Rain and Care
Summary: Tanjirou watches a crow and then does what he does best; takes care of Shinobu.
Notes: Partial free translation of and inspired by art found on pixiv by ぽっぷこーん. A late birthday gift for DemonLordGalm. Thank you for the amazing story. Wish you the best!
Drew a blank over the title and ended up with this generic nightmare.
The crow had come in the early evening.
Tanjirou was taking a break from his training, watching as it landed through Shinobu-san's open window.
Moments later, he saw Shinobu-san leave her lab.
He looked at the sky for a second, sniffed and then ran towards her.
"Shinobu-san!" he called.
She turned to smile at him.
"Sorry, Tanjirou-kun. I am in a little bit of a hurry."
"No, I know. I saw the crow. I just wanted to see you off." he smiled, "Oh, and warn you; it's going to rain later."
Shinobu stared surprised before smiling softly at the young Slayer.
"Thank you. I'll try to be back before then."
Tanjirou nodded once before he bowed.
"Please be safe." he said seriously.
Shinobu fleetingly ran her fingers through his hair, before she took off.
xxxx
The rain had started halfway through the night, forcing Tanjirou to stop his meditation for the night.
'I hope Shinobu-san found cover from the rain.' he thought looking outside at the rain.
Suddenly, he heard the door open and close and someone sigh in relief.
"I couldn't finish earlier…"
"Shinobu-san?" Tanjirou asked, walking towards the door, "Did you get caught in the rain?" he looked from around the corner, hoping to be proven wrong.
"A little, on my way home." she smiled.
Tanjirou frowned.
"Please wait a moment! I'll bring you a towel!" he called, as quietly as possible and dashed towards the bathroom.
"I'm sorry for the trouble, Tanjirou-kun. Anything dry will be fine." she called softly after him, "Oh, I should dry this, too." he heard her say, as he came back.
"Sorry for making you wait." he said.
"Thank you ver–"
Her sentence was cut off, as the towel landed on her head and Tanjirou started drying her hair.
He frowned as he noticed how cold they were.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked, worried, his hands working carefully on his senior's hair, "You should have stayed at a Wisteria Crest house – one must have been closer. You could catch a cold like that, you know. It's really chilly tonight." he said softly.
Shinobu could only stare in surprise at the teen, as he cared for her, reminding her of her older sister once more.
Tanjirou seemed to notice her silence.
"Shinobu-san?" he wondered, looking at her, "What's the ma–aaaahhhh!" he realised what he had been doing and raising his hands in the air, took a step back, "I'm so sorry! It's an old habit! Takeo would often stay out, getting caught in the rain, trying to help me…" he trailed off.
Shinobu had pulled the towel a little over her face and then leaned on his chest.
"Shi-Shinobu-san?"
"Thank you." she said so softly Tanjirou had to strain his ears.
Tanjirou blinked and smiled softly, raising his hands back to her head, lightly rubbing her hair.
"Any time, Shinobu-san." he said.
They stayed like that for a moment longer, before Tanjirou moved a little, causing Shinobu to look up.
"Should I go prepare the bath for you?" he asked.
"You should go rest. I can do that."
He shook his head.
"It's fine. Shinobu-san was out on a mission. It's the least I can do."
Shinobu gave him a small smile.
"Then, thank you."
Tanjirou gave her hair another rub before taking the towel and making sure at least that it had dried a bit. Then, with a small nod, he ran to the bathroom and prepared it for Shinobu.
When he came out to call her, he found her waiting outside.
"Ah, sorry. Did I make you wait?"
"No." the Insect Pillar shook her head, "Thank you again, Tanjirou-kun."
"Mmm. It's the least I can do." he shook his head with a smile, "Ah, before I forget, Aoi-san has kept dinner for you. I'll go warm it up for you."
"You should be resting, Tanjirou-kun."
"I'll rest afterwards. Right now, it's important to make sure Shinobu-san is warmed up and has eaten something."
"At least, rest a little before rushing to warm up my dinner." she said with exasperated fondness.
Tanjirou just smiled.
xxxx
Shinobu found him in the kitchen slumped over the table, a tray set at his right.
With a soft smile, Shinobu took off her haori and covered Tanjirou with it, then sat beside him to eat.
She had finished and was setting her plates aside to be cleaned in the morning, when she heard Tanjirou come to.
"Mmm…Shi…nobu…-san…?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
Shinobu looked on as he sat up and looked around him – failing to notice her standing behind him – and then look at her haori thrown over his shoulders.
"Ah. I thought I smelt Shinobu-san. Was it just her haori? How did it got here?" he mumbled sleepily.
With a mischievous smile, Shinobu rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning close to him.
"Because I didn't want you to catch a cold." she whispered to his ear.
Tanjirou froze, managing to stop himself from yelping in surprise.
"Shinobu-san." he turned to look at her, blushing at finding her so close.
She smiled at him.
Tanjirou could only stare.
"Tanjirou-kun?" Shinobu asked, worried.
The younger Slayer sighed, closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.
"I forgot to do something."
"What?"
"It's a bit late, but…Welcome home, Shinobu-san."
Shinobu's eyes grew wide in surprise, before she, too, closed them, a small, warm smile appearing on her lips.
