This ain't an April Fools joke, everyone! This is the newest chapter of Living Things! Please enjoy!

August 22 update: Added a flashback scene of Shino in the beginning.

It's another beautiful day for young Shino! The ten-year-old boy had tidied up his home by washing the dishes, doing the laundry, vacuuming every room before mopping, gardening, and dusting the windows and all furnitures. By the time he's finished, he got tired and worked up a sweat. Not to worry! A trip to the bathroom and change of clothes, and taking care of his little body made him feel good as new!

This is the most arduous tasks Shino did, and unlike the times when he was usually told by his parents to do any of those tasks above, he did it on his own volition this time. It was a little tempting giving up during carrying out the household work because he got a little tired partway through, but the sense of responsibility instilled by his parents' good teachings and wanting to make them proud of his hard work even at his age helped him continue until he's done.

Having spent his entire morning doing those tasks, Shino was able to spend his whole afternoon interacting with his dearest mother and father, both of whom don't have work for today, and also the day before. His mother is a fashion modeler, boasting a great sense of fashion and impressive figure drawing lot of eyes to her that caught his dad's eye, eventually marrying and having one kid. Keen on supporting her fashion model job, he became her assistant and a PR manager that, combined with his extroverted nature and being an easygoing person, helped her working with so many person in the industry and creating a stable income. The downside of their gig is they're not home too often, but they make it up by dedicating an entire day or two in taking their beloved son to any places in Saga or just being there for him at home.

As has become tradition in their household, his dad and mom don't have work for today. They chose to stay at home with their son, disappointing Shino since he wants to go out with his most awesome parents in the world. He got it over with though because he's satisfied having them be there for him at all times. The days where he's either alone in the house or being cared for by a babysitter recruited by his parents seemed prominent to him, so he dedicates every single moment accompanying them.

One such moment is happening this evening: having dinner. And Shino is the one who cooked their dinner.

Finishing his third batch of one of his most favorite foods in the world, Shino lets out a satisfied sigh. Putting the spoon and fork down, he pats his stuffed belly with a smile. "Gochisousama deshita!" He didn't forget to say that phrase after one is done eating as per tradition.

Shino continues patting his belly, relishing in the taste faintly lingering in his mouth. "Mmmm! The first ever meal I cooked... is delicious...! Did you watch me cook our dinner the whole time, right? Right? It's tastes like, well... your cooking!" He leaned forward on the table, looking at presumably his mom sitting across him.

"..."

"I mean... it's not a surprise since you taught me..." Shino leaned back down, becoming shy next. "And while I believe the meal did taste delicious, it doesn't have the same, ummm... kick? ...Is that the right term in context of food?" Tapping his chin for a moment, he thinks of seeking an answer from his dad sitting beside his mom. "What do you think dad? Was my cooking delicious?"

"..."

No response also came. Shino frowned, not liking his parents being so unres- No. Quiet. Too quiet.

"Mom, dad... Are you two still thinking on your fight two days ago...?" Shino asked in concern. He looks down with a saddened face, plainly remembering their argument and how it ended badly. He wants to forget the argument happened because he fears it may shatter the loving family he came to know in his ten years of living in Saga. He then looks apologetic, and says, "I'm sorry for being at the center of your argument, because I became a bad kid. If only I knew I'm the reason why, your argument couldn't had happened..."

His small lips quivered, his mind going back to when he stumbled upon his very tired parents arguing for what seemed the first time after Shino is born. Aware he's the main topic due to him being inflicted by a 'unique' condition, which caused his black hair to turn gray, he pleaded them to stop as he's on the verge of crying. Before he knew it though, the argument did stop and the household became quiet. He refuses to remember the immediate aftermath, because he can vividly remember his parents... going limp, and... and there was bl-

"But! But everything's okay now! I managed to stop more quarrel from happening, mom and dad!"

Getting off his seat, Shino goes around the table to his parents' side. Pulling the chairs out, he pulled his parents out of their seats and settle their knees down on the floor away from the table. Checking if he's standing in between them, a small smile appears on his face as he pulls both his parents close and move their arms to him so they're embracing him. This causes his smile to grow wider. "I promise... I'll be on my best behavior from now on so please... Please don't fight again. We're a loving and happy family, right? That's what you two wanted. And you want me to have a happy life..." In spite of that, tears stream down from his closed eyes, yet his smile stays. "So I'll try to make you feel prouder than ever before. Again, I'm sorry for interrupting your argument, mom and dad. You two have been quiet since then."

LIttle Shino hugs his parents with his small arms, hoping their embrace lasts as long as he likes... as he ignores the smell of pungent decay and dried-up blood coming from his parent's corpse.

Everything happened so fast the moment Linkin Park… shattered the environment away to a featureless space where there are tiny particles floating in the air for a short moment before they saw the Stand and its user vanish out of their sights, accompanied by a strange feeling within their bodies. In a blink of an eye, Franchouchou, Rianima and Emi's family belatedly realize they were transferred to a different location, far from the Stand and its troublesome user.

"Huuuuhhh!?"

Their bewildered reactions should describe the absurd situation they were thrust into so quickly. Feeling their feet firmly planted on a ground, twenty zombies differing in background and personality, and motivations somewhat, look around with their racing minds to the place Linkin Park dumped them into. Instead of a forest clearing, they seem to be in an interior of a hallway, with the ceiling above them curved outward to the top, windows as tall as the walls were settled on the left side while the right wall has many lanterns lined up side by side, reaching far with no end in numbers.

