Appearing once more in that other world, Tsutsumi found himself back in a place where horses didn't exist, only horse girls, known here as Uma Musume.
Walking through Tracen Academy's grounds in his natural disguise as an Uma Musume, Tsutsumi skipped his every class without even pretending otherwise. Same habit, different school.
He wandered across campus at a relaxed pace, hands in his pockets, ignoring the distant sounds of lectures and whistles echoing from classes and training fields.
"Young miss. Why are you still out of class at this time?"
A soft, gentle voice came from behind him.
Tsutsumi stopped and turned around. His eyes landed on an older woman with fair skin and long brown hair neatly tied back. She had calm green eyes and wore an elegant green secretary outfit, complete with a yellow tie and a matching hat tilted just right. She smiled warmly, pleasantly, politely, and entirely unconvincingly.
Behind her, an oni mask slowly rose into view.
"You're Oguri T. Ryoko," she continued, voice smooth, "Oguri Cap's younger twin sister, correct?"
Tsutsumi didn't recognize her, but everyone in Tracen knew her as Hayakawa Tazuna.
The Chairwoman's most trusted assistant. Among the Uma Musume, she was better known as the Green Devil. She had a habit of appearing at the worst possible times, especially when an Uma Musume got too bold with a trainer or caused trouble. Possessing combat skills that didn't match her polite demeanor, she subdued troublemakers with alarming efficiency and personally escorted them to Tracen HQ's special confinement rooms.
She was also the captain of Tracen Academy's internal security team.
Tsutsumi's gaze drifted to the oni mask hovering behind her. Without a word, he raised his second camera and snapped a photo.
The shutter clicked.
Despite already knowing the result would probably glitch, the camera hummed, and a moment later, a picture slid out from the side. Tsutsumi examined it for a few seconds.
"Not bad," he muttered.
He flicked his wrist, tossing the photo toward her.
The picture flew cleanly through the air. Tazuna caught it mid-flight with a sharp, practiced motion, then lowered her gaze to inspect it.
Tazuna: "???"
The image showed her smiling, but the upper half of her face looked distinctly non-human. Beneath her chin, a second mouth had formed, lined with neat rows of sharp fangs, stretched into a grin that didn't belong on a human face.
She looked back up at Tsutsumi. Then at the camera in his hand.
It was a normal camera, a somewhat old one at that, which couldn't apply filters like other modern cameras.
This confused her at the same time. A red tick mark appeared on her forehead.
What is the meaning of this picture? Is she calling me a devil to my face?
"Oguri Tsutsumi Ryoko…" Tazuna said slowly, using his full name this time.
Tsutsumi could feel the pure, focused malice flowing out from her.
"May I have a word with you?" she asked, still smiling as she clenched the photo in her hand. The paper crumpled slightly. Her knuckles popped.
Tsutsumi: "…"
Tazuna stepped forward, reaching out with one hand toward the horse's ear on his head.
Tsutsumi sidestepped smoothly. Unless you were his mother, his mom, or someone he genuinely trusted, touching him without permission was simply not happening.
Tazuna's eyes narrowed.
"I suggest you don't resist," she said calmly, voice still polite, "if you know what's best for you… Miss Oguri."
Tsutsumi's response was simple.
He turned around and ran.
For half a second, the academy courtyard was quiet.
Then the Green Devil gave chase, her footsteps cracking against the pavement as she followed him with speed that absolutely did not belong to a normal human.
Tsutsumi tilted his head back slightly, catching sight of Tazuna still right on his tail. Close. Way too close.
His hand moved up, fingers brushing against the horse ear on his head.
How is she keeping up with an Uma Musume?
He decided not to dwell on it. Questioning it wouldn't slow her down.
Tsutsumi shifted his weight, suddenly dropping low. His boots scraped against the ground as he skidded, deliberately bleeding off speed before exploding forward again and cutting into a clean ninety-degree turn.
Behind him, Tazuna had to brake hard, shoes digging in as she corrected her momentum before snapping into the turn to continue the chase.
Another turn. Tsutsumi accelerated, then cut again. Tazuna slowed, turned, and kept coming.
