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Isshiki Nagisa's Route, conclusionNext week, Nagisa is nowhere to be found. She does not show up to work and does not answer her phone calls. The President finds this sudden absence a little peculiar. Nagisa is normally early to arrive and overflowing with positive energy. Fearing something might have happened to her, Kenji and Kaito decide to head for the orphanage to find out what’s wrong. Once there, Kenji finds the manager and asks her if Nagisa is safe and able to talk now. The manager does not suspect Nagisa might not be in the mood after recent events impacted her life. A couple of days ago, Nagisa was mailed what little money her mother had left. Later, a tragic event was all over the international news on TV. About a week ago, a woman in Brazil was gang raped and brutally murdered by a group of thugs who have been causing all sorts of trouble around the city lately. According to one of the reporters, one of the thugs fooled the woman on the phone stating she has been hired for a high-paying job she recently applied for. Once she arrived at the location, she fell right into the thugs’ trap. They intended to rip her for tall the money she had and force her to work for them as a prostitute. While searching her wallet, one of the thugs notices that her last name had been changed fourteen years ago from a Brazilian name to a Japanese one. Angered that the woman they captured might not be a virgin, they made her fess up about her dead husband and daughter currently residing in Japan. Needless to say, the gang showed the woman no mercy. It turns out the woman was in fact Nagisa’s mother. Kenji is shocked. He cannot even imagine how Nagisa is feeling right now. Still, as her producer, he feels as though it’s up to him to set things right. According to the manager, Nagisa has not come out of her room since yesterday. She was absent from school and cheer practice. Her meals had to be delivered to her room because she would not arrive at the dining hall with everyone else. Worried, Kenji immediately heads for Nagisa’s room. He opens the door and sees Nagisa sitting in the corner in a painfully depressed state. Nagisa is surprised to see Kenji so suddenly like this. She asks him to exit her room as she is not in the mood to talk. Kenji feels like he has to talk with her. It’s not just because it’s his job to make sure his idol is safe and happy…he’s just really worried about her and instinctively wanted to cheer her up. In a rare display of tears, Nagisa tells Kenji she was nearly destroyed by the loss of her mother. Not even the money she received in her mother’s will was enough to mend the hole in her heart. The whole reason she became an idol in the first place was to be able to allow her mother to live a happier life and see her doting daughter again, especially after living such a horrible life in Brazil. Now the only real family she had left is gone. Nagisa feels so guilty, knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Kenji apologizes to Nagisa for her most unfortunate loss, but tells her to think about what she would tell her if she were still around. Nagisa suddenly looks up with a surprised look on her face. It almost feels like the spirit of her mother is talking to her. From what the image in her head tells her, sitting around and moping about it solves nothing. When she’s feeling down or scared, the things she loves will save her. They will show her that everything will be fine…that she’s never alone. Nagisa soon thinks about all the good things life offered her…her childhood friends at the orphanage…her passion for dancing and cheerleading…her friends and events during her days with the cheer club…fun times at the beach…a chance to watch Hibiki perform and later meet her in person…her idol partners…Kenji…Maya. Even without her parents around, Nagisa can still say she enjoys an overall happy life. Kenji is so pleased that Nagisa still has something precious to hold on to. Still, Nagisa wishes to take a bit of time off to mourn the death of her mother. However, she does promise to return to the office next week, knowing everyone there has been worried sick about her after they have received no word of her since the day of the Harvest Moon Festival. Nagisa hugs Kenji as she cries tears of joy, thanking him for everything. He’s so kind and precious, he’s like an older brother to her. After Kenji and Kaito head back to the office, Nagisa heads to her favorite beach. Creating a makeshift gravestone from a flat white rock she picked up earlier, she places it in the sand and lays a bouquet of white flowers next to it. She says a prayer as a tear runs down her cheek, promising her mother she will fulfill her wishes and keep doing what makes her happy.
Nagisa keeps her promise to Kenji and returns to work the following week. Later on at the IU finals opening ceremony, Nagisa overhears a conversation between Yamato and Maya. Maya is eager to see what kind of challenge her opponents have to offer. She specifically has her eyes on Nagisa, who has come such a long way since she made her idol debut. Yamato, however, is disgusted with her upbeat attitude, believing that her time with Nagisa has made her too soft. According to him, if Maya ever expects to master her dancing and become even stronger, she must show no mercy to her enemies (especially low-lives like ZetaPro) and squash them like the insects they are. Let’s not forget that it was these low-class dogs that killed her parents in that brutal gang war she was caught in so many years ago. Yamato really does not want to fire Maya after she was able to use her earnings to settle in a nice quiet home away from that crime-infested dump full of painful memories. Nagisa cannot believe what she has heard and heads over to talk with her once Yamato is away. She heard everything. Maya was not the only one who had to deal with the loss of family. Nagisa tells Maya the story how she lost her father to a group of angry anti-immigration activists during her infancy and her mother to gangsters in Brazil a few weeks back. She also tells her how helping her mother was a big reason she decided to work as an idol in the first place. While Nagisa was suffering a state of depression after hearing the news of her recently departed mother, Kenji and what sounded like her mother’s spirit taught her something. While she may have no family left, all the things she loves will keep her happy. Maya knows Nagisa is right. She had almost nothing left after losing both her parents. Still, that never stopped her from continuing to hone her dancing skills, competing on a national level, and seeking out skilled rivals. This passion made her happy much like cheerleading, dancing, beach visits, and all her friends make Nagisa happy. Maya can hardly believe how alike the two of them are (aside from their origins, of course). Plus, she really admires her constantly growing talents. She’s very proud to call her perky half-Brazilian friend her rival. As Maya and Nagisa hug, she tells her, “May the best idol win.”
