Broken Pieces (Demon Slayer x Male Reader)

Prologue

Tanjiro Kamado had heard of the 'strange boy' ever since he was little. The stories he heard from other villagers, when his mother took him there, were scary for a child to hear.

How the 'freak of nature' was a terrifying sight, a lack of limbs, a missing eye. He was hardly a human, but Tanjiro also always remembered his mother's scolding glare whenever she overheard the whispers. She would then smile down at her son, Nezuko strapped to her back as she slept; "Don't listen to them, Tanjiro. It's not kind to speak down on those who've done no wrong."

So Tanjiro stopped being so scared of the rumors.

He then finally saw the strange boy.
Tanjiro's father wasn't in the best condition, and he was still rapidly deteriorating. And with that, his father had to limit his work around the house. So when a kind wood carver suddenly showed up to the small house, pulling a large wagon of fire wood, freshly caught fish, and hand sewn kimonos and haoris, Tanjiro was sure his mother was about to cry tears of both joy and relief.

"I know it isn't much. But when I heard about a family living way up here, I had to make sure you had enough supplies to get through the winter."

"No, this is much more than what I'm about to go out and get for us. With my husband's condition, it's difficult for me to do all of this myself. Thank you very much. I'm Kie Kamado." She replied with a grateful bow.

"I'm Jukai, I'm sorry to hear of your husband's condition. I used to work as a doctor, I could take a look and leave some medicine with him if you'd like."

"Please, if it's not too much of a bother."

Tanjiro peaked his head out from behind his mother's leg, looking up towards the man. He looked kind, dark brown hair and beard, but his eyes held a sadness that the young boy and his mother quickly picked up on.

Tanjiro's red eyes slowly drifted towards the wagon full of priceless supplies, and landed on the boy who looked to be the same age as he was.

He had h/c hair, one eye was e/c while the other was a solid black color. They looked distant, like he had been to hell and back. He was looking towards the ground, his arms at his side.
Jukai looked over his shoulder towards the boy, before speaking in a careful, slow, and soft voice.
"Y/N, can you start to unload the cart for me please?" Jukai asked.

Y/N looked up towards the man, and a moment later he nodded once, turning towards the cart and starting to gather some firewood in his arms.

"Tanjiro, how about you help him?" Kie asked with a small smile. Tanjiro nodded, muttering a "yes ma'am" before walking outside and towards the cart.

"Hi! I'm Tanjiro Kamado" the burgundy haired child greeted, hopping onto the cart to get his own arm full of wood to carry to the house.

Y/N kept his gaze forward, hopping off the wagon with some fire wood and trekked towards the house. Tanjiro looked at him with dotted eyes and  tilt of the head, before quickly following after the boy after gathering his own pile.

"It's so nice of you to bring this to us, this winter is going to be harsh isn't it?" Tanjiro continued. But he received no answer still, making him even more confused than he was before.
Y/N placed the wood onto the pile the Kamado family had already gathered inside the house, before turning back towards the door and heading outside.

Tanjiro quickly followed like a lost puppy, still trying to gain the attention of Y/N. The two wordlessly grabbed the handles of the basket full of fish, helping each other take it off the wagon and towards the house.

"Look mom! They brought tons of fish for us" Tanjiro exclaimed, both boys placing it down in an empty space.

"Y/N goes a little overboard when it comes to fishing, at least one of us is good at it" Jukai said, opening up his bag and placing two small glasses of medicine in Kie's hands. "I wish there was more that I could do."

"No, this is more than enough. Thank you very much" Tanjiro's father, Tanjuro, said from his place on his futon.
Tanjuro's eyes landed on Y/N, and his kind smile faltered for a split second. It didn't go unnoticed by Jukai, who tensed up a little out of instinct.

"I know he's a little startling, but he's a good boy. Please, don't say anything about his appearance while he's close by" Jukai pleaded, almost recited, like he had said the same thing over and over with practice.

It made Tanjiro look towards Y/N once again, who was looking towards the peacefully sleeping toddler, Nezuko.

"Did you make those prosthetic limbs and eye?" Tanjuro question in surprise, "it's incredible work and craftsmanship. He's your son?"

Jukai looked in slight shock, it was the first time Y/N wasn't attacked for his lack of limbs and eye. He looked towards the unknowing boy, who was now sat on the ground as Tanjiro was handing him different, small items.

"I found him in a basket, he couldn't have been more than a few hours old. He didn't have arms or legs, he was missing an eye. There's no good reason how he survived."

"He's a blessing" Kie said with a soft smile. Jukai undoubtedly had a soft spot for Y/N, so he teared up slightly at the woman's words, quickly wiping it away before smiling sadly at the two.

"I do suppose we should go now, before it gets too dark out."

"You're welcome to stay the night, it's a far walk down the mountain" Tanjuro insisted, to which the wood carver shook his head at.

"That's very kind of you, but we're not too far away. I don't want Y/N to get confused either. Thank you for your hospitality."

"No, we are in debt to your kindness" Kie insisted with a bow, Jukai doing the same.

Tanjiro stood beside his mother as he was watched Jukai and Y/N's forms getting smaller and smaller as they left, pulling the wagon with them, until the two could no longer see them.

"See, Tanjiro? Be kind and you get rewarded. We'll have to give them some charcoal when we make our next batch."

Tanjiro only looked towards the direction the two left in, before smiling brightly.

"Yeah!"