LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 4: She didn’t even know if she needed a friend.
It's been three months since the disaster that took place in Rimi's home.
There were two villains who entered her home in the middle of the night. One of the villains, Etsuko, betrayed her partner, Haru, and fled the scene. None of the household members were harmed, but Haru was pronounced dead when law enforcement arrived.
Rimi remembers waking up to see the intruders but remembers there being a veil of darkness concealing their identities. After realizing she was awake, one of the intruders, Etsuko, shot a needle into her and she fell asleep right after.
Rimi has found herself in yet another dangerous situation, a woman with boastful bosoms is threatening to suffocate her. This would be the second time that Rimi's been killed by asphyxiation.
"Hiroko, you're going to suffocate my daughter, please calm down." Rimi is squirming in the arms of the tall, blonde-haired woman. The woman holding her is Hiroko Yokota, one of Kimiko's friends. Kimiko and Koji, Rimi's father, are standing with nervous sweat dripping down their faces. If Hiroko hugs Rimi any harder, their daughter may actually become an angel!
The woman finally pulls Rimi away from her chest, giving the girl time to breathe. Her birthday would be soon, and she'd probably obtain her quirk before she turns 2. Rimi was worried about her family at first, but when she saw how they added great security measures to their home, she didn't quite mind.
The concerning thing is that father opted to get a new dog, one that Marble was not very fond of. Rimi usually sees Marble and their brown-haired german shepherd, Pearl, exchanging fierce stares from across the room.
Rimi wonders if it was a good idea to leave without putting the two of them in their cages.
More importantly, her sister turned 12 recently! This didn't actually mean much in the long run, but Madoka constantly remarks about how she's one step closer to becoming a hero.
Kimiko is holding another child in her arms, one that was a bit bigger than Rimi. "Yuudai, Rimi, apologize to each other," Kimiko speaks to the child she's holding, along with Rimi, who's being held by the child's mother.
Yuudai Yokota, Hiroko's son who was a month older than Rimi, is staring at the girl with a strange look on his face.
From where she is, being held by his mother, Rimi has a similar face as well, sparks meeting between the two.
It started the moment that the two saw each other. While both of them can speak enough to form broken sentences, neither of them said a word to the other.
The moment that Rimi and Yuudai laid eyes on each other, they both had looks of disgust, Rimi didn't even realize that her face twisted into one. No one could tell what was going on in their minds, but what did happen next is an unsuspected fight.
* * * *
After locking eyes with Yuudai, Rimi felt a hostility brewing within her, a feeling that she gets whenever she's faced with a natural enemy.
When Rimi first saw Marble, she had that feeling, only to trust the dog after... well, she doesn't know why herself—she just came to trust the dog at some point.
Yuudai apparently had that same feeling, since the two of them wasted no time in walking toward each other while their parents tried to finish their introductions.
Once they were a few inches apart, Rimi and Yuudai locked eyes, seeing the ferocious flames burning in their eyes. "You're trouble..." Rimi slurs, tilting her head to the side with a sniffle, much like a delinquent.
Yuudai nearly scoffs before he retorts, "Quiet, big head." Rimi isn't one to express her emotion too much, but this comment somehow makes her disgusted expression become more revolted.
Their staredown continued until they both moved in unison, raising their hands to grab the other by the hair. Yuudai was a bit taller than Rimi, but that didn't stop the girl at all. "Pig." Yuudai barbs, tightly clenching the girl's hair. "Rat." As if her body could not stand the insult, Rimi said the first insult that came to her head.
That's when the true battle began. Rimi noticed a change in Yuudai's stance, and she was quick to respond, throwing her fist straight into the boy's head. With a powerful boom, Yuudai's head is thrown back, but his eyes quickly lock on to Rimi, leaving a red streak behind the path they'd followed.
Rimi's eyes go wide when the boy straightens his posture, bringing his fist down to ram into her head. She dips beneath his arm, becoming nervous as the fist goes past her forehead, creating a gust of wind and a loud boom as the punch struck the air.
They both released each other's hair, and Rimi is once again the one who acts first. The girl leaps from the ground, sending a devastating kick into the boy's hip. Yuudai blocks the kick with his arm, smirking all the while. "Weak!" Yuudai shouts, quickly wrapping his arm around Rimi's leg.
