"Is it true? You really love me?"
Menma stood there, silver hair shimmering, looking as innocent as a child. She watched Jintan with wide, curious eyes before giving him a radiant smile.
"I love you too, Jintan."
"No... when I say I love you, it's not just as a friend," Jintan said, his face flushing a deep red as he looked at him with absolute sincerity.
"I know," Menma said, her eyes crinkling as she beamed at him. "It's the kind of love where you want me to be your bride, right? If I had grown up normally... would I have become your bride?"
The opening of the chapter was a direct hit to the heart. Natsumi's eyes blurred instantly. 'If she had grown up normally... all she wanted was to be with him.'
"Even if you didn't grow up normally... you don't have to pass on. You can just... stay here. Forever," Jintan said.
His silence and anxiety as the firework launch approached were finally explained. He didn't want her to disappear. He wanted her to stay in his world, even if she was the only one he could see.
"I have to pass on," Menma said. She paused, then ran over to him with a laugh. "If I don't pass on, I can't be reincarnated. I can't come back and actually talk to everyone again."
Natsumi read on, her heart growing heavier. As the moment for the firework launch drew closer, the narrative spent a great deal of time exploring the internal struggles of the group. The tension was suffocating. Finally, the fireworks were ready.
The Super Peace Busters carried the massive projectile up the mountain. Jintan wanted to stop it; the others wanted to let her go. They all said their goodbyes to the spirit they couldn't see. The desire to keep her clashed with the necessity of letting her find peace.
At the moment of ignition, Jintan finally broke. "Wait! Stop!"
But the fuse was already lit. With a deafening roar, the rocket streaked into the night sky.
"The firework... it went up."
A brilliant flower of light bloomed in the darkness. As beautiful as it was, its beauty signaled the end. Menma's wish was granted. She was going to disappear.
Natsumi felt a crushing ache in her chest.
Was this it? Was this how Menma's story ended?
"Wow... look at the flowers in the sky!"
In Jintan's eyes, there was more than just the firework.
He saw the girl leaping with joy, her silver hair trailing behind her. She was still there. She was celebrating the beauty of the moment they had created together. Even now, she showed no fear of vanishing. She was simply savoring every last second with Jintan, Tsuruko, Yukiatsu, Poppo, and Anaru. They were her entire world.
'Menma... I'm sorry. But in this moment... I'm so glad you didn't disappear.'
Jintan watched her through a veil of tears, praying silently. Menma looked at herself, surprised and a bit embarrassed that she was still there, but she eventually turned to Jintan with the most brilliant smile she had ever given him.
The fact that Menma hadn't passed on caused the group to collapse in relief and confusion. They argued and cried, but finally, they reached a singular, unified resolution.
"Let's find her real wish. Let's talk to her. Together."
In that moment, the Super Peace Busters were finally whole again. They were doing it for Menma.
Natsumi turned the pages, her eyes stinging. The scene appeared peaceful on the surface, but beneath the text was a raging torrent of emotion. Only those who had felt the weight of the previous twelve chapters could truly understand the repressed feelings of these characters.
But just as Natsumi thought the story might be heading toward a happy, lingering conclusion, Jintan returned home.
He found Menma collapsed on the floor. Her body was translucent, fading into the air.
Natsumi stared at those words on the final page. Her expression went completely blank.
'End? It ends right here?'
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