HAPPY THANKSGIVING GUYS! HOPE YOU GOT INTO A FOOD COMA! Speaking of comas... Hahahaha. Hope you guys like this chapter. It's long...a lot happens in this chapter and that doesn't mean a lot won't happen in the next chapter too. I'm hoping to start the Varia Arc in the next chapter.
School is going to be starting up again for me pretty soon, so I won't have much free time anymore. *sighs* We'll get through this guys.
Hope this chapter turned out good! (when do I not hope) Enjoy!
This - Is when people are communicating via mind. [Basically italic and bold mean this.]
"This" - This is for documents, remembering other character's words when not in a flashback, on phone talks or earphone, notes, texts, and letters.
Miyu's POV-
"So cool!" I shouted, amazed at the home run Yamamoto just hit.
"It's amazing, his home runs are so consistent. The other team is getting a run for their money," Mamoru said.
"Run for their money? Are they gambling?," I asked.
"It's a figure of speech," my brother said to me. I sat down, looking a few rows down to where my friends were, well: Tsuna, Gokudera, Kyoko, Haru, Reborn, Ryohei, Fuuta, Bianchi, Lambo, and I-Pin. SeijiChi, Tsuyuki, Jun, and Mamoru were sitting with me.
I did my best to avoid Tsuna all day. Instead of going to class, I stayed in the nurse's office all day, helping Dr. Shamal and learning more on my medical studies. I did cry for awhile in the nurse's office, and I had to plead for Dr. Shamal not to send one of his trident mosquitoes to Tsuna, but I can't show myself to Tsuna. Not when I shall cry in mere inches of him.
I pinched my arm hard, trying not to cry. Tears were on the brim of my eyes. Mamoru slapped my hand away.
"Stop doing that," he said to me. "You're only hurting yourself. Why are you doing that?"
I can't tell him that Tsuna just broke our friendship!
"IF YOU GUYS DON'T WORK HARD, I'LL START A RIOT!" I heard Gokudera shout.
"He must really want Namimori to win," Jun commented. "I do as well..."
"That's nice of Gokudera-san," I said, happy that the subject has changed.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR!" Tsuna shouted.
Aren't you supposed to cheer for your team?
"WHY DON'T YOU QUIT BASEBALL AND DO BOXING!?," Ryohei shouted.
"Hmpfth, never a dull moment with this guy," Mamoru muttered, as if embarrassed that his best friend is a boxing fanatic.
Gokudera and Ryohei started fighting. Bianchi caught a foul ball and Gokudera fainted upon seeing his sister.
"That area is so noisy...," said a guy near my group.
"They're just children," SeijiChi said to that guy and the two held a conversation.
"Oneechan, can we go buy some popcorn at the food stand?," Jun asked me, pulling on my pants.
"Sure," I agreed.
"I'm coming too," Mamoru said as the three of us descended the stairs. As we were going down, I turned towards Tsuna's group and our eyes met for a second before I turned my head away, not wanting to upset him any more that I have.
Once we were on the walkway, Jun ran off to the food stand.
"Hey! Don't run there by yourself!" Mamoru shouted, running after him. I jogged behind my brother, but then something grabbed my hand the second my body shivered and I sensed a murderous intent. That all went away as soon as it came. I looked down and saw a young child holding my hand. He looked up at me innocently.
What was that...it reminded me of Mukuro...
"Ah! Mi-kun, don't grab random stranger's hands! I'm so sorry," a woman who I assumed was this little boy's mother said to me, making her son let go of me.
"It's fine, I have a younger brother his age," I said, ruffling the little boy's hair. I crouched down, my hands on his shoulders. "Make sure you cheer for Namimori Middle's team. If you don't, how can we win?"
He smiled at me and nodded.
"Mi-kun, big brother is working hard right now. What should we make to celebrate him for dinner?," his mom asked.
"Um...Hamburger!" he replied as I stood, waving bye as I went to find my own younger brother.
"Again...Someday," I heard the little boy say, making me stop in my tracks for a second before I continued on.
I'm just hearing things right now.
When I got home, I was restrained by rules. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere after school without my parent's or SeijiChi's permission. I had to have Mamoru, Tsuyuki, or SeijiChi with me when I go out any time from my house that is during the after school times. Oh, and don't forget all the tests my father put me through to see if I was raped or pregnant. I'm sure I would remember being raped. I was nearly raped.
I didn't even care anymore. What I was feeling right now...why did it feel so familiar? I felt like running away. I hated myself. I didn't want to be me. I just showered and went to sleep instantly. I couldn't take this emotional turmoil I was in. It was wearing me out.
The next day, I dropped Jun at school with Mamoru, as we had to do now since Momoka was still in confinement. I was reading a small, thick book on the human digestive and respiratory systems as the two of us walked in silence.
Mamoru dropped me at my classroom, kissed my head and left for his own room. I went to my desk, not seeing Tsuna here yet. I put my stuff down and left the room, heading for the reception room.
Hibari and I had tea together alone this morning in silence. He knew I skipped classes yesterday, but he wasn't asking me why. I had my absences excused due to job studies, which isn't a complete lie. When the bell rang, I cleaned up my tea set, and played with Hibari's new little bird. It was weird that the little bird's previous owner was a creep and now Hibari was its master. Hibird was its name, at least, that's what me and the students of Namimori Middle called it.
I left the reception room after awhile and headed to the infirmary. Dr. Shamal wasn't there but he left me a note to "hold down the fort." I sat there for the past hour doing nothing but studying until a boy walked in. He looked to be a first year student.
He looked surprised to see me. "You're not the nurse..."
"He stepped out for a bit. Is there anything I can help you with? I help out from time to time here," I said, standing from my seat.
He looked about ready to say something, but then he shut up and ran out of the room shouting, "You can't help me!"
"..."
That doesn't usually happen to me...
I continued on my studies, pushing what happened to the back of my mind.
After a few hours, I grew distracted from my studies. I ended up examining the room, as if it was more interesting than what I was studying.
""...you ruined everything...""
I flinched, nearly dropping a flask. I rubbed my hand, walking over to the window.
""Why did you have to tell Kyoko-chan about my crush on her? I thought you were my friend!"""
I turned around, seeing Tsuna, no, not the real Tsuna; it was a figment of my imagination, but that didn't mean I didn't feel as if it was concrete.
"I am your friend! I was just trying to help you!" I cried out, putting a hand on my shoulder; the same shoulder he rudely bumped into.
""Well you just ruined everything. I hate you! Don't talk to me. EVER. AGAIN.""
"Tsuna-san!" I wobbled off to the side, slipping a bit, my shoulder crashing against a small cart that held Dr. Shamal's tools.
The sharp sounds of metal hitting the ground chimed all around me as I fell onto the floor with all of Dr. Shamal's tools and the fallen cart. I held myself, shaking as I cried.
It hurts. Why does it hurt so much?
"Make it stop..."
I opened my eyes a small bit, my hand reaching out without my conscious' consent. I shut my eyes and gasped, my muscles relaxing.
I slowly opened my eyes, giving out a small scream in horror as I saw blood trickling down my arm. I sat up, panicking before I remembered that it would heal in a matter of hours. I calmed down, aimlessly watching my blood flow out of the wound I have inflicted on myself. A bloody scalpel in my hand. I barely felt it.
How fascinating...
A sense of nostalgia washed through me and I couldn't stop myself from bringing the scalpel back to my injured arm. Why could I feel such a sense of relief from something as bad as this?
As I got the tip into my wrist, the door slammed open.
"Miyu! Put that down!" Dr. Shamal shouted, lunging for me.
"NO!" I cried out, only halfway through my new desired cut before he was able to take away the scalpel and push away any other harmful items. "YAAAH!" I clutched my head, feeling a thumping sensation.
