Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They had met during her first week at Kimetsu Academy.

Truth be told, Kanao Tsuyuri’s first days at school were rough. Her rocky and traumatic childhood with her biological parents had meant that her social skills weren’t the greatest, so she never found herself speaking unless spoken to. She ended up eating lunch by herself on the floor for three days straight. It didn’t make her sad, but it definitely didn’t make her feel good either.

It’s okay, Tsuyuri thought to herself. I’m the new girl. I don’t matter to any of these students. It’s nothing worth crying over.

Everything changed on Thursday.

“Hi! My name is Tanjiro Kamado! You’re Kanao, right?”

A burgundy haired boy with a prominent scar on his forehead had joined her on the floor. He looked to be about the same age as Kanao, and she had seen him in a few of her classes. She thought it was extremely odd that he had approached her out of nowhere. Not only that, but he had remembered her name from class introductions.

He… remembered my name?

“…yes.”

“Nice to meet you! Wow, it’s very different down here on the cafeteria floor. It's a little dirty, but it’s a new perspective. Do you like it down here?”

Of course I don’t.

“…yes.”

“Ah! Well, I can stay here with you! Unless, you wouldn’t like that?”

Stay? With the random new girl on the dirty, dirty floor? Who is this kid?

“…I‘d like that.”

Tanjiro made himself comfortable as he opened his bento next to her. He grabbed some fatsia sprouts and began eating. Kanao was fascinated by the fact that this random boy, who surely had a table full of friends willing to eat with him, decided to spend his lunch period sitting with someone like her.

At first, they ate in silence. Kanao didn’t know how to initiate conversation, or if she even should. Suddenly, the boy finished chewing his food and spoke up.

“So, what do you like to do for fun?”

“For… fun?”

“Yeah! Like, if we didn’t have any schoolwork to worry about, and there were no chores or responsibilities to be had. What would you want to do?”

Kanao stared at him blankly.

“Um… I like blowing bubbles.”

Nice going, Kanao. The first person to willingly talk to you all week and you tell him you’re into blowing bubbles. What am I, five years old? He probably thinks I’m such a loser.

Tanjiro replied, “That sounds like a lot of fun! What kind of bubbles do you like to blow?”

Huh.

“Ummm… when I was really little, my oldest sister took me to a county fair and gave me a bubble wand. It made me really happy back then.”

Great job, you didn’t even answer his question.

Tanjiro laughed as he finished chewing again. His laugh was so sweet and innocent, definitely not something Kanao was expecting.

“Your sister sounds very sweet! How many siblings do you have?”

“I have two older sisters.”

“That sounds like fun! I’m the eldest son in our family. I have a younger sister named Nezuko, a younger brother named Takeo, another younger sister named Hanako, another younger brother named Shigeru, and yet another younger brother named Rokuta! They sure are a handful, but I love them very much...”

They ended up talking for the entire lunch period before heading to their next classes. Initially, Kanao had struggled to maintain conversation with Kamado. She was not used to casually conversing with many people aside from her sisters, but Tanjiro didn’t mind. He happily sat with her every day from then onward.

Sometimes they would talk about class. Other times he would patiently sit and enjoy his meal with her in silence, as he knew she wasn’t the most socially adept person in school. Still, she had grown very fond of his presence. It felt nice to have someone to actually talk to.

About a week later, Tanjiro had introduced his new friend to his entire friend group. Among them included Zenitsu Agatsuma, a timid yet passionate boy obsessed with his quest to find a girlfriend, Genya Shinazugawa, a larger transfer student with a surprisingly quiet resolve, and Inosuke Hashibira, a wild child who occasionally wore a literal boar headpiece around school.

Sure, they were a rowdy bunch. But Kanao had friends, all thanks to a kind hearted boy who decided to give her a chance.

———————————————-

One year later, that boy was now her best friend.

They were now freshmen in high school. He urged her to accompany him on several extracurricular events, where she continued to make friends and feel more comfortable at Kimetsu Academy. No longer would Kanao sit on the dirty cafeteria floors, but rather she would sit with her own group of new friends.

Still though, there was no one she would rather be alongside than Tanjiro Kamado.

The two walked to and from school together, as their houses were along the same route. She had visited his family’s bakery many times and gotten close to them as well, especially his younger sister, Nezuko.

Yes, Kanao was extremely happy with her new lifestyle and her new best friend…

…although she would be lying if she said she never daydreamed about them being something closer than frie-

———————————————-

“Kanao!”

“Huh?”

Kanao snapped up from her fantasies as soon as her older sister, Shinobu, called her attention.

“I asked you how your day was,” Shinobu said pressingly.

“Oh. It was good.”

The three Kocho sisters: the elder botany student, Kanae Kocho, the recent high school graduate, Shinobu Kocho, and their youngest little sister, Kanao Tsuyuri. Daughters of two of the most revered pharmaceutical scientists in all of Japan. Their parents often worked late, so the sisters once again found themselves eating as a trio on this chilly Sunday night.

“You’ve barely touched your dinner, Kanao!,” Kanae said with a smile.

“I’m not too hungry.”

“You’ve been quieter than usual ever since you got home from the Kamado bakery.”

“It wouldn’t have to do anything with the fact that the school dance is a few weeks away, would it?,” Shinobu added with a sly grin.

Kanao suddenly turned her attention to her food.

Of course it’s about the dance. And of course Shinobu would be the one to mention it.

Unlike blissfully unaware Kanae, Shinobu was always privy to watching Kanao and Tanjiro interact. She knew that Tanjiro was the sweetest boy in town and that he had been there for her younger sister through difficult times, so naturally she always imagined what it would be like if the two ever got together.

“No, it’s not about the dance.”

“I see…”

Kanae chipped in. “Well whatever it is you can always tell us!”

“Maybe she’s full from all of the constant bakery goods that Kamado boy gifts to her,” the middle child added with a teasing smirk.

“Nee-san!!!”

Shinobu laughed. Kanae laughed too, but she didn’t quite understand what Shinobu was implying.

———————————————-

The next day, Tanjiro and Kanao embarked on their normal routine to get to school.

“Nezuko is very set on convincing me to ask my parents to bring our family to visit America for my next birthday this summer. I can really tell that she wants to go!”

“Do you want to go?”

“I think it would be fun! But I would rather spend my birthday here though. I keep telling her that maybe she can ask to go for her birthday in December. That way it can double as a Christmas present too!”

Kanao giggled at Tanjiro’s statement. She continued enjoying his company until they both heard a loud voice approaching from behind them as they got closer to the school.

“MAKE WAY! LORD INOSUKE HASHIBIRA IS COMING THROUGH!”

The boar-headed child barged in-between Tanjiro and Kanao.

“Hey, Gonpachiro Kamaboko! Race me to school today or else!”

“Inosuke, I-“

“NEE-HA HA HA!”

The boar began sprinting ahead of them. Tanjiro turned to Kanao.

“I’m so sorry, Kanao! I gotta race him otherwise he’s going to be pouty for the rest of the day! And you know how Inosuke is when he’s pouty!”

Tanjiro took off after Inosuke. Kanao came to expect these kinds of antics from the rowdy friend group, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed that her time with Tanjiro was cut short. Nevertheless, Kanao pressed onwards to school.

———————————————-

First Period. Mr. Rengoku’s History Class.

Kyojuro Rengoku had a reputation for being a very… loud individual. Not to the point where he was annoying, far from it in fact; he was loved by almost all of his students. He taught history with a fiery passion that most other teachers seemed to lack. He drew the attention of his pupils and made them excited to learn about cultures of the past and grand wars of old.

“GOOD MORNING CLASS!,” he spoke with a booming voice.

“Good morning, Rengoku-san!,” the class boomed back.

Tanjiro sat at the front of the class, as expected for Rengoku’s favorite student. Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Genya were all towards the back of the class, where their antics could be kept to minimum disturbance. And Kanao sat on the far middle right, where she had a convenient view of her best friend at the front.

“WE HAVE MANY ANNOUNCEMENTS TO COVER BEFORE JUMPING INTO THE LESSON TODAY. FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TRACK TEAM FOR HAVING A RECORD BREAKING MEET LAST WEEK!”

The entire class cheered. Tanjiro, the captain of the track team, felt proud to have played a role in such a monumental event for the school’s relatively new track team.

“NEXT UP, I HAVE THE SCORES FROM LAST WEEK’S EXAM. IT MAKES MY HEART BURN WITH FLAMING JOY TO ANNOUNCE THAT ALL OF YOU PASSED!”

Another cheer from the entire class.

“FINALLY, AS I’M SURE YOU ARE ALL AWARE, THE KIMETSU ACADEMY ANNUAL SPRING FORMAL DANCE WILL TAKE PLACE TWO FRIDAYS FROM NOW. I HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO INFORM YOU ALL THAT TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE FOR THE EVENT!”

Instead of cheering, the class began muttering amongst themselves. A school dance obviously meant that romantic gossip was about to take the school by swarm.

“INDEED, I MYSELF WILL BE CHAPERONING AT THE DANCE. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL ENJOY A FUN-FILLED NIGHT OFJOYOUS FESTIVITIES AND ROMANTIC CIRCUMSTANCES!”

“Hmmm, I wonder who Zenitsu will try to ask out,” Genya said in a very sarcastic tone. The entire class laughed.

“Nezuko-chan will say yes to me! You’ll see! You’ll all see! I’ll have the best invitation that this school - no, all of JAPAN has ever seen!”

Tanjiro facepalmed as the rest of the class continued laughing. He wasn’t enthusiastic towards Zenitsu’s borderline obsession with his younger sister, but he was satisfied knowing that Nezuko has never been offended by it and always played along as if it were a running joke.

Rengoku eventually settled the class down enough to begin the lecture, but everyone’s minds were on the upcoming dance. Who was going to ask out who? What kind of drama was going to arise?

Tanjiro didn’t dedicate much thought to the dance, as his mind was already preoccupied by his grades, his upcoming track events, and his family’s bakery.

Kanao, however, was having an internal crisis.

Should I ask Tanjiro to the dance?

The one question that lingered in her mind for the entire class eventually spiraled into an unending barrage of questions.

Would it be weird if Tanjiro and I went together? He’s my best friend, after all. Would people think that it was weird for us to go as friends?

…

What if we went as more than friends?

The young student effectively snapped herself out of her thoughts before she let them continue, burying her head in her books for the rest of the school day.

Chapter Text

As the school day came to a close, students had already begun to purchase their tickets to the Kimetsu Academy Spring Formal Dance. Invitations and proposals even began to happen.

The bell for final period had rung, and students started racing to leave the academy. As Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke made their way through the crowded hallway, they bore witness to a very rushed but oddly sweet proposal between two older students. The boy had haphazardly thrown together a sign in art class, much to the dismay of the art teacher, Uzui Tengen. The student had probably rushed the sign so no one else would ask his date out before him. Regardless, she had said yes, and they were now celebrating in the middle of the hallway.

“Hmmm. What’s so special about a stupid dance anyways? Everyone always gets so bubbly and sappy,” implored a very annoyed Inosuke.

Zenitsu shook his head.

“You poor, poor, poor boar. You’ll never understand the true virtues of romance. As a connoisseur of the romantic arts myself, I pity your lost soul.”

Tanjiro and Inosuke looked at each other.

“I’m sorry, Monitsu, I don’t speak idiot.”

Zenitsu lunged at Inosuke in frustration before Tanjiro held him back.

“Well I think all these proposals are sweet! It’s nice to see people display their affection for each other,” Tanjiro added.

“Speaking of,” Zenitsu asked, “aren’t you going to go with anyone this year, Tanjiro?”

Truthfully, Tanjiro had never thought too hard about the dance in prior years. He had spent previous dances either helping his family cater the food or hanging out with his own friend group. He had found girls cute before, but always put his family first.

“I don’t know yet!,” Kamado said gleefully in return. “But I do know that I must continue working hard for both my family and my school! My parents have always told me that if I work hard and do well in school, then a good, honest girl is bound to find me someday!”

Zenistu rolled his eyes in disgust.

“The way I see it, you have to be the one to make the first move with girls. They love it when you do that kind of stuff for them. Shower them with unrelenting affection and attention. That’s the Agatsuma way!”

Inosuke roared into a fit of wheezing laughter.

“Oh yeah, listen to Monitsu over here. How many girlfriends have you had in your entire life again?”

“THAT’S IT YOU STUPID PIG! YOU’LL DIE FOR THAT!”

Zenitsu immediately charged Inosuke into a locker, and an all out brawl erupted.

“Come on guys…”

Tanjiro didn’t even bother trying to get between them, as he knew it would be a fruitless endeavor. As he glanced to the side, however, he caught sight of someone who could take his mind off of his embarrassing friends.

“Kanao!”

“Eh?”

Tanjiro quickly ran up to Kanao, startling her a little bit.

“Oh! Uh- I mean, hi Tanjiro!” She looked past him to the ensuing ruckus. “Uh… are your friends okay?”

Tanjiro sighed. “They’ll be fine. Coach Tomioka will probably smack them into place… again. Wanna head home?”

Kanao smiled. “Yeah.”

———————————————-

As the two students left school on their journey home, Kanao hardly spoke a word. Tanjiro, as observant as ever, had noticed that his friend was quieter than usual. However, he understood that despite a whole year of growth, Kanao still needed a break from social interaction from time to time. He happily smiled and enjoyed the peaceful silence between them.

Meanwhile, Kanao couldn't help but let her thoughts on the dance linger a little longer, for better or for worse.

What if he thinks that us going together is, you know… weird? I feel like that might be awkward. Would he still want to walk home with me every day? I don’t know if that’s something I could afford to lose…

She looked at him for a brief second. His eyes were wandering all over the street, sparkling full of wonder and excitement despite walking the same route hundreds of times. Suddenly, he turned to look at her and smiled. Kanao immediately looked away, flustered beyond belief. Tanjiro laughed sheepishly and continued looking around.

But at the same time…

“Do you wanna stop by the bakery before you head back to your house?”

Tanjiro almost always insisted that Kanao grab a bite to eat from the Kamado family bakery. He and his family would always have her try all kinds of new baked goods. She accepted his invitation, even though she was literally there yesterday.

“Sure! Do you guys start anything new this week?”

“Not this week, but my mom is going to start rolling out the spring menu soon next week, and I’m sure we can make an exception and prepare something from that menu early for you!”

“Tanjiro, you don’t have to do that for me.”

“I know! But I want to though.”

How can any human being be this sweet? It has to be a crime against human nature or something.

“I’ll guess I’ll take something, but please don’t bother yourself to prepare something new for me! I’ll be more than happy with some leftovers.”

“Okay!,” Tanjiro said with an excited smile.

A very cute excited smile. Wait what.

The duo eventually found their way into the Kamado bakery, which was conveniently joined with the Kamado household. Having a home directly connected to a family bakery may have sounded crowded to some, especially if that family consisted of eight members. Fortunately, the Kamados wouldn’t have had it any other way. The young schoolmates walked through the main bakery door, where Nezuko had arrived just minutes prior.

“Hi onii-chan! Kanao-chan!”

“Hello Nezuko! Did mom and dad already close for the day?”

“Yup! They’re upstairs now. I just got home, but do you guys need anything?”

“No thanks! I was just gonna run to the back and grab some leftovers that didn’t sell today for Kanao.”

Nezuko’s expression turned a little sad.

“Oh, I’m sorry, onii-chan. Mom let Rokuta and Shigeru eat them all already.”

“That’s okay!”

He turned to Kanao.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make you something in the back? It’ll only take a few minutes, I promise!”

Kanao was very flattered, but she wasn’t all that hungry at the moment. Besides, she would hate for Tanjiro to do extra work after a long day at school just for her.

“I’m really okay! I should probably be heading home anyways,” she said as she started heading towards the door.

“Okay! See you tomorrow!”

“Bye!”

———————————————-

The walk home from the Kamado bakery wasn’t very long, fortunately. It was short enough for Kanao to feel safe walking the whole distance home by herself, or at least in broad daylight. The short trip gave her time to reflect on whatever circumstances came with the school day. Or, in this case, it gave Kanao more time to think about the dance.

I shouldn’t do it. I’m just imagining things. Tanjiro Kamado is my best friend, and if there’s any risk in changing that because of my dumb feeling, then it’s not worth it. End of discussion.

She hadn’t even walked five meters before she started reconsidering.

But… I don’t exactly understand why I can’t shake this feeling. This feeling that I want to be beside him more. This feeling that maybe I want more hugs, not just on the days that I’m feeling sad. This feeling that I want to hold his hand and have the confidence to call his laugh cute.

Kanao sighed.

She turned the corner leading up to her home and spotted a peculiar object on the ground. It was a coin.

She reached over to pick it up, inspecting it to see if it was dirty. It appeared to be a 10 yen coin. And on the contrary, it was quite shiny. She considered pocketing it and moving along her way before thinking to herself.

If this is somebody’s coin, they might come back to look for it. Even if it’s only 10 yen.

Kanao continued inspecting the coin until she had a random idea.

Heads, I ask Tanjiro to the dance. Tails, I don’t.

With a strong flick, she flipped it fairly high into the air. It spun, and spun, and spun, and spun all the way until she caught it on its way down. She looked at the result.

Tails.

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little disappointed, but it didn't matter. She had her answer.

Kanao placed the coin back where she found it and continued on her way home.

Chapter Text

The Butterfly Mansion.

The classy home of the distinguished medical geniuses, Mr. and Mrs. Kocho. The architecture was modern, but also quite classical. It wasn’t large and filled with needless rooms like most other mansions; in fact, it was pretty much the size of any regular suburban house. They didn’t have a pool, or an in-house bar, or any other fancy features.

So… why was it called the Butterfly Mansion if it wasn’t even technically a mansion?

The short answer was that Mr. Kocho liked the way it sounded. The long answer was that it felt like a mansion to its inhabitants. The Kocho family filled those walls to the brim with hominess, love, and care. After Kanao was adopted, she immediately fell in love with the place and the people in it.

———————————————-

Kanao had stepped inside to find her older sister, Shinobu, watching a movie on the couch.

Shinobu Kocho was an interesting person. A recent high school graduate and now hard-working college student, she could be described as simultaneously the sweetest and most intimidating person around.  She managed to be stubborn, brash, and bold, but also sweet, hard-working, and caring at the same time. She also had a deep fear of both cats and dogs.

“How was your day?”

“Good,” Kanao replied, “sorry I was a little late, Tanjiro’s friends were fighting in the hallway.”

“Did Tomioka-san break them up?”

“Probably. We didn’t stick around long enough to find out. You know how strict Coach Tomioka is though.”

Shinobu scoffed.

“Yeah. I’m still surprised the school hired that bum almost immediately after graduating high school. I guess they were really desperate for a PE teacher.”

Shinobu and Giyu Tomioka had, in fact, dated for over a year and a half during and after their senior year of high school. All of the Kocho family loved him and were sad to hear that Shinobu decided to end the relationship. Their breakup wasn’t bloody or toxic by any stretch of the imagination, but it was ultimately necessary for both of them to grow as individuals.