'S-Shit!' Rimi is spun, and soon has her back slammed into the ground. The girl coughs, but she's quick to recover when she realizes that Yuudai is aiming to mount onto her. Rimi knows that she isn't strong enough to shove the boy off of her if he succeeds at getting on top of her. She'd be completely vulnerable.
Gathering her strength into her legs, Rimi waits for Yuudai to take the first step forward, and once he does, she sends her foot flying right into his pamper. "Uoufgh!" Rimi snickers at the boy's reaction, quickly getting to her feet with the new window opened.
As the two are apart, they're certain that a breeze passes by. Rimi crouches into a defensive stance, whereas Yuudai replicates hers, but he seems more like a rhinoceros preparing for a charge.
The two push off the ground, flying forward, leaving only a trail of light behind them. Just as they grow near, a powerful force pulls the two of them apart once again.
* * * *
That is what led to the two being held by the other's mother. Their fight didn't seem to have been as intense as they'd imagined. "I can't believe you two grabbed each other's hair," Koji sighs, rubbing the back of his head while Madoka is a laughing fit on the ground.
"It was adorable! Her little punches were so cute!" Madoka earns a nudge from her father's foot, but the girl only laughs harder remembering how the two kids rolled around, fighting before they even got to talk. They even tried to insult each other, but their words were so slurred that Madoka needed her mother, who's grown used to talking with her daughter, to translate!
"She sounds more like her aunt than either of us," Kimiko speaks to Koji, patting Yuudai, who seems more angry than sad, on his back to calm him down.
Kimiko's face quickly turns serious and she places Yuudai down on the ground, holding him in place with a hand on his shoulder so that the boy wouldn't stumble away. "Now, say sorry." Hiroko follows Kimiko's example and sits Rimi in front of Yuudai.
Neither Rimi nor Yuudai wanted to apologize. They were archenemies, bound by destiny.
It isn't until they feel the overwhelming presence of both Kimiko and Hiroko weighing on them from above did they both begrudgingly apologize. "Sorry," They say at the same time, quickly turning their heads away from each other.
Kimiko sighs, realizing she won't get much out of two kids who were barely able to walk for a long time. "I must say, Hiroko, your son is smart." She compliments, stepping away to leave the two children with Koji and Madoka.
"Ah, thank you, I think it has something to do with his quirk." Kimiko looks shocked by Hiroko's words. "He's awakened his quirk already? Madoka didn't awaken hers until she was 3." For Yuudai to awaken his quirk at such a young age is not some kind of miracle, it can happen at birth, Kimiko is just impressed that it happened with someone who she is familiar with.
"Yep, his quirk is pretty interesting, since not even the doctor knew how to explain it. Apparently, he's a mutant-type, but it's 'adaptive', meaning that his body will adapt to its surroundings and his needs passively. I guess that means that his body's adapting to make him smarter as well." This was only a rough idea that Hiroko had since not even she could grasp a good understanding of her son's quirk.
Hiroko continues, "What about Rimi? Has she awakened her quirk these last few months?" Kimiko flinches up at the question, finding the topic of Rimi and awakening to be sensitive. She continues the conversation nonetheless.
"She hasn't awakened yet, but I do hope that her ability isn't as dangerous as Madoka's. I don't know if it's because of my quirk, but the drawback for Madoka's is severe. When she awakened for the first time, she was bedridden from processing everything within a mile of herself." Kimiko still gets shivers when she thinks about how badly her daughter was screaming while using her quirk. Thankfully, she's gotten better at using it over time, meaning that by the time she enters middle school, the effects of Madoka's quirk won't be as harsh.
"Do you have any idea what her quirk might be?" Hiroko was just adding new things to discuss, and Kimiko seems to appreciate it as their conversation continues. When Kimiko gives her theory of what Rimi's quirk might be, the woman just laughs, but her face quickly changes once Kimiko doubles down, saying that she's 'been having a dream' about something bizarre.
Rimi can't hear their conversation too well, since she and Yuudai are being assaulted by Madoka's tight hugs. She's holding both of them in one arm while running away from her father who playfully chases behind her.
Even while they were running, Rimi and Yuudai could not take their eyes off each other. They both had the same feeling going through their minds; that the person in front of them is dangerous.
* * * *
Hours later, the two kids are being watched by Koji in the backyard while the other girls talked inside. Apparently, Hiroko wanted to tutor Madoka on her quirk. Rimi found it hard to believe that such a bubbly woman could ever be a teacher.
