The Awkwardness of AfterThoughts || Kamado Tanjiro x Reader

A Few Days After

(Y/N) stood in front of the mirror, the room she was staying in was blank and cold. Undressing and sliding on her silk haori, she brushed off the debris on her gakuran jacket that had accumulated from the last time she wore it, which was at the Swordsmith's village, two days before. Having been in the medical room for the last few days, she could say she was happy to wake up alone for once. With a sigh, she finally smoothed out her hair and walked out of the room. Immediately, (Y/N) was met with a bustling crowd, consisting of lower to mid-ranked demon slayers.

"(L/N)!" A voice echoed in her ears as she perked to the noise, separating it from the rest of the busy hallway.

A young man with red-tipped hair and a scar decorating his forehead rushed over to her with a wide smile. He was draped with a bandage, covering up the injury he endured during the fight against two Upper Moons, four and five. In his hand was a crutch he slightly leaned against.

His name was Tanjiro Kamado, a fellow companion that (Y/N) has had a few missions with before. She didn't know him as well as she liked, though she sensed nothing but kind intentions from him. Despite this, she kept her expressionless face and gave a slight nod, as if to say hello.

Surprisingly, he grabbed her uninjured wrist and quickly led (Y/N) to the end of the hallway, where the exit of the building was presented. She willingly followed, squinting her eyes at the exposure of the morning sun.

"How are your injuries?" Tanjiro asked, modestly glancing at her injured knee and wrist.

(Y/N) followed his eyes and rubbed her wrist, shrugging, "I am doing fine, do not worry. How about you?"

Tanjiro gave a smile that confusingly made her heart squeeze. "I am glad! I am doing great as well. Are you planning to participate in the training the Hashiras are hosting?"

(Y/N) thought for a moment, thinking of her injuries and desires of the day. "Will you?" She asked the boy.

Tanjiro nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! I am planning to convince Giyuu Tomioka to train me. I would love to learn more about my type of breathing."

"Hm, good luck with that." (Y/N) responded as she thought of the hashira and his silent nature. Never was quite interested in the Pillar, though that must be because she had seen him only once or twice before. "I will probably join Hashira Mitsuri's training. Stretching would help with the soreness."

The young man smiled, "Sounds good, don't go so hard on yourself!" He gave a wave and swiftly left.

Quizzically, (Y/N) was curious about why Tanjiro even came up to her in the first place. Despite working with him before, their conversations mostly consisted of Tanjiro trying to make the girl open up, ending with failure.

"(L/N), how was your day?"

Silence.

"(L/N), would you like anything from the local market? I heard they have great salmon!"

More silence.

However, since they fought against the two Upper Moons in the Swordsmith's village, she felt drawn to him. Upper Moon Five was caving in on (Y/N), smiling wildly with its contorted body ready to attack. Then came Tanjiro, black katana in hand, protecting the girl with his body.

"(L/N), are you okay?" Tanjiro asked frantically, glancing behind his shoulder as he examined the injuries she endured. In response, (Y/N) nodded, her heart beating fast at the sight of him risking his life for her. For a second, she could see the fiery rage in his eyes.

Was it just another case of opposites attract?

She quickly snapped back to reality, continuing to question herself on why she was thinking of this so much in the first place as if he wouldn't do the same for someone else. How awkward.