Blackburn had given Nuiko her eye back, though it couldn't help the already-lost one. The five took the second train out the next day, having missed the first due to crowded lines. Mia had kept her bad luck, though the lightning rod was beside her.

"Maybe we'll run in to another Revenant." Jeanne yawned, and Kirihara glared like it was a trigger.

"Going to fall asleep again?"

Jeanne sighed as she stared ahead. "I told you why, and how I fixed it. I don't know what you expect me to say."

"Something more than that fucking apology you gave me."

Nuiko sighed. "She -"

- Jeanne waved her down as Kirihara started.

"Hey - Jeanne, you gonna say something? Or what?"

"Yes, Ms. Kishor. I was a terrible, no-good mentor -"

" - don't fucking try to make light of this shit! You know how many times I nearly fucking died fighting solo?"

"I'm sorry you -"

" - you're such a fucking bitch, I swear to fucking god. I wish I could fucking expel you."

" - feel that way."

"You guys see how these two fucking treat me?" said Kirihara, gesturing to the prodigal pair. "Fucking just washes off of them - no worry! Let Kirihara handle everything!"

"You're just angry because you're upset." preened Nuiko, sagely, and Jeanne laughed. 

"Yeah. Big fucking joke to you. Fucking one-eyed bitch."

"I've gotten called worse." 

"I don't give a shit. You're a fucking cunt."

"Where's your protégé, anyway? A mentor should be with their protégé, after all."

"He's an ass. Doesn't have any respect."

"I'm sure."

"Difference is - I actually fucking spend time with him. I don't fall in to fucking comas. Degenerate drug addict fucking bitch and one-eyed dwarf."

"Hey, Kirihara." Jeanne yawned. "Want a glass of water?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"To cool you down." She grinned.

"Fuck off."

"'Kay. We will." Jeanne stood, and her&Nuiko went to another carriage. 

Serena felt Kirihara's eyes turn to her. "You see how they treat me? Just fucking making fun of me like that?"

In the second she made eye contact with her, she saw tears.

"…s-starts to affect you." grunted Kirihara. "Fuck. Can't believe I have to deal with this shit."

Mia kept on her phone.

Kirihara sighed. Jeanne&Nuiko eventually came back with faces like they'd been laughing, and the rest of the ride was silent. Once they came to the city, they separated to their hotel rooms again, and Jeanne&Nuiko met with Mia&Serena.

"Man, though." said Serena. "She really is a - I dunno. Narcissist, or something."

"She's just like that. Who knows why." shrugged Jeanne. "Anyway, we wanted to, uh, go get our tickets early for tomorrow."

Mia nodded. "It would be best."

"Minimize the time we have to spend with her." preened Nuiko. "Just five more days."

"Three thousand, three thousand." muttered Serena like a prayer. 

"Yeah. Dunno what I'll even spend it on, though." laughed Jeanne. "Maybe a new TV, or something."

"Something like that." smiled Mia, tapping Serena's back knowingly. "Were you going to head out now?"

"Yep. See you in a bit."

"See you in a bit."

Jeanne and Nuiko left, and the mentor&protégé sat bored. The unprodigal pair went out of the hotel. The subway was back on the other end of town, thirty minutes away walking.

"Did you stop smoking?" chimed Nuiko, and Jeanne laughed.

"Yeah. Finally quit a month ago. Got rid of my plants, too."

"Good."

"Plus, no one wants to sell to Urasaria students."

Nuiko laughed. "How'd your dad take it?"

"Uh - I haven't told him. I told him I stopped, um, going in to comas, but..." Jeanne shrugged. Her father was a hippie & had given her a baggie for Christmas. "..I mean. he's - the one who gave me the seeds, so. I didn't tell him why I was going in to comas. Didn't want him to feel bad."

Nuiko nodded and they walked for a while longer. Her tablet vibrated, but not Jeanne's. "…another costume request. Already got three stacked up for when we get back."

"Yeah." Jeanne yawned. "Uh, I was gonna ask, too - how's Aimee's agency going?"