By the time she rounded the next corner, she nearly ran straight into Oguri Cap. While Tsutsumi was nowhere in sight.
"Miss Oguri," Tazuna asked politely, recovering almost instantly, "did you see your sister run past here?"
"She went that way," Oguri replied, casually pointing behind her with her thumb.
"Thank you," Tazuna said, taking a few steps forward, then she stopped.
"…Wait a minute." She slowly turned back. "Oguri Cap doesn't have abs."
The 'Oguri Cap' in front of her had already bolted.
"OGURI TSUTSUMI RYOKO!" Tazuna roared, spinning around and charging after him again.
While running, Tsutsumi pulled the gray-white wig free and let it dissolve into his wristband. The Starlight Beat outfit stayed on, exposing his midriff and navel.
While Oguri Cap's stomach was usually filled with food. Tsutsumi's, on the other hand, was firm and defined, thanks to proper meals, constant traveling, and frequent fights.
He was a bit taller than his sister, but his disguise work was solid enough that most people wouldn't notice unless they were looking closely. Without directly using his Quirk to transform, the differences were still subtle.
Height. Eye color. Build.
Small things.
Of course, that was only when he didn't have time. Given preparation, he could do much better. He'd once partnered with a Phantom Thief, after all. The two of them had even staged many of their clashes, Phantom Thief versus Phantom Thief, white versus black, Joker versus Eternal, just for show and fun.
Quick disguises were easy to pull off. But the convincing ones took time.
Tazuna wasn't a real threat, and Tsutsumi was already bored with fighting after that waste-of-time exam. On top of that, she was clearly just doing her job. No reason to escalate things with violence.
They sprinted through the school halls, drawing stares from students and staff alike. Whispers followed them as they passed.
They burst onto the racetrack, weaving between several Uma Musume mid-training, using the curves and momentum to keep speed. Tsutsumi vaulted over the railing without slowing down.
Tazuna followed, doing the same.
They crossed the campus without stopping, Tsutsumi constantly shifting direction, forcing Tazuna to react again and again.
Finally, they reached the fourth-floor balcony. Behind Tazuna, the only exit was the stairwell.
"No… where… to… run…" she said between heavy breaths, still managing to stand her ground.
Tsutsumi stared at her, genuinely impressed. "Are you sure you're even human?"
"O…gu…ri… Tsut…su…mi…" Tazuna panted. "De…ten…tion. Now."
She clearly didn't even remember how this started anymore.
Throughout her years at Tracen, she'd dealt with more than her fair share of troublesome Uma Musume. This wasn't her first chase, and it definitely wouldn't be her last.
Still, this was bound to be the most intense chase she had ever had with one.
Behind her, a crowd of Uma Musume had gathered, leaning over railings and peeking from doors. Their chase had turned into a full-blown spectacle.
Tsutsumi glanced at them, amused.
"Sure," he said casually. "See you there."
Before anyone could react, Tsutsumi stepped forward and jumped off the fourth-floor balcony.
Everyone: "!!!"
Tazuna and the onlookers rushed to the edge just in time to see him land below with a dull thud, one knee down, one foot planted. A textbook superhero landing.
He stood up like nothing happened, brushed himself off, and ignored the stunned silence around him.
Then, without another word, Tsutsumi turned and calmly walked toward the detention room.
As he walked past the corner, his clothes quietly shifted, the fabric reforming into something closer to his hero outfit. It still carried the same general design and color scheme, though now compatible with his Uma Musume's form.
He didn't feel any shame wearing a skirt or his sister's clothes, but his natural outfit was still more comfortable.
The moment he stepped into the detention room, he noticed he wasn't alone.
Two Uma Musume were already inside, each sitting far enough apart that it was clear they weren't here together.
One had short dark-brown hair in front, the tips curling outward in a way that looked deliberately untidy. The other had short black hair split down the center, uneven and spiky, with several strands jutting out in different directions.
From appearances alone, the two practically screamed rebel and delinquent.
Tsutsumi picked an empty seat and leaned back, resting his arms loosely as he waited.
A few minutes passed.
"So," the black-haired Uma Musume, Air Shakur, spoke, her sharp eyes studying him. "You're the one who made the Green Devil run all across campus."
