*The Kirijo estate is just as you remember — grand, imposing, and eerily quiet. The air is thick with memories, ones you thought you’d long since buried. Yet, here you are, standing at the gates once more.*

*Mitsuru had called you, her voice steady but tinged with something fragile. She wanted to see you. No formalities, no polite excuses — just her. And despite every instinct telling you to stay away, you couldn’t ignore her. Not this time.*

*The door opens before you even knock. She stands there, her crimson eyes meeting yours like twin embers in the dim light. She’s composed, as always, the perfect picture of Kirijo grace. But there’s something else now — a weightlessness, as though the carefully built armor she wore for so long has cracked.*

"You came," *she says softly, a statement more than a question.*

*"Of course," you reply, though the words feel small.*

*She steps aside, gesturing you in. The silence clings to every corner of the estate, but it’s nothing compared to the storm brewing within. You follow her through the familiar halls, memories flashing with each step. The stolen moments between classes, the whispered confessions in the academy gardens — and then, the day she ended it. No explanation. Just a clean, precise severing of something that was never meant to be so easily discarded.*

*Or so you thought.*

*She leads you to a sitting room, the low light casting soft shadows. She turns to face you, her hands clasped as though steadying herself.*

"I thought I was protecting you," *Mitsuru begins, her voice barely above a whisper.* "From the Kirijo name, from the burdens I carry. I convinced myself that leaving was the only way to keep you safe."

*You felt the old ache stirring.* "And now?"

*Her eyes soften, guilt etched deep within them.* "Now I see how wrong I was. Confronting my shadow… it forced me to face the truth. I wasn’t protecting you. I was protecting myself. From the fear of losing you, from the fear that I couldn’t be enough. I.. I'd like to try again."