FLASHBACK START
"Nee-chan! What's wrong?," Momoka asked me.
"I can't take it anymore... I've endured long enough in this retched place," I said, shoving clothes into a bag.
"What are you doing?" Momoka looked through my bag.
I looked at Momoka. "I'm running away." On my thighs, wrists, and arms were healing cuts; probably two hours fresh. "Oniichan is coming with me... Momo-chan, you'll come too, won't you dear?"
"Y-Yes! I'll follow you anywhere!"
FLASHBACK END
I opened my eyes. I was laying on something. I shot out of whatever I was laying on, afraid I was taken by a rapist again. That wasn't the case though...sort of. I was in the infirmary, laying on one of the beds. My left arm was bandaged up to my forearm to my palm, around my thumb.
"Don't tell me you did that to yourself because of Tsuna," Dr. Shamal said to me, gaining my attention. He was sitting on the end of my bed. I looked back at my arm sadly.
"I don't know...before I knew it... I lost control...," I said quietly.
I thought back to what I saw before I blacked out.
Was that a dream? Another hallucination?
Dr. Shamal sighed, "You're slowly showing signs of depression. Do you need me to prescribe any anti-depressants?"
A pain shot through my head. I clutched my head, shouting, "NO!"
"Okay, okay, calm down," he said to me softly, standing by my side now, rubbing my back.
Dr. Shamal's POV-
It's happening now. How long before it all comes back to her?
I looked at my cellphone, wondering if I should report this critical information. I decided against it.
He isn't going to like it if I tattle.
"Miyu, drink some water and rest. I'll have Tsuyuki watch over you. I need to step out for awhile."
She nodded slightly, her hair covering her face like the girl from The Ring.
Miyu's POV-
I woke up again. Tsuyuki was at my bedside, watching without blinking.
"What time is it...?"
"Lunch," she replied, helping me to sit up. "Would you like me to retrieve your lunch?"
I nodded. "I'll come with you. I feel oddly nauseous in this room right now."
Seeing as I could walk just fine, Tsuyuki and I walked side by side to classroom 2-A. Thankfully Tsuna wasn't there. After I grabbed my lunch, Tsuyuki and I ate silently in my classroom. I never realized how hungry I was. I finished my food in mere minutes. My stomach grumbled, and I blushed, hugging my stomach. Tsuyuki just smiled at me though. I shot up from my seat, grabbing come money.
"I'm going to buy something at the vending machine!" I announced, running out of the room. I bought two granola bars at the vending machine and started to make my way back as I ate one of the bars and stashed the other in my pocket. As I turned a corner, I stopped, taking in the scene before me.
The boy from the infirmary earlier today was being pushed around roughly in a circle of males. They were all first years.
"What do you got there Yuko?," asked one of the guys pushing the boy I met before around.
His name is Yuko?
"Just leave me alone guys!" Yuko shouted. He had red hair and violet eyes.
"Oh, little man trying to stand up for himself? How hilarious!"
"I mean it!" Yuko screamed, punching a guy in the face, which only angered the others. They all pounced on him at once. Five against one. The five boys would spew out profanity as if it was their first language and threaten to kill Yuko if he didn't comply.
I was mortified just watching this exchange. I had to help, I just had to.
"What are you all doing?!" I yelled loud enough to get their attention. The boys cursed and ran for it. I thought they were afraid of me, but apparently Hibari was behind me. I only know this because he rushed by me, after those troublemakers. I walked up to Yuko. I held my hand out to him, worried about his bruises and bleeding lip. "Need assistance?"
He teared up, gritting his teeth. "Don't act like you understand! Don't trick me into thinking you do!" He got up himself and ran off, except this time, I ran after him.
"Wait!" I shouted. I didn't want to stand around and do nothing anymore. I can do something. I just know it. I can feel it within my own being. Something was going to happen; something that I felt akin to. I ended up following him up to the roof. It wasn't the usual roof Tsuna and the gang ate at though. That part of the roof was on the other side of the clock tower.
Yuko had his hands on the fence with his back to me, taking deep breaths.
"Yuko-san..." I said, not out of breath.
He turned to me and smiled softly. "You followed me up here...unbelievable..."
"Why were those boy-"
"Bullying me? It's been like this for months now, no years."
I gasped, "And you don't tell anyone? Not even your friends?"
He laughed at me. "What friends? They all abandoned me in the end...everyone I trusted...just left me...betrayed me..."
"Yuko-san..." I said, my heart hurting. "I don't know if I understa-"
"I would think you understood the most."
"W-What?"
"Have you ever wondered why most of your "friends" always talked about your older brother? Did you think they were interested in you? No, of course not. To everyone here, you're just a typical girl who has the connections to get them to Fujiwara Mamoru, one of the most popular guys here. You're just a tool. Someone whom they could dig their fangs into."
"That's absurd!"
"Call it what you want. If you weren't his sister, you may have been overlooked or even bullied like I am...was. There's talk about you if you haven't noticed." The bell rang for lunch to end.
I-Is this true?
"Are your friends really your friends? Or are they just using you till you break or lose your value?"
My eyes widened. "I've done something so terrible..." I didn't mean to say that but it just came out.
"The look in your eyes. I guess you do understand me once again...but it's too late for me now..."
"What do you mean it's too late?" I had a bad feeling about this situation the moment he ran from me. His stomach grumbled before he could answer me. "Ah! Hold on!" I pulled out my extra granola bar and gave it to him. "Eat it."
He took it and took a bite out of it, laughing. "I can't believe the last thing I eat in this life is a honey and oats granola bar! Not such a glamorous way to go out."
Go...out?...Last thing?... Don't tell me...
He tossed the wrapper after he finished eating. He continued to push the fence down until it broke off. I felt adrenaline rushing through my veins.
"Farewell Fujiwara Miyu, I'll put in a good word for you. Thank you for being the last person I ever see in the end. I've been hoping I would be able to talk to you again...just like we did that night...but I guess it's a little too late for that now. Tell them my story and thank you for treating me as your equal."
I've never met him before in my life though!
"Yuko-"
"I might as well tell you my full name. Hideyoshi Yuko, but don't stop calling me what you do now...I like the sound of it."
"Yuko-san," I said, trying to make sense of what was happening.
What story is there to tell!? He can't just kill himself! Why would he go so far as to put his precious life in danger?
"Farewell, Miyu-chan, I hope someone will save you or that you free yourself from these binds of ours. Don't lose sight like I have... Good bye."
"NO!" I screamed, rushing forward as he leaned backwards, smiling at me thankfully.
Why are you smiling? I've done nothing to give you that smile.
My pupils shrunk as my fingers weren't long enough to grab his hand. I was only able to skim it lightly. I leaped over the edge, not thinking twice about anything but to save Yuko. I was in fight-or-flight mode. I had no time to cry as I was falling in midair, trying to get to Yuko, who just continued to smile at me, as if accepting the path he had chosen. It was as if he knew the outcome; that I couldn't save him no matter what I did now unless I let him go, go into true freedom. It felt like time had slowed as we fell. I couldn't reach him.
Tsuyuki's POV-
The lunch bell rang and Miyu still never came back.
"Tsuyuki-chan," Tsuna said, seeing me sitting in his seat. "What are you doing here?... In my seat."
"Waiting for Miyu-chan...she has not returned yet from the vending machine...," I said, having a bad feeling in my gut.
I saw negative emotions flushing over Tsuna's eyes. I was about to question his problem when a girl slammed open the doors to this classroom.
"A freshman from class 1-C is about to jump off the roof!" she shouted. "I think his name was Hideyoshi Yuko!" Her and a few others in our class ran off to watch.
Hideyoshi...Yuko?
"My friend said he saw Fujiwara Miyu going after Hideyoshi Yuko," said a kid in the classroom still.
