Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs.

Author's rant: Does anyone know what 'tao' is? o_o

Chapter 14

Enter: Sun guardians, Battle - Sasagawa Ryohei VS Lussuria

Sawada Tsunayoshi watched bewilderedly as his blue-eyed friend sat in front of the ring in which the battle was going to take place.

The brunette was meeting up with his friends at Nami-chuu for the upcoming battle. When he arrived, he almost fell down once he noticed Yuri sitting comfortably in a folding lawn chair without a care in the world. Even Nikoru was somehow roped in into sitting on a separate lawn chair.

Didn't Yuri-san feel the tense and suffocating atmosphere? Tsuna voiced inwardly, thoughts going a mile a minute. No, of course she didn't, Yuri-san is completely unaffected by anything that doesn't interest her.

Sometimes, Tsuna was found nonplussed at Yuri's behaviour. She seemed, at first glance, to be tough and short-tempered towards outsiders. But then when people got to know her better, they realized that she was quite cheerful and strange, but still loud. And then, when something provoked her and pushed her a tad bit too far, instead of blowing up in anger, Yuri would usually freeze over. She would become cold and calculative, always spitting out venom-filled words.

Suffice to say, even with the legendary Hyper Intuition, Tsuna didn't know how to describe Yuri in simple terms.

Yet, Nikoru-san could. The Vongola Tenth found that plausible considering that the amber-eyed girl knew Yuri much better, seeing how long they had been together for.

Nikoru-san was much easier to identify. She was kind and gentle to everyone, even strangers. Tsuna failed to realize how compatible they were. In fact, he always compared Nikoru to Kyoko. But unlike the younger Sasagawa sibling, Nikoru was less withdrawn when with Yuri and constantly displayed a slight aggressive nature towards her best friend. Even Yuri feared her at times. How strange, Tsuna mused, though he'd witnessed stranger things.

Looking back at the whole situation, the small boy grasped how frighteningly quick the two girls had crawled into a special place in their hearts. Gokudera always argued with Yuri with ferocity, they both insulted each other but deep down, Tsuna knew they enjoyed their arguments somewhat. Just like Yamamoto did with Gokudera. Tsuna smiled fondly, he had such weird friends.

Yamamoto was well… Yamamoto. The athlete was always happy-go-lucky and got along with both of the girls without much difficulty. Yuri was easily annoyed with Yamamoto if she stayed in his company for too long. In some ways, the stubborn girl was quite like Gokudera.

Tsuna was jolted out of his reverie as his loyal right-hand man shook him violently by the shoulders. The boy with half of the Sky Vongola ring instantly began to placate his worried friends, laughing nervously all the way.

"Thank goodness!" Gokudera exclaimed with relief as his shoulders sagged. "Juudaime, please excuse me for interrupting your musings, but they have arrived." He hissed out the last few words, emerald eyes glinting dangerously.

Tsuna nodded and gulped audibly as he looked up towards the Cervello and Varia.

OoOoO

It was announced by the pink-haired duo that tonight's battle would be fought by the Sun guardians.

The lights within the caged ring lit up, announcing its presence. The Middle schoolers looked at the metal death-trap with apprehension. Well, most of them did.

"I bag front seat!" Yuri exclaimed cheerfully, running eagerly towards her already set out lawn chair.

Nikoru shook her head, her dark-blue ponytail swishing behind her. She smiled and sat down next to her exuberant friend.

Both sides voiced out their opinions of the battle. Whilst the two energetic boys of Tsuna's Family were satisfied with the combat area, the assassins were commenting on how their boss was missing.

"Ne~ is Boss here yet?" Lussuria asked aloud, whining somewhat. He clamped his gloved hands in front of him and waved them, panicky. "It's my glorious moment on stage!"

"Ah!" Yuri cried, standing up. "Don't worry, Lussuria-san!" She waved her camera around, "I'll record the battle for you!" She grinned and gave the Good Guy Pose™.

"Ah~ Thank you, little girl!" Lussuria was grateful towards the girl and waved his hand in her direction.

Yuri smiled and felt her ears and tail surface.

Everyone else seemed to ignore the lively duo's conversation.

Squalo smirked. "There's no way that man would be interested in another's fight." Levi glanced at the sword-wielder when he noticed Squalo was talking about Xanxus. "Better yet, don't accept this pathetic battle that doesn't really suit us, and let me take them all!" He grinned sadistically. "I'll cut them apart in five seconds!" He noticed the Varia Lightning guardian watching him. "VOI! Why are you glaring at me?"

