(BGM: None)
Once they reached the other side, they found themselves in the same meadow to which they arrived the previous day in the Warring States Era of the Inuyasha world, with them all wearing kimonos that were similar to the shoufs they had gotten after the Elemental Baptism the previous day, except their footwear had been changed to zori and tabi or shoes. However, no one else had arrived yet.
- "Hmm... how weird... Kagome, Miko, Yasha and Inuyasha haven't gotten here yet..." - said Gerardo as he and the others looked around. They saw no one in the area.
- "It's really weird. Hadn't we agreed on meeting here at this hour before we got back to our world yesterday?" - said Miguel crossing his arms.
- "Maybe something happened to them?" - said Roger with a serious face.
- "Or something came up with Kagome's family, or with Kaede, or someone else" - said Kember.
- "Well, before we begin making guesses, let's try calling them" - said Gerardo opening the holographic screen of his Dragtemn. The digital clock read 09:00 am.
- "And can the Dragtemn work between different eras?" - wondered Carlos.
- "Well, this thing can make calls between different dimensions, right? I don't see why not" - said Henry smiling, as he remembered how psyched Gabriela and Gerardo were about getting them again. As for Gerardo, he located Yasha's name in his contacts directory and called him.
- "Huh? And why aren't you calling any of the others?" - asked Tiffany.
- "Well, Inuyasha is too rough, so he's sure to destroy the Dragtemn instead of answering the call, and I've got a weird presentment about Miko and Kagome" - replied Gerardo. After a few seconds waiting, his call was answered and a small hologram of Yasha appeared, projected over the circular screen.
(BGM: Osuwari!)
- "Ah, Gerar-nii! Good morning!" - said Yasha courteously bowing before him. The others, excepting Gabriela, had amazed expressions in their faces due to seeing how the Dragtemns worked, as they hadn't used them yet to make lustriakeltsaks (holo-calls).
- "Hi, Yasha!" - greeted Gerardo smiling - "I called because you haven't come here yet, and we agreed to meet here in the meadow at nine o'clock this morning" -
- "Whoa, you're there already!? And we didn't get there 'coz..." - said Yasha trying to answer his question, but a second hologram appeared at his side: it was Inuyasha in his child form.
- "So ya finally called!" - growled him, though his infantile voice killed all chances to make him sound rough or threatening - "I already though ya had gotten scared stiff and ran away!" -
- "Inuyasha, ya got shrunk down or what?" - asked Carlos puzzled and amused. All the others that hadn't seen yet the Medallions of Link or the Water of Restart functioning had similar reactions between Inuyasha's child form and his failed attempts at sounding like he always did.
- "Shaddap!" - shouted Inuyasha angry.
- "Heh, it's just a residual effect of the Water of Restart they can now invoke as they please with the Medallions of Link" - explained Gerardo upon seeing his friends' faces.
- "Or in other words, he and Kagome can turn back and forth between adults and kids" - explained Gabriela smiling.
- "Sounds pretty handy" - said Tiffany thoughtfully - "I think lotsa people would kill to have something like that in our world" -
- "Even if that includes getting your soul torn in two, and losing your memories and personality? Because all that happens when you drink the Water of Restart" - explained Gabriela with a malicious smile. Tiffany gulped down upon hearing that.
- "Stop talking about that already!" - said Inuyasha irritated.
- "Well, why haven't you gotten here yet?" - asked Henry with an interested voice - "Did something happen over there?"
- "That's 'coz..." - said Yasha trying in vain to continue the explanation, as he got himself interrupted again. However, this time it was by two very similar-sounding voices: so much they seemed to be from the same person...
- "Yasha! Inuyasha!" -
- "Come play with us!" -
- "Huh?" - asked Miguel confused - "And whose voices are those?" -
- "Ah, they're talking to someone through the watches!" - said one of the voices excitedly.
- "No fair! We still dunno how to use them!" - said the other voice angry.
- "Miko, Kagome... calm down, please..." - said Inuyasha a bit embarrassed as he looked to the side. Yasha just sighed and turned to Gerardo.
- "Sorry, looks like we'll be held here until noon, as we got a little problem here... see ya later..." - said he with an embarrassed face and in a grave voice. The connection then was cut and both holograms vanished.
(BGM: None)
- "What could be that problem?" - asked Tiffany puzzled.
- "Well, maybe we should go take a look" - suggested Henry shrugging his shoulders - "We shouldn't just stay here for three hours without doing anything" -
- "Agreed" - said Gerardo lowering his arm and looking at his friend - "We better get to check out what they're doing" -
- "By the way, who could these two voices be?" - asked Kember puzzled.
- "I think one was Kagome's "younger sister" of sorts" - said Carlos thoughtfully - "How was she called... Miko?" -
- "Yeah, that's her name" - nodded Roger - "But who could be the other one? Did they...?" -
But before he could finish the phrase, Gabriela came in:
- "Yup, that's Kagome" - smiled her - "As I told you before, she can also turn into a kid whenever she wants using her medallion" -
- "Though it's pretty weird they said that about not being able to use the Dragtemns... Miko should be pretty skilled with hers due to all the time she spent in Dragonia, and Kagome was the first one to use them when we first came to this place..." - said Gerardo as he rubbed his forehead with a finger.
However, Gabriela realized it after remembering how their first journey went. She turned to Gerardo with a shocked face.
- "No way... Did they really...?" -
- "It's the only possibility I can think of" - said Gerardo as he shook his head side to side - "Why did they have to think of this right now...?" -
- "So lessee... Can you tell us what's happening?" - asked Henry a bit exasperated about how both siblings were leaving them in the dark.
- "It'll be faster if we go there and you see it by yourselves" - said Gerardo as he summoned his dragon armor to get to the well faster - "You'll hear the full story then" -
- "Then we're going to the present time of this dimension?" - asked Carlos excitedly - "To Kagome's house?" -
- "Yeah, so we better hurry" - said Gabriela with a serious voice.
Everyone agreed, so after summoning their respective armors, they flew until they reached the well. They crossed it one by one, and found themselves in the shack in front of Kagome's house. Before leaving the shack, they cancelled their transformations, leaving them with the same clothes they had worn at the convention the previous day. However, Gabriela was now wearing a purple dress with white leggings, and was wearing white sneakers with purple lines and white socks
- "And why're you not wearing your usual clothes, Gaby?" - asked Tiffany as she looked at her confused.