"That red haired boy?," asked that kids friend.
No... The boy in that dream I had a few days ago...had red hair and Miyu...
"It's happening...," I murmured. I opened the window quickly, poking my head out, seeing someone falling, but as much as that interested my saving instinct, my priority had to be the one above that boy. I could only save one at the speed they were going. I pushed desks and tables out of my way and got a running start. I jumped out the window with my arms out just as the boy fell past the window and Miyu was in the opening of the window. I held onto her tightly with one arm, pulling out a grappling hook with the other, shooting it at a nearby tree branch, lowering the two of us down slowly. I ignored the sound of a body being pulverized by the ground. I wasn't looking at the moment the boy hit the ground, but I was positive Miyu was.
Once our feet touched the ground, Miyu broke away from me, running to the giant splat of blood and human meat. I walked over to her solemnly.
"Miyu-chan, we should-" She swatted me away when I reached for her. She fell on her knees, crying into her hands.
"It's all my fault... No... I have to tell his story...," she whimpered. "He was beyond saving..."
I crouched beside her. "Death is something can't avoid, even if you cry it won't bring the dead back...it won't bring Hideyoshi Yuko back...all you can do now is just remember them in your heart and move on. I'm sure he wouldn't want you to be sad for you are the one who saw him in his last moments... He may not be here anymore, but your memories of him while he was among the living will."
She uncovered her eyes, tears streaming down as people started to crowd. Miyu just stared down at what was Hideyoshi Yuko, as if putting pieces together in that mind of hers.
"Death... C-Can't I just heal him?," she said softly before she passed out.
What?...This must be just a coincidence.
"Miyu-chan!" Tsuna shouted, pushing through the crowd, crouching on the other side of Miyu.
"She passed out from shock," I reported to him, lifting her up in my arms, looking at the blood that stained her socks and skirt when she was on her knees. "Tsuna-kun, I'd advise you to disperse and leave this to the disciplinary committee."
It happened...
Tsuna turned, as if to see what I meant, but I kicked him over the crowd, before he could see, with my leg. I rushed Miyu home, alerting her mother of what transpired.
Tsuna's POV-
Someone died today on school campus. I wasn't able to properly see it due to being pushed away over the crowd of people thanks to Tsuyuki.
Miyu-chan...
I laid my cheek against my cold desk.
""She passed out from shock.""
She had to witness all that... Why do I feel as if this is my fault?
I squeezed my eyes tight, cringing.
It was her fault for betraying me in the first place!
I calmed down, my features softening.
If we were still friends...she would have been with me and not there to experience some dumb freshman's suicide.
I went to bed barely getting any sleep at all. I was worried over Miyu's condition. I needed to know that she was okay, though I wasn't planning on forgiving her.
Miyu's POV-
I was standing on a large cloud. Gold and white below my feet. Speaking of my feet, my shoes weren't on and I was in a white gown. I wasn't bothered by my new attire though, nor did I remember what I wore or looked like previously before this moment. I was quite calm for not knowing where I was. It was if I was at peace now.
I heard the sound of a choir singing and a gate rising. I turned around, not expecting much. There was a giant golden gate, slowly opening, as if telling me to come inside. A warm, welcoming feeling.
I would be accepted there for who I am...or was.
I felt drawn to the opened gate. I took one step at a time, taking my time to get to my desired destination.
"Miyu! Don't leave! Not yet!" a voice yelled from where, I do not know.
I stopped in my tracks, gasping as a bit of life came into my eyes.
That voice...it sounded so familiar, but I couldn't pull out any memory that would indicate to me whose voice it was.
"Onee-chan!" another voice came, crying.
"Miyu-chan! Stop lying there!" came another.
"Don't give up! Fight it! Stay with us!"
"My little girl..."
I fell onto my knees in front of the opened gate. Clutching my head I struggled to process all these familiar voices, but to no avail. I couldn't remember anything. I had no memories. I clutched my head, screaming. Something so important to me and I lost it. All these feelings of familiarity haunting me. I was torn by those voices.
I leaned forward, holding my hand out, struggling to pull myself through the gate. This torment was not something I could handle. I wanted an escape and my chance was now.
"Mamoru's waking up! He's alive!" one of the voices exclaimed, catching my full attention.
Mamoru...?...Mamoru... Oniichan!
I stood, up, pulling back my arm.
Something occurred to me, right then and there. I couldn't escape. Not yet. Not now. There was too much that still needed to happen. So much I had to do. So many I had to protect. I had a duty that I had to fulfill. I had my part to do in the scheme of things. I turned my back on the gate, finding the strength to walk away from it, the doors closing behind me. I was eleven then.
Tsuna's POV-
Tsuyuki and Mamoru didn't come to school yet and it was already lunch. Everyone in my usual group was worried about Miyu. They've noticed her not coming to class much anymore and how she wouldn't eat with us as well. Sure, I've noticed, but I was fine with her absence because I knew she would be with either her brother or Tsuyuki.
"Maybe we should drop by her place after school...," Hana said. Everyone agreed to go to Miyu's house after school to check up on her. I decided to use the bathroom as they all discussed what to bring for her since they were aware of her being witness to...what happened yesterday. I wasn't ready to hear her name spoken so much yet.
On my way back to the classroom, I noticed Hibari doing his usual rounds around the school. Something in me pressured me to talk to him.
"H-Hibari-san!...U-Umm... You're Miyu-chan's...friend, right? Is she okay...?," I nervously asked.
He just glared at me, as if placing blame on me with his whole being.
"Hn," he snarled at me, leaving. "You're lucky I don't bite you to death for loitering."
Miyu's POV-
I was sitting in the middle of a field of golden wheat, the sky was mixed with a beautiful arrange of colors. It was twilight.
"I thought my inner world always had clear blue skies...," I said to myself
"Miyu, are you alright?," asked a male voice.
My eyes widened slightly as I looked up. A man with golden hair and light orange eyes was down on one knee, his hands on my shoulders.
I lightly blushed, "Iey-" I looked to the side. "Giotto-san... No, Primo-sama."
He frowned. "I know you must feel tricked but-"
"I'm passed feeling tricked... Why didn't you just tell me before your intentions and who you really were? I wouldn't have minded." He closed his eyes for a second, not answering me. I sighed. "It's o-"
"I'm sorry, Miyu-chan. There are things at work that I wasn't ready to involve you in back then," he said to me, holding me close to him.
"What things...the mafia?"
"Partly."
"Partly?"
Tsuna's POV-
"WHAT?! FUJIWARA MAMORU IS NOT HERE?!," Ryohei shouted at SeijiChi who was manning the cash register at the clinic.
"We were here for his sister not him stupid!" Gokudera shouted at him, creating a fight between the two.
"Where is Miyu-chan? Is she alright?," Kyoko asked SeijiChi, worried.
SeijiChi was silent for a moment, his face giving no suggestions of any good or bad news. "The facilities in this small clinic aren't enough for her so she was moved to Namimori Hospital."
Kyoko gasped. "Was her condition serious then?"
"I'm sure you're just jumping to conclusions now Kyoko," Hana said, trying to calm her down.
"Would it be okay to visit her?," Yamamoto asked.
"I don't know. Is it, Sawada-kun?," SeijiChi asked, casting me a hard glance. I flinched, not sure what to do as everyone's eyes were on me.
If I say no everyone will be upset with me!
"It should be...but we shouldn't bother the people helping her. We don't want to hinder her recovery until we know it's safe for visitors to come," I explained, trying to sounds reasonable.
"You should go check to see if they're offering visitors," SeijiChi said.
"M-Me?,' I questioned, pointing at myself.
"Why of course! You ARE my little sister's best friend and don't think the hospital will let all of you into her room at once right now. You might as well go and report back to them."