The most noticeable feature about the transparent hallway however, is that everything, from windows to even lanterns and the lit flame inside, are made out of or look like glass. Think but clear glass offering a view of the background in every conceivable angle except to the floor, which is opaque. Given the hallway is transparent, the addition of windows appear redundant. As for the background, calling it a space shouldn't be wrong because around them, multiple stars fill the otherwise empty background, along with hazy cloud-like mist or fog either faintly colored purple or black, but mostly purple mist-like vapor surrounding the seemingly floating corridor. A band of light can be seen surrounding the mist and corridor, possibly providing illumination. Finally, a moon-like object is situated up in the starry dark sky, moving along larger and similar cloud-like veil nearly dominating the background, colored either red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo or violet. The color of a rainbow.

In fact, these specific colors can be found in the shimmering glass, bright or dim stars, and even the moon itself though one must squint their eyes to see it.

With the magnificent view of the background around them depicting the wonders of outer space juxtaposing against the glass-structured interior of a hallway, whatever their thoughts are over being dropped so unexpectedly into this location, they cannot deny seeing the colorful and bright space surrounding all of them is a beautiful sight to behold. They would have thought it is nighttime given the moon's appearance in the sky, the dark sky, bright constellations be it familiar or not, and, as some of them realized, the band of light typically seen during night when they are not near many artificial light sources inched close to the glassy corridor, as if being viewed from afar isn't enough to captivate their minds.

As much they would like to indulge themselves more with the beautiful view of the background, they were reminded of their sudden predicament when they eventually couldn't ignore the looking glass around them. They proceed to address the elephant in the room, or hallway in this case, as Johnny exclaimed out precisely what everyone is thinking. "Hey! What in the hell happened?! Did we all saw Linkin Park transporting us into… wherever this is?!"

His forceful question snaps out of their amazed stupor. All of them faces him, with Bucciarati replying in an unsure tone. "Our eyes did not deceive us, Johnny. Xero, or Shino," he side-eyed the three who knew of that name, "has sent us here during when he was… in some kind of pain related to this… 'ichor' we heard Emi and Kakyoin talk about."

Both of them feel everyone's eyes drilling on them once he mentioned them, with a few opting to glare since they're the reason why they were here in the first place. They did have the thought of looking ashamed judging by them averting their eyes.

Sighing with a bothered look, Ai shakes her head with closed eyes. "I do not understand yet what you two said to… Shino regarding the motivation behind his actions, but I believe you two failed in convincing him to stand down and cease his attempt to end his life."

Kakyoin and Emi didn't argue against her words since that was the reason why they decide to spell it out to Shino over the flaws of his ill-fated but well-intentioned goal. "We, uhhh…" Kakyoin say something in a weak attempt to defend themselves, "know full well there's a chance Shino might decline our pleas to stop throwing his life away, but we didn't anticipate he would put us here after going mad over our findings we told him of."

"I may have underestimated his 「self-loathing」," lamented Emi with a sad look, "I have thought I have understood well his 「plight」 six years ago, back when he was still alive…" She lets out a sigh before finishing this, "But the nineteen years of life he had, fraught with many 「difficulties」 I thought I have empathized with, might have played a factor in his near mental breakdown before he has Linkin Park transport us here."

Hearing her loud and clear, Sakura, after getting over her shock being in a different reality, gets near her before she replies, "Um, Emi-san, right?" The woman glanced at her in mild surprise. The others also turned to her.

"Yes?"

"About what you said about Shino… I can attest that he… have a hard life." Sakura adopts a sad look when she spoke that.

"…Are you certain, Sakura?" Emi replied, aware of her apparent connections to her beloved. "Do you… empathize him over what he had gone through?"

"Yeah… As I said earlier, I was his friend back from high school," she reminded everyone of this fact as she turns away from Emi to gaze at every zombie with the same sad expression. "At first, he's not forthcoming to me, not wanting to be friends with me out of fear she's faking my kind behavior and is like other people who ostracized him. They called him a 「jinx」, a no-good delinquent because he was believed to have done something horrible to the bullies who frequently targeted him. That, along with his parents dying when he was young, made him too reluctant to talk to me."

"But I persevered," she continued. "I strive to help him erase his notion and make him see my offer of friendship is sincere. After always accompany him no matter how much he disliked having me around, he eventually saw I'm not one of those people ostracizing him, leading him to become friends with me. It was his happiest moment after suffering for so long…" She smiled with sad eyes, letting out a sigh over her reminiscing. "As he grew accustomed to me, he told me his life story that made him so antisocial he was willing to live by his lonesome. It's thanks to him revealing those traumatic events that I would sympathize with his bitter upbringing… because I… understood him too well coming from someone who had known misfortune all her life."

"Even if your and Shino's backstories differ?" Kakyoin asked, and Sakura nodded firmly.

Listening to Sakura's account regarding Shino reminds the ones who witnessed her pessimistic attitude the whole day of her current predicament. Not only that, the word "misfortune" could shed light over what became of Sakura, possibly related to her awakened memories leading her to become convinced she can't be part of Franchouchou. This could be their chance to learn more of her so they can understand where she's coming from.

They were about to ask her more when a big gasp is heard followed by someone screaming and falling. "Aaaaahhhhh!"

Alarmed, all of them turn to Junko sitting on the ground with a very shocked face. She's fervently looking around with wide eyes, baffling the zombies.

"Junko-chan?" Mamezuku called out.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's wrong?" Saki asked. "Why are ya looking around in a panic?"

The white-haired zombie blinked once, probably realizing her sudden small outburst was seen weird to them. She gathers her composure before she clarifies, "A-Actually, I'm not panicking, Saki-san. I got… surprised when I remembered something."

"Remembered what, Junko-han?" Yugiri inquired.

Junko stands up and briefly glanced at everyone with an assured face. She then answers, "The place I was in when I went missing for two weeks many months ago. Where the Stand, Weather Report, and possibly Shino also, took me into."

