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the-head-ancho-chilli · 1 year

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The Hashira’s Favourite Hugs

Happy Valentines day everyone! Enjoy some lovin from your favourite Hashira ^^

Requests and asks are still open :)

Word count: 4k~

Mitsuri Kanroji

Mmmm

Prepare to be swept off your feet (literally)

Approaching our very own love Hashira and requesting a hug will be met with the same excitement no matter what

“Huh? Do you want a hug? Of course! Come here sweetie, let me hold you for a bit!”

She will be SO HAPPY if you asked ^^

Mitsuri may squeeze you a little, but never too much

Her goal is to get you as close to her as possible, no gap spared between you two

She’s honestly one of the best huggers here

Depending on your height, she’ll either prop her chin on either your head or shoulder

She’s a little warm from her flustering, but still enthusiastic nonetheless

If your head is tucked away, she’ll focus on swaying you both side to side in a rocking motion

Almost as if you two were dancing

But if you face is out in the open, Mitsuri will not waste a second before peppering your entire face in kisses

She tries her best to make you feel loved

Mitsuri absolutely adores hugs so she’ll never turn you down

She likes cooing about how much she loves you while the two of you hold each other

“Oh you make my heart skip a beat! I love you so much!!!”

Compliments will not be held back here, Mitsuri will go above and beyond

SHE MEANS EVERY SINGLE ONE, DONT YOU DARE DOUBT YOURSELF

But even the love Hashira has a favourite hug

Mitsuri was once gone for more than a week on some business that she had to attend to

You missed her terribly, and you grew more worried as time passed by

While lounging in your shared bedroom, you heard the door open and close as your love cheered “Honey, I’m home!”

You sprinted across the house, found Mitsuri and leapt into her arms, yours pulling her in by her neck

Seizing momentum while she had it, Mitsuri spun the two of you around while you were still in the air

But when the two of you had spun enough and she tried to put you down, she realized that your legs were around her waist

You were almost clinging onto her like a koala, and something inside of her melted

She was internally squealing at how affectionate you were :)

Mitsuri’s favourite hugs are ones where she can use her strength, often by lifting you up into her arms

“Sweetie it’s late, let me carry you to bed, okay?”

It just makes her feel strong and cherished

Would absolutely carry you around like this all the time if you let her

Obanai Iguro

He acts like he hates them

Do not underestimate him and the complete unadulterated adoration he has for you and the few people he lets near his heart

Obanai is just not used to that kind of thing, and it really stresses him out

If you asked him for a hug he would just shoot you a critical stare before groaning out an "Ughhh, fine. Come here"

You would be doing all the work here

Even if you have both your arms wrapped around him, your head resting on his shoulder, he still won't move

Obanai is really stiff about it

If you're lucky, he'll MAYBE pat your back unenthusiastically

Truth be told, Obanai doesn't let people touch him often so he wouldn't have much experience in it by far

Now if you ASKED him what is favourite hug is, he would say the side squeeze he gives you in public

Obanai can get overprotective easily, but he doesn't like showing it

He rarely misunderstands when someone is just being nice or affectionate in a platonic manner and when someone is actually hitting on you

If he sees someone making moves on you or just making you uncomfortable in general, he will glide over there and put his hand in your back pocket

Effectively pulling you into a very tense side hug

Obanai wouldn't say anything, but his main line of protection is his very judgmental look at his target

He wants you to believe that he's tough and all, that guarding you from danger is his greatest joy

But Obanai is really soft

His actual favourite hugs are what he refers to as "Sweater Time"

If you have larger sweaters than he does, he will pull the bottom hem of it up for a minute and pull it over his head

If he's taller than you then he just tucks you underneath the hem of his

Basically the two of you are wearing the same, spacious sweater

He's close enough that just fitting into it doesn't make you feel like you need to wrap your arms around him

But Obanai might pull you in if he just really needs your touch

He absolutely loves holding your face and resting his forehead on yours, absentmindedly tracing your jaw

Takes the opportunity to look into your eyes but Obanai doesn’t hold eye contact for long

So very warm :)

Tengen Uzui

Ohohoho

You’re in for a ride, that’s for sure

If you ask Tengen for a hug, he’s gonna be so snarky about it

He’ll make you confirm it like 5 times

“Hmm? You want a hug from the God of Festivals? Ahhh, of course, anyone would want to be in my arms! Come closer and claim you prize from yours truly~”

Tengen will motion you towards him, hinting to put your arms around him

Most of the time he’ll tease you about it, but sometimes Tengen will just flash a smile and pull you in

He’s pretty strong so his hugs are pretty tight by default

You can smell a hint of the cologne he uses, which is never too strong in the first place

Loves pressing you in by the small of your back, he can’t explain why though

Tengen’s hands just gravitate there, no lower or higher

Even when you two are already hugging, Tengen will not be able to resist teasing you

He is RELENTLESS about it too

Even if Tengen gets annoying with how affectionate you can be, he doesn't really mean it

Because every now and then, he just needs you there with him for a bit

It doesn't happen often but Tengen does have nights where he just can't sleep

You wouldn't know if its stress, repetitive thoughts or nightmares simply because he refuses to tell you

