Fox Waltz

**Fox Waltz** is the sixth episode of the *BNA: Brand New Animal* series.

## Overview

*Michiru and Nazuna finally reunite but not everything goes as smoothly as they would like.*

## Summary

Michiru meets the Silver Wolf Order cult in the slums and recognizes Death Rube, who is actually Nazuna. The two reunite as Shirou and Rose discuss the ramifications of the cult seeking residence in the city. Michiru helps Nazuna meet Rose but it is revealed that Nazuna was using Michiru, who denounces their friendship.

## Plot

Melissa scolds Gem for his feathers clogging the shower drain. She tells him that Ginrou is always watching. Michiru mutters the name under her breath as she ruminates on it. Gem catches on and explains Ginrou to her. Pulling out a picture book he wrote, he tells the story that for generations the beastmen will enter crisis after crisis. One day, a savior came in the form of a silver wolf, Ginrou. Legend says Ginrou has been alive for over a thousand years. Shirou gets up and leaves. Michiru follows him and Melissa hands a safety charm to give to Ginrou in case he appears.

Outside, Shirou eats the safety charm. Michiru exclaims that he will be cursed, but he doesn't care. She points out that he doesn't have any friends because of that attitude, to which he retorts that she doesn't either. She confidently brags about her best friend, Nazuna.

Michiru reminisces about a moment in the past after the accident. Nazuna and Michiru are hanging out at the park, and Nazuna is pretending to be an idol. Michiru encourages her to audition as an idol and teases that she's scared. Michiru walks up the playground mound, still in crutches, and reaches the top. She exclaims they will both reach the top of their fields. Unfortunately, Nazuna is eventually abducted, never to be seen again.

She finally notices Shirou had left. Marie is walking beside her now and says that he left for the mayor's office. Marie hands her the phone bill. To pay off the bill, Marie gives Michiru a bunch of overpriced water purifiers to sell to the slum residents.

Michiru wheels the cart over to the slum. Jackie proudly shows off one he bought earlier with a lifetime payment plan. A group of gangsters shows up demanding money from Jackie. Jackie is tied and strung out on a pole. The leader of the gangsters pulls out a lighter to set the pole on fire. Before they are able to, a group of hooded people arrives in boats. A masked man steps out and criticizes them for hurting their own kin. He says to not forget the honor that everyone is a noble beastman and Ginrou is watching. The gang leader laughs off Ginrou as a kid's fairy tale. The masked man introduces a guru, Death Rube, to display Ginrou's light. The gangsters set the pole on fire.

Death Rube sheds her cloak and transforms into a glowing pink wolf. The gangsters say it's Ginrou and ask for forgiveness. Death Rube roars and scares the gangsters away. The crowd cheers and the masked man continues to preach about Ginrou. The crowd bows to their knees in respect. Death Rube transforms back into her human form and tells everyone to shine together. Michiru is dumbfounded. Death Rube is Nazuna. The hooded cult members swarm Michiru and take her away.

At night, the cloaked members bring Michiru to Nazuna. They embrace, Nazuna points out that Michiru is a tanuki though Michiru claims that she's a raccoon. Someone calls for Death Rube, and the two escape to a rooftop. Nazuna takes another look at her and confirms that she's a tanuki. Michiru ponders on it and they both laugh it off. Michiru calls her a wolf, but Nazuna corrects her and transforms into a kitsune, her real beastman form. It's apparently a secret from the cult that she's a fox. In her office, the Mayor and Shirou discuss the Silver Wolf Order. Shirou isn't fond that they're here and the mayor said she plans to meet them.

Michiru invites Nazuna to her house. Nazuna asks if Michiru witnessed her abduction a year ago. Nazuna then begins to recount the moments following it, as she was taken to a hospital and saved by Boris Cliff. He was aware of her transformation ability and helped her train it further. Boris helped her attain the guru position in the cult while he remained as her trainer. Michiru correctly guesses the masked man from earlier was Boris and says he feels untrustworthy. Nazuna has never seen him without his mask, and she refuses to believe he's a bad guy. Nazuna asks about Michiru's life the past year. She looks through Michiru's photo book and points out she's had a lot of fun. Michiru proposes that they live together, for Nazuna to leave the cult, and they both find a cure to go home.

Michiru asks Shirou and Melissa if Nazuna can stay, but Shirou sternly refuses. Shirou says that the cult is fishy, and she shouldn't trust Nazuna. Michiru gets angry and leaves the house. She goes back to the slum and introduces herself to the cult. Boris approaches her and she begs to join the cult. Boris accepts her and leaves. She is handed a pendant and guided to a tent.

In another tent, Boris and Nazuna are alone. Boris informs her the mayor is not willing to meet and asks if she knows the girl who asked to join just earlier. She pauses and doesn't give an answer. Boris caresses her and whispers that she's more beautiful than a god. Late at night, Michiru sneaks into her tent. She says they should escape and Boris is creepy, to which Nazuna replies that Michiru is dense. Unlike Michiru, Nazuna isn't welcome in Anima City and even the Mayor refuses to see her. Michiru tells her that she can arrange a meeting, and the Mayor would be understanding of Nazuna's situation. Michiru snuggles into a blanket on Nazuna's bed and the two fall asleep.

The next morning at her usual café, the Mayor is drinking a cup of coffee. Michiru is about to make the introduction and is interrupted by Nazuna. The kitsune greets the Mayor as Death Rube and requests permanent residence in Anima City for the Silver Wolf Order. The Mayor gets up, ready to leave. Nazuna brings up the Mayor's promise that Anima City welcomes all beastmen. The Mayor said it's unforgivable to toy with Ginrou, a sacred entity in Anima City. Nazuna confesses that she is human and not Ginrou. The Mayor is unfazed. Nazuna accuses the Mayor of using the populace's faith in Ginrou, a likely fictitious being, to keep the citizens under control. Nazuna's reasoning is she wants to make this fiction a reality for the sake of beastmen. She believes she is instilling faith in the people, which the citizens in Anima City need. The Mayor is amused and agrees to receive Nazuna and the cult.

Walking through the park, Michiru feels cheated that Nazuna used her. Nazuna teases her for being harsh and bitter when things don't go her way. The guru reveals that she in fact didn't need her help, and the mayor already had done the research and planned to meet with her. She likens being a guru to being an idol because of so many beastmen worships and praises her. Michiru disagrees with Nazuna, who smiles and says Michiru hasn't changed. Michiru has always made assumptions without a second thought, like the time she pushed Nazuna away during the bicycle incident. She ridicules Michiru of performing all these humanitarian acts to stroke her ego. Nazuna denounces her name and says she's Death Rube. Michiru rips off the pendant and denounces their friendship.

## Characters

* Michiru Kagemori
* Nazuna Hiwatashi (debut)
* Melissa Horner
* Gem Horner
* Shirou Ogami
* Jackie
* Boris Cliff (debut)
* Barbara Rose
* Marie Itami
* Silver Wolf Order members (debut)

## Trivia

* This is the first episode where the credits cutscene isn't included, instead we see a final scene from the episode itself, that has "Night Running" playing over it.
* The way Michiru is bound by the Silver Wolf members is how they traditionally kept prisoners in Japan.[*citation needed*]
* The romaji on the water purifiers says Mizukirei, which means water purifier.
* Shiro's suspicion on Silver Wolf members and the latest Ginrou (Nazuna), later explained in "The Mole Rat Speaks".
* One of the government agents who captured Nazuna bears a striking resemblance to Andrew Hanbridge, a recurring character of *Little Witch Academia*, another anime series produced by Studio Trigger. He would later made another, final appearance in Human Scapegoat.