Yaeno Muteki's fingers were still clamped like an iron hoop on Myriad Dreams's shoulder, with no sign of loosening their grip, and she said loudly,
"Going to America is fine, but you must take me with you!"
The purple flames in her eyes burned fiercely, mixed with anxiety, possessiveness, and a hint of unconcealed panic.
"Take you with me?"
Myriad Dreams endured the pain, trying to reason.
"Muteki, this is... this is a private agreement I made with someone before, and it might be a while before I return..."
"I don't care!"
Yaeno Muteki's voice rose a little, with an undeniable decisiveness, even a bit overbearing.
"An agreement? Why should I feel at ease letting you go alone for such an ambiguous agreement between you and her?"
Her fingertips trembled slightly from the force, revealing the turbulent waves beneath her calm exterior.
"You simply don't understand... don't understand the look that girl will give you... don't understand me..."
Her voice stopped again, as if choked by something, but she stared at Dreams even more forcefully, almost stubbornly, as if wanting to brand her with her gaze, isolating her from all external covetousness.
Dreams looked at Muteki like this, and the slight displeasure and desire to argue that arose from being restrained suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon.
What she saw was not an unreasonable tyrant, but an idiot who was so distraught because she cared too much that she could only try to grasp onto something in the clumsiest way.
The pain in her shoulder persisted, but Dreams's lips curved almost imperceptibly, with a touch of helplessness and an indescribable softness.
She no longer tried to struggle or explain, but instead raised her unrestrained hand and gently placed it on the back of Yaeno Muteki's hand that was gripping her shoulder.
She wasn't pushing it away, but instead, she was patting it soothingly.
Her movements were light, yet strangely carried a power that could calm someone down slightly.
"Alright, alright..." Dreams's voice was very soft, like coaxing a large, ruffled feline that was afraid of being abandoned.
"I understand."
She looked up, directly into Yaeno Muteki's brown eyes, which were somewhat chaotic from emotional turmoil, and said seriously:
"I'll take you with me. We'll go together. Is that alright now?"
This sentence was like a spell, instantly hitting a switch in Yaeno Muteki's taut nerves.
The flames in her eyes flickered, and the fierceness and stubbornness were gradually replaced by a hint of astonishment and uncertainty.
The fingers gripping Dreams's shoulder, with a force that almost embedded into her flesh and bone, slowly, little by little, loosened.
Until they completely let go.
The suffocating pressure on her shoulder disappeared, leaving a faint ache and clear finger marks.
Dreams subtly moved her stiff shoulder joint, letting out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Yaeno Muteki's hand hung by her side, her fingertips still feeling a slight numbness from overexertion.
She looked at the red marks on Dreams's shoulder, which would probably not fade anytime soon, and then at Dreams's calm blue eyes, which held indulgence.
The intense emotions that had almost overwhelmed her receded like a tide, replaced by a complex mix of relief, a touch of remorse, and a deeper sense of dependence.
She averted her gaze.
Her voice lowered, with a hint of awkwardness, but no longer the previous tension.
"...Really?"
"Yes, really."
Dreams nodded affirmatively, then bent down to continue packing her luggage, her movements much more natural.
"It's just booking one more plane ticket, but once we get there, you can't... well, you can't get too excited."
She reminded her tactfully.
Yaeno Muteki didn't answer immediately. She just stood there, watching Dreams put two more boxes of chewing gum into the suitcase.
After a long while, she finally let out an almost inaudible "mhm," signifying her agreement.
A small storm, for now, subsided with one party's rare direct compromise and the other's silent assent.
The suitcase finally closed, and this cross-ocean journey was destined to include an inescapable guardian.
Myriad Dreams sighed silently to herself, already anticipating that this trip would be anything but easy.