Being here... It felt pointless.

Well, maybe not pointless but this place wasn't going to help Kaija overcome the main problem that led to her incarceration in the first place. She considered the possibility that she had developed some sort of PTSD or another stress disorder. Then she envisioned the day in which she managed to get out of this Asylum and back to her normal life. The unfortunate reality of the situation was that even if Zulu succeeded in getting the kinks out of Kaija's mind... not a single thing would change. That violent feeling that filled her body and drove her to lust for death wasn't insanity. No, It was instinct.

Even if she came to pass all of the doctor's exams and was deemed worthy of resuming her normal job, she would be walking free under the misconception that she now held the power to prevent a disaster if she were to change into the Oni for the third time. You see, the process of changing into that monster last seen in Fukuoka didn't drive Kaija mad, nor did damage her mind whatsoever. If it had, then she would've experienced similar symptoms the first time it happened. No, the process altered her nature at its very core, her perception of the world, and every basic urge and desire that composed her subconscious mind. Put more simply, Kaija hadn't become an insane human that day, but a very sane demon.

The symptoms that Zulu looked to cure were merely the result of Kaija revealing her unsightly alter-ego at the wrong place and time.

Although these truths haunted her and kept her awake through the night, Kaija had no intention of clearing up this misconception with the warden. After all, she actually wanted to leave one day. But... she did want to fix the problem before she left Azylum, and make sure that she couldn't be weaponized like that again. Unfortunately... Identifying a problem and knowing a solution to said problem were two entirely different things. All of the drugs and therapy in the world wouldn't help if she became something entirely new when it happened. She recalled a conversation that she had had with someone in a similar situation. Perhaps she could overcome the instinct through prolonged exposure and desensitization.

Even then, that didn't make the treatment anymore plausible. Nobody in this place had the means to subject her to that experience. Hell, she only had a single friend who could possibly help her and even if that person were to induce the transformation, it was highly unlikely that they would be able to keep her from making a mistake while under the influence, even if she was safe from the Oni's wrath. Come to think of it, there were only two people who had ever induced the change and one was dead, right? That thought resurfaced again. A solution that she was ashamed to admit had been brewing in her mind. She could hear everyone's words in the silence, pushing it deeper and deeper into the back of her mind as though it were a sin that could never be forgiven. There was a single voice that protested the others. A neutral voice that knew everything and that spoke to her freely. A voice that she spoke to freely.

She listened to the voice and chose to follow the path that offered the hope of progress.

"I want you to keep it. If you ever needed me for something, just think about it and I will know,"

She sighed and sat up in bed; sitting cross-legged and letting her arms wrest over her thighs. She had never actually attempted to use the ink voluntarily, but she followed the instructions. She called out to him with a rhythmic chant heard only in her mind and hopefully his. A few moments later, he arrived in silence. There was no sound to indicate his presence, and she could not see the devil there in the dark. But she knew he was there; his form nearly outlined in the emptiness behind her, vibrant and clear through the bond that the infernal kin shared. There he waited for her to turn and greet him. He waited for a reunion.

"It's been a while. Hasn't it, Uma?"