Disclaimer: I do NOT own Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. All rights respectfully belong to Koyoharu Gotoge.
Author's note: Final chapter everyone! Image above is not mine. It belongs to its respectful owner @shieromutsuki3 via twitter.
A wolf howl echoed throughout the fortress and a grey pup appeared out of nowhere. He trotted in front of a lean person siting on a high pedestal and dropped the chain scythe along with ripped fabrics from multiple different places across Japan.
The figure glowered at the objects and scoffed at the utter failures he rose to power.
"Dispose of these items, they are no longer any use to me. I am going to send you somewhere else to spy for me," he claimed with his shrill voice. The dog simply bowed and vanished with another howl.
》Butterfly Estate《
"Hello Shinobu-sama! How was your mission?" The three young girls who assist around the butterfly estate, Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi, greeted Shinobu in unison.
Aoi finally came out and flatly stated, "I told you not to sugar coat it."
"But Shinobu-sama might be very upset," Naho argued back.
"Especially if we were to tell her right away," continued Kiyo.
"And then she'll be even more mad when she finds out," completed Sumi.
The insect pillar exchanged glances between the three before staring at Aoi for an explanation.
Aoi simply sighed before saying, "While you were gone, a bit of mishap occurred and let's just say that the estate, on the inside, is practically trashed."
Shinobu dropped her things and dashed right in, shouting at everyone in utmost disbelief. "What HAPPENED?! THE HECK! I WAS ONLY GONE FOR THREE DAYS!!"
Sanemi stopped cussing at Tengen while Gyomei Himejima turned his face to the estate entrance; despite being blind, he knew exactly what they all feared was back. Muichiro was standing behind Rengoku, staring at the fish bowl that was slowly rolling across the hallway floor. The flame hashira instantly turned his face away from Shinobu, causing the smaller pillar to blow a casket on all five of them.
"WhAt DiD yOu GuYs Do?!" Shinobu yelled.
Everyone flinched at her high pitched tone, turning on their heels and diverting their eyes from the mess, pretending that they had no involvement, whatsoever, with the wrecked place.
"Oh no you don't," she hissed. Shinobu grabbed Sanemi, Tengen, Rengoku, and Muichiro by the ear, dragging the four outside the estate.
"OWWW!" They all started to complain since Kocho had a strong grip for such a small body.
"You better hope your excuse is good enough or so help me, you guys are in deep sh*t!"
Muichiro stared at the clouds while Rengoku sealed his mouth shut. Tengen on the other hand pointed a finger at Sanemi, causing the wind pillar to shoot him a death glare.
"How come Gyomei-san isn't getting lectured along with us?" Sanemi mumbled to himself.
Shinobu heard his comment reguardless and narrowed her eyes at him saying, "I'm willing to bet he had nothing to do with it, considering the fact that he is much more mature than you four and he is BLIND!" The insect pillar emphasized her points while Tengen quietly grumbled, "Or was it because you are too short to reach his ear and drag him around unlike us?"
Shinobu was about to strangle him but Tomioka came around the corner and put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Huffing out of frustration, she turned around and stomped back inside the estate, talking with Himejima for an answer of who started it.
Meanwhile, Iguro was laughing at Tengen and Sanemi because they looked pratically pathetic, being lectured by a girl shorter than the two. Kanroji went after Shinobu so that she could help her pick up a couple things inside while Umiko peeked around the garden full of different colored butterflies.
Nezuko was fast asleep in her box while Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke looked shocked by Shinobu's abilities, in literally talking down some of the strongest demon slayers in the whole corpse, despite her height. Kanao was busy talking with Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi, asking them how the estate came to chaos and ruins in less than 36 hours of being gone.
"Well," started Naho, "It was Muichiro and Tengen-san who came first due to injuries from a previous fight a little after you guys left."
"And then," Kiyo continued, "Sanemi, Rengoku, and Gyomei-san came earlier today, near the morning, asking for some assistance with bandaging them up due to a different mission they were sent on."
"We went to get Aoi-kun for help, but when we returned, Sanemi-san was saying bad things to Uzui-san," Sumi continued to explain.
