boketto || t. kamado

thirty-seven

I was alarmed to find, that after we sat down, I felt drowsy.

I never slept on trains. It was a fact I'd thought undeniable for a long time. I was just too much of a light sleeper, easily awoken by even auras shifting, that it made no sense for me to sleep on a moving, bumping object.

But, I figured that seen as everyone was also seeming tired, perhaps it was due to the excitement from earlier. Rengoku declared he would train us and defeat the two demons. Now, we could relax, right? So maybe, despite the weird feeling the train was giving me, my body just knew that it was time to relax and I could sleep.

But I hadn't been sleeping at all before getting on the train. Frankly, I was well rested enough from the Butterfly Mansion that I expected to stay awake for several days, at least. That's how I used to travel with Daichi - we'd both trained drastic amounts to the point of not needing sleep for long periods of time (at least, if we consider us not fighting during that time). I slept well at the mansion. So why was I so tired all of the sudden?

At first, I tried not to fall asleep, but despite my head bobbing, I tried to just look outside and stay awake. All the boys were seemingly already asleep so I had no one to speak with to try and keep myself awake.

I yawned, sighing to myself and figuring that I might as well just succumb to it. At least the train ride would be quicker.

"Y/n," A soft voice called and I startled wide awake. I blinked away the tiredness, flickering my gaze up toward the source.

Tanjiro was still awake but seemed exhausted as well. Rengoku was asleep by his side, sitting straight upward - which was admittedly odd, but I didn't think about it much.

I rubbed my eyes from any exhaustion that still lingered, and replied, "Yes, Tanjiro?"

With a low voice - trying not to wake the others, he asked, "If you sleep like that, you'll hurt your neck." My brow furrowed, but I watched as he shifted in his seat, and then pat the now empty space between him and the window. I felt heat in my face before he even said, "You can lay on my shoulder - it won't hurt as bad."

I stared at him for a moment.

He was offering to let me use his shoulder as a headrest.

...Just so my neck wouldn't hurt, right? That was it - something friends would do, right? I used to do it for Daichi, but I saw him like a brother. Frankly, I didn't see Tanjiro as a brother. Not in a negative way, but I just... saw him as my friend. That relationship is different than a more sibling one.

So that must explain why it feels different to take him up on this offer. Or why do I feel so much more heat in my face and a fluttering in my chest? Was I having heart palpitations? Is this healthy?

I cleared my throat softly, averting my gaze - I couldn't keep eye contact, it made the feeling in my chest worse - and whispered, "I don't want to crowd that bench. Thank you, though."

His brow furrowed. He glanced up towards our newfound mentor and took note of his sleeping features. I figured that would be the end of it, so I let out another soft yawn and glanced out the window. My eyes felt unnaturally heavy. I could feel my head growing heavier by the second, despite my best efforts.

"I can sit over there," He suddenly said again and I startled upright. Tanjiro still seemed adamant, watching my tired mannerisms that he was pretty much copying. "It won't be as crowded."

I gave a small smile, "Mr. Rengoku is leaning on you, I don't want to disturb him."

Tanjiro's brow furrowed. It made me falter in my cause, and this only escalated as he said, "I don't want you to hurt yourself."