A day in the life of Tanjiro Kamado

In this city you know you’ve made it when a Kamado sibling considers you a friend. This is especially true for the eldest sibling, Tanjiro.
For his film class, Tanjiro has to film and edit a video containing a day in his life, this is the unedited footage.

Notes:

Inspired by The student council (and the watermelon problem) by silverynight

I wrote this in like.. three days

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

“Good morning. It is currently… 5:34 in the morning, I woke up at 5 from my alarm, but I spent some time idling on my phone- wait. Should I just cut that out or refilm it?”

The room was dark, but on the left side of the screen there was warm light. It hit the side of Tanjiro’s face, showing off a pointed nose and big eyes. The hanafuda earring on his left side glinted from the light, which was the morning sun coming in through the curtains.

“Okay okay.” He took a deep breath, “good morning. It’s currently… 5:36 in the morning.” He showed off his phone screen to prove it, the brightness of it borderline blinding considering the previous darkness. “This is so awkward…-”

(“If his day is this boring I am absolutely giving up-”

“Are you kidding me?! This shot alone could go for ten dollars! Do not underestimate the desperation of a simp.”

“Right, cause you graduated top of your ‘Simping 101’ class, I forgot.”)

☀︎

Skipping past the clips of Tanjiro brushing his teeth, washing his face, making his bed, brushing his hair, and putting his uniform on, you’d find him in the kitchen.

Setting the camera propped up against the wall on the kitchen counter, he went off screen for a second before reappearing. He tied the apron he just grabbed onto his body, unintentionally showing off his figure as he pushed up his sleeves and got to work with breakfast.

As he was chopping up vegetables and whisking up eggs, there was some soothing music in the back, which he occasionally hummed along to. It seemed, for a few minutes, that he totally forgot about the camera, only remembering when it caught his eye in his kitchen flurry. “Oh- right. I guess I should be explaining things…” he mutters to himself.

Tanjiro leans into the camera, looking sheepish, “I make breakfast and lunch for my family every morning. It's sometimes annoying since I have to get up earlier, but I find it enjoyable. It’s kinda like how people like organizing, I like taking care of my family- besides, it’s kinda nice being the only one around-”

“Tanjiro, are you talking to yourself?” A kind woman’s voice asks from out of the frame.

Tanjiro blushes, “no! I’m doing that vlog for film class, remember?”

“Oh that’s right!” She comes into frame, “hello! My name is Kie Kamado, I’m his mother.” She smiles, kind and bright, similar to her sons. She kisses his forehead, right on his birthmark as she passes, leaving the frame just as fast as she went in.

When there was a still moment, he picked up the camera, showing an in depth analysis of his work.

“So here we have all the lunches set out, this fancy one is my moms, which has a bento with miso soup, onigiri, and a spinach sesame salad. There’s her drink and some snacks too, she really likes these salted pistachios! The other two are for my twin siblings, Shigeru and Hanako, who get an egg sandwich, cherries, and fruit snacks. Oh, and mine, which I’ll save an explanation for at lunch!”

The cooking continued, and after around ten minutes he waved his mom goodbye, making sure she didn’t forget anything. Only a few minutes after was there notable hustle and bustle. “Nezuko is waking up everyone now, making sure they brush their teeth and get dressed.”

“Is breakfast almost done?” A girl asked off screen.

“Yes! Is everyone up and ready?”

He grabbed the camera, showing his sister with his littlest brother on her hip. She had waist length hair that had dyed red ends, big eyes and a striking similarity to Kie. On her hip, a child with a bowl cut and familiar big eyes looked curiously at the camera.

“What’s the camera for?”

“I’m vlogging for film class, remember? I told you guys about it last night, hey could you actually film me plating breakfast?”

She agreed easily, and there was now a shot of him meticulously plating everyone’s breakfast with some very cute commentary between his two siblings.

“Do you think he’ll remember that Takeo doesn’t like butter on his waffles?” She conspiratorially whispered, and received a childish giggle in response.

“I bet t’at Shigeru and Hanako will get their plates mixed.”

“Oooo, mmm, I think he’s going to get it right, but Shigeru will steal a cherry off Hanako’s and a fight will break out.”

“Okay okay, so much faith in your siblings.” Tanjiro laughed, taking back his camera.

The next shot, miraculously, was of the peaceful breakfast, with no yelling or crying or anything, much to the surprise of Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Rokuta.

☀︎

After waving off his siblings who got a ride from his uncle Michikatsu, Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Takeo were off to school. Kimetsu Academy was a joint middle and high school barely a ten minute walk away from their home. Takeo was still in middle school, only eighth grade, which meant that their lunch periods were different, since the school did have some separation.

Nezuko made sure he brought a spare battery for his camera, and they laughed on the walk over about how terrible it would be if his camera died not even halfway through the day.

“Hey Tanjiro!”

“Good morning Nezuko!”

“Morning!”

“Takeo, did you finish the homework?”

“Hi Tanjiro!”

“Do you even know who that was?” Takeo asks him after he finished greeting the girl who said hi.

“No? Should I?”

Both his siblings groaned, deciding to ignore all of his questions and worries.

Him and Nezuko eventually waved Takeo bye, since it was more convenient for him to enter the middle school grade entrance.

“Hey Nezuko, Tanjiro.” A shorter girl greeted, with dark hair pulled into two pigtails, some pieces at the front falling into her face.

“Aoi!” Nezuko immediately went to her side.

“Hey Aoi.” Tanjiro greeted back, sending off his goodbyes as the pair parted from him, walking off to their first period.

Going to his locker, greeting back everyone in the halls regardless of if he knew them, a small pink note fell out as he opened the door. “Mmhm?”

