3-8 Ichikishimahime's Encirclement
1: Waste of a Toji (1)#
At that time, on the north side of Choshi--
Mihono: --Ever since we started going north, we've ran into so many imperial guards.
Mirja: The imperial guards who scattered in their search for Ichikishimahime appear to be gathering towards Kashima.
Mirja: It's better that we reduce the enemy's numbers while they're spread apart. Though, conversely, fighting the imperial guard each time we see them is delaying our arrival...
Mihono: --Ah! More guards showed up!
Imperial Guard A: Are you the investigation team!? The villains opposing Tagitsuhime-sama...!!
Imperial Guard B: --Wait? Isn't that... That famous prodigy, Musumi Kiyoka!?
Kiyoka: -!!
Imperial Guard C: You know her?
Imperial Guard B: I sure do. She's the daughter of a family with a prestigious dojo, and they wouldn't stop talking about how this prodigal swordfighting girl had a bright future as a toji.
Imperial Guard B: But even with all that fanfare, when they put her into combat, she was so scared of the aradama that she was totally useless.
Imperial Guard B: Basically, even with all her talent, she's worthless. Just a waste of a toji, who can't do anything in a real fight.
Imperial Guard B: If Musumi Kiyoka's a part of the investigation team, maybe they're not as tough as everyone's been saying.
Mihono: Now they're making me mad... Hey!! You can't talk like that--
Chie: Calm down, Mihono-chan. They're trying to break our composure by provoking us like that.
Chie: If we let our anger get the better of us and charge in, it'll be giving them what they want.
Mihono: Ugh... I-I didn't know. That was a close one...
Kofuki: Anyway, there should be even more guards meeting at where Yukari-sama is right now. We don't have time for this.
Kofuki: Me and Kiyoka are more than enough to handle them. You three keep on going.
Mihono: Eh-!? But...
Mirja: (...Shichinosato Kofuki may have some plan in mind.)
Mirja: (It's possible that she has noticed Musumi Kiyoka's hesitation as well...)
Mirja: ...Asakura Mihono. We will leave the guards here to Shichinosato Kofuki and Musumi Kiyoka.
Mihono: You're agreeing with her, Mirja-san!?
Mirja: Our objective is to rescue Origami Yukari-sama. All our efforts will be for nothing if we confuse our priorities and arrive too late to make a difference.
Mihono: I-I get it.
Chie: Then, we'll be going on ahead, Kofuki-chan, Kiyoka-chan. Be sure to catch up quick, okay?
Kofuki: Just look at them; we'll be back before you know it.
Imperial Guard A: Hey, hold it right there! We're not letting you--
Kofuki: You trash are staying right here with us!
Imperial Guard B: Did you just call us trash...!?
Kofuki: Compared to Kiyoka here, you're all bottom of the barrel! If you don't like the sound of that, then why don't you come find out just how much of a "waste of a toji" she is!
Kofuki: Come on, Kiyoka! Let's show 'em what someone who used to be useless can do!
Kiyoka: ...Okay!!
2: Waste of a Toji (2)#
Imperial Guard B: A Myouga toji like myself, losing to that waste of a toji...
Kofuki: Haha-! Nice going, Kiyoka! See, you can do it after all!
Kiyoka: ...Thank you, Kofuki-san. You said the two of us would stay behind because you wanted to give me confidence, didn't you?
Kofuki: I-I wasn't thinking about that! I was just...
Kiyoka: Fufu.
Kofuki: Oi, cut it out! Don't laugh like you think you understand everything!
3: 20 Years for Souraku Yuzuki#
At the same time, in the rural area on the north side of Choshi--
Yuzuki: It's been so long... Though I suppose I can't say that. Until recently, I was researching noro right alongside you.
Yuzuki: But the last time I saw you fully yourself was over twenty years ago, wasn't it...
Yuzuki: Twenty years ago... In front of the toji who fell victim to the disaster at Sagami Bay, I lamented how simple it was for people to die.
Yuzuki: Through injury in battle, through disease-- Why did human life have to be lost so easily?
