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Takes place sometime between “Hard Reset” and “Heart to Heart.”
Storming down the halls, the tips of her ears burning, and her cheeks flushed, Belle knows one thing and one thing only: She has a crush—and that crush is Tari.
Her mind is racing on repeat, her practice match with Tari playing over and over again—Tari’s eyes light up in excitement at her victory, she smiles a brilliant smile at Belle, her laughter infectious, pouting adorably when Belle teases her, Belle wanting nothing more than to kiss those full lips….
She’s back in her dorm all but two seconds before she slams her fist into the wall, roaring, “GOD DAMMIT!”
Her fist comes away raw and red, bleeding a bit. She grips it with her Meta Runner arm, silently gaping in pain, grateful for the brief respite from her tormented thoughts. After a moment, the flare of pain lessens. Belle pinches the bridge of her nose, trying (and failing) to stop the tsunami of mixed emotions—joy and longing, hatred and disgust, and above all else, confusion.
“…god dammit…” she nearly whimpers, collapsing on the sofa, a wave of nausea overtaking her. She has a crushon the girl who possibly killed Lucinia. Lucinia who was her closest friend. Does that make her a horrible person? Feeling attracted to the killer of her friend? Or does it mean that deep down, in her heart of hearts, she knows Tari is innocent?
Belle holds her head in her hands, trying to stop her head from spinning. She feels so lost right now. She wishes things could just go back to the way they were before, when it was just her, Masa and Lucinia. The good ol’ days.
Except those days are gone now. Lucinia disappeared two years ago, and Masa left in the aftermath to form MD-5. Sighing, she looks to the photo of Lucinia. What happened to you, Lucinia…?
Silence. Sighing, she looks back down at her lap. Lucks, Masa had said. Lucks was responsible.
No, she had countered. It can’t be him. He would never do that to us.
But now…. She doesn’t know anymore. And Tari… Tari was a different matter entirely.
She remembers how she met Tari, down at the SpeedRunner Championship. Belle chuckles softly at the memory. Tari was so excited when she managed to land her first jump, completely oblivious to her own incompetence.
If only she hadn’t been warped into the game, she muses. I probably would have flirted with her some, maybe asked her for her number. Maybe even have taken her out to dinner.
She sighs wistfully. If only she had been a normal girl….
Or maybe, a cutting voice tells her, if you hadn’t immediately shut her down after she asked you to teach her, you could have flirted with her. Maybe if you hadn’t called Lucks, let him torment her, you could have asked for her number. Maybe, just maybe, if you hadn’t kidnapped her, you could have had a relationship—!
Belle winces, stands to look in the mirror: Her jaw is hard, her eyes piercing. Blood drips from her knuckles.
Belle’s shoulders slump. When did I get so bitter…?
Her thoughts turn to that car ride back from that game match. She remembers how beaten down and dejected Tari looked, how small and frail she was.
She looks like she needs a friend, Belle remembers thinking.
Realization dawns on her once more. She doesn’t believe that Tari’s truly responsible for Lucinia’s disappearance, not really.
Her gaze returns to Lucinia’s photo.
Not that it matters, Belle thinks, gritting her teeth. Regardless of whether Tari is innocent or not, she will find what happened to Lucinia. On that, she swears. And not even this stupid crush will get in the way.