Again, thanks for all the nice reviews!

Er...this chapter ended up being more serious than I originally anticipated. Granted, there are still some funny moments (I'll be the first to admit that the majority of the "Graduation Interlude" really just serves the purpose of some much needed comedy relief as well as a cameo from one of my favorite UY characters) and there are some really cute scenes in it, but some of it is...well, really kind of sad. Don't worry, though! It's all still PG and there will be happy endings! LOL! Besides, a lot of the more serious stuff in this chapter is poked fun at in later chapters, lol, and it's kind of hinted at during the chapter that some things shouldn't be taken too seriously, anyway.

Also, this chapter is mainly focused on Shinobu and Mendou, although Ataru and Lum are both in it (the next chapter is Ataru and Lum's, so don't worry!). I think what also made it seem so serious was that Mendou usually isn't really done with too much depth when compared to the other three (Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu), but he had to have some in this story otherwise it really wouldn't have worked, especially considering the story is about growing up, and it could easily be argued that out of all of them, Mendou needs to do the most growing up, lol. Also, as a warning, things kind of jump around...the horizontal line is there to show when it's a separate scene (within one of the four parts, that is), but it still might get kind of confusing because some scenes sort of blend into others...well, you'll see. And all will be explained; eventually, lol.

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the rest! This is the beginning of the second half of the story, and it shifts gears a little, focusing more on the surreal now (or, well, mostly all on the surreal), as opposed to the first half, which balanced out the surreal and the real equally. I just hope everything came out all right, especially with the characters, since the tone is a bit more somber compared to most UY stuff. Still, hope you have fun reading and I hope you like it!

Episode 5: I Am Not You Are Not I Am

Subtitle: (Relationships, Part Two: The Problem with Losing Your Self)

The "Do You Love Me?" Scenario

"Darling, do you love me?"

"Do you love me, Darling?"

"Darling! Don't you love me, Darling?"

"Darling..."

Shinobu walked quietly down the street with Shutaro in the rain, Shutaro holding a black umbrella over them both with one hand and holding Shinobu's hand with the other, and Shinobu staring down at her feet as they went across the shallow puddles. The two then stopped and Shinobu with hopeful, yet forlorn eyes looked up to the handsome Shutaro. "Shutaro, do you love me?"

Shutaro never looked down to her. Instead, he raised his solemn gaze towards the gray sky, the rain pattering on the sidewalk and on his umbrella, and he replied in a distant voice, "I think I could...maybe...someday."

The Case of Shinobu Miyake (The Shinobu Miyake Project)

Shinobu was flying; she giggled as she looked down at Tomobiki, so far below her, and then up at bright blue skies all around and above her, as well as at the two shimmering white wings that stemmed from her back. A wind blew through her hair and rustled her clothes and she smiled happily as she took a deep breath of the fresh air.

She soared around for some time by herself, zig-zagging across the sky, through the fluffy clouds and then down, flying over rivers, only inches above them, and the water surged upward on both sides of her, the wind that came from underneath her lifting it. She then flew back up, twirling about as she did so, closing her eyes and laughing happily.

However, she frowned when she opened her eyes. The sky was still bright and warm, but she suddenly felt lonely in it's vastness, and she glanced around, hoping to find someone flying through the sky as well, although the odds were rather slim that she'd find anyone at all. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders worriedly and she gazed down at the small suburban town of Tomobiki, seeming smaller than usual and so far away, making Shinobu feel even more lonely.

Unexpectedly, Shinobu felt a wind blow up the back of her blouse and lift the feathers of her wings slightly. Shinobu turned around to see that Lum had flown up from behind her, as if to meet her, much to Shinobu's relief. Lum clasped her hands behind her back and gave Shinobu a smile. "Come on! Follow me!" she said and gave her a wink before flying away at full speed.

Shinobu laughed and called out to her, "Wait for me, Lum!" before taking off after her. However, she soon began to frown as she found herself unable to keep up with Lum. "Wait, Lum! You're going to fast!" Shinobu cried, but Lum just grinned and sped up. Soon, Shinobu felt the wind give way underneath her. "Lum!" she screamed as she started to fall downward, her shimmering white wings vanishing into gold dust, and toward Tomobiki, and away from the beautiful sky. Yet she could no longer see Lum flying above her; all there was was the sky...