"Thank you, Tsuna-kun! You're so thoughtful of others!" Kyoko exclaimed.
"Be sure to tell us everything, Tsuna," Yamamoto said, slapping my back.
"I'm go with you Tenth!" Gokudera shouted before SejiChi pulled him back.
"I don't think that's wise," SeijiChi said to him, smiling at me as if to tell me to go already.
"Tsuna, let's go," Reborn said from my head.
"O-Oh...mm...," I said, complying with everyone's wishes. Since Reborn was my only companion now, I couldn't take my time to the hospital, I had to run. I awkwardly went over to the front desk.
The woman there was glaring at me as if she had better things to do than her own job. She chewed her gum openly, asking me with her eyes on my business with her.
"U-Uhmm... Where is Fujiwara Miyu's room?," I asked, scratching the back of my neck.
She continued to glare at me as she typed away on her keyboard. She glanced away from me for a second only to tell me that she was in room 666. I thanked her, but I regretted it as she seemed pissed at me for doing so.
What a scary nurse!
I went into the elevator and up to level seven where room 666 was. I walked down the many many halls, looking for the room number, passing by people in wheelchairs, open doors to reveal family members visiting their loved ones, and couples mourning over the others pain.
"Private room?," I said to myself aloud, looking at room 666.
What do I do in this situation? Just...knock?
"Stop wasting time Tsuna," Reborn said to me, opening the door himself.
"Ah! Reborn!" I yelled, finding him rude for entering without permission. I knocked lightly on the opened door as I walked in behind him. "Sorry for the intrusion..."
"Oh, Tsuna-kun, Reborn, hello," Tsuyuki said, looking up at us from her tea. She was sitting at a table in the corner of the room with Mamoru and Jun. "Did SeijiChi-kun send you?"
"Y-Yeah," I said, shrinking under Mamoru's glare.
"Please, don't stand in the doorway. Join us," Tsuyuki offered, pushing out the chair between her and Jun. Reborn was standing on the table looking off to where I assumed was Miyu in bed. I walked further into the room, turning my head around the corner of the doorway to see the condition she was in for myself.
I took in a sharp breath, taking in all the wires and tubes on her. There were no words in me to ask why she needed so much medical aid.
Luckily Tsuyuki knew to explain. "Miyu-chan is in a coma."
A...coma?
"I thought it wasn't possible for her to fall into a coma!" I exclaimed, confused and...what is this other feeling I have? Fear? Worry?
"No one said that stupid," Mamoru spat out. "My father said that she has fell into a coma before. What he didn't add to that is that her fast healing abilities are no use to her when she's in this state. Like a normal human in a coma, she has to have some sort of life support to give her body nutrients and to help her breathe."
I went over to Miyu's bedside, being careful of all the wires and tubes. Miyu looked peaceful, there was no trace of discomfort on her face.
"No one knows when she'll wake up," Tsuyuki said, making Reborn and I a cup of tea.
"And you're all calm about this!?," I shouted, confused and torn.
You're suppose to be the closest people to her!
Jun teared up and Tsuyuki reached over to him and patted his head.
Mamoru sighed and looked at me lazily. "You have no right to say that. This is your first time, but this is our second time. We know how to deal with our emotions. We know that she'll wake up..." Mamoru looked at Tsuyuki. His eyes looking just as torn as mine, but for different reasons. I was torn because I didn't know how I felt about Miyu, who she was to me; so what is his reason?
"Tsuna-kun, please drink some tea. It was prepared by Mrs. Fujiwara just awhile ago before she left to tend to her patient's appointments," Tsuyuki said to me as if it was an order.
Miyu's POV-
"Miyu, why are you here?," Primo asked me.
"Here...?" I looked around. "It's my inner world..."
"Yes, but why are you appearing here of all times?"
I pulled through my memories trying to figure out how I got in this position. I wasn't in Italy with those bad magicians who practice black magic, so how did I get here.
"I just remember..." I flinched, remembering the bloody dismembered body of Hideyoshi Yuko. Primo rubbed my head and leaned his forehead against mine.
"Death is a natural occurrence Miyu, no need to be shaken up... You're in a coma."
I pushed away from him. "C-Coma?! B-But shock won't lead to a coma like this!"
"It wasn't just shock that you were going through at that moment."
"How would you know?"
"Because, I've been watching over you during the time of your previous coma."
That's right...Father said I was in a coma before...but I don't remember a thing about it.
"Can you tell me why I fell into a coma when I was younger?"
He stroked his chin, weighing his options. "I cannot. I'm not in the right position to tell you. Someone dead like me has no right in the affairs of the living." I looked down at my lap sadly. "Miyu, what is it you need to do right now?"
"What I need to do?"
I need to wake up from my coma!...He must not mean that though... What I need to do...for myself or-
I clapped my hands together, standing up. "Primo-sama, I need to wake up now. What I need to do can only be accomplished in the real world."
"Are you sure you have the knowledge to do it?"
"What do you mean?"
"As an exorcist, you are able to travel to the spirit world, right?" I nodded, trying to see where he was going with this.
I lightly bonked myself on the head with my palm. "Oh right. That would be wise. I'm sure I can get there too since I'm already in an unconscious state."
Primo smiled at me and stood, hugging me.
I blushed lightly. "P-Primo-sama-"
"Just call me Giotto if you must change my name," he said to me. He laid his forehead against mine, grazing into my eyes. "Drop the honorific, Miyu."
I gulped, feeling my heart racing. I pushed away from him, my bangs covering my eyes. "Stop making things complicated for me."
He sighed. "Tsunayoshi and I are two different people. Reincarnations or not, our souls may have similar parts, but his was molded from birth differently than mine. He and I have lived two different lives. The paths may end up in the same direction, but nothing will become a carbon copy. Identify your feelings correctly because the only one who's holding back your heart, is you." A portal appeared behind me as I was taking in what Giotto had told me. "It's time for our meeting to end. Safe trip." Giotto gave me a slight push through the portal, waving to me as I stumbled in.
"Wait! I-" The portal closed and I was now in the realm of spirits. The realm of spirits is in a never-ending sunset on a giant floating rock hovering over an endless shining sea. The large rock was covered with trees and a river that turned into a waterfall as it flowed over the edge of the rock, a small town, and at it's highest peak, a golden castle that shone. That castle was there the judgement process took place. I was currently in town with a new outfit on. It was my exorcist uniform which consisted of a white and red kimono that went up to my mid-thighs. The bottom of my kimono looking more like a skirt, but there were red shorts under it. I had white thigh-high socks with a gold design sewn on them. I wore waraji, straw sandals. Around my waist was a black obi, which was really metallic to serve as armor, with gold and lime green designs etched in. The obi was tied in the back with a large white and black bow with green dots placed in a line. On my head was a small golden tiara with white crystals. On the hem of my long sleeves was a simple design of flames reaching about only two inches wide. There were diamond-shaped beads of gold coming from the ends of my tiara with green emeralds inserted into each corner of the diamond. In my hands was a staff, not like the one Tsuyuki gave me, oh no. This staff was a golden khakkhara (also known as a shakujō in Japanese) with six rings, three on each side of it.
The town was mainly for exorcists who visit and for traveling souls who have already been through judgement. Souls who have not been through judgement yet are automatically transferred to the castle. The spirit world is a fight free zone. If a brawl were to happen, those involved in the fight would be punished. If it was a spirit, they would be thrown into a jail inside the castle. If it were an exorcist, they would be stripped of their spiritual abilities for a certain amount of time depending on the severity of the fight.
I need to get to the castle quick!
I start running, using a flash-step technique which takes up a bit of my mana. I had to make it to the castle and stop Yuko from proceeding into judgement so I could speak with him, that is considering he hasn't gone through yet. It's better to be optimistic in these situations.
