Of paper planes and braids.
Author: Ya'girlBeppie/ThatgirlBeppie
Spoiler alert: Applies. Light spoilers of the swordsmith village arc and of the final battle against Muzan. Canon Divergence.
No beta. Hope you enjoy it! I put a lot of effort in it :))
Summary: Nezuko wasn't used to spend long periods of time alone, but when he found her with a paper plane between her hands, he knew there wasn't the need to worry.
-oOo-
Tired and worn out. That would be the words which Kamado Tanjiro would use if you asked him how he was feeling right at that moment. He was drained, without mentioning all the consequences that would carry having spent such a long time without food and water. As young as Kotetsu was, he ended up being the strictest teacher he had ever had. Not even Urokodaki-san acted like him that during his training at the Mount Sagiri.
His wobbly legs as proof of his weariness. However, Tanjiro decided not letting this affect his mode. He had convinced Kotetsu into letting him walk away from the space they had designed as their training ground, all under the excuse of changing his tattered and ragged clothes for clean ones. Kotetsu did accept, but he didn't give in at all and said that he wanted to have him back in an hour.
That will be enough.
That would be time enough for taking a change of clothes and clean up, everything as fast as possible, because he wanted to spend all the time he could with her younger sister: Nezuko.
He had spent four days at the training grounds. Surely her little sister would be preoccupied for his sudden absence. He had gone out for a while, but not expecting that he had end up away for days. So, he was planning on apologize and explain the situation as quick as possible.
He felt his spirits lift up at the plan. So he continued his path until getting to the inn where the youngest of the Kamados waited.
Nezuko wasn't used to spend long periods of time alone. During his stays in the Butterfly estate there were the other girls, who would often keep her company and play with her. But now…well, Kanroji-san was there, right? But she wasn't going to evade her responsibilities in order of giving company to Nezuko, right? Things were different, even his loud mouthed friends weren't there to get rid of the long silence Nezuko must have endured.
How had she been? Would she be angry at his sudden disappearance? Or even worse, what if she was sad?
The guiltiness invaded his heart, and he ended running the remaining part of his route, giving short greetings to the people he crossed path with. He crossed the inn in way to his bedroom.
"Nezuko" he said while sliding the door to an empty room. The young lady wasn't there. Tanjiro felt a stab at his heart, and before letting his feelings act he noticed that the door which divided the room from the garden was open.
"Nezuko" he peeked out to the garden and found her seated on the engawa.
At hearing her name she looked toward who had called her and their gazes met. For a moment he feared she would be angry, but said fear disappeared when he saw his eyes shrinking, meaning she was smiling under the muzzle. The girl started making happy noises under the muzzle.
It was then that Tanjiro's attention landed on her hands, or rather, on what she was holding between her fingers.
"Hey, what do you have there?" he asked while taking a seat at her side on the engawa.
The younger one stretched out her hands holding out the small paper figure on her hands. It was a paper plane. The tip seemed a little dented, probably due to some abrupt landings. From then on, the figure appeared to be in good condition, the folds precise and well-marked.
Would she have done it?
His answer was right by the side, where a pair of paper planes of other colors rested against the floor. The edges and folds looked careless and somewhat poorly made. It was obvious the first plane, the one she showed to him wasn't made by herself.
"Did you made this one?" he asked while pointing to the perfect made plane. Nezuko denied with her head and reached her hands out, retrieving her precious plane from his brother's hands.
"Did someone else made it for you?" the younger one nodded. Her eyes creasing, she was smiling again "Kanroji-san?" Tanjiro tried to guess, and she denied with her head "Some of the villagers?" and she denied again. That didn't let up many options, they haven't met a lot of people, who else could have been?
"Genya?" Nezuko changed her expression. Confusion filling her eyes "Don't worry, forget about it. Where you alone all this time?" her eyes creased again while she smiled and denied again.
"Really? That's a relief! You know, I didn't thought that I would stay outside so long, it was really sudden. I'm so sorry, It wasn't my intention leaving you alone" her face remained the same, her brow wasn't furrowing, so he knew she wasn't mad.
