It wasn't at all surprising when the younger girl was locked up for trying to bite her tongue off. She was strictly monitored to ensure it didn't happen again, leading Hotaka to become more antsy. Even though he wasn't allowed in the room, it definitely didn't stop him from pacing back and forth outside of the door. Sometimes, he could hear him mumble something over and over again before it went silent. Then it would repeat all over again like a loop.

Ryota wasn't doing well either. When it came to him, he did all he could to visit her, probably viewing himself as a solution to the issue at hand. Of course, it wasn't because of his lack of presence that she felt threatened. Rather, she would have claimed it was the opposite. After all, contrary to what he thought, she was fully capable of living without the presence of other people. In fact, she preferred it that way.

That was why, even though he didn't come to visit her as the other two did, she kept craving the sight of Shota. She had long since relied on him for a variety of things, but it only came to her after her failed suicide attempt that the most important aspect of their relationship was their mutualism. While he would get a companion and have a purpose beyond that of his noble lineage, she would, feasibly, be erased from the world. No one would come looking for her and she didn't have to fear whatever monsters - human or not - would try and harm her. Most of all, he understood her.

It wasn't like the kind of understanding that Ryota had about her snarky attitude or Hotaka's view of her based on her intelligence. Shota knew her on a biological level, knowing she was far different than she may have appeared. He could stop her attacks of insanity and could calm her when she snapped. That was not something that she could attribute to anyone else. More still, she knew he was giving up nearly all of his time and money into funding Beotia. Regardless of the woman's less-than-normal mental state, she knew her stuff.

When two entire days had passed, the younger girl was unable to wait any longer. Moving to the door, she forced it open, hearing the sound of Hotaka being knocked on his ass. He gave an "ow", but immediately stood up, shivering at the sight of her. She didn't know exactly what was racing through his mind, but she could make a guess. Chances were he was wondering if she was going in search of a weapon, whether to end her own life or someone else's. Either way, he made no move to stop her yet.

"Do you need me to - "

The male was cut off as she held her hand up, the militant meekly taking a step back and rubbing the back of his neck. She then moved to traverse the house, looking for whatever hidey-hole the redhead had constructed. The girl had to believe he had one, residing down there while observing Beotia. For all they knew, she could have tried to kill her "specimen" to dissect. That was another reason Shota was - though she loathed to admit it, based on her previous issues with affection (parental or otherwise) - close to her heart.

Shaking her head, she tried to dismiss the ideas of love from her mind, trying to tell herself it was out of the need to survive, not the want to indulge in emotional luxuries. Of course, she didn't really believe it despite her insistence on the subject. After all, the reason she was looking for him was to tell him she had chosen him; to urge him to let them return to how things were, perhaps with a few changes here or there.

Unfortunately, despite her and Hotaka's searching, the redhead was nowhere to be found, meaning that he had Beotia somewhere else. As expected, the front door was also locked, refusing to budge despite her rabid attempts. All the while, the purple-haired male watched her quietly, gnawing on his fingernail in his distress. She gave a small grin to him before muttering his name under her breath, the male suddenly feeling dizzy and faint. This time, with ease, she was able to break the door down, fleeing to her destination despite the male's weak protests.

She was not above breaking a few laws to get to her destination. In the first place, she didn't know how to drive, but there was a car, and she planned on taking it. After all, even if she was just trying to get out of the woods, it would have taken a day, and she would have frozen to death before that happened. Hesitantly, she began to tap around the vehicle, looking for a way to start it. She must have done something right because it began lighting up, the girl flinching at the technology.

Nonetheless, after a bit of trial and error, including her panic over which pedal was the one for the brakes, she began speeding off. Huffing as she drove through the vast expanse of trees, she pondered whether or not to compliment the redhead on his talent in hiding her. Either way, when she finally escaped from the forest, she was quick to find her way back to Shota's estate, mostly with the help of the electronic map she had discovered.

