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Morning light.
A few pieces of clothing lay scattered across the floor, silent proof of the intense battle that had taken place inside the room last night.
"Mm~"
In her sleep, a warm breath brushed against Shuya's chest, tickling him. He instinctively reached up to scratch the spot—only to find both arms pinned down by something heavy. He couldn't move.
Shuya slowly opened his eyes.
The culprits were right there.
On his right side sprawled Shizuka Marikawa, her head resting on his shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around one of his, legs clamped around his body like a koala. At least a third of her full weight was pressing down on him.
On his left was Rei Miyamoto, twin ahoge and all. Same situation, different side.
The strange feeling on his chest came from Makomo. The black-haired girl had curled up on top of him like a sleepy kitten, gently sucking her thumb while her soft cheek squished against his skin. Her warm breaths kept blowing strands of hair across his chest, which was what had woken him.
The Snowball Beasts had been right.
Last night, Shuya really had made little Makomo let out those sweet, overwhelmed sounds. It hadn't been his original plan—Saeko and the others had egged him on until the airheaded girl got pulled into their battlefield. Still, he had claimed her properly and given her a night she probably wouldn't forget anytime soon.
Carefully, Shuya slipped out from under the pile of soft bodies without waking anyone. He stretched, then leaned down to kiss each girl gently on the forehead before picking up his clothes and heading outside.
The moment he left, Shizuka and Rei rolled over in their sleep and immediately trapped Makomo between them.
"Ugh… so heavy…"
Makomo's brows furrowed in her sleep, clearly suffering under the unexpected weight.
Outside, the sky was still that soft pre-dawn gray.
Shuya took a deep breath of fresh air—then his gaze was drawn to a graceful figure moving across the open ground nearby.
Saeko Busujima danced through the air like a living spirit, her wooden sword flashing so fast it left afterimages. Every swing carried an invisible "weight" that made it feel like she could slice straight through rock, steel, or even a mountain. Strangest of all, the blade made absolutely no sound as it cut through the air.
Even Shuya had to admit—this was pure swordsmanship talent at its peak.
What surprised him more was that she was using her family's Busujima-style swordsmanship, yet he could clearly feel traces of Sun Breathing mixed into the forms.
"Shuya-kouhai? Want to go?"
Saeko noticed him watching and immediately stopped, smiling as she issued her usual invitation.
"Sure."
Shuya manifested a wooden sword and stepped forward without hesitation.
The spar began instantly.
It wasn't really a fight.
From the very first exchange, Shuya found himself completely overwhelmed. The gap in pure sword skill that Saeko had already pulled ahead in had somehow grown even wider overnight. Every time he tried to attack, she seemed to predict it perfectly. Before he could even finish the motion, her wooden blade was already there, locking him down. One wrong move and she'd disarm him instantly.
Frustration built fast.
"I'm done!"
Shuya tossed his sword aside after only a few minutes, sulking like a kid who'd lost too many times.
Saeko let out a soft laugh, eyes sparkling with amusement as she looked at his pouty face. "So you still haven't mastered Transparent World yet, huh?"
The second she said it, everything clicked for Shuya. That was why her swordsmanship had felt so strange earlier—she'd been using Transparent World the whole time.
He was actually impressed. The ability had clearly pushed her already impressive sword skills even further.
"Yeah," he admitted without trying to lie. "But it's already too late for you to find out now, Saeko-senpai. Everything that needed to be given last night… already got given."
As he spoke, he quietly started edging toward the Crossing Gate. The moment he finished talking, he opened it and stepped through into the Demon Slayer world.
Even though he'd just gotten wrecked in swordsmanship, the memory of successfully "sneaking" Makomo last night more than made up for it. Transparent World really was strong. He needed to figure it out soon—otherwise Saeko was going to leave him in the dust, at least when it came to pure sword fighting.
Saeko watched him run away and simply shrugged, staying where she was. She hadn't chased after him to scold him or anything. She had actually wanted to offer to teach him Transparent World and show him how to blend Breathing Techniques into his normal sword style.
After all, she had never forgotten the feeling that rose in her heart the day they signed the contract—the quiet, burning desire to surpass him in something… so that one day, he would need her too.
That feeling was still one of the biggest reasons she trained so hard every single day.