Chapter 11
Enter: Basil, Superbi Squalo and…Sailor Star WTF?
The sounds of metal colliding against each other reverberated throughout the streets of Namimori. It was currently night, and very late. The full moon glowed strongly in the middle of the dark, empty sky, watching as two figures lunged towards one another.
Battle cries and cries of pain were heard. Sparks flew as the metal objects were propelled against each other continuously. The two figures moved endlessly, one was pouncing at the other.
A man with waist-length, silver hair stood triumphantly on the roof of a building, gazing down at the boy with light brown/dirty blonde hair. He asked the boy why he was in Japan, but the boy with the blue flame on his forehead stubbornly resisted.
Far away, a pair of blue eyes watched the confrontation, entertained. The shade of her hair resembled to that of the boy's flame. A smirk crept onto her lips when the younger boy refused to obey the silver-haired man. Annoyed that he wasn't answeRing, the man lifted up his sword and prepared to swing it down. The girl's eyes widened.
Before the sword-wielder could land a hit on the boy, something jumped up and stood on the exact same place he stood a few seconds ago. The gigantic moon hovered behind her, acting as a spotlight. All they saw was the outline of the mysterious individual.
Now that she had their attention, Yuri walked forward. She was cosplaying as Sailor Mercury, though the blue was darker than actual Sailor Mercury's outfit. In addition to the cosplay, she still had the dog ears and tail on, as well as the collar. It was a dare, after all.
"VOOOOOOOOI, who are you?" the loud-mouthed man demanded.
Yuri winced and covered her ears. "KEEP THE VOLUME DOWN, DUMBASS!" she bit out fiercely. Squalo was about to retort but Yuri coughed and began speaking again. "I am…" her face scrunched up in concentration, "Sailor Star!" She cackled at their expressions. "And this is my loyal sidekick…Shooting Star!" Yuri added haughtily.
'Shooting Star' was simply Naru-chan with a yellow star stuck onto the orange cloth located on his wing. Shooting Star flew around Yuri's head in a circular pattern and landed on her shoulder.
Basil sweat-dropped and collided with the flat roof of the building.
Squalo looked as though he was about to throttle the girl. "WHAT? There's no such thing as Sailor Star!" he screamed and pointed his prosthetic arm/sword at the otaku.
Sailor Star flinched - as much as a bird could - and flew away, slightly jumpy.
Dismissing the fact that Squalo knew of Sailor Moon, Yuri countered, "Duh, because I'm a new Sailor Scout, no one knows of me!" She scoffed and rolled her eyes at Squalo. Her arms were folded in front of her chest as she laughed at the image of Superbi Squalo huddled up close to the TV while watching Sailor Moon defeat bad guys.
Squalo was steaming, but a sadistic smirk replaced his scowl as 'Sailor Star' grew afraid.
"Oh shit. I'm hungry." Yuri's eyes widened as her stomach growled slightly.
Squalo was contemplating whether the girl was more of an idiot than Lussuria, who fussed over clothes and other pointless things.
"It's like, what, 10 P.M. and I haven't eaten dinner yet." The girl's hand was brought up to her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, looking tired.
"Serves you right!" the boisterous man sneered and laughed. "Bad luck, girl!"
"Ahh, actually it's bad luck for you, dumbass. Whenever I'm hungry, I turn irritable meaning a hell lot of trouble for you. Haha, lucky you. You get to meet my Dark self."
The Varia rain Guardian scoffed. What could a ditsy girl like her do anything to a toughened assassin?
Annoy him til he went insane, that was what.
Squalo turned back to the confused Basil and smirked victoriously. While the boy was busy trying to work out who the weird girl was, the silver-haired Varia planned to defeat him once and for all while catching him by surprise. He didn't need to use such methods, but he might as well get it over and done with. All he needed was a bit of luck.
Which wasn't good seeing how he was near Namimori's most unlucky girl (courtesy of Fuuta's rankings), who affected everyone within a kilometre's radius with her unfortunate luck.
Yuri caught glimpse of the man's plotting smirk and ran as fast as she could without tripping over her feet. She knew she wouldn't reach Basil in time, so she headed for the attacker instead. Admittedly, it wasn't her best plan ever.
Superbi Squalo was caught off guard when extra weight pulled down on his left leg. Snapping his head downwards, he saw the girl clinging onto his leg, her large blue orbs staRing back at him. He did what he would usually when he panicked.
He began shouting, rather loudly too.
"LET GO, YOU STUPID GIRL! VOOOOOOOOOI!" He lifted his leg and started shaking it, looking like an idiot fool in the process. Seeing how it didn't make a difference, as the girl hugged tighter, Squalo began stomping his foot down.
Yuri managed to speak while she was being thrown about. "You look like a retard," she deadpanned.
While the two bickered on whether Squalo was a retard or not, Basil looked like he was going to slap himself, which he did. The boy named after an herb facepalmed, accompanied with a sweat-drop. But, who was the girl who showed up and saved him? Could she be related to the boy he was searching for? He decided to ask.
"Sailor…Star-dono." Basil grimaced at the name. 'Sailor Star' turned her head towards his direction, also ignoRing Squalo's heated protests. "I am searching for a boy, approximately your age. He may possibly possess a flame such as I?" Basil supplied while pointing to the blue flame on his forehead.
Yuri's eyebrows scrunched up together, tilting her head to the side slightly. She answered Basil's question with one of her own. "You're looking for a boy that's our age?"
