Sector JP, Part 5: The Star Kodama

Chapter 5: The Star Kodama

Shooting stars are beautiful. They say that if you wish on a shooting star, it comes true.

In actuality, shooting stars are meteors that are hurdling through the atmosphere at breakneck speed, disintegrating as they burn entering our planet. But if a meteor manages to pass through our atmosphere, the entire planet would explode in a fiery blaze. A billion years ago, the Earth was struck by such a meteor, and an entire species of dinosaurs died. Then the Earth turned into ice and became the subject of a movie with a lot of sequels.

Now what if I told you the story of a girl who was inspired by this cataclysm? She was a great pyrotechnician who traveled the world, looking for all sorts of materials to make her creations. Chaos and destruction happened everywhere she went. People gazed awestruck at the colorful explosions in the sky. The hypnotic booms and b'aws. But that was their downfall. One town's citizens began to see everything as a candy land, so they tried to eat everything. One town's citizens all suddenly shrunk to the size of beetles in a few seconds. And for a whole month, the citizens of a town could only taste hotdogs.

Why did these things happen? Well, they were all materials dropped from that girl's fireworks. Her shells became renowned as a powerful force. Where her colorful rockets flew, their targets reduced to dust. She blew up skyscrapers. She blew up mountains. And one day… she blew up the moon.

The sky was clear of clouds over Karakura Forest, and the night sky sparkled with stars. Shooting stars whooshed over the heavens. The glow of their white strips shone off Kodama's dark, lively eyes. "Well, if that isn't a good bedtime story on the night of a meteor shower." Karin remarked. The Sector JP friends were watching the stars fall from the mountain path to their treehouse.

"Kodama-chan, can't we just enjoy the shooting stars?" Ururu asked, sitting with her legs arched up and her arms wrapped around them. Jinta lay beside her, his head resting on his hands. "Let's make wishes to them, just like you said. Like…" She folded her hands in prayer and closed her eyes, "I wish for a beautiful new year."

"Yeah? Well, I wish for something totally random and exciting to happen next year." Jinta smirked.

"Oh, you guys are a bunch of small-dreamers." Kodama brushed off. "But I can't just stand here and watch stars fall from the sky. Rather," she smirked and pulled a bazooka out from under her robe, "I'm more about literally shooting for the stars. Rather, I want to MAKE the stars myself! The power I can wield with my own two hands should be feared across galaxies! Behold, a single tiny shell." She held a hand-size aerial shell in her right hand, tossing it up and down. "I crafted this item, and wherever I decide to fire, it will destroy." She chucked it in her bazooka. "Now, with but a single pull of my trigger," she aimed the gun at the forest and made the gesture of clicking the switch, "a whole land can be reduced to ash. I hold the power of destruction in the palms of my hands."

With a serious look, Kodama aimed the gun up and locked on to the stars. "Now, watch as I shoot down one of your precious stars!" And so, with a single click of the trigger, the mortar went flying like one of the comets. It only went so far up the sky before it burst into colorful green.

"Our precious stars are still standing." Yuzu sweatdropped. "Er, metaphorically."

"Mmmmm!" Kodama grumbled. "Well, just wait, one day I'll create fireworks that can blow up comets AND moons! I know I can do it." She turned around and stared up at the shooting stars. "Ever since I was little, the thing I loved the most were explosions. I watch any and every movie that has explosions. I study the shape and texture of the expanding smoke. Like when Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star, or when they blew up the second half-assed Death Star. My favorite items in Zelda are bombs and my favorite piece of classic 2x4 technology is M.A.R.B.L.E.s. With fireworks, I can add art to explosions. Fireworks capture the true beauty of blowing things up. My parents were my heroes. They were the top fireworks experts. Day after day, they experimented with new materials, creating more art and perfecting their work. In the end, they-"

"Blew their selves up while experimenting with a giant shell." Karin casually interrupted.

"Karin!" Yuzu yelled reprovingly. "Don't just say that, show a little compassion!"

"I just don't get why she's so obsessed about this thing when her own parents died from it. Like, it's typically the kind of thing that would traumatize a kid, so…" Karin noticed the sad expression on Yuzu's face. She stopped midsentence and gave her own remorseful look.

"For your information, my parents died doing what they love!" Kodama yelled passionately. "I know that they want me to carry on their legacy, not sit around and cry for them! That's why they gave birth to me in China, the motherland of fireworks, even though we were Japanese. My young eyes absorbed the color of their explosions, and to this day, they're all I can think about."

"I'm surprised you never needed glasses." Jinta remarked.

"Sigh." Kodama sighed, sitting on the ground. "It's a shame no one else in KND shares the same appreciation for artistic explosions. The most they make are little marbles that pop mustard."

"Eh, I wouldn't say that." Karin said. "Apparently, they got a pretty nifty bomb on Moonbase."

