…in which this glorious book comes to an official close, the author cries a bit, and the

trio promises to meet again.

"We're what?!"

Producer nodded slowly. "765 Productions has gotten an invitation to go perform a tour in Europe. We have big sponsors and everything. You guys, this is huge."

Yukiho looked down at the ground sadly. A tour in Europe meant she would have to say goodbye to Sora, and she had grown very fond of the kind young man. She looked over at Makoto, looking in disbelief at Producer, and sensed that she felt the same way.

But Producer was right; this was a huge opportunity. And if the idols turned this down, their popularity would never grow worldwide. Naturally, Yukiho assumed that this would be her final goodbye to Sora.

"Don't worry, girls," Producer said brightly. "You still have a month before we have to go. Now, I know that seems like kind of short notice, but trust me, it's plenty of time."

Haruka jumped to her feet. "Producer-san is right!" she cheered. "We still have one month to say goodbye and spend time with our friends. The best thing to do now is to make every second last!"

The other idols nodded or called out their agreement, and Haruka, happy with her pep talk, took her seat again. Yukiho exchanged a glance with Makoto and a silent promise was made.

They would go visit Sora.

"You're leaving?" Sora gasped. "But…why?"

"P-Producer-san got 765 Productions a tour in Europe," Yukiho explained. "We're going to travel all over the country and put on performances, and to be honest…I-I'm a little scared."

Sora frowned. "I just can't believe you're leaving. How long?"

"O-one year."

"A whole year?" Sora complained. "That's just not fair."

Yukiho nodded slowly. "Well…w-we have one more month. I would like to spend most of my time with my parents, but if you would like to come over for dinner some time and meet them, then I'm sure that would be fine," she invited.

"That sounds great," Sora agreed. "Alright, Makoto, where's my goodbye?"

"Bye, Sora."

"Bye."

Yukiho giggled. "U-um…I'm going to go home now and spend time with my parents. I-I'll come say goodbye again right before we go, alright?"

Sora nodded. "I'll miss you. A lot."

"Thank you, I'll miss you too."

Through the next month, Yukiho spent most of her time with her parents, but she never neglected to spend time with Sora when she could. There were practices at the agency almost daily to help the idols prepare for their tour. But whenever Yukiho got a break that she didn't want to spend with family, she spent it with her dear male friend. But eventually, the time came when they had to part.

Sora went with the idols to the airport. He had brought with him Kenchi (who, in turn, had brought his sister and brother) and Jasper (who had really just come to say goodbye to Iori, Chihaya, Azusa, and Yukiho, the idols he liked best). He stood with Yukiho in the middle of the group, alone, to offer a final parting.

"Well…it's been fun, Ohime-chan," he sighed. "I'm…really going to miss you." He looked over to Makoto, eagerly exchanging goodbyes with Kyoko. "Both of you, to be honest. But don't tell her I said that."

Yukiho giggled. "Yes, I'll miss you too," she admitted. "A lot. I…you know, Sora-kun, aside from Producer-san and Shachou-san, you are the only man I've ever been willing to be close to. You've shown me that…not all of you are s-scary beasts."

Sora chuckled.

"And I…I really love you, Sora-kun. Thank you so much for taking care of me all this time, and for being so sweet, and…thank you. I-I love you…a-and I'll miss you…and I just can't imagine being apart from you anymore. You've been with me for so long—"

Before Yukiho could continue, Sora stepped forwards, slipped his arms around her waist, and kissed first her cheek, then her lips. Yukiho closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing herself to kiss him back. Both of them blushed.

After a while, Sora retreated and smiled at her. "I love you too," he began, "and I'm going to miss you like crazy. I can't imagine life without you. But you know, you won't be gone forever. In one year I'll be here, right in this very spot, waiting to give you a hello hug. OK?"

Yukiho beamed and tears formed in her eyes. "S-Sora-kun…!"

"Yeah?"

"…I have to go say goodbye to Jasper-kun. He's actually kind of cute once you get to know him."

"…oh. Yeah, I know."

"But…" Yukiho paused. "…I'll be eagerly awaiting my hello hug. Goodbye, Sora-kun."

Sora smiled. "See you later."

"Y-yes!"

"Makoto-chan!"

Makoto turned. Kenchi ran to her and wrapped the girl in a tight hug. Makoto yelped, surprised. "Ah…Kenchi, it's you."

"Makoto-chan, why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"Ah, I…well, I didn't want to say goodbye…"

Kenchi frowned and held her head against his chest. "Why not?"

Makoto slipped her arms around his back. "Um…you see, I'm not coming back immediately after the tour."

Kenchi blinked. "What?"

"Everyone else is coming home right after the tour finishes. I'm staying in Europe for at least another six months."

"OK…why?" Kenchi asked. He rubbed her back softly.

"My dad," Makoto answered. "He…there's this big martial arts tournament going on in Europe soon after the tour ends, and he's making me participate." She added a laugh. "I say 'making', but it's more like 'encouraging'. I kind of want to test myself anyways."

