Chapter 45

Third Person POV

A few months have past since Hikan's passing and the CPU's have gone back to their original lives, Vert is playing her MMO's, Noire is working constantly, Blanc is reading her books, and Neptune is being Neptune.

The non-CPUS have also gotten back to their own life, IF is working in the guild, Compa is now working as a nurse, and Shizuki is working as one of the top guild members in all the nation.

She completely blew past IF just because she aided in the fight in Leanbox and helped defeat Nagana.

Of course IF was jealous at first, but after a bit of time, she got over it.

Shizuki was now in her home in Planeptune by the Guild. She had a whole house to herself

It was close to midnight, she was in her living room in her comfort clothes, which consisted of just a purple night shirt and some black pajama pants, Her living room was pretty much standard living room looks, couch against the wall, windows, TV in front of the couch, and multiple doors leading to different rooms, Shizuki kept browsing the television until the news came on,

"The next report involves the death of the hero of Gamindustri, Hikan Masato, his body was discovered by the CPU's of Gamindustri and guild specialists Shizuki Noroi and IF, the CPU's themselves said that Hikan was killed in action by the new leader of The Saviors, Akumu, but is now deceased as well. The CPU's hosted a funeral about a month back for the hero and announced that the day that Hikan Masato passed is the day to remember him for all the lives he had saved, as well as the lives of the CPU's of Gamindustri." The news lady explained,

Shizuki immediately turned off the TV and stood up and stretched, after Hikan had passed, the CPU's and everyone went back and called an assembly in Planeptune and all of the people in each nation showed up,

They talked about all of the wars and everything that involved violence had ended and that the CPU's were no longer wanting to fight each other, they said everything that transpired and all the crisis's that happened, the last thing that they talked about was Hikan himself, the whole country of Gamindustri learned what Hikan did and thus gave him the title of "Hero of Gamindustri."

*Knock Knock!* There was a knock Shizuki's door, making her walk over to the door and opened it, behind the door was IF,

"Hey Shizuki, how have you been?" IF said and Shizuki yawned,

"I was about to go to sleep…" Shizuki answered and IF put her hand behind her back,

"Oh… sorry." IF apologized and Shizuki shook her head,

"Nah, don't worry about it, come on in." Shizuki said and IF walked in, she took off her boots and laid them next to the door, then followed Shizuki into the living room,

They both sat down on the couch, "How's work doing?" Shizuki asked IF and she shrugged,

"Same as always, I swear that there are more problems everyday." IF said and Shizuki laughed,

"I know that feeling, how has Compa and Neptune been? I haven't talked to them in a bit." Shizuki also asked,

"Compa's doing well, now that she got a job as a nurse." IF answered and Shizuki sat up,

"Really? She got a job as a nurse?" Shizuki said and IF nodded,

"Yeah, she works on the same days as me and we get off at the same time, we usually meet up before going back to her house." IF said and Shizuki nodded,

"And Neptune?"

"She's been working for Planeptune, amazing I know, she's gaining more shares everyday according to Histoire." IF said and Shizuki's eyes widened,

"I wonder if she's doing to forget about… you know." Shizuki said,

"Maybe, she really hasn't talked about it much, at the same time, she's usually not even home or if she is, she's asleep." IF replied and Shizuki started stretching and yawning,

"Alright, feel free to stay for a bit, but i'm going to sleep, work tired me out today…" Shizuki said and got off the couch,

"Alright, i'll take my leave as well, night Shizuki." IF said and Shizuki waved back,

"Yeah, see ya." Shizuki said and IF put her shoes back on and left, while Shizuki walked into her bedroom and layed in her bed, it was the same as her bed in Leanbox, purple blanket and black sheets.

Shizuki laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, deep sleep soon consumed her…


Over in Lastation...

Noire was finishing the last quest for today, she was in her CPU form and was taking out a horde of monsters in an abandoned factory,

"Perish!" she yelled, slaying the last few, then let out a deep breath,"Finally done." Noire said to herself, then started to fly back to her Basilicom.

While flying back, her mind started to drift, she had a good amount of shares and almost the most amount throughout the nations, but something else crept into her mind,

"Hikan…" she muttered, the man who had saved her many times in Lastation, he saved her from Kinoshita, he saved her from Akumu, he helped her in so many ways, not only that but Hikan was exactly like "him"...

