After the discussion with Yuu, Mato had approached the situation with more insight than she'd ever expected of herself, thus putting everything into consideration: the challenges of maintaining a close friendship with her other self, game plans to overcome those challenges, possibilities of why Rock would hesitate, etc./end of thinking capacity and chalked it all up to one sketchy solution.

She would be more assertive towards Black Rock Shooter. Her counterpart would resist like before, of course, for that mystery reason Mato may have solved: the fear that a friendship with her would risk subjectng Mato to pain, and the instinct to prevent such by any means necessary. But in all her optimism, Mato was certain that if she stood her ground, eventually she'd wear Rock down.

The two of them would become such good, good friends. They'd hold that type of conversation wherein throughout the course of it, they couldn't stick to one subject for over a minute before getting sidetracked with something else utterly random. They'd learn the conspicuous tells in each other's body language, like Mato's weird habit of folding her hands together when secretive. They'd do everything together, or so she hoped.

Unfortunately, due to Rock's incapability of emotion, a lot of these things Mato fantasized were next to impossible: One without feelings would have little to offer in the making of a chat. One without feelings wouldn't have any give-aways in their body language, because they had nothing to express.

It was blatantly obvious, but that reality slipped the young girl's mind in the midst of her excitement, until something would force her to face it.

The period following the unraveling of her ingenius plan, Mato requested leaving her algebra class for an appointment with the school counselor, Saya. Mrs. Reihner wholeheartedly approved, having been sympathetic of the destructive emotional phases Mato's age group were prone to. (In fact, she was famous for encouraging speeches and riveting tales of her own struggles in junior high.) Mato thanked her and went on her merry way to Saya's office with an important discussion in mind.

As she was trekking through the labyrinth hallways, Mato happened upon Yomi. She was sauntering in the same direction and clutching her permission slip at her side, crumpling it, like something was eating at her.

Mato jogged up to her friend and fell in line with her stride. She asked without even an opening greeting, "Are you alright, Yomi?"

Yomi hadn't seen her friend sneaking up behind her, so she jolted when Mato spoke. "Mato!" she exclaimed, then more evenly, "I was just visiting Saya."

Mato gaped in a goofy fashion, as if Yomi had reported to her that she won a million dollars, and the display elicited a smile from the jagged-haired girl. "No way! Me too!"

In receiving this news, Yomi's smile drooped. "Ah..."

Mato blinked rapidly. "What?"

"Nothing! Actually, I have a lot of work to do in social studies, so I'll just see Saya another time." There was barely visible perspiration on her forehead. She took an about-turn, half-running back to class.

Mato stared after her retreating form for a moment. "That was weird," she muttered before walking onward, deciding then to interrogate Yomi later.

Not long after that, Mato was standing outside Saya's office and rapped lightly on the door. There was the noises of shuffling resonating from behind it before it swung open so abruptly, she staggered back so as not to be slammed by it.

Saya was occupying the doorway. "Good morning, Mato," she said. "It's good to see you. Come in." She pulled the door fully ajar and stepped aside for the younger girl, who in turn entered with a genuine smile on display, then shut it with a soft click. Mato plopped down on the couch, and Saya planted herself in her arm chair.

"Would you like some coffee, Mato?" It was Saya's tradition to offer coffee to every guest at her office.

"No, thank you," Mato rejected politely, not at all thirsty and wanting to cut to the chase. "I wanted to ask you about Black Rock Shooter."

"Mato," Saya began with eyebrows raised high. "I don't know /everything/ about this. You know that."

Mato replied, "You know more than me." It was true, since Saya had had plenty of time to learn the basics of the alternate world.

"I'm just warning you, I may not be that big of a help," Saya replied. She crossed one leg over the other. "So, what is it?"

"I want to be friends with Black Rock Shooter. Close friends that hang out all the time," Mato blurted.

Saya's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Mato, don't you realize you're in separate worlds? How would you stay in touch?"

"I'll visit her all the time," Mato spoke with vigor. "Maybe she could visit me!"

"Slow down. I don't know if leaving her world would be safe for you," Saya said.

