Tsubaki ducks as the tower collapses, praying it doesn't take her with it. Her luck holds out, and she stands and watches the top section of the tower fall, taking Hanna with it.

So much for 'the best fighter in the Red Scarves'. Shame I lost my sword. Tsubaki sheathes the fire blade and resumes her retreat.

The falling tower section strikes the roof of the dojo's central dome, collapsing on impact and tearing a huge gash in the roof. The gash weakens the dome considerably, and it starts to collapse, throwing up a massive cloud of dust. When it clears, an entire quarter of the dome is missing, and there's no sign of the tower section.

It would take a miracle to survive.

"Have you ever seen the Kingdom Stone, Auntie Hanna?" one of the kids asks.

"Unfortunately, no," Hanna answers. "I don't think they let anyone near it."

"Why not?" another kid asks.

"It's the source of all the energy for the three kingdoms," Hanna explains. "It's very well protected."

"What's it protected by?" a third kid asks.

"I heard it was protected by a monster," the first kid interjects.

"That's silly," a fourth interrupts.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Easy, kids!" Hanna commands, firmly but fairly. "No need to bicker!"

"Sorry Auntie Hanna," the arguing children mutter in unison.

"Is it really protected by a monster?" the first kid asks a moment later.

"I'm afraid I don't know for sure," Hanna responds.

"Why not?"

"I think they think it's better kept a secret."

"But it could be a monster?"

"Maybe."

"What sort of monster?" the fourth kid asks, her tone belying her disbelief.

"One with sharp claws and pointy teeth!" Hanna teases.

"Like yours?" the second kid asks.

"Yes, only bigger," Hanna exaggerates playfully.

"Sounds scary," the first kid gasps.

"Sounds cool!" the second adds.

"Are you a monster, Auntie Hanna?" a fifth kid asks.

"Absolutely not!" Hanna answers in mock offense. "I used to be, but-"

The minibus is suddenly struck by another vehicle, causing it to veer off the road. Unable to regain control, the driver is helpless to prevent the minibus sliding down the embankment, digging into the soft ground, and rolling multiple times, the children screaming in terror throughout.

Seconds later, the minibus hits the ground at the bottom of the embankment. The impact slams Hanna into the seats, and she‑

‑jolts awake with a cry of terror.

For several moments, Hanna lays motionless, panting heavily, waiting for her panic to subside. Once her nerves have settled, she pushes herself onto her elbows, and takes stock of her situation. How the fuck did I survive that‽ Where am I anyway? There's very little light here. Looks like I'm… yep, I'm trapped in what's left of the tower. And the dome roof, from the looks of that debris over there. I can see… some sort of light source. Daylight? No, not strong enough. Unless it's sunset. At least my arms work. Hanna pulls her legs up to her. Legs too. But I can't move my tail.

Hanna attempts to stand, but her tail painfully prevents her doing so. Resting on her haunches, Hanna looks over her shoulder to find her tail is pinned, crushed between two huge chunks of masonry. Fuck. No way I'm going to free it. Looking around, Hanna spots the water sword is relatively undamaged and within reach. No. There must be another way.

Hanna looks around again, desperate for any solution to her predicament that doesn't involve cutting her tail in half. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Fucking shit. Hanna sighs deeply in resignation. I have no choice.

Hanna removes her halterneck, ready to use as an improvised bandage and tourniquet, then retrieves the sword and twists into position. OK. One swift swing, and it'll be done… I really don't wanna do this! But… I must.

Hanna closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, clenches her jaw shut, and swings the sword, cutting her tail in half. As soon as the cut is made, she drops the sword and very quickly ties her halterneck around the end of the stump, stemming the blood flow. With her top secured and the bleeding stopped, Hanna collapses to the floor and cries freely over the loss of her beautiful bushy tail.

A few minutes later, Hanna slowly begins to recover her composure. Grimacing, she stiffly pushes herself to her feet, and takes a few tentative steps. With the loss of her tail, her balance is adversely affected, and she nearly falls twice. However, after a few more steps, she rediscovers her balance, though she is still a little unsteady. A couple of stumbles later, she's at the small opening light is shining through.

I wonder, can I dig myself out? Carefully, Hanna starts to dig around the edge of the opening, making it wider. A few times she's forced to stop as dust and debris fall, but the hole continues to get bigger, and a few minutes later, it's large enough to climb through. Hanna quickly scrabbles through the hole, getting out just in time: the cavity she was trapped in collapses.