"Makoto came back this week." shrugged Nuiko. "She said they registered, uh - 'Timepact' a few weeks ago. Asked me to join so I can make their professional costumes."

"Gonna be the Grand Couturier forever." chimed Jeanne, and the two went in to the subway.

As they stepped underground in to the main area, train tracks across -

- a bloodied scene met their stare, dozens of corpses around. Only one man was left tanding at the other end, camera hanging from his neck and screaming as he saw them -

" - w-wait -" he panted - " - don't - don't - hurt me!"

"What - what happen?" panted Jeanne, Dream readied, Nuiko standing beside.

"I - h-have to stay close by someone, or -" he panted, started his run forward -

" - don't move!" shouted Nuiko, nails readied as he came fifty feet ahead; the two backed away, and as he came within range -

- a hasty spray of Dream at his feet, and he fell tripped in his step, sudden glue keeping him trapped to the floor -

" - please!" he shouted - " - I need -"

" - we know you have a fucking Revenant, bitch!" shouted Nuiko, the two backing away; she felt something bend underneath her heels, and in the next instant -

- an explosion erupted at their feet; the shockwaves blast them with the speed of a hundred away, front of their legs torn off as they flew, ground scraping their back as they landed. They shot to their wounded feet -

" - swell." nodded Nuiko, hastily swelling their skin anew, far less experience a medic than Serena; but they had no time to rest. They started their rush forward again -

- and the keen end of a photograph pierced Jeanne's shirt; she shrieked, seeing a set of knives printed -

" - Dream - steel -" she winced, spraying the front half of her shirt armored, seeing their foe rise to his feet ahead, camera's lenses extending outward. A spray of Nuiko's shirt armored, and the two started running, a hundred feet separating the two still -

" - Lunation!" shouted the man, turning his camera's aim high; a dozen photos erupted outward and hit the ceiling -

- and the explosions erupted above the two, chunks of rubble falling with the speed of rain upon them -

- but a swift sweep of Nuiko's hands shrunk them minuscule, and down fell the microscopic rubble around. She scooped them up again, throwing the rapidly-growing projectiles forward -

- that smashed their foe's skull in; the pain staggered him back, one-handed aim on his camera as they surged, only fifty feet separating two -

- but with the speed of light, another dozen photographs burst outward, knives threatening to shred them alive as they flew -

" - swell." groaned Nuiko -

- and a wall of concrete erupted ahead, floor swelling and catching the projectiles, blocking their view of the man as they stumbled in to it.

"I - sorry." laughed Nuiko, and Jeanne nodded, spraycan readied as she aimed ahead. Nuiko glanced up to the ceiling; and the women were in-tune.

A pillar erupted at their feet and brought them to the ceiling, hasty spray of Dream carving an entrypoint a above; and in to the sudden burrow they climbed, Dream clearing a path of water-concrete as they crawled like rats through the ceiling, degenerate fucking drug addict bitch and one-eyed dwarf synchronized.

"Spray so we can get right on top, right?" said Jeanne, spraying another section ahead; behind, they heard a shout, and in the next instant -

- a fire erupted at the other end, blaze starting to claim the enclosure, smoke strangling the women -

- but a spray of Dream above turned another section of the ceiling to water-concrete, dousing bizarrely the flames, second spray beside to ventilate the fumes as they started their crawl ahead again. A hole was carved from below ahead, and in the next instant -

- a photo of gas hit the ceiling, green clouds bursting outward -

- but a spray of Dream turned them liquid, Jeanne laughing as the water-gas fell back upon its owner below.

"Gotta do better than that." she grinned, only a dozen feet separating them from the hole now; they reached the burrow quick, and as they readied to sweep down -

- they heard a dozen explosions start behind & below - Nuiko held her hand out -

" - feeling - particles getting blown up - he's blowing up the wall -"

- Jeanne nodded, and with no time to waste, the women swept down -

- to at last land feet-first in their foe's previous position; they turned with the speed of light back to their's -

- and saw their foe at the prodigal wall, hands a flurry of movement and placing photos -

- of a dozen drills; the wall began to buckle inward, dozens of holes drilled in to its support -

- and collapsing the middle of the wall. With no time to waste, the man swept away, starting to flee as he passed the wall -

" - swell!"

