Work Text:
Muichiro Tokito had always been very good at pretending things did not matter.
That was one of the reasons nobody noticed at first.
Three weeks had passed since the battle at the Swordsmith Village.
Three weeks since the smoke had cleared.
Three weeks since Muichiro had awakened his memories, fought Upper Rank Five, and survived.
Everyone kept telling him how impressive he was.
Tanjiro did too.
Not intentionally.
Not in a way meant to hurt.
But people spoke about Muichiro differently now.
The Mist Hashira.
The prodigy.
The boy who had remembered.
The boy who had defeated an Upper Rank.
Every word added something to his shoulders.
And Muichiro was already tired.
He just hadn't realized how tired.
---
Tanjiro found him on the roof.
Not somewhere dangerous.
Muichiro was sitting well back from the edge, staring at the sky.
His feet dangled over the side of a lower roof.
His sword rested beside him.
Tanjiro climbed up and immediately noticed something strange.
Muichiro didn't acknowledge him.
Usually, he would.
Even if it was only a distracted glance.
"Tokito?"
Nothing.
Tanjiro walked closer.
"Muichiro?"
Muichiro blinked.
Slowly.
Then looked at him.
"Oh."
Tanjiro smiled.
"Hi."
Muichiro stared at him.
"What?"
Tanjiro's smile faded slightly.
"I was checking on you."
"Why?"
"You've been sitting up here for a while."
Muichiro looked at the sky again.
"Oh."
Tanjiro waited.
Muichiro continued staring upward.
Clouds moved slowly across the blue.
"People keep saying things."
Tanjiro blinked.
"What things?"
Muichiro's expression remained blank.
But his voice was quiet.
"Things about me."
Tanjiro sat down beside him.
Muichiro didn't move away.
"The Mist Hashira."
Tanjiro listened.
"The genius."
A pause.
"The prodigy."
Tanjiro frowned.
Muichiro's fingers slowly curled into his sleeves.
"They say I'm strong."
"You are strong," Tanjiro said automatically.
Muichiro went still.
Tanjiro immediately regretted it.
Because Muichiro's shoulders rose.
Then—
Very quietly—
"That's the problem."
Tanjiro didn't understand.
Muichiro stared down at his hands.
"Everyone says it like that's enough."
Tanjiro's chest tightened.
Muichiro's voice became quieter.
"As long as I'm strong, nobody asks if I can do it."
Tanjiro didn't interrupt.
"If I can fight, then I fight."
Muichiro's fingers curled tighter.
"If I can stand, then I'm fine."
Tanjiro's throat tightened.
"And if I win, everyone is happy."
Muichiro stopped speaking.
Tanjiro waited.
The silence stretched.
Finally—
"I'm tired."
Two words.
That was all.
But something in Muichiro's voice made Tanjiro feel as though he'd been handed something fragile.
Tanjiro nodded.
"You can rest."
Muichiro's eyebrows pulled together.
"How?"
Tanjiro froze.
Muichiro looked genuinely confused.
Tanjiro didn't know what to say.
Because how did someone learn to rest when nobody had ever really allowed them to?
---
Muichiro stayed on the roof.
Tanjiro stayed with him.
Neither spoke for a while.
The wind moved gently around them.
Then Muichiro shifted.
His shoulders hunched.
Tanjiro noticed.
"Are you cold?"
Muichiro shook his head.
His breathing became uneven.
Tanjiro's expression changed.
"Muichiro?"
Muichiro's hands rose to his head.
"Too loud."
Tanjiro looked around.
There was almost no sound.
"What's loud?"
Muichiro didn't answer.
His eyes squeezed shut.
His breathing became faster.
Tanjiro immediately understood.
Not the village.
His thoughts.
Too many things.
Too many memories.
Too many voices.
Muichiro suddenly shook his head.
"No."
Tanjiro moved closer.
"You're okay."
Muichiro shook his head harder.
"Don't—"
His voice broke.
Tanjiro froze.
Muichiro's body curled inward.
The words stopped coming.
Tanjiro watched confusion replace panic.
Muichiro looked down at his hands.
Then back up.
His eyes were wide.
Young.
Far younger than they should have been.
Tanjiro's heart sank.
Muichiro's mind had finally reached its limit.
Everything he had been holding together—
All the things that had been expected of him—
Had become too much.
And suddenly—
He couldn't hold them anymore.
---
Muichiro looked at Tanjiro.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Tanjiro didn't speak.
