"If it comes up heads, you have to live by your heart!"

He flipped the coin and caught it. She watched in anticipation as he slowly revealed the face of the coin.

"Heads! Kanao! You can do it! The heart is what drives us! Your heart can get infinitely strong!"

"H-How did that come up heads?!"

"It was just chance! Besides, if it was tails, I was gonna flip it over and over again until I got heads!"

Tonight, she felt especially troubled. The conversation she had with him keeps echoing within her mind. No matter how she turned and tossed in bed she just could not sleep. Out of habit, she reached out for the coin her big sister had given her before she passed away. The coin which her big sister had gave her to help her learn how to make decisions on her own.

She looked at the coin in her palm, her mind still thinking about that day. For the first time in forever, she is starting to feel something that she cannot quite explain. His smiling face from that day kept reappearing in her dreams. When his face did not appear in her dreams, she kept seeing it in the depths of her mind when she was awake.

"If it was tails, I was gonna flip it over and over again until I got heads!"

It's warm, fuzzy, the type of feeling that makes her face feel hot whenever she thinks about it. It's the kind of emotion that would make her want to curl up on herself whenever she tries to face and identify it, the kind that she would sooner run away than to face it head-on. The kind of feeling that would make her heart skip a beat and mess up her breathing. The only person and the only thing that she can think of ever since their conversation that day is him, Kamado Tanjiro.

What is this feeling?

She continues to hold the coin above her head, hoping that by staring at it she could get her answers. She closed her eyes and shook her head. That is just being irrational. A coin can only tell her yes or no, it cannot give her any other answers.

"She can't do anything on her own. Kids who can't think and act for themselves are useless. That's dangerous."

"Then when she's alone, she can decide on things by flipping this coin. Okay, Kanao?"

The conversations between her older sisters that day came back to her in perfect clarity. She looked at the coin again, remembering the smiling face of her Kanae onee-san.

With practiced ease, she flipped the coin up into the air using her thumb. If heads, she would ask her Shinobu nee-san about what is currently troubling her. If tails, she would just leave this affair as it is.

She caught the coin when it landed and looked at the face of the coin. Heads.

She smiled. For some reason she cannot explain, she felt a sense of relief that it turned out to be heads instead of tails. Why is this so? Maybe her Shinobu nee-san might know a thing or two when she asks her tomorrow.

With a smile on her face, she used both her hands to hold the coin close to her chest and closed her eyes. There, her mind is a lot less troubled now and a lot clearer. It will be easier to fall asleep now.

His smiling face from that day reappeared in her dreams that night.

She doesn't know why, but she stopped herself just a metre or two before she entered her sister's office.

Is this fear? No, it isn't. She has no reason to fear her loving sister. So why then? Why is she so afraid and scared of coming clean with her sister and consulting her about what she is currently feeling? Why is she so apprehensive to tell her sister, about how her mind can only think about nothing but Kamado Tanjiro no matter what time of the day it is?

Why?

She mustered the courage to try and knock on the door of her sister's office, only to hold herself back at the last second. Her hand is still outstretched and she doesn't know whether to take it back or to knock on the door.

What… is this feeling? What is that knot at the bottom of her gut, the tight feeling in her chest? Why is her face heating up again at the mere thought of him?

Why?

The coin had decided for her last night that she will see her older sister today to ask her if she could help her about the change she felt in her emotions. However, for some reason, she is just extremely reluctant to go through on the coin's decision today. This had never happened before.

Why?

She needs answers. However, just the mere thought of confessing everything to her older sister about what is on her mind makes her want to cover her face and run away. Is this the feeling of embarrassment? It sure feels like it.

Her hand brought out the coin from her pocket without her realising it. She stared at the coin again. After some time, she finally tossed it up into the air with her thumb.

If heads, she will go in and ask her older sister for help.

She caught the coin and checked the face of the coin.

Tails.

And then for the first time in her life, she found herself extremely dissatisfied with the decision the coin made for her. She didn't even realise it until she found that she is clenching her fists so tightly that her nails are starting to dig a little too deep into her palm.

"If it was tails, I was gonna flip it over and over again until I got heads!"

His voice rang in her mind once more. The words he told her that day got her to relax herself. That sunny smile he gave her made her lips curved upwards a little.

And so, she flipped the coin again.

This time, it's heads.

"Ah, I see. I was wondering why you keep acting so oddly these few days." Her sister said with a laugh and a hand over her mouth. Kanao recognises that smile on her sister's face. It's a knowing smile that her sister uses whenever she knows something that nobody else does and purposely not tell them about it just to tease a reaction out of them.

