Chapter 20 - A Request - Momoyodou

...

The day after meeting Mika, I received a call in the morning while working.

RING RING

"Huh...? Someone's calling instead of texting? That's a surprise." I say out loud, reaching for the phone. I place it to my ear and speak. "Hello?"

A somewhat nasally, feminine voice speaks over the line. "Ah! He picked up! Wh-What do I say?!" She shouts, likely talking to someone else.

Another feminine voice, this one very cheery, further back speaks. "Calm down and take a deep breath, President! Breathe in...! Breathe out!"

"G-Good idea. Alright then..." The nasally voice says, calming down. "Hi! Um, pardon me, but is this the number for Joshua, the popular Sensei in charge of Schale?"

"Well, I wouldn't say popular, but yes, I'm Joshua. Who's this?" I ask, leaning back in my chair.

"Ah! I knew it! So I was right! Wait, I mean...!" The girl clears her throat. "Hello, Joshua, the teacher of Schale!" She says, in a happy voice, similar to Nonomi's. What a change of tone. "I'm Kawawa Shizuko! It's nice to meet you! I'm the president of the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy's Festival Operations Department, as well as the idol of Momoyodou!"

"...Nice to meetcha, even if it's over the phone." I say back, a bit stunned from that cutesy introduction. It was a bit too sweet, even.

"Likewise. Anyway, I have a good reason for contacting you like this." She begins. "It's to cordially invite you to the Hyakkiyako annual Cherry Blossom Festival!"

"Y'all are having a festival over there?" I ask, sitting forwards, intrigued.

"Yes! We'd love for Schale's famous Sensei to participate and celebrate with us!" She says, happily. "We'll be trying all kinds of new things to make this Hyakkiyako Cherry Blossom Festival the best one yet! Oh and before I forget, there's one thing I want to talk to you about face-to-face, so make sure to come by."

Face to face? She might be having some kinda problem. "All right then, I'll swing by."

"Great! We'll be looking forward to your arrival!" She says, hanging up. Rather quickly, at that. She must've been nervous to call.

A moment later, my phone dings with a text, likely from Shizuko.

Hey, it's Shizuko again. I'm sending you a picture that will help you find the venue.

All righty, then. Until we meet, Sensei!

I'll be waiting for you at Momoyodou! Nyan!

...Nyan? Is she some kinda cat?

"Hey, Arona, mind clearing my schedule for tomorrow?"

The next day, I walked into the Hyakkiyako district, bustling with a plethora of people. A bit too many people, actually.

The place was beautiful, filled with Japanese architecture and Sakura trees.

As I ruminate, a feminine voice shouts from behind me. "Ah?! Watch out!" My instincts kick in, as I jump out of the way of a small girl.

"Ow..." She says, rubbing her head, as she sits up on the stone street.

"Are you alright?" I ask politely, holding my hand out to help her up.

As she sees me, she gasps, shooting up to her feet, allowing me to get a better look at her.

The girl has short, dark brown hair with a small hair clip, shaped like a kitsune mask on the left side of her head. Her hair is tied into a small, side ponytail with a white, round and fuzzy ball-shaped thing, with two pink-red ribbons coming from it that have been tied into a braid. Atop her head are two dark brown fox ears, light brown on the inside. Her eyes are golden with red makeup on the outsides of them.

She wears a classic Japanese sailor uniform, with some modifications. A white, sleeveless top with a large, blue collar and skirt, a hot pink bow peeking from the collar. Around one of her arms is a pink, flower patterned kimono, the other sleeve hanging loose, only held by her yellow obi. Said obi is tied in the back, but is decorated on the front with a keychain. They keychain has three different things clipped to it. One is shaped like a kitsune mask, like her hair clip. Another is shaped like a kunai, and the third, like a light brown fox tail with Sakura petals attached to it. On one of her legs is a thigh high fishnet stocking. On the other is a short, grey sock that stops below her knee. Interestingly, above the sock, on her right thigh, are three kunai strapped to a small, grey band. Her sailor uniform is complete with brown shoes over her feet.

On both of her hands are grey gloves that reveal her middle and ring fingers. Her right arm, not hidden by her kimono sleeve, has a elbow pad, the same color as her gloves. The glove on her right hand also has a bit of white hand tape around the wrist. Around her neck is a long, hot pink scarf that teacher her knees, at least. A large light brown fox tail emerges from her skirt, it's top white, the same shape and color as one of the small things clipped to her keychain. Her halo is a hot pink ring with five hot pink shapes within, making the whole thing resemble a flower of some sort.

