Last time….

Well, then. This was it. If there was anything I really knew, it was myself. I could easily resolve my problems, return to Mys, and crown Ethan as the Sky member of Melo.

Here I go.

For now….

And of course, it was easier said than done.

I mentioned briefly before my surroundings, but the room was a simple kind of decor you couldn't help but consider "suave."

The flooring was a soft carpet of deep red. Sitting on it for long periods of time wasn't uncomfortable, which I was thankful for. Storm and I had gabbed on for minutes already. In fact, it was the kind of carpeting you could love to take a nap on. And when compared to the blinding white of the walls, the room, with its single light source hanging from the ceiling, was a contrasting of wine red and pure white.

The surroundings seem to speak of simple, but of a certain taste. It could make you almost want to meet the person who designed it and the person who paid for it. Even Storm himself fit into his surroundings with that red pelt.

However, Storm had sat himself upon a tan stool, which was the only piece in the room I could have called "homey."

And now, that brought me back to my questions.

Who designed this room? Me, or Storm? If it were me, perhaps it was my perception of him. If it were Storm…well, I could believe it. But that stool was strange, almost as if it were a game-breaker.

"Hellllllo? You still in there?" Storm was growing impatient. And admittedly, I should have been quicker too. Who knew how much time I was stuck here, no, stuck in that damned sphere. If Mys was hurt, so help me and Ethan…

"Right. Well. I guess first of all, I don't get why you look down on me so much. Our ages and experiences are different, but is the me of today not even worth listening to?"

There was a difference between "hearing" and "listening." Hearing simply meant noise. Listening required attention.

If my voice was so small, and my words so dumb, then who could say my voice in the future wouldn't also be small and useless? If there was one thing I had learned during my journey to Japan, it was that powerlessness was the ultimate tell to weakness. No one is truly weak, and if they see themselves as powerless, then they simply haven't seen enough.

There was always a way to become stronger, whether through cleverness, support from others, or simply the will to keep going. The me of today was an actor, but the me of tomorrow might become someone else.

If I let others see me as something I knew I wasn't, then I, with my weak will, would begin to believe them. I could never let that happen, should never, and would never.

"Well, yeah."

An anger mark appeared on my forehead.

"But, guessing by your reaction, I think maybe it's time to rethink that."

"Huh…?"

"Look at you. Getting angry at someone else thinkin' you're not as good." Storm laughed, and his cat body shook. "I mean, you never disprove it or fight back. And in your head, you quietly accept it."

Storm guffawed. "And that's just wrong! All you see is the bad in people, even yourself. You got so used to it, you're resigned. And who wants to be friends with someone like that?"

"Like I ever wanted friends."

"Ah, ah." Storm admonished me. "Everyone needs a little companionship. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"…." I hated to admit it, but Storm was right. Without Mys, I would have long since given up. I would meekly return home and probably be packed somewhere else.

Without Mys, I would never have met all the people I did. And without those people, I never would have seen all that I had. And without those lessons, I'd never be "Jenna," but little, timid Jenna who couldn't do a damned thing.

I sighed. I was just thirteen, but now I had to grow up quickly, or I'd be left behind.

"So, what I'm hearing is, I shouldn't care about what others think?"

"Well, that's the ideal answer. Truth is, we're all bugged by what others think. You can't really change that."

"I see."

"But you can accept it, and let it drive you forward. You want to be seen as strong? Then get stronger. So strong you can beat 'em up!"

"That would be vicious and cruel, not strong."

"Yeah, yeah, you get my point." Storm's ears perked up and he gave a cat's version of a toothy grin. Namely, all his sharpened teeth hung out.

"Well. You might not feel like it, but that was the first step. Take an extra long one next time, 'kay? And keep in mind, you should-"

The sound of Storm's voice was swept away as the blur of white and red changed into purple and brown. All around me was an enclosed space. Paper walls lined the sides, and wooden walls were at our backs. The man in front was every bit of my expectations met, and then some. With a steaming pot of tea and a teacup in front of him, he sat down on his knees with closed eyes. He looked like he was contemplating what to say.

Mist smoked from his pipe as I took in our surroundings. Despite the small space, the room held a surprisingly calm atmosphere. Beautiful sakura trees were painted on the paper walls, bundles of the pretty flowers were swept alongside a graceful blue wind. The wooden walls and table were a solemn brown, as if cut from an old tree patiently waiting for death.

And Mist, dressed in an old-fashioned yukata, seemed perfectly at ease in that room. So because of that, I relaxed as well. I observed him instead.

Short black hair that waved to one side, it seemed chopped in an uncaring manner. I had also expected his behaviour and voice to be flippant too. He had always seemed to care more for his thoughts than others, and I never got the chance to interact with him much. But I noticed his stature. As a grown man, he was tall, but he never slouched. His eyes too seem to frown at times. I was surprised to find Mist being so serious about things not about his interests.

After some time had past, Mist finally spoke up.

"Don't you have anything to say?" He spat the blunt words out as if he'd been waiting for me all this time. Well, I'd been waiting for him…

"I thought you actually had something to say to me." I said, a little indignant. The issue of time must not have been too urgent if we were wasting time like this.

