Kanao Can't Communicate

•~chapter seventeen: girl talk~•

There was one day in the fall when Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Kanao had been walking together to school. As they approached the school, the three noticed that there was an unusually large crowd surrounding a limousine.

Tanjiro and Nezuko's eyes lit up, as they recognized the limo. Their regular walk quickened into a slight jog. Kanao was following close behind them, curious about what was going on.

They all reached the limo as soon as one of its doors opened. Out stepped a black haired girl that looked the same age that they were. Her eyes widened with happiness when she saw the Kamado siblings rushing towards her.

"Tanjiro! Nezuko! Long time no see!" she said happily. She gave a 'light-as-air' hug to Nezuko, and she waved to Tanjiro. "I'm just visiting your school now, but it's still really nice to see you both!"

"It's great to see you as well, Belle~san!" Tanjiro said. But she hadn't heard the last part that Tanjiro said.

For her gaze had fallen upon Kanao. "Who's this? Is she one of your new friends at this school?" Belle asked in a curious voice.

"She is! That's Tsuyuri Kanao." Nezuko said. Kanao lifted her hand in a small wave. She looked away from Belle shyly and began fidgeting.

"I've heard a lot about her. She's really a pretty girl!" Belle said, smiling. In realization of something, she slapped her hand to her forehead.

"I just realized, I haven't formally introduced myself just yet. My name is Taishō Belle, but you could just call me Belle. I'm an old friend of the Kamado family." she said. "Let's walk into the school together. We can catch up while we walk."

The group got slightly bigger as Belle joined them in the walk to class. Only when they made it to Class 2-B did Belle wave goodbye.

"I'm just touring the school, but I'll see you at lunch!" she said happily. She walked with Nezuko down the hall, since both of them were coincidentally walking in the same direction.

Kanao and Tanjiro walked over to their desks, and they placed their bags down as the bell suddenly rang.

Kanao was fidgeting in her seat and she kept stealing glances at Tanjiro, as if something was bothering her...

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At lunchtime, Kanao and her friends could be found under a large tree in the school's courtyard. They all had their lunches out and they were all making easy conversation together.

Kanao continued to fidget as Belle talked merrily with the Kamado siblings. She had no idea why this bothered her.

Belle was the only one who noticed Kanao's restlessness. She wanted to help Kanao, as she was a really kind person.

"Kanao and I need to go to the restroom." Belle suddenly said. "We'll see you guys later."

Belle took Kanao's hand and gently dragged her inside. But, instead of going into the bathroom, they went up the stairs, into a secluded hallway where no one could hear their discussion.

"I can feel that something is bothering you, Kanao~san." Belle said quietly. "You keep fidgeting and you keep looking at Tanjiro."

Kanao jolted. She didn't think anyone would notice her restlessness, but that wasn't the case, since Belle had noticed it.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked. Kanao nodded hesitantly.

Kanao had brought her notebook with her, and she took it out along with a traditional pencil.

Something is kind of bothering me... she wrote. Belle raised her eyebrows as Kanao wrote things down in her notebook.

"Wait, wait, wait." Belle said. "Before you tell me what's the matter, I have a question myself."