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Nezuko had been spying on Kanao for a while now. Her head peeking around the corner as she watched Kanao train.
Kanao was strong, graceful, and beautiful like a blooming flower. Watching each movement made by the older girl was extremely mesmerizing to the eye. Nezuko was enchanted by the brisk, poised motions Kanao practiced. Her feet and arms flowing fluidly together like a well-practiced dance.
The strikes she made with her weapon were precise and swift, the blade gliding effortlessly in the air as she made cut after cut.
It inspired Nezuko to try and be as good as the older girl in front of her. Once she reached a decent potential Nezuko would be able to stand by Kanao’s side. Nezuko had decided this a while ago, but for now, she would admire her from a distance.
Nezuko continued to watch Kanao until she felt a poke from behind that startled her.
“Eep!” Nezuko flinched away in shock. Turning around she saw Aoi-Chan standing there with a frown set on her cute little face. “Aoi-Chan, you scared me!”
Stepping closer to Nezuko, the younger girl poked Nezuko very harshly on her arm. “Ow, Aoi-Chan, that hurt!”
“You should just go talk to her Nezuko-San, she won’t bite.” Aoi-Chan huffed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Aoi-Chan, I can’t do that! It’ll be so awkward! She makes me nervous, I forget how to use words.” Nezuko explained in embarrassment, letting her head fall into her hands.
“You can’t keep your distance from her forever” Aoi-Chan sighed, patting Nezuko’s head in sympathy. Letting out a small whine Nezuko nodded in agreement.
“Alright! I’ll go talk to her now! I’ll ask if we can train together! I can do this!” Nezuko enthused, hoping it would help her gain some sort of courage to actually talk to Kanao.
Walking towards the training room Kanao was in Nezuko took a few steps to the entrance. She could do this!
“You got this Nezuko-San.” Aoi-Chan cheered from behind her.
Yeah, Nezuko could do this! All she had to do was talk, Nezuko could talk! She could talk to Kanao. Kanao who would stare at her patiently with her serene purple eyes, captivating the attention Nezuko had. Kanao’s eyes would be on Nezuko, while she fumbled for a response like always.
Nezuko would stand in front of her and... she couldn’t do this!
She couldn’t do this!
Ahhh!
Standing in front of the entrance she stared at Kanao who was staring back at Nezuko. A flush exploded across Nezuko’s face and she quickly spun around, making a dash to be far away from Kanao.
“I’m sorry Aoi-Chan! I can’t do it!” Nezuko yelled, running farther away from her crush and problems.
As Nezuko ran far away all Aoi could do was sigh and give an excuse to Kanao for the red-eyed girl’s behavior.
It was night now and Nezuko looked at the moon in contemplation. She really shouldn’t avoid Kanao like that. It would seem rude and mean of her.
Groaning Nezuko laid back covering her face with her hands. It was so embarrassing thinking back to the first time she spoke to Kanao after realizing her infatuation with the purple-eyed girl. She would never live it down.
Kanao had been sitting down looking out into the garden blowing bubbles. She was very at peace and seemed to enjoy watching the bubbles leave the wand and drift away until they popped. Some bubbles would last longer than others, a few stray ones would stay by Kanao and she would stare at those longer than others.
Nezuko worked up enough courage to finally approach Kanao who had noticed her and smiled her way. Nezuko had faltered in her approach slightly but continued until she was sitting beside Kanao.
They were both silent for a while, neither of them making noise or movement. It was tranquil, Nezuko didn’t mind it but the presence of Kanao beside her was a constant reminder of why Nezuko had come near the silent girl in the first place.
Rotating to face Kanao, Nezuko opened her mouth to speak.
“Bubbles.” Was all Nezuko said before standing up and walking away faster than anyone would deem necessary, leaving behind a wide-eyed and confused Kanao.
Nezuko made sure to keep away from Kanao the remainder of the day.
Feeling a hand pat her head she turned and faced Tanjirou, his clawed hand gently patting her head in soothing motions.
“Sorry Nii-Chan, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Nezuko mumbled quietly letting Tanjirou settle beside her.
“You would probably know what to say to someone.” Nezuko voiced, recalling times when her Nii-chan had offered his support. “I wish I could be as straightforward as you. It would make things easier.”
Glancing at Tanjirou, the demon just smiled at her, it was probably meant as some reassurance towards her. Nezuko smiled back and patted Tanjirou’s head as he leaned into her touch.
Nezuko would try again once she was stronger, for now, all she had to do was train and hopefully build up a way to speak to Kanao.
Nezuko was a liar, she had not tried to even go be in Kanao’s proximity for the past two weeks.
It really wasn’t her fault, Nezuko had been busy with training and making sure Zenitsu and Inosuke wouldn’t cause trouble. Nezuko had also taken a mission that lasted a couple of days.
