"I wanna fly up high, shoulder to shoulder with the sun..."
At this moment, Tohka was driving the sports car she'd snatched from the roadside, speeding along the Tiangong City ring road. Feeling the rush of wind in her face, she was in such a rare, carefree mood that she actually started singing loudly. A beauty, a fancy car—and completely ignoring the fleet of police cars behind her. This was practically heaven.
"Vehicle up ahead, do you hear me? You have committed theft, violated traffic laws, are driving without a license, ran multiple red lights... Stop immediately and we'll deal with this leniently!"
Because the commotion she'd caused was too huge, not even those people upstairs could stop it anymore. By now, a whole convoy of patrol cars was chasing after her, megaphones blaring.
"Really—there weren't even any casualties, and no real damage. Is this really necessary?"
With the shrill sirens and loudspeaker announcements, Tohka lost the mood to keep singing. Instead, she grumbled to Kurumi, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"Uh... you pretty much wrecked all of Tiangong City's traffic. Of course they're chasing you."
Kurumi could only stare at her speechlessly. She realized that in some ways, Tohka was even more lawless than herself. Sure, Kurumi killed people, but at least she felt guilty about it. Tohka, on the other hand, honestly had no idea what she'd done wrong—what was there left to say?
"Tch. It's nothing big. I didn't destroy anything."
And she meant it. Back in Gotham, that old man did way worse and people still called him a hero. But when she did a little stunt like this, everyone wanted her head.
"Uh..."
Kurumi was truly at a loss for words. That said, she was in a great mood—after all, the whole morning had been thrilling. If it weren't for her longstanding goal, she genuinely wouldn't have wanted to make Tohka her enemy.
"Tch. Hold tight. Time to shake off these tailgaters."
Kurumi was still pondering when Tohka, fed up with the endless sirens, stomped on the accelerator, rocketing the car forward. As expected of a sports car, when it hit top speed, the police vehicles were left in the dust. Not every country was full of oil tycoons who used Lamborghinis as patrol cars, after all.
"W-wait, don't accelerate so suddenly!"
Kurumi, who'd been about to say something, was instantly slammed back into her seat, feeling the scenery on both sides blur by. She didn't need to look—she knew Tohka had gunned it again.
"Relax. I'm not going to flip the car. This isn't even that fast."
And she wasn't bragging. Back in Marvel, she'd fought aerial battles at supersonic speeds. Compared to that, this was nothing. Honestly, Kurumi could probably outspeed this car just by teleporting. But human instincts were what they were—facing this kind of acceleration still made anyone nervous. At least, it only lasted a moment, which was why she could sit there looking so calm. Tohka's driving was... wild. In both her past life and this one, she'd never properly learned to drive. In America, she was probably the only one who'd just decided, "Cars are too slow anyway."
"Hmm?"
But suddenly, Tohka felt a surge of energy aimed at her. She knew instantly this wasn't the police—they wouldn't shoot at her without casualties involved, and even if they did, it wouldn't feel like this.
"Careful."
Her reflexes were quick. The moment she sensed danger, she grabbed Kurumi, who'd sensed it too, and leapt from the car. The next instant, the vehicle was struck by a beam of energy, exploding into a fireball that tumbled off a cliff, detonating below.
"It's you?"
Both Tohka and Kurumi turned to see who'd attacked them. Sure enough, it was Shidou's younger sister, Mana Takamiya, who they'd only met recently.
"Nightmare. I won't let you get away."
Mana's cold gaze locked onto Kurumi. Tohka was completely ignored for once—which, weirdly enough, felt kind of comforting. Finally, for once, she wasn't the one attracting all the aggro. Ever since she came to this world, she'd wondered if her face came with a built-in taunt effect.
"Hehehe..."
Kurumi only giggled. Slipping free of Tohka's arms, she donned her Astral Dress and leapt to the ground. Her red eyes flicked between Tohka and Mana, her expression complicated—then she vanished without giving them any chance to react. As the true body this time, she was far faster and stronger than her clones, effortlessly evading Mana's attacks.
"….."
Watching Kurumi disappear, Tohka and Mana stared silently at each other. Just as they were both considering whether to start fighting, a sudden surge of power enveloped them. In an instant, they vanished.
"Back here again? Those people really are watching everything, huh."
Tohka realized she was in the transport chamber aboard the battleship. She glanced over at Mana—who, stripped of her equipment, was... well, half her butt was hanging out. Tohka honestly couldn't even be bothered to comment. It was clear that most of these so-called "combat outfits" in anime were just for fanservice.
"What are you looking at? You want to fight, Princess?"
Maybe she'd felt Tohka's stare. Mana, having just removed her combat suit, scowled at her.
"Nothing. Oh, by the way—about that car you blew up. It wasn't cheap, so you figure out the compensation."
