6Disclaimer: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and all its scenes, characters, etc. based on it, including the soundtrack, etc. belong to their respective owners (Koyoharu Gotouge, etc.). Cover image by N1yqTzBhTDXskVh on Twitter. I'm merely writing this to entertain and I don't get any profit out of this.
Note: I wrote this for TanKana week on Tumblr and I decided to publish it here as well since people seem to enjoy it. I hope you like it too!
Kanao Wants to Kiss Tanjiro
Kanao knocked her Master Shinobu's door and looked inside shyly.
"Kanao! Please come in! What do you need?"
"Master… I need to ask you something."
"What it is, Kanao?"
"As you know… I've been dating Tanjiro for a while now…"
"Yes! You both have grown up so much!"
Kanao blushed and smiled at her master.
"Yes… and I want to ask him something, but I just don't know how to… I was thinking you may help me, master… Since you and Tomioka-san got married recently."
"Of course! What do you want to ask Tanjiro-kun, Kanao?"
"I-I want him to kiss me…" Kanao blushed. This was all so new and embarrassing to her… But she knew what she wanted.
"Aaaawww, that's so sweet, my dear! And have you tried… you know… Just ask him?"
"I-I don't know how to…"
"Then you just need to do what I did with Tomioka-san! Don't ask, just hold his face and kiss him yourself! I bet he'll love it!"
"M-master!"
"Don't be shy! Tanjiro-kun is so sweet! I'm sure he'll be delighted! Now, don't waste more time! Go find him!"
"Y-yes, master!"
Kanao wasn't sure that was the best idea. She didn't want to force herself on Tanjiro… She didn't know how to kiss… She had just seen her master and Tomioka-san but never experienced it herself. What if Tanjiro didn't like it? What if he got scared? What if it disgusted him? She just couldn't bear the thought of his rejection.
"Maybe I should ask someone else…"
Maybe Kanroji-san… She was the Love Pillar and was also married to Serpent Pillar Iguro-san… Surely she knew about this kind of things, right?
Kanao found her in the kitchen, enjoying an abundant meal.
"Um… Hello, Kanroji-san!"
"Kanao-san! You look as pretty as ever!"
"Th-thank you! You too! May… May I ask you something?"
"Aaaww, Kanao-san is so cute! Of course!"
"As you know, I'm dating Tanjiro and..."
"Aaaaawww, yes! You both look so perfect together!"
"Th-thank you! W-well, I-I want to ask him to kiss me, but I don't know how to…"
"AAAAWWW, that's SO SWEET, Kanao-san! You should totally go ask him directly! I'm sure he'll LOVE it! I wish I could see his face! I'm sure he'll be in PURE BLISS!"
"You… you think so, Kanroji-san?"
"ABSOLUTELY! You just need to go and ask him and when he says yes just smooch him!"
"A-alright! Thank you, Kanroji-san!"
Well, both masters had told her basically the same… So it should be the right thing to do, shouldn't it? But still so difficult… How could she ask him for something like that out of the blue?
"Kanao..." a soft voice spoke behind her. "Hi!"
She turned around so fast she got dizzy. Oh, no…He was here. What could she do? Despite her nervousness and flush on her cheeks, she couldn't help but smile at him. Tanjiro looked as handsome as ever, with that beautiful smile and kind eyes that made her heart melt. He held her when her dizziness almost made her fall.
"Are you alright? You look a bit flustered now…"
"Y-yes… I just… I need to tell you something…" Feeling his arms around her felt so incredible. She felt safe. Warmth and joy surrounded her. Despite her shyness, she never wanted to let go.
"Is everything alright? If you feel sick, I can carry you to the infirmary."
The thought of Tanjiro carrying her bridal style to the infirmary made her feel dizzy with shyness and happiness again and she held on him tighter, blushing furiously.
"N-no, I'm alright… I just…" Kanao looked into his worried gaze. It was difficult because it was like looking directly to such a bright light, but seeing his caring eyes, she knew there was nothing to fear. Tanjiro loved her. He would always treat her with kindness, even if she did anything that bothered him. He could never disregard or hurt her. She just needed to tell him the truth. He would surely understand.
"I just want to ask you to kiss me."
The truth escaped her lips before she could even think about it. There was no going back. The girl waited for his answer while looking at him in the eye. It was extremely difficult due to her bashfulness, but she needed to be brave and do her best. He loved her. She loved him. What could be wrong with a kiss?
"Kanao… I-I want the same." Tanjiro was blushing too. Kanao relaxed in his arms and smiled. Her master and Kanjori-san were right. She was right. He wanted the same. She felt so happy.
Tanjiro's gaze went from her eyes to her lips and approached slowly, afraid of making any kind of mistake. Kanao looked at his lips too and finally closed the gap between them, touching his lips with hers. They were soft. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling, letting herself go. Tanjiro's eyes widened, caught a little by surprise, but he quickly recovered and reciprocated, unconsciously embracing her more tightly. Neither of them wanted that moment to stop. When they finally had to separate to catch their breaths, both were blushing but smiling.
Then Kanao realized she had kissed him first and felt a little embarrassed, her cheeks burning.
"I-I kissed you first… I'm sorry, I just didn't realize… I hope you don't mind…"
"No! Not at all, Kanao! It was… It was amazing. I'm so glad you did."
"Really? Did you like it?"
"Like it? It was awesome. I-I hope you felt the same."
She nodded. "I did. I did. It was wonderful. Can we… Can we do it again?"
Tanjiro chuckled. "I was about to ask you the same."
Kanao beamed and this time she waited for his lips to touch hers, a wish that quickly became true.