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She had done it. After a year of being a cupid, after many battles and cupid missions, Koharu had finally gotten enough karma that she could be reborn again as a human. She could return to Earth and fall in love, the dream of every cupid.
Kanna had been successful helping her out. She was glad she had the idea of mentoring someone. Not only did she help out Koharu, who had gotten the amount of karma needed in record time. Kanna had also had loads of fun throughout the last year. She had gotten closer with Chiyo and Ena, and Koharu had become her best friend. Kanna was going to miss her very much when she went to Earth. But it would be all right. This was the fate of every cupid. Koharu would be happier down there. She could focus on helping Chiyo and Ena get the amount of karma they needed, and then they too, could move on and be happy.
Kanna could collect enough karma for herself, if she wanted to. She was close to the amount needed before she had decided to help a baby cupid. She had ended up using most of what she had stockpiled to buy weapons and bullets for Koharu, putting her back to square one. It would take her another five years to get the necessary amount, maybe even more if she continued to help out others.
Ah well. There was no rush for her to return to Earth. It would be there for millions more years.
"Hey. Kanna." Chiyo peered her head around the corner, where Kanna was sitting. "Koharu wants to talk to you."
Kanna quickly stood up and wiped her eyes. "I will, in a moment."
Koharu hadn't left yet. They had all cheered earlier when on the mission they were on together, she had finally passed the threshold. Chiyo had wanted to throw a party, but Koharu had retreated. Kanna understood. She was probably nervous of what was to come.
"You look like you're crying." Chiyo walked closer to her. "You've been crying, haven't you?"
"I haven't."
"It's okay to cry about it, y'know. I kind of want to cry too. Me and Ena will miss her a lot too. Since she's your best friend though, you'll be the one to miss her the most."
"Maybe I am a bit sad," Kanna admitted. "But this was always going to happens someday. It's inevitable, for us cupids."
"Well yeah. But part of the reason why she's leaving so soon is because you've helped her out so much."
Kanna managed to put up a smile. "I was too good of a mentor. Is that what you're saying?"
Chiyo shook her head. "You were more than a mentor! You were like, her sponsor. You bought all of her weapons for her. She could've been here for longer if you didn't do that. Why did do that, anyway? With all the karma you had saved before she came along, you could've been reborn by now."
For how energentic Chiyo could be, she could be quite observant when she wanted to.
Kanna shrugged. "I know that I wished I had someone who would've helped me out, when I started with all of this."
"Yeah, but there's a difference between helping out by giving advice and using your own karma to buy stuff for her. It's like you don't want to be reborn."
"We have all the time in the world, here. I'll gain it back someday. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, it's not like being a cupid isn't that bad."
"I mean, I don't disagree. Shooting people is fun..." said Chiyo considerately. "But you don't seem to be into that element too much."
"Maybe it's better than the real world."
"Well, if you say so. Anyway, go talk to Koharu. I was going to tell her that we all wanted to throw a big farewell party for her, but she didn't want to talk to me. She just wanted to talk to you. Don't let her leave right away! Get her to stay long enough for a party."
"I'll try my best," assured Kanna.
---
It made sense, that Koharu would want to talk to her during this time. Kanna had always guided her. It was easy to find her, even with Chiyo's vague directions of 'she's over that way'. She was by a small lake that was in heaven. The water of it always appeared to be a bright white in the glow of heaven. It was a good place to think.
"How are you feeling?" Kanna asked, approaching her
Koharu stared out across the lake. After a moment, she turned towards Kanna. "Now what happens?
"You go to headquarters. I don't know the details of what they do, but somehow, they'll send you back to Earth somehow and you'll be able to start over again."
"And I'll forget everything that happened here, right?"
Kanna nodded. "At least the memories. It's believed that the feelings you've gained here keep though. Sometimes cupids will see former cupids out there, and their personalities remain mostly the same. You'll be the same person. You won't have to worry. The you right now won't die, she'll just be at a better place."
"But I'll forget you all..." Koharu's gaze went back to over the lake. "That sounds so painful."
"There's a chance that we'll all end up meeting again, when we're all back on Earth.
"Still..." Koharu turned towards Kanna, her movement sharp and fast. "I'm not going to leave yet!"
