The Heroines Want to Confess.

Rumble!

With a clap of thunder, the two in the match area moved at the same time.

Bam!

The moment their bamboo swords met! Both stepped back in perfect sync.

After that brief exchange, Sakurai drew his conclusion:

"Not enough strength."

He involuntarily furrowed his brow.

Being physically restricted was indeed hard to handle.

"What… are you afraid of?" Murakami Ryu lowered his bamboo sword to his side, assuming a thrusting stance.

This move was called the Fang Thrust!

And this fang… was called the Dragon Fang!

"Whoosh!"

Murakami Ryu's figure flashed!

In the blink of an eye, his attack was already right in front of Sakurai Saki.

Sakurai tilted his head just in time, dodging the thrust aimed at his throat, while the tip of the bamboo sword was deflected and stabbed into his right shoulder instead.

His shoulder was slashed open, his shirt torn, and a few drops of bright red blood seeped from the wound.

The tip of a bamboo sword was clearly rounded, yet he made it feel as sharp as a real blade.

Sakurai took a few steps back, widening the distance between them.

In his eyes, above Murakami Ryu's head was a blue flood dragon raising its head and roaring, as if summoning something.

The tiger follows the wind, the dragon follows the clouds.

From ancient times, dragons have been creatures tied to clouds and rain.

Sakurai glanced upward.

A flash of light streaked across the sky, illuminating the dim arena.

"Rumble!~" Immediately after came a deafening peal of thunder.

A few seconds later, the entire arena was plunged into darkness.

In the stands and the waiting area, people began to chatter noisily.

The venue had lost power.

"Now then, no one can get in our way anymore." Murakami Ryu glanced to the side — the referee had already left.

His vertical golden pupils glowed faintly in the darkness.

"Hmph."

Sakurai took a deep breath. Although his physical stamina was lacking, his recovery ability still matched that of a vampire.

It seemed the next part would be a grueling fight.

"Let's begin."

"What's that?"

Nino's gaze had never left Sakurai Saki, so she was the first to notice.

The bamboo sword in Sakurai's hand was inexplicably giving off a faint glow.

"Vrrr~"

A barely audible humming followed.

Down in the arena, the two were clearly fighting with bamboo swords, so why did it sound like clashing metal?

The other four sisters didn't notice anything unusual; the surrounding audience was still noisy.

Nakano Maruo's expression grew grim.

"Sakurai-kun…"

…

Waiting area.

The Shuchiin members were chatting.

"This weird weather—just now it was only overcast, so why's it suddenly thunder and pouring rain?"

"What's with the organizers? Didn't they just fix the power once already?"

"Why's Sakurai still fighting Murakami Ryu?" Miyazaki Kazuki frowned.

In the faint light, he could barely make out the two figures not far away.

Their silhouettes intertwined, bodies colliding, bamboo swords clashing like samurai in an old jidaigeki film!

"Enough! Everyone shut up." Kojima said coldly.

The others couldn't see clearly, but he could both see and hear it all.

"Unity of mind and sword."

...

In the arena.

"So the unity of mind and sword really exists." Murakami Ryu muttered.

Sakurai didn't respond.

He simply stepped forward again, swinging the bamboo sword in his hands!

"Clang!" The sound of metal rang out.

Sparks fell from the point of contact.

Bamboo swords had nowhere near the durability of metal — the two were burning through their weapons' lifespans!

"Keng!"

Their swords met again!

Then separated!

Then clashed once more!

Fragments of bamboo sword kept falling to the ground.

One minute later—

Crack!

This time, it wasn't the sound of metal but the sound of bamboo breaking.

"This bamboo sword isn't durable enough. Yours is strengthened by the 'mind,' so it's a lot stronger than mine. But no matter…"

Murakami Ryu threw aside the bamboo sword Sakurai had cut in half.

Wind gathered constantly around his body.

Before Sakurai's eyes, a transparent bamboo sword formed in his opponent's hands, created from wind itself.

"Continue!" he shouted.