"So, Tanjiro-kun, eh?" Her sister continues to laugh softly, that same knowing smile still there on her face.

"Yes." Kanao looked down at the hand holding onto the coin. Just the mere thought of him made her heart feel like there is something fluttering within. She can feel her face heating up again and it is taking all of her focus to make sure that it doesn't. As to why she doesn't want anyone else to see her flushing face, her sister included, she doesn't know.

"Don't worry too much about it, it's natural."

Kanao looked up when she felt her older sister patting her on the top of her head. Her sister is still smiling but this time, her smile felt a little more… dare she say, happier?

"Natural…?" Kanao asked, still a little confused. This is definitely not natural for her.

Her sister merely nodded happily in response.

"Then why?" Kanao asked softly, not able to look at her sister in the eye for some unexplainable reason, her hand still holding tightly onto the coin. "Why is it that the only thing that I can think of is him? Why is it that the only person that I can think of is him? Why is that whenever I see his face in my mind again or hear his voice I would feel this warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart? My breathing and heart rate will rise, my face will flush. Just imagining the two of us spending time together is making me want to hide myself somewhere out of sight and I just… I just…"

She looked back up at her older sister, desperately hoping that her older sister has the answer she needs.

"...cannot understand."

Her sister sighed.

"I could give you the answer now, but that would defeat the purpose. How about this? You will try and spend more time with Tanjiro-kun in the Butterfly Estate whenever he's around. I'm sure that given time, you will understand what you are truly feeling right now."

"Why couldn't you just tell me?" Kanao asked curiously. Her sister had always been very forthcoming when it comes to things like this. What made this so different?

"Because this emotion is something that you have to learn on your own, Kanao." Her sister gave her a motherly smile. "It's different for everyone. I can only help you so much."

After that day, she felt herself looking forward to her next meeting with Tanjiro more and more. Not just because she is heeding her sister's advice in order to find out why she is feeling this way, but also because she genuinely wants to see him again.

For the first time, she doesn't need to use a coin to make the decision for her.

She wants to see him again.

"R-Rengoku-san, he… he-!"

Her heart clenched uncomfortably at the sight of him trying his best not to cry and failing to do so when he told her all about the death of the Flame Hashira. This wasn't what she had in mind when she was looking forward to seeing him again.

Why? Why is it that her emotionless self can feel the pain he is feeling? She wasn't that close to Rengoku. When she had first heard of his death at the hands of the Upper Moon Three she wasn't even the slightest bit affected but when she heard the side of the story from Tanjiro she just-

Feel so sad.

She doesn't like it. She doesn't like to see him act this way. He should be smiling. The best expression that suits his kind and gentle face is that same smile that he showed her that day. So, she tried her best to comfort him.

"Don't cry, Tanjiro. People live, people die. It happens."

"H-How can you say that?!" Tanjiro looked at her in disbelief. "R-Rengoku-san, he… He was such a great man!"

She doesn't know if she wants to make a reply to that, so she flipped her coin once more. If heads, she will reply to him.

Heads.

"He's not the first Hashira to die in the line of duty and he will not be the last." She replied. "You are not the only one who has lost people close to you. Shinobu nee-san and I lost our older sister too. She was the Flower Hashira."

That made Tanjiro fall into silence. She watched as Tanjiro looked down in slight guilt, his previous agitated state vanishing completely.

"S-Sorry, Kanao-chan. I was too absorbed in my sorrow to realise that you had lost people too."

"It's fine." She replied with a smile, not knowing what else to say.

"You are right. At this rate, Rengoku-san will not be the first Hashira to die in the line of duty and he will not be the last. Something needs to be done." Tanjiro said in determination as to her shock, tried to get out of bed despite the nasty stomach wound he suffered from the last mission. "I need to go visit the Rengoku House."

"Y-You cannot go out! Your injuries!" She held him back even before she registered herself doing so. She didn't realise that this time, she did not rely on her coin to make a decision to stop him from doing something reckless. She did not even realise that she made another decision on her own until she recalled this moment before she fell asleep that night.

"I'll be fine! I'll take good care of myself, promise!" He responded with false enthusiasm. There's no way that kind of bad acting will fool her eyes. He's definitely still in pain due to the wound he suffered. All she had to do to expose his lies was to poke a single finger at his stomach where the wound is.

"O-Ow! Kanao-chan!"

