Sonohara Anri was eleven when her parents died; her father, by her mother's hands, and her mother, by her mother's own.

Since then, she had closed off her heart, sealed her own emotions deep within herself, and lived her life with the belief that she would no longer be able to love anyone. Because if she allowed herself that sort of luxury – the privilege that other normal people had – then she would also have to accept the possibility that the people she'd dared to love could someday leave her behind like her parents once did. That the people she'd dared to love without the aid of the demon sword inhabiting her body may someday be subject to that very demon's own way of loving them if she wasn't careful. That she did not know how to love, and so it could take a potentially twisted spin and end in the same manner as her mother's did. That...

There were many reasons why Anri could not love other people, including herself. And ironically enough, it was because of this that she was able to absorb the essence of a demon and not fall prey to its sweet-sounding promises of love for the entirety of the human race. They worked well together, Anri would admit. She had lost the ability to love; Saika was capable of providing an all-encompassing and unconditional love. She watched the world as a series of picture frames, denying her own personal involvement in the world itself; Saika spread its love through direct contact with human skin and implanting a portion of itself into the humans it cut, an undeniable mark of its presence, in a sense a medium for her to interact the world with. She no longer viewed herself as human; Saika said it didn't hate her regardless.

In some ways, Anri would even say that Saika was more human than she was. She'd also say that, despite all their differences, they were rather similar. After all, neither of them could really live without humans, and they were both aware of this fact. And that was why she did not mind the demon's presence within her. Never questioning it, never paying it the attention it wanted, never using it when it begged her to.

Until she entered Raira Academy.

[We're here.]

"...Yes."

Anri gave a whisper of acknowledgement as she carefully slid off Shooter.

Celty tapped on the screen of her PDA.

[I don't want to force you into doing this, Anri-chan.]

The wielder of Saika understood what that meant.

"It's fine, Celty-san. I...want to do this." Then she raised her head slightly, looking straight into the visor where Celty's eyes could've been if the Dullahan had them. "I won't back down...not when something this horrible is happening."

Celty regarded her for a moment, then kept the device and nodded silently. Thereafter she cloaked the both of them, as well as Shooter and the supposedly dead Izaya who were both parked somewhere inconspicuous, with a shadow blanket, snuck past the security guard at the main entrance of the university when his back was turned, and pulled the shadow back into herself only when she was certain that they were out of sight of anyone in the vicinity. The Dullahan then took out her PDA and kept its screen lit as she led the way around the campus to reach the area allocated to the Arts and Social Sciences faculty according to the directions provided.

As it was just slightly past one in the afternoon, there weren't that many students wandering about the lecture theatres and classrooms, which made it easier for Celty and Anri to find their destination without attracting too much unnecessary attention. Deciding that taking the lift could make their presence noticed, the pair headed for the stairs instead, and hurriedly climbed up to the second floor.

Celty pushed the door open.

"Ahh, you've finally arrived."

—and promptly slammed it shut when a complete stranger immediately greeted them.

Instinctively, Anri stepped back, being careful not to accidentally fall backwards and down the stairs, as Celty started forging her scythe from the streams of black flowing from the openings of her sleeves. At the same time, the man they had never met before opened the door slowly, and raised a casual, friendly hand with a suspiciously sweet smile on his stubby, angular face.

"Relax, dears. I'm on your side," he said, though it didn't serve to convince Celty and Anri any. His voice was like the weaving threads of silk through a mill, and possessed a similar quality as the waters flowing down a stream from a mountain spring, the kind of voice that one could only otherwise describe as jaded and profound. And the owner of said voice matched it almost perfectly: smooth, silvery hair with a slight golden sheen, a beard that was growing and enough for him to stroke, and faint wrinkles around his squinted eyes and the thin edges of his lips.

He was also dressed in a plain, long-sleeved shirt and tie and pants. Normal clothes that any working male would wear. Upon closer inspection, he looked very much like a faculty member of the university. A professor, most likely; one whom apparently knew their purpose in coming here.

Celty had been staring at him. Then, with a swing of her arms, the scythe that was in the middle of being moulded disappeared in a cloud of smoke as she brought out her PDA. [How do we know we can trust you?]

