"Tsk, we're about the same anyway." Tohka didn't comment on Kurumi's words. After all, she had never shown mercy to enemies. Otherwise, she might have died long ago. But she still couldn't go as far as Kurumi, who would even attack ordinary people, so she really didn't think she was more ruthless than Kurumi.
"Hahaha, is that so." Hearing Tohka's response, Kurumi didn't mind at all. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Tohka's neck from behind, leaning in close to her ear and breathing softly, "Oh my, Oh my, little Tohka, you're looking cuter and cuter in this outfit. I can barely hold myself back, hahaha."
While she was hugging Tohka's neck and sighing, one of her hands also started to act mischievously.
"Enough already, you! I'm about to go on stage. You'd better be ready. If someone escapes, everything will be ruined." Feeling Kurumi's hand doing something weird, Tohka shook her body and managed to slip out of her clutches. To prevent Kurumi from doing anything more, she quickly reminded her and immediately walked away.
"Hmph hmph, got it. Westcott, huh? Looks like this could be quite a challenge." Watching Tohka leave, Kurumi didn't try to stop her and instead showed a sly smile. It was clear she had heard some things about that man.
"Alright, the concert is already more than halfway through. Next will be the duet between Tohka and Miku. Those two really know how to make a scene, putting together such a huge production. And don't they realize how tense things have been lately?" At that moment, up above inside the Fraxinus, the screen displayed images of Tohka and Miku. Kotori was flipping through a program list she'd somehow obtained.
"Seriously, it's just a concert. Fine, don't let me go—but why drag me here to watch with you?" Hearing his sister's complaints, Shido couldn't help but grumble. Miku's promotion had been so effective that he'd even bought a few tickets. But in the end, he'd been dragged here by Kotori to watch a live broadcast remotely. Even though the Fraxinus's equipment was top-notch and the viewing experience was pretty much the same, it still wasn't the same as being there. And now his tickets were wasted.
"Hmph, don't you know? According to our intel, DEM's people are already here. Those guys aren't AST. Sure, they suffered a huge loss to Tohka before, but they're still very dangerous. Even though Tohka is their main target, you can't let your guard down. Westcott's methods are too cunning." Kotori didn't even look up from the program list as she spoke.
"Come on, do we really have to go this far?" Shido muttered under his breath. Then he stopped complaining. Last time, DEM's operatives had been completely crushed by Tohka without even putting up any real resistance. So subconsciously, he didn't really worry about them. After all, unlike the original story, there hadn't been any scene here of Tohka being overpowered by Ellen.
"Are you ready, Tohka? You're about to go on." Up above, the conversation continued, but meanwhile Tohka was backstage accompanied by the Yamai sisters. Miku's song was coming to an end, and Tohka knew according to their plan it was now her turn to appear.
"Hello everyone. The last song tonight won't be mine. So this time, I've specially invited the composer herself to join me here for the performance..." As the previous song ended, Miku began riling up the crowd. It had to be said, as a Spirit, Miku's stamina was far beyond an ordinary person's. A normal singer would've been gasping for breath after singing and dancing for over an hour, but Miku still looked perfectly calm, even taking time to banter with the audience.
"Whoa..." The moment Miku spoke, the venue erupted. For the promotion, they'd released a short snippet of the song in advance. The result was that a bunch of fans had gotten addicted to the teaser—only to have it cut off abruptly. Like when some unscrupulous author suddenly ends a chapter with a cliffhanger... (For the record, a conscientious author like me would never do that.) So, when they heard Miku's announcement, the excitement in the venue soared.
"Damn it, standing up here in this skirt really is the worst." There was no way Tohka would feel stage fright—she'd faced far bigger crowds in Marvel. But this skirt was just too damn short, making her instinctively clamp her legs together.
Just then, the slightly bewitching intro to "Ikenai Borderline" began to play. Even if she didn't want to, Tohka couldn't back out now, so she stepped onto the rising platform.
"Mitsume atte koi wo shite [Gazing into each other's eyes, we fall in love]" Miku's first line echoed through the arena as Tohka rose into view on stage.
"Muga muchuu de oikakete [Chasing after you in a daze]" She was already up there, so Tohka had no choice but to follow the choreography as rehearsed.
"Dakedo motto shiritakute [But my desire to know you]"
And then the two of them began singing together, launching straight into the performance. Fortunately, even though Tohka had never formally learned to dance, her body was agile enough that the slightly manic choreography didn't pose any problem.
"Whoa!!!" The entire audience shouted along with the beat. Countless pairs of eyes were glued to their long legs clad in black and white stockings. Especially Tohka—because her skirt was so short, everyone was desperate to see more. But unfortunately for them, some invisible force seemed to be protecting her modesty. The fact that they couldn't see anything only made them want to look even more. It was maddening.
"Mmm, this song is actually pretty nice." Not only the audience—everyone watching up on the Fraxinus also wore entranced expressions. It had to be said, they were all on the verge of getting addicted.
"Yes, it really is a good song." Up in the command seat, Kotori nodded in satisfaction. "This is the last song. Looks like everything is... wait—alert, something's happening!!!"
"Boom."
Just as Tohka and Miku's performance ended, an explosion suddenly shook the ceiling of the venue.