"Rest. Stay on the bed." She pointed a finger at the bed. If her older sister found out that Tanjiro had escaped from the Butterfly Estate in his current condition there's no telling what she will do in her anger. She doesn't like to have her patients leaving the Butterfly Estate before they received the all-clear from her.

So, she will help her older sister and make sure Tanjiro stays in bed until his injuries get better. This is for his own good anyway. There's no way he can escape her watch in his current state. They both know this.

"But Kanao-chan! I have to go!" Tanjiro pleaded. "I-It's the last thing Rengoku-san entrusted to me before he took his last breath! The Rengoku House, the writings of the past Flame Hashiras! It may have what I need to know about the Dance of the Fire God! A-And Rengoku-san entrusted me to tell his father and little brother about his last words! I-I have to deliver them! So, please! I need to go!"

She can feel her heart squeeze a little tighter at the sight of him pleading her to let her go. Again. That unexplainable feeling is back again.

She took out her coin once more, the act of it catching Tanjiro's attention as well.

"If heads, I will let you go."

She flipped the coin and they both watched as it spun in the air before she caught it again.

Tails.

She turned back towards Tanjiro, who looked as if he had lost all hope in life.

"Kanao-chan, I… I really have to go to the Rengoku House! I-! Just, please!"

There it is again, that knot deep within her gut, that tight feeling within her chest. She doesn't like to see him like this or act in this manner and she just cannot understand why.

So, she decided to flip again. The sudden movement caught his attention and stopped him from going on and on as they both watched the coin rise into the air before falling into her palm again.

"K-Kanao-chan?"

"It's heads." She showed him the face of the coin with a smile. "You can go now."

"K-Kanao-chan!" Tanjiro finally showed her the smile that had been appearing in her dreams all this while. "You…"

"If it was tails, then I would flip it until I got heads." She recited what he told her that day from memory. "Just be back quickly. Nee-san will be very angry if she finds out that you were gone. You won't like it when she's angry."

"I-I will be back as soon as possible!" She watched as he quickly packed his things and with some difficulty, carried the wooden box on his back which houses Nezuko. "Please help me tell Shinobu-san that I'm sorry!"

As expected, her older sister was extremely angry at the fact that Tanjiro had decided to slink out of the Butterfly Estate without her permission and especially with a stomach wound that bad. Still, when her sister had heard from her how she was the one who willingly let Tanjiro go, her anger dissipated a little.

"I'm happy for you, Kanao. You are starting to make decisions on your own. But that still does not excuse Tanjiro-kun for his reckless behaviour! Oh, no, no, no. I will make sure he gets the most painful injection possible when he gets back. I need to start digging out the biggest needle I have. Fufufu…"

Her sister held true to her words. Tanjiro never went against the doctor's orders ever again after that day.

"This is the first segment of the Dance of the Fire God, Dance!"

The days after Rengoku's death were relatively simple. Tanjiro and his friends will stay at the Butterfly Estate and train. So did she. The only times they left the Butterfly Estate is when the crows came with instructions for them to slay demons. That also means that she is starting to have more and more time to interact with Tanjiro and find out why she is acting and feeling this way whenever she is around him or thinking about him.

Being around him makes her heart feel lighter and her mood a lot brighter. She likes to see him talking on and on about anything that gets him excited and she is simply content to listen to his rambling. She likes the sound of his gentle voice. It doesn't matter what he says, she just likes how his voice sounds to her ears. She likes to see him smile. She likes to see him work hard to be able to meet Rengoku's expectation of him, to be among the next generation of Hashiras.

She still doesn't know and understand why she is feeling this way. The only thing that she understands is that this is definitely not a bad feeling to have.

She found herself having daydreams and fantasies about the two of them being fellow Hashiras and sent on missions together, fighting alongside each other side by side. She will be the Flower Hashira, just like her big sister Kanae. He will be the… Water Hashira? Or is it Fire Hashira? His breathing techniques are still a little all over the place since he learnt the Breath of Water but instead uses the Dance of the Fire God.

She sat down on a nearby bench and watched as he demonstrated to her the various segments of the Dance of the Fire God. There are twelve in total. She likes to see him perform the Dance of the Fire God. There is a mysterious allure to it when he is the one performing it.

"And this is the last segment! Flame Dance!"

With a vertical slash followed by a swift horizontal strike, he completed the Dance of the Fire God. He turned towards her, the smile that she had grown to like plastered on his face. She stood up and drew her sword and began to perform the various forms of the Breath of Flower for him to see.

