoji, sparing her eyes the brunt of the light.
She had assumed the night after a half tipsy hook up would be more awkward, but the moment his fingers traced her spine she found herself melting into him and the blankets. The bitter feeling inside hadn't disappeared, but the harsh things she believed to be fact that haunted her seemed to be farther away more than ever. 
Timidly she nuzzled against him, testing the waters of his affectionate gestures. Warm hands pressed against her back, pulling her into him. Her arms circled him tentatively, only applying the lightest of pressure before returning his hold on her. 
His heart throbbed, feeling as if it were in his throat. While he found actions easier than words things became more confusing the more awake he became. Holding her out of some sleepy instinct seemed right, but now he was awake and aware of what he was doing. However she seemed to like it, even reciprocating of her own free will. It was a much better turn of events than her crying about being unlovable or something of the sort. 
"Good morning, Giyuu." He looked down to find her peeking up at him, seemingly just as unsure of herself as he felt. Yet he didn't miss the hopeful glimmer in her eyes, the way she subconsciously held on to him. She really didn't want him to leave, did she? "How are you feeling?" 
"Morning. I'm fine." More than fine, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself. Unconsciously his hand rose to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. He struggled to hold a conversation, but he'd try for her. "You?" 
"I'm great. Tired though, still." With a heaving breath she buried her face against his neck as he had done to her the night before. 
"One thing." Her eyes blinked in surprise, unused to him sparking more conversation. Anxiety rolled in her stomach again worrying about all the possibilities he could bring up. Was he going to ask her to let go so he could leave? Not tell anyone? Was he ashamed of sleeping with her? Yet when he spoke he sounded as if his word was final, nothing to be debated. 
"Don't talk about yourself like that anymore."
***
Months passed without incident, the pair of water breath users growing closer by the day until either were inseparable between missions. While Giyuu was never a fan of public displays of affection, the rest of the estate could see the change in him. 
"Is something different?" Murata whispered to Tanjirou, who was sneaking a glance at the water pillar with him. 
"Absolutely. I can't tell what, but I can smell the happiness on him." The younger slayer tapped his nose before the elder took a hold of the top of his head and twisted it back to focus his sights on the engawa. 
The once sad slayer, one who had given up on her heart, sat next to Giyuu with a grin that could blind the room. Even the pillar himself couldn't help but return the sentiment with a shy smile of his own. As she took his hand his cheeks flushed a pink tone, as if that had been the most indecent thing they had done thus far. 
"Good morning, Giyuu." Lips pressed to his blushing cheek, same as she had done every day since they agreed to be together shortly after their drunken, steamy night. His cheeks plumped with the happy smile before returning to a simple content expression. 
"Good morning, dear." He couldn't deny it was odd at first, but receiving her affections had become the highlight of his day. Even if he was too shy to return them all in the public eye, he held her hand more firmly as a silent promise to grace her with the love she gave him later. 
I'm the distance the lower ranking slayers looked on in surprise. Murata, who had a notion of what happened, soon wiped his face of shock to replace it with comical tears of joy. 
"She did it! Tanjirou, she did it!" Murata shook Tanjirou's shoulders in excitement, not mindful about being caught in the moment. "She finally got him to break his shell. Look at them! Oh my-"
Murata's mindless blubbering went on and on, while Tanjirou sniffed the air. Something was different, a familiar scent but he couldn't quite place it. Wait, was she-? 
"Giyuu, I actually needed to talk to you." Tension rose in him as his lover said that, but her demeanor was not the same style of tense. Rather she seemed a bit anxious but not angry or upset. His hands held both of hers, as if there were a silent plea to not leave. The shy upward curve of her lips soothed him. 
"I don't really know how to say it more eloquently, but…" Her hand took his, pressing it to her stomach. "We're going to be parents."
Below his palm he could feel the fabric of her yukata and the skin below. It was firmer than he remembered, likely from their child growing within. 
"You're really…? It's mine…?" His eyes were wide, jaw slack as he pressed both hands around her stomach, even if it hadn't grown much yet. Perhaps that's how he hadn't noticed before. 
"Of course, I haven't been sleeping with anyone but you." She laughed to herself as he all but slid off the engawa to sit on the ground and become level with the child growing within her. Idly her hands traced through his hair as his eyes bore into her form. 
"I'm going to be a father." The whisper was almost silent, meant for her ears only. 
"You'll do wonderful, sweetheart." Her pet name for him made his cheeks turn bright red. Immediately he ducked to hide his face against her stomach. Her arms circled him and held him close, lightly scratching at the hairs along the nape of his neck. 
After a moment he glanced up at her. His heart swelled, bubbling in his chest in a way he couldn't describe. Never before had he felt so strongly, so intensely. Rough hands reached for her own again, intertwining their fingers as they did so often before. 
"I love you." The words poured from his mouth before realizing it. "Marry me."
Bonus:
"That scent, she's pregnant." If there was anyone that could recognize the scent of a pregnant woman, it was Tanjirou. After all he had spent most of his childhood with his mother pregnant. 
"Tanjirou! We're going to be uncles!" Murata began to sob on Tanjirou, happy tears running down his face like a waterfall. "Oh my God, we're going to have a baby at the estate!"
Tanjirou laughed to himself as he watched the soon to be parents in the distance. Other than the scent of pregnancy he could smell their happiness. A couple of people, so defeated by the world, could find happiness together. 
If that wasn't poetic, he didn't know what was. 
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I get it, Anon, I get it. All of the Pillars are alive. But, I'll be lying if I said I'm not mad at Muzan, but he's hot. And Muzan you is still a dick.
HEEE HEEE *MJ voices*
Overall, this is really fun to write!
Kibutsuji Muzan x Friendly!Reader (Domestic Taisho EraAU)
Let's say. Muzan didn't really care about the Pillars. He actually sickened by "Killing Muzan by Ubuyashiki: A Whole Plan" scenarios, but keep searching for Blue Spider Lily.
He didn't order his Upper and Lower Moons to kill the Pillars. Whatever, they could slay his minions, yadda yadda but he will not lay up his hand on the Pillars nor the Ubuyashikis.
The reason was simple.
You.
"Muzan, it's me!" Your cheerful voice was heard from the front door, he stopped everything he do and quickly rushed to you
"Good morning, (y/n)."
"Morning, Muzan!" You put your shoes on the shoe rack. "I will make breakfast, like always! What do you want, Muzan?"
"Everything you cook will be fine by me."
"Okay!"
He actually didn't need to eat that, but seeing you with your Demon Slayer uniform covered with apron every morning was really pleasant. Also your food is somehow great on his taste bud.
"Oh, thank you for the antidote! Shinobu-chan said that she wanted to know you, but since you said to not tell anyone, I came up with a reason!" You put rice on his bowl and gave it to him.
"And what kind of reason you give to that Shinobu?" He took that bowl and started to eat. Who the fuck is Shinobu, he thought.
"I said that I picked it somewhere on the ground!"
"That's the stupidest reason you could come out with. And she believed that?"
"I don't know, she just sighed and continued her works." Muzan chuckled. He usually stared at you eating, almost forgot his own food.
He remembered the first time he met you. He was hiding after he lose on his fight with Tanjirou and the Pillars at Ubiyashiki residence.
Muzan recognized you as one of the new Pillars and about to change his appearance but he was caught by you. He really thought he will be killed
But instead, you said, "Are you lost? Can I help you? You look pale."
Instead killing you on the spot for saying him 'pale, he's playing along with the role, told you that his name is Toshikuni Muzan and he's a doctor who had special disease that couldn't stand under the sun.
When he knew that you are new Pillar, he thought about taking advantage from you to gather information about Demon Slayers. He thought about turning you into demon, or abducting you from there.
But none of it was done.
Now, the whole plan is a mess. His intelligence and tactical thoughts are useless. He was simply enthralled by your own charm. He could read your mind, clearer than the sky. He never sense any animosity thorough your head. It's just cloud of full happiness and full of kind thought.
He fell, really hard, for you.
And you didn't realize because thanks to you, the demon races including Upper and Lower Moons were about to extinct because he didn't create them anymore. He simply ordered his only trusted demon and Upper Moons now, Kokushibou and Akaza, to searched Blue Spider Lily. The rest could fuck off.
And now, you became his 'personal assistant' including his lover.
After cleaning the plates, you headed out to headquarters to give daily reports.
"Where's my daily kiss?"
"Hm, what kiss?" You stood in front of the shoe rack, looking confused.
"Here." He pointed his cheek.
"But aren't that supposed to do by married couple?" You tilted your head.
"Aren't we going to be a married couple soon?"
"We are going to be?" You became more confused, it made Muzan infuriated but he hid it well. "Just once won't hurt, I guess."
You tip-toed and hold his shoulder, did a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Have a good day."
"Bye, see you on night!"
You didn't live with him because you still have sick dad and little sister at your home. He has offered you to stay at his house, along with your family but you refused since you didn't want to disturb his research.
When you don't have something to do on the headquarters or currently not training your students, you visited him again in the afternoon.
You usually asked him what he wanted to do, helping him or sometimes just sitting on his lab and reading some journals he made.
"How is your father? Did the medicine I made worked?" He asked while shaking his test tube slowly.
"Yes!" You jumped from your seat and ran towards his desk. "He felt so much better! Thanks to you, Muzan! I probably never find a kind doctor like you!"
"Well, that compliment seems super honest to me."
"Of course, I'm honest! Right! How should I pay you back?"
"Date with me, tonight."
"Whaaat?? Aren't we always dating at night? Well, except the day when I have mission."
"That's fine."
"If you insist, we'll go!"
He smiled again. You always succeeded on attempt to make him pleased, more than anyone else. It's just a simpel thing though, but he appreciated it.
After eat lunch, you took a seat on his sofa, doze off and take a nap there. Muzan joined you, sometimes he slept on your thighs, sometimes you slept on his shoulder when he reading his book.
"Muzan-sama, I came to-"
"Ssh." Muzan put his finger in front of his lips when he saw Akaza from the window.
"Ah." Akaza lowered his voice when he peeked up on Muzan's shoulder. "Miss (y/n) is here, I see. Excuse me."
He didn't want anyone to disturb your nap. Not after he saw your eye bags, plus scars here and there.
Well, should I ordered my remained demons to escape or don't attack her, he thought. He looked at you again. Wow, what an idiot expression.
"Mu... Zan... How about... Scaly... Skin..."
He wiped your drool, and smiled with the same idiot expression with you.
It really hits different when people were in love, indeed.
When night comes, your 'date' with him is started.
You will hold his hand and pulled him around on the way. The reason, again, is simple.
"I'm not really familiar around this city."
"Huh? Even though you live near here? No worries! I'll be your guide!" You showed him smug smile, and grabbed his hand.
If Douma was around, he probably laughed at you because he knew that Muzan could remember roads and places in the blink of eye.
But, no, he won't tell you the truth.
When you walked around, you usually bumped on your fellow Pillars.
"Tanjirou!!"
"(y/n)! How are you doing?" Tanjirou approached you with bright smile.
"I'm great!"
"Did you just go alone? I just got news from Kasugaigarasu about this place. There are demons, it's dangerous to walk around alone in this city."
"Huh, but I walked with Mu- I mean, Toshikuni-san, my- eh? Where did he go."
"Hm?"
"It- It's my acquaintance." You looked around like a chick lose its mother.
"I see. Anyway, please be careful."
"I will! Thank you, Tanjirou!"
After Tanjirou waved his hand, you looked for him. "Muzan! Muzan, where are you- whoa!" You almost slipped and someone caught your back in time.
"Careful there, lady."
"Muzan! Where have you been? I just meet one of the strongest Pillar, I wanted to introduce you to him."
"I didn't want to meddle with Pillars except you."
"Why is that?"
"By the way-" He put a red hairpin on your hair. You tapped your head, feeling something. "Perfect."
"Muuuu, you always bought me things when we're dating! The only things I ever gave to you were handmade omamori and knitted scarf. It's so unfair!" You light-hitting his chest, he just laughed while playfully fend your hand.
"That's the essential of dating." He patted your hair. "Let's go."
You're still grumpy but soon forget about that. Both of you continued your walk, from the square to a little bit quiet place.
"Oh, hi, grandpa!! How is your udon selling today?"
"Auntie, let me help you!"
"Girl, you look cute on that dress!"
Muzan rubbed his forehead. Are you really not knowing the concept of 'Minding your own business'?
"You're really friendly."
"These are the people who helped me!"
"Just a little help."
"It means a lot for me!"
"Hah, read the situations will you." He mumbled. He didn't really like her being so friendly towards other. It really pissed him off.
"Oh? Oh? Muzan, are you jealous?" You elbowed his ribs.
"Yes, so kiss me." He moved his face towards you. You hold his face down.
"Why is everything had to be resolve by kiss?! Muzan you-"
You suddenly stopped. The sense of demons lingered around your body.
"Muzan, back off." You unsheathed your hidden sword. "The demons are here. Tanjirou was right about the rumour."
You didn't waste your time. Not wanting the demons attacking first, you went to the direction where the demons were ready to kill you.
He just stood there while crossing his arms, smile proudly of his little baby slashing down numerous demons in no time.
Oh, what a poor demons, they probably wanted to report something to Muzan. But nah, he will just ask Akaza what happened
"Done! I'll give the reports thorough my crows later."
"What a reckless move." He wiped the blood on your cheek. "I see you're not hurt anywhere. Thank you for protecting me."
"Of course!"
"Let us continue our walk."
It's just both of you now, heading back to home.
"You see, Muzan. I might kill demon and all but..." You looked down and smiled vaguely. "I wonder what kind of life they had before they become demon. Is she a daughter? Future bride? A samurai? I don't know. But I always pray they will get a good life in the next reincarnation after I ended their life as a demon."
"Really? How thoughtful of you." He stopped and stood in front of his house.
"Yeah. So-" You looked at his eyes, grabbing his hand and clasped it gently. "I hope you could heal, I hope you could see the sun, feeling the warm dissipate into your body on our next life. I hope we could meet on our next life."
Again, he read your mind. Nothing. just pure thought about him being a complete healthy... Human. It's weird because he saw the human value inside you.
He didn't just fell for you, he was demolished by you to the ground.
Your sister sometimes told you to stay him at night because he seems lonely.
"Nee-chan, I will take care of father."
"But-"
"I'm a Demon Slayer too, count on me!"
"Well..."
"Toshikuni-san looks lonely in that big house, as his lover shouldn't you accompany him?"
Since there's no problem with it, sometimes you went to his house an sleep with him. When you do, he's really happy and always promised he didn't do anything weird towards you without your consent.
His bed was so big, unlike the futon on your house. After change into your bed robe, you likes to roll around without worry.
"You really like my bed?"
"Uh-hum." You put your cheek on his pillows. "It smelled like you."
"That's why I told you to move here." He positioned himself besides you. He tugged you into the blanket, kissed you on the forehead and brought you closer to his chest. He caressed your back until you fell asleep.
"Good night, Muzan."
"Good night, (y/n). Sweet dreams."
He didn't need sleep, he only need you to stay by his side.
Oh how he wish he went back to human again.
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dudeandduchess · 4 years
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Giyuu x F!S/O: A Nightmare Come to Life (Angst, NSFW Scenario)
Summary: A one-sided love that turns even more tragic after a night spent together. Note: @biznichwrites and I are trying out an alternate reality collab fic, and this is the result. We have the same first half (which she wrote), and we divert into different endings. In Biz’s words, think of it as Yin and Yang. You can read Biz’s fluff-filled piece here. Word Count: 9,324
***
Warnings: Smut, Angst, Suicide, Depictions of Blood, Character Deaths, Love Triangles, Talks of the Afterlife
She had filled her head with pretty lies, thoughts of soft, fluffy things that tickled her stomach like butterflies. The sight of one of the few other water breath users - the pillar, in fact - brought a smile to her face. He was perfect for the role - eyes as blue as the ocean, steady like the waves, strong like a deep current, carving his own path like a river, yet calm like the water's surface at night.
