Hey! This is a birthday present for a really good friend of mine (Tiffany I hope you're reading this) so I hope I've portrayed these two well and that you enjoy reading this short story. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!
Anyway, now for anyone reading this, I also hope that you enjoy reading this and I apologise in advance for my english because it's not my language, so feel free to correct me on my mistakes! Also, it would mean a lot to me if you could leave a fav or a review telling me what you think about this or what I can do to improve.
I really do hope you enjoy reading this! Thank you for your time!
The sound of small but still strong waterfalls is what woke him up from his nightmares. The constant reminder of the yelps of help, the desperate cries of pain and the continuous sound of broken bones haunted his sleep. He could feel his weak body trembling in reminder of the traumatic events and his breathing almost becoming unsteady. Almost. He was still a Pillar, there was no way he could lose his perfect concentration because of an useless nightmare.
Well, maybe he wasn't a Pillar anymore, because there weren't any more demons to slaughter. Or that's what he wished for, his memories of the last 30 minutes of the fight were anything but clear: he remembers that Kamado boy on fire and his demon sister attacking Muzan with so much strength that the floor was shaking as if they were through an earthquake; he remembers Himejima barely dodging the hits as a consequence of losing one of his legs; the horrible sound of Sanemi's broken and desperate insults towards Tomioka, shouting something about ohagi and doing it with only one hand; and Mitsuri lying on the floor, as beautiful as ever even with her new haircut and all beaten up, crying and trying to break free from Kamado's friends.
And then, Muzan dying, finally getting consumed by the sun.
That's all he remembers before everything turned black, and next thing he knew was that he was waking up from those nightmares that, actually, were memories.
Iguro tried to get out of the bed, only to feel Kaburamaru putting him down as soon as he realised his intentions. A little feeling of relieve took away his previous anxiety and agony as soon as he felt his snake's rough and harsh skin meeting his, reminding him that Kaburamaru was alive and still next to him even after, hopefully, defeating Muzan. Relieve soon turned into happiness and he could feel his scarred lips curving into a shy, almost unnoticeable smile. Kaburamaru was there, alive, by his side.
Iguro gave him a small pet on the head and tried to get up once again, feeling how his ribcage was about to break and his whole body receiving electricity shocks of pain, but he didn't stop until his back was against a mattress… A mattress? His room didn't have one, neither did his district. Where was he again?
He moved his hand in order to search for his sword, but he didn't find it laying anywhere near him. Of course he wasn't going to find it, his captor should have been really stupid and reckless to have left it near him. But… why was Kaburamaru with him then? Did his captor really think that a snake wasn't going to be much of a threat unlike his sword? Or had Kaburamaru managed to find him? Then, why didn't his fellow snake try to find his sword?
Maybe, he didn't consider said captor to be much of an issue, or maybe the captor had left the snake with him. In any case, those were good news, meaning that the kidnapper could be either stupid or useless. Though just in case, Iguro thought that he ought to get ready for a fight.
But when he tried to open his eyes, he realised that they had long been opened.
Obanai Iguro had lost his eyesight. Before he could lament it or remind when that had happened, the sound of hurried steps reached his ears. Just by the way the feet were colliding with the floor, fastly, heavily, without trying to be silent, Iguro guessed that said person still thought that he was unconscious. Good, his chances of winning were getting higher.
However, there was something strange going on in that place, he could feel it in the environment. The place didn't look dangerous, there wasn't anything foreign nor terrifying around it, what's more, he could hear some some birds chirping in the distance and something that carried a sweet smell coming towards him. And what was more strange, Kaburamaru was swirling on his lap and making happy noises with his long tongue.
Maybe…
"Iguro-san! You are awake! I made pancakes but they are still too hot because I thought you would take a bit more of time to wake up. B-but I hope you like them when you can eat them."
Sweet… Not only the smell was sweet, but her whole presence and voice too. Bubbly and cheerful, as if she hadn't gone through the apocalypsis itself, probably smiling widely at him and leaving the food gracefully at the desk. Iguro couldn't see her anymore, he wasn't able to see her beautiful green eyes glowing cheerfully and lovingly at everything she liked, he wasn't able to see her lovely and dreamy sweet smile, nor her adorable way of gesticulation, and not even her probably blushing, pink, round, cheeks.