- "It's just that no one from this world knows my clothing tastes changed" - said Gabriela with a mischievous smile - "I wanna surprise them when they come to visit us in our world again" -
- "And talking about the others" - began Henry - "Isn't it a bit weird that Miroku, Sango and Shippou didn't come to greet us?" -
- "Maybe Yasha and Inuyasha told them about the little problem they're having and decided to come later" - said Miguel thoughtfully - "That's the only thing that makes sense to me" -
- "Yeah, but we won't find out anything if we just stay inside this shack" - said Gerardo after sighing - "We better get out of here and find out what's happening by ourselves" -
(BGM: Dokidoki Ukiuki)
Everyone nodded, and after they left the shack, they found themselves stepping on the white paved temple grounds, with Kagome's house right in front of them.
- "Please do everyone here a favor and don't begin acting like a buncha unhinged geeks" - said Henry upon seeing how Roger and Carlos had their eyes shining from seeing the place they were at - "We're supposed to be visiting another world, not looking through a museum or anything like that" -
They both gave him a sour look, but decided against talking back. They then continued to Kagome's house, and once they reached the front door, Gerardo pushed the button to ring the bell. After a few seconds, Kagome's grandfather opened the door.
- "Ah, what a surprise!" - said the grandfather smiling when he saw Gerardo and his friends there - "I thought we'd meet again soon when Kagome brought Miko back yesterday, but I didn't think it'd be so soon!" -
- "Good morning, sir! It's really been a long time" - said Gerardo as he and Gabriela politely bowed.
- "Yup, long time no see!" - said Gabriela smiling.
- "And well, allow me to introduce my friends..." - said Gerardo turning to introduce everyone. Once the introductions were finished - "And well, we came because we wanted to know what happened to Kagome... We agreed to meet up at nine o'clock this morning, but looks like there was a change in the plans" -
- "Ah, yes, about that..." - replied the grandfather nervously as he grabbed his beard with his hand over and over - "Well, it happens to be that Kagome decided to give Souta a sort of parting gift, and Miko decided to also take part in it" -
- "But what kind of parting gift takes so long to make?" - asked Kember confused. All the others were looking at each other perplexed.
- "Well, it'll be better if you go and see it with you own eyes" - said the grandfather in a mysterious voice - "Kagome, Miko and Souta are right now with their mother in a park that is a few streets away from here. Inuyasha and Yasha also went with them" -
- "Ah, very well. I guess we'll go to meet them ourselves" - said Gerardo bowing, which the others imitated - "Thanks for the information. We'll come here again very soon" -
- "Good" - nodded the grandfather to then add in a mysterious voice - "And try to not get too surprised when you meet them again" -
(BGM: None)
He then turned around, entered the house, and closed the door. Gerardo activated his Dragtemn's radar and instantly, he got a map of the surrounding area that also had position markers for Miko, Kagome, Yasha and Inuyasha.
- "Well, we can at least find them easily with this" - said he as he put himself in front of everyone - "We better get going, as we'll have to get there on foot" -
- "And wouldn't it be better if we went flying?" - asked Tiffany a bit annoyed.
- "Well, we're supposed to keep our powers a secret while we aren't in Dragonia, Tiff" - said Gabriela - "I know you're itching to test 'em out, but you'll have to wait a little more" -
Tiffany started pouting, but she had to resign herself to this. The others just laughed from her expression.
After a while walking across some streets, they finally got to the park the radar was leading them to. Gerardo turned off the holographic screen as they entered the place, which was filled with children that cheerfully played accompanied by their parents, friends or older relatives. However, they didn't seem to be able to find Kagome or any of the others, until they heard a voice:
(BGM: Utsukushii Omoide (First Half))
- "Ah, Kagome! Don't be so rough! You'll end up hurting her!" - said Yasha's voice.
- "I couldn't help it... I think I went a bit too far..." - said a girl's voice, which sounded sad and apologetic.
- "Could it be?" - began Gabriela, but then she saw her brother's serious gaze as he nodded. As always, the others didn't know what was happening and looked at both siblings confused, but now they had the feeling they were going to find it out.
They got closer to the place they heard the voices coming from, and there they saw Yasha and Miko, the latter wearing the clothes she usually had on in the modern era: a light blue blouse adorned with a small green jeweled brooch which sustained a light yellow shawl, a white skirt that went down to her knees, and white sandals. However, since she was lying on her back in the ground, her blouse and skirt had gotten some dirt stains on them.
A few instants later, they saw Inuyasha in his child form, Souta, and finally, a girl identical to Miko that wore a light blue blouse and a skirt of that same color that went down to her ankles. She wore blue shoes and white bobbed socks, her hair loose, and had a sad and worried expression on her face.
- "Ah, we didn't think you'd be coming here..." - said Yasha a little embarrassed upon seeing how the others arrived. He was standing next to Miko.
- "Ah, hi Gerar-nii! Gaby-chan! Long time no see!" - said Souta turning to look at them. He was kneeling next to Miko.
- "Keh, it took ya long enough to appear..." - growled Inuyasha. He was standing next to the girl that looked like Miko.
- "Hi everyone!" - said Gerardo sighing briefly to then smile at the children - "Sorry to have taken so long, but we didn't know where you were or what you were doing" -
- "Gerar-nii, Gaby-nee!" - said the girl in an attempt to sound cheerful, but her eyes were still watery and had gotten red from the tears she had started shedding.
- "Yeah, it's them!" - said Miko from the ground, and she quickly got up with Souta and Yasha's help to then dust her clothes off.
- "Ah, hi..." - said Gerardo a bit embarrassed upon confirming his suspicions.
- "Hi, everyone!" - said Gabriela putting her arms behind her and smiling. All their friends were somewhat shocked from seeing Kagome and Inuyasha as children right before their eyes.
- "Did you have a nice morning?" - asked Gerardo gently.
- "Yeah, it's been very fun!" - said Kagome cheerfully, but then her voice faltered as her face filled with sadness and guilt - "But I think... I hurt Miko... I pushed her too hard..." -
(BGM: Setsunai Omoi (First Half))
- "Don't worry, I'm fine" - said her "twin" in a calming voice as she walked to her as she put her hands before herself - "It doesn't hurt, really" -
- "But I... I..." - said Kagome getting even sadder as she covered her eyes with her hands and started crying. Inuyasha, Souta, Miko, Gabriela and Gerardo went to her side.
