In the classroom, Miko looked at the photo with a trace of joy before carefully tucking it away in her school bag.
Seeing this, Aomori teased, "If you like it that much, I can pose for you until you've had your fill."
"It's not because of Kami-sama! I just thought I looked cute in the photo and wanted to keep it for my collection!"
Uwah, what am I saying?! Miko wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
"Fair enough." Aomori shook his head. "I'm going to look around elsewhere. I'll come find you when school lets out."
"Mm-hmm." Miko watched Aomori depart. Shortly after, the third female lead, Yulia, made her entrance to suck up to Miko and egg Hana on to go take photos at a certain location.
Miko attended an all-girls school.
Everywhere Aomori looked, he saw vibrant, youthful girls. For any other male, this would be paradise, but Aomori simply found it a bit noisy.
He headed to the roof of the school building and activated his Mind's Eye, encompassing over half the campus in its scope.
Under his careful perception, aside from a large number of evil spirits, there was nothing particularly special about the school.
Aomori pulled out his laptop and leafed through the data Kayaba Akihiko had organized the night before.
As he read, his brow furrowed.
It wasn't because there was too much information, but rather too little.
Aside from news of some low-rate exorcists and psychics, there was no solid evidence of yokai or evil spirits. It was all ambiguous rumors; even the urban legends were just well-known folk stories that had been circulating for ages.
"Has an official force wiped away all their traces?"
If that were the case, he would just have to develop his shrine step-by-step and wait for them to come knocking. Aomori believed that once he stepped into this circle, relevant matters would naturally gravitate toward him.
Finding nothing left to do here, he thought for a moment and decided to return to the shrine.
The shrine was unchanged from yesterday. Ditto and the others were staying there peacefully. After all, this was a new world, and they maintained a level of caution, not daring to wander around without Aomori by their side.
Utilizing the Barrier Techniques he had learned in the Jujutsu world, Aomori set up a simple barrier around the shrine. It served no purpose other than confusing ordinary people.
Once that was done, he left the solitude-loving Absol to watch the house and took Ditto and Pidgeot to see the neighbors around the shrine.
"Yesterday, Natsume and the others seemed to come from that direction."
Having picked a direction, Aomori suddenly felt a surge of whimsy. "Pidgeot, Ditto, let's have a race. First one to reach the tallest building in Natsume's town wins. The winning Pokémon gets to make a wish of me. But if I win, you both get a punishment."
"You're on!" Ditto immediately transformed into Yujiro Hanma and declared.
"Pijo!" Pidgeot looked proud. Not to boast, but when it came to speed, it didn't fear Aomori in the slightest.
"Very well. The rule is: there are no rules. Though I hope you'll remain friendly and harmonious."
Ditto and Pidgeot glanced at each other and simultaneously turned their heads away in disdain.
"Then, get ready." Aomori flew into the air, Pidgeot flapped its wings to level with him, and Ditto transformed into Darkrai, standing on the ground.
"Ready... set... GO!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Pidgeot whipped its wings, instantly generating a Hurricane. Ditto was not to be outdone, firing off a massive Shadow Ball. Both attacks were aimed squarely at Aomori.
As his pets, Pidgeot and Ditto knew exactly how terrifying Aomori was. Realizing he was their greatest rival, they instinctively launched a coordinated assault.
"It's good that you listened to me and are being 'friendly' to each other, but you've targeted the wrong person."
Aomori neither dodged nor parried, tanking both hits.
By the time he stabilized himself, Pidgeot was a tiny black speck in the distance, and Ditto had vanished into the forest.
"No matter. I'll give you a four-kilometer head start. But can you really outrun light?" With that, Aomori calmly gathered Holy Light energy in his palm, pointed it behind him, and unleashed a powerful burst of energy.
Using the thrust, he streaked forward like a falling star.
The distance from the shrine to Natsume's town was roughly twenty kilometers at most. For Pidgeot, that was a matter of twenty-odd seconds. Furthermore, with its Keen Eye ability, it had locked onto the town's location from afar; there was no chance of getting lost.
I'll be there in five seconds. This win is mine! Pidgeot had just barely raised its victory flag when it felt a massive force approaching from behind.