- and the two ends swelled, crushing his left leg between -

" - L-Lunation -" he winced; a sweep of his hands behind, and the wall corroded, freeing him as they saw him rush away again, stairs leading up&outside -

" - fuck." groaned Nuiko, and the two women started their rush that felt eternal again, a hundred feet still separating them as they ran along the lobby -

- a hasty spray of Dream on the floor ahead, and the two braced themselves as they leaped upon it -

- and the traditional rubber floor launched them forward and behind the man, only thirty feet separating the two as he rushed up the stairs -

" - Dream!"

- a spray of Dream hit the stairs, turning them liquid, the man starting to fall -

" - Lunation!" he shouted, throwing a photo at his feet -

- and the gust of wind blast him with thr strength of a dozen away and out of the subway, disappearing above as the women kept their rush going, hasty spray of Dream turning the misshapen stairs solid again as they ran -

" - shrink." panted Nuiko, snapping off the guardrail as they started up the stairs, shrinking it for latter as they came up -

- and came out to the sidewalk, traffic in full swing beside, man fleeing down the sidewalk ahead. He cut right and through the cars, vague movement of hands as he weaved between. The traffic stopped as they saw the women, and as the two cut on to the sidewalk, line of buildings on each end -

- they saw him run down a sidewalk at the other end, disappearing down the street corner right.

"Let's - not that way." panted Jeanne, gesturing vague to the road. Nuiko nodded, and the two kept up to one of the buildings, Nuiko holding the microscopic pole high; it swelled and extended along the road to the other end, and up the women climbed, stepping like acrobats as they rushed across the road a different path -

- and wincing as every car exploded below, rushing quick and avoiding the brunt of the shockwaves as they ran over, keeping over the next sidewalk to the apartment complex across. The tip of the pole reached one casual window, and in the next instant -

- Dream sprayed the glass liquid, and in to the apartment's living room they swept, forty-year old bachelor who would buy a '87 flat primer Camaro during his next midlife crisis on the couch beside -

" - uh - Urasaria!" panted Jeanne, and the women gestured vague as they ran across the room, out the door to the hall behind. They cut left and rushed down the hall, seeing a second window ahead, and as they reached it quick -

- they felt with aghast senses a volley of explosions begin at the floor below, dozens of shockwaves blasting the foundation apart; no option left, the women leaped out the window in a rain of glass -

- and landed on another sidewalk below, building starting to collapse and totter behind -

- but a sweep of Nuiko's hands behind, and the wall swelled behind, makeshift repairing it and forcing it to collapse the other way, Dream readied for any rubble above -

- and there, across the street was their foe, fifty feet separating them and he, building collapsing behind as the three stood, parked cars between. His camera's aim raised forward again -

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

- and a dozen photos entered the women's chest, suddenly setting them alight - 

- but the next scene was instant.

Nuiko's nails slit their palms, blood draining out; the women shrunk to a microscopic size as the blood fell, and as the red douser claimed their bodies -

- it extinguished them instantly, and the women gagged as they swelled to a normal size again. Nuiko stepped carefully forward, coming up to one parked car and shrinking it to a toy's size; she caught it up and hurled it, swelling as it landed direct on him -

- but a wild spray of photos hit the vehicle; and in to a hundred pieces fell the automobile. No option left, the man rushed at them, and as he came twenty feet away -

" - Dream!"

- a spray of Dream hit his feet, turning the ground below liquid -

" - Lunation!"

- a sweep of a photo of wind at his feet, blasting him forward and out of the trap -

- but saw with aghast eyes the man blasted forward again, photos readied as he flew -

" - swell!"

- and a pillar of concrete swelled ahead, throwing him skyward -

- and the two panted as they felt a set of photos land on their heads -

- and as it started, Nuiko pulled her tablet out.

