Chapter I:The Blankness, the 'Visitors', and Rengoku-san
When Shisui first arrived,he had been very confused,because he knew he was supposed to be dying a watery grave...
Until a voice answered on why he was there,and he, was indeed dead already--which then proceeded to him being given a role/job on that eternal blankness.
There were other people as well,but none stayed behind like him.
Shisui had then spent years roaming around the eternal blankness of this space that seemed to stretch on and on.
So far,he was the only one who actually bothered to really stay here:the other 'dead' people who would come now and then usually left,after a short period of spending time here.
Sometimes,if he was being persistent enough with yelling at the...blankness--someone would hear him and somehow reply to him:the genders of those voices that replied to him vary in age.
(Although the people who pop in now and then would give him strange looks and wondered why he was even wasting his time away in this maddening blankness,when he could have just chosen to leave.)
If he was bored enough,he would just watch endless worlds,timelines,or other universe in a large screen that appears if he wishes it to:unfortunately,he couldn't visit any of those worldlines as he is supposed to be dead.
...Yes,even if he was filled with frustration and anxiety when he saw the Fourth Great Shinobi War start,he couldn't do anything but watch through the screen...even if he wanted to look away,that would be dishonorable because it would be like he was refusing the noble struggles of his fellow shinobi and their alliance.
Other than that,there really isn't anything to do,especially if you're all alone in the blank space...perhaps moping was all he could do.
He half expected Itachi to appear in the same blankness,actually--because dead people usually arrived here.There was this frequent young brunet who visited here from time to time,before popping out of existence...honestly,that confused him at first.
And then,a pale ravenet kid of around 6 years old with a hook like nose appeared from time to time--he stopped coming back when he reached his twenties.
There was also that beautiful red-headed and emerald green-eyed woman who asked the 'blankness'{yep,he was officially naming it}if she could stay and watch over her son:but apparently,she wasn't allowed because she wasn't actually π₯π¦π’π₯ yet and her real body was somewhere else.
That led to her being guided to a door that popped out of nowhere:her husband entered the door next to it as they said their tearful goodbye's to each other,before the doors disappeared.
Shisui has shrugged on that:while it was the first time that such a situation happened,it never occured again and he didn't pursue it any longer.
After that,a child(Goodness!Why were children also appearing here?!)around the age of 3 appeared,then disappeared again:strangely enough,he had the same emerald green eyes that the redhead woman from before had.
He kept appearing and disappearing every now and then--he,the hook nosed kid,and the brunet teen were the most frequent visitors--for some reason that even Shisui himself,couldn't figure out.
He tried to talk to these said kids before,but as fast as they had appeared,they were gone before he could even so much as call out to them.
That is,until other people began appearing one by one:with a certain brunet that he was sure he met at one point,but hadn't gotten the means to get to know.
Shisui eyed the brunet with odd,but fashionable and expensive clothes:a black cloak hung around his shoulders--he looks familiar,but for some reason,he couldn't place a finger as to who the charming man was.
"First time?" He cheerfully asked with a bright smile,ignoring the fact that they were all in a place of a white blankness as he bounded towards him.
There were other people popping in now and then,before popping away:that depends on whatever their desires in whether they would stay or no.
For a moment,the other man pondered over his question,before replying with a tired smile.
"Unfortunately,this wouldn't be the first time that I got into situations like this...I think I used to visit here whenever my tutor shot the Dying Will bullet at me.Now that I died of old age,I'm back here again." The brunet gave a sigh of resignation.
Nodding with understanding,the ravenet agreed with what he said as he held his chin in thought,before he snapped his fingers in realization.
"Oh,right!I rememeber who you are now!You're that brunet kid that appeared here--I think you were around 12 then,but I couldn't really tell since you're small--and you're the one in the mafia thingy!" Shisui beamed brightly,happy that he got it right.
"I'm Uchiha Shisui,by the way!So you finally died,huh.You see,I died at a very young age...around,ah,sixteen?And after that,I've been here ever since my death...if I have to add my age and the years that I've been here,it would be around a hundred and twenty-one.Oh,right,I'm also what one would call a shinobi." The Uchiha rambled on.
The brunet chuckled and let him do so for a while,before he eventually introduced himself.
"My name's Sawada Tsunayoshi.I died at around ninety...and as you can see,I just arrived here.Although I'm not surprised anymore that you know that I'm a mafia boss..." Tsuna shrugged as the two shook hands.