That was fucking close! Hanna pauses a few moments to catch her breath and calm her nerves, then starts thinking about her next move. I could really do with a shirt… At least I'm wearing a bra. Hanna shakes her head. Priorities, Hanna! Stop worrying about public indecency, and get out of Mizutani!

Ten minutes later, Hanna makes it to the moat surrounding the ruins of Mizu‑dojo undetected. So far so good… What now? Reluctant to swim the moat, Hanna looks for an alternative. Her ears prick when she hears an engine approaching. Hide.

Hanna ducks behind a low wall just in time to avoid being seen by a Kinzoku‑dojo ninja on a motorbike. The ninja stops a few hundred feet away by a raised drawbridge, shuts off the bike, dismounts, and starts to lower the drawbridge.

My chance. Hanna leaps out of cover and closes the distance between her and the ninja in seconds. Before the ninja realises what's happening, Hanna slams him hard into the ground, knocking him out cold. Hanna quickly finds the keys to the bike, jumps on it, and fires up the engine.

As soon as the drawbridge is low enough, Hanna opens the throttle and accelerates along its length, jumping off the end and landing on the far bank. Barely slowing, Hanna continues her escape, weaving through the streets of northern Mizutani, following a route as parallel to the river as possible.

An hour later, twenty miles upstream, Rob, Xander, Chika, Hideyoshi, and Akiko await the arrival of Hanna.

"She's taking too long," Rob decides, his patience expired. "I'm going to find her."

"That would be ill‑advised," Hideyoshi cautions. "Heading into Mizutani now will only end badly. We have no choice but to wait."

"Hanna is my wife!" Rob retorts angrily. "I don't care if it's dangerous, I have to help her!"

"Getting yourself killed won't help her," Xander advises.

"So, we just leave her to die?" Rob snaps. "I can't do that."

"If life was fair, we wouldn't be standing here right now," Akiko laments.

Rob is about to reply, but Xander interrupts. "I hear an engine."

Everyone looks downstream, trying to identify where the sound is coming from. The reducing light from the setting sun renders seeing the source of the noise difficult, but eventually, the group can make out a sole motorbike being ridden by an orange vixen.

"Thank the Ancients!" Rob exclaims, relief washing over him like a powerful wave. "Wait… Something's not right," he adds, his elation replaced by concern. "Something bad has happened to her."

A minute later, Hanna slowly comes to a halt a short distance from the group. She shuts off the bike and dismounts, letting the bike fall as she staggers away. Rob sprints to Hanna just in time to catch her as she stumbles.

"It's OK," Rob assures. "You're safe now."

Hanna looks up at Rob. "Hi," she greets weakly.

"Hi," Rob returns.

"I'm sorry," Hanna apologises.

"What for?" Rob asks.

"This." Hanna wraps her arms tight around Rob and begins crying freely once more.

Rob holds his wife in a loving embrace. "I don't under‑" he starts, halting when he notices the missing tail. "Oh…"

"I had to," Hanna sobs. "There was no other choice."

"I know," Rob comforts.

Half an hour later, with Hanna sleeping in the back of the truck's cab, Rob, Xander, Chika, Akiko, and Hideyoshi discuss their next move.

"We have to face up to the truth," Hideyoshi begins. "It's only a matter of time before they discover Chika and Akiko have escaped, and it won't take long for them to realise I had something to do with it. They'll also realise that there are two more Red Scarves on the scene. When they realise all this, they'll march on Yamakasai."

"We don't have anywhere else to go," Chika reminds.

"I know," Hideyoshi acknowledges. "But despite the risk to myself, it would be remiss of me not to offer asylum."

"Thanks," Chika replies.

"We should return to Kasai‑dojo as soon as possible," Rob advises. "We'll need as much time as possible to prepare and fortify both the dojo and the city."

"Agreed," Hideyoshi accepts. "Everyone, let's go."

The group boards the truck. Rob lays with Hanna in the back of the cab. Xander and Chika join them, the wolf holding the otter close in comfort. Akiko however elects to use the front passenger seat.

"Thank you for your efforts," Akiko thanks Hideyoshi. "I just hope they're not wasted."

"That is my hope also," Hideyoshi replies as he starts the engine and begins the long journey back to Yamakasai.