She ended her performance when she finished performing the various forms in her Breath of Flower and turned to look at him. She found that his jaw-dropped expression is something that she doesn't mind seeing again.

"Tanjiro?" She called his name and walked up to him when she found that he isn't responding to anything. Her voice seemed to snap him out of his stupor.

"T-That was beautiful, Kanao! You are so beautiful!" She got the biggest surprise in her life when he held onto her hands excitedly and began to chatter away just as enthusiastically. "You were so graceful out there! And then when the sakura petals floated down while you were performing the forms of the Breath of Flower it's like a scene out of a beautiful painting! You were so beautiful that I could not take my eyes off you! You-"

She didn't catch what he was talking on and on about after that. All she knew was that her face is heating up even further than she thought possible and that her brain had definitely stopped working. All she can feel is the sensation of her hands in his. His hands felt a little rough and calloused from all the training he had done but she realised that she didn't mind it that much.

She… likes having her hands in his.

"-nao-chan? Kanao-chan?"

"E-Eh?" She finally managed to get her brain in working order again when she heard him calling her name. "Y-Yes?"

"Are you okay? Your face is a little red. Are you not feeling well?" He asked and leaned forward to put his palm on her forehead to check her temperature. That made her freeze once more as she felt the butterflies in her stomach fluttering even more. She could even hear the sound of her heartbeat thundering away louder than she thought possible.

"Huh, your temperature feels fine. Should we ask Shinobu-san to check on you? Just in case."

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered and took a few steps backwards, her hands pressed against her chest and her eyes looking at anywhere but his face. "I-I-I-I will be going now! See you tomorrow!"

"Ka-"

She fled. She turned tail and ran away as fast as possible, not wanting him to spot just how red her face is and not wanting to face that foreign feeling in her heart. That tight knot at the bottom of her gut, the tightness in her chest. The warmth that spreads across her body when she sees him in the Butterfly Estate. That fuzzy feeling whenever they spent time together. The feeling of contentment whenever she watches him and listens to his voice when it is just the two of them alone.

"T-That was beautiful, Kanao! You are so beautiful!"

She covered her face with her hands and curled herself up in the privacy of her room, not wanting to even see anything or anyone right now. Her face still feels hot to the touch. In fact, she is sure that the heat on her face had only gotten hotter.

All of these feelings, what are they?

"You need to eat, Kanao."

"H-Huh? Oh."

She only realised that she was poking at her food mindlessly instead of eating them when her sister's voice brought her out of her funk. Tanjiro and his friends had gone with the Sound Hashira to exterminate another demon and there's no telling when he will return or whether he will return at all.

Is he alright? Is he safe? Uzui Tenzen is definitely not a nice guy, not with how he almost kidnapped Aoi and Naho and forced them to participate in what is possibly a suicide mission. What if that unpleasant guy purposely hurt him? What if the demon they encounter is an Upper Moon like last time? What if-

She forced herself to take another bite of her meal in case her behaviour starts to worry her sister again. She still doesn't know why. Kamado Tanjiro is an enigma. Ever since their conversation that day she is starting to feel a lot more emotions that she never knew she was capable of feeling. Everytime she tries to identify the mixture of foreign emotions she would only experience emotions that are even more novel and foreign than what she last felt. She had so many questions but nowhere to get her answers. Her sister had said that this is something that only she can answer herself. Nobody else can help her.

She looked at the coin in her palm. The coin had always given her the answers she needed and helped her make decisions when she could not do so. However, this time, even the coin cannot give her the answers she seeked.

If heads, she will stop thinking about him and eat her meal.

She flipped the coin again and watched as it spun in the air and landed on the table surface-

On its side.

She blinked. This hasn't happened before. What does this mean?

"Ara ara, isn't this a first?" Her sister let out a laugh from where she is sitting opposite her across the table and eating her meal. "So, what are you going to do now, Kanao?"

She looked at her sister, still at a loss on what she should do. Her sister gave her a look of encouragement, so she looked back at the coin, still balancing itself on its side.

She decided to eat another bite out of her meal. If the coin is not helping her to make her decisions today then she has no choice but to make her own decisions. Eat first and think about him later.

She felt her lips curling slightly into a smile at the thought. This decision doesn't sound that bad.

She just could not be happy again.

