Chapter Text
Present time
Kohaku sits on the opposite side of the other four people in the dorm room. The atmosphere in the room is awkward. No one says anything for a while. It was all silence for a while until the pink haired boy spoke up.
"I'm just takin' a wild guess here that y'all had figured it out about bon right?" Kohaku speaks to them with a relax approach.
"I'm assuming 'bon' is suuchan correct?" Kohaku answered Ritsu's question with a nod. While he's suspicious at Kohaku at first when they met at the cafe, Kohaku doesn't seem to be on guard and instead looks calm and relax.
Ritsu doesn't really have any thoughts on why the pink hair boy seen so relax. When he met him earlier, Kohaku was more cautious and an strange individual. But he'll figure it out when he can get more information about Tsukasa from his cousin.
Before Ritsu could speak, Izumi decided to stop him with a gesture, telling Ritsu that he should ask his questions later.
For now, Izumi wanted to asked Kohaku some questions that may or may not will end in an argument. Izumi looks at the boy in front of him and speaks up.
"Kohaku-kun. We want to ask you a few questions if you don't mind. Lie to us and you'll get punish." Izumi says with a serious look on his face. Izumi folded his arms together and Leo could see Izumi's grip on his arm becoming tighter.
"Go ahead, I'll answer them all with not a single lie"
Kohaku responded with a smirk. Izumi clicks his tongue.
"Don't be so cocky brat."
Kohaku just nods at Izumi, not wanting to anger the older man much longer. Izumi just sighs before starting to ask some questions for the pink haired boy.
While Izumi was speaking, the tension in the room becomes heavier as if both parties were about to bite the other individual's head off. Arashi was listening to the conversation along with Leo and Ritsu, although it seems like both of them were tired.
Arashi can see how puffy Leo's eyes looked like. Poor boy, he must have cried earlier before meeting them. In the past, Leo and Tsukasa used to bicker a lot since Tsukasa didn't like how stubborn the leader of knights was. Nevertheless, they were always close and when Leo gave the crown to Tsukasa, becoming knights leader from that point on, it shows how much Leo trusted him. Actually, they were always close ever since they met eye to eye.
They were very similar too on the inside, they both want to protect what is dear to them. They hold the same ideals but have different ways to execute it. But they aren't enemies, they are friends, maybe rivals you might say.
Now, Leo-no, everyone in knights has fallen down into the abyss. They don't really know what to do at the time when Tsukasa had suddenly died that day. Knights went on a hiatus and Leo returned to the throne, many flowers were placed in from of ES from fans in memory of him.
Arashi snapped back to reality when she ritsu placed his hand on her shoulder. She looks beside her to find Ritsu pointing at Izumi who looks frustrated as his hand grips on his own shirt.
Out of all the knights, Izumi was by far the most angriest when he found out about Tsukasa's death. His demeanor changed so suddenly. He was more short tempered towards other idols and he kept himself busy with modeling works overseas. Arashi had known the grey haired man since childhood and she had never seen him change so much than the time Leo suddenly vanished.
She listens closely to the conversation, hoping to know more about Tsukasa's intention and Izumi's reason for the frustration.
"...ya were so strict with him that he suddenly killed himself. It's yer guys fault." Kohaku said while glaring at Izumi who was already at his limit. Izumi calms himself down before talking back at the younger boy
"I won't deny that we were strict with him but we also always looked out for him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Anythin' stupid?" Kohaku scowled at Izumi "but yer all failed to protect him. And he died because of y'all. It's yer guys fault." Izumi was told that again but kept his composure.
"We didn't see what was going on. We thought that everything was okay with him and that he was just stressed considering that a few days before he died, his personality...his mood changed." Changed? Kohaku wondered about that but shakes it off as unimportant for now. He continues to push Izumi till he snaps.
"And yall did nothin' about it?" Kohaku glares at Izumi who looks like he was ready to snap Kohaku's neck. Kohaku lets out a laugh
"I'm disappointed really. Ya all here are a bunch of cowards that can't move on from the future, a bunch of people who pretend to keep an imagery of a chivalrous knight who promised to stay by their king's side. But all of ya left him by the throne." Izumi's eyes widened but before he could say anything, Kohaku continued.
"He died because of y'all's negligence. He died because ya guys made him shoulder all the burdens. He died because of y'all." Kohaku face was blank as he looks at Izumi, who finally snaps, grabs Kohaku by the collar aggressively and drags the boy towards him.