Tsuna's POV-
"What kind of tea is this?," I asked, smelling a faint scent of flowers, but that could just be from the assortment of flowers around the room.
"Rose tea," Tsuyuki replied, looking off somewhere.
Rose tea huh?
I took a sip of it and instantly felt calm. I didn't even notice how tense I was until now. I heard grunts coming from Jun. I looked down at him to see him struggling on his homework.
Find the area of these shapes huh?
"Jun," I called out to him. He looked up at me, slightly frustrated. "Do you need help with your homework?"
"I can't concentrate on it...," he mumbled sadly. My eyes softened.
He's probably upset about Miyu-chan's condition.
"Here, let me help you rather than you try to force yourself to remember how to do it," I suggested to him,
"Really?," he asked, surprised at my offer.
I nodded. "Of course!"
I actually know how to do your math!
"Wow! Tsuna-san is so smart!" Jun exclaimed, writing away on his math homework. "I can do these all so clearly now."
I blushed, smiling. "Yes, yes I am Jun."
"Tsuna."
"Yes?," I happily said, turning my head towards Mamoru, the one who called me.
He casually slammed a paper down in front of me with a blank look on his face. "Can you help me with my math homework?"
"E-Eh?"
I-I haven't even learned any of this! I don't even remember what section I'm on in school!
Tsuyuki picked up the paper. "You don't know how to do this?" She shook her head in a disappointed motion. Mamoru's face was something I've rarely seen before, surprised and a bit fearful. "Just what are you doing in your free time? I guess I need to start tutoring you fro the basics."
"N-No! I was just messing around with ole Tsuna over there!" Mamoru shouted, trying to grab his homework back from Tsuyuki who just moved it away from him at ever attempt. To anyone else, it would look like Tsuyuki didn't even notice Mamoru trying to take back his paper.
I looked around as Mamoru struggled against Tsuyuki and Jun just worked away on his homework.
Where is Miyu's little sister in all of this?
I moved my chair over to Miyu's bedside and just sat there, staring at her. Sometimes getting lost in thought as my gaze was upon her.
SeijiChi's POV-
"All you have to say is that you want to go see your big sister and we can go," I said to my youngest sister. She was sitting stubbornly under the cash register, a blue stream of spirit energy wrapped around her angle connecting into something in my pocket.
"Why would I want to see her?," she asked harshly.
"Don't you want to know what condition she's in?"
"There's no reason to! She'll heal in a few days anyway."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "How do you know it's the type of injury that could be healed with her blood?"
"What can't?"
"Oh, I don't know...a broken heart? Depression?"
"She's not dating anyone and she's too happy nowadays to be depressed."
She doesn't even know that Miyu was nearly raped a few days prior to this moment.
"What about a coma?," I questioned.
"C...Coma?," she asked, her face looking as if it was in a struggle.
"Her abilities are useless to her in a coma. No one can tell when she'll wake up."
"I don't remember her ever being in a coma."
"...I do," I said, looking off at something aimlessly. "I remember it well. It's understanding that you don't remember...after all, you had your own problems."
"What are you talking about?," she asked, getting nervous, as if I would tell her something that would ruin everything she had done up until now. That I would turn that all into dust.
"The day she was in a coma...was the day you all planned on running away," I said, gaining a gasp from her.
"L-Liar! Stop trying to stick up for her with excuses!"
Miyu's POV-
"Yuko-san!" I shouted, spotting a red-haired boy wearing the Namimori Middle School uniform. The boy turned at the sound of his name. He was waiting for his name to be called by the mysterious voice that conducted judgement in the room next door. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him aside, away from the other spirits.
"Fujiwara Miyu...seeing you again like this. I had a feeling there was something special about you. Unless you're dead too...," he said, trying to figure out the difference.
"I'm very much alive. My soul is here, my body is just unconscious somewhere," I said, trying to get onto the subject I wanted to hear.
"...you don't seem to care much for your body when you say something like that," he said, sweat dropping.
"Never mind that. I need to know a few things..."
"What do you need to know that was so important?"
"How do I tell them your story when I don't even know your story? Who is this 'them' anyways?"
"My story?" He blinked a couple of time. "You mean- Wait. I could have sworn- I wasn't wrong. You just don't remember...yeah that must be it."
"Remember what?"
"I've met you before, believe it or not."
"Really?"
"I was in fourth grade at the time and my family decided on visiting my brother, who was attending a private school in your hometown. A festival was happening during our visit, which we attended. I was getting picked on a bit by my classmates, but never to the extreme it was recently. I had friends who stood up for me back then. I got lost from my family and just crouched there on the ground, a crowd around me as I cried. That's when you showed up wearing a fancy kimono and your face all powdered white. You were shining in my eyes, almost as if you were God's angel sent to help me. You crouched down next to me and put your hand on my head. "Don't cry, I'm here for you," you said to me. In the end you accompanied me the whole time, taking me around to all the best stands from your tastes. We talked on a bench while eating caramel apples about nothing but life. Not so much your life, but more about my life. In the end, before my brother found me, you said to me, "I understand you...but you're not quite at my level yet. I pray that you will never come to my level." I never truly understood it until the start of my first year at Namimori."
"I...don't remember that...," I said softly, confused. "You said you were in fourth grade...that would mean I was in fifth grade at the time..."
Thinking back on the year I was eleven years of age...everything seemed to be a blur. As if most of that year was a dream.
What's happening to me? Why can't I remember that year?
As if sensing my confusion, Yuko spoke again. "I think I understand the situation now. How about I just show you?"
"Show me? How on Earth would you do that?"
"It's a good thing we're not on Earth at the moment."
Tsuna's POV-
"Here, have some tea," Tsuyuki said, handing Kyoko a cup of tea. Everyone was sitting around Miyu's hospital room, drinking tea that Tsuyuki gave them.
I'm starting to feel like that tea was poisoned into calming people instantly.
Kyoko was just in tears and she immediately stopped once she took a sip.
"Tsuna, we should go to the gift shop and get Miyu something," Yamamoto said, slinging his arm over my shoulders.
"Oh, sure," I said, wanting to leave the room of peaceful people.
I swear, there are some drugs in that tea and the odor of the flowers are just covering it up.
Yamamoto and I walked out of Miyu's room and over to the gift shop, until we realized that there as no gift shop in this hospital. So we decided to head to the shopping district.
"How about these?," Yamamoto asked, smelling some roses outside of a florist's shop.
I sweat dropped. "She has more than necessary."
"Oh yeah, I didn't notice till now that she had a lot of flowers in her room. Haha. You're so observant Tsuna!"
You're so absent-minded sometimes!
"Ah! I'll get her some balloons. They seem festive," he said, heading into a toy store. That store was having a promotion on balloons today. I followed him in, leaving to wander the shop as he picked out designs.
What do you even get someone who is in a coma?
I picked up a foam sword, sighed, then put it back.
What do you get a girl? Flowers are definitely out of the question.
"But mommy! I want all of them!" a little girl shouted, trying to grab as many stuffed animals as she could as her mother struggled to pull her away. "You can only have one of them sweetie."
Once those two left, I walked over to the doll section, looking at the mess that little girl made. Something caught my eye though.
"So what'd you end up buying Tsuna?," Yamamoto asked me as we were walking back to the hospital. He had bought five balloons. One was big with a teddy bear on it, another was a kitten, and the rest were just light green balloons.
I hugged the plastic bag to me, embarrassed about what I bought. "You'll see when we get there."
Or not at all.
When we got back, Yamamoto went on ahead seeing as I had to use the bathroom. Once I finished and got onto Myiu's level, I was about to turn the corner that lead to her room, but I couldn't. Two voices stopped me from doing so.
"Are you going to do it again?," Mamoru said.