When he just lies there in the early hours of the morning, he'll carefully drag whoever is nearest towards him

This particular instance, you barely stirred awake as Tengen lifted your body to lie atop of his

Sensing your arousal from slumber, Tengen already hushes you back to sleep

"It's okay baby," he coos. "Just needed you a little closer. Get some rest"

If you happen to stay awake, he'll continue his attempts to get you to fall asleep again as he would honestly prefer for you to stay asleep when he's like this

Because when Tengen feels the worst of himself haunt his thoughts with all the memories and pain that he carries everywhere, nothing soothes him more than you pulling him closer whilst dreaming

This unconscious "I love you" of yours never fails to bring a sad smile and a few tears of love rolling down his cheeks

Pulls you even closer as he feels joy spread throughout his chest like fireworks

Yes, this is his favourite, and he will reward your efforts with forehead kisses and gently stroking your spine

Sanemi Shinazugawa

Either he has rabies or he just snarled at you

“Why the fuck are your arms like that? Are you looking for a fight?”

If you ask Sanemi for a hug, expect some backlash

See, all you wanted was some affection and somehow he's looking at you like you have two heads or something

"No you jerk, I just want a hug..."

Sanemi is pretty circumstantial with hugs, but he's not like Obanai where he's hiding how soft he really is

In reality, he would prefer that you got a hug from someone else

"Isn't it Mitsuri's day off? She should be in the garden at Shinobu's place"

Due to his workaholic nature, Sanemi doesn't think that he would be the best person for when you want affection

And its not because he hates affection nor does he find you annoying

Sanemi just think that because he's sweaty, covered in a bit of blood and is exhausted beyond belief, that maybe someone else's hug may bring more comfort than he could

But if there's no one else around...

"Mitsuri took a trip to a resort in the mountains, and you're already here"

With a roll of his eyes, Sanemi will acquiesce

"Get over here, you dork"

I will advise you however, that hug will not last more than three seconds

He will be firm in the hug, and maybe he'll give you a few pats on the back, but that's all you're getting

"There, now no more distractions. I've got some unfinished buisness..."

He will immediately turn away and go back to whatever he was doing

Honestly, he's trying to hide how (minorly) flustered he is by your sudden request for affection, but it's not surprising enough for him to let up a little on his unspoken self-consciousness

No, that would take at least a decade of attempts to make any progress

Just take his huffiness with a bit of grace; Sanemi just isn't the best person to go to when you want a hug

But if you come to him with tears dribbling down your cheeks, and a pained expression on your face

If you come to him with opened arms and a few sobs choked in your throat

If you push aside your dignity to allow Sanemi to see you at your worst, and a look in your eyes that shows that he's the only one who can alleviate the pain

"I've got you, I'm not going anywhere. I've got you"

He won't hesitate to immediately pull you in

There's something in the way you hold onto him that makes him believe that maybe, just maybe, he's not as bad as he thought

Hugs like these are his favourite, when he can push out his insecurities and hug you just for the sake of hugging you

Yeah, he's no good for hugging you when you want it

But he's perfect at it when you need it

Shinobu Kocho

She’s kinda iffy with them, but she does have her own preferences

If you approach Shinobu and you ask for a hug, she’ll open her arms to you and motion you toward her

“Oh my, my dear do you need a hug? No need to worry Angel, I’m right here”

She’s definitely shorter than you so she’ll normally press her face into your chest while the two of you embrace

Shinobu likes listening to your heartbeat, and sometimes seizes the opportunity to check your health

Usually she does it because she finds it soothing

Other times, Shinobu just worries even if she knows she has no reason to

Believe it or not but she doesn’t like being held

Shinobu will never breathe a word of it, especially if you’re really affectionate

Would never ask you to stop, she just wouldn’t go out of her way to ask you to hold her

You would think after learning this that Shinobu just doesn’t like physical affection

While cooking some dinner for the two of you, your mind will start to wander about Shinobu

She spends so much time studying medicine that you hardly saw her all day today

You missed her dearly

But then you feel two arms snake around your waist, and someone pressing into your back

The smell of wisteria and rubbing alcohol wafting around you

Yes, it’s true that Shinobu doesn’t like being held

But she LOVES holding you close

In bed she’s the big spoon, she hangs onto you when you share showers, her arms will wrap around your neck when she checks up on you working at your desk

But right now?

You cooking and talking about your day, while she hums along?

Feeling you relax into her touch as she hops up on her toes to press her forehead into your neck?

Yes, this is Shinobu’s favourite

There is no place she would rather be

PLEASE LET HER HYG YOU AS YOU DO STUFF

Shinobu is the type of person where she just loves existing in the same space as you, but with her chest pressed against your back

Overall, back hugs enthusiast

Kyojuro Rengoku

CUDDLE MANNNN

Look me in my eyes and tell me that he isn’t the best hugger here

If you ask Kyojuro for a hug, he would be so honoured to give you one

“But of course my love! Please allow me to give you a proper embrace!”