"JUST FUCKING SHUT UP YOU BRAT. MAYBE IT IS OUR FAULT BUT KASA-KUN WON'T BLAME US FOR HIS DEATH. YOU'RE HIS FAMILY RIGHT?! BUT YOU'RE ACTING AS IF HIS DEATH DOESN'T FUCKING AFFECT YOU." Izumi yells at Kohaku and pushes him to the floor, making the younger boy land on his back.
Kohaku thought it was over until he sees Izumi's figure crouches down to his level and slaps him hard on the cheek.
Everyone in the room froze as they saw Izumi snap, even Leo who was in a depressed state suddenly looked at his friend in shock. Even before any of them could interfere, Izumi yells at the younger boy again.
"You don't have the damn right to blame us for his death. I bet even you don't know why he died." Izumi says and his hands go over to strangle the person below him. Kohaku struggles to breathe as his hands grips his attacker.
"Y-yer...al....also...d.... don't have ....the right to-" before Kohaku could finish his words, Izumi's grip on his neck tightens. Kohaku gasped in pain but didn't try putting up a fight.
Ritsu and Leo were shocked seeing the situation. Arashi, when realizing the situation would get worse, ran over and pushed Izumi away from Kohaku. Both the models fall to the ground and Arashi hits her head on a bedside table, the crash causes an object to fall down to the floor. She opens her eyes to see Kohaku sitting down breathing heavily while touching his neck, Ritsu and Leo going over to Izumi.
She looks at the side to find a picture frame landed on the floor and picks it up. She sat down on the floor. Examining it, the back reads "Knights: Naru-kun, me, Leo-kun, Kasa-kun, Kuma-kun" she then turns it around and finds a picture of Knights during the starlight festival. They all...looked so happy together, smiling and having fun. Izumi's annoyance at Leo who puts his left hand around his neck and the other hand around Tsukasa's neck. The red hair looked surprised while she and Ritsu were smiling.
However, the glass of the picture had broke when it landed on the floor earlier, causing some cracks appearing in the photo...but what was strange was that only Tsukasa's picture had a crack that covers his face.
3 months ago, Tsukasa Suou was killed and his funeral was held privately, only his father friends and family members were invited.
Natsume was invited by Leo, along with Sora and Tsumugi. Natsume sat down as he listened to the priest. In front was Tsukasa's coffin, with his body dressed in a suit. His eyes are closed as he looks like someone who's just sleeping peacefully.
In the front row was Tsukasa's father and his relatives while in front of him were the members of knights whom he could hear crying silently as the funeral goes.
Natsume is now here, at Tsukasa's funeral. It was true that he already knew this was going to happen considering Tsukasa had told him about his own death a year ago. But Natsume wonders...
Is there really a way to change Tsukasa's fate...and perhaps ask him to tell more about the future...?
Ah. He's not interested in the future or any future events. He's interested in knowing more about Tsukasa's power. If Tsukasa having such power exists, then it means there are things that can even defy logic itself. He wants to ask Tsukasa about such a thing.
But it isn't possible to revive the dead... at least for him. He needs someone to be able to help him revive, or just let him talk to Tsukasa's spirit one more time before he can go to the other side.
Is there really such an entity that could-
Suddenly, there was a sudden pain in his head. He grips it as everything starts to feel heavy and uneasy around him. He tried to see what was going on but his head hurts like hell.
After a few seconds, the pain in his head stopped and he pulled his head back up as he opened his eyes. Natsume's eyes widened as everyone in the chapel stopped moving...as if they had been frozen in time. He looks at his side to find Sora and Tsumugi on their seats who are also frozen in time. He tried shaking Sora but the blonde's body was as hard as a rock for him.
He sighs and looks around the chapel. Everyone here is like statues that won't move. He walks in front as he turns his head side to side to see the faces of grief and sorrows of people who had loves Tsukasa Suou.
And he is now standing in front of Tsukasa's body , laying in the coffin with his eyes closed as his hand claps together holding a rose. Natsume looks at Tsukasa's body for a few moments. He goes and touches tsukasa's hands, they felt soft under his touch.
"You want to talk to him right?" Suddenly, a voice was heard by Natsume and he turns around to see a young teenage girl dressed up in all black, holding a white rose.
"Who aRE yoU?" Natsume asked the unknown girl and she laughs at the red head. She wears a smile on her face that looks terrifying to look at the more you focus on that girl.
she goes over to Natsume and looks at Tsukasa's body. She observes the body for quite a while, causing Natsume to click his tongue in annoyance.
