Irie Shouichi
"Hello, past me. I'm sorry to tell you this, but we've failed to stop Byakuran. There's nothing left for us here."
"You get to try again, though," the Irie on the screen instructed his past-self monotonously, outlining The Plan.
"When you get back, you'll forget all about this trip. You'll forget all about time travelling, and you'll go to Stanford University for Engineering. You will meet Byakuran, and you will become his friend. These memories are set to return to you eight years after your return. This will give you two years to construct the machine."
"Good luck. I'm sorry."
The Shouichi on the screen blinked out.
"What a fascinating idea!" You compliment your companion. It's creative, certainly.
The video, last played two weeks ago, is a recent discovery. How he manage to sneak this past you, or show this to his past-self, you do not know. Ah, but that is a little piece of Shou-chan's charm. He may feign surrender and obedience, he may tremble and cry, but just when you think you've got him, he reveals yet another one of his clever schemes.
"You assumed we're going to be friends, Shou-chan?"
"You're a very charismatic person, Byakuran-san. It's not difficult to imagine my younger self enjoying your company," you companion comments blankly, with no hint of emotion in his voice.
"Oh? Do you enjoy my company?"
"No."
"A shame, I've been enjoying our game so far. Passing it to your past-self to start over, not a bad idea. Though it's cheating if it isn't us, don't you think?"
"I'm simply levelling the playing field, Byakuran-san."
"Ah, but what if I tell my other self about this?"
"When you do, the plan would already be put into motion. Your multi-verse conscious is not cross-temporal. Otherwise you would have awakened much earlier. You could kill my alternate self when you take notice, but Sawada Tsunayoshi would have already arrived."
"Ah, but don't be such a stranger, Shou-chan. I would never kill you," you promise. He's half right, but you don't bother correcting him. You wrap your arms around his waist gently. In another world, your fingers wraps themselves around his slender neck, and squeezes.
"Let's test that," says your companion, with this alien, clinical, detachment he have recently acquired, "why don't you stay with me tonight, Byakuran?"
You study him, inexplicably, you feel as if a knife twists in your guts.
"Of course," he continues, "with some luck, only one of us will be alive by tomorrow morning."
"Is this surrender, Shou-chan?" You ask, giving him the credit of doubt. It's too early for this game to end.
"Surrender?" He laughs, a tired, hollow sound, "What more do I have to lose?"
You stare at the limp body lying next to you. A pity, and you were having so much fun. He was a fascinating opponent. Perhaps you went a bit too far with his family.
That's alright, though, in another universe, you can try again.
Ghost
You know of the universes where you ruled. Both of you know. He, however, does not have a chance. He is stuck in a vat, in the highest security prison of Vindice. It's such a pity, you think, for you to be robbed of your prize when you have come so close. But perhaps you can still make use of this failed trial run.
"Come to my universe, where we can rule together," offers your more successful self.
You laugh, because for you to submit to your own self would mean the death of you, but you accept the offer anyway. After all, there's nothing left for you in this world.
When you felt your world pulled apart at the seams, your will breaking into splinters, you have no fear nor regret.
Kikyo
He was the world's most powerful multi-billionaire, the man who held Wall Street in his palms, the owner of the largest company for medical research, controller of life and death.
The answer, he told the press, was simple luck, a love for life, and dedication.
The real answer was carefully placed arsenic. But that's another story altogether.
"Byakuran," asks your superior, with a brilliant smile and a gentle hand on your shoulder, "how's our quest for immortality coming along?"
"Brilliantly, Kikyo-san," you answer, "the lastest tests have shown significant progress."
"Wonderful," he praises, "I know I could count on you, Byakuran."
You can't help but smile at the wild gleam of ambition in his eyes. A man dedicated to his cause. How lovely would it be if that dedication can turn towards you. Taking a hold of his hand, you gently kiss where the mare ring should be. He frowns, startled but not upset.
"We should celebrate," you offer, with a sharp smile and a goal in mind.
In another world, you make him yours.
Bluebell
She's the olympic swimmer with five gold metals, the world's darling. She have the sweetest smile. Dazzling, brilliant.