"Easy there, Headless Rider-san. No need to get all uptight," the elderly man chuckled, addressing the Dullahan as though she were like a wild animal to be tamed. "In any case, I didn't expect you or Sonohara-chan to trust me at our first meeting. Even I'm aware that that's a ridiculous notion to believe in. Well, anyway, I was asked by a close friend to assist you in your current mission. Which, if I remember correctly, has something to do with the peculiar fog that has set in?"

Celty's shoulders squared. [...And where did you hear that from, exactly?]

"Like I said, a close friend who wants to remain unseen at the moment. I believe they even told you that revealing their sources would be too telling about their identity, and to just settle for the fact that they had their way around technology." The professor's smile widened. "Because they once told me the same thing."

While Celty quietly assessed the man who had claimed to be an ally, Anri simply tuned out of the exchange as she always did, leaving Saika as her eyes and only firm attachment to the reality she detached from on reflex. She could feel the demon swimming inside her, coiling around her entire being like there was a serpent slithering from within. It almost seemed that Saika was...squirming, somewhat. It had been doing so since Celty approached her earlier, actually, but the intensity of the struggle seemed to have grown when the elderly man made his surprise greeting.

Almost…like the time Anri confronted Izaya.

But it wasn't to the same degree, when Anri reflected on it. No, instead it felt more like...when those two people dropped by the classroom the other day, asking Mikado about the town and televisions. Rather than being repulsed or disgusted, like Saika felt for Izaya, it was unsettled and even distressed, as though the man standing before them was a threat Saika needed to get away from. Anri wasn't sure if she should be concerned about that.

[What do you think, Anri-chan?]

"Eh?" Anri was shocked out of her stupor when she noticed the screen before her eyes.

[Are you okay with trusting this man?] Celty typed.

Anri kept her eyes on the screen, then slowly shifted her head to the side to steal a glimpse of the stranger, felt the demon sword curl into itself, and returned her attention to the device.

"I...don't know."

[I see. Okay.] Celty then erased the message, and quickly wrote up another as she turned and showed the elderly man the screen of her PDA. [I'm sorry, as convincing as you may sound, I think neither of us is entirely comfortable with you just yet. But we'll listen to what you have to say, at least.]

The professor chortled. "I wasn't expecting any less. In fact, that happens to be the form of assistance I've been told to offer you with. Come with me for a moment."

As the man stepped back, he released his hold on the door handle, and the door swung back and forth for a bit. The visor of Celty's helmet met with Anri's eyes. Then, with a reassuring nod, the Dullahan was the first to step forward, and pushed on the door. She exited the stairway first, and left the door open with enough space for Anri to then follow, but not without some wariness and hesitation on her part.

"Tell me," the professor spoke, right at the moment Anri entered the hallway, "what do you see?"

Celty and Anri looked around for a few seconds. "...Notice boards," the bespectacled girl said, making sure to control her stuttering even though she could not entirely keep the shakiness out of her voice. "Posters... Classrooms... And lecture theatres...?"

It was her first time seeing those, she realised. She had heard about how different the university system worked from what she was used to, mainly about how universities conducted lectures, which sounded like a large-scale version of how teachers taught in school. It made sense for such lectures, which were meant to be delivered to a big group of students, to be held in specially designated places designed for that purpose, but looking at the lecture theatres here, it was hard to say if they could really fit that many people.

In particular, the one on the right appeared remarkably small compared to the lecture theatre on the left.

The silver-haired man nodded, stroking his beard. "Anything about those lecture theatres that strikes you as odd or unusual?"

[Not...exactly, no. Other than the one on the right looking a lot smaller.]

"I see," he mumbled, sounding mildly disappointed. Though what he said next indicated nothing of that. "Then you have indeed come to the right place. Congratularions to the both of you, as well as Orihara-kun. I suppose it is my former student's good fortune to have you as his acquaintances."

"Former...student?" As soon as the words left Anri's lips, Celty had typed out the exact same thing, echoing her. But neither made mention of the later half of the comment.

"Orihara-kun, I mean," the professor clarified, wearing a somewhat weary, yet pleased, smile. "He might not have attended most of my lessons, but I have quite the fondness for him, you see. Never have I ever had a student like him...though, it seems I've recently come across one who comes very close. Ah, but please don't tell other people I said that. It's a little embarrassing."

[Well that's, um... I'm not sure if I should be saying this, but your fondness might be a little misplaced.]