Yuzuki: From then, in opposition to the world's unfairness, I devoted everything I had to the research of noro.
Yuzuki: I had a dream I wanted to realize, even if it meant turning my back on the right path and walking down the wrong one.
Yuzuki: ...But the truth of that dream, which I thought was so noble, was only the ugly and misguided extent of my egotism.
Yuzuki: And I forced my ego on those girls.
Yukari: ...You weren't waiting for me here only so you could reminisce on old times, were you?
Yuzuki: No... I had faith you would repel the imperial guard, protect Ichikishimahime, and make it here to me.
Yuzuki: --Please condemn me, Yukari.
Yuzuki: I've sinned too greatly. I'm so tired of it all...
Yuzuki: Believing it would save people, my life's work... The twenty years I gave to noro research, all it accomplished was the creation of the imperial guard.
Yuzuki: My life's work, believing I could save people... And the twenty years I gave to noro research, all it ultimately accomplished was my hand in the creation of the imperial guard.
Yuzuki: Had it not been for my research, none of those girls would have suffered becoming Myouga toji...
Yukari: ...Yuzuki. Don't seek the easy path of being forgiven through death.
Yukari: The creation of the investigation team, and their search for Namu Yakushi Kagemitsu, that was you trying in your own way to stop Tagitsuhime... To stop me, who had lost control, wasn't it?
Yukari: ...All these years, you've spent studying noro. Shouldn't there be another way for you to atone?
Yuzuki: Another way for me to atone...? You're saying there's still something you'd have me do...?
Ichikishima: Yukari is cruel, is she not. Regardless of how tired you say you are, she will give you no rest.
Ichikishima: I was scolded, eariler, when I suggested to offer myself to Tagitsuhime.
Yukari: You shouldn't expect otherwise. As long as I live, you won't get to choose to die.
Yukari: --Hm? Who's there!
Yomi: Ichikishimahime... On my master's orders, I have come for you.
Yukari: ...Yomi.
4: Mirja's Resolution (1)#
Mihono: Was it really okay to leave Fukki and Kiyoka back there...?
Chie: Kofuki-chan said it was fine, so they should be alright. Let's have faith in them.
Mirja: It's just as Setouchi Chie says. Shichinosato Kofuki and Musumi Kiyoka are our reliable allies.
Mirja: We need to make the most of their consideration and proceed to join with Origami Yukari-sama as quickly as--
Yui: Ah, it's the girls from the investigation team!! I founnnd you!!
Yui: --Wait, hang on? Where's Kofuki-san and Kiyoka-chan? Did you all split up?
Mihono: It's Yui and Hana!?
Hana: Because of your team, too many of the imperial guard have been incapacitated. We won't let you go any further.
Mihono: Grr... We don't have time for this... We have to get to Yukari-sama fast!!
Mirja: ...Asakura Mihono. Setouchi Chie and myself will handle them while you go on ahead.
Mihono: Huh-!? That's crazy!!
Mihono: Last time we fought Yui and Hana, it was hard enough with all five of us--
Mirja: There won't be a problem. As I predict it, the two of us are capable of dealing with the imperial guard here.
Hana: You sure are taking us lightly now...
Mihono: Ch-Chii-nee. Do you really think it'll be okay...?
Chie: ...If Mirja-san says so, then I think we'll be fine. So go on, Mihono-chan.
Mihono: Chii-nee... Mirja-san....
Mihono: --I got it!! But you have to catch up to me as soon as you can!!
Yui: Aww, she actually ran off. I didn't think Mihono-chan was that heartless, abandoning you two so she could get away.
Mirja: We haven't been abandoned. Asakura Mihono was only able to proceed ahead because of her trust in us.
Hana: ...Mirja-senpai. You don't actually think you can get out of this situation, do you?
Mirja: I do. As I will prove now.
Hana: --How funny! So you can tell jokes, Mirja-senpai.
Yui: Mirja-san, after I win, you'll get to be all mine!!