◆◆◆

Mia and Serena had received a distress signal alongside a picture, and rushed as fast as they could over.

"N-No -" - she panted - " - no - no no no no -"

She saw both of them. The photo was of their murderer.

◆◆◆

She hadn't stopped panicking to the morgue. It wasn't solidified even when the two came to Kirihara's room, and Mia had taken three tries to relay it, finally succeeding by then.

"…damn." muttered Kirihara. "Painting swelled back up in that pouch, too. Thought they were just fucking with me."

"W-We'll h-have to notify Aimee." murmured Mia, her eyes low and full.

"…y-yeah." mumbled Serena. "Yeah."

"Sure will." shrugged Kirihara. "Guess this is what happens when you sleep in half the year." 

"I - excuse me? What did you say?" said Mia.

"You heard me. C'mon. You know Jeanne was in a shitton of comas when she was 'mentoring' me, right? That's why I hate - well, -hated- her. Just some convenient excuse to get out of -"

" - what the fuck is wrong with you?" said Serena, stomping up. "Seriously - what the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you such a massive fucking bitch? You fucking bitched about her when you were mentoring me, and -"

" - yeah - you don't have to deal with not having a mentor, so you don't know how fucking hard it is to -"

" - Mia had to fight someone that killed nineteen heroes - alone! - and she didn't fucking bitch about it like you do! I had to fucking fight professional Revenants on my first fucking trip! You're a fucking psycho if you think that - two people just died, and -"

" - because I'm trying to make the point, no-star peabrain -"

- Serena's fist smashed Kirihara's nose; she staggered back -

" - you really wanna try that?! - Carve -"

" - lay a single finger on her and I'll melt your fucking face in to a mask." Mia stomped up.

"Coming from someone who's still two-star, I don't give -"

- a fire scarab burnt a blue flame&hole through Kirihara's neck; she shrieked as she gripped the wound -

" - I'll - I'll get you fucking expelled for this shit -"

" - Aimee handles expulsion requests, you fucking piece of shit." said Mia, pressing Serena back. "I could disintegrate your f-fucking corpse and tell her three people died. Serena would cover for me, and there wouldn't be a single ash of you to send home. I-I could fucking burn you alive. If you ever - -ever- - threaten her like that again - I'll scorch you off the face of the fucking earth. Fucking piece of filth."

She turned, letting her anger shove the grief from her mind. 

"Serena will heal you tomorrow morning."

They went out to the hall, and Serena wiped her knuckles as they walked. "God - what a fucking psycho. I'm - ugh, I'm - I know I lost my temper, but -"

" - no." said Mia, hand on her shoulder. "You did precisely what needed to be done with that fucking woman."

Serena nodded. "… Thanks. Sorry that… I hope you're not gonna get in trouble."

"Only if…" Mia shook her head. "… only if she becomes the next president - but, so long as Aimee is around, she'll protect us from any consequences."

"…yeah. Felt good, at least."

"It should." murmured Mia, and the grief&panic threatened her again. She gripped her anger like a preserver. She couldn't sink until they had taken revenge.

"…ugh. I can't believe I…" Serena sighed. "I can't believe I - she used to actually be able to get to me. You're not actually going to make me heal her, right?"

"Of course not. We shall -" - Mia glanced behind - " - be leaving, after we avenge Jeanne and Nuiko."

Serena thought of the three thousand, but nodded. "Let's go."

◆◆◆

The picture of the murderer had allowed cross-referencing with security cameras in the area, and it had only taken an hour to find the man's address, a dead-end home at the other end of town.

Mia and Serena stepped on the sidewalk, three hundred feet separating them and the front door, backyard & forest behind. Every time the panic returned to Mia, her anger grew, clenched fingers around her sword&scarabs.

"Let's - fucking go." grunted Mia, and Serena nodded.