"Either way, I can stay in touch with her if she'd just let me!" Mato insisted. Her bottom lip protruded in a pout and quivered.

Saya heaved a sigh and raked a hand through her hair. Then she fell silent for a time, while Mato shifted her feet, the wait agonizing to her however brief. Finally, her counselor returned her eyes to the distressed student.

"I'm going to guess that you've tried, and she pushed you away."

Mato nodded slowly. "I was thinking assertiveness would help."

"Keep in mind, she doesn't have emotions," Saya told her. "So I doubt she'll even budge unless you present her with a logical reason for it." Mato leaned in slightly and Saya took a breath. "Tell her that if she doesn't, it will hurt your feelings. She'll do anything to prevent hurting your feelings."

It only took Mato a few seconds to absorb. She shot up from her seat, grinning so wide, Saya feared it might travel all around the circumference of Mato's head and break off the top. "That... Is so much better than my plan. That would definitely work!"

Saya found Mato's smile contagious when she dashed up to her and vigorously shook her hand with both of hers. "Just be careful with this, okay?"

"I will!" said Mato as her hands fell back to her sides, and a shadow passed over her features. "Wait. Isn't that like blackmail?"

"Again, she's emotionless," Saya reminded her.

"Still..." Mato hesitated.

"It's only a suggestion. You don't have to," Saya said with a shrug.

Mato gnawed her bottom lip. "I guess I'll think about it."

Saya praised, "That's good. Contemplation is much needed right now."

And contemplate Mato did.

Later that day, she was in the same setting as yesterday evening: sitting atop a fence overlooking the dazzling sunset. The horizon's warm, tie-dye sort of colors evoked a lighthearted feeling in Mato, of which was eclipsed by something else so much that she wouldn't be surprised to find herself soaring through the air.

She was going to blackmail Black Rock Shooter, her desperation and Saya's encouragement pushing the normally kindhearted girl this far.

Mato encased the bracelet in her palms and activated the portal. A pinprick of light surrounding it burst into a pillar shooting sky-high, and Mato was teleported to the alternate world.

She was in Dead Master's realm this time. It was a mountainous region draped in ominous fog, dotted with bodies of murky water that were densely littered by black skulls. Their unoccupied eye sockets glowed a toxic green, as well as the space in their mouths as they bobbed on the surface, and it was overall to Mato a more unsettling place than Black Rock Shooter's.

The girl in her early teens swallowed her fear as much as she could, willing herself to follow the shoreline of a black pond in search of Black Rock Shooter. Her eyes scouted her surroundings, but she couldn't spot her counterpart anywhere within her field of sight.

"Weird. The bracelet is supposed to send me right to her," Mato remarked, trying to dispel the doubts shadowing her. She's here somewhere, she assured herself, but the doubts crept up on her anyway. What if Black Rock Shooter was deliberately steering clear of her, unwilling to be around Mato?

She balled her hands into fists, her heartache worsening, but she wouldn't give up yet. Mato darted for the nearest rocky outcropping, so desperate she'd even check behind an unlikely place such as that, when someone yanked her back with immense force.

They pulled her against their slender frame and launched into the air, their arms locking so securely around her she couldn't even manuever to look up and see who it was. Mato yelped and struggled to no avail as her captor's leap lifted them high into the air, making her stomach plummet.

They landed solidly countless feet away, her captor dropping Mato rather unceremoniously on the stony floor. Mato gave an "Ouch," picked herself up and swiveled around to see who had scared her out of her skin, a tad aggravated.

Her aggravation was quickly forgotten as her eyes landed on a pale face of chiseled features. "R-Rock," she recognized with a blush dusting her cheeks when she realized her body had been flush against Black Rock Shooter's for a length of time.

Black Rock Shooter was staring daggers at her. "Watch it."

"H-huh?" The other jerked a thumb aimed up ahead to resolve Mato's confusion, and Mato followed it to the ground she was previously standing at. Dead Master was tangled in a network of her own chains, pinned against the rock and watching the two like a hawk. Apparently, though Mato hadn't seen it coming at all, she had been caught in the crossfire and Black Rock Shooter had saved her with perfect timing.

