Even though Madoka said that the information gathering might take a while, she still managed to do it within a few hours, and way before school has ended.

‘Well, let’s wait until the others are here before you tell us what you found.’ I tell her.

‘Right. Meanwhile, we’ll be watching this.’ she takes out a thumb drive from one of her pockets.

‘What’s in that?’ I ask curiously.

‘A couple of movies. Don’t worry, they’re not pornography.’

‘I’m glad to hear it.’

‘I mean, we could always look through files at your computer if we’re ever going to watch one of those.’

‘Yeah, lets not. But why are we watching them?’

‘One, it’s for my payment for looking things up for you.’

‘Oh, fair enough. Though it’s an odd choice for payment.’

‘Two, it’s to keep you distracted.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘If I let you be, you’ll keep on thinking about what had happened despite your promise with Assaf-sensei.’

I flinch at that. Yup. She’s absolutely right.

‘As one of your girlfriends, I’m worried about your mental health. Which is why you’ll be watching the movies with me and take a short break whether you like it or not.’ she says while poking my forehead with her index finger.

‘All right. Point taken. And I never said I’m not going to watch, so could you please stop poking my forehead?’

She pokes it a few more times for good measures before finally stopping.

‘Let’s begin.’

‘Sure.’

She inserts the thumb drive into the USB port at the back of my television. Next, she turns on the television and pressed a few buttons on the remote to make the television load the data inside the thumb drive. While she’s messing with the remote, I go to the fridge to get us some snacks. I got myself a pack of seaweed flavored chips and a bottle of Cola, while Madoka gets persimmon seed snack and ginger ale.

She smiles happily when I brought her the snack and drink that she likes.

‘You actually remembered.’

‘Of course I did. I’m your boyfriend, remember?’

‘Isn’t it a pain to remember what each of your girlfriends like and dislike?’

‘Not at all. All of you are precious to me, so I don’t mind doing it.’

‘Well aren’t you the perfect boyfriend.’ she says while smiling and patting my head.

While we’re still flirting with each other, the movie has already started, so we stop and concentrate on the movie.

‘Let me guess, it’s another spy movie.’ I predict.

‘Nope, it’s one of your favorite kaiju movie. I figured that it’s nice to watch something you like for a change.’

‘Well aren’t you the perfect girlfriend.’ I say while smiling and patting her head.

We watch the movie in silence while eating and drinking our snack and drink. Occasionally, we would laugh at a comedic scene, but otherwise we keep quiet, as if we’re inside a cinema full of people.

‘So, how was it?’ Madoka asks me after the movie is over.

‘It’s much better than the one I picked during the summer, but still not good enough. I mean, the kaiju didn’t manage to kill every single humans.’ I comment.

‘...I suddenly think that you will do well as a villain.’

‘Oh, I dreamed of being one almost every night. Just dreamed, mind you. I’m definitely not interested.’

She rolls her eyes. ‘Let’s just watch the next one.’

By the time the others are here, we’ve already watch two other movies, one of kaiju genre and another a spy thriller one.

We were halfway through a fourth one, but since they’re already here I reach out for the remote to turn the television off. Before I could, Ichika takes the remote control away.

‘What are you doing, Ichika?’ I ask.

‘You are being rude to everyone who spent their hearts and souls if you only watch part of the movie. As such, you have a duty to watch until the end.’

‘But we’re about to-’

Mashiro comes over and puts her tiny hand on my mouth before I could continue.

‘Akira, just rest up first.’ she tells me.

‘Here’s the deal, Akira-kun. We’ll only begin the meeting once you’re done with the movie.’ Sakuya tells me.

I let out a sigh and raise up both my hands in resignation. There’s no point in arguing with them if they intended this right from the beginning. Seeing that I’ve surrendered, Mashiro pulls back her hand in satisfaction. She then sits at my other side and proceeds to eat some of my half-eaten chips. Everyone else is sitting down as well. Except Kuromi. She’s standing respectfully at a corner while keeping her distance from us as usual.

‘By the way, thank you for keeping my room clean and tidy while I’m gone, Kuromi.’ I tell the Goddess.

‘Please think nothing of it. After all, I had been doing it even while you were around.’

‘Still, I owe you some thanks.’

Kuromi bows deeply. ‘Your kind words are wasted on me. I am a servant dedicated to fulfill your every needs, even your needs on bed.’

I glare at Sakuya and Assaf-sensei when I heard the last part. Both of them avert their gaze while trying to look innocent. I decide to just let it slide and watch the rest of the movie.

After two hours, the movie’s finally finished.

‘Thanks for the movies, Madoka. I have to say, you picked some nice films for us to watch.’

She shrugs. ‘It was nothing. I just did some research is all.’

‘Now that the movie’s over, can we get down with the strategy meeting?’

Instead of answering, the girls proceed to surround me and stare at my face intently.

‘...What? What is it? Why are all of you staring at me? And sensei, can you get your hand off my lower body?’

‘Tch.’

‘What do you girls think? Does he look much better than this morning?’

‘Mashiro says that he is.’

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

‘Indeed. He looks much better now.’

‘Yup.’

