In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

"I'm sorry, it's my fault..."

"It's good to know!"

"However... I know this is a bit inappropriate, but Shiyu, you look so beautiful right now. If, I mean if... could you..."

"Huh?!" Shi Yu's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Yuan Qianye immediately shut his mouth and stopped indulging in wishful thinking, then looked up at the sky.

This bastard is outrageous! He barely survived after being hacked to pieces by Saeko, and he's still thinking about that kind of thing...!

Shi Yu's face flushed red as she quickened her wiping motion.

After drying herself off, she helped him wrap himself in a towel and then helped him back to his room to rest.

She turned around and went to Saeko's room.

The room remained in the same messy state it had been when they left.

The bedding was slashed by a knife, feathers and cotton were scattered all over the floor, there were scattered bloodstains on the tatami mats, and there seemed to be a faint smell of rust in the air.

Saeko was sitting cross-legged against the wall, her eyes lowered, quietly wiping the katana that had just wounded Chiya with a soft cloth.

“Saeko…” Shiha called softly, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Saeko didn't look up, her hand still wiping the knife, her calm tone revealing no emotion: "Let me be alone, Shiha."

"..."

Seeing her friend's aloof and closed-off demeanor, Shi Yu moved her lips but ultimately said nothing more.

She opened the suitcase that Saeko had prepared for this hot spring trip, took out a set of clothes for herself and Chiya, and silently turned and left the room.

Back in the guest room, Yuan Qianye wanted to change into clean clothes himself, but Shiyu listened to the doctor's advice and insisted on helping him instead of letting him do it himself.

So she couldn't help but squat down in front of him again, blushing and looking down as she helped him pull up his underwear and pants. In the process, she accidentally got a little too close and her cheek was gently brushed several times.

He was definitely doing it on purpose; the way he hunched over was too obvious...

However, his good spirits are a good thing; at least it proves that he wasn't as badly injured as he had thought...

"Can you walk normally now?" Shiyu asked after helping him get dressed.

"Sure, I already told you I'm fine."

"Is that so?"

Shiyu took off her clothes in front of him.

At first, Yuan Qianye was somewhat distracted by her beautiful figure, but he realized what was going on when he saw that she had also put on casual clothes.

"Shiyu, are you leaving?"

"It's not that I want to leave, it's that we're leaving together."

"Now?"

"if not?"

"Where to?"

"Go anywhere, your place or mine is fine."

"What do you mean?"

“If you stay here, I’m afraid someone will slit your throat while you’re asleep at night.”

Shiha still felt a lingering fear when she recalled Saeko's uncontrollable state earlier.

As she said, she wasn't worried about herself, but she was afraid of what might happen next that would make Saeko even angrier and cause her to lose control again.

To avoid that situation, it's best to have Qianye avoid her for now.

"No, no, Saeko was just momentarily excited when she acted that way."

Shi Yu pulled her hair out from under her shirt collar and gave him a cold, sidelong glance: "You're really not afraid of death, are you?"

Yuan Qianye put his arm around her slender waist: "This has nothing to do with whether you're afraid of dying or not. The main thing is that you see, Saeko has calmed down now, hasn't she? She's the one who called the doctor over. Otherwise, based on our estimation, the wound would probably have taken a long time to treat."

Most importantly, now that it's all over, Chiyo is slowly beginning to understand Saeko's "fierce" state from before.

She exuded murderous intent from beginning to end, wielding her katana with fierce speed and her moves looked incredibly sharp... but that's where the problem lies.

The core of the Poison Island Style swordsmanship emphasizes "the unity of reason and force, without thought or intention," aiming to unleash a thunderous strike that cuts through all confusion and obstacles on the simplest and most direct path!

The moves are extremely concise, abandoning all fancy techniques and emphasizing the fundamental skills honed through countless hours of practice.

When Chiya Minamoto was taught swordsmanship by Saeko, every day was a hellish training session of karate, with sweat soaking through his uniform, all to lay the most solid foundation.

That's why he was able to make a name for himself in the kendo tournament later on!

As for the "swordsmanship" that Saeko just displayed, it can only be said that it had absolutely no relation to the essence of the Busujima School's techniques.

Her sword-wielding trajectories and footwork were overly ornate and redundant, and she even added a few sword flourishes that were meaningless in actual combat and purely for aesthetic purposes.

That posture, rather than being a life-or-death struggle, was more like a meticulously choreographed and highly entertaining sword performance.

As a layman, Shi Yu naturally couldn't see this anomaly.