"I'll aSK you agaIN, who aRE yoU?" Natsume glares at the girl. She turns around to look at Natsume and she smiles innocently.
"I'm an entity that exists to those who have great desires." The girl spins her flower around in her hand. Natsume wasn't sure what this girl's intention was with him but he knows that he shouldn't try to mess with her. For now, he'll go with a friendly approach.
"Great desiRES..." Natsume looks at the little girl then it clicks on him. Maybe she can help him. If she's an entity, that means her existence doesn't apply towards the logic or physics of this world.
Meaning maybe with her help, he can talk to Tsukasa.
She hums as she looks at her white rose in admiration.
"Humans are interesting creatures. All of which are born with an original sin. Unlike Angels, Devils or even Gods, they have a lifespan. What makes them different from other celestial beings is their understanding of each other whether it's feelings and desires" she talks and touches tsukasa's cheek with her hand
"and they die with their sins. Humans are mortals who learn from others influence. That's why there's always conflict that can result in such a thing like death." Natsume wasn't trying to listen to her monologue. He just wants her to get straight to the point already.
The entity looks at Natsume and holds her rose towards Natsume with a gentle smile
"Natsume Sakasaki... what's your greatest desire?"
She looks at the man in front of her with eyes full of admiration. Natsume, stares at her while trying to comprehend what she just asked. A few moments later, he answers
"TO...talk with hIM." He looks at Tsukasa's body and his gaze goes back to the entity. She claps her hands together in approval.
"I'll grant you your wish. However, I can't promise you that it'll be what you truly desire." What he truly desires...? Natsume looks at her with a look of confusion. She goes and grabs the red rose from Tsukasa's hands as she then holds it with her white rose and her eyes gaze on both of them.
"I'm not supposed to be here after all. I wasn't supposed to talk to you and grant you your wish." She says calmly as she holds one rose in one hand and holds the other one in the other. "Let me give you an example" Her hands holding one rose closely come closer together, her eyes focus on them.
"Your timeline is the white rose. While the red rose is an interference. Another way to put it is the red rose represents the original future, or the future Tsukasa Suou sees...while the white rose represents the possibility of a new future." She smiles as her gaze focuses back on Natsume. Natsume stays silent as he has nothing to say at the moment, wanting to hear more about the entity's explanation.
She speaks again when she sees Natsume's eyes focusing on the roses. "When the petals of the white rose falls, the future goes on like how it's supposed to be..." She stops for a moment and continues "however...what if the petals on the red rose fall onto the pile of the supposedly the white roses petals?"
She smiles and both flowers collided with each other making them fall to the ground.
"It would cause the future to go to a different path than it was originally... meaning that I, as the red rose here grants you your wish, it will cause a time anomaly and who knows what the side effects will be." She chuckles before stepping on both roses on the ground causing all their petals to scatter around the floor.
"Maybe the person who wants their wish to be granted will suffer the side effects...or maybe the deceased here will suffer its side effects." And then, she laughs maniacally before picking up a petal on the ground and observe it. "If it doesn't go the way you wanted, don't blame me...blame your desires." She smiles at Natsume and gives him the petal.
"So, are you willing to suffer the consequences, Natsume Sakasaki?"
Natsume realizes what she is going with and he felt a bunch of mixed emotions towards it. Although this...girl in front of him is able to grant his desires makes him sigh in relief...but at the same time... there's consequences in doing so.
From what he understands, talking to tsukasa will cause a major time distortion because fate won't allow such changes to be ignored. Either he or Tsukasa will suffer side effects from it...and his wish won't go the way he wants it to be because of his other desires.
He wants to talk to Tsukasa...but at the same time, he wants Tsukasa to be happy again. That poor boy didn't deserve to die so young.
There was a pregnant pause between the two of them as she waits for Natsume's answer...and eventually, Natsume holds his hand up to the girl.
"Yes. I will."
The girl shakes Natsume's hand with an innocent smile. "It's a deal then. Remember...maybe he will suffer the consequences instead of you." She whispers in Natsume's ear and looks at Tsukasa's body, placing her hand on Tsukasa's cold hands.
"Good luck. Until we meet again, Natsume Sakasaki."
The girl tells Natsume before everything goes dark for him. His body falling to the ground as his eyes catches a glimpse of the girl smiling creepily at Natsume.