"And then?" asked Kanao having a clear idea of what occured after.
"Sanemi and Uzui-san started to get into a big fight, dragging Muichiro and Rengoku-san in when they tried to interfer," the three girls said simultaneously. "Gyomei-san tried to break up their argument, but the four started fighting all over the estate and stopped when Shinobu-sama yelled at them."
Kanao sighed and thanked the trio before walking into the butterfly estate to examine its conditions. The halls looked completely torn apart while shelves were on the floor, medicine books were thrown everywhere, the picture frames on the walls were slanted, and some of the sliding doors had human sized holes through the thin material.
Sighing again, she rounded a corner and found Kanroji flipping through a pile of medical books that were tossed about the hall. Walking into the nearest medical room, she found Shinobu bandaging Himejima's fore-arm and asking a couple of questions concerning what had happened.
"Master," whispered Kanao.
Shinobu looked at the door way and asked, "What happened?"
"Well, one, I think you should make those four fix everything they ruined, and two, is it okay if I help Umiko settle into the estate?" The first part was an idea while the second part was more of a hopeful question.
"Sure," said Shinobu. "I have a few things to ask her but when I'm done with this mess..."
Kanao nodded and went back outside where she lead Umiko to one of the garden entrances and showed her a room she could stay in. Passing the girl some new clothing, Kanao had a single question for the little girl herself.
"Do you want to join the corpse...?"
Umiko sat on the bed provided inside the room and looked around. She finally directed her attention to Kanao and seemed to be thinking for a while. Finally turning her gaze away, Umiko stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes.
"I do want to join the corpse one day, but I don't feel ready right now."
Kanao simply nodded at her answer and left the room to allow her to change into the new set of clothing.
Walking out into the estate's butterfly garden, Kanao went around the side and back near the entrance. To her surprise, Shinobu quickly took her advision and Sanemi, Tengen, Rengku, and Muichiro were cleaning the whole place from top to bottom. Muichiro seemed to become quickly distracted, watching as Sanemi grumpily kicked the goldfish bowl back into the main room of the estate.
'Never a dull moment around here,' she smiled.
>Time Skip about a Week (Bc I'm lazy)<
Umiko became quick friends with Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi, the four of them always in the kitchen chatting and cooking rice balls. Zenitsu was a little battered up and confirmed to have three broken bones thanks to Kanao moreover.
Regardless, he was still in full health to chase Nezuko around at night, asking for her to marry him. Tanjiro would always intervine when it got late in the night, but not before Inosuke tried beating him up; Aoi always having to barge in and yell at the three to shut up.
It was all casual. Zenitsu was rather unlucky though because Shinobu made him complete a course of recovery training afterwards. Coming back beat, he would drop onto the bed and grumble that Kanao kicked his behind in every task, complaining that she was not human.
Shinobu would haul Tomioka around the estate, passing the poor pillar piles of parchment and books to hold while she picked through her vials full of hazardous poisons. Sanemi, Rengoku, Muichiro, and Tengen managed to clean the whole estate in less than a day, but they only threw her books back on the shelves, leaving the insect pillar to rearrange everything back in order.
Finally, she let Tomioka get some rest after a couple of days full of throwing medical books at him, making him carry around files, and demanding that he would stop whining and just order everything alphabetically.
After a long night, Tomioka walked to Shinobu's room, knocking on her door and sliding it open without her response. Tilting his head to avoid a flying pillow, he noticed her rummaging around in fret, apparently searching for something obviously important. Shinobu didn't realize as Tomioka walked up behind her, tapping her shoulder to grasp her attention.
"Kocho...?"
"Eep!" Shinobu jumped in surprise and turned to look at him. "Don't do that! Knock! A door is there for a reason!" she started to rant.
Giyuu quirked an eyebrow at her and said, "You don't happen to be looking for this, right?"
Pulling the folded parchment from earlier he held it in visible sight, the ingredients listed in her handwriting. Shinobu's eyes went wide. She instantly jumped up to try and reach for the paper but Tomioka held it higher, out of her reach.