Strapped to her back is a SMG. It's almost un-noticeable due to it being the same colors as her kimono. It has the same three keychains that were tied to her obi on the gun, along with a white and pink fox plush attached to the top.

"A-Are you alright?!" She asks, worriedly. "You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?!"

"I should be asking you that, you took a nasty spill." I say. "Besides, you missed me completely."

The fox girl sighs. "That's a relief!"

A voice yells out near us. "Get back here! You're mot getting away!"

A second voice calls out, clearly tired. "W-Wait a minute, Kaede. T-Too fast..."

The fox girl locks up and shrieks in fright. "Ah, they're already here! U-Uh-oh... Wh-What should Izuna do?!" She shouts, worried.

"If you're running from someone, best to be quiet and hide, first off all." I advise.

"What...?" She asks, tilting her head. "Oh, um... that's..."

One of the voices call out again. "I see her! Over there, Mimori!"

The fox girl in front of me squeaks out a cry of shock, before grabbing my hand and running. "Whoa!" I shout, being pulled by the small girl.

"It should be safe here." The fox girl says as we stop running behind some buildings.

"You're fast, girl." I praise.

"Um, thank you for helping Izuna!" The fox girl, presumably Izuna, says.

"No problem." I shrug her off. I wonder why she was running, though. If she did something bad, I'll just have to fight her later, I suppose.

"By the way, who are you...?" She begins, getting a closer look at me. "You don't seem like you're from Hyakkiyako... Actually, are you an adult?" She says, gulping nervously.

"Ah, right. My name's Joshua, a teacher at Schale. Pleased to meet ya." I say.

"Ah! Izuna is Kuda Izuna. Nice to meet you too!" She introduces. "Still, a... teacher? From Schale?" She asks, tilting her head like a fox. "Oh, if you're from Schale, then... Ah! Izuna has heard of you!" She says, her ears perking up. "They say there's an amazing person there who helps people from all over Kivotos! Whoa...!" She says, her eyes practically sparkling. "That kind of makes you like... like a ninja!" She says happily.

"I... suppose." I say, slowly.

"You're really THAT Sensei!" She says, as her ears and tail twitch as she hops around me, looking at me from all sides. "Wow!"

All this idolizing feels a bit strange...

"Oh, but what are you doing here?" She asks.

"To check out the festival. Someone mentioned it and I had a day off, so..." I explain.

"So that's what's going on. This is perfect!" She says happily. "Then Izuna will guide you around the festival!"

Izuna then began showing me around.

"Look over there!" The fox girl shouts, pointing at a stand. "That vendor's selling Kitsune Senbei, Hyakkiyako's specialty!"

"Senbei...? If I remember, they're rice crackers." I say.

"Right! And look there!" She hops around, pointing to another stall. "They're selling a festival classic, Tanuki Okonomiyaki!"

"Okonomiyaki? That's a... pancake?" I ask.

"Right again, Sensei!" She says. "The Sakura Daifuku is to die for, too! It's the delicacy of the festival!"

"I had daifuku once. It was pretty good." I say, reminiscing.

"Oh, and since you're new to the area, there's just one part of the Hyakkiyako Cherry Blossom Festival that Izuna just has to show off! This way, Sensei!" She says, grabbing my hand to lead me somewhere else.

Not long after, Izuna brought be to a high place, overlooking the whole district. Far in the distance, a massive Sakura tree sits, standing taller than any other building in sight.

"...Holy shit." I breathe out in awe.

Izuna giggles. "Surprised? It's the pride and joy of Hyakkiyako!" She closes her eyes for a moment, before turning to the outlook and smiling. "Izuna loves this place. You can get a perfect view of the tree and the streets of Hyakkiyako together!"

"It's certainly one hell of a view." I agree.

"Seeing the streets from up here always makes Izuna's heart feel like it's going to burst out of her chest." She says happily.

"I think I understand what you mean. It's pretty breathtaking." I say with a chuckle.

"That's right! Because Izuna has a dream!" She says suddenly, drawing my gaze to her. "It's to become the best ninja these streets have ever seen! It's what Izuna strives for every day!"

"Well, you certainly seem passionate about it. That's the first step for doing anything." I say. "With a passion that strong, I'm sure you'll be a fantastic ninja."

Her golden eyes widen in surprise and joy. "Y-You really think so...?"

