The song Yua sings is the first opening from Demon Slayer Gurenge by Liisa. I thought it would be nice to have the opening as a real song in my fanfiction. ^^
Also, I Googled how long a rib takes to heal it's six weeks!
I don't know if the Mangaka intended to have the boys and Nezuko really for that long in the Wistaria Mansion since after EP 14 in EP 15 they were already healed up and it seemed to only have taken a few days.
That's why I decided to make a little slice-of-life chapter for these six weeks. Building foundation for relationships, future plot points, and etc.
I hope you will like it!
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Chapter 5: Songs so sweet and sorrow
Do you know the feeling when your body slowly wakes up? When the dream you had still clung to you and you start to feel your body again as hearing comes back.
This moment before fully being awake, when all seems so real and unreal at the same time?
Tanjiro was currently in this state.
A part of him knew he was waking up, another still was in the dream about the happy days he had with his family. Before blood and death and the pain of being left behind only Nezuko as the anchor to this world.
While he was like this he heard a soft and beautiful voice sing.
"Finally, you've given me
A reason to be strong
And we'll stand
Hand in hand
Till the end
As my body's shaking
The future is out there waiting
For me to grasp the light
That's trembling just like my hand
I gotta keep it safe from fading
That's all that I want"
He never heard a song like that. It touched something deep in his heart like whoever sang understood what he was going through.
"The subtle scent of midnight
I spent all thirty nights
I glare up at the stars
Staring into the sky
The path I see before me
I know only I can change it
That's all that I need
Finally, you've given me
A reason to be strong
And we'll stand
Hand in hand
Till the end"
Being strong, going hand and hand, till the end…it fit him and Nezuko so much. Tanjiro wanted to become stronger to protect Nezuko, to one day turn her back into a human. They decide to stay together, whatever may come, holding each other's hands tight.
He felt how a tear slipped down his closed eye.
"As my body's shaking
The future is out there waiting
For me to grasp the light
That's trembling just like my hand
I gotta keep it safe from fading
That's all that I want
The subtle scent of midnight
I spent all thirty nights
I glare up at the stars
Staring into the sky
The path I see before me
I know only I can change it
That's all that I need"
Slowly he opened his eyes, starting to wake up. The red-haired boy wanted to know who sang so breathtakingly heartfully.
What he saw first was Zenitsu, sitting up from his futon, his knees up and his arms around them, while his head rested on them. He stared with formal heart eyes into the corner of the room where Yua and Nezuko had slept.
After yesterday, when Tanjiro had explained to his fellow Slayers, his and Nezuko's story, Yua had taken Nezuko without a second thought under her wing.
The older girl pulled out a fifth futon from the closet, put it beside her, and told them that his sister should sleep in a bed and not in her box.
Then Yua proceeds to dress Nezuko into one of the kimonos of the Wistaria Mansion, of course in the bathroom, and even put his sister's hair in a side braid, since apparently if you have long hair it's best to braid it before going to sleep.
Tanjiro was happy that Nezuko liked the attention she received from the older girl. He swore his sister even purred at Yua at one point before they all settled down for the night.
Now in the morning he follow Zenitsu's line of sight and saw Nezuko happily humming along, while Yua was behind her combing her hair.
It took a few seconds before Tanjiro realized the amazing singer was Yua.
A little surprised sound came out of his mouth, then suddenly a hand, Zenitsus, clapped over his mouth and hissed in his ear: "Don't ruin this moment! I never heard such angelic singing and humming! Nezuko-Chan and Yua-Senpai are divine beings and we shall humbly listen to their singing!"
Not like Tanjiro wanted to interrupt, he just was surprised. When Nezuko was still human, she liked to sing while she worked on her needlework. It was amazing hearing the voice of his sister again.
Yua-Senpai was what surprised him.
From what he had learned of her and smelled…she was tough and rough, yet was loving and gentle to younger ones.
Singing so heartbreakingly beautiful, with such a melodious and soft voice…it nearly didn't fit her.
Nearly.
Tanjiro had smelled the deep and strong insecurity in Yua-Senpai and the overwhelming smell of lostness.
She was complicated.
Maybe he could catch a moment today with her to talk and understand her better.
The midnight blue-haired beauty finished her singing and combing Nezuko's hair.
"All done Nezuko-Chan.", she said to her, fixing the elaborate braid she had made. "Now you are even prettier!"
The demon girl let out a cute squeal, touching her pretty braid in wonder. Then she turned and hugged the older girl.
Yua chuckled at this affectionate gesture, hugging the younger girl back.
"These two are so lovely!", signed Zenitsu dreamily. "The most beautiful woman on this Earth."
"Agatsuma, your words mean nothing to me."
Tanjiro could formally see the imagery giant boulder with Rejected written on it that falls on Zenitsu.
The blond cried out in sadness.
"Your voice is beautiful Yua-Senpai. It's something to be proud of.", told her Tanjiro honestly.
She made a little bow in his direction.
"Your words honor me, Kamado-San."
"That's so unfair!", wailed Zenitsu with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why do you accept Tanjiro's compliment and not mine?!"
"Because Kamado-San doesn't try to get into my pants, Agatsuma.", deadpanned Yua, giving the cooing Nezuko head pats.
For that, Zenitsu got the major side eye from Tanjiro. He could smell that his new friend didn't have the purest thoughts.
The blond just wailed more and fell down on his futon.
Inosuke was the only one sleeping through all the noise.
The group of four Demon Slayers and a demon had created a rhythm in the days they stayed in the Wisteria Mansion to heal from their wounds.
