Precognition is our bread and butter, and against a non-Force user, I held an absolute advantage. I moved with minimal effort, parrying her strike by mere centimeters, using her own momentum against her. With a flick of my wrist and a surge of the Force, I twisted her arm and pinned her to the floor.
"Ah...! Agh...!"
"I'm sorry, but that won't work on me."
"Let... let me go...!"
"I can't. If I let you go, you'll just try to hurt Saito-kun—or me."
I kept her pinned. To any bystander, it would have looked impossible—a small girl holding down an older student with such ease. Toga was surprisingly strong, fueled by adrenaline and desperation, but against the leverage of a Jedi, it didn't matter.
"What you're trying to do is a crime," I said firmly. "I cannot let it happen."
"...What's so wrong with it?!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "I just want to live normally! This is my normal!"
Her gaze was sharp enough to kill. I felt a pang of sympathy; she was someone whom society had simply decided to ignore. But if I let her go now, she was heading straight for a life as a fugitive.
Rebuking her wouldn't be enough. Even if I stopped her today, she'd just try again tomorrow. I had to pull the weed out by the roots. I had to give her a reason to choose a different path.
I spoke again, this time infusing my voice with the Force. It gave my words weight. It gave them a resonance that bypassed the ears and went straight to the mind.
"Answer me this: When you decided to drink Saito's blood... did you intend to ask for his consent?"
"What are you even saying?!"
"You didn't, did you? That's why it's a crime. No matter what the desire is, you must have the other person's consent. Take romance, for example. The ultimate expression of love for many is sex—but without consent, that act is the crime of rape. Do you see the difference?"
Toga's eyes went wide. She looked at me as if I had just explained a concept from another dimension.
She had never even considered it. But she was listening. Her breathing was slowing down.
"I don't have much experience with romance," I continued, my voice calm and steady. "But I know it's a two-way street. It's an exchange of feelings. Just because you like someone doesn't mean you can do whatever you want to them. It doesn't matter if you're trying to kiss them or cut them; without their permission, it's just an assault."
Toga fell silent. She looked down at the floor, her mind clearly racing.
"...But," she whispered. "They say... wanting to drink blood isn't normal. Even with consent. Everyone says it's weird... even though I'm so normal."
"Most people would agree with them," I said. "But I don't care."
Toga's head snapped up. She couldn't see my whole face from her position on the floor, but she focused on me with terrifying intensity.
"...What did you just say?"
"I said most people would find it strange. But I don't."
"Not that! The part before that!"
"I said I don't care."
"You mean it?!"
She struggled against my grip, her bones creaking under the strain. She didn't seem to care about the pain; she just wanted to look at me.
"It's okay?! To slurp-slurp?!"
"If that's how you express affection, then that's what it is. I'd prefer you didn't just slash my throat without warning, but if you ask properly, choose the right time and place, and follow the right steps... then I don't see why not."
Toga's eyes went wider still. The emotion flooding her presence now was something entirely different from the darkness of a moment ago.
It was a desperate, grasping hope.
I didn't have any other way to stop her. It might have been a reckless thing to say, but she was starving for acceptance. She had been suppressed for so long that she was ready to snap. I couldn't accurately measure her pain, but I knew it was deep.
"I don't know how many there are," I added, "but I'm sure there are people out there who would accept it if it came from someone they loved. There are even people who enjoy pain, though they are a minority."
"Really?"
"I can't promise you'll find them easily, and I'm not saying I enjoy it. But if it means preventing you from becoming a murderer and throwing your life away... I wouldn't mind being cut or bled a little."
Toga's face transformed. She looked genuinely, radiantly happy. It was the face of a young girl in love—though the context was admittedly macabre. This was her true face.
I released my hold. She immediately scrambled up, spun around, and faced me.
"Wow! You're so cuuuute!"
"Thank you. And for what it's worth... I think you're quite cute too."
"Really?! Oh, thank goodness... thank goodness! Ah... wait, I'm Toga! Himiko Toga! And you are...?"
"Koto-ha Masue."
"Masue-chan! Thank you! I think... I think I'll try a little harder!"
"...Are you going to go confess? Good luck. I hope it goes well."
"Yeah! Bye-bye!"
She skipped away with a lightness that was jarring compared to the girl who had tried to kill me seconds ago. Before she got too far, I used a subtle Force Pull to snatch the cutter from her pocket. Just in case.
She was like a whirlwind—a girl of a thousand shifting faces. I found myself letting out a long, heavy sigh.
But it wasn't just because of her personality. It was because I knew the truth. I had been watching her for weeks, and I knew the boy she was going to confess to had no interest in her.
I felt a twinge of guilt for saying "Good luck" when I knew she was walking into a rejection.
"...I should follow her."
I knew how this would end. It wasn't over yet. Pushing my guilt aside, I left the room and followed the trail of her presence.