Vol. 6 - Chapter 102

Throughout the walk back to the Spirit Gardens District, even as the group passed a few leftover corpses and broken down wooden vehicles, even as Metsumi and Opah's saddened expressions remained stuck to their faces, all Kaori could think about were the Higher Power's words. 

She considered the positives and negatives of the plan they'd suggested, but... The more she thought about it, the harder it became to argue against it.

She just wished it wouldn't be quite as big a commitment as it would be. 

Am I even ready for that? Is Ash?  She asked herself. It was, however, undeniably the best plan available to them. In her opinion, anyway. Therefore, she owed it to her group to let them know as soon as they returned home. 

As soon as they did, Kaori found Ash sitting down on the couch, drinking cold water from a small glass cup. Keiko was next to her. When Kaori saw the two of them, she made a beeline toward their position and asked: