Hi, all! Thanks again for all the nice reviews! Actually, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed this story (Saraton, Vicki1, Misako-chan, Maria da Meowthgirl, and Damien - thank you all!) and, also, thanks to anyone who may read and review it later! I really appreciate it!
Anyways, this is it! The final chapter! Kind of sad, isn't it? lol! Well, I'm kind of scared to put this up, because I don't know if the ending will disappoint or not, and since everyone really likes the story thus far...but I hope everyone does like the ending. It was hard to do (but what ending isn't, really?), but I did manage to get everything that I really wanted to get across (particularly in the last three parts) and have everything come full-circle. At the very least, I did have fun writing this chapter and (in my opinion, anyway) it all came out all right in the end...no pun intended, lol. I think the thing is that the big flashy climax was really at the end of chapter seven, whereas this is more of the falling action...or something. I don't know; I guess you'll all just have to read it and find out! lol! Again, I really hope you all enjoy the final chapter as much as the others and I really hope you all enjoyed the whole story!
With that (as well as a deep breath and a prayer that you all like the ending - i.e. it doesn't suck, lol), here you go! The final chapter in UY: Return to Me! Have fun reading!
A piece of the valley was missing; where Lum had once been dancing was now nothing but blackness, and the edge where both the blackness and valley met was jagged and sharp, like broken glass hanging over the sky. The valley itself had grown darker, and it's sun was fading as the sky's color faded along with the paling flowers. But Shutaro remained lying in the grass and Shinobu was still knelt by the grave.
And, in front of the black opening, hand-in-hand, Ataru and Lum stood together.
Episode 8: As the Houselights Dim...
Subtitle: (Growing Up: The Problem with Everything)
The Red Curtain Falls...and Now, the Encore!
"Now what, Darling?" Lum asked, pulling his hand from his hand so that she could wrap her arm around his instead. She leaned close to him, a fear building in her stomach.
"We have to snap them out of it; get them to remember...or something," Ataru answered.
"Then what?"
"I'm not sure...I guess we all just have to find some way out of here...and then destroy this place so we make sure we're never pulled back in." Lum nodded. "But we have to hurry up; before that red-haired guy shows up again."
"Right," Lum agreed, pulling away from him now and lifting her feet off the ground. "I'll talk with Shinobu; you try Shutaro." Ataru nodded and they separated, Ataru running over to Shutaro and Lum flying off to Shinobu.
"What do you want, Moroboshi?" Shutaro asked with a scowl as he looked up at Ataru, who now stood over him.
Ataru let out a sigh. "This is going to be hard..." he muttered miserably, but reluctantly took a seat next to Shutaro in the grass. "Look, Mendou, we have to get going. I know you THINK you're dead or something -"
"I AM dead," Shutaro corrected with some annoyance and Ataru rolled his eyes.
"Right; whatever," Ataru hastily agreed, "But - "
"I think I'm a horrible person," Shutaro cut him off, speaking very casually. He then looked over to Ataru. "Do you think I'm a horrible person, Moroboshi?"
"Now's not the time, Mendou," Ataru reasoned.
"Ha!" Shutaro declared with a smug grin, sitting up and pointing his finger into Ataru's chest. "I knew it! I knew you thought I was a horrible person! I knew it all along!"
Ataru let out a frustrated groan, slapping himself in the forehead in his aggravation.
Meanwhile, Lum was arguing with Shinobu. "But, Shinobu, Shutaro isn't dead. He's right over there."
Shinobu just lifted her chin stubbornly and crossed her arms. "Lum, I pushed him off the roof of the school," she replied matter-of-factly. "I THINK he would be dead after that."
Lum frowned. "Well, I guess he would be if you did that..." But she then shook her head and exclaimed, "But you didn't do that, Shinobu! You only think you did! I mean, we're not even in school right now; it's the middle of the summer. It was sort of like...a bad dream, that's all! One that we all have to get out of!"
"Bad dream...?" Shinobu asked, her stubbornness swaying as she looked up hopefully at Lum.
Lum grinned and nodded. "Yes! Just try to remember, Shinobu! We were at the carnival, all four of us!"
"All four of us...?" Shinobu trailed off as her eyes fell back onto the grave that she had begun to doubt.
"Hello!" Ataru, meanwhile, exclaimed as he knocked on Shutaro's forehead as if it were a door. "You're making this all up in your head!" He then corrected himself and said, "Or, well, we're all making this all up in all of our heads."
Shutaro just scoffed and slapped Ataru's hand away. "Don't be ridiculous! How could we be making this all up?"
"Well, does any of this seem normal to you?" Ataru questioned and gestured out toward the jagged black hole in the valley.
Shutaro frowned now and reluctantly replied, "I suppose you make a good point there..."
"Exactly!" Ataru declared. "And if you're the one who's dead, why would Shinobu be the angel, hmm?"
"You mean Miss Shinobu's the one who's dead?!" Shutaro asked in horror and Ataru cringed.
"No! That's not what I meant!" he quickly and worriedly exclaimed.
"Oh, good," Shutaro simply replied with a relieved smile before laying back down in the grass.
"But -" Ataru protested, but Shutaro had already laid back down, and Ataru's shoulders slumped forward as he felt ready to sulk in his own frustration. Instead, he let out an aggravated sigh and stood up, giving Shutaro a good kick in the ribcage.
"Ow!"
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up, you idiot!" Ataru shouted and then continued to kick him, shouting, "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
"Moroboshi!" Shutaro growled furiously as he rose to his feet, pulling out his kantana. He raised it high, but then stopped and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Oh! I see what you're doing!" he exclaimed angrily. "Well, it won't work." He then sheathed his sword and sat back on the grass, Indian-style, and with a "hmmph!" his arms stubbornly crossed, his eyes tightly closed, and his chin raised high. And Ataru looked ready to pop open a vein.
Lum, on the other hand, was having better luck as she knelt down beside Shinobu. "You see, all our thoughts are mixed together in here, so you should be able to see what Ataru knows and what I now know if you try hard enough! You have to -"
Lum stopped, sensing someone behind her and she immediately stood up, swinging herself around to see the red haired man standing there, murder flashing in his eyes. And Lum narrowed her own vengeful eyes, a surge of electricity forming a sphere around her as she flew upward.
"Lum...?" Shinobu asked, nervously looking up at Lum, rarely seeing such rage in the Oni's eyes. Shinobu then looked over her shoulder to see the red-haired man, rising as well, wind swirling around him as did a sphere of electricity, identical to Lum's. Then, in the now gray sky, the two began to fight.
There was a large crash of thunder and bolts of lightning cut diagonally across the sky until they hit the ground, scorching and scarring the valley as they rapidly skidded across it and circled around Lum and the red-haired man as they viciously fought with one another, throwing their own lightning at each other.
"Lum!" Ataru cried out as he stared up at her. He scowled and turned back to Shutaro with clenched teeth and tightened fists. "Come on, Mendou!" he shouted. "Can't you see that Lum's in trouble?! Can't you see that we're all in trouble?!" A huge bolt of lightning then sliced hastily across the ground only a couple of feet away, smoke rising from the scorched blackened grass and Ataru cringed, jumping back in fright as it passed by.
Shinobu, meanwhile, slowly rose to her feet, as images of Ataru talking with Sakura flashed into her mind. "Did we...did we really create all of this...?" she asked as she lifted her hand towards one of the lightning bolts in the distance.
There was a loud explosion of electricity then as Lum and the red-haired man's powers collided and both went flying back, their electricity diminishing for the time being. The red-haired man landed on his back and skidding across the dirt and grass while Lum managed to keep her balance, her feet digging into the ground as she skidded back herself. She glared at the red-haired man that laid fallen and clenched her fist tightly, ready to claim her victory. Then, she opened her hands, ready to form another electricity bolt in each of her palms.
"Huh?" Lum looked down in a panic at her empty palms, electricity-less. Then, the sound of the red-haired man's snickers came to her hears and she looked up to see him getting up, brushing off the dirt with his legs.
"I suppose you don't get it, either," he said as he turned his head to her with a wicked grin. "Whatever is true in reality isn't necessarily true here, including your powers." Lum gasped, fear running across her eyes while he slowly marched toward her as it began to rain.
"Will you get up, Mendou?" Ataru questioned still, now kneeling beside him again.
"I said go away, you idiot!" Mendou argued.
"Darling!" Lum's voice cried out to him and Ataru looked back to her to see the red-haired man's hand grip around her neck and squeeze it hard, pulling her up until her feet we're dangling off the grass.
