Day 7: Free Day
Ok, so the theme for this day is free of choice or 'Coin toss' I went with free of choice since I already had this idea in my head.
In any case, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own KnY.
"I'm worried about Kanao." Tanjiro said, his expression conveying that feeling.
"Huh, what about?" Inosuke asked.
The two were currently walking back to the Butterfly State after finishing a mission and earning some rest.
"You see, lately she seems kind of sad and I can't figure out why." The Kamado explained.
"So? Maybe she is just hungry." The Hashibira answered.
"No, sometimes she is upset right after we finish eating lunch together so I don't think it's hunger." Tanjiro answered, completely serious.
"Well… I don't know, why don't you just ask her or use that ridiculous nose of yours to figure it out?"
"I have asked her if something's wrong but she always says everything's fine; I'm not sure if I should push her about this."
"Then… hmm." Inosuke crossed his arms as he tried to come up with some advi- "Wait, why am I helping you? Figure it out by yourself!"
"I just thought Inosuke's point of view could help me." The red haired swordsman answered with a smile. "But I get it, if I don't know then it would be difficult for you to have a better idea about it."
"Huh?"
"I appreciate that you listened to me, though." He added calmly.
"Don't look down on me, damn it! I can figure out what's wrong with Hanao in a heartbeat!" Inosuke suddenly yelled.
"Really? Thank you so much, Inosuke!"
Although he said that the masked demon hunter couldn't give him any explanation… well, any 'reasonable' explanation, there were a lot of theories, though.
After so many times of going to the Butterfly State, Tanjiro felt like there was only one appropriate way of telling the other members of the place.
"I'm back." He called out after Inosuke had gone to the garden on the opposite side to do who knows what.
He heard footsteps and a moment later saw Kanao turn around the corner.
"Welcome back, Tanjiro." She greeted him with a wide smile that made him run to her and hug her.
"I missed you." The Kamado whispered as he nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck.
"Me too." She answered, corresponding to the hug. "Are you injured?" The Tsuyuri asked after a moment, moving back a bit and looking him over.
"No, I'm good." He gave her a reassuring smile that turned soft after a moment as he moved one of his hands to cup the side of her face.
Tanjiro's gaze softened even more when Kanao leaned into his touch, he couldn't help it, he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Kyaaa~!" The spell was broken when they heard three voices cry out in delight.
"Ah, Kiyo-chan, Naho-chan, Sumi-chan, I'm back." Tanjiro called out.
"Welcome back!" The three answered in unison.
"Oh… and sorry."
"We'll leave you two alone."
"We'll tell Aoi-san and Shinobu-sama that you're here."
The three bowed before walking away.
"That was a bit embarrassing." Kanao admitted with a blush.
"Yeah, sorry for not noticing them I… well, I was distracted." The Kamado admitted sheepishly.
"It's alright." The purple eyed girl assured him. "How long are you staying?"
"My crow said I had two days of rest before my next mission."
"I see…"
'There it is again.' Tanjiro thought with a small frown. 'This scent of sadness.' While he did his best to avoid using his sense of smell to tell another person's feelings, there were times when it was too obvious and he couldn't help but notice them even if he didn't want to.
Although Tanjiro will admit, to himself, that there is a chance he is unconsciously using his nose to smell Kanao's emotions due to how worried he is.
"Kanao." Aoi's voice was suddenly heard. "Can you give me a hand with… oh, welcome back Tanjiro-san."
"I'm back."
"Did you need something?" Kanao asked.
"Well…" The Kanzaki trailed off, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"I should take Nezuko to her room." The Kamado spoke up. "I'll go find you later Kanao."
"Alright, I'll wait for you in our spot." She answered with a sweet smile, making the red haired teen's heart skip a beat at hearing her call it 'our spot' before he nodded and waved at the two while he walked away.
"…sorry about that, I didn't know he just came back." Aoi said with an apologetic look.
"No, it's not your fault." Kanao assured her. "Besides… no, never mind; what did you need?"
"Are you okay, Kanao?"
"Yes." She answered, a bit too quickly.
.
.
After leaving Nezuko in her room, promising to visit at night, Tanjiro quietly left and walked towards his and Kanao is spot.
It was the place at the garden where Kanao was usually alone, before Tanjiro began to spend time with her, and was now called 'their spot' by more or less everyone in the Butterfly State.
Usually, Kanao is already there waiting for him, so he was a bit surprised when he arrived there and didn't see her.
"Tanjiro." He turned around at the sound of his name and saw Kanao running towards him. "Sorry, it took me a bit of time to help Aoi."
"It's fine, I just got here myself." The Kamado assured her.
"Ok… good." She muttered.
"Is something wrong, Kanao?"
"No, it's nothing." The girl answered with a smile.
"…please don't do that." A fake smile, that Tanjiro easily saw through. "I don't like seeing you pretend to smile." He said before closing the distance to stand just a step away from her. "Please, if something's bothering you I want to help."
"…you'll think I'm selfish." Kanao muttered, looking at the ground so Tanjiro couldn't see her expression.
"Why would I think that?"
"…ore… me."
"Kanao?" He called out, not having heard what she just whispered.
"More time." She repeated a bit more loudly.
"More time?"
"I… want to spend more time with you." Kanao finally said, still looking at the ground and now trembling.
"That… that's not selfish at all." Tanjiro said with a puzzled look. "I love spending time with you and-"
"That's not it." The Tsuyuri interrupted, still not looking him in the eye. "I… every time you leave… I feel like asking you to stay… even though I know you can't." She revealed.
"Kanao…"
"We're Demon Slayers, asking you to stay, knowing that you have to complete a mission that will certainly save a lot of people… is there anything more selfish than that?" She asked while trembling. "I'm so-"
Before she could say anything more, Tanjiro pulled her into a hug.
"Tanjiro?"
"Don't apologize." He said gently but firmly, resting his chin on her shoulder. "You have done nothing that you need to say sorry for… I feel the same sometimes." The red haired swordsman admitted. "It's probably not as strong a feeling as it is with you; I still have to turn Nezuko back into a human so fighting demons is something I must do to achieve that but… I have thought that I want to stay more with you from time to time."
"…really?" Kanao asked, some fear lacing her voice. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"
Tanjiro moved his face back to look her in the eye, noticing some tears had begun to fall from her eyes, but keeping his arms around her.
"Kanao, I will never lie to you." He said with a small smile before kissing her cheeks to clean her tears. "I promise you that." Tanjiro rested his forehead against hers, his red orbs never leaving her purple ones.
"…I love you." Kanao whispered, kissing Tanjiro before he could answer.
The Kamado was caught off-guard for a moment but quickly began to kiss her back.
When they finally separated, Kanao looked up at him with half-lid eyes and a crimson blush but wasn't trying to hide her face.
"You didn't let me answer." Tanjiro said, his expression matching the one from the girl with the butterfly ornament. "I love you too, Kanao."
The two leaned forward for another kiss.
It's true that their duties will make it so they have to be away from each other for some time but, in that moment, it did not matter; it was a moment for the two of them and nothing and no one could take it away.
Content sigh
I'm really happy I got to write this and I genuinely hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed making it.
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Until next time.