Eve looked down at the index cards in her hand, reciting the words on them as she walked alongside Rito and Sairenji. The two humans were carrying papers to the teachers' office, the blonde following as she'd been doing for the last few days while she grew accustomed to her new life.
Despite Kotegawa's outbursts and continued surveillance the girl had settled into her new role as a normal student and despite her reputation from before the incident, the rest of the class had grown accustomed to her presence. Though she still stuck around Rito for the majority of the time, she had formed somewhat of a friendship with Momioka and Sawada, as little as that actually meant considering the duo's tendency to like everyone they met. Now, though, she had elected to follow Rito in his errands, focusing on a Japanese lesson she was taking to catch up to the standards of the rest of the class. Not being actively involved in school there were many things she actually hadn't known before.
Her attention was broken by Sairenji laughing at something Rito had said while Eve unknowingly narrowed her red eyes in confusion. She'd really lost her edge if she wasn't able to pay attention to something happening so close by. But then again, she had no need for that battle sense anymore. She let a small smile spread across her face as she turned back to her recitation. For once, it felt good to be unaware.
"Hey, it's not that funny!" Rito said, tilting his head to scratch his ear with his shoulder due to his hands being full of papers. "I'm sure Kenichi's done much dumber things since then, that was years ago!"
"I don't think he's ever fallen off a bike on a perfectly smooth road, though. You're more athletic when you're running from something, but he has more stamina since he kept biking until we'd just started our first year." She frowned, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Come to think of it, he was the one who approached me and introduced you two. I wonder if he knew I noticed you always taking care of the plants?"
Rito chuckled under his breath, sweatdropping at the thought. "It's still weird hearing you talk about things like they happened so long ago, when to me it was only a few days. Sounds like Kenichi's gotten popular now. Everyone in class knew him and you got to talking about him pretty quickly."
Sairenji frowned, before laughing hollowly, closing her eyes as her mouth curled to an unconvincing smile. "Saruyama-kun is...not that well liked. Most people just know him as the pervert who hits on every girl he meets with no inhibitions. He was among the group that easily got affected when Nemesis started causing problems….No offense, I know you're trying to help now but, yeah."
"Hmm? Was I called?" came the ethereal voice of Nemesis through Rito's mouth, the boy sighing at the sudden change. The person living inside him had introduced herself before, and it seemed that prior to him losing his memory, the Devilukeans had already known about her. At first he'd been concerned, but after a few days of her occasionally talking to him or others it had become a normal thing. What difference was there between a disembodied voice and a girl with a flower stuck to her head anyway? "I was a far different person back then, I too see the me of the past as an enemy. Just think of me as Yuuki Rito's conscience now."
"I'd rather my conscience talk about things I understand." Rito said, laughing at Nemesis before stopping to move aside, nudging Eve to do the same and allow another student to pass by. "But Saruyama isn't that bad, right? He doesn't seem much different."
"He's obsessed with 'Yuusaki Riko' now." Eve said. He turned to face her as she moved back to his side. "It's a long story, but it seems everyone but he realized who she really is."
"That's cruel, Yami-chan." Sairenji said, tilting her head in thought. "Although, I guess he has been acting differently. He wasn't ever really all that proactive about things until you got hurt, but then all of a sudden, he's going around telling everyone he can to be nice to you and Yami-chan." She frowned, pulling her arms up to readjust her grip on the papers she carried. "It's kind of strange, seeing him so fired up. Usually he just is in the background, he doesn't like getting in your way."
Rito blinked, confused by the wording she chose. "It sounded like he was trying to help, he's always been like that. Give him a break, he's trying."
Sairenji sighed, nodding as she slowed her pace to let the two pass her, though she still kept up just behind. "It's true that he's been more dependable lately, but it's not really like him. He's been too worked up over what happened to you, and I know it's serious but he's not the type of guy to let it get to him. He didn't even react that strongly when the entire planet was in danger."
"He's always riding in Rito's wake, wouldn't he just be lost without him?" Eve asked, turning her head to face the bluenette, who frowned at the question.
"Saruyama-kun isn't a puppy! He's just that invested in his best friend's safety, you have no idea what happened when you disappeared for those first few days!" The girl's smile had transformed to a frown as she glared at the former Trans. "I've never seen him cry for real before then, it was scary! Do you even know anything about him besides that he's a pervert?!"
"Of course I don't, the only times I've ever interacted with him were when he was chasing some girl or staring up my skirt." Eve replied back, her voice kept low as she narrowed her eyes. "Rito has been someone I've respected for a long time, even though I wasn't vocal about it. But that monkey, I have no interest in. He may be loyal as a dog to Rito, but he isn't nearly as nice to everyone else. So why should I-"
The girl was cut off as someone bumped into her elbow, Rito laughing hesitantly as he nudged her. "Sorry, couldn't see in front of me to warn you…" he said, and she nodded, before turning to the person.
"I'm not in the mood right now to-" She blinked, cutting herself off at the sight in front of her.
Nana stood several steps away, arms flailed in the air in front of her as she backed away from the girl, a shocked expression on her face. "Y-Yami! Rito!" she called, and while Eve simply stared at her, Rito smiled, tilting his head as his arms weren't free.
"Back at school? Did the doctor say you were allowed out of bed?" Sairenji asked. It took a few moments for Nana to process that she'd said something, breaking away from the impromptu staring contest she'd been having with the blonde.
"Y-Yes, I didn't think you'd recognize me, though, Rito, since you haven't met me..." she said, and he laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"I guessed from the hair. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have equated you with the others. They're...bigger."
The girl's face flushed, but before she could respond, Eve opened her mouth to speak. "It feels like a long time since we last met, doesn't it?"
"It...It has." Nana replied slowly, hand moving to her lower back to feel the base of her tail. "I'm glad that Rito's okay, I heard you were really hurt too…"
Rito blinked, shaking his head. "No? I didn't have any scars or anything, as far as I know it was just a head injury." he said, flinching as the sudden sound of Nemesis' deep sigh in his ears.
"Never mind him, you must've been a step away from the grave with how long you took. Don't Devilukeans have the ability to survive near-fatal wounds?"
"I-" Nana seemed to want to say something, before interrupting herself as she backed up another step, taking a wide berth around Yami and slowly turning to stay facing her as she crossed into the hallway. "I have something to do, and I'm not going to fight you anymore. Can I just get through? I don't want to get cut down again..."
Eve narrowed her eyes, and Nana visibly trembled at the dark expression on her face, before she huffed, raising a hand to wave her away and looking down at her index cards again. "I've already decided that I won't fight anyone anymore. As long as you don't hurt Rito again, we won't have a problem. If there is, I'll solve it with more mundane methods. It's a regrettable cause, but we've both become just a bit more human."
Nana's hand instinctively gripped her tail, as if she was protecting it from Eve's gaze, as she backed off, turning to rush down the hall and out of sight as Eve frowned, her face turning sour.
Under her breath, she mumbled: "I've already done enough."