His red eyes ran across the writing as he smiled kindly, “this is so nice! It’s a friendship note! ‘Dear Tanjiro, we don’t know each other but I hope we become close in the future. I find you very admirable, kind, and similar to the sun after a rainy day, please accept my feelings.’ There’s no name or anything… I hope to meet them…”

(“A friendship note?! He thinks it’s platonic! Why are boys so stupid!” Some poor, nameless girl cried into her friend's shoulder. “Friendship notes don’t even exist!”

“It was so obvious it was a love note, if it were any other guy they’d be falling head over heels, I think Tanjiro is just a little…” Her friend tried to comfort her, patting her shoulder.

“Stupid?”

“I’d more say obtuse, but yeah I guess stupid works too.”)

☀︎

“Good morning!” Tanjiro greets, sitting down at his desk and getting his things ready, his camera propped up against the chair in front of him.

A buff arm hooks around his shoulder, coming into frame to peer at the camera. “What’s with the camera, Tan-Tan?”

“Tan-Tan?”

“What? Not your style? I need a cute nickname for you, calling you just Tanjiro is not nearly flashy enough!” Tengen ruffles his hair.

Tanjiro laughs, “I think Tanjiro is just fine, Tengen. The camera is because I’m making a vlog for my film class.” He fixes his hair, deciding to pull it up into a ponytail, Tengen watching with transfixed eyes.

“Ah! Suma did that last year too! Though her camera died midway through the day, did you make sure to pack another battery?”

“Of course!” Tanjiro reaches over to his bag on the floor, unknowing to Tengen’s wandering eyes staring at the small slip of skin on his back that his untucked shirt reveals. All three vertebrae, how tantalizing. “See?” He holds up the battery.

“Oh I’m seeing.”

(“He’s practically ogling him! He just did a once-over!”

“Get used to it, Takeo. Get used to it.”)

A few minutes later, “I’m going to ask about this question, I’ll be back.” Tanjiro got up, leaving his camera unattended.

Of course, the grabby paws of Tengen Uzui took it immediately. “How do I even..- ah hah!” The shot changed, now watching Tanjiro leaning over the desk of their math teacher. It zoomed in, going grainy when the shot was only of his head.

Then it spun around, almost disorienting, landing on the smug face of the new cameraman. Tengen began rapid fire posing, pouty lips, peace signs, and high angles. There was one excruciatingly nasty moment when he decided to flex his biceps, another when he blew a kiss to the camera.

His eyes caught something and he quickly put the camera down, back to its rightful place on Tanjiro’s desk.

“What were you doing with my camera?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, baby.”

Tanjiro made a face, checking his camera before returning to his worksheet.

Skipping over the rest of the uneventful period, Tanjiro and Tengen waved bye to each other as they went opposite ways in the crowded hallway, people parting for each of them.

(Tengen sits on a bench outside, hunched over himself with his face in his hands. “He’s so oblivious! I would have given up if he wasn’t so damn cute! I think his hair was extra fluffy today- and he bent over so I saw his back and- ughh!”

One of his girlfriends, Hinatsuru, rubs his back beside him while another, Makio, exclaims “you’ll get him next time! I’ve got a feeling!”

From the other side of him, “that’s right, you can’t lose confidence now, you’re in too deep!” His third girlfriend, Suma reasons.”)

☀︎

“Ah-!”

“Shush!” Kotetsu puts a hand on his mouth, ensuring he doesn’t make a sound.

Being pulled into a dark storage closet during his walk to his next period was certainly a surprise, thankfully it was only Kotetsu.

“Hey Kotetsu.” Tanjiro greets once the hand is removed. “What’s up?”

“I just pranked Yuichiro, you gotta h-”

The door knob rattles, “Kotetsu! I’m gonna-” Yuichiro bangs at the door, and Kotetsu shrinks into himself with a squeak. “I know you're in here! I’ll break this door down!”

“Don’t worry Kotetsu, I got this.” Tanjiro pats him on the shoulder.

“Hey Yuichiro, are you looking for someone?” Tanjiro opens the door, and Yuichiro freezes, positioned to body slam the door had Tanjiro not opened it in time.

He straightens up, “n-no! What the hell were you doing in there anyway?!”

Tanjiro laughs, closing the door, “just needed a moment, what’s your next class?”

“Science..?”

“Let’s walk together, my next class is close.”

“…fine, are you becoming a shitty YouTube vlogger? That shits so overdone.”

“No no, this is for an assignment, I have to film and edit a vlog.”

“The hell kind of assignment is that?!”

“A film class kind of assignment.” Tanjiro shrugs.

“Hey Tanjiro! Are you gonna go to tryouts for the track team?”

“Hey Goto, when are they?”

“Next week, you should really think about joining, I know you’d make the team.”

Tanjiro hums, “I think I’m just gonna stick to intramural sports, being on a team and actually competing is so much stress, you know?”

Goto looks disappointed, “I guess… then I'll see you on the field at lunch?”

“Yeah! See you.”

“God, do you get hounded like that all the time?” Yuichiro twists his face in disdain.

“Sometimes, I’ve grown used to it, I don’t know why all the teams are so interested in me… I’ve never even competed in anything…”

Yuichiro sighs heavily.

Once they reach Yuichiro’s class they exchange their goodbyes, the freshman’s being much more clipped and stiff compared to Tanjiro’s, but it doesn’t seem like he minds. The rest of the walk to his film class goes by without any other interruptions.

“Hey Kanao- are you filming your vlog today too?” He asks, noticing her camera.

“Wow.. what a coincidence. I think we even have the same type of camera?” She regards his camera closely.

“A Sony XxX?”

“Yeah!” Kanao holds hers up to her eyes, and it’s like looking at a mirror image of Tanjiro, knowing that’s how he’s holding his camera. Hers has a lense attachment with bunny ears on the top, along with a floral pattern lanyard and a beaded keychain. They hold the shot for a second before laughing.

