A/N It seems I've finally caught on to the trend for writing about Yuni! This fanfic is basically a collection of (mostly) oneshots that have been occupying my mind for quite some time. The stories will all be about the girls from KHR, because boy do they need some love. This was written at midnight, by a sleep deprived, exhausted writer, so excuse the suckiness of it. I'll probably come back and edit it later... (probably) It was based off of the song 「雨乞い唄」, but I'm listening to the album version, with Len in it, so... But you should still listen, at around the middle. It completely suits it, I swear.

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn and 雨乞い唄 are the property of Amano Akira and HitoshizukuP respectively.

Posted: Sunday, March 22, 2015 [1:53 am]

Edited: Never

Description: Yuni was the perfect child, the light of her mother's eye.

Yuni!centric, slight 100/01

Theme: A song for the rain - HitoshizukuP and Yama△ feat. Kagamine Rin (and Len, on some occasions)

Yuni was a good girl…

She never broke the rules, or said mean things, or did anything 'socially unacceptable'. 'The perfect little child' people would call her, nodding with approval and giving her lavish treats. Of course, this wasn't entirely true. Because, no matter what they thought, she did break the rules in her mind, and she did insult the people who were mean to Mama in her mind (and of course made their lives living hell by turning the tribe against, but she was Perfect Little Yuni, so nobody would ever suspect her.) But still, she was innocent, because in her eyes, the world was a beautiful happy place, filled with peace and joy, and no one ever suffered.

{that's what the storybooks said, so that had to be true, right?}

It all started the day she first watched her mother's audience. She'd snuck out of bed, intending to grab a glass of water to soothe the funny burning in her throat, and, as she tiptoed through the halls, she noticed a light shining through a crack in the door, and, because she, as all children are, was curious, peered into the room. The sight was a grand magnificent hall, held by columns with intricate carvings decorating them, and a long, blue carpet. At one end sat her mother, Gamma, her right hand, by her side, face hardened into an expression that made her seem so much older [so much more tired, so much unlike Mama]. A middle aged man bowed on his knees in front of her. His clothes were tattered, his hair grey and white, and his face was so much more wrinkled than it should have been. His skin clung to his bones, and through his shirt, she could see the bones of his ribcage poking out in a manner that made her stomach feel sick.

He raised his head, and she could see the wild, desperate light inside his eyes, glossy with tears. "Please! End the drought! My family are starving, we have nothing left! The crops have all died out, and the rivers are dry, we are all dying!" She staggered back a little, but her eyes remained glued to the increasingly terrifying scene in front of her. Her mother breathed in deeply, a gesture Yuni knew meant how weary she was just because, and she spoke resolutely, her voice never wavering. "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. If the Rain God demands it, we cannot do a thing to change his wishes." She could her the "I'm sorry" in her mothers words, see the exhaustion in her actions, but she couldn't do a thing to change it.

Her mothers eyes remained firm as she gestured to Gamma, who firmly led the man down the long, long carpet, and out of the chamber. And little Yuni could only stare and stare, until she heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a person in the other direction, and ran and ran and tried to dream away the vision that would haunt her to the end of her days.

"What's a drought?" She asked Gamma the next day. His eyes were startled, before hardening into a cold grey. "It's nothing, Yuni. Forget that you ever heard that word." He ordered her firmly, and, eyes wide, she nodded her head obediently.

But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget the word, and her mothers expression, and the desperationdreadingdespair in the man's eyes as he pleaded for mercy, for himself, for his family. And somewhere in her mind, she wondered if, maybe just maybe, she could help that man with what ever was bothering him. And so, the next night, she waited until the same time, and retraced her path, back to that bright room.

However, that night, it was a woman, and the man was nowhere to be found. Her words and face and eyes were so similar, and she wanted to cry because that same fear was in her eyes as well. She repeated the man's message, in that same pleading tone, and her mother repeated the same tired apology, and Gamma escorted her out in the same unrelenting fashion. The next morning, her mother appeared at the dining table, eyes lifeless until they met hers, and then they brightened up like miniature suns.

"You truly are my light, Yuni," she spoke fondly, but a tinge of sadness laced her words. She could only smile innocently, obliviously, ignorantly. "I love you Mama!" She giggled happily, and her mother chuckled too. "I love you too, Yuni."

Then, that night, she waited again, and went to watch the people. And she did the same the next. And the next. And the next. And she continued on doing so until the responses were burned into her mind, and she could recount all the different stories she'd heard. But she still couldn't help them in any way.

"Once upon a time, there was a woman named Sephira. She was the leader of her tribe, and ruled kindly and justly."

"Just like you, Mama!"

Why thank you! Anyways, in her time, the people prospered and were happy and joyful. But one day all the water disappeared from the land. The sun burned the ground, and the rivers dried up. The people began to starve, and Sephira didn't know what to do.

"But how could that happen?! The water can't all disappear in one go!"

"Ah, but this is a story, Yuni, and it can teach you many lessons, so you must listen."

"Si, Mama!"

"Sephira prayed and thought and wondered, until finally she realised that this was all the work of the rain god. So she left her home to the Rain Gods shrine, and prayed to him to tell her how to bring the water back. But the Rain God told her that the only way to save the people would be to sacrifice herself. And at first she was very scared, because she didn't want to leave her life. But Sephira loved her people so much, and she agreed to sacrifice herself. The moment she made her decisions, the skies began to rain again, and the crops began to grow! And then, the people lived and prospered for the rest of their lives."

"But what about Sephira? What happened to her?"

"Well, my light, she was very happy, and watched over her people from the skies."

"But how could she be happy? Wasn't she dead?"

