Dawn had only just pierced the clouds and mist over Mount Sagiri, and warm sunlight had only just fallen through the window into the room, when Makomo slowly opened her eyes.
"Aah!"
The girl hugged her soft quilt and made an adorable sound, wriggling around in the soft bedding. In the end, though, she reluctantly got up.
"I really want to sleep in."
Makomo grumbled, but her movements were anything but slow. She got out of bed, changed, washed up, then went to the kitchen and made breakfast for her beloved master, Sakonji Urokodaki.
Only after finishing all of that did the girl pick up her Nichirin Blade and step out into the courtyard. Then she gently raised a tightly clenched fist toward the sky. "Do your best today, Makomo!"
Her voice was soft, ethereal, and lovely.
Makomo's day of training began.
Soon, the petite girl's quiet cries and the sound of her swinging Nichirin Blade rang through the spacious courtyard.
As the Sun rose, sweat gradually appeared on her forehead, and her breathing grew heavier.
Without his Tengu Mask, his gentle face exposed, Sakonji Urokodaki ate the breakfast Makomo had prepared for him in his room. He could hear her training, too. As he ate, he looked at the fox mask hanging on the wall, the one with closed eyes and a smiling face that belonged to Makomo.
He had made many such masks, then gathered them up and sealed them away one after another. Now, only two remained.
One was before him, and the other was in Giyu Tomioka's hands.
But after the Mount Fujikasane examination, Giyu Tomioka had sent a letter saying he had demons to hunt and would not be returning for the time being.
Sakonji Urokodaki knew, however, that Giyu was not staying away because