It was almost time for her date and Miyume had yet to stop seething from her encounter with Taue. As brief as it had been, it'd still been enough to rip the scab off a wound that was finally just starting to heal. What was it about her that made people automatically think she was some sort of mental incompetent in need of protection or salvation? Her body was weak, not her mind.

As long as people kept making that assumption, Miyume would pull their heartstrings until they danced to the tune she wanted. It wasn't like she had any other real talents or abilities going for her these days. And more often than not, it was the only way she could maintain even an illusion of control over her life.

Miyume quickly got dressed. While she looked nice enough, she didn't put quite the same care into her appearance as she had been for her dates lately. Hopefully, it would turn out not to have been a mistake for to slack a bit in this area. She hurried out to their meeting place, as much as she could hurry anywhere these days.

The sight of Mirai talking to another girl didn't bother Miyume. At least, not as much as people would surely tell her she should be if they'd known in the first place. She regarded the girl with mild curiosity before turning her full attention to Mirai.

"Hello, Mirai-kun," she greeted kindly. No one would be able to tell from her sweet tone that not even five minutes ago, her mind had been full of nothing but darkness.