Author's rants: Wow, not many people entered the competition. Oh well, less work for me! BAHAHAHAHA.
Ahem, does anyone know any study tips? Exams are next week. TT^TT MEANING I CAN'T READ MY BOOKS! Oh, and update... -shifty eyes-
Chapter 21
Enter: Truth
Nikoru pinched and pulled Yuri's cheeks so hard that Yuri wondered whether they would remain their previous size or seem larger from now on.
"I'm sorry!" Yuri whined. She sniffed as crocodile tears welled up in her eyes. "It hurts…and I sound funny," she added.
Nikoru aimed a reproving stare at the girl she was delivering punishment to. "I can't believe you lashed out at Tsuna-kun like that." She paused. "Well, I can believe it, but it still wasn't very nice, Yuri," Nikoru lectured, frowning.
Nikoru recalled the moment when she finally woke up from her drained, comatose state. Now, most people would wonder what had happened to make them feel so lifeless, but the first thing Nikoru noticed was her surroundings. Or lack of.
"This isn't my room…" Nikoru had noted once she became aware of the cramped space she was sitting in. She had hugged her knees tightly to create some space around her. Nikoru brought her fist up and tapped the experimentally tapped the interior of her cramped cell.
The surface was hard, but soft enough for Nikoru punch continuously without feeling immediate pain. Sort of like an animal's egg… And then Nikoru remembered what happened when Dino finally arrived.
She was swallowed by that Box Weapon, wasn't she?
"How did you find out about it, anyway?" Yuri asked sourly as she rubbed her cheeks gingerly.
Nikoru realized she had released Yuri whilst she was reminiscing. "At Dino's welcoming party," she answered with a light frown. "Tsuna-kun looked subdued whenever he glimpsed at you, so I asked him what's wrong." Nikoru suddenly looked more curious than put off. "I thought you never wanted to bitch-slap."
Yuri huffed. "The situation called for it. Would you rather I punch him?" she bared her teeth into a malicious grin. When Nikoru shot her a look, Yuri merely shrugged unflappably. "Ryohei will do that later on," she said darkly.
Nikoru rolled her eyes at the theatrics. "Say sorry to Tsuna-kun, all right?" Her tone wasn't harsh, but firm.
Yuri blinked. "Okay. But you have to let me borrow your scythe."
Nikoru tensed while her eyes narrowed. "Why?" she questioned stiffly, attempting to keep the wariness out of her voice.
"I just want to test something out…" Yuri answered airily. "Is it a deal?"
Nikoru grimaced. Though she knew it was a bad idea, she still agreed. "Sure," she sighed deeply, reluctant. If Yuri hated Tsuna as much as she said she did, then getting her to apologize to him would be worth giving up her scythe for a little while, right?
oOoOo
A sinister smirk spread across Yuri's lips. It indicated that a plan was forming within her mind. There was no doubt that it had something to do with the apology Nikoru had forced onto her.
Hah! As if she would sincerely apologize to that immature, Kyoko-obsessed, little boy! Yuri would rather lecture him and rant about how weak-minded he was and how shallow he was for liking Kyoko. Half of Yuri's mind firmly decided that Kyoko was a robot, or an alien. How else could someone be so emotionless, so oblivious?
Even after Tsuna was injured when he protected her from Tazaru, Kyoko didn't even question why it happened. She never wondered why or how. She only cared about making everyone happy by doing chores. It made Yuri gag.
Surely, Tsuna couldn't be so stupid as to like a pretty girl with no personality…right? Apparently, Yuri dreamt of the impossible. For the Tenth Boss of the well-respected Vongola Family, that was pretty shallow.
But would Nikoru listen? Noooo…
Yuri was definitely serving Xanxus and joining the Varia when they returned to the Past.
Yuri clicked her tongue irritably, and snapped her thumb against her index finger as a scowl formed on her brow. There was a reason Yuri continued to snap her fingers against each other. Her efforts proved to be worthwhile, when a black Dying Will Flame ignited on her index finger.
The Flame covered the entire tip of her finger. If she wished so, Yuri could have summoned enough energy to make the Flame envelop her entire hand. Maybe, if she exercised and built up her stamina, Yuri could make the Flame coat her entire body. And then she would have the greatest weapon ever!
Right. She was getting off-track. With a cough, Yuri composed herself and let the maniacal grin slip off of her face.
