Ch. 6. The Zombies that embody the "Connected All Along" Trope
For several long seconds, Tae Yamada could only stare at the utterly unexpected information that had jumped out at her. Out of all the information she could have expected to find out, this was not one of those things. More than any horrifying detail about the Curse or the Sagako, this stunned her beyond belief.
Her best friend Yuko Hyodo had indeed come back from being sealed in an onion. Just as she had hoped, her sacrifice had not been in vain. The stunning part was the wedding photo she saw, with Yuko marrying a young tall and handsome man she knew only vaguely from memory. A man with the last name of Minamoto. There was even a rather flummoxed Eikichi in the background (poor kid), trying hard to keep up with a world that bewildered his somewhat slow to catch on mind. It was not long at all after Tae's death, less than a year after it actually. That alone had sent the gears turning in her head, but it took only the next click to hit her with the stunning truth all at once.
There was an adorable picture of 2 proud and adoring parents holding a sweet little baby in their arms. A child that even now was reflecting her wonderful mother's pure smile with childlike innocence. A little girl that had the beginnings of pink hair that would one day grow into flowing hair down her shoulders.
Hanako's notes below gave an admiring summation of how happy they all were at the new arrival. Such a sweet little angel who would surely grow up to do great things. How it had been a blessing on the kid's arrival into life. On April 2nd of 1991. With the name of Sakura since her hair resembled the color of Sakura cherry blossoms.
If Tae had been cursed with heart problems while alive (she hadn't thankfully), it would've been a blessing that her undead body couldn't react to a sudden heart attack brought upon by shock (poor Lily). As it was, she just sat there in stunned silence. Could this really be happening? In all her many years of unnatural adventures, this … this never happened to her or her little group. During this, she noticed another link near the bottom dated many years later, and curiosity won out with a desperate need to know more even though she had already grasped the truth. But she was still struggling to reconcile the facts about her best friend from the past and the impossibly far-fetched connection with her fellow zombie in the Mansion right now.
This time, the curiosity did NOT kill the cat (she was already dead anyways). A news article about a high-schooler killed when a truck-driver accidentally ran her over. The poor driver in question having turned himself for manslaughter out of guilt in spite of the fact that he claimed that he'd "mysteriously" been blinded by a sudden flash of light that prevented him from stopping in time. She'd died on April 7, 2008. The photos below showed a much older couple from before grieving bitterly over their lost child at a funeral. A teenage girl shown in another photo wearing a school uniform and long pink hair and bright blue eyes. Details matching the zombie in Franchouchou with that exact same uniform and overall appearance since they were one and the same. Sakura Minamoto was the daughter of Yuko Hyodo, Tae's best friend in life.
The now long deceased and more recently revived Tae let out a haggard breath, causing Ai to look at her in concern. The Tokyo idol did not say anything, but continued to watch silently in concern in case whatever her friend uncovered was going to trigger something, Tae had always been full of surprises, now more than ever.
A very big wave of emotions washed through Tae's very soul as she processed this. As she pulled up a photo of her with Yuko and the rest of the group, sadness and then rage filled her at how the Curse had truly been deliberately cruel to poor Sakura all her life. Her death was no accident and her life cut short before getting out of high school. Not just any girl but sweet Yuko's little girl, the brightest light in the Busters as they fought to save Saga and the world from an ancient evil. Hadn't she suffered enough, being trapped in an onion and then freed only for Tae to be dead? She had no point in continuing their shared dream of being idols after that. And now the Curse had taken her child from her years later, a girl who also wanted to sing, when the Sagako were long dead and gone.
But, in some strange twist, Sakura for some reason had been included in this zombie project for no apparent reason. She had a chance to sing now, make her mark, which she had. A lot like Tae herself, actually. They'd performed together, lived together, and done a lot of whacky unordinary things together. This whole time she'd been performing with the daughter of her best friend. A daughter who shared the dream of her mother and … her …
Tae merging with Magatsuhi to kill them both had been an ironic and poetic situation. A girl who'd lost her childhood and innocence due to the Curse and her foolish parents, and the poor monster who'd done it and been given a permanent childlike existence due to the nature of its birth. Perhaps the lingering effect from that event had been why Tae hadn't awakened right away. Her own soul and the ex-Sagako's essence struggling to make sense of things inside her corpse, even though she'd been slowly and steadily coming back. And now she was.
Well now, perhaps that childlike spirit channeled its positive emotions alongside those of its "mother figure". Regardless, Tae suddenly began to be filled with a positive, gleeful, utterly overjoyed, and filling up with optimistic energy she had not felt in a very long time. And her face and voice and body began to show it. Clasping her hands together, her mouth stretched into a very wide and utterly ecstatically joyful smile while her red eyes glinted with delight. She laughed in a gleeful and very girly sounding way. Tae Yamada looked like a little girl who had just gotten the best birthday gift of her life. Like the happy, optimistic child she'd once been before that one awful birthday.
Ai took a step back at the sound of this unfamiliar and foreign noise coming from Tae, and hesitantly took a step forward to look at Tae's face. She felt utterly bewildered and even afraid of this. Not once had she seen Tae look act like this, not when she was mindless or now. It looked so out of place on their mysterious and scary No. 0.
"Uhhh … Tae, are you alright?"