"He's glaring at you because he wants to know why you're talking to yourself!" Yuri stood on the seat of her chair and cupped her hands around her face, making sure they could all hear.

"WHAT?" Squalo spat angrily. "I wasn't talking to myself!" He disagreed vehemently.

"Fine." She allowed. Yuri then smirked slowly. "He was checking you out then, kthanxbye." She sat back down, leaving a red-faced, spluttering swordsman.

The Sun guardians bade their farewells and stepped towards the ring.

"I'm going. Leave it to me!" Ryohei declared, raising a bandaged fist. He stopped in his tracks when Yamamoto offered to form a circle.

"AWESOME! Sounds fun!" Yuri was all for it. She grinned and dragged a dumbfounded Nikoru with her.

"Ryohei, FIGHT!" Only two of the teenagers bothered to get pumped up about it.

Yuri-san and Onii-san were the only ones who said 'Ryohei FIGHT'. Tsuna hung his head.

Before Ryohei could step into the ring, he was stopped once more.

Yuri spent most of her time trying to work out a suitable and appropriate nickname for the older Sasagawa sibling. After a few days or intense thinking, she finally found a reasonable nickname.

"Hotai-kun!" {Translation: Bandage-kun}

Yeah… Yuri's imagination was succumbing to a level only Nikoru could possess. But Yuri at least had the decency not to call him anything offending.

Then again, she considered calling him 'boxing-baka'.

"What an extremely creative nickname!" Ryohei approved, rather loudly too.

Yuri grinned cockily. "Let's do a fist-bump!" She held her own fist out.

Ryohei gave a nod and pulled a bandage-clad hand back. Once the knuckles connected, the boxer left with a broad, excited grin.

Yuri waved with her other hand and her grin was a tad bit forced. When no one was paying her any attention, she turned away in to another direction. She squat down and gently cradled the hand she used to fist bump Ryohei. A waterfall of tears fell from her blue orbs and a heavily depressed environment surrounded her.

"He fist-bumps so hard." She whined in hushed whisper.

Nikoru looked over to see what was taking her friend so long. She sweatdropped and shook her head at the sight. She sighed exasperatedly. What else should you expect when the head of the boxing team fist-bumps you? Especially after all the training he's been through.

Yuri schooled her expression into an emotionless one and returned to her seat, rubbing her sore hand every now and then.

Lussuria made a rather… perverted comment on Ryohei's body. While the Varia were quite used to comments previously shown and remained unfazed, the other half of the guardians looked quite repulsed. Excluding Ryohei, he was entirely clueless. Yuri wondered whether the denseness ran in the family; first Kyoko then Ryohei. Well, it went the other way, seeing how Ryohei was born first, but Kyoko was introduced earlier! Yuri shrugged, oh well.

The blue-haired girl smirked. Lussuria's bold pride in unabashedly showing that he was gay impressed her. So many people these days were so obsessed with keeping appearances and not doing what they really want to. Peer pressure was annoying. Yuri made a mental note to visit Lussuria in the hospital afterwards. She honestly preferred him over others; others being Gokudera, Ryohei, Kyoko. The list went on and on.

Suddenly, as the Cervello announced the start of the battle, lights within the ring flickered on. Everyone cringed at the sudden brightness, their eyes not adjusting quite yet.

While the Cervello explained what was set up, Yuri got two pairs of sunglasses out and tossed one to Nikoru. "What a waste of electricity." Yuri commented none too quietly, earning her a dirty glance from both Cervello. The otaku paid them no attention and began shoving popcorn in her mouth.

Nikoru vaguely registered the fact that Yuri was nudging the box of popcorn in her direction. The girl with a darker shade of blue hair rejected the offer politely, and continued gazing at the sunglasses-clad Tsuna. She sneakily took a picture with Yuri's camera… which made her question exactly why it was lying there.

"I thought you were going to film the battles?" The girl turned to Yuri, not really paying attention to the pained grunts of Ryohei.

