In the throne room, Erika watched the screen carefully. A beautiful young woman stepped into view. Long black hair flowed behind her, golden eyes with feline pupils gleamed under the dim light, and two black tails swayed lazily behind her. Large cat ears twitched slightly atop her head. She wore a sleek black kimono that accentuated her curves without restraint.
Erika stared for a second longer than she intended to.
She asked quietly, "…Is this cat girl that cat girl?"
Selena didn't even hesitate, saying, "Yep. That's the one from his story. The same one who invaded his bedroom that night. Kuroka."
Erika remained silent for a moment, watching the way the woman carried herself, confident, relaxed, almost playful.
She asked, "…Why is she dressed like that?"
Then, after a brief pause, more softly, "Does Akira like that type?"
Selena tilted her head slightly and said, "No. He actually prefers your style more."
Erika looked at her, "Really?"
Selena, with a mischievous smile, said, "Yeah, but who knows, he might like you more if you dressed like that too."
Erika froze. "…Oh."
A faint blush crept up her face as she thought about it.
But quickly shook her head and said, "NO, no, no, I don't think he will like that style."
But even she couldn't help but think about what his reaction would be if she dressed like this.
Selena smirked. "Oh. Look. They're talking."
Erika shook her head, cleared all the distracting thoughts, and looked back at the screen. This is more important now.
The ruined guild base was silent.
Smoke drifted between shattered pillars. Bodies lay scattered across broken marble. The only sound left was the slow, mechanical breathing of the Dark Lord.
Vader stood motionless.
Opposite him, Kuroka.
She tilted her head slightly, tails swaying behind her.
"Oh my, Akira… are you cosplaying again, nya~?"
The red blade hummed steadily.
"I do not know this name."
Kuroka smiled wider.
"Not even going to greet an old friend? I came all this way just to see you."
Heavy breathing.
"You speak as if this encounter was expected."
She shrugged casually.
"Well~ the higher-ups said they hired some random mage guild to poke you a little. When it was time to collect the results… I volunteered."
She tapped her cheek playfully.
"So I could meet you."
Vader's helmet tilted slightly.
"So, Chaos Brigade has chosen to rebel against the Empire."
The crimson blade hummed.
"Rebellion is answered with annihilation."
Kuroka blinked.
"…Empire? Rebellion? What betrayal are you even talking about, nya~? They were never on your side before, nya~."
She folded her arms.
"You're still cosplaying, aren't you?"
Heavy breathing.
Silence.
Then she waved her hand dismissively.
"Anyway~ that's not important."
Her golden eyes sharpened slightly.
"I have a much more important question."
The saber angled down slightly but did not deactivate.
"Speak."
She smiled.
"About that little relationship update yesterday…"
Her tails swayed slowly.
"Who is that girl, nya~?"
The room returned to silence at that question.
But Akira couldn't answer that, at least not in his current form. Right now, he was Vader.
So he said, in his mechanical but slightly trembling voice,
"…Padmé."
In the throne room, Erika and Selena both covered their faces with both their hands, groaning. Even they couldn't handle the cringe.
Kuroka blinked.
"Padmé?"
She tilted her head.
"So that's her name, nya~."
Pause.
"…Padmé…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"… Wait, why does it sound familiar… Padmé, Padmé…"
Then she realized it.
"You absolute dork! I'm talking seriously here! Can you talk normally?!"
Vader replied,
"Do not expect normalcy from me. I am Darth Vader. Dark Lord of the Sith."
Kuroka took a deep breath.
"You know what? I'll beat the answer out of you myself. You have to tell me after I beat you."
She took a fighting pose.
Vader said calmly,
"You would be wise to surrender."
Kuroka grinned.
"Maybe. But this is more fun."
A purplish mist erupted from Kuroka's body, spreading across the ruined hall in seconds.
Kuroka said, "I made this poison especially for you. Hope you like it, nya~."
Vader did not retreat.
He simply lifted one hand.
The mist twisted. Then tore apart and scattered violently by an invisible force.
Vader said, "An insignificant ability like this does not affect me."
But in front of him now stood multiple Kurokas.
Kuroka tilted her head, "Now let's play some hide and seek like old times, nya~."
Vader shook his head, "You should know illusions of this level are not a threat to me."
But Kuroka smirked, "Are you sure, nya~?"
Then all the Kurokas fired white aura bullets from the palms of their hands.
Dozens of violet projectiles streaked toward him.
Vader did not move.
Half of them passed through his armor harmlessly.
Illusions.
The rest.
He cut down in three precise arcs.
"As I said, it will not—"
His breathing hitched.
A sudden metallic distortion echoed through the mask.
"—HHRKSHHH—"
The hall reverberated with a mechanical sneeze.
Silence.
Then another.
"…HHRKSHH—"
Then two more.
He held his helmet and asked, "What have you done?"
Kuroka giggled.
"I know normal poisons won't work on you, so I made a colorless, odorless, and harmless poison that only makes you sneeze. How is it, nya~?"
Vader sneezed once more.
Before he could say anything, he felt something from behind him.
He turned, meeting it with his lightsaber—
And blocked Kuroka, who was now wielding a familiar-looking wrist-mounted energy dagger made of condensed white energy.
Kuroka said, "Ara, it seems like you noticed. But no pressure~ I will defeat you, nya~."
In the throne room, Erika leaned forward.
"…Is that a Halo energy sword?"
Selena shook her head.
"No. Halo energy dagger."
She watched the clash, then continued, "But not the actual one. He made this one to condense her own energy to form the dagger. He made it for her a long time ago."
Erika said, "He never made anything like that for me?"
Selena turned to her.
"What do you mean? The number of things he made for you is enough to fill up the whole room."
Erika lowered her gaze slightly.
"But he never made me a weapon."
She looked back at the screen.
"I want to stand beside him, too. Not just watch."
Selena looked a bit awkward and said, "Actually… he did want to make some dangerous things for you too."
Erika blinked.
"What?"
Selena replied, "Well, when you were children, he made a plushie for your birthday."
Erika tilted her head, "A plushie? He gave me a lot of them already."
Selena sighed. "Not a normal plushie, this is a killer robot hidden inside a plushie. He made it to protect you. It even had small mini guns and a miniature rocket launcher."
Erika stared at her.
"…He what?"
Selena continued. "But my mother stopped him, saying, 'What the hell are you giving a seven-year-old girl?' So he hasn't made one for you yet."
Erika said quietly, "I see… but still…"
Selena smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. Now that you're strong, it's only a matter of time before he makes one for you."
Erika sighed and nodded. "Alright."
She kept watching the fight closely.
But gaze still lingered on the dagger longer than necessary.
She muttered. "…Next time I will make sure he will build one for me too."