"I think everything turned out alright, all things considered." Little Red sets down The Batter's and Yuki's bodies on the carpeted floor.
"You brought her?" The long girl jabs an accusatory finger at The Batter as she sets down her and Shosuko's.
"Where… where am I?" Talking comes easier now that Kasai's had some time to recover a little. She seems to be in a luxurious office of some sort. There's a large painting and a chess table to her right, a large meeting table to her left, and a luxurious wooden desk in front of her. "Who are you people?"
"You're in Kuze Clan headquarters." A voice comes from a wheelchair in the far end of the room. "My name is Kiara Kuze, this is Oka Shibusawa, and this is Daisuko Kuze. And you are Kasai Ryusei?"
"Kiara Kuze…" Kasai musters all the strength left in her to roll over and get into a kneeling position. "My apologies."
"So it was you who was behind the attempt on my life." Kiara, the girl in the wheelchair, doesn't even turn to look at her.
"Yes."
"May I at least ask why I was almost killed?"
"My loyalty lied with the Awano Family at the time and so when they asked me to kill you, I gave out the order."
"I see. And why did you order them to leave me alive?"
"..."
"I assume that the reason why I'm alive right now is no coincidence. And if coincidence is out of the question, then the only remaining explanation is that it was deliberate."
"It… It didn't sit right with me that someone who kept the peace for so long would meet their end that way. That's why I told them to leave you alive. I figured that so long as you were removed from the equation, it would make no difference to the Awano Family."
"You said that your loyalties lied with the Awano Family. Where do your loyalties lie now?"
"With my family." Kasai looks over to where Yuki's body lies. She looks almost like a corpse. She winces. No, not almost, her soul isn't in there anymore, she might as well be a corpse. "My sister… is the only one I have left."
"You're a woman of values. I respect that. But by sparing me, you also went against the wishes of the Awano Family. That, I do not respect."
"I understand."
"Regardless, it's time you told me exactly how all… this happened." Kiara weakly gestures in their general direction.
"It's something of a long story."
"I see. So the ICMG's going to war with the yakuza in this city."
"You're the only one who knows. The Awano Family doesn't know about any of this, for once. And the Shirayuki Association has stopped being a yakuza outfit. The Kuze Clan is on its own."
"Hmmm… we'll see what we can do about the Awano Family."
"It'll be nice having them be the ones who suck our dicks for once." Daisuko folds her arms behind her head.
"B-but what do we do about Shosuko and Yuki?" Oka cleans her glasses on her shirt as she speaks.
"They chose wisely sealing Shosuko." Kiara takes a sip from her tea. "She's likely our strongest magical girl."
"And Yuki too." Kasai fiddles with the pommel of her sword. "That rewind ability was our lifeline."
"Hmmm… this is t-tricky. We have to fight a war without our best assets." Oka sits on the chair opposite Kasai. "Maybe we should consider retreating."
So much for a fair game. Kasai thinks to herself.
Kiara places her tea on the table. "Even without them, the Kuze Clan will fight."
"Have you already thought of a plan, mom?" Daisuko bounces her leg.
"We divide our resources. They'll be expecting us to run into hiding. If we take the fight to them first, we'll catch them off-guard, buying us some time to rescue both Shosuko and Yuki."
"I see. So that's the kind of game we're going to be playing."
"Between you, Daisuko, Miss Ryusei, and The Batter, we have four magical girls ready for action." Kiara stares at the ceiling, eyes glossed over– deep in calculation. "You and Daisuko will be in charge of attacking the ICMG. The Batter and Miss Ryusei will journey to the spirit realm to break out Shosuko and Yuki."
"Wait, you're going to attack the ICMG?" Even Kasai has to raise an eyebrow at that.
"I'm fairly certain that while Tami's fine with starting a war, I doubt her higher ups will stand for this. Not that she'll mind, I'm sure this has escalated past a personal vendetta."
"So she's effectively a vigilante at this point?"
"Yes, basically."
"Sounds good to me." Kasai gives Kiara a thumbs-up. She wouldn't trust anyone else but herself to rescue Yuki.
"..." Oka seems hesitant. Her eyes are fixed over to where The Batter is lying.
"I know what you're thinking, Oka but I need you to trust me."
