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Night had fallen and the stars were shining in the sky with the Milky Way, which divided the celestial vault as if it were a river made of stars.
"Sorry I'm late!". A child's voice shouted "I got some milk and sugar from home".
"I just got here, don't worry!". The other replied, welcoming his friend on top of the blanket, while he got something to eat.
"Oh, how wonderful!". The child exclaimed "Tonight you can clearly see the constellation of Cygnus and also the star we want to explore together!".
The two began to noisily chew the sugar and drink the milk while their eyes were fixed on the celestial vault.
"One day we will travel together in the Milky Way". The smaller child said while moving his finger on the river of stars as if it were a small boat.
"Yes!". The other confirmed "And we will visit our favorite star!".
The two children began to giggle as the stars in the sky testified to their promise.
"There are only a few minutes left until we reach the next station." The conductor shouted as he passed through the various carriages with passengers who began to pack their bags to get off.
Touma opened his eyes to find his cheek and part of his forehead stuck against the train window. The boy sat up and yawned before getting up and taking his bag and getting ready to get off.
After getting off the train, Touma went to get a coffee and then took out a small ruined note from his pocket with the address and name of his father's colleague to whom he had to give his latest research.
"I can't go! Can you go? He's an old colleague who helped me with my research in the past." Genichirou begged his son while holding a file full of data and notes.
"Okay ...". Touma replied while his father took a piece of ruined paper in his hand and began to write the name of his colleague.
"Thank you, Touma! You'll see that it will be a beautiful experience among the stars". Genichirou exclaimed while handing the piece of paper with the name of his colleague to Touma.
"Professor Giovanni Tanaka?" The old man read the name on the note and with one arm pointed to what looked like an old train depot, which overlooked the sea and where a telescope could be seen coming out of the roof.
Touma looked at the structure and set off following what were the old train tracks, which once connected the old station to the depot where the trains were left.
He walked while breathing in the sea breeze and trying to keep his balance on the old tracks emerging from the ground.
Touma looked at the tracks ending right near the cliff and his mind found himself imagining a train, which was flying over the surface of the sea and then rising and starting to fly in the sky and disappearing among the clouds.
Near the entrance door there was a small stone column with a hand-made blue lantern on top with the Milky Way and various constellations drawn on it, probably drawn by children.
With that imaginative thought in his mind, Touma rang the bell which was also made from an old train.
He heard a racket coming from inside and then the door opened and Touma found himself in front of Giovanni Tanaka for the first time.
He was a man the same age as his father with red hair and white grizzled hair and two eyes the same color as sapphire. He was wearing clothes, which had red and orange shades that were completely crumpled and sneakers that had been worn out for a long time.
“Who are you?” Giovanni Tanaka asked tiredly and yawning in Touma’s face.
“I’m Touma Hashiba and ...”. Touma introduced himself while feeling a pressure in his brain, but he thought it was just tiredness.
“Hashiba ... so you’re Genichirou’s son!” Giovanni exclaimed while moving aside to let Touma into the house “Come in!”.
Touma entered and found himself in front of an incredible chaos made of books, notes, papers and other objects, but what dominated that house was the telescope and a photograph that depicted what seemed to be two stars: one gold/red and the other blue.
Touma looked at that painting, while Giovanni tried to tidy up the table to make room for his guest.
“Can I offer you something?” Giovanni asked once he had finished tidying up the table and was sitting in front of Touma.
“Something to tease, please ...”. Touma placed a hand on his stomach, as he felt his stomach begin to rumble from hunger.
He had eaten some onigiri during the train ride, but apparently it hadn’t been enough to calm his stomach and the coffee had only increased his hunger.
Giovanni immediately went to the kitchen divided only by a sort of divider and then returned to Touma with many different packets of bacon flavored chips and shrimp clouds that he divided into different bowls.
Touma immediately rushed to grab some shrimp clouds and began to munch on them, while Giovanni returned to the kitchen to bring some drinks to drink as well.
“Thank you.” Touma croaked with his mouth full, as he opened his suitcase and took out the documents his father had prepared.
“I see that Genichirou did an incredible job, as usual.” Giovanni exclaimed as he put on a pair of glasses and began to read the first sheet.
Touma continued to eat, his gaze falling again on the photograph hanging and wondering what it depicted and what its meaning was.
“I see you are looking at Albireo.” Giovanni observed as he placed Genichirou’s research on the table.
“Albireo ...”. Touma repeated its name.
“It is a double star made up of two stars of contrasting colors and that belongs to the constellation of Cygnus, also known as the Northern Cross”. Giovanni began to explain “To the naked eye it will appear as a single star, but with a small telescope the mystery is revealed”.
“I imagine it is the size of the orange-gold star, which creates this deception to the naked eye”. Touma commented as he put another crab cloud in his mouth.
“It almost seems like the larger star protects the smaller one, doesn’t it?” Giovanni joked as his face curved into a smile “Like a friend who protects from bullies or an older brother who defends the younger one”.
Touma looked back at the photograph of the double star Albireo and for a moment the place of the larger star was taken by Ryo instead of the smaller star by him. Ryo who protected him when they entered the Youjakai to save Seiji, Shin and Shu.
“It really is a friend who protects the other ...”. Touma whispered in a low voice finding himself in agreement.
“Even if that star once scared me!”. Giovanni suddenly exclaimed “An old man from the village who returned from a trip claimed to have seen Albireo fall on the Shinjuku area with the blue star dragging the red one”.
Touma jumped hearing those words, understanding that the old man had seen him and Ryo returning to Earth.
“Maybe that old man had seen a meteorite composed of various elements, which with contact with the atmosphere generated the two colors of Albireo”. Giovanni hypothesized as he stood up to get something to drink for him and Touma.
“I agree!” Touma agreed as he reflected on the fact that he didn’t remember anything about his experience in space and his first memory was Ryo being injured and tired after saving him.
Giovanni returned again with some milk, soft drinks and two glasses and immediately served a drink to Touma, who was still staring at the painting.
“It would be nice one day to be able to admire Albireo like we see the sun today, wouldn’t it?” Giovanni asked seriously as he turned his attention to the photograph.
Giovanni immediately poured himself some milk into the glass and added two sugar cubes and then served Touma filling a glass with orange juice.
“Does it have anything to do with my father’s research?” Touma asked directly and curiously to know what project Giovanni was working on, and that had also excited his father.
“I need his studies to complete a study regarding a new way to transport people in space.” Giovanni spoke with his blue eyes shining as he explained his idea “A train that runs along the Milky Way!”.
Touma was about to ask Giovanni more questions, intrigued by the scientist’s idea and how he wanted to apply his father’s ideas, when a loud noise was heard from outside.
Giovanni immediately jumped up and with a quick sprint rushed towards the door, while other loud noises came from outside.
“You again?”. The scientist shouted furiously.
Touma immediately got up from his chair and went out to check and understand who was causing the noise and why Giovanni was so furious.
“He hasn’t come yet, have you gone from here?”. The one shouting was an elegant businessman, who spoke in a rude tone towards Giovanni.
“Of course I’m not leaving! This land is my property that I purchased regularly unlike you, Mr. Sugii!”. Giovanni hissed furiously while his face twisted into a grimace of anger.
“There have been several irregularities with your purchase, Professor Giovanni.” The man replied contemptuously, while stepping on a rail “Furthermore, you have not fulfilled the task of clearing the land of all these old rails, which are no longer needed for the station”.
“As I have already explained, I need these rails for a project of mine!” Giovanni hissed seriously “Go away now before I get angry!”.
“I am leaving, but know that I will return and complete my project of creating a restaurant overlooking the sea in place of this shack! And I will succeed even at the cost of being torn to pieces by a wild animal!” Mr. Sugii concluded and gave the lantern a sharp blow, making it fall to the ground.
“And that garbage will also end up where it belongs! Useless, worthless junk”. The businessman added before giving the lantern a final kick.
Giovanni made a guttural and animalistic noise with his throat, while Touma immediately rushed to pick up the lantern that had fallen on the ground.
The samurai picked it up and began to clean it from the dirt and grass, noticing that at the base there were two names written: Giovanni and Campanella.
“Thank you!”. Giovanni muttered while putting the lantern back in its place.
