Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You look at the crowd in front of you as you try to figure out how to weasel your way through it. The crowd was lively and bustling, some of them carrying food that they had bought from the stalls of your fellow schoolmates. They were all gravitating to the stage at the center, trying to get a better view of it, just like you. This year, the stage was placed in the school grounds instead of the auditorium. While this meant it was more accessible, it also meant that there were more people to push through. You didn’t think there would be this many people, seeing as it was just a school festival, but you have clearly underestimated the popularity of Kimetsu Academy. After peering through the crowd’s size, you decide that the fastest way was to simply politely push your way through. Armed with a handful of “excuse me!”s as well as flashing your lanyard at them that said, “student council committee”, you were able to make your way through the crowd after a few minutes. While you did feel a bit guilty for using your lanyard to get through (seeing as your student council duties are currently over, having taken the morning shift so that you can enjoy the performance in the afternoon), you remark that what these people don’t know won’t hurt them. 

You finally reach a spot near the stage just as the emcee begins introducing the next band and you breathe a sigh of relief. You made it just in time! You're here to support one of your good friends as well as your classmate, Kanao. Kanao has been asked to join a band with some of her juniors, and although hesitant at first, she was coaxed to join by Kyogai after hearing her play. You were glad she went through with it, as you knew she was very talented but very rarely advertised herself. The emcee begins to call out the band and Tanjirou, the boy your friend has had a small crush on, was the first to step onto stage. He stood in front of the mic and greeted everyone. He is a very active boy that has friends from all levels, he was even nicknamed as “Kimetsu’s Sunshine”. Next was Zenitsu. You knew him from the school council committee as he was often placed in the Disciplinary Committee much to his chagrin. Right after him, entered Inosuke, who had garnered weird looks on his first day for wearing a boar head mask, consequently being called “boar kid” by the rest of the school. You also look and see your professor, Uzui, on stage. You noted that his presence was probably one of the reasons why the surrounding area was crowded. Finally, you see Kanao emerge from the back and step forward to the keys, hands a bit shaky and obviously nervous. You loudly cheer for her, shouting her name, and she looks up at noise startled lightly, before she spots you waving. She smiles at you, and you see her let out a breath, steadying her hands on the keys. 

Another member emerged from the back as Tanjirou started speaking. You weren’t all too familiar with your juniors, only knowing about Tanjirou & Co. through Kanao but the moment this new member stepped out, you felt your eyes immediately drawn to him. He was tall and had an impressive mohawk, with a scar trailing along his cheek. He had sparkle designs near his eyes, and you belatedly realize that all the other band members had symbols on their faces as well. He wore a long sleeve shirt that seemed to wrap well on his well-toned arms. You watch, a bit fixated, as his large hands wrap around the bass, grabbing it and putting the sling on his shoulder. He lightly fiddles with it and adjusts it around him. You noticed that despite his tall stature and seemingly intimidating style, he actually seems to be a little nervous, scratching at the sparkle designed eyeliner on his face as Tanjirou starts introducing the band name. You see him ready his hands on the chord and are quite embarrassed to admit how fascinated you were with him and his hands, which you now notice has black nail polish. You noticed how his slanted eyes seem to survey the crowd for a bit before darting back down nervously. You smile at the action in sympathy, knowing how the crowd can both invigorate and scare a performer. Tanjirou, now announcing the song, stirred some cheers from the crowd, pulling you out of the stupor you were placed in. As they begin performing, you and most students are glad to learn that they are performing better than when it was just the 4 of them. While you mainly came here for moral support, you actually find yourself enjoying the music of the band. 

Kanao played her piano beautifully, setting the melody for the song. She was graceful and calm, and you felt yourself smile as you watched her. Proud of her for deciding to step out of her comfort zone. Zenitsu was also playing well but he seemed a bit distracted, constantly looking around as if looking for someone, resulting in a few scattered notes at certain points. Inosuke was aggressive in his drumming, a bit too overly enthusiastic. Nevertheless, his drumming energized the song making the depressing lyrics (that you assume was written by Zenitsu) to be more exhilarating. Uzui-sensei also provided some decent harmony but was mostly winking or grinning at his wives who were cheering on the side lines. Tanjirou, who has gained some semblance of a tune, has made the song enjoyable for the masses, his trademark sunshine personality making the people more drawn to him and his aura. He has truly earned the title of lead vocalist. Even in the middle of Tanjirou's spotlight, however, you still feel your eyes drawn to the tall bass player with his pretty hands and alluring almond shaped eyes. He provided a steady thrum and beat to the song, providing the perfect support to the band’s music. As you continued to stare at him, his eyes temporarily left the bass he was plucking, and you see his eyes darting to the sides. Trying to see what he was looking at, you followed the direction of his gaze and saw a couple of kids that had the same features as him, cheering for him. Along with them was a small woman holding a small kid in her arms. You smiled at the sight, cooing internally at the cute kids and as you looked back to see the bass player’s reaction, you felt your heart skip a beat. He was smiling widely, affection and gratitude for his family obvious, and as he went back to playing his bass, a small smile stayed on his lips.

It was then you knew that you were fucked. You had a crush on the bass player of your friend's band. While you were initially curious about him because of his stature and style, seeing a softer side of him had caused your heart to stir. As the band's song drew to a close, you force your eyes away from the boy and cheered for the band. You move to the stage exit to meet your friend, waiting patiently as she and her band mates cheer at the well performed set they had. You tried to block away the sight of the bass player in your peripheral, telling yourself to focus on congratulating your friend. 

"Kanao!" You call out, and she turns to the sound of your voice and gives you a smile. You smile back and give her a hug. "You were amazing on the keyboard, Kanao! You guys did great!" 

She smiled and thanked you shyly, her face covered with a light sheen of sweat from performing. "It was all thanks to everyone in the band." She says her eyes soft as she stares at her members, though you see her look a bit longer at the brown-haired boy. You elbowed her a bit knowingly and her cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink.  

"That's not it at all! You played beautifully, Kanao-senpai!" Tanjirou said, overhearing your conversation. Kanao’s blush seemed to darken a bit more, and tried to disagree with the boy, but you simply grinned and agreed at Tanjirou. 

"I was the best player of course!!" Inosuke said, butting in. His face proud and confident. Zenitsu loudly disagreed, bickering with Inosuke. You used to dislike Inosuke, hating his overconfidence and brash behavior but after learning how he was, you've grown quite fond of him, learning to embrace his unhinged behavior. Zenitsu on the other hand, you thought tried too hard with romance, and while you initially thought it to be quite sad, you've grown to respect his resilience. He truly wasn't so bad, as you’ve come to realize after several student council meetings with him.  As long as he wasn't whining about something, at least. You used to only ever tolerate the trio, simply liking Tanjirou because the boy was bright and sweet, plus your friend had a crush on him. Up until last year, you'd only ever interact with them when Kanao was around, barely speaking to your juniors at all. However, after stopping by Kamado bakery once as a whim (and tasting the most delicious yet still affordable bread) you and Tanjirou have formed an acquaintance of your own. Since then, he would often invite you to join them when he sees you enter Aozora. You've slowly formed a tentative friendship with the infamous trio, usually eating together with them when your schedules align and exchanging greetings and small talks at hallways. 

The sounds of Inosuke and Zenitsu still arguing breaks you of your thoughts, making you sigh at them good naturedly. 

