● Hiii! author here! I haven't been leaving any notes recently, right? I'm sorry for not interacting with you guys as much, it's just that when I finish a chapter I get so excited to publish it that I end up forgetting to say anything lol
● I know that after the “night” chapter, you guys were probably waiting for a bunch of angst and dark stuff, but I have never been good at writing angst 😭😭 fluff is forever gonna be my thing! Romance is the best! Cute things for the win!
● Hope you enjoy this chapter, and have a good day/night!
•────────✦❅✦────────•
“Tanjiroo!! What did I do wrooonggg-” Y/N cried.
“They are at it again.”
To the other people participating in Mitsuri's training, Y/N running after Tanjiro while he avoided her like a plague started to turn into a normal daily occurrence.
“How many words do you think he's going to say to her today? I bet ten.” One of the guys commented to another.
“Ten? Nah, that's too much! Yesterday he only spoke three, so I think he will say like... five.”
In the middle of such a hellish daily flexibility training, the Tanjiro-Y/N situation ended up turning into a great source of entertainment for the swordsmen, so they often made bets on how many words Tanjiro would be able to say.
“Ugh… what's wrong with him?” Y/N frowned, finally stopping running after the boy to catch her breath.
“Heeey! Don't give up, Y/N! Catch the man!” One of them exclaimed, cheering for the girl. “I'm gonna lose money if you don't-”
Surprisingly enough, watching Tanjiro being so timid about Y/N's attire was so funny to everyone that they ended up getting used at it, so they weren't really embarrassed at using the leotards anymore.
But they still hoped that Tanjiro would take a very long while to get used to it, since watching him panicking over Y/N was the only enjoyment they had.
“Good morning everyone! Ready for the flexibility exercises? I just know that today is the day everyone will be able to do a full split!” Mitsuri ran inside while adjusting her sleeves with a big smile. “To quick things up, everyone chooses a partner, okay? Let's all help each other stretch!”
“Huh?” Tanjiro got distracted by Mitsuri's entrance and stopped in place for a second. Unfortunately, this small second gave enough time to Y/N catch up to him.
“Gotcha!” She jumped on his back, immediately wrapping her legs around his waist and completely attaching herself to the boy. “There's no escape now!”
“Looks like Y/N is today's winner.” A guy commented, everyone clapped with a blank expression at Y/N's victory(?).
'Tooclosetooclosetooclosetooclose-' Tanjiro's head was spinning during the entire training.
Since Y/N managed to capture him, they ended up being partners in the stretching exercises, though the constant close proximity was not helping Tanjiro's case.
The leotard's fabric was too thin, and Y/N was so warm… and soft… and her skin was so prett-
Tanjiro's eyes widened, he needs to put himself together!
Y/N jolted from shock when he suddenly raised his hand and harshly slapped his own face. “GYAAH! What are you doing?!”
“Punishing myself for not having self-control.” He emotionless responded with his cheek in a concerning red color, he really didn't hold back with that slap.
“O-oh…” Y/N awkwardly said, sweat-dropping. “You really shouldn't do that anymore though, your cheek is really swollen…” She completed with a frown, suddenly approaching her face to his.
“Wha-”
He jumped as she delicately pressed her hand against his normal cheek and gently kissed the swollen one. “There! Pain, pain, go away!”
“W-w-w-what are you doing!?” Tanjiro seemed to be about to pass out.
“What do you mean? It's the no pain thingie you did to me before-” Y/N responded, her surprised expression slowly dropping to a puppy-like sad frown. “Perhaps, did I do it wrong?”
Through Tanjiro's rose-tinted lenses, her worried expression looked extremely adorable, he almost could see the sparkles floating around her.
Aaah! He was loosing it again!
Tanjiro suddenly bowed dogeza style, his forehead harshly hit against the floor and made a crater under it. “Y/N. I'M REALLY SORRY.”
“Why are you apologizing??? And so loudly too-” She jumped from surprise.
“GYAAAAH! MY FLOOR! NOOOOOO!” Mitsuri exasperatedly ran up to them, putting her hands on her head from panic.
“I'm really sorry for being so terrible.” He blankly said, his expression was dead.
“....okay? I still don't understand what you're apologizing for, but if it makes you feel better then I forgive you.” Y/N smiled emptily.
“Really? You're fine with how disgusting I am?” He looked up at her, sniffing.
“What?! Disgusting?!” She jolted.
“Mmyyy floooorr-” Mitsuri seemed to be the only one worrying about the truly important things here.
Y/N was unable to understand how ScAnDaLoUs her legs were until the training ended.
“Bye Tanjiro, Y/N, until tomorrow!” The other swordsman said their goodbyes as they left. “Good luck to you tomorrow too, Tanjiro!”
They snickered at Tanjiro as the poor boy was now sitting on the floor while crying, Y/N crouched beside him and confusedly patted his back in reassurance.
“I'm so- sniff- Sorry!”
“Yeah, I already said I forgive you.”
'Tanjiro been's having an existential crisis the whole day, I didn't know he hated flexibility training that much-' She blankly thought.
To Ether, this was starting to get too painful to watch, so much that he decided to step in :
Y/N, uh- the problem is your legs.
'What?! What's wrong with them?! Are they so ugly that they are making him cry?!'
No, it's contrary, the issue is that he may like them too much…?
'Oh, really? Don't worry Ether, I totally know how to fix it!'
I don't think-
“Listen, Tanjiro!” Y/N exclaimed, the boy looked up at her while sniffing in response.
“If you like my legs that much, then you can look at them as much as you want!”
“Please don't encourage my terrible behaviooorrr-” He only cried harder at this.
