When The Cute Kunoichis Spied on Their Teacher's Secret

Volume 2, Chapter 3

1: The Difference Between Revenge and a Rescue Operation is Paper Thin

By the time they were safe once more, the sun had fully set.

Night had fallen.

They were inside a short-term apartment in New Sapporo Domain. It was one of the hideouts prepared by Sugiyado’s four students: Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, and Asagao.

A banner saying “Congrats on Getting Your Job Back!” was hanging unnaturally in the room.

Opening the refrigerator revealed a homemade-looking cake with plastic wrap over it.

Ouka must have prepared all of it.

The only thing missing was Ouka herself.

“…”

“…Sensei.”

Asagao softly called out to him while he sat there staring at the cake. As expected, she had not fallen into enemy hands and had merely been jammed.

His students had been calling their work here a secret date, but no longer.

(I can’t let it get to me right now.)

He had dragged the girls into his business and made a poor command decision. He really should have been committing seppuku, but that would not bring Ouka back.

So he would use his life in a different way.

He was willing to use up his life if it would save his student.

“Hoozuki. Tell me what happened.”

The silver-haired ponytail girl’s shoulders jumped.

Like he was digging into an open wound.

He wanted to punch himself in the face, but he had to ask this right now.

“What did you and Ouka see in that lab protected by such thick armor? What does Princess Karin hope will be her new energy source? And tell me about Amamo too. Tell me everything you know.”

“It was thermoelectric generation.” She spoke slowly, like she was fighting something within herself to get the words out. “They aren’t using large nuclear reactors or turbines. They’re using the electricity created in semiconductors. In a closed circuit created by pressing two different kinds of metal together, the heat difference creates electricity. In this northern land, that temperature is easy to come by when using the outside and inside air temperatures or room temperatures.”

Asagao, their gadget expert, frowned.

“But wait. By thermoelectric generation, you mean using the Seebeck effect, right? No one has ever created a macro-level generator for that. It’s true it doesn’t need gasoline or natural gas, but I thought it only produced small amounts of electricity. I mean, it can only create electricity on the circuit board.”

“Which means they only have to increase the scale.” Hoozuki hung her head. “And if they use something that already exists, they can skip the major construction fees that would rouse suspicions.”

Asagao was still not convinced.

“What are you-?”

Just as the youngest kunoichi was going to ask more, she came to a stop. She may have thought of something.

“The abandoned underground linear motor train network,” said Sugiyado with a grim look. “They were lying when they said they had filled it in with concrete.”

Linear motor trains used massive amounts of electricity, but the rails themselves were exceedingly long electric circuits lined with electromagnets. Only slight modifications would be needed to reuse them as the closed circuit for thermoelectric generation. The temperature difference would not be hard to set up if they used the difference between the closed tunnel and the outside air.

A motor and a generator were two sides of the same coin.

Even an elementary schooler would understand that after seeing a cheap light that connected to their bike’s front wheel, but running across the idea again here showed the possibility had completely slipped their minds.

Hoozuki nodded like a scolded child.

“That massive rail system connects all six of the Hokkaido Area’s domains. It covers more than 3600km…no, twice that with the up and down tracks. And the linear network hadn’t been privatized like the general railways have, so Princess Karin would have had no trouble requisitioning it with her temporary Domain Lord powers. Each individual unit is small, but when the entire system is used as a closed circuit generator, its output should easily surpass 10 nuclear reactors.”

Electric eels could produce enough electricity to kill a human in the water, but each of their individual generator organs did not produce that much. They gained that great output by connecting so many of them together in series.

One of the ninjas here could be particular about electricity and power sources since she used coilguns.

Bara lifted her large chest with her crossed arms and leaned back against the wall.

“That explains why they only needed that one lab made of snow in the middle of the workshop district. The individual units must be even simpler than a cheap calculator powered by a solar panel. New Sapporo Domain and the other northern domains must have hoped to overcome their lack of resources like this. They never would have been in this situation if they could have pumped tons of materials into building up a massive facility from scratch. They ended up modifying something they already had to make up for that.”

Anyway.

They doubted there were any problems with the new power system using the underground linear motor train network. They had to assume that Princess Karin had already restored her defense system that included everything from early-warning radars across the entire Hokkaido Area to strategic anti-air laser beam cannons and 900mm railguns. She had only been working so hard to hide it because she did not want anyone to know she had breathed life back into them.

Sugiyado sighed.

“That means she isn’t just holding them in reserve.”

“If she could take the initiative without actually using them, she would probably show them off. You know, to say ‘don’t mess with me cause I’ve got these cool new weapons’.”

He agreed with Asagao.

“Whatever she is actually planning,” said Bara. “If we assume she was hiding this information as they approached readiness, we have to assume the generation facility using the underground linear motor train network is just about complete. And if she does have her defense system back up, what is she trying to accomplish by hiding that fact? Hoozuki?”

The silver-haired ponytail girl weakly shook her head at that one. She had only seen the technology at the lab. There must not have been any documents explaining how or why it would be used.

With her arms still crossed and her back still against the wall, Bara used her chin to gesture over toward the bathroom door.

“How about we get this out of Taganuma Yukizasa and Horisato Oume, Sensei? By any means necessary.”

“Stop. I’m not leaving them in your care if you’re going to be emotional about it, Bara.”

Sugiyado made his point very clearly. They of course could not let the hostages know about that, but those two were crucial bargaining chips if they were to rescue Ouka. Carelessly harming those two and “using them up” would be the height of folly.

(I was hoping this conversation would give me some other bargaining chip to work with, but no such luck. Those generator units cover 3600km in both directions, so destroying them all is unrealistic. And I still can’t get a good grip on the conspiracy behind it all.)

He also had to make a decision about the hostage exchange to retrieve Ouka. The more time he gave Princess Karin, the more she would recover from her shock and the longer young Ouka would remain in enemy hands.

Humans did not always act in their own best interests.

Even if someone believed they were acting logically, their emotions could take control at any moment.

Taking a hostage was much easier said than done.

It affected the hostage and the hostage taker both.

After all, you had to invite an enemy into your territory, even if they were being threatened with a weapon and bound with rope or chains. Think of it like trying to get a good night’s sleep with a serial arsonist or serial killer tied up on the floor of your room. Even if your rational side could calculate out that they could not escape, could your emotional side really rest easy? The stress would be constantly building. And when you had the upper hand, it could be hard to even notice it.

