Ritsu: … The title of the chapter totally isn't a pun because this is the official chapter 51 (not counting the Valentine bonus as a chapter). I swear I'm not trying to be funny. Honest. No aliens will be present this chapter, okay? Unless Tomo counts..?

Millefiore Tomo art is up! Check my profile and it can be found underneath the TSOK art bracket!

And I got more fanart! Thank you very much AkariSawada from DA (I'm afraid I don't know your name here on ff-net?) as well as KeranWest! (Put a dot between Keran and West!) Check out my profile for a link to Akari's lovely fanart and check out Keran's profile for a link to her fanart!

Additionally, while at least one person figured out the Haru omake reference… nobody seemed to figure out the Byakuran omake one… hehe…

Whew, now that THAT'S over, onwards to the reviews~

My Name is Alice: Mwahahah, I'll give you a hint- no… nvm. I can't give a good one that's not obvious D: And yes. That is your Haru. So much your Haru. Well, I tried, anyway XD I figured she'd be a bit freaked out meeting someone that's not supposed to be in KHR. SO IT ISN'T SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Rawr! Glad I did! (wow that sounds horrible…) Here's more! :D

AvatarNIX: Yush! C: I'm not 100% sure of the details either but I think one couple just goes after the first one… yeah. About time we got some plot, right? Coughcough, I'm hoping all questions will be answered eventually XD Chain sneezes are a must! I'm glad you enjoyed the omakes c: Haha, well, that is a working theory as well, but I will admit it was a reference to a Haru in a story I enjoy reading~ D'aawww, he will find love! … someday D': (Oh, and TG was one of the references, Owari No Seraph was the vampire one and P-P was one as well. The giant flying swords are a reference to K C:)

TransparentAnswer: Mwahah c: All will be revealed soon. Glad you caught them all! Cookie for you! :D

Promakhos: ;-; Poor guy just wanted some luff…

Lilia: Awww… And yes, I am indeed! :D Glad you do! I quite enjoy writing it. Even the sad parts… And the cute parts! Here's an update for ya! :D

animagirl: Mwahah, yes it did! :D More light will be shed upon that soon!

Guest: Hahaha XDD My gosh, that would certainly make an interesting omake, wouldn't it? Oh dear… glad you think so :'D … and I probably should, huh? (And yes, it was! :D )

Flaming Belladonna: Oho? Who knows? :'D Ah yes, indeed! Would've been a bummer if it hadn't been anything at all! The sneezing part became surprisingly popular XD Byakuran… poor marshmallow just wants the luff~ Glad you did! :D

OceanRuins: Glad you liked it c: Mwahahah, maybe~?

HeroProject: C: Yay, I'm happy you liked it! Byakuran holds a special place in my heart, the adorable bugger… Even if he brings out the feels. And don't worry, chances are fairly big I will c:


Things were different. Instead of the usual forests or plains I found myself underwater. Instead of bushes or trees or flowers I gazed at corals, seaweed and anemones. The ground was rocky and uneven, but a short distance away it was covered by sand instead and I didn't hesitate to move forward, softly sighing at the comforting feeling of sand between my toes instead of rocks. It was then I noticed the other figure standing mere meters away from me.

A frown tugged at my lips.

My head really hurt. I'd never really suffered from migraines before, but I found myself noting that what started out as a headache was definitely evolving into one.

It sucked, quite frankly, and the look on Mukuro's face was not helping.

"… Your timing sucks, Mukuro."

The illusionist merely smirked, tilting his head to the side. The action vaguely reminded me of an owl, but I didn't voice that opinion out loud.

"So, what's with the aquarium today?" I questioned him this time, blinking in slight surprise when a bench appeared behind me. Deciding not to dwell on it, I sat down, trying to ignore how the older Mukuro seemed to find my height amusing as he almost towered over me once he sat down.

"You created this place, not I. The sea has the capability of growing quite chaotic. I wonder, what could it be that's causing you such turmoil?"

It was there, that slight curious tone, but mostly he sounded mocking. I didn't find him particularly offensive, I was too used to him by now, and so let out a sigh and shook my head instead of retaliating.

"I… I can't really tell you that…" I mumbled, sending him a cautious glance. He didn't look angry, at least. If anything, he seemed amused.

