is asirpa really ready to shoulder the responsibility of the ainu, at least partially? their best chances are with hijikata's group with asirpa ideally acting as a meat shield for sugimoto and shiraishi and a revolutionary icon. sugimoto fsr still feels very against it even though he already made it clear to asirpa a few chapters back that he'd trust her beliefs—because they're partners. i'd like to think he tried to believe in her vision up until they came face-to-face with hijikata's group. there'd prob still be a battle of ideologies between sugimoto and ogata. i don't think it above ogata to try and have asirpa kill him to prove his point. the thing sugimoto was always trying to prevent is asirpa losing her innocence—by murdering others—in her hunt for the gold, and now, her fight for the ainu. it's futile considering asirpa's already made up her about killing to protect him, as a last resort. it leads back to boutarou's constant prodding of asirpa's crush on sugimoto and fear of abandonment. asirpa's determined to see her future through with sugimoto by her side—enough to justify losing her innocence. it's exactly what ogata wants. those are the perfect conditions. i honestly won't be surprised if ogata's ends up almost dying by asirpa's hand. back to the battle of ideologies—sugimoto has already accepted the fact that he can't shield asirpa from carnage if he wants to keep them both alive. with no reason to hold back, it's already sure that he'd make an attempt at ogata's life the moment they meet. i feel like the narrative tension will reach its most volatile when not just these two's ideologies'll clash—but when asirpa and sugimoto's relationship reaches a near breaking point because of the difference in their views on killing. sugimoto still has no idea that the true person barring him from getting what he wants—asirpa safe and away from danger without losing that innocence of hers—is himself. asirpa has no idea sugimoto's vehemently opposed to her killing and that the only way she's going to succeed in her obligation to protect the future of the ainu is if she cuts ties with/loses her devotion to sugimoto—and that they eventually have to part ways. sugimoto has umeko and her son to take care of, asirpa has her vision of the ainu to realize. sugimoto does not share asirpa's aspirations for her people and destiny and asirpa does not share his belief in the sanctity of her childhood nor his feelings of obligation towards umeko.

asirpa's itch to act comes from the fear of the ainu being mistreated and their culture slowly being erased from existence under the current japanese govt's rule. kiroranke succeeded in making an ally of her in the end. him accompanying their party allowed her to see wilk's initial goals in greater detail. she sympathized with her father's intentions. by the time karafuto arc reaches its end, she not in it anymore merely to know the truth about wilk. in the chapters after, she grows more and more discontent with just honoring wilk's wishes—she's started to believe in the cause. she's slowly toeing her way to martyrdom. this could lead to an alliance between her and sofia. an even better possibility is a three-way alliance between the russians (sofia,) the ainu (asirpa,) and the wajin (hijikata.)

sugimoto's

sugimoto's plan to hand over the revolution work to tsurumi might not be the best option. the man hates asirpa. if sofia makes it hokkaido and tries to form an alliance with asirpa when they side with tsurumi, it's not gonna be pretty—considering she killed his wife. a confrontation between the two of them would be nice, though. we don't know whether sofia still carries guilt over fina's death. we don't know how tsurumi'd act once he realizes who she is. he already had a psychotic breakdown after being reminded of wilk and the revolutionaries when he first sees asirpa's eyes.

shiraishi and sugimoto are the only ones that have shown genuine concern for asirpa as well as treating her as an independent person (debatable at times with sugimoto.) while the alliance with hijikata with sofia acting as a buffer would be the most ideal, it won't assure asirpa of any autonomy of the ainu. sofia still views asirpa as a sort of chess piece. same with hijikata. if sofia somehow manages to be completely upfront with asirpa about wilk's death and him abandoning the cause, it wouldn't do much to shake asirpa at this point.