"Gah! What am I even thinking!" Noire said to herself as she shook her head frantically, she still keeps thinking about Hikan over and over, even though it ended the exact same way.

"They're both dead…" Noire muttered quietly while flying, she remained speechless the rest of the way back to the Basilicom…


When she got back to the City of Lastation, she was already tired as it was and reverted back to her regular form, then started to walk back to the Basilicom.

On the way there, she couldn't stop thinking about Hikan, the things he said before they went to sleep,

"I'll help anyway I can." Those words rang through Noire's head, it's the same thing that "he" said,

"I promise i'll be back Noire, I'll help you anyway I can." Those were the last words that "he" said to Noire, before he came up missing.

"Why did this happen again…" Noire muttered to herself before shaking her head, "Gah! Why does this keep polluting my mind!" Noire yelled while grabbing her head, then started running back to the Basilicom.

Once she got back to the Basilicom, she started to go up to her personal quarters, but something stopped her before she opened the door,

On the other side of the door you could hear footsteps, something or someone was in Noire's room,

Noire slowly reached for the door handle and gripped it tightly, then slowly started to open it, the lights were on and Noire slowly poked her head into the room,

"..." sitting on her bed and going through the pages of one of Noire's books, was a cloaked figure, all he had was a black cloak and black pants and black boots.

Noire pulled her head out of the room and took a deep breath, then swung the door open and materialized her sword,

"Who are you and what are you doing in MY Basilicom!" Noire yelled and the cloaked man immediately looked over at her,

"..." he didn't say anything, he only stared at Noire, then he looked at the nearby window.

"Don't even think about it, I know this nation inside and out!" Noire warned and the cloaked figure dashed for the window, he jumped through it, causing the glass to shatter, and ran.

Noire dashed after him and climbed out the window, Noire watched where he went and ran around a building as a way to catch up to him, but when she turned the corner where they were suppose to meet, the cloaked figure wasn't there.

"Where did he?" answering her own question, she looked up and watched as the cloak man began to hop from building to building, Noire clenched her fists and then transformed.

*Ching!*

She flew to the sky and quickly caught up to him, the cloaked figure looked back only to dodge a slash from Noire's sword, he missed the jump to the next building and fell through to an alleyway.

*Crash!*

He landed on a bunch of trash that cushioned his fall, but wasn't able to get up in time because Noire had her sword pointed to his neck,

"Tell me who you are now." she stated and the cloaked figure looked at her, she couldn't see his face thanks to the darkness, "Well?"

"This is not the time for this yet Noire, you'll know me soon enough." The cloaked man spoke and materialized a sword, the sword was a long sword and this time had a straight white blade and a blue hilt, the blade sort of had a bluish color to it around the edges of the blade to make it sharper,

The cloaked figure knocked Noire's sword out of his way and quickly stood up, Noire regained her posture and dashed towards the cloaked figure, but he blocked it and the two were locked in a deadlock,

"This sword… how did you get it?!" Noire yelled at the cloaked figure, but the cloaked figure pushed her back and started to run up the side of the wall towards the roof of the building, Noire flew up the building to catch up with him, but as soon as she reached the top, the cloaked figure was waiting for her.

He sliced at her and forced Noire to dodge, she lost her footing and almost fell off the building, but something she wasn't expecting happened.

The cloaked figure dashed for Noire and when she tumbled over the building, he grabbed her hand and started to pull her up, once she was back on the building, he got up and walked away,

"Wait stop!" Noire yelled, but the cloaked figure ran off, when Noire flew over to where he went, but he was no longer there, "Who was he? And how did he get that sword?"

Noire kept this thought in mind as she flew back to her Basilicom, who was that guy? And why did he help Noire?

"That sword…" Noire said, that sword she knew very well, it was the one that saved her many times, when Noire was in trouble, the man holding that sword was help her… that was the sword of "Him"

Noire stayed silent the whole flight back and when she got back to the Basilicom, she went to her room and put the book that the cloaked figure was reading and put it on the desk by her bed, then looked at the window,

"Now I got to get a new window, thanks alot whoever you were!" she said and collapsed onto her bed, deep sleep soon consuming her…


Shizuki's POV

"*yawn*" I leaned up and started to rub my eyes, then stretched and looked down at my nightwear, looks like I toss and turn a lot… my shirt was unbuttoned and revealed my chest.

