hii !!
i'm so excited to start writing the swordsmith village arc within the next couple of chapters !! i just couldn't wait any longer !!
WARNING : Swearing
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Over the course of the following week, prior to Tanjirou's awakening, everyone apart from you mostly relaxed. Especially Tanjirou and Inosuke, considering they were on the road to recovery.
At some point, Inosuke had fully recovered, and soon after, he was already being brought back onto missions. Meanwhile, you couldn't help but feel confused.
As Tanjirou sat up within his bed across from you, you began to complain, "Tanjirou, I'm so confused!! I was the second person to wake up.. yet everyone got sent out on missions before me!"
Tanjirou hummed as he pet a content Hoshi within his lap, "Well, surely there must be some reason for that.. I mean, why would they not give you missions?"
You groaned, yanking the roots of your hair, "WAAGHH!! I DON'T KNOW!! IT'S KILLING ME, TANJIROU!!" You let out a sigh, scratching your cheek, "I mean, not that I don't mind staying here.. it's just.. I should've been one of the first people to get a mission!"
You got up from your sitting position on your bed, before pacing the room anxiously, "Did I.. do something wrong? I don't think I did.. I've only been training.."
You then locked eyes with Tanjirou, "Oh my god—! You don't think they're still mad at me for sneaking out, right? To the Red Light District? Aoi said she forgave me..!!"
Tanjirou let out a light chuckle, "I'm sure that's not the reason!" He then smiled, raising his brows teasingly, "What, do you want to be away from me that badly?"
You let out a scoff, before making your way towards him with a laugh, "Oh, that's definitely the reason, Tanjirou. You have cooties, anyways!" You sat down on his bed next to him, before he pulled you in for gentle kiss.
You pulled away, winking at him with a smirk, "So.. post-coma Tanjirou is smooth. Did you dream about how to be slick, or something?" You let out a laugh nudging him, "Seriously! Where did this smoothness come from?!"
Tanjirou laughed along with you, before his smile slightly faltered, "Actually.. speaking of dreams, I've been meaning to talk to you about something.. if you don't mind listening.."
You perked up — highly aware of what specific dream he would explain, "Yeah, of course! What, you really think I'd say no? I'm not that cruel Tanjirou, am I?!"
He waved his hands frantically, "Wh- NO! Of course not! I just wanted to.." You interrupted him, smiling, "I'll tell you the same thing I told Eli when you each were asleep.. I want to lean on you, as for you to lean on me. Let's lean on each other, 'kay?"
Tanjirou slightly widened his eyes, before softening them once more, "I'd.. love that." He took a deep breath, continuing, "While I was asleep.. I had this dream."
You softened your eyes as he went on, "I.. don't know who they were. There were these two people, you see. One of them was tall, with a crimson ponytail.. but, he had the same hanafuda earrings as me."
Tanjirou bit his lip, continuing, "The other was shorter than the first.. he had short, black hair tied into a low, small ponytail. He had a baby within his arms as well."
He averted his gaze to his hands, "The tall, ponytail guy was talking down on himself.. saying nonsense like: 'I couldn't protect the people I love. I couldn't achieve my dreams. I am a man of no worth.'"
"And.. it got me thinking.. even though I've never even seen those unfamiliar faces before.. I didn't like him talking to himself that way. I begged him, despite not being able to speak, 'Don't think of yourself like that.. I'm begging you.'"
You hummed, "Is.. there any particular reason why? Why were you getting so upset?" Tanjirou wiped a stray tear from his cheek, "Because.. he reminds me of myself."
You concernedly furrowed your brows as he went on, "I know how it feels to feel worthless, to not achieve what I could.. and to be unable to protect those precious to me. I.. feel like an imposter."
"Even though it was years ago, and despite how far I've come, I can't help but think.. that it should've been me who died — not my family."
You gently placed your hands onto his, "Tanjirou, don't say things like that. You and I both know that shouldn't be true." Tanjirou shook his head, "I do.. and don't. I'm.. not alive today because of all the work I put in.. I'm only alive because I left my family to die."
"My mom.. my sister and brothers.. they're all dead because of me. I couldn't even protect them.. even if I wanted to. Then there's Nezuko.. even though my whole journey is for the purpose of turning her back into a human.. there's a small part of me that's losing hope."
Your eyes welled up as you empathized with the boy — despite not living the same situations, you knew what he was feeling like. You spoke, bringing your hand up to his cheek, "Tanjirou, your family's deaths.. it's not your fault."