"Hah hah! I was expecting that kind of response. Well, rest assured that you have nothing to worry about, Headless Rider-san. Though a form of fondness it may be, it doesn't mean I turn a blind eye to the things he's done. I term it 'fondness', but, really, it's simply a word describing how I feel about getting under Orihara-kun's skin. It's so fun teasing and poking him and seeing how he would react. It's even funnier when he tries to keep up that facade of respect around me when it's so obvious that he's annoyed. Mocking him used to be a pastime of mine, when he was still an undergraduate here."

[...Honestly that makes me even more concerned.] Celty showed this only to Anri, who found herself agreeing with the Dullahan. It was a good thing that the professor seemed satisfied with his current way of life, unlike his favourite student who couldn't seem to have enough.

"Anyway that's all in the past," the man continued, apparently unaware of the message that Celty had typed for Anri to see. "Essentially what I was trying to say is, it'd be a pity to lose Orihara-kun just like that. A lot of people will certainly disagree with me, but I don't think he's that toxic of an existence to the city. If anything, I'd say he's more of...a double-edged sword. One that people have no other alternative but to use when the situation demands it yet are more than happy to discard and live their lives without since it hurts them in the process. You've probably been pushed to a situation where you had to rely on him at some point, so you know what I mean."

Anri couldn't speak for Celty, but she understood to some extent. Even though she didn't exactly rely on him per se, she did have the intention to turn him into a child of Saika after knowing how much of a threat he was to the overall peace and stability of Ikebukuro. If she were to put it in another way, she had once tried to make use of him in order to extract information from him and to keep him at bay if she needed to, but she had failed and only received biting remarks and a war declaration in the end, making even Saika repulsed and uncomfortable. It was like she had reached out to a double-edged sword but dropped it the moment she touched and got cut by it and never tried to pick it up again. Anri had never really thought of it that way before, but when she did, she could sort of see where the professor was coming from.

Ultimately, though, she would still say that the man was more of a poison to the town; the benefits that he offered were most certainly outweighed by the upheavals and harm he caused. Besides, he could create trouble as and when he wanted to, not just under certain circumstances. And without regard for the safety and well-being of other people, too. Even two high school students who had been trying to lead normal lives were not spared.

The mere thought reminded Anri of the feeling she had when she went to meet Izaya that night, with the purpose and intention of leaving Saika's mark on him.

[I suppose.] was all Celty offered to say about the matter, before she moved on to the main issue at hand. [Is there anything else we ought to know?]

"Ah right, right." The professor hummed to himself as he spent a moment or two thinking about it. "The place you're looking for is on the right. Lecture Theatre 21, I believe. Not that I know for sure, since it's supposed to be non-existent. But, since you can see it, it must be the place my friend instructed me to direct you towards. That's all I have for you, I think."

[Thank you very much.] Anri also followed up with a word of gratitude of her own. The elderly man chuckled and raised a hand in a slow wave.

"No need for thanks. In fact, I should be the one thanking you two for taking it upon yourselves to save Ikebukuro. As well as Orihara-kun, of course. But I'm sure the overall safety of the city and her inhabitants is far more important than the life of one man."

[That's not...] In her peripheral vision, Anri could see Celty pause mid-sentence, delete it, and re-type a new message. [Well... You're not entirely wrong.]

"Right? As much as I adore a student like Orihara-kun, I wouldn't go to such an extent to bring him back. Especially not when he's brought this upon himself. Indirectly, of course. As much as he may desire detaching himself from the world and watching people from another plane, he doesn't strike me as someone who would wish for his own existence to be erased. That's a little extreme. But, I guess that just means that our dear flashy villain loves going to the extremes!"

[...Wait just how much did your friend tell you?!]

"Oopsie, I must've said too much. Old age does that to you, regrettably." The professor's shoulders shook as he laughed heartily, holding his stomach with one hand and supporting his back with the other. After he calmed down, he walked towards them, causing Anri to flinch and step back slightly. With a wink and a smile that showed his uneven teeth, he disappeared down the hallway, but not before leaving them with a few more words: "Well then, best of luck to the two of you. Oh and, when my favourite student awakens, tell him that my friend is glad to see him reborn. He'll know what that means, apparently."

[Wait—] Celty had typed, but before she could show the professor her completed message, he was already gone from their sight, as quickly and suddenly as he had appeared before them.