Basil nodded in affirmation, a small smile gracing his lips. Maybe this girl could lead him to his mission's objective!
Yuri blinked, shock and understanding flashed across her facial features. "Oh, I didn't know you were gay." She grinned and laughed amiably.
Basil crashed down yet again. This girl certainly was strange. The dirty-blonde thought that she would inquire as to why he had a flame on his head, but she paid it no mind; that was a sign that she was used to it. Basil shook his head profusely, denying her assumptions furiously. But in response to the denial, the girl smirked and winked knowingly.
"Transvestite-kun," Yuri called, glancing up at the still-shouting man. Thankfully, he was too busy screaming his lungs out that he didn't notice Basil and Yuri's conversation.
"What is it, you brat?" Squalo barked, instantly looking down at the smirking girl.
"You just replied to 'Transvestite-kun', I shall now dub you that nickname henceforth." Yuri snickered.
The assassin was surprised to hear that the girl knew, and used, such lengthy words. However, he failed to pay attention to the new nickname.
"Anyway, you wanted to know why Herb-kun was here in Japan, right?"
Squalo grunted in affirmation.
There was a shout of 'Tis Basil!' Yuri shrugged. Basil was a herb, so meh. "Yeah, I know the reason why!" she chirped cheerfully.
Squalo didn't think the ridiculous girl who appeared out of nowhere could gain the knowledge the Varia failed to acquire. Squalo signaled for her to continue - he was only amusing her.
"Herb-kun," Yuri grinned and ignored Basil's cries, "is here in Japan because…" she took a deep breath and smirked as Basil panicked, "because he's looking for a guy; a foreign boyfriend. Yep, that's right, Basil is gay. And," Yuri continued, feeling a sadistic smirk flash across her lips.
Basil hung his head in resignation and disbelief. The girl was still going on? Basil wasn't gay, not at all. He knew he should have rephrased that sentence in a different, not-so-misleading manner. He inwardly berated himself.
Squalo's eye twitched. He knew the boy didn't seem right, especially with the way he talked. The kid also had a picture with him. Squalo saw a photograph in the kid's hands, but didn't see who was in the picture.
Yuri dropped her voice into a dead whisper, "He came to Japan because he was stalking you. Basil has the hots for you, good thing you're a transvestite!" She laughed at Squalo's disturbed expression. The man went unnaturally stiff, Yuri figured that it was a good as time as any to take her leave.
Cackling madly, Yuri ran past Basil who was welling up in self pity, crawling up into a feeble position and mutteRing to himself. The aura around him was dark and depressing, which made Yuri crack up in a sadistic manner. Under the alias of Sailor Star, the half-girl, half-dog disappeared in the darkness.
Mission: kill the mood of 'Squalo vs. Basil' battle - complete.
Changing back into her sleepwear, Yuri strolled over to the Sawada residence calmly. EnteRing the living room nonchalantly, Yuri observed that Nikoru, Haru, and Kyoko were gone, leaving Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Reborn asleep on futons - well, hammock for the Arcobaleno - spread across the floor so that they were parallel to each other.
Yuri walked over to the kitchen, using her hand to search the light switch and flicking it on. A bit sleepy, she made her way to the fridge groggily. She pulled out whatever was quick and edible from within the fridge and sat at the dinner table. Yuri chewed and swallowed whatever was in her hands, her eyes slowly drifted up to the person sitting across her.
There was a short pause while the two stared at each other. Finally, once Yuri had swallowed, she spoke up.
"Why are you up so late? And where are Haru and Kyoko?" Yuri drawled out monotonously.
Amber eyes blinked. Did Yuri really just question her as to why she was up so late? How hypocritical. Nikoru smiled at Yuri and walked towards the kitchen counter. She grabbed a half-full kettle and poured the steaming hot liquid into a mug and sat back down.
She began, "Well, Haru-chan and Kyoko-chan left early. Haru-chan because she goes to a different school and her house is closer, Kyoko-chan because her brother would be overanxious. Coffee?"
Yuri nodded and accepted the warm drink. Taking a sip, she grimaced disdainfully but at least her senses perked up a bit. Coffee was too bitter. She grabbed a few packets of sugar stored carefully in her pocket and tore the paper open viciously, watching as the white crystals fell into the murky drink.
Nikoru always wondered why Yuri got her energy from, but now she knew. The girl carried around packets of sugar - in her pyjamas, no less.
Saving that thought for later, the fangirl answered Yuri's former question. "I'm up so late because I was waiting for you to come back," she scolded Yuri slightly but chuckled at the expression she was receiving. Yuri was slack-jawed and her eyes were half-opened, looking on the verge of sleep. Nikoru's face contorted in confusion as she looked down to what Yuri was eating. "I thought you hated pineapple."
This statement made Yuri stop in mid-chew, she followed Nikoru's gaze. In her hand was a slice of pineapple. On the plate she took was full of random cut up pieces of pineapple. Yuri hated pineapples, more of a reason to hate Mukuro too.
Nikoru forced Yuri to eat the half-eaten slice in her hand.
Yuri gulped audibly, which was worse: eating pineapple or facing Nikoru's wrath? Pineapples…were gross. Nikoru, when angered, was scarier than her (Yuri's) angered self. Sure, Yuri threw insults and harsh words, but she didn't physically harm them. Nikoru, on the other hand… Yuri felt a shiver crawl up her back and subconsciously rubbed her head where the ghost of a bruise once sat.