Iguro couldn't see her, he could only feel, feel how she sat down on the bed next to him, how she was taking his weak hand between hers and her still somewhat long hair resting on his shoulders. And even if his eyes were surrounded by dark, her presence managed to bring some light to his dark world.
"Kanroji-san, what day is it?" Iguro said, his voice raspy and deep, his throat dry because of the lack of water and finally feeling how his bandages had disappeared too, leaving his scars visible.
"It's been 5 days from the fight, from Muzan's defeat." Mitsuri said cheerfully, joyfully, her voice somehow relaxed and happy. She was probably smiling too, but Iguro couldn't see it, he wouldn't be able to see her smile with his eyes ever again. "And call me Mitsuri, Iguro-san. W-well only if you want to, of course!"
There was something in that request, something indubitably sweet but also embarrassing that made him get reactions, shameful and egregious reactions. His cheeks suddenly reddened, now that he had lost his vision he was much more aware of everything surrounding him, and he didn't like that feeling of exposure. His hands were also heating up, and his previously almost dead heartbeats were catching more and more speed, bringing him back the life he had long lost.
"Have you been taking care of me for all this time?" He asked again, the words almost stuck on his throat and Kanroji's, no, wait, Mitsuri's grasp on his hand feeling like fire to him, a sweet, homely fire.
"Yes! But I have also had some help, a lot of people have come to visit you Iguro-san. Inosuke and Kanao came here to help me make the food and check you. Kanao-chan is really good with medicines, she has been giving you this pharmaceuticals that Shinobu-san created for specially severe injuries. And Inosuke-kun is incredibly good at anatomy so he has helped with your bandages!" Mitsuri spoke fast, nervously, but with tremendous illusion on her voice and her usual bubbliness taking the room, her hand taking his softly.
"Thank you, Mitsuri." Iguro said, his voice cracking at saying her name and another way too powerful blush taking control of his cheeks. He hated it.
Iguro could swear he heard Kanroji, no, wait again, Mitsuri squeal under her breath and feel her body stiffening, getting smaller and moving the sheets of the bed with her own movement. For a moment he wondered if he shouldn't have called her by her first name even after being told he could, but he erased the thought when Mitsuri grabbed his hand harder.
Embarrassed, she was getting shy, and she wasn't aware that her unusually strong strength was probably breaking his bones, but Iguro didn't care, it was cute. She was cute, everything surrounding her was always so full of light, so clear, so bright, so elegant and so appealing that he wanted to get impregnated by it even when he shouldn't. Because he was still dark, filthy, and she was happy, brightful, cheerful, everything he had ever wanted and something he didn't want to break.
"It's nothing Iguro-san, I would do anything for you!" She said without thinking, she never thought before speaking. Cute. "W-wait, I have been too forward, sorry Iguro-san, I didn't mean it that way, I promise! I just got carried away because you are here, and you are alive, and you are not in danger of dying anymore, and I… I am so happy that you are here with me that I can't think."
"It's nothing Mitsuri, I understand." He spoke again, feeling his cheeks almost wanting to explode and Kaburamaru swirling again on his lap, probably moving to lay on top of Mitsuri's lap too.
Silence took the room for a few moment in which Iguro allowed himself to relax and think. They had defeated Muzan, and some of them were alive, and others weren't, unfortunately. But they had always been aware of those risks and had still continued going forward towards their objective of eliminating the demons in order to have a long, prosperous, peaceful life. Towards a world in which he could allow himself to fall in love with Mitsuri, where he could tell her his feelings and purify his filthy blood.
Because he could do that, couldn't he? They had defeated Muzan after killing an uncountable amount of demons, after getting their blood stuck on his soul and after going through hell itself when he was only a mere kid. He could allow himself to get a bit of happiness, couldn't he?
But that only meant that Mitsuri's beautiful soul would get filthy because of his presence, because of the dark, death and pain that he carried. Because he wasn't good enough for someone as perfect, as gorgeous, as happy and as lovable as her. She deserved someone who would love her for who she is, someone who would do anything in their hands for her, someone who would only make her happier, someone good enough for her.
