Chapter 11: Girls Are Scary; or, A Slightly Different Flavor of Romance Idiot
October 3rd, 2020
Oh, I guess we're starting with a flashback this time. Great.
I sneezed and rubbed my arms. The hospital gown was really cold, but Mom wasn't back with my change of clothes yet. Hopefully she'd be back by the time they finished checking out Sugu to make sure she wasn't going to get sick from falling into the water. Mom said she'd be right back, and when I checked with my telepathy she was still thinking, 'I'm so glad Sugu and Kazuto weren't hurt...' Her thoughts were back at our hotel room so she was still getting new clothes for me and my little sister.
With a heavy sigh I swung my legs back and forth on the uncomfortable chair in the hospital waiting area. Bored. Bored, bored, bored. The only thing that kept me entertained was the thoughts of the people around me. The thought suddenly occurred to me: 'I wonder how my sister is doing?' Naturally, I focused and started sifting through the thoughts.
'That boy got hit by a car... but his eyes look all fish-like and gross.'
'I hate these stupid lines...'
'This is dumb. Kazuto already saved me! He's the best ever! I don't even feel sick, so why can't I go home already! Uwaaah, I wish Kazuto were here to sit with me. Then I could talk to him and forget all about these dumb doctors.'
Ah! There were Sugu's thoughts - though it was a little weird how she was thinking about me. Normally she just thinks about regular Sugu-like things like her homework, kendo, or what's for dinner. Wishing I was there? That was really strange.
Well, I knew it was probably just a phase because I'd managed to pull her out of that pond with my psychic powers-enhanced strength. I was pretty sure she had no clue, so I hadn't broken my word to Mr. Kayaba yet.
'Why do I break everything? Why won't these lines go away?' The plaintive thought floated through my head again. For some reason, I listened to the girl's thoughts. 'If only there was some way I could stop seeing these lines, then I could go home and be with my mom and grandpa again.'
I swung my legs back and forth, and then decided. It was okay if I helped someone out, right? Even if the girl wondered who I was, it wasn't like I'd ever see her again. Plus, I could probably help her without showing off my psychic powers!
It only took a little bit of thought to create something that could help. She was complaining about seeing things, right? Then that meant she needed glasses! That was how it always worked in my RPGs. I didn't know what she meant by 'lines', but glasses solve eye problems so they'll definitely help.
A quick trip to the bathroom, a teleport back home, and a search through Sugu's old Halloween costumes later and I clutched a pair of half-rimmed black glasses in my hands. It didn't take long to track down the room the girl's thoughts were coming from. 'Shino Asada'... That was a pretty name. When I walked into the room, I stared at the girl on the bed. She had to be about Sugu's age, with black hair. She had her knees drawn up to her chest and her face buried in them.
Um, hello?
She didn't even jump. "Hello," she mumbled.
...Do you want these? They should help.
This time she looked up at me, her black eyes curious. "With what?"
Whatever the 'lines' are?
I scratched my cheek. Her thoughts hadn't told me very much about them. Still, my words had an impact. The girl gasped. 'How does he know about them?!' I watched as a brilliant blue bloomed in her eyes - before she tore her eyes away and stared at her knees. "Just... go away. Being here makes it worse..."
She hunched over, but I didn't leave. I could hear how much she wanted the lines to go away. So, I crawled up onto the hospital bed (and ignored her surprised gasp) and placed the glasses on her face when she looked up at me.
There! Now you should be okay.
Shino glared at me. "Shut up! Just go... away... the lines? They're gone!"
Yep! Glasses help.
"Thank you!" Before I could react, Shino had wrapped her arms around me. Our cheeks touched. 'I don't know how he knew, but... I bet he's some super powerful Master of magic or something like that!' "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Eheheh... You're welcome? Can you stop hugging me now?
"Huh?" Shino blinked and then let go. "Eep! I'm very sorry, Master!" Master? Well, if it made her happy, then she could call me that. It was better than her asking my name, after all.
I'm glad I could help. Bye bye!
"Wait!" Before she could get the words out, I was already out the door of her hospital room. 'Master... I'll never forget your face!'
It was a little weird that she was so excited about a perfectly normal pair of glasses, but I didn't think about it. The doctor coming back with Sugu in tow distracted me a lot.
She stared up at the man, her voice coming in quick, short breaths. He waved around a knife and shouted for the bank tellers to hurry up and shove the money in the bank.
Her mom had been sitting by the door, and so she was the first one he'd grabbed before he started shouting. He pressed the knife against her, threatening to make a point if he didn't get his money.
She had to protect her mother. So she ran up and shoved the crazy man as hard as she could, right in the back.
Maybe he was drunk. Maybe he was just off-balance. Maybe she was really lucky. Whatever the case was, he fell forward and let her mother go.
He shouted in pain and anger and got to his feet. She shrunk back against the wall as he pulled the knife from his arm where he'd stabbed himself. When he waved the knife around -
Red. Warm, sticky, and blinding. She didn't know what happened next, but the doctors told her that he'd splashed his blood directly into her open eyes. They said she was incredibly lucky that there had been no injuries at all.
