40 - EPILOGUE, Part 1

Kaede felt unusually happy that afternoon.

"So unusual for Hiroki... He actually bought us tickets to this dull place," Kanoko blurted, resting her head on the table with a frown.

"Come on, Kanoko, this is a gift from your little brother. He put his mind and heart into this! Show some appreciation!" Kaede said lightly as they sat in the aquarium's restaurant that Yuuto had sent them to.

"...You okay, Mom?" Kanoko asked, noticing the shift in her mother's demeanor.

Kaede's smile lingered as she looked into Kanoko's eyes. "You know, the last few weeks... I've felt really uneasy about Hiroki and the way he's been," Kaede admitted softly.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. He seemed... really different. Like he was a different person altogether," Kanoko opened up, thinking, Didn't know it was safe to talk about it around her...

"I felt that he might have been growing up a bit too soon. He can be immature and selfish sometimes, but despite all that, he's still my cute boy... In a way, I guess... I just miss him," Kaede said.

"So... What changed today?" Kanoko probed.

"Well... I don't know! I just have a really good feeling! I'll make a really big meal for you two when we get back!" she said excitedly.

"Even though we're already at a restaurant... Well, either way, that's good to hear. I want to talk to Hiroki when we get back. I feel like we haven't had the chance to catch up at all. He's usually so talkative, aside from these last few weeks. I kind of miss that. I'll do whatever I can to get him to open up this time," Kanoko resolved as two handsome men approached them.

"Excuse me, I'm Todd, and this is Howard. We're foreigners. May we indulge you ladies and—"

"Sorry," Kaede interrupted, turning to the men. "We can't go with you. We have someone waiting for us at home today," she said in unison with Kanoko.

"Shall we go home? As much as I love getting a present from Hiroki... This place..." Kaede started.

"Really is a bit dull, yeah," Kanoko finished. The two got up and walked away from the aquarium.

Meanwhile, Todd and Howard stood in confusion. "They seemed like easy targets... I guess we won't be able to pitch our new game: Skyream: Enhanced Ultra Deluxe Ultimate Anniversary Edition..."

"And date them. Don't forget date them."

"Yeah, that too."

------------- MEANWHILE -----------------

"So, he wanted us to bring this guy to that abandoned construction site," Akito said to Nazuna after tying up Gyarune and hoisting him onto his shoulder.

"Oh... And since we're such good friends, we'll do what he asks without complaint?" Nazuna replied, causing Akito to turn his head towards her.

"He's the one who thought this up. I'd rather beat this bastard until neither of us can breathe, but I wasn't the one who caught him. And Sakurai trusts us," Akito mentioned as he started walking towards the door.

"Sakurai..." Nazuna repeated, almost mockingly, glaring at the unconscious Gyarune. "You know, I almost forgot about it. His original name is actually Hiroki Morii. Why are we calling him Yuuto, again?" she asked, her tone impatient as she followed Akito outside.

"What do you mean, why? It's his name. There's no 'Hiroki'," Akito said, slightly furrowing his brow as they left the house.

"And you don't think it's strange? I'll admit, it was cute at first, hearing about it from you. It was so genuine I went along with it... But now, calling himself by a different name out of nowhere... Isn't that worrying? And the same guy tells us to capture the man who's in league with the bastards who got Ryuuji killed. Is he really all that reliable anymore?" Nazuna expressed, almost aloof.

Akito paused, his eyes narrowing at her words.

"Is that what this is about, Nazuna? You want to kill this guy?" Akito asked as he turned to her.

"...You don't?" Nazuna's voice trailed off as she looked down, her expression unreadable.

"I just don't feel like letting you do something you might regret," he said after a soft sigh.

Nazuna tensed momentarily.

"You know," she said, raising her head suddenly, "ever since Ryuuji died, you've been awfully considerate. Where was all of that consideration before?" She tilted her head at Akito, her gaze blank.

"This isn't fair, Nazuna. You know that..." Akito said after a small pause, his palm slightly twitching with suppressed emotion.

"No, really. Do tell me. You seem so intent on stopping me from doing something I 'might regret' all of a sudden, that I'm just moved beyond tears... And then, all those memories of you starting to do it so much after Ryuuji croaked, I just... Really want to know what spurred this on," she said, leaning closely to him, her eyes almost glaring.

"Are you maybe feeling... That with Ryuuji gone, you can fill some sort of void inside of me? Being the strong, responsible man that you are?" she taunted, causing Akito to momentarily shift his gaze elsewhere.

"Or maybe... You're no longer threatened by the presence of someone stronger than you, so you make these bold moves on me?" she suggested, her tone now almost aggressive. "Even though I am much stronger than you..."

"Nazuna...! That's—" he whispered, clenching his teeth beneath his sealed lips as she spoke.

"Do you have a thing for me? And now that your only obstacle is gone, you feel free to make a move?" she continued, her words like daggers.

