'...and so that's how it is.'

"Wow... it's a bit hard to understand but it looks like it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

Mato made a sigh of relief after listening to all the explanations. She was currently sitting on her bed while still digesting the things she just learned.

Meanwhile, Rock had become silent, giving Mato time and space to understand. Mato could even feel the girl's cool and collected eyes blues were looking at her, even though that was impossible given in this situation.

Because Rock was inside her.

"...it's a not really clear to me but," Mato said carefully. "...I think I get it."

'...do you really?'

Her tone sounded... nervous?

Or more like, doubtful.

"Ah o-of course I do," Mato said with a slight wave to her arm. "It's just like one of those anime I've seen where the emotions and feelings of the characters manifest and take a form to express themselves..."

'...no,' Rock sighed. 'You're pretty far off.'

'First off, I am not based on your emotions or feelings. I am not dependent on you nor are you dependent on me, we are separate beings and have our own different lives to live by... No offense Mato, but that sounds like a poorly done story line.'

"I-is that so?" Mato replied with a nervous laugh. Now she was starting to feel embarrassed...

'Well anyways,' Rock continued. 'Just consider me as a different person that is within you.'

"Ah yes, I understand that," Mato said as she stood up. "I have seen some anime like that where the characters get another soul inside them," she walked around before settling down on her chair. "It's just like you're my roommate."

'Uh yeah, I guess if you put it like that...' Rock trailed off. 'That's a fine interpretation I guess...'

Silence fell on the room as Rock remained quiet after that... or is it just silence in Mato's head?

Ah this is really confusing...

"So what has been happening while I wasn't around?" Mato asked. "Has there been anything new in school or something?"

Hopefully not too much...

Mato was thinking about all the subjects she had missed during her "absence".

Rock, however, interpreted it differently.

'Oh yeah, there's a new transfer student in your class?'

"Huh?" Mato snapped her head up in surprise. "There's someone new in our class?" she asked, forgetting all about her subjects. "Who is she?"

'Hmm. Her name was... Izuriha Kagari. She was also Yomi's friend in the past apparently.'

"Izuriha-san huh," Mato said, testing out the name. "I will have to act like I saw her already... what does she look like?"

'Well, the girl has long blonde messy hair and hazel colored eyes,' Rock replied. 'As for personality... it's a bit too soon to tell.'

"I see..." Mato tried to imagine her. "Eh, its like she's a foreigner, even though her name is Japanese?"

'She's Japanese as far as I know, if she and Yomi were childhood friends,' Rock pointed out. 'But she may have some foreign blood in her I guess.'

"Ah I guess that makes sense," Mato nodded. "So is there anyone else who's new?"

'Hmm... Oh, it seems that you have a stalker.'

"...what?"

'You have a stalker,' Rock repeated.

"HUH!? A stalker?" Mato said with a shrill voice as she grasped her head. "Ahhh, W-what do I do now?"

'Quiet down or you'll wake up,' Rock warned Mato, who quickly closed her mouth.

Mato had always dreamed of various anime scenarios to happen to her, but having a stalker wasn't one she thought of. Nor did she want one... right?

Well, it depends on what kind of stalker it is I guess, Mato thought. There are some stalkers with good intentions...

'Anyways,' Rock continued. 'Your stalker turned out to be the host of Black Gold Saw, or Gold as she prefers to go by now.'

"A host huh... so she's just like us," Mato nodded to herself, remembering Rock's words earlier. A "host" would be someone who is housing something or someone within her, just like Mato with Rock.

So that was my stalker, the one Gold-san was possessing earlier.

'Unlike us though, that girl doesn't know anything.' Rock said, interrupting Mato's thoughts. 'While keeping that girl in the dark, Gold is freely using that body to do whatever she wants.'

"I don't think she just does whatever she wants..." Mato trailed off as she felt a pair of eyes glaring at her.

'You don't know her like I do, Mato. She's one of the most wanted and dangerous person in our world and is very manipulative. You shouldn't trust her so easily without any good basis or else you'll just get used up in one of her grand schemes.'

"But didn't you trust her earlier?" Mato asked. "Even if its just a bit, and she did help us in the end..."

'She only helped us because she expects me to return the favor in the future. Also, I am quite capable of taking care of myself and I know her well. I didn't trust her completely.'

Rock's usual neutral tone had changed into a seething one once she started talking about Gold. Mato had expected this somewhat due to her earlier warning, but she didn't think it would anger her this much. It seemed like there was something really bad that happened between those two in the past...

Mato decided to change the subject.

"So, is there anything else about her host, my stalker?" she asked. "Like her name or personality?"

'...her name is Irino Saya,' Rock replied after a while. 'As for her personality, I don't really know since I just met her for a short time.'

"Irino Saya," Mato repeated the girl's name. It sounded a bit familiar, she had probably heard it somewhere once.

Silence reigned in the room as Mato fidgeted in her seat while Rock waited for her next question. Mato opened her mouth to say something when a yawn came out instead.

'...well that's enough for tonight I guess,' Rock said. 'You can ask me more tomorrow, for now you should sleep.'

"Y-yeah, your right," Mato agreed as she yawned again. Anymore questions could be put off for tomorrow.

She checked her clock to see it was almost midnight and then stood up to turn the lights off. After turning those off, she walked sleepily to her bed and nearly tumbled on it. Mato slipped into the covers and closed her eyes to sleep.

Seconds before she fell under though, a thought popped in her mind.

Damn, I forgot to ask her about my subjects.

Morning

"Ah, good morning, Mother," Mato quickly rushed forward to hug her mother.

"Oof, my my," Mana looked down. "Did something happen today for you to hug me like this, Mato?"

"I j-just feel like hugging you tightly right now," Mato replied with a slight tremble.

"...did you have a nightmare last night? Or," Mana said with a slight frown. "Were you watching depressing anime again?"

"Er, yeah, a nightmare I think..." Mato answered as she gave her mom a small smile before letting go. "I feel better now, ah and I don't want to talk about it...'

Mana looked at her daughter for a minute before turning back to her chores. "Well, if you're fine now it's alright," she said as she started clearing the dishes. "Take care of yourself in school, Mato."

"Don't worry, I will," Mato replied as she left the kitchen. "Bye bye, mother," she called out before closing their front door.

'You'll have to learn to control those at school, Mato,' Rock's voice drifted in her mind. 'It would be weird if you just start hugging everyone at school.'

"I know that," Mato replied back. "I just really missed my family after staying in that place..."

'You didn't do that for your little brother though,' Rock pointed out.

"Ruffling his hair is how I show my affection to him," Mato explained. "Also, I will only hug my friends and I'll just make up some reason if they wonder."

'Hmm. We'll see,' Rock said in a tone that implied otherwise.

Mato just shook her head at Rock's reply and continued walking forward with a smile.

She was now back in her world and with her loved ones. There were still some complicated stuff with having Rock inside her but that didn't bother her so much. There was the issue with Gold, but somehow Mato felt like the girl wasn't going to cause needless trouble.

All in all, things were looking good.

There should be no problems now, right?

Right.

I wonder if you guys got the reference I put up there...

I hope this is good enough guys, I got distracted over the summer so it came a bit later.

tell me your thoughts in your reviews.