boketto || t. kamado

sixty-five

A/n: im gonna be in my fucking thrities by the time this book is done goddamn (im joking, hopefully)

Okay, I've got like 1 more after this MAYBE and then i'm taking a break to catch-up. There's some stuff that happens before the next arc that i need to start on but writers block teehee. I'm working on it tho.

You guys are great :)

"Nennen korori yo, o-korori yo."

I could hear somebody singing.

"Boya wa yoi ko da, nenne shina."

It felt like I was floating on clouds. Like someone was cradling my head, hugging the entirety of my being. It was so warm.

"Boya no o-mori wa, doko e itta?"

They were a beautiful singer. Soft and gentle and familiar. The lyrics flowed in the air like a ghosts, or perhaps an angel. It was keeping me lulled in my exhausted state, craving the warmth and painlessness of a prolonged sleep.

"Ano yama koete, sato e itta."

The singing suddenly stopped. Everything flickered in the blink of an eye. I wasn't weightless, but I could vaguely comprehend that I was being held. My eyelids felt like they were being weighed down with boulders, and it was a struggle just to peek through them, let alone move any of my body. My extremities were numb. Nothing had been comprehended in my mind yet.

When my eyes crept open, I was staring at the stars. They were beautiful from this angle as if I were lying on the rooftop with very little light around them. There were dozens in the sky. Each and every one of them stared back at me and shimmered like a wonderful painting.

I love the stars. They're almost as beautiful as the person holding me.

It took me a second to realize as my mind reawakened. There were so many sensations beginning to crash on me all at once that my sense of reality was skewed, and my common sense dwindled.

But it was Tanjiro Kamado, I was certain. His warmth and crimson hair were too familiar for me to miss it. His hands were cradled around me, and he held me close to his chest. His hair tickled my cheek, and his chest stuttered, noises muffled in my chest. He was crying. I didn't want to make my friend cry.

I shifted my hand, and a spike of pain shot up my entire limb. Pinneedles traveled all the way into my shoulder, but I barely had the energy to wince. The pain was nothing compared to my worry for my friend, and I instinctively continued to raise my hand, pressing it just barely against Tanjiro's shoulder. He froze, chest stuttering to a stop.

"Wh..." My voice came out small and quiet. I could taste iron on my tongue, and Tanjiro was dead quiet. I closed my eyes and mumbled, "...Why are... you crying?"

There was a beat of silence, and I figured he may not have heard me. But sleep was grappling at my bones with its thousands of hands, and I was fighting to stay afloat.

Tanjiro pulled back, his eyes wide and puffy as he gasped each breath. I peeked open my eyes, and as soon as my gaze landed on his face, my mind was at ease. He was safe. He was okay. That makes me so happy.

"What?" He gasped, mouth agape as sobs built back up in his throat, "How? H-how?"

My eyes were getting heavier and heavier with each second, and my hand lost its strength, dropping back into my lap. With the last of my strength, I whispered, "Thank goodness..."

Thank goodness he's okay. Thank goodness he's safe.

I let my eyes shut, the strength draining from me as I felt safe and comforted in his arms. His sob still reached my ears, and he pulled me back into him, just as warm as before. A wonderful cocoon that only pulled sleep deeper into me.