Chapter 9: Loli, Ninja, and a Ts Girl
So, yeah. Iâm your resident ex-villainous little troublemaker with a rotten personality. These days, the odds of getting butchered by some faceless underling of evil are higher than getting wrecked by Rekka after he learns the truth. Guess this is what they call karma.
Anyway, putting that aside, I ran into a problem the moment I got home.
"âŠâŠâŠâŠ"
"âŠâŠWhy are you just standing there? The bathâs ready."
Turns out, the mysterious white-haired girl Iâm hidingâfor reasonsâwas frozen in the changing room. Completely motionless.
Iâd already told her to wipe down with a towel before getting in. Even brought her a change of clothes. Yet here we are.
"Iâve never bathed alone before."
"âŠHuh? Then howâve you been bathing till now?"
"Chie did it for me."
"Your mom, huhâŠ"
I mean, sure, itâs normal for parents to help their kids with bathing, but⊠wait. Hold on.
Does that make me the guardian in this situation?
"How old are you, anyway?"
"Eleven."
"Thatâs⊠a complicated age to respond to."
I resisted the urge to bury my face in my hands. Eleven meant she was in fifth grade. Shouldnât kids that age be bathing on their own?
No question she fit the "loli" category, but she was way past the age of following her dad into the menâs bath at a hot spring. Fifth grade was when kids started feeling shy, right? Getting self-conscious about stuff?
"âŠNah, my bad. I didnât consider your living situation. Just toss your clothes in the washer and head in first."
"Okay."
The outfit she had onâlong-sleeved shirt, skirtâwas probably picked out by her mom. No way an evil organization would let her wear something this stylish in a lab.
Sheâd been on the run with her mad scientist parents for two months. If they had the spare cash to buy nice clothes, maybe their life was more normal than I thought.
"âŠâŠ"
"Whatâs up? Whyâre you frozen again?"
"Iâve never undressed myself before."
"Your parents spoiled you way too much, didnât theyâŠ?"
âŠOr maybe not. Who knows what kind of past she had? Maybe being pampered to this extreme was still nowhere near enough to make up for the rest of it.
Either way, if she couldnât handle basic daily life, that was gonna be a problemâfor both of us. Since I was technically her guardian now, I should probably stop complaining and just teach her how to function.
"Iâll walk you through it. Just do what I say."
"Show me first."
"âŠMy bad, I just realized I donât actually know how to take off a skirt either. Lemme grab my phone real quick."
From an outsiderâs perspective, me stripping an unnamed girl I picked up off the street until sheâs completely naked would be undeniably criminal. I was starting to get scared.
Ideally, Iâd handle bath time in my female formâboth for appearances and my own sanityâbut I was still in cooldown from transforming. Not an option.
And judging by how things were going, she wasnât gonna learn this in one go anyway. Might as well get it over with.
"Kii, I have a question."
"Youâre calling me by my last name now? What is it?"
"Why did you put your gym clothes back on?"
"I donât need to take mine off."
"Chie said youâre not supposed to wear clothes in the bath."
"There are exceptions to everything. Remember that, princess."
"Ehhh�"
I donât see why I have to be naked just to wash her. Yeah, Iâm soaked now too, but whateverâI can take a bath later.
"âŠ!"
"Whoa, WHOAâdonât grab my pants! Whatâs gotten into you, you little gremlin?!"
"Yuuki said you should correct whatâs wrong."
"Yeah, Iâve heard that one before. The problem is figuring out whatâs wrong."
"Chie said wet clothes are sad. Sad things are bad. If we leave it like this, Kiiâs clothes will get wet. Soâ"
"So nothing. Your mom was talking about your fancy clothes getting wet. My gym clothes can handle it."
"Hmph!"
"Please just accept this."
This girl might be more of a handful than I thought.
But despite her situation, she didnât just blindly follow ordersâshe acted on her own will. I kinda liked that. Maybe Iâd give her a head pat.
"Hepshhh!"
