Ryūko stared across at Mikisugi in the large grey chamber, her gaze filled with confused expectation, "Shitty joke Mikisugi."

However Mikisugi responded baring a cold serious glare, "I ain't Joking. For a few weeks you and Nui will be living together, and its gotta be at the hotel, easier to guard and with little interference."

The scene filled with a deafening silence as Ryūko's look turned to utter disbelief.

"No..." Ryūko broke the silence, uttering quietly, "No!" She raised her voice filling the rooms with the echoes of her voice, "HELL NO."

Mikisugi replied, trying to quell Ryūko's anger, "Ryūko-"

However Ryūko suddenly cut him off, "Don't you DARE try to justify this! I've tried my damn hardest just to accept this bitch still being around and now you of all people want me to live with her?! You were Isshin's friend weren't you?!"

Mikisugi closed his eyes, responding with a tinge of pain seeping through the professionality of his voice, "Its not that simple..."

Ryūko scoffed, an angry sarcastic laugh audible in her reply, "Of course it isn't... I thought you were playing nice with her so you could use her, but now... It seems like you actually think that this monster can be anything than what she is and has ALWAYS BEEN."

Mikisugi glared with a serious gaze, "We can't change who Nui Harime is, I don't think anyone but her can, but I do think we can get her understand what she is and what she has done perhaps then she could learn to change who she is, as I know how thin the line between us and becoming monsters really is." Mikisugi looked to the side, a painful glint in his eyes, "more than most..."

This caught clone Nui's attention as she read into the implications of these words while floating besides true Nui who watched over the proceedings with playful curiosity. At the same time, Tsumugu listened to the back and forth from the laboratory, looking down at Mikisugi with a look of recognition in his gaze.

Ryūko seemed to simmer down, turning her body as if to walk away, "Well I don't give a shit I'm not agreeing to this-"

"Do it Ryūko." A voice suddenly interrupted as Ryūko stopped in her tracks after turning to see Satsuki in her school uniform, having walked in from the side of the entrance during the back and forth.

"Wha-" Ryūko uttered in further disbelief.

Mikisugi however spoke in quiet surprise mixed with respectful recognition, "Satsuki..."

Satsuki's gaze however was fixed firmly on Ryūko, "Go along with this idea of theirs."

Ryūko's disbelief turned to with strained anger, as she desperately held herself back from lashing out at her sister with a simple but cold "Why?" spoken through gritted teeth.

Satsuki replied with a calm and soothing tone, "Because she is from our past." Satsuki then gestured to true Nui with a turn of her head, "And to move on from our past, we have to come to terms with it, but if we can't come to terms with her then how can we hope to do the same with our history. And for that, I need you to try to understand her."

Nui sighed disapprovingly, "Shouldn't be that difficult, after all when a lady changes her underwear she leaves the past behind, easy as that!"

Ryūko snapped back with irritation, "You must be out of yours then since all you seem to do now is hang on to the past!"

Nui retorted with taunting, playful, flirtiness, "oooo Ryūko~ enquiring about my undergarments? How forward of you~"

Ryūko scoffed with frustration glaring at Nui, She then turned her head to look back at Satsuki who stared back with a stern but empathetic gaze. The thoughts continuing to churn in Ryūko as she then looked back at Nui, a smug mocking smile lying beneath her purple Katakana Eyepatch.

Ryūko's face suddenly contorted as she shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, seemingly having come to a decision but was struggling to commit to it, "Damn it..." She uttered beneath her breath before raising her head and her voice along with it, "Fine... I'll do it, I'll... Live with Nui... But I swear if I end up killing her that's on you guys."

Mikisugi's face froze in quiet shock before changing to a wry appreciative smile, "Thank you... Ryūko."

Suddenly Nui butted in to the exchange with a pouty "Hmph!"

Mikisugi turned his attention to Nui, asking a question that seemed more like an order given his stern tone, "How about you Nui? You gonna play ball?"

Nui continued her pouty attitude as she casually pointed to the kill switch choker around her neck, "Its not not like I have much of a choice now does it?"

Mikisugi sighed with exasperation, "Can you just tell me if you're gonna cooperate with this...?"

Nui's pouting expression broke into an irritated glare as she snapped back turning towards Mikisugi, "I still don't get why you are asking me since its the other me Ryūko is gonna be spending most of her time with."