Nezuko had been busy! No one could blame her for that. What they could blame her for though was escaping any time she saw Kanao insight.
Zenitsu found it strange but didn’t comment on it. He thought Kanao and Nezuko had a fight, which made no sense but Nezuko wasn’t going to correct him. Inosuke saw her run away once and turned into a race and then a race turned into a competition. That day had not been a good one. Nezuko can still hear Shinobu’s voice telling them to not disturb the others in the healing ward of the estate.
Speaking of Shinobu, the Insect Pillar had been looking at her in amusement and that caused Nezuko to avoid both of the eldest butterfly girls. The only one Nezuko couldn't escape or hide from was Aoi-Chan. She was there waiting for Nezuko with an exasperated look every time.
It made Nezuko feel worse. She really wasn’t trying to avoid anyone but it just happened and her feet would take Nezuko far away from the situations she wanted to avoid.
On the plus side, Tanjirou was consistently more awake and seemed to have replenished his strength and energy from the last big battle. It made Nezuko feel at ease to know Tanjirou was safe and well. Tanjirou having been turned into a demon took a toll on her. She had also been very devastated finding her family all gone. Having Tanjirou around even as a demon had definitely helped her.
Hearing a squawk above her she turned and saw her crow above her. Letting the crow land she receives information on a new mission. Listening, she nods and thanks to her crow before standing to get her things and start a new mission.
Exiting the butterfly estate she sees Kanao waiting for her there. What was she doing there?
Getting closer to Kanao, Nezuko pushed down her nervousness. The curiosity she felt overpowered her at the moment.
“Are you waiting for someone Kanao?” Nezuko questioned and Kanao gave a nod as affirmation.
“I’ll be joining you on your mission.” Kanao offered an explanation for her presence.
“Oh.” Nezuko smiled but she thinks it came out more like a grimace.
“Are you upset with us being paired up?” Kanao hesitantly asked, her smile faltering slightly. Nezuko started to panic for a few reasons. She would be doing this mission with Kanao! Kanao, who was such a distraction to Nezuko. Kanao, who was looking more and more upset as Nezuko’s inner turmoil kept her quiet.
Anxiousness be gone! Nezuko yelled in her head. It didn’t work. She was still panicking! Shoot, she had to say something now, or else she would just seem rude for her silence.
“N-No! Of course not! You and I would make a great pairing! The two of us! together!” Nezuko blurted out her panic taking the wheel. After a moment Nezuko realized what she said and quickly tried to fix it.
“Not that I think we as a pairing should be together! It's just you know this pairing as in partnership isn’t bad!” Nezuko’s hands waving in front of her trying to make some of the anxiousness disappear with the movement.
Nezuko was a disaster, she truly needs to get herself together. Nezuko would be spending a lot of time near Kanao for the foreseeable future and Nezuko needed to be well put or else she wouldn’t be able to function.
Hearing a giggle made Nezuko pause in her distress. Peering up Nezuko sees Kanao cover her mouth in amusement. Kanao’s shoulders trembled slightly as she tried to keep in her laughter. Seeing the usually silent girl laugh caused Nezuko’s cheeks to heat up and her chest to feel fuzzy with bliss settling into her veins.
This was a blessing, hearing Kanao laugh is a blessing, and Nezuko had no idea which god up there she had to repay for this gift.
“I’m sorry, you just seemed very flustered.” Kanao’s laughter subsided as she composed herself again and Nezuko had to force herself to focus on anything that wasn’t the twinkling echo of Kanao’s laugh in her ears.
“It’s okay! We should go now.” Nezuko replied, gaining a hum from Kanao as they both set off to the outskirts of a southern village that had an increase of disappearing people.
They got to the village around sundown and began their search almost immediately, both of them alert for any kind of distress or panic.
“You didn't bring Tanjirou with you?” Kanao asked after a while of walking around.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I didn’t. Nii-Chan seems to be adjusting better in the daylight. He doesn’t like being out of his box while the sun is out but he’s getting used to it slowly. I thought leaving him back at the butterfly estate would be better.” Nezuko explained looking at some of the places still open at night.
“I also left Nii-Chan behind to keep Zenitsu and Inosuke from causing trouble to the other girls.”
“That’s a wise choice,”
Nezuko nodded looking at a stand that’s selling colorful pieces of jewelry. Glancing away she keeps walking with Kanao at her side. So far, Nezuko hasn’t embarrassed herself so she counts that as a win!
After a while of walking, they made it to the more secluded areas of the village that had them more alert than before. It was quiet, too quiet and it put Nezuko on edge. Moving forward carefully Nezuko placed a hand on the hilt of her blade ready for anything.
