Iron May/Summary

## Zodiac War Vs. Zodiac War

### Second Battle: Learn to Crawl Before You Learn to Walk

In her conversation with Doctor Finish, Look Me mentions Iron May, referring to him as a "magical girl" and mentioning that, even with his help, she was unable to finish Uuma off.

### Sixth Battle: A Maiden's Heart and the Clear Autumn Sky

The profile of Iron May, real name Andy Almar, is given, including his charges of desertion under enemy fire, indecent exposure and a number of minor offenses. He was born in a new country where his doting parents raised him as a girl in order to avoid him being drafted. When this was discovered by the regime, he was sent to the harshest battlefield as a penalty, but by seducing both the his superiors and the enemy leader, he continued avoiding combat, earning the nickname "goddess of enticement". Though acting boyish, he continued dressing like a woman, and his gender was common knowledge among the army. He eventually inadvertently ended up leading a group of deserters from both sides of the conflict called the "Virgo Galaxy Cluster". His broom was inherited from his grandmother, who was well-versed in magic, and although it appears to be made of bamboo, it is actually a high-tech steel broom.

#### 1

As Sharyuu and the other warriors fly on Niwatori's "magic carpet" of birds, discussing their next strategy, two war criminals appear in front of the dumbfounded warriors: Look Me and Iron May, who announce themselves.

#### 2

The reason for the warriors being dumbfounded wasn't that the war criminals could fly, but the fact that the two, dressed in a wedding dress and a maid uniform respectively, were riding on a flying broom. Iron May reveals that the policy of their strategist is to not let the enemy have any time to think, before comparing the flying warriors to the characters from *Journey to the West*, calling Sharyuu Son Wukong, making her think that he doesn't really know anything about the story. The warriors all ready their weapons, and Sharyuu thinks that she's the only one who can keep the situation from escalating, but then Iron May asks them if they want to make peace, totally blindsiding the pacifist. Look Me reassures from the backseat that it isn't some kind of trick question or quiz, but that the death of their "king", Dandy Lion, ruined their morale so much that they're willing to stop fighting and come to the negotiating table. Sharyuu is stumped, trying to determine whether the request is genuine or an attempt to stab them in the back. Iron May rushes her, asking her to hurry up if she wants to say no, so that they can prepare for the next step, which Sharyuu assumes to be battle, leading her to try and guess what kind of ablities and fighting styles people in maid uniforms and wedding dresses would possess.

Niwatori tells Sharyuu that she can't afford not getting onboard, since they could finally make peace, at which point Sharyuu asks her teammates what they think is the right action to take. Inounoshishi replies that she finds it hard to accept that they'd suddenly be open to negotiations just because they lost one of their own, when they still have the overwhelming advantage. Dotsuku says that he thinks they should accept, which surprises Sharyuu, as the image she'd had of the Warrior of the Dog was that of a brute due to all the nasty rumors about him. Sharyuu has no intention of leaving the decision to majority vote, but is unsure what to make of not only her enemies' thoughts, but also her allies'. In the end, she responds with a "no", to which Iron May casually says that "it's too bad", though also adds that, while he doesn't know what their strategist will think, they're personally happy about it. Sharyuu is confident in her decision, as she shares in Inounoshishi's suspicion about them coming to negotiate when the difference in score is still so big, since they won't have any leverage, and they should wait until they get the war criminals' score down to 8.

Then, with the talking over, Sharyuu readies herself for battle, and announces herself, planning to jump from the "magic carpet" onto their "magic broom". However, before she can even begin the jump, Iron May pushes Look Me down from the broom. Puzzled, Sharyuu asks if they want to fight on the ground, but Iron May denies it, saying that they failed their mission, so they have to die. Then, he also throws himself off, though he makes sure to modestly cover the contents of his skirt before doing so. Before falling, he reveals that he was told that, even if they're enemies, causing people to die gives her psychological damage, and thus was ordered to die if he fails. Sharyuu, in disbelief, yells at him to wait, but while falling, he responds that he won't wait, as Look Me is already dead and he would rather die than fight. Sharyuu extends a hand out, but is unable to reach. While Sharyuu can't believe that such a barbaric way to negotiate exists, Niwatori innocently calls out, asking if she is allowed to feed the corpses to the birds as payment, thereby confirming the deaths. While she agrees, Sharyuu inwardly asks what Sir Cancer thinks lives even are, before realizing that these deaths have just brought down the score to a 4-8. Composing herself, she declares "Let the negotiations begin, Sir Cancer."