5: Mirja's Resolution (2)#
Hana: Urgh... Th-They're tough...!!
Yui: B-But... This is all wrong...
Yui: If we were equal to all five of you before, we shouldn't be losing to just Chie-san and Mirja-san...
Mirja: There's a simple answer to your confusion. Every occasion we fought before, we couldn't bring ourselves to fight you.
Mirja: In my case, due to the guilt I felt over you joining the imperial guard, I subconsciously restrained myself.
Mirja: But, I refuse to retreat from my responsibility any longer.
Mirja: If I don't fight you with all I have, nothing will be resolved.
Mirja: The way I should be atoning for my mistake is by finding some method of extracting the noro from your bodies.
Hana: Y-You don't know what you're talking about! There's no reason to get rid of our noro! There's nothing that makes us happier than serving Tagitsuhime-sama!
Yui: That's right! You should just be Myouga toji with us, Chie-san, Mirja-san!
Yui: If you accept the noro, you'll be even stronger than you are now, and you'll understand just how great Tagitsuhime-sama is!
Mirja: That is not real strength.
Yui: And by joining the imperial guard, you can help so many people, people who are in trouble, people who are suffering!
Mirja: .........Yamashiro Yui. Suzumoto Hana. I promise you, I will find a way to return you to your former selves.
Chie: Sorry, you two. We need you to sleep for a while.
Yui: Agh...!!
Hana: Gh...!!
Mirja: You hit them with the back of the blade?
Chie: Yes... It seemed to knock them out well enough, but...
Mirja: There's no need to worry. The two of them are breathing fine. Let's hurry after Asakura Mihono.
6: Yukari VS Yomi (1)#
Yuzuki: Yomi... You let me come here...?
Yomi: I did. I knew you would eventually contact Yukari-sama, so I followed you.
Yomi: Thank you for leading me to Ichikishimahime.
Yuzuki: Kh...!!
Ichikishima: Tagitsuhime has commanded this one to secure me as well?
Yukari: That's how it's going to be. We're leaving, before she has a chance to call the others.
Yomi: You aren't leaving. Yukari-sama, prepare yourself.
Yukari: Yomi... I never expected to be fighting you.
7: Yukari VS Yomi (2)#
Yomi: Nn, nng...
Yukari: What are you standing there for, Ichikishimahime. Yomi will regain consciousness in a moment. We're leaving!
Ichikishima: Yet again... You are as harsh a leader as ever.
Yuzuki: Yukari... For me to atone...
Yomi: ...Yes. They escaped.
Yomi: However, that is not a problem. During our fighting just now, I attached an aradama to the target. If we follow its signal, we will know where Ichikishimahime goes.
Yomi: From here I will take command of the imperial guard, and gather them at Ichikishimahime's location. That is the end of my report.
Yuzuki: Yomi...
Yomi: Now then, please excuse me, President Souraku.
Yuzuki: ...You're not going to dispose of me for my betrayal?
Yomi: By leading me to Ichikishimahime, you performed your duties.
Yuzuki: So that's it... It won't get me condemned or executed... That's the nature of my sin...
Yomi: To be honest, I don't care about you either way. Though, I will say this...
Yomi: It's entirely up to your own judgment if you want to label yourself a corrupt sinner.
Yomi: However, even if it may be ugly and misguided, we are the ones who chose to live this way. We will not be condemned by anyone.
Yuzuki: ...Even if it's ugly and misguided...
Yuzuki: Maybe there is something left for me to do, like Yukari said...
8: The Elite Guard's Advance (1)#
Yume: --Ahh! Maki-onee-san! There's some imperial guards over there!
Maki: Right. Let's thin their numbers here.
Suzuka: It's not their lucky day, coming across us.
Imperial Guard A: Three members of the old elite guard... Must be here to rescue Origami Yukari...
Imperial Guard B: I fought Tsubakuro-san at the Ministry of Defense, but she was too strong to do anything against... She's not someone we can handle...
Imperial Guard C: What are you losing your nerve for! We're powered by noro too now, just like them! We can fight on their level!
