Mitsuba Sangū

Mitsuba Sangū 「三宮 三葉, Sangū Mitsuba」 is a second lieutenant of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and a member of Shinoa Hīragi's squad in the Moon Demon Company.

Appearance
She has bright golden blonde hair tied up in pigtails and big purple eyes.

She's seen always wearing her JIDA uniform which consists of a long-sleeved black coat with a standing collar which has a red bow tie around it and shoulder epaulettes which have a Sam Browne belt passing diagonally over her right shoulder. The coat has two rows of gold buttons on the front and she has her sleeves rolled up. Rather than the standard white gloves, she wears black fingerless gloves and a white web belt with a gold waist-plate. She wears the standard black skirt and knee-high black boots. She sometimes wears the black cape. Like Yoichi and Shinoa, she is short.

Personality
Sangū is shown to be a serious and by-the-book soldier, who dislikes those who break the formation and commit to individual action. She tends to have a fiery personality and may be the most talkative of the group. In her previous squad, she once broke the formation of her team in order to save a teammate, which lead to her squad's annihilation. This makes her value staying in formation and following the rules, which she enforces on the rookie soldiers below her. Also, because of this, she didn't want Yūichirō to save her when she was caught by the vampires, thinking that he would die if he tried. However, Yu saves her life and Mitsuba learns to have more faith her in comrades instead of restraining their actions with her fear.

She is proud and hates being promoted for doing nothing just because of her family name. She considers that to be a grave insult. She also felt insulted when assigned to work under Shinoa, but she quickly takes her place as second-in-command.

She takes it on herself to teach and guide the rookies.

While she shows a complete dislike towards Yū, Shinoa hinted that she is actually falling for him. However, this is yet to be confirmed.

History
Sangū joined the annihilation force when she was thirteen. When her comrade Shirō was in danger, she broke formation to save him from a horseman of the Apocalypse. When she slashed its arm to save Shirō, the monster used its other arm to strike her, but her squad leader saved her by using himself as a human shield, which caused his death. This haunts her even today.

Shinjuku Arc
Mitsuba first appears in chapter 8 yelling at Guren for putting her on a squad of rookies and, better yet, assigning her to work under Shinoa. Mitsuba and Shinoa draw their weapons, and Guren scolds them. She makes it clear she hates short-sighted people who break formation when she attacks Yu right off for saying he will charge after a vampire no matter what. She is the fifth and final member of Shinoa's squad.

Despite her initial abrasion, she quickly starts lecturing Shinoa's squad on the world around them.

When they see a Horseman chasing a human girl, she orders the squad to stay back, and Shinoa agrees. They explain that the girl is obviously bait. She regrets not being able to do anything, but she understands this is for the best. Yu disobeys and charges in anyway, and the vampires attack on cue. The squad supports Yu and saves the girl, but Mitsuba slaps Yu afterward for his insubordination. Shinoa advises Yu to not take it personally because Mitsuba also has a painful past. She refuses to divulge more information than that.

Chapter 9 opens up to Mitsuba and Shinoa showering. Shinoa manages to cool down Mitsuba's temper. She tells Mitsuba that acting against orders was not the cause of her squad's demise. Mitsuba orders Shinoa to stay in her own shower, and Shinoa takes that as an opportunity to attack.

Shinoa's squad enters the Omotesando Station to exterminate vampires. As they begin, she scolds Yu, and Yu informs her that he even waited for orders this time. He protects her, surprising him with his strength. As she orders the squad to form up, the vampires ambush them. Unlike what the child they saved told them, there were actually nine vampires total instead of only seven. When a vampire grabs her, she does not hesitate to order her squad to escape and leave her behind. Disobeying her orders again, Yu saves her life. They exterminate the vampires.

Yu tells the child's father a little about his past. He explains that he and his friend tried to escape a vampire city, but he left them behind to die so that he could get away. Mitsuba asks him if that story is true, but Yu tells her to not pry or dig into his past. She attempts to tell Yu thank you, but she becomes too embarrassed.

For their next orders, the squad heads to Shinjuku. They encounter Thirteenth Progenitor Crowley Eusford and prepare for battle. Fortunately, Ferid calls him away.