Joy. She had finally identified that feeling. What she felt whenever she had the chance to spend time with him together is definitely joy. She was looking forward to his return from his mission with the Sound Hashira and yet when she finally saw him again, the sight that greeted her was his heavily bandaged form. He's unconscious and it has been that way for almost two months now.

It was because of this that she finally identified these emotions too. These emotions are sadness and worry.

She knows his sister is the most important person to him in the world. He is not able to spend time to take care of his little sister in his comatose state, so she took over the job in his stead. She will bring Nezuko to see him when night falls, hoping that Nezuko's presence will allow him to wake up from his coma a little faster. Whenever she's free she will change the IV drip for him and change his dressings. The fight he had with the Upper Moon Six must have been very violent. Even when already close to two months had passed, his wounds had not totally healed yet.

It's no different today. She sat by his bedside and watched him sleep. The only indication that he is still alive is the slow rise and fall of his chest and the sound of his breathing. She's worried, that she can tell, but she's happy that he had at least managed to return to the Butterfly Estate alive.

She knows simply sitting by his bedside and waiting for him to wake up will not change a thing. He won't wake up earlier simply because she is there beside him. Her rational mind is telling her that there are better ways to pass the time, like training herself further, but she just cannot bring herself to tear her body away from her seat.

She doesn't know why, still doesn't know why she is feeling this way and what feeling that is. All she knows is that she is certain that she wants to see him wake up. She wants confirmation that he will wake up and she wants to be the first person he sees when he wakes up.

So, as long as she is not out on missions to slay demons she will come over everyday to visit him and wait for him to open his eyes again.

Her eyes wandered to the vase beside his bed. In it are flowers that she had meticulously picked from the garden outside and placed in it, hoping that the sweet scent will help ease his pain somewhat and also to brighten up the room a little. The flowers in the vase are starting to wilt. Maybe she should change the flowers in the vase. Should she or should she not do it?

On instinct, her hand went to reach for her coin again but she paused even before her hand could reach for her pocket.

"If it comes up heads, you have to live by your heart!"

Live by her heart… what does her heart really want? Can she really make her own decisions?

She took another look at the flowers in the vase. She doesn't like how the flowers in the vase are starting to wilt. She doesn't like to see these kinds of flowers in his room when he is like this.

She stood up and took the vase of flowers with her outside. For some reason, her lips are curling upwards into a smile again. Her footsteps are a little lighter and she feels a lot more relaxed. That same warm feeling is spreading through her body again but unlike before, she is not pushing it away. In fact, she likes the feeling of that warmth spreading across her body. It makes her happy.

She doesn't know why and how, but just his presence alone makes her happy. Just his presence alone had enabled her to start to make her own decisions without relying on the coin her big sister had left her.

What feeling is this?

She put the vase on the ground beside her and flipped the coin. She is certain that Tanjiro is the source of all these weird and novel emotions that she had been feeling ever since that conversation they had months ago. If heads, she will ask him all about it when he wakes up.

Tails.

"Heads! Kanao! You can do it! The heart is what drives us! Your heart can get infinitely strong!"

"H-How did that come up heads?!"

"It was just chance! Besides, if it was tails, I was gonna flip it over and over again until I got heads!"

She smiled at the memory and flipped the coin again. Tails. She flipped it over and over again and it was until the seventh try that she finally got a heads.

She smiled as she pocketed the coin and picked up the vase again. She had made her choice. She will ask Tanjiro all about the feelings she had been experiencing ever since they had that conversation. If her sister cannot give her the answers she seeks, maybe he can.

No, she is sure that he can give her the answers she seeks. She doesn't know why, but she is sure of it. She doesn't need to flip a coin to know that he definitely has the answers that she so desperately needs.

She's just so happy. She's just so happy that he woke up. It didn't even matter that her hands slipped and broke the vase in her hands from the shock of seeing him waking up the moment she returned from the garden with fresh flowers in the vase. All she cares about is sitting by his side and hearing him talk to her again.

He made a full recovery in a week. In that one week, she managed to muster the courage to ask him.

"Tanjiro?"

"Yes?" He asked between bites of the rice balls she had made for the both of them. They are both currently in the garden outside under the shade of a huge tree. They had been sparring for about two hours because Tanjiro needs to get back in shape after being in a coma for two whole months and so she volunteered to spar with him, knowing that this will allow them to spend more time with each other.

Currently, they are taking a break and having a quick meal as they sit together by each other's side, enjoying the cool breeze and the beautiful sight of the garden in front of them.