I got off the bed and went over to my closet to change back into my yukata, I quickly took off my clothes and put the yukata back on, when I looked on the mirror beside my closet, something didn't look right, my hair wasn't tied up.

I looked back in the closet and saw the red ribbon… the ribbon that Hikan gave me… I tied my hair back into another long ponytail and looked back into the mirror,

"Much better." I said with a smile, this ribbon reminded me of Hikan, I thought as long as I kept it with me, then Hikan would always be with me, I better get to the guild so I can start work.

After a short walk, I walked into the guild and the receptionist spotted me immediately,

"Ah, Shizuki perfect timing, you're scheduled to go to Leanbox today." The receptionist told me with a smile, I returned her smile with one of my own,

"Understood, thank you." I replied as I was about to walk out of the guild, but the receptionist stopped me,

"Wait Shizuki!" The receptionist called me, I turned back and tilted my head,

"Yeah?"

"At a token of your services, guild agent IF actually got you something. It should be outside now actually." The receptionist told me, IF got me a gift? I don't know what to say.

"I'll take a look right now, thanks again."

"No problem, good luck!"

I walked out of the guild and was greeted by an amazing sight.

In front of me was a motorbike, the main color was purple and the handles were black and the wheels looked like they would glow with an amethyst color, I walked over to it and the was a note on the seat.


Happy birthday Shizuki, think of this as an early birthday present, no need to thank me.

-IF


I folded the note and put it in my pocket, a smile formed across my face.

Again Hikan was right, I'm so glad that I was able to make friends, they help me whenever they can, I'll think of a way to thank IF later, even though she told me not too.

I hopped on the motorbike and turned the key in the ignition, which was conveniently waiting for me, and the bike roared to life, I pressed down on the gas and the bike started moving forward, this was the first time driving a bike and it was actually pretty easy.

I revved the engine once more before taking off in the direction to leave Planeptune, with this I'll make it to each nation no problem!


I made it to Leanbox in less than 30 minutes thanks to the new bike, I stopped outside the guild and walked into it, the receptionist saw me and waved at me,

"There you are Shizuki." The receptionist greeted and I waved at her,

"I was told I was needed here? Is something wrong?" I asked and the receptionist shook her head,

"No, Lady Green Heart summoned you here herself and asked us to tell you when you got here." She explained and I nodded

"Alright, I'll see what she needs, thank you." I said and the receptionist smiled at me again,

"Good luck."

I walked out of the guild and started to walk towards the Basilicom, I wonder what Vert wants with me?

When I got to the Basilicom, I walked in and a staff member was waiting for me.

"Ah, Lady Shizuki, Lady Green Heart has been waiting." The staff member told me and I waved at him,

"No need for formalities around me, just call me Shizuki." I told him and the staff member nodded,

"Understood."

"Anyway, what does Vert want with me?" I asked and the member pointed down the hall,

"She's in her room and is waiting for you."

"Thank you."

I walked down the hall towards Vert's room, but not without stopping to think first, I still can't believe how long I've gone, if Hikan wasn't there for me or if I never met him, then what would have happened?

I continued walking and then stopped in front of Vert's room, I knocked before opening the door, but I heard nothing, I knocked even louder and still heard nothing…

"Vert?" I called out and knocked again, still no answer, I put my hand in the door handle and opened it, when I walked into the room, Vert was awake, but she was on her computer, playing what seemed to be an MMO. She was calling out her fellow teammates.

it didn't look like she could hear me. I guess I'll sit down and wait…


About a few hours passed before Vert was finally done with her game, I fell asleep and Vert woke me up when she was finished, she brewed us some tea and we sat down on her bed,

"What did you need me for Vert?" I asked her and she smiled at me,

"I just called you over to talk a little bit." Vert said and I tilted my head, was that it?

