"I want to be able to control my power. I want to be stronger..."

Celty listened to the blonde as he vented his frustration at his lack of control. In a sense, she could relate to Shizuo's plight. Both of them were outcasts of society, looked upon with fear because of their strange abilities and appearance.

"Sorry for the rant," Shizuo apologized once he finished.

The headless woman simply waved it off. "It's fine," she typed. "Would it be alright if I got something off my chest as well?"

Shizuo nodded, lifting a newly lit cigarette to his lips.

"I've been avoiding Haruka lately. The last time I was with her, that day I left her with you, she didn't act like herself and it really spooked me. I was determined to just keep avoiding her because I was afraid of her, but yesterday someone made me realize something: I'm treating Haruka like everyone treats me. Because of that one incident, I just started treating her like she was some kind of monster. And I feel awful about it.

"I know what it's like to be viewed that way, and yet here I am treating a friend like that. Even with what she did, she's still the same Haruka that teases me. The same Haruka that falls asleep out of nowhere. The same Haruka that didn't bat an eye when she found out what I was. She just bluntly said that we were friends and that what I was didn't matter. She accepted me just like that. You have no idea how happy that made me feel. So if she could accept me and everything that comes with being friends with me, why did I so easily push her away? I'm a horrible friend."Celty's shoulders slumped the more she thought about it. "It makes me feel even worse knowing that when I see her again and apologize, she'll wave it off and act like I didn't treat her terribly."

Shizuo exhaled, a trail of smoke escaping from his lips. "I haven't seen her much since then either. I think she's avoiding me. She probably thinks I'm scared of what I saw that day. She must be as stupid as she acts."

Celty's helmet tilted slightly. "So you noticed as well? That she puts on an act?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that she's trying to hide something with that stupid little act of hers," Shizuo huffed, snuffing out the cigarette under his shoe. "It's just a matter of what."

There was a long period of silence between the two as they thought about what Haruka could possibly be hiding. After a while, Shizuo finally stood. "Well, my break is over. I gotta get back to work." He had already started walking away when Celty reached out and tapped his shoulder.

"You should talk to her about what you told me today. I once told her about how I felt uncomfortable with how people react to me. Haruka just listened quietly then told me that I should just be myself. That I am what I am and there's nothing that will change that. That I shouldn't care about what everyone else thinks and only worry about what I think. She said that my problem was that I couldn't accept who I was and so I worried about what others thought of me. And when I thought about it later, I realized that the problem was me. And once I followed her advice, everything just seemed to fall into pla—"

Celty jolted, realizing that she was ranting. "Sorry. What I'm trying to say is that she may not look it, but Haruka makes for a really good counselor."

The bartender look-alike nodded and continued on his way, lazily waving goodbye. "I'll think about it."