Remember the good old days when I thought that updating three days after my last chapter was late? Well, does anyone know where they went? Cause I miss them a lot. T.T

But enough of my whining! On to other things!

dotYui: Glad to hear that. Kurohana has not had a happy life, that much can definitely be said. But now she's hanging out with Retsu & co., so things'll get better. ^^ And Daisuke...you'll see. I looked up naginatas, and that's about how tall they are. Don't worry, I'm 5' 4''. I'm short too. T.T You're welcome, and thanks!

Rikulz: He made it while he was making Retsu's weapon. I didn't think about that too much though. :p Really? If you do, I'd love to see it! ^^ Yeah, I live in NY, but not the city. More like the middle of nowhere. His story sounds cool! I don't know, the plot just kind of turned out that way. *shrugs* Oh, Dai. Things'll work out, don't worry (I think).


Our Sky

Chapter 29: The Hidden Room

Last Time:

"A naginata," Kurohana breathed in amazement. "I've never seen one like this. But...how?"

From his position next to Retsu, Reborn smirked, the brim of his hat falling to shade his eyes. "I knew she was a good choice for the family."

~OS~

"Hm?" Retsu turned his attention away from the shadows in the smoke. He couldn't really see what was going on, but there was just enough light to project the two's figures through the dark clouds. All movement seemed to have stopped, which puzzled him. "You say something?"

"Nothing that would matter to you," the baby responded. His student shot him a glare, but left it at that because Dai had started to move again. The teen watched in horror as his older brother lifted his gun and pointed it at Kurohana.

"Watc-!" he started, but was almost immediately cut off by Reborn giving him a quick slap to the face.

"Kurohana's a big girl," he reprimanded. "She can take care of herself."

Sure enough, the girl had seen the attack coming. Breaking out of her daze, she brought up the naginata in such a way that the barrel of the rifle was redirected at the last second, the blast sent hurtling towards the ceiling. Both fighters jumped back to avoid the falling debris that soon followed, sizing the other up through the shingles, concrete, and wood plummeting to the ground. Their gazes locked for a moment before a large shingle passed between, severing the connection.

Kurohana took the opportunity to inspect her new weapon, and was pleasantly surprised with what she found. It was a comfortable weight for her, and the blade was every bit as sharp as it appeared. She gave it an experimental swing, and, evidently liking the results, smirked. Know what? Who cares how I got it. As long as it works, I've got no complaints, she decided.

The rain of debris had started to trickle to a stop when the two made their move. As if in sync, both leapt forward, at the same time as a pebble began to fall from the ceiling. Before it had even touched the ground, they were at each others throats, blocking, parrying, and exchanging blows at an unreal pace.

For someone who fought with a long distance weapon, Daisuke could sure keep up well in a close combat battle. He couldn't fire, but the rifle happened to make an excellent blunt object. A fact that Kurohana found out the hard way when it connected with her leg. Letting out a hiss of pain, she swung the naginata recklessly, hoping to put some distance between them. It worked, and the man backed up considerably. It was then, however, that she realized that was what he'd been waiting for, and that she just hadn't given him a chance to get away. Until now.

Shit! I fell for it! she berated herself, helplessly watching as Dai pulled the trigger and fired. But the attack wasn't directed at her. No, it was going in a different direction altogether.

"Get out of the way, dumbass!" Kurohana cried, already knowing she was too far away to be of any help. Retsu would have to rely on himself for this one. Great. Just great.

Hearing the girl's warning, the boy turned, coming face to face with the beam. His eyes widened, the red fire reflected in their amethyst depths. Acting on pure instinct and will to live, the teen threw himself to the side, desperate to get away. He successfully evaded the actual attack, but was still blown back by the explosion created when it hit the wall.

He was flung through the air with a sudden feeling of weightlessness, but it was over far too soon. Retsu collided with a wall, all the air in his lungs leaving him upon impact. Not again, he thought, remembering back to his fight with Kurohana. Why's it always got to be a wall? A mattress, or a pillow, those would hurt less. But noooo, it's got to be a hard, solid- wait, what's going on?

Retsu was cut off mid-rant by the feeling of falling back. The seemingly hard, solid wall was collapsing behind him, and all he could think was: You've got to be kidding me. He tumbled back into the space behind, still in shock. He didn't even have to regain his footing before tripping over what felt suspiciously like the edge of a stair and plummeting down further into the darkness.

From where she stood, all Kurohana could see was that one minute the boy had been there, the next, he was gone.

You have to help him! Yume exclaimed from inside her head. Just then, Dai lunged forward, apparently deciding to finish with her first and then go after Retsu. She ducked, bringing up her weapon horizontally to catch the gun, thus ensuring that, at least for the moment, he wouldn't be able to shoot her.

A little busy right now, she grimly told her other self, eyes narrowing in concentration.

~OS~

A column of red fire shot through the sky, originating from a building a few blocks away. It startled Izumi, causing him to jump a few feet in the air. I think I found 'em, he observed dryly, changing course so that he was heading in that direction. If there was a more obvious way to tell someone your location, he'd yet to find it.

