Ringo’s arms were still trembling, having exerted every ounce of force they could to have accomplished this feat in the first place. Finding the fallen crossbow and loading it, something she had only ever done in drills, nearly brought her to collapse with all the energy she just expended. Among herself, Hajime, and Gekko, she had been the only person to ever attend those crossbow drills anyway. It looked like Gekko was right again, they had been a waste of time!

Ringo had also landed on her back funny after freeing herself from the snare, and she wasn’t even thinking about that pair of clenched, severed hands she had pulled off crossbow out of in the first place- all just to have victory snatched away at the last moment! Unfair, unfair, unfair- but also the nature of life. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to help.

That calm, accepting expression on Hana’s face evaporated as quickly as it arrived. She escaped death, and now Ringo was back in trouble. She recognized it too and dropped the now spent crossbow like a hot stone. That gave her just enough time to fall backwards behind the tree, a fraction of a second before a plethora of razor sharp ribbons soared through the air and shredded the tree trunk completely.

The ribbons from Hana twirled around the base of the tree and shredded it in the next moment, sending everything above Ringo’s head crashing down into the jungle. If Hana aimed a bit lower Ringo’s head would have popped off as well. That danger didn’t even register on Ringo’s radar; she was far too lost in trying to put together yet another hackneyed, improvised escape plan. At this point it seemed that Hana wasn’t going to be content just running off with her artifact. The difference in skill between an Agent and cadet was absolutely terrifying! As the tree above her groaned and began to fall Ringo steeled herself for what felt like one last desperate act. There just weren’t any more pieces on the board to play.

Hana’s bandages unfurled and whipped around the tree stump before the rest of the trunk had even hit the ground. They caught nothing, as Ringo already crawled just far enough away using the remnants of the tree as cover. It was pointless but Ringo’s fumbling hands also tried to re-rack another bolt into the crossbow. It gave her something to do instead of freaking out. Once Hana’s armor rebuilt itself that was it. There wouldn’t be any more ways for Ringo to put an end to her rampage. The overwhelming power of the ribbon jutsu couldn’t be matched by some dinky bubbles. It was like trying to fight a raging bull with a feather duster. Why had she even tried?

Then again maybe only Ringo understood how truly screwed she was. She would take a page from Hajime’s book- when you can’t deliver results, at least fake like you can! The coiled ribbons snapped back as Hana withdrew, tearing up the trunk of the tree in the process and fully revealing Ringo crawling away on all fours. As bits of falling branches and leaves crashed down Ringo flipped onto her back and leveled the giant crossbow again. The bulky firing mechanism was designed for adults to use which resulted in the whole movement being especially awkward. Without even aiming her fingers pressed down hard on the metal firing trigger. The whole device gave a rumbling kachunk and recoiled hard against her chest as it launched another metal bolt through the air in Hana’s general direction.

It was far too late, naturally. Already Hana’s face was again wrapped in the protective sheath of her ribbons, and the parts she shed to avoid Ringo’s attack had been replaced as well. It looked as though Hana hadn’t even been exposed at all. Given everything Ringo already knew, even if the bolt hit its target those jutsu augmented bandages would have no trouble stopping the projectile. That was assuming her shot even hit, which it most certainly wouldn’t because her aim had been so poor.

Yet despite those odds Hana at once lurched away out of line of sight as soon as Ringo had rolled into view. The bolt soared and missed by a mile, of course, and Hana moved so quickly it wouldn’t have even mattered if Ringo had aimed properly. It wasn’t a rational move from the Agent. It was an overly cautious one, something only a person who had the fear of death put in them would have done. If anything Ringo’s massive blind firing must have made Hana even more suspicious. She didn’t need to take any risks to fight a cadet- Ringo’s window of opportunity to exploit Hana’s arrogance had already closed.

That was a bluff Ringo couldn’t pull off more than once anyway. All she did here was buy a few more precious seconds of time. Ringo ditched the crossbow and scrambled back to her feet like a flipped over turtle. Hana’s newly replaced bandages looked absolutely pristine and blended in well with the ever thickening fog. It didn’t take long for Hana to disappear from sight completely.

