CI.

"Setsu!"

Ah.

(… How long has it been since she's been called by that name?)

"Hi, Tsuna." She smiles –and the expression on her face falters as she is immediately engulfed in a hug. It's a very different sort of hug than the one she had first received from Superbi, which had been tinted all desperation and grief and pain–

"Ohmygodwhyareyouhere?" It's half numb shock and half dawning horror that she hears in Tsuna's voice when he draws back to look at her, biting his lip in concern. "Setsu, are you still okay?"

She only manages a small nod before the brunet abruptly rounds on his tutor.

"Reborn, why in the world is Setsu here, too?!"

… It's not exactly Reborn's fault that she's here, but she doesn't fault him for turning to the hitman for an explanation. After all, Reborn certainly does seem to appear to be an omniscient being at times, doesn't he?

"What are you talking about?" The pseudo-infant responds guilelessly, not even batting an eye at his student's scandalized tone. "That's Lady Stella there."

Tsuna stiffens –recognition of the name, perhaps?

"What?!"

"It's a bit of a long story," she takes initiative at this point and interrupts, cutting into the conversation before it can continue any longer. While Tsuna seems to be aware of Lady Stella, it doesn't appear as if he knows the connection between Stella Squalo and Nakamura Setsuko just yet. She isn't sure if she wants him to know–doesn't know if she wants all of them to know, really.

(There is a certain sort of guilty relief from being free of having to constantly hold herself up to the standards that everyone expected of Stella Squalo. Then again, it wasn't as if this was something that could be kept a secret for long –and if she was to fight with them, then wouldn't they find out anyways?)

Well.

"… I'll explain when there's time." She smiles, "For now, I'm just Setsu."

…

…

…

Please don't call me Stella.

… I'm not sure if I can take it anymore.

…

CII.

There is a lake that glows with a thousand pinpricks of starlight pulsating brightly under the mirror-like surface, where the quiet whispers of a million voices shrouded within the Mist coil together, murmuring softly.

There is a boat, gently rocking from side to side as a gray-eyed girl steps into it.

And.

There is also another girl present, silver-haired and hazel-eyed, who stands on top of the waters.

Watching.

Observing.

Waiting.

Waiting for what, she wonders?

For you.

She blinks in surprise, because Stella has never taken initiative and spoken to her before –never spoke anything to her, period–

The silver-haired girl steps forward, towards the boat, and she is hit with a sudden sense of foreboding danger, for some inexplicable reason. But… but why would Stella…?

I'll always be waiting here.

A small, cold smile tilts over the hazel-eyed girl's lips as she leans down, pale-white face hovering over the gray-eyed girl as the waves from the lake rise up around them.

"What do you mean?" She gasps softly, trying not to show how unnerved she is by all this.

(It doesn't work; this is Stella.)

The silver-haired girl cocks her head, still smiling.

You don't belong, don't you know? You're an irregularity in this world. Just like I was, but perhaps even more so.

What?

What is she talking about? An 'irregularity?' And what had incited her to suddenly speak, anyways, when she had always remained so silent before? Come to think of it… when had she gained solid shape and form, instead of simply remaining as a shadow obscured in the Mist?

It's because you're weak.

The older girl reaches down with a single bone-thin hand, fingers curling under the younger one's chin, forcing their eyes to meet. The hazel eyes are cold, cold, cold.

She shivers involuntarily, and the predatory smile on Stella's face widens another touch.

But that's okay.

And then the silver-haired girl is gone, the waters of the lake crashing down in giant tidal waves. The hazel-eyed girl instinctively grasps onto the edges of her small boat as she is rocked violently in the sudden storm, the world turning upside down around her –and when had the wood under her fingertips began to rot and wither away?

She falls into the restless waters, gasping for breath–

Stella turns her back on the abnormality.

All I have to do… is wait for you to die. And I won't even have to lift a single finger.

The silver-haired girl walked away, not looking back even once as she drowned under the onslaught of the crashing waves.

CIII.

Setsu bolts up from her bed in the middle of the night, panic in her throat and trepidation in her heart, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the deadline until the Choice battle looming over their heads like a guillotine.

(She knows it's not a nightmare, which makes it all the more terrifying.)

CIV.

"'On strike?'"

