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----
[Ogami]
Wow, Kohran's room isn't a smoking crater on the side of the Imperial Theater! I guess she hadn't done THAT much crazy shit while we were out.
[Ogami]
... wait, no, never mind- the plaster's still fresh. And there are multiple layers of it. And hairline cracks all over the doorframe. And is that dried blood on the far wall?
[Ogami]
... wow, she HAS been keeping busy.
----
KNOCK.
[Kohran]
Y'hello~?
[Ogami]
It's me, Ogami... mind if I come in for a bit?
[Kohran]
... ah, it's you, Ogami-han? Man, it's been a while~.
It's unlocked. C'mon now, don't hold back, c'mon in!
[Ogami]
Okay then, I'm coming in.
[Ogami]
Hm~mm...
[Ogami]
I just wanted to see you again, Kohran. I mean, it's been three weeks...
----
[Kohran]
An' Ah'm glad Ah did! Th' training's really paid off, hasn't it?
[Ogami]
Eh? How d'you figure?
[Kohran]
Well, ya sidestepped the mines, avoided the pressure-sensitive tiles outside th' door that woulda sent ya fallin' to yer death fifty stories beneath th' theater, ducked th' motion sensin' thingamabob that woulda triggered th' flamethrower set in th' floor...
[Kohran]
... and ya leapt backwards when ya opened th' door so as t' avoid anyone thumpin' ya over th' head with a blunt object. Yer learnin', Ogami-han!
[Ogami]
Hahaha, thanks!
[Ogami]
... though I'm hideously frightened by the fact that I've started getting USED to everything that goes on in this theater.
----
[Ogami]
... uneasy?
----
[Ogami]
... I'm sorry, Kohran.
----
[Ogami]
... but I'm kind of having trouble believing that. I mean, between you, Iris, and Sumire-kun-
[Kohran]
...we were one Kanna short of bein' th' ultimate Friendly Fire And Collateral Damage team.
[Ogami]
... ah. Say no more.
----
[Kohran]
An' Ah've finished what Yoneda-han requested me t' do, so yer timin' couldn't have been better!
[Ogami]
What... Manager Yoneda requested you to do?
[Ogami]
...?
... is ANYONE at this theater capable of keeping a secret for more than fifteen minutes without 1) letting it slip, 2) destroying parts of the city and/or the general populace, or 3) forgetting that it was supposed to be a secret in the first place (and see #1)?
[Ogami]
In that case... I've still got to talk to some people, so I'll be going now.
[Kohran]
... seeya later then, Ogami-han.
Well, okay, it can't possibly hurt to talk to her just a little bit more. I mean, that was a pretty short exchange for not having seen each other in three weeks, right?
[Ogami]
Kohran, do your best. We're relying on you where the spirit armor units are concerned.
[Kohran]
...
[Ogami]
... what's wrong, Kohran?
----
[Ogami]
Three decades too early, Kohran.
[Kohran]
Eh?
[Ogami]
Ah, nothing, nothing, keep going.
----
[Ogami]
We're always flying through the sky on the Shogeimaru, aren't we?
----
[Ogami]
I've seen the navy's airplanes, but...
----
[Kohran]
Crashin'! Crashin'! ... an' crashin' again!
[Kohran]
There're always too many problems with th' schematics an' th' engine's output!
[Kohran]
Even so, if they only had th' technologies that we're usin' in our spirit armor units...
They oughtta be able t' fly all th' way to China...
----
[Ogami]
And crash there?
[Kohran]
Ye- NO.
[Ogami]
Because... seriously, there are probably less dangerous dreams that you can finish first, right? Like-
[Kohran]
Buildin' a race o' sentient robots that can turn into vehicles an' enslave th' Earth's population o' fleshy meatbag humans? Or maybe-
[Ogami]
So tell me more about your dream to fly.
----
[Kohran]
But... Ah knew someone who stake his very life on those incomplete aircraft...
Ah was really tiny at th' time. But that person... he said that he was gonna cross over t' Japan usin' th' airplane he made himself...
[Kohran]
Hmhm... and he went flyin' on off...
Ah couldn't say anythin' at th' time... so Ah couldn't make any promises wit' him or anythin'.
But, well... even Ah don't know what happened t' him after that... so.
[Kohran]
Ever since then... that's what Ah've been thinkin'.
[Ogami]
... so that's how it was.
Sadly, there is no uber-sarcastic "Thank you for telling me your life's story for no apparent reason, Kohran" option.
[Ogami]
So you want to perfect the airplane's design, huh.
[Ogami]
That's your dream, isn't it? You've got to perfect it. For your sake, and for that person's...
[Ogami]
That's right, isn't it... Kohran?
[Kohran]
Yeah...
[Ogami]
And just call me up if you think I'd be of some help, okay?
[Ogami]
I'll see you later, Kohran.
[Ogami]
What's up?
[Kohran]
Um, y'know, Ogami-han... Ah forgot t' tell ya, but...
[Ogami]
...?
[Ogami]
Kohran...
----
[Ogami]
...
[Ogami]
... wait, did I just sign up to be her flying test-crash dummy?
[Ogami]
Ha ha ha... no, I'm overthinking this. I mean, it's not like she's going to strap a pair of wings to my Koubu or anything like that. Now then, daily rounds, daily rounds...
----
Okay... well, two people are dead asleep up here and one person is dead to the world of non-machine biological meatbags, so it's time to shop around.
And there are probably only about three people in this theater who would even bother to stop by the library and improve their minds.
Ergo, Maria time.
[Ogami]
You too, Maria... why are you in the library, so soon after coming back?
[Maria]
I just started wandering without stopping to rest first.
[Ogami]
I know how that feels... that's how I am right now, to tell you the truth.
----
... and that's it for THAT conversation.
So, moving on to the terrace gets us...
SakuMARIA!?
[Ogami]
Maria...
----
[Ogami]
... look, I know you've been worrying about not having nearly enough appearances, but quantity of appearances does NOT equal quality of appearances.
[Ogami]
Wait, no, more importantly, how the balls did you get here before I did?
[Maria]
Do you know what "gun kata" is, Captain?
[Ogami]
... no?
[Maria]
It's a form of close-combat gunfighting that hinges entirely on being agile enough to be in the right place at the right time in order to shoot a large group of enemies at point-blank range.
[Ogami]
Oh.
[Maria]
And there you have it.
[Ogami]
... oh.
[Ogami]
(Okay, so it looks like Maria's training got her the ability to answer my questions in the vaguest manner possible.)
----
[Ogami]
We've got to protect the Imperial Capital, huh. We can't let Satan do as he wishes...!!
Naturally, when in doubt, make overly dramatic comments about any given situation.
----
[Ogami]
Yeah.... we won't forgive anyone who threatens the peace of the Imperial Capital!!
----
[Maria]
...
[Ogami]
...
[Maria]
...
[Ogami]
...
[Maria]
...
[Ogami]
...
[Maria]
...
[Ogami]
...
----
----
[Ogami]
...
[Ogami]
... ?
----
NEXT TIME: And the rest of the rogues' gallery! Update coming before hell freezes over again.
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