"Ugh, câmon⊠Youâll catch a cold. Get in already."
"Okay."
Might as well boop her nose while Iâm at it.
And hey, if youâre cold, just say youâre cold.
For now, I grabbed the showerhead with one hand, letting warm water run over her while she sat on the bath stool. With the other, I pulled out my phone.
"âŠThe showerâs warm."
"Glad to hear it."
"Kii. I have a question."
"What now?"
"Why did you bring your smartphone into the bath?"
She turned to look at me, hot water streaming over her head. Whoaâhey, Iâm getting splashed!
"Taking pictures? JidĆporuno?"
"Why do you even know that term?! âŠNo, Iâm looking up how to wash and care for long hair."
My "pretty girl mode" always reset to a perfectly clean state whenever I transformed, so Iâd never had to worry about hair or skin care while female.
But unlike meâa fake, a counterfeitâthis girl was the real deal. If I was gonna look after her, I needed to learn this stuff properly.
"Youâll have to do this yourself eventually, so pay attention. Câmon, face forward."
"Yes."
Burying the faint unease over how long Iâd be stuck taking care of her, I carefully avoided looking too closely at her pale, glossy skinâthen proceeded to literally wash her like laundry.
After a bath and a quick meal, I gathered what weâd need for life on the run and took the white-haired girl down to the basement.
According to a manual I found in a desk drawer, I already knew the way out from here.
But dragging her around in her exhausted, rain-soaked state wasnât an option, so weâd be spending the night underground.
Iâd sealed off the upper floors, but there was no telling when our pursuers might raid the house. We had until noon tomorrowâat the latestâto get moving.
Which meant Iâd be stuck in my female form for extended periods while outside.
Sigh⊠What the hell am I supposed to do?
So here I was, trying to modify the pendant to extend my transformation time.
Obviously, this wasnât something I could finish in a day.
Worst-case scenario, Iâd have to settle for three-hour shifts. And that was gonna be rough.
"Kii. That circuitâover here."
"Huh?"
As I spread out parts and tools on the desk, the little gremlinâs hand suddenly reached over.
"Do this⊠and then thisâŠ"
"Hey, hey, stop! Youâre gonna hurt yourseâ"
"Done."
"No wayâŠ"
In just a few minutes, she adjusted the pendant and handed it back.
Skeptical, I plugged it into my computer to simulate the transformation duration.
âŠNo. No way.
[Female Form Duration: 32 HOURS]
âŠWell, damn.
[Cooldown Interval: 5 MINUTES]
What was even the point of all my and Dadâs research?!
"Holy hell⊠The problemâs just⊠solved."
"Did I⊠help?"
Tilting her head, she watched me carefully.
Her face was as blank as ever, but I couldâve sworn I sensed a hint of unease.
And thenâit clicked.
I finally understood why that evil organization had wanted her so badly.
At the same time, the creature in front of me suddenly seemed unbearably adorable, and before I knew it, Iâd pulled her into a crushing hug.
SQUEEEEZEâ!
"YOUâ!! YOU LITTLE GENIUS!! GOOD GIRL!! YOU HELPED SO MUCH!! THANK YOU!! IâLL PROTECT YOU FOREVER NOW, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Eep?!"
"Aww, whoâs a good girl? You are! So cute! A genius, adorable, with squishy little cheeksâflawless! Youâre the strongest in every way. Yes, yes, squish squish~"
"M-MmphâŠ!"
Maybe she wasnât used to praise. Or maybe I wasnât used to giving it.
Either way, she closed her eyes slightly and let it happen, sitting perfectly still like a pampered cat.
"Iâm glad⊠I could help."
"Then such a smart girl deserves a reward. How about the custard pudding in the fridge?"
"Really?"
"Seconds are fine too!"
"âŠ!"
"Donât hold back⊠Eat as much as you wantâŠ"
"Eep!"
The next second, pattering footsteps rushed toward the fridge.
I didnât care if it made me look like a pushover.
