Every Beat || Tankana

VI

CHAPTER 6 : Together Alone

Tanjirou and Kanao began their descent to the fifth village where their next mission lies, expecting to arrive in the fourth village before sunset. Tanjirou kept glancing around and enjoying the scenery under the sunny sky while Kanao stared ahead, sometimes looking at what her companion pointed at.

At some point, when the sun stood in the middle of the sky, they decided to rest under a tree and eat the food they packed. They talked about numerous things like they always do when they were alone back in the butterfly estate. Nezuko even came out of her box to sit beside Kanao and rest her head on the Hashira's lap. Tanjirou smiled apologetically but Kanao didn't seem to mind.

Half an hour later, they were set on reaching the next village in time. At around the time where the sky was slowly turning into shades of orange and pink, the number of people passing by increased, signifying that they were nearing the village.

The sky was tinged with darkness when they reached their destination. Lanterns started lining the streets, painting the whole village in vibrant hues of yellow and orange, the color of fire; It was beautiful. The people started their own nightly festivities, laughing and drinking just outside their houses. Stalls of all kinds littered the place, selling a variety of vegetables, paraphernalia, and ornaments. Colorful banners decorated the whole scene, the amazing aroma of various kinds of food filled the air, and an upbeat music roamed the entire village. It was very beautiful.

Tanjirou thought back to his days in his hometown; his village was small and wasn't as lively as this one. He couldn't help but gawk at the lights and the sparklers all the children waved in the air. The whole village seemed like it was at a constant festival. As they ventured through all the stalls, a particular stand caught Tanjirou's eye and he snapped his head towards Kanao; she was smiling at the playing children and admiring the different shapes and sizes of the paper lanterns.

"Kanao!" he called. "Check this out!" he said in excitement.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the small stall. She didn't even had the chance to react to the sudden pull. Once they reached the stand, she saw all the little objects sitting on top of the table.

"Wooden figurines!" he beamed. The vendor smile politely despite his clear surprise over their presence, it must've been their odd getup. He cleared his throat and welcomed them to his humble shop. "Me and my brothers used to make a lot of these when we had extra wood." he said, picking a particular monkey looking toy. "Look at this one!" he held the carved monkey up to her face and grinned proudly.

She smiled and took the figurine in her hands to examine it closer. "You make things like this?" she asked. She spent her whole childhood training instead of playing.

He hummed in response. "We made tiny versions of ourselves." he said with a slight chuckle.

He diverted his gaze back to the table where he noticed a set of beautifully ornate hairpins settled on the corner, decorated with beads, thin pieces of wood, and bamboo. What caught his attention was the flower themed hairpin. He gently took the ornament and examined its design. A white frangipani flower sat on a thin wooden pin. The lone flower is tinged with a vibrant hue of yellow in the middle and beside it were two small leaves, meekly set on both sides.

Kanao was still looking at the toy monkey when Tanjirou suddenly held the ornament at her eye level. She flinched a bit at his suddenness and narrowed her eyes at the object.