A/N: And the Diluted Seasons verse grows some more. This one's for the Sinnoh League Challenge at the AMF btw, Twinleaf Town Part 1 task: write about preparing to do something.

The Falling Leaves

Ruko had a nice smile. But smiles didn't suit this sort of thing. And neither did Ruko.

"You should quit."

Ruko was a friend. Ruko was a nice person, genuinely a nice person. Ruko hadn't recoiled in disgust when she learnt the truth - both truths.

This sort of job would ruin Ruko soon enough. So…

"You should quit," Yuzuki repeated.

Ruko smiled at her again, one of those 'I understand but I don't care' looks, She must have learned it from her grandmother. "I won't," she said. "We're friends."

"That's not all right." Yuzuki sighed. "You're going to get hurt."

"Probably," Ruko agreed. "But that's okay."

"No, it's not!"

Ruko still had that smile on her face and, amongst other things, Yuzuki found it quite irritating.

She didn't raise the idea with her boss. Kominato Hatsu would of course take her granddaughter's side. Not that she could accuse the woman of being uncaring - Ruko's parents were that, if anything, abandoning both their children to their grandmother, to loneliness. That was how Yuzuki had first met Ruko, and Hitoe too. Two lonely girls and both of them had been led to trouble on her account.

Because Ruko wouldn't have gotten involved if it hadn't been for Yuzuki. Hatsu-san's second life would never have come out into the open like that, over dinner on the table in the Kominato's apartment. Ayumu too, but Ayumu had magic, and training, and bitterness. Bitterness was a necessity of the trade - and somehow, despite being abandoned by her parents like she was, it had skipped Ruko over entirely.

Somehow, she knew anyway. She knew, and never spoke a word. There were just careful nudges of plate, eyes cast across the food with a minute, almost dark smile. It made her a little nervous to touch the salmon rolls. It would be like her to poison her when she wasn't paying attention.

Yuzuki suspected the reason it was unspoken was the other member of their little group. Yuki wouldn't care, she never stayed when the others were around. She wanted Ruko to herself, maybe.

Hitoe though… she wouldn't take it well.

Yuzuki didn't quite understand where Hitoe's dogged steps always came from. She was just there, all of the time. It made it so difficult to lie, to push her back. Loneliness couldn't be combated by more of it, but it was better if she did.

Except she kind of was gone now, and the incident left an ugly, twisting feeling in Yuzuki's stomach because that wasn't what she'd meant. It just made Hitoe's presence even harder to bear, now. Hitoe with her physical and mental scars. And Ruko was so kind she couldn't turn away - and so Yuzuki had to bear witness to the aftermath as well.

That should have been enough to warn Ruko of the dangers. Enough to warn Hatsu what might happen to her granddaughter. Hatsu cared about her granddaughter's wellbeing. She'd been so concerned that Ruko never brought friends home, and so happy when she did. Maybe she'd been surprised to see it Yuzuki, or maybe she hadn't. Maybe she'd orchestrated it all, telling Ayumu to give Ruko that pack of cards, knowing the Kurebayashi twins loved such games. Or maybe it had been fate playing its hand that day. She'd never asked Ayumu which was the truth, and she couldn't be sure he'd tell. He wasn't like Ruko, open and honest. Open, yes. Honest, no. He was more like Hatsu, really. Devious to a fault.

Sometimes, Yuzuki wondered if she was simply blind to Ruko's faults.

Or maybe Ruko was devious, so much so that Yuzuki couldn't think of anything wrong with her. There was nothing to be done about that.

"Leaving so soon?"

Hatsu's creaky voice was as gentle as a nail out of a floorboard, but Yuzuki contained herself. "Yeah, I still have some homework to do. And Ruko will probably distract me."

"I will not!" Her whine was muffled by a tiny giggle in the back of her throat and Hatsu chuckled. Ayumu was quiet, watching her with eyes that would almost be like murder. He didn't have to worry; Yuzuki knew better than to expose anything.

"Homework is important." Hatsu nodded, a smile still playing on her face. Ruko must have inherited her smile from the maternal side because it looked nothing like that. Or maybe that was Yuzuki plotting conspiracy theories since she knew Hatsu as her boss before as a doting grandmother/guardian. And, from that perspective, there was nothing unusual about the statement, or the excuse.

"I'm sure Ruko also has homework left," Yuzuki continued. "There's a card tournament downtown tomorrow. If we finish our homework today, maybe we can go?"

She aimed the question at Ruko, splayed on the couch with a pillow to her chest and still pouting childishly. Though she brightened at the suggestion of the outing. "Let's," she agreed. "Will you be calling Hitoe too?"

Yuzuki's gut clenched at the mention of Hitoe again, but she just smiled and nodded and said she'd do the calling because it would be rude not to.

