i care, at least (KNY, GenTan)
Tanjirou woke up first.
He was still beaten up from the fight, but his energy was unmatched. Little by little, he remembers all the details from the fight against the upper moon four, both the bitter memories as well as the happy ending with his sister, Nezuko. All the new things he learned and the flaws he has yet to polish in these new additions to his technique.
All of that…
“Haah…” a strange voice can be heard from the other side of the room. There are many beds lined up one by the other in the butterfly mansion, but only two of them were being occupied by wounded members of the squad.
One of them was Tanjirou, and the other…
“Did you wake up, Genya?”
“…” There was no response on the other side.
He’s still unconscious, he quickly noticed. The reason for his sudden interruption was because he seemed to be shaking in pain, probably due to his injuries, which some haven’t healed completely. Given the beaten-up sight, Tanjirou hopped off his bed and walked hurriedly towards Genya’s bed, a little concerned.
Even though he was told he could turn into a demon and heal rapidly, there are things that are simply out of Genya’s reach. Tanjirou noticed this after he saw how wound-up his friend looked by the end of the fight, right before he himself passed out from exhaustion. There are bandages on his forehead, and a band aid on his cheek. If he dared to look a little more under the bedsheets, you could see how there were bandages all over his body, this time his wounds healing slower than what he saw during the fight.
He’s struggling to breathe, his eyes still closed. More than that, he seemed to be panting, as if his temperature was rising by the minute. Curious as he is, Tanjirou placed a hand on his forehead with the intention of measuring his temperature.
“Hot!” he gasped, snatching his hand right away.
He should’ve guessed, given the notorious frown on his face. It seems that the pain in his body is enough to make him fade in and out of his consciousness. He mutters some words, but he can’t tell any of them apart of the other. Tanjirou looks at him, dead worried. Is he really… that bad…?
Tears started growing in the corner of Genya’s eyes as he seemed to struggle in his pain.
“Ah!” he screams in shock. “G-Genya… are you okay?!”
No response.
He sighs. Of course, Genya won’t answer. He hasn’t woken up yet, after all.
Tanjirou could go back to his bed and continue his recovery like nothing, his foot still hurts and standing still just to check on Shinazugawa didn’t really seem worth the pain. Well, that’s what anyone else would think, and do, but as he kept thinking further, he’d always find reasons to stay by his side still. So, the only moment he parted ways with Genya’s bed was to find a stool or something to sit by while he waits for his friend to feel better.
Hopping around in one leg, he finally finds a chair to place besides his friend’s bed, measuring the distance and sitting without issue. There’s a feeling inside Tanjirou’s heart that tells him he owes this to him. He was the one to protect him against Aizetsu’s fatal blow, after all, and the guilt from seeing him so… hurt -to put a word on it- haunts him even today.
As Tanjirou sat by his side, looking around at the empty place, he hears the other speak. His muttering barely made sense from this distance. He leans closer to listen to his words, holding his breath to hear him better.
It seems he was almost delirious in his fever, and none of the words made sense to him. That was, until Tanjirou started to connect each word he said out loud with prolongated pauses. He connected each word, every struggled syllable that came out of his mouth, all in his head.
“Brother, why? Why did you say that?”
The wind pillar said he didn’t have any siblings.
He remembered the love pillar’s words, and his heart sank. Even if he’s hurting on his own, even if he’s still in pain, he thinks of his brother and how bad he wants to see him. Tanjirou can’t help but feel sad whenever he thinks about the Shinazugawa brothers, but it makes him feel far worse to put himself in Genya’s shoes.
The only reason Genya wanted to be a pillar was to see his brother, isn’t it?
Gently, he placed his hand on his friend’s forehead, his other on his arm, pressing it tightly. “Everything will be okay, Genya,” he whispers in hopes to get him to calm down a little.
If he were in the same situation as him, he would be frustrated as well. To some extent, he understands him better than anyone. Joining the corps is no fun for anyone, wielding a sword is something Tanjirou despises more than ever, but he has to do it. His goal is to cure his sister, to protect her at all costs, vow for her safety and fight against anyone who even dares to hurt her.
Now, he wonders, what would happen if his sister resented her, or pushed him away the same way the wind pillar does with his little brother?
The result would be the pain brewing inside Genya’s heart.
“It hurts a lot, isn’t it?” he speaks mindlessly. “You must’ve felt really lonely…”
He doesn’t know in which conditions Shinazugawa trained before they crossed paths at the final selection, but he can see through it still. His aggressiveness ticked him off a lot, but today he notices how hard he had to push himself to be a member of the corps. “It must have been really hard, isn’t it?”
His sword. He saw it, he saw the plain color in his sword, the same way Rengoku’s little brother’s didn’t change in shade either. It meant only one thing, and even thinking of it made Tanjirou’s heart squeeze in pain. Just how much despair did Genya feel after fighting tooth and nail to get a sword that recognizes his talent, only for that sword to never reveal the color he wanted to see the most?
There are so many things that relay deep hidden in the depth of the layers of Genya’s personality. Even if he was yelling, pointing around and telling him to leave alone, he could feel himself how lonely his friend felt most of the time. Even as he screamed, he was hurting. Tanjirou could smell it. How, deep inside, there was something eating his heart all the way out, paining him even today.
“It’s okay,” he tried to change the mood that suddenly soured inside the room. “I’ll stay with you, Genya. Even if no one stands by your side, I’ll be there. That’s a promise!”
He didn’t move, but he didn’t seem in pain anymore. Moreover, he stopped shaking, and, as he turned his hand to place the back of it on his friend’s forehead, it didn’t seem to be that hot anymore. His frown is no longer there, and he seems to simply be sleeping peacefully.
Even so, even when he looked far better, Tanjirou didn’t move.
○ ○ ○
As Genya wakes up, his eyes open up slowly, they hurt a little given the strong sunlight bathing the entire room.
Ah, he’s in the butterfly mansion… how long has he been sleeping?
Moreover, what’s up with this… weird… feeling… all over his body? Has he always felt this relaxed, if ever? It doesn’t make sense; he just woke up from a battle and he doesn’t feel the tension in his body he always does.
He sits on the bed, looking around. It seems Tanjirou isn’t here, but his bed is undone. Maybe he was doing rehabilitation training? Given the loud yelling some rooms away from his, the answer came on its own.
Genya touches his forehead, a strange feeling tingles as he does so.
Just what happened while he was asleep?!
