[center][color=#FF0000]"[/color][color=#FF6600]I[/color] [color=#CBFF00]f[/color][color=#65FF00]e[/color][color=#00FF00]e[/color][color=#00FF66]l[/color] [color=#00CBFF]f[/color][color=#0065FF]u[/color][color=#0000FF]n[/color][color=#6500FF]n[/color][color=#CC00FF]y[/color][color=#FF00CB].[/color][color=#FF0065]"[/color]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFBhR4QcBtE][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019b2f36-b799-72d6-8778-17c1f9c80bdf.webp[/img][/url]

[color=#FF0000]Y[/color][color=#FF1900]o[/color][color=#FF3200]u[/color] [color=#FF6400]c[/color][color=#FF7D00]a[/color][color=#FF9600]n[/color][color=#FFAF00]'[/color][color=#FFC800]t[/color] [color=#FFFA00]j[/color][color=#EAFF00]u[/color][color=#D1FF00]s[/color][color=#B7FF00]t[/color] [color=#85FF00]t[/color][color=#6CFF00]e[/color][color=#53FF00]l[/color][color=#3AFF00]l[/color] [color=#08FF00]p[/color][color=#00FF10]e[/color][color=#00FF29]o[/color][color=#00FF42]p[/color][color=#00FF5B]l[/color][color=#00FF75]e[/color] [color=#00FFA7]t[/color][color=#00FFC0]h[/color][color=#00FFD9]e[/color] [color=#00F2FF]s[/color][color=#00D9FF]t[/color][color=#00C0FF]o[/color][color=#00A7FF]r[/color][color=#008EFF]y[/color][color=#0075FF]'[/color][color=#005BFF]s[/color] [color=#0029FF]m[/color][color=#0010FF]o[/color][color=#0800FF]r[/color][color=#2100FF]a[/color][color=#3A00FF]l[/color] [color=#6C00FF]h[/color][color=#8500FF]a[/color][color=#9E00FF]l[/color][color=#B700FF]f[/color][color=#D100FF]w[/color][color=#EA00FF]a[/color][color=#FF00FA]y[/color] [color=#FF00C8]t[/color][color=#FF00AF]h[/color][color=#FF0096]r[/color][color=#FF007D]o[/color][color=#FF0064]u[/color][color=#FF004B]g[/color][color=#FF0032]h[/color][color=#FF0019].[/color][/center][hr]

The Tsubomi visible to the audience watched, unamused, as the majority of the Detention Club input their own ideals into the performance. Did they have the media literacy of a flea? Or worse, the emotional maturity of one? But she only had a moment to wonder that before Michi announced what was happening, what had [i]happened[/i]. And suddenly her own emotional maturity, or at least her grip on its titular part of the human experience, broke around her. 

Acid Drop watched as her originator brought her hand to her head in despair as she heard the words Black Gate spoke. It made sense, to her, that Tsubomi would react that way. She hadn't been an aware entity since the moment she left the Light, if she herself actually ever had. Sure, Tsubomi was a bit mean now, (though Zassou wouldn't blame her for it) but the girl's lack of interpersonal tact was neither surprising nor a sin worthy of calling her a member of the Dark. Whatever her words may imply otherwise, the weed knew that the flower it was slowly choking out had good intentions. That it was reaching out toward the sun to take its hand, not to block it from another.

So when Sylvia suddenly found herself back on stage, and Michi continued her explanation, her cry for understanding and revenge, Acid Drop didn't simply watch as Tsubomi began to hyperventilate. Instead, she did the only thing she could think of: she walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, pouring her magic into her other self to push out the regret and despair, filling her with as much calm as she could. 

But Tsubomi refused. She turned and slapped away Zassou's hand as she did, screaming out at her. 

[color=0072bc]"Don't fucking touch me!"[/color] was all she could manage before she fell to her knees, crying. If this was what had happened, to a [i]schoolgirl[/i], what had happened to her town when she disappeared? Were her loved ones safe? Was [i]anyone[/i] safe?

Zassou simply stared down at her weeping mirror. After a moment, she looked to the audience, who seemed to be torn by confusion at her reaction to an unseen hand and fear at the gun being waved around. Her eyes drifted towards Michi, still far too quickly to be normal for her. She breathed in, and then sighed.

Suddenly, there were two Tsubomis on the stage, visible to the crowd who had already seen so much magic. Just as she began to feel her mental faculties leaving her, returning to their normal pace, she used the last of their momentum to speak aloud, before her words became their usual slow selves.

[color=00aeef]"But Tsubomi also saved people."[/color] Zassou began as she started towards Sylvia, her pace slowing with each step. [color=00aeef]"She used her talent to wean addicts off their vices, giving them most of the money she made from giving out her drink. She kept her family afloat with it. And nearly every yen she made off of those with no desire to kick their habits that didn't go to bills went straight to those who most needed them."[/color]

By now Zassou's words were back to their usual cadence, her steps following suit. She wasn't quite to Sylvia yet, but she continued. [color=00aeef]"And most importantly..."[/color]

As the final word hung in the air, she took her final slow steps to bringing Sylvia in arm's reach. The dandelion reached up to the Baretta the armed ape was holding, and wrapped its roots around it at a glacial pace.

[color=00aeef]"She did her best. She gave everything she could for everyone she could, even if that wasn't enough."[/color]

With the barrel of the firearm in her hand, Zassou's muscled tensed just enough to start it on a trajectory away from Hizuki and towards herself. [color=00aeef]"After all..."[/color] She turned her head back to face Michi, giving her a smile that was still too forced, but was practiced enough to be somewhat believable. 

[color=00aeef]"The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the stairway to heaven is bricked by evil. There's nothing but Rome under the sun."[/color]

And then the final petal of the wilted flower was plucked away.