He’s so soft and warm you could melt away

Depending on how you are when you asked, he will either ask you about your day or stay very quiet for you

Our sunshine boy can brighten even the stormiest days

Kyojuro’s very versatile with affection, so if he knows you have a preference he will heed to it at once

Head scratches, back rubs, shoulder pats, you name it

He’ll do it all for you

If it’s possible in the moment, he will give you a loving kiss on the forehead

With how affectionate Kyojuro is, you would think maybe he doesn’t have a favourite hug but that’s not true

“My love! I have finished my project, sit down with me so I may share it with you!”

You had just came back from the kitchen with two cups of tea, setting them on the coffee table

Kyojuro sat on the floor with his legs crossed, arms open and motioning you towards him

Initially you were confused with how close you stood near him, but Kyojuro still hurriedly motioned you towards him

He softly held onto your hips, turning you away from him, and pulled you down so you sat on the floor with him

You were basically sitting in Kyojuro’s lap

He had one arm around your waist, using the other hand to pull the box he was working on for the past couple weeks across the table towards the both of you

It was a time capsule of various items and mementos of time spent with you and his friends

Although the two of you were reminiscing on the memories made , Kyojuro’s focus lied in how comfortable you were to hold in his lap

He fantasizes of turning you around to face him so he could be all romantic and look into your eyes

But yes, Kyojuro’s favourite hugs are the ones where you are seated in his lap

If you want to hug him as well, Kyojuro will spin you around so you can cuddle all you’d like :)

Big or small, he can handle you no problem

Don’t ever worry about being too heavy ^^

Giyu Tomioka

Also iffy but for different reasons

To be completely honest Giyu has no idea what he’s doing

And he doesn’t know if he should tell you

The last thing he would want is to come off as unapproachable (even if he’s aware that most of his peers don’t like him)

If you ask Giyu for a hug, he’ll just nod and open his arms slightly

When you close in on the hug though, his arms aren’t even touching you

They just stay there… hovering…

Good grief help this man

“Giyu, what are you doing…” “Hugging you?” He mumbled

HE DOESN’T EVEN SOUND SURE

There’s no way around it, you have to show him how it’s done

“Let me show you Giyu, put your arms like this-“

He’s still learning so please be patient with him

Even after you two practice a couple times, he’s still awkward about it

Very light grip on his end, he feels like if he were to actually put pressure in his hugging it might disturb you somehow

Like what if he's hugging too tight? What if you want to escape his hold earlier than you thought??? What if he's doing this wrong?????

After you two have hugged in a couple other ways, he starts developing preferences

For an example, he likes draping his arms on your shoulders in a way that they fall down your back

Giyu feels like he’s not bothering you too much this way, and it’s natural enough for him to not overthink it

His first natural instinct isn’t usually physical affection, and Giyu wouldn’t even be able to firmly place what his favourite hug would be due to his lack of experience

But one time you greeted him after he came back from a particularly rough mission

Idk he was just standing in the middle of his yard looking lost and worn out

You tried to talk to him but he was unresponsive, so you just pulled him in

His arms still rested at his sides but from the way that his chin rested on your shoulder, you couldn't have seen it but there was a twinkle in his eye

When you pulled away with a smile and bade him goodbye, you genuinely restored something in him

This is Giyu's favourite hug; ones where you just hold him close without an expectation that he has to reciprocate something

Next time you saw him seated at his desk and writing in his journal you noticed it

You almost missed it but it was most definitely there

A tiny smile was on his face as he printed his thoughts onto the paper

Gyomei Himejima

You wouldn’t notice right away, but he’s actually awkward with hugs

This gentle giant is so huge and you’re so small in comparison he doesn’t know what to do

So if you ask Gyomei for a hug, you're gonna have to be more specific

"You want a hug? Of course. May you please elaborate on your preferences?"

Boundaries are very important to Gyomei

He would prefer if you could have a discussion before you need a hug where you list the things you are and are not okay with when it comes to touch

But if neither of you have had that discussion, just describe what you need from this specific case and that'll suffice for Gyomei

Once that's done, Gyomei will only then allow you to wrap your arms around him

The most common tendencies he tends to gravitate to is petting your head and rubbing your back gently

I will warn you that unless you specify that you don't like getting picked up, Gyomei may unintentionally lift you off the ground by a couple inches

Honestly, he forgot how huge he is and he thought you were taller

If you want to return some level of affection to Gyomei, I would suggest singing some praises for him or making generally happy noises :)

He particularly likes it if you coo a small "Dawwwwwww" or let out a pleased hum, it just pulls a wide grin out of him

When you two eventually pull away, he will without a doubt rustle your hair or pat your head

"Are you feeling better? I'm always here for you, remember that"

His biggest priority whilst showing you affection is ensuring that he leaves you in a better state than he found you

Be it physically, mentally, or emotionally, Gyomei will always be ready to take care of you

Even if he's oddly stiff about it

You see, Gyomei is hyperaware of his size and it sometimes conflicts with his confidence in coming off as passive and kind

It's really hard to be perceived as non-threatening when you're 7'2 and one of the strongest Hashira

So he tries to establish boundaries with you not just to respect you and ensure he's not crossing any lines, but also to make him feel safe and comfortable in being affectionate with you

I will add however, Gyomei doesn't have any physical boundaries with you (except killing another living thing without full disclosure)

So imagine his surprise when you ask if you can try lifting him

"You can certainly try- ouf!"

