The instinct should be against both their natures. And yet as he dips his head towards her Toko raises up to meet him halfway. There isn't a second thought.
Even if there were, it would be washed away by the whirlpool tug that wipes Danaca from their eyes. Toko is sent somewhere distant, older. Colder. Where knights lock swords and family blood means more than earned titles.
Dimitri finds himself on the top floor of a skyscraper. It could be Danaca for all he knows, but the smoke-seared sky outside nixes the notion straight out. Besides that, he's now a ghost among strangers. Two children, a teenager, a man in an arm cast, and Toko.
She's in her torn school uniform, face drawn in fright as she, like all the rest, watch the teenage girl all but turn to stone. The girl holds a strange device in her hands. The Danaca half of him might recognize it as a controller. Nothing important.
Except Toko launches herself at the girl with a scream, snatching it away. Falling with it to the floor, guarding it with her body like it's a matter of life or death.
"What are you doing?" cajoles a wee voice. The green haired tyke, standing prim some distance apart. "Outsiders have no business interrupting us."
"I-I'm not an outsider. We're...we're friends!
The man barks out, the sole adult in the room and yet he's acting in desperation. "Stop shouting nonsense. Just hand that over!"
"N-No! I won't give it to you! I need to protect this controller! I need to for Komaru's sake!"
"What're you talking about?! She was going to destroy it!"
Komaru? Is that the girl gone catatonic on the floor? Eyes dimmed, robbed of the device, dead to one and all?
Toko isn't budging. "Th-that's not how she really feels. I'm sure she's actually thinking that...that she doesn't wanna do it."
"How the hell could you possibly know that?!"
"I-I don't know how, I just know!"
It doesn't matter whether the man understands. He's the grown up, but he's not the leader. No, that's falling back on the diminuitive little lady with the bright green locks, sweet voiced and wide eyed. It's her words, though. The confidence with which she calls out her judgment — it's obvious at once this is no normal child.
"I was told you weren't the type to interfere," she muses, hands folded over her skirt. "That's why I chose you to take on the role of escort. But it appears that the information Mr. Servant provided was false."
She reaches behind her leg. Toko's eyes are trained on her. Wary.
"So. How 'bout this?" Out comes a key, clinking off the end of a cutesy rounded charm. She dangles it before Toko like a treat for a dog. "That's right! It's the key to the room where Mr. Byakuya Togami is locked inside! Saaay...you wanna trade this key for that controller? If you do, you can go home with Mr. Byakuya Togamiiii~"
Toko doesn't move.
"...Y-you're telling me to choose between Komaru and Master?"
The little monster giggles. "Now it's your turn to make a choice..."
Ultra Despair Girls spoilers
The instinct should be against both their natures. And yet as he dips his head towards her Toko raises up to meet him halfway. There isn't a second thought.
Even if there were, it would be washed away by the whirlpool tug that wipes Danaca from their eyes. Toko is sent somewhere distant, older. Colder. Where knights lock swords and family blood means more than earned titles.
Dimitri finds himself on the top floor of a skyscraper. It could be Danaca for all he knows, but the smoke-seared sky outside nixes the notion straight out. Besides that, he's now a ghost among strangers. Two children, a teenager, a man in an arm cast, and Toko.
She's in her torn school uniform, face drawn in fright as she, like all the rest, watch the teenage girl all but turn to stone. The girl holds a strange device in her hands. The Danaca half of him might recognize it as a controller. Nothing important.
Except Toko launches herself at the girl with a scream, snatching it away. Falling with it to the floor, guarding it with her body like it's a matter of life or death.
"What are you doing?" cajoles a wee voice. The green haired tyke, standing prim some distance apart. "Outsiders have no business interrupting us."
"I-I'm not an outsider. We're...we're friends!
The man barks out, the sole adult in the room and yet he's acting in desperation. "Stop shouting nonsense. Just hand that over!"
"N-No! I won't give it to you! I need to protect this controller! I need to for Komaru's sake!"
"What're you talking about?! She was going to destroy it!"
Komaru? Is that the girl gone catatonic on the floor? Eyes dimmed, robbed of the device, dead to one and all?
Toko isn't budging. "Th-that's not how she really feels. I'm sure she's actually thinking that...that she doesn't wanna do it."
"How the hell could you possibly know that?!"
"I-I don't know how, I just know!"
It doesn't matter whether the man understands. He's the grown up, but he's not the leader. No, that's falling back on the diminuitive little lady with the bright green locks, sweet voiced and wide eyed. It's her words, though. The confidence with which she calls out her judgment — it's obvious at once this is no normal child.
"I was told you weren't the type to interfere," she muses, hands folded over her skirt. "That's why I chose you to take on the role of escort. But it appears that the information Mr. Servant provided was false."
She reaches behind her leg. Toko's eyes are trained on her. Wary.
"So. How 'bout this?" Out comes a key, clinking off the end of a cutesy rounded charm. She dangles it before Toko like a treat for a dog. "That's right! It's the key to the room where Mr. Byakuya Togami is locked inside! Saaay...you wanna trade this key for that controller? If you do, you can go home with Mr. Byakuya Togamiiii~"
Toko doesn't move.
"...Y-you're telling me to choose between Komaru and Master?"
The little monster giggles. "Now it's your turn to make a choice..."
And does she?]
((Watch here: from 11:00:55 to 11:04:06))