“…”

With that in mind, Sugiyado made a decision. He still wanted some other bargaining chip. If Princess Karin was formulating her plans while entirely focused on Yukizasa and Oume, he could rattle her all the easier if he attacked from a different angle.

So…

“Time to contact the Empire.”

“Running to your Cyrillic mistress again?” grumbled Asagao, so he patted her small head.

“I’m not interested in Ekaterina here. I want to contact Murakami Michihiko who we left in her care.”

“Oh.”

“That’s right, Hoozuki. Princess Karin tried to directly cajole and persuade him in the castle, so he must be important to her – maybe for a rational reason and maybe for an emotional one. That means he’ll be even more useful than Yukizasa or Oume.”

2: Destruction

The disconcerting straining noise sounded just like a large bundle of hair being twisted and pulled taut.

It came from synthetic construction rope colored yellow and black.

“Kh,” groaned Kuhou Ouka, the girl with her long chestnut hair in twintails, as she awoke.

The solid thunk behind her came from the collapse of the tripod that had been supporting her hips from behind. Her arms were pulled over her head, her wrists were tied together, and they were dangling from the ceiling. If she was being suspended off the floor, her wrists would have been congested too badly to move or her shoulders would have dislocated, but she was kept just low enough that she could rest on her toes if she stretched down. Keeping her in that in between state was meant to slowly wear down all her body’s muscles over the course of hours.

(Can I slip the rope? No.)

There were a few stage magic tricks to that end, but they generally required some setup before being tied up. She was helpless since she had been bound by an expert while she was unconscious.

Also, a shiver ran down her skinny back.

She did not have any sort of equipment. Her stacked-barrel hunting gun called Midnight Tempest and the rest of her ninja tools had been confiscated, but she also felt no response from the strength boost her ninja outfit was supposed to provide using its electric potential elasticity and high-polymer water-absorbing gel. That was equipped with several batteries smaller than a stick of gum, but they must have all been removed.

She had not been stripped bare while unconscious, but not as a kindness to her.

That was a defensive measure to prevent the Stonewalls from feeling unnecessary guilt while she was imprisoned here.

When one side had an advantage over the other, the psychological effects were not a one-way deal. Sometimes, the imprisoners would be influenced by a pressure of their own creation. Ouka had her direct strength, but kunoichis were also taught to make a weapon of their weaknesses like that. Of course the enemy was being cautious.

She could not escape right away, so she had to alter her focus.

“…”

Unable to protect herself, she observed her surroundings while standing on her toes.

(Where am I? The enemy base? If I can find any intel I can get back to Sensei and the others, then my capture won’t be entirely meaningless.)

She was in a small square room measuring 10m on each side. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of thick steel and, when she twisted her hips to look behind her, she saw a large door of the same material. Ducts and pipes ran along the ceiling. She was dangling down from one of those pipes and she could sense a faint vibration through the rope when she focused her senses.

(Is it a steampipe?)

The room had no windows and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling had been removed. The only light came from the large lamp in one corner. Instead of a desk lamp, this was a floor lamp standing taller than she was. Ones like that would normally be used in studios and nighttime construction sites.

(This reminds me of a current or former construction site.)

She could only guess without seeing things outside. It was even possible this was a photography studio in a skyscraper decorated to look like a construction site.

That said, it was unusual to hear absolutely nothing through the walls when she remained entirely silent. Absolute soundproofing was hard to set up and not many people could do it. That had to be a clue to where this was.

Just then, the metal door behind her opened without so much as a knock.

“Hello, miss. How are you feeling?”

She twisted around to look back at the door and focused on the view through the door before on the person who had stepped in.

However…

“There’s another door behind this one. We’re not letting you see outside this room.”

“…”

The woman of around 20 who circled in front of Ouka had long black hair swaying at her sides and dragged a gorgeous junihitoe behind her.

She was Princess Karin.

Her skin was flushed a faint pink and her black hair was glossy and shiny even while dry. A faint herbal aroma hung over her.

(Was she bathing or receiving beauty care? I guess it isn’t unusual these days to use the heat of a garbage incinerator for a spa.)

She made some guesses, but she had no way of getting any of this to Sugiyado and the others. It was frustrating.

Meanwhile, the situation was underway.

Princess Karin leaned in close to peer into the eyes of the kunoichi standing on her toes with her bound hands dangling from a rope. She was looking up from right in front of Ouka’s growing chest. That was intentional. She was trying apply pressure through the violation of personal space, just like how oppressive it felt on a packed train.

“We checked over your equipment.”

“Oh? Way to ruin the wonderful hospitality you were offering me here.”

“Act tough if you like, but we checked over all of it. Including in here.”

Princess Karin’s slender finger ran down Ouka from her flat chest and past her navel, rubbing her skin through the ninja outfit that no longer functioned but still gave off sex appeal.

“You must be a real worrier to install seven batteries in this thing.”

“Kh.”

“You hid them well, so it took a lot of ‘feeling around’ to find them all.”

That was how it must have happened.

Ouka had known that, but trained as she was, it still took a lot of effort for her to keep her teenage side from showing through.

“Now, was that search done by a woman, or by a man? Who do you think I gave the order to?”

“…”

Ouka’s expression remained unchanged.

A raging storm of embarrassed heat roiled in the core of her body, but letting that show would only invite more attacks in the same vein. The standard anti-torture strategy began with feigning indifference no matter what they did.

Princess Karin was trained in the Stonewall ninja school, so she would be familiar with the womanly techniques. She made a purr in her throat, covered her mouth with her large sleeve, and laughed in an overly elegant fashion.

“Do not worry. There are vanishingly few men who are worth inviting into a group of kunoichis who hone their sex appeal as a weapon. Most men are no more than imbeciles who end up forgetting their mission and running wild while inventing some strange story about it being ‘elopement’ or ‘challenging the world for their love’. I was so close to finally securing a useful one back at the castle when you had to intervene. The scan for hidden weapons, transmitters, and suicide pills was done by Amamo.”