Shinobu now tapped her finger against her desk, resting her chin in the palm of her other hand, a bored expression on her face. She looked over to the clock that hung over the teacher's desk, yet there were no hands on its face. She sighed and looked across the classroom. Seeing that it was empty, she frowned and shuddered, suddenly feeling cold, and she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She looked toward the door, waiting for someone to show up. After glancing back a few more times, she got up and started toward the door.

She walked into the hallway, palely lit with gray, dusty light, and she ambulated forward, surprised to see how empty it was. "Hello?" she called out as she stood on her tip-toes to peer into the classroom windows only to find them just as vacant. "Hmm..." She trailed off and she frowned, scrunching her eyebrows in perplexity. "Maybe everyone's outside..."

So, she headed down the stairs and outside to find it just as empty. "Where is everybody?" she asked out loud. "Maybe it's a Sunday or something..."

She left school grounds then, and headed into town, to find it just as empty of people. Growing nervous and anxious to find someone other than herself in Tomobiki, she began running, calling out, "Hello? Isn't anybody here?"

She suddenly stopped, however, and turned her head to see a carnival before her, although empty and as dead as the rest of the town. Still, she gazed at it curiously as she took a moment to catch her breath. Then, slowly she stepped toward it. She hesitated, leaning forward to look in a bit, before walking in. She walked around, staring at all the empty booths and motionless rides and crowd less walkways.

"This place seems so familiar..." she trailed off, almost recognizing the place. Then her eyes met a large sign and she read it out loud, "The Tomobiki Summer Carnival...?"

Suddenly, she heard the sound of music and gears turning, and she gasped, spinning around to see that the carousel had mysteriously started running, lights flashing and music loud and bright. She scoffed, then, and crossed her arms. Cocking her head to the side, she declared, "How childish!"


"Shutaro! Shutaro, get down here!" Shinobu called up the living room stairs angrily as she heatedly mixed a bowl of pancake batter, holding the bowl under one arm and mixing with the other. "Breakfast will be ready soon!"

"Mommy! Mommy!" her five year old son called, tugging on Shinobu's apron.

"Not now!" she snapped as she tried to make her way back to the kitchen with her son still hanging onto her.

"But she hit me, Mommy!" the little boy continued, pointing to his older sister of seven, who sat at the kitchen table.

"That's only because he hit me first!" the sister retorted.

"I said not now!" Shinobu shouted. "Mommy's busy!" She then shook her head, muttering, "Why did I ever choose to get married young...or have kids so young either..."

"But mommy!" her son argued and Shinobu scowled furiously, ready to reprimand her son once more.

However, she unfortunately snagged her foot on one of the legs of the kitchen chairs. She let out a cry as she fell forward, landing hard on the wooden floor and scraping one of her elbows and both of her knees as the bowl of pancake batter that she had held in her hand crashed to the floor, the batter skidding across the wood and splattering onto the wall. Shinobu let out a groan and a whimper, her hair messily falling over her eyes and she sat up, near tears as she rubbed her scraped elbow. "Oh..." Then, angrily, she called out, "Shutaro! Get in here! Now!"

"Yeah? What's wrong this time?" a familiar voice answered in annoyance, however it was not the familiar voice she had in mind. She looked up to the door with a gasp then to see Ataru Moroboshi standing at the doorway, and her eyes widened in horror at the sight before she let out a terrified scream.


"Alone again," Shinobu said to herself, walking along the empty boardwalk. "Why am I always alone?" She sighed glumly and leaned against the railing, staring out into the vast ocean. "The ocean...it's just as lonely as I am right now...probably..."

" But I suppose it's better than being married to Ataru Moroboshi," she decided. "Or, well, whoever he was supposed to be. I wonder what Lum sees in him, anyway. I wonder what I ever saw in him..."

"Darling!" Lum's voice called out.

"Huh?" Shinobu's eyes fell to the white beach and she then saw Lum clinging onto Ataru's arm, laughing happily as she did so.

Shinobu sighed with a dreamy smile as she leaned forward to watch the two, the sea breeze blowing through her hair. Her eyes looked longing at the couple, wishing she was somehow them in that moment.

"Come on, Lum! Will you let go of me?!" Ataru protested, trying to pull away from Lum's grip.

"Darling!" Lum exclaimed furiously and suddenly her laughter ceased, being replaced by the sound of her shocking Ataru.

Shinobu frowned and shook her head in disgust. "No, no, they argue too much; they'll never last that long," she said matter-of-factly, but a puzzled look then spread across her face. "I wonder how they've lasted so long, anyway..." After a moment of thought, and coming up with no answer, she sighed and turned around.