"They do?"

"Yeah, Cheren mentioned it during that war meeting. He considered using it to bomb Viridi, but figured it was too dangerous."

"Interesting. What did he call it?"

"The Shell Two-Sixty-Seven or… something. What, you aren't thinking of going up there and asking for it, are you?"

"Hn hno, of course not!" Kodama chuckled and grinned. "Well, I'll see you guys later, I have to go someplace else for an… unrelated matter." She got up and ran up the hill to the treehouse.

The friends continued watching the stars in peace as a ship launched out of their treehouse, blending in with the meteors as it soared beyond the sky. "He's gonna say 'no.'" Karin said simply.

Moonbase

"Whaddyou mean 'no'?" Kodama asked sadly.

"I mean 'no', you cannot take the Shell 297 (not the 267 as you were misled) for any reason." Cheren told her. "It's a dangerous explosive that we risk even keeping it in the Moonbase. What do you want with it, anyway?"

"I just wanna study its craft and composition and… possibly make a dozen copies based on what I learned. Come on, Cheren, I'm my sector's pyrotechnician, I have to see it! What's the point of making the stupid thing if you aren't gonna use it?"

"We never made it to begin with. It was taken from a secret stash belonging to supervillains, and we couldn't leave it in there in case someone else might've used it."

"'Someone else'? Why are you saying it like that?"

"It-…" Cheren bit his teeth as though trying to think. "It's none of your business! My answer is final. Understand, Numbuh Chinese?"

"It's 'Chinese New Year.'" She corrected in disbelief.

"KODAMA!!" he outbursted. "See, this is why I don't like referring people by numbuh! You either have complicated numbuhs or you just rip off your parents' numbuhs. (I guess I'm no different, so sue me.)"

"Alright then." Kodama shrugged. "I understand the gist. Here's my phone number." She handed him a paper. "Numbers are the same in Japanese."

"W…Why?" Cheren was confused.

"You only do favors for girls who date you, right? That's why you let Lin in the tournament? And why you shut down Sector GD for April?"

"WHAT?! No, that's not it at all!! Ugh, just go back home, and don't ask about that shell again!"

"Fine." She made a pouty face and walked out. "Grumpy."

Cheren sighed with aggravation, unable to get over that assumption. His computer made a bling as an email appeared. He saw a picture of Grenda, the muscular girl from Sector GF, grinning. Her message was titled Hey, cutie! Cheren deleted the message, turned off his computer, and hid under his desk, shuddering with fear.

Sector JP; Kodama's room

Kodama got in her pajamas, where she kept her light-brown shorts and wore a same-colored button-up shirt, and jumped in bed. She looked around at the many explosives in her room. An accidental light of a match could set them all ablaze. The high-pitched whirs as they whoosh across the air, followed by a great POP!, would be the last sounds she ever heard. She fell to sleep peacefully with this in her mind.

The next day (as usual)

Kodama watched the Death Star explode on Star Wars. She watched the scene from Sonic X when Prison Island blew up. She watched a channel for Amish Races, where Amish people raced on horse-drawn carts: one racer's cart was shoved over a cliff. The wooden carriage exploded, then the horse exploded. She watched Shan-Yu's death on Mulan. And many more explosions from different shows.

"Kodama, they say that flashing TV screens hurt your eyes." Yuzu said, sitting on the couch and watching with her friend as they ate ramen. Kodama was more engaged with the TV. "Besides, you know that TV explosions don't compare to the beauty of real-life… explosions."

"I know that." Kodama looked serious. "They just… help me think." She touched her red forehead knot.

"Whatchu thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how I can break into Moonbase's top secret storage and steal that Shell 297."

"PBBBLTH!" Yuzu spit out a stream of ramen, which oozed down her green sweater with saliva. She went to chuck those noodles in the trash and came back with no sweater and a wet towel to clean the floor. "Okay, Kodama, you got me there." Yuzu smiled passively, making a sweatdrop. "Just don't let Karin-chan hear you say that, you know what she did to Jinta-kun."

"I'm not planning to tell her, of course. Not yet, at least. But if you would like to help me, Yuzu…"

"Heheheh. No thanks, I'm not sure I'm understanding this joke very well." Yuzu said quickly, while at the same time stifling nervous giggles.

"There's gotta be some way." Kodama grasped her hair. "Like…" She heard the sound of sweeping, and saw that Ururu had come in, sweeping the floor a few feet away. "Ururu!"

"Huh?" The pigtailed girl turned around at her.

Kodama hopped over the couch and gave a grin and thumbs-up. "How would you like to sneak into Moonbase and swipe a dangerous explosive, Tiny Devil!"

"W-What? No, of course not!" Ururu blushed and shook her hand in defiance. "I would never use my suit to steal from people! Unless they're bad guys…"

"Ururuuuuu! What's the point of having shrinking powers if you don't put them to practical use?"

"Shrinking Jinta for fun is one thing, but stealing from Moonbase is… illegal. I don't know what I would do if I got branded a criminal. I would be scarred for life… sniff, sniff." Ururu began crying.

"Okay, okay. We won't make you steal it. …" Kodama turned back to Yuzu with a devious smirk, "But I do know someone who would…"

"Kodama, this joke's getting old." Yuzu said reprovingly, hands on her hips. "Don't you have anything new?"

"Actually, I've been working on a new type of firework! Take a looksee!" Kodama presented a very small, pink missile with a purple point, which fit between her thumb and index.

"Oooooo! It's so small!" Yuzu looked closer, lightly touching its tip. "Whaddoes it do?"

"I filled it with Sleeping Powder. Light impact, light explosion, all ensured to put one's eyes into deep slumber. Behold!" Kodama aimed the mini projectile at Yuzu's face and plucked the fuse. The base end suddenly lit, flew forward, and popped against Yuzu's nasal bridge. Pink powder puffed in the poof, sprinkling on Yuzu's brown eyes. The girl became drowsy, she fell back over the couch, and her feet were propped up in the air as she snored.

Kodama held up three fingers and mentally counted. 3… 2… 1…

"SHYAH!" Yuzu jumped back to her feet in a karate pose; her brown eyes were shadier. "What up chick and other chick??"

"Hi, Sleep Yuzu!" Kodama waved brightly. "Do you wanna help me rob a top-secret facility?"

"Uh… SHYAAAAAAHH??" Yuzu replied with an expression that read, 'Duh, OBVIOUSLY!'

"Great! I knew I could count on you!" she winked and thumbs-upped.

"K-Kodama-chan," Ururu stuttered, "you're not serious, are you?"

"Look!" Kodama pulled out another mini missile. "Another Slumberwork!" She lit the little fuse and flew it at Ururu.

"Aaaaah!" the girl panicked. "Uh, oh, yeek!" Ururu looked both ways frightfully, wondering what to do, but stood in place so the tiny missile could strike her face. Ururu's big pretty eyes got heavy, then she fell back on the floor, letting her broom drop as well.

"But just the two of us might not be enough." Kodama thought aloud, stroking her chin. "The top secret weapons facility might be computer-protected. Now, who do we know is good at computer stuff… …" She tapped her chin for a moment. Then, Kodama beamed as she proclaimed, "I got it!"

Moonbase

Kodama landed her S.C.A.M.P.E.R. in the Moonbase Hangar, but her little trio didn't step out for a while. They were made up of Kodama herself, Yuzu still in Sleepwalker Mode, and their choice computer expert. "Thanks for agreeing to this, Vanellope." Kodama said.

"My pleasure." The candy girl replied coolly. "I always wanted to take part in robbery. Gonna have to come up with some story for Dillon, though."

"We're not actually stealing anything, though." Kodama smiled sheepishly. "I just wanna get in to the secret weapons storage and look at this Shell 297. First, Vanellope, can you get inside the base's camera network and look for the storage? Also, do you think you can reprogram the camera monitors to keep replaying the same recordings? That way, we can go in there without the camera guys getting suspicious."

"Pfft. A job like that is child's play for me." Vanellope smirked proudly. She set her laptop on the floor, logged in to Moonbase's Wi-Fi, and digitized herself inside.

Vanellope found her way to the camera network and looked at its hundreds of screens. She skimmed around each screen until one of them depicted a huge door labeled WEAPONS STORAGE in white letters. "It's on the first floor! Hallway 53! Now to just finagle around with the images… Aha! Camera boys are watchin' reruns!"

Vanellope rematerialized back in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. "I found the Weapons Storage, but you need a Card Key. I looked around some more, and it looks like Francis has it. The room's also chi-blocked, and there's a guard by it. There's somethin' else you should know, too: I saw a picture of you that said, 'Watch out for this girl.'"

"Is that because of my talk with Cheren last night?" Kodama questioned. "Why is he so worried about me? Well, whatever, I'll figure out sooner or later. Yuzu, you steal the outfit from one of these hangar guards. You'll pose as a guard and switch shifts with the one guarding the storage. I'll knock him out for you."

"Why can't I do it myself?" Yuzu fist-palmed.

"I wanna keep things quiet as possible." Kodama sweatdropped.

They saw a hangar guard walking by, so they opened the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s hatch as Kodama shot a Slumberwork, knocking him out. They pulled the guard in the ship as Yuzu donned his red uniform and large black helmet that didn't fit her small head. Equipped with the ray gun that came with the uniform, Yuzu marched up to the main bridge where Francis Drilovsky was pacing casually. To swipe from him, Yuzu would first have to march up in an even more casual fashion. 'Cause when you're pulling off a burglary, casually is key. So when Francis was facing the other way, Yuzu fast-walked up to him, then he turned around and collided with her.

"WAAH!" They both fell with Francis on top of Yuzu. Several nearby operatives looked in their direction, and as they were squirming, Yuzu was searching around his pants.

"Whoa whoa, wh-whoa whoa!" Yuzu shouted. "You tryin' to start something here, or what you think you're doin'?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Francis flushed. "It was an accident, l-let me just-"

"AHH!!" Yuzu freaked when Francis pressed a part of her chest, so she punched the boy in the jaw and knocked him off before jumping to her feet. "You do NOT just go up to a girl and DO that to them! You either better watch where you're goin', or DON'T act like such a wannabe CREEP!" With mock fury in her veins, Yuzu stomped away. "UGH!"

". . . ." All of the operatives were staring reprovingly at Francis. He looked around at all of them, sweating nervously. He pulled his sweater over his head and walked away quickly.

Yuzu smirked to herself, glancing back as she held the Card Key between her fingers. With that, she followed the first floor passage that led to the Weapons Storage. There was a guard standing before the large sealed gate, so Yuzu approached him. "Yo Mac, your shift's up, I'm takin' charge."

"Whuh?" the boy asked. "My shift isn't up for another half-hour… and you aren't even the guy who's up next."

"That guy called in sick, so they called me."

"Alright, then where's your ID?"

"It was sorta last minute, so I left in on my toilet."

"Right, that's where I leave my helmet." The guard remarked sarcastically. "This is a little fishy, I'ma need some clarification."

"Listen, buddy, I was sittin' at home playing videogames when they called, and that was like RIGHT AFTER my hangar duty, I was all set to relax for the day when it happened, so EXCUSE ME if I forgot a little personal ID! I coulda just not shown up and let YOU stand here even longer, so if you got a problem, Ah'll be happy to fly back home and goof around in my underwear!"

"Alright, alright! I'm good with my paycheck for the day, so shift's all yours." The guard complied before beginning to leave. "It's not like you could get in without the key or password, anyway."

After a while, Kodama caught up and got inside the room, and Vanellope materialized out of the computer she was carrying. "So how'd you get over here?" Yuzu asked.

"I set off a small shell that puts a Mirage Mist over me." Kodama explained. "It made me invisible to everyone for a few minutes, so I rushed over. You still got the card?"

"Yeah, but 'e said there was a password."

"I can handle that part, just put the card in." Vanellope said.

Yuzu swiped the card through the slot on the terminal. When a password was requested, Vanellope quickly hacked in with her computer. She hit the password 'No Peeking', and a green check mark appeared.

They stood and watched as the large black gate rose open. The three girls walked into the dark, dust-filled room, viewing weapons that were taken and went unused for years. There was Father's piano he used to turn everyone into animals. There was the Amalgamator the Delightful Children used to make the Amalgamation. There were soda bottles that Mr. Fizz used to stuff kids inside; they guessed those bottles were here because KND scientists attempted to study how that was physically possible, but never came up with an answer. Some Girlifyer ray guns were hanging on the wall, too.

"Ahh!" Kodama beamed. "There it is! The Shell 297!" She recognized the large, roundish device with a fuse on top. She skipped over the fallen weapons before planting both feet on the ground before the huge bomb. '297' was written on it. It was colored a night blue, with yellow stars painted. Yuzu and Vanellope stared awestruck at the pretty shell. Kodama walked around it, studying every part of it. She couldn't take her eyes away from the beautifully crafted explosive. She was afraid to touch it and ruin the paint… but couldn't resist, and she went up to rub it with her hands.

"So beautiful… it must've taken ages for someone to make it. Oh, but I have to know who! Who made this beautiful piece of art? And with what? When it explodes, what marvelous wonders will we see? Oh, I can't believe they would just chuck it in here. Why would…?" She was brushing dust off as her hands moved around it, and when she removed the dust of one area, she noticed faint black lines on the blue paint. "Huh? Vanellope, shine your computer on this."

Vanellope faced the brightness of her laptop onto the shell. The thin black lines were actually writing. Kodama squinted her eyes and looked closer. "Daodama and Sudama -…" She paused before reading the surname. Her dark eyes widened. "I…Impossible…"

"What's wrong?" Vanellope asked.

"My…My parents…" Kodama spoke in a whisper. "This shell was made… by my parents…" Her eyes trembled as she reached up and touched the pretty bomb. "Mommy… Daddy… Were you going to launch this… but never got the chance? But why…why is it up here? In the Moonbase?"

"Ain't all this stuff stuff that belonged to villains?" Yuzu questioned. "Or do ya think…"

"Kodama's parents were bad guys?" Vanellope followed.

Kodama said nothing, only stared at the Shell 297, lightly brushing her hand along its dust. "…I have to launch it."

"Huh?" Yuzu said.

"This was probably the last shell my parents ever made. They were going to launch it, but never could. I don't know why it would be up here… but I need to get it out of here. I need to set it off in Karakura's night sky and show everyone the fruit of my parents' art. No, the tastiest fruit they ever grew. I need to, so my parents can rest in peace."

"The fact that we're talking about making an explosion happen makes that the most beautiful thing I ever heard." Yuzu sniffled, wiping a tear from her shady night eyes.

"Okay, but how're we gonna carry this bad boy outta here with no one seeing?" Vanellope asked.

"The very reason I packed this." Kodama raised a jar of Minish Dust. "Swiped it from Ururu's room because I knew I would want to take it, anyway. I hate to disrespect such a beautiful work of art like this, but it's all for the best."

Suddenly, bright flashlights were shone on them. "HANDS UP IN THE AIR and step AWAY from the BOMB!" the Irish accent that belonged to Panini screeched. The girls turned around, hands in the air as a bunch of guards locked their guns on them.

"I ran into the guy who was supposed to take my shift by the candy vendor." The one guard said.

"THIS is why Ay told you to keep a copy of SHIFT schedules!" Panini yelled at him. "It feels like boys have gotten DUMBER since that whole thing. Alright, all three of ya get yer butts out of here before one of these nitwits slips their trigger and shoots that bomb, anyway."

Leader's Office

The three girls were seated in Cheren's office as the aggravated leader read over a list. "Hacking our database, messing up our cameras, assaulting and impersonating a guard, 'violating' Francis, and attempting to steal from our top secret Weapons Facility?! I don't think I've seen treachery from our own trusted operatives since…!" He looked at another list of similar incidents. The latest one read Dillon York – XANA Incident. "Er…" Cheren glanced up at Vanellope, then the list, then Vanel. Recalling those events, he wondered if he would offend Vanel by finishing the sentence. "…The old leader! Yuzu, after looking over your profile, I expected better from you. And Vanellope, we trusted you wouldn't use your powers that way."

"Okay, I'm sorry!" Vanellope said with a guilty look in her adorable big eyes. "It just sounded fun, and she didn't say we were doing anything bad…"

"Man, I do's what I wants, and I'd post mah underwear pics on my profile if I knew what it was." Yuzu said snarkily, blowing some gum before it popped.

"What's with you and underwear?" Vanel replied.

"And Kodama, I thought I made myself clear." Cheren stated. "I didn't want you poking around about the Shell 297."

"NO, you DIDN'T make yourself clear!" Kodama shouted angrily. "I saw my parents' names on the shell! I wanna know why it's here! Did you steal from my parents after they died? Did the KND have anything to do with their deaths?!"

"! . . . ." Cheren bit his lower lip. "Sigh, alright. The two of you can go, but I'll be writing to your treehouses and taking points from your sectors. Kodama stays." With that, Vanel and Yuzu stood up and walked out.

Cheren opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a file, plopping it down before Kodama. "Kodama, the truth is, your parents used to be supervillains a few years back."

"What?!"

"Yes. They called their selves the Party Poppers. They looked for kids having birthday parties and tried to ruin them by exploding dangerous fireworks over everything. Their actions resulted in hair getting burned off and several thousands worth in property damage. Naturally, the KND had to cover them with our own special means. One day, they tried to destroy the Arctic Base with a storm of powerful bombshells. Their last resort was a bomb reported to be the Ball 205. But one of our spies, Nya LaMar, boarded their ship and set the bomb to explode beforehand. That's when they died. We heard they had a 5-year-old daughter, so we sent you a fake obituary. This was five years ago, but you… probly knew that.

"A group of operatives back then found your parents' secret lair and raided it. The Shell 297 was found among hundreds of smaller bombs. By now, we've used all those bombs in regular battles, but we kept the 297 up here because we deemed it too dangerous. You should also know that, when you were admitted to training, a report of concern was made regarding your parentage. But as it isn't uncommon for operatives to be related to villains, this report was passed off. Plus, they sort of thought of your admittance to training as… an apology gift. Well… that's about it." Cheren looked sympathetically.

"…I…I don't believe it." Kodama looked down, eyes showing regret.

"I'm sorry we kept this from you."

"…The Party Poppers… That…" Kodama grasped her hair and cried, "THAT'S THE DUMBEST NAME EVER!!"

The pity Cheren felt was replaced with disbelief. "Uhhh… That isn't our fault. Anyway, I told you the truth, so… you don't need to stay."

"Cheren, I have to take that shell!" she yelled determinedly. "I need to launch it."

"What? ! No, absolutely not! We still don't know what kind of effect it has or its material and it's too risky to blow it up anywhere!"

"Cheren, I don't care if my parents used their talent for the wrong reason. They had a vision and they brought it to life. If you ever heard the expression that 'True art is an explosion', then that's what it means. I'm going to finish what they started and fire that baby into the night sky! …Er, but not the whole 'blowing up Arctic Base' thing, I won't finish that."

"The answer is 'no', Kodama."

Flustered, the Japanese girl smacked her hands on the desk and stood up, glaring at him. "What do you have against true art to deny it this way?!"

Cheren smacked the desk and stood, getting in her face with a similar glare. "Because, true art or no, explosions are still dangerous, and they aren't worth risking lives over!"

"NNNNGH!" Kodama swung her foot under the desk.

"AAH!" She kicked Cheren in the shin, so he jumped on one foot. With that, Kodama bolted out of the room and ran across the bridge, looked at by several confused operatives.

Karakura Forest

After dropping Vanellope back at Sector V and returning to their own treehouse, Kodama left the base and marched up a different mountain path. This path took Kodama to her grandfather's house where she now lived, aside from the treehouse. It was a shabby white building that had a large chimney. It was called the Fireworks Factory.

Her grandfather, Odama was creating a shell that had a wind-up key, twisting said key three times. Odama was an old man with a wrinkly, grumpy face, grey hair, and wore a blue robe and clothes similar to Kodama, but more kabuki eyeliner. He let the ball shake around in his hand before throwing it a few feet away. The ball conked out and fell dead. "Darn. Still isn't right." he spoke in a gruff voice. Odama glanced to his right. "Oh, there you are, Kodama. You've been spending an awful lot of time with your friends."

"Hi, Grandpa. Sorry, we've just been going through a lot of stuff. It's a little unconventional for each of us to be experiencing a certain dilemma one after the other."

"Whaddyou mean by that?"

Kodama marched up and looked at him seriously. "Grandpa, were you a supervillain, too?"

He raised a brow, but his eyes remained narrow. "You found out about your parents?" She nodded. "Mmmm…" Odama closed his eyes and smoked from his pipe. "No, I wasn't a villain. Your parents just took up the profession because our fireworks weren't selling very well. They ended up becoming wanted criminals in Japan, so they fled to China, where they had you. I was a bit surprised when you were brought home to me by a group of snotty kids. They took your DNA and looked for a match, didn't they?"

Kodama scratched her hair, remembering the KND back then cut a few strands off. "When they gave me the obituary," Odama continued, "there wasn't anything in it relating to Kids Next Door, but I always thought they had something to do with it. They even questioned me to see if I was a criminal. But even if I was, they knew you needed someone to raise you. You can imagine they would be worried if you would try and follow their footsteps."

"The Kids Next Door have something called a Shell 297 up on Moonbase." Kodama explained. "Something my parents created. Do you know anything about it?"

Odama blew a smoke. "No, I've never heard. Though I'm pretty sure that they used the Brotherhood of Evil's resources."

"I thought the Brotherhood was frozen back then."

"They were, but their base was still operable. And their boss had links to a bunch of intergalactic corporations. Your parents probably posed as their boss and ordered materials from them. It is online, after all."

"What kinds of materials did they order?"

"I wouldn't know. I reckon a lot of alien stuff." He blew a smoke. "Why, what are you thinking?"

Kodama looked down reflectively. "If I just knew what the Shell 297 was made of… I could make one myself. I could fulfill my parents' final wish and… light up the sky with their star."

"How do you know if your parents wanted you to set it off? You aren't planning to follow the villainous route they had, are you?"

"No, I'm not! I know they want me to set it off! It's in my blood!"

"If they were any good parents, they'd want you to stay away from it. For all we know, it's a dangerous weapon that can destroy everyone within 30 miles of here. Would you really want to set something like that off?"

"I don't believe my parents ever wanted to hurt anybody, let alone kill people! I know I brag about doing it, but I just want people to see my art, not destroy them with it! They were just misunderstood and got a little crazy. And if I don't set it off, I'll only spend the rest of my life wondering."

Odama blew a smoke. "Well, if it's that important for you… I guess I can't stop you from going for it. I just hope you know what you're doing. Still, if it's up on that Moonbase thingy, how do you plan to get it out?"

"I'm not sure… I don't think I'll be able to without help." Kodama turned around to walk back. "Huh?" Below the edge of the hill, her four teammates were standing in wait. "Guys? How long've you been there?"

"You didn't give me a chance to scold you for what happened, so I followed you." Karin answered.

"And I wanted to come because I was glad to be the one not getting scolded." Jinta followed.

"And me and Yuzu came because we were worried." Ururu said with her usual sad face. "I got her back to normal, just so you know."

"Kodama-chan, is firing that shell really that important to you?" Yuzu asked.

"Yes, it is." Kodama replied sternly.

"And you really won't be satisfied until you launch it, will you." Karin inquired.

"That's right."

"…Well, I guess we don't have a choice." The leader shrugged. "Let's steal the thing."

"Wait, are you serious?" Jinta questioned.

"If we're gonna get in trouble for this, we might as well get in trouble as a team."

"How come you're okay with breaking into Moonbase, but not me signing up for a girls' tournament?!"

"Because your thing just looked weird."

"Ugh!"

"I knew I could count on you guys!" Kodama smirked eagerly. "And I have a plan! But we're going to need some help…"

Moonbase; the following day

Business resumed flowing like normal on Moonbase. Operatives were still ordered to keep watch for Kodama, but so far, everything was fine. The hangar lookout saw that Sector JP's S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was coming in, so he sent the memo to the other hangar guards. They allowed the ship to dock inside the hangar, but the guards had weapons trained as they gathered around the entrance hatch.

The JP members didn't come out. Instead, several hatches opened on their ship's roof and released orange fireworks into the main base. The missiles exploded, raining a fiery orange sauce on all of the surrounding operatives. They coughed when the sauce got in their mouths, cried when it got in their eyes, and itched when it got in their hair. Ururu, who had flown out of the ship moments ago in her shrunken form, wore a protective mask as she observed around the main floors. "It looks like we hit most of them." she reported.

"Sector KB, it's your turn!" Karin yelled in her communicator.

"Delicious!" Numbuh 2=1 proclaimed as they flew around Moonbase in their Swan Scamper. "Come on, fellas, let's add a little heat to this grill!" Their ship blasted fireworks that made sudden flashes upon exploding, flashing a variety of colors. The sauce-induced operatives reacted to the rhythmic flashing pops by dancing to "Every Time You Leave" by Karma.

"Okay, Yuzu, go!"

Sleepwalker Yuzu, wearing her own mask and sunglasses, jigged to the beat herself as she made her way upstairs to Francis. Again, she swiped the boy's Card Key, danced downstairs past all the hypnotized operatives, and slipped the key through its slot. She remembered the easiest password ever and typed 'No Peeking', then the Weapons Storage opened. "You coming, Grenda?"

"It's Grenda time!" Grenda showed up at the storage, and the muscular girl lifted the Shell 297 with ease and ran out of there with it.

"Chimney, we got the runway clear, so you're gold!" Karin yelled.

"OKAY!" Chimney yelled as the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. skidded to a halt within the hangar.

Cheren Uno was holding his breath and squinting his eyes from the sauce as he navigated around the bridge. He saw Grenda charging over with the Shell 297 in her arms, and before he could move, the girl trampled over and crushed his back. "Sorry, Sweetie!" her gruff voice yelled. "I'll make it up to you tonight with extra smooches!"

Grenda hauled the 297 onto the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N., which lifted off to fly away from Moonbase. "We got it, so let's go!" Karin yelled before their S.C.A.M.P.E.R. escaped as well.

Kodama's House; that night

Once Kodama was finished scrubbing the inside of their house's chimney, Grenda came to plop the huge explosive on its side. "No, not like that!" Kodama yelled. "It has to be standing with the fuse facing up!"

"Sorry, sorry. My eyes flip directions sometimes." Grenda replied before lifting the bomb up again. "Hey! There's some weird symbols on the ball's butt."

Curious, Kodama came over to view the shell's bottom. "That's Japanese. It says…" Kodama read the name softly. "The Day Star…!"

"The Day Star?" Karin asked. "That's what it's called?"

"No, there's another word." Ururu pointed out. "It says…"

"Okay, we just filled up all the cannons!" Ruby came and announced excitedly. "We gonna blow these suckers up or what?"

"Why did we load all these other fireworks again?" Jinta asked.

"Because we have to get Karakura Town's attention." Kodama answered. "Make sure they're all watching when it launches."

"Hey, there's someone coming down!" Yuzu yelled, pointing at a flying blue car with painted red flames in the sky.

The R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. landed a short distance away from the house as Cheren hopped out and approached them. "Did you guys SERIOUSLY plan an invasion of my Moonbase just to STEAL that thing?! What the hell were all of you thinking?!"

"We were thinking Kodama was gonna do it herself and get in trouble, anyway." Karin responded. "We're her team, so we gotta support her."

"Yeah, 'cause you guys totally did that for me." Jinta remarked sarcastically.

"Cheren, when are you gonna understand that this is a matter of following one's dreams and passion?" Kodama questioned.

"When my seizures fade away from all that flashing, and probably not even then. If I let Viridi follow her passion, we wouldn't all be here, would we?"

"Look, I don't care if I get in trouble, but this is ART!"

"Art, shmart! (Er, smart? No, shmart.) Go get the Shell 297 and stop this crazy operation once and for all!"

"Uhhh… that's gonna be a problem." Ruby said.

"And why's that?"

"Because I already lit all the fuses."

"It was inevitable." Sapphire said.

With a worried expression, Cheren saw that small sparks were burning along the many fuses. Within seconds, cannons BOOMED, bombs flew into the night sky, and exploded into wondrous colors.

Everybody in Karakura Town saw them from the distance. What the celebration was for, they weren't sure. But all of them were curious, so they made their way to the forest. There were many symbols like the Hidden Leaf crest, a Straw Hat Jolly Roger, a fairy with a tail, a six-fingered hand, a pink rose, and one shaped like Seth MacFarlane.

"AAAAHHH!" Cheren panicked. "Which one has the 297?! Kodama, STOP all this before it goes off!"

"Cheren, just LOOK!" Kodama forced the boy to look upwards and stare at the exploding colors. They all glinted off his glasses. The green, magenta, silver, gold, burnt sienna, and tangerine. "Isn't it beautiful?" Kodama asked, smiling. "This is all my parents wanted to do. To make their own stars light up the sky, so people may wish upon them. I'm just trying to continue that tradition. Don't you try to be like your parents?"

"Well, yeah, but… my parents were good guys."

"And my parents were misunderstood. Sure, they tried to blow up Arctic Base, but in the end, they were artists. They wanted people to recognize their art. That's why, every time I see my babies explode… I see my parents in those colors."

"…Sigh." Cheren smiled in disbelief. "You artists sure are weird."

The light show continued for several more minutes. They saw images of a witch's hat, a fiery skull, and "KND." Eventually, the starry sky became clear and quiet.

"…So which one was the shell?" Cheren asked.

"I hope it wasn't a dud." Jinta said.

"It should've gone off." Kodama looked at the chimney. "We had a fuse linked to it and-"

The chimney BOOMED, and the large shell flew into the sky. Kodama gazed with awe as it flew higher and higher. POP! The Day Star literally lit up the night like day. A mini sun hovering within their atmosphere. The sky was bright blue instead of indigo. The clouds were white and not dark. The streetlights went off. Birds woke up. School bells rang. The schedule was all out of order.

Nobody took their eyes off the Day Star. It was the most amazing thing they've seen. A true marvel of a firework. Kodama's eyes watered with pride and… pain. She couldn't find the words. Mommy… Daddy… I love it. The Day Star… Kodama.

The star disappeared. Darkness returned to Karakura Town. Everybody was muttering in astonishment. No one would know how such a marvel could be possible. They wondered if they would ever see again… literally.

"….Did your parents say when our eyesight would come back?" Jinta asked.

The operatives held their hands in front of their blank eyes, and walked around cautiously. "Uh… give it a minute or two." Kodama said, still smiling bright. "But maybe just stand around so we don't trip on anything."

"Sigh… So that's what it did." Cheren sighed in disbelief.

Everybody who saw the Day Star go off went blind.

But since it hadn't been used in so long, it only lasted for 10 minutes.

Kodama was held responsible and imprisoned within Arctic Base.

Since it didn't cause too much harm, she was released after a day.

Sector JP Treehouse; the night after…

The members of Sector JP were asleep, except for one. She went around to each of their rooms. Yuzu Kurosaki was sleeping peacefully… she made sure both halves were at ease and got a good rest. She hoped her sister was feeling better with the chores divided up, and would be able to handle herself on an actual mission when it came.

Jinta Hanakari was sleeping in his day clothes as usual, not at all caring if he smells in the morning, in his disorganized room with many holes. In the end, she knew that Jinta only wanted to be himself. And deep down, he was glad to have them all as friends. He was just too cool to admit it.

Ururu Tsumugiya was hugging her teddy lion as she slept. She dreamed about cuddling with Jinta, most likely. Ururu wanted to always be there for Jinta, no matter what happened. She was small, but she was strong in her own way. She thought Ururu was a good girl for Jinta, because even though he was a fun rival, she wouldn't think about dating him.

Lastly, she visited Kodama's room. After everything that's happened, she was happily asleep in her room full of dangerous explosives. She got to realize her parents' dream and light the night sky with her star.

Karin Kurosaki smiled to herself after checking each of their rooms. Her teammates were a fun bunch, and she was glad to be a part of them. Every day, they found some way to have fun. "Well… time to do my night job." She said to herself, getting dressed. As she was about to set foot on the treehouse balcony, she stood in the doorway and looked back in the direction of their rooms. There were times when she thought about telling her friends her secret… but she didn't want to get them involved. Knowing them, they would get their selves involved even if she told them not to. "Sigh, it's not a big deal, anyway." She tells herself afterwards. "Better to let them sleep and not worry. …" With that, she stepped outside and shut the door.