- "Come on, Kagome" - said Gabriela in an understanding voice - "You didn't really wanna do it, right?" -
- "No..." - replied her in a quavering voice between sobs and hiccups.
- "Then don't be sad" - said Gerardo as he smiled at her. Kagome briefly stopped crying and lowered her hands to look at her friends, which Gerardo took advantage of to point her to Miko's saddened face: she was also at the brink of tears - "Look: you're making Miko sad too" -
- "Yeah, just don't do it again" - said Inuyasha with a decided smile as he placed a hand on her head - "You're not a bad girl, so don't be like that" -
- "And we've seen how much you love her" - said Yasha - "Miko loves you as much, so she'll forgive you" -
Kagome then raised her face, and walked to Miko, who nodded at her with a smile.
- "I'm sorry, Miko... I didn't want to hurt you..." - apologized Kagome as she hugged her.
- "It's okay... I don't mind it... I'm not angry with you" - said Miko smiling as she hugged her back.
- "Come on, Kagome, Miko... Everything'll be okay now" - said Souta as he placed a hand on each of them. Everyone who was unaware about Miko and Kagome's current condition just looked at each other with puzzled faces, while Gerardo and Gabriela just smiled at each other from the heartwarming scene.
It was then that Mrs. Higurashi appeared carrying five ice cream cones in her hands. Apparently, they were for each of the children:
- "Did something happen?" - asked she worried upon seeing her daughters: how Kagome still had remains of the tears on her face, Miko's dirt-stained clothes, and how they both and Souta were hugging each other.
- "It's just that Kagome pushed Miko too hard and made her fall down when she caught her while we were playing tag" - said Souta as he turned to look at his mother. The three siblings separated at that moment, with Kagome expecting to get scolded from this.
- "And Kagome felt so bad about it that she started crying" - added Yasha.
- "But it's okay..." - said Miko smiling as she wiped some dirt off her blouse and skirt. She then gave a plying look to her mother - "Nothing bad happened, and Kagome didn't really want to hurt me... So mommy, don't scold her please..." -
- "I'm sorry, mommy" - said Kagome looking at the ground as she grabbed her hands - "I didn't want to hurt Miko... It was an accident..." -
- "Well, if nothing bad happened, then it's no problem. Just try to be more careful next time" - said Mrs. Higurashi as she smiled at her children, who cheered up from seeing how her mother reacted - "Now come sit down, so you can have a tasty ice cream!" -
(BGM: Ganbon! Houjou-san)
The children jumped ecstatic about this, so she gave them each an ice cream, and they sat down in a nearby bench to eat them. Mrs. Higurashi then noticed the group:
- "Oh my!" - said she surprised - "Gerardo-kun and Gaby-chan... Is that you?" -
- "Yes, it's us, Higurashi-san" - said Gerardo as he and Gabriela did the requisite bow to greet her - "It's been quite some time" -
- "How've you been?" - asked Gabriela cheerfully.
- "We've been well, though things haven't changed much since you last came here" - said she in a gentle voice.
- "Good to hear it. Looks like not much time has passed here since our last coming to this world, not to mention the memory sealing" - said Gerardo smiling, to which Mrs. Higurashi nodded. He then walked to his friends - "By the way, these people here are our friends... allow us to introduce them" -
Each one of them walked to Mrs. Higurashi and introduced themselves by bowing before her. They were amazed to meet her, though they tried to control it the best they could.
- "Pleased to meet you all. And well, yes. We didn't manage to reclaim our memories of the times you spent here and about Miko and Yasha until just yesterday. Suffice to say I was very glad to have Miko back home" - said Mrs. Higurashi smiling.
- "And about that... What happened to Kagome?" - asked Carlos filled with curiosity - "She looks like she turned into a real kid" -
- "That's correct" - said Mrs. Higurashi laughing a little as she turned for a second to look at the children: they were eating their ice cream, talking cheerfully among themselves and laughing - "She's just a normal eight-year old for now, and we could say she and Miko are the family's youngest children at the moment" -
- "Eh? How's that?" - asked Roger confused.
- "Let me make a guess... She sealed her own memory?" - asked Gerardo as he grabbed his chin with his hand.
- "Yes, she did. Last night, before we had our dinner, she said she wanted to do this to let Souta enjoy himself and then, she went from being my eldest daughter to being one of my two youngest children" - said Mrs. Higurashi, smiling from how strange all of this sounded - "Miko decided to join her as well and sealed her memory too, but she explained everything about this and how the seal would break itself at noon before she did" -
- "Hmm, I see" - said Gerardo smiling - "Well, I think we'll just have to wait until the required time passes" -
- "So we'll have to postpone our departure for a little more time" - said Miguel as if it didn't have much importance - "It's not much trouble to wait a couple more hours for them" -
- "But talking about confusing..." - said Roger puzzled - "Besides changing their ages, they can also change their memories and personality?" -
(BGM: Kakushi Ido kara Sengoku Jidai e)
- "Something like that" - said Gerardo trembling upon remembering how things were the last time they had to use the Medallions of Link that way - "Last time we were here, both Kagome and Inuyasha had to spend an entire day with their memories sealed because we all went through something so awful that their minds almost collapsed from it..." -
- "The Mirror of Shades..." - muttered Gabriela. While the five children jumped from the bench to continue playing, she and Gerardo told Mrs. Higurashi and their friends about the horrendous artifact that had made them live their worst nightmares, though they tried to not unveil any details about the things they had seen inside it.
- "I see... It sounded really horrible, and I wasn't surprised in the slightest that neither Kagome nor Miko said anything about it..." - said Mrs. Higurashi as she looked at the ground saddened - "I'm very sure that one of the things Kagome saw... Was when her father died..." -
- "And considering how delicate her mind was at that moment due to her separation from Miko, that made her easy prey for a mental collapse from the mirror" - said Gerardo - "Inuyasha was in a similar situation, and that's why we had to leave them like that" -
(BGM: None)
- "At the least that allowed them to relax a little until they could go back to normal, right?" - asked Mrs. Higurashi a bit anxious.
- "Yeah. We spent a very nice day playing all together, and hearing Gerar tell us a story" - said Gabriela smiling.
- "Well, all that sounded really awful... But it means the medallions also serve like some kinda rescue system, right?" - asked Roger.
- "Yeah, in a nutshell... They create a secondary personality and memories that depend on the person, and implant them so they may continue living while their true personality and memories undergo recovery" - explained Gerardo.