It was said even the lawless pirates had avoided putting a mixed-gender crew on a single ship when possible. When working with multiple ships, they would always divide their personnel along gender lines. Needless to say, that was to avoid having the entire crew break apart from unnecessary trouble. Ouka’s group had been blessed with an extreme exception in Sugiyado Souha, but the young man named Murakami Michihiko may have been that for Princess Karin and the Stonewalls.

“But anyway.” Princess Karin looked up at the suspended girl and breathed an exasperated sigh. She was close enough for the air pressure to tickle Ouka’s flat chest. “I did not expect your tools and outfit to be so official. What are Elite Ninjas from the Shogunate doing this far north?”

“I think you know exactly why, Princess Karin.”

“Well, you can’t kill yourself like this. Despite what fiction would have you believe, humans do not die just from biting their own tongue. Are you trying to anger me into carelessly killing you?”

Princess Karin knew how the game was played. She reached into her junihitoe’s sleeve and pulled out a hairspray-sized can. Then she attached a clear plastic cup to it.

“What are you having me inhale?”

“You should really ask me to let you inhale it. While saying please, of course.”

It could simply be a gas, but it could also be bacteria or mold spores. Ouka tried to feign calm, but her eyes still wavered.

Princess Karin looked amused as she shook the metal can equipped with inhaler cup and she lightly slapped it against Ouka’s soft cheek.

“Don’t worry. It’s only oxygen. And the idea isn’t to have you inhale so much you hyperventilate.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“If I’m going to negotiate with a guy who can bring multiple Shogunate Elite Ninjas together, I need some tricks up my sleeve. I want to get Oume and Yukizasa back, but that will be no easy task. I just know he’s working up some kind of plan, so I want to lay a trap of my own. …A trap using your body and mind.” That demon in female form smiled like this was none of her concern. “Simply put, I will remake you into a puppet who can never say no. I’m sure you have done your research into New Sapporo Domain and the Stonewalls, so you might even know our identities and abilities. I doubt we could win back Yukizasa and Oume entirely unharmed now that they have been captured, but what if I had a new fighter they knew nothing about? That is exactly what I will have once you betray your companions. Those Shogunate ninjas will be satisfied once they get all of Yukizasa and Oume’s insider information, but this will catch them off guard.”

That was a horrifying thought.

She was being asked to personally kill her beloved teacher. Her body and mind would be remade until that was a real possibility. As if unseen components of her being would be removed one by one and replaced with something else entirely. She would prefer to be tortured to death in the cruelest way imaginable.

This demon understood that, but she said all this anyway.

She stood a step removed from standard morals and etiquette. She knew this was a line that must not be crossed even by a kunoichi who actively made use of taboos, but she whispered sweetly all the same.

“Yes, I can pretend to lose the negotiation and send you to him. Then, when you strike, I can use the resulting chaos to take back my companions. Now, I’ve revealed my plan to you, but you have no way of letting him know. It’s killing you inside, isn’t it!? Anyway, I would appreciate your cooperation in this. When I am done remaking you, I hope you will kill as many of your companions as possible.”

“I’ll never do that!!”

“Yes, you will. Your own intentions are irrelevant here. After all…”

Princess Karin stretched up and touched the steampipe Ouka was suspended from. Specifically, she grabbed the emergency release valve. With a loud “pshhhh!!”, something formless erupted out. It did not directly hit Ouka, but it instantly filled the sealed room. The stench of rotten eggs reached Ouka’s nose, reminding her of a hot spring.

“Hydrogen sulfide!?”

“Maybe it is and maybe that distinctive smell is being used to hide something else. Use all of your knowledge to fuel your paranoia. Now, miss, if you would like this oxygen tank, you need only ask. If you’re lucky, it won’t be too late by the time the mask is in place, but I would recommend making up your mind sooner rather than later.”

Princess Karin grinned and placed the clear cup over her own mouth and nose.

“I will be back to ask again in half an hour. I’m not interested in sitting around testing your patience.”

“…!”

“And this will continue for hours if need be. Or days. It is all up to you, so this could be the first of many half hours to come. Personally, I think I will go enjoy the rest of my massage in a room with an air purifier. Listen, I will only ask you once each visit. Enjoy feeling the toxins entering your bloodstream through your lungs.”

The first half hour was a battle with her own struggling.

She held her breath and strained her bound hands, but nothing she did improved her situation. Not breathing had never been an option. With no power left, her ninja outfit would not protect her. She felt like the unseen source of the stench was entering her through her nose, her hair, her skin, and even within her underwear.

Was this really the sulfuric chemical found at hot springs?

Could it also contain an even more brutal delirium gas or knockout gas?

Once her body could no longer resist, her mind raced and gathered up every bit of knowledge she had. It was like having her life flash before her eyes. This was her instincts trying to find any clue to breaking free of this, but her ninja training had left her with an extensive knowledge of toxins and drugs, which only made this worse. She could not have feared the possibility of certain gases and bacteria if she did not know they existed.

“How are you doing? Changed your mind yet?”

After precisely half an hour, Princess Karin reentered the room with a transparent cup over her nose and mouth.

She must have been worried that the smell would get on her junihitoe or her hair because she grimaced and closed the steampipe’s valve even though she could not have actually smelled it.

“You are a sight to behold, let me tell you. Is all that sweat just from tension? I’m sure that flesh-colored skintight suit would have maintained an interior environment between it and your skin if it still had its batteries, but you look like you just ran a marathon. Sweat is seeping from the cracks in the suit and…I kindly left your underwear intact, but it might as well not be there anymore.”

She took a deep and performative breath of fresh oxygen and the sound of gas leaving the metal cannister wore on Ouka’s nerves.

“Just say the word and you will be immediately freed from this physical exhaustion and mental fear.”

“I will never do that.”

“Another half hour it is.”

The next half hour was a battle with flashbacks.

As all the “what ifs”, maybes, and hypotheticals swirled through her mind over and over, her knowledge ended up running in an unusual direction. It may have been similar to getting lost reading manga or a magazine found while rearranging your room. Or maybe her instincts concluded there was no point in continuing the vain search through the direct genres of toxins and drugs, so they ended up reaching for a different genre of technique and memories.

Her senses dulled.

Was that because her mind was focused inwards, or simply because of the colorless gas(?) causing the stench?

