Chapter Text
It has been a month since Shinobu and I fucked until sunrise. The master had sent for me that morning, willing it that I investigated a faraway village. With constant disappearances and terrified locals, I couldn’t imagine wasting time and rushed there as fast as I could. It took days to hunt down the vile thing. Cutting it down was no hard task, but my nightmares and episodes were beginning to cause problems.
I sat up in my bed after another night terror. ‘I need to get my concoction again.’ , I thought. Wearily dressing myself, I made my way to the butterfly mansion.
The mood circulating the elegant estate was light and airy, making for a fine visit. I saw Aoi and approached the clothing line. “Morning Aoi!” I said. She turned to me and smiled. “Hello Y/N! Here for your meds?”. I nodded. “Ms. Kocho is away visiting the market to see if anyone is selling some sort of flower? Blue something I think.” Aoi reached in her pocket and pulled out a small bottle wrapped in parchment. “in the mean time, Master did ask me to give you this!”. I gave my thanks to her and started heading towards the exit.
I started opening the parchment when I was startled by a loud shriek. “GAMPACHIRO! YOU GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!”. Utterly appalled that anything of the sort would be allowed at the estate , I whirled around to see what the commotion was. A cherry red haired young man was coming in hot. Right towards me. He had a red scar on his forehead and long earrings blowing in the wind. Behind him was…a boar? My jaw dropped slightly. A man. Wearing a boar head.
Were these the infamous slayers that defeated multiple upper rank demons? I started laughing to myself, forgetting that I was right in their way. My medicine flew out of my hands on impact, but my head did not hit the ground. There was a firm grip on the back of my head and around my body. He caught me. His name..Tanjiro was it? I glared at him and pushed him off of me. He wiped off his pants and bowed. “I’m very sorry, please forgive us for causing you trouble Ms. Y/N!” He got the boar man into a chokehold and forced him to apologize too. It had been about 4 years since Tanjiro and his friends had joined the demon slayer corps, but I had yet to speak to him. “Just please be more careful next time, hm?” They both nodded and ran off.
I slowly bent over to grab my medicine and the parchment, finding it to be already opened.
It read,
“Pretty girl, do me a favor would you? Tanjiro and his friends recently returned and are recovering here at the mansion. Can I ask you to look out for them while i’m away? Keep them out of trouble. I’ll make it up to you when I return.”
- Shinobu
There was a key next to the paper, which I recognized to be the key to her office. I sighed. What’s the harm? I don’t have anything else to do.
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A week had passed with no word or sign from Shinobu. I tried to calm my heart after checking the mail for what seemed to be the hundredth time. I had just finished training with Tanjiro and his friends and hoped it would kill time to ease my anxiousness. I couldn’t stand the thought of another soul abandoning me.
On my way to the showers, I passed many rooms until I heard repeated coughing. I took another step but stopped when I remembered Shinobu’s note. I gently knocked on the door and said “Hello? Are you alright in there?”. The wheezing cough only got worse. “I’m coming in!”. I opened the door to find Tanjiro bent over, blood splatters on the floor. I gasped and immediately sat him up, desperately trying to find out what happened when his recovery was going so well. “Tanjiro! What happened? What did you do?”.
His coughing started to slow. I stayed with him until the wheezing stopped completely. “I didn’t mean to worry you” he sighed, “I pulled a muscle in my arm earlier and tried to use total concentration breathing to help, but I overextended myself.”. He was always smiling and determined, no matter what. Unlike Shinobu, his smiles exuded a genuine warmth like none i’d ever felt.
I don’t think he knows that his joy is infectious. That he makes everyone feel like they matter. Never hesitating to put his needs aside for others. Not to mention his eyes…the way he looked at me. Every time our eyes met, my world felt okay again. While I can respect the realistic cold, Tanjiro’s warm aura reminds me that not everything has to be uncomfortable or hurt. A few days ago, I was spiraling when Inosuke was one sided bickering with Tanjiro, saying that he had it worse because he grew up in the harsh snowy winters of the mountains.