They didn't know about the lines.
...
Sugu screamed in fear as a guy reached for her -
August 23rd, 2025
I jolted awake. Immediately, my mind reached for Sugu's thoughts. 'Hmm~ I wish Kazuto would join me in the shower once or twice~'
Aaaand that's more than enough of that. But she was safe. I took a few deep breaths and did my best to calm down.
I, Kazuto Kirigaya, am the most powerful psychic in the world. But, I hate my powers. Why, you ask? Even if you didn't ask, I'll tell you anyway. They suck. They're awful. My telepathy is always on and constantly reading everyone's thoughts. If I touch anyone's bare skin with my own, I'll see a flashback of their recent memories (the more powerful, the more likely I'd see it). And the one that was most relevant right now, one that's out of my control entirely.
That one, naturally, is precognition. Sure, it sounds great to be able to see the future, but in practical terms? Useless! Like every other power I have. Since I couldn't control when I'd have a precog dream, I couldn't use it to predict anything like 'Asuna will get ambushed by delinquents and when I rescue her she'll become obsessed with me' or 'Yuuna will knock on my front door and jump right back into my life'. Instead, I get these brief flashes that don't do anything but get me worried. Sure, I get to see the future, but only five seconds of it; and I only know what I saw in the dream. If there wasn't any clue to the time or place, the only guarantee I had was that my vision was guaranteed to come true that day.
Like the one about Sugu...
I shook my head. No, it was fine. She was fine. The first half of that dream had been memories I'd seen in the past. But... just to be on the safe side, I was going to pay extra attention to her thoughts the whole day.
Almost immediately, I regretted my decision when I heard her next thoughts. 'I bet I can catch him today! I'm gonna wait out in the hallway until he comes out of his room! I'm gonna make him look at me in a towel today! And then he'll be so captivated by me he won't be able to resist~! Kyaaaa, I love Kazuto the most!' Go get dressed, or we'll be late!
Fortunately, if Sugu was upstairs camping the hallway, it was easy for me to just teleport downstairs after I was dressed in my school uniform. Once breakfast was ready and I could hear Sugu's stomach grumbling from the kitchen, I walked to the base of the stairs.
Sugu, hurry up, it's breakfast.
'Whaaaat?! How did he escape?! Darn it!' "Give me a second, I'm almost ready!"
If you don't hurry, I'll leave without you!
'Nooooooo!' "Whatever," she called out, just before the door to her room slammed shut. 'I can't miss this time with him! I'll be missing out on precious time with Kazuto!'
It really was so easy to get my little sister to do what I wanted.
...
Of course, she probably thought the same thing about me, because naturally she chose today to ask me to go shopping with her. And, for some reason that I blame the author for, I said yes.
'That's the guy... and holy shit, that girl next to him is stacked.'
Well, it looked like trouble was coming for me. A group of thugs were following us and had been for a little bit. I'd noticed them a while back thanks to their thoughts about my sister, but it looked like they were searching for me in particular. I wasn't sure why; I didn't recognize any of them.
'A little bit of Monica in my life, a little bit of Erica by my side~'
Oh. That was probably why, come to think of it.
The guys behind us weren't exactly masters of the Stealth skill, and it didn't take long for Sugu to notice them. She slipped her hand in mine for safety, and I didn't pull away. I'd kept my mental eye on her the entire time she was at kendo practice, and she'd called me as soon as she'd finished. My dream hadn't come true yet, so that meant it had to happen sooner or later...
"Hey, hey, what do we have here?" An older boy stepped forward from the wall where he'd been leaning. Ugh, so cliché. The author is really pulling out all the stops for this one. "A couple of kids out together?"
One of the guys flanking him had a metal bat that he rested on his shoulder. The trash mobs behind us blocked the way back and laughed loudly. "Kazuto..." Sugu whispered. I just squeezed her hand gently. She may be a brocon, but I wasn't going to let anything happen to her.
"Remember me?" the guy sneered. "I remember you. You're that guy that broke my arm!"
Sugu glared at him. "What do you want with my brother?"
"Nothing, nothing," he said with a nasty chuckle. "Just a friendly chat, that's all. Why don't you be a good girl and go wait over there while I talk with him?" He cracked his knuckles.
My little sister stepped to the side. To anyone else, it would look like she was following the delinquent's suggestion. Since I could read her mind, I knew it was anything but. 'If he touches my big brother, I'll break his arm!'
"Yo, if you're gonna beat him up, can I spend some quality time with his girlfriend?" one of his thugs snickered. The lead guy waved absently as he stepped up to me. "Suh-weet. Hey sweetheart, over here."
He reached for her, and Sugu screamed. "Get away from me!"
Oh. It's my dream.
I watched with a deadpan expression on my face as Sugu unsheathed her shinai in a fluid motion and smashed it over his head. "Ah! I'm very sorry," she said to his unconscious body. "I shouldn't hit people in the head."