Of course, that didn’t mean Shinobu would ever pass up a chance to make fun of her stoic ex-boyfriend.

“Did you go anywhere else after school?”

Kanao was hesitant to answer, almost as if she smelled the incoming teasing from her sister. Regardless, she still answered.

“...t-the Kamado bakery.”

“HA! Really? Weren’t you just there yesterday?”

“...y-y-yeah. But Tanjiro invited me back there today. He really wanted to treat me to some of their spring menu, but I insisted that I was fine.”

Shinobu sneered and started baby-talking.

“Awwww my widdle babee sister and her boyfwenddddd!”

Kanao looked away in embarrassment.

“Nee-san, you know it’s not like that.”

“Well, the spring formal is coming up.”

“And?”

“...and I’m just saying, the timing couldn’t be better. The cherry blossoms are going to bloom soon, romance is in the air. If you have feelings for him, you better step it up before somebody else does.”

Crap. I never considered that.

“I don’t have feelings for my best friend, nee-san.”

She started walking to her room as Shinobu called to her one last time.

“Not yet you don’t!”

Kanao closed the door to her room as she thought about what Shinobu said.

“Romance is in the air…” huh. What if somebody else askes Tanjiro to the dance? He’s pretty popular, being captain of the track team and all… not to mention being the sweetest boy in school…

Those thoughts continued to flood poor Kanao’s head as she struggled to start her homework.

———————————————-

Meanwhile, at the Kamado household, Tanjiro and Nezuko helped set the table for dinner.

The other Kamado siblings, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta were found crowded around their television playing some cartoon racing video game. Their hyper-competitiveness made Tanjiro laugh as he continued fixing the dishes for their meal.

Nezuko turned to her brother and asked him a question.

“Onii-chan, are you planning on asking anybody to the spring formal dance?”

Tanjiro thought for a second before answering.

“I’m not sure! I haven’t thought about it too much. I’m not sure I will, but I’ll probably go anyway with my friends.”

“What about Kanao-chan?”

Tanjiro stopped whatever he was doing to look at his sister.

“Eh? Kanao?”

“Yeah! What about her?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe not.”

Nezuko looked a little disappointed. She loved Kanao like a sister, so much so that she even had a dream one night where they were sister-in-laws. Ever since that night, Nezuko had been subtly trying to get her brother and her future sister-in-law together.

“Awww. Why not?”

“She might think it’s weird for us to go together. We already get made fun of enough at school, how everyone jokes that we’re a couple. I can tell it makes her pretty uncomfortable, so I most likely won’t so I can spare her from all of that.”

Disappointed as she may have been, she respected her older brother’s decision and understood why he felt that way.

“Ah, I see. You’re so thoughtful, onii-chan!”

Tanjiro let out a small laugh.

“I try to be! I hate making people sad, angry, or uncomfortable, so it’s my job to think of what I can do to avoid that!”

The boy was suddenly reminded of what his friend said at school.

“Speaking of making people uncomfortable, I think Zenitsu is going to try to ask you to the dance. Just a heads up.”

“Oh, I figured!” Nezuko said with a smile.

Tanjiro looked at her intensely.

“Nezuko… you’re not seriously considering saying yes to him, are you?”

“We’ll have to see! He can be sweet at times, you know.”

“But Nezuko… this is Zenitsu we’re talking about.”

Nezuko laughed.

“I know! Relax, onii-chan. If I say yes, we’ll only be going as friends!”

Tanjiro didn’t know whether to feel relieved or concerned. Regardless, they finished setting up the table and all sat down for dinner.

As they ate, Tanjiro thought about what Nezuko had said to him. While going to the dance with Kanao would be fun, the eldest Kamado boy was afraid that she would get made fun of once again. He knew that although she had been getting better, she still suffered from social anxiety and trauma-induced panic attacks. He always did his best to look after her, going so much as to answer her phone calls at 3:00 in the morning if she couldn’t fall asleep. Aside from that, he really cherished their friendship and her company. He decided that keeping her comfortable was his priority, even if it meant they couldn’t go to the dance together.

Oh, if he only knew…

Chapter Text

The next day had arrived, and Kanao found herself waiting outside of the Kamado home for Tanjiro.

It wasn’t unusual for her to wait a little while longer, since Tanjiro helped his siblings prepare for school too. One time, he had taken so long that they had both ended up being late. When Tanjiro asked why Kanao didn’t just head to school without him, she said it would’ve been rude to leave him behind. From that day on, he told her to leave him behind if he wasn’t out of the house by 8:10.

Kanao was on her phone to pass the time. She had been texting her cousin, Aoi Kanzaki, for a few days. Aoi was visiting Shanghai with her father, Mr. Kocho’s brother.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 7:58AM

When are you getting back?

Aoi Kanzaki, 7:58AM

I think the 1st or the 2nd, so before the dance lol

Kanao Tsuyuri, 7:58AM

Ah. Are you going?

Aoi Kanzaki, 7:58AM

to where

Kanao Tsuyuri, 7:59AM

The dance.

Aoi Kanzaki, 7:59AM

OH LMAO. yeah im going. hbu

Kanao Tsuyuri, 7:59AM

Probably. Maybe. I don’t know.

Kanao continued texting Aoi until she noticed something shiny on the ground. She leaned down to pick it up before promptly realizing what it was.

Oh.

Another coin. How curious.

She held the coin in her hand, wondering if this was the universe’s way of getting her to reconsider the result of her coin flip the prior day.

Well, it can’t hurt to flip again.

Same deal. Heads, I ask Tanjiro. Tails, I don’t.

Kanao flipped the coin in the air, albeit slightly lower this time. She caught the spinning coin with her right hand and slapped it on top of her left, revealing the result.

Tails again.

“Hey, Kanao!”

“AH!”

Tanjiro practically scared the girl half to death. She was so mesmerized by her made-up coin toss bet that she hadn’t noticed him walk up next to her. It was pretty much like teleportation in her head. The boy laughed at her sudden reaction.

“Sorry, haha. I didn’t mean to scare you. Were you flipping a coin just now?”

Kanao immediately threw the coin as far as she possibly could.

“NOPE!”

Tanjiro looked puzzled.

“Uhhh… I’m not going to judge you for flipping a coin, you know that right?”

“Ah… sorry. I was just a little startled.”

“That’s okay! Were you trying to determine something by flipping the coin, or just flipping it for fun?”

Kanao tensed up.

“Just for fun. I guess.”

———————————————-

Third Period. Mr. Shinazugawa’s Math Class.

If there was one teacher feared the most by the students of Kimetsu Academy, it was Sanemi Shinazugawa, brother of Genya Shinazugawa. Not only did he teach math, the most hated subject to the average student, but he was passionate about math.

Oh, and also students didn’t like pronouncing his last name.

“Good morning, students,” the teacher said in a monotone voice.

“Good morning, Mr. Shinazugawa,” the class responded in an equally monotone voice.

“Well the class average on the last exam was… horrendous… it’s not like I expected anything else.” The man grumbled in frustration, but he expected it to happen. “You can thank the three or four students who actually give a shit about their grade that the class average isn’t lower. Speaking of which… Tsuyuri.”

Kanao tensed up at the mention of her last name.

“Yes, sir?”

“Congratulations on receiving the only A in the class. Only missed one question, number 16.”

“Oh, thank you, sir.”

Because she was an exceptionally hard worker and the opposite of a troublemaker, Kanao had always been Mr. Shinazugawa’s favorite student. That, and Mr. Shinazugawa was very close to her older sister, Kanae Kocho. The two talked often, and there were even rumors that they liked each other.

“Now, since you brats don’t seem to comprehend the functions we went over last week, we are going to pair up into partners and you are going to complete these equation tables. They are due at the end of class, no exceptions.”

The class seemed excited at the idea of working with partners. Perhaps the smart kids could team up with the slackers for a free grade. However…

“Oh yeah, one more thing. You guys are going to choose partners out of this bowl. That way no one is hoarding around Kanao or the other halfway decent students.”

The class groaned and slowly started passing around the bowl. As it got closer to Kanao, she found herself hoping that she would be partnered with Tanjiro. She drew a name out of the bowl.

Zenitsu Agatsuma.

Soon, the class split up and started working on their assignments together.

“Thanks again for helping me on this assignment, Kanao-san. God, Mr. Shinazugawa hates me.”

“Of course,” Kanao replied. “And he doesn’t hate you. He just is very passionate about math and pushing his students to success.”

“He doesn’t have to be such a hard-ass about it though,” Zenitsu said with a frown. “I hate math so much, and he knows that. I’ve never been good at it, and I never will be good at it. I feel like I’m going to die before I even begin to understand these equation table assignments.”

“Hey, they’re not that hard. Look, we’ll start right here with the-”

Something else caught Kanao’s eye from the other side of the room. Tanjiro was partnered with another girl in their class, and they were laughing. Kanao suddenly felt a heavy weight fall on her.

Why do I feel so tense right now? Tanjiro’s just talking to a girl, just as I am talking to Zenitsu. It’s not a big deal.

…if it’s not a big deal, then why am I still watching them?

Kanao’s stare was suddenly broken by Zenitsu.

“Uhhh, Kanao-san?”

“...”

“Hello?”

“Ah! I apologize. I was just… distracted.”

Please don’t turn around, please don’t turn around, please don’t turn around-

Zenitsu turned around to see what she was looking at. Immediately, he turned to her with the most abnormal expression she had ever seen. It was a mix of pride, shock, horror, smug, and cockiness.

“Kanao-san… are you jealous?”

Kanao immediately turned red in embarrassment and slapped Zenitsu across the face. The whole class turned and looked in silence.

Nice going.

She felt all of the eyes of the classroom staring at her. Most importantly, she felt Tanjiro’s eyes staring at her. She felt like she could die of embarrassment, when all of a sudden she heard a raspy laugh from the teacher’s desk.

“Wow, Tsuyuri,” Mr. Shinazugawa cackled, “we all knew Agatsuma was stupid, but I never expected him to be so stupid that you of all people had to put him in his place!”

The entire class laughed. Kanao felt bad.

“Alright you lot, back to work!,” Mr. Shinazugawa barked before resuming his paperwork.

When all the commotion settled, Kanao didn’t stop apologizing to Zenitsu.

“Zenitsu, I am so sorry. I’m not a violent person, you know that. I don’t know what came over me, I would never do that. I’m so sorry that Mr. Shinazugawa called you out in front of the whole class, and-”

“Kanao-san! It’s okay, really. I’m not mad at all.”

“...you’re not?”

“Of course not! I’m no stranger to public ridicule, I can handle it. And besides…”

“...besides?”

He turned to her with a sly smile.

“...the fact that you hit me probably means I’m right, doesn’t it?”

Kanao immediately buried her face in her hands.

“...please don’t tell anyone about this, Zenitsu. Please.”

“Don’t worry, I promise I won’t! Who do you think I am, some school bully who goes around spreading rumors? Whatever you’re hiding, it’s safe with me. Although, if you really feel that way… I’d suggest being less subtle about your feelings. Tanjiro is a bit of an oblivious block-head, you know?”

“But I don’t even-”

Both Kanao and Zenitsu noticed Mr. Shinazugawa began prowling the classroom, inspecting to see if students were being attentive to their work. Afraid of being yelled at yet again, Zenitsu decided to halt their conversation and focus on their work. Kanao’s mind, however, was still racing.

Jealous? Me? No… I can’t be. Tanjiro Kamado is the sweetest boy I know. He goes out of his way to help anyone and everyone. It’s in his nature. They were just laughing.

...but why does it matter so much to me? Can my best friend not laugh with someone else? God, I’m so selfish. I’m not supposed to feel this way. What is wrong with me?

One thing was for sure, though. Although he had been slapped and ridiculed in front of the entire class, Zenitsu finally passed an equation table assignment thanks to Kanao.

Chapter Text

Needless to say, the rest of the school day was a little awkward following ‘The Great Zenitsu Slap’ in Mr. Shinazugawa’s mathematics class.

Kanao still felt really bad, despite Zenitsu telling her multiple times that it was completely fine with him. There was one issue, though. Inosuke, who had been in the bathroom during the incident, kept begging Kanao to repeat the action all day long.

“PLEASE, HANAO! I need to see it with my own eyes!”

“Inosuke, for the last time, I am not going to slap Zenitsu again. And it’s Kanao, by the way.”

“I’m begging you, Hanao! I can’t do it myself because I always attack him! I want to see such a gentle and soft soul like you do it with your own hands!”

Zenitsu, obviously, was not enthused about that part. Still, he kept his promise to Kanao and refused to tell anyone about the reason she slapped him in the first place.

———————————————-

After the last period of the day, Tanjiro found himself helping the PE Coach, Giyu Tomioka, put away equipment before heading home.

Giyu was a quiet young man who didn’t open himself up much to others. His reputation as ‘the strict PE teacher’ was enough to make several students afraid of him, but truthfully, there was a soft sadness to him. He lived alone, as his two best friends, Sabito and Makomo, were studying abroad in America. He didn’t have many friends or high-self esteem, but Tanjiro still enjoyed his company.

“Where do you want me to put this, Tomioka-san?,” Tanjiro asked, lifting a heavy piece of exercise equipment.

“Put it behind the bigger weights in the storage closet.”

“Okay! You got it!”

Tanjiro was perhaps the only person in the entire school who genuinely enjoyed talking to Giyu. He would tell the PE Coach about his day, and about his family’s bakery, and about his classes, and about everything else there possibly could’ve been to talk about. Giyu, while nowhere as talkative as Tanjiro, listened to him as if he were his little brother.

“Where is all this equipment going during the dance next week?,” Tanjiro asked.

Giyu shrugged.

“I have no idea. Principal Kagaya asked me to chaperone today.”

“Are you going to?”

“I guess so. I don’t have anything else going on.”

Tomioka looked at Tanjiro. The burgundy haired boy’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Wow, this is big for you, Tomioka-san! You’re going to a dance!”

“I’m a chaperone.”

“Still! When was the last time you went to a dance?”

Giyu remembered fairly well. The Spring Formal Dance of his senior year of high school. He had asked Shinobu, his girlfriend at the time, by giving her a bouquet of flowers arranged to look like a butterfly.

“I went with Kocho during my senior year. It was fun, I guess.”

“You guys are still friends… right?”

Giyu thought for a moment as the two of them started picking up excess dodgeballs.

“Yeah.”

“That’s nice! I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I wouldn’t know what it was like. But even then, I can’t imagine breaking up with someone and not being friends with them afterwards.”

Giyu laughed at the boy’s innocent mindset.

“Well there’s a lot more to relationships than you think,” Giyu said. “Sometimes it’s not all black and white. One minute you’re in love… and then the next it’ll hurt like hell.”

Giyu’s face fell during that last part, and Tanjiro noticed. So he decided not to converse about that part.

“Tomioka-san…”

“Hm?”

“What does it feel like to be in love?”

“I’d assumed you already knew, seeing how you interact with Kocho’s sister.”

Tanjiro was taken aback and jokingly threw a dodgeball at Giyu.

“I think you just want me to be with Kanao so you can be closer to Shinobu-san again!”

Giyu smirked as he retaliated by throwing a dodgeball back at Tanjiro. The two ended up throwing dodgeballs at each other for a full five minutes instead of cleaning up.

———————————————-

Kanao stood beside the school entrance gate, waiting for Tanjiro to walk back home with her. He was a little late, but Kanao didn’t mind. In fact, she hardly noticed. Her mind was still cluttered with Zenitsu’s words from their mishap in Mr. Shinazugawa’s class. She replayed the entire scene in her head about a hundred times, although she was particularly focused on one word:

Jealous.

Zenitsu called me jealous. I can’t be jealous. That would make me a bad person, right? I don’t like feeling like this. Tanjiro isn’t an object that can be mine or some other girl’s. He’s a living, breathing, human being. I don’t want to feel like this anymo-

“Kanao!”

Tanjiro approached Kanao smiling and, very oddly, out of breath.

“Sorry for being late, I was helping Tomioka-san clean up and we ended up playing a full round of dodgeball by ourselves.”

Dang it, he’s cute. I mean what.

Kanao laughed and told him that it was okay. The two eventually began the journey home, but something was… different. Almost everything Tanjiro did or said gave Kanao little butterflies in her stomach, infinitely more so than usual. Not to mention, the spring flowers had chosen a convenient day to start blooming.

“Kanao, look!”

“Huh?”

Tanjiro brought Kanao aside to look at newly bloomed pink wisteria, hanging gracefully from a cluster of trees. They glimmered in the evening sun, making their pink color pop even more against the darker colors of the trees.

“They’re beautiful,” Kanao whispered.

Tanjiro looked at her. Was there something about the lighting during the time of day? Or the compliments of the pink wisteria? Or the way her eyes shone as she admired the flowers? Whatever it was, Tanjiro caught himself staring for too long. She looked back at him, and for a brief moment, their eyes locked.

They both jumped back and looked away slightly flustered. There wasn’t much awkward silence, though, since Tanjiro followed up with a question.

“So, Miss Flower Expert, what do pink wisteria symbolize?”

Ever since she was adopted, Kanao would bond with Kanae over their love of flowers. Kanae would explain the flowers and all of their meanings to Kanao, and Kanao would always memorize them without fail. When she and Tanjiro became friends, she would explain the significance of certain flowers they saw. She knew each and every one by heart, which is why it came as no surprise that she almost immediately remembered that pink wisteria symbolized-

Romance.

Uh oh.

Tanjiro noticed she took longer than usual to respond.

“Uh… Kanao?”

“...I forgot.”

She did not forget.

“Wow, that’s a first! I guess I finally stumped you after all!”

“Yeah, haha. I guess I’ll have to ask Kanae when I get home…”

They continued the walk home after admiring the flowers for a little longer. For some reason, she enjoyed their walk home more than usual. The weather was nice, there was no pesky Inosuke challenging Tanjiro to a footrace, and the flowers were blooming.

“So,” Tanjiro said, “I never asked, but what was the deal with Zenitsu during math class?”

“Oh? Oh… that.”

“You’d never hit anyone, not even playfully. Did Zenitsu say something that upset you?”

“N-No! Not at all. It was nothing big. Something math related.”

Tanjiro looked at her with concern.

“Kanao, I know you well enough to know when you aren’t telling the full truth. Do you want to talk about it? Do I need to talk to him?”

No way of getting around it now. Might as well come clean.

“...he caught me staring at you and your partner and called me jealous.”

Tanjiro’s expression shifted from concern to confusement to shock all in the space of that one sentence. And then… he laughed.

“Jealous? Why would you be jealous?”

“I don’t know. I guess he thought I was jealous of the girl you were working with.”

“And so… you slapped him?”

Kanao looked ashamed. She hadn’t expected to be this upfront about what happened. She wished it never happened and they could go about their day as usual. But nope. She had to say something or else he would catch on.

“I guess I was a little jealous. I wanted to be partners with you instead. Even though I liked working with Zenitsu and explaining the equations to him, I figured we could get the work done quicker if you and I worked together.”

Oh yeah. Because this is definitely about math.

Tanjiro laughed again.