"Come on! Give it back! It took me years to gather the proper ingredients! Tomioka-san!"
Seeing the plead in her violet irises, Giyuu lowered his arm and she snatched the parchment from his hand rather hastily and quick.
"Are you serious about this?" he asked.
Shinobu folded the small list and hid it in the compartment located along the spine design of her sword.
"So you know?"
"That doesn't answer my question, but yes," Giyuu sighed and wanted to desperately stop her, but he didn't know how.
Kanao was walking past Shinobu's room and was about to call out until she heard her name. Hiding behind the wall, she listened in, despite not liking the idea of eavesdropping on her master.
"No one knows, not even Kanao so please keep this quiet," requested the insect pillar.
Not arguing, she heard the water pillar let out a long sigh. "Fine," he mumbled.
Kanao remained unnoticed as she ran straight to her room. 'What could master be hiding from me...?' A couple of scenarios ran through her mind, but nothing that stood out.
The flower user knew she would view the water hashira in a new perspective, knowing he had inlet on something Shinobu was covering up. 'What can it be?'
"Don't try to dig too far into detail," a voice stated. Kanao jumped in surprise and turned to her bedroom door to see Tomioka standing there leaning against the frame.
"You..." Tomioka interrupted her and said, "Yes. I caught a glimpse of your shadow when you walked by and figured you would stick around when you heard your name."
"Why would Master keep something from me?" asked Kanao in confusion.
"Because she wants to protect you. When the time is right, she will explain everything," reassured the water pillar.
Trusting his words, Kanao blankly nodded and waited for Tomioka to disappear before collapsing on her bed and scrunching her eyes shut. 'I trust Tomioka-san, but I just don't want to be too late.'
That night, the girl slept restless, trying to piece together any hints she might have collected over time.
Meanwhile, Tomioka walked back to Shinobu's room and dragged a chair behind hers, resting his head in the nook between her neck and peering at the paperwork she was sorting through.
"So..." he started.
"Fine!" Shinobu grumbled.
She stood up from her chair and went to her bedroom door, signaling for Tomioka to follow. Complying, the water pillar stood up and tagged beside her, watching the moonlight from outside sink past the curtains and paint the hall floor a milky white.
Shinobu turned a few bends and quietly slid a door open to check if no one was inside. As expected, Naho, Kiyo, Sumi, and Umiko were dozed off on the kitchen counter, hair full of flour and rice sticking to their hands.
Smiling, Shinobu gestured for Tomioka to help her and the two moved the four girls into a separate room they could bunk in for the night. Nodding silently in approval, Shinobu grabbed Tomioka by the hand and lead him into the empty kitchen that they had all to themselves now.
"Okay," she whispered so that her voice wouldn't carry to other rooms. "Like I promised, we can make salmon radish together!"
The room was still a little dark, but the two didn't mind much as they pulled out pots and pans, searching the cabinets for everything they needed.
Somehow, their cooking spree turned into a food fiesta as the two uncontrollably laughed. Grabbing a handful of flour, Shinobu sprinkled it in Giyuu's hair while his back was turned, causing the pillar to sneeze in reaction.
Irritated slightly, Tomioka grabbed almost the whole bag of flour and poured it on Shinobu's smaller figure, dusting the girl in a completely white blanket.
As revenge, the insect pillar grabbed some rice grains and flicked them into his hair one at a time. Their game went on for a little while, food splattered all over the place.
Suddenly, Aoi bursted in saying something close to, "Inosuke, stop raiding the kitchen!" but when she caught sight of Shinobu and Tomioka, she immediately turned on her heels and slammed the door shut again; likely waking up half of the estate (if the two pillars already hadn't with all the noise they were making earlier).
Shinobu and Giyuu froze for a little before bursting into laughter and smiling at their completed mess.
Putting the salmon to finally cook, Shinobu started cleaning up the flour and rice grains thrown about the counter.
Tomioka was working on the rice and finally took a seat on countertop, staring at Kocho as she finished cleaning the remaining flour at the other end. Sighing, the insect pillar took a seat on the counter top as well and shuffled next to Tomioka, reaching out for his hair to make some small braids.
