Oka washes her eyes in the bathroom sink, trying to get the markings to come off but it's no use. No matter how hard she tries, her sclerae have turned completely black.
The tattoo markings are what seals my spirit within your soul. They won't come off that easily.
"Get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head." Oka smashes her head against the sink. "I should have known better than to accept shady 'blessings' from shady people."
Yo, pardon the intrusion.
Oka snaps. "Who are you, anyway?"
I'm a king! Duh, what do I sound like?
"A freeloader."
You're the one freeloading my presence.
"That's some convenient logic."
You seem to be struggling with something.
"So? None of your business."
I command you to speak.
"Fine." Oka sighs. "I hurt someone close to me. Like, really really hurt them."
Why don't you just apologize?
"Because I didn't do anything wrong."
That sounds contradictory.
"It's just how it is, alright? I made the right move. I did the right thing. I'm not at fault. But even then, that doesn't stop people from having to sulk."
If it's nothing too big, you should be able to push past your differences and be friends again.
"I killed her parents."
Oh.
"..."
Why?
"Because I had to. I had to serve my family."
But you made the choice to prioritize your duty to your family over her.
"Yeah, and?"
So that means the responsibility still belongs to you, doesn't it?
"You're not even listening, are you?" Oka covers her ears. "You'd have to be some kind of dumbass to think that."
Alright, alright, I get it. Just relax.
Oka takes a sucking breath and does her best to calm down.
Better?
"Better." She splashes some water onto her face before drying herself off. As she turns to leave, she catches her reflection in the mirror. No matter how she looks at it, the way her eyes have turned completely black is still eerie. Doing her best to ignore it, she stumbles out of the bathroom, down the stairs and into the dining room. Hopefully Daisuko won't ask too many questions. How does she even explain this? There's a spirit living inside my eyes because I made a deal with some girl in my dreams? Thankfully, she's spared from having to explain what's going on when she sees Daisuko's arm.
"You too?" Daisuko meets Oka's eyes.
"Yep."
"He's a pain in the ass, isn't he?"
I heard that.
"You be quiet." Oka snaps at the spirit.
"Huh?"
"No, not you. The spirit."
"Oh. Okay."
Your sister is mean. Suddenly, the spirit is in Daisuko's body. I like your brain more.
"Well, I guess we better get to work." She pulls out a chair at the dining table for Oka to sit in. "Where do we start?"
"I mean, it's just us and Blackadder now, right? Blackadder gang's leadership is down to just its head."
Blackadder, huh? Who're they?
Daisuko looks over her shoulder to signal that she's talking to her own spirit. "They're a loose gang of petty criminals."
Hmmm…
"Is something wrong?"
Kicking them while they're down, huh? That sounds like the kind of plan I can get behind.
"We won't be fighting them as a whole, we're just going to attack their leaders, shatter what little faith the Blackadder gang has left in them." Daisuko shrugs.
Hmmm… very well. I will grant you my strength.
"You can grant me strength?"
That's what I'm here for, yes.
"Oh yeah, I had completely forgotten that." Daisuko scratches her nape. "You ready?"
Oka shrugs"Aight. Let's head out."
Four girls stand in the middle of a meadow. Three of them carry a grim determination to become the next Blackadder head while the last carries a grim determination to reclaim the seat she had lost.
"Seems that Kasai's a no-show." Oe rolls her shoulders, mechanical innards clicking away as she does.
"We sent an envoy but no one ended up coming back… I think." Nakano takes out the last cigarette in the pack and lights it.
"Serves that Awano spy right." Nanako cracks her knuckles excitedly.
"BUT OUR GUYS DON'T KNOW THAT." Kanano's voice rips through the silent air. The other girls resist the urge to cover their ears, just to avoid being rude.
"That's fine. It diminishes our proof that whoever emerges is the strongest but that just means the winner has to duel Kasai some other time." Oe claps her hands together. "May the best woman win. Blackadder deserves to be led only by the strongest of us."
"Shall we begin?"
"Let's."
"AYE!"
"I think so–"
The sound of a car's tires crunching the innocent grass interrupts the gathering. Turning around, Oe sees a flashy red Ford Mustang from which their old friends Oka and Daisuko step out.
"I'd say sorry for crashing the party but it's not like you were trying particularly hard to hide anyway." Daisuko puts on her usual warpaint in the form of a sadistic grin and a cocky demeanor. "I can smell you from a mile away and I'm not talking about your magic, ladies."
She cackles at her own joke even though not even she thinks it was particularly funny.
I thought it was funny.
"Quiet." Daisuko whispers to her spirit.
"Our alliance is over, Daisuko." Nanako rests her hand at her hip. "What business do you have here?"
"We're here to crush Blackadder for good."
