6 Meeting in the Park

As he was walking with Katakiri Juki, Tanjiro found himself in the park, which is quite well known in the Kuoh Town.

Tanjiro looked at Juki confusedly and asked,

"Weren't we going to buy a cake and other necessities for the birthday celebration? Why are we in the park?"

"Young master, do you have any friends in your class?" Juki suddenly asked.

"Why ask something like that so suddenly?" Tanjiro asked.

But, if he had to answer old Juki's question, he had none. Tanjiro, before he awakened his previous life memories, was pretty anti-social. He avoided contact with almost everyone around him, except for Katakiri Juki. It was almost like an instinct for Tanjiro, who had yet to awaken his previous life memories.

"Well, Today when I came to pick you up from the school, one of your teachers told me that you avoid your classmates. Your teacher was pretty worried about you." Juki said.

"That…" Tanjiro didn't know how to respond.

"But what does it have to do with why we're here in park?" Tanjiro asked.

"Hmm… look around you."

Hearing Juki's words, Tanjiro looked around. There were many people of various age in the Kuoh park.

As it was evening, there was a lot of people in the park. There were also a lot of children in the park.

"Don't tell me…" Tanjiro muttered, feeling speechless at his revelation.

"Of course, we're going to get some friends for you. There are many children around your age here. Well, friends in a single day is quite impossible, so we'll start with being acquainted with them. If you're acquainted with them, then when you meet them again, it'll enable you to talk to them and possibly even become friends." Juki said.

"Juki-jiisan… can we not do this?" Tanjiro asked, feeling quite awkward. Despite his body being very young now, his mind is pretty much an adult. Even now he didn't know how to interact with a child, as a child himself. He had thought of some scenarios and tried to communicate with some of his classmates today. But the results weren't really pleasing.

When he tried to interact with them, it was like an adult talking with a child. Tanjiro was easily able feel how uncomfortable some kids felt when he tried to talk to them.

Maybe they felt insulted as they might have thought that, Tanjiro was acting like an adult and looking down on them.

Though some still talked with him enthusiastically, it still wasn't how children should talk to each other. So, Tanjiro decided to hold off on making friends until he is able to perfectly blend in to the cultures and manners of the people of this advanced world and also get used to his young age.

"But I don't want you to be a loner, young master. Technically, I'm your guardian. So it is my responsibility to make sure you grow up properly. If I had noticed it earlier, it wouldn't have got to this stage."

"It's not as serious as you think, Juki-jiisan. I'll make some friends eventually. As for being acquainted, by the time I finish my elementary school, I would be considered close acquaintances with most of my classmates, some even my friends." Tanjiro said in an attempt to persuade Juki.

"Hmm…" Juki still looked unconvinced.

"I don't mind being your friend!"

Suddenly a childish girly voice said from behind Tanjiro, startling him.

He turned around to see a little girl around his age, smiling at him.

She has shoulder-length wavy hair that fades from black into dark purple, and a very adorable face with big brown eyes. She had a very enthusiastic smile on her adorable little face.

Looking at the appearance of the girl, Tanjiro was stunned.

"You are.." Old Juki muttered as he looked at the brown-haired little girl. It seemed like he knew the little girl.

"You are the child of Hyoudou Gorou, right?" Juki asked with a smile.

"You know my father, mister?" The little girl's eyes brightened as she asked Juki.

"I'm kind of acquainted with your parents, as I'm quite close with your grandfather." Juki said smiling weakly, thinking of his old friend, who was also quite a notorious pervert.

Katakiri Juki was easily able to guess her identity as he felt an aura similar to his old friend from the little girl. And her age also revealed some of her origin, as he had heard from his old friend once that he had a granddaughter, who was also of the same age as Tanjiro.

"So young lady, why did you say that you'll be his friend, even though you just met?" Juki asked the little girl as he pointed at Tanjiro.

"No no! I'm in the same class as him. So it's not the first time I met him."

Hearing the little girl's reply, Juki was speechless and Tanjiro was embarrassed, as he failed to recognise her.

The little girl came close to Tanjiro and stood before him with a beaming smile, that made Tanjiro think of a certain 'Hashira' from his past life. But no one could blame him. After all, the resemblance between the insect Hashira and the little girl in front of him was uncanny.

"Will you be my friend, Tanjiro-kun?" She asked as she held his hands.

Tanjiro looked at the lively girl in front of him and gently sighed.