"I'm glad to be back." she replied, then pulling back a little looked Tanjirou in the eyes, "Though, you should probably go to bed now, Tanjirou-kun."
"Okay." he agreed softly, getting to his feet.
He then proceeded to place her haori back on her shoulders, kiss her forehead and pat her head.
"Sleep well." he said softly and then turned to go to his bed, stifling a yawn.
Shinobu was left staring at his retreating back with a surprised look in her eyes and a light blush on her cheeks.
xxxx
When Tanjirou woke up the next morning, he didn't move for five minutes, staring at the ceiling as flashes of last night came back slowly to him.
'Did I really…?'
Training that day passed by in a blur.
He is pretty sure Aoi-san and the girls looked at him worriedly, making Zenitsu and Inosuke ask him if he was okay.
"Tanjirou…?"
"Hm?"
"Are you alright? Your sound's…all over the place."
"Uh…yeah…Just…really embarrassed? Mortified?" he replied, "I'll be fine. But thanks for worrying, Zenitsu." he smiled.
"Eat." Inosuke shoved a plate at him, "You'll feel better."
"Food isn't going to help, you idiot!" Zenitsu screamed.
"It helps me fine!"
Tanjirou chuckled softly to himself, feeling glad he met them.
By the time he sat down on the roof for his nightly meditation, he had almost forgotten his embarrassment.
"Good evening, Tanjirou-kun." she said softly against his ear.
Tanjirou gave a soft startled yelp, pulling back and away a little.
"A-Ah, good evening, Shinobu-san." he blushed.
Shinobu sat down beside him.
Tanjirou sat up straight.
"You are rather tense tonight."
"A-ah…um…I should apologise."
"Apologise?"
"For last night."
"Why?"
"I feel like I spoke and acted out of line." he said, looking down at his hands.
Shinobu's smile dropped a little, before she reached over and took his hands in hers.
"Tanjirou-kun." she called him.
"Yes?" he squeaked, looking at her, his blush vanishing the moment he saw how serious she looked.
"Thank you for taking care of me last night. It was very kind of you to wait for me and make sure I was warmed up and had my dinner."
"It's the least I could do for Shinobu-san." he said softly.
"You didn't have to. You are a patient here; I am the one to care for you, not the other way around, both as a Pillar and a doctor." she cupped his cheek, "In this world we live, where demons lurk in the shadows, every little ordinary act of kindness is proof of strength. So never think that you overstepped your boundaries by caring for someone, no matter their status compared to yours. It's not the 'least' you could do, Tanjirou-kun. It means a lot to the recipient party. You don't have to be embarrassed either."
"Even if I get carried away by my memories of me caring for my siblings? If I'm treating you as if you were them?"
"Didn't I say you are a lot alike my older sister first?" she smiled kindly, "An older brother treating an older friend like a younger sibling, when said friend equates him a bit to their murdered older sibling is the kind of confusing world we live in, isn't it?"
"Shinobu-san, that made no sense at all and at the same time too much sense."
Shinobu chuckled softly beside him.
Tanjirou smiled a little.
"We make a fine pair, don't we?" she wondered.
"Because of the confusing world we live in?"
"Yes."
Tanjirou hummed, looking up at the stars.
"Well, so long as Shinobu-san isn't offended by me wanting to care for her, I think it's fine."
"Why would I be offended?"
"It could be seen as rather…presumptuous of me to act like that towards my senior."
"It's nice having someone take the initiative to care for me. Not to say that the girls don't care for me–" she hastily added, not wanting to sound like her girls didn't care.
"But you are the eldest and they are in your care." Tanjirou smiled, "My family cared for me, but I was their protector and provider after father died. Or, I was supposed to be."
"It wasn't your fault, Tanjirou-kun." she said softly.
"Neither it was Shinobu-san's." he replied.
They looked at each other, smiling softly.
"That nose of yours…"
"If Shinobu-san can tell how I feel about my family's deaths and try to make me feel better, then shouldn't I return the favor? Even if she doesn't want to believe me just yet?"
"Because you yourself will listen to me, Tanjirou-kun?"
Tanjirou smiled warmly at her.
"Thank you." he said.
Shinobu sighed and closed her eyes, leaning on his shoulder.
"We make such a fine pair." she said once more.
Tanjirou chuckled, patting her head softly.
"From where I stand, the company is really nice." he said.
Shinobu's eyes grew wide for a second, before she chuckled quietly.
"Careful, Tanjirou-kun. One would think you are trying to confess to me."
"Shinobu-san did say we make a fine pair first, though." he said quietly, looking away.
The Insect Pillar glanced up at his face.
"Are you blushing, Tanjirou-kun?" she teased, poking his cheek.
A soft sound left the boy's lips.
With a warm smile, Shinobu cupped his right cheek and leaned up to press a kiss to his left one, making the younger Slayer freeze beside her. Then she returned to her previous position, with her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Tanjirou-kun."
"For what?" he asked after a moment.
"For having such a beautiful soul in this world."
A kind smile appeared on his lips, as he leaned slightly down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, pulling her closer still.
Then he turned to look up at the night sky, feeling Shinobu-san sigh content and do the same.