[Third Person's PoV]
"Not a Yokai…" Clark realized immediately, withdrawing his hand from her neck with a sharp breath. A flicker of embarrassment crossed his face as he stepped back, raising both hands in apology. "I apologize," he said sincerely, his voice quieter now.
"No worries!" Lala replied cheerfully, brushing her fingers faintly over the spot on her neck where his hand had been. She offered him a bright, dazzling smile. "You must've been surprised to find someone like me in your shower. Totally understandable!" she added with a casual tone, as if teleporting into strangers' showers was perfectly normal.
Clark gave a soft grunt, eyeing her with a cautious stare. "That's… one way to put it," he muttered. His eyes flicked down briefly before returning to her face. "So, I take it you're an alien then?"
"Yup! Nailed it!" Lala chirped, spinning around playfully to show off her tail. She pointed to the spot where it connected near her tailbone. "Was it the tail that gave it away?"
Clark groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "Have some shame, will you?" he grumbled.
Lala tilted her head to the side, clearly confused by his reaction. "What's there to be ashamed of?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Forget it," Clark sighed, waving a hand dismissively. "More importantly, why the hell did you randomly appear in my shower? Care to explain that?"
"Oh, that's simple!" she exclaimed, as if the explanation would clear everything up. "I was running away, crash-landed on Earth, did a bit more running, and then—"
Before she could finish, Clark placed a single finger against her lips, his eyes narrowing as he turned his head sharply toward the door.
He heard footsteps—rapid and heavy—approaching fast.
Lala blinked, surprised by his sudden movement, then looked up at him and blushed faintly.
A moment later, the bathroom door slammed open with force. Seiko stood in the doorway wielding her bat like a weapon, her eyes scanning the room rapidly. Krypto stood at her side, barking furiously, clearly ready to protect Clark if necessary.
Seiko paused, her expression flickering with confusion as she took in the scene: Clark, dripping wet, Lala standing equally naked, smiling brightly and waving as if this were the most normal introduction ever.
"Clark…" Seiko said, her voice suddenly adopting a teasing tone. "If you wanted to bring a girl over, you didn't have to sneak her in through the window and take her into the shower with you."
She placed a hand over her mouth, eyes glimmering with unshed tears. "I get it, you're at that age, you're growing up, but please—warn me next time, will you?"
She started to close the door, but then poked her head back in, eyes twinkling. "And don't forget to use protection. You already have enough responsibilities—"
"Leave," Clark growled, his voice low and clearly done with the situation.
Seiko raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll go." She stepped away, calling out down the hallway, "Just know I'm too young to be a great-grandmother!"
Lala giggled, covering her mouth. "Hehehe, she's funny."
"Yes. Downright hilarious," Clark muttered flatly. He reached past Lala—who blushed at the closeness—and turned off the running shower. The warm fog still obscured most of the room, veiling both of them in a misty curtain that preserved their modesty.
Suddenly—Poof.
Lala vanished before his eyes.
Clark blinked once, then again, unfazed at this point. He could sense her presence instantly—in his bedroom now. His emotional state had long passed the threshold for shock or irritation. He was numb, and honestly? Her presence wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Not in a physical or sexual way, but in something more… spiritual.
Clark's senses were deeply tied to the spiritual energy—the souls—of others. That's how he had initially sensed the Oni's transformation. It was also the reason he struggled to be around people; most of them radiated chaotic, jarring energy that grated against his senses like nails on a chalkboard. The very existence of people was loud to him at a close range. Only a rare few felt tolerable—Momo and Seiko being two of them. Their spiritual energies were pure, serene, refined.
And now… this girl. Lala. She had that same soothing presence.
Clark ran a hand through his wet hair, slicking it back, staring up at the ceiling in quiet disbelief. 'What the hell is happening…' he thought.
Eventually, Clark stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He was now dressed in the clothes he had originally planned to wear for training—a fitted long-sleeve compression shirt and a pair of loose white sweatpants. All of that preparation felt meaningless now.
He paused at the threshold of his room.
