Zero started at the glass crystal ball that contained the memories of those closest to him. He hid in the shadows to observe that everything was okay before he left. Hikaru and the others awoke from their daze and wasted no time heading back to work. It seemed like everything worked out well and Zero had nothing to worry about.
Zero looked at them again before his shadow sped out of the cave so as to not arouse the suspicion of his friends. Once he was quite a distance away, he teleported near the hotel and walked in like a regular person. Since he’d already dealt with the staff’s memories he didn’t want to create more work for himself.
There he found Yoko, Ms. Kimura, Nova, and her 3 friends in the lobby. Nova and her friend seemed to be having a heartfelt goodbye while Ms. Kimura was chatting with Yoko to the side.
‘Hmm, this saves me time. Now I no longer have to find those brats and bring Nova over to say goodbye.’
Zero walked over to where Yoko and Ms. Kimura were talking and as he approached, he heard Yoko say, “I want you to do your best to befriend your boss Hikaru. She’s not the type to get close to people so you’ll have to approach her. She needs someone to talk to so try your best to be that for her.”
Zero noticed that Yoko’s blue eyes glowed as she said this meaning she was giving Ms. Kimura a subconscious suggestion. Ms. Kimura's dazed look then disappeared and Yoko turned to look at Zero.
“You’re back sooner than I thought.” said Yoko
“Yeah, I finished up early. I overheard the order you just gave. Are you worried about what will happen when we leave?” asked Zero
Yoko nodded at Zero’s question and said, “I’m only worried about Hikaru she’s a bit anti-social so I just wanted her to have someone look out for her and be able to talk with her. Now that I’ve done that I feel more at ease.”
“Yeah I suppose it also makes me feel a little better about leaving.” said Zero who then turned to face Ms. Kimura
He then handed her 2 glass crystal orbs and with glowing eyes said, “Look after these orbs for me. Make sure to keep them somewhere safe where they won’t break. In 5 years if you feel that everything is fine then break these orbs and if you don’t then break them in 10 years.”
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A dazed Ms. Kimura nodded and said, “I understand.”
Yoko and Zero turn to face the children when they suddenly heard Nova cry as she stood in the middle of the lobby, tears welling up in her big dark brown eyes. She was saying goodbye to her three best friends, Himari, Sara, and Akio. The four of them had spent countless hours playing together at this very playground, and now Nova was moving away to a new city.
"I'm going to miss you guys so much," Nova said, her voice shaking with emotion.
"We're going to miss you too, Nova," Himari replied, giving her a hug. "But we'll keep in touch, okay? We can video chat and send letters."
"Yeah, and you can visit us during the holidays," Akio added.
Sara nodded in agreement. "We'll always be friends, no matter where you are."
Nova sniffled and wiped away her tears. "I promise I’ll come to see you guys again. I'm so glad I met you guys."
The four friends hugged one last time before Zero and Yoko called her over, ready to start their long journey. As Nova waved goodbye to her friends, she knew that she would never forget the special bond they shared. Even though they would be miles apart, their friendship would always be a part of her heart.
Then Zero snapped his fingers drawing their attention to his glowing purple eyes. He wiped their memories and embedded them inside another crystal. As to not hurt Nova’s feelings, he put a suggestion in their mind to wave goodbye and head back to Ms. Kimura’s house. There was no need to explain this part to Nova, as it would only serve to make her sadder than she already was.
Zero picked up Nova and wiped the memory of the front desk worker to be sure before leaving the hotel with Yoko. As they walked Zero asked, “Where are Hel and her brothers?”
“I thought it might be better to go somewhere away from prying eyes so I told them we’d meet them at the forest outside the city.” answered Yoko
Zero nodded and they continued to walk in silence as Nova's tiny sobs could still be heard. After walking 10 minutes Nova’s sobs stopped and it seemed she had cried herself to sleep. Zero handed her over to Yoko who opened a portal to her realm. She then said, “Will you bring them into your realm or will you allow them into ours?”
“Hel has seen my realm and Valna’s, and the twins so I’ll bring them over to 1 of those. I’d like your realm to remain a secret in case of any future problems. For now, just worry about Nova and I’ll handle this. I’ll contact you after we leave.” said Zero
Yoko walked through the portal without saying anything. Zero continued walking toward the forest and on his way there he came across Hakuba Shrine. It looked completely different after being rebuilt but somehow it also looked like much hadn’t changed. He walked up the stair and arrived at the shrine to find Yuto in his priest outfit sweeping the grounds.
Yuto looked up smiled and said, “Ah Zero it’s been a long time. How have you been? Did you miss me and come to visit?”
Zero smiled back and said, “Yes it has uncle Yuto. I’ve been very good. Yes, I missed you so I thought I’d come to see you.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I missed you too. You really should visit more often I know your big sister is there but you shouldn’t forget your poor uncle. Lately, even Mina likes to spend time away from home. This old man is getting sad being ignored.” said Yuto in a joking manner
Zero burst out laughing at Yuto’s joke and said, “Haha uncle you haven’t changed. I’ll really miss you. I wanted to say thank you for all you’ve done for me. You took me in and made me feel welcome. I probably wasn’t the best guest but you didn’t mind. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. Here please take this.”
Zero then handed Yuto a crystal orb and just as Yuto was about to say something to Zero he looked into Zero’s glowing purple eyes. Just like the others, Zero sealed away Yuto’s memories of the time spent together and told him to keep the orb somewhere safe.
With his job fully done Zero descended down the shrine steps and proceed to head to where he sensed Hel’s soul.