While Kotori Itsuka was pulling on her bunny girl costume with a dark expression, Tohka was rushing along the road at full speed. After all, she knew that running away wouldn't solve anything. Of course, Kotori's little scheme this time—she'd definitely remember, and she'd pay it back double when she got the chance.
"Uuuu, Miku, please take me in..." In another city, Miku Izayoi had just opened her eyes when she saw Tohka's face suddenly appear in front of her. Startled out of her sleep, Miku was immediately wide awake.
"Why are you barging in here without a word—and where are all my bodyguards?" Blinking in a daze at Tohka, Miku still hadn't quite processed the rather explosive words Tohka had muttered when she woke her up.
"Ah, you mean those people?" Tohka paused, then casually replied, "I hacked the hotel's security system. As for those bodyguards, they're all asleep right now. Relax—no one will know I came. This was the perfect infiltration!"
"Ah!!?" Miku froze, then ignored Tohka and went straight to open the hotel room door. What she saw made the corner of her mouth twitch—her hired bodyguards were sprawled all over the floor, lumps rising on their heads, smoke curling from them.
"Bang." She closed the door with a bang, turned around, and looked at Tohka with an exasperated smile. "What do you mean infiltration? You literally bulldozed your way in. And if you wanted to see me, couldn't you have just called? Was it necessary to pull off a dawn assault—wait, I guess it's a morning assault, isn't it?"
She'd originally planned to call it a night raid, but seeing the bright morning sun, she could only grumble. Then she shifted to a lecherous grin, leaning in toward Tohka. "Hehehe, you know what would be even better? Next time I wake up, you could be in bed with me—what do you think, little Tohka!"
To prove her point, Miku draped her arm around Tohka's neck, her bust—larger than Tohka's—pressing against Tohka's back.
"Hey hey, what's with you first thing in the morning? I—I—I'm not like that! What's with all this talk of night raids and morning raids—and why aren't you wearing a bra!?" At first, Tohka hadn't thought much of it, but being jostled like that made her blush instantly. Didn't this woman know how to put on underwear? It was honestly a bit too stimulating. She'd nearly bolted just now, which was partly why she hadn't come to see Miku for so long. Compared to herself, Miku was much more of a shameless pervert—she'd definitely been trying to avoid her. But the moment they met again, she was already starting.
"Ahahaha, Tohka, you're still as cute as ever." Satisfied with Tohka's shy reaction, Miku finally pulled back, regarding her with amused eyes. She had been a bit annoyed that Tohka hadn't come to see her in so long, so she'd decided to tease her first instead of asking why she was here. Only now did she remember what Tohka had said when she woke her up, and she burst out laughing. "Wahahaha, what did I just hear? The heiress of the Stark family wants to be kept? Don't say another word—let me laugh for a bit—wahahahaha—too funny."
She couldn't help it. Having spent so long in the Marvel world, Miku was very aware what that surname meant. That was why she found it so hilarious. If she recalled correctly, Tohka even owned an amusement park there, and her concerts had all been organized by Tohka with great fanfare. Yet here she was, coming to cry poverty. Miku just couldn't process it all at once, hence why she was laughing so hard.
"Hey hey, what's that reaction supposed to mean? This isn't that world—where would I get that much money here? Seriously, back there I smashed up plenty of skyscrapers, and nobody cared." She wasn't exaggerating—in that world, whenever superhumans wrecked the place, the government always found a way to foot the bill. Considering the scale of their collateral damage, even Tony Stark would have struggled to pay it all out of pocket.
"I already said—I really got set up this time. Otherwise, why would I be this annoyed?" Tohka was honestly losing her patience. Miku was now sprawled on the sofa, laughing so hard she was nearly rolling around—and with her wearing just a nightgown, Tohka could clearly see her underwear. But she was too exasperated to care. She walked over, grabbed Miku's shoulders, and began shaking her with all her strength.
"Hey—hey—stop shaking me—I'm getting dizzy—okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore! Geez—what on earth happened? You came running to me because you're in debt?" Dizzy and swaying, Miku quickly gave up her laughter. She was also curious—Tohka had never seemed like the type to burn through money recklessly. She distinctly remembered Tohka arriving with a decent amount of cash—it hadn't been a fortune, but it shouldn't have vanished so fast.
"Don't even get me started—I get mad just thinking about it." Tohka's eye twitched at the memory of Kotori tossing the bill straight into her account, landing her with a massive debt. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here.
"I got played—look at this—damn it—I swear I'll pay them back for this someday." She pulled out the invoice she'd received and thrust it into Miku's hands. It wasn't a small sum, but it wasn't astronomical either—not enough to be an issue for Miku these days. Otherwise, Tohka would never have come begging.
"Frostbite?!" Miku stared at the bill, then turned to Tohka in bafflement. If it had said sword wounds or something, she wouldn't have been surprised—but frostbite? "What, did you toss someone in a freezer—or dump them in Antarctica?"
"Antarctica? Freezer? This wasn't even me!" Tohka quickly explained. That was exactly why she was so annoyed—she hadn't caused it at all.
"All right, fine—I'll transfer the money to your account and pay this off. Seriously, what happened? And what's going on in Tengu City lately? I've been watching the news—place has been chaos. Getting demolished every other day. Oh, and I remember seeing something about a guy in a sports car racing the cops with a beautiful girl in the passenger seat. Funniest thing was the police couldn't even catch them. The car was going so fast nobody got a clear look at the driver or the girl." Pulling out her phone, Miku was about to send the money as she talked. After all, in the Marvel world, she'd eaten, drank, and performed thanks to Tohka—she had no problem helping her pay debts. But she still couldn't resist sharing the gossip.
"Ah—that—yeah, that happened. They even wrecked all of Tengu City's traffic for a day. No wonder the police never cracked the case. That explains it..." Tohka forced a dry laugh, agreeing vaguely. She was sure if she confessed that the driver had been herself, she'd be in deep trouble. She was also secretly relieved nobody had snapped a picture at the time—she'd been driving too fast. That was the only reason she hadn't been arrested yet. She definitely didn't believe Kotori would cover for her—she was lucky they hadn't stabbed her in the back already.
"Hmm? Tohka, why are you sweating so much? What's with that face?" Miku stared at her, puzzled. She didn't suspect anything—after all, the reports had said it was a man. The girl hadn't been identified, but she was certain it hadn't been Tohka. Besides, she didn't believe Tohka could afford a sports car in this world.
"Nothing, nothing—ahaha—ah, right, don't transfer the money directly to my account." Tohka quickly waved her hands.
"Eh? Why? What, are you a wanted criminal now? If so, wouldn't your account have been frozen?" Miku blinked, puzzled why Tohka was stopping her. It was just a transfer, right? Had she done something illegal? That didn't seem right—she'd have heard about it.
"It's not that. I think someone will be coming after me soon. Those people are really powerful, so it'd be better if you withdrew the cash and handed it to me in person." Tohka knew DEM would be making a move soon—and they'd likely come after Miku too. Though she couldn't hide it forever, she wanted to delay it as long as she could.
"Who? Those AST people? Are you really afraid of them?" Miku's first thought was AST—they were always trying to kill spirits. But Tohka shouldn't have any reason to fear them. As for Tohka's power...
"Wait, Tohka—why do you feel so weak now? What happened to your power?" She wasn't imagining it—she'd spent enough time with Tohka to recognize her usual overwhelming aura. But now it was almost gone. She still had a little spirit power, but nothing like before. Suddenly, Miku's eyes lit up in excitement as she thought of something. "Say—does this mean I could control you now?"
"What kind of reaction is that? You've got your priorities all wrong!" Tohka almost spat blood. Control her? For what—some crazy costume-play nonsense? She didn't even want to think about it—but she wasn't really scared either.
"You wanna try controlling me? You know what happens—she'll come out. And you remember what that's like." She gave Miku a dead-eyed stare. Miku always turned into a meek little servant whenever her other self-appeared—she was terrified of her.
"Ahaha—I was only kidding! So—what happened to your power?" Miku shivered reflexively and quickly changed the subject. She really didn't want to meet the other Tohka. Even if they looked the same, that version's aura was absolutely terrifying—she'd rather never see her again.
"Look at you—like you're afraid I'll just let her out. As for my power, don't worry—it's just temporarily suppressed. I can get it back anytime. And if necessary, the other me can come out—she hasn't lost any strength. Oh, and by the way, it's not AST coming after me. Even now, I could handle them. It's DEM I'm worried about—you know that name, right?"
"DEM, huh." Miku's brows knit. DEM was a behemoth in this world—like Stark Industries back in Marvel. Tricky—and she'd heard rumors of very powerful magicians there.
"Exactly. Some of them can even fight my other self for a while. So, if you ever meet them, be careful—don't reveal you're a spirit. Their intel isn't perfect, so as long as you're cautious, you'll be fine." Tohka knew DEM would soon be sending people to test her, but it seemed their intelligence was incomplete. She figured Reine must have a way to conceal information about the spirits. Otherwise, someone like Miku, who had only appeared briefly, would have been targeted long ago. AST and DEM clearly didn't know about her yet—or they'd have already sent people to capture her.
"Seriously? There are people who can match you?" Miku stood up in shock. To her, Tohka had always seemed invincible—even in Asgard she'd been unstoppable.
"It's true. That's why if they learn about you, you'll be in real danger. Plus, as far as I know, they've even got another spirit locked up." Tohka didn't hide it.
"What? They've captured a spirit?" Miku was even more shocked. She knew very well how powerful spirits were—more than a match for AST. That DEM had managed to catch one was alarming.
"What did you expect? Those people are monsters. If I ever meet them, I won't hold back." Tohka's voice was cold. "Otherwise, where do you think all their advanced equipment came from? They're experimenting on that spirit—human experimentation. They don't care about anyone's feelings."
"You can't let them do that. We have to do something." As a fellow spirit, Miku was instantly outraged. Knowing the victim was probably a girl made it worse—she wanted to rush off right then.
"Calm down—I'll find a way. But we don't even know where she's being held. How are we supposed to help? When the time comes, we'll go together. I've already arranged for another ally to help us." Tohka had roped in Kurumi Tokisaki, and she was sure she'd lend a hand. For now, all she could do was find out where DEM was keeping the captive spirit.
"I understand. Make sure you call me when it's time." Miku nodded firmly.
"Don't worry—I will. Oh, and when your tour ends, come back here. And—ah, right, I came here to ask you for money—to be kept." Tohka had started to leave, then froze. She'd been so busy discussing plans that she'd nearly forgotten the whole point of this trip.
"..." Miku was speechless at how casually Tohka said "be kept."
In the end, Tohka set off back to Tengu City, satisfied, carrying a big case of cash. Miku had used her power to control one of the unconscious bodyguards to withdraw the money and deliver it in private. As for hanging out together, Tohka declined—she didn't want to draw attention. Instead, she spent the day with Miku in the hotel.
"Hey—you—where have you been all day? And why are you carrying a huge suitcase? What's in it?" Just as Tohka was getting home, Kotori was waiting at the door, glaring. And most strikingly, she was still wearing her bunny girl outfit.
"Aiya—you look hilarious in that." Tohka almost burst out laughing, reaching to flick Kotori's bunny ears. She didn't know what Yae Sakura's ears felt like, but Kotori's fake ones were surprisingly pleasant to touch.
"Watch it! And don't forget—you still owe money. If you don't want to starve, you'd better work obediently." Kotori snapped, swatting her hand away.
"Hehe—sorry—but I don't think I'll be wearing shameful costumes to earn money after all. Here, this is the money. I'm going home to eat—don't embezzle it." Tohka handed her the suitcase, brushed past her, and went inside. She was exhausted—she'd spent the whole day with Miku, gotten up at dawn, and run all the way home. Yes, run—her armor had propulsion but not flight, and she didn't want to risk using transport. So, she'd literally sprinted across half of Japan.
"That woman... What has she been up to?" Kotori muttered, puzzled, opening the case. Then she gasped—and started pounding on Tohka's door.
"Hey—what's your problem?" Tohka had barely shut the door and hadn't even taken off her shoes when she heard the banging. She flung the door open, scowling.
"You—come with me right now for an examination." Kotori grabbed her arm, trying to pull her out.
"What? What the hell for? I'm fine—why would I need an examination?" Tohka was completely thrown off balance, almost falling before she steadied herself.
"You're coming—right now—to check if you're pregnant." Kotori's tone was urgent.
"....."