“Ah, I see. I thought he meant you were jealous about me with another girl. That’s about how much I would’ve expected with Zenitsu.”

Zenitsu most certainly meant that.

After more walking, Tanjiro and Kanao eventually got to the Kamado home and bakery.

“Do you want to come in? We might have some extras today!,” Tanjiro said with his trademark grin of hospitality.

“I think I’m good today. Maybe another day though!”

“Okay!”

She wanted to hug him goodbye. She had never felt that urge before. She started moving closer to him before stopping herself, questioning every life choice that brought her to that moment.

“I’ll be heading home now then,” she said as she pulled away.

“Oh, before you go!”

He pulled out a few pink wisteria petals and presented them to her.

“I picked these up since they fell off the flowers earlier! I thought you could show them to Kanae-san to help identify their meaning!”

Kanao stared at the petals.

Romance.

She laughed shyly before taking them.

“Thank you, Tanjiro,” she said with a flustered smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!”

———————————————-

Kanao held the delicate wisteria petals in her hands before carefully putting them in a zip-sealed baggie in her backpack. They were small and fragile, but they meant a lot to her because of their deeper meaning and their gifter. After ensuring that the bag was in a spot in her bag where the petals wouldn’t wouldn’t get crushed, she continued home.

Thoughts of the borderline magical pink wisteria moment danced in her head as she wondered if Tanjiro actually knew the meaning of the flower.

There’s no way he would've known what it meant… right? Even if he didn’t, why am I so giddy after all that? My best friend just gave me petals from a flower... that symbolizes romance… right.

She didn’t know whether to feel happy, scared, or an odd mix of both. She had never had feelings for a boy before, much less someone as special to her as Tanjiro Kamado. But at the same time, she didn’t know whether to entertain these feelings or let them dance freely.

What if I’m overthinking things? If I act on this feeling, and he doesn’t feel the same way, I might lose my best friend. But if he does, and I don’t say anything, and somebody else asks him to the dance… Augh, stupid pink wisteria flower…

Kanao turned the corner leading up to the Butterfly Mansion before noticing something at her feet.

The coin from yesterday.

She took a deep breath and picked it up.

Why am I doing this a third time?

She flipped the coin into the air.

The previous two results were tails, I should leave it at that.

She watched as the coin spun rapidly in the air.

...do I keep doing it because I keep hoping it lands on heads?

She caught the coin and slammed it against her other hand. Unlike the previous two times, she was scared to look at the result.

Why am I so scared all of a sudden? Does it really matter what the outcome is if I keep flipping and flipping each time I see a coin just because I hope one day it’ll land on-

She moved her hand.

...Heads.

Oh no.

Chapter Text

Heads. The coin had landed on heads.

Okay. I’m going to do it. I’m going to ask for help.

Kanao entered the living room of the Butterfly Mansion, where Shinobu was studying for her college exams on the couch.

“Nee-san.”

Shinobu turned to Kanao. “Oh, hey! Did you need something from me?”

Kanao stiffened up and took a deep breath.

“Can I… talk to you?”

“Of course!”

Shinobu realized this was probably a more serious topic than she was prepared for. She wondered why her little sister didn’t ask Kanae or anyone else in the family instead. Regardless, she moved her things aside and motioned for her little sister to join her on the couch.

“What did you wanna talk about?”

“…”

“Uhhh, Kanao?”

“…”

Kanao sat still for a while before finally finding the courage to say it:

“…I think I want to ask Tanjiro to the dance.”

Shinobu immediately shot up out of her seat.

“AHHHH! AHAAAA! I WAS RIGHT! I KNEW IT! OH MAN FINALLY! YESSS! I WAS RIGHT THE ENTIRE TI-”

The overly excited Kocho looked down at her sister, who was blushing beat red, covering her face in her hands, and quivering from pure embarrassment.

“-oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to react so loudly like that.”

Kanao didn’t respond. She was too embarrassed to even look at her sister. Naturally, Shinobu felt very bad. She hugged Kanao tightly as she apologized.

“Hey… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, you know it. I’m happy for you! I’m really happy for you! This is a big deal for you, and I just got a little overexcited!”

“…o…nk it’s… pid…ea…”

“What?”

Kanao slowly moved her hands away from her face, revealing she was still extremely red.

“…do you think it’s a stupid idea…”

Shinobu squeezed her sister tighter.

“What? No! Of course not! Tanjiro is a great guy, everybody knows that. You two are very close, and you’re both around the age where teens like you develop these kinds of feelings!”

Shinobu stopped herself and asked an important question.

“Wait… did you mean go to the dance as friends or…”

For the first time since she told Shinobu her plan, Kanao nervously looked her sister in the eyes.

“…I think I like him, nee-san. Like… really like him…”

Shinobu couldn’t help but squeal with excitement.

———————————————-

Meanwhile, at the Kamado household, Tanjiro had just finished helping Takeo and Hanako with their homework. He had already finished his own homework during free period, so he figured he would be useful by helping his siblings.

On his way to his room, he ran into Nezuko.

“Oh, did you finish helping Takeo and Hanako with their homework already?”

“Yeah! It was pretty easy, and they seemed to understand the concept, so that’s good.”

“That’s good!”

All of a sudden, Nezuko spotted something peculiar.

“Onii-chan? What is that on the floor?”

“Huh?”

Tanjiro turned around and was surprised to see a slightly-crushed pink wisteria petal laying on the floor behind him. He eagerly but carefully picked it up.

“Oh! This is a wisteria petal. I thought I gave all of them to Kanao, but I guess one must’ve still been in my pocket. I’m not sure why it fell out now of all times though.”

“You gave them to Kanao-san?”

Tanjiro nodded with excitement. “Yes! We saw them blooming on the way back home from school. I found a few petals on the ground near the flowers, so I picked some up and gave them to her. I know this one is kind of crushed, but isn’t it pretty?”

Nezuko inspected the petal closely as her brother handed it to her.

“It sure is!”

“Kanao forgot the symbolism behind this flower, which was surprising since she usually knows what each and every kind of flower represents. I guess her mind was a little scattered after she slapped Zenitsu.”

“She what???”

Tanjiro laughed sheepishly. “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you over dinner. Do you want this petal?”

Nezuko shook her head. “I’d rather you keep it so you can match with her!”

Tanjiro carefully took the petal back before he entered his room and closed the door. Nezuko, on the other hand, thought it was strange that Kanao had simply ‘forgotten’ the meaning of such a beautiful flower. As curious as ever, she whipped out her phone and searched ‘pink wisteria flower meaning’ on the internet.

As soon as she saw what it meant, she nearly dropped her phone out of excitement.

———————————————-

Shinobu sat on the edge of her seat as Kanao continued talking about her day.

“He asked if I really was jealous, so I just told him that I was jealous of the fact that he had a different partner for math and we could’ve finished our work faster if we worked together.”

Shinobu couldn’t help but laugh. “Did he buy that?”

“I guess so. He didn’t seem phased by it.”

“Okay, now answer this: were you actually jealous?”

“...maybe. I don’t know. I feel bad for thinking that I could’ve been. Tanjiro is his own person. He can talk to whoever he wants. But for whatever reason, I just felt uncomfortable looking at them. I don’t understand why, nee-san.”

Shinobu smiled before taking her sister’s hand.

“Kanao… it’s natural to feel this way. When you really, really like someone, sometimes it can be hard to watch them be affectionate with someone else. You’ll get a weird feeling in your stomach, or even feel a bit lightheaded. That’s the part of you that longs for them. Believe me, I’ve been there.”

“But… I don’t know nee-san. I feel really selfish for having these thoughts. And what if he doesn’t like me back? I would feel so bad...”

“Do you think he likes you back?”

“I don’t know… I don’t even know if it’s worth risking our friendship to ask him out...”

The older Kocho could tell that her sister was stressed out by all of the hypothetical situations. Shinobu was never the best with verbal reinforcement like Kanae was, but she figured that a bit of personal experience could go a long way.

“You know, before my relationship with Tomioka-san, there was this girl in my junior year of high school. She was the most loving, joyful, and caring person in our friend group. She also had the most beautiful pink and green hair I had ever seen and I had the biggest, fattest crush on her. The spring formal dance was coming up, and I really wanted to ask her out. But stupid 11th grade Shinobu couldn’t muster up the courage, and the pink-haired goddess ended up going with this one guy in our friend group that she had been crushing on for, like, a full year. And apparently they’re still together to this day.”

Shinobu looked downwards.

“I’m over it now, obviously. They’re a great couple. They love each other very much and I’m really happy for both of them. But sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I actually did something. Would we still be together to this day too? Or would it have ended up like Tomioka...”

Shinobu paused for a second before turning to Kanao. She was slightly shocked to see that her younger sister had a look of surprise on her face.

“What?”

“...you’re bi?”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT OF THE STORY!”

“I didn’t know that! That’s really cool, nee-san!”

“KANAO!”

Kanao laughed, and Shinobu jokingly hit her before laughing too.

“Do you get what I’m trying to say though? You’ll never know if you don’t take that leap. Tanjiro is a lovely boy, and I know he means a lot to you. The last thing I want is for you to regret not doing anything, spending hours wondering what could have been, because trust me…”

Shinobu looked off to the side.

“...it’s not fun.”

Kanao followed her look. She couldn’t help but wonder if her sister was really over it or if she was just saying that. Shinobu turned back to Kanao.

“You understand?”

Kanao grabbed her older sister by surprise and pulled her into a hug.

“I do. Thank you nee-san.”

“-errrm… you’re welcome.”

Finally, Kanao had made up her mind.

I’m going to ask Tanjiro Kamado to the dance.

Chapter Text

The next two days were surprisingly uneventful... for the most part.

Spring Formal proposals seemed to happen in the hallway almost every passing period. Some students accepted their invitation with glee, while others had to deal with the cold sting of rejection. In one particular instance on Thursday, Tanjiro’s friend group bore witness to one girl’s rejection that went so badly that Coach Tomioka had to step in to intervene.

“Geez,” Genya said sympathetically. “I’d hate to be that girl.”

Zenitsu chipped in. “You know, you don’t see very many girl’s proposals that go successfully. Nine times out of ten, the rejectee is the man.”

Everyone looked at Zenitsu with a concerned expression. Inosuke gave out a snarky laugh.

“How many beautiful women have you turned down then, Monitsu?”

Genya responded before Zenitsu could defend himself.

“He’s probably just making up that statistic to cover up all the times he’s been rejected.”

“THAT’S NOT TRUE! AND EVEN IF IT WAS, IT WOULDN’T MATTER! I’M PLANNING SOMETHING SO BOMBASTIC AND PASSIONATE THAT NEZUKO-CHAN CAN’T REFUSE!"

———————————————-

With all of the proposals and rejections going around the school, it was no wonder that Kanao continued to feel anxious as the week progressed. Having made up her mind to ask Tanjiro to the dance, all that was left for her to do was to actually do it.

The youngest member of the Kocho family dedicated every second she wasn’t doing academics to thinking of the perfect way to ask her best-friend-turned-crush out. Shinobu had helped her brainstorm some ideas, but nothing they came up with felt natural. Truthfully, Kanao’s perfect proposal would be to ask him at the end of an extremely casual conversation. No flashy gimmicks, big signs, or public displays. The only problem with that idea? No one seemed to be doing it, and Kanao was afraid if she did, then both her and Tanjiro would be made fun of.

Ugh. This sucks. Why am I so nervous to ask him? I already made up my mind that I was going to do it.

Kanao, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Genya continued maneuvering down the crowded hallway until they reached their destination:

Sixth Period. Mr. Himejima’s Civics Class.

Out of all of the teachers at Kimetsu Academy, Gyomei Himejima was the most respected and revered. He spoke with a commanding yet humble tone and hardly ever yelled at students. At first, students were terrified by his stoic demeanor and bodybuilder-esque stature. But as he continued to teach, fear turned into respect and admiration. Despite being blind, he was an incredibly attentive teacher who seemed to know about everything conspiring in his classroom.

“Good morning, students. I hope you are doing well today”

“Good morning, Mr. Himejima.”

“We will be continuing the group presentations today. First up, we have the Tokito twins.”

The Tokito twins, Muichiro and Yuichiro, could easily be described as childhood prodigies. Despite being a full two years younger than Tanjiro’s class, their academic brilliance allowed them to participate in higher classes. While both twins were fairly quiet, they had seemingly different personalities. Muichiro was optimistic and compassionate for those around him, while Yuichiro was very cynical and skeptical. Despite their different viewpoints, the twins worked brilliantly as a pair.

“Today we will be presenting our thoughts and opinions on civil respect of our constitution, and how we should respect the law.”

The twins spoke with such maturity and intelligence for their age, which made the next group feel increasingly unprepared.

“Dude,” Genya whispered to Tanjiro and Inosuke, “our presentation sucks compared to theirs.”

The boar-headed boy scoffed.

“Pfff. All they have is diagrams. We have a kickass skit. Gonpachiro, did you bring the props?”

Tanjiro held up a bag of props.

“Perfect.”

“Inosuke, don’t you think we should… you know, revamp our skit to be more professiona-“

Mr. Himejima interrupted the twins’ presentation.

“Pardon the interruption, Muichiro, Yuichiro. We seem to have some rude chatter in the back of class.”

The entire class stared at Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Genya.

“I apologize, Mr. Himejima,” Tanjiro said. “We will remain silent for the rest of the presentation.”

As the twins continued their presentation, Kanao turned around to look at Tanjiro. It wasn’t often he got called out by a teacher; she could tell that the presentation was stressing him out. Most likely because Inosuke Hashibira was their group leader.

Before they knew it, the Tokito twins had finished their presentation.

“Excellent work as usual, you two,” Himejima said. “I expected nothing less. Next, we have Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Genya.”

The three stooges slowly made their way to the front of the class. Inosuke got in front of the other two.

“Alright, subordinates, listen up! Today the three of us are going to be putting on a show-“

Tanjiro interjected, “-an educational narrative lesson about the importance of following the law!”

“-er, right. ANYWAYS! I will be playing the role of the hero who busts the criminals for breaking the law. Oh and these two minions will play every other character.”

What followed was an explosive rhapsody of mayhem, violence, and unscripted antics. Inosuke had crafted a story so insane and off-topic that most sane people would assume a maniac had written it. The class watched in horror as Tanjiro and Genya tried (and failed horribly) to contain the situation. The performance lasted ten minutes, but to every single living being in that room, it felt like ten hours.

When it all ended, the class was left speechless.

“Please, hold your applause,” Inosuke said whilst crossing his arms in pride.

Mr. Himejima stood up.

“That was… the single most tasteless, offensive, and politically incorrect presentation I have ever witnessed in my three years teaching this class.”

Luckily, the bell had rung as he finished speaking. All of the students immediately left the room as fast as they could, except for Inosuke, who stood behind and argued with Mr. Himejima about how his skit was ‘a new, unappreciated form of modern art’.

———————————————-

On the way home, Tanjiro and Kanao discussed their homework load for the night. Even with the dance on the horizon, teachers had not slowed down their admission of homework towards the students. Luckily, they were both great students, so the workload wasn’t that bad for them. This was especially fortunate for Kanao, who was still contemplating how to ask Tanjiro out.

“I’m still a little upset that we flunked our civics presentation so badly, but I can’t really stay mad at Inosuke. Besides, Genya and I talked to Mr. Himejima afterwards, and he said that we could make up for the grade with a few extra credit assignments.”

“...”

“...uhhh Kanao?”

Kanao was too busy staring at the pink wisteria garden as they passed it. Her mind went crazy with ideas.

What if I just asked him here? That would be cute, right? I mean, we had a little bit of a moment here a few days ago, I think-

“Kanao?”

“Ah! I’m sorry. I got distracted. What were you saying?”

Tanjiro laughed to himself. He knew that his friend spaced out often, so it didn’t bother him at all. Still, he always found it funny when she apologized for not paying attention. He would always tell her she wouldn’t need to, but she would insist, saying that she felt bad.

“I was just talking about our presentation in Mr. Himejima’s class today.”

Kanao frowned. “Oh yeah, you looked really stressed out by that. I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that.”

“Don’t apologize! Mr. Himejima is giving us the opportunity for extra credit. And besides, even though it was extremely chaotic, it was kind of fun. Acting during the ‘list of unacceptable crimes’ segment was very embarrassing, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it at least a little bit.”

“Yeah, it looked fun! You played a really cute bank robber.”

Wait.

Did I.

Did I really just say that out loud.

Kanao felt her entire body tense up. Her deepest desire suddenly changed from asking Tanjiro out to digging a 10-foot hole in the middle of nowhere and jumping in it so she could die from embarrassment where no one could find her.

She looked at Tanjiro, whose expression definitely changed when he heard those words.

That’s it.

Goodbye world.

“...ah, thanks!”

Kanao could practically feel the awkwardness eating her up from the inside. Tanjiro, on the other hand, played it off naturally and continued the conversation.

So... I’m definitely not asking him out today. Not after THAT travesty.

———————————————-

“NEE-SAN!”

Kanao barged into the kitchen, where Shinobu was fixing herself a light snack. The older Kocho child looked at her younger sister with concern.

“What? What is it? Are you okay?”

“I messed up, I messed up so badly.’’

Shinobu dropped everything and immediately rushed to hug Kanao.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! What happened? What did you do?”

“I… I accidentally slipped and called Tanjiro cute to his face…”

As soon as the words had hit her ear, Shinobu’s expression changed in the blink of an eye. She immediately let go of Kanao and burst into a wild fit of laughter.

“THAT’S WHAT YOU CALL MESSING UP BADLY?”

“Nee-san!!! This is serious!!!”

Shinobu took her younger sister’s hand.

“Kanao. This is not serious. You’re going to be fine.”

“But he looked at me a certain way! He looked at me like this!”

Kanao tried her best to replicate Tanjiro’s facial expression, which Shinobu found to be absolutely hilarious.

“Good. Maybe he’s finally starting to realize that the prettiest girl in school is head-over-heels for him.”

“N-n-nee-san!”

All of a sudden, the door to the kitchen opened. Kanae had returned home and entered the room in the middle of all the commotion.

“My, my! What did I miss that caused Kanao to be this red?”

Both of the younger sisters turned directly towards their elder. Shinobu smirked and stood up.

“I was just telling Kanao it’s not the end of the world if you call a boy cu-”

Kanao immediately tackled Shinobu and put her hands over her mouth. Her older sisters were extremely surprised at the sudden movement. Kanae, apparently, had found the situation hilarious and laughed her head off.

“Oh Shinobu, I don’t know what you did to make Kanao out of all people this aggressive. You guys crack me up,” the elder Kocho said while reaching into the fridge to grab a drink. “You can tell me all about it after I’m done showering and putting my things away.”

With that, Kanae left the two sisters alone in the kitchen. Kanao quickly moved herself off of Shinobu and started endlessly apologizing.

“Nee-san I am so sorry. I don’t know why I’ve been so quick to act this week, I really don’t mean t-”

Kanao’s apology was cut short by Shinobu’s immediate question:

“Nee-san doesn’t know? You didn’t tell her about your crush on Tanjiro?”