He was interrupted with your efforts to pick him up

Regardless if you manage to get him an inch off the ground, your determination still has him flustered

Gyomei finds your strength and playfulness endearing, letting a soft chuckle at your smaller stature trying to lift his gigantic self

But he'll heartily tell you to put him down before you start to over exert yourself

Gyomei will hold onto you for a little longer in thanks though :)

Because Gyomei's favourite hugs are the ones that make him feel small and cared for, rather than large and nurturing

He appreciates how you remind him of that side of him

Muichiro Tokito (Platonic)

Muichiro needs a good measure of caution if you're going to be affectionate with him

Initially most people would think that it's because you would have to try a couple times to get his attention with the amount of times that he spaces out

But honestly, if you hug him without warning he gets scared

If you ever did pull him into your arms whilst his mind was elsewhere, you can see Muichiro start to panic

He won't say anything about it, just standing very very still

But Muichiro is visibly uncomfortable

I mean think about it, imagine how startling it could be if you were just minding your own business and out of nowhere, someone's in your personal bubble

It makes Muichiro feel like he missed out on something important :/

His shoulders will be shaking as he looks around the person who's hugging him, trying to gauge what kind of situation he's in and what would be the appropriate reaction

Muichiro doesn't really like hugs in general so I wouldn't recommend hugging him in the first place

If anything, Muichiro feels bad because everyone just assumes that because he's a kid that he likes hugs and being coddled

So if you ask him for a hug, he'll politely turn you down

"A hug? Sorry, I'm not a hugger..."

He really doesn't mean it maliciously so please don't hold any hard feelings about it

It's only a personal boundary, he just hopes that you'll respect it

If you want to be affectionate with him, then I would suggest handshakes :)

But I will also raise that there may be a time where Muichiro may want to give you a hug

It's usually when someone accomplishes some kind of feat, and Muichiro just feels really proud of them

So his favourite hugs are the ones that he initiates (usually out of pride)

Muichiro will always do it with his arms wrapped around your waist and pressing his face into your middle

Hugging him back isn't his favourite, but now would be a great opportunity for head pats ^^

Muichiro loves those

Overall you just need to be patient and understanding with Muichiro, and just trust that he will come to you

And you know what, if you really need that hug then Muichiro will at least go out of his way to cheer you up

It just might not be the way that you would expect

꒷꒦˚︶︶꒦꒷︶꒷꒦˚ ꒷꒦˚︶︶꒦꒷︶꒷꒦˚ ꒷꒦˚︶︶꒦꒷︶꒷꒦˚

Let me know if I should do this prompt for the Demons too!

Reminder to read the rules before submitting any asks or requests ^^

4K notes · View notes

ninapi · 10 months

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┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺╚══ Wind Pillar ╝

Premise: A life without the demon corps was just meaningless. Living with a heavy survivor guilt can really eat someone from the inside. That was until a weak light arrived in the most unexpected way possible, breathing life back into his lungs, making him feel needed once more.

Word Count: 5081

Warning: spoilers, the story takes place after the manga’s original timeline.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Shinazugawa Sanemi was not the wind pillar anymore, he wasn’t Genya’s older brother anymore either. There was nobody left in this world that needed him.

After losing his family and dedicating his youth to demon hunting, losing the corps was the final blow for him.

Why was he the only one left?

He should have died if not with his family back in the day he should at least have died defending his brother’s life, Genya should be the one alive right now, not him.

What is the point of being alive when everything you care for was now gone?

He wasn’t particularly good at anything else besides demon hunting, getting a regular job and settling down was definitely not his style. He walked around the neighborhood he used to live in when his family was still alive, the thought of moving back into his old house crossed his mind, maybe do some renovations, hopefully he could drown in his good memories until time would come to give out his last breath.

But the house was now taken by an unknown family. A lot of people lost it all to demons and the destruction they brought with them, it wasn’t uncommon to see abandoned houses here and there, it made sense the house was deemed abandoned, they did leave to never come back.

He had nothing left, not even his old house.

Starting fresh could be encouraging to others, but for Sanemi it was torture.

None of the dojos he visited needed new instructors, majority of them were terrified by his looks alone, if a bunch of guys hitting each other for no apparent reason didn’t want him there what type of job was he supposed to get? It’s not like he was well mannered and literate like Tomioka or had a support network like Tanjiro. What’s the point of being the second strongest pillar if the demons were now all gone.

Sanemi’s lunch was now being given to stray ducks as he had no appetite whatsoever, feeding them was more productive than remaining in such a depressing head space, that’s when an orange rolled in between his feet. He didn’t think much of it, maybe someone dropped it while shopping, but then another orange came rolling next, and then three, making him look back in confusion.

A lone cart full of oranges was coming full speed down a hill with no one pushing it. He had to do something otherwise the villagers could get hurt, he saw small children playing around the area not long ago. Running towards it he was able to stop it before anything major happened, only a few oranges were lost, and the cart was still in good shape. A young woman came running in his direction panting for her life, “Thank you so much, good sir. My cart, it was so heavy, I lost control of it on my way home.”

