Hello, everyone! This is a new chapter! Chapter 10! I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter! Without further ado, let's start!
Normal POV
Once everyone as lightly treated for their injuries, they moved to the forest as Kai leaned Aichi on a rock.
" Thank you, Kai-kun."
" Yeah. You definitely sound better. Did Gredora do something?"
" I'm not sure. But I definitely feel a lot more better."
" Then that's a relief. Now, you should stay here while I help out with treating their injuries. Sasagawa's yells are starting to get on my nerves."
" Don't go too far when stopping him..."
" I know."
Kai walked off to help with the treatments as Aichi looked around. Tsuna and the others were beside Lal and Irie and discussing about the next step with Yuni while she explained about her powers and Byakuran's powers. Aichi giggled a little when he saw Tsuna's panic about the final battle taking place at dawn.
" It reminds me so much of everyone at Card Capital when I see them together like this..." Aichi thought
However, the discussion quickly escalated to an argument from the injured ones as Aichi sweat dropped at the situation.
" At this rate..."
" Let me take over." He heard a voice
" Gredora-san!"
" I'll take over the situation. Those warriors need to stay silent if they want to stay alive."
" Y-Yes..."
Aichi closed his eyes as the green mark appeared on his hand. His eyes opened again as he stood up and took out his spear. He then proceeded to the others, who were still arguing, as the spear made a long extension from his powers and he swung it to the arguing group, who all tried to dodge even in their injured state.
" Injured warriors should just stay silent and listen."
" A-Aichi-san! You're alright now?!"
" Yeah. But you still take an awfully long time to realize who I really am, Decimo."
" Huh? ... Ah-"
" What were you doing, Sendou?!" Gokudera cut him off
" Isn't it obvious? I said it already. Injuried warriors should stand down."
" What warriors?! You were also all beaten down and couldn't fight!"
" ... Pardon?"
" U-Uh oh..." Chrono muttered
Chrono immediately turned to Kai as he quickly put on the mask after seeing the change of demeanour. Letting him stomp over in rage, it was obvious that Darkface had also taken over.
" You scum! How dare you speak so lowly towards Queen Gredora?!"
" What Queen?! He's obviously a boy!"
" You listen carefully! You're talking to the Mother of all warriors and the Queen of our clan, Megacolony! Being rude to her means that you've made a sin heavier than this mother planet!"
" T-That speech pattern..."
" They're acting so differently today..."
" Sawada, what's the meaning of this?"
" U-Uh... I want to explain but... If this gets any worse, we might have more casualties..."
The argument was still continuing within Kai 'Darkface', Nosaru and Tazaru.
" You wanna fight, you little insect?!"
" If so, then bring it on! We'll take on you puny little insect!"
" What?! I am the mighty warrior to the Queen! I won't lose to a showdown!"
" ... Darkface."
" Y-Yes?!"
" Stand back."
" But Queen Gredora..."
" Did you not hear me, dear Darkface? Stand back."
" Y-Yes!"
Kai 'Darkface' retreated behind Aichi 'Gredora', who was emitting a very fierce dark green aura.
" How dare you call my children weak insects, you lowly humans... Moreover, calling my precious child, Darkface, a puny insect."
" Ah... She's angry..."
" I'll teach you two how I discipline rude children."
Two screams filled the air as a few minutes later, Aichi 'Gredora' and Kai 'Darkface' were now sitting beside Tsuna after Aichi 'Gredora' wore his hat, given by Chrono, while Tsuna explained the situation again to those who didn't know what was happening.
" Uh... So, introducing them again... This is Queen Gredora, in Planet Cray, she's the Queen of her clan, Megacolony. Her child, Darkface 'Alicides', he's the strongest warrior in Megacolony. This is a temporary possession. Basically, these two have taken over Aichi-san and Kai-san's bodies with their permissions. You see, Queen Gredora has trained all of her clan's warriors in all her life so when it comes to fighting experience, she's actually an expert at it."
" Hmph! Now you know the true strength of Queen Gredora!"
" And moreover... Offending Darkface and even mentioning that insects are weak... really ticks her off. Megacolony is a giant army of strong insects and they're not your average insects either. Gredora has trained each and every one of them with her own hands. Who knows, their fighting prowess might even exceed you two."
" This is what happens whenever you don't get along with everyone, Nosaru, Tazaru. Hurry up and apologise to them."
" Yes, Princess... We're really sorry..."
" Then I'll accept their apology. Back to the topic of the strategy for tomorrow's final battle... I've arrived here to provide as much advice and help as I can. Don't worry, our hosts' will also be listening in."
" Y-Yes..."
" First, even as we have injured members, they still have each of their own strengths. Knowing those strengths is where we will be able to form strong teams to battle the remaining real Six Funeral Wreaths."
" But the mystery that surrounds them is their Open Carnage Box. We won't know what would come out of them so we have to be extra careful."
" That's true. For now, let's form the teams first. And then after that, we'll devise the plans for the different areas the Real Six Funeral Wreaths will show up."
" Okay. Then, Queen Gredora, we'll leave the teams to you."