Luckily Tanjiro decides not to film during the actual lecture parts of his classes, to spare from the boredom and also knowing that he would just edit it out anyway.

(On Kanao’s camera; Tanjiro holds his camera up to his eyes, and it’s like looking at a mirror image of herself. His has a water patterned lanyard and a cute Yin and Yang sticker on one of the flatter planes of it.

She takes a deep breath when their teacher takes a quick break, turning to her seat partner, “if you want, I could make you a keychain like mine.”

Tanjiro looks like he’s sparkling at the proposition, “really? I would love that! Are you sure it’s no trouble?”

“I’m sure. It’s one of my hobbies so I probably already have all the colors you’d want, and it doesn’t take long to make.”

“Then… Could I do a black and green pattern? Like my tie.” Their school had mandatory uniforms, but the styling of them wasn’t really regulated, and ties were a stylistic choice. Hence why Tanjiro could get away with his earrings and untucked shirt, most people completely forgo a tie, but Tanjiro’s black and green checkerboard pattern was a staple of his look.

Kanao nods, her heart beating loudly at the prospect of making something for him, something he’d use constantly.)

☀︎

“Gonpachiro!”

“Hey Inosuke! How’s your day been so far?” Tanjiro asks, sitting down, “Inosuke, what have I been saying about your buttons?”

“…they’re stuffy! I can barely breathe!”

Tanjiro gives him a look, “could I button up just a few? Only to your collarbones, I don’t want you getting a cold.”

“Fine! And the great Inosuke Hashibara would never get a cold! Especially not in April!”

Tanjiro hums, dutifully doing up the buttons, unknowing to the jealous stare Inosuke gets from many, including their other friend in this class. “It’s still better to be safer than sorry, you wouldn’t want Miss Hisa to worry, would you?”

“Tanjiro, do my buttons up too.”

“M-Muichiro! Why is your shirt unbuttoned too?”

Muichiro blinks, “I forgot.”

Inosuke growls, but Tanjiro placates him with a soothing pat on his chest before moving onto Muichiro, buttoning his shirt up as well. “Do you want the top few buttons undone as well?”

“No.”

“Now,” Tanjiro begins, finishing off the last button, “try to be more careful with your buttons, do you want me to set a reminder in your phone?”

Of course, Tanjiro had no idea it was a trick to get him to button up Muichiro’s shirt. Yuichiro’s twin did suffer from amnesia after an incident a few years ago, and Tanjiro was incredibly kind and thoughtful about it, but unbuttoning your shirt isn’t exactly something that just happens.

Class goes on; Tanjiro working on a watercolor painting of a floral arrangement, Inosuke drawing a very crude but somewhat endearing image of him and Miss Hisa together in wax crayons, and Muichiro pretending to fill in a coloring book with pencil crayons, but actually just staring at Tanjiro. From the way Tanjiro has angled his camera, you can see the three of them and half the class behind them doing their own thing as well.

Unbeknownst to only Tanjiro, a trio from a few desks behind have been doing nothing but watching him.

(“Ugh! Those three, hate them.”

“What? Who are they?”

“Daki, Gyokko, and Akaza, they're friends with Douma and Enmu- that crowd. All of them are creepily obsessed with Tan, but only so they can mooch off his popularity.”

“Gross!”

“Right? I had no idea they shared an art class…”)

One time, when Tanjiro got up to grab more water, Gyokko tried following, but Muichiro noticed and swiftly pulled him out of the class.

“Inosuke, where’d Muichiro go?”

“Dunno! Do you think Miss Hisa will know this is me?” Inosuke brings up his drawing, pointing at a vaguely boar looking shape.

Tanjiro hums, “is that you wearing its hide?” He asks, and at Inosuke’s nod he hums again, “maybe you should add your feet on the bottom- oh, you can put your shoes that she just got you, the brown ones with the four leaf clover. That’ll show how much you like them, too.”

“Good idea Sanpachiro!”

At that moment Muichiro sat back down, Gyokko nowhere to be found. “Where were you?” Tanjiro asks.

“The one with the green lips needed help down the stairs.”

“Wah! That’s nice of you to help him!”

(“Gyokko! What the hell happened?” Daki asks, hovering around him at the bottom of the staircase.

“That long haired freak pushed me down! I’m gonna kill him!”

“Not until we treat your twisted ankle.” Akaza deadpans.

Gyokko pauses, “what?!” He looks down at his foot, which is in a position definitely not normally possible, and faints.

Daki nudges Akaza, “what do you want me to do about it?” He asks.

“Carry him to the infirmary?!”

“No way! He’s like 200 pounds! Just get a teacher or something.”)

“I know I’m nice, please praise me more.”

Tanjiro laughs, leaning over to pat him on the head, which has Muichiro practically melting.

“Hey! Pat me too!”

In the end, Tanjiro pats them on the head for the rest of the period, his arms no doubt burning, but too kind to stop.

☀︎

“Hey- stop stealing my food! Oh my god both of you cut it out!” Zenitsu shouts, protecting his bento with his arms from wayward chopsticks. Genya and Inosuke munching on stolen food.

On the opposite side of the table Kanao and Tanjiro sit, laughing at their antics.

“Whad’yu go’ ‘anjiro?” Genya asks around a mouthful of rice.

“Miso soup, rice, marinated eggs, and some cherries!” Tanjiro explains, camera catching all the delicious food.

“Can I have a cherry?” Zenitsu drools at the juicy, already pitted fruit.

Tanjiro nods, using his chopsticks to feed his best friend, ignorant of the faint blush on the blond’s face.

Suddenly there’s clatter all around them, “would you please feed me a cherry too, Tanjiro!” Kyojuro asks, clambering into the seat beside him.

Tanjiro does so, “yummy! Are those from your tree?”

“Yes! I was able to pick some yesterday.”

