Greetings, my loyal readers! A new chapter is upon you to welcome all of you to 2024! Take your time in reading it as this chapter has one surprise that I'm sure, and hope, you will be intrigued about.

Let us proceed!


After many minutes of running and flying back home through the streets, their humble home hiding amidst the river of pine trees came into their views.

Having reached their destination, Hartzler slows his legs to a crawl while Lynn lands softly on the soil after slowing her descent with her wings. The two zombie animals take a breather to relax their bodies since they were pushing themselves hard to move as fast as they could to reach their house quicker, with Hartzler stretching his limbs and Lynn shaking her feathered body, spewing specks of feathers off her.

Once they feel their metabolism stabilized a little, the two animals move toward the house, up into the wooden partition. Without stopping, they pass through the door, which is something they can do thanks to Emi imparting her Stand ability as a side effect of being revived by her. This is really useful because the doors are always closed shut during nighttime and even then, they weren't bothered by their pet owner doing it for a privacy reason. She was seldom passing through them too.

Moving next inside the house, Hartzler and Lynn do this again to the two fusumas leading to the bedroom. Entering through, they see, as they expected, their two pet owners sleeping peacefully on their futon. Good, they're in one place so they needn't have to search for them first. It'll be troublesome for their small bodies even if they are zombies, meaning they are not usually subjected or at least affected hard by certain limitations living beings have like exhaustion.

Striding up close, Hartzler and Lynn notice the third occupant of the bedroom, which they didn't need to question each other to know that's Kakyoin sleeping there. Whereas Emi and Goldia are sleeping while embraced, Kakyoin lies on his side facing away from the two. If they bothered to scoot a little closer to Kakyoin's lying form, they will notice he's holding something.

Well, there's no time to waste. With two certain figures in one place, Hartzler and Lynn shouldn't continue stalling in one place and go tell them what they witnessed and heard back in the observatory. With this thought, Lynn leaps across the floor to set foot near Emi's right shoulder though the limited space means she almost fumbled, making her flutter her wings while Hartzler strides between Goldia and Emi, crawling under the blankets and having no problem squeezing in the not so tight space.

Now with their bodies making contact with Emi, Hartzler and Lynn proceeds to close their eyes, waiting for their bodies to fall asleep confident that they will appear near their eccentric master in Goldia's dreamscape, of which they usually frequent every night. They guess that this night may be an exception given the urgency.

Right now however, first things first. They remind themselves to impart what they saw to Kakyoin and Emi just as they close their eyes and drift off into someone's domain, their vision darkening…

Six seconds later, light returns to their eyes and the first thing they see is the gravestone to their front and the purplish, dim-lighted sky above, indicating to them where they ended up in. More significantly, they see the two people they must inform the most are here as they expected; Lynn was perched on Emi's shoulder while Hartzler rests on her lap. She and the others didn't notice them yet so they yell out their hoots and meows urgently.

"Meow!"

"Hooo, hooohoooohooooo! Hoooooooo! Hoooohoooooooo!"

Sure enough, their vocals draw their attention at them, their appearance making them very urprised to see them here in Goldia's dreamscape. Alright, now that they have their attention, Hartzler and Lynn proceeds to inform them what's going on outside the dream world.

"WHAT!?"

Kakyoin yelled in a mix of shock and disbelief upon hearing what Hartzler and Lynn saw back in the observatory from Emi. The woman herself was also surprised but she seemed to get over it, or at least wasn't overwhelmed as to hinder her sense of rationale.

Emi averts her eyes with a wincing look, having expected this reaction. Though she only interacted with Franchouchou and Rianima three times, she's not a fool to think they aren't a tightly-knitted group who only work together due to sharing a common goal. From what she witnessed based on Kakyoin shielding Sakura from a near fatal blow two days ago in Mt. Tenzan, they seem to be close friends who look after each other where being from different eras of time and age group shouldn't be justified as an obstacle in being friends or close acquaintances who have each other's back. They may have their respective teams to be friends with and that's not to say they weren't amicable with each other just because they're from different teams, but among the fourteen zombies, Sakura and Kakyoin have formed a stable friendship ever since they were awakened. They're like two connected cherries.

Regardless of their reactions towards Shino's action, be it angry or shocked, one thought popped into their minds over why the man kidnapped Sakura somewhere: to lure Rianima into a fight ending with Shino dead, while Franchouchou and Kotaro watch.

Now that Kakyoin and Emi know what Shino is up to thanks to Hartzler and Lynn, their next action is already set. And to do that, they turn to a certain girl whom they are aware may have heard what Emi told Kakyoin about her two pets' report.

"Goldia, I am afraid we must end our dreams short! As you have heard, Shino has been sighted and abducted Sakura! Hartzler, Lynn, Kakyoin and I need to wake up in the real world to pursue against him and rescue Sakura, so I implore you to snap us awake!"

After listening to her pressing request, Goldia adopts a determined expression as she faces Emi's pleading eyes with her own, for she has a certain reply before she can do what she asked her. "Before I do that, may I ask you something, mother?"

"W-What would that be?" Emi blinked twice, hoping she's not stalling her by asking an unrelated question.

Breathing deeply first to ease her nerves, Goldia reveals her question. "Please! Let me join you! I… I want to see mister Shino up close!"

Everyone looks at her in surprise over her request. "P-Pardon me?" Emi replied.

"I want to join you, Hartzler, Lynn and mister Kakyoin!" Goldia repeated again to Emi. "Like I said, I want to see Shino with my own eyes!"

While the mentioned names react in surprise, it is more pronounced to the remaining four girls, with Lisette, Harpae and Egliette already disapproving of her request. "G-Goldia! You… You can't be serious!" Fleta exclaimed incredulously, her green eyes widened.

"What has gotten into you, my girl!?" Egliette similarly remarked, her lithe doll body thrashing within the princess' hold. "Are you willing to throw us in the conflict between him and the zombie groups!?"