She heard a whispering deep in her ears.

It was not coming from outside.

She could not pin it down to any specific direction.

The more she focused, the less she could make it out, but it refused to leave no matter how much she tried to make it go away. The indistinct voice was a lot like a mosquito buzzing around near your ear on a sweltering summer night.

She had been looking at this wrong from the beginning.

Her resistance was fairly irrelevant. Princess Karin had not set a time limit; she had simply said it would continue until Ouka broke and became her puppet. If she could not escape on her own, then she only had two options.

The options were not obey or disobey.

They were to be successfully remade or broken beyond repair.

This may have been similar to a surgical procedure.

“How are you doing?”

After a while, Princess Karin returned.

Ouka could no longer tell if it really was half an hour later or if hours and hours had passed.

“Still supporting yourself on your toes? A normal person’s legs or back would have cramped up by now, so well done there.”

“Shut…up. I…”

“Acting tough is pointless when I can see how swollen your eyelids are. Your body is reaching its limit. That just leaves your mind. Which way are the scales tipping? Will it be next time? Or maybe the time after that? Not that this will end even if it’s the time after the time after the time after the time after that. Whenever it happens, I look forward to hearing you say the word.”

“…”

“Death is the end of all possibilities. No matter how far you fall, you still have a chance of being reunited with those familiar faces as long as you remain alive. That is the logical thinking befitting a kunoichi. Okay, see you again in half an hour.”

During the next half hour, her life ceased flashing before her eyes.

Her breaths caught.

Something was wrong with her throat, so she was wheezing. Princess Karin mad mentioned her eyelids swelling, so maybe her throat was too. Her trachea could be swelling closed. She could no longer support herself on her toes, so a lot more force was placed on her wrists. If that continued long enough, her hands could be permanently damaged, but she doubted she could bring strength back to her legs as they weakly convulsed below her.

The voice was back.

The directionless voice continued to whisper to her like a bug buzzing around by her ear.

(If necrosis sets in…)

This was the only thought on her mind as she trembled with her tongue hanging limply from between her lips.

This was likely the last coherent thought remaining inside her.

(I could…die here.)

“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.” Princess Karin returned and briefly shut off the valve. “But you should have started to notice it by now. To be honest, the gas doesn’t really matter. It’s the steampipe. The faint vibrations pass through the rope and rattle all the bones in your body. Have you been hearing a voice? Did you think you were hallucinating? The necessary instructions have already been inserted into your mind. How long until they take effect differs from person to person, but all that remains is to wait until then.”

“…”

Was this a variation of the technique named Out of the Blue?

A kunoichi made a weapon out of her own feminine beauty and allure, so she could not rely only on pure muscular strength to defeat her enemies. A kunoichi was meant to have a slim and delicate body that made an enemy careless, so they were often forced to fight at a disadvantage. They had done considerable research into how to cause the maximum amount of pain with the minimum amount of force.

When an enemy was prepared for the blow, they could grit their teeth and charge onward even as their skin and flesh were torn by a blade, but if the attack came from an unexpected direction with unexpected timing, then even the prick of a single needle could cause a large man to jump and lose consciousness.

Think of it like a test of courage where someone shoved konjac in your face on the end of a fishing rod. You would only laugh if that happened right in front of you in broad daylight, but your heart would leap out of your mouth if it caught you by surprise in the dark.

“I will remind you that when this ends is up to you. This would already be over if you would pass out and raise the white flag, but your stubbornly strong mind is only making you suffer longer. But I will wait. Wait until the light fades from your eyes.”

She could resist.

Or she could not.

…The result would be the same.

Ouka felt a miniscule but unmistakable crack form in the center of her heart.

Why was she forcing herself to continue suffering suspended from that pipe? What was the point of this? If she could prevent even one tiny part of Princess Karin’s plan, there would be a reason to let years be taken off her life here. But this was wasted effort. Nothing would come of it. The longer she resisted, the closer she would come to being the mindless puppet Princess Karin wanted.

It hit her.

What did it matter if she said the word?

What would her struggles accomplish?

“You set up your shield in the wrong direction. If you had focused on the vocal data reaching you from the steampipe via bone conduction, it never would have set in so easily.”

Oh, no, thought Ouka.

Yet she could not rid herself of the doubt that continued to grow within her. In fact, the doubt began to weigh heavy on her soul.

If her struggles were meaningless, why not just give in? She could leave the rest in Sugiyado Souha’s hands and let him save her.

She knew that was only wishful thinking. If they failed to notice she had been remade, then she might attack and kill her teacher in his sleep.

But what other choice did she have? A pounding headache grew while all of her thoughts, ideas, and inspiration focused in on that one point.

(Bad idea…planted in my head.)

Her mind grew hazy.

She could no longer make sense of the words there.

Darkness closed in on her vision and her ears heard only Princess Karin’s sweet whispers.

“The choice is yours: will you resist and suffer, or will you give up and be freed from it all. The voice finished its job during the first hour and it is too late to struggle after reaching a lethal dose.”

(Sens-…)

Another half hour passed.

Another half hour passed.

Another half hour passed.

And.

There was no half hour after that.

3: The Nymph and the Ninja

“Oh? You look much more determined now, Comrade Souha. Welcome back to the battlefield.”

The Neva River Nymphs were a spy agency for the Cyrillic Empire.

Ekaterina had invited Sugiyado to a parking garage just like so many others in New Sapporo Domain. However, every last vehicle on the third floor were being used by the Empire under false names and they had troops at every exit to ensure their safety.

But the Nymphs were frogmen, so all of their exists were aquatic in nature, like a manhole or a water storage tank.

Sugiyado did not do things their way, but the parking garage still allowed escape in any direction, making it the perfect “hidden village” for those who lived in the darkness. Needless to say, it was not a permanent hideout. The temporary village had been created by gathering mobile homes in the half hour or so since he had contacted them.

The Nymphs’ home ground was always under the water.

“Ugh, they speak an entirely different language here. Everything’s covered in Cyrillic.”

“Asagao,” he chided.

Bara and Hoozuki were not here. They were keeping an eye on Yukizasa and Oume back in the short-term apartment. Splitting up their forces had been necessary, but it still wore on his nerves so soon after Ouka was taken. He knew he was being overprotective, but he still hated being unable to stick together.

