Chapter Text
It’s been a week since Kyojuro had woken up from his injuries, and he has spent the majority of that time on bed rest at the Butterfly Estate on Shinobu’s strict orders.
“Rengoku-san, just because you're awake doesn’t mean you’re healed. The fake skin I made for you isn’t going to hold if you go pushing your body!” Shinobu’s chastising was ringing in his head a week later. Out of all the pillars, she’s the only one he really fears, her retribution is infamous among the Corps.
Kyojuro understood the concern and in any other situation he would be happy to back up Shinobu’s orders, but he hated how incapacitated he felt. Not moving for nearly six months has caused his muscles to atrophied to the point where even sitting up by himself makes him mildly winded. It made him feel pathetic and weak. Kyojuro desperately wanted to rip his bed covers off and start training.
“Rengoku-san, are you awake?” a gentle voice called out.
“Yes. Come in!”
Tanjiro-kun came in holding a tray of food, chicken porridge, and tea, gently setting the small table on his lap before moving to fluff up his pillow. Kyojuro would never admit it but the only reason he hadn’t completely ignored Shinobu’s orders was that Tanjiro had made the experience bearable. The boy had gotten in the habit of bringing him, his meals and being the only one physically strong enough move Kyojuro’s body around, Tanjiro became his undesignated caretaker. It was a bit easier on Kyojuro’s pride not having to be taken care of by so many young girls. He recognized their prowess and skill as physicians but he couldn’t stand the idea of being so pitiful around people that young. With Tanjiro as his successor, Kyojuro could at least swallow his pride momentarily. Plus, it wasn’t difficult to feel at ease around the boy. Tanjiro spends a lot of time keeping him company and even bringing Nezuko with him on occasion, she loved to braid his hair or taking naps in his bed while he and Tanjiro would just talk.
They mostly talked about Flame breathing, trying to pinpoint the Fire Breathing that Tanjiro experienced. Kyojuro did his best to explain and figure out the nuances that he could understand the difference between the two styles. Occasionally they would bond over their memories about their younger siblings. Tanjiro’s eyes would always light up when he was telling a particularly cute event. It warmed Kyojuro’s heart every time he saw that light in his eyes. The rest of their time was spent playing dumb games, Kyojuro was fascinated by Tanjiro’s sense of smell. Uzui had particularly strong ears, and there were a number of times the two of them would test out the limits of his echolocation, but a nose powerful enough to smell emotions was incredible to him. Kyojuro would always get the girls to find him random objects so he could test Tanjiro, so far the boy has a perfect record.
So the next few weeks went by faster than Kyojuro thought.
“Tanjiro. If I may ask, how did you get into the Demon Corps?” Kyojuro asked one day. They’ve talked about their lives, but Tanjiro despite how open he is, rarely talks in-depth about himself. And despite the sensitive subject Kyojuro really wanted to learn everything about the boy. Tanjiro could talk at length about his family, but there was a certain period where he would completely avoid. Kyojuro could guess it was a pretty gruesome demon attack that Tanjiro didn’t want to revisit, but Kyojuro couldn’t tap down the curiosity.
“Ahh, it's not a very pleasant story,” Tanjiro said, looking a bit surprised at the sudden question.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries”
“It’s not that,” Tanjiro said, turning away from him a bit.
Tanjirou doesn’t say anything after that and Kyojuro couldn’t deal with the amount of pain on his face so like a coward he changed the subject, “I’ll be allowed to start training starting tomorrow. Shinobu is even going to help me with some physical therapy.”
“That's great to hear Rengoku-san,” Tanjiro lit up the previous conversation ignored, “Ah but please be prepared. Shinobu-san’s training is hell.”