After the birthday party, Hana was picked up by her parents in their car.
Only Miko and Marin remained.
"The subway has stopped running, I'll take you back."
Miko walked towards the school, where her car was still parked.
"Okay! I've wanted to ride in Miko's car for a long time!"
"What good luck."
The two walked and chatted, mostly Marin talking and Miko listening.
"I'm telling you, I found out there's a boy in our class who can make clothes! Isn't that super amazing!"
"Eh? Boys do things like that too?"
"Mm-hmm!"
As they spoke, they arrived at the parking lot, and Miko hesitated a little.
First, she wasn't sure if Akuto would take Marin.
Second, if Akuto swapped out, anyone who wasn't an idiot would notice something was wrong.
And she still couldn't drive.
Sitting in the car, fortunately, Akuto didn't resist the swap, and the incantations quickly climbed up Miko's cheeks.
"Miko, you... eh?"
Marin looked at Miko in shock.
At this moment, Miko's face was covered in strange incantations, and most importantly, she had an extra pair of eyes!
Akuto's scarlet pupils glanced at her, and Marin immediately sat up nervously.
"Miko?"
"Hmph, where's your house?"
Akuto's deep voice sounded, making Marin even more nervous.
But after observing for a while and realizing that Miko was not in any danger at the moment, Marin tremblingly gave an address.
"Vroom!"
"Screech!"
Akuto stepped on the accelerator, the car spun in a circle, then roared out.
"Ah!"
Marin first exclaimed, then became excited.
"So cool!"
Saying that, Marin took out her phone and took several selfies.
The car sped down the small road at over a hundred miles per hour.
Suddenly!
Akuto saw something out of the corner of his eye, and the speed abruptly slowed down.
On the opposite lane, a malevolent spirit with six huge greyish-white heads was moving at an extremely fast pace in the other direction.
"Boom! Screech!!"
Accompanied by the ear-piercing friction of tires on the ground, the McLaren executed a beautiful drift turn, then another drift into a small road.
"Miko-chan, this isn't the way to my house."
Marin swallowed, Miko had been acting very strangely since they got in the car.
"I have something to do, I'll take you back later."
The car rushed out of the bend, and Akuto found a winding mountain road ahead, and the malevolent spirit was rapidly climbing up the mountain.
That thing was two stories high and moved incredibly fast, reaching the second tier of the mountain road in the blink of an eye.
"Boom!"
Akuto slammed on the accelerator, and the terrifying G-force pressed Marin firmly into her seat.
"Screech!"
With a beautiful drift out of the bend, Akuto also climbed to the second tier.
Meanwhile, the monster had already reached the third tier and was still heading up the mountain.
Miko did not stop him.
She was also curious where these monsters were going.
Moreover, with Akuto present, there would be no danger.
"Roar~"
The engine roared, and from a distance, only a beam of light could be seen ascending the mountain road at an extremely fast speed.
Marin was completely excited now.
"So cool! Go! Charge!"
"Woohoo!"
Akuto's eyes remained fixed on the malevolent spirit.
Ten minutes later, the malevolent spirit rushed in another direction.
"Careful!"
"Screech!!!"
Akuto turned the car sideways, but the speed was still very fast, and it slid for more than ten meters before barely stopping.
The stone barrier blocking the road was almost touching the car's body.
Akuto frowned, looking at the road ahead.
This road was blocked, and the asphalt road ahead was already covered with moss, clearly indicating that no one had traveled it for a long time.
Parking the car nearby, Akuto got out:
"Wait here, don't run around."
With that, Akuto quickly rushed down the small road.
Marin happily took a few photos, then felt something was wrong.
In this deep mountain, alone... "Hey Miko?"
"Miko, where did you go?"
Marin got out of the car nervously, wanting to find Miko, but the small road ahead was dead silent, pitch black, and she didn't dare to go in.
Just as she was about to turn back to the car, Miko suddenly realized that behind her, she could overlook all of Tokyo.
"So beautiful..."
Marin walked to the edge of the cliff and took out her phone, snapping several photos.
But in the darkness, Marin didn't notice the warning sign nearby.
[ Mountain unstable, please do not approach. ]
"Whoosh..."
"Yabai!"
Marin heard an ominous sound from under her feet and carefully tried to leave, but it was too late.
"Crash!"
"Ah!"
Marin lost her footing and fell. Below was complete darkness, and she had no idea how high it was.
Her body tumbled, and she could still see the place she fell from getting further and further away.
"Am I going to die...?"
Just then, Marin suddenly opened her eyes in shock.
Miko suddenly leaped down, rushing towards her at an incredibly fast speed.
"Miko... is she an idiot? Is she going to die with me...?"
"Whoosh!"
With a whoosh, Akuto pushed himself off the cliff face, launching himself into the air, catching Marin in a princess carry, then landing with a loud thud.
"Boom!"
The ground cracked with shattered stones.
Miko let out a deep sigh of relief; if Akuto had been any slower, Marin would probably have been smashed into a pulp.
At this moment, Marin's eyelids trembled, and she slightly opened them, realizing she hadn't died.
Before Marin could react, Akuto bent his legs and leaped up.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
Akuto, a blur, continuously used leverage, climbing the fifty to sixty-meter vertical cliff in just two or three seconds.
Marin was held in Akuto's arms.
She looked at Miko's face, her pupils trembling.
"No way..."
"Is Miko-chan... a superhero?"
"Hey, get down."
It wasn't until a deep voice sounded that Marin realized she was still clutching Miko's neck, and she quickly let go, landing on the ground.
The two returned to the car, and Akuto glanced at the small road.
He hadn't found where the malevolent spirit went when he followed it.
The malevolent spirit had disappeared into the mountain.
The car drove down the mountain road, Marin nervously clutching her phone.
"That..."
"Miko-chan, I won't tell anyone!"
"But Miko-chan, are you a superhero? Or like The Avengers Team in movies?"
"Do you have a mission to save the world?"
"Were you chasing a criminal just now?"
"But I didn't see anything, could it be... an enemy I can't see! Is it an invisible enemy or... a ghost?"
Akuto stared with dead fish eyes.
This guy actually guessed most of it, though with some discrepancies... "Don't distract me while I'm driving."
Akuto scratched his ear.
Marin closed her mouth, but it didn't last long before she looked at Akuto again.
"You... aren't Miko-chan, are you!"
Akuto raised an eyebrow, glancing at Marin.
Just that reaction almost confirmed Marin's guess!
The Miko she knew, while not overly enthusiastic, would never be so... fierce.
This time, nothing unexpected happened. Akuto dropped Marin off at home, then drove away.
Night.
Marin lay in bed, and every time she closed her eyes, she could recall the moment she was saved by Akuto.
"So cool..."
"Ah, no! What are you thinking? Miko is a girl!"
Marin sat up and patted her cheeks.
"No, Miko's voice was a boy's back then... so does Miko have a boy's soul inside her...?"
Unable to sleep, Marin simply took out her phone and sent all the photos she took today to social media.
There were group photos with Hana and Miko, photos of the sports car, selfies taken in the car, and the panoramic view of Tokyo she almost sacrificed her life to capture.