Once they reach the 5th Street intersection, they face off against more vampires--one of which turns out to be Yu's family, whom he left behind in the vampire city to die. The vampires easily defeat the humans before the humans can retreat, and Seventeenth Progenitor Chess Belle bites Mitsuba and drinks some of her blood.

Post-Shinjuku Arc
After Yu wakes up from a week in a coma after transforming, Mitsuba is the third to barge into his room. She sees Yu touching Shinoa's neck and Shinoa blushing fiercely, but they say they were just looking at her bite mark. Kimizuki bursts in next, telling them to be quiet.

She receives a promotion in the next chapter to Second Lieutenant. She rants about what an insult that is to Yu and complains about how weak she is. Yu says he is not laughing at her and manages to calm her down. He says she can use that promotion to help him reclaim Mika. She warns him that the Hīragi are scary people, and Yu heads into his meeting. She meets with Shinoa, who calls her a useless lump to Mitsuba's face. Mitsuba says that does not make her mad because Shinoa is the only one who ever had the guts to say that to her face. That chat about the Hīragi and Yu going berserk. The three boys exit the building, beaten and bleeding with the exception of Yu. He yells at Guren to teach him how to use his Cursed Gear properly.

In order to proceed with Cursed Gear training, Mitsuba, Yoichi, and Kimizuki arrive to the meeting location half an hour early, but Guren, Shinoa, and Yu are already there. Shinoa and Mitsuba begin teaching the boys and move into the ruined city. Mitsuba spars briefly against Yu, demonstrating manifestation. Shinoa and Mitsuba explain how this works, and Yu goes first. While waiting on him, the two girls tease Kimizuki for being so kind and ship him and Yu as a yaoi couple, ending their skit with "to be continued." Kimizuki does not approve. Kimizuki goes after that, and the two boys spar. Shinoa and Mitsuba realize that these three boys may be Guren's handpicked secret soldiers, and the power struggle between the higher-ups may begin soon.

Shinoa's squad meet in Shinoa's room in the barracks, and Mitsuba "helps" Shinoa cook breakfast. By adding sake to an omelet, Mitsuba accidentally starts a fire, and Kimizuki soon arrives to save them. She learned from a book that adding sake to food and lighting it is supposed to make food better. Kimizuki takes over the cooking, and both girls are ashamed of their incompetence. They decide to remain loyal to Guren and look out for one another.

Nagoya Arc
On the drive to Nagoya, Mitsuba teams up with Shinoa to prank Yu and then Kimizuki. These pranks make them late, and Yu receives punishment in the following chapter. Shinoa and Mitsuba briefly explain their abilities and make a plan when Guren, Mito Jujo, and Shinya attack their squad to teach them a lesson. She summons decoy demons to split up Mito and Guren, but Mito punches through them. Guren gets past Yu and stuns her, quickly winning the match.

As they prepare for their mission and meet Narumi's squad, Mitsuba teams up with Kimizuki to scold Yu and make him behave and be polite. They attack Fifteenth Progenitor Lucal Wesker. Mitsuba distracts Lucal from Yu, but he destroys her decoys with just a swipe of his hand. She also helps Shinoa distract him when he charges in to kill Kimizuki. Yu cuts Lucal in half, and Narumi finishes him off.

The Moon Demon Company regroups, and Sergeant Aiko Aihara arrives with only seven survivors from her squads. Guren Squad, Shinoa Squad, and Narumi Squad leave to hunt Thirteenth Progenitor Crowley Eusford, Seventeenth Progenitor Chess Belle, and Horn Skuld while Aiko waits for other survivors to pass them the order to reconvene at Nagoya Airport.

Once they reach Nagoya City Hall, Guren looks at the hostages being used through a telescope and knows that they are being used as bait to lure them. Yu insists on bursting in and saving them. Narumi dismisses it as too dangerous and when Yu asks him what they should do, Narumi asks Guren what they should do. Guren suggests that they snipe them from their position and see if they can lure them out but says that if there are too many of them, they are to abandon the hostages and run. Yu shouts that they can't do that.

Shinoa interrupts Yu and asks Guren what their priorities are. In order, he says that their top priority is to maintain their numbers, letting no one die. Their second priority is to free the hostages and lastly, getting the hostages out alive. Narumi states that this is because they are needed for another mission after this. Guren then says that they need to keep the vampires occupied in Aichi Prefecture for as long as they can so they can buy enough time for the main forces in Shibuya to get prepared.