"I think you all were great!" You said loudly, trying to pacify them. They paused for a moment and before Inosuke could utter another word, you immediately said "Why don't we all get some food now that you're all done performing? A celebratory treat for a job well done. I've been to quite a few stalls and they've been great!" 

"That's a great idea!" Tanjirou replies as Inosuke immediately nods his head at you and yells "Food!". Zenitsu seems to also be excited at the prospect of food.

"But we should tidy up our instruments first..." Kanao said quietly, which with the background noise of the crowd and the music was quite difficult to hear even for you who was next to her but Tanjirou seems to have heard her anyway. 

"I'll ask Uzui-sensei if he can keep an eye out for them! We can come back for the instruments later." said Tanjiro as he looked to find his teacher. As he turned around however he saw the tall bass player and called out to him. 

"Genya-kun! We were just about to go to ask Uzui-sensei to mind our instruments as we looked around the stalls! Do you want to join us in looking for food?" 

Staring at the tall boy you saw that his bass was already on his back. His posture was casual, not necessarily hunching on himself to make himself smaller but not puffing out his chest either. His expression remained neutral as he stared at the shorter boy in front of him, considering. 

"I'll have to go find my family first since I told them I'll join them once the performance is over. But I'll try to catch up with you guys later?" The boy, whose name you now know to be Genya, replied as he looked a tad apologetic about not being able to join.

"That’s alright!" said Tanjirou, "Have fun with your family Genya-kun!" Genya smiles back, as Tanjirou looks for Uzui. Watching this interaction, you felt your face flush slightly as you stared at him, seeing him up close makes you think he looks even prettier and even with the scars and mohawk, he looked quite endearing to you. 

Genya turns to look at his other members and mumbles out an "おつ"*, to which they responded back, waving at them. He makes brief eye contact with you and stiffens slightly, as if only now realizing your presence. His cheeks color lightly before he ducks his head down in your direction in a small bow and turns away, heading out to look for his family. 

You are left staring after him. His height and hair, as well as the bass on his back, made it easy to spot him in the crowd. You watch him disappear to the other side, the stage blocking further view of him. You stare out in the direction a bit longer, as if you’ll suddenly gain enhanced vision for a certain bass player. You are broken out of your staring when Tanjirou returns, declaring you're all free to go and that the instruments will be kept safe by Uzui and Kyogai. As Inosuke complains that you're all taking forever, you laugh and shake your head trying to not think of the bass player. You mouth out his name, “Genya” to yourself as you link your arms with Kanao, as you all follow Inosuke enthusiastically marching out to the stalls. Unknown to you however, Kanao had noticed you stare at Genya and how you mumbled out his name and is now staring at you curiously.

Chapter Text

Genya surveyed the crowd from behind the stage and felt a rising nervousness claw at his chest. While he occasionally shot in front of people, the crowd before him was nothing like the size that came to his shooting competitions. Trying to calm his heart, he took a few deep breaths and muttered out the Amida Sutra quietly. While Genya wasn’t particularly religious, Himejima-sensei had originally suggested using it as a placeholder for repetitive actions that would help ground him to the present. It had oddly stuck to him so he occasionally still used it to calm himself. After a few moments, he felt a little less nervous, but the fear of messing up was still definitely there. He looked at his bandmates, Tanjirou and Inosuke as they excitedly looked forward to performing. Zenitsu looked a bit discouraged, probably because of the lack of Nezuko but looked still quite determined. Uzui-sensei was as flashy as he always was, confident in himself. Kanao looked like the only other member who felt nervous and Genya shared a nervous smile with her. While Genya was still awkward around girls, he had built a slight tolerance for Kanao, possibly because she was just as shy as he was during certain interactions. 

“Are you also nervous about the show?” He hears Kanao say to him, as she moves a bit closer to speak to him. 

He stiffens lightly, still not used to girls talking to him, but nods nonetheless. 

“Yes.” He says, “I’m not used to playing for big crowds.” 

“Me too.” Kanao says as she fidgets with her hands lightly, “My siblings will also be watching so I’m quite nervous.” 

“My family will be watching as well.” He admits, suddenly growing more nervous at the aspect of his family watching him. Realistically, he knew that his younger siblings had heard him play, as he was usually practicing at home. His mother had also possibly heard him a couple of times, but he often makes a point of stopping his practices when she’s home so that she can rest in a more quiet environment. Well, as quiet as a house with 6 kids and 2 adults can be, anyway. The real person he was nervous about was Sanemi. Sanemi was usually busy with work and arrived in the evening. Genya also didn’t want to play the bass when he was around in case it bugged Sanemi, seeing as he often brings homework with him. While his older brother is aware that he plays, he hasn’t really heard it. The “certificate accident” has made him quite reluctant to share his hobbies with Sanemi, scared of the prospect that his older brother might force him to stop doing them. While Sanemi had apologized to him about the incident after (at their mother’s behest), even reprinting his certificate and awkwardly handing it to him, Genya still feels a lingering anxiousness when showing his hobbies to people. 

Kanao, noticing his silence and possibly growing anxiety, said, “I’m sorry if I made you more nervous.” Patting his arm lightly. At this he turns pink, the proximity and touch still too much for his awkward self. 

As he tries to stammer out a response he awkwardly says, perhaps a bit too loudly, “I was just thinking about Aniki!” 

Several band members turned at his raised voice and Tanjirou, ever the concerned mom friend asks, “Are you nervous about Shinazugawa-sensei watching you play?” 

Genya was about to reply, perhaps a bit too defensively before Uzui butts in and says, “No use being nervous about Sanemi of all people! Just blind him with your flashiness!” He says with his trademark grin and booming voice. 

Genya’s remark was lost on him as he stared at his teacher, who was fully serious about the whole “flashiness” talk. Before any of them could say a word however, the host started announcing them as the next performer. Tanjirou looks at Genya a bit worriedly and pats his back, “It’s okay Genya! I think you play really well and we all practiced really hard so let’s go out there and perform our best!” 

Tanjirou smiled his signature sunshine look, which left Genya slightly stunned every time. That boy was just too damn bright for his own good. Genya sighs instead and nods, moving to line up behind his band members as they enter the stage. He walks in last and moves to where his bass had been set up earlier. 

He was still nervous, and the crowd in front of him didn’t necessarily help. Playing in front of people was not his strong suit, and if he had to choose he knew that his hands were more comfortable around a gun than a bass. He slings the bass strap over himself, adjusting it lightly. He feels himself subconsciously scratch around his eyes before belatedly remembering that he has sparkle-designed eyeliner there. As Tanjirou begins introducing them, he draws in a breath and tries to steady himself, hoping he does not mess up. As he positions his fingers on the bass, he hears a voice call out Kanao’s name from the front. He turns to see a girl waving enthusiastically at Kanao, offering support to her. This action eased Genya’s nerves a little, seeing the support that the others had somehow made him feel a bit more confident, reminding him that he had people supporting him too. As Tanjirou introduces their song, Genya readies himself. Kanao begins to play the keyboard and once he hears his cue, he too begins playing the bass. He lets the muscle memory take over, setting the rhythm as he plays. Just like when he shoots, his nervousness vanishes the moment he feels the repetitive motions of what he’s practiced come to place. The hours of practice with his friends flashed in his mind briefly, and that brought him a sense of reassurance as they finally played their song for the crowd. He smiles lightly to himself when he hears cheers, and he looks up to people actually enjoying their music. 