"You know, this is fun!" stated Shinobu while separating three thin strands and intertwining them perfectly to make a mini braid.
To pass the time, Shinobu insisted on making a whole bunch of braids in his hair while they talked about other potential couples within the corpse.
"How about your Tsuguko and Kamado-kun? They seem pretty close already," Giyuu proposed.
"Yeah, I guess you could say they're literally dating by now. I'm pretty sure they are even planning some go out later this week," Shinobu said. "But be plays any of his cards wrong, I will kill him."
Tomioka just chuckled but knew that Tanjiro and Kanao would definitely take their relationship slow simply due to the fact that none of them would make the first move without a little assistance from anyone.
"How about Nezuko and Zenitsu-chan?" Shinobu asked. "Those two would also be a good match."
"That's if, Tanjiro allows. He is seriously protective of her," Giyuu argued.
"Uhu... well, I suppose we'll see as time goes by." Shinobu shrugged but grabbed a cloth to pull the salmon out of the oven.
Giyuu also went to grab the rice from the pot and pulled out two plates, passing them to Shinobu for her to add the salmon and radish.
"And done!" she smiled while grabbing a pair of chopsticks for the two to use.
Washing the mess of pans quickly, Shinobu picked up her plate and signaled for the two to eat in her room.
Tomioka happily followed her again and settled by her desk, making small talk as she reviewed files and picked at her rice. By then, it was almost 1 a.m. but the duo didn't care since it was the first decent meal they had eaten in days.
Tomioka kept complimenting her cooking while Shinobu returned a smile and slid a pile of papers into a drawer below the desktop.
Finally tired from the whole week, Shinobu shuffled some papers around and rested her head in her arms. Practically exhausted, she scooted her plate aside and tried closing her eyes, but Tomioka couldn't just settle the night like that.
He picked her up bridal style and dropped her gently on her bed, pulling the covers back and tossing them over her small figure. Making quite the mess of it, Giyuu laughed at his sloppy work and shoved Shinobu to the side a bit, fixing the pillows for her. Finally satisfied, he was about to leave, but the insect pillar reached out for his haori and tugged for him to stay.
"Really?" he asked in a challenging way.
"I want you to stay," Shinobu said, her voice muffled from her pillow.
Too tired to argue himself, Tomioka dropped onto Shinobu's bed and turned to face her back, pulling her small body closer to his. The shorter pillar shuffled for a little and managed to turn her body in order to face him, cozily burying her face into his uniform top.
"Night," she mumbled.
"Night Shinobu," Tomioka whispered back while leaning his head lower to kiss her.
The two slept the rest of the time till dusk. (No smut or lemon! Sorry, just not my area.)
》Morning Time《
Hardly getting much rest, Kanao rolled lazily off of her bed and went to the recovery room where Tanjiro was staying at. Making sure to remain as quiet as possible, she crept in and poked at his right cheek. The snoozing boy stirred a little before cracking his eye open.
Tanjiro smiled at her and quietly asked, "What's up?"
"Come with me," she replied, not giving him the exact answer he expected.
Still, Tanjiro did as she said and tagged behind her. Leading him into the butterfly gardens, Kanao grabbed a blanket and laid it out on the ground. Sitting down, she patted the available spot next to her and signaled for him to take a seat as well.
Tanjiro sat down right next to her and shot her a questioning look. Before he knew what was really happening, Kanao had tackled him onto his back and was resting her head on his chest.
"I'm just tired and needed someone's comfort," she simply replied to his glance.
Understanding, Tanjiro wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, enjoying her scent and the smell of the various flowers planted in the garden.
Meanwhile, Zenitsu was starting to wake up and realized Tanjiro gone. 'Probably flirting with his girlfriend right about now,' he thought with a scowl and jealous eyes.
The abrupt noise of Nezuko's box inching open caught his attention though. Nezuko was peering out at him and seemed to be back to full energy.
"Morning Nezuko-chan!" smiled Zenitsu sweetly.
