Akabane Karma was many things to his friends and family. A trickster, a jovial fellow, a young man with an iron will and a fierce determination to succeed. Once he sets his mind on something it would be impossible to stop him from accomplishing it. Truly, the world lost such a good and amazing person

His mother tries to remain strong, knowing her son wouldn't want her to be crying on his funeral. He wanted her happy and beautifully smiling as they send him off, so no matter how painful it was to her, she had to remain firm and strong for her son's last wish.

His husband and son meanwhile wore their hearts on their sleeves and cried openly for the lost of the man they loved. Little ten year old Youta though soon ran out of tears to cry and so chose to stand by his last remaining father and offer him comfort.

Nagisa, Kaede, and Rio who were best friends with Karma since Junior High soon arrived, dressed respectfully in black. Nagisa wore a black suit while Rio and Kaede wore traditional black kimono.

"I can't believe Karma's gone" Nagisa quietly said.

"Hmm.. Are we terrible friends for showing up late?" Kaede worriedly asked. Rio bit her lower lip "I hope not" she gazed at Karma's peaceful face. She felt her heart clench "looks like they put him together pretty well"

"He looks peaceful" Kaede voiced, wanting to reach down and trace her best friend's cheek. "Hello" Natsuki, Karms's mother approached them with a soft, welcoming smile.

"You were good friends with my son, weren't you?"

"We were--I mean we are---I don't know what 'tense' to speak" Nagisa said.

"Yes... the world has lost a wonderful, loving soul in Karma but, heaven will welcome him with open arms" Natsuki continued, looking down at her son. Truly, he looks as if he's only sleeping. But she's long accepted the harsh truth that he's long gone.

"As long as we remember him he won't be lost"

"Yes" the trio said sadly.

"If you'll excuse me" Natsuki patted Nagisa's shoulder before walking back to the guests

"Well, should we go?" Kaede was about to lead Nagisa to talk to the other guests, many of whom were their old classmates from E-class or Karma's colleagues they had met before.

Rio was about to follow but something caught her eye. "Hold on" she reached into the coffin and lifted Karma's hand, showing a rolex watch on his wrist. "Guys.. This is my brother's watch"

"How could it be?" Nagisa asked walking back.

Rio pulled back Karma's sleeves and showed the inscription on the watch. " 'To my brother, love Rio'?" She read out loud.

"O-okay this is probably a misunderstanding! Maybe your brother left it at his house?" Nagisa suggested, though the idea was improbable because Rio's brother has never visited Karma's house before.

"Did you leave this at his house?" Rio took out a Rainbow Dash pony plush toy from the coffin.

"Wha-" Nagisa took the plushie and looked at Karma's with accusing eyes. "T-this is my little pony!"

The trio stared at Karma's corpse in stunned silence, eyes studying his handsome face. "I swear I saw him smirked from the grave!" Kaede said pointing at Karma's lips.

Nagisa leaned closer for a better look. "I-is he smiling?" Or was it just his imagination?

"I feel like he's laughing at us in his dead head" Rio growled.

Kaede's eyes caught something shiny. She reached into Karms's vest and took out a diamond ring. She recognized it instantly as her engagement ring that she thought she lost months ago. "My ring?!" She exclaimed checking the inside and sure enough there were hers and Nagisa's initials.

"What else is in here?" Rio, Nagisa, and Kaede started to dig inside Karma's coffin and even checking his clothes.

They found a shocking number of items they thought they lost

As well as some other times they know never belonged to Karma

Rio's Holliday tickets to Brazil

Nagisa's graded papers

Kaede's old scripts for her movie

Earrings and necklaces

A video camera

A Polaroid camera

And Youta's doll versions of his parents.

"My American Express card?!" Nagisa gaped. "Is this how you could afford such a nice coffin?!"

"Your ears aren't pierced" Kaede said with a frown when she found ear piercings near Karma's neck. "Why does he have these?"

"Nagisa... this is your mom" Rio showed Nagisa a picture of his mother that she found when she lifted Karma's arm. "He--I--wha--hah?!" Nagisa stammered, unsure of what to say.

"Was Karma some sort of secret kleptomaniac?" Rio asked. Kaede gasped and reached inside the coffin again, pulling out a fountain pen with Sakakibara Ren's name on it. "Does this answer your question?"

"My boyfriend's pen?" Rio took the pen. "My boyfriend's pen--He let you borrow this six months ago!" Rio yelled at Karms's corpse(was it smirking at them again?) "You told us you didn't know where it was! But it's been sitting here in your. COLD. DEAD. HANDS!"

"SHHHHH!!" several guests glared at them. The blonde, bluenette, and greenette apologized profusely. "We're sorry! We're so sorry"

Nagisa glared at Karma. "What else do you have you jerk?" He lifted Karma's back

"No no! Nagisa please calm down we shouldn't speak I'll of the dead" Kaede tried to calm her boyfriend. "We just need to get over this little bump--" she stopped when Nagisa showed her the Ipad she's been missing

"--we just need to get over this little bump in our friendship!"

"Well" Rio scoffed pulling out a large yellowing map. Spreading it open they recognized it as "Is that-" Nagisa started

"It's a declaration of independence" Rio finished.

"What?!" Kaede exclaimed.

"AKABANE! come on! This is-"

"Shhhhh!" Youta hissed at them, glaring at them as he walks pass.

"Sorry Youta-kun" Kaede apologized.

"This is national treasure" Rio gawked. "We have to get this back to-"

"I-" Nagisa interrupted. "I never knew Karma was such a Hugh Jackman fan" he pulled out a rolled up poster of the American actor. "Alright... the three of us need to calm down, we need time to properly process-" Kaede was currently off by Rio

"There's a treasure map on the back of this!" Rio flipped the poster to show her friends her discovery.

This snapped the trio and soon the three of them were yelling at Karma, with Nagisa squishing Karms's cheeks and demanding him how he could keep such a secret from them.

It was then that Natsuki, Gakushū and Youta walked over to them.

"What is going in here?" Gakushū demanded.

"I know we're all trying to.. cope with daddy's loss but you guys need to be respect-" the young boy stopped, his eyes zeroing on the doll versions of his parents. "Are those my daddy and papa plushies?" He narrowed his eyes at Kaede. "I lost them last year! All this time you've had them?!"

Nagisa, Kaede and Rio whispered amongst each other. "What do we do?" Rio asked.

"We can't let them know about Karma's... problem" Kaede tensely spoke

"Why not?" Rio whispered.

"Because that's his son! We can't ruin-"

"But-"

"Just shush!"

Rio sighed. "We stole them"

"How dare you?!" Youta looked like he wanted to kick them.

"Are those my grandmother's earrings?" Natsuki demanded, eyes glued on the gold earrings in Nagisa's hands. "I-- uhh" Nagisa gulped. "I was planning to steal them"

"Why I never-" Natsuki snapped. "How could you, his so called friends steal a family heirloom?" She crossed her arms, expression dark.

"That's my mom's necklace!" Gakushū claimed, pointing at the necklace in Kaede's possession. Without thinking, the black haired woman shoved the necklace in her mouth.

"Heaven has no place for you" Natsuki said with disdain. She places a hand on Youta's shoulder. "I suggest you three leave" she led her son-in-law and grandson away from the three.

After ten minutes of silence, Rio asked "do you want to go find that treasure?"

Nagisa and Kaede looked at each other, before responding "yes"

"It's what.. Karma would have wanted" Kaede excuses.

The three were about to leave, but Nagisa doubled back. "Unless"

He lifted Karma's legs and pulled out gold coins. "Okay" Kaede growled as the three of them dug for more. "That is--you make me sick Akabane!" The three continued this process, shoving the gold into their pockets or inside their kimono.

But! In the end they learned to forgive and look past this revelation.

Karma was already dead anyway so what else could they do?

The end