‘I cannot say for certain as I was not there when he had a more tensed expression, but he has a nice expression on him right now.’

‘Seriously, what’s this about?’ I couldn’t help but ask.

‘We’re making sure that you’re no longer stressed out, of course. There’s no way we can talk strategy while our general is busy moping.’

‘So, based on your conversation, I passed, right?’

‘Yup.’

I let out a sigh. Some boyfriend I am for making my girlfriends worry.

‘Look, I’m sorry for worrying all of you. But I feel much better now. Honest.’

To further assure them, I let out my best smile. That seems to do the trick. They stop surrounding me and sit at their original position.

‘Now then, did you find out about the incident, Madoka?’

‘I did. I have to warn you first though, the incident is quite dark.’

‘Let’s hear it.’

‘The winter season six years ago lasted six months instead of the usual four. The Shinto Priests concluded that they need to bring back spring by summoning Kunohana no Sakuya-hime, the Goddess that governs spring in Japan.’

‘Wait, since when did I become a Goddess?’ Sakuya asks.

‘You were never one, senpai. She’s talking about Sakuya-hime, not Morifuji Sakuya. Are you doing it on purpose?’

‘Tee-hee.’

‘Anyway, Shimada Chisato, one of the shrine maidens and the head of her family back then, was chosen to perform the Kagura Dance so that she could be possessed by Sakuya-hime. She was to perform it at the Hikawa Shrine in Saitama.’

‘Why there?’

‘The winter was particularly serious in Saitama. It’s already bad enough that most people there rely on farming to earn their living. Therefore, they needed the spring to arrive there first.’

‘Fair enough. But…?’

‘Everything was smooth sailing at the beginning. Shimada performed the dance successfully, and Sakuya-Hime possessed her body without a hitch. The problem comes after the ritual. Shimada refused to dismiss Sakuya-Hime.’

‘What? Why?’

‘I never got to find out about that. What I do know is that the Head Priest of that time, Tanabe Noburu, was definitely not happy with her decision. He was there at the shrine when it happened, so the first thing he did was to order every priests and shrine maidens present at the time to dismiss the Goddess from Shimada by force, with him leading the dismissal. However, the dismissal was a failure. By contrast, all the priests and shrine maidens except Tanabe were killed by Shimada.’

I gasp instinctively at that.

‘Things got very ugly after that. Every Shinto exorcists were split into two factions, the Shimada family and their supporters, and those who oppose them. The latter were willing to forgive the murder that Shimada has committed on the condition that she dismiss Sakuya-Hime, but she was adamant to keep the Goddess inside her body. In the end, both sides agreed to end it with a war.’

‘Wait a minute!’ Ichika interrupts. ‘There is no way that something as big a scale as a war will not be noticed by the general public. However, we have never heard of it, not even a rumor!’

‘Well, I said war, but it’s more like a death match between representatives of the two factions. As for how it was kept secret from everyone else, they had the match in secret. They also made an oath to not spread the word that the match ever occurred if the anti-Shimada faction won. Obviously, the anti-Shimada faction obtained victory in the end, although it costed the right arm of their leader Tanabe, and everyone in his team suffered heavy injuries that almost killed them.’

‘After it’s over, they all lived happily ever after like nothing bad had happened, right?’ I ask hopefully.

‘Nope. Tanabe and the other extremists forced the losers to commit seppuku on the spot.’

‘...What?’

‘Tanabe’s argument was there is no guarantee the rebels won’t do the same thing in the future. As such, he wanted to cut off the roots.’

‘Even so, forcing them to commit seppuku to is going too far!’

‘Tanabe was known to be a ruthless leader who won’t take betrayal lightly. I’m surprised that he actually offered them a chance to surrender peacefully at the beginning.’

‘So what? The others just stood by and allowed it to happen?’

‘Not exactly. After the seppuku incident, Tanabe was forced to resign as the Head Priest. Kiryuu’s father was chosen to replace him due to his virtue and his tendency to solve things peacefully.’

‘Wait, aren’t Head Priests appointed by their predecessors? At least, that’s what Head Priest Kiryuu told me.’

‘Usually, yes. But everyone agreed that Tanabe should not be trusted anymore, not even to choose his successor.’

‘What happened to him after that?’

‘He locked himself up in his own room and prays for pretty much the entire day. He never comes out unless it’s to relieve himself or taking a bath. No one is to go inside his room at any circumstances, not even his wife.’

‘Is that his way of repenting?’

‘Who knows? In any case, this was the reason there can be only one hundred Shinto shrine maidens at the same time. They acknowledged that this probably won’t encourage another incident similar to this one, but they figured that this is the only method they could use.’

Wow. It was indeed dark just like she warned. No wonder they were forbidden from speaking about it. Imagine the credibility they would lose if words of this ever got out.

‘Thanks for the search, Madoka. Let’s move on to rescuing Yui.’

‘Hold on. You may have asked me to find out about this dark history out of curiosity, but I found something unexpected that might be related to our mission.’

‘Which is?’

‘Shimada had an illegitimate son that pretty much no one knew about. Naturally, he was overlooked when the rest of his family had to cut open their own stomach.’

She pauses dramatically. All of us patiently awaits her reveal.