"...Your father wants me to," Tsuyuki's voice said. "It helped to wake her up last time..."
Mamoru punched the wall. "Dammit! Don't you know how unfair it is to do this to her!? She'll wake up on her own I tell you!"
"How do you know?"
"I can just feel it! You don't have the connection I have with her."
What are they talking about? They know how to wake up Miyu-chan?
Tsuyuki sighed. "I never said I was all for the idea. It would be risky to do it anyways. People will notice and we'll just end up in the same place we are now. It was only able to work last time because Miyu had no real friends at school."
"It's only a matter of time until she remembers everything. Don't think she will still think of you the same way once she finds out what you did to her. You've only increased her grief."
I heard Tsuyuki's voice break. "IT WASN'T MY CHOICE! I DIDN'T WANT TO JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH HER LOOK DEAD ALL DAY!" It started to get cold in here.
"Is the heating system broken?," Mamoru muttered. I heard footsteps running. "Hey!"
Before I could register it, Tsuyuki bumped into me while she was turning the corner. She grumbled an apology as she continued to run.
"That was weird... Ah!" I looked down at the plastic bag I was holding. Half of it was covered in ice. "When did this happen!?"
Four days have pasted now. It's been a week since I overheard Tsuyuki and Mamoru's conversation.
I walked into Miyu's room and nearly screamed when I saw a goblin's mask on her face. I groaned.
This must be her brother's doing...
I took off the mask that was over her face and breathing mask and pulled up a chair. I sat by Miyu's bedside, leaning my elbows on my knees. No one else was in the room for once. The others were out making a giant get well card. Miyu's room is slowly becoming cluttered. Even the Ninth brought things for Miyu. It consisted of a giant basket of fruits, fancy wine, and then more flowers.
All these flowers make it look like Miyu's dead...
I thought about that fairy tale I read when I was little. It was called Snow White, and the prince was able to wake the fair young princess by kissing her. What did they call it? True love's kiss?
I sighed. "I don't know who her true love is, and even if I did, I doubt something like that would even work in real life."
What is exactly real? A few weeks ago I thought ghosts and demons were a joke used to scare little kids into behaving, but now... Angels, Gods, demons, spirits, and spiritual powers all exist. They're not just stories.
I looked down at Miyu's comatose face.
How can someone as innocent and sweet as her be involved in so much...
The words 'innocent' and 'sweet' rang through my head. Why would I think such a thing about someone who I said was no longer my friend. Someone whom I no longer trusted... Unless I never stopped. Could I have jumped to conclusions?
"Sorry, Miyu-chan," I said, feeling guilty about her condition.
Tsuyuki's POV-
Walking through the hospital's corridors, I spotted Tsuna with his hands in his pockets, looking down in the dumps. I thought back to those questionable emotions I saw through Tsuna the day of the incident.
Just as he was about to walk by me, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pinning him up against the wall with one hand and my arm bend, pressing his shoulder against the wall.
"HIEE! W-What's going on?!" Tsuna shouted, his eyes looking as if they will pop out.
"Do you have a problem with Miyu-chan?," I asked, raising a brow. The way his face twisted told me I was right.
I put him down and dragged him to the cafeteria.
"Explain," I ordered.
I knew something was up. Why else would Miyu's mood change over the past few days before her coma.
"..." Tsuna looked down at his lap, uncomfortable. "I-I just got upset with her that she ruined things for me and Kyoko-chan."
"You and Kyoko-chan are still friends though," I pointed out. "Are you only upset that she won't like you romantically?"
"Y-Yeah... I knew I wouldn't have a chance with her, so I was fine with idolizing her without her notice, but now I was rejected and I'm not fine..."
"Miyu-chan did what she did because she's your friend. Because she wanted you to be happy."
"If she wanted me to be happy she wouldn't have told Kyoko-chan!"
"Can't you see she meant no harm? She was just looking out for you. Did you break your bonds with her over something like this?"
"M-Maybe..."
I slammed my hands on the table, making him flinch. "Do you know how much she adores you!? You're one of a few people who truly treated her as a human friend. Not as a tool to get what they wanted. You were her friend without wanting anything in return but her own friendship. You are her best friend! To break all of what you two went through just because the girl you have a crush on rejected you? You shouldn't be putting it against Miyu, you should be looking for comfort in her!"
"If I made a mistake, how do you expect me to fix it?! I told her that I never wanted to talk to her again..."
I gritted my teeth, trying not to resort to physical means of dealing with my emotions.
Gotta stay calm... I can't lose control.
"I also said that I hated her..."
My eyes widened. "Why would you say that to her? The only person to ever say that to her was her sister..."
That she remembers anyways.
"Sorry... It was how I was feeling. I don't even know what I feel about her now..."
"Do you have a crush on Miyu?"
"A crush on Miyu-chan?!" Tsuna's face flushed and he no longer looked sad. "I-I just met her a few months ago!"
"That's plenty of time for love to sprout. You seem to care about her more than you would a normal friend, best or not."
"How so?"
"You visit Miyu everyday unlike the others, you always spoke about how you were going to protect her, you know more about her than any normal person, you became her best friend before being anyone else's, you're always willing to help her, and you're jealous when she's with other guys."
"I am not jealous!"
"That incident with that Ernestine guy drove you crazy. I heard Reborn had to stop you from beating him up for what he did and was going to go to Miyu. On the double blind date you would always send a glance over to the two. At the movie theater you looking longingly as Miyu when she was crying as if you were using all of your strength to not go to her."
"T-"
"I know the truth. You keep telling yourself you don't." I stood up. I walked past him but stopped before I left his earshot. "You two would make a nice couple..." I left him there with his own thoughts. Hopefully I've said enough to him to make him realize what I already know.
I started to head on back up to Miyu's room, taking note of the increased amount of Namimori Middle delinquents. I opened the door to her room, knowing what to expect. I side-stepped off to the side, hugging the wall just as a tonfa nearly took my head.
"Hn. Missed."
Hibari Kyoya...
"I mean no harm to you or anyone," I said, holding my hands up in surrender, but he still held his tonfas firmly in his hands.
"..." he stared at me, as if trying to place a name with a face.
I sighed, strolling over to Miyu's side. "You may not remember me, after all, we've only met once in this lifetime."
"What are you babbling on about?," he asked as I watched Hibird sit on Miyu's chest, my back to Hibari.
Everyone has their own way on dealing with confusion...and grief... Right Miyu-chan?
"Fight me," Hibari said to me, holding his tonfas up threateningly. I knew what his true intentions were. To test my ability to watch over Miyu. To feed his thirst for action, his need to become distracted with his usual careless joy of fighting the strong.
"I will not fight someone who has done nothing wrong to me, my friends, or my family..."
Oh how I detest fighting...funny how I'm always placed in a position to fight.
Miyu's POV-
"Goodbye Yuko-san, I hope we'll meet again someday," I said, giving him a hug before he entered judgement. "I just know you'll enter Heaven an become an angel."
"Have you ever seen Heaven?," he asked me.
I shook my head. "Exorcists may enter only with permission from the one that runs the world you wish to go to. I've never had a reason to. Why?"
"Wait here for me. I'll be back, okay?"
"Okay..." I stood there awkwardly as he ran off through the tall double doors. He was taking too long so I decided to wander around town. He eventually found me inside of a weapons shop and practically dragged me out. He looked different now. He had small white wings on his back, a halo, gold sandals, and a white outfit.
He dragged me to the transport station in town and off we went to wherever it was he wanted to take me. He covered my eyes as we got to our destination.
"You can't go inside, but...this should be just as fine, right?," he said as he uncovered my eyes.
I looked around, gasping. I was on a large golden cloud in front of a large gate. Everything seemed familiar. Had I been here before? I must have, I recall small fragments of me standing where I was now. But why?
