A/N: Welcome to the Xyz Dimension arc. Get ready for a whole new world of stories, including an update on Dennis, Yuto's family, more romance and heartbreak, a secret date between two lovers, and the reveal of the fifth dimension's dark powers.
Fun Fact: Yusho doesn't spend much time at home. He'll pop in once every few weeks to visit his family, but he spends most of his time in the Xyz Dimension, working a a teacher and helping people rebuild.
Chapter Summary: The bracelet girls try to repair their friendship with a sleepover at the Kurosaki house.
Heartland was hurting from Academia's attack. The scars of battle were left on the city, leaving a lot of buildings in ruins. And like the buildings, the scars of battle were left on the minds and hearts of the city's citizens, who were still struggling with the trauma and losses they suffered.
But things were changing for the better. Thanks to assistance from all over the other dimensions (particularly a remorseful Academia and Leo Akaba), the healing process would begin. And thanks to the magic of Solid Vision, repairs were accomplished must faster.
The city was still heavily in ruins, but debris had largely been cleared from the roads. Buildings that stood were starting to get repaired, and temporary homes created by Solid Vision allowed many people to have a roof over their heads. And Heartland Tower served as a shelter for many more.
On the third floor of Heartland Tower, Shun Kurosaki and his parents stayed. Like many others staying there, they had their own designated rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Kurosaki had a room of their own, and Shun had a room he shared with Allen Kozuki. Sayaka Sasayama lived alone in a room, saving the space for whenever Ruri and her other selves came to visit.
May 5th
Yuzu talked to her father about sleeping over in the Xyz Dimension for the weekend. Shuzo agreed, on the condition that she call him every day, and stay with the Kurosaki clan as much as she could. He didn't like her being so far away, but he understood Ruri's need to see her own family.
The girls had another motive for coming to the Xyz Dimension. After tearing each other apart and getting their hearts broken, they needed time away from the drama. They were going to try and fix the division between them, and to focus on things outside of romance.
The Kurosaki family were eager to see their daughter(s.) But they had all agreed to give the girl(s) some time and space to adjust. So after a couple of hours of discussion, crying, and catching up, they reluctantly let the girl(s) go off for the night.
The plan: slumber party with Sayaka.
Yuzu knocked on the door to Sayaka's room. After a moment, the sound of the girl's voice could be heard muttering something, and the door slowly opened to reveal her. Sayaka peeked out and gave Yuzu an egao.
"Ruri!" she said. "Oh, or one of Ruri's friends?"
"Yuzu," Yuzu confirmed. "But Ruri's here with us."
Yuzu closed her eyes. When she opened them, her irises were pink. Ruri was now granted control of the body.
"Sayaka!" Ruri exclaimed. "It's good to see you! I missed you so much."
Sayaka pushed the door open further, and Ruri went in and wrapped her friend in a hug. Sayaka seemed a little susprised by this at first, but returned the hug.
"That's Ruri, right?" came a voice.
Ruri's eyes moved toward the person behind Sayaka. It was another familiar face: Allen Kozuki, who was holding a pair of some sort of... armored shoes?
"Oh... Allen," Ruri said slowly. "It's nice to see you."
The girls broke away from the hug and turned to face Allen. The boy nodded and egao'd back at them.
"Hey, Ruri!" he cried. "You know, me and Sayaka were gonna try out these boots I made for her. You wanna come back out?"
"Allen, I just said I couldn't..." Sayaka sighed. "Right now, I really want to catch up with Ruri and enjoy our slumber party."
Oh my God, that kid's voice makes my ears bleed, Serena growled. I can't listen to him anymore.
Ruri's eyes shifted colors once more. This time, they turned green.
"A slumber party?" Allen asked. "How come I didn't hear about this?"
"It's because you weren't invited," Serena replied.
"Harsh..."
"The truth hurts sometimes, sadly."
Dang. That was cold as ice, Serena, Rin said.
It was fun, too.
Sayaka waved her hands before her. "Everyone, relax, please!"
Allen and Serena both went quiet. They turned to Sayaka and waited for her words.
"Allen, I haven't seen Ruri in a long time. Please, I need some time with her," Sayaka told her. "But tomorrow, we can spend as much time as we want together."
"Hit the railroad, train boy," Serena said. "We're supposed to do bondage and stuff. And I'm not going to let you run my first sleepover."
That was horrible, Serena! Yuzu scoffed.
I mean, it was a pretty good pun, Rin admitted.
Allen huffed. "Look, Ruri! There's no need to be such a jerk. So back off, or-"
"Everyone, please!" Sayaka pleaded. "Allen, if-"
"That's not how you take command," Serena barked.
With that said, Serena grabbed Allen by the poncho and started leading him out. He could only grunt and punch at her arm as he was forcibly thrown out of the room. And once he was with Serena then slammed the door on him.
The four other girls stared at Serena in shock. She simply turned to face Sayaka and egao.
You know, being mean was... kind of fun, Serena admitted. It's like bringing egaos through dueling, except the biggest egao comes from yourself.
That's a horrible lesson! Rin snapped. You can't just kick people out like that. Who raised you, a psychopath?
I mean, kind of... Yuzu replied. She was.
O-oh, yeah...
Remember, you guys said that we need to bond, Serena reminded them. No drama, no boys, no pain. Just bondage and parties.
"You-you okay?" Sayaka asked. "You're just kind of... staring off and egao-ing."
"Yeah, we do that a lot," Serena assured her. "It just means that me and the others are talking."
"You're having a private conversation?"
"Yep."
"Oh..."
Wow. Sayaka tried to not take that personally. But the idea that they were conversing and leaving her out felt a little cold.
Sayaka had left the room to grab some snacks, leaving the other girls to settle in and get themselves organized. And as Yuzu packed silently unpacked her belongings, the girls were talking amongst themselves.
Wow, even Sayaka has a boyfriend, and I don't, Ruri sighed. But then again, it's the train kid from Clover Branch. So...
Let's not worry about that, haha! Rin said, giving off a fake laugh to ease the tension.
Yeah, Serena agreed. And it's not like we'll ever have to worry about that; unless we can all date the same guy, we're all going to be single forever.
Just shut up, Serena, haha!
Ruri let out a small sigh.
Yuzu clapped her hands together. Listen! We need to forget about boys. What matters is that we have each other. And I think we should make our friendship the most important thing.
The three other girls appeared before Yuzu, each giving a nod. Egaos started to form on their faces. Yuzu's words were just the think to put their minds at ease, and put everything else in perspective.
No more drama, Yuzu said happily.
No more hiding things, Ruri added.
No more yelling, Rin replied.
No more race wars, Serena concluded. This is a nice sleepover. And I'm glad my first one got to be with you guys.
Everyone, get into the mindscape! Rin exclaimed I feel a group hug coming on!
Any of you touch me and you die, Serena hissed.
Never mind! I don't feