The usage of dreams in this story made me think of this, another one of Morishima's oneshots. I think the emotional content of Lala's feelings as portrayed here is very similar to the gist of that story.
One thing I kinda want to point out though, is that even if Lala isn't aware of it, I don't even think that the 'motherly' aspect of her relationship with Shinobu is actually all gone just yet. If you reread the first chapter in this continuity, which was also linked earlier in this thread, the main gist of that episode was actually that Shinobu was pushing herself a bit too hard to "be an adult" and "become mature". In the end, Lala's dedication and acceptance of who Shinobu really was was what saved her.
Of course, it's also a wonderful thing for Shinobu to be able to give back to Lala and interact with her as an equal. But my feeling is that there's no need to be in a rush. And from that perspective, Lala's feelings in this chapter are not necessarily bad. Perhaps Lala's nostalgia for a Shinobu who freely and openly depended on her will disappear once they've both truly matured.
last edited at Oct 3, 2014 12:31AM