Rising and turning towards Ai, still grinning with very genuine joy, Tae replied, "I assure you, Ai-chan, I am feeling better than ever! And now, I'm going to share the joy with our dear Sakura!" She moved towards the open door and moved swiftly down the hall.
Very much at a loss for words, Ai turned towards the computer and decided to see what could've possibly produced such a reaction in their terrifying Tae. Her own eyes widened at the sight of a still alive Tae standing in a group of young women, right next to a blonde woman with a bright smile, contrasting greatly against the serious expression on Tae's face. She then pulled up the other links that were still up. Her jaw might've dislocated if it weren't for the number of bandages over it.
Ai Mizuno's undead eyes practically shrank to pinpricks as she realized exactly what Tae had just uncovered. An impossible connection to her big fan from Saga, who'd looked up to her and been such an inspiration to all of them in turn, even Tae. But … since when did this sort of thing happen in real life?
"This … this can't be real. Even with all the crazy stuff Tae told us … could it?" The Tokyo idol turned Saga Zombie mystery idol glanced towards the door and then back at the computer. She picked up the laptop and got up to follow Tae.
In the mansion's living room, the rest of the group were gathered. While Yugiri and Junko stood at the edge, Saki and Lily sat together on one of the couches while Sakura sat alone in an armchair near one of the doors lost in thought. All these revelations were both a relief and a new weight of anxiety on the poor young pinkette's shoulders. On the one hand, she herself wasn't a jinx for her friends or herself. But on the other, she had been given bad luck her whole life for some vile reason until she died. Not just her, but all of them. And none of them had ever known except Tae and Yugiri to a lesser extent. This would take time to process, and she didn't really think she was sure how she would be of use to them.
Suddenly, the door blew right off its hinges, startling all of them, especially Sakura who was nearest to it. She gave a startled yelp as she turned to look behind her. Tae stood in the now empty door frame, having punched the door right off the hinges. The ravenette terror of a zombie slowly walked up to the chair with her head bowed. Sakura trembled somewhat nervously while the rest of them looked on with a degree of apprehension as she approached. They had seen Tae leap at, manhandle and scare her before, but she had never truly hurt Sakura before, and was probably even less likely to do so now. Sakura watched slowly as Tae Yamada came to face her from the side of her chair.
Tae raised her head, stunning all of them with a truly uncharacteristically bright grin and shimmering eyes. Then she pulled Sakura towards her for a hug," Come here! "Giggling in a girly, cheerful manner, she swung her around in a full circle twice. "You sweet springtime sweetheart child! Of course, you're related to her! It was right there the whole TIME!" Poor Sakura was at a loss for words, while the other 4 looked on in bewilderment. Yugiri at the least was starting to smile, although even she could not see the truth.
"Um, Tae, I really don't know what you-"the girl in question tried to get in, only for Tae to set her down in the middle of the room and look at her with a delighted expression. Her red eyes shone with emotion and had tears in the corners, happy tears.
"Oh, I've just had the happiest news I've had for a long time! All this time after coming back to life, even when I wasn't full capacity, you were there! The daughter of my best friend in life, Yuko Hyodo!"
Silence dawned for several seconds as this new information sank in. Saki looked flabbergasted to an unprecedented degree while Lily's heart popped (again) while covering her mouth with both hands. Junko's jaw dropped comically low. Yugiri's mouth turned into a full smile even as she brought her hands up to her chest, while her eyes widened. Sakura's face just froze in an expression that screamed incomprehension. Then, quietly, not daring to believe such an impossible truth, she whispered a tentative question.
"How …how do you know my mother's family name?"
All of them now looked on with dawning comprehension at this. Yugiri started to chuckle while Junko covered her heart as she let out a sharp breath. Saki stood up and peered at the 2 zombies standing inches apart, one in disbelief and the other with child-like delight.
"For real, Tae? This *&*% is really true?!"
"Yes, it is," an amused voice came from the doorway, and they saw Ai standing there smiling and holding the laptop towards them. Sakura gasped very loudly, and she leaned forward. There was a picture of Tae, alive and well with her hair much straighter and her eyes different, but still familiar. And she was standing next to a cheerful blonde-haired girl with golden eyes. It was a younger version of her mother.
Chuckling as the group crowded around, Ai let them take it in and then pulled up the other articles, confirming Tae's theory 100%. Saki shook her head in amazement and chortled as she laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Who could've predicted that? All of them were now smiling, except Sakura, who still could not believe her eyes. Slowly, she looked at Tae, who was still grinning widest of all.
"Of course, you're her daughter! Just like her, you're smart and top of the class! You've got a heart of pure gold, even in a situation involving zombies and a crazy manager! Just like how she cared so much to the point where she even cared for those poor creatures the Curse created, hoping one day to help them! You've been so good to me and all of us just like how she was to me, sticking by my side from when we were both so much younger! She helped me smile at my day job when no one else could get me to and worked it with me. The closest person I ever had to a family outside of MJ and now … her little girl is here, who shares the dream she and I had. Fulfilling that dream of all 3 of us right now, when she never got the chance to do it with me! I … if she could stand here right now, I would bet everything I ever owned she would be so proud of you!" Tae looked at Sakura with tears flowing freely from her eyes with a proud smile.