Yuri grimaced. "Lussuria should stop commenting about how Boxing-Baka's body is close to that 'ideal' body of his." She muttered disdainfully, dropping the formalities once said people were out of earshot. Her mind seemed to register Nikoru's question. "Nah, it's a waste of film considering how the Sun battle is my least favourite. I sometimes forget that Ryohei is a guardian too…"

Nikoru rolled her eyes at the admission. "Forgetful one," she smiled.

"Slow one," Yuri retorted with a smirk. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I should have been the Sun guardian." She puffed up her cheeks.

Nikoru unhinged her mouth, ready to counter it, but soon snapped it shut. She knew Yuri only said that half-heartedly, she merely let her tongue slip.

"I feel like playing with Squalo." She smirked devilishly.

"I don't think 'playing' is the right word. Besides," Nikoru pinched one of Yuri's cheeks, "do you want to get another broken bone? I thought you learnt your lesson when it comes to annoying people that have the strength to kill you." She lectured with a reproving tone, her maternal side seeping through.

"I knooow." Yuri's words came out slurred as her cheek was still in the midst of Nikoru's fingers. "But," she continued, once Nikoru released her. "That's why we've been training. Well, that's why I've been training. So that idiots like Squalo can't push me around anymore." She grinned while rubbing her still-sore cheek. "Why have you been training? Was it fun? Was Lal good?"

Nikoru waited for Yuri to finish unleashing her barrage of questions. "Me? I've been training because…" She pursed her lips and paused. Why had she trained? "Because I want to get stronger."

Yuri remained silent at the simple proclamation. "Huh?"

"Well, specifically, I want to become stronger so that I can fight. Like you, I dislike being a stereotypical girl, like certain others." She coughed and her eyes flickered over to the side before resuming their normal position. "Though I don't hate it with the same amount of ire as you do." She amended with a smile.

Yuri broke into a prideful grin. "Ngaw, look at you! You're using big words now! See, isn't reading fanfiction a great educational experience?"

"Yes, of course." Nikoru replied dismissively. "It was fun, I think. It depends how 'fun' you can have when running long distances and going through activities that you'd normally find in Boot Camp, or the military." She smiled ruefully. "Lal was your typical over-the-top trainer."

Yuri grimaced, but seeing her friend no different than usual made her nod wordlessly. She would die if Nikoru somehow adopted a crazy, loud and intense attitude that would be similar to Guy and Lee from Naruto. She shuddered at the idea of green spandex and thick eyebrows with a bowl cut to top it off.

The two girls returned to their match, both equally disinterested. Though, Nikoru hid her boredom well with a neutral façade, while Yuri was more open. Said girl's eyelids were drooping, she was on the brink of sleep.

Thankfully, Colonello's sudden entrance and loud encouraging outburst to Ryohei had inadvertently woken Yuri up.

The mention of Kyoko's name made Yuri scowl. She clicked her tongue in both annoyance and frustration. She inwardly noted how she clicked her tongue quite a few times already. "Ugh, I hate Kyoko." She grumbled quietly, so that no one other than Nikoru could hear. If anyone else heard, particularly Tsuna or Ryohei, Yuri would be in deep trouble. Damned Kyoko fanboys.

The calmer individual of the duo gave a lopsided smile. "You don't hate her, you only find her annoying."

Another click of the tongue. "Yeah, I know. But," she continued with a heavy sigh, "she's such a Mary Sue, so is Nana. Yamato Nadeshiko, my ass." She scoffed.

Nikoru slapped her upside the head, though she didn't put much force in it. "Language. Make sure no one else hears you, they'll be out for your blood if they do."

A sigh. "I know, I know. I'll just save the comments for my 'Dark self'." Like always, Yuri added mentally. "Whenever I'm about to explode and scream out my actual hate-filled, yet true feelings, hit me."

Nikoru noticed the pleading undertone invading Yuri's solemn voice. "Okay."

Yuri gave a small smile of appreciation and watched as Ryohei destroyed the now-crackling lights. Really, didn't anyone care about how much that must have cost? Um, okay. Apparently, when heat dissolves sweat, only salt is left. Well… that didn't seem like utter bullshit at all. Please note the blatant sarcasm.

"Oh!" Nikoru clapped her hands together as she realized something. She turned to a bored Yuri. "How was training with Fon?"

The girl suppressed a groan. Underneath the mask of a cute chibi, lied a devious sadist. "Nice people always do tend to turn out evil." She muttered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, staring pointedly at a confused Nikoru.

She mulled over her stressful week. "It was alright, I guess. Not fun, though not too horrifying. At least I'm not as clumsy as before. He did teach me one helpful thing!" She grinned. "I can harden my muscles so when someone hits me, the blow won't injure me as intended." Yuri went into what Nikoru called her 'lecture mode'. "It doesn't really have a name, but it reminds me of the 'Tekkai' that certain people use in One Piece, so I'll call it Tekkai."

"So that's why you didn't seem to be worried when those guys attacked you." Nikoru whispered, awed by Yuri's intelligence.

"Of course! You didn't think that I would charge blindly into a fight like that, how could you?" The younger girl feigned a shocked expression and gasped.

"No, of course not," Nikoru played along with a bemused smile.

"It's not perfect, of course. There are a few drawbacks, but you'll see later on."

"You're too lazy to go on, aren't you?" Nikoru deadpanned with a raised eyebrow.

Yuri pointedly ignored her comment.

The rest of the battle passed in a haze, in Yuri's opinion. She almost fell asleep. After all, the battle was cutting through her bedtime. As her eyes closed shut and she was on the edge of sleep, a whining voice broke through.

Who the hell woke her up just when she was about to get some sleep? Yuri inwardly seethed. Oh, it was Kyoko. Joy.

As the caramel-eyed girl continuously chanted 'oniichan', Yuri felt the urge to hit something grow more and more. Apparently, Fon's lessons on keeping calm weren't helping. At all. Was it her, or did Tsuna and Ryohei just magically become stronger and pull a life-saving move whenever Kyoko was around? Oh Kami, save us all, the safety of the world lies on the shoulders of annoying brats.

A thump resounded loudly, causing Yuri to crack a dull, blue orb open. She frowned at the sight of Lussuria's panicking form. Really, it was too pitiful to look at.

Ugh, grogginess made Yuri oh-so irritable.

She visibly flinched as Gola Mosca pointed his mechanical fingertips at the back of the Varia Sun guardian. No matter how well the Varia would turn out after the whole Ring Conflict was over, they were utter jerks right now. Must they all have the wonderful opportunity of getting the sense knocked violently into them by children?

The answer was obvious.

There were cries of outrage and dismay at the Varia's way of life. "Kill the weak." Wasn't that lovely? If they enforced that statement, more people than they could count would already be dead. Yuri reflected on her comment from the previous afternoon, men certainly were stupid. Or was it just practically everyone she met?

It was most definitely the latter.

Wow, was it her or did her thoughts take a really, really dark turn?

Squalo's shouts pulled her back to reality. Kami, couldn't this man ever shut up? Yuri would have loved to snap at him, but she was too tired.

The Cervello announced that tomorrow night's battle would be of the Lightning guardians. Yuri didn't bother to flinch as they ring crashed down, causing loud noises to resound. She was quite used to loud noises by now.

So Lambo would be fighting tomorrow? Yuri grinned. She couldn't wait to see 20-year-later Lambo.

Nikoru watched as her friend scrunched up her face. Was it because Kyoko suddenly appeared again? That was understandable; Yuri would always pull a face when something that annoyed her came within a certain distance around her.

"Yuri, what's up?" She asked concernedly whilst Kyoko foolishly bought the supremely obvious lie.

Yuri grimaced. "I need to pee."

Nikoru almost fell out of her chair. "I-Is that so?"

The girl grunted in an unladylike manner. She overheard Iemitsu comment rather loudly how much Kyoko and Nana were alike. Yuri snorted and bit back the vile comments bubbling within her mind.

"Well, we should get going now. Tomorrow should be fun, ne?" The optimist chimed merrily, in hope to lift up Yuri's grumpy mood.

Yuri cracked a smile, stupid bossu. "Yeah. I guess so."

Enter: Lightning guardians, Battle - Lambo VS Leviathan

The ground was damp with the continuous light drizzle of rain, as a group of teenagers, and toddlers, travelled towards Namimori Middle School. The sky was dark with thunder clouds, as if to stress the fact of the upcoming life-or-death battle. Normal people would feel apprehensive at the atmosphere, but who ever said Kuraihana Yuri was normal? Perhaps stupid people would.

Said girl was humming jovially in her knee-length, black boots as she jumped into the puddles, spraying everyone within a close distance with rain water built up from the puddles.

"Stupid woman, how dare you dirty Juudaime!" Gokudera spat venomously.

