On April 28, Blue Archive added two new characters alongside the new event story, 'The Ninja's Path ~Fashion Show Security Mission!~'.

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This time, the spotlight is on Michiru and Tsukuyo from the Ninjutsu Research Club.

In a way, this update gave them a chance to grow beyond being children playing at ninjas and become more mature young women.

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Their relationship (memory) stories follow their everyday lives afterward, and I wanted to share a few impressions after reading them.

Michiru Chidori (Dress)

Michiru Chidori is the president of the Ninjutsu Research Club, a ninja club at Hyakkiyako Alliance Academy.

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She has cute tanuki ears and a tail, along with plenty of enthusiasm, though she can be a little hapless.

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She tries to promote the club through her YouTube channel, '미치룻치', but struggles to make much headway—a very Michiru-like touch.

The newly added Michiru (Dress) dons her dress for a job as a security guard at a fashion show.

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Her long, straight hair paired with the dress brings out her sweet, innocent charm to the fullest. Plenty of players commented that they were seeing Michiru's appeal in a new light, and she gained many more fans.

You can raise her affection by giving her gifts in the Cafe. Reaching Relationship Rank 6 unlocks all of Michiru (Dress)'s relationship stories, while her Recollection Lobby unlocks at Relationship Rank 3.

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The story begins after the fashion show security job. Michiru tears her dress while practicing ninjutsu and goes with Sensei to have it repaired. Turning up in the very outfit she needs to leave for repairs is just like her.

A little later, they receive word that the dress is ready and go to pick it up together.

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She changes into it, saying she needs to try it on now that it has been repaired. Then she insists on giving it a test run, which naturally turns into a date with Sensei. Her real motive, though, is to shop for ninja merchandise.

After shopping, Michiru gives Sensei a capsule toy as thanks for spending time with her.

As chance would have it, there is a toy ring inside. With Michiru in her dress, handing over the ring looks almost like a proposal.

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A thoroughly flustered Michiru throws a smoke bomb and runs away, leaving the ring with Sensei.

???: Good, that looked natural.

This has earned Michiru the title of 'the woman who has taken things furthest in Kivotos', an idea that has since found its way into all sorts of fan works.

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Perhaps she has quite a talent for romance without even realizing it.

Tsukuyo Ohno (Dress)

Tsukuyo Ohno is a member of the Ninjutsu Research Club. She stands an impressive 180cm tall, but her timid nature means she has long felt self-conscious about her height. (For reference, Michiru is 153cm.)

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Like Michiru, she wears a dress after being hired as a security guard for a fashion show, setting the stage for her story.

In Tsukuyo (Dress)'s design, the black, white, and gold dress boldly shows off her upper body and complements her tall frame beautifully. The look was so striking that it even overshadowed Michiru a little.

You can raise her affection by giving her gifts in the Cafe. Reaching Relationship Rank 6 unlocks all of Tsukuyo (Dress)'s relationship stories, and her Recollection Lobby also unlocks at Relationship Rank 6.

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Wearing a dress on the fashion show security job led Tsukuyo into modeling. Her story begins a little later, when she receives another modeling offer.

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When Sensei hears that Tsukuyo accepted the job because 'there are terms I can't refuse', he worries and goes to check on her.

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It turns out she was simply promised a pamphlet from the premiere of a ninja movie she likes. With the misunderstanding cleared up, Sensei treats Tsukuyo to a nice meal in recognition of her hard work, bringing the episode to a close.

A little later, Tsukuyo takes a modeling job at an art school. The owner who gave her the pamphlet makes such an earnest request that she feels she cannot refuse. To her surprise, the work turns out to suit her very well.

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Disguising herself as a tree is already her specialty, so posing for art students, which only requires her to stay still, feels much easier than fashion modeling.

The art school instructor is so impressed by Tsukuyo's natural talent that they offer her 2 times her hourly rate and ask her to continue modeling.

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With such a natural aptitude for it, Tsukuyo simply cannot seem to get away from modeling.

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Before long, she is due to take part in a fashion show.

But she oversleeps and ends up running late.

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As she rushes to the venue with Sensei, she suggests a shortcut she discovered while practicing parkour as part of her ninja training.

Tsukuyo manages to climb over a wire fence, but her dress gets caught on it. There is a familiar sense of déjà vu here.

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The fashion show goes reasonably well in the end, leaving us with the reassuring sense that Tsukuyo is still very much herself.

Tsukuyo got caught on a fence 4 years ago, too..

Closing Thoughts

Izuna (Dress) looks lovely as well. I am looking forward to her release.

That wraps up my review of the relationship stories for Michiru (Dress) and Tsukuyo (Dress) in Blue Archive.

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The Ninja's Path event story showed how much the Ninjutsu Research Club members have matured, both in appearance and emotionally.

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The relationship stories brought things to a heartwarming close, showing that Michiru and Tsukuyo are still very much themselves.

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This is the first Ninjutsu Research Club story in 4 years, following the original An Unconcealed Heart event, so I hope you will log in and spend some time with these charming ninja girls.