Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: The Power From Having Accepted Myself!** is the twenty-second chapter of *We are Magical Boys*. It is the fourth chapter of vol. 4.

## Summary

*The power of Akito's feelings resonate with his Girliness, allowing him to get back into the fight against Glittery Gold until a shocking event catches everyone off-guard!*

## Synopsis

Akito has gained new feelings of self-acceptance, allowing him to transform into Lala Girliness. The boys observe in awe before yelling out encouragements to him. Purple strides past the Guardians, who are beginning to feel anxious as Meme-chan scolds them and Purple promises to Gold that by the time he's done, he will be the one crying. He punches him hard enough to send him to the floor, knocking over the chair he was seated on. The Tokimekians and Guardians are shocked as Kaito and Makoto happily embrace him to celebrate his victory, flustering Purple greatly. Deep inside he is very relieved, but Gold still owes Haruto an apology. He lifts him up but to his surprise, the gem from his ribbon falls off.

Akito picks it up to see it's a fake, then he violently shakes Gold as the guardians panic out of confusion. Their leader hesitantly requests that Akito release Gold, offering an explanation. He removes his disguise to reveal his true Magical Boy form: *Meow Meow Orange*. Makoto and Kaito are shocked to learn that Gold is his little brother, but hearing this causes Akito to agree hearing him out. Orange expresses relief as Gold runs over to him in defense and he introduces him as *Shin-chan*.

About four years ago, before Meme-chan became a minister he came to their town of *Mettara*. He found the Nekota brothers and sought out Shin because he liked his elegant features. Yuuichi was shocked by the talking rabbit and his brother hid behind him, forcing Yuuichi to speak on his behalf. Meme-chan explains that he was searching for someone to be "*the charisma of magical boys*" as a means of spicing things up for the Crystal Eight event he proposed. Yuuichi asked Shin how he felt about this and Meme-chan asks them to think it over. Someone elegant like Shin would be perfect, and if the event fails then he will get into trouble for proposing something risky, so they are doing him a big favor. Shin didn't care about fame, so Yuuichi tells Meme-chan to look elsewhere. But once Meme-chan promises that he can handle everything and Shin would just be pampered, causing him to reconsider and cuddle Meme-chan. Meme-chan handed over the Transformation Rings but while Yuuichi could make his work, Shin was unable to because he lacked the aptitude to make it work. Meme-chan really didn't want to keep searching though, so he's going to do his best to make this work.

Seeing as the trio are still reeling from his explanation, Orange goes on to point out that Gold's accessories are props. His Girliness is a sham, as was his coming in first place- the only reason he could even battle was because beneath the portable shrine he sat on, there was several Light Crystals. Their power flowed through it and into Shin in case of emergencies like today, which also helped "demonstrate his capabilities" because he didn't need to move in order to fight. Meme-chan planned all of this in order to inspire other magical boys. Hearing this, the castle guards confine Meme-chan as Orange goes on to reveal that Meme-chan took several crystals for himself because of everyone trying to keep up with Gold. The plan *was* to contribute to the kingdom in order to increase its recognition, but Meme-chan was selfish. He only went along with it because of Shin, and he was told by Meme-chan to threaten others and gather the guardians to make sure nobody would find out. Even the dagger he uses isn't lethal. It might hurt a little but it shouldn't leave any real wounds, which was why he was worried earlier when he thought he actually did hurt Purple.

He apologizes for his behavior towards Haruto, explaining that it wasn't Shin's fault. He's confused to find Akito ignoring him to confront Shin again and yells at him for this. Akito explains that he heard him, but nothing's changed and he still wants an apology from Shin for what Haruto had to go through. Just then Shin pokes him in the eye, forcing him to release the younger boy who runs away from the room. Orange is very proud of Shin for this until Akito angrily chases after him, causing him to follow them.

This leaves Makoto and Kaito standing behind, still somewhat confused because they are unable to relate to their brotherly plights as single children. They decide to lend a hand in helping to look for Shin though, because they're hungry and would rather not discuss the appearance of Purple's Lala Girliness.

Akito angrily searches around the castle for the missing younger boy. He chews Orange out for not focusing, pointing out its *his* little brother. Orange insists everything should be fine though, because Shin is good at hide-and-seek, so they'll have to search every single nook and cranny. Unknown to Akito, Orange is using his Transformation Ring and has already found Shin, but he doesn't want Akito to know that so he's been steering him in the wrong direction until the castle's closing time. He will have to leave and won't be able to upset Shin further. He worries over how lonely Shin must feel though, and asks that he keeps waiting for him.

Shin seeks shelter on the rooftop garden and nervously peeks, having heard sound nearby. Suddenly, Sparkly Yellow appears and he's upset because Akito hasn't returned home yet. He doesn't know what happened because Akito told him not to watch the program, but he's worried so he had to look for him.

By now Akito is worn down as they continue searching for Shin, and he believes Orange is purposely misleading him now. Orange insists otherwise and claims the rooms look alike, silently mocking Akito when his back is turned. He's made him search the same room six times now, and the castle will be closing in a half hour. Shin is still safe on the roof and he's done his duty as a good big brother. However, what he doesn't realize is that Akito is right behind him and saw this, and he chillingly asks Orange about this. He threatens to kill him for being deceptive and jumps on Orange when he tries to run away. He demands to know where Shin is but Orange refuses to talk, leading him to threaten him into submission. Orange refuses on the grounds that he would rather be hurt by Akito than let him hurt Shin. Akito may be looking out for his younger brother, but Haruto means nothing to him, only Shin.

Orange is startled when Akito strikes the ground next to him, and he tells Orange to stop being selfish. He tells him to think back to two years ago when Yellow came in to see Gold, and what he said to Yellow on his behalf- he told him to get lost. Orange acknowledges that he was harsh, but Shin befriending others would be hard to deal with, back then this felt like the easier option. He realized the error of his thinking though, because he assumed asking for forgiveness once was enough, but if he was in Akito's place he would still be angry too. He tells Akito that Shin is hiding on the roof and offers to show him the way there. Akito decides to cut him some slack and thanks him for understanding.

As everyone makes their way there, Yellow is shown searching the garden for Akito as Shin silently observes from his hiding spot.