"So, you actually came to my house, and in person, no less?"
Yesterday, after Tohka dragged Kurumi's clone into a small room and "educated" her for a while, the next morning Tohka woke up to find that this woman was actually sitting in her living room.
Knowing her abilities, Tohka wasn't all that surprised—using her City of Devouring Time, Kurumi could practically infiltrate anywhere. Out of all the spirits, none were trickier than the Third Spirit.
"Ara, ara, since you extended such an invitation yesterday, of course I had to come."
Taking a calm sip of tea, Kurumi turned her gaze to the bag Tohka had casually tossed on the sofa.
"Aiyaa, little Tohka, I didn't realize you had such tastes."
As she spoke, Kurumi pulled out one of the cloth strips from the bag and said to Tohka, "You know, your chest is about as big as my face. Doesn't it hurt to bind it like this? You're so cute, little Tohka, there's no need to put yourself through that. Even if you didn't, you'd still look adorable in this outfit."
"Hey, hey, what the hell are you talking about? I don't have that kind of fetish. That stuff was given to me by someone else—I haven't even worn it once. Otherwise, I wouldn't have just tossed it aside."
Hearing Kurumi's words, Tohka's face turned red instantly. She hadn't accepted Kotori's ridiculous idea—she really didn't think she could fool Kurumi that way.
"Ara ara, shy little Tohka is so cute."
Just as Tohka was blushing, Kurumi suddenly leaned her whole body onto her, no longer bothering to keep up any elegant pretense now that it was just the two of them.
"Hey, hey—you… What are you doing? Get off me! Someone could get the wrong idea seeing this!"
Seeing Kurumi pressed against her, Tohka hastily tried to pull back to create distance.
Knock, knock, knock.
But before she could react further, there was a knock on the door.
Without waiting for Tohka to move, Kurumi calmly walked past her and went to open it.
"Ah, Shido-kun? What brings you here so early to invite Tohka on a date?"
As soon as she opened the door, Kurumi saw Shido standing there and teased him in her usual tone. But even so, the scarlet eye visible beneath her bangs showed a dangerous glint.
"Ah—sorry! I just came by in the morning to walk Tohka to school. If you're here, I'll leave right away!"
Seeing Kurumi's dangerous look, Shido was startled, quickly stepping back and explaining frantically. According to Kotori, "Even though Tohka's Spirit power has been sealed, it was sealed voluntarily. So even if you can't capture her for now, you mustn't give up trying."
And so, every morning, Shido was driven out of his house by Kotori to knock on Tohka's door and invite her to walk to school together. Though every time he was rejected—since apart from the first day when she took the car, Tohka always just leapt across rooftops to get to school. Basically, she had never once gone by normal means. Like when she was in the Marvel world and hated New York's traffic—she'd just fly to the top floor in her armor.
"It's nothing, really. Oh—could you help me ask for leave and say I'm sick?"
Seeing this, Tohka got a bit flustered, hurried over to push Kurumi aside, and told Shido this before slamming the door shut.
"Whew—that scared me to death."
Honestly, he was pretty scared of Kurumi. As an ordinary high school boy, that scene he witnessed before was simply too shocking—there was no way he wouldn't be afraid.
"Damn, so that means Tohka—ugh, I'd better go tell Kotori."
It was only then that Shido remembered what Kotori had asked Tohka to do, so he hurried back to his own home.
"You're back already, Onii-chan?"
As soon as he entered, he saw Kotori in her white-ribbon mode. He knew that in this state she was the sweet little sister you could tease all you liked. But he had no energy to tease right now, not with an "Evil" Spirit next door.
"This is bad. That Spirit—the one who transferred to our school—Kurumi Tokisaki is right next door. She asked me to help her ask for leave, and I don't know what they're planning."
Catching his breath, Shido hurriedly reported everything he'd seen to his sister.
"Nani? Looks like Tohka is making good progress—already brought her home. You should learn from her, Shido. You're supposed to be our secret weapon, you know."
Hearing this, Kotori froze for a moment, then, under Shido's exasperated stare, switched to her black ribbon in a flash. Instantly, her entire demeanor changed—her little-sister aura disappeared, her voice turning sharp and a bit mocking.
"But she's right next door—and she's not like Tohka or Yoshino!"
Seeing how nonchalant Kotori was, Shido grew anxious.
"Relax, relax. There's no need to worry. Leave this to us—just go to school."
Kotori sighed at her brother, then left the house herself, clearly heading up to the ship above. It was simply more convenient there, though whether Tohka would listen to them or not was another question.
"Fine, I'll go ask for their leave."
Seeing his sister leave, Shido could only sigh again, pick up his schoolbag, and walk toward the school.
"Ara ara, little Tohka, why are you so worked up?"
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Tohka's room had changed. Kurumi, who'd been shoved aside, didn't mind at all, continuing to tease her.
