Asking why Sendai would attack comes over as...asking questions we just learned the answer to.
Look more closely at the update. The Ishinomaki girls did
not give us a very good answer. Allow me to demonstrate:
Remember, we have
some of the Sendai's story. Sure, some parts like the reasoning may be false but the details of what happened are easily verifiable.
When we first met the
Sendai group, they gave us this story:
Akiko gives you an evaluating look. "Negotiations, and healing."
You narrow your eyes. "Then how did this start? Why were those girls after you?"
The bluenette shrugs. "They hold an... old grudge. I suspect that they orchestrated this entire thing."
"A grudge," you say skeptically, idly noting that she seems to be pinning the blame on Ishinomaki, rather than the University group.
Akiko closes her eyes, tilting her head back up at the sky. "We attempted to... aggressively acquire their territory, once."
"You tried to steal their city," you say flatly.
"Yes," Akiko admits.
And then in the very next post they contradict the bolded word:
Akiko tilts her head to indicate agreement. "I don't know how much you've heard, Miss Sabrina, but Ishinomaki and us have... not been on the best of terms, in recent years."
"I heard about it," Mami says, voice forbidding. With her arms still folded, she directs a disapproving, regal frown upon Akiko, looking down upon her despite their nearly equal heights. "You've been fighting back and forth for... two years?"
Akiko's face tightens. "We have, yes."
Maybe her "face tightens" since they were accidentally called out? Or it could probably be a bad memory.
"They claimed to be suing for a truce, but attacked me when I got there," Akiko says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, her lips curling into a scowl. "During the negotiations... which were presumably a feint."
Probably lying but lets not jump to conclusions.
"It's not the first time we've... skirmished," Akiko says, with a dismissive wave of her hand, before softening it with a smile. "You're new, so... trust me when I say it's nothing so dramatic as a magical World War." She pauses. "I'm grateful - we all are, right, Sakura?- for your intervention, but it wasn't necessary," she adds in clarification. Rin nods fervently, while Sakura just grimaces, breaking the staring contest with Kirika and nodding.
They've fought several times, I want to know
why. If it was just over Kato Setsuko then I will admit my paranoid error. Also, Sendai comes off shifty as hell and we will investigate that in the future.
Now the
Ishinomaki side:
Yuuki frowns. "You... do know why we're fighting, right?"
"Not completely," you say, cocking your head to the side, and favouring the Ishinomaki group with a raised eyebrow. "I would quite like to get your side of the story. I've heard Sendai's, of course."
Yuuki glances at Yuuka, and then back at you. "What's to tell? Chouko... ah... Tsubaki Chouko, from the University group comes and asks if we want to help put down the Sendai group. We agreed, of course, so we drop an ambush on Hamasaki-" the lines around her eyes tighten on the mention of the name "-when she came by."
"She claims she was here to broker a truce," you observe.
She rolls her eyes. "You believe that? You've met her, haven't you?"
This is not an answer! We don't know
why they're fighting. Why did Akiko come by? Does she have an important relative living in Ishinomaki or something? I would like to note the use of the word "put down", they wanted to kill the Sendai group. Why the readiness to use lethal force? Did anything further happen?
Then this sequence happens:
"So," you say. "What exactly has Hamasaki done?"
"You don't know?" Yuuki asks in faint disbelief.
Aki grimaces, but nods, and steps forward. "Somewhere around there, I guess. So there's this big fight or something, I don't know, in the Sendai girls. Whatever. Result is, one of them dies or something, and another one, Kato, I think her name was, leaves them." Her voice is a little raspy.
"Ah!" Mami says. "Kato Setsuko?"
The third sentence is pretty intriguing, Sendai civil war? We need to remember that in the future.
"Thing is, a month later, Hamasaki and her cronies come screaming at us about her," Aki says. "Said we killed her, and they tried to kill us." Her face flattens into blankness. Similar expressions, blank looks and grimaces, echo across Kimiko and Ayaka's faces. "We win."
"I see," you say.
"We... were willing to let... bygones be bygones," Aki says. "But... eh." She shrugs again, and makes a 'what can you do' gesture.
This only accounts for one incident,
two years ago. Akiko mentioned earlier of several fights and one outright invasion.
Why did this happen? Then we get distracted talking about Kato Setsuko in the last update. We don't follow up on the details of why the conflict is happening. Lets verify Akiko's "multiple skirmishes" actually happened with Ishinomaki.
Yuuki's lip curls. "I dunno. She called for a meeting, right, so I figured we should be the bigger person and agree. But then when we find her here early, skulking about and her two friends also skulking about... Like, wouldn't be the first time she's set up an ambush," she says, frowning.
Inclined to believe them rather than Akiko but theres one question. Why? They fought Sendai and won. Akiko indicated Sendai kept fighting them, why? Why are they meeting? Is Akiko going to say sorry or something? If they're still fighting, why are they? Aki says Ishinomaki won in the earlier quote.
Another point, this
directly contradicts Ishinomaki's earlier statement! (in the first quote box). Yuuki said they'd already been contacted by the University group and were laying the ambush. They're lying about
something. You don't get to assume being the "bigger person" then turning around and laying an ambush to kill at the behest of allies. Also note their reasoning "Oh shit, Akiko's here attack!" (see bolded). This comes off extremely odd.
Now, its true both Sendai and Ishinomaki need to be asked some pointed questions. But Ishinomaki is
right in front us now so lets ask before we leave.
