"Whew, finally got away. Seriously, what was wrong with those people—did they take something?" After Nia dragged her to a less crowded spot, Tohka finally let out a sigh of relief. Just now she had even unconsciously released a bit of killing intent, but instead of being afraid, that crowd got even more excited. Did they not worry she might really cut them? Thinking this, Tohka simply took out her soybean flour bread and began munching again.
"Good grief—where do you keep pulling that bread from? Also, don't you realize you're acting more and more like Akame? This is just too perfect." Hearing her, Nia rolled her eyes helplessly. When Tohka rescued her before, she could see that Tohka wasn't exactly lacking in cunning, but why did she act so dense in daily life? Just like Akame, she could produce bread out of nowhere and start eating it on the spot. That hit Nia right in her weak spot—someone who was airheaded and loved food in everyday life, yet terrifyingly calm in battle. Without warning, Nia pounced on Tohka and started rubbing herself against her—especially against her chest.
"Get off me—get down right now!" Feeling Nia clinging to her like a koala—and with that friction in that spot—Tohka's face immediately turned bright red. Still holding the bread, she started spinning her body rapidly, trying to fling Nia off.
"Dammit—hurry up and get off me! This feels so weird! I only pull food out because I have a special storage space, okay? And it doesn't hold that much—just enough for a few snacks!" She wasn't lying—she used to keep it stuffed with armor, but after she blew up her own armor, there was empty space left. Naturally, she'd used it to stash some soybean flour bread.
"Uuugh, so jealous." Even though they'd picked a quieter corner, this was still a massive convention. So "less crowded" wasn't all that empty. Add to that Nia's exaggerated behavior, and in no time the two of them became the center of attention. Quite a few people were watching Nia clinging to Tohka's chest with looks of envy and regret, obviously thinking that seeing two pretty girls like this was a waste of resources.
"..." Sure enough, being stared at by a crowd—and with Nia still in her arms—Tohka finally lost her patience. She grabbed Nia by the collar and lifted her off. Then she pulled Nia along and charged back into the convention hall. After all, it was still a convention, and Tohka was genuinely interested in a lot of things here.
"Mm, that's Tohka and that spirit. Not bad—she's making steady progress. That spirit's favorability is rising nicely." In the sky, Kotori chewed her lollipop, watching the two of them on a monitor. Seeing Nia's steadily improving mood, she nodded in satisfaction. Obviously, she was pleased with Tohka's progress. And since Tohka hadn't caused any trouble lately, Kotori didn't feel like interfering. Soon, she glanced at another screen and said, "Shido—why are you so slow? You still haven't figured out which one is the real Natsumi?"
"It's not that easy! Give me a bit more time to test them. Seriously, if everyone were as simple as Tohka, this would be so much easier." Shido's voice sounded from the other end, clearly frustrated by his lack of progress. To be honest, he'd originally planned to consult Tohka—her strength alone would have made it hard for that little girl to cause any trouble.
...…
"This is a doujinshi—ah!" Over on Tohka's side, she and Nia had reached a table of fan works. Tohka casually picked up a book, then her face turned red. It was an Akame doujinshi—and unfortunately, she was cosplaying Akame. And she really did look a lot like her. If she hadn't, her skin wouldn't have reacted like this. Even the vendor across the table was drooling at the sight of her.
"I'm buying this—how much?" But just then, a slender hand reached out in front of Tohka, snatching the book from her grasp and passing it to the vendor.
"You bastard—what do you think you're doing?" Recognizing the arm's owner, Tohka snapped. It was Nia—who had just gone to look at other cosplayers and had somehow slipped back here without her noticing.
"Hehe—what, embarrassed? It's not like it's really you. Why get so worked up?" Nia stuck out her tongue playfully, tossed some cash to the vendor, and spun around to run off as Tohka spluttered, half furious and half mortified.
"Hey—get back here!" Watching Nia flee, Tohka immediately chased after her, clearly determined to seize the book and destroy the evidence.
...…
Honestly, it was lucky this was the Date A Live world—so Tohka never found any doujinshi of herself. If this had been her original world—especially during the peak of Date A Live's popularity—she probably would have drawn her sword on the spot.
The two of them were both total otakus, so they had a fantastic time exploring the convention. At first, Tohka tried to avoid crowds, but she quickly realized she was wasting her energy. By the end, she just gave up—if people wanted to look, let them look. As long as they didn't get in her way, she didn't care.
As sunset approached, the two of them finally left the hall, satisfied after a full day of wandering. They'd been at it so long they were starving. Tohka had already finished all her emergency rations.
"Come on, let's see what we can eat," Tohka said. Honestly, after everything, it had been worthwhile. Although Nia hadn't completely let down her guard, she'd become much closer to Tohka. The two of them were walking along the street, and Tohka was already planning where to have dinner.
"Watch out—we're under attack!" But just then, Tohka felt her heart skip a beat. Without thinking, she tackled Nia to the ground—just as a beam of energy-streaked past where they'd been standing.