Yume: If you seriously think you can beat us, just hurry up and get it over with already.
Imperial Guard C: Wh-What did you say...!!
Yume: Well, it's not like you could win though. I can tell how weak you are just by looking.
Imperial Guard A: This brat! Everyone, attack!
9: The Elite Guard's Advance (2)#
Imperial Guard A: Th-They're too much...
Yume: Onee-sans, did you feel stronger cause you got injected with noro?
Yume: Even though you were all weak before, getting noro when you joined the imperial guard made you just a little stronger, right?
Yume: But the elite guard were ALWAYS strong, you know? Of course you never had a chance.
Imperial Guard C: Ngh...!
Imperial Guard B: Relax. So long as we capture Ichikishimahime, we win.
Imperial Guard C: Th-That's right! Let's fall back to the factory where we cornered Origami Yukari!
Yume: ...Is it me, or are they just leading us to where Yukari-sama is?
Maki: Right, that's an offer we can't refuse.
Suzuka: They couldn't be picky when choosing the imperial guard, after all. Even outside of battle, they're third rate.
Suzuka: President Takatsu has my sympathies for trying to manage them.
10: Mihono Flying Solo (1)#
At that time, on the north side of Choshi, near the Kashima coastline--
Mihono: (...I know I went on to Kashima by myself, but where in Kashima am I supposed to be going...?)
Mihono: (And there's so many guards around... Feels like more of them keep on showing up.)
Mihono: (...Maybe I should try listening in on them again, like before...)
Mihono: (I want to learn as much as I can for when the others catch up...)
Imperial Guard A: --What's happening with Origami Yukari and Ichikishimahime?
Imperial Guard B: They said they've been cornered in the industrial district up ahead. We've been ordered to surround the area and let no one else through.
Mihono: (Yukari-sama's been cornered!? I have to find a way to help her...!!)
Mihono: (But it'd be tough for me to do anything with all these people...)
Mihono: (But I don't think I can make it through here without them seeing me either...)
Mihono: (--Arghh!! I don't have time to think!! I just have to force my way through!!)
Imperial Guard A: Who's there!? ...You're Asakura Mihono, aren't you!!
11: Mihono Flying Solo (2)#
Imperial Guard A: D-Damnit...
Imperial Guard B: Tagitsuhime-sama... I'm so sorry...
Mihono: I did it...! I beat them by myself cause I caught them by surprise...!
Mihono: Now I can make it to Yukari-sama--
Imperial Guard C: Hey, you! What are you doing here! That uniform, it's Minoseki's-- You're not one of us then!
Mihono: Uwah!? They had backup!?
Imperial Guard D: Did you do that to them!? Any opposition to Tagitsuhime-sama is unforgivable!
Mihono: Uh... Do I have to fight them too now...?
Mihono: But I want to get to Yukari-sama already...!!
12: Traces of Battle (1)#
At the same time, in the rural area on the north side of Choshi--
Kanami: Hey, Hiyori-chan. Even though we all split up, we're not finding a single trace of Yukari-sama...
Kanami: The info we just got from Akane-sama said she was heading north towards Kashima...
Kanami: But, if we don't end up finding her, what are we supposed to do...
Hiyori: When did you turn so pessimistic?
Kanami: But, I mean, we haven't found any leads, and there's so many imperial guards out here. Of course I'd start feeling...
Hiyori: --!! Take your stance, Kanami!! It's the imperial guard!!
Imperial Guard A: You two, you're Etou Kanami and Juujou Hiyori! Those who wrong Tagitsuhime-sama will be shown no mercy!
Hiyori: We don't have a choice but to fight, by the looks of it...!
13: Traces of Battle (2)#
Hiyori: Phew... It took time, but we drove them off.
Kanami: --Oh! Look at this, Hiyori-chan! The ground here is weirdly blackened!
Hiyori: You're right, it is...
Kanami: I know from the times we fought her... Satsuki-san must have summoned her aradama here.
Kanami: Which means, the footprints here, are they Yukari-sama's...?
