Akuta covered her shoulder using her free hand, pushing aside her brand new cape and dusting off her shoulders.
Indeed, she was wearing different clothes compared to her previous ones.
Gone were her casual looks; in return, a black military officer-like overall covered her entire body, not even leaving a space of skin exposed to the fresh air.
Golden buttons to hold everything together, and a black cape that hangs over her left shoulder, she even has a sword attached to her waist!
There's nothing that screams 'Badass' more than this...!
Leather boots, and if she lifted her leggings, black stockings would appear.
On her face was the white mask she had bought earlier. A pure white oval mask with a streak of blue tears as a pattern under her eye.
She thought of wearing a hat, but then she wouldn't be able to let her hair flow with the wind...
For that, the head aesthetic was being carried entirely by her original shapes.
Good thing her hair wasn't a mess...
"My name is Kosaka Wakamo. Please tell me yours, darling." After a sudden standstill, Wakamo, with her gun still pointed straight at Akuta, started to talk. Pressing a palm on her cheek using her free hand, she tilted her head slightly.
This caused Akuta, who had already known how obsessed this girl was with Sensei in the original timeline, to shudder.
'Fortunately, I didn't injure Sensei on the way... Otherwise, she wouldn't have let me off for so long, right?' Shaking her secretly, she opened her mouth, "I do not have a name."
To deal with this kind of situation, there are many different routes she could've taken.
For example, she could make a fake identity.
By doing so, the people might take her words to heart and start to investigate her background.
But after a while, they would realize that they couldn't find anything and might've concluded that she lied to them.
She doesn't want to be known as a liar.
Another route she could've taken was the amnesia route, most commonly known as the 'Gacha Protagonist Syndrome'.
Perhaps there aren't many, but if we were to name a few...
Doctor, Trailblazer, Rover, Manager... does Tyrant count?
Well, that's the ones she could name at the top of her head, at least.
But that's getting a bit niche.
In that case... she decided to just tell the truth! (lmao)
This persona of hers literally has no name!
If she were to take a look at the system, they would even decide that this body was another 'Persona' of hers!
[Persona:
Dasu Akuta
Karumi Kasuka
N/A]
Even though she's using her main body, the system acknowledges the fact that she's using a different identity... How convenient.
Since her goal in using this identity was to make as much of a mess inside Kivotos as possible, while not involving her main identity.
Of course, there are still risks. But she's willing to carry them if it means having the most amount of joy possible.
"No name...? Then, how should I refer to you?" Wakamo asked in confusion.
Akuta hesitated for a moment, she didn't account for that question to be asked so early on...
Like, come on! She literally just revealed herself!
'I could either speak in riddles or just give straight answers... But I'm not good at talking eloquently...'
She thought so for a moment and just came up with a name on the spot,
"Please... refer to me as Fourteen." Bowing slightly after her introduction, she didn't give Wakamo any time to react as she pulled the trigger.
Wakamo moved her gun and effectively blocked it using the steel body of her own weapon. Grabbing the handle of her firearm, she gripped it tightly and rushed forward as she swung her arms down.
Fourteen took a step back as she tried to make some distance between them. Of course, the effort was futile as the fox girl easily closed the distance.
Clang!
Sparks flickered at the impact of Wakamo's knife against Kasuka's gun.
Fourteen, her hands shaking as she tried to prevent her adversary from gaining any more advantage, gritted her teeth tightly as she regretted not buying Increased Strength.
But if she were to do so now, she wouldn't have any Points left to start another simulation.
Hold back, hold back.
"Hahaha... You..." Wakamo laughed as her own face, covered by a fox mask, reached the other's mask.
Now, their faces were only a couple of centimeters apart, with only two masks to separate their eyes.
"If I were to take off on my own, would you do so too?" Wakamo said as she pushed her weapon with increased strength.
Even if she didn't say it, Fourteen realized that she was talking about their masks.
But for some reason, her mind wandered off to a different kind of meaning that sentence could bring... and her ears turned a bit red.
"...Pervert." Yes, she knew that Wakamo didn't mean it like that, but she couldn't help but voice her thoughts.
Wakamo tilted her head in confusion before putting strength in her arms to push Fourteen down.
Fourteen, not expecting an increase in power, lost her footing and fell on her back, heaving slightly.
"..."
"..."
Wakamo felt her heart beating faster and faster as she realized that she had finally gotten the girl trapped under her.
Now, she can no longer run away like she was doing during their battle.
After all, the problem Wakamo had against her wasn't that Fourteen's stronger than her, but her swiftness was just a bit too high.
Every time Wakamo thought she had finally captured the other, she would somehow move away, appearing a distance away from where she was originally.
She was like a cockroach.
'Ah...' Smiling under her own mask, Wakamo realized that the person currently under her wasn't resisting anymore; she was simply lying down. It was as if she wasn't captured by her enemy.
Although she was a bit curious as to why, she didn't question it and simply moved her hand towards the other's face. More specifically, the mask in question.
'It's in the way.' With that thought, her hand gripped the edge of the mask.
And as she pulled her hand...
Wakamo's breath hitched, and her face under the mask turned bright red in an instant. Gone was her previously erratic behavior; the girl acted like she was under a love spell.
"A-ah-ah...Ahhhhh!" Suddenly, the fox girl made a run for it.
But before she disappeared amongst the ruins, Fourteen heard her voice echo in the distance.
"You...!"
She sounded a bit... mad? Or was that embarrassment?
But before Fourteen could come up with a reasonable expression, the girl disappeared.
Fourteen blinked. "...I didn't expect that reaction." She muttered.
---
Author's Note: Early chapters because I got an assessment due this evening. Also, 2 chapters left before this volume ends~
Post-Chapter-Author's-Note: I LIED, IT WAS ONE MORE CHAPTER. Which means tomorrow will only have a single chapter! My bad!