'Uh-oh- I think I worsened it..??'
What are you waiting for?! Take it back-!
“I changed my mind, never look at them again!” Y/N said, smiling brightly.
WHY DID YOU SAY IT SO AGGRESSIVELY?!
Tanjiro stared wide-eyed at her, and then cried even more. “I'm so sorryyyyy-”
LOOK! YOU MADE IT EVEN WORSE-!
'IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR PRESSURING ME-!'
Y/N was pretty sure she heard Ether sigh.
Okay, just talk to him, you can do that….
'O-oh, okay!' Y/N cleaned her throat to prepare, gently resting her hand on his shoulder and saying : “You see Tanjiro, when two people love each other very much-”
WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE 'THE TALK' WITH HIM?!
'I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD HELP HIM FEEL LESS BAD?!'
HE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT COITUS IS, WHAT HE FEELS BAD FOR IS LOOKING AT YOU WITHOUT PERMISSION-
'COITUS?! Who even says that?!'
THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT! Just reassure the earring guy that it's okay-
'But COITUS???'
THE TERMINOLOGY I USE DOESN'T MATTER- Just say something before he starts crying again!
'Fine, just stop screaming in my brain!'
Y/N then once again cleaned her throat. “You see Tanjiro, uh- it's okay, like, it's just legs. I know you feel bad at the thought of making me uncomfortable, but I'm really not, so it's fine.”
'In fact, seeing you freaking out the entire day because of it just makes me feel bad for you-'
“Really? You're not mad at me?”
“Nope.” She smiled at him.
His sad expression suddenly dropped to a serious one, he quickly approached the girl and grabbed her shoulders with a scary aura : “Y/N, I've thinking about it for a while, but you're too lenient on the people around you.”
“What-”
“What if Zenitsu was here? You definitely wouldn't be safe-”
“You shouldn't talk like that about your friend-”
“And sure, the fact that you're incredibly nice is one of the strong points that makes you very cute, but you need to be more careful!”
“Did you just call me cute in the middle of that lecture-”
“My points still stand! Even if you're fine, you still have to start making your boundaries clear!”
“O…kay….” His sudden lecture was starting to make her head spin, so she just blankly agreed.
“Y/N, I'm so glad you didn't leave yet!” Mitsuri ran up to her, excitedly hugging her arm. “Do you remember what I said? That I wanted you to try other clothes for me?! Do you have free time now?”
“Sure thing!” Y/N turned to her and smiled happily.
“Yay! C'mon, I will prepare cookies too! Maybe some cake- Oh, how about macarons-” Mitsuri excitedly said while dragging Y/N further inside the house.
“Bye Tanjiro! That was a very productive talk!” Y/N waved to him as they left.
Mitsuri took her to her room, as you would expect of it, it was really cutesy. Y/N had to be careful to not step on any plush animals around.
“I wonder which one should she try first? Maybe a more cutesy style?! Or how about something more gothic-” She mumbled to herself while looking around the pile of clothes.
Despite the piles of clothes she made Y/N try on, she didn't really complain.
Actually, they reminded her of the cosplays in the modern world, and it was always nice to see something familiar.
“Wow, they are beautiful…!”
“Really?” Mitsuri's beamed. “I made them myself!”
“You did? No way, I didn't know you could sew!”
Mitsuri's smile got a bit melancholic. “Actually, it's a bit of a recent hobby.” She scratched her cheek.
“When Nezuko revealed her ability, and Miss Amane said that we had to prepare ourselves for a full scale-war, I realized that after we killed Muzan, the corps wouldn't have a use anymore, so we will probably disband, right?”
Y/N's smile also dropped. “Yes. It's an unfortunate consequence, I guess.”
“At the time, I was pretty sad about it. I mean, it's great that we won't have to worry about the oni anymore, but the corps was the first place that accepted me how I am, knowing that I was going to lose it felt terrible…” She completed.
“I-”
“But it's fine now! You see, I thought pretty deeply about what I was going to do with my life after retiring, and then I realized, since I really like baking and making sweets I could totally open a bakery, or maybe even a restaurant!”
“Is that so? That's wonderful Mitsuri!” Y/N smiled happily.
“Isn't it? Then I remembered you…” Her cheeks suddenly got rosy colored as she fidgetly played with her fingers. “If there's nothing that you want to do after the corps is disbanded, you could totally work in the bakery with me and serve the clients! When I thought about you, I just couldn't stop making clothes! I mean, a cute girl in cute clothes would totally attract a bunch of people, right?”
'Wow… did she just come up with the concept of a maid café in taisho era?' Y/N blankly thought.
“I-It's a bit embarrassing, right? You're free to refuse if you want, I just-”
“No way!” Y/N almost jumped on her, grabbing her hands and interlacing her fingers with hers. “That's a wonderful dream, Mitsuri! I'm glad you even considered me to be a part of it!”
“R-really?!” She started to tear-up. “Sniff- I'M REALLY GLAD!”
Y/N smiled as Mitsuri let go of her hands to clean her face, but then, her face got serious. “But… Mitsuri... Uh- in this war, aren't you afraid of dying? Isn't it scary?”
“Huh?” Mitsuri looked surprised for a second, but then, she gently smiled at the girl. “I would be lying if I said that I'm not scared. But what I know is that I will fight hard so I can save as much people as I can, and then, if I die, I'm confident that those people who are alive will complete their dreams in place.”
Mitsuri then approached Y/N, gently embracing her and delicately resting her chin on her shoulder. “I hope that you, too, chooses the dream that makes you the most happy.”
Y/N froze.
'My dream? …. I mean… I want everyone to live and…
And…?
….oh.
I wonder what my dream is.'