“That man ...”. Touma began to speak, but Giovanni immediately stopped him.
“Leave him alone!”. Giovanni immediately changed the subject “Rather, I still have to show you where you will sleep and then I will take you to the village to be your guide and eat something for dinner.”
The scientist gave Touma a blow on the shoulder and invited him to come into the house to show them where the futon was located, where he would sleep during his stay.
That evening they had dinner in a small restaurant that served excellent yakitori served with sautéed vegetables on a griddle.
Touma opted for a soft drink, while Giovanni drank several bottles of sake until he got drunk.
When they left, Touma was forced to have the inconvenient task of taking Giovanni home, while an old man inside the place was declaring completely drunk "I seriously saw Albireo fall from the sky!".
“It seems he’s the one who started this rumor.” Touma thought as he walked out of the place with Giovanni babbling mathematical formulas.
Giovanni began to hum as Touma supported them as they headed home:
The red-eyed Scorpio
The spread wings of Aquila, the Eagle
The blue-eyed Canis Minor, the Little Dog
The coil of Serpens, the Snake of light
Orion sings haughtily
Casting the frost and dew
The cloud of Andoromeda -
The shape of a fish's mouth
From Ursa Major, the Great Bear
Extending its paw's length five times northwards
Above Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear's forehead
Is where the guide for Star Tour, Polaris, shines.
Touma managed to return to the former locomotive depot with Giovanni who immediately went to crawl under his futon like a zombie.
Touma, however, was not yet sleepy and took his futon upstairs where the telescope was. After setting up his bed for the night, the samurai turned his attention to the telescope with which he began to search for the star Albireo, while Giovanni's loud snoring came from below.
Mr. Sugii was walking towards the bed and breakfast where he was staying, while in the distance came the sounds and cries of various wild animals, which inhabited this area.
"I can't wait to get rid of that crazy scientist and build my own restaurant so I can finally go home." He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
The man stopped right in front of the bed and breakfast and lit a cigarette with the smoke flying towards the streetlight.
The light began to move intermittently, while in the distance the sound of paws could be heard approaching quickly towards Mr. Sugii.
“A dog?” Mr. Sugii asked before the animal bit him in the throat with all the force of its fangs and sent the cigarette flying.
Mr. Sugii’s body fell to the ground in a pool of blood with a glassy and empty gaze turned towards the milky life.
When Touma woke up it was ten in the morning and he smelled the good smell of coffee in the air and immediately got out of his futon to go downstairs to drink some coffee.
On the table he also found some steamed rice along with some fried chicken and miso soup.
“Good morning.” Giovanni exclaimed while yawning with his mouth open and holding a jug full of instant coffee.
“Good morning.” Touma replied, while holding out the cup to be filled with coffee.
“Last night I overdid it, I apologize ...”. Giovanni apologized while scratching his head with one hand.
After placing the pitcher of coffee on the table, Giovanni poured the milk into his glass and drank it in one gulp before filling a second glass.
“Don’t worry!” Touma began placing pieces of fried chicken on top of the rice and then added some soy sauce before devouring his breakfast.
Giovanni was about to start eating when he heard someone knocking on his door.
“You can’t even have breakfast in peace.” The scientist muttered as he stood up and walked towards the door.
When he opened the door, the scientist was surprised to see two police officers staring at him with a stern look.
“Good morning! If Mr. Sugii sends you, tell him that I have no intention of selling the land where my house and laboratory are located.” Giovanni spoke in a neutral voice as he crossed his arms over his chest.
The two policemen looked at each other upon hearing the answer, while Touma stood up to hear what was going on.
“It seems you don’t know that Mr. Sugii was mauled to death last night by a wild animal?” A policeman commented with a serious face and a dark expression on his face.
“What?” Giovanni and Touma exclaimed together.
“Last night, Mr. Sugii was smoking a cigarette outside the bed and breakfast where he was staying when he was attacked by a wild animal. The body was discovered only hours later by a night watchman who was doing his rounds in the neighborhood.” The policeman explained what had happened.
Touma thought about what animal could have gotten so close to the village, especially during a time when food is plentiful.