I nod in affirmation. "I'll be rootin' for ya."

"You will? You'll support Izuna's dream, Sensei?" She asks with a smile, moving closer to my face. "Even though it's..." She looks a bit down now. "...to become a ninja?"

"It's a teacher's job to support their students in whatever they do, right?" I ask rhetorically, causing her to perk up. "If you wanna be a ninja, who am I to stop ya?"

She gasps in suprise. "Whoa! You're the first person to ever say something like that! Heehee. This is great! If Sensei is supporting Izuna's dream too, then...!" She then places a hand over her heart. "Izuna has nothing to worry about, even when she stumbles. Yes! Izuna will do her best and become a great ninja!"

"Good to hear." I say, smiling.

"Oh, then Izuna shouldn't be here. Izuna still has her client's mission to complete! Izuna needs to get a move on!" She says.

"Good luck with your secret mission." I say with a knowing grin.

"Okay, Sensei! See you later!" She says, speeding away. "Let's enjoy the festival together once Izuna's mission is over!"

And so, the fox girl flew away like a gust of wind. Now, to get to this 'Momoyodou'...

I ended up asking around, and eventually found it. Apparently, Momoyodou is a famous tea shop in this area. That, and the one who runs it, Shizuko, has a beautiful smile. She... She DID call herself an idol, I suppose.

Soon, I arrived and walked through the door, into a small cafe. It was devoid of patrons, but still had a homey vibe to it.

Suddenly, a girl walks out and addresses me. "Come on in, Boss! Welcome!" She sounds like the girl in the back I heard over the phone.

The girl has long blonde hair, tied in a high ponytail, with one untied bang swept to the left side of her face, with various stripes of red strung here and there. She has bright blue eyes and wears a red and black kimono with a short skirt, held up by a strange strap. On her legs are white, loose, traditional socks, that come to the mid-thigh, detailed with a yellow and grey ribbon each. Her feet are covered by red, black and gold sandals. On her neck is what appears to be a black tattoo of a repeating pattern of pluses, or perhaps crosses. Her halo is a red ring with two 'diamonds' on the top and bottom of the ring, the ring running through the middle of them. On the left and right sides of the halo are wing shapes. The whole halo fades to orange towards the bottom. Around her back is a red and grey machine gun.

"I was told you were coming from the Schale Family." Family...? "The name's Asahina Pina. Put 'er there!" She says, holding out her hand.

"Er, nice to meetcha." I say, shaking her hand. "What's this about a family...?"

"Wait, wait, wait! Pina...! Don't scare off Sensei!" A girl, coming from the back room yells. She's that nasally voice I heard, must be Shizuko. She's much shorter than Pina, and definitely has that cutesy vibe.

She has long, brown hair with parts of it tied into small, high pigtails, all of it framing her round face and purple eyes. She wears a maid dress-kimono fusion where she has a pink and white kimono top, decorated with flower patterns, and a black skirt. Her obi is a white maid's apron, which also has those frilly straps over the shoulders. She, too has on white socks, ending just above her knees. On her feet are brown sandals with short heels, unlike Pina's, which are taller. Her halo is pink with an intricate design, resembling a double sided arrowhead, or perhaps two hearts. She also has a black shotgun with a dark wooden butt and pump.

"Huh? But, President..." The blonde girl says. "You said to give Sensei a warm welcome whenever I see him!"

"That is NOT what I meant." The brunette chastises. "I was just talking about making a good first impression. You can only make a good first impression once, after all." She crosses her arms and huffs at the taller girl. "The plan was to look as cute as possible upon our first meeting so I could get Sensei's affection points WAY up from the onset."

"Well, seeing as how you've taken time to plann this out,-" I begin, the girls turning to face me. "-I'd say you've already made a good first impression." I say, with a smile.

"Really?" Pina asks, surprised, to which I nod.

"M-Moving on." Shizuko says, clearing her throat. She then moves closer to me and puts on a cute smile "It's nice to meet you, Sensei! Welcome to the Momoyodou! Nyan!"

"...'Nyan'?" I ask, slowly.

"Allow me to show you around." She says, dismissing my question. "Pina! We have a customer!" She shouts at the other girl.

"Understood. Your wish is my command, Boss!" Pina says.

"I told you not like that!" The shorter girl chides. "Anyway, it's great that you're here, Sensei! I guess I should make a formal introduction, huh?"

"If you want." I shrug.

