The girls stared at Han, who was covered in armor like Shion's. Zaria gripped the bars, staring at him. "How could you do this, Han? After all we've done for you?"
"It must be done," Han replied. "For a better world."
Rei stared at him, crying. "I thought we were friends…"
Han didn't reply.
"After everything we've done for you…" Rika whispered, wiping her own tears. "You go behind our backs and do this…"
Nonoka gave him a cold glare, her own eyes full of hurt. "You just listened to me ranting, letting me get close, all to use me."
Shino stood up, her eyes red from crying. "I should have just left you in Kagoshima. I don't know why I didn't."
Han listened to their words, hiding the hurt in his heart as his mask reformed. "You'll all come to understand soon. The situation is complicated."
"No, it's not complicated," Zaria shot down. "You're no longer our friend, and you will never be again, jerk."
Han tried to say something, but Zaria turned away from him, the girls following.
"I'm sorry, all of you," Han thought. "But I had no choice."
The Seventh stood up, putting a hand on Han's shoulder. "It's time. The Nurse awaits you."
"What will we be doing now?"
"With most of his students gone, this should throw Master into disarray. We'll strike while the iron is hot."
The two left, leaving the girls to sulk alone in their cage.
Meanwhile—-
Yuka, Kōichi, and Mizuki were being escorted through the hallways of the Kaitansha HQ by agents, with Hayate trailing behind them. "Unbelievable. Your little rebellion has nearly gotten the same people you wish to protect killed."
"We're sorry, Director," Yuka told him. "But it shows we can't be in the field. Omariro is our hope, you see how effortlessly he restrained us?"
"Guy's amazing," Kōichi agreed. "We knew he'd stop us. Had to make it tough for him, though."
"We can absolutely support him," Mizuki added. "Whatever he needs—-resources, public support, equipment, but we cannot join him."
Hayate escorted them to the cell blocks. "Ridiculous. First, Yuka and Omariro's kids stole those files, and now we've got our own Kaidanchō putting people in danger. Wonderful."
Yuka paused. "What do you mean?"
"Shino. She and Rei underwent a mission for Dokkōdan with Han Jisoo. It appears he left them when the alarms went off."
"She WHAT? Where is she?"
"Waiting in here—-"
When Hayate got to the cell, he noticed it was shattered, and he paused, confused. "They escaped? But this cell was made to be resistant to Jugen! That means they couldn't have just broken out!"
An agent picked up a piece of glass. "It seems it's been broken from the outside, sir. They didn't break out. Someone came to get them."
"But who?" Hayate questioned.
"Could be someone from Dokkōdan."
Hayate turned to Kohaku, who was busy filling her nails while Kazuki hid from her in the corner. "Huntress? Did you see who took the girls?"
Kohaku yawned. "One of those Heralds. They might be more of a problem than I. I wonder where they came from…"
"We need to warn Omariro."
"See?" Kōichi told him. "When shit hits the fan, Mr. Nyugawa is who you call."
"Not now! This is serious! Agents, put these rebellious *children* into a cell."
As the agents escorted the Kaidanchō away, Hayate pulled out his phone. The moment he did so, a news feed popped up.
"Breaking news! Dokkōdan has just cleared the city of Hiroshima of monsters! Should we be treating these guys like the new standard, and should Omariro Nyugawa join them?"
Zan appeared, offering a warm smile. "I would love for Nyugawa to join us. With his might and our division's strength, we will be unstoppable. All monsters will fear our names. For the people!"
Various members of the crowd raised their arms. "For the people!"
"This stream has 1.8 billion views," Hayate realized. "If I don't do something, they'll take over all our PR at this rate!"
Hayate quickly rushed out of the room, dialing a number.
Dokkōdan Hotel—-
Mirei was busy sitting in her room, IVs hooked up to her, when Shion brought Han to her. "Here, Mirei."
Han stepped in, taking a knee. Mirei welcomed him with open arms. "Han! I've got a special mission for you this time. You, Yūto, Airi, and Rio will bring Omariro to me."
"How do you expect us to do that, Ms. Nurse?"
"Drive him into a corner. He will come for his students."
"What will you do?"
Mirei chuckled. "I'm going to use weapons of my own. Master wants to play hard to get. I'll show him what I can do. Once I'm done, he'll beg for me to show him the love I once did."
She snapped her fingers. "Jugen-Kaiseisha: Seishin Waikyoku."
"What is that, My Herald?"
"The key to victory. They wanted a Civil War, now they've got one."
And from the cellblocks of the Kaitansha HQ, the caged Kaidanchō's eyes began to glow. Kohaku watched with a confused look as they all stood up, moving in sync.
"Omariro," they all said in unison. "Must find Omariro…"
"That's my husband you're speaking on," she interrupted. "And I don't appreciate how you're talking about him."
Yuka formed an ice eagle, which was coated in dark energy. She sent it flying into the cell wall, shattering it and allowing the Kaidanchō to walk out.
"Whoa," Kohaku gasped.
They walked in a line and left.
???—-
While Shino comforted Rika and Rei, all three of whom were crying, Zaria was busy punching the cage walls as Nonoka watched.
"It's not going to work, Zaria," Nonoka told her. "These things are probably made from Anti-Jugen material."
"Why would Dokkōdan have such a thing?"
"Because of their Heralds. It's not the Division that's the problem, it's the ones backing it."
"Those freaky armored bastards. One of them even gave me that loadout. But for some odd reason, it's still not working."
"Could be potential sabotage."
Shino rubbed Rika and Rei a bit more before standing up. "We need to hurry and get out of here. Who knows what crap Han and those sickos are doing?"
