"Inori, do you really want me to have a conversation with Haruka?"
"Why not? You should treasure every chance you still get to speak freely."
Inori picked up her coat and slipped it back on, then walked out of the café and started down the road toward the station at an unhurried pace.
The world of Guilty Crown had its turning point at Episode 12 of the anime — the moment Shuichiro Keido seized the Stone of Beginning and abducted Inori. That was when Shu Ouma recovered his memories, steeled his resolve, and consigned Gai Tsutsugami to the grave alongside the true Mana. But that bittersweet, seemingly final full stop was never the real ending. By that point, Eve and Mana had already completed their exchange; Eve had slipped into Inori's body, sowing the seeds of the disaster to come.
From that moment on, Mana's personality was once again consumed by Eve — consumed completely. But now, Inori was no longer that hollow girl. She was someone who had chosen to become a ruler, who had reached out and claimed the first napkin with her own hands. A woman like that would inevitably change everyone's fate — she would shatter the virus, shatter Eve, shatter the divine consciousness, all of it.
"Inori, you always seem to know so much. Things from the past, things from the future. You say you can see a few seconds ahead — but I don't think that's quite it. I've watched you know things long before they should be knowable."
Mana Ouma was nothing like her foolish little brother. She was sharp — sharper than Inori had anticipated.
"It's all King Crimson's ability."
"And what kind of ability is that, exactly?"
Mana asked it lightly, with a smile.
Perhaps because they shared the same body, she could perceive King Crimson as well. In Mana's understanding, that strange metallic figure was a form of Inori's spiritual energy — something that could erase brief windows of time and read the near future. But it surely couldn't give her a complete picture of everyone's past lives and present circumstances. If it did, Inori would have already rendered judgment on every villain she'd encountered. Why go through all this trouble?
"…I once had a dream."
Inori walked on. The cool evening breeze stirred her pink hair, and she spoke with a quiet smile.
"I saw your story. Your ending. But you know how dreams are — blurry. I can't possibly remember every detail with any clarity."
"An ending? Then… how did Shū end up, in the end?"
"Went blind. Lost some limbs." Inori answered plainly. "But he survived. Which is more than you and I can say."
"We?"
If the future Inori had glimpsed showed her own end as total disappearance, she wouldn't have been surprised. She would have accepted it without a word — as long as Shū was alive and well, that was enough.
But Inori — this was Inori they were talking about. So cunning, so formidable, wielding the power to rewrite time itself. To say her ending was death — no one could believe that. No one could accept it.
"You died. You and Gai Tsutsugami went to sleep at the edge of the Apocalypse world."
"As for me — I died. I lived on inside your little brother's heart. Became someone who only lived in his imagination. How's that? Pretty tragic, right?"
She said it the same way she might deliver a punchline, that brutal truth dropping from her lips in the most casual of tones.
There was probably only one reason for that: she was certain it was just a dream, with no bearing on the present. Even so, Mana's brow furrowed.
"Why would you be living inside Shū's heart?"
"Because your brother likes me. Crude as it is to say — your brother actually likes me a little more than he likes you."
A mischievous impulse surfaced in Inori. She wanted to needle Mana, so she said it with deliberate smugness, a hint of showing off.
"Impossible. You've been using him all along. He's not that stupid — one day he'll see through you."
Mana was clever, and as the only person in this world who knew Inori's true identity, she of course understood Inori was joking. The dream business was almost certainly fabricated too.
"…Well. The Inori that I saw in that dream — she wasn't the same person as me."
"Hm?" Mana blinked, thrown. She couldn't quite parse the sentence at first.
"That Inori was a girl who didn't say much. She wasn't good at expressing her feelings. Like a blank page — simple and unblemished. She could take on the color of anyone who came close to her, and your brother stepped into her world just like that." Inori paused. "I know Shū must have thrown everything he had into it. Fought desperately to save everyone, to save Inori. But his resolve came too late."
Something shifted in Inori's expression — a flicker of something genuine.
She had never once looked at Shu Ouma directly. Not really. She had laid every tragedy of this world at his feet. But he was just a boy — an ordinary, deeply flawed teenager. If he'd been a nobody, an extra in someone else's story, no one would have blamed him for a thing. But he happened to be the protagonist. He was asked to bear more than he was capable of, and tragedy grew from that gap.
In this world, let him stay a sidekick. Let him contribute his Void at the end to cleanse the virus — that was already his full worth.
"But I'm no longer the same person as that Inori."
Inori stared at the palm of her hand and slowly curled it into a fist.
"I have power. I have the ability to change the ending. Naturally I'll step forward — with my King Crimson, I'll claim the first napkin with my own hands, and I won't be anyone's instrument."
However fantastical Inori's words sounded, Mana didn't doubt their truth. Inori never lied to her.
"It's only after you've defeated your immature past that you can truly grow. Those are your words, Inori."
"Whatever the case — to me, Inori is you. A wicked girl with a clear sense of right and wrong. An interesting one." Mana paused. "I've always wondered why you gave yourself such a gentle name. Inori — prayer, supplication. It doesn't suit your personality at all."
To pray meant to offer wishes to the divine, on behalf of oneself or others. But this Inori — never mind offering blessings, anyone she encountered should count themselves lucky just to survive her. Pray? Dream on.
Mana kept that particular thought to herself.
"But hearing all of this, I think I understand a little now. That name must come from a time when you were a very gentle person. When you decided to sever your past weakness — you couldn't bring yourself to give up the name. And so you became this contradiction: the gentlest name, doing the most formidable things."
"…Perhaps."
Mana had spoken at length, and her analysis, listened to all at once, almost made sense. Inori smiled softly at it.
Soul transmigration was a thing no one could pin down with certainty. Maybe she really was Inori, in some strange way that defied explanation.
"King Crimson — why did you name it King Crimson?"
Inori answered without missing a beat.
"Because I'm very red. Any objections?"
"Haha — exactly what I thought you'd say." Mana's laugh rang out, clear and bright.
The truth was that the name came from a British art rock band, but explaining that was far too much trouble. This version was easier for everyone to accept.
"Inori — I'm starting to think it really is wonderful, being your soul companion like this."
"…What's wonderful about it? If I were still that weak little girl from before, you might have been able to take the body outright."
Of course, that was impossible. The original Inori, however blank her outward affect, possessed a stubbornness of will that defied imagination. The fact that Eve never fully wrested her consciousness away — not even at the very end — was proof enough.
"No. Because I'm not as strong as you are."
"There are so many things I can't accomplish on my own. But you stand in front of me like a dependable older sister, shielding me from wind and rain. I'm truly glad…" Mana's voice softened. "All I want is for Shū to live a happy, peaceful life. I can't make that happen. But you can."
"Inori — I'm so glad you're here. I like you best of all."
"…It's only a promise. You brought me Epitaph. I protect your brother."
A faint flush crept across Inori's cheeks — she actually felt a little embarrassed, because she didn't think of herself as nearly as kind or capable as Mana was making her sound. She had even entertained the thought of killing Shu Ouma, once. But with Mana speaking like this…going back on her word would be too cold-blooded, too ruthless.
— Is there a way to purge the virus without sacrificing Shu Ouma?
The thought surfaced unbidden. And in that moment, Inori realized — perhaps Mana was the most terrifying person of all.