Sakura's face slowly went from shock to a painfully awkward smile as tears of her own began to form. "Is this ... for real? This sort of thing… never happens to me …"
Lily wiped away tears of her own as she replied," Why on Earth shouldn't it?" as her childish eyes stared at this unbelievably heartwarming sight.
"Mom … mentioned a friend a few times when we talked about my dream … who never got the chance to sing … and she's standing right before me? …"
Tae nodded vigorously," Of course! I just proved it didn't I?! Why is that so hard to accept?!"
Sakura was now holding her hands to her head," It's just … what did I ever do to deserve such a thing?"
Tears now pouring down her own face as she tried hard (and pointlessly) to hold them back, Saki ground out," Oh c'mon Egg-head, what DIDN'T you do to deserve it?!"
"I agree, this is something you deserve very much!" Junko said in an attempt to sound like her usual calm self but there was a very strong tremor of emotions in the Showa idol's voice as she looked on with closed eyes and a radiant smile.
Yugiri stepped up, letting some rare tears come out as she kept on smiling, "Sakura-han, perhaps this is all the proof you need to know that the world is not punishing you for trying. It was just an evil Curse the whole time. Never your fault at all."
Ai wiped her own eyes and added the final blow to Sakura's doubts," It looks like you have some good luck after all!"
Finally, the dam of negativity broke, and Sakura looked back at Tae, and a smile of her own started to break out even as she started sobbing at the idea that the world would give her such a gift and she embraced Tae, a friend of her mother's that she would never have guessed was right there the whole time and sobbed and laughed. Tae patted her firmly on the back even as she kept smiling and sobbing herself and she subtly beckoned to everyone else to join in. All of Franchouchou eagerly came forward and gave a big group hug to the girl who'd been the heart and soul of their team since the beginning.
After they separated, Ai turned towards Tae and asked a pertinent question, "I have to ask though, Tae-chan, what tipped you off to this in the first place?"
Still smiling, Tae responded," I think I'll just show you. Let's take a trip."
Not long after, the group was gathered in a local graveyard. Saki had quietly persuaded the caretaker to let the group have some privacy, which didn't take much since the group was popular even to him. He guaranteed they could be there undisturbed and didn't even have to be bribed. Tae then showed them her unexpected discovery.
All of them gazed down at the unexpected clue to the family link between 2 of their best members. Sakura looked almost reverently at how her family grave was right next to Tae's as she knelt in front of the 2 memorials. Side by side, perhaps fate itself hinted at what had come about. Girls from 2 families, both who should by all logic be long gone along with every name represented on both stones, yet now standing here in front of them. Both their names were inscribed on the rocks, so there was no questioning the authenticity. Of course, as Tae had made clear, even she had not expected that much of a connection.
"I haven't been here since I was young … mother used to take me right here, at least once a year or more. I never understood the whole thing … why didn't she tell me more? …" the young Minamoto teenager whispered.
"To be fair to her, how do you talk about something like that to a child, much less a genuine local horror story? I bet it hurt too much to dwell on, especially since you started following in our footsteps with the same dream. But she loved you, no doubt about it. That was the Yuko I knew," Tae replied while looking down with a fond smile.
Saki was still trying to wrap her head around this. "Still, to think that your freaking family graves were already side by side like this. What are the odds?"
"Maybe its fate. We were meant to be here right now. And I love it," the heiress of the Yamada family proclaimed. Indulging their curiosity, she had Ai pull up the website and she decided to share more about her group. She told them not only more about Yuko, but the other 2 girls beside them. Anna Shuri, who'd been a wild homeless runaway who'd lived a lough life of crime and become the group's martial artist expert after coming to Saga. A familiar looking pink-haired woman in a lab coat who was the team's mad scientist and weapons creator, plus other "wacky" inventions. This woman was in fact THE Hanako Hakase who'd become so world renowned, which stunned Ai and Sakura, who also recognized as a family friend she'd known as a little girl who made her laugh and encouraged the bright child in her studies. She surprised Yugiri by showing MJ in another picture with her, visibly younger looking than she'd ever seen him. Apparently, Saga's hidden immortal's physical appearance was tied to the state of Saga itself, which was rather sobering to think about. Rather mischievously, Tae revealed another bombshell by having Ai pull up a later photo of Yuko's replacement in the group, her little brother Eikichi.
"My funny Uncle Eikichi was part of the group too?!" Sakura's expression was adorably hilarious to look at, which they all chuckled at.
Looking rather nostalgic, Tae looked up at the sky," Yeah, that lovable idiot. He could never keep himself from saying something stupid, especially to me. I would punch him all the time because of that. That dumb teenager did not know how to act normally at all. But he was sweet in his own dorky way, and he ended up wanting me to have happiness again in my life. He also had such a crush on me, despite me being over 10 years older than him," Tae looked away at that last part, blushing at the mutual feeling she still felt.
Several of the girls giggled at this, and a visibly delighted Saki leaned towards Sakura and proclaimed, "Well, I guess that means if Tae had lived, you would've had her as an aunt!" Sakura sputtered at the idea while Saki howled at her expression. Tae covered her face with embarrassment, but could not hide her own smile, something Yugiri noticed with knowing eyes.