"Why do you want me to be your friend? Despite being in the same class, I failed to recognise you."

"I find you interesting! The way you speak is different from me and others. It's like how mother and father talk. So if I am friends with you, I will also be able to talk like you!" The little girl said with a cheerful smile.

"…"

Tanjiro was speechless, and felt somewhat stupid for expecting a proper reason from a pure and innocent child.

Katakiri Juki chuckled softly when he looked at Tanjiro's speechless expression. At the same time, he became aware of how different Tanjiro was from other children of his age. He had subconsciously treated Tanjiro as a grown up, so he failed to see it until now.

Looking at Tanjiro, who was silent, the little girl's smiling expression faltered a bit as she asked,

"Do you not want to be my friend?" The little girl asked, feeling upset.

Seeing the girl's crestfallen expression, Tanjiro gently smiled.

"I'll be your friend. I hope you take care of me from now on." Tanjiro said softly.

"Me too. I'm glad to be your friend, Tanjiro-kun!" The little girl looked very happy after Tanjiro agreed to be her friend.

"Just Tanjiro is fine."

"Un, I understand. Tanjiro!"

The little girl was smiling happily.

"So… what is your name?" Tanjiro asked awkwardly.

"Moo.. You're so hopeless, Tanjiro. How can you not know the name of your friend?" The little girl put out her finger in front of Tanjiro and reprimanded him, which was quite cute.

"My name is Shinobu Hyoudou! Don't forget my name again, Tanjiro!"

"!!"

Tanjiro froze when he heard her name. But soon, he shook his head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts.

"Calm down. This girl is not the Shinobu-san I know. They don't even have the same scent." Tanjiro thought.

The little girl, Shinobu, was still looking at him with a reprimanding look.

Tanjiro wanted to say that she never told him her name, but he refrained from doing it. It was, kind of, his fault. After all, he should be knowing her name, as he was in the same class as her. But, because of his negligence, he doesn't know the names of most of his classmates. Besides, it was pointless to argue with a child.

"So young lady, why are you here alone? Are your parents nearby?" Juki asked, as he couldn't see Shinobu's parents around them.

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Shinobu suddenly exclaimed.

"Hm?" Tanjiro looked at her curiously.

"My mother got lost on her way! I was searching for her!" Said Shinobu in a supposedly serious tone.

"…" (Tanjiro)

"…" (Juki)

"You're definitely the one who got lost!" Tanjiro and Juki thought at the same time.

Tanjiro also thought, "She's definitely not Shinobu-san. There's no way Shinobu-san would act like this."

…

After a while, Juki was able to find Shinobu's mother quite accurately, to which Tanjiro guessed that his old caretaker probably used some sort of divine spell.

As Tanjiro and Juki had guessed, Shinobu's mother was quite relieved to find her daughter, as she was searching all over the place for her.

There was also a brown haired boy of the same age of Tanjiro and Shinobu, who came along with Shinobu's mother.

Tanjiro got to know that his name is Issei Hyoudou, who is also the twin brother of Shinobu. And he was also in the same class as Tanjiro, just like Shinobu.

Tanjiro, or rather his Dragon part of him, felt somewhat provoked when he looked at Issei. But he was unable to understand why. The boy looked quiet and well-mannered.

(A/N: Issei at this age is still very innocent, like a normal child.)

Afterwards, Tanjiro came to know that Shinobu's mother was called Hyoudou Miki. She seemed to know Katakiri Juki, as they were talking freely about a certain individual named Juzo Hyoudou, who is apparently Shinobu's grandfather.

After a few minutes, Miki Hyoudou said her farewell to Tanjiro and Juki.

"Tanjiro, see you again in school tomorrow!" Shinobu cheerfully said as she went away with her mother and brother.

Then, after a minute or so, the Hyoudou family were out of the sights of Tanjiro and Juki.

"So… what to do now, Juki-jiisan? The goal for coming to the park is sort of completed." Tanjiro asked.

"Hmm… let's go buy a good cake! We have one more thing to celebrate about!" Juki said with a carefree smile.

"…" Even Tanjiro felt a little annoyed. Juki was treating him as if he was a loner. Although he doesn't have many acquaintances in this life. But in his past life, he had more than enough trustworthy friends and comrades, to whom he could leave his back without any worries.

Though, it didn't really matter at this point.

"… I always end up thinking about my past life. In the end, I'm unable to get over it." Tanjiro thought with a wry smile.