Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Rengoku rescues you from an unexpected attack. You repay him by making delicious meals that he gladly devours.
Later on, the man starts craving something else rather than your food.
"The food smells delicious!" Mitsuri explained as she held the bento box close to her nose. "I know little Sukoshi made an effort on my plate." The small boy was absolutely adorable in her eyes. The relationship he had with you made her want something she's never thought about. Having kids.
"That boy really is something." Kyojuro chuckled. The conversation he had with Sukoshi kept replaying in his head. Marriage was a topic he would usually avoid, so it was definitely surprising when a nine-year-old decided to bring it up to him. Being a Hashira kept him away from getting into a relationship. Slaying demons at night, and recovering health in the day didn't give him enough time to socialize outside of the Demon Slayer Corps. He knew he wanted to start a family one day and grow old. Those were his two life goals. If you were willing to accept his proposal, he would try his hardest to make time just for you.
Every single day you hoped to see the flame hashira once more. You would wake up, and muster up the courage to speak to him, but sadly you were never greeted with warm tones. This routine kept going for about two weeks, and when the demon slayer finally decided to show up. You wanted to run away and hide.
Seeing him stand in front of the bar made you nervous. This time he wasn't accompanied by the pretty lady. Sukoshi noticed you stopping dead on your tracks, looking at Rengoku with an overwhelmed expression from afar. The boy gently grabbed your hand, startling you, but immediately feeling a sense of calmness flow over your body. His tiny smile gave you some strength. Okay, come on, you can do this. Even Sukoshi believes in you.
As you walked closer, Rengoku's head snapped at your direction like an owl. The sudden eye contact made you coward back, but your nephew was ready to hold onto you before you had the chance to run away. Right, you got this.
"(L/N)-San! Sukoshi! What a pleasant morning to see you both!"
"You're standing in front of our restaurant." Sukoshi said once y'all were close enough to him, tilting his head.
"Yes I am, my boy!" His loud laugh could be heard from the end of the street. Although it didn't stop it from being contagious. The little one joined in after a second.
"It's nice seeing you again, Rengoku-San." You bowed, staring at the ground a little too long to avoid the intense gaze that seemed to stare you down. Not intentionally, of course. Because of where you were looking at, you didn't even notice the man bowing back. He didn't like how your eyes weren't on him.
His hands met your shoulders. Even if they weren't bare you could feel his hardened palm filled with victories from wielding his sword so bravely. "Don't avoid me, please." His tone had gone soft for the first time around you. It made your cheeks warm. He knew exactly why you were denying eye contact. The little boy must have told you about what they were talking about the last time he came by. "I'm not avoiding you!" You said a little too loud, making your nephew look up at you with a crazy expression. It's like he was internally telling you "Real nice, Oba" with that little sassy tone of his.
Your lip twitched into a frown. All of that confidence you been storing for the past two weeks had been gone in a snap. You couldn't even look at the man in the eyes. "I'm not trying to avoid you, but..." You trailed off as you finally made eye contact with Rengoku. Those beautiful irises stared at you with wonder, begging for you to say what's on your mind.
Your lips forced themselves to seal shut. You couldn't do it. It wasn't as easy as you thought it would be, so instead you had to come up with something else.
"Would it be possible for you to stay until we close?" Your face was filled with heat. It wasn't like you were asking him out, so why were you so embarrassed to ask such a thing. A big smile plastered on his face, nodding his head in full agreement. "Of course, (L/N)-San!" He was just glad to be invited to what he was guessing a talk. You on the other hand didn't even know what to do. Were you just supposed to ask him out or what? Anxiety was rising in you.
Yet, again, Sukoshi came to the rescue. He tugged your hand, leading you to the inside of the restaurant, so you wouldn't stand in front of Rengoku any longer. You exhaled a big breath once you two got to the back of the restaurant. This was nerve-wracking, but at least you made small progress for the mean time. The boy looked up at you and patted the small of your back since that's what he could reach for. "You'll be okay, oba! I'll be there the whole day and night!" His reassurance did help you, although you didn't know what to tell him about the last part.
