After putting away the bamboo sword and removing all the protective gear from his body, Chokata hung his head and walked straight out of the dojo with a blank expression.
"Hey, Tachibana."
Hijikata suddenly sneaked over to Aoto's side.
"Do you know what's up with Toshisuke?"
Aoto and Toshisuke were very good friends—this was well-known at Shiwei Hall.
Hijikata had asked the right person.
Among everyone present, only Aoto knew why Toshisuke had been acting so strangely these past few days.
—It seems the negotiation with his sister didn't go very well...
Watching Toshisuke's departing figure, Aoto furrowed his brows slightly.
He had promised Toshisuke that he wouldn't tell anyone about his sister's pressure to make him give up swordsmanship.
Thus, when faced with Hijikata's question, Aoto calmly said:
