Kanao didn't respond to Tanjiro, only smiling softly at him.
The silence stretched, making Tanjiro feel awkward. He wasn't sure how to break the ice. Kanao was always quiet; during their training, Tanjiro had never seen her initiate a conversation, not even with Aoi Kanzaki.
Then, Kanao suddenly held out her hand, as if about to do something.
Tanjiro's curiosity was piqued.
In her outstretched hand, a coin rested between her thumb and forefinger. With a flick of her thumb, she sent the coin spinning vertically into the air.
It fell due to gravity. As it landed before her, she swiftly caught it and pressed it against the back of her other hand.
Slowly lifting her hand, she checked which side faced her. Seeing the reverse side, she said, "I'm simply following my teacher's instructions. You don't need to thank me. Be careful on your journey!"
Tanjiro was overjoyed that she had responded and decided to try and talk to her.
"What did you just toss?" Tanjiro asked curiously.
"Be careful on your journey!" Kanao didn't answer directly, repeating her previous phrase.
"Was it a coin? With heads and tails? Why did you toss it?" Tanjiro pressed, still curious.
"Be careful on your journey!" Kanao repeated, seemingly unwilling to elaborate.
"Kanao, please tell me!" Tanjiro persisted.
Finally, after Tanjiro's persistent questioning, Kanao explained, "For decisions outside of direct orders, I use this. I tossed it to decide whether to talk to you. Heads means no, tails means yes. It landed on tails, so I spoke."
"Be careful on your journey!" She ended with her usual phrase.
Tanjiro, however, continued to question her, "Why not decide yourself? What do you think?"
"I don't care. I don't care about anything, so I can't decide," Kanao replied. The coin toss had already determined her answer, so she wouldn't change her mind.
Tanjiro was somewhat troubled by her apathetic nature. "I don't think there's anything you shouldn't care about. That must mean your heart is too small!"
After a moment of contemplation, Tanjiro suddenly clapped his hands. "Kanao, could I borrow that coin?"
"Eh… sure!"
Kanao was slightly surprised but handed the coin to Tanjiro.
"Thank you!" Tanjiro said gratefully.
He then moved a few meters away from Kanao, turned, and said, "Then, let's decide by coin toss!"
"Decide what?" Kanao asked, curiously and a little perplexed.
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