Everyone waited in silence as Miichan was talking with Takamina over the phone. The girl has been desperately trying to fix the shattered Heart fragment, and was using up a great amount of her angel power.

She got off the phone and sighed, trying to hide the true thoughts and feelings of pain she held.

“She said… it’s harder than she thought, but she’s going to keep trying. That’s just like her, to go out until her wit’s end.”

“So, what about Mako-chan?”

“We have to help get her memory back somehow…”

“The doctor said that if we talk to her about things we did in the past, maybe her memory would come back.”

Miichan sighed. “Looks like that’s our only option for now.”

The older girl walked down the hall again and stepped into Mako’s room. The younger girl looked at her, backing away a bit.

“It’s okay, Mako,” Miichan said reassuringly. “I just want to talk.”

“You’re not going to… freak out again, are you?”

“N-no.” She sat down beside her. “I only freaked out because I was worried.”

“Do I know you?”

“I’m Minami. Minegishi Minami. Remember?”

“Minegishi-san?”

“Un. But, you and the others call me ‘Miichan’.”

“Mii..chan?”

“Looks like you don’t remember yet.”

Mako tried to think. The girl seemed to act like she knew her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember.

“Here.” Miichan handed her the protection charm Mariko made.

“What is this?”

“It’s a protection charm. A good friend made it for you.”

“A friend?”

“Yes. She went away for a bit, so she sent this. That way, her spirit would protect you.”

She took the charm in her hand and stared at it.

“It’s very well made…” she said, feeling the fabric. She felt as if some kind of power was flowing from it.

“And, this.” She then handed Mako the old storybook. “This is a book. You know what that is, right?”

Mako nodded.

“It’s a big book.”

“It was a present. From Naanya.”

“Naanya?” Mako recognized the name. Miichan had mentioned her when she was screaming at her.

“Her name is Owada Nana. She’s your best friend.”

“Owada-san… Is she a child?”

“No. She’s 15, about two years younger than you. You turned 17 not too long ago. Here, I have a video.”

Miichan her phone and played the video. It was when they had a birthday party in the cafe for Mako.

…..

“Happy birthday to you~”

Mako smiled and blew out the candles on her cake.

“Thanks, guys!”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You are the birthday girl, after all.”

“We had to do something special!”

“Haha, I guess you’re right.”

“C’mon, let’s eat some cake!”

…..

Mako stared at the video, seeing herself happily eating cake with her friends.

“That’s… really me?”

Miichan looked. She felt her heart grow heavy as Mako didn’t smile. Not even a slight grin. Ever since she woke up, the girl had not smiled.

She forced a smile and patted her back.

“What are you saying? Of course that’s you.”

“Am I really like that?”

“Eh..?”

“Always smiling and laughing, not a care in the world… Is that.. really what I’m like?” Mako paused the video, putting it down. “Is the person in this video really who I am?”

“Th-that’s…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember…” she said, handing her back her phone.

“It’s fine. You’ll just… need some time, is all. Time to remember.”

“Un…”

“I gotta go. You take your time to think, okay?”

“Okay.”

Miichan excused herself and left the room. She slowly leaned up against the door, feeling an incredible pain in her heart.

“Why..? She was so close to remembering… Why did this happen?”

…..

“Well done, Isako.” The Demon Lord said to the woman as she bowed before him. “You managed to kill the leader of those girls. Now, they are sure to become weaker and easier to finish off.”

“Yes.”

“This time, we shall succeed in finding the Princess AND the Crystal of Life.”

Isako smiled, going back where the others were watching over the girls in the hospital.

“This war is our victory.”

“I wouldn’t speak too soon…” Momo pointed at the crystal ball.

It showed Mako, in the hospital. Alive and well.

“What?!” Isako sneered. “She’s.. alive?!”

“She seems to have survived, but she has no memory of anything. Doesn’t even remember her own name.”

“Looks like you caught a lucky break.”

“Hehehe, now, that onee-chan is powerless.”

Isako’s anger cracked the crystal ball and shattered it. The mirrors all shattered, too.

“Unforgivable…”

She looked at the girl, sneering.

“This time, I shall end her once and for all.”

…..

“Mako!” Naanya ran into the hospital as fast as she could, hurrying to where Mako’s room was.

She saw the others and stopped in front of them.

“I got your text. Is it true? Is Mako awake?”

“Y-yes, but—”

“Mako!”

“Naanya, wait.” Miichan stepped in front of her and stopped her. “There’s something you need to know. There’s a problem.”

“Eh..?”

“When Mako woke up, she was suffering from severe amnesia.”

“What? N-no, that can’t—”

“It’s true. She forgot.. everything about us.”

“Even me?”

She nodded to the young actress.