Now, how could she deliver her a seemingly genuine apology to Tsuna without obliterating her pride or receiving further punishment from Nikoru?
After several minutes of contemplation, Yuri finally grasped the answer within her fingers. She was going to cry, bawl her eyes out. Most people - especially weak ones like Tsuna - crumbled when someone (especially a girl) unleashed the waterworks. Yes… Yuri could use what was left of her femininity to her cunning advantage.
While sobbing, she would utter some crap about being worried for everyone's lives being at stake because of the wild Box Animal being unleashed within the living area. She would say that she was especially afraid for Yamamoto and Nikoru - that was understandable since Yuri cared for those two most.
Her mask could always be saved.
oOoOo
Sawada Tsunayoshi's sigh echoed deafeningly throughout the large bathroom as he dowsed himself in warm water. Training with his Vongola Box Weapon certainly was draining. He just didn't know what was wrong with it. It seemed utterly wild and untamed. Dino had mentioned something about being with the Box whenever it was in trouble, but still…
Tsuna dipped his head into the water and urged himself to think about other matters. When he resurfaced, his nest of hair was clinging onto his face, so he shook it madly in order to get the annoying locks off.
Other things, eh? Yuri seemed to provide him with infinite amounts of brain-teasers that could keep him busy forever. First, she was cold and ruthless with her words, and now she was kind and caring? He didn't need his Hyper Intuition to tell him something was up.
But then again, her tears seemed like the real thing, not like the fake tears she spilt at times. Moreover, her words made sense too. She was afraid for everyone's lives, mainly Nikoru's and Yamamoto's lives, so it made sense that she would turn icy and snap.
But her words…where did Xanxus and Varia come from all of a sudden? Now that Tsuna thought about it, Yuri always seemed pleased whenever there was an opportunity to befriend people that were outside his circle of friends.
Tsuna knew that it was odd for Yuri to be so close with Mukuro, but shrugged it off and never gave it a second thought. But how deep was their bond? He saw Yuri a lot more than Mukuro did - mostly because Yuri acted like his house was her own whenever she was bored - so why did she and Mukuro act friendlier towards each other?
There was also the Varia… During the battle over the Rings, Yuri seemed more interested in talking and getting to know the assassins rather than actually cheering her friends on and hoping the Varia lost. So she was fine with knowing that skilled killers working in the mafia were out to destroy them all, but was so worked up over the fact that he was about to injure himself and the others around him? Ugh, this was giving Tsuna a massive headache.
Maybe he should ditch all the over-thinking and just trust Yuri? If Nikoru and Yamamoto trusted her, and Gokudera didn't fully hate her, then she was no problem to worry about. Hopefully.
oOoOo
"So, how did the apology go?" Nikoru inquired conversationally as she surveyed Yuri's room within the base.
Yuri privately thanked whatever deity there was out there that Nikoru was someplace else and did not see Yuri's obvious disdain. "Awesome," she lied cheerfully. "Yep, Tsuna and I got over that bump, and the guys were there, too." She grinned falsely.
Nikoru smiled. "That's great. Now…" she said ponderingly, "what is up with this room?"
"What?" Yuri actually appeared confused. So what if her Future self decided she wanted the room to be more eye-catching and made everything black and white with a checkered pattern? To Yuri, it seemed pretty…different. Unique.
Nikoru shook her head in dismissal. "Never mind… I can't believe you have a book shelf that covers one entire wall."
Yuri grinned. "I like reading fantasy books for young teenagers and kids," she explained simply. "Like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or The Golden Compass."
"Bookworm," Nikoru accused with amusement.
"They're interesting and funny at times," Yuri pouted.
Nikoru's eyes widened after several moments of silence in which Yuri read and Nikoru daydreamed. "Hey…" she began, sounding incredibly suspicious.
"Yes?" Yuri prompted indifferently, taking no note of Nikoru's tone. She continued to read To Kill a Mockingbird and flipped to the next page, engrossed.
"How far have you and Irie-san gone?" Nikoru fought to keep the grin off her face.
Yuri snapped the novel shut immediately. She turned to look at Nikoru. "Isn't that a little personal?" she asked evasively.
Nikoru gave her a dry look. "You shouldn't be talking. When you meet someone online, you instantly ask them how old they are, what city or state they live in, and one time you even asked what their parents worked as."
