Chapter 6 — Slash
After a night of chaos and wandering, the eastern sky finally began to pale with the light of dawn. Morning on Mount Fujikasane carried a trace of damp chill. A thin mist drifted among the wisteria groves, draping this mountain of ghostly legends in a veil of dreamlike haze.
For Roronoa Zoro, the night had been utterly miserable. Not only was there no alcohol, he had also been forced to endure Zenitsu's mosquito-like droning complaints all night long.
What irritated him even more was that, even with that sharp-nosed brat leading the way, he somehow kept ending up in strange places—
Like now.
"Hey, Tanjiro, you sure this is the right way? All I smell here is flowers. Not a trace of demon stench."
Zoro rested his swords on his shoulder, kicking aside a pebble at his feet with a scowl.
"Yes, Mr. Zoro! It's daytime now—demons are hiding. We should head toward the edge where the wisteria blooms most densely. It's safer there, and we can get our bearings."
Tanjiro walked ahead, explaining as he turned back—
Only to realize Zoro was gone.
"Huh?! Mr. Zoro?! He was just behind us!"
"He's over there! That guy wandered off down a fork in the road again!" Zenitsu pointed toward a narrow path on the right in despair. "What kind of brain structure does that moss-head even have?! That's a dead end!"
Just as Tanjiro and Zenitsu were about to chase after him and drag him back, they saw Zoro suddenly stop.
Ahead, upon a carpet of pale purple wisteria petals, stood a petite figure.
It was a girl dressed in the purple uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps, draped in a white haori. Her eyes were a deep, hollow violet-red, as though they contained the vastness of the universe yet reflected nothing at all. Her hair was tied in a side ponytail, adorned with an exquisite butterfly hairpin, while several colorful butterflies fluttered gently around her fingertips.
She stood there quietly, like a delicate doll, blending seamlessly into the scenery—so beautiful it felt almost unreal.
"Waaah—!! She appeared! It's a beautiful girl! Is she the fairy of the wisteria?!"
Zenitsu instantly switched from fear mode to infatuation mode. Clutching his cheeks with both hands, he twisted his body dramatically as if surrounded by pink bubbles.
"So cute… Even if she looks cold, she's still so cute! Hey, Tanjiro, is she also here for the Final Selection? Can I go talk to her? Will I get cut down?"
Zoro completely ignored the hysterical Zenitsu behind him. He strode up to the girl. In his eyes, she was simply a passerby who might know the way.
"Hey. You there, shorty with the bedsheet."
His voice was low and edged with morning irritation, utterly devoid of courtesy toward the opposite sex.
"Where's the nearest water source around here? And which way's the exit? That earring brat keeps leading us wrong. I don't trust him."
At the sound of his voice, the girl slowly turned her head. Her emotionless eyes reflected Zoro's fierce face. She said nothing, her lips maintaining a polite yet distant smile.
Then she reached into her clothes and took out a coin.
"Ding—"
The coin was tossed high into the air, flashing silver in the morning light as it spun. It fell, and she caught it deftly in her pale hand, covering it against the back of her other hand.
She lowered her gaze to check the result—
[Tails].
She continued to smile, silently gazing at Zoro.
A vein twitched in Zoro's brow.
"…I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"
The girl maintained her smile, offering no reaction whatsoever.
A red anger mark popped on Zoro's forehead. Was this brat treating him like he didn't exist?
"Hey! I asked where the exit is! Talk!"
She blinked, then calmly took out the coin again.
"Ding—"
The coin flew up once more, fell, was caught, and revealed.
[Tails].
Still silent. Still smiling.
That attitude—like she was watching a monkey perform—completely ignited Zoro's temper. As a swordsman with immense pride, what he hated most was this kind of inexplicable indifference.
"You…"
Zoro suddenly leaned in close, his fierce face nearly inches from hers. A chilling pressure radiated from him.
"Are you flipping that coin to divine how much patience I've got left? Believe it or not, I'll slice that coin of yours in half."
At that moment, Tanjiro rushed over in a panic and wedged himself between them.
"Wait! Mr. Zoro! Please calm down! Don't be so harsh to a girl!"
Grabbing Zoro's arm tightly, Tanjiro bowed apologetically to the girl.
"I'm very sorry! He may look like a wanted criminal, but he's actually a good person! He's just in a bad mood because he keeps getting lost!"
"Who are you calling a wanted criminal?! I am a bounty hunter!" Zoro struggled against Tanjiro's grip, pointing at the girl as he shouted. "She's the one provoking me! I asked her something, and she just stood there flipping a coin! Is she looking down on me?!"
Tanjiro's sense of smell told him that the girl carried neither "arrogance" nor "malice." Instead, there was something else—
An overwhelming emptiness.
It felt as if there was nothing inside her at all, as though every action required that coin to decide for her.
"Um… maybe she has her reasons. Her scent… it's very lonely. And her presence is faint—it's almost like I can barely hear her heartbeat."
Tanjiro turned to the girl, his tone softening.
"Excuse me, do you know where we can find water? If it's inconvenient to speak, just pointing us in the right direction is fine."
The girl looked into Tanjiro's clear red eyes. Her hand paused slightly.
"Ding—"
For the third time, she tossed the coin.
It landed against the back of her hand.
This time—[Heads].
A faint glimmer flickered in her eyes. At last, her cherry-blossom lips parted, and a soft, wind-chime-like voice emerged—quiet yet pleasant.
"…If you go that way, there's a stream."
She raised a slender finger and pointed toward a patch of dense forest on the left.
"Goodbye."
After those two words, as though she had completed a task, she lightly tapped the ground with her toes and leapt backward like a graceful butterfly, vanishing instantly into the drifting rain of wisteria petals. Only a faint floral fragrance lingered in the air.
Zoro stood there, stunned, his mouth twitching.
"Huh? So you can talk? Then what was all that before? Messing with me?"
"She spoke! She actually spoke!" Zenitsu had somehow twisted himself closer, looking utterly smitten. "Her voice was so nice! Like a skylark! And she looked at me just now! She totally likes me, right? Right, Tanjiro?"
"No, she was looking at me and Mr. Zoro…" Tanjiro replied honestly. Then he turned helplessly to Zoro, who was still fuming. "Mr. Zoro, don't be angry. Everyone has their own personality. Now that we know where the water is, let's go. We should wash up and get ourselves ready."
Zoro scowled, resting his swords back on his shoulder. He glanced toward the direction she had disappeared and snorted.
"Tch. What an irritating girl. Next time I see her flipping that coin, I'm confiscating it and using it to buy booze."
Though he grumbled, Zoro stepped forward—
In the opposite direction of where she had pointed.
"Mr. Zoro! It's left! That's right!!"
"I know! I'm just taking a detour to check for ambushes!"
"Ahhh! Liar! You're totally lost again, aren't you?!"
Thanks to the noisy trio, the morning on Mount Fujikasane seemed far less eerie than before.