With these guys it's fine, Sugu.
"Really?" She perked up. "Oh, okay." 'Hooray! Kazuto won't be mad at me for that!'
"Holy shit she's insane," lead thug yelped. "What is she?"
My little sister. But you're right about the insane part.
Still, I did want to get to the store before they closed, so as fun as that whole event had been I needed to wrap things up. I reached out and tapped the guy with the metal bat on the shoulder, then took the bat. After I bent it in half, I handed it back to him. He stared at me, then at the crooked bat. "…Aw, fuck."
It only took a single hit each time to knock the thugs out. Honestly, I liked it that way. Who cared if I beat every opponent in one hit? I liked it boring. 'Wow!' Sugu gushed in her thoughts. 'My big brother is the beeeest! I knew he was the strongest ever!'
Once all of the thugs were groaning and piled up in the convenient nearby alley, I dusted my hands off. Then I turned around. The wave of mooks had been cleared, so naturally the boss was going to arrive. Two men were walking through the crowd that parted for them, like they were giving off some sort of badass vibe. One was wearing a really tacky suit with a wine-colored shirt, the collar popped and the top button undone. It looked like he'd bought it in the 80s and never replaced it... Even though he looked like he was older, his shoulders were broad. The other one next to him had an eyepatch over his right eye, and a snake-skin suit that somehow managed to be just as tacky as the first guy's outfit.
Seriously, was I fated to run into people with cursed right eyes or something?!
"Oh crap... The boss..." Metal Bat Thug groaned before he fell unconscious entirely.
We should probably go, Sugu.
"Y-Yeah," she muttered, clinging onto my arm. I didn't shake her off as we passed by the two men. They gave off an aura of danger.
'That uniform... I'll remember his face.'
I didn't stiffen as I passed them but that was only because of my psychic control over my body. There was a girl standing just behind them, hidden. When Sugu and I had walked past them, she'd stared at me and thought those words. The short-haired girl stared at me for a little bit longer, then turned back to the guys we'd knocked out. "And what do you think you're doing?" she asked, her tone disappointed.
...This is going to be trouble. I just know it. And there's absolutely nothing I can do about it, either!
What? Are you saying that not every girl I run into is going to be part of my troubles? …You're joking, right? You can't be serious. You've been reading this story all along, so how could you say something like that?!
I yawned as I walked to my classroom. I'd been up late playing SAO, and it had been pretty exhausting; not that anything special had happened outside of my usual experience with the game. Kizmel and Strea wanted to cuddle all day, Yui kept talking about how she'd done more research and could help me out with my friends even better, Asuna turned out to be terrified of ghosts... Basically... I was tired.
"Good morning, Kazuto," Nijika said. "Did you sleep well?"
Morning, Nijika.
The maid idol girl was far, far too cheerful for this early in the morning. Still, her humming was soothing to listen to, so I folded my arms on my desk and rested my head. I could just rest my eyes a bit, right?
*Slam!*
The author has a sick sense of timing. I knew that it had to have been on purpose, right after I decided to relax.
All of the conversation in the classroom stopped as everyone turned to look at the girl that had just slammed the door open. The blonde girl didn't say a word, she just looked around before walking into the room. 'Hey, isn't she that girl that wasn't here?' 'I heard she was in the hospital because she was in a fight!' 'No, she put a bunch of people in the hospital!' 'I've heard that my friend's brother saw her running around with a gang!'
I buried my face in my arms and tried to pretend that I'd never gotten out of my bed this morning.
Of course the girl that just walked in wearing our school uniform was the girl that I'd seen yesterday with the two big guys! Did she follow me here?
When she took the empty seat right next to me, in the Protagonist seat, I groaned. I wasn't even surprised that she was such an obvious important character in the story. After the introduction she had, she had to be someone important.
She stared at me and then nodded once. 'I knew it. That's the guy that beat up my boys. Hmph... I'll have to take care of him, then.' Oh come on! Why can't a nice, sweet girl ever be interested in me? Well, Asuna fit that bill, though.
After that ominous thought, the girl leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. Her entrance already had people whispering about her, but nobody seemed to have the courage to go up and talk to the surly delinquent. "She's scary..." "I don't want to look at her in case she gets mad..." "I feel sorry for that guy sitting next to her..." "I don't, he's the one that's always with our Princesses!" "I'll bring flowers to his hospital room" Hey! Don't just write me out of the story on your own!
Ms. Ryoko walked in and started class like usual. And as expected, the first thing she did after we greeted her was say, "We have a new student joining our class today. Miss Takemiya, would you introduce yourself?"
I was pretty sure every student in the class swallowed nervously and stared forward when Takemiya stood up. Her chair screeched a little bit. "...Kotone Takemiya," she said.
After a second Ms. Ryoko asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
"Not really." Takemiya sank back into her seat.
"...Alright," Ms. Ryoko said. "In that case, the rest of homeroom..."
