After a night of running around outside and failing to find who you're looking for, uninterrupted sleep is a a gift. Sumire and Tsubaki have been asleep for hours now, and the Rooster leader is the first to wake up. It's quiet in the Rooster's room, and it would be nice to close her eyes and rest some more, but she's needed elsewhere. She tries to rise from her futon, only to realize that she's being held by the arms. On her left is Tanpopo, and on her right is Azami. Her two underclassmen are asleep besides her, hugging her arms. They must have come back into the room after Sumire feel asleep, because she doesn't remember them here. She softly moves her arms, waking the two up. They both say their "good mornings", seemingly not realizing that it's most likely past noon by now. Once her two teammates are more awake, Sumire speaks.
Sumire: "You were supposed to go help the others, not sleep with me..."
Azami: "We didn't wanna leave ya though!"
Tanpopo: "Yeah! And I bet you slept better with us next to you!"
The two girls giggle as Sumire stands up and stretches. She should be annoyed that they dodged work, but it's not like she hates their affection. Sumire hides it with her serious demeanor, but she really does enjoy their company. Still, it's time to get to work, so she ushers them out of the room and tells them to make up for lost time by helping the others. As for herself, she's ready to go check in on the command table. That's when she hears someone rummaging through another room. She spots the Sheep's room door open, with the sound coming from there. Peaking in, she sees Mizubashou inside. She's grabbing rope, nets, and other trap-marking items, and notices Sumire at the doorway.
Mizubashou: "Hello Sumire. You look well rested!"
Sumire: "Mizubashou. Did you finish setting up traps?"
Mizubashou: "Oh no, I'm still planning to make more. I just stopped by to get more supplies."
Sumire: "And where is Benisumomo?"
Mizubashou: "Ah, she ran off somewhere else. I've been working alone this whole time."
Sumire loses her smile hearing that. She asks Mizubashou to come with her to the dining area.
At the dining area, Tachiaoi still works to try and create a patrol schedule alone. She isn't having an easy time. On paper it's simple, just have units go together. But underclassmen placement within the units leads to some groups being much weaker, so it creates a need to shuffle some units. At the same time, she doesn't want to put together people that might argue and create problems, like Sazanka and Housenka. As she thinks about what to do, Shion and Suzuran walk in, along with fish, fruits, and a tied-up Sazanka. The two Ox upperclassmen explain that they found her setting traps by some fruit trees. They captured her and brought her back without much hassle. The closest thing to trouble was Sazanka refusing to walk for a portion of the trip, instead choosing to sit on the ground and get dragged. Sazanka was hoping it would make it hard for Shion, in a show of rebellion. However, Shion is strong and pulled her along with ease. Eventually her bare thighs being dragged across dirt and rocks got too painful, so she walked normally...
Suzuran places the basket of fish in the kitchen area, and Shion asks where Higiri is, to which Tachiaoi explains how she and Suzushiro went looking for the girl they just brought back. Just as Tachiaoi finishes explaining, Sumire and Mizubashou walk in, and they talk about how Benisumomo's out there not helping with the defense efforts. One troublemaker is caught, but there's another one out there, and two other girls are out looking for the already captured escapee. The Ox girls offer to go look for the Dragons, but Sumire turns them down, and thanks them for collecting food. They've done the job they were asked to do, and deserve a break. The Ox girls leave with fruits in hand to go look for Ajisai, with Shion handing the rope tied to Sazanka over to Sumire.
According to Mizubashou, she does not know where her leader went, but she does know the general direction she ran in. So while they may not have a lead on the location of the Dragons, they may be able to find Benisumomo. Sumire asks Mizubashou to make the journey with her, as to not break her own rules. But first, she takes the still restrained Sazanka over to the Dog room and wakes up Tsubaki. The Dog leader opens her eyes to see a frustrated Sumire and nervous Sazanka bound by rope, and quickly gets the feeling that her teammate messed up somehow. By the time she's done hearing the explanation, Tsubaki is wide awake and very upset with her. She immediately volunteers both herself and her teammates to go look for the Dragons, but Sumire instead tells her to stay here and reprimand Sazanka, and come up with a suitable punishment for her to serve once this is all over. With that, she leaves the Dog's room and meets back up with Mizubashou, and they both head out into the forest.
