Akane approved Haruka's plan of attack, and the three uniformed Otome moved to their separate stations after some brief last minute pleading by Shiho. Haruka quietly hid behind some tall grass at the edge of the forest clearing while Akane and Shiho made their way for the largest nearby tree. Akane climbed to a branch about halfway up the trunk while Shiho took a short flight upward to perch within its very top leaves. Akane's ears twitched as they listened to the soothing sound of crickets and a rustling wind passing through the tree. Her feline instincts made her briefly consider taking a nap on the branch, but she quickly shook the idea out of her head when she remembered the safety of her close friends and Mistress Shizuru were at stake.

When Mai and Mikoto finally walked into the forest clearing discussing the carefree events of their day, Mai stopped when she seemed to hear a distant flapping sound in the night air. She looked toward the moon in the sky, and she was suddenly taken by a feeling of dark omen as she thought she saw the tip of a black feathered wing flying over her just in the corner of her eye. When she scanned the night sky, however, she couldn't find the source of her fear. Mikoto watched her curiously, not sensing anything out of the ordinary. After Mai quietly fought off her unexpected chilled feeling, she sighed and turned back to Mikoto with a reaffirmed smile.

Just as Mai had settled on blaming her imagination for her unexplained uneasiness, a light blue figure jumped from the tree beside her with a short bladed staff in one of its hands. Akane ran toward Mai the moment her feet touched the ground and slashed at the unexpecting Meister. Mai quickly backstepped out Akane's reach, making the sudden attacker swing at thin air before dashing back into the brush. Mai frantically turned to Mikoto, who nodded in silent agreement before activating Mai's Meister Robe and raising her own Buddhist staff into a combat position.

The now-Materialized Mai was again taken by surprise as she heard an unnatural rustling sound coming from the grass. Green tendrils suddenly burst from the ground in front of her as if very forest was trying to devour her. Mai and Mikoto dove in opposite directions to avoid this terrifying attack, and Shiho took advantage of this separation by swooping down from her latest hiding spot and slamming her free fist into a recovering Mikoto's stomach. The force of the blow sent the monk flying into the thick base of a tree, causing her staff to fall from her hands. Mai snapped her head in the direction of Mikoto, recognizing the figure that attacked her to be the source of the dread she felt moments ago.

"Mikoto, get out of here!"

Mikoto painfully climbed back to her feet. She had first wanted to object to her protector's wishes and continue to fight with her. However, the fact her contract with Mai had bound their lives together, in addition to already being wounded prey from her crash into the tree, made her realize her presence gave these expert assassins two targets to completing the same goal and only made her Otome's battle more difficult. Mikoto nodded toward Mai before lifting her staff off the ground and running into the darkened woods. An uneasy smile appeared on Mai's face as she turned again to scan for her next attacker.

Akane had already sprung from her cover before Mai fully recovered, and the uniformed Meister let out a battle cry as she ran forward and slashed at her unprepared enemy's chest. Mai barely had enough time to parry to the side and, before she was even able to land, Shiho re-emerged from behind a tree and took her own swipe at the overwhelmed enemy as she flew low to the ground. Mai rolled under the attack and landed in a thick patch of grass. As she rose back to her feet and desperately tried to catch her breath, she heard a loud thud on the ground behind her. Flailing green vines erupted out of the ground under her just as before, and this time they found their mark. Once they reached her ankles, Mai found herself unable to lift either of her legs off of the ground, and she looked over her shoulder as the trap quickly cocooned her up to the knees. Amidst the ongoing confusion of the battle, she was shocked see Haruka Armitage, one of her Garderobe classmates from years past, kneeling with one palm against the ground behind her.

"Ha-Haruka?! What are you doing here?!"

The blonde-haired Otome remained engrossed in her attack, watching contently as she was slowly turning her opponent into an earthen statue. The abundant number of mind-altering injections she had been given made her long forget her former acquaintance with Mai.

Mai's attention to Haruka was broken when she heard rapid footsteps approaching her and turned her head forward to see Akane was now making her third deadly pass. Mai couldn't move anything from her waist down with her own strength at this point, as Haruka had engulfed Mai's lower half in a solid layer of vines that were even more formfitting than her skirted Meister Robe. After a quick moment of thought, Mai made her next move.

Mai dodges: Go to Chapter 16

Mai blocks: Go to Chapter 19