“You need our help, do you?” Ekaterina was leaning against the side of a large truck container. “I can mobilize the sub we have out at sea if necessary.”

“I have some good news for you. Both of the strategic anti-air laser beam cannons on the outskirts of the city are back up and running. Some rusty ballistic missiles aren’t going to cut it. Nor would an orbital bombing system that circles the planet waiting for the command to strike, or the latest ballistic systems that break away at ultra-high altitude to attack their target at Mach 5 or greater.”

Ekaterina choked in shock, but he did not care about that right now.

“How is Murakami Michihiko doing?”

“Cough, ugh…h-he is in here.”

She circled behind the container she had been leaning against. She unlocked and opened the double doors to reveal a living space more comfortable than a studio apartment. If you ignored the lack of an internet connection and the fact that the doors could not be opened from within.

What made for a comfortable shut-in life when chosen for yourself turned into hellish solitary confinement when forced upon you. The difference between happiness and unhappiness was often paper thin like that.

A young man sat on the sofa inside wearing the same things he had when they handed him over. He glared at Sugiyado and clearly wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but Sugiyado did not have the time or patience to deal with the young man’s grudge right now. He got straight to the point to hold the initiative.

“Your lifeline was the thermoelectric generation using a giant closed circuit made from the underground linear motor train network.”

“!”

Michihiko’s shoulders jumped.

Whether he agreed with Princess Karin’s plan or not, that was not what he had wanted to hear while in the Cyrillic Empire’s territory. But Sugiyado did not care.

He climbed into the container.

“Help us stop Princess Karin.”

“That is an urgent matter.” The young man weakly shook his head. Horizontally. “But I’m not getting the Empire’s help. That would be like blowing up a dam to put out a fire.”

“Then you can wait here until it’s all over. Just sit here in your air conditioned room on your comfy couch and wait for the result to be read off to you in the flat voice of a news anchor. It won’t be long before you learn after the fact what happened to New Sapporo Domain and the people who murdered your grandfather while he worried for you.”

“…”

“Don’t forget: my debt is to him, not you. Your personal connection with Princess Karin doesn’t really matter. To me, you’re no more than a single component. If that component isn’t working, I can look elsewhere. So quit whining and give me an answer. Will you or will you not help us stop Princess Karin and the Stonewalls?”

First, there was a tongue click.

The young man knew he had no real choice here, which may have shown he still had his pride as a ninja. Even though flopping down in the sofa and going to sleep would have given him a safe route out of here.

From here on, he would be seen as a ninja. Sugiyado Souha had to update his opinion of the young man.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Murakami Michihiko.

“We’ve captured two of the Stonewalls’ core members and have them in our room: Taganuma Yukizasa and Horisato Oume.”

That was enough for Michihiko to freeze. He must have trusted in their skill even as their enemy.

“But I can’t say it was easy. One of ours, Ouka, was taken. We’ve arranged a hostage exchange. We will face Princess Karin directly while you lie in wait and attack from the side. That will be most effective strike.”

“…”

“Whether she lives or dies is up to the strength of that strike. I have no reason to hold back. In fact, I’d prefer to kill her a hundred times over or more since she captured Ouka. 'Which is why I’m leaving the finishing blow to you. You decide how hard you need to hit her.”

Murakami Michihiko had come here as an inspector from Edo, but Sugiyado could guess he had a closer relationship with Princess Karin. When carrying out such a largescale plan, she had attempted to bring him onto her side instead of silencing him. That suggested they had something of an alliance.

Now they would use that against her.

Even if she had killed his grandfather, this was like rubbing salt in the wound according to ordinary bushido. But ninjas lived in a different world from the samurai. Sugiyado was afraid he might carelessly shred her to pieces, so he was giving the young man a chance to show more restraint than that.

And Michihiko was not dumb enough to overlook what this meant.

He had already rejected learning what happened after the fact on TV. He had wanted to play a role in how it ended, so now he lowered his head.

“You have my thanks.”

“Let’s get down to the specifics. Asagao, the map.”

“Here you go.”

Asagao pulled out her phone and an accessory instead of a paper map. A satellite map was displayed on the wall by a simple projector that used a special wavelength of light that showed up even with the lights on.

Sugiyado pointed his chin toward the map on the wall.

“New Sapporo Domain as a whole is Princess Karin’s backyard. I doubt even Ekaterina’s intel collected from the water could fill that gap. So I want your help since you protected the city using the same system she uses. …What are the best locations in the city for holding negotiations? Where should we start to get ahead of Princess Karin here?”

4: The Negotiations Begin

Finally, Sugiyado left the mobile home and Asagao followed after him with her cheeks puffed out and her baggy sleeves behind her head.

“Are you sure about this? I doubt he would fully turn on us, but they know each other. He might stop the attack at the last second after seeing Princess Karin in person. Ouka’s life is on the line here, so I don’t like including an uncertain factor like him. Wouldn’t it be better to have you stab her through the heart?”

“Going with the obvious choice won’t work here, Asagao. Princess Karin has the home-field advantage. We can’t escape the city’s ruler if do everything by the book, so we need to introduce a wild card to the mix. We can no longer enjoy this as an away game. We have to throw out the rulebook.”

“But…”

“Also, Princess Karin isn’t our objective here. Taking back Ouka is our top priority, so let’s focus on that while we let him handle the opening act.”

That was when he heard some static in his ear.

He reached a hand to his ear and Asagao began monitoring it with her phone.

“Hello, insolent fool. I wish to discuss this proposed hostage exchange.”

“The gas turbine power plant on the east side.”

“Then I will decide on the time. Tonight at 7. If you do not show then, negotiations are off. Choose your actions carefully if you wish to see Kuhou Ouka again.”

Kuhou Ouka.

Princess Karin had learned her name. He doubted Ouka would have voluntarily given that, so something was happening over there. And with that in mind, he spoke with a voice colder than ice.

“Fine by me, but would you really throw out your only card for a simple penalty like that? Need I remind you I have more than one hostage? That gives me more than one chance, unlike you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have something much crueler prepared.”

“Do you? I look forward to finding out what. One wrong move and I will kill Yukizasa and Oume with methods you’ve never even imagined. I will use every skill I’ve built up over my career as a professional ninja to invent a method that will be spoken of for a century to come.”