Then another--nearly silent--pop was heard,and a different person appeared.
"Yay~!Another one!"
Tsuna gave him a strange look for that.
"Erm,no,sorry!Wrong choice of words!I meant--ππ© π―π°!ππ―π°π΅π©π¦π³ π±π¦π³π΄π°π― π©π’π΄ π₯πͺπ¦π₯!" Shisui sheepishly tried to change what he said.
That only led to Tsuna giving him a deadpan look,and a shake of the head in disbelief.
"...Is this heaven?Normally,I don't mind the color white,but this is just blinding." Another observed,squinting his heterechromatic eyes as he muttered to himself.
Then he calmly turned towards the other two who were making their way to where he was.
"Honestly,its a bit boring.But you get used to it after a while~!" Shisui chirped.
...Its been a while that--those who chose to stay here for a short period--someone had stayed long enough to chat with him: or even bothered to talk to him anyway.
"I'm Uchiha Shisui!Nice to meet ya~!I've been here for a century and two decades now." The ravenet smiled,his tone carefree and friendly as he stuck out a hand to shake the new arrival's hand.
The brunet also offered his,smiling a warm and kind smiled.
"And I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi...I just arrived here as well."
The 'new arrival' eyed the offered hands,before taking them and shaking it.
"...Todoroki Shouto."
"A pleasure to meet you,Todoroki-san/Hello,Todoroki-chan~!" The two chorused.
Shisui then began to give them a crash course about why the 'blankness' existed,what was his role and why was he the only to have stayed for so long in this space,etc.
"Honestly,you could say that I'm a guide of sorts!Most people who arrive here all confused,and some of them tend to be violent...and violence is a no-no.My job is to basically beat their ass and make them calm down enough to think rationally--and whoever is the owner or creator of this Blankness,they gave me authority and power to be able to 'discipline' troublemakers." Shisui explained.
Tsuna,who heard the word 'discipline',shivered.
Todoroki noticed this,and immediately asked if he was alright,to which he replied,
"My apologies.Its just that everytime I heard the word 'discipline',I associate it with one of my...brothers.He tends to be a bit obssessed with that word alone and can be quite terrifying."
"Oh~you mean Kyo-chan!" The curly haired Uchiha exclaimed.
"Yes,basically."
The quirk user looked left and right between the two,before voicing out his thoughts.
"I thought Uchiha-san was dead first?How come he speaks as if he has been with you all the time?" He wondered
"Ah.Now that it was mentioned,I kind of wondered on that as well..."
"That's an easy thing to answer--actually,in this place,if I get bored enough anyway...I get to watch different worlds,timelines,alternate universes,etc.However,I can't interfere with them,because I'm unable to and since I am well...dead already.That's how I was able to manage keeping up with everything."
"So...its like we're some sort of mangas or animes then?Or maybe a show or film of sorts?" Todoroki struggled,before blurting.
"Yep~!And really,you have no idea how frustrated I get at some point in time,hahaha~!"
"...You're pretty carefree for a former shinobi." Tsuna observed.
"Of course...its not like I have any enemies here or anything to do.Its boring.I wish I get reincarnated into some world.That Shingeki no Kyojin world seems interesting~!Oh!And the Tokyo Ghoul and the Kimetsu no Yaiba!" The Uchiha exclaimed,sighing dreamily.
Then,as if it was an afterthought,he added,
"Actually,the person that was going to be reincarnated as Kaneki-chan appeared just recently...moments before you to arrive anyway."
"Tokyo Ghoul,huh...we have that both in anime and manga back in my world and it was about to get a live action." Tsuna mused to himself.
"I don't know anything about that,but Midoriya had mentioned a manga series under that name...but I do know of Kimetsu no Yaiba." Todoroki smiled fondly at the thought of one of his bestfriend.
"Really?Up to what season?" The other two asked.
"I think it was still around season one...there was a movie that was released just a few years ago in my world though."
"No way!You've got a movie?!And the Kimetsu no Yaiba in our world hasn't even released a movie yet!" Tsuna whined,pouting.
He heard rumors--when he still had time to live--that a movie was going to be released then.
But he died before it can happen,and that's what made him all the more upset.
"Maa,don't be so down now!I think we might be able find a record of said movie in here...I just need to browse through the wordlines~." Shisui cheerfully said.