As if on cue, Saika started to loosen up, and resumed its usual whispers of love that Anri naturally ignored as she looked up to Celty and asked, "Celty-san... Is there something else you needed to ask him?"

[...Yes, actually. I only realised it just now.] The Dullahan wrote, slowly and with staggering heaviness. When she finished typing, and showed Anri the screen of her PDA, the bespectacled girl drew in a sharp breath as Saika momentarily recoiled again.

[Why...is he unaffected by the fog in the first place?]

Somehow, Anri had a feeling that she should know the answer.

Not long after, Celty and Anri found themselves in the company of yet another strange, old man with an appearance and tone of voice that were much more disconcerting than that of the professor they had met earlier.

"Welcome," this new stranger drawled, craning his head in their direction. He wore an unnaturally wide grin that nearly reached his ears, which were somewhat long and pointed, not unlike those of elves, goblins or imps that were common in fantasy novels. His nose was probably the most outstanding feature, however, being so long and simply not looking like a nose at all that it wouldn't be surprising if he turned out to be non-human.

Saika had also gone deathly silent and motionless the moment Anri met those bloodshot eyes, something that had never happened before in her entire time being the wielder of the demon-possessed blade, and that in itself was enough to send a chill down Anri's spine.

"Please, do not be anxious," the man said each and every word as slowly and carefully as possible. "This realm lies between waking and the unconscious, far removed from the world from which you came, yet not as distant as one might believe it to be. I am Igor, one who has been tasked to serve as a guide to all guests who enter this realm. How may I be of service to you?"

Celty, not entirely sure of how to proceed herself, settled for typing out a message on her PDA, only to tilt her head in confusion as she slapped the device repeatedly on her palm and shook it when nothing seemed to be happening.

"Technology brought in from the reality you dwell in does not function here in the Velvet Room," Igor informed politely while maintaining that same, slightly inhuman smile on his face.

Celty's whole being froze for a moment before she started flailing her arms about in what Anri could recognise as random hand gestures, supposedly to convey whatever she had wanted to say to the man named Igor through them. When Igor did not reply, and simply continued to send that smile in their way, Celty walked up the steps of the platform and repeated her gestures while Anri hurriedly followed.

"I-I think, what Celty-san means to say i-is..." Anri offered to help, hoping she could set Celty at ease.

When the high schooler finished explaining – though not without fumbling over some words especially when the man's gaze seemed to twinkle or harden at the mention of them, his reaction varying depending on the words themselves – Igor gave out a hollow, yet amused, chuckle, which sounded more like he was gasping for air, while leaning forward and rubbing his gloved hands against each other.

"It seems that fate has called the both of you here," he murmured. "The work of an entity, it might be, but the common destiny and hopes shared by mankind continue to stand against it. This must be a sign of the events that are about to unfold. Truly, for nothing meaningless happens in this room..."

"Does...does that mean you are able to help?" Anri voiced Celty's concerns aloud.

"To the best of my ability," Igor confirmed. "But, I cannot interfere with the cogs of fate. If, by a stroke of misfortune, the person you are seeking to save has already lost all ties he has with your reality...there is no other service I can offer to you. I can only lend my assistance in my capacity as a guide, but nothing more than that."

[That's good enough—whoa wait what is this?!]

As if on reflex, Celty took a step back when she noticed her shadows slipping out from her sleeves and forming words in the "air", an occurrence that had Anri mildly startled as well. Hesitantly, the Dullahan reached out for the thick, black lines and, with a twirl of her finger, wrapped them together and then dispersed them out to form new words.

[I didn't know I can do that?!]

"W-well, isn't that great then, Celty-san? Now you can talk to other people in case your PDA doesn't work o-or you don't have pen and paper around?" Anri said, trying to sound comforting.

It seemed to work, for Celty's shoulders sunk a little as though she were heaving a sigh. [Y-yeah, you're right Anri-chan... But still, I wish I could've realised it sooner.] Then, with a stiff wave of her hand, Celty again brought the shadows and had them enveloping her palm before she sent them out to create another message meant for Igor to see. [Anyway, um, as I was saying... Yes, that's good enough, really. I might not like Izaya all that much, but...I still can't just leave him to die. It...doesn't seem fair for his life to end in this manner, especially not when it might be dragging the rest of the city into it. So if there's a way to prevent that, I'll do whatever I can, even if it may end up in failure.]