Taking another look at the photo of said boy, Saki remembered something from her childhood, "That guy looks like this dork I ran into with my bike when I was 10 because he wasn't watching where he was going. Doofus was muttering a lot about how he wasn't needed or wanted, so I slapped him and told him to make his own decisions. Hope he listened." Rolling her eyes, she glanced at Tae who was looking at her with raised eyebrows.
"What year was this?"
"1989, why?" Saki was offended when Tae began to guffaw, then was blindsided yet again when she realized why Tae was laughing hard at the information, since they were talking about the same dork.
"Oh my, so Eikichi got some advice not only from all of us and MJ, but a local 10-year-old girl who was already a tough child? Maybe he always needed strong women in his life, not just older but younger! Well, Saki-chan, looks like I owe you one for giving him some needed perspective!" Saki blinked, at a loss for words, at the utterly bizarre compliment as Sakura gave her a hug for helping her uncle. Even for a girl like her who'd never grasped the concept of normal as applicable to herself and was now living an unnatural lifestyle, this struck her as straining the laws of credulity. She did feel better as she remembered a talk she'd had with Tae yesterday and felt a bit more validated about her life not being a total waste.
Emboldened by that little story, Tae brought out some more stories with pictures from Hanako's files, including one at a local high school that their friend Mai Mai had gone to. Lily gasped at the photo before Tae could go into details and exclaimed in shock, "Is that Lily-chan's Pappy and Mama?!" Taken aback, they all stared closer. Sure enough, Tae and Eikichi were standing next to a younger looking Takeo Go and a pretty, smiling girl with familiar-looking blue hair. Tae was smiling in the photo in a way they were all coming to know in the present.
As everyone turned towards the ravenette, the bewildered zombie revealed that the tough-looking young teen had revealed that a certain Curse was preventing romance for everyone at the school, such as love letters being mysteriously replaced or people being prevented from confessing their feelings. The Busters then had Tae and Eikichi draw out the Sagako responsible in the form of a creepy school mannequin and allowed Takeo to confess to Sachika, the first girl to see the sweetheart underneath his gruff frightening exterior. And she had said yes to his marriage proposal right then and there.
Her adorable face overflowing with tears, Lily glomped onto Tae tightly. "Oh, Big Sis Tae, thank you so much! You helped Lily's parents fall in love! Thank you thank you thank you!" Tae, taken aback at the blue-haired child hugging her, patted her on her head and assured her that she would do it a million times over. Saki chuckled as she stared fondly at the child who she teased so much but arguably cared for even harder.
Sakura suddenly let out a gasp as an even more wonderful epiphany hit her. "I just realized … I said over a year ago that the 7 of us would never have met otherwise because we were all from different times … but now it turns out the whole group has connections to 1 or more of the others … maybe that's why we are all now here together!"
It was quite true. This week alone was proof of that. Tae being a fan of Junko's and being connected to more than one person from Yugiri's old life (one of whom was still around), and now to Sakura. Even Saki had just now been shown a connection with Tae, so even she couldn't feel left out. And Lily owed her family and her very existence to both Tae and someone from Sakura's family! Who would've ever thought that such a concept could apply so positively to the living dead?
The tallest and most mystical of the group pondered back to a thought she'd been dwelling on back when she'd been here the last time but hadn't had time to process due to the tomb discovery. But now, she felt the idea grow in her and she just had to share. "I know one thing I'm going to request of my Dad when we get through this, and he just might agree. I want him to officially adopt all 6 of you, so he has not just 1 daughter but 7!" Smiling radiantly at their dumbstruck expressions, she continued. "That poor old immortal could finally have children who wouldn't have to leave him behind anymore. I'm sure you would all enjoy the incomparable number of stories he's collected over the years, and we could stay here, maybe even in the Mansion, forever! Plus, if we do get to go on a world tour, we can do whatever we want, more than anyone else in this world ever could! Doesn't that sound wonderful?" The ravenette legend's eyes sparked with tears (she was crying so much today) as she gazed down at the girls whom she would love to consider official siblings.
It was a wonderful possibility, one that none of them had begun to consider yet. But that truly did sound wonderful. Gradually, all 6 of them began to feel that it would be delightful to actually consider themselves as family, although perhaps they already had been doing that for quite some time. They had gone from just working together to forming very close bonds. Tae beamed even brighter as she could see all of them agreeing with her idea, first with their eyes and then out loud.
Yugiri sighed as she looked at the other mature woman who had also been feeling like a young child again because of this group. "I would like that. Truly, Kiichi's vision of a Saga where anyone can laugh and live the way they want just might become a reality after all."
Tae knew that name quite well from her old man's story and noted that Yugiri had for once referred to someone without an honorific. Well, she just had to hear about such a classic love story from the woman herself. Standing over Yugiri with a coy grin, she stated dramatically, "Well, I for one would love to hear from the legendary woman herself this local love story of epic proportions! Did he really fall head over heels for you when he returned a pinwheel you'd just lost and then go out of his way to get you a present?"
Taken aback by Tae having been told this information by Jofuku, Yugiri hesitated, only to notice everyone else staring with hopeful eager expressions. Lily and Sakura in particular were now sitting in front of her like children expecting a story at school. Ah well, children were always so precious to her, and who better to tell her story to, now long forgotten by most.