Overcome with shock, she felt her legs go weak. She sat down, her eyes wide, but no tears.

“Why? Why did this happen? Why to Mako…? She never.. did anything wrong… She didn’t deserve this….”

“Owada-san.”

“Nee-chan..! My.. Nee-chan..!”

Nana reached out, wanting to calm the girl. Another vision flashed.

“Nee-chan!!! Nee-chan!!!”

She stepped back again.

“Nana?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah…” Nana stepped away, hiding her troubled expression. “N-nothing… Owada-san, I think maybe if you talk to Mako, it may help recover her memory.”

“That’s right. Mako-chan and Naanya are best friends.”

“That might do something.”

“What do you say?”

After calming herself, Naanya took in a deep breath and stood up again.

“I’ll try… But, I want to be alone with her.”

The girls understood the situation and agreed to let her go by herself.

Mako was in her room alone, staring at an unfamiliar brown leather book and the strange amulet Miichan had given her. It was then that she broke out of her world when Naanya opened the door and walked in.

“Hi, Mako.”

Naanya shut the door behind her, looking at her friend as she stared back.

“You don’t know who I am, do you? The others told me about your condition.”

“You’re… Owada-san?”

Naanya’s eyes twitched a bit, her heart skipping a beat. “Y-yes..”

“The others mentioned you.”

“Oh… I see.” She took a seat on a wooden chair, beside the hospital bed. “But… just knowing my name doesn’t make a difference, I guess.”

“Minegishi-san said that you were my best friend. That I would do anything for you. Is that.. true?”

Naanya nodded.

“We were close. Very close…”

“Really?”

Another nod.

“Can you.. tell me? The doctor’s said that, if I heard stories of my past, it might help me remember them.”

“They said the same thing to me, Miichan and the others.”

“Okay… so, how did we first meet?”

“We met when we were kids. We both went to the same school, and we were in the same class. You were always smiling and never had trouble making friends.”

“Is that how I met you?”

“Un. In music class, you would help me with my singing. You and I loved to sing together, and we would always play and be together.”

“She also said you gave me this,” she handed her the book.

“Oh, yes… I gave this to you for Christmas. it was three days ago, before you…” Naanya went silent, biting her lip.

“Before what?”

“B-before you… lost your memory.”

“Oh….”

“It’s a book of fairytales. There’s a bookmark in it of our favorite one, ‘The Clockwork Dancer’. It’s about a ballerina doll who comes to life and wants to be free from her perfect world. When she finally did, her body shattered and she turned into a spec of light and disappeared forever…”

“It sounds sad…”

“Yeah… you always used to make up happier endings for it. You loved happy endings.”

“That does seem nice…”

Naanya looked up. Her heart broke as she wasn’t able to see the one thing she desperately wanted, needed to see from her.

Her smile.

It wasn’t there. Just like her memories, her smile was gone.

And she knew, it was because her Heart fragment had broken, just like the Clockwork Dancer. And if the shattered fragment was not fixed, she might never see it again.

“So… is there anything else?”

“Ah… Mm, well.. after I moved away, we never really saw much of each other again… Then, I came back to Tokyo to be an idol.”

“Idol?”

“You forgot what that is, huh… It’s my career. I work as a performer. Singer, actress…”

“Oh…”

“You’re an idol, too.”

“I am?”

“Yeah. And you’re very popular. Lots of people in Japan love you.”

“Wow… I didn’t know that.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. You forgot.”

“Oh, right.”

Silence fell upon them. It was a painful silence for Naanya. She wanted to scream out Mako’s name and tell her everything, but they all got choked in .

“Am I… really that important?” Mako spoke up. The younger girl looked up, wide eyed. “If so many people care about me that much.. does that mean I’m an important person?”

“Mako… Of course you are. Why would you say that?”

“I…”

“You’re a very important person. You’re more special than you think you are. You’re kind, sweet, talented… and….”

“And?”

“And… you’ve never.. hated anyone.”

Mako actually felt somewhat good about that. Hearing that she was the type of person who was loved by everyone, and that she herself never hated anyone.

“Am I really… that special?”

“Mako… you’re so much more than you think. You were my—”

Before she could say, she stopped, lowering her head to avoid the older girl’s gaze.

“What?”

“…”

“Owada-san?”

She couldn’t fight her tears any longer and hugged Mako tightly.

“Nee-chan!”

Mako didn’t do a thing. She just sat there, shocked as Naanya was still holding her tightly, her arms wrapped around her neck. She heard crying as the younger girl buried her face in her shoulder.

“Nee…chan?”

“I missed you… For so long, I’ve waited… and to see you like this… I haven’t even told you… just how much.. you truly mean to me…”

“What are you—”

“This is my fault… Because I came back for you… Because you protected me, you became like this.”