You didn't need a brain to know it was Aomori catching up. Pidgeot bared its teeth and flapped its wings even more furiously.
Yet, it was all in vain. A mere two seconds later, Aomori blazed past, leaving Pidgeot to choke on his light-ray exhaust.
The tallest building in town was the school's classroom building.
"I win." Just as Aomori was about to decelerate and land on the roof, Ditto's figure suddenly appeared, reaching the destination a step ahead of him.
Ditto had reverted to its original pink slime form, looking utterly exhausted.
"I see. You didn't transform into Darkrai to use Shadow Sneak, but for his Teleport," Aomori guessed instantly.
Using Teleport continuously to cross twenty kilometers… it would be a miracle if it weren't exhausted.
"It's just a race, did you have to go that hard?" Aomori funneled some Holy Light into Ditto, making it feel much better.
Unexpectedly, the final victor was Ditto, while Pidgeot, the speed specialist, ended up in last place.
Pidgeot hung its head, looking deeply demoralized.
At that moment, a white fox leaped onto the roof and, upon seeing Aomori, transformed into a calico cat.
Nyanko-sensei said grumpily, "So it's you. Making such a huge scene… don't you know you're disturbing people's sleep?"
Having just finished breakfast and wanting to nap, he had suddenly sensed a massive power flying toward the school. Worried for Natsume's safety, he had rushed over, only to find it was a false alarm.
He spared a glance at Pidgeot and Ditto before letting out a tired yawn.
Aomori smiled. "Sorry. I was trying to catch these two mischievous fellows and accidentally overdid it."
"If there's nothing else, hurry back to your shrine. I'm going back to sleep. The morning is a cat's prime nap time."
That wouldn't do. Having finally run into him, Aomori had to get a petting session in first.
With lightning speed, Aomori scooped Nyanko-sensei into his arms.
He weighed the cat in his hands, marveling at the heft. Good grief, this guy's pushing seven kilos.
"What are you doing? Put me down this instant!" Nyanko-sensei struggled mightily, but in this form, he had little strength and was easily suppressed by Aomori.
"As an apology, let me fly you back. It's so tiring to run on your own."
"Actually, that makes sense." Nyanko-sensei decided it was a good point and gave up struggling, allowing Aomori to carry him.
His nose twitched as he sniffed Aomori. "You actually smell quite nice."
"Heh." Aomori chuckled, then looked toward the iron door on the roof.
The next second, the door opened, revealing Natsume's panicked face.
Seeing Aomori and Nyanko-sensei, he visibly relaxed. "Aosora-sama? Nyanko-sensei? Why are you both at the school?"
"We wanted to see you."
"Liar! I didn't want to see him at all!"
"I thought something major had happened." Natsume had been in class when he saw a streak of light followed by Nyanko-sensei blurring past his eyes. Worried for the cat, he had made an excuse to leave the classroom.
He looked at Ditto and Pidgeot with curiosity.
"These two are my companions. Everything is fine, Natsume. I'll take Madara back; you should go back to class," Aomori said.
"Yeah, get going," Nyanko-sensei added, waving a small paw.
"Oh... okay, I'm going." Natsume left the roof, looking back every few steps.
"We should go too. Which way is your house?" Aomori asked, placing Nyanko-sensei on his shoulder.
"Over there." Nyanko-sensei lifted a paw and pointed.
"Got it."
Aomori took to the air and flew in that direction.
Pidgeot grabbed the squishy Ditto and followed along.
In less than a minute, they arrived at Natsume's house.
Nyanko-sensei hopped off Aomori's shoulder with a grunt and crawled into his nest. Without looking up, he said, "Thanks. You can go now."
Aomori didn't mind. After saying goodbye, he wandered the streets of the small town with Pidgeot and Ditto, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
On a whim, he left marks in several places, waiting for those with whom he shared a bond to find them.
After touring the town, Aomori took a loop through the nearby woods, giving quite a scare to several minor yokai.
Estimating the time was right, they returned to the shrine.
After resting for a few hours, Ditto had recovered some energy. Aomori asked, "Have you thought of your wish?"