So, she did, telling them about the young man who'd been so adorably smitten with her at first sight, and come calling, being the first man in Saga (perhaps ever) to treat her as someone other than just a legendary oiran, which won her heart in turn. How he'd painted a vision of a Saga where everyone, no matter their class or status, could be happy and laugh and enjoy life, and Saga would not fade. She had joined his side as support, getting to know his best friend Shojiro Ito (sadly less supportive of the dream) and a mysterious old man named Jofuko who claimed to be Saga as well as Kiichi's adoptive grandfather who had taken him in after his parents had died due to some wars in 1874 in which some samurai revolted. 2 years later Saga had been divided between Mizuma and Nagasaki and virtually no longer existed. Unfortunately, Kiichi's well-meant and peaceful intentions were not shared fully by his cohorts, who thought violence was the only way to reclaim Saga. But then Ito had turned out to be a government spy sent to keep the peace from the shadows, having slaughtered the rebels, stating bitterly that he saw no other way of keeping the pace in these turbulent times. Yugiri had emerged from the shadows and saved Kiichi, and gotten him to flee to Nagasaki to some friends of hers where he could lead his revolution in safety. Ito confronted her, where she revealed her hidden legacy as a feared samurai of mystery. He fell to one quick fatal blow, only to reveal he had deliberately let her win, since he admired his friend's dream the whole time and died. Yugiri had then quietly taken the blame for the failed revolution and been beheaded, content with her fate and dying smiling and happy that Kiichi's wonderful vison had a chance, having left Jofuku a letter explaining things and asking that he not tell Kiichi of her fate. Sure enough, Saga was restored by 1883. And now years later, she was back from the dead and had gotten reacquainted with Jofuku, still around and keeping a photo of her, Kiichi and Ito in his bar. She had told him she intended to choose her own path in this new Saga and walk it. And after all this time, she still wore that gift she'd been given in another time, a red comb that she kept in her hair.
Sakura was crying tears of sympathy and awe at such a "lovely and tragic tale" of true love. Lily was right there with her as they both hugged her. Ai and Junko both stared in quiet appreciation while Saki grinned proudly at her cool "Big Sis", although she couldn't help but feel envious of what she'd gotten to enjoy, however temporarily.
"No wonder the old man likes that story so much!" Tae shook her head as she glanced at the woman who could've married an older brother of hers had things gone differently, now long forgotten by the modern Saga and the world at large.
Yugiri gave a small, reserved laugh and then looked at her newfound sister. "Yes, he is very grateful to me because of that. It's part of the reason I was included in Kotaro-han's plan in the first place. And I'm very glad to be here now with all of you. Although, "her dignified face turned melancholy," it is quite disheartening to realize that the ideal for saving this place is even more complex and tragic than Kiichi-han or I realized. Even more so that you've revealed just how dangerous it can be."
Letting out a groan that carried years of frustration in it, Tae went over to sit by Yugiri and Sakura, flexing her pale fingers. For a moment, she just sat there, lost in thought and when she finally looked up, all of them were sitting by her in solidarity. Oh, how she loved these girls! "True, and the Sagako were the first time the Curse had ever gone to such lengths to achieve its goal. Before that, it was a very lengthy list of methods that everyone else could easily write off as "natural", like natural disasters, famines that came out of nowhere, and wars. I hesitate to think what it will conjure up next after our latest victory."
That was a sobering thought, especially to the timider girls in the group. Junko spoke up and asked if she had any ideas of how strange it might be. Tae had Ai pull up photos and illustrations Hanako had on file of the Sagako they'd fought. It was one thing to hear Tae's varying descriptions of them from her mouth, another to see them depicted. She had not been exaggerating at all. Some resembled mutant giant animals or Japanese mythical creatures, while the rest were just plain mixed and weird. From living shapes to a few that were modern looking such as the mannequin from the high school and a creepy little cassette robot and some that looked straight out of a "cute" anime. During this, Tae mentioned that the locals, some at least, were aware that something odd was going on and frequently contacted her group to deal with it.
Ai tapped her chin in thought," Perhaps they were so varied because they were made to prey on ideas that reflected on what the people of Saga felt, old ideas and new. Maybe the Curse … 'evolves' its attacks to try and destroy Saga?"
Having listened intently to her fellow 80s girl, Junko once again showed her observant side, "If the locals knew about this like you said, perhaps some assistance from the older generation could be of help? And if we're going to get any help right now with planning, might I suggest we bring Maimai in on this? Her intelligence would be valuable."
Her pride at her idols showing their capabilities turned somewhat awkward when her old teammates were brought up as help. Looking away, the ravenette remarked," I don't know. It's been over 30 years for them, and Hanako has gotten the renown she deserved for her skills. Who knows where the rest of them are now? Do I really want to bring them back into this? Just seeing me might trigger a lot of bad emotions."
Sakura tentatively suggested," I'm sure my family wouldn't mind, and if Uncle Eikichi was that close to you, I bet he'd jump at the chance to help!"
Fondly remembering the awkward but loveable teen who'd helped rekindle her desire to live, Tae remembered one little detail, "Well, maybe, but I hope he's learned to stop saying the wrong thing since then. He had no grasp of social skills, and he would say the wrong thing at the wrong time over and over and I would punch him HARD for it. One time I mentioned the idol dream his sister and I shared, and he laughed at it. So, if he still laughs at it now, which not only his sister but his niece shared, who's a zombie idol with me, I will not hesitate to do it again."