Not trusting your current strength, he kept on holding the cart, still thinking of the kids running around and how exhausted you looked. “Were you heading down hill?”

“Not really, I was actually supposed to go up the hill behind us, but the cart was heavier than I expected, and it wouldn’t listen to me, so it rolled backwards.” Sanemi stared at said hill with a worrisome expression, that was no hill, that was a full-sized mountain. You were small, looked frail, pale even, little cuts and scars littering your hands. There was no way you could take the cart up that mountain, and it was not like he had anything else to do.

Somehow you reminded him of his mother and how they always needed to help her move heavy stuff around and reach tall places, wanting to help you came out naturally from his heart. “Lead the way.”

“Eh? It’s ok, don’t worry about me. I can take it!” your blushy surprised looking face caused him to scoff, turning the cart around and walking up the first hill. “Like hell you can. Now shut up and tell me where to go.”

“How can I tell you where to go if I shut up?” you were doing your best not to grin at his constipated looking scowl, but instead of teasing him further you just walked beside him in silence. The climb up to your house was steep, but he didn’t even sweat, before you noticed you were now at the entrance of your property, all over way too fast.

“Thank you, good sir. You can leave the cart there I will unload the oranges.” you ran into a small shed, bringing a cloth to wrap them up and bring them all inside. If the cart was heavy, the load was even worse. You couldn’t even lift them from the ground, causing Sanemi to heave a deep sigh. “Don’t you have a husband to help you? Or someone else like a father or brothers? There’s no way you can take all those fucking oranges inside unless you take one at a time and that would take a stupid amount of time.” He grabbed the load with one hand, swinging it over his shoulder like if it weighted nothing, waiting for you to open the door to your abode.

“I do not. My entire family was devoured by a wild beast while I was being treated in a hospice, far from here. Once I regained my strength back, they were all gone. My brother was the one who did all the heavy work around here, my mother and I would pick up the harvest and take care of the animals.” you had a pretty large farm, it wasn’t well tended now but it had several crops still growing and remains of what it used to be an area for livestock. “So, I do most of the work now that I’m alone.”

He knows how uncomfortable sympathetic comments are, so he doesn’t address the information gained, “Why do you even need so many oranges?” a loud thump could be heard as he set them on the kitchen floor, making the wooden floor tremble at the weight. “I was thinking of using them to make some marmalade and sell it at the markets, growing crops is harder than I thought, and I still need to eat, so had to figure something out.”

It was somewhat comforting for Sanemi hearing about the struggles of someone with a similar background. You both couldn’t protect your family, both had to worry about an uncertain future ahead of you. Both had things the other didn’t, but it felt good knowing he wasn’t the only one out there with similar problems.

“Do you like marmalade? I got some bread earlier, come sit down. Let me make you some tea, I still need to thank you for your kindness.” he nodded looking around for a place to sit down, the climb and the lack of food were starting to get to him, it sounded like a good idea.

He never thought making marmalade could be as complex, he had nothing better to do so he just looked at you from where he was sitting. Your hands were so small you needed both of them to stir the mix in the pot, it was amusing. The focus you were putting into making the treat, the tip of your tongue poking out passed your lips in concentration, it was all very eye catching. He’s always admire people that are good at cooking, always wanted to make delicious ohagi for himself, but he wasn’t the best with his hands unless it required brutish strength.

Once the marmalade was ready, you brought it to the small table in front of him, setting down a loaf of bread, a knife and two cups of steaming green tea.

Sanemi thinks back of the last time he was able to relax this way, sad thing really, he hadn’t ever since his mother left this world. Thinking of having afternoon tea without a worry in the world, it’s been over a decade since he had the luxury to do just that.

“Is it good? Do you like it? If you don’t, I can bring out something else.” the expectant look in your eyes made him contemplate what was in his mouth. It was sweet and very refreshing, he’s never had orange marmalade before so he couldn’t really compare it to any other, but he definitely didn’t hate it and wouldn’t mind eating some more. “It’s good, I’m sure it will sell well.” happy with his reply, you tried a bit yourself making mental notes of how to improve it even more.

Teacups were empty, plates clean, it was time for Sanemi to go back to wonder around town, maybe even try to find that one inn he heard about the day before. As he was getting up from his seat heavy rain came pouring down, a loud thunder making you jump. “When it rains this bad around here it takes a while for it to go away; would you like to stay for dinner? Um…sir?”

“Shinazugawa. Shinazugawa Sanemi.”

“Would you like to stay for dinner, Shinazugawa-san? I’m (Y/N) by the way.” he was starting to worry for your well being, you were deliberately letting an unknown man into your house and didn’t even know his name, that was not safe, even without demons around. “Tch, not like I have a choice.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The rain was just not stopping, dinner was done for, and it was pitch black outside, the mountain’s treacherous paths were not places to wonder around in a stormy night like this one, “Shinazugawa-san, how about you stay for the night? You can stay in my brother’s room; I can even lend you some of his clothing so you can take a bath.”

A bath, it’s been days since he took one of those, an alluring offer indeed, but somehow the way you were taking the situation didn’t sit right in his stomach, rage was now bubbling inside his chest at your disregard for your own safety.

