Himiko uses her Reduction of Earth Technique to run into the cherry blossom forest near the road. She considers the cherry blossoms the first familiar thing she had seen so far. She has a flashback of Edo on fire with metal monsters killing people. While doing her best to save everyone, she found herself in the studio of her dear friend, the old artist Katsushika Hokusai. She sped towards him, but before she could reach him, a metal monster smashed the studio, crushing him and sending her flying from the impact.
She is brought back to reality when an explosion knocks her into a tree. Through her clothes are woven from the silk of Jurogumo the Spider-Woman herself and practically indestructible, she still feels the impacts. Stunned, she notices the stars are different and thinks of giving up, but remembers her Tanuki retainer Beat getting killed by the monsters and regains her resolve. A spotlight shines on her and a voice says that was just a warning shot. She gets up and resumes running and jumping through the trees.
Another explosion sends her flying into the trees again, leaving her in agony and with several cuts on her legs. She gets up and draws Kusanagi from the mirror in her belt buckle. A tank rolls in, knocking aside the trees. The driver introduces themself as Alpha Guardian Zelda Mishima of the Setagaya Public Guardian Bion-Counter Tank Division and says she is under arrest. If she surrenders, she will not be harmed. Three more tanks roll in and surround her. She speeds over to Zelda and one of the tanks fires. She dodges and the blast blows Zelda up. The others curse the one who fired, Dai, for killing their leader, but he does not listen and keeps firing. Himiko tricks him into destroying another tank before running away again.
After outrunning tank fire, she reaches the edge of the forest and beholds a futuristic city with several people in festivities. She is shocked, thinking the rest of Japan was destroyed like Edo was, then becomes angry, thinking the people are celebrating the destruction of Edo. She pushes that thought down, telling herself her quarrel is with the master of the monsters. She is distracted enough for a bunch of Public Guardians to dogpile her and quickly cuff her hands behind her back and her ankles together. One of them grabs her hair and says she is nothing but a Bion, a soulless machine, then stomps on her head. Another knocks the guy, Yuki, away and reprimands him for excessive force, but Yuki argues that giving a Bion any leniency only gives an opening to stab you in the back.
They help Himiko up and she sees her cuffs are joined by Hard Light cables, and she is not strong enough to break them. The citizens keep a wide perimeter but watch with curiosity. A small flying machine lands and they start to drag her towards it. One of them suggests that they get something bigger to hold and transport her. The others call him a coward, but he cites her feats of power and the nanobots detecting an unknown energy in her. She asks what a Bion is, but one of them mocks her and says it is too late to pretend to be human.
Another one notices she is concealing something in her hand, but a tank suddenly rolls in, nearly flattening some of them. They ask Dai what he is doing and he says he is providing extra cover. They start arguing with Dai and Himiko uses the distraction to whip out Kusanagi. The magic yo-yo extends indefinitely to tangle all the Public Guardians around her before she unleashes an electric attack that travels along the string to knock them out, then props up the closest one on her back as a shield. The bystanders run away.
She recalls Kusanagi to her hand and tries to free herself, but Dai suddenly fires, blowing up the hostage and sending Himiko flying, and she lands on the concrete hard. The bystanders ask if Dai has gone mad. Others cannot believe Dai is attacking a defenseless girl while others say she is a Bion and far from defenseless. Dai angrily says he does not care about due process. She is nothing but a mockery of life and he will turn her to scrap. He fires on her again, but she flings Kusanagi to plug the barrel, causing the tank to backfire and blow up. Dai manages to escape the tank in time and runs away.
Himiko recalls Kusanagi and tries to free herself again. Though her injuries have healed, she is running low on Qi and she is hungry. A little boy throws a rock at her and she finds the crowd has become a jeering mob. Her feelings are hurt as she recalls the people of Edo cheering for her, but reminds herself that these are not her people. Two more Public Guardians come and grab her to the cheers of the crowd. She starts to insult them, but they whisper that they are on her side and are only in disguise. One questions her use of the Royal "We" and the other explains it. They will try to deactivate her cuffs, then they urge her to run. She asks why she should run when a huge airship approaches, blocking out the moon. The two fearfully say it is a Leviathan Cruiser. She asks if it holds high ranking members of the Public Guardians. They confirm it and say the Alpha and Zeta Guardians are bad news. She realizes in her exhausted state, she is no match.