The fighting spirit in Murakami Ryu's eyes did not fade in the slightest.

Next would be the second round.

Just as Murakami Ryu was about to charge forward, he heard a loud shout from the stands:

"Ryu-chan!!! Where are you!?"

Murakami Ryu's expression changed.

On one hand was his beloved girlfriend; on the other, the rare rival of a lifetime.

…What a shame.

In the end, he still chose to release the wind sword in his hand.

Sakurai watched his movements carefully, not letting his guard down.

"I don't know why you're refusing to use your supernatural abilities, but… this time, I lose." Murakami Ryu picked up the fallen bamboo sword.

For a swordsman, a broken sword was no different from death.

They were fighting kendo, not a duel to the death.

"…You're not conceding just because your girlfriend called you, right?" Sakurai asked.

At that, Murakami Ryu looked at him with an expression full of scorn, pride, and provocation.

Marakami: (≖⩊≖) heh~

As if to say: Heh, my girlfriend worries about me — where's yours?

Damn it, that's infuriating! Sakurai ground his teeth.

Sakurai: ‎(ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

If Ai-chan weren't in Tokyo right now, he'd drag her here and kiss her right in front of this guy!

"I'm forfeiting the next match."

"A few months from now, we'll probably meet again. When that time comes, let's throw away all limits and fight for real."

Murakami Ryu smiled at Sakurai as he spoke, then walked out of the arena.

The duel ended quickly.

Sakurai had a slash on his shoulder, and his opponent's waist didn't fare much better, pierced in several places.

But both had strong recovery abilities; aside from their tattered clothes, nothing else seemed amiss.

Soon, the power came back.

That convinced Sakurai the lightning earlier had definitely been his opponent's doing.

A few months from now? What is he talking about?

A few months from now… autumn…

Suddenly, he recalled what had happened during Golden Week.

"Could the two be connected?"

Could the commission Gaen Izuko mentioned be related to a yokai/oddity?

He walked toward the kendo club members at the edge of the arena.

"Sakurai, just now… did you enter the unity of mind and sword state?" Kojima whispered to him.

"No, you must have seen wrong. I was just exchanging a few moves with Murakami Ryu. He's like you — a master of ancient swordsmanship — and said he wanted to spar while the match was paused." Sakurai explained.

The unity of mind and sword truly existed.

[My Master. This is the application of human Spiritual Power.] Shinobu suddenly explained.

[Spiritual Power?]

[The human soul has strength, but an ordinary soul is bound by the body…]

She went on at length.

Sakurai couldn't be bothered to listen further.

"Why didn't you call me?" Kojima said, full of envy.

He also wanted a chance to cross swords for real with Murakami Ryu — this boring kendo competition was nothing in comparison.

While they were talking, Daimon Saburou gave Sakurai a few long, deep looks.

Then he shook his head.

"Must have been my imagination."

The remaining matches hardly needed explanation.

Murakami Ryu, using the excuse that he tripped while going to see his girlfriend, withdrew from competition; the substitute player was nowhere near his level.

Sakurai Saki successfully cut through five opponents, becoming the first competitor of the day to win one-versus-five.

In the finals, they faced Shimabara High School, who had defeated Kumamoto Prefecture's team to reach the last match.

Then Yagyuu Munehide was utterly trounced by Kojima.

Sakurai let Kojima have the spotlight, but Kojima only managed to take down two opponents — the other three were defeated by the rest of Shuchiin's team.

As Taisho in the finals, Sakurai didn't put on any particularly flashy performance.

But his one-versus-five in the semifinals had already stolen all the attention.

"The champions of this year's Gyokuryu-ki!!! From Minato, Tokyo!!! Let's congratulate Shuchiin Academy!!"

In the stands—

Miku took out her phone and snapped a photo of Sakurai Saki standing on the podium.

He was being tossed into the air by the kendo club members.

She could clearly see the reluctant look on his face, yet there was a faint smile hidden there.

Miku was slightly dazed: "Saki-kun… compared to last year, he's become much gentler…"