"What to do?"
Scratching his head, Sonny stared at the wall where the flattened chair had embedded itself. The hole was roughly the chair's profile, about two feet wide and three feet tall, ragged at the edges where plaster had splintered.
Dust hung in the air and a thin, cold draft pushed through the gap.
He cursed beneath his breath.
The chair had not simply hit the wall; in its flattened state it had slid through the drywall like a razor-thin blade, shearing the surface and lodging itself partway into the hollow space behind the plaster. Up close, the chair looked impossibly thin, its grain and varnish preserved as if someone had painted a photograph and then folded it.
Panic flirted at the edge of his thoughts. How was he supposed to fix something like this? His funds were not kind enough for him to call a repairman and he obviously couldn't fix it himself.
Hopefully, the neighbors wouldn't notice the noise.
'Goddamn it. Calm down, it's not that bad... I think? No biggy! I'll simply leave it like this until I have the money!'
First things first, check the chair. He moved cautiously to the opening and probed the exposed edge with two fingers. The flattened wood offered no give; it felt like stiff paper but with an uncanny rigidity. He tugged gently, there was no movement, still. Restoring it had failed before. If the chair would not revert on command, he needed a different approach.
He glanced around the room for something useful. A roll of duct tape sat on a shelf. A heavy blanket lay folded on the sofa. Dante grabbed both. He jammed the blanket into the gap to muffle the draft and wrapped duct tape across the torn plaster as a temporary seal. It was ugly, clumsy, and entirely on the wrong side of permanent repair, but it would hide the worst until he could figure out the next step.
While he worked he made mental notes. Flattened objects could pass through thin barriers. They retained surface detail and edge sharpness. They were lighter, slid with less friction, and behaved like sheets rather than solid masses. That meant he could conceivably use flattened matter to bypass defenses, create slashes through armoured gaps, or set traps that cut from impossible angles. It also meant that if something got stuck inside walls, getting it back out might be difficult.
Sonny sighed and sank onto the sofa, rubbing his throbbing forehead. Practical problems demanded practical tests.
He took his notebook and wrote two lines in neat, hurried script:
†
1. Size limit test — measure max object that flattens.
And,
2. Through-barrier test — what materials can flattened objects penetrate?
†
A small sliver of excitement threaded through his anxiety. Every mistake was information, information was knowledge and knowledge was power. He looked at the duct-taped tear, then at the flattened chair's edge peeking from the gap.
"Yes, this can work. No, it will work. I'll make it work. Hehehe."
Suddenly, a mad smile appeared on his face.
Just then...
Knock! Knock!
Outside the door, someone knocked and dragged Sonny's perverted thoughts back into reality.
"Huh? I have a visitor? At this ungodly hour no less?"
Visitors weren't common at this hour, and he certainly hadn't expected anyone to drop by unannounced.
'Please, don't be the neighbor. Please.'
Swallowing nervously, he cautiously approached the door and peered through the peephole. To his surprise, it wasn't the neighbor he had dreaded to see, but a familiar face.
He opened the door, and the ivory-haired female greeted him casually.
"Wassup."
Sonny blinked.
"Chloe? What are you doing here at this hour?"
She gave him a curious look.
"Is it a crime for me to visit one of my best buddies? Besides, you were acting suspicious at school and then disappeared without saying a word. Did something happen?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "Oh… right, about that…"
'What should I do? I can't exactly tell her I'm an Esper now…'
This was exactly the kind of situation he had been trying to avoid, yet here it was, landing squarely in his lap. Coming up with a reasonable excuse seemed like the only option.
Before he could speak, Chloe shrugged and proceeded to say,
"Well, that doesn't matter. I get it. You've got your reasons, and I won't press you about the details. Skipping school isn't really your style anyway. By the way… my legs are killing me. Mind if I come in?"
"Um… sure," Casey muttered, stepping aside to let her in.
Chloe stepped inside, stretching slightly as she did. The scent of late afternoon sun mixed with the faint aroma of the dinner Sonny had hastily prepared. She kicked off her shoes and sank onto the sofa with a relieved groan, wincing as she rubbed her calves.
"You're really a bad influence, you know. Disappearing like that… don't tell me you're hiding some secret crime boss life."
Sonny chuckled.
"I truly wish I was that incredible. But no, just a boring old man here."
Her teasing smile widened.
"So you finally admit you're an old man… and even talk like one. Why can't you be more energetic and lively?"
This time, it was Sonny's turn to shrug.
"Energetic for what, exactly? Wasting energy on pointless things isn't ideal. I'm a lazy fellow; I hate wasting effort on nonsense."
Chloe raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconvinced.
"Is that why you suddenly skipped school? Because it was pointless? And what exactly have you been doing here, then?"
"I thought you said you wouldn't ask about the details."
"So I can't be curious?"
Sonny blinked, caught off guard. How could she say one thing and then the opposite? He looked at her with a blank expression and scratched his head.
'What am I supposed to do? Satisfy her curiosity? No way.'
He couldn't exactly tell her he'd been experimenting with a Mythic Ability capable of flattening objects into two dimensions. That would be… catastrophic.
Instead, he settled on a half-truth.
"Let's just say… I had a small project at home. Got a little carried away."
Chloe tilted her head, narrowing her eyes, then let out a low chuckle.
"Project, huh? If you say so. Well, I'm here, so I'm sticking around. You can't just brush me off that easily."
Sonny sighed inwardly. His gaze flicked toward the flattened chair embedded in the wall and back to her, weighing his options.
'Maybe I can keep her busy while I figure this out…'
"Uh… sure, sure. Make yourself comfortable. I… uh… need to grab some snacks or something."
Chloe's lit up like a torch.
"Oh, that would be nice! But I'm going to help myself by watching a movie, okay? Now fetch those chips and snacks, my loyal servant!"
Look at this energetic fellow…
The young Esper stared at her for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh and headed into the kitchen. He grabbed two bags of chips and two soda cans from the refrigerator. Returning to the living room, he set the snacks on the table while keeping one wary eye on the flattened chair jutting from the wall.
It was far too obvious to ignore. There was no way she hadn't noticed, right?
Sonny groaned and ran a hand down his face.
Fortunately, Chloe had already turned on the TV and was engrossed in the movie playing on the screen. She had made herself at home on the sofa, lying on her stomach with her legs swinging idly behind her.
What the girl didn't realize was the effect her position was having. Compared to most high school girls in their final year, she was unusually well-developed in certain areas. Her bust was fairly average, but her bubble butt was enormous; full, rounded, and impossible to ignore.
It was the kind of shape that could be compared to a pumping or a beach ball and he wasn't exaggerating either. Her posture only accentuated it further, making it appear even more prominent, but Chloe remained completely oblivious.
For a moment, it almost felt like she was… silently inviting him.
Sonny frowned.
'Just what is wrong with this girl? Doesn't she realize she's completely defenseless? Oh… I get it now.'
Understanding flickered in his eyes, and before long, a slow, almost sadistic smile spread across his lips.
Without a second thought, the savage Esper lunged forward.