That got their full attention, including Emi's family. "What place is that, Junko?" Ai asked.

"This very place." She pointed to the floor. It only took one second when they understand what she's really pointing at, surprising them.

"Hold on! Are you saying this strange location we are in was where you were sent into by Weather Report, Junko?" Avdol said it so he and everyone get it right.

Junko's nodding confirms his suspicion. "Correct. I even know the name of this place made out of shiny glass surrounded by the expanse of outer space like I saw in sci-fi movies: the 「Castle of Glass」."

"Castle of… Glass?" Narancia repeated.

"Where did you hear the name from?" Bucciarati asked next. "Did Shino told it to you?"

"Well actually, I overheard it from him," clarified Junko. "Right before I seemingly fell unconscious."

Some of them blinked on that part, no doubt a little puzzled. That is until Kakyoin, Avdol, Bucciarati, and Narancia remembered what her state was when they found her in a clearing. Emi isn't left out since she saw her too thanks to Hartzler, leading her to speak before any of the four could. "So that is why you were sound asleep when I saw you no worse for wear… and judging from how you said it, pray forgive me for being presumptuous but… did you not remember anything else while you were trapped in this 'castle'?"

Again, Junko nodded to confirm. She begins rubbing her temple with an unsure look as she says, "Yes. Other than the vivid memory of me being sent here, learning the name of the place and most likely Shino putting me in deep sleep, I can't remember more."

With Number Four revealing what happened to her during her two week absence after getting kidnapped by Weather Report, Franchouchou and Rianima are not sure how they should feel over her possibly holed up in an otherworldly location partially built from an interior of a European castle within the expanse of outer space. There are still the mystery behind Weather Report's damaged self when it showed up to fight Rianima during Saga Rock, after being seemingly fine whenever it taunted them as they searched Junko's whereabouts and why would Shino decide to simply kidnap Junko instead of killing her. The latter could be probably explained by depriving Franchouchou of a skilled member, intending to put them in turmoil.

At least they take solace in the fact Junko remembered what happened to her during her two-week absense, and the name of the place they are currently in.

"Thank you for telling us, Junko. We would continue being confused over where the heck we are." Gyro stated with a nod to her.

"Oh, no worries," smiled Junko. "Glad to hear I helped out even a little."

"With the question on where we are answered," Emi brought the main concern back in track as she turns to Sakura. "We shall know next what your life was like, Sakura. I prithee you on behalf of your friends that we want to know why you believe so much you do not want to continue being Franchouchou's valued member."

"Yes! What Emi-san said!" Lily said with a pleading look. "We are so desperate to know, Sakura-san! Please!"

Sakura glanced at her despondently. "…Should I bother myself telling you all why? Why I decide not to fulfill my last dream of becoming an idol like Ai Mizuno here?"

"'Course you will!" Saki exclaimed, "All of us are still in the dark over your sudden decision to quit being an idol! Maybe if we learn the reason from you, we would understand!"

"Related to that, I don't know yet what happened to Sakura while I was gone, guys," added Kakyoin, shooting a worried look at Sakura, "Can you clarify more on how she regained her memories? I've been waiting to know since after I learned from Ai she has second amnesia."

With two topics needing to be covered, Franchouchou and Rianima tell Kakyoin and Emi's family the catalyst that caused Sakura's memory to be restored, Bucciarati and Ai filling her in over why are they revived by Kotaro when she showed unfamiliarity with her current situation, Sakura bitterly announcing she's abstaining from being an idol, their failed attempts to pull Sakura out of her newfound misery, and leaving the house only to be found by Kotaro and Shino, then following the producer to the place the latter held her "hostage". As for Sakura, she recounts the number of times her misfortune stopped her attempts to be successful ever since she was in elementary school, wearing down her confidence and self-esteem every time.

"…and it all ended with me getting killed by a truck." Sakura finished narrating with a mirthless smile, her eyes covered by her bangs as she lowered her head.

Having listened to her entire life story defined by her misfortune, everyone is aghast and shocked over how she couldn't achieve even the smallest of victories even if she worked so hard and took precautions. Any normal person would have folded when they failed at least three times, yet Sakura was so unlucky she failed six times.

They are perplexed that every attempt she did always ended up failing. Surely she did have a high chance of achieving anything she wanted in various stages of her life because she put her heart and soul into any goals to the best of her ability. But somehow, it had all came crashing down.

If some members of Franchouchou and Rianima thought they had it bad during their previous lives, they felt small in comparison to Sakura's turbulent luck, especially when the events in their own pasts happened once. Now they understand why she became bitter.

"Sakura… To think you suffered so much bad luck when you were alive… We have no idea how much it impacted your well-being that it came back to the present…" Avdol looked at her pitifully.

"Guess I suspected as much," sighed Johnny with folded arms. "You went through all that leading you to become a pessimist. Tch, I know too well from experience…" He closed his eyes with a frown and turned aside.

"Forgive us for making you recount your entire life Sakura-han. I can tell you were uncomfortable during your reminiscence," apologized Yugiri, believing a slap to her face isn't good for her mental well-being. "We really wanted to understand why you made a shocking decision to retire from being an idol."

"And since we finally heard your whole sordid history, we're able to understand you better Sakura, like Sis said," Saki said with a small grin. "Now that we learned everything from you, I would like to say-"

"No. Don't bother cheering me up."

"Eh?"

Saki was taken aback by Sakura saying that curt response, having guessed what they will do shortly after she recounted her past. She's still feeling annoyed at her, Junko, Lily and Rai attempting to rouse her up from her supposedly poor decision. The despondent girl directed a glare not only at Saki, but to the rest of the zombie girls and boys she was accompanied with on her "first" day as a zombie, including Kakyoin. "If any of you thought of doing what I think you will do, stop it. I already made it clear that I'm not coming back to your group."