What started as infatuation became a crush, leaving her whole world centered around him. Inside she knew she wouldn't grab his attention, even if she was one of a handful of slayers at the water estate. Their rarity made them all busy on missions, there wasn't much time to see each other in passing, so she treasured every moment spent in Giyuu's presence.
Despite their schedules, she tried to do more for him. The maintenance he had performed almost single handedly was spread among the both of them. Mending his uniforms when they were damaged, even his beloved haori once. Salmon was always stocked once she figured out it was his favorite, even going as far as to cook it just as he liked. That was a mistake on her part - his glowing smile pulled her in deeper.
Still she felt her heart ache over the months. No matter what she did he never spoke a word to her, not that he really spoke to anyone else. Had she done something to make him hate her?
The day she had given up on his heart came shortly after. It wasn't often she needed help or saving, but a lower moon was a bit beyond her hope to slay. She had kept neck and neck with it for some time, praying that a pillar would arrive to slay it before it ate her. Like written from a bad romance novel, her Pillar came just as she felt weak after hours of battling, his blade cutting through the neck of the lower moon with ease.
Her knight in shining armor, so to speak. He came to save her, specifically him. Her heart fluttered in joy, tears gathering in her eyes. Maybe he would be impressed that she managed to last so long, to stay alive and keep the moon busy until someone stronger arrived. Her breath hitched as she heard him inhale, as if to speak.
"He wasn't much trouble, you should have been able to slay him. If you're weak you should know not to challenge a moon." He hadn't spared a glance her way, simply flicking his sword to clear it of blood before sheathing it. Her heart broke as he walked on, leaving her to watch the mismatched haori on his back as the distance between them grew.
"Giyuu, you should try to get close to others! I know it's scary but there's plenty of people out there that are nicer than the way Shinobu makes it seem." Tanjirou smiled at the elder water slayer, urging Giyuu to connect to others the way they had, at the very least.
"I'm not sure about that. People don't like me." Giyuu sat with his legs pulled up by the bank of the river they stopped at.
"All you can do is try! Didn't you want to become friends with Sanemi?" Tanjirou wasn't going to let Giyuu escape this time, even if it meant some friendly pestering.
"Yeah, I think he likes ohagi so I was going to give him some." Giyuu stared into the distance, trying to imagine the violent man attempting to receive a gift.
"What about (Y/N)? She's been nice!" Tanjirou was hoping to point out anyone who had been kind to the pillar, at least someone who wasn't filled with malice.
"Who?" Giyuu's face went blank at the name, unable to recall who the name was attached to. "I quit remembering names of most slayers since they die so fast."
Tanjirou deflated at that, finding it sad for Giyuu to view life in such a bleak manner. It felt him grasping at straws to find the correct words to express himself as he thought of what to say next.
"You remembered me before I was a slayer! She survived a solo fight with a lower moon, I don't think she's dying any time soon, you know." Tanjirou hoped the other would understand what he was saying, at the very least.
"Oh… She didn't beat the moon, though." Giyuu, like a child that was done with the conversation, drew idly in the sand below them with a stick.
"Well we can work on the ohagi for Sanemi, how about that?"
Giyuu thought of the girl Tanjirou had mentioned. He didn't know what to make of it all - she had survived, which is what he was looking for in a friend, but she wouldn't have without help. At the same time neither would have Tanjirou. Perhaps he was being too critical, she was still alive and kicking to this day.
However he hadn't seen her much since then. Maybe she was training more? That was enough of an explanation for him. It wasn't unusual for the entire water estate to be empty with as few of the water breath users completed the final selection, much less survived long enough to rank high enough to live in the estate.
The next time he saw her, presumably after a mission as she was returning at dawn, he recognized her more than just a name. He bit his tongue, unsure what to say as he stood on the engawa staring at her tired body limping closer. The moment her eyes caught his she glanced away, turning towards another part of the estate to rest in.
He would have questioned it more, but occurrences like this weren't uncommon. People avoided him, that was normal. Yet the way she kept herself at a distance made him want to find out why she did such a thing. Why did she hide away from him?
His breath caught in his throat one morning, watching as she sat on the far end of the engawa in a simple yukata. She must be getting ready to sleep, given most slayers were nocturnal, but he thought she looked nice in the morning sun. Pretty even.
Months dragged along, her eyes never meeting his own. Yet he felt himself drawn to her. All the actions she had taken before - he hadn't forgotten them, but he hadn't fully appreciated them at the time either. She had done something for him without being asked with nothing in return. Someone that selfless couldn't be a bad person. He still felt a bit bitter with himself for being so critical with her, the same he felt with Tanjirou. Neither deserved that.
It wasn't until Murata and a few others had saved up a large sum of money to buy enough alcohol to drown all the demon slayers, that he had a chance to interact with her. The whole time he was tense, almost awkwardly staring at her the whole time.
"Earth to Giyuu, you there?" Really, Murata was the only one that talked to the pillar so freely, with the exception of Tanjirou. Having kept the pillar alive at one point gave him a bit of the right, so no one spoke of it.
"Hm?" Giyuu's head turned back to Murata, clearly not aware of anything he had just said.
"I was seeing if you were going to drink with us. We're celebrating a year of not losing any water breath users. I figured of anyone you'd want to join." Murata handed him a bottle, not really waiting for a response. Was it responsible for a pillar to drink? Not at all. Had they organized this with Kagaya in mind? Of course, they had consulted with him to make sure they could celebrate freely.
Giyuu stared at the bottle then back to Murata, eyes flickering between the two. "I've never drank before…"
"Now is a good time to start!" Murata laughed with a pat to the pillar shoulder before disappearing into a small bunch of slayers.
Giyuu had drank nearly half the bottle in the course of a few hours, but he didn't find himself relaxed. Rather he found himself in a flurry of emotions - sad remembering everyone he's lost, angry with himself for allowing his life to be ruined by both demons and his own mismanagement of his emotions, but most surprising of all he found himself jealous.
The only female slayer of the bunch was flirted with endlessly. Most of the less than classy lines were met by laughter by the slayers. He knew they were treating it as a joke, even when she pretended to be the man hitting on Murata pretending to be a woman, but he didn't like it. He rested knowing that it was all in fun, though.
His drunken eyes met hers, making her already flushed cheeks even more red than previously before she glanced away. He was happy she was mindful to wear hakama, least the drunk young men around them get any ideas.
"Murataaaaa, when are you gonna get a wife? You keep talking about settling down but you're doing a shit job at it." Her laughter was kind enough, even if she was poking fun.
"(Y/N)! You know I-I-I---! I'm trying! It's just difficult!" Murata floundered under the playful scrutiny before returning a rebuttal, "So when are you getting married (Y/N)?"
"You know I'm dying alone, don't ask dumb questions." She laughed, but the laughter joining her was awkward, quiet and confused. Technically she could pick any slayer and they'd say yes - just for a lack of women around them, especially ones that understood the nature of their jobs. A moment passed but no further comments or banter had been added to the conversation after her bleak comment. Her face heated realizing she had made a fool of herself, not that Murata was much better as he fumbled moving the conversation forward.
Giyuu watched as she tilted up the porcelain of her heated sake, taking in how her throat contracted as she gulped. Was it proper for her to drink like that? No. But it technically wasn't traditional for women to wield swords and hunt demons, so it wasn't like social protocol meant much to her anyway.
Almost silently she slipped away, padding over to her room at the far end of the estate. His eyes followed her movements, taking in the dejected way she looked. Was she broken-hearted? He didn't understand why, she was pretty in her own way, stronger than most gave her credit for, smart enough to stay alive. Maybe he was more fond of her than he let on.
After some time the men grew rowdy, playing games and raising their voices. Murata seemed to stop drinking after a certain point, clearly aware of his limits.
"Murata?" Said slayer turned his attention to Giyuu, almost surprised that he spoke. "Is there something wrong with (Y/N)? She left a bit ago."
"Oh… I made a mistake and brought up something I shouldn't have, she's probably just having some time to herself." Murata prayed the Pillar didn't press for more info, being one of the few she admitted the situation to. He was far too drunk to stop himself from slipping up.
"Is she sad?" The lower ranked slayer blinked at the question, taken aback at how simple it was.
"Yeah, she just has her ways of dealing with it - wait! Where are you going?" Giyuu stood, moving toward the woman's room without another word. Murata prayed it didn't make things worse.
The pillar stood outside her door, listening as her crying was muffled into hitched breaths and harsh inhales to quiet herself. He wasn't sure what he was doing with the alcohol in his system, but he slowly pushed the shoji open and closed it quietly behind him.
"Is there something wrong?" He was trying to be nice but the jump of surprise from her was clearly not the reaction he was searching for. Her hand rested above her heart in surprise before gripping the cloth in anguish.
"I'm fine. You can go back to the others." Her head tilted away, not meeting his eyes.
"I'm sure Murata didn't mean to upset you. Did something happen? Did you lose your fiancé?" It was the only explanation he could rationalize why she wouldn't take a spouse when she had her choice of men flirting with her earlier.
"I said I'm fine. Leave me alone." She flopped back down on her futon, facing away from him. He wished she didn't look so pretty or the light of the moon didn't accentuate the curves of her waist and hips. Despite her words he never left, she knew at the lack of sound her shoji made when open and shut.
Rather he shuffled closer, nowhere near as elegant as he usually moved. Still he slid his fingers into her hair, finding himself rationalizing the feel of her hair with the need to soothe her.
"I'm sure you could find a husband in the slayers if you're worried about that." He didn't like it, especially the thought of not being able to freely look at her and the risk of never being able to touch her again.
"I said my plan was to die alone, it's not that complicated."
"Why?"
"Men don't want a woman like me." Her words croaked from her throat and he could help but sink into the futon and pull her back to his chest. His nose was pressed to the back of her hair and he could bask in her scent.
"That's not true." The more of her he got, the greedier he became. He wanted to remind her that the other water breath users would marry her, but she clearly wasn't interested.
"You don't know that." He felt her back trembling as she held back her distress and he hugged her closer. "I'm covered in scars, I can barely fight and I'm a pitiful slayer, I don't have anything to my name but what I wear, I'm not pretty and dainty like other girls-"
Her hands covered her mouth. She was complaining to the very person that filled her with insecurities. Deep inside she wanted to hate him, but she couldn't. It didn't mean she wasn't bitter. Her love for him had soured, painting her into a corner of self-depreciation. She knew this wasn't him, this was some drunken version of the man likely looking to have a piece of her.
For what it was worth, she would let him. At least it would be the final chapter to the broken heart saga of her life.
"None of that is true."
"I don't need lies to make me feel better."
He was growing a bit frustrated. His hand gripped her waist, both keeping her still and holding her to him. He was painfully aware he could slide his hands lower to grip the curve of her hips or slide his hands upward to cup her breasts.
"You're pretty. A good slayer. You're good as you are." He couldn't think of anything more grand to say, not that he was eloquent with words anyway. He prayed she understood, but the pause in her response made fear eat at his chest. Had he said the wrong thing?
"...Did you want to sleep with me?" That was the only conclusion she could think of. He was drunk and needed a body that was willing. If he was into women she was the closest one, and considering she was the only one in the estate he had to act fast.
"Sleep with you?" His words were quiet, as if he was scared to say them loud enough.
"As in sex. Did you want to have sex with me?" She was only so bold because she was facing away from him. The alcohol and bitter feeling in her chest brought up the question, but she could never work up the nerve to ask if she was looking directly at him.
He buried his face against her neck weighing the options. She was drunk, but so was he. There was no way either should do this. At the same time he doubted the option would ever be available again, especially as his attraction to her grew.
"Yes…"
He hovered over her, pushing in deeply with a moan. Her eyes had shed so many tears through the night, even more when he undressed her, but he couldn't help but to find her more addicting than before.
"You're so warm, oh fuck…" His head rested against her shoulder as he found himself able to thrust into her depths. "You're so beautiful, so perfect."
He heard her crying harder, moans of pleasure breaking through her moans of agony. Long had passed the attempts to calm her tears, especially when she grew nervous when he saw her naked.
He never missed her whispers of self-depreciation, how she fought all compliments that slipped from his lips as he undressed her layer by layer. Even if she found herself disgusting he couldn't agree with her. Every scar he uncovered, every little imperfection his eyes found cemented his infatuation.
It was her, something so unique to only her. No one else could replicate every little aspect of her.
Yet he couldn't make her stop crying. Soft whispers of praise didn't just fall on def ears but only pushed her into further despair. Every kind thing he said only brought more tears.
He didn't miss how her hips canted into his, how her eyes grew hazy as pleasure set in - the way her lips trembled after he kissed her, the second of hope in her eyes before she turned her head away.
The soft hiccups between whimpers were never lost on him. They came at his every kiss and praise, every moment he touched her in a way she enjoyed. As if some part of her wanted to receive his adoration before becoming buried in negativity.
She couldn't deny it, either. Simply knowing he didn't despise her, or at least a part of her, both healed and hurt her. For a moment she had some value to him. She was someone worthy of his sole attention.
Rough hands graced her body, pushing her hair from her face before guiding down her neck to cup her breast, gently squeezing her nipples before tracing her scars down her torso. When he reached her hips one hand held firm while the other graced the area above where they were joined. He remembered in a haze that men had talked about women feeling good there. A clit? All he knew is that her legs tightened around his hips the moment his thumb grazed the tip of the bud.
Abusing such a sensitive spot to see her reactions was a bit cruel on his part, but he wanted to see her relieved of her tears. It was time she felt good - both in terms of sex and about herself. He basked in the moment he hands left her face to cling to the bedding below her.
Dipping down he kissed her lips again, taking in how she seemed to squeeze tighter at the simple piece of affection. Despite the fact she felt inferior he adored having her like this - seeing her broken, in a way no one else has seen before, and the ability to see her put back together again. The vulnerability neither showed the world, only shared with the other.
He shifted his hips, thrusting deeper than before. She clenched around him in ways that made him regret never considering doing this sooner. At the same time, he knew their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. Their suffering was similar in a sense, they both could understand not having any value in themselves. Had he really been so blind to her all this time?
"You're so good." His head fell to her shoulder as his hips jerked into her warmth. The man felt elation when she gave in and clung to him. At first her hands were lightly touching, only loosely circling his back. Even if he wasn't sober he recognized enough of her reactions to make her react how he wanted.
Kisses were placed to her cheek and jaw as he tilted his head from her shoulder. Her breath shuttered, her nails timidly scratching his skin as her hold grew more firm.
He didn't expect her to orgasm from such simple affection but he couldn't explain why else her core felt as if it were milking his cock. Her arms and legs tightened around him, pulling him flush against her as her face buried into the curve of his neck.
It was welcoming to hear a cry of pleasure rather than anguish. The sound graced him, bringing him to climax shortly after her. Had he been sober he would have been more mindful of mindlessly cumming inside her without a second thought. For the moment he wanted to bask in the feeling. The afterglow of sex was only highlighted by the feeling on her nuzzling into his neck.
For a moment she accepted him. Someone liked him, even if he could still hear her hiccup as warm tears covered her cheeks again. He considered wiping her tears away but decided that he would rather let her hide against his chest. It was somewhere safe, where the judgements of the world that had brought her so low couldn't touch her.
