2103

In a back alley near Yanasegawa Station.

"I do apologize but we cannot bring you any further."

"You are... releasing me?" Sayuki asked, her speech pattern naturally slow. (It seems that her speech is marred by a permanent tic that makes her talk slowly.)

"Well, we can't exactly bring you with us," Kyouko affirmed.

Noa then got out of the passenger's seat and handed Sayuki back her okatana which bore the name of "Sannomiya Myoujin". "Here, this is yours."

"You're... giving it back... to me?"

"If you plan to draw your sword upon getting your hands back on it, I have no problems," she declared. "We can simply fight again."

Sayuki remained silent as she retrieved her sword. She did nothing but stare at it as Noa got back into the car. "Take care of yourself," Kyouko said.

"See you soon, Sayuki-chan!" Suzuran said through her rolled-down window before rolling it back up as the car picked up speed. Sayuki merely watched in silent confusion as she gripped her sword's scabbard. "So, where are we going, Noa-san?"

"Have you gotten everything you needed?" Kyouko added.

"Yes, more or less," Noa replied. She was referring to the conversation with GreenMan from earlier that was interrupted by Sayuki. While preparing to leave, Kyouko had used her skills to install a similarly styled application that allowed her to communicate with GreenMan on Noa's smartphone. "For now, we've decided on a place to meet."

"Don't tell me," Kyouko ordered. "You can also delete that app once you're done with it." She then sighed as she brought the car onto the Arakawa Bridge. "They must be all over my apartment right now... This car also... It's highly likely they're already tracking it. After all, they have the police on their side... Well, crap! They're here already!" All three women tensed up as they looked ahead on the road and found police blockading it. Kyouko pulled over, saying, "It would be best if I let you off here."

Both Noa and Suzuran nodded to each other and got out of the car, with all of their items in tow, their suitcases still on their person. Suzuran stammered, "Um, Kyouko-senpai, I do sincerely apologize for barging in like that and then leaving you in this mess."

"It's all good, you two," Kyouko smiled. "Now, get going!"

"Okay, in that case, we'll be going!" Both Suzuran and Noa ran away, in the direction of Ohmiya Station. "In any case, where are we going?"

"Conveniently, the location we're supposed to meet at is in Komoro so we can head to Kanazawa with no problems."

"How lucky of us," Suzuran laughed. "In that case, we'd better high-tail it there. I'll race you, Noa-san. This would be a good training exercise for us in using jin'i."

"Well, that is certainly true," Noa said. "Alright, fine, but let me add another challenge: training in Hachimanriki by holding up our heavy suitcases in our hands all the way there."

"You're on."

The two girls hefted their suitcases in their arms, holding it like they would a lunch tray in their forearms, before channeling Hachimanriki into their arms and jin'i into their legs. The two girls sprinted off into the night, weaving in and out through the streets as they followed the map to Ohmiya Station.

0954

The 28th Day of October.

Manaka Ichinose was walking alongside Alice Sakayanagi through the streets of Shinjuku, wearing their kimonos from the previous day. After having parted from Honami Mitsumine, the two girls spent as much time as they can sightseeing through Kamakura before taking the local train to Shinjuku Station. The two girls were, of course, unarmed as they had sent their okatana back to Minoseki Academy. They were simply there to enjoy a well-deserved vacation (well, it's "well-deserved" in Manaka's eyes whose personality can be summed up as an extremely lazy girl who doesn't want to work); Alice just went along with it because she was Manaka's best friend. Nene was, as always, hanging out inside of the gaps of Alice's kimono because it just loves her breasts.

They had just finished eating breakfast and were wandering the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden when something screeched and vibrated in Alice's purse. She pulled out her smartphone and answered the call. "Hi!" she said in English. The other person on the line then gave her some orders and Alice titled her head. "Eh? A mission, desu? That's pretty sudden."

"Nuh-uh," Manaka immediately vetoed. "Tell them we're on leave. I'm not going to work."

Alice snickered as she relayed exactly what Manaka said, "'Nuh-uh, tell them we're on leave', she says." She then brought the phone to Manaka's ear...

