As expected, Mukuro was still fast asleep. But being a light sleeper, he began to show signs of stirring as soon as Gokudera greeted him. The illusionist's eyes eased open, fighting the fog of sleep that still half-enveloped him. Although he was still all but skin and bones, he looked a tiny bit more relaxed and rested than he had the previous days. The wounds inflicted by Gokudera himself, however, remained frankly evident.

Waking was accompanied by an overwhelming sensation of pain. Twinges, aches, shear lines of fire characterised his awakening. Mukuro almost missed the exact words of Gokudera's greeting in attempting to marshal the agonising inputs as he clawed his way to wakefulness.

"...Another bottle," he said flatly.