Chapter 33: Beyond The End

The Isshiki estate was too quiet.

The hum of distant lights. The faint creak of the floor when someone shifted their weight. The wind brushed against the windows like it was checking if anyone was home.

Asumi sat on the edge of the couch, knees drawn up, staring at nothing in particular.

Taichi sat across from her, elbows on his knees, hands loosely clasped. He hadn’t changed positions in hours.

The incident at the hospital was days ago.

The stain on their souls still hadn’t faded away.

After Kishimoto’s death, the academy moved quickly. Eclipse Academy reopened under Yukimura’s authority. The subjects were returned to the dorms. Counselors, doctors, teachers – systems clicked back into place as if order alone could undo what had been done.

Asumi and Taichi never went back.

Neither of them said it out loud. They just… didn’t move.

Meguri let them stay without asking questions. She filled the fridge. She made noise in other parts of the estate so they wouldn’t feel like they were suffocating. Sometimes she tried to talk.

Mostly, she let them be quiet.

Days passed that way.

More days passed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the bedroom of Asumi and Taichi.

Taichi hesitantly got up and opened the door.

“Tadokoro?” Taichi asked – his voice unusually deep from the lack of use.

Shoko stood there in a simple black dress, her eyes tired but steady. She held out two envelopes.

“Here,” Shoko said. “They’re invitations to my dad’s funeral tomorrow. It’ll be at the center of the campus – all the students are invited to honor him, but even though you dropped out… I figured you two should also be there.”

“Thank you,” Taichi said. “We’ll see if we can make it.”

Shoko nodded and walked away as Taichi shut the door, the silence in the house returning.

Suddenly, Asumi spoke up.

“We should go…”

“Should we?” Taichi asked.

“Kodaka Sensei did a lot for us, Taichi… you probably wouldn’t be here if he didn’t help,” Asumi explained.

“I know,” he said quietly. “I just… don’t know if I can walk back in there yet.”

Asumi nodded. “You don’t have to decide now.”

The next morning came anyway.

Taichi didn’t get out of bed.

Asumi didn’t say anything. She dressed up and met Meguri by the front gate. Neither of them spoke on the way to campus.

Eclipse Academy rose in the distance – the blue glass of the skyscraper catching the spring light, impossibly clean, as if nothing had ever happened inside its walls.

Asumi and Meguri walked onto the campus and showed their invitations to a person sitting at the table.

The funeral was packed with students – former subjects and everyday students alike. They were all made aware of Kodaka’s deeds by Shoko, and after all their memories were restored, it wasn’t hard to believe.

Shoko stepped up in front of the doorway of the skyscraper, where podium was placed for speeches.

“My father, Tadokoro Kodaka,” she began, “wasn’t someone most people saw as a hero.”

A few quiet murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“He joked too much. He avoided responsibility when it mattered. He pretended not to care — even about me.”

She smiled faintly, eyes shining.

“But he cared more than anyone I’ve ever known. He just didn’t want us to feel like we owed him for it.”

Her voice wavered, but she didn’t stop.

“He died the same way he lived. Making a joke. Wearing a smile. So the people he saved wouldn’t feel burdened by his sacrifice.”

A tear dripped from her eyes with a small smile.

“Tadokoro Kodaka saved more lives in one day than most heroes, even fictional, save in their lifetime, but nobody was going to remember. Nobody was going to know how much of a hero, a role model, an inspiration he was…”

Asumi’s hands curled into fists.

Shoko looked up – and froze.

Asumi followed her gaze.

Taichi stood at the back of the crowd in a black suit, hair neatly combed, eyes tired but present. He walked forward slowly, each step deliberate and heavy.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Tadokoro,” he said quietly, stopping near the podium.

Shoko smiled. “I’m glad you came, Hayato Taichi. Would you… like to say a few words?”

“Are you sure?” Taichi asked.

“Yeah, I’ve said what I needed to say, and it will be more impactful coming from you.”

Taichi nodded, stepping up to the podium, staring upon the massive crowd before him, all completely silent.

The microphone caught his breath before his voice.

“My name is Hayato Taichi,” he said. “I was with Kodaka Sensei when he died.”

Silence.

“I almost didn’t come today,” he admitted. “I was scared. He did so much for me before he died, and I was terrified that if I took a second to acknowledge what actually happened… I’d never be able to face it properly.”

He gripped the podium.

“Kodaka Sensei is somebody who, in my relatively short time at Eclipse Academy, constantly held me to a high standard. He pushed me to be better, always letting me hit my limits, but also always stepping in to help when I needed it. He was a hero before he even considered telling me about Project NATSU and the former headmaster’s deeds.”

The crowd muttered before growing silent once again.

“I have to say though, despite all that, it was really in the last few days of his life where I realized how much I looked up to Kodaka Sensei. How much I still do. I said I was considering not coming to this funeral because I was scared that the moment I stopped staying in my shell, I’d have to match some extraordinary expectation… but I knew that I’d regret not attending when it’s for one of the most phenomenal men I’ve ever known.”

Taichi pointed at Shoko.

“He saved hundreds of you in the process of saving his daughter. He saved one of my best friends when I was brainwashed and trying to attack her. He saved me when the headmaster initially tried to capture me. Without him, it is a fact that over half of us would not be here today. Living.”

Taichi looked down at Asumi, and smiled.

“Kodaka gave me the gift of life, and he did that for most of you as well. He was never the type of person who cared to be thanked, to aim for his contributions to be acknowledged, to want people to dwell on his acts… but if you take away one thing from him, I think it should be this. Live. Live life well. Be a good person. Take the opportunity you’ve been given, the life you’ve been gifted, and exercise it to the best of your ability! Go help save the world, go see other continents, go… ask out that girl that you’ve wanted to ask out for what feels like an eternity. Don’t keep them waiting…”

Taichi smiled.

“Because with the gift Tadokoro Kodaka gave me, I plan on spending every day of it living with no regrets. Thank you, Kodaka Sensei.”

The applause came slowly at first – then all at once.

Taichi stepped down.

Taichi stepped down from the stage as the crowd roared with applause. He immediately grabbed Asumi’s hand and pulled her away to the side.

“I almost stayed in bed…” Taichi said.

“I know, I was there,” Asumi nodded. “I’m glad you came.”

“So am I.”

“I love you,” Taichi said.

Asumi froze.

“I… wait, what? Huh? I- I… I wasn’t prepared for this!” Asumi blushed violently. “I… can you…?”

“Saying it once isn’t enough for you…?” Taichi asked, suddenly bashful again.

Asumi nodded hesitantly.

“Say it again.”

Taichi blushed, looking down at his feet. “I love you.”

“Again,” a whisper came from behind.

“I love yo-... wait a minute!” Taichi exploded, realizing the voice came from a different direction. “Meguri!”

“Heh heh,” Meguri said, chuckling. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me Taichi! Sorry, I can’t accept that, that’d be disrespectful to my good friend who also has feelings for you. You little scumbag.”

She continued teasing them as Taichi and Asumi couldn’t make eye contact with each other.

“The bet…” Taichi muttered. “Asumi, what do you want me to do for the bet? It’s all over now, right?”

Asumi nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Taichi… will you go out with me?”

Meguri giggled in excitement, glancing between the two of them.

Taichi flicked Meguri’s forehead, shutting her up as he turned back to Asumi.

“Of course.”

The End