He gasps as he was back in his seat at the chapel. Seems like time had started to move again and-
"Shisho, are you feeling alright?" A sudden voice awakes him from his thoughts as his head turns to the side to see Sora with a worried look on his face.
"You were asleep and Sora let you rest while senpai had to go somewhere earlier. Sora was worried that you didn't get much sleep today." Sora frowns as he looks at Natsume.
So to others, he just passed out but time had actually stopped in reality. That girl... granted his wish so that means either Tsukasa's spirit is somewhere or he's alive. But, either he or that boy suffers from the fateful consequences.
It's not as if he can turn back time for this. While he never had a close relationship with Tsukasa, it doesn't mean he doesn't care about him. If anything, he's just so happened to be involved with Tsukasa's fate somehow.
"Shisho~?" Sora voice snaps him from his trains of thoughts and he finally speaks to the younger boy with a reassuring smile.
"I'm just...tiRED that's ALL. Don't worRY about IT Sora" Natsume quietly says to Sora. The blonde looks at him with a concerned look. Natsume can't lie to Sora since the younger one can see his colors... however, it seems like Sora doesn't want to question it or talk about it for now.
His mind goes back to a trance when he finds a white rose in his hand. Was this always in his possession all this time? He also finds a red bow tied to its stem. Observing the petals, he realized that the inside of the flower are covered with blood.
He remembers the girl's words when she also held the white rose.
'Your timeline is the white rose. While the red rose is an interference.'
If this flower is covered in a splatter of blood now, it means that he's in the new future, the future that Tsukasa didn't see. This future is supposedly the good end. To either him, or Tsukasa...will suffer the consequences.
As time goes on with the funeral, they buried Tsukasa. Grieves and sorrows clouds the surroundings. Natsume stands with Sora and Tsumugi as they see knights crying over Tsukasa's grave. The rain falls on Knights as Switch observes them from far. Eventually, all of them leave and it was Switch's turn to give their condolence on the deceased. He places an iris flower. The other two look at Natsume and join him in praying for Tsukasa.
Words came out of his mouth but his mind doesn't register on what he said. Maybe an apology to Tsukasa. Sora and Tsumugi said their condolences after. Natsume couldn't stop thinking about the entity that he didn't realize it started to rain. Tsumugi used his coat to cover Natsume as the red hair seems unaware of his surroundings.
Sora grabs Natsume's hand and along with Natsume, they all head back to Tsumugi's car. However, as they head back, they hear the sound of a plaintive wail not far for them. It causes Natsume's to snap out of his trance. All three went to investigate the noise. Behind a tree was a wailing child with their head on their knees.
"What are you doing here little...boy?" Tsumugi asked the child and they look up to meet his gaze. It was indeed a boy and his eyes are red and puffy from crying, his cheeks wet and his nose full of snots that fell on his wet clothes. Tsumugi's eyes widen when he sees the face of the child.
Natsume and Sora's were also shocked when they both see the child's face. The child...looked so similar to the deceased Tsukasa Suou. His red-brownish hair , fair complexion and lavender eyes...
Natsume's heart drops when he realized that not only was the fact that Tsukasa was alive and in front of him right now.
But he also realized that Tsukasa faced the consequences and was reborn.
"So the boy faced the consequences." An unknown voice says.
Natsume turns around to find the same girl he had talked to earlier at the chapel. As she puts her finger on her lips to indicate that Natsume should be quiet about her being here. Natsume looks behind him to find Sora and Tsumugi crouching down to the ground to comfort the child.
He talks to the girl once more and hoping that the rain can somehow make their voice inaudible to his friends comforting the child for now.
"...What DID you DO." He glares at the girl who grins at him.
"I didn't do anything wrong. I simply grant your wish and he suffered the consequences." Gosh. Her innocent tone makes Natsume wants to torture her.
"You wanted to talk to him but I believe you also want him to be alive right?" She asked Natsume and giggles, her grins turns wider as a result.
"If anything, it's your fault that's he's here and-"
Natsume grabs her wrist in a fit of anger. He doesn't know why he's angry at her. He did want Tsukasa to be alive and well, talking to him was the wish. But why is he here as a child? He shouldn't be reborn at all...
"But..why IS he a chiLD?"
"Like I said, I'm an interference remember? Because the future that Tsukasa Suou saw was the future that was supposed to happen. But I interfere because you technically summon me. When I granted your wish, a time anomaly happened and he suffered the consequences...
I told you that. But you still said yes."