However, they had to stop talking because Miko and Kagome called Gabriela:
(BGM: Miko –Omoi no Mama ni- - Original)
- "Gaby-nee! Come play with us!" - said both in a cheerful voice as they waved their hands to her
- "Gerar... It's okay for me to go...?" - asked her embarrassed and doubtful - "I'm older than them now, so..." -
- "I don't see what's the problem" - smiled Gerardo - "After all, you went back to being eight when we stepped inside this world. So you're their same age now" -
- "Hmm, you're right!" - said Gabriela brightening up - "Okay, I'll go have fun with them and the others!" -
- "I'll go with her too~!" - said Tiffany as they both ran to the children, who were overjoyed as Gabriela introduced Tiffany to them.
- "Well, we'll have to search for a way to kill some time while we wait for these two hours to pass" - said Kember.
- "If you wish, you can go check out the places around the park" - said Mrs. Higurashi smiling gently - "On the meantime, I'll keep watch over them" -
The boys agreed with the idea, so they decided to take the chance to check what interesting things they could find in this version of Tokyo. Needless to say, they were like fish on water due to the variety of bookstores, anime, music and electronics shops they found in the streets close to the park. On the other hand, Gabriela and Tiffany spent a nice morning playing with Yasha, Inuyasha, Miko, Kagome, and Souta: after playing tag, they played several rounds of hide-n-seek, then on the playground games, and finally playing make-believe of their own adventures (though they were unaware of it), which made Yasha, Inuyasha and Gabriela laugh a lot.
(BGM: None)
A little later...
- "Well, we should get back to the park and check how they're doing. There's not much time left before the seal breaks" - said Gerardo after they had stored their purchases and he was checking his Dragtemn: the digital clock marked 11:00 AM.
- "But we didn't get to see everything that was here" - said Roger with a feigned disappointed voice.
- "You know that doesn't fit you at all, huh?" - said Carlos shrugging his shoulders.
- "Well, it's not like we can change that part of him" - said Kember sighing.
- "Anyway, let's hurry back. I'm eager to see Dragonia!" - said Henry all fired up.
(BGM: Shikon no Tama wo Nerau Chimimouryou (First Half))
They returned to the park after a few minutes, but the children were nowhere to be seen, and Mrs. Higurashi was also looking for them. Worry was evident on her face.
- "Mrs. Higurashi, what happened?" - said Henry alarmed as they ran to her.
- "They disappeared... I went a moment to buy some drinks for them, and they weren't around anymore when I returned..." - said Mrs. Higurashi as she looked around. She had in her hands a paper bag filled with water bottles.
- "Well, at least finding them won't be hard" - said Miguel as he placed his Dragtemn in radar mode. The others did the same, and after a few seconds, six marks appeared in a place covered by trees and bushes near the edge of the park.
- "Oh my! These watches are quite useful!" - said Mrs. Higurashi surprised while they walked to where the Dragtemns pointed them.
- "Well, we couldn't just have them be mere fashion statements" - said Carlos smiling.
Once they got close enough, they could hear a song coming out from the bushes:
(BGM: None)
- "Alt tok xiung sosse xiuant paf lusellsya mondour ika, yst gaivzara ealok tast ika..." –
- "That's Gaby's voice" - said Gerardo as he turned to everyone else - "Miguel and Henry, come with me. Everyone else, wait here while we go for them" -
The three boys then stepped into the bushes. After a few seconds, they found themselves in a small clearing and saw how Gabriela was singing while playing around with a line of light, making all the other children gasp and exclaim in awe upon seeing how she was manipulating it to make it take all sorts of shapes. Inuyasha just smiled at this because, while he was already familiar with Gabriela's demonstrations of her light-based powers, he still liked to see how Kagome was innocently enjoying the show. On the other hand, Yasha was surprised because he had only seen this in Inuyasha's memories, and Miko hadn't practiced manipulating light to that extent just yet. Then, Gabriela noticed their presence.
(BGM: Sunny Spot – Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica)
- "Ah, Gerar! Henry! Mige!" - said she as she stopped her song and let the light line disappear, much to Kagome, Miko, Souta and Tiffany's disappointment. Yasha and Inuyasha just turned around and smiled at them, while they all greeted them cheerfully - "You found us!" -
- "Gaby, what are you doing?" - said Gerardo in a slightly angry tone - "Don't you remember we're supposed to keep our powers a secret?" -
- "I know, but besides playing with everyone, I wanted to practice my light manipulation too, since I haven't used it in so long" - said Gabriela smiling.
- "And I don't think you can say everybody can see us here, right?" - said Tiffany with a mischievous smile.
- "I can't really refute that..." - said Gerardo turning around: between the bushes and trees, it was true no one could have seen her.
- "Hehe, Gaby-nee chose this place to show us her light tricks 'cuz no one else could see us" - said Kagome smiling.
- "But shouldn't you have told your mother about this?" - asked Miguel puzzled - "She's very worried out there, looking for you all" -
- "Ugh... I knew this was a bad idea" - said Yasha bitterly.
- "I told you we should've told her" - said Souta sighing.
- "Keh, we shouldn't have listened to her" - said Inuyasha snorting.
- "I'm sorry..." - said Kagome looking at the ground.
- "Me too... We didn't want to worry you all" - said Miko saddened.
- "In any case, we're not the ones you should apologize to" - said Henry a bit severely - "Now let's head back" -
All the children apologized to Mrs. Higurashi for their little mischief, and since the seal on Miko and Kagome's memories would break shortly, as well as lunchtime being very close, they decided to go back home. However, while they were on the road...
(BGM: None)
- "And that dragon shape was amazing, right? Kagome?" - said Miko. Both she and Kagome were talking very cheerfully about the shapes Gabriela had made with the light line.
- "Yeah, and her song was so pretty too" - nodded Kagome - "I wish I could have powers like these!" -
- "Me too!" - said Miko as they both laughed.
Everyone else were looking at each other bemused, knowing how both "twins" actually had these powers too despite them not knowing it due to the memory seal. However, Kagome was walking backwards to talk to Miko, and she crashed into someone. She fell to the ground on her butt...
- "Owwie... That hurt..." - said she rubbing her rear.
- "Are you ok?" - asked Miko as she walked to her and helped her stand up. Gabriela made gestures to start singing her Healing Light song, but Gerardo stopped her at once by extending his hand in front of her and shaking his head.