"I see."

My eyes closed and opened rapidly, but it became apparent he wasn't going to say anything else. Instead, he simply stared at me. It wasn't a mocking stare, and the amusement that had been there previously was gone.

He's thinking about something, isn't he?

A moment later I found myself tempted to face palm, considering Mukuro was always thinking about something. Plotting and planning ways of overturning the mafia and whatnot. Tearing my gaze away from his, I studied the colorful landscape around me. A glance upwards told me Mukuro had been correct about his earlier statement, waves forming on the surface above us. It looked like it would be a pretty bad storm.

"… If I'm in turmoil, why are we down here instead of in the storm?"

He was quiet for a moment before answering, sounding so incredibly not Mukuro-

"Because you find my presence calming."

- There was a hint of amusement and he was back to being Mukuro.

A hand ruffled my hair.

"You should sleep."

I didn't bother telling him that the one keeping me from sleeping was sitting right next to me, instead I let my head land on his shoulder, a sigh escaping my lips.

"I can't actually sleep, you know that."

He chuckled.

"It's been a day. You need rest to be able to deal with a hormonal woman in a bridal gown store."

I couldn't help but feel like he was exaggerating, because there was simply no way I had spent an entire day mulling over the things my future self had told me. Simply no way. I would've gotten hungry eventually and-

I frowned.

Right, food isn't… isn't an actual necessity for me… I forgot…

"I didn't notice… but how would you know?"

"Chrome is going too. She has attempted to speak to you several times."

"Ah."

We grew silent after that, some sort of silent understanding between us. Older Mukuro was nice, I noted to myself. Nice, but I couldn't escape the feeling that deep down, he was really sad.

And for what reason, I just couldn't figure out.


The next time my eyes opened, they met a concerned lone purple eye. I wasn't sure how Chrome had even gotten into my room – though a voice in the back of my head promptly told me I never locked the door – but I felt surprisingly at ease upon realizing it was her.

"What time is it..?" I managed to mumble, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. It was weird, really, knowing I hadn't actually slept for real, yet still feeling like I had. Chrome looked a bit lost for a moment before she managed a small smile.

"Ah… it's almost one in the afternoon… Mukuro-sama said you needed plenty of rest…"

Instead of questioning it – Mukuro would never learn to butt out of other people's problems – I merely nodded, sending her a grateful look. At least she'd been nice enough to actually wake me up, after all.

"Are… Are the others here?"

She nodded, glancing at the door.

"Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan arrived yesterday… Shitopi-chan returned this morning."

As she didn't seem too keen on talking about it, I didn't ask her when she herself had arrived, instead following her somewhat uncertain steps throughout the base. It was fairly obvious she hadn't been here that much, but mere minutes later we'd managed to get to the kitchen.

Clearly, my sense of direction could learn from her at times.

A moment later I was fussily pushed into the kitchen by the other girls that were waiting, and I valiantly sat through at least an hour of discussing what kind of dress would look best of Adelheid.

It was… surprisingly fun.


Enma slowly made his way forward, peeking past another corner. He honestly believed Julie knew he'd been following him, but simply found it amusing.

Enma quite wished Julie would just call him out on it instead of playing along, sick of the beaming sun practically setting his red hair alight. His usually pale face was flush with red and Enma had no doubts he'd be dealing with sunburn.

Adel… Please don't force me to do this ever again…

An hour later when Julie had promptly ambushed him and shoved him into a dress, Enma vowed to sic Tomo on him at the next possibly opportunity.


"… R… Reborn?"

The hitman sent him a piercing stare.

"Shouldn't… Shouldn't they be back now?"

"…"

"…Y-you said it would only be an hour… didn't you?"

"I lied."

Tsuna fainted.


Ritsu: This… is a really crappy chapter. It's short and ugh, I just needed to get it done. It's super late too, sorry. Thing is, in two days (depending on time zones) I will be performing in a play. We'll be performing all weekend and the past weeks have been filled with rehearsals and I've been getting home late too tired to write. Additionally, we're getting close to ending this arc, and hopefully two or three more chapters will wrap up the future bonding arc. While going back to canon will be… frustrating from a 'having to reread everything again' viewpoint, I do have some great plans for it! Next chapter will be longer, hopefully not as late and I will see you then!