"Suko, I rather talk to Rengoku-san by myself tonight." This brought shock to the little boy. He tucked out his bottom lip. "Why?! I want to be there as well." You shook your head, and patted his hair. "No, Suko. This is going to be a talk between adults, you understand?" You traced small patterns on his head to distract him from your so-called betrayel.
"Yeah.." He quietly spoke while looking away. You sighed with a small smile forming on your lips. You crouch down to his height, booping his nose in the process. "I thank you for making this an opportunity for me." That's when Sukoshi's tiny pout turned into a wide grin. "You're welcome!"
When both you and your nephew entered through the back door, you were met with Rengoku once more, who had already made himself comfortable in the small stool. You felt slight intimidation, but you had to remind yourself. This man would never do anything to humiliate you or harm you in any way, right? This admirable man would never do such thing.
"What would you like to eat?" You asked, looking directly into his eyes.
The day went on like the usual. You served a whole lot amount of food while Sukoshi and him conversated. Customers had started piling up at your little restaurant a few minutes after Rengoku's appetite was finally satisfied. One thing both of the relatives always wondered was why did Rengoku constantly said "delicious!". It was rather strange, but it did bring you joy since he was showing his liking towards the meals. Oh, so that's what you thought.
"Rengoku-San why are you always saying delicious?" Gladly, your nephew took one for the team like always and tried to feed his curiosity.
Rengoku gave him the same planted smile he always wore. "I want to enjoy every meal before I die!" He said with such enthusiasm. Some customers stopped eating and stared at him from the corner of their eyes. You stopped cutting the onions and Sukoshi just stared at him with a mouth wide open. That immediately took a dark turn.
"Huh?" Sukoshi frowned at the thought of Rengoku dying. "One never knows when they're going to die. As someone who's constantly in the battlefield I'm at a higher risk of dying. That's why I want to savor every meal before that happens." He gently smiled down at the boy whose bottom lip was trembling. Although, his little speech didn't have such motivation for your customers. They stopped eating midway, and now were staring at their plates. Well, gladly they already paid for it.
"But I don't want you to die! You can't!" He yelled while his hands turned into fists, as a tightening lump formed on his throat. The Hashira knew that if he spoke about being killed with honor, it would not make the situation any better, so instead, he made up a reason, one that only contained the truth. "No need to worry, Sukoshi. I shall use the conquering of your oba's heart as motivation to not leave this world yet." That made the situation worse, at least for you. You didn't even want to turn around just yet, it was impossible to ignore the intense pupils burying themselves on your figure. The good news was you no longer needed to ask him out. Rengoku made it clear he was going to win you over no matter what, even if he has to break the laws of life, and not meet the reaper with a deep wound in his body. The bad news... The customers had returned to eating their meals, happily listening to this week's brand new gossip.
Throughout the day, your nerves were at their highest. You were completely aware you were the one that invited the man to stay until closing, but now that you were cleaning up the bar. It was difficult to calm the tension you felt. Ugh, why did you have to be awkward with men? Maybe it had to be with past experiences turning into bad results.
Once everything was properly cleaned, you had finally freed yourself from the thin knots of the apron you wore. Sukoshi had done that not too long ago, at the moment he was enjoying conversation with the male, and from what you caught, it had to do with the stories of his family. Apparently, he had a younger brother that won a few years against your nephew. Wouldn't it be fun for them to meet? Ha, if you do get married to this man, you'll already be giving him Rengoku's brother. The boy sounded rather timid compared to his extroverted older brother, so it would surely be a cute meeting between the two babies.
At last, you finally locked up the shop for good. "Are you boys ready?" You asked, walking towards them. They both nodded their heads, almost matching each other's enthusiasm. One was joyful to finally go home and rest, while the other was glad to exchange a few words with you alone.
