Ritsu: What? You say this chapter is late? Whaaat? No it isn't! You're imagining things!

Okay, I admit, this chapter is late. It is. I do have a reason. Three reasons, in fact.

Firstly, a friend of mine did something that pissed me off and made me cry to the point where I couldn't bring myself to do much. Secondly, I got my hands on Kingdom Hearts 2.5 and so instead of writing angst during my hideous mood swing, I was playing. Thirdly, I've just had a really shitty week. One friend upset me greatly, another one turned out to be depressed and I never even noticed and while gaming kept me from doing something awful to Tomo, it only made me sadder. Regardless, I shall keep this chapter on a happy note. Probably. Okay there ended up being some angst.

I'm just not a very happy person right now, sorry.

Anyway, let's go.

Review answering time!

Random Reader: Woah! I won't make you choose, so please tell me you have a parachute!

natsumo: Let's all take deep breaths. Tomo, don't rest in peace. Just rest, yeah? Don't worry! There won't be too much angst in the future. The branch off is pretty soon and after that my own original arcs will take place before I move onto the Arcobaleno Curse thing. And both of my arcs are planned to be more on the happy and comical side, with some serious moments. So yeah, look forward to it!

Candra-ThePhantomAuthor: Phew, good! It'd be kind of hot if the world burned… Thank you!

khr junkie: Oh dear… Maybe get a carpet or some pillows…? I shall!

My Name is Alice: Both are such cutiecakes. Now if only they'd man up and realize they love Tomo and confess, eh?

Enma… does seem to misinterpret a lot of things, doesn't he? Mukuro… maybe he had to use the litter box- I mean what.

Byaku-chi… will have a wonderful purpose. In the most feelsy of ways of course. I almost feel bad about it. Scratch that, I feel terrible about it!

lime green lily: Glad I am! First off, I'd like to mention I am working on the Toen for you. I'm almost finished with the lineart, in fact! Enma just… gave me some trouble. Onwards! Tomuran… well… It's all for a good cause..? Glad you love it though!

Don't you worry, this chapter will hopefully cater to your needs!

And no. No it's not. I oddly fancy ShitopixGokudera as well. I have so many strange pairings in my head.

Oh my… battle of the Apples…

Chapter warnings: Friend upset me again while writing this. Chapter might not be up to the usual standard because of this. I apologize.

I wasn't quite sure what to feel about things anymore. I had messed with the plot, hoping to make things better, but things seemed to only spiral further into chaos. If anyone saw Byakuran, especially Tsuna and his friends, it'd be bad. Why he was even here in the first place was a mystery to me. How he found the island even more so.

But when he sent me a radiant smile, I found myself somewhat grateful. I wasn't even sure why.

"Momo-chan~ I've told you to call me Byaku-chi! Honestly~"

He remained in the air, looking down at me. I took it as a sign he wasn't staying long, both relieved and worried at the same time.

"… Anyway, Momo-chan… I came to warn you."

The moment his voice took on a serious tone and his eyes narrowed, I suppressed a shiver from running down my spine. I wasn't sure of how I felt about what little I had found out about myself, and now Byakuran was going to throw even more stuff at me?

But instead of voicing my thoughts out loud, I merely met his gaze, a look of confusion on my face.

"Don't fight the Vindice," he spoke softly, tone still serious but laced with concern. I blinked, trying to figure out just why I would ever have a reason to fight the Vindice in the first place, but nodded slowly. Byakuran seemed to ease up, satisfied with my answer. But he said nothing else, simply sending me a strange look before he took off to the sky.

"… You're even harder to understand than Mukuro…" I mumbled to myself before shaking my head to rid it of my jumbled thoughts. I'd dwell on Byakuran's warning later.

"… Maybe… Maybe one of the Shimon will know something… about Cozart."

My mind seemed to focus on only one of the Shimon however. One with vibrant red hair and piercing crimson eyes.

Enma… Will I… ever get my answers?

Byakuran was hesitant. He had told himself not to involve himself too much with Tomo. That he shouldn't. That there was no point. But he had still gone to her the moment he had remembered something crucial that related to her future. And he hoped that his actions wouldn't bite him in the end. That he was right in interfering.

After all, if he didn't, no one else would.

It was the one thing that he felt like he would always be better at. He knew what the future her was like. He knew things about Tomo that she had yet to even experience. And he wanted to change them for the better. Even if he could never have her by his side, he wanted her to be happy. To not have to suffer through pain.

It's true, isn't it? The forbidden fruit is always tempting, and will surely taste the sweetest.

A wry smile tugged at his lips.

"Is it selfish… to wish you had been tasked to protect me… Tomo?"

Nobody answered.

The moment Enma had spotted me, something hit me full force and I toppled backwards. It honestly surprised me how he simply jumped me without hesitation, considering he knew I was wounded. Granted, I felt a lot better, but the impact when I hit the ground still hurt.

And it must have looked quite wrong seeing Enma topless on top of me.