Pineapples… Angry Nikoru… Pineapples… Angry Nikoru…
Sighing in defeat, Yuri grimaced as she forced the evil little demon (not Hibird!) down. Why did someone decide to randomly slice pineapples?
Downing the bitter, now-cooling, drink in one gulp, Yuri got up and musted up her remaining energy to toss Gokudera out of his futon. She then took his previous spot and fell asleep instantaneously.
Nikoru chuckled slightly at her friend's antics. Being on better terms with Gokudera who managed to remain asleep, Nikoru grabbed a blanket and threw it over the bomber. She nodded in satisfaction. At least he wouldn't freeze to death…in spRing. Nikoru crawled over to her own futon and fell asleep after a few seconds.
The gang would need their sleep for the next day would surely take quite a bit out of the teenagers.
oOoOo
"Why do you have so many bentos?" Nikoru asked Yuri, making conversation while the guys spoke to Tsuna.
Yamamoto left early for a jog and went back to his place whilst Gokudera left quickly once he saw Bianchi in the middle of the night. Both boys left the so-called 'sleepover', leaving Yuri as the only guest actually sleeping over.
"Hmm, a secret," Yuri said brightly. She had stored most of the food Nana had made this morning in five rectangular bentos. Since it was a half-day, Yuri didn't pack her bag with any utensils needed for school, not like that was an excuse anyway.
After school, Yamamoto invited everyone to hang out in Namimori. Who knew that such a simple outing could turn out so tiRing? Lambo somehow became separated from the gang not even five minutes after they arrived. He fell asleep in the pet shop's display, then he stole a bra and wore it as glasses; Yuri cracked up and took pictures for future blackmail.
The gang went to the arcade next. Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Fuuta were playing a shooting game. Fuuta was currently beating Gokudera.
"HA! Some Mafioso you are, losing to a kid!" Yuri snickered and glomped Fuuta. Nikoru swiftly whacked Yuri's head and pried her off the cute boy.
Haru and Kyoko were talking and laughing, while Tsuna was busy chasing I-pin and Lambo. Yuri played against Nikoru in DDR, aka Dance Dance Revolution. A friend back in their world was obsessed with this game; he was one of Yuri's close male friends. A wave of home sickness washed over her.
After visiting a music store and taking pictures, the gang went outside to have a rest. Yuri made sure that she and Nikoru were seated right next to Tsuna and Kyoko.
FingeRing the milk tea she bought from the vending machines, Nikoru asked Yuri what happened back in the arcade.
Yuri smiled. "It's nothing."
Nikoru frowned deeply as a disapproving yet worried gaze was cast over at her friend. "Yuri, that smile of yours is fake. Don't smile like that." The older girl spoke firmly but not harshly.
Yuri instantly dropped her smile, her eyes were dull and her face was stoic. Nikoru knew her too well, she secretly wondered if Nikoru had Hyper Intuition. At least Yuri could show her real emotions now. "You wanna know why I became depressed, right?" At Nikoru's nod, Yuri sighed. "DDR, that instantly reminded me of Sagasemasu."
Nikoru understood. Sagasemasu and Yuri were like brother and sister, they were quite close. He was always modest and did random, but entertaining, things.
"Then, at the music store I heard the part 'Don't call my name' from Lady Gaga's Alejandro {A/N: That doesn't belong to me!} and it reminded me of him again. Always singing that chorus over and over again, he sang it so much that whenever people in our class hear it on the radio, they instantly think of him." Yuri laughed jovially, wiping away a few tears.
Nikoru chuckled and grinned hugely. She missed Yuri's laugh so much. Nowadays, Yuri only laughed when she was mocking or teasing someone. Nikoru had never heard her friend laugh so freely.
"When I thought of him, I began thinking of everyone else. I miss them so much. They're our 'Famiglia' after all. Right, Bossu?"
Yuri and Nikoru were that into Katekyo Hitman Reborn. They chose random people and named them after the anime characters. So far they had all the Guardians, and other individuals. Though, most of the chosen people didn't know it. Yuri was the Storm Guardian, it fit her so well.
The duo wandered into a silence, thinking of their friends. Yuri's mind began to drift away. "Are we ever going to get home? Or are we staying here forever?"
Nikoru pondered that. "Didn't you tell everyone that we were sent to a Japanese school?"
"Yeah. I felt so guilty lying to them."
Nikoru was about to voice comforting words to her Yuri, but an explosion sounded and reverberated throughout Namimori. Thick, black smoke ascended towards the sky from the building coincidentally right next to Tsuna's table.
Kyoko broke out of her stupor and screamed. She pointed towards something in the sky. Tsuna followed her gaze and screeched in shock as a flying body was falling in his direction.
Before the body could land on the brunette, Yuri shoved Tsuna away none too softly and caught the familiar figure. Yuri fell to the ground because of the impact, though it didn't create a crater like it would have done if Tsuna were still standing there.
"My apologies," Basil said regretfully as he faced the person who softened his blow. His eyes bulged slightly as Yuri stared at him back, smirking. The first thing Basil saw was her red and gold collar. He then noticed her dog ears. Basil repressed a shudder as he remembered her appearance last night. "Thou… Tis Sailor Star."
Yuri snickered and grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Herb-kun, I didn't know you could fly."
Tsuna was freaking out. Firstly, the boy who fell out of the sky just used 'thou' in the 21st century. Secondly, he called Yuri 'Sailor Star'; (Tsuna sweatdropped at the name) and the flying boy shuddered slightly when he saw her. The Tenth Vongola Boss inwardly sympathized with Basil. Yuri could make anyone shudder. And finally, Yuri seemed to know the mysterious boy too, she even called him 'Herb-kun'. Tsuna blanched. What a strange name.
