Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 36

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It was early in the morning at the Butterfly Mansion where Tanjiro was already awake and sitting up in his bed. His sister, Nezuko, slept quietly in her box next to his bed. Inosuke and Zenitsu had left to go hunt for some demons together during the night and had yet to come back. Tanjiro wasn't worried about them but he did feel rather lonely without anyone around. The doors to the room quietly slid open as Kanao poked her head inside before looking around and saw Tanjiro already awake. As a result, her face lit up with joy as she entered the room and began walking towards his bed. The two teenagers greeted each other before the girl informed, "Aoi's left to get breakfast, she'll be back in a little bit." Tanjiro was definitely getting hungry so the sound of food was appealing to him. Kanao looked the boy up and down, trying her best to maintain her smile as she looked at the boy's damaged body. A teenager with most of his limbs gone besides his right arm, she couldn't even process how difficult it was for him right now.

Tanjiro offered the girl, "You can take a seat if you like, I don't mind." That didn't bother the girl but she did appreciate the offer as she sat down on the other side of the bed and turned towards the boy. She was having a difficult time starting a conversation and Tanjiro could see that. He felt the same way, he wasn't entirely sure how to talk to her but he enjoyed her presence nonetheless. Kanao opened her mouth when she found the words she wanted to say:

"Are you okay with what you did?" Tanjiro was baffled by the question and wasn't sure what the girl was referring to. "Your body, are you okay with sacrificing your limbs like that?" Tanjiro looked down at his only arm before answering:

"Yeah. I was initially distraught over it, but hearing Mister Flint's story really showed me how insignificant my injuries are. Everything he has gone through, all that he's lost, losing my limbs is nothing compared to what he's gone through and for that, I'm ready to sacrifice much more on his behalf. I don't regret my actions." Kanao didn't seem surprised, oddly enough, as she admitted:

"I heard his story yesterday. I didn't understand a lot of it but I think I understand the general idea. You must have a lot of respect for him."

"That would be an understatement. He's probably the person I respect the most to the point I wanted to be just like him. However, I slowly realized that's not a path I want to go down but there are still aspects of him that I wish I could be. I might sound childish for saying this but I would love to be as strong and as cool as him but that's not much of an option now, is it?"

"I think you're cool and strong. I didn't get a chance to say anything when that big demon arrived but I saw you jump towards the action without a second thought. I didn't want to interrupt you because I felt like I would get in the way but I was shocked when I saw you push the Hellwalker out of the way. Even despite the injuries you've taken, I can't help but admire your optimism."

Both of the teenagers blushed before Tanjiro barely said, "O-oh, thank you, Kanao. I kind of forgot that everyone else was there, I was just so fixated on getting Mister Flint out of the way that I ignored everything else. I'm sorry if I made you worry."

"It's fine, you're still alive, aren't you?" Tanjiro smiled and assured her that he was still there. Kanao began to think back on her previous conversation with her sister where she finally understood her feelings for Tanjiro. "Love", that's what it was called. It's still an emotion she's unfamiliar with and still trying to understand but she didn't feel as though it was wrong. She wanted to ask him something, a very difficult question for her but her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone entering the Mansion. Kanao and Tanjiro looked towards the sliding door as they heard Aoi announce her return and the other girls of the mansion got to work helping her unload the groceries.