Paper Rings |Tanjiro x Muichiro|

the shy boy

"Wake up!" a baby voice said waking Tanjiro up to see Nezuko's tiny face in front of his and her baby hands pinching his cheeks and nose. Her pink eyes shone even in the dim room with only a night light allowing them to see each other.

He smiled at his little sister, a toothy smile with only three front teeth since one had fallen out recently. "Hi Nezuko!" He beamed as he sat up from under his dinosaur covers and stretched. Nezuko ran all around the room, after finishing the mission given to her by their mother, to wake Tanjiro up.

The red-haired boy went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, a habit his mom instilled in him, and then went out to the kitchen area and sat down. Nezuko was already there, bouncing with excitement. She was normally energetic in the mornings and got up really early. It was only around seven in the morning and she'd been up for almost an hour.

"Here's some pancakes for you my love" Tanjiro's mother said as she placed a plate of warm pancakes in front of him. He picked up the fork and stabbed the pancake in the middle before shoving the entire thing in his mouth. He looked like a chipmunk but Nezuko stared in awe at the feat and then back at her own pink plate which had cut up slices of pancake so she wouldn't choke. Then she made a noise of amusement before trying to eat four pieces of her pancake at once and then realizing it didn't fit in her small mouth yet.

Tanjiro looked over and laughed. "You can do it once your my age too!" the red-haired boy said and smiled, managing to get a smile back from his little sister. Their mother watched finding the whole thing funny before she spoke again.

"Tanjiro! Today is the first day of school! Are you exited?" She asked exited herself. It was the first time Tanjiro would leave the house to go somewhere without her and a part of her felt uneasy. Tanjiro was a big energetic, happy, and kind mess. She was worried the other children might find him odd or pick on him for being so naturally very nice to others but it was a good trait to have so she tried not to dwell.

Tanjiro nodded through a mouth full of pancake. Ten seconds later after he swallowed his food he looked up with big shiny red eyes and said "I'll make lots of friends!" His mom smiled at him. Oh her precious little boy was growing up so fast.

Nezuko's eyes widened. "Vats supa cool! I wanna go ta scoo!!" Her little four year old arms pumped up in the air with excitement. She was friends with the neighbors kid, but that was the only other girl she'd met her age. Tanjiro hadn't found any kids in their neighborhood that were his age but he got along well with many kids he met at playgrounds and what not.

Tanjiro and Nezuko finished eating, and then they got in the car and Tanjiro's mother drove them to the school. They walked in together, because Nezuko insisted on coming with them for Tanjiro's first day of school. What could she say? It sounded exiting. Finally Tanjiro's mother spotted the right classroom and walked both her children inside.

She talked with the teacher for a couple minutes while Tanjiro and Nezuko walked around and saw other kids playing with all sorts of toys from stuffed animals to blocks to coloring with markers. Tanjiro's mom took Nezuko's hand and tapped the red-haired boy on the shoulder. "We'll leave now. Have a great first day of school honey" She said, and just as they were about to walk out, Nezuko went running into Tanjiro's arms and hugged him.

"I miss wu" Tanjiro smiled.

"I will miss you too Nezu" He patted her on the head and then shuffled her back to his mother. They left and he went around the classroom once more, seeing if there was anyone he wanted to become friends with. Tanjiro almost joined the group building a tower out of blocks when he noticed a small boy cowering near the cubbies. He walked over, seeing a lock of black and blue hair on the boy's shoulder.

"Hi! I'm Tanjiro!!! What's your name?" He said, extending a hand. The boy looked up, ocean blue eyes staring, terrified. He backed up farther into the corner than should have been possible, and curled up into a tighter ball than before.

"Is someone gonna get you?" Tanjiro asked, wondering if maybe this was hide and seek, but he knew hide and seek was fun, and this boy was scared. Almost like he saw the monster under the bed this morning or something.

The boy shook his head. "What's wrong?" Tanjiro asked, curious and a touch worried as well.

"M......m shy" The boy mumbled. Tanjiro leaned in closer, which seemed to make the boy more nervous, but he truly couldn't hear what the kid was saying.

"What was that?" Tanjiro asked.

"I'm... shy. This place is s...scary" He said, a little louder but not much. This time Tanjiro nodded.

"Wanna be my friend?" Tanjiro asked. The boy nodded and they sat there for a while. Mostly Tanjiro was talking but he managed to get a few mumbles out of the shy boy before it was time for lunch.

When he got home that day, he was intrigued. Tanjiro wasn't exactly sure what shy meant but clearly the boy had a harder time being around people than he did, so he tried to be his friend and make him less afraid.

"Mama what's shy?" Tanjiro asked once they got in the car.

"It means to be scared around other people when you don't know them baby. You're not shy at all. Your very sociable. That means you make friends a lot and like talking to people." Tanjiro's mother said, looking at him through the rearview mirror for a few moments and then she looked back at the road.

"Oh that makes sense." Tanjiro said. Nezuko was sitting next to him. She tended to be less talkative in the afternoons but was still playful. She tugged at his hair and he tickled her earning a few giggles.

"Did you make any friends today Tanjiro?" His mother spoke once more.

"Yup!"

"Oh that's nice honey. What's their name?"

Tanjiro frowned for a second. "I have no idea" he said.