He waited.
Muichiro made a tiny sound.
Tanjiro's expression softened.
"Hi."
Muichiro blinked.
Tanjiro held out his hand.
Not touching.
Just offering.
Muichiro stared at it.
Then looked at Tanjiro's face.
Slowly, his hand reached out.
His fingers wrapped around Tanjiro's.
Tanjiro didn't pull.
He simply let Muichiro hold his hand.
Muichiro stared at their hands.
His eyebrows furrowed.
He tugged.
Tanjiro leaned closer.
Muichiro immediately pressed their hands against his chest.
Tanjiro's heart broke.
"Okay."
Muichiro made another soft sound.
Tanjiro stayed.
---
Mitsuri found them because Tanjiro never came back.
She had expected to find them talking.
Or training.
Instead, she climbed onto the roof and stopped.
Tanjiro was sitting against the wall.
Muichiro was tucked against his side.
Not asleep.
Just holding Tanjiro's hand with both of his.
Mitsuri's eyes widened.
Tanjiro looked at her.
He didn't need to say anything.
Mitsuri understood immediately that something was wrong.
She approached carefully.
Muichiro noticed.
His head lifted.
Mitsuri stopped.
"Hi."
Muichiro stared.
Mitsuri crouched.
She didn't smile too brightly.
Didn't use an overly gentle voice.
Didn't treat him like a joke.
She simply stayed still.
"Hi, Muichiro."
Muichiro looked at Tanjiro.
Tanjiro squeezed his hand gently.
"She's safe."
Muichiro stared at Mitsuri again.
Mitsuri placed one hand against her own chest.
"Mitsuri."
Muichiro blinked.
Tanjiro understood.
His memories weren't gone.
His mind was simply too young to hold onto everything properly right now.
"Mitsuri," Tanjiro repeated.
Muichiro looked at her.
"Mi."
Mitsuri's expression softened.
"Yes."
Muichiro stared at her pink-and-green hair.
Mitsuri waited.
Muichiro stared.
Then reached.
Mitsuri blinked.
"Can I come closer?"
Muichiro didn't answer.
But his hand remained stretched toward her.
Mitsuri slowly moved closer.
Muichiro's fingers touched her hair.
He held a strand.
Mitsuri stayed perfectly still.
Tanjiro watched.
Muichiro rubbed the soft hair between his fingers.
His breathing slowed.
Mitsuri's eyes filled with tears.
Tanjiro gave her a look.
Mitsuri immediately wiped them away.
Quietly.
---
The three of them remained on the roof.
Nobody moved Muichiro.
Nobody suggested taking him somewhere.
Not yet.
Every time Tanjiro shifted his weight, Muichiro became anxious.
So Tanjiro stopped shifting.
When Mitsuri tried to stand to get help, Muichiro reached toward her.
So Mitsuri sat back down.
They were trapped.
Tanjiro didn't mind.
Mitsuri didn't either.
Muichiro needed them.
That was enough.
---
Eventually, clouds covered the sun.
The roof became cooler.
Muichiro shivered.
Tanjiro noticed immediately.
"We need to go inside."
Muichiro stared at him.
Tanjiro pointed toward the building.
"Inside."
Muichiro looked where he pointed.
Then back.
Tanjiro stood.
Muichiro's eyes widened.
Tanjiro immediately understood.
"Wait."
He sat back down.
Muichiro relaxed.
Mitsuri tilted her head.
"Maybe he doesn't want to walk?"
Tanjiro considered it.
Then carefully held out his arms.
"Would you like me to carry you?"
Muichiro stared.
The words seemed too complicated.
So Tanjiro simplified.
"Up?"
He opened his arms.
Muichiro immediately leaned forward.
Tanjiro caught him.
Muichiro curled against his chest.
Tanjiro stood.
Muichiro held tightly to him.
Mitsuri smiled.
"Okay."
They went inside.
---
The room Tanjiro chose was quiet.
It had no visitors.
No injured people.
No voices shouting outside.
Tanjiro sat on the floor with Muichiro still in his lap.
Mitsuri sat nearby.
Muichiro looked around.
Tanjiro noticed his eyes becoming wider.
Too much.
New room.
New surroundings.
Tanjiro immediately placed a hand over Muichiro's back.
Muichiro grabbed his uniform.
"Same."
Tanjiro blinked.
"Same?"
Muichiro pressed closer.
Tanjiro understood.
"We're the same."
Mitsuri smiled.
