Steps to freedom.
Second day everyone!
Theme for day 2 is: Freedom/Yellow Butterflies (Hope, Guidance)
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own KnY.
"Um, thank you!"
"Eh?"
Tanjiro had just gotten back to the Butterfly Estate after a mission when he heard those words from Kanao.
"Ah, hello, Kanao." He greeted after getting over his shock. "Um… why are you thanking me?"
"Ah, welcome back…" She muttered, looking at the ground to avoid his gaze. "I'm sorry, I just… n-never mind." Kanao stuttered before turning around and running away.
"Ah, wait." Tanjiro called out as he ran after her.
It wasn't easy, the Tsuguko kept trying to lose him by jumping on top of the outer walls of the Estate or the roof of the main house but, thanks to the Functional Recovery Training, he was able to keep up with her.
Eventually, their chase led them outside the Butterfly Estate and to the mountain near it.
"Kanao, it's getting late, Shinobu-san might get worried if we stay out at night; please stop so we can talk." Tanjiro said as he jumped on top of some trees to keep pace with her.
The girl bit her lip, weighing her options, a hand instinctively moving to the pocket where she keeps her coin and taking it out.
'It's the heart that drives people.'
Those words resonated in her mind and stopped her from tossing her coin like usual, putting it back in its pocket instead, before jumping down to the ground.
Tanjiro did the same and landed a few feet away from her.
"…let's go back." Kanao whispered.
"Yeah." The Kamado nodded and the two began to walk back to the Butterfly Estate.
"I'm sorry… for making you chase me here."
"It's alright! You didn't really make me chase you in the first place; I just chose to do it after you ran off." He assured her. "Did something happen? And… why did you suddenly say 'thank you' when you saw me?"
"Th-that's…" Kanao averted her eyes, her heart was beating so fast she could hear it.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Kanao." Tanjiro said calmly, making her glance at him. "I was surprised but I won't be mad if you don't want to tell me." He smiled.
She recognized that smile, it was the same smile he gave her back then, when he tossed her coin to decide if she'll follow her heart or not; a wide and honest smile that even her, with her difficulty to understand and express emotions, can tell it has no ulterior motive behind it.
"…no, I want to tell you." She began, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves; Tanjiro's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled again and waited. "…when you left the Butterfly Estate for the first time, do you… do you remember our conversation?"
"Of course, it was the first time I got to hear your voice." Tanjiro smiled brightly. "What about it?"
"I… I wanted to thank you for that." She took out her coin, holding it on her right palm and staring at it. "I told you before but, I use this coin to decide everything I wasn't ordered to do." The red haired teen nodded. "Ever since that day… you said if it didn't come up heads then you would keep tossing this coin, over and over, until you got the result you wanted." Kanao closed her hand around the coin and covered her hand with her left one before moving it above her heart. "It was… I don't know how to say it but… it felt like I found an answer I didn't know I was searching." Without realizing, she smiled; not her usual polite smile but a wide smile full of joy and looked at him. "Thank you, Tanjiro; thank you so much."
The Kamado was speechless.
Between hearing those heartfelt words directed at him and the way she smiled with the moonlight surrounding her, he could do nothing but stare at her, the word 'beautiful' occupying all of his thoughts.
"Tanjiro?" Her voice got him out of his trance. "D-did I say something weird?" She frowned slightly.
"Ah, no! Not at all!" He said quickly, letting out a sight and taking a moment to recover his composure. "I'm very happy to hear that Kanao, I… well, I didn't know our conversation from that time meant that much to you." He chuckled sheepishly. "I'm glad I was able to help."
"Is…"
"Hm?"
"If it's okay with you… can we talk? Every now and then?"
"Of course!" Tanjiro answered immediately. "Anytime I'm at the Butterfly Estate and you want to talk, just tell me; ah, you can send me letters too if you want."
"Yes!" Kanao smiled widely once more.
Their trip back to the Butterfly Estate was considerably more enjoyable than the one away from it.
Day 2, done!
I want to make something for each day, I do have the ideas so it's only a matter of sitting down to write and hoping nothing like writer's block or having my internet cut off happens.
In any case, I hope you enjoyed my submission for day 2.
See you tomorrow!