She blinks, parroting the older girls' words. Kyoko and Haru nod enthusiastically in front of her.

"It's not fair that they're keeping us in the dark about this!" Their voices are indignant with righteous anger. "I mean, we're just as much a part of this as they are, aren't we? Just because we're girls –just because we can't fight like them– doesn't mean that it's okay for them to not tell us anything! Don't you agree with us, Setsu?"

She finally sets down the book in her hands.

"… Is that really what you think?"

"Eh?"

"Is that really what you think?" She repeats, her voice a little stronger this time. The older girls look surprised. "That they're keeping you in the dark about this situation for no good reason?"

"… But even if they have a good reason, that doesn't mean they can just–"

"Too much knowledge isn't always a good thing," there's a bitter edge to her smile, one that she quickly erases from her countenance before either of the girls can catch onto it. "There's a reason why ignorance is bliss."

Kyoko frowned, and Haru huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're on their side, aren't you?" Angry, accusing tone. "That's it, no dinner for you tonight, either!"

She doesn't bother even batting an eye at that. Food is the least of her worries right now, to be honest.

"It doesn't matter what side I'm on," she sighs. "What I'm trying to really get at is this: Maybe it's wrong of them to decide to withhold information from you simply because they want to protect you, but it's also wrong of you to get angry at them like this. Right now is a critical time for all of us –we need to be able to stay together, and all your actions are doing is driving divisions between us. How in the world do you think they'll be able to concentrate on their training when they know you're upset with them?"

"Well…" Haru bit her lip, "If they would just tell us what's going on, then we wouldn't have to resort to this!"

"Then just go and ask them." She refrains from rolling her eyes, "They know you mean business now, don't they? Find them, sit down, and talk things out. They're not completely unreasonable. You do have a right to know what's going on –besides, they can't keep hiding everything forever, and I'd rather you find out now than get a very nasty surprise in the imminent future."

"Eh?"

"… Just go find them. This is their conversation to hold, not mine."

CV.

Sousei is… different.

There's a tired, hard edge to him now. Hardened by war, no doubt. The glasses perched over the bridge of his nose are different from the ones she remembers him wearing –but then again; ten years. She would be surprised if his glasses hadn't changed, really.

She smiles and gives him a gentle hug.

"I've missed you, onii-chan."

It's true. Amidst all this blood and battle and war, there is a part of her that longs for family and comfort and safety; something that Sousei had and has always been for her.

(She doesn't miss the way his body stiffens from surprise at the seemingly-unexpected gesture of affection, but chooses to feign ignorance to it.)

"St–… Se…Setsu…?"

(There is an upward tilt in the last syllable, a slight tinge of an emotion eerily similar to hope–)

She looks up into his eyes.

"Who else would it be?"

It's unexpected, when he abruptly drops to his knees in front of her and envelops her in a desperate hug, nearly knocking her over.

(She also tactfully refrains from saying anything about it, too, but there's also a feeling of wrongness creeping up her spine at Sousei's actions.)

(It's… unsettling.)

…

CVI.

When the day of the Choice match dawns bright and clear, when all of them are standing together and sending their flames into that strange machine floating in the sky –she realizes something strange in a sudden moment of clarity, an epiphany.

She realizes that she actually belongs.

That while Stella would sigh and shake her head at the naïve optimism that Tsuna and the others show –she finds herself swept up in the current of their emotions, that she believes. That she genuinely believes that they will triumph, and emerge from this battle victorious.

Byakuran is not an easy enemy to defeat, foolish child.

And then they arrive on the field.

Tall buildings. Skyscrapers.

An empty city.

"Hello, Vongola." She knows that she has never seen Byakuran before. So… what was this sensation of déjà vu that had washed over her upon catching sight of the smiling, white-haired man? Why did it seem as if his eyes had lingered on her before cutting over to Tsuna? "Shall we begin, then?"

She watches silently as the two leaders of their respective groups step forth, placing their hands on the strange-looking roulette, and–

"Choice."

–it begins to spin, dozens of tiny numbers whirling back and forth in a flurry, before finally coming to a halt.

"Hm… you've got a good hand there, Tsuna." Byakuran grins cheerfully, "A Sky, Rain, Storm, Mist, and an Unaffiliated, as opposed to my Cloud, Sun, and two Mists… well. Let's get this show started now, shall we?"