The others soon appeared while Tsuna was mulling things over.
"This could be classified as sexual harassment," Yuri pointed out blankly as everyone took in their position. Basil was currently straddling Yuri, and while the girl looked calm, Basil flushed and hastily scrambled off of her.
Nikoru knelt down and placed a hand atop of Yuri's head. "That's the second time you've been in that position, right?" Nikoru grinned while Yuri gave a pointed stare at Yamamoto.
"VOI!"
Everyone's attention was diverted from the duo and was redirected towards the loud man. Squalo began swinging his sword, making gusts of air fly towards the gang. The wind caused clouds to form. Reborn took this chance to evacuate the girls and the children. When he told Yuri to leave, she refused vehemently.
"Nuh-uh, I'm not leaving. Reborn, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Besides, I need to be here just in case, and I can't to see Sharky again!" she cheered with a grin, her sky-blue eyes flashing.
"Reborn-san, I'll make sure this idiot won't cause too much damage." Nikoru's reassurance was far more comforting than Yuri's. Reborn nodded expressionlessly and took off.
Basil tried to escape with Tsuna, but Squalo jumped down and demanded to know who Tsuna was. When Basil didn't answer, Squalo ruthlessly struck him, sending the boy flying into a glass window.
Yuri winced. That would hurt, a lot. Before Squalo could frighten Tsuna any more, Yuri jumped in and pulled the same moves she used last night. Grinning, she watched as Squalo looked ready to explode. "We meet again, Transvestite-kun."
Tsuna watched in horror as the two conversed/screamed.
"I bet you're wondeRing who that girly-looking boy over there is," Yuri nodded in Tsuna's direction.
Squalo followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes.
Tsuna was mortified and frightened at the same time. Mortified because Yuri had called him girly without a second thought. And frightened because- well, anyone would be afraid if a guy wielding a sword popped out of nowhere who was practically reeking of blood lust.
"Well, I told you last night. That guy over there is Herb-kun's boyfriend. Don't be too jealous, Transvestite-kun."
Nikoru's ears perked up from her spot next to Tsuna. "Eh? Yaoi? Hmm…no one ever thought about SqualoXBasil before…" she trailed off, lost in her thoughts.
Tsuna flinched visibly. Since when did Nikoru get there?
Yuri snorted. "Horny fangirl."
"Only sometimes," Nikoru defended hastily.
"HA! You didn't even deny it!"
Nikoru valiantly resisted the urge to clobber her friend.
Squalo had enough. The girl, the very same girl from the previous night, clung onto his leg again. No one touched Superbi Squalo without getting their limbs cut off, no one.
Yuri shivered involuntarily. Something felt wrong. She noticed Squalo had become uncharacteristically quiet. Swallowing the lump rising in her throat, Yuri lifted her head cautiously and stared at Squalo's blazing, gray eyes. She was screwed. She practically felt the blood lust emitting from all over his body. Shit, she was soooo fucked.
Yuri didn't really care that Squalo was one of Varia's top assassins. She didn't care that he could inflict immense pain without regret. She only cared if she angered him. Yuri never liked getting on the wrong foot with people, even though it seemed like she always did. She hated it when people did things to her so malevolently. Sure, Squalo hurt people, but he only did that because it was his job, not out of spite.
Yuri instantly backed away from the scarily calm man, hoping that he wouldn't hurt her. She wanted to befriend everyone that played a major part in this world, which was basically the Vongola and their enemies, including Squalo.
Squalo noticed the shift of weight on his leg, the extra weight on his leg was gone. The girl was still within an arm's reach, so he stalked towards her, a crazed grin flashed on his features.
Yuri considered what her options were. She sucked at running, so that was marked off. She couldn't cling onto Squalo anymore for obvious reasons. And the only weapon she had had no ammo. Yuri made a mental note to pummel Mukuro later. So, she settled for the only option left; let Squalo cut her up from her seated position on the floor until someone saved her. How she loathed being the stereotypical damsel in distress. Yuri promised to find a tutor so she could train herself after the whole Squalo ordeal was over.
Squalo was still grinning as he raised his sword. He swung it down with all the power he could muster, thinking that the girl would run away. To his surprise, Yuri stared at him with firm, resolute eyes. This, however, did not falter his movements as the blade gained speed and hit its intended target.
Why was she so unlucky? Yuri gasped as the seaRing pain hit her. The blade tore through her school uniform and cut into her shoulder. She was thankful that her bone wasn't cut. It hurt so much, but she wouldn't give Squalo the satisfaction of seeing her whimper or cry in pain. She had cried enough tears of pain back in her childhood.
Squalo sneered and shouted insults at her. She wasn't worthy to be cut up by his sword. He slammed his foot atop of her hand which she used to hold her shoulder. The only reaction he received was a wince, the girl then glared at him. The glare was quite pathetic; it seemed more of an innocent gaze compared to Xanxus'.
He applied more pressure into his foot, not stopping until she screamed in agony. The girl only winced. Squalo was losing his patience, he raise his foot again, planning to slam it back down even harder. But he jumped away as multiple sticks of dynamite were thrown at him.
"VOOOI! Fight me, you brats!"
While Squalo leapt away from Yuri, Nikoru immediately dashed to her fallen friend and placed her atop of Blue: Maximized Version. They used the cloud of smoke as a cover up and made their exit.