"OI, MANAKA, YA LITTLE BITCH, QUIT SCREWING AROUND!"

The phone wasn't even on speaker mode but the principal of Minoseki Academy Asuka Mitsumine's indignant voice screamed out from the phone's diaphragm, causing passersby to give them a wide berth. Manaka had covered her ears before the outburst reached them so she was largely unaffected. Instead, she replied in a cool tone, "Even if you say we have a mission, I don't have Nenekiri Maruyama on me. After all, I sent it home ahead of me via express delivery yesterday." This, of course, refers to her okatana; Alice's is named Tenrou: Echizenkurage.

"I'm sending it back."

Asuka meant it quite literally as well. Not even five seconds after she had said that, a small-rocket-powered capsule shot out of the sky and buried itself into the dirt of the garden. Thankfully, the capsule had landed during a rare small window in time when no one was around to watch. Inside the capsule were the girls' okatana. Manaka could only slump her shoulders in resignation and pander, "What a waste of tax dollars..."

1132

Aboard the Hokuriku Shinkansen.

Even if she knew that they couldn't help it, she found it rather taxing on her mental health knowing that they'd been discovered. The previous night, they had managed to arrive at Ohmiya Station safe and sound after approximately 40 minutes of continuous running with the help of jin'i. Of course, running the 12 kilometers from where they were at Yanasegawa Station to Ohmiya drained them of practically all of their energy (primarily mentally as jin'i is a power that requires mental strength; their physical strength too was drained due to Hachimanriki). The two managed to drag themselves into a capsule hotel, paying for a one-night stay, and immediately crashing without even bothering to change out of their (sweaty) clothes. The next morning, the two girls woke up, showered, and changed into one of their spare clothing sets in their suitcases. Once that was done, they left the hotel and made directly for Ohmiya Station where they bought their tickets for the Shinkansen, boarded it, and took off.

Suzuran had already fallen asleep again, citing that she didn't get enough the previous night. Noa didn't particularly like this side of her but she could tell that she was trying to keep her sleep light so that she could immediately react to anything if it comes down to it. Noa thought back to the previous night when they were attacked and Suzuran had hesitated to strike Sayuki. It seems that Suzuran had read her mind as she said, "Are you worried about last night?"

".... Yes."

"When I said I didn't want to kill her, I meant it," she said. "Sayuki-chan... I feel like there's something more to her. I don't know but I got more or less the same feeling I got when I stared down the Origami family head, except far weaker."

"Then... that's all the more reason to kill her," Noa reasoned, keeping her voice low. "If that girl is an aradama like Nanae, we can't exactly have her roam free."

"That's where you're wrong," Suzuran asserted as she opened her eyes, sat up, and glared at Noa. "Again, this is all just speculation but the feeling I got from Sayuki was... artificial. It's like it was an aradama but at the same time, it wasn't."

"... What?"

"I'm just as confused as you are," Suzuran shrugged. "However, this seems to be pretty definitive proof that the Origami family head has been conducting experiments concerning human-aradama 'hybrids'...? We don't have time to dwell on it. For now, get some more rest, Noa-san. This is a request from your only confidante." Suzuran then turned over in her seat, looking the other way, before closing her eyes. Noa looked at the girl for a moment before doing as she was told; it was only after she was ordered to do so that she realized that she indeed was more tired than she had expected.

1301

Directly outside of Komoro Station at the foot of Mount Asama (Asamayama).

"Alright, we're here," Suzuran declared, stretching her body. "Well, when is our meeting? Oh, and wait, before that, didn't you say you had something to do here?"

"Yes," Noa replied. "It's not far from the station but I want to have a talk with my mother's remaining living relative... I need to tell her that I've already taken action."

"I see... In that case, I'll wait here."

"It would be safer if you came with me," Noa rebutted.

"True, it wouldn't do if we split out fighting potential... Fine, I'll come with you. However, I won't go inside. I'm not so crude of a woman that I would dare trespass into another person's family matters."

