With the Dragons back in the village, the Team can finish planning out the patrol schedule for tonight. And outside, everyone else works together to finish their jobs. After a few more hours, the patrol schedule and defenses are complete, and just in time for dinner. The meal is good, as usual. The air is more tense, as they all know that tonight will be difficult if the Man returns, but they try to keep their spirits up.
Benisumomo showed up just before dinner started, back from her secret training. By the time she came back, everyone had already heard that she had skipped out on helping set up traps and instead went to nap. Sumire confronted her about her actions, but Benisumomo brushed it all off, and grabbed her food and went somewhere to eat alone. Sumire and the others begin to heavily doubt that she'll be of any help if things go wrong tonight, but Tsubaki comes to Benisumomo's defense, saying that she will definitely be a team player. After all, Tsubaki knows Benisumomo's secret and believes that she wasn't really napping, but training, though she doesn't tell the others that part.
After dinner, the girls make last-minute preparations and then meet up with their patrol buddies. Everyone knows the plan. Keep watch for the Man, and if you see him, yell out and run for the nearest bell/gong and ring it. Most underclassmen will fall back while the upperclassmen head to confirm the sighting and act accordingly. Best case scenario, the Man gets scared off by the bell/gong, or by the amount of girls present. If that doesn't happen, then the girls will have to enter combat, and with their numbers and tactics they will hopefully win.
With the moon high in the sky, and everyone in position, the hardest night of their lives begins.
While it was advised to get some rest before your patrol, no one is in the mood for sleeping. So a lot of the girls are currently awake, and hanging out in the dining area. It's been about two hours since patrols began, and they've mostly spent that time talking amongst each other. This includes the Snake Unit, the only two member unit in Akane Village. Despite having a fairly powerful jitsu, Sleeping Bell, there's no plans for them to use it on the Man later. If he shows up, they'll be inside hiding with the others. Housenka is the first to question them about it.
Housenka: "Why aren't you two going to fight? Can't you make the Man sleep with those bells?"
Kikyou: "Our Sleeping Bell jitsu is too risky to use."
Uikyou: "We might accidentally put some of the other girls to sleep."
Kikyou: "Everyone would have to clear out so that we can use it."
Uikyou: "And then we'd be at risk of getting hurt by the Man."
They go on to say that the jitsu might not even work on him if he's strong enough. Even if the underclassmen have to enter the fight, they'll try other methods to take him down first. If they're forced to, then they'll try their jitsu, but as it stands now they're hanging back with the other underclassmen if he shows up. On the other side of the room, the Rabbit Unit sits talking. None of them are great fighters, and none of them have any jitsus that will make a difference in a fight with the Man. They all feel bad for this, thinking that they won't be able to contribute, though Kagetsu continues to write a song, not wasting any time. Hagi of Rat Unit on the other hand, is perfectly fine with hiding from the Man. She doesn't want to risk dying from getting hurt. Higuruma cheerfully tries to tell her that she'd be fine in battle, and that she worries too much.
Ajisai sits with Mokuren at another table. She groans about how Shion and Suzuran reacted badly to seeing her injury, coddling her and telling her not to use sharp objects without them around. Between that and knowing that she won't be able to do anything to help fight the Man, she's feeling down about her position in the Ox Unit. As Mokuren tries to cheer Ajisai up, Tsuwabuki enters the room and tells her that it's her turn to patrol the area. The Monkey Unit leader leaves, and Ajisai sits alone for a bit, before Hasu sits down near her. Hasu is, like Ajisai, the sole underclassman on her team. However, Hasu is fairly independent, because Higiri and Suzushiro let her have her own free time. She tells Ajisai that she should try to train her stealth skills. That way, she can excuse herself from their company to take a walk, and if they try to follow her, she can evade them. She'll be able to have her free time, and she and also impress them with her evasion skills. Hasu even offers to help her train once the threat is gone. Ajisai thanks her, and-
DING DING DING DING DING
Everyone freezes. The ringing reaches the ears of every girl in the village. Upperclassmen begin to rush over to where the sound is coming from, while the underclassmen all hide in the dining area. It's coming from the farm area, where Kibushi of Horse Unit is hitting the bell and calling out for backup. The Man has returned to the village. The girls get a better look at him this time. He stands almost four meters tall. He has the body of a human, but is fully covered in hair, save for his large head. His head is hairless except for the top, and there's four tentacle-like appendages coming from around the neck area. The Man stomps his way towards the farmland again, and then notices all of the kunoichi in the area. By now, all of the upperclassmen, plus Fuki and Touwata, have the Man in their sight. Despite being surrounding by almost twenty opponents, he does not show any fear. He has no visible weapons on him, and is wearing no armor or clothes, and yet he still seems unfazed by all his opposition. He must really be confident in his abilities. This puts the kunoichi on edge, as they all stand ready for his next move, or for one of them to make a move first.
