Otonokizaka had been forced to shut down all operations for now, but at most, the matter would be brushed aside after a few days, because it had already gotten tangled up in something abnormal.
And now, Senba Gari had been challenged by Muramasa. Of the three days mentioned yesterday, one had already passed; once today was over, only one day would remain. Aside from those directly involved, no one knew about this, and he did not want anyone to know, either. So during these three days, in order not to let anyone notice anything off, he seemed no different from usual during the day, but once night fell, he came here to improve his strength.
Of course, three days alone could not raise it by much at all, so what he was doing now was familiarizing himself. Although he could now be said to have gone through countless battles, he could still very clearly feel that he was still too weak. To him, the blow Muramasa had once used to instantly kill him was practically carved into his bones, impossible to forget.
The fear from that time once again coiled around his heart, and it seemed to be expanding, whether intentionally or not. But what he feared most was still what Muramasa had said back then.
[Three days from now, Maple Forest. If thou dost not come, three days from now, all that remains around thee shall be... "maple leaves" dyed red with blood!]
"Dyed red with blood... maple leaves, huh..."
He silently looked at his own hands. Lately, he had always been having strange nightmares. Everything in the dreams was extremely real, so real that... the things in his eyes would always overlap with the things in his dreams. Just like now... he saw his own hands already dyed