Bang. Honestly, without her equipment, Ellen not only had a different demeanor, but even her reflexes were much slower. She was struck right in the face by the flying pillow and fell backward, clutching her sore backside.
"Ah, it's you? We were actually planning to ambush Tohka." Seeing Ellen sprawled on the ground, Ai Yamabuki, Mai Hazakura, and Mii Fujibakama were a little surprised. But their surprise didn't last long—soon they looked indifferent again.
"Well then, Miss Ellen, join us for a pillow fight!" They didn't particularly dislike Ellen. After all, compared to Tohka, Ellen was even easier to push around. While Tohka usually looked a bit airheaded and careless, when she got angry or serious, the aura she released still made them shiver. Ellen, by contrast, seemed a lot more docile and harmless, so without bothering to listen to her protests, the three girls dragged her back to their room.
"Hey—hey—you all... I still have something... ah, dammit." Being dragged off again, Ellen could only stare helplessly toward a nearby room. She knew Tohka was in there. But things had come to this, and she had no choice but to give up this opportunity. Honestly, she had just missed her best chance to capture Tohka.
…..
"Ugh, my head hurts... and I'm so hungry." That night, Tohka woke up in a daze. At first her head still throbbed painfully, but soon her attention shifted to the gnawing emptiness in her belly. Having been knocked out by the twins, she'd never eaten dinner. Now, waking up in the dead of night, she didn't even realize Ellen had tried to capture her. But compared to that, she was more concerned about finding something to eat.
"Damn it, it's already this late. Even if I go out, there's nowhere to get food. But at least no one's around right now... I can finish what I didn't get to do during the day." Getting out of bed, Tohka looked out at the pitch-black city. Not every country was like China, the infrastructure-obsessed lunatic; and this was an island, so of course there were no streetlights. When she checked her phone, it was the middle of the night. Unless she went down to the sea herself to catch something—but after being poisoned earlier, she had a psychological aversion to seafood. She really couldn't stomach it. So, she decided this was the perfect time to finally handle her unfinished business.
"Whew, good thing the signal is still active. Jeez, these guys are really over the top—still running the jamming net even now." She turned on her controller, which showed the same icon as before. It looked like the DEM ship's information blackout was still in place. Then again, it made sense—this was a remote island, so a poor signal wouldn't seem suspicious.
This time, she directly hacked into their system. But she didn't stop there—she quickly donned her armor and flew out the window.
"This stealth tech is as ridiculous as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier. But it's lucky they never thought I'd counter-track them, so they left no extra safeguards." Reaching altitude, Tohka scanned the area, but saw no sign of the ship. Without moonlight, the world was pitch black, and she couldn't make out any translucent shapes at all.
Thankfully, she just followed the cluster of signals her tracker indicated. Soon she arrived in midair over a particular spot. She didn't get any closer—at this range, she could already see the faint distortions in the air. After all, this was optical camouflage, not true invisibility. So, if you were close enough and knew what to look for, you could still spot it.
"Hehehe... Are you ready to accept the present I've prepared for you?" Grinning, she silently slipped into the ship without alerting a single crew member.
"Let's see... This is the magazine deck... Perfect is still missing a few crucial pieces, so I'll just grab them here." Studying the ship's schematics on her display, Tohka first headed for the armory. But there, she found something that surprised her a little—Ellen's full combat armor was displayed right in the open.
"Tsk tsk... What a waste—this is top-of-the-line equipment." If she had to guess, it was Ellen's backup suit. But aside from Ellen herself, maybe Origami could wear it. The problem was the strain on the body—someone like Origami might not last long before passing out. Although Tohka was confident she could wear it, it was too conspicuous to just walk out with. She'd be caught immediately.
"Mm, but good—what I wanted is definitely here." Ignoring the armor and the 'Hound' combat drones stored nearby, Tohka soon found her target in an inconspicuous corner: remote-detonation explosives. Because they were all micro-bombs, a single box held a huge number.
"Heh, Ellen—get ready for the special gift I prepared for you." Grinning wickedly, Tohka picked up the box and left the room. She had no intention of going easy on them—this ship belonged to DEM, probably under Ellen and Westcott's control. In the original timeline, it had been shot down by the Yamai twins. But this time, Tohka had no intention of leaving it to them. It would be a shame to just knock it out of the sky—much better to take this chance to set off a spectacular firework display.
…..
"Ugh, so hungry. Damn it—I still didn't get anything to eat." After finishing her preparations, Tohka left the ship and returned to her room. But as soon as her focus slipped, she realized with annoyance that her hunger hadn't gone away. She still had nothing to fill her stomach.
