Hanayui no Shou 8-1N

Chapter 8 - Neverending friendship.

1 - A series of battles foretold.

[Classroom]

Sh: And I'll move my pawn here. A gallant assault!

Se: Hmm... An intense move right off the bat, huh. Utano, have you really never played shogi before?

Sh: Yeah, but it's pretty fun. I can kinda, see or feel what's happening on the board...

Sh: It's kind of like in a battle. You know, how you can tell where the enemy is weak or when they're going to attack?

Se: No, people normally don't feel that.

Sh: Sonoko-kun can, apparently.

Se: Uuuuugh... Those damn insightful types. Must be nice to have such dazzling talents. Dammit, I'm not gonna lose!

Sh: Hehe, that choice of words is pretty charming. Hm? Mii-chan is calling the heroes together.

Se: A new oracle, huh. Guess that's our new duty starting, then. Let's see what happens this time around.

[Hero club room]

H: Actually, there are some things troubling me. For starters, the eclair disappeared from the fridge.

N: I don't want to imply anything, but couldn't Wakaba have eaten it?

N.W: If I ate Hinata's sweets without asking... I dread to even imagine what would happen.

H: If it was you, Wakaba-chan, I would've disciplined you really harshly.

N.W: See?

F: You, that was a time to react, not go "See?".

Ta: *dindunuffin sounds*

Se: Tama-chan, you've got some chocolate left on your mouth.

Ta: Wha-!? Oh come on, there wasn't anything left... Ah.

H: Oh my... Tamako-san, I'll have Tougou-san help me out with hanging you up later... Now, let's get to it.

M: There were actually two oracles, so it's likely that there will be two battles in a short span of time.

H: It's going to be a series of battles. It's going to be hard on you all...

N.W: That won't be a problem! We haven't went through all those battles for nothing.

F: Maybe we should split up into two groups and fight separately? What do you think, Chikage?

C: Like splitting your party in RPGs, huh. If you don't level everyone equally, that's always a pain...

A: Right now, our numbers are our best asset, so splitting up should be a last resort.

Sh: No matter what enemy comes, we'll just need to turn them into fertiliser. Let's set sail on our boat made of fertile soil! [1]

Se: No, we'd sink like that.

T: Let's imagine a battleship instead.

N.W: Anyway, we'll deal with anything in a fiery and deft way, Hinata.

H: You have so many reliable comrades now... Good luck.

--

Notes:
1 - The original phrase is wordplay with 大船に乗る "to rely on someone" (lit. ride a big ship) and the term 泥船 (mud boat), which was a boat made out of dried mud from a folk story that promptly sank when it was placed into water.