“That should be fun. But with both of us hoping to reclaim someone we care for, I doubt this will play out as a straight exchange. I look forward to seeing how much of a fight you criminals put up.”

The transmission ended.

Asagao shook her head.

But not to say she had failed to trace the signal.

“It came straight from New Sapporo Castle’s classified server. I can’t tell you if she’s in the castle or relaying the signal through there, though.”

They could not easily attack the castle even if they did know she was there. Princess Karin was the ruler of the entire domain, so she could use the city’s systems to their fullest.

Sugiyado clicked his tongue.

“I’m seriously starting to think we might have to kill her.”

5: Yukizasa and Oume

They had agreed on 7 PM, but this was not the same as meeting your friends in front of the train station. Arriving right on time was like asking to be killed. The trick to winning and surviving was visiting the surrounding area and setting everything up before 7 PM.

Sugiyado Souha entered their makeshift jail cell with Murakami Michihiko.

“Yukizasa, Oume. We need to talk.”

The short-term apartment’s prefab bathroom was the exact opposite of a tourist destination’s hot spring. The cramped space was surrounded by artificial walls and had no windows, making it feel like a cell. Yukizasa was handcuffed to the bath’s accessibility railing and Oume to the toilet’s pipes, putting them too far apart to reach each other.

Their reactions were very different when he opened the door. Small Yukizasa showed him the raw hostility of a wild beast and sexy Oume cowered down in apparent fear.

“That’s some real basic emotional manipulation.” Murakami sounded exasperated. “Both sadism and a protective desire are based on reliance and possessiveness. If one of them isn’t to your liking, is the other one supposed to draw you in?”

“…”

An appraising silence followed.

But they had to already know that Murakami Michihiko was one of the questioners. That meant he was not on Princess Karin’s side and would not cover for those two.

(Then again, I wouldn’t put it past a ninja to pretend to cooperate with me to help the kunoichis escape.)

Those two were both pros.

No amount of soothing or coaxing from Sugiyado was going to shake them. The most effective move was not violence or kind words. The thick shield held out in front of them would not break. If you wanted them to speak, it was best to confuse them about who was on whose side, leaving them uncertain which way to hold their shield.

“We know everything,” said Sugiyado as if continuing for the young man. “Do you have a secondary and tertiary trap on top of the emotional manipulation? If not, you’ve failed. Give up now.”

That earned him a blatant tongue click.

But not from rough Yukizasa. This came from Oume who expertly used her sweet sex appeal.

She knew her techniques would not work on an instructor of kunoichis. She had probably only hoped her poor attempt would make him feel sorry for her.

Yukizasa and Oume’s top priority would be to determine what Murakami Michiko’s angle was.

But once they moved their shields in that direction, Sugiyado would stab for their exposed sides.

“What do you want?” asked Yukizasa while seated in the bathtub and not even looking his way. She had to know several ways to drag information out of trained ninjas using just the running water in here. And without leaving a single mark on their skin.

But Sugiyado only sighed.

He did not even step inside the bathroom, like he was respecting it as their territory.

Glancing over at Murakami Michihiko before talking would rattle and disconcert those kunoichis far more than any violence or threats.

“?”

Michihiko himself did not know how to respond and caused an unnatural silence, but it was still enough to affect Yukizasa and Oume since they were willing to read several layers too much into anything after being imprisoned like this.

After warming them up like that, Sugiyado got down to business.

Now that they were sufficiently rattled, he got right to the point.

“To be blunt, I don’t see much use in the two of you. We could see pretty much your entire hand from the moment we figured out your trick was using thermoelectric generation with the underground linear motor train network.”

“!”

This was working.

Sexy Oume glared over at small Yukizasa, telling her to mask her reactions better.

“That just leaves what exactly you plan to do with it, but we can figure that out by cornering Princess Karin and getting her to talk. Besides, she might not have even given you two the real reason. Better to get it from a trustworthy source than leave open the possibility of misinformation.”

Oume smiled in a self-deprecating way while bound to the toilet.

She may have decided to speak before Yukizasa could say too much.

“Then why are you even meeting with us? Hoping to distract yourself from your companion’s capture?”

“If it would get her back, I would dismember you in that tub and stuff you in bags. Should I send the bags to New Sapporo Castle? Is Princess Karin emotional enough to cover her face while watching the carnage on a monitor? I kind of doubt it.”

It all came so smoothly.

He was not trying to convince them of anything and he was not displaying any obvious anger or killer intent. He sounded so relaxed it might have passed in one ear and out the other if they were not paying attention. But that was what made it so bone-chilling.

He would do it if necessary.

As easily as he might chop a radish in two on the cutting board.

If he did not radiate that energy and make them hyperventilate, then this was entirely meaningless.

Someone’s life was riding on this.

Kuhou Ouka was a student left in his care. She had gone along with this plan even though she had nothing to gain from it. She was not here, but each of his words and each second that passed could influence whether she lived or died.

“Again, I don’t need anything from you. If I can return you, that’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

His tone remained unchanged.

Even a police officer aiming a gun at a criminal would have shown more emotion while explaining their right to remain silent.

“If I asked you to do something, you wouldn’t do it for me, would you? But keep that within reason, if you don’t mind.”

“…”

“Listen, if I can’t use you for anything, then I won’t. I have no reason to go out of my way to kill you, but I also have no reason to insist on your survival. If things go wrong at the exchange, I will kill you on the spot. The rails have been laid out, so now you either follow them or you intentionally derail. The choice is yours.”

What happened next would be the same either way. Whether they would obey or not, they would still want to know how things were supposed to go down.

“Creating the illusion of choice while guiding us toward the card you want?” Oume kept her voice low while handcuffed to the toilet pipes. “Is this supposed to be a form of mind control?”

“Interpret it however you like, but I’m not lying. You can choose to do what I say or not and that will determine what happens to you.”

“…”

Oume looked over at Murakami Michihiko with the look of a chained-up puppy, but he only sighed.

Sugiyado and Michihiko had not planned any of this out in advance, but that was why a single adlibbed comment could cause such a disturbance.

“I was tricked by the Stonewalls once already, so isn’t it a bit selfish to expect me to be honest with you now?”