I looked at Takemiya out of the corner of my eye. Her introduction had been so quick and sharp that nobody knew how to react, so everyone was listening to the teacher. I wasn't sure why she'd refused to say anything, really. She was cute enough, with dandelion-colored hair and blue eyes that -
...That were glaring straight at me. Takemiya had turned her head while I was staring at her, and met my eyes squarely. Her eyes were narrowed. 'This guy... Staring at me like that...'
Oh crap! I tore my eyes away and stared up at the front, and made sure I wasn't listening to her thoughts anymore. I didn't want her to think I was staring or anything like that! In fact, I didn't want anything to do with her at all!
'Ah! That's not fair!' Nijika thought. 'She just showed up, and already they're staring soulfully into each other's eyes... I bet he'll ask her to eat lunch with him and he'll be super gallant! Why couldn't that be meeeee?'
Nijika stop, you're making things up again. At least she wasn't playing SAO with us. If she knew about the AI girls that I spent almost all of my gaming time with, then her fantasies would be totally out of control!
...
The class just before the end of the day was Home Ec, and since we were all sitting together I ended up in a group of three with Nijika and Takemiya. "Okay!" Nijika clapped her hands. "We're making curry. I've never made it before, so this will be fun!"
'Kazuto nodded and smiled gently at her. "I can't wait to taste your delicious food," he said. "I'd love to eat it every night when I get home."
Nijika blushed fiercely. "W-Well... Maybe I could make lunches for us..."
"I'd love that," he said. "Just like I love you."'
No! Nijika, you stop that right now! I don't sound or act anything like that! This girl, honestly...
"Anyway," Nijika coughed. The little blush on her cheeks gave away how she really felt. "Kazuto, Takemiya, are you any good at cooking?"
I make breakfast and dinner from time to time, swapping off with my sister.
"Hmph." Takemiya reached over and picked up the kitchen knife. "I'm really good with a knife. Just watch me."
Why was she staring directly at me when she said that?! That was a threat! A direct threat, because I beat up some of her underlings and now she wants revenge! I shivered. Why can't my life ever be simple? I'd even take a hundred Strea Hug over having a gang boss mad at me!
'...Oooh, I feel like Kirito thought something really fun!'
'Strea looks happy! Maybe she can convince Papa to give her a Norito tonight!'
'Perhaps Kirito will be interested in joining me in the bath the next time I see him... As well as the other girls. Maybe I can convince him to engage in what Lisbeth termed, "skinship" with me.'
How can I hear their thoughts?! They're all NPCs in SAO, how the heck...?
Despite my confusion, there wasn't much I could do about the NPC girls' scheming. Instead, I had to deal with keeping myself safe from Takemiya! She stared at the blade, turning it in the light so that it gleamed. I bet she was trying to figure out if she could kill me! 'Hmm, it's not very sharp... I bet it won't cut well.' I knew it!
As soon as we had our ingredients I set to work chopping up the meat and veggies. If I was busy working, then Takemiya couldn't do anything, right? It'd look really bad if there was blood in our curry! For whatever reason, Takemiya started doing the same thing... but directly across from me, so that I had no choice but to watch as she handled the knife with expertise, slicing up the ingredients with an intense look on her face. She's intimidating me... No! I can't let her get to me. I have to focus.
"Wow!" Nijika gasped. "You're really good at this, Kazuto! Your little sister is so lucky."
Yeah, cooking like this is pretty simple. ...Hang on, I don't remember if I ever told her I had a little sister. Has she been stalking me again? Or did I just not remember mentioning it? With Nijika, I could never be sure.
"Lucky, yeah," Takemiya said. "She's lucky you come home to her every day."
Kyaa! She was threatening my sister's happiness now!
...
Somehow the curry had turned out alright, but I didn't care about that. As soon as the bell rang, I hurried out of the classroom. I had to get away -
"Hey, you!" Takemiya slammed her hand on her desk and rose from her seat. "Get back here, I need to talk to you!"
No way! Do you think I'm crazy?!
I didn't slow down as I hurried down the hall towards the stairs. 'Crap, he's getting away!' Takemiya burst out of the door behind me and started running down the hall. 'Get out of my way!' A few students unlucky enough to be caught between me and her got shoved to the side.
Stay away!
'...I wonder if Kazuto will be okay,' Nijika thought. 'That girl is scary... She's been glaring at him all day, I wonder what he did?' Instead of wondering about it, why couldn't you help me, Nijika?! You silly maid!
On second thought, she'd probably take that as a compliment.
I took the stairs two at a time and did my best to get around the students that were going down. I nearly bumped into one guy and he jumped to the side. "Hey, watch it!" he snapped. The other students on the steps turned to watch me scramble up the steps. "Jerk - Gah!"
The sudden shout caught my attention and I stopped at the top to look back down. Takemiya had grabbed him by the collar. "That guy that ran this way, where did he go?" she asked. Shakily he pointed up at me. You traitor! I didn't even know you, but traitor!