(BGM: Sewayaki Sannin Musume)
- "Uh? Miko?" - said the voice of a girl right in front of them upon noticing the little girl she made fall accidentally. It was then that everyone noticed it was not one, but three girls: Kagome's friends. Everyone but the "twins" and Mrs. Higurashi got petrified.
- "Uh? Onee-san, you know me?" - asked Miko confused as she walked to them.
- "Yeah, we met in the park near here some months ago" - said Yuka confused before her reaction. She was wearing a white and blue casual dress, and white sandals.
- "And you were with that boy, Shintaro..." - remembered Eri as she looked behind them to see Yasha and Inuyasha, not managing to distinguish between them. Both made repulsed faces. She wore a white shirt, a blue jacket, blue shorts and green sneakers.
- "And the second time, you were with your cousin Kagome, her boyfriend, and her foreigner friends. But we didn't know you had a twin sister" - said Ayumi laughing. She was wearing a yellow short dress and white shoes.
- "But I don't remember any of that... Besides, I have no cousins... And the only Kagome I know is my sister..." - said Miko confused as she turned to look at Kagome. The three girls looked at each other shocked.
(BGM: Wana)
- "Yup, that's me" - said Kagome as she walked to reach Miko and stood in front of the girls.
- "No way... She's not gonna...!" - said Gerardo, Inuyasha, Yasha and Gabriela shocked while all the others paled. They knew they wouldn't be able to stop her without it looking suspicious.
- "My name's Kagome. Pleased to meetcha!" - said Kagome as she gracefully bowed before them smiling. The girls blinked for a few instants, and then...
- "Whaaa!? Kagome!?" - exclaimed them at the same time. Everyone else began screaming horrified.
- "Now what we're gonna do, Gerar!?" - asked Gabriela about to start crying.
- "I don't know! I never expected something like this to happen!" - said Gerardo grabbing his head.
- "Nee-chan's a goner!" - shouted Souta falling to his knees.
- "Everything's over!" - screamed Roger covering his face with his hands.
- "Nii-san, now we'll be forced to reveal everything!" - screeched Yasha as he looked desperate at Inuyasha.
- "Dammit! Why we always gotta get the short end of the stick!?" - shouted Inuyasha punching the ground.
- "Bye to our trip to Dragonia!" - shouted Carlos dramatically.
- "And to use the powers!" - shouted Kember looking at the sky.
- "And to the adventures we were going to have!" - screamed Henry looking depressed.
- "Come on, everyone. Calm down" - said Mrs. Higurashi laughing before their reactions.
- "Higurashi-san... What does this mean?" - asked Yuka shocked, ignoring the others.
(BGM: None)
- "Well, basically it means the Kagome you know doesn't exist right now. In her place, you have her now: she's one of my two eight-year old twins" - explained Mrs. Higurashi in a relaxed voice. All the others felt they were about to faint.
- "No way... She's gonna spill the beans just like that!?" - said Tiffany in shock.
- "B-B-B-But how's that possible!?" - asked Eri, unable to process the situation - "How our friend got turned into a little kid?" -
- "That's a secret I can't reveal to you" - said Mrs. Higurashi as she suddenly put on a severe face, and she then went and hugged her daughters, each with an arm. She smiled again and both girls giggled pleasantly - "But yes, it's just as you see: Kagome is now a child, and Miko is her twin sister" -
- "This is so weird..." - said Ayumi to then focus on how Kagome and Miko were excitedly chatting about the things they had done that morning - "But she looks like she's always been a kid..." -
- "I know it's strange" - said Mrs. Higurashi as she laughed from their expressions - "I had a similar reaction when I saw them like this for the first time" -
(BGM: Bojou)
- "And well... My name isn't Shintaro, and I think it's time for me to introduce myself..." - said Yasha as he stepped forward: he was the first one to recover upon noticing Mrs. Higurashi wasn't going to spill out all their secrets. He bowed - "I'm Yasha. Pleased to meet you..." -
The girls had gotten over the impression they got from what happened to Kagome, and now we're enthralled from how cute Yasha seemed introducing himself like that.
- "Aww, so cute!" - exclaimed them as they ran to cuddle and rub his face. Yasha blushed and put on an embarrassed expression on his face. Inuyasha got irritated, went up to them, and shouted at them angrily:
- "Leave my brother alone!" -
- "Uh, sorry... I think we lost control of ourselves" - said Yuka as she made foolish face: she closed her eyes and softly hit her head as she put out her tongue.
- "And I see you're both twins too, right?" - asked Eri.
- "Yeah, I'm Inuyasha..." - said Inuyasha blushing as he turned around with crossed arms. The girls reacted in surprise upon seeing he had the same name as Kagome's boyfriend, but before they could ask anything...
- "And he and Yasha are our best friends!" - said Kagome as she and Miko glomped them both to hug them.
- "Kagome, you oughta tune that energy down a little..." - said Inuyasha blushing even more.
- "Huh? But that's how I'm always..." - said Kagome confused.
- "They're so cute... But why's Kagome acting so weird?" - asked Ayumi as she saw how the four separated a bit from each other and continued talking.
- "And Miko didn't recognize us either..." - said Eri.
- "Well... it's because Kagome and Miko have gotten their memories... altered, to put it simply" - said Gerardo, who had recovered from the shock. The others had also started recovering and thought they should explain the situation.
- "Altered...?" - asked Eri puzzled.
- "Yup. As she's now, Kagome doesn't remember ever being 15 or anything about how she's supposed to be" - said Gabriela with a serious face - "She's fully an eight-year old right now. Miko doesn't remember meeting you either for something similar" -
- "And how long she's going to be like this?" - asked Ayumi fearing the answer.
- "Just for today" - said Souta smiling - "She turned into a kid and changed her memories herself just to let me be her big bro for a day" –
(BGM: None)
- "That's a nice gesture from her" - smiled Ayumi. She then sighed - "And I think we better not ask anything else. Anyway, it's supposed to be a secret, right?" -
(BGM: Sewayaki Sannin Musume)
- "What!? But, Ayumi...!" - said Eri and Yuka at the same time.
- "We can't let anyone else find out about this. It could be dangerous for our friend, and I don't wanna stick my nose into her business" - said Ayumi as she showed them an angry face. The others just trembled and stayed put.
- "You're really the most prudent between you three..." - said Gerardo amazed.