Iâd already planned to protect her after her parents entrusted her to meâbut now, I had my own reasons to keep her safe.
Not that a shitty guy like me, who amuses himself by messing with friends, has any right to talk about righteousness.
But there was no way Iâd hand over a small, pure-hearted girl to a bunch of perverted loli-obsessed freaks who locked her in a lab for being a genius and tried grafting monstrous 'abilities' onto her like some kind of attachment.
"Nom nomâŠ"
Sitting on the bed, she happily devoured the pudding. Sheâd already finished the first one.
Even her ravenous appetite felt appropriately childishâthis was how an eleven-year-old should be.
"âŠOh, right. We never properly introduced ourselves."
"Gulp. âŠOkay, Kii."
"Iâm Apollo Kii. You can just call me by my first name, like your mom did."
"âŠGot it, Kii."
"No, I meantâeh, whatever. So, whatâs your name?"
Taking the empty pudding cup from her and tossing it in the trash, I turned back to see her answer while facing away.
"Codename: Shirohaku. Chie and Yuuki just called me Shirohaku."
As expectedâpainfully straightforward.
Wait, Shirohaku (Pure White)? Thatâs the direct opposite of my Kurohaku (Jet Black).
Did that mean Iâd technically stolen her naming theme?
"âŠAnd your real name?"
"Huh?"
Had she been born in the lab? Or taken from somewhere else?
I couldnât shake the question.
"Sorry, shouldâve asked that first. How old were you when you got to that lab?"
"âŠNine."
Eleven now, so two years in captivity.
That confirmed itâsheâd been kidnapped.
Which meant my mission was to return her to her family.
"Where do your mom and dad live?"
"I donât⊠have parents. Never met them. I was always in a care facility."
"âŠSorry."
"Itâs fine. Iâm used to⊠being asked."
And just like that, my mission crumbled to dust.
But there was still one thing left to ask.
"What's your name?"
"...Shirohaku."
"No, not that. Not some stupid label those bastards gave you. I want to know your real name."
A long silence. Her gaze dropped to the floor.
Most people would take that as a cue to back off.
But Iâm not most people. In the worst way possible.
This is the same girl who tried to yank my pants off without hesitationâI know sheâs strong in her own way.
What we need most now, more than anything, is to close the distance between us.
And calling each other by our real names is the first step.
Thatâs how it was with Rekka, too.
I sat beside her on the bed, close enough to catch even the smallest whisper.
"âŠâŠâŠâŠItsuki."
"Yeah?"
"Itsuki... Fujimiya."
"Thatâs a good name."
"âŠâŠâŠâŠIâm⊠Fujimiya ItsukiâŠ"
I couldnât tell if she was remembering the past or just hadnât been called by her real name in two yearsâbut Itsuki⊠no, Itsukiâlet tears fall without changing her expression.
"You did well, Itsuki. Itâs okay now."
"...Yeah."
I pulled her trembling shoulders into an embrace.
Whatever sheâd endured these past two years, I could only guess. Right now, she didnât need empty wordsâjust someone to hold her together.
"Kii⊠KiiâŠ"
"Whoaâ⊠Yeah, itâs okay."
Unable to hold back anymore, she clung to me, repeating my name like a lifeline. As I steadied her, a thought crossed my mind.
In this region, surnames come after given names.
Take Apollo KiiâApolloâs the name, Kiiâs the family name.
In magically advanced areasâespecially this metropolis, home to one of the worldâs top magic academies (where Iâm enrolled)âitâs customary to follow the naming conventions of magicâs birthplace.
"Fujimiya Itsuki, huh?"
But in other placesâremote rural towns, impoverished regions with little magicâfamily names come first. Tarou Yamada instead of Yamada Tarou.
Iâm originally from one of those places. Moved here about two years before entering the academy.
My mom was Kii Chie, my dad Kii Yuuki, and I was Kii Taiyou Apollo. (Taiyou written as Apolloâprobably one of those flashy kira-kira names. My parents rambled something about me shining like the sun god, but I never cared much about name origins.)