Her words shocked Natsume when he realized it was his fault for agreeing. However, there was one more question that he has. He took a deep breath he didn't know he was holding and looked at the girl with a despaired look on his face.
"ThEN...why did you graNT my wiSH?"
The girl laughs before answering his question with an innocent smile.
"I'm an entity, not a human or a living organism. this world's rule doesn't apply to me as I don't technically exist!" She giggles before her eyes darken and she drops her umbrella to the ground, revealing a twisted smile and white eyes. She mutters out her final words before disappearing into the rain.
"Goodbye, Natsume Sakasaki."
He wanted to grab her but she completely vanished before he could. He clicks his tongue before turning back around to see the child has calmed down. He crouches down and smiles gently at the smaller boy.
"Hey thERE... what's your name?" He asked the child and patted the smaller boy's hair. The child sniffed before answering Natsume's question with an almost inaudible tone.
"I.. don't have one..." The child clings onto Tsumugi's shirt and Natsume reassures him by wiping some of his tears on his cheeks with a handkerchief.
"Then..what abOUT I name you?" Natsume looks at the child and looks at both Tsumugi and Sora who both nodded at Natsume. The child tilts his head in curiosity. Before being picked up by Tsumugi while being covered by the rain with Tsumugi's coat.
They managed to get back into the car before the rain got worse. The child notices the three older men talking but his limited knowledge doesn't allow him to understand much of their words.
After some time, Natsume looks at the child again and cups his cheek with his hand.
"Your name IS Tsukasa. Do yOU like that naME?" Natsume asked the younger boy for confirmation. Tsukasa nods excitedly, having a cute smile on his face.
"Mhm! Tsukasa..." He says his own name which made Natsume chuckles. Tsukasa looks at all three of the older men and tilts his head in curiosity.
"What are your names?" He asked them. All three men looked at each other and nodded. Natsume goes first.
"I'm Natsume Sakasaki. Behind us is Sora Harukawa" Natsume points to Sora who smiles happily at Tsukasa.
"Nice to meet you Tsuka-chan~your color seems so bright and fun~" Sora says which made Tsukasa smile brightly.
Natsume then points to Tsumugi. "This is Tsumugi Aoba, our-" Natsume coughs in an attempt to stop himself from insulting Tsumugi. Goodness, even at times like this he still has the energy to insult their oldest member.
"Nice to meet you...uh, tsukasa-kun" Tsumugi smiles at the younger boy. He can't technically call him 'suou-kun' anymore since Tsukasa Suou is dead. The one in front of them is the same Tsukasa...but he's alive. They all agree on 2 things.
'Keep Tsukasa away from the public, don't let anyone see him'
Tsukasa nods after knowing all their names. "Nice to meet you all!" He says happily, he was quick to recover from his crying earlier.
The three older men laugh and Tsumugi looks at the time. "Well it's getting late...we should head back somewhere..." Tsumugi realized that if they went to the starmony dorms, there's a high chance that some idols might question them or worse...if they bumped into knights which is likely to happen since they are in the same agency.
Sora then thinks deeply about a solution before he sighs. "Sora thinks we should hide Tsuka-chan by making him hide in one of our homes" ah. That's right, they won't get caught if they hide him away in either one of their homes.
Natsume looks at Tsumugi before he gets nervous and flails his hands out "well I can't! I mean, I would love too but I'm busy after all" Natsume slaps Tsumugi's head before he mentions that 'all of us are idols, of course we're busy.'
Natsume shakes his head in disappointment "My home is a MESS. Not a perFECT place for a chiLD."
the two look at Sora who smiles.
"My family can take care of Tsuka-chan! Sora is sure they won't mind if Sora explains and... lie to them." Sora puts his fingers together before shaking his head and looking at Tsukasa.
"What do you say Tsuka-chan? Do you want to live with Sora's family for a while?" Sora asked the younger boy with a smile and the younger boy nodded happily.
"Sure!!" he exclaims happily. Sora clasped his hands together in confirmation.
"That settles it! Sora will take care of Tsuka-chan~" Sora announced and the child was amaze at Sora's energy and claps his hands together, giggling happily.
After a while of talking, Tsukasa yawns and blinks. He's tired after today's events and talking to the older men in the car. With Natsume holding him, he gets comfortable in Natsume's arms and slowly falls asleep.
The members of Switch smiles at Tsukasa with how adorable he looks. His cute puffy cheek and adorable smile.