“Tanjiro,” Shinobu calls from beside her little sister, “did Kanao tell you about my party?”

“Oh, I forgot, sorry.”

Tanjiro tilts his head, “you’re invited to my party on Friday, come around 7 and the theme is animal, so dress up as an animal of some kind.”

“You should dress up as a cat!” Tengen suggests.

“A bunny would suit him much better!” Kyojuro argues.

“He should go as a grizzly bear!”

“That’s too hardcore! Tanjiro is much softer.”

“But he’s the king! And he likes fish!”

“Liking fish does not mean he should dress up as a bear! There’s so many other options!”

(Since he was running a bit late, everyone was waiting on Tanjiro’s arrival to the party, wondering what animal he ended up chosing. Of course, everyone had their own idea, ranging from mouse onesies to scandalous playboy bunny costumes. Tanjiro had been curiously secretive about his costume, not even his two best friends knowing.

“He’s here!” Shinobu sing-songs as she goes to the front door, the party paused to see the verdict. Opening up the door, no one was ready for it.

A fuzzy brown shawl that tied together at the collarbones, draping over his shoulders and back, the attached hood being of a faux bear head. Baggy black pants with the same fuzz along the low waist line, the bottoms tucked into matching fuzzy lined boots. His torso completely bare to all.

“Sorry that I’m so late, I had to take pick up Takeo from my uncle’s and then I had to put on this thing once I got here- it’s surprisingly hard to drive with a bear head on you.” He jokes, oblivious to the nosebleeds and blushing and blood pumping he’s caused. In the back someone drops their drink in shock.

Of course, except for Inosuke, who was absolutely elated, “Tanboko! The king of the forest!” He tackles his friend, similar costumes with the same pants and shirtlessness, but Inosuke has somehow gotten his hands on a boar head.

“Inosuke! We shall rule the forest together!” They clasp their hands, Inosuke helping his friend back up.

That seems to have brought everyone out of their fantasies, the party continuing.

“Wow! You look great!” Shinobu compliments.

“Thanks!

For the rest of the night, Tanjiro is ogled and felt up by everyone he’s close enough to, as he gets drunker and drunker he almost welcomes the feeling.

“I had no idea you were this ripped! What’s your secret babe?” Tengen asks his chest, eyes not being able to tear away.

Tanjiro giggles, a drunken flush that leaves most looking splotchy, his leaves him glowing under the crazy lights. He grabs Tengen’s hand and puts it on his chest, “ask me that when I remember.. ask me that when I’m sober!”

Of course, only those close enough are alloud to do it, the rest have to admire from afar. Anyone stupid enough to try is faced with the wrath of over ten incredibly intimidating people.

“Do I- do I know you?” Tanjiro squints at the nameless person feeling up his abs, fingers tickling his prominent v-line.

“I’m, uh, I’m in your gym class, remember?”

Tanjiro squirms, feeling the muddled sense of wrong beneath the many rounds of shots earlier, “I’m not, I’m not in a gym class this semester..”

“Yeah! He’s not in a gym class this semester.” Kyojuro nods behind the random person, hand clasping their shoulder in a crushing grip.

They end up running away, shouting an apology. Kyojuro squints at their retreating form, making a note of their face to deal with them later.

“Kyojuro!” Tanjiro beams.

“Hey, how are you?” Kyojuro huddles close to him, almost blocking him away from the world.

“Good! Now that your here I feel good!”

Kyojuro relaxes, “I’m glad! Let’s go back to our friends, everyone was worried about why you were gone.” He leads him back to the party, Tanjiro heavily leaning on him since his knees are all shaky.

They go back to the corner their friends are stationed at, and Kyojuro sets Tanjiro on Gyomei’s welcoming lap. “Hey Kyo! Could you get me another drink?” He asks, and Kyojuro makes a thumbs up, disappearing into the crowd.

“Are you sure another drink is a good idea?” Gyomei asks.

“Yes!” Tanjiro grabs the arms of his new seat and wraps them around his stomach like a seatbelt, replacing the gross feeling of a strangers hand with the warmth of a trusted friends.

Gyomei hums, the rumbling vibrations feeling nice along his back, “if you are positive.”

When Kyojuro comes back it’s with a red solo cup filled with clear liquid, which Tanjiro drinks happily. At Gyomei’s questioning head tilt, Kyojuro whispers that it’s mere water.

A few days after the party, the person who was feeling up Tanjiro becomes a total outcast. They were caught cheating on one of their tests and their history of groping became announced to the school. All of Tanjiro’s friends share conniving glances, proud smirks, and acknowledging hums when Kagaya tells them they have been suspended.)

Once everyone is finished eating Tanjiro stands, “last one on the field is the scorekeeper!” He yells, running across the cafeteria and into the hallway before the rest of them can blink. Genya and Inosuke scream in outrage, following hot on his heels, with Tengen and Rengoku following them shortly after.

Since he’s running, the shot is incredibly blurry and hard to tell what’s going on, but if you pause at the right moment you can perfectly see everyone. Tanjiro, windswept and perfect, Inosuke trying to grab at Tanjiro and Genya trying to grab and Inosuke, a few paces behind Genya are blurs of white hair and orange hair.

“Sorry about the running, I had to get here on time.” He arrives, whispering to the camera as he gets onto the field, the day sunny with just enough of a breeze to be refreshing. “Hey Goto! Where’s Murata?”

“He had to finish up his essay before fourth period.” He answers.

“He hasn’t finished that already? We had like a week to work on it?” Tanjiro sets his stuff down on the grass, propping his camera up on his bag but looking distastefully at its position.

Goto shrugs, and at the same time Genya and Inosuke arrive, tackling Tanjiro and Goto, claiming that they were faster than the other. Tengen and Kyojuro eventually pry them off, and only a few seconds after that do the rest of their friends arrive. Zenitsu is gone, presumably to hang out with his girlfriend, and Yuichiro has shown up, standing next to Obanai with matching faces of distaste.