"Yuri, I promised Reborn-san to take care of you, clinging onto the enemy's leg didn't help either," Nikoru chided the unconscious form of Yuri once she and Blue got away from battle-torn area. The yaoi fangirl held her palm out patiently by Blue's jaw.
The tiger was carrying the first aid-kit with his jaw. Nikoru found out that Blue could decrease or increase the size of the objects he touched; that was his power. The fully-grown Blue unhinged his jaw and allowed his owner to remove the box.
Nikoru tried her hardest to not breathe through her nose. She could spot the blood seeping out from Yuri's shoulder a mile away. Nikoru gagged slightly as she could practically taste the blood - the scent was too strong.
Thankfully, before she fainted again, one of Dino's subordinates placed a hand on her shoulder. Nikoru backed away so he could take Yuri.
The whole time while she watched Dino leave with Basil and Yuri to the hospital, Nikoru couldn't stop shaking. Once again, she was useless and everyone but her became injured.
oOoOo
Yuri was tired as hell. She opened her eyes and discovered that she wasn't in Yamamoto's room. She lifted her arms to rub her eyes but winced when a sharp pain travelled from her right shoulder and throughout her arm.
What happened? Oh, right. Yuri recollected images of Squalo arriving and cutting her shoulder, he even stepped on it. That long-haired bastard. Yuri moved her shoulder slightly and found out it was heavily bandaged and held in a sling. Shit, was it broken? A broken shoulder blade. Awesome.
What to do now… Yuri really didn't want to stay in the hospital room and wait for someone to notice she was awake. Fortunately, someone must have heard her unvoiced wish as Tsuna walked in.
"Yuri-san! You're up! Thank goodness." Tsuna noticeably relaxed as his shoulders slumped down.
Yuri managed a small smile in reply.
Dino and Romario entered next. The Bucking Bronco remembered the previous and first meeting he had with Yuri. He would never admit it, but Dino was slightly anxious and guilty. He was anxious because they hadn't really got along quite smoothly. And guilty because he doubted her alliance with Tsuna. The Cavallone boss was wondeRing what Yuri was thinking of so intensely.
Yuri was wondeRing what nickname she should give Dino. Uma-kun? {Translation: Horse-kun} Since most people identify him as 'Bucking Bronco'. Ino-kun? Oji? {T: prince} Hah, Belphegor would be out to claim that title. She settled for Uma-kun.
"Uma-kun." When Dino looked up at her, Yuri smirked. She loved it when people replied to anything if you looked at them. "My shoulder is broken, isn't it?"
Dino frowned, all nervousness was gone. He was acting like a true mafia boss. "Yes. It will take twelve weeks to heal."
The trio watched solemnly as Yuri tilted her head down, her fRinge shadowing her face. They suspected that she would be crying, after all, twelve weeks was a loooong time and Yuri wouldn't be able to do anything while it healed. The girl's shoulders started shaking and soft noises could be heard. Was she sobbing?
Tsuna walked up to Yuri and placed a hand on her uninjured shoulder, giving her a sense of comfort. To everyone's shock, Yuri began chucking softly.
The chuckles turned into laughter.
The laughter turned into loud cackles.
Soon, the trio watched in horror as Yuri laughed insanely as she clutched her stomach with the arm that wasn't in a sling.
"JUST YOU WAIT, SQUALO! Once I'm all better, I'll come after you!" After the insane laughter calmed down to soft snickers and ceased altogether, Yuri took a deep breath and hoped no one else was as injured as badly as she was. "Was Nikoru hurt?"
"No, she was the only one who remained uninjured," Dino replied, hiding his surprise at the instant mood swing with a cough.
"How about Herb-kun?" All three had confused faces. "Uh, Basil," Yuri clarified.
"He's currently unconscious. But rest assured; he'll be better soon. His injuries are far better than yours, though." Dino surprised yet pleased by Yuri's thoughtfulness of the boy she met recently.
"Wow, thank you for that enlightening comment." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"You're welcome," Dino replied seriously with a grin.
Yuri facepalmed. He was denser than Nikoru, if that was even possible. Why did people never understand sarcasm?
There were three soft knocks on the door. Romario opened it, allowing entrance to the petite amber-eyed girl. Nikoru nodded to the others in greeting and her smile fell as she took in Yuri's condition.
The patient flashed a grin and waited for Nikoru to grin back or scold her for her foolishness. To her surprise, Nikoru simply asked for the trio to leave so she could have a private moment with her friend. Dino obliged to her reasonable request and shooed the others out.
Tsuna ran home before Dino could remind him of the Vongola Rings, whereas the Bucking Bronco left the hospital calmly with Romario. Once Nikoru made sure that no one was lingeRing in the hallway, she closed the door firmly and made her way to Yuri.
Nikoru sat down on one of the plastic chairs beside Yuri's bed and propped her elbows atop of her knees. Her hands connected together, forming a bridge as she rested her hand on the interlocking of her small fingers.
"Yuri…" Nikoru muttered softly, a hint of worry was detected in her tone of voice. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized suddenly, shaking as she did so. Without waiting for Yuri to continue, Nikoru continued. "I let you get injured, a broken shoulder too! Twelve weeks is so long. Too long. Everyone else was somehow injured on involved, while I watched from the sidelines and wallowed up in self-pity." She inhaled an unsteady breath. "I'm useless," Nikoru breathed out and looked up at Yuri.