As the song goes on, he wonders briefly if he can see his family from where he is and begins to look around for them, still making sure he plays the rhythm properly. As he turns to the side, he sees Koto waving around wildly, smiling at him. He was in his mother’s arms, trying to have a better view of him. He was briefly reminded of the girl that he saw earlier, smiling at the motion. Beside his brother, he notices his other younger siblings smiling and pointing at him in awe. Teiko, his younger sister, was holding their mother’s phone to take a video of him. His smile grows wider as he watches them. He laughs at his earlier nervousness, realizing how glad he was for his family’s support. While he does briefly wonder if Sanemi was also watching from the crowd, he felt the presence of someone staring at him strongly so his brother was probably there somewhere strongly. (Sanemi was watching from an upstairs window, he was on teacher patrol duty). As he listens to the music being played by his band, he smiles slightly to himself and hopes that his brother gets to see him play, proud of the music they are playing. 

He feels his shoulders relax more as he feels the rhythm from his bass enhances the instruments around him. In terms of instruments, they were a weird group, a mix of traditional Japanese instruments and electric instruments. Plus, their art professor also playing the harmonica for their band is something that truly astounds Genya, wondering how this even happened. But even he could admit that they are somehow making it work. The instruments actually work in harmony, instead of the initial clashing that happened during their first practice. Tanjirou has also grown in his singing, and while not being tone-deaf may not be that big of an achievement, Genya was glad that he improved. As he hears the last line of the song, the players all briefly look at each other and end in the same beat. 

As the song ended, the majority of the crowd cheered. This filled Genya with a sense of relief as well as a bit of pride. They all bow, and Genya makes quick work of tidying up his bass and equipment, as he promised to meet his family after the performance. He's still smiling to himself as he gathers his things, glad that the crowd enjoyed it as well as relief over making it through without any mistakes. After tidying his equipment, he checks the family group chat and sees a video of him playing the bass, sent by his mom. A series of “good job” or “you were so cool nii-chan!” greeted him on the chat as well, which had him grinning at his phone. A typing bubble appeared from Sanemi’s icon for a moment before disappearing. A like emoji was soon followed by it, and Genya heart reacted it. In Sanemi language that pretty much meant “you did great”. He followed this up with a message saying, “Remove your nail polish before school starts again!” in all caps. He feels himself smiling nonetheless, happy that Sanemi watched the video enough to notice he had black nail polish. He like reacts to Sanemi’s latest message before sending a message to the group chat to tell them that he'll meet them on the right side of the stage, he’ll just say goodbye to his members. He also leaves a small, “thanks :)” in regard to the compliments he received from his younger siblings. 

As he walks towards his bandmates, he sees Tanjirou turn and greet him. 

"Genya-kun! We were just about to go to ask Uzui-sensei to mind our instruments as we looked around the stalls! Do you want to join us in looking for food?" He asks enthusiastically. 

“I’ll have to go and find my family first since I told them I'll join them once the performance is over.” He says a bit awkwardly as he stares at the smaller boy and his bright aura, “But I'll try to catch up with you guys later?” Genya finds himself saying. 

"That’s alright!" replied Tanjirou immediately, "Have fun with your family Genya-kun!" He says waving at him, as he looks for Uzui. Genya smiles back at the boy and stares at the other people backstage with him. He looks at his bandmates and says “おつ”, nodding in their direction. He considered them his friends but he was much closer with Tanjirou and he was not really in the mood to deal with Zenitsu and Inosuke. Kanao was the first one to return his greeting, and as he stared at her, he was startled to realize that there was a girl behind her. He stiffens lightly as he sees her, feeling his cheeks turn to a light pink. He noticed that she was the girl waving at Kanao earlier and felt slightly more flustered for a reason unknown to him. Aiming to bow in your direction and say a greeting, he feels himself nod instead as he walks away. Embarrassed at his lack of manners, he simply turns away and focuses on looking for his family instead. 

Blame it on the anxiety, but he felt eyes on his back and hoped that it was not Kanao’s friend staring at him. As he moves through the crowd, using his height as an advantage in wading through it, he spots his family a couple of minutes later. He is greeted by a lot of smiles from his siblings and “great job”s. He sees his put Koto as he rushes to hug him, shaking him slightly. 

“You were so cool nii-chan!” Koto said, “Can you teach me to play the bass? I want to be popular like you too! I want to get a girlfriend by being a popular guy!” 

At this comment Genya turns bright red, mumbling out that he was not popular and that he definitely did not have a girlfriend. His sisters proceeded to tease him by telling him that he looked too much like a punk, and that's why he couldn’t get a girlfriend. 

“None of you are allowed to start dating until you’re 18!” A voice exclaimed behind them. They all turned to see Sanemi walking towards them, his patrol duties over. He looks at Genya and pauses for a moment. Genya held his breath for a moment, unsure what Sanemi was going to say.

After a beat, he says, “Uzui and the brat’s band was shit last year.” before Genya could say anything in response his brother added, “But…they did a lot better this year.” Sanemi purses his lips as he says this, as if saying anything nice would curse him for 100 years.

“What nii-chan means to say is that you did good!” Sumi says cheekily. Before Sanemi can deny it angrily, Genya laughs. Sanemis's angry rant was stopped by the sound and Genya smiled at his older brother. 

“Thank you.” He says, and before he can stop himself, he adds “‘Nemi.” 

Sanemi’s eyes widen slightly, and he sees his brother's posture soften slightly, before turning away. “Whatever.” 

Sanemi then turns to all his younger siblings and says, “I was serious about the 18-year-old rule though! None of you better start thinking about dating before college!” 

The younger siblings all look at each other, daring one of them to respond to Sanemi. Koto, unaware of the consequences that his statement would bring, says, “Just because you don’t have a girlfriend nii-chan, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have one too!” 

At this Sanemi’s eyes narrow and he says “Ha?! What did you say, brat?!” His voice was loud, scaring some of the students nearby. 

Koto, as if realizing he has triggered the white-haired monster, begins to squeal and run away, hiding behind their mother as Sanemi chases after him, grabbing him and immediately teasing him. All the younger siblings, Genya included, tried to stifle their laughter. After hearing their younger brother’s shrieks for a few moments, their mother simply says, “Children.” before the siblings quiet down and stare at her. 

“We’re here to celebrate Genya’s performance and also enjoy the festival, so if we can keep the roughhousing and teasing to a minimum while we’re in public that would be good.” Her voice was gentle but the siblings all respected their mother a lot and immediately followed. She turns to Genya and says, “What would you like to do Genya? Do you want to try out any of the stalls?” 

Genya thinks for a moment before saying, “I kind of want to try some of the candied fruits? The candied apples looked good and I know Shuya likes them too.” He says. At this, Shuya brightens and smiles at Genya. Shizu only smiles back and says, “Then we’ll go get some.” motioning for her children to follow along. 

Sanemi was still holding Koto as they walked but this time no longer tickling him. They walked to the nearest stand that sold candied fruits, Sanemi putting down Koto to let him pick. As the younger children got a mix of the small, candied apples, strawberries, or grapes, Genya chose the bigger candied apple for himself. Shizu paid for the younger children but Genya reached out to his pocket to pay for his. Sanemi sighed and thrust his money to pay for all of theirs instead, ignoring the two’s protest, daring the person at the cashier to decline his money with a single raised eyebrow and a well-timed glare. Genya mumbles out a thanks as he eats his candied apple. Genya noticed Sanemi staring at him and tilted his head confusedly. 