"Lum!" he exclaimed as he quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to run to her, but another bolt of lightning burned past him and he fell backwards, landing on his backside, the bolt only an inch away from his feet as it skidded by. He then called out once more, "Lum!"
"Ataru?" Shinobu asked aloud to herself and turned her eyes to see him on the grass, desperately getting up again. Then, to her surprise, she saw Shutaro lying past him. She blinked in puzzlement. "Shutaro...?"
Her eyes then grew wide, as the realization suddenly hit her, and they shifted to where the red-haired man was, as if on instinct. His hand was still around Lum's neck, choking her, and Lum, her eyes tightly shut, desperately tried to pry his thick fingers off with her own tiny ones, but to no avail. Shinobu's eyes filled with rage as she stared at him, a scowl of vengeance forming on her face as her hands became fists; she now knew the truth And, in her anger, she started running toward him, her own piece of the valley shattering behind her including Shutaro's tombstone, leaving nothing but the blackness and a jagged edge around it that connected to the only piece left of the valley - Shutaro Mendou's.
The red-haired man grinned as he squeezed Lum's throat tighter, bruises forming on the side of her neck. However, suddenly, someone grabbed his other hand, and his grip loosened around Lum's throat as he looked back in surprise. There was Shinobu, glaring up at him in hateful anger, tears of fury glinting in her eyes. Then, with her incredible strength, she flung him across the valley, causing him to drop Lum onto the grass in the process. He landed in front of the empty hole that was once Shinobu's part of the valley.
Ataru, meanwhile, fell to his knees in the rain, beside the coughing Lum, resting her head on his laps. "Lum! Lum, are you all right? Lum!" he cried frantically.
Lum forced her eyes opened and pulled herself up into a sitting position. She nodded, rubbing her neck. "I'm okay, Darling." Ataru smiled, tears still in his eyes. "But now what are we going to do?"
Ataru shook his head. "I don't know. I still can't get Mendou to snap out of it." There was another loud crash of thunder and more lightning bolts jolted from the sky and drilled into the ground, surging and zig-zagging across the valley and the two cringed.
"Maybe if we stop thinking bad thoughts and start thinking happy thoughts we can make everything better, Darling," Lum suggested hopefully.
But Ataru shook his head once more. "Yeah, but Sakura said that this world comes from not just what we're thinking now, but from every thought we've ever thought in our entire lives, whether we remember it or not."
Suddenly, there was a high-pitched scream from Shinobu and Lum and Ataru immediately looked up to see the red-haired man in the middle of transforming into a huge, screeching, black-winged beast with four murderous red eyes glaring down at them. There mouths gaped open in horror as they watched the massive creature fly over them, a heavy gust of wind blowing at them and across the valley as it flapped its enormous wings. Shinobu raised her arm to block the wind and dust from whipping across her face as she her legs gave way to the wind, falling down to the ground with a thud while Ataru and Lum held onto each other and turned their heads to the ground with shut eyes, the flying dirt burning them as it whipped against their faces.
"Do you all dare to abandon me?! Your creation?! Your selves?!" the thing screamed in what was barely a human voice anymore and suddenly patches of grass burst into flames, despite the downpour of rain - rain that was now black like tar.
"It's times like these I wish I hadn't seen so many horror movies..." Ataru commented as he looked up, fighting the wind that bore down on him.
"Now's not the time to joke, Darling!" Lum cried, tugging on his shirt collar in her panic. There was another loud crash of thunder and both winced.
"We couldn't possibly all be so crazy as to think this all up!" Shinobu exclaimed shrilly and frantically, sitting in the grass, her hands gripping at her hair as she stared up at the sky that turned red and watched two more wings spring from the back of the black beast that screeched over them. "How could we all be this nuts?!" She then let out another scream of terror as a pieces of the sky began to break off and fall to the ground all around them, some like pieces of sharp glass and others like dropping flames, one of the sharp pieces of glass smashing right in front of her feet, and she scurried backwards until she bumped into Ataru and Lum.