Sumire doesn't necessarily blame Tsubaki for Sazanka running away. She was asleep after all. But she feels that Sazanka's misbehavior stems from Tsubaki not properly disciplining her underclassman when she acts out. While several units struggle with controlling their underclassmen, the Dog Unit has the most problems with both Sazanka and Asagao, but mainly the former. Hopefully Tsubaki will take this seriously, and begin to act like a strong leader.
Somewhere in the forest, a lone kunoichi practices her skills. The girl nails several target boards with kunai, followed by swiftly striking a training dummy, and then letting out some fire jitsu into the sky, all in quick succession. The girl doesn't let up, repeating the routine while thinking about tonight and what may happen. Everyone's convinced that the Man will return after dark. They're trying to prepare defenses, and even trying to make her set up traps. But Benisumomo thinks that traps won't help against a man of that strength. The Man will get past them all, and make it to Akane. There will be a big fight with him, and that's assuming that he doesn't bring friends. A lot of the girls can barely even fight, especially against strong opponents. This last minute training will put Benisumomo at the top of her game, and she'll make up for the weak ones.
Part of her thinks that, despite the Man's apparent strength, she can do this alone. Men are dumb, and the difference in strength can be solved by outsmarting him with jitsus and faster movement. If she does need help, then it would be from Tsubaki. If she wasn't asleep right now, Benisumomo would have asked her to come out here and hunt the Man down, and get this all over with. Cutting out the dead weight and taking him on themselves, and getting back before lunch. Then the village wouldn't have to spend all this time working, and it would definitely cause Hana-sensei to view her more favorably.
As Benisumomo picks up fallen kunai, she suddenly senses that someone's approaching this location. Two targets from the east. They're small, most likely not a man, meaning that they're other students. Possibly Shion and Suzuran? Benisumomo quickly hides all her training equipment in various spots, and then jumps into the hammock she set up earlier in case this happened. Just as she gets comfortable, Higiri and Suzushiro emerge from the forest, and spot her. Suzushiro had sensed Benisumomo, thinking she was their target. She "notices" them, and they approach. Suzushiro immediately gets to questioning her, asking why she's just lying around and where Mizubashou is. Benisumomo casually admits to breaking the rules and leaving her teammate to do the work, and instead resting. Wanting to get back to training, Benisumomo gets up from her hammock and begins to walk away. She tries to ignore the Dragons as they ask her more about why she's not making traps and if she's seen Sazanka out here.
Suzushiro: "Don't walk away! You have to help set up traps! Or at least help us find Sazanka!"
Higiri: "Maybe we should bring her back to the village if she's not going to cooperate.."
Benisumomo: "Don't bother. You should look for that brat you let escape instead."
Benisumomo jumps away, disappearing into the trees. She'll wait for the girls to go away, then come back and retrieve her gear, and then move to another spot. She doesn't care if they report her to Sumire and Tsubaki, they're only temporarily in charge. They can't do anything, and the teachers won't be mad at her after she defeats the Man. It's not like anyone but Tsubaki and her can do it. All the underclassmen are too weak. Sumire will be bossing everyone around. Tachiaoi, Higiri, and Suzushiro aren't as strong as the aforementioned pairing. Shion and Suzuran will be too busy defending Ajisai. Mizubashou doesn't fight and will make more useless traps. Tsuwabuki and Mokuren will be on the sidelines in case someone needs healing. The Horses will be useless, the Boars will get lost, they'll all just get in the way if they try to help. It's up to her, and maybe Tsubaki...
The Dragons watch her leave, and though Higiri wants to follow her, Suzushiro stops her and reminds her that Sazanka is the priority. Between Benisumomo and Sazanka, the later is more in danger by being out here, because she's actively trying to find trouble. Before they can discuss what direction to move in next, Suzushiro looks to the forest. She senses two targets getting closer. The Dragons ready for a potential fight, but when Sumire and Mizubashou emerge from some bushes, they lower their weapons. The two pairs waste no time talking about the troublemakers. The Dragons learn that Sazanka's already been brought back to the village, and Suzushiro tells Sumire that Benisumomo just ran off after being caught trying to nap. Higiri's relieved that Sazanka's okay, but asks what they'll do about the Sheep leader. Sumire says that they'll go back to the village and won't worry about her. She's defiant and won't come back if they keep pursuing her, but she will come back on her own eventually. Leaving her out here is the best option, even if it sounds harsh. Despite being standoffish and always refusing to train, she does have survival skills. She'll be fine.
