It was finally the end of yet another exhausting school day. However, Tanjiro wasn't even getting ready to go home...
Because he was slumped down face-first on his desk, depressed about all the work that his teachers and classmates had given him to finish. There were piles upon piles of papers that were stacked around his desk, and he had to finish working on them all because of his role as class Vice President.
Aoi was supposed to be absent from class for two or three days...so, as a result, all of her work had been shifted onto Tanjiro.
Urgh...why did Aoi~san have to be absent during this time? he thought sourly, as he picked up a piece of paper. I don't normally complain about schoolwork...but this...this amount of work is just way too much for me to even handle. How can Aoi~san even deal with this much work?
He was suddenly jolted out of his mental complaints by the soft clearing of a throat. He lifted his head off his desk and came face to face with the bright smile of a lilac-haired girl.
Tanjiro nearly leapt out of his seat because of the surprise that he felt.
"E-eh?!" he yelled out. But then, he realized who it was and he sighed, as his surprise had begun to wear off. It was one of his classmates, Tsuko Izumi.
"Ah...hello, Tsuko~san...do you have more work to give me?" Tanjiro muttered, unable to keep the exhaustion out of his voice.
"Sorry that I scared you, Tanjiro~san." she said. "I've been watching all the work that they've been giving you, and it honestly seemed like an overload. So I came to help you...and by the way, you can just call me by my first name."
Tanjiro nodded gratefully. "I'm thankful that you came over to help me, Izumi~san. But, don't you have your own work to do?"
"Oh, no. I finished all my things super quickly so that I could help you instead!" she exclaimed. "After all, class vice president is a pretty big job."
"It is...thanks again for helping me, Izumi~san." Tanjiro said, as Izumi picked up one of the bigger piles of papers. Izumi was a very reliable person, and her personality was similar to that of an older sister.
For the next few minutes, Izumi and Tanjiro worked casually on all the work, making easy conversation. When they were halfway done, however, they heard a little 'ahem' from behind them.
They turned around to see Kanao looking at them. She was fidgeting a little bit, and she held up a message in her notebook that asked, 'What are you two doing?'
"We're just finishing up my vice president work, Kanao~san." Tanjiro said. "Why don't you join us?"
Kanao nodded eagerly and quickly sat down in the desk right next to Tanjiro. Izumi's eyes widened in realization when Kanao snatched the seat next to Tanjiro as quickly as she could.
"Ah! I've just remembered that I have plans right now!" Izumi said, now leaping up from her seat. "I'll see you two tomorrow!"
She rushed out the door, leaving both Tanjiro and Kanao confused, and wondering...
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The very next day after school, Tanjiro was slumped over his desk again, as his class had given him even more work to complete for the day.
"You have more work again, Tanjiro~san?" Izumi asked incredulously, as she walked over to him. "I'll help you again, but before we get started, let's go for a walk in the hallway."
"Okay...after all, I do need a break from all this work, Izumi~san." Tanjiro said, now getting up from his desk.
The two teenagers walked out into the hall. They both stayed silent at first, but then Izumi began to speak.
"Tanjiro~san, are you being bullied?" Izumi suddenly asked, catching Tanjiro off guard.
"Eh?" Tanjiro said confusedly. "Why are you suddenly asking me questions like that, Izumi~san?"
"Well...I saw two of our teachers in the copying room. They were Shinazugawa~sensei and Kocho~sensei. Shinazugawa~sensei was trying to convince Kocho~sensei to give you her work so that they could go out together and hang out after school. But thankfully, Kocho~sensei said no, since you're dealing with way more work than you can already handle." Izumi said, ending her little rant with a scoff and an eyeroll.
"...huh." Tanjiro mumbled, feeling utterly speechless. Maybe I am being bullied by Shinazugawa~sensei...did I do something wrong? he thought to himself.
"And also, I saw that you hang around Kanao~san for most of the time...I don't really know if I'm right, but she seems to look down on people." Izumi muttered uncertainly. "I'm not trying to be rude, but do you just like being looked down on by popular people?"
Tanjiro shook his head right away. "Kanao~san isn't like that, Izumi~san. You just have to talk to her, and you will be able to understand her! I'm sure of it."
Izumi nodded, but then they heard the smallest little hiccup from behind the corner of the hall. This startled Tanjiro and Izumi both.
"Is there someone there?" Izumi called out.
Kanao came out slowly from behind the corner, bits of pink dusting her cheeks. Tanjiro and Izumi relaxed when they saw their classmate and friend.
"Ah, hello, Kanao~san!" Izumi said happily. "Is there something you needed?"
Kanao didn't respond, per usual. Instead, she looked down at her feet and she began to blush a lot more. She also started fidgeting. Then, without any sort of warning, she ran away and scampered down the stairs.
Tanjiro and Izumi were both speechless. This was very unlike Kanao.
"What was that all about?" Tanjiro wondered aloud.
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The next day, Aoi had come back to school, so Tanjiro finally had a break from all his work.
He was walking with Izumi through the halls as they both chatted in a lively manner.
As they approached the staircase, Kanao came over to them, holding her notebook and a pencil.
"Good morning, Kanao~san!" Tanjiro said. Kanao waved hello and then she turned towards Izumi.
Sorry I ran away so suddenly yesterday, she wrote. I got a little shy.
"Oh, I completely understand, Kanao~san. As long as you're feeling better!" Izumi said, smiling happily.
Kanao suddenly remembered something and she wrote it down in her notebook.
How are you this morning, Izumi~san? she asked. Izumi smiled at the sight of this message.
"I'm doing fine, thanks, Kanao~san." Izumi said. Then, she too remembered something that had come to her mind the day before.
She took Kanao by the hand and gently dragged her a few feet away from Tanjiro.
"I'm rooting for your relationship with Tanjiro, Kanao~san." Izumi whispered slyly. Kanao's face began to explode in red as Izumi backed away from her ear. She brought her notebook up to her face to cover her blushing, and she dashed up the stairs as quickly as possible, because she was clearly eager to get away from Izumi, Tanjiro, and her embarrassment.
"Eh?! Kanao~san!" Tanjiro called after her. Then, he turned towards Izumi.
"What did you say to her?" Tanjiro asked the lilac-haired girl. Izumi shook her head and she smiled coyly.
"I can't tell you that. That's a secret that only me and Kanao~san can know."
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•*BONUS SCENE*•
Shinobu had come around the corner of the hall just as Izumi whispered in Kanao's ear, so, she heard every word of what Izumi said...
...and I'm just gonna say that her anger wasn't exactly pretty.
(Yet again, you must use your imagination in this part...also note the blurred face under Onemine's neck 😅)
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A/N: That's all for chapter 20! I really hope you all enjoyed.
OC credits go to @LadyLemur ❤️
I also did a little sketch on paper on what Izumi could look like...but sadly, the picture won't upload.
I also hope that you guys enjoyed the new book cover design!
Anyways...that's all that I had to say...thanks again for reading! Don't forget to comment, vote, and maybe follow me if you'd like to!
Bye bye, everybody, and see you guys in the next chapter!
Word Count: 1335 Words ❤️