Her heart throbbed at the feeling of him holding her close, even as they shifted to lay chest to chest on the futon. His cum dripping out to dirty her thighs wouldn't deter her for enjoying the moment. Regret and shame could come later, for now she wanted to accept just a grain on the validation he gave. Even if he regretted in the morning she wanted to savor the moment.
*** [Jen’s part starts here]
When morning came, Giyuu greeted it with a heavy heart and an even heavier head. Flashes of what he’d done the night before played in his mind; and with every memory that flickered in his mind’s eye, he felt his heart sink deeper and deeper into the pit that was his stomach.
It was true that he realized that he was fonder of (Y/n) than most, but he was in no way prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for someone else’s emotions. He could barely even keep himself in check, who was to say that he could help heal her broken heart?
Especially when he was the one whom had broken it in the first place.
There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to get out of that room before she woke up, but the sight of her curled up beneath the lilac blanket had him staying right where he was. The least he could do was tell it to her straight, instead of running away like a coward.
He had to tell her that what had happened between them was a mistake.
And that was how (Y/n) came to: seeing Giyuu sitting right next to her— with his clothes already on, and with his head in his hands, as if the weight of the world had been perched on his shoulders.
A small smile made its way onto her face as she sat upright— gripping the blanket tight to her naked chest, and gently laying a hand against his arm. Only, instead of welcoming her touch, the Pillar’s body tensed up.
She felt her heart sink at that, as her smile dissolved into a confused frown. Had she done something wrong? Was last night not good for him? Did he find her repulsive in the morning light? Those thoughts kept flitting around inside her head, weighing her emotions down even more than they were when her brain had been addled with so much alcohol.
Slowly, she retracted her hand away from him and moved to tuck the blanket beneath her arms— holding them up to cover her modesty, even though she knew that he’d already seen everything. There was just something about being around him at that moment that had her feeling so insecure of herself; like she’d known all along, no one would have found her appealing, least of all the Water Pillar.
Giyuu tried to reach into himself to find the right words to say, almost clinging on to the notion of spouting lies in his desperation to spare her feelings. But he couldn’t do that to her, not after he’d taken the last thing she had left to offer him, aside from his heart.
“Thank you for last night,” The young man began softly, and his words felt like a harsh slap to (Y/n)’s face. Because those words weren’t the words of love that she’d fantasized about; they were cold and flat, as if he was saying them out of politeness instead of sincerity.
She’d known that it was going to be impossible to make him fall in love with her; but it didn’t hurt any less to have him try to gently turn her down, just as he was doing at that moment. Everything in her wanted her to scream and rage, to make him do the impossible task of turning back time— if only so she could push him away.
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes, even though she tried so hard to keep herself from showing him any kind of reaction. Her chest grew even heavier with the silent expectations that she’d had for his next few words— mentally bracing herself for a spiel that was going to push her away from him for good.
“But last night… can’t happen again. It was never supposed to happen.”
Still, when he uttered the words, she couldn’t help but flinch and look down at her lap— where her hands were worrying the lilac-colored blanket between her fingertips. And, no matter how hard she tried to push back her tears, they still welled up in her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks in hot rivulets.
Words had eluded her, as all she could think about was Giyuu’s own sentence that more or less said that sleeping with her had been a mistake.
“I can’t be in a relationship with anyone right now; I won’t be good for you, nor will I be good for anyone else.”
(Y/n) pursed her lips at that, cutting off the sob that wanted to escape her lips, as his words burrowed themselves deep into her heart— cutting her deeper and deeper until she felt like there was nothing left inside her chest.
Instead of staying, however, Giyuu slowly got up from where he sat and made his way over to the door— pointedly avoiding looking at the crying woman, whom was barely holding herself together in his presence. “I’m sorry, (L/n). Please forget everything that happened last night.”
The slayer couldn’t even bring herself to look up at him, even well after he had closed the shoji quietly behind himself. Her entire body felt so helplessly broken and cold, numb down to the tips of her fingers, and easily fragile even as she moved to hug herself in an effort to hold herself together.
That was the last day she had ever talked to Giyuu, let alone even looked at him. It made for an awkward time around the Water Estate, so she had gotten in contact with the one person whom she knew she could count on to save her.
It was a desperate attempt to cling on to Sanemi, but it was all she could do when she had been backed into a corner with no other option. It was either she moved in with her childhood friend, or risked Giyuu finding out the secret that she so desperate wanted to keep from him.
She would not have acted so delicately in any other situation, but as time went on— she noticed that Giyuu had been coming back to the estate later and later; until he would be gone for days at a time with no word to anyone if he was out on a mission or on an errand.
The Pillar she had known was not like that at all, so it was a cause for suspicion.
(Y/n) had tried to avoid him as much as she could, but doing her old tasks of mending his uniform and haori, as well as washing his clothes had been hard to let go of— as everyone already had a routine that they had stuck to, and no one was willing to switch chores with her, unless she told them the real reason why she suddenly wanted to switch to doing kitchen tasks instead.
And in doing those tasks, she slowly found that his uniforms and haori were always newly mended, with the subtle signs of a feminine touch. But it wasn’t until she’d seen the embroidered heart on the sleeve of his haori that she’d arrived at the conclusion that he was seeing someone.
His words of how he couldn’t be in a relationship with anyone played in her mind, as a bitter laugh bubbled free from her lips— which was then followed by such quiet and breathless sobs that made her feel even sorrier for herself.
Because there she was, still in love with the same man whom had turned down her love and was adamant about not being in a relationship with her. Only to find out that he was seeing someone else; maybe even loved that someone.
That would explain why he was brooding less often on the rare days when he stayed in the estate, and would also explain why his overall aura seemed lighter than before.
Of course, it hurt, and she knew that she couldn’t keep turning a blind eye to it— not when his mere presence was an insult to her pain.
That was how she found herself moving in with Sanemi and telling him everything that had happened between her and Giyuu, before eventually coming clean with the fact that she was two months along with a baby— Giyuu’s baby, to be exact.
Sanemi had offered to take the child in as his own, and had even made hints of wanting to marry (Y/n)— all of which she had adamantly refused. Because she couldn’t do to anyone else what Giyuu had done to her, and that was use her.
“I can take care of you. No one would even dare to say anything if the baby doesn’t look like me, as long as I say that I’m the father,” Sanemi had insisted, cupping her face gently in his hands and wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “Please, (Y/n)… let me take care of you.”
Little did she know that Sanemi’s words weren’t being said out of a false sense of duty, rather for something completely genuine and heartfelt. He felt for her what Giyuu never did, yet Sanemi was too hesitant to put any pressure on her— as he was ready to keep her in any way he could, rather than lose her altogether.
The Wind Pillar loved her too much to do that to her, so he lived most of their life keeping his own feelings to himself. It hurt to see her pine after a man who didn’t want her in the first place, and it hurt him even more when he found out that she had been used the way she had, so enough was enough.
He had wholeheartedly accepted her to move into the Wind Estate, ushering her to just leave her things at the Water Estate— all so she wouldn’t have to bear witness to more of Giyuu’s thinly concealed happiness.
It took everything in him not to throttle the Water Pillar the last time they’d had a meeting at the Demon Slayer headquarters, because that content expression on Giyuu’s face grated so badly on his nerves— especially since he always heard (Y/n)’s soft cries at night, when she thought that everyone was already asleep.
Even being near Giyuu made Sanemi’s hackles rise, because he believed that he shouldn’t be so content with his life— not when he had left (Y/n) hurting by herself. To add insult to injury, Giyuu hadn’t even asked anyone for (Y/n)’s whereabouts— which he had initially expected to happen.
But it appeared that Sanemi had expected too much, because it seemed that the other Pillar didn’t even care at all. He didn’t even give any indication that he was worried about (Y/n) at all; and that only angered Sanemi even more.
He would be damned if he even let Giyuu get a glimpse of (Y/n) or her child ever again. So, he swore to never let the Water Pillar close enough to hurt the person he loved the most; never again.
***
All the while, Giyuu felt like he was walking on cloud nine. For once in his life, he felt content and mildly happy in the arms of his lover. However, that contentedness could only last so long, until the thoughts of that night with (Y/n) played in his mind.
Every kiss and every touch plagued him when he was weakest, and the more that he dwelled on his guilt, the more that he felt empty inside; as if the happiness he felt showed its true nature by being fleeting and temporary.
He tried to mask it at first, pretending to keep up the act that nothing was bothering him— just like how he’d felt in the first few months with his lover. The words he’d said to (Y/n) the morning after had him shaking his head to get rid of them, and it was easy to ignore at first— until it had gotten up to the point where he couldn’t even have a moment’s peace without his words coming to gnaw at his conscience.
He knew that he’d done (Y/n) so much wrong by lying to her like that— by telling her that he wasn’t suited to be with anyone when, in reality, he just wasn’t ready to open his heart up to her; at least, not at the time. It was easier to open his heart up to someone who didn’t have a clue that demons existed— someone whom he knew he wouldn’t be able to lose, if he just kept them in the dark.
He had let his own irrational fears decide for him, but what was done had already been done— and he couldn’t take anything back.
His shame and guilt were the main reasons why he never sought her out, even though he had heard that she was living with Shinazugawa at that point.
Did he feel guilty? Yes. Was it taking its toll on his newfound relationship? Definitely.
Giyuu had gotten to the point where he couldn’t even close his eyes without seeing how broken (Y/n) was when he’d left her in her room.
And it wasn’t until he’d seen (Y/n) come back to the Water Estate with Shinazugawa that things had snapped into place for him. Jealousy stirred within his chest, especially when he saw the care and gentleness that the Wind Pillar treated her with— and he found himself wishing that it was him in his place.
The way that the silver-haired Pillar was acting towards her could have been construed as how a husband would act with a wife, and Giyuu found the thought of (Y/n) being married to his comrade leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
Still, he could only look on from outside her room, as they picked out the things that she wanted to take— namely: her family’s mementos.
And no matter how hard he tried to talk to her, Sanemi made a point to cut him off and take up all of her attention; leaving him feeling so unneeded and uselessly dismissed to the side, as if he didn’t even matter.
Giyuu couldn’t even say anything as they left with nothing but a small rucksack of the things she had wanted to bring— leaving her room in pretty much the same state as she had left it in, in the first place.
He’d tried to get a hold of her after that, sending her numerous letters via crow and always getting them sent back in an untouched state. All that was left for him to do was go and visit her at the Wind Estate, but he was saving that last desperate attempt for when he really needed it most.
But, not even his lover’s company was enough to keep his mind off of (Y/n); always seeing her face in his mind whenever he closed his eyes, and silently wishing that it was him that she had been talking to and softly smiling at on that day when she returned to his Estate.
He wished that he was Shinazugawa, all so he could have her in his arms again.
So, that was how he found himself ending things with his civilian lover; feeling horrible that he hadn’t felt as much guilt when ending things with her, as opposed to how he felt when he pushed (Y/n) away.
When he’d gotten back to his estate the morning after breaking things off with his lover, he found things much more silent than usual. There was no activity in any part of the grounds, and it seemed that there were no slayers in the house; even those who should have been asleep weren’t there.
It was as if his estate had suddenly become a ghost town.
And it was only in the afternoon, as he was sipping on his tea, that he found out exactly what the cause of everyone’s absence was.
Murata staggered into the house with his arms slung over two other slayers’ shoulders. His face was all red and blotchy, while his cheeks were marred with both fresh and dried tear tracks that had Giyuu setting his tea cup down and listening in to what was happening.
“I can’t believe that she’s gone,” Murata cried through a sob, shaking his head in disbelief as the two other men carried him through the halls— stopping right by the doors that led to the engawa, and bowing as a show of respect to Giyuu.
“Gone? Who?” The Pillar asked softly, feeling a tinge of uneasiness touch his chest as he waited in nervous anticipation for his subordinates’ answers.
However, the lower ranked slayers looked between each other before one of them spoke up, “It’s (L/n), Tomioka-sama. She was found dead last night… by seppuku.”
Giyuu felt as if his entire world had stopped at hearing the news. His entire body felt cold, and his heart had all but stopped beating inside his chest. Tears pricked the backs of his eyes, as he furrowed his eyebrows in bewildered confusion— and denial.
His heart, which he had held so carefully within himself, began to crack with every shaky exhale that passed from his lips. And he tried opening his mouth to speak, only to close it when no words would come out— until his own tears spilled over and ran down his face in hot rivulets.
He hadn’t wasted anymore time after that; instantly making his way towards the Wind Estate and getting there when dusk had long since bathed the world in darkness.
Lanterns lit up the path that led to the estate, where people were trickling out of the gates in either pairs of small groups. Most of them were expressing their pity towards the husband of the deceased, which confused Giyuu immensely; not to mention the fact that it harped on his nerves, as his jealousy reared its ugly head inside him.
“I heard that she was five months along. Poor child.”
He pushed past the thinning crowd, feeling his heart begin to race even more as reality slowly began to set in.
She really was gone.
And it was only when he reached the wake that had been set up in the backyard that the tears he’d thought had long run empty began to roll down his cheeks once more.
Flowers adorned each and every vacant space of the altar that (Y/n)’s body had been laid on; all of them in a creamy white color that seamlessly mirrored the kimono she wore. But it wasn’t the ornate kimono, or the grandiose display that caught Giyuu’s attention; it was the smaller, but not less ornate, kimono that had been laid over (Y/n)’s chest— with her hands cupped over it, as if protecting it from the world.
He felt the last bit of his heart wilt away at the sight of it, because a part of him just knew… that child was his; or, it had been.
“What the fuck are you doing here? I didn’t invite you.” A familiar voice snarled behind Giyuu, making him whirl around and meet Sanemi’s angry lilac eyes. They were more bloodshot than usual, and seemed puffy— as if he had just gotten done crying.
“I have a right to be here.”
“The fuck you do. You did this to her!” Sanemi yelled angrily, shoving the other Pillar with all the strength he could muster, and knocking him down onto the ground before the altar. At that point, more tear had overflowed from his eyes, and were dripping down his face; yet he made no move to wipe them away. “I loved her. I wanted to give her the world, but all she wanted was a bastard like you!”
The Wind Pillar lunged at Giyuu at that point, unmindful of the bewildered crowd around them as he reared his fist back and landed a solid punch to Giyuu’s face.
“You’re the reason she’s gone! You don’t deserve to fucking see her again!” Before he could throw another punch, Sanemi was pulled off of Giyuu by two pairs of strong arms— and when Giyuu looked up, it was to see both Gyōmei and Rengoku looking down at him with what he could only construe as pity.
Still, as his fellow Pillars pulled Sanemi away, he could still hear the other man’s cries of how he had never deserved to even look at (Y/n) in the first place.
Giyuu looked back at where (Y/n) laid, feeling shame envelope him more and more the longer he stared at her from his place on the ground. He didn’t even make a move to stand up, because he was so ashamed of what he had done to her.
And, for once, he agreed with Sanemi: he had never really deserved to even look at (Y/n) in the first place.
Still, the longer he looked at her body, the more he felt his guilt gnawing at him. The longer that he took her in, the more that he couldn’t keep himself from thinking just how much pain she had been in when she was dying.
He couldn’t help but think that she had suffered all of that pain, just so she could be free of him. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
***
To say that Giyuu felt tired was the understatement of the century. He was so torn and beat up, and missing one arm as he waited for death to consume him. He couldn’t even feel anything as he felt the last ounces of life drain away at his fingertips.
But, in his last moments, all that filled his mind were thoughts of (Y/n) and all of his regrets— as all of them had to do with her and their unborn child.
He knew that he shouldn’t have pushed her away like that; that things could have been different had he stayed and tried to open his heart up to her. He also knew that things would have been different— that he would have been happy in his final moments— had he tried to give (Y/n) the life that she deserved.