"I got a lot to tell you! There's this boy, Kotetsu-kun, he is helping me to train. He has this training doll which is so fast!" his expression dropped immediately "But I have only been beaten by it, I haven't been able of land a hit... Tokitō-kun seemed to handle it so well, even when we seem to have the same age, he did it great" it was then that he noticed that Nezuko seemed to be really focused on the topic, and assuming it was due to preoccupation of his failing training having as a consequence she stucked as a demon forever, he was fast to add "But do not worry about it, I can stand it because I am the oldest. I will get stronger and turn you back into a human. So, do not worry about it, all right?" and he finalized by patting her head. Nezuko smiled, dissipating his brother's discomfort.
"But I got to go again" he seated up from the engawa "Kotetsu-kun is so severe. He only let me come back to change my clothes" a little tug of what remained as his ragged clothes stopped him from leaving "Nezuko? What's wrong?" the girl pointed to her hair "Oh! You want me to do your hair? Well… It can't be that hard, right?"
Certainly he had underestimated the hard task it was to make braids. He had just discovered a new sense of respect for Kanroji and all the women for the daily efforts that it took to style their hair like that. The braids he had made on the black curtains of her sister looked unkempt, and the strands weren't proportional. He hadn't followed the correct order for braiding, so he had made a disaster out of her hair. Untangling it would take lot of time. Kotetsu was going to kill him for exceeding the agreed time.
-oOo-
He didn't have the right words for describing the training session he just had. He had told to the squared haori guy and to the masked brat that it had been a great session. But to be honest, he didn't feel that it went that way.
Which sense did it have to train if his movements were so much accurate and polished, and the doll's ones so repetitive to depict a challenge?
Fruitless. He had loose his time. But at least he had made sure that he was not rusty, and that could already be considered a profit.
Without stopping to think about it too much, he continued on his way until he reached the inn. Tokitō roamed the hallways without any hurry. By the night he would be seeing the village's Boss to review issues around his nichirinto, so until then there wasn't much to do.
He was in those vague thoughts when the presence of a figure alerted him and made him halt in the middle of the hallway right in front of a door, where a young lady with black and long hair was staring at him.
Her eyes were pink, and there was a bamboo muzzle on her mouth. He remembered her from somewhere. He had already seen her, But from where?
The young user of the mist breathing felt a prick of pain at his head, which helped him to get free from his thoughts. He didn't have to force himself to remember. It was at that moment that he realized they had been staring at each other.
"I know you from somewhere, right?" the girl blinked a couple of times, and her eyes creased lightly, smiling. She nodded and that seemed to be enough to believe her. Tokitō Muichirō turned around and continued on his way, leaving Nezuko right at her spot under the shoji's frame.
So the days had passed, and every single time that Muichirō returned to the inn a similar scene occurred again. Every time he walked through the hallway near that room, the pink lady was there, standing under the door's frame, and it was then that she greeted or smiled to him.
He was making his way through the hallway, again, when he halted at seeing her on her usual spot. This was the third day in row that she did the same. He observed her for a moment and she smiled.
"Kamado Nezuko" he called her. The dark haired girl opened her eyes wide, slightly puzzled "That's your name, right?" and despite the fact that he couldn't see her lips curling into a smile, he had the sensation that her smile just intensified.
Muichirō had just remembered last night, the events occurred during the Hashira meeting, and how did Oyakata-sama accepted the demon's presence so she could be maintained alive and coexist beside everyone else.
So that meant, that the guy with the hanafunda earrings he saw in the training grounds that was along the masked brat had been Kamado Tanjiro. It was obvious due to the fact that his sister was there, and you could find one where the other.
Muichirō ventured to take a look into the room where Nezuko had been all that time and noticed the absence of certain someone.
"Your brother hasn't come back?" and when the girl denied with her head he knew that he surely was still training, would he still be with the masked brat? Maybe they were using the doll, and that's why they haven't come back.
He didn't know how much time did he spent standing there, until he noticed how Nezuko's body started to wobble slightly, her eyes seemed to stand a battle to keep themselves from being shut down. Neither did he knew when or how did he did it, but he found himself placing his hand over her head and patting her.
"You should go to sleep" he said. The younger of the Kamados rubbed her eyes and dedicated a sleepy smile to him before turning around and getting lost on her own quarter. Leaving a perplexed Tokitō behind.
He didn't even stopped to think, he only acted. And when he noticed he had already patted the girl's head in a gesture many would define as affectionate. His hand still felt warm right where his palm had connected with her head.
Since that time, the things had changed a little bit. Now their interactions weren't limited to simple nods or smiles. Now, Nezuko would bow her head towards him in a mute petition.
That's why he realized about it. When he was walking through the hallway in the fifth day the Kamado wasn't under the door's frame. Even so, the door was open, that's why when he walked by he noticed her occupying the small table located at the middle of the room. The floor was replete of colorful paper sheets. Some were wrinkled into a ball, but the majority seemed to remain untouched.
"What are you doing?" his question left his lips into a sleepy an uninterested tone. Nezuko turned her head around and smiled towards him in a greeting, although she turned back immediately to give back her attention to what she was doing. On the table was a paper sheet, and the persistent yet clumsy hands of Nezuko were making folds. Her moves were clumsy, and the folds were poorly made. After a few moments of observing what she was doing he managed to guess what her objective was.
"Paper planes aren't made like that" he corrected, and taking a white sheet of the paper pile he proceeded to put it against the table "The folds got to be made like this" Nezuko approached to watch properly, and uncommonly enough, her closeness didn't overwhelmed him.
Under the watchful eye of Nezuko, he continued until creating the perfect paper plane.
-oOo-
He made his way back again. He was feeling tired, sored, and his clothing was ragged again. Despite it, he was in a good mood.
He had finally landed a hit to the doll, and although it was useless now, it had served him to find Haganezuka-san, and not only that, but he had told him that he would forge his sword. Everything seemed to be fitting into place, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
Tanjiro had a lot of good news to share with the other guests of the inn. Maybe if he insisted, he would find Genya, and tell him about his adventure. He hasn't forget about Nezuko, he was determined to braid her hair again. The boy was sure he would achieve to do it right this time, since this time he wasn't in a hurry.
Although that thought didn't last long when his eyes landed on her sleepy form. Her sister was sleeping placidly, tough that wasn't new. What was new was her hair, it was styled in a perfect replica of how Mitsuri wears it. Maybe some kind soul had given in to his sister's petition, maybe some villager or some guest of the inn.
Tanjiro smiled, and mentally thanked whoever who deviate from his labors to make his sister happy.
-oOo-
He slid the shoji behind him, leaving his room. It was early in the morning, and despite not being a lot of movement around due to the hour, staying in all day wasn't an option for the Mist Hashira. He knew he got some deals to solve with the blacksmiths. He walked through the hallway that would lead him to the outside, and much to his surprise he managed to distinguish the Kamado girl standing under the door frame, just like she used to do it in the afternoons.
It looked as if she has been waiting for him, since once she saw him she smiled, and proceeded to surround him making a pair of noises under the muzzle. The girl took his hand and gave it a little tug while signaling her hair with her free hand.
"What's wrong?" the young Hashira asked without understanding what was going on. His expression was calm and composed much to the girl's dislike, who was still pulling his sleeve insistently.
The Kamado let go of his arm and extending her palm to him showed him the content she held in her hand. It was a pair of ribbons, similar to the ones she was using right at that moment. Once she showed him the ribbons, she signaled her hair again.
Tokitō stared at her, he blinked a pair of times, understanding dawning on him. He got what Nezuko was asking to him.
"You want me to do your hair?" he asked, and when he got a nod as an answer a sigh let his lips. It would be easy to simply ignore her and go away, but there was something preventing him of doing that. For a moment he thought that, maybe that was the demonic ability she had: persuasion. But he got rid of this thoughts once his gaze landed on hers.
The silence remained, the answer to the young lady's petition was still hanging in the air.
"I'll need a comb" his voice sounded suddenly. An in less than a blink he was being dragged to the room.
The pink eyed girl placed a wooden comb on his hands. And then proceeded to sit with her back to him so that he could work on her black mane.
It wasn't a difficult task, not considering that Muichirō had long hair, so he was well acquainted with the process. Little by little he freed her hair from knots and decided to take a moment to look to the Kamado, who had started to hum happily under the muzzle. At first glance, she appeared to be no more than a girl her age, with big eyes, pale skin and with a peculiarly soft hair. The only thing that stood out and betrayed that she was a demon was the bamboo muzzle, because from there on, she was no different from an average girl. Well, a prettier than average girl.
