Chapter Text
Tanjiro Kamado had always been a good kid.
At least, that’s what everyone said.
Teachers loved him. He turned in his assignments on time, never got into trouble, and always volunteered whenever someone needed help. If somebody dropped their books, Tanjiro picked them up. If somebody forgot a pencil, Tanjiro lent them one. If somebody was having a bad day, Tanjiro was the first person to ask if they were okay.
“You’re such a sweetheart.”
“You’re so mature.”
“I wish more students were like you.”
He heard it every day.
The thing was, he used to like hearing it.
Now it just made him feel weird.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Tanjiro carefully packed his notebook into his backpack while the rest of the students rushed for the door.
“See you tomorrow, Tanjiro,” his teacher called.
He smiled politely.
“See you tomorrow.”
As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he heard laughter.
Not mean laughter.
Just… laughter.
A group of students from his grade were standing near the lockers. They were talking loudly, joking around, shoving each other playfully.
Tanjiro recognized most of them.
Some of them had even been his friends when they were younger.
The moment he walked over, the conversation changed.
“Hey, Tanjiro.”
“What’s up?”
The smiles felt forced.
Like they were talking to a little kid.
“Nothing much,” Tanjiro answered.
A few awkward seconds passed.
Then one of them laughed.
“We were just talking about a party this weekend.”
Tanjiro’s eyes brightened.
“Oh, really?”
The group exchanged glances.
Immediately, he knew.
They weren’t inviting him.
“Oh.”
One of them rubbed the back of their neck.
“You probably wouldn’t wanna go anyway.”
Another snorted.
“Yeah. It’s not really your thing.”
Their thing.
Not his.
Tanjiro forced a smile.
“Right.”
The conversation ended there.
The group drifted away, laughing together as they walked down the hall.
Tanjiro stood there alone.
He wasn’t angry.
Just embarrassed.
Because they were probably right.
He wouldn’t have gone.
A year ago, he would’ve spent the whole weekend studying or helping Kyojuro around the house.
A year ago, he would’ve been proud of that.
Now?
Now he wasn’t so sure.
Maybe everyone else had changed.
Or maybe he was the one who got left behind.
The walk home felt longer than usual.
When he opened the front door, the smell of food immediately greeted him.
“Welcome home!” Kyojuro called from the kitchen.
Tanjiro smiled automatically.
“I’m home.”
Senjuro appeared from the living room.
“Tanjiro!”
His little brother immediately started talking about something that happened at school.
Tanjiro listened, nodding along.
Everything looked normal.
Everything felt normal.
Yet there was an uncomfortable feeling sitting in his chest.
Like something was missing.
Later that evening, he sat on his bed scrolling through social media.
Photos from school appeared on his screen.
People hanging out.
People having fun.
People making memories.
Without him.
His thumb paused.
For the first time, Tanjiro wondered if being the good kid was worth it.
Because everybody liked him.
But nobody actually wanted him around.
And for some reason, that hurt more than he expected.