"Let me see what else I need to buy, hmm, this..." So Tohka started buying her supplies. After all, she hadn't been here very long, so she didn't have much. Other than the things she'd carried over in the beginning, she basically hadn't bought anything, so if she was going far, she had no choice but to stock up a little.
Of course, life during this period was unusually peaceful—so peaceful she almost felt uneasy. Mainly because Kotori Itsuka was still working at the bunny girl theme café to pay off the debt. With that girl out of the way, no one on the ship came to bother Tohka anymore. Without a ringleader, the others didn't feel like provoking Tohka either. So, for once, Tohka enjoyed a few calm days. As for Origami Tobiichi, she seemed to be temporarily suspended, so she hadn't been picking fights either. Of course, it was also possible she'd just been beaten down by Tohka so many times she'd lost her nerve. And not only them—Kurumi Tokisaki and Miku Izayoi had also vanished somewhere. Anyway, nobody contacted Tohka, so those days were uneventful. Until...
"Yawn, this is really comfortable." Sitting on the plane, Tohka sleepily opened her eyes and happened to look out the window. Honestly, she really didn't want to come to this kind of place. Compared to going out, wasn't staying home and playing games way better? Staying in to game was a really enjoyable thing. At least better than being here. If she didn't know she'd meet Ellen, she really wouldn't have bothered to come. As for Ellen...
Thinking of that, Tohka started glancing around nervously. After all, she'd already changed quite a few things. She really wasn't sure if that woman would show up as she originally had.
…..
Then Tohka's mouth twitched violently—because sitting right across from her was a tall woman with white hair and a vacant look in her eyes.
"Damn it, I fell asleep right after boarding. When did this woman get next to me? I didn't even notice at all." Because sitting next to her was DEM's second-in-command—Ellen Mira Mathers. Not only was this woman beside her, she was holding a camera and snapping away at her. This left Tohka momentarily dumbfounded, unsure what to do.
"Mm, hello." Apparently, Ellen also noticed Tohka had woken up. When she saw her, Ellen calmly greeted her, then retracted her gaze and explained to herself, "I have to say, whoever taught you your expressions did a good job. You were drooling in your sleep—very cute. I've already recorded it."
"Hey, hey! You bastard—who said you could photograph me? You'd better believe I'll sue you for violating my portrait rights!" Tohka, who had been too stunned to speak, immediately jumped up when she heard that. She lunged to grab the camera, but seeing her movement, Ellen remained utterly unfazed. She calmly said, "This camera cost hundreds of thousands. Are you sure you can afford to pay for it if you break it?"
…..
Tohka, who was about to pounce, froze in place. If this were Marvel, she wouldn't have flinched at all—but here... fine, she really couldn't afford it. And suing DEM? Yeah, Tohka wasn't an idiot. Just like normal people had no chance of winning against Stark Industries, she knew she'd never beat DEM in court. So, at this moment, she could only swallow her anger.
"What are you doing? You were sleeping fine—why are you suddenly acting like this?" At that moment, Origami and Shido turned back from the row in front. As one of the two people who most often clashed with Tohka, Origami looked at her with her usual cold tone. "Clearly someone from an uncultured place—jumping around on a plane. Are you not afraid the captain will report you? Seriously—I don't know how you..."
"Hmph." Tohka really had no way to refute Origami this time. Making a scene on an airplane was basically asking for it. She wasn't afraid—but she refused to embarrass herself. So, she slumped back into her seat, though her cheeks were visibly puffed out.
Click!
But at that moment, Ellen beside her snapped another photo.
…..
Tohka's forehead was now covered in throbbing veins. Honestly, she nearly pulled her sword out to fight right there. But this was a plane—if they started fighting, nobody would survive. So, she forced herself to endure.
"Thank you." Ellen calmly thanked her, ignoring Tohka's murderous aura, then stood up and walked toward the front of the cabin.
"Hey—who the hell was that woman?" Watching Ellen leave, Tohka finally managed to force down her fury. Did that woman think she wouldn't do anything? Tohka had already decided—she was going to prepare a special "gift" for Ellen later. But even so, she was curious about who she was, so she kicked the seat in front of her—where Origami and Shido were sitting.
"That? You didn't know?" Shido turned around with a helpless expression. When he saw Tohka's blank look, he sighed in resignation and said, "Please, could you at least pay attention in class sometimes? The teacher clearly said that was the travel agency's photographer."