"You know you can call me whenever you want, and I need to work." I said and Vert shook her head,

"I know, but I just wanted to check up on you, I know how close you and Hikan were, so I wanted to check on you." Vert said, I looked at the ground then looked at her,

"I'm fine Vert, I know Hikan being dead affected me a lot, but I'm passed that now, I'm not the little kid I once was." I explained while Vert listened, "Besides, Hikan wouldn't want us to stay upset, he would want us to be happy, sure his death hurts a lot, but we need to get over it eventually." I explained again,

"Fufufu, you may not see it now, but you have the look of Hikan." Vert said and I looked up at her, "I won't take up anymore of your time, you can leave whenever you want."

"Thanks Vert." I said and hugged her, i'm glad that she was looking out for me, when Hikan died I used to hide in my room and sit in there, everyone tried to talk to me, but I pushed them away and eventually they gave up, but Vert kept trying to get me to open up and she did one day.

After I stopped hugging Vert, I left the Basilicom and started back to the guild, time to see if there is any ACTUAL work…


Ozaki's POV

After everything that has happened, I still can't believe this, Hikan has been killed…

"I thought the poor bastard was invincible..." one of my soldiers told me, we were all in the barracks and were awaiting orders, only Lady Blanc never sends us out on anything, so we just go on with our daily lives and meet up in the barracks occasionally,

"None of us are invincible, but he died to not only save the CPU's, but the whole country of Gamindustri." I told him, the soldier smiled and looked in the air,

"I'm grateful for that, I'd rather not die to be honest." he said with a laugh, I started laughing too,

"Yeah, obviously."

"I'll see you later Captain, i'm gonna head home." the soldier said and I replied with a nod,

"Yeah, see you later." I replied and he walked out, I stood up and stretched a little bit, maybe I'll go see Lady Blanc before I head back home, see how she's doing.

I walked out of the barracks and into the Basilicom, they were pretty much have side by side, it's just a short walk away.

I went straight towards Lady Blanc's room and knocked in the door.

"Lady Blanc, it's me, Ozaki." I said and I heard her through the door,

"Come in."

I walked through the door and Lady Blanc was sitting on her bed and was reading a book like always, she does this lately to calm her down, so there might be something wrong…

"Lady Blanc, are you alright? I stopped by to check in on you." I said and she looked up from her book,

"I'm fine Ozaki, there's no need to check up on me." She stated quietly, something tells me that's not true.

"Are you sure, I mean you've been more quiet than usual and you almost never talk with anyone, not even the other CPU's or me." I explained and Lady Blanc shot me a glare,

"I said I'm fine! So stop asking me already!" She yelled, I stared at her for a second then started to walk up to her,

"It's Hikan isn't it?" I asked her and her eyes widened, "you've been quiet ever since he sacrificed himself for all of us."

"Shut the hell up!"

"It's alright Lady Blanc… No, it's alright Blanc, there's no need to act tough about this, even I'm upset that he's gone."

"Stop it…"

"There's no need to hide it." I said as I sat down next to her, "just tell me everything."

The next thing I knew, Lady Blanc had tears in her eyes and she set her book aside, she looked back up at me,

"Ozaki… Why did he do that… Why did he have to die!" Lady Blanc said through her tears,

"He did it to save all of us, he's our savior." I answered and Lady Blanc buried her head in my chest and began to sob, I hugged her and patted her head,

"I miss him so much…" She said and I nodded,

"I know…" I said as I continued to hold her as she sobbed…

After about twenty minutes, Lady Blanc stopped crying and was back to her old self,

"Thank you Ozaki." She stated and I smiled at her,

"No problem Lady Blanc, I'll take my leave now." I said as I headed for the door,

"Okay." She said quietly and picked up the book she was previously reading, I took one last look behind me and saw what book she was reading

The Lightning Thief huh? Isn't that the series she bought Hikan when he was still in Lowee?

I walked out the door of Lady Blanc's room and out of the Basilicom, time to go home and sleep huh?

I looked back up into the sky and closed my eyes, Hikan… To think that when we first met we were enemies, but now we were friends, and now you're dead… Was it worth it?

A gust of warm wind blew across my face, which isn't something that happens in Lowee, is that Hikan saying something?

I continued walking until I got back to my house and walked through the front door, my house really wasn't anything special, all I really want was a place to sleep and a roof over my head,

I walked into my bedroom and flopped down on my bed, my eyes grew heavy immediately and I fell asleep shortly after...


A/N: Here's the new chapter! I apologize for the late upload, but I wanted to upload today just because The Journey is almost done, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see you guys and girls later!