Shutaro now sat up and his eyes scanned the sky in troubled bewilderment and then down at the grass beside him, a large patch of it suddenly frozen in ice and more patches froze across what was left of the valley. "Somehow...this doesn't seem quite right..." he noted and then gazed above him where the image of the winged Shinobu hung, smiling down at him and reaching a hand out to him. He smiled and went to reach up to take her hand, but just as his fingers went to touch hers, he stopped and frowned, slowly retracting his arm. He stared at her for a long time with perplexed eyes as she smiled pleasantly down at him. Slowly, he replied, "You're...you're not Miss Shinobu, are you?" There was suddenly another loud scream from Shinobu then and Shutaro gasped, looking over to where Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu huddled in fear as the four-winged beast flew over them with his four flaming eyes. He studied them for a long moment. "Miss Shinobu...?"he wondered aloud as he looked at her with Ataru and Lum, all three in immediate danger. Then, Shutaro looked up once more at the winged Shinobu with a frown, his newfound revelation reflecting in his eyes, and he gave a nod, finally understanding. He then turned back toward the winged beast, glowering furiously, and stood up, unsheathing his kantana and pointing it straight forward, fiercely gripping onto its handle with both hands. He declared indignantly, "That thing dares to call itself a part of me while laying harm to two respectable women like Miss Shinobu and Miss Lum?!" He then went to charge forward.
However, in that instant, the last piece of the valley shattered into blackness, the infernos and lightning and other monstrosities going along with it - except for the black four-winged demon that hung over them, screeching wildly as wild flames surrounded it and turned the blackness red in its glow. Yet, bathed in fire, the creature itself remained unscathed. There was a loud gust of wind then, like that of a tornado, as the pieces from the valley circled around the burning four-winged beast.
"It's about time you snapped out of it, Mendou!" Ataru shouted to him over the roaring wind when Shutaro finally reached them and knelt down beside them. "Although I don't think it did us much good!" The creature let out an ear-piercing shriek then and all four clamped their ears closed with the palms of their hands and closed their eyes tightly, awaiting their fate.
But, like a thread being pulled at the seam, the belly of the beast began to open, from the collar bone down to it's naval, a thin light cracking through that slowly grew wider as the shattered pieces of the valley began to be sucked into it. And when all the valley had gone into it, the flames, too, were whisked into the light of the beast's belly in a great gust of wind as the winged creature continued shrieking. The blackness soon began to peel away to reveal white, and that blackness was rapidly sucked into the creature's belly too. The second pair of wings melted and swung around to the front and into the belly, soon to be followed by the first pair. And, eventually, the beast imploded into itself, swallowed by the light, and leaving all silent.
Lum's eyes were the first to flicker open. "Hmm?" She dropped her hands from her ears and looked around in surprise at the quiet whiteness that now surrounded them. She then laid her hand on Ataru's shoulder and gently shook it. "Darling."
"Huh?" Ataru opened his eyes and lowered his hands, equally surprised to see the stark white.
Soon all four were standing up, curiously examining their new surroundings. "What...what happened?" Shinobu asked.
"I guess we won," Lum said with a smile.
"Then why aren't we back at the carnival...?" Shutaro questioned, placing a hand against one of the white walls that enclosed them, and Lum frowned, not knowing the answer.
"Hey, look at this." The three all then turned to Ataru, who was pointing to a small sphere of light, only a couple inches thick in diameter, if that. They all walked over to it and peered down at it in curiousity as it floated in the center of the small white room.
"What is it, Darling?" Lum asked, looking at the sphere.
"It must be that small ball of undefined energy Sakura was talking about..." Ataru decided, although still staring down at it with puzzled eyes.
"You mean to say that whole crazy mess came from THAT little thing?" Shinobu questioned.
"I guess so," Ataru answered. "And, well, all of our thoughts, too."
"It's such a cute little thing, too, don't you think, Darling?" Lum said with a giggle and Ataru folded his arms with a frown.
"Yeah, except for the fact that it tried to put us all into a coma that none of us were ever going to wake up from again," Ataru muttered.
"Well, if you ignore that part..." Lum trailed off with a frown.
"But what are we going to do with it now?" Shutaro asked. "And how are we going to get out of, well, wherever we are now?"
Ataru scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure..." He then gave a shrug, lifted out his hand, and snatched the sphere of light in a tight fist.
When Ataru opened his hand, the tiny ball of energy had disappeared from the palm of his hand, and then noticed the necklace Wazuka had given him was laying on the ground in front of his feet. "Huh?" It was then that he looked up to see he was standing back in the carnival. He blinked a few times in surprise before grinning with a laugh. "I'm back!" he exclaimed. However, his grin quickly faded into a frown as he gasped, "Lum!" and turned around to see if she, too, was awake.