“Eh? What is she..?”

“Please, come back to me..! You are.. you’re my light, Mako.”

“******!”

A sudden vision flashed in her head. A memory from long ago…

“Light…”

Naanya suddenly broke away. She saw a change in Mako’s eyes, as if she was starting to remember something.

“Light…. Strong… bright light… warm…”

“Mako… are you starting to remember?”

“It feels so familiar… You… I feel like…”

“Mako, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Eh?”

“The truth is, you are—”

Just then, the nurse came in.

“I’m sorry, Owada-san. It’s time for Mako to take her medicine, so I need you to leave.”

Naanya nodded, but turned to Mako one last time.

“I promise I’ll come back for you.”

Then, she let go of Mako’s hand and left the room. She ran down the hall, running into Miichan’s arms, crying.

All the older girl could do was comfort Naanya until her crying ceased.

“Why? I was so close…”
…..

That night, Miichan and Kojiharu were looking over the surveillance camera in Mako’s hospital room. The doctor would normally come in, check up on her.

She still didn’t remember. Even though there were moments where she was close to remembering, she couldn’t do it.

“It’s strange…” Miichan said, catching the taller girl’s attention.

“What is?”

“She doesn’t look like she’s recovering.”

“We’re pretty far from the hospital. Her Heart fragment isn’t with her, so she can’t remember anything.”

“I know that, Haruna… But, when Naanya was there, she told me.. Mako was starting to remember.”

“Eh?”

“She said she looked like she was starting to remember. Like she was close to remembering something, but only when she was with her.”

“Does that mean…?”

Miichan remained silent, looking at her.

“Were they her memories or…?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t say.”

The two looked at the screen again. Mako was looking at the book Naanya had given her, reading a place left on a bookmark.

Then, Miichan noticed something. She was crying.

Mako was crying while reading it. She held her head, as if she was remembering.

“That’s it.” She stood up. “It’s Naanya! She’s the key!”

“Key?”

“The key to the lock. If we can just get those two back together, we can—”

The door opened and Takamina stepped in. She was holding a brand new ring with a shining red jewel.

“You fixed it!” Haruna said, hugging the shorter girl.

“We need to get this to Mako, but we need to hurry.”

“Why?”

“The Akuma are starting to move again. They must’ve found out Mako is alive. We need to get to the hospital before they do.”

“I’ll get the girls. Haruna, you and Takamina drive to the hospital, quick!”

…..

Mako couldn’t sleep that night. She just laid there, staring at the sky. It was somewhat soothing, relaxing. But it didn’t make her sleepy.

She was thinking too much about Naanya. Something about the girl triggered this strange feeling inside. She felt she was so close, close to remembering something she needs to know. Something she was never supposed to forget.

“But… why?”

Just then, a nurse walked in, a surgical mask covering her face.

“Kojima-san, it’s time for your medicine.”

Mako didn’t exactly know what she had meant. Did she need medicine? She only saw the nurse’s back as she started setting up something.

The girl got back on her train of thought and spoke up to the nurse.

“Nurse, is Owada-san still here?”

“Now, now, calm down, Kojima-san.”

The nurse took a syringe filled with a strange green liquid and flicked it.

“I need to know… She’s the only way I can find out.. who I am…”

“Just relax…” She held Mako’s arm and injected the substance into her.

“Is she here? Let me see her…”

“Now, don’t worry, dear. You won’t have to worry about anything for much longer.”

“I want to see her… I want.. to see…”

Mako suddenly felt dizzy and her body slowly becoming numb. She couldn’t think straight and was losing her senses.

“Where’s… Owada..-san..?”

“Shh, don’t force yourself.”

“..I-I… need… to see… Owada….-sa….”

The nurse chuckled behind her mask as Mako’s eyelids heavily lowered and shut.

“Sweet dreams, Kojima-san.” The nurse removed her mask and turned into Isako. “I hope you sleep well. You won’t be waking up once that poison reaches your heart.”

“Let her go,” a voice rose.

The demon looked and saw Hoshina standing at the window.

“Well, well…”

“Let Mako go.”

“I see. This is all because of you.” Isako said. “Fine. First, I’ll finish you off, then kill the rest. Then, you angels shall never interfere again.”

She threw a ball of dark energy at her, but she was able to dodge it, spinning her cape and disappearing like the wind.

Isako looked and saw Mako was also missing.

“Damn it..! I’ll kill those two, this time, for good!”

…..

“Mako…”

She took out a vial of antidote and poured it into Mako’s mouth, making her drink it.

When the girl opened her eyes, she saw Hoshina and thought there was something familiar about her.

“Who are you..?”

