The importance of small things
It's day 3!
Theme is: Hair/Purple Violet (daydreaming, you occupy my thoughts)
Without further ado, on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own KnY.
Tanjiro rested on the porch of the Butterfly Estate, his right leg on a casket and a crutch next to him on the step before the garden.
His most recent injury was courtesy of a particularly nasty demon he found on his latest mission so he was now on medical leave until his leg healed.
It wasn't all bad, the Butterfly Estate was a pretty nice place to be at and the residents helped him out and checked his condition.
Tanjiro didn't feel right just letting them take care of him so, as much as his injury allowed him to, he helped out. They always insisted that he should rest but ended up giving in, the Kamado can be really stubborn, so they give him some simple tasks such as transporting some sheets or the like.
Zenitsu caused quite the ruckus when he came back after a mission and saw Tanjiro, in his eyes, having a great time along all the girls. At least until Aoi explained, in no uncertain terms, that he was recovering and that the blonde shouldn't cause a scene.
She wasn't as succinct in her explanation but that was the gist of it.
Right now, though, there were no more tasks for the day so he was resting while looking at the garden; it was a beautiful day, barely any clouds in the sky, the sun was shining and a breeze made it so it wasn't too hot.
'This is a really great place.' Tanjiro thought as he took the scene in.
"Oh, Tanjiro."
At the mention of his name, he turned his head to the side and saw Kanao, she is wearing her uniform and is holding a wooden sword.
"Hi, Kanao." He greeted with a smile.
"Hello." She returned the smile as she walked to him. "How is your leg?"
"It's getting better! Shinobu-san said that it should be back to normal in about two weeks."
"I'm glad." Kanao smiled.
"What are you doing here? Are you going to train?" He asked, looking pointedly at the sword.
"I usually train at this spot." The black haired girl nodded. "Ah, I can go train somewhere else if it bothers you…"
"No, not at all, feel free; do you want me to leave so you can focus?"
"But you were here first, Tanjiro."
"But you said this is your spot."
"…I don't mind if you stay." Kanao eventually answered.
"Thank you! I've never seen your swordsmanship so I'm curious."
"I use the Breath of Flowers." The Tsuguko answered. "I think it's easier to show you instead of explaining its forms."
"Yeah, I can use the moves of the Breath of Water but I'd probably have a hard time explaining some of them to others." He chuckled. "Go ahead, I don't want to get in your way, just pretend I'm not here."
"A-alright." Kanao nodded and moved to an open space of the garden and prepared her sword. 'Just do everything like usual.' She thought before taking a deep breath and preparing her stance.
…
Tanjiro stared, his mouth open and his eyes wide.
'Beautiful…' That word repeated itself in his mind as he watched Kanao go through each of her forms; the Kamado wasn't even blinking, not wanting to miss a moment.
He doesn't know how many repetitions she went through but, eventually, Kanao stopped and turned to him.
"U-um… is something wrong?" She asked, not meeting his gaze.
"That was beautiful." He whispered, his eyes still fixed on her.
"E-eh?!" The Tsuguko is face turned red and she looked anywhere but at him. "Th-thank you…"
"Ah, s-sorry, I guess I shouldn't say that out of nowhere." Tanjiro blushed and scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile. "…I mean it, though."
"…I know."
The two stood in an awkward silence for a few moments until Tanjiro broke it.
"Ah, Kanao."
"Yes?!"
"Your hair, it's falling from its ponytail." He pointed out.
The Tsuyuri moved a hand to her butterfly ornament and noticed that it was true, it almost became undone.
'I guess I put too much strength on my movements because I was trying to impress Tan-' She shook her head to stop that train of thought before her blush was too obvious.
"If you want, I can help you with it." The Kamado offered.
"Really?"
"Yes." He nodded with a smile but it turned into a frown. "Ah, wait, I don't have a comb with me-"
"I'll go get one in my room, I'll be right back." She said the moment he finished talking, about to do just that.
"Ah, thanks but… wouldn't it be better if you use the comb in your room if you're going to get it anyway?"
Kanao stopped on her tracks but didn't turn to face him.
"…ant… y ha…"
"S-sorry, I didn't hear that." Tanjiro said.
"I… I want you to comb my hair." She repeated.
Tanjiro's face flared up at her declaration and, while he couldn't see her face, he had a feeling hers was in the same state.
"…alright." The Kamado said.
Kanao nodded without turning around before leaving to get the comb.
'Not good.' He thought, bringing a hand to his chest. 'My heart is beating like crazy.' Despite that, a goofy smile was plastered on his face.
.
It only took Kanao a few minutes to come back with the comb.
"So, how do we…?" She trailed off there, frowning in thought.
"Here." He moved to the side, letting his right leg hang from the step of the porch and extending his hand to take the comb. "Just sit in front of me, make sure to tell me if I'm hurting you or something."
"R-right." Kanao nodded and did as told, sitting in seiza with her back to him. "G-go ahead."
Tanjiro moved his hand to the ornament holding her hair on its side ponytail but stopped.
"Can you undo the ponytail?"
"Ah, yes." Kanao nodded and removed the butterfly ornament, letting her hair fall to her back.
"Then, I'll begin." Tanjiro declared, his expression oddly serious for what he was about to do; not that Kanao could see it.
Slowly, he began to pass the comb through her hair with his right hand while the left one held the ends and straightened it.
"Your hair is really soft." He said absentmindedly.
"Thank you." Kanao whispered.
"It doesn't hurt, does it?"
"No, not at all." She assured him. "Have you done this before?"
"Sometimes, with my siblings; I couldn't do an actual hairstyle, unless it's a simple one, but I helped comb Nezuko and Hanako's hair sometimes and I brush Nezuko's hair for her now because of her condition."
"I see, that explains it."
"Explains what?"
"You're being really careful, it makes sense since you probably always made sure not to hurt your siblings."
Tanjiro chuckled sheepishly in response.
"What about you? Do you usually take care of your hair?"
"…a bit, it's mostly out of habit, though."
"Hm?"
"Kanae-nee-san used to say that she liked my hair and I should make sure to take care of it." The Tsuyuri explained with a somber tone.
"Kanae-san must have been a great person."
"She really was." Kanao's hand moved to her butterfly ornament. "This was hers, Master gave it to me after Kanae-nee-san passed away… she said 'Nee-san would have wanted you to have it'." She hugged her butterfly ornament close. "Along with my coin… this was one of the many gifts she gave me."
"I'm sorry she's gone." Tanjiro said solemnly. "I agree with her."
"What do you mean?"
"About taking care of your hair, it's really soft and beautiful, I'm glad you listened to her." Even without turning around, she could imagine his smile as he said. "I'm sure she'd be happy to know that too."
"…yes." Kanao nodded, a small smile of her own forming.
"Alright, I'm done." Tanjiro declared, moving his hands back.
"Hm, you're done?"
"Yes, now you just have to put your hair back in its usual ponytail." He nodded.
"…Tanjiro." Kanao called out as she turned around.
"Yes?"
"Can you do it?" She moved her butterfly ornament towards him.
"…of course." Carefully, almost reverently, he took the item from her. "Stay still, please."
Kanao turned back around and did as told.
The Kamado carefully grabbed the strands of her and moved them to her right side until they were in position, using his left hand to hold her hair in place and then using the right one to slide the butterfly ornament in place.
"It's done, what do you think?"
Kanao moved a hand to her hair ponytail and turned around.
"It's perfect." She answered, her smile wide.
Day 3, done!
For some reason, I love the idea of Tanjiro helping Kanao with her hair, I'm so glad this is one of the themes!
As always, I hope you enjoyed!
Until tomorrow!
