Side: Sanae
One afternoon, Sanae was eating snacks and catching up on some anime she’d recorded with Koutarou. Watching it on her own was boring, so she’d intentionally chosen a day he’d be around for her marathon.
“How many episodes are left?”
“Um... Four, I think?”
“Of which shows?”
“They’re all 100 Ninja.”
Sanae’s taste in anime was quite varied. Superhero shows were something she enjoyed, and something Koutarou also had an appreciation for. That’s why she’d specifically picked this show out for the both of them to enjoy together.
“Oh, that one with a ton of ninjas.”
“Teaming up is one of the perks of being a good guy.”
“But, come on, there’s got to be a reasonable limit.”
“There’s power in numbers!”
“I’m not sure what to think of justice by committee...”
“It’s very democratic, isn’t it?”
“It sounds more like a mob to me.”
Koutarou and Sanae chatted away as they continued watching anime. Oftentimes, Sanae was so absorbed in their conversation that she wasn’t even looking at the screen—not that she was going to pause or rewind. This quality time with Koutarou was what she was really after; the anime was just an excuse for it.
“I guess I’ll concede that teaming up might be the right thing for ninjas...”
“What makes you say that?”
“I hear that real ninjas back in the day always fought in groups. Like to swarm their opponents and stuff.”
“So the shows where they only fight in groups of five or so are the ones that have it wrong?”
“Strictly speaking. Well, I’m sure there were groups like that too.”
“Hmm, that’s interesting.”
Sanae nibbled on a rice cracker as she turned back towards the TV. Onscreen, a yokai was currently being attacked by several ninjas. Despite the yokai’s size, it was easily outnumbered and quickly cornered.
“Hmm, swarm attacks, huh...?”
Sanae shoved the rest of the rice cracker in her mouth and crunched down on it with a smile as if she’d just had a brilliant idea.
“Eheehee...”
She then put her hands together in front of her chest and loudly shouted...
“Ninja Arts: Clone Technique!”
Sanae used her psychic powers to create puffs of smoke. When they cleared, there were now three Sanaes.
“This is Sanae-chan’s secret ninja art, the clone technique!”
“Sanae, what’s going on here?”
“Raaah... Raaagh...”
First there was the always confident Sanae-chan, then there was the poor, puzzled Sanae-san, and last was Sanae’s body—which was practically just an empty husk now that both Sanaes had slipped out of it.
“Hey, are you sure this is okay?” Koutarou asked worriedly as he poked Sanae’s body.
Compared to her ethereal selves, her body was behaving strangely. It was moving, but not in a very natural way... If anything, it looked like a zombie. It was just groaning and rocking back and forth as Koutarou poked its cheek.
“Raaah... Raaagh...”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s fine. Probably.”
“Please don’t do things like this unless you’re really sure, Sanae-chan!”
“We’re good. It’s not like we’ve completely left it.”
“Well, that’s true, but...”
The two Sanaes comprised 90 percent of her soul, meaning the remaining 10 percent was what had been left in their body. They were also both still connected to it by a spiritual cable of sorts. So while it was acting like a zombie (which was a little strange), everything was actually fine.
“So, what are you going to do like that?” asked Koutarou warily.
“Heehee, a swarm attack! Let’s get him!”
“Raaagh!”
“Wh-What?! O-Oh, right... Um, take this!”
On Sanae-chan’s orders, all three Sanaes pounced on Koutarou. Sanae-san hesitated at first, but eventually worked up the courage to dive in too.
“Wh-Whoa! What are you guys doing?”
“Behold the power of numbers!”
“Um, I’m sorry about this!”
“Rah! Ragh!”
In the end, the three Sanaes forgot all about the anime they were watching and put their all into playing with Koutarou. It just went to show that Sanae never missed an opportunity when it came to having fun.
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