Tenri couldn't recall how long she had been staring into the mirror before a shimmering light at the corner of her eyes drew her attention back to her surroundings.
"You've been looking at that mirror for a while now, Tenri. Is something the matter?"
Diana's voice held a trace of concern, but that was hardly as noticeable as the way her question reverberated through the bathroom. The unearthly ring, usually subdued, had a way of resonating with the closed walls and falling just short of an echo. It was one of the reasons Tenri enjoyed talking with Diana in the bath.
Tenri looked away from the mirror and switched off the faucet, just as the mass of bubbles came close enough for her to feel little puffs of air on her chin as they slowly subsided. She blew lightly on them, almost expecting a sharp pip, but the foam just flew up and away from her, with a small clump landing on her nose.
"Ne, Diana, do you think...I should cut my bangs?" Tenri turned her attention back to the mirror, except this time she could see Diana's faint silhouette sitting on the bathtub's edge in a white, barely translucent nightgown. Tenri's ribbons rested neatly on her school uniform, and her braids were coiled neatly on top of her head under a light towel. But her eyes still hid behind the thick bangs she had worn since childhood.
From the glint of light in the mirror, Tenri knew Diana's answer. "I have thought of suggesting that myself," she replied, "though I'm surprised you mentioned it before I did. Surely, then, this has something to do with Katsuragi-san?"
Tenri pulled her head up so quickly that it collided with the faucet head, causing her to wince. "W-Well, I just thought it might be a nice change..."
"You know Tenri," Diana continued relentlessly, "You are seventeen now, and - as revolting as it sounds to me - perhaps you should consider using your charms against Katsuragi. From what I can gather watching TV, they seem to be very effective on modern men, especially at your age."
Tenri was washing her arms when the comment finally registered, prompting her to drop them back into the water with a splash. "Those are TV dramas you're talking about, Diana! I'd never be able to pull off something like that!" Tenri almost shouted at the mirror.
But she scolded Diana mostly out of habit, and once she got over the initial shock, Tenri slid herself deeper into the water up to her neck. She cupped some bubbles in her hands before folding her arms up against her chest, and she managed to softly continue, "And besides, I doubt Keima-kun is the kind of person to care too much about those kinds of things anyway..."
She could feel Diana's scoff in the back of her mind. "The man chases after real girls during the day and imaginary girls at night. Not only is he lecherous scum, but he's delusional, too."
Tenri raised her feet above the water, wiggling her toes in the foam. "I don't think that's the reason Keima-kun plays games, though." Tenri tried to recall Keima's expression when he was methodically pressing buttons at superhuman speed. Beyond the ecstatic elation and off-color giggles, there was something else that made Tenri almost want to cheer him on. Tenri continued, "I think...that all Keima-kun wants to do at the end is to make everyone happy - whether they're real or not - in the only way he knows how."
But by now, Tenri was talking more to herself than Diana, so Diana moved her attention back to Tenri's bangs. "So, Tenri, how do you plan to cut your bangs? The last time your mom took you to the hair salon, you had your eyes closed the entire visit and you were crying by the end of it."
Tenri blushed lightly in embarrassment. "Diana, that was five years ago! I was scared people would see you in all those mirrors, and the hair dresser was asking me so many questions I got confused answering her..."
"Well, Diana slowly declared, "Something this simple wouldn't require a hair dresser anyway." From her devious expression, Diana seemed to be concocting one of her forceful plans again. But to Tenri's relief, this one was fairly innocuous. "How about I do it for you? I used to cut my my sister Minerva's hair all the time, so I have some skill with a pair of scissors." Diana was able to color even such a mundane claim with her usual pride. "And it looks like I have finer control of your hands now that you've managed to work out some of your problems with Katsuragi."
Tenri considered Diana's offer with some hesitation before agreeing. "T-then, I guess I'm counting on you, Diana." Tenri made a move to drain the bathtub, but Diana stopped her. "Before you do that, Tenri...since we did just move into a new house...I guess I'll try out our new bath - a-after all, it does look rather pleasant." Diana recovered quickly from her blush. "I'll let you know when I'm done."
When Tenri came to, she was again in front of a mirror, only she was standing in her room, which except for her bed was virtually empty in anticipation of the moving tomorrow. Tenri smiled when she saw Diana's work - it was a very subtle change, with her now-visible eyes being the only notable difference.
In almost a whisper, Tenri asked Diana, "Do...you think Keima-kun would notice?" But when she heard no response after a few seconds, she realized Diana had fallen asleep. From the time, Tenri could guess Diana had stayed in the bath for at least another half hour. Tenri could still remember how much baths used to tire her out, even up to middle school.
Tenri turned off the lights and climbed into bed, practicing her re-introduction to Keima tomorrow. "My name is Ayukawa, and I've moved in next door...Please treat me well..." But she didn't even get to her third iteration before falling asleep.