Yuri, however, wasn't fazed in the least. She grinned and stuck her tongue out childishly. "Shut up, Inu-dera. And calm down, sheesh."

Lambo laughed obnoxiously. "Bleh! Stupidera was told off!" He continued laughing at the furious Gokudera.

"I like this kid!" Yuri decided. "He's even cute… when he doesn't talk, that is." She added.

"Yuri-san, I'm amazed at how calm you can remain." Tsuna murmured, torn between bewilderment and awe.

"Of course! Since that person is coming!" She snickered and skipped ahead.

"Yuri, you'll catch a cold if you don't use an umbrella!" Nikoru chastised, running after a thoroughly-soaked Yuri.

"But I don't like brown!" Yuri cried aloud from a fair distance.

Nikoru only had one umbrella on hand, the one she was currently using. She offered to share but… Her friend obviously disliked brown plaid umbrellas.

Even Nikoru didn't seem affected. Tsuna inwardly facepalmed and began fretting over whether Lambo could fight properly or not.

As the boys climbed up to the roof and gazed at in a mixture of awe and shock, Yuri pulled a cushion out of thin air and plopped down. She also brought a cushion for Nikoru, who sat down with much more grace than Yuri did.

The cheerful girl also brought out a large parasol that could fit two people underneath. The parasol stood erect above the two girls that were out of place in the suspenseful atmosphere.

Lightning struck down on one of the lightning rods that helped form the Elettrico Circuit. The rod, along with the wires running along the floor underneath it, shined brightly.

Yuri let out a low whistle. "Kyo-chan is gonna be pissed when he sees the scorch marks tomorrow." She smirked deviously, not realizing that she would probably be with him when he noticed it, and that he would most definitely take his frustrations out on her.

She rubbed her temples tiredly. Lambo's whines were increasing devastatingly in volume. How can someone misinterpret the obviously sizzling rods to be an amusement park ride? Even though Lambo was five, he was still raised within the Mafia.

Then again, he was a stupid cow.

Yuri debated which was thicker, Kyoko or Lambo. Probably the former. She was older but not exactly 'smart' either.

Why did her thoughts always circulate around that girl?

The upside to her musings was that a lot of time passed while she dove deeper into her mind. The minutes inched by as Yuri missed the Varia's entrance, the Circle or Cheer (as she dubbed it), Tsuna's speech and his reluctance at letting Lambo fight.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Nikoru unwillingly jumped beside her. It was completely understandable after all. Combined with Lambo's screams of surprise, the booming thunder sounded even more dangerous.

Smoke emanated off of the little cow's body, reminding Yuri of burnt food. Soon enough, the girl found herself drooling slightly. Using the sleeve of her blue raincoat, Yuri hastily wiped the saliva away. Why had she missed dinner again? Oh yeah, so she could go to Kokuyo and give Mukuro his birthday present.

Damn it, he annoyed her so much! But it wasn't the same annoyance she maintained when with Kyoko, Gokudera, Ryohei, and sometimes Tsuna, it was… different.

She reflected on the reasons why, exactly, she found certain individuals unbearably irritating.

Kyoko was too dense and Mary Sue-ish. 'Nuff said.

Haru was alright. At least she displayed more emotion than a certain caramel-haired girl.

Ryohei was also dense and too infatuated and overprotective of his sister. Did he honestly expect to keep her oblivious about the Mafia forever?

Gokudera was one the people on Yuri's 'People I Hate' list. She actually had a list, something that made Nikoru roll her eyes at. But she would talk about the list later. Gokudera was overly obsessed with Tsuna, not unlike Ryohei and Kyoko's situation. The bomber didn't know how to cherish his life above others' and it pissed Yuri off to see how annoying he could become for Tsuna.

Ah, Tsuna. Yuri thought Tsuna was quite cute, who wouldn't? But the same went for him as it did for Ryohei. The brunette was too, if not more, obsessive over Kyoko. Fark, in the Future Arc he would always address the non-combatants that came from the past as 'Kyoko and the others'.

When he screamed at Irie, he kept on saying how he put them in danger by bringing 'Kyoko and the others' to the future. Kyoko was probably the only thing in his mind most of the time.

What Yuri didn't comprehend was why Tsuna was so in love with the girl that didn't even bother to give him the time of day, or even acknowledge his existence before Reborn dropped by.

