Kanna Aurora had returned when I thought I'd never hear from her again.
I was so surprised and happy that I couldn't say a word.
Pushing down the surge of emotions, I invited her in and offered her some water.
Her uniform was incredibly clean, but her body seemed disheveled, creating a strange disconnect.
I couldn't guess what she had been through. I was hesitant to ask, worried about reopening wounds.
What had happened to her?
I was curious, but this wasn't the time to satisfy my curiosity.
After giving her water, I waited quietly. Kanna hesitated before picking up the glass.
Gulp, gulp—she drank the water smoothly and placed the empty glass on the table.
For someone who looked disheveled, was she actually okay?
Had her execution been postponed? Had Kanna just received some kind of protective custody?
Before I could voice these questions, Kanna fidgeted with her hands.
I tilted my head, wondering if she was anxious.
It would make sense if she was, having been suddenly taken away for nearly three days—Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I said nothing.
I figured my job was to listen when she felt ready to talk.
The silence that felt eternal ended in an instant.
Kanna's voice tickled my ears.
"I think I'll live."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. I should have told you I was coming."
"No, no. It's fine."
Kanna said this and carefully took out her Device.
Beyond her slightly trembling hands, she sighed.
"I didn't have any contacts to give them, so I gave them yours. Sorry... But they're saying it's a reprieve for now."
"A reprieve?"
"Ah, yes... They want to confirm whether I function as a Totem, and if so, how much damage it causes."
Hearing this, my feelings were complicated, but there was relief among them.
I had feared they would investigate recklessly and ultimately kill her, but it wasn't that extreme.
"...So are you somewhat okay now?"
"I'll be fine as long as they determine the Mysterious Ones aren't coming for me."
"I see."
Conversely, if a Mysterious One came looking for Kanna tomorrow and someone died because of it, would she be executed immediately?
I couldn't control my troubled thoughts, and my mouth felt dry.
As the slightly awkward atmosphere continued, I opened my mouth to change the mood.
This space seemed to pressure her to talk, which wasn't right.
"Um... I was about to eat. Would you like to wash up first?"
I clicked my tongue inwardly, thinking she might feel uncomfortable being so disheveled, and that I'd brought her here without letting her clean up.
"Ah..."
Kanna sighed at my words.
I suddenly felt guilty, worried she thought I was calling her dirty.
"No, what I meant was, you..."
"I couldn't help it. I couldn't bring myself to ask someone else to help me wash..."
I had started to explain myself, worried my words had offended her, but Kanna brought up something completely different.
Kanna said she was dirty because she couldn't ask someone to help her wash.
Why would someone else need to help her wash?
That thought briefly confused me, and Kanna glanced at me before extending her hand.
Her hands appeared normal at first glance, but when she slightly rolled up her blazer sleeve, I realized that was false.
"...What is this?"
"They said they'd cut off my arms and legs because a Mysterious One had rebuilt them. So this is what I got instead."
Kanna smiled bitterly as she spoke, but I couldn't smile back—her arm was a metal prosthetic.
I wondered if they could really just cut off someone's limbs like that.
I reached out with a trembling hand.
Kanna didn't avoid my touch, so our hands easily met.
I thought my heart would race sitting across from her, holding her hand, but there was no warmth. It was just a hand that mimicked the real thing on the surface, and the realization made me dizzy.
"Is this really okay? It's not right..."
The words from my mouth were just complaints.
Saying these things wouldn't improve the situation or bring back what was lost.
But I couldn't hide those feelings.
"...It's not right."
Those emotions only made me realize painfully that I could do nothing.
Kanna just smiled silently despite hearing my voice.
That expression—as if saying "It couldn't be helped"—stabbed at my heart.
"Then, your legs too?"
"...They left the upper thighs, but yes. It's a bit difficult to wash myself without the prosthetics."
"I see."
I felt guilty for asking if she wanted to wash up first, not knowing her condition.
I hesitated, wondering how she would bathe without her prosthetics.
There was so much needed, so much lacking—it was frustrating to figure out what to do.
Kanna seemed to recognize the problem herself and looked troubled.
Then finally,
"If you don't mind, could you help me?"
"Uh, what?"
"Even just washing my hair would be good."
I was dumbfounded.
No matter what, she couldn't go without washing.
But without hands and feet, even standing alone was impossible, let alone adjusting the water temperature—it was an incredibly difficult problem.
I was still wondering what to do when Kanna's words left me blank.
"No, even though I... but..."
I thought about asking Orca instead, but with her family matters, she couldn't spare that much time.
And looking for someone else was difficult—I knew people, but there were hardly any Kanna would feel comfortable with, which left me feeling desperate.
Should I do it?
I wanted to see Kanna's condition, but I questioned whether I wanted to face her like this.
I kept hesitating.
Kanna quietly waited for my answer.
"If you don't want to, I can try by myself with some water."
"No! I'll help you since it would be difficult."
I finally chose to help her.
I knew it wasn't right, but I couldn't leave Kanna alone either, so I planned to help just as much as needed.
Kanna removed her blazer and unbuttoned her shirt in the changing room.
I just watched from the side.
Click, click—as each button came undone, her skin became visible through the opening shirt.
With a rustle, as she revealed her clothes, I could see that below her shoulders were no longer human—expensive-looking metal arms caught my eye.
They looked like cutting-edge technology, but I wondered if they were waterproof, or if they were concerned about the outer coating corroding.
"...Do your hands just look like human hands?"
"Oh, these? They're just like shells. I can take them off, but that would draw too much attention."
Kanna said this and then undid the zipper and button of her skirt.
It fell limply to the floor, revealing pantyhose wrapped around to hide her legs.
When she pulled those down, as expected, only the most basic foldable parts remained—everything below was prosthetic.
In this situation, I felt cold dismay rather than excitement.
Kanna glanced at me and smiled wryly.
"Well, you've seen me once before, so I guess it doesn't matter...?"
She seemed to be trying to lighten the mood, but it mattered a lot.
I was startled by her lack of wariness.
Yet I was also happy that she showed this side only to me.
Kanna turned her back to me and carefully removed what remained.
Then she quietly asked me:
"Could you hold me under my arms from behind?"
"Yes, of course."
When I put my hands there, she fumbled with the buttons on her prosthetic legs, then with a click, she staggered.
If I hadn't supported her under her arms, she might have fallen face-first to the ground, which made my heart sink.
"I can do one side myself, but could you do the other?"
I frowned as I watched Kanna detach her limbs one by one.
"...Okay."
With the final click, she became someone who couldn't live without help.
Unable to walk, unable to grasp, unable even to eat on her own—yet through all this, she could only smile bitterly.
"Still, this is kind of embarrassing."