"Wrong. To both your assumption and your concern about time." Mist was always reading my mind like that. To be honest, he was kind of a blunt jerk sometimes. "Hurry up and confess your worries or whatever."

"Seriously…?" I mutttered to myself. It was really embarrassing, just going up and saying, "Oi! I got a problem with you! And I aim to say it!"

"Well. I'm not sure why I'm here, but I don't have a bone to pick at." Mist blew out smoke calmly after my declaration. Smirking, he countered, 'Really. Then why else would you be here?"

Gosh damn, I don't fricken know. Storm told me absolutely nothing.

"Hm. No, wait. I know now. You're just a jerk. You're every bit an individual player. You're the reason why I realized being honest or alone isn't always so great."

Mist seemed to wince at every insult. I enjoyed it.

"And the way you don't care about any of us, it's really annoying because I know you're listening in. You can join in, you know! You don't have to act like you're cool or anything. I know you're just a big nerd."

That last joke seemed to really hit home.

Mist placed his pipe onto the ash tray. With one side of lips twitching, an anger mark appeared.

"Ah-"

"Listen here, you brat. I've got my reasons and people like you should learn to respect them." Mist, in his honest manner, got to the point.

"And listen here, you old man, you oughta lay off yourself for just a second and really be happy. Think you could do that? Not totally beat yourself up for ages?" I responded in an equally annoyed manner. "Yeah, that's right. Think I can't spot self-deprecation? Believe me you, you're not the only one gifted at it."

Mist shut his mouth and glared at me. I glared back. We held the glaredown for a second before Mist tched.

"Alright, alright, you feel better now?"

"Actually, I do. Now I know ratting on people is the best."

"Whatever, you brat."

The look of a ticked-off Mist faded away, and was replaced with muted orange.

Once again, it was nothing but a small cube, but the most shocking thing was that orange was the only color of the inside. And little Sky, looking like a nervous wreck with his disheveled blonde hair and shuffling eyes, didn't dare to look up at me.

And the most curious thing was that he had feminine features.

"Uh….."

"…."

"I-If you wanted to be addressed as "she", I'd be happy to."

"!" Sky very much seemed happy for the offer.

"Well, that's settled then." I said, smiling.

If in this place, anyone could look as they wanted, then that was a really happy thing.

Sky's eyes soon shifted though, and she seemed to remember why exactly we were here.

"…Eh…. Uh….." I really tried to think of why I was here. Even though it was easy to berate Mist, it really wasn't so easy to think bad of Sky. Looking and sounding as helpless as…

"Hey, Sky. I'm wondering, what is it you want to do?" Sky's head perked up at my question. It was an odd way of putting it, but when timid folks like me wondered that, the first thing that came to mind….

"Uh, not to act so weird…."

"…." I slouched and crossed my arms. "Yeah, I know that feeling."

Sky reddened, but nodded her head quickly. We were comrades in arms, fighting our shy selves - to express them to the world.

Or. Well. It sounded less embarrassing in my head.

"But, you know, those times when you say something really good? That's the best, huh!"

Sky nodded and I grinned like I thought Mys would.

"Huuuh. Yeah. You definitely remind me of how I was before."

Sky looked up with confusion. Probably the first time our eyes had met.

"….Well. I still am who I was, but I think what really irked me was getting reminded of who I used to be." I crossed my arms, trying to explain what I was thinking without hurting Sky's feelings. "I mean, I was a timid and cowardly person, and I really hated that. There was nothing I wanted more than to feel comfortable with what I said and did."

Sky too became serious. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knees. With a straightened posture, she looked at me through such serious eyes; they were almost glaring. I was a little uncomfortable, as if I was trying to teach a goofy topic to my fellow student.

But at least Sky didn't seem hurt.

"I'm not saying who I was is something to be ashamed of. But it wasn't who I wanted to be, or be remembered as. I'm Jenna. Calm, and independent. I'm not timid, or cowardly, or someone who always has to depend on others."

Sky took in that last comment with a slow nod. She closed her eyes, and opened her mouth.

"Becoming who you want is important, but forgetting who you were makes it easy to revert." Sky opened her eyes, a bright orange reflecting back. "There is nothing wrong with depending on others, but being independent makes you reliable."

Sky gave a serene smile, showing her approval of my goal.

"Do your best."

The dulled orange had blossomed into an amazing setting sun before it was wiped away into black.

—-

Me: Hrm. Now that I'm on this path, I realize the personalities of all the Flames are quite nice.

Mys: Huh? Why say that now?

Me: Well, before, all the Flames were stereotypical. If you based them on the personalities of the Vongola guardians.

Mys: Oh. Trivia.

Me: Pointless, but good. And technically, the Flames still are, but seeing Jenna's past with them is good too. But regardless, it's time for Sun, Cloud, Thunder, and Rain.

Mys: I'm pumped for it!

Jenna: You won't even be there!

Please Review on the way out.

Disclaimer: KHR doesn't belong to me. The original characters and plot do though.