"If you can just forgive me, I'll do anything you want!"
Nero caught the voice and realized the one kneeling was Nagasaki Sosei. And standing in front of her was—
Chihara Aine didn't pull her hand away. She looked down at Sosei, biting her lip softly before saying, "Nagasaki, you're getting something wrong here."
"Huh?!"
The distant, formal way Aine addressed her made Sosei look up, her whole body trembling. "No…"
"I'm not going with you. This is my business. It's got nothing to do with you."
Aine's words drew a cold, hard line between them, chilling Sosei to the bone.
"Don't…"
"And I'm not the one who can forgive you."
"Don't!"
Sosei grabbed Aine's arm with both hands, tears streaming down her face. "If you won't forgive me, Aine, I'll—"
Aine sighed, cutting her off.
"Nagasaki," she said, her voice heavy with exasperation, driving the words like a blade into Sosei's heart. "You're still only thinking about yourself, aren't you?"
The words landed like a deathblow. Sosei's face went ashen, her lips quivering as she tried to convince herself, broken syllables mixing with her tears. "That's not true…
"It's not like that… I was trying to help everyone… to get Hikari, Riki, and you, Aine… out of the dream…"
"Nobody asked you to do that," Aine shot back, her words cold and precise. But she wasn't heartless enough to twist the knife too deep. She pulled her hand free, her expression tinged with sorrow as she looked away from Sosei. "I'm sorry to say this, but we believe Nero will come back. We don't need your help, Nagasaki."
"Please…"
"Aine, hold up!"
Before Aine could say "just go," Nero burst onto the scene. Seeing Aine about to send Sosei packing, Nero called out, "She's still useful to us!"
"Nerolo!"
The moment Aine saw Nero, her face lit up like the sun breaking through storm clouds, shifting from gloomy to radiant so fast it was like flipping a switch.
At the same time, Sosei's expression was a chaotic mess. Her wide, stunned eyes and slightly parted lips screamed shock and disbelief, while the fear and guilt flickering in her pupils and paling cheeks told a different story.
Sosei barely registered what Nero said, muttering, "You actually came back…"
Aine moved in for some physical affection, as usual, but Nero politely shut it down this time. Her focus was on Sosei. She sized her up for a moment before cutting straight to the chase. "How'd you turn into a demon?"
The word "demon" hit Sosei like a shockwave. Her pupils dilated, and the fear on her face was almost too much to contain. "I-I…"
"Just spit it out. I'm not gonna eat you."
Nero's impatience made Sosei flinch, and she stammered, "B-because… it was the only way I could find everyone…"
Aine stood off to the side, staying quiet on the topic, though her expression was conflicted.
Nero nodded, piecing it together. "So you swallowed your own demonic weapon. What about those demons out there?"
Sosei's shame deepened. "They… they were consumed by 'Nana.'"
"You do that?"
"No!" Sosei shook her head frantically. "It was Little Ace."
"So it finally made its move."
Aine, who'd been silent, couldn't take it anymore. She pouted, looking wronged. "Nerolo, you knew that thing was shady all along? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you can't keep a secret," Nero said bluntly.
"That's harsh!"
Nero cracked a smirk before getting serious. "Besides, if you were the only one who believed me, it wouldn't have helped. It'd just make things messier."
She turned back to Sosei, resuming her interrogation. "What's that thing's plan? Tell me everything it told you."
"Y-yeah, okay…" Sosei didn't hold back, though she didn't know much. Little Ace hadn't exactly spilled the details on how it planned to seize Nana's power.
Still, what she shared was enough to give Nero a clearer picture. When she heard the whole backstabbing scheme was about snatching the Yama Blade, Nero couldn't help but scoff.
Being that famous is more trouble than it's worth.
Sosei was still kneeling, trembling, looking like she was ready for Nero to pass judgment. She knew forgiveness wasn't coming easy.
But for Sosei, there was a sliver of good news: Nero needed her power.
"You found this place through the 'connections' between people, right?" Nero asked.
"Yes."
"Then I'm putting your betrayal on hold for now. I need you to take me to Shoko Toyokawa's dream."
Nero's gaze flicked to Aine, who was standing nearby. After a brief pause, she added, "Actually, scratch that. Take us to the others first. Let's get everyone together."
For Sosei, this was like a stay of execution. She let out a shaky breath. "Okay."
The exit from Aine's dream was a double-decker bus headed for the airport. The three of them boarded, the road stretching toward the dream's edge.
"If I'd met you back when I was studying abroad, Nerolo, things might've been different," Aine said, glancing back at the boarding school that held so many bitter memories. She sighed.
"Yeah?" Nero's lips curled into a faint smile, her tension easing just a bit. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever talked to you in English, Aine."
"My spoken English is awful… and I've got an accent."
"No big deal. I won't laugh."
"Really?"
"Really. Besides, you'll never get better if you don't practice."
"Ugh… okay, how about… 'I'm hungry'?"
The bus rumbled along, slightly shaky. Sosei stayed silent, while Aine and Nero chatted to unwind. As Aine stumbled through asking Nero how she made her English sound so natural, the bus finally reached the dream's boundary.
It carried the three of them into an endless white abyss, then vanished like a burst bubble.
"Hold on tight."
In the sea of pure white subconscious, Nero grabbed Aine's hand. Guided by Sosei, they followed the thread only she could see, diving deeper into the chaos.