Logically Haruka knew it had only been a handful of minutes since he had first separated from his crew. Sadly, logic wasn't keeping his abused body warm or his overactive mind from worrying.

They had inflicted no small amount of damage, his crew. The bilge pumps would have to work hard to keep out the incoming water; if there had been to get aboard the ship he would have gladly disabled those too, but short of betraying his presence to the night watchman and being taken aboard, he couldn't find a way to accomplish it.

Then inspiration struck: with the apparent damage already done to the ship by summer storms and the way his crew had so easily stoved in the lowest point of the hull, how much more trouble would these raiders be in if they could not even steer their ship from hostile waters? It shouldn't take much more than a minute to sever the rudder's line, and then this fine vessel would be left adrift regardless of her captain's skill.

Perhaps he could even take command of her himself after negotiating a truce at sword point.

Miho's shrill screech broke the still night air. Haruka didn't bother stifling his reckless grin; Miho had a powerful voice, one more befitting a harpy than the demure young woman she usually pretended to be. Haru treasured those moments her temper got the better of her, and after being held at scalpel's edge by a physician of all people, Miho was not feeling particularly demure tonight.

He slipped beneath the water slowly, the water leeching the last bit of warmth from his skin; this would have to be quick, there was still the swim back to shore to consider. Goro would be waiting there with warm blankets and a fire pit to welcome the returning victors.

The breath shivered out of him as he finally descended, making his way by instinct to the tiller's lines. It would do no good to open his eyes here; between the darkness and the salt sting it would do more harm than good. It took a couple minutes of floundering aimlessly before he could find the way, and by then he had to return to the surface for a gulp of sweet air before retracing his route. Miho would not thank him if he drowned before his job was done.

When he surfaced again, panting, aching and thoroughly satisfied with the work he had accomplished, Haruka knew something had changed. He could still hear the voices of his crew somewhere near the bow, and an occasional silence when the watchman answered- and really, what sort of conversation could they be having?- but there was also the soft swish of something cutting through water, unconcerned that its presence might be noticed.

Had Miho sent someone back to collect him? That was not unlike her; Haruka teased her sometimes over her need to mother anyone under her charge, but she would never do so if she thought their mission was at stake. It couldn't possibly be the ship's crew returning, the oars of their dinghy, even muffled with cloth, should have made enough noise to alert him to their presence.

Haru drew a handful of deep breaths, sinking beneath the surface until only his eyes remained above. The figure that came into view, glancing cautiously over his shoulder, was not entirely unexpected but certainly disappointing.

Then again, every setback could be an opportunity in disguise. Haru dropped his tools and sank the final few centimeters; he would need his hands free for this.

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By the time Rei returned from his scavenging expedition whatever strange mood had gripped Nitori was obviously long since passed. He hadn't moved even an inch from his post, and only gazed down at the water rather forlornly, withdrawn once more. Rei mourned the loss of the man he had spoken with not a quarter hour gone, but it was still a marked accomplishment finding that their surgeon had a heretofore unsuspected streak of normalcy somewhere between timid shadow and relentless adversary.

Rei slipped in beside him, proffering a single-shot pistol that Nitori waved away. This would all be so much simpler if Nagisa were present; Rei knew something of firearms, but only as they were used in formal duels. He had never actually participated even as a second, and confronted with the possibility of being forced to demonstrate his non-existent skill Rei found himself unsure how he was going to carry through.

He glanced down at the water, the moonlight playing on the waves and obscuring the forms below. It was difficult to fix on any of them, the way the light shifted so; was that a limb or a tool? Were there five or six?

Enough. Better to pretend confidence and let them wonder at how much his eyes could see.

"B'low! Drop your tools or be slain!"

A muffled shriek of rage drifted up to him on the night wind. Good god, these savages had brought a woman to fight their battle?

When a broken implement sailed past his head with impossible speed Rei quickly modified the definition of 'woman' to include 'harridan' or perhaps 'virago'. Even a grown man would have had the devil of a time chucking such a light implement so high. Standard rules of chivalry need not be observed, he assured himself- she had attacked him after all.

The other shapes didn't appear to be complying with his directive either. Rei could have sworn he heard muffled laughter, and he watched as one of the shapes fully submerged, with chisel in hand, to continue his work.