However, when she did, she saw herself facing the carousel again, although it was again not on. Her shoulders slumped back in disappointment as she looked at it, and then stared around the empty carnival. Sighing, she took a seat on the carousel platform, not knowing what else to do. "I wish Shutaro were around," she said somberly as she glumly looked around. "I feel like I haven't talked to him in so long...the quiet is kind of peaceful, though..."

She smiled at this thought, listening to the wind and taking in the silence. "Everything's so peaceful," she repeated taking in another breath of fresh air. "Maybe this carousel isn't so bad, after all. At least I don't have to worry about anything here...I can just be...me..."

Just as she found herself enjoying her solitude, something came to her ears - laughing. Shinobu perked up hopefully, forgetting all about the serenity about her, and she jumped to her feet. She listened for another moment, and when she was certain that it was laughter, she grinned and started after it. However, she stopped, turning back to the carousel she had so thoughtlessly went to abandon. Frowning with some guilt, she looked at it a moment longer, and then out toward the exit of the carnival, yearning for it and the voices of people. She sighed, shameful of her own weakness, but she simply couldn't help herself, and took one last gaze back at the quiet carousel, and said to it, "I'm sorry, but I guess I'm just not ready for you yet." She then turned, making her way toward the exit. And as soon as her feet stepped out of the carnival and onto the sidewalk, the carousel turned on again, twirling about with it's pretty melody and it's brilliant lights.

Shinobu spotted three schoolgirls dressed in Tomobiki school uniform turning the corner, the same laughter coming from them as she had heard only moments before. Quickly, Shinobu ran after them. "Hey! Wait!" she called, but none of them turned to acknowledge her.

"Wait up!" she repeated and went to tap one on the shoulder, but instead her hand went straight through, as if she were some apparition. Shinobu let out a nervous cry as she immediately jolted her hand back towards herself, her arms starting to tremble. "What's - what's happened to me?" she asked shakily, but then shook her head determinedly, and ran after them, towards the Tomobiki High School.

"Hello? Can't anyone see me? Someone, please, someone notice me!" she cried as she ran through the schoolyard and through all the students, as if she wasn't even there at all. Noticing Ataru and Lum sitting and talking on the grass she quickly ran up to them. "Ataru! Lum! Please, notice me!" And she tried to shake them, but her hands fell through them as well.

They simply continued giggling, immersed in a conversation that Shinobu, for some reason, couldn't here, and Shinobu felt like sobbing because of it. Angry tears in her eyes, she still refused to give up and she glared down at Ataru. "Ataru! Ataru, can't you hear me? You're supposed to be able to sense when a girl's around, right? So why can't you sense me now? Why can't you be the stupid lecher that you always are?" Yet Ataru just continued talking with Lum. Shinobu shook her head and shifted her eyes to the blue-haired Oni, crying, "Lum! Lum, you're supposed to be something special! Can't you see me now? Please! Lum!" Yet no answer came from Lum, either, and Shinobu spun away from them, her fiery tears flinging from her eyes, and she shouted, "Doesn't anybody notice me?!"

She gasped then, her eyes spotting Shutaro, standing on the roof of the school and gazing off toward the sky. Shinobu laughed, tears still in her eyes, and stammered in her hopeful excitement, "Shu - Shutaro! He'll notice me! He has to!"

She quickly made her way up the stairs and to the roof, where Shutaro stood, at the very edge, still smiling and looking out at the sky. "Shutaro!" she exclaimed, running up to him. However, she frowned when he didn't answer her. "Shutaro?" she repeated, her hope running out quickly. But he didn't look over to her or even flinch as she stood behind him.

Shinobu narrowed her eyes, very angry tears flinging from them, and exclaimed furiously, "This is all your fault! You're the one who is supposed to notice me!" And, still, he didn't turn to her. She let out an aggravated sigh and continued on, "It's your job to notice me! I hate it when you ignore me!" There was a silence as Shinobu desperately waited for an answer. Then, she marched over to stand by his side, looking up fiercely at his face. "Don't you even care? Why won't you answer me?! Why won't anyone answer me?!"

And Shutaro unexpectedly turned to her and asked curiously, "Why do you need anyone to answer you?"

