— What did I just do?
"Nothing, my dear friend connected to my existence. As I said, you just need to give the signal and I'll use Cousin Sucuri's secret technique."
"She may be committing a crime, but not a serious one. Leave Hana alone for now. She definitely has good intentions."
"Sexual harassment is mild? I didn't know, I'll remember. Why do you trust your sister so much? From the short time I've had her alive, she doesn't care about anyone, she just uses them as toys. At least she's not so sociopathic with you or Shizuko."
"Hey, my sister isn't a self-centered sociopath, maybe a bit narcissistic and antisocial. She knows it's impossible for Shizuko to regain her memories right now. I feel her heart; she just can't control her affection for Shizuko, the way she's trying to make her remember things that can't be forgotten."
— Ride a bike then? Or be one? Because the position they're both in now reminds me of a motorcyclist on a bike.
— You only think about the wrong things. Where did you get that from?
"It's in my nature; the name I was given explains it well. I'm not only a great sage but also a good lover. Speaking of which, have you managed to get in touch with her?"
Shizuko was panting, Hana couldn't take the smile off her face, her body exuded precision, she applied several blows, her favorites, which went from a simple hip position, to almost somersaulting on the bed.
Hana had her arms around Shizuko's neck, right next to the black-haired girl's heart. Hearing her heartbeat made her feel sick, because her own heartbeat wasn't the same; hers was naturally regulated. In her sadness, Shizuko quickly got out of that position, jumped out of bed, and ran out of the room without looking back at her past.
"What's wrong, Shizuko, are you okay?" Mary grabbed Shizuko's arm and let go. "Do you want me to get you something to drink?"
— Could you bring something strong enough to knock down an elephant? — He was still panting from his escapade.
"Sit down." Mary pulled up a chair. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so sweaty and have those red marks?"
— Mamoru switched places with Hana. I don't remember much about her, so she had the idea of us doing each other's favorite Jiu-Jitsu sweeps and moves.
"I see. Where is she now?" Out of nowhere, a bottle appeared in Mary's hand. "Take this, it's just water."
"Thank you." She grabbed the bottle right there and drained it in one go. "You're probably looking for me, but you're probably lost here. Why do you ask?"
"I think it's outrageous that a student of mine doesn't greet me when she arrives. I'll take it out on you. Don't disagree with me. She must be this way because she has a lot of pent-up energy."
— Okay. — Shizuko took a deep breath, puffing out her chest. — Hana, I'm here! — The scream echoed in the house.
Mary got up from her chair and prepared herself, tested her breath on her hand, if she was presentable, cracked her neck, and stood on guard, a base in front, and her fists at face height.
Even before the sound faded, a loud laugh took over, along with the sound of footsteps, which made the wood roar, slowly falling silent.
In front of Mary was Hana, panting and with a smile on her face. With an exchange of glances and a lewd expression, Hana had already understood. She ran toward Mary on a two-footed Chapa.
Their elbows met to lessen the impact. "You must be Mary, Elizabeth Shire's sister, right?" Hana twisted her wrist to the ground, throwing herself backward. "What do you want with my little brother and my beloved?"
A series of kicks began. "I'm their master." Hana quickly arrived. "I'm now taking your admissions test."
He went for the kicks, grabbed a leg. "Do I have to pass an admissions test?" He punched Mary in the face.
The mood in the room changed completely. "Of course, I'm bored." She grabbed Hana's hand and froze her. "I think I'd better stop here."
"I appreciate it." He let go of Mary's leg. "Give me some space, Shizuko."
- True.
"I wanted to test your compatibility with Tiresias. You know I just want to help, right? Could you transform so I can see something?"
— With pleasure.
Hana hugged Shizuko and kissed her. They both breathed heavily, each one taking the other's breath away more and more forcefully, until one stopped breathing, their bodies merging together, completely naked, but without any gender markers.
The body was gradually covered with a dark mesh, from which scales gradually began to emerge, and a serpentine mesh ran across the body, from the feet to the waist, becoming a belt. The face was covered with a helmet and a visor.
"Now I understand that it's not as simple as I thought." Mary slid her fingers down to her waist. "This is just a replica of a Dual Memory."
"Could you explain better, Professor?" He placed his hand under his chin. "I'm almost sure what it is, but maybe I'm wrong."
"Where to begin? I know." Mary sat in the chair next to her, her eyes still on her belt. "This is actually just Tiresias. As you know, your brother merged with him to save you. Because of this, you share a consciousness, but do you know why?"
— Of course. Each Aix has a special ability. That fox can escape no matter what. Tiresias's ability is to bind two souls. For me to be reborn, we also need the ability of Tiresias's twin Aix, Hermaphrodite.
"Okay, now I'll explain to Shizuko, who probably doesn't understand. The Hermaphrodite's ability is to merge two bodies into one. The Aix evolve each time they feed on Echidnas, thus creating a new body, just like Mamoru's scales. Explain the rest, Hana."
— The mamoru, being connected to Tiresias, evolved alongside him. The limit is when another being, called Ephimetheus, is born. This being is soulless and has no conscience. Then comes the Hermaphrodite, who can break the soul's bond and place it in another body.
"The plan is to have Mamoru feed on Echidnas until he creates this. Then we find Hermaphrodite, put it in the soulless body, and transport Hana's there. That way she's safe."
— Here comes you, the one listening to me, Shizuko. My father, Igor, showed you how to find any Aix, but you lost your memory. It's very likely that the memory loss affected the Dual Memory; we're in the form that replicates Tiresias fused with my soul.
— This happens because when Hana and you do Dual\Memory, Tiresias becomes the rope that holds Shizuko on one side and Hana on the other, interfering in the transformation, creating a Dual\Memory Replica.
— Simply put, I need to stay in control of Mamoru's body longer to eliminate this interference. That's why Mamoru will be offline for a while, and I'll only give him control again when we encounter an Echidna.