"It's okay to be scared-"
"No, not because of that. I mean..." Koharu looked down. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. But that's not why I want to stay." Koharu looked back up, and looked Kanna right in the eye. "I don't want to leave here without you! That's why!"
"That's- That's really sweet of you to say. But you don't have to worry about me." Kanna gave her a smile. "I'll follow after you someday. You have all the karma that you need, so there's no reason for you to stay any longer."
"But, Kanna. I was thinking. And well, it's not fair, is it? You spent all of your karma buying weapons for me, and helped me out instead of doing missions for yourself. I never questioned why at all. I just saw it as you being kind and helpful. I didn't fully understand how hard it was to collect karma, when I first got here. But now I understand! You gave up so much to help me. Don't you want to be reborn too?"
"Well, er... Don't worry about it. I helped you out of my own free will," said Kanna. "I don't have a reason to return to Earth right away, while the sooner you go, there's more of a chance of you reuniting with Aki-chan."
"Don't you also want to go to Earth so you can fall in love, though?"
"I do, I do," Kanna tried to assure her. "I'll follow you you someday, I promise."
"What if you don't? What if you decide to help someone else out instead? I want to make sure I can see you again, in my next lifetime!"
Koharu had gotten to know her too well over the last year. She saw right through her plans.
"I won't. I promise," Kanna said again.
"Even if I reunite with Aki-chan, we won't be as close. But if me and you go to Earth at the same time, we'll be close in age. There's a better chance we'll meet again and become as close as we are now, if not..."
Kanna understood. Koharu thought she could fall in love with her. Would that work out? Koharu was always good at predicting matches, so it probably would. Besides, if a cupid who knew them up here saw the two of them down there, they would probably shoot them when they were close to each other as everyone knew they were friends. Easy mission.
Koharu was kind. Right now, she was ready to pick Kanna over her own happiness. Still...
"I don't know if I want to fall in love..."
"Why wouldn't you want to?"
"It can be harsh, you know. It can be one-sided and make people miserable. Some people's psyches can twist and turn obsessive. We merely ignite the flame. Like any fire, it can burn out. A cupid can come along and reignite it, or they can live together with only a ghost of what once was."
"That's kind of a dark way of putting it. Is our work really for nothing?"
"My mother and father were high school sweethearts, but by the time I was born, they hated each other. There was a good chance they had a flame for each other that burned out. They would constantly argue with each other, and sometimes it even got physical. My mother left in the middle of the night, without saying a world. My dad became even more miserable."
He had taken it out on her. That was how she had died. Koharu didn't need to know that though. There was a chance it wasn't real love. People often get married without the intervention of cupids. It's not always a bad thing. If they get along well with each other as friends, it can be hard to tell that sort of relationship apart from romantic love. Sometimes though, the opposite thing could happen, and one would end up hurting the other, or they would both hurt each other. There was no way to know which one it was, unless you were a cupid. Kanna could only speculate on what had happened between them.
"That sounds awful."
"Relationships are risky," said Kanna. "I don't know if I'm brave enough for them. Maybe someday, I will be. But for now, I'll rather remain here."
"Isn't that also true of friendship, though?" said Koharu.
"... Perhaps."
"And all types of human relationships. They can end up hurting you in the end. You just have to take that risk though. That risk of love. As a cupid, I can't feel romantic love, but I know I love you as a friend."
"Koharu... You're my friend, too."
The love of friendship and the love of a lover. If one was comfortable, would the other work out? It depended. On where they ended up in the next world, what small factors of their enviroment would change them slightly. There was no guarantee that they would even end up meeting again...
"Let's go together," said Koharu. "I can use the karma you've helped me gain to help you. And then... Together..."
She wasn't going to be able to talk Koharu out of this.
"Not just me. That really wouldn't be fair. Let's help Chiyo and Ena out too. Once we all have the amount of karma needed, we can all go back to Earth together. We'll reunite and become friends again. And we can help each other out."
At the very least, she could buy a bit more time in this world where relationships stood still.
"Yes! That's a great plan, Kanna. Even better than mine."
"That's why I'm your mentor. Let's go find them and tell them, okay?"
Kanna held her hand out towards Koharu, and Koharu took it.