“I… no. No she doesn’t.”

The two sisters sat on the kitchen floor in silence for a second before Shinobu raised a second question:

“...why did you tell me instead of her?”

“I… I thought if I told her, she’d smother me with endless affection and love... w-w-which I appreciate her and love her for!!! It’s just… I know you’ve made jokes about me and Tanjiro for a long time. I had a feeling those jokes couldn’t be entirely baseless, and that maybe you saw something that I didn’t. I knew if I asked you, you’d give me more realistic advice.”

Shinobu looked at her younger sister with wide eyes. Kanao may not have understood it at the time, but her words meant a lot. Shinobu was always used to taking a back seat to Kanae when it came to emotional reinforcement and advice. In fact, Shinobu was used to Kanao being closer to Kanae for that very reason. In a weird way, teasing her younger sister about a crush for an entire year actually ended up bringing them closer than they were before.

Shinobu gave Kanao a warm smile and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m going to do the best I can to help you with this, okay? You’re going to that dance with Kamado, even if I have to sell my left kidney to make sure it happens.”

“Thank you, nee-san.”

“...”

“...”

“...and by the way, this is how you tackle someone.”

Shinobu jokingly tackled Kanao to the ground, resulting in the two girls laughing like kindergarteners at recess.

Chapter Text

After a seemingly endless school week, Friday had finally arrived. Weekly exams weren’t that difficult for the majority of students, and thankfully no teachers had assigned weekend homework. But most importantly, Friday officially marked the one-week countdown to Kimetsu Academy’s Spring Formal Dance.

On this particular Friday, Zenitsu had originally planned a big, lavish proposal for Nezuko. However, he ended up stalling it until the following week because some custom-ordered parts hadn’t come in yet. Tanjiro and Kanao, who had arrived surprisingly earlier to school, found themselves talking to the yellow-haired boy about his scheme.

“I’m very concerned about what these custom ordered items are,” Tanjiro told Zenitsu.

“They’re all a part of the bigger picture, my friend. I have a plan so beautiful that it’ll outshine every other proposal at this school.”

“Zenitsu… My sister is a very simple girl. She loves small gestures of kindness and compassion. I don’t really think all of this is necessary.”

Zenitsu looked at Tanjiro in disappointment. His eyes were full of contempt and disgust.

“Tanjiro… I am almost a hundred percent sure that this will work. You don’t know the first thing about women.”

Zenitsu then shot a slick teasing look at Kanao, who turned away.

No. You are NOT dragging me into this.

Eventually, the duo left Zenitsu alone with his plans and started walking towards Mr. Rengoku’s class. They were there fairly early, so hallways of the school were pretty empty. The morning sunlight peered through the windows as the two friends quietly made their way through the building. The light illuminated Tanjiro’s face in a way Kanao could only describe as dreamy.

Huh… this wouldn’t be a bad time to ask him…

Before she could continue that thought, Tanjiro spoke up.

“So, uhhhh… are you planning on going to the dance with anyone?”

…

What.

Kanao’s heart started beating so rapidly it felt like it was going to explode out of her chest. She had started shaking out of nowhere, but Tanjiro didn’t seem to notice. Butterflies danced around her stomach as she looked at her crush.

There’s no better time than right now, right? If you don’t do it now you might not get another chance. Just say it.

Actually, I was planning to ask you! Do you want to go to the dance with me?

That’s all I have to say.

Kanao took a deep breath, but she still felt herself trembling. She slightly opened her mouth to begin to speak, but it felt like something was holding her back. Be it nerves or lack of confidence, something was stopping her from speaking those two simple sentences.

“I’m not sure.”

God, I’m such a coward.

Tanjiro continued smiling at her, but she swore that she could see the slightest hint of disappointment in his eyes. Tanjiro responded.

“Ah, I see. I wasn’t so sure about myself either. It just feels like we all have a little too much going on in and out of school.”

Just. Ask. Him.

“Actually, Tanjiro… I-“

...

“YOU GODDAMN BOAR-HEAD, GIVE ME MY PHONE BACK”

“NEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHHAA!”

Inosuke came sprinting down the previously quiet hallway, with Zenitsu in close pursuit. The former had stolen the latter’s phone and was threatening to text Nezuko with it.

Zenitsu immediately clung onto Tanjiro, soiling Kanao’s perfect opportunity.

“TANJIRO! YOU GOTTA HELP ME, HE’S GOING TO TELL NEZUKO-CHAN MY ENTIRE PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK!”

“Hold on, Zenitsu, can it wait? Kanao was about to-“

“No,” Kanao smiled, “it’s okay. Help him out. It can wait.”

Tanjiro smiled at his dear friend and took off with the yellow haired boy running after Inosuke. After they had disappeared out of sight, Kanao took a deep sigh of regret.

Welp. I guess I’ll ask him after school.

———————————————-

The school day had come and went faster than most that week. More proposals came and went, and soon it seemed like a vast majority of students already had a date despite the dance being a full week away.

When preparing to head home for the weekend, Tanjiro and his friends asked each other about their plans for the dance.

“So you mean to tell me that not a single one out of the three of you are going to ask anyone out for next week?!?!?,” Zenitsu asked Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Genya.

Genya stepped up first.

“Nope. I told you a thousand times. I’m perfectly happy without a partner.”

“Are you just saying that because no students are interested in you?”

Genya seemed to take offense to Zenitsu’s comment, but shrugged it off.

“Actually, I turned down two of those crazy sophomores yesterday.”

“YOU WHAT-“

Zenitsu grabbed Genya by the collar with red-tinted rage in his eyes. Genya, being a 5’11” freshman with the physique of a professional bodybuilder, was not intimidated in the slightest.

“I turned them down.”

“YOU IDIOT, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE HOTTEST GIRLS IN SCHOOL.”

“I’m way more comfortable going with a group of friends then I am going on a date, thank you very much.”

Begrudgingly, Zenitsu let go of Genya and directed his attention to Inosuke, who was chewing on a stale piece of pizza crust he had found in his locker.

“I’m not even going to bother with you. I pity anyone who is burdened with your presence at any sort of social event.”

Inosuke continued gnawing on his newest find while the yellow haired matchmaker finally turned his attention to Tanjiro.

“Alright Mr. Popular, captain of the track team, A+ student, everyone’s nicest friend… if you give me another stupid-ass excuse as to why you aren’t going with anyone I am going to scream at the top of my lungs.”

Tanjiro smiled sheepishly.

“I guess it would be fun to go with someone. I don’t have a date right now though.”

Zenitsu lifted his eyebrow. With the event in math class still lingering in his head, he pressed forward with a more serious tone.

“What about Kanao?”

“Very funny, Zenitsu. I’ve never heard that one before.”

“No, I’m serious. Why not Kanao?”

“Yeah, you’ve never given us a specific reason as to why you two aren’t going together,” Genya chimed in.

Tanjiro sighed the exact same way he always did whenever anyone asked about the two of them together.

“Kanao gets uncomfortable whenever people make jokes about the two of us dating. Sure, we’re really close and we’ve been through a lot together, but if she doesn’t want us to then we won’t.”

Still, his mind thought back to their conversation earlier in the morning. He quickly shut out that thought though. Zenitsu, on the other hand, recalled how defensive Kanao was over the idea of being jealous.

“But… let’s say Kanao wasn’t uncomfortable with the idea of you guys going together. What then?”

The burgundy haired boy stood still for a while.

“…I don’t know.”

———————————————-

Tanjiro and Kanao exited the building after school as usual. The boy hadn’t let his friends get to him and still stuck by his decision to remain respectful towards his friend. The girl was trying to muster up the courage to actually do something with this pesky crush of hers.

Both of their trains of thought screeched to a halt as a car pulled up next to them.

“Hello, kids!,” Kanae exclaimed with glee.

“Nee-san?”

“Shinobu thought it would be a fun idea if the four of us got an early supper somewhere! Don’t you guys think so?”

Kanao peered over to see Shinobu sitting in the passenger seat, wearing sunglasses and a smug smile on her face.

...what are you doing, nee-san???

Tanjiro looked excited. He quickly turned to Kanao and took her hand, causing the girl to feel a splash of warmth come across her cheeks.

“I’d love to!,” the boy said eagerly. “Is that okay with you, Kanao?”

“Ermm- yes. I think that would be fun.”

After the two teenagers climbed into the back seat of the car, Kanae began driving them all to a ramen restaurant in the downtown area. Shinobu hadn’t turned around to acknowledge the two in the back yet, leaving Kanao to wonder what exactly her plan was. The eldest Kocho sister eventually broke the awkward silence.

“So, Tanjiro,” she asked, “how’s your family’s bakery?”

“Oh, it’s going really well, Kanae-san! My mom is going to roll out the spring pastries menu starting on Monday, so you guys should definitely stop by!”

“Oooo!!! That sounds lovely, doesn’t it, Shinobu?”

“It does!,” Shinobu responded. “Maybe Kanao can help you guys prepare for everything! She loves to help dad out in the kitchen! Don’t you, Kanao?”

Kanao could physically feel the embarrassment setting in.

“Uhh… a little bit, y-y-yeah.”

“Maybe we could try baking together some time!,” Tanjiro said with his signature cheery smile.

Kanao slumped into her seat, trying to hide the pain.

———————————————-

About thirty minutes later, they arrived at the ramen restaurant. It was a higher-end joint smack in the middle of the downtown area, which meant that the crowds were a little on the heavier side. Regardless, Kanae and Shinobu pressed through and led the kids to the counter.

“Table for four, please!,” Kanae said with an almost angelic presence.

“I’m very sorry, ma’am. The wait for a table for four is about an hour and a half.”

Before Kanae could say a word, Shinobu swept in with a plan of her own:

“How about two and two?”

Kanao, Tanjiro, and Kanae all looked at Shinobu in shock.

...what the-

“We can do that!,” the employee said. “Follow me.”

Before any of them could object, they found themselves being led to two separate tables. The tables weren’t too far from one another, but they weren’t exactly close either. The two elder sisters were seated first.

“Here you are! Someone will be right over to take your order in a few minutes,” the employee said to Kanae and Shinobu.

“Thank you!,” replied Kanae.

“Now, you two will be seated over here.”

As the lady led Tanjiro and Kanao far across the room to their table, Shinobu yelled something after them that made both of their bloodstreams run cold:

“Have fun on your date, you two!”

…

Date?

Kanao and Tanjiro sat at a table next to a window, while Kanae and Shinobu sat at a table towards the center of the restaurant. As they made themselves comfortable, Kanae questioned her younger sister.

“I thought this was supposed to be a meal between the four of us!”

“Well we work with what we can get, right?”

Kanae frowned. She was obviously less than enthused about the sudden change of plans.

“But now Kanao and Tanjiro are sitting by themselves!”

Shinobu turned to her with a wide-eyed grin.

“Exactly.”

Chapter Text

Shinobu had set them up. On a dinner date.

...

Needless to say, Kanao was freaking out.

What on Earth made Shinobu think that this was a good idea? Is this because of our conversation yesterday about how I told her about my crush and not Kanae? Oh god, I hope Tanjiro doesn’t think this is all as weird as I do. He definitely does. He’s not talking to me. He’s been staring at the menu for, like, two minutes now. He probably hates this.

The two teenagers sat at their table awkwardly for a few minutes before Tanjiro popped up from behind his menu.

“Uh, do you know what you’re going to order yet, Kanao?”

“...n-no, not yet.”

“I was thinking about getting the hakata ramen. What do you think?”

“Uh… I guess that sounds pretty good…”

Needless to say, there was an uncharacteristic awkwardness lingering in the air between the two young students. Their shared silence was no longer comfortable; it was foreign, vague, and different. But not different in the way Kanao had hoped. To her, this felt forced and humiliating.

Obviously, Tanjiro took this the wrong way.

“...I’m sorry about all this,” he said.

“Huh???”

“About your sister. Teasing us.”

“Oh. Uh… it’s okay.”

“Does she do it a lot at home?”

Kanao looked off to the side. Over the past week, Shinobu’s teasing had turned into a genuine desire to help. But this may have been crossing the line just a tad bit.

“Kinda...”

“Well... I mean, let’s just try our best to enjoy a nice meal together, shall we?”

Kanao couldn’t help but laugh. She had never met someone who knew how to make the most out of a bad situation quite like he did. It was exactly what he did at the beginning of their friendship when she was sitting alone on the floor, and it was exactly the reason why she fell so hard for him in the first place.

“Yeah… I guess we can do that!”

They shared another laugh together before their waiter returned to the table, pen and paper in hand. She turned to them with a happy-go-lucky smile.

“Can I get you two started on some drinks?”

———————————————-

About forty-five minutes later, both Tanjiro and Kanao had finished their ramen and were locked in easy conversation. Although they would hate to admit it, Shinobu’s plan had worked, and the awkwardness had shaken itself off. They were talking like they would under normal circumstances, much to Kanao’s pleasure. Anyone else would say that food, drink, and a good conversation are key elements to any dinner date, but the two young high school students were satisfied with whatever they had going on.

“When does Aoi get back?,” Kamado asked while cleaning up his plate.

“On Monday, so she’ll be back in time for the dance next week.”

Next week. Almost exactly seven days from that very moment. Kanao couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“That’s good! Do you know if she’s going with anyone?”

“Not that I know of. I think she has a crush on someone at school though. They might be in our grade, I just don’t know who.”

“Well I don’t think it’s Zenitsu, and it can’t possibly be Inosuke… but anyways! Let’s not gossip about our friends for too long, haha.”

Only Tanjiro would constitute briefly talking about a friend’s crush as gossiping. I wonder how many other students have gossiped about us. Actually, no. I don’t care.

Kanao took a sip of her drink as she nodded.

“Fair enough. I keep forgetting that the dance is so soon.”

“Me too. There’s so much buzz around it that I get dizzy whenever I see a new proposal in the hallways!”

Maybe this is your chance, Kanao. Take a deep breath and start to ease into it.

“I mean, the hallways were kind of quiet this morning when it was just us. Shame Inosuke and Zenitsu had to barge through and ruin the moment.”

Tanjiro laughed and put his hand to the back of his neck. From what Kanao could see, he may have actually been flustered. She felt a wave of confidence surge through her. Maybe she could do this after all.

“Yeah, sorry about that…,” Tanjiro responded.

“It’s okay!”

“I’m glad they didn’t get the wrong idea though, it was way too early to have to deal with all of their antics.”

Kanao giggled.

“Definitely. It’s already a handful with my sister at home.”

“Yeah, I keep having to explain it all to Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Genya.”

“Explain what?”

“Why I don’t want to ask you out!”

…

…

...what?

...

Kanao wasn’t sure exactly what romantic heartbreak felt like, but if she had to take a guess, it would be how she was feeling at that very moment. She felt both laser-focused and nauseous at the same time; it was as if the universe itself was laughing at her for every emotion she had gone through in the past week.

...and there it is.

Tanjiro noticed that Kanao tensed up at his words, but he didn’t have the slightest clue as to why. Before he could ask her, Kanao spat out a haphazard excuse for a response.

“Ah, yeah, haha…”

“They keep pestering me about it. I don’t think they can wrap their heads around the fact that we’re just friends!”

...kill me now. I don’t care who, just kill me now.

“Yeah…”

Tanjiro noticed that her entire aura seemed to change and couldn’t help but feel like he struck a nerve. Kanao meant more to him than anyone else at school, and he wanted to protect her from their ‘mockery’ at all costs. Still, he felt bad for even bringing it up just now.

“...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I know it-”

“It’s okay, Tanjiro,” she said, putting on a fake smile. “It’s okay.”

Before Tanjiro could object, their waitress came back with the check.

———————————————-

The ride home was… rather awkward.

Tanjiro could tell that Kanao was still reeling in from what he said at the dinner table. He hadn’t meant to be so direct about addressing it, but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. On the other hand, all of Kanao’s hopes about the upcoming week had been shot down. Because of how Tanjiro had strung his words, she was absolutely convinced that she had no chance with him.

All the while, Shinobu tried to maintain light and breezy conversation. Her attempts were less than successful, as Kanae was still disappointed that their group dinner had basically been cut in half due to Shinobu’s meddling.

“So how was your guys’ food?,” Shinobu asked.

“It was good!,” Tanjiro responded, trying to alleviate the weird atmosphere between everyone.

“What did you order?”

“We both got the hakata ramen.”

“Oooooo! I heard that was good! Did you like it too, Kanao?”

Kanao barely looked up at the mention of her name.

“Yeah.”

Shinobu definitely took note of her sister’s reaction and pondered what could’ve happened at the restaurant. She didn’t want to press her for answers now that Tanjiro and even Kanae were in the car, but she made sure to remember to ask her later.

Eventually, they arrived in front of the Kamado bakery. Tanjiro said a quiet yet cheery goodbye to the elder Kocho sisters before he stepped outside with Kanao. As they walked to the bakery’s front door, Tanjiro spoke up.

“Thank you guys for inviting me tonight.”

“Of course.”

Silence befell the two for a few seconds before Tanjiro spoke again.

“Uh… well I guess I’ll see you at school on Monday!”

“Yeah… see you on Monday.”

With that, Tanjiro entered the bakery and closed the door behind him. Kanao idly stood at the entrance for another few seconds before returning to Kanae’s car.

———————————————-

As soon as the three Kocho sisters returned home, Kanae immediately headed for her room to get on a video call with some of her friends from high school. The moment that their older sister was out of earshot, Shinobu turned to her younger sister with a wide-eyed look of excitement.

“Soooo… how did it go??? Did you ask him out???”

Kanao immediately walked past Shinobu towards her room.

“...Kanao?”

Before a very frustrated Tsuyuri could enter her room, Shinobu eagerly stopped her and turned her around.

“Kanao, how did it go?!?!? What happened?!?!?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Wait, did he-”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it, nee-san.”

Shinobu’s face fell as she suddenly felt incredibly guilty.

“Come on, let’s sit down and talk about it. I can help-”

“I think you’ve helped enough today, nee-san…”

Kanao entered her room and closed the door with just the slightest hint of passive aggressiveness. Shinobu stood still, staring at the now closed door between her and her sister. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she began to put the pieces together: she, in all her efforts to help her sister get a boyfriend, may have royally screwed everything up.

Chapter Text

Kanao hadn’t left her room for the entire night following the ramen dinner.

Mr. and Mrs. Kocho asked about her as soon as they returned from work. Kanae redirected their questions to the middle child, who, still tripping over her own guilt, explained that something had happened at dinner and Kanao needed some time to herself.

Behind her closed door, Kanao was attempting to do anything that could distract herself from what just happened. She tried doodling, listening to music, and even watching one of her comfort movies. But alas, the only thing on her mind up until the moment she fell asleep was Tanjiro Kamado.

This behavior continued throughout the night all the way to the following morning. Since school was out for the weekend, Kanao didn’t feel the need to wake up early. No matter how hard she tried, her thoughts were still completely and utterly consumed by the disastrous dinner date that took place the previous evening.

I knew this whole idea was stupid. Of course he doesn’t want to go to the dance with me. I’m such an idiot.