"Oh-ho?" Oe cranes her neck around to look at them. "And who do you think you are?"
All four Blackadder girls turn in their direction. They transform one by one.
"I'm Daisuko Kuze. Second lieutenant of the Kuze Clan."
"That was a rhetorical question, dumbass." Oe saunters towards the two, flexing her chainsaws.
"While we're at it, I'm Oka Shibusawa. First lieutenant of the Kuze Clan."
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, I think." Nakano holds out her hand, a ball of flame coalesces on her palm. "Shame it has to be under such unfortunate consequences, I guess." The girls fan out, surrounding the pair like sharks circling their prey.
"Yeah. A shame." Daisuko holds her right arm out and yells out. "「Inverse Fuinjutsu - Divine Sword Clarent!」"
A pillar of red light crashes down from the sky onto Daisuko's hand, bestowing upon her a pure silver blade with a tip like a wolf's fang and red markings.
"Th–this power!" Nakano takes a step back.
"WHAT GUJUTSU IS THIS?!" Kanano shields her eyes from the brilliant gleam of the blade.
"This is no Gujutsu." Daisuko marvels at the blade in her hand. "Unlike Gujutsu which can only create paltry imitations, this is the genuine divine sword Clarent! And this is the genuine spirit of King Arthur living in my head!"
King Arthur?
"Err… you are King Arthur, right? I mean, I looked it up and it says that Clarent was his sword."
Hmmm, well I guess I must be. I am a king, after all.
The Blackadder girls stand motionless as they watch this bizarre back and forth Daisuko's having with herself. Which makes her out to be as sane as she sounds.
"Anyway!" Daisuko points the sword at Oe. "En garde! Or something."
"Are you sure you want to do this–" Nanako's sentence is cut off as she is sliced in two at the hip. Daisuko saw the instant she blinked and immediately bisected her. She moved with a speed that surprises even herself. This is power, it's beyond what a magical girl, even an I-C, should be capable of.
"You bastard!" Oe and the other two girls immediately beset her from the side but a quick cleave from Daisuko severs Nakano's and Kanano's hands before they can cast a spell or draw a gun respectively. The only one who had the speed to back out of her range is Oe, and even she sustained a scratch across her chest.
"That hurt, asshole." She clangs her Chainsaws together before rushing straight at Daisuko.
"Let's see what else this bad boy can do." Daisuko licks her lips and meets Oe in close combat.
Steel clashes against steel. Rough chainsaw teeth grind against Clarent's elegant blade but it does not falter. It doesn't even get scratched. No matter how hard Oe pushes, it's like she's fighting against all the force of a speeding train.
"What the–?"
"Do you need me to step in, sis?" Oka leans against the car.
"Nah, this one's all mine."
Entertain me, Daisuko. Toy with her body.
"Of course, your majesty." Daisuko grins as she breaks the clash with one hand behind her back. Oe tries to recover but Clarent rips into her abdomen, causing a mixture of gears and oil to spill out.
"RAAAAGH–!" Shrugging off the pain, Oe lunges at Daisuko, chainsaws raised. She swipes but her opponent merely backsteps. She stabs but her opponent merely sidesteps. She tries a cross-slash but her opponent raises her sword, stopping both blades in their tracks.
"Hm hm hm." Daisuko smiles darkly. As she does, she pushes her sword forwards ever so slightly, the overwhelming force causing the chainsaws to shatter.
"What–?!"
"That all you got?" Daisuko casually swipes the sword across Oe's neck, arms and legs, cutting her to pieces. "I don't know the specifics, but if I remember correctly you I-C's don't stay down unless I cut you into pieces, right?"
"Damn… you–!"
Daisuko raises her sword against the still-standing Nakano and Kanano. "If either of you move, I'll kill you both."
The two girls stare at her resentfully but do nothing. Using her offhand, Daisuko takes out her phone and snaps a few photos of the dismembered Oe, bisected Nanako, and the disarmed girls.
"Here we go. Once I upload these photos, your gang's going to lose what little respect they have for you."
Spitting on the downtrodden, huh? Truly, you are a woman after my own heart.
"WHAT'S YOUR END GOAL, HERE?"
"Complete and absolute subjugation of Ozawa, I think." Nakano proffers a theory. "We're the only ones left who can stand up to the Kuze Clan, it makes sense to take us out while we're weak. Without leadership, Blackadder's going to implode."
"That's a bingo." Daisuko says in broken English. "Anyway, you guys are free to do whatever you want so long as you stay out of our way. Just know that if we sense any movement from Blackadder, we know where to come a-knock-knocking."
"..." All four Blackadder girls stare at the Kuze sisters as they file into their car and drive away.
"Ciao for now!"