[...Is he sitting down next to her? She finally chances a glance.Her heart skips unpleasantly - he's going to be sorry, he's going to be hurt, and, then, he is. But less than he could be. But still, still.

There's a lump in her chest.]

There's more to the story. Hold on. [That's supposed to be a joke and it comes out hideously flat. She has embraced the wretchedness of looking to Ryuji Sakamoto for something resembling absolution for what she and fate did to Ryuji Mishima. It feels bad as hell, man. A good, addictive, awful kind of bad, like popping a pimple, without even the inexplicable thrill that comes from telling Venus these kinds of things. With Ryuji it's like wiping your muddy hands on a dog. Maybe he doesn't care - but you used him, you monster.]

My parents were in that car, too. My brother was - he's the one who taught me how to code and hack. I passed him when it comes to some things, but, he's good. He could've - he would've gotten a job anywhere he wanted. With the company that runs the VR world. Anything.

And, then, it was just us.

[And she doesn't quite know how to put words around what happened. How to explain this thing she fears, and this thing she wants out of her third whack at life, without incriminating her brother, laying his flaws out in the open like fish for stray cats. That's not an option.]