“Are you dumb or what? Do you not see me as a man? Hell, you do know you shouldn’t bring men you don’t know into your house, right? Specially not at night.” his angry outburst made you giggle, closing the front door shut to make a statement. “You sound like my brother, he used to say things like that to my mother. I do know you though, you’re the very kind young man that helped a woman in need without asking anything in return, I even know your name now.”

“So what? Is not like I couldn’t just do something to you now that it’s dark, it’s just the two of us here in the mountain, no one would hear if something was to happen, nobody would come even if you screamed for help like a damn pig. Don’t do stupid things like that even if you think you know someone, you don’t know a fucking thing about me.” he was shouting at this point, his fists shacking. He was really a kind man, all he wanted was for you to understand how evil the world out there could be, to others it could be overwhelming to have a figure like him shouting so angrily at them but you could see he was just worried.

“I won’t do it again, Shinazugawa-san, I promise. Now please come with me, I will show you where the bath is.” your attitude and gentle smile were infuriating. All he could think of was how his sweet mother got beaten down by his own father and the men he would bring home sometimes for drinks. How she could barely defend her children and would always ended up hurt, how she had no chance whatsoever to fight stronger men. You wouldn’t be able to defend yourself either, you needed some sense put in that head of yours before it was too late.

He pinned you against the bathroom wall, one of his muscular thighs going in between your legs, rendering you useless against his grip, he was glaring down at you in a strangely attractive way triggering many things within you, except fear, “See how easy it is for me if I wanted to hurt your ass? Take me seriously dammit, take every man fucking seriously, you can’t trust someone you don’t know so easily, it will get you killed.” he let go off your wrists roughly, wanting you to learn your lesson, but one of your hands reached for his, “You have a blister. Let me bring a bandage so we can clean it, it was probably the cart, it tends to do that.”

“No, stop. Why are you acting this way? Are you out of your mind? I could have assaulted you just now, open your eyes woman!”

“But you didn’t. You had more than one chance to do as you pleased with me, but you didn’t. Instead, you ate my food, laughed at my jokes, helped me when no one else did. You are a kind man Shinazugawa-san, wether you want to accept it or not. I’m not stupid, I wouldn’t invite someone over to my house if it could do me some harm.”

Sanemi was speechless. You didn’t consider him dangerous? He couldn’t even get a decent job because everyone would look at him like the killer he is. If there was someone dangerous out there it was him, he could kill you without even trying, in seconds, painfully, he was the second strongest in a chain of the strongest people humanity had to offer. There was something off with your view of the world.

“Now, stay still, I’m going to clean it.” his hand has never been held that way before, of course he’s had his wounds tended to, he’s always needing some patching up after his many battles, but your touch was different, it was so gentle, he could feel how you were really worried about him, about his tiny blister hurting with your touch, like if he was as frail as you were. “You gotta make sure the wound is properly cleaned before you apply bandages, look at yourself, all those scars…I bet they were all so painful…you need proper care if you don’t want them to get infected or leave traces. You tell me to take care of myself but wouldn’t look in a mirror first.”

Nobody talks to him like that, specially not females. The girls of the butterfly state were always scared of him and just looking their way would make them run away. The only active women in his life were his mother and sisters, he never had time to mess around with girls or to get his wounds properly taken care of, there were demons out there that needed to be killed and that’s all that mattered to him back then.

“Are you seriously not afraid of me?”

You looked up into his eyes, staring at him in disbelief, his tone was a lot tamer now you could hear the honest confusion lacing his words, “Why would I? You look tough, that’s true. But I am nobody to judge others. My brother also had many scars from taking care of the farm, even several of his toes were missing from when he stepped on a saw by accident, you’re not the only one around with a couple of fingers missing in this violent era. People used to say he was scary, all big and full of scars, skin tanned by the long hours of working in the fields, but he was a gentle man, always took great care of me and my mother. You strike me as the same type, you don’t feel like someone who would hurt the weak, you feel more like someone that protects them.”

Sanemi was left speechless once more as you left for him to enjoy his bath, you made sure the water was warm enough from the outside, blowing on the fire constantly until you heard him come out. He’s never been able to relax this much, he knew demons weren’t a threat anymore but that didn’t only mean he was unemployed, he didn’t think of what that meant fully until now. No demons meant less danger, meant being able to take his time to live life, to breathe, to relax. It was a strange feeling, not having to worry about someone bursting the door open and slaughtering the woman outside, but it was a good kind of strange.

He felt awfully relaxed that night and after years of nightmares, he was finally able to sleep peacefully.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It’s been three days and the rain just wouldn’t stop. Sanemi had helped you covering the crops so they wouldn’t die out in the rain but there was no sign of it stopping any time soon. It was typhoon season, and it was heavily hitting you this year.

Not only did he help with the crops, but the roof also had holes in it which you two didn’t notice until you woke up to a flooded floor, so he repaired it. Your front door wasn’t safe enough for his liking, so he used his extra time to take care of that as well. He didn’t even notice time was moving this fast and days had gone by. It wasn’t as bad having something to do, keep your mind busy and your body active, regular people life wasn’t as boring and dreadful as he originally thought it was.