"I… Why is it whenever I spend time with you, I feel so happy?" She looked down at the ground as she asked him this question, her hands subconsciously holding each other and held close to her chest in her nervousness.

"Kanao-chan?"

"I… There's this warm feeling I feel whenever I think about you." She admitted. "Whenever I am not doing anything, all I can think about is you. I like it when I hear your voice or when I see you smile. I like it when we are alone like this, just us together. Sometimes I even see you in my dreams and those are always good dreams. Sometimes when I think about you it feels like there are butterflies fluttering in my heart but I don't know why I am feeling all of these emotions. I don't have an answer but I do know that you are the reason."

With great difficulty, she tried to look at him in the eyes.

"Do you know what it is that I am feeling? These foreign emotions?"

She looked at him and saw how his mouth opened and closed without a sound, as if trying very hard to get something out. She looked back down in disappointment. So even Tanjiro doesn't have the answer?

She doesn't like it, the bitter feeling in her heart that suddenly emerged from deep within. She doesn't even know why she is feeling this way. All she knows is that she doesn't like it when she knows that he definitely has the answers she seeks and yet he is unable to tell her a single thing.

In a moment of impulse, she stood to leave, only to get held back when she felt his hand holding onto hers.

"I-I like spending time with you too!"

Those words made her forget how to breathe. She could feel her face flushing up again and her breathing quicken. She didn't turn around to face him because her body had forgotten how to move. All she could do is to continue to listen to what he has to say.

"Y-You are beautiful, Kanao-chan! Especially when you are smiling from the bottom of your heart! I-I like to see you smile too! I-I t-think about you too whenever I'm free! I also like to talk to you and hear you speak! I like it when we train together! I like it when we both spend time together alone like this! Just you and me! I-I dream of you too! Sometimes! And those are also always good dreams! I feel butterflies in my stomach too just by thinking about you but they always go away when we spend time with each other like this! I-I-I…"

He began to stutter as his grip on her hand tightened slightly. She still could not bring herself to turn around to face him. All she knows is that her body had begun to stiffen and that the heat on her face is definitely not vanishing anytime soon.

"I-I l-like you, Kanao-chan."

It was a mere whisper, but those words struck her like a thunderclap. Tanjiro… likes her?

He likes her? Her? An emotionless being like her who cannot make her own decisions?

"W-Why…?"

"I-I don't know." He blurted out and she can already imagine that his face is starting to become as red as hers. "I just do. I feel the same way you do. I l-like you too."

Her world came to a standstill when she heard what he truly felt about her. He likes her too? Then does it mean that…

"Those feelings that I felt about you, was it… I… I like you?"

"I-I think so." He stammered. "B-Because I feel the exact same way and felt the exact same thing so I-I t-think that y-you l-like-"

She turned around to face him. Like she had guessed, his face is flushing red. Her perfect eyesight captured every detail of his face. How the sweat collected on his forehead. How the pupils in his eyes dilated when trying to steal glances at her face before quickly darting away to look at something else. The shape of his nose. The single grain of rice stuck to the side of his cheek that he didn't know was there.

Somehow, this image of him feels picture perfect.

Without even thinking or even realising her body had moved, she leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his cheek, her tongue licking and bringing that stray grain of rice into her mouth before she took a step back away from him.

It was then she realised just what she had done. Her hands went to cover her mouth in shock and embarrassment. D-Did she just a-ate the grain of rice on his cheek and k-kissed him?!

He looks equally shocked as he slowly raised his hand to touch where she had just kissed him earlier. It snapped her out of her chaotic thoughts and she began to be able to speak and move her body again.

"S-See you tomorrow!"

She ran. She ran from him and didn't stop until she's safe within the privacy of her room once more. She sat down in the corner of her room, knees tucked close to her chest and burying her head into her knees.

What had she done?!

Her hand slowly went up to touch her lips once more and she cannot help but smile at the thought, then it quickly faded back into embarrassment when she realised the weight behind her earlier actions and then the same silly smile will come back again. Her emotions fluctuated between joy, embarrassment, and contentment and not in that particular order for the rest of the time she tried to sort out her thoughts and feelings in her room.

But… she did get her answer from him, right? The answer she has been seeking.

She likes him. She likes Kamado Tanjiro. Not only that, he likes her too. He said that he likes Tsuyuri Kanao and he said that she is beautiful.

They like each other.

Her face heated up once more upon realising that thought and she squealed while burying her face into her pillow. She doesn't know why she's reacting this way but she does know that she is feeling very, very happy.

She likes him. He likes her. They like each other.

