Was this the gift?
As expected of the Herrscher of Sentience and Consciousness. She went straight for the depths of the mind. Even though Hoshino had been mentally prepared for this, she froze on the spot, her brain completely short-circuiting.
Damn.
There was music, too.
Hoshino heard Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. She didn't know if Black Fu Hua had picked it out to mock her.
Three minutes later, the music changed to Nessun Dorma. Pure cello music. Even more mocking. Hoshino scratched her head as she surveyed the collapsed door and Ch'en, who still hadn't gotten up. Had she hit her a little too hard?
"Tea... teacher?"
"Teacher!"
Ch'en started rolling around on the floor. Something felt wrong.
Please, please don't let that be the answer. Please, no. Her dignity, her pride—they'd be shattered.
"I'm Yae Sakura. I've come into your dream."
The dream world was different from reality; whatever you imagined became real. Hoshino could clearly see that after she gave that answer, Ch'en turned ashen, a hopeless, lifeless gray.
She was dead...
Socially and physically, she was dead...
"What's wrong with you?"
Hoshino walked over. Instead of grabbing Ch'en by the horns, she tugged her by the ear and lifted her off the ground. Despite wearing a wedding kimono that made it hard to move, Ch'en was as nimble as a fox.
"There's a lot to do. We don't have time to fret over something so trivial, got it?"
Ch'en answered with silence.
Hoshino sighed and gently shook Ch'en's head between her hands. Her movements were neither too light nor too rough, like she was soothing a child.
What was she supposed to do now?
Hoshino wondered if she should pretend not to know what the outfit meant and bluff her way through it.
That would make her