Fluttering Lotus Petals

Chapter 14: A Flower or Two

The sting of a slap lingered on Sanemi's right cheek. He stared at the livid demon in front of him, a blazing fire in his eyes replacing the usual warmth. Had he been completely lucid, Sanemi would have already retorted back, but he was stunned to his core.

Moments later, there was a matching sting on his left cheek.

"Shinazugawa! What were you thinking?!" The demon's normally soft voice rose to an uncharacteristic level. He huffed and scrutinized Sanemi before relaxing. "It seems like you already know, and I will spare you the lecture."

Sanemi felt himself nodding. At some point, he ended up with his head resting on [Name]'s legs. The soft grass tickled his skin and fingers were threaded through his hair. His face smoothed over, though he was still reeling.

"Even though you continue to insist that you hate him, both Tanjiro and I can tell that you don't. It's enough proof that you did not lose your strength when I appeared." [Name]'s voice returned to its former volume, slightly raspy. "I know that you want to push him away. I know that you want him to stay safe. But have you thought about what he wants?

"He wants to become strong. He wants to become a Pillar. But most importantly, and the reasoning behind all this, is that he wants to be close to you. He loves you, and he will continue to love you, no matter how hard you try to push him away.

"You two siblings are all you have left, especially as guarded as you are, Sanemi. While you have the chance, you should shower him in all of your love and care. Human life is finite afterall, especially as Demon Slayers."

[Name] paused in his grooming of Sanemi's hair and looked up. "Ah, Giyuu-san, you're here! I'll leave him to you."

Sanemi felt his head lift from its position and his body manhandled into a sitting position. Tomioka's face came into view, along with those infuriatingly blue eyes. He really wanted to wipe that deadpan expression off of that face. He wanted to be the one to make it falter.

"Are you okay?" Tomioka's infuriatingly soft voice whispered. His hand inched toward Sanemi's, giving him enough time to back away. He didn't, and Tomioka clasped their hands together to pull him up so they were standing.

"Let's go," Tomioka muttered, but he didn't let go of Sanemi's hand. Sanemi didn't either. "We have slayers to train."

The rest of the day, the two faced waves upon waves of swordsmen. Sanemi was in a fury as he swung his wooden blade at the poor slayers he faced. He ran through the forms of his titular element over and over again, a comfortable rhythm that brought him back to earth. The familiarity of the blade and his sword forms cleared his head, and by the end of the day, he was more or less back to normal. One thing was missing, though.

"Oi, Tomioka," he called.

"Yes?" The man turned back to Sanemi. "What is it?"

"Spar with me." Without waiting for a response, he launched at his fellow Pillar with his first form. Tomioka met him halfway with his own first form. Their wooden blades clashed over and over, splintered over and over, yet Sanemi never wanted to stop.

The two kept on sparring, going through dozens of wooden blades. They only paused when the demon brat told them to rest up. He gritted his teeth as he saw the corners of Tomioka's mouth quirk up into a smile as he thanked the demon.

"Shinazugawa, will you join us for dinner?" Tomioka asked, the genuine—albeit small—smile still present on his face.

Sanemi only stared for a moment. Letting out a reluctant sigh, he followed [Name] and Tomioka into his estate for dinner.