She only saw Chiya being chased and slashed by Saeko, getting injured, bleeding, and almost dying, which terrified her.

Overwhelmed by Saeko's terrifying side, which she had never shown to him before, and filled with guilt, Minamoto Chiya also failed to immediately perceive the strangeness of the situation.

But now—

Seeing that Shiyu was no longer in the mood to deal with the "blonde incident" and was instead focused on him, worrying and feeling sorry for him... he seemed to understand something.

Seeing that Shi Yu was moved by his words and her expression was no longer as resolute as before, Yuan Qianye tightened his grip on her and lowered his head to affectionately rub his cheek against hers.

"Besides... in my current state, it's not good to go anywhere. Going home will make Sister Shihua sad, and if my parents find out, the situation will be even worse, and I won't be able to explain it to them."

"..."

Shi Yu remained silent.

Indeed, for the same reason, it wouldn't be very convenient for Qianye to go to her house.

No, even ignoring the fact that he was injured, at this time, she had absolutely no way of explaining to her parents why she brought him home to spend the night.

Unless she confronts them directly, but she's not ready to do that at all right now.

"Don't worry, everyone has moments when they lose control of their emotions. Saeko was just a little... well, a bit scary, but that was all my fault, so I had no choice but to blame. Now that she has calmed down, it means she's fine."

"..."

Shiyu still didn't reply immediately, but the taut lines of her shoulders visibly relaxed.

She sighed softly and leaned gently into Yuan Qianye's arms without struggling.

This silent act has already demonstrated a compromise.

As for now, there's not much to say.

Qianye came back very late today. They finally waited for him to finish eating and take a shower, and the atmosphere was just right when they were holding each other, but then this happened... The emotional ups and downs have left Shiyu completely exhausted, and now she just wants to rest.

She gently pried open Kaiyuan Qianye's hand around her waist, silently took off her coat and jeans that she had just put on, and, wearing only her underwear, crawled into the bed in the guest room.

Seeing that Chiya had been staring at her the whole time, her cheeks were flushed. She patted the spot next to her in an annoyed tone and said, "What are you standing there for? Come here, I'll help you take off your clothes."

Yuan Qianye smiled and said, "Sorry, Shiyu, you should rest first."

Shi Yu suddenly became alert: "Where are you going?"

Gen Chiya replied truthfully, "I want to talk to Saeko."

"Now?" Shi Yu frowned immediately.

"Ah."

“…Then I’ll go with you.” Shi Yu threw back the covers and got up.

"No need..."

"I want to go with you!" Shi Yu repeated, her voice firm.

Having just witnessed that harrowing scene, she was truly worried about leaving Chiya alone to face Saeko, whose emotions might still be unstable.

Yuan Qianye had no choice but to wait for her to quickly put her clothes back on and follow along.

In the bedroom, Saeko had already wiped the blood-stained katana clean and was holding it up with both hands, preparing to hang it back on the sword rack on the wall.

Hearing footsteps, she slowly turned around, her gaze meeting Qianye's. She paused for a moment, then slowly moved her eyes down, passing over his shoulders, which were wrapped tightly in bandages, and his hands, which were also wrapped in gauze.

Her gaze lingered on the two bandaged wounds for a long time, and a fleeting, extremely complex emotion flashed through the depths of her purple eyes, too quick to catch.

"The doctor said it's nothing serious, just rest quietly and you'll recover quickly," Yuan Qianye said, breaking the silence.

Saeko didn't react in any particular way.

She silently hung the katana back on the wall, and only after making sure it was secure did she slowly turn around and walk towards the two of them.

She first looked at Shiyu, who was still somewhat frightened and hadn't fully recovered from what had just happened: "I'm sorry, Shiyu, I scared you just now."

Her apology was brief, but her tone clearly carried a hint of disappointment and weariness.

Shi Yu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Blame him? ...It doesn't seem like she has the right to do that. She's angry too, and besides, Saeko didn't actually cause him much harm from beginning to end.

The most severe injuries to his shoulders and hands were caused by Qianye himself, almost like a plea for forgiveness.

Comfort? ...But she's in a state of turmoil herself, unable to calm down completely, so how can she comfort others?

So Shiyu simply pursed her lips and shook her head.

Saeko didn't wait for Utaha's response. After saying that, she turned her gaze back to Minamoto Chiya.

"I want to see her."

She spoke slowly, her voice clear and calm, carrying an undeniable determination.

"I want to see that girl named Hayasaka Ai with my own eyes."

…………

Volume 2: Chapter 216: What is she thinking?!

the next day.