Nezuko crawled out of her box and reverted to her original size, walking next to his bed and looking wary of the window by Tanjiro's bed. Seeing her visible hints, Zenitsu got up and crawled onto Tanjiro's bed, sliding the blinds of the window closed. Nezuko quickly zoomed past the window's cast and waited by the room's doorway for Zenitsu to follow.
Hopping off of Tanjiro's temporary bed, Zenitsu slipped on his shoes and followed Nezuko to a small room that was practically empty except for a table and a fishbowl on top.
The circular cylinder was filled with water and decorated at the bottom with various shades of purple stones and a blue fan coral.
The fish inside was swimming in complete circles, diving lower at the sight of Nezuko.
Curiously, the demon approached the fishbowl and started admiring the colors that reflected back from the scales. Zenitsu sat next to her and leaned his head on the table, attempting to go back to sleep. Another day of recovery training and Tanjiro's girlfriend kicking his behind was something to sarcastically look forward to.
Nezuko noticed the boy's sleepy stature and pat him on the head before mimicking his motions and eventually falling asleep herself.
By the time noon came around, everyone was up and about, the estate revering to become quite noisy with voices. Kanroji and Iguro stopped by midday to talk before being sent on another mission together by Kagaya-sama. The insect and love pillar always shared info with one another, probably due to the fact that they were the only female pillars among the hashiras.
Before leaving though, Kanroji passed Shinobu a herb she had requested earlier.
"So what is this for?" questioned Mitsuri with interest. After the event on Mount Kaikoma, Mitsuri was sent to a location along the West to slay a couple of demons causing trouble, but Shinobu had asked for her to search for a specific plant while she was at it.
"Nothing really important," reassured Shinobu with a smile. "I just needed it for a medicine I've been collecting data on."
Unsuspicious about her response, Kanroji shrugged it off and said her goodbyes before running to the entrance to meet up with Iguro.
Shinobu placed the perennial plant inside a jar and perched it on her desk before Tomioka interrupted her thoughts.
"You aren't going to mention anything to her either?"
"No, Tomioka-san," Shinobu said, not turning to face him. "You weren't even supposed to know until later on, but you found out and that is that. There is no way I'm going to let anyone else in on this because I've come too far to be stopped."
A bugging question that had been caught in his mind for a while finally slipped. "Did Kagaya-sama give you permission to be doing this?"
"Like I said, no one else is going to know. I'll say when the time is right."
Sighing, the water pillar left her to be in her room and went to check if his crow was back.
Worried it had gotten lost, he sighed again and passed a room where he caught sight of Nezuko and Zenitsu staring intently at a fishbowl.
"If you like fish that much," he begun to interrupt, "Than there is a lake not too far from here full of them."
Nezuko seemed to brighten at the idea as she gave Zenitsu one of her adorable stares.
"Okay," he chuckled. "We'll go tonight when the sun goes down if you want."
Nezuko let out a pleased, "Mft!" and beamed at him with her usual muffled smile.
In the meantime, Kanao and Tanjiro were sitting in the butterfly gardens having their promised picnic and talking about Shinobu.
"I see," said Tanjiro while staring at the sky to think. "I'm not sure what it could be but if Tomioka-san said not to worry, I think you should take his word about it."
Kanao nodded and quietly pulled out a cup of soapy water to make bubbles in order to distract herself. It was one of the girl's favorite hobbies, despite seeming very childish for her age.
Blowing into the straw, a stream of clear orbs floated into the air before disappearing with a pop. Tanjiro noticed this and brightened at an idea.
"Can I try?" he asked. Kanao nodded and passed him the cup. Using the same straw (because by now the two didn't mind sharing any indirect kisses) he blew an enormous amount of air into the soapy water. Tiny bubbles emerged and floated higher, but when he looked up, all Kanao could do was laugh.
His face, along the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks, were covered in suds. Kanao pulled a small towel out and dropped it on he head, gently wiping away the bubbles with a chuckle.
Seeing her as cute as ever, Tanjiro waited for her to be finished before quickly kissing her on the lips. The two simply laughed as they feel onto the grass and watched the clouds pass by overhead.