Point is, Itsuki must be from one of those regions too. Not that weâre hometown buddies, but I get how she feels.
Kidnapped from some far-off place, given a name that meant nothing, then thrown into a world overflowing with magicâno wonder she finally broke down.
"Damn, thatâs messed up."
"...Kii, will you... really protect me?"
"Obviously. Hell, Iâll crush that stupid lolicon evil-organization-circle-whatever-the-fuck myself."
"...Kii acts cool when things get serious. Noted."
"Hey, IÂ am being serious, you littleâ!"
This girlâs mental resilience is insane. She bounced back way too fast.
Wait, is she calling me Kii because Apollo sounds too foreign? Maybe Kii feels more familiar coming from where sheâs from.
"But last names feel distant. You can call me Pokky if you want."
"...Like the snack? Weird."
"Yeah, thought so. Pokky is a weird nickname."
Rekka calls me thatâno idea why, when I just call her Rekka-chan like a normal person. Her naming sense is⊠unique.
Not that I mind. Kinda like it, actually.
Anyway, time to sleep.
Tomorrowâs when the real struggle begins. Weâre stuck in a nonstop chase, dodging bounty hunters in a world we canât escape.
This is gonna suck. Hard.
"ââSo, Apollo! You gotta make it to the secret base in Okinawa without using any public transportation! Got it?"
The idiot calling me at the crack of dawn was none other than my fatherâthe so-called genius behind the TS pendant.
Iâd been marveling at the high-tech smartphone that somehow got reception even underground, but that one sentence instantly vaporized all my goodwill.
Do my parents enjoy making impossible demands?
"Okinawa. As in⊠Okinawa?"
"Yep!"
"Without public transportation?"
"You got it!"
"âŠWeâre in the dead center of Tokyo right now."
Like, hyper-urban, magic-infested, surnames-last Tokyo.
Not Shikoku. Not Kyushu. The KantĆ region.
And you want us to reach the southernmost tip of the country without planes, buses, or even bullet trains?
I am this close to tracking Dad down just to punch him.
"Got it. Youâre sending a pickup, right?"
"Nope! Figure it out yourselves!"
"Can I give up now?"
"WHâ?! H-Honey! Say something to motivate him!"
"Sorry, I canât defend this."
Yeah, no kidding. At least pretend this isnât insane, Mom.
"...Youâre the only one who can protect her now."
"Wow. So motivating. Iâll totally try my best~"
"W-Wait, Apoâ"
I hung up. No point in listening to generic pep talks when the exitâs right ahead.
"Alright, letâs goâTS Transformation!"
"Sparkle~ whoosh~ boom!"
"Transformation complete!"
"Clap clap."
I tugged the hood of Itsukiâs parka over her head, hiding her conspicuous white hair. Sheâd been providing sound effects like this was a magical girl anime.
"Listen up, Itsuki. Out there, you call me big sis, got it?"
"Okay, big sis."
"Nghâ!"
The instant she said it, an electric shiver ran down my spine.
Why does being called "big sis" feel⊠weirdly good?!
"Kii. Youâre gross."
"No more verbal stabby-stab, please."
That actually hurt.
With our "journey" prepped, we pushed open the tunnel door and stepped outside.
We emerged into a deserted back alley, probably somewhere on the outskirts, far from the academy. Unlike yesterday, the sky was clearânot a cloud in sight.
Perfect weather for an impromptu road trip.
âŠOh, right.
"Forgot to contact Rekka."
"Rekka?"
"My friend. The most reliable guy I know."
After parting ways as Koku yesterday, I hadnât reached outânot even as Apollo.
With my phone dead from being underground, I wouldnât have noticed if someone rang the doorbell either.
No idea how long weâll be gone, but Rekka deserves a heads-up.
Probably should revert to male form for the call too. Five-minute cooldown wonât take long.