" Right. I will only say the teams once. Everyone must listen carefully."
" Y-Yes..."
As the night deepened for their plans, they soon drifted off to sleep and the dawn came really quickly as they got ready for the final battle. Aichi and Kai also woke up from the battle after Gredora and Darkface left their bodies for the night as Chrono greeted them.
" Good morning, Aichi-san, Kai-san."
" Good morning, Chrono-kun. So I presume everyone have left to where they should go?"
" Yes. Let's just hope it works."
" I might need a little update on yesterday though. In the middle of the conversation, I kind of fell asleep when Gredora-san was still possessing me."
" We know. You collapsed the moment she left your body. Luckily, Kai-san was there to catch you."
" I see. Thank you, Kai-kun."
" Not a problem."
" But it's so odd that I still got so tired... I usually could stay awake."
" Maybe it's from the exhaustion from the battle that happened in the past. You don't have to worry about it."
" I see. Then, please fill me in about last night."
" Yeah."
As Chrono filled Aichi in on the other things Gredora had mentioned while still in his body, Kai slowly frowned while watching Aichi as he remembered what happened last night.
~ Flashback start~
Kai was listening in while Darkface had taken over his body as he suddenly noticed Aichi 'Gredora's' mark glowing.
" Hey, Darkface. What's going on with Gredora?"
" You'll see."
The glow faded as Aichi 'Gredora' looked around to see everyone looking at him.
" Sorry, I had to do something with the host."
" Is this really alright? Not letting him know this ongoing conversation?"
" Yeah. Well, let's keep this a small secret between all of us for now. I've currently rendered Aichi Sendou unconscious. Don't worry. Once he wakes up tomorrow morning, he won't suspect a single thing."
" Well... That's how Aichi-san is anyway..."
" I did what I did too because we are getting to the topic of Byakuran's interest in him again, aren't we?"
" W-Well..."
" There is no need to hide it from me. All of your eyes are asking the same thing. I got the approval from the Singularity to discuss it with all of you. I'm only going to say this once so listen very carefully. Currently, he has a power called Psyqualia that connects to our planet, Planet Cray. In this time, we now call those with Psyqualia, prayer granters. In total, there are five of them, even in your time. Psyqualia is originally meant to fulfill the duties of letting the user listen to the prayers of the units on our planets but it required a strong bond. There was supposed to be only one but the human named Takuto Tatsunagi, gave another four the same powers."
" Tatsunagi?! You mean the Tatsunagi Corporation?!" Irie exclaimed
" That's right. They have always been huge sponsors for Vanguard. Originally, the Tatsunagi family's role was to only observe as the fate of the two worlds are being put at stake. But the younger brother, the heir to the Tatsunagi family was soft hearted, Takuto Tatsunagi decided to intervene. Two users naturally gained their Psyqualia because they were chosen as the leaders of two clans to decide a war by those two clans, which ended in a truce when Aichi Sendou won against the then power hungry Ren Suzugamori. The other two, Leon Souryu and Christopher Lo, they've gained their Psyqualia differently. Leon Souryu obtained it through the power of Void so that he could revive his Souryu tribe and Aqua Force. Christopher Lo gained it after Takuto Tatsunagi deemed him worthy of the power. Naturally, this wasn't enough to get Byakuran interested in any of them but one day... It happened too fast for us to know what's going on but at that moment, all we knew is that a new Peacemaker was born."
" A new Peacemaker?"
" A Peacemaker means that they can take in Cray's immense power, the Stride Force, the power of those who have a strong imagination. I thought it would've stopped at me and Luna but it was too sudden. Anyway, Aichi-san gained those powers and of course, it still wouldn't be enough to gain interest in Byakuran yet. But, it's not just that, similarly to the Sky Arcobaleno's power to see the future, Aichi-san has that power too. It was in his Psyqualia's power. And then, the Flames of Bond."
" Flames of Bond?"
" Gredora. An example, if you would."
" Of course."
Aichi 'Gredora' lit up the other ring as the rainbow flames came up.
" A rainbow flame... That's not possible! I've never heard of a rainbow flame before!"
" Neither did Byakuran. He believes that the rainbow flames have the same connection to his powers of going into parallel worlds. But Kai-san also lit up similar flames while using the same ring while the rest of us have normal flames."
" That's why the flame was named the Flames of Bond. It was somehow connecting their powers together. Not just them, the Singularity and their other friends have the same type of flame that connects to their other pair but like he said, they were normal flames. So the mystery surrounded these rainbow flames. But we weren't sure what it was but there was one thing we were sure of. It's that these flames do have the power of transcending time and space."
" What?!"
" Then Kai-san..."
" Oddly, it never worked for him. So, we were thinking that it might be connected to Aichi-san himself. But we never really found out about the reason..."
" Then that's why Byakuran said what he said back at Choice."
" But you said that he could see the future too? What does that mean?"
" Actually, it's a mystery... All those with Psyqualia had mysterious abilities... Other than Christopher Lo, whom I'm not so sure of, Leon Souryu always talks about the wind and most of his predictions become true... Ren Suzugamori is the weirder one, I don't really know why he said what he said but he has a good nose or so he says, to sense danger or other users around him." Kai 'Darkface' explained
" That's really weird..."
