Kanao Can't Communicate

•~chapter nine: ramen~•

The next morning at school was a day like any other. The cool spring breezes were slowly beginning to change into the dryness and heat of summer, as it was the beginning of May.

Students all over were chatting with friends, working on homework, or simply just enjoying the beautiful weather before it ended.

Inside class 2-B, Kanao was squirming in her seat.

Tanjiro, who had just arrived, noticed a slight change in the scent of Kanao's anxiety.

Her scent, which was normally an anxious one, had subsided into a scent that smelled more of excitement, but there was hesitance in it at the same time.

Tanjiro turned towards Kanao after placing down his book bag.

"Is there something wrong, Kanao?" Tanjiro asked, causing the girl to be jolted out of her thoughts.

She took her notebook out of her book bag and began to write.

'I've been thinking...'

'Since I have friends now, I want to go out for ramen after school.'

"Ramen?" Tanjiro asked.

'Yes. It's been my dream to go to a ramen shop.' she wrote, earning a discreet sweatdrop from Tanjiro.

I like being friends with you, Kanao, but you do have some pretty weird dreams... Tanjiro thought.

Tanjiro noticed Kanao looking at him expectantly, and then he cleared his throat.

"We can go for ramen together, Kanao...if that's what you were asking." Tanjiro said slowly.

Kanao nodded very quickly.

Suddenly, both Kanao and Tanjiro felt an ominous presence behind them.

"You're going out for ramen, you say?" said a voice.

Tanjiro and Kanao both flinched at the sound of the new ominous presence, and they turned around slowly.

Behind them, a girl with long red hair and glasses stood proudly behind them.

"And you are...?" Tanjiro asked, clearly at a loss for words because of this sudden interruption.

"Chimatsu Yamada." she said, bowing.

"And I can say that I might be an expert on ramen, and the goddess Tsuyuri~san and her friends can't just have any peasant food." Chimatsu said proudly.

"Erm...okay...we'll meet you outside after school is over, then." Tanjiro said in confusion.

As Chimatsu walked away without another word, Tanjiro turned towards Kanao.

"Well...she's joining us for ramen, then." Tanjiro said. "Are you okay with that, Kanao~san?"

Kanao nodded, feeling so happy that her dream of going to a ramen shop was finally going to come true.

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"And here we are!" a delighted Chimatsu said with a flourish.

"Ramen Darou?" Tanjiro asked, raising his eyebrows. He'd never heard of such a place before...but then again, he was new to the city after all.

"So, are we all going to go in or what?" Inosuke shouted. He, Zenitsu, and Nezuko had tagged along for the ramen.

Tanjiro was about to say something, but then Kanao scribbled something on her notebook.

'Let's go.' Kanao wrote.

That decision was made really quick! Tanjiro thought, as Chimatsu clapped her hands with glee.