The poor girl felt her stomach growl. She sighed as she jumped out of bed.

Guess it’s breakfast time.

Kanao left her room and walked into the kitchen, where she found Kanae cooking eggs and Shinobu sitting at the table on her phone. The elder of the two Kocho sisters noticed her and gave her a warm smile.

“Good morning, Kanao!”

Shinobu immediately turned her attention to her younger sister. She looked at her for a good three seconds before turning back to her phone to avoid eye contact. Kanao couldn’t quite get a read on her older sister’s emotion, but it wasn’t too far out of a guess to say that she felt guilty.

“How did you sleep last night?,” Kanae asked.

“Fine.”

“You hadn’t left your room all night! Mom and Dad were worried.”

“I’m okay.”

Kanae turned to Shinobu, expecting her to say something. However, her eyes remained fastened to the glow of her phone, much to her older sister’s dismay. Kanae turned her attention back to Kanao, who was still silently standing where she had entered the kitchen. She could practically smell the awkward tension between both of her younger sisters, and quite frankly she was too confused to deal with it.

Needless to say, it was going to be a long weekend.

———————————————-

In a certain bakery not too far away from the Butterfly Mansion, Nezuko Kamado was helping her mother, Kie, prepare breakfast for their large family.

For as long as she could remember, Nezuko always loved helping her mother prepare breakfast, more so than the rest of the Kamado siblings. It was their own way of bonding, as they usually caught up on what was happening at school or within the family. On this particular morning, Nezuko was talking to her mom about the upcoming dance.

“It’s going to be super exciting!,” Nezuko said. “Senjuro and I are on the committee for the middle school grades. We’re working with the high school committee to make everything look really nice for Friday night.”

“That’s super exciting! I’m glad the school chose to partner with us for desert catering again. Last year’s dance was very fun!”

“Not as fun as this year’s dance will be!”

As the two shared a laugh, the patriarch of the family, Tanjuro Kamado, walked into the room while coughing. After composing himself, he greeted his wife and daughter.

“Good morning, you two!”

“Good morning, otosan!,” Nezuko said.

“Fried rice, eggs and dumplings?,” Tanjuro said, sniffing the air.

“Correct!,” Kie responded. “Shigeru and Hanako told me they wanted some last night before bed.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’ll leave you two masters to do your work!”

Tanjuro coughed again. Nezuko set some of the dumplings aside and looked at her dad.

“Are you okay, otosan?”

“I’m okay! I think I just have something bothering my throat. I’m going to go get it checked out with Mr. Saburo’s office a few blocks down. Hopefully I’ll be back in time for breakfast!”

The two said goodbye to Tanjuro as he stepped out the door before resuming their conversation about the school dance.

“I’m glad we finally convinced Tanjiro to attend the dance as a student instead of focusing on helping out with the catering this year!,” Kie said happily.

“I know! He really needs to take some time to relax with his friends and enjoy a fun night.”

“Do you think he’ll bring a date?”

Nezuko’s mind flashed back to the other day when Kanao just so happened to forget the meaning of the flower that symbolizes love. Coincidence or not, the thought of her older brother and one of her best friends going to the dance together was enough to make Nezuko’s heart jump with joy.

“Hmmm… that’s hard to say. Knowing him, he probably won’t ask anyone out because he’ll be too busy focusing on other things. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there who would be interested.”

“Like who?”

Nezuko turned to her mother and gave her a toothy smile.

“I have a theory.”

———————————————-

Hours later, Kanao remained at her desk, mindlessly doodling sketches of flowers in her notebook. She didn’t usually draw much, but occasionally she liked to copy images of various flowers from Kanae’s encyclopedias. Tonight’s subject was a rose, as Kanao always loved the way its petals bloomed. It was a nice distraction to get her mind off of… whatever happened the previous night.

Her doodling came to a halt, however, when she heard a text-notification come from her phone.

Kanae? Shinobu? Tanjiro?

Kanao rushed to check her messages far quicker than she would like to admit. The text was indeed from a Kamado, although not the one she was expecting.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:28PM

kanao-san

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:28PM

Nezuko?

Nezuko Kamado, 5:28PM

I needto

ask you a qasecsion

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:28AM

...

???

Nezuko Kamado, 5:28AM

*question

sorry i’m texting with one hand

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:28PM

Ah. Yes?

Nezuko Kamado, 5:29PM

so

um

does my brother know

that you didn’t really “forgor” the meaning of the flower

*forget

dang it

 

Kanao froze in place as soon as she read the message.

She knows. Nezuko knows.

What did this mean? Was Nezuko about to tell her to stay away from her older brother? There was only one way to find out. Instead of trying to play it off, Kanao decided to be honest with her crush’s sister.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:29PM

No. He doesn’t.

Or at least, I don’t think so.

I really hope he doesn’t.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:30PM

AHOEIXJRAAEXRAHUXOEIJR

ONOEIJRXPA,ESJIRXO

AHHHH

AHHA

I KNEW IT

I TEXTED YOU BASED OFF A HUNCH

BUT I KNEW I WAS RIGHT

AHHHHHH

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:30PM

...how did you know???

Nezuko Kamado, 5:30PM

...

come on kanao-san

I looked up what it means

sure thing you “”“forgot”””

Kanao felt a twinge of guilt run down her spine. It hadn’t really occurred to her that she had straight up lied to her best friend. Nezuko was sure to rip into her now.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:31PM

I’m

I’m so sorry.

I’m sorry I lied to your brother.

I panicked and I didn’t know what to do.

I’m so sorry.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:32PM

HAHAHAHAHA

KANAO-SAN

IT’S OKAY

THIS IS PERFECT

I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW

LIKE

FBWKBFKEBFJEBFKRH

BFJWKFJEKFHDKDHW

PLEASE DON’T APOLOGIZE

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:32PM

Oh.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:32PM

…

…

…

…

so

this means

you like…

you like my brother, right?

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:33PM

...yeah. I do.

A lot.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:33PM

IUSAEHOJRPX,AJISEORZ

AIUSEZRIHOJ,A,SHEOZAUIEJSRZ

IUAHIELZJOR,AIHESZRIAER

IUAHEIOZJRAEBONCRAPER

AOHEIRJXASERHAJER

As embarrassed as she was, Kanao couldn’t help but laugh at Nezuko’s excitement. Not to mention, she was very happy that Nezuko was as excited as she was. Seeing Tanjiro’s sister freak out at the mere thought of them being together made her feel better about the whole ordeal.

Nezuko promised not to tell her brother, which put Kanao at ease. Just as Tsuyuri motioned to put her phone away, she heard another text from Nezuko.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:38PM

hold on

kanao-sab

*san

are you aware that

my brother has a specific reason

why he won’t ask you out

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:38PM

…what.

Nezuko Kamado, 5:38PM

he thinks you’re super uncomfortable with the thought of you two dating

that its some kind of trigger or something whenever people mention it

so he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable

Kanao Tsuyuri, 5:38PM

...

Kanao glared at the words on her screen.

…I can’t tell if I’m the bigger idiot here, or he is.

Chapter Text

Okay… so maybe I still have a chance here.

For the first time all weekend, Kanao felt a surge of hope flow through her. According to Nezuko, Tanjiro was simply “too nice” to ask Kanao to the dance. As strange as that fact may have been, the young Kocho’s spirits were now in full swing.

Kanao dashed down the hallway and made a sharp turn into the living room, where Shinobu was once again studying on the couch.

“Nee-san! Nee-san! There was a big misunderstanding, I think I can do it after all!”

No response. Oh, she has earbuds in. Duh!

Kanao excitedly sat on the couch next to her older sister.

“Did you hear me, nee-san? I can still ask Tanjiro to go to the dance with me!”

“...”

“Uh… nee-san?”

Shinobu closed her laptop and started packing her things. She slowly stood up before half-turning back to Kanao.

“That’s great, Kanao. Congratulations.”

“W-w-wait, is this about yesterday? I’m so so-”

“It’s okay, Kanao,” Shinobu said before turning around to face her sister once more. “It’s not your fault. I crossed a line. You shouldn’t have come to me for help in the first place.”

“Nee-san, I-”

Before Kanao could finish, Shinobu was already out the door. Kanao stood in her place for a brief moment, contemplating the conversation, or rather the shell of a conversation, that just occurred. Had she been a bit too harsh lashing out on her older sister? She was, after all, just trying to help.

Regardless, there was hope in the air for young Kanao. Her mind was set: Monday would be the day that she would ask Tanjiro Kamado to the dance.

———————————————-

Sunday came and went without anything significant happening, much to Kanao’s delight. Having finished the little homework that she had, she took the opportunity to come up with a set plan to ask her crush out.

I’ll ask him out on Monday morning on the way to school. We’ll stroll past the grove of wisteria trees that we walked past last week and I’ll give him some flowers. Roses? No, pink wisteria. It’s symbolic. Wait, we’ll be standing in a grove of pink wisteria trees! Hmmm…

In addition to her primary idea, she had also come up with a few back-up plans in case of any interference from Inosuke or Zenitsu’s antics. Most of them were basically the same idea, just pushed back to the walk back from school that evening.

It shouldn’t be that hard now that I know I have a solid chance… right?

Kanao sat alone in the kitchen deep in her own thoughts when suddenly, Kanae walked into the room carrying groceries.

“Hello, Kanao!”

“Oh, hello nee-san.”

“How are you feeling today? You’re certainly out and about more than you have been. It’s almost as if you and Shinobu traded places!”

“I’m doing well…how is she though? I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

“Oh, you know her. She’s keeping to herself in her room. Probably studying for an upcoming exam or something like that. She works very hard, you know.”

Kanao looked at her older sister. Kanae could be oblivious at times, but never this oblivious. When Shinobu and Giyu had broken up and the former had locked herself in her room for days on end, Kanae had behaved in a similar manner. It almost seemed like she was minimalizing the situation for Kanao’s sake.

“It’s because of what happened at the restaurant, isn’t it.”

“Maybe. She sure was acting weird then.”

She definitely knows what’s going on. There’s no way around it.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore, nee-san. I know you know about everything.”

Kanae stopped unloading the groceries and sighed before turning around and smiling at her sister, much to Kanao’s surprise.

“So what if I do?”

“...w-well… I don’t know. You’ve always acted like you haven’t known. Or cared, at least. About me and Tanjiro, or nee-san and Giyu-san. You always act like you haven’t got a clue about what’s going on.”

Kanae took a seat next to her younger sister and held her hand.

“Kanao, I realized that you liked Tanjiro perhaps the third or fourth time you hung out with him alone- ”

But I didn’t even know tha-

“ -and I know that you’ve been trying to muster up the courage to ask him to the Spring Formal Dance for about a week now.”

Kanao was taken aback. She figured she must’ve been easy to read, but her older sister’s observance combined with her graceful voice made it a bit embarrassing. Besides, she had another question to ask.

“...t-then why didn’t you help me out!?!?”

Kanae laughed and looked her sister in the eyes.

“Because she needs this more than I do.”

Kanae looked towards Shinobu’s room. Kanao followed her eyes to the closed door before returning her focus back to Kanae.

“You may have been too young to remember this, but once upon a time, she would come home from school every day to tell me about her crush. Long, braided, pink and green hair… I remember her gushing to me just like it was yesterday. Soon that time came to pass, and she met Tomioka-san. At first, she didn’t like him one bit. She told me that he was a blockhead and would go on to list every individual thing that annoyed her about him. When I told her that she may have been developing a crush on this boy… oh my, did she become quite the little fireball…”

Kanao laughed.

“Eventually, she did end up asking me for advice, and I gave her some. She would always ask me what to say, what to wear to try to get his attention, and even if he was worth pursuing in the first place. And naturally, I helped her out as much as I could. I even helped convince Mom and Dad to let them date. They were a clunky pair, but they made it work.”

Kanae turned her line of sight away from Shinobu’s door and back to her and her sister’s hands.

“When they… drifted apart… I was the first person she told. I remember everything. I remember her bawling her eyes out for days, yelling and cursing at the ceiling, wondering where it all went wrong. I remember the quiet cries in the middle of the night, asking me if I could stay with her and eat ice cream with her. I remember her asking me why love never seemed to work out in her favor.”

…

Kanae finally turned and looked back at Kanao.

“No matter what happened, I was always there for her. Last week, when you told her that you hadn’t told me about your crush yet, I guess she found herself in my position all that time ago. She wanted to help you find the kind of love she desperately craved, so I let her.”

Kanao could feel her eyes begin to water.

“I am beyond confident that you and Tanjiro will end up going to the dance together. So confident, in fact, that I’d stake my life on it. And I know Shinobu needs some time after what happened Friday, but I know she’ll bounce back. So do me a favor and let your sister have this one. I promise that you’ll both find what you’re looking for.”

Kanao immediately lunged forward and hugged Kanae as tight as she could. She felt Kanae’s warm arms wrap around her as she returned the hug.

“I will, nee-san. I will.”

———————————————-

Monday morning.

The morning that, if everything went according to plan, would determine the fate of the Spring Formal Dance.

As Kanao prepared for the big day ahead, she made sure to pamper herself up a little extra so that she would feel a bit more pretty when asking the big question. She thought it was silly, but something she wanted to do nonetheless. She decided to forgo the flower gift and opted instead to just ask him straight up. After taking an unusually long time to get ready, Kanao grabbed her bookbag and left her room. She noted that Shinobu had still not left her room yet and considered knocking to say a few words before setting off, but she ultimately decided against it.

Her heart thumped like a rabbit as she walked down the street towards the Kamado bakery.

Tanjiro, would you like to go to the dance with me?

Tanjiro, would you like to go to the dance with me?

Tanjiro, would you like to go to the dance with me?

Kanao looked up. She had been too preoccupied practicing the simple sentence in her head to realize that she had arrived at the front of the bakery.

Ugh. Okay. You got this.

And so, she waited for Tanjiro.

…and waited…

…and waited…

…and waited…

…

…

What’s taking him so long? He’s usually down here before 8AM…

The girl waited anxiously as she stood deathly still in front of the taunting double doors of glass. Every passing minute felt like a slap to the face. Her mind raced to their deal: if neither one of them was there by 8:10, then the other would go ahead to school without them to avoid being late. And yet…

Kanao checked her phone. Upon seeing the time, she sent Tanjiro a text.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 8:11AM

Tanjiro?

I’m outside.

Are you okay?

Three minutes passed. No response.

And yet, she waited. Ever vigilant like a soldier to her post, Kanao stood motionless in front of the Kamado bakery. This past week had led to this moment and now, in some cruel twist of fate, the boy she longed to ask a simple one-sentence question was nowhere to be found with no explanation to be had. Was this a joke? Did something go wrong? Did he forget her?

No… no he couldn’t have forgotten me. I’m… I’m his best friend, right? I… I…

The poor girl waited for another 15 minutes with tears in her eyes before giving up.

———————————————-

First period. Mr. Rengoku’s class.

Kanao walked in late. Kanao never walked in late.

She had opened the door right in the middle of morning announcements. Immediately, all the heads in the classroom, Mr. Rengoku included, swung in her direction. Her tears had dried, but anyone who looked at her could easily tell that she had just been crying. Kanao lowered her head and began walking to her desk as Mr. Rengoku continued his list of announcements. But before she looked down completely, she noticed a concerning sight at Tanjiro’s desk.

He’s… not here…

Kanao quietly took her seat as Rengoku brought up details about the dance. She couldn’t bear to listen; her heart felt far too heavy. Despite him speaking perfectly clearly, all Kanao could hear were words jumbled together into a conglomerate of random, unprocessed information.

I shouldn’t care this much, right? I look like an idiot. I came in late. I look like a mess. Tanjiro isn’t here and I have no idea where he could be. All I wanted to do was ask him to a stupid dance. This shouldn’t be something to cry over. I’m sure there’s a perfectly acceptable reason to why he wasn’t there this morning or isn’t here now. I’m just overreacting. Just overthinking. But I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I can’t do this anymore. I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid, I’m so st-

“And now, class, one last, uh, thing.”

Rengoku’s tone of voice changed for once.

“Please keep young Kamado in your thoughts. His father is in the emergency room right now, and his entire family is anxiously waiting to see him at the hospital.”

Kanao’s heart sank like an anchor.

...oh god.

Chapter Text

The entire class fell into a deep, somber silence. Tanjiro Kamado, the star of the track team and the nicest boy in the entire school, was in some hospital waiting room waiting for updates on his critically-conditioned father.

It was as if the sun suddenly stopped shining in the classroom. Zenitsu and Genya turned to each other in disbelief, while Inosuke had trouble processing the situation.

“Wait… Gonpachiro’s… dad?,” Inosuke quietly inquired.

“Yes. Apparently, something happened late last night that caused Mrs. Kamado to rush him to the hospital. She sent all of the teachers an email this morning to let us know of Tanjiro’s absence.”

Kanao was as still as a statue. Everything suddenly clicked, but all for the wrong reason. She found herself immediately wishing she were back to sixty seconds ago before she learned that her best friend’s father’s life was in danger. Everything seemed so much bigger than her, and for that same reason she felt all the more trapped.

“Does anyone know what happened to him?,” Genya asked.

“We’re not entirely sure. Mr. Kamado has had a few underlying conditions for a while, but this just seemed to have come out of nowhere. All we ask is that you students remain mindful and respectful of the situation as it develops.”

———————————————-

The day slogged by with solemn silence, especially in Tanjiro’s immediate friend group. As they all walked through the hallway during passing period, they all processed the news in their own different ways. Inosuke was too taken aback by the news to be up to his usual antics, and Zenitsu was too shaken to brag about his convoluted plan to ask Nezuko out.

Kanao, however, was a special kind of broken.

Everything in the past week had seemed different in perspective. Did Tanjiro know about his dad’s condition? Did Nezuko? Did anyone at school? Is that why he seemed clueless to Kanao’s feelings while every other person seemed to get the hint? If that were the case, how long had this boy been silently suffering and hiding his anxiousness and concern for his father?

While all these thoughts continued racing through her head, Kanao felt a tap from behind her right shoulder. To her surprise, she found her cousin, Aoi, back from Shanghai.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Oh, uhh– hello Aoi. I didn’t realize you were back.”

Aoi tilted her head to the side with concern.

“I heard what happened with Kamado. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“I know how close you two are. And, you know, everything with you asking him to the da-”

Kanao rushed to shush her cousin.

“This isn’t about me. This is about Mr. Kamado.”

“Yeah, I know, but-”

“A silly little dance doesn’t matter anymore! His dad’s life is in danger, we don’t know how bad it is. We don’t know how any of this is going to turn out!”

She stopped and realized the tone of her voice. She turned around to see that her little stunt had unfortunately caught the attention of other students passing by. She waited until everyone stopped looking before hanging her head in shame and turning back to Aoi.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice.”

“It’s okay, really.”

Aoi gave Kanao a firm hug before the warning bell rang, indicating that it was almost time to get to class.

“I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Before Kanao had a chance to respond, Aoi had left to walk to her next class.

———————————————-

Third period. Mr. Uzui’s Art Class.