Tanjiro stands, grabbing his camera, “hey Giyu, do you mind filming our game?” He asks the person closest.

“Sure.”

Watching them is a little boring, each of them playing rock paper scissors to determine teams and getting set up, Tanjiro, Genya, and Kyojuro versus Inosuke, Goto, and Tengen. Since it’s an even amount of players without Murata, there doesn’t have to be a scorekeeper, and the teams are pretty evenly matched.

It’s boring if you ignore Giyu’s loud ass breathing directly into the mic of the camera. You can’t even hear the chit chat of everybody else around him, and certainly not the yelling of the players.

If you strain your ear enough you can hear a giggly “Giyu, you keep breathing into the mic. Can I take it?”

There’s the very obvious sound of Shinobu laughing and shuffling until it’s in the hands of Mitsuri, who flips the camera, doing some high angle poses similar to Tengen a few hours ago. Beside her sits Obanai, his hand on her thigh protectively as he looks questioningly into the camera.

She strikes a pose, then another, then another, a few friends around her photobombing the shot and striking up their own poses. She convinces her boyfriend to join in too, and the whole scene lasts just a few minutes.

“Okay okay,” she begins, flipping the camera back to the game that’s taking place. It’s during a small pause, Tanjiro redoing his ponytail and loosening his tie, much to the wolf whistles of the crowd the game has amassed. “Onto Mitsuri’s super awesome commentary!” She announces with some giggles around her.

“What’s the score?” She whispers.

“Tanjiro’s team has 4, Inosuke’s has 5.”

“Wah! The score is 5-4, and currently on pause to allow for Tanjiro to put his hair up. It always looks so soft, I wonder what his hair care routine is like… ah! Goto has kicked the ball to Tengen, who tries a long kick to Inosuke but! Oh! Genya has stolen it! He passes it to Tanjiro who goes in for a score and! A point to Tanjiro’s team!”

The game eventually ends with Inosuke’s team winning, but Tanjiro unbuttons a few of his top buttons to cool down, much to the yelling of Tengen and Kyojuro to preserve his purity, so really the audience is the real winner.

“Here’s your camera, Tanjiro!” Mitsuri calls once he comes over, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“Oh! Thanks! Did Giyu give it to you?”

“Yeah, I wanted to do some justice to your super cool game so I took the camera to do some commentary, I hope you keep some of it in the final cut.”

“I’ll certainly try, thanks for making it interesting, I’ve been so worried about my video not being exciting enough. No one wants to watch a boring vlog.”

“I’m sure it’s plenty exciting!”

The bell rings right at that moment, and everyone disperses in pairs or groups to their respective classes, Tanjiro and Genya walking to history, and Mitsuri and Shinobu walking to chemistry.

(“Giyu is so funny, I could hear his heavy breathing against the camera from where I was sitting.” Shinobu laughs on the walk back to class.

“Right! I just had to do something, I’m sure Tanjiro would want a clip of his soccer game but not with all the huffing and puffing.” Mitsuri laughs along with her.

“I wonder… maybe I could ask Tanjiro for that clip, for blackmail purposes. Maybe set his heavy breathing as his ringtone.”

“You’re so mean! But that’d be so funny! I have next period with Sabito, I’m totally gonna laugh with him about it!”

“And Tan is so sweet he’d totally give us the clip, I’d just have to be careful about wording.”

“Right! He’s so cute with his camera, the yin yang sticker suited him so much!”

“Our cute vlogger Tanjiro.”)

☀︎

“Hey Murata! Did you get your essay done?”

“Is that why you missed out on lunch?”

Murata looks sheepish, “I was supposed to finish it up last night, but Demon Slayer came out with a new event and I got distracted…”

“You should be more mindful about your studies!”

“Is the event any good? I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.” Genya asks at the same time Tanjiro chastises, the both of them getting situated in their seats. Murata sits in front of them, with Tanjiro and Genya together in the paired desks. Murata was once sitting next to a guy named Masao, but he was expelled for being a pervert, leaving the desk gloriously empty.

“Yeah! You can actually unlock the Tsugikuni twins and play them now! I haven’t been able to get them, but I hear each of them are super stacked!”

“Really? Do you think they’d be able to fight Muzan?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t think the game devs would want to do that so early, the game only came out a year ago, and Muzan was only revealed during the Tamayo event. We don’t even know if he’s the final boss.”

Genya hums, and class begins.

Luckily, it’s mostly just a work period for textbooks, and their teacher is super chill, allowing Tanjiro to be on his phone when his phone suddenly blows up.

“Oh shoot, I gotta go help Zenitsu out, I’ll be back in a moment.” He explains briefly, leaving everything aside from his phone and grabbing a granola bar from his bag, leaving neither of them able to ask questions.

They watch him ask to go to the bathroom and rush out, looking at each other in confusion.

“Know what that’s about?” Murata asks, swiveling his body to Genya.

He shrugs, “not a clue, he was texting Zenitsu though, maybe he’s having another one of his moments.”

Murata nods, “help me copy his answers?

Genya hands him the sheet, Tanjiro’s messy but easily understood handwriting holding all the answers of the universe.

“Where’d Tanjiro go?” The girl beside him asks.

“None of your business!”

“Yeesh, don’t pop a vein.” She rolls her eyes, and Genya looks ready to explode before he takes a shuddering breath in and out.

“Could we switch seats- hey is that Tanjiro’s? Lemme copy off it too!” The boy in front of Murata asks.

Murata holds the worksheet protectively to his chest, “no way!”

