Part Eight: Celebration

"Hnngh…" J-chad grumbled, slowly opening her eyes, realizing she was in a small shelter, "What the hell…"

"J-chad! You're awake!" Kiara jumped up and went over to hug the Underworld's liaison, "I was worried!"

"Kiara…?" J-chad mumbled, "How did you find me?"

"It was just fate, I guess," Kiara shrugged, "I was just walking through a field and I found you passing out."

"Fate, huh?" J-chad scoffed, "Sounds like dumb luck to me. But I guess I'm in no place to complain."

"So, why were you over there?" Kiara pondered.

"Same reason you were, I assume," J-chad explained, "I was looking for Calli."

"Hehe, you know me too well," Kiara smiled before looking outside with a worried expression, "I know she's immortal, but I'm worried about her."

J-chad looked down. Clearly, she knew something that Kiara didn't. Even so, she put on her sunglasses and got to her feet.

"Hey, are you sure you're still okay?" Kiara turned to face the brown-haired girl.

"I won't be okay until I find that damn reaper," J-chad said, walking out the door.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kiara shouted, quickly jumping up to chase J-chad.

...

"I know we aren't going to the Mirror today, but you should still get up soon, man," Tamashi said to Nozomi, somewhat downcast.

'Yeah, you're right,' Nozomi responded, even more sad sounding than his Echo. He rolled out of bed, and rather than wearing his usual green kimono, he went to his closet, pulling out a black suit. He shuddered at it.

'This suit brings back…' Nozomi paused for a moment, 'Unsavory memories…'

"Huh? Why's that?" Tamashi asked.

Nozomi looked at the suit for a brief moment before responding. 'I wore this suit to my father's funeral, he managed to say.'

Tamashi sounded as if he grunted in pain when Nozomi said this. "...I'm sorry to hear that, Nozomi…" he muttered.

'It's weird, you know? I never really liked the guy, he was never there for me, and he was pretty damn eccentric, but I cried at his funeral,' Nozomi recalled, 'Maybe I'm just the emotional type. Expect to see tears today.'

"How did your father die?" Tamashi asked hesitantly.

'It was just an accident at work,' Nozomi shrugged, 'Things happen, I guess…'

"Yeah," Tamashi agreed, "That they do."

Nozomi walked out of the door in his suit and began making his way to the church.

...

When he arrived, he noticed quite a large number of people surrounding the church. Confused, he looked over.

'These people seem awfully casually dressed for a funeral,' Nozomi thought, 'Probably paparazzi or something.'

He felt a small hand tug at his shoulder. He turned around to find Suisei.

"Oh, Suisei-san…" Nozomi stammered, quite shocked to see her. He had a feeling she might not have come, considering her circumstances.

"Follow me," Suisei motioned to a side door, walking towards it. Nozomi did as he was told, trailing the blue-haired idol.

"So, uh, how are you feeling?" Nozomi managed to ask. To be completely honest, he was somewhat scared of Suisei after seeing her kill that manticore, even though what she did was quite justified. He shuddered to think of his own sister being killed like that.

"...Fine," she said, not facing him. This only made Nozomi even more nervous, causing him to look down. Was she really fine? Was she putting up a tough act? Maybe something happened that caused her to sort her feelings out? Either way, they reached the side door, opening it to find a small number of people lined up on church benches, with some people he recognized and some he didn't. He took a seat on the edge of a bench next to Roboco.

"Really, man? It's a funeral and you still couldn't stop yourself?" Tamashi said in disbelief.

'Please, Tamashi, if you were in control I'm sure you'd do the same with Ayame,' Nozomi rolled his eyes.

"That's…" Tamashi stuttered, "You've got nerve, Nozomi…"

"Thank you for coming," Roboco whispered to Nozomi. She was dressed in a black skirt suit, and had a pack of tissues next to her.

"I wouldn't miss it," Nozomi whispered back, "By the way, I might need to use a few of those tissues."