Her first and only need to use the brakes arose when she arrived at her destination. She didn't know quite what she thought would happen when she slammed on the brakes, but the vehicle stopped moving immediately, forcing her forehead to collide with the steering wheel. A loud noise startled her, the girl falling out of the car and putting distance between herself and the murder machine. It was safe to say she would never drive again. Okura and Hotaka made it look so easy, too.

Huffing, she wasted no time invading the front lobby of the house and met face-to-face with the ginger-haired man. He seemed surprised at her presence, as he should have been, considering she was supposed to be "recuperating". Regardless, he didn't try to stop her or alert anyone. Instead, as she directed an aggressive glare at him, he understood what she was there for. The man didn't say a word as he led her to a certain wall nor did he dare to make eye contact with her.

As he pressed a certain part of the wall a certain way, it revealed a hidden room, one she should have known the redhead would have built. She quickly traversed down the metal stairs toward where she imagined he was holed up with Beotia. They were both probably trying to figure out how to fix her, but she had already been given the solution. It was just that no one realized it had worked yet.

"Shota!" she yelled, hearing the sudden clang of (presumably) a chair.

Before long, she was face to face with the redhead, the male staring at her with widened eyes for good reason. Either way, the only explanation she deigned to give him was a kiss. She pulled him in aggressively, no longer wanting to hold back or play the role of an angel. Rather, she just wanted what she had put so much effort into, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was going to give it to her.

When she finally pulled away, the male's face bright red, he began to stutter, turning from her to Beotia to a strange flower and then back again. The woman had a similar reaction but was far more amused, pleased to see that her hypothesis had proved true. Even so, as he came to his senses, Shota held a gun up to her, making sure she made no moves to the younger girl. The woman was unpredictable at best, after all.

"My!" the woman chuckled, approaching slowly to the redhead's chagrin, "Did it work?"

She paused in place for a moment, tilting her head, presumably inspecting the girl in front of her. A moment of stillness encompassed the room, not even a rat budging. At least, that was until, without any prior notice, the two females suddenly clashed. (Y/n) held a dagger to her throat and the woman held her neck, threatening to crush it. When Shota finally recognized what had happened, he moved to obstruct them but was given two intense glares, threatening him to take another step forward. He scoffed but pulled out a gun, pointing it at the woman in case she tried anything.

"You're surprisingly fast on your feet for an insane person," the younger girl commented, receiving an affectionate smile.

"If I wasn't, it would have killed me, right? I don't want to die before I find out all of its kind's secrets."

"My secrets are mine and mine alone."

"Ah, but I cured it. It shouldn't want me gone. What if it starts to lose its own sanity?"

"Then it will cope."

The woman began to chuckle, a chuckle that devolved into a snicker and then into a raucous babbling of amusement. All the while, the (h/c) haired girl held the dagger to her throat, debating whether or not to kill her. She certainly didn't like the woman knowing so much about her or that there were others around there. And, sure, she could possibly be of help in the future, but the younger girl didn't like those odds.

"Hey," the woman suddenly commented, all of her cackling vanishing into thin air, "How come it doesn't have wings?"

(Y/n) narrowed her eyes, making up her mind with one flick of her wrist. Before either of them knew it, she was dead, bleeding out on the floor, and the younger girl let out a heavy breath. Panicking, Shota ran to the woman in an attempt to keep her alive, but the younger girl caught him by the collar, tugging him back. He choked in the process but found the pain well worth it, considering he was locked in another passionate kiss with the girl. The redhead melted into the kiss but still attempted to rescue the woman.

"I thought I was your one and only," she heartlessly chuckled, tapping the bloodied dagger to his cheek, "Did you develop feelings for her? Or did seeing me kill in person send you packing?"

"Don't be stupid. I need her alive to take care of you, darling."

"She's already dead. I doubt she'll take care of me again."

The redhead let out an irritated sigh. It was not because he was upset at the loss of a life, nor had he been ever especially attached to the woman. It was like losing a pawn, something that, if it could be avoided, would be the best outcome. However, if it was taken, it wasn't the end of the world. After all, she was right about (Y/n), the younger girl in a much better state than before she had taken an injection of Ezdan. It was thanks to a certain test subject that such a result could be achieved.