At least nobody was there to see it.

"… Sorry I ran off, Enma…" I muttered out awkwardly after a moment of silence, trying my best to ignore how wet my jacket- or rather, Enma's jacket- was beginning to feel. I pretended not to notice the way Enma's shoulders were trembling as well, but I found myself gently patting his hair anyway.

"I… I want to be truthful with you, Enma… I really do. There are so many things I don't understand about my own existence and… instead of being honest, I just kept lying and lying hoping to find an answer on my own… And look where that got me… I've caused you a lot of pain, and I'm sorry for that… but I hope I've been able to bring you happiness too… That I can keep bringing you happiness…" I trailed off, closing my eyes. I had promised Mukuro the truth long ago. But never once had I thought of revealing anything to Enma. I was scared. Enma's trust had been hard to gain, and I was so scared that it would waver.

But-

Enma had grown to trust me. He'd grown to care for me. And while Cozart had left me with questions, Enma reminded me of him. And if Primo had trusted Cozart, I could trust Enma with anything. Right?

"The reason I ran off, Enma… is because I saw something… I saw Cozart… talking to Giotto… He said something about that ring… I panicked and… and I ran away… Sorry…"

"I'm sorry too…"

"Enma…"

"I want… to introduce you to everyone…"

"… I'd like that too…"

"Okay…"

"Hey… when we get home… I want to tell you everything… okay?"

"Yeah… I want to tell you everything too…"

I could only pray that Enma would still trust me after finding out the truth.

Just as I could only pray Mukuro would do the same.

Julie found himself hesitant when the girl, Tomo, had returned alongside Enma. She was still wearing Enma's jacket, like she had been before, but it looked significantly darker around the stomach area. His heart clenched painfully.

If I had been stronger… Daemon wouldn't have…

It took him most of his willpower to keep grinning. She really was cute though, he noted to himself. Not really sexy, like Adelheid, but definitely cute. But he knew that look in her eyes. That withered look, as if she'd seen more in her time than anyone else. She was, after all, a spirit. She'd probably seen enough death to last a lifetime.

"This… This is Tomo. She's… She's important," was Enma's simple introduction. Even now, Enma seemed somewhat nervous around his family, but Julie understood him. He'd never admit it out loud, but he understood. Julie definitely felt nervous around his family now.

"Hiya, Tomo-chan~ Nice to meet you~"

She sent him a somewhat amused look, but a concerned one all the same. Julie was easily able to decipher the hidden message. He sent a quick, barely noticeable nod to answer her question. He was fine. At least physically.

… I should apologize to her later.

Closing his eyes in thought, Julie found himself nodding to himself.

Yeah. I definitely should.

Meeting the Shimon was somewhat nerve wracking. I was worried how they'd react to me, and meeting Adelheid's gaze was almost as bad as facing Hibari. But when her eyes softened and she sent me a comforting smile, I found myself gaping at her in surprise.

While Shitopi-chan was still wounded, courtesy of a certain melon, she still managed to give me a rather eccentric introduction, a tired smile on her lips. Koyo barely acknowledged me, a scowl on his face. I hadn't expected him to do so, right away. The Shimon was surely exhausted considering recent circumstances. Rauji sent me a nervous smile before awkwardly shaking my hand. I felt kind of small, actually.

Kaoru had quietly given me his name before he'd gone back to resting, and I didn't blame him. We were all on the ship just off of shore, the ship making its way back to familiar waters. Julie had actually been the first one to make his introduction, though I suspected it was just because I was a girl.

All in all though, it had been kind of nice. I felt rather… welcomed, much like how it had been with the Vongola, even though I hadn't met all of them yet. Though, I suppose I technically had, not counting Lambo as he'd been asleep at the time.

I could get used to this…

Watching Enma and Tsuna share a small smile, my eyes softened.

I hope things stay this way…

Ritsu: I don't like this chapter… but I wanted to get this done. Next chapter… Chapter 40… well… it'll be special. You see… After chapter 40, the branch off begins. That means that [The Spirit of Kokuyo] will have its first chapter start off right at the end of chapter 40 of this story.

Yep. That means that in possibly one day… The very first chapter of Mukuro's branch off will be posted. Assuming chapter 40 works with me.

After the branch off is finalized… Basically, chapter 42 for this story and chapter 2 of TSOK will start off two different original arcs. I don't want to deal with the Rainbow battle at the moment. So enjoy getting those. Both will have separate storylines focusing on deepening Tomo's bonds with her chosen romantic interest.

After those arcs, we'll be going through the very last of the plot before delving into more original arcs. Not counting the Rainbow battle plot, I have two more arcs planned for this story currently (which implies that number might increase.). As for how long they'll be, I've no sure way of knowing yet.

As for TSOK, not counting the Rainbow battle plot, I've got three arcs planned.

And of course, at least one of the TSOS arc and one TSOK arc is full of TYL goodness. Think of these news as my apology for writing such a … lame and short chapter. Ugh.