Unaware that the fighting grounds and the towers had crumbled to ruins because of my monstrous power, unaware that Mako was on her way to try to save me, unaware that blood spurted and poured from half a dozen places on my monstrous body, I rampaged after the laughing Demon, Harime Nui. A few times I felt suddenly cold, and as I slipped over dark red puddles, part of me wondered if I had already lost all my blood. At that time I didn't know that my body could regenerate itself. Even with that defense, though, it was only a matter of time. My blood spilled faster than my body could regenerate it. I don't know if I was dreaming but I thought I saw the Mohawk man setting off explosives to stop me. Vaguely I saw Sensei Aikurou targeting me with a Life Fiber jamming bullet, but I didn't care. I only wanted to get to Nui and tear her to shreds.

When Satsuki interfered, approaching me with Bakuzan and glowing with Life Fiber stars, my wrath reached "the boiling point." Before our blades even touched, a sea of dark, sparkling energy gushed out from me; it must have been raw Life Fiber Energy. Then I heard Mako screaming—at me? Impossibly, she swam through the sea of black and headed straight towards me. Satsuki stopped her own advance, and held Nui back as well, holding Bakuzan against the girl's throat. Mako had come out of nowhere again, and just like so many times before, she jumped at me. She clung to me, even though her skin must have burned just from touching me.

"Ryuuko-chan!" Mako screamed. "I haven't forgotten! This was never about avenging your father—it was just because you wanted to know more about him!"

I growled and tried to shake her off; enough sense had returned to me that I didn't want to kill her, but I could not speak.

"Now you're a monster!" Mako continued, with tears flowing down her burned face. "You're kicking and screaming and destroying the whole school! And you're acting just like I did, when I let the Fight Club get to my head!"

Again I tried to shake her off me, but she only clung more tightly.

"Back then, you brought me to my senses," Mako cried. "So now it's my turn to do the same! I will bring Ryuuko-chan back!"

With something like a battle-cry, Mako took one hand and slapped my monstrous face with everything she had. It didn't hurt, but it shocked me. She hit me again, this time thwacking at my jaw with the heel of her palm. She continued to slap me at least twenty times. The last blow would have been strong enough to bend back my neck and snap it if I had been a normal human. But I was not harmed; in fact, Mako's presence felt strangely calming. I felt heat leaving my body, I felt Senketsu's straps and skirt return to their normal form, and before I knew it, I found myself weakly standing and shivering, human again.

The sobbing Mako continued to slap me and beat on my chest until I fell on the ground flat on my back. Mako landed on top of me, and with her eyes still streaming she realized I had returned to sanity. I gazed up at her lovingly and tried to put on a weak smile.

"Thank you, Mako," I whispered.

I felt myself beginning to drift away, and I apologized to Senketsu for forcing him to take part in my rampage. Then I looked up at Mako again, overwhelmed with the urge to kiss her, but feeling too weak to move.

"You nearly died from blood loss!" Mako exclaimed, and she threw her arms around my neck and kept crying.

It felt so good to have her clinging to me, lying on top of me, but her voice drifted away. My last thought before passing out was that I hoped I was not dying, because I wanted to stay with my Mako.

**break**

I woke up on the spare futon in the Mankanshoku house several days later. I felt weak and dizzy since my body had not yet regenerated all of my blood. I also felt sick whenever I thought of the monster I had become. Even so, I snuck out of bed and crept back to the ruins of the school fighting grounds. I needed to see Satsuki; I had to verify once and for all that Harime, not Satsuki, had killed my father.

"Harime Nui has been forbidden from setting foot in Honnouji Academy," Satsuki told me, speaking as if confiding in me somewhat. "Listen, I gave the order to retrieve the Scissors from Dr. Matoi, so if you need to resent someone, then resent me. Furthermore, I know all the answers you seek. Why did Nui decide to kill Dr. Matoi? What exactly is a Kamui? What exactly are Life Fibers?"

"Then fight me and tell me those answers," I challenged. "What's more," I added to try to insult her, "you can tell me about your little scandals with Jakuzure and little Miss Harime, too. Haha! I bet you just sleep around with a bunch of girls in your spare time!"