In response Mikisugi seemed somewhat apprehensive, as if he's aware of the turmoil what he's about to say is going to cause, "Actually..." Nui's eye sparked up with curiosity as Mikisugi continued, "I'll need to apologise to clone Nui about this but... during the majority of the time during this experiment, I want true Nui to be the one in control."

"What?!" Suddenly a blood form of clone Nui appeared, seeping out and floating above true Nui.

Mikisugi explained consolingly, "I'm sorry Nui, but its important that true Nui has to interact with Ryūko."

Ryūko mumbled to herself regretfully, as she watched the exchange, "This is gonna suck..."

Meanwhile Mikisugi continued explaining, "And I also think true Nui needs to experience more of a life outside what she is used to, and she can't do that inside that little box room."

True Nui gave a sceptical dismissive "Hm."

Clone Nui however replied with a submissively defeated tone, "I guess that makes sense..."

Mikisugi lowered his eyebrows as he looked at the blood version of clone Nui sympathetically, "You gonna be ok Nui...?"

Clone Nui's head jumped up as she tried to quell Mikisugi's worries, "Oh yeah! I'll be ok, true Nui spends most of her time in that room, so I guess its only fair that I take a step in her shoes, or well, my shoes... you know what I mean..."

Mikisugi smiled warmly at clone Nui, "Thank you, I'll be sure to get you all of the ramen you want after this." After him saying this, clone Nui's blood form quickly seeped back into true Nui.

True Nui cut in however, lost in her own fantasization, "Well now I'm interested... This should be fun~ Alright Mikisugi I'll play along with this little experiment of yours."

Ryūko sighed with disgust, "Ugh... does no one see how messed up this is..." This causing Satsuki to place her hand on Ryūko's shoulder.

Mikisugi replied to Ryūko with a calming sympathetic voice, "Trust me we do Ryūko, but its for the best, trust me. And besides we'll be keeping a close eye on the both of you so you don't gotta worry about her doing some funny stuff."

Satsuki snapped back sternly in Ryūko's stead, "You better, if anything happens during this experiment, I'll be holding you personally to my wrath." She turned her head to Ryūko, her voice softening to comfort her sister, "I'll have Soroi gather the things you brought over."

Ryūko glanced away from her sister's embrace to shoot a sharp look at Nui, however this time instead of walking away, Nui looked back at Ryūko curiously, before closing her eye and smiling brightly.

Ryūko turned away in anger, before walking away, leaving Satsuki's side. Satsuki's gaze followed Ryūko's back until she turned her head to look at Nui, Satsuki's eyes filled with a cold stare, she then walked onward to follow her sister out of the chamber.

Nui Shrugged as she waited for moment before eventually moving in the same direction as Ryūko and Satsuki towards the exit of the chamber.

"Nui." Suddenly Mikisugi spoke up interrupting Nui's walk, she seemed to listen without turning as Mikisugi continued, "This ain't an opportunity for you to screw around, its a chance for something so much more, don't waste it."

Nui however refused to reply as she still refrained from turning and merely continued to walk out from the chamber.

Satsuki and Ryūko were waiting in a black car outside the HQ. Ryūko was on the right side staring out the window propping her elbow at the bottom of the car window and holding up her head with her hand, Satsuki sat in the middle calmly with her eyes shut and arms crossed.

A nudist agent stood by the vehicle opening the back left car door as Nui approached. Ryūko scoffing as Nui sat down.

Nui looked about in calm joy before suddenly snuggling up to Satsuki with a sultry look on her face, "Been waiting for my chance to do this for a while~ What about you lady Satsuki?"

Ryūko turned her head away from the window to shoot a furious look at Nui, Satsuki however responded to Nui calmly let coldly, "Cease at once Nui or I'll skin every portion of the flesh you have touched me with."

Nui pulled away from Satsuki with her usual playfulness, "Ah... As feisty as usual, I've always loved that about you Satsuki."

Not longer after this exchange the agent outside stepped into the drivers seat of the car. The vehicle Whirred into life and made it's way from nudist beach HQ. The first stop of course was at Satsuki's house, Soroi stepping outside to meet their arrival, placing a large wheeled suit case in the trunk of the vehicle, shining a sympathetic smile to Ryūko through the car window.

"This must be... hard for you, lady Satsuki." He spoke to Satsuki a ways away from the vehicle.

