On the edge of the battle-torn street, I rubbed my chin and fell into deep contemplation.
At last, I reached a decision. I lifted my head and declared firmly:
"I'll take this one, Sakura-flavored chocolate banana. Two please, thank you."
From a nearby stall, I bought two chocolate bananas skewered on bamboo sticks, the glossy dark chocolate coating dotted with a few sakura petals. Holding one in each hand, I turned around and stepped a few paces toward a slightly safer spot.
Beside me was another spectator, utterly unfazed Shiba Inu furry that held the same snack in its paw, and after exchanging a polite nod with me, we both resumed watching Shizuko's fight while I filled my empty stomach with sweets.
The situation on the battlefield was very intense.
"Seriously! No matter how many I take down, they just keep coming…!"
After knocking out another delinquent with ease, Shizuko slipped behind cover to reload.
Being alone on the field, and with her irritation rising, she had completely discarded her perfect poster-girl persona. Brows furrowed, lips pulled tight in annoyance, she clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath:
"If only Pina were here…!"
But at that moment...
"Your rampage ends here! Street Mouryo villains!"
A bright, righteous shout rang out, shattering the balance of the battlefield.
Hearing that familiar voice line. I, who had been relaxedly waiting for Pina to arrive after contacting her for backup, froze on the spot.
At the same time, the delinquents of Street Mouryo played along perfectly, shouting in confusion, "Wh-who's there!?"
"When greeted, one must return the greeting! This too is recorded in the Kojiki! Since you asked so sincerely, we shall benevolently answer you! Pshoop-papa!!"
Accompanied by a nonsensical sound effect, a figure leapt out from a corner, striking a pose that looked stylish, yet utterly incomprehensible.
"Dazzling!"
Then another girl strolled out behind her at leisure, accompanied by a lazy, syrupy voice:
"Cute…"
Finally, under my anxious gaze, the last girl stepped out bashfully:
"B-b-beautiful…! D-did I do it… correctly…?"
"Perfect!"
The first girl praised her, then continued her speech:
"To stop the festival from being destroyed!
To protect the peace of Hyakkiyako!
To uphold justice, with love and truth!
We are the adorable and charming trio of beauties…!"
The pink-haired girl lagged half a second behind: "M-mimori!"
The girl with the shield yawned. "Tsubaki…"
"We are the Inner Discipline Club that roams through these streets! Cherry Blossom! A sakura-colored tomorrow awaits us!"
Kaede let out a satisfied sigh as she concluded, "That's the line!"
"That's the line…"
"Y-yeah… that's the line…"
The once noisy battlefield fell into dead silence.
"Wow! Incredible!"
The Shiba Inu beside me didn't hold back its admiration, mumbling with genuine interest, "So what's this show called? When does it air? And where are they hiding the cameras?"
From behind cover, Shizuko peeked out, her cheek twitching, then shouted toward me, "I told you already! They're a bunch of weirdos!"
I had no rebuttal. I covered my face with my hand and sighed.
The Inner Discipline Club's striking entrance drew every single gaze on the street.
Under the spotlight of countless stares, Kaede planted her hands proudly on her hips. "Fufufu∼! A flawless entrance! Don't you agree, Tsubaki-senpai!?"
Tsubaki blinked sleepily, baffled. "Fwaaah… is it?"
Mimori blushed, fidgeting. "Um… Kaede-chan… everyone is staring at us…"
The Street Mouryo leader, the one in the tengu mask, finally snapped out of it.
"Hah!? W-we were spacing out, who even are you people!?"
Kaede introduced herself proudly: "We are the Inner Discipline Club, striving every day to become idealized women!"
"That's only your goal," Tsubaki muttered dryly, "I've never trained for anything like that… Anyway, as long as I can sleep, I'm fine."
As she spoke, Tsubaki yawned again, rubbing her drowsy eyes. "Fwaaah… I'm sleepy. Can I nap here?"
"Facing Street Mouryo without fear… Tsubaki-senpai, you're so cool…! B-but Tsubaki-senpai, you can't sleep here…!"
Mimori gently intervened with her soft, ladylike voice. "Ahaha… but having a goal is a wonderful thing."
Kaede nodded vigorously. "Exactly, Mimori-senpai! This isn't just essential training for becoming the perfect lady, it also helps us maintain public order! Thus, it's our time to shine!"
As she said that, Kaede pointed dramatically at the Street Mouryo leader.