Surely, Nikoru was a much more suitable choice. Nikoru was in some ways like Kyoko, and in other ways not. Unlike Kyoko, Nikoru displayed emotions other than worry and content. Nikoru wasn't obsessed with cooking, cleaning or doing other meaningless chores. The amber-eyed girl wanted to fight, even though it didn't seem like it.

Nikoru was kind, gentle, athletic, and capable of fighting, she was a Yamato Nadeshiko. Well, except for her cooking. Yuri spent a few days in bed after trying her friend's 'biscuits', if you could call the mutilated things that.

Yuri was vaguely aware of a fist colliding against her head. When she did, she immediately turned towards the person responsible. Nikoru sat there, a grim smile playing on her lips.

"You had this dark look in your eye when you started glaring at the space in front of you." Yuri noticed the disapproving shade in Nikoru's normally bright eyes. "Complaining again?"

Yuri sighed in defeat. "Yeah, and I was also thinking about your… unique cooking. I bet you could give Bianchi a run for her money."

Nikoru smiled. "That didn't turn out how I planned, I wonder what went wrong. Oh wells. Now, why were you in such a frustrated mood?"

Yuri stared pointedly at her friend and pouted. "I'm hungry."

Nikoru rolled her eyes amiably as her hand roamed around her bag. After a moment she pulled a bento out. She sighed when Yuri stared at it, horror-struck. "Mama made it, not me." She assured with a light scowl.

Yuri muttered something along the lines of 'Thank Kami', and began to dig in. "What did I miss?" She managed to say between mouthfuls.

Used to Yuri's hasty way of eating, Nikoru continued on normally. "Hmm, Adult Lambo arrived through the 10-year-bazooka. That's the only interesting thing that happened so far."

"Wouldn't he be 'Teen-aged Lambo', since he's only fifteen?"

Nikoru shrugged noncommittally.

The two girls diverted their attention just in time to witness Teen-aged Lambo absorbed Levi's attack. Yuri snickered at his choice of weapon, what kind of assassin uses umbrellas, for crying out loud!

Everyone sweatdropped and Yuri muttered 'what an idiot' as Teen-aged Lambo cried a fountain of tears and hopped into the 10-year Bazooka once again.

An eerie silence fell as the pink smoke dissipated and revealed a man with black hair, wearing a brown coat. His fingerless-gloved hand caught the falling Lightning ring easily.

"Yare, yare. This phenomenon… If this isn't a dream, it's been a long time since I've been summoned by the 10-year Bazooka." Adult Lambo murmured to himself. He looked back at the awe-stricken group.

Yuri eyed his attire and smirked. "Lambo, I approve!" She grinned and held out a 'thumbs up'.

"It's been a long time, Young Vongola." He whispered and moved onto Yuri. "Hm, I haven't seen you this young in a while, Yuri. I still remember the embarrassing antics you pulled."

Yuri looked aghast. "You're saying I'm old in the future? Well this gets better and better." She grimaced.

Adult Lambo's eyes softened and he remembered a hazy flashback. It was when he was young and remembered the time Yuri accidentally stepped on him. He pushed the thoughts away and looked back to the battlefield. "It's not the time for me to be sentimental. That brutish-looking one is glaring at me." His lazy gaze drifted to Levi.

Yuri grinned and took a picture of the once-stupid cow. This was the climax of the battle, the most exciting part; the part in which Yuri was waiting for. At least this battle was a little more exciting than the Sun battle.

Now that Adult Lambo had disappeared and the group didn't get to see him finish of Levi, Yuri began to think.

"Nikoru, I've been thinking-" She began but was cut off by a gasp.

Nikoru looked completely stunned. "You've been thinking? It's 2012!"

Yuri rolled her eyes and laughed sarcastically. "Yes, yes. But seriously, I've been thinking about the Future and my thoughts travelled to Lambo." She frowned slightly. "I wonder how he's going to fight when up against the Real Six Funeral Wreaths."

Nikoru hummed thoughtfully. She knew Yuri didn't read the manga, so of course she wouldn't know. But Nikoru knew that her friend wouldn't take it very well if she spoiled what would happen. "Have you seen the episode 195?"

"G's Archery? Yeah, I have." She scowled angrily. "Stupid Inu-dera, a bow and arrow was supposed to be my box weapon, damn it." She glared at Gokudera, who was busy engrossed with Tsuna as he rescued Lambo.