The Man acts first. With surprising speed, he begins to spin around while spitting out what looks like oil or tar from his mouth. No one is expecting that, and many girls get hit with the black liquid. It coats their clothes and skin, and forces some of them to close their eyes. The Man charges forward, towards several blinded girls. Higiri uses her whirlwind jitsu to push them all out of the way, and the Man continues running forward and around the dorms.
From the dining hall, the underclassmen can now see the Man through the windows. Unfortunately, the Man can also see them. He prepares to charge again, this time through the wall. But before he can start running, he's hit right in the head with Dokudami's club. She throw it at him just in time. He stumbles to the side a bit, but does not fall, and instead turns to see his attacker in the distance, along with many other girls emerging from around the corner. From above, Shion jumps from the roof of the dorms and tries to kick the Man. He reacts, and blocks the hit with a tentacle swipe. Tsubaki tries next with another kick, but he then grabs hold of Tsubaki's leg. He quickly slams her down to the ground, not letting go. Sazanka and Asagao watch from the dining area, and multiple girls have to hold Sazanka back as she tries to run outside and help.
The Man runs away from the building, still holding Tsubaki, while dodging a tackle attempt from Dokudami and blocks punches from Shion and Suzushiro. Several others make it around the corner, and Fuki tries to use her string jitsu to bind him. The Man is strong enough to free his arm and yank on the string, pulling Fuki closer and grabbing her with a tentacle. Shakuyaku immediately attempts to strike the tentacle holding Fuki, only for her arm to be grabbed by yet another tentacle. His next move is an unexpected one. The Man spins his body, and throws all three girls into the sky, all in different directions. The students watch as their classmates fly through the night sky. The Tigers, Dogs, and Boars all react badly as Fuki, Tsubaki, and Shakuyaku disappear from view, somewhere far away in the forest. The other girls throw everything they have at the Man. Sazanka manages to break free from the girls holding her back, squeezing through the window and unleashing fire jitsu on him. The Man retreats, and leaps into the air in the same direction as Tsubaki. He too disappears past the trees.
It's quiet for a moment. The girls present are trying to process what just happened, while the girls hit hard with the oil earlier are just arriving and trying to make sense of what they missed. Sazanka's the first to start yelling, then a lot of the underclassmen start yelling. Some upperclassmen do too. Sumire and Higiri spend the next minute trying to calm everyone down, but Sazanka refuses to listen to reason, and attempts to run out into the forest after Tsubaki and the Man. The Tigers also try following her, hoping to find Fuki too. The trio are quickly tied up by Sumire and Shion before they can get far. The Boars also yell about going to find Shakuyaku, but they get tackled to the ground before they can journey out and get lost with their poor sense of direction.
Sumire begins yelling now, grabbing everyone's attention. She makes sure that everyone can hear her, and yells that their friends are stuck out there somewhere with that Man. They may be hurt and need medical attention, and also, Shakuyaku can't find her way back on her own. So they're going to journey out into the night on a big rescue mission. Of course, the Man is out there too, so they need to work together to ensure that everyone makes it out okay. Sumire looks to the other upperclassmen. They'll all need to rely on each other, more than ever. However, as she looks at everyone, she notices that Benisumomo, who was standing near the building earlier, is now gone. After calling out for her and the girls doing a bit of searching, they don't find her. She's vanished, and they all come to the conclusion that she went off alone again. Sumire shakes her head, but can't dwell on the troublesome girl. Instead, she focuses on explaining the plan.
Sumire will lead a team to find Tsubaki. The Man also jumped in that direction, so a fight is potentially avoidable. Suzushiro will come with to help in a fight, and the Horses will tag along to try and use Oniyuri's Shadow Bind and Hinagiku's Loyalty Trance on him. Meanwhile, Higiri will take Dokudami and Aogiri to find Shakuyaku, and Shion will take Suzuran and Tsuwabuki to find Fuki. The underclassmen will all stay here, and be watched over by Mokuren, Tachiaoi, and Mizubashou.
The goal is to bring the others back and get them medical aid if necessary, and not fight the Man. It's a risky plan, going out at night with a dangerous foe on the loose. He could attack them while they're out there, or could return here and attack the underclassmen. But Tsubaki, Fuki, and Shakuyaku might need help, so the eleven upperclassmen quickly grab some supplies and head out into the darkness.