“Give me your bass,” Sanemi said suddenly. Genya froze suddenly, not sure what Sanemi meant. Sanemi sighs and says, “You’re carrying that thing around plus your other equipment while walking. It blocks and hits other people so just,” 

Sanemi extends his hand and says, “Give it.” He looks away trying to act nonchalant, “I’ll put it in my car.” he mumbles out after a beat. 

Genya smiles and relaxes, thanking his brother. He hands it over to Sanemi who carefully slings it over his shoulder and grabs his bag of equipment. “I’ll be back.” Sanemi says as he walks towards the parking lot. 

Shizu, hearing this interaction while the kids ate their candied fruits, smiled at Genya. Genya smiled lightly and took a bite of his candied apple. 

“Your brother truly is sweet in his own way, isn’t he?” She tells him, linking her arms at his elbow. She was so much smaller than Genya now. 

“He’s the nicest.” Genya says as he looks at the direction in which Sanemi left. 

Shizu turns to look at her son, and pats his arm, “You’ve also grown to such a sweet boy, Genya.” Genya smiles wider at this, looking softly at his mother. 

“It’s all from you, Ma.” He says honestly. 

They walk through the festival, his horde of siblings with them, as they look for a place to sit. As they finally find a place to sit, Genya enjoys the sight of the festival for a moment. With all the pleasant aromas and colorful sights. He lets the sounds of the crowd wash over him, content to watch people for a while. His peaceful reflection was broken by a loud shout as he suddenly heard Inosuke’s voice shout out, “Give me all your tempuras!”. Genya’s head whips at the sound and sees Inosuke not too far from where he and his family are sitting. He sees Zenitsu trying to drag Inosuke off in embarrassment, scolding him. He sees Tanjirou, Kanao, and the girl from earlier who were also close by, their faces a mix of concern, worry, and amusement respectively. He feels his eyes linger on Kanao’s friend for a moment, curious at her amused expression. He finds that he weirdly enjoys staring at her amused face, loving the mischief she seems to have, despite her well-put appearance. He notices that she had the student council lanyard on her and reflects that he has probably seen her during one of her campaign periods as well as on the campaign posters that were posted on their classroom whiteboard back then. He flushes slightly at the memory, remembering how he watched you present to his class filled with confidence and enthusiasm, your passion and intellect oozing out of you, as he watched with a hint of envy and awe. His mother notices his far-off gaze and says, “Are those your friends?” referring to Inosuke and his companions.

Genya nods, although he is embarrassed at the moment for Inosuke, even if this type of behavior was normal for the black and blue-haired boy. 

“You should go and hang out with them.” Shizu says as he nods. 

As Genya starts to protest, telling her how he wants to be here with his family, his mother only smiles at him and says, “We’ll always be here with you once you’re home. It’s important to enjoy your high school years with your friends too, Gen.” 

At this Genya softens. He didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. His hair and style did not make him the most approachable. The scars he got from the car accident that left their dad dead were also not helpful in making him look approachable. Genya sighs and looks at his friends, before looking back at his mom who only remains smiling at him. 

“I did say I’ll try to catch up to them…” He admits to her. 

She just grins and says, “Go and have fun! I’ll handle your siblings.” 

As Genya finishes his candied apple and stands, he hears his mother call out and say, “Oh, and Genya?” 

“Hm?” 

“I disagree with Sanemi. I think 16 is old enough to try dating.” She says with a teasing grin that leaves him flushed. He exclaims “Ma!” before turning away from his mother and walking away.

Shizu only smiles at her son’s retreating form. He was so tall now, and definitely more mature but in moments like this he would remind her that no matter how big he may get, he was always her baby boy. 

Chapter Text

(Y/N)’s POV

You lock arms with Kanao and move through the crowds with her, leading the way to the stalls. 

"So, is there anything you'd like to get?" You ask the group, turning to the trio walking behind you. 

"I'm good with anything!" Tanjirou says brightly while Zenitsu seems to be muttering something under his breath about wanting to get something with Nezuko. You smile at him in sympathy, knowing that the younger girl was probably busy with school festival duties. 

You then look at Inosuke who was wildly looking around. You saw that he was excited at the prospect of food with his mouth drooling slightly. You smile at his antics and say, "I saw a tempura stall down there earlier." 

"Tempura?!" He exclaimed before looking around even more erratically, "Where?!" 

Hook, line, and sinker. 

You laughed and said, "I'll lead you to it later but first let's get some snacks and drinks for everyone, okay?” 

Inosuke nods excitedly, already letting out his trademark boisterous laugh. 

"Do you want anything, Kanao?" You add, turning to your friend who was looking like she was thinking through something. You look at her questioningly and tap her arm lightly. "Kanao?"

"Oh, sorry." She says, smiling gently at you. "I kind of want to get sweets," she says shyly. 

"Always the sweet tooth." You say teasingly, although it was out of affection. 

"I saw a sweets corner down there earlier, and it’s also close to a takoyaki stall. We can go and buy some to share?" You suggest to them, automatically switching to planning mode. 

"The tempura stall is also near there." You also add on for Inosuke knowing he will protest if he doesn't get to his tempura. 

With this Inosuke agrees enthusiastically, causing the group to smile. They all also nod at your suggestion. 

"I can get the drinks!" Tanjirou offers as you lead the way through the stalls, smiling brightly. "Kanao-senpai likes soda, right? Ramune?" He says looking at the girl, his smile somehow a bit brighter. 

Kanao nodded shyly at him, cheeks a slight pink, which caused you to grin teasingly a bit at her. She turns away from you slightly. 

"How about everyone else?" Tanjirou adds after a beat as if forgetting he had offered to get drinks for everyone. 

"I'll take soda as well. Any will do." You tell him. Zenitsu and Inosuke opt for juice instead. 

As the group chooses their drinks, you tell Tanjirou where to meet you guys while also asking for his order. Before he could leave, you gave him some money for the drinks. He tried to tell you no, but you countered his denial by saying, "Let me treat you guys to a job well done! I'm also your senpai after all."

He still tried to protest, but at your insistence finally agreed. He smiles shyly, taking the money with a lot of gratitude, and sets off to buy you all drinks. You lead the group to the takoyaki stand and have everyone choose the type of takoyaki they want. You then line up and order for the group. As you paid for the food, Kanao let out a shy protest, asking you to at least let her pay for herself. 

"You can buy us all sweets instead!" You tell her, pointing to the sweet stall nearby. "I'll stay here while you order that." 

She tries to say something more, but you simply stare at her and she smiles at your stubborn expression. She’s been your friend for almost 5 years at this point and she knows you well enough to know that you won’t back down from your point. She simply smiles at you and thanks you before going to the stall, lining up behind some of the smaller children. You wait near the stall for your group's order, standing next to Zenitsu and Inosuke. Zenitsu seems to be half-zoned out, still dejected that Nezuko wasn't there with them. 

After a rare minute of silence, Inosuke breaks it by loudly declaring, "I want tempura!" 

"I'll buy you some tempura after this.” You say, trying to appease the boy, “As much as you want." You add, although you felt the pain in your wallet slightly at this. As you say this, he brightens and with a boisterous laugh, shouts, "Tempura!" startling the surrounding passerby. 

You smile at him and proceed to look at Zenitsu's gloomy countenance and say, "Why don't you find something to give to Nezuko later? A gift for a hard day's work! There's an accessory shop down there on the left side." You say motioning to a stall quite far down from you but still vaguely visible. 