"Excellent," said Igor. "Now then, let us begin. Allow me to first consult the cards on the path that awaits you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in the formal, black Western suit stretched his right arm out and made a slow sweep across the round table placed in front of him. What appeared like cards manifested along with his gesture, laid out in a particular arrangement that neither Celty nor Anri recognised, facing flat-down. There were four cards placed horizontally in a straight line right in front of Igor, and six more that were closer to the opposite edge of the table that Celty and Anri stood at, with two of them placed and overlapping at right angles to each other while the remaining four encircled them.

"Do you believe in fortune-telling?" Igor asked, his voice filled with deep wonder and arcane curiosity as he gently placed his hand over the card right in the centre, partially covered by another lying on top of it. "Though the appearance of the cards themselves largely remain unchanged over time, the message contained within them is never quite the same. Let us now see what they wish to say about your current predicament."

Seemingly intrigued, Celty inched closer to have a look as Igor tenderly pulled the card out and flipped it over. And though Anri wouldn't claim to place much – if any – faith in things like fortune-telling, she, too, bent forward nonetheless, and was greeted by a glittering mosaic of a golden wheel against a green background elegantly painted on the surface of the card.

"The Wheel of Fortune, in its upright position." As Igor spoke, he withdrew his hand to rest his nose against it. "This card can mean many things. It whispers and breathes of the wealth and exuberant fortune surrounding you, yet it also warns of the abysmal luck that is sure to follow, like the spin of the wheel of fate in a neverending cycle. What goes up must eventually come down... For the card to be in this position, it means to inform that the shift in fate is currently being felt or experienced not only by yourself, but also for the rest of your hometown."

Celty and Anri did not make any comment on the accuracy of the reading, and simply continued to watch and listen as Igor flipped the card that was once lying on top of the Fortune card.

"The Moon, in its upright position. This card refers to illusions and trickery, deceptions and mysteries... I see."

[...? What does it mean in this case?]

"An obstacle in your path," Igor said, his smile unwavering. "From what you have described of your situation, it may be referring to the fog that is shrouding your town. The Moon may even be impeding on the Wheel's spin, slowing down its wondrous energies as well as the changes it promises for the reality from which you came... Or, it can be interpreted as the very object serving as a catalyst for the changes offered by Fate, the combined energies of the two cards culminating in the predicament of your hometown. However, I must say that even the true meaning itself may be shrouded in mystery... How very intriguing."

Celty considered those words for a moment before waving out another question. [Will removing this...Moon return Ikebukuro back to normal?]

"It might, or it might not," Igor replied cryptically. "The shared purpose of these cards is to bring certain messages to your attention in order to guide you in making the final decision. They are not set in stone, and are all still subject to change, depending on the choices you will make."

Before Celty or Anri could then question the usefulness of such a consultation, Igor continued, "Understanding what the cards are saying can shed more light on the matter than you can possibly imagine. They give you a glimpse, not only into the underlying forces driving the present, but also—" He paused to flip the card below the Moon and the Wheel of Fortune, revealing another mosaic pattern depicting a building struck and destroyed by lightning. "—into the near future."

"The future...?"

"...Ahh, the Tower," Igor said, excitement creeping into his voice. "The divine destruction of external structures, an imminent catastrophe that may strike at any time... It seems that what awaits you after the resolution of the current problem is an unavoidable disaster that has the potential to destroy all that you hold dear."

"A d-disaster?" As Anri recoiled away from the table momentarily, she could feel Saika stirring from within her.

[Do you mean to say that it's only going to get worse, no matter what we do now?] Celty asked, the shadows used to form the words trembling slightly.

"Perhaps," said Igor. "Though it can also mean that a change is upon you and your home, one that is devastating but necessary. Important secrets, for example, may be forced to be brought to light, and facing them might cause you to waver...but, it is vital that you do not lose hope."

While describing his insight and predictions to the two visitors before him, Igor went for the card to the right of the Wheel of Fortune and the Moon, turning it over for Celty and Anri to see. It was a simple illustration of a star with a smiling face against a gradient of blue and purple.