Shinobu gasped, cheeks flushing as she took a step back, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I... I didn't know you could..." she stammered, before opening her eyes again to see Shutaro was gazing back out at the sky again, as if he had never spoke to her before. "Shutaro?" she asked, feeling despair was returning to her eyes. "Shutaro, please, Shutaro..." she trailed off hopelessly. She frowned, tears in her eyes as they looked down to her feet. "Did I just imagine he talked to me...?" she wondered aloud through her quiet sobs.

But she shook her head once more and lifted it to face him. "Shutaro, I know you can hear me! Shutaro, answer me! Shutaro!" She then reached her hand out to his shoulder and, surprisingly, she felt her hand press against it and push him forward. She gasped, her eyes slowly widening as Shutaro turned his head to see her, his feet stumbling underneath him, soon to give way, and a confusion in his eyes.

"Miss...Shinobu?" he asked in a frightened shock as he slowly started to fall from her and toward the ground that seemed so far away now.

Shinobu blinked her wet eyes in disbelief, a fear ripping at her heart as she watched him falling back, towards the sky and off the roof. "Shu - Shutaro?" she stammered, unable to breath as she watched him. She shook her head, tears still flinging from her eyes as she desperately reach a hand out to him, crying, "Shutaro!" But there fingers never touched and he slipped away from her and away from the sky, and fell toward the dark, hateful ground.

Shinobu fell to her knees, sobbing, as the roof around her became a beautiful valley, the sun shining brightly and a gentle spring breeze allowing the flowers to float across the sky. A small tombstone formed in front of her knees that read, "Shutaro Mendou, may he always rest in peace..."

"Did I...did I kill him?" Shinobu wondered aloud as she stared at the tombstone, tears streaming down her cheeks.

And a comforting hand fell onto her shoulder then and Shinobu looked up to see a stranger standing behind her, curly red hair and a somber look in his eyes. Shinobu stared up at the man curiously, unsure what to make of him, before returning her eyes back to the grave of Shutaro Mendou and the rest of the quiet, beautiful valley...

Graduation Interlude

"GRADUATION - the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma - COMMENCEMENT. To some...a beginning. To others...and end. In many eyes it is an accomplishment; still others, a miracle in itself; and yet more, a dream that will never EVER be fulfilled! FAILURE! HUMILIATION! EVENTUAL POVERTY AND SELF DESTRUCTION! Yes, all these words define graduation!" Megane spoke with much enthusiasm and excitement as he stood at the podium that early Sunday morning, the sunlight shining on him and reflecting brilliantly off his glasses as he spoke on behalf of the graduating class of Tomobiki High in the form of Class President. He beamed with a sense of pride, proud to be able to make his speech in front of much of the inhabitants of Tomobiki. However, most of the audience, including the graduates behind him, appeared uneasy at the way Megane dramatically pronounced each syllable of each word, particularly emphasizing the words, "failure," "humiliation," and "self destruction" with a roar of misery and unavoidable suffering. Yet Megane continued on, unscathed by his audience's reaction.

"However, as for myself and the graduates seated behind me, the word 'graduation' takes on a new meaning. Yes, to some, it may still be a miracle, and to those who failed to pass the required classes, it may be the ultimate failure, but what graduation truly means now is...PERSISTENCE! Yes, it is persistence that graduation symbolizes! We dedicated the majority of our youth - of our young, pathetic lives - to the tyrannical educational system, slaving away day in and day out, the heavy labor of schoolwork loading us down. Yet, somehow, we managed to survive - yes, survive the tyrannical oppression of Tomobiki High - and now that we have, we have broken our chains and will lead our lives into equally oppressive educational systems that will pretend to give us more freedom. Yet, a fake freedom is better than no freedom at all! And after our university endeavors, we will move on to the world of corporate business, where we will continue to be oppressed. Still, we will move up the ladder until we are old men and women, nearly senile, and then WE, OURSELVES, can become the tyrants! Yes! One day, far in the future, we, ourselves, will become the power and money hungry mongrels of society and humanity will indeed live on, through us! However, our own days of tyranny could not be accomplished if not for our own oppression. And that makes this day so significant! We have survived this oppression, in the form of graduation, while those who failed miserably will undoubtedly and indefinitely remain slaves their whole lives. But I must ask you all one question - WHY did we survive? And I will tell you again - persistence! It is PERSISTENCE that embodies graduation. For if we did not stubbornly fight our way up the ladder of success, we would fall to horrible, violent fates of mindless and blind slavery to the tyrannical system..."