Yuri died a little inside. Her best friend, her best friend who helped others all the time without asking for help or rejecting their pleas, had just called herself useless. Yuri's gaze hardened but softened slightly at her friend's tear-filled eyes. Yuri swung her legs over the side of the white bed. "Nikoru, come up here," she demanded, leaving no room for protests.
Nikoru obeyed as she stood up and edged closer towards Yuri. A resounding smack cut through the heavy tension of the room. Yuri had just slapped Nikoru.
"Don't," Yuri ground out with gritted teeth. She locked her blazing eyes with Nikoru. "Don't ever say you're useless. You're not useless at all. Why else would I keep you around?" Yuri's face fell. "That…didn't come out right."
Nikoru grinned. "Sure it didn't," she teased with a smile. Nikoru wiped away her tears and chuckled. Leave it to Yuri to cheer her up. But was her 'mistake' intentional?
"Hmph," Yuri sniffed. "Those bastards calling you useless all the time, if we were back in our world, then I would give them an earful."
"Earful doesn't mean shout at them until they go deaf."
Yuri adopted shifty eyes. "I know that."
The two began talking about miscellaneous things, when Reborn hopped onto the middle of Yuri's hospital bed.
"Ciaossu."
"Yo." Yuri smiled at the home tutor.
"Nice to see you again, Reborn-san," Nikoru was less casual and more polite than Yuri as she greeted the toddler.
"Yuri," The hitman's voice lost all playfulness and turned into a commanding one. "Give me your hand."
Yuri silently obeyed and held out her hand, palm facing up.
Reborn dropped something small into it.
Yuri cocked an eyebrow when she felt something cold, something metallic.
Reborn turned slightly in Nikoru's direction, he wordlessly gestured for her to do the same.
Nikoru didn't hesitate as she followed Reborn's order.
He repeated the same process. Once he was done, he swiftly jumped back to his previous position on Yuri's hospital bed.
Nikoru and Yuri exchanged wary yet befuddled glances.
"Uh, Reborn-san, what are these?" Nikoru questioned as she inspected the object.
"You guess," Reborn supplied mischievously as he smirked a little.
The girl had a Ring each in of their palms. They were the same as the Vongola Rings, the only difference were the symbols in the middle.
On Yuri's Ring was a crescent moon facing the left. The moon was dark gray. It was so dark that it could be mistaken for black. It was unlike the other Rings, the other Rings' symbols were a lighter gray.
Nikoru's Ring had a crescent moon symbol as well, except her moon was facing the opposite to Yuri's. Like the other Guardians' Rings, her symbol was a light gray.
"They're Vongola Rings. But…we've never seen them before," Yuri said as she slipped her Ring on. She gazed at in awe.
"That's right." Reborn spoke in a firm tone. "However, unlike Tsuna and the others, your Rings are complete, not Half-Rings.
"Nikoru, you have the White Moon Ring, while Yuri has the Dark Moon Ring. There are two separate Rings since the moon has two sides itself."
Yuri frowned. Reborn didn't explain anything so far, he just added more confusion.
"The white side is seen as 'heavenly' or 'beautiful'. Nikoru, you look at the finer things in life, the positive side." Reborn smiled slightly at the girl. Nikoru blushed slightly and avoided eye contact. "The dark side of the moon is known as 'evil' or 'corrupt'. Yuri, you witness and advise the negative side of things, the harsh reality.
"The White Moon Guardian protects and defends, whereas the Dark Moon Guardian destroys and creates calamity. You both are the first Moon Guardians in existence. Your duty is to stay hidden from the other Guardians, but help them secretly. You must hide your Rings from Tsuna and the rest. They will pose as meaningless trinkets, not priceless Vongola Rings."
"How can we hide it from sight when we must wear it at all times?" Nikoru inquired. She slipped her Ring on and smiled.
"Blue can help you with that," Reborn said with a smirk as he grabbed Blue out of nowhere.
"What? Your tiger can shrink and grow and do the same things with whatever it touches, what more can it do?" Yuri scowled and flopped back onto the bed.
Nikoru smirked smugly. Yuri was so jealous, but she would never admit it.
"Blue can create a camouflage over the Rings, making them seem like regular jewellery," Reborn informed.
Blue leapt over towards Nikoru's ring hand. He swung his small tail over the Ring, as though wiping it. The change was instant. Nikoru's Ring was no longer a Vongola Ring, it now looked like a normal ring with a rose on top.
The skillful animal did the same for Yuri. She now had a lily replacing the Vongola shield.
Nikoru chuckled. "Blue is really talented."
Blue purred contently in response.
Yuri huffed and pouted.
"Reborn-san, how come there aren't any other Moon Guardians?" Nikoru asked patiently as she stroked Blue. "You said it yourself, 'you both are the first Moon Guardians in existence'."
"Ah," Reborn hummed in acknowledgment. "What I am about to tell you is for your ears only, no one else must know. Understand?"
The girls nodded. They both secretly knew Reborn had silently added an "or else".
The hitman inched his head down, satisfied. He began retelling the story he heard not long ago. "Rumours state that Vongola Primo was visited by a 'witch' who gave him the Moon Rings a few years after all his Guardians were chosen.
"The witch supposedly told him that there would only be two Moon Guardians in existence, and those two wouldn't be arriving for years to come. She informed him with vague details, Primo wisely decided to write all of it down.
"He hid the Rings, along with the note, in the most obvious place. What's better than to hide two rings along with other rings?" Reborn smirked as he finished his narrative.
There was a pause as Yuri and Nikoru digested the story.
