It'd be easier? [Mami repeats that quietly, eyes narrowing a little.] ...Maybe so. But for who, Utena? Me? ...or you? [The heavy question hangs in the air for a moment or two, then Mami continues.] It's important to remember even painful memories because they make us who we are; that's what I've accepted, what I believe, even if you don't. As for everything else, well- I can draw my own conclusions, Utena-san. I don't need you to make that decision for me.

[But she doesn't openly deny everything Utena says. Why should she? It's true - or some of it is. The other girl has hurt her, in ways both big and small. Not out of deliberate cruelty, not out of conscious malice, but because her innocence and naivety has made her self-absorbed and insensitive - like a child, unable to see through anyone's eyes but their own. Mami watches Utena steadily. She buries the urge to reach out and gently touch that anguished face.]

You've been a very precious friend to me, and that's why I'm happy to have met you. I know that I'd be worse off if I hadn't.