Preparations (
Summary[]
Sometime afterwards, Hagiwara confirms that they have solidified a plan. He tells Chihiro that they just need to wait for information on where Sojo is, Harima noting it won't take long. Kugara comments that Sojo hadn't just disappeared, Uzuki mentioning he was still making deals and conducting business. Hagiwara promises that they will contact Chihiro when the time comes.
49 hours after Chihiro's awakening, Shiba checks in on Chihiro, who notes that while he is pained, he can still move; but his left arm is in especially bad condition, having been used in combat the days before his battle with Sojo and now having been struck by lightning. Shiba internally admits it must be frustrating for Chihiro, but he was keeping himself composed and focused on what he can do, not what he can't. Thinking back to the goofy misadventures, Kunishige, Azami and himself had gotten up to back when they were 18, he notes Chihiro is a prodigy. The phone on the desk then rings; Hagiwara's promised call. Chihiro's eyes narrow in determination.
At the abandoned Kaburato Castle, four guards sit at a table positioned in a walkway. One leaves to relieve himself and another laughs and tells him not to come back. A third notes they don't even need lookouts, given all they were doing was researching a child, wondering why they needed so many sorcerer guards. The fourth comments that Sojo didn't bring any bodyguards at all, the group noting he was tough enough himself.
Sojo himself is currently at a bathhouse, which three yakuza members enter. Sojo contemplates how Chihiro had indirectly revealed he was Kunishige's son. In the bath, he muses that while the history books had made no mention of it, Chihiro was a teenager and clearly had knowledge of the Enchanted Blades, even possessing a seventh one. While it was possible, Sojo refused to acknowledge Chihiro after he had declared he wielded his blade to defeat evil and protect the weak. The three yakuza then enter the room, their leader tossing a briefcase down. Sojo is surprised they had come just to return it, and the yakuza responds Sojo had stated the stone was traceable, displeased with the notion of being tracked.
As Sojo asks if the Datenseki weapon had been successful, the yakuza states they had eliminated the enemy, but their sorcerer's body had exploded, demanding compensation from Sojo as that had not been part of the deal. Sojo snickers that it has, as he had promised power on par with the Enchanted Blades that would 'blow them away'. The yakuza orders his two comrades to advance, but moments later Sojo dismantles the three, leaving the bath stained with blood. Staring upwards, Sojo notes controlling the Datenseki still wasn't working. While theoretically they were doing everything perfectly, there was something missing. He contemplates Chihiro's words that he didn't understand anything as he exits and dries his hair, wondering if it is his lack of understanding of the Enchanted Blades.
Sojo shrugs on his coat as he tells the bathhouse receptionist to call the police, internally resolute that he needs to fight Chihiro, especially if he was Kunishige's son, and he needed to ensure his understanding of Cloud Gouger was improved. Taking Cloud Gouger and his valuables from the receptionist, Sojo exits and looks up, musing that he had the perfect warm-up before him; all six members of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces, standing on the rooftops across from him.
Sojo confronts the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces
Speaking up, Sojo declares that sorcerers were akin to phantoms before the Seitei War, given the unspoken rule that they did not interact with the general populace. After the war, the Kamunabi were the organisation that maintained order. Hagiwara asks if that monologue was just Sojo confirming his desire to fight. Internally, Hagiwara notes Sojo is unnaturally calm, as if he was waiting for them, and views him as hard to read. Sojo replies he is ready, and activates Cloud Gouger.
At Kaburato Castle, the three guards at the table wonder where their fellow guard has gone. One of them tells another that he must have taken his 'no need to come back' comment literally, though the other refutes that nobody would take that seriously. The third suddenly notices a small black goldfish near them, and follow it back to their fellow guard's body, Chihiro standing above it.
The phone on the desk is shown buzzing, and the blond guard picks it up nervously. One of his fellow guards complains he is bored and the blond guard says he will call him back and that he has a stomachache. Setting the phone down after ending the call, the blond guard tries to ignore the bloody bodies of his nearby comrades and asks what Chihiro wants.
Quick References[]
Chapter Notes[]
- Chihiro and the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces confirm their plan.
- 49 hours later, Chihiro notes that while he was hurting, he could move, though his left arm was practically inoperable.
- Hagiwara calls and tells Chihiro they have found Sojo's newest base: Kaburato Castle.
- Sojo, currently at a bathhouse, mulls over Chihiro being Kunishige's son, but refuses the possibility given the differences between his ideals with Sojo's own.
- Three yakuza enter to return one of Sojo's Datenseki weapons, noting their sorcerer's body had exploded and now they wanted compensation.
- Sojo kills the yakuza and muses that the Datenseki still wasn't fully stabilised. He leaves to find the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces, and activates Cloud Gouger.
- Chihiro arrives at Kaburato Castle and begins interrogating a guard.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Author's Comment[]
| Author Comment | |
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Takeru Hokazono |
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