But she was already flying to him, great grin on her face, as both Shutaro and Shinobu were getting up behind her with happy grins. "Darling!" she cried excitedly as she swung her arms around his neck, and he stumbled backwards a bit, but managed to keep his balance.
"Lum!" he exclaimed, hugging her back.
"Well, at least that's over with," Sakura muttered, running her hand through her hair. "Although I don't know whether or not that's a good thing, considering now I'm still stuck putting up with you four." She then let out a sigh. "Well, at least I still have the rest of the summer off."
And then the fireworks began.
The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Ten (Couple One, Take Two)
"Wait! Miss Shinobu!" Shutaro called out, following after her as the fireworks went off behind them and the carnival rides were lit up in all their colorful lights.
Shinobu stopped and turned around to face him. "Yes, Shutaro?" Yet, as soon as her eyes met his, both of their faces turned red and they averted their eyes to their own feet. They stood their for a couple minutes in their awkward silence, the sounds of the fireworks and the carnival rides being drowned out by it. Finally, rubbing her shoulder and still looking towards the ground, Shinobu replied, "I'm...I'm sorry about pushing you off the roof, Shutaro..." Her cheeks grew redder as the two both looked up at each other again, and she hastily added, "I mean, I know I didn't REALLY push you off the roof and all, but...I'm still sorry about it." She gave him an apologetic half-smile and he tried to smile in return.
"And I'm sorry, too...for, well...everything else," Shutaro answered glumly, his forced smile quickly turning into a frown and he looked down at his feet now, as did Shinobu. They stood their quietly for another awkward moment, before Shutaro began, "Um, Miss Shinobu?"
"Yes?" Shinobu asked, looking up at him.
Still staring down at his feet, he said, "Well, I was thinking...after everything that happened...that perhaps, maybe...we could go out...more officially speaking, that is." He lifted his eyes and gave her a warm smile and Shinobu smiled back, although now her eyes dropped to the ground.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that," she said and then laughed in spite of herself, correcting, "Or, actually, maybe you do know now....after everything." She let out another laugh. "But..." She then turned around, her back facing him, and gazed up at the fireworks that illuminated the sky. "I just made a promise to myself."
"A promise to yourself?" Shutaro inquired with a frown.
She nodded and her smile widened, the light of the firework reflecting in her eyes. "A promise that for one year I'm going to live my life independently, for just me, instead of worrying about having a boyfriend all the time." She then laughed and looked to him with her bright smile. "Actually, now that I think about it, I think it has something to do with what you said."
"Me?" Shutaro asked in puzzlement. "But I didn't - "
"You asked me how come I needed someone to answer me all the time," Shinobu cut him off. "And I think you were right about something; I shouldn't need anyone to answer me. I should be content with just being me, even if I am alone. So, I thought, maybe I should try it out for awhile."
"Oh," Shutaro said glumly, although he tried to smile for her. "But...well, don't you think a year is a long time, Miss Shinobu?"
She gave him a sympathetic smile and replied, "It won't be too long, I don't think. Besides, I think it might do us both some good, don't you think?"
Shutaro let out a sigh, not wanting to give in just yet. "But, Miss Shinobu...I know I may have...upset you...but I want you to know that I really do care for you, in some way or another, and more than anyone else I can think of."
Shinobu giggled and said, "All right; how about this? If you can wait one year - and that doesn't mean you can be a playboy or anything like that while you're waiting; I mean really wait - and you still want me to be your girlfriend, well...then...we'll see. We'll even shake on it." She smiled and offered him her hand. "And it doesn't mean that we can't still see each other," she then added. "We're still friends, after all. Best friends, even! We just won't see each other as a couple, that's all." She extended her hand further.
Shutaro looked down at it and then chuckled in spite of himself, shaking his head. "All right, Miss Shinobu; it's a deal," he replied, taking her hand.
She grinned. "Yes, a deal," she said, shaking his hand. "Oh, and just call me Shinobu; after all, we are friends."
"Oh, right, Miss Shinobu," he replied and then frowned at his mistake.
But Shinobu just laughed and released his had. "So one year, starting now."