Nezuko stopped her humming and turned around, as if asking him why had he stopped combing her hair.
"How do you want me to style it?" and once the girl divided her hair on three sections he understood what she wanted, a braid.
This ended up becoming a routine, and the Mist breathing user ended seeing the Kamado not only during the afternoons, but during the mornings too. Every morning he would make her hair and they would finally part ways at the door. It was as if the pink eyed girl was wishing him a nice day, and as if she was welcoming him back with a smile at the end of the day.
And although he didn't quite understood, a warm sensation settled on his chest. Tokitō Muichirō was constantly dealing with her stormy lack of memories, he hadn't even stopped to think about how lonely his daily life was. And now he was realizing how pleasant it was to have somebody around.
-oOo-
His day had been busy, he had left the inn earlier than usual, and between training and visiting the village's boss his day flew by. At least he had a new swordsmith, so his nichirin would be properly taken care of. Right now he was facing a new trouble, how would he find Kono Kanamori?
Maybe the Kamado boy would know it. He had listened from some of the guests of the inn that he had finally came back last night. Therefore, Nezuko wouldn't be alone anymore, and despite it being good news a strange sensation settled on his stomach, did that meant she wouldn't need him anymore?
It wasn't the right time to think about it, and making his way through the inn he finally arrived to the door of the room of the Kamado siblings. He entered without making noise, because after all, being stealthy was already a second nature to him. His gaze swept the room and he finally found the pair, they were slept right at the middle of the room.
Without stopping to think too much, he pinched the older boy's nose.
"Ngh" the Kamado groaned. His eyes twitched before opening them revealing a pair or burgundy orbs. His expression was still slightly sleepy, tough this sleepiness dropped once he noticed his presence.
"Do you know the swordsmith named Kanamori?" he asked without waiting for him to completely abandon his drowsiness.
"Whoa, Tokitō-kun! Did you pinched my nose?" Tanjiro asked bringing his hands up to his face and covering his nose.
"I did pinch it, you took too long to react" he stated. As a slayer his instincts were supposed to be accurate, so his reaction time should predominate, but it didn't seem like that.
"No, no! What I mean, is that, I would have sensed it if there'd been any animosity" the Kamado tried to explain while moving his hands.
"Well, not that I'd pinch someone nose with animosity"
"Well, I do know him" Tanjiro tried to bring back the topic about Kanamori "What's going on? My guess is he's with Mr. Haganezuka"
"Kanamori is my new swordsmith. Where's Haganezuka?" he asked.
"Why don't we go look for them together?"
"Why do you care so much for other people? Isn't there something that you need to do for yourself?" At first glance, one would think he was being rude. But both, his voice and his gestures did not show anything, there was no malice involved. He was being just plainly frank.
"Whatever you do for others comes around to help you, as well in the end. Besides, I was thinking on going to see them too, so you just arrived in time" he added.
"Huh?" the words of the water breathing user remaining on his head. His eyes becoming wider with every passing second "What did you just said? Just now, right now" he needed to hear it again.
"Huh? I said tha-" Nezuko abruptly sat up and head-butted his brother right on the chin "Nezuko! You woke up!" the older brother smiled happily, and started patting her head while talking. What was he saying? Tokitō didn't registered it, he was busy thinking about what Tanjiro had said earlier.
Whatever you do for others comes around to help you? What kind of use could there be in helping someone else? It was meaningless. It was absurd if there was no benefit involved, but… Wasn't that what he had been doing all this time with the younger Kamado? His gaze landed on her, and how her hair was still styled in braids. He had been making her hair the last days, giving her head pats, and he even made her some paper planes. The wellbeing that settled within him when he saw her happy was undeniable. Maybe, just maybe, there was utility in helping other people.
As if the youngest of the Kamados had just noticed him, she approached him, and taking a seat next to him, smiled. With the precision of one who has repeated a movement millions of times, he raised his hand and patted her head a couple of times causing her sounds of delight, all under Tanjiro's watchful eye.
"Hey! It seems she likes you" the guy with the hanafunda earrings smiled, and finally added "Let's go looking for Haganezuka"
And that's how, in the middle of the night the young trio parted in search of the pair of swordsmiths. Tanjiro was leading the way at the same time that he tried to make some small talk, which, in majority was answered by his own self. Muichirō was right behind him when he suddenly felt how Nezuko's hand made its way to hold his own. He turned to her and watched her for a moment, hoping to trigger some reaction from her and her sudden action, but when she just tilted her head and gave him a smile he decided it didn't bothered him.