Most students didn’t know whether to fear the art teacher or love him. Tengen Uzui, a very eccentric 23 year old man, was what some would call a starving artist. His art class was unconventional in the sense that it wasn’t always painting, drawing, or sculpting like in traditional art classes. No, Mr. Uzui pushed himself and his students to explore flamboyant art in all senses, whether that meant putting on skits, interpretative dances, destructive displays, musical assignments, or even slam poetry. It didn’t matter what the assignment was, as long as it was flashy as hell.

Despite all of this, he sometimes came off as a bit… harsh.

“Mornin’ kids.”

“Good morning, Mr. Uzui.”

“Today we’re just gonna work on our watercolor paintings some more. You guys should be on your second or third coat by now. If you’re still on your first, then we may have an issue.”

Tengen noticed as a student in the back raised his hand.

“Yo.”

“Who is she?”

The child pointed to the corner desk, where a woman with pink and green hair in her early twenties sat awkwardly.

“Oh, hello! My name is Mitsuri Kanroji! I’m a Kimetsu Academy graduate, and I’m currently studying art at the Tokyo University of the Arts! Don’t mind me, though!”

Kanao took a good look at Mitsuri. She could’ve sworn she saw pictures of her before on Shinobu’s social media accounts. A joyful Kimetsu Academy alumni with vibrant pink and green hair…

...oh my gosh. Nee-san’s high school crush.

As soon as Kanao put the puzzle pieces together, Uzui spoke to the class again.

“Kanroji here will be our class TA for the next two weeks as part of her young artist initiative internship program. Think of her as a second teacher. She’ll be helping you all on your upcoming pieces.”

“That’s right! I’m here to learn and to help you all learn!”

“Right, right. Alright class, get out your paintings and get to work.”

The class scattered about, grabbing their paintings off the drying rack and getting straight to work. As everyone got situated and began working, Mitsuri began walking around and observing the students hard at work. She gawked and awed at the display of talent in such young people, and quickly struck up conversation with the students whose work she found particularly interesting.

Eventually, she found her way over to Kanao’s table.

“Oh my! That’s incredible! What kind of flower is that?”

“It’s pink wisteria.”

“Ah!!! The flower of love! They’re gorgeous, and they’re in season right now!”

A fact Kanao knew all too well. Oh well.

“I wish I had chosen another flower.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

Kanao thought to herself. She wasn’t about to get extremely deep and personal with someone she just met, especially now that it seemed like the whole Tanjiro-crush-situation was far behind her.

“They’re a bit repetitive to paint. You get the same result with every attempt to paint a petal, and they’re so detailed that they’re easy to mess up. Eventually it just gets frustrating.”

“Ah, yes, but I think that’s what works so well with them! All these repeating petals are an indication of how far along you’ve come along in your piece, and once you finally finish it and look back, you’ll see how much all of it was worth it!”

Kanao tilted her head while looking at her painting. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

“Kanroji, can you come here for a second?”

“Yes sir!”

Mitsuri quickly turned to Kanao before darting off.

“Well I think it’s beautiful, keep up the good work!”

The art TA spun around to run back to Uzui’s desk, but accidentally ended up running into a student carrying a water cup on the way.

“AH! I’m so sorry!”

Kanao briefly snickered to herself as she pictured her older sister pining over this random clumsy girl. In stark contrast to Tomioka, Mitsuri was cheery, bubbly, and had a radiant aura of positive energy around her. The difference between the two couldn’t be more obvious, and yet, Kanao could see exactly why Shinobu fell for both.

It was a nice, momentary distraction from the looming issue at hand, anyways.

———————————————-

As the long school day finally came to a close, Kanao stepped outside into the courtyard. She had been dreading the lonesome walk home all day, as it seemed to remind her of everything missing in her life at the moment. However, to her surprise, she saw Kanae’s car parked in the pick-up zone. Even more confusing was the fact that while Kanae herself was nowhere to be seen, Shinobu stood next to the car door.

After looking around for a bit longer, she finally spotted Kanao walking towards her.

Once Kanao reached her, there was a moment of silence between the two sisters, and it seemed as if the long, awkward drama would continue well into the week. However, to Kanao’s surprise, Shinobu grabbed her and squeezed her as hard as possible.

“I heard what happened. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s no one’s fault.”

Shinbou pulled back from their hug and wiped a few tears off of her face.

“I, uh, wanted to see if we could drive up to the hospital to visit Tanjiro and his family, but they’re still only allowing immediate family to visit right now. So I figured I’d pick you up from school anyways and try to… ya know. Fix things.”

Kanao stiffened up before speaking.

“I’m sorry for reacting the way I did on Friday. I know you were trying to help, and I shouldn’t have blamed everything going south on you.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for putting you two in that situation in the first place. Don’t ever let me play matchmaker again.”

Kanao laughed before hugging her sister once again.

“You can still play matchmaker. I wouldn’t have even gotten that far without you.”

From their hug, Kanao was able to spot a familiar figure in the distance.

“Nee-san, look.”

Shinobu turned around. There, standing idly across the courtyard, was Giyu Tomioka. He hadn’t noticed her at first, as his attention was locked onto the young students leaving school. As soon as he looked up, however, his eyes immediately met with those of his ex-girlfriend, standing several meters across the yard. Neither of them had seen one another in several months, and quite frankly, neither one of them knew how to react.

Giyu awkwardly raised his hand to wave at her. Shinobu gave him a nervous wave in return, and quickly turned herself and her sister around to start getting in the car.

“What was that about?”

“What was what about?

“That! I thought you and Tomioka-san were on good terms!”

“Oh. That. Hah. Uhh. We’re not gonna talk about that.”

Kanao puzzlingly looked at her sister as they both got in the car. In a weird sort of way, it actually comforted her to see that her older sister was still having relationship issues. It made her feel like she didn’t have to have all of her crush-related issues with Tanjiro figured out by the date of the dance. In fact, it was probably for the best that she hadn’t already asked him, considering the situation with his father.

There are bigger things going on right now.

Chapter Text

Most of Monday night was static.

Though Shinobu and Kanao had reconciled, the fact that Tanjiro’s father was in critical condition and that poor Tanjiro was probably anxious out of his brains was looming over the Kocho household. Shinobu and Kanae did their best to distract Kanao with a delicious dinner, a fun board game, and one of her favorite movies, but her mind kept drifting to the people who she considered her second family.

After the movie, Mr. and Mrs. Kocho had returned from their long shifts at the hospital. The three girls immediately asked their parents if they had seen or heard anything about the Kamado family, to which they said they had heard nothing. After seeing the disheartened look on his youngest daughter’s face, however, he offered her some words of encouragement.

“I’ll make some phone calls to some friends working in the ICU. If they’re able to disclose any information, they’ll let us know.”

“Thank you, otosan.”

———————————————-

As the clock struck midnight, no updates on the Kamado family came.

Kanao figured that updates would be scarce, but hearing virtually nothing at all from Tanjiro for over twenty-four hours was deeply concerning. She and Shinobu had even stopped by the bakery on the way home to search for updates on the situation, only to find nothing. The more time that passed, the more Kanao found herself prone to panicking.

And then, when all seemed lost, a text appeared.

Tanjiro Kamado, 12:16AM

Hey.

Kanao sprung out of her bed and rushed to her phone like a cheetah. Tears began to swell in her eyes as she started to formulate a response, but before she could, Tanjiro kept typing.

Tanjiro Kamado, 12:16AM

I’m sorry for not keeping you in the loop.

Things have been crazy and overwhelming since early yesterday morning and I haven’t had much time to be on my phone.

I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Even in a time like this, he still put other people’s feelings ahead of his own. Kanao was honestly at a loss for words. After staring in disbelief at the words on her phone for almost a whole minute, she began to respond.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 12:17AM

You don’t have anything to apologize for.

I’m just glad you’re okay.

She almost regretted sending that last part, as it may have come off as insensitive if his father’s condition had worsened. She took a deep breath and finally asked the biggest question on her mind.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 12:17AM

How is he doing?

The messaging app had indicated that Tanjiro had read the message, but he wasn’t responding. Kanao immediately felt like she had struck a nerve with him, or that all of their worst fears had come true. Two minutes passed. Then three. Then four, and still no response. Kanao could feel her stomach rolling.

Oh no.

But finally, lest her anxious heart, the app indicated that Tanjiro had started typing once more.

Tanjiro Kamado, 12:21AM

Sorry, I had to go to the vending machine with Nezuko.

He is okay for now.

He had a lung failure in the middle of the night last night, apparently it was a long-running issue that he or my mother never told us about.

He was in the intensive care unit for almost 15 hours before he finally stabilized and was able to rest a little bit.

The doctors were able to find the issue and suggested that they operate on it as soon as possible.

He is going into surgery in about ten minutes to get his lung fixed.

Kanao let out a huge sigh of relief. Sure, things were still scary, but the fact that Tanjuro was still alive in the first place made her feel a lot better.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 12:22AM

Oh, thank goodness. I’m so glad to hear that he’s doing better.

…

…

…

…

…

…

Tanjiro Kamado, 12:23AM

Kanao.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 12:23AM

Yes?

Tanjiro Kamado, 12:23AM

I’m scared.

…

This was… different.

This was different from the Tanjiro who she knew. Different from the cheery sunshine boy the school had come to associate him with. Different from the Tanjiro who would always lift others up, no matter how dire the situation may have been. Different from the Tanjiro who would put himself through so much more just so other people could be comfortable. Different from the Tanjiro who, even though he had friends sitting at the comfortable tables and benches, sat on the dirty floor to talk to the new girl whom he had only just met.

And yet, it felt like him all the same.

It felt like through all of the troubles and hardships he faced for others, he hadn’t allowed himself and the hurt he faced to seep through the cracks. If that were the case, he was damn good at it. She instantly remembered moments in the past when Zenitsu or Inosuke had been acting out, or when the younger Kamados had been a handful to take care of. In every instance of hardship she recalled, Tanjiro always held himself like a steadfast guard. Quick to lend a hand, slow to consider himself.

Her mind raced back to the early days of her friendship. To the one, dear, precious memory she held in her heart more than most: sitting atop the jungle gym at the park, pouring her heart out about her abusive biological parents, Tanjiro instantly hugging her as tight as he could, promising her everything would be okay and making her realize that it took him to make her feel safe again. Even though it was only a simple two-word text message sent a little past midnight, Kanao instantly perceived it as it really was:

This was her Tanjiro. The one who had been there for her countless times.

It was time to be there for him.

Kanao Tsuyuri, 12:24AM

Can I call you for a bit?

…

———————————————-

They ended up talking on the phone for around an hour.

Since Tanjiro and his siblings weren’t allowed in the surgery room, Tanjiro had stood outside in the hallway, talking and crying to Kanao over the phone. It seemed like he had poured his heart and soul out to her; he talked about how this was one of the hardest days of his life, and how despite feeling an immense amount of stress and fear, he had to appear strong for his younger siblings.

Kanao got the sense that she was watching his emotional dam finally break. It seemed as if he had never gotten the chance to let all of his emotions out like this before, and as selfish as it sounded, she was glad she was able to be the one there for him. He had helped her so much in the past with her anxiety and her past trauma that it felt good to be on the supportive side for the person she cared most about in the entire world.

Towards the end of their call, Tanjiro informed her that regardless of how the surgery played out, he was probably going to take the rest of the week off of school. At first, this disheartened Kanao, as it meant he would be missing the school dance. But ultimately, she decided it didn’t matter; that fact that he was safe and that they were having this conversation meant more to her than a silly school dance.

When she finally hung up and put the phone down, Kanao drifted softly to sleep for the first time in days. While the results of the surgery were still up in the air, she knew that whatever happened, she would be there for Tanjiro.

———————————————-

The next morning, Kanao embarked on the journey to school by herself once more.

She had woken up to a text from Tanjiro sent hours prior stating two important facts:

1. His dad had survived the operation and was now in recovery.
2. He appreciated and cherished her company a lot, even if it was over the phone.

It was for those two reasons that, even though things weren’t going exactly her way, she walked to school in higher spirits than ever.

As she approached the school courtyard, Kanao heard an eruption of cheers and audible gasps. She found a crowd of students clumped around the entrance gate, making it hard for her to see what was going on over the sea of heads and backpacks.

She was, however, able to make out two very distinct voices.

“SHE SAID YES! I WIN!”

“Keep it down, idiot!”

Kanao trudged her way to the front of the crowd just in time to match the voices to their owners.

Inosuke and Aoi?!?!???

To everyone’s bewilderment, Inosuke was standing on top of one of the courtyard tables with a fist full of rotting flowers in his hand. Sitting at the table he was standing on was Aoi, whose face was beet red and was doing everything in her power not to make eye contact with another living being.

Kanao was absolutely stunned, as she assumed everyone else was as well. No one in their right mind would’ve ever thought to guess that the literal personification of a human boar would ever think to ask out anyone, much less Aoi. And what was stranger, nobody expected her to actually say yes.

I knew that Inosuke and Aoi were friends, but I never thought it would lead to something like this. I wonder if Inosuke likes her, or is just asking her out to prove that he’s the best.

She turned to Aoi again, who, despite still being as red as a tomato, was now smiling at Inosuke.

I guess I’ll have to ask her later. She seems happy though.

———————————————-

The rest of the day seemed to fly by without a hitch.

After second period, Kanao caught up to Aoi in the hallway to talk to her about Inosuke. When asked, Aoi seemed a little flustered and embarrassed, but happy nonetheless, prompting Kanao to think that there was something deeper than Inosuke just being Inosuke.

Kanao had learned that Zenitsu was supposed to ask Nezuko to the dance during fourth period, but with the ongoing situation with the Kamados, he canceled the plans and grumbled about having to get a refund on a custom-printed pair of t-shirts.

Before fourth period, Zenitsu stopped Kanao in the hallway to check on her.

“Kanao-san. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“No, no, no, I mean…”

He got much closer to Kanao and whispered in her ear.

“...your crush on Tanjiro. And the plan with the dance.”

Kanao sighed. After everything that had happened, she was well past the point of feeling embarrassed by her crush. With the conversation she had the previous night, she was more than okay with sitting the dance out.

“I’m doing okay. There’s more important things right now than a school dance.”

“I guess so… but imagine! You guys would’ve dominated the social scene! Tanjiro and Kanao, Kimetsu Academy’s greatest power couple!”

Kanao laughed.

“Maybe, but I think I was stressing out about it more than I should’ve. Whatever happens, Tanjiro is still my best friend.”

“That’s a good way to look at it. Still, it’s crazy to think we could’ve been siblings-in-law.”

“What do you mea-“

Before Kanao could finish her thought, Inosuke ran up to both of them.

“IN YOUR FACE, PENITZU! I HAVE DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE AND ACHIEVED A DATE FOR THE SCHOOL DANCE, WHILE YOU REMAIN WOMANLESS! MUHAHAHA!”

“I’M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE, YOU PUTRID ANIMAL!”

Both delinquents chased each other up and down the school hallway, causing a ruckus and forcing an idle Coach Tomioka to grab them both by their collars and lift them into the air.

“Will you shrimp-stains ever stop fighting…”

———————————————-

The end of the day brought a few more dance proposals throughout the school. A few upperclassmen, a few lowerclassmen, and some from Kanao’s grade. A few amusing rejections had happened, including one that ended with a dunk in the toilet. All of this was background noise to the now resolved Kanao, who went back to focusing on her studies and being a good student.

She aced her math quiz, was able to write two and a half pages for her upcoming book report, and got a fair bit of research done for her paper on social change for civics class. She even took her study hall period to come into the art room and work on her painting, which Mitsuri was ecstatic to help out on.

The two of them chatted whilst working on their art, but Kanao never brought up Shinobu. Mitsuri, as sweet yet dense as she was, even pointed out the resemblance and failed to connect the dots.

“Your butterfly pin is very pretty! I used to go to school with someone here who wore one kinda like it. She was super smart, and she used to date the current gym coach back when we were all seniors here.”

The comment made Kanao laugh, though Mitsuri had no idea why.

Alas, after sixth period the school day came to a close. Kanao and Aoi walked and talked to their lockers like usual, chatting about some TV show they had all been watching about pirate kings, green-haired swordsmen, and talking reindeer doctors. As Kanao closed her locker, however, she heard the familiar screech of one yellow-haired banshee as he zipped through the hallway.

“NEZUKO-CHANNNNNNN!”

Huh. That’s weird. I thought she was staying at the hospital with Tanjiro.

She turned around just in time to see Zenitsu jump the end of the hallway… right into Nezuko’s arms. She was out of her school uniform, wearing a casual cardigan and jeans, and she smiled and laughed as she caught Zenitsu. Kanao could barely make out what he was saying through his blabbering tears (something about how he just refunded some t-shirts?), but someone else standing at Nezuko’s side caught her eye.

Her heart skipped a beat.

It was Tanjiro.

Kanao immediately dropped all of her books and ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug in the world. He laughed and returned the gesture by hugging her as tight as he could. Everyone in the hallway was probably looking at them both, but at this point neither of them cared. They had been separated for too long.

“Tanjiro! What are you doing here?”

“My dad is feeling better and everyone has calmed down a little bit, so I figured we could run by to grab our school work that we missed from today and yesterday.”

“Ahh… I guess that makes sense.”

Tanjiro gave her a big, genuine smile, which warmed her heart. Before she could speak up, Tanjiro asked her a question.

“Hey, how about I walk you home! To make up for not being able to do it yesterday.”

“What about Nezuko?”

They both looked over at Nezuko, who was still preoccupied with Zenitsu’s antics.

“I think she’s a little busy. She said she wanted to hang out with Zenitsu for a little bit, whatever that means. Besides, I thought it would be nice if it was just you and me.”

For once, Kanao didn’t freak out, overthink, or overreact. She simply smiled at him and spoke.

“That sounds lovely.”

———————————————-

And there they were again.

Walking home, side by side. The freshly scented spring breeze drifting ever so delicately past both of them as a pink and gold sunset illuminated their path. After such a tense weekend, this specific walk home felt like a gentle walk on the clouds. They passed the same cluster of pink wisteria trees that sparked this whole escapade, except now they seemed to be a little less vibrant as they were before. Neither of them minded though, as it didn’t matter how jaded or faded they had grown throughout the previous week; they were still there, and they still had meaning.

Tanjiro spent most of the trip updating Kanao on his father’s situation, as well as thanking her once again for keeping her company over the phone the night before.

“They say he’s supposed to be discharged from the ICU this Friday. He said that he still wants to cater for the school dance, but oka-san and I won’t let him. He needs the rest.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t need to overwork himself. Maybe he should take the week off.”

“That’s what we’re trying to convince him to do. He still encouraged me and Nezuko to go and have a good time, though.”

Kanao perked up.

Maybe…? No, no. Nope. That ship has sailed…right?

She quickly deflected the topic away from themselves and onto their friends.

“So… Nezuko and Zenitsu. Is that actually gonna happen?”

“I think so. I know Zenitsu can be a lot but… Nezuko told me that she admires how sweet he is on the inside. You know, past the obsessive loudness. Anyways, she said if he were to ask her, her answer would be yes. And we all know that he’s been planning to ask her for forever now.”