" Aichi-san's Psyqualia is definitely the most mysterious and albeit normal one. Although, those premonitions often come in dreams. And sometimes, they are not really that accurate either."
" Not accurate?"
" I can't really give an example but it will get more and more accurate as time passes once you guys go back to the past. First, let's put our priority in protecting Aichi-san and Yuni from Byakuran and the real Six Funeral Wreaths first."
" Right."
Right after Aichi 'Gredora' had finished the battle plan, the mark faded away as Aichi fell unconscious while Kai quickly caught him after Darkface left his body as well.
~ Flashback end~
" Kai-kun?"
Kai snapped out of his thoughts as he looked over to Aichi.
" Sorry, I was thinking about something. What's wrong?"
" No, it's nothing. It's just rare to see you daydreaming. Is something bothering you?"
" No, it's really nothing. I was just thinking about how the real Six Funeral Wreaths will fight us."
" I guess... I was hoping we could join the battle too. I'm kind of worried about the others..."
The time passed as the explosions that signalled the start of the fights.
" I hope everyone will be safe..."
" Those explosions look seriously bad..."
Soon, all the explosions gathered at one spot as Aichi suddenly sensed something and stood up.
" Aichi?"
" I can feel his presence..."
Aichi broke into a run as Kai and Chrono gasped.
" Hey, Aichi-san!"
" Aichi, come back!"
They ran after him without Tsuna and the others knowing as they ran deeper into the forest.
" That's towards the battlefield! Aichi-san, stop!"
" Aichi!"
Once they were in the open, Mukuro and Flan appeared from an illusion as they gasped.
" Mukuro-san!"
" Oh? Aichi? Weren't you supposed to be somewhere further away?"
" I-I'm sorry... I just..."
" Aichi-san! Don't just run off like that!"
" Chrono-kun, Kai-kun! I-I'm sorry!"
" Wai- That's-"
" Mukuro!"
" What's going on here?"
" Aichi, isn't Mukuro still in the Vindice Prison? Then..."
" No. I can feel it. It's Mukuro-san, in the flesh!"
" He seriously is something else..."
" Toshiki Kai. This battle will get messy. Hurry up and bring him to a safer place."
" ... I got it."
" No! I can't watch any longer! I'm going to fight too!"
" Aichi-san, this is no time to be stubborn! Let's hurry and go!"
The battle behind them had already started as Kai quickly got Aichi out of the way.
" You've got to be careful!"
" I-I'm sorry..."
" Just listen to us and let's go, Aichi! This place is too dangerous for you!"
" I-I got it..."
Aichi took out his Vongola Box and Ring as he turned to Mukuro.
" Mukuro-san! Take my Vongola Ring and Box!"
" Don't worry. Chrome will be here soon. You should hurry."
" ... I'm kind of glad you're beginning to accept her now..."
" What?"
" Nothing."
" Now, Aichi-san."
" Yeah."
Just as the three were about to retreat, a combustion of Lightning flames appeared as they turned behind again.
" W-What?!"
A man appeared from it as Kai hid Aichi behind a bush.
" Don't come out of here no matter what!"
" Be careful, Kai-kun."
" I will."
Kai got ready to fight as the man, identified as Ghost, was slowly strolling.
" This is troublesome... Flames and physical attacks aren't hitting their marks..."
" I don't like where this is headed..."
That was when the Box Combination hit its mark.
" Is it working?!"
" I can't tell!"
That was when a charred Uri came out from smoke as they gasped.
" No way!"
Kai narrowed his eyes as he noticed something coming out of the barrier.
" Dodge it, Shindou!"
Kai went to get Aichi out of the way as the tentacle like projections attacked all of them.
" Kai-kun, what's going on?!"
" No time to talk! Let's hurry!"
Kai carried Aichi as he started dodging as well. One of it headed to Bluebell as webs protected her.
" Webs?!"
" But why?!"
" Would he really like to see someone dying in battle?"
The green mark glowed on Aichi's hand again.
" Gredora!"
" That thing absorbs flames. Should that girl be touched by it, she'll die."
" No way!"
" We cannot let our guard down. Hey, Singularity. Put up a barrier to prevent those things from touching the rest. It's going to start absorbing our rings' flames."
" B-But, the enemies..."
" You just saw it, didn't you? That thing is attacking everything, whether allies or enemies. I'm pretty sure that was part of Byakuran's plans too... Just hurry and put up the barrier before everyone's stamina run out!"
" R-Right!"
Chrono quickly put up the barriers as the tentacle like projections were blocked, however, their flames started leaking out of their rings.
" So... Even with a barrier, that thing is still continuing to absorb the flames..."
" Crap... At this rate, I'm gonna lose my stamina and I won't be able to keep up with the barriers anymore..."
" I'm starting to feel the drain too..."
" We need to hang in there... Decimo will come soon... He's our last hope of bringing that thing down..."
" Sawada?"
" Yeah..."