"Oh yeah? You made poor Lily cry!" Narancia exclaimed, pointing at the twin-tailed zombie kid. "If you haven't left the house secretly, Gyro and I would've scolded you for that!"

"You're lucky you evaded us while we were rightfully pissed off!" Gyro supported with a disapproving look. "I don't think I could control my temper as we scolded you if you haven't left."

Remembering what she inadvertently did to Lily, Sakura's glare soften to a remorseful expression, glancing at Lily to apologize. "Oh, right… I'm very sorry for making you cry, Lily-chan. I was… getting fed up on having to hear so much encouragement from your friends."

"It's… It's alright Sakura," assured Lily, having not held a grudge against her for her outburst. "Lily already forgave you. I was very saddened you became more disheartened in spite of my best attempt to comfort you." Even with her gentle words, Sakura isn't moved, letting out a deep sigh as she turned away from Lily.

Having learned the details behind Sakura's gloomy state, watching her acting that way doesn't sit well for Kakyoin. It upset him that a supposed beneficial event of her amnesia being cured have unearthed her unpleasant memories that slowly eroded her self-confidence reaching its peak through her death via truck collision just when she's going to work hard again towards fulfilling her dream of being an idol singer.

Her death came out of nowhere after suffering from a string of bad luck for many years. Everything she told us about her misfortune striking right before she could accomplish her previous goals was… excessive. Why is it she cannot attain even a small victory throughout her life? It's like… the misfortune striking at her opportune moments was deliberate, leading her to suffer so much she decided to do a bare minimum so she won't have her hopes dashed again.

…Deliberate… bad luck…? …Ah! So that's why!

He remembers Emi telling him about the curse of Saga and its goal in causing the entire prefecture to be forgotten by eliminating anyone who could achieve fame or infamy that would draw attention to Saga. If what she explained regarding the curse is true in relation to the seven girls dying…

The 「curse」 ! It's doing everything in its power to stop Sakura from achieving anything she wanted! But, why her specifically? …Wait, could it be? Was she… a bigger threat due to her having a surprising wide range of skills that can take her in any field or profession? If that is true, then it finally made sense why she suffered so much… all because she wanted to fulfill pretty much anything, as long as it made her happy.

As he directed a pitying look at Sakura not wanting to look at anyone nor letting them stare at her, Kakyoin have never thought there would come a day he would feel disgust, or maybe actually hate, a malevolent force of nature over the fact his close friend got inflicted with so much misfortune. All because she wanted to live out her best life.

Meanwhile, the rest of the zombies are wondering what they should do to cheer up Sakura. Despite her firm words that she won't listen to them rabble about how she should never give up or she's making a poor decision to quit after she showed promise, Franchouchou and Rianima are more determined to wipe off her pessimistic attitude and reignite her passion for her group. Words should be their weapon to cheer her up, but if she doesn't want to listen to them, then what they can do? Slapping her and grabbing hold of her will make it worse for them, so a close confrontation is obviously out of the question.

Fortunately for them, someone has decided the tried and true method of talking shall be the best choice for the pessimistic girl.

"Um, excuse me… Miss Sakura?"

"Hm?"

Becoming aware of someone standing close to her, Sakura look up to see an intricately-dressed woman holding a small pocket mirror within her left hand over her chest gazing at her with a mix of empathy and anticipation. Initially confused at first, she recognized the brown-haired girl accompanying Emi and her two pets, a cat and an owl. And also, judging by the four girls standing behind her, one of them holding a pink doll and another one looking similar to the woman except being short and possibly in a lower age than her, she assumed they are associated with Emi too.

Sakura guesses she wants to talk to her if she walked up to her. Admittedly Sakura doesn't have all day talking with a stranger especially in her current mood, but she is curious on who the brown-haired girl and possibly her sisters are. Also, she doesn't want to expend her despondency to a stranger and make a bad first impression, so she eases up on her expression, clears her throat before asking, "Yes? What is it?"

Hearing her speak, Goldia quickly ruminates on her response before she opens her mouth. "I hope you hear what I want to say to you but… About your unpleasant past, I'm very, very sorry you have to go through all that, miss Sakura. It is horrible. No other words can be said except that one word to describe the kind of life you went through, for I know too well."

"What? You're saying… you have a terrible upbringing?" Sakura guessed, a look of sympathy directed to Goldia.

Goldia nodded once, somewhat glad Sakura determined the main topic of this conversation. "It would be putting it mildly, but yes. I can understand your own feelings well over what you went through. You still don't know me yet, but please believe me when I say that I know how you felt having to suffer from so many awful events you have no control over that we don't deserve at all, even the slightest bit. Our lives may differ, but the experience we both had… it wouldn't be wrong for me to say it feels the same."

"Do you… honestly believe that?" Sakura inquired.

Goldia nodded with a sad smile. "Of course I am. If you believe you are alone because no one can understood why you became so cynical after so many failures, you're wrong. Someone can empathize your troubled life, and the proof of that is standing before you."

Sakura blinked at Goldia's words, finding her gentle tone employing her words influencing her. Her sincerity doesn't feel fabricated, so she must be speaking from the bottom of her heart if she claimed she knew from experience. She doesn't know who she is yet, but she's finding herself being comforted in her presence.

"I'll ask again to be sure. Do you really mean it when you said you can relate to me over our unhappy lives?"

Goldia nodded again. "I am! Don't worry miss Sakura! I think I'm being biased considering you're my most favorite member of Franchouchou, but I mean everything I told you!"

After going wide-eyed and amazed at her response briefly, Sakura realize she heard her say something about her. "Eh? Did I heard you say I'm your favorite member of my group?"