On the inside of the estate, Inosuke was arguing with Aoi, the two making quite the noise and ruckus.
"I didn't get injured this time around so why do I need to take medicine?!" Inosuke shouted at her.
"Because you got a couple of deep cuts and if they are not treated correctly, they can get infected if you go on another mission!" Aoi shouted back just as loud while throwing a cup at his head.
Finally ticked off by all the noise, Shinobu came in and gave Inosuke one of her manipulation talks, asking if he was capable of handling the medications and second-guessing his ability to do so. Inosuke, obviously falling for it, quickly took the antibiotics without another complaint and let out a low grumble for being talked into taking them in the first place. (So, I was trying to do research about his relationship to Shinobu, you know, like how she reminds him about his mother, and was surprised to find out that both of Inosuke's voice actors, Yoshisugu Matsuoka and Bryce Papenbrook, also share the role of Kirito from Sword Art Online. Like, how did I NOT realize that earlier?! And, OMG! His English voice actor, Papenbrook, also roles Rin from Blue Exorcist, Lance from DokiDoki Precure, Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins, Add from Elsword (video game) and Adrien from Miraculous! Like, TF?!)
Content with her accomplishment, the insect pillar cheerfully trotted out of the room and to the window still where her crow was waiting to deliver a message, revealing the note tie to his foot. Shinobu unraveled it and thanked her crow before reading the parchment and letting out a low sigh. Things were never boring around these areas. Looking for Tomioka, she went to inform him that Kagaya-sama had assigned the two a new mission off to the North.
>Umiko<
The little girl was sitting in her bedroom, keeping her fair distance away from the crowd of people outside. Pulling the painted picture of everyone from her foster care out, she stared at the image of Miss Anzu and Tatsuo hovering above everyone else, smiling in a bright way and beaming protectively at the children.
'I wonder how they are doing now...?'
{Modern Era Time Skip}
A tall boy was walking across the street, staring at the busy road that fell behind. He entered a bakery and was greeted by the same owners that had gotten used to his regular visits.
"Morning Tatsuo! You here to pick up the regular?" asked one of the owners. Her hair was a light pink that faded to green and her eyes were a gentle emerald. Mitsuki was very kind in nature and fairly naive, but she had her fair share of temper as well. Her husband, Iguru, shared the same
temper, probably even worse if you were daring enough to piss him off.
Tatsuo nodded as he took a seat at the counter and waited for his normal order of coffee and bread. The snake that always sat behind the counter, poked his head out and greeted Tatsuo with a friendly hiss. The boy reached out to pat his head before turning his attention to the coffee Mitsuki had passed him.
"So," she started, making some small talk and cleaning the cups in the sink. "How's the place holding up?"
"Fine, I guess," he replied with a mutual tone while taking a sip of the warm drink. "They are very sweet, but sometimes, I begin questioning why I stuck around."
"Well, it's normal, but you'll figure it out sooner or later," reassured Mitsuki. The bell at the front of the door alerted her of the new customers and she placed the cup down to greet them.
"Morning Kanata, Toko, and Yoshiteru! What can I do for you today?" she asked smiling.
The three high schoolers often stopped by to pick up a couple of sweets for breakfast.
"I'll take a tsuchihashi please," stated Kanata.
"Same here," said Toko.
"I'll simple have a dango stick," requested Yohiteru.
"Coming right up!"
Tatsuo stared at the trio and wanted to ask them a strange question, but decided to put it off. Kanata though sensed his eyes on them and turned to shot a questioning glance.
"I'm sorry sir, was there something you needed?" Kanata asked politely.
Tatsuo saw his pink eyes and thought, 'Strange, I've seen those eyes before yet I don't recall knowing this kid,' but nodded in response, apologizing for any confusions and grabbing the loaf of bread Iguru handed him. Thanking the bakery owner, he bowed his head and passed him the respective amount of yen before leaving.
Tatsuo started walking back to the foster care to deliver the bread, staying bubble minded to the events that just happened.