Instead of looking rightfully ashamed, Yuri seemed to be reminiscing. "Ahh, yes. And I still don't know what occupation it is… They go on international business trips, so it seems suspicious. And they're rich!"
Nikoru's look was replaced with astonishment. "Mafia?"
"That's what I said!" Yuri beamed and promptly high-fived Nikoru.
"Hey, wait," Nikoru interjected after she returned Yuri's high-five. "You took us off-track!"
"I am pretty good at distracting people…" Yuri permitted. When Nikoru gave her a stern look, Yuri relented with a sigh. "Do you really want to know?"
"Just tell me if you're still innocent," Nikoru said flatly.
"Aww," Yuri smiled gently. "You still have hope."
Nikoru sensibly chose to display no emotion on her face.
Yuri sighed aloud at the blank stare she was receiving. "Yes, I'm still a virgin," she drawled. When Nikoru didn't nod approvingly or make any gesture at all, Yuri became confused. "What's wrong?"
Nikoru wordlessly elevated her arm and pointed in the direction of the door.
Bemused, Yuri unquestioningly peered at her door, which was now open.
There stood a gawking Dino, who, for some reason, appeared incredibly shaken. "Came in at the wrong time, came in at the wrong time," he muttered to himself continuously while shakily walking out of the room.
"Hmm, I wonder why he dropped by," Yuri commented idly.
"I think he came here to apologize."
"For what?" Yuri arched an eyebrow.
"I think it's because his turtle Box Weapon swallowed both you and me because he couldn't control it properly," Nikoru informed in a detached tone. "So why do you love Irie-san?" she asked abruptly, turning serious.
Yuri flinched at the rapid alteration in attitude. Was that a glint in Nikoru's eyes? "Why so random?" she stalled.
Now Yuri knew that she wasn't just imagining the maniacal gleam in her friend's eyes. Nikoru smiled. "I was just curious… I mean, it's hard to picture such a calm person like Irie-san being with a wild, tom-boyish girl like you, Yuri."
"Gee, thanks," Yuri muttered wryly. "I never really explained why I like him so much, have I?" she asked rhetorically, more to herself than Nikoru. "Well, it's because, even though he's our age, he's not childish like Tsuna and Gokudera."
"I'm assuming you're talking about the Past version of Irie-san?" Nikoru's assumption sounded more like a question.
Yuri grunted in affirmation. "He's a little clumsy at times, but he thinks logically and sensibly, unlike Tsuna."
Nikoru groaned quietly. "Please stop adding Tsuna-kun's name every time," she requested, a little exasperated.
"I make no promises," said Yuri, grinning.
"But what about Hibari-san or Mukuro? They're not 'childish', as you put it," Nikoru noted practically.
Yuri stared at Nikoru as though she were stupid. "One's a sadistic blood-thirsty teenager who prefers to be a loner. The other has bad sense in taste, is a sadist and a masochist," the girl listed off, disturbed that Nikoru would even consider her liking them. "And it's cliché, because every OC is paired up with them and both guys mysteriously like her back," Yuri snorted.
"You always have a shallow reason for why you do things," Nikoru commented with a chuckle.
"Better than no reason at all," reasoned Yuri with a shrug. "Sure, Mukuro and Kyoya are good-looking, but there's a difference between 'you're hot' and 'I like you'." She was oddly wise today.
Nikoru's face was devoid of any expression. "You think they're attractive?"
Yuri knew straight away that she had dug her own grave. Damn her misfortune.
oOoOo
"We're lost, aren't we?" Nikoru asked Yuri, who was in front.
Yuri continued walking at a hasty pace. "No, we're not," she insisted.
Nikoru sighed while they strode throughout the countless hallways. "Why did I even let you show the way? You're directionally challenged."
Yuri huffed, fed up. "Then you lead the way, Miss Perfect."
The two came to a stop. They were currently looking for the corridor where everyone would be at. During this moment, Haru and Kyoko would be announcing their boycott until the boys shed some light on the current situation.
Nikoru wanted to be there to support the boys. Yuri wanted to be there to throw a spanner into their works and utterly obliterate the heavy atmosphere.
The path the duo was presently on split into two different ways. One went left, the other right. Yuri tapped her foot impatiently with a look of expectation as Nikoru strode forward.
"There," she said immediately, indicating to the left. "I can spot the guys' backs."
Yuri started. "No way!" But true to Nikoru's words, Yuri could see the backs of Yamamoto, Gokudera, Ryohei, and Tsuna. She scowled. "Well, I led us this way…" grumbled Yuri.