Though, she also found it hard to believe that her useless father could be a police officer. She discovered that his quirk lets him control the trajectory of anything that he's thrown.
For this reason, he usually doesn't use firearms, since there is a time limit on how long something can be used until his quirk loses its effect. If he touches a set of bullets, he'd likely only be able to control one of them by the time he finishes loading the firearm.
She also discovered that the streaks in her hair come from him. It turns out that one of her father's ancestors was a mutant, and those genetics have died out over time, causing abnormalities in the hair of their descendants.
His hair was blond with just as much red, meaning that he had the most symmetrical streaks out of everyone else in the family.
Whenever Koji stops paying attention, the two toddlers muster up as much strength as they can and hurl pebbles at each other. Most of them don't even reach the other, but Yuudai is on the favorable side thanks to his adaptivity.
"Snake," Rimi says as she throws a pebble, but it seems to be just off the mark.
"Whale," Yuudai insults her back, throwing back a pebble in return. This time, his pebble reaches her leg, causing the girl to reach and instinctively rub where she'd been hit.
"Monkey," Rimi counters again, throwing her pebble with a bit more strength. This time, her pebble manages to hit him in the leg too.
"Moose," Once more, Yuudai throws his pebble at the girl, but this time, he puts more force behind it. It hits her in the stomach, and she yelps.
Koji looks up, seeing the two standing across from each other. From this distance, he can't see it, but the two have the most forced, strained smiles on their faces.
Koji smiles and shakes his head at the kids, reminiscing on his childhood with Kimiko. Their relationship didn't consist of throwing rocks at one another but was instead one brimming with shyness. The shyness came from Koji, who was not very outgoing back then.
"Okay, stop," Yuudai's had enough once one of Rimi's pebbles manage to hit him in his hip. "We aren't getting anywhere," The boy says with slurred speech. No matter how smart they are, it's still quite difficult to annunciate their words, howbeit, his quirk has made it so he can speak more fluently than Rimi at this point.
Rimi throws one last pebble at the boy out of spite before she asks, "Why?" Asking 'why' brings back memories, unwelcomed ones. The girl shoves them into the back of her conscience.
Rimi could probably see the red vein sticking out of Yuudai's head in annoyance. "Because, we can't keep fighting," In spite of the fact that his quirk is constantly adapting to try and find a way to overcome the hurdle in front of him, something about this girl has made it impossible for his quirk to act in its current state. There is something about her that's slowly having intrusive thoughts seep into his mind.
'Don't keep fighting her. How to survive: Stop. How to flee: Stop. You are in danger.' Yuudai had never been warned about things like this, so in all honesty, he was scared after these thoughts came into his mind after their first fight. When he first laid eyes on her, he assumed that she was a monster in human skin since his quirk immediately gave him a boost in intelligence and physical abilities. Obviously, most of the fight that they had was more in their immersive imagination than anything, but it didn't change anything.
"Yes we can," Rimi retorts, going to pick up another pebble from the ground, but she stops just as Koji is lifting his head back up from his newspaper to check what the two kids were doing. If Yuudai knew that Rimi had a mutual feeling of danger in his presence, his quirk would probably overwork the limitations of his mind to try and understand. Thankfully, Rimi was not aware of this fact—in the state that she is in right now—she'd undoubtedly use that weakness against him.
Yuudai sighs, stepping up to the girl, "Look."
He reaches his hand out in front of himself, offering the girl a handshake. "Let's start over."
Another reason why Rimi has chosen to be so stubborn is because of the state that she enters whenever she detects someone's hostility toward her.
Even if she cannot remember it, Rimi went as far as to eat a man's eyes out of his sockets because he broke into her home. The age of someone did not matter to Rimi, who has killed many kids her own age in her previous life. She's fought many people, and she's learned the hard way that falling for someone's deception can hurt her.
Rimi thinks back on one of the first times that it'd happened. Recounting the event, Rimi quickly pulls her hand away, not even realizing that she almost shook the boy's hand. She turns and quickly 'runs' away as best as she can with her little legs.
The unnamed boy was sitting down at the corner of a random neighborhood. He had no attachment to it, nor did he need to be there. He'd walked aimlessly for hours and found this place, thinking that it looked nice.