As the four girls walk back, Suzushiro complains about the misbehaving girls making things harder for everyone else.
Suzushiro: "Why can't they just help us defend the village? Don't they care? Are they okay with the Man destroying our home? Can't we do something to make Sazanka responsible?"
Higiri: "Just Sazanka? What about Benisumomo?"
Suzushiro: "Nah, it's too late for her! But maybe Sazanka can learn to change her ways. She used to be way different before we all formed teams, maybe she can change again somehow..."
That's when Suzushiro gets an idea.
It's been almost an hour since Sumire left them in the Dog room, and Tsubaki and Sazanka continue to talk. They're already done with the scolding, and they're now debating on punishment. Sazanka tries to get her leader to see things her way, that she was only breaking the rules for her sake. She just wanted to take care of the Man so that she wouldn't have to worry about it! Also, no one else did this for their unit leader, which also proves that Sazanka is the best teammate in the village. Tsubaki isn't fully convinced, but she does believe that Sazanka was thinking about her. So as punishment, Sazanka will have to stay in the room tied up wit her. Also, after the Man is dealt with, they will have special training together. Sazanka got caught twice today, and good ninjas don't have that happen. When the teachers get back, they will decide on other punishments. Despite it supposedly being a punishment, Sazanka smiles at hearing that she not only won't have to do work today, but she gets Tsubaki to herself not just right now, but later during training. Tsubaki doesn't notice that she just made the troublemaker happy, and reminds her that she'll have to apologize to everyone when they get back.
Little do they know, the others have already returned to the village. Sumire is listening from the other side of the door, and she finds the punishment lacking. She quickly goes over to the dining area, only to come back a minute later and open the Dog room door. After some greetings, Sumire states that the Dragons have returned, and are on their way to the room. Tsubaki prepares to have both herself and Sazanka apologize to the two Dragons. She'll have to make sure that Sazanka speaks clearly and doesn't say anything rude afterwards. Sumire steps out of the way, and the Dragons come into view in the doorway. Higiri has her arm around Suzushiro to make it easier to walk. Her ankle is wrapped up with a bandage. They limp into the room together, and Tsubaki is left speechless.
Higiri: "We went out looking for Sazanka. Glad to see she's back safe, but we ran into a bit of trouble."
Suzushiro: "We were attacked by a wild boar while looking for Sazanka! We got too close her babies or something and she charged right into Higiri's leg!"
Tsubaki is horrified to hear about this. Higiri got injured looking for her teammate, who broke the rules and went into the forest alone. Sazanka, meanwhile, tries not to show much worry on the outside. On the inside however, she's growing nervous, because she knows that Tsubaki is not happy. Tsubaki bows, forehead to the ground, and forces Sazanka to do the same. She exclaims how sorry she is that this all happened, and once again forces Sazanka to copy her. Higiri states that she'll be fine with some treatment, and the trio walk away to find Mokuren, with Sumire closing the door. The Dogs sit in silence for a bit, before Tsubaki glares at Sazanka.
Back at the command table, Sumire and the Dragons join Tachiaoi. Once the door closes, Higiri drops the act, and walks normally to the table.
Higiri: "Well it might have worked... I feel bad for lying about an injury though..."
Sumire: "It is dishonest, but I think both of them need this."
The lie worked, the Dogs believe Higiri got hurt. It wasn't her idea, it was Suzushiro's. Surprisingly, it was approved by Sumire. Suzushiro wanted to show Sazanka that her actions can affect other people, and Sumire believes that this will make Tsubaki discipline Sazanka. It's dishonest, it's mischievous, and arguably it's the wrong thing to do. But if it makes the Dogs take things more seriously, then maybe it'll be worth it.
No time to think about it now though, there's still more work to be done.