"It's not that I don't trust you, mom, it's just that after what we did– after what it led to… I don't know if she can forgive us."
"Whatever happens will happen. She deserves to make the choice, at least."
"...yes m-mama."
"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Daisuko walks over and claps Oka on the back. "Besides, we kind of have it coming!"
Daisuko's "comforting" words seem to have the opposite effect on Oka.
"Regardless, there's a time and place for everything. It wouldn't do to let her personal grudge get in the way of what needs to be done." Kiara looks at Kasai. "Forgive me, Miss Ryusei, but I have a favor to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I need you to keep our partnership a secret from The Batter. Make sure she doesn't know that the Kuze Clan has any hand in all of this. Keep her focused on saving her sister, Shosuko, and she shouldn't ask any questions."
"Why?"
"Because otherwise, she won't ever trust you."
"...alright. I'll remember that." She doesn't like the idea of manipulating another person or bringing along someone else who might slow her down but at the same time, she probably needs an ally with her on this.
"Good, good." Kiara grunts as she slowly lifts herself off of her wheelchair.
"Mama!" Daisuko rushes over to help her but Kiara waves her way.
"I'm alright. I think I've spent enough time resting. If we're going to succeed, we need everyone operating in top form." Kiara turns to Kasai. "I hope for both of our sakes that you find where this… 'hell' is."
"How much time do we have?"
"It'll take us a day to prepare." Oka suddenly snaps back into her calculating voice. Kasai notes that her stutter's disappeared. "Against five I-C's, we might last a day or so of fighting. We might even manage to take down one of them."
"So I have to find a way into the spirit realm, journey to hell, break Shosuko's and Yuki's souls out, journey out of the spirit realm, and then beat Tami." Kasai presses her lips into a thin line.
"No, Tami's more careful and more confident than that. She'll send at least two I-C's to intercept you once she realizes that you've made it to hell. Against three I-C's, we'll probably last… a little longer."
"So I have to find a way into the spirit realm, journey to hell, break Shosuko's and Yuki's souls out, and journey out of the spirit realm, and then beat Tami all while evading two I-C's"
"You got this, champ." Daisuko offers some flimsy words of support.
"We'll do our b-best. So do your best as well." Oka gives Kasai a thumbs-up. "Ozawa city is c-counting on you."
"Fine." Kasai hardens her resolve. She's finally reunited with Yuki after all this time. She isn't going to let something like hell, the ICMG, the spirit realm, or whatever else get in the way of seeing her again. "Let's do this."
"N…nnh…"
"So, you're finally awake."
The sunset's orange light trickles into the dark alleyway. The alley's bowels hide both The Batter and Kasai, with the former finally starting to float back to consciousness.
"Ugh… where am I?"
"We're in an alleyway, hiding from the I-C's. How's your arm?"
"Not great. I still can't feel it." The Batter shakes her head. "Did you carry me here?"
Kasai nods.
Fragments of memories once faint begin to piece together inside The Batter's mind. She suddenly has a look of panic on her face. "Where's Shosuko?!"
Kasai takes a deep breath. "Okay look, this is a tough pill to swallow but both of our sisters' aren't dead, their souls have just been sealed inside of hell which is both real and also being used as an ICMG supermax security prison. Right now, the ICMG's cracking down on all the yakuza in the city so we have approximately three days to get into the spirit realm, get into hell, break Shosuko and Yuki out of hell, journey back out of the spirit realm and fight off Tami with our combined strength so we aren't killed on the spot. Are you in?"
"..." The Batter stares at Kasai for a moment. "Alright."
Kasai stares at The Batter for a moment. "...Just like that?"
"I don't like having to rely on others, much less other yakuza, but it's not like I can beat one I-C by myself, much less two. So for the time being, we're allies, I guess." The Batter tips her baseball hat at Kasai.
"Huh, alright…" Kasai is a little taken aback.
"I get the impression that you're hiding something from me… but we can deal with that later." The Batter's gaze turns distant as she dusts herself off with her left arm. Her right arm's still too busted to do anything with. "Do you have a plan for getting into the spirit realm?"
"I only learned that was possible today, but I know a place we can start." Kasai raises her sword. "This sword can cut through almost anything. Let's see if it can cut through the seals the ICMG put on the spirit realm gates."
"Impressive." The Batter rolls her eyes. "Let's go."