With this, he brightens immediately and begins muttering ideas, pleased with your suggestion. Before he leaves however you say, "Take Inosuke with you, and if you guys can find tables that would be great." At this, his mood shifts a bit but before he can protest, you raise your eyebrows at him in challenge. He nods at you immediately. 

You smile to yourself as they leave and bask in the silence for a moment, thankful for the few moments of peace. Listen, as much as you love being a part of the student council, as well as hanging out with your friends, at the end of the day you were an introvert. You grew tired of social interactions and needed to recharge yourself at the end of events. A good reason why you're friends with Kanao is because you both appreciate silence and would sometimes do activities separately but together in the same space. Both you and her also understood the need to sometimes just disassociate from a situation and recover social energy.

As you wait for your order, you zone out a bit and simply watch the crowd. Subconsciously, you find yourself looking for people carrying a guitar bag, hoping to see the cute bass player again. When you finally see a guitar bag, however, you are surprised to see it paired with a head of white hair. Shinazugawa-sensei enters your view carrying a guitar on his back with equipment, and you look at him curiously, wondering if he plays. He moves through the crowd swiftly, and you note that it’s because they make room for him. He disappears from your sight quickly, leaving you curious as to whether or not your math teacher plays guitar. 

You are once again left to watch the crowd as you wait for your order. You would deny it if asked but you did clock around the tall black-haired boys around you but they all are unfortunately without a mohawk. His smiling face once again enters your mind, and you think of his name, “Genya.” You wonder which Kanjis made up his name and what it meant. You smile quietly to yourself as you let your thoughts wander while thinking of the cute tall bass player. 

Kanao joins you a few moments later, with a sweets-filled plastic bag, breaking you out of your thoughts. You smile at her return and thank her for the baby castella she offers to you. Taking a bite of it, you are greeted with the soft texture and enjoy the warmth of it. Just as you finish your baby castella, you are called by the person in the stand as they give you a large paper bag. 

“Sorry for the wait!” said the guy in the stall apologetically. You waved off his concern and simply thanked him for the food. You were about to suggest looking for Zenitsu and Inosuke when you saw Kanao smiling and waving at someone. You look in the direction of her stare and find Tanjirou walking towards the two of you. Tanjirou joins you a moment later with the drinks he ordered for all of you. 

You smile at him and thank him for buying the drinks.

"Let's go find Inosuke and Zenitsu. Zenitsu wanted to buy a gift for Nezuko but I also sent them to look for seats." You inform the two of them. Tanjirou and Kanao simply nod at you while humming in agreement. As you go down to where the accessory stalls are, however, you find that the pair is no longer there. Before you can question it, however, a loud voice shouts, "Give me all your tempuras!". You look in the direction of the noise and see Inosuke being pulled away by Zenitsu from a stall. You stare at them amusedly from afar, stifling a laugh at Inosuke’s brash behavior. Tanjirou moves to break the two out of the scene they’re making. You and Kanao share a look of slight amusement, although hers holds more concern than yours, as you walk toward your chaotic juniors. 

“Inosuke!” You call out, to interrupt his fuming, “I told you I’ll buy you tempura after we had food for everyone.” You say in mock seriousness. Only Kanao, however, knows that you’re joking as the trio is yet to hear your fake scolding voice. 

Inosuke lets out a huff and reluctantly lowers his head in slight dejection. Zenitsu let out a triumphant smile at this. You simply smile at their antics and move in front of him to apologize to the seller. 

“Sorry about him.” You tell the seller, “We would like to order some tempura if you still have any.” You tell the old man in front of you. 

He only smiles and says, “It’s no trouble at all. His enthusiasm for tempura is one I appreciate!” He says, laughing. “I have a couple of batches left.” 

“I’ll take them all.” You tell him before quietly adding, “Well as long as it’s not over 1500 yen.”

The man smiles at this, “Treating your juniors? The pain of being older, isn’t it?” 

You nod at him, smiling slightly. He grins at you and says, “Well for being a good senior, I’ll give you a big order for 1000 yen.” 

You thank him for his generosity and move to pay him. As you have this conversation, however, you are left unaware that the boy you’ve been looking for in the crowds has now made his way to your group. Having paid for the meal, you turn to look at your friends about to order Inosuke to wait when you suddenly look up to see the bass player that you now know is named Genya. 

“Genya-kun!” Tanjirou greets, smiling at the boy. “You made it!” 

“Ma told me to join you.” He says looking like he’s about to add more, but instead opts to appear more nonchalant. You stare at him when he speaks, first noticing how gruff his voice is. You stare at his face, and despite the scars on his face that should make him look intimidating, his almond-shaped eyes only make him seem cute. Under the light and cross proximity, you also notice that he had lilac-colored eyes. He also had a distinct lack of eyebrows which somehow endeared you to him, causing you to unconsciously smile. He meets your eye and suddenly freezes. Tanjirou, noticing this, looks at you and then back at Genya and decides to introduce you both to each other. 

“(Y/N)-senpai, this is Genya! He’s the bassist in our band and he’s also in my year.” He says motioning to the taller boy. 

“I’m (L/N) (Y/N), nice to meet you, Genya. You guys did really well earlier!” You tell him with a small smile, channeling your student council voice as you speak to him, trying to conceal how charmed you are by him. You move forward to him and extend out your hand to shake his and are met with absolute silence. You look up at him in question and are greeted with his face completely flushed red, as he appears to be frozen. 

Fuck. He’s so cute. 

Genya’s POV

As he walks towards the group, he is about to greet Tanjirou and help him with handling Inosuke when he sees you insert yourself into the situation. You scolded Inosuke lightly and de-escalated the situation immediately. You are now talking to the shopkeeper and seem to be ordering for Inosuke. He wishes that he had your skills in being able to handle social situations. When he was younger, he would often respond in anger. His temper coming in hot and quick. He has mellowed out slightly throughout middle school. He still had a lot of issues, but with the help of Himejima and healthier outlets and hobbies, he is able to manage them better. He shakes these thoughts away as he moves to the group, immediately being greeted by Tanjirou. 

“Ma told me to join you.” He responds, trying to appear nonchalant as he joins the group. While it was true that his mother had told him to join them, he had also wanted to go and have fun with his friends. Seeing as he didn’t have the luxury of having them when he was younger. 

Genya looked away from Tanjirou's bright grin, the boy’s sincerity still had him stunned sometimes. Unfortunately for him, his gaze settles on you instead, and he feels his body stiffen at the sight of you. He can’t quite tell why he suddenly felt awkward around girls since he started high school, but he often blamed it on puberty and hormones. He sees you smiling and feels himself freeze at the sight. 

As Tanjirou moves to introduce you both, he feels gratefulness flow for the brown-haired boy. 

“(Y/N)-senpai, this is Genya! He’s the bassist in our band and he’s also in my year.” He hears his friend say, and as he is about to introduce himself, you suddenly move closer to him and say, “I’m (L/N) (Y/N), nice to meet you Genya-san. You guys did really well earlier!” 

You offered your hand out and Genya felt his brain shortcircuit. The use of his first name, your compliment to the band, and the idea of holding a girl’s hand all piled up together in his mind and had his face turning red. He tries to stutter out a sentence but is unable to do so, remaining frozen. He feels you look at him and is immediately more flustered. 