"Haha, that's cheap coming from you ever since you've started tagging along with me after I attacked Nanae due to 'family matters'."

"That and this is different," Suzuran asserted. "I helped you back then because I wanted to but right now, I cannot lend you my strength. An outsider like me has no right to infringe on a private conversation."

"Fine, if you insist that much, I'll stop teasing you." She stopped the conversation there and began to walk. Soon, the two girls stopped in front of a hospital, specifically, the Asama Nanroku Komoro Medical Center. She stepped inside and while Suzuran hung out behind her in the lobby, Noa brazenly walked up to the front desk. She conversed with the receptionist and after a moment, she was allowed to visit her aunt, a woman named Chiyuki Kuzunoha.

After arriving in front of the room where her aunt rested, Noa walked in, beckoning for Suzuran to follow. However, as expected, Suzuran had no intention of accompanying Noa. She instead planted her feet outside of the door, exuding an air that said I will be standing guard outside. Noa shrugged as she snickered to herself. She then straightened her face and called out, "Chiyuki-obaasama, I'm here."

"Ah."

The woman who replied was seated in her hospital bed, halfway tucked in. She had been looking out the window before she was interrupted by the voice of her niece. Unlike her niece, Chiyuki Kuzunoha sported beautiful long black hair. Her eyes were the shade of obsidian and her mouth was fixed in a perpetual smile. It had no ill intentions behind it; in fact, her smile widened at the sight of her niece. The hospital gown on her person was slightly unkempt as she tried to move off the bed but elected to remain seated there. She said, "There you are, Noa. I assume from the way you carry yourself that you've done it?" As she was a former Toji herself, Chiyuki's intuition could easily pick up on the slight differences in Noa's movements to surmise what she wanted to say.

Noa blinked a few times before cracking a smile. "Heh, I guess I can't hide anything from you, eh, Obaasama?"

"Indeed," she smugly replied. Her expression then turned serious as she lowered her voice. "I assume that you have failed?"

".... Yes, she... no, the aradama that took her shape is far stronger than I had imagined."

"I see..." Chiyuki mumbled. "So my inkling was correct; Nanae-sama has indeed been possessed by an aradama."

Seeing an opportunity, Noa latched onto it. "It wasn't me that spotted it, however. I believe my friend has a special pair of eyes as she saw the aradama despite it showing up for barely a perceivable moment."

"Hoh?"

"Suzuran, come in," Noa called.

Suzuran, who was still standing guard outside, sighed before stepping inside of the room. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kuzunoha-san. My name is Suzuran Arisugawa and I am a friend of Noa Hiiragi's."

"My, you certainly have your manners around you!" Chiyuki smiled. "You don't need to be so formal with me, Suzu-chan. I am familiar with your mother, Emiri, after all."

"Ah, is that so...?" Suzuran wet her lips before venturing on, "Then I'll follow Noa-san's example and call you Obaasama."

"Hoho, I never thought the day would come when I am addressed in that manner by a person outside of my immediate family," Chiyuki chortled. "In any case, my niece has told me an interesting story. You saw the aradama for what it truly was?"

"... Yes, ma'am," Suzuran replied. "If only for an instant, I certainly saw the mocking eye of an aradama looking down on both myself and Noa-san." Chiyuki nodded silently as she stared at Suzuran. She suddenly noticed that the shade of Chiyuki's eyes had changed. Her obsidian eyes now emitted a golden glow. Sucking her tongue in, she muttered, "Myougan...!? And it's a high-level one...!"

"Hoho, I'm surprised you know about it, Suzu-chan," Chiyuki giggled. "However, you are slightly off. I possess Magan, not Myougan. I'm registered as the possessor of the Mystic Eye of Truth Perception."

"'Truth Perception'...?" Suzuran questioned.

"It's nothing much," Chiyuki answered. "It's simply my ability to see how intertwined the connection that a Toji has with the Netherworld... and I can see that you certainly have a powerful connection... Especially in those eyes of yours. My, I've yet to see a case like this before..."

"... Huh?"