The epiphany warmed Mato's heart, and she hurled herself at an unsuspecting Black Rock Shooter, capturing her in a bear hug. The solid evidence that Black Rock Shooter did care about her left her jubilant. Her counterpart went rigid, refusing to reciprocate but didn't move away.

Mato was unfazed by this, too deep in gratitude. "Thank you!" she said gleefully.

Black Rock Shooter grunted in acknowledgement and attempted peeling Mato away gently, but the smaller girl stuck like gum to hair. "Off," she said sourly.

Mato shook her head vehemently. "It's warm. I'm going to stay here forever." She shut her eyes and sighed dreamily.

Something flickered in Black Rock Shooter's eyes. It could have been emotion, but it disappeared too fast for one to be certain. She checked on her assailant, and was instantly concerned for Mato's safety. The web of chains binding Dead Master were beginning to fracture as she struggled.

Rock took Mato by the shoulders and shook her lightly. "Get off!"

"You're hurting my feelings," said an oblivious Mato.

"Dead Master is escaping," she urged, tempted to put all her strength into throwing Mato off but reluctant to harm her.

Mato didn't seem to hear. "Just hug back," she said, proud of her assertiveness.

Black Rock Shooter circled her arms loosely and unenthusiastically around Mato. "Now let go."

Mato hummed happily. "Tighter."

Black Rock Shooter stole an urgent glance at Dead Master and saw she had mostly broken free of the restraints; all she had left to do was wrestle out of the knots. Having to resort to desperate measures, she forcefully pushed Mato away. Mato was unpleasantly awakened from her stupor, rolling in the dirt and over sharp stones before she came to a halt and pulled herself upright.

She groaned, smarting, and looked over to Rock to demand what that was for, but then silenced herself. Rock was turned away from her, activating her cannon. Rock Cannon extended from her glove, developing its parts and a whirr emitting from it that indicated her shot was charging.

Mato had a short second to glimpse the target: Dead Master, airborne with the assistance of a huge, levitating skull and advancing toward them at top speed. She rose from her sitting position while concentrating her chains to emerge from the ground behind Rock and sail in her direction.

"Rock!" Mato screamed, making the other involuntarily look over at her while Rock Cannon spewed a ball of energy square at Dead. It was powerful enough to decimate the crown of the skull and knock the opponent off her feet. While Yomi's counterpart nose-dived, the chains sneak attacked and constricted Rock.

She withdrew her fire arm, drew her sword and started slashing at them, whilst a Mato choking with panic and worry that she could lose Black Rock Shooter any minute came up to her and tried to pull the chains back. To her chagrin, they were resistant and slippery, wriggling out of Mato's grasp without any trouble, and retaliated. One of the chains darted over to her and encircled her shoulders to toe so securely her air supply was close to being cut off.

"Rock!" she screamed.

Black Rock Shooter sliced more frantically through this field of living shackles, desperately trying to reach Mato. Mato was screeching like a banshee in her imprisonment, her danger upsetting Rock and making her more dead-set on helping Mato out of there. She finally activated her Rock Cannon and blasted the restraints to bits, including the ones holding Mato.

Mato dropped and screamed again, only for her fright to fade to relief as she landed in Rock's arms. Carrying her bridal style, Black Rock Shooter's instinct boomed for her to get Mato to safety. She laid her hand over the bracelet dangling around Mato's wrist.

"Go back," she weakly cajoled.

Even after all this, Mato refused. "Not unless you don't send me home next time, when it's safer anyway." Rock nodded curtly, willing to do anything right now that would keep Mato out of danger. Mato was overjoyed and squealed triumphantly. "Okay. Bye! I'll miss you!"

Mato beamed at the other before teleporting to her reality in a brilliant burst of light. It was a brief flash as always, making the other girl shield her eyes. Gradually the light dwindled, and Black Rock Shooter stared at the nothingness in her arms.

Then she collapsed to her knees and stared emptily at the ashy soil.

"Crap..."