"Street Mouryo! Prepare yourself!"
"Mm, prepare yourself∼"
From my angle, I could swear Tsubaki's eyes were completely closed. Yet she still raised her gun. I genuinely couldn't tell if she was secretly asleep.
"W-well then, please prepare yourself!"
Truly fitting for someone aspiring to Yamato Nadeshiko, gentle Mimori.
…But could someone like her really use telepathy?
Still half-thinking about that, I continued to observe the battlefield and issued orders when needed.
Previously, Shizuko alone had managed to fight Street Mouryo evenly. Even with reinforcements streaming in from all directions, once the Inner Discipline Club joined, the scales of victory tipped decisively to our side.
"D-dammit!"
One delinquent roared in frustration.
"You fools! How dare you interfere with our great leader's plan!"
"Aha! So someone is pulling your strings!"
Shizuko snarled, "I don't care who sent you or what conspiracy you're plotting, give it up! On our side is Schale's teacher, we're not letting you succeed!"
"What do you know!?" another delinquent yelled back, "So what if Schale's teacher is here? With that person around, even Schale's teacher is nothing to fear!"
Kaede puffed up instantly. "You liar! You don't know how amazing Sensei is!"
Another delinquent snorted. "Heh heh! And you don't know the achievements that person has accomplished from the shadows! I'm telling you, that person could instantly defeat Schale's teacher!"
Kaede dropped her gun in outrage, puffing her cheeks. "Nonsense! Sensei won't lose to anyone! And who exactly is this so-called 'person' of yours!?"
"You're the one talking nonsense!"
"No, you're the one talking nonsense!"
Before their elementary-school-level argument could spiral infinitely, yet another delinquent joined in, smirking mysteriously.
"Heh… You aren't worthy of knowing that person's name."
Another chimed in, puffing up. "Indeed! That person is the root buried deep beneath Hyakkiyako! Only us most loyal followers may know their true identity!"
Kaede stomped her foot in frustration. "What!? That's just cheating! Totally unfair!"
The argument escalated wildly, "Who's stronger, Schale's teacher or that person?", until at some point, the gunfire had completely stopped.
Listening to both sides bicker, I frowned thoughtfully.
My interest in this mysterious "person" grew stronger.
According to what Street Mouryo claimed, the mastermind behind the festival sabotage was a major figure, high status, widely known, and according to the Yin-Yang Club president's intel, someone from Hyakkiyako.
That narrowed the possibilities considerably.
Meanwhile, the argument had grown so heated that they were moments away from starting another fight.
The tengu-masked leader rolled up her sleeves impatiently.
"Fine! If words won't settle this, then let's duel to decide the winner!"
Fresh off her heated debate, Kaede nodded fiercely. "Good! I was thinking the same!"
"…Wasn't this already a normal battle to begin with? Why did it turn into… whatever this is?" Shizuko muttered, exhausted.
But before the duel could start, a sharp voice cut across the field. A shadow dropped from above, and something crashed violently into the ground,
[Izuna-Style Ninja Art! The Technique of Thick Smoke Rolling From All Directions Jutsu]
A loud explosion erupted, flooding the street with dense smoke.
"Wah! I can't see anything! Also, will this smoke get the food dirty?"
I turned my head, unable to see the Shiba Inu at all in the pitch-black haze. Then the sounds of gunfire echoed again.
When the smoke finally began to clear, a dark silhouette emerged before me,
Along with a swaying, fluffy tail that made my fingers itch to grab it.
The little ninja fox, her back to me, turned around sharply.
"DOMO, Shishou-SAN! Izuna DESU, here as promised!"
"…Izuna. What are you doing?"
"Shishou, Izuna has thought it through."
Izuna stepped back into the swirling haze. Only her bright golden eyes glowed sharply, locking onto mine with utmost seriousness.
"Even if you are the cool person who believes in Izuna's dreams and teaches her the ninja way, since we meet on the battlefield as enemies… Izuna must complete her mission perfectly! Defeat and convince you! That is Izuna's ninja path! Our fate as ninjas!"
…Except I'm not a ninja.
And frankly, my sense of "identity flexibility" was extremely generous.
"Prepare yourself, Shishou! Izuna will defeat you! Yeeeaaaahhhh!!"
Before I could reply, Izuna charged on her own.
A few gunshots rang out.
Izuna yelped and fell flat.
