Chapter Text
Several times throughout Tanjiro's stays at the butterfly mansion, he had made direct contact with one Shinobu Kocho, Insect Hashira, by way of getting kissed by the mysterious girl.
He'd be the first to admit it didn't quite upset him; she was cute, and it seemed harnless, he felt no anguish when she'd kiss him. The only issue was that, in the eyes of said Shinobu Kocho, Tanjiro was an oblivious fucking idiot who didn't pick up on blatantly obvious signatures.
The first time it happened, was while Tanjiro was practicing Total concentration constant. Up on the roof of the butterfly mansion, he had been trying to bring his body up to speed to master the technique when he had suddenly had his training methods disturbed.
"If I had to guess, you're training quite hard, yes?" The girl had whispered into his ear as he tried to focus. Her voice pulled in his attention, causing him to quickly turn to her. At the same time, in her strange way of acting, she had moved in closer to spook him. However, it had an unintended effect.
Tanjiro's lips brushed against Shinobu's, and both of them were practically stunned. Despite the awkward situation, neither pulled back. Shinobu stared, wide eyed, back at a Tanjiro who matched the expression.
It was a moment of hesitation much longer than it should have been before either reacted, but once Kocho had come to her senses, she moved back, smiling softly. Despite her rage, she couldn't help but feel a slight bit of romance in the air, if only likely temporary.
"Miss Kocho.. Ah, please, forgive me!"
She couldn't help but think he looked adorable, the boys cute nature eliciting a giggle from the girl. "Don't worry yourself now, Kamado~ It was hardly your fault." She tapped a finger to her chin, as if thinking. "You seem to have stopped your total concentration breathing," She noted with a finger pointed at him.
"Oh, darn, sorry, that's my fault!" Tanjiro frantically attempted apologies, but to his surprise, the girl just held up a hand.
"I'm neither your trainer, nor am I even a guide. For now, your progress is your own! I just hoped to come to speak with you, about something important to me."
"Is it.. does it have something to do with your anger?"
Kocho gasped, surprised Tanjiro would know something about her emotions. The boy was impressive, truly something to behold. "Yes, you're right..."
Though unexpected, Tanjiro patiently sat and listened as Kocho spoke with him, imparting the wish that her sister had given her as she had passed on. It was long, and his heart went out to the poor girl. By the end, it was all he could do to not wrap her up in a hug.
"Miss Kocho, I... I'm sorry. It might have just been luck, but my sister... she's different. Better than others." Tanjiro's lips curled slightly into a soft smile, thinking happily about his sister and her strange affliction. "I hope that I can fulfil that dream. For your sister, and espeically for you."
Kocho wiped the tears from her eyes, bowing her head to the boy in front of her. "Thank you, Kamado. Truly."
"You don't have to thank me... It was luck that all of this managed to happen."
"Maybe so, but still, you choose to bare my burden as well. Truly, you are a different one. So kind, just like Kanae. Goodbye for now, Tanjiro."
"Ah, wait, Miss Kocho! I, uh, I think I should apologize for that kiss again!"
Despite herself, Kocho laughed, her voice louder than it had likely been in years. "Just as apologetic too, aren't you? Tanjiro, be honest, dear boy, do you not like that you kissed me?"
The boy's face heated up, and he began to wave his hands frantically. "No, Miss Kocho, that's not true! I find you to be very attractive and quite remarkable! In fact, despite the fact it was accidental, I'm also apologizing for the fact I may have enjoyed it!"
"That Zenitsu told me you were quite the honest one, and a rambler at that. I find that boys like you catch my attention very easily~" Kocho leaned in before the boy could react, pecking him on the lips. "And for your information, it just so happens I enjoyed that too. Bye now!"
Before he could react, Shinobu jumped away, leaving Tanjiro stuck on the roof, totally incapable of continuing total concentration constant due to his heart feeling like it might beat out of his chest. What a strange interaction.
"Now, I know you two are a tad behind Tanjiro, so I will explain for you!" Shinobu clapped her hands together, startling Tanjiro whom she was currently just kneeling behind. "What Tanjiro is attempting to master is the art of always using total concentration breathing. That's morning, day, and night, even while you sleep!"