Satsuki stood with her arms crossed and a stern but pained frown along with her eyes being cast towards the ground, "I can't shake the feeling that I may be making a mistake..."

Soroi placed a hand on Satsuki's shoulder which seemed to somewhat relieve the tension in Satsuki's face, "Such is the case for all difficult decisions, but fail or not, I know that you will be able to make the best out it no matter what, that is the strength I've always seen in you Satsuki." Soroi removed his hand from Satsuki's shoulder, smiling wryly, "I'll make you some Tea when you get home."

Satsuki replied with a calm soft, "Thank you Soroi..." And the two embraced before Satsuki returned to the black car.

The car pulled away once more, this time away from Satsuki's house. A short journey lying between them and their destination. And after a few minutes they soon arrived at the hotel.

Ryūko stepped out of her side of the vehicle first moving towards the back of the car to remove her suit case from the trunk before returning to by the car door, looking up at the multi-storey hotel in dread of the things to come. Satsuki got out from the same side, placing a hand on Ryūko's back, causing Ryūko to look back at her sister with a wry smile.

This moment was interrupted as Nui got out from her side of the car, Stretching her legs and arms, spewing out purposely questionable moans, "Oh my~ felt like we've been driving for daaaaaaays..." She turned towards the two sisters, "You coming Ryūko?"

Ryūko Sighed with exasperation in response, "Yeah yeah just go ahead, I need a minute."

Nui gave a casual "Oki doki!" As she proceeded to walk towards the entrance of the hotel. Suddenly however she leapt faster than the eye can see behind one of the other vehicles parked beside the black nudist beach car, attempting to carefully spy on the other two's conversation.

Satsuki spoke sombrely a tone of concern oozing through her voice, "I'm sorry about this Ryūko... I know this is gonna be hard for you."

Ryūko shook her head, a soothing look of confidence on her face, "Nah don't worry about it, I can deal with this no problem, only thing I'm worried about is taking a few years off your life from the stress."

Satsuki gave a slight chuckle in her reply, "I feel like I'm gonna drink my own body weights worth in tea by the end of these weeks, I should get a gift for Soroi as thanks."

The two shared their own hug before separating, Ryūko making her way towards the hotel entrance wheeling her suit case as she went, while Satsuki stepped back into the car, which not before long pulled away from the hotel.

Ryūko was quickly joined by Nui in walking into the hotel, provoking an irritated yet unsurprised reaction from Ryūko, "Hm so much for going ahead, you enjoy the show?"

Nui answered as she pushed through the hotel's revolving door, "Of course I wouldn't miss it for the world! Now... To the hotel room!" As she stepped into the hotel lobby she posed dramatically, one hand on her hip while she pointed with the other down the centre of the room. The agents witnessing her were left with second hand embarrassment, Ryūko included.

The two were then screened quickly by the agents, Ryūko being provided a key to the hotel room and a locational tracker featuring a panic button. Nui however was fully scanned down using a metal detector as well as her biometrics being taken.

Once the scans were complete, the two were allowed through, entering an elevator by the stair case, Ryūko forcibly grabbing Nui's hand to prevent her from pressing every button on the elevator's control panel.

After a few awkward moments of waiting, the elevator dinged on their floor, the two quickly making their way to the hotel room, Ryūko opening the door and Nui closing it behind her. And then they were there. The hotel room. And the beginning of this experiment.

The stood side by side, Nui on the side closest to the bed. The scene was silent for a moment, Ryūko almost lost in pondering the circumstances that has lead to this moment, Nui however appeared to be soaking it in with casual joy.

Nui suddenly ran across the room and leapt onto the bed, with her arms spread out and face towards the celling, sighing with ecstasy. Ryūko however quietly made her way towards the sofa, placing her suit case at the right most end of the sofa.

Nui bounced on her back to land sitting on the edge of the bed to sit up and look at Ryūko, "So Ryūko what do you wanna do first? Kissing practice? Although from what I remember you might not need much practice~"

Ryūko scoffed, "fuck that I'm just gonna go to sleep."

Nui's face glowed as she realised the opportunity, "Ooooo how about you share my bed? Its got plenty of room~"

Ryūko snapped back, her irritation already beginning to grow, "You don't have any concept of boundaries at all do you?"

Nui however seemed somewhat confused in her response, "What do you mean? You've slept in the same bed as other girls haven't you?"

Ryūko explained with the frustration of a teacher instructing a clueless student, "That's because I could trust those people Nui..."

Nui replied almost offended, "You can trust me though Ryūko! I'm a very sound sleeper, I haven't snored once in my life!"

Ryūko sighed as it somewhat seemed that the energy drained from her face from the interaction, "That's... not what I meant, look I'll just sleep on the sofa so please do me one single favour and try to hold back your urges to mess with me."

Nui seemed somewhat befuddled but acquiesced reluctantly, "Hm alright more bed for me I suppose." She then stood up, suddenly being surrounded by life fibers.

After the life fibers dissipated from surrounding Nui, she stood in the same spot, arms spread open and her body completely stark nude.

Ryūko, red faced, immediately turned away, "Wh-what the hell Nui?!"

Nui replied cluelessly, "What?"

Ryūko turned back gesturing downwards at Nui's slender form, her face becoming even more red, "Y-you're Nude!"

Nui shrugged casually, "well of course I am, I sleep nude, don't you?"

"No!" Ryūko snapped back, "Well sometimes... but mostly no, can't you just wear something? While I'm around I mean."

Nui pondered for a moment in consideration of this notion, "Hm, I guess I don't really have a reason to sleep nude anymore..."

Ryūko's blush dissipated somewhat as she seemed taken aback by this answer, "Wait what do you mean "Anymore?"

Nui replied suddenly remembering Ryūko's unawareness of her personal circumstances, "Oh well lady Ragyō had me sleep nude in case she wanted to conduct some late night... purification, although she did at times request special outfits for me to wear, of course I would sew 'em myself and she was always pleased with the results~"

All the colour disappeared from Ryūko's face as a surge of disgust crawled up her throat, "Wait... how young were you when that..." Her face then shifted as if she snapped out of a trance, "forget it, I don't wanna know, just put something on. Right now."

Nui nodded casually, "Oki doki!" Nui was surrounded by threads once again.

This time when the life fibers dissipated, Nui appeared standing in pink frilly lingerie, including thigh high's and a garter belt.

Nui presented proudly, "Pretty good don't you think? Sewed it up based on the REVOCS sexy fun times collection! Ok it wasn't actually called that but I always thought that should be it's name."

Ryūko blushed once again, although not nearly to the extent as before, this time keeping her composure, "Better than nothing I guess, you sewed this in that pocket room of yours?"

Nui nodded joyfully, "Mhm! Got those Nude monkeys to give me all the fabric that I could want! Need it to pass the time, otherwise I would die of boredom."

Ryūko chuckled slightly in unimpressed sarcasm, "Hm wouldn't that be a shame... I wonder how you swindled them into giving that the ok."

Clone Nui appeared in a form made of blood, seeping out and floating from true Nui's arm, "She told them that if they didn't give her all the fabric she could want she would make sure to become even more annoying than she already is..."

Ryūko's mouth curved into an almost bemused smile as the blood form of clone Nui disappeared back into true Nui's arm, "Hm that sounds about right." Ryūko then turned away towards her suit case to remove her pair of folded yellow rabbit polka dot pyjamas.

True Nui asked simply as she checked the puffiness of her pillows, "You gonna get dressed?"

Ryūko responded as her face quickly shifted back to the cold and angered demeanour she usually wields when around true Nui, "Not with you in the room."

Nui sighed with her usual layered smile, as she made her way out of the room, "Ah Ryūko... Ever the coy."

Ryūko didn't reply, simply waiting for the closing of the room's door to signify Nui's exit, before stripping down to get in her PJs. Nui of course trying to peak through the crack in the hotel door. Ryūko deciding to throw a kitchen knife into the door, the blade of the knife narrowly avoiding Nui's face. Nui barely reacted merely standing up from the door and poking the knife curiously causing the knife to wobble in it's cut open slot.

Nui stepped back inside the hotel room, looking over her shoulder at the knife handle, "I wonder if the nudists are willing to fix that for us."

Ryūko was now lying on the sofa unresponsive with her head turned away.

Nui leapt onto the bed, sitting up as she closed the duvet over her bottom half, "Nighty night Ryūko!" Of course Ryūko didn't reply, causing Nui to collapse onto her back sinking into the bed.

Ryūko waited for Nui to fall quiet, including the rustling of her bed sheets before closing her eyes and drifting into sleep.

