She fell back onto her glorious ass and her hands flew up to cover her face. “Yu bwoke by nodse!”

“You haven’t changed. I have. If you can’t send me home, take me to the entrance. Maybe I can get in without you.”

She dropped her hands and grinned wickedly. Not a mark on her. “I’ll just pull you out again, and next time I won’t give you the chance to say no. I’ll fuck their stupid names right out of your head, and when I’m done, you’ll do as you’re told. Forever.”

Names. Names had power over them. Power to change them, make them grow. And we’d named her, together, Angel and I.

“You’ll pull us all out, Vir-”

“Yamero!”

I stopped dead, reflexively obeying the command. After all, he’d drilled me mercilessly, back in the life I’d thought was so simple.

“Sensei?!?”