Her fingers were slightly smaller and slimmer. Her nails brushed his hand, and her hands, contrary to his, were soft and cold. And it was then that Muichirō realized that Tanjiro was right. If being and help the Kamado left this feeling inside of him at the end of the day, he wouldn't mind staying around for little bit longer.
-oOo-
Everything had happened so fast. Two upper moons had appeared to destroy the Swordsmith village completely. However it was best to have material losses rather than human losses, right?
"Are you okay?" asked Muichirō once the Kamado siblings were close enough. Nezuko was carrying his brother into a piggyback ride style.
"Oh… Tokitō-kun… Thank you… Safe… Sword… Thank you" Right. He was the one who threw him the sword-much to Haganezuka's whining-so he could cut off the demon's head.
"Thanks to you too. With your help I regained something important to me" Tanjiro's words had been a little push to the cascade of memories that invaded him during his fight against Gyokko. Now he could remember his father, his mother,…Yuichirō.
"Eh? Oh, no. I didn't do anything" even when the Kamado boy was beaten up he insisted on remaining inconspicuous.
After briefly examining Tanjiro's state his gaze felt on Nezuko. In how differently her hair looked under the natural light, and how the sun's rays pierced her irises. It was quite a show, her orbs weren't exclusively conformed by pink, they had some paler undertones, and red ones.
Pretty.
Turning back his analytical eye he observed the girl in search of injuries but found none. He was relieved that she was okay, and that she could now stand there just below the sun, at his side.
"Nezuko" he called gaining her attention "What did happe-"
"Guys!" he was interrupted. The voice approaching was the one of the Love Hashira "Wha! We did it! We won! We all won! It's wonderful!" cried Mitsuri at the time that she joined them all by a hug.
"We are alive! Thank the gods!" her eyes started to shed tears.
Muichirō felt his lips curl into a small smile while watching how Nezuko repeated what the Hashira was saying. Later he would have time to find out what had happened to the demon girl. Meanwhile he would enjoy the sensation of being involved into the warmth of the bodies around him. Nezuko right by his side.
-oOo-
The move and reinstallation of the blacksmiths started after a couple of hours. The probability of more demons arriving once the darkness overtook growing high. There was no time to pay respect for the fallen ones, neither to properly bury them, nor to cry for them. Time waits for no one and there would be some other potential risks ahead.
The group of slayers had been transported by some Kakushi to the Butterfly estate. Apparently the only one spared of serious injuries had been Nezuko. Genya, despite having eaten a part of the upper moon they had faced, hadn't been freed from injuries or fatigue. Which left two Hashiras and the pair of young boys under the care of the inhabitants of the estate.
His rest had been rough. The ghosts of the past haunted him, he could remember it all and it was more than what he could take. His parents had died when he was ten, and he had been left alone at the age of eleven. Yuichirō had stayed by his side for a year longer than his parents.
The 'Mu' in Muichirō is the 'In' in 'Ineffective', the 'Mu' in Muichirō is the 'In' in 'Invalid'.
Tokitō's senses suddenly kicked in, his ears being the first to react and bringing him back to reality. As soon as he heard the shifting of the sheets his eyes fluttered open to reveal a pair of mint colored orbs.
He immediately realized that he was in the Butterfly state, but his attention quickly shifted and landed on the source of the noise. Kamado Nezuko, now in a smaller and child alike version, was lying next to him on the bed. His eyes watching her with curiosity, was she planning to do something?
"Wha-" he couldn't finish expressing his doubt. The little lady in pink placed her index finger on her lips in a mute petition for silence. It was probably late, and the Kamado being the considerate and generous soul that she was didn´t want to disturb the rest of the others.
Her little hands made their way up against his head, and sharp but gentle claws dragged over his skin until completing her run. Once her hands were placed on the crown of his head, she continued to caress the head of the young Hashira.
He was immediately overwhelmed, and felt his face heat up, a strange new sensation settling on him. The room suddenly felt too small, and Tokitō would have liked nothing more than to get up and put as much distance as possible between himself and Nezuko. But he didn't feel up to it, not when the smaller one drew him closer to her and her fingers sank into his scalp, massaging it and taking a soothing rhythm.
