Moonlight

Twenty-Two

"So there was this angry looking guy, I greeted him, and he ignored me! Wahhh!!!! I greeted him and he ignored me!!!"

Sara listened silently while Mitsuri rambled on.

"Kanroji-san! Yuhiko-san!" Both of them turned as a familiar red-eyed boy approached them, waving enthusiastically. Sara recognised Nezuko, who walked beside him.

"Ahhh!! It's Tanjiro-kun. Tanjiro-kuuuun!!!" Mitsuri stood up and ran toward him, with the same enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Sara simply nodded, not bothering to get up.

She watched as Mitsuri tackled Tanjiro to the ground. "Listen, listeeeen! I got ignored! I greeted him and he ignored me."

"Who did?" Tanjiro asked, bewildered.

"I don't know! I asked his name and he ignored me! Isn't that cruel? I'm a Pillar! Now all that good energy I got from the spring is gone!"

Sara sweat dropped at the Love Hashira's childishness. Is she really older than me?

Tanjiro smiled at both of them. "It looks like they'll be done with dinner soon. I heard they used matsutake mushrooms."

"Whoaaa, you serious?"

With that, Mitsuri skipped away happily, singing a tune as she left. "Good sir, good sir. What is fluttering in front of the horse?"

Before leaving to follow her, Sara turned to Tanjiro. "What are you doing here?"

Tanjiro looked away sheepishly. "Well- I may or may not have broken my blade... again." He groaned. "I keep accidentally breaking or chipping it in missions, and now I need to find my swordsmith and convince him to make me another one. He gets really mad every time I damage it."

To his surprise, Sara shook her head. "No."

He tilted his head. "Huh?"

"It's his fault for making a blade that can break so easily."

"I don't know... even then, there must be a fault in my swordsmanship."

The younger girl looked him in the eye. Her voice was monotonic, but the boy saw the slight warm mess that resonated within her emerald green eyes. "You're not that weak, Tanjiro-kun."

Without waiting for a reply, the girl stood up and followed Mitsuri's path.

꧁☯︎︎꧂

At the dinner table, Sara deadpanned at Tanjiro and Mitsuri's tall stacks of plates after they finished eating.

"That's amazing!" Tanjiro exclaimed, looking at Mitsuri's pile next to her.

"You really think so? I didn't eat that much today!"

"I'm gonna eat a lot and get strong one day too!"

Tanjiro paused, as if he was trying to remember something, before speaking again.

"Oh yeah. That boy you met at the spring was someone from my batch. His name's Shinazugawa Genya."

"Oh!! Is that so..." Mitsuri's voice faded away when she realised the surname.

"Shinazugawa?" Sara queried.

"That'd mean he's Shinazugawa-san's little brother. right? But he told me he didn't have one. Maybe they don't get along? That's so tragic."

"Oh, do they not? Why is that?"

"Well, I have five siblings and I get along with all of them. I don't really know why. I guess the Shinazugawa brothers are just scary." The Love Pillar replied while playing with Nezuko.

Sara shrugged at Mitsuri's statement. "He didn't seem that scary to me."

The older girl deadpanned. "That's because you attacked him and won with ease, Sara-chan."

The four of them finished dinner and walked away together, with Tanjiro and Mitsuri chatting away while Sara and Nezuko listened.

"Yuhiko-san, Kanroji-san. Why did you join the Demon Slayers?" Tanjiro suddenly asked, stopping in his tracks.

Sara froze in her spot, whilst Mitsuri kept walking, turning her head back when she realised the other two had stopped.

"Huh me? It's kinda embarrassing... see..."

Tanjiro waited in anticipation, while Sara, who had heard this before, simply watched.

"I JOINED SO I COULD FIND A GENTLEMAN WHO WOULD MARRY ME FOR LIFE!!"

For the third time that day, Sara deadpanned and Tanjiro looked both shocked and horrified.

"Girls actually like guys who are stronger than themselves. Girls want to be protected by them, get it? Maybe this is hard for a man to understand."

Sara sweat dropped at Tanjiro's terrified expression. It's okay, Tanjiro-kun. Everyone else who heard this felt the same way.

"I mean, Pillars are strong right? But it's hard to meet up with them. That's why I became a Pillar myself. I worked really hard at it too."

When Mitsuri was done with her rant, a Kakushi appeared behind them.

"Kanroji-sama. Your sword will be done very soon. We would like you to come to the workshop to make your final touches."

"Aww." Mitsuri said sadly. "Looks like I have to go now."

"Don't worry about me! I'll see you off." The boy offered.

"It's fine. I'll probably have to leave in the dead of the night."

Tanjiro looked slightly disappointed. "Well, okay, uhh..."

"Tanjiro-kun. Sara-chan." Mitsuri smiled sweetly at both of them. "I don't really know if we'll be able to see each other alive next time, but let's just do what we can."

He nodded. "I will. Goodbye, Kanroji-san."

Sara simply waved as the Love Hashira left. Now she was left alone with Tanjiro.

"So why did you join the Demon Slayer Corps, Yuhiko-san?" He asked her.

She paused, hesitating about what to say. "My family was murdered, and I lived because I was playing outside when the demon attacked." She mumbled.

Tanjiro's eyes widened, then his expression softened. "Don't blame yourself for that, Yuhiko-san. I think it's good that you survived, because you're here now, and you're a Pillar."

Sara looked down at the ground, not looking up to meet Tanjiro's eyes. "It's late, I should be going now. Bye, Tanjiro-kun."

The boy waved as she walked away. "I hope we can see each other again, Yuhiko-san!"

Sara paused again, turning around to face him this time. "Like Kanroji-san said, I don't know if we'll see each other alive next time. But let's do our best."

Tanjiro's face saddened after hearing her words. It was true - the world around them was getting increasingly dangerous, and nobody's life was guaranteed. Even then, the thought of more people dying pained him.

Seeing this, Sara's expression softened. "It'll be alright, Tanjiro. You survived and won fight against an Upper Moon. That's already a great learning experience. There's nothing more valuable than experiencing something like that, and you're definitely stronger than the last time I saw you."

Tanjiro's eyes widened at her praise. "Th- thank you so much, Yuhiko-san. But I still have a ways to go. I only won because Uzui-san was there to help me."

Then, for the first time, Tanjiro saw her smile.

"You're impressive, Tanjiro-kun." She told him. "I'll see you the next time we meet."

And with that, the Ice Pillar walked away, leaving Tanjiro with a severe nosebleed.

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Word count: 1137