- Y/n Tsugikuni -

Chapter 14 - There He Is! -

Somewhere else...

A man sat quietly in a modest home, sipping tea that had long since gone cold. Long hair draped down the sides of his face, and hanafuda earrings swayed slightly as he moved. A subtle flame-like mark rested on his forehead.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured, cradling a small baby with red-tinted hair in his arms.

She cooed softly, wrapping a tiny hand around his thumb.

He didn’t smile.

“I shouldn't hold her again... Everyone I touch disappears. I couldn't protect my father’s legacy. I couldn’t protect her mother. I couldn’t protect anything.”

He carefully handed the child back to the woman beside him.

“I’m a man without value. Not like him.”

The room felt heavier. Time blurred. And in that silence—

“Please… don’t.”

The voice didn’t come from the house. It was far away, breaking through a dream, maybe a memory.

“Don’t say that about yourself… please.”

Y/n turned his head to the right. Across the room, Tanjiro—still half-asleep—had tears quietly running down his cheek.

His voice cracked again. “It’s sad… so very sad.”

Y/n stared at him, frozen.

Was he dreaming the same thing?

Turning the other way, he saw Silvy sleeping, wrapped in bandages, her red hair fanned over the pillow. Despite the wounds, she looked more peaceful than before. Not like him. Not like Tanjiro.

He couldn’t lie there anymore.

Y/n sat up slowly, every limb aching. He groaned softly, pulling out the IVs carefully. When his feet hit the floor, a fresh wave of pain coursed through him. His mark—now faded—flared back briefly, glowing faintly before vanishing. The price for standing up too soon.

‘God… it hurts.’

He gritted his teeth and staggered to the door, hand trembling as he slid it open.

The hallway outside was quiet. Until—

SLAP!

A sharp sting exploded across his cheek.

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Shinobu stood in front of him, hand still raised, expression unreadable—but her eyes… her eyes were glassy.

“Are you seriously doing this again,
Y/n?” she said, her voice low and tight.

He blinked, stunned. “Shinobu—”

“When will you stop hurting yourself? When will you listen? When will you finally… stop pushing me away?” Her words trembled toward the end.

Y/n lowered his head. “I didn’t mean to. I just… I’m tired.”

She exhaled shakily and looked away for a second before stepping closer, voice softening.
“I took responsibility for you. I trusted you. I believed in what you said—about protecting us, about choosing life over death. But every time I turn around, you're gone.”

Y/n’s gaze fell to her hand as it reached out—tentatively—to touch his.

“If you keep walking this path, I won’t be able to follow. Not anymore.”

She reached for him, but he pulled his hand away.

“What’s your problem? I’m dying either way,” he muttered, eyes downcast.

The words hit her like a knife.

She didn’t yell. She didn’t cry. Instead, she closed her eyes tightly for a second and breathed in deep through her nose.

“You said I was worth protecting.”

“I meant it.”

“Then act like it.”

Her voice cracked then, just slightly.

“You’re not the only one carrying a loss. You’re not the only one who’s tired. But you… you look at me like I’m the one who’s supposed to save you from yourself. And I can't do that. Not always.”

Y/n turned his head away.

She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small, folded photo—that picture that they took together a few weeks ago, taken on a quiet day. She looked at it for one long second… then tore it in half.

“If you really don’t want to be here anymore, that’s fine.”

She handed him the torn pieces and turned her back.

“You’re free to leave. You always have been.”

“…Shinobu.”

She didn’t respond.

“I would've taken your last name,” she said, just loud enough for him to hear. “But maybe that was foolish of me.”

She walked away, composed but fragile, disappearing into the hallway like a fading shadow.

Silence.

Y/n stared at the torn photo in his hand, his throat dry, mind spinning. His chest felt hollow.

Behind him, soft footsteps approached. Kanao and Aoi had heard it all. Their faces said everything.

“You… should lie down, Tsugi-san,” Kanao said gently, stepping in with Aoi to support him.

He didn’t respond, but he let them guide him back inside.

He laid back on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling as the tears he’d fought so hard to hide began to escape silently.

Across the room, Silvy stirred, eyes blinking open. She had heard every word. So had Tanjiro.

“Tsugi-kun,” Silv whispered, her voice still hoarse. “We heard everything…”

“B-but it’s okay, right?” Tanjiro offered, hopeful but unsure. “I mean… maybe when you’re healed, you can talk to her again. Explain things?”

“…You’re kind of dumb, Tanjiro,” Silvy said softly, sitting up with a wince. “She meant it. You could feel it in her voice.”

Y/n didn’t speak. He draped his forearm over his eyes, trying to hold in the shaking.

Silv watched him closely.
Instead, she whispered, “I’m still here, y’know… we both are.”

And the room, though full of silence, no longer felt as lonely.

That escalated way too quickly.

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A moment before..

Shinobu walks away from him and proceeds to enter her room. she slides her door close, walks up to her bed and sits on it. She takes off her butterfly haori and reveals only her uniform. She begins to ponder and seemingly takes a nap.

After a little while, Kanao and Aoi slide the door open, only to see Shinobu sleeping. They didn't want to bother her so they just slid the door close and hoped for the best.

...

The young woman starts to make some noise.
She closes her own mouth just to keep it down from her mix of feelings. She hasn't decided to feel angry, or sad.
She didn't know what to do. looking at the ceiling, Shinobu starts to sob, she imagines his face for a while.
All of that crying paved her eyes to give in, as she sleeps it all.

-___-___-___-___-

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