Your eyes were filled with compassion and understanding, reflecting the pain he carried deep within his heart. You fully knew that no words could ever fully erase the anguish he felt, but you wanted to offer him solace and support, nonetheless.
You continued, "There's nothing you could've done to prevent their deaths, let alone prevent Nezuko from becoming a demon. Besides, even if you stayed behind.. you would've died alongside them, and Nezuko would be alone."
With a tender squeeze of his shoulder, you continued, "Your wish to have taken their place, to spare them from such a.. what's the word..?"
You briefly paused, thinking of your oncoming words, "Tragic fate.. is a reflection of your love and selflessness. But, it's important to understand that their lives and your own hold immeasurable value. They would not want you to bear this burden alone or feel that their sacrifices were in vain."
You offered him a smile, "Tanjirou, you've proven time and time again, of just how strong you are. You've worked so hard to get to where you are now — don't undermine your efforts."
You sniffed, "Tanjirou.. believe me, if you died in their stead.. I don't know what I'd do. So please, if not for yourself, don't think of yourself that lowly for me. I—!"
You briefly hesitated, before wiping an incoming tear from your waterline, "I'm sorry.. I've been so selfish, so self-absorbed with my own problems.. I never bothered to check up on you. I'm so sorry, Tanjirou."
As the weight of his sorrow gradually began to lift, Tanjirou soon realized your words held a glimmer of truth — though he didn't want to accept it. With this, he felt a renewed determination to honor his family's memories, and to make sure to bring justice to their names.
Tanjirou then turned his attention back to you, enveloping you within a tight hug, to which you quickly returned. He shakily whispered in your ear, "Thank you.. I love you, (Y/N). You don't know how much your words mean to me."
You felt a smile grow on your face as your eyes squinted, "I love you too, Tanjirou. I'll always be here for you. Lean on me."
He then pulled back, lightly scolding you, "Don't be sorry, though. You have nothing to be sorry for!" You furrowed your brows, "But—!" Tanjirou quickly spoke over you, "No ifs, ands, or buts."
You snickered, playfully rolling your eyes, "Okay—! Whatever you say, I guess I'm not sorry!"
『✦』
Following your encounter with Akari, you received a newly acquired scroll from her — one that contained an explanation of all of the forms of star breathing.
Because of her aid of gifting you the scroll, you took the time to train with it, whilst Tanjirou was occupied with a different training schedule than you.
See, you weren't purposefully not telling him — no, it wasn't the case at all. You didn't think of the scroll as a big secret to him; only the higher-ups.
You knew if a hashira or kakushi spotted you with the scroll, you'd be done for and deemed suspicious. Because of this, you only ever took the scroll out once you were completely alone.
You sat atop your mattress, criss-crossed. You un-scrolled the paper, before reading its contents. Considering its conditions, it was quite difficult to understand, but after a bit, you were able to read it fluently within your head.
Upon your finishing of the paper, you exasperatedly sighed, "Man, I haven't even started to use the forms.. but my brain is already fried."
Scanning the total of ten forms, you pin-pointed the ones you were familiar with, humming, "Okay.. so, I've used the first, third, fourth, eighth and ninth. So.. I'm technically halfway there?"
You flopped backwards onto your bed, groaning as dramatically as you could, "UGH—! Why couldn't I just be good at water breathing, or some shit like that!?"
You let out another exasperated sigh, "It's just going to be like training for the first time.. again. How fun."
As you complained to yourself, you hadn't expected anybody to overhear — let alone reply. You heard a figure shifting their position a few feet away from you, followed by a groggy, dry voice, "Probably... because you suck ass. Honestly.. that's a skill.. issue."
You felt your muscles freeze in their place as you slowly began to process what you had heard. As your eyes widened in shock, you hesitantly sat up, robotically facing your head in the direction of the noise.
You let out a light gasp as ocean blue eyes stared into yours, followed by his tousled, chocolate brown locks catching your eye, "Oh my— Oh my fucking god..!"
Your voice unwillingly began to crack towards the end, tears of relief beginning to lightly stream down your cheeks. Eli coughed into his shoulder, before cheekily smiling, "I didn't sleep in.. did I?"
You launched yourself out of your bed, throwing your scroll onto the floor accidentally in the process. Tripping over your feet, you made your way over to his bed, tackling his figure into a hug.
