Chief Kakuzawa taunts Kurama with his failure and refusal to kill Nana, saying he has sent Mariko to do it instead and also to capture Lucy, alluding to a favor he did for Kurama in the past.
Back at the seaside boardwalk near Kamakura, Mariko continues to play with Nana unmercifully, which she coldly explains to Isobe as, making good use of the only person she is permitted to kill. (Throughout this chapter, Mariko refers to Nana as Big Sis, or Onee-San, a common way for a younger girl to address a slightly older one). This brutality continues unchecked until Nana begins to call for her 'papa,' Kurama, which inexplicably arouses Mariko's ire. The late Saito had told her only that her birth father tried to kill her immediately, not of the deal he made to keep her alive. Isobe realizes that this half-truth was Saito's way of gaining further influence and control over Mariko, for all the good it did her. Bleeding and battered, Nana remembers Kouta encouraging her to come back home soon, and she dreams of life back in the Maple House. Disgusted, Isobe insists that Mariko end her slow torture and simply kill her. Nana dreams that perhaps she can be reincarnated as a human daughter to Kurama.
At the Maple House, Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, and Nyu eagerly await Nana's return.