Other than that there’s little fanfare, everyone wanting a juicy piece of gossip on the most popular guy in their school. Genya and Murata are used to it, most of their friends even more used to it, using much more extreme measures to let Tanjiro stay in oblivious peace. It’s a job that comes with the prestigious title of ‘Tanjiro’s friend’ and they’ve grown to find pride in it.

Around 10 minutes later Tanjiro comes back, looking only a little haggard, the granola bar nowhere to be found, presumably eaten.

“What were you up to?” Murata asks, the sheet already put back with no proof of its theft.

“Zenitsu needed help with something, but hey do you guys know a guy named Kaigaku?”

Genya scrunches his face, “not really, but I’ve heard he’s a total asshole.”

“Mmm, apparently he was really rude to Zenitsu, he’s a year older so I’ll ask Tengen or someone else about him later.”

(“He shoved me against the lockers and told me I didn’t- didn’t deserve to be fr-friends with you! He said I was a coward who just- who just weighs people down!” Zenitsu wailed, dry heaving into Tanjiro’s stomach. He was crying in the third floor bathroom, kneeling on the tile floor.

“Who? Why don’t you stand up, relieve your knees.”

Zenitsu clamored up, using Tanjiro’s steady body as a hold. “Kaigaku! He’s an upperclassman who used to bully me in middle school, I thought he was over being mean to me!”

“Well, he’s totally wrong, since you’re my best friend and life would be super bleak without you. You, me, and Inosuke are best friends forever, right?”

“R-right… but it's true that I’m a coward! I wish I was brave like you!”

“None of that! The world is a scary place, and it’s valid to be afraid of things. I would even wager that you're the most normal one out of the three of us. Remember when you refused to go in that abandoned house with us, and it ended up almost collapsing on us? I wish I was smarter like you, I wish I had some self preservation skills like you.”

Zenitsu sniffled, “r-really?”

“Yeah, and I’m sure Inosuke would agree with me too. Why don’t you take this granola bar and then I’ll walk you to your class?”

“Okay, but I think we’d have to teach Inosuke what self preservation means before getting him to agree with you.”

Tanjiro laughed, “probably, but he’d still agree!”

A few days after, Tengen pulls Zenitsu aside, “hey, Tanjiro asked me about that Kaigaku guy and gave me a little explanation of what happened. I could totally beat him up if you want to, flamboyantly, of course.”

“What?! No way!”

Tengen shrugs, “I totally could, but okay.”

Two weeks after that Zenitsu finds out Kaigaku was in an in school suspension for bullying.)

“Hey, I’ll probably play Demon Slayer tonight, get on around 6?”

“Sure!” Murata agrees, the three of them packing up.

They wave their goodbyes to Tanjiro, the two of them sharing their next class while Tanjiro has to rush to the other side of the school for biology. “I’m kind of jealous that people get an easy last period, I mean, Inosuke and Kanao have pottery together, that just seems so relaxing. But then I remember that my last period is my favorite of the day. I love biology, but I also find the people in this class a really good pair.” He talks to his camera, barely out of breath despite his fast walking pace.

“Oh, is that you Tanjiro?”

“Hey Kagaya! Would you like me to walk you to your next class?”

“How kind, I would love that. I hear you’re doing a vlog for your film class, how’s that coming along?”

“Pretty good! It’s really making me appreciate the little things. Like how my mom asks me how my day was, I just go ‘fine’ or ‘boring’ or ‘not much happened’ I’m realizing that’s totally wrong!”

Kagaya smiles, “it’s good that you’ve realized that. It’s very important to be thankful for every second of the day.”

“Yeah! How’s your day, Mr student body president?”

Kagaya chuckles, “it’s good so far, we’ve been able to get a lot of the pep rally planned, which I’m happy about.”

“The pep rally is in two weeks right? Not next Friday but the Friday after that?”

“Yes, but we have that Friday off so it’s on the Thursday. Actually, I’m having a party next Friday, would you care to come?”

Tanjiro sparkles, “I would love too! Wow, I was invited to a different party today too! I guess I’m just too popular!” He laughs, the last bit a joke.

Kagaya laughs with him, but it’s obvious he’s not laughing at the joke, but rather at how oblivious he is. “Yes, since you’re so popular I’ve found myself missing you a little bit, would you like to join me for lunch sometime this week?”

“Sure! I can meet up with you at the student council room tomorrow!”

“That would be lovely. Thank you for walking and talking with me.” They let go, and Kagaya walks into his class with a wave that’s just a little bit too far to the right.

“Kagaya is so cool! I’m really happy to be friends with him, and that he wants to spend time with me, he’s pretty much the most popular guy in school!” Tanjiro beams, unknowing to how ironic his words are.

(“You get your own office?!” Tanjiro says in awe, looking around the sleek office.

“Yes, I’m grateful for the accommodation, I asked for just a relaxing room to have access to, since the crowded halls can feel overwhelming to me. I never thought I’d be provided with such a room. Please, sit.”

Tanjiro practically fell into the cushy chair, admiring the space. There was a nice open window which showed the courtyard full of people below, the desk and shelves were of the same dark oak, and the walls were painted a warm gray. On the same wall as the door was a little kitchenette with a kettle, mini fridge, and microwave.

Kagaya hands him a mug of matcha and sits down with his own at his desk chair. “Press the button on the armchair.”

“What?- oh. Oh! No way this is a massage chair!”

Kagaya chuckles into his mug. He may love his girlfriend very much, but Tanjiro is just too sweet, besides, she didn’t mind. Everyone has been upping their tactics on him, so Kagaya decided to up his own game. If that required a thousand dollar massage chair for his guest seat, so be it.)

He has to backtrack a little, but soon he’s back on the path to biology.

“Tanjiro!”

“Kyojuro! Are you ready to learn about genetics?” He bumps hips with Kyojuro.

“Not really! I miss population dynamics, the tables don’t really make sense to me!”

“I think Gyomei is also struggling- hey should I host a study lesson before the unit test?”

“Absolutely!” Kyojuro nods enthusiastically, opening the door for his underclassman, Tanjiro quickly thanking him.

“Hey Gyomei!”

“Hello Tanjiro, is Kyojuro there too?”

“Hello!”

“Hey, so I was thinking we could do a study group together before the test since both you and Kyojuro aren’t doing too well with the unit?”

“How generous, I would love that.”

“Awesome! Uhm…” Tanjiro pulled up his calendar on his phone, “I’m free next Wednesday, and our test is on that Friday so that gives us some time for it to settle.”

“Next Wednesday works for me! I could even host since I don’t think all your guys’ little siblings will be the best working conditions.”

“Wednesday works for me as well. It’s admirable of you to offer your home to us.”

“Yeah, thanks Kyojuro!”

The lesson isn’t very long and it leaves most of the period to finish up assignments.

“Has Rokuta enrolled in that music class you were telling me about the other day?” Gyomei asks.

“Yeah! He’s really excited, and Genya was telling me that Shuya did the same class a few years ago, so I was able to explain it more to him.”

“Oh? What does the program entail?”

“They’ll learn how to read sheet music, and start on kiddie versions of instruments, like keyboards and recorders and stuff. I think he’s a little nervous since it’ll be his first extracurricular that’s not with one of us.”

“Something tells me he’ll do great! He has the Kamado soul, after all!” Kyojuro butts in.

“You think so? He’s a little shy, but so were the twins… it’s hard to tell around this age, I mean he is only 6.”

“Tokiwa was also very shy, the poor child threw up from nerves during his first extracurricular, I felt awful.” Gyomei was already starting to tear up at the memory.

Tanjiro patted his huge bicep comfortingly, “you're a good older brother, Gyomei.”

“Senjuro had a hard time getting out of his shell too, we’re lucky he and Takeo became such close friends!”

“I was so surprised when I realized you were Senjuro’s brother, him and Takeo had been friends for years before I met you!”

“Yes, it was quite the surprise! They’d been inseparable since preschool yet I only met you two years ago!”

“Ah, and they’re so cute with Rui! I’m glad they were able to welcome him into their duo.”

“Rui is a very cute kid! I was worried they would stunt their social life by only being with each other, it’s a relief they noticed Rui having a hard time and became friends with him.”

(“I need your assistance.”

“Are you injured?!” Tanjiro yelps, immediately checking over Rui.

“No, I need you two to help me get Senjuro and Takeo realize they’re in love with each other.”

“I-in love?!”

“‘Wow Senjuro you’re so strong~’ ‘here Takeo let me feed you!~’ ‘let’s hold hands but in a totally dude bro non romantic way and look into each other's eyes lovingly but in a straight way~’” Rui mocks his friends, fluttering his eyes and clasping his hands together at his chest.

“I had no idea about this development! It seems all Rengoku’s are drawn to Kamado’s!” Kyojuro laughs, and Rui narrows his eyes.

“I don’t want to hear you guys flirting either. I’m tired of romance and would like a moment of peace away from the stupid lovers.”

“Us? F-flirting? Kyojuro, what did you mean by that?! I’m so confused! Why are you walking away? Come back!”

Two months later Takeo and Senjuro start dating thanks to some very well thought out plans Rui and Kyojuro made. Tanjiro remained mostly oblivious, but welcomed his little brother’s boyfriend with loving arms.

(Later Senjuro would flex that he has a Kamado for a boyfriend and Kyojuro doesn’t.))

☀︎

“Have fun at Aoi’s!” Tanjiro waves his sister goodbye, him and Inosuke already walking away.

Zenitsu clug to her, “I’m gonna miss you! Don’t have too much fun without me, and don’t forget about your poor boyfriend!” He sniffles.

Nezuko laughs, “don’t worry! I’ll see you tomorrow!” She kisses his cheek before prying him off her, walking away with Aoi.

He wails, “I miss you already!”

Inosuke, fed up, grabs the back of his collar and drags him away. “Grow a damn spine! She’s having a sleepover not going into battle! You’ll see her tomorrow!”

“Fine! You’ve never felt the love of a woman so you wouldn’t understand!” He drags his heels, walking glumly.

(“You’re like… really pathetic.”

“Shut up! You feel the same about Senjuro you twerp!”)

The walk continues, and they end up passing a park where three little girls are looking up worryingly at a tree.

“Ah! Tanjiro!” One of the girls shouts.

“Sumi!” He rushes over, “do you three need help with something?”

“Our kite got stuck..” Kiyo pouts.

“Look.” Naho points, and Tanjiro sees the kite jammed into the leaves.

“Zenitsu! Hold my camera!” He calls, shucking off his bag.

“Why do I have to do everything..” Zenitsu pouts, holding the camera, filming Tanjiro climb the tree effortlessly, grab the kite, and swiftly jump off into a crouching position.

“Here you are. Now you girls should be more careful in the future.” He gently nags.

“Yes! Thank you Tanjiro!”

“Do you really have to be so chivalrous? Leave some for the rest of us.” Zenitsu bumps into him once they're out of earshot of the triplets. The camera is back in Tanjiro’s hands, who’s filming the environment.

“You can’t climb a tree and we all know that, and Inosuke is too… he’s too cool to climb it.”

“Fuck yeah!” Inosuke cheers.

Zenitsu looks at him completely unamused.

“Maybe you’ll be lucky and they’ll tell Aoi and Nezuko about how cool you were to hold my camera-” he tries to shrug but Zenitsu shoves him away.

“Shut up! I totally forgot they’re Aoi’s little sisters.”

Tanjiro laughs, “oh! Hold up, I promised Saburo I’d get him some stuff.” He rushes into the corner store they’re passing, Inosuke and Zenitsu waiting outside for him.

