"Alright, I'm glad you two agreed to this."

Mamimi and Haruko were sat on the couch before Commander Cid's desk, sitting with a bit of space before each other. He had two papers on his desk, out of view from Haruko and Mamimi; however, Cid seemed to be very interested in them. Cid lifted a cigarette, dangling it in front of himself; he said to Mamimi, "I bet you could use one of these, hmmm...?" He scowled at Mamimi's twitch - "A girl as young and pretty as you shouldn't ruin things down the road with smoking. I'm half dead anyway and my head's full of scrap parts and smoke.

"You have people who care about you, despite how you might mope about. Nobody's gonna miss a stiff corpse like me." He took a long draw, before blowing a few rings of smoke up into the air..."A stiff, dried-up, irritable corpse..." Cid's eyes started to glaze over. Mamimi had a concerned look in her eye as the scarred, bespectacled man continued staring at the ceiling.

Haruko smiled at Mamimi; "Don't worry, Sameji; Oyabun just gets like this sometimes. He'll snap out of it soon." She crossed her right leg over her left, digging her pinky into her ear. Indeed, although it took a while, Cid eventually looked back at Haruko and Mamimi.

"Right then," he said nonchalantly. "Either of you have something you'd like to say before I present the first argument?" Watching as both shook their heads, Cid continued. "Mamimi's argument is up first...'Haruko is far too focused on having things out of her grasp, and needs to learn how to appreciate things and people around her. She causes mayhem and makes people who care about her, like Naota, worry when she could easily keep it from happening.'" He coughed. Haruko glared forward, dark tendrils of pure malice starting to curl around her.

Pointing at Cid, Mamimi said quietly, "Ummm...Cid-san...I don't exactly remember what was first on my list, but I know it wasn't that..." At this, Haruko bared her teeth, pupils shrinking. Cid looked over the paper at them.

He gave a vapid smile. "Ahahahaha. Yes, it's an awful thing when your mind begins to wander at old age. I'm so sorry, Mimi-neechan, I'll get right to your list." Cid expertly rolled his chair to the side, dodging a shoe thrown at him. "I really need to learn not to leave ammo lying about...Right then. The actual first thing on Mamimi's list, and the only thing: 'Haruko doesn't care for the emotions of others, either manipulating their feelings or just ignoring them. She doesn't connect with other people, and is only focused on getting what she wants. No matter what she has to do, who gets hurt, how many people get hurt, she just doesn't care.'" Cid looked up.

"I think that's definitive, and though it's not my place, I entirely agree," he said. "Haruko, what do you think?" He leaned in. Haruko's brow furrowed, an ugly sneer on her face. Meanwhile, Mamimi's expression was totally blank, as she stared down at her hands with that same empty look in her eyes.

Haruko finally said, "So what? It's not like anyone on Earth is gonna miss me. Naota'd get over me real quick." She uncrossed her legs before recrossing them the opposite way. It looked like that would be that, before a soft declaration arose from Mamimi.

"...He may not fret over it every day...But I'm sure you'd make Naota very happy just to have you visit once in a while." Looking over with a slightly surprised expression, Haruko listened to what Mamimi had to say. "You made his life exciting...Thanks to you, he was able to grow up." But then, with that same empty tone..."Me...I kept him from growing up...Nothing I do helps anyone...That's why...I..." Though Haruko tried to stop Mamimi from saying it, she just couldn't speak in time.

"...I don't want to go back. I can't go back. All I'd do would make Naota sad."

Though what Mamimi said made Haruko's heart twist painfully, what really hurt was how she said it...Haruko hadn't been able to pin one word to Mamimi before, but now, though she felt sick to admit it, one word was burned into her mind: Defeated. What Mamimi felt like, and what was true, to an extent, was that no matter what she did...She'd never win.

Meanwhile, Cid folded his papers on his desk and remained silent; now wasn't the time for a procedure. He just had to let Haruko and Mamimi help each other naturally...Or at least, hope that they can help each other, he thought to himself. Breathing a puff of smoke out of the corner of his mouth, he let the situation unfold.

Indeed, before too long, Haruko gently slid across the couch to sit next to Mamimi. The auburn haired girl didn't look up, staring down at her hands as she twiddled her thumbs with painfully slow motions. Haruko said to her, "Ummm...You...You don't really mean that, do you?" She expected Mamimi to look up, but all she got was silence. Haruko continued; "I mean...You don't make Naota sad. You just need to...Well...I get a feeling you used him to replace his big brother." Haruko bit her lip as Mamimi froze, no longer moving her thumbs.

Deciding there was no stopping now, Haruko continued. "You don't make Naota sad...And you'd better not start thinking he hates you. Or that I hate you, either, because both of us like you!" At this, Mamimi finally turned her face upwards; towards Haruko. Now, Haruko gave her a confident smile; "We've both gone about things the wrong way...But we can both make up for it, right?"

Mamimi nodded, the corners of her mouth starting to rise into a slight smile...Haruko said brightly, "We don't need to be all lovey-dovey! Naota needs us, but not as girlfriends - I can help you learn how to become self-reliant, and you can help me learn how to become more conscious of others! We're a team now, you hear me, Sameji?" Mamimi nodded, her smile starting to grow.

"Yeah, Haru-san...Mmm..." She hiccupped, starting to rub at her eyes - Haruko grabbed at Mamimi's shoulders, but was surprised by how happy Mamimi sounded. "Haruko...You're...You're really making me feel like I can be a good friend to Naota..."

Haruko closed her eyes, hugging Mamimi to her chest - "Sameji, if my words have that kind of effect for you, I'll just keep talking."

Meanwhile, Cid was watching with a bit of astonishment...He blew a puff of smoke out, although this time, it was black; as well, his cigarette had been put out a while ago. Sparks crackled ever-so faintly in his mouth as he spoke. "I never thought I'd see the day...Haruko has friends, and she's willing to work together with someone else. I'm...Happy...But...I...I don't know what I'm supposed to do with all of this happiness. Servos three, six, nine, and twelve haven't been this active in years...I want to hug somebody, but the two of them are connecting..." Cid suddenly propped his feet up against the edge of his desk.

Pushing himself away, his chair rolled across the floor for a bit - Thump. "Hmmm." - But abruptly, his chair fell over backwards, leaving him to stare up at the ceiling. "...Still happy. A good day for all, I suppose. If we were in the actual anime, I think this is where something by the pillows would start playing in the background." He remained staring up at the ceiling.

Haruko gently rubbed Mamimi's head, as Mamimi held Haruko tightly in a hug.