"Sleep—just sleep. If I'm asleep, I won't feel hungry anymore. And I can eat good food in my dreams." She tossed and turned on the bed for a while, but eventually decided to just pass out again. After all, if she was unconscious, she wouldn't be hungry. As for tomorrow... well, who the hell knew? Worst case, she'd just make up for it by eating double. Earlier, she'd been sneaking around someone else's battleship—she hadn't dared roam freely in case she ran into a crew member. If that happened, she'd have had no choice but to sink the whole ship.
And so, the night passed. Next morning…
"Tohka! Tohka, there you are!" Early in the morning, she heard Kaguya's voice calling. Before she could even answer, the two girls came running up to her, shouting excitedly.
"Honestly, what are you still eating for? Come with me!" In the blink of an eye, they had grabbed Tohka out of the dining hall, where she'd been stuffing her face, not even giving her time to react.
"What are you two doing—put me down! I'm not done eating!" Hauled away before she could respond, Tohka could only protest helplessly. These two were fully powered Spirits—of course their strength was immense. She'd been in the middle of gnawing a piece of bread when suddenly the world spun and she was dragged off, leaving the poor bread to roll forlornly on the floor, a neat row of her teeth marks still visible.
"Cough, cough—you two—what the hell are you doing? I almost choked to death!" Being hauled by the scruff of her neck at full sprint, Tohka nearly suffocated.
"Oh, don't sweat the details." Kaguya waved dismissively, then pulled a hanger from the rack and held out a swimsuit for her to see.
"What do you think? I picked this out myself—doesn't it look nice?"
"This is a swimsuit shop... Seriously, who gave you advice? Don't tell me Reine was feeling generous enough to coach you." Catching her breath, Tohka finally got a good look—and felt her mouth twitch. Kaguya was holding up a rather revealing swimsuit, and Yuzuru had one too. Although they looked identical, Tohka could clearly see Miku's was a full size larger.
"Mhm, very nice. Sunshine and beaches—great place to be." Seeing their excited faces, ignoring everything she'd just said, Tohka could only force a smile and nod. Honestly, the suits did match them perfectly—she couldn't find any fault with them.
"Fine... You two wait here, I'll go change into mine." Since this was the beach, of course Tohka had brought her own swimsuit. She might as well just go along with them. As for Shido—she couldn't care less. From the looks of it, with her out of the picture, Origami the stalker was monopolizing him anyway. Their side was probably just as hectic as hers.
On the beach...
…..
On the sand, Tohka stared at the things they were handing her, too speechless to even comment. In the original story, Reine had been the one advising them, but now—who the hell had they listened to? Why was everything exactly the same as before? And did they even understand what charisma meant? This was pure, shameless seduction, nothing more. Did they really think this would work on her...?
...Well, Tohka admitted it was definitely working. Although she had much better self-control now, that only applied when people weren't actively tormenting her. This, though, was clearly just more torment.
…..
Before she could react, the twins handed her bottles of lotion and lay down on their stomachs on the sand, unfastening their tops. Obviously, they wanted her to rub sunscreen on them.
"Sigh... fine. Who wants to go first?" Resigned, Tohka put some lotion in her hands. But she immediately felt stuck again. She had no idea who to start with—she couldn't exactly pick by boob size, or they'd kill her.
"Me first." Kaguya popped up, ignored the bounce, and lay down on top of Yuzuru. At the same time, Yuzuru just happened to roll over.
Pfft. Tohka nearly coughed up blood. That pose was...in her eyes...way too suggestive. She had no words. These two were lethal.
"Hey, hurry up. Don't just stand there—it feels weird like this." Kaguya turned her head and snapped at her. As if to emphasize her point, she wriggled a little, making it even worse.
"You call this 'weird'? It's downright criminal, you know?" Tohka forced herself to swallow her blood and set her hands on Kaguya's smooth back. She took a deep breath—and started rubbing.
"Ah!!!"
"Dammit—it's just sunscreen, why are you moaning like that?! You're going to get me arrested!" Tohka had only meant to rub gently, but the moment she touched her, Kaguya let out a gasp so breathy Tohka nearly slapped her by accident.
"Agreed. Kaguya is pathetic—let me do it." Yuzuru couldn't stand to watch anymore. She grabbed Kaguya, flipped her over, pinned her down, and climbed on top. Then she looked up at Tohka, her meaning perfectly clear: your turn.
"I'm warning you—no moaning this time." Tohka eyed her suspiciously. Sure, this was their first time using sunscreen, but did they really have to overreact this much? She sighed and placed her hand on Yuzuru's back, applying pressure.
"Ah!!!"
"MMP."