Kanao Can't Communicate

•~chapter fourty-three: the train ride home~•

At last, the day had come for the students to say goodbye to Kyoto and to go back home, to Kimetsu city.

The morning of their departure was hectic. Students were running on the train platform, as they didn't want to be left behind in a city they'd only known for a few days.

"Where's my bag?!"

"The train's leaving soon! Hurry up!"

"Hey, isn't that my phone? But it's right here in my...oh."

"AHHH! MY SWORD! NOOOOO!"

Although it took a few minutes (and a lot of screaming) the students were finally ushered onto the train home.

Per usual, all the students were seated with their group members. It wasn't any different for Kanao, Cho, and Himari—they were seated together, all in a row.

Himari took a box of candy, colored a deep red, out of her bag.

"Hey, Cho, Kanao!" Himari chirped, waving the box in the air. "Want some of this candy I bought? It's a new one that I found, it's a Kyoto delicacy, ehe~"

This time, Kanao and Cho gratefully accepted the candy, and the trio of girls munched their way through the sweet contents of the box until it was halfway empty and when Himari shrieked, "Isn't that a bit too much candy for your liking?!"

After Himari's sudden stopping of the candy feast, Cho and Himari became engrossed in a two way conversation about their experiences in Kyoto while Kanao sat between them, listening and occasionally nodding.

"That part was so fun, don't you think, Kanao?" Himari said, only to receive no response. Well, of course she received no response, Kanao couldn't talk. But she became indignant, because she thought she would receive at least a small form of acknowledgement.

Himari opened her mouth to protest her being ignored, but she shut up as soon as Cho placed a hand over her lips.

Following her friend's gaze, she realized why Kanao didn't acknowledge her--it was because she was sound asleep.

"Oh, she's sleeping." Himari muttered.

"Well, she might not have gotten much sleep last night. We did--ahem--go deep into that love talk last night, so she might not have gone to sleep even if we had." Cho said, stifling giggles.

Himari remained silent, with her eyes widened as she cast a confused stare at Kanao.

Cho, who obviously noticed the odd look on Himari's face, decided to question her about it.

"What's the matter? Why are you looking at Kanao like that?"

"Well, I just thought, 'Kanao sleeps too?'" Himari chuckled. Cho gave her a 'get to the point' glare, and Himari sweatdropped and continued, "Okay, okay. How should I put this?"

"Before, I thought Kanao was just perfect, you know? A super woman who had no weakness in any form whatsoever." Himari began, as Cho nodded to show her agreement.

"But when we spent a whole day with her, she wasn't the 'pretty, untouchable goddess' that I had imagined. She's more down to earth when she writes to you, although clueless about things that should be very obvious." Himari giggled.

"I thought the same here." Cho said thoughtfully. "She's not a stuck up snob, nor is she the kind of person who's awkward to hang out with. She's not scary, either, but when you get to know her more, she's a very sweet friend."

Cho and Himari giggled softly, and Kanao shifted in her seat. Her group mates watched her anxiously as the raven haired girl moved around. Thankfully, she didn't wake up and Himari and Cho sighed in soft relief.

When Cho blinked and opened her eyes, Himari was making a pretty creepy face, making it obvious that she had a sinister plan in mind...

•°•°•°•°•

Tanjiro was sitting in his row, listening as Inosuke bragged about who-knows-what (per usual).

But then, he caught a whiff of terror and anxiety right next to him. The scent also mingled with something... weirdly sinister, yet playful.

When he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder, he turned his head to see a panicking Himari and a distressed looking Cho.

"Oh, Tanjiro!" Himari cried. "Kanao is being attacked by villains! Please, help her!"

Cho nodded in agreement. "Oh yes! Hurry and save her before it's too late!"

Tanjiro sweatdropped, but nonetheless, he got up and walked down to Kanao's row, all the while looking at Cho and Himari in confusion.

As soon as Tanjiro was far away,  Himari and Cho high-fived each other. They were feeling very successful because they were able to fool Tanjiro's sense of smell (they didn't really know that they were actually unsuccessful) and they were able to trick him into going to Kanao.

Tanjiro, meanwhile,was sidestepping moving kids, hopping over bags, and making his way to where Kanao was.

At last, he reached her row. He looked around for the supposed "villains" but just like he thought, there was not one bad guy in sight.

However, he just sat down beside Kanao and asked her, "Are you alright, Kanao?"

Upon receiving no acknowledgement nor movement, he looked at Kanao and noticed she was sleeping soundly.

I should go back to my seat so that I don't interrupt her sleep... Tanjiro thought, standing up from the chair. But when he looked back at Cho and Himari, they were both looking at him and the message was clear: stay there and keep her company.

Uneasily, Tanjiro sat down and he looked at Kanao's sleeping face.

Hm. I've never seen Kanao asleep before. Tanjiro thought, mesmerized. But his creepy thoughts were expelled as he scolded himself by thinking, What are you thinking, Tanjiro? You shouldn't watch people while they sleep. It's very rude.

Tanjiro looked at the rest of the rows, trying to steer his thoughts in a different direction than where they were currently going.

But that wasn't the case.

Kanao's head suddenly dropped and fell onto Tanjiro's shoulder. He began to blush, but then Kanao's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, you're awake?" Tanjiro said calmly, opening an upsidedown book as he tried not to think about what just happened. His heart rate went up quickly and he was starting to struggle in hiding his nervousness.

Kanao placed a delicate hand on his shoulder, and went red as she realized his shoulder was warm, and it was the exact place her head had been.

How long were you there?! she scribbled feverishly, her eyes quite wide.

"Only two to three minutes." Tanjiro said.

I'm so sorry... Kanao wrote, placing her hands over her eyes in sheer embarrassment. She wiped her face with her sleeve to make sure there was no drool, and thankfully, there wasn't.

The pair sat in a VERY awkward silence as they tried not to relive their traumatic moment.

Finally, Tanjiro broke the silence by saying, "So...where did you all go in your free time?"

We went to Osaka's USJ, Nara, and Futomaki Movie Village. Kanao wrote proudly, as Tanjiro raised his eyebrows in interest.

She showed him the pictures of her free time, from those of the train ride, and those in USJ ("Wow, how'd you get through all the lines?"). Kanao also showed the pictures with the takoyaki (the takoyaki was very soft and delicious.) and those with the deer. When Tanjiro came to the photo of Kanao in the maiko costume, Kanao went red and swiped the photo away.

"Well, you had lots of fun, didn't you?" Tanjiro asked, smiling as he received a soft nod and a small smile from Kanao.

Gradually, their friends began to join them, and the rest of the train ride back home was lovely once again.