The house was quiet when she returned. It was pretty late, it usually was after a visit to the Kominatos. He just didn't want to wait up for her. Usually it would bother her. Today, it was probably for the best. She had things she needed to take care of.

Yuzuki went up to her room, cleaning methodically, eyes out of focus. For a moment, she debated going to the door, talking to Kazuki. But it was late. It could wait until tomorrow. It could wait until everything was over. If it ever was going to be over.

The Kominatos weren't a cornerstone. They were just a pebble that sometimes got in the way. They weren't the only ones with special powers. If they had been, they wouldn't have a job. They wouldn't have the potential disasters, the potential heartaches, the potential stains on their souls -

Okay, maybe the stains on the soul weren't necessarily a potential. Sure, she hadn't killed anyone yet but it was just a matter of time. And she wasn't trying to save lives. Not really. That was a side-effect. She was trying to get stronger. Stronger so that she could snatch the future with her own hands - and protected by Kominato Hatsu and trained by her was a good way to go about getting there.

But it was difficult when there were people like Ruko close. People that sympathised with everyone, who tried to make friends and cookies with all of them.

People like Ruko usually ended up being her targets, helpful and helpless. Could she do what was necessary, if the time came?

No. she would never kill Ruko, she would never let anyone kill Ruko.

She just had to win, that's all. Win and win and…

"Hanayo-san?"

"Hm?"

"This is… okay, right?"

A beat of silence, then a weary laugh. "Whatever your definition of right is, Yuzuki. We're going to grant your wish."

"Then that's right."

She turned off her light and went to bed. she had to be rested for a fight.

Yuzuki had left the invitation as late as possible, but Hitoe had still been free. Predictable, she supposed. She'd been edgy about being around others since the...incident, but Ruko had a way of getting around even that sort of barrier. If it wasn't because of Ruko, then she wouldn't have agreed. But Ruko was Hitoe's two-way ticket out of life as a shut-in. And Yuzuki was the third wheel, or something.

She couldn't say she liked being the third wheel when Ruko was concerned. Ruko was one of a kind after all. Stealing everybody's hearts - even if her heart already belonged to someone else. Anyone who tried to have a relationship with her would learn how bitter an emotion jealousy was very quickly.

And if they didn't, and just kept trying, they would be taken care of as quietly as possible. Still, she was happy for Hitoe, and for Ruko, who looked at her like she wasn't just the third wheel.

Still.

She waited, checking her phone and the passerby through the reflection of the screen. Patience was never one of her virtues. Worked against her abilities. Couldn't be helped. She sighed.

Had to drudge up some enthusiasm, some passion. She had to.

Because innocent, peaceful looking scenes like that never did last. And passivity never did protect anything.

She found a chance soon enough, though. The card tournament was spread out. Many competitors. Many tables scattered about in the market place and there would have been a quaint feeling to it all if there wasn't a shadow underneath. None of them were too interesting though, and that was fine with Yuzuki because she had an ulterior motive. She always had an ulterior motive.

Finally, she felt the faint tug in her soul that told her a true opponent had come.

She took a deep breath. When she exhaled, the smile bloomed across her face like a flower. Her veins thrummed. She looked for the girl, then caught her eye. She was met with a similar smile. Win or lose, it looked like they were the same, weren't they? Win or lose, the wish would be granted to somebody.

Of course, she wasn't going to lose. Not now. The darkness wasn't gonna claim her.

They avoided the tables. The game never worked as well on them. Hanayo's card was warm in her pocket, practically burning a hole in it by the time they were in an abandoned corridor.

Hanayo no longer burned. But Yuzuki did.

"Ready to get started?"

Now, the card games were just a ruse. Before that, when she was still ignorant and maybe innocent as well, they were a lie. The true battle was with sweat and blood - and with powers she would once upon a time have called unreal, unnatural.

In truth, it was the essence of their true selves that they battled with. Fire was hers. Sparkling fire. Burning fire. Uncaring fire. Because she had to put those soft emotions behind her when she fought. She had to be callous otherwise mercy would be her downfall.

So they fought. Each of them fought with their power, for their wish and none would ever make such a wish lightly. There was the rare person like Hitoe who realised her wish before the end, and she was a fool to fight after that and a lucky fool to still be with the light after losing that fight.

Yuzuki won't trust her love to luck. She could trust to Ruko if only it didn't mean burdening her with the fight instead. That, she wouldn't do. So she fought with her flames instead. Flames that burnt the straight path to ambition. Flames that created a wall of flickering light around her, to keep Ruko from stumbling into the inferno behind it.

Maybe Hitoe wasn't such a fool, to want to keep on fighting.

For Ruko, to keep Ruko alive, blooming and unspoilt, Yuzuki thinks she could fight for eternity, even after her wish is fulfilled.