Wish
Time: Years before the future arc, after Shoichi has regained his memories of the future and met Tsuna.
Every world but this one.
The phrase echoes in Shoichi's mind, flooding his senses with grief and despair. He bites the nail of his right thumb hard, brow furrowed in deep thought.
How? How would he do it? How could he, even with Tsunayoushi, even with the Vongola, take down Byakuran if he remained undefeated in every other parallel world? He was nothing but a simple man with a huge love for mechanics and games, nothing but Byakuran's best friend, nothing but possibly the last remaining shred of hope humanity had and yet all at the same time nothing but hopelessly average. Shoichi could weep at how easily and swiftly the infinite ways their plans could go wrong came to mind compared to his meagre number of plans that would go right, and even those he weren't sure he could count on.
Shoichi knew he looked like a wreck to passer-bys; his thick mass of red curls were left unbrushed, and his constant raking of hand through it wasn't helping the case either, ragged band shirt and jeans that looked like he had slept in them for days, worn sneakers pacing quickly on the pavement with a face looking like he was walking to his own personal hell, combined with eye bags and a worried frown drawn on his face. He personally felt like a wreck, inside and out. Walking aimlessly around his neighbourhood under the hot sun was probably not helping his looks or attitude either.
But who cared? Who cared that he was a wreck, was breaking down mentally more and more each day? Who cared that Shoichi was so scared and anxious over his role in the future that his stomach hadn't stopped aching for days, not even when he slept. Who cared that painkillers and sleeping pills had become his next best friend during these few days? Who cared when there was so much more important things to care about? Shoichi growled lowly in frustration. His mind felt like it was literally being fried at all the thinking he was doing. Adding on to the stress and worries that had slowly piled up during nights of insomnia and days of planning, both his mind and stomach had formed a repetitive dull beat of pain.
Sighing, he slowed to a stop, a weary heave of air escaping his lungs as he gazed up at the sky helplessly. "Someone help me." He called to the blue sky without thought, voice filled with plead. He dropped his head almost immediately afterwards, realising how inane and absurd he sounded right now, cheeks flushing red. As his head drooped, he spotted a house he'd never seen before in his neighbourhood just next to him. Curiously, he lifted his head and walked towards it, facing one palm flat against the side of one of the wooden gate posts(but there was no gate. how weird.) as he leaned forward cautiously to take a better look.
The earthy coloured house had both western and Japanese aspects elegantly woven into its architect, with a normal Japanese main house in the front and an obviously Western inspired smaller tower-like extension connecting to the second floor and fixtured atop the roof over the common wooden landing to the second floor. A quarter of the main house's second level's right side was neatly modelled into a balcony, and the commonly tiled roof was replaced by a Western jade green roof-light maroon for the main house-instead, with thin metal beams designed in criss cross patterns across the roofs. All roofs also sported a crescent moon fixed on the tip of a thin metal rod placed in the middle, matching the ones decorating the top of the wooden gate posts Shoichi's hand was currently pressing against. Upon closer inspection, hidden behind the tall black fence that reached all around the parameters of the land that the house occupied was a long common wooden landing that all Japanese houses would look uncompleted without stretched languidly along the main house's front side, stopped by the short stairs leading down the landing towards the front yard.
Finishing off the house's enchanting design were the nicely polished glass windows, decorated with a triangular shaped frame atop each one with a circle design in the middle; two along the second level from what Shoichi could see. The windows adorning the tower was much simpler: windows with plain brown frames in a single row circling the higher part of the tower. Shoichi stared at the house for a moment, fascinated and slightly weirded out. He could have sworn that before this entire area was an empty, deserted parking lot.
Unknowingly, Shoichi had somehow made his way along the cobblestone pathway leading to the double glass door, whose frame design above it matched the windows on the second floor, one hand already hesitatingly pushing it open. Three surprised faces turned around to face him when he entered, two of which looked uncannily similar.
The two similar girls with a glint of anticipation in their eyes were clinging onto a taller male clad in a school uniform, hands full with bags of groceries. The boy had neatly combed black hair, a sharp contrast to his brightly coloured heterochromatic eyes which held a shine of annoyance and curiousity. The girls however, had a completely different dressing from head to toe compared to his neat and dully coloured attire. One had blue hair tied into long pony tails that lightly graced the floor, its colour alike the sky Shoichi had been staring at just mere minutes ago, while the other's hair was short and bubblegum pink, the locks curling around the girl's soft heart shaped face gently with two small buns cutely placed on either side of her head.
