Deceiver: Sorry for the rush, but I tried to fit this before the anime starts and I'm heading off to dinner soon T_T I want this to be read it all begins. SORRY

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After finally getting up, with a trip to the corner to throw up everything before collapsing in an area where it was clear of wreckage, Shintaro heaved a heavy sigh, glad to be alive. He ignored how several people poked him.

"Is he dead?"

"He just sighed, didn't he?"

"No, I'm sure he's dead."

Shintaro glared at the blond looming over him, making him make a mocking gasp. "Never mind, he's alive."

"Kano," Kido said his name through her teeth, instantly shutting him up. Shintaro did not want to know what was going on, but instead decided to take a break after that sudden drop.

"I still have a question for you, Shintaro-kun." The hikiNEET groaned and glanced up to see Kano eying him carefully. The look in his eyes reminded him of that dream he had of him turn into Ayano, and thinking about it now, he wasn't sure if it was real or not anymore.

"That scarf…" he began, not a single hint of that teasing tone in him. Kido and Seto stared at them, the girl more worried than the other. She had said Kano was a kind person and the three of them sort of saw Shintaro as Ayano in some sense. But she wasn't sure anymore. He met their sister and she entrusted an important task to him. Him, not her siblings.

The hikiNEET stared at Kano, before sighing and pulled off the scarf. "You can have it."

That surprised the trio greatly. "Wait what?"

"I said you can have it," he offered it for Kano to take. "Kido told me about Ayano, but really, I don't see what's so great about me still." He sighed. "You three have been in this hero business way longer than me, so you can have it."

They didn't say anything, but turned to each other for a moment. None of them didn't know what to say, at all.

"No," Kano turned back to Shintaro, not grinning or anything. "As much as I hate the idea, you keep it."

Seto blinked at him. "Kano, are you sure-"

"Nee-chan chose him. Might as well go with it," he mumbled before getting away from him to join the others. Seto just stared after him, while Kido sighed.

"Just take it. Onee-chan gave you a special role anyway," she muttered. Shintaro just nodded, wrapping the scarf around his neck again. He may know about Ayano's reason to die now, but now the new question was how they really see him.

Kano glanced back at him. "She just left you a scarf?"

"Nope," Ene hummed, a slight grin on her as she stepped next to her master, patting him on the shoulder. The teen grumbled at her, blinking a few times when his eyes felt weird again. Everyone who saw the flicker of red in his dark eyes stared with wide eyes, especially the trio.

"How…" Seto was completely baffled.

"Don't you need two people to get the Eyes?" Kido muttered beside him.

"Well, not really." Ene shrugged. "I mean…look at me and that idiot over there," she pointed at Konoha, who looked surprised. "We both got them anyway. And Ayano-chan got hers to begin with, just needed someone with her in order to get out."

"Oh…" the thought that they couldn't save anyone here hurt them, and all this was meaningless to begin with. "So, what now?" Kido asked. "Shintaro has his Eyes now, so can we go back?"

At this, Ene looked solemn. "If you want to sacrifice half the gang here, sure." At that everyone shook their head, shocked at the idea.

"Wait, are we trapped here then!?" Momo panicked.

"No! Of course not! We're getting out…but er…"

Everyone slowly started to realize what they have to do. "I…have to reset the time again, don't I?" everyone turned to who said that. Mary was staring at her feet, her hands tightly scrunching up her skirt. Ene watched her, and nodded.

"Why though!?" Hibiya stepped forward. "Won't we forget?"

"Ayano onee-chan's plan would go to waste, wouldn't it!?" Kido added.

However, the cyber girl shook her head. "I won't forget. And most of us have a hint on what's going on to begin with." She turned to them all. "In the next Route, master will still have his Eyes. And I will," she emphasized with a look shot at Shintaro, "use any means to get his butt out of his room so then we can help everyone."

"No, don't. Please." He tried to move away, but the girl stuck to him like glue. He saw what she was planning something devious again.

"Well you better!" Kano scoffed at them. "We'll be depending on you, Shintaro-kun."

"Gee, thanks." This wasn't the best part of the plan, but if they want to live, they have to do this. Everyone gathered together, getting ready for the reset. It felt weird, knowing all this and now they have to say good bye, even if they would meet again soon. Most of them wouldn't remember, and would do the same useless things again until they realize it was too late.

"Should we start?" Hibiya asked, but Mary looked hesitant. Seto looked down at her, and gently took her hand.

"Don't worry, Mary," he comforted her with a small smile. "If we all survived in this Route…in some sense anyway, then I'm sure it will happen again."

"Really?" she looked up at him with bright eyes, tears running down her cheeks.

"Of course! And I'll always be with you!" He smiled wider. He had always been with her, and he never wanted to see her cry over him again. He had always known, but next time, he would try harder for her. Hearing that, Mary nodded and held his hand back.