He sat at the curb at the corner of the street, looking up at the night sky. A lot of time had passed since he'd been home. His parents told him that they didn't need him, so he went about his day just as usual, looking for something that he might find interesting.
Today, he decided to wait until it was late to sit down and count the stars. He'd been given a basic education, so he knew how to count for the most part, though once he reaches a certain number, he struggles and has to teach himself how to count higher. The sky was a brilliant canvas that you can learn from.
By watching the clouds, you can keep track of how much time is passing by, as the clouds slowly become less visible as the day progresses. You can practice making shapes by connecting the stars; creating makeshift constellations.
'It must be cold,' the boy thinks, looking to see many people with scarves wrapped around their necks, also wearing thick coats. Some people had their hands tucked into their pockets, and the boy looked at his own clothing. He had a black long-sleeve shirt and denim jeans, with white slip-on shoes. They were not clothes fit for the winter, but because of his resilience to the cold, his mother and father didn't feel the need to buy him any winter garments.
"What are you doing by yourself, little boy?" From behind the boy, the voice of a woman calls out to him. He turns to look in her direction, seeing that it is a woman wearing thick-layered clothes like everyone else. Her oak-colored hair was contained in a pink beanie.
The boy locks eyes with the woman, and she returns a soft smile to him that makes his stomach flutter. It was the first time someone had given him such a genuine smile. His instincts tend to warn him about deception or other tricks, so a fake smile would not work on him.
"I'm counting the stars," he answers, pointing up at the last distant star that he'd stopped counting at.
The woman looks up, tilting her head, she obviously doesn't know which of the countless starts the boy is pointing at. "How many stars have you counted?" She takes a seat on the curb, beside the boy.
"172 stars." He says matter-of-factly, and the woman can't contain her laughter after listening to the contentment in the boy's voice.
"Where are your parents at? Aren't they worried about you? It's dangerous to leave a child out here all on their own." Her happy face turns into a frown as she realizes that she still has yet to see the boy's parents around. It's terribly cruel to leave a child out in the open, so vulnerable.
He thinks for a bit before finally answering, "They're at home. They don't need me right now." The woman's eyes go wide at the boy's words. Quickly, she stands to her feet, raising a hand over her chest. "That's not something they should be saying to a child! Tell me your parents' names!"
The boy tilts his head in curiosity. He's never seen someone react this way before, no one ever cares too much when he says that. She wants to know their names. He's been instructed to never share important information like that, so the boy shakes his head. It'd be impolite to disobey their instructions.
The woman looks baffled that he isn't saying their names, but then she has a thought; maybe he isn't supposed to be out. She rubs her chin, her hand lifting over her lips.
Then, the woman reaches a hand out to the boy. "Still, it's too dark out for you to be sitting around. I'm Lerisa, come inside and let me give you some hot chocolate and some proper clothes, you'll freeze with that on." Lerisa is obviously talking about the clothes he has on.
He wants to tell her that the cold does not bother him and that he's fine, but the woman grabs him by the hand with an unfamiliar tenderness. 'Why is she so concerned for me? You should care for yourself as well, ma'am. You might freeze to death if you stay with me for too long. I've been told that my heart is 'made of ice', you'll get cold if you're around me.' He doesn't say this out loud, though, since the woman insists on continuing this show of kindness.
He rises to his feet, letting the woman lead him to one of the homes nearby. He'd figured that she lived nearby, but her home was the one closest to the corner. 'What an inconspicuous location.' He doesn't know what made him think that, so he ignored that sudden thought.
The woman leads him inside and sits him down on her couch. "Now, you stay here, and wait for me to get you a blanket and some clothes."
Her home is rather nice and simple. She has one of everything you'd expect a person to want in their home, a couch, a television on a stand, a grandfather clock ticking on the far side of the room, and a ceiling fan that wasn't turned on. There were other decorations, but the boy didn't pay them much mind.
His eyes wander along the bookcase that has some pictures on its shelves instead of novels. There are a few photos of people who she assumed were her family. A young girl around his age, a boy behind her with an unnaturally wide smile. They seem to be wearing costumes, and from the looks of it, that photo was taken right in front of Lerisa's doorstep.
'Halloween... It's actually my favorite day of the year. Father, and especially mother, rely on me the most to handle business for them on that day. I get to dress up in many disguises, like the ones I see on TV. I don't need to be careful with the blood that spills on the costume since everyone assumes that the blood is fake. Sometimes, I unconsciously tell them that it isn't... Foolish me. It just slips out, almost like I'm begging them to believe me.' If he found it funny, the boy would be chuckling right now.