"Enough already. What do you want from me?"
And as for why Tohka was so riled up—well, Kurumi had not only dug out the clothes Kotori had given her yesterday, she'd also gone through all her other things. At this point, Tohka was on the verge of snapping. This woman really was too much.
"Ara ara, since you're asking, I'm here now. Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Kurumi fixed her gaze on Tohka, clearly wanting to see what kind of reaction she'd have.
"Eh?"
But she was a bit disappointed—because Tohka only paused, then looked her over carefully, scrutinizing her up and down.
"So, you're the real one this time. You actually showed up in person."
After carefully examining her, Tohka was sure—the Kurumi standing before her was her true body. Her aura was several times stronger than any clone. Tohka also knew that in her current state, she'd have a hard time matching a full-powered Spirit.
"Finally awake, are you? So, little Tohka—care to have an interesting date with me?"
Seeing Tohka not react much, Kurumi felt a hint of disappointment but quickly moved on, directly inviting her out.
"Uh—hold on a sec."
Before Tohka could reply, her phone buzzed. Opening it, she saw a text message:
"Good luck, Tohka—work hard on the capture. And put your earpiece on so we can stay in touch. —Kotori Itsuka."
"These people…they really can't stand not stirring the pot."
Seeing the text, Tohka's mouth twitched. Kotori's timing was just too perfect—if she didn't frequently use her armor to sweep the place for bugs and cameras, she'd suspect they'd hidden some.
"All right then—let's go."
Since Kurumi herself had asked, as a 'manly spirit' (more or less), Tohka had no reason to refuse. She tidied herself up and was ready to leave.
"Ara ara, no need to rush."
But before she could step out, Kurumi grabbed her.
"No need to hurry—since you've already prepared the outfit, why not put it on?"
Glancing at Tohka with an amused smile, Kurumi handed her the package Kotori had given her.
"Really, I'm sure you'll look very handsome in it, little Tohka. Please—do it for me."
"..."
Sweat beading on her forehead, Tohka shivered when Kurumi finished with her sweet but malicious tone.
"Fine, fine—I'll wear it. Just wait a minute."
Glancing at the package, Tohka hesitated all of 0.1 seconds before agreeing. After all, when a guy wears a dress he's a cross-dressing pervert, but when a girl wears men's clothes, it's normal. Look at Artoria in a suit—she looked quite cool. Of course, her flat chest helped make it convincing.
"Ugh…this is so uncomfortable."
Trying to learn from the Saber King, Tohka discovered her biggest disadvantage: her chest was very real. She felt like she could hardly breathe.
"Cough…why am I even doing this…"
Taking a few deep breaths, she finally managed to get dressed. Even though she was miserable, she looked undeniably dashing. She'd tied her long hair up high behind her head—seen from a distance, she looked a bit like Sasaki Kojirou from the Fifth Holy Grail War, though not as tall and not in those traditional ronin clothes.
And while Kurumi wasn't looking, Tohka quickly put her earpiece back on. Despite them being a bunch of troublemakers, their logistical abilities were useful—at least they could instantly book out any restaurant.
"Hey, hey, why did you take so long to put your earpiece on? And what about that Spirit—still stable?"
As soon as she connected, Kotori's disgruntled voice came through. Hearing it, Tohka could only feel tired. In the original story, she only clashed with Origami—but now she'd somehow offended Kotori too. She still didn't realize that her past savage comments had thoroughly offended the whole ship.
"I get it, all right? I'm connected."
She only grumbled this quietly—her own experience wasn't that broad, so she supposed taking suggestions from these idiots wasn't out of the question.
"All right, the two of them have started moving. Start capturing their footage—also, prepare the options."
Glancing at her staff, Kotori felt it was weird to be directing Tohka instead of Shido, but the team still maintained their usual professional focus. In no time, several options appeared on their screens.
"Ugh, whatever. Three…two…one…begin."
Seeing this familiar sight, Kotori remembered all too well how Tohka had ruthlessly mocked them before. She'd claimed never to use such options again—but the problem was, if they didn't, it was hard to keep everyone coordinated. So, in the end, she had to rely on these pervy options again. She could only hope this time her staff would be less useless—and that Tohka might be merciful.
"….."
Covering her face with her hand, Kotori couldn't even look anymore. As always, the team was absurdly "gentlemanly." But worse, they'd started discussing it seriously.
"Sigh…fine. The next destination is…the lingerie store…"
Given that Tohka was a girl herself, Kotori braced herself and said it anyway. She could already imagine what Tohka's reaction would be.
"….."
Hearing this, Tohka glanced at Kurumi, who was smiling at her with that cryptic look. Then she immediately cut the connection—she could already tell these idiots were back to their perverted options again. She wasn't Shido—she wasn't about to listen to their nonsense. And if Kurumi hadn't been right in front of her, she would have started ranting out loud.