"Starting now," Shutaro repeated.
She gave him a nod and turned around. "Oh, wait! And one more thing!" She then spun back around, jumped up, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Shutaro's face turned pink and, after the moment passed, he looked down at her to see her smiling sheepishly up at him, her own cheeks blushing as well. She then lifted a finger, her eyes glistening, and said, "Starting now."
Then, she was off, running from him with a laugh, a smile, and a wave, and she called out to him, "I'll save you a seat on the carousel, all right!"
"All right!" he called back to her as he waved, although his face still looked puzzled and flustered. Then, after a moment, he smiled as he watched her go off, and said quietly to himself, "Until next year, then...Shinobu."
Then he went to catch up with her.
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Eleven (Couple Two, Take Two)
"Aren't the fireworks wonderful, Darling!" Lum exclaimed as she gazed up at the brilliant colors, each one reflecting in her eyes. She held onto Ataru's arm as the two sat on one of the benches at the carnival, right beside the carousel.
Ataru gave her a nod, his own eyes looking up at them in awe. "Yeah; they sure are something."
"I'm glad we didn't miss them," Lum said, but then frowned, adding, "Although, it is a shame that we missed so much of the carnival."
"Ah, we didn't miss too much," Ataru told her as he leaned back in his seat. "Besides, we still have two more hours until the carnival closes; we can do plenty of stuff in that amount of time."
She smiled and replied, "I guess you're right, Darling," leaning her head on his shoulder. She then asked, "So, what ride do you want to go on next?"
"Hmm...I don't know," he answered and then glanced over his shoulder at the carousel behind him. "I guess we can go on the carousel."
Lum's eyes lit up and she sat up straight so she could look at him, although her arm still remained around his. "Really, Darling? Do you mean it?"
"Ah...sure, why not?" Ataru answered reluctantly, giving her a smile.
But Lum frowned now and shook her head. "No, Darling, that's all right. You don't have to go on the carousel if you don't want to; I don't mind." And she smiled to prove this.
"But I thought you said you wanted to go on, Lum," Ataru argued.
"But you think the carousel is boring, Darling," Lum reasoned. "Which is all right; it's just what you think, that's all."
"Me? Think the carousel is boring? Never!" he exclaimed with a grin and Lum laughed.
"Well, maybe we can ride on one of the carriages instead of on the unicorns, because I know you'd probably be too embarrassed to go on one of them," she compromised. She then smiled, snuggled her head back onto his shoulder, and closed her eyes. "Besides, I'd rather be sitting next to you, anyway."
Ataru's face turned bright red as he stared down at her, her head peacefully resting on his shoulder. "Lum, don't you want to sit up and watch the fireworks or something?" he asked, trying to gently yank his arm away from her. But Lum just gave him a small shake of her head and let out a soft sigh, her smile widening. "But...Lum..." Ataru trailed off with a frown and slowly ceased trying to pull his arm from hers. He looked down at her again, the light from the fireworks glowing on her cheeks, her gently closed eyes, and on her lips, peacefully curved into a smile as she continued to lay on his shoulder. And Ataru couldn't help but begin to smile himself as he gazed down at her, the scarlet soon leaving his own cheeks.
He then lifted his head toward the fireworks and said, "Did I ever tell you, Lum, that I love it when you smile?"
Lum's eyes fluttered open and she lifted her a head a bit off his shoulder as she shook it. "No, Darling, you haven't."
His grin widening, he looked down at her, their eyes meeting. "Well, I do."
Lum smiled, lowering her eyes as her cheeks turned a modest pink. Then, as the finale of the fireworks began, she raised her eyes once more, closing them, and started to lean up toward him to kiss him, while Ataru's own eyes slowly closed, and he bent downward to kiss her...
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Shinobu's voice then came to them and Ataru's eyes immediately flashed open in a panic. He screamed at the sight of both Shinobu and Shutaro standing there and smiling, and his face turned beat red as he jumped up from the bench, Lum falling flat on her face onto the seat of the bench just as the last firework whizzed up and burst into nothing, a loud and disappointed "Aw..." coming from the crowd at the sight of the firework dud.
"Darling!" Lum screamed angrily as she sat up on the bunch, clenching her fists in rage.
"We weren't doing anything!" Ataru insisted to Shinobu and Shutaro and then glared back at Lum, saying, "I told you not to cling onto me like that!"