As Sukoshi walked between the two adults, you couldn't help but gain a domestic feeling inside your chest. This is something you have always wanted, to have a husband and a child stepping alongside you. This warm feeling nearly made your tenseness loosen up. Keyword: 'Nearly'. The path to the (L/N)'s humbled residency was quiet, the only thing that could be heard were those of the tiny insects that roamed around the village, and the footsteps that were dragged against the path covered in dirt. The sunset was explicitly beautiful, the dark hue gently covered the orange rays of the sun. The colors brought slight comfort, earning the bravery to turn your gaze from the sky towards the male, and to your surprise. Rengoku was already looking at you with a smile. You were quick to break eye contact, forcing yourself to focus on the sky once again. Your heartbeat skipped a few beats as a blush hovered over your cheeks. Your panicked expression wasn't hidden from his sight, it brought out a chuckle, not helping your inner conflict at all.
A quiet sigh left your lips, seeing that everyone was standing a few feet away from your home. You stopped on your tracks, grabbing your nephew by the shoulder to put a pause in his steps. "Please wait here, Rengoku-San. I'll be back in a few minutes." You mentioned before nudging Sukoshi to say goodbye, but instead of bowing the boy went up to him and wrapped his arms around what he could reach, embracing him with a hug. He grinned towards the older man, speaking his farewell before letting go. Rengoku's pupils grew a shine to them as he stared down at him, a pure sight for sore eyes. He patted his head, unfortunately repeating the goodbye.
You paused as you and Sukoshi were right in front of the entrance. Crouching down, you cupped his face with both palms to catch his attention. "Sukoshi, you must promise me something. Do not tell anyone about Rengoku-San and I."
His eyebrow quirked with confusion. "But why? Obaasan would be so happy to hear you might get married soon." He wasn't technically wrong, your mother would be awfully overjoyed to hear the news of a man finally wanting to be engaged with you. "Yes, Suko, but.. y'know how she gets. She immediately spreads the word, and then.." That's how it was. When she made an announcement it's like these men were embarrassed to be known as a soon-to-be spouse for someone like you. It caused them to take back their words and leave you with unwanted heartache. "Well, what if Rengoku-San decides to change his mind? She would be devastated like the previous rejections."
"He's too nice for that."
"Sukoshi." Your palm hovered over his lips. His voice was getting loud, and you did not need your family to hear this conversation. "Just promise me that you're not going to bring this up to her or your mother. Please." Your hand left his face, holding up your pinky to complete the deal. The boy was obviously not happy about this, he wanted for you to trust his decision. There was no reason for you to doubt him. "Okay, Oba." He hooked his own pinky onto yours. A soft smile forming on your lips. Giving him a peck on his forehead, you mumbled a few words that made him bright right up.
He pulled you into a tight hug, whispering, "I love you too, Oba." You knew that deep down he just wanted the best for you, but going through this was easier said than done. "C'mon. I'm sure you're hungry." After a full day of cooking, it was your mother that gave you the relief to relax as she put together a meal for the both of you.
Once the two entered the solace of their home, a greeting from your mother was immediately thrown your way. You quickly explained how you forgot to do inventory of the bar, and needed to go back to do it. "I'll try not to take long." You mentioned merely escaping her list of questions.
Hooray! You successfully escaped. Butterflies were summoned in your stomach as your eyes hit familiar irises. He held a smile that never seemed to leave his skin. It's simply a talk. Yeah.
@queenmalhinewahine @kashasenpai @slutfor-fictionalmen @snowflakeanimelover @imaisbae @simpforerensattacktitan
Hey... hey y'all... How y'all doing..? 😭 Y'all will keep seeing my apologies since I can't keep a constant schedule. One thing that I do promise is that there'll be AT LEAST one update a year. Is it worth the wait? Idk. But to those who are still interested in this series. I love y'all and appreciate y'all mwah.