Satsuki actually looked amused instead of insulted. "I would only tell you my history," she said, "if I intended to make a move on YOU next. And well, to be honest, I am not attracted to stupidity. You must be even more of an idiot than I thought, if you believe you can fight me now. You haven't recovered from your rampage yet."

I leaped at Satsuki, but she knocked me in the gut with her sheathed Bakuzan, winding me. While I tried to catch my breath, she told me about her plan to subjugate the other three major academies with her perfected Goku Uniforms. She would use the students as her army. Hearing this made me want to fight her even more, but unfortunately Satsuki's earlier statement was correct. I had not recovered from my monstrous rampage yet. As Satsuki took her leave and I stumbled back to Mako's house, I felt almost too tired to be angry.

Mako took care of me like a little angel for the next few days, fetching food and water for me, making tea, insisting that I rest, and making sure her dad didn't try an unsanitary blood transfusion on me. One day, she scolded me for getting up and trying to go for a ride to clear my head.

"If I have to force you to stay in that futon, I will," Mako shook her head at me. "I'll do it by any means necessary!"

Mako proved her statement by getting into the futon with me.

"There, now if you move, I'll poke you and tickle you."

For a moment I quietly enjoyed feeling Mako's body snuggled against mine, and then I said in a low voice, "Hey, Mako. You're more than a best friend to me, you know. Mako, do you think it would be wrong if I… if I kissed you?"

"Right now?!" exclaimed Mako, sitting up. Then she started fidgeting more than an ADHD girl on caffeine. "Um—um—l-listen, Ryuuko-chan. You're more than just a best friend to me, too. And I don't think we're quite like sisters. But I'm—I'm not sure if… if I'm ready… for something like what you want. I think my family would disapprove if I kissed another girl."

I tried to smile through my disappointment. "If you don't feel ready to... well... be with me in that way, it's alright. I'll wait for you. I know you can find the confidence. But I do have a request. Until you know what you want to do, can you… can you just not date anyone?"

Mako chuckled, "Oh, so you still think I like Gamagori, huh? I don't mind your request at all. It's not the same as dating, but you and me are all each other has right now. So Mako is reserved for Ryuuko. And Ryuuko is reserved for Mako. Oh, and Senketsu doesn't count as cheating because he's a uniform."

I laughed and hugged Mako. "That sounds ok with me."

**break**

Nearly a week later, my blood had restored itself, but I no longer wanted to leave my futon. My appetite had left me, too. I had not worn Senkestu for days. Was it safe to wear him, I wondered? I knew Senketsu would never hurt me, but I might hurt him. I had forced him to go along with my rampage. I had bent him to my will and forced him to drink quarts of my blood, even as he had wept bitterly. This troubled me so much that I thought about no longer fighting.

Mako brought me a visitor: Nagita Shinjirou, the young student journalist. He painted me as a Revolutionary and tried to convince me wear Senketsu and fight. I made him leave the house, while he screamed about me being Honnouji's "virtuous star of hope." What a load of crap. Nobody should call me virtuous after what I done to Senketsu, taking advantage of him for the sake of selfish rage.

"Even so," Senketsu told me the next day, "do not reject me. I WANT to be worn by you. I was likely born for that very purpose. …Every time I drink your blood, that feeling grows stronger."

I listened to him while sitting in my futon. I had stayed home from school that day, not knowing Mako would be forced to join the School Raid, and not knowing that Shinjirou would come running back to me. When he did, a bunch of bullies were beating the tar out of him. At that point I decided to take responsibility for my own actions. I donned Senketsu once more. Then I rushed in to save Shinjirou from the bullies.

You can imagine my amazement and horror when the disguise fell apart and I found myself facing Harime Nui. She wanted to fight me again, though I had no idea why, since I was unaware that my father had taken out one of her eyes. I tried fighting, but Nui could tell that I held back, fearing loss of control. My blade was knocked out of my hands. Suddenly the little Demon said she was bored. Leaping up, she struck from behind on her way back down. Twice more she sliced at me with the scissor. Each time, she slashed critical points on Senketsu. I faded into unconsciousness as my nightmare came true and Senketsu fell apart into tatters.