Let's Be Idols

Roused by the singing, a now-enormous Onbusuman returns to pin Rin down and cut off her song. Seiko reports they are nearly at the site of Mai's accident and asks Momo and Okarun to keep the float moving just a little longer. When the creature recovers the memory of begging her mother to drive her to Rin so she could apologize, it reverts into Mai's true spirit. Mai seizes the chance to make peace, asking to be friends again, and a tearful Rin says yes. The pair launch into a duet that holds off the pursuing building.

Reaching the venue, Rin calls out across the distance that she had loved every moment of singing and dancing alongside Mai. Mai admits she had envied Rin's poise whenever she performed, and that she only pursued idol work to satisfy her mother's expectations, which made her feel like the real traitor. Rin sobs and rejects that idea, and Mai's spirit departs after telling her she had always been an idol to those around her through her warmth and her drive to meet everyone's hopes. Seiko rests a hand on Rin's shoulder as the girl recalls the happy times she shared with Mai and their friends.

The Onbusuman Operation reaches its end. The growing creature crushes Rin and silences her, while Momo, Okarun, and Seiko shield the float on the approach to the crash site. Mai recognizes how hard Rin has always struggled and how much she gave to their friendship, reverts to human form, and embraces her. Their shared song defeats the Shining School Building. At the venue, Mai confesses she was chasing her mother's expectations and felt she was the true traitor, and Rin breaks down trying to reassure her as Mai fades away.

This Volume 15 chapter closes out the Onbusuman Arc of the Kintama Hunt Saga. At twenty-two pages it is the longest of the arc's finale chapters and was published on November 7, 2023.