Looking mortified at the idea, poor Sakura would've replied but Saki intervened. "Not if you let me give him a lecture first! Egg-head here has had enough crap in her life trying to perform not to mention Shades mocking her a lot, so I sure as Hell am not going to let her uncle do it!"
Snorting at the idea, Tae lead them back, telling an amusing incident where Hanako had tried a love potion and seduction technique on Eikichi after an awkward meal involving a dating discussion, which they all laughed at. Ai incredulously asked If she was a scientist or a sorceress, which Tae responded to by saying probably both and listed some of her many Buster inventions.
The female genius in question had been in a Saga hotel earlier that day when she noticed an alert on one of her old file systems. While she was notoriously bad at deleting old passwords or files, she had an unparalleled security alert system. Pulling it up, she saw an alert that a breach, while not an outright hack, was local and very old data was involved. Her intelligent eyes widened when the location was at the old mansion.
Frantically pulling up local plans, she was alarmed to discover that the old Headquarters had not only been rebuilt since 1989 but had just been rebuilt less than a month ago after the flood. Both times it had been owned by that mysterious local idol group that came out of nowhere, Franchouchou. A group of enigmatic girls who had done astoundingly well at revitalizing the prefecture. One of the most popular members of the group, No. 0, looked almost like a perfect match for her deceased leader and friend Tae Yamada. Except she acted rather wild and feral instead of the smart and proud woman Hanako had known. Not to mention she'd heard nothing from MJ about anything related to the Curse in recent times, so what was going on?
Shaking her head, she called up her old friend Anna Shuri, who'd taken a long vacation from her well-earned position of police chief in one of Tokyo's toughest suburbs to help with Saga's predicament. Filling her in on the details, the old friends agreed something was going on. They would investigate.
Elsewhere in Saga, the center of the new version of Iron FrilL Shiori Baba was leading her group in helping out Saga as appreciation for their rivals, Franchouchou, who had proven quite the group. Checking her phone, she saw a message from the intriguing No. 3 of said group. Clicking it, she saw that it was a cryptic note from her to pass on a message of reassurance from a 'local source' about Ai's death to the original group to help provide some closure with some details said source knew about their journey to Saga along with some local lore. Confused, she nonetheless passed it on to them, not envisioning the emotional response that would soon follow.
Franchouchou spent a lot more time that day bonding, talking, going out into Saga, learning and more. It was fun and a wonderful time for bonding. Even though they had just gone through a trying time of revelation, they remained committed to their "sisterhood" of solidarity and support.
That night, Tae lay down, content. Sakura and Yugiri snuggled right up next to her, followed by the rest. They all slowly settled down to dream, but their dreams were not normal. Maybe the hidden supernatural essence of Tae Yamada began to work its good luck, or the universe was throwing them a bone. Either way, they were about to have the most vivid dream of their lives, that wasn't just a dream.
While 4 of them woke up on a green hill next to a stream, 3 woke in a certain clearing nearby. Tae, Yugiri and Sakura stood up, confused, and wearing their usual outfits. For a moment, they just gazed around at the serene daylight settings, and then at each other. They were all wearing their usual outfits, but with a normal human appearance (Tae's hair remained black but her eyes were now purple once again). After gazing around, Yugiri's russet eyes widened, and she gazed at the landscape.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is the Saga I knew in the Meiji Era." Sure enough, this was old school Japanese style buildings with Pagodas and pre-20th century style buildings around. It was a lot less modern but still charming from a time without the problems of the future. By this point the other 4 girls were watching the other 3 from a nearby hill.
"But Yugiri, why would we be here now? Is this a dream?" Sakura asked. Yugiri had no answer to this. But then she heard a voice she hadn't heard or dared to hope of ever hearing again, and it was one of the biggest shocks she would ever feel.
"Oh, Yugiri-san, if it's a dream, it is a dream where you get to walk in the Land of the Dead! Where you 7 girls see those you love for once!" She turned, her eyes wide and face very surprised at the sight of Kiichi Momozaki and his friend Shojiro Ito looking just as she remembered them in front of an old shrine model building. She stepped forward, hardly daring to believe the sight of her long lost love.
"Kiichi-han?!" She said loudly, as the rest of her idol friends stared, realizing who the red-headed man was, who looked and sounded a lot like their manager in another time, only softer and more boyish. He tried hard to smile endearingly only to fail as she got closer and he turned awkward again, and she raised an eyebrow even as Shojiro facepalmed. As she turned to him, the young best friend and regretful secret spy promptly apologized to her on his knees for having tried to stop his friend's dream and hers, and having contributed to her own death and his friend's life away from her and Saga, since no woman had ever taken her place in his heart, and it only got more sorrowful coming here years later and watching him learn all that he had learned about just how much was really at stake with Saga."As a samurai, even my own death is never enough to atone for my mistake, Yugiri-san, but I am truly sorry." She sighed and made him stand up.
"Please, Shojiro-san, I forgave you a long time ago. But am I to infer you all know about what's gone on since?"