If he had just tried to love her back, instead of taking so long to realize the real extent of his feelings for her, then maybe— just maybe— he would have been fighting even harder to stay alive.
Images of what he thought their child would have looked like flickered in his mind; each one bringing more tears to his eyes than the last. He saw her holding their child, smiling at him so warmly as she welcomed him home— a thought that would never come true, because he had been the one who’d pushed her to end her own life.
And, in her death, all those dreams of the simple life they could have had as a family plagued him— as if it were an alternate reality that was playing in his mind whenever he found enough solace to fall asleep. In his dreams she was happy— greeting him so warmly at their own home after he came home from a mission.
But the part that made his heart ache the most were the images of a baby boy— with blue eyes, much like his— who would crawl on the floor just to get to him; clinging tightly to his hakama just so he could stand up on his own two feet and demand to be carried.
“Papa, up! Yuu miss papa!” The boy would cry out, almost close to tears as he looked up at Giyuu earnestly. And, like always, it would make the Water Pillar’s heart ache— because it was another reminder of what he could have had, but had chosen to let go of.
Happiness was within his grasp, yet he’d thrown it away out of fear. He’d cast (Y/n) aside and had never tried to make amends, so it was his own fault that she was gone.
She hadn’t wanted to be a burden to Sanemi, and she hadn’t wanted to beg for scraps of his affection— so she had done what she thought was necessary to free him and the Wind Pillar of any sort of obligation to her.
He’d only found that out after Shinazugawa had— reluctantly— given him a short letter that wasn’t even meant for his eyes. They were only meant for Sanemi, but the other pillar had wordlessly given him the piece of paper during one of their Pillar meetings, and had not spoken to him since.
A tourniquet had been wrapped around his wound, yet he still felt nothing as medics raced to patch him up as best as they could. He couldn’t even lift his head up, what with the heaviness of his thoughts weighing him down.
Giyuu could only let his head loll to the side as he took in the way that the only remaining Pillar— aside from him— had been wrapped tightly in bandages. But, he’d noticed, that he kept his right hand enclosed tightly around something.
The medics had tried to get him to let go of it, after they’d thought that he was already asleep— but were met with hostile glares and snarls that warned them to stay away from whatever he had been holding.
And it was only when Sanemi had already passed out that he saw what the other man had been tightly holding on to: it was the very necklace that (Y/n) had come back for that day at his estate. He’d seen it briefly when he had been waiting for her to wake up, and there was no mistaking it— it really was (Y/n)’s.
He felt his chest tighten at the sight of it, and part of him longed to reach out and claim it for himself; but another part of him— the more rational and conscientious side— had him stay right where he was.
After all, he was the reason that she was gone in the first place. Just like he was the reason that his sister had died, and also why Sabito had died.
And as he thought more about it, the more he realized that all he brought to others were pain and suffering— and death.
So maybe, dying at that moment was a fair price to pay for all the people he’d hurt in that lifetime. He could only hope to see his sister and Sabito briefly, or maybe even (Y/n), before he accepted his fate in hell.
BONUS:
Cold, icy fear gripped (Y/n)’s heart tightly; the pressure only getting heavier and heavier on her chest as she placed a shaky hand on top of her abdomen— ignoring the warm blood that had already soaked through her yukata, and was slowly pooling on the floor where she sat.
She couldn’t even lift her head with the shame she felt weighing down on her shoulders, because she had chosen the most cowardly way to go. It wasn’t what she had been raised to believe in, but it was the only form of escape she could think of.
Still she hoped, and prayed, that Sanemi would never resort to blaming himself for her decision to end it all; and that Giyuu would find it in himself to forgive her.
At the very thought of Giyuu, more broken sobs left her chapped lips— making her muscles contract, and agitating her self-inflicted wound even further. It hurt so much that she just wanted it to be over— that she just wanted to feel her life drain out of her at a faster pace— but she knew she deserved to feel all of the hurt that she could in her last few moments.
She deserved to suffer, not because she was taking the coward’s way out, but because she was taking an innocent life along with her.
Her hands moved to cup the small baby bump on her stomach, knowing that whatever life that had been in there was already gone— or already close to being gone. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Her words repeated themselves over and over in her head— inevitably bringing her back to the moment when she had written the very same words, with shaky hands, on parchment; immortalizing them in a letter that she had addressed to Giyuu.
I loved you when I didn’t even love myself. And that was wrong of me. I’m so sorry, Giyuu.
More tears rolled down her cheeks, as her heartache doubled at the memory of writing the words down played in her mind. She could feel what was left of her soul slowly chipping away, with guilt and fear gnawing at it for having claimed to love a man that she knew would never even love her.
I’m sorry to the child that could have been; a broken mother, and a father who didn’t want it… I couldn’t do that to it. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me, Giyuu.
Please, it’s all I ask… that in another lifetime, if you ever see me again, that you would not hate me for doing what I thought was best for you and the baby.
Maybe, in another life, in an alternate reality, we could have been happy… just not in this one.
Her head was beginning to spin with the blood loss, and she knew that it wouldn’t take long before she finally met her fate— so, with one last prayer, she asked the spirits of her deceased family members to take care of her child when she crossed over, and to look after Giyuu.
All because she knew that she would never be able to do it from hell.
“I’m so sorry,” were her last words to the life that had been inside her, before she slowly succumbed to her mortality.
And, when she came to, it was to a cold and desolate place that was filled with nothing but darkness. No matter where she looked, all she could see was pitch black.
Of course, she was afraid, but all of that fear vanished when she looked down at her arms and saw a tiny child that was swathed in a white blanket. Her breath caught in her throat, as guilt bubbled up inside her— lodging itself in her throat and making her tear up as she took in more and more of its features in the dim light trained on her.
With the lightest touch she could muster, she lifted her right hand up to the baby’s cheek and traced its smooth cheek— gasping softly when it opened its eyes and presented her with irises that were much like Giyuu’s blue ones.
“Hello, you must be (Y/n).” The soft and melodic voice had the young woman jumping in surprise— tightening her grip around her baby and holding him closer to her chest, as if to protect it from the stranger. And when she looked up, she was met with the face of two women— much more beautiful than her, and with presences so comforting that it made her want to hug them and cry in their arms. “I’m Tsutako. Tomioka Tsutako.”
(Y/n)’s eyes widened at that, as she knew that Giyuu had had an older sister once upon a time; someone he had never mentioned, but had been talked about within the lower ranks of the slayers— and it was, regretufully, how she knew.
“You might not remember me, but I’m Shizu…” The other woman whispered, smiling slightly all the while.
“I… you’re Sanemi’s mother. I remember,” (Y/n) admitted quietly, trying to hold back her tears as reality sank in: she really was in the afterlife. She’d died and brought her child along with her.
She didn’t even dare to ask why they were there; she already knew the reason. Her family’s spirits had ostracized her and didn’t even bother to show themselves to take her baby to heaven with them. It was a thought that stung her deeply, but she had no choice but to shoulder it and try to pretend that it wasn’t affecting her at all.
All so she could save face.
(Y/n)’s eyes flitted from one woman’s gaze to another, knowing full well whom she was supposed to go with, and what she was supposed to do. Yet, her limbs stayed frozen— wanting to hold on to her baby for a little longer, even though she knew that they didn’t have forever to stay in limbo.
She looked down once more at hers and Giyuu’s son, inhaling deeply as she brought him up to her face and pressed a kiss to his forehead; desperately fighting off the tears that had clouded her vision, and had begun to stream down her face in hot rivulets.
It felt like her heart was breaking all over again, as soon as she’d had a momentary taste of happiness.
“Please take care of him,” (Y/n) whispered, nuzzling the tip of her nose against her baby’s cheek and memorizing how he smelled like; as it was the first and last time that she was ever going to see him. “And please always tell him how much his mama would have loved him. And that she’s sorry for not giving him a chance to live.”
Her tears had dripped onto the now-sleeping baby’s face, which she wiped off with the tips of her fingers— right before hugging him close one last time; savoring every second that ticked by, before she reluctantly stepped towards Tsutako and handed him off to her.
“Your father would have adored you.” Giyuu’s older sister gave (Y/n) a sad smile at that, fully knowing what it was like to have to say goodbye to someone she loved, and held the swathed bundle close to her heart. “Does he have a name?”
“Yuu. His name is Yuu.”
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stellar-imagines · 4 years
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SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝aggressive encouragement.❞
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[ Fandom: Kimetsu no Yaiba ] [ Characters: Hashibira Inosuke ]
「Scenario of Inosuke who comforts an insecure reader in the most aggressive ways.」
HASHIBIRA INOSUKE
Inosuke was raised by boars, everyone knows that. It was surprising to you but when you studied his mannerisms, it became obvious that his behavior was a bit weird. He possessed little understanding of normal human interaction. When you first approached him, he was aggressive and tried attacking you but was held back by Tanjirou. It was obvious that he wasn't used to kindness seeing as how odd he reacted when you and Tanjirou showed generosity. It wasn't long until he develop feelings of friendship towards you like how he warmed up to Tanjirou and Zenitsu. There weren't much female demon slayers at their level so having someone like you was like a breath of fresh air. The four of you were often sent on missions together so you all knew each other better than anyone else.
You were there to keep him in check because of how he acts during battle. He tends to charge straight ahead without putting too much thought into his strategy, often overestimating his own abilities. This often led to you or Tanijrou scolding him for rushing in without any plan. Inosuke admits out loud that he has mixed feelings towards you, not the normal kind. When he says mixed, he means a lot of feelings that he doesn't really understand. Tanjirou and Zenitsu had to step in to help the boar boy understand the feelings he has towards you. 
"Hey! Aren't you going to eat!?" Inosuke spotted you picking at your food. The plate was almost empty, only a quarter of the rice left untouched and some of the vegetable kakiage sitting on the side plates. You shook your head and pushed your tray to his side, offering him your leftovers. He seemed pretty happy with having more food to eat while you sat by, watching him finish off whatever you left.
"[First Name], you've been eating less. Are you not hungry?" Tanjirou noticed it earlier that you haven't been eating a bit less than usual. You waved it off, telling him that you're not that hungry. However, after all that training session to strengthen your body, you needed to refuel your body with food.
After a long day of training, running around and working on your body endurance, everyone was eager for some rest. On the other hand, you were still at the yard of the Butterfly Estate, swinging at your blade. You didn't do any simple training either, you were going all out, praciting your Total Concentration. Inhaling the maximum amount of oxygen within a specific breath pattern to raise their physical and mental strength to your utmost limits. After all that harsh training, he was pretty amazed that you were still practicing all on your own. Seeing you swinging at your Nichirin blade got him going to. 
Before you even realized it, he was yelling about how he can do whatever you're doing. Inosuke was already swinging at his sword wildly while laughing maniacally. It wasn't long until the two of you stopped swinging. Sweat glistened along the side of your face, a tired gleam in your eyes. He didn't understand why you were pushing yourself, you weren't that bad during training and it was obvious that you were pushing yourself. 
"Why are you training so much?" Inosuke asked, rising from his position abruptly and glancing at you. It was hard to tell what he was thinking because it was hidden by his boar mask. He seemed a bit agitated like usual which was nothing unusual to anyone.
"Don't tell me you're trying to get better!? Of course you can't be get better than me! I'm clearly the better one!" the boy boasted loudly, laughing with his hands on his hips as he gazed at you. There was something about the way he expressed himself that made you feel a bit at ease. You sat down by the engawa while Inosuke stood at the yard, looking extremely proud of himself.
You had been training your techniques a lot and you were able to use Total Concentration for 24 hours straight so you had improved vastly from when you passed the entrance exam. But it wasn't only you, everyone around you was improving at a very fast pace and you were starting to get left behind. You didn't want to admit it out loud but you were quite insecure, over a few things. However, that wasn't the only reason. After missions, you'd get injuries, some deep enough to leave scars. So it's not only that you were insecure of your abilities but also your body image.
"Well, that's not the only thing....." you said. 
“So why? Is it because that your body isn't as flexible as mine!? Right?!" Inosuke pointed at himself proudly, seemingly a bit excited to show off how flexible his body truly was. You knew he was spouting whatever same to his mind but you were shocked to hear him assume something that was close. He seemed to notice a change in your expression and instantly knew that he's right.
Zenitsu always boasted about how girls are and practically drilled into the mountain boy everything about girls. Tanjirou taught him about delicacy so he knew that girls have a few topics that they're quite sensitive with. Even so, with that information, Inosuke wasn't able to act because he has no idea what to do. He was a straightforward and honest guy, so he decided to be honest and tell you how he truly feels about you.
"But what's wrong with it?
"You're hard-working! Having scars are pretty cool, you know! That a sign of strength, you're strong! It's pretty cool!" there was a visible lack in his vocabulary but despite that, you were able to hear how honest he is. Deep inside, you have a feeling that tells you Inosuke might not understand how you feel and just say whatever he thinks. In a way, it made you feel better.
"Really? I don't think I am though." you replied.
"Hah!? You think I'm lying, don't you!? You think you're better at this game!?" Inosuke seemed a bit frustrated, much to your surprise.
"It's not like that Inosuke―"
"What's wrong with having scars!? They're cool! What's wrong with having an imperfect body!? I just don't understand! You look nice! You have a nice face! Your eyes are pretty, your skin is soft and you smell good every time you stand next to me!" he aggressively pointed at you, getting close to your face. You didn't know what to say, Inosuke was not the type to lie about his feelings and thoughts. He was being genuine. You found yourself smiling at the mountain boy who clearly had no idea how much his words affected you.
"Thank you, Inosuke." you stepped closer and pecked the side of his boar mask. He was a blushing mess and his body felt oddly light at the sight of your smiling face. Inosuke was unable to respond properly but he had the sudden urge to hold you right now.
And so he did. Tackling you to the ground and engulfing you in one of the most awkward hugs in your entire life.
Total: 1196 words Published: 23.03.2020
Thank you for requesting! *。٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و*。 Inosuke is just too cute for me uwu We hope that he’s not too out of character. Sorry to make you wait, anon. ― author Lou
Thank you for requesting! Inosuke is one of the most interesting characters to write for to be honest. Sorry to make you wait. ― author Natsuki
Requests are open! Matchups are closed!
Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.
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eldritch-elrics · 3 years
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this summer, me and my brother watched four whole shows. at long last, here is my comprehensive review of all of them!
in the order we watched them, these shows were:
avatar the last airbender (ATLA)
mob psycho 100 (MP100)
demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba (KNY)
fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (FMAB)
they were all very very good!
i’m not going to try to rank them, but, as is probably obvious by the state of my blog, my favorite was FMAB :) if i had to pick a least favorite, then, it would probably be KNY—not by any fault of its own, but just because it didn’t appeal to me quite as much as the others. still a very good show!
i will review each show by:
giving a quick plot-based pitch discussing the show’s hook or appeal
discussing one element that i believe it does better than any other show on this list—in other words, a quality that i think it stands out for
discussing one element that didn’t appeal to me or that i had issues with—a criticism
putting forth my favorite character and favorite episode or arc, just for funsies
including various other commentary. mostly positive, as, again, i did really like all of these!
(i’ve tried to make this whole thing free of specific spoilers, but if you’re planning on watching any of these shows and want to go in more-or-less blind, it might be best not to read this.)
first of all, i’d just like to discuss all four of these shows as a whole! it was definitely interesting watching one after another and noting similarities between them.
all of them have siblings in them! which is, perhaps, fitting, as i watched them with my brother
two include a pair of siblings in which one has powers and one doesn’t (at least at first), and part of the narrative involves getting better at using those powers (ATLA, MP100)
two include a narrative centered around a pair of siblings and something tragic that happens to them, resulting in the older one being traumatized and forced to train to become a soldier, and the younger one turning into something (arguably) inhuman. the protagonist’s major goal is to return his younger sibling to the way they were before (KNY, FMAB)
ATLA and FMAB are both fantasy political dramas, which is rapidly becoming a favorite genre of mine
most of these are historical, or historically inspired in some way, which is interesting!
all of these shows are really really good at character building. all the main characters are interesting and complex, and the relationships between those characters are similarly nuanced and very well written. they make you really care about both the protagonists and the side characters!