"Yeah. Let's fucking get him." she said, and in the next instant -

- he stepped out of the front doors, bag already packed his back -

- and screaming as he saw the two; they started their running forward as his hand gripped desperately his camera, and as they hurtled fifty feet away -

" - L-Lunation -" he panted; a dozen photos erupted out of the lenses and shot towards Serena -

- but streams of fog filled them with razorblades, tearing the photographs to bits as they ran ahead -

- and he swept back inside his home, slamming the door shut behind and disappearing within. The women came up to the front door, scarabs already readied as they swarmed the front walls -

- and the entire house was plunged in to a white blaze, door and walls melting and charring in an instant; stepping carefully back, Serena threw her cup inside, ice scarabs protecting it until it was deep within -

- and a dozen explosions blasted the house's foundation -

" - COME OUT! FUCKING VERMIN!" shouted Mia, house collapsing and burnt to ash around -

- and there, running out of the ruins, half his body charred black, was the fucking vermin, rushing in to the backyard and fleeing with a constant scream. With their anger and grief, the women rushed in pursuit, ice scarabs dousing the flames as their foe fled ahead - ahead, something in the grass caught Mia's eyes -

- and a floor of ice formed as they ran ahead, foe fleeing in to the forest, photographic traps catching nothing as they ran over them, ice scarabs freezing them muted as they rushed between the trees, foe still in the forest now. 

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD -" shouted Mia; full rage readied, she aimed her palms forward as she chased, man weaving desperately ahead - " - WORLDWIDE - FROZEN RAY!"

- and a frozen beam erupted from her palms, blasting and shattering to frozen bits the trees ahead, man panting and screaming as he ran faster than ever, desperate beam nearly reaching him as they chased -

" - Mia -" panted Serena as they ran, hurtling over brambles and roots, tentacle dragging through the dirt - " - keep, keep a tree near him alive if you can -"

" - L-Lunation -" panted the dead man running, aiming his camera back; a dozen photos erupted out of his camera -

- and a pillar of blue flame burnt every last; but in the next instant -

- a cloud of smoke erupted from each, shrouding and covering the two women as they ran direct in, losing their foe in their sight as they kept forward -

" - Mia -" - panted Serena, fog clearing the clouds, trees starting to erupt in to flame around - " - forest - fires, um -"

- and a swift sweep of ice scarabs extinguished every fire around, the women's vision cleared, seeing their foe ahead and still running, fifty feet and still our of his range. His aim swept back again -

- and a dozen photos erupted towards Serena's feet -

- and the photos of nails pierced clear through INA burst of blood, trapping her with the strength of a thousand; Mia turned her eyes back as she ran ahead, seeing the protégé's tentacle dipped in to the grass beside -

- a gesture to one tree by the man, and the next scene was instant.

"Worldwide." grunted Mia, and a pillar of blue flame erupted ahead of Serena -

- and the tree beside the man exploded in to a hundred pieces, gunpowder Serena had filled via the roots erupting and bursting; but with the speed of light, the man threw a dozen photos of steel on himself, staggering, giving Mia time to clear the clearing -

" - Worldwide -" grunted Mia, flashing her palms ahead -

- and a lightning bolt erupted out of her palms -

- and knocked him unconscious.

◆◆◆

An hour later, he awoke bound by scarabs, mouth burnt shut. Mia's rage drowned her mind again as she saw him.

"It's time." grunted Mia, crouching over. "F-Fucking time. There's no shame to torturing an evil thing. Serena."

"Got it."

Streams of black fog flew under his fingernails -

- and the man screamed as of one in mortal agony, thrashing ferociously against his restraints -

"- can you feel it?" muttered Serena, Mia crouching over. "Miniscule nails. That's - w-what you f-fucking get."

"Serena - cloth." muttered Mia, and the protégé filled her cup with one, handing it to the mentor. She spread the cloth over the man's head, and her scarabs started a steady boiling drip through -

"F-Fucking - vermin." said Mia, clenching her tears back. "We'll fucking keep you here like this - I don't care how long it takes - I want you to f-fucking suffer."

"Y-Yeah." said Serena, fog still in her cup. "Tar - tar, maybe."

