Mio
"Mio-chan. Mio-chaaaan."
"Oh. Yes?"
She wasn't used to that. Nana called her Onee-san. Shizuka called her little sprout. Mori said Mio-san like she was filing a report.
Nobody used -chan. The closest thing was OG, but even then that was a stretch. Nobody talked to her like they'd been friends for years.
But Chigusa did.
"You know you've made a very big name for yourself out there." Chigusa walked backward through the tunnel, chemical stick casting green light across her grin. "Party killer. Freak. Monster."
Oh?
The hunger's voice.
Chigusa tripped on a crack, laughed at herself and turned ahead. "Oops."
Mio halted. "Monster?"
"Monster, yeah. Although I prefer 'queen' or 'baddie'." Chigusa kept walking forward. "Or my favorite: divergent."
She had to be joking. Mio waited for the laugh after. It never came.
Chigusa turned around, raised her palm. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
Behind Mio, Enokida had stopped too.
