The sky was just beginning to lighten.
Todo Aoi lay in bed, wearing boxer shorts adorned with a cute picture of Takada. His bare chest was exposed, and he seemed to be asleep, lost in a dream.
In his dream, Todo and Hayashi were running on a sunny beach, Hayashi in front and Todo chasing after him.
"Wait for me! Don't run so fast, I can't catch up!" Todo Aoi's face was lit up with a smile as he stretched out his hand toward Hayashi. But no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't catch up, nor could he reach Hayashi.
At that moment, Hayashi turned his head with a smile and said, "Chase me! If you catch me…"
"What happens if I catch you?" Todo smiled, quickening his pace, seemingly about to catch up to Hayashi.
But no matter what, there was always a subtle distance between them. No matter how hard Todo tried, he couldn't close the gap.
Oddly enough, he didn't feel frustrated; instead, he found it amusing.
Other beachgoers watched the two of them running, a playful look in their eyes, enjoying the scene of their chase.
The scene was harmonious, everything seemed perfect, and Todo was genuinely happy.
In reality, he clutched a pillow tightly to his chest, his legs wrapped around it, and a smile occasionally appeared on his face.
But just then, in the dream, a giant black hole suddenly appeared ahead of Hayashi, darkening the sky. Ominous and eerie, pale hands stretched out from the black hole, reaching toward Hayashi.
Todo's cheerful expression shifted into concern, and he yelled toward Hayashi, who was still running and looking back at him, "There's danger ahead! Stop running!"
However, his voice didn't seem to reach Hayashi, who continued smiling and called out joyfully, "Come on, chase me, Todo!"
"Stop! Danger is coming!" Todo shouted louder, but Hayashi seemed completely unaware, continuing to run without a care.
"No choice…" Todo raised his hands and suddenly clapped them together.
Clap!
The expected switch in positions didn't happen—it failed.
"What's going on?" Todo's face grew serious. Everything felt so real, but he hadn't realized he was dreaming.
Hayashi was running faster and faster, closing in on the pale hands emerging from the darkness.
In the depths of those countless hands, terrifying faces appeared, their eerie laughter ringing in the air, sending chills through Todo's heart.
Panic surged in Todo as he raced forward, his speed increasing as the gap between him and Hayashi narrowed.
But it was too late. The pale hands had already wrapped around Hayashi's legs, arms, and body, even covering his head, pulling him into the darkness.
"Grab my hand, Hayashi!" Todo leaped forward, his thick arm reaching out to grasp Hayashi's outstretched hand.
But he was just a fraction too late.
Hayashi was pulled into the blackness, and it swiftly disappeared, leaving no trace of him behind.
Todo suddenly jolted awake from the nightmare, his eyes scanning the room as he quickly calmed down, realizing it had only been a dream.
"No... that's not right."
Todo sat up abruptly, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands on his forehead as he thought deeply.
He rarely had nightmares. His dreams were always pleasant, usually involving Takada-chan or his mentor, Yuki Tsukumo. But recently, he'd been dreaming about Hayashi.
Ever since they became best friends, Hayashi had become a part of his life, so dreaming about him wasn't surprising.
But that wasn't the issue.
The problem was that Todo never had nightmares. The last time he did was just before the "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons" last year, when he felt something was off.
As it turned out, the "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons" resulted in the deaths of many people, just as he had sensed something serious was coming.
Now, after such a long time, he'd had another nightmare—and it involved Hayashi. This was highly unusual.
Todo quickly grabbed his phone and called Hayashi.
At this time, Hayashi had already returned to school. The previous night, he hadn't discussed anything with Gojo Satoru because it was too late, so he had slept through until morning.
Just as the sun was beginning to rise, Hayashi was woken by the sound of his phone ringing.
He fumbled around the bedside table, grabbing the still-ringing phone. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was Todo Aoi.
"This guy... it's not even six yet, and he's calling me. Seriously?" Hayashi groaned, rubbing his eyes and shifting into a more comfortable position before answering.
"Todo, do you have a problem? Do you even know what time it is? You interrupted a great dream." Hayashi grumbled, annoyed.
"A good dream?" Todo paused for a moment, then smiled. "So you dreamed about me, didn't you? As expected of best friends, even our dreams are in sync."
Hayashi, who had been half-asleep, shot up, now fully awake. "Who said I dreamed about you? If I did, it'd be a nightmare, not a pleasant dream. What's going on in that head of yours, Todo?"
"Don't be shy! I know you're just embarrassed. The bond of friendship doesn't need to be questioned. I believe in you." Todo's tone was light-hearted, but then he suddenly turned serious. "But there's something important you need to know. Something's off, and you might be in danger. I've decided to stick with you closely until this passes. After that, I'll return to school—maybe not, since the exchange event is coming up soon."
Hayashi was about to chew out Todo for his weird antics, but the serious tone of Todo's warning caught his attention. Given his recent activities, maybe there was some truth to what Toudou was saying.
But how would Todo know if danger was approaching?
Was it some kind of telepathic bond between best friends?
No, no way.
Hayashi shook his head vigorously. Todo was just a big, weird guy, obsessed with Takada and strange ideas.
He was incredibly strong and usually cool, but when it came to their "friendship," Todo seemed to cross all sorts of boundaries. Thankfully, he hadn't gone too far with Hayashi, or Hayashi would've smashed his head in.
Though Hayashi wasn't interested in women at the moment, that didn't mean he'd stay that way forever. There would be time for that once he was strong enough to protect everyone. Now wasn't the time for idle thoughts.
But he couldn't let himself fall deeper into Todo's strange world, or he might actually get caught up in it.
"How do you know there's danger?" Hayashi shifted the conversation, avoiding any weird topics and asking Todo why he thought that.
Todo was silent for a moment before replying, "I'll come to the school and talk to you. Wait for me."
Then he hung up.
"Hey, hey! At least ask for my opinion before deciding that!" Hayashi shouted at his phone, frustrated. This so-called "best friend" really was something else, like a package he'd accidentally picked up.
Still, since Todo was coming, there was no stopping him. He might as well see what Todo had to say.
After being woken up by Todo, Hayashi had no desire to go back to sleep. It was just before 6 a.m., and he figured he might as well get up and make breakfast for everyone.
With the exchange event approaching, everyone had been training hard, waking up early. Hayashi was usually the only one who'd sleep until 8 or 9, but no one seemed to mind.
Aside from Gojo Satoru, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki, who had a slight idea of Hayashi's abilities, the second-year students didn't fully understand his strength.
According to Maki, her evaluation of Hayashi was simple: "He's got terrible swordsmanship."
That was how she described him—compared to Maki, Hayashi was lacking in that department.
But he had been working hard, and his handling of Black Steel had improved significantly since he first started using it.
Still, Hayashi was starting to feel like Black Steel wasn't as useful as it once had been.