"Do it."

Blackburn filled her cup with tar, and she poured it on the man's legs, scarab starting the second boiling then.

"It'll h-harden." said Serena. "We - we can rip off it, once it hardens, and f-fucking keep him here -"

- the waterboarding stopped, and Mia nodded.

◆◆◆

They left town without notifying Kirihara and kept the bodies safe on the way back to Urasaria. Mia had tried to keep her anger for the entire ride back, but her grief was starting to leak through. 

Jeanne&Nuiko's Revenants had been removed once they returned, and Aimee had notified their families. Once or twice, Serena had tried to make her smile with a joke about Kirihara. The punk knew the two even less than Mia did, but knew it tugged at her. Even civilian deaths had never registered as personally, and her eyelids gave the scene back to her repeatedly over the next days.

Friday morning, her anger had slipped between her mind's fingers. She stepped out of Urasaria with Aimee. Her car was parked. 

"Hey, um." murmured Aimee. "… uh. Don't know if this is a good time to talk about it, but… I got a complaint against you. Got delivered to my office earlier."

"From Kirihara?"

"No. Her, uh, protégé said you threatened him."

Mia's breath shallowed. "She's fucking lying. I threatened her, after she fucking -"

" - hey." winced Aimee, hand on Schultzy's shoulder. "I figured it was something like that. It was handwritten, so. Turned one in about Serena, too."

"… she's…" Mia sighed. "She - I can't even think of what she said without fucking getting angry. About J-Jeanne."

"You don't have to. Um." mumbled Aimee, and nodded. "Just gonna throw them out, then."

"…thank you."

"Yeah." She kissed Schultzy's cheek. "Still gotta get my nepotism in. Right?"

Mia smiled, but it wasn't happy. "… I'm - sorry, Aimee. I'm not in the mood to joke, right now."

"…yeah." Aimee held her close. "…love you."

"I love you too."

"Let's, um... Let's head out."

The two got inside, and Mia looked at the window the ride over. Kirihara's reminder gave her enough anger to fill the drive, but inch by inch, her grief came in.

The service hadn't started by the time they arrived at the cemetery. Serena, Yuruko, Matoi, Marisa, Maria, Samuel were already sat in a circle of chairs, and ghastly hands pulled another two over for the women.

"Thanks." said Aimee, taking her seat, and Mia with her.

"It, um. Still have a half hour." mumbled Serena.

"Hey, Mia-Mia." said Marisa, handing the two a Boudoir-chief each.

"…t-thank you." murmured Mia, and used it.

"We were just wondering when you two'd get here." chimed Samuel. "I was saying you'd be quick, with Aimee with you."

Aimee smiled. "Yeah. Guess we're the last ones, though." She gave a glance over the circle, seeing Jeanne and Nuiko's families in the distance. "I… should go talk to them, though."

She got up and out of the circle.

"…man." mumbled Marisa, wiping her eyes. "I just wish I got to know them better."

"Me too." mumbled Serena. 

"It's something that…" started Samuel, and he paused as Matoi gestured to him.

"There's no use thinking of that. No matter how well you knew them, you'll…" She paused.

"You'll always wish you knew them better. Right." continued Samuel. "We've just gotta focus on what we knew of them, now."

"Correct." nodded Matoi. "I… did not know either of them well, but…"

"S'why I said you should come." said Samuel. "Can help keep the rest of us up."

"… I guess I didn't, either." mumbled Serena. "Um. We went on that trip, but."

"Can't ever forget that." said Samuel. "That damn tablet."

Three laughs.

"Lots of dumbasses." said Yuruko. "Right? Mia?"

Mia nodded, feeling she couldn't laugh out of respect. "It… it was - difficult." 

"I imagine." Matoi smiled. 

"'You didn't tell me you could manipulate gasses.'" laughed Samuel, and Yuruko & Serena followed.

"I was with, um…" mumbled Maria, purple hair swallowing the sunlight on her freckled cheeks. "Charlotte. While she was... out."

"Who's that?" said Marisa.

"Um. She's a fourth-year. Really feminine. Long nails."

"Might've seen her." said Samuel.

"Her hair is - like a literal rainbow. I guess she gets it done pretty often."

"She's a fourth-year?" said Marisa, and Maria nodded. "Damn. I've seen her before, but... I dunno. She looks like she's sixteen."

"Twenty-two ain't meant to look old, though, you know." said Samuel, and as if on cue, Aimee came back and sat down.

"Just was talking with their parents." said Aimee, rubbing Schultzy's shoulder. "They, uh. Actually realized something before me."

"What happened?" said Yuruko.

Aimee glanced to Maria. "I know this is… probably pretty hard on you. Do you know Kirihara's protégé?"

"… s-sort of."

"If you want - can… This was what I did. What I asked for when my mentor died. I… got to choose for a Revenant to go to someone, but - I got to choose my hunting partner. You know what I mean?"

"… s-sort of."

"…wait." murmured Yuruko. "Who was your protégé, anyway, Aimee?"

"Non. Uh, stuff got wonky. That's why we're both fourth-years. But - Maria - if you want, talk to Kirihara's protege. I can assign you two together - get you both a tablet, stuff like that."

"…y-yeah." she muttered. "S-Sorry - just. Yeah. If - that sounds good."

"You'll have to talk to…um. Who's after Henry?"

"In ranks?" said Serena. 

Matoi nodded, taking her tablet out. "Prettiest Pink."

"Wait, yeah." nodded Maria. "That's Charlotte."

"This - w-week's gonna be pretty busy, then. Gonna leave her as president." said Aimee, clenching back. "But, I'll make sure. Make sure you'll be alright."

"…um. They'll probably be glad you asked, too." offered Serena. "Kirihara's protégé."

"What do you mean?" said Maria.

"She's, um…" Serena gestured to Mia. "Um. Do you want me to say it?"

Mia frowned. "We… shouldn't speak about it, here."

"She, um… Jeanne just told me to avoid Kirihara." said Maria. "If I saw her. Told me to not answer the door for her, and run if I saw her."

Aimee glanced to Mia. "…hey, um. Mia. What… what did she say?"

"Um, I can say it." said Serena.

"We - should talk about something else." murmured Mia. "I don't wish to bring this in to it."

The circle paused.

"…um. Did Kirihara do something to her?" said Marisa.

"She… made a really shitty comment." sighed Serena, and the conversation started to flow off of Mia. The others started to eventually morph in to blurry figures as she focused on the grass.

"Hey." whispered Aimee, and she jolted up. 

"I - yes?" she panted.

"Just, um. Service is starting."

Mia nodded, the others standing.

The funeral brought less closure than she had expected, and for the week after, she checked the Revenant list of the facility where Dream and Shrink&Swell had been taken. Every morning, she sat outside, waiting until the guard was tired of her loitering. Her appetite lowered. She had started to lose a few pounds, but thought once their Revenants had new hosts, she would be able to push them easily out of her mind. Serena had gone with Yuruko&Tuyuan in the interim, knowing she needed time.

The next Monday, she checked the list.

"Excuse me." she said to the guard. "Were there two Revenants claimed, recently?"

"You know I can't say that."

She frowned. Thirty days hadn't passed, so it must've been two new hosts.

"…they, er. Dream and Shrink & Swell. They were taken?"

"You know I can't say that. If they're not on the list, they're not on the list."

"Will - are they attending Urasaria?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're going to the military -" - he sighed.

"I - thank you." Mia nodded.

"Wasn't intentional."

She handed the list back, and began walking home. They had new hosts, now, and some part of them would -

- some part of them would live on. The thought of the headless man paused her, and her head reeled with sickness.

"W-Worldwide." she panted. A bag of ice formed. She began retching in to it.

By the next Monday, the new hosts were constant in her mind. He had said 'they' - meaning two. Twins. Siblings. Friends. She hoped they would attend Urasaria. Maybe one would be Serena's protégé. What if they died again? What if the last colony was gone? What if they didn't deserve it?