After Crowley catches Gekkōin, Guren and his squad discuss what to do. After careful planning, Guren decides that his squad will take his squad to attack Crowley while Shinoa and Narumi Squads free the hostages. He gives them five minutes to rescue as many hostages as they can and act as a proper diversion for the main force in Shinjuku. As soon as the five minutes are up everyone has orders to retreat to the Nagoya Airport immediately.

Sometime later, Yoichi reports on the situation with Guren's squad to the squad and Yu insists on rescuing him. Shinoa agrees with him but says they only have five minutes. She gives them specific instructions regarding their plan.

Yu breaks through the floor and attacks Crowley Eusford. Crowley blocks easily and moves to decapitate Yu. Kimizuki parries the attack, and Mitsuba distracts Crowley by summoning dummies with Tenjiryū. Yu uses Asura Kannon, but Chess and Horn immediately step in and defend Crowley from it. Chess and Horn counterattack and rip apart the shield Mitsuba forms with Tenjiryū.

They rescue Shinya Hiragi and are forced to escape, leaving Guren behind.

After his flashblack, Yu wipes away his tears and states he cannot follow orders. He says he is not cut out for teamwork. He tells the others to proceed without him, and he will stay behind. Mitsuba along with Yoichi is shocked by this.

Cursed Gear

 * Tenjiryū 「天字竜, lit. Heaven Shaped Dragon」: A manifestation-type demon from an unknown series. It takes the form of a giant battle axe. It is most effective at mid-to close-range. By cutting into the ground, she can spawn multiple demons and attack with them. However, they are weak individually and only good for decoys.

Trivia

 * Mitsuba 「三葉」 means "three-leaf clover."
 * Sangū 「三宮」 means "three palaces."
 * The "Mitsu" part of her given name and the "San" part of her surname are both written with "三", the kanji for "three."
 * According to the fanbook:
 * Interests: The ideal way of being a soldier / To not dishonor the Sangū House’s way of living / Feeling slightly inferior compared to her outstanding elder sister / Girl power (still thinking, isn’t there any other idea)
 * Favorite Food: Types of wagashi (strawberry daifuku, kusa mochi)
 * Favorite Type of Person: Someone that can be trusted to lead / Someone who’s a worse cook than her

Quotes

 * "Lieutenant Colonel Guren!! I don't understand!! Why are you assigning me to a squad full of rookies?! I've been part of this extermination unit since I was thirteen! I'm an elite!! Now, if I were extremely generous and gave this the benefit of the doubt, I could understand being assigned as their leader! But you said that sarcastic airhead Shinoa Hīragi is going to be squad leader! Explain that to me!"--Mitsuba to Guren, Chapter 8, "Mitsuba's Squad"
 * "It's morons like you... that I hate... more than anything! People like you... wipe out entire squads."--Mitsuba to Yu, Chapter 8, "Mitsuba's Squad"
 * "Who does that Yūichirō Hyakuya think he is?! Ignoring orders! Acting on his own! How could someone like him make it into the Moon Demon Company?! I won't stand for it!"--Mitsuba to Shinoa, Chapter 9, "First Extermination"
 * "Damn it..! I'm lost!! The rest of you leave me and run!!"--Mitsuba to Shinoa's squad, Chapter 9, "First Extermination"
 * "This is war."--Mitsuba to Shinoa's squad, Chapter 12, "A Very Safe Supplement"
 * "HEY!! You could at least give that the insult it deserves! Do I have to spell it out for you? I was utterly useless that entire battle! After all the big stuff I said, I didn't do a single thing! Once again... I couldn't save anybody. I... I... I'm still so weak. But despite all that... I'll be the only one promoted, just because I'm a Sangu. If you wanna laugh at me... go ahead and..."--Mitsuba to Yu, Chapter 16, "Human World"
 * "H-Hey! Quit acting like you understand!! Someone died because of me, but I wasn't punished! I was totally useless in battle, but they promoted me! The only bad thing that ever happens to me is getting laughed at for being inferior to my elite sister!"--Mitsuba to Yu, Chapter 16, "Human World"
 * "Okay. First, as I will be your instructor, you will call me 'Master.'"--Mitsuba to Shinoa's squad, Chapter 18, "Possessed by Mahiru"