KNY | In Different Circles (Muichiro X Tanjirou)

Chapter 3

Muichiro’s POV
 
My eyes blinked open as the sun peeked through my blackout curtains, I groaned and turned over in bed to move away from the sun. The electric fan in the corner of my room whirred loudly, I buried myself under a mountain of blankets and closed my eyes.

I stared at the bathroom mirror, my long hair stuck out at all angles and was beyond tangled. I looked at my  watch, ‘I have two hours to get ready’ I thought. I sighed and grabbed my hairbrush, ‘Time to slay the beast’
I slipped on my black sneakers and grabbed my red bag. I wore black jeans with a white t-shirt along with a turquoise coloured bomber jacket with Chinese type dragons embroidered in golden threads along both sleeves and down the back of the jacket slightly. I wrapped the red leather fanny pack around mt torso and over my shoulder. The red bag peeked through my open jacket. I grabbed my keys, phone, and wallet, I slipped everything in my bag  and walked out the door.
I walked down the hallway and made my way to the stairs. As I trotted down the stairs I reviewed the rest of my schedule for today.
I opened the door and waked into lobby. “Muichiro !” a short old lady called to me as I exited  the stairwell.
“Dorris” I smiled and walked over to her. She extended her arms and wrapped them around me, she hugged me tightly. Dorris is my next-door neighbor and every Saturday I help her get groceries, she also helps me remember that I need actual food to survive and not just instant noodles. Dorris was slightly shorter than me, she reached up to my shoulders. She wore a light green coat and had a light coral purse wrapped around her arm accompanied with a bag on wheels made of yellow fabric with small white flowers and dots. She had light wrinkled skin with short curled white hair and ocean coloured eyes. “You ready to go Dorris?” I asked.
“Yes, let’s go” she smiled.
I walked behind her with the bag on wheels in my hands. “How come you always help me with my groceries? I’m not complaining  but don’t you have better things to do?” she asked as we made our way to the store.
“You know that I don’t have any friends, I’ve told you before” I said awkwardly. “You’re pretty much my only friend Dorris” I added.
“Muichiro, you can not be serious, you need to get out and make some friends! If you don’t , then before you know it, you’re over seventy and dying a slow, painful death all alone in an empty hospital room!” she snapped.
I thought for a second, “Well there is this one guy who tried to make friends with me” I said, “But I’m a bit awkward around him, and I can’t remember the last time I had an actual friend. I might just waste my time trying and end up driving him away” I sighed.
“But shouldn’t you at least try?” Dorris asked.
“I guess, it just feels like he only wants to be my friend because he pities me” I shrugged.
“But isn’t it still worth trying?” she asked with a sympathetic smile.
“Mm, I guess” I hummed.
We browsed the canned food, “Oh Muichiro dear could you pass a few cans of that corn there?” Dorris pointed to a shelf above my head.
I stepped back to look at the shelf, “That one right there?” I asked.
“Yes” she nodded.
“Ok”, I stood on my tiptoes and grabbed onto one of the lower shelfs while extending my arm up, I struggled to grab the can, I jumped slightly but still couldn’t reach. “Mm, we might have to ask for help” I got down from my tiptoes and stepped away from the shelf. I looked around for an employee.
“Muichiro?” I turned around.
“Huh, Tanjirou?” I asked suddenly shrinking. Dorris gasped.
”I didn’t expect to see you here” he smiled.
“Yeah, um, I’m just helping Dorris with her groceries” I said in a nervous tone.
“Oh hello, I’m Muichiro’s friend from school” he said, introducing himself to Dorris.
“Well it’s lovely to meet you” she said.
“Is she your grandma?” he turned back to me.
“Um no, Dorris is my neighbor, I just help her out sometimes” I said.
“Well then, I should probably get going, it was nice seeing you” he started to walk off.  Dorris jabbed me in the side and glared at the canned corn.
“Oh, um?” I started, he looked back. “Could you help us get some cans from the top shelf. I, um, can’t reach” I said embarrassed.
“Sure”  he walked over and grabbed three cans off the shelf. “Here” he handed the cans to me and smiled.
“Thanks” I said shyly.
“You’re very welcome”, he said before walking away.
Dorris looked up at me, “Wow, who are you and where is Muichiro?”
We walked back to the apartment building, “Oh my goodness was that THE Tanjirou, the one that you’ve got a crush on?” she asked curiously on the way back.
I blushed, “He also happens to be the guy who’s trying to make friends” I said.
She gasped again, “Oh, this is great, he could like you back!” she explained.
“Yeah but he’s just being nice, Tanjirou is nice by nature, it’s a fact!” I reasoned.
“But still, he could like you back! If you befriend him he might fall for you!” she tried to lift my spirits.
“Yeah, maybe” I sighed.
  I held the door open as Dorris walked into her apartment, “Thank you so much Muichiro, here have this” she grabbed something out her bag and handed it to me.
“Tiny cupcakes?” she nodded with a smile. “Thank you” I thanked, she nodded and walked into her apartment. The door clicked slightly as it closed behind her. I looked at the pack of cupcakes in my hand, six bite sized cupcakes in a plastic container. The cupcakes were chocolate and sprinkled with small chocolate sprinkles, star shaped sprinkles on top of chocolate icing. I licked my lips and went over to my apartment with grocery bags in my arms.
I dragged my damp towel across the floor as I walked into my room. I dropped my towel on the wooden floor and walked over to my bed. I crawled into my bed and as I got comfortable I looked over to the window to see if it was locked. I nodded to myself in confirmation, ‘Good, now I won’t have to get up’ I thought as I bundled myself in my several blankets. I closed my eyes and clutched the pillow in my arms slightly. I breathed deeply and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
 
