煉獄 杏寿郎
|| contains manga spoilers ||
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Tanjirou couldn't finds words as he stare at the boy in front of him pitifully, his brother was so young, so strong, he was a good man, Tanjirou didn't know why he was taken away. His grip tighten on his uniform as he thought back to the despicable demon but loosen his grip to calm himself, no, this isn't the time.
"Thank you...for delivering my brother's words." Senjurou spoke softly, silent sobs still echoing the room as he wiped the tears that don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Tanjirou wish he could stay longer, hell, he'll stay here until he gets better no matter how long, but he has duties, and he was sure Senjurou would need some time alone. "Senjurou..." He called out, trying to be as soft as he could.
The boy swallowed the sobs and cleared his throat, getting his voice ready to answer. "Yes?" Despite losing such an important person in his life, he still smiles, and this broke the young Slayer's heart even more.
"I'm sorry, but...may I ask where miss L/N F/N lives? I-" Tanjirou paused. "Rengoku-san, wanted to deliver something to her." He couldn't bear it, the way Senjurou's expression crumbled even more, lips trembling and hands clenching tightly, the pain in his eyes were evident.
"Yea..." Senjurou looked down. "I expected so." His frown slowly curling up into a small smile. "She was his lover, after all."
A small gasp was heard from Tanjirou, his eyes widened for a mere second before closing shut at the information he received. "I see."
"I'm sure your brother wants you to know about this, too." He reaches inside his pocket and took out a small pouch, he unfasten the strings, taking out the item inside.
Senjurou could feel the tears coming up again, stinging his eyes, but he kept the genuine smile and nodded slowly.
¤
Tanjirou took a deep breath, his hands sweaty and he rub them together, it feels cold all of a sudden, even though the sun was still up high and shone on all living things warmly.
He was not prepared when the door creaked open, revealing a H/C haired women with E/C eyes. It's beautiful. Tanjirou thought in his mind, though, he wonder how much prettier it'd look if it had more light in them.
He quickly registered the shock and confusion in her expression. "Hello, my name is Kamado Tanjirou. You are miss L/N F/N, yes?" He put on a smile, thinking that she must've received a lot of pitiful gazes, she doesn't need more.
"Yes. I am." Her voice was croaked, and he can't help but feel she has difficulty speaking, probably because of the endless tears and sobs every night.
But for some reason, it was still soothing and soft to the boy.
"Rengoku-san wanted to give you something." He said carefully, as if missing a beat or saying any louder would drop a bomb. The women's lips parted before closing again, stepping aside to let him in.
She served a cup of hot tea, Tanjirou gave a soft sigh of relaxation after he took a sip, thanking her. The women smiled softly watching the boy.
"Y/N-san..." He placed the cup down and sat straighter, clearing his throat softly. "I won't say anything more, you don't need them...—"
"My apologies for him making you come all the way here, you must be hurt too. Yet you had to do all these in his stead." Tanjirou was surprised, watching her soft expression, his own tears brimming his eyes and his heart went heavy, he quickly look down, sniffling and wiping the tears away before they could fall.
Having such a good sense of smell was a gift, but a gift that comes with its consequences, he had to endure the pain and sorrow others have because he too, can feel it. Yet she gave off a smell so kind, so loving.
"You don't have to apologize, this isn't a trouble for me, I'd gladly do all these things for Rengoku-san. This is the least I could do." He once again reach for the small pouch inside his pocket, then handing it to the women in front of him with both hands.
"Rengoku-san wanted to give you this." He said with a smile as her eyes stayed on it without movement, her hands reaching for it but stopped, as if afraid to unravel what was given to her.
"...Thank you." Her voice soft as a whisper, her fingers wrapped around the pouch, preparing herself before slowly unfasten the strings.
The light color pouch dropped to the tatami mat as her hand came up to her lips, staring at the item in her hand before slowly covering the lower half of her face as her throat went dry. Her eyes and nose stung so much, like acid rising up in them. "He wanted me to tell you, that-" She shut her eyes close, wanting to do the same with her ears, she didn't want to hear, she was scared, scared of what she'd feel and how she'd react.
Tanjirou pursed his lips, he couldn't let himself look at the women in front of him, afraid that his own emotions would get the best of him, but soon gathered the courage and spoke with a smile.
" 'Loving you was the best decision I have ever made in this life.' "
He gave one last smile before standing up, heading towards the door and slowly sliding it shut, giving her the space she needs.
She stayed like that for a while, processing the words before picking the item up from her palm with a shaking hand.
It wrapped around her ring finger perfectly, it was just her size. It wasn't anything overly fancy and it didn't have the biggest jewel, but it is what she loves, the ring he chose was perfect.
Bringing it close to her chest, her fingers gripped the fabric tightly as she let the tears she had kept in fall.