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avatar: the last airbender
pitch: as the ever-growing imperial force of the fire nation threatens the earth and water nations, a kid from the long-lost air nation turns up and it turns out he can control all four elements and he has to save the world and all that. sorry i tried to write this pitch like five times and realized that well at this point i think everyone reading this will know the plot of avatar
stands out for: avatar has possibly the best worldbuilding i have ever seen in a show—it takes the time to introduce us to so many places and aspects of its world, both explicitly and subtly. the main highlight of this is the magic system. by creating a magic system based in body movement, the process of using magic and learning to use/control it better becomes immediately obvious to the viewer. combine that with the philosophy behind each type of bending and the way that characters take bending inspiration from types different than their own, and you’ve got a system that is complex, flexible, believable, internally consistent, and just plain fun! it makes action sequences a blast. i especially liked the moments when bending was stretched to its limits in totally logical ways (metalbending, bloodbending). not to mention the way that bending is seamlessly integrated into the world of avatar! the example that comes to mind is the earthbending-powered transport system of omashu. a whole essay could be written on that topic alone!
criticism: i know this is a sentiment shared by many people, but the first season was kind of boring to me. some of the humor and the plots felt hit-or-miss. of course, it needed to take that time to establish the world, and it does a great job of doing that. it just didn’t hook me until the second season.
favorite character: i love toph she’s so much fun :) iroh is a close second! and zuko is great, too, of course
favorite arc: i loved ba sing se a ton, especially the episode when they get there and everything feels off. it felt so resonant with real life, in a very fun way. there’s a reason “there is no war in ba sing se” is a meme…
other commentary: what can i say? it’s a classic for a damn good reason. the plot is tight, and it does a great job raising tension and introducing new elements and twists. i also love the care put into the antagonists, especially azula, who has a fascinating arc.
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mob psycho 100
pitch: a middle schooler and a charismatic con artist team up to smite ghosts using extrasensory powers. thing is, only the middle schooler actually has ESP, and it happens to be really, really powerful. can he navigate the difficult world of middle school while also getting a better grip on his powers—and his bottled-up emotions?
stands out for: the way that MP100 uses animation is excellent. it takes a little getting used to but it’s just so fun, combining all sorts of different techniques to create an experience rich with drama and emotion. it’s playfully exaggerated and self-parodying, adding to the show’s fantastic sense of humor as well as its truly emotional moments.
criticism: the way that ESP works makes suspension of disbelief tricky. it’s a great feat to introduce a character who is essentially all-powerful and still make them interesting (even in fight scenes), but at times (especially the second season finale) it felt like a magic system with too much breadth and too few limitations. this might just be my bias for hard magic systems talking, though.
favorite character: other than mob and reigen? probably teru. he’s loads of fun AND all the season 1 episodes he’s in slap hard
favorite episode: the one where the girl asks mob out on a date as a dare.. it’s super cute
other commentary: thank you mp100 for being the leftist propaganda we all deserve <3
in all seriousness though, this show is a blast!! it does a great job switching between silly and serious in the blink of an eye. i also really appreciate the way that it balances comically huge stakes with much smaller, more personal stories. for example, the conflict between mob and reigen in season 2 is especially well-done. in general the emotions just feel so real? characters whose emotions tie into their powers are an excellent trope, and mob is a wonderful protagonist who exemplifies this really well.
finally, on a more critical note—there are so many characters in this show! and it feels like only a handful are fleshed out? however, this may be due to the fact that it’s not an adaptation of the entire manga (which i haven’t read). there’s a lot more to go! more characters to dive into! so i probably shouldn’t try to critique it in the same way as a finished work.
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demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba
pitch: demons kill a boy’s family and turn his sister into a demon, so he decides to try and figure out a way to turn his sister back into a human. what follows is a demon-killing adventure that’s in equal parts harrowing, poignant, and hilarious.
stands out for: there’s not much i can say about this other than “please just take a look” but the art and design is phenomenal. it does a much better job of integrating 2D and 3D than a lot of other animated series, and overall it is just so so pretty! all the character designs are complex, memorable, and fit the characters perfectly. the color choices are interesting and satisfying. i also really like the sound design? not often that i notice that in a show. i’ve watched so many KNY amvs by now lol it’s just amazing animation
criticism: the narration style leans too heavily towards tell instead of show. this is mostly an issue with the first few episodes, but i got super annoyed by how much the show would narrate every single one of tanjirou’s thoughts instead of letting us infer those thoughts through his actions and reactions—the latter, i think, would have been more emotionally impactful. sometimes silence speaks louder than words! tanjirou was also not the world’s most compelling protagonist in my opinion, though i think that mostly has to do with my own tastes.
favorite character: *holds up zenitsu* I Just Think He’s Neat. i actually kind of lost it when he first used his powers, like… damn i love characters with weird relationships with their magic like that. i also think the narrative about how having a solid foundation is sometimes more important than knowing a ton of different moves was really powerful. and he’s just funny! pathetic boy i love him
favorite arc: really just the whole spider arc. fucked up man… i love it. they pulled off that last twist so well, and all the family stuff was so weird and complex and emotional…
other commentary: it’s just a really solid and very well-written show! the team of tanjirou, zenitsu, and inosuke is so much fun… bro bonding :) i also quite like the horror elements; it’s fucked up but in a good way. finally, this is very specific, but the demon that can alter buildings/rooms through drumbeats? appealed to me very much. it’s a cool and unique power!
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fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood
pitch: two kids do some fucked up alchemy and end up getting parts of their body stolen by god. now they’re on a quest to get their bodies back, but find themselves wrapped up in crazy government conspiracies and alchemy more powerful than they ever could’ve imagined…
stands out for: plot. by this i mean less overall concept (though the overall concept is pretty great too), and more that the pacing and progression of the story is extraordinarily tight. for the most part (the first few episodes are a little weak but i’ll let it slide), it does an excellent job establishing its premise and building on it logically, adding layers and layers that extend naturally from what we already know. everything has a reason for happening; everything is revealed in good time and all the twists are super satisfying. there’s great balance between exciting moments and quiet moments. it’s just very good at being a story!
(fun fact: i’m reading the manga right now and so far it’s even better paced than the show, which is super interesting! it’s especially good at how it lays out pieces of the backstory and then fills everything in later in a really satisfying way.)
criticism: this is incredibly specific but it’s what comes to mind as something that bothered me: winry’s character arc was really disappointing. for most of the series she’s a pretty strong character, but in the end it feels like she gets pushed aside, defined only by her relationship with ed. what happened to her wanting to take action more? that was a specific desire she expressed—wanting to be less passive! since she’s such an important character, i wish she could have had more presence in the last season other than as a sounding board for the elric bros’ emotions. (even though her one scene in the last episode was really good and emotional…)
favorite character: other than the elric bros, absolutely ling. he fits into multiple of my favorite character archetypes (fun, silly, bastard, gets possessed…) and he’s just overall a delight. plus his relationship with greed is really really good. bro bonding at its peak!! (my other favorite is pride. i will not say why because spoilers. but if you know me.. you know)
favorite episode: this is really really hard to choose but i’m gonna go with envy’s death because. holy shit.
other commentary: i’m a really big fan of the complex and nuanced way in which FMAB breaks down militaristic, imperial regimes from the inside. many of the characters have done awful things, and the story forces them to grapple with that and accept that all they can do now is be better in the future. the moral complexity is just really good! characters with flaws—we love to see it!
finally, parts of this story seem so so catered to Me Specifically that it’s no wonder i got so into it. like just the entire premise? the way that so much of the conflict is built out of identity crisis and exploring the nature of consciousness and human vs inhuman? beautiful. i love ed and al so much
*
if you made it all the way to the end, thank you so much for reading!! glad to have finally gotten this done (3 months late…) and put all my thoughts down. i hope this inspires someone to try watching one of the shows i discussed!
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heyiwrotesomethings · 3 years
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Apologies
ShinoMitsu Week 2021 Day One: (Music, Seasons, Apologies) Honestly kind of seasons too a little bit.
A/N: WARNING: MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD. Writings without spoilers will begin on day four, come back then! This is probably the saddest thing I’ve ever written. Of course being me though, there is some comfort along with the hurt and a hopeful ending that will be pursued throughout the week. Hope you guys like it! Word Count: 4,280
Seriously, some major manga spoilers. Stop reading if you care! I’d hate to ruin someone’s day.
Shinobu rubbed her eyes against the harsh flash of light, blinking as the light faded into a much more manageable brightness reminiscent to that of a fair weathered day. She put a hand to her chest and took a deep breath, appreciating how easily the air rushed into her lungs without obstruction.
It was over, she had done it. With the help of Kanao and Inosuke, that demon would never eat another woman again. Shinobu was fine with being the bastard’s last meal since he had ended up choking on her in the end. Months of preparation had let up to this moment and she was grateful it hadn’t all been for nothing.
She had taken her time, ignoring the pull on her very soul. She wanted to make sure that the Demon Moon’s demise was certain. Now that he was gone, Shinobu found herself in a field of tall, green grass and wildflowers. Sakura trees were scattered around her in full bloom. Her demon slayer uniform had been replaced by an autumnal kimono that fit snugly over her body. The pattern was certainly a stark contrast to her surroundings, but she hardly minded.
The most prominent thoughts in Shinobu’s mind at the moment were related to why she was here, what was here? She felt like she was waiting for someone in this field. Her heart was heavy and her lungs felt tight. Rather than linger, she assumed it was some phantom pain left over from her final battle. She decided that she would walk to keep her mind off of it.
Each step seemed to make the very ground vibrate with energy that Shinobu could feel crawl up her skin in warm waves. She kept going and as she traveled, the scenery shifted around her.
She watched with parted lips as memories manifested around her, fading back behind her as she walked past, creating new ones beside her. If she stepped back, the older memories would rejuvenate and replay for her but she didn’t dwell long. She didn’t need any reminders of the life she left behind, she had squared away all of her business weeks ago while her body grew steadily more toxic. She had done what any person who knew they were going to die would do and took care to make sure she could pass on with no regrets.
Shinobu paused in front of one memory as muffled laughter caught her attention. It was a mundane memory of cooking with her pupils, joined by the Kamados and company. Something that they had done together several times. The smile that tugged at Shinobu’s lips was bittersweet. Yes, she had no regrets, but there was certainly a feeling of longing that she would have to learn to accept as a part of herself for however long she’d linger here.
Shinobu carried on as memories bad, pleasant and mundane came and went with no rhyme or reason to the order of their appearance. At some point she had allowed her mind to wander and the already muffled sounds devolved into white noise.
She wasn’t sure what she had expected from the afterlife, but it certainly wasn’t this. How long had she been here? Was she really expected to watch eighteen years worth of snippets from her own life? She had already lived it, it was short and painful but admittedly there was light in it too.
“Shinobu!”
She froze.
“Shinobu, doesn’t it look good? I can’t wait to try it, we did such a good job!”
“It does smell nice, doesn’t it?” Shinobu heard herself say.
She slowly turned towards the memory, she couldn’t stop herself even if she wanted to. Gods, she could never give up an opportunity to see that girl again, even if it was all in her mind.
There was Mitsuri in all her glory. The memory was of one of their baking adventures with some western recipe Mitsuri had learned.
Shinobu smiled wistfully, watching herself wipe flour from Mitsuri’s flushed cheeks before walking on, allowing the memory to dissipate.
Not long after the crack of a wooden sword snapped up her attention.
“Why are you making yourself weaker?”
Ah, Shinobu remembered that day all too well. Mitsuri had been neglecting herself and Obanai had asked Shinobu to check up on her. It was hard to see someone gifted with such strength try to throw it all away. She was glad she had been able to help Mitsuri grow to be more comfortable in her own skin and in a way, she helped Shinobu do the same.
Another step, another memory. This one stung a bit actually. She and Mitsuri had been walking through the estate gardens together while the taller girl shared her woes about not finding a man stronger than her to sweep her off her feet and marry her.
“You’re so pretty and mature, Shinobu. I bet you could get a husband—” Mitsuri snapped her fingers, “—like that! Have you ever thought about it, Shinobu?”
“Marriage is something I’ve never given much thought to.” Shinobu had said, focusing her attention on a small, white butterfly floating through the breeze.
“Really? No man has ever made your heart race before? Usually when I meet someone I like, I can’t help but picture what the wedding would be like.” Mitsuri gushed.
“Oh? Have you ever pictured one for us? You like me best, don’t you?” Shinobu teased.
Mitsuri froze for a beat before her skin lit up and her arms started flailing. Her words were tumbling over each other making them unintelligible. Shinobu managed a laugh, allowing the conversation to be pushed elsewhere. The far off look in her eyes seemingly going unnoticed by her companion.
Yes, Shinobu hadn’t put much thought into marriage. She had never really seen the appeal of the men her sister, and then Mitsuri, had occasionally gushed over, but the idea of finding someone you would want to spend the rest of your life with did sound nice.
“That was never an option,” Shinobu sighed to herself, “not for me. I hope you find someone who will treat you right when the fight is won, Mitsuri.”
She continued on, walking a bit faster. She hoped the end would come soon because the novelty of this little trip down memory lane had run dry long ago.
More memories manifested and dissolved only fast enough for Shinobu to see snippets. Kanae and herself moving Himejima-san’s boulder, taking in Kanao and the other girls, feeding her fish with Nezuko, training Tanjirou, Zenitsu and Inosuke, teasing Tomioka, cultivating poison with Tamayo, a moment with her mother and father, telling Kanao about her plan that would ultimately take her life.
It was exhausting. Shinobu just wanted to be done. She did not see reason to dwell on her life. She had no regrets. She had no unfinished business. She just wanted to move on already.
“Ah!”
Shinobu stumbled backwards as a fog grew before her, blocking her path. Before now, the visions had only ran parallel to her. The cloud swirled with light painted edges, glowing faintly until the memory surfaced. It couldn’t have been more than a week before and Shinobu’s throat felt dry as she watched herself choke back another dose of powdered wisteria seeds.
The petals would have been a relatively harmless alternative, but the toxic seeds promised a stronger reaction and she could gain more potency from one seed than hundreds of petals worth of tea. Shinobu had been careful with her dosing, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t feel it’s affects on her body.
The image of Shinobu coughed, swallowing water in an attempt to soothe her burning mouth. She groaned softly, sitting back in her chair and gingerly cupping a hand over her stomach. She closed her eyes only for them to snap open at the sound of knocking at her office door.
“Shinobu, are you working hard in there? Can I come in?” Mitsuri had called from the other side.
Shinobu winced as she sat up, wiping sweat from her forehead. She took a deep breath and it scratched her throat unpleasantly but nonetheless, she fixed a smile on her face and called Mitsuri in.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I saw, uh, Tamayo-san, was it? I was her and her assistant retiring for the day and I thought I’d get the chance to see you then.” Mitsuri said.
“You aren’t interrupting anything, I’m glad to see you,” Shinobu motioned for Mitsuri to make herself at home and she did so with a happy hum, sitting on top of the lab table Shinobu was sitting at. “Can I do something for you?”
“Well, there was one thing,” Mitsuri began sheepishly, lightly swinging her legs as she presented her hand to Shinobu knuckles up, “I grazed my hand during a round of Hashira training and I know I could patch it up myself, but you always do it better.”