During the semifinals against Project Fairy, Hibiki recognizes her opponent right away. She never expected Nagisa to get this far into the IU. Hibiki has seen Nagisa’s unit perform from time to time since the IU preliminaries. She knows not to hold anything back…not with Nagisa as good as she is and her unit’s true objective (Ryuuguu Komachi) waiting in the wings. Project Fairy puts up a valiant effort, but winds up defeated. Later that night after Iori’s chat with Kenji, Hibiki catches up to Ryuuguu Komachi and tells them to keep a sharp eye on Nagisa. If there’s anyone who can defeat NAZO now, it’s her. She has come so far in such a little amount of time. Hibiki promises Nagisa she will be behind her 100%. Upon hearing Hibiki’s motivation, Nagisa becomes stoked for tomorrow’s final showdown.
With the situation growing more desperate, Yamato decides to hatch his ultimate plan to stop ZetaPro in their tracks. He can be seen posting a message on an online bulletin board…
The next day as the van arrives at Tokyo Dome, ZetaPro is soon swarmed by an angry mob, halting their advance. The mob is packed with racists and anti-immigration activists who have learned the truth about Nagisa’s heritage. They believe she is filthy, wild, impure, and even a demon. Some of the protestors bang on the doors demanding ZetaPro to release Nagisa. Nagisa is scared half to death. She has never seen so many people lash out at her with such bigoted remarks. Luckily, security arrives and disperses the mob, allowing ZetaPro to enter the side gate safely. Nagisa is still shaking. It was like a nightmare come true. She thought she would not have to put up with those kinds of people again, but she was wrong. Kenji notices her confidence fading. He assures her that security has the situation completely under control. Nagisa breathes a sigh of relief as she heads into the dressing room to change.
Later that night, the mob is determined not to give up. They want to get rid of Nagisa no matter what it takes. As the gates open, the guards suddenly step aside and allow the vicious mob to storm the dome. Some non-violent members protest to Nagisa’s fans, informing them they are pulling for an illegal’s daughter. They must betray her for the greater good of Japan, especially considering all the problems Brazilian immigrants brought to their country. Some members of the mob even crowd ZetaPro’s side of the stage in order to prevent Nagisa from performing. One protestor (who was involved in the deportion of Nagisa’s mother and beating of her father) swings a bat around shouting, “I’ll give you the same treatment I gave your father!” Kaito is worried. Even Hibiki is worried up in the stands. These people are not only against Nagisa, but they clearly want to do her harm in more ways than one. Fearing for her safety, Kaito warns Nagisa if the situation is not resolved before call time, she will not be permitted to go on stage. Nagisa feels upset. She badly wants to get out there and perform to her heart’s content especially after coming this far. Plus, with the looming anti-Brazilian threat, her confidence is beginning to dwindle.
The mob’s madness continues into the evening. Yamato is pretty confident that NAZO’s victory is all but assured now. Suddenly, an army of police officers show up to clean up the mess much to Hibiki’s delight. The violent group desperately tries to escape, but the cops quickly restrain and arrest a good chunk of the group. As they are carried away, they can hear Hibiki’s voice. “Serves you bigots right for picking on Nagisa-chan! If you disapprove half-Brazilian idols, I take it you hate Okinawans too, huh?” A couple of members of the mob cheer upon seeing Hibiki as they happen to be part of her fanbase. Their angel reacts in disgust, “Jeez, you guys are hypocrites! Jail’s too good for you!” Kaito is informed by the stage crew that the situation has been resolved. Kaito clears Nagisa to perform, much to her excitement. Yamato is stunned. He cannot believe his foolproof plan to stop Nagisa was shot down. Maya speaks up and tells ZetaPro what happened. Earlier last night, Yamato posted information on Nagisa to an online message board in a particular thread that deals with anti-Brazilian immigration. He knew some of the people on that page had particular violent tendencies. By gathering the mob at Tokyo Dome and rewriting the schedules of the stage crew and security guards so that his agents would take their place when the time is right, the mob would stop Nagisa from performing and give NAZO the IU championship by default. That’s where Maya came in. After overhearing a phone conversation between Yamato and his agents posing as gate guards, Maya called the police under her producer’s nose and told them to clear the mob from the dome. Yamato cannot believe one of his idols stabbed him in the back. Maya disapproves of winning by dishonest methods. These kinds of victories feel empty to her. She really wants to face Nagisa’s unit at their full potential so she can prove her strength. The rest of the conversation goes on regularly from there. As Nagisa takes the stage, she does not care how many haters are in the audience now. With the spirits of both her parents watching over her, she has found one thing that will always make her happy…being an idol! Just before the big performance, a familiar voice can be heard shouting, “You can do it Nagisa-chan! Nankurunaisa!”
ENDING
A couple of weeks later, Nagisa comes in with some big news. A fisherman from Hiroshima (does this sound familiar?) arrived at the orphanage one day, found Nagisa, thought she was very cute despite her different looks and origins, and decided to adopt her! Kenji and the others are so proud of her. What’s surprising is that her new foster father has no idea that she is an idol. She will unfortunately have to move away from her old life. She made so many new friends in the orphanage and at school. However, she knows she will go to a new school, make new friends, find new beaches to visit, enter another cheer club, and maybe even take up fishing like the man who adopted her…so many new things she loves that will make her happy. She still wants to continue her idol career just because she loves being an idol! Who knows, maybe she can take her foster father to one of her concerts in the future when he’s not at work? Plus, her original parents will always be around looking after her…wherever they may be. While she may have a new, happier life to look forward to, Nagisa will never forget the times she spent (and will continue to spend) with the one who she’s happiest around…Kenji.
Shiori will be next. I recently came up with a couple of ideas on how she became so quiet and emotionless.
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