“Yeah, I heard him mention custom t-shirts multiple times today. Do you have any idea of what those could be?”

“Unfortunately, I do, haha.”

Kanao noticed that Tanjiro was planning to turn at a fork in the road and take a path that they don’t usually take. In fact, she had been extra observant of his body language ever since they started walking. He stood a bit closer to her the entire walk, and their hands brushed ever so slightly a few times.

“Are we not going home?”

“Well… I figured we could take a little detour first.”

“Oh?”

They continued walking down the alternate path, talking about school and the events that Tanjiro had missed. Kanao told him that Mitsuri had been sitting in on their art class and that she used to know Shinobu and Giyu, but she conveniently left out the part about her older sister’s crush. She got so caught up in telling everything that he could’ve missed to him that it took a while for her to realize where exactly they were heading.

“Wait… are we going to the park?”

“Yep! Surprise!”

Tanjiro laughed sheepishly and nervously, giving Kanao some mixed thoughts. They soon arrived at the park, which was uncharacteristically empty. She recalled all of the sights well; she and Tanjiro had hung out there many times ever since their friendship started blossoming the year before. She turned and realized that they were heading towards the jungle gym, which sent her mind into over-analysis mode.

…why are we going here?

The jungle gym had been where Tanjiro and Kanao had their first true heart to heart discussion. It had been the previous summer, during the height of Kanao’s anxiety. She and him had talked for hours, and she told him everything about her abusive biological parents and the trauma she still fought on a daily basis. It was where he affirmed to her that he would never let her go and that he would always take care of her. It was where she first considered him to be her best friend.

They climbed to the very top of the jungle gym and sat atop its surprisingly high peak once again. All of these thoughts and emotions were hitting her like a deja-vu-fueled truck, but she still couldn’t piece together what was happening. As they watched the sun set and the spring leaves fall, Tanjiro looked downwards and spoke.

“Kanao… I want to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For last night. Actually, scratch that. For everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve always been there for me. I’ve always been able to decompress and just be myself around you. I’ve always cherished our walks to school and back home together because you’ve always felt like a safe space to me. I love our friends and all, but sometimes they can be a lot to handle. When I’m with you, I feel like I don’t have to be the leader of the pack or the captain of the track team everyone looks up to.”

Kanao felt her face grow red as he continued.

“When I texted you last night, I knew you were the only one I could talk to about the situation. I don’t know what it was, but hearing your voice and your kind words really comforted me last night. You made one of the scariest nights of my life feel less scary, if that makes sense.”

Kanao silently nodded, and he finally faced her.

“You’ve always been super important to me, Kanao. And… I guess if I felt certain things, I was scared you’d think of me differently. Wait, no, I mean- hold on.”

She could see he was stumbling around his words, but for some god-forsaken reason she hadn’t connected the dots yet. Maybe, just maybe, she was as dense as he was.

Tanjiro took a deep breath.

“Okay. What I mean to say is. Phew. Okay. Hold on.”

He took another deep breath before taking both her hands into his own.

“Kanao… I want to ask you something.”

Her eyes went wide.

 

Wait… oh.

 

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

 

 

He locked eyes with her and gently squeezed her hands.

“Kanao… would you-”

 

 

Right as her mind made the connection, her mind went into autopilot mode and she instantly blurted out.

“No!”

Tanjiro’s face immediately fell.

Oops.

Tanjiro slowly let go of her hands, much to Kanao’s chagrin.

“I, uh… I’m sorry… I mean…”

“No, no, I get it. Don’t worry about i-”

“No, Tanjiro, listen to me! I’ve just been… I’ve been trying to ask you all week…”

Tanjiro’s face immediately turned red as the pair of students both fell into a momentary silence. Kanao looked off to the side for what seemed like an eternity before finally making eye contact with him. His crimson eyes shimmered and sparkled with a dazzling brightness reflected off of the evening sun. She knew that if there were ever a time to do it, that time must be now.

Come on Kanao. Just say it.

Say it.

Say it.

Say it.

Say it.

Say it.

…

…

…

 

 

 

“Tanjiro… would you like to go to the dance with me?”

Chapter Text

The rest of the week was a blur.

The magical (yet semi-awkward) events of Tuesday afternoon changed the entire trajectory of the week. Kanao immediately went home and excitedly told her entire family, who were extremely happy for her. Her parents, who somehow didn’t see it coming, were definitely shocked at first, but simmered down once they realized it was Tanjiro, who didn’t have an ill-intentioned bone in his body. Mr. Kocho gave his seal of approval, so long as he walk her home by a certain hour. Kanae laughed and said something along the lines of “it’s about time.”

Shinobu, on the other hand, actively started tearing up because of how invested she had become in her sister’s love life. Upon hearing the good news, she shrieked and hugged Kanao as tight as humanly possible. Their parents were a tad bit confused as to why Shinobu reacted the way she did, but Kanae understood. For all the pitfalls Shinobu had faced in her dating life, it felt nice for her to live a victory through her younger sister.

“I told you everything would work out! It’s a good thing you didn’t let him ask you first. Gotta put your foot down and tell ‘em what’s what!”

“Nee-san!!!”

Tanjiro’s family also took the news well. His parents, unlike Kanao’s parents, saw this coming well in advance. In fact, Tanjiro had asked his dad post-surgery if going to the dance asking her out was a good idea, to which his dad wholeheartedly supported him. All of Tanjiro’s siblings (save for Nezuko) were shocked, astounded, and happy to find out that Tanjiro had a date. Hanako and Takeo teased him relentlessly, asking if Kanao was going to become their new sister-in-law. Tanjiro sheepishly laughed and shrugged the question off.

Tanjiro and Kanao’s date to the dance wasn’t the only bombshell dropped on the Kamado household on Tuesday night, however. Shortly after Tanjiro announced what happened, Nezuko added that she had said yes to Zenitsu’s dance proposal. Her entire family was flabbergasted, and her parents were ever so slightly concerned, given Zenitsu's obsessive tendencies. Even still, Nezuko protested that underneath all of his antics, Zenitsu had a kind and caring heart. Though he was hesitant to, Tanjiro chimed in and vouched for his friend, putting their parents’ minds at ease.

With all the excitement in the air, the Kamados almost seemed to forget the events of Sunday night. Tanjuro, while still in a decent amount of discomfort, was just happy that his kids found a healthy distraction from the situation at hand. While he and Kie certainly couldn’t cater for the dance like they had in the past, he still fully intended to support and help his children out.

———————————————-

Sometime in the middle of the week, the Kimetsu Academy alumni had received an email from the faculty stating that they would love some of the varsity graduates to chaperone the dance.

Shinobu, who had played a single season of varsity basketball in senior year for the extracurricular credit, had received the email. Normally, she would have easily discarded it and moved on with her life. However, the events with Kanao made her nostalgic enough about high school dances for her to at least consider it. Conflicted, she asked for Kanao’s opinion while they were doing errands.

“I’m not sure, what do you think?”

“I think you should go! It would be good for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!?!?,” she said in an annoyed, yet playful tone.

“Nothing! It’s just that you’re always cooped up inside with your studies. A nice, formal event could be fun!”

“I’d be chaperoning a room full of sweaty kids fresh out of puberty.”

“True, but you never know who you could run into!”

Shinobu scoffed.

“If you’re referring to Tomioka, that doesn’t change my mind. Besides, he’s probably busy off with all of his friends that he doesn’t have.”

“Well the email was addressed to alumni right? Some of your old friends could be there!”

While Kanao was indeed hiding Mitsuri’s TA position from Shinobu, that didn’t stop the older Kocho from imagining who could show up. Still, she was unconvinced.

“I don’t know…”

“Pleaaaaaase??? You’ll get to see me and Tanjiro’s first dance!”

“…okay you won me over. But I’m wearing my suit, no one’s gonna make me wear a dress.”

———————————————-

At long last, Friday night had arrived.

Shinobu had briefly helped Kanao get herself ready for the date, but she had to leave the house earlier than her younger sister to help set up the dance as a chaperone. Kanae stepped in and helped Kanao with her hair and makeup, as well as reassuring her that everything was going to be great and she didn’t need to be as nervous as she was.

Which was, to say, wildly nervous.

The plan was simple: wait for Tanjiro to arrive and pick her up from her house, walk to the school together, and have the time of their lives at the spring formal. But if the past week taught Kanao anything, it was if something could go wrong, chances are it probably will. Still, reassurance from both her sisters and parents calmed her nerves at least a little bit.

As Kanae finished brushing Kanao’s hair, their mother appeared at the doorway to the bathroom.

“He’s waiting for you outside.”

Kanao’s heart skipped a beat as she realized it was finally time. All the wild events of the past two weeks had led to tonight, to this very moment. She silently looked at Kanae, who gave her a warm, reassuring smile that wordlessly told her, ‘everything is going to be okay.’

Meanwhile, young Kamado stood patiently outside, swaying and kicking his feet back and forth in anticipation. He wore a steam-pressed, dark gray blazer over a white button-up shirt and a purple tie in order to match with his date. His hair was slicked back and neatly gelled and combed, no doubt a product of his mother’s doing. It was rare for Tanjiro to dress up this diligently, but he figured it was for a good reason. All of this was new territory for him: despite being the most popular boy in school, he had never been on a date before, or had even been asked out for that matter. In fact, the thought of going on a date and pursuing romance very rarely crossed his mind. That was, until Kanao came along and turned his world upside down.

At almost the exact moment he came to this realization, he heard the locks to the Butterfly Mansion begin to click and undo themselves. He anxiously gulped as the bronze door handle began to turn. His palms began to sweat as the mahogany door slowly began to swing open. And then-

…

There she was.

…

Kanao descended down the stairs in front of her house with a nervous elegance. She wore a long maxi dress with purple tulle and dainty flower accents. Her hair, which was typically tied in a ponytail with a signature Kocho butterfly hairpiece, was let down to flow freely for this occasion, a detail that definitely took Tanjiro by surprise. She wore a pair of white heels, which essentially made the two of them stand at nearly the same height.

Tanjiro was so busy analyzing and admiring every detail of her that he completely forgot that he was just standing there silently, mouth agape and hands fidgeting. Regaining his composure, he spoke the only words on his mind.

“You look… beautiful.”

Kanao blushed.

“Thank you, you look very handsome yourself.”

They both nervously laughed as they took each other’s hands. On the surface, it should have been nothing more than two best friends going to the school dance together. But both of them, as well as everyone around them, knew that there was something deeper going on between them, and tonight was the night that deeper feeling would finally present itself.

Kanao watched as Tanjiro pulled a small plastic container from behind his back.

“Oh! I believe these are for us!”

He opened it, and inside were two gorgeous white roses in the form of a corsage and a boutonniere, staples of the school dance culture. Tanjiro presented Kanao with her corsage and helped her slip it around her wrist, while she helped Tanjiro pin his boutonniere to his blazer. After they had finished the courtesies, Tanjiro looked into her eyes and smiled.

“So… you ready?”

———————————————-

The clock read 6:52PM. Roughly eight minutes before the dance was set to begin.

Shinobu, wearing a pastel light-purple pantsuit with her hair neatly made into a higher bun than usual, re-entered the gymnasium with two plastic shopping bags. In them contained the extra plastic cups, plastic plates, plastic spoons, and plastic forks that Principal Ubuyashiki assigned her to grab from the grocery store. As she placed them all down at the self-serve table and poured herself a cup of fruit punch, her eyes scanned the room for any signs of her ex-boyfriend. To her luck, all she saw were school faculty, members of the student council, and other students who had arrived early for the formal. Not that seeing her ex-boyfriend would be a problem. Definitely not.

And yet, just as she was least expecting it, another familiar loud, booming voice startled her from her left.

“SHINOBU! I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN AGES!”

“Hehe, hi Kyojuro.”

“HOW ARE YOU DOING? HOW ARE YOUR ONLINE STUDIES? I’M SO HAPPY YOU COULD HELP US OUT TONIGHT!”

“They’re alright. Lots of work. Lots. I’m lucky I didn’t have anything due tonight so I could be here.”

“THAT’S GOOD TO HEAR! DID YOU HEAR THAT I’M DESIGNATED DJ TONIGHT?”

“I heard! I’m excited to hear your setlist.”

“I’VE GOT SOME GOOD ONES LINED UP, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SLOW DANCE! SPEAKING OF, HAVE YOU GREETED MITSURI AND OBANAI YET?”

Shinobu nearly spat out the fruit punch she was drinking at the mention of that name.

“...M is here?”

“YES, LOOK!”

Kyojuro let out a hearty laugh and pointed to the other end of the room. True enough, behind the photo booth area sat the new temporary assistant art teacher Mitsuri Kanroji, who had brought her boyfriend, Obanai Iguro, as her date to the dance. She was wearing a long, silver, backless dress, and he was wearing a dignified turtleneck overlaid with a thick blazer. Shinobu, who hadn’t seen either of them in person since their high school graduation, was mortified. But as obscene as it sounded, that wasn’t the least of her troubles.

Mitsuri and Obanai were talking to none other than Giyu Tomioka.

There he stood in all of his fiddly glory. He wore a dark blue vest over a white button up that looked like it hadn’t been ironed beforehand, and yet he seemed to make it work. He looked like he was totally uninterested in whatever Mitsuri was saying, but Shinobu knew that he just looked uninterested, and in reality would sharply hang on to every word of any given conversation he was in. She wondered how she hadn’t seen him at the dance until this moment, when she just so happened to notice her former crush and her former crush’s boyfriend.

Shinobu’s stomach twisted itself in a knot. Before she even had time to process the situation, Rengoku began yelling again.

“THERE THEY ARE! AND LOOK, TOMIOKA IS TALKING TO THEM TOO! HERE, I’LL WAVE THEM DOWN FOR YOU! KANROJI, IGURO, TOMIOKA, LOOK OVER HE-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Rengoku looked to his side and realized that Kocho had disappeared. Confused, he shrugged it off and went to resume setting up the DJ station.

———————————————-

Tanjiro and Kanao arrived at the school courtyard around ten minutes late, as they took their time to enjoy the beautiful weather that adorned their journey to the spring formal. They both noted that students were already pouring into the building, and for the first time for both of them, it set in that this was really happening.

Kanao, still as a statue, glared at the open door, wondering what awaited them on the other side. However, Tanjiro gently squeezed her hand and gave her a warm smile, soothing her nerves. She was with her favorite person in the whole world, nothing else mattered.

They both took a deep breath and stepped into the gym. The distinct high school dance feeling immediately hit them: contemporary and modern hits blaring on the speakers, dozens of students chattering and dancing, a line for the food table that ran well into the hallway, and a disco ball that hung high from the rafters and illuminated the whole room. As soon as they stepped into the room, heads immediately started turning and looking at them, almost as if they were some celebrity couple. To some extent, they were; everyone in their grade level had been anticipating them getting together, and watching it finally unfold felt like a modern day fairytale. As a highly-danceable pop song filled the sound waves in the air, Tanjiro and Kanao began walking through the crowd, arms linked like royalty. It was cheesy, but because of the company they held, it was magical too.

“So, uh,” Tanjiro spoke up, “what do you wanna do first?”

“Well-“

Before Kanao could finish, they both heard a very distinct pair of voices from across the room.

“GONPACHIRO! HANAO!"

“TANJIRROOOO! KANAO-SANNNN!”

Tanjiro and Kanao laughed and started walking over to Zenitsu and Inosuke, who were joined by their dates, Nezuko and Aoi. The four of them were dancing to the music as they watched the prince and princess of the dance make their way over to them.

As soon as they got a good look at her, Nezuko and Aoi immediately rushed to Kanao to compliment her on her gorgeous dress.

“AHHHHH KANAO! YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL! WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?”

“Thank you, haha! Kanae helped me pick it out! You guys look amazing too!”

“Hey, let’s all go take pictures together at the photobooth! Ya know, before the lines get too long, and before we all get tired and sweaty from dancin’ around a lot!”

“Let’s do it!”

Soon, Tanjiro, Kanao, Zenitsu, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Aoi fell in line for the photobooth. A few other students had beaten them to it, but the resulting wait wasn’t much longer than they anticipated. They took a few formal group photos, and then of course many, many funny photos. The photographer handed them all sorts of props to take photos with, which they had an insane amount of fun with. Inosuke tried to eat one, but Aoi ripped it out of his hands before it was too late. Their initial group was eventually joined by Genya and the Tokito twins, who proceeded to take silly group photos with them.

After they had taken a few more group photos, Aoi teasingly pushed Kanao and asked her,

“Sooo… when are you and your new boyfriend gonna take cute photos for social media?”

Kanao snickered and pushed her back.

“Well… I guess we’ll be right after you and Inosuke. That is, if he ever stops acting like a wild animal and actually stands next to his date for more than two seconds.”

They both looked over at Inosuke, who was messily chowing down on some shrimp like a barbarian while simultaneously trying to steal Zenitsu’s own shrimp. Aoi hung her head low.

“...yeah that’ll be a while, you guys better just go first. That is, if you guys aren’t too chicken…”

“Pfff, oh yeah? Watch this, Aoi.”

Kanao laughed and took her date’s hand, much to Tanjiro’s surprise. She marched them right up to the backdrop in front of the photographer. She had no idea where this burst of newfound confidence came from, but she wore it on her sleeve and never looked back. Was it a little out of her element? Maybe, but tonight was a special night. She could dare to be a little bold.

She and Tanjiro spent a few minutes taking photos; at first, they were a little stiff and awkward. Neither of them were as experienced in this sort of thing, so they didn’t exactly know how to pose themselves. But with a little encouragement from the photographer and their friends, they loosened out of their shells and were able to take some cute photos. This got the others excited, and Aoi and Nezuko immediately went to drag Inosuke and Zenitsu to do the same.

Soon after, all the couples took their turns taking cute partner photos. As to be expected, there were a lot of teasing in the form of “ooooo’s” and “ahhhhh’s” as each new pairing had their turn, but it was all in a playful spirit. In fact, Kanao surprisingly found herself liking all the eyes on them. It made her proud to think of how far she had come and how much she was able to accomplish. All of Kanao’s worries and fears began to melt away the more the night pressed on; instead of worrying about how her and Tanjiro would be perceived, she found herself just having fun with both her date and her closest friends.

———————————————-

An hour had passed, and as the dance proceeded, all the students continued enjoying themselves and reveling in the high-school drama. All of the expected tropes were present: wild groups of friends raging to hype-music, other nervous new couples shuffling stiffly over to the photo booth to take photos, and lots of social media posts that would inevitably lead to drama the following Monday. Regardless, Tanjiro and Kanao’s core friend group were having the time of their lives.

Some time in between eating some freshly catered pasta and dancing to everyone’s favorite pop music, Kanao found herself grabbing breadsticks for the group over at the snack table. To her surprise, when she leaned over to grab a few napkins, she saw Shinobu, crouching behind the table as if she were a troll under a bridge.

“Nee-san?”

“Shhh! I’m not here.”

“What are you doing? Are you hiding?”

