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Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Cover
Information
Chapter Title Catch Fire
Volume 2
Pages 35
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Chapter 5
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Chapter 7

Catch Fire is the sixth chapter of the Birdmen manga series. In this chapter, Karasuma masters the art of flying, and the main cast saves a whale, as well as passengers on a ship that had been set aflame.

Summary[]

It's the third night of flight practice for the Birdmen. Sagisawa, Kamoda, and Umino are playing a game of midair frisbee in order to fine-tune their flying skills. Karasuma, however, still isn't competent enough at flying to join them. When they take a break from their frisbee game, Kamoda and Umino try to comfort Karasuma, and Sagisawa gives him some practical advice regarding his flight form. Karasuma, who is still down, demands Takayama to offer his thoughts as well. Takayama simply tells Karasuma that he'll be able to fly in the case of an emergency, but Karasuma is doubtful, believing he lacks the foundations to draw from in such a situation. Takayama doesn't understand why Karasuma seems to have such a hard time believing in his abilities.

Karasuma, feeling more discouraged than ever, wraps his wings around himself in the shape of a dome and begins to review the video Sagisawa sent him. Takayama, however, throws Karasuma headfirst into flight practice by grabbing him, wing dome and all, and dropping him from an incredible height. Karasuma, who is panicking about dropping his smartphone in the water, ends up performing several somersaults before falling into the ocean. However, he's very proud of the fact that he used his wing mass as a waterproof smartphone case. Takayama repeats this process several times,

When they take a break to eat rice balls, Karasuma takes this time to mull over Takayama's behavior once more. Karasuma finds it strange that Takayama seems so accepting of the fact he needs to defeat blackouts and save human lives, and in particular, Karasuma doesn't understand what Takayama means by "living with these wings" and "the wishes of your wings".

Suddenly, a voice rings out loudly in the collective minds of the Birdmen, crying out for life. Takayama takes off quickly, diving in the nearby water to find that a dying whale has strayed into the shallows. They decide to return the whale to the open seas, and Karasuma finds himself thinking that even he would want to help it, if the voice truly belonged to the whale.

After sending the whale off, they return to the shore, discussing the fate of the whale. Kamoda briefly mentions he wants to be a hero, much to Karasuma's dismay, but he is unable to comment further due to a second wave of voices resounding thunderously in their heads, this time much more painful and harrowing than before. Takayama, once again, takes off without a word, and Karasuma realizes that a distant ship is aflame. Distressed, angry, and confused, Karasuma takes off after Takayama, demanding an explanation.

Upon reaching the ship, Karasuma can tell that the fire is devastating. He calls out for Takayama, and turns to find that Takayama is currently attempting to save as many passengers from the flames as possible. Takayama asks Karasuma to help, and Karasuma protests briefly, but Takayama takes Karasuma's hand and molds his wing mass into a helmet for him. As he pulls Karasuma into the flames with him, he tells Karasuma that he knew Karasuma would be the first to fly after him.

The next day, a news report about the ship catching fire is released. The Filipino crewmates describe visions of the devil in the sea of flames, just before they lost consciousness. Though Karasuma isn't Christian, in a sense, he also saw a non-human figure in the fire. The chapter ends with Karasuma's final, disconcerting thought: "If that's the case, then what on earth am I?"

Characters[]

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