---
Erika looked at him with a mischievous smile.
"Fine. I'll help you with it."
Akira took a step back. Something he didn't even know he had — his "Akira sense" — was tingling hard.
"…Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
Erika stepped closer, still smiling.
"I knew a day like this would come eventually, so I brought some… equipment with me wherever I go."
Akira eyed her warily.
"You carry them all the time? Anyway, forget it. I'll just dress as Naruto and infiltrate. He's a ninja after all."
Erika grabbed his wrist before he could escape.
"You're going to a high-end hotel, not a cosplay convention. Wait here. I have just the thing. No moving until I say so."
She immediately bolted to her room. Akira stood there obediently, already regretting everything.
A minute later Erika returned carrying a sleek black briefcase. She set it on the table and opened it with a click.
"Here. Your disguise."
Akira's eyes widened. He backed away so fast he almost tripped.
"No. No no no. Not in a million years."
Inside the briefcase lay a black evening gown, several wigs, colored contact lenses, and even stuffing.
Erika leaned in, still smiling.
"You want a disguise, right? No one will know it's you in that."
Akira's voice cracked slightly.
"But I'd be cross-dressing! That's impossible… Wait. In the first place, why are you even carrying this around?"
Erika's cheeks turned a light pink.
"Well… you see, when I first saw you back then, I thought you were…"
Akira tilted his head.
"Handsome?"
Erika turned her face away slightly.
"…No. Cute. Like, super cute."
Akira didn't answer. He still remembered exactly how he looked as a child, and it wasn't a memory he liked.
Erika continued, a little quieter.
"Ever since then, I've always had the desire to dress you in cute clothes just to see how you'd look. So… knowing what we know now, I thought there was a good chance you'd need a disguise one day… so I brought it."
Akira stared at the dress in pure betrayal.
"You brought me this entire cross-dressing set for that?"
"Yes," Erika said simply. "Besides, you're still cute even now. With just a few touch-ups, you can easily pull this off in that dress."
Okuda, who had been quietly listening from the side, nodded thoughtfully.
"Now that I think about it… Akira-kun does look a bit cute."
Takebayashi adjusted his glasses.
"Yeah. I have a feeling he can pull it off."
Akira looked between them in horror.
"No. I can't pull it off."
He picked up the dress with two fingers, as if it might bite him.
"…How did you even know my size?"
Erika smiled.
"Oh, that? It's all thanks to your sister. She's the one who told me your measurements and even helped me select the style."
Akira closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"Of course it's her."
Erika stepped closer again.
"Come on. You look so similar to your sister, so asking for her help was natural. I know you can easily do it. Let's just try it first."
Akira resisted with everything he had.
"No. No. I'm not cute. I don't look like my sister. You can't do this to me."
Erika's eyes narrowed slightly, then she delivered the finishing blow.
"Fine. If you do it… I'll give you as many headpats as you want."
Akira froze.
"…Really?"
Erika nodded with a mischievous smile.
"Yeah. Even lap pillows. As much as you want."
Akira groaned in pure defeat.
"…Fine. I'll try."
Erika's face lit up.
"Yeah! Let's go. I'll deal with the makeup."
She immediately pushed him toward the dressing room. Akira went with all the enthusiasm of a man walking to his own execution.
From behind them, Okuda shook her head with a small smile.
"He really is like a golden retriever."
---
A sleek black luxury sedan rolled to a smooth stop beneath the hotel's grand entrance.
A valet hurried over and opened the rear door.
A slender leg, clad in black tights beneath the elegant slit of a midnight-black evening gown, touched the pavement first.
Then she stepped out completely.
Long black hair cascaded over her shoulders. Crimson eyes calmly swept across the hotel entrance. The tailored gown hugged her figure before flowing gracefully toward the ground. Every detail — from the subtle makeup to the carefully chosen jewelry — came together with effortless elegance.
Conversations around the entrance noticeably quieted.
The valet stood frozen for a heartbeat before remembering to close the car door.
Several guests couldn't help but glance over. One or two openly stared.
She took another step and nearly twisted her ankle.
Somehow, she recovered so smoothly that it looked almost intentional.
Inside her head…
"What kind of torture devices are these?! What kind of sadist invented high heels?! And women walk in these voluntarily?!"
Selena sighed through their telepathic link.
"Come on now. Sure, it's a bit hard, but don't they look elegant and beautiful wearing these? For women, those are important, you know."
Akira thought back as he carefully walked toward the entrance.
"Fair point… but I still don't want to wear these on missions. And how do they even fight in these in the movies?"
"That's movie magic," Selena replied. "Anyway, brother, walk like a girl, not like the Terminator."
Akira walked stiffly.
"I don't know how to do that."
Selena was quiet for a moment.
"You can perfectly replicate movements you've seen, right? Why not try to replicate the movements of a beautiful and elegant lady… like me?"
Akira shot back,
"What moments? Most of the time you just sit on that throne like Thanos. The times you rarely move aren't enough data to replicate."
Selena pouted.
"Do you have to roast me like that… Fine. How about replicating Bitch-sensei? She moves like an elegant lady."
Akira considered it.
"…Bitch-sensei? Yeah. That might work."
Akira closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Memories of Irina's graceful stride, posture, and confidence replayed in his mind.
When he opened them again, his entire demeanor had changed.
The effect was immediate.
Several conversations paused. A few more guests glanced over. Even the staff instinctively looked up.
Selena sounded impressed.
"Nice going, bro. No wonder everyone was so excited back then."
Akira snapped back telepathically,
"Don't make me remember it."
Unfortunately, the memory still surfaced: Erika taking photos, Nakamura saying he was beyond Nagisa, and Okajima muttering "dammit, why is he a guy."
He shook his head to clear it and walked up to the reception desk. When he spoke, his voice had shifted into a clear, refined girl's tone.
"Hey there, beautiful. I'm here to check in."
Selena immediately reacted.
"Bro, I am cringing from here. You don't need to copy that part."
Akira telepathically snapped back.
"Shut up."
The receptionist blushed slightly.
"Sure, miss… eh, your name?"
With a cool smile he answered.
"It's Morana. Morana Raven."
The receptionist checked the system and straightened up.
"Oh, it's… yes, right here. A VIP guest. Forgive my rudeness."
Akira gave her a cool, slightly playful smile and a small wink.
"Don't worry. It's a completely natural reaction to me, after all."
He accepted the key card, offered one last composed smile, and walked elegantly into the hotel.
Selena's voice came again, full of second-hand embarrassment.
"Seriously, Morana Raven? Do you seriously name your alter ego "Death Raven"?"
Akira looked smug.
"This is Japan. No one knows what it means. Hey, at least it's not something like Cruella de Vil."
Selena sighed.
"Whatever. Just go finish your mission… and smile naturally. You smile like a villain."
Akira's lips curved into another sharp smile as he walked deeper into the lobby.
"Come on. This is an evil lair. An evil smile completely works here."
Selena grumbled.
"...I hate that your logic makes sense."
Soft piano music echoed through the spacious lobby.
Akira turned toward the source.
There, seated at a grand piano in the center of the room, was Irina — playing with practiced elegance while nearly everyone, even the guards, stared at her.
Akira muttered under his breath as he watched Irina at the piano.
"She's buying time for the others. They must be heading for the top floor."
His phone lit up. Ritsu's face appeared on the screen.
"Yeah, they're fighting the assassins right now… Wait. Who are you?"
Akira replied calmly in his refined girl voice.
"Ritsu, it's me. I'm just in disguise."
Ritsu stared for a second.
"…That's some high-level disguise. Anyway, everyone is climbing the stairs while fighting off the assassins and guards. Karasuma-sensei was hit with a powerful sedative used on elephants, but other than that everything is going fine."
Akira raised an eyebrow.
"How is he even still conscious?"
Ritsu smiled through the screen.
"That's just Karasuma-sensei for you. He's a pro. Anyway, are you going to join them? I can guide you."
Akira walked toward the elevator with elegant steps.
"No need. Only noobs take the stairs. Pros like me have a better way — the elevator."
He took out the key card from the receptionist and swiped it. The elevator doors opened smoothly.
Ritsu sounded mildly annoyed.
"Huh. I almost forgot you're rich. If you'd been here from the start we could've skipped that whole tower-climbing quest."
The light seemed to leave Akira's eyes.
"Erika took her time with the makeup,"
Ritsu nodded as if agreeing.
"Well, she did a great job, if I have to say. Even I almost couldn't recognize you."
Akira sighed.
"Let's not talk about that…"
He suddenly paused, tilting his head slightly.
"…Wait. Is that a scream?"
Ritsu tilted her head.
"I didn't hear anything on my end."
Akira looked up.
"Two floors above us, I think."
Ritsu immediately hacked into the hotel cameras.
"Hey… a few hooligans are harassing a girl."
Selena's voice came through the telepathic link, dry as usual.
"Well, this hotel is a den of bad guys after all."
Akira's expression sharpened.
"…Seems like I have to pause the mission for a bit."
Ritsu immediately protested.
"You cannot pause it here you know."
Akira closed his eyes and activated Transparent World. In an instant the layout of the floor above became clear.
"One girl. Five guys. Chasing her."
He opened his eyes again, a small smile forming.
"Looks like it's hero time."
Akira stopped the elevator between floors. The moment the doors opened on the correct level, he stepped out and unleashed a stylish Leaf Hurricane. Two of the men went down before they even realized what hit them.
He straightened up gracefully, the black evening gown settling around him, and looked at the frightened girl.
"You alright, miss?"
The young girl stared at the elegant figure in front of her. Her face turned red and she could only mindlessly nod.
One of the remaining men shouted,
"Who the hell are you?!"
Another one looked Akira up and down with a greedy grin.
"Looks like we've got another one, this one is even better looking."
"Yeah," the third added. "Boss will be interested in this one too, he'll definitely give us a bonus."
Akira smiled sweetly — the exact same elegant, dangerous smile Irina often used.
"Sorry, but the only bonus you're going to get is a free ticket to jail."
She moved like the wind.
Leaf Whirlwind.
The last three men dropped to the floor before they could even react.
Akira muttered under his breath as he adjusted the gown.
"…That's more difficult than I thought in this dress. And these heels too."
She turned back toward the still-frightened girl and spoke gently.
"Everything's alright now."
Before she could respond, a deep voice echoed from one of the nearby rooms.
"Who dares lay a hand on my men?"
Akira slowly turned toward the sound to see a big man who looked just out of a Mafia movie.
Akira's sweet smile never faltered.