There was so much to do around the house that he wondered how you’ve managed to live up here in the mountain by yourself all this time. He got to learn you’ve been living here all alone for a couple of years and you have been doing all you can to not let the farm fall, your determination was admirable and made him question his own future.

“Shinazugawa-san, I enjoy thoroughly having you here, but isn’t your family going to worry? It’s kind of been a while now.” the back of his neck was strangely hot, your comment taking him off guard. He enjoyed the simplicity of the last few days comparing it to the rest of his life, he’s never been able to just sit down and listen to the rain fall on the roof sipping on a hot cup of tea, but he didn’t know you were enjoying it just as much.

“I don’t have a family. They also got killed by a wild beast long time ago, the only brother I had left passed this year, so no, nobody is going to worry about me not returning home, I don’t even have a home.” the stoic look on his face while he was retailing his life tragedy worried you, it’s something he should feel sad for, but he didn’t look sad, he looked angry, and you could understand that feeling, your family was taken away from you in the very same way.

“I bet your brother looked like you.” he wasn’t expecting that, usually people get uncomfortable with the thought of having to empathize with something they can’t understand and start apologizing, but you did go through the same, you stirred the subject around like he usually does when facing the same situation and he was grateful. “Hm, he had less scars than me, was taller, dark hair. But he did kind of look like me.”

“I bet he was kind too.”

“He was.” you were now pouring more tea in his cup, admiring the heavy rainfall through your window. “My brother didn’t look like me at all, he was way kinder, very smart, had the prettiest face I’ve ever seen with beautiful large eyes.” this made Sanemi look at your face, it was difficult to imagine a big muscly guy that looked anything close to the delicate tiny woman in front of him, but then again, he used to see his mother in Genya all the time. “Sounds a lot like you.” blood was flowing at full speed to your cheeks, decorating your lovely face with tinges of reds.

“Sometimes I wish I was the one the beast ate instead of my brother, the farm needs him, he was so good with animals and with the people at the market too, everyone loved him, he was the best of the two of us, it’s a shame really.”

Sanemi was lost in your face, the way your eyes watered at the memory of your brother, the way a soft defeated smile crept on your face signalizing guilt, he felt understood in a very deep level, strangely. “Same. I did all I could to protect my brother, I wanted him to live a normal life, get a wife, have some kids. But he ended up following me around and dying before me anyways. All my efforts were completely useless. I should have died, not him.” his fists were now shaking against the coffee table, veins popping all around his body as a rush of anger and despair rushed through him at the thought of his dying baby brother.

“I’m sure he just wanted to be with his beloved older brother. I used to follow mine around as well, wanted him to teach me how to get milk from the cow and got myself a kick to the face, turns out they get quite stressed if you’re too excited.” the absurdity of it all felt like getting some sort of medication for the illness that consumed his heart, like a serum being injected into his blood stream, cooling his anger down.

“Dumbass.” the sound of your laughter brought new air into the house, a house that is rather quiet all the time was now loud, and it smelled like a proper home.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

After two stormy days more, the sun was finally out. There was a lot of work to do in the fields to fix the damage caused by the storm. Sanemi started working on it as soon as he woke up without even asking you, and it took you both all day, something you thought would take an hour ended up extending throughout the entire day.

He was better at this than he thought he would, you even ended up planting some pumpkin seeds you got from the market a while back upon his suggestion of adding different types off crops. The front of the farm looked like a proper one afterwards bringing a powerful sense of completion to the both of you. It was hard work, but teamwork does really make a difference. And you two made a good team.

The sun was setting, all there was left to do was water the crops and prepare dinner, fresh rice already cooking in a pot inside the house. “Maybe you can grow some berries and do your marmalade using them instead of having to buy oranges, growing orange trees seems like a pain in the ass and there are wild berries in the forest, should be easy to find some and bring them here.” you were giving it serious thought, you’ve never thought about changing the ingredients, you were just replicating the treat your mother used to do for you and your brother when you were little. Being so lost in your head doing ingredient calculations and noting ideas for the recipe, you didn’t see the frog that was comfortably resting on your foot. Once you did though, panic filled your insides, you hated frogs and would always stay as far away as possible from them.

“Shinazugawa-san…there’s…there’s a-“ you looked like you were about to faint so he walked closer to you, spotting the aggressor, “(Y/N) is just a stupid frog, move your foot, it’ll go away on its own.” you shook your head closing your eyes shut, you didn’t want to hurt the poor animal out of your own silly phobia.

Sanemi crouched down to your feet, grabbing the little troublemaker and took it over to the edge of the river near your property. When he came back you were still frozen in place, sweating. “It’s gone now.” You were ridiculous, it was just a tiny frog, you couldn’t even defend yourself against a frog, how were you going to defend yourself against the odds of life. You let out a long-held breath, taking his hands in yours as a token of appreciation, quickly forgetting the hose was in your hand and getting his face completely wet.

“(Y/N)….you little piece of shit….” his face was red, a deep snarl on his face. You threw the hose to the ground and ran for your life, laughing in the process. “I’m so sorry!! Kyaaaaa, how are you this fast!” one step of his was five of yours, he caught up to you in no time and the look on his face was a sight to behold.

