Arata's face stung as he left the church with the holy angel following behind him. Whether by that green-haired woman or Ravenna, he seemed to be getting "unfairly" punished; he didn't choose the checkpoints, after all, they were based on major developments.
Well, at least I know how to get to that place she fell from here. Just head down the same street until you reach the inner gate.
Arata retraced his steps, back past the gambling den where he was quickly sidetracked by Ravenna, at least that's what he'd try to tell you. In reality, it was fine. He had some time to kill based on where his last checkpoint sent him back to. Looking up at the sky, the sun hasn't set yet. He thinks that he's ahead of the girl, but something feels off; he decides to run. He sees the building and enters without thinking.
"Arata, wait! Don't open-" Ravenna tries to warn him, but when Arata opens the door, he is greeted by an older woman with red hair; the room is filled with a pungent smoke. Arata cringes back a little. Tabaco will always smell like shit to me, even after that prison. I still hate that smell.
"Fuuuaaahh, one gibble for a blue moon, sir. Which girl are you trying to see?" The mysterious red-haired woman asks Arata, her emotions masked by a smile, almost amused that he's coming into the establishment looking like that. The lady wore red lipstick, matching her hair, and a black dress meant to greet men at the door.
Of course, my luck, I have to buy something to get through. Wait, is it? What does she mean by a blue moon? I guess there's no harm in asking. "Excuse me, ma'am? What is a blue moon?" Ravenna looks at him incredulously.
Ravenna, in a shaky voice, not believing Arata would ask something like that, says, "The blue moon's color is associated with loneliness and pent-up emotions…" She gestures with a pointer finger and makes a ring with her other hand, moving her pointer finger in and out.
She blushes awkwardly before exclaiming, "That's the kind of thing that's being sold here. You really are an idiot sometimes!"
Arata's face contorts in realization, shocked at the truth of the business Selena was in. The building had a suspicious musky smell, the red-haired woman's certain attire, and Ravenna's wonderful explanation.
No wonder she'd take her own life. It must be a sad life to live, forced to sell your body to the rich to survive in this world. By the way she looked in her final moments, she barely survived, too. Arata seemed a bit disappointed by how this establishment was for such an exploitative industry.
"I'd like to see Selena, please. It's urgent. How much is it?" Arata pleads to the woman with red hair, who seems appalled at what he's implying.
"You're not buying shit, she's not for sale, a friend asked me to keep her here to get away from those kinds of experiences… Though it doesn't seem like you had those intentions, sweet kid, hehe."
"Didn't know what kinda place this was till you opened the door. Someone so funny rarely comes through those doors." Her originally irritated tone at Arata's audacity shifts to one of humor at the boy. She opens a door up the stairs.
The red-haired woman makes a kind gesture, directing Arata, "Floor 4, the door with the recently replaced handle, it's one of the few not numbered up there."
Even when Arata thanked the woman, he knew that he wouldn't listen to her; his destination was the roof. He climbed the stairs while Ravenna asked Arata about the situation.
"Do you even know how she got up on the roof in the first place? I'd appreciate making our visit quick. I heard something through the walls that I'm not so sure I wanted to hear." Ravenna turns to Arata, nudging him along.
Luckily, the way up isn't too hard to find; there's a balcony that has a ladder. When Arata climbs up, he doesn't see the woman. Arata looks on in shock.
Ravenna sighs, pointing out, "Of course, you're a bit early. You should really just wait here for her. Likely she'll be up here in less than an hour, you saw her just before the sun set, right?"
Wow, thanks for making me feel stupid. Well, guess it's not a bad thing to arrive early; this roof is hard to navigate, so I couldn't really stop her if she was already up here. Arata awaits the girl's arrival when he hears the ladder to the roof creak; someone is coming. Up the stairs comes a woman with black soulless eyes who stares at Arata.
"Sorry… what are you doing here on the roof? Don't tell me, are you trying to kill yourself?" Selena asks Arata with indifference.
I'm here because you are trying to jump! I came here without a plan. I know fuckall about her, how can I convince her not to jump? Arata sits back with a smirk, trying to captivate her.
"No, I'm here to tell you it's worth it… to… not to jump. Why don't you sit here with me for a bit?" Arata tries to come off as an intelligent and mysterious individual, attempting to draw her with his unrivaled mystique to stall for time.
Selena lets out a sigh with soulless eyes, "You really want to pretend like you know me? How'd you even assume that was my plan?" She tries to sound indifferent, but her actions say otherwise; she still bothers to talk to Arata as she searches for a reason.
"Isn't there someone who will miss you? Wouldn't you miss that person in turn?" Arata poses to her, but in reality, he is internally panicking. That advice might just come across as generic.
Selena sounds doubtful but entertains Arata, "I'm sure she'd move on. She's got a bright future ahead of her."
The assumption of her words leads Arata to a conclusion, this is over loss, something she couldn't move on from. Now she's beginning to sulk; this is when he needs some real wisdom. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough emotion to express at that moment.
Despite that, he attempts to offer anything, "Shouldn't you live long enough to ask her yourself then? Confirm if she really would? Would your parents want that?"
Selena starts crying, then gets up.
Arata's expression blanks. Oh no. I really messed up. I was trying to stall for time.
Ravenna is now looking at Arata, "Are you stupid! You really suck at this. NEVER be the one to bring up parents when you already have some context clues!" She stops as she watches him move on his own, knowing he's going to rectify his mistake.
Arata grabs onto the lower half of Selena's body, holding her tightly so that she cannot move away. Her figure is frail, but she's almost too much for Arata to hold back. His adrenaline rushes through his body as he holds on for her life. I hate to admit it, but Ravenna is right. With this power, even if this world sucks, that's why I was brought here. To right the wrongs.
Selena begins to choke through tears, shouting at Arata, "Just let go of me! Stop, don't force me to do this anymore! A stranger could never convince me anyway, you just had to ruin everything!"
Arata doesn't let go; Selena tries to scratch at him, but Arata doesn't flinch. Finally, she punches him, square in the face with enough force to make his nose bleed and bruise his lips. Arata's head doesn't buckle from the strike. Ravenna said I'd never be able to get used to the pain… but I'll be able to change my mentality. The woman hits him again, then another time, Arata feels a jolt of pain as his nose breaks, yet some otherworldly force mixed with adrenaline compels him.
Unflinching Arata holds her. She's unable to jump as he hears thumping up the stairs. The green-haired woman from the prior cycle rushes up the ladder. Arata recognizes her from having killed him last time.
"Selena!" The green-haired woman shouts.