Rei looked to Nitori from the corner of his eye, but the surgeon was staring up at the stars, lips moving almost imperceptibly with a thought he didn't choose to speak aloud. Suppressing a sigh of annoyance, Rei forged ahead. "I will say it once more: drop your tools immediately or I will fire."

At a sharp word from the woman- was she in charge?- the others handed her their chisels and spikes before fanning out to gaze up at him accusingly.

"What now? We can't just leave them down there."

Nitori tapped an impatient tattoo against the side of the ship. "Since you insist they be left alive, I'm not certain. You could solve the dilemma by firing."

"They're unarmed." Rei snapped impatiently, "They complied. It wouldn't be fair."

"What now, lover? Are you going to lower a rope, let us all clamber aboard and confine us to the brig?"

Raucous laughter greeted her words, jeers and cat-calls that Rei struggled valiantly to ignore.

"Which of you designates himself as leader?"

"Herself, you pox-ridden son of a two bit whore. Amakata Miho, not particularly at your service. Are we going to scream at each other all night or did you have something better in mind?"

"There are four of them." Nitori murmured, craning his neck to get a better look. "If you are not going to kill them, you've really no choice but to let them go. Dark as it is, perhaps the currents will take them before they reach shore."

"Rin would hang me from the mainsail for birdbait."

"The captain has not yet returned, you cannot be sure he wouldn't order the same."

Rei could hardly hear himself think over the jibes of the crew below, the mocking questions and the splash of limbs. It was beginning to wear on his already frayed nerves.

"Find a rope, we'll tie a decent knot and drop it down for the woman. We can bring her aboard and hold her until the others agree to leave in peace."

Nitori snorted, tone laced with wry amusement. "Of course." He slipped off across the deck without another word, leaving Rei alone with their dubious captives.

"Would you be willing to drop your equipment and make immediately for shore?" Rei queried, hoping against hope the answer would be 'yes', or better yet compliance.

The outright braying from the party below assured him that had never been an option.

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Much as he would have liked to keep Makoto near during what was surely his most trying ideal in years, it fell to Rin to play the hammer in this maneuver. If he swam the circumference of the ship as quickly as his limbs could take him and swooped in on the opposite side of their attackers while Nagisa and Makoto attacked from the other, this crew would be caught in between Rin's hammer and Makoto's anvil.

Obliged to carry the metaphor to its natural conclusion, Rin indulged in a brief fantasy of thrashing his enemies flat for daring to carry out their plans against his ship. It would have been another matter entirely to target the crew; there wasn't a man aboard that could not hold his own in combat unless it was Nitori- and even that had come under question in light of recent events- but to attack Rin's ship was to attack his home and sanctuary.

His luck would wax and wane, crewmembers would be lost to the sea or their own ambitions, but the Samenoe would always belong to him and that small handful he knew would never leave her deck except for shore-leave. Come down to it, not one of them had ever taken a leave exceeding a week. It was uncomfortable to rest on solid ground and after so long with only his comrades for company, the masses of strangers had started an itch between Rin's shoulder blades that had not disappeared until the ship was safely in his keeping once more.

Now these island savages were destroying his home, and battered as she already was, Rin wasn't sure how much more she could take. He didn't bother muffling his strokes, the splashing wouldn't be heard over the cacophony up near the prow anyway; Rin poured all his strength into speed and prayed the effort would warm his rapidly numbing skin. Nitori had better have blankets handy when they were brought aboard or every last one of the shore crew would catch their death of cold.

He paused for a few minutes to catch his breath, treading water while his teeth chattered as he blew warm breaths onto his fingertips. It would do no appreciable good, the temperature had begun to drop as soon as the heat of the day had passed, but he took comfort knowing he would not be alone in his pain- Haruka's gathering had to have been caught in the icy water longer than his.

Shaking off his reverie, Rin struck out once more, keeping himself near to the ship. It was a risk, swimming this close; if a stray current caught him he could as easily be pulled under, but he had every confidence in his abilities, and not much of a choice.

As he rounded the stern something twined about his ankle; a stray bit of kelp perhaps. Thoughtlessly he kicked it away, only to feel the unmistakable grip of fingers clamping around his ankle and yanking hard enough to disrupt his rhythm. Damn, had they actually anticipated this tactic? Pointless to wonder, he'd be finding out soon enough.

Forcing himself to expel the last bit of air from his lungs, Rin allowed himself to be pulled under, flailing until at last his foot was set free. Not the wisest choice, there was a reason he wasn't a scholar; the effort of freeing himself from that grip had his lungs screaming for oxygen and his throat worked while he fought the compulsion to suck in water. It would do him no good to free himself and then die here because of his own idiocy.

When a sinewy arm closed about his throat and legs began to tangle with his, his anger returned and he forgot the pressing need for air, focusing more on hurting the sneaky bastard that had ambushed him. He was not going to die in the fucking water; this was his element, and by the time they finished here, this poor fool would know it.

It was difficult, getting his frigid fingers to curl into any semblance of claws, but once he had done so, Rin raked them mercilessly across his attacker's abdomen. It took a moment more with their grappling, but finally his other hand found purchase in the assailant's hair… and down to his eyes where Rin scratched desperately.

An opening! The confining arm relaxed just enough that he was able to eel out of the unforgiving grip, twisting to put himself face-to-face with his enemy, and locking his legs about the other man's hips. He couldn't be the only one dying for a breath of fresh air, this would soon become a matter of who could stay conscious the longest. Rin would have been pleased to offer coin in his own favor.

It was over in a matter of seconds though it felt like hours to Rin; he could almost pity the bastard for picking this fight. With the extra few minutes he'd had above water, the fight was decided in his favor when that thrashing body finally went limp, leaving Rin bruised and aching, cuts stinging from the salt water and head splitting without precious air.

On a whim, he pulled the body to the surface, coughing and hacking while he struggled to spit water in exchange for sweet life; Makoto's fear of these waters had never been more understandable to him. Blinking his eyes to clear them of the brine, Rin glanced to his opponent- conscious and glaring at him malevolently while his chest heaved for sucking in air. He didn't struggle, but there was a tautness in his figure that suggested he was only a moment away from it.

"Haruka." Rin spat, regretting the impulse almost immediately. His greedy lings did not want to surrender the air even to speak.

"Rin." Haruka growled, and for a moment a smile danced across his lips and was gone. What the hell did he have to smile about?

"Your crew's up front, what th'hell you doin' here?" He panted, still keeping his grip.

"Tell your watchman to stop menacing my crew and I might tell you."

"Better idea. Tell me first, then we'll see to your crew." Haruka's nails sunk into the flesh of his hips, biting deep. He yanked viciously at the black locks tangled in his own fingers, pulling Haruka's head back to bare his vulnerable throat. "Let me go or I will rip your throat out with my teeth, I swear it."

Reluctantly Haruka released him, gasping a smothered laugh. "Hardly matters. Your ship is compromised, captain. And the navy on its way; I wonder how you will save your crew from this mistake?"

"First I think we had better save your crew from theirs."

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"Where the hell is Rin?" Nagisa hissed, trailing lightly beside Makoto. It had been easy-going to this point, but now that they arrived at the moment of truth Rin hadn't seen fit to show himself for the ambush. Little good an anvil could do without a hammer.

"Rin will come. We will do as we have been told. Rei isn't much for bluffing, and this lot has that figured out."

"What makes you think Rei's bluffing? He'll blow them out of the water if they get out of hand." Nagisa growled defensively; he never liked it when anyone else pointed out Rei's weaknesses, it was a privilege he reserved solely for himself.

"Then we have nothing to worry about. Circle and advance. I count four; keep them in your sights."

"But Mako-"

Makoto had already slipped beneath the waves, making his way toward their objective. This man was going to get him killed, Nagisa was certain of it; nevertheless, he followed.

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Miho flashed a feral grin to the poor boy on deck that was convinced he had her in his sights. The water had a funny way of distorting proportions; if he were any kind of marksman he would know that and adjust his aim accordingly. Not that it would do much good- she wondered if he were familiar with the concept of a ricochet and what exactly a bullet would do if it struck the water at a bad angle when she submerged to avoid his shot.

Better not to tempt him. The last time someone had actually managed to get a shot off at her, Haruka had kept her off shore-duty for months. She had serious doubts this child would work up the backbone to fire like he had promised he would, but it was not worth the risk.