The ravenet then called on the screen,and all three of them huddled in front of him,their eyes glued to the screen.
They ignored the people popping up now and then in the Blankness, as they were currently in a missiom to find the πΎππππ‘π π’ ππ πππππ:ππ’πππ πππππ.
Finally,they found it and began watching it--Todoroki explained that he was young when he watched the movie,so he didn't remember much of the details other than the fact that there was an oni that merged with a train--(Like,honestly?That confused them,as it was impossible to merge with an innanimate object!)and were clearly enjoying it.
They were filled with tension as they watched in anxiety and frustration as the main character,Kamado Tanjiro,was having a hard time waking up:they laughed at Zenitsu's and Inosuke's dream because it was cute and hilarious as well.
However,just when they thought it was over--the battle with the oni since they managed to bring down the Lower One--a malicious and powerful presence was sensed by Rengoku Kyojiro.
That's when Todoroki remembered the details,looking at his two fellow watchers in pity as he knew what would happen next.
"You poor children..."
"We're older than you!" Shisui protested,while Tsuna narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the bi-coloured male.
Then their attentions were focused on the screen once again,and both of them were awed by the graphics and the fight.
"Say,is there a worldline like this?" Todoroki asked suddenly.
"Yep~!Anything's possible!There's probably a bunch of them out there--I'm so excited!I wanna meet Rengoku-san,he seems so cool!He's going to get along well with the likes of Maito Gai-san!" Shisui excitedly grinned,bouncing up and down his seat.
"Yeah,and I have no doubt that he'll also get along with Takeshi-kun,Squalo,and Onii-san!" Tsuna smiled fondly at the thought of one of his famiglia members.
This made the quirk user pity them even more:because he knew the Hashira wasn't going to survive...
Everything was fine at first,and both Rengoku's fanboys--Tanjiro and Inosuke as well--which were Shisui and Tsuna,honestly thought he would win.
...And then everything seemed to go downhill from there.
By the end of the movie and Rengoku's last resort to bring the oni down with him by using his strongest move, Shisui and Tsuna were crying a river--no, an ocean would be more precise.
And then there was the part where the oni punched a hole in Rengoku's stomach,but the Hashira still held on.
The struggle went on for a bit,until dawn slowly came...that's when the oni attempted to escape and failed at first.
He only managed to escape because he ripped his forearms off.
"You stupid oni!How dare you hurt Rengoku-san!Uwaaaaaaaah!!!" Shisui sorrowfully wailed,hitting the floor in front of him over and over.
"Of all people...whyyyy?Why is this happening?He was so powerful,he nearly got the oni...and he nearly won!He should have won because he battled the oni despite the grievious wounds that he recieved!And yet...just like Tanjiro had said,why does it feel like they still lost?!" Tsuna mournfully stared at the screen as his tears overflowed nonstop.
Todoroki was also feeling grief,because somewhere in one of the worldlines out there.. this scene was happening and it hurts a lot worse to know that this event was real.
When he looked back,he saw that some of the people that popped in(they were dead btw)had halted and chose to watch with them:some of them were crying as well.
The reactions that they(the audience)saw on the other Hashiras faces when they heard that Rengoku died made them cry even harder.
And when the movie ended with the credits rolling up and the song theme played,they all couldn't help crying a fresh batch of tears again as they heard it.
By the time that the screen turned dark,all the audience could do was stare blankly at it as they felt lost on what to do next.
"I can't...I'm done..." Shisui sniffled as he lay sprawled on the floor with his pool of tears surrounding him.
Were it not for the fact that they just watched something heart-wrenchingly sad,Tsuna would have laughed at his being dramatic.
It took a while,before everyone could go about their way,but before that everyone gathered into small groups as they discussed Rengoku's death with puffy eyes.
"You know...if I was in that worldline and right in their timeline,I'd totally marry Rengoku-san even if I'll get hurt at the news that he died." A woman sniffed,wiping her tears away.
"Hakuei-nee..." A certain bluenet magi suddenly said.
"Its alright,Aladdin-kun.I do wish I can get reincarnated or reborn in that world." Hakuei sadly said.
Aladdin nodded at that,before glancing at the two who were the most affected out of the people here:he couldn't help but wonder why he was here at first,instead of joing the rhyuks.
"I wanna go to that world~!" Shisui wailed yet again.