They like each other.

"We are going to be fighting the decisive battle against Muzan and his demons soon."

The both of them sat under the usual cherry blossom tree in the garden like always. This time, they didn't talk much. She doesn't know what else to say to him. She still cannot believe it, that this decisive battle is coming so soon.

She knows what her older sister is planning to do in the upcoming war. After this war is over, she would have lost her only remaining family. She would have nobody left.

"You will be fine." He told her, the both of them not looking at each other and instead looking at the sight of the garden in front of them, the flowers blossoming at full bloom. She finally looked at him, etching the sight of the side of his face into her memory. He said that she will be fine, but what about him?

She wants him to be fine too.

"Tanjiro?"

"Huh?" He turned to look at her, a brief look of confusion on his face. That confusion deepened when she took out the coin once more.

"If heads, you will come back alive."

She flipped the coin into the air and caught it.

Tails.

She flipped again.

Tails.

Again.

Tails.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Heads.

"See, heads! So now you must return alive!" She happily showed him the face of the coin, heads up. "If it was tails, I was gonna flip it over and over again until I got heads! So you have to return alive!"

She saw the smile breaking out on his face.

"Yeah! You will be fine, and I will come back alive too! It's a promise!"

"Promise." She nodded as she held the coin close, one of her most treasured possessions that she currently has. She has lost too many and will continue to lose more but at least, she can find a way to help him return back from this war alive.

She will not lose him too.

She continues to stare at the cherry blossom tree. The tree where she and him always likes to sit under its shade. They will no longer have such a chance anymore. Their war with demons is finally over. He is going back home soon, back to where he came from in the mountains. She, on the other hand, is staying at the Butterfly Estate for the foreseeable future. At the very least, she will definitely be staying here for the next few months.

She is having difficulty trying to see out of her only remaining eye, her left eye, and even her left eye is partially blind. She now has Kaburamaru to aid her in getting a feel of her surroundings but it will still take some time to get used to understanding what the snake is trying to tell her.

"Kanao-chan."

She turned around to face him with a smile. Like her, his right eye is blind too. She cannot see his face very clearly at this distance but it does not make her any less happy to be able to see him, even if he is just a blur now. She is happy that he came back alive, happy that she was able to help bring him back from the demonisation process and happy to see that he is back with her again.

"You are leaving soon?"

"Uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and passed to her a slip of paper. "I know you still have things to take care of in the Butterfly Estate, but this is the address of my home. If you ever feel like you want to come over for a visit…"

She took the piece of paper from his hands as his words trailed off. It's like he said, she still has responsibilities and tasks that she needs to see done now that her sisters are not around. She needs to find a safe place for the girls that work at the Butterfly Estate now that the Demon Slayer Corps are disbanded. She needs to see to it that everything at the Butterfly Estate has been properly taken care of before she can leave with a peace of mind. She needs to work out an arrangement with Oyakata-sama regarding the girls who no longer have family and have nowhere to go. They are her responsibility now.

She has to fulfil her responsibilities, only then can she leave.

"I don't know about that. Visiting you, I mean." She said in faux innocence and watched in secret delight when Tanjiro looked genuinely shocked at her response. She took out her coin again.

"If heads, I will visit you as soon as I am able to."

She flipped the coin.

Tails.

Again.

Tails.

Again.

Heads.

"I guess this means I will be paying you a visit as soon as I can!" She said with a bright smile and a sweet feeling blooming in her heart. There's no denying this emotion, this happy feeling that she is experiencing right now.

She loves him.

"I-I'll wait for you! No matter how long it takes!" Tanjiro exclaimed with a smile as wide as hers. "A-And then… let's live together!"

A brief silence descended upon them. She because of the shock when she realised what his words implied, him out of nervousness and embarrassment about what he just blurted out.

Then, another smile broke across her face.

"Okay!"

Her vision is blurry, but she managed to see a little of how his face slowly broke out into a smile. It's hard to miss even with her myopic vision because his smile is just that wide. With a step forward and a little tip-toe on her part, she kissed his cheek once more. This time, no more stuttering and stammering. This time, no more running away from her feelings.

She took a step back and watched the face which she often dreamed about at night. At this distance, she can see his face clearly.

"It's a promise, Tanjiro. Wait for me, and when we finally see each other again, let's live together."

This time, she was the one who got caught by surprise when he suddenly took a step forward and pulled her close with his right arm in one smooth motion. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It took her a second for her brain to catch up as to what was going on but the moment she did, she relaxed in his hold and returned the kiss.

