Life continued as usual. A week had passed since the fall of Honnouji Academy, and Satsuki was trying to cope as much as she could. Today, from an agreement weeks before, she was going to go out in town to spend some time with Ryuko and Mako.

Standing before a mirror, she was messing with her hair, worried that it would too different from before. She wore a white blouse, a teal, waist-high dress, and as usual, heels. The wound on the side of her neck was still healing, but it no longer required a thick bound of bandages.

An awkward knock caught her attention, and she turned away from the mirror to see Nui in the doorway of her bedroom. Since they had arrived at the mansion, the blonde had been isolating herself in one of the bedrooms. Even when given some food, she only nibbled on it before leaving it. Rei was getting concerned, but knew she could not change the blonde's mind even if she tried.

Dressed in a loose button-up shirt and tights, Satsuki could tell Nui was getting distressed. Her one eye was sunken in, her cheekbones starting to become more noticeable. Satsuki hadn't seen the girl's body, but from the way she walked, she could tell that the blonde was getting thinner. She had since found an eye patch to cover her injured eye, as it was swelling up from her past injury.

"Nui? Is there something wrong?" Satsuki asked, stepping over to her. Nui hadn't shown much aggression since they started living here. She had lost her bubbly, sadistic nature, and now all was left was something along the lines of a shadow of her former self. Satsuki could stay calm around the blonde now that she showed no signs of being a threat.

"N-No..." Nui muttered, sounding more like a squeak.

"Then what is it?" Satsuki pressed, and Nui grew fidgety.

"I-I... heard you were... going out into the town..." Nui murmured and Satsuki tilted her head.

"Of course, I'm going to go see Ryuko and her friend, Mako," Satsuki replied and Nui's eye went downcast.

"I-I was wondering... if I could go...?" Nui then spoke and Satsuki's eyes widened. Her thoughts became jumbled with many different answers. Taking her out into public could cause some problems. She was thin, which made her weaker. Her body probably wouldn't handle the crowd and excitement.

Secondly, Ryuko and everybody else were still very weary of the blonde. Unlike herself, they had not lived with Nui for the past week, so they wouldn't know of her type of behavior.

Third of all, her arms were still gone. People would surely stare and get suspicious.

Biting her lip, her eyes shot around the room for another moment before she let out a sigh and gave in.

"Yeah, you can come," She spoke, and Nui's interest had perked by a notch. She blinked with surprise, not expecting Satsuki to allow her to go into public.

"But first, we need to get you changed into something a bit more appealing," Satsuki then said and Nui nodded with agreement.

After a few minutes of searching through the clutter of clothes the home had to offer, Satsuki had found something mildly suitable for Nui. The blonde stood a few feet back, watching her curiously.

Walking out of the closet, the older girl walked over to the blonde with clothes in her arms.

"This should help hide your arms," Satsuki spoke, bringing up a thick poncho. The rest of the outfit consisted tight, black jeans, and a white, sleeveless shirt. Nui smiled softly, her one eye glazed over.

"Thank you, Satsuki..."

Ryuko and Mako patiently waited near a cafe, Mako having ordered a small meal while Ryuko sipped at coffee while looking out for her sister. Her eyes caught on a taller woman, and she immediately knew who it was.

"There she is," Ryuko sat up from the table, causing Mao to stop mid-bite.

"W-Waif! Lemmfe fifish thif!" Mako tried calling to her friend, but failed. Ryuko walked through the small crowd, making her way towards her sister when she noticed someone walking with her. Her skin prickled at the sight.

"Why the hell is she here?" Ryuko asked once her sister was in earshot. Satsuki stopped while Nui took her stance behind the woman, not wanting to take any chances with the younger sibling.

"She asked if she could go, and I let her," Satsuki countered with a calm voice, and Ryuko growled.

"Besides, she is no harm to any of us, considering I'm not dead yet," Satsuki spoke again, and Ryuko narrowed her eyes but saw that the sibling had a point. If Nui were truly a threat, then she would've tried to kill Satsuki by now.

"Fine! Doesn't mean I won't keep my eye on her!" Ryuko hissed before turning away, going back towards the frantically eating Mako. When she was gone, Satsuki turned to the blonde.

"You okay?" Satsuki asked, and Nui nodded hastily.