Besides, she recognized the man beside him. Nitori Aiichiro, the mad surgeon. She had no way of knowing if that one knew his guns, but Miho would wager her last silver he had the will to learn. If she goaded the poor boy too much, that one might step in and take the decision from his hands.

"Would you be willing to drop your equipment and make immediately for shore?" Spoken in such plaintive tones Miho could not do anything but laugh until her ribs ached; she heard the echo of others joining her. This one had no way of knowing that was precisely what she wanted to do, if only Haruka would come back already. How long could it take to sever the tiller's line? If he was going to have this much of a problem with it why not send her instead?

"We will not." She ground out, some of her frustration, even worry, bleeding into her tone. She couldn't even send one of the others to seek him out, not with the sentry keeping such a careful eye on them. That would put their whole objective at risk… and Miho was just about ready to do so if it meant bringing Haruka back. She had no doubt they could make it to shore faster in these waters, but if there were another dinghy aboard that ship it would be too much of a risk.

Dammit. This was why Haruka was supposed to be in charge!

A disturbance to her right caught her attention before she could tell the boy exactly what she could do with her instruments.

"Ambush!"

She dove for the source of the screech, trying in vain to spot which of the bodies in that tangle of limbs belonged to her crewmate and which to the fool that thought taking them on in open water was a good idea. Just as she turned, someone behind her took up the cry. How many nuisances did they have in the water? Miho shot the boy on deck a venomous look, noting that he had lowered his weapon and was watching these antics with the same confusion that had gripped her.

An impromptu attack then, nothing organized. There was a point in her favor.

"Group to the center! Keep 'em off your back!" She twisted every which way, searching the water for any sign of others and kicking ferociously lest they dare come up beneath her. Anyone thinking to pull her under would find themselves with a battle on their hands, but it was the tactic she would employ if the situation was reversed.

In a matter of seconds she had her people safely grouped beside her, chisels held like knives, facing outward while they searched for any signs of an incoming attack. The water was disturbingly quiet, though she could hear relieved laughter coming from above. Idiot. Her work was done, all that was left now was to wait for Haruka and make their way back to shore for a much-needed rest followed by what she hoped would be a truly outrageous amount of food.

"Are they under?" She couldn't be certain who has asked, the voice too low to be certain of, but the question had merit. Had they withdrawn?

Unlikely. But neither would it be wise to try pulling anyone under; grouped this closely, she could order those that were unrestrained to bludgeon the clever trickster to death.

"Probably." She murmured sotto voice, scanning the water.

"We should go back."

"We're waiting for Haruka. That is nonnegotiable."

"He's the best swimmer-"

"I said we wait." She growled, cutting off at a sharp bark of laughter from somewhere ahead. The silhouettes of their attackers came back into view- two of them, only two against four and those two unarmed? Miho fancied her odds of winning were considerably greater, especially now that they had sacrificed the advantage of surprise.

Which beggared the question- why?

A third figure made its way through the water, cutting sharply through it like a hot knife through butter. She would have known that form anywhere. "Haruka."

And beside him, a fourth figure… Three to four still wasn't bad odds exactly, and with only a single shot pistol above- yes, this was manageable.

"Miho." Haruka's voice carried across the water with little trouble, but she couldn't hardly make out the symbols his stiff fingers struggled to form. What- oh. Oh. Yes. That would work. Risky, though. She didn't care for it, and fired back a sequence of signs meant to tell him so. Not that he would listen to her.

"Stop it." The one to his right snapped, "Or didn't your parents teach you it is rude to trade secrets in front of guests?" He glanced up and she caught the face of the captain- there was something she hadn't been counting on.

"Aren't you lot supposed to be in the dinghy?" Miho hoped the scorn dripping from her words would singe his ears, but he only chuckled.

Another spoke, the one with the steady gaze she thought, and the placating tongue, "We might never have caught you if your people ashore hadn't scuttled her. We are grateful you could not do the same for our ship."

You have no idea, lover.

"Rei, you want to bring us aboard? Four of us, mind. We're keeping one for good behavior."

"Aye, captain."

"Nagisa, you'll be going up first to keep an eye on this one when he's aboard. Rei has a gun waiting for you. Haruka follows, then Makoto, then myself."