"I guess I should find someone else. It'd be good to have someone in case of an emergency."

"Well...Why not you?"

Shota gave a strange look to the girl as if the thought never occurred to him. Of course, he had learned some things about her alongside the woman. Though he wasn't able to absorb some concepts, with Beotia gone, he probably knew the most about her. Either way, a weird feeling welled up in his chest, becoming even stranger as she began to hug him, the girl encouraging him to do so back.

"You're like me, aren't you? Always wanting to learn? I'll teach you everything about us - about me."

The male blushed, standing a little straighter. He adored her, always had. Her intelligence was just the tip of the iceberg. It was obvious they were not the same, for a fairly obvious reason, but he loved her nonetheless, his loyalty always for her. The male had always wanted to be by her side, but he had never believed she would give him a direct path to that. Yet there she was, throwing him a lifeline.

"Why?" he managed to get out.

"Because I've decided I...can rely on you."

"You love me?"

The girl blushed and turned away. He couldn't help but smile darkly. It looked like all of his efforts in repentance had finally earned him some good luck. Hugging her tightly from behind, he began to murmur in her ear all of his sweet nothings. He adored her so much, wanting to follow her to the ends of the earth or, even, to the ends of his own humanity. That pleased her very much.

It was then that they heard shouting from above them. Before they were able to move up to the sound, two individuals came storming down the stairs. First, it was Narcissa, who paused at the sight of her sister dead on the floor. She began to break down, probably too late for whatever she was planning. Cursing the redhead and the (h/c) haired girl, she ran to avenge Beotia, only for her to run straight into Shota's bullet, the woman falling to the floor and weeping.

"Monsters. Both of you; demons!"

"Haven't we figured that out already?" the girl questioned, boredly, taking a certain pleasure in seeing the stubborn dog finally being put down.

"I knew you would do this! All she was doing was trying to cure you of your - "

"My past? Yes, I'm sure she was, but as I've told far too many people, I'm sick and tired of it."

As the younger girl began to elaborate on all the reasons she was motivated to kill the woman's sister, she couldn't help but notice the second figure lurking behind the wall. He was probably too nervous to interfere, knowing just how volatile she could be in the right - or, rather, wrong - circumstances. Either way, when she stopped talking, he peeked around the corner and gave a nervous look. Of course, within that same look, there was excitement there. In a way, it was like a child seeing something he knew he wasn't supposed to see. He must have vaguely enjoyed the taboo of murder.

"Interesting seeing you two together," Shota commented, unimpressed by the reveal, "Always trying to copy me?"

"Please."

Ryota folded his arms over his chest, disgusted at the thought of holding the redhead in an idolized view. No one was surprised. It was strange to see that, aside from Narcissa, he had come alone. Obviously, the younger girl was aware she had ditched Hotaka, but he had more bodyguards than him. Based on what he had told her of his past, it was very alarming that he had come alone. Perhaps Okura ended up dealing with them?

"I came to prove myself, as I had stated before, but I don't need this one to accomplish that. I just thought it would be poetic justice if she was able to kill you, Yasojiro."

Shota's eyes scanned over the corporate heir's form. He didn't see how he planned to do that unless he had an impossibly hidden gun somewhere. After all, to the best of his knowledge, Ryota had never worked a day of physical labor in his life. And though the redhead could say the same about himself, at the very least he knew where to cut someone to really make it bleed. He couldn't say the same for his "opponent".

"It's not necessary," the girl ended up humming, slitting the neck of Narcissa to prove her point, "I've already decided."

"What?" he choked out, both baffled and irritated at the statement.

Shota gave a cocky grin, one that must have pissed the older male off. He didn't even have to say anything to know that he was mocking him for not being "qualified". In the first place, the only reason the redhead ever worried about him was because of his resources. If he was smart about it, he could have hidden her away better and shown her a more secure shelter, but he hadn't been smart, really. In fact, he was very stupid for walking right into the lion's den, unarmed and without even a bodyguard to protect him.