Then, without going into the meaning behind that card like he had for the previous ones, the long-nosed man reached for the leftmost card of the four that had been placed in a straight line. It depicted a shadowy figure standing on one foot with the other leg behind it, with ripples of yellow and white and rings of thorns as the backdrop.

"The reversed Hanged Man, as the card that most accurately describes yourself, or the attitudes that you may bear about the present," Igor said. "Refusal to surrender, an unwilling heart to make the necessary sacrifices... It is best that you pay careful attention to this message, more so than the other cards."

[Um... Why so?]

"While the cards in their reversed positions may signify negative connotations to normally positive meanings, sometimes they are not so straightforward. Especially in a reading such as the one I am giving you, it might be a warning that you need to be – but are not aware of – the sacrifices in your lives that you are strongly encouraged to make in order to reap the benefits awaiting you. What these may be, I do not know. That is something only you can determine on your own. And when you do..."

Igor paused to reach for the rightmost card, and flipped it over. His perpetual grin sunk further into the point where his face and his earlobes met.

"...well. It seems that you can achieve anything."

A lone, shadowy figure carrying a travelling sack across his shoulder.

When Igor recalled the cards with another sweeping gesture, Celty wrote in the air, [What about the other cards? Why didn't you say something about them, or even show them at all?]

"There is a time for everything," was all Igor said.

[But you even went to the extent of showing us the future. That's plenty revealing enough, unless the other cards are—]

"Indeed," Igor gently interrupted. "While the messages of those cards would surely be beneficial to you, there is, ultimately, no meaning in knowing everything related to your path at this juncture. Relinquish your anxieties, cast aside all doubts... Let your destiny take its course. You will find out what the other cards mean in due time."

Celty didn't seem entirely convinced, but didn't probe further and slowly nodded.

Following this, Igor held out one of his gloved hands. "Now then... The cards have given you a glimpse into your current situation as well as the future that awaits you. Do you still wish to carry on with this path?"

[Yes, of course.] Celty answered without hesitation.

"And how about you?" Igor then asked Anri, who didn't follow Celty's example.

"...I'll do it," the wielder of Saika answered, but clearly not as confident as the Dullahan had been. "It's just...the disaster..."

"Ahh," Igor breathed in seemingly kind understanding, folding his hands and letting his fingers intertwine together again. "But do not forget. As the cards have shown you, there is still hope even in the darkest of times. Sometimes, such disasters are necessary in order for renewal to be possible."

"I-I know," Anri said.

[But renewal...in what sense?]

Igor's smile was both reassuring and unsettling. "It hasn't happened yet, but when it does, you will know." Then, before Celty or Anri could say anything else, he continued, stretching out his hand again, "Now then, are you ready to embrace your future?"

Anri looked over to Celty, who had turned to face her at around the same time, and nodded despite the uneasiness that had settled to the bottom of her gut ever since Igor had predicted the imminent disaster that was destined to happen. The man's words of positivity did nothing to alleviate her worries, and only served to make her all the more anxious for what would happen to Ikebukuro – to her friends, in particular, who would no doubt be involved in this danger. Her first instinct, however, was to withdraw; to retreat into her world of picture frames. It would be too much, if something unthinkable did happen, and nothing she did now could prevent it.

But, that would be selfish.

As Mikado once said to her, when she had confessed that she was only using Mika for her own purposes and didn't want to get involved in a personal friendship with her, Anri was being selfish. Back then, and even now, as she agreed to help Celty. It wasn't to lighten Celty's burden or for a noble cause like saving Ikebukuro from the fog. Not entirely. Anri had agreed only because Mikado and Masaomi were involved, and the last time she decided to ignore whatever was happening to them almost ended terribly. That was when she realised:

She didn't want to lose them, because she needed them. And now that she did, she wanted to get them back.

Ultimately it was a selfish motive, no matter how she looked at it. But that was her way of life, and it had always been so since she was eleven.

So Anri nodded and then brought Saika's blade out into the open, despite her concerns about the fraught-filled future awaiting them. She knew that, even with what she was going to do, it wasn't going to be the end of her involvement in whatever was happening to Ikebukuro, but for her own selfish reasons, she wasn't going to hide behind her picture frames anymore. At least, not until she could be sure that nothing was going to happen to Mikado and Masaomi.

"Excellent," Igor complimented, sounding like he was purring as Anri faced him with bright red eyes. "With a demon as your ally – and one with a connection, at that – I have faith that you will do marvellously."

