Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Anything That Sparkles Like Gold is Awesome!!** is the twenty-third chapter of *We are Magical Boys*. It is the fifth chapter of vol. 4.

## Summary

*As the boys continue searching for Gold, he attempts to come out of his shell to approach Yellow. But after finding it too difficult, its up to the Hibino brothers to give him encourage.*

## Synopsis

Orange becomes aware of how dispirited Akito has become as they head up to the roof. Akito admits that since the incident two years back, he's been plotting revenge and put his all as a magical boy as a means of getting it today. He held that grudge for two years and it doesn't feel like it will really make him feel any better now that he knows the truth. Orange expresses that Shin may be a little selfish but he is still a gentle kid, if Akito talks with him calmly he will understand.

Unbeknownst to them, Shin would remember Yellow as the boy his brother harshly told off. But he doesn't want to apologize, he may have went along with what his brother and Meme-chan said, but it doesn't really have anything to do with him. He sees no reason to care and won't be showing any remorse when he doesn't feel like he has to.

As Yellow continues looking for his brother, Kaito and Makoto show up to try to find Shin. The rooftop garden is the only place they haven't looked yet, but they become distracted when Yellow spots them. Yellow happily greets them to ask if they ranked in the Crystal Eight, which they confess they did not. Kaito then asks Yellow what brought him there, earning critique from Makoto given that it should be obvious by now. As they converse, Shin peeks out from the bush he's been hiding in and curiously observes them. As a young boy, their friendly mood is slowly encouraging him to come out of hiding. He sat on the throne but he felt lonely watching others get along. He really wants to join them but has to work up the courage to say something first, watching as Kaito reacts with shock after Yellow reveals he is Akito's brother. He feels anxious, and can't bring himself to say anything with his self-centered thinking convincing him that he won't be forgiven.

It's then he hears Yellow react with surprise when Kaito and Makoto inform him that Gold was essentially a puppet this entire time. Someone else pulled the strings, he wasn't the one who told Yellow to leave. Yellow feels much better realizing Gold isn't such a bad person after all and the boys are happy to see his good mood, causing Shin to feel encouraged enough to speak out. Until Kaito insults him by bringing up what he did to get away from Akito, which Yellow deems to be terrible. The boys go on to compliment Yellow for having ranked in the Crystal Eight when he did and ask why he admirers Gold so much. They are initially stunned when Yellow bluntly says its because of how sparkly he is, but they realize this innocent answer is expected of him by now. Kaito agrees that sparkling gold is awesome and pretty, and their chatter slowly encourages Shin to try to come out again. He feels so happy hearing Yellow speak so kindly about him, and it reminds him of when Meme-chan was designing his appearance as Glittery Gold. He didn't like it, so he threw it away and drew his own design. It turns out he's an amazing artist, so for someone to recognize his talent makes him very happy.

He decides that he can at least try to apologize and befriend Yellow, until Akito and Orange show up. They look around for Shin-chan after Orange explains that his radar only gives a rough estimate of where someone is. Seeing them reunite with Makoto, Yellow and Kaito discourages Shin as he feels overwhelmed. Orange told him to stay in hiding no matter what, so he doesn't want to disappoint him by coming out, even though he is calling for him now. His introverted feelings cause him to fear the worst and that everyone will gang up on him; so when Orange suddenly appears to find him, he pokes him in the eyes and makes another escape. He then proceeds to poke the eyes of everyone else -except Yellow- and runs back inside, with an irate Akito giving chase. He chastises Shin once he manages to corner him before he can escape through one of the castle portals. But he assures Shin he won't yell or hit him, he just wanted to calmly talk to him. He asks Shin to apologize to Haruto, even if he doesn't mean it, because of how much he admirers him.

Akito recalls a past event after Haruto became a magical boy and told him why he admires Gold so much. He thought "*because he is sparkly*" was such a silly reason to aim for the Crystal Eight, but Haruto told him what Lala-chan -the Tokimekian who watches over them- said to him. Girliness is a costume from the heart, so for him to look so sparkly then he must have an a pretty heart, so it made him want to work hard to make his own Girliness sparkle too. Akito goes on to say that his brother is an idiot, and he's likely to forget about bad things. He acted like nothing happened the next day after he met Gold, but he is sure that there are wounds on his heart from the tears he shed that day. He asks him to say something to help him recover from that.

Back in the garden Kaito is riled up and threatens Shin but Makoto tells him to calm down. While he feels angry about it, it's not going to help anything. He, Kaito, Yellow and Orange are surprised by Akito and Shin's return just then, and he approaches Yellow. After a moment of silence he bows and apologizes to him. Orange is shocked as everyone waits for Yellow to respond, and he happily tells Shin that its not a problem. Shin begins to cry as everyone calms down realizing everything will be fine now.

Suddenly, Kaito and Makoto worry over Akito when he de-transforms and falls over from exhaustion. They decide to take him inside while Yellow is approached by Orange, who also wanted to apologize for his cruelty. Yellow tells him its fine and asks that they become friends, which the Nekota brothers accept.

- - - -

It's been ten days since then. Kaito boredly kicks a can as Makoto joins him after school ends one day, asking why he seems so gloomy now. Kaito brings up that they were forced to leave once things calmed down, but Akito was asked to stay behind, along with Shin and Orange, and they haven't heard from them since. He's worried they might make Akito retire after all. Makoto tells him that its hard to say, since it was a major incident that is going to be hard to move on from. All they can do is wait and hope things work out. Kaito agrees; along with Rakuto, who suddenly shows up out of nowhere and startles them.

Rakuto casually remarks on their closeness and expresses remorse that he's older than them and attends a different school. Kaito immediately has a meltdown remembering Rakuto fawning over him the last time they saw each other, but he claims that he came to deliver some news for them: both good and bad. He teases them by asking which one they want to hear first but Kaito is too worked up, so he reveals that Akito was granted permission to remain a magical boy. Kaito calms down immediately and perks right up, although Makoto is suspicious and asks how he can be so sure he is being truthful. Rakuto tells him to stop being on guard, then points out how much of an asset Akito is to Tokimekia. The event caused an uproar but he's an amazing Magical Boy- he's just being punished and has to help repair the castle. If they doubt him they can go check it out for themselves, but he still has the bad news to deliver, and it involves Kaito.