The Lullaby
Summary: Shinobu runs into a familiar face.
Notes: Am I overusing the roof? Probably. Will that make me stop? Probably not. The original idea was to write a funny little thing about Shinobu seeing Tanjirou taking care of a baby, for some reason, but it ended up being this sweet little thing.
Also; this was going to be tittled either 'The Baby' or 'The Lullaby' but I settled on the second one for reasons you'll find out as you read.
"Well, this is an unexpected surprise." said a familiar voice from behind him.
Tanjirou turned, surprised, instictively holding the baby closer to his chest.
"Ah, Shinobu-san! Hello!" he grinned, "How are you?"
"I'm well, thank you, Tanjirou-kun." she tilted her head to the side, "Why are you holding a baby?"
"Her mother had a lot of shopping to do and she needed help. Zenitsu and Inosuke are helping her by carrying her baskets and since I am the only one with experience in looking after babies, I staid outside with this beautiful lady." he smiled at the baby in his arms, making funny faces.
The baby was laughing, enjoying her temporary caretaker's company.
Shinobu watched with an amused smile.
The baby then noticed her and made grabby motions with her hands.
"You want to meet Shinobu-san, don't you?" Tanjirou smiled.
The baby girl smiled, hands still reaching towards Shinobu.
Shifting her in his arms, Tanjirou approached Shinobu, who raised her hand to let the babdy grad hold of her fingers.
"Hello, young one." she smiled.
Tanjirou starred at her, mesmerized. He hadn't seen Shinobu-san smile like that before.
The baby in his arms let go of Shinobu's fingers and reached for her smile, agreeing with Tanjirou about how beautiful it was.
Shinobu realised Tanjirou was starring and turned slightly to look at him.
"Is something the matter?" she asked.
"No." he shook his head, "Just…Shinobu-san has a really beautiful smile." he said, cheeks burning.
"Thank you, Tanjirou-kun." she replied softly after a couple of seconds, looking away.
"Gompachiro! We're done! Come on!" Inosuke called.
"We went shopping and he was out here flirting?!" Zenitsu called indignant, "Oh, the injustice!" he lamented.
"Isn't it good to look like you can and will carry your future wife's shopping for her, though?" Tanjirou wondered aloud.
"It is good to know a woman can count on you be it shopping or looking after your child." Shinobu smiled.
"Sh-Shinobu-san?!" Zenitsu paled, "A-ah…Why are you here?"
"I finished my mission and was on my way home." she smiled, pulling away from the girl in Tanjirou's arms, as they followed the mother.
"Thank you all again for this." the young woman said, "I wouldn't be able to finish today otherwise."
"We're glad we could help." Tanjirou beamed, playing with the girl in his arms, who kept reaching for his face before her attention got caught by Shinobu and reached for her.
The baby made an almost distressed sound when Shinobu didn't come close to grabbing distance.
Tanjirou, noticing that the Insect Pillar was lost in thought, as she came along with them, reached over and took her hand.
Shinobu's head whipped around to face him, surprised.
With a smile – and a huge blush on his cheeks – Tanjirou raised her hand and let the baby hold on to it.
The baby girl laughed, once again able to hold Shinobu's hand.
They reached the woman's home and as Zenitsu and Inosuke carried the bags inside, Shinobu went to help in putting things away and Tanjirou was directed to the baby's basket.
"All right, little one. You have to let go of me now." he said, softly. The baby's hold on him wasn't lessening at all. "You don't want to let go, huh? Hmm…" he looked about him thoughtfully.
He dug in his pockets, but he didn't find anything to divert her attention.
Then his eyes lit up and he sat down beside the basket, drew a deep breath and started singing a lullaby.
Four people looked inside, pleasantly surprised.
Soon the baby's hold on his finger lessened and Tanjirou carefully pulled away. He got to his feet and turned towards the door. And froze.
"Ah…sorry about that." he smiled sheepishly.
"No, no, that was beautiful." the mother said, "Actually, I don't think she's ever gone to sleep this quickly."
"I had a lot of younger siblings." Tanjirou explained again, "I'm really good with young children and babies."
"Thank you so much for all your help" the woman bowed at them, when they finished.
"No, no, please, we're glad we could be of help!" Tanjirou bowed back.
"Are you sure I can't prepare you some tea, at least?"
"We appreciate it, but we have to go." Shinobu smiled.
"Very well. Take care."
"Thank you!" the four waved back as they left.
"Where are you three headed next?" Shinobu asked.
"Actually, the Butterfly Estate." Tanjirou said sheepishly, "I think I bruised a couple ribs on our last fight. My sides feel a bit sore."
Shinobu starred at him.
"And you thought that your health can wait a couple of hours?" she smiled.
Inosuke and Zenitsu started sweating.
"We told him he needed to get that looked." Zenitsu provided, timidly.
Shinobu sighed.
"I figured, since I can move and breath, it wouldn't really hurt that much." the teen said.
"Very well. I'll let it slide this time. But next time, please prioritize your health, Tanjirou-kun."
"Sorry, Shinobu-san." he said, sheepishly.
The rest of the way they asked each other about their last missions and then was spent in companionable silence.
"Ah, welcome back, Shinobu-sa – Tanjirou-san?" Aoi came to greet Shinobu and looked surprised to find Tanjirou's group with her.
"Hello, Aoi-san!" he waved.
"How bad." she deadpanned.
"A couple of bruised rids, according to him." Shinobu smiled, "Come on, then. Let's have a look."
"Thank you for taking care of me!" he bowed and followed after her.
Fifteen minutes later, she had made him lay down.
"Rest here for the day." she said, "All of you." she looked over at the other two.
Zenitsu sagged down on his seat.
"Thank you~!" he chirped.
"I'm not tired at all!" Inosuke boasted.
"Yes, yes, we are aware." Aoi said, as she passed by, "Now, sit down."
Tanjirou chuckled.
"Sorry for the trouble." he said, looking at Shinobu.
"If all the trouble I had to deal with was a couple of bruised ribs, I would be happier." she replied.
When night came, Shinobu found him on the roof.
"I think I told you to rest, Tanjirou-kun."
"Ah, hello, Shinobu-san. I couldn't sleep." he smiled.
"Maybe a lullaby would help?"
"I tried. Doesn't work when I do it."
They were quiet for a moment, before Shinobu started humming his lullaby. Tanjirou turned to watch her, surprised, and he got stuck. She had closed her eyes, gently swaying with the tune and she had that same smile from this morning.
Tanjirou closed his eyes and let his head rest on her shoulder. A few moments later he yawned.
Realising he was getting sleepy, he smiled.
"Thank you." he said softly, before he got up and returned to his bed.
The next morning, Shinobu checked his ribs.
"Well, it seems that everything is in order." she said, "I would recomment you take it easy today, too, but that will probably be difficult."
"Thank you again for taking care of me." he bowed his head.
"You're welcome." she smiled.
As always, he made sure to say goodbye to everyone, with the girls clinging on him and begging him to stay, Aoi asking him – not for the last time, she knew – to be more careful and Kanao with a wave.
With a final goodbye to Shinobu, the three Slayers were off once again.
"How long before they are back again?" Aoi wondered, watching them vanish in the distance.
Shinobu giggled.