𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇; 𝑲.𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑱𝑰𝑹𝑶 [✓]

confession;

"seriously, are you okay?" [y/n] returned to the kitchen and took a seat across from him. "you should probably take a break from this pillar training thing."

"it's not that," tanjiro shook his head, immediately regretting his action as it made his head throb even more. groaning in irritation, he crossed his arms on the table and buried his head in them.

"tanjiro..?do you want to rest in my room?" he couldn't see her, but he could hear the concern in her voice when she asked that.

"i'm okay..."

"uhm... would you like a cup of tea? i can make some ginger tea for you. they're really good for getting rid of headaches."

"that'd be nice," tanjiro mumbled. "thank you, [y/n]."

without wasting any time, she started brewing the tea for him. soon enough, the kitchen was filled with the smell of ginger.

tanjiro slowly lifted his head, high enough to watch [y/n] while resting his chin on his arms.

"your kimono looks really old. is it the only one you have?" tanjiro asked, noticing holes and cuts around her clothing.

[y/n] stiffened at his question but composed herself just as quickly. "well... this is the kimono i was wearing when i died, so..." she let out a humourless laugh.

"i'm so sorry! that was so insensitive of me!" tanjiro sat up straight, ignoring the pain in his head. "i'm really sorry..."

"it's okay, really. it's been centuries. i'm over it," the girl waved him off. turning around, she placed the cup of tea in front of him before returning to her seat.

"centuries?" tanjiro knew she was from the past. but for some reason, he didn't think she'd be from centuries ago. "which year were you born in?"

"mmm... i don't remember the exact year. but i was born during the heian era."

that's over a thousand years ago!

"i died when i was fourteen, so i've been stuck in this place for a really long time now."

"fourteen..." she was a year younger than tanjiro. "how could someone do that to their own family?"

"ah well... i did betray him."

"still. that's too cruel."

a small smile made its way on the girl's face as she listened to the boy in front of her. "it is cruel. but that's just how he is."

"you'll be doing me a great favour by killing him," she added. "actually, you'll be doing the whole world a favour. that man needs to go. he's been alive for long enough."

[y/n] said it to lighten the mood, but she realised that it had made tanjiro even more upset.

"sorry. my humour is a little..." she cringed at herself, letting her voice trail off.

they sat in silence for the next few minutes. the boy took his time drinking the warm tea while the girl gazed out the window beside her. the view was the same as every other day. boring.

there was a time when [y/n] got so sick of this place that she ran away. out into the open field. she ran for what felt like hours. everywhere looked the same, and so she chose to just run in a straight line.

with every step she took, she left a small piece of hope behind. a dreadful feeling filled her when a familiar house came into view. she was back where she started. all that running was for nothing.

she realised that there was really no way out of this place. she would be stuck here until her brother's death. and so every day, before going to bed, [y/n] would pray and hope that when she wakes up tomorrow, it will be somewhere else.

she hated this place from the bottom of her heart.

"what will happen to you when muzan dies?"

it was tanjiro who broke the silence.

"when muzan dies?" the girl turned to face him. "well, i don't know. maybe i'll disappear like everyone else did."

at that moment, a thought squeezed its way into her head. "tanjiro... is that what you were upset about?"

the boy gave her a simple nod, his eyes glued to the half empty cup in front of him.

"w-well, don't think about it too much," she quickly added. "it's just a guess!" despite what she said, the girl knew that it wasn't just a guess.

of course, the thought of never seeing tanjiro again pained her. but [y/n] would be lying if she said she didn't want to leave this place. she was tired.

it was time for her to move on.

that dreadful feeling had returned.

when tanjiro's eyes met her own, she noticed something different about them. he looked as if he was about to...

"[y/n], i-"

the sound of her chair scraping across the floor cut him off. [y/n] had stood up abruptly, not giving tanjiro a chance to finish his sentence.

no. he didn't have to finish it for her to know.

"please don't." [y/n] wanted to say more, but she was afraid that her voice would betray her. she could already feel her nose stinging as tears welled up in her eyes.

"please listen, i-" the boy tried again, standing up as well.

[y/n] kept her head down, not daring to look at him.

"please stop," her throat burned as she spoke those words. "you're going to make this hurt even more."

"but i-"

just as quickly as she had stood up, the girl rushed towards the exit of the kitchen, not wanting to hear the boy speak again.

"[y/n]!" a hand as warm as the sunlight beaming through the window wrapped itself around her wrist. "i like you. a lot. i really do." the grip on her wrist tightened when she tried to pull her hand away.

he wasn't going to let her go. and as much as she wanted him to, a small part of her was begging for him to hold on forever.

"inosuke and zenitsu keep telling me you aren't real, and that i'm crazy for falling for you," tanjiro continued, voice strained as he tried to hold back his own tears. "just the other day, zenitsu asked me what i would do if you disappeared, and i couldn't give him an answer."

"but then i remembered that kanroji-san had told me that no matter what happens, i have to let you know how i feel..." tanjiro's voice got softer as he went on. "i don't want to lose you."

"but i know i can't ask you to stay," his voice was barely audible now. "i'm sorry."

[y/n] could barely see as tears blurred her vision. she scolded herself for getting too attached to the boy holding onto her. she cursed herself for doing such a cruel thing to the boy who had just confessed to her.

tanjiro couldn't see her face, and he made no effort to. he could tell by the way her shoulders were trembling that she was crying as well.

"i really like you too, tanjiro." finally lifting her head, she turned around to face him. "ugh... why did you have to confess..." she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"what am i going to do now?" she brought her free hand up, wiping the tears off her face.

tanjiro was about to say something when she held her hand up, stopping him. "don't." she choked out, shaking her head. "no more. that's enough for today, we'll do this some other time. i need a break, and so do you."

[y/n] tried to leave, but tanjiro was still holding onto her wrist. "you can let go now," she sniffled. "i won't disappear. not until you kill that man," she reminded him. "you can come back again tomorrow. i'll be here. i promise, okay?"

"okay," tanjiro nodded, a few of his own tears escaping as he finally let her go. he watched as she disappeared out of his sight before hearing the door to her room slide shut.

the boy was left alone in the kitchen with an aching heart and a forgotten cup of cold ginger tea.

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