"Hide rings with other rings?" Yuri repeated. "Meaning that he hid them in plain sight… You mean it was in the box along with the Vongola Rings the whole time?" she asked disbelievingly.
Reborn's smirk grew slightly as he nodded.
Nikoru was lost in thought. "Witch…?" she muttered quietly.
"Aka the dumbass that sent us to Takeshi's room," Yuri supplied. She was still angry at Majo for sending them to such an inconvenient place.
"Eh? Majo-san went to Primo's time? Wow, she must be really powerful," Nikoru praised with awe-filled eyes.
Yuri snorted. "More like she got help from someone else," she muttered darkly, but let the subject drop. "Now we know all there is to know about these Rings." She held her ring hand up, but winced slightly as a shot pain hit her. "Che, damn shoulder." A thought struck her. "Hey, Reborn…can you call Shamal here?"
A flash of understanding passed through Reborn's large eyes. He agreed and proceeded to call the womanizing doctor. Leon transformed into a green cell phone and blinked his orange eyes.
"Eh? Why do you want Shamal? Is it because of your shoulder? But I thought you hated perverts…" Nikoru babbled on, leaving no room for Yuri to answer.
"Okay, in order; so he can use the Trident Mosquito on my shoulder, yes, I do, but he is a good doctor." Yuri admitted bitterly.
The door was thrust open rather loudly with a bang. All heads snapped over to the new-comer and had mixed feelings as Shamal stood there. His bored demeanor soon lit up as he took in the current occupants of the room. Immediately, he ran over to Nikoru.
"NIKORU-CHAAAAAAAN!" Shamal squealed in a non-manly way and puckered up his lips.
Fortunately for Nikoru, Blue sprung into action and clawed Shamal's face quite viciously. Once there were three scratch marks across his face diagonally, the small tiger jumped back into Nikoru's lap (when did she sit down?) with his tail hung high.
Rubbing the shallow wounds, the perverted doctor turned to an amused Reborn. "So, why am I here?" he asked rudely, his expression turning back into a surly one.
"Right!" Yuri chirped brightly. She figured that she should be nice to the person who could potentially save her twelve important weeks of her life, even if he was a giant pervert. "Dr. Shamal, can you heal my shoulder? You are a doctor, after all." Yuri smiled, seemingly innocent, though on the inside, she was killing the lecherous man over and over again. How dare he make a move on her Baka-Bossu.
The mosquito-using hitman turned abruptly serious. His eyes scanned over Yuri's injury. "A fractured shoulder, it seems," Shamal muttered his observation. "Well, I could heal it, but there will be some side-effects."
Yuri's lips thinned slightly. It depended on how serious the side-effects were. "What are they?"
"Whenever you become surprised, excited, or embarrassed, you will grow…cat ears and a tail."
The room went eerily quiet.
"HAH?" Yuri's normal behavior was back as she exclaimed rather loudly.
Shamal was unfazed as he continued his explanation. "After a few weeks, you will turn into a cat. The transformation will last a few days, after that you will be perfectly normal. Even when the twelve weeks are up, you will still have the capabilities of turning into a cat."
Yuri mulled this new piece of information over. Whenever she was excited, embarrassed, or surprised, she would grow cat ears and a tail. This would stay with her throughout the rest of her life. Turning into a cat could have useful purposes, like infiltrating Varia HQ and tearing up all of Squalo's clothes. Yuri smirked deviously.
"Turning into a cat? Awesome! Woot! Bring it on! It's just like Ichigo from Tokyo Mew Mew," the girl cried out excitedly.
Nikoru silently agreed. It was a lot like Tokyo Mew Mew. Almost as if some bored author suddenly decided to steal that idea. Whoa, where did that come from? The amber-eyed girl was lost in thought, the line between imagination and reality fading.
Once Shamal finished administrating the cure to Yuri, the part-cat girl returned the dog ears and tail to Reborn, saying that it would clash with her cat transformation. She kept the collar though.
She fished her bag which was placed under the hospital bed and turned to Nikoru. "Oi, let's go to Kokuyo!" she ordered gleefully.
Nikoru snapped out of her reverie. "Kokuyo? Why?"
"So we can make friends with her." Yuri's eyes softened and smiled slightly. "That's why I brought all these bentos."
Nikoru was still somewhat confused, but shrugged it off. She smiled and let Yuri lead the way. "Hey, why did you want to be rid of the broken shoulder so eagerly?"
Yuri's bubbly mood turned into a somewhat solemn and contemplative one. "You remember how I broke my ankle and it took eight weeks to heal?" she inquired as they continued walking.
"Yeah." Nikoru remembered very well. The first two weeks Yuri was absent from school left the class extremely quiet. Yuri was always the chatter box in class.
"Well, the first couple weeks that I broke it, people kept asking me what happened. I lost my patience after the first twenty people and told them that I fell off a building."
Nikoru chuckled. "Five people believed you."
Yuri gave an amused snort. "Anyway, all I saw in everyone's eyes was pity. I didn't want it. It wasn't like I was gonna die, so what was so sad about it? Each person winced or grimaced when I told them it was broken. They treated me as if I was paralyzed, like I couldn't do anything myself. While the thought was appreciated, I was fine. I don't want all that to happen again. One time was enough."
The corners of Nikoru's lips twitched upwards. She admired Yuri for her pride and independence. It was often that Yuri showed her profound self, this was an example.
"I also want to train so that I can kick Squalo's ass. Oh, and I would always need people's help to get changed. Living with guys isn't so great," Yuri murmured thoughtfully.
