Demon Slayer; Kyameron Kamado

Chapter 66.

The seemingly endless line of brick and clay finally yields to the embrace of nature as trees and greenery replace the urban drawl. Sunlight creeps through the branches and leaves, illuminating Kyameron and Tanjiro's path with a grand shimmering light. "So, how much did you hear?" Kyameron asks out of nowhere.

Tanjiro recoils at the suddenness of the question, "Wh-what? Heard how much of what?" He says, twisting his face into his patented 'Liar Mug' as Kyameron would say.

"My conversation with Shinjuro. How much of it did you hear?" He asks, abnormally calm.

Tanjiro tilts his head, confused by the serenity of his voice, "U-uh..." he mumbles, falling into a trap he's fallen into countless times, "Everything after you said you were sorry..."

Kyameron turns to look at him and chuckles, "Dirty little eavesdropper," he teases. Tanjiro's face goes bright red from the jab, but Kyameron laughs and stops him before he speaks, "Relax, relax, it's not a big deal. It wasn't exactly top-secret information we were exchanging."

"Ye-yeah, I guess so," Tanjiro replies, "Hey, am I allowed to say you were a massive jerk?"

Kyameron's brow furrows, "No-,"

"Because you were a massive jerk for a while," interjects Tanjiro, sporting a smirk.

Kyameron goes to reply but bites his lip instead, "I guess I deserve that."

"Yep! You do!"

Kyameron closes his eyes and tilts his head, scrunching his features together while smiling, "You're still a little brat, you know that?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, brat," Kyameron spits, dashing at Tanjiro and locking him in a headlock.

"Hey!" Protests Tanjiro, trying and failing to push Kyameron off of him. He looks up and sees his brother's hand balled up into a fist with a wicked grin on his face, which can only mean one thing. "No, no, no!" He shouts.

Tanjiro's pleas fall on deaf ears as Kyameron brings his fist down and viciously rubs his knuckles along Tanjiro's stupidly tough skull. He kicks and screams to be let go, but Kyameron refuses to. "Say you're sorry!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tanjiro cries.

Kyameron mercifully releases the headlock and frees Tanjiro to rub his skull in search of relief, "Ha! Some things just never change, eh?" He says mockingly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Tanjiro says, rubbing and scratching his skull as Kyameron laughs at him.

"Anyways, now that we've got rank sorted out again," Kyameron says, throwing his chest out and making Tanjiro groan, "I need you to be straight with me. This is gonna sound stupid, I know, but I just need to hear it. You don't..." He says, trailing off the end, "Nah, screw it, this sounds too stupid."

"If you're going to ask if I resent you; no, of course not. You're my big brother, nothing will ever come between us."

"I was going to ask if you found any good training methods while I was knocked out, but that's good to know, too," Kyameron replies with a side-eye. Tanjiro goes red right away, "Oh relax, that's what I was gonna ask. Haha!"

Tanjiro breathes a sigh of relief before giving his brother a hug, "I meant every word. No matter what comes our way, we'll get through it together. If it's worth anything, I'm sorry I wasn't more supportive."

"Oh, there you go again taking blame for stuff that's in no way your fault," Kyameron scoffs, "Seriously, bro, you're addicted to blaming yourself."

"Oh, you're one to talk, Mr. "It Was My Fault."