"How'd you even manage to outrun her?" the dark-brown-haired Uma Musume, Vodka, asked next, leaning forward with clear curiosity.
"I just run," Tsutsumi said with a shrug, adding. "Who is she anyway?"
The two look at him, like they were looking at something they can't explain.
"Is she related to that rumor alien?" Vodka leans closer toward Air Shakur and asks in a small tone.
"Maybe..." Air Shakur replied, before shifting her gaze back to Tsutsumi.
Among the Uma Musume of Tracen, Hayakawa Tazuna was… special.
She looked like a normal human. Acted like a normal human. But she could outmatch many Uma Musume without much effort.
Even the most ordinary Uma Musume, once properly trained, possessed physical abilities at least three times that of a regular human. Professional racers were on a completely different level; any one of them could overpower a grown adult male without even trying.
On top of that, they spent most of their lives focused on competition. Their competitive instincts and assertiveness far surpassed those of normal humans. During adolescence, that intensity only grew sharper, more impulsive, more emotional.
It meant that the moment you crossed a line or got too close in the wrong way, your life expectancy dropped dramatically.
Not because they wanted to hurt anyone. But when someone that strong doesn't fully understand restraint, even a harmless joke can turn into a serious injury.
And if you rejected their "good intentions," or upset them badly enough, things could escalate fast.
Whenever Uma Musume started causing trouble, it usually fell to the student council, or Hayakawa Tazuna, to step in and "correct" the situation before it spiraled.
Both Vodka and Air Shakur began telling Tsutsumi about Hayakawa Tazuna.
After hearing the two of them talk about the Green Devil, Tsutsumi found himself mildly interested. He had already suspected that Tazuna might not be entirely human. Maybe a hidden Uma Musume, but he couldn't prove it.
Not without putting in real effort to look into it.
As his thoughts wandered, he suddenly realized that his base strength had reached a superhuman level. The multiple times he jumped off buildings, he forgot to even use his power to reinforce his body.
Even after running across the entire Tracen campus, he didn't feel that exhausted, just a bit short of breath for a few seconds before returning to normal.
Now that his attention shifted to how he isn't like a normal human anymore, he remembers that Kadoya Tsukasa, in human form, had tanked punches and kicks from Rising Ultimate Kuuga, with nothing more than scratches and a bit of blood on his lips.
If he recalls correctly, Rising Ultimate Kuuga's punching power is 100 tons, and kicking power is 120 tons.
Being able to tank those attacks while in human form meant that the previous Decade, even in human form, would grow and obtain superhuman endurance.
And judging how Rising Ultimate Kuuga was being brainwashed at that time, he definitely wasn't pulling his punches when striking Tsukasa.
The three of them ended up talking longer than any of them expected.
Somehow, Tsutsumi became the link holding the conversation together.
Vodka was the most animated. She talked about motorcycles with an energy that made it obvious this wasn't just a passing interest. She liked the sound of engines, the weight of the frame, the idea of riding without a destination.
"I can't get one yet," she admitted with a grin. "But the moment I'm old enough, I'm buying one myself."
Tsutsumi nodded, adding comments here and there. As a Rider, motorcycles weren't unfamiliar territory for him. Balance, handling, maintenance, he talked about them casually, like it was common knowledge. That only made Vodka listen harder, leaning in and asking more questions, clearly impressed that someone actually understood what she was talking about.
Air Shakur spoke less, but when she did, it was to the point. Her interests leaned in a completely different direction, music and graffiti. She mentioned working part-time as a DJ, mostly late-night gigs and small venues, nothing glamorous. Graffiti, for her, wasn't just a side hobby outside of her main interest, calculus.
Tsutsumi found that amusing.
Back in middle school, Jiro Kyoka had dragged him out more than once to mess around with graffiti, nothing serious, mostly abandoned walls and sketchy alleys. While her family had also taught him a lot about music.
So when Air Shakur talked, Tsutsumi actually understood what she meant.
That surprised her.
By the time the conversation slowed, none of them felt like strangers anymore.
Three troublemakers, sitting in detention, talking about everything except why they were there.