"I'm Kawawa Shizuko. I'm also the president of the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy's Festival Operations Department and owner of this traditional tea shop, Momoyodou. That also makes me the face of Momoyodou, this tea shop's very own idol!" Shizuko says happily.

"I work here too!" Pina cuts in. "Think of me as the muscle! The name's Asahina Pina, and I'm walking the path of justice and chivalry!"

"Pleased to meet ya both." I say with a smile.

"Say, Sensei. Is this your first time at the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy?" The shorter girl asks.

"Yup. I've been near here, but never actually in the district." I explain.

"Then I guess I should go over some of the Festival Operations Department's general talking points." Shizuko begins to lecture. "To start with, what IS the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy? It's an academy that has focused on the tourism industry since its founding. Festivals, hot springs, music, entertainment, not to mention delicious food! It's a place where diverse cultures and students come together in harmony!"

"And so the festival's an important time?" I reason.

"Exactly! The Festival Operations Department is in charge of, well, the festivals." Shizuko continues. "Festivals are the largest attraction of Hyakkiyako's tourism industry. Our club is tasked with planning, hosting, and the overall management. Isn't that right?"

"Correct!" Pina pipes up. "And Momoyodou is our club's cool hideotut!"

"We've been working day and night to prepare for the Hyakkiyako Cherry Blossom Festival! Impressed?" She asks with a smug grin. "Behold the power of the Festival Operations Department!"

"Seems like you gals have got your work cut out for you." I observe. "Though, with all the people outside, I'd say you've done a good job thus far."

The short brunette sighs in relief. "It's good to see the Cherry Blossom Festival has gone well after the effort we put in, but still..." She sighs sadly. "We've had some troublemakers recently. They caused another scene just earlier today."

"And that's why you called me?" I ask.

"Exactly." Shizuko confirms. "Sorry to say that we didn't invite you over just to stop and smell the cherry blossoms."

"No, it's fine." I cut her next sentence off. "Why anyone would wanna mess with a festival is beyond me, but it's clearly important, so I'll help you."

"You will?!" Shizuko asks, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Whatever she was gonna say next is interrupted by a small explosion outside.

"President! They're up to no good again!" Pina alerts us.

The short girl growls. "It's them! Are they the devil or what?! All I had to do was MENTION them!" She then remembers me. "Uh, I mean... What could THAT be...?" She asks cutely, before sighing in defeat. "Sorry, gotta keep up appearances. A-Anyway, I'll tell you everything in detail when we get rid of them."

Sure enough, outside are goons wearing masks.

One of them yells at the fleeing civilians. "Hahaha! We are the Mouryo, the spirits dwelling the streets of Hyakkiyako!"

"So you can call us the Street Mouryo! Get it?" Another says.

"Come on! Our client wants us to make a ruckus, so let's get to it!" A third chastises.

I stare at them in annoyance. "Shame we don't have any tigers to scare 'em off." I jest, referring to the myth of mouryos.

"What?" Shizuko looks at me in confusion.

"Nothing, just a reference." I say, waving her off.

"Seriously. Sabotaging a festival like this is as low as it gets!" Pina huffs.

"And the Festival Operations Department is powerless to stop us!" A Street Mouryo yells.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?!" I shout, gaining their attention. "Pina, Shizuko, cover me." I say.

"On it, Sensei!" Pina says, pulling out her sniper. Shizuko follow suit, pulling out her shotgun.

I run at the group of mouyo, pulling out my rifle. The begin to fire at me, but I'm too quick, so I close the distance. I smack one with my rifle in the face, or rather the mask, knocking them out. Another goes down with a shot to the face, followed by a punch to the gut. I take the other four or five down in similar ways.

"Eat this!" One yells, drawing my attention to the bright-red RPG sticking out of the rocket launcher on her shoulder.

"Sensei!" One of the girls yells out in worry behind me, but I'm not scared.

The RPG fires at me, but before it reaches me, I dodge slightly out of the way. As I do, I catch the rocket and spin around with it, before letting it go flying toward the one who shot it. It explodes, knocking them down and out.

My sixth sense goes off, as I dodge out of the way of a new attacker, diving from above. The attacker, down on the ground where I was just standing, has a kick delivered to their stomach, causing them to roll a good distance. Looking at who it is, I find it isn't another mouryo, but "...Izuna?"

"Oww..." The fox girl whines on the ground.

"Izuna? What are you doing here?" I ask, walking to the downed girl.

