"Chi…Why?" He asked in tears.
"Chi didn't want Hideki to end up like Pantsu…"
Wires and trinkets that he never even imagined subsided in Chi was scattered everywhere. He had at least rushed to her side, apologizing as the life faded from her eyes. She was able to say one last thing to him, "Chi…Sss…love…Zap…zutto…ssS…Hideki…" before finally fading from life. Despite her scrambled words, it was very clear what she had meant.
"I will love you forever."
Chi had saved him from Adam's glitch, an attack that was in reality not at all an accident. However, there was nothing Hideki could do about it now. He had faced that incident, and he survived. It didn't matter anymore. He would always remember her…
She saved him, because she wanted him to live.
Hideki had returned a few hours ago from the grave to greet all of his old friends. Everyone was at the reunion between old friends. Thanks to miss Hibiya's cooking, the evening was very pleasant for everyone. It was funny, how this reunion…their fellowship had somehow brought Chi back to life. Conversing over old times, how they had gone to the beach, gone to a cookout and even once visited Hideki's farmhouse.
That thought made Hideki smile. He never did get the chance to tell his parents about his feelings towards Chi though…but it didn't matter any more. What has passed has passed. What was important was to be there for his friends. He would always have Chi to remember, and it was all thanks to her, that he was alive and well now.
Shinbo noticed Hideki smiling at the event. He couldn't help but pick on him about it.
When the happy reunion came to an end, and most of everyone was already leaving and heading home Hideki left the main hall. As he was about to enter his apartment, he heard his name being called for.
"Hideki!"
He turned around only to be disappointed by Yumi's presence. He gave her a smile. "What's the matter?" Hideki asked. She hugged him hard, she was happy he had come to her rescue.
Hideki blushed. "Senpai, Persacom's are just as human as we are…I was so scared… but then you showed up out of the blue. I'll always be grateful to you." She let go of him.
It was true, the reason why everyone had been having such a hard time solving this case was because the murderer had been a Persacom. Something thought impossible, it was found that the protection software was indeed installed but somehow the Persacom had fought against it. He was as human as anyone could ever be.
Yumi gave Hideki a hard gaze. "I don't need to worry about you anymore? Your not going to…?" She looked down trying to hide her tears.
Hideki smiled at her. "Don't worry, I've come to realize though it may hurt to have lost Chi…she saved me. She saved me so I could go on living. Even if it hurts." He dug into his pocket for his keys when he felt the little Persacom.
"Oh, I almost forgot to give you this…"
She looked at Hideki for a moment, confused. He handed her the mobile Persacom. "Oh Senpai, how did you find this?" She was amazed for some reason.
He didn't want to tell her the truth. She would think him insane. He hesitated and then said "To tell you the truth, when we finished looking for you the first night, I heard my name being called. I looked to see who it was but there was no one there, this voice had led me into an alleyway. Then I saw your little Persacom…come to think of it…this voice I've been hearing has helped me out quite a bit." He looked away waiting for the call to the Looney bin.
"Senpai…I've been hearing a voice too, for the last month, a year actually. Somehow without saying anything it had told me you were hurting so much that you were going to try and kill yourself again. It said that if I didn't try to contact you, your life would have ended." Yumi looked at him with a hint of fear in her eyes.
He smiled at her, "Well I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Perhaps we have a guardian angel looking out for us? Well good night!" He said opening his door.
The door shut gently and locked as Yumi looked on. "Good night…" She smiled and walked off to greet her husband.
Once inside, Hideki fed Chi some catnip. He sat down on the couch. Chi jumped on his lap. He petted her until she fell asleep. He noticed something on the table. It was one of the Atashi books, the one that had fallen off the shelf earlier. He picked it up and read it. "I parted ways with him because I loved him…" he said nearing the stories end.
Before he could finish it, he fell asleep. He dreamed peacefully until it was in the middle of the night. There was a noise that woke him up. The cat had moved at the end of the couch, so it couldn't have been her making this noise. No, the cat was sleeping soundly.
He followed the noise, a noise that seemed to be coming from outside. It was the same noise he had heard several times before, the familiar calling of his name. The feeling that had saved him almost every time he heard it. Was he dreaming? Maybe…
Who cared, it was a nice dream. Then he stubbed his toe against something in the dark, his table no doubt. He screeched in pain as quietly as possible. "Well, this defiantly isn't a dream…"
He made his way to the shades. He opened them, revealing nothing. There was no one outside on the balcony. Yet this is where he had heard the noise coming from.
He stepped outside. The night air wasn't too cold tonight. He noticed how pretty the night sky was, clear as it could be, dotted with twinkling light. He welcomed the quiet. He looked up at one bright and shining star, and his heart ached. It was the most beautiful star he had seen because it was so bright and close to another. They weren't lonely at all. Those stars had each other.
He smiled at the thought, fighting the woozy feeling you get when you look straight up at the sky. "Chi, You up there?"
Of course there was no answer.
He decided to head back inside, whatever had made the noise was gone now. When he stepped inside he felt something grab his left hand. The gentle hand grabbed him like she had so many years ago. Stopping to turn around he saw her, as beautiful as ever. She angelically appeared, giving off a warm aurora. She was wearing the first and last outfit she ever wore, the one that made Hideki's heart sink…
She looked into his eyes. Hideki started to tear up, for he knew she was both glad to make her presence known and probably mad at him for attempting to end his own life.
"It was you the entire time, wasn't it?" He stepped back outside with her still clenching his hand. "What? What's with that look?" She merely looked accusingly at him, which was very clear why she did so. Despite her transparent and angelic appearance he knew why she had come.
He smiled at her. "Don't look at me like that…I know that you want me to live my life."
She still looked concerned. "Don't worry I'm not going to end my life…I can always die can't I? Once I'm dead though, that's it…I do have meaning, because I do still have friends in this world." He smiled at her.
"Besides, we're never really apart are we?" Still smiling…
She finally believed him and pounced at him. However, unlike in life there was no push to the ground. Hideki embraced her back, knowing it was going to be all right in the end. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy.
"I'm sorry…I hope you can forgive me. It seems even in death I bring you heartache. I hope you know this but I will always love you… forever… Chi…"
She looked up at him smiling. With that he saw her fade away…
No, she had never faded away. She's been here the entire time. She just went home, the home in his heart.
THE END