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Haato looked on expectantly toward Shion, who had a fairly uncertain expression adorning her face.

"Haato… are you sure about this?" Shion questioned, "I mean… I'd imagine she's still angry with you…"

"I'm positive," Haato nodded with determined eyes, "She's angry with me… but not as angry as I am with myself."

"What is it you're seeking?" Shion pondered, "I'm not sure I follow this plan."

"It's simple," Haato looked up at the ceiling, "I'm just trying to make things right. And the thing I'm seeking? Well…

"I guess you could say it's forgiveness."

Shion was somewhat taken aback by this side of Haato, as it was one she had never seen before. Still though… it made her oddly happy. The wizard grinned and straightened her large hat.

"You need to be transferred into your subconscious, right?" Shion asked, "You might know it better as 'your heart'."

"Mhm," Haato nodded, "Can you take me there?"

"You kidding?" Shion laughed, "I'm the greatest wizard of all time! Of course I can!"

Haato smiled warmly.

"Then let's do this," Haato said.

"You bet," Shion smirked smugly. She stretched out her two hands and odd lightning began emanating from them.

"This'll sting a bit," Shion warned. Haato braced herself and the lightning was released from Shion's hands and bulleted towards her. Haato groaned in pain when it made impact with her, and, when the electricity disappeared from her body, she plummeted to the ground. Shion worriedly ran up and caught her before she hit the floor. She did a quick check on her vitals.

Still steady breathing.

Shion sighed in relief.

"Stay safe, Haato."

...

The twin-tailed blonde woke up, finding herself in a pitch-black void. She stumbled to her feet and rubbed her eyes.

"Is this… my heart?" she pondered and began walking in hopes of finding her.

The dark land she found herself wasn't completely barren. Occasional hearts and red ribbons peppered the landscape, which caused Haato to smile sadly whenever she passed them. And it wasn't long before she found herself gazing at the door to what looked like a classroom. Not just any classroom, but her homeroom from her old high school. She winced.

This was where she was born. Her inner loneliness.

Everyone had perceived Haato as a social person. But, in reality? She was quite the opposite, especially as a high school student. And different people react to loneliness in different ways. In Haato's case, a second self began residing in her mind.

That self came to be known as Haachama.

Haato looked down with regret as her hand trembled on the doorknob.

She accepted the girl with open arms at first. She loved Haachama and Haachama loved her. In time, the two even began to refer to themselves as sisters. They promised each other that they'd be together forever. But things change.

Haato was accepted into the talent agency Hololive. She was one of the first, and, perhaps because of that, there was an intense pressure on her to befriend her fellow idols, to get out of her shell, and most importantly, reject her loneliness.

In Haato's eyes, Haachama was symbolic of her standoffish tendencies. She was born from her inner loneliness, after all. So she abandoned Haachama. Despite all the good times they had together, despite their promise. Haato left Haachama.

Even when Haachama attempted to usurp her as the primary controller of their body, Haato remained stubborn. It was made clear that, no matter what Haachama's thoughts were on the matter, Haato not only rejected her, she hated her. And upon reflection?

That couldn't be further from the truth. Haato was terrified of losing Haachama. And she had lost her again.

With all her strength, she swung the door to the classroom open. And, not to anyone's surprise, a black dress with red and black hearts dotted across her hair tucked away and curled up in a corner.

Haachama.

Tears fell down Haato's face without her even noticing. She walked up towards the girl.

"What do you want…?" Haachama asked, her head hung low, "Leave me alone… it's what you always do…"

"Haachama…" Haato said, "I'm…

"I'm so sorry, Haachama…"

These words prompted Haachama to look up with intrigue in her eyes.

"Sorry…?" she repeated.

"I should've never… I'm so…" Haato stammered, wiping the tears from her eyes that seemed to accelerate by the minute, "It was so unfair of me to abandon you like that… I was just so afraid… I was so afraid of my loneliness… I was afraid of being lonely again…

"It was so stupid of me… so, so stupid…" Haato shook her head, tears flying from her face as she did, "Because you're me… and I'm you… rejecting myself will only make things worse… and I know that now… so please, forgive me…"

"H-Haato…" Haachama looked up, "As long as we have each other, we'll never be lonely, right?"

"Huh…?" Haato stopped wiping her eyes, "What… do you mean by that…?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Haachama stated in a very matter-of-fact way, "We'll be friends again, and we'll never be alone again."

Haato stopped and looked at Haachama in complete awe.

'I don't deserve this…'

Tears once again fell and Haato couldn't help herself. She embraced the girl, sniffling. Haachama, a bit surprised by the show of affection, returned the hug.

"I… forgive you, Haato…" Haachama said, a bit muffled due to the fact she had buried her face in Haato's shoulder.

"I'm… so happy… Haachama…" Haato said in between sobs, "We'll never lose each other again… let's rewind the clock, Haachama… start from zero… and we'll remember all the happiness we had together… no… we'll bring it all back… and we'll be together forever, this time for sure!"

...

Shion looked on worriedly as she rested Haato's body on a nearby table. If all went according to plan, she'd wake up normally. If not, well, Haato's body would slowly contort into Haachama's. She went up to the girl, and much to her surprise, he was crying. But, upon closer inspection, it also seemed she was smiling. It was one of unbridled joy. Shion grinned.

"Guess you got that forgiveness you wanted, huh?"