"Oh, so you're not aware? Well, color me surprised," she mumbled. She then looked at Suzuran straight in the eyes, her golden irises flickering as she declared, "You, Suzuran Arisugawa, are in possession of a first-generation Magan."

"...."

The room fell silent.

1332

Near the grand entrance hall of the Special Sword Administration Bureau HQ's main building.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Gramps."

Currently, Honami Mitsumine was standing just askew of the giant staircase that decorated the entrance hall of the Sword Administration headquarter's main building. She was talking on her phone with the old butler of the Mitsumine household, a 68-year-old man named Masanobu Kyougi. Her expression crinkled a bit in loneliness as she added, "Please make sure that Father, Mother, Miyu, and Shinako do not worry themselves too much about me. I am their daughter and I am Miyu and Shinako's older sister; I can take care of myself just fine."

With those final words, she hung up the phone. Sighing, a voice shook her out of her thoughts. "Am I interrupting something?"

Honami looked up. "You are... If memory serves, Hiiragi-san's friend?"

"Yes, my name is Tomoe Ichihara," the other named representative of Minoseki Academy replied. "That aside, how long do you plan on staying, Mitsumine-san?"

"So long as Principal Serizawa is here, I cannot leave," Honami informed. "How about you, Ichihara-san?"

"I'm returning today... I wanted to return with Hiiragi-san since I came here together with her..."

Honami opened her mouth to reply but was drowned out by the angry voice of Azusa Hachimiya, shouting, "Sayuki!!" The two girls immediately broke their conversation and quickly turned their heads toward the staircase where the woman in question was barreling angrily down the stairs. She irately marched over to where Sayuki (who neither of the girls had noticed) was standing, having just walked into the building from the front entrance. Once she got close enough to be within grabbing distance, she slowed down and walked past her. "Come with me."

The two girls looked at each other in confusion, Tomoe mumbling, "That was Renpu's principal and one of its representatives, Asahina-san, right...?" Honami, on the other hand, remained silent, a complicated expression creeping across her face.

There's... something else going on here. I'm going to find out what it is!

"What do you mean they were protected by law enforcement!?"

Inside of her personal office that was allotted to her within the Special Sword Administration Bureau's headquarters, Azusa was quite indignant at Sayuki's explanation. Azusa had wanted Sayuki to give her a debriefing of the events that had transpired and Sayuki had explained that while she managed to sniff them out, she was forced to retreat when local law enforcement stepped in, sheltering the two fugitives from Sayuki who was ousted to be an assailant. (As they were the local police of a small district, they did not have full knowledge concerning Toji and simply assumed that Sayuki had attacked the two girls with a real sword; the two girls explained it away as real-life combat training.) Of course, she avoided being taken into custody but was unable to capture the fugitives.

Sayuki's face remained expressionless as she lowered her head and apologized. "I'm sorry, Madam Principal... there was nothing I could do..."

Azusa sighed. "Well, I'll give you credit for being able to determine the location of the fugitives from the sparse information we had managed to gather previously and launching a successful sneak attack. However, I cannot condone you crawling back here without any results to speak of." She began pacing as she continued, "It seems I made a mistake and overestimated your worth. I don't have an inkling of interest in tournaments so your evaluation is solely based on a perfect record of missions with a 100% success rate. Seeing as you failed this one, you have already stained your record."

She then drew the sword at her waist as since she was a retired Toji, she is not allowed to carry with her an actual okatana. Turning the blade onto her own student, she mumbled, "Perhaps I've been far too overprotective..." Sayuki did nothing although her hand did creep down to the hilt of her own blade at her waist. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Clicking her tongue, Azusa returned the blade to her sheath and said, "It's open." Her mood soured even further as she saw the person who had interrupted her: Yomi Satsuki. "What do you want?"

Yomi said, "Nanae-sama ordered me to bring you to her."

While her external expression didn't change much, internally, Azusa was rejoicing. She mumbled, "Nanae-sama wants me to come...?"

The first words out of Nanae Origami's mouth were those of exasperation.

"Principal of Renpu, I don't ever recall giving you orders to pursue the traitors."