Eventually, the woman comes back into the room with a blanket over her shoulder and a mug of hot chocolate in her other hand. She places the blanket on the couch beside him, and then he notices the jacket on top of it that he assumed was for him. "Thank you," it's common courtesy to thank someone, but Lerisa just nods and smiles.
The boy carelessly takes the mug into his hands and raises it to his lips, but then the woman warns him, "Be careful, it's hot."
He looks at the mug, realizing that he hadn't even noticed the steam coming from the drink. When was the last time he'd let his guard down like that? Something like heat should've been an immediate red flag to his body since they've never gotten along. 'I don't think a heat like this will burn my tongue, but I should still blow just in case.' He nods and gently blows on the liquid.
Shortly after blowing on the drink, he finally takes his first sip and realizes just how delicious the drink actually is. The marshmallows melting into the drink seem to add the slightest addition of flavor that he can't ignore.
He doesn't notice it, but the face he's making is one of joy, and the woman smiles, seeing the new face. The boy looked like a puppet before. "I hope you enjoyed it, would you like me to make you another cup?" She asks the boy, and he wastes no time nodding.
* * * *
After a few more cups, the woman looked a bit bothered by just how much the child could drink. "Thank you very much!" With his final cup finished, he plants the mug down on the table in front of them, and Lerisa nervously chuckles. "It's fine, dear. I hope that's warmed you up."
"Are your kids home?" The boy asks as he examines the coat that Lerisa brought for him. It looks like it'd fit him perfectly, which was convenient.
"Kids?" Lerisa asks curiously, the smile disappearing as her face twists in confusion.
He points at the few pictures lining the bookcase of the different kids in front of her doorstep, which he assumed were relatives since he'd never heard of people framing photos of strangers on Halloween. "Dear, I don't have kids."
'Hm,' The boy didn't think much about it as he nods his head, understanding that he'd misunderstood the situation.
"...Then why do you...?" Immediately, the vision in his left eye blurs as he feels an unfamiliar drowsiness rush through him. It isn't until he sees the same soft, considerate smile on Lerisa's face did he understand the meaning behind her actions.
Despite having no children, Lerisa had photos of children lying around in her living room. Despite not having children, Lerisa had a natural charisma that could attract children with ease. But, worst of all, despite not having children, Lerisa had a coat that could perfectly fit the 8-year-old boy.
'Drugs...?' The boy tries to stand to his feet, but he feels himself becoming weaker, much weaker. He's never experienced being drugged before, not to this degree. Were the marshmallows also drugged? How many sedatives did this woman sneak into his drink?
He doesn't even manage to take another step before he passes out, falling against the table with a thump. "You drank so much of it, I was worried that you might die, you know? I like good boys who are nice and compliant." Lerisa speaks down as she gathers the boy into her arms.
* * * *
The next sequence felt like it was part of a dream to the boy.
Waking up, he could barely move his own body, the strength he once had gone completely as the plethora of drugs go through his system.
Lerisa is standing on the far side of what he assumes is a basement with many different items lying around, most peculiarly, photos of different children—these ones were more bewitching than the ones upstairs. Here, he can see the state of the victims and the horrible, unspeakable actions she did to them.
'This woman is...' He's heard the word before, and he's even been warned of them by some of the hobos on the streets. 'A child molester!'
Lerisa was wearing a scandalous, red lingerie set, nearly drooling as she looks down at the child, restrained by countless ropes.
The child blocked off the scene that happened. He remembers his voice, though.
He remembers crying, pleading, and screaming in sheer agony as a pain he'd never felt before washed over him.
He remembers the countless days that he spent locked in that woman's basement, repeatedly being drugged and subjected to 'brainwashing' that'd have truly left a permanent impression on him if it weren't for his own family's 'teachings' that overshadowed Lerisa's.
Eventually, his body grew to become resistant to Lerisa's drugs which she'd been forcing through his system in higher quantities each time.
There is one memory that the boy never forgot; the look of unadulterated horror as he shoved every piece of equipment she owned through her body like a skewer, slowly, so that she would not die too quickly. Her body was completely bloated by the time he finished with her.
