Just Friends | Tanjiro X Kanao

Chapter Six: A Date?

(Word Count: 2212)

Tanjiro continues to run back to his family bakery, one that is pretty renowned around town for all of their baked goods. He's a pretty fast sprinter, so he makes it back home in around five minutes. A jingle can be heard as Tanjiro enters the door, while his lips begin to curl into a smile. Kie Kamado, the mother and owner of the shop, quickly hands Tanjiro an apron while greeting him.

He greets the two customers that are already inside the shop, both whom are an elderly couple. They are regulars at the shop, coming in at least 3 times per week. Tanjiro gives them a quick smile before he starts to look for his mother, who hasn't seemed to notice that Tanjiro is here. She eventually does notice Tanjiro making small talk with the elderly couple, and quickly approaches him.

"Ah, Tanjiro. You're home pretty early, but I won't complain. Here, take this. The lunch rush is going to start pretty soon, so prep as quickly as you can, alright?", Kie explains to Tanjiro as she hands the apron to him. He quickly puts it on himself while setting his bookbag to the side of the room, and begins to enter the kitchen. Inside, he is welcomed by Takeo, the third oldest sibling out of the six. 

"Woah, Tanjiro, you're home really early! Why is that?", Takeo asks Tanjiro while he begins to bring out the ingredients to make their famous dough. Tanjiro chuckles while also beginning to prepare the ingredients for the upcoming lunch rush. A smile forms on Takeo's face from seeing this, as he was always shorthanded during the lunch rush, and it was nice for Tanjiro to be here for a change.

"The school decided to end early because there were barely any students today.", Tanjiro explains while zipping around the kitchen. His answer causes a question to pop up in Takeo's mind, so he decides to say something in return.

"And how come there were barely any students, huh?", Takeo questions Tanjiro in return to his previous answer, sounding pretty curious as to why there would be a lack of students on only the second day of school. Tanjiro freezes up by his next question, as the answer to it is one he would rather not tell Takeo. He just nervously laughs before avoiding his question completely. Takeo raises an eyebrow from Tanjiro's weird silence, but he goes back to preparing the bakery goods for the lunch rush.

A minute passes by before a gigantic hoard of people come rushing inside, causing the bell at the top to jingle like crazy. One moment ago, the shop was practically empty, only having two customers at the time, but now there are more than 20. There will for sure be more people to come, as this is just the beginning phase. 

There are a flood of orders that come in, causing Takeo to panic a little bit. In terms of experience, he has some, but not as much as Tanjiro. And unlike Takeo, Tanjiro remains calm. In fact, it almost seems like he's excited for what's the come, because he feels like it's a nice break from what he normally has to deal with around this time.

Tanjiro, like before, zooms around the kitchen, moving very swiftly and efficiently. All of his movements have no wasted effort at all, which is a really good asset when it comes to maintaining a restaurant as famous as theirs. The orders that were sent flying in just a minute ago are already out for the customers, just showcasing how much Tanjiro has perfected his craft. But the hoard of orders don't stop just yet, as the lunch rush continues to intensify. 

Takeo and Tanjiro are the two sole bakers in the back, leaving the rest of the family to help in any ways that they can. The flow of customers start to panic Takeo even more, but seeing his big brother in action gives him the little confidence boost that he needs. He pushes on, sending out order after order, just like Tanjiro.

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