"Huh?! Sensei?!" She asks, eyes wide. "Th-That's Izuna's line! Why are you with the enemy?!"

"Enemy?" I look at her in confusion. "If anything YOU'RE with the enemy. These guys are trying to disrupt the festival. Those girls back there-" I point my thumb over my shoulder to Shizuko and Pina. "-are running the festival and asked me to help with people trying to mess it up."

"Sensei, are you... trying to trick Izuna?" She asks, slowly.

"Of course not." I say, seriously, shocking the fox girl with my tone of voice. "These guys were blowing shit up in the street, clearly trying to cause a ruckus. Now get up, you silly girl." I say, holding out my hand. She reluctantly takes my hand and stands up. "You said you wanted to see the festival with me, right?"

"Th-That's right." The fox ninja says nervously.

"Then why are you working with people messing with it?" I ask.

"Are you being serious, Sensei?" She asks, to which I nod. "Izuna had no idea..."

"Good job, Sensei! You caught one!" Shizuko says, walking up to me. Izuna tenses up.

"Not really." I say, worried. "You mind if we go back to Momoyodou first?"

"Er, sure." Shizuko says, confused.

The three girls and I walked back to the tea shop. "Okay, so what's going on, Shizuko?" I ask, seriously.

"Those guys call themselves the Street Mouyuo." Pina explains. "They're the troublemakers who have been terrorizing Hyakkiyako!"

"T-Terrorizing?!" Izuna asks, really worried now.

"It's true." Shizuko says, solemnly. "They have a history of causing headaches, but they didn't used to be so organzied. It's like they're out to completely sabotage the Cherry Blossom Festival."

"...They wanted to...?" Izuna asks herself quietly.

"Those jerks!" The blonde yells suddenly. "I can't just stand by and watch, my gangster's sense of justice won't allow it!"

"Sounds to me like whoever hired Izuna, also hired those goons and wants to stop the festival for whatever reason." I theorize. "Izuna, who hired you?"

"Izuna can't say!" She says, suddenly very passionate. "Ninjas can't speak of their clients! No matter what!"

"Hmm..." I think for a moment, crossing my arms. "Well then, why don't I hire you?"

"Huh?" Shizuko asks to the side.

"What?" Izuna seems lost too, as she's tilting her head.

"I'll hire you to keep working for whoever hired you first, but you'll come back and tell us what they're planning."

Izuna gasps as her eyes light up. "So Izuna will be a double agent!"

"A double agent ninja." I point out, causing the girl to smile wider. "Ninjas are all about deception and sabotage, it's probably why your client hired you in the first place, to sabotage the festival. But you said you wanted to see the festival, so why not deceive the deceivers?"

The aspiring ninja gasps in glee and realization. "Izuna was right about you, Sensei. You really are like a ninja!" She says happily. "All right, then!" The fox girl stands up quickly. "Izuna will work for Sensei to help the festival!"

I smile at the girl. "Glad to hear it. Now, go back to your client to report what that you and the others lost. Text me or come find me when you have a chance, and report on what they're up to."

"All right, then, Sensei! You can count on Izuna!" She says, standing up. "Izuna will report back to you later! Nin nin!"

"Later, Izuna." I say, as she runs off.

"...Can we trust her?" Shizuko asks.

"I think so." I say with a happy smile.

Shizuko suddenly groans in frustration. "I just don't get it! We didn't used to have trouble with them, but at the rate things are going, they really ARE going to ruin the festival... We'll be done for if the festival had to be canceled! What are we going to do?!" She suddenly catches herself. "Uh, I mean... Gosh! What do we do now?" She says, switching to the cutesy voice again.

"Why are they even trying to ruin the festival?" Pina asks.

"They must not approve of it." A male voice says, as the bell on the door chimes. In walks a cat man with brown fur and green eyes, wearing a black kimono.

"Oh! You're the merchant guild president!" The idol says, recognizing him.

"Indeed." He looks at me. "It's nice to meowt you. I'm Date Meowru, the president of Hyakkiyako's shopping district merchant's guild."

I nod at him.

"Um... but why would they disapprove of the festival?" Shizuko asks, confused.

"Firework shows have traditionally been the finale of every Hyakkiyako Cherry Blossom Festival." He explains. "Yet that isn't the case this time, correct? I believe you prepared something new for the festivities."

"That's right, we came up with something new just for this festival." The brunette confirms, looking over to a table with a strange, mechanical box on it. "Over there is a special piece of equipment we borrowed from the Millennium Science School for the Cherry Blossom Festival's grand finale."