Nikoru sweat-dropped. She took back what she said about being profound. That comment Yuri made just then was incredibly shallow.
"Shamal…" Reborn began, tone disapproving but black eyes dancing with amusement. "You purposely left something out." He smirked as he watched the two girls laugh merrily from the hospital window.
Shamal grunted in acknowledgment. "It would be much more amusing if she experienced it herself. I'm sure you agree with me there. Don't you, Reborn?" The womanizer gazed at the toddler.
Reborn's smirk only grew in response.
oOoOo
Chrome Dokuro sat quietly in her corner, mulling things over. She glanced at the Half-Ring she received, awed at its beauty. She was no longer Nagi, Nagi was gone and Chrome Dokuro took her place. A minuscule sigh escaped her lips. It was so silent…and lonely. But she was used to the solitude, she would get over it.
Unfortunately, two people would be unhappy with her sadness.
Her ears twitched slightly as loud bangs could be heard within the building in which she occupied. Chrome cocked her head to the side as a muffled yelp resounded. Strange. Neither Ken nor Chikusa would be that clumsy.
Nonetheless, Chrome didn't let her guard down. Suffice to say, she was quite surprised when two girls walked in. Well, one girl was bunny-hopping. Chrome stared intensely at the girl who had cat ears and a tail.
Yuri perked up as she spotted the shy girl. Her black ears twitched slightly as her tail swung about. She was excited. Chrome was just too cute! Yuri almost burst with glee at the extreme level of cuteness. The cat-girl quickly ran over to the fascinated girl and tackled her with a hug.
"Wah, too cute!" Yuri squealed in delight.
Chrome blinked.
Yuri pulled back from the hug but didn't move away. She sat down in front of Chrome, her eyes glistening. "Well, you're probably wondering who we are! I'm Kuraihana Yuri, nice to meet you!" The bubbly girl smiled.
"I'm…Chrome Dokuro," Chrome introduced softly.
The two otakus didn't fail to notice her hesitation in giving away her name.
Nikoru strolled forward, a warm smile in place. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Shirobara Nikoru. Please excuse this girl's idiocy." Nikoru continued smiling as she jabbed a finger in Yuri's cheek, who grinned widely. "She likes cute things."
"I see." Chrome blinked. The cat-girl thought she was cute? The purple-eyed girl flushed slightly.
Yuri watched as Chrome blushed. "SO CUTE!" She hugged Chrome again, which caused her to redden even more. Nikoru dropped a fist onto Yuri's head. "Ahem, anyway," Yuri recomposed herself with a cough. "Mukuro informed me about you. I was wondering what he was busying himself with the past few days. So, here we are!"
"Mukuro-sama did?" Chrome murmured softly, eyes widening marginally is surprise.
Yuri nodded. The guilt was eating at her on the inside. Lying to such a cute, innocent and, not to mention, cute person like Chrome was shameful. Did she mention that Chrome was cute? "Yep! I can't believe he made you cut your hair into this- this pineapple hairstyle." Yuri's lip curled up in disgust. Mukuro had no taste.
"Eh? Oh…I don't mind it," Chrome whispered softly.
Yuri gazed at the cute girl. Caught up in the moment, Yuri pinched the other girl's cheeks, while muttering 'so cute' over and over again. "Hey~ Chrome, do you like cats?"
"Yes. I like cats…very much," she admitted with a tiny blush.
Yuri hummed thoughtfully. Chrome was shy and paused a lot. She was improving, but slowly. Oh well, once they became closer, hopefully she would lose her hesitation. "You see my ears and tail? Well, they're real! Go on, touch them!"
Chrome bit her lip nervously. She slowly reached out her hand, after a short pause, she chanced a quick tap on one of Yuri's ears and pulled back hastily. It was warm.
Yuri smiled, a victorious glint in her eyes. Chrome's shyness was slowly fading.
"Yuri." Nikoru was standing a little away from the other two. "Sawada-san asked me to go on an errand. Apparently, someone ate her pineapples as a midnight snack." A hint of smugness was barely detectable in Nikoru's tone. Yuri scowled. "We have to go buy some more."
"Eh? But I wanna stay with Chrome…" Yuri whined childishly. "And I hate pineapples," she added, as if it would help her win the argument.
Chrome inwardly agreed. She didn't like pineapples either. "I don't want you to get into trouble. So you should go." A small smile crept on the female illusionist's lips.
Yuri sighed in defeat. "Alright. But first," she grabbed three bentos from her bag and placed them in front of Chrome. "You look as if you haven't eaten a decent meal in a while. Give the other two to the idiots."
Seeing Chrome's befuddled face, Nikoru clarified. "She means Ken and Chikusa," she supplied kindly.
Understanding dawned in Chrome's purple orbs and she nodded fractionally.
"I promise to visit you again, Chrome. After all, we're friends now. You'll never be alone again." Yuri grinned and left with Nikoru.
Chrome watched as the sapphire-haired girl left after her friend. A smile donned her lips. She had friends. It was thanks to Mukuro-sama…and her mysterious new boss. Her Vongola Half-Ring beamed as one of the few rays of sunlight managed to shine through the broken windows.
Maybe, just maybe, her second chance at life would prove worthwhile.
Author's rants: Damn, Chrome is too KYOOOOOOT! Reviews? :3
Published date: 23-07-10 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Basil! :D
Edited date: 10-10-10 (OMFG!) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Naruto and Xanxus~! ;D