CVII.

She had held her suspicions before, but to have them confirmed like this was… vexing.

"Tsuna, I can fight."

"Please, Setsu. Just… stay here with Shouichi, alright?" Tsuna ran a harried hand through his hair, "With Lambo during the Ring battles we didn't have a choice, but–"

She held up the Vongola Mist Ring in her hand, silencing the boy with a look.

"I am not Lambo." Her words were delivered in a flat tone. With the Varia, it hadn't been hard to convince them to let her fight –on some level, it was even expected of her to fight. But that had been because they saw her as Stella, while in the eyes of Tsuna and the others, she was merely Setsuko. A child who had to be protected.

She sighs and opens her mouth again.

"Why won't you let me help?"

The battlefield had no room for children, but she was not a child.

(If anything, they would be the children in this case, not that any of them would know of it.)

Tsuna grimaced.

"Setsu, we're not… it's just…"

"Think of it this way, Setsu." Shouichi interjected from the side, and both of them turn to fae him"While Tsuna and Yamamoto go after Daisy and Gokudera stands guard, they're all going to be outside, right? If you stay in here, you'll be the closest to me should anything happen –that means you'll be our last line of defense. That's an important job, isn't it?"

She throws him a dark look, too, but doesn't protest the decision any further. It's obvious at this point that the boys aren't going to allow her to go out and fight with them, and Shouichi's point does have merit. There's no sense in arguing and simply wasting what little time was left of the three minutes to plan their strategy.

She shakes her head.

That obstinacy… if nothing else, at least she certainly understands Kyoko's and Haru's feelings a little better now.

CVIII.

When the battle begins, Tsuna is the first to encounter his opponent.

Torikabuto.

The Mist Funeral Wreath. An illusionist. A monster.

For what other word can be used to describe the man? Upon being bodily thrown into a building, his body splattered –and all that was left was that floating head in a ghoulish mask, blood-coated bones of his vertebrae trailing behind him like some demented tail as the remains of his body twisted and writhed and morphed into a million sea snakes–

Torikabuto is a monster, of that Tsuna has no doubt.

Natsu's Cambio Forma in Mantle form is what saves him, the defensive properties of the long cape proving to be the perfect defense against the vicious onslaught of deadly, Lightning-imbued snakes.

His eyes flashed.

"I won't hold back against a monster."

The surge of his Sky flames incinerates the demon mercilessly, but Tsuna remains on guard. Because ever since the battle first started, the alarm bells in his intuition had gone off –whispering that there was something wrong wrong wrong about the monster in front of him–

"… A monster, am I?"

It's different.

Torikabuto's voice is different –oh so very different from the distorted warble that he had first spoken with, but… this new voice, his real voice, is a familiar-unfamiliar sort of baritone that immediately set his Hyper Intuition all but screaming–

The remains of the sea snakes gathered together, compressing and undulating until it rippled –and Torikabuto was standing on the ground, flourishing the black cape draped around his body as he looked up.

A gruesome, demonic mask twisted into a permanent scowl.

"Your words truly wound me, Sawada Tsunayoshi." Torikabuto continues, and he reaches up with a single hand –long, elegant fingers– to gently grasp at the edge of his mask.

"What makes you think I am a monster, Vongola Decimo?"

CIX.

The feeling she receives when she sees Torikabuto is very similar to the déjà vu when seeing Byakuran, except… not.

Hatred betrayal anger pain regret–

"Shouichi, what do you know about Torikabuto?"

The redhead glances down at her from where he is busy directing the flame decoys.

"Torikabuto… well, obviously, he's Byakuran's Mist Guardian." Shouichi blinks, before flushing, "Sorry, I don't really know much about him –heck, I didn't even know these Funeral Wreathe existed–"

Shouchi broke off into a curse when another of the decoys was destroyed, before stiffening and glancing warily at her.

"Er, you didn't hear anything just now, okay? Sousei is very scary with those Cloud flames of his."

She offered him a small smile.

"Okay."

… Why was she so fixated on Torikabuto? That mask –had she encountered it somewhere? Such an evil mask, a mark of possession, of an illusionist losing their body and–

She blinked.

… Where had that thought come from?

"What makes you think I am a monster, Vongola Decimo?"