Takemiya looked up at me again and our eyes met for an instant before I took off running down the hall again. "Stop running already!" she shouted. 'This is starting to piss me off!' Well now I'm definitely not going to stop running, not if she's pissed off!
I'd been running without much thought as to where I was going, and I paid for it when I realized that I was about to run straight into the end of the hallway. I didn't need to look behind me to know that there was a small crowd of students between me and Takemiya, and that gave me just enough time to duck into the nearest bathroom and duck into a stall.
'Crap... I lost him! But this is a dead end, and there's only so many places he could be hiding. I'll just have to wait!'
God damn it... I'd made a mistake and cornered myself! And now Takemiya was out there like a patient tiger, just biding her time and waiting. Well, it wasn't the end of the world. The nicest thing about bathrooms? Since I'd just grabbed the stall right next to the door, I knew I was out of sight of everyone. There wasn't anyone that could see me, so I could just instantly teleport to -
"Fuaah," a girl sighed as she entered the bathroom. "Man! I really worked hard during gym today. My whole body aches!"
"I keep telling you to take it easy, Rika," another girl sighed. "You're going to hurt yourself."
"Hahaha! No way! My burning spirit will protect me!"
A feminine giggle. "Honey, I'm convinced you're gonna pull something sooner or later. I make sure to check your horoscope every morning, but every time it says you'll be fine. Sooner or later your luck's gonna run out."
"Nya hah hah! Those things're super unreliable. Ain't that right, A-chan?"
"They are not!" Yuuna protested. "They've always been perfectly accurate for me."
Eh?!
What were the girls doing in... the bathroom... My heart sank as a small detail that had been nagging at me suddenly made sense. When I'd run in here, I hadn't seen a single urinal.
Because this was the girls' bathroom! I'd been so flustered I'd just ducked into the first open door I'd found, and that meant that I was in the wrong room.
"Huh? Oh, is someone in here?" Asuna asked. "I'm very sorry if we're being disruptive."
Oh no, they knew I was there. And with at least one of them looking my way, they could see my feet - and that meant I couldn't teleport away! How was I going to get out of this situation? Maybe if I just stayed really quiet, then they'd -
"Are you okay? You made a weird sound," Rika said.
"Maybe she's sick," Yuuna said. "Honey?"
This sucked! My friends were too nice! Especially Asuna. I could just imagine her fidgeting in place, worrying sick over some random girl she'd never seen.
"I can probably pop th' lock if we need ta," Kana said. She'd use her ninja skills, I bet!
Asuna sighed. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Kana."
"Nya hah hah!"
"Ignore her," Asuna said. "But if you would say something, it would make us all feel a little better."
I took a deep breath. Well, since I couldn't teleport or turn invisible in time (Rika was nowhere near patient enough for me to focus for a minute before they popped open the door) that only left one real option. I'd have to transform.
Transformation was one of my psychic powers that I used the least, because of the six hour minimum that I had to stay in whatever form I transformed into. Since it was already the end of the school day, I would be stuck as whatever form I chose until at least bedtime. Which meant I'd have to deal with Sugu.
"Honey?" Yuuna said. "We're gonna open the door to check on you, you're being a little too quiet."
"I hope she's not passed out," Asuna said.
Crap, I was out of time!
I-I'm coming out!
"Oh! Alright," Asuna said. 'I'm glad she's okay, then.'
I focused on the easiest form for me to picture on short notice that wouldn't shock the girls. Almost immediately my power leapt to my will and I shivered as my form started to change. My clothes warped and shifted on my body, changing color and shape. By the time I reached out and unlocked the stall door, my power had finished its work and I opened the door.
"Ah!" Yuuna smiled at me. "Hi there!"
Kana let out a low whistle. "Sheesh, didn't know a cutie like you went ta our school. She in your class, Yuuna?"
Yuuna shook her head. "I haven't seen her before." 'And I'd definitely know her if she was. I wouldn't have overlooked someone so cute!' "Sorry if we were bothering you."
I-It's okay...
"I'm glad you're okay," Asuna said with a smile. "Though it doesn't look like you go to our school after all... What's your name?" I sighed and looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.
An adorable girl looked back at me. She was shorter than I was, with pale skin just like Asuna and a slender body with curves in all the right places. Her long black hair was luscious and silky even in the poor light of the bathroom, and her big, bright eyes shone. Her vibrant crimson lips were curved in a sweet smile that promised a lot and said nothing.
Or, in a word, me. I'd based the appearance I'd taken off of the avatar I had in GGO. Those descriptive terms that made my body sound so... adorable? They were the actual words my partner in that game called me from time to time when she was teasing me (I kept asking her to stop describing me in such a sexy way but she just smiled at me).
I'm, er... My name is Himiko Narusaka. It's nice to meet you all.
Yuuna beamed at me. "I'm Yuuna. I recognize that uniform, I used to wear one just like it!" I couldn't risk using this school's uniform, so I'd reshaped my clothes into ones that matched Yuuna's old school uniform. "But what are you doing here?"