Kenchi frowned. "That doesn't mean you should have not said goodbye. I'll miss you."

"I'm sorry. I knew it was going to be hard so I chickened out."

"Don't worry. I still would have loved you even if you left without saying goodbye," Kenchi promised.

Makoto smiled. "Thanks. Um…you know, even though you are a pervert…I love you too, Kench. Really, I do."

"So…you're OK that I'm a pervert?"

"You do realize you just willingly admitted that you're a pervert, right?"

"I'm only a pervert to you because I love you so much I want to die."

"Please don't."

"OK. Can I have a kiss before you go?"

Makoto giggled, pulling back slightly from the hug. "As long as you promise it'll just be a kiss," she replied.

"No promises," Kenchi muttered half-jokingly.

"Wait, what?"

Instead of answering, Kenchi leaned down and kissed her. Makoto heard Kyoko "aw"-ing in the background and Kyou asking himself why in the world his brother would choose such a flat-chested girl, who at least wasn't as bad as Chihaya or Yayoi, "but Chihaya is at least beautiful and Yayoi is cute, while this girl has absolutely nothing going for her. Really."

Eventually, Kenchi separated from the girl and smiled at her sadly. "I'll miss you," he murmured. "Stay safe, OK?"

"I will," Makoto assured him. "You too. And…take care of Sora for me, OK?"
"Have you said goodbye to him yet?"

Makoto looked away. "…he doesn't want to, I'm sure."

"That's not true. Sora-kun finds you irritating but he told me himself that he was going to miss you when you left. I'm sure he wants to say goodbye," Kenchi soothed. "After all, he really does consider you a friend."

"Liar."

"I'm serious, though…"

Makoto smiled and stepped back. "Well, anyways, it's time to go, so…bye, Kentaro. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you more, Makoto-chan."

"That's probably true…"

"H-hey…!"

Sora sighed and watched Yukiho and Makoto walk off with their group and sighed sadly.

"I'm really going to miss those two," he told Kenchi, who nodded.

"Me too," he admitted.

"Makoto never even gave me a proper goodbye," Sora muttered. "…I'm gonna miss that spazzy freak. She was fun. Well, fun to mess with, at least. And in the end she really did consider me a friend. She was pretty supportive of my relationship with Ohime-chan, after all."

"She said you wouldn't want a goodbye," Kenchi said, shrugging.

"What? Of course I do. See, this is why she's stupid."

"She's cute…"

"No she's not, Kench. Give it up."

Sighing, Kenchi returned to his family and Sora watched the idols walk away. After a while, he turned and started walking away. Before he got too far, he felt two arms wrap slowly around his body. His first thought was Yukiho, but then he heard the person speak and realized it was Makoto. He smiled slightly at the sound of her voice.

"Bye, Sora. I'm going to miss you…a lot."

"Yeah, I'll miss you too, you freak."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Pervert."

Sora chuckled and Makoto giggled. She rubbed her face against his back.

"Seriously though," Sora began, "get off of me you thing."

"No…"

"Makoto, let go already…"

"Will you hug me back if I do?"

"I'll slap your face if that'll make you happy."

"Hn, Sora…you know, this is the last you'll see of me for two years," Makoto whined. "Make it good."

"Two years?" Sora repeated. "But the tour is only one year…"

"I wanted to thank you," Makoto breathed, ignoring his comment. "Thank you for being so kind to Yukiho. It really means a lot to me to know she has someone who can take care of her while I'm gone."

"You're welcome. Now seriously, get the heck off of me, Makoto…"

"OK. Bye."

"Bye."

Slowly, Makoto detached herself from Sora and the boy turned around. Makoto backed up to re-join her group, waving happily until it was time to turn around and run to catch up with the rest of 765 Pro. Sora waved back. Then he chuckled again, shaking his head.

"That idiot," he muttered.

"She should have said 'see you again'."

(A/N: So, that marks the end of this marvelous book! I can't believe it's done. Don't worry, there will be a sequel (most likely) and a bunch of bonus chapter (including the one where everyone dies) so it isn't totally the end. Thank you all for keeping up with this! I love you guys so much~~~~~

OK, now for something serious:

This chapter—and this book—were almost completely lost to the world.

Guys, I would like to share a quick testimony because this just shook me to the core.

Me and my family were in Colonial Willamsburg. For some reason I decided to bring my thumbdrive (which has this book along with many others on it) along with me, and somewhere along the road it fell out of my pocket. Naturally, I had my family look for it.

You want to know what? We looked in a giant grass field in the pitch darkness with only our phones to serve as flashlights. And it was raining. There was no way we should have been able to find it. We searched for at least half an hour before I was about ready to give up.

I was devastated. My life's work was gone. I was on the brink of despair. And then, suddenly, my sister announced that she had found it.

Guys, I should not have found that thumbdrive. It was a real-life miracle. God really does exist and he's watching out for us. Really. I owe this chapter to him.

So for this chapter, the dedication goes to God. Thanks. :3)