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Plop.
Gritty untrimmed fingernails dig into the skin, peeling it apart with ease. The mikan feels so small in his hands; he brushes a thumb over dry, veiny flesh but the sensation is muted by thickness of his calluses. He pulls it apart into their naturally formed slices, and breaks those too for good measure.
He pays no mind to the juice carelessly dripping from his palms and tosses the pieces into the pond.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
Curious mouths wander over to the source of commotion. Giyuu watches idly as red-gold-white fins flap about excited at the discovery of food and unceremoniously wipes his hands on his hakama. He's sitting cross legged on the footbridge over the water, a folded green cloth by his side.
Atop the fabric lay two unpeeled mikan and a considerable pile of the previous remains.
He leans back, a leg moving forward in recompense, and exhales loudly. A geta-clad foot dangles over the pond and he tilts his head to look up at the sky. Dim blue stares back. No clouds were in sight but Giyuu catches sight of a flock of birds, flying low. He thinks he also hears a frog croak louder than normal.
The trees shiver loudly, having caught a passing wind.
There is rain to come, soon.
"Giyuu-san!" He hears the cheer loud and clear but does not react.
The ground vibrates with the thumping of heavy feet, the pace not so much sedate, but more of an excited tremor trying too hard to stay controlled. To this, the corner of Giyuu's lips twitch upwards. The person comes to a stop beside him.
"Back again, Giyuu-san?" Tanjirou asks, hands on his hips and a teasing smile on his face. He's here every other day, so it's not exactly undeserving.
Giyuu lets his eyes fall on filthy sock covered feet and lets his judgemental stare do the talking. Tanjirou blushes and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Ah- Inosuke broke his pair while training and I wasn't going anywhere, so I lent him mine! Zenitsu went with him to get new ones, they left just a while ago." He explains.
Giyuu hums in response.
"Wahhh, the koi are looking pretty today!" Tanjirou crouches into a squat, peering into the water with delight.
"You say that every time you come here." Giyuu observes.
"Because they are! Right, guys?" He waits, and hears a splashing noise.
He turns to Giyuu and beams. "See, they agree!"
"I'm pretty sure that was just a pebble that fell in."
"No, it was totally the koi! The koi!" Tanjirou flails a bit before plopping his butt on the ground and mimicking Giyuu's pose. His head tilts back and takes a deep breath, auburn hair brushing against his nape. Giyuu doesn't wonder what emotions he smells from him; he already knows.
They sit in comfortable silence for a while.
The water splashes once more, a frog hopping in for a bath. Giyuu picks up a mikan, unpeels it, and holds it out to Tanjirou.
The other startles, and visibly brightens at the offering. "Thank you!" He pulls it apart into pieces and drops one in his mouth. "Mm, it's so sweet...!"
"Your hair is getting long," Giyuu states abruptly.
"Ahah, yeah," Tanjirou blinks, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. A finger absentmindedly curls around a lock of hair. "You're right. Do you think I should cut it?"
"If you want to." He pauses for a few seconds, then adds, "If you grow it long enough, you could tie it back or get Nezuko to braid for you."
Tanjirou hums. "Nezuko would enjoy that. She always loved playing with mother's and Hanako's hair. Ne, if I start tying my hair back, maybe we could match?" His chest puffs up as he punches a mighty fist in the air. "The two pupils of Urokodaki-san, the Fire-Water Ponytailed Swordsmen!"
Giyuu cracks a tiny smile at the display. His smile widens when Tanjirou notices him staring and he spots the coat of pink dusting tanned cheeks.
"Most people wouldn't want to match anything with me. Or so Shinobu says." He says wryly.
"What? No way, Shinobu-san is wrong!" Tanjirou's cheeks puff with indignation. "I can't imagine that at all. Giyuu-san is so cool and strong and dependable. There are definitely people out there who want to be just like you!"
"Does one of these hypothetical someones have the last name 'Kamado' and the first name 'Tanjirou'?" Giyuu raises an eyebrow.
"Yup." He answers with no hesitation. So honest...!
"I see. Well, that's nice to know." He shakes his head, but he's choking back a laugh. His chest feels warm at the thought of his kouhai's faith in him. What exactly is one to do with such unexpected devotion?
When he looks back up at Tanjirou's face, he has an expression of wistfulness and a lingering sadness as he stared out at the water. He doesn't ask; he simply waits for him to speak.
"My hair was a little longer than this when I finished training for the Final Selection." His voice is more subdued than earlier.
Ah.
This time, the blanket of silence that falls upon them is heavy in the air.
He remembers late nights, remembers quiet talks and confessions in candlelight. Of the ghosts they both carry on their backs, the names they keep locked away from prying eyes for private moments when the grief becomes too much to bear. Giyuu closes his eyes and breathes.
"He told me that day, before I finally cut the boulder, that I looked like a man at last." Between the two of them, there has never been a need to ask 'who'.
He doesn't know when Tanjirou moved close enough to rest his head on his shoulder.
Giyuu lets him.
"He always did have a fondness for long hair. Said it made you look more dignified." He murmurs. Tanjirou shuffles closer, leg pressing against Giyuu's thigh.
"Mm. His hair was pretty long, wasn't it?"
"It got really annoying having my futon next to his at night and I'd wake up with a mouth full of hair." He deadpans, conveniently forgetting that he began growing his hair out to the same length at that age.
"Oh yeah, I know that feeling." He sees Tanjirou make a face from the corner of his eye. "Nezuko has really, really long hair. Our mother did, too, though she usually kept it tied up during the day."
"My older sister and I had separate rooms, but it was a particular nuisance when we would nap together in the sitting room at noon."
Tanjirou makes a sound of surprise. "Whoa, separate rooms? Giyuu-san, were you rich? How big was your house?"