And Iguro didn't feel like he was that one, and he highly doubted that someone could match Mitsuri's perfection.
"Iguro-san, are you tired? Do you want to rest a bit more?" She spoke delicately, her hand still holding his and her hair tingling his shoulders.
"No, I'm fine, just thinking. How are the rest?"
Mitsuri told him everything with extreme detail, her voice so soothing that his previous thoughts were getting forgotten and everything that occupied his mind was Mitsuri's unique way of expressing herself.
She told him that Himejima had lost one leg, but that he was still alive and that he regained consciousness only two days after the fight, surviving the mark. Then she moved onto Tomioka, telling him that the Water pillar had lost one of his arms and that was now under Sanemi's care, trying to learn how to make ohagi with only his left arm. It wasn't going well.
Talking about Sanemi, he had more scars, but he didn't lose any part of his body what was incredible considering that he had special blood, and most importantly, he was alive. Mitsuri didn't mention anything regarding Sanemi's mental health, and Obanai didn't ask, they both knew he blamed himself for Genya's, his little brother's, death. But Mitsuri made him promise they were going to visit Tomioka and Sanemi when he felt better.
Then she moved to the young squad, starting with Nezuko who was alive and back to being a human again. It seemed like since she had started taking the medicine to become a human, after Muzan's death all of his blood and cells disappeared from her body and she was brought back to normal. Tanjiro was also alive, but he had lost his eyesight, was still unconscious and had a lot of severe burns all across his body. But he was alive, and that was the most important thing.
Zenitsu, Kanao and Inosuke were also alive, though Kanao had lost one of her eyes and Zenitsu some of his hearing. But overall, they were all alive. And that's what mattered, they had survived hell.
"And I think that's all… Oh, we are positive about Tanjiro-kun regaining consciousness soon!" She said, still as cheerful and bright as ever, making Kaburamaru swirl on his lap.
"That's really good, I'm glad to hear most of us are alive."
"Ye- Oh my!" Mitsuri suddenly exclaimed, her body tensing and her soft hair leaving his shoulders. Obanai was already missing it, but he wasn't going to say it out loud. "The pancakes! Sorry Iguro-san I spoke for so long that the food is now cold, let me prepare you something else."
But before she could get up and leave, he grabbed her arm with his free hand. No, it was too soon, he didn't want to lose that brightness and be left in the dark. Again. He didn't want the darkness to take him again. Maybe he was becoming selfish, reckless and stupid, but for the second time in his life, he was scared. Scared of losing her, scared of the dangers of the new non-demonic world, scared of the future, scared of not having a goal.
Scared of maybe, just maybe, being able to get a grasp of the happiness that he had been longing for.
"I'll eat them." Iguro said, his voice almost sounding desperate and his body aching because of the sudden movement. But he didn't care, he only wanted Mitsuri back.
"Oh, okay Iguro-san, I really do hope you like them!" She spoke fastly again, sitting down next to him and probably carrying a smile, a sweet, soft smile that Iguro couldn't see but that still managed to bring light to him.
Maybe… If he allowed it… Mitsuri could help him start again, be reborn into someone he could be proud of, someone who would be worthy of her company. Somebody Mitsuri would be happy with, somebody whose soul would not carry death, but happiness for her.
"They are tasty, you're a good chef." He said after swallowing down one piece, it didn't matter to him that the food was cold, Mitsuri made everything cold become warm with her presence.
"R-really? I'm glad Iguro-san! I made them with as much care and love as I can, but as I am not the Love Pillar anymore I was afraid some might have gone missing." She said happily, half joking but in such an adorable way that Iguro couldn't help but to smile.
Maybe… He could be enough for her, someday. He couldn't promise when, but he was willing to try to become someone worthy of Kanroji Mitsuri's love.
"Call me Obanai, Mitsuri."
Maybe it was too soon to tell her about his feelings, but at least he was opening the gates to confess someday, and when he felt Mitsuri hugging him with her incredible strength and her soft sobbing on his chest, Iguro realised that those days were getting closer.