"Maybe we shouldn't have this conversation in the bathroom," Asuna suggested, but was ignored by the others.
"Are you visiting someone that goes here?" I nodded at Rika's question. "I knew it! And now that I think of it, you look familiar..." She peered at me and tilted her head back and forth. "Huh..."
You might know my cousin... Kazuto Kirigaya?
"Kazuto! That's who you look like!" Rika pumped her fist triumphantly. "You're like, Kazuto but with longer hair!"
"Rika, don't be rude," Asuna said. 'Honestly, that girl says things without thinking them through.'
Yuuna stared at me thoughtfully. 'Hmm, Darling never said he had a cousin... In fact, he said his only family is Suguha...' Crap, had she caught me? What would she say? The silence stretched on for almost fifteen seconds as she studied me. '...Oh well!'
I nearly fell flat on my face at her cheerful disregard for the mystery at hand. "Whatcha starin' at Hicchan for, Yuuna?" Kana asked with a grin. "Somethin' on yer mind? Thinkin' 'bout a boy~?"
"Oh, nothing like that," Yuuna giggled. "It could be nothing."
You all know my cousin?
Even if Yuuna had figured me out, that didn't mean I could let the others figure out the secret. "We do, actually!" Asuna said. "He's a very cherished friend of mine, and we're very, very close. He never mentioned he had a cute cousin like you, though." Uh huh. I'd believe that in a heartbeat. 'This is my chance! If I can get his cousin on my side...'
'Asuna's really laying it on thick... But maybe she has embarrassing stories to tell!' Rika grinned. "So how come you were up here? I haven't seen your cousin since lunch, come to think of it."
"I think he's still around." Yuuna's eyes were bright with mirth. 'I think I remember him saying that he could transform into anything else as one of his psychic powers, too!' Crap, she totally knew. "I can look for him if you'd like?"
It wasn't like I was embarrassed to be a girl or anything like that. Back when I was getting control of my powers, I'd usually wake up as a girl because I'd accidentally transformed in the middle of the night. Plus, growing up next to my super-muscled little sister didn't leave me with any illusions that girls were dainty or supposed to be protected.
'...Did Kazuto just think something mean about me?' Seriously, Sugu's senses were ridiculous! 'No, my big brother would never do something like that, because he loves me so so much!'
If anything, Yuuna's glee at my predicament was the only thing that was embarrassing!
"It's about time for us to leave too," Asuna said. "If you don't know where he lives, I can walk with you."
I-It's fine, I know where the Kirigaya household is...
"Hey! You there!" As soon as we stepped out of the bathroom, Takemiya stomped towards us. I immediately shrank back, before remembering that I was a girl now and she wouldn't know who I was. "Did you see Kirigaya run in there?"
"Kazuto?" Asuna asked. "In the girl's bathroom?"
"Nya hah hah!" Kana snickered. "Kazu-boy's a lotta things, but he wouldn't need ta sneak into th' gal's bathroom ta peep. I bet one 'a his psychic powers would be X-ray vision." She was right, but I wasn't going to tell her that! Besides, it was a totally useless power anyway.
Rika shrugged. "You keep talking about those psychic powers he's supposed to have, but I haven't seen them yet." Kana pouted in irritation.
"Shut up about that," Takemiya snapped. "Was he in there, or wasn't he? I've got to have a talk with him." The girl cracked her knuckles absently, punctuating the sentence.
"No, he wasn't," Asuna said, her voice cold steel. "And it's not a good idea to chase after someone that doesn't want to talk to you." I was glad I wasn't the only one to stare at her incredulously, since Rika and Yuuna both turned to look at the girl in total shock. 'Did I say something wrong? Why are they all looking at me?'
"...Tch." Takemiya clicked her tongue and turned away. "Whatever. But I'm not gonna just give up."
"Harassment is not a good thing," Asuna warned her, but Takemiya was already storming down the hall. She sighed and smiled at me. "I'm sorry, Himiko. It looks like your cousin got in some trouble." 'I hope Kazuto knows he can come to me with anything at all! I'd love to be able to help him.'
'My rival wouldn't be troubled by that!' Rika clenched her fists. 'Otherwise, he wouldn't be worthy of being my rival!' I never wanted to be your rival in the first place! "Seriously, who does she think she is, bothering poor Kazuto like that..."
"Girls, girls!" Yuuna clapped her hands. "Before you get irritated, why don't we think about our new friend?" She smiled at me. "You must be new in town, Himiko. I bet we could show you around! There's the cutest boutique, I'd love to go spend the rest of the day there looking at new clothes!" Oh no...
"Well, that doesn't sound too bad," Asuna mused. "Some window shopping with friends would definitely cheer me up." Oh no...!
Rika laughed. "Great, rich girls wanna go shopping. Guess we've got no choice, Kana, Himiko."
"Oh no, I gotta spend th' rest 'a the day watchin' A-chan an' Hicchan try on cute dresses," Kana snickered. "How'm I gonna live?"