Kanami: Hiyori-chan! Let's follow these footprints for now! And after... We'll use our intuition!
Hiyori: Intuition, really...?
Kanami: Ah, I got a message.
Kanami: ---!! It looks like Nene-chan found Ichikishimahime!! We're all going to meet up!!
14: Fighting All Alone (1)#
At that time, in Kashima's south end, the part of town by the industrial district--
Imperial Guard A: GYAAAAAH!!
Mihono: --Next one!!
Imperial Guard B: This toji, she's so strong...! How many guards has she beaten already...?
Imperial Guard C: I wish we could surround her and take her all at once, but since she came into this tight alley, we can't help but fight her one at a time...!!
Imperial Guard B: Does that mean, she calculated all of this and ran here on purpose...?
Imperial Guard B: I thought we had her trapped, but we were just playing into her hand...!?
Mihono: Hehe~h! Of course I did! Everything went just like I planned!
Mihono: (I was actually just chased into a dead end, but I didn't think it would be this easy to fight here!)
Mihono: (And now they're having some weird misunderstanding, so this might be my chance to go on the attack!)
Imperial Guard B: Kh...! We can't let just a single toji keep giving us such a hard time!
Imperial Guard B: Let's retreat to a more open position, and repair our formation!
Mihono: Ah-! Hey, don't do that! This place was working out so well--
Imperial Guard B: KYAAAA-!!
Kiyoka: Hono-chan! Sorry we took so long!
Mihono: Kiyoka! You made it!
Kofuki: Me too! And Chichie and Mirja, of course!
Chie: Stop saying Chichie, it's Chie!
Chie: --More importantly, Mihono-chan, look at all the guards you defeated by yourself...!
Chie: There were some guards back there talking about having trouble with an extremely strong toji, but I didn't think it was you, Mihono-chan!
Mirja: Thanks to Asakura Mihono's efforts in drawing the nearby guards here, it seems they weren't able to complete their encirclement of the plant where Origami Yukari is located.
Kiyoka: It really paid off sending you ahead, didn't it, Hono-chan!
Mihono: Stop complimenting me so much, it's embarrassing~... Why don't we keep up the pace then, and take on the rest of the guards around here!
15: Fighting All Alone (2)#
Kiyoka: Phew... I think we dealt with most of the guards in the area.
Mirja: It's a message from Origami Akane-sama.
Mirja: Origami Yukari-sama is currently in an industrial district in the south of Kashima, which is where the imperial guard's reinforcements appear to be heading.
Kofuki: She's way late! We already knew all that!
Kiyoka: She's only trying to help...
Mirja: On top of that, the main force of the rescue team, with Etou Kanami and the others, are moving to the industrial area...
Mirja: It seems that we should now strike at the imperial guard headed that way and reduce their numbers.
Chie: Then it would be best for us set up here and deal with any guards who come passing by.
Mirja: ...That may accomplish our objective, but I'm concerned about Ichikishimahime's situation.
Mirja: Asakura Mihono. With the goal of scouting and providing support to the main rescue team, could you go check on the condition of Origami Yukari and Ichikishimahime while the four of us remain here?
Mihono: --Huh? By myself?
Mirja: Yes. Sending a single scout will reduce the risk of them being detected by the enemy.
Mirja: Of course, I do expect a great number of imperial guard to be in the industrial district, so if you feel you are in danger, please return here at once.
Mihono: O-Okay. ...I'll do it! I'll go see how they're doing real quick!
Other: The Break's Intent
Yukari: We could buy some time here... We're resting for a short while.
Ichikishima: I am glad to hear it. You have worked me to the bone, and I am exhausted.
Yukari: To the bone...? All you've done is run here...
Ichikishima: Any movement I do not wish to make is a great hardship to me. Though, Yukari.
Ichikishima: Hm... To take a rest here... You must be planning something by it.
Ichikishima: Will they come chase us this way? That way? Presumption is something always waiting with surprises. It will be worth seeing.
Yukari: I would prefer if you did more than just watch though...