The cool, soft sensation vanished almost the instant it appeared. Uesugi Tetsu had not even realized what was happening before it was over.
By the time he reacted, Ririko had already tightened her grip on the Bamboo Sword and assumed the classic Three-stage Thrust stance of Tennen Rishin-ryū toward the Samurai Cleaver.
Uesugi Tetsu reached up and touched his cheek.
Because it had happened so suddenly and ended so quickly, he did not feel much of anything.
He merely thought that Ririko's ability to regulate herself and her state of mind was absurdly outrageous.
For an ordinary person, something that broke through the barrier between friends would not necessarily leave them tossing and turning sleeplessly for two or three nights, but they would at least worry afterward about what their relationship might become.
Yet Ririko had kissed him one second, then picked up her sword the next and prepared to test her slash.
Uesugi Tetsu gazed at Ririko's sparkling eyes and sighed inwardly.
Still, this was probably for the best. At least he did not have to worry about Ririko suddenly losing intelligence because of her Love Brain.
But if that's the case, can this stable yet fragile relationship between teacher and student, and between friends, really continue?
Ririko said nothing.
The girl merely slowly exhaled a stream of pure-white heat that seemed almost tangible from between her lips. It struck the Samurai Cleaver first, then dispersed bit by bit in all directions.
Uesugi Tetsu stopped thinking about those matters. He stared intently at Ririko's rising and falling chest, sensing the flow of aura around her as he wondered inwardly,
"An Endless Circulation?"
Endless Circulation was the third level of the breathing technique, following Internal Fortification of the Five Organs and Qi Reaching the Four Extremities.
In other words, Ririko's