"Same people."
Muichiro stared at her.
Then looked at Tanjiro.
Slowly, he relaxed.
---
Mitsuri found a blanket without leaving the room.
It had been folded on a shelf nearby.
She pulled it down.
Muichiro immediately watched.
Mitsuri held it up.
"Soft."
Muichiro stared.
Then reached.
Mitsuri draped it over him.
Muichiro grabbed it.
Tanjiro watched as his fingers explored the fabric.
Muichiro's expression became calmer.
Mitsuri smiled.
"He likes it."
Tanjiro nodded.
"Yes."
Muichiro pulled the blanket toward his face.
Then sneezed.
Mitsuri stared.
Tanjiro stared.
Muichiro blinked.
Then sneezed again.
Mitsuri made a tiny sound.
Tanjiro covered his mouth to hide his smile.
Muichiro looked offended.
Mitsuri immediately composed herself.
"Bless you."
Muichiro stared.
Then hid under the blanket.
Tanjiro laughed softly.
Mitsuri did too.
For a moment—
The sadness didn't disappear.
But it loosened.
---
Later, Tanjiro found something important.
Muichiro didn't want to eat.
At least not by himself.
Tanjiro placed food nearby.
Muichiro ignored it.
Mitsuri offered some.
Muichiro turned away.
Tanjiro frowned.
Then, remembering how young Muichiro seemed, he picked up a small piece and held it near him.
Muichiro stared.
Tanjiro waited.
Muichiro opened his mouth.
Mitsuri's hands flew to her face.
Tanjiro glanced at her.
Mitsuri whispered.
"Sorry."
Muichiro ate.
Tanjiro offered another.
Muichiro accepted.
And slowly, the food disappeared.
Mitsuri looked pleased.
Tanjiro smiled.
Muichiro leaned back against him.
His eyes became heavy.
---
"He's still sad."
Mitsuri whispered it later.
Muichiro was dozing against Tanjiro.
Tanjiro looked down.
"Yes."
"Even when he's little."
Tanjiro nodded.
Regression hadn't erased what hurt.
It had only made Muichiro unable to understand it.
The sadness was still there.
Somewhere beneath everything.
Tanjiro gently rubbed Muichiro's back.
Muichiro made a quiet unhappy sound.
Tanjiro immediately stopped.
Muichiro's hand reached upward.
Tanjiro took it.
Muichiro calmed.
Mitsuri watched.
"He needs someone."
Tanjiro shook his head.
"He needs people."
Mitsuri looked at him.
Tanjiro glanced toward the door.
"He's spent too much time alone."
Mitsuri nodded.
"Then he won't be alone."
---
Muichiro woke once during the night.
Tanjiro was still there.
Mitsuri was still there too.
Muichiro's eyes opened.
Immediately—
He looked panicked.
He didn't recognize where he was.
He made a frightened sound.
Tanjiro immediately leaned closer.
"Muichiro."
Muichiro looked at him.
Tanjiro placed a hand against his chest.
"Tanjiro."
Muichiro stared.
Then his eyes moved.
Mitsuri was asleep against the wall.
Her hair was spread around her shoulders.
Muichiro stared.
"Mi."
Mitsuri's eyes opened immediately.
"Hi."
Muichiro's breathing slowed.
Tanjiro understood.
Same.
He needed things to stay the same.
Tanjiro moved back beside him.
Mitsuri carefully shifted closer.
Muichiro reached out.
One hand found Tanjiro.
The other found Mitsuri.
He held them both.
His eyes closed.
---
Tanjiro watched him fall asleep again.
This time, he understood something.
Muichiro wasn't weak.
Regression wasn't proof that he couldn't handle things.
It was proof that he'd been handling too much.
For too long.
He had been praised for being strong.
But strength had become something people expected from him constantly.
Something he was never allowed to put down.
Until now.
Tanjiro looked at Mitsuri.
Mitsuri looked back.
Neither spoke.
They didn't need to.
Muichiro was sleeping.
His mind had retreated somewhere very young.
A place where he didn't know how to be the Mist Hashira.
Where he didn't remember how to be a prodigy.
Where he couldn't carry a sword.
Where all he knew was—
Tanjiro.
Mitsuri.
Warmth.
Softness.
Safe.
For now—
That was enough.
The Mist Hashira could return later.
The prodigy could return later.
The swordsman could return later.
But Muichiro?
Muichiro was only a tired boy.
And tonight—
He was allowed to rest.