Moonlight

Nineteen

Muichiro looked into the backyard of the Butterfly Estate. He watched as Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke trained, either lifting weights, running laps of the perimeter of the estate, or practicing sword skills with Sara.

That was what caught his attention. Sara. Since Kanamori Kozo needed to refine her blade, Sara spent the next few days to train in the Butterfly Estate. Of course, she had a supplementary blade for now, but it wasn't ideal. Aside from her usual patrols, Sara wasn't given any high level missions.

He watched for a few minutes as the girl kindly taught them. She fixed errors with their swordsmanship, and she helped train them to improve. He noticed her patience, never snapping or losing her cool when the boys made mistakes.

This never-ending kindness to help others was something that Muichiro felt like he knew, yet at the same time he didn't. The girl was stoic, but he knew that there were constantly thoughts running in her head. He knew this, because they were the same.

No, they weren't the same. Sara simply chose to not show her emotions most of the time, whilst Muichiro ignored his emotions to the point where they barely affected him.

꧁☯︎︎꧂

Tanjiro sat on the rooftop of the Butterfly Estate, practicing Total Concentration Breathing: Constant. With the help of the girls, he was able to improve drastically in a short amount of time.

He was so immersed in his breathing technique that he failed to notice the black-haired Ice Hashira sit down beside him.

"Kamado-kun."

Startled, Tanjiro turned around and met with a pair of bright, emerald green orbs. "Yuhiko-san?"

Their eyes looked into eachother for a moment, until Sara turned away. A silence settled between them, and Tanjiro felt like he had to say something to break it.

"What are you doing here?" He blurted out suddenly.

What are you doing, Tanjiro? She has every right to be here, who are you to ask her that question??

When Sara didn't reply, Tanjiro grew uneasy. The silence continued for a long time, but eventually the younger girl spoke.

"Kamado-kun, when someone you used to be close to suddenly drifts away, what do you do?"

Tanjiro was confused by the question at first, then slowly he understood. He looked down into his lap, and spoke, picking his words carefully. "I think that if you were really important to each other, then that person will eventually find a way to swim back to you, no matter how far they drift."

He saw Sara's eyes widen, and they turned to look at each other. Tanjiro stared at her, and he was shocked when she gave him a close-eyed smile.

"Thank you, Kamado-kun."

Tanjiro blinked. Sara was always serious, stoic, and inexpressive. She was kind, but she rarely joked around. He had never seen this sweet side of her before.

The girl looked good with a smile. Her features lit up, and her eyes seemed to shine even brighter. The moonlight that fell on her turned her black hair into a platinum colour.

He blushed, and realised that he was staring. Quickly, he averted his eyes and stared back down at his lap. "Call me Tanjiro. Kamado-kun is too formal."

Sara nodded. After a brief silence, she noticed something and turned to him again. "Tanjiro, your Total Concentration Breathing has stopped."

Tanjiro looked up, and realised that it had indeed stopped. "Looks like I still need to keep training hard." He sighed.

Sara smiled at him again, and it made his heart flutter. "I believe in you. Good night, Tanjiro."

He watched as Sara left, and focused on his breathing technique again. He tried to focus on training, and his training only, but the image of Sara's warm smile lingered in his mind.

꧁☯︎︎꧁

"Muichiro-kun!" Muichiro turned around at the sound of his name and saw Sara waving to him.

The only times Sara could be seen to act this cheerful was when she was around Muichiro. However, no one noticed this, for they rarely spoke to one another anymore.

"Want to train with me for a bit?" The Ice Hashira offered.

Muichiro looked at her blankly for a moment. As he seemed to consider it, Sara stared at him hopefully, but her heart sank when he turned around and walked away.

"Training with others isn't my preference." He said, his voice emotionless.

Why, Mui? Sara watched his retreating figure with a pained expression. She wanted to call out to him, but she couldn't being herself to do it. Walking away defeatedly, she sat down beside the grass, staring up at the sky. What happened between us?

She couldn't even remember when exactly it had happened. One day, Muichiro was just completely detached from her. It was as if her name was the only thing he knew. The memories they shared, the times they chatted together... it was all gone.

Behind her, she felt Tanjiro's presence. She turned to the boy with a questioning look, which the boy answered.

"Yuhiko-san, I'll be going off on a mission with Rengoku-san now." Tanjiro said. "Before I leave, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to train me. I've improved under your guidance, and I definitely owe you for everything that you've done for me."

Sara shrugged before looking back up at the sky. "It's no problem. I wish you and Rengoku-san good luck on your mission."

Tanjiro bowed before rushing away. "Thank you!!"

The Ice Hashira appeared to be indifferent, but in fact she was worried. She had spoken to the Flame Hashira before they left, and she remembered their conversation clearly.

"You're leaving again, Rengoku-san? What type of mission this time?"

"Yep!! This mission may possibly involve a Lower Moon, perhaps even and Upper Moon. It will be dangerous, but I swear to protect my juniors and make sure that everyone returns safely!" The Flame Hashira smiled widely.

Sara nodded. "Please return safely. At critical times like this, the Hashira and the Demon Slayer Corps need you."

Kyojuro laughed at the young girl's concern. "I promise I'll come back, young Yuhiko!"

The corners of her lips curved upwards as she thought of the cheerful Flame Hashira. Standing up, she shrugged off her concerns. It's Rengoku-san, after all.

___________________________________

(A/N) this one's a little short but it's better than nothing :)

Word count: 1057