"We want to know what Byakuran, Millefiore and Boxes are," Haru was saying, her eyes firm with determination while Kyoko remained silent and worried beside her.
Yuri decided to step in when Tsuna's oblivious façade was failing miserably. Honestly, the boy was more useless than Kyoko at times, if that was even possible. "Oh, that's simple," said Yuri, easily stepping into the conversation.
Tsuna flinched. How did Yuri always appear like that magically? Actually, the most important situation at hand was what Yuri was saying. She wouldn't really tell Kyoko and Haru all about the mafia, right?
"You see," Yuri began, "Byakuran is this white-obsessed pedophile who plans to take over the world," she babbled on energetically.
Okay, maybe Tsuna was wrong. He panicked visibly and sent a silent plead of help to Nikoru - who was suddenly beside him.
Nikoru shrugged apologetically, having no plan to stop Yuri now. The girls had to find out sometime.
"Millefiore is his gang of idiots, and Boxes are things we use to fight people with." Yuri pulled out her Box with the black star on it, and swiftly threw it in forward, narrowly missing the girls' heads. It was totally an accident… Insert suspicious look.
"We've had enough of the lies!" Haru snapped, but it fell on Yuri's deaf ears as the girl rushed off to retrieve her Box back.
Cooro, who was inside the box, jumped around agitatedly. He was enjoying his blissful sleep, when suddenly, he was thrown around. That did not bode well with the haughty crow. He hopped up and down within his home angrily.
"Sorry, sorry," Yuri apologized repeatedly as she gazed worriedly at the still-bouncing Box.
"We won't do any housework!" Haru cried.
"And we'll boycott living together!" Kyoko finished off.
Yuri inwardly cried tears on honest relief. Kyoko actually had emotions! Well, there went her robot/alien theory… But boycotting living together? "So someone's sleeping on the streets?" she remarked sardonically.
Nikoru discretely elbowed Yuri.
"What ugly girls." Yuri shuddered as Reborn and Giannini appeared, both dressed up as hideous looking women.
Haru looked towards Nikoru. "What about you, Nikoru-chan? Who are you going to side with?"
The expectant look in Haru's eyes made Nikoru want to sink into the ground. Truthfully, Nikoru wanted to remain with Tsuna rather than the others. But how could she say no to those looks?
Thankfully, Yuri intercepted. "You can't put Nikoru on the spot like that!" she said angrily with a scowl.
"What about you, Yuri-chan?" questioned Kyoko, blithely ignoring Yuri's outburst.
"Well," Yuri started off with a blank expression, "truth be told, I really don't like Tsuna or Ryohei, but I find being with guys more entertaining than girls." Her voiced dropped to a muted whisper, "Girls who do things half-assedly and don't know what they're even talking about, that is." Yuri's voice returned to its usual volume, "So I guess I'm neutral. I'm Switzerland…again!"
"You're always neutral," Nikoru noted casually. She turned to the girls who were somewhat deflated. "I guess I'm with Yuri. Sorry. But you will find out. Remember my advice when we returned to the Future? You shall find out the truth soon enough," she added with a mischievous smile.
Both of the non-combatant girls nodded curtly and strode off.
When the girls' backs were no more than specs in the distance, Yuri broke off into a fit of impish giggles. Oh, how amusing it was to see everyone in turmoil - especially the naive Tsuna and his beloved air-headed Kyoko.
"That's creepy," Nikoru stated firmly. "Don't giggle like that."
A cherubic smile was plastered on Yuri's lips. "But it's so entertaining."
"Yuri-san, what were you thinking?" Tsuna shrieked outrageously at the smiling girl.
"I agree with Sawada!" Ryohei announced. "What were you doing, Yui?"
"It's Yuri, dumbass!" Yuri's smile evaporated and morphed into an angry frown. She sent a heated glare at the older boy. "Hmph," she sniffed, "I was just telling them what they wanted to hear. It's their own damned faults they didn't listen to me."
"But we can't tell Kyoko-chan about the mafia… We need to protect them from the truth," Tsuna said resolutely.
Yuri snorted. By now, they were in one of the rooms used to host parties like Dino's welcoming one. Everyone was seated on chairs while Yuri sat on the table, as though it were her throne. "Right," she remarked wryly, "of course you do. But do you realize that, by shielding them from the truth and keeping them in the dark, you're actually strangling them?"
