Partners - Muitan Demon Slayer

Chapter 11

Muichiro

After spending a little while at the park, he eventually went back home to sulk. He knew Tanjiro wanted to be friends and he really appreciated that, but he didn't want to be friends. It felt horrible knowing he was so close with someone like Tanjiro but he would never feel the same way. He wished he could just get rid of these feelings. He crawled into a ball on his bed and started to cry. He wished he was popular so he could have a chance with Tanjiro. His crying eventually put him to sleep.

A couple of hours later, he was woken up by his phone ringing. He ended the call without checking who it was and got up to change into a sweatshirt and shorts. He walked towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He took his phone with him.

He tapped on his phone screen to check the time. "It's only 3 pm?" He frowned. He hoped he would've been able to sleep throughout most of the day.

He took a small sip of the water then quickly went back to his room. He glanced at his notifications and noticed a few from Tanjiro. Was there something that he was forgetting? Were they supposed to work on the project today? He didn't bother checking but he was still confused. He told Tanjiro that he was fine, but was he still worried?

"Tanjiro being worried about me?" He started to cry again. Why was this so hard? He was crying over a boy that would probably never care about him the way he did. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm himself down. Downstairs, the doorbell rang.

Muichiro jumped a little. He didn't remember ordering anything and it's not like anyone would want to come over to his house. He jumped out of bed as the doorbell rang again. He tripped a little on his way to the door and made a small crashing noise.

"Shit." He hoped the person on the other side of the door didn't hear that. Suddenly, he remembered that his face was streaked with tears. He wanted to run to the bathroom to clean his face but the person started to knock on the door.

He opened the door and tried to wipe at his face. "I'm sorry I-"

"Muichiro! You had me worried about you all day, you didn't answer my texts or calls and you weren't at lunch! Are you okay?" Tanjiro turned to look at him. His frantic expression changed into a softer one. "You're crying again?"

Muichiro stared at him. "I tripped on my way to the door." He couldn't tell him that he was crying over him. That would scare him off. "It hurt so I started to cry a little. I'm okay though." He seemed worried. Why would Tanjiro be worried about him? 

"Oh! Can I come in? You might have gotten cut, so I can help you!" Tanjiro didnt look like he bought Muichiro's lie but he was atleast playing along.

Before Muichiro could answer, Tanjiro pushed by and walked inside the house. Muichiro stood there for a moment, confused, then shut the door and followed him.

"Oh okay." He sighed.

"Where are your bandages?" Tanjiro stood while Muichiro walked over to the couch. He sat down and stared at him.

"There are some in the bathroom, I can go get them if you want." Muichiro started to stand up again but Tanjiro held up a hand.

"No, sit. I'll look for them." Tanjiro walked off in the wrong direction which made Muichiro laugh a little.

"Tanjiro, you don't know your way around my house." He stood up and followed him to see where he had gone. He found him standing in the doorway to his bedroom. He stood behind him and followed his gaze to his mirror.

"What'cha doing?" Muichiro looked back at him. Tanjiro jumped a little.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. I just noticed the pictures of you on the mirror when I walked by. You look really..pretty? Yeah, you look pretty in them." He glanced at Muichiro then turned to leave the doorway. "Where's your bathroom?"

Muichiro stood there, eyes wide. Did Tanjiro just call him pretty? His cheeks grew hotter and he looked up at Tanjiro, suddenly remembering what they were doing. "It's okay, I don't need any bandages."

"I know, but just in case. Where is your bathroom?"

Muichiro sighed but he motioned for Tanjiro to follow him back down the hall. They went into the bathroom and Tanjiro made Muichiro sit down on the edge of the bathtub. Tanjiro pulled out a few bandaids from the cabinet under the sink then kneeled in front of Muichiro.

"I'm not even bleeding, Tanjiro." Muichiro stared at his leg which had a few small scratches but nothing else.

"These cuts could still be open, you don't want to get infected or anything." Tanjiro looked up at Muichiro, who quickly looked away.

"Hey, why did you come to my house?" Muichiro picked at the grout on the side of the tub.

"I was worried about you." Tanjiro started to apply the bandaids. "You weren't at lunch and you said you would call me after school, but you didn't answer. Plus, you were crying this morning. I just want to know what's bothering you so I can try to help."

"You were actually worried? Why?" Muichiro watched him carefully place each bandaid on his small cuts.

"Well, you're my..I care about you, okay? I wanted to talk to you about something today but you weren't here.." He stopped and looked up at Muichiro.

Muichiro stayed quiet, and Tanjiro decided to continue.

"I didn't want to tell you like this, I actually had a plan and everything but it seems like I have no other choice." He laughed a little. He stared at Muichiro for a few seconds, Muichiro held his breath.

"Alright. I have feelings for you, Muichiro."