Guh... Yuuna was just doing this to mess with me, wasn't she? The giggle I could tell she was trying to hide was enough of a giveaway! I'd been shopping enough times with Sugu, before and after she turned into the biggest brocon in the world, that I knew I didn't want any part of this!
A-Actually, I should go...
"It looks like Himiko can't come with us," Rika said. "She's probably gotta go see Kazuto and Suguha."
"Aww," Yuuna pouted, before her lips curved in a wicked smile. "That's too bad, honey. I would have loved to see you in a cute dress!" 'Don't worry, Darling, I won't say anything. Run on home, I'll see you tomorrow!' "But if you have to go, you have to go... I know! Next time you're in town, I'll definitely take you out. We won't come back until you have an entirely new wardrobe!"
"It was lovely meeting you," Asuna said. Her dazzling smile made my heart skip a beat. No! Why was she so beautiful?! But I could understand why she'd gotten love letters from the girls at her old school... "If you see your cousin, please tell him I said hello!"
Sure thing...
Well, the worst part of the day was over. I'd managed to escape from Takemiya and the only casualty of her warpath was my dignity thanks to Yuuna's teasing (and even then I'd managed to escape from shopping hell). All I had left was...
*ding!*
My phone chimed and I checked the message. My lips twisted in a cute pout as I stared at Sugu's plaintive question of where I was, since I was supposed to be walking her and Shino home so they could work on their group project. Their original plan wasn't going to work since the heirlooms they were going to use for props were...
August 21st, 2025
I couldn't believe Sugu had asked me to search around in the storage shed for these old relics. The place was super dusty, too, and I was brushing away cobwebs every few seconds.
Lucky for me, my search was rewarded by an old katana, still in its sheath. The Kirigaya family was supposedly descended from a family of noble samurai, and this sword was supposed to have been used way back then, passed down through the generations until it ended up in our shed collecting dust.
Seriously, did Sugu really want this dirty old thing? It's probably super rusty. Actually, I wonder -
*shing*
"Finally!" Is... Is the sword talking to me? In my head?! "Once more a Kirigaya has chosen to take up my power and fight! You have been chosen as worthy," the feminine voice cheered. "Take up my blade, and fight with Justice at your side! Fear not the ancient evils you will fight, my bearer, for you will be able to unlock your true potential and fight with the ancient power, long since sealed away!"
...Alright, time to go throw this thing into the ocean! After tying rocks to it. And maybe dunking it in a barrel of cement first. Like hell I'm letting my brocon sister get superpowers!
...accidentally misplaced. On accident. But that meant that every day last week and this week too, Shino had been coming over. I'd been walking both Shino and Sugu home, since the glasses-wearing girl liked spending time with me whenever possible.
So naturally, since I'd been delayed a little bit, Sugu had texted me asking where I was. There was absolutely no way I could show up like this! Psychic powers a secret from my sister aside, I didn't want her to suddenly get interested in this sort of thing!
So, I texted her back. 'Sorry, I had to go home right away. I got sick at the end of the day.'
'...What?! Kazuto is sick!? This is awful! He's sick and I'm not by his side to make him soup and wipe at his forehead and kiss him until it's better!' After Sugu finished freaking out, my phone chimed again. 'Oh, okay. I'll see you when I get home. Can Shino still come over?'
'It's fine, just don't catch anything.'
'He's contagious!? Noooooo!'
Sometimes I wondered if my little sister was sane. But this created a second problem - I had to get home before Sugu did, and discovered that I'd lied to her!
Fortunately, this one was easily solved by a quick hop back into the girl's bathroom (now that nobody would bat an eyelash at a girl heading into the girl's bathroom), ducking back into the stall, and teleporting myself back to my -
- room. I let out a squeak as my head spun from the teleportation backlash and I toppled back on my bed. Hmm. My girl form falls differently. It was more comfortable in places, too. Maybe... No. Sugu would have too much fun insisting I didn't know how to take care of my hair (I didn't) but that she could do it for me.
'I have to go see if Kazuto's okay!'
'That girl moves fast... but if Master is sick, I'm worried too.'
The swiftly approaching thoughts told me my time limit on this stealth quest was almost over, so I hurriedly tossed my uniform off and squirmed into my pajamas. Once I was wearing my comfy black shirt and sweatpants, fully aware that the ever-fashionable Asuna would have a heart attack if she saw 'Himiko' wearing this, I snuggled under the covers and sighed with relief.
Not a moment too soon, because the front door opened and a second later I heard someone hurrying up the steps. Elapsed time before someone knocked on my door: five seconds from the front door. "Kazuto?" Sugu asked. "Are you there?"
I coughed a few times to answer her question.
'Oh wow, he doesn't sound good... His cough is super hoarse and high-pitched!' "I'll leave some water and some soup by your door in a little bit, okay? Rest for now," she said. "If you need anything, Shino and I will be downstairs in the living room."