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Tsuyuki's POV-
"I told you, erasing her memory of what happened won't last long. She'll remember soon enough. It's on the news everywhere still and kids at school are still talking about it," I explained to Mr. Fujiwara.
I'm afraid that she's slowly starting to remember what happened all those years ago...
"We can deal with it once it gets there," he said to me, pointing at Miyu. "Now do it."
"Moru-kun said that she would wake up on her own. This isn't necessary!"
"And you believed that? It's hard to predict when or if someone will come out of a coma."
"...I do not doubt Miyu and Moru's connection to one another. I've seen their connection with my own eyes."
"We'll just have to see what your father has to say about your disobedience." He pulled out his phone.
Was this really worth standing up for? Can I really believe in Moru's words?
"Where am I?" My eyes widened.
Miyu's POV-
Something white was blinding me. I had to close my eyes just to protect them from the harmful bright color. I slowly opened them again, trying to get them to adjust to the new light. My body felt numb. I couldn't feel anything, but I could hear machines, a heart monitor, and the dials of a phone.
"Where am I?," I asked aloud, wondering if anyone was here to hear me.
I heard a gasp and in a second I heard my father's voice shouting for nurses and Tsuyuki shouting out that I was awake. All I could see was the white ceiling though. I couldn't get up.
I was asleep... No. I was in a coma...I can barely remember what I was doing in my own mind...
"Miyu!" I heard Mamoru's voice yell. His face appeared over mine and I felt relieved to know that I wasn't just hearing things. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah," I responded. "But I can't feel anything..."
"Don't worry," Mamoru smiled down at me, a tear escaping his eye. "You'll be alright. You're in Namimori Hospital."
Namimori Hospital?
Mamoru left my view just as my father, other doctors, and nurses came to me, taking me out of the room, unhooking the devices that were connected to me. The whole time I kept saying that I had somewhere to be, but no one would listen to me.
I wasn't released from the hospital until early in the morning. I got the feeling in my body back, and it just aches all over. My strength has depleted over the week and five days I was told I was out. When I saw what my hospital room looked like, I was surprised. It was mainly covered in flowers with a few balloons and a lot of cards. I found some fruit baskets and also some wine...too bad I cannot drink wine but I could entertain guests that are old enough to drink it with it.
I'm not that obsessed with flowers...
I sweat dropped, but then my eyes fell onto something that was buried under a part of the mob of flowers. I picked it up carefully, dusting off the petals that fell on it. "So cute!" It was a pink baby lamb plush. I hugged it to myself and it jingled in the process. "There are bells inside it too! Who got me this?" There was no card or anything to tell me who got me this lovely present. Well, whoever did just made me feel a million times happier.
Tsuna's POV-
"Did you hear? They're having the funeral for Hideyoshi Yuko today. His family is inviting his old friends to say a few things. Should we go? I feel bad for doing nothing to help him," said a first year girl to her friend as they both walked by me.
That's the boy that Miyu was with before he...
"Tsuna-kun!" Tsuyuki shouted, running at me at top speed.
My eyes widened as I tried to run away. It's been a few days since we've spoken to each other ever since she talked to me in the hospital's cafeteria.
She pounced on me and shook me roughly by my shoulders. "SHE'S AWAKE!" Tsuyuki looked extremely excited, almost to the extend of Ryohei's usual persona.
"Who's awake?," I asked, stabilizing myself.
"Miyu-chan of course!"
My eyes widened yet again. "Miyu-chan...is awake?"
She awoke from her coma already?!
"She woke up sometime after you left! Moru-kun was right when he said she would wake up." She giggled happily to herself. I lightly blushed. This was the most feminine and open thing I've ever seen her do. She was never as close to the rest of my friends as Miyu was with them. Just like Miyu was in the beginning, Tsuyuki was starting to get closer to us all.
"Where is she now? Can I go to see her?," I asked, thinking about all the things I could tell her about what happened during her long slumber.
"She should be home now. She's been going through lab check ups from the moment she woke up till I had to leave. I didn't want to leave, but SeijiChi convinced me to. You shouldn't leave school early though. That's bad for your education. You should bring her her missed work after school."
"Ah, you're right," I replied feeling eager to see Miyu up and about.
Miyu's POV-
"May we help you?," asked a woman in her early forties in a black shirt and dress pants to my mother who was wearing a black kimono. I was standing behind my mother with a few of my female relatives who were also wearing white.
"My daughter was so eager to come here once she heard about Hideyoshi Yuko's funeral being held today," my mother explained.
"Um...," I softly said, stepping out from behind my mother. I was in a red and white kimono. There were golden prints of leaves on the white of my kimono and my hair was tied up into a bun with a floral clip. I had my face powdered white and my makeup on. Although I would prefer not to have it, my mother insisted I wore it. "I knew Yuko-san...up till the moment before he died... I want to pay my respects and...I wish to tell you his story."
"Who are you?," the woman who I knew was his mother asked me.
"Fujiwara Miyu. I'm a priestess," I replied.
I was guided into a bedroom. I stood there in front of Yuko's mother, father, brother, and grandmother.
"Hideyoshi Yuko was a victim," I said. "Of the selfish cruelty of others till he was pushed to the breaking point. No one could save him from doing what he did. He was already too far gone. You may not have known this, but his so called friends stopped defending him. They turned their backs on him afraid of their own social status and betrayed him. Normally he would go to all of you about his problems, but this was not something he wanted to tell you all. Then even all of you turned your backs on him."
"I-I did not!" his mother cried out at me.
I remained calm. "You all knew the pain he was going through day by day but you all started to ignore it. You took it as bothersome routine and thought nothing more of it. You all stopped caring when he needed it the most. He had no one to turn to anymore. No where to go. Everyone he loved betrayed him. He knew that nothing would ever change unless he did what he did. Won't you admit it? You've only realized now what he has been trying to tell you all for weeks?"
Tsuna's POV-
"She's not home?, I repeated, making sure I heard SeijiChi right.
"Yes. She's attending a funeral at the moment. She was so keen on going despite how weak her body has become."
"Funeral? Do you mean of the boy that committed suicide?," I asked, surprised that Miyu would want to revisit that scarring moment.
He nodded. "I can give you the address."
I took it and left, Yamamoto and Gokudera meeting up with me and following me over to Hideyoshi Yuko's home.
"Namimori Middle students? You must have known Yuko-chan," said an old woman who spotted us awkwardly entering. "Thank you for coming. Please, do not feel intimidated by the spiritual maidens here."
"Spiritual maidens?," I asked.
A couple of boys ran out crying about how sorry they were for their actions.
"It looks like the performance will now start," said the old lady. She led us into the living room where the small shrine for Yuko was as well as all the guests. A girl was standing in front of the shrine, lighting new incense before she started to chant what sounded like a sutra.
"T-That's Miyu!" Yamamoto whispered to me.
I rubbed my eyes and looked closer at the girl. "I-It is!" It's been awhile since I've seen her dressed like this. I should have known she would be doing this the second that old lady told us that spiritual maidens were here. After the ritual Miyu performed was completed, Miyu and some other woman in white kimonos grouped together in front of the shine, facing the crowd.
"Yuko-san wanted you to listen to this, hoping you will understand his final words to you that he can no longer speak himself," Miyu said elegantly. One of the woman behind Miyu pulled out a violin and another a viola. Her mother was on a piano on the far side of the room. The violin started to play first, followed by the viola, and finally the piano.
After a few seconds, Miyu started to sing; her voice soft and angelic.
"When I am down and, oh, my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me."
Miyu held her hand out towards the brother and mother of the deceased boy.
"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be."
She started to move her arms around slowly as if trying to convey the emotions of the song to everyone.
"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be."
The rest of the woman behind Miyu started to sing with her, like a choir except Miyu was the lead.