- "Hehe, it's because I want the best for her," - replied her flattered - "Well, we better get going. We have shopping and chores to do" -
The others got into corners of woe due to not getting any compliments. Ayumi took them by the arms and began pulling them away - "See you later!" -
- "Ah, onee-san!" - said Kagome upon seeing how Ayumi was taking the other girls away.
- "Huh? What is it, Kagome-chan?" - asked Ayumi surprised as she turned around. Eri and Yuka did the same.
- "Come play with us someday! Yeah?" - said Kagome with a radiant smile.
- "'Yeah! Pretty please?" - said Miko smiling too.
The Yuka and Eri were shocked for a moment, but then Ayumi went to the twins and softly stroked their heads as she smiled. Both girls giggled and blushed.
- "Okay, I promise you we'll come play soon, okay?" - said Ayumi.
- "Yay! Thanks!" - said both girls. Then, Ayumi continued taking her friends away.
- "That was a close call..." - said Henry falling to his knees upon seeing how horrible this all was.
- "At least they didn't continue interrogating us..." - said Miguel relieved.
- "That was awful~" - said Roger with his ridiculously shrill voice.
- "This isn't time for joking around!" - shouted Carlos, who still had his nerves wracked.
- "It really was horrible..." - said Kember wiping his forehead off.
- "Well, let's go back home. I'm sure you'll want to have lunch before the time comes" - suggested Mrs. Higurashi smiling. No one put objections to this, so they started climbing up the stairs that led to the temple grounds.
(BGM: Dokidoki Ukiuki)
On the other hand, Kagome's friends went their way...
- "Ayumi! Why didn't you let us ask more!?" - complained Yuka.
- "Right! We always wanted to know what was going on with Kagome whenever she got these weird diseases, and now we had the chance, you made us waste it!" - shouted Eri angry.
Ayumi just sighed calmly and showed a smile to her friends:
- "Girls... It's simple. On one hand, Kagome is now a little kid who doesn't remember anything about us, and on the other, she doesn't know anything about the things she did while she had these "diseases" " - said she as if it was the most natural thing in the world as she made quote marks with her fingers.
- "But we could've asked her mother or her friends that!" - said Eri.
- "And why're you so sure about that?" - asked Yuka irritated, but also somewhat confused.
- "We already saw it and they already told us: Kagome doesn't remember anything about her life as a teen, so it's logic to think she doesn't remember anything about that either" - said Ayumi with a serious face - "Besides, I didn't want to ask her mother, the twins that were with them or her foreign friends anything because I think it'd be very rude to Kagome. Who're we to interrogate anyone about all that while she can't rebut anything the others say? While she can't tell her own version of the story and explain herself?" -
- "But... we... I..." - began Eri, trying in vain to find something she could use to rebut Ayumi. Likewise, Yuka stood silent and pensive.
- "And don't misunderstand me. I also wanna know the truth about what Kagome's been doing this whole year, and how she did all that stuff of turning into a kid and changing around her memories" - said Ayumi keeping her serious gaze, to then go back to her typical smile - "However, we won't touch the subject any more until she's back to normal and can answer our questions. Got it?" -
- "Ayumi..." - said Eri surprised.
- "Are you... serious?" - asked Yuka unable to believe what she was hearing.
- "Yeah" - replied Ayumi - "Anyhow, let's not press her into answering... We'll ask her about this stuff bit by bit, and we'll let her tell us when she's ready" -
The two girls were a bit disappointed upon hearing Ayumi's plans, but they knew very well they wouldn't be able to do anything to make her change her opinion.
(BGM: Higurashi-ke no Shokutaku)
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and the others had crossed the temple grounds and entered Kagome's house. At that moment, they were sitting at the kotatsu, preparing to eat.
- "This morning was so fun! Right, Kagome?" - said Miko with a smile. Like the previous night, they were sitting next to each other.
- "Tee hee, yeah! And we're lucky to be in vacation! I didn't remember the homework was for when summer ended!" - said Kagome laughing.
- "You're always such a worrywart!" - said Inuyasha with a mocking smile.
- "Hehe, but at least that means she's very responsible too" - added Yasha to not make Kagome feel bad. However, she didn't take Inuyasha's comment in a bad away and instead she smiled at them both. Yasha smiled at her back, while Inuyasha looked at the floor as he blushed.
- "Hehe, I know if I make more effort, I'll be like that too!" - said Miko in a decided voice.
- "Well, we're twins, but we're not exactly the same" - said Kagome in a happy voice - "I'm sure there are things in which you're even better than me" -
- "That's right! I just have to find them! Thanks, Kagome!" - said Miko happily. Kagome nodded at her, and they both gave each other a hug. Everyone sitting at the kotatsu smiled from the scene. They then separated.
- "At least it's going to be a good lunch, though it's a bit unexpected" - said Gerardo the next instant, not only due to the scene with Kagome and Miko, but also because both he and Gabriela were already familiar with Mrs. Higurashi's cooking.
- "Yeah, I thought we would have lunch in Dragonia, but looks like our first meal there it's going to be the dinner" - said Gabriela smiling.
- "And don't forget about the desserts!" - said Miguel jovially.
Henry sighed from this:
- "As long as you, Roger and Carlos don't devour all the provisions we have" - said he smiling ironically.
- "What the heck are you talking about, Henry?" - laughed Carlos - "You're perfectly capable of eating a good part of them too!" -
- "That's true" - said Kember laughing. Everyone else in the dining room was also laughing from this.
- "Oh come on!" - said Henry laughing.
- "In any case, try to not let jokes get out of hand" - said Gerardo smiling - "Remember we're guests in someone else's house right now" -
- "Yeah, don't worry about it!" - said Miguel laughing.
- "But anyway, it'll be interesting to find out what they eat in that other world" - said Tiffany interested.
- "But for now, you'll have to eat Japanese food" - said Henry to remind her of that fact. Tiffany was a bit flabbergasted: she didn't know what to expect from it, as she didn't know anything about Japanese cooking aside of sushi.
- "Tiff, I can tell you it's good. It's not just fish and rice, and it also has greens and meat" - said Gabriela to cheer her up.
- "Besides, mommy's a great cook! I'm sure you'll like it a lot, Tiffa-chan!" - said Miko as she smiled with closed eyes. Kagome just nodded in agreement.
- "Well, if you say it..." - said Tiffany in a resigned voice.
After a few minutes, Mrs. Higurashi brought them the food: teriyaki beef with rice and several kinds of greens. Tiffany didn't have any trouble with the food and ended up enjoying it a lot.
