"So it was you that gave Rosa a free vacation here?" Rika glared at Hanyuu with her arms crossed.
"Yes, but I had to." Hanyuu shook as she floated in place. Her hands were currently up and over her mouth.
"I'm listening." Rika raised an eyebrow.
"Well, after helping you and everyone stop the cycle of loops, I started to vanish, thinking you'd be okay." Hanyuu sighed.
"I didn't want you gone, though." Rika dropped her arms. "You were always by my side and helped me through all those years of being tortured."
"I know, but I finished my job." Hanyuu stopped shaking. "You didn't need me anymore, and I wanted you to have a normal life."
"I see," Rika frowned. "But what's that have to do with Rosa?"
"Well, as I started to fade away, I thought about Satoshi and how Irie is still trying to cure him and everyone." Hanyuu closed her eyes. "So I wondered if there was a way to help cure that, and suddenly I heard someone."
"Heard someone?" Rika's jumped slightly. "Like another god?"
"I don't know, but," Hanyuu stopped as she shivered. "Something was terrifying about them."
"Were they threatening you?" Rika's eyes widened.
"I don't think so." Hanyuu shook her head. "It just felt scary when she showed up. She said, 'The answer you're looking for is them,' and then I saw Rosa and Maria."
"Them?" Rika replied. "Both of them are important?"
"I guess so." Hanyuu opened her eyes. "She wouldn't say anything else, so I'm not entirely sure why they're important."
"So what did you see when you saw them?" Rika continued.
"That's when it gets weirder." Hanyuu frowned as she closed her eyes again. "I saw Rosa and Maria in the present but also in the future."
"And?" Rika raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. However, Hanyuu stayed quiet as her lips started to quiver. Rika moved closer to her. "Come on, what is it?"
"Maybe, I should show you instead." Hanyuu opened her eyes as she put her hand on Rika's head. Rika then had a vision of Rosa with a 9-year-old Maria.
"Why can't you be normal!?" Rosa grabbed Maria by the collar and started slapping her. After several slaps, Maria began to cry, and Rosa let go of her as she looked terrified at what she had done to her daughter. "Maria, I'm…"
"That's enough!" Rika slapped Hanyuu's hand away as she jumped back. "What the hell was that!? That can't be the same Rosa I just met!"
"I'm sorry, but it was." Hanyuu looked down. "Thankfully, she hasn't hurt Maria yet, but I'm afraid I saw a few close calls in other visions."
"Are we sure Maria is safe now!?" Rika's eyes got wide as she went to grab her shoes. "We need to make sure she's…"
"I promise Maria's safe." Hanyuu floated in front of her. "If I thought anyone was in danger, I'd tell you instantly."
Rika stopped as she tried to catch her breath. All of this was a lot for her to take in. One minute, she and her friends are having fun with a new person they met and her baby. The next, Rika finds out she will turn into a monster in the future.
"I think I need to sit down." Rika walked over to a chair and took a seat.
"I know it's a lot to take in, but I think whoever showed me them is also trying to help Rosa and Maria while also helping us." Hanyuu floated next to her.
"How in the world does that help us with curing every…" Rika stopped as her eyes went wide again. "Wait. Does Rosa have…"
"I'm not sure." Hanyuu sighed. "She's never been here prior, so I don't see how she would have it. However, her fits of rage do seem unnatural."
"Fits?" Rika leaned her head to the side.
"There were a lot of other visions you didn't see." Hanyuu frowned.
"I see." Rika sighed as she stood back up. "So what exactly can we do to help them though?"
"I don't know, honestly." Hanyuu lowered her voice. "Even if we told the others and Rosa about this, they wouldn't believe us."
"I know." Rika placed her hand over her forehead. "And we can't exactly drag Rosa to Irie and tell her to let him check her."
"Also true." Hanyuu sighed. "I wish that she had told me what exactly we're supposed to do."
"And you're sure you don't know who told you this?" Rika looked up at Hanyuu, who shook her head.
"Rika?" Satoko's voice came out, making Rika sit straight up. "Are you still up?"
"Crap, I'll talk to you about this later, Hanyuu." Rika looked at Hanyuu and then toward the room entrance. Hanyuu nodded as she disappeared before Satoko entered the room.
"Rika, I thought you said you were sleepy." Satoko glared at Rika. "Why aren't you in bed?"
"Oh, I had trouble falling asleep cause I wanted to make sure you came home safely." Rika smiled.
"What am I going to do with you?" Satoko shook her head.
"Nipah," Rika replied, making Satoko smile.
The two got dressed and brushed their teeth to get ready for bed.
"I'm so happy we met Rosa and Maria." Rika smiled as she got in bed first and looked up at Satoko. "Don't you think so?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Satoko frowned as she touched the top of her head.
"What's wrong?" Rika sat up.
"Oh, it's nothing." Satoko blushed as she looked away.
"It doesn't look like it's nothing," Rika replied.
"Rika, it's…"
"Don't lie to me!" Rika now stood up, frowning. "If there's something wrong with what Rosa did, then you need to tell me right…"
"Wait, what!?" Satoko's eyes got big as she waved her hands in front of her. "Rosa didn't do anything wrong! Why would you think that!?"
"Cause I saw you frowning and acting weird after she patted her head!" Rika grabbed Satoko's top and pulled her closer.
"She didn't do anything wrong, though." Satoko sighed as she placed her hands on top of Rika's. "It was the opposite."
"Opposite?" Rika raised an eyebrow.
"It felt nice." Satoko blushed as she looked to the side. "When she patted my head. It felt nice and soft like Nii-Nii patting my head."
Rika sighed as she let go and listened to Satoko explain everything. After seeing Hanyuu's vision, she assumed the worst about Rosa. Thankfully, Satoko was now telling her the opposite.
"Yeah, her head pats are nice." Rika smiled.
"Anyways, can we get some sleep?" Satoko sighed.
"Of course." Rika nodded as she and Satoko climbed into bed. "I can't wait for us to see Rosa again."
"Same." Satoko smiled. "Thankfully, summer vacation starts in a couple of days."
"Maybe she'll give us more head pats for being around her during her vacation." Rika giggled, making Satoko blush.
"Goodnight, Rika." Satoko turned away from Rika, trying to hide her blushing face.
"Goodnight, Satoko." Rika smiled as they both drifted off to sleep.