'I hope Master is okay... His lines look a little different today, for some reason.' She can see that?! That power of hers was more dangerous than I thought!
August 24th, 2025
I ran my hand through my short hair; it was back to its normal length, since I'd transformed back to my regular appearance once the two hours were up. Nothing against Himiko, but not having to worry about waist-length hair made my showers and baths so much simpler. I had no idea how Asuna and Nijika did it.
For one blessed morning, I was walking to school totally alone. I didn't need to worry about Rika challenging me to a race down the street, or Kana bugging me about my psychic powers, or Asuna and Yuuna chatting happily, or Nijika shyly asking if I was going to be on cleanup duties today. And most importantly, I didn't have Sugu hanging off of me every step of the way. I loved her as my little sister, but still... She complained about it constantly in her thoughts, but I knew she'd enjoy walking to school with Ayano and Shino.
That wasn't the only reason I was walking to school by myself. Takemiya had been surly yesterday after I escaped from her chase, and I didn't want to risk one of the girls getting caught by any thugs that the gang leaded sent after me. I could handle myself thanks to my psychic powers, but with one of them by my side... It'd be raising a flag to have a random encounter deliberately!
I didn't run into any problems on the way to school, and I let out a sigh of relief. Takemiya had walked into the room right before the bell for homeroom, so that meant I would be safe as long as I got to class early enough. I slid open the door and stepped into my class -
'Oh! He's here already! Perfect. It's just us, with no witnesses.' Takemiya had been staring out the window with a bored look on her face from what I could see in the reflection, but as soon as the door opened she'd turned around to look at me.
Crap! I'd avoided the random enemies but the boss was an event flag! I backed out of the classroom, but Takemiya was already out of her seat and stomping towards me. As soon as I turned to run, a hand slammed into the wall right in front of me. I turned back to see Takemiya standing in front of me, staring directly at me. Naturally she was scowling, so I winced.
She was just waiting for me after all! Her thoughts confirmed it! 'No witnesses'?! She was going to... to... Why hadn't she done anything yet? I chanced another glance at her, and she was just standing there, keeping me from running away.
'Well? Isn't he going to say something? I made sure to get in early so he could confess without anyone around to hear, but he's not saying anything!'
...EH?!
Wha-wha-wha-what was she talking about?! Confess to her? How could she possibly think that I'm going to confess to her?!
'Every time I looked at him yesterday he looked away from me in a hurry... He ran away before I could talk to him... He won't look at me for more than a few seconds... He definitely has a crush on me! That's what Goro said, anyway!'
What?! ...I can't believe this author! I was so scared that Takemiya was going to try to crush me for what I did to her mooks, but it's all a huge misunderstanding?!
And what is this position anyway! I'm the guy! I should be the one pinning her to a wall, not the other way around!
Takemiya sighed. 'Well, even if he doesn't want to tell me his true feelings, I still know... But I can't focus on that right now! I have to talk to him about what happened two days ago.' Oh no. "Hey," she growled. "I gotta chat with you."
Y-Yes?
"Remember two days ago? Those guys that were bothering you and your... friend." 'She can't be his girlfriend, I won't accept that! He seems really sweet and I can't picture a cute guy like him cheating on a girl!' "They think they're hot stuff, but some of my guys had a talk with them. They definitely won't be causing you trouble ever again." Ever again? Did she have them killed or something?! This girl was ruthless!
I, uh... Thanks?
"Don't worry about the how." Somehow, coming from Takemiya, that sounds incredibly threatening! 'Hopefully he won't feel worried walking around, now. I'm glad I could help him out!' "And you better call me Kotone from now on. Got it?"
Wait... Was Kotone Takemiya... actually a really nice girl?
It made sense! She stopped those thugs because she was worried I'd be scared! She had no way of knowing that I didn't care about them at all, because I could swat them like flies. And then she'd chased me down yesterday to tell me what she'd done. Takemiya hadn't been trying to do anything to me at all!
Wow. I almost felt bad, even though I knew it was the author's fault for making things so confusing in the first place. If I'd known, I wouldn't have run from her.
...If I'd known, I wouldn't have run into the bathroom and transformed into a girl, and Yuuna wouldn't tease me about that! God damn it!
She's so scary, that Kotone. Horrifying. Just one look at her and you know it's bad news!
Jokes aside, I'm just enjoying myself here. She's going to be fun to write. But more importantly! The traditional appearance of my favorite character in the series, Himiko. Hope everyone enjoyed her little cameo to visit her cousin. Psychic powers really are convenient, aren't they?
I'm not quite sure why I had Kotone be a gang leader? Maybe because it was funny? Or maybe because I was reading over a few books and that kind of misunderstanding is great for character interaction, especially because it'll force a little bit of tension between the different groups only loosely tied together because of Kazuto's presence. ...Nah, mostly because I think it's hilarious for Kotone to be in charge of the local equivalent of the Yakuza.
Many thanks to everyone that followed, favorited, or reviewed.