Eventually, Tsumugi started to drive to Sora's house as Tsukasa continued to sleep on the ride to his new home. When they arrived, Sora explained to his parents (while also lying to them) how Tsukasa is a kid that he's taking care of for a friend for a few weeks but since the dorms are not suitable for children, he is dropping him off at his house but also visiting once in a while to check on him.
Somehow, that convinced his parents and they agreed on taking care of Tsukasa for the time being. Switch said their goodbye to Tsukasa for now as they headed off to the dorms.
While driving to their destination, Tsumugi starts the conversation.
"Natsume-kun, why did you want to talk with Suou-kun and want that entity to grant your wish?" Tsumugi looks at Natsume who was staring outside from the window. It was quiet for a few moments before he answered the blue haired man.
"I told you earlier, becAUSE I needed ansWERS"
"what type of answers shisho~?"
Natsume sighs before realizing that his plan had mostly failed because it seems that Tsukasa doesn't remember anything about the past, the time he was Tsukasa Suou.
"...I'm sorry, for maKING all of you getTING dragged into this MESS" Natsume apologizes to his friends. He didn't expect that Tsukasa would be revived and turned into a child...not to mention having no memories of his past.
"It's fine shisho~" Sora smiles "Sora's glad Tsuka-chan is back... although not the same as Sora's Tsuka-chan, he has the same smile and color as him~" Sora says as he was relieved that Tsukasa is alive. Tsumugi hums in agreement.
"We won't blame you Natsume-kun, I'm also glad that Suou-kun is alive now. But from what you told us..." Tsumugi frowns as he drives along the road.
"He already knew he was going to die..." Tsumugi clenched his hands on the steering wheel while Sora frowned and his focus went somewhere else.
While they're relieved Tsukasa is alive, they felt guilty for not trying to get to know Tsukasa well enough. Imagine the pain of his last days knowing that he was going to die but just... accept it so easily...but now, the child Tsukasa can live a happy life. He isn't the Tsukasa Suou who had seen the future events and was suffering in silence.
As Natsume looks outside, he remembers how Leo mentioned the flower 'lily of the valley' and decided to ask Tsumugi since he knows that the mop head is knowledgeable at flower language.
"Hey senpai, do YOU know the meaNING of the floWER 'lily of the valley'" This caught Tsumugi off guard as he kept his hands on the steering wheel.
"Lily of the valley? Well, it means purity, joy and happiness...why do you ask?" Natsume went on and shakes his head
"CuriouSITY, that's all. What does the floWER calla lily means?" Natsume asked Tsumugi about another flower and Tsumugi thinks for a moment before answering Natsume's question.
"Well in short, it means rebirth and resurrection" Tsumugi says calmly as his eyes focuses on the road.
Natsume nods and Sora finds it intriguing about his master wanting to know more about flowers. "Shisho~ are you trying to learn more about flowers?" Sora giggles at Natsume but the red hair huffs in denial.
"I'm simply CuriOUS, that's all."
Sora smiles at Natsume's respond, knowing there's more to it but decided to ask him later about the matter. Tsumugi giggles also before he was given a glare by Natsume.
The mood in the car turns light once more. As they arrived at the dorms. When they entered, Natsume finds a rose by the entrance. Curious, he picks it up and thought he saw the entity smiling at him. But when he looks up once more, he was greeted with the reception desk.
"Are you okay Natsume-kun?" Tsumugi asked in concerned and the red hair nods.
"Yeah it's fine senpai. Just a headache that's all." Natsume gives a reassuring smile to his members. Sora sees his color and this time asked Natsume about the reason.
"Sora can see your color...what are you afraid of Shisho?" Well, he anticipated that Sora would asked about it. Natsume sighs and looks at the rose again.
"It just reminds me of the girl-the entity I met" he told them the truth. Tsumugi and Sora looks at him with concerned.
"It's fine Natsume-kun, she isn't here now. You're safe with us." Tsumugi gives a reassuring smile and Sora nods in agreement on Tsumugi's words.
"Sora agrees with senpai! She isn't here anymore Shisho~!" Seeing them reassuring him that she isn't here makes him smile. Natsume doesn't deserve them really. They didn't need to get drag into this but they didn't mind.
Natsume smiles and hugs both of them suddenly. Which caught them off guard first but they hugged him back.
"ThaNK you...Sora,... senpai..." He closes his eyes in the embrace of his friends.
Outside in the rain, the entity was smiling as her face was covered by the umbrella. She vanishes into the rain, leaving a single flower of lily of the valley.