Shinobu gingerly brought Mitsuri’s hand to her face to examine the superficial damage and nodded, “I can take care of this. One moment please.”
“Take all the time you need.”
Shinobu stood, hiding her pained expression by turning her head towards the medicine cabinet she kept in her office. She walked over to it, taking an antibacterial spray and some thin bandages before turning back towards Mitsuri, watching her with those bright pastel green eyes that reminded Shinobu of spring.
She stood before Mitsuri scooping up the damaged hand once more.
“This may sting a bit.” Shinobu warned quietly before spraying Mitsuri’s knuckles.
The older girl closed her eyes, the burning, prickly feeling causing her to whine. Shinobu chuckled good-naturedly bringing the hand closer to her face almost close enough to touch her lips. She blew a gentle, cooling breath of air over the knuckles.
“Does that feel better?” She asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Mitsuri blushed, looking down, “I’m sorry, that was childish of me.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Shinobu said seriously.
She finished wrapping Mitsuri’s hand and held it between her own. Shinobu looked up, a tired smile on her face.
“All done.”
“Shinobu, you look so tired. Are you well?” Mitsuri asked, looking concerned.
“I’m fine. The research I’m doing with Tamayo-san is just very involved and intricate.”
“I wish there was something I could do to help,” Mitsuri frowned.
“It refreshes me just to see you.” Shinobu had said without thinking. “Your vibrance warms me like the sun.”
“Really?” Mitsuri squeaked, her hands cupping her own cheeks as they bloomed pink.
Shinobu felt her own skin prickle as blood buzzed through her ears. She held firm though, even if she hadn’t planned to say something so... poetic, she did mean it. In fact, she had more she’d like to say. Ever since she had began her doses, she had become more and more aware of her mortality. The final fight was fast approaching.
“Really.” She replied simply.
“Aw, Shinobu!” Mitsuri launched herself into Shinobu’s arms, making Shinobu have to take several quick steps backwards to keep them both upright. “You’re making my heart go, ‘bwahh woo!’”
“Is that a good thing?” Shinobu giggled.
“Very!” Mitsuri nodded vigorously.
Mitsuri held Shinobu for a few minutes, humming and swaying. She really was like the sun. Shinobu could fall asleep standing up if it was in Mitsuri’s warm embrace.
Unexpectedly, Shinobu was lifted over Mitsuri’s shoulder causing her to release a surprised gasp. The position was uncomfortable for her stomach but it hardly registered in comparison to being carried by the taller girl.
“Mitsuri, what are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed. You’re so tired you almost fell asleep just then.”Mitsuri cooed.
“I can walk...”
“Let me be your legs for a little bit. It’s me paying you back for always helping me.”
Whatever methods Shinobu tried to use to coax Mitsuri to put her down proved futile. She simply strode through the halls humming and waving at any passerby she happened to see. Shinobu was embarrassed, but couldn’t bring herself to be angry. Not when Mitsuri was so genuinely happy.
Before long, they made it to Shinobu’s room. Mitsuri put her down and helped her get ready for bed. There was a part of Shinobu that disliked the treatment. It made her feel small and weak. There was another part of her however, that was desperate to keep Mitsuri close and if the older Hashira wanted to help her pick her sleep ware and brush her hair she would take it.
Before Mitsuri left, she even went as far as to tuck Shinobu in, stopping with her face close enough to Shinobu’s that she feared the Love Pillar could find every insecurity she ever held in her eyes. Mitsuri tucked back a swatch of Shinobu’s hair.
“Shinobu... sleep well, okay?” Mitsuri said after a moment.
“I will, thank you for bringing me here.” Shinobu nodded, her eyelids already drooping.
“Whenever you need.” Mitsuri smiled.
Before Mitsuri could leave Shinobu felt compelled to speak, to share that part of herself that she had been keeping from her friend.
“Mitsuri...” Shinobu paused, her throat clenched and sweat recollected on her brow. She was suddenly frightened.
“Yes?”
“... be safe.” Shinobu said instead, her heart ached at the sweet smile Mitsuri flashed her.
“I will. See you soon Shinobu.”
Then she left and the room was bathed in darkness.
Shinobu clutched at her kimono and fell to the otherworldly grass beneath her. Shinobu didn’t have any regrets. She refused to. What was the point of looking back on things she had no power to change? She didn’t want to be here anymore and the white noise of the memories around her only seemed to grow louder and louder until she couldn’t bottle it anymore and clutched her head tightly between her hands and screamed,
“Shut up!”
The sound dissipated.
“Enough!” Shinobu breathed raggedly.
Whatever sounds remained were carried off like whispers on the wind as if spooked by the Hashira’s sharp tone. Shinobu stayed glued to the ground, her hands migrating from her ears to cover her eyes instead as she tried to reign in her emotions. Why, she wasn’t sure. There wasn’t much reason to keep her feelings under wraps anymore, but one simply doesn’t swallow down their boiling blood for years and then stop, even in death apparently.
She fell onto her back, stretching out as best she could in the kimono she was wearing. She noticed for the first time that the sky was blank, just empty, uniform white that looked cold despite its brightness. It hardly matched rich greens of the tall grasses or the colorful wildflowers, the vibrant pink blossoms that fell from the trees.
After laying back for so long, Shinobu was beginning to think that this was it. She was destined to be stuck here forever. She sighed, there could be worse places. She felt a shiver roll through her body as the air changed suddenly, but she simply rolled to her side.
“...?”
Shinobu blinked, sitting up on her elbows to peer through the tall brush curiously. She thought she had heard something, but it sounded far off whatever it was. She shook her head and laid back down. It was probably just some remnants of her memories.
“...!”
Still indistinguishable, but louder. Shinobu’s brows creased and she forced herself to stand, looking for the source in earnest now.
A ways off, she thought she could see a figure in the sakura tree grove. She rubbed at her eyes. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. No one else could possibly be here. Why would there be? Whatever it was, it seemed to turn in Shinobu’s direction and noticed her as well. Much like Shinobu, the entity didn’t seem to know what to think of her but appeared to be cautiously making its way towards her.
Shinobu decided to move forward as well to meet them halfway. She was already dead, what was the worst that could happen? As she got closer it became glaringly obvious who the figure was supposed to be. Even though she was still a ways off, Shinobu would recognize that watermelon toned hair anywhere.
Shinobu stopped moving. Trying to process what this meant. Some other way to torment her perhaps? When she had first arrived, she felt like she was waiting for someone and that feeling was slowly dwindling down the closer they got. It was a feeling that chilled Shinobu’s blood.
The figure must have noticed she had stopped moving because now they appeared to be running, running as best as they could in the flowery kimono they were sporting.
Shinobu felt an urge to run in the opposite direction but her feet stood frozen to the ground as the person got closer and closer until Shinobu could hear her yell,
“Shinobu! Oh my gods, Shinobu!”
Shinobu stared wide-eyed watching Mitsuri run up to her with tears glistening in her eyes, her cheeks wet and flushed from the excursion. Mitsuri was a beautiful vision Shinobu couldn’t take her eyes away from and then, Mitsuri tripped and fell to the ground with an audible, ‘oomph!’, disappearing into the tall grass.
Slowly, Shinobu’s brain started working again and her feet moved on their own accord until she was kneeling beside the other girl. Her hands hovered just above her, afraid to touch.
Mitsuri had no qualms about it however, and made quick work sitting up on her knees to embrace Shinobu tightly while tears continued to smear down her cheeks.
Slowly, Shinobu hugged back. She couldn’t help herself. Even if this was just some hallucination, she felt compelled to comfort her.
“Shinobu, I was so sad! I heard a crow report your death while I was fighting. I thought I’d never see you again and I felt really terrible.” Mitsuri cried, clutching tightly to Shinobu’s kimono. Afraid that if she let go, the younger girl would disappear.
What happened? What was this? Shinobu couldn’t understand. She shook her head, Mitsuri couldn’t truly be here. She was going to live on because she was strong. She was going to find love and get married like she always wanted. She wasn’t supposed to be here with her.
“You weren’t supposed to die.” Shinobu said aloud, her voice wavered slightly.
“And you were?” Mitsuri sniffled, another tear rolling over her cheek. “What happened Shinobu?”
“I... I faced the demon who killed my sister. He devoured me, but at a price. Kanao and Inosuke finished him off.”
“At a price, what do you mean Shinobu?”
Shinobu turned her head away, “I had been dosing my body with poison for months before the battle. It was the best way to assure my victory in the end.”
“You were planning that all this time. I knew something wasn’t right but I didn’t even try find out what was wrong,” Mitsuri wiped her nose with her sleeve.
“I hope you aren’t blaming yourself, I wouldn’t have told you even if you asked what I was up to. You had your own demons to fight.”
“But I wanted to be there for you! I remember how tired you looked the last time I got to see you. I thought we had more time, but then... Oyakata-sama and the explosion. I thought we had more time.” Mitsuri repeated through shaky breaths.
“Mitsuri...” Shinobu frowned. She had convinced herself years ago that she was on borrowed time, but Mitsuri had never seen it like that. Had it been cruel of her not to share her intentions?
“There was so much I wanted to do with you, so much I wanted to say that I didn’t even realize until I knew you were gone,” Mitsuri loudly sniffled again and Shinobu frowned into her shoulder, “I didn’t have time to mourn you properly, I had to keep fighting for everyone. I had to help fight Kibutsuji with everything I had so no one we lost died in vain.”
“You fought against Kibutsuji?” Shinobu asked, feeling a mixture of awe with a sting of, what, envy for making it that far? Sympathy for having to forge forward as comrades fell around her?
“I, uh, ripped his arms off actually.” Mitsuri exhaled a weak laugh at Shinobu’s expression. “It wasn’t enough, obviously, but after that it was... pretty much over for me.” Mitsuri sat back a bit, one hand over her chest while the other cupped her head. The wounds she sustained were gone, but their effects were still faintly felt.
Shinobu gently took hold of the hand Mitsuri held to her head, placing it on her lap with a comforting squeeze.
“You gave your all. You should be proud of yourself, I know I am.”
“Thank you,” Mitsuri wiped her eyes with her free hand. “We did it Shinobu, I was kind of already out of it by then, but Iguro-san told me we won, that Kibutsuji was defeated.”
“That’s... that’s really wonderful to hear. That’s honesty incredible news.” Shinobu smiled warmly whilst tears stung the corners of her eyes.
“I wish we could have seen it together, Shinobu. The world without demons.” Mitsuri kept a brave smile, but it was a watery one. She pulled her hand tentatively back up to her tear stained face, still holding Shinobu’s hand so it was cupped between her own hand and cheek, “I wish we could have done a lot of things together.” She confessed in a cracked whisper.
“Mitsuri?” Shinobu searched her face, trying to understand, but if the tightness in her chest was anything to go by, she already did.
“Shinobu, I love you! I love you a lot and I’m so upset that I didn’t tell you before. I’m so sorry!”
Shinobu simpered and brushed her captive thumb across Mitsuri’s cheek.
“You actually told me quite often how fond you were of me. You needn’t apologize, I always knew you looked upon me favorably.” Shinobu comforted. Mitsuri shook her head.
“I’m in love with you!” Mitsuri spoke with conviction, her pastel green eyes sprung fresh tears like a spring shower.
Shinobu’s lips parted in surprise.
“I wanted to tell you, really tell you, but I was so scared you wouldn’t like me at all anymore if I told you. I thought, the more time we spent together, maybe I’d find the courage to tell you... Oh, Shinobu,” Mitsuri reached her sleeve out to the other girl and gently wiped her face. Shinobu hadn’t realized she was crying.
Once she fully registered it, it was like a damn had burst.
As Shinobu’s breathing become more labored, erratic, Mitsuri pulled her to her chest and Shinobu clung tightly to her kimono. Years worth of anger and pain came in the form of hot tears. She couldn’t help but think of Kanae in her final moments, telling her to find love, to grow old and have a happy life. Even if she had tried to do what her sister had asked of her, it was always meant to end in tragedy.
“I love you too, so much. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to tell you.”
“If I don’t need to apologize, then you shouldn’t either. It’s alright, it probably would have hurt more, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know, it still hurts pretty damn bad.” Shinobu replied with a shuddering laugh and Mitsuri gave a weak giggle of her own.
They sat quietly for awhile in each other’s embrace, letting the rustling of the grass fill the silence between them. They could feel it, something was pulling at them, exhausting them as they tried to hold onto each other as long as possible. Whatever this supernatural intervention was, it seemed to be coming to an end. Mitsuri spoke up again, sounding quite fatigued as she ran her hand through Shinobu’s hair.
“Shinobu, if we were reborn again in the world without demons, could we try being together the way we only dreamed to be?”
“Of course, I’d love nothing more.” Shinobu whispered, reaching up to cradle Mitsuri’s face once more. Her arms felt heavy like lead.
Mitsuri hadn’t the strength to keep herself upright and slowly sunk in the direction of Shinobu’s body until their foreheads met. Shinobu, unable to keep them both up, fell to her back with Mitsuri flat on top of her.
“I’m really tired,” Mitsuri’s eyes drooped. She snuggled her nose into Shinobu’s neck.
“Yes, it won’t be long now.” Shinobu wasn’t really sure what it was, but it felt familiar.
“Shinobu, could I give you a kiss before I go to sleep?”
“Yes, please.”
With a grunt of effort, Mitsuri rose herself up slightly on wobbly elbows and bumped noses with Shinobu who was fighting to keep her eyes open. With perhaps a bit more force than intended, Mitsuri’s lips met Shinobu’s.
The kiss was ever so soft and a tad salty. It was rather short, but filled with loving intent. Mitsuri’s arms gave out and she came back down over Shinobu with a light grunt, her forehead bumped against Shinobu’s cheek. With a bit of effort, Shinobu turned her head, resting another kiss over Mitsuri’s hair, the other girl could hardly make a sound but Shinobu could tell she was pleased with the small affection.
It could have been a trick of her blurred vision, but Shinobu swore the once blank sky was now bathed in blue, a large, bright sun shining over them.
Shinobu smiled and allowed her eyes to finally fall completely shut, confident that she and Mitsuri would find each other again and enjoy the product of their hard work and sacrifice in another life.
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loosesodamarble · 4 years
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Other characters in the World Swap?
So at first, the Pillar-Captain roleswap was just a thought experiment for switching Breath Style and Magic. But thinking on it some more, I personally believe swapping universes for more characters yields some interesting ideas.
Now I’m not going to swap every character, from Black Clover at least. For one, Demon Slayer’s cast is significantly smaller than Black Clover’s. I can feasibly swap over most of the characters. As for Black Clover characters, mostly the miscellaneous mages, I’ll probably reassign them to the Pillar-turned-Captains’ squads.
The thing with swapping the characters and their worlds, I don’t think a one-to-one roleswap works. Instead, this is just me trying to find a place for the characters in the world/narrative they’re entering while still retaining elements of their original stories. Sometimes this means making some weird leaps in logic to fill certain roles/plot points.
Moving on!