"Of course, Yugiri-nee-san, we all have!" Her eyes went wide at the child's voice, and she looked to the side and saw the 3 kamuros from Hibiya along with the Proprietor and Madam from Tokyo who sent her off, along with virtually every inhabitant of Saga she knew and loved gathered in the nearby street. For a long moment, she just stared and then walked forward as the 3 girls she'd keft behind who loved her so, followed by her dance students and more came forward, and she let those 3 girls hug her as they and everyone else spoke up about how they missed her, and how indignant they'd been at the Legendary beauty they all came to know and love had been forgotten by the world after saving Saga, and her 3 young proteges along with the 3 from Saga went on about how much they loved watching her dance on Earth.
She raised an eyebrow at that, and smiled as she stood up. "Is that so?" Her fellow zombie were happy to see that she was not forgotten in the afterlife at least, and Tae and Sakura glanced at Kiichi, who was looking truly happy, and he gasped as he noticed them, which caught Yugiri's attention and he tried to add to it,"Your skills as a legendary dancer and singer were not exaggerated, Yugiri!" She smiled with a questioning look to her eyes, eyes that had long learned to discern men in romantic acts. He stumbled as she asked if she really meant that much that he never found another girl.
"N-none of them wre you …" he said sadly, and then went off into a quiet mumble about he felt bad about her not enjoying the Saga he wanted, especially for the beautiful woman (he used the word "celestial maiden" which raised her eyebrows heavily and got snickers from a certain homeless local) who came from a different world to find a new home. Then he looked up after realizing the sheer silence, and how everyone was watching, and he went red as a tomato trying desperately to not make this sound improper, and Yugiri smiled just like when she'd met him all those years ago when he'd given her a pinwheel and made a better impression than any man (or woman) who came calling for her as an oiran. The dead chuckled knowingly, with his best friend shaking his head at Franchouchou in exasperation. Saki for her part muttered loudly" What a dork!" but was smirking anyway, while Sakura and Tae looked on with amused smiles, as were the other 3. Finally, he mentioned something about her outfit going great with the changing culture, than frantically asked if green was better.
Yugiri finally just laughed, long and hard, covering her face with her hands. Still such an adorably sweet and dorky young boy at heart, falling head over heels for her right here. He made her laugh more freely and undignified than she had ever done in a long time, but right here and now, perhaps it was ok.
Shaking her head to clear the elation and sheer amusement, she stepped forward," Kiichi-han, please, don't make a scene. I always have treasured the dream you inspired me so much with, and the hope it inspired to me and everyone else who ended up following it. I died with no regrets, and the life I led before, it did not compare to what you gave me. And I do get to choose my own path now, just like you wanted," holding him by the shoudlers at this point, with him still blushing," and I get to be with your grandfather and your younger sister," Tae smiled and nodded when he glanced at her," and I can still entertain a crowd just as well down there or up here, apparently! "More laughs rang out as his face went beet red.
"S-still, I wish there was at least one thing I could do for you, Y-yugiri-san, after all you did for me and S-saga, and you never got remembered …" His eyes looked sad, she still was the woman who stole his heart, the only one. A love story that never got completed in life, and not to be properly finished up here. But, romantic at heart that she was, she knew one thing he could give her.
"Well," in her most seductive yet soft tone, and he looked up as she stared at him with those mature loving eyes," there is one thing." And as he struggled to guess, she pulled him in for a truly passionate yet simple kiss, which he returned after 2 seconds and they embraced as it went on.
Back on Earth, a certain old immortal who was sleeping, grinned and let out a chortle from his bed. As for the dead and undead watching in person, there was applause and cheers all around. Shojiro dryly remarked," Thank you, it's about time the poor fool got some closure," as one single tear went down his smiling face. Saki laughed hard at that but gave a proud thumbs up even as Tae rolled her eyes at yet another adorably stupid boy being sweet in Saga love, but in a good way.
Ai looked on happily,"It's nice to see Saga having such a great history, and I don't even have a part in it until now!" Only to start as a voice exactly like hers replied in an old-school Saga dialect call out in a much more energetic and wild tone than her own"Hey hey hey! Don't discount Mizuno family history around here yet!" She flipped around and nearly shrieked at the sight of a girl with the same hair, face and eye color (with flowers in her hair like her own no less) as hers wearing a blue kimono and beaming with a very energetic expression running up to her with a gaggle of local boys (grown up now who she used to chase as a girl as she would learn). Ai just stared even as Saki and Lily turned to see a similar looking pair (one blonde with no highlights girl with an orange kimono and a blue-haired and somewhat older blue-haired girl with a yellow kimono) come up, the Saki-lookalike having cared for Lily's ancestor in life. Then Junko got her own surprise when her identical ancestress came up with a slightly less white (than her hair) kimono and said," All of you have family ties here in Saga, it's no coincidence, and its not just the one's from Yugiri-san's time." She gestured to her right as Junko's parents stood (just as she remembered them) next to Lily's mother Sachika, as happy and healthy as before her cancer as Lily could remember held her arms out with a truly radiant smile and the young actress (forever young) ran to hold her mother in a truly heartwarming reunion, and Junko got to hold her own parents who'd she long have watched die in life close as they held their own daughter happily. Saki and Ai honestly couldn't keep their own tears at bay as their family members stood by them beaming.
Sakura got her own shock when a pink-haired merchant of sweets came up with an equally perky smile and voice along with Yuko's grandparents and some of her Minamoto relatives and greeted her "future Saga geisha clone" as she got teased a lot for up here. Yugiri was by now noticing all this and she remembered.