"Transformation releaseâ!"
"âŠShouldnât you have waited until we were back underground?"
"Oh crapârun!"
"KlutzâŠ"
Panicking, I shoved Itsuki toward the doorâ
ââWhen a voice cut through the air.
"H-Hey! You there!!"
I froze. Slowly turned.
And there she was.
"âŠK-Kii-senpai? Whatâre ya doinââŠ?"
A girl in ninja garb, her long scarf fluttering.
"âŠOtonashi⊠NoiseâŠ."
The one person who hadnât spotted me during my academy visitâthanks to my stealth.
The only underclassman in Rekkaâs hero club who idolized him.
A modern-day kunoichi.
Otonashi Noise.
And of all people, the clubâs most wide-ranging member had just seen me revert from female form.
"J-Just now⊠you turned from a girl back into⊠senpai? That was Koku, right? Wait, howâs thatâ"
"Otonashi!"
"Eek?!"
âŠYeah. This is exactly the kind of rookie mistake I always make. A really bad habit.
But wallowing in regret wonât help.
Time to improvise.
The moment of truth for my ad-libbing skills has arrived.
First rule in these situations: Go full serious mode.
"Emergency protocolâIâll cut to the chase. Why are you skipping school to lurk here?"
"Uh, w-well, I was looking for you, Senpai! Last night, your house got wrecked by some guys⊠We fought âem, and after we won, we checked the rubble, but no one was inside! So Rekka-senpai told the club to search for youâ"
Seriously?! They were fighting right above us while we slept?
I didnât hear a damn thing.
âŠWait, no.
Not hilarious.
Since when was the basement that soundproof? If Iâd known, weâd have bolted sooner.
"A-Anyway, glad I found you! Iâll call Rekka-senpai right nâ"
"No. Donât."
"Huh?!
I fought to keep a straight face, scrambling for a convincing lie.
This might be the most serious Iâve ever looked in my life.
You got this, me.
"You saw it yourself. The truth is⊠I was that girl. I was the one transforming."
"âŠDude. Thatâs weird."
Yeah, fair.
"Judge me all you want. I did it to protect her."
"âŠThat girlâ?"
"Did Raichou mention anything?"
GAMBLE TIME!! PLEASE TELL ME YOU SHARED INTEL, PRESIDENT!!!
"W-Wait⊠the âescaped test subjectâ the captain mentionedâŠ?!"
JACKPOT!!!
"Hero Clubâs too high-profile. In a situation this volatile, the only one I can trust is you, Noise. NoâOtonashi."
"âŠ!!"
Nice. Her shock morphed into solemn focus.
Thank god sheâs the reasonable type.
"Youâre the right person to learn this secret. Iâm begging youâkeep it quiet and come with us."
"But⊠thatâd mean betraying Rekka-senpai."
Ugh. Tough sell to a girl head-over-heels for him.
Even if she promised secrecy, I canât trust it. If Rekka cornered her with a kabe-don interrogation, sheâd spill everything.
Câmon, underclassman. Work with me hereâ!
"âŠBut if she gets recaptured, the worldâs screwed, huh?"
âOh?
Is this the plot twist I prayed for?!
"Hero Club protects civilians. But if the world ends, thatâs game over."
"OtonashiâŠ!"
"Relax. Ninjas donât blab secrets."
"OtonashiiiiâŠ!"
"Just tell me how far Iâm going, Senpai."
"OTONASHAAAAAâŠ!!"
"Youâre so loudâŠ"
âȘ Congratulations! The kunoichi has joined your party! âȘ
About Ten Minutes Later
Tracking the GPS of the device Otonashi had discarded, every member of the Hero Clubâexcept herârushed to the outskirts of town, arriving at an unfinished bridge still under construction.
We had tried to leave as quickly as possible.
We had underestimated them.
"âKoku! Stop!!"
The massive bridge was split in two, its central road missingâjust a gaping abyss between us.
ââŠRekka.â
"You⊠enough already!"