“Nezuko, stay calm,” Kanao advised placing a hand on her shoulder. Nezuko could feel the warmth that radiated off Kanao. Nezuko was very tempted to just lean back and see if Kanao would catch her if she fell.
Hearing a noise up ahead Nezuko snapped out of her thoughts. Dammit! This wasn’t the time for her hormones to do this!
“Let’s go,” Nezuko whispered moving forward. They walked closer to the noise, the sound becoming louder and clearer as they neared.
There, at the end of the street was a body kneeled over another unstill body. The demon had apparently already taken in a victim. Taking a step forward a hand grasped her arm holding her back.
Nezuko glances back at Kanao confusedly who shook her head and brought a finger to her lips. Taking a step back Nezuko let Kanao take the lead watching as the older girl moved quickly and quietly.
There wasn’t an epic battle or even a battle at that. The demon had been too invested in its hunger that it didn’t notice when Kanao snuck up behind it and decapitated easily without any effort. The demon finally noticing they were there started to curse at them as its body and head crumbled away.
Sighing Nezuko turned to Kanao who was smiling back at her. Well, this was an easy mission. Nezuko doesn’t want to think about what kind of horrible thing may come next to balance out the calm and quiet that had settled around her for now.
Kanao had mentioned that they should stay around the town until sunrise to make sure that there wasn’t anything else that needed to be taken care of. When Nezuko requested to split up Kanao had denied the request. Her explanation is that it would be wise to have back up close by instead of at further distance with no means of communication.
It had been a few hours and nothing new had come up. Nezuko took this time to think back on the night spent with Kanao. Overall it went well excluding the few moments Nezuko gave in to her desires and her thoughts.
Thinking back at how easy the demon was to take care of and how not many missing people had been announced it was safe to say the demon was newly turned. The demon would’ve been easy to handle just by herself.
So why did Kanao join her?
“Ne, Kanao?” Nezuko called out to the girl in front of her who just gave a small hum as a reply.
“You didn’t actually get assigned to this mission did you?” Nezuko hesitantly asked, watching Kanao pause in her steps.
“Ah, I’ve been found out,” Kanao confirmed spinning around to face Nezuko who gave a small nod.
“Why did you come with me? I don’t think I’m that horrible of a demon hunter. My techniques aren’t as fluid and precise as yours yet but I can handle myself pretty well you know.” Nezuko huffed, just a little offended at the thought of Kanao thinking of her to be weak.
“-avoiding me,” Kanao whispered quietly, pulling at the end of her white cape.
“Could you say that again?”
“You were avoiding me,” Kanao stated more firmly looking directly at Nezuko. Swallowing down surfacing fears Nezuko tried to refute the statement.
“I didn’t-, I wasn’t-, That’s not what I-, I'm sorry.” Nezuko apologized.
“At first I didn’t mind, I thought you were just needed elsewhere,” Kanao explained walking to Nezuko and it took all of her to not take a step back from the look in Kanao’s eyes. Her face showed uninterest but her eyes were burning bright with something. “Then I noticed you were actively avoiding and I couldn’t understand why.”
“I’m sorry” Nezuko tried again but Kanao looked determined as she stopped in front of Nezuko.
“The more you avoided me, the more it bothered me. I also didn’t understand why I was feeling that way.” Kanao continued not taking her gaze off Nezuko. “The more time you spent avoiding me the more I wanted you around.”
“Oh?” Nezuko squeaked. Kanao gave a hum.
“I realized that I cherish our moments together and when you weren’t there anymore it made me upset to think I wouldn’t have any more new moments to cherish that had you in them,” Kanao spoke softly, almost uncertain as she moved forward again.
Arms wrapped around Nezuko and soon she was engulfed in a gentle and tender hug from Kanao. Nezuko froze for only a second as her arms slowly wrapped around Kanao to bring her close.
“Please stop avoiding me, I don’t think I can take it anymore,” Kanao whispered desperately like a wish into Nezuko’s hair. The sound of her voice made Nezuko’s heart clench in guilt as Kanao squeezed Nezuko closer to her, keeping Nezuko from escaping.
Not that Nezuko wanted to escape. Hearing Kanao’s wish, and feeling Kanao’s trembling form around her, Nezuko swallowed her guilt and spoke.
“I’ll stop avoiding you, I’m sorry I caused you so much grief.” Nezuko held onto Kanao hoping to ease any pain Nezuko might’ve caused.
When they pulled away they walked home hand in hand talking about random things and Nezuko got to hear Kanao laugh again. She did slightly miss being in Kanao’s embrace but they have so much time for that later.
Watching the sunrise with Kanao right beside her Nezuko made a promise to keep making more cherished moments to make up for the moments she couldn’t get back.