At the befuddled gazes directed at her, Yuri sighed wearily. "Okay. What if Kyoko and Haru were attacked and held hostage. They would be confused because they don't know why they're being held captive. If they know it's because of the mafia, they'll be less jumpy therefore making them less scared. Get it?"
"Not one bit," Ryohei said simply with a nod.
"If I didn't know it was such a bad idea, I would totally join Byakuran out of sheer irritation…" grumbled Yuri as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Y-You wouldn't actually do that, right, Yuri-san?" asked Tsuna, apprehensive. Knowing Yuri, she would jump at the chance of meeting new friends - especially if they were enemies of Tsuna himself.
Yuri pointedly feigned ignorance and turned away from the brunette.
"It's not like Kyoko was going to question anything, anyway," she murmured quietly. "When Tsuna rescued her and got himself injured when fighting Tazaru in the warehouse, Kyoko didn't even wonder why it was all happening. She was just worried for Tsuna's sake. Like usual."
"What was that?" Ryohei roared angrily.
Despite herself, Yuri jerked. They heard her grumbles? Damn her loud voice. Although it was an accident, Yuri took this all in stride. "You heard me, Sasagawa Ryohei," she smirked deviously. "Kyoko is quite…stupid, wouldn't you say?" Yuri appeared thoughtful for awhile, "I guess it runs in the family," she said with a speculative look as she peered at the infuriated boy.
Ryohei's patience snapped. How dare this girl insult Kyoko! Kyoko was his treasure - she was his only little sister in the world! Ryohei couldn't control his rage any longer, so he rose swiftly out of the chair - the bang of his chair as it hit the tiled floor fell deaf on his ears - and smoothly punched Yuri on the nose.
But, being Yuri, she activated her Tekkai before anyone else could even blink. A sadistic grin stretched widely across her face. Of course, Yuri didn't make her Tekkai too strong; she didn't want to fracture Ryohei's knuckles right when Choice was so soon. So she measured enough power to assure that the blow would be blunt and felt like nothing more than a light tap.
Unfortunately for her nose, Yuri ended up sliding across and off the table as Ryohei's punched impacted. As Yuri clutched her nose in pain, she mentally berated herself. Ugh, how could she underestimate him? Underestimating enemies would lead to her downfall. Yuri also forgot to keep in mind that a short-fused, strong man with a sister-complex wasn't a great person to provoke. Oh well.
Yuri calmly strolled back towards the others after dusting herself off as though she was given a light shove instead of a heavy blow. It wasn't like it was broken or deformed, so Yuri considered that nothing major.
Despite the agonizing pain, Yuri played it off quite well. A feral grin met her lips whilst she wiped away the blood gushing out of her nose with the back of her wrist. "Wow, it seems that Kyoko is your biggest weakness." Her grin widened significantly. "You know, you should make that less obvious. I'm surprised no one has bothered to kidnap Kyoko yet, seeing how Vongola Tenth and his Sun Guardian are so obsessed with her…"
Nikoru wondered if Yuri was going to use that little comment as inspiration for a new fanfiction story. A more sensible section of her mind groaned fervently at Yuri's big mouth.
Yuri's grin was now more of amusement than sadistic entertainment. It would interesting to see Mukuro's expression when she would inform him about how simply it would be to kidnap one silly little girl rather than beating up various teenagers. Or maybe he just liked spilling meaningless blood? Yuri never understood the minds of masochistic homicides.
Speaking of Mukuro, she wondered what in the world happened to their mental link. Weeks ago, when Yuri was horribly bored or in desperate need to talk to someone who would listen - Nikoru could only say so much -, she attempted to contact Mukuro via thoughts. Attempting being the key word.
When Yuri finally decided to probe into the depths of her mind and uncover out what was going on, she was disorientated. Further into her mindscape was a massive cable. It was as though it was made by several other normal-sized cables or ropes. Yuri instantly knew that the cable was their psychic bond.
But what left her dazed for awhile was the end of the cable. Yuri finally figured out why she received no reply other than static whenever she tried to contact her close male friend; the cable was cut. It wasn't a clean cut - the ends were frayed and looked as though they had been deteriorating for quite a long period of time.