Goldia turns to the two with the same determined expression before she nods. This causes the rest of the girls to shout indignantly, with Harpae and Enjel immediately against it.

"You should already know this but…! At this moment, Shino is dangerous!" Harpae reminded her, taking step forward to Goldia with the intent of making her change her mind. "The bloodthat is keeping him alive had taken over him once before our mother's eyes, causing him and his Stand to lash out and nearly kill Sakura and Kakyoin! There is a chance he might do it again when we stand before his presence!"

"…I know, Harpae," agreed Goldia, much to her and the rest's surprise. "It is also because of what you said that I, or we, must see him personally if the worst actually happened."

Emi immediately knew what Goldia is implying, leading her to become aghast over her statement, so she replies, "I already told you that I shall not kill him! I only want to remove the source of the blood that is… controllinghim, and make him part of Bring Me to Life!"

Goldia smiles to her direction. "I knew you would say that, and to be honest, I hope Shino being saved by your hands may come true…" Then her smile falters, albeit not to a point she's frowning. "…but you should know there's a chance that Shino will… will die if you fail. With him gone, we wouldn't have the chance to see him with our own eyes again. I… I don't want that to happen honestly but if it did, then…" She closes her eyes with a frown as she trailed off in the last part, but everyone didn't have to make her spell it out what she can't finish on that last part.

"…He will be gone from this world without you ever having to see him again… Is that right?" Emi realized. A nod from Goldia confirms it.

Silence settles among the group for a short time, enough for Emi to formulate her response to Goldia's request. Goldia take this moment to add more as she turns back to her sisters. "And even though some of you were already against my request… You four… wanted to see mister Shino too when there is still a chance. Right?"

"Ah!" The four girls perked up in surprise when Goldia guessed their inner desire, their brief exclamation being enough of a confirmation for her to see they do appeal to her request in spite of their instant objection when they first heard her.

Goldia lets out a giggle over their failed attempt to hide it, which she attributed to them being technically part of her being. She may not be able to read their minds naturally, but that doesn't mean she isn't averse to guessing their personalities, quirks and habits due to having lived with them for a long time. "Your shouts tell me you all want to see him!" She exclaimed, almost smugly.

Fleta and Lisette are intent on proving her wrong, but as much as they want to, they couldn't bring themselves to do it. It is what Goldia said: they, Harpae, Enjel and even Egliette want to see Shino, perhaps for the first and last time when they, Emi and Kakyoin finally face him. As the near future are so full of possibilities, mystery and intrigue that anything can happen whether they expect it or not, if Shino does end up dying at the hands of either Rianima or Emi when no more choices can be made to spare him from death, he's gone permanently. Only Emi's memories of him, the only person who personally interacted with before he undergoes a suicide mission to rid himself out of this world, are all that may remain of his existence.

It didn't take long before they tell Goldia that yes, they do want to see Shino. They will not ignore this chance of a lifetime if the worst outcome comes true. At least in that scenario, they can claim to have seen him with their own eyes, now matter how brief it is. Even Harpae, who is still strongly opposed to Goldia's decision, didn't object more as she simply nods.

Happy to hear their desire to see Shino for the first, and possibly (hopefully not) last time, prove enticing enough they end up agreeing with her, Goldia faces Emi back, sporting a determined, frowning expression back and says, "Did you hear them mother? They want to see mister Shino too! I understand your worries but I don't want to stay in our home worrying for your and his safety while regretting not taking the chance to see him if only for the first time! …So, will you let us join you, Lynn, Hartzler and mister Kakyoin, mother?"

Emi already has a reply to Goldia's request and judging from her small smile and softened expression, they know what she will say. "Very well. All you six can accompany us so you can see Shino with your own eyes."

"Really!?" Goldia beamed in delight, and so did the four girls.

Emi nods affirmatively, not planning to change her mind. "Yes, my daughters. While I shall strive to prevent the worst scenario from coming true, you will have your chance to meet him for the first time. I have just realized how unfair it was that I am the only one who ever saw and known him in person while you six did not, only learning him from my stories about him. Your words and reasoning helped rouse that thought in my mind."

"Ah, I see," replied Goldia. "And you're right, mother. It is unfair for us." Shortly after she said it, their visions begin to blur and fade. The breeze that was carrying white petals in the air has died down, dropping them back to the ground and they feel the graveyard becoming still and quiet. The Maiden of Glimpses speak up again to let them know what's happening so they wouldn't be scared or perplexed. "Guess we're going to wake up soon. I can feel myself stirring up from my sleep back in the real world."

"Are you sure, Goldia-chan?" Kakyoin replied, deciding to say something after staying quiet. "I'm getting impatient having to listen to your request and waiting while Sakura was… likely in danger. W-Well, hopefully not considering Shino doesn't like harming her for some reason but…"

"We are waking up, Kakyoin," reassured Emi, staying solemn as black spots dominate next her and everyone's visions. "And I assure you that even at his worst, Shino will not put Sakura in danger. He only abducted her so he can lure your friends to his location and let them kill him. Please have confidence Sakura is safe and Shino does not lose himself again like last time."

He doesn't have a concrete opinion of Shino yet, but after learning his history from Emi, the person who knew him the most, Kakyoin is cautiously optimistic. "Yeah. Let's hope Sakura stays safe long enough for us to stop or at least prevent Shino from advancing his ill-fated plan." That was the last words everyone heard before Goldia's dreamscape and the occupants fade into nothing.

In the span of a minute, Kakyoin, Emi, Goldia, Hartzler and Lynn wake up in the real world. Typically, people will forget the contents of their dreams many minutes after they are awake, something some people don't like because they would forget their happy dreams. The inverse is true for those suffering from a nightmare. For Goldia, she's a special case given how connected she was to her dreams when she was amnesiac and in coma, meaning she was able to remember what they must do next so she didn't wait to remind her mother, their pets and her friend about their next action.