Little by little his body loosened up, and before he knew it, his eyes had closed again, giving way to a new round of dreams. The warmth emanating from her companion remained by his side all night. There were no more nightmares for the rest of the night.
-oOo-
It was later that he discovered by what the others had said that he had spent two days completely sleeping. And it was almost immediately after he and Kanroji were ready to let the state that a Hashira meeting was summoned on the Ubuyashiki state.
It was there where a big exchange of information took place among the Hashiras. The events occurred on the Swordsmith village were recounted. Not everything was hunky-dory, although the fact that the younger of the Kamados had managed to conquer the sun had been somewhat relieving, the possible consequences that this could unleash was what had the seniors concerned.
Kibutsuji Muzan was surely aware of this, and there was a high chance that his plans had changed and now turned around the Kamado girl. This only could mean that the final battle was nearer than expected.
Although they had an ace up their sleeve. Amane-sama had informed them about the marks that had appeared on both Hashiras during his last clash, and how this was a fairly common quality of swordsmen during the Sengoku period. Apparently these marks improved one's commitment to battle and physical abilities.
The gears began to turn, and everything was set in motion. Himejima had devised a form of training for the members of the corporation so the marks would continue to spread.
While the plans were finalized, each pillar withdrew to attend to their own business. That was how Muichirō found himself making his way to the Butterfly state. It had been a little over a week since he had left the place, and according to what he had hear, Tanjiro had already woken up.
He managed to make out the female figure of two girls. One was Kanzaki Aoi, the common inhabitant of the estate, and next to her was Nezuko. Even though he himself had witnessed it before, he couldn't help but feel a little shocked at the idea of a demon under the sun.
The girls seemed to notice him, or at least it seemed Aoi did it first, so the pink eyed girl redirected her attention to what had distracted her companion. Mint and pink clashed when their gazes met, and Muichirō noticed her muzzle was gone.
"We…welcome" said the Kamado, and a smile formed on her face, her fangs stood out slightly. Aoi watched the whole exchange with a smile, like the one who is looking proudly to a younger sibling.
"Right, you can talk now" he said, ignoring the bubbling sensation that surged from him the moment she spoke to him "How's your brother?" he asked.
"Oh! Tokitō-kun!" and as if he had been invoked just by mentioning his name he appeared form the hallway. His leg in a cast, and he moved around with a crutch.
"What are you doing here?" asked Aoi, stopping his chore of putting the clothes to dry for a moment "You are supposed to be resting. You can't move around, remember? Your leg is still healing. Go back inside!" she scolded him.
"B-but"
"I'll help you go back" talked Tokitō, which, at some point, had climbed to the engawa and was now by his side. He left with the Kamado, not before sending another glance at Nezuko's direction.
They walked through the hallways until arriving to a little living room. The room had a nice view to the garden, a long table along with a big bookshelf right at the wall.
"Tokitō-kun, I do not mean to sound rude, but, what are you doing here?" asked the guy with the hanafunda earrings once they settled on to the living room.
"I wanted to know how you were doing" he said while taking a seat "You were slept for a few days"
"It was seven days, but I heard that Kanroji-san and you only slept two and were already better. You both are awesome" he smiled "By the way, Inosuke was here a few moments ago. He was talking about something like a training? To be honest I didn't get at all what he meant" Muichirō turned to see him.
"It's easy" he started to explain "Do you remember the crow that Amane-sama sent?"
"Yeah, it asked me about the marks"
"During the battle in the Swordsmith village, marks appeared on Kanroji and me. According to what Amane-sama said, these are qualities which some of the swordsmen during the Sengoku period possessed, these marks improved one's effectiveness and physical abilities. These marks spread, and if we want to improve we must spread them faster. Himejima thought that if we did some kind of collective training, more marks would appear" the Miss breathing user explained.
Tanjiro listened attentively. Tokitō seemed to have changed since that time in the village, he seemed more expressive and focused, as if the fog that was constantly around him had been cleared. And not to mention that he hadn't heard him talk so much in the time he had known him.
The Mist breathing user continued giving further explanation. Eventually the conversation turned to the other Hashiras and other situations. After a while, the other inhabitants of the estate entered the room along with a blushing Genya. It seemed that the black-haired man had not quite gotten used to the presence of the females.