"But I was going to prove myself; to take responsibility; to...win."

The redhead once again mocked him silently, taking great joy in his own victory. Of course, he hadn't decided he was the winner; it was her that had delegated him the win. He took a sort of joy in the way the older male scowled at him. Shota even took delight in it when he tried to charge at him in a vain attempt to kill him. His form was poor, the way he held the knife was too stiff, and, overall, he was generally amateur. It was far too easy to wrestle the weapon out of his hands and stab him in the leg. The irony was wonderful, really.

The redhead darted his eyes over to the girl, making sure it was really alright to kill him. She took a while, giving a somewhat bittersweet look, but, in the end, after she made eye contact with Shota once more, she seemed to steel herself. Very abruptly did she end up nodding, and with no hesitation did the male plunge the weapon into the back of his head. Though he felt significantly less pain, dying much quicker than most others did at his hands, Shota felt much relief when he finally stopped struggling.

"Was it really alright?" he asked again, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly, "It...might be too late now, but...I guess it's always good to ask."

"I'm alright."

The girl smiled somewhat purely, though there was a hint of sadness in her facial expression. Either way, she cheered up significantly when he hugged her tightly. He protectively covered her from the scene as if she had never seen a corpse before despite the fact her most recent victim lay not three feet away from his. In truth, both of the corpses weighed on her shoulders, but it was alright. She didn't really need to worry about that anymore. Shota would clean up her mess, having learned to be more than efficient to make up for her recklessness.

Shota cast a glance at the room, wondering what to do with it. She had claimed she would teach him whatever there was to know about her condition, so he didn't need to have anyone research it anymore. That being said, there might have been valuable materials there, ones that could have helped. However, the only thing she ended up taking was the white flower, the one that was valued almost more than the life of its native country's royal family. It wrapped around her hand, the girl glaring at it with an almost hatred.

"Just this."

She left the room with the redhead trailing behind her. The two of them paused for a moment before both gave a look at one another. Striking a match, one of them threw it down at the fabric of Beotia's clothing. They stood there for a moment, making sure everything went up in flames. The girl watched as pieces of her past - forcibly uncovered by a woman who was more arrogant than she ought to have been - were burned. She took more joy out of watching the pieces of her past burn up than she should have, relieved to erase her past once and for all. Then a thought occurred to her.

She led the redhead to his office, moving the painting behind his table aside to reveal the safe he'd tried to keep hidden. Shota gave a proud scoff, knowing he could never go and hide anything from her. The girl pulled out the book that Narcissa had given to her, a journal detailing all of the people she had known before her amnesia. Placing it in his arms, she kissed him possessively before giving a smile.

"Burn it, too. I want to start over. For real this time. With you."

Shota understood the last test she had for him. And though he was reluctant to part with the memories before her most recent reboot, it was her decision. He nodded as the girl went out to find Okura and Nami, two people she wanted to try cherishing as well. The redhead returned to the woods, going deep within the middle of nowhere to best destroy those memories, along with the one he had been most worried about.

Of course, she had not said outright if it was or if it was not alright to kill Hotaka. She saw something that Shota saw in him. He was almost the spitting image of the person she had loved(?) most; kind, athletic, modest, etc. But, in telling him to burn her past...Well, he could only finish the thought himself, leading him to find the purple-haired male in a pathetic state. He seemed to know what was coming.

The younger male was slumped up inside the house, his back up against a wall. Kenko was dead, the cause only partially unknown. It seemed that, only at the end, Hotaka hadn't realized the answer to the trolley problem, and because he had become so late in his understanding, a sense of failure overcame him. The look in his eyes clearly stated that he understood Ryota had died, but that didn't seem to be why he cared. Rather, his life was flashing before his eyes, a flood welling up in his eyes.

