"It's impolite to stare, Aki," Smith said with a smirk, resting a hand on her hip.

I couldn't help myself - Smith had decided to go all out for the night by donning a silky red dress that perfectly accentuated her figure. The dress revealed very little, yet it still created an incredibly accurate image of her. Initially, I was taken aback by the sight of Smith without her glasses and in something other than a suit, but that soon gave way to admiration and appreciation.

Because, hot damn, did she look good.

"This..." I slowly said, "This isn't a date. 'Cause... damn."

Smith replied with a smirk that slowly turned into a smile as we walked into the restaurant. "I rarely have opportunities to play dress-up nowadays," she said, "except for the occasional Cultural Exchange function, but those are usually quite dull, so I don't even bother."

"I can only imagine," I said dryly. "Also, this place is... uh, a little more ritzy than I expected."

That was an understatement. Argento Aso had a chic, baroque, and slightly futuristic look with its crisp black and silver colors. I was excited to find out that it was an Italian restaurant, and words like 'chic' and 'baroque' easily described the atmosphere, though I couldn't quite remember the exact definitions.

Though I had become accustomed to being surrounded by liminals in the Kurusu household and Sports Club Kobold, the lack of them in the staff and patrons at the new place was more startling than I had anticipated. Could it be that spending so much time in their company had made me more aware of this difference?

Smith shrugged and tilted her head towards me, shooting me a teasing wink. "I figured why not, considering it'll be on the Exchange's dime," she said. "Besides, you were pretty quick to use those same funds to fuel your drinking a few nights ago, so why not?"

"Ah, yeah, that's true, isn't it?" I laughed nervously.

"You know, some might say that's corruption. Wouldn't you agree?"

The nervous laughter took a more pitiful tone.

"Mhm. Consider yourself lucky I swept that under the rug. No need to thank me, by the way."

I couldn't help but notice that was probably corruption as well, but being snarky with the woman who covered my ass was counterproductive.

"Thank you, Smith," I breathed, "And sorry if that caused you much trouble."

"You're welcome, Aki," Smith nodded, "Now, let's get our table, shall we?"

Thanks to her thoughtful planning, we had reservations in a cozy and intimate corner of Argento Aso, where a plush booth awaited our arrival. Once we were seated, our menus were handed to us, and the high prices took us aback.

"Um. Yikes." was all I could say.

"I'm inclined to agree." Smith cleared her throat. "Try not to pick something too expensive, would you?"

"Aye, aye," I replied, trying my best to make sense of the various items on the menu. It seemed like I would have to take a gamble and choose something randomly, hoping it wasn't too unappetizing.

We passed the time until our orders arrived, engaging in casual conversation, though the underlying purpose of our gathering was always present. The longer we delayed addressing it, the more anxious I became. I contemplated leaving and fabricating a more believable story for Smith to accept rather than confront the bizarre reality.

But if I lied to her now, I would betray the trust she gracefully bestowed upon me. She had opened up to me and shared her complicated past, leading me to Katsumi Katsuragi and Enkidu, which brought her immense pain. I had no right to withhold my own story, no matter how mundane it may have been in comparison.

I could only hope she didn't see what I would say as treating this whole thing like a joke.

"Hey..." I said, feeling something twisting in my stomach as I did, "About why we're here...."

"Mm, it seems like we've been procrastinating a bit, haven't we?" she asked rhetorically, her finger tracing a circle around the edge of her wine glass. "This isn't exactly a simple task, is it?"

"no, it isn't," I sighed, "But I'd like to go first."

Smith let out a decidedly unladylike snort. "So you're not one for 'ladies first,' it seems. I pegged you as the opposite, honestly."

"I know this is a bit unusual," I said, allowing a tiny grin of delight to form on my lips. "But I want to go first, so you can then decide for yourself if I'm a person you can trust with your past."

Smith frowned with disappointment. "I was under the impression that your problem only had to do with the Far Side," she said, "If that's the case, then there's no need for you to act in such a way."

"It's a lot more than that," I told her. "To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea what the Far Side is, except that it has something to do with liminals and it's supernatural. I only think that it might have had something to do with me being here since there are a lot of strange things that seem to point in that direction."

"I see," Smith said slowly, folding her arms and leaning further into her seat. "So, I had assumed that something connected to you had given you insight into Rachnera and Kii's cases, which might explain your behavior in their respective scenarios. Have I misinterpreted the situation?"

"No, that's not it at all," I said, nervously scratching the back of my neck. My heart raced as I tried to steady my nerves for what I was about to say. Take a deep breath, I told myself. I can do this...

"Then, Juyo, what is it?"

Oh hey, my hands were shaking. Of course, they were.

"I had heard about Rachnera and Kii's awful circumstances before I came here," I began, my voice wavering as I clutched my wrist to try and steady my racing nerves. "I was aware of the liminals in the world before I arrived. I know it wasn't you who left the manga store after the orcs attacked--it was Doppel, taking your place while you dealt with them. Papi doesn't know it, but I know her father is the police chief of the city. And, of course, I know that Mero is a princess."

Her frown deepened, and it felt like a sharp blade piercing into my stomach. Smith leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table while her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She looked straight at me with her deep brown eyes, their intensity probing into my soul as if searching for something I may have never known.