After Kakyoin gave Goldia's pocket mirror back, they march out of the house, making sure they did not forget to wear their shoes stored in the genkan or else they would stand barefooted outside in the dark, cold night. Emi then closed the entrance door shut after checking everyone is accounted for.

This being the first time he set foot outside after being in a coma for two days, it feels such a relief for Kakyoin to be out in the open again. He stretches his arms above his head with a relieving grunt, never realizing how much he already missed being outside in spite of being cooped up there for only two days.

"Haaaaah… I'm glad I'm going to be out and about next," chuckled Kakyoin, lowering his arms down after he stretched the knots in his body. He then look at his raised right hand and clenches his palm wide and shut, eliciting a curious look. "Hmm, my body… it feels so… light… I feel energized too." He said in wonder.

"Those are common feelings one may feel when they were healed by Bring Me to Life," replied Emi, not hiding her smile for him. "It also means the healing process was a success. Makes me wonder if you actually still needed to rest for a whole night to ensure you are recovered wholly."

"I doubt it would happen now because of what we will do next," stated Kakyoin. "I'm just glad I am fine now. Again, thank you for looking after me, Emi-san." He bowed before her in gratitude.

Emi smiles at his gratefulness. "You are welcome, Kakyoin."

During their conversation, Goldia takes this time to use her Stand, Dream of Mirrors,to create a mirror once she hold out her pocket mirror forward and imparted a command to it. "Dream of Mirrors, let my sisters out to the real world!"

ズリィィィン

True to her Stand ability, a mirror is created from the glowing pocket mirror, the pieces also glowing until it stops to reveal a floating mirror. Then ripples appear around the glass as Harpae steps out, lifting the hem of her skirt and being careful in her steps. Next Enjel comes out leaping from the mirror, a smile plastered on her face since she's tasting the feeling of the outside world for an umpteenth time, Lisette emerge, looking the same like in the dream world except she's curiously carrying two scissors in her hands and Fleta comes out last, Egliette always secured within her arms. With the five outside, Goldia shatters the created mirror with her mind.

"Okay! Looks like everyone is here!" She declared with a smile.

Having watched her use her Stand to bring her sisters out to the real world, Kakyoin remarks, "Wow. That's a neat way to bring the girls to the real world, Goldia. I never thought you can do that."

Goldia giggles to his direction. "Well if I didn't, they would only watch and hear through my eyes and ears as I go along with my and mother's day. That is how they can interact with the real world even if they would stay inside my head."

"Thanks to her Stand, I can get to hold mother's hand without resorting to Goldia being asleep and having us interact only in dreams!" Enjel interjected, opting to stay close to Goldia for now. "I would be reaaaaaaaally irritated when we can only see the real world through Goldia's eyes, especially when we know she can send us here using her Stand."

"Yeah! We wouldn't have it any other way!" Fleta exclaimed.

"Hahaha! I can empathize with you there." Kakyoin laughed.

"Everyone, please. We must get moving."

Emi moves to the center of the group to address and remind them of their next course of action. Glancing at everyone, she next says, "According to what Hartzler and Lynn heard from Shino when he told Kotaro-san where he is, he says he is in a forest somewhere in the Kariya district of Genkai, near a seafood restaurant. Genkai is right next Karatsu, so we do not need to go very far."

"That's good to know Emi-san," Kakyoin added. "With Shino being there, Sakura should be there too."

"Correct. Kotaro-san and your friends are en route to the place Shino mentioned. You will be reunited with them soon once we made it to Shino's location. As such, we must stall no more. We do not want his plan to succeed, for he deserves a better outcome than that."

"Yes!" Goldia exclaimed with a determined nod. "Come on! We must go after him and miss Sakura!"

Not needing to say more, the telltale sign of Emi's Stand activating manifest as three blue flames hovering around her and a cyan aura surrounds her body. As everyone watch her activate Bring Me to Life, with Kakyoin being curious the most over what she's going to do with her Stand, Emi starts floating as a pale bluish smoke expands across the ground, crashing against everyone's feet, paws or talons. The woman is calm with her face becoming inexpressive, looking both solemn and eerie. Goldia, her sisters, Hartzler and Lynn stays quiet as the smoke, after surrounding the group in its wispy glow, stops expanding outward. They also remain calm.

As Kakyoin wonders what's going on with Bring Me to Life, he is thinking on questioning Emi why aren't they moving. Just when he's about to do it, he next realize and feel his body slowly, but surely, bobbing up and down. "Huh?" Blinking at the weird sensation, Kakyoin looks down to see he is not standing. Actually no, his feet is not touching the ground. He's… He's floating!

"W-What? What is…?" This is not the only thing he noticed as when he looks up, he sees not only Emi becoming transparent enough that her body is projecting a light blue skin and glow, but everyone else too, himself included! "HUH!?" Kakyoin looks down to his transparent hands in shock, having realized his body has turned, quite possibly, invisible like Emi. "H-Hey, what's… what's going on!? W-Why am I-"

"Kakyoin, please relax!" Harpae quickly calms him down, unbothered she's floating in the air and, though she can't see herself, becoming transparent. "Mother is imparting her ability to fly and turn invisible to us!"

"A-Ability?" He parroted in confusion.

"You heard Harpae, Kakyoin. I am using Bring Me to Life to make you invisible to naked eye and achieve floating and in turn, flight."

Cherry Boy turns next to Emi, who is looking at him with a reassuring look. "Flight? Wait, are you saying…?"

"We will fly to Genkai, Kakyoin? Yes," she finished his sentence and nodded affirmatively. "This is one of my abilityI have for locomotion. Flying is self-explanatory so I do not need to describe what this ability can do. And you already know it, but Bring Me to Life can let me turn invisibleto naked eye, which is a useful ability to have when you need to stay undetected."

"I… I see." Kakyoin starts calming down once he sees he's not in danger.

