Mami once asked me to share my research with her, so I found it a beautiful symmetry when I asked her what she's observed about me through her life.
"At first, the most I could do is forgive you. I couldn't bring myself to like you, or want you around, but I could forgive you. You were just doing what you were told, what you felt was necessary. I'm glad you've become who you are, though. You may not know it, but you look different than you did before. It's in your eyes."
Such a statement would have made no sense to me during the time I had contracted her, but now I understood easily. I felt a small sense of pride knowing I had, at least partially, found enough harmony within myself to sustain emotion without becoming a nonfunctional mess.
"But... I think you still have room to grow, Kyuubey. Everyone does - even me - but you're still... curious. You still have questions about things. And I think, if you look hard enough, you'll find your answers eventually."
"I hope so, Mami."
"I hope so too."