Tanjirou’s POV  
 
‘BZZ – BZZ – BZZ’
My phone buzzed on my nightstand, I groaned and flopped onto my stomach. “Uggghhh!” I exhaled loudly into my pillow. I grabbed my phone, turned it off and slowly rolled towards the edge of the bed. I sighed loudly before getting up. I sat on the edge of my bed and rubbed my eyes, I stumbled to my feet and shuffled towards the bathroom.
I looked into the mirror, my eyes were lidded, and my hair pointed up and down and sideways. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and started getting ready.
I finished brushing my teeth and walked back to my room and opened my closet. I grabbed a white dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants, I got dressed quickly and went back to the bathroom. I saw Nezuko standing in front of the mirror brushing her hair. She wore a dress with a black top and a crimson floral skirt, the sleeves of the top only went down to her forearm. “You look nice” I said as I walked into the bathroom.
“Thanks” she moved over and made room for me in front of the mirror.
“You too” she returned the compliment. I rolled up my sleeves and grabbed my hair gel, I opened the plastic container and scooped up a glop of gel in my fingers. I smeared the gel on my other fingers before running them through my hair. I gelled my hair back and combed it with a fine comb until I got it to look how I wanted.
I made my way upstairs to see everyone getting ready to go to Church. My dad and Takeo wore the same thing as me, Mom wore a black pencil dress with sleeves that go down to her forearms. Hanako wore a red all floral dress with short sleeves, similar to Nezuko’s skirt with a red bow in her hair. Shigeru and Rokuta also wore black dress pants and white dress shirts, Rokuta also wore a red hand knitted sweater, while Shigeru wore a sweater vest in a shade darker than Rokuta’s sweater. On several occasions me AND my Father had questioned Mom on why she insisted on having us all wear matching clothes to Church . All she said was something about aesthetic before brushing us off.
“Alright everyone, let’s file out!” my Dad announced.
“Here Tanjirou, can you help Rokuta put his shoes on I have to go get something from upstairs” Mom asked as she handed Rokuta’s hand in mine.
“Sure” I said.
“Thank you” she nodded and hurried upstairs. We all took turns getting our shoes on before getting in the car.
Me, Nezuko and Takeo all sat in the back row while Hanako, Shigeru and Rokuta sat in the middle row of the car, mom in the passengers seat and dad at the wheel. I stared at my phone while scrolling through the internet. My feed was mostly posts from people I follow, mostly people from school. I stopped scrolling and stared at a video that someone from school posted, well someone that someone I know knows. It was a video of Muichiro, some guy snuck up behind him and out of no where yanked a handful of his hair and threw him against the lockers. It made me furious to see, ‘Who would do that, who would put it on the internet?’ I clicked on the three little dots next to the video and reported it for bullying. Even thought the caption had things like: #humour, #justkidding, #skit and a bunch of laughing emojis. I guess Dad noticed my scowl.
“What’s wrong Tanjirou?” Dad asked from the wheel.
“It’s nothing, just a friend of mine is being bullied” I sighed.
“Why don’t you do something?” he asked.
“Well we’re not REALLY friends, more like acquaintances” I reasoned, “But I still can’t help get upset” I added.
“If it upsets you, then stand up for them” he said, apparently our conversation had peaked Takeo’s interest.
“Who is this person? Does this person happen to be your girlfriend?” Takeo smirked.
“Oooooooooh!” the rest of my siblings ‘ooooh-ed’ at the question.
“Wha-no!” I exclaimed with a blush.
“Then why are you blushing?” Hanako asked, turning to look at me with a raised brow.
“I’m not blushing! I’m just-just” I stumbled over my words. “I’m just embarrassed is all, having all of you accuse me of such a thing is embarrassing!” I tried to defend myself.
“Yeah, yeah, sure” Takeo smirked.
We all got out of the car and started walking towards the large Cathedral.
I stood up and stretched my arms above my head, my back cracked at the action. I walked out of the church towards the steps in front of the building. Mass had taken a bit longer then usual because some baby had their baptism, I stepped outside and made my way over to Zenitsu and Inosuke. “What do you guys think about going out today, there’s a new yogurt place a couple blocks from here?” Inosuke asked.
“Maybe, I’ll have to ask my dad” I said.
“Yeah, Gramps and I usually go to the store on Sundays” Zenitsu added.
“Ok, well then ask and we’ll spend the day together or something, this entire weekend’s been super boring for me” Inosuke said.
“Alright, I’ll ask” I agreed, Zenitsu nodded his head.
I walked over to where my family was gathered next to the car, “Hey dad, is it ok if I go off with Zenitsu and Inosuke?” I asked, pointing to where my friends were sitting on the steps leading up to the doors of the church.
