「 Curiosity 」 The Reaper Hashira

◇thirteen◇

The chaos finally ended and the sun had come to take the remaining soul on the ground.

(Y/n) eyes look at the kid who, despite feeling so much pain, still did his best to give the Temari ball to the corpse.

It is..a weird but beautiful sight.

"Let me carry you again." Seeing the kid struggle, (Y/n) offered his arms once again.

But was immediately and politely rejected.

"..I can piggyback you if you want."

Tanjiro doesn't have the heart to reject this second kind offer. That's why he hesitantly accepted (Y/n)'s help.

"I see..you're Tamayo."

Meeting with the demon he just had a glimpse of earlier. It didn't take (Y/n) long to find out who that person was.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh.." Seeing her confusion at his tone, he thought of how to simply explain his side. "..I'm someone close to the leader."

"Ah.!" With her hand covering her mouth, signifying her surprisement, Tamayo continued. "..Might you be, the unnamed?"

That's the term the corps used to identify him. Someone who becomes a pillar without mastering any breathing technique.

The Unnamed Hashira.

"Did he mention me?"

Wondering how she knew about him just from a few minutes of talk, (Y/n) wondered if the leader had talked about him to her.

"Once, in a letter."

"I see."

As for why he was mentioned, he didn't care to ask about that.

This casual conversation between the two who previously had a heavy atmosphere makes the two young boys confused.

But despite noticing that, neither of them spared the confused eyes any explanation. Perceiving it to be unnecessary.

When Tanjiro got ready to leave, (Y/n) also stood up and patted his clothes.

"Let me tag along."

Since he has nothing to do, why not? Although his original plan was to immediately come back after the clean-up.

"What happened after you left the mountain?" While walking, it was (Y/n) who first started a conversation.

"Ah, right! You were there too!"

"There?"

"When that man let us go, you're behind him."

"How..did you know?"

"I have a good sense of smell." That response caused (Y/n) to sweat drop.

"...Do I stink at that time for you to determine that it's me?" Thinking how he hadn't washed up for three days when they met, he won't be surprised if it is because of this.

"What- No! No! It's not that!"

But Tanjiro's frantic denial is what he got, not wanting the person in front to misunderstand him in any way, he, in detail, explained how his heightened sense worked.

"Actually, (Y/n)-san smells a bit different from humans too."

"..Is that your roundabout of telling me that I smell incredibly bad?"

"Of course not!"

"I'm just kidding."

(Y/n) found a strange interest as he continued to tease the young man and watch his face contort in different expressions.

He giggled at every response he got from Tanjiro. It's a fun conversation.

But something is actually bothering (Y/n). He couldn't brush this familiarity towards the kid in front. There's no way he could have met him in the past but it feels like he did.

On one thought, maybe it is just a memory from his previous life as a classmate of an otaku.

Like for example.

Maybe Tanjiro is a popular character.

"Or the main one.." He muttered while his eyes were looking up in the distance, where a bird was flapping his wings towards his way. "Tanjiro, our reunion ends here."

"Ah- You're leaving?"

"Yes, I have something to do."

"Is that so.. See you later then!"

With a wave of hand, (Y/n) surprised the young man when he suddenly disappeared, almost looking like he teleported.

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