"Oh my, what are you talking about, darling? Am I really that kind of person? And am I really that scary?" Smiling sweetly at the slightly trembling Tohka, Miku Izayoi slowly walked right up to her. Then she reached out, grabbed Tohka's ear, and dragged her closer, whispering softly, "Tsk tsk, what should I say? Seems like you're quite popular with the ladies. Come on, tell me—how should I reward you?"
Honestly, because she had obtained her Spirit powers and been dragged into Tohka's mess, she had developed a distaste for men. But the part where the Spirit power corrupted her into treating men like slaves and girls like cute dolls—she hadn't really developed that bad habit. Plus, after seeing all the crazy things she'd witnessed with Tohka—monsters, demons, you name it—she didn't have that arrogant attitude she'd had in the original story. So, when she saw the Yamai sisters flanking Tohka on either side, she felt a little jealous. After all, in her impression, back in the Marvel world, Tohka hadn't gotten into this much chaos.
But this wasn't what shocked Tohka the most. What terrified her was that Miku actually reached into her bag and pulled out a butcher knife.
"W-wait, let me explain—it's not what you think! Also, why are you carrying a knife around? And how did you even get that through subway security? And could you please let go of my ear—it hurts!" Eyes wide, she stared at the cleaver in Miku's hand but still couldn't help ranting. She didn't usually carry a handbag, but even she knew no normal person would walk around with such a big knife.
"Oh my, I just woke up this morning and thought I'd come see little Tohka. But right as I was leaving, I suddenly felt it was absolutely necessary to bring a kitchen knife along. And it turns out my instincts were correct—my feeling was spot on. As for security checks—you think those things can stop me?" Miku explained with a triumphant grin that made Tohka completely speechless.
"Hey hey—you call that an instinct? More like clairvoyance—or precognition!" Even with her ear still in Miku's grip and a blade at her neck, Tohka couldn't keep her mouth shut.
"Hey, what exactly are you two doing here? Do you think I don't exist? And you over there—why are you holding that knife if you won't even use it?" Watching this scene that looked suspiciously like flirting, Kaguya finally couldn't take it anymore. She glared, clearly displeased.
"Agreement. You two are completely ignoring the existence of Yuzuru and me. And you—who are you, what are you doing here, and what's your relationship with Tohka? We were about to go out to eat and shop." As expected of sisters, Yuzuru \ echoed Kaguya almost word for word.
Honestly, the reason they hadn't spoken up sooner was twofold: first, they didn't know who Miku was or why she was here; second, when Miku pulled out that cleaver, her aura had been terrifying enough to freeze them on the spot. They'd been ready to fight—but then realized Miku didn't actually plan to hurt Tohka. She had the knife pressed against Tohka's neck, but she wasn't really going to do anything.
"Mm, hello to you both." Hearing them, Miku finally released Tohka's poor, abused ear. As for the knife, she casually tossed it aside. She turned her gaze toward the two and said elegantly, "I am Miku Izayoi. As for my relationship with darling here..."
She trailed off, then slid her arm around Tohka's shoulder and smiled brightly at them.
"You...!" Watching her smugly claim Tohka, the Yamai sisters glared fiercely. Just like that, the three women entered a tense standoff in front of Tohka.
"God help me—did any of them have this much jealousy in the original story? What the hell is going on? And how did that harem protagonist manage this?" Tohka was sweating bullets. She had no idea what to say. But instinct told her that if she opened her mouth, all the fury would land squarely on her. As for why this hadn't happened in the source material—she had a pretty good guess: it was probably because of her. No matter how dumb and oblivious her original self-had been, she'd at least had the aura of the main heroine, enough to suppress them.
As for now... To be safe, Tohka decided she'd better keep her mouth shut and pretend to be invisible.
"By the way—you were about to go out?" Maybe realizing there was no point to this stalemate—and seeing that Tohka had resolved to stay silent—Miku was the one to change the subject first. After all, Yuzuru had mentioned earlier they were planning to buy some things.
"Yes. We have decided this place shall be our palace. Of course, we need to purchase some items—otherwise it would be too shabby." Kaguya answered proudly.
"Crap—I'd better get out of here first." But the moment she heard that, Tohka felt a bad premonition. She tried to discreetly slip her arm free from Miku's hold—but things never went as she hoped. Because at that moment, she felt Miku's grip tighten firmly on her shoulder.
"Mm, darling—mind explaining what exactly is going on? Why are they living here? You didn't do anything, did you? Don't worry—I'm really not mad at all, really not even a little." As she felt Tohka trying to pull away, Miku yanked her back in and gave her a dazzling smile.
"Uh—uh—yeah, that's definitely sarcasm, isn't it?" Even though Miku claimed she wasn't upset, with that expression on her face, Tohka knew she'd have to be an idiot to believe it. That was not the look of a calm woman—she might as well have been wearing a sign saying, "If you don't give me a good explanation, you can go die."
"Yuzuru—be careful—this is dangerous." Maybe Miku's aura was too terrifying, but Kaguya and Yuzuru went straight on guard. They summoned their Astral Dresses, and a sudden gust of wind blasted through the room, catching Miku off guard and almost knocking her down. If Tohka hadn't grabbed her in time, she would've fallen over.
"You two want to fight that badly, huh? Think I'm afraid of you?" Nearly making a fool of herself clearly made Miku furious. Though she was shocked to realize they were also Spirits, she wasted no time. With a flash of light, she summoned her own Astral Dress and stepped forward, metal pipes materializing behind her in rows.
"Enough! If you don't stop right now, don't think I won't step in and beat you all up at once!" But just then, a voice thundered through the room. Everyone froze. Their murderous auras vanished all at once.
And there she was—Tohka, clad in her armor, katana in hand, standing between them. The pressure she radiated made them all shiver. Her bangs hid her eyes so they couldn't see her expression, but even so, they all felt a guilty chill run down their spines. Startled by Tohka's rage, they realized they'd gone too far. One by one, they all dismissed their Astral Dresses.
"Ugh, can't any of you stay calm for five minutes?" Satisfied, Tohka looked over them all as they retracted their powers. If she hadn't stepped in, Miku and the Yamai sisters would have started an actual battle—and that would have been a nightmare. Miku had even been about to summon Gabriel. If she'd waited a moment longer, the house would be rubble by now.
But then her expression soured, because thanks to the windstorm the Yamai sisters had released, even though Miku hadn't destroyed her home, it was still in ruins. Her TV and game console in particular... Tohka felt her heart bleeding.
And she wasn't exactly the diligent type. Looking at the wrecked furniture, she felt like crying. All that stuff about harem life and sweet cohabitation—total lies. Worse, there was still one more girl who loved chaos and would be showing up soon. When that happened, Tohka felt like she might as well just slit her throat—she wouldn't survive this insanity.
"Um—sorry. How about we all go out for a meal first? When we come back, we can help you clean up?" Seeing Tohka's despair, her entire body radiating sadness, the others were startled. Especially Miku, who'd known her the longest—she quickly grabbed Tohka's hand, trying to lead her out. She also turned to the Yamai sisters and said, "You two come along too—my treat today."
They'd only been showing off a bit. Now that Tohka had yelled at them, Miku no longer felt like fighting. And knowing Tohka's weak points, she knew this was the best way to calm her down.
"Mm—alright." Hearing Miku's suggestion, the Yamai sisters lost all will to argue. They followed her out of Tohka's trashed apartment.
And so, the once lively room fell silent. Only Tohka's TV flickered a few times, sparked, and finally went dark for good.