Once he comes back out a few minutes later, Zenitsu peers into the bag, “what’d ya get?”

“He needed some more Tylenol, bug spray, and a lighter, hey Inosuke, catch!” He throws Inosuke a bag of candy, handing Zenitsu his own.

They spend the rest of the walk eating their candies and talking about their day, carefully skirting around the incident during fourth period. Apparently Inosuke finally made a bowl on the pottery wheel rather than just a blob of wet clay like usual, and Zenitsu got in trouble for sleeping during math class.

They drop the items off and they run before Saburo can get to the door to pay him, Tanjiro refusing to accept the money.

Finally they arrive at Tanjiro’s house, Inosuke and Zenitsu immediately finding their spots in the living room, Tanjiro opting to change into some loungewear before he relaxes. His friends follow suit, as they’re over at each other's houses so often they have some clothes and other items already there.

They dissolve into their spots, Tanjiro on the couch, Zenitsu sitting on the floor against Tanjiro’s feet, and Inosuke sprawled on the floor.

Obanai ಠ_ಠ

Send me that clip of Mitsuri during lunch

Okay! I probably won’t go through all the footage for a while, so I’ll send it to you in a few days!

Obanai ಠ_ಠ

Okay

Tanjiro films the text conversation, “to make sure I remember!” He whispers to himself. “So are you guys going to Shinobu’s party?” He asks the room once he’s put away his phone.

“I can finally dress as a boar! Be in my truest form!”

“Maybe, I’m taking Nezuko to see that movie on Friday, I’ll have to talk to her about it.”

Tanjiro reaches down to pinch his cheek, “awh, and who said I was the chivalrous one.” He coos.

“Shut up!” Zenitsu slaps his hand away, the red head laughing.

They get only a few minutes to themselves before Rokuta and the twins arrive, Takeo already texted to tell him he was hanging out with his friends and would be home before dinner.

“Tanji!” Rokuta squeals, running into his brother's arms.

“Rokuta! How was your day?”

“It was fun! We played cars and learned about rhyming! Cat and hat and bat and fat and… uhm…”

“Rat?”

“Yeah! You're good at rhyming!”

Tanjiro laughs, “I certainly try!”

Inosuke and Zenitsu end up playing with the twins while Tanjiro and Rokuta stay on the couch, Rokuta showing off his super reading skills to Tanjiro with one of his picture books. Hanako braids Inosuke’s hair while Zenitsu and Shiguro chase each other. It’s kind of funny watching them, since it seems like they should be switching twins.

Takeo arrives around half an hour later, talking about how Rui invited the two of them to the arcade, but he ended up not being able to come, so it was just him and Senjuro.

(“I’m sure you were sooo bummed about Rui canceling.”

“Shut up! Stop wiggling your eyebrows! It wasn’t like that!”

“Oh but I didn’t say anything, whatever are you thinking of?”

“Shut up, shut up! It was not a date!”

Zenitsu gasps, “so you wanted it to be a date-”

Takeo shoves him off his chair, ignoring his claims that he fell on his knee weird. “You fell by a foot! You do not need the hospital!”)

A little while after that Tanjiro gets up to start dinner, Zenitsu following along to help, and Inosuke is put on babysitting duty, roughhousing and playing with them. He props the camera on one of their shelves, an angle that allows you to see the expanse of the kitchen.

However, Takeo grabs the camera, first showing the kids doggy piling on top of Inosuke, and then filming his brother and Zenitsu.

The evening sun is shining into the kitchen, bathing everything in its golden light. It hits the side of Tanjiro’s face, and Takeo zooms in a bit to focus on him. He’s smiling at something his friend said, illuminating the rise of his cheeks and his burgundy hair. It’s a beautiful shot, one that the world seems to go still for, the quiet hum of children’s laughter and sizzling vegetables only making it all the more comforting.

“I wonder…” Takeo whispers into the mic, “how much I could sell that shot for.”

(“That’s the shot.”

“Wow, you were not kidding. God, a picture of it alone would sell so fast!”

“Yeah, it’s kinda crazy to think that this shot is the whole reason we’re doing this. Maybe we’re just the crazy ones.”

“Us? The crazy ones? Sneaking into Tanjiro’s room, breaking into his laptop, downloading all the clips he looks pretty in, and then selling the videos? No way we're crazy.”

“Don’t make it sound like that!”

“What? Just think of this as a… side hustle! This is practically the same thing as that kissing booth for the cultural festival!”

“Uh huh.” Takeo scrunches his face in disgust.)

There’s a quick shot of dinner, practically parallel to the shot of breakfast aside from the fact that Nezuko is gone and Tanjiro’s friends are there. It’s peaceful with some nice conversations going on, Takeo talking about his day and everyone adding on.

There’s some more playing while Tanjiro sets some food aside for his mom and puts Rokuta to bed, making sure his teeth are squeaky clean and his pyjamas are put on correctly. Kie comes home, and while she eats her dinner Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Takeo sit with her, working on any homework. It’s now a daily thing, ever since Tanjuro died, Tanjiro decided he’d try to keep her from being too lonely.

He puts the twins to bed before they go to Tanjiro’s room, getting comfortable.

“You guys know what?” Zenitsu asks, interrupting the peaceful silence, everyone on their phones.

“What?”

“I miss Nezuk-” Inosuke snipes him with a pen he grabs off the desk, hitting him right in the forehead. Him and Tanjiro laugh while he pouts, rubbing the red spot on his forehead.

Kyojuro! ᕦ(ò_ó )ᕤ

Hello! I wanted to check in on your vlog progress!

It’s going good! I think I have a lot of good footage I can work with

Kyojuro! ᕦ(ò_ó )ᕤ

I’m glad! I hope you feel comfortable to show it to us once it’s all edited

Sure!

Now I gotta make sure my editing is top notch for you guys!