Ditto had clearly thought it through and blurted out, "In this world, I want to become a human and experience human life."
Despite a tragic past of being imprisoned and researched by humans, it still felt an affinity for them; otherwise, it wouldn't have agreed to become Aomori's pet.
Having experienced so many worlds, Ditto's mind had matured, and it had begun to grow curious about the human world. Previously, it had always transformed into other monsters; now, it wanted to try living as a human.
"I see. That's not impossible." Aomori approved of this spirit of exploration into the unknown.
He thought for a moment and said, "There are two options. One is to become a human around Natsume's age and experience a colorful school life. The other is to become an adult and experience the 'joy' of working for a living."
"Which do you want?"
Ditto said without hesitation, "I want both!"
Opportunities were rare; naturally, it wanted to experience everything.
"Hmph, truly my pet. Your personality is just like mine." Aomori nodded in approval.
"But let's be clear: you must maintain your identity until the very second we leave this world. Giving up halfway is the behavior I despise most. I won't allow that."
"No problem!" Ditto promised solemnly.
The corners of Aomori's mouth curled into a meaningful smile.
"I hope you can keep your word."
Leaving Absol and Pidgeot to guard the shrine, Aomori took Ditto back to Miko's house.
Pulling out the laptop, he instructed Kayaba Akihiko: "Create a bank account and put a 'little' bit of money in it, about a hundred million or so. For the account user info..."
Aomori looked at Ditto. "We need to get you some identification first. Choose two forms: one adult, one high schooler."
"Okay."
Ditto concentrated for a while and transformed into a graceful, stunning beauty.
Her figure was fiery, similar to Fubuki's, with straight black hair reaching her waist. Her features bore faint resemblances to Tatsumaki and Sabrina.
"Rejected!" Aomori vetoed immediately.
"Why? Don't you like it?" Ditto felt wronged.
"No means no!"
Aomori stripped Ditto of its autonomy and decided to "sculpt" its face himself.
"Base the build on me, but make the height a bit taller. Get rid of those two lumps of fat; aren't they in the way? Below? Get rid of the stuff below too; you won't need it anyway."
"Make the face longer, add a handlebar mustache, and make the eyes look more world-weary. Yes, that's about right. Stay like that, don't move. Remember this look."
Aomori took a photo to process various documents.
The adult identity was settled.
Next was the high schooler.
"Lower the height, make the body more slender. The face should be clear, with soft features, but the eyes should be sharp. Also, make the hair thicker. Good, just like that."
With the previous experience, Aomori finished setting up this identity quickly.
"Aomori, are they both men like you? I think big sisters are cuter." Ditto offered a weak protest.
"Shallow. Boys are obviously cuter. Trust me, you can't go wrong."
"Boss, what are the names for these two identities?" Kayaba Akihiko asked.
Ditto said, "I want—"
"Quiet!" Aomori interrupted. "I've already decided. The older one is Kogoro Mori, and the younger one is Shinichi Kudo."
"Eh? What strange names. Aren't there any cooler ones?"
Aomori pretended not to hear and continued, "Kogoro Mori is the owner of a paranormal detective agency, and Shinichi Kudo is his distant nephew."
"Kayaba, once you've set up their identities, get some money and buy a large house to serve as our base of operations and the detective agency's office. Then, find a school for Shinichi Kudo where enrollment can be secured with money."
"Oh, and buy a few sets of shrine maiden outfits. The measurements are..." Aomori recited three numbers—without a doubt, the data he had visually estimated the previous night.
He was certainly putting a lot of effort into his shrine maiden.
"As for daily necessities and clothes for Kogoro Mori and the other one, just buy whatever seems right."
Ditto: "..."
Kayaba Akihiko replied with an "OK" and immediately "borrowed" some seed money from a certain bank. He took a couple of turns through the stock market, returned the principal, and was left with a massive surplus.
As for the house, he picked out a few suitable options for Aomori to make the final decision.
"Let's go with this one. Not too big, not too small, just right. For the school, pick one near the house."
Having settled Ditto's tedious affairs, the sun was nearing the horizon. Aomori stood up to go meet with Miko.