"They'll take you-" Makoto began, but Rin waved it off unconcernedly.

"They won't. Because if anyone comes so much as an inch nearer, Rei's going to shoot them. Aren't you, Rei?" Miho winced, the thought had maybe crossed her mind that they could turn this into a hostage exchange regardless of Haruka's wishes. With his captain present now, she couldn't trust the boy to keep his finger from the trigger, and he would have no difficulty shooting Haruka at point blank range regardless of his skill.

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Haruka could see the moment Miho discarded whatever madcap plan she had been devising for his escape. It simply wasn't practical now. Not twenty minutes past he had been hoping for a way to clamber aboard this vessel, and now the captain offered him an engraved invitation. Truly fate favored him today.

With any luck they would throw him directly into the brig and he could work out a means of spreading the damage however he could. It wouldn't be quite that simple, it never was, but Haru had faith in his ability.

Obviously Miho did not. Her gestures had been nothing short of inflammatory; if she were anyone other than his closest friend he might have taken offense. As it was, the woman had practically raised him and she deserved her right to offer council. Even if Haruka was certain he was right.

He didn't take his eyes from her as a thick woven rope was lowered for Nagisa, continued to watch when his turn came and he slipped into the makeshift hammock himself. Had no one thought to use a net? It would have been infinitely less abrasive than the rough rope woven about his hips and calves. It would hurt later, for now the cold stung far worse.

Haru held his breath once he was out of the water, praying Miho's patience would hold these last few minutes. His own was wearing painfully thin with the trigger-happy monkey gleefully leveling that damned pistol at his face. If he hadn't been so determined to stay aboard, Haru thought he might well have taken that pistol and showed the boy why it was never wise to hold a weapon so close to one's captive.

But then he would also have had to contend with the sentry, obviously far stronger than his frame suggested, and the surgeon who was keeping a weather eye on him even as he was clearly worrying over Nagisa's state. The water had not done well by any of them; it would do even less for Miho and those with her. They had to get back to shore immediately.

"Let me help."

"What?" The watchman panted, hauling at the ropes with single-minded determination.

"The sooner they are up, the sooner my crew goes. Let me help."

To Haruka's surprise, it was the surgeon that spoke in his favor, low but authoritative "He's right. We need to get them out of the water and into the galley. There should still be a fire burning."

Rei glanced to the surgeon, nodding his approval before gesturing Haruka aside him. Nagisa blew out a frustrated breath, but he lowered his pistol with only a single reproachful glare for the healer.

Haruka hid his smirk as best he could; again, the fates smiled on him. The surgeon would be his angle of attack when it came time to maneuver himself into position; he was a man of reason, and it seemed at least two of the crew would be willing to go where he pointed.

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It was the eyes, Seijuurou decided.

Every time he thought the ship was finally under his control once more, the final authority wrested from the clinging hands of his cabin boy- cabin girl, he corrected, Gou insisted upon the distinction regardless of the crew's jibes and knowing leers- he found himself staring down into pleading brown eyes. Eyes that said she had expected better of him, that of course the choice was his, but it was cruel of him to make the wrong one.

And like the lovestruck fool that he was, it never ceased to sway him in exactly the direction Matsuoka Gou had hoped for.

This time, though, this time he would hold his ground and rot her eyes because she knew the decision was out of his hands. The crew hadn't signed on to sail out of imperially protected waters. The last thing he wanted was to encounter a red-seal ship while he carried the youngest daughter of the Matsuoka clan aboard his vessel. It was a tragedy in the making.

"That is his ship, I am certain of it." Gou perched on the very edge of his bed."Take a seat." He had said, and she certainly had, but not the one he had gestured toward.

"And this is my ship-"

"My family paid for it." She countered, grinning devilishly at him in one of those mercurial shifts of mood he had witnessed countless times. If the brother was as crafty as the sister, Sei wasn't certain how he could be expected to keep his ship afloat bearing the both of them.

"Your family paid handsomely for its use." She was trying to distract him again, and regretfully he could not permit it. "But that is beside the point. If that is not your brother's ship, we are turning back to the mainland directly. I will sail no further."

"It hardly matters. That is my brother's ship. I feel it."