“I should have ignored the princess and killed you sooner. An inspector who isn’t in our pocket only brings trouble.”

The traveling shrine maiden talked tough, but a real ninja did not make a show of their killer intent. If you were planning to kill, it was best to look like you would never hurt a fly.

The kunoichis had no ground to stand on here, so they may have hoped to draw out their own hostility this way.

To intentionally disillusion themselves.

To help give up on someone they had thought was on their side.

(How na?ve. I won’t say it’s wrong to feel that way, but the more you care about something, the more carefully you have to protect it to avoid being hurt.)

“Now, then.” Sugiyado paused for a beat. “Those are some strong words, but which is it? Yes, or no. This isn’t a choice you can put off. I just hope you choose the card I think you will.”

With that said, he pulled out two stick-shaped digital voice recorders and threw them within arms’ reach of the two girls.

“Everything you need to know is on those. You can replay it as many times as you like. Whatever your intentions, you’re starved for information, right? I left out any maps or photos that require a visual, so do your best to memorize it all from the audio alone.”

6: Official Trap Preparations

“Deliveries 2 and 3 are complete. The next one will be the last.”

“Very good.”

Princess Karin nodded calmly at her subordinate’s report while walking through the facility with the hem of her junihitoe dragging behind her. With Taganuma Yukizasa and Horisato Oume captured, half her central team was missing and she had to visit this mass of steel and concrete herself for a direct report.

(To think an organization could be too big.)

But that did not mean she was willing to throw all that away and attempt it with a minimal number of elites.

A metallic thud sounded.

An armored truck’s electronically-controlled suspension had easily lowered a Swift Foot Type-2 Mount. Just a few years ago, the category of 2-wheel armored vehicles had not even existed, but these were essentially a dual-wheeled unit that an armored samurai replaced their lower body with.

They had of course had their origins in large motorcycles, but given their size and weight, they were more like a slimmed-down steamroller.

They were armed with a projectile weapon that resembled a Western bow-and-arrow after combining a rapid-vibration spear with an ultra-flexible bow made from the same special stainless steel used in the springs for skyscraper earthquake countermeasures. Those high-mobility anti-composite-armor weapons had been developed to open a hole in the tanks and 6-legged mobile fortresses that made up the Cyrillic Empire’s primary fighting force. Not only did they function as a weapon at close and long range, but most people would not even want to imagine what became of someone if they were run over by a “slimmed-down steamroller”.

No matter where the enemy was hiding in the gas turbine power plant, these could break right through the wall to reach them. There were plenty of sensors capable of detecting a target right through thick obstacles, such as terahertz waves and magnetic resonance.

She had just one concern.

(The power plant is crucial to the city’s infrastructure. We need to calculate out the acceptable amount of damage and share a map of what areas can be destroyed. If this comes down to a game of deception, we might not have a datalink up at all times.)

They could always reroute all the power from the underground linear motor train network to the city, but that would mean more or less be going public with their secret power source. She wanted to avoid anything so conspicuous.

“The final transport unit is here. Delivery 4 has arrived.”

“Good.”

They were not up against paper targets here.

She had this much at her disposal, but the Shogunate ninja would be working to outwit her in order to survive…and to save the hostage. But what might look like a clever choice could also be narrowing your options through unnecessary assumptions. It was just like a game of shogi. She had her standard heavy firepower, but she also had the secret arts of the ninja. While her opponent was hiding from the obvious threat of the rook or bishop, she would attack with the trickier knight or lance. In other words, she just had to hunt them down with her ninjas.

That meant Princess Karin herself and Amamo.

Then the junihitoe princess opened the trailer of the armored truck that had just arrived and viewed the weapon that had been hardest to procure.

She gave a command to her ultimate weapon that gave off a faint floral scent.

“How are you feeling, my cute kunoichi?”

7: To Battle

The gas turbine power plant was located on the east side of the city.

New Sapporo Domain was landlocked and thus could not acquire large quantities of coolant water from the ocean, so thermal power generation was a crucial part of its infrastructure. That said, the old-fashioned coal method pumped out toxic smoke, which was incompatible with preserving a livable environment in the big city. That naturally limited them to using the same city gas as ordinary homes.

That may have been enough to support the people’s lives, but it was insufficient to power the many defense weapons deployed to every corner of the vast northern land. In fact, they could not have the power generation facility openly visible by satellite. If the Cyrillic Empire launched a missile strike on or sabotaged it, all the military systems would go down.

The dull gray building stood out from the surrounding city even with a thin layer of artificial snow.

“It’s generally exactly as Murakami said.”

The sun was setting.

Asagao was using a tablet to view the footage sent by an aerial drone resembling a giant top supported by coaxial rotors.

“The many pipes even cover up the roads running through there. That probably helps prevent satellites from seeing the steam from the pressure release valves and the smoke from the smokestacks, but I can’t get the drone any closer due to all the EM scattered by the turbines. The control interference would be too great if I had it descend any more and who knows when communications will be lost too.”

“Oh? So they don’t stop the power plant even during emergencies?”

“C’mon, Bara. Don’t you know it takes days to inspect and restart the turbines once they stop? Besides, Princess Karin is trying to protect the people. Even if her methods are a little insane.”

Asagao was right. The large reactors found in power plants and ironworks were more efficient when kept running at all times instead of switching them on and off for every little thing.

Princess Karin controlled the local government, so she had use of the official surveillance network, from the security cameras to the satellites, and she could even send in a large military force. Sugiyado’s team was fighting an away game, so they needed a reliable withdrawal point more than a giant weapon. In that sense, the gas turbine power plant was like a jungle of steel and concrete. They could use their ninja techniques to their hearts’ content there.

Hoozuki checked the same screen.

“But, Sensei, she’ll know how to use the place like that too, won’t she? We should assume the security is a lot stricter from normal. They’ll have filled in all the holes and used every advantage it gives them.”

“I know that.”

He had designated the location and Princess Karin had designated the time. She would have chosen a time that gave her enough time to make the preparations she needed. No one would insist on a condition that hurt their position.

And with that in mind…

(That honestly doesn’t matter.)

Sugiyado Souha did not lament his disadvantages.

If you could not ally yourself with your disadvantages, you could never overturn the board from behind the scenes.