"Megane always had a few screws lose..." Ataru muttered as Megane continued on with his speech. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"Well, his speech is a bit depressing," Shinobu remarked with a frown, folding her arms awkwardly.

Ataru shrugged as Lum leaned across Ataru and whispered, "But it is a depressing day, isn't it?"

Ataru raised an eyebrow. "How so?" he inquired.

Lowering her head and placing her hands in her lap, she said glumly, "Well, this will be the last time we'll ever see each other again. After today - "

"That's not true," Ataru interrupted matter-of-factly. "We're all not going that far. I mean, me and you are going to the same school, Lum, and the others...well, most of them aren't even leaving Japan."

"How can you act so calm, Darling?!" Lum declared in outrage.

"What? We're all still going to be nearby," Ataru argued. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Not Shutaro," Shinobu stated quietly with sad eyes staring down at her feet. "He's going to school all the way in America..."

"Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot about that..." Ataru trailed off with a frown. He then shrugged and crossed his hands behind the back of his head. "Oh, well; it's just Mendou, anyway."

"VERMIN!" Megane shouted, causing Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and the entire graduating class to nearly jump out of their seats. "Like vermin we roam this earth, searching for some sort of WORTH in our pitiful existence. Yet we find none! TRAPPED - TRAPPED in a never-ending wheel of miserable fate! Running and running like pitiful RATS, never to escape! And why? Why must we suffer so? Why won't they just let you leave?" Megane then sunk into the podium, sobbing into his arm. The others stared at him, faces distorted with confusion and fright.

"Damn them, though! Damn them all!" Megane's booming voice returned to him as he rose from the podium. "For we have all persevered! And soon WE will trap THEM in cages! Yes, cages with wheels! And they will run endlessly enslaved to the system of oppression! For THAT is truly the essence of graduation!" He held his hands out high expecting a roar of applause. However, all there was was a long, awkward silence. He stood frozen for a moment before blinking, lowering his arms, and clearing his throat. "Um, yes, well...to conclude, I would like to personally thank a certain someone who, with her presence, all things are possible! Without her, I surely would have failed as would have the rest of the student body, cursed for eternity with sorrow and humiliation! But, alas, she came to our little, unworthy town, to save us all from our forlorn fate! So, thank you, Lum, for sparing us from torment and suffering! You are the cause of my success and the success of all things! And you, Lum, are the reason that this graduation exists!" There was a burst of applause and cheers as Lum smiled modestly.

After the applause died out, Megane's gazed remained on Lum for a long moment of longing before he forced himself to turn back to his audience. "Now," he began, "although you are all CLEARLY aware of the true meaning of graduation - oppression, enslavement, tyranny, and above all things, persistence to become those tyrants who oppress and enslave - I present to you all the Class Valedictorian, Shutaro Mendou, who will ATTEMPT to tell you all something as profound and as meaningful as my elegant speech. Don't bee too hard on him, though, if he is unable to succeed in explaining the horrors of the educational system as well as I have." He gestured to Shutaro. "Mendou."

There was a burst of applause as Shutaro rose proudly, grinning a cocky grin, and swiftly stepping forward.

Ataru scoffed. "Great..." he muttered sarcastically. "Just another way to stroke his ego."

"Now, you can't say he doesn't deserve some of it..." Shinobu argued and Ataru simply scoffed again.

Shutaro gave Megane a glare of disgust and perplexity as he passed him and then took the podium with a grin. "Family, friends, faculty," he began with an air of dignity as the applause diminished. "On behalf of the graduates seated behind me, I would like to thank all of you. Not only for attending this morning's ceremony, but for your support, dedication, and strength that you have given to us over the years. Without it, we could never have gotten this far. I would also like to extend my appreciation to those graduates behind me who have been both my friends and comrades through my journey thus far."

Ataru almost began to laugh out loud. "If that's isn't the biggest load of bull I ever heard!" he exclaimed

"Well...at least he says it well," Shinobu remarked, frowning. She perked up a bit and added, "And with a nice smile, too."

Shutaro's debonair grin flashed across the audience once more. "This part of our lives is over," he continued. "Yet that does not mean that our journey is over. Although we may separate to travel different paths, we will continue on until we each fulfill our own destinies. However, without the memories of the friends we met or the valuable lessons we learned, we could never -"

The Case of Shutaro Mendou (The Shutaro Mendou Project)

"I'm afraid of the dark!" Shutaro screamed loudly and hysterically as he crazily swung his katana about him while running through the darkness. "I'm afraid of the dark! I'm afraid of the dark! I'm afraid - huh?" He stopped, then, to see he was standing in front of a full-length mirror, and could see his reflection, kantana over his head and all. He lowered his kantana then and sheathed it. Then, with a grin, he proudly examined himself in the mirror. "Not bad," he smugly remarked.