This event left a permanent scar on his very soul, making it much harder for him to trust people after—and this was only one of the events that'd continue haunting him.
Thinking about that day still hurts Rimi, who now finds herself curled up behind one of the trees in the backyard.
Yuudai can't hide his annoyance at the girl's refusal of his offer. Sure, they might've had a fight, but they also wouldn't get anywhere if they kept fighting like this! Then again, in his mind, she probably still had the mind of an infant. 'No, wrong.' The boy shakes his head. She's smart, just like him, she's younger than him but can nearly speak as properly as he can.
Yuudai has conversed with other kids before and has come to understand that while he might not be as smart as elementary schoolers, he has developed his own conscience and can learn much faster than other children his age. Maybe that's why he felt Rimi was such a threat to him, besides the constant alerts his own ability gave him.
A light bulb appears over Yuudai's head as he gets a brilliant idea. 'She's a girl! Just have to give her girl things!' Even though he was smart, he was still a toddler. His sentence was all over the place, even in his own thoughts, with the help of his quirk.
Several minutes later, Rimi hears the grass slowly ruffle and she peeks her head around the tree. Immediately, she is alerted by Yuudai's presence and his hands hidden behind his back.
Right when she reaches down to pick up a rock, Yuudai draws something from behind his back—a rabbit! The boy had used his quirk to catch a stray rabbit in his backyard. For some reason, probably due to his father's quirk, animals always find their way into the backyard, but never mess with anything. Yuudai just took a chance and caught one of those animals!
"Here." He sticks his hand out, offering her the squirming rabbit. Rimi looks suspicious at first but grabs the rabbit by the ears, hesitantly. "Sign of friendship," Yuudai explains proudly.
When Yuudai sees that Rimi is having a hard time holding on to the thrashing rabbit, he reaches his hand out and catches the rabbit by its tail, helping her hold it in place. "They're squirmy," Yuudai raises his head to look at Rimi's expression. She might not be smiling, but at least her harsh tone has softened considerably.
"...I'm sorry," This time, Yuudai takes the first step to try and speak with the girl, properly. "I shouldn't have fought you." Somehow, it seems like toddlers have a perfect understanding of the other's dreadful vocabulary at times.
Rimi is hesitant at first as well, recounting the horrible memories of her past. She had moved on from it, but she'd also learned to trust her instincts, which only served as a means of excessive caution for anything unfamiliar to her. If it weren't for her mother looking identical to the kind woman from her past life, Rimi might've been reclusive to her own family.
The poor rabbit can't escape the children's grip now and resigns itself to its fate. Rimi watches the rabbit's helpless state, restrained by the two of them, and frowns. She feels that unwanted feeling again, the horrible feeling that haunted her throughout her entire past life.
Hoping to ease that feeling, Rimi releases the rabbit's ears, and while he looks surprised at first, Yuudai releases its tail, letting it fall to the ground and bolt away. Rimi watches as the rabbit moves with a speed that she couldn't hope to match, then turns to look at Yuudai.
The boy was only a year older than her, if she was recalling her mother's words, and yet he openly used his quirk to catch a creature that should be much faster than him. Somehow, this warmed her 'frozen heart' enough to melt the tip of it.
"I'm sorry for hitting you too," Technically, Rimi is the one who started the conflict. The two might not have liked each other, but Rimi is the one who threw the first punch that started their fight. So, the first step to this 'ceasefire' is for her to apologize for her own wrongdoings.
Yuudai smiles and even sighs in relief. If anyone saw their interaction, they'd be surprised to see that it was an interaction between two infants. Granted, one of them bases their actions on things they've seen on television and the other one is still learning the true meaning behind emotions and morality after failing to live through their childhood.
Yuudai, for the second time, offers Rimi his hand to shake. This time, Rimi completely stretches her hand out, shaking his. Rimi didn't have the same firm grip as Yuudai, as she still had many of her walls up, but the fact that Yuudai was willing to use his quirk to try and appease her is enough to make her lower one.
"Friends?" Yuudai asks nervously and almost pulls his hand away when he sees Rimi's face, assuming he'd said something out of line.
There are tears streaming down the child's face at his words. 'Friends', something that she'd lacked before. Any 'friend' Rimi had was a victim of hers, someone who she played the role of a villain to execute. She has never had a true 'friend', until this very moment.
"Friends," Rimi might not have seen it, but there was a smile creeping onto her face.