“If Mr. Suguii was killed by an animal, why are you here?” Giovanni asked, still in disbelief.
“Suguii’s family has decided to send a private detective to investigate and see if it was really an animal that killed the man.” The policeman answered seriously.
“So you have to come with us to the crime scene to be questioned by the investigator.” His colleague added.
“Give me time to put on some clothes and shoes and we can go.” Giovanni muttered and then went back into the house and got dressed right away.
Touma also moved and went up to the second floor where the telescope was located and immediately got dressed to accompany the scientist to the crime scene, knowing that he could testify for the scientist's innocence, having been awake until three in the morning to look at the stars.
"Do you want to come with me?" Giovanni asked seeing Touma dressed and ready to leave.
"I can testify, that you were sleeping during the period of time in which Mr. Suguii died." Touma whispered in a low voice as he left the house and followed the two policemen.
"Was I snoring that loud?" Giovanni asked in a guilty and mortified voice.
"I stayed up late looking at the stars with the telescope and I clearly heard you moaning in your sleep." Touma explained in a low voice.
Giovanni and Touma got into the police car, which immediately headed towards the place where the murder had been committed.
When they arrived, they found the forensic team taking measurements with Mr. Suguii's body covered by a sheet and some people observing the crime scene.
Touma immediately recognized the old man, who had spoken about Albireo's fall yesterday and was hunched over his stick.
The old man immediately gave both Giovanni and Touma an eloquent look before slowly moving with his stick.
The first to reach them was a sturdy middle-aged man with a beard and black hair with a splash of white and two brown eyes under a pair of thick glasses.
"You are the scientist named Giovanni, right?" Seeing that Giovanni nodded, the man introduced himself "Mine is Kosuke Seiishi and I am the private detective hired by the Suguii family to investigate the death of their loved one".
Giovanni nodded as he avoided looking at Mr. Suguii's body, which was being placed in a coffin and then loaded into the mortuary car to be taken to the police station for an autopsy.
“Can I ask where you were between 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning?” Kosuke asked dryly as he took out a notebook to take notes.
“He was sleeping after getting drunk at the inn as my host can attest.” Giovanni answered calmly as he pointed to Touma.
“Can you confirm?” Kosuke asked Touma directly
“I confirm! I stayed up until 3:00 in the morning observing the stars with Giovanni’s telescope and I clearly heard him snoring and moaning in sleep.” Touma confirmed seriously.
“Did you see him sleeping in his futon?” Kosuke asked seriously.
“No, the house was completely dark, but I clearly heard Giovanni, who was moving in his futon.” Touma answered seriously.
Kosuke made a wary face towards Touma, while his eyes scanned Giovanni’s face, who remained calm and impassive.
“Too much!” Kosuke found himself thinking as a hand went to his glasses to adjust them better and write some notes in his notebook.
“Besides, Giovanni drank so much that I helped him get home. It was impossible that he could move on his own.” Touma added seriously.
“Is there anyone else who can testify?” Kosuke asked and behind his shoulders the sound of a stick hitting the ground could be heard.
Touma looked at the old man who was watching Detective Kosuke with a furious expression on his face and his eyes, which looked like two burning furnaces.
“Detective, leave our illustrious scientist alone!” The old man exclaimed, waving the stick above his head “Both because I saw Giovanni stagger out of the inn together with this blue-haired boy and because I saw Mr. Suguii being attacked by a wild cat!”.
Kosuke turned to stare at the old man, while both Giovanni and Touma strained their ears to hear what the old man wanted to testify.
“Really? And why didn’t you notify the police right away?” Kosuke asked suspiciously, feeling that something was wrong with the old man’s words.
“When I was a kid, I was attacked by a wild cat. Look at this!” As he spoke, the old man discovered a scar on his wrist that was in the shape of a bite. “When I saw Mr. Suguii, I relived the trauma that that wild cat left me, and I immediately ran away like a coward back home.”
Kosuke noticed how the old man’s arm was shaking, while Touma noticed that Giovanni’s face expressed a sense of guilt.
“I’m sorry for having reminded you of a trauma from your past.” Kosuke apologized while pointing to something else in his notebook.
“It would have been even more unfair if you had put an innocent man in prison.” The old man replied, finding his strength again by banging the tip of his stick on the asphalt again.
“I am only trying to confirm that it was really a wild animal that killed Suguii, also for his family.” Kosuke replied while casting a last glance at both Giovanni and Touma.
“Now I’m going to follow the autopsy.” Kosuke concluded with a serious face, “You three remain available for further questions from me and the police.”
All three of those present nodded, while Kosuke, closing his notebook, headed towards the police car, which was waiting for him.
“Thank you for your testimony, Kenshi Zanelli.” Giovanni thanked him, bowing slightly towards Zanelli.
“No problem!” Zanelli replied seriously, “Even if that is not enough to remove the guilt, even if it is a way to restore compassion because thanks to that we are no longer beasts ...”.
Touma did not understand what he was talking about but he felt a note of pain and regret in Zanelli’s last words.
“Do we want to go back? So I can show you how to best use the telescope and also what use your father’s research is to me”. Giovanni proposed in a calm tone while his body relaxed after the tension he had felt.
“Okay!” Touma exclaimed, curious to know how Giovanni intended to use his father’s formulas and inventions to create a train capable of flying in space.
Two days later
Touma had gone out to run an errand for Giovanni and get some milk and sugar for the scientist. During those days spent in the former train depot, Touma had noticed how Giovanni consumed a large amount of milk and that he ate neither legumes nor vegetables, but only meat and fish.
“And I didn’t even find it strange considering how I ate before I met the others…”. Touma reflected as he remembered the enormous amount of junk food he had eaten during his long periods of being completely alone at home.
Touma looked up and found himself in front of Detective Kosuke, who was looking at him with a serious expression on his face.
“Good morning! I would like to talk to you about some matters regarding the investigation”. Kosuke began to speak in a calm voice “What do you say if we go and talk in a bar?”.
“Why do you want to talk to me?” Touma asked seriously while Kosuke pointed with a finger to a small bar where the inviting smell of freshly baked pastries came from.
“Because there are some things I want you to know about.” Kosuke replied calmly and friendly “How about we go to that bar?”.
“Fine!” Touma agreed and followed Kosuke towards the bar.
After they sat down at the table and ordered two coffees and two slices of apple from the waitress, Kosuke Touma began to talk.
“What do you want to talk about detective?” Touma asked while putting some cream on a piece of his cake and putting it in his mouth.
“About the investigations I’m conducting and since when did I meet Giovanni?” Kosuke replied with a smile on his lips.
“Why do I have to be informed about the investigations?” Touma asked perplexed while raising an eyebrow and with the spoon in mid-air.
“Because you could be an accomplice to a murderer.” Kosuke replied calmly and lowering his voice a lot.
“What do you mean? It wasn’t an attack by a wild animal?” Touma asked not understanding what was going on.
“That’s what the forensics team believes, but there are some things that don’t add up.” Kosuke explained seriously “First of all there haven’t been any wild cats in this area for about twenty years. According to Giovanni’s past, he is unknown to almost the entire country, and even tracing where he got his degree I found nothing of his past. Thirdly, the forensics team found something similar to a black hair in the victim’s slit throat that doesn’t resemble the fur or whiskers of a wild cat.”
Touma heard the detective’s explanation while his expression became more and more incredulous as he wondered who his father’s colleague really was.
Then his mind remembered the phrase that Zanelli had said to testify in favor of Giovanni:
[...a way to return compassion because thanks to that we are no longer beasts ...]
Touma immediately got up from the bar table and Kosuke asked "What do you want to do?".
"I have to talk to Zanelli! I have a theory that my brain has produced and I have to see if it is true or not!". Touma exclaimed as he ran out of the place leaving Kosuke alone with a coffee and an uneaten piece of cake.
"Can you make all these things take away for me, please? I would like to eat them later". Kosuke asked the waitress who immediately smiled and came to collect the stuff to wrap and make a small package.
Touma began to run and ask around where Zanetti was and an old lady indicated to him that at that time he always headed towards the cemetery to talk to a deceased friend of his.
Touma started running and reached the cemetery where Zanelli was, who seemed to be talking in front of a grave.
