Chapter Text
The smell of eggs and pancakes floods Kyojuro's nostrils. His stomach growls hungrily as he rouses from his sleep, a groggy groan bubbling in his throat. You had been kind enough to offer him a place to stay, just as long as he helped maintain the house, while he got himself acclimated to the new environment.
Begrudgingly he stretches his arms, yawing as he rolls over in bed before rolling straight onto the floor. He groans, lips frowning as his eyebrows scrunch in discomfort as something heavy lands on his stomach.
"Ugh..!"
A thrill draws his attention down towards the sudden pressure, it was your cat, who had gotten quiet attached to him since you had brought him back inside. You would have found it cute had it not made you so jealous.
Your cat was never like this with you at all, not even when you were gone for hours at a time. Kyojuro couldn't help the snort that left his lips at your unamused expression, eyebrows and lips twitching in annoyance as the chunky cat rubbed up against his legs like his life depended on it.
Not to mention you named the poor thing car. Perhaps that's why car was never openly affection with you. I mean, who wouldn't be upset at being named car?
"My, aren't you just the sweetest little thing!" He exclaims, gently running a hand over his fuzzy little head.
Car happily trills at him before flopping on his stomach, the soft fur tickling his abdomen as he cuddles into the warmth of the man. As much as he wouldn't mind staying like this all day, his growing hunger made it rather impossible to focus on the fluffy bundle on top of him.
"You are very cute Car, I must admit! But unfortunately, I am very hungry!" Car blinks at Kyojuro with big, wide eyes. The sight nearly makes him cave before he shakes his head and pats his heart with a resounding laugh.
He's faced some tough opponents as a demon slayer, but Car might just be the toughest one he's faced to date.
With a heavy heart, he picks up car before setting him on the bed with a soft pat. Car, unbothered, curls up on his pillow with a soft purr, falling asleep instantly as he basks in the warmth lingering on the pillow. Kyojuro huffs a soft laugh before making his way to the bathroom connected to his room.
His room...he's still a little surprised you agreed to give him a room, and spare clothes on top of that! Your kindness was extremely admirable and it's not like he wouldn't do the same thing had the circumstances been different.
He still felt mildly responsible for the fence incident, no matter how much you tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault. It took a lot of persuading on his part for you to finally give in and accept his help to rebuild it. And selfishly, he wishes to experience more of what your world had to offer.
He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that you had a car at your disposal, a vehicle not the cat named car, and a fridge. Those were considered a luxury in his time, a fact he voiced very enthusiastically as he opened and closed the fridge in wonder, much to your annoyance.
He wets his face and lathers it with soap, making sure to get into every nook and cranny. A bit of the foam makes its way into his mouth, a choked sound of disgust leaving his lips as he furiously spits into the sink, the taste lingering on his tongue as he gags.
A few torturous moments later, a soft knock and the sound of your muffled voice draws his attention, water comically dripping from his face as he struggles to get the taste of soap out of his mouth. For something so sweet smelling it tasted horrible! Not that he expected to taste good...or anything.
Okay, maybe he was expecting it to taste as good as it smelled. Could you really blame him though? The smell is rather misleading!
"Hey, you okay in there? Foods ready! Might want to hurry before it gets cold. Eggs taste pretty bad when they're cold."
You might be a little biased, but you swear eggs tasted funny cold. Shivers racks through your body at the thought of cold hard boiled eggs.
Eugh...
You'd understand if they were hot, but cold? Absolutely CRIMINAL.
Your face scrunches in distaste, eyes staring directly at the door in front of you before it swings open and Kyojuro comes into view. Cheerfully, he greets you, the smile on his face luminous and causing your own lips to quirk up in response.
Your distasteful expression was not lost on him however, he tilts his head to the side, observesing you owlishly. You hope to god Kyojuro doesn't like eggs that much, you'd think you'd riot if you had to keep a cartons worth in your fridge.
"Something on your mind, my friend?" Eggs, but that's a discussion for another time.
"Mm, everything is fine! Breakfast is getting cold though, and since we have a fence to fix we have a long day ahead of us." You were still on the fence, no pun intented, on letting him help.
It's not that you thought he was incapable, it's more how he'd react to...everything. But it's home depot, the worst thing that could happen is that he gets lost.
"Come on, I'd rather we get started before it gets any later!"
Kyojuro let's out a hearty laugh as he makes his way towards the dining room. You watch his form disappear from sight before letting out a soft sigh.
Everything was gonna be fine, he seemed responsible enough. If he can handle the car ride he can definitely handle home depot. You're probably just worrying over nothing!
Right?
"UMAI!" You can hear your windows rattling, your body jumping in fright as you splay a hand over your chest to sooth your rapidly beating heart.
Oh goodness..
---
Kyojuro couldn't believe the size of this place, the sights he was seeing! The drive here was extremely impressive, the buildings here we so different from what he was used to. The people so lively and diverse
He wanted to explore and experience all of it, taste all the foods, see all the sights. But for now he had a promise to fulfill, and he was a man of his word!
