A/n: Helloooo! Welcome to chapter 5! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

Mikitama and Kanao were talking as they walked to Tanjiro's room, the latter carrying a small tray of food for Tanjiro. Mikitama slid open the door and both girls' eyes widened at the sound of Tanjiro's weak voice. "Tanji..!" The neko exclaimed with tears in her eyes as she ran to his side, dropping to her knees and taking one of his hands in both her smaller hands. Kanao stood back, mouth agape and the tray that she had been holding was now on the floor.

Tanjiro smiled weakly as he gently squeezed Mikitama's hands. He reached to gently brush away her tears. "Don't cry, angel.. I'm okay, don't worry..!" He smiled gently at her with love in his plum red eyes. Mikitama choked on a sob and gently threw her arms around Tanjiro which he immediately returned, beginning to press soft kisses on her cheeks and forehead. Kanao decided to give them some space and went to tell Shinobu that Tanjiro had woken up.

The pair jumped slightly when Inosuke laughed and jumped down onto the bed. Mikitama anxiously clinged to Tanjiro, her ears flattened and he held her closer. "Hey, Inosuke, how are you feeling?" Tanjiro asked and the bore-headed boy laughed obnoxiously. "HAHAH!! I woke up weeks ago!!!" Tanjiro smiled warmly, albeit tiredly, at his friend as he stroked Mikitama's hair to keep her calm. "That's wonderful, Inosuke! I'm glad!"

While Tanjiro was completing his rehabilitation training, Mikitama had to leave for a mission. Even when he'd completed the training, he still hadn't heard from her at all which worried him. He had to go to the swordsmith village so he could get a new sword, so he was, much to his dismay, unable to wait for her any longer.

Upon arrival in the village, Tanjiro gazed at the beautiful surroundings in wonder. As if he couldn't feel more at peace, when he walked into the village he was immediately greeted with a hug from his angel. "Angel! You're okay! Thank goodness!" He held her close. "Sorry for worrying you, Tanji… After my mission I got really sick.. I went unconscious at some point and woke up here, then I couldn't find a good time to write to you… Plus Kuro was away so he wouldn't have been able to bring the letter to you anyway.." The young hashira spoke guiltily and Tanjiro frowned slightly then kissed the crown of her head.

"I'm just glad you're okay, baby. I wish I could've been there for you. I missed you so much, my angel.." He whispered with a loving smile, pressing a small kiss to the tip of her nose. Blush grew on her cheeks and she giggled a little since the kiss tickled. "Mmm, I missed you too.."

Tanjiro laughed softly at how cute Mikitama was acting. He picked her up and laughed more at the flustered expression that appeared on her face. He began following the swordsmith that walked over after he told Tanjiro that he would show him where he'd be staying. As he walked he began to feel the small yokai in his arms relaxing into him as if she were falling asleep. He smiled lovingly down at her and held her tighter with a protective glint in his eyes.

Upon reaching where he'd be staying, he carried Mikitama inside and went to the bedroom. He gently put Mikitama down, on the futon, first then he carefully put down Nezuko's box nearby.

When Mikitama awoke, a few days later due to still being sick and needing to recover, she smiled at the feeling of Nezuko's small hands playing with her soft, purple hair. "Mmm.. Hi, Nezuko-chan…" She sleepily greeted the small demon. She shrunk to her own small form and Nezuko giggled from behind the mask and happily patted the tiny yokai's head, finding her new size adorable.

After a few hours, Mikitama began to wonder about Tanjiro. She left to go search for him after telling Nezuko where she'd be going. Her eyes widened when she found Tanjiro, thin, and being yelled at by a young boy. She walked over with an upset look on her face. "Little boy, what are you doing..? He needs to eat and rest..! You're only hurting him more..! He cannot fight in this state..!" She expressed her concern as Tanjiro began to lean on her.

Kotetsu proceeded to yell at them. Tears welled up in Mikitama's eyes as she anxiously held Tanjiro up. A frown grew on his face and he wrapped his arm around her waist protectively as she slightly trembled against him. "Stop yelling at her, Kotetsu-kun! She didn't do anything wrong!" The boy ignored them and proceeded to attack them since he was annoyed with them. Mikitama's eyes went wide with fear.

~flashback~

Haruki grabbed Mikitama by her neck and slammed her into the wall as she stared up at him with pure fear in her eyes. "You're just a stupid waste of space. You'll never amount to anything!!" He yelled at her as he began to squeeze her neck tighter, laughing when her face began to turn purple. He then proceeded to repeatedly slam Mikitama's weak, small body into the wall, knocking her unconscious after a few slams.

~end of flashback~

Tanjiro gazed down at her in concern when she started to have a panic attack. He looked at Kotetsu and didn't even wait for him to let them leave before gently taking Mikitama to a tree, carefully sitting her down. "Hey… hey.. What's wrong, angel?" He gently reached to cup one of her cheeks in a warm hand. He realized she probably wouldn't be able to answer him in her panicked state.

He gently makes Mikitama look into his eyes while taking one of her small hands and placing it on his chest, over his heart. "Breathe with me, baby… You can do it, I believe in you…" He whispered comforting things to her as he controlled his breathing, hoping Mikitama would be able to follow his lead. Her breathing soon began to calm down, starting to line up with Tanjiro's.

The red-headed slayer smiled encouragingly down at the small yokai. "There you go, Miki… Good job! I'm so proud of you." He said before kissing her forehead and hugging her close. He brought her up into his lap, gently holding her and rubbing her back. "D'you want to tell me what happened mochi..?" He continued with his small acts of affection so Mikitama would remain calm.

"S-so uhm… I just had another flashback of my childhood… That's all…" Tanjiro frowned, remembering what little she had told him about the environment she'd grown up in. "I'm so sorry, angel… Is there anything I can do to help you?" She clung to him tighter and that was all he needed to know.

Just keep holding her… Yeah. That should help…

~the end~

A/n: Hehe I hope y'all liked this chapter!!:D