"A...connection?" Anri murmured with a cautious edge to her voice. Even with Saika's physical form in her hands, the demon itself was being strangely quiet, but seemed to moan a little when Igor mentioned the word.

"All in due time," Igor said. "Now... Your task has been made quite simple, thankfully, due to the nature of this realm. Simply concentrate on the sword in your hands, and imagine it dissolving into fragments and scattering all around you. Considering the nature of your demon ally, that shouldn't be too difficult to achieve."

Saika didn't seem particularly fond of that idea, but Anri fought back its squirms and did as Igor instructed. First, she stared hard at the katana, until the extensive and endless splash of blue in the room started to blur, and then she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tried to shut out all her other thoughts and focus on visualising what Igor had described.

"Well done," she could hear the ragged elation in the man's voice as he spoke, and Anri almost snapped her eyes open when it made her realise that Saika's weight had mysteriously vanished from her hands. "As for the next step...try to imagine all of those dispersed particles coming back together, reforging the sword. As you do so, think back to the situation your reality is in, imagine that there are similar particles that have been spread throughout the realm, and draw those back in, as well. Keeping in mind that your end result is the same sword, nothing more than that."

Anri could feel herself giving a nod, and attempted to follow the instructions as closely and precisely as she could. In her mind's eye, she saw Ikebukuro, saw the fog that enveloped it and the sparkling red particles like dust concentrated in the mist, saw people walking and working and simply leading ordinary lifestyles completely unaware of the fog's presence. She saw Mikado and Masaomi, chatting among themselves cheerfully and without worry, with red particles dancing about in their eyes and glistening as though they were mocking the boys and the other townspeople for their sheer ignorance of their existence.

Anri pulled.

Her body immediately gave a slight jerk as some kind of force kicked her in the gut, which elicited a gasp when she felt herself shuddering. There were voices, she realised, voices she didn't recognise roaring and blaring into her ears, making her heart thump wildly against her chest and her fingers and toes tingle. It was far worse than any of Saika's usual hushed ramblings of love or inhuman shrieks of cutting and carving its love into other people.

Another gasp left her lips without her intending to when they pressed against her from within, forcing her to her knees.

Anri felt hands on her shoulders, trying to pull her up. She didn't need to open her eyes and see who they belonged to, but she tried opening them nonetheless. Only to find that she couldn't. It was like her eyes had been sealed shut, and nothing she did could pry them open.

"It's okay..."

Her breathing stilled when she heard a distinct voice, clearer than any of the others drumming against her head, murmur to her as though it were humming.

"It's okay... You don't have to be afraid anymore... I'm here, I'm here..."

"Who are...you...?" Anri strained to reply, but she was beginning to doubt if that had even been spoken aloud in the first place.

"It matters not who I am, just that I am here now... So you don't have to be scared anymore."

The other voices started to become more and more distant as the more this one spoke, yet it still sounded as if there were at least two voices – one male, one female – whispering into her ears. The ripples of pain that accompanied the sudden rush of the voices were still difficult to ignore, and in fact seemed to intensify when most of the voices faded into the back of her head.

'I'm not here... I'm not here...' she told herself, over and over, a habit of hers that she had learned to rely on ever since the day a drunken man's punches and kicks became part of her past everyday life.

"That's right, my dear Anri-chan, you're not. And now you have me. Leave this to me, and everything will be fine. Just go to sleep...and fall into blissful ignorance."

Even though she hadn't the faintest idea who it was that had been talking to her, Anri was inclined to believe their words, and continued retreating further and further into her world of picture frames and distant voices. But just as the pain was on the brink of disappearing, a violent shake startled her back into reality, with everything slamming right into her all over again. Her eyelids flew open, and she came face-to-face with a familiar yellow helmet, its visor staring back at her.

"C-Celty-san...what—"

[Don't.] The Dullahan was writing, but Anri's body was shaking so badly she could barely make out what the words were. [Don't you dare give in, Anri-chan. Remember, that thing is just like Saika. If you listen to it, what will become of you? What would become of Mikado, or Masaomi-kun?]

Anri's eyes widened slightly. Vague memories of lunches on the school rooftop, outings to various places in Ikebukuro, and unproductive study sessions in the library surfaced in her mind, fighting against the multitude of voices that attempted to screech them away but to no avail.

