Self-destruction

Shinobu tilted her head. Her amethyst-like eyes reflected Yuko's confused expression as she gave a light laugh. "No. Compared to before, you seem to have started facing your confusion."

"Facing it?" Yuko furrowed her brows slightly and looked down at herself. Then she spread her hands. "To be honest, I don't even understand what I'm confused about, or when I started facing it."

She stretched and sat down beside Shinobu, quietly leaning against her shoulder.

Shinobu gently patted her hand. "The heart is a very mysterious power. It can't be embodied or understood, but it truly exists."

"I think you must have some guesses by now."

A faint, delicate fragrance drifted from Shinobu, soothing Yuko's mind.

Her eyelids drooped slightly, and she naturally recalled what had happened that night.

"Are you referring to when Yoruichi slapped me?"

Shinobu lowered her head slightly and gave an intriguing reply. "Who knows~"

Yuko fell silent. After a while, she quietly moved away from Shinobu's shoulder, sat up straight, and said, "I think I understand."

"Understand what?"

Yuko raised a hand to cover her chest. "Why Shinobu restricted my regeneration."

"I can still recall that pain even now. In the past, no matter how severe or painful my injuries were, my memories were never so clear." Yuko looked up at the sky along the eaves of the corridor, her eyes seeming to sink into her memories. "Yet when I recall my former lung disease and the stab wound in my chest this time, the memories are exceptionally clear."

"If my former lung disease can still be explained by my fear of death, then this stab wound can only be explained the same way."

Shinobu smiled lightly. "Couldn't it simply be that you remember recent events better?"

A curve formed at the corner of Yuko's