Broken Wings- Shinobu x Fem. Reader

Key

This time Tanjiro was the first one to pull back, he held Shinobu by the shoulders staring into her dark and pain-filled eyes. Tanjiro was now able to study her face better. Her eyes had a light purple color underneath them, and she had looked slightly paler now that he could see her. There were a hundred different things running through Tanjiro's mind at the moment, and it was only getting later. The moon was now nearing its peak in the sky. Shinobu stood up stabilizing herself from the red-haired boy, "It really is getting quite late, you should head to sleep. The quicker you get healthy the better!". There again was the fake smile she had so perfectly mastered throughout her youth.

"No."

Tanjiro stood up, his hand reaching for her, "Please don't kill yourself over this Shinobu, I'm sure she would want you to live happily and healthy!" They both stood there in silence for a moment as she processed what Tanjiro just said. She gently shook her head and let out a small forced laugh, "You have no idea what happened." She shifted her weight a little to her other foot, looking up slightly at the painting before walking away. As she turned the corner she made a small hand gesture, half of her wanted Tanjiro to not notice it and walk away, but the other half of Shinobu was desperate for someone to know just how much pain she was in.

Tanjiro sighed as he watched the small woman turn the corner, out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn he saw a small wave. He looked around making sure he was certain the wave was meant for him before he started walking after her. She was already halfway down the hallway when he was forced to pick up his pace, 'She's so fast-', Tanjiro's thoughts were cut short when she suddenly stopped. Tanjiro was so focused on keeping up with her he didn't even notice the large door she was standing in front of.

"You followed me."

Her face was serious, Tanjiro looked at her confused. Had he miss read her signal? Did he make up the painful look in her eyes? No? It wasn't possible, right? He shook his head and looked at her with a new found dominance.

"You wanted me to."

A wave of shock flew onto her face, while his initial statement was true she didn't think he was blunt enough to say it. She nodded as a confirmation of his statement and pushed against the door, nothing happened. Tanjiro awkwardly stood by as he watched her struggle to push open the door. He wondered if he should offer his help or just jump in. Shinobu let out a soft genuine laugh, "Ah, silly me I forgot." She reached into the pocket of her pajamas and held a small key. 'Surely there was no way that small key will open that large door' Tanjiro thought as she slipped the key into the keyhole. Tanjiro would soon learn that he would be wrong about many things.

As the door flew open with ease it led to a quite large room. The room was only decorated with a bed and a shrine and a closet in the darkest corner. A large blush appeared on Tanjiro's face as he assumed the room in front of him was Shinobu's. She looked at his bright red face and hit him on the head.

"Not my room stupid."

Now there was a new blush on his cheeks, he was embarrassed by his assumptions. Shinobu pushed the door closed behind them before walking further into the room. It was dimly lit by a couple of candles strategically placed in the corners. Shinobu went to the shrine offering a quick prayer then opening the shelf's under compartments. She grabbed two pillows, both identical with a light yellow hue to them. She placed them near the shrine but not quite in front of it, Shinobu beckoned for Tanjiro to join her and he did. As he neared the shrine he offered a respectful bow to it, and sat across from Shinobu.

"That's my elder sister, Kocho Kanae, she wasn't the one in the portrait."

All Tanjiro did was give her a simple nod, he could tell it wasn't the same person based on two factors, Shinobu's smell slightly changed when entering the room, and the obvious picture of Kanae that sat in the middle of the shrine.

Shinobu let out an uncomfortable sigh mixed with a laugh, while this was difficult for her it had been over two years since the incident occurred and she was tired of carrying the weight of her past mistakes any longer. This time Shinobu would tell someone else her story. Shinobu looked up at Tanjiro, the moon was now directly in the middle of the sky. Both of them had already had a long day, but now their night would be much, much longer.

"Are you ready?"

Tanjiro nodded, and suddenly the cold room he sat in became just a little warmer, maybe he was running off of adrenaline.

"Her name was Y/N, and she was the prettiest person I've ever had the pleasure of spending more than a day with."

Tanjiro thought Y/N seemed to fit her face perfectly. It described the way her hair was on her head, the way her nose was shaped, the way she styled her hair, the way she smiled. Everything about her seemed to fit her perfectly. Tanjiro recalled how beautiful the painting was, and how it was even fair for someone so perfect to exist within the same time frame as him.