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For the Imperial Assault Force Flower Division, going off battle is probably much like going off work. Once everyone gets out of their Koubu and changes back into normal clothes (or whatever passes as "normal clothing" around these parts), they just kinda hang out and cluster around the water cooler or some such.

Naturally, you'd start worrying when someone insists on staying holed up their cubicle forever.



This is doubly-so when your cubicle is a steam-powered mecha.



[Ogami]

... not coming out from her Koubu? And... what's everyone doing?




----
[Sakura]

Ogami-san, you might be better off not asking.


[Ogami]

Yeah... the last time I had to ask, they'd been single-handedly responsible for the solar eclipse that'd been centered on Ginza.


[Sakura]

Ogami-san, what--


[Ogami]

Trust me, you might be better off not asking.

----

[Kanna]

Hey, hey, Kohran! Look, steamed meat buns!! They're delish~, c'mon out!


[Kohran]

........


[Sumire]

There is no reason for Kohran to get excited about something like steamed meat buns. For one thing, she is not Kanna-san.


----
[Kanna]

But it's food!


[Sumire]

I can see that! So?


[Kanna]

Food is wonderful! Food is something to be thankful for! Entire countries are starving because they don't have enough food!! And you're calling me a glutton?


[Sumire]

K-Kanna-san, calm d--


[Kanna]

Haven't you ever thought about that? None of us here are thankful for what food we have-- all we do is waste it! If you can't get excited about food, then you are a horrible human being because you take your privileged life for granted!!


[Sumire]

I... I understand. I will not badmouth you on the subject of food again.


[Kanna]

Great! Now that that's settled, I'm gonna go stuff myself with enough food to feed a third world country.


[Sumire]

... wait a second.

----

[Kanna]

What'd you say--!? Then how 'bout you, what've you got planned.


[Sumire]

Oh~hoh hoh hoh hoh! For Kohran, this sort of thing is the best.
Look, Kohran. This is that genuine American-made tool that you've always wanted.


[Kohran]

........


----
[Iris]

You silly grown-ups and your needless addiction to material goods. Allow me to demonstrate how to REALLY tug at someone's heartstrings!

----

[Iris]

Iris brought a stuffed animal down too--! Look, look, it's so~ cute~!!


----
[Ogami]

... you'll be so sugary cute that she'll run out of the Koubu screaming and begging for mercy?


[Iris]

Exactly! And she might even give me a lollipop to get me to shut up.


[Ogami]

Children are truly frighten-- wait, weren't you so tired that you were about to fall asleep right on the battlefield?


[Iris]

I'm a little girl, so I still derive joy from the suffering of others!


[Ogami]

Of course.

----

[Sakura]

And... just as you see, it seems that everyone's trying to persuade her to come out, but...


[Ogami]

Persuade...?




Nothing to lose, after all!

[Ogami]

I think I'll try something, too. I mean, it looks kinda fun.


[Iris]

C'mon, you do it too, Oniichan~. Everyone's staying up late, it's so much fun~!


[Sumire]

That is exactly it. Even Iris says something good once in a while.
If everyone starts having fun out here, then Kohran, who enjoys these sorts of parties so much, must be tempted to come on out.
Or another way of putting it... it is the "Amano-Iwato" strategy!
Now, Ensign, come join us and let us do this with a bang!


[Ogami]

I, is that so...?


Because I'm sure that whatever is troubling Kohran to the point of her locking herself in her Koubu won't be at all serious.

[Maria]

Honestly, not you too, Captain... please, give me a break.




If by "mistake," you mean "not killing the Wakiji hard enough to utterly pulverize it into a pile of ashes."

[Maria]

The Captain's injuries were not at all major, and nobody is blaming you at all.


----
[Ogami]

What injuries? What blaming?


[Maria]

Shut up, I'm trying to get every possible reason for angst covered before she slides into emo territory.

----



[Kohran]

... whatever. Can't'cha jes' leave me alone...
No one understands a thing 'bout machines... 'bout these children...


Too late for that, perhaps.

[Ogami]

Kohran...



----


[Ogami]

... Kohran, I'm sorry. Right now, there's nothing I can say...


----
[Maria]

... way to lead, Captain.


[Ogami]

S-sorry.


[Maria]

Leave this to the professionals, Captain.


[Ogami]

A-alright.

----

[Maria]

Kohran... if you do not come out, we are going to wrench open the Koubu's hatch.




[Kohran]

'S exactly that kinda thinking! That lets all y'all say somethin' like "build us a set that'll only be used in one closing performance"!!


----
[Ogami]

"Leave this to the professionals,' huh, Maria?


[Maria]

... I don't understand. How could a threat of violence not work?


[Ogami]

By opening a gigantic can of worms that just may have caused Kohran to go completely apeshit?


[Maria]

Shame. Sorrow.

----

[Kohran]

It lets ya say that even if a machine's broken, it can jes' be fixed up again!!


[Sumire]

D-don't tell me... was it I who...


[Kohran]

It ain't jes' Sumire-han... it's everyone, everyone said th' same thing! I hate it!!
Machines are better 'n people!!
These children make it so that I'm needed! They make it so that I'm needed...


[Ogami]

Kohran...




[Maria]

Captain... right now, it'd be better to let Kohran be alone...


[Ogami]

Yeah...


----
[Ogami]

"Better"? What part of leaving a mad scientist-- who is on the verge of getting even madder at the world in general and humanity in specific-- all alone in a machine that could easily allow her to unleash her frustration on humanity is "better"?