Roboco giggled, attempting to hide her sad expression. Just then, YAGOO cleared his throat at the top of the chancel in an attempt to get everyone.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of Cover Corporation. We have gathered here today not to mourn, but to celebrate. To celebrate the life of Hoshimachi Anemachi," YAGOO began, "Anemachi was a girl born to the Hoshimachi family. Bright and responsible, she tried her hardest at everything she did. Soon, she got herself a little sister. That sister is who we know as Hoshimachi Suisei."

Nozomi glanced over at the blue-haired girl. Much to his surprise, he wasn't crying. Rather, she was watching intently at the CEO's speech, with fire in her eyes. Somewhat intimidated, he looked away to continue listening to the speech.

"Suisei became the central figure of Anemachi's life. Everything she did, she did it out of love for her sister… even until the very end," YAGOO paused for a moment before returning to his speech, "When their parents passed, Anemachi gave it everything she had to support her sister. She took up two part-time jobs, began taking higher-level classes in school, and began taking care of all the things in the house, all for her sister. She truly was a beacon of light in this world, and for that, we should remember her. May we take a moment of silence in remembrance for this kind soul?"

Everyone in the church bowed their heads, remembering all the times they shared with the unfortunately passed girl. Nozomi bowed his head as well. He didn't know the girl for very long, and they never even formally met, but he was one of the few to witness her final act of kindness, her ultimate sacrifice. He thought for a moment, a tear slowly running down his cheek. Suddenly, he could feel a hand in his. Shocked, he half-opened his eyes. He found Roboco, clenching to his hand tightly as she struggled to keep herself from sobbing. Smirking, he closed his eyes again, holding her hand in return in efforts to comfort the robot girl. When the moment of silence was over, Nozomi opened his eyes full of determination. When he did, though, he looked around only to see Suisei looking at him. When he noticed her gaze, however, he immediately looked away, directing her attention to YAGOO.

"Thank you for coming, for celebrating this wonderful woman's life with us," YAGOO bowed, as the rest of the crowd rose. As he was about to exit the church, however, he felt a small tug at his shoulder. Looking around, he found Suisei.

"Hey, Nozomi, I'd like to introduce you to some people," Suisei said, walking to a group of three girls.

"That's fine," he nodded, following Suisei.

"Toko-chan, Lupi-chan, Ran-chan, this is the boy I was telling you about," she introduced.

"Oh, hello," the first greeted. She seemed to have animal ears of some sort, and she had heterochromia, with red filling her left eye and yellow filling her left, "I'm Inui Toko. I've heard much about you."

"I'm Lupinus Knightely," a second introduced. She had frizzy purple hair, with large circular glasses. "Thank you for keeping our Suisei-chan safe."

"Seriously, thank you, Nozomi-san," a third bowed. She had pure white hair, spare for a purple streak, as well as twin blue flowers complimenting her twin blue eyes, and two black horns extending from her head. She appeared to be quite shaken from the funeral service. "I'm Kuon Ran. Thank you for everything that you've done."

"It's great to meet you all," Nozomi bowed, "And it's all been my pleasure."

"I'm afraid there isn't much we can do at the moment, but if you ever need our help, give us a call," Toko gave Nozomi a small piece of paper with the three girls' names on it, alongside phone numbers, presumably their own.

"I might have to take you up on that eventually," Nozomi looked at the group smiling, "Have a good day, you three."

Nozomi began to walk away from the group, heading for the entrance to the church. Following him was Suisei, though. When they exited the room, Suisei went up to him to strike conversation.

"What did you think of them?" Suisei asked.

"They seemed very kind," Nozomi claimed, "Why do you ask?"

"They're some of my best friends, I was just curious," Suisei asked, pausing for a moment, "You seemed determined."

"So did you," Nozomi retorted.

"I guess you could say helping someone else helped me a little bit," Suisei said cryptically, looking towards the sky, "But what's got you so purposeful?"

"I made a promise to myself," Nozomi explained firmly, "A promise that I'll never let anyone die ever again."

Suisei stared at Nozomi for a short while, looking at Nozomi in shock. Coming back to her senses, she looked down, closing her eyes and grinning.

"That's admirable," she chuckled, extending a hand, "I look forward to working with you, Ito Nozomi."

Nozomi smirked, taking the idol's hand and shaking it. Heading home, he smiled to himself.

"We're saving all these idols," he said to himself, "No matter what."