Can We Make Peace?

"Let's put all that aside for now. The most important thing is to figure out what's around us and find a way to contact Bai-kun, so he knows we're still alive."

Yukino stood up and looked around. The room was a little dim, but she could still make things out. It resembled the rooms upstairs, but the air was damp, moss grew on the walls, and a faint, moldy stench hung in the air.

"Looks like we might have stumbled into the basement Bai-kun mentioned. But why didn't Bai-kun come here?"

Yukino pondered the question. Just then, Tuanzi muttered under her breath.

"Could it be... Never mind."

"Hmm? Did you want to say something, Yuigahama? Go ahead and speak your mind. It's just the two of us here."

"Never mind, Xiaoxue. You can decide."

Tuanzi hurriedly waved her hands in refusal, and Yukino's expression turned serious.

"How long are you going to keep pretending, Yuigahama?"

"Huh...? Xiaoxue, what are you talking about? And why are you making that weird face...?"

Tuanzi looked around nervously, hoping to find something that could change the subject.

"Still pretending? You're so clever, Yuigahama. Why act like you don't understand?"

If someone did inexplicably ridiculous things, they might be a fool. But someone who acted strangely under specific circumstances was definitely no fool.

"I... don't know what you're talking about..."

"Are you trying so hard to please everyone that you're willing to become a laughingstock?"

"I... I'm afraid of making mistakes..."

Yukino stepped in front of Tuanzi and stared straight into her eyes. The moment Tuanzi met her gaze, she instinctively turned her head away.

But Yukino reached out and made her look back at her.

"I need you, Yuigahama."

Yukino said it calmly, but her words sent a storm through Tuanzi's heart. It was the first time anyone had chosen her with such conviction.

"Can I... really do it?"

"If it were someone else, I wouldn't be sure. But I'm willing to trust you. After all, we're all we have now."

"All... we have..."

Tuanzi... no, Yuigahama Yui, kept repeating those words. The silly, airheaded Tuanzi act had fallen away. The confident Yuigahama Yui was about to make her entrance!

"You care a lot about Bai-kun, don't you? If you don't catch up with him soon, someone else will snatch him away."

Seeing that Yuigahama Yui was just one last push away, Yukino dropped another bombshell.

"S-Snatch him away!"

Yuigahama Yui pictured Bai Yuze walking toward a life of happiness with another woman, while she could only hide in a dark corner and watch a tiny glimmer of light.

"Absolutely not!" Yuigahama Yui declared, her face set in defiance. "Yukino! We have to get out of here quickly. Bai-kun needs our help. We can't just sit around hoping someone will come save us."

Now entering the scene: Yuigahama Yui, with all her abilities pushed into overdrive!

"Ah... okay..."

Yukino hadn't expected Yuigahama Yui to react so strongly to something she'd just said offhand.

"Let's start by figuring out how we got here."

"Right. I remember silently counting the steps, then I saw a huge tentacle coming at me, so I instinctively stepped back... Wait!"

Yuigahama Yui hurriedly searched her pockets. A moment later, she pulled out a slip of paper.

"What's that?"

"It's the note Xiaozawa showed us. He said he'd memorized all of it. I remember there was a hint written like a poem. Here, this part."

"'Don't gulp down a lifetime of sweetness'—does that mean the monster likes eating candy?"

"Exactly. But 'a lifetime' is a pretty big idea. I think that line is about the monster that loves sweets. Maybe it went through something painful, so the sweetness of candy became a lifetime's worth of happiness to it."

"Hmm, that makes sense."

Yukino was glad she'd helped Yuigahama Yui regain her confidence, and Yuigahama Yui's sharp insight hadn't disappointed her.

"Look at these next two lines: 'Seeking light in the dark is a fool's errand' and 'The dark has its own means of survival, and the light has its own future.' We must be in the 'dark' right now, so the most important thing is to find a way to 'survive.'"

"Right. So it seems we can send a message to Bai-kun."

"Oh? Do you have a new theory, Yukino?"

"Yes. Since the hint says seeking light in the dark is a fool's errand, that means we can't find our way out by 'feeling around in the dark.'"

"Emmmm... Oh! I get it! You mean we should treat 'finding a way out' as something to strive for?"

"Exactly. That's what the poem means by 'everyone needs something to strive for in life.' Once we have something to strive for, we have a clear goal."

Yukino smiled faintly, and Yuigahama Yui spoke with renewed energy.

"Then let's try it now!"

......

Elsewhere, Bai Yuze sat on the stairs, carefully recalling the rules and the circumstances surrounding the two women's disappearance.

"Could one of them have counted the steps?"

Suddenly, he remembered the hint at the end of that rule.

(One extra step is heaven; one step short is the void)

"I see. No wonder they suddenly disappeared."

Normally, not everyone counted the steps while climbing stairs, but some people did.

The rule warned people not to count the steps to stop anyone climbing the stairs from taking a step backward.

After all, who would take a step backward for no reason while climbing stairs? Bai Yuze vaguely remembered hearing Yuigahama Yui cry out just before the two women disappeared.

Bai Yuze guessed the rule had made Yuigahama Yui hallucinate, making her think something was coming at her and forcing her to step backward into the "void."

"If I repeat the same thing, could I enter this so-called 'void' too?"

Bai Yuze stood up and immediately began experimenting, but no matter what he tried, he didn't feel even the slightest sensation of weightlessness.

"Could the void be full?"

Bai Yuze had no choice but to keep going upstairs to look for Yamauchi Haruki.

Before long, he spotted Yamauchi Haruki curled up on the second-floor landing, covering his eyes.

"Heh. You sure ran fast. I told you to obey me if you wanted to live, didn't I?"

Yamauchi Haruki showed no reaction to Bai Yuze's threat. He stayed curled up, covering his eyes.

Bai Yuze watched him for a while, then smiled.

"I see. That makes things easier. Since you're fine, come back with me."

With that, Bai Yuze turned to leave. The moment his back was turned, Yamauchi Haruki, still curled up on the ground, moved.

He bared his fangs and lunged at Bai Yuze. Just as he was about to reach him—

Bai Yuze spun around and brought his blade down, chopping off Yamauchi Haruki's head.

"Heh. I hadn't even gotten around to dealing with you, and the supernatural thing already got you first. If I remember right, those two eyeballs belong to Yuan Xing, don't they?"

Bai Yuze hadn't expected Yuan Xing to be so tenacious. Even reduced to just two eyeballs, he'd still survived and possessed Yamauchi Haruki.

Bai Yuze used his blade to dig out the two eyeballs. They rolled across the ground, and just as he was about to strike them with his sword—

Yuan Xing's pleading voice rang out.

"Hey... can we make peace?"

"Oh? Now? You've got to be joking."

Bai Yuze chuckled and brought his blade down. Yuan Xing's last means of revival was completely destroyed.