‘Zaimoto Azuma.’

‘...Madoka, I’m not doubting your information network. But, are you certain?’

‘Definitely. I managed to get his blood sample and matched it with Shimada’s. They’re one hundred-percent blood-related.’

I’m really curious about how on earth did she manage to get both their blood samples, but I guess there’s much more important questions to ask.

‘You said pretty much no one knows who Zaimoto-san’s mother is. Then who was the one who took care of him when he was younger?’

‘His real father Zaimoto Shigeru and his wife Machida Yuka, both of whom have already passed away when Zaimoto Azuma was twenty years old.’

‘So we can’t know for sure whether Zaimoto-san knows who his real mother is.’

‘Is it not almost for certain that he does?’ Ichika give her opinion. ‘You said that he did not looked surprised when Jordan and Shimazaki kidnapped Kiryuu, did you not? He is definitely in cahoots with them in order to avenge Shimada.’

‘For all we know, his subordinates are in it too.’ Assaf-sensei adds. ‘There’s no way someone could dig a hole around sixty four stones without getting discovered.’

‘Well, let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt for now. More importantly, we should focus on rescuing Yui first.’

‘True. Rather than baseless accusations, we should focus more on our immediate goal.’ Sakuya agrees. ‘Did you find out where Yui-chan is being imprisoned, Madoka-chan?’

‘As a matter of fact, I did. It’s an underground laboratory in Kamagasaki.’

Kamagasaki is an old name for Nishinari-ku, one of the twenty-four wards in Osaka. It the Japan’s biggest slum area, and lots of criminal organizations has set up their headquarters there. Needless to say, it’s a dangerous place.

‘An underground lab, you say? Please don’t tell me…’

‘Yes. Ryuuouji is involved in this somehow. Words has it that he’s trying to improve the ability of his test subjects by harnessing the power of a God.’

‘Man, we really need to capture him this time, or his crazy experiments will never end.’

‘Agreed. That said, it won’t be easy. The place is swarming with guards. A lot of them.’

‘I know. We still have to try.’

In the original anime, Ryuuouji was killed when the helicopter he was riding got blown to pieces by Mashiro who couldn’t control Itachimaru’s power. Sure, it was gruesome, but he no longer caused problems.

‘Well, if its Osaka, we could seek help from her.’ Sakuya suggests.

I groan at that.

‘I know that we need all the help we can get, but does it have to be from her, of all people?’

‘Oh come on Akira-kun, give her a chance. If anything, her prowess in battle will be extremely helpful.’

‘I don’t know. We’ve already have two headaches in this party.’

I look at Sakuya and Saya. The two girls respond by crawling up right in front of me and start squishing my face with the palm of their hands.

‘Hey hey, Akira-kun. Why were you looking at me?’ Saya asks while smiling like a murderer who’s about to kill her victim mercilessly.

‘You were looking at me too. Was your big sister that much of a headache? Hmm~?.’ Sakuya also has the expression of someone who’s about to commit murder.

‘Nope. The two of you were imagining things. There’s no way I ever thought of you two as head-aching.’

‘Look at us while you’re talking!’

Meanwhile, Kuromi is asking Ichika about the person that we were talking about.

‘...I see. She is indeed a…unique person.’ Kuromi concludes when Ichika is done.

I snort at her comment.

‘Unique doesn’t even begin to describe her. Then again, I guess we still need her help. Can you inform her that we’re going to her place today, Sakuya-senpai?’

She stops squishing my face at once and nods.

‘Alright. I’ll also arrange transportation to go to the Osaka branch.’

‘Thank you, senpai.’

‘See, I’m not so head-aching now, am I?’ Sakuya asks smugly.

‘Of course I know that, senpai. You’re always a great help, so I’m always grateful towards you.’

She blushes at my sudden compliment.

‘W-Well, um, I’m glad that you realize it! Um, your big sister will make contact with them now, so please excuse me!’

To hide her embarrassment, she left my room when there’s no actual need for that. Meanwhile, Saya is deep in thought.

‘What am I good at? Um, there’s got to be something…’ she mumbles frantically.

‘Hey hey hey, I was really joking, alright? There’s no need to stress yourself over this. I’m already happy that you’re at my side.’

‘But-’

‘Look, you’re already attractive enough with that energetic smile of yours. There’s nothing more I could ask from you, okay?’

‘...Okay.’ and she hits me with that beautiful and blinding smile of hers.

Suddenly, I hear a deep rumbling sound. It came from Mashiro.

The girl who’s usually poker-faced blushes.

‘Mashiro is sorry. She barely had her breakfast today.’

I look at the time. We were so engrossed in our meeting we didn’t even realized that it’s almost teatime. At least, I didn’t notice since I has some snacks when I was watching those movies with Madoka. I quickly get up.

‘Ichika, Kuromi, can the two of you help me with the cooking?’

‘Of course.’

‘As you wish.’

While the three of us are busy, Sakuya comes back inside the room once again.

‘It’s done. We can depart right away-’

She stops as she saw that we’re about to have our lunch.

‘Or after we were done eating.’

After we’re done eating, we prepare for our trip to Osaka.