"Grr...Darling!" she exclaimed, even more furious as sparks started flying from her. "You jerk!"
Shinobu now laughed, while Shutaro shook his head and began to chuckle himself. Shinobu then said, "Come on, you guys; me and Shutaro are going on the carousel, if you'd like to come with us." And Shutaro gave a nod.
"Huh?" Both Ataru and Lum ceased in their fight, looking at Shutaro and Shinobu in surprise. "You mean, you two want to go on the carousel, too?" Ataru asked.
"You idiot, Moroboshi; of course, we do," Shutaro replied, still smiling. "Why else do you think we asked?"
Lum then grinned, her anger quickly vanishing and she jumped up from the bench herself and took hold of Ataru's hand excitedly. "Let's go, then!"
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Twelve (The Final Step Towards...)
The four friends sat on the carriage on the carousel, Lum leaning on Ataru on one side, and Shinobu and Shutaro sitting next to each other on the other side, as it spun merrily around.
"You know, this isn't so bad," Shinobu commented as she leaned back and looked up at the sparkling lights that brightened the night sky. "It's kind of peaceful."
"Yes, it is very relaxing," Shutaro agreed with a smile as he leaned back himself.
"I think it's all so pretty!" Lum exclaimed, holding onto Ataru's arm as she looked all about her at the colorful lights and listened to the happy melody the carousel played.
"It isn't even that boring," Ataru added and Lum gave him a scowl.
"Darling!" she exclaimed, but he just laughed and she couldn't help but smile herself.
"So what are you guys planning on doing tomorrow?" Shinobu asked.
"Tomorrow?" Lum asked. "Hmm...how about the beach?"
"I say we go on a picnic," Shinobu then suggested.
"Well, we still haven't visited Tokyo this summer yet," Shutaro pointed out.
"What do you think, Darling?" she asked, looking to Ataru.
Ataru shrugged and casually replied, "What's the rush? We still have all of tonight to figure out."
The three blinked in surprise, before they all smiled sheepishly , relaxed, and leaned back in their seats. "I guess you're right, Darling," Lum admitted.
"A rare occurrence, but not totally impossible," Shutaro added with a smirk.
But Ataru just grinned himself and asked smugly, "Hey, Mendou, have you seen your wallet around lately?"
"Huh? My wallet?" Shutaro asked and then went to reach for it in his back pocket, only to discover it wasn't there. He let out a loud gasp and exclaimed, "My wallet!" He glared over at Ataru. "What did you do with it, Moroboshi?"
"Oh, that Wazuka lady took it as payment for helping us out," Ataru explained with a wry smirk, a few snickers escaping his lips.
"You mean that two-bit con artist?!" Shutaro shouted as Ataru broke into a fit of chuckles.
"Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of her premonitions were kind of true," Shinobu pointed out, and they all looked to her curiously, Ataru's laughter ceasing and Shutaro's anger subsiding for the moment. "Like that 'beware of men' thing was probably because that red-haired man kept changing forms." She then looked up at Shutaro and said, "And she probably kept calling you an idiot because you were the last one of us to figure out what was going on." Shutaro tried his best not to scowl at this and the memory. Shinobu then frowned and said, "Although I don't see what a fish had to do with anything..."
Both boys eyes widened as they gasped, looked at each other, and exclaimed, "The Talking Goldfish with Wings!"
The two girls frowned in puzzlement. "What's a talking goldfish with wings, Darling?" Lum asked.
Ataru and Shutaro cringed a bit as Shinobu and Lum continued to stare, awaiting an answer. Ataru then quickly folded his arms and said matter-of-factly, "Oh, it's nothing; just manly business, really."
"Manly business?" Shinobu questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, a private matter between men - much too gruesome for two young ladies such as yourselves to hear, I assure you," Shutaro added.
"Much, much too gruesome!" Ataru concurred.
The two girls laughed then and Lum, obviously unconvinced, but not caring that she was, replied light-heartedly, "Whatever you say, Darling."
It was then that the carousel slowly came to a stop and the four stood up, smiling and starting up a new conversation as they stepped off the carousel, heading for the next ride, their talking and laughing mixing in with the rest of the crowds and the sounds of the carnival music circulating through the summer air.
And the stars hung happily in the night sky, each one its own tiny sphere of light.
