Some time — neither long nor short — later, in this dark mindscape where the two girls had sat down to talk peacefully, they now lay collapsed, drenched in sweet sweat, their clothes in disarray.
Mana's face and exposed skin were covered in suspicious flushes. With her breathing ragged, her body trembled slightly. Her emotions were extremely complicated—happiness mixed with a great deal of unwillingness... This sensation of being pinned beneath someone and bullied at will truly defied description. It was somewhat warm, somewhat tingling and numb, somewhat uneasy, flustered yet at ease, irritable, moist, joyful...
She had never imagined that the overwhelming advantage she had built up over so long could be completely overturned by Inori in a single move.
Hesitation... leads to defeat. Decisiveness means handing yourself over for nothing.
Ah, what a pity she didn't hold sovereignty over this body. Otherwise, she too should have had the courage to directly push her down at that moment.
...But it really was so happy, so comfortable.
Thinking back on those details from just now, Sakura Mana couldn't help but blush once more. She curled her body up, the corners of her mouth curving upward, even wanting to burrow under the covers and laugh secretly. No matter who attacked and who received, as long as she could share such intimate "communication" with Inori, it made her so happy she was nearly fainting.
"Next time, I want to be on top."
Mana licked her lips and sat up, resting her hand on Inori's slender waist. Leaning close to her ear, she whispered softly, then naughtily licked her small earlobe.
"..."
The sudden moist tingling made Inori's entire body shudder. She immediately flipped over in annoyance to stare at Mana, preparing to properly retaliate.
But she hesitated.
Inori quietly gazed at her delicate face for a while... carefully savoring Mana's various shy and adorable reactions during the tempest just now, along with those moans that made one unable to stop.
—Although her own reactions hadn't been much better... This girl had known that her waist and abdomen were weak points and kept launching attacks there relentlessly, leaving her whole body limp and powerless, nearly being overturned on the spot.
"What's the matter? Do you agree or not?"
Mana propped her cheek with one hand, lying on her side, smiling as she pressed for an answer.
"...There won't be a next time."
Inori's gaze drifted to the side as she muttered in a low voice.
Why had she done this?
Inori herself wasn't sure. It was just that when she saw Mana before her, wearing that "take whatever you want" expression, and at the moment she saw those rosy, tempting lips... the desire in her heart burst forth like a dam releasing its floodgates, completely unstoppable. She pounced like a bandit, greedily wanting to claim every last part of this girl.
This little minx had teased her time and time again, thinking she was easy to push around? Everyone has a limit to their endurance!
It was a shame they shared a single body... Even if it felt wonderful, it was only a spiritual victory. If there was ever a chance to create a separate body for her, that would truly be resurrecting Mana.
Ways to create a body were numerous, but there was another problem before that. Namely: if Mana had her own independent body, then Inori could no longer bring her along on world-hopping journeys — they would be forced apart. As far as Inori was concerned personally, she didn't want Mana to be "resurrected," didn't want her to leave her side.
—Even if it's only as a soul, stay by my side.
She knew she could no longer live without Mana, especially after having let her impulses run wild and finally claiming her.
"Hmm? What does that mean? Was it just casual fun with me?"
Mana pointed at the "strawberry" mark on her own neck, smiling very smugly.
She knew everything. Inori had only acted so boldly because of a momentary impulse; now that her head had cooled down, she was starting to regret it. Hehe, but it was already too late! No matter the method, they were no longer in a simple "coexistence" relationship. Even if Inori didn't admit it, it didn't matter— the rice was already cooked.
She had only underestimated Inori before. From now on, Mana would not make that kind of low-level mistake again.
"No need to be shy. You'll get used to it from now on, hehe."
Mana smiled, reaching out to brush aside a stray lock of hair blocking Inori's eyes.
"Why do you seem so experienced?"
Inori quietly admired her smile, then cast a suspicious glance.
"No, I just understand you." Mana replied nonchalantly. "You're the suspicious one, aren't you? Why are your techniques... so skilled?"
Especially the moment she had kissed her, the rhythm and key points of the attack had been mastered to perfection, directly stripping her of all defenses and making her lose control, sinking into it while matching Inori's pace.
"I've never eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run."
Inori answered very matter-of-factly, but in reality she felt extremely guilty.
"Oh~ So that's how it is. I thought you had already practiced this kind of thing with Menjou Hare before I woke up."
"Hare wouldn't be that lewd." Hearing Mana bring up that very first girl again, Inori couldn't help but immediately defend her honor. "She was interesting~ simple, sweet and gentle, like a little angel. She never teased me, unlike you."
Inori shot her a disdainful glance.
"The moment you met me you acted like a total pervert, scaring me half to death."
"Mm-hmm~ Hare really is a good girl. Too bad, in the end, the one who got you was me~"
Mana smiled faintly, not the least bit jealous or upset, only letting her hand wander again, unruly, toward the black feathers below Inori's waist.
This black-feather outfit couldn't be taken off, but that restriction only applied to her physical body in reality — in the mindscape, everything was a creation of their own imagination. Inori's outfit here was just ordinary clothing, something she could dismiss with a single thought.
"Keep your hands to yourself!"
Inori firmly slapped her hand away.
Damn it, it felt like she'd been thoroughly outplayed.
Inori felt the pressure coming from Mana — perhaps she really had opened a forbidden box today. Once there's a first time, there will surely be a second, a third; doing this kind of thing is addictive, just like crossdressing.
"Stop thinking about that stuff. We still haven't finished the important matter."
Inori slowly sat up, looking at her with a stern, serious expression.
"Tch, so uptight! And here you were moaning louder than me just now..."
Mana muttered another quiet jab.
"..."
—Hold it in! Hold it in! Don't let her lead you by the nose. What we need to discuss next is about my own past memories, about that pink-haired girl called JOJO!
"Besides the drawing, is there anything else worth noting?"
"That's basically it."
Mana pinched her chin, thinking it over carefully.
"If I had to say something... she developed a new hobby later on, seemingly influenced by someone else, and made a lot of new friends because of it." Mana did her best to recall what she had seen and put it into words. "Then it just cut off abruptly — the last fragment I found was from around when she was twelve or thirteen."
"What hobby?"
Inori asked, blinking.
"Horseback riding."
Mana answered rather casually.