Turning his head a bit to the side to get a good look at his profile, he spotted another mirror with the corner of his eye. He curiously spun all the way about to see that it was, in fact, a whole corridor of mirrors. "That's odd..." He then went back to look at the original mirror.

However, to his unfortunate surprise, his reflection wasn't there. "What the...?" he questioned as he looked at the mirror and placed both hands against it. Still seeing no reflection, he narrowed his eyes and turned to the other mirrors in the corridor. Yet none contained his reflection. After traveling quite a bit down the corridor, having looked in a few dozen mirrors, Shutaro stopped. He glanced back from where he came from and then back in the direction he was going. It all seemed endless to him. And Shutaro scrunched his eyebrows in puzzlement and frowned.


Shutaro ran in from the rain, and shook his arms, trying to dry them quicker. He then looked around to see a group of people - many that he knew - dressed in black, a casket surrounded with flowers in the front of the room. "Hmm...must be a wake," Shutaro decided and frowned as he glanced down at his white attire. However, he walked in anyway and soon spotted Lum and Ataru sitting in the second row.

"Moroboshi," he said and then gave Lum a smile and said, "Miss Lum." She smiled back as best as she could and Ataru didn't even bother to look up.

"Hey, Mendou," Ataru said. "You're late."

"I didn't know there was a wake," he replied, taking a seat next to Ataru.

Ataru let out a sharp chuckle. "How could you NOT know?"

"Shut up, Moroboshi," Shutaro grumbled with a fierce glare. Then, after a moment, he asked, "Who's the wake for?"

Ataru burst into a fit of laughter then and Lum gave him a stern look. "Darling! Don't be so cruel!" Lum looked sympathetically to Shutaro then and said, "I'm sorry, Shutaro. I'm so sorry."

"Well, I say good riddance!" Ataru declared. "I just can't wait until this wake is over! Then it will finally be official!"

"Darling! That's a horrible thing to say!" Lum scolded and then told Shutaro, "I'm sure Darling doesn't mean it, but you know how he is...although, I must say I'm glad it was someone else and not Darling who...well...actually, now that I think about it, I guess that's who I'd pick to go first out of all of us, considering, well..."

"Well, what?" Shutaro inquired.

But Lum just looked down at her knees, guilt in her eyes. "You better go and pay your respects, though, Shutaro, before it's too late..."

"Yeah; you'll probably be the only one who will anyway!" Ataru mockingly added and starting laughing loudly, the rest of the guests at the wake joining in.

Shutaro frowned, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden as the guests continued to cruelly chuckle. He got up, however, and headed slowly and warily for the casket to pay his respects like Lum had instructed. But Shinobu was standing in front of the casket, as if purposely trying to block it from him. She had her arms crossed and she was glaring with a fierce hate; it was a look that Shutaro had never seen from her before and was surprised to see now. "Miss Shinobu?" he asked. "What's - "

"Don't expect me to feel any sympathy for you," she harshly interrupted as she sneered up at him. "You never really liked me; you never really like anyone, really - except for yourself, of course. Besides, what do you expect? I was the one who pushed you off, anyway. Not like you didn't deserve it."

"Pushed me off?" he asked in confusion as Shinobu stepped away from the casket for him to see. Shutaro's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but yet nothing would come out. The laughter from the others was burning in his ears and he desperately wished it would stop, yet he couldn't bring himself to cover his ears. Instead, he scowled and clenched his fists, unsure if he was angry at himself or everyone else around him. And he glared down at the casket in contempt where he saw himself lying, so peaceful, and handsome - and dead.


"Miss Shinobu! Miss Shinobu, please, open up the door," Shutaro called, knocking loudly on the door.

"Someday?!" Shinobu's fierce voice came through the other side of the door and Shutaro cringed. "How could you have said someday?!"

"Well, I...I didn't mean it the way you think I did, Miss Shinobu!" Shutaro desperately called back. "What I meant was - "

Suddenly, Shinobu swung open the door and angrily demanded, "Then say it!"

Shutaro frowned nervously as he looked down at the fury in her eyes, a vein bulging from her left temple. "Say what?" he asked hesitantly.