"Wh-what..."

[You can't give in, Anri-chan. How would Mikado and Masaomi-kun feel if that happened? They need you as much as you do them. And Mika-chan... The way Mika-chan is right now, she needs you, too. And me, Shinra, Shizuo, Akane-chan... If anything happened to you, how do you think we'll all feel?]

"I..." Anri drew in a shaky breath, pushing down on the internal storm that had been going on a rampage. "I was... I am..."

[Stay strong, Anri-chan. I'm so sorry you have to go through this, and I'm so sorry for what I'm about to say, but I know you can pull through. I know you can do it. That's why I knew I could rely on you to help me.]

Anri froze at that, or at least she'd tried to, but she couldn't stop the spasms that her body was being forced to experience.

'Celty-san...is depending on me.' That was the first thought that distinctly flashed in her mind, amidst all the chaos. 'Everyone is...depending on me. Me...who has been relying on them all this time…because I can't live on my own.'

With her emotions crippled and pushed aside, she knew she couldn't live a normal human life. That was why she had to rely on other people, to make use of them so that they could live out the human aspects of her life for her own sake. Even Saika was merely one of her many tools just to get by.

Yet those people...had been relying on her, too. Even though some of them knew who she was, and how she was like as a person, they still wanted her around. That was something Anri still couldn't fathom to this day, and she wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know the reasons at all in the first place.

But, those kinds of people existed. That was all she needed to know.

'I...can't love myself,' she thought, lowering her scarlet gaze to the blue carpeted floor. 'But there are people...who accept me. There are people...who don't doubt me.'

"And there are people like me, Anri-chan. People who accept, trust, and love you. I love you, I love you..."

'I believe you,' Anri replied. 'I know...you didn't mean anything bad when you told me...to ignore everything that's happening. You just didn't want me to be in any pain...like how I don't want to be.'

"That's right... Because you don't have to. You don't have to go through pain, or suffering. Humans don't have to feel the pain of facing themselves. As long as you all turn your eyes away and ignore it, you won't feel anything but happiness. Isn't that what you humans want...? Isn't that what people have been looking for? I can provide it... I can provide the happiness that humans need. You just have to turn to me...just look to me for help...and forget it all."

'Maybe so, but...' Anri paused, and looked at her hands, palms open wide in front of her. 'But... If I... If we ignore everything for our own selfish reasons, there's nothing we're actually happy about.'

"No, there is, there is... If you just listen to me, you'll see, you'll understand..."

Anri shook her head sadly.

"You really are...just like Saika."

The voices fell silent as the blade reformed in her hands.

Sonohara Anri was eleven when her parents died; her father, by her mother's hands, and her mother, by her mother's own.

Ever since then, she had closed off all her emotions, pretending they never existed, and learned to rely on other people in order to survive. In that regard, she wasn't much different from any other parasite, and she knew it was a despicable way to live. But to her, it was necessary.

She had even learned to rely on a demon to love other people on her behalf, knowing fully well that she was incapable of doing so herself, and that this demon's form of love was something far beyond the universally accepted definition of the word. Her mindset had changed, though, after entering Raira Academy and, more specifically, meeting two particular people there. Or to be even more precise, she had met them in the streets of Ikebukuro, on the first day of school, and things were never quite the same since then.

Sonohara Anri was fifteen when she met them, sixteen when they nearly disappeared entirely from her life, and seventeen when she lost and then brought them back. Along with another entity that wasn't exactly human now taking up residence within her body, fused together with the demon that she has had with her since she was eleven when her parents died.

"...You know," Yosuke said, breaking the silence, "you and Marie-chan really should get to know one another one of these days. I think she'd love to meet you."

Anri smiled, and said that she would consider it.

A/N: Remember when I said Souji's weird professor has no role in the story? ...Yup, I was lying. XD

On a side note, so much foreshadowing in this chapter...! I had so much fun dropping all those hints haha especially the entirety of Igor's fortune-telling. I have no idea if I'm going on the right track with the symbolism/meaning behind the tarot cards, though; I only based it off my own interpretation of the cards and what I read on the Internet :x Oh, that particular card arrangement is the Celtic Cross, by the way. I chose it for no other reason than the word 'Celtic' in it, haha.

As always, thank you for reading Gameplay! :)