‘Goddamnit Genya, just introduce yourself. She’s just offering for you to shake her hand, it doesn’t mean anything!’ He screams to his brain. 

“I’m Shinazugawa Genya.” He says after a beat, stuttering a bit. “Thank you for showing your support for our band.” He says suddenly very formally. 

You smile amusedly at his use of formal Japanese, and say, “Well, I was mostly showing support to Kanao.” You say this teasingly and before Genya could apologize for the assumption, he stared at your teasing smile and relaxed slightly. You begin to put your hand down, and Genya realizes belatedly that he didn’t shake it. He felt himself panic and driven by that momentary panic, he grabbed your hand haphazardly. You both stay in that pose for a moment before you look up at him in shock and he immediately drops your hand, apologizing profusely. 

“Sorry! I was going to shake your hand, but I grabbed it instead. I-” He begins sputtering out, but you cut him off with a wave of your hand. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it!” You tell him, smiling. There was something else in your eyes however, that had Genya slightly anxious. Wondering if you were only being polite and now felt weird around him. Before he could apologize again, or better yet, run away, you ask, “Have you eaten yet?” turning to him before motioning at the group, “We were just about to look for a table where we could all eat together. We have some takoyaki and snacks.” You say, raising the bag you were holding. 

“And tempura!” says Inosuke, interjecting. 

Genya relaxes the tiniest bit as you lead the conversation, forcing himself to be polite and not let the anxiety make him mess up more. “I’m alright.” He says, answering you, “But I can help you guys look for a spot.” He offers. 

“That would be great!” You tell him, the look in your eye is no longer there, he notes, but then again, you were also not looking at him anymore. “Should we all go look for seats?” 

(Y/N)’s POV

He introduced himself to you, and you paused slightly at the last name, wondering if he was related to Shinazugawa-sensei. You make it a note to ask him about it later. As he switches to formal language with you, however, you feel an amused smile creep up on your lips at how enamored you are at the juxtaposition that is this boy. 

“Well, I was mostly showing support to Kanao.” You responded, not being able to stop yourself from teasing him a bit. He was too cute for his own good, really. He sees your grin and relaxes slightly, which causes a part of you to soften. It was kind of insane how adorable he could be by just existing. 

You realize that your hand is still held out and move to put it down, and as his eyes flicker at the movement, you suddenly feel him grasp your hand. Instead of a shake, however, he sort of holds his hand over yours, squishing it slightly. You stare at him in shock, and for a moment you feel his calloused fingers on your knuckles and blush faintly at it. He immediately drops your hands and begins apologizing. You dismiss his concern, but barely register what you’re saying, your heart beating a bit too fast for your own taste. You instead opted to switch to a safer topic, like asking if has eaten yet or if he wanted to join you guys instead of the other topics surging around your head like asking him how many hours he spent practicing his bass to get callouses on his fingers or if he wanted to hold your hand again. 

As he responded, offering to help you find a spot, you smiled at him in gratitude and asked the rest of the group if they all wanted to look for seats. 

“I want to go back to the accessory store for a bit.” Zenitsu says, “I had to pause my search for the perfect present for Nezuko because someone wanted to cause a scene.” 

“I smelled tempura and the old man had it!” Inosuke responds. 

Before they could argue further, Tanjirou says, “Inosuke should probably wait for the tempura. He and Zenitsu can go together once they’re done.” 

Zenitsu who was about to protest at once again being paired with Inosuke was interrupted by Kanao saying, “I also kind of wanted to see some accessories. I want to buy some for my sisters.” She says shyly. 

You smile at her, “That’s alright. The three of us could go look for a spot, while you guys stay here. I’ll message you once we’ve found a place.” She nods and you move closer to her and whisper in a conspiratorial tone,  “I’ll leave those two in your care.” She just laughs slightly at you as you do a mock bow. 

With your groups splitting up, you try to force yourself to calm down at being this close to someone you like. 

“Do you need help carrying that?” Genya offers shyly. His gruff voice paired with awkward mannerisms had you biting your cheeks slightly to stop yourself from calling him cute.

“I can carry it, but thanks for the offer.” You tell him. He nods at you and the three of you move off to walk, with you in the front while Tanjirou and Genya follow you. 

“Do you also want a drink, Genya?” Tanjirou asks as the three of you look for a table that can fit 6 people.

“I’m good.” He responds. You couldn’t see him behind you but his voice felt a bit clipped to you. You wondered if it was because he was awkward around new people. 

Genya’s POV 

Genya can’t help but feel awkward as he follows you. He was thankful that Tanjirou was there to be a buffer but being near girls still had him a bit fidgety and nervous. As Tanjirou asks him if he wants a drink, Genya forces himself to respond, two clipped words pushing themselves out of his mouth. 

Tanjirou nods at his response, probably already aware of how awkward he could be around girls. He hopes that you didn’t speak to him much, otherwise, he’d just look like a red-faced fool throughout the night. 

“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” You said turning to him, “I kind of feel bad for not buying you anything…” You tell him, truly looking guilty at the prospect, even though you’re both practically strangers. 

“I’m fine.” He says, trying hard not to stutter but doing so anyway. He thinks fate is truly just making a joke out of him now. 

“We also just met today, you don’t need to get me anything.” He adds quietly, getting the words out quickly so that you don’t feel obligated to him in any sense. 

“I know I don’t need to but I want to.” You reply stubbornly. “Besides, you being a friend of four of my friends, sort of makes you my friend, doesn’t it?” You add on jokingly. 

Genya doesn’t know how to respond to this and just flushes slightly, both in awe of how easy it was for you to call him a friend. 

“If you’re okay with me being your friend, at least.” You say, taking his silence as hesitancy instead of his current inability to form coherent thoughts. 

Before he could respond however, Tanjirou suddenly says, “Oh Genya, (Y/N)-senpai, there’s a table over there!” 

Genya and you both look at the direction Tanjirou points and find a recently vacated table large enough to fit up to 8 people. Tanjirou runs up to it quickly so that he can save you all the spot. You both follow up behind him, jogging to catch up with him. 

As you all arrive there, he sees you put down the paper bag just as Tanjirou takes a seat, putting down the drinks on the table. He settles on the seat next to Tanjirou and moves to look at you. He realizes he hasn’t answered your question and is now looking for the right time to respond. As he ponders when to say this, however, Tanjirou’s phone lets out a ring, and the boy moves to answer it. 

“もしもし*, Nezuko?” He answers the phone, before listening and nodding. He moves to stand and excuses himself for a bit as he talks to his sister. As he leaves for a moment, Genya decides to finally answer your question. 

“I’m okay with it.” He blurts out suddenly, instead of the more concrete thoughts in his head. You stare a bit confusedly at him. He flushes again at this and adds, “About being friends.” 

“Oh! I’m glad.” You respond, beaming at him. “Is it okay if I call you Genya or are you more comfortable with Shinazugawa?” 

Genya flushes slightly, not used to friends calling him by his first name, let alone a girl. He is slowly growing more comfortable with being called Genya outside of his family because of Tanjirou. 

“Any is fine.” He replies instead, truly not knowing if he can handle being called Genya by a girl but asking you to call him by his last name also felt rude somehow. 

You nodded at him and said, “Well, I’m looking forward to being your friend, Genya!” You then busy yourself with placing the takoyaki orders out from the bag and pairing them with drinks. He is thankful that you focused on this when you did because he can feel his ears burn with your usage of his name. He sees you snap a quick photo with your phone and begin to message someone, possibly Kanao to update her where you three are at. 