"Really?" Nikoru questioned, her voice distant. She heard this all before and didn't pay it much attention. She was busy watching starry-eyed as Tsuna went into Hyper Dying Will mode.

Yuri stopped in mid-rant when she noticed Nikoru not even listening. "Stupid fangirl…" She muttered under her breath.

The atmosphere immediately tensed and a few people gasped. Yuri looked up and swore she heard organs playing as Xanxus made his presence known. Hey, Yuri thought cheerfully, Xanxus is standing on Kyoya's favourite sun-baking spot. Or sleeping spot, whatever, it was the same thing.

Xanxus chuckled at Tsuna's resolve to keep his friends from being hurt.

"It's been a while since we've seen Boss smile like that." Mammon observed curiously.

Smile? That was obviously a smirk. Yuri wondered if Mammon had trouble seeing, what with the hood covering his eyes and all.

She sighed, though no one seemed to notice. They were all engrossed as Xanxus claimed Tsuna's other half of the Sky ring. Honestly, the whole thing was pointless when the rings would choose their owners in the end. But then again, the training and the things they go through throughout the Conflict would strengthen them in the end.

Complex things all began by simple accidents, after all. Ah, the butterfly effect, was it? Or did that infer to the Future Arc? Ah well.

Wait, after the Varia retreat and the gang rush up to Lambo, doesn't the 'mysterious Mist guardian' appear and comment on how 'weak' Tsuna is? Yuri queried mentally. That's pretty unusual for Chrome. Oh wait, Mukuro was speaking through Chrome's lips… How confusing. Yuri never did like puzzles.

Yuri jumped up and searched the other buildings' roofs. Ah, there they were! Yuri spotted three cloaked figures standing on a random rooftop. She waved jovially at the three before they ran off. How rude.

"Nice to see you again, Naru-chan." She smirked as a small yellow bird descended onto one of her shoulders. "Where's Blue? I thought he was keeping Chrome company too."

Naru-chan changed positions so that he was now sitting on his owner's head. He didn't like being jostled whilst on her shoulders as she began walking.

"Is he still with her?" She asked curiously.

"No." Naru-chan replied, simple and straight to the point.

Yuri scrunched up her eyebrows. "So he's on his way to Nikoru?"

"No." He chirped.

"Oh my Buddha." She groaned impatiently. "Then he's on his way to Tsuna's?"

"Yes." Naru-chan was glad that she guessed. He loved messing with his owner.

Yuri just knew Naru-chan was happy to toy with her, that sadistic bird. She knew he could speak a full sentence, but he was content with playing the simple-minded bird.

The girl yawned and finally reached her destination. Yamamoto was still at the hospital with the others, and the restaurant was already closed. Yuri switched her boots with slippers and strolled to her mattress.

Before succumbing to the peaceful dreamland known as sleep, Yuri pulled her phone out and dialed a familiar number.

"Yuri?" The voice questioned, puzzled as to why she would call this late.

"I know I only saw you a few minutes ago, but I forgot to tell you something." She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. "I'm not going to see Inu-dera's fight, it's too boring and the idiot was stupid enough to actually shake hands with the enemy before a fight."

Yuri paused for a moment. "Actually, all the other fights are really boring since I've already watched them. So I'm gonna skip all the other fights except Tsuna's 'cause that's the most awesome one."

Nikoru hummed and nodded in agreement. "So you want me to tell the others?"

"Nah, I don't think they'll care whether I'm there or not, probably relieved that someone isn't there to make random jokes. Anyways, did Blue come to you yet?"

"Yeah. He was soaking wet and decided to transform into his Maximized Version so he could cover more ground faster. Now I have to dry him." A blow dryer could be heard through the phone. "So what are you going to do tomorrow night, sleep?"

"Hmm… Maybe. Or maybe I'll have a sleepover with Kyoya, if he's not busy, that is."

"Well, it's not the first time you'll have a sleepover with a guy," she noted dryly.

Yuri smirked, "Now, help me decide how exactly I should torture- I mean, how exactly we should have fun."

Nikoru swore she could feel the mischievous atmosphere surrounding her snickering friend. "S-Sure."

Author's rant: ...Yeah, I was in a Kyoko-bashing mood. :3

Published date: 15-08-10