Their eyes matched their hair, yet their clothing did not. The blue haired child was donned in an off shoulder black dress which had puffy sleeves and a skirt with layers upon layers of frilly translucent cloth that grew in opacity the closer it got to her knees, finished off with a big black ribbon facing the back tied around her waist, it's tails trailing on the floor. The pink haired child was dressed in contrasting white, donning a high neck long sleeved shirt that split down the middle starting from the middle of her waist and flowed down and backwards, growing longer and longer as it went until it swept the floor like her twin's ribbon. She also wore an identical layered skirt to her sister, as well as matching ballet flats.
The girls were the first to open their mouths, wide grins on their faces as they exclaimed "A guest for the mistress! A guest for the mistress!" in a sing song voice in unison, excitedly rushing towards a dumbfounded Shoichi, arms outstretched and the schoolboy forgotten. Thankfully, it was the same boy that held the twins back and prevented them from jumping onto the dreadfully confused Shoichi.
"You're scaring the customer Maru, Moro." He chided, trying to sound stern, yet his soft eyes giving him away. "Go put these groceries away and call Yuuko-san for me. I'll bring him in."
"Alright~" Maru and Moro sang before running into the house, yelling at the top of their lungs for 'Mistress'. Blinking owlishly, Shoichi awkwardly fumbled around, trying to find something to say. He hadn't meant to come in, and what did this boy mean by customer? Oh no oh no oh no, he didn't have any money with him, how embarrassing, he had to explain, had to tell-
"It's alright." The boy's soft voice cut into Shoichi's cluttered thoughts, a gentle smile on his face. "If you've entered the shop, it must mean you have a wish. You don't have to worry about any lack of finances, Yuuko-san will most likely request for another price in return for your wish anyway." The sentence that started off reassuring ended off on a slightly snarky note, making Shoichi laugh nervously.
"Here, it's this way to the living room." The boy gestured for a Shoichi to follow, of which he obediently complied. "My name is Watanuki, im the shopkeeper's...assistant. Well, most times i cook so maybe im actually the chef. Or cleaner? Nanny? Well, i certainly do take care of everyone here." Watanuki muttered darkly, but there was fondness hidden beneath the obvious exasperation he expressed that made Shoichi smile.
"Im Irie Shoichi. You can call me Shoichi." Shoichi replied politely, offering Watanuki a small shaky smile. Watanuki returned the smile with one of his own, but just as he opened his mouth to say something else, a silky voice interrupted their conversation.
"And im the shopkeeper who will be granting your wish, Ichihara Yuuko." The sultry voice belonged to a lean and very well-endowed lady who had a hand perched on the top of a chair of the curiously under furnished living room. She was clad in a wine red kimono that had delicate ebony roses in full bloom decorating her sleeves and lower regions of the kimono, held in place by a plain black obi and white obijime which had a butterfly clip perched neatly on the side. Her long sweeping hair mainly cascaded down her back, with only the left side done up in loops ranging in different sizes with a mini bunch of red roses clipping the tied up hair in place. Cherry red lips were curved in a smile, a manicured hand directing Shoichi to sit opposite the chair her other hand was place on.
Feeling compelled to follow this strangely entrancing lady's silent instructions, Shoichi hurriedly sat down, shifting nervously as he watched her sit across him. Watanuki entered not long after, hands full of tea. As he quietly served the drink, Yuuko's confidence seemed to rub off Shoichi, allowing him to fully comprehend the situation and decipher what was going on with what short introduction he was given about this shop.
After Watanuki had excused himself, Yuuko's patient look was all the encouragement he needed. Leaning over the table that separated them, Shoichi met Yuuko's intense red eyes with his own determined green ones.
"I have a wish that i'm willing to pay any price for to be granted."
A/N: Im so sorry i disappeared without a notice for three months! School started three months ago and ive been really overwhelmed by all the work plus i kinda lost my muse for writing for quite awhile. I'll do my best to update this once a week, but no guarantees! I did this chapter in a crossover with XXXholic, hope no one minds!