In a Pinch During the Pursuit!

***In a Pinch During the Pursuit!*** (追撃されてピンチ！*Romaji: "Tsuigekisarete Pinchi!"*) is the second episode of Hai-Furi.

After the sudden skirmish with the Sarushima, a damaged Harekaze found itself in a new battle with the Admiral Graf Spee, a Deutschland-class cruiser.

## Episode Summary

News of the Harekaze's mutiny had reached the school and its principal, Mayuki Munetani. She couldn't believe that some of her students would fire on an instructorship.

As news of the incident spread across all channels, the crew of the Harekaze found itself in a pinch of their lives.

### The Maritime Era

The clock rewinds to a young Mashiro taking a walk with her family up the Suwa Grand Shrine. Mashimo, a student of Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School at the time, recalled the history of Japan's spiral to a maritime environment.

Following the Russo-Japanese war of 1905, Japan became dependent on methane hydrate mining. As a result, much of the country's landmass sank beneath the waves, prompting the construction of floating cities like Yokosuka. To safeguard these cities, as well as sea lanes around the world, women began manning military ships for civilian functions. Thus, the Blue Mermaids was established.

Mayuki told her children that she would be retiring from service to teach the next generation of Blue Mermaids. The young Mashiro expressed her desire to follow the long line of Munetani women serving in the Blue Mermaids. Mayuki gives Mashiro her hat as a sign of her confidence in the future, only for a sudden gust to blow it away. This convinced Mashiro, until today, that this was where her string of misfortunes began.

### A New Opponent Appears

Akeno went around the Harekaze to supervise the repairs, but she was recalled to the bridge to discuss their next move. They decided to return to Yokosuka to explain themselves and clear their names.

As the crew was about to sit down for lunch, lookout Machiko Noma, detected an approaching ship, later identified as the Admiral Graf Spee. Like the Sarushima, the German ship opened fire on the destroyer for no reason. To save her classmates again, Akeno authorized the use of live shells, which is done by Mashiro and Akeno turning their keys at the same time, with the intention of slowing the Spee down. She also had the ship run in circles while laying down a smokescreen.

As the Harekaze took a direct hit at her Number Three battery, Noma spotted a small boat escaping from the Spee. Shortly after, one of the Spee's 15cm guns scored a hit on the craft. Realizing a comrade at sea in danger, Akeno hurried to the skipper to save the boat's pilot.

Meanwhile, Mashiro ordered to close within 3,000 meters to hit the Graf Spee's screw shaft and slow it down. After scoring a hit, the Harekaze retrieved Akeno and the boat's pilot.

### Foreboding

The Harekaze escaped yet another mismatched battle and into open waters once more.

As Akeno watched over their sleeping guest in the infirmary, she was recalled to the bridge. Mashiro received a distress call from the Musashi, specifically from its captain Moeka, just off Asuncion Island.

Moeka desperately pleaded for help at once.

## Trivia

* Minami Kaburagi's quote, "The wise are not doubtful, the compassionate are not distressed, the courageous are not fearful," is an excerpt from The Analects of Confucius.
* Asuncion Island is an uninhabited island within the Northern Mariana Island chain.
* The two keys that are turned the same time, needed to fire live ammunition, could be a reference to a protocoll used by the United States to stop a single person from launching nuclear weapons or cruise missiles.