Nick Fury had nothing to say about Tony's abilities. But when it came to that guy's personality, Fury really had a headache. If he came over, Fury had no idea how much personal baggage he would bring. Back then, just because Fury had hacked his system several times,
Tony took the opportunity when boarding a ship to hack their system in return. Not only that, he even peeked through all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier tech. So now, Fury was extra cautious about Tony.
"Alright, I'm leaving. I've already sent Agent Barton to assist you here. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. is short on manpower right now. When you begin the experiment, don't forget to let me know."
After giving Coulson these instructions, Nick Fury left. As for why he chose Hawkeye—it was simply because he was the most trustworthy among them.
Black Widow was on another mission, and her identity wasn't the best fit for this one, while the newbies were too green. Who knows what kind of mess they'd create. Fury really didn't want to be running over every few days to clean up, so he left it to Hawkeye.
"Understood. We'll start the experiment as soon as possible." Upon hearing Fury's words, Coulson nodded, signaling that he understood. He then began observing the research facility and the people inside.
After that, Nick Fury looked at Coulson and finally left at ease. After all, this was one of his right-hand men, and also the person most suited to succeed him as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director. So, entrusting this matter to Coulson, he had no worries at all.
The next morning, Tohka was dragged out of bed by Miku Izayoi. Fortunately, Miku hadn't snuck into Tohka's bed during the night due to some unknown or irresistible urge. So, this time, there wasn't any chaos, and Tohka just rubbed her sleepy eyes groggily as Miku pulled her up.
"What is it? It's so early. Even though we have school today, we don't need to get up this early." Blinking at the time, Tohka realized it was half an hour earlier than usual.
"How should I even describe you? Before, Mary Jane and Gwen told me you had no sense of style, but looking at you now, you really don't know how to dress yourself. Never mind, today I'll teach you." Miku sighed helplessly.
She had met Mary Jane and Gwen at school before, and though they mentioned this issue, their relationship with Tohka wasn't close enough to push it. But Miku didn't care about such things—she grabbed Tohka and got to work on her appearance.
"Uh, isn't that unnecessary? I'm naturally beautiful, I don't need that stuff." Tohka squirmed as she was pinned down at the dressing table.
It wasn't out of shyness—it was just too much hassle. She couldn't imagine having to spend half an hour getting ready every day.
"You... what the hell are you saying? Can you stop being so narcissistic? How can a woman not know how to do these things?" Miku looked at her both annoyed and amused.
She had completely given up trying to figure out what was going on in Tohka's brain. Without bothering to ask for her opinion, she began helping her get dolled up.
"Hey hey, are you a pig?" Just as Miku finished dressing Tohka up with great effort, she realized, annoyed, that the girl had fallen asleep. How could she not be frustrated?
She'd been working her butt off, and this one was just enjoying herself. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she smacked Tohka's head with her palm.
"Ah—mmph." Startled awake from her peaceful sleep, Tohka was clearly a little annoyed. But upon meeting Miku's angry eyes, she backed down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have fallen asleep."
"Hmph. As long as you know. Let's go." Satisfied with Tohka's response, Miku checked the time and saw it was about right. So, she took Tohka and headed out.
"Wow."
Never mind that Miku Izayoi's performance last night had been a huge success—now half of New York knew who she was.
As for Tohka, she was already a celebrity just by virtue of her identity—even if she did nothing at all, she was still a public figure. And today, since she'd actually taken the trouble to dress up, in everyone's eyes she'd jumped up several notches in beauty.
Of course, if this had been in some country like Japan or China, they probably would have been mobbed by gawkers—after all, there was still quite a gap between Eastern and Western aesthetics.
"Wow, two beautiful ladies."
Just as they entered the school building, Tohka saw that guy—the one who usually carried a bucket—suddenly appear in front of them.
"You…" Miku furrowed her brows at the sudden appearance of this annoying roadblock, just about to speak, but then the usually quiet, head-lowered Tohka unexpectedly opened her mouth.
"Who are you?"
"..."
Okay, even though it was only a few words, the atmosphere suddenly went cold. The so-called Nova revealed a hurt expression, while Miku showed a gloating one, silently watching Tohka perform.
"Boo-hoo, beautiful lady. How could you not remember someone as handsome and charming as me? I'm the brightest star in the night, shining—"
"Stop, stop, that's enough." Seeing he was about to launch into a speech, Tohka quickly cut him off. "I remember now! You're that weirdo who always flies around with a bucket on his head, right? Sorry, I didn't recognize you without the bucket today."
"..."
The atmosphere froze again. Miku nearly burst out laughing seeing this guy get completely shut down. Sometimes, the naturally clueless ones really were the deadliest—thankfully Tohka hadn't treated her like that.
"Sorry, Miss Tohka, just ignore this idiot. Hurry to class—don't forget we've got a test today." At that moment, White Tiger, dressed in casual clothes, appeared in front of them, grabbed Nova by the collar, and dragged him away.
"Nani?" But right then, Miku—who had been suppressing laughter—suddenly turned pale. Then she let out a wail, and her body swayed as she collapsed onto Tohka.
"Hey hey hey, what's wrong with you now?"