Yuri then exited her mindscape and pulled out her Death Note from one of her drawers. She hastily flipped through various pages while expertly looking for anything about the link and Mukuro. Did the decaying symbolize something? Perhaps Mukuro was dying? Sure, that didn't occur in the original story, but what if she and Nikoru indirectly caused something like that to happen?
If not dead, then maybe critically injured? Or maybe the link was perishing because they were no longer speaking to each other as often, meaning that they weren't good friends anymore?
She didn't want to lose Mukuro as a friend…because he was one of the people that weren't absolute idiots, and most people that Yuri hated, hated him. Yes, it was pleasurable to see the look on people's faces when they heard that she was close friends with the murderous Rokudo Mukuro.
Yamamoto gulped uneasily. Why were senpai and Yuri fighting? It wasn't like the fights he and Gokudera had, oh no. This fight was much more serious and…tense - despite the fact that Yuri seemed to be more amused than angry.
If Yamamoto was forced to pick, which side would he go to? Yuri, the friend who he got a long with easily? Or Tsuna, the boy who Yamamoto admired and enjoyed being in his company? Though he didn't like ultimatums, Yamamoto honestly liked Tsuna and the others more than Yuri, unfortunately.
"Guys, we should calm dow-" He didn't even get to finish before he was interrupted.
Surprisingly, Tsuna was the one who spoke up. "Obsessed?" he hollered, deeply offended. "We're not obsessed! We simply care about Kyoko, a lot!" A determined scowl was etched onto his brow. Although Tsuna disliked confrontations, he didn't want anyone bad-mouthing Kyoko or his friends.
"No, no," Yuri shook her head with a pitying smile. "You're obsessed. I know obsession when I see it. You guys," she indicated to both Ryohei and Tsuna, "always think about Kyoko immediately whenever you hear the word 'danger', or the chance to return to the Past."
A sigh. "At least Xanxus and his minions don't fawn over a dumb blonde…" Yuri promptly left the room and its enraged occupants, the air swirling with tension as she strode out.
Nikoru frowned. Kyoko wasn't blonde. Apparently, Nikoru had been influenced by Yuri and subconsciously thought something that was incredibly off-topic and the opposite of the stifling atmosphere.
"What the hell was that?" Gokudera cried eloquently. He didn't really care for what crap Yuri was spewing about Kyoko, but Tenth appeared troubled. And if Tenth was angry, then Gokudera was automatically irritated.
"I always knew that Yuri was hiding something," a deep voice commented from the door.
"Dino?" Yamamoto questioned, but not in his usual cheery voice. He was going through inner turmoil at the sudden waves caused by Yuri in the metaphoric ocean of their friendship.
Dino smiled grimly. "Yo. I came down here because I heard all the shouting. I even heard a few bangs. It made me think that there was a brawl going on here."
"You could say that again," Gokudera snorted softly.
Even though Ryohei had managed to blow some steam by punching Yuri, he was still quite infuriated. "How could she say such vile things about Kyoko? Kyoko is the most innocent, kind, gentle person I know! What's wrong with Yuri?"
If Tsuna wasn't so jumpy, he would have noted that Ryohei had actually gotten Yuri's name right. "It's so…unusual. Has she always been like this?" Something in his mind registered. Tsuna's head snapped up towards his proclaimed older brother. "Dino-san, you said that you knew something was up with Yuri? When?"
Unable to help himself, Gokudera listened in with curiosity. That stupid girl was capable of such bittersweet anger? If he was faced with that question months ago, Gokudera would have loudly and rudely advised that person to head to the hospital.
"Yeah," Dino answered, "when we first met. She seemed to be playing a role. Before answering or commenting, she would pause slightly as though trying to find out a way to answer. I'm guessing she's been holding this much hatred ever since she met you…" He would deny it if anyone asked, but Dino had to marvel somewhat at Yuri's skill and patience.
"Is Yuri like this around Tsuna only, or all of us?" Yamamoto wondered quietly. What a change in mood could do to his personality…
"I don't know," Tsuna replied hopelessly. Now that most of his rage had dissipated, he was feeling the after-effects - mainly sorrow and exhaust. "How about we ask Nikoru-san?"
There was an awkward silence.
"Nikoru-san?" Tsuna tried again.
When the men surveyed the room thoroughly, they came to a dazed conclusion. Nikoru had managed to escape while they were deep in thought.
"Yuri!"