Akito took a deep breath, closing his eyes to suppress his raging frustration. "... Look. I get it. You don't like this," he spat out as he opened his eyes again. "Let's talk about it after we've brought this bastard to the construction site and hear Yuuto out? He did save us. Please, Nazuna. We'll talk about this later." He pleaded, releasing his clenched teeth and swallowing hard as he met Nazuna's intense gaze.

"... Fine. But only until then. And if I don't like what I hear from him... Just remember. No one, not even you and 'Yuuto' COMBINED, can stop me," she said, crossing her arms behind her head as she walked ahead of Akito.

Without anything to reply, Akito merely resumed his walk, carrying Gyarune on his back as if he were a passed-out drunkard. The weight of both the unconscious man and the unresolved tension with Nazuna bore down heavily on his shoulders.

------------- MEANWHILE, IN HUGH'S HEADQUARTERS ---------------

'Something has been happening over the past few days,' Yuuto thought as he walked into the building, glancing at a suited man passing by.

'People started to look... 2D. Paper-thin,' he observed, seeing the man phasing from being a cardboard cutout animated frame by frame, to a real person and back as he walked by.

'At first, it wasn't that noticeable. Seeing people like that came and went... So, I just thought it was because I hadn't been sleeping well. That also started around then. I haven't slept in five days, actually. But I don't feel tired or anxious seeing this. In fact, I feel more awake as time passes.'

'It was a day or two later that it started to be more persistent like this,'

'From this, I deduce three possible reasons. One, I'm going insane, or I'm really just the result of Hiroki's split personality disorder, and this 'world' that I came from is just something I came up with. Two, I'm dreaming, and I'm closer to waking up...'

'Or three. I'm gradually growing more and more detached from this world. Meaning, I'm probably being pulled back into my own reality... To my old body. Does it mean my job in this world is about to be done?' he pondered as he entered the elevator.

'The fact that I don't even feel anxious or sleep-deprived further confirms this,' he reasoned further as he rode the elevator.

'Hugh Glee Bass Tarude... Hah. It's as if this person has a marker on him, indicating that he's the 'final boss' of this world,' Yuuto chuckled solemnly, lowering his gaze. He was surrounded by what appeared to be life-sized paper cutouts of people.

'Even Saki. Back then, before I left her... She became a still image, her words appearing like a speech bubble above her. Shortly after, she froze, like a black-and-white panel of the final chapter in a manga. Well, at least she was smiling. The only people who remain animated are Nazuna and Akito... I first thought it was only people who aren't characters in an existing story, but that's not the case; even Gyarune became as thin as paper. Hiroki's family ended up like that too, although they still flicker between that state and appearing real... All except Nazuna and Akito. They don't have that going for them at all... Who are they, then? What are they?'

Yuuto's thoughts swirled as the elevator came to a full stop at the 77th floor with a loud ring. 'Well, I guess I'll figure it out later,' he thought as several men came into view, all wearing tuxedos. One had a distinct scar over his eye. They were all impeccably groomed, with expensive accessories and neat haircuts.

"Alright, time to finish this," he muttered as all the men turned to face him. Just as they did, Yuuto pulled an apparatus out of his pocket. It was the original TimeStop Watch™ he and Gyouma had taken from Gyarune. Yuuto pressed the button just before the tuxedoed men managed to get a good look at him.

He watched as the men, persistently in this instance, transformed into paper cutouts, frozen in time, their faces almost directed towards him. The environment shifted into what appeared to be a manga panel, surreal and still. Yuuto felt an odd sensation at the back of his head, as if he were merely reading a story and was just one distraction away from being pulled out of this reality.

'Odd, how everything has a way of working itself out,' he thought as he walked past them, noting that all the electronics on the floor had ceased functioning. He looked closely at the frozen figures as he calmly walked by. 'I... actually hate this place, after all.'

He continued through the pristine hallway of the floor until he stumbled upon a grand double door, positioned centrally. 'Was I, somewhere within me, expecting this world to be my new home, is that why I feel this way?' he wondered as he pushed open the doors into the pristine office of Hugh. 'Maybe I expected to fall in love and have a life in this world with a loving wife and kids?' he added internally, Saki's image flashing in his mind as he strolled towards Hugh, feeling his heart twitch slightly at the thought.

'Nah.' He cracked his neck. 'Hating, loving... that's Hiroki's area. These feelings.' He thought, dismissing the twitch in his heart.

Yuuto then came face to face with Hugh, first examining the label on his table. 'As for me, I'm just...'

'Gonna Baseball this Ugly Bastard's ass,' he thought as he hoisted Hugh onto his shoulder, turning to face the exit.

'Because I'm Anti-NTR Man.'

Yuuto then lifted him out of the office. Realizing the elevator wouldn't work during the watch's activation period, he made haste for the stairwell.