Utena felt tears welling up in her eyes when Himemiya turned her back. She really didn't know what else to say. What had happened to make her friend like this? What exactly did this place do to people?

It was in that moment that the sounds of the fighting further down the hall finally registered fully in Utena's ears. She couldn't see very well what was happening, but she could hear hissing and shouting, and she could swear that she saw glimpses of blood as she shone her light further down the hall. Her eyes widened, seeing Himemiya begin to wander straight in the direction of whatever was going on.

"Himemiya, no, not that way!" she cried out, rushing forward and retaking her friend's hand. Rather than holding it gently this time, however, she held on tight, trying to guide the girl back in the direction she had come from earlier. "I don't care if you don't think I'm me. I'm not letting you just walk out there to get hurt. You have to take better care of yourself!" The last of those words seemed much too familiar in her ears, and she felt a disconcerting flash of blank memory in her mind briefly as she ran for the door.

[To here]