Sprinting through the alleys and maze-like streets, he quickly found his way to the building where the fighting was taking place, if the half-collapsed walls and scorch marks were anything to go by. It had definitely seen better days, that was for sure. The concrete sides were caving in on themselves, and a cloud of smoke and dust hung in the air around it.

He ran to the door and tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. Try as he might, he still couldn't get the door to move, and finally had to accept that something was probably blocking it, and that he'd have to find another way in. Scanning the area for anything helpful, he soon found that there was nothing else he could use. The windows, all two of them, were a mess of shattered glass and crumbling wall. No other doors were visible, and he was just about to start panicking when he remembered the beam from before. Hadn't it been in the sky? And to do that, it would have had to have gone through the ceiling.

Climbing up to the roof was simple. There were so many stray rocks and cracks in the wall that it made the climb almost too easy. Upon reaching the roof, Izumi was relieved to see that yes, there was a giant hole in the ceiling. Looking into it, all he could see was a small pile of fallen rubble. Everything else was cloaked in darkness.

No choice then, huh? he thought, stepping closer to the edge and preparing to jump. Hope I don't regret this!

The orange haired teen dropped through the opening, landing on the ground below with cat-like grace. He straightened, searching for any signs of Retsu. What he found was that he'd landed in the middle of a fight. The fighters, the girl who'd been controlled by Tora and Daisuke, were both giving him surprised looks, though the girl's had more of a quizzical air to it.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but do ya know where I can find Retsu-san?" he asked, directing his question at the one who he thought was more likely to answer. She raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth as if to say something, but shut it quickly, cocking her head as if listening to someone. She nodded once, gave him a doubtful look, then sighed.

"Whatever you say, Yume," she muttered quietly, before looking up and addressing the question. "The idiot you are looking for is over there," she pointed to a gaping hole in the back wall, then continued. "If you want like to kill him, by all means, go ahead, but could you find out what the hell he's doing first? Cause I'm kind of curious, and I'm too busy to find out for myself." She motioned to her opponent.

"...That's it?" Izumi was shocked. Shouldn't there be a little more hesitation at the very least? And telling him so easily that he could kill Retsu...was this her real personality? Scary. Wouldn't want her working for him.

"You expecting me to stop you?" Kurohana seemed amused by this. "No way. Go on ahead. If I finish here early, I'll come help you. Not that you'll need it," she amended herself.

"I'm not going to kill him," the boy answered, not really knowing what else to say. He didn't notice how her grip on the naginata loosened considerably at his words.

"Damn," she swore, seemingly disappointed. "Well, whatever. Get going." And with a dismissive wave of her hand, she turned away, ignoring him completely.

What a weird person, Izumi thought with a small smile. Still...at least she helped me out. Maybe she's not so bad!

He followed the direction she'd pointed in and soon found the hole. What appeared to be concrete was actually a disguised wooden door. This was now visible because of the jagged, broken edges on the boards, an effect that wouldn't have been possible had it been concrete. It looked as if someone had fallen through it, and the boy couldn't help but sweat-drop. "What'd you do to end up here?" he wondered out loud, cautiously stepping through.

After softly probing the ground and affirming that there were no white haired boy lying there, he set his foot down. The rest of him soon followed, and then he paused, giving his orange eyes a moment to adjust to the blackness. If it was possible, it was even darker in here due to the lack of a man-made skylight.

The teen carefully stepped forward, but...

"AH!"

...apparently not carefully enough. He just barely managed to catch himself on the side railing before falling down the flight of stairs before him.

"Thank god," Izumi heaved a sigh of relief before moving down another step. He checked to make sure his footing on this one was secure, then began to descend. "Falling down a flight of stairs," he mused to himself absently. "Now that would've been bad."

~OS~

Meanwhile, at the bottom of those very same stairs, Retsu groaned, slowly sitting up and rubbing his aching back. Note to self, he grumbled in his head. Try not to fall down stairs. It really hurts.

"At least nothing's broken," Reborn put in, appearing by his side with a small smile. "You can be thankful for that."

"Yeah, thankful's just what I'm feeling right now," he muttered. "I didn't see you falling with me."

"Of course not," was the smug response. The reply grated on his nerves, and was about to make some comment on it when his attention was drawn away by the door in front of him. It was plain steel, with a few rusted patches here and there. A latch was bolted on to one side.

"Now why would there be a hidden underground room in a warehouse?" Retsu couldn't help but ask.

"Why don't you find out?" the baby suggested, nudging the boy forward. He nodded, curious to see what was on the other side.

You know what they say: curiosity killed the cat.

He pushed the door open, and for a moment could see nothing in the dark room. Typical, he thought. Why's everything in here so dark? Would it kill them to put a light...in... The teen stopped in his train of thought as his eyes adjusted. There was a moment of tense silence, when neither of the pair moved. Then, as if he'd been bitten, Retsu recoiled in shock and horror.

"W-what the hell is this place?!"