Black Clover to Demon Slayer Asta: Asta is the protagonist so he will fill Tanjirou’s role. He has loved ones killed by a demon and the last remaining one becomes a demon. Here’s the twist. Since he has no magic in Black Clover, in a Demon Slayer AU, he’d be unable to use breaths. Instead, he is like Genya, able to consume demon flesh for supernatural abilities. I imagine he’d try to train under a cultivator, multiple even, but with no talent in breaths, he’d just have to train up his body. Until Yami finds him, takes a liking to his spirit, and trains him until they discover the demon eating ability. Yuno: I’d personally put Yuno in the role of Nezuko, but with major differences. He’s a descendant of the Breath of the Sun user so he’s the one getting the inherited memories and, as a demon, he’d figure out not just his Blood Demon Art (probably a cutting wind) but he’d also learn Breath of the Sun. He’d become the demon who can walk in the sun. Noelle: So in this AU, the Silva family consistently fills the role of the Water Pillar. Acier was the Water Pillar but died at the hands of an Upper Moon in order to protect baby Noelle. Here, she’s not directly blamed for Acier’s death but her siblings still kind of wish that the mighty Acier lived instead of the seemingly useless Noelle. She wants to be a demon slayer to make up for Acier’s death but try as she might, she just can’t get a grasp on Breath of Water. She eventually develops Breath of the Sea, stronger and a little wilder but it still flows and let her dance across the battlefield the way her mother did. Leopold: He’s the successor for the position of Flame Pillar. It’s kind of weird that Fuegoleon and Mereoleona are both Pillars at the same time but it’s that fact that makes Leopold worry about his ability to live up to the legacy of his siblings. Mimosa and Kirsch: Mimosa is similar to Aoi; trained in swordsmanship but, instead of being too scared to fight, she prefers being a healer. She runs this AU’s equivalent of the Butterfly Mansion a.k.a. the Demon Slayer Corps’ main hospital. As for Kirsch, he’d be a Breath of Flower user, probably not Charlotte’s successor but a surprisingly competent demon slayer still. Nebra and Solid: Two prospective successors of Nozel for the position of Water Pillar. Maybe Nebra will switch to Breath of Mist but I think the idea of the younger Silva siblings competing to be Nozel’s successor is an interesting concept. Licht and Patry: Yoriichi and Michikatsu. Part of the first generation of Breath Users. Licht used Breath of the Sun. Patry Breath of the Moon. And this means Patry becomes an Upper Moon. With the devils and devil-possessed, he might end up being Upper Moon 3 while still maintaining the same story significance as Kokushibou. Although, given his troubled past, he might also have Akaza elements mixed in which suits the third rank. Nacht and Morgen: Oh yeah, I’m bringing these two in. Both are alive and well. Of course... It’s not that simple. One of them is a demon slayer and Blake’s successor. The other has been turned into a demon. But who is the slayer and who is the demon? Nacht is the Black Bulls vice captain so that could mean he’s the slayer but he’s also a devil possessed so that might mean he’s the demon. Other members of the Black Bulls: Lightning round. Nacht would be Yami’s successor. Finral, Vanessa, Grey, Gordon, Henry, Charmy and Secre would be kakushi; not actively fighters but directly serving under Yami. Magna, Luck, Gauche, and Zora would be active demon slayers. Devils and Devil-possessed: The devils and their hosts would stand in for Muzan and the upper ranks of the Twelve Demon Moons. Lucifero seems best fit for Muzan. I definitely want the Dark Triad to be among the Upper Ranks because they have such gloriously evil personalities that it’d be a shame to put them in the lower ranks.
..........
Demon Slayer to Black Clover Tanjirou: This may sound weird, but I’m not giving Tanjirou the Anti-Magic swords. Instead, he’s going to be like a mix of Yuno and Charmy. Yuno, in the sense that he’s secretly got major significance in the world. Charmy, in the fact that he’s going to have dual affinity. Normally, he uses Water Magic. But he’s got elf/dwarf/something blood in him too which allows him to use Light/Sun Magic. He’d be in Giyuu’s Cobalt Ocean squad. Nezuko: Like her brother, a character with a secret significance and dual affinity for magic. She’ll also be a friendly rival to her brother. They’ll both be Magic Knights, in different squads, and encourage each other’s growth. Her magic affinities would be Fire and Light/Sun Magic. Since she becomes a demon in canon, she’d be one of the elf-possessed mages. Zenitsu: A Lightning Magic user and in Tengen’s Amber Songbird squad. He’s still going to fight when he’s asleep because that’s too iconic to not use. He trained under Jigorou, a former captain, alongside Kaigaku (who would become elf-possessed later on). I guess Zenitsu and Kaigaku would be the Finral and Langris of this AU. Inosuke: He’s getting Beast Magic, no questions asked. He’d still be raised by in the wilderness by wild animals but he could be found and taken into a family in the Forsaken Realm. He’d try to get into Gyoumei’s squad because it’s the strongest squad. Whether or not he actually gets in is still up in the air. As for what happened to Kotoha in this AU... Genya: He’s getting the Anti-Magic swords. Kind of. Instead, the swords absorb magic for later use. It will look like the swords dispel magic when, in reality, they’re absorbing the spells which can then be unleashed later. Genya would be under Gyoumei’s wing, though not as an official squad member. Kind of like how Gyoumei took Genya as a student but refused to make him a successor because he couldn’t use breaths. Kanao and Kanae: Kanae and Kanao both use Flower Magic. Kanae is alive but retired from the Magic Knights at a shockingly young age due to being cursed by a devil. Shinobu and Kanao are working on that. I don’t think Kanao would be the vice captain of the Wisteria Butterflies, but she’d be a top contender for that position. Sabito: He lives in the this AU and would be the vice captain of the Cobalt Ocean! I’ve seen a couple AUs where Sabito uses Ice Breathing and decided that I would have him use Ice Magic since that’d help differentiate him from Giyuu’s Clover Kingdom counterpart! Tamayo and Yushirou: They’re commoners who research forbidden magic, curses, and the like. Tamayo may or may not know the history of Genya’s magic-absorbing swords. Would become elf-possessed later on. Yoriichi and Michikatsu: The Licht and Patry in this AU. I mean, Yoriichi's quiet and calm persona reminds me of the empty shell that Licht was before his soul was full reawakened. Butterfly Mansion girls: Aoi, Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho would be in the Wisteria Butterfly Squad but strictly as healers with their magic. Senjurou and Shinjurou: Senjurou would have Fire Magic like Kyou and their father. But he’d be too weak to pass the Magic Knight Exam. Shinjurou is still a washed up drunk, but probably for a different reason. He probably learned the fact that humans will never match up to the naturally gifted elves in terms of magic and goes “why do humans bother to use magic when we’ll never be as strong as the elves?” Muzan and Demon Moons: They become the Spade Kingdom’s Dark Triad and Dark Disciples. Douma is a member of the Dark Triad and the one who cursed Kanae and killed Kotoha.
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kaibutsushidousha · 4 years
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What do you mean by ridiculous names ? Is there puns or the name very unusual with fancy kanji/unusual readings for them ?
All of the above. Using older kanji makes sense since the story is set in Taishou, but most names are either unsubtle puns or relatively direct descriptors of the characters, like Gyokko meaning “jade vase”. Unusual readings don’t often all that often, but a great example is 不死川 being spelled as Shinazugawa instead of the more obvious Fujigawa (same kanji as Killer Killer’s Fujigawa btw). 
Not only that, but there also a few examples of names that are straight up regular words with no twist to them whatsoever: Muzan (cruelty), Giyuu (heroism) and Agatsuma (my wife).
Kamado means “furnace gate”, because the Kamado family sells charcoal. It’s an outdated kanji for furnace (竃) to keep that Taishou flavor. Now, Tanjirou is a much more competent and interesting name, one of my favorites in the manga. Depending on whether you interpret its 治 as the 治 in 治す or the 治 in 退治, the meaning of his name could be either “healing son of charcoal” or “demon-slaying son of charcoal”, fitting perfectly with how Tanjirou’s goals involve both killing demons and getting a cure for his sister’s predicament. Not mention a lot of Heian mythology associating slaying oni with curing illness. And the charcoal part is because Tanjirou, of the Furnace family who sells charcoal, sells charcoal. By the did I mention Tanjirou sells charcoal? But anyways, there’s even another layer to this name and which it’s why it’s one of my favorites: it can be sort of a namefication of the verb 歎じる(tanjiru), which means to mourn, reflect Tanjirou’s main trait of sparing sympathy for pretty much every demon he kills.
Nezuko means “shrine bean girl”. Specifically Heian era shrines, so it’s maybe this kanji is too old even for the Taishou era (so old that a lot of people on the internet don’t know to type it or don’t bother the conversion takes too long). But it fits the character since Heian is when we got most of the oni related mythology this series is mostly about. The “bean girl” part is probably there only to sound cute.
Agatsuma, as mentioned earlier, means “my wife”. I already considered one of the funniest I’ve ever seen before I even started the manga and it only better after actually seeing Zen’itsu’s character. Zen’itsu has a cool double meaning like Tanjirou, with 逸 potentially being from 逸する or 逸物, so his name means either “goodness missed” or “goodness at its best”, which fits how Zen’itsu is normally an absolutely terrible person in every aspect but shows himself to be ultimately caring and competent when pushes come to the shove (even if through the power of stress napping most of the time).
Hashibira means “beak flattened”. A rare name I have no idea how it connects to the character. Inosuke’s kanji mean “helper of the elegant” but the intent is clearly a pun on inoshishi (boar). Besides, looking at the meaning feels like a moot point because everyone is “the elegant” compared to Inosuke.
Both Kanawo’s names are antiquated as heck, mainly there for the series Taishou era flavor. Tsuyuri is one of Japan’s most notoriously unusual ateji names (yeah, there are only 3 instances of the manga using real people names and one of them is the name known for being weird), with it’s kanji meaning “chestnut flower falling” and the kana means “rainy season starting”, because chestnut flowers fall in early May, signaling the start of the rainy season. Kanawo’s “birthday” is in May btw. Anyways, the name was probably chosen for her specifically because of flower kanji in the middle and her Breath of Flowers. Kanawo is a katakana name, so no proper meaning, but it overall feels very old because it’s a name that uses “wo” instead of “o”. Taishou flavor, as I mentioned.
I’m skipping Gen’ya to his brother’s section because their names are matching.
Ubuyashiki means “childbirth grounds”. Kagaya had 5 children so it checks. Besides, with their family curse, pretty much all the Ubuyashikis can do is give birth to the next generation as much as they can before they kick the bucket. Kagaya means “radiant!”. Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the name’s meaning. I’m sure it’s a name all pillar agree with.
Tomioka means “wealth hill” it’s a rare instance of a real people name in this series, so I assume it must a reference to some one, but I have no idea who. Giyuu, as already mentioned, is just the regular word for heroism. Military volunteers are actually called “giyuu soldiers” in Japanese even.
Similarly, Kochou is the regular word for butterfly (although not the most commonly used). Shinobu is a hiragana name, so no proper meaning (much like Kanae and Kanawo’s katakana names), but name Shinobu is normally written with 忍 (the shinobi kanji) or 偲 (remembering, but most often in the context of remembering a dead person). The latter has obvious meaning in Shinobu’s relationship with Kanae, but the former might also have an interesting meaning behind it. The shinobi kanji is made with the heart kanji under the blade kanji (insert Monogatari reference here), so a huge cliche in ninja-themed literature is the saying “a shinobi without a heart is just a blade” (surprisingly never mentioned once in Naruto, as far as I can remember). I believe this thematically connects to Shinobu’s central character trait of wanting to have Kanae’s kindness but not being able to bring herself to be that empathetic to demons. She tries to be Shinobu but can’t force herself to retain the heart she lost, so she ends up just being a blade.
Rengoku is the regular word for purgatory, as you probably know from it being also the name of his ninth kata. Kyoujurou means “congratulating son of apricorns”, with father Shinjurou being “congratulating son of yew plum pine” and his brother Senjurou being “congratulating son of thousand”. The pun here is probably with 享受(kyouju; happily accepting something) vs 信受 (shinju; accepting a fact, in a somewhat resignated way). Another possibility less related to the conflicted with his character is 教授(kyouju; professor) since he’s a mentor character.
Uzui means “roof marrow”, but real pun is with uzu uzu, the gitaigo for impatience, a character trait fitting for a character completely centered around rejecting shinobi philosophies. Also reflects how his very first sympathetic moment was him honestly admiting that his impatience to save his wives caused him to make a few bad moves. Tengen is the Japanese reading for Tianyuan, which is the heaven’s energy which composes everything according to some ancient Chinese traditions. You may have heard of it as the “celestial unknown” or the “heavenly element”. Don’t know what it has to do with Tengen’s character though.
Kanroji means “nectar temple” and Mitsuri means “honey lazuli”. The “temple” and “lazuli” part are kanji commonly used in names, so that’s a pretty much just thrown in there to make her name sound more like a name. The real keywords here nectar and honey, since those are two words that can be used as horny words in a very subtle way, but suddenly look a lot less subtle when they are about the Love Pillar.
Himejima means “scream island”, but specifically the sad, crying kind of scream, matching with how Himejima is pretty much always crying out of compassion for others. Also, archaic kanji for “island” because Taishou. Gyoumei means “carita afterlife”. Carita is an umbrella term for all forms of spiritual training in Buddhism. It includes a lot of things we see associated with him in the manga, like sitting under waterfalls, reciting chants, etc.
Tokitou means “time transparent”. Possibly a clever amnesia reference (in the sense of how his past time was invisible to him)? Muichirou means “first son of no”, in a ridiculous match with his twin Yuichirou (”first son of yes”). Yuichirou references that multiple times in his backstory, saying it’s supposed to mean “no worth” or “no point”, only to then say it’s supposed to mean “no limits” in the climax of the flashback.
Iguro means “elegant black”. It’s an obvious anagram on guroi (gorey). Now, Obanai is easily the most incomprehensible name in the series. It means “small banana inside”, which is nonsensical enough for me to know for sure there’s a hidden pun involved, but I can’t find it for the life of me. The closest I can get is a pun with the English word “overnight” (OBAaNAIto), but I still don’t know Iguro’s character enough to know what “overnight” has to do with him.
不死川 would mean “immortal river“ as Fujigawa, but due to ateji it be comes more like “river of not dying“. Like with Kanroji’s names, the river kanji is only there to make the name look more like a real name (note: it’s not working) and the “not dying“ part is what really matters. Sanemi is introduced showing off his chest covered in scars and having Kanroji commenting on how he’s got a new scar in his last mission, immediately conveying to the audience that he’s a dude that’s not dying despite injuring himself a lot. Now Sanemi is a much more complicated name because 実 has dozens of meanings and I had no way of knowing which one is supposed to apply to him until Gen’ya finally came into play. Looking at them as paired names, Sanemi means “more reality“ and Gen’ya means “more illusion“. Can’t say why Sanemi is supposed to represent truth or Gen’ya is supposed represent lies, though. Could be something about how Sanemi knows the truth about how he felt about his brother while was fed Sanemi’s lies in their reencounter, could be about how Sanemi is a true breath user while Gen’ya is a fraud who needs to rely on Breath of Gun or going Kirby on the demons to fight, who knows. On a semi-related note, all of their other siblings had generic unrelated names. I guess their parents didn’t think of going with “more half-truth“ or “more ommision“ names before dropping the naming pattern.
Kyougai means “echoing fanfare”. Two sound related words for the drum guy. Pretty basic.
Rui is a regular word for bad influence, fitting of how he forced others into his abusive family play. It’s written with the radical for thread, so I that’s one of the ones I find more clever than ridiculous.
Enmu, on the other hand, means “nightmare dream”. And if that wasn’t redundant enough, it’s also an anagram for nemu(sleep).
Kaigaku means “sly peaks”. The peaks part is common surname kanji, so only the “sly” part matters. Obvious traitor name, which must be why he was unnamed in Zen’itsu’s first flashback. 
Nakime means “sounding woman”. Very self-explanatory, she’s a woman who plays a biwa.
Daki means “fallen princess”, which is already meaningful enough for her character, but more importantly, it sounds very close to Dakki, the Japanese for the Daji, a famous Chinese monster disguised as an imperial courtesan. Giyuutarou is a name used for courtesan assistants, as already explained in the manga itself. Daki’s human name Ume is plum.
