𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇; 𝑲.𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑱𝑰𝑹𝑶 [✓]

feelings;

"[y/n]?" tanjiro called out as he looked around the empty living room. the curtains were drawn, preventing most of the sunlight from entering through the stretch of windows. [y/n] usually closes the curtain whenever she's going to bed, though it really doesn't do much because the sunlight always finds a way to enter.

the boy was about to take a seat on the sofa when the sound of a door sliding opened stops him. "oh! i knew i heard someone!" [y/n] poked her head out as she greeted him. "come in, come in!" she gestured for the boy to enter her room.

tanjiro has only been in her room once. it was on the day he first woke up here. even though that happened months ago, he still remembered it clearly. he had just defeated upper moon six and woke up to the sound of [y/n]'s voice. at that time, he was exhausted and the girl was kind enough to allow him to sleep in her room.

as tanjiro entered her room for the second time, he noticed how different it looked from the other parts of this house. unlike the plain living room and kitchen, this room was actually decorated. her room was darker than the living room since there was only one window next to her bed, with the curtains drawn as well.

"it's a bit messy, sorry about that," [y/n] scratched the back of her neck nervously, picking up stray pieces of papers from the floor.

"it's honestly not that bad," tanjiro smiled. "inosuke's room is like a thousand times worse."

"inosuke?"

"oh, he's a friend of mine," tanjiro explained. and as he told her about his boar headed friend, his eyes landed on a clock hanging on the wall across her bed. after staring at it for a while, he realised it was actually ticking backwards.

2:14

tanjiro assumed it's two in the afternoon, but then again, when has it ever been night?

"he sounds intense," [y/n] laughed when tanjiro told her one of the many strange things inosuke had done.

"he really is," tanjiro shook his head. "he's the type to pick a fight with anyone and anything."

"what about the other guy? zenitsu?" while [y/n] cleaned her room, tanjiro told her stories about the people he had come across and the missions he went on. he also told her about his life before he became a demon slayer.

"oh my god, i am so sorry!" [y/n] gasped, eyes filled with horror when she found out that her brother was responsible for the death of tanjiro's family. "he hasn't changed one bit... actually, it sounds like he has gotten worse!"

"how did you even manage to deal with him all those years?" tanjiro asked, recalling the terrible feeling he got when he encountered that man.

"oh, i have no idea," [y/n] scoffed, as if just thinking about it annoyed her — it did.

she climbed into bed and sat with her back against the headboard. "come sit with me," she gave the empty space next to her a few pats. joining her on the bed, tanjiro made sure to leave a small space in between them.

he noticed there were a bunch of coloured pencils scattered around her bed and an open book. it looked like she was in the middle of drawing something. he tilted his head to the side, trying to see the incomplete sketch. was it just his imagination, or did it look like-

"ahhhh! it's not done yet!" [y/n] panicked, picking the book up and slamming it shut. her face was bright red as she hugged the old book to her chest.

"you're really good a drawing," tanjiro complimented.

"t-thank you..." the girl mumbled, trying her best to avoid looking at the boy next to her.

"do you do it often?" he asked, watching her place the book down on her lap.

"yeah, it gets boring here, so... sometimes i try drawing the people i met," she explained. hesitantly, she flipped the book open for tanjiro to see.

"may i?"

"sure," [y/n] gently placed the book in his hands, allowing him to look through the pages by himself.

apart from the sound of tanjiro flipping a page every now and then, the room was silent. [y/n] felt herself leaning towards him as she observed her own sketches, noticing how he would stop a few seconds longer on certain pages.

"did you know him?"

tanjiro nodded, a sad look on his face. "that's sabito."

and when he finally flipped to the next page, the boy felt his heart sink.

"rengoku-san..." tanjiro let his eyes wander over the doodles of the former flame pillar. "you drew him quite a lot," he noted.

"mhm, he looked really cool," [y/n] smiled, remembering the day she met him. "he was really nice to me too."

after that, tanjiro eventually reached the last sketch. it was the one he saw, an unfinished sketch of him. he never noticed it before, but in the top right corner of the page, his name was neatly written in small handwriting with a little heart at the end.

"i told you... i wasn't do-" the girl was interrupted by her own yawn, eyelids drooping shut as she let her head rest on the boy's shoulder.

"[y/n]?"

there was no reply. she had already fallen asleep.

tanjiro looked up at the clock in front of him.

12:43

maybe it was time for him to go back? but then again, how does time even work here?

the boy dropped his gaze back down to the book in his hands. for the next few minutes, the sound of lead scratching paper filled the room. when he was done, he placed the pencil on the page he drew on, using it as a bookmark when he shut the book.

as gently as he could, he shifted the sleeping girl into a more comfortable position, gently lowering her head down on a pillow and making sure to cover her body with a blanket to keep her warm.

for a while, tanjiro didn't feel like moving. he sat next to her, studying her soft features as she slept.

there it was again. this feeling. a feeling he only gets around her and no one else. it made his heart ache but not in a painful way. it made him want more. but more of what? what is this thing that his heart was so desperately yearning for that it has to pick up its pace every time he's with her? as if it was chasing after something or someone.

mitsuri was right. he did like her. and he liked her a lot.

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