That was how Genya was included in the conversation, and shortly after Nezuko arrived. She entered to the room and went to where her brother, but when she saw Muichirō she made a slight detour and ended up sitting between him and his brother. This detail didn't go unnoticed by the older Kamado, who, slightly surprised, wondered the reason for such familiarity, and if the two got along well and since when.
At some point Naho returned with some tea for everyone. The time proceeded nicely and just as he lowered his cup, Muichirō felt a slight tug on his sleeve and found the cause right by his side. It was the pink eyed girl, who pointed at her own hair.
"Do you want me to braid it?" he asked. A small smile on his lips when he got an answer with a nod. Nezuko turned around so he could take her hair and divide it into three sections. His hands moved with the dexterity of someone who has repeated the action several times.
"Wait, then this means that all those times I came back from Kotetsu-kun and Nezuko had her hair braided, was it you?" Tanjiro asked agape. Suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fitted together, the braids, the paper planes and the familiarity with which his sister approached the Hashira.
"Yes, it was me" he answered "It wasn't very nice of you letting your sister alone for so long" Tanjiro felt his soul abandoning his body. He's right.
As soon as he held the end of the braid with the ribbon the young lady had handed him, he added: "That's it. It's finished"
Nezuko passed the braid to her side for inspection, and smiled pleased with the result. Her shiny orbs making Muichirō's stomach make a flip flop.
"Th… thanks" she slurred "M…Mui" and smiled proudly at the way her hasty words had come out with effort.
Tanjiro felt his soul abandoning his body- by second occasion in less than five minutes- by the way his sister had called the Hashira.
"Nezuko! It's Tokitō" he corrected her, his cheeks getting red due to the audacity of the minor. The expression of the younger turning remorseful.
"Muichirō it's fine" added the Hashira once he witnessed the scene, and to reinforce his approval caressed her head. Nezuko's mood lighting up immediately.
Tanjiro witnessed the scene, and felt warmness spread through his body, Tokitō was a nice person. So taking advantage of the fact that Sumi and Kiyo were forcing Genya to eat some dango and that the attention was scattered, decided to act.
"Hey, Tokitō-kun" he called him, so he deviated his attention from Nezuko, which decided to join the young girls in this recently popular game between them, which was probably named 'Bothering Genya' or something like that. Once he was sure of having his attention, he proceeded with his plan.
"Do you like Nezuko?" he asked without warning. But the question didn't disturbed the young Hashira at all.
"Of course, she is very likeable. I don't get why I wouldn't" he finalized. Tanjiro smiled, amused at the answer he received and reformulated the question in his mind before trying again.
"No, what I mean is. If you like her LIKE HER… umm. If you like her like the kind of like to spend your whole life with her once she's human again" he tried to explain too intent on explaining himself to look at the Mist breathing user in the eye.
Lacking an answer, Tanjiro looked up and found a Tokitō Muichirō he had never seen before. His eyes were opened wide, his sleepy default expression gone, and his lips were slightly parted, agape. What caught his eye the most was the growing redness on his face. Although his shocked expression dissipated quickly and turned back to normal, the blush remained on his face and ears.
"And… and what if I do?" he said, his voice coming more rushed than he himself would have liked. Tanjiro watched him for a few seconds, and his expression broke into a smile.
"Then I would welcome you to the family. As long as it's you, I know I can rest at ease" he added happily "Also, I'm almost sure that Nezuko likes you too" and the Hashira's face lit up again.
-oOo-
It had been strange, difficult to understand. However, when Tanjiro asked, he knew he was right. Along the way he had ended up falling for Kamado Nezuko.
Every time he saw her, and with every little action taken, the pink eyed girl had managed to capture the thoughts and feelings of the mist breathing user. It was still something new, his feelings were starting to develop, but he got the sensation that they would end up growing more and more.
He thought about her, and how he didn't knew it would be the last time he saw her when he later visited her in the butterfly state. If he had knew it, he would have expressed a proper farewell before they took her to hide where she would refuge form the inevitable battle that was to come.
"Where do you think you are going? You haven't finished your set of repetitions" his commanding voice came out. Right at the moment he was training with the slayers corresponding to his section. The mint eyed boy shook his head, taking away any thoughts related to the demon girl. He would have time for that of things later.
