As Volume 9 of R.O.D begins, Yomiko Readman and the head of Dokusensha, the woman known as China, are flying through the air on one of Yomiko’s paper airplanes, when the mountain that held the Dokusensha headquarters explodes.

Joker, having heard no word from Yomiko or Nancy for days, learns of the explosion and tunes in by satellite. When he sees that the “explosion” is an eruption of paper flowers, he gets the message from Yomiko loud and clear.

Yomiko and China enter the woods around Dokusensha HQ, only to encounter Ou-En and the 4 sisters and learn, belatedly, that Gentleman was seen at Dokusensha HQ. The news is received with solemnity, as it is accompanied by the news that Gentleman has slaughtered many of the Dokusensha members and destroyed HQ.

While sitting around the fire that night, trying to convince the sisters that she doesn’t have any intention of harming China, Yomiko learns that Ou-En feels affection for her – she remind him of his sister and of a previous lover. As they share their stories, they are joined by a tall, strapping and very naked man…Gentleman has arrived.

Nancy spends an important interlude with Drake’s team undressing and dressing in her normal bondage-gear outfit.

Meanwhile, in India, Nenene and Wendy are doing something. I’m not sure what, because they were on their way to China, but hey, whatever. While Wendy is out, Nenene reads more of Donny’s diary.

Donny recounts the time just before the British Library moved to its current location, when he’s begun meeting up with Yomiko at random times at the BL. Her 16th birthday is approaching and he promises that he’ll celebrate it with her. But Joker sends him out of town that day – and Donny doesn’t have Yomiko’s address or phone number. He runs into her later, and as he’s apologizing, a voice over loudspeaker invites them into the new BL. They take a private tour of the new location, shepherded by Joker’s voice, eventually finding themselves in the King’s library, surrounded by the original manuscripts of some of the world’s greatest literature. Yomiko says that this is like a dream, at which Donny asks her to dance. Alone in the King’s Library, they dance, while paper flowers rain down upon them.

When Yomiko asks for a kiss to make her night complete, Donny blows it completely and kisses her on the cheek.

So, with two novels to go, we really still don’t know much about the Gutenberk paper, Donny or Gentleman or Joker or Dokusensha or Nancy or, really, Yomiko.

Ratings:

Art – 4 Almost every picture was carefully crafted to skeeve me, except the one of Donny kissing Yomiko, which was just awkward.
Story – 7 Had some good bits and some less good
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 8

Overall – 7

More Yomiko and Nenene dammit!