"I forgot I saw all those girls who looked so much like you at that time! I must be losing my attention to detail!" Sure enough, for quite some time for the rest of this vision there was catching up and many stories from the Meiji period and more regarding the family lives gathered here (the others up here never heard the end of it before and after this). Some Iron Frill fans now deceased along with the victims of Junko's crash also appeared.
Smiling happily at the happy reunions and the revealed links to Saga all of them had all along, Tae was happy for them. Then she remembered her own musings earlier, how out of all of her own family name she knew or remembered, she didn't really know that much. And as for the ones she did .. her parents had left her, and a child lost her parents or any chance at feeling her mother and father's love in life, and both the child they'd neglected and the child they'd "cared" for, now part of her soul, felt no comfort at the idea of seeing them again but no vindication when they failed to show up. Why that was, perhaps punishment for those who were not so innocent in the Curse's actions, would remain unknown to her that night, perhaps forever. The man she knew as her true father remained on Earth, just as bound to life as she was, maybe worse, and he wasn't here. But she cast her eyes down, and her friends and their families took notice, starting with Sakura.
"Tae-chan, what's wrong?" Still very shy and at a loss on how to explain the pain she felt in a literal afterlife vision, Tae Yamada's eyes closed as she turned away from the entire gathering, not willing to be embarrassed yet again by opening her heart to this group, embarrassed too many times in life. Not that anyone was looking at her with judgement or even confusion. All of them got it far too well, and they'd all heard of or watched the pain of this delightful girl who'd lost so much and been so hurt in life. Tae Yamada stood alone with the dead from Earth and beyond, no family except the ones she'd gathered around her, and she was facing a literal wall. Sadness filled every eye at the sight, especially the relatives of Sakura and Junko (who liked their descendant's biggest Saga fan). Even Old Jofuku, somehow getting some sense of this down on Earth in his sleep, frowned deeply at his daughter's pain.
But she was part of Franchouchou, and at this point they shared the same fate in life and death in all ways, and she was not MEANT to be alone even here. Just as Sakura thought she would need to cheer her up again, no matter how emotional she had to get, she watched 2 women come behind her mother's best friend and she gasped at the obvious resemblance. Could it be…?
"Tae, look at me, my little Meiko-chan!" Tae's eyes flared open, she exhaled loudly and turned around and saw a tall black-haired woman wearing a more modernized post WW2 kimono as she beamed at her with purple eyes with familiar round glasses and a youthful mid 30s appearance. Behind her stood a young Meiji-Era Saga noblewoman with a regal black kimono and fan who looked and sounded almost exactly like Tae herself, smiling serenely. It hit Tae at once.
This had to be her, in the prime of her life. The only blood relative and parental figure she'd had a good bond with in her life. "G-g-grandma …?" Her adult yet girly voice cracked as she stared with tears forming. The last Matriarch of Tae's branch of the Yamada family of Saga nodded and stroked her long lost granddaughter on the cheek with a proud smile even as her own eyes teared up behind glasses like that of her son's as their shared ancestress kept watching.
"You grew into such a fine young woman, young lady …" And the little girl in Tae's soul, never fully extinguished (enhanced on some level with the child of Magatsuhi) embraced her and sobbed happily, for once in over 50 years having a happy moment with a blood relative. Sakura sobbed quietly but fiercely at the sight and Saki let her use an old rag from her ancestress unbudgingly to wipe her eyes. This was someone she knew she had no regrets seeing on the other side of eternity, even if it was temporary. Yugiri came up, still clutching Kiichi's hands, and sighed at the sight. "She needed that, the Yamadas up here hate their descendant being so sad," Kiichi said and Yugiri hugged him for that. Learning that said noblewoman's idiot driver had nearly run them over got some laughs later, and the young girl in question identified a lot with Tae in a "post-mortem venting way" that confused poor Sakura to no end. But she was happy to get a hug from Tae's grandma for helping her granddaughter like that, which she promised to always do, and then all 3 got a group hug. (MJ exhaled quietly as he shifted in bed)
"You were right, Tae-han, we are family … with all of you having people here from my time and now being with me in yours … this can't be anything but the highest heavens smiling on us. I am glad that I came to Saga." She looked just as happy as she ever had in life and in death, with almost everyone she'd ever loved and had been loved by and knew who she was. Sakura stood there next to Tae with her sweet-selling look alike and her mother's grandparents, who were very grateful to Tae for helping Yuko and her daughter as much as she had. Tae Yamada felt more loved than she had in a long time, and all the heartache and sadness and pain she'd felt just felt worth it for all that had led up to this moment here and now as her own family beamed as that precious smile of hers looked so bright on her.
The rest of that dream, with more talking, tears, and hugs, was probably the most vivid night of their afterlives, and the demanded performance they did even better (Yugiri's song was first, followed by their first hits). Tae possibly even got to practice a bit, and her long-earned dancing skills flourished with the rest of thiers What other band could do such a dance in the afterlife, and for once the living dead performed for the ghostly dead. For one night at least, even if just once in eternity.
But hey, that was Franchouchou.
*Oh yes, I do believe I did it right! All the implied and definite connections I got from the show and manga, and an even better afterlife reunion scene than I originally envisioned! And rest assured, the next chapter isn't far off. Time for a bit of canon filler! *
