"What?" Ren muttered in shock.
'What is up with her? What does she mean she won't heal me…? Ugh, this is troublesome; the only healer I know won't heal me anymore…'
Ren grabbed his forehead as a sudden ache pulsed through his skull. He blinked and thought, 'Ah… I feel sore all around my body. This must be Shoko's doing or something. Or maybe this time the damage was really too much to heal…'
Despite the pain, Ren smiled and muttered, "If my Red Stitch was able to do so much damage to me that even Shoko got annoyed… it means my Red Stitch is stronger. Not only that, I have to test it. I was only able to test a little bit back there…"
He laid back on the bed, closed his eyes, and let a few seconds of calm pass before his eyes opened again.
'Back there… what happened? I somehow did the ritual, and then… ugh, I can't remember. After that, I got caught by cops, ran around, and panicked a little because I realised the hour of undoing might come, but after a few minutes of brainstorming, I got the solution: it was the cops themselves. I went back to them and tested Red Stitch a little before the hour of undoing came. I jumped up in my last effort… to somehow live. And it seems like it worked… but ugh…'
Ren grunted and grabbed his forehead again when he tried to recall the ritual. A heavy headache pressed against him just from attempting to remember.
He blinked rapidly, shook his head hard, then took a slow breath in and out.
'Ah… I remember that weird white thing… what was that? Ugh… great, even more mysterious shit. Why does my head hurt when I think about that? Also—ah, I need to test my Red Stitch fully now. And I need to get used to it; it's different now. Not only that—wait… is my maximum technique useless now since it literally goes against my cursed technique?'
Ren sat up fast, crossed his legs, and looked out the window. He folded his hands and nodded.
"Yup. It seems my maximum technique, Binding of Izanami, is useless now… but it's not totally useless. I'm pretty sure I can modify my maximum technique. A maximum technique isn't like a domain. No, it's different — you can change it. Or… well, it's not like you can just change it."
He paused, then continued, voice low:
"The best example I can give is water having three states. Once humans learned about all three states, they used water for things you'd never expect — pressure cutting. Water cutting hard stone seems impossible, but it happens because humans now know a different way to use water; they can use water in that way… It's the same now that I know how to use my red stitch in this way; I can too, or at least I should be able to because maximum techniques aren't the real maximum of any technique.
Or at least that's what I think. I don't think cursed techniques have limits. The one who does have limits is the user. So I'm sure if I change up the hand sign and the chant, I could change how my maximum technique works… But that's all theory until I actually test it out or do that; my maximum technique is useless for now… unless I want to take myself out with whoever I'm fighting, ah…"
Ren put a hand on his chin.
"Other than that… am I missing something?"
Just then, the door opened. Maki walked in, saw Ren, and frowned.
"You are injured again? At this rate this is becoming annoying, you know?"
Ren smiled quickly. "I was just training, ok? I didn't expect myself to… well, get like this."
Maki blinked, looked away, and thought, 'Training? What kind of training puts someone in bandages…? No, wait…'
She turned back toward him. "Why?"
Ren blinked. A breeze from the open window pushed Maki's hair aside; she tucked it behind her ear and spoke again.
"Why do you keep training like this? You're already so strong…"
For a moment, Ren was stunned.
'What a… good question, huh? Well… uh, because I know there are people stronger than me. That's why I want to get stronger, I guess. Strong enough to… live peacefully? Uh, no, I can already do that. I'm already strong enough to live peacefully… uh, I guess take over the world or something… but that doesn't seem tempting... Huh? I don't know, huh? Like a lot of things, I just don't know why I want to get stronger…'
Ren spaced out for a second, but before Ren could think deeper, he heard Maki's voice snap him out of his deep thought…
"Just forget it… The event has already started. Are you going to participate or not, since you're injured?"
"I don't know," Ren said.
Maki looked stunned. "What do you mean? You don't know? It's a yes or no question, idiot. Are you participating or not?"
'Yeah, it's simple. Yeah, it's a yes-or-no question. I don't need a reason… But I do have a reason. I need to test out my Red Stitch and get used to it too. The best way to do that is to actually participate in the goodwill event. So yes — the answer is yes…'
Ren found an answer for a question… but the bigger question was still answerless…
"Yeah, I will be there. Go ahead."
Maki raised a brow, her tone carrying a hint of playful amusement."Are you sure? You look like you might need a few months just to get out of bed."
"No. I'll be there… for sure."
Maki stepped out of the room, pulling the door halfway closed behind her. As she walked down the hall, she glanced back once.
'What's up with him? He seemed… almost gloomy or something? Ah shit, I might get be late! 'Damn you, Ren! If I miss my match, this is your fault!' Maki thought as she started to jog…