After the Red-and-Black Factions Switched

[This story will be going VIP on October 1, 2023. There’ll be a 10,000-word update then, so please show it your support!] I’m a woman named Baize Zhen. I have a happy family, both my parents are alive and well, and I have a sweet, thoughtful younger brother. During college, my brother got me into the cosplay club, where I met my current friends. Thanks to my natural silver hair, stern aura, and absolutely terrible acting, I’ve been stuck playing Gin for years. All I have to do is keep a straight face and deliver a few cryptic, sarcastic lines. The rest of the club are all heroes, all on the side of good, and I’m the only villain. It’s cold. So very cold. At long last, we got a new junior member, but he cosplayed the teenage version of Oda from another series. Apparently, once he grows a beard, he can cosplay Armed Detective Oda. I know. Being shunned by the heroes is my destiny. One day, the club’s screenwriter, who was working on a Chuuya cosplay, sent us the finished digital copy of the new script. I was out grabbing a bite, so I downloaded it and was about to read it when I blinked, my head spun, and the Chinese everyone around me was speaking turned into English. Me, still gnawing on an Original Recipe chicken drumstick: ? Under the circumstances, I struggled through my new script. I couldn’t understand it, but it seemed impressive. This obviously wasn’t Beika Town, let alone Japan. This was Gotham, a city of sin with an astronomical crime rate, a steady stream of high-IQ criminals, and crime that never stops as long as life goes on. I didn’t know what I could do, or what I was supposed to do, but everyone has to make a living. I found a job as a server at a nice restaurant. The owner said my fierce expression and impressive fighting skills would keep those despicable street punks in line. My peaceful daily life took a sudden turn one day. Arkham blew up, Chinatown blew up, the harbor blew up, and so did the bridge between Metropolis and Gotham. Gotham’s urban legend appeared before me and told me that a group of dangerous people from a parallel world were obsessively searching for an escaped undercover agent and traitor. And I was the undercover agent and traitor those dangerous people were after. Me, who had been quietly working as a server all this time: ??? After learning what was in the club members’ flipped script, where I was their light, their electricity, their one and only legend, I could only stare expressionlessly at the teenage Oda who had come straight to see me. In the screenwriter’s flipped version, he was a mysterious, terrifying teenage assassin on par with a mastermind, but he’d defected from the organization without hesitation alongside me. In this new script, I was the only surviving undercover agent from the red side in a universe-spanning, pure-evil organization. “Their acting bug probably won’t wear off anytime soon,” I said solemnly. I didn’t want to face my friends’ messed-up script. “What do you think, kid?” The red-haired teenage assassin didn’t hesitate for a moment. He picked up the copy of The Couple’s Good Fortune in his hands and pointed to the words “couple,” his gaze earnest. It was clearly the best solution in his eyes Use cozy married life to kick their villainous script to the curb and show them that even a knife-wielding maniac can’t warm your heart like a sweet romance, turning them into three times the softies! Me: “Are you serious?” Assassin Oda: “So serious I’ve never made this request of anyone else in my life.” Me: “…” Assassin Oda: “Do you think this is too sudden, too much of a leap? You’re right. Normally, two people would spend some time together, confess their feelings once they knew they liked each other, become a couple, and date more seriously to get to know one another. Once they were sure they wanted to spend their lives together, they’d meet each other’s parents, get married, spend a lifetime in love, grow old together, and be buried in the same grave after they died.” Me: “You haven’t considered the possibility that we might not be right for each other, that we might argue and break up. Being together doesn’t guarantee we’ll grow old side by side. The future is uncertain, and given our situation, we can’t make such a careless decision about marriage. We have nothing.” Looking at my expression, the red-haired, blue-eyed boy seemed to understand. “I see.” Me: “Good.” The assassin Oda began loading bullets into his gun. “I’ll prove my resolve through my actions.” Me: ? The next day, Gotham’s urban legend appeared again. With a cold expression, he told me the red-haired, blue-eyed teenage assassin could still be saved, but he needed close supervision and guidance. The boy didn’t want to go with Batman, though, because he already had a light who could put him on the right path, and that light was me. Me: So what did you go and do? Assassin Oda: Kidnap the Joker and tell Batman to pay me. If he didn’t, I’d shoot the Joker. But then Red Hood told me he’d pay me if I shot the Joker, so I’m planning to do it again next time I’m short on cash. Now we can afford to get married. Me: … I know. Being shunned by the villains is my destiny. * (The theme of this story was inspired by these lines) At this moment, I’m willing to be a person without ideals I’m willing to sit with you until we grow old Quiet as plants and trees He Sanpo, “The Ridge” [Before You Read] 1. The pairing is Assassin Oda (Teenage Oda). 2. All other relationships involving the protagonist are platonic. She’s adored by everyone and invincible. 3. This is a lighthearted, sweet romance about a burned-out former undercover agent who retires and spends every day despairing over the scripts her clubmates write, and a straightforward assassin who works hard for love, taking jobs to support his family. They have a goofy married life in Gotham. 4. Older woman-younger man romance. The heroine is 21 and the hero is 18. The hero and the heroine’s younger brother have tokusatsu character elements. 5. There are lots of headcanons. Please treat them as differences between parallel worlds. Theme: I’m willing to be a person without ideals