-oOo-
The fight against the upper moon had been more than tough, and the pain he was feeling in those moments exceeded him greatly. He had received so many blows and cuts that it was impossible for him to remember how many times had he been hit. His shoulder had been pierced, and he had lost his left limb from the wrist. However, his most serious injuries had been obtained by getting too close into the attack range of Kokushibo.
He had fight beside Genya, Himejima and Sanemi. The demon slayer marks had appeared, and it had been thanks to their joint work that they had managed to topple the upper moon one. It had been ironic, even cruel, that he himself had been a descendant of that fellow. And now he was dying because of him.
He felt dizzy, and his breathing was labored. Within his hallucinations he managed to make out the shape of Himejima approaching his spot on the floor.
Then I would welcome you to the family. As long as it's you, I know I can rest at ease.
Also, I'm almost sure that Nezuko likes you too.
If only he had been given the chance. He closed his eyes and darkness enveloped him completely. The pain finally going away.
-oOo-
He had seen an opening when Himejima made his shoot, and that's how he sprinted in and managed to impale Kokushibo in the torso. The satisfaction of having landed a hit filled him, driving away the pain for a brief moment.
Pain which was replaced by fear as the three pairs of eyes belonging to the demon that had once been his ancestor looked down at him. Suddenly his pupils got dilated and the world seemed to stop. Those horrible eyes regarded him with contempt.
His eyes snapped open only to meet the ceiling of his room. He had had the same nightmare again. Years ago they had defeated Muzan, the losses had been great, both human and material, but it had been worth it to put an end to the kingdom of the demon.
He remembered perfectly, of all the pillars that had gone into battle, only three had survived. Only those whose bodies had been possible to retrieve laid in eternal rest under the sacred ground, not all of them had been lucky.
Some sequels and irreparable damage had been left, the nightmares and the lack of his left limb as proof of this. But he didn't let it affect him at all, he was grateful to be alive.
He turned his body slightly to meet his wife's body, who'd say? That he would really end up with none other than Kamado Nezuko, currently Tokitō Nezuko.
Once Nezuko had turned back into a human and they both got to see each other again, a hint of recognition was reflected on the girl's orbs. These were no longer pink and empty, now they were similar to her brother's and filled with the same kindness as his.
The Kamado had commented that she didn't remember clearly everything they went through, and neither hold many memories from the time she was a demon. As time passed both became closer, the attraction that they had before intensifying, until it eventually happened, Tokitō Muichirō ended up asking for the young woman's hand in marriage.
I told you it was going to happen. Welcome to the family, had said Tanjiro with a smile full of joy.
They got married shortly after, despite the screams and whining of a certain boy in yellow. And it is what led them to the current point in their life.
Living was good, yes it was.
He surrounded the figure of his wife with his arm and pulled her towards him. Their bodies leaning against each other. He felt slight movement coming from her body, and saw how her eyes twitched before fluttering open. Her sleepy expression softening with adoration when their gazes met.
"Another nightmare?" she asked sleepily.
"Another nightmare" he confirmed without detailing. He never detailed, not out of fear, but because he didn't want to worry the owner of his affections.
"Hmm… understood" she drew her husband's head to her chest, and he clung to her waist. Once so, Nezuko slipped her fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp, just as she had discovered he liked. He blew out a contented sigh, and she smiled. Little by little the world of dreams claimed him back.
A/N: Okay, so I decided to give it a try to translate one of my works. Let's see how it goes in terms of reception. If I have a good answer, I may consider starting to write in English rather than Spanish, but I'm not promising anything.
I specially love this ship. I truly love Muichirō and can't still get over about his final, I refuse to accept it :((. So I decided to write him a happy ending myself, he deserves it. Btw, I decided to put aside the concept of death at an early age due to the Demon slayer marks, so it's a happy ending yes or yes xD
So, what do you think? Let me know. Also, let me know if I had some errors, I accept criticism.
Inspiration came from:
*star light, star bright (the first star i see tonight) - Raging_Nerd
*Demon slayer Oneshots I came up with at night cause I have a lot of ideas at night - MelMel1234567
And from the scene on chapter 179, were we saw Tanjiro, Nezuko, Genya and Muichirō bonding.