It was all over.

I didn't remember anything when I finally woke up, but for some reason… I felt sad. The type of sadness you feel when someone has died. I saw Shigeo in my room, putting some food on my bedside table.

"Shigeo?" I asked, sitting up.

My brother's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness."

"What happened?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"To be honest, I don't really remember," Shigeo said. "It's all fuzzy."

"Yeah…" I said, tapping the side of my head. "Same here."

I scowled. I felt a metaphorical hole in my heart. Shigeo had a sad smile on his face, which made me even more suspicious.

"Where's Dimple?" I asked.

Shigeo went tense. "Not here at the moment."

"Hmm," I gave him a look. "You're lying to me."

Shigeo turned his head in the opposite direction. "Rest some more. Don't worry, sis."

He left the room, leaving me with my tray of food. I began to chow down on my ramen, and then it hit me:

The tree was gone. Shigeo had lifted it into the air and chucked it into the sea. Not only him, but Dimple was gone too. Dimple had sacrificed himself to save us. To save the entire world.

I felt a tear trickle down my cheek.

I'd never been fond of Dimple, but… that didn't mean I wanted him gone. He made my brother happy, and that was all that mattered to me. And despite all the times he'd called me the 'crazy girl', I was going to miss him. I was going to miss that stupid nickname too.

"Oh, Shigeo…" I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Being a 2nd-year student meant I didn't have to worry about all of that entrance exam crap. But Joshua certainly did. He had his hands in his green hair, and sweat dripping down his cheeks.

"I'm not ready," he said, pacing around the music room.

"Here he goes again," Daizō sighed, sitting beside me on the stage.

"Hey, c'mon, man," Josh folded his arms. "This is gonna be you next year. Arashi too."

I looked away, feeling awkward.

"Well, I won't be walking around in circles like you are," Daizō said.

Josh tilted his head. "How do you know that?"

"Because… I'm not like you," Daizō said, blushing.

"Or are you?" Josh asked, walking over to him. Daizō's face grew even more red as he looked away.

"You jerk," he huffed, almost like a tsundere.

Josh cackled, like he was pretending to be a witch. He turned his attention to me.

"You're awfully quiet," he said, frowning. "Are you okay, Arashi?"

My mind was clouded with the thoughts of the music school. I still hadn't made my mind up about whether or not I wanted to go there. Every time I thought about it, I felt a little sick. I wanted to go there more than anything, but I didn't want to leave my family behind. Everything I'd done had been with my family... and friends, for that matter. But if I went to the school, for the first time, I'd be all alone. I didn't want to be alone. That was one of my greatest fears.

"I…" I coughed. "Well… I…"

"HEY!"

Onigawara burst into the room, causing Josh to trip over himself. Daizō covered his mouth, and I heard his giggles coming out in short breaths.

"There you are," Onigawara said, glaring at me as he always did.

"Do you always have to burst in like that?" I sighed.

"Get over here," he said, ignoring my questions… as he always did.

"Say please," I told him.

He replied with the finger, then stormed out of the room.

"I'll see you guys later," I said, standing up. I stared down at Joshua, who looked like he was having a midlife crisis.

"I'll handle it," Daizō told me, kneeling beside his crush. He was still blushing.

I left the room, seeing Onigawara hanging out in the hallways. He glared at me.

"Nice to see you too," I said. "Whaddya want?"

He was oddly quiet. For some reason he was sweating.

"Well?" I asked. "Lost all your brain cells already?"

"Shut up," he grumbled, making a fist. "Look, I just wanted to know if… if you…" He scowled. "Ah, screw it! Look, meet me at Ankle Part… on New Years Eve. And if you don't show up, I'll kill you!"

"Why?" I asked.

"Just be there!" he yelled, before storming off. For some reason, I noticed he was blushing.

"What's going on with him?"

I turned around, facing Ritsu. My brother had a curious look on his face.

"No idea," I shrugged. "He wants me to go Ankle Park on New Years Eve."

Ritsu's face darkened. "It's not a date, is it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Playing the overprotective big brother, are you?"

Ritsu didn't look like he was joking. "Arashi, that guy is a bad influence."

"Oh, come on," I shrugged. "A few weeks ago, you thought exactly the same thing about me."

Ritsu's expression turned to that of a guilty puppy. "Well… maybe, but… it's different now. You're my little sister. I have to look out for you."

"We're only a few months apart in age," I pointed out.

"You're too stubborn," Ritsu said, shaking his head. "You're gonna get yourself into trouble."

"Who says I already haven't?" I replied, mischievously.

Ritsu sighed. "Just… be careful, okay?"

I sighed. I suppose I couldn't be too hard on Ritsu. For a long time, I was over-protective of Shigeo.

"Anyway, anything interesting happening?" I asked.

Ritsu shrugged. "The Telepathy Club got disbanded… again. Tome herself disbanded the club."

"Tragic," I deadpanned.

"However, after she left, the remaining members actually managed to find a real telepath," Ritsu replied. "Surprisingly enough, it's the guy that got their club disbanded in the first place. So the club is going to go out and find an alien or two for Tome."

"Are aliens even real?" I asked.

"Not sure," Ritsu admitted. "But who knows? Shigeo is helping them, so they might actually find something."

"When are they going alien-hunting?" I asked.

"Not sure," Ritsu shugged. "I didn't stay long enough to find out."

"Alright," I said. "Thanks, bro."

He walked away, leaving me to my misdeeds. Then a thought occurred to me.

Wait… did Onigawara ask me out on a date?!

"Heard you're going alien hunting," I said, running over to my brother as he left the school. We walked past the gates, going onto the familiar streets.

He nodded. "I guess Ritsu told you. We're trying to invite Tome along, but she keeps denying us."

"Seriously?" I asked. "I thought she was all over this alien stuff."

Shigeo shrugged. "This is all for her. I guess… we have to keep asking until she agrees."

We walked in silence for a bit. It was slightly peaceful, actually.

"When is this alien hunting thing, anyway?" I asked.

"New Years Eve," Shigeo answered. "Do you want to come along?"

"I can't," I said, shaking my head. "I've got a 'date', apparently."

"A… date?" Shigeo asked, raising his brow.

"Well, I'm not totally sure if it's a date, but…" I looked away. "A… uh, friend wants to… hang out with me on New Years Eve."

"Wow, I'm happy for you, sister," Shigeo said, smiling at me. "Whether or not it's a date, I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Thanks," I chuckled. "Ritsu was trying to be overprotective."

"He doesn't want you to get hurt," Shigeo said, gently. "And… neither do I."

"Don't you start, Shigeo," I joked, lightly punching his shoulder. "I'm the one who's protective of you. I'm tempted to come along with you to make sure you don't get abducted by aliens."

"That won't happen," Shigeo said, sweat-beading. "You just… go on your date and have fun. Don't worry about me, sister."

I sighed. "Alright. But we're definitely gonna hang out on New Years Day. Me, you, Teru, Ritsu - all of us."

Mob nodded. "Of course."

I gave him a smile, and we continued talking about general stuff. So many times, I wanted to bring up the whole music school thing, but I toned it down. That, or I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't want to think about it. Not yet, not now.