"Technically, but she lives on in our memories, and in stories just like this one!"

"I don't understand, Mama."

"You will someday, don't worry."

"We need to do something, Aria. The people are dying."

"I know! But there's nothing I can do!"

"I know, but maybe a sacrifice..."

"Who?! I'm unacceptable, and I'm not going to give away my daughter!"

"I know, Aria. I'm sorry."

Yuni sat on her bed, swinging her legs and fiddling with the long ponytail the hung from the back of her head. In truth, she only had it because it reminded Mama of Grandmother which made her happy, and Yuni wanted Mama to always be happy. But what can I do? I'm only just a little girl. And she thought and thought and thought, and finally had an idea. She would go outside and pray to the gods, because Mama said that if you had a selfless problem, the gods might take mercy on you and grant your wish. And so Yuni made up her mind. She would climb out her window and go to the shrine of their patron, the Rain God.

A little voice in her mind tried to dissuade her from going, but the sadness and pain in the eyes of the people implored her to go. And so she did.

.

.

.

The night had fallen, and the crickets chirped in the bushes. She silently slid open her window, slipping out onto the tree branches beside it. For a moment, she remembered climbing the very same cherry tree in the spring as a child, her mother and Gamma watching from below with big smiles on their faces. That was before mama began looking tired, before "drought" happened. She slipped down the branches, landing safely on the soft, summertime grass. She contemplated staying there and just lying on the ground, but reminded herself that "Yes, she had something to do! She couldn't afford to get side tracked!". In the back of her memories was hidden a trip to the shrines she'd made when she was younger, and she tried to trace her way back to the best of her ability.

'It's all for them!'

Gamma knocked on Yuni's door. "Yuni? Are you in there?" There was no reply but the soft gust of wind through the corridors. 'That's strange...' "Yuni? I'm coming in!" He opened the door to the sight of ruffled blankets and an open window. And no Yuni. "Yuni! Where are you?! Yuni!" He rushed through the corridors frantically. "YUNI!"

A disgruntled Aria opened her door. "Gamma?" She asked groggily, hand wiping her eyes. He shook her shoulders, effectively waking her up in a rare act of insubordination. "Aria, Yuni's gone!" She went pale as a sheet, energy leaving her. The two hurried through the halls, trying to find the missing heir. "Where could she have gone? Maybe you're just overreacting." She seemed to be trying to convince herself, more than Gamma. He shook his head, platinum blond hair being mussed out of place. "Her window was open. She climbed out." He took a deep breath, the air rattling in his chest. "Aria, I think she knows."

Her head flew to the side, and his eyes met his disbelievingly. "She asked me what a drought was. How could she know that?"

But Aria's thoughts were elsewhere, flying a mile a minute and connecting previously nonexistent dots. "The shrine. She's going to the shrine. She's going to sacrifice herself for the rain, like in the story! Why did I ever tell that tale to her?" Her footsteps sped up, and she began to run.

We're running out of time

Yuni kneeled on the floor of the shrine, praying with all her might. "Oh rain god, please hear my wish. Please!" She continued on like this for what felt like hours, and began to lose hope. "Please!" She shouted it, this time, her voice echoing in the empty walls of the temple.

"Alright then young miss. What is your wish?"

She spun around to face a teenager clad in white and violet, his wine coloured eyes burning through her soul. Her eyes widened, and she remembered to bow. "Please, save the people who suffer as the land dries and life withers!" Her nose touched the ground, and her back ached from staying in such a painful position, but she remained bowing. She heard his footsteps clacking on the ground, and the swish of his robe and he moved gracefully past, but she kept her face to the ground.

"Why do you pray for the people you don't even know?" He asked, and she could hear a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Someone must do it," she replied respectfully. "Please, spare their lives, let the rain fall!"

He hummed amusedly. "Save them or you?"

His question confused her, but she persevered nonetheless. "My life is nothing in comparison to that of theirs!"

"And what would you be willing to do for that wish to be granted?" He asked enigmatically. Seeing her discomfort, he chuckled. "You can get up now, you know?"

She stared up at him, and found that his smile was friendlier than before. 'I can trust him,' she decided. "I'd do anything!" She spoke confidently, but as the statement left her mouth, the weight of her words sunk down on her.

"Anything, huh..." He frowned, and she could sense genuine displeasure. "Unfortunately, even being a rain god, I haven't entirely the power to bring the rain down. Usually, I need some form of sacrifice to channel me..." He seemed deep in thought for a moment. "I can only grant your wish if you offer yourself as a human sacrifice." A strange kind of sadness showed in his eyes.

In the distance, footsteps rushing towards the shrine could be heard. "Make up your mind, young child. You don't have much time."

For the first time in her life, fear completely swallowed her. She'd be dead, gone, never-to-return-again. There was no way she'd see her family a second time, and she'd have to leave behind Gamma and Mama. She wanted to reject the offer, but then, the sight of the desperate, starving people flashed before her eyes, and she knew there was no way she could live, knowing that she could help them, and yet, still didn't. And so she decided.

"I'll be the sacrifice." Her words were final, no taking them back.

The god nodded at her reply, not pleased, but not disappointed. "Alright then." On his finger, a ring shone with beautiful orange flames. He closed his eyes, and a bright light began to fill the room.

Her mother and Gamma burst in, but the beautiful white had already begun to swallow her.

"I'm sorry, and... goodbye!" Her eyes were filled with tears, but she gave them one last smile as she disappeared.

The rain fell, beating upon the land like a heavy drum, and filling the air with moisture. The people frolicked and rejoiced at the sight of the crops growing and sprouting shoots. The children's laughter drifted up into the heavens.

'Yes. It was definitely worth it.'