In the pocket room, clone Nui observed the interactions between the two, watching true Nui slink into clone Nui's own bed, a whine of worry oozing from her mouth. Once the hotel room fell completely silent as clone Nui was sure both true Nui and Ryūko was definitely asleep, she then made her own preparations to head to bed atop the clinical pure white bed of the pocket room, changing into her pink pyjamas and settling on the strangely comfortable yet awkwardly unfamiliar bed.

However just as she was ready to lie down and call it for the night, a ghostly figure seemed to materialise at the centre of the room, quickly grabbing clone Nui's attention. The ghostly figure, with a height beneath clone Nui's knees, began to obtain a more physical appearance, it's translucent figure manifesting clothing and flesh, filling in the ghost. The figure revealed itself to be a tiny child, baring the same appearance of the child version of the original Nui seen within Nui's memories.

The child toiled about sitting on the floor of the room, putting down a textile to play with a pair of dolls as she sighed melancholically, "When is she coming home...?"

As soon as clone Nui heard the child mumble this, an idea hit her as she decided to quickly observe true Nui lying in her bed. Clone Nui's suspicions were confirmed with true Nui appearing to mutter these same words in her sleep.

Clone Nui's attention was drawn back to now apparent dream as suddenly the doors to the room appeared to open, letting in a bright rainbow light in the shape of the door, that spread across the room. In the middle of the door way however was a silhouette, obscured within the shadow it cast within the light. The silhouette of course resembled Ragyō, standing quietly at the door.

The child Nui's eyes shone with Joy as she stood up to meet Ragyō's arrival, "Maman you're home!"

"Where is my flower that never wilts?" The silhouette spoke, it's tone resembling Ragyō's voice, however it seemed to be heavily distorted, it speech carried an unwavering malice.

The strangeness of the voice and the callousness of it's words quickly wiped the joy from the child's face as she spoke again now with fearful hesitation, "M-maman?"

The voice spoke again, barely recognising the petrified pleas of the little girl, "It cannot be here, for all in this bed has withered, their once vibrant petals carried away by the biting winds of winter."

The child Nui called out in her desperation, seeking any sort of recognition for the strange form resembling Ragyō, "Maman please!-"

"Your mother is not here child." The voice quickly cut her off, sending chills down the little girl's spine, "At least not the one you call out to, and besides what use would she have for you? Your colours are all faded, your stem hangs low, and your leaves have all shrivelled up, you gave yourself to such a fate, when you reached for the sun but were too weak to withstand it's rays."

Child Nui shook where she stood, doing all she could to prevent herself from falling onto her knees, "I-I..."

Clone Nui observed the child with a pained look in her eyes, wanting to stand up to embrace the little girl but was too afraid to move from where she sat.

"But you know what we do with such withered flowers?" The voice spoke once again, followed by echoing footsteps, "We pull them out... By the roots." As soon as it said this the silhouette resembling Ragyō stepped into the room it's form no longer obscured by shadow.

The figure still resembled Ragyō and appeared to be "nude" However instead of flesh it appeared to have an amorphous dark substance for skin with red life fiber-esque lines running across. It seemed to have no mouth on it's face but instead a large chasm for a mouth running vertically along it's chest from between it's breasts to between it's legs with the mouth opening into a gaping maw of red and yellow. What little on it's face was two glowing red and yellow life fiber eyes, shining with an unmatched ferocity.

Clone Nui gasped in terror while the child Nui screamed as a flood of tears streamed from her eyes.

Back in reality, true Nui appeared to be screaming as well as she thrashed around in her sleep. Her screaming of course waking up Ryūko who seemed ready to grab her weapons until looking over the back of the sofa to see Nui still asleep.

Ryūko got up from the sofa observing Nui continuing to writhe as she murmured seemingly in a panic with a genuinely distressed look on Nui's face, a strange sight for Ryūko who has never seen this level of vulnerability from Nui, at least in this form.

Ryūko stood at the edge of Nui's bed, reaching over to touch Nui's arm. Her touch seemingly comforting Nui who calmed somewhat, further surprising Ryūko. She then touched Nui's wrist with her middle and index finger, almost as if she was checking for a pulse.

However Ryūko's real intentions quickly became clear as she murmured to herself, "Still cold as ice..."

She then lied back on the sofa, closing her eyes once more and for the last time settling into the calm chill embrace of sleep.