Of course, the initially giddy Azusa soured at hearing this. She kept her expression neutral but certainly voiced her displeasure as she said, "We already ascertained their locations and I made the judgment to chase them so that we don't lose them."

Nanae, however, was not pleased. She turned around, casting a rather callous glare at the woman. "I will not allow for unauthorized action. You've overstepped your authority, Principal."

"Bu-But, I can't simply forgive them!" Azusa whined. "They turned their blades on you, Nanae-sama! If anything, I believe that you should be the angriest person here! After all, we're simply letting them run free when they're within arm's reach!"

Standing behind her near the door, Yomi said, "You've said enough, Principal Hachimiya."

"You little wench," Azusa grumbled, her tone changing drastically from the one she used to address Nanae.

"Azusa."

The addressed woman immediately wheeled back, her tone taking a complete 180. It was pretty obvious that the only person that she would ever respect is Nanae. "Ye-Yes...!?" she squealed.

"Do only what you need to do," Nanae ordered. "Take any further unwarranted action and you will face me."

"Nanae-sama..." Yomi couldn't help but let out a quiet snicker at seeing Azusa's crestfallen face.

"Leave my sight immediately," Nanae finished. Azusa did as she was told, unable to hide the anger in her expression as she walked past Yomi who stood silently with her eyes downcast. "Yomi... As for you, I need you to do something." Yomi simply nodded as she listened to the orders that her liege gave her.

1408

Just outside of the Asama Nanroku Komoro Medical Center.

Suzuran and Noa had just left the hospital after Noa had finished her discussions with her aunt. The two now planned to complete the journey to Kanazawa and they were currently walking toward the station. Suzuran, however, had a number of thoughts on her mind. "Is what my aunt said bothering you?" Noa asked.

"How could it not?" she replied, covering her right eye with the palm of her right hand. "I possess Magan...?"

"Judging from your reaction, is it safe to assume that the Myougan never appeared in your family lineage?"

"As far as I know, yes, that is the case," Suzuran affirmed.

To backtrack, the Myougan is an ability obtained by someToji; roughly one in four Toji awaken the ability. While having the literal definition of "Clear Eye", it is often referred to as the "Eye of Clairvoyance", or simply "Clairvoyance" and it is a physical ability, manifesting in the eyes. This ocular power grants the user a multitude of abilities: unassisted long-distance vision, night vision, and the ability to see in infrared. This means that a Toji with Myougan has no need for specialized equipment to spot something that would normally be far out of the range of the naked eye. Those who possess Myougan are able to clearly make out objects four times farther out than normal. Like all other abilities granted to the Toji, it is an ability that forms from the contact the Toji makes with the Netherworld via their okatana. However, unlike other abilities, the Myougan is a mutation, directly affecting the genome of the person that the power is attached to; the Myougan is essentially permanently rooted to the eye of the wielder. This is why it is very likely for a Toji mother that possesses the Myougan to have a daughter that possesses the Myougan as well.

On the other hand, Magan is another specimen entirely. Having the literal definition of "Magic Eye", it is known by a multitude of other names, including "Demon Eye", "Devil Eye", "Illusive Eye", and "Mystic Eye", with "Mystic Eye" being the most commonly used name to refer to it. In the simplest of terms, the Magan is a result of genetics. When the Myougan appears in a Toji's direct bloodline for three generations, the fourth direct descendant will instead develop a Magan that can be used right from birth. This is because of the genetic alterations that the Myougan has made to the genome of the Toji lineage it appears in; it simply had altered the owner's genetic material so much that the supernatural ability takes permanent root in the eyes of the welder. As such, once it manifests, the Magan is a hereditary trait, passed down from mother to daughter. Unlike the Myougan, the Magan have unique traits and abilities that differentiate each Magan from another Magan (as well as setting it apart from Myougan) and the nature of these abilities can vary wildly (however, it is possible for two Magan to "share" abilities to the point that they're classified as the one and the same). Chiyuki Kuzunoha's Mystic Eye of Truth Perception is but one of many types of Magan and there are perhaps two or three other wielders of the "same eye".