There, seated on his bed with a towel wrapped tightly around her, was Lala. She was laughing sweetly as she pampered Krypto, who was practically melting under her attention. She ruffled his fur, scratched behind his ears, and cooed: "Who's a cute boy~ Who's a cute boy~ You are~ Yes you are~"
Clark raised a brow.
"What a fantastic guard dog you turned out to be," he deadpanned.
Krypto barked in response, wagging his tail happily while flashing Clark a look. Clark narrowed his eyes slightly, translating the bark with ease.
'Hey, I did come running to your aid!'
"Hope you don't mind that I borrowed your towel," Lala said with a cheerful grin, motioning down to what she was wearing.
Clark raised an eyebrow but gave a nonchalant shrug. "Better that than you walking around naked. Are you in need of clothes, though?"
Lala shook her head quickly, her damp pink hair bouncing with the motion. "Nope, no need! Peke will be here any moment now," she said confidently, clearly unconcerned.
"Peke?" Clark echoed, folding his arms. "The hell is a 'Peke'? Actually, scratch that—who exactly are you, and what's the full story behind you suddenly warping into my shower?"
Lala stood up from the bed, still holding her towel firmly in place, and gave him a playful salute with two fingers over her eyes. "You can call me Lala~ Nice to meet you!" she said with a wink.
"Lala…" Clark repeated, drying the last of his hair with his towel and tossing it onto the nearby chair.
"Yup! I'm Lala and I'm from the Planet Deviluke!" Lala announced proudly, puffing out her chest slightly.
Clark blinked at the name, his eyes narrowing just slightly. "Deviluke?"
"Deviluke?!" Sol's voice rang sharply in Clark's ear, clearly recognizing the name and not in a good way.
Before Clark could question him, Lala's proud expression faded into a more solemn one. A faint shadow of melancholy crossed her features.
"I was being pursued," she said softly, her tone contrasting heavily with her earlier energy.
Clark's expression shifted slightly—less skeptical now, more attentive. "Go on."
Lala sighed and sat back down. "I came to this planet hoping to escape those after me. When I first arrived, my ship crash-landed. It was totaled. I was nearly captured right away, but then a second group of pursuers showed up. They wanted me too, and the two groups started fighting over who would take me."
She extended her wrist, revealing a bracelet adorned with a small, stylized bunny design. The charm sparkled as it caught the light. Her mood instantly flipped again as she smiled with renewed enthusiasm. "That's when I used this! I made it myself! It's called Boingy-Boing Warp-Kun! Cute name, right? It lets me teleport short distances—to a specific person!"
"A specific person?" Clark repeated, raising a brow.
Before Lala could respond, Clark's enhanced senses picked up a high-speed presence rapidly approaching their location from outside. He turned toward the window instinctively, eyes narrowing as a small winged creature zoomed toward them with alarming speed.
Lala noticed too. "Oh! That must be—" Without finishing her sentence, she leapt forward and threw the window open just in time.
The flying creature—a small, bat-winged, humanoid plushie-looking robot—soared through the window like a missile. Before it could crash straight into the wall, Clark moved in a blur and caught it with one hand, gently stopping its momentum.
"Thank you!" the small creature exclaimed breathlessly, its eyes spinning trying to orient itself. Then, upon spotting Lala, it practically squealed, "Lala!!"
"PEKE!!" Lala cried with pure joy, catching the creature in her arms and hugging it tightly.
Clark narrowed his eyes and briefly activated his x-ray vision, examining the entity. Sure enough, it was robotic in nature—An energy core, and artificial memory drives, all compactly constructed in a surprisingly advanced chassis.
"Are you hurt?" Peke asked quickly, his tiny hands touching Lala's cheeks and hair as if scanning for injuries.
Lala giggled. "Hehehe, I'm fine, silly! I'm just happy you made it out safely too!"
Peke turned from Lala to glance up at Clark with reverent eyes. "And you… you're him! Lala, you found him! You actually found Superman!"
Clark stiffened and exhaled sharply through his nose. "...Oh, god damn it," he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.
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