"As Bring Me to Life revolves around manipulating the soul, I can transfer my abilities to others if I get a hold of their individual souls and choose them to inherit it, if only for a short time," she continues to ease up Kakyoin. "That is how you are able to float up from the ground and become invisible. It was all thanks to Bring Me to Life. And since I transferred those two ability to you all by making you temporarily achieve a ghost-like state, you must not go too far from me for about… 100 meters or else you would use that state, and by extension, your invisibility and flight. Did you understand all that, Kakyoin?"

Feeling relieved it was only Emi's Stand doing the work, Kakyoin nods with a grin, glad he's not in danger. "I did. Thank you for telling me, Emi-san."

"You are welcome." Having informed Kakyoin more about Bring Me to Life, Emi moves forward, her ghostly form emitting a quiet, warbling sound and leaving a smoky trail in her wake. She's also the only one who has three blue flames circling around her. Taking a breath, Emi sports a resolute expression as she declares, "Now then, we shall make haste to Shino's location. We will take flight across the air in the direction of the eastern side of Genkai district and search a forest. This night, we will stop Shino and free him from Saga's cursethat has bedeviled his existence ever since he was born. And also… make proper amends."

Emi closes her eyes as a wave of regret splashed across her face, but only for a brief moment before she sports again a resolute look as she zooms up high in the night sky. Goldia, her sisters, Hartzler, Lynn and lastly Kakyoin follow after her, the latter nearly stumbling in the air because he's getting used to his temporary state before feeling himself stabilizing as he finds himself flying through the cold, wintry night sky following Emi along with eight others. Needless to say, he's in a bliss as if he's in heaven.

If Bring Me to Life didn't turn them all invisible, onlookers may see nine streaks of bluish light zooming across the sky, like they're shooting stars falling towards the east, in the direction of Genkai district.


Forest grounds, Kariya, Genkai, Saga…

Everything in the clearing is quiet and still as cold breeze passes through the tiny spaces between branches and trees, making them sway if only a little. No signs of activity have been witnessed by the ever tall trees having varying leaf colors affected by seasons or indicating their ages. It is perhaps for the better these trees didn't witness any activities because they weren't disturbed, being left to flourish and live among the hundreds of trees planted in this small cape located east of Genkai. A hiker may like traveling up the trail made by nature, but they only just have to pay attention to their surroundings. Who knows what these seemingly harmless trees could do to hinder one hiker whether it was an accident or not.

If these trees were aware of themselves and their environment, they would like to enjoy the peace and quiet they were privileged to have for being born away from an urban area. However, the arrival of two individuals who appeared out of thin air may bring a halt to that.

Either way the trees see it, they become silent watchers for these two individuals. Makes one thabkful they weren't sapient.

"H-H-Huh?!"

Almost falling on her rear because she was leaning against a railing literally seconds ago, Sakura stumbles backwards, flailing her hands around to hold on to something. She gets to do it by colliding against a tree on her back, stopping her stumbling. She would have felt relieved she didn't land on the ground awkwardly if she didn't forget the circumstance that brought her away from the observatory.

The culprit who brought the very confused girl to this forest clearing remained calm and unperturbed as Linkin Park returns to him. Checking their surroundings first, he nodded to himself. "Good, the teleportation is a success," stated Shino, brushing the small amount of dust and dirt that latched on his coat and pants. "Linkin Parknever fails to manipulate reality to my exact whim… as long as I know what I can do in a given environment."

"L-Linkin… Park…?" Sakura repeated nervously, genuinely having no idea what he's saying. This wouldn't be so if she didn't forget who Xero is.

"My Stand. A form created by my soul that lets me control it like I would to a puppet," he added, "You should know this already, Sakura-san. You were… given a 'closer' look of Linkin Park some two days ago. That was also where… you nearly died from my Stand if not for Kakyoin's intervention. Tch, I really wished I didn't put him a coma… because of him." he averted his irritated eyes off of her, feeling angry at himself over what he almost did to her.

Heis starting to get active. I'm running out of time here. I need to finish this tired charade for this night and spare Saga from his, no… Ourwrath. I wished I didn't word it that way even though I know sadly well it is the truth.

Wiping the intrusive thought away, Shino turned to Sakura again to see she's still very confused, probably from what he said that she should've know.

"…Um I'm sorry but… I have no idea what you're saying," she admitted anxiously, choosing her next words carefully under fear of retaliation if she riled him up, "I don't remember any of what you said happening to me… nor do I know this… Kakyoin person."

"…Of course you wouldn't," sighed Shino, feeling a pang of guilt in his chest, "The truck collision the truck gave you two days ago triggered your past memories back in exchange of your current memories."

"Huh?"

"…Oh, never mind, please forget what I said."

Shino steps close to a tree three meters apart from the one Sakura is leaning on to lean his back against the trunk. He involuntarily releases an alleviating sigh as he did before he looks up to the sky partially covered by branches and leaves. Moonlight beams down through the cracks between the leaves, giving the clearing some illumination to make one feel a little comfortable. Though the leaves obscured them, clouds could be seen in the sky.

Watching the aristocratic man leaning against a tree calm and composed and seemingly has his attention elsewhere, Sakura wonders if she should bolt it out of here. She's finding his calmness a little… unnerving. This man, for all intents or purposes, abducted her away from Kotaro's sights to this clearing thanks to his Linkin Park, so given his action, she has a bad feeling Xero will do something heinous to her. If what Kotaro said is true regarding Xero is no good, common sense dictate she must run away from him.

But… if Xero is planning something no good to me, why would he tell Kotaro-san of where we are? And also, he dispelled the notion that he would try to harm me, becoming angry in response to Kotaro-san's claim of him attacking me. It's like… he'ssparing me.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Sakura decides to risk herself moving closer and have a chat with him, getting herself off the tree in turn. "Um, excuse me…"

"What is it? Do you have something to say?" Shino turned to her, having noticed her walking up to him from the corner of his eyes and correctly guessing her next action.

"Y-Yes…" Taking a deep breath to stave off her nervous stuttering, Sakura stares straight to his eyes and says, "You told Kotaro-san of the place we will be in, expecting that he will find us here. Are you… hoping for that outcome to happen, Xero?"

To her mild surprise, Shino nods, "Yes, and it's not only him I'm expecting to see. Rianima too, and even Franchouchou if they want to tag along."

"Huh? Those two groups too?" She expressed surprise on hearing them.

"Of course," he confirmed, feeling himself getting into the conversation so he kicks himself off the tree and take few steps forward to the center of the clearing, his back facing Sakura, "Your zombie friends should be worried for you now when they heard from Tatsumi-san that you were kidnapped by me. When they inevitably show up, I'll hand you over to them before giving my life - my paradoxicallife - at their hands. I don't care how they will kill me, so long as they prioritize attacking Linkin Park. That way, Death would finally claim my soul, and I would be at peace."

"W-What?" Sakura looked at him in surprise, perhaps more so than she thought, upon hearing what he wants when they show up, "You kidnapped me so you can lure them to this forest and… have them kill you?"

"…Yes." He lowers his head down slightly, adorning a regretful tone in his voice when he reconfirms it. "With my death, Saga… will be saved."

"Huh?" Sakura starts feeling skeptical the more she listened to him, "Your death will… save Saga? I don't understand. What, did you do something bad to it that prefecture wants you dead?" She can't help but lay out sarcasm in response.

"…In more ways than one," Shino cryptically said, raising his head before turning around to face her with a slight melancholic look. "It's… what I deserve."

"D-Deserve…?"

"Well, whether you accept my answer or not, what I said is the truth," Shino proceeded to finish talking to her, "I kidnapped you to lure your friends and manager to this clearing, return you to them, and finally, have my life be snuffed out by Rianima. That… is my last plan for this night… and my entire life," After that, he goes silent, averting his eyes off Sakura to watch the night sky partially obscured by leaves. He has accepted his fate. There's nothing that could shake him off from this path if it means saving Saga. How that would work is a mystery only he has the answer to, and whether his "enemies" eventually learn why or not, he shall have no part in that after he dies for real.

The two go silent for a brief time until Sakura, choosing to not know why he seems intent on that scheme, was reminded Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro are coming to her rescue, leading her to say more.

"So you said my friends are coming to rescue me…" Again, Shino faces her, who has her head lowered as she looked at the ground. Her bangs cover her eyes, adding to the effect of the feeling of despondency and exasperation she will soon say, "Since Kotaro-san viewew you as a threat who must be killed, I can guess my friends will see you the same. Well they can rescue me all they want, but I hope they know that rescuing me doesn't mean I have changed my mind about Arpino. I'm not gonna bother with my fledgling dream anymore. I know I don't have what it takes. I'll just… bring everyone down with my misfortune."

Sighing at the end, Sakura walks back to the tree to lean her back on again, bearing a tired look on her face. She keeps her head lowered, finding the cold ground more interesting to stare at than the many trees surrounding her and the other occupant.

"I… overheard your conversation with Tatsumi-san," Sakura still didn't raise her head when she hears Shino revealing this fact. Footsteps are next heard, which she guesses Shino is walking towards her. As for the gothic man, he shows a sympathetic expression as he begins talking to her, "About… your impending retirement from the idol scene."

He stops to see if Sakura would nudge her head and look up to him, but when he sees she didn't, he continues, "Tell me Sakura. Are you willing to quit after your group and Rianima overcame many obstacles and enemy Stands on your intertwined paths to save Saga? I believe Franchouchou is only getting started in achieving popularity so the eyes of Japan, and eventually the whole world, are looking on Saga. You didn't know this but… I was present when your group performed a guerilla show near Karatsu Station. Ever since then, I made it my secondary goal to visit every concert Kotaro-san put together to personally witness Franchouchou's growth within the idol industry. In fact," he puts his left hand on his chest, "Consider myself one of Franchouchou's biggest fans… and a bigger fan of you, Sakura-san. Or should I say… Number One?"

"Eh? You're… a fan of Franchouchou and… me…?" Hearing that part intrigues Sakura enough to raise her head. She's looking at him bafflingly, not believing him. If only just to satiate her curiosity, she responds, "I don't recall seeing you in the group's concerts."

At that, Shino's face nearly goes crestfallen before he emboldened himself to not feel regretful as he replies, "I shall not say more about your… second amnesia. What you must know the most is that I was part of Franchouchou's audience from the start, watching your concerts and not forgetting to cheer for you and your groupmates… And in every fan meet up, I always chose you instead of the other six. I may have stayed silent all the time, but my desire to meet and interact with my most favorite member of Franchouchou is not a lie. I am all for supporting Franchouchou and Kotaro-san's cause in making Franchouchou popular even if I'm their enemy."

Sakura then narrows her eyes to him, regarding him in suspicion over what he said. If this is going in a direction she's familiar with, she will mark him as another person who opposes her decision to step down from being an idol… and for failing, like she sorely hoped. She didn't need someone else to be affected by her sheer bad luck, especially if that someone is a fan of her.

"So you're going to try convince me not to quit because you'll be disappointed to see me gone? Is that it?" She glared at him.

Shino matches her glaring with his impassive own, not having it in him to be angry at her in turn, before he sighs and replies this, "…I would be lying if I deny it, but even if that was my sole reason why, I am speaking for all your fans Sakura-san! Of which there are many!"

"H-Huh?" Sakura is taken aback of that info, "I have… fans?"

"It's not just your fans, but also your companions!" He continues, deciding it is now or never to sway her back to the path of idolhood; The reason why she retried getting her life back on track in spite of misfortune hindering her so much she nearly gave up, "If you haven't been with them from the start, Franchouchou wouldn't have gotten this far enough that Kotaro-san is able to self-fund the Arpino concert, which I don't need to remind you how important it is as a milestone your group must overcome! Your determination, tenacity, compassion, and hope for yourself, your groupmates, Kotaro-san, and also Rianima - which you are particularly close with Kakyoin… You were granted a greater purpose in your second chance in life as a living undead because of those traits you possess! If you didn't have them, you would be stuck existing as a zombie."

Sakura would have responded against his words, but she keeps silent as her glare starts to soften into an attentive stare as she continues listening to his impromptu rousing speech.

"Do you remember what Kotaro-san said to you? That he would never, ever abandon you? I can feel his raw emotion stemming from his shouting and those words. I can tell… he's serious that he will always be by your side and he has faith in you that you're far along the path of being a successful idol. If we apply of what he said to your groupmates and Rianima, I believe I don't need to hear their opinion personally that they want you to continue as an idol… because you have proven yourself so much that you and the girls will pave the path together as a devoted group led by Kotaro-san, while Rianima trails behind the path you create as your bodyguards!"

Sakura still keeps silent as her eyes start shimmering, letting out a breath she didn't know she's holding it in. She's starting to regard Shino with a discerning look as a weird sense of… déjà vu is afflicting her mind.

"Please listen to what I am going to say to you. This is important as it hinges not only on your group and Rianima, but also on Saga's future… and to your well-being too," Shino stares at the musing Sakura pleadingly, "Your friends… please do not disregard them. If you really need help, don't be shy to ask them. They will not hesitate to offer their help so they can see you bounced back on your feet. They are your cherished companions, so do not brush them off like they're total strangers to you. …I hope you heed my consolation, Sakura-san. I, too, will feel downtrodden if you're not on the way of recovery and did chose to step away from idol activities…"

Releasing a long sigh, Shino looks at Sakura again, who continues staring at him almost blankly. Not minding her odd expression, he steps back with the intent of leaving Sakura alone. He has done all he can to support her and the zombies. He can only leave luck to the whims of fate as he waits for Rianima to arrive.

After being silent the whole time, Sakura's eyes widen in surprise, straightening her posture as she puts her hands over her mouth when she gasped audibly. "AAAAAAHHH! ! ! ! N-No… No way!"

"Hm? Sakura-san?" Shino noticed her overdramatic gasping before he could turn away from her. Deeming her gasping and wide staring of him now as peculiar, he asks, "What's wrong?"

Sakura remained like that for seven seconds. Lowering her hands down, she takes a step forward to him, her wide eyes and gaping mouth not leaving her face. Once she's close to him, she, without asking Shino for permission, holds his left cheek with one hand, confusing him. For his part, he didn't say anything since he was a little surprised.

This didn't take another seven seconds thankfully as she retracts her hand, but her expression becomes more pronounced, and curiously, elated as she continues staring at him. Shino was about to speak up but Sakura got to that first.

And significantly so, for the words that will come out from her mouth will shock him hard from the implication.

"…Shino? Shino, is that… Is that really you!?"

The gothic man looks at her becoming so surprised in mild puzzlement, then he realizes what name she called him, "Huh? You called me… Shino? You do know I go by Xero, right?"

"Xero?" She parroted incredulously, "Are you putting yourself down from using that… alias? Don't be silly, I know your name is Shino!"

"Huh?" He got more confused… until he recognizes the overtone of her words. His eyes widen slightly as a result, "Wait, hold on. I… never said that name to you. Even if you forgotten your memories as a zombie, you had heard from Tatsumi-san about me being called Xero. So how…?"

He flinches in shock upon realizing something he never thought would have happened during his encounter with Sakura, his eyes becoming flat as a pancake. Ah! It… It can't be! If she called me by my first name, does that mean she… she remembered… me…? Her… lower grade friend from… high school…?

An epiphany occurred in his mind, causing him to step back in great shock over the implication on Sakura showing a face of recognition directed to him. In his daze, Sakura continues talking to him with a look of recognition and pleasant smile on her face. "Yes… Yes, it is you! Shino Wakefield」! That's your full name, right? Wow, I hardly recognized you because of how much you've grown! Hehehe, you've became taller than me and… oh! What a nice outfit you have! I think it really fits you!" Without hesitation in her stance, she takes one step backward to give Shino some space as she then exclaims, "It is good to see you again, Shino-kun! I'm glad we meet again after… after so long!"

"S… Sakura-senpai… S-So you… You do recognize me…" Shino's next words came out emotionally, his face softening instantly over the fact that his friend, his only friend he made in his life, remembered him…

"Of course I would! How could I forget what you looked like?" Sakura giggled, becoming jolly in her posture unaware of the inner conundrum circling within Shino. He's staring in disbelief at her, seemingly not knowing how to respond, but after what felt like minutes, he decides to not leave Sakura hanging and greets her back.

Albeit with heavy regret and sadness in his part.

"Yeah… It's been… so long, Sakura-senpai…" Shino looks directly to her gleeful eyes in melancholy. "I… I missed you… as my friend. My only friend I made aside Emi…"

"Emi? Who's Emi?" Sakura asked, curiosity held within her eyes as she frowns.

Shino only looks down with a heavy sigh, trying to ignore the pang of guilt, regret and… something… pounding within his chest. This… This is not what he had foreseen. Against all odds, Sakura remembered him! How? How did she recognized him when she was inflicted with amnesia for eight months? Admitedly, he was counting on her condition so she wouldn't recognize him…

Ah! The truck! It… It did struck her head! Shino realized. The collision may have erased her post-mortem memories, but it ended up somehow curing her amnesia, meaning she's able to remember her life up to her death… And that includes Sakura-san befriendingme.

He really never thought this might happen. As much he tries to deny it however, the logic behind Sakura recognizing him after gaining her pre-mortem memories back is sound. Again, he should have foreseen this instead of solely focused on making his plan come true.

What… What now? How should I… proceed with this? Shino stared at the smiling girl with a conflicted expression. Part of him is telling him that he should catch up with his only friend because he won't get a second chance soon. But the ache in his chest reminds him of his important task he must die for to spare Saga from ruin that will soon cause by him. No matter where and how he sees this, this situation has become complicated, and he needs to resolve it soon. Failure is an option he must not take, his feelings be damned.

"…Shino?" Sakura called out, noticing his conflicted look. "Hey, Shino. Is something the matter? You're not looking too happy right now, which is odd since we have meet again."

Figuring he should at least say something to her to abate her concerns, Shino continues looking at her and then opens his mouth. "Senpai… I-"

"WE FOUND YOU!"

! !

A loud voice rings in the still night air as Sakura and Shino are made aware of the hurrried footsteps coming behind the gray-haired man. Recognizing who the voice belonged to, as well as what his shouting means, Shino recomposes himself before he spins around to confront his newly-arrived opponents. Seeing someone interrupted more talk with her former kohai, Sakura masks her little disappointment and follows Shino's sight.

Stopping their feet once they see their target standing three meters away from them, members of Franchouchou and Rianima gathered together near the moss-covered trees looking at Sakura and Shino. As expected from a bodyguard team, Bucciarati, Johnny, Mamezuku and Avdol take the front immediately once they heard from Narancia that they found Shino's location, ready and standing in attention, while Narancia and Avdol prioritizes the girl's safety by standing behind their teammates. Even if Franchouchou are taking their safety seriously, Saki and Tae cannot resist peeking around Rianima from both sides, gasping upon seeing Sakura apparently and thankfully safe and reserving their glaring against Shino. They seem eager to charge forward and take Sakura away but Ai and Yugiri hold them back to prevent their recklessness seizing over.

"There they are! Like Narancia-san said!" Lily exclaimed, pointing at them, "So Aerosmith's radardid detect them! Thank goodness we found them quick!"

At the mention of Aerosmith, the plane Stand proves Lily's claim true by flying from the leaf-covered opening, spewing out or slicing leaves in its descent. Once near its user, Aerosmith spins around in the air so it is aiming at the two, specfically Shino, as it hovers above the zombies.

Shino remains composed as he matches their glaring (mostly from Avdol, Johnny, Narancia, Gyro, Saki, Ai, Yugiri annd Tae) while Sakura gets confused and weirded out by the zombies' posing entrance, but nevertheless she's a little relieved.

Slow and methodical footsteps are next heard coming from the tall trees as a figure walks in the dark. "As Narancia-kun and Lily-chan oh-so-helpfully said, we have found your and Sakura-chan's location. If not for Aerosmith's radar and my quick but reckless driving, we would have taken long just to find you…" The voice comes out from the dark, revealing himself to be Kotaro doing the same act for the second time this night. The only difference is he's carrying Romero in his hands, who opted out of panting happily to growl threateningly at Shino. "I don't want to be redundant but… we found you at last, Xero."

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

After the producer spoke, everyone goes quiet. For over six seconds, Franchouchou, Rianima, Kotaro and Romero are glaring daggers at Shino, who simply imitated their gesture calmly, remaining unflinching in his posture. Wind billows through them, causing their hair and clothes to sway.

For Sakura, she is still puzzled over what is happening this time. She's also the only zombie who is not giving Shino a dirty look. She can feel the mounting tension in the air between them, which is tempting her to step away from either side because she doesn't want to be involved. Unfortunately, that will not come to pass for her because she's the central reason why this tension is happening in the first place.

Then Shino speaks up, turning over to Sakura, "Your friends and manager are here. You may go to them."

"Eh?" Sakura turns to him. "You're… letting me go?"

"I said that earlier, didn't I?" He holds out his arms toward the group with an open palm. No trace of malice is present in his voice as he continues to speak, "Go. Be with your friends. You'll be safe with them."

Sakura looks at her fellow zombies briefly before he turns back to him so she can question him. "What about you? Aren't you going to…" Before she can complete it, she remembers of what Shino also said to her earlier. Right before she recognizes him as her friend from high school. Her eyes widen again as she takes a step back, becoming nervous, "W-W-Wait. Um, when you said that you want to… die by their hands… You're not… joking, right?"

Mustering a crooked smile, Sakura only has to look at Shino's dull eyes and his silence to let her know that he is serious. Her smile falters as a result, "H-Hey, come on, say something. You're… s-scaring me. Y-You're not serious about-"

"Linkin Park!"

"GUNIGUNI!"

Sakura suddenly found herself standing with the girls, making her bewildered over her sudden change of position. "H-Huh?!" Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro are surprised to see her teleport to them, but they didn't complain since she's at safe hands.

After teleporting Sakura away from him, Shino steps forward, his footsteps attracting everyone's attention back to him so they resumed their intimidating stance as they see Linkin Park is hovering behind its user, fists at the ready, "Please excuse Sakura-san's unwillingness to return to you all. She was reeling from getting freaked out she was kidnapped by me. Rest assured however that I kept my word on not laying a single hand on her hair. That's the last thing I want for her."

"Hey, don't toy us with more of your pleasantries, alright!?" Gyro exclaimed angrily. He revs up two steel balls in his holster, grimly determined to smash either his face or his Stand, "Why don't we just get on with our fights already and be done with it, yeah? The six of us have been itching for a rematch!"

"Don't think of escaping, Xero," Avdol assumed his fighting stance marked by him raising both his index and middle fingers and spreading his arms wide with a stern face. Magician's Red come out from him, its beak open wide to indicate its eagerness to fight again, "This night will be your last time you may ever set foot on Earth! We hope you are prepared of what will come to you!"

"…You don't have to worry," agreed Shino, halting his steps with a solemn look of acceptance, "I am fully prepared to die for Tatsumi-san's dream of saving Saga. Be warned that I shall not hold back because this is also the last time you'll ever see Linkin Park and its ability. You'll bear witness to its full might. I hope all of you can overcome it as you land a finishing blow against it."