"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be."
"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas."
Miyu started to sing alone, with the soft hums behind her.
"I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be."
Miyu sang now, alone, finishing the song.
"You raise me up to more than I can be."
(youtube- -: /watch?v=bwj-9E_TcO8&list=FLeiOAqYv3JDliNqRy1HcsAQ&index=3)
I looked around, finding tears in everyone's eyes who were either close with Yuko or a family member.
Tsuyuki appeared in a black dress wrapping her arms around Miyu as if allowing Miyu to lean on her. Miyu looked tired. As Gokudera and Yamamoto went to pay their respects to the guy they've never met before, I went over to Miyu and Tsuyuki.
"Are you okay?," I asked, putting my hand on Miyu's shoulder. She looked up at me and snapped back, out of Tsuyuki's arms, nearly losing her footing. She looked away from me, covering her face with her hands. Realizing why she was doing what she was, I gently took her wrist and pulled her away, outside.
She wasn't making eye-contact with me. I pulled her to me, pulling her head against my shoulder.
"I'm so glad you're awake Miyu-chan... I'm sorry...for everything," I said to her.
"What do you have to be sorry about?," she asked me quietly. I could tell she was tearing up.
"If I have never gotten so mad at you, you wouldn't have ended up witnessing what you did." I hugged her tighter.
She patted my back. "I don't regret anything..."
"What?!" I pulled away from her, shocked at what I was hearing.
"Being witness to Yuko-san's final moments...was something only I could do. Only I could be able to tell them Yuko-san's story. I was the only one who cared in the end, and I barely knew him...and yet I was the one who understood him the most."
I was confused, but decided not to question her logic, as long as she was fine now. "Miyu-chan, I'm sorry for being an asshol-"
"Don't curse," she mumbled, covering her ears.
"Sorry," I replied, lightly blushing at how cute she was looking up at me with her ears covered and small beads of salty tears on the brim of her eyes. "I was being unfair with you and did some drastic things." I sighed. "I didn't mean it when I said I hated you... I was just upset then and running into you then just set me off. I don't want you to leave me..." I pulled Miyu back to me. "I don't want to not be able to hear your voice anymore or speak to you like this... Not seeing you up and about enjoying life as you usually do is just not normal. That's not the Miyu-chan I've grown to become friends with."
"Tsuna...san..."
"I'm not done sorting my feelings just yet...but I know that you are important to me...and I don't want to let you go."
"Tsuna-san..."
"No matter what, I will never leave you. I will never break that promise. If I do, you can...you can hit me all you want! I would deserve it!"
"Tsuna-san!"
"What?!"
"...Please don't let me go right now..."
"I said I wouldn't so I won't!"
"No... I mean really don't let me go. I can't stand on my own anymore. If you let go, I will fall down."
"Eh?!"
"My strength isn't back yet. I've been pushing my body this entire time just to do what I needed to do for Yuko-san. I've never felt so tried just standing and walking around."
I held onto her tighter.
Why didn't she say something sooner?!
"I'll take you home!"
"Not yet, let me say goodbye to Yuko-san's close family," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I helped her back inside and Yuko's mother, father, grandmother, and brother bowed, thanking Miyu a million times for everything she has done for them, which I don't really understand. Once I got Miyu home and sitting on the couch, she wouldn't let me leave. We ended up talking until dinner about everything that has happened since she was asleep.
She couldn't go to school the next day because she was in rehabilitation to get her strength back. I promised that I would visit her after school ended. Ever since I've cleared things up with Miyu, I've felt like I'm on cloud nine. The second the bell rang for school to end, I was out the door. Before I got off campus, I stopped, seeing Jun standing at the gate with his arms crossed. I walked over to him and bent down.
"Jun, what are you doing here? Are you waiting for your brother?," I asked.
He glared at me, something I've never dealt with from him before.
"I challenge you to a duel for my Oneechan's heart!" he shouted at me.
"Huh?!"
Not taking any of this seriously was the downfall of me. I was nearly beaten up by a little kid with the sheath of a sword before I took it away from him after a couple of whacks. I lightly bonked his head and he fell onto his butt, rubbing his head and crying.
"Good job Tsuna, you've made Miyu's little brother cry," Reborn said.
"Ah! But he- Sorry, sorry Jun. I didn't mean to hurt you," I apologized.
Though I didn't hit you that hard at all.
"You should but Tsuna through a series of trials if you want to prove his worth," Reborn said to Jun. He immediately stopped crying and nodded. Reborn smirked. "I've got everything set up."
I don't like the sound of any of this. Why is this even happening?!
Miyu's POV-
"Why isn't Tsuna-san here yet? He promised me he would come right after school," I sadly said, looking out the window to see if he was running late.
"He's probably buying porn magazines," Mamoru said.
"He doesn't do that dirty stuff!" I yelled in his defense.
"I'll be the judge of that. I'll search his room good. He won't be able to hide his stash."
"Oi! Don't be so disrespectful!"
After a few short hours, I was getting ready to go home. Mamoru was packing my things into the duffle bag I brought along in the locker room, so he wasn't currently with me.
"Miyu-chan!" Tsuna's voice shouted as well as the slamming of the door to the special workout room.
"Tsuna-san!" I exclaimed. Tsuna was covering in dirt and scratches. He look in his eyes when they were looking at me were just breathtaking. I blushed lightly as Tsuna made his way over to me, catching his breath the whole time.
"What happened to you?," I asked, holding a hand out to Tsuna's cheek, rubbing a scratch on it gently when he knelt down in front of me.
He put his hand over the hand I placed over his cheek. My blush thickened and I swear I could see a light colored hue on Tsuna's cheeks as well. "I'm fine. This is nothing." His fingers wrapped around my hand. He pulled my hand away from his cheek gently as he grabbed my other hand. "How are you doing? I'm sorry I didn't make it like I said I would. I was caught up with something..."
"I-It's fine!" I shouted on accident. "I'm getting better! No need to worry Tsuna-san!"
"Thank goodness!" he yelled, relieved. "Reborn just ruined my day again..."
Ah! Training! That makes sense.
I smiled to myself and then an idea popped into my head. I shyly looked over at Tsuna.
"Something wrong Miyu-chan?," he asked.
I looked down at my lap, shifting uncomfortably. I freed a hand from his grasp, motioning him closer with it. He did so and I whispered into his ear, "Can you give me a piggyback ride home?"
I covered my face with my hands, my face as red as a tomato.
"Mm!"
I looked up at him from behind my hands. His back was to me. He was in a crouching position, ready for me to climb on.
"T-Thank you..." I leaped onto his back and felt his hands take hold of my thighs. I squished my cheek against his shoulder, my face looking away from him as he walked me out of the rehabilitation wing of the hospital. I couldn't help but give off a huge smile at what was happening now. I felt all tingly everywhere, which scared me at first, but now I really adore that feeling.
Jun's POV-
I gasped. "She...smiled." I watched in me and Reborn's hiding spot the scene of Tsuna carrying away my sister. She looked happier than I've ever seen her truly in a long while.
"What do you think?," Reborn asked me.
"He passes...," I said softly, feeling grateful towards Tsuna for being able to make my beloved sister smile wholeheartedly. "He would have passed regardless..."
"Oh?," Reborn said, smirking.
My sister simply loves the lamb doll she received from the unknown giver, she couldn't stop sleeping with it last night, but I know who that giver is. To be able to cheer her up...is something for me to recognize.
"Huh?...Where did Miyu go?!" my brother Mamoru shouted, walking into the room with Miyu's bag. He panicked and looked around for a good while until we came out and explained that she was home already.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW GUYS! HOPE YOU'VE HAD A DELIGHTFUL THANKSGIVING. GOBBLE GOBBLE.
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BAI FOR NOW!