You finish sending the message just as Tanjirou returns. You smile at him and welcome him back, only to look at him in concern as his worried face comes into view.

“I’m so sorry to leave the both of you right now, but Nezuko just called and said that Shigeru and Rokuta got separated from my family at the festival because they were looking for me. Nezuko and my mother are looking for them right now, but I also want to help search for them.” Tanjirou says concernedly as he immediately switches to older brother mode. 

You nod at him with sympathy and say, “That’s alright Tanjirou! I hope you find them soon, I’ll update you if we see any of them nearby.” 

Genya also nods at this, understanding the older brother's instinct probably surging through Tanjirou right now. “We’ll tell the others about what happened.” He says to his friend, “You can come find us again here later.” 

Tanjirou nods in thanks as he hurries off, looking for his brothers and occasionally calling out to them. As the concern of the situation subsides however, Genya suddenly realizes that he is alone with you with no friend to buffer him and is left cursing at fate again. 

Fuck. He was so doomed. 

Chapter Text

"I hope Tanjirou finds them." You say, as you stare at your friend's disappearing figure. Make a note to yourself to be aware if any small children are near you. 

You see Genya nod at you in confirmation. He appears to look around for a moment before darting his head back down. 

"I'll message Kanao to tell them about the situation." You said pulling out your phone to inform your friend, worry growing slightly in your chest, oblivious to the nervousness radiating from the boy in front of you. 

You sent Kanao a message and put your phone away. As you wait for her response, you work on calming yourself down. The school was mostly safe and they could possibly just be lost and there would be teachers stationed around the booths, entrances, and exits. 

After the initial worry and panic subsided, you turned to look at your companion and saw that he was sitting stiffly in his seat, his back ramrod straight.  You had initially thought of starting some small talk with him to pass the time, but when you noticed his discomfort, you decided against it. 

"You don't have to feel pressured to fill in the silence." You tell him abruptly, but full of honesty. At your voice, his head shoots up and he looks at you slightly shocked. Whether it was because you suddenly spoke or it was because of what you said, you didn't know. 

"We can talk if you want,” You say with a smile, "I would like to get to know you, but I also know that everyone can use a bit of silence every now and then, so don't feel pressured to fill in the silence, okay?" You say this with what you hope is a genuine looking smile, and hope that the silence that would follow is one that is comfortable and not awkward. 

Genya looks at you, his face showing an internal conflict as if he was unsure of what to respond. Deciding to help him out, you looked at the paper bag in front of you and motioned to the food inside it. 

"Want to eat with me?" You say as you pull out your order from the paper bag, opening it up and getting two of the small forks that only had two prongs. 

At this he snaps to a decision and declines your offer shyly, his cheeks a tint of red. At his refusal you shrug good naturedly and begin eating your food, the takoyaki being the right temperature for eating. You hum happily to yourself as you take a bite, enjoying the flavors of the takoyaki. You let yourself relax a bit, letting the tiredness of today wash over you.

You find your eyes inevitably flickering back at Genya and are glad to see that his posture has relaxed a little, albeit he still looked a bit nervous and fidgety. A few minutes in and both your eyes met and you saw him jolt, forcing you to avoid trying to look at him. Having a crush and not being able to look at them so much was quite the internal struggle, but you tell yourself that it’s more important for him to be comfortable. 

As you try to focus on the scene around you, you suddenly hear a hesitant voice ask, “What did you think of the performance?” 

Your eyes snap back at Genya and while he was still sitting like he was quite unsure as to what to do with his limbs, you see that he is making an effort to look back at you as he awaited your response. 

At this you swallow the bite you were having and smiled at him, saying, “I think you guys did great! You and Kanao definitely helped shape the band up.” You leaned back slightly in your chair and added, “Don’t get me wrong, I like Tanjirou and the gang, but they were truly awful last year. The student council received so many complaints about not sorting out the performing bands.” You said in mock frustration. 

“Well, Tanjirou was tone deaf and Kyogai-sensei did help us this time around, so I think that definitely helped.” He replied honestly.

“Fair enough.” You replied before staring at him for a moment, taking in his face. “But I still think that you two were a brilliant addition. You play the bass very well! I always thought that drummers were cool, but I think bass players have made up in the list!” You replied grinning, possessed with a small bout of confidence that randomly came around. 

Genya blushed profusely at this and says, “I don’t think I’m that talented but I’m glad that you enjoyed it.” 

After a moment, he stares back at you curiously, “Did people actually complain to the student council about the band last year?”

At this you laugh and respond, “Yes! There were multiple complaints about how the student council, or the faculty should check the quality of the performers beforehand to ensure that the people performing were fun.” You say animatedly, “It was a bit absurd, seeing as the point of these performers is that they’re open to everyone.” 

“Organizing events must be difficult.” Genya says sympathetically. 

“It really is.” You say with a sigh, “but it’s also quite rewarding. Sure, it’s tiring and all but having a successful event and seeing all the people enjoying the event truly is worth it.” 

“Well, most of the time.” You add cheekily, causing Genya to laugh. 

A beat passes and neither of you talk for a moment, and you feel that this silence is a bit more comfortable than the last. While you could have possibly left it at that, you still had the desire to know more about the boy in front of you. 

“Are there any events you’re looking forward to this year?” You ask him. 

He pauses for a moment, and thinks, tilting his head to the side cutely. This made you coo internally, and you forced your face to not betray how endeared you are with him. 

“Well, I’m looking forward to the club events. Mostly the competitions.” He admits shyly. 

“Oh, you compete already? That’s so cool! What club are you in?” You say, impressed that he’s a representative already even though he’s only a first year. 

“I’m in the shooting club.” He says, and for a moment he looks hesitant as if awaiting judgment. 

Immediately however, you look at him with a stunned look and said, “Oh, really? That’s amazing! I can’t say I’ve had much time to check on club activities, but I always thought that that club sounded cool.” 

“We’ll be glad to have you if you have time to visit.” He says politely, with a hint of a smile. 

“I’ll try to drop by sometime!” You say grinning at him, “One of my friends is actually in that club as well.”

“Oh, really? What’s their name, maybe I know them.” He asks.

“His name is Nakahara Takeda, do you know him?” 

“Oh, Nakahara-senpai! He attends practice a lot and gives a lot of compliments…I think he’s nice.” Genya says, admitting the last part quietly. 

“He is very nice. He also always does have good things to say about everything, doesn’t he?” You say, remembering your friend’s jovial nature, “He actually had a lot of positive things to say about the ace of your club. He always calls them cool and the “embodiment of an ace”. He talked about them so much that we would all say “embodiment of an ace” back to him before he said it.” You say laughing fondly, “You know, now that I think about it, the shooting club ace is in your year, aren’t they? Takeda mentioned that they’re a year below us-” You suddenly look at Genya whose ears are now flushed pink and have come to a belated realization. 

“Oh my god, you’re the shooting club’s ace!” You exclaim, your voice a mixture of embarrassment and awe.

At your comment Genya flushes deeper and says, “Well the ace changes every so often so I’m not the only ace but-” he trails off, a bit frantic and unsure what to say. 

“You’re the ace and you’re only a first year, that’s amazing!” You say, “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you from my friend’s stories, he talked about you a lot during the time you joined the club to your first shooting target.” 