From the other side, my best friendâs voice rang outâout of breath, drenched in sweat. He must have sprinted here.
The others flanked him, their faces tight with distress. No, not just distress. Hostility.
At this point, they werenât just suspicious. They looked like they were ready to kill me.
As far as they could see, I was the only one hereâjust me, standing alone in my Koku form.
Iduki was beside me, hidden under her invisibility cloak. Otonashi clung to the underside of the bridge like a proper ninja, waiting for the signal.
"What are you hiding?! Why the sudden betrayal?! Does this have something to do with Apolloâs disappearance?!"
ââŠIâm sorry.â
"Thatâs not an answer!!"
Rekkaâs voice cracked with rage and desperation.
This was my fault. Even if Idukiâs circumstances complicated things, I had created this situation.
The guilt gnawed at me.
"Rekka, thereâs no point in talking! Iâll capture him myself!"
Koori stepped forward, ice magic crackling in her hands.
A massive hand of ice shot toward me, fast.
âHahâ!â
Before it could grab me, Otonashi sprang from beneath the bridge.
With a swift combination of her sound magic and kunai techniques, she shattered Kooriâs icy hand into shards.
"Otonashi?!"
She landed lightly beside me.
The force of the clash was so strong that Idukiâs invisibility cloak whipped away, revealing her to the entire Hero Club.
Now, in front of my former allies, stood our hastily assembled trio of beautiful girls.
"WhaâWhy is OtonashiâŠ? And that girlâ"
"My apologies, Rekka-senpai. I canât explain right now."
Rekka took an involuntary step back, flustered.
Koori and the othersâHikari, the Wind sistersâwere equally shaken.
Only one person remained unfazed.
At the center of the group, Rai, the student council president, stared at me with sharp, calculating eyes.
I had no idea how much she knew. Maybe she misunderstood something. Maybe she was pretending not to know the truth.
She was impossible to read.
But it didnât matter.
Because the protagonist himself was demanding answers.
"Koku⊠I wonât ask who you really are."
I froze.
"âŠBut answer me thisâApollo. Where is he?! You know, donât you?!"
His voice was raw, full of emotion. It made me flinch.
For a split second, a ridiculous thought entered my mind.
From Rekkaâs perspective, doesnât this make me seem like some kind of hidden heroine?
I shoved the idea aside. Not the time.
I wanted to tell him everything. Ease the weight.
But I couldnât betray Iduki.
So, I would keep lying.
At least until the day he was strong enough to stop me.
"As long as Iâm alive, Apollo Key will never die."
"âŠWhat?"
"Itâs not a metaphor. âŠThe time will come when I can explain."
I snapped my fingers.
Otonashi tossed a smoke bomb.
Thick gray smoke spread in an instant.
I used wind magic to lift us into the air.
"Hold on tight, you two."
"Okay⊠Otonashi?"
"Donât worry, Iduki-chan. Just hang on!"
With Otonashi carrying Iduki, we soared into the sky, escaping from the bridge.
It was flashy. It drained a ton of magic power.
But we were finallyâ
"KO-KUUUUUUUU!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"
âor so I thought.
I glanced back.
âŠAnd my soul left my body.
"Wait, wait, WAITâRekka can fly now?!"
"This is bad."
"Hahaha! Thatâs amazing, Rekka-senpai!!"
Otonashi, this is NOT the time to be impressed!!
What the hellâhas the protagonist been secretly learning from me this whole time?!
Because after all the times Iâd disappeared into the sky, Rekka had apparently figured out a way to do it himselfâ
By blasting enormous amounts of fire from both hands like some kind of freaking Iron Man.
"You put me through all this, and now youâre gonna spill everything!!"
"Thatâs NOT the kind of line the protagonist is supposed to say!! WhoaâWhoa, WHOA! STAY BACK!!"
And just like that, an intense mid-air chase began.
Forcing me to accept the painful reality:
This was only the first day of what was bound to be a very, very long journey.
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