Waking up, Shintaro looked towards his alarm clock. The blinking numbers indicated that it was midnight.
Everyone should still be asleep, he thought, and it's time to see them one more time.
Shintaro was thankful for Ene. No matter how annoying she was, she was part of the reason he got back into the real world. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have gotten on better terms with his sister, or he may have never met the Mekakushi Dan. They all helped him open his eyes and to help him finally say goodbye.
Ayano. Shintaro always regretted that he never got to tell her how he truly felt about her. However, on that day when Kuroha accidently shot him, the hikkikomori found himself in his old classroom. Right by the window was the girl with the red scarf. She was looking at out the window, observing the twilight. When she turned to face Shintaro, she smiled that irritating but cheery smile.
At the sight of Ayano, Shintaro stood still, mesmerized. He wanted to just hug her and cry, say that he was sorry and that he loved her. He almost did, and he probably would have done so two years ago.
But a lot of things can change in two years.
Shintaro still dreamt of her, and sometimes, he would stay home all day and get lost in the virtual world. However, the next day, he would spend time with Momo and Hibiya, or go out to eat lunch with Konoha, or talk about music with Kido. Kano would pull a prank on him, Seto would start laughing, and Mary would stand there awkwardly before letting off a chuckle.
Shintaro never got to tell Ayano that he loved her, but now, he has people that he will love and protect for the rest of his life.
Calmly, he walked up to her. With her beautiful smile, she said, "Sorry I died." Even in death, she couldn't stop radiating with brightness.
"So annoying," Shintaro muttered, looking away from Ayano. As her smile began to slowly falter, he spoke again, louder. "But it's okay." He looked directly into her eyes. "Thank you for being there for me. You were a great friend, a great big sister apparently . . ."
Her smile returned, tenfold. He smiled right back. ". . . I loved you Ayano." Small tears began to flow down his face. "I don't know where we are, but even if I never admitted and even if you already knew, I need to tell you right now that I loved you."
Ayano was silent for moment. "I love you too, Shintaro, but you said that you had loved me . . ."
Shintaro sighed, tears still trickling down. "I still love you, and I still miss you. But," the tears stopped as he sniffled, "you don't need to take care of me anymore." He chuckled. "Or take care of Seto, Kido, and Kano. I'll make sure they stay safe." He paused, taking in the girl's slightly startled look. "And the rest of the Mekakushi Dan. They're my family, now. It's my job to take of them. Even if I die, I'll be with them in spirit, like how you were there for me"
He recomposed himself before speaking once more. "If I never get to see you again, I want to say what I should have said when you left two years ago.
"Goodbye."
Ayano retained the startled expression. A few moments later, she slowly widened her mouth and smiled again. Closing her eyes, she started giggling as she removed her red scarf and placed it around Shintaro's neck.
"A gift," she said. "for the new hero."
When she opened her eyes, the color of brown was in the place of red. Bemused at this, Shintaro was about to voice a question. However, before he could, Ayano pulled him close, giving him a kiss.
It didn't last long when Ayano started pulling back. She spoke again. "I've heard about your other friends, too, ya know."
Shintaro's eyes widened. "What? How – "
"It was me."
Shintaro turned around to face the new voice. Once he registered who it was, he relaxed. "Guess I should have expected that you'd try finding her."
The voice gave a small laugh. "You never stopped thinking about her, we all could tell. When I left, I wanted to see just what kind of a person she was like." The voice was amused at how Shintaro blushed.
"He told me about them," Ayano chimed in. "Even if you didn't find the Mekakushi Dan, I think you would have eventually joined their gang instead. After all," she got a mischievous look her eyes, "I'm sure she would have really enjoyed that."
Shintaro blushed. "Yeah, they weren't as annoying as the Dan when we first met." She and the voice had to chuckle when they heard his response. He was avoiding mentioning the other girl who had opened his heart.
"Anyway," the voice continued, "take this." A duffle bag was put into Shintaro's hands. "You need to say a few more goodbyes, go on one more journey before you can really go back to live the rest of your life." The voice stared into the eyes of his old friend. "Sorry, but they also deserve a final goodbye."
After opening up the bag and examining the contents, Shintaro sighed. "It has been a while since I've seen them . . . it really was a long three months with the Dan."
"How have you been meeting with them ever since Ene arrived, anyway?"
"I had to leave during the night, but . . . things were different when you were gone."
The voice looked away. "Yeah, thought so." He looked up again. "I'm sorry, too." He raised his hand towards Shintaro. "I'm sorry for making you do this, but you're the only one that I can trust and turn to for this."