Nikoru called to her friend as she landed a hand on Yuri's shoulder. Nikoru had quietly crept out of the room after Dino had entered. She didn't want to miss anything important, so she left Minimized Blue - who was hiding in his customary hiding place (aka Nikoru's hood) - under the table within the shadows where the light didn't shine too brightly. It wasn't like she was using him as a spy or anything… Insert shifty eyes.
Unbeknownst to Yuri, she was reflecting Tsuna's previous worn-out look. Her eyes appeared as though they had bags and she hadn't slept in days. She rubbed her temples blearily. "Yes?" she croaked out.
"I'm not going to reprimand you about what you said because, frankly, it was starting to eat on my nerves too," Nikoru admitted with an abashed smile. "So, what's the plan?"
"Plan?" Yuri echoed, confused.
"You always have a plan to save your mask. You didn't actually think that I'd believe something as unusual as apologizing to Tsuna-kun, did you?" At Yuri's small grin, Nikoru chuckled. "But seriously, how are you going to save yourself this time?"
Yuri's sad smile wasn't what Nikoru was expecting. She was expecting for her vicious friend to grin cunningly or openly cackle insanely - but not give a gentle, sorrow-full smile.
"I don't think I can save it this time. Besides, that time when they rambled on about Kyoko's benefit was the juncture where I was finally going to reveal my real self. My mask is mostly held together by tape rather than actual clay." She paused. "Metaphorically, of course."
Nikoru stood unmoving, stunned. "So…that's it? You're going to openly say your cruel feelings and thoughts?"
Yuri nodded. "And when we go back, I'm going to Italy."
Being the optimist that she was, Nikoru looked towards the brighter side. "Better than going to another world," she offered.
"Better than going to another world," Yuri agreed with a grin.
oOoOo
As Tsuna ran down the corridor that lead to the hatch closest to him, he reflected on the eventful day he had. Yuri…she really had an ugly personality, didn't she? Tsuna always had a feeling that something felt wrong with her, but he swatted it away like it was nothing important. Oh, how that came back to haunt him.
Ah, speak of the devil. Yuri was walking leisurely whilst whistling a jaunty tune as she headed towards Tsuna. Right when they were shoulder to shoulder, Yuri whispered, "Running after Kyoko again? This totally proves that you're infatuated with her. You don't even stop and think about it first. The Millefiore are holding a cease fire, and Kyoko isn't that rash. You really don't know her at all, or you're just completely stupid. I pity the Vongola Famiglia…"
That stopped Tsuna in his tracks. He glared angrily at Yuri. He was so sick of the way she treated him and his friends! Especially Kyoko. "And why should I listen to anything you say?" Tsuna snapped. He was so worried about Kyoko and panicking so much that it ate away on his nerves.
Reborn and Bianchi, who were both watching Tsuna with amusement, turned to each other and exchanged confused glances. What was Tsuna doing? Why did he suddenly stop? And more importantly, why did he scream at Yuri? The normal Tsuna would be too afraid to do something like that to the intimidating Yuri…
"Why are you always mentioning Kyoko?" Tsuna continued. "Maybe you're the one obsessed with her!"
At first, Yuri's face began reddening in rage. But then she looked at Tsuna's comment in a different light and began barking with laughter. "Seriously?" She laughed boisterously. "God, that's so impossible that it's making me cry! Don't mistake passion for hate." Yuri smirked viciously, "Shouldn't you be chasing after your idol?" She sneered.
Tsuna tensed, realization hitting him like a sledgehammer, and dashed quickly out the exit.
"Maybe I should get an illusionist to torture him with images of Kyoko's death…" Yuri mused darkly as continued on her way. When she passed by the silent Bianchi and Reborn, she stared coldly at them.
Reborn didn't know what warranted such an attitude from the normally bright Yuri, but he sure planned to find out.
Yuri was glad that she could be her cruel self when she wanted to be. She had never felt so…free. She couldn't wait to move in with the Varia, that way she would no longer feel so much cold fury and instead enjoy herself.
Closing the door to her bedroom, Yuri idly speculated whether or not her mask would still be in place if she had Mukuro to talk to. Then again, there was always Hibari…
Kuraihana Yuri paled and shook violently at the suggestion.
Published date: 30-10-10
OMFG, CHOICE STARTS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER~! :DDD
I bet you guys are sick of Yuri ranting about Kyoko, eh? LOL. I hate her. SHE TURNED CHROME INTO A MARY SUE, TOO! My Chrome... D':