"If you believe we forgotten what we need to do to successfully kill you, we didn't," Bucciarati told him, summoning Sticky Fingers as he stands in between Gyro and Avdol. Narancia, Johnny and Mamezuku step forward next as their leader says more, "We will do what you told us on how to defeat you two days ago. Also, don't expect us to hold back too. We will fight you with everything we have until you lay dead beneath our feet."

"That's what I like to hear," Impressed of their dedication, Shino assumes his battle stance and the rest of Rianima does the same as they are coated in colorful auras in accordance to summoning their Stands. Seeing they are about to fight soon, Franchouchou and Kotaro backs away so they wouldn't get in their way. In fact, this is what Kotaro was worried of after he reached the designated location and parked his van, so he bluntly ordered Franchouchou to stand down and stay in the van for their safety. Though the girls are already thinking that, Tae didn't, leading her to sprint ahead of them in pursuit of Sakura. With the feral zombie out to the woods, the plan was jettisoned out of the window so all of them go to the woods in search of Sakura and Xero.

And besides… If Franchouchou decided to stay in the van, they wouldn't witness the upcoming battle between Rianima and Xero, of which they are expecting to be absolutely crazy. Saki, Lily and Tae are the ones who are looking forward in seeing Xero pulverized by either Tusk or Magician's Red, with even Ai, Junko, Yugiri and Lily not denying the catharsis of seeing him get killed.

However, the only one who's not looking forward for the upcoming fight is Sakura, who is darting her head left and right, trying to understand what is happening, "H-Hey, wait. These guys… Are they… going to fight him?" She asked an obvious question, starting at every Stands Rianima have. With her memories gone, this is technically the first time she's seeing these Stands, leaving her perplexed.

"What does it look like they're about to do, huh?" Saki replied, quirking an eyebrow at her friend. "Ain't sure if you remember him, but Xero's been hounding us ever since Shades' project started, which Junko, Ai and Gyro were his first victims. He needs to be wiped off from the face of Saga if we don't want him threatening us again!"

"X-Xero?" Sakura repeated, "But, that's… not his name… He's called-"

"Hey, here they come!" Ai exclaimed, interrupting Sakura's attempted correction. "Rianima is about to fight Xero! Please back away!"

Like Ai said, Rianima and Xero are poised to seize their first action. Even though it looks like Xero is outnumbered, everyone had seen what Linkin Park is capable of, so they shouldn't treat him any less because of it. The combatants are about to land their first hits against each other when another voice pipes up in the air.

A familiar voice, one should add.

"Guys, stop! Please don't fight him!"

?!

Predictably, everyone looks around to see where they heard the voice. It sounds like it was near them. Specifically, near Rianima or Xero.

"Hey! Who dares stop the bodyguards from doing their jobs!?" Kotaro questioned in a high and mighty tone.

"It's me, Tatsumi-san. You didn't forgot what I sound like, right? I have talked with you a lot of times along with Sakura," the voice can be heard sighing.

Upon hearing his voice the second time, Franchouchou, Rianima and even Xero perk up because, aside Sakura, they realize who is speaking.

"…Huh!? Wait, could it be?!" Kotaro exclaimed in disbelief.

"Heh. From your tone, you realize who is speaking, right?."

Soon after the voice said that, nine figures materialize in mid-air between the group and Xero accompanied by a pale blue and wispy smoke that they only realize was floating there. Appearing first with their bodies being transparent and light blue, colors and form return to them as they land softly on the ground. Simultaneously, the flames and smoke disappear thanks to the work of a ghostly woman.

Making their entrance by facing Franchouchou and Rianima first, the familiar green attire and long, twisting bang of Kakyoin are the first person everyone sees. Behind him, Emi, Goldia, her alters, Hartzler and Lynn stand in attention, backing up Kakyoin's dramatic appearance with their own as the nine figures coolly gaze upon their allies.

ドーン

Having shown himself with eyes closed, Kakyoin opens his eyes and flashes a smirk in their direction, guessing what their reactions will be as well as happy to be seeing them again. "Hey, sorry to keep you guys waiting."

Everyone's dumbfounded expressions soon changes into exhilarated and delighted ones, with even Kotaro and the still confused Sakura cannot help but joining in.

"IT'S KAKYOIN! ! !"

As the large group become equal parts happy and relieved to see their familiar friend alive and well even if he's a zombie, a dull sensation occurs within the surprised Shino when he sees Emi has appeared too. In his moment of daze, he forgot what his feeling should tell- no. Warn him about.

Little does he and everyone else know… It's already planning to execute their part to destroy Saga.

To be continued


Finished!

What's this? Sakura knows Shino!? That's right! Our down-on-her-luck heroine was actually friends with the villain back when they were on high school! This is one of the plot element I said back in the 35th chapter that will come to play in the story, of which it is similar to Kakyoin and Emi's friendship that they were able to rekindle four chapters back. Basically, two protagonists were friends with two OCs to provide contrasts between these four characters. With Kakyoin revealed to have visited Saga before and nearly fell victim to the curse while Emi has been its hidden protector for over a century, Shino and Sakura will have importance in the last leg of the story as well its backstory. I think Sakura's role is already obvious, but most of Shino's background beyond what was shown here and in the previous chapters has not yet been revealed. In the last few chapters, all the background will finally come out after so long.

Speaking of chapters, remember when I said there are only ten chapters left? Well I think I miscalculated the remaining numbers left because this chapter was supposed to be longer, and it only took me a look of the word count that I decided to split half of the planned content and put it in the next chapter. As such, the total number of chapters left are undecided for now. Just to be clear again however, we're nearing the end of Living Things. I hope you can squeeze everything about the remaining chapters as I'm close to completing this story almost three years in the making. It'll be fun, I'm sure!

So! I bid you adieu, everyone! I shall see you next chapter! Please stay safe and have a good day/night! Oh, and happy (belated) New Year! Let us hope this year won't be as bad or at least okay!