Unfortunately, he may have gotten lost.
"..."
You'd understand, right? He just happened to see something that caught his attention, happened to wanderer a bit too far and completely lost sight of you.
"My! They sure have a lot of fridges here!"
It seemed like at every turn there was something new, something that just drew Kyojuro in almost embarrassingly quick. Throughout his small exploration, he's caught sight of a few people wearing orange vests, or so he thinks he's seen them. Before he can manage to say a word they seem to disappear quickly, almost vanishing in thin air.
"Hmm...I could have sworn I saw someone go this way! Perhaps I'll have more luck if I continue foward!"
Kyojuro is no fool, these people were good. They're very aware of their surroundings, good at keeping quiet and staying out of sight. He can feel their eyes staring at him from various spots, watching his every move like hawks. He has no idea why, but he concludes it's best to leave it be.
Eventually he feels the mood drop, the people in question seeming to have lost their interest before resuming about their daily tasks as they sense he's no longer a 'threat'.
"I wouldn't mind coming here again!"
---
You were never letting that man out of your sight ever again. The nearby employees quickly scurried off as soon as they sensed the heat that rolled off your body in waves. The planks in your hands groaned, a few splinters digging into your hands as you set them on the cart.
"So much for help.."
Not that you needed it of course, you just didn't want to push the cart. A heavy sigh leaves your lips before you continue to load up more planks onto the cart.
"And that should be good..!"
With a thruimpth huff you set your hands on your hips, taking a deep breath before exhaling happily. There was something about the wood section in home depot that just made you feel so nostalgic, perhaps it was the smell or maybe that you came here just to walk around in your free time.
You pick at your palms, removing a few splinters before beginning to push your cart around effortlessly. Kyojuro was probably fine. You could go look for him but...then who would go explore the gardening section?
"He'll turn up eventually, if all else fails I'll probably just have one of the employees call him through the intercom."
You briefly wonder if Kyojuro knows what an intercom is as you walk through the sliding doors leading outside into the garden center. The humidity and smell of moist dirt makes your nose crinkle.
"Maybe I should get a few plants too, my backyard is a little plain.."
As you wander down the rows of plants, very few catch your attention. The wheels on your cart squeal loudly, a noise you've tuned out up until now. It was a little annoying, but nothing you couldn't tolerate for a few more minutes. Slowly you start to loose interest, all hope almost seeming lost before you spot it out of the corner of your eyes.
"Oh my god..."
It was perfect. It was so small! It was....
"Why are you completely drenched and holding a cactus?"
It was in a soaked Kyojuro's hands as he stood there with a bright grin on his face.
"Ah (Name)! It seems we have found each other! As for everything else, it's a long story!"
You raise an eyebrow before looking around, your eyes settling on an employee holding a hose as they appear to be hunched over.
"I appear to have caught them off guard, I merely wished to ask where this belonged before they screamed and drenched me with this long snake!"
A snort leaves your lips as Kyojuro explains the details loudly, thankfully no one else besides the employee was around, and clearly they weren't in the best state of mind at the moment to really pay attention to a word he was saying.
"That is a hose, not a snake. Though I can't blame you for thinking the latter, hoses look like snakes when hidden under a pide of leaves."
Kyojuro expression morphs into one of confusion as he directs his attention to the snake, or the hose in this case.
"A hose? Ah..I see! It's color reminded me of a snake!" His cheeks turn slightly pink as he chuckles.
'That's pretty cute..'
A small giggle leaves your lips, Kyojuro laughing along softly as he walks over to you, cactus still in hand.
"You ready to go? I can't say the rest of your experience here will be fun in wet clothes, unfortunately." Respectfully, you keep your eyes on his face.
Kyojuro smiles happily as he nod his head eagerly, causing another giggle to bubble in your throat.
"Yes, although if I may ask..may we take this along? I apologize if this seems rather foward but there's something about it that's so captivating!" He gestures towards the small cactus in his hands. This man was far to cute for his own good, not that you would tell him that.
Or anything.
"Sure..just hold onto it while we check out okay?" You begin to push your cart towards the check out as Kyojuro follows behind you. You guess this wasn't so bad for a first outing.
"Hey...how about I get us some lunch after this?" Kyojuro's eyes light up at the mention of food. However, he doesn't wish to have you spend your money on him! Sensing his thoughts, you smile sweetly at him as you wave yout hand.
"It's fine! I offered, my treat! It's not like you're gonna burn a hole in my wallet!" That seems to soothe his concerns, briefly tilting his head before humming softly in agreement.
"Well, I suppose if you're truly alright with it, who am I to refuse!" You finish paying for your items, tucking the receipt in your pocket before leading Kyojuro back towards your car.
You could get used to this, it was nice to have someone to talk to. You smile softly as Kyojuro sets his cactus on top of your car, his smile bright as he pricks his finger on one of it's spikes.
Yeah, you could see yourself getting used to this.