"Is that the case?" Smith asked skeptically, "It's possible that someone related to the situation gave you the information after the fact, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," I sighed. "But that's not the case. If you asked anyone if they had said those things to me, they would have no clue what you were referring to. Especially Papi."

"Hm," Smith grunted, "Fine, let's say you did know all that. How?"

"I find it hard to believe I'm saying this myself," I began, feeling almost disconnected from my body as I spoke of something outrageous. "But in my world, there's a manga called Monster Musume, or Daily Life with Monster Girls. You, Kurusu, Miia, Papi, Cerea, Suu, Mero, Rachnee, Zombina, Doppel, Tio, and Manako are all characters in it. I know all these things because I've read it. I read about how the awful director tricked Rachnera's first host family into selling her to him. I read about how Papi had accidentally left Kii in the forest after you rescued many liminals from the nearby highway. I read about..."

"Stop." Smith's voice cut me off. "You're rambling."

"I don't know what I'm doing here," I said, increasing my anxiety. I tried to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. "This may sound ridiculous, but I felt like I needed to be honest with you since you were honest with me. You asked me how I knew these things, and that's why I'm telling you."

Smith was silent for what felt like an eternity, though it was more likely a minute. Her expression was inscrutable, a featureless facade that I could not hope to decipher. At last, she picked up the wine glass, bringing it to her lips and guzzling the red liquid. She kept drinking and drinking until the glass was empty. When she finished, she set it down and smacked her lips before gazing into my eyes.

"I'm ordering a whole bottle," Smith informed me, "And you're paying for it."

"Um," I uttered, totally at a loss, "Yes, ma'am."

"You should consider yourself fortunate," she uttered with a deep breath after flagging our waiter for assistance, "I have an extraordinary capacity for coping with the strange. Being friends with a shapeshifter helps with that."

"So... you believe me?" I asked tentatively.

"Aki, there's already a startlingly diverse and vast amount of sentient species with physiologies that should frankly be impossible, different types of undead, the existence of what can only be called magic, and an alternate dimension where most of the species, as mentioned earlier and undead call home," Smith listed off, giving me a dull look, "Compared to all that, the fact that, someplace in the infinite multiverse, there's at least one timeline where I'm the lead character of a manga series doesn't sound all that nuts."

"... You're not the lead character," I admitted, "Kurusu is."

"That's disheartening," Smith stated with a heavy sigh before the waiter showed up, and she then proceeded to order a dish that sounded both exquisite and pricey. "I had expected to be at least the show's star."

"Wait, so you're not bothered that I just told you you're fictional where I come from?" I pressed, still in disbelief.

Smith replied matter-of-factly, "I know I'm really in this moment, though I may not feel the same once the wine takes its effect. I understand why you didn't tell me the truth earlier, and I don't expect you to face any blame for it. So, what is it you want? Do you want me to hate you for revealing the truth or telling me something I wouldn't believe?" She smirked.

No!" I quickly replied, trying to hide my embarrassment. "No, not at all. I just...I wasn't anticipating this reaction. I thought at least there would be some doubt."

Smith took a deep, calming breath. "Aki, when you walked into my office after the harrowing experience with Preya and Kii, your anger wasn't from the danger you were in, but instead the injustice that had befallen them; I knew then that you were an honorable person, someone I can rely on to not only assist liminals in any way you can but also to challenge me when I'm wrong."

"Even though you didn't that time," I interjected weakly.

"Even though you had always given me the impression that you knew more than you revealed, you never did so in a way that made me feel as if you were exploiting anyone," Smith continued. "So, once I decided to tell you about Katsumi Katsuragi, I knew that whatever explanation you offered for your actions up to that point would be the truth."

"That's... uncharacteristically absolute of you," I said, uncomfortable with the praise.

"Heh, maybe it is," Smith snorted, her gaze shifting to the side before meeting mine again. "Even a lazy, no-good coordinator like me can put aside their flippancy occasionally. If everyone were one-dimensional, the world would be a much more boring, albeit easier to manage, place."

"You're right," I nodded, reflecting on the immense knowledge I had gained about everyone since I arrived here. Miia was especially prominent in my thoughts due to recent developments.

"So just say 'thank you' for accepting your crazy answer, will you?" Smith said with a warm smile, "All in all, it's not the craziest truth I've heard, and it hardly affects the reality of our situation. Though... I have a fair amount of questions for you. And by 'fair amount,' I mean a lot."

"I hope I can answer all of them," I replied, though I doubted my ability. Nonetheless, I returned a warm smile. "Your trust in me, Smith, means the world to me. Thank you for accepting my unconventional answer."

My heart was pounding, my hands trembling, and my mind racing with what had just happened, yet I felt a sense of relief mixed with excitement. I felt like a weight had been lifted, and I could finally be my true self. I still couldn't believe it was real.

"Please, you don't need to call me that anymore at this point," she said, waving a hand dismissively, "'Kuroko' will suffice, I think. Even though you've already addressed me that way, once or twice," she said with a playful jab.

"Pretty sure I was incredibly drunk when I did that," I laughed, "But okay... Kuroko."

The woman before me hummed cheerfully, her face radiating a pleasant glow. "Ah, our food is finally here. And the wine too - I'm sure that'll be a nice addition, especially if things around here are going to be so overly sentimental."

To be continued...