Yua and Nezuko were always the first to wake up. Both girls took a bath together, then while Yua sang she combed Nezuko's hair, giving her a new pretty hairstyle every day.
Zenitsu woke up from the singing, listening to it and still admiring both beautiful young women in their company.
Tanjiro was the next to wake up and always made sure to tell his sister how pretty she looked and complimented Yua's singing.
Inosuke was always the last to wake up, then they would have breakfast and try somehow to pass the day.
Was it telling each other stories from their childhoods or about their works as Demon Slayers.
Hisa was so nice to even give them a few board games and it was a struggle to help Inosuke to understand what board games where good for and why they were played.
In the Wisteria Mansion was a little library, so they read also. Yua even tried teaching Inosuke the basics. Even when the wild boy didn't want to, she just grabbed him by his ear and made him repeat the Hiragana Alphabet. Tanjiro tried to help too but with a more gentle approach.
One night while they enjoyed dinner Zenitsu joked that Yua was like the father of their group, while Tanjiro was the mother.
This made Tanjiro blush a little and then even more as the young woman just said: "I would marry Kamado, hell even Hashibira, before I would consider going on a date with you, Agatsuma!"
Zenitsu's wails could be heard from Kilometers, meanwhile, Inosuke asked them what the heck marriage was and they spent the rest of the night explaining it to him.
The wild boy took this as a chance to rile up Zenitsu the following days more to remind him that the older lady would rather have him than even consider Zenitsu for a second.
Tanjiro and Yua had to break them apart, only Nezuko seemed to giggle cutely at the scene before her.
When all was calm again Yua deadpanned just at Tanjiro and said: "Our kids are terrors, husband."
Something like a squeak comes out of Tanjiro, his cheeks changing color. He wondered how the older girl could just say things like that without embarrassment.
It was only her smell that indicated that she was just messing around and didn't see him as her spouse.
The red-haired boy didn't get why he felt disappointed.
When they all felt better they started to help around the Mansion aka. Yua and Tanjiro had to force Inosuke to help around.
Currently, Tanjiro was hanging up the wet clothes with Yua and realized that they were finally where alone for a moment.
This was the chance to get her to know better.
"Yua-Senpai, can I ask you something?", he began.
"Sure, Kamado-San what is it?"
"I don't want to cross any border.", he assured her. "It's just been on my mind these last few weeks."
"You can tell me Kamado-San I can see from your Aura you have only pure intentions."
"Right…forgot that for a second…also, Yua-Senpai when you told us you wanted to be a Hashira…why did you smell so much of grief and sadness and anger?"
This stopped the young woman from her task to hang up the wet clothes.
Tanjiro smelled anxiety from her. Oh no, he didn't want to trouble her!
He couldn't even say sorry, as Yua hissed in fake anger, to hide her anxiety: "Kamado get your nose checked. I don't feel like this about becoming a Hashira. It's an honor my family was skipped over for centuries, even with us being the strongest Slayers! It's my duty and I'm proud to be the one to finally reach this goal!"
Maybe she could tell herself these lies, but the red-haired boy smelled the utter despair.
"Yua-Senpai, I see us as friends. I can smell your true feelings. It hurts me to see you in such anguish…did anybody ever ask you if you wanted to walk the path of a Demon Slayer?", he asked her, trying to keep his tears at bay.
The seventeen-year-old girl just stared straight ahead, still as a statue, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
"No…no one asked me.", she admitted in a broken voice. "But that's not important, I have a duty to my family."
"But what about you?"
"Enough, Kamado, let's never talk about this again."
With this, she turned and left him alone with the chore.
Yua knew she was being a coward, yet she couldn't handle Tanjiro's pure concern for her.
He was the first who ever asked her if she wanted to be a Demon Slayer.
She couldn't handle it.
Him and his gentle and kind Aura. It was a temptation to just…hug him, telling him all her worries.
He reminded her of Kioko, her mother.
This was not good.
It could lead her astray from her way to becoming a Hashira, to finally be accepted by her grandfather and the whole Demon Slayer Corps.
She had a duty. That's why she was born into this world.
To clean the name of Mochizuki from the sins of their forefathers.
Nothing else could matter.
Not even herself.
She was an instrument.
"The only wish I have left in this world is that you find your happiness in life, my blossom."
The last words of her mother, before her sickness killed her, came to Yua.
Her mother was like Tanjiro, a gentle soul who loved her and her father with a fiery passion.
Mother had fought tooth and nail against her grandfather. Kioko had wanted her to decide if she became a Demon Slayer or not…but after learning she was the only one who could use Moon Breathing it had been a lost fight.
But the midnight blue-haired girl remembered how often her mother would hold her, when she cried from the wounds in training, her Aura gently catching her.
Another tear escaped Yua, which she brushed away fast.
Tanjiro was dangerous. He would be easy to love, that was clear.
And love was the last thing Yua needed in her life.
Love wouldn't get her closer to being a Hashira.
Better stomp this seed before it could blossom.
So for the next few days, Yua kept her distance from Tanjiro.
Oh she would talk to him and they would rile in Zenitsu and Inosuke, but she did her hardest to not be alone with the redhead. She still took care of Nezuko, because she liked the demon girl. It was easier to love her since it was completely platonic.
Anyway even if she stayed distant from him, Tanjiro's words didn't leave her brain. It was a hard fight to ignore them.
More often than not Yua wished Sayoko would be here. She needed her cousin to bitch about the situation she was in. Sayoko would surely have an idea to fix this.
It was a mess.
So days and days pass, they healed, and they get back on their feet.
Soon it would be time for a new mission.
Hopefully, this would make Yua forget this emotional mess she was in.
One could only hope.
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