Tiger Peak Toumi said she was also a student who had skipped grades, but at twelve years old, being in fifth grade wasn't strange at all—unless she had never attended school before, just like Kobayashi Nana was now.
Combined with the scars on her face, Kobayashi naturally concluded that she, too, was a victim of an illegal experiment.
Noticing his gaze, Tiger Peak Toumi shook her heasd and skillfully let her golden hair fall, covering the right side of her face.
He immediately looked away. No matter how strong she was, Tiger Peak Toumi was still a girl—there was no way she didn't care about her appearance.
But she frowned, then flicked her hair aside again, openly revealing the scarred face crisscrossed with old wounds.
"Doctor Sakurai is a plastic surgeon," the girl said suddenly.
"I see."
Kobayashi nodded, finally understanding why Tiger Peak Toumi had been hospitalized in the first place.
No wonder she had decisively gone through the discharge procedures as soon as Doctor Sakurai was injured—the attending physician simply couldn't continue working.
"I remember that frog-shaped doctor. His medical skills are amazing, too," Kobayashi thought for a moment and suggested.
To be honest, Kobayashi felt that Heaven Canceller's medical ability was definitely superior to Doctor Sakurai's—even if plastic surgery wasn't his specialty.
Since Tiger Peak Toumi cared so much about the scars on her face, why not just go to Heaven Canceller? There was no need to wait for Doctor Sakurai to recover.
"Pfft, frog-shaped…"
Hearing his description, the girl couldn't help but smile, but she still shook her head.
"I know he's incredibly skilled, but I'll only let Doctor Sakurai operate on me."
"Huh? Why?" Kobayashi asked, following the topic.
"I only trust Doctor Sakurai," Tiger Peak Toumi said seriously.
Then she finished eating the cake in her hands and suddenly stood up.
Crossing her arms, she grabbed the hem of her T-shirt. Before Kobayashi's shocked eyes, the girl pulled her shirt off in one swift motion.
During the time they had spent together, He had already learned that Tiger Peak Toumi was the straightforward, act-first-think-later type. Even so, he hadn't expected something like this.
Because it wasn't a life-threatening situation, Bullet Time didn't activate, leaving him no chance to stop her.
Even though Tiger Peak Toumi was a girl—no, precisely because she was still just a young girl—this was even worse.
Kobayashi turned his head and shut his eyes at once.
"What are you doing all of a sudden?!"
"And what kind of reaction is that?!"
Instead, the girl snapped back at him without any mercy.
"Open your eyes! Haven't you ever been to a swimming pool?!"
Kobayashi opened his eyes uneasily, only to realize that the girl was still wearing basic underwear. While awkward, it was at least not indecent.
Just as Tiger Peak Toumi herself had said, she really had developed early.
However, what drew Kobayashi's gaze wasn't the slight curves of her body, but the horrifying scars covering her skin.
They were similar to the scars on her right cheek.
Her entire right side looked as if it had been bombed—covered in wounds, many of which even spread to the left side of her body.
At first glance, Kobayashi had almost thought she was wearing some kind of specially patterned, skin-tight garment.
It was hard to imagine what kind of ordeal could leave such exaggerated scars—and even harder to imagine how this girl had survived such severe injuries.
"You… were you in a gas explosion?"
He asked, half-joking, half-serious.
"Not gas. Landmines," Tiger Peak Toumi answered solemnly.
"Landmines? You mean… um…"
Kobayashi faltered for words.
"Military landmines?"
"That's right."
The girl nodded.
"I came to Academy City two years ago. Before that, I spent ten years living in a war zone—as a child soldier."
"Child soldier…"
"Yes."
Her expression was numb as she nodded again.
"In war, no one cares about ethics or morality. Anyone who's still alive is a kind of resource. Even children like us, who can't even hold a gun, can still be put to use… for example, by crossing minefields."
When there's a lack of proper demining equipment or trained engineers—or simply to cut costs—this primitive yet effective method is used.
If they were being 'merciful,' they'd drive livestock through the minefield. But when there was no humanity—or no livestock to spare—people were used instead.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—Tiger Peak Toumi was a veteran at this kind of "job."
Because her senses were unusually sharp, and because she was lucky enough, she managed to survive these life-or-death missions time and time again. The price she paid was the countless scars covering her body.
Perhaps her commanders valued this "talent" of hers. After every injury, they did their best to treat her, just so she could be sent on the next mission.
"Until I met Doctor Sakurai…"
Tiger Peak Toumi spread her arms, almost self-mockingly displaying her ugly body. But when she mentioned Doctor Sakurai, emotions finally returned to her numb face.
"She went to the war zone as an international humanitarian doctor. She was the one who saved me!"
After finishing her assignment, Doctor Sakurai pulled every string she could to bring Tiger Peak Toumi back to Japan. Later on, Tiger Peak Toumi displayed talent as an esper and was recruited into Academy City.
"Doctor Sakurai actually came to work in Academy City to take care of me," Tiger Peak Toumi said.
"Her husband, Mr. Kohtou, passed away early. She has no children, and I don't have a mother…"
So the two of them were like mother and daughter. No wonder Tiger Peak Toumi had completely lost control when Doctor Sakurai was attacked.
"Doctor Sakurai said she'd make me a beautiful girl again," Tiger Peak Toumi said.
"And I only trust Doctor Sakurai!"
When other people saw her body, they would instinctively show disgust—then quickly switch to pity.
Even though Tiger Peak Toumi's will was strong enough to ignore others' gazes, psychological scars still remained. It inevitably made her uncomfortable.
She could accept kindness—but never pity.
"I hate those women's fake, sympathetic looks!" Tiger Peak Toumi said.
She knew the doctors meant no harm, but it still left a bad taste in her heart.
As for this boy in front of her—Kobayashi—his eyes showed surprise and confusion, even a hint of sympathy, but not the slightest trace of disgust.
That was why Tiger Peak Toumi chose to be honest with him—at the very least, this person wasn't as unpleasant as most others.
"Doctor Heaven Canceller's medical skills really are incredible. Doctor Sakurai admires him a lot, too," Tiger Peak Toumi said.
"But he's a man. I don't want a man touching my body."
That, too, was a lingering after-effect of that dark, unbearable past.
(End of Chapter)