The thought of winter brung me back to blood spilling on snow and screams wretched enough to crack ice.
Then he was there. A warm hand on my knee brought me back and leveled me. I looked up into his eyes expecting judgment, but all I saw was a mutual understanding between us. Yes, thats right. He knows what it’s like too. He was always helping others, but something about us felt different. I decided that day not to think about it but here I am again.
“It’s okay, I just can’t have you hurting yourself. Promise you’ll cool it for a few days.”. He nodded and looked down at my hands that were very much still on him even though he didn’t need help sitting anymore. My cheeks were blazing hot when I snatched my hands back and let them run over the smooth planes of my uniform. “Well then, i’m going to hit the showers. Don’t forget to clean up, you smell like sewage.” Despite my rude comment he chuckled. I turned to leave when I felt a warm hand wrap around my wrist. “Thank you Y/N. For everything. I know you’re not quite fond of me and my friends, yet you’re still training with us. Making sure we’re alright.” He was so serious about this. I almost wanted to laugh. “It’s the least I could do for Shinobu and the mansion”, I huffed. He had no clue how wrong he was.
Tanjiro nodded and let me go, mouth set in a close lipped smile. ‘Gods help me why is he so damn cute’, i thought to myself.
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Another 2 weeks have passed and I was beginning to question Shinobu. How could she ask me to stay here so long?
I was getting breakfast from the kitchens when I overheard two servant girls talking. In hushed whispers I gathered that… Shinobu had returned last night? I abandoned my food and ran to her office, but slowed when I heard the sounds coming from the room.
There were moans coming from that room that weren’t mine or Shinobu’s. I slowly opened the door to find Shinobu between the thighs of a slender brunette woman, her face contorted in pleasure as she came on Shinobu’s tongue. I felt something drip on my shirt. There were tears rolling down my face. I slammed the door and ran, picking up my pace when I heard the shuffling of feet behind me. I ran past confused servants, ignored the friends I’ve made, and even passed sweet Tanjiro when he yelled for me. I made it all the way to my bed before I stopped.
I watched the sun go by more times than I could count. I was lost in the hole of my chest when I heard knocks on the front door. I tried to ignore them but they wouldn’t stop no matter how I willed it. I put my face in the pillow, confused when the knocking stopped. I looked up from my pillow and slowly turned to the side… met with broad shoulders and a bright smile. Tanjiro was holding a brown bag in one hand and reaching the other towards me. Oddly enough, I took his hand and let him lead me to my bathroom. He filled the bath with water, various soaps, but no herbs. Almost like he knew seeing them would be difficult after what happened.
“The bath is ready for you, I’ll cook you my famous noodles in the mean time”.
He went to leave but loneliness and a desire for his warmth had me grabbing his arm. I slid my hand down to his and placed it on my heart. “Stay with me”, I said looking down at the ground in embarrassment. He pulled his hand away. I waited for him to reject me, call me strange. Then I saw his kimono fall to the floor next to my feet. I looked up in surprise to find him giving me a small smile. He might’ve had a sweet face, but nothing about his body was innocent. He was laced with scars and bulging muscles. “Tanjiro.. I-“, He covered my mouth and placed his forehead against mine. “I will always want to love you. So please don’t be embarrassed when I want to give you what you need.”. His hands made quick work of undressing me, each garment piece falling to the floor. When I was finally free of my clothes, I stepped up balancing with his shoulders, and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. We both stepped into the steaming hot water with sighs of relief.
“Thank you for taking care of me Tanjiro.”. He ran his fingers through my hair, lathering shampoo into the long strands. “You know what Y/N?” he asked in a sing-song voice. “Hmm?”. He continued, “I think you might be the most lovable person I’ve come across.”. How did he always know the right thing to say? What I needed to hear? I rested my head on his shoulder and we stayed like that for awhile, content to share our deepest scars with each other.