Shintaro stared at the outstretched hand. After putting duffle bag sling over his shoulder, he grabbed the hand and shook it. "I'm always the one cleaning up every single mess." His vision started to falter, white light filling the room.
The voice smirked. "We spent months taking care of you. It's time that you return the favor."
Ayano hugged Shintaro from behind before he blacked out. "Good luck, Shintaro. Stay safe!"
It was two weeks after the incident, and a day after Shintaro was released from the hospital. He made a surprising quick recovery after a shot near his lungs. After everyone, especially Konoha, had stopped fessing over him, he was finally alone. No one would be hanging behind his shoulder when he made this final trip.
After getting dressed with his red jersey jacket, Shintaro left his room and entered the bathroom. He washed his face and looked at his reflection. For a moment, he was staring at dark-colored eyes before it shifted into a bright red. Shintaro still had no idea what kind of powers Ayano had given him. Her siblings might have known, but he decided to ask them about it after his trip.
Just as he was about to open the front entrance of his house, the duffle bag slung over his shoulder and the red scarf around hi neck, a tired voice spoke up from behind him.
"Big brother . . . are you going out? At this hour?"
Shintaro sighed. Momo. I should have been paying more attention. He turned and observed his little sister. She was in her pajamas, one hand rubbing her eye and the other holding a glass of water.
He opened the bag and pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside the bag was a collection of brown nuts. He took one out and flicked it at his sister.
It made contact with her forehead. The nut bounced back into Shintaro's hand while Momo stumbled back. She pressed her cup onto where she was hit and started mumbling.
"Ow! What was that for?"
Sorry Momo. Shintaro, as fast as he could, unlocked the front door and left. The effects of the Deku Nut should have nulled her hearing. I'm not in the mood to share what I've been up to. I'll make it up to you when I get back.
When Momo's dizziness subsided, she looked up and saw that her brother was gone. What? Wasn't he . . . must be seeing things. Guess I'm still getting used to seeing him out of the hospital bed. She finished her drink and went back to bed. Hopefully he's up for what we planned for him tomorrow . . .
Shintaro slowly walked towards his destination: the bridge where he last saw Ayano. One more time . . . one more time. Shintaro smiled. I am really going to miss them, but it's my fault that this wall was set up. I need to make things right.
He made his way to the edge of the bridge, leaning on the guard rail as he watched the moon shine overhead. His gazed shifted moved to look down below towards the river. Pit, you tiresome brat, you better still be ready for me. Shintaro climbed up and stood on the railing. He double checked to make sure that his bag was sealed tight. The he rubbed the spot between his chest and his neck where he was shot. The bandages were still there.
Wonder if there's another tournament going on, where his last thoughts before closing his eyes and stepping off the rail, plummeting into the flowing water.
X
When Ene awoke from her hibernation, she turned on Shintaro's computer and played an alarm. On the computer screen, she jumped around and shouted excitedly, "Master! Rise and shine! We have a big day planned for you!" Her smile turned into a frown when she noticed that the bed was vacant.
Strange, he usually never gets up at 7 unless I wake him, but his bed is all cleaned up and neat. Why would he be up and about at this hour?
Confused, Ene popped into Momo's computer screen and asked her, "Hey, little sister, where is Master?"
Momo had just finished getting dressed and was startled at the cyber girl's sudden appearance. "Huh? You mean he's not in his room?"
Ene vehemently shook her head.
After searching the house and finding no sign of Shintaro, Momo tried calling him. However, she found his phone in his room, under a pillow. The voicemail said, "Sorry. If anyone form the Mekakushi Dan is trying to find me, I'm out on a personal trip. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
Ene immediately entered his phone and fumbled through his recent activities. Then she went back to his computer and did the same. Momo was too stunned to move.
Big brother . . . where did you go? You're still injured! She thought back to when she was awake last night, getting a glass of water, and recalled imagining seeing Shintaro. Wait, so that means you left in the middle of the night? What was so important that you had to leave when you just got out of the hospital!
Ene sighed as she rematerialized on the screen. "I can't find anything that might tell us where he might have gone. I have no idea why Master would just leave without saying anything. What do you think little sister?"
"I . . . don't know. I think I saw him last night when I was getting some water. He could be anywhere by now."
"We should tell everyone else, ask them if they might know something!"
Momo nodded her head. "Right!"
X
I'm not really sure what kind of direction I'd like this story to go. Review and give me suggestions of what kind of scenarios you'd like to see. Keep in mind that I only have a vague outline of what I kind of want to happen and that I'm making some of this up as I go along.