LadysDaze Commission Work

Life, Death and Wisteria (Kamado Tanjirou x Reader)

For @Wabbeet

You sighed as you watched the latest group of demon slayers wander back into the darkness of the forest. They had come, gotten healed, fed, rested, and then went straight back to work and onto their next mission. You had lost count by now about how many people you had seen and then never saw again once they left eh safety of the purple flowers that surrounded your home.

Being a member of the infamous wisteria crest family had its perks, but also its downsides. You'd often treat slayers you knew would survive much longer from how they acted. You'd seen other slayers die right before you from injuries inflicted by demons you could do nothing about. It was a gruesome thing to witness, but you always tried to help every slayer as best you could. Even if... they marched off to their deaths right after you treated them for injuries they had barely survived.

It was just how things were here. It was just how you were trained. It was just how life was.

You had never once seen someone who had been here before. Or at least... that had been until the evening arrived. You had just been getting ready to prepare a meal for the two slayers who were here when you noticed the wisteria blossoms shifting and a figure emerging from them.

A teenage boy with a strange marking on his head and wearing a black and green haori carrying a large trunk on his back. You inhaled sharply and rushed out of the kitchen and onto the yard. He looked to be struggling to walk and you were not going to let this familiar face kick it right here and now.

"Tanjirou!" You called out and grabbed onto his arm. "What are you doing here?"

The boy laughed and gave you a pained look. "I was tasked with helping a village near here figure out why its water supply had been going bad and killing people. It was a demon of course and I think I might have overdone it. I remembered your family's house was near and made my way over."

"What am I going to do with you?" You shook your head and supported him nonetheless. "Now come on, let me get you inside. You can change and take a hot bath while I make you some food and then I'll look you over for any injuries."

Tanjirou smiled at you and nodded. "Thank you. You're too kind."

"So long as you don't die in my house, then I'll keep being kind." You lightly joked with him as you both made your way through the house.

You soon dropped him off in an empty room, and one of the nicer ones too since he was always so kind to you, then headed off to add one more meal to your cooking tonight. You spent a good hour making it and then dropped the meals off to the three slayers, saving Tanjirou for last.

You approached his door and raised your hand to knock but paused when you heard something from inside his room. It sounded like he was talking to someone but you had no idea who. You knew it would be rude to barge in, so you knocked.

"I've got your meal here." You told him and heard movement.

"A-ah! Give me a second, I need to put my kimono on!" He cried out and you chuckled lightly.

The door opened a moment later and Tanjioru looked at you with a sheepish, if not apologetic expression. You merely shook your head and handed him his meal. He took it and you were allowed into the room. It was empty... strange from what you had just heard.

"Were you just talking to someone?" You ask him as your started to get your medical supplies out.

"Oh. Just my crow. I want my friends who went on the mission with me to know where I ended up." He told you, looking to be hoping you'd leave it at that.

You never liked to push... so you didn't.

"The scared boy and the one with the boar head?"

Tanjirou nodded. "Yes. Zenitsu and Inosuke."

"Did you get separated?"

"Yes and no. We found out there was three demons and we each decided to take one. So, they should get here soon hopefully once my crow reaches them."

You nodded but didn't share how you doubted that Zenitsu would have been willing to face a demon by himself. He seemed like a coward from what you had seen of him the last time he was here. Inosuke you could believe... as you had to tell him several times that no rough housing or dueling was allowed at your home.

Tanjirou had been the only behaved one of those three and you were so happy to see him again. Even if it was because he was seeking refuge and treatment from the fight he had just been in. He... was still alive. You were glad about that.

"Well, have a seat and I'll start looking you over while you eat." You instructed him and he did so. "Tell me anywhere that hurts when I touch it, okay?"

"Of course, (Name)." Tanjirou spoke before he put some rice into his mouth and chewed. "Your cooking is still delicious."

"Complimenting me like that just might earn you an extra portion at breakfast tomorrow." You teased him and Tanjirou blushed darkly.

Your look over of him continued from there. He had a few cuts and bruises, but from what you could see, his biggest injury was a sprained ankle. He'd need to stay off it for a couple of days, but it should heal just fine.

You finished your care and left him to rest. By the morning, his friends had arrived, and once more, your little home was filled with chaos. But, it was nice to have lively guests again. This place always felt like a tense pitstop before demise.

And yet, every time Tanjirou arrived here, that sense of life returned and you felt your own soul healing. You saw so many terrible things, so when the positive boy came here, it made you feel like this was all worth it in the end. It was to help the slayers who would help the innocent after all.

Even when Tanjirou and his group packed up and headed off, you couldn't help but wish for them to come back to you again. If not for you to know they were alive and well- then to know that somewhere out there, someone was fighting for everyone and not merely himself. And that was indeed what Tanjirou was doing.