Work Text:
Actually, Tanjirou felt really comfortable wearing the outfit Kanroji picked for him. It's a pink leotard, white stockings and a cute yellow ribbon tied around the waist.
It's light and it makes it easier for him to move with the stretching and jumping exercises Kanroji seems to love.
The first time the love hashira sees him with it though she turns so red, Tanjirou worries there's something wrong with the way he put it on.
"It's perfectly fine, Tanjirou," she mumbles, almost dreamily. "It's... I mean, I didn't know how thick your thighs were before!"
"Oh," Tanjirou tilts his head in confusion before looking down at himself. "Well, it's because I do a lot of leg exercises before I start my daily training!"
"Yes, I can see that," she sighs with a happy smile on her lips before cupping her own face with her hands.
Tanjirou has no idea why she looks so flustered.
The rest of the day is a little bit weird, Tanjirou feels that a lot of the slayers are looking at him until Kanroji tells them to stare right ahead while they train. It's a little bit odd because even though she's smiling, she smells irritated when that happens.
But she gets over it soon because she puts them in pairs and she decides to train with Tanjirou herself, which improves her mood a lot.
"You look lovely, Tanjirou! I told Iguro about it!" She giggles, blushing again.
"Thanks!" Tanjirou grins back, happy to be with someone as cheerful as her.
Kanroji looks sad when it's time for Tanjirou to leave, but she gives him a hug, a kiss on the cheek and makes him promise to come back so she can make more pancakes for him.
"Of course!"
"Wait! Take the outfit with you!" She giggles. "It's yours now!"
Tanjirou thanks her from the bottom of his heart and heads to the serpent hashira estate.
***
Things get weird again when he arrives; Iguro is waiting for him with an irritated expression on his face, almost murderous, but he actually smells nervous and slightly content.
Tanjirou doesn't understand.
"You probably had a good time with Kanroji!" He hisses, narrowing his eyes. "Well, I'm not as kind as her! So prepare to suffer! But... you'll have to wear the leotard she gave you all the time."
He hesitates a bit after saying that, but Tanjirou thinks he imagined it because he suddenly looks annoyed again.
"Alright!"
When Tanjirou comes back to the training area, wearing the outfit, the first thing Iguro does upon seeing him is to choke.
Then he looks away for a second and clears his throat before explaining the exercise to him.
Tanjirou gets a little bit nervous when he sees a lot of slayers tied to the obstacles and realizes that they have become part of the training room themselves.
They look terrified, which is understandable, but even though they're scared, they seem to notice Tanjirou's outfit.
"If any of you look at him, I'll hit you with this on the face!" Iguro growls, suddenly looking even more pissed than before.
At least he's grabbing a wooden sword at the moment.
The poor slayers close their eyes then; it makes Tanjirou worry even more about them.
The first day of training is brutal, but surprisingly, Tanjirou almost manages to hit Iguro, which shocks him a bit.
Although the serpent hashira informs him that it doesn't count.
"I was distracted!" He hisses, face turning slightly pink. "You shouldn't bend over like that!"
Tanjirou narrows his eyes in confusion. He was just trying to avoid another hit from him; he's not sure why he's so angry about that.
Before leaving, and once Iguro allows everyone to take a break, he tells Tanjirou to change back to his regular uniform.
"Don't wear the outfit unless I'm in the estate, alright?" He snarls, viciously glaring at the other slayers before looking back at Tanjirou.
The redhead nods, wondering why that leotard has become so important for his training.
"Didn't know he was a thirsty bastard," one slayer comments, as soon as Iguro is gone.
"I thought he only liked the love hashira!" Says another, looking particularly amused. "But it seems he also likes redheads!"
Tanjirou's confusion only grows, but he's a little bit busy, trying to take care of his wounds to pay attention to their conversation.
"Can you blame him though?" Another one chuckles and suddenly everyone stares back at Tanjirou again.
"At least we get to bathe with him!"
"Yes!"
"Huh?" Tanjirou blinks in confusion again as another slayers pushes him inside.
When it's time to leave, Iguro tells him he needs to come back after all his training is over and that he must wear the outfit again.
"Oh, alright!" Tanjirou smiles, deciding not to question it. "I'll see you then!"
***
Shinazugawa's training is hell; it's even worse than Iguro's because the wind hashira doesn't give them a break until they pass out on the ground. No wonder why Zenitsu is so terrified of it.
And for some reason, Shinazugawa seems to make it more difficult for Tanjirou than everyone else.
Genya is there too, but the wind hashira ignores him completely. Tanjirou doesn't understand; Kanroji told him before that they were brothers.
"You all are a waste of my time! Useless!"
Just then, as Tanjirou falls on the ground for the fifth time that day, he thinks about the leotard.
"Wait! Can I put on the outfit Kanroji-san gave me?" He asks Shinazugawa, who's eye is twitching now. "Iguro-san thought it was important for my training too and made me wear it!"
Despite looking clearly irritated, the wind hashira nods, mostly because he's curious now.
When Tanjirou comes back wearing the leotard, a lot of things happen at once: Genya turns completely red and falls on the ground, the other slayers keep staring at Tanjirou until Shinazugawa snaps at them and when he finally looks back at the redhead, he freezes, a light blush covering his cheeks before he turns his back on Tanjirou.
"We're done for today. I need to take a cold bath," he grumbles, voice not as loud as usual. "If I find you staring at him again, I'll gouge your fucking eyes out!"
When he leaves, Zenitsu pulls Tanjirou into his arms and starts sobbing over his shoulder.
"You saved us, Tanjirou!" He cries happily. "Please wear this every day!"
"Huh? Why?"
Genya pushes Zenitsu away and hugs Tanjirou against his broad chest, covering him with his arms.
"Sanemi told you not to look at him!" He yells, still as red as a tomato.
Tanjirou is so confused. Maybe he shouldn't wear the leotard again, at least not during Shinazugawa's training.