The following night, Tsubaki Moto and Kaede Himura dispatch their enslaved minions on another mission each.
Shortly after sunset, though this deep below ground such a concept is artificial at best, a figure cloaked in a brand‑new Mizu cloak approaches the perimeter of Tsuchi‑dojo. Recalling her previous infiltration, the cloaked lynx descends into the nearby sewers. However, Kaede has since fortified the sewers, and soon the lynx finds her path blocked. Fortunately, she knows how to get around the obstacle. She takes a small lump of putty out of a pouch on her belt, divides it into six pieces, and places them strategically on the steel bars blocking her progress, wrapping them securely to the bar with duct tape. In each lump of putty, she places a miniature detonator, and wires them all in series. She then runs two much longer wires from a spool on her belt, connects them to the detonator circuit, and retreats a safe distance, where she touches the other ends of the wires to a small battery.
The sound of half a dozen small explosions rolls down the sewage tunnel, followed soon by the clangs of three metal bars. With haste, the cloaked lynx sprints down the tunnel, leaps through the gap in the barricade, and continues deep under the heart of the dojo.
Meanwhile, in Mokuzaihanto where sunset is a natural phenomenon, a second figure cloaked in his own brand‑new Mizu cloak approaches the dojo from the opposite direction to that the lynx used prior. With security increased dramatically since the attack on the armoury, the cloaked badger has his work cut out infiltrating without detection.
Knowing the challenge that lays ahead, the badger sticks to the dojo perimeter, close enough to take in all the necessary details, but far enough away to avoid arousing suspicion. Sticking to the shadows where possible, the badger circumnavigates the whole dojo twice before spotting a weakness: an oversight in the patrol patterns has left a narrow window of opportunity. After watching the patrol cycle a few times, the badger is confident he can exploit the weakness.
The next time the window rolls around, the badger springs into action, sprinting across the street, sliding down the embankment, then diving into a service tunnel. Unfortunately, his speed is not quite enough to avoid being spotted.
"Halt!" a guard commands, following the badger into the tunnel.
The badger doesn't halt, instead continuing his sprint. A moment later, the guard enters the tunnel in pursuit. However, after a couple of hundred feet, the guard slows down, no longer able to hear the footsteps of the running badger.
"You can't escape!" the guard informs, reaching for his radio.
"I don't need to," the badger responds from directly behind the guard.
The guard turns to face the badger, but before the turn is complete, a hanbo on the back of the head lays the guard out cold. The badger wastes no time securing the guard in a hogtie with a roll of duct tape, using the last of the roll to make a gag. The badger then steals the guard's radio, and continues his infiltration.
An hour later, the lynx is outside a door labelled 'Air Conditioning Control Room', the corpses of two guards at her feet. Finding the door unlocked, the lynx wastes no time dragging the two bodies inside and hiding them in a dark corner, using her cloak to hide them further. The lynx then moves to the main control computer, where she prises a panel from the side. She unclips a timed explosive from her belt, sets the timer at ten minutes, places the explosive inside the computer, then refits the panel.
Her mission complete, the lynx leaves the room silently, and makes her escape.
Meanwhile, the badger has made his way through the service tunnels, and emerged within a hundred feet of his target, the Mokuzai vehicle depot. Security is laxer here, but there's still enough to be risky. Still, after twenty minutes of analysing the patrol patterns, he spots an opening. When it comes around again, he takes the opportunity, slipping inside the depot unnoticed.
Now inside, the badger takes a moment to get his bearings. Immediately in front of him is an array of single‑person vehicles, mostly motorbikes mixed with a few trikes and ATVs, and behind them the modest fleet of troop transports that last saw action as part of the Shang Tu Invasion half a year prior. At the far end of the depot is the badger's target: the fuel pumps.
The badger weaves his way to the fuel pumps, taking care not to be spotted by the handful of guards patrolling the interior. Once among the pumps, he lays three explosive charges on a time delay. After laying the last of the three charges, the badger begins his escape.
"Intruder! Raise the alarm!" a guard calls suddenly.
The badger looks around to see numerous guards converging on his location. Knowing a stealthy escape is no longer on the cards, and knowing that fighting off that many guards will be tricky at best, he looks for an alternative route. Spotting a ladder up to the mezzanine, the badger wastes no time climbing it. At the top, the badger then begins to search for a way up to the roof.
A few moments later, the badger finds another ladder that will take him to the roof, but is prevented from getting to it by a guard intercepting him. "Surrender, and we'll make this easy for you," the guard promises.
The badger refuses to comply, drawing his hanbo and charging the guard. The guard attempts to defend, but he's no match for the highly‑trained and experienced ninja. The badger slides in low and sweeps the guard's legs from under him. As he rises, the badger strikes the guard's lower spine, temporarily paralysing him from the waist down.
With his route unblocked, the badger resumes his escape, ascending the ladder. At the top, he opens the skylight and climbs onto the roof, locking the skylight behind him to hinder the pursuing guards. Only then does he realise his mistake. How am I going to get down?
A minute later, the skylight is smashed open, and guards begin to pour onto the roof. The badger retreats to the edge furthest from the fuel pumps, resigned to the fact he is trapped.
As the guards close in, the explosives detonate.
The far end of the depot collapses in the explosion. Weakened, the roof begins to follow it. Panicked, the guards scatter, only to find that there is no route to escape. The badger however remains calm, watching how the roof collapses.
The guards start to fall with the roof. Not all of them survive the fall: several end up either impaled on exposed torn steel, or crushed by debris. Most do survive, although some suffer broken limbs in the process. Fortunately for a handful, the roof collapse halts. With the panic over, the few guards who remain converge on the badger.
"You're going to pay for this," one of them growls.
The guards all charge the badger simultaneously. The badger puts up a good fight, but the guards soon prevail, pinning the badger down and securing him tightly.
Meanwhile, in her inner sanctum, Kaede emerges from her bedroom wearing only her lightest and most revealing negligée, fanning herself with a large foldable fan. "What is up with the air‑con?" she asks herself. "It's starting to feel like a sauna in here!" she continues as she heads to the kitchen to get a drink.
Someone knocks on the door. Kaede hesitates a moment, then decides to answer it. "Is this about what's wrong with the air‑con?" she asks the kohai as she opens the door.
"Yes, sensei," the kohai confirms, his gaze drifting down Kaede's body.
"I'm up here," Kaede snaps, pointing to her face. "So, what's wrong?"
"My apologies, sensei," the kohai answers. "It's just you're… Never mind. Someone planted a bomb in the main air‑con control computer, and the backup's offline."
Well played Tsubaki. "Do we know who attacked us?" Kaede asks.
"We found a Mizu cloak in‑" the kohai begins.
"Say no more," Kaede decides, striding out of her sanctum and down the corridor. "I'm overseeing this investigation personally."
Ten minutes later, Kaede arrives at the air‑conditioning control room. "Situation report!" she demands.
The senator's appointed representative is the first to respond. "You could have put something on before you came down here," she greets.
"It's hotter than a sauna in here," Kaede explains. "Plus, it's my dojo. I could walk around here naked if I liked. So, can the attitude, and give me the sit‑rep."
"The main control computer is a smouldering wreck, and the backup won't power up," the representative reports. "Also, two of your men are dead. They were concealed under this," she continues, handing Kaede the bloodstained Mizu cloak.
"So much for Chika's innocence," Kaede sighs. "Kinzoku's generators, Mokuzai's armoury, and our air‑con. Not the most logical set of targets, yet each effective. Make sure all the evidence gets to the senator."
"I've already filed a preliminary report," the representative informs.
"Good," Kaede acknowledges. "Look, do you mind if I leave you in charge here? It's getting so hot, if I don't get a drink, a cold shower, and a chilled blanket in the next ten minutes, I'm gonna faint."
"It's hot, but not that hot," the representative opines.
"That may be the case here," Kaede replies, "but my sanctum's a fucking oven."
"I'll oversee everything," the representative agrees. "And once I've filed the final report with the senator, I'll bring a copy to you. In the meantime, why not appropriate a cooler room?"
"Nah," Kaede decides. "I like my bed too much."
Fifteen minutes later, a now naked Kaede is sprawled on her bed, enjoying the warm yet refreshing breeze of three fans running at full speed. "I hope the air‑con's fixed before I fall asleep," she thinks aloud. "Have to hand it to you Tsubaki: you got your revenge for the generators," she adds with an amused smile. "I wonder if loverboy's been captured yet?"