(Ninjas are meant to perform the sabotage that a largescale army can’t do. Being at a disadvantage makes it easier to follow our training. Princess Karin, the more you fortify your position with military might, the more thick fat you surround yourself with and the harder you will find it to move.)

When an enemy had 100 large weapons, the more flammable objects you had to trigger explosions with and the more chances to trick the enemy into hitting each other.

When an enemy had 1000 guards, the more opportunities you had to defeat one, steal their uniform, and sneak in and the easier it was to pick up on dissatisfaction within the ranks to start some infighting or find an information leak.

These would be Princess Karin’s chosen troops, but she would not have gathered them all personally. Receiving the same training and education did not mean they all shared the same values and sense of the threat. Gather enough people and holes and misunderstandings were unavoidable. Not even the production lines for cutting-edge weapons had entirely perfected the advance detection of faulty parts.

A ninja knew how to view things in that light. They were like a contrarian that could back up their arguments with real action.

“We don’t actually know where Amamo or Princess Karin are, though. Or Ouka for that matter.”

They had an hour until the promised time of 7.

“It’s time.” Sugiyado teased the scarf over his mouth. “Asagao, switch the drone to programmed flight. We need to leave.”

“Hey, Sensei. I know arriving early to lie in wait is the standard play, but we know the Stonewalls will be there before us. If we arrive too soon, won’t it lead to a skirmish before the hostage exchange?”

Hoozuki was being more timid than usual, but that may have been due to losing Ouka before her eyes. Even Sugiyado had a hard time caring for his wounded heart and fully conquering the fear in such a short time.

And his answer was simple.

“7 was the given time, but we don’t actually have to wait until then. They’ll see it the same way, so I bet this will begin sooner.”

Sugiyado had three cards in his deck: Yukizasa, Oume, and – as a dark horse – Murakami Michihiko. As fighters, he had Bara and Hoozuki. Asagao was his information support. He did not count Ekaterina or the others from the Cyrillic Empire.

Once they had everything they needed, they took different trucks to reach the gas turbine power plant from three different directions.

Hoozuki took Yukizasa.

Bara took Ouma.

And Sugiyado Souha took Murakami Michihiko.

The young man spoke with a bitter look on his face.

He mostly seemed to be speaking to himself.

“The princess must be putting the happiness of New Sapporo Domain and the entire Hokkaido Area first and foremost. I’m certain of it. It’s just that she chose too extreme a method.”

“…”

His loyalty was impressive after having his grandfather killed and being framed for the crime.

Not to mention that he was not a part of the Stonewalls themselves.

“But you can still fight back without hesitation?”

“I am a ninja. I was trained to do so and I trained all my men to do so.”

He must have been taught how to suppress his emotions so he could control himself and survive even when under too much confusion to properly process what was happening. But that was no guarantee the process was working perfectly.

Sugiyado did not teach that method.

He taught his students how to use their emotions to fuel their progress, but he would not teach them how to stifle what they felt. That would be antithetical to teaching them how to live their lives.

“What happened between you and the old man?”

“Nothing,” spat out Michihiko while looking aside. He apparently felt some guilt. “A family member turned out to be a criminal. Enough of one to be sent to max-security Abashiri. Is it that odd that we became estranged after that? And remember that I’m a Shogunate ninja. I can never be open about it, but I am a civil servant.”

“Are you sure that’s all?”

If so, why had he been unable to throw out the ninja tool the old man made?

Sugiyado hid that question in his tone.

Michihiko sighed.

“He took the blame for a government official’s crime to protect the Shogunate. No matter how much I wanted to tell the truth, I would only have been ensuring he did it all for nothing. How am I supposed to stay in touch with someone during all that? I couldn’t manage it. My personal sense of justice was shaken by it.”

That did sound like that old man.

Sugiyado thought on it while holding the steering wheel. That explained why the old man had felt so different from the other prisoners. He had gotten by so easily within the complex power balance of the special prison, so it had seemed unlikely he would have been unable to avoid trouble in the outside world and committed a crime without covering his tracks properly.

“I’m not even going to try to change how you feel about Princess Karin.”

“Wha-?”

“I said I’m not even going to try, so I don’t need any arguments from you. I have no guarantee I could do anything about it on such short notice even if I wanted to.” Sugiyado sounded exasperated. “But you were so intent on stopping her plan that you turned a blade on her in the castle. She isn’t someone we can outdo while negotiating through the proper channels. Ouka is a complete stranger to you, but you will never have a better shot at defeating Princess Karin and the Stonewalls. Screw this up and there is no stopping New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area. Keep that in mind.”

“…”

For Murakami Michihiko, he was avenging his grandfather’s death.

He would be aware of that and also aware the he still could not bring himself to abandon Princess Karin.

He was in a bind, but the clock was still ticking.

“If this fails, this will no longer be a job for ninjas. The Shogunate might send in an army. Or the Empire might. Princess Karin would be shot to death beyond your reach or she would kill herself inside her blazing castle. If you want to avoid that, then do what you deem best now.”

They did not even consider entering through the main gate.

Sugiyado parked in an empty lot a short distance away.

“Follow the plan.”

“You too. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

“Ninjas always have their secrets.”

“…”

“So I will tell you what I can assure you is true: I respect your grandfather and I will do whatever it takes to rescue Ouka. We’re on equal footing here. You use me toward your ends and I’ll do the same with you. Now, let’s go.”

Alone, Sugiyado hopped atop the wall surrounding the empty lot dusted with artificial snow and then jumped to the roof of a nearby building. He noted a quiet beeping and held a hand to his ear while continuing his three-dimensional movement.

“I have a reading from the sensor. Murakami Michihiko has begun to move. Let him move freely from now on.”

“Got it, Sensei. We have Yukizasa and Oume on standby.”

“Murakami was present when you interrogated those two, so keep in mind that his name will spread quickly, Sensei.”

Hoozuki was right. But Murakami Michihiko was not meant as an unseen assassin. Hints of his presence were meant to rattle Princess Karin, so perfectly hiding him would be counterproductive.

People had a tendency to see ghosts in the dark because they feared incomplete information more than anything. That was when their imagination kicked in.

“Release Oume.”

Now.

The other side would have everyth