- "Yay! You liked mommy's cooking!" - chanted both Miko and Kagome like a sort of victory song.
- "Oh, please! It's not such a big thing!" - said Tiffany embarrassed.
Gerardo continued refusing to eat the greens as also did Gabriela, while the others ate as much as they could. Miguel, Henry and Roger had an interest in cooking and were pretty good at it, so they decided to ask Mrs. Higurashi for the recipe to the meal, thinking it'd help them a lot. Mrs. Higurashi was a bit surprised to hear it, but she was still very glad to hear that and gave them the recipe, which they noted down in their Dragtemns.
(BGM: None)
A few minutes later, after everyone had helped cleaning the table and washing the dishes, Kagome and Miko stood immobile, looking at nothing with empty gazes, and before anyone could ask what happened, the emerald dials in their medallions spun themselves back to the Separation position. They blinked a couple times and then, shrieked...
(BGM: Kanashimi no Hate ni)
- "Onee-san! This is terrible! They know it now!" - said Miko sobbing as they hugged each other.
- "I know! I'll never be able to go back to school or talk to them! It's all over!" - said Kagome sobbing. They then began crying loudly.
- "Kagome-nee! Miko! Calm down!" - said Yasha trying to calm them down.
- "Enough already! Stopping acting like it's doomsday or something!" - shouted Inuyasha irritated.
It took everyone there a good while to calm them down, but even after they did; Kagome and Miko continued sobbing and hiccupping with their gazes lowered to the floor.
(BGM: Setsunai Omoi (First Half))
- "Are you better now?" - asked Mrs. Higurashi as she eyed them concerned.
- "Y-Yeah... But this couldn't get any worse..." - said Miko looking at the floor.
- "I'm sorry... It was all because of the stupid idea I had..." - said Kagome as she covered her face with her hands - "If it wasn't for that... All this would still be a secret..." -
- "Maybe... But at least you made me very happy, nee-chan, even though you're leaving on a journey again" - said Souta trying to console her - "Thanks for giving me that parting gift. And the same goes for you, Miko. As my true little sister, I'm really happy you helped nee-chan with it!" -
- "Souta..." - said Kagome removing her hands from her face and looking at her brother.
- "Thanks..." - said Miko smiling.
- "Besides, your friends, or at least Ayumi, seemed very understanding about the whole thing" - said Gabriela in a tranquilizing voice.
- "That's true. They didn't want to ask anyone about your memories being sealed or your travels to our era" - said Yasha cheerfully.
- "And I'd have spooked them away if they had tried" - said Inuyasha flexing his claws in a threatening way, but his child form only made him look funny instead of menacing. This made Kagome and Miko laugh, which irritated him - "Wha-what..!? Why're ya laughing now!?" -
- "I'm... I'm sorry...!" - said Kagome as she stopped laughing - "It's just... I never thought you'd go through so much trouble for me" -
- "Hehe, Nii-san'd even throw himself from the world's tallest cliff for you, Kagome-nee!" - said Yasha laughing as he put his arms behind his head.
- "Shut your mouth, Yasha!" - said Inuyasha with his face as red as a ripe tomato. Everyone laughed at this.
- "It's good to know you can count on such good friends, dear" - said Mrs. Higurashi with a smile.
- "Yeah, I owe them everything" - said Kagaome in a happy voice - "They're always worrying about me, and they help me whenever I need them... and I always try to respond in kind too" -
- "And that's the same thing we'll always do" - said Gerardo nodding.
- "Yeah. We haven't known each other for long, but we'll still help you out however we can!" - said Henry rolling a hand into a fist.
- "And also either to make you relax a bit..." - said Miguel in a grandiose and bombastic tone.
- "Or make you burst in laughter!" - finished Roger, after which they high-fived each other.
- "If they don't kill us from frostbite with their godawful puns" - said Kember exasperated, as a cold breeze starting blowing around them all. This made everyone laugh a lot.
- "Oh man, we're gonna need some warm sheets tonight!" - said Carlos laughing
- "Anyway, the point is that we're not just travel companions" - said Tiffany with a smile after they finished laughing.
- "No. We're still friends, and that's why we'll always we do everything we can to help each other out" - said Gabriela smiling.
- "Glad to hear that. That's precisely why I have no problems with leaving Kagome and Miko in your hands, so please make sure they come back safe and sound" - said Mrs. Higurashi looking at Gerardo and his friends in the eye - "And I fully trust in you all to bring them back fine" -
- "And we promise so too!" - said Gerardo as he placed a hand over his chest and nodded.
(BGM: None)
- "By the way, nee-chan, shouldn't you go back to your normal self?" - asked Souta a bit puzzled about Kagome forgetting about it.
- "Ah, you're right. Looks like I'm getting too used to being a kid again..." - said she with some embarrassment. She placed her hand over the emerald needle and turned it to the Special Separation marker, which made her shine. Once the light dimmed, she was back to her normal form: 15 year-old teenager dressed in her school uniform.
- "And since she's done with this, I'm going back to normal too" - said Inuyasha in a very perceptible presumptuous tone. He did the same thing as Kagome with the ruby needle of his medallion, which turned him back to his normal form.
- "Well, now everything's solved, I have to go and do some chores with Souta outside of our home" - said Mrs. Higurashi. She went to her two daughters, and hugged and kissed them: Kagome on one cheek and Miko on the forehead - "Have a nice journey, and make sure to be very careful out there" -
- "Good luck, nee-chan! Miko! See you later!" - said Souta as he hugged them both and playfully stroked Miko's hair. She smiled back at him. Both he and their mother walked out of the dining room to get to the entrance. After a few seconds, they heard the main door open and then close again.
- "And well, I think we're ready to go, right?" - said Gerardo as he looked around.
- "Just wait a second, as there's one more thing we gotta do" - said Roger as he took out many things from a backpack he left on the ground: videogames, music albums, a few electronic devices...
- "Looks like you went on a shopping spree..." - said Miko a bit amazed from seeing this.
- "Yeah, and I think they went a bit over the line..." - said Henry a little embarrassed.
- "Don't start complaining, Henry" - said Carlos in a mocking voice, making both laugh - "As many of these things are yours too" -
- "You bought all that while we were playing in the park?" - asked Kagome shocked.