To put it simply:
Shizuko and the others were extremely close to me, close enough that I could hear their bickering without using authority. And I was standing at the roadside.
So if Izuna blindly charged toward the center of the street…
Well. The outcome explained itself.
"…Seriously, does she think we're deaf?" Shizuko sighed, lowering her shotgun, and firing another blind shot toward the direction of the yelp.
But this time, it missed.
Izuna had already rolled aside. She pointed at Shizuko indignantly:
"That's too mean! Interfering in the sacred duel of ninja destiny between me and Shishou without even greeting first!"
"HAAH!? Sacred!? You threw a smoke bomb and tried to ambush Sensei!"
"That wasn't a smoke bomb! It was Izuna's ninja art! And it wasn't an ambush! Izuna greeted Shishou first! And between ninjas, all battles are sacred!"
By now the smoke had completely cleared.
Izuna scanned the battlefield with her exceptional ninja eyesight, our side still standing strong, the enemy barely standing.
The advantage was overwhelmingly ours.
"Izuna understands! Before fighting Shishou, Izuna must defeat you all first!"
Her fox ears twitched. Flames seemed to blaze in her eyes.
"Take this! Hiyah!"
The remaining Street Mouryo members exchanged looks and charged together with her.
And were immediately defeated together.
"Hiyah!?"
Izuna tumbled across the ground. Though she quickly got back up, her face crumpled in disbelief.
"I-Izuna lost again!? Even though she prepared way better this time…! She still couldn't win…!? Is her training still not enough…!?"
…What is even happening anymore?
Suddenly, the Yin-Yang Club president's headache became extremely relatable.
Street Mouryo gang had begun retreating, those still standing supporting those who couldn't walk, while the remaining few covered their escape.
But Izuna still refused to withdraw. She stood before me, gaze burning with determination.
"Shishou! Although it didn't work this time either… Izuna will remember this frustration and come back stronger! Izuna will defeat you for sure!"
I was speechless for a moment before finally managing,
"…Well then, good luck?"
I never thought I would someday become like Aru.
Life really was unpredictable.
Izuna brightened. "Mm-mm! Izuna will do her best∼ nin-nin∼"
"So Izuna… you're still carrying out your employer's mission?"
"Yes! Being enemies with Shishou isn't what Izuna wants… but a ninja must perfectly complete any mission they are given! Now that things have come to this, only through battle can we determine right and wrong, and make Shishou awaken!"
"Oh, alright." I nodded. "Then don't forget our ninja training session tomorrow."
"…Eh?"
Izuna stiffened, ears twitching.
"B-but aren't Shishou and Izuna still enemies?"
"Being enemies doesn't void the contract. A ninja must keep her promises, right?"
Besides, without inviting her alone, how was I supposed to get information out of her?
Izuna's eyes sparkled. She trembled with excitement.
"Uuuh… Shishou truly is a legendary ninja! Such honor! Such nobility! Izuna understands! Tomorrow, Izuna will definitely attend, off the clock∼!"
I watched her fox ears sway back and forth, doing my utmost to resist the urge to touch them.
Glancing at the mostly evacuated Street Mouryo, Shizuko and Kaede chasing after them, Tsubaki standing still half-asleep, and Mimori observing from a short distance away, I offered a kind reminder:
"Aren't you leaving? Street Mouryo is almost gone."
Izuna jolted in realization.
"Mmm! Izuna is a perceptive ninja! She will retreat… for now! Next time, no, next next time, prepare yourself! Izuna will definitely defeat Shishou!"
"That's literally a line used by third-rate villains when they run away…"
The little fox instantly made a flustered expression.
"I-Izuna is NOT a third-rate villain! Izuna is a ninja! A-although still not as mature as Shishou… A ninja must perform a strategic... "
"Strategic retreat."
"Yes! Strategic retreat! Mm! Strategic retreat! Very good."
Izuna furrowed her brows, whispering the word a few more times before nodding proudly. I sincerely hoped she'd remember it.
"After retreating, one must challenge again and again, that is a ninja! Right?"
…Why was she asking me for confirmation?
When I'm the one being challenged?
"…Yes. That's right."
After a long internal struggle, I finally agreed, because the small fox staring up at me was just too cute.
"Ehehe∼"
Izuna gave an embarrassed smile.
"Anyway∼ next time, Izuna definitely won't lose! Please look forward to it, Shishou! Nin-nin!"
With that, she threw down another smoke bomb and vanished in the cover of smoke.