"Aiya aiya, the way you say it really makes me troubled." Hearing Tohka's words, Yoshinon showed an exaggerated expression. So much so that even Tohka couldn't hold back anymore—how could this damned puppet have such a rich range of expressions?
"All right, I'm going back now. Damn it, why does it feel like almost everyone's eyes are on me here? These people, really..." At this moment, Tohka let out a bored yawn. She could clearly feel that many gazes were sweeping back and forth over her, making her skin crawl, so she was thinking she'd better leave quickly. As for why this was happening, she could figure it out without thinking. Although the quality of girls in a two-dimensional world was generally very high, she herself apparently counted as a rare beauty even in the two-dimensional world.
"Aiya aiya, little Tohka seems shy." But just then, Yoshinon looked at Tohka's slightly flushed face and suddenly teased her.
"You—you damn thing—how could I possibly be shy? That would absolutely never happen!" Hearing Yoshinon's words, Tohka immediately blew her top. She reached out and snatched the puppet out of Yoshino's hands, then grabbed it and shook it furiously. But at that moment, she forgot something very important.
"Wah!!" Having her puppet taken away, Yoshino immediately burst into tears with a loud wail, and a fierce chill spread all around her. Especially Tohka, who was the closest—her whole body was instantly covered in a layer of frost.
"Achoo!" Because she was wearing a swimsuit, Tohka immediately sneezed from the sudden cold. She looked, shivering, at Yoshino crying her heart out in front of her. She wasn't scared—she'd simply been caught off guard and frozen.
"There there, don't cry, don't cry." Seeing Yoshino crying in sobs, Tohka instantly broke out in a cold sweat. She hurried to grab the little girl's hand and slipped the rabbit puppet back onto it.
"Aiya aiya, little Tohka really is thin-skinned." As soon as the puppet was back in her hands, Yoshino stopped crying, but the puppet suddenly spoke again. Hearing this, Tohka's face was full of dark lines—this damned thing...
"Damn it, why am I even arguing with a little loli?" She shot a look at the puppet and couldn't help but grumble. Just now she had made Yoshino cry—if she hadn't been a girl herself, if she were a guy who'd made such a cute loli cry, she'd have been beaten up by a mob within seconds.
After venting, Tohka ignored the damned bunny's teasing and left on her own. What else could she do with a little loli you couldn't hit, who'd cry at the drop of a hat and blast cold air everywhere when she did? She couldn't afford to provoke her, so she'd just avoid her.
"Hey hey, little Tohka, don't go!" Watching Tohka walk away, Yoshinon still called out from behind. But Tohka completely ignored her. She had decided not to argue anymore—whether she won or lost, she was always the one who suffered in the end. After all, Yoshino was a loli and naturally had the advantage, so Tohka could never win an argument.
"Ah..." But as Tohka left, a wail rose from the pool. Apparently, with the departure of a beautiful swimsuit girl, nearly all the men felt deeply regretful.
"Tch, a bunch of old perverts." Tohka also clearly heard the wails, but she couldn't even be bothered to complain about this group.
"Mm, looks like that guy has managed to talk some sense into Origami Tobiichi." Just as she stepped out of the amusement park, she saw an ambulance with the AST logo racing past. Clearly, Origami had been retrieved by them. As for whether Shido had succeeded in persuading her, Tohka didn't doubt it at all. His talking skills might not be on the level of a certain Seventh Hokage, but they weren't far off.
So, while Tohka obediently returned home to continue being a shut-in, on the ship, Shido, Kotori, and Reine were gathered together. In front of them were photos of the two Tohkas—obviously, they were discussing again.
"How could there be two Tohkas? I remember Tohka said she has her own family business—could this be her sister? But she never mentioned it." At this moment, Shido carefully looked at the photos, realizing he really couldn't tell them apart. He'd been so focused on his sister earlier that he hadn't paid much attention to the other Tohka. Now that everything had calmed down, he finally noticed.
"No, judging from our discussions, this is most likely her inverted form. As for what exactly an inverted form is, I'm not sure either—I only saw it mentioned in the archives." Hearing Shido's question, Kotori shook her head, indicating that wasn't the case. But she added, "You heard our conversation today. I checked her background, but unfortunately, I couldn't find anything. But that armor of hers is definitely a high-tech product. Unlike the AST's Realizer Units, it's a completely different piece of equipment. Based on the data, it's clearly an advanced industrial product. Didn't you see her sword? It could even cut through spatial barriers."
As she spoke, Kotori played a video—when Tohka had forcibly cut through Origami's Absolute Defense Territory.
"In addition to Tohka's own spirit power, that sword seems specially modified. If Origami hadn't been wearing the very latest equipment, which puts a huge burden on the body, she wouldn't have been able to block Tohka at all. But even so, that gear was still destroyed by Tohka. Hahaha, I bet they won't be able to make another one for a while." Kotori actually started laughing with schadenfreude, since Ratatoskr and the AST had very different goals. So, she was delighted to see the AST suffer setbacks.
"Sigh, I thought Tohka was like you, someone who turned into a spirit from a human. But apparently not." Shido sighed, a bit disappointed. After what had happened with his sister, he knew spirits could also be transformed humans.
"Who knows... Anyway, today's incident is over. By the way, those two girls are probably still in the amusement park. As for Tohka—fine, she may be a bit dense sometimes, but she can take care of herself. But Yoshino—are you really okay leaving her there alone? Just now I saw Tohka go home by herself." But at that moment, Reine suddenly added quietly from the side. Hearing this, both Shido and Kotori broke into a cold sweat.
"Commander, bad news! The swimming pool has suddenly frozen over with a thick layer of ice!" As if to confirm their fear, someone shouted over to them. At the same time, the screen switched—and they saw the entire amusement park encased in ice.
"Um, Kotori...maybe you should withdraw your power for now. Otherwise, I really can't get Yoshinon out of that ice." Shido said, sweating all over, to Kotori, who was also stunned. Clearly, Yoshino's puppet had fallen off in the middle of her swim, causing the incident.
"Ahahaha, those old perverts—this is their karma. I bet they'll be in the hospital for a while." Just then, standing by the roadside trying to hail a cab, Tohka also noticed. She simply gave a cold snort, having no intention of stepping in. Even though she couldn't see the frozen pool, the frigid air told her everything. Of course, this was the "scientific" two-dimensional world—if this had happened in reality, everyone in that pool would be either dead or crippled. After all, cryopreservation only exists as a theoretical concept.
"So, you lot are going to have to cover a large portion of the medical costs. Wahahaha—so funny—wait, why are you dragging me into this to work?" That afternoon, Kotori came to Tohka's room looking serious, but what she said almost made Tohka spit blood.
Roughly speaking: Because Yoshino's outburst had caused over a hundred people to be hospitalized with frostbite, and since it was their negligence that had left a minor unattended in a public place, insurance wouldn't cover it. But here was the problem—even the leftover costs were more than a few people could pay. So now they were discussing how to repay it. As for Tohka herself...
"I specifically told you to watch Yoshino, didn't I? But you ran off to fight Origami—and then you slipped home early. That's why you're also responsible." That was Kotori's exact wording—in other words, Tohka had to cough up money. Another reason was to test her.
"I've got no money, only this worthless life." Tohka bluntly replied. She'd already spent almost everything she brought with her, so she really couldn't pay up. She didn't even realize Kotori was testing her.
"That's easy, then—work to pay it off." Kotori seemed prepared. She threw a woven bag onto the table in front of Tohka.
"Uh...what's this?" Tohka asked, puzzled, as she opened the bag. But with a "poof," her face turned bright red.
"You—you—you—why are you giving me a bunny girl outfit, you bastard? What are you trying to do—are you making me go..." She stammered at Kotori, while she tossed the costume aside. Maid outfits were one thing, but this was way too much—there was no way she'd wear it.
"Hmph." Looking satisfied at Tohka's reaction, Kotori said coolly, "You have no way to escape this. So, here's your bill—you figure it out. But don't worry, it's just a bunny girl-themed café, not the kind of place you're thinking of."
She tossed a bill onto the table, then turned and left. Meanwhile, Tohka's phone buzzed, displaying an overdue payment notification.
"MMPH—you damned capitalist!" All Tohka could do was curse angrily. Now her account was in the red—meaning she couldn't even buy things easily in this world.
"You think I'm scared of you? Don't think I have no options left." Like hell she'd do this—but in the Marvel world, that sum would be trivial. After all, the collateral damage from her battles there had cost far more—but here, she had no assets.
So...
"Where's Tohka? She's not running away from debt, is she?" The next day, Shido noticed something important—Tohka had vanished. His first thought was that she'd gone on the run.
"Don't worry. With her personality, she can't have gone far. Her account is already heavily in debt—she can't even afford food. Unless she wants to hide in the mountains digging up wild herbs, she won't survive." Kotori didn't care in the least if Tohka was avoiding payment. After all, their organization was big enough to block her access to everything.
"But isn't this a bit much? You know this really wasn't entirely Tohka's fault—didn't Yoshinon say she provoked Tohka into leaving?" Shido still felt uneasy—after all, Tohka wasn't really to blame.
"Hmph. This money—compared to that armor of hers—it's not even a fraction. She's always acting so confident—finally, she'll taste a setback. Hahaha—I want to see how she begs me." Kotori's eyes gleamed with mischief, clearly delighted to imagine Tohka suffering.
"Fine—but don't forget, we still have to pay it back too..." Shido poured cold water over her mood.
"..." Kotori's smug expression froze instantly. She silently pulled out a bunny girl costume and carried it to her room, leaving Shido staring blankly.
"..."