"Uh?" Zenitsu asked drowsily, feeling the fear shooting through his body. "Th-that much?"
"Fuck." Inosuke muttered. "But no way I can lose to you, Jumanjiro!"
"Tanjiro." The boy replied calmly.
"Don't give a fuck!" He replied happily.
"I think I'll be going back to sleep now." Zenitsu muttered, begin to get himself off the ground, but Kocho stopped him before he could, grabbing his hands and smiling.
"Come now, Zenitsu, don't tell me a darling boy like yourself can't do it?" She asked softly, squeezing his hands and widening her already forced smile.
"D-d-darling? Really?"
"Of course! I have such high hopes for you!"
"WAHHHH! I'LL DO MY BEST! I'M GONNA DO IT IF YOU BELIEVE IN ME!" The boy screamed at the top of his lungs, nearly deafening all of them.
After the ear piercing screams, Zenitsu and Inosuke both began their attempts of total concentration constant, but quickly found it to be a hell they weren't quite prepared for. Both hit the ground fast, facing away from Tanjiro and Shinobu as they gasped to regain their stamina.
In that time, it seemed Shinobu had gotten far too close to Tanjiro once again, watching over his shoulder. "My, they're as bad as you were the first time you tried!" She whispered softly.
Smiling, Tanjiro leaned away from her a little and turned his head to her. The fact he leaned away gave her pause; did he already catch onto her game?
"Ah, well, I imagine it came easy for somebody like you, right?" She couldn't help but fluster at how adorably kind his eyes were as he asked.
Catching her bearings as quickly as she should, and doing her best to keep her emotionless facade going, she smiled back at him. "It's been too long since I started to remember, to be honest. I know my sister always said she had trouble when she first started. I was out on a mission then." Her tone was muted, but Tanjiro still frowned, having picked up the scent of sorrow from the girl.
"H-HEY! HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TRAIN IF YOU TWO ARE JUST CHATTING!?" Zenitsu screamed, likely more out of jealous towards Tanjiro for receiving such a warm smile from the girl.
"Right, sorry!" It was funny to Shinobu, she could sense Tanjiro was genuinely sorry even though he must have known that Zenitsu couldn't care less about the training.
"You'll both be going ahead first, since you're just starting, you'll begin by trying it with yourselves, and once you start to be capable, I'll let you join under Tanjiro for further instruction." Shinobu smiled, but it was clear by her tone that arguing would only lead to trouble.
As the two scampered from the room, Tanjiro turned back to the hashira with a frown. "I was hoping I'd be able to help them out from the start, though..."
"They won't make it as demon slayers with you guiding their every mistake, you know. That's a rarity that they suceed." Briefly, her mind flashed to Kanao; she'd apply the same training methods they'd used with Kanao here. "Each of you started somewhere different, so the speed at which you grow is going to be different too, and your breathing styles as well. Let them build the foundation, and then nurture it once it's grown enough."
"I guess that's how I was trained by Urokodaki... I had to get better on my own for a while or I'd get hurt by his traps. It makes sense it can't be helped." Despit ehis words, he was a bit down trodden. He must have really enjoyed training when he was with his friends.
"Soon, you'll be training together. In the meantime, keep working. You've been doing a great job so far. If I'm being honest, I actually really do believe in you. You've got it."
He didn't have time to react before she'd moved in, pushed herself to the tips of her toes, and pecked his cheek, disappearing without a trace once more as she had the night prior. He smiled, happy that somebody like her was around rooting for him. And so friendly, too!
Even though he felt great, Tanjiro had been constantly reminded of the fact he was injured by his aching jaw, which had been damaged during the mount Natagumo. However, the pain, as he carried on his training, had slowly subsided, and by this point it was no longer a bother. When he asked Kocho to do an impromptu check up on him, she'd happily obliged, and he smelled a scent he couldn't quite catch on to. She was masking herself well, somehow.
"Hey there, Miss Kocho! I'm here for the check up now?"
"You're right on time, Tanjiro. And please, refer to me as Shinobu, I believe our time in this mansion has been enough for a first name basis."
"Ah, right then, Miss Shinobu." He smelt a tinge of annoyance from the girl, which confused him; didn't she just ask to be called by her first name? Regardless, it would probably be mean to ask.