"Say that you love me!"

"Well...uh...I..." Shutaro stammered, his cheeks turning pink, and Shinobu let out a scream, slamming the door back in his face. "Miss Shinobu!" he pleaded.

"You jerk!" she shouted and Shutaro's face fell into desperation.

"Please, Miss Shinobu, I was going to say it," Shutaro insisted. "You just didn't give me enough time to - "

"You shouldn't need time!" she interrupted. "It should be automatic!" Shutaro could hear a large wail come from her then as she fell into a fit of sobs.

"Miss Shinobu..." he trailed off and then placed his hand on the doorknob, slowly turning it and opening the door. "Miss Shinobu...?" He could see her, laying on her bed and crying into her arms, and he averted his eyes from her, a guilt and shame seizing him and stinging his eyes and throat. He dropped his hand from the door and it fell to his side, lifelessly hanging from his arm, and her sobs were the only sound between the two of them.


"You do love Moroboshi, don't you, Miss Lum?" Shutaro asked as he and Lum walked down the sunny, busy street.

Lum nodded vigorously as she licked her snow cone. "Oh, sure! I love Darling!" she answered with a joyful smile. "I'll always love him."

"Always?" he questioned and she nodded. "I see..."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he replied, glancing away. "Where would you like to go next, Miss Lum, on our date this afternoon?"

"Hmm..." Lum trailed off for a moment, before she smile with some suggestions, "Well, Darling and me sometimes go to the park. Or the beach! Oh, and last weekend we went to see this cute movie together. Darling thought it was boring, but I thought it was really romantic. But Darling's like that, you know. Or maybe we could go skating together! Darling and I love to go skating together; we have so much fun and he's so funny when he falls. He never really hurts himself, of course, because if he did then I'd be really upset! Have you ever gone skating, Shutaro? One time you should come with me - and Darling, of course!"

"Yes...and Moroboshi..." Shutaro trailed off with a frown.

"Or maybe you can go with Shinobu," Lum offered.

"Miss Shinobu?" Shutaro asked, looking up with some fear in his eyes.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I like Miss Shinobu..."

"Oh, look, it's Darling!" Lum cheered, changing the subject, and she gave a wave, suddenly spotting Ataru walking in the crowd. She giggled happily and turned to Shutaro with twinkling eyes and a happy smile. "What a surprise! Well, it's been fun, Shutaro; thanks for the snow cone!" She smiled once more for him before flying off, dropping her snow cone onto the ground, and Shutaro let out a sigh as he watched her latch onto Ataru's arm with a happy grin on her face, and he knew it really was no use, after all, and that he should have known better than to think there was.


Shutaro found himself surrounded by beautiful woman, dozens of them in extravagant dresses and with gorgeous hair, all laughing and talking and looking right at him, desperate for just a glance from him, and blushing wildly whenever he did, perchance, flash a smile down at them. "Oh, Shutaro, you're so wonderful!" one cooed.

"And so handsome!" another added.

"And so rich!" a third chimed in, and all the girls giggled.

Shutaro chuckled, feigning modesty, although very badly, and answered, "Really, girls, I'm not THAT perfect..."

"But you are, Shutaro!" a fourth protested, shaking her head at the mere thought he wasn't.

"Perfect in every way!" a fifth squealed with more praise and all the girls giggled flirtatiously once more.

Shutaro stroked his hand through his hair, his eyes bright and his smile charming. "Well, if you all insist..." He chuckled once more and the girls all laughed along with him. As he laughter slowly faded, his eyes caught Shinobu walking, past the crowd of girls and him, smiling pleasantly in her plain skirt and blouse as she kept her eyes forward, not noticing Shutaro or the crowd of beautiful woman. Shutaro blinked in surprise and then to the girls, saying, "If you'd just excuse me for a moment..."

There were groans of protests as Shutaro pushed his way through the crowd as the girls begged him not to go, crying, "Stay, Shutaro! Don't leave!"

But Shutaro ignored them as he somehow managed to pull himself away from them all, their hands clawing at his arms as he tried to get free. Finally, stumbling out, he looked forward to see Shinobu only a few yards away, trotting along at a steady pace. "Miss Shinobu!" he called out to her as he started after her. "Miss Shinobu, wait!"

Shinobu stopped then and turned curiously to him, inquiring, "Can I help you with something, sir?"