"Well, we don't have our leader," Nonoka pointed out. "I really miss him at a time like this. It's always the older ones you can trust, and only the older ones."
"We don't have our thinker either," Zaria scoffed. "We need a new one. Anyone got a plan to bust out? Rika?"
Rika tearfully shook her head.
"Okay. Nonoka?"
"Zaria. I'm not one for leading others. Just myself. You've got to call the shots here."
"Fine. If we can't use Jugen, maybe I can use my legs to bust out? Like I did back in Yūto's ship!"
Zaria stretched. "Stand back, everyone."
As the girls all walked backwards, Zaria charged forth and kicked the bars as hard as she could, denting them partially.
"It's working!" Nonoka cheered. "Do it again, Z!"
Zaria spun around and kicked the bars hard enough to twist some of them in awkward angles. "Just…a few…more!"
After three more powerful kicks, the bars snapped in half, allowing the girls to crawl out. Zaria surveyed the area. "This looks like a sewer. Are we underground?"
Water dropped from above.
"Probably," Shino shrugged. "We should go, before that freak or 'Han' catches us."
The girls crept through the tunnel, moving as quietly as possible. Above, they could hear noises, which sounded like a conversation.
"Bring Nyugawa? I'm all in support of the Nurse, but has she lost her mind?"
"You cannot defy the Nurse, Yūto. I'm sure she has a plan."
"But if we rush in there, even with that new guy, we're cooked! Back me up on this, Rio."
Silence.
"Oh, come on!"
Zaria stopped. "They're tryna kidnap Master! We've got to warn him!"
Rika attempted to reach for her phone. "I can't. They confiscated all my stuff."
"Mine too," Nonoka added.
"Then we'll have to help him ourselves," Zaria declared. "Come on!"
They began to sprint through the tunnel, turning corner after corner, until they noticed a door at the end of the sewer. Zaria tugged at it, but it wouldn't budge. "Step back."
With a powerful kick, the door flew off the hinges, and the girls noticed stairs behind it, leading up to the hotel.
"So they had us underneath their base," Shino realized.
Once they reached the hotel floor, they had to duck off into a nearby room as Dokkōdan guards walked past, laughing with each other.
"You think the Sixth and Seventh can actually bring Nyugawa back?"
"I dunno. In private, they talk like they're scared of him, even if they are obsessed."
"Maybe too obsessed."
Rei noticed they were in a dressing room, with various Dokkōdan clothing scattered around. "Hey! This is where we changed the last time!"
"Good eye, Rei!" Shino complimented. "Hey, we could try blending in to sneak out!"
"Worth a shot," Zaria agreed. "We don't have time to waste."
The girls put on the clothing and ski masks, just as Venus walked in, yawning. The moment she saw the girls, she paused.
"The hell? Who are you people?"
They all froze in place, and Nonoka cleared her throat. "Us? We're newbies. They need more bodies out there to drive up their PR."
"That so? Why would they pick up five scrawny ass females?"
"Don't judge a book by its cover, sweetheart."
"Whatever. Clear the scene. I've gotta change."
She pushed past them as they left. Once outside, they quickly shut the door and locked her inside the moment they exited. Venus began to bang on the door. "Hey! Let me out!"
The group rushed out, heading for the lobby. Zaria stopped them once she saw Zeku, forcing them to hide around a corner.
"Brother's on his bullshit again…" Zeku sighed, looking at his phone. "He's really become a celebrity now, hasn't he?"
Zeku walked past, and the girls tiptoed their way to the front door before sprinting out as fast as they could. "Hurry! We've got to get to Master!"
Shinkaidan Mansion—-
Sōshin was speeding around, cleaning the room, when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it, noticing Gakuto.
"Hey, little man! Omariro here?"
"He's upstairs!" Sōshin answered.
"Tell him to come down. The Director wants his help to find two missing girls. One of them's his."
"Friend Rei?" Sōshin questioned.
"Yeah."
Sōshin hurried upstairs as Gakuto stepped inside, checking out the place. "Man. One thing about Omariro, he may not be friendly, but he surely lives lavish!"
Sōshin came back down, with Omariro in a bathroom teleporting next to him. "Man has disturbed peace of home."
"Sorry to interrupt ya, but we've got trouble at HQ! Your student broke into the base and stole some files from Dokkōdan, and now she's on the run!"
"Hmm."
Gakuto approached the front door. "We've gotta track her, that information is dangerous in the wrong hands—-"
"Like these?"
Gakuto opened the door, and Yuka was standing behind it, blasting Gakuto into the wall with an ice eagle.
She stepped into the house, with Kōichi and Mizuki doing the same. Omariro narrowed his eyes as Yuka held the file in her hands. "All the secrets. All your tricks. They belong to Dokkōdan."
She froze the file and shattered it as Kōichi wrapped Omariro in a web. "We've made a change to our goals. We no longer want to support you as a symbol…"
Mizuki grabbed his arm. "You'll become the Master of Dokkōdan, and you'll make us the most unstoppable force the world's ever seen."
Omariro watched as the Kaidanchō advanced on him, with Gakuto rushing back into action. "What? What's going on?"
He noticed their eyes, which had gray flashes of light in them. "Wait! Careful, Omariro! Something's off with them!"
"Kaidanchō not selves."
Omariro looked up, a dangerous glint in his own eye. "Jugen-Metsusha: Jigen Danretsu."
With a downward slash of his free arm, Omariro erased the webs around him and shattered the roof above the Kaidanchō, dropping rubble amongst them.
"Sir, are you okay?" Sōshin called out.
Yuka threw a powerful ice eagle at all three, launching them through the walls. "If you will not come by choice…"
Another ice eagle formed, this time growing to the size of the mansion itself.
"Then you will be dragged."
——