Warning: Violence and spoilers
Learning your numbers and letters is essential in the early years of one’s education, but when is it an appropriate time to learn to never judge a book by its cover? Matching wits with wakizashi, these instructors are putting the moves on these manhunters, but what happens when the moves are accidentally placed on each other? Put away your crayons and pull out your carbines because it’s time to play!
A Strong Foundation Makes a Great Sandcastle
We left off with Hana luring both Rita and Doug into a trap. Now, if you’re wondering why Rita and Doug kept Hana’s betrayal a secret from Principal Erina when they left the school to save her brother, it’s the same reason why Rita didn’t tell her why she went to rescue Doug from the kidnappers back in volume 1. Those events took place after school hours. At this point, it’s understood that the school is not completely defenseless; there are other school teachers/bodyguards present at the school, but Rita and the others aren’t there to protect the school.
They’re there to protect the schoolchildren. After school, when the children leave, the principal doesn’t care what happens to them, as long as they use the rear exit of the school so that no potential intruder notices them leaving. Either way, no one’s obligated to inform her that something’s going on off school grounds.
Duck, Duck, Goose Got My Back?
All sentiments aside, Rita has already gone past her ‘fool me once’ phase with every hottie she’s come across, while Doug has made it abundantly clear he does not trust anybody. So why exactly did both of them fall for Hana’s trap to try to kill them both? Rita, we already know that Hana’s brother was hot like monkey bars in the middle of summer school. As for Doug, he even goes out of his way to explain to Rita, “Do not trust newcomers.”
Now, it could be true about newcomers and of Hana, but it’s more likely because of Rita. Doug has become rather smitten with Rita, so when she gladly leaves with Hana to save her hottie brother, Doug leaves with them to protect Rita. It just goes to show that love can make men do foolish things, even if going against their survival instincts.
There’s No “I” in Team
After the ensuing battle, the rescue, Rita shooting her shot and totally whiffing it, we find the trio escaping the scene when, suddenly, a part of the dock’s cargo containers collapses on top of Hana. Doug swoops in and saves Hana, offering a few words of encouragement, but to her, it seemed to carry a double meaning. Was Doug saying exactly what Hana needed to hear to keep her on the team, or did she hear an invitation to something else?
Either way, Hana clearly had never felt the warm embrace of another person outside of her only caring sibling, but that’s all she needed to fall in love with Doug; only she’s never experienced such a feeling before, so she has difficulty processing her emotions at first. The gang later met Gordon Z. Sky, both the vice principal and the school nurse of Kindergarten Noir. Not exactly the most subtle instructor of a preschool, but his lightning-fast healing skills were all that was needed to gain the trust of the others despite his surreal stature.
From Lollipops to Learning Curve
Hana privately confides in Gordon about her “chest pains” after being saved by Doug. Gordon almost drops the ball from his diagnosis shots were literally fired. Enter Luke Smith, the Chrysanthemum class teacher for pre-schoolers. An excellent performance by him to keep Gordon from spilling too much tea between Hana and Doug, we just think firing an actual gun might’ve been a bit excessive. His quick overview of the trio led him to consider them weak, too ineffective because they didn’t work as a complete unit. However, coupled with his obsession with shoujo manga, he notices the relationship diagram between Hana and Doug, and Doug and Rita. He’ll most likely use it to make them fight more effectively as a team or to just have fun with them.
Giving Love a Bad Name
After causing so much ruckus with the school, a helicopter attack, a ninja squad getting massacred, explosions at the docks, and another helicopter attack, it stands to reason that other hitmen start to take notice of where Rita “The Witch” is located. One of those hitmen is indeed more infatuated with her than even Hana’s father. Natasha had been dreaming of meeting Rita for so long, it’s almost as if she’s genuinely in love with her, or at least the idea of her being “the Witch”. However, the way she views Rita, she sees her less as a person and more as a new toy to play with. At least she was polite enough to meet Rita at the door rather than attempting to level the playground. It’s always best to make a good first impression with someone you’re about to kill, right? It’s just good manners.
Final Thoughts
Far be it from me to understand the motives behind having convicts protecting the children of billionaires. It’s something that perhaps should’ve been addressed in the previous review, but this writer was so caught up in the chisme, we almost missed it. Doug, the ever-untrusting person, addressed it first but never elaborated on where he was going with his opinions. It seems we’ll have to wait for the next volume to see its own moves on exactly how far down this rabbit hole is going.
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