"Oh! Did I?" Goldia put the tip of her fingers to her lips, momentarily surprised before she giggled and smiled at her, seeing it's about time she confesses who she is and her sisters are, especially when they have been drawing stares from pretty much every zombie after noticing they're new and unfamiliar. "Actually, yes… You're my most favorite member among Franchouchou, miss Sakura! It's… It's great to be meeting you at last!"

"W-What?" Perplexed, Sakura blinks twice to the brown-haired girl.

Seeing she must have bewildered Sakura, Goldia takes a step back to give her space. While she is ecstatic to be meeting with her, she didn't forget not only her bandmates, but their bodyguards. Since they were near Sakura, she didn't need to move around to get near them, so she turns at them with her sisters following her line of sight. "As for the rest of you, it's our pleasure to also meet with you all, friends of Kakyoin!"

Clasping her hands on her lap, Goldia bowed before them. "My name is Goldia die Heilige. You may have noticed me and my sisters accompanying Emi, who is our adoptive mother, and may have been wondering who we are," she stands up straight after few seconds, showing a sweet smile on her face. "Well you don't need to wait longer. We're sorry we kept you waiting to learn who we are."

Aside from Kakyoin, the two groups turn to Goldia as she introduced herself at last to them. They were occupied with what happened these past few minutes so they only gave her and her sisters a mere glance, if only because their dresses look majestic and fancy and one of them looks like Goldia. While they have yet to decide on their next action concerning the otherworldly place they are in, they see no harm in indulging their curiosity as to who these girls are so they began talking with them.

"Oh, don't worry, Goldia-san! You didn't make us wait to know you and your sisters!" Lily replied, matching her gentle smile with her own ecstatic one. "I think some of us were about to ask any of you until you talked to Sakura-san!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Goldia-san," returned Junko, feeling herself relaxing as the conversation continues. "Since you said you're Emi-san's daughter, I suppose it's safe for us to say our real names. I'm-"

"Junko Konno, or known by your stage name, Number Four," someone beat her before she could introduce herself. Surprised, she turns to Lisette recognized by her long blonde hair, purple eyes and two scissors tucked in her corset. "Huh? How did you know my name, miss?"

Lisette pointed to Cherry Boy. "Kakyoin told us during his stay."

Franchouchou and Rianima gawk at him for telling these girls their real names. Saki, Ai, Yugiri, Bucciarati, Johnny and Rai's staring felt like a glare and they are judging him. He quickly comes up with a response, throwing his hands up. "I-In my defense, Emi-san and her entourage already knew all of us! Emi-san, Hartzler and Lynn spied on us for many months, so they might have learned our real names!"

"Kakyoin is correct," Emi enters the scene flanked by her two pets, walking up to stand beside Kakyoin. "I overheard most of your names when you were out and about, and even before Kakyoin confirmed your names, all of us were only familiar with your stage names given we are all fans of you in Franchouchou's case."

"Huh? Really?" Saki stated questioningly. "Goldia-chan here isn't the only fan among your family?"

"Of course she's not!" Fleta replied with a glare. "How could we not know who you seven are when you are so popular in Saga? In fact, each of us have favorites, believing any of you to be the best idol among your group!"

"Ooooh~? This we gotta hear! Dare to tell us who's your favorite, kid? Right after you told us your name?"

And so following Goldia's introduction, each four girls introduce themselves to Franchouchou and Rianima. Through their introductions, they get their first impression on who Goldia's sisters are based on how they introduced themselves. Fleta made her haughty and self-important behavior known when she called herself a princess serving under Egliette's rule. For the doll herself, she really surprised the zombies when she spoke, having not expected she is sentient. However, Lily, Ai, and Gyro (unexpectedly) heaped praise over the craftsmanship Egliette's doll body have for matching the girls' clothing theme. Spin Cowboy received plenty of staring when he asked if he wants to hold Egliette, something an open secret to the two groups thanks to Johnny because he owns a pink, teddy bear and how he wished he owns more plush toys.

Harpae's dignified attitude shined through her bowing and speech manner where she made sure she adds honorifics to their names. She didn't forget also to tell them she's blind, surprising them since she hadn't show any signs of having that condition. It impressed and intrigued them. As for Lisette, she never showed or changed her expression during her introduction, appearing calm and sober as she eyed each of the boy and girls probably warily, though she seemed relaxed when looking at Junko. When Narancia commented on her straight-faced behavior, she added that they should be glad she's in a good mood because she can be scary when provoked, which is clarified by Goldia and Harpae.

Lastly, Enjel's eagerness to be meeting with the rest of Kakyoin's friends didn't take long to come out, espousing her wish and desire to know all of them. When questioned why she looked like Goldia when she was five years younger (Goldia is 18 years old), Goldia and Kakyoin said respectively, "It's a long story", and "She was not part of her initially." For the latter statement, Goldia and Emi revealed what these four girls and Egliette are: alters of Goldia that are part of her but possess distinctive identity that it wouldn't be wrong for them to say they were her younger sisters. Other than the notion behind her appearance and Goldia being a host to four of her "sisters" or "alters", she endeared herself to most of them like the girls, though she interacted the most to Johnny and Gyro because they have horses. She expressed her wish to ride one to imitate what it's like being in a carousel when asked why she's so eager.

With five girls and one doll finally making themselves known to Franchouchou and Rianima, the zombies are happy to be making acquaintances with them. While Rianima is okay with them, Franchouchou interacted with them more due to them being their fans, so each girls are ecstatic or happy to be talking more with their most favorite idol members. Even Sakura isn't exempt from interacting with Goldia, if only because she is sweet and caring enough she comforted her.

"Never thought I would gain a fan in the form of a living doll." Ai admitted amusingly, holding Egliette in her hands.

"Nor would I come around liking Franchouchou and their genre of music." Egliette replied, drawing a chuckle out of Ai.

"I'm soooo happy to meet you, miss Saki!" Enjel exclaimed giddily to Number Two. She's standing on her toes to match her height as she says more, "The leader of Franchouchou who likes talking big and oozes charisma! We're looking forward to your show, so we hope you don't disappoint us!"

"Hahaha! No worries, little angel!" Saki replied, patting her head. "I expect ya and your sisters to show up, else I'll personally come get you all!"

Lily stared in puzzlement but also amusement over Fleta grunting as she stands up on her toes in an attempt to appear taller than her. It seemed like it's a product of her haughty attitude, but it's really not. She wanted to know what it's like being a tall girl.

After struggling to remain in that position, Fleta became tired, prompting her to stop standing on her toes. Panting a little, she heard Lily laugh. "Hey, what's so funny!?" She demanded, pouting and crossing her arms.

"O-Oh, it's n-nothing!" Lily claimed. Fleta isn't convinced, though she chooses to drop the subject if only because she pledged to be nice and she's a fan of Franchouchou's little star. They are watched by Junko, Yugiri, Harpae, and Lisette, either amused or nonplussed. Lisette is silent, but she's happy to be standing near the Showa Idol whom she was enamored of.

"Fleta-han could probably get along with Lily-han given she seemed the youngest girl in your family," Yugiri guessed with a smile.

"Well, being close to Lily's age is the reason why she immediately became her fan, like I did to you, miss Yugiri," Harpae replied, a delicate hand placed on her cheek.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that."

With Emi's family completely acquainted with Franchouchou and Rianima, it's high time everyone gets to discuss what they must do next. It was already obvious the Castle of Glass isn't where they were suppose to be due to everything what the terms "pocket dimension" entails. Forming a circle, the zombies begin deciding their next course of action, which is vaguely guessed to be finding a way out.

"…If we can have a chance of getting out of this place," started Mamezuku, taking in the sight of a glass hallway again. "Our best bet would be finding Shino. We all saw Linkin Park transporting him and all of us here before sending us far away. Provided that is true, we must start moving and find him."

"That's easier said than done," said Bucciarati. "We're not sure yet how this place functions but even if we can endure any weird properties this dimension holds, we might take a long time scouring our current location just to find him."

"Wait, maybe Emi-san can track Shino's position. Her Stand may have allowed her to find where Shino last went back in Mt. Tenzan," suggested Junko, turning at her with a hopeful look. "You can do it, right?"

However, Emi shakes her head dejectedly to Junko's mild surprise. She replies, "Pray forgive me miss Junko, but for some reason, Bring Me to Life is not sensing Shino's current position. In my perspective, Shino's soul traces were not being picked up involuntarily, even with my Stand's great range."

"S-So you don't know where he is then?" Sakura surmised worriedly. A head shake from Emi reaffirms her statement, leading her to shake her head as well. "Oh no… What should we do? We need to find him fast! I saw him being in pain due to having the 「ichor」 in his body. I fear he could be in severe condition considering the last time we saw him."

"Then our best chance is to start walking down the hallway, everyone," suggested Harpae. "We must cease talking because we're not going anywhere if we keep discussing among ourselves. Searching for Shino will take long like mister Bucciarati said but as of now, that is our best course of action."

Everyone concedes her words. They have stayed in one spot long enough that Tae is itching to move. She was looking at their surroundings the whole time even after she concluded she doesn't like this place and would like it if she, her companions, caretakers, and new friends get out sooner or later. "Aaaarrrrgh…" She groaned to let them know what she's feeling.

"Seems like Tae agrees with you, Harpae," responded Avdol. "We must start moving, everyone. We must not delay any longer."

"Then it's decided," facing where he believes to be the right direction, Kakyoin says, "Let's move. Time to commence our search for Shino."

No arguments were made against Kakyoin as twenty zombies, a doll, a cat, and an owl perched on her owner's head march down the spacious corridor, their feet producing clicking sounds against the floor as they stride along. During the very long walk, Kakyoin, Avdol and Narancia deployed their Stands to scour and cover the space many meters away from them to better track where they're going, and supply the group with defensive measures to be safe. Zombies they are, they are not invulnerable to dying again. Emi's family may have not encountered as many enemy Stands Franchouchou and Rianima faced, but they know too well the threat such Stands displayed. Who's to say targeting someone's Stand is only but one of the many method to kill a Stand User.

Five minutes into the walk, Gyro and Johnny brought out Valkyrie and Slow Dancer so they get to rest their legs and be better prepared to retaliate against perceived threat and protect their friends, mostly the girls. When Enjel first saw their horses, she immediately swooned to the animals, preferring to stride along the two jockeys, which they warned her to stay away because their horses could get skittish or spooked because she's near. No soon after, she requested if she can ride any of their horses. After getting Emi and Goldia's approval, Johnny granted her wish, much to her delight since she took a shine to appaloosa for his white coat and impressive mane.

Also, he expected Gyro would totally object under his belief Lady Luck is not looking on him fondly.

Another five minutes pass, and after stepping away from another corner they turn around for, someone decided to try cheering a certain girl up.

"Ooooh-eh-oh-oooooooooh!"

"H-Huh?"

Sakura got bewildered watching Tae bellow a rooster's crow after getting in front of her. She and everyone else stopped moving to address what Tae is doing.

Her bewilderment gave way to confusion as she wonders her intentions, "Uhhhh…"

As they looked at her odd behavior, Ai noticed what's slightly different from Tae. "Wait, is she wearing a Drive-in Tori T-shirt?" She pointed out.

"Where did she get that shirt from? Kotaro's van?" Saki stated with a raised eyebrow.

Back to Tae, she sees Sakura is shooting her a confused glare, indicating she doesn't recognize the act she's enacting before her, so she starts swinging her arms to perform a dance she remembers her fellow groupmates did that has her crying out a rooster's crow. Given her known feral behavior though, Sakura didn't recognize what she's enacting and neither everyone else.

"…You're kinda scary." She told Tae before walking pass her. The black-haired zombie turned around to her precious caretaker and attempted to get her attention back by dancing as best as she can.

"…Uuurrrrgh…" But seeing Sakura continue moving away made Tae stop. Others may not see her expression, but her normally impassive face look dejected over her failed attempt.

After her weird attempt to cheer Sakura up has passed, they continued. Another five minutes would pass that only involved walking down the empty corridor in partial silence, with the only sounds being their footsteps echoing within the hallway. They would like to think they are actually progressing given how far they walked, but they are not sure if that is true because everything about the glass corridor seems always the same. Or in other words, there seems to be no end in sight as the walls, windows and lanterns repeat ad nauseam. If there's one thing that changed though, it's the background showing clouds, or actually nebulas, of varying transparency, color or density moving along the space to cover the moon, plenty of stars, and partially the light band surrounding the corridor. It's like they're acting like a fog swooping in to the surface.

Taking the psychedelic sight of outer space surrounding over their heads undeniably amazes the group, serving as a mild distraction for their journey through the Castle of Glass. It is more effective for Yugiri, Johnny, Gyro, Goldia, Fleta, Harpae, Lisette and Enjel since they came from a time when space exploration isn't prevalent yet or is a product of one's imagination. They knew what the tiny stars and purplish mist faintly illuminated are, but seeing dense nebulas in the background in varying colors and shapes floating around have taken their breath away.

"Y'know, with all the weird stuff we faced caused by fighting other Stands, I would never thought we would be in space, or at least it felt like we're in space," admitted Narancia, putting his hands behind his head. "Only astronauts have the privilege of going to space via a rocket, and yet Shino achieved that thanks to Linkin Park."

"Technically you're right for we aren't actually out in the space, but it's not wrong either to assume otherwise," agreed Bucciarati. "Outer space sure is beatiful and literally out of this world."

"I'm not sure if it feels right for me to say this, but I would like to thank Shino for granting us this pretty sights of outer space!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes twinkling over numerous stars in the background like her general motif.

"Perhaps you have a chance if he was able to be saved," said Goldia. "Something I hope will come true."

Feeling satisfied on seeing what outer space is like and that there is more to it than they thought, they return their sights forward, only to stop when they saw Sakura had also stopped. While her back is turned so they can't see her face, they can discern she has her hands raised and she seems to be looking at something.

"Sakura?" Kakyoin called out in wonder, stepping toward her so he can see what she's looking at. "What's the matter? Why did you-" Standing beside her, he directs his eyes at where Sakura is looking. "…Ah!" He goes wide-eyed upon glancing at an irksome sight.

The others came forward, some of them moving around the two to better see what they're looking. They, too, got shocked when they see it. That being said, their reactions are nothing compared to Sakura's aghast yet sober expression when she instantly recognize the person lying on their side on the floor with dull eyes open and mouth slightly agape.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

"W-Wha? That's… That's 「you」, Sakura!" Junko exclaimed loudly, covering her mouth and feeling squeamish at the pool of blood under her head. Her red hair blended nearly well against the blood, so one could mistake her hair to be actually big amount of blood gushing out of her head.

"The hell…?" Saki muttered uneasily. "Are we… looking at her 「corpse」? Seemed like you, or she, got in an accident."

"Accident? Ah!" Bucciarati realizes what kind of accident that Sakura got into, and what could this entail. "Could it be? Is this the immediate aftermath of truck accident that killed you, Sakura?"

Hearing him loud and clear, Sakura adopts a melancholic expression before nodding a little numbly. "That's right. So this is what I looked like after I died… Can't believe I am looking at my corpse, many years before my unwanted resurrection…" Stepping forward a little, she kneeled before her "corpse" more sadly, heaving out a shaky sigh. "It's strange looking at myself that isn't my reflection. Wait, what am I saying? Why do I feel okay staring at my corpse?" As if emphasizing her words, she raised her palms up for her to see, noticing again her veins and bluish-green skin coating her hands and fingers.

There's no denying they all feel more pity for Sakura. In spite of her statements, it's obviously not easy looking at your corpse regardless if they can only happen under an extraordinary circumstances. However, the fact that they're looking at Sakura's road-killed corpse in the Castle of Glass raises a question: why is it here?

"Senpai…? S-Senpai!"

The group perked up when they heard a familiar voice uttering a slightly familiar word addressed for Sakura. "What the? Are we… hearing his voice?" Johnny asked, looking left and right.

"Is he here? That's his voice we're hearing, right?" Goldia hoped.

"Yes. But the voice we heard… it sounds a little… younger." Emi recognized, noting the difference in the voice's pitch.

Before they can muse more over her guess, a second person appeared suddenly, kneeling before Sakura's corpse. To their more surprise, they recognize him to be Shino, dressed differently in a high school uniform and, like Emi said, looking a little younger.

Sakura recoiled upon seeing him and recognizing what he looked like when he was in high school. "Sh…Shino!?"

"That is Shino? But why is he here with your corpse?" Avdol brought up, getting his and the rest's attention back to the odd scene detailing an event that happened in the past. They were puzzled at first… until they remembered Sakura told them that Shino was her friend back in high school. With that knowledge, they looked intently at the sight of younger Shino cradling Sakura's corpse with a distressed face. After giving it much thought, they realize what's happening, as well as what kind of memory they are looking at.

Yes, they are sure what they're seeing is a memory. Shino's memory, possibly.

On that thought, an awful truth settled on Sakura upon realizing what event she is watching that had transpired on the day of her death. "No… No way… Shino, h-he…" The memory's next scene confirms the worst thing that really happened after she died.

"Blood… So much… b-blood," Shino muttered, staring in horror at the puddle of blood before turning back to Sakura's lifeless corpse. A look of disbelief was present on him as he puts his hand shakily on Sakura's cheek. Upon touching, his eyes widen as tears spilt out, letting out a shaky gasp. "Your skin… it's growing colder. A-And your pulse…" He checked her pulse next. "…Nothing."

If Shino wanted to deny what he's seeing, then everything he unfortunately saw happening to his only friend in life has settled in his distraught mind. With the reality of the situation pronounced to him, Shino let out choked sobs as his vision became blurry from too much tears spilling out of his eyes. In that moment, Shino was alone once more. His only reprieve is wrapping his hands around Sakura's lifeless body and hugs her tight, putting his face over her left shoulder as he cried over the loss of his only friend.

"Senpai, p-please… Please wake up… Don't… Don't leave me alone, please… P-Please wake up!" Shino pleaded to his unresponsive friend, denial still in his mind. "W-Why… Why do you have to… to die? Just… why…?"

He continued hugging Sakura and sobbed over her body, his heart having already accepted she's gone no matter how much he denies.

The sight of their apparent "enemy" crying over the death of Sakura is the last scene they saw from this physical memory before it vanishes quietly, dispersing into tiny particles.

Snapping out of her stupor when she saw the memory disperse, Sakura reached out, hoping to stop them from floating away, but they were long gone even if she tried grabbing some.

After a momentary silence among the zombies, Sakura speaks up in a somber tone. "He witnessed my death on that fateful day… when he possibly wanted to see me so we set off together on our first day of school…"

Pulling herself up from the floor, Sakura hangs her head low with a sigh, finding it hard to believe she and her companions got to watch her death from someone's perspective. The fact that someone is one she knows well made her feel worse. Everyone glanced at her in pity, worry and empathy, wanting to comfort her but unsure of the right words they could say. Her existing gloomy state grew exacerbated over watching Shino's past memory involving the two and they don't want to pile in more misery to Sakura and make it hard for them to get her out of her current state.

"…Let's move." They suddenly heard Sakura say, snapping their attention at her. She turned around to look directly at each zombies with a mix of regret and determination, emphasized by her slightly furrowed brows and frown.

"Sakura?" Saki called out.

"We must find Shino soon. If that memory being shown to us is any indication, he must be hurting bad over watching me… d-die," she averted her eyes when saying the last part. She reaffirmed her staring before she continues. "While he's the only one who can get us out of this Castle of Glass, I don't like the thought of him doing it when he's been feeling crestfallen since after the last time I ever saw him many years ago."

While most of the group understands her reasoning, some of them are feeling skeptical because what Sakura said concerning Shino's current state should be applied to her too. "If that's what you want for him, then fine. We won't argue against it. But what about you?" Mamezuku stated.

"Me?"

"Your sorry state as of right now? Our thoughts over your desire to stop being an idol remain unchanged," he continued. "We understood over your struggles to overturn your bad luck and have plenty of context or details behind your sudden decision of quitting Franchouchou, but don't think that we aren't convinced you're not capable of achieving your last dream in life before you died."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, getting really tired of her fellow zombies' same attempt to persuade her. "I'm already over it. Didn't I made that clear many times now? You may continue thinking to yourselves I'm wrong, but let's not forget the bigger predicament we found ourselves in. One that we must clear up if you girls want to be on time for the Arpino concert."

All of them got irked she's still set on that decision and her dismissive attitude to her issue. As much they like to argue against it, they concede she's right. They need to find Shino soon.

"Sakura-chan is right. We don't have all night standing around trying to make her change her mind," sighed Ai. "Let's continue, guys. We will deal with her problem later."

"Then off we go," said Emi, already moving forward if only they must make rapid progress in searching Shino. "Our task shall take priority even if we are still worried over Sakura."

No one argued more or at least kept their supposed responses silent as the large group continued their prowling in the Castle of Glass. Musing over the physical memory of a young Shino cradling Sakura's lifeless body and with the knowledge he knew what the Castle of Glass is, they wonder if they would see more of his memories the further they go. Truth be told, they want to know more of Shino. His motivation and goal were made clear to Franchouchou and Rianima, but the greater reasoning behind them and his background were still unknown. Sure Sakura and Emi knew him personally, but they believe their accounts might not be enough. Their best chance of learning everything about Shino would be viewing his memories. That is if it happens again.

Given this is possibly Shino's domain, that option sure seems likely.

Regardless of their thoughts, Franchouchou, Rianima and Emi's family continue further in the Castle of Glass, the view of the outer space surrounding the glass interior providing some level of awe and comfort for them, especially with the unnerving and ear-splitting silence being there from the start.

To be continued

Finished!

A lot of things happened in the chapter! Goldia and her sisters finally met Franchouchou and the rest of Rianima, Sakura told them about her unfortunate past, Junko revealed she was in Castle of Glass for two weeks after getting kidnapped by Weather Report, and lastly, they watched Shino's memory of him cradling Sakura's corpse in his arms, revealing he was present on the day Sakura died.

Two more chapters are left before we can tackle the climactic fight against Xero, which the entire fighting arc will be called "Absolute Xero SAGA". I shouldn't have named the previous chapter (that I changed) using that name and instead reserved it for the proper fight. Oh well, all of you will learn the name sooner or later, so it's not a big loss to me.

Stay tuned for the next chapter! For now, let me enjoy the rest of my birthday (which is April 1). I'll see you all again, my loyal readers! Adieu~!