This time, she doesn't need a coin to help her make her decisions. She loves him, she is sure of it. She wants to live with him for the rest of their lives, she is sure of it. There's no going back now. They are sealing this promise with a kiss.

She is sure of it.

"M-Marry me, Kanao!"

She blinked her eyes at him. That action doesn't improve her vision but she does it on reflex anyway. Kaburamaru hissed into her ear from where it wraps itself around her shoulders, telling her that no, she wasn't hearing things.

It took her awhile to work out an arrangement with Oyakata-sama so that the homeless girls at the Butterfly Estate have a safe place to live out the rest of their lives. She went to find him immediately after that. It's been almost two years since that day where they made that promise under the cherry blossom tree. She had never used her coin ever since that day even if she always kept it on her person as a memento of her sisters. Still, she took it out again when he finally popped the question, and she watched in secret amusement when Tanjiro visibly flustered upon spotting the coin once more.

Even Nezuko, Inosuke, Aoi, and Zenitsu all had looks of horror on their faces the moment they saw her taking out the coin.

"If heads, I will marry you."

She looked at him with a smile before flipping the coin up in the air with her thumb. She saw how everyone else watched the coin's flight with bated breath.

She caught the coin and slowly revealed her answer.

Tails.

She saw how he visibly deflated. Nezuko quickly went up to her and tried to talk things out on her brother's behalf.

"K-Kanao! U-Uhm, you shouldn't use a coin to help you decide on such a big matter like marriage!"

"Y-Yeah!" Inosuke pointed an accusing finger at her. "Monchiro really lost a lot of sleep trying to prepare for this day, you know! And you haven't been using the coin for so long! What gives?!"

She merely smiled at them in return before flipping the coin again.

Tails.

Again.

Tails.

Again.

Tails.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Heads.

"What can I say?" She let out a laugh when she finally got the result she wanted. "It seems like the coin is dead set on not letting me marry you but I've decided a long time ago, if it was tails, I will flip it over and over again until I got heads!"

It took two seconds before the rest of them realised what she meant. They both hugged each other closely among the loud cheers their friends are giving them.

"Kanao. That gave me a real scare back there." He spoke into her ear as they continue to hug each other close. She let out an apologetic laugh at his words.

"It's my only chance to do so, a once in a lifetime thing. Forgive me?"

He slowly took the coin from her hands, a cheeky grin on his face.

"If heads, you will marry me right now."

"What if it's tails?" She asked him on purpose despite already knowing the answer as she leaned her body close to him. His grin got wider.

"Then I will just flip it over and over again until I get heads! I will not stop until I have you as my wife!"

She smiled as she held his hand with hers. They both shared a look and on an unspoken signal, they flipped the coin, together.

Heads.

~END~

AN: So one of my readers had been complaining that the manga doesn't have enough Tanjiro x Kanao fluff and demanded that Gotouge give them some, which let's be real, she's not going to do so anytime soon and that is assuming she will even do it at all. So, being a great author *ahem, too shameless on my part* that I am, I wrote this as fanservice for that one reader of mine.

Flip a Coin is a personal challenge for me. The older readers and fans of my stories who had stuck by me since the very start would know that my dream is to be able to write short stories. When I decided to write a story about Tanjiro x Kanao, I decided to challenge myself to finish it within six hours. I started at 9.30pm and typed ended at 1:52 am, which is about... four and a half hours-ish? Hopefully my brain is not yet fried to the extent where I cannot calculate time properly. After I read through it once it was already 2:36, so the entire thing from start to the end of proof-reading it once took about five hours in total.

Wow, god damn.

Given the constraints I set for myself regarding this story I expect it to have an abundant of mistakes and problems with pacing, but eh, I don't expect much from a story I started and ended within four and a half hours. To me, this is already a personal achievement.

Also, doing a little advertising here. Out of curiosity I've recently joined a discord server that mainly caters to writers, a place where writers can all hang out, exchange ideas, look for betas, or simply chill and talk. Of course, readers are welcomed to join as well. If any of you want to find me there on the server I'm generally online on discord most of the time. For those who are interested, I will leave the link to the discord server below.

discord . g g / V54pcwA (remove the spaces)

As usual, hope you enjoy the story. Hope this Tanjiro x Kanao fluff is enough to sweeten your day and compensate for the regret you might feel for not having enough of Tanjiro x Kanao fluff in canon.

Cheers,

BANIX