Gyokko means “jade vase”, as I said in the intro paragraph. Competing hard with Nakime for the title of most to-the-poing name in the series.
Hantengu means “half tengu”, because his ability is to split in halves and the tengu is the youkai species he’s themed after. Kinda weird how all oni in Kimetsu are themed after classic Japanese monster but only Daki, Hantengu and Douma get to be named after the ones they represent, I wish that was done more often. Anyways, his emotion bodies all have the kanji for their respective emotion in their names.
Akaza has my favorite name in the series, which makes sense considering everything else about him is also great. His human name is Hakuji, meaning “lion-dog healer” (yes, same ji in Tanjirou, but “demon-slaying” can’t be considered as a possibility for him for obvious reasons). As explained during his backstory, he’s named after lion-dog statues often seen guarding temple entrances. He’s someone who is supposed to be there to protect others. The healer part of his name also fits with how his spent half of his human life nursing his loved ones. And then Muzan turned him into Akaza. Due to its outdated kanji, even Japanese fans find his name a bit hard to interpret, but Akaza is generally agreed to mean “castrated dog sitting on a pit”. Delightfully humialiating name with delicious irony. In the chapter “The Useless Lion-dog”, Muzan turns the lion-dog who failed to guard its two families into a castrated dog sitting on a pit. All his nobility was neutered and he was left sitting still in a pit as he has no home to guard. Before this becomes a full Akaza meta on how he’s a full anti-thesis of what Hakuji swore to be, let’s get back to talk about names. His wife Koyuki’s name mean “love snow”. The love part represents how she’s a love interest of Hakuji and the snow part reflects she always a snowflakes hairpin and how Akaza projects the image of a snowflake on the floor when he activates his compass ability.
Douma means “child exhausted”, fitting his childish nature, especially in how he’s portrayed as a child who still hasn’t developed empathy at the age of 20, and with how his backstory is all about him being exhausted by human emotions after listening to hours of worshippers narrating their own tragedies. But most importantly, he named after Doumahoushi aka Ashiya Douman, the mythological villain he’s themed after. I like how he’s the only oni themed after a human villain rather than an actual oni or youkai like all the rest, but he might be the one oni who understands humans the least.
Kokushibou means “black death pupils”. Pupils as in eye pupil, not students, of course. He has no students, but he sure has a lot of pupils. Also eyes are often used as symbol for envy, which is the main theme of his backstory. Lastly, his name is a pun on kokushibyou aka the black plague, the disease that killed the most people in the world, just like he’s the oni who killed the most people. The 3 Upper Moons all have pretty unironically good names, all things considered. His human family name means “successor country”, probably in reference to how his brother passed down his hinomaru (symbol of Japan, the country) earrings to his next generation all the way down to Tanjirou. His name Michikatsu means “rock winner”. The winner part is obvious but I don’t know the (outdated) rock kanji was picked. His brother is Yoriichi meaning “fated one”, which probably on feeds Kokushibou’s complex harder.
Lastly and most ridiculously, Muzan Kibutsuji. Kibutsuji means “demon dance road”. Yes, the oni kanji is right there on his name, same demon kanji as the demons everyone faces. And as mentioned in the opener, the name Muzan is literally just the regular word cruelty. I’m commenting stuff with a friend as I read and we semi-consistently refer to Muzan as Meanie Demonbroadway because that’s just how stupid his name is. I really love it. Thank you anon for this opportunity to talk about Meanie Demonbroadway in a public space.
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honeybeesiness · 4 years
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SUNSET LOVER.
part one. | part two. | part three. | part four. | part five. | part six.
tanjirou kamado x female reader drabble fic.
au!
word count :: 678.
i posted this on my wattpad under the name @/honeybeesiness, so if you see this elsewhere, you know why.
enjoy!
~~~
The first letter came this spring when Tanjirou was at his happiest. It arrived to him in the form of a butterfly: The folds resembled wings and when he brushed his thumbs across the smooth paper, they fluttered ever so gently. He almost didn't want to unfurl it in fear that he wouldn't be able to follow the creases and recreate the butterfly, but his desire to read the contents outweighed his sense of preservation.
Tanjirou was giddy and he was teased; Teased for being excited at receiving a letter from a girl. "A girl is no different from a boy," he said to his friends as they giggled, "because they write all the same." But he was blushing a faint pink color as he said this, so his words were labeled as flustered excuses and therefore ignored. There is nothing wrong in wanting to communicate with a female, Tanjirou thought surely as he carefully flattened out what was once an origami butterfly, Maybe they are just jealous.
The letter read as such:
Dear Tanjirou,
Roses are red,
violets are blue.
I had beef sukiyaki for lunch,
what about you?
The boy smiled, for the first sentences informed him that you had not changed in the slightest (not that he had expected you to!). He was relieved that his departure did not leave behind heartache, but a small part of him wished that it did. He continued reading.
Hehe. I know it hasn't been very long since you left, but didn't you tell me to send you something when the orchids on my windowsill bloomed? Well, they finally did, and I'm proud to announce that they are absolutely beautiful! Thank you for buying me the seeds last April, Tanji.
Umm, how are you doing? Bested any demons? I hope you're taking my advice seriously. Some demons have secret motives as to why they kill, so please try to talk to them before you kill them. Understanding who they are- who they once were, and sympathizing with them can really put them at ease in their final moments. Murder is already a sin to begin with, but a mercy kill bears less of the burden. But of course, not every demon is like that, so please be careful.
I hope Nezuko is doing well too! I miss talking to her! She always had something nice to say when she came over. Isn't she training to be a demon slayer too? What's her nichirin blade color? I bet it's pink, because pink stands for love and Nezuko is notorious for loving others. If I ever become a demon slayer, I'd want a light pink blade, because flowers are nice. But honestly, I wouldn't care what color mine turns out to be as long as I get to fight alongside you and Nezu.
Tanjirou's heart began to beat at an alarming rate, but his smile was warm and soft nonetheless. For a moment, he imagined what it would be like to spar alongside you. You were swift and clever, but you were a stranger when it came to the fear of fighting. You would appear to be confident but you would freeze right when it mattered. If that happened, Tanjirou would dart towards you, wrap his arm around your waist and-
He read the last line.
But we both know that I can't with the way things are right now.
Then you had wished him luck and signed your name in your goodbye. Tanjirou could feel the disappointment in your final statement, and he, too, felt saddened. He always understood your family's predicament, but dreams are dreams and dreams are fickle when there is an impenetrable obstacle in the way. But Tanjirou's hopes were as permanent as the scars on his skin, nor as forgettable as the cuts that faded over time.
Tanjirou smiled, though, because that is what he did best, and folded the paper back into its original form as gently as he could. The wings of the butterfly fluttered, and Tanjirou thought of you, as he always did.
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wuvbug-kny · 4 years
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too late — kamado tanjirou
↬ tw!! suicidal thoughts
↬ tanjirou x fem!reader x inosuke
↬ genre: angst
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“i-i really do like you..um, it wasnt easy to confess b-but..yeah..”
my body shook. my head ached. my anxiety was over the roof. what was i thinking, why would i confess to him?! oh god. im going insane. what was i thinking..
i felt tears in my eyes start to form as my body got hotter by the second. my fists were clenches togethee tightly, nails digging into my palms as my heart raced at an unsteady pace. i gulped. why wasnt he saying anything? why is he just standing there? oh no.. my eyes remained stuck onto the ground as the knot in my throat got tighter. the tears that had formed in my eyes began to fall to the ground, and out of embarassment i lowered my head even more hoping he wouldnt notice.
tanjirou, please dont break me more than i already am broken.
“(y/n)..”
“y-yes?”
“im sorry.
i cant reciprocate your feelings.”
。゚•┈୨♡୧┈•゚。
i felt numb. i felt like complete, utter trash.
i felt worthless. i feel worthless.
of course it turned out that way.
why did i get my hopes up? why was i so dumb? to think someone like him would love such a lonely, miserable girl like me.
my heart ached. ever since i felt like the hole in my chest had gotten the biggest its ever been. it hurt, the pain was incredibly painful, i felt like i seeped even more into darkness than the darkness i was emorsed in before.
god, why am i so miserable? what is this life you’ve given me? what is my purpose?
sometimes, no, at all times i just want to disappear.
the knock on my door startled me, causing me to jump up from my laying position on my bed, in result of getting up too fast i had landed on my floor painfully. i grunted in pain as more tears began to spilled out from my eyes.
im miserable..
quickly sitting up, i wiped the tears from my tomato reddened face before sucking everything up as best as i could.
“y-yes?” i replied to the knocking coming from my door.
the knocking got even louder.
confused, i called out again. “y-yes??”
i jumped, shrieking slightly as the door was kicked open. am i under attack? but this is the butterfly estate! scrambling to my bed like the coward i was, i quickly pulled out my blade, pointing it towards the now beaten down door.
“w-who is it??” i shivered.
“(y/n), you bird brain! training has started and everyone is still waiting on you!!”
in came inosuke, wearing his boar mask as usual.
i lowered my blade and sighed shakily, before putting it away. “i-inosuke..you scared me. you could of just answered to me instead of kicking my door open..” i said, getting up from the bed.
“whatever! you should be at training! you’re holding everyone up, you stupid hag!” he huffed, crossing his arms.
i forcefully made myself laugh, even though i was in now way amused by his words.
hes right.
im a burden to everybody.
i shouldnt be here.
i should just die.
im so worthless.
everyone would be better off without me.
without realizing, i felt the warmness of my tears flowing down my face. i felt my heart ache so badly, my body shaking.
unable to hold my stance, i fall to the floor. sobbing.
because im so pathetic.
taking my bruised up hands, i quickly try to wipe the tears away but they just keep coming, and coming. i cant stop. i cant stop. my bubble has bursted, i have no more energy, i have no energy to keep it all in anymore, i cant control myself.
as i was too busy drowning in my negative, self killing thoughts, i was interrupted when my hands were pulled away from my face.
a little taken aback, but still having tears flowing down my face, i looked up.
inosuke..
“what are you, a baby? stop it.” he grumbled as he wiped my tears away with his thumb. his thumb glided across my cheek, flicking my tears away as gently as ever. for a moment i felt my heart warm. this is the first time ive ever been carressed so gently. i loved the feeling, but at the same time surprised as to who i was recieving it from.
“dont cry anymore. i dont like it.” his hands gently carressed my face now as his emerald eyes looked into mine. i felt my heart skip a beat, the empty deep feeling in my chest being forgotten at the very moment. i couldnt look away from his eyes.
for the first time ever, i felt like. i was okay.
i teared up again, but before i could let the tears spill i engulfed inosuke in a hug. an endearing, loving, grateful hug. i sobbed as i buried my face into his chest.
“t-thank you. thank you so much.”
i felt his arms wrap around my shaking figure gently, as he at the same time patted my head.
i was honestly surprised as to what was going on right now. out of all people, inosuke.
you’ve made me so happy. you’ve made me feel safe, okay, and wanted.
。゚•┈୨♡୧┈•゚。
two months had passed ever since tanjirou had turned me down.
honestly, i had nothing against tanjirou. i never expected him to like me, heck, love me back even. i never expected him to reciprocate my feelings. but at the same time, i felt like i still had a chance. i dont know what was going through my mind at the time.
i still loved tanjirou. maybe not as much as before, but i knew i still had the slightesy feelings for him. i try my best to talk to him as if nothing had ever happened. i really just want to move on from it.
as much as i hate myself for it, seeing him and talking to him makes me feel worthless. i hate myself for feeling that way. if i could go back in time and redo everything, i most certainly would.
what hurt me even more was to see how close he had gotten himself with kanao. it was no surprise to me, honestly. kanao is a very pretty girl, and she’s just way better than me in general in regards to demon slaying and skill wise.
no wonder tanjirou would take interest in her.
i was happy for him, i really was. i held no resent towards kanao at all. afterall, it would be petty and childish.
kanao was a dear friend to me and if they really did have chemistry between one another, i do really wish them the best.
i just cant help but pity myself.
“(y/n)!”
i squeaked in surprise as i was suddenly lifted off the ground by a pair of arms around my waste and twirled around. it took me a moment to realize that it was nobody but inosuke, before having a giggling fit.
“i-inosuke! put me down!” i laughed as he started to make plane noises. i felt myself blush as his eyes locked itself with mine, before averting my gaze to block him from noticing my face had turned into a tomato red.
ever since i broke down in front of inosuke and had him comfort me, we’ve gotten a lot closer. not much has changed between us personality wise, but he associated with me way more and always seemed ready whenever id ask him a favor, etc. he also now liked to pick me up and pretend to toss me, or making plane noises as he twirled me around.
he’s honestly like my best friend now. i can actually talk to him about how i feel deep down inside. he listens but doesnt really give much input on it, but i dont mind. its inosuke afterall, what can i expect? all im grateful for is that he listens.
inosuke grinned before setting me back down on the floor. he patted my hat before literally collapsing onto the grass covered ground, yawning and using his arms to rest his head on.
“im tired, (y/n). take a nap with me.” he grunted, patting the spot next to him. i smiled before laying down too, as i looked up at the sky.
“hey, inosu-“ i cut myself off after i had looked at him and noticed he was already out like a light. i giggled a bit. hes such a baby, honestly.
i stared at his face a bit more and noticed how pretty and feminine his features were. his eyelashes were curled and at a beautiful length, his lips slightly parted making him look angelic. his fair skin with no scars made him look like an angel.
jeez, god really do be picking favorites.
i sighed before laying back down on the grass, closing my eyes as i rested my head on inosuke’s chest. i felt myself sleeping into sleep and just let it happen.
this was one of the many times i felt at peace, always with inosuke.
。゚•┈୨♡୧┈•゚。
“im telling you, inosuke and (y/n) have a thing going on! have you seen how they are with each other?!” falling onto the floor, zenitsu started to sob. “why, out of all people, him?! a pretty girl like (y/n) deserves better! eUUugGNnN!!”
“what are you guys talking about?” tanjirou asked as he walked into the room, a smile worn on his face as he laughed at zenitsu obviously being overdramatic about whatever it was.
aoi and the other three girls sighed as they continued on eating their lunch.
“zenitsu thinks (y/n) and inosuke are dating and hes freaking out about it because he knows he’ll never get someone as pretty as (y/n).” aoi said, laughing at the last part.
tanjirou froze, before laughing nervously. “aaah, dont say that, im sure zenitsu will find someone one day!”
aoi shrugged, followed on by more giggles coming from sumi and the two others.
“are (y/n) and inosuke really dating?” tanjirou asked, sitting down.
“dont even mention it! agh!” zenitsu cried from his laying position on the ground, before burying his face in his arms again.
aoi rolled her eyes before moving onto answering tanjirou. “well..no, actually yeah, no, we dont know. i mean it looks like it. they’ve gotten a lot of closer and inosuke is always up on (y/n) now. i mean, they’d make a really cute couple! i see the way (y/n) lights up when shes around him.”
“a-ah. i see.” tanjirou said, letting out a slight laugh. “well, im gonna head out to train now. ill see you all at dinner.”
aoi and the three girls said goodbye to him as he made his exit.
tanjirou walked down the halls of the butterfly estate, before stumbling upon the garden. he sighed, walking out with the intention to take a look at the peaceful view of the garden meadow and for some fresh air.
his peace was interrupted, however, as his eyes locked upon two well known people cuddled up on the garden grass, taking a peaceful nap.
his fists clenched, and so did his teeth.
he felt jealousy over power him. he did not realize it, but it was there and he felt it. he just didnt know what it was.
but what he knew, was regret.
that he had let (y/n) slip past him.
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