The Days That Must Happen

ARC IV-ACT XII

a/n: so super useless fun fact about me is i'm massive on crochet rn. someone tell me why doing hair on crochet portraits is so hard. anyway, anyone wanna see some projects i've picked up⁉️

after the sunset and everyone was satisfied with full tummies, the group separated into chosen rooms.

"perhaps you and i can grab nezuko." shinobu hummed to mitsuri as the two girls sluggishly walked down the well lit corridor. "im not sure if i want her to sleep in the same room as zenitsu."

each open doorway offered a window into different small groups discussing their sleeping schedules and preferred positions.

rengoku pulled an arm over his head and stretched "i want to wake up early tomorrow, if that's an issue with either of you."

in the room with him, sanemi and obanai shook their heads. "if you can, mind waking me up too? i've been itching to train, even if it's just stretching." the white haired one of the two requested.

a smile bloomed on the fire pillars face. "of course not! i was going to do some exercises in the garden so perhaps you and i can train together."

two doors down sat tanjiro with his two friends, the three glued by the hips.

"i don't wanna sleep in the same room as him again! make him go away tanjiro!" came zenitsus ear piercing cry.

the burgundy haired boy sighed, looking up at the roof in desperation. "zenitsu..."

"i want this!" inosuke interrupted, jumping up and landing harshly on the single bed, the action making the wood scrape on the ground loudly. a satisfied sigh sang out from his mask as his muscles relaxed into the cushioned mattress.

"eh?! you can't just take that! it's one bed and three of us! we've got to figure out who's sleeping there tonight and who takes the floor!"

"eh?!" came the parroted sneer. "you cry too much! shut up! let me rest!"

"but-!"

raising a hand, the seemingly only normal one out of the three was able to silence the boy before he continued the fight. "zenitsu, let him sleep there tonight. i promise tomorrow you can take the bed."

still upset, zenitsu closed his mouth with a pout.

you stood down the hallway watching doors slowly close and light turn off, silent chatter from those trying to tire themselves out and soft snores from those long gone. smoothly, the house around you fell into a stilled silence.

hesitating to step forward, you instead stepped back, blinking slowly before finalizing the decision to quietly turn and pad down the staircase back to the lower floor.

two medium sized sofas sat in the living room - basic ikea ones with the dust cover hiding the colors. a bare bookshelf, a dining table way too small for the group that laid upstairs.

as priorly mentioned, the house was furnished, but to the most basic extent.

you stood there at the foot of your stairs, silently shifting focus from one corner of the house to the next, trying to familiarize yourself with your new, horrible, financial decision. in the silence, in the presence of this massive change that stared right back at you, you were able to breathe at least the smallest amount.

the change from a small apartment in one of the less tourist-y areas of tokyo to a house on a silent road upwards of a picturesque seaside town was overwhelming alone - more so with the multitude of headaches that followed with punches and kicks to spare. the change from a messy unnoticed neighbor who never left their apartment to a mysterious new face in a town where everybody knows each other. the change from a full-time author to retired...