She couldn’t stop staring at her eyes. They shined like starlight, a bright sky blue.

“Mako!”

Mako looked down and saw a car pulling up to the hospital. It was Miichan and the others. Another car pulled up and Takamina and Haruna stepped out.

When she looked back, Hoshina was gone.

“Who was she?”

“You..!” She looked and saw Isako, her nails grown out long. “DIE!!!”

“Kyaa!” She quickly dodged as the woman tried to scratch her.

She ran up the stairs until they made it to the roof, the moon shining over them.

“Nowhere left for you to run. All that’s left is to die.”

Before she could attack again, Takamina came with her sword and slashed her back.

Mako was shocked. A woman just tried to kill her, and now, another girl just slashed her with a bright, silver sword.

Takamina aimed the blade at Isako’s neck.

“*The Holy Blade… I see, you’re a descendant of the *Savior… I thought I saw something disgustingly familiar in your eyes.”

“Mako-chan!” Mako looked and saw the others running to her.

“Come here! Hurry!”

Mako looked back at the current scene, then ran to the girls.

“What is going on?!” Mako asked in her panic.

“Look, we know you’re confused, but you’ll understand soon. Here.”

Miichan took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. She expected the gem to shine, or for Mako to instantly remember who she was…

But, nothing happened. The gem didn’t glow.

“Why…? Why isn’t it working?!”

Just then, they heard a scream. Isako had Takamina by her neck, lifting her up.

“You’re as weak as you were before.”

“No. I’m stronger!”

Takamina kicked her face and released herself, landing on her feet and aiming the sword.

Miichan and Haruna stepped forward. “Girls, protect Mako!”

“Hai!”

The girls transformed and summoned their weapons.

“What..?” Mako backed away a bit.

“Mako,” Nana spoke. “Go over there. We’ll take care of this.”

Mako simply nodded and hid behind the wall where Isako wouldn’t see her.

“Isako. This time, you shall fall!”

Everyone raised their weapons and charged at Isako.

The woman was skillfully able to dodge their attacks. She had learned all their tricks. But one by one, they continued to rise back up and attack again.

“You’re all fools. I’ve already seen through each of your petty attacks,” Orbs of dark energy circled around her, then shot at them. “I know what comes next. You can’t trick me.”

“Oh yeah?”

Haruna created an orb of light energy and shot it at her, but she blew it away and shot her with dark energy.

“This has gone on for far too long…” Isako twirled her hair.

Then, she created a large burst of dark energy, knocking everyone down. They couldn’t get back up, their weapons disappeared and their outfits dirtied and ripped.

“Now then…” Isako started walking towards the defenseless Mako.

When the girl saw her, fear shook her to the bone.

“Time to die,” She created a large orb of dark energy, one filled with so much darkness, it would surely kill her.

“No… No!”

The orb came at her. Mako shut her eyes for the worst.

“NO!!!” A figure stepped in front of Mako and took the attack, protecting her.

It was Hoshina.

Eh…?

As Hoshina fell to the ground, the mask around her eyes slipped off and showed her face to everyone.

“Owada..-san?” Mako’s eyes widened, seeing her best friend collapsed in front of her.

The others stared in awe.

“Uso…”

“Hoshina is.. Naanya?!”

“But why? How?”

Miichan was the most shocked. She didn’t utter a word.

“All this time… Naanya was Hoshina? Then, that means..!”

Mako crawled over to the younger girl. “Owada-san… why did you..?”

Naanya looked up weakly at her dear friend.

“It was… to protect you.”

“Eh?”

“All I wanted… was to keep you safe… so we could be.. together… It looks like.. I failed again.”

“Again? What do you—?” Naanya took hold of her hand, looking up at her eyes.

“At least… I got.. to be with you like this… just one last time….”

As she felt her strength slipping, just before she lost consciousness, she looked up and saw a last memory of her precious light. She called out her name weakly…

“Hi..ka…ri….”

Her hand fell limp at her side and her eyes shut.

Everything fell silent, everyone staring in shock. Mako was still staring at Naanya, laying unresponsive.

“Owada…-san..?”

“Hikari!!!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain hit her head. A rush of memories entered her mind and overwhelmed her. Her head was pounding and her heart racing.

All of it was too much and she screamed.

“No..! No! NO!!! NOOOOO!!! Please, NO!”

“Mako?!”

“NO! NO!!!”

“HIKARI!!!”

“HOSHINA!!!!”

Then, a bright light surrounded Mako…

================================

Footnotes

*1. The Holy Blade – An ancient sword used in the first war against the Light angels and the Maou 1000 years ago. Only those who have the blood of the Savior, the first Saint Angel who weld it, can use the sword.

*2. The Savior – A Light angel known as “the Saint”, one of the first angel knights.