Suddenly, they see Tsuna flying towards them from the sky as Ghost and Tsuna, using his Deathperation Point Zero Revised, started clashing.
" Be careful, Kai-san, Gredora!"
" Easier said than done... This is making the current situation worse...!"
" But if he succeeds, then..."
Tsuna finally successfully absorbed Ghost as he landed and silence filled the air for awhile. Aichi 'Gredora' watched Tsuna carefully as his eyes narrowed.
" He did it..."
" No... Something's not right..."
" Gredora? What's wrong?"
" Decimo's Deathperation Point Zero Revised is a technique that absorbs an enemy's flame and makes it his own... But, even after all own flames Ghost absorbed, I'm not seeing any sort of change to Decimo's flame..."
" What?!"
" ... Now that you've said it..."
" This is bad..."
" Wow, I'm so impressed."
They looked up to see Byakuran floating above them.
" Byakuran-sama!"
" You defeated Ghost. I'm glad to see you're doing well, Tsunayoshi-kun."
" Byakuran..."
" Wow, what a crazy lineup here. The boss of the Chiavarone Family, the Vongola's independent assassination squad, the Varia, the Vongola outside advisor's team, and Mukuro-kun and the other Vongola Guardians are here. I'm surprised to see Ai-chan out here with the Gear Chronicle Singularity and Kai. No, wait. Or are you the Queen of Megacolony right now?"
" That doesn't matter. But I never thought how despicable you are, Byakuran. To think, those three warriors, who have dedicated their lives to you... You wouldn't even hesitate to sacrifice them in order to awaken that monster..."
" You're lying! Byakuran-sama would never abandon us!"
" Then look at what happened! If we weren't here to protect you three, you'd have all been absorbed by Ghost by now! Byakuran... You are one despicable human... For that sin, I won't let you off so easily."
" Stay back."
" Decimo..."
" Just stand back. He's mine to deal with."
Tsuna started to go on the offensive when suddenly, his punch was stopped by Byakuran's finger.
" Wha?! He stopped it... With a single finger..."
" White Finger."
Tsuna was blown back to the ground as they gasped. Tsuna got back up to use his Big Bang Axle against Byakuran but was stopped by the force of his palms. When he was blown back down again, Tsuna was grabbed by a giant hand.
" What's with that outrageous power?!"
" This is bad..."
" Kai-san, hurry up and take him away from here."
" Shindou?!"
" Gredora, I'm gonna leave Aichi-san to you. Feel free to unleash that dragon again if you have to. He has enough power to summon it without fail this time."
" We are not leaving you here to deal with that guy!"
" We've got no choice! You saw his powers! At this rate, Aichi-san will..."
" We'll stay here to fight!"
" Kai-san... But against that massive power..."
" Looks like we never had a choice in the first place. Toshiki Kai, put me down."
" Are you sure?"
" Yeah. Right now, with his current powers, I can finally summon it properly."
Kai nodded as he put Aichi 'Gredora' down. He threw out sixteen more of the Vanguard cards with silver backing as they started burning in dark green flames.
" Byakuran, you're not harming him any further! I put my future on the line with this card! For a warrior, last regret! Zoo's Zeroth Dragon! Ultimate Stride!"
" You're amusing, Gredora. The first time you summoned that dragon, you failed really badly. What made you think it'll succeed now?"
" Don't underestimate Aichi Sendou's determination. Now, I summon you! Zeroth Dragon of Death Garden, Zoa!"
Zoa appeared from one of the cards as it roared.
" Alright, it's stable! Gredora did it!"
" That's... The Zeroth Dragon..."
" Zoa's skill. I summon one warrior and give it maximum power. Intimidating Mutant King, Darkface 'Alicides'."
Darkface appeared as it cheered and bounced around.
" The Queen's power has given me maximum power!"
The others just sweat dropped while Kai inwardly facepalmed as his face darkened.
" I can't believe I let someone like him use my body..."
" Sorry, Kai-san..."
" It's fine... He's not in my body now so... I'll let him off..."
" Darkface, hold off the ceremony. First, you need to take out Byakuran. Zoa, go forth with Darkface!"
" Yes, Queen Gredora!"
Both units began attacking Byakuran as he deflected them without breaking a sweat.
" No way... This is impossible... He's absorbed so much flames that he can already overcome a Zeroth Dragon?!"
" This is bad... If the Zeroth Dragon is defeated here, Gredora's gonna get sent back to Cray and she won't be able to show up for the rest of the battle!"
" What?!"
" Gredora, I applaud you for your bravery but it's too late now. I'm going to purge you from his body right now. White Finger."
The white finger went through Zoa as it started disappearing.
" Zoa!"
Steam started coming from his right hand as Aichi 'Gredora' held it in pain.
" Gredora!"
" Queen Gredora!"
Darkface started disappearing as well as Zoa completely disappeared.
" Darkface... Don't worry about me... Hurry up and go back to Cray..."
" But..."
Darkface panicked as he completely disappeared. Kai and Chrono ran over to Aichi 'Gredora' after that.
" Gredora!"
" Looks like this is what it has come down to... Singularity, Toshiki Kai... I'm going to have to leave him to you two..."