Serena walked through the front door, holding two sundaes.

"Hey." She smiled and set one down. "Me, Yuruko, and Tuyuan got fastfood. Figured you might want one."

She couldn't enjoy anything until she knew. "…er. No, it's… alright, Serena."

"…oh, um. Um - you don't want it, then?"

There was a spot on the wall that her eyes had made home. "…no. I - I don't want any, Serena."

"…oh. Um. Okay." Serena stuck one in the freezer and went to her room for the other.

Mia didn't realize the time until the dawn struck her face. She slept in late. Serena was gone with Yuruko by the time she got up.

She couldn't stand not knowing the takers. Was she going to wait for next semester to see? The night prior, she had almost admonished her ridiculousness. Nuiko and her had barely sent a dozen messages. Jeanne and her, three dozen. They were dense in her mind, but she couldn't tell why. Once or twice, she tried to think of something else, but the disrespect of normality was too cold.

She stayed up late that night, and woke up later. She had expected Serena to be gone with Yuruko by then, but heard rustling from the kitchen. 

She went out to the kitchen to say goodbye, but found the punk still in her pajamas.

"Hey." Serena smiled.

"Are - are you hunting with Yuruko, today?"

"Um, not today. Kinda wanted to stay home."

"…oh." Mia sat down on the couch. Serena sat beside her.

"… hey, um. Mia? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm - fine, Serena. Simply… still - mourning."

"…oh. Um, yeah." said Serena. "Um. Haven't gone out fighting in a week, though."

"... I'm s-sorry."

"Um - h-hey." said Serena, hand on Mia's shoulder, and the mentor tensed. "Um. It's… Maybe we should go out, and take your mind off of things."

"...n-no. I-I can't - d-do that, r-right now."

Serena frowned, filling her cup with a Blackburn-tissue. "You, um…" She took a deep breath and nodded. "… Hey, um. I - I don't really know what you're going through, right now, but… I'm always here for you. Right?"

Mia thought of the punk she had seen nearly die her first week, who had gone from tattoo needle to fogged tentacle. That protégé she had ordered to conserve her fog, who she had trusted to save them from a hundred foot fall. The woman that had come to her crying over someone she ended up dating next month anyway. The friend with an obsession with lottery tickets she didn't understand, and the twenty-thousand she didn't know why until she had been told. Over the winter break, Mia had tried to look up and understand her as best as she could to be a good friend.

She started sobbing.

"I-I c-can't even enjoy a-anything, recently. I-I keep thinking of us f-finding them, and t-that I should've - g-gotten to know t-them - b-better."

"Remember what Matoi said?"

"… b-barely. I-I b-barely ever talked to Jeanne and N-Nuiko, b-but now…"

"She said that, um. No matter how well you knew them,  you'd be thinking that. That's how that stuff works." mumbled Serena. "Um. But I don't… You didn't talk at all when we were at the funeral, so…"

"I-I didn't want to make a-any jokes - o-or - a-anything besides t-them." murmured Mia. "I-It should be for - r-respecting them."

"I mean, she… um. I don't know what they would've wanted, but - I don't think they'd want you - or anyone - sad. Right? They'd probably want you like… Spending time with your friends."

"… I-I don't know how I could g-go on normally, after that."

"Aimee did. Right?" Serena smiled. "Her mentor died, right?"

Mia wiped her eyes. "… h-he did. Fighting Eternity. A - a Revenant that could stop time."

"Yeah. Um. Maybe…"

Mia nodded, taking her phone out. "… S-Serena."

"What's up?"

"… er - l-leave the tissues. Please."

Serena nodded, leaving a new batch as she went to her room.

(Mia) "Are you up?"

(Aimee) "yeah. <3"

(Mia) "Can I call you?"

(Aimee) "always."

An hour later, Serena got a knock at her door. She opened it, and there stood her mentor.

"There's a convenience store being robbed. Get changed - and we'll go."

[END OF ARC: BEST FRIENDS]