"Byakuran, 24.02! I beat my own record," she shouted, breathless, ecstatic, a bit too shrill.
You like that smile, it's nice. You want to keep it there.
Genkishi
"You will never have her," the swordsman snarls. The effects of the hell ring overtaking his sanity as he charges against your lieutenant, the cracks of lightning does nothing to deter him. The man should have been dead by now; yet he fights on, body haphazardly held together by illusions, driven solely by his will to protect his beloved boss. Truly, a Phantom Knight, loyal til the very end.
You could use someone like that by your side.
Uni
"I won't let you have them," the words spills from her trembling lips, the words that echoes through every universe, "never."
"I'm sorry, Genkishi."
You reach out to stop her, but once again, you're too late.
That's alright though, you can start over.
Gamma
"Byakuran-sama," he kneels before you and press his lips to your Mare ring, "it would be my honour to fight by your side."
"The honour is all mine, Gamma-chan," you slip the lightning Mare ring onto his finger. "Your first mission as my Wreath, then, is to bring me our little Princess."
His eyes widens in shock.
"Is there a problem, Gamma?" You ask, teasingly.
He takes a moment to compose himself.
"No, Byakuran-sama," he answers, nothing but pure devotion in his eyes.
"I won't hurt her," you promise sweetly. In another universe, you slip a tablet into Uni's drink. You laugh and kiss the pain between his brows, "I do love you, Gamma-chan."
Sawada Tsunayoshi
But in some universes, you will never have a chance to start.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the boy repeats, panicked, pained, tears in his eyes.
It's a shame, a stray bullet is such a pitiful way to go.
"It's not your fault, Tsunayoshi-kun," you brush his tears away with your fingers. In another world, you gouge out his eyes with the same fingers. You smile gently, it's only dignified to go out with a smile.
"I won't forgive you for this," you hear him say to his enemy, all righteous fury, as your consciousness melt into oblivion. In another universe, you stand on the receiving end of his fury, laughing.
Rokudo Mukuro
The boy with indigo hair is dying, which is such a shame, really, because you need him to live. By far, this is the only universe where you made it on time, where you received these consciousness as a child.
The bodies of the Estraneo adults lie lifeless around the two of you and his two companions.
"Don't die, Rokudo Mukuro," you command, as you slip the needle into his vein. "You've made it. You're so close," you assure him, cradling his body closer.
His eyes snaps open, the red six glaring.
"Mukuro... why do you call me that? It's not my name." He asks later, when the four of you are safe at your father's manor.
"That's the name you have chosen for yourself in another universe," you answer with amusement.
"Another universe... Is that how you found me?"
"My conscious is connected with my own self from other universes. It's an interesting theory, actually. I suppose you can say that I'm a prophet."
"A prophet," he muses, guarded, "So tell me, Byakuran, what am I to you in this other universe?"
"You were my enemy, of course," you answer brightly.
He watches you, appraising. Calculating. You stare back with a smile. Finally he smiles back, deciding that you're telling the truth.
"Mukuro, Corpse, I don't like that name," he finally frowns and voice.
"How 'bout Ren, then, for Lotus," you suggest.
"Ren..." He repeats the name on his lips, slowly, tasting it, testing it out, "Rokudo Ren, I like that."
You smile and wrap your arm around him, feeling the warmth of his body against yours, he hugs back and doesn't resist.
"Let's be friends in this universe, Ren-chan."
You feels his heart, beating in sync with yours. In another world, where the two of you are much older, your hands curls around his heart and tugs. In yet another world, his trident pierces through yours.
But that's another story altogether.
Byakuran
"Byakuran!" Uni's relief is the first thing you see. Her hands, small and trembling, is holding onto yours gently. You notice her puffy eyes, and feels the weight of her smile.
"You made the princess worry, Byakuran," Gamma snaps, as if it's your fault that Jager stuck a hand through your guts. You laugh, despite the fact that it pains you to do so. Bluebell launches herself at you, Kikyo stops her.
"I'm glad you're still alive," Shou-chan later tells you, in this quiet, conflicted way of his.
"Yeah, me too," you agree.
In a world where you're left with no more trial runs, it seems like you've won.