chatter (KNY, GenTan)
He hisses at his own sore body. He feels his ribs seem to not have healed all the way, fractured in areas he can’t see, but hurt like ever. His head is pulsating in pain, his jaw and his stomach are aching as they always do after every battle. Though, this time, it was something bigger than just the usual commission from the corps.
“I really overdid it this time…” Genya complains out loud, thinking he was surely alone in this room.
That’s mostly the case every time he comes to the butterfly estate, let it be to heal his injuries post battle or to get his almost weekly check-ups from Shinobu. He was so used to it that it would be really strange if things changed overtime. It’s not new for him to be isolated from everything and everyone, as harsh as it sounds.
Honestly, he can’t blame them for keeping a wary eye on him.
“We did, didn’t we?” a far too familiar voice struck him, barely at an arm’s distance. “I’m glad you woke up, Genya!”
He turns around to see the guy in question sitting besides him. He doesn’t know how long they had been out -well, it was him who didn’t wake up until today-, but Tanjirou sure looked well recovered despite almost losing everything on the fight against the upper moon four. His wounds were far from healed, but his morale seemed as high as ever.
Who wouldn’t feel the way Tanjirou does, to be completely honest? Had he experienced the same things as this dude sitting on his own bed beside his, he would feel exactly the same. What Kamado went through is no joke, and to this day he doesn’t understand what’s up with the situation with his sister, but hey, things turned better than predicted.
Despite how happy he feels for his companion, a small hint of envy punctures his heart.
He wishes to once reach the same happiness Tanjirou is feeling right now.
“Right,” he answers after a long silence. “How are your injuries?”
“Pretty good,” he smiles, eyes closed. “How about you?”
There’s an indescribable feeling running through his body as Genya is asked about his wellbeing. When was the last time someone asked him if he was doing well? When was the last time someone cared for him, even though spoken so casually?
“I’m good,” he answers. “I’m really tired right now, so I’ll go back to sleep.”
“Ah, is that so?” he can’t stay quiet to save his life, doesn’t he? “Nezuko is always sleeping, at all times! She falls asleep everywhere! Maybe it’s similar for you since you…?”
It’s foul to think that, if he doesn’t indulge in Tanjirou’s question, the guy would shut up. At this point he had already given up. Talkative as ever, there are no ill intentions in each and every little think Kamado asks the others, as all he wants is to know better about others and get closer to them.
He didn’t want this closeness at the beginning, but now this guy is starting to grow into him. Genya gives up on the idea of sleeping rather quickly, so he sits up and leans on the bed frame. “It is really exhausting,” he sighs. “At first I would sleep for days, but the time between resting and going back into battle has shortened.”
“Really?! Days?” Kamado gasps, both hands covering his mouth. “That’s a lot! But now that I think about it, Nezuko slept for months…”
“Your sister is a demon, meanwhile I just turn into one from time to time. It only makes sense that things are way different from her, on a far bigger scale,” he explains. “Even though you heal, regrow, and reattach things back to your body, it still hurts like ever. The thirst for human flesh is core to the demon nature, and it’s very tiresome to hold back any primal need that comes from being one.” Woah, he sure is talking a lot today.
Contrary to him, Kamado is rather quiet. “Is that how it feels like? Wow…”
“I can last so little in the demon state, so my experience may be wildly different from Nezuko. I can only imagine how it is for your sister.”
“I see now,” he sighs, worried. “Is that why you don’t eat either?”
Genya chokes and coughs to hide his embarrassment. He can’t find words to explain that issue about him. His appetite is rather small lately, even though the demon state really takes a good energy away from him. He can guess that, since the day he started resorting to eating demons and giving up part of his humanity for the sole goal of being a pillar, eating normal food has become a little bit more difficult.
If anything, he can say he also resorts to sleeping as much as he can whenever he can to recover the nutrients he loses every day. Sometimes, if things are looking well for him, he can eat anything without issue. But, lately, chances the miraculous good day happens lower increasingly every week.
No, he can’t really answer to that question, even if he tries to give a logical answer to it.
“Ah—sorry about that… did I go too far?” Tanjirou chuckles dryly, now concerned. “I was so curious to know a little better about Nezuko and how she might feel like, I may have asked something too personal.”
He shouldn’t be worrying about Genya and how he feels, yet he does. The very act of apologizing to him gives off an unknown feeling, warm yet uncomfortable. It shakes him to his core both in surprise and a dire need for more.
It has been long, long years since someone cared for him this way.
“You’re doing just fine,” is all he can say in response. “Moreover, my experiences could be far different from your sister’s. Once she regains consciousness and turns back into a human, you can ask her if she remembers anything,” he speaks, not giving his words any mind.
Tanjirou stares at him with wide eyes, his soft graze betraying a hint of sadness that’s true to his core. “…Do you really think we’ll make it?”
The sincerity in his question gives Genya a better view about Kamado’s struggles. God no, he’s horrible at this. He’s really bad at reassuring people, let alone help to cheer them up. He’s never had that example in his life, and even though he was often the one who had to take the lead for his little siblings when Sanemi wasn’t around, he’s still stuck on moments like these.
He thinks quick, before things get sour between them. “That’s… just how I see it. You’re not alone on this, after all.”
He tried, to the best of his ability, to avoid looking at Tanjirou directly. However, he felt driven to look at him anyway, as if there was a magnet in those garnet eyes that he refused to let go, nor allowed him to waste time on anything else but Kamado. From there, he can see everything unveil in real time. How he breathes in and holds his breath, awaiting for whatever Genya has to tell him and listening to every word carefully, and sighs when he hears his response.
The care he gives to something that he didn’t even think twice before sprouting out loud makes him shiver, but it’s not worse than the feeling growing in his gut at the smile he gives as an answer. Warm, beautiful, lovely. He smiles at him like he usually does, but this time he feels deep inside how grateful Tanjirou is that Genya decided to speak to him, answer his questions and reassure him in his very peculiar way.
“That’s something a friend would say,” he giggles.
“You—I’m going back to sleep,” he answers at once, turning around and covering himself with the bed sheets.