The boy immediately went downstairs and when he approached the grave he noticed that the name of the person buried was Campanella.
“Campanella ...”. Touma whispered in a low voice with Zanelli who turned to look at him.
“Did Giovanni tell you about him?”. The old man asked while continuing to stare at Touma in the face.
“No, I read his name in an old lantern with the constellations drawn on it”. Touma confessed while looking at Campanella’s grave and noticed that the constellation of Cygnus was engraved on it with Albireo being exalted in the depiction.
“Ah, Campanella and Giovanni’s dream of going into space together ...”. Zanelli murmured in a low voice “And like an idiot I made fun of them both ...”.
“Maybe because you consider them stupid childish dreams since you were older than the two of them ...”. Touma hypothesized seriously as his brain continued to process that information.
“No, I was the same age as Giovanni and Campanella and they were even in the same class”. Zanelli replied seriously, tapping the tip of his stick lightly on the ground.
“Wait!”. Touma stopped the old man from continuing to speak “Giovanni seems to be much younger than you ...”.
Touma’s brain was starting to process every piece of information he had gathered: Giovanni’s diet, the story of the wild cat, the fact that the scientist had no past and those strange stories of cats becoming humans that he had read in a lot of books.
“Giovanni is by any chance the wild cat that bit you, right?”. Touma expressed what his brain had processed.
“A wild cat that thanks to Campanella’s compassion and love took on a human form.”. Zanelli confirmed with an atypical voice “I know it may seem absurd, but it’s the truth!”.
Touma believed it because he was now used to fighting against events that could not have a logical and scientific explanation.
“What happened to Campanella?”. Touma asked to have the last piece of the puzzle.
“He died to save his life and Giovanni could not do anything to save him”. Zanelli answered sobbing with shaking hands “His act of compassion and love towards me made me understand when I was a beast and not a human being”.
And with that answer Touma also understood the reason why Giovanni had killed Mr. Souji: because he had insulted the only memory Giovanni had of Campanella.
“I have to run to Giovanni immediately!”. Touma exclaimed and after greeting Campanella’s grave he began to run to reach the former train depot.
Zanelli watched Touma's silhouette get smaller and smaller and then returned to Campanella's grave again.
Giovanni held his lantern in his hand and placed a candle inside it and then began to turn it with the constellations and stars, which began to move quickly on the ceiling of the warehouse as if he were on a train.
He saw a blue cat coming out of the stars that was running scared while trying to escape from some children who were chasing him throwing branches and stones. The cat managed to bite one of the bullies and after being injured he escaped into the forest, where he met a child named Campanella. Campanella was not at all scared, he offered the fox some milk with sugar cubes, which he drank greedily until he completely recovered.
Campanella smiled and his kindness and compassion struck a chord in the cat's heart, who slowly took the form of a child the same age as Campanella. The two became friends immediately, thanks also to their shared passion for the stars, so much so that they built a lantern that reproduced the constellations to always see them even when the sky was cloudy. The cat was happy despite the bullies continuing to persecute him and exchanged a promise with Campanella to stay together forever and one day to explore the universe.
It was a beautiful promise and the cat believed it, but fate did not agree that the cat would go around space and Campanella died to save the life of the bully in a river full of stars that tried to replicate the Milky Way.
And he was left alone to cry and wonder why Campanella had gone alone among the stars without waiting for him and a dream that now was up to him alone to realize.
Giovanni held the old lantern in his arms, while tears ran down his cheeks and his beard and promising himself that no one would stop him from realizing both his and Campanella's dream.
Including the detective who was now investigating the death of Mr. Suguii.
He did not hear that Kosuke had entered his home and was pointing a gun at him.
"You are under arrest for the murder of Mr. Suguii! Put your hands above your head." The detective ordered as his eye fell on the photograph of the star Albireo.
“Why… why do you want humans to die? Why are you only here for this short period of time?” Giovanni found himself asking with a growl that sounded like an animal.
Kosuke raised an eyebrow at the fact that he was speaking to him as if he were the only human in the room and wondered if Giovanni was delusional.
“Because every journey has a beginning and an end.” Kosuke answered dryly with the first words that came to mind.
