Found Family (OC x Demon Slayer)

11

The next morning, Asami was feeling much better. Her talk with Tanjiro definitely helped lower her stress. She woke up earlier and felt very refreshed. She put on her daily ointment, her uniform and haori, and then left. Today, she wouldn't wear her gloves. She wanted to see how her hands reacted to being in the sunshine rather than under the protection of gloves.

Asami went to get her hair braided by Tengen, as usual. The Sound Pillar noticed right away that she wasn't covering her hands, and smiled at this new development. Though he didn't say anything. To discreetly celebrate her newfound confidence, Tengen braided a light yellow ribbon into her top and bottom braids, and a light purple ribbon in her middle braid.

"Thanks, Tengen." Asami hugged her favorite Sound Hashira. Uzui pat her head and gave her a fistbump.

"Your hands are looking extra flamboyant today. I'm glad you're embracing your flashiness." Uzui said. Asami smiled.

"Any new news from Makio, Hinatsuru, and Suma? They're still gathering intel, right?" Asami asked, a little worried about the wellbeing of Tengen's wives. The Sound Hashira glanced off to the side.

"I'm still getting their reports regularly. If they ever stop, I'll let you know. That way we can go kill the bastard who hurt them flamboyantly." Tengen replied, flexing his large muscles. Asami laughed at this.

"Right!" She pumped a fist in the air. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you later! Bye bye!" Asami waved a scarred and slightly disfigured hand before running off.

When Asami arrived at the Butterfly Estate, she started to get a little nervous. Everyone there has seen her hands. With the exception of Inosuke. She took a big, deep breath before entering. Asami walked to the room Zenitsu and Inosuke were always in. Zenitsu was just waking up when she walked in the room.

"Good morning, Zenitsu." Asami greeted, sitting by his bed.

"Morning." He rubbed his eyes. Inosuke was snoring loudly. "Looks like Tanjiro's already gone off to train. At this hour of the morning?" Zenitsu yawned. Asami nodded.

"He's been working really hard." She smiled.

"Working hard isn't my thing. Slaving away day in and day out is exhausting." He complained. Asami shrugged.

"It can be rewarding though." Just then, a high pitched chirp was heard. A small, brown sparrow came flying through the window.

"Chuntaro." Zenitsu greeted his sparrow. "Maybe I'm only panicking because I got left behind. And I can't seem to get the hang of anything Tanjiro shows me. It must be because I'm a lost cause, isn't it?" He asked his sparrow. Chuntaro chirped. "Did you just agree with me?" The sparrow chirped again. "How can you be so cruel? Would it kill you to say something like 'You're doing your best!' even just this once?" Again, Chuntaro chirped. "Work harder you say? If you say so." Zenitsu sighed. A small giggle left Asami before she could stop it.

"Is this what your conversations are always like with Chuntaro?" She giggled more.

"Hey! It's not like you can say anything. I hear you talking to yourself in your sleep all the time." He retorted.

"Wait, do I actually?" Asami asked, wide eyed. The blonde boy sighed again.

"No. I just didn't have anything else to say." Chuntaro perched itself on Zenitsu's shoulder. The boy reached over and grabbed his cup of medicated water. He took a deep breath and then downed his medicine. Asami smiled and pat his head, still keeping her promise to him. "Your head pats make this worth it, Asami." Zenitsu said, a blush coating his face. The sound of sheets ruffling caught the attention of the two teenagers. Inosuke was now standing up, his fists clenched with what seemed like determination. Steam was blown out of the nose of the boar mask.