Kano laughed at them. "Love birds. Ow!" he rubbed where Kido hit him. "What was that for!?"

"I have something to say too," she huffed as she forced him to look at her. "I'm not pleased that I will forget about the things you've been hiding from me," Seto even know, but she didn't; that made her more mad than before, "however, mark my words, Kano; in the next Route I will find out your little secrets and make you stop thinking you're alone!"

Kano blinked at her, watching her carefully after she let all that out. He wanted to tease her as usual, but instead he put on his usual grin, and patted her head. "I look forward to it." He let out laugh when he was slapped away.

Right at that moment, Momo clapped her hands together. "Well, I'm looking forward to meeting you all again!" she chirped. "Although it would be sad to forget all of you…and don't know how to control my Eyes…"

"You never had control," Hibiya muttered, only to have the idol glare at him.

"You don't too!" she retorted angrily, but noticed the blank look in his red eyes as he looked at the world around them.

"I might remember this," he said after a while. "If the next Route starts on August 14th, I'll be back with Hiyori again," he fisted his hands. "If…I will remember all this. I will try to stop us from dying so then that snake won't hurt us again."

There was silence between them, but suddenly, without any warning, he was hugged closely against the idol's chest. Spluttering and trying to get out of Momo's embrace, she cheered, "Well when I see you and Hiyori-chan again, I'll take you out like before!"

"N-No thanks!"

"Oh come on! It's fine, isn't it?"

As Shintaro watched the commotion, he turned to the only one without anyone to talk to. "Too bad you remembered everything just when we have to go."

Konoha nodded sadly. "Y-Yeah…" he muttered. "I'm really sorry though. For everything I did…"

"Don't say it now. Say it when we all make it out of this Endless Summer our pathetic teacher created," Ene huffed at him. The albino looked at her, his eyes wide as he stood there in silence. The girl saw this, blushing and looked away. "D-Don't look at me like that!"

"Takane…"

She turned to him. "Why are you calling me that!? It's Ene now! E.N.E!" she stomped up to him and slapped his soft cheeks. "Get it right! Now!"

"E-Ene!" Konoha stuttered quickly but he was getting pinched now. Shintaro stared at the two, smiling a little. He was glad those two were alive all along at least, and he would find Konoha again, hopefully save him before he got corrupted by the Wide Awakening Eye.

"We should go now," everyone got whatever they wanted to say off their chests and gathered closer together. Mary smiled at them, loving how close everyone was and will experience again, this time without them all dying before her. Closing her eyes, she summoned all the snakes present to help her reset this time for the new Route. But instead of taking the snakes out of everyone, she controlled them all within their hosts' body, telling them what to do as her eyes became hotter by the second.

"Let's go," she murmured and with a flash of bright light, they were sent back to the day before they all met.

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The remaining working television showed the dead of the Mekakushi-Dan being sent back in time, before it received static and shut off with a crack. The screen split in half, indicating this Route ended.

"Well, they're gone now," Kisaragi said before getting up and turning to everyone who was left. Hiyori was staring at her hands, watching as they started to become transparent.

"I have to go now," she said before looking up at everyone. "How far do you think we're going back this time?"

"August 14th again I believe," Kido's sister sighed. "Sorry you have to go through all that again."

"Better than getting controlled by some weird snake," she shivered before getting up and going over to her sister. Ayaka was watching Kenjirou as he started to fade away as well. Everyone was here, even Ayano once Shintaro met up with everyone.

He hadn't been very responsive after they got him in here. Ayano sighed and went up to hug him. He flinched a bit. "Don't be so sad," she murmured. "It wasn't your fault."

"No…it is…" he got out of her hold. He would have the snake inside him again, and he would be used without even thinking about what he was really doing for once. "All I wanted was to be with my family again."

"Stop that," Azami walked up to him, a slight anger on her. That's how she got everyone in this mess already, by listening to that snake's idea. "Those children can move on, why can't you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm already an adult. I don't think like them anymore," was all he said before he was gone with Hiyori. Everyone watched where he was, feeling pity for him.

"I hope he will find some peace when this is all over," Kano's mum murmured nervously. Hanako whined a bit beside her, lying on her belly with a whimper.

"It will be okay though," Ayano said to them. The world around them began to reconstructive themselves for the next Route to start. "This part of the plan is complete. And I believe them, so we should all too."

"Of course we do," Shion said. "It's not good to just worry about them."

They nodded. They could only do this much now. Ayake turned to Ayano. "Are you sad though?"

She shook her head. "Of course not!" she smiled. "I saw Shintaro again. They will help my little heroes while they help him. Because," she laughed happily, "that's what the Mekakushi-Dan is about."

Everyone smiled a bit at her words, even Azami. "You're right. So," she turned away from them, her eyes on an undamaged television sitting in the middle of the intersection. Static was buzzing about, but it was starting to show of a young man sitting in his room, surfing the web.

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Let the new Route begin

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