Sarafina let out a slow, theatrical laugh, tossing her hair back as if Rena's words hadn't left a mark. But the slight stiffness in her shoulders betrayed her. "And here I thought the little princess was all sugar and lace. Who taught you to talk like that? Certainly not Amelia. She's too busy pretending to be pure."
Rena tilted her head, the light catching in her golden eyes like molten metal. "No one taught me, Sarafina. I simply learned what language works best for pests. You don't negotiate with roaches… you step on them."
Sarafina's smirk twitched. "Careful, darling. That venom of yours might kill you before it reaches me."
"Kill me?" Rena's voice dropped lower, richer, like a purr from something coiled in the dark. "Sweetheart… I don't spit venom. I breathe fire. And the difference is… venom just hurts. Fire leaves nothing but ash."
For the first time, Sarafina leaned back—not retreating, but reassessing. "So this is the new Rena," she mused. "Less bark, more bite."
Rena's lips curved into a wolfish grin. "Exactly. And you, my dear, seem to be all bark… and your bite?" She let her eyes drift lazily from Sarafina's face down to her hands, then back up. "Blunt. Overused. Dull."
Sarafina gave a short laugh, but her eyes were colder now. "You think you've got me figured out?"
"I don't need to figure you out," Rena replied, her tone silk and steel. "You're painfully simple. You survive by clinging to stronger people. You wrap yourself around power like a parasite, hoping no one notices you're feeding off them. And when you're tossed aside, you go crawling to the next. That's not strength, Sarafina. That's desperation."
Sarafina crossed her legs slowly, leaning forward so their faces were just inches apart. "And yet… it works. I get what I want. I stay relevant. While you…" Her gaze flicked briefly to Rena's neck, then her wedding ring. "…are just a pretty little pawn in Naoko's game."
For a heartbeat, Rena was still. Then she smiled—a smile so slow and sharp it could cut glass. "Pawn?" she echoed softly. "No, darling. I'm the piece that ends the game. The one you never see coming until it's too late."
Sarafina arched a brow. "Confident. Dangerous. I almost like you like this."
"Almost?" Rena's tone was mocking now. "That's generous. I didn't think you liked anything that didn't end with you on your back."
Sarafina's smirk faltered—just slightly—before she chuckled low. "Touché."
Rena leaned in, her voice dropping to that strange, resonant register again, the kind that made the air feel heavier. "Do you want to know the difference between us, Sarafina?"
Sarafina tilted her head, wary now. "…Enlighten me."
"You sell yourself," Rena said simply. "Piece by piece, to whoever's buying. But me? I'm not for sale. I take what I want… and I don't ask permission. That's why you'll always be beneath me. Always."
The academy seemed quieter after that, the kind of silence that wasn't absence of sound but the pause before a storm.
Sarafina's eyes narrowed. "…We'll see about that."
"Oh, we will," Rena murmured. Then she leaned back, utterly relaxed, as if she had already won.
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