When she had first come aboard, or rather, when he had first discovered her concealed in a crate that should have been dried beans, he had scoffed at her talk of gut feelings. Only they had invariably been proved true, and rationalist though he claimed to be, Mikoshiba Seijuuro was not above confessing that his years at sea had infected him with superstition.

"It appears to be a merchant vessel-"

"He commandeered it from our shipyard years ago. Of course it is a merchant vessel!" Now she was vexed, he could read it in her stiff posture and prim pose, hands clasped neatly on her lap and legs held tightly together the way all young ladies were taught. His own sisters had perfected the martial stance to an art, though it had an altogether different effect when performed in a proper gown rather than the boy's trousers Gou had insisted upon wearing against his advice.

"I am only suggesting that it is not uncommon to find a merchant's vessel in these waters. Finding Rin so many years after his disappearance-"

"Escape."

"Is highly improbable. I would not like you to be disappointed." His voice softened on that last word, hand reaching out to rest on her shoulder in a mute offering of support.

Gou shook her head, still frowning at him, though far less severely. "It is Rin. I will not be disappointed."

"I hope not." Sei yanked teasingly at a frazzled lock of hair, chuckling when she hissed and lurched away from him. Over these last months, stolen time, he had accepted that Gou was a vain creature; no matter how often he protested that she was quite pretty the response would always be a scathing comment that anyone at all could be pretty when taken in comparison with his crew.

Given the number of times he had caught her mooning after men in uniform when she thought they would not see, he thought it safe to say she didn't truly mean the words. Her hair wold always be a sticking point, though; she hadn't thought that through before stowing away. There were water rations for bathing, but not so much as she had been used to, and after three days in the salt air it had become stiff and unyielding, defying her best attempts to tame it. She loathed when anyone touched it then, and that was what he counted on.

She had scurried off his bed and to the door in the second it took him to smirk at her annoyance.

"Don't touch my hair. It's foul."

"You can bathe again tomorrow." Sei allowed some of his amusement to show at his own peril; he swore he could feel his eyes sparkling with it.

"Tomorrow is too late."

"I will inform the quartermaster when next we put into port that he must provision us with an extra share of all necessities in case of stow-aways."

"You should."

"Regulation says I should throw you overboard or toss you in the brig until we reach the next port. Do not tell me what I should do, Gou, I know it."

Her sniff was disdainful and a little offended, but she tipped her head respectfully before dipping out of his cabin. He waited for a count of three before sticking his head out to ensure she was on her way and not waiting with a bucket of soapy water to toss on him. She had done that once her first week on duty and he had lost the use of a perfectly good uniform, but Sei did not carry freeloaders. He had made it exceedingly apparent when she crawled out of that crate and pleaded with him to keep her aboard that she would earn her way the same as any other crewman.

A night spent scrubbing dishes in the galley and a morning shining the boots of every crewman aboard had cured her of any destructive pranks. It had also made him feel like a monster when her delicate skin had developed a rash from the lye, and when the bootblack had ruined her only kerchief as well as staining her nose for a full two days so that he'd been forced to hand down orders that the crew was not permitted to mention it lest she refuse to emerge from their quarters for the rest of the voyage.

Therein was the worst of it. What was a captain to do with a young lady that was so inconsiderate as to subtly co-opt the command of his ship? For all that she held the position of cabin girl and occasional galley scut, she was still a lady, and assigning her to crew's quarters was out of the question. The navy had at least a dozen guidelines dealing with the subject of women aboard ship and he was breaking every one simply allowing her to stay aboard.

The only choice had been to offer her the use of his cabin, which she had eagerly accepted. After a week of sleeping in a hammock while she made use of the bed, he had finally put in for another- assigning her a much smaller cot in the far corner of the room. Not terribly chivalrous, but Sei had learned his lesson about allowing her the use of his after one of the crewman had stumbled into his room and jumped to all the conclusions that would mean death to a lady's reputation once home.

He still couldn't be sure if his threats had been enough to deter gossip, but given the suggestive looks the crew tossed his way, the best guess was no.

Yet another problem to deal with in its time, but for now they had to focus on the problem of Rin. Bloody, thrice-damned, sister-endangering Matsuoka Rin.