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   “Mou~ you know those shows have the craziest plot twists! I’m sure whatever they plan to do with Akaida-kun, it’ll be alright!”

   Rima gently pats the girl’s shoulder. Why did she feel so light around her?

   “I’ll watch with you, Tomo-chan!”

Tomo flinched at the initial contact, but was quickly coaxed down by the gentleness of Rima’s touch. For a moment, it was hard to believe that this was a person they would get in fights with. Tomo was sure she’d hit her once. Hard. Who hit who? Those fights were all a blur.

They feel like a memory from a past life now. Rima seemed like a completely different person.

She wasn’t, though. Rima is Rima, and this is Rima. That was Rima, and this is Rima too. A mixed being, and dangerously complex.

"Yeah, that's about right."

   Ah. Tomo-chan…so simple, so untainted…

   “There, there. Aren’t they following up on it?”

"Your soul is NOT tainted Tomo-chan!! Don't listen to this thing!"

“No, it’s alright --- it’s true. The finale of Vengeance Line left a pit of black tar inside of me.... Nothing feels the same anymore, Rima-san. It’s so heavy.” 

…Hmm. I see…your will is surprisingly strong. Just like that Nanase girl…unassuming, yet…

The chains continue to slacken and withdraw from Uru’s body.

Your will intrigues me… The shadow used its foot to roll Uru over onto her back. Bare your heart to me. I will mend it, and loan you a life…but your soul will belong to me. You will be mine… A low hiss echoes in her ears. And one day, I will collect on this loan, Uru Hano…and no amount of begging will save you.

Your soul will belong to me.

It’s not like she has much of a choice anyway, if the other option is death. Even if it’s only another hour, she wanted to live. Besides, how many times had she been called heartless? Soulless. She doesn’t need it. Uru never needed any of it to survive, and this is no different.

“...Take it.” The unbearable pain that plagued Uru just moments before had dulled into a sort of hazy buzz --- and she found that she could talk with relative ease now. Aside from being a bit short of breath. And although it didn’t feel like talking was necessary, it did make her feel more alive. Less helpless. Someone who could speak clearly like this, she wasn’t on the brink of death. “My heart, my soul, my lungs...whatever I have to give. If it lets me live, then you can keep it. I don’t want it.”

Even if this was some delusion Uru’s mind had granted her in her final moments of life, it was a somewhat comforting one. Even the cold stare. Shadows and darkness. Being carelessly flipped over by her foot, like a discarded toy. It’s a familiar sort of feeling. 

When things are coming to an end, it’s comforting to be embraced by things as they always were. So Uru gazed up at the shadow, what she could make out of it, as if it were a perfectly normal thing.

Mortis just casually grows to her max height of 6′3″ and kabedons Uru, giving her a nice playful hiss as well.

“Is that so~? And what if I don’t want to~?”

Uru tilted her head, bemused. Was that shift in height really necessary? Now it just seemed like Uru could snake out beneath her arms. Still, her eyes flicker to life with a spark of interest. This is interesting.

“Yeah, we could! Do your best to freak him out then, okay? Hey, maybe I’ll take ya gambling with me sometime.”

   “Ruru-chan that doesn’t change the fact that her first response to your teasing was to break your arm-”

“Two souls, one body, I’d make my way back eventually. It’s a super odd situation, but that’s the easiest explanation. Honestly, I doubt he could handle you.”

Cool. Totally a Fight Club scenario.