Tossing that line out, Tohka ignored the way Mana's face twisted with embarrassment. She turned and headed for the control room. After all, she knew exactly who'd orchestrated this whole day of backstabbing. No way she was going to let them off without saying a word. As for who'd pay for the car, it wasn't her problem. She remembered hearing Mana was already in a mountain of debt anyway—what difference would a little more make?
"You idiot—look what you've done. The whole city's traffic is in chaos because of you."
Sure enough, the moment she stepped through the door, Kotori's furious voice slammed into her: "You made such a huge mess that not even we can keep the police off your back."
"Tch. Like I'd have done any of this if you hadn't sabotaged me first."
At least after venting all morning, Tohka felt much calmer. Honestly, seeing Kotori and her crew looking this pissed off actually made her feel better. So, she didn't do anything too extreme—though her mouth, of course, never stopped: "If you hadn't shut off the power and locked all the shops and wrecked the aquarium, none of this would've happened."
"Well, that's because you cut off our comms and ignored my suggestions. You left this professional team with no place..."
Kotori's voice trailed off, unable to finish. To be fair, she really was starting to suspect her entire staff were monkeys in disguise.
"You call that professional? More like your brains were all thinking with your dicks."
Tohka couldn't care less about her tone. She'd held in too much frustration today: "Who the hell takes a girl on a date straight to a lingerie store? You want to get arrested for being a pervert? I swear, you people have played too many dating sims. In those, the heroines all start with sky-high affection. Seriously—have you all been shut up in this ship so long your brains have rotted?"
"...!"
An awkward silence swept the room, followed by a chorus of nervous coughing. Even Tohka hadn't realized her rant had basically turned into an all-encompassing map nuke. Not that she cared. These old perverts deserved it.
"You...!"
Kotori and Tohka glared daggers at each other. Just as they were about to start round two, Reine finally couldn't stand it. Honestly, she agreed with Tohka on a lot of points, but she couldn't let this drag on. If they kept arguing, what if the girls decided to reclaim their powers and start fighting right here?
"Alright, enough. Let's focus on today's mission."
She stepped between them, blocking their line of sight, and turned to Tohka: "You did well. Kurumi's affection for you has increased a lot. Go get some rest. You've earned it."
And before Tohka could argue, she pulled out a sleek black card and handed it over: "This is a VIP buffet card. It gives you discounts everywhere. Think of it as your reward."
"Deal."
The moment she saw the card, Tohka's eyes lit up. Instantly, she lost all interest in continuing the confrontation. With a happy little hop, she took the card and skipped off. After all, she hadn't eaten breakfast—and with everything that had happened, she was starving. She was pretty sure she could devour an entire cow.
"Huuhhh, that girl drives me insane."
Kotori watched her leave, grinding her teeth but making no move to stop her. What could she do—she'd never win a shouting match with Tohka. If she let it keep going, the morale they'd built from sealing Yoshino would probably collapse again.
"And you—what the hell were you thinking, attacking them out of nowhere? If Tohka had turned on you, you really think you'd have survived?"
As Tohka vanished down the corridor, Mana walked in. Kotori spun toward her, scolding furiously.
"It's my mission to destroy Nightmare."
Mana's expression didn't change at all. She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. The warning in Kotori's voice clearly meant nothing to her. After all the times she'd slain Kurumi's clones—and the times she'd sparred with Tohka—she'd developed a dangerous misconception: that Spirits weren't all that terrifying.
"Ugh. Every one of you is giving me a headache."
Kotori massaged her temples, sighing. She figured the only way Mana would ever learn was by eating a painful loss herself. So, she dropped the subject and changed topics: "Just lay low for a while. We're working on your recovery."
"Fine. I understand."
Mana didn't argue, simply nodding and following Tohka out. In the original timeline, Tohka had never been sure when Mana joined Ratatoskr. But here, she'd secretly tipped Kotori off on day one about Mana's condition—and the next day, Mana had left DEM to join them. Tohka suspected Shidou had played a big part. After all, Mana wasn't like Origami, who was driven by vengeance.
"Ah—this must be the place."
Having arrived at the buffet Reine had recommended, Tohka was still a bit worried about Kurumi—but as her stomach gave a loud "gurgle," she promptly forgot. With a carefree grin, she strode through the door.
"….."
"Sir, I beg you—please, just never come back."
Hours later, Tohka finally stepped out of the restaurant, satisfied. Behind her, the owner waved a handkerchief, face ashen. God only knew what horrors he'd endured. The moment she was gone, he was already planning to restock—and to hang a big "Banned" sign on the door, complete with a picture of Tohka in her stylish ponytail and masculine outfit.
"Hmm... maybe I should change my look next time."
Tummy full, Tohka studied the pile of coupons in her hand. The owner had probably been so desperate to get rid of her he'd given her every discount voucher he had—buffets, salons, clothing stores. She felt a little embarrassed, but shrugged. Next time, she'd just wear her old armor. No way they'd recognize her again.