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[color=#D8CD9F]”Look, just because I hang out with her a lot of the time,”[/color] Hotaru crossed her arms as she spoke, [color=#D8CD9F]”doesn’t mean I’m talking about Roche. Other people exist in the world.”[/color] Why did Ember not say- Ah, they were separate now. And come to think of it, the redhead would have probably forced her into some sort of ridiculous lie that only someone with a demonstrably oversized brain could keep track of. So she was all the better for it.

[color=#D8CD9F]”And yeah, I know, Suki. Like I said, I was an ass there. I don’t think I did anything wrong with this friend, though. And Kiyo! Even if I look at it from her perspective, I was looking out for her, trying to protect her.”[/color] The warrior spoke as though apologising would absolve her of every bit of responsibility regarding her actions in the first place. It probably did not help that a frown appeared on her face after she heard the analysis of the Detention Club’s brilliant schemer.

[color=#D8CD9F]”So I really don’t under-”[/color] Where had the gaggle of students come from? Why were they following the damned light girl along with Tsubomi and some creepy-looking goth girl who looked pale enough to fall over from anemia.

Who just so happened to bring along Sylvia.

Hotaru barely stopped herself from clicking her tongue as soon as she saw the protector. Mostly because calling her by that moniker seemed to be a blatant lie. She could not protect anything; a stiff breeze would be enough to rip her into shreds, never mind an incoming attack or something along those lines. Had the warrior really had such an extreme effect on her? If so, then she really was in the wrong. Even Hotaru could admit it. If only she could see how…!

As for Sylvia, she just followed Michi. Being dragged around was better than being trampled, or so a greater part of her insisted. The smaller part, however, whispered that she should just let the students walk over her, drive her into the ground without any semblance of care. Then the pain would disappear forever. Not to mention there would be no longer any liars. Nor students that glared at her, making her feel as though they were driving stakes through her heart.

And of course, out of all the things she had to meet - it was Hotaru. The one who hated her the most. The one who did not listen to a single word she said. It was not that she lied unlike many others, but it was that she drove forward, ever relentlessly.

Sylvia’s heart panged. Her gaze focused on the floor. She wrenched her hand out of Michi’s grasp, then stepped away to flee from the scene, inner demons all but screaming at her and sending her careening into Tsubomi.

She tried to stop herself, of course, but her movements felt sluggish. It was as though she were moving in molasses, so the only thing she succeeded doing was entangling herself in the other magical girl. This close, Tsubomi probably felt the impact of Sylvia’s emotions manyfold, but perhaps her sensitivity could also allow her to feel magic residing in Sylvia’s soul.

[hr]

That could have gone much better.

Ember did all she could to withstand the abuse silently, both from the red-haired woman and Roche. She knew they were correct, but it did not make the barbs in their voices sink less deep, especially from the Detention Club’s Rulekeeper. She also knew it was her own fault that she lay on the floor with wide eyes, because she wanted to pretend to be another person. Wanted to become someone else so the blame would not land on Shuuko or Ember.

Thoughts were never to be a salve for her meagre wounds. But were her words or thoughts ever a salve to Sylvia? She did not know. But could she know? Would Sylvia even want to share her feelings with Ember?

The schemer’s teeth ground against each other. She nearly felt them rupture as she stood up and headed after Roche, using her determined pace to hopefully catch up to the fleeing girl.