"Uh, fine. Got it." Hearing that, Tohka could only let out an awkward laugh. Right, she did often ignore class and sleep. It was only thanks to their teacher being an airhead with no sense that she hadn't been scolded more. Back in Marvel, her school was run by S.H.I.E.L.D., so the teachers just pretended not to see as long as her grades were okay. Here it was about the same—her grades were still fine, at least.
"'Princess'? Just an ordinary girl, huh. Nothing special about her at all." At that moment, Ellen had walked to a spot with no one around and muttered quietly. Well, she wasn't exactly suited for infiltration—originally, she only got noticed by Tohka because she was so blatant. But that Tohka was also pretty dense and hadn't realized.
After this brief contact, Ellen didn't appear again. For now, she didn't want to provoke Tohka further—and Tohka had no interest in bothering with her. So, the plane gradually descended—thankfully, it didn't explode or anything.
"Mm, this island really is..." Looking around in satisfaction, Tohka had to admit it was a nice place. Of course, if she ignored the white-haired woman in the back still pointing a camera her way, she could pretend everything was fine. Seriously—was it so hard to photograph someone else for a change?
But Tohka wasn't completely helpless. Smirking, she walked toward Ai Yamabuki, Mai Hazakura, and Mii Fujibakama—those three always hung around together. In class, she actually got along with them quite well.
"Ah, Tohka! Look at this, look here—" The moment they saw Tohka approach, the three girls happily surrounded her. Tohka was a bit dense but always spoke her mind, so they liked her.
"Yeah, it's really beautiful here." Putting on an innocent face, Tohka looked over at Ellen—who was pretending not to notice but had clearly locked onto her again. Smiling, she said to the three girls, "Hey, isn't there a professional photographer right over there? Why don't you have her take a special shoot for you? Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Oh, you're right! We almost forgot!" The three instantly lit up with realization. They turned to Ellen—who was standing there covering her earpiece. Tohka could tell she was communicating with her team about her. She could also sense something above—a surveillance drone. These people really did think she was just a little girl. Well, that suited her plans perfectly.
"Hey, what are you doing over here?" As Tohka thought, Ellen was suddenly surrounded by the three girls. They quickly dragged her away. To avoid exposing her identity, Ellen had no choice but to let herself be pulled along, helplessly watching Tohka's silhouette recede.
"Hehe—trying to mess with me, huh?" Tohka chuckled wickedly as she walked off to a quiet spot. She had a few things to prepare—after all, it was DEM. Whatever she did to them, it wouldn't matter.
"Tohka—what are you doing? The teacher is calling everyone to gather!" Behind her, Shido spotted her running off and called out. But seeing she didn't respond, he had no choice but to follow in resignation.
"All right—this should do." Tohka ran into a dense grove. She could feel the surveillance finally disappear. So, she summoned her armor.
"That's the 'Princess'? Just an ordinary little girl." In the sky, a DEM warship hovered. The man on top stroked his thick beard, sneering as he looked down at Tohka.
"Get ready—we'll dispatch a unit to capture her. Then we can return without wasting time here. Jam all communications in the area and make it quick." Obviously, he didn't consider Tohka a threat at all—just wanted to finish the job.
"Commander, she ran into the woods. We've temporarily lost her location." A subordinate reported below.
"Doesn't matter—deploy the mechanized units over this area..." But before he could finish, he stopped abruptly. His eyes widened, and he barked, "Wait! Those aren't ordinary storm clouds—hold your positions!"
Because they could all clearly see thunderclouds forming over the island at an unnatural speed. No normal weather behaved that way—and it was terrible for deploying robots.
"Whew—Tohka, there you are. Seriously, where did you run off to? The teacher is calling everyone to gather." Shido finally caught up, panting heavily. But then he noticed Tohka's armored form and asked nervously, "Wait—are there Spirits here? And AST? And why did you take out your control system again?"
Seeing Tohka half-kneeling and working her controls, Shido was baffled. And that smile...
"Hehehe... Tony's stuff really is useful. That stupid warship trying to jam my signal—thanks for making it so easy to find you." Tohka grinned darkly, typing away. Hearing Shido call her, she looked up—making him feel all his hair stand on end.
"Oh, it's you. Why aren't you off touring the museum? What are you doing here?" she lazily replied, her focus still on the screen in front of her, waiting for the progress bar.
"What are you planning? This is just a school trip—are you seriously about to stir up trouble again?" Cold sweat poured down Shido's back. Knowing Tohka, she was definitely plotting something. As for who'd get caught up in it... who knew? Probably Origami—those two never got along.
"Tch, never mind that—damn it, how did I forget about this? My signal—" She'd been about to say more, but suddenly noticed dark clouds boiling overhead, lightning flickering. And her connection had just been cut off.