[Maria]

I, uh.


[Ogami]

And don't you DARE delegate this problem to m--

----

[Maria]

Now... everyone, let's go...


----
[Ogami]

DAMMIT.

----


----


Well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

[Ogami]

Kohran... please, listen to what I have to say...
It's true... that we don't treasure machines as much as you do, Kohran...
But... I just want you to know this one thing.
Every one of us likes you, Kohran. So... I want you to teach us...
About machines, for instance... and about you yourself, for instance...


[Kohran]

........


Kohran starts sobbing.

[Ogami]

I got it... so, then, mind if I stay here, too?
If you ever feel like talking, then you can talk to me anytime.


[Kohran]

........


She starts sobbing even harder.

But there's no time to dwell on how touching it is that Ogami is the only member of the team who's willing to stick with Kohran through thick and thin! And that's because it's time for something even more important.

Yes indeed, it's time for...



A horribly planned scene shift to the villains' hideout! CUE THAT OMINOUS MUSIC!



[Miroku]

How strange. Might you be saying that you do not trust me...?


[Satan]

Hold your tongue, Miroku. Lord Tenkai is simply making doubly sure.


----
[Miroku]

Perhaps if he'd taken the trouble to make doubly sure of how utterly insipid all the previous plans were, we wouldn't be working overtime to make up for Setsuna and Rasetsu's depressingly useless deaths.


[Satan]

I think the problem is that he was the one making all the plans in the first place.


[Tenkai]

If you damn whippersnappers don't shut up, both of you're flying up to the moon to recover Rasetsu's remains.

----

[Tenkai]

Now then, Miroku... open up an opportunity for us.
An opportunity to annihilate the Imperial Assault Force with certainty. Fwa~ hah hah hah hah!


And that's it for that.

... no, seriously, that's it. Stop asking me if there was a point to that scene, or if we're even going to be seeing ANY of the main villains again this chapter, 'cause hey look at that.


----


Night has turned to day! Isn't that nifty.



You can almost hear the birds chirping.



[Ogami]

Ah... Ayame-san. Is something the matter?


----
[Ayame]

Not particularly, other than the fact that you appear to have stayed up all night.


[Ogami]

Can't go to sleep in the hangars, Kohran will get me. Koubu glowy eyes Kohran will get me can't sleep.


[Ayame]

... oh, the wonders of sleep deprivation.

----



[Ogami]

Yes... right now, it looks like she's cried herself to sleep...


[Ayame]

When someone feels all alone... what they want the most is someone to stay by their side...
Thank you, Ogami-kun. For being considerate to Kohran...


[Ogami]

No, I was just...


----
[Ogami]

... telling Kohran stories of my days back in the naval academy.


[Ayame]

That would make anyone cry themselves to sleep, Ogami-kun.


[Ogami]

No, no, it was the singing practice that did that.

----

[Ayame]

Also, Ogami-kun. About Kohran... there is something I would like you to see.


[Ogami]

Something you want me to see? What is it?


[Ayame]

You'll understand once you see it. Now then, please be at the manager's office in about thirty minutes.


Meanwhile, as Ogami and Ayame depart...



[Kohran]

No one... is willing to understand me, or to understand all of you, huh...


... maybe Ogami shouldn't have left, after all.



Well, it's an ungodly 6 am, and I've got half an hour (also known as six events) to burn before Ayame railroads the plot.

Note the emo tear icon on the hangars. That's Kohran, in case it's hard to figure out.



... we haven't actually BEEN to the infirmary-- at least, not in any comprehensible state of mind-- so let's go take a look.



CRASH!

[Ogami]

Wh, what's going on!?




[Kasumi]

Kanna-san! Are you alright!?


[Kanna]

... I'm fine. Sorry, Kasumi... after you'd taken the time to tidy the place up...



----


----
[Ogami]

... assuming that Kanna's face can even GET injured in the first place.


[Kanna]

I break things with my face, not the other way around! Wanna demonstration?


[Ogami]

That's alright, Kanna.


[Kanna]

You sure? I could definitely use you as a--


[Ogami]

That's alright, Kanna.

----

[Ogami]

... you're here too, Kasumi-kun. What are the both of you doing?


It had BETTER not be the Charleston.

[Kasumi]

Ah, Ogami-san. When did you come in? Is something the matter? Are you hurt?


[Ogami]

Ah... no, I was just coming to check in on things...


He'll inevitably get hurt in the FUTURE, maybe, but for the time being...



[Kasumi]

That's right. Ogami-san, you've been pushing yourself too much, so shall we just see how you are doing?


[Ogami]

Eh...!?


[Kanna]

C'mon! Take off your shirt and sit over there!


[Ogami]

W-- ... wait!?


By the gods, I never thought that the set of naked face portraits that I had of Ogami would actually keep coming back into use.


----


As if we've got a choice, with Kanna standing so close and making sure that Ogami does exactly what he's told doesn't pull anything funny.

[Kasumi]

Yes... no inflammation in your throat, and you also have zero cavities.


[Kanna]

Heh... you're not bad, are you.




[Ogami]

........


[Kanna]

As expected, Captain, you got a good body there. You're really working out, too.



----


[Ogami]

Yes...


Yes, two healthy woman and one healthy shirtless man standing together in close proximity in an anime-style game.

Nothing bad could POSSIBLY happen.


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