“What? No. No, no no. Nope. Not me.”

Kanao looked over to where Genya and the Tokito twins were and saw Coach Tomioka. She figured her sister didn’t want to talk to her ex, but what prompted her to hide like this? There must have been something else. She studied Shinobu’s face and realized something: though she was trying her best not to look at Giyu, her eyes were glued to someone else. Kanao traced her older sister’s line of sight to her focus: Mitsuri Kanroji, standing halfway across the room, talking to her boyfriend. Kanao giggled to herself, recalling the first time she had talked to Mitsuri in art class a few days prior.

“Oh… Miss Kanroji.”

“What the– how do you know her?”

“She started coming in earlier this week to help Mr. Uzui with art class. I think it was for her art degree credits or something like that? Besides, I recognized her description from a story I heard recently. Something about someone having a crush on a pink and green haired goddess?”

Shinobu immediately turned beet red and shushed her sister, ironically mirroring when she had teased Kanao about her crush on Tanjiro.

“That was a long, long, LONG time ago. It’s just… I haven’t talked to her since a little bit after graduation. I just… I just want to know how she’s doing.”

“You should talk to her!”

“What?”

Kanao laughed.

“Just a friendly chat between friends. I’m sure her boyfriend won’t mind. Besides, it might help you with some closure.”

“I… I can’t.”

Kanao helped her sister stand up and gave her a hug.

“If you were able to help me conquer all odds and face my feelings, then let me do the same for you, nee-san.”

These words struck a chord with Shinobu, who returned her sister’s hug.

“I… thank you, Kanao.”

She took a second to mentally prepare before crossing the sea of students to get to the other side of the room. Kanao watched proudly, wondering if this was the kind of pride Shinobu felt a few days prior when the date with Tanjiro was confirmed. Regardless, she turned back to join Tanjiro and their group of friends.

By the time Shinobu reached the other side, Iguro had stepped away to use the restroom. She pinched herself for courage, muttered a few incomprehensible words to herself, and then rushed in.

“Um, hi M.”

“OH MY GOSH! SHINOBU!”

Without warning, Mitsuri immediately clung to her former schoolmate with all her might. Despite her appearance, she was astonishingly strong, making her embrace very sweet but also a little painful.

“How are you? Oh my god, it’s been forever!”

“I’ve been good! Lots of studying. You know how it is.”

“Right! It must be a lot of work, being a STEM major and all. I see your posts on your socials all the time, that much dedication to academics is seriously impressive.”

“Yeah, haha. I don’t have a whole ton of free time. I’m mostly here as a chaperone for Kanao.”

“Oh! You aren’t here for Tomioka?”

Shinobu’s heart jumped. Both girls glanced across the room at Giyu, who was awkwardly helping to rearrange the food table.

“Erm… no.”

“Ah, okay! Sorry, Obanai and I were just talking to him not that long ago.”

“Wait, did he say he was here for me or something?”

“No, but he was asking where you were. I think he wanted to talk to you… are you guys okay?”

“Oh, I, um… Giyu and I are still broken up. Not much has changed.”

“I meant your friendship! You guys were best friends long before you started dating! Is all of that gone now, or…?”

Shinobu’s face fell. There was a part of her, a large part of her in fact, that still longed for Giyu. Even before they had begun dating, they had been such a big part of each other’s lives since elementary school. The radio silence between them ever since they had broken up had not been easy for either of them, but she determined that a break from each other would be for the best.

And now, Shinobu found herself in the bizarre situation of talking to her high school crush about her own imploded relationship.

“...I’m not sure, to be honest. I miss him a lot, but with the way things ended… I don’t know where either of us are at.”

“Well… there’s only one way to find out!”

Shinobu looked up to find Mitsuri gesturing her head towards the man. As much as she hated the idea, she had to admit Mitsuri was right. Sooner or later, she would have to acknowledge the unspoken baggage between them. And whether she liked it or not, now was the perfect opportunity to.

———————————————-

Tanjiro, Kanao, and all of their friends were all having fun exchanging stories and eating the delicious food the school provided. It was a night of true friendship; rarely any of them were on their phones, aside from taking the occasional selfie, and all of them treasured the time they were spending together as a group. All the couples sat together, but aside from the occasional nudge or charming gesture, there weren’t many sparks flying outside the usual instances.

But high school dances, of course, were known for dancing.

Just as everyone was finishing up their meals, they heard slow piano music begin to descend from the speakers, followed by the non-yelling voice of DJ Rengoku.

“Alright everybody, it’s time to slow down and take it nice and easy. If you and your special one are feeling the music, you know what to do.”

Aoi immediately looked at Inosuke, who was distracted by his fork. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his wrists and dragged him to the dance floor, where they were among the first to engage in the time honored tradition of the high school slow dance. Zenitsu looked at Nezuko with pleading puppy eyes, and Nezuko happily obliged and led her partner to join the others.

Tanjiro and Kanao, who both knew this moment was coming, both had an immense amount of butterflies in their stomach. For as much progress as they had made, both of them carried the signature restless that comes with one’s first dance. Regardless, Tanjiro stood up and extended his hand towards Kanao.

“Shall we?”

She happily took his hand, and they linked arms as he led her to the center of the dance floor. As they reached the middle of the room, Tanjiro unlinked their arms and carefully and modestly wrapped his hands around Kanao’s waist, while she placed her hands behind his shoulders and around the back of his neck. As the words to whatever random slow song Rengoku chose started playing, Tanjiro timidly and quietly spoke to her.

“You know, I’ve never slow danced with anyone before.”

“If I’m being honest, neither have I.”

“I mean, how hard can it really be, right? It just seems like a lot of swaying back and forth.”

“Yeah, haha. I’m sure we’re doing it right.”

Kanao briefly noticed that Tanjiro’s hands were shaking. She had never seen him this nervous in her entire life. She had all but expended her nerves in the days, hours, and minutes leading up to their dance, so she gave him a soft smile to assure him he was doing right by her. For whatever reason, her simple smile caused Tanjiro to be absolutely smitten.

“I meant what I said earlier, by the way. You look beautiful tonight.”

“Tanjiro…”

“Sorry, that was pretty direct, haha. I’m still not getting used to all of this.”

“Well you’ve been nothing short of a gentleman all night, so I’d say you’re doing a good job.”

He smiled as well, and in that instant, all anxiousness faded.

From that moment on, they swayed in silence; utterly wordless and equally breathless, but not for the lack of trying. No, for what they felt in that moment didn’t need any words. If they had tried to put words to what they felt in that moment, the task would be daunting and utterly impossible. Everything outside of their peripheral vision seemed to melt away in vague hues of blue and purple, as even the melodies that swelled and spun their movements seemed to blur into one emotion: love.

Their swaying advanced into small little spins, followed by gentle and precious shared giggles. They were no longer at some high school dance: they were prince and princess, waltzing in a court that was uniquely and tenderly theirs. They were sun and moon, spinning around each other like cosmic figures in cyclic rotation. They were fire and water, sizzling and bright but also unbroken and tranquil.

They were Tanjiro Kamado and Kanao Tsyuri. Best friends, but maybe a little more than that now.

———————————————-

On the opposite end of the room near the rest of the staff, Shinbou finally mustered up the courage to walk over to Giyu. Admittedly, she was walking extremely slow. One foot after the other, she felt her heart pounding as she neared Tomioka. His back was turned, so he hadn’t noticed her yet. She would be lying if she said in that moment she didn’t almost turn around and abandon ship, but she remembered what Mitsuri said. Her hand shook as she reached out to tap his shoulder, but right before she did, she made sure to put on her signature sassy mask of confidence.

“Hey, stranger.”

Giyu’s eyes went wide as he turned around and saw Shinobu. He quickly composed himself and turned to face her.

“Hey.”

“Whatchu doing all lonesome over here?”

“Tending the snack table. Making sure none of these idiots violate school rules.”

“Is that so? You must be very important for them to have you doing this kind of grunt work.”

“Oh yeah. Totally.”

The two chuckled quietly before going silent and looking off to the side awkwardly. Finally, Shinobu took another deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

“This is gonna sound crazy but… do you wanna dance with me?”

Giyu’s stomach dropped.

“Uh… sure.”

Shinobu extended her hand out to Giyu, who reluctantly took it and followed her lead to a little corner in the back where they could be by themselves and still hear the melody. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and together, they awkwardly started swaying to the slow tempo of the music.

“So…how have you been lately?”

“Good.”

“Good how?”

“Good good. I’ve just been working a lot.”

“I see…”

“How about you?”

“Me? Oh I’ve been okay. Suuuuuuper busy with school stuff. It’s all I ever do nowadays.”

“You’re still living at home, right? You haven’t transferred to TMU in person yet?”

“Yeah, I’m still at home. I’m probably going to do another semester or two of prerequisites at home before getting my own apartment there.”

“Cool.”

The conversation came to a lull as they continued slow dancing to the music. Feeling the uncomfortability seeping between them, Shinobu spoke up.

“…this is weird, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, it shouldn’t be. Well, it is a little. Even if it shouldn’t be.”

Giyu smirked. Despite her efforts to be the sassy, loud, comedic and sarcastic one in their relationship, he knew that deep down she was still a little awkward. They continued to dance in silence, his arms wrapped gently around her waistline and her arms hanging onto his broad shoulders. They swayed quietly to the music, like two lost souls trying to reconnect without the slightest idea of how to start.

Just when Shinobu started to think that this whole interaction was a lost cause, Giyu broke the silence.

“Do you ever miss us?”

“Subtle as a brick tonight are we?”

“You were the one who approached me.”

“Touché… do you mean like, being a couple?”

“Well not just that. Like, hanging out together. Watching anime, going on nature walks, and all that shit we used to do even as friends.”

“I mean… yeah. Of course I do.”

She noted that Giyu looked surprised. She wondered if he was expecting the opposite answer, as if he expected her to not miss their closeness in the slightest. He looked off to the side before continuing.

“Yeah… I do too.”

“I guess we haven’t actually talked much since we ended things.”

“Since you ended things.”

“...right.”

They both grew quiet once more. Shinobu felt a storm of emotions incoming: she was offended that he chose now out of all times to pin the breakup back on her, but on the other hand, she did feel very bad because he was right. She was the one who initiated the breakup between them. She was the reason they didn’t talk anymore, or watch anime together, or go on nature walks. She was the one who broke his heart.

Shinobu lifted her hands off of his shoulders and motioned to walk away.

“Look, clearly this was a mistake. I’m sorry for bothering you, I’ll leave you alone for the rest of th-”

“Wait.”

He grabbed her hand. Their eyes locked and time seemed to stand still. Though unintentionally, it was the first time they had held hands since they broke up. To say she was getting overly nostalgic and emotional because of that fact would be an understatement.

“You asked me to dance. Why?”

“Because Mitsuri said I should.”

“Why did you go through with it?”

“Because I felt bad for you. Standing all alone in the corner.”

“You don’t expect me to believe like that’s the only reason, right?”

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But now’s not the time for this conversation, Tomioka. For god’s sake, we’re chaperoning a high school dance.”

Shinobu tore her hand away and left him standing alone in the corner. But before she got too far, she stopped in her tracks. Without even turning around, she could picture his expression. She was pushing him away again. She was running from the issues they had instead of confronting them together.

She let out a big sigh before turning around and walking back to Giyu, who was surprised she was coming back.

“Sorry. I just-”

She stopped and took a deep breath.

“Okay. If we’re finally gonna do this shit at some kiddie dance anyways, I might as well tell you how I’ve been feeling. I owe you that much.”

She stuck her hand out towards him again, gesturing for another dance. He reluctantly took it, and they began swaying once more as she began to talk.

“I do miss you. I think about you every day, and I know that’s extremely contradictory to everything I told you when I broke up with you. It’s sad to admit but I just don’t think either one of us were really ready for a serious, committed relationship back then. You were scared of facing your future, and I was scared of facing mine. At the time, breaking up seemed like the only logical move to me. Even now, I think that it has led us to grow as individuals and help us find our place in the world. But with that being said… not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I said to you on that day.”

Giyu’s soft yet striking blue eyes pierced into hers as he hung onto every word she said. She continued, keeping locked eye contact the entire time.

“You didn’t deserve the broken heart I gave you. You didn’t deserve to lose your best friend over what she believed as your girlfriend. And the only way I can cope with that when people ask me how you’re doing is to make fun of you and how alone you are, when in reality I feel just as alone.”

Her face fell as she said those last few words.

“And… even with all of that being said, I do want to try to start over. Or at the very least, try to be friends again.”

Giyu stood silent and motionless as she finished. She looked down, in disbelief that she actually told him all of that. Suddenly, she felt his hand tuck her hair behind her ear. She looked up to see him smiling at her.

“What? Why are you smiling?”

“This dance is a little lame. Especially for us oldies. Do you wanna just get out of here and go see a movie or something?”

Shinobu immediately returned his smile.

“Yeah. That’d be nice.”

———————————————-

Another hour had passed, and Principal Ubuyashiki announced that the dance was coming to an end. The students were disappointed, but DJ Rengoku promised to send them off with one final dance party to everyone’s favorite pop song. All the students, Tanjiro and Kanao’s group included, gathered in the middle of the room and sang and jumped their hearts out together one final time. It filled them all with a unified high that only high school dances could achieve; in that moment no other place nor people existed outside of the room. These students were on the top of the world, and nothing could bring them down.

Nothing, of course, besides Principal Ubuyashiki kindly asking everyone to help clean up the gymnasium, as the school had a charity event planned for the next day.

Aoi and Inosuke invited the rest of their group to get milkshakes with them at the local ice cream parlor, to which Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Genya agreed. The Tokito twins said they had to wake up early the next morning, and Tanjiro had promised to get Kanao home before a certain time, so the two parties respectfully declined. Part of Kanao wished that the night could go on just a little bit longer at the ice cream parlor, but at the same time, she was already satisfied. Besides, leaving before the others meant that the two of them could have some alone time to decompress on the way home.

“Are you sure you can’t join us for at least a little bit?”

“We’d love to, but my dad does want me home by a certain time. Let’s do something fun next week though!”

“Alright, be safe you two!”

The walk home was nothing short of enchanting, but at the same time, it filled both Tanjiro and Kanao with a wave of sadness. Their special night was coming to an end, and they would have to return back to Earth from the dreamland they had been waltzing in. As they walked home with their arms linked, Tanjiro turned to Kanao.

“Did you have a good time tonight?”

“I did! Thank you so much for going with me.”

“Of course! I couldn’t imagine going with anyone else.”

Kanao looked off to the side and then smirked back at Tanjiro.

“Did you have a good time tonight?”

Tanjiro laughed sheepishly.

“I… I did. More than I was expecting, you know.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah! With everything crazy going on right now, it was nice to catch a breather and spend the night having fun with everyone.”

“Haha, yeah…”

As Kanao’s gaze wandered off to the side, she couldn’t help but ask herself one initial question: what now? She had achieved the impossible and gone to the school dance with her best friend who she had an unrelenting crush on, but she hadn’t given much thought as to what might happen afterwards. One question eventually spiraled into a billion: were they going to return to their normal status quo, or would they unofficially become an unspoken item? And if so, how long were they destined to last? Were they fated to follow the same path as Giyu and Shinobu’s first bout, or could they prevail and last as something special?

All of these questions seemed to come out of nowhere and completely bombard her train of thought until Tanjiro’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Oh look, we’re here!”

The pair arrived at the front door of the Butterfly Mansion, where they walked up to the front door and knocked on the expensive mahogany wood. After a moment, the door swung open and Mr. Kocho stepped out. Kanao caught a brief glimpse of the living room behind him to find her eldest sister and mother, giggling and hiding behind the couch. She turned back and faced her father, who had a proud yet smug and teasing grin.

“A little late, are we Tanjiro?”

Tanjiro embarrassingly laughed.

“Sorry, we uh, got held up helping with cleanup…”

Kanao shot her father the, ‘don’t you dare’ look, to which he chuckled and receded back into his home. He shot his daughter the, ‘don’t take too long,’ look before gently closing the now unlocked door behind him.

“Heh, sorry about him.”

“It’s all good!”

As he took her hands in his own, Tanjiro turned to face Kanao before stuttering through his next sentence.

“Well… I guess this is it huh? That was pretty fun.”

“Yeah, I guess this is it.”

They stood and gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment. Both of them silently noted how beautiful the other’s eyes were, but kept their observations to themselves. The second Kanao felt like the situation was becoming a little awkward, she drew her hands back and motioned to go back to the door.

“Kanao, wait.”

She stopped.

“Sit with me for a second.”

She silently nodded, and they took a seat next to each other on the steps leading up to the Butterfly Mansion’s front door. Kanao watched as Tanjiro silently tried to string his invisible thoughts into actual words, a feeling that she knew all too well. Still though, it was rare to see Tanjiro at a loss for words. Taking his hand in hers, she helped him out by breaking the ice.

“Hey… thank you for tonight, Tanjiro. Truly, thank you.”

“I, uh…”

“Truthfully, this night has been on my mind for the past two weeks. I had worried so much that you wouldn’t want to go with me, or that someone else would ask you first. I’m glad everything worked out, and I’m glad you took a chance on me. I can confidently say that this has been one of the best nights of my entire life. Thank you so much.”

“...Kana-”

Before Tanjiro could continue, his phone began to ring.

“Ah! I’m so sorry, Kanao, I have to head home and help my brother!”

“Oh. That’s okay.”

A part of her was a little disappointed that such a perfect night was coming to an end so unceremoniously, but she accepted it. Before she could fully accept it, however, Tanjiro turned back around to her and took both of her hands in one of his.

“Wait! Before I leave, I really wanted to give you this.”

He pulled a small, fragile object out of his pocket and cupped it between her palms. The object was so small and delicate that she couldn’t make out what it could be. He then carefully closed her hands around the item before quickly giving her a kiss on her cheek.

…

…

…

…a kiss on her cheek.

A small, innocent, and quick gesture. A peck that lasted for half a second. Such a tiny, easy motion, and yet, it seemed to all but solidify the direction their friendship was going. Whatever they were before was evolving, and there was no going back.

In the six and a half seconds following the kiss, it seemed as if time itself had stood still. Kanao’s brain took a few extra seconds to catch up with her heart in order to process what just happened, but when she did, she felt a feeling she had never felt before in her entire life. The very air around her became lighter than a feather, and she felt her rapid pulse suddenly freeze. But none of these emotions came with a negative feeling, nor with a nervous or even flustered feeling. Everything in the universe seemed to make sense. Everything felt right.

It was new, it was exciting, and most importantly, it was them.

Before Kanao could even react properly, Tanjiro jumped off and ran into the night to begin the journey home. She saw him wearing perhaps the most genuine smile she had ever seen him wear in his entire life as he yelled one final message to her.

“I’ll see you Monday morning!”

…

…

…

Kanao watched him dart off until he was out of sight before standing up. She gazed off into the distance where he vanished off to for a little while looking down at the small token that he had gifted her. She wondered what it could be for half a second before opening her hands and seeing it with her own eyes.

…

…

…

…a pink wisteria petal.