- "Yeah. We had a lot of time to browse around several of the stores and buy some things that are impossible to find where we live" - said Kember cheerfully as he went, got out a book about drawing techniques and stored it into his Dragtemn.
- "And I wanted to buy some things too..." - said Gabriela pouting.
- "Well, you stayed playing with us, so it's not so bad either" - said Yasha smiling.
- "And since it's possible you'll be coming back here with Gerardo-kun later to come to school, I think you'll have other chances too" - said Kagome smiling. Gabriela smiled too at the idea.
The boys then continued getting out their respective items from the backpack and stored them in their Dragtemns until nothing remained but a manga tome.
- "Ah, that's mine" - said Gerardo as he picked it up: it had a cover illustration depicting a small prince dressed in a green outfit and cape, a knight with a white armor, a large green dragon, a little witch dressed in pink that also had a round frilly hat on her head and a golden magic wand in her hands, and a witch dressed in purple with a pointy hat colored with purple and magenta strokes - "It's one I wanted to find for a very long time" -
(BGM: HACK=MAGIC – Ciel nosurge)
He then placed it in his Dragtemn. However, just seeing that tome reminded Kagome of something: a question she wanted to ask Gerardo and Gabriela since she met them, but she always forgot about it due to some reason. Maybe it was because of the many times she lost her memory, the surprises both siblings had brought to the Inuyasha world ever since they arrived, or generally speaking, the surprising events that had taken place during the journey they started together.
However, this time she had the perfect chance to ask it, and she wasn't going to waste it.
- "By the way... We've forgotten to ask you something... and I didn't notice it until a second ago" - said Kagome remembering a detail about the world their friends came from - "Our adventures are a manga and anime series over at your world, right?" -
- "Yeah, that's right" - confirmed Henry. It was a bit unexpected, as Kagome expected either Gerardo or Gabriela to reply.
- 'But he and their other friends are also from that world... So they can answer this too, I think' - thought Kagome smiling.
- "In that case... Do you have any idea about what'll happen from now on?" - asked Inuyasha, having a feel about what Kagome was aiming at: that if they knew what was going to happen in the future, they'd be able to anticipate to Naraku's movements and defeat him at last - "We may have to defeat that stinkin' shadow, but we still have a score to settle with that damn Naraku" -
- "I'm sorry... But I really have no idea about what the future will hold for us..." - said Gerardo saddened. This left them shocked.
- "WHAT!?" - asked Inuyasha enraged.
- "No way..." - said Kagome crestfallen.
- "You gotta be jokin'...!" - said Yasha.
- "Huh? Why...?" - asked Miko confused.
- "Even though the manga and anime have reached a close already, neither of them showed anything about your encounters with the Water of Restart or about the time we were here" - said Gerardo, who after Dragonia was sealed had closely followed the manga and anime to see if their adventures were at least mentioned, besides of also wanting to know how the story ended. Needless to say, none of these events made any sort of appearance in either media.
- "In other words..." - said Yasha gulping - "Even if we read the manga or watched the anime... The things that happen in it wouldn't necessarily happen to us..." -
- "That's right" - said Roger shrugging his shoulders, sad about their disappointment - "There's no way to know what'll happen from now on" -
- "But then... How can our adventures continue if they already ended?" - asked Kagome confused.
- "Well, I think it's because here we're farther back in time than when both media end, and because this is a different possibility that could have happened" - said Henry after getting a sudden surge of inspiration - "In other words, this is one of the infinite parallel universes that exist out there" -
- "Allow me to explain. Basically, whenever we make a decision or an event with several possible results takes place, the timeline divides itself into two or more universes" - said Gerardo taking out a notebook and a pencil to then start drawing several lines on it, forming a diagram - "The manga and the anime are what we call the 'canon', which are the events that should be considered as true due to being made by their original author, or in other words, the core timeline of that particular universe" -
- "Ah, got it. I also know very well that parallel universe theory you're talking about from the science shows I've seen in the NHK" - said Kagome as she started following what they said - "In other words, this timeline we're in is one that won't necessarily follow what took place in the manga and anime, or the canon. Is that right?" -
- "Yeah, that's exactly it. I won't say that the events from that timeline won't happen for sure, but there's no way to say that they're likely to happen either" - said Gerardo as he added more lines and followed them with a finger - "And as a thought exercise, here are other possibilities of worlds that could exist out there: that Kagome first came to the Warring States Era when she was a child; that Inuyasha and Kikyou didn't get deceived by Naraku 50 years ago; or for something more radical... that any of you had been born in different places or eras from the ones you know, or that Inuyasha and Kagome were in swapped roles from the ones they have now... And like these, you can come up with countless other possibilities" -
- "Whoa... It's pretty complicated..." - said Inuyasha as he frowned and looked at the lines: now the diagram looked like a tree, which made it a bit harder to understand. Likewise, he was trying in vain to not imagine the hypothetical scenarios Gerardo had said, and from Kagome's expression, she was trying to do the same thing - "But if it serves no use to us, we shouldn't worry about it" -
- "Yeah, I agree" - said Gabriela smiling and shrugging - "Besides, we can't see or sense anything from these other worlds, so what happens in them is none of our business" -
- In any case, we better get going" - suggested Kagome - "At this rate, we won't be able to get to Dragonia before sundown" -
(BGM: None)
- "Just one last thing..." - asked Miko in a nervous voice - "What kind... of ending did that universe have...?" -
- "Well... We can't tell you the details for fear of causing a self-fulfilling prophecy and due to it possibly changing our relationships and those with the others in the Warring-States Era irreparably, but..." - began Gerardo with a mysterious and apologetic expression. Inuyasha, Kagome, Yasha and Miko looked at each other a bit scared and frustrated - "I can tell you it had a happy ending: Naraku is defeated, the Pearl disappears forever, and you all go on to have happy lives" -
(BGM: Hanyou Inuyasha)
This made them four sigh in relief.
- "Well, at least we know we have a happy future in that universe" - said Kagome as she smiled at Inuyasha.
- "Yeah! And we just gotta make sure we also have one in this world!" - said Inuyasha smiled determinedly.
- "Yeah! Let's make our own happy ending!" - exclaimed Miko enthusiastically. She then began chanting it, prompting Gabriela, Tiffany and Yasha to join her. The older ones didn't say anything, but they smiled from seeing their enthusiasm and happiness. They then finished their preparations and crossed the Well back to the Warring-States Era.
(End of Chapter)
(Ending: Every Heart – BoA)