"I see..." Noa mumbled. "You really do have the strangest abilities about you..." The two girls continued their walk, dressed in casual clothes so as to not raise suspicion as well as having their guitar cases slung over their shoulder. It was quite a gloomy day as an angry wall of clouds rolled across the sky. It didn't seem as if it would rain but the weather certainly wouldn't inspire conversations of how good the weather is. The two girls walked in the direction of Komoro Station but soon looked at each other. Nodding, they casually began taking another way, striking up a completely useless conversation as they headed toward Komoro's Konyamachi.

They were being tailed.

Eighteen minutes earlier.

Komoro Station, Platform 2.

Embarking from the train, Alice Sakayanagi stretched. She even made a point of it. "Streeeeetch, desu!" Of course, with her stretching, she was exposing her extremely ample bust for everyone to see and it was quite accentuated by the fact that her casualwear only consisted of a loose-fitting opaque-white one-piece dress that went down to her knees and black pantyhose. She didn't notice all of the perverted stares piercing her. Her density annoyed Manaka as Alice asked, "Are you ready for this, desu?"

"... Yeah." Manaka sported quite the sour expression as she dusted off of her school uniform. She held in her hands her massive okatana, a nagamaki. Atop her head, Nene made a cute sound of approval as he closed his eyes and disappeared. As an aradama, he possesses the ability to slip into the Netherworld, hiding out in the uppermost First Layer. Manaka sighed in exasperation as she quietly followed Alice's lead, outside of the station and into the streets. They were given orders by their principal, Asuka Mitsumine, to hunt down the fugitives and capture them. The upper echelons had managed to zero in on the location of the fugitives who had entered the Asama Nanroku Komoro Medical Center twenty minutes prior and had remained in the building since.

"In that case, mission start, desu!" Alice declared in English. The two girls embarked from Komoro Station and headed toward the hospital. Once they arrived, they waited outside until the two girls had walked out of the lobby. They then began to tail them but it seems that they had noticed. Alice and Manaka decided to continue following them, however, they took a long way so as to try throwing their targets into confusion. This didn't particularly work and the two fugitives arrived in Konyamachi. Deciding that it was useless to pretend any further, Alice yelled loudly, announcing her presence as she wordlessly activated utsushi, "I found you!"

She charged Suzuran with jin'i but was perfectly countered. Suzuran's own utsushi quivered at the impact of the two swords; she had sensed her coming, threw open her guitar case, yanked out her okatana, drew it, activated utsushi, and wheeled around to catch Alice's overhead cut with her own blade. "Urk...! Who are you!?" she groaned under the weight of Alice's blow.

"Aww, you don't recognize me, desu?" Alice cried as she broke away before forcing Suzuran into a high-speed rally of sword strokes, the clashing sounds of their blades resonating like the quick rapping of a drummer on their cymbals in a fast-paced solo.

"You're...!?" Suzuran exclaimed. "You're Alice Sakayanagi!?"

Noa, meanwhile, was busy engaging Manaka and she fared quite a bit better than Suzuran although she couldn't land a final blow. Manaka's nagamaki might be comparatively slow due to its size but the explosive power in her strikes made it impossible to defend. All Noa could do was dodge her attacks and attempt counterattacks which are almost always foiled by a quick block from the long hilt of Manaka's sword. "Our new pursuers are from Minoseki...!?"

"That's right!" Alice said, locking blades with Suzuran again. "I assume I have the pleasure of speaking with Osafune Girls' Academy's junior high division's second-year student, Suzuran Arisugawa, desu?"

"Indeed I am," Suzuran countered, using a small burst of Hachimanriki to force Alice off of her, stepping back a few paces.

"In that case, I am Minoseki Academy's senior high division's first-year student, Alice Sakayanagi, desu!" Alice replied, holding her sword in-no-kamae. "For the crime of turning one's blade against the head of the Origami family, I challenge the traitor to a duel, desu!"

"Heh, fine, I accept. Suzuran Arisugawa, here I come!"

Their swords clanged again as the two girls accelerated toward each other.