Genya looks embarrassed and simply shakes his head. 

You smile fondly at him and say, “Man, you’re athletic and musically inclined? Next you’ll tell me you’re an honor student too, or something.” You say with a teasing grin. 

At his silence however, and the conflicted look on his face, you let out a surprised laugh. He seems embarrassed at the prospect of being given too many compliments, but you were truly delighted by how amazing he was.

“No way, you’re also an honor student?! I think you’re becoming too perfect, Shinazugawa-san.” You say teasingly but with a kernel of honesty. 

Genya’s brain temporarily short circuits at what you said and in this moment of deliriousness, he suddenly blurts out, “I need high grades to maintain my scholarship.”

As the words left his mouth, he feels his body go rigid as he admits one of his secrets to you. He often keeps his scholarship quiet, hating the idea that people would look at him in pity or sympathy for being a scholar. Genya wasn’t a student in Kimetsu Academy in middle school, instead attending classes in a public school in the rougher edges of the city. Genya didn’t have proper resources at the time to manage his anxiety and anger, causing him to become aggressive and he would often pick fights. During that time as well, Sanemi was already working part-time as a tutor while picking up odd jobs. Genya would also often ask Sanemi to let him get a part time job instead of studying but Sanemi would berate him and tell him to, “Focus on your damn studies!” 

During Genya’s second year in middle school, Sanemi started working in Kimetsu Academy and was informed about the scholarship opportunities under the school. This scholarship became a compromise between Sanemi and Genya as a way for him to help with finances. Genya started studying more for his classes, and with the help of Sanemi, applied for a scholarship under Kimetsu Academy. He was accepted as a scholar during his third year in middle school, attending the school as a transferee. He had a hard time fitting in during his third year as everyone already knew each other while he was the only transferee. His towering height, scars, and hair hadn’t exactly helped him either. 

You see Genya suddenly seems to close off on himself after his admission. You take this to mean that he probably is not as open with his scholarship towards others. 

“I think that it’s admirable how hard you work.” You say simply before smiling and saying, “I’m also aiming for scholarships in college and that’s why I originally joined the student council. I ended up staying because I enjoyed it though.” 

Genya shifts from his reverie and is relieved that you did not treat him with pity and that you shifted the topic. 

“Extracurriculars are important for applications.” He replies. 

“Yeah.” You looked at him curiously and said, “Is that why you joined the shooting club?” 

“Originally yes,” He admits, “I was just looking for something that would help with applications.” 

“So why shooting club?” You ask curiously. The shooting club wasn’t necessarily a popular choice after all. 

“Himejima-sensei I joined a club that could help manage my stress through physical activity. He said it would also help me build social connections. I was going to try Kendo, but the equipment was too expensive. I looked for clubs that didn’t require the students to buy their own equipment and the shooting club was one of the options. I gave it a try and learned that I was actually pretty good at it.” He says with a soft smile. 

“You’re more than ‘pretty good’ I would say, but I’m glad that you’re enjoying the shooting club.” You said, “Himejima-sensei gives good advice, doesn’t he?” 

Genya nods at your statement, flushing at the former part of your sentence. “He’s not the best with words sometimes, but he’s always so nice and gentle.”

You laugh and say, “True. He was my homeroom adviser last year, and while he didn’t always say everything he thinks, he’s always looking out for the class. I keep on thinking of him as a father figure.” You say, your tone fond. 

“Yeah.” Genya trails off and he seems to be thinking about a deeper topic that you are not privy to. 

A moment passes between the two of you before Genya turns to you and asks, “Did you also join a club outside of student council?”

“No, but I have considered it. I was thinking of joining the math club this year, if it gets established.” 

“You like math?” Genya asks, surprised and curious.

“Oh, I think it’s pretty fun! I know not a lot of people do but I think it’s quite interesting. It’s also one of the best subjects, currently.” You add with a proud smile. 

You suddenly remembered something you wanted to ask Genya and said, “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask but are you related to Shinazugawa-sensei?” 

Genya smiles and says, “He’s my older brother.” Pride was evident in his voice, and you smile as you hear it. 

“Now that you say that you guys do look alike!” You say with a laugh, “I was scared of him during my first year because he’s got a wild case of resting angry face but he’s not so bad when he teaches in a smaller setting.” 

“He used to tutor people in Math, so I think he’s still more used to teaching at a small scale.” Genya remarks, “Did you have to attend his after-class sessions, senpai?” 

“I had to, once.” You said, “I got sick because of the workload for the student council, and I missed a class, as well as one of his quizzes. I was so nervous walking into the office and having to do make-up classes with him, but he was actually a lot calmer and explained things in an interesting and understandable manner.” 

Genya smiles as you regale this as he has witnessed firsthand how Sanemi can actually teach people well if he’s not doing it on a large scale and wasn’t highly stressed. Genya, after several talks with Himejima, has grown to accept that his older brother was also struggling with issues of his own and that he wasn’t the ‘perfect’ brother he had in his head. That didn’t make him any less fond and proud of his older brother, though so any praise that people had for his older brother was something that warmed Genya’s heart. 

At the happy look on Genya’s face, you smile and whisper conspiratorially, “Don’t tell your brother but, that lesson was actually the reason I started enjoying math and putting more effort into it.” 

At this Genya looks at you quizzically and says, “I’m sure he’ll appreciate you saying that though.” 

You laugh and say, “Maybe internally, but he’ll only look at me and say, ‘whatever you damn brat, just do your stupid math’ if I said that to him.” Doing your best impersonation of the white-haired man.

At your impersonation of his brother, Genya let out a surprised guffaw. Your contorted ‘angry’ expression was a true homage to the man, causing Genya to crack up. At the sound of his laugh you pause, your heart stuttering at the sound. His voice was gruff, and he laughed as if he was unexpectedly forced to do so, but the dorkiness of it has you laughing as well. You were truly so gone over this boy.

Before any of you could say a word, you hear your phone ringing causing you to jolt, and the moment was broken between the two of you. You picked up your phone and saw that Kanao was calling you. 

“もしもし, Kanao-chan?” You respond. 

“(Y/N), we ran into Tanjirou while he was looking for his brothers and we decided to help him in his search. We found them now.” 

“That’s great! I’m glad you guys found them. Are you guys headed here now?” 

“We’re near the P.E. grounds right now with Tanjirou and his family. We’re getting some fresh air and stepping away from the crowds for a bit since his siblings get a bit unruly in the crowd.” 

“That’s a good call. Would you want me to bring the food there? We can sit at the benches and eat. We can go back for the equipment later after the school festival wraps up.” You tell her. 

Kanao hums in affirmation and relays this information to the people in your group. She tells you to meet them in the P.E. grounds, and you move to fix the food you’re bringing. As the call ends, you turn to Genya and tell him the change of plans. He nods in affirmation and motions to the bag you’re carrying. 

“I can carry that for you, if you want.” He offers shyly. You hesitated for a moment, knowing you can carry it yourself but he probably feels slightly awkward not doing anything so you allow him to carry it. 

“Thank you, Genya.” You say as you move the chair back to its original position, offering the bag to him. His startles for a moment, his ears going a bit pink at the use of his name. 

“It’s no problem.” He says, looking at you. As you move through the crowds, both of you walking side by side, there is a comfortable silence as you go to the P.E. grounds to meet your friends. You look at the school festival slowly calming down around you and can’t help but think that this day truly was something else. Like it was the start of something new.