"Oh, that!" The blonde chimes in, remembering it. "Supposedly it's a device that can create holograms of fireworks! Very special!"

"It must have cost a small fortune to obtain on such short notice..." The cat man ruminates while stroking his chin. "Perhaps we have a classic case of of some resisting change... aggressively?"

"Quite aggressively, it seems." I agree.

"That does happen sometimes... but would they really ruin the festival because of that?" Shizuko asks.

"Change is a scary word. People more often than not hate the very notion of it." I explain.

"It's just... I prepared the hologram show thinking everyone would like it." The idol says somberly.

"Well, it was only a guess." The cat man adds, hoping to calm the girl most likely. "I prefer to it live in the past too much, but there are some who can't let go of tradition so easily."

"Sure, but the festival has always been evolving!" Shizuko protests. "How else can it improve? I'm the Festival Operations Department's president. No one knows that better than I do."

"I totally agree! Every festival has to be better than the last!" Pina chimes in.

The cat man hums. "Is that so? Working toward that end is admirable, I suppose."

"Don't try to deny how much you care and enjoy looking out for us. You're worried about the festival too." Shizuko says with a knowing grin.

"That's right, no need to be shy." The blonde adds.

"E-Enough with your nonsense!" The cat man weakly protests. "Regardless, do you have some sort of plan to handle this? The festival will truly be ruined if you don't find a way to stop them."

"Do we have anyone we can ask for help?" I ask.

"We could always as the other clubs if we really have to. I'm just not sure if they'd be of any help." The idol says.

"We'll, better to try than to just sit around." I say, standing up.

"We'll, if you insist, I have someone in mind." Shizuko says. "But, I'll need your help to convince them."

"Let's go, then." I say.

The cat man says goodbye as Shizuko, Pina and I leave the tea shop.

In an abandoned building somewhere in Hyakkiyako.

"So you Mouryo failed to finish the job? How?" A male voice asks from the shadows. "Our contract stipulates that you're to interfere with the festival and have it cancelled by today, does it not? I hadn't realized I wasted so much money on a group on incompetents."

"W-Well, we ran into some unexpected problems." One mouryo says awkwardly.

"That famous Sensei from Schale showed up and got in the way!" Another says. "He was really strong!"

"He knocked us all out!" Yet another adds.

"Schale? Sensei?" The employer asks, confused.

"That's right! Sensei was the difference maker!" Izuna pipes up.

"Even you are saying the same, Izuna? Who is this person you all are talking about?" The mystery man asks.

"It's just like you said, if Izuna completes her mission, then one day, she'll become a great ninja!" Izuna says. "Then you said that Izuna would have an encounter with her one and only lord!"

"I... do recall saying something like that..." The employer says.

"And then Izuna encountered them earlier today! Sensei said he would support Izuna's dream!" She says happily.

"Well, then. How... interesting? And...?" He asks.

"Sensei was the enemy for some reason." She says, sadly. "But Izuna doesn't know why!"

'Good! Looks like he's buying Izuna's act!' The fox girl thinks to herself. 'Izuna knows Sensei isn't the enemy, perhaps Izuna can...'

"Could it be...? No, that's impossible!" Izuna suddenly says. "Izuna understands now! Sensei must have been manipulated!"

'Or rather, Izuna was manipulated by you!' She thinks.

"That's one possibility, I suppose." The employer says, still confused. "Either way, this 'Sensei' person is not to be underestimated. I will overlook your transgressions this time, but I hope you all prove worthy of my investment."

"Well stop the festival next time for sure, boss." A mouryo says.

"That's right!" Izuna pipes up. "Izuna will defeat Sensei and open his eyes to the truth! Sensei will understand everything once Izuna wins!"

"I... see." The employer says slowly. "I will trust you to live up to those words, then."

"Leave it to Izuna! Nin nin!" She says, running off.

The employer sighs to himself. "I do hope I don't come to regret this..."

'Don't worry, Sensei! Izuna will get to the bottom of this!' The ninja promises herself.

AN

Well... this is certainly different.

One thing the Cherry Blossom Festival event did was set up a story with a bit plot hole. 'What if Sensei told Izuna about working with the people running the festival?', I thought I myself.

So, I decided to write this.

How will the event story change? Who knows?

Edit: October 17, 2022. Changed a line of dialogue.

Edit: November 1, 2022: Added girls' weapon descriptions.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!