The check up went as it usually did, with Kocho verifying that Tanjiro was in well enough shape to take on demons again. He seemed ecstatic, but despite the good news, Shinobu hadn't seemed quite as pleased. Despite wanting to speak up, it was a slayers job to slay demons, and not build a life together.
"Tanjiro... do be careful on your next mission. I get the feeling it's going to be of even greater difficulty than your battle against that lower rank. I wish you the best of luck, whatever it may turn out to be." Kocho held her breath about having been the one to recommend him and his two friends, but he needed to be strong, not coddled! And she wasn't even his responsibility anyways, even if she was having some fun with him. That was what she was telling herself, because she clearly couldn't call any of her now numerous kisses 'progress'.
"I really appreciate that... Shinobu." Tanjiro chuckled to himself, then grinned. "And who would have thought? Just months ago, Kanao and yourself had been trying to take out my sister and I... but now, I don't think I could imagine life without you two." Before she could react, Tanjiro had wrapped his hands around hers, his sunshine smile blinding the Hashira in an instant. "You be safe too, okay? I want to hear about your missions when I see you again! If we both do our best, I'm sure it'll work out, and we'll meet again before we know it!"
"Always so optimistic, despite everything you've been through... You're really such a special young man, Tanjiro." Shinobu smiled back at the boy, and he caught a whiff of that same emotion from earlier, except that this time, he could clearly distinguish it. The realization on his face shown so clear even Shinobu was taken aback, wondering why he was looking at her the way he was. "Are you alright? You looked very surprised for a moment..."
"Ah, well, um.. it's.. really hard to say when I'm this close to be honest!" Tanjiro sputtered back, jumping back and letting go of her hands. Despite her disappointment, she calmly waited for him to explain himself before she slapped him for not holding her hands anymore. "To be honest, sometimes I can't really tell what emotion I've picked up the scent of, if I'm unfamiliar or confused... but when you said my name... it was just like whenever my mom would talk about my dad."
She could tell it hurt him, remembering those horrible things that had happened before they'd met. "I apologize, it's my fauly that-"
"No, it isn't." Despite his shaky voice, Tanjiro was smiling wider than usual. "It makes me really happy... you remind me of my mom a little in the way you act like Inosuke and Zenitsu." That comparison made her a tad upset, but she'd hold her tongue. "But you never acted that way with me. I wondered why a lot, because I'm just as well off as them... but you don't see me as somebody to take care of, am I right? That was just how my mom felt, even though my dad was sick and frail through my entire life."
"I had tried to keep you lumped in with them... but to be honest, yes, the fortitude to keep things that way is not a skill I possess."
"You can't help what your heart longs for, Shinobu!" She felt his hands on hers again, quick as a flash. Looking up at his smiling face and tearful eyes, she couldn't help but want to cry too. "And I don't know if my heart longs for you like that, I wish I knew it did... but I'm going to come back here alive, and then I'll tell you. So stay alive for me, too, ok?"
It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was the truth, and it was better than being lied to. "Thank you for being honest with me. Tanjiro." Despite how sad she felt, she meant it. "I'll see you as soon as you've returned, hopefully less injured than last time."
"I hope the same." Tanjiro stood, preparing to leave and get prepared for his coming mission, but there was one thing he wanted to do before he left. "Shinobu? Could you close your eyes, please?" Nodding, she did so without argument, patiently sitting still for his move.
He knew it might not be right to do, but he needed to see if he could. If he didn't start to like her now, maybe he wouldn't ever. He leaned in slowly, murmuring an apology to the girl in his head before closing the distance, catching her lips with his.
Shinobu's eyes shot open, and she wanted nothing more than to grab the boys head and deeped the kiss, but she refrained. He pulled away slowly, smiling half heartedly. "I figured that... if I don't come home, you should have something to remember me by, right?" He smiled softly, stood, and made his way to the door. Shniobu, on the other hand, was left feeling giddy inside that the cute boy she liked finally at least gave her something in the way of acknowledgement. She allowed herself to revel in her feelings as she got back to work, returning to her usual poision crafting. He'd be home soon, and he'd have her answer, so she didn't have to worry at all.