Your face immediately started to burn, your heart race quickening as you let out another dry gasp. Unlike Tanjirou's awakening, you were unable to keep control of yourself — causing you to blubber within Eli's grasp.
As your tears stained his shoulder, he winced, before returning your hug, "ELI—! YOU'RE.." You buried your face into his shoulder in a desperate attempt to muffle your cries.
Eli let out a confused chuckle, before sympathetically patting your back, "I— uh? Haha.. it's okay, let it all out..?"
At this point, your crying raised immensely in volume, which eventually gained the attention of Aoi. She hurriedly slammed the door open, brows furrowed, "(Y/N)! Are you okay!? What the hell happen—"
Her eyes grew the size of bowling balls upon connecting eyes with a shrugging Eli, "OH MY GOD!! YOU'RE AWAKE!! YOU'RE AWAKE, HUGH!!"
She rushed over to his side, scanning his figure worriedly, "How are you feeling?! What's your pain level, on a scale of one to ten?" Eli cleared his throat, "I feel.. pretty good, actually. It's mostly a two, maybe three in the scale."
Eli then quirked a brow, "Wait. How long have I.. been knocked out for? Where's everyone else?" Aoi furrowed her brows, wiping a tear, "It's been two and a half months! Which makes absolutely no sense at all! You were the one who sustained the least amount of injuries!"
She then continued, "As for everyone else—!" Aoi was quickly interrupted by a panicked Tanjirou, "WHAT HAPPENED?! I HEARD LOUD SOBS! IS EVERYTHING OKAY?!"
Tanjirou concernedly zeroed in onto your figure as you continued to scramble your words into Eli's shoulder, "AWAKE!! YOU'RE— YOU'RE ACTUALLY...! WAAAAA!"
Eli perked up, his mood lightening upon more of his companions, "Hey, Tabasco! Did you miss little ol' Hugh Jass?!" A wide smile grew upon Tanjirou's features as he ran over to each of you, before ruffling Eli's hair, "You're awake!! Hugh!! Thank god!!"
Eli let out a groan, shooing his hand off with a free hand, "HEY! Don't ever touch my hair again! It takes a ton of work to style this beauty!" Aoi pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing out, "Your.. hair is tangled.. because you haven't touched it in two and a half months, Hugh."
Eli blankly nodded, "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that—" He paused, processing her words, "WAIT, TWO AND A HALF MONTHS?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"
You cried out once more, responding, "Y-YES!!! TWO AND A HALF MONTHS!! BASICALLY THREE! I WAS SO—!! SO WORRIED!! YOU.. JUST WOULDN'T!!"
Aoi pointed to the empty beds, "All of your friends.. except Tanjirou, and obviously (Y/N), have been assigned jobs already. They woke up much earlier than the rest of you, and again, except (Y/N)."
You frenziedly yelled out to Eli, "YOU'RE STUPID!! STUPID, STUPID!! I HATE YOU!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO WORRY ME LIKE THAT?! WAAAGHH!"
Eli playfully slapped your head, "I MISSED YOU TOO, BUT PLEASE.. STOP YELLING IN MY FACE!!!" He then turned to Aoi, his smile faltering, "How.. is Sōta? Was he doing okay?"
Aoi nodded, "Yes, he was. Sōta was the third of them to wake up, following (Y/N). He's currently out on a mission with Zenitsu. That boy.. he was most definitely worried for you!"
You finally regained your composure, pushing yourself off of Eli, "I'm just.. so glad you're okay..! I was so worried.. I didn't think you'd ever wake up again—!"
Eli snickered, covering his mouth with his fist, "Oh, really? Now.. that's what I felt like every time you were late for school! What was the counter at? Thirty four?!"
You playfully punched his arm, "SHUT UP!! THOSE ARE NOTHING ALIKE, NOT WHATSOEVER!!"
Eli turned to Tanjirou for back-up, despite him not knowing what Eli said, "Right, Tabasco? You agree!?" Tanjirou confusedly nodded his head, "M-Maybe..?"
You turned to Tanjirou, betrayed, "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HE SAID!! YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT TO ME, MAN!"
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Word Count : 2457
another late night + rushed chap , oopsies !!
gonna be fr with u guys, i'm so done w the fillers atp for the gap between these two arcs 😭
it's such a STRUGGLE TO COME UP WITH IDEAS BROOO💔💔
okay anyways swordsmith village arc most likely next chap so look forward to that!!
see ya in the next update !!