“Uh, yeah sure, just be home by dinner” he said dismissively as he set Rokuta in his car seat.
“Alright, thanks” I said as I walked back to the group. “Ok, I’m in the clear. Zenitsu?” I looked at him as I joined my friends on the steps of the church, he nodded.
“Then what are you waiting for, let’s go!” Inosuke cheered.
We walked down the street and saw the shop that Inosuke was talking about across the street. ‘Frozen Treats & Etc.’ read the large highlighter coloured sign. “Wow, so bright” I said in awe.
“Yeah, that’s what made this place so popular. Bright colours and random but delicious flavours!” Inosuke said. “Last one there is paying!” Inosuke bolted across the road and almost got run over.
I tiny bell above the door ringed as we entered through the door, the inside had a 90’s diner theme, the whole place was lit up with neon lights in cold and bright colours, blue, magenta, purple, turquoise. The whole place reeked with vibrant scents, mostly sour more than sweet but still some sugary sweetness peaking out from an ocean of sour. There were some people sitting in brightly coloured booths digging into cups of neon yogurt and ice cream.
“Wow, who would’ve thought that pomegranate, grapefruit and banana would make such a good combination!” I exclaimed as I shoveled another spoonful of ‘Red Banana’ into my mouth. We had all gotten different flavours and passed around the cups so that we could all try some.
“My favourite was ‘Night-berry’, I liked how they added shredded coconut into blueberry yogurt, it added sweetness to sour in a nice way, it also kinda looked like the coconut were stars and the yogurt was like the night sky” he said. Inosuke’s favourite was ‘Sour Rainbow’, multicoloured, sour patch flavoured frozen yogurt accented with balled gum and sour patch candy.
‘TRING’
The small bell at the door rang and I looked over at the sound while the others kept conversing. In walked a short… girl? With long dark hair and pale skin, I squinted at her for a second before coming to the realization that it wasn’t a girl. ‘Oh it’s Muichiro’ I thought, ‘Under all these LED’s I really thought he looked like a girl’. I stared at him as he walked over to the counter and ordered.
“Mmm, she’s cute” Inosuke mumbled, noticing I was staring. “Nice butt too” he added. I choked on the ice cream in my mouth when he said that.
“Inosuke!” I whispered yelled at him as he ogled Muichiro.
“Wait, isn’t that the guy from school that looks like a girl?” Zenitsu asked as he took another bite of ice cream.
“Ehh, that’s a guy?!” Inosuke exclaimed loudly, Muichiro turned to look at us and gave a visible sigh before turning to the counter, grabbing his ice cream, and walked out with his head hung.
“That was so rude, you shouldn’t yell stuff like that, Inosuke!” I said.
“Tsk, whatever” he scoffed, I sighed at his ignorance.
I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Inosuke and Zenitsu, after finishing up we all headed to the park near our neighborhood and hung out for a few hours. Until Inosuke forced Zenitsu onto the top of the monkey bars, which was like three metres off the ground. Long story short, Zenitsu was too scared to jump off so I spent twenty minutes convincing him that I’d catch him. So when he finally did jump off, Inosuke tackled me from behind and Zenitsu plummeted  to the ground and landed on his face. Inosuke and I tumbled down a hill that was next to the park while Zenitsu lay passed out under the monkey bars.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the local clinic, thankfully Zenitsu was fine, just a little cut on his cheekbone, I got a pretty nasty bruise, and Inosuke got a serious scolding[ERM1] .
So I guess it was a pretty normal Sunday, as normal as it gets with Inosuke and Zenitsu at least.
I laid on my back covered in blankets on my bed, “I still think you all are just big fat babies!” Inosuke yelled over the phone.
“You tackled Tanjirou before he caught me from like a five-metre drop and I face planted on the ground, DID YOU SEE TANJIROU’S GIANT PURPLE BLOB!” Zenitsu screamed.
“Well it was more like a three-metre drop, but yeah that was totally not ok” I chimed in.
“Whatever, you’re both babies” he grumbled. “Hey Tanjirou, why were you staring at that girly-guy today at the yogurt shop?” Inosuke tried to divert the subject.
“Oh yeah, I noticed that too” Zenitsu said.
“Well he’s a guy from school that I’ve recently noticed, I tried to make friends him, but he seems like a really shy person” I said.
“Heh, that sounds homo” Inosuke chuckled.
“Just what exactly is wrong with you!? Were you dropped on the head as a baby!?” Zenitsu yelled into the phone.
“No Inosuke it wasn’t homo or anything” I sighed, “Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow” I said
“Bye Tanjirou”
“Bye Forehead”
I ended the call and sighed loudly, I grabbed the thick blanket and pulled it up to my chin. I turned onto my stomach and laid my hand on a pillow beside my head. “Mmmn” I groaned. “Well at least it wasn’t as bad as last week”

 
_______________________________

Word count: 2999