"I just wanted to apologize, Miss Shinobu," Shutaro began, "For - "

"Wait, I know you from somewhere, don't I?" she asked with an inquisitive grin as she pointed her finger at him. "Your face looks kind of familiar."

"Huh?" Shutaro stared at her for a long moment, surprised and speechless. Then, realizing what she had just said, his face turned pink with embarrassment. Taking a step closer to her, he finally managed to say, "Miss Shinobu, I'm - "

"No, wait! Let me guess!" she interrupted with a giggle. Placing a finger to her chin, she said, "Now let's see...do you work around here? No, that couldn't be it...at least, I don't think so. That's not it, is it?"

"No," Shutaro answered, very puzzled. "I mean, I- "

"Or maybe I've seen you around the park!" Shinobu suggested excitedly, ignoring him. "I remember meeting a cute boy there last weekend." But she then shook her head and frowned. "No, I don't think that's it. The boy I met there was a lot cuter than you, no offense, of course." And she gave him an innocent grin.

"Cuter? Than me?" Shutaro questioned, his voice filled with horror at the simple idea.

"Actually, now that I look at you, you're not very cute at all," she commented very calmly as she looked him over and placed her finger back on her chin. "I mean, not to say you're not ALL RIGHT looking..."

Shutaro glowered. "What do you mean all right looking?!" he furiously exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't mean it in a BAD way," Shinobu insisted. "You really ought to lighten up." And she let out a good-natured chuckle and gave him a warm.

But Shutaro shook his head. "That's not the point, anyway!" he shouted, taking hold of her shoulders. "How could you not recognize me?! It's me! Shutaro!"

"Shutaro...? Hmm..." she wondered aloud. "That sort of sounds familiar." She then grinned and said, "I know! We probably know each other from school, right?" She smiled hopefully, but Shutaro just frowned. Shinobu frowned a bit as well now and asked, "That's not it, either?"

"Well...it's sort of right..." he muttered and released her shoulders.

"Then I'll see you in school then, all right, um...what was your name again?" she asked and Shutaro sighed.

"Shutaro," he answered glumly and Shinobu smiled.

"That's right! Shutaro! I'll try to remember that next time!" she told him and laughed in spite of herself. "Well, goodbye, Shutaro," she then said as she began to walk away, giving him a wave as she did so. "Maybe we can, I don't know, hang out some time or something."

"Goodbye...Miss Shinobu..." Shutaro called back with a frown as he watched her head off without ever looking back to see him giving her a half-hearted wave. After she was out of sight, he crossed his arms and scoffed, glaring down at the street in annoyance for making such a fool of himself and at her for causing him to do so.

"You know, Mendou, I think you're taking all this stuff a little bit too seriously," he suddenly heard Ataru's voice and Shutaro looked up to see Ataru standing a couple feet away, leaning against one of the buildings. "It's not like we really hate you or anything. I mean, I don't hate you; I always thought it was you that hated me."

And Shutaro just snorted and averted his eyes from Ataru in disgust, coldly replying, "That's because you're an idiot, Moroboshi."


Shutaro looked up at the sky, bright and blue, the sun's rays streaking like gold across the sky, and then down at the rest of the valley that encircled him. He soon spotted Shinobu, kneeling by a tombstone with a red-haired man. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at the man, but quickly gave up. His eyes fell back down to Shinobu and the grave. "I suppose I really am dead, then...hmm." he replied with a nonchalant shrug. "At least Miss Shinobu doesn't hate me any longer," he added with a smile. But he frowned a bit soon after as he said, "Although I wish I hadn't made her cry again...I always hate seeing a woman cry..."

He then looked back up toward the sky to see a smiling Shinobu floating above him with white wings sparkling like gold, as if she were an angel. And Shutaro gave her a charming grin. "Well, if you insist, my dear lady," he said, bowing courteously, "then I suppose that I have no choice but to stay here with you. After all, I am a gentleman, and a gentleman never turns down a lady, Miss Shinobu, especially one he holds so dearly to his heart, even if he doesn't know in what way he exactly holds her."

And then he fell backwards, onto the grass of the beautiful, lonely valley.

What's Next:

Episode 6: The Scariest Thing of All is White Picket Fences

Subtitle: (Relationships, Part Three: The Problem with Commitment)

Featuring:

-Wedding Interlude

-The Case of the Oni Lum (The Lum Project)

-The "Always and Forever" Scenario

-The Case of Ataru Moroboshi (The Ataru Moroboshi Project)