Tsuna patted his back sympathetically,agreeing as he held a small ice cube--courtesy of Todoroki-- in his hand against his red,puffy eyes.
"...How are you?" Todoroki quietly asked the brunet,who sniffed.
"...I'm mad." Tsuna replied in a sulky tone.
"Understandable." Todoroki nodded,producing more ice and handing it to him and Shisui:who was still busy wailing.
ππππ 1977
A few hours later...
"So...why are we here again?" A confused Todoroki asked out loud.
"Hell yeah!We're in in Harry Potterverse!Let's kick Moldyshort's ass!" Shisui cheered,fist pumping the air.
Tsuna,who was looking around him curiously,answered for him.
"...We were sent here to have a vacation because we've been disturbing the creator of the Blankness with our wailing."
"That was it?That's the way to make them let us go?" The hero asked in disbelief.
The Decimo shrugged at that.
"I actually don't know anymore..."
Shisui--who finally decided to stop cheering--bounded over to them excitedly.
"Hey!I finally figured out who the hook-nosed kid was!He used to visit the Blankness a lot,and a green-eyed kid popped up after the said kid stopped coming back at his twenties--the green eyed kid,is obviously Harry Potter~."
Just a few meters away from them,stood a strange man with strange taste of fashion:he was waiting in line in front of some newly opened Starbucks stand.
...The Uchiha was practically buzzing in excitement as he gestured at the odd man who was wearing a robe and coat of all black material.
Tsuna realized who he was looking at.
(Earlier,the trio had watched Harry Potter to relieve the pain of Rengoku dying,but they still ended up doing another crying session since there were some favorite characters of their's that died at the Battle of Hogwarts.)
"Its Snape!" He excitedly gasped.
The three began furiously whispering amongst themselves as the said man stepped forward to say his order.
Then,Todoroki pointed out something.
"Hey,he looks a teeny bit young,isn't he?"
"What?Like fresh out of Hogwarts graduate?" Shisui retorted.
"Now that you mention it--he does look fresh out of Hogwarts." Tsuna mused.
"Then let's go talk to him!I wanna get to know him and give his life a few sparkles and rainbows!"
"Wait,no,Shisui!You can't do that!"
Tsuna grabbed the curly haired male's wrist,before he could even skip his way to the slightly gaunt looking young man.
"Eh?Why not?" He whined.
"We don't even know if we--as in our parallel self or us having a history,place of birth,etc--exist here!Much less,what would he think if three innocent and unassuming 'Muggles' approached him and asked him about the ongoing war?He could mistake us as spies,or something much worse!" Tsuna air quoted with his fingers.
"Bold of you to assume that I'm innocent!" Shisui proudly declared, but Tsuna wasn't going to respond to such a silly declaration,so he ignored the Uchiha.
Todoroki on the other hand,nodded in agreement,but still pouted.
"But what if--" He started,but was cut off by the sulking Uchiha.
"We do exist,though?Or were you two not informed before we were sent here?" Shisui whined yet again.
"Hold on--we exist?!" Tsuna gaped, blinking his eyes owlishly.
"Ah,the universal question of an introvert." Todoroki chuckled darkly, making the brunet and Shisui shoot him a weirded out look.
"He's barking mad,that one..." Shisui whispered conspirationally.
The Vongola Decimo eyed him.
"And you're not?"
"I'm innocent,not mad." The ravenet scoffed.
"You just mentioned earlier that you're not innocent." The brunet dryly pointed out.
"It varies from moment to moment." Shisui solemnly replied.
"And that, Ladies and Gentlemen,is what you call bullshitting." Todoroki clapped slowly,acting awed and amazed.
"You crude ape!You just said a bad word!" Shisui gasped loudly,covering his mouth in mock horrification.
"Shame on you!Shame on your family!Shame on your cow!" He continued.
"Now,let's not be too hasty with spouting such things--and really?Mulan refference?" The hero snorted.
Tsuna facepalmed.
"...I can't believe you guys are my friends." He bemoaned.
"You love us~!" Shisui teasingly nudged his side.
"No,I don't."
"Erm,guys...Snape-san is leaving...he's probably gonna turn around a corner and apparate." Todoroki reminded.
"Ah!My precious snake!" Shisui gasped,running after where they last saw the Slytherin went.
"...I really hate it that I'm alive again." Tsuna groaned.
"We both know that's a lie."
"Maybe."
With another glance at each other,they set off after the Uchiha.