Giyuu hesitates to answer, which Tanjirou catches immediately. His eyes widen with awe. "Giyuu-san..."
"I... wouldn't say we were incredibly wealthy, but we always had enough." He finally says, amused.
Tanjirou points an accusing finger at him. "That's exactly what a rich person would say!"
Giyuu doesn't blink. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's all gone now. You've been to the Butterfly Estate, though, go get on Shinobu's case if you want to point fingers."
"Ehhh, no way, I'd feel bad for saying anything!" He shakes his head vehemently. "And even though she's always smiling, Shinobu-san is really scary, you know?"
Giyuu does know, but thinks that the other probably has it worse by being able to sense the full force of her emotions — her wrath, in particular.
"Oh? What makes me different, then?"
Tanjirou appears to think about it, putting a hand on his chin. He comes to a conclusion, banging a fist on an open palm. "Giyuu-san is Giyuu-san. I trust Giyuu-san with everything, including my personal thoughts and feelings."
Giyuu is quiet. "One day, I hope to live up to the standards you hold me to."
"I think... that the only impossible standards in this situation are yours," Tanjirou gently tells him. "From the very beginning, you've been supporting me all this time, at the cost of your job and your life. We're truly fortunate for things to have gone in our favour, but it could easily have gone the other way."
"Any good man with a lick of reason to him would have done the same-" He begins, but Tanjirou is already shaking his head.
"That doesn't change the fact that it was you who did it. Not Shinobu-san, not Rengoku-san, nor Oyakata-sama. You were the one who told me to hold my head up high, who told me to move forward and gave me the means to do so. If I hadn't gotten to Urokodaki-san when I did, Nezuko and I would've been dead by now and that's a fact. Please do not devalue my family's life by saying that anyone could have done it." Tanjirou says firmly, staring Giyuu in the eyes.
"Your kindness saved me, Giyuu-san." He continues, voice softer. In the soft light of day, Giyuu thinks that Tanjirou looked especially flattering with the way his hair blazed in the sun. "Please allow me to repay you by being by your side and supporting you in return."
What a strange, stubborn boy.
"As if you'd let me refuse." Giyuu murmurs but straightens from his slouch and dips his head in a nod. "I'll be in your care then."
Tanjirou nods resolutely, eyes shining bright.
"And I'll be in yours. For what it's worth," He loudly whispers, like a secret that was meant to be heard. "I think that Sabito-san and your nee-san would be glad to have someone looking after you."
The innocence in his tone did not match the smirk on his face.
Giyuu rolls his eyes. They've had this portion of the conversation way too many times.
"You're more trouble than I'll ever be." He tells him, and Tanjirou laughs but does not deny it.
There's only one mikan left.
Giyuu picks it up.
"These were his favourite fruit," He says conversationally, rolling it between his fingers and peeling it along the way. "Thought it'd be fitting to celebrate his birthday with them. I always told him they were the reason his hair was so strangely coloured, with how often he ate them."
He breaks it in half and tosses one into the lap of a sputtering Tanjirou.
"Wh-wha- It's his birthday? Why didn't you say so?!" He demands, leaning forward and clutching the mikan against his chest. "That's why you were here this whole time?"
"But I just did?" Giyuu leans away from him, wary. He wasn't going to headbutt him, was he? He's seen the damage that hard head could do. "And... yes?"
"No, I mean, why didn't you say so before?" He insists. That pout was truly devastating but Giyuu had absolutely no idea how to respond.
"Was I... supposed to?" Tanjirou squints at him, and huffs.
"Of course you were! No birthday should ever be spent alone!" He replies so fiercely and Giyuu is once more at a loss for words. That was... exactly how he had spent every birthday for years, whether it was his own, Sabito's, or Tsutako's. Not even Shinobu spent those days with him, often greeting him and occasionally sending a gift his way, but too busy to spare much time as a Pillar is wont to be.
"Yosh!" Tanjirou shoots up to his feet, steam coming out of his nose. His lips were pressed in grim determination, mikan clenched in a fist at his side. "This is it. I've acquired my first mission in taking care of Giyuu-san."
Giyuu stares as Tanjirou lowers himself into a bow. "Giyuu-san! Please join Nezuko and I for dinner tonight! I'll be cooking stew with my mother's favourite recipe!" He straightens up and there's no mistaking the bright red blush on his cheeks. "It's a time honoured Kamado family tradition for birthdays. We did this in the years we spent with Urokodaki-san, too, and uh-"
A short laugh escapes his lips and Tanjirou freezes in wonder.
"Free food? How can I refuse?" Giyuu smirks at him, before softly adding, "I'd be honoured, truly. Thank you, Tanjirou."
"Right! Yes. Well. I'm- Gonna go prepare the food!" Tanjirou collects himself and marches off the bridge into Giyuu's house. He yells at Giyuu without looking back about coming inside before the rain starts and disappears behind shoji doors.
Giyuu watches him go, before turning back to the koi pond. The fish have long dispersed, but a single orange one seems to have stayed behind. It swims in circles before him as if waiting for something. It was then that he remembers the other mikan half, still in his lap.
He pinches it into pieces and tosses them into the water.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
The koi quickly swallows them and circles the water in contentment.
"It's your favourite, too, huh?" Giyuu wipes juicy fingers off his hakama again, then wraps them around the remaining slice. He holds it up above his face, eyeing the fruit against the light of the sun.
"Otanjoubi omedetou, Sabito." He greets softly and the trees shake once more, a stronger wind coming through.
He eats the mikan slice, collects the peels onto the cloth. The wooden bridge creaks under him when he stands and walks away.
As the shoji door closes, rain begins to fall.