'Maybe it was just me,' he concluded while crossing the street. Blocking out all the noise from the constant chatter of his surroundings, Tatsuo walked aimlessly past the ally ways and buildings. Coming to a corner though, he caught sight of a jet black haired boy, fairly small, searching for something he must have dropped.
Strangely, what appeared to be a collage student, walked up to him with a key chain in her hand. The object itself was a mask painted to look like a fox, a design on the left side.
"Were you looking for this?" she questioned, her voice very sweet. Her violet eyes reflected kindness as she passed it to the boy who brightened up at the sight of the item.
"Mhm," he nodded, "Thank you!"
"No problem," she smiled.
A sinking feeling of familiarity hit him like before, but he redirected his attention to the road again and quickly continued. It wasn't long though before another interruption crashed into him, literally.
"Oof!" "Itai!"
A boy with auburn colored hair crashed into Tatsuo, accidentally knocking the two to the ground.
"I'm super sorry!" he quickly apologized while scrambling to his feet and bowing. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was running," the boy smiled sheepishly.
At the sight of his watch though, he hollered, "I'm going to be late!" before running off again.
"Kids," muttered Tatsuo, shaking his head while dusting his self off and grabbing the packaged bread off the ground.
Finally, the rest of the morning seemed to pass on the interruptions as he rounded the corner and came to the familiar sight of his 'home.'
"I'm back!" he called through the place. Mrs.Anzu, the foster care owner, looked around the hall corner and smiled.
"Thank you," she said, grabbing the bread from him and gesturing for him to follow her to the kitchen.
She was preparing the baby milk for one of the youngest kids in the care, while the others were at school.
"If you don't mind," she started, "I need you to pick Yumiko up along with Suchimiko and Sorona later today."
Tatsuo heaved a sigh and nodded. Dragging his body outside, he enjoyed the temporary peace and quiet before the other kids who lived here came back with their annoying ruckus and loud conversations.
When two rolled around, Tatsuo lazily got up and went to the local elementary school to grab Yumiko and the others. When the building came into sight, the very first person to tackle him into a hug was none other than the little girl with midnight hair.
"Big Brother!" she called. Skidding to a stop in front of him, she bounced around full of energy, appearing not to burn any while in class.
"Hey brat," he replied, messing up her hair. Yumiko let go and made the fakest pouting face she could.
"You're so mean!" she complained, leading the way to the foster home; Suchimiko and Sorona were talking with each other while tagging behind.
By the time the four returned, the building was bustling with its normal noise level.
"Ramen for dinner!" announced Tatsuo while shuffling into the kitchen to avoid the flying pencils and paper airplanes.
Yumiko followed him and watched intently as he boiled some water and grabbed a couple of packages of noodles. It was almost dinner, but Yumiko had to be a pain about the food.
"I want scramble eggs in mine too!" she demanded while pulling on Tatsuo's sleeve and shaking him back and forth until he complied.
"Fine," grumbled the boy with an annoyed tone of voice. "Just let me get the things ready brat," he said, nudging her off of his arm.
Yumiko waddled to the table along with the other children and waited patiently for Tatsuo to finish dinner. Less than a minute later, Tatsuo was passing everyone a bowl of ramen and eggs before grabbing a bowl for himself and walking outside to eat.
What he didn't expect was for Yumiko to follow him once more and sit next to him in front of the foster home to eat.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Eating with Big Brother," she replied with a matter-of-fact face.
Tatsuo turned to look at the rising moon and subtly sighed, 'Kids, super confusing but whatever. But I guess I can put up with them. Maybe that is why I stuck around...'
Author's note: Done! There is a tropical storm in my area so I won't make any updates or start the new story I had in mind just yet. But anyhow, hope you enjoyed the story and can't wait for future stories to come! (Word Count: 2,412)
Here is a bonus for making it to the end! (All works belong to their rightful owners.)
By @Kurumiyuz3 via twitter
By: @u/aileos via Reddit
By: @찰스 via blog.naver (Just thought it would be cute to add!)
Discovered by: @anime2020._camp.anime via instagram
By: @myaaco_kmt via twitter
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