"So, in the end, I still ended up here." Looking helplessly around her room, Tohka realized she had wound up staying here after all. However, at least she wasn't living in the same room as Shido Itsuka—his room was just downstairs from hers. To prevent Kotori from pulling any tricks, she'd especially gone out and bought several big locks to bolt to the door, and she'd also set up some protective wards she'd learned from Asgard. Hmm, well, the defensive power was negligible because of her diminished strength, but at least it worked as an alarm system.
But compared to that, Tohka was currently dealing with something that gave her a headache—the set of clothes that had just been delivered. She was very familiar with them. After all, Shido had worn the exact same style before, only the male version.
"So those guys want me to go to middle school. But I was still a high schooler before. Even though Japanese high schoolers are terrifying, I really don't want to go..." Staring at the notice she'd received, Tohka felt like she didn't even know how to complain anymore. One of the conditions for them to arrange her identity was that she had to attend school here. It was so frustrating—she had absolutely no intention of going to school. But in the end, she couldn't talk them out of it, so now she was stuck here, staring at this ultra-short skirt.
"Safety shorts are truly a civilized invention." She had worn them before, but Miku had thrown them all out. However, Miku was still busy with her concert tour and didn't have time to bother her now. So, whatever—Tohka put on the so-called safety shorts, along with the black stockings over her legs and the neatly pressed uniform.
"Wow, so pretty." Alright, seeing herself dressed up like this, even Tohka subconsciously drooled a little. She had to admit, this uniform suited her extremely well.
"Ugh, you really are clingy like glue." Just then, as she opened her door, she came face to face with a certain blue-haired boy.
"Um, thanks for yesterday. If it weren't for you, I'd have died." Hearing Tohka's words, Shido didn't take offense. After spending a day together, he'd gotten used to Tohka's temperament. As for things like affection level, he honestly didn't care. He hadn't seen anything that suggested Tohka needed any help. Kotori's and Reine's instructions had all been subconsciously ignored.
"Oh, really." Tohka replied flatly, "No need to thank me. Think of it as my way of repaying you for saving me. Anyway, even if I'd done nothing, you wouldn't have died."
She wasn't making that up—before Kotori's regeneration powers on him had even kicked in, she had already healed him. So up until now, he still didn't know he had such strong recovery abilities. That was why he'd come to thank Tohka. Judging by this, Kotori and Reine hadn't told him anything.
"Um, since you already agreed, let me take you there." Glancing at Tohka's familiar uniform, Shido realized she'd be coming to his school from now on, so he took the initiative to invite her.
"Ah, fine." Glancing at him, Tohka didn't object. She'd just follow along. But at that moment, she suddenly became interested in the vehicles parked below. In her previous world, she'd flown around in armor, and the few times she'd needed to ride in a car, Tony's vehicles were all driven by JARVIS. So, it was actually pretty funny—despite living in a country of automobiles, she'd never once driven herself. But now seemed like a perfect opportunity. So, she led Shido down to one of the cars parked downstairs.
Then, under his shocked gaze, she pulled out a remote. In fact, it was the same remote Tony had given her to control her armor. Aside from regular remote operations, it also had the ability to hack into other electronic systems. So Tohka very easily unlocked one of the cars and sat in the driver's seat, making Shido's eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
"Hey, hey—no idea how you opened someone else's car, but are you sure this is, okay? Also—do you even know how to drive? Besides, even if we walk, we won't be late." Cold sweat dripping down his back as he watched Tohka sit there acting like it was nothing, Shido quickly tried to talk her out of it. His instincts told him that if Tohka started driving, disaster would surely follow.
"Tch, I'm not scared—what are you afraid of, you big guy?" Casually starting the car, Tohka shot Shido a provocative look as he stood in front of the hood.
"Uh, fine. But be careful. Also, you're really sure this is okay? This is someone else's car..." Since Tohka insisted, Shido had no choice but to climb in. Originally, he'd wanted to sit in the passenger seat, but for safety's sake, he got into the back. Even then, he couldn't stop worrying—after all, the car wasn't theirs. If she wrecked it, things would get ugly.
"Tch, what's there to be scared of? This city's already been destroyed so many times—one car more or less doesn't matter." Completely unconcerned by Shido's anxiety, Tohka shifted into gear and stepped on the gas. Since it was an automatic, there was no clutch or anything, so it was dead simple. The car shot forward like a rocket.
"Aah—aaah!" The instant the car started moving, Shido was slammed back into his seat by the inertia, letting out a pained scream. But it didn't dampen Tohka's excitement at all. Even if the car exploded, it wouldn't hurt her. As for Shido—well, he had Kotori's protection, so it was fine. So Tohka floored the accelerator, ignored the traffic lights, and sped straight toward the school.
"Hey, hey, hey—slow down! That's the school right up ahead! Are you sure you can stop this thing?" The whole way there, he was terrified out of his mind. Even though Tohka drove like a maniac, thanks to a spirit's superhuman reflexes, they had somehow made it without incident. As for the chaos she'd caused in traffic, that was the last thing on Shido's mind—because now they were barreling straight toward the school, and at this speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, stopping was definitely not going to be easy.
"No worries—leave it to me." Knowing she wouldn't be able to brake in time, Tohka pressed down with all her strength. Unfortunately, the brake pedal was no match for her power.
"Boom." In the early morning, an explosive crash echoed through the front of the school, ringing out across the campus.