A/N: Inspired by the dialogue in Nogi Wakaba is a Hero Chapter 0, my theories on Takashima Yuuna, and some coffee.

Disclaimer: We all know I don't own the YuYuYu franchise, if I did it wouldn't be nearly as intriguing.


"There were already heroes that far in the past, huh..."

It was a simple statement, based off a simple observation. Yet it felt more complicated than it should have been. Like something was there, but not in a physical sense. Rather it was the feeling of something intangible. Like the sense of being in an empty room, the pressure of the emptiness holding her down.

"That's quite a surprise huh, Yuuna?"

"..."

She would have normally answered nonchalantly, with a lighthearted smile and a simple, "Yea!" that came from the top of her head and the bottom of her heart. But that never came.

"Yuuna what's wrong?"

The pressure held both her silence and her place. As if frozen in time, she stood there silent. She wanted to say it was nothing. An answer which would have both been the truth and a reassurance. She wanted to keep her friends from worrying.

"..."

Again no words came out. She didn't know why, but the more she tried to speak, the more lost she felt. She wanted to scream aloud and struggle, but at the same time knew that she had to hold herself together. But the more she tried to restrain herself, the more her focus on reality steadily dwindled, and her mind fell into something of a blur. She felt lightheaded, like her small, occasional dizzy spells. Only this one wasn't as small.

"Yuuna?"

She felt like she heard her name called, but the pronunciation seemed somewhat different from what she was used to, off even. It was far, distant, and almost unrecognizable. Before she could even try and force a smile in response, everything went black and she felt her legs give way.

"Yuuna!?"


Beyond the wall of consciousness, the emptiness engulfed her. As if the gates to a dam were suddenly forced open, the indescribable pressure pushed its way into her, mind, body, and soul causing pain greater than that any of Vertexes were capable of.

She tried her best to keep her mind whole. To move her body in a desperate struggle to escape. To at least try and punch whatever was doing this to her.

Why she thought of that last one was anyone's guess.

Why she put the most effort into that last one was also anyone's guess.

Why that last one actually worked, no one knew.

Her fist came in contact with something solid. Hard even. And she felt the pressure ease slightly.

She tried to throw another punch. And found that this too somehow connected. Again the pressure eased, only this time a bit of light shone into the emptiness.

She found the pain receding, and the bits and pieces of her mind were capable of gathering, and concentrating on her fist.

If that was the case, then...

She focused all of her power into her closed fist and thought back to how Chikage often seemed to place all her pain and anger into her attacks, and how well Wakaba focused when her mind was only on her blade.

She cleared her mind of thoughts, and focused solely on her fist. It was time to take her own advice and not worry about the difficult things.

'YUUSHA PUNCH!'


Light flooded the world, and she found herself back in reality.

"Karin!?" she heard someone yell from across the room.

"Yuuna!?" she also heard someone yell from across the room.

"My~ shelf~!" she heard someone agonize from across the room.

She looked at her blurry arm, fully raised. Opening and closing it Yuuna saw her fist carry a somewhat reddish tint.

"...I'm fine Fuu..." She heard from across the room. "Yeesh, thanks for worrying about me too Tougou...She always been like that?"

"Wasshi's priorities were always slightly skewed~" an overly cheerful voice said from aside the room. "Um...we once went fishing, and ended up cleaning a shrine~ so I think deep down she might~ actually enjoy seeing people in pain~"

"...That's reassuring..." The first voice said.

"I'm not like that at all Sonocchi!"

She felt someone walk up to her and grab her reddened hand. A sniffling head of black hair immediately lowered into their held hands and whispered, "Thank goodness Yuuna-chan..."

It was hard to move, but she willed herself up. Patting the all too familiar crying girl gently on the head with her free hand she could only offer the first words of reassurance that came to mind.

"...It's...okay...Gun-chan..."