Shota paused. He had heard that, according to Sajisha belief, a flood was what started the human populace, and that a flood would be the one to end it. In Hotaka's case, perhaps it was the feeling of warmth that was his supposed flood. He had started his life in the warmth of his mother's womb before his ideals were crushed by the burning passion of hatred. He had started his raging love for people in the warmth of his parents' arms and his love had been fueled too far out of control and burned him when he had met Ms. Shiratori. And now, though he had started his life in the heat of hope, he was destined to be burned to death in the unending cycle of ambition.

"Would you mind...if I did it?" he asked hesitantly, darting his eyes sadly over to his friend's corpse.

The older male wanted to refuse, some part of him wanting to show the male a cruel death. Hotaka was everything that he was not, and it led to his wariness of the male. And even though Shota knew the younger girl did ultimately choose him in the end, it still rubbed him the wrong way. It was easy to kill Ryota. He was arrogant and stubborn, but Hotaka, as always, just had to play the nice guy card.

"It's just," the militant paused, rubbing the back of his sore head, "I'd like to do this for her. I think...I was an idiot."

"So, you - "

"Yeah, I love her. Love her tons," he beamed joyfully, his eyes darting to the journal in the redhead's hands before he reached out to take it, "But I think she feels safer with you."

Hotaka began to flip through the pages, scanning over the people and events written within it. Shota gave him the time to learn about her some more, perhaps out of guilt or perhaps out of the want to see him suffer. Either way, as he finally closed the journal, holding it to his heart, he seemed to have fallen in love even more. Standing up, he held his hand out for the matches, the redhead handing them over slowly.

"When I die, she'll finally be free from her past, right?"

"That's...the idea."

"Alright. I don't need a fancy burial or anything, but, could you take Kenko out and give him something nice?"

"Is that your last wish?"

"Yeah. I never liked you and I still think you're a liar and a murderer, but...thank you. In exchange, just this time, I'll take the death off your shoulders, 'kay?"

As soon as the brunette's corpse was taken out of the building, it went up in flames. Hotaka lived out the vision he'd been shown, suffocating to death in the smoke while fire licked at his skin. All the while, he held on tight to the journal, gazing at the (h/c) haired girl's life while he recalled his own. He didn't mind dying that much, not when he was helping her so much by disappearing, so, when Shota later went to recover his corpse, he was still smiling peacefully. The redhead liked to think, as he poured his ashes into a river, he was still that irritatingly happy and at peace.

With that, (Y/n) was free. Somehow, someway, she no longer felt the pain in her back and she didn't long to know what she had forgotten. She was calm, able to finally find who she was as a person. No demons were looking for her, no people were hunting her down, and, in their place, she had three people who adored her very much.

She had gained a little sister and a mentee, Nami, teaching her all she knew of martial arts. It was done in hopes that the redhead, instead, could carry the hobby with her, relinquishing the older girl from the burden of its knowledge. She didn't need it anymore when she was under the absolute protection of the esteemed Yasojiro family. Nami carried it with pride, using her new talents to express herself and dominate all who chose to challenge her greatness. (Of course, there was nothing more intimidating than a girl carrying a pink rabbit with her at all times).

The younger girl had gained a mentor of her own, Okura, being imparted with his wisdom. The man had made it a point to heal with her, both overcome with their sense of duty to bloodline and, in the end, they had both let it fade away behind them. Every day, they would sit outside in the garden and reflect, becoming more sane than they were the previous day. And though she couldn't quite call him a father (redacted*), Okura was more of a family than she had ever had.

And then there was Shota, whose loyalty inspired her own. Despite his underhanded way of doing things, for which she was hypocritically responsible for, she adored him all the same. He gave her quiet, allowing her to effectively be erased from history, and she was glad for it. Though she would tease him and get under his skin, she loved him all the same, and he, obviously, reciprocated that adoration.

They had started off on the wrong foot, it was true, and it took a while for their relationship to get any better. Yet, it seems, a broken bone may grow back stronger and more secure than before. Their romance was, as Shota had desired, rewritten, and, in the end, it was not him that had dashed the pen across the page. It was (Y/n) who had comprised their future, one in which they would be together forever.