I am Unfit to be Captain!?

Tenkai is very upset over the loss of yesterday's battle. Setsuna volunteers to take out the Imperial Assault Force, with a plan to take care of Ichiro and Maria. He then mentions that he has learned information regarding Maria and plans to use it against her. Tenkai then sends his servant to begin the deed.

At the theatre, Ichiro is done clipping tickets for the day when he sees Maria. She seemed...different than her usual self. Kasumi even told her that she messed up her lines during the performance, which she rarely does. She also mentions about Kanna, another member of the Flower Troupe who was with the troupe as long as Maria was.

Ichiro decides to go look for her, but Maria seemed to be very hard to find. He talked to Kasumi, Yuri, and even Yoneda, but it seems that she wasn't anywhere. He runs into Sakura who is excited to get to be the lead actress in a play, and it's Cinderella no less. But she was noticing something wrong with Maria also: she got all her lines wrong during rehearsal and hasn't gotten much sleep. She asks that Ichiro should try and to Maria when he gets the chance. He sees Iris and Sumire, but no Maria. He eventually finds Maria on the terrace, but doesn't get much time to chat as she leaves immediately.

After speaking with Ayame about yesterday's battle and some background on Kohran, he heads for the stage to help set it up after speaking with Kohran near the hallway. He finds the others on the stage making repairs when the set starts to fall! Ichiro immediately tries to hold it up, but it eventually collapes. Someone managed to keep it up...with just one hand!

The lady in question arrives: Kanna Kirishima. Apparently her ship from Okinawa sank, so she swam all the way back to Tokyo. Yoneda formally introduces her as a master of Kirishima-Style Ryukyu Karate. She then takes Ichiro to the training room, where they have a quick sparring match. She then decides to take him to the kitchen, as all that fighting built up an apetite.

After tasting some of Kanna's homemade cooking, she begins talking about how she came to the Imperial Theatre. Turns out she was doing karate all her life until after meeting with Ayame, and soon after that she was a member of the Imperial Theatre ever since. After a long while of chatting and eating, it was getting late so she leaves and Ichiro decides to do the same.

He finds Maria, who is looking for something. Ichiro felt like he kicked something and picks up a locket. Maria then takes it after being given to her, but Ichiro wonders if that was the reason she wasn't herself lately...

Maria then starts having flashbacks of her past... Russia, 1917. A battle was raging, as she was caught in the middle. She sees her captain get shot down, she screams for him as an explosion goes off behind her. She wakes up in a cold sweat, and tries to get back to sleep when the alarm goes off.

Everyone notices that Maria was late...when she promptly arrives. Yoneda and Ayame explain the situation: The Masao Kihei was seen in Tsukiji in an abandoned town near the river mouth. They are ordered to take care of them before further chaos ensues.

On arrival, they find Setsuna causing chaos. He orders his troops to destroy the Assault Force, as Ayame relays orders to do the same to Setsuna. Kanna's karate skills came to the fore as she beat down the mechs one by one. Just as they corner Setsuna, Sakura sees a boy who didn't escape in time. (Depending on what choice you make, either Ichiro or Sakura will take the blow to protect the boy.)

Some time after the incident, Maria goes to Ichiro and gives him a piece of her mind. Just then she becomes cold and utters "you're not fit to be captain" and storms off. After talking with Ayame, she suggests trying to talk to Maria as her captain. He then hears her talk with Yoneda, but just as he goes in, Maria runs out. He chases after her, but she keeps trying to deter him.

Just then, Setsuna laughs out and calls Maria a militant of the Russian revolution...Kuwasari? Her face turns pale, and he goes on to say that if she wants her secret kept, she is to come out and face him. She tries to keep a brave face and goes back inside. It seems she won't say anything on the matter...

As the night went by, Kanna bursts into Ichiro's room with a worried look on her face. She says that Maria took her Kobu and vanished! They head to the command room and Ichiro explains what happened that night. Ayame then starts explaining about Maria's past... In Russia, politcal strife led to revolution, and in the eye of that storm...was Maria. She was an exceptional soldier, earning the nickname "Casowarry" as she moved across the battlefield like a black flame. In a certain battle, a captain she had looked up to lost his life in battle, for his support came too late.

She didn't want her past to be known to anyone but her, and she became very harsh about mistakes in judgement on the battlefield. She even started seeing some of herself in Ichiro... Everyone started feeling sorry for her... and decide to mount a rescue mission to save Maria.

Maria arrives to face Setsuna...only to fall into a trap. Ichiro and the others arrive at her location...only to find her Kobu empty and her locket near the ground. Setsuna then lays out a threat: Ichiro is to come alone if he wants to save Maria. Despite protests from his squad, Ichiro rushes in. Though he takes a thrashing from Setsuna, the others arrive to save the two. They managed to find them thanks to the transmitters in the collar of their uniforms. They exit out of the hole and take the fight to Setsuna, with Maria no longer stuck in the past.

Setsuna is finally defeated.

"You can regret having angred me...from the depths of hell!"

Victory pose...Alright!

Maria thanks everyone for saving her, and Ichiro returns her locket to her. Then the rest of the team start giving Ichiro the evil eye...

But it was then that Maria finally accepts Ichiro as their captain.

Battle Members
Ichiro Ogami

Sakura Shinguji

Maria Tachibana

Sumire Kanzaki

Kohran Li

Kanna Kirishima

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