Not driven off, oh no. Ringo was certain Hana was content to wait for a perfect time to strike. Once it had a bug in its web, a spider could eat its prey at its leisure.

Well, Ringo had kind of been alone this whole time, so no change there. In her frantic retreat Ringo alternated between nervous glances at the jungle floor and up in the trees above. Her gait was odd and jerky, and unlike her originally disciplined march into the jungle. Ringo limped and wheezed as fatigue dragged down her steps. Her uniform, a source of pride, now weighed down on her like an anchor. Where would Hana come from next? Maybe she would wait for Ringo to bumble into another trap. Or, or, maybe she would just leave! She had her artifact, after all. Why risk further engagement?

Come to think of it, Ringo couldn’t answer the question herself. The sequence of events leading to right that moment involved both Hana and Ringo taking multiple uncanny risks. Ringo never intended to get tangled up in an altercation with this Agent but something strange overcame her in those moments leading up to her escape. It wasn’t quite describable as bloodlust. Ultimately the actions she took were hers alone and the blame couldn’t be put on any specific emotional state. But even so...it was like she had a crowd egging her on from somewhere unseen. Maybe the spirits of Jinchi just liked a good show!

There wouldn’t be much show left for Ringo now, though. Within seconds came a distressing sound from overhead as wood cracked and splintered. Ringo kept moving forward but looked up only briefly, expecting maybe to see Hana leaping from branch to branch like a monkey. Instead what she saw brought her feet to a screeching halt. Several massive tree branches slammed into the earth just in front of her, their ends severed so cleanly it almost looked like the work of a craftsman. A cloud of dust mixed with the fog and Ringo pivoted on her heel to try and go around, but as she turned another crashing log swung out from the mist. This one wasn’t falling straight down- instead it swung horizontally, like a pendulum. A pair of ribbons wrapped around its center made it clear what the Hana’s intention was. The wide arc of the wood couldn’t be avoided. Her opponent finally found a risk free way to take down the wily Ringo: indiscriminate, widespread destruction

The massive chunk of wood slammed into Ringo’s torso and sent the girl crashing backwards. The breath blew out of her lungs and her face contorted into an agonized, wide-eyed grimace. Any last ounce of strength was flattened by the blow, and as she struggled to even take in air Ringo’s watery eyes saw the vague form of the ribbon-beast emerging in the overhead branches. Ringo didn’t even have the strength to roll, much less dodge any more attacks. The single ribbon holding the log snapped free and dropped its load with a wet thud. Then like a viper the dangling cloth reared up, turned its frayed edge towards the collapsed Ringo, and shot forward.

The single ribbon unfurled and like Ringo’s crossbow bolt from earlier set itself out on a lethal trajectory. Now Ringo was truly out of options. She could do little but stare as the innocuous looking strip of cloth sailed forward like a scorpion’s tail. This wouldn’t be like getting hit by a log. Hana’s ribbon jutsu would easily dice the cadet up with no trouble. There was nothing left to do but put her faith in a higher power.

Literally higher, that is. Just an arm’s length from impact, the ribbon froze in midair. It wavered, as if hesitating. Then rather than extending further, it unexpectedly jerked backwards, as if time was rewinding itself. Ringo’s eyes finally broke loose from focusing on the ribbon to trace it backwards up into the trees as it fell away. What she saw didn’t actually relieve her- in fact, despite having just been spared certain death, now she felt more upset than anything else.

The bandage-covered demonic form of Hana was falling. Hana’s ribbon fell back for that very reason, as the body it had been anchored to was forced farther away. Something, or someone, caused the Agent off balance and backwards.

And what other source could have provided such a turnabout other than the poster child for lowered expectations himself? Plummeting after Hana with spear in hand was one cloak-wrapped child, all too familiar a sight for the beleaguered Ringo.

Hajime had finally arrived.

Like, twenty minutes too late, but he had arrived nonetheless!