He wasn’t angry, his wet hair was sticking onto his face, and he was laughing. He looked way younger this way and it made you feel relived to see he was having as much fun as you did these days. Your hand reached his face, caressing the droplets of water away, a loving smile gracing your lips. He wasn’t sure when things started heading in this direction but he’s never felt that way before and he didn’t hate it.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There weren’t more excuses for Sanemi to linger around, the rain was gone, the farm cleaned up from the storm, even the marmalade was ready to be sold. He offered to help you with the cart since it was even heavier now that the load had increased.

The idea was for him to take you downtown and then leave and move on with his life, find a job and a place to stay.

But you didn’t even know how to build the display table in the market and then unloading the cart is faster between two people. Then an old lady asked him for three jars of marmalade and by mid afternoon he was still by your side selling your goods.

“Sir, could I convince you and your wife to trade two of your jars for one of my chickens? I don’t have any money left but I would really like to take some home for my kids.” His what- the cloth he was using to clean the table ended up on the floor at her statement, taking him off-guard, you also didn’t say anything to deny it. “What do you think, dear husband? I think it would be a good idea, we could look around and see if we can find her a mate and get eggs from them.” so you were seriously not just going to ignore it but also go along with it-

“Um, yeah. There’s some spare wood in the shed, I could use that to build them a house.” the lady was now handing him the cage with said chicken, waiting anxiously for the last two jars of goodness to be her own.

“You make such a lovely couple; I wish my husband was as understanding and loving as yours. Thank you, my children and I will be forever in your debt, my youngest is celebrating her birthday today, I wanted to bring something special home.” it somehow warmed both of your hearts, you both think of days when you had a large family and how much fun you had eating delicious treats with your siblings, children laughter filling out every corner. “Thank you for your kind words, we’ll take good care of your chicken. I hope you and the children have a lovely evening!” and just like that the marmalade was officially sold out.

“So where do you think we can find Mia’s future husband?” he wasn’t sure how or when you and him became a ‘we’ but he wasn’t mad at how it sounded like and the intentions behind it. “Did you just name the fucking chicken?” he was used to your silly antics by now but it was still very much amusing to him, your quiet giggles confirming he was right. “I saw someone selling some chickens by the entrance, let’s go see if they have one after cleaning up.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Time Skip~

It’s been ten years since Sanemi started coming to this market every morning. He still misses the fun days of demon hunting, but mostly he still misses his brother. Life wasn’t as good to Genya as it was to him, and he still felt guilty from living the life he wanted his brother to have.

Having a permanent stall in the market came with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of hard work, but his strength was put to good use by the smartest person he’s ever met.

“How much for the corn?” Sanemi, who was now cleaning the small worktable looked up to tend his first customer of the day. “If you take two you get one fr- Tomioka???” Giyuu was smirking at him from the other side of the table, a knowing look in his eyes. “That apron looks good on you, Shinazugawa.” Leaving the stall behind, he walked over to his old pillar mate, it’s been years since the last time they saw each other.

“Heard your stupid ass went to live with his old master like a sissy lost baby, near Tanjiro and the gang of brats.”

Some things never change.

“Yeah, it’s been a while, we didn’t even know you were still alive.” the conversation got cut short by a child clinging onto Sanemi’s leg, getting Giyuu’s attention. “Father, mother needs your help unloading the milk crates.”

Crouching down to his size, Giyuu stares into the child's eyes, lost in the memories of his lost friends, painful days of loss came right into his heart, “You look just like your uncle.” patting the child on the head, he smiled, the ghosts of his lost comrades shining behind the toddler. “I know, I was named Genma after uncle, but my hair is like this because of mother, the rest have father’s hair.” As if on cue you came out of the back with a baby tied to your back, an older looking boy than the one before him holding a sleeping girl in his arms. “Nemi, the milk!”

“I see you’ve been busy.” Sanemi’s face was red as a beet, making him grumble insults quietly for his child not to hear.

“I’ll do it in a second, come here, I want you to meet an old friend of mine.” this was the first time any of them had addressed the love-hate relationship they had in the past as friendship, but now being older they both agree that’s what it was. “Tomioka, this is my wife (Y/N)”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you…and your four children…” the smirk on his face was so sly nobody would notice it but Sanemi, it made him want to punch his guts like he would do back in the day when they were younger.

“Is that your wife over there, Tomioka-san? I see you also have a little one, take some of our milk, our kids love it!” The child looked just like him, it was an easy guess. You were doing your best to move around with a child on your back and a swell on your stomach, a promise of another youngster arriving soon. The woman behind Giyuu came holding his son and after a long chat and bunch of laughter they promised to go to your place for dinner soon.

Ten years ago Sanemi thought he had lost it all.

And he did.

But he made a silent promise to Genya after meeting you, he would live as long as he could, never waste the opportunity to live his brother gave him, never let his sacrifice be in vain, he would live for the both of them, he would bring life to this world and protect it the way he couldn’t protect his siblings, he would protect his family until his last breath and once that moment comes and he gets to see him again, he will have many stories to share as they embrace eternity together, as family.

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Tagged babes: @doumadono

Masterlist Bonus Chapter

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