“Because of death, a journey was denied to me…” Giovanni muttered under his breath as he put the lantern on the ground and stood up.
Kosuke noticed that Giovanni’s appearance seemed more animalistic and similar to a cat with blue fur.
“Did he put on a cat costume to kill Mr. Suguii?” Kosuke thought as his hands began to shake as he saw the scientist’s menacing figure towards him.
“Stop, Giovanni!” Touma shouted as he entered the house and addressed the scientist directly, “Do not destroy what Campanella gave you, your humanity and love for the stars and the universe.”
“What do I do with this love and humanity, if it hurts so much?” Giovanni exclaimed as his eyes stopped on Touma.
“To have such beautiful things, you also have to accept that they hurt us and cry” Touma explained in a calm voice “And I learned it the hard way…”.
Kosuse nodded, as he lowered his gun so as not to appear as a threat to Giovanni.
“And I know how painful it can be when a friend dies or tries to die for love.” Touma added seriously.
“Dying for love… how can you say that Campanella sacrificed herself feeling something like that?” Giovanni asked scornfully as he climbed up to reach the telescope.
“Because he also passed his compassion on to Zanelli who changed and then passed it on to another who also became a human like you, who passed it on to another like for example to my father who you helped with his research.” Touma explained raising his voice “Campanella became the head of a train where you then attached yourselves like locomotives, dragged by the compassion he gave you.”
“And that’s what Ryo did with us too! He passed his compassion on to us and was ready to sacrifice his life to save us and the world from Arago.” Touma thought as he imagined himself in Giovanni’s place, after Ryo had died.
Giovanni turned his attention to the lantern and he remembered the moment he had built it together with Campanella and the joy of having seen it finished and working thanks to a small candle.
“I would like my locomotive to attach itself to Campanella’s again to travel with him to the place he went.” Giovanni murmured softly, “I want to live a new journey, even if there is a risk that it could be as painful as the first. I drowned in the illusion that by making our dream come true I would have peace from this pain, instead of accepting it and continuing to live the life that Campanella made me discover.”
Kosuke didn't know whether to climb on top and arrest Giovanni or see if he would surrender on his own.
Touma turned his gaze to the photograph of Albireo with the two stars, which began to shine with their own light.
“What's happening now?”. Touma asked while Giovanni raised his head, not understanding what was happening either.
The lights of Albireo's stars illuminated the lantern, which began to project the constellations that began to rotate around them and then unite, creating a train made of stars.
Touma looked at that train and saw that inside it was a boy dressed in red clothes who was staring at everyone from the window.
“Campanella!”. Giovanni shouted with joy when he saw his friend and ran towards the train.
Campanella without saying a word reached out a hand to Giovanni, who immediately grabbed it and climbed on the train to leave with his friend.
“Finally we can take this trip together!”. Giovanni exclaimed towards Campanella and then turned to Touma "I leave you my lantern that you can share with your friend and thank your father for his research".
Kosuke watched in amazement as the train of stars ventured towards the night sky created by the lantern.
When the train disappeared, the old train depot returned to normal, leaving Touma and Kosuke to observe the old telescope.
Toum immediately went up the stairs and went to get the lantern and hugged it to his chest, while Kosuke was already thinking about what he had to say to Mr. Suguii's family.
Touma was on the cliff while holding the old lantern created by the hands of Giovanni and Campanella.
"Here you are!" Kosuke exclaimed while carrying two glasses and a bottle of a soft drink in his hands.
"Any news on the case?" Touma asked as Kosuke sat down
“The police accepted my explanation that Mr. Sugii was eaten by a wild animal from these areas.” Kosuke spoke as he poured a drink for Touma who was looking towards the Milky Way in search of Albireo.
“Excellent!” Touma exclaimed in a low voice as he found Albireo who was halfway between Altair and Vega.
He wondered if Giovanni and Campanella had already reached the double star or if they were still traveling on the Milky Way.
“There are friends who make you fly to the stars and there are friends who are willing to go to the stars to bring you back.” Touma muttered in a low voice as he spun the lantern in his hands.
Touma and Kosuke drank in silence as they continued to look at the stars and think back to the story of two friends who went on a long journey into space.