Her attention caught by the monitor, she watched closely as Torikabuto reached up a hand, taking off his mask –there was the image of a man's face in her mind, someone who was traitor, and if this Torikabuto really was a fragment from Stella's life, then the man behind the mask would likely be Aco–

Shouichi let out a startled shout only a mere millisecond before she did, abruptly standing up and sending wires clattering to the ground.

She turned, spinning on her heel and ran out of the base without a second thought.

How?

How can this be happening?

How is this possible?

CX.

Tsuna watches uneasily, with a sort of muted horror pressing in on his throat as the monster reaches up and removes the ghoulish mask from his face–

"Ah, that feels much, much better."

Tsuna very nearly dropped to the ground in shock. Because there was no way this was happening, this couldn't be possible –it explained so many of the questions he'd had upon arriving in this disastrous future, while raising even more questions than the answers it gave–

"Hm? You look a little shocked there. Feeling alright?"

How is this possible?!

"… Heh, still think I'm a monster?"

He swallowed hard, mouth dry and mind numb as he tried to process what he was seeing in front of him.

No.

This can't be.

This can't be happening.

It has to be fake.

Except.

It is.

Real.

… Oh gods, what is Setsu going to think?!

The ten-years-older version of Yuuto smiled, idly spinning the demonic mask in one hand while raising the other and offering him a two-fingered salute, a cold smile dancing over his lips.

"Long time no see, Tsuna."

.

…

.

1. "Eww, why did you just up and replace Yuuto with Setsu after going to the trouble of making him the Mist Guardian in the first place? It's like you just took him completely out of the picture!"

… Truly, I am touched by this faith.

Honestly, is it that hard to believe I might have actually had a reason for giving Yuuto a convenient, conspicuous disappearance? I haven't directly addressed any questions on Yuuto's involvement (or recent lack thereof lately) in the story because I wanted to save it for this moment.

Give me a little credit here; why in the world would I spend all that time actually building up a character, only to just toss him to the side with no apparent explanation whatsoever?

2. "WTF is with this triangle-pairing thing going on, it sucks! Take it out! You're ruining the story!"

Don't like?

Then don't read.

Is it really necessary for me to add in a 'my story, my rules' reminder at this point? Everyone has their own preferences, and there's nothing I can do about that. There's nothing I can write that will satisfy all of my readers. But let me state it right here, right now –I don't take kindly to people heckling after me and ordering me how to write my own story.

You don't like the pairing? Fine.

You don't like the story anymore? Okay.

You want me to write my story in a way that caters to your own whims, while insulting me in practically every other sentence?

Now we've got a problem.

I'm perfectly fine with people pointing out grammar mistakes and OOC-ness and such. In fact, I appreciate it when they do. My English isn't perfect; far from it, really –and I'm genuinely grateful when people take the time to help me out and make improvements to the story.

This is not helping.

I like to think I've been fairly nice in my review responses and ANs so far, but I will say it plainly here and as bluntly as possible: Stop pushing your luck with me. I am not going to put up with this crap being thrown my way anymore.

You guys know who you are.

Author's Notes:

To my other readers, the people who have been perfectly kind and supportive of Canopus so far –I'm sorry if you've actually had to read through that entire rant up there. As you can probably tell, this issue has been grating on my nerves for awhile, and I guess you can say that I received one too many… complaints after the last update.

(If you really want to try and get in a discussion about what you see 'wrong' in the story with me, at least make an account on this site and have the nerve to PM me. I don't bite without reason.)

… Anyways.

Next chapter will continue with the Choice battle. Yuni should be making her entrance as well, if everything goes as planned. I wonder why Yuuto is on Byakuran's side? Isn't he supposed to be Tsuna's Mist Guardian?

(Whistles)

…

QUESTION: Prediction time! Do you think the outcome of the Choice match will turn out differently with Setsu's and Yuuto's involvement? Why or why not? :3

Also, I've posted a new story titled Drown, featuring a Reincarnated!Antagonist!OC who is Bluebell's older brother (y'know, the one that died in KHR canon?). Check it out if you're interested –I'm still a little undecided as to whether I should continue it or leave it as a one-shot.

… Or maybe we'll just wait and see if the plot bunnies come back, I guess. Meh.

-XxZuiliu