"I-I think so..." She shivered. Nui was in no condition to stand up to Ryuko, even if she wanted to physically harm her. She was still very skittish.

"Don't worry, she's just being a brat," Satsuki smiled softly before walking towards the other two, Nui in tow...

Their day went on accordingly. They stopped at many different shops, buying assorted things, especially Mako. Her small backpack looked as if it were to burst with the amount of items she had stuffed inside it. It was a wonder at how it hadn't yet.

Ryuko would glance at Nui every once in a while, but because her sister was always between her and the blonde, she couldn't stare. Her trust for the blonde was still low, after what she had done to their father.

"Ryuko, stairs!" Satsuki yelled, and the younger sibling reacted quickly enough to avoid tripping down a long staircase. She swung herself around, facing the other three with a sigh of relief. Mako was by her side, bombarding her with a million questions while her sister narrowed her eyes and glared at her. Behind her, Nui was hidden, a part of her head sticking out to see what was happening. Ryuko sneered before putting her attention back onto Mako, reassuring the brunette that she was fine.

By the end of their day, Nui was completely exhausted. After the small scuffle on the staircase, Satsuki's former Elite 4, which she insisted that they were now her friends, had encountered the group. Among sight of her, she felt the air grow intense and uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Satsuki had defended her again, saying that she wasn't a threat.

Afterward, it had been revealed that the largest member of the four, Gamagori, had proposed a date to Mako, in which she agreed happily, much to his embarrassment.

Satsuki, sided with Ryuko watched on as the Elites continued to congratulate the new couple.

"It's been a week since everything happened... and their already starting to settle down," Ryuko spoke, and Satsuki blinked. Nui listened in on the conversation, watching intently.

"The war is over, Ryuko. They have no need to be protective of themselves or me anymore. They can start living out their lives like normal people," Satsuki replied, and the younger sister looked to her before smiling and looking back.

"Can't argue with you on that one," Ryuko sighed, placing her hands into her pockets...

Nui thought over the conversation, laying flat on her bed as she looked up at the ceiling. She had secluded herself to her bedroom again, since Ryuko had been invited to stay the night. Wanting to avoid her at all costs, Nui had disappeared and now lay on her bed.

The mere exchange of the two sisters sent an oddly familiar chill up her spine.

Jealousy.

Now that she was realizing her past, Nui yearned for some actual love, unconditional and truthful. Not full of lies and harmful.

A knock on her door caused her to stir and she rose up a bit to see the door open. Rei stepped through, a bright smile on her lips.

"Nui, please come with me. Satsuki wants to talk with you," She spoke, and the blonde obliged. Sitting up, she rose from her bed and followed the older woman out of the room and down the long hallway.

Coming upon the living room, she saw Ryuko in a chair while Satsuki sat across from her on the couch. Ryuko was eyeing her while Satsuki sipped at a cup of tea made by Soroi.

Sitting in a chair next to the two sisters, Ryuko scoffed before paying attention to something else. Satsuki settled the cup in her lap before looking at the blonde.

"Nui, we've been talking for a bit..."

"Y-Yeah?"

"...And we were thinking... that maybe you would like to get your arms back?" Satsuki proposed and a jolt of shock went through the blonde's body. She was in silence, her mouth gapped as she looked at the older girl.

"M-My arms?" She asked.

"Yes, your arms! Be lucky that I'm agreeing to this!" Ryuko snapped at her.

"Ryuko," Satsuki looked at her, her voice and tone hard. Ryuko let out a growl before turning away again.

"B-But how?" Nui inquired and Satsuki smiled.

"There are ways, trust me," Satsuki replied and Nui's eye widened.

Trust me.

That single phrase made her body shiver.

Satsuki had complete trust in her. Honest to god trust.

Nui's expression slowly changed into a small smile, her eye glazing over as tears starting to sting at the corners.

"Thank you... so much for this, for everything," Nui bowed her head. Satsuki dipped her head in response while Ryuko stayed quiet.

Walking back to her bedroom with Rei, the older woman bowed in her presence before making her leave, closing the door behind her. Nui laid back down into the bed, looking back at the ceiling as she smiled. Tears finally fell, but for once, they were not solemn tears but instead joyful.

That night, Nui experienced no nightmares...

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