" Yeah, just leave it to us. Don't worry about the connection, I'm sure there's still going to be a little bit of it left."
" Well, I don't think I can return for awhile anyway..."
Aichi fainted after that as Kai caught him and the mark disappeared.
" Shindou, is Gredora..."
" Thankfully, the mark never completely disappeared from his hand. Gredora can still return to it but she has received damage. Sacrificing the future has a great risk to it after all."
The cards burned to ashes as Zoa floated down.
" The Zeroth Dragons... steal the future?"
" Yeah, it was a great risk."
Byakuran was heard laughing again as they turned to him.
" I told you. No one is a match for me now."
" This is seriously bad..."
" Well, let's handle Tsunayoshi-kun first, shall we?"
Tsuna was being squeezed by the hand as they gasped. That was when Tsuna's ring had flames bursting out from it. Byakuran followed suit as they tried to shield themselves from the strong flames. That was when a sound came from the rings.
" W-What was that sound?"
" Look! The Sky Rings are forming a flame barrier!"
" And it's expanding?!"
" Shindou! There's a third flame barrier coming towards here! And inside is..."
" Yuni!"
" We need to stop them from merging!"
" Chronojet Dragon! Turn the time back! Stop those barriers from merging!"
Chrono's mark glowed as the barrier stopped for a moment.
" No good... It's not working..."
" Shindou?!"
" The tri-ni sette's power is much more powerful than my time powers..."
The barriers started merging again as it slowed considerably but was still merging.
" You can't turn back the time?!"
" So, this is the power of the tri-ni sette?!"
Aichi groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.
" Kai-kun..."
" Aichi!"
Suddenly, their other rings glowed as the same flame barrier appeared around them.
" Aichi-san! Kai-san!"
Chrono tried to stop the barrier as well but was slowly getting drained. The four barriers started merging after that.
" No! If this continues..."
Chrono tried to hold onto his powers as the barriers completely merged and Chrono was thrown back.
" Shindou!"
" Chrono-kun!"
" Well, this is an interesting development. Looks like you were able to enter too, Ai-chan."
" What's going on here?! Our rings aren't part of the tri-in sette, so why?!"
" These rings were custom made, weren't they?"
" Maybe... It's because of your Flames of Bond... But I also don't understand why that barrier appeared..."
" Chrono-kun, you're alright!"
" Yeah, somehow..."
" Well then, I'll also welcome the both of you to this special stage made when the Sky elements of the tri-ni sette release incredible amount of flames. Now, we'll have a stage where we won't be interrupted. Except, we don't need Tsunayoshi-kun anymore and soon the four of us will be alone. Although, maybe there'll be a need to deal with Kai too afterwards."
His hands tightened as the giant hand also tightened around Tsuna.
" Tsuna-san!"
" Sawada-san! Stop it, Byakuran!"
While the two were talking, Kai tried to get Aichi to his feet as he constantly fell over.
" No good... I think the summoning drained your body..."
" But we have to help Tsuna-san and Yuni-san..."
" Maybe... The box weapon that we never used yet can help us."
" But we never attempt to open it before..."
" Well, it doesn't hurt to try, especially in our situation."
Kai took out the other box weapon given by Chrono as it shook a little.
" So... It's some sort of animal too..."
" Kai-kun."
" It's fine. I'll do it."
" Kai-san! Here's an advice! Let out a huge amount of flames and inject it into the box all at once!"
" All at once?"
Kai lit up the Flames of Bond from his ring as it started to grow larger. Tsuna had fainted after the last squeeze from the giant hand as Aichi gasped.
" Tsuna-san!"
" Just a little more..."
" Oh? Looks like you're trying something, Kai."
" I'm going to protect Aichi from you, no matter what. No matter how strong you got, I won't give up."
Kai injected the flames into the box weapon as it was completely injected. The box opened as the combustion of flames landed in front of them. As it faded away, it suddenly revealed a small raccoon with the flames on its tail.
" Wha... Shindou..."
" C-Calm down, Kai-san! Y-You haven't seen any yet, you know..."
" All that flame and..."
" But it's cute."
" A-Aichi..."
" What an amusing turn of events! What will you do now, Kai?"
A white dragon appeared from his own box weapon as it flew towards them.
" Alright, now!" Chrono exclaimed
The raccoon started growing bigger and bigger as it was soon towering over Aichi and Kai. The dragon bounced off the now giant raccoon.
" ... Uh..."
" A raccoon that has increasing defense depending on the amount of flame you give it. It's good at protecting, you know."
" Then, what about combat skills?"
" Uh, that's... We never really tested it out on that part..."
" And you just gave it?!"
" S-Sorry!"
" Then... My box animal is..."
" Don't tell me you want to try it out..."
" W-Well..."
" ... Fine."
Aichi nodded as he took out his other box weapon and injected flames into it. The box opened as a blue penguin came out of it with the flames on its tail as well.
" ... SHINDOU!"
" They're not exactly useless, I swear! Or your future selves wouldn't have left them to you either!"
Suddenly, the dragon curved around the raccoon as it headed straight for them. The penguin opened its mouth as the dragon got stuck inside it. Soon, it was swallowed up as the penguin let out a satisfied cheer.
" I-It swallowed it..."
" Penguins can do that?"
" No, they can't, Aichi."
" Then that's really cool..."
" Uh..."
The raccoon turned back to its normal size as it jumped onto Kai's shoulder while the penguin went into Aichi's arms.
" T-This won't really help much..."
" B-But they did help us..."
" But they won't help much in this battle against me."
Another giant hand came towards them as Kai tried to block it with his sword.
" Kai-kun!"
" What power..."
" Hm... So you want to be Aichi-chan's prince on a white horse, Kai? Then, I'll take care of you like I did to Yuni-chan's prince."
" Kai-kun!"
Aichi ran over to Kai with some strength that he'd regained as he tried to stop the hand as well.
" Aichi, don't! It's too reckless!"
Aichi didn't listen as his Psyqualia glowed in his eyes. His usual blue aura was mixed in with his own Stride Force as his eyes seem to lose their light.
" I won't..."
" Aichi?"
" I won't let you hurt him."
Holding out three fingers, Byakuran's hand suddenly had the same aura as it slowly opened up along with the giant hand. Kai got out of the way as the hand disappeared.
" He did it!"
However, Aichi didn't stop there as Byakuran's hand started to look like it was dislocating on the inside.
" Aichi, what's wrong? It's fine! I'm not hurt!"
" I won't let you..."
" Aichi!"
Aichi blinked as his Psyqualia disappeared along with the aura as Byakuran's hand was back to normal.
" ... What... was I...?"
" Aichi!"
" Kai... kun?"
Aichi fell forward as Kai quickly caught him from collapsing.
" Are you alright, Aichi?!"
" What did I...?"
" It's alright. You didn't do anything."
" I don't... know..."
Kai heard Byakuran's laughter again as he turned to him.
" That was a close call! Had you called him a second later, my hand would've been deformed! He's really interesting."
" Don't come any closer!"
The raccoon jumped off Kai's shoulder as it went on the defensive mode.
" It seems I'll have to deal with you in a separate manner. First, Yuni-chan..."
Kai quickly tried to find a way past the barrier after that as he continued to hold onto Aichi tightly while Reborn spoke about Tsuna and Yuni.
" Using her life in exchange to revive the Arcobaleno?!"
" Kai-kun... We have to help her..."
" You're not in the right state to be doing this either!"
" But if we don't, Yuni-san will..."
Aichi suddenly stopped as he started coughing out some blood.
" Aichi!"
" What happened, Kai-san?!"
" I don't know... Aichi's organs... It's suddenly disappearing again!"
" But that's not possible! Mukuro's-"
" Don't tell me..." Chrono thought
" Kai-san! What was the last thing that Gredora wrote to him for his training?!"
" The last thing she wrote...? 'Finally, grow stronger. As a warrior, he has the resolve but he still doesn't have the strength. Always look at your enemies and know them, don't be blinded by anything else. There's no need to rely on others' power to stay alive either. Once his strength grows, there'll be no problem recreating his own organs by himself.'... Shindou, you're not getting at-"
" That might be it! I'm pretty sure he's been surviving like this with his own illusions all these time!"
" But that's impossible! He told me that Mukuro's still supporting his illusionary organs!"
" Mukuro! Answer us! Is that true?!"
" I didn't expect it to happen this early. But yes, ever since he took that special training from Gredora, I couldn't connect my illusions to him. He's been blocking out my illusions with his willpower and using his own powers to create the illusions."
" Why didn't you say anything earlier?!"
" Was there even a way to communicate in the first place? He's been blocking me out for quite some time."
" ... Aichi! Can you hear me?!"
Aichi opened his eyes weakly as he looked over to Kai.
" Just hang in there! Why didn't you tell me about this?!"
" I..."
" That's the end of your small talk. I'll be taking him before he dies."
Byakuran sent out another white dragon at them as Aichi's Psyqualia glowed. When Kai opened his eyes, they were outside the barrier as he looked around.
" What just happened?"
" Kai-san!"
He turned to see Chrono and the others running to them as Kai saw Tsuna getting up inside the barrier.
" Looks like Yuni will be safe for now inside there. First, we need to help Aichi-san."
" What just happened? How did we get outside?"
" Probably with Aichi-san's power. I saw Psyqualia for a moment. Mukuro, hurry up and give him the organs."
" It won't be my fault if he rejects it again."
He hovered a hand over Aichi's body as mist started seeping out of it and Aichi's stomach started turning back to normal.
" Luckily, he wasn't exactly drained. If he was, his situation would be much worse than this. So, his unstable illusions were holding up until now."
" From the multiple Zeroth Dragon summoning to this... No wonder he's always so drained."
" But what will happen to the ones inside the barrier?"
" They'll be fine. Tsunayoshi Sawada is not a weak man."
" So, all you need to do right now -Kai-san wake up!- is protect Aichi-san."
" What was..."
" What's wrong, Kai-san? Is something -Wake up! Kai-san!- wrong?"
" No, you were calling me to wake up."
" Huh? That's not -Kai-san, please! Hurry up and wake up!- possible!"
Kai gasped when the surrounding around him started to disappear and he was back in reality. He then saw the green mark on his hand glowing.
" What was I..."
" Kai-san!"
Kai got up and turned around to find himself in a rainbow dome.
" What's this?"
" Kai-san, over here!"
Kai turned to see Chrono still outside the Sky Barrier and Tsuna was already up.
" Aichi!"
Kai went to check on Aichi as he saw that his stomach was normal again and he heaved a sigh of relief.
" Shindou, what's going on here?"
" You suddenly fainted and then that dome appeared around you guys!"
" But then... Was that all a dream...?"
" Kai-san!"
Kai snapped out of his thoughts as he turned to Chrono.
" What is it, Shindou?"
" I might know what's that power going around you guys, so step outside here!"
" But the barrier..."
" Just do it! You'll be able to make it out!"
" Alright..."
Kai carried Aichi up as he stepped out of the dome and the barrier successfully before gasping.
" This is..."
" Kai-san!"
Chrono ran towards them as Kai placed Aichi down.
" What was that just now?"
" It's probably the Messiah's protection."
" Messiah's?"
" That's what I suspect from the power flowing around it. I didn't think this battle would reach the Messiah too."
" Then why did Aichi and I faint?"
" I don't know either... But thanks to that dome, Aichi-san's illusionary organs have stabilised."
" But what about Sawada and Yuni?"
" Looks like this battle will be ending soon."
" What do you mean?"
Suddenly, Aichi's Vongola Ring glowed as the other Vongola Rings also started glowing.
" What?!"
The First Generation Vongola Guardians and Primo appeared as a hologram as the rings were changed to their original shape.
" So these are the original Vongola Rings?"
" Then the previous Vongola Ring was only used because of the Ring Conflict? Because they needed to be split in half?"
" That's probably it."
" Then that means Sawada will be able to battle Byakuran on an even level now."
" Yeah. Let's focus on healing Aichi-san first. And after that, we'll try to break that dome."
" Yeah."
Chrono took out the card as he started healing Aichi.
" Looks like it'll take some time. Considering the amount of energy drained from him, it's not surprising."
" ... Shindou! Yuni is..."
" What is it?"
Chrono turned to check on the situation as he gasped when he saw the flames surrounding Yuni.
" Those are the Life Flames! She's really doing it! Crap! Just a little more too!"
" Shindou. You should help them out. I'll do something about this so please. You need to get Yuni out of there."
" ... Yes."
Kai took the card from Chrono as he lit up his flames and maintained the card's glow over Aichi. Chrono stood up as he took out twelve cards.
" I'm counting on you... Everyone!"
A mechanical clockwork appeared as the twelve cards flew to their respective circles.
" With the power of the Twelve Zodiac Time Beasts, I summon you here right now! Dues Ex Machina, Demiurge!"
Demiurge descended from his Vanguard Circle as it started to use its power to break the dome and the dome started cracking a little.
" Alright! A little more, Demiurge!"
" It's enough for me."
They gasped as Gamma jumped into the dome.
" Yo, Princess."
" Gamma..."
Suddenly, Gamma walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.
" I won't let you do this alone."
" Hey! Don't be reckless! Just a little more and this dome will be broken! You don't have to sacrifice your lives!"
" Do you remember when you whispered in my ear? I never got a chance to give you my reply."
Gamma whispered something into Yuni's ear afterwards as she started crying.
" Hey, you shouldn't look so sad when we're about to set out. That's not what your Mother taught you."
Aichi woke up at that time as he saw what was happening.
" Kai-kun... Please... Get them out of there... I don't want to see anyone dying for the sake of saving this world..."
" Aichi..."
" Aichi-san... I'm sorry... But it's already too late..."
" It's not too late...! Please, let me go inside...!"
Kai hugged Aichi to keep him from watching as Yuni smiled and the both of them disappeared into the flames.
" Gamma... Yuni..."
" Damn it... It was just a little more..."
Kai patted Aichi's head the moment he felt his tears staining his shirt. Chrono looked back at them, as his eyes softened upon seeing Aichi as he looked back at Demiurge.
" Use all of your power, Demiurge... I don't care what happens to me but I'm definitely gonna get back at the guy who'd caused Aichi-san and the others to go through all this suffering!"
Demiurge roared as more power was used on the dome. Meanwhile, inside the dome, Tsuna was now using his flames to create his X Burner while Byakuran was using his own flames. Both attacks collided as the dome finally broke. Once the light dispersed, Byakuran was gone.
" We did it..."
Demiurge disappeared after that as the twelve cards went back to Chrono. That was when they heard a gunshot as the three remaining Funeral Wreaths had been shot by Xanxus. Aichi gasped as Kai held him tightly again.
" Enough, Xanxus!"
" Zip it! You're all too soft!"
" You bastard!"
" Shindou! That's enough. There's no reason to fight amongst ourselves. It's already over."
" Kai-san..."
Chrono knelt down beside them as Aichi continued shivering.
" I'm sorry, Aichi-san. You had to see all that."
" ... He'll understand. He's just... shaken for now. So many things happened in this battle after all."
" What was the reason to even fight when there would be so many sacrifices...?"
Suddenly, the pacifiers glowed as the Arcobaleno returned to normal.
" Sacrifices were made but they were for a greater outcome."
Aichi jumped a little at those words as he listened to the Arcobalenos' words about restoring the world.
" All of those that have been killed by Byakuran have been returned like they never died... This is really a miracle... So Yuni was aiming for that the whole time."
" Aichi, you okay?"
" ... Yeah... I want to go back now..."
" Of course. Let's head back to the base for now."
The three headed back to the base first as they rested up for the day before getting ready to head back to the past.
" Chrono-kun, thank you so much for everything."
" No problem! We're friends after all!"
" Yeah! I hope to meet you again in the past!"
" You sure will!"
" It's quite noisy everywhere."
" Uh... True."
" Oh, the box weapons and boxes..."
" Don't worry. Like I said, those were presents for you guys from your future selves."
" I see. Thank you, Chrono-kun."
" Yeah, no problem!"
" I kind of wished we could say our goodbyes to Gredora-san and Darkface-san..."
" About that... Actually... Their marks are still on you so... They plan to go over to the past as much as possible. For some sort of exploration..."
" Huh?!"
" Let that guy take over me in the past?! No way!"
" I don't have much of a choice either... They requested it too..."
" If he can control his outbursts then... Whatever!"
" Now, it's almost time. Let's go."
" Yeah!"
They headed out of their room as Chrome and the others happened to walk in their general direction as well.
" ... Hello, Mukuro-san."
" You seem to be doing better than yesterday, Aichi."
" Yeah. It was nice to see you like this too, Mukuro-san."
" Yeah."
Aichi smiled as they continued their way to return to their past.
" You didn't want to say anymore to him?"
" No. Just knowing each others' feelings is enough."
" That's right."
They waited in front of the device as Aichi said goodbye to Orion after needing to leave the Vongola Boxes in the future.
" Orion. Thank you for everything."
" Hoot..."
" ... I'll miss you too, Orion..."
" Now, it's time to go, Aichi-san."
" Yeah. Oh, before that, Chrono-kun..."
" What is it?"
" Make sure to give a big hug to this Ibuki-san of yours once you head back to everyone else."
" Wha?! Y-You heard my conversation?!"
" Looks like he wasn't all unconscious."
" Ahem! Uh, so about our deal... Don't give these memories to my past self. He's still young to understand these stuff after all."
" Of course, kora!"
They nodded as the time warp started and they were sent back to the past. Aichi and Kai opened their eyes as they recognised immediately where they were at.
" We're at the back alley again..."
" Yeah..."
" Huh? U-Uh... Kai-kun..."
" What is-"
Kai froze as he realised their awkward positioning after they'd fell. Kai was just right on top of Aichi as they blushed a little. That was when the door opened and Misaki came out.
" You two! Hey, what are you doing, Kai?! Behind the shop too!"
" I-It's not what you think, Tokura!"
" Huh?!"
" M-Misaki-san! T-This was a total accident! I-I fell because of the earthquake and Kai-kun wanted to catch me! D-Don't get the wrong idea!"
" Jeez... Come inside once you guys get up. That was quite an earthquake though..."
" O-Oh, right..."
Misaki sighed as she closed the door behind her. Both boys heaved a sigh of relief as they stood up.
" Hoot..."
" Huh?"
Aichi lifted up his hand as he saw a familiar owl ring on his finger.
" Orion! How?!"
" They gave him back to you?"
" It seems so!"
" Isn't that great?"
" Yeah! Welcome back, Orion!"
" Hoot!"
" Now, let's head inside."
" Yeah! I can't wait to see everyone again! Too bad we couldn't see their future selves..."
" Yeah but we're back with our time's friends now and this peace will last forever."
" You're right!"
The door slid open as everyone in the shop turned to them.
" Hello!"
" Aichi! Kai!"
" Took you long enough! Did the earthquake get to you two too?"
" A little. But we're alright."
" That's good! Alright! Fight me, Aichi!"
" Sure!"
As they set their decks and field, Naoki looked up for awhile to see Aichi's rings.
" Woah, those are cool rings!"
" It's true!"
" They suit you, Brother!"
" Thank you."
" Where did you get them?"
" It's a secret."
As the others whined at Aichi's reply, Miwa came up to Kai and jabbed him a little with his elbow.
" Looks like you two did it."
" Yeah."
" So, where did you get that couple ring for you and Aichi?"
" Not your problem."
" Heh... Nee-chan told me everything that happened outside. Should I tell everyone?"
" Shut up, Miwa."
" Yes, yes..."
And so, their peaceful lives were given back to them again. However, will it really last forever?
And that's the end of this chapter! That was a really long wait for this chapter but as an apology, I've given everyone a 7k words chapter for today! Tomorrow's Valentine's Day so I hope everyone have a great time! Thank you for reading and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!