With luck, one of them will drop to the good list by the next trial... I'm tired of playing it safe and getting rid of the useless ones who don't make any difference, but there's nothing we can do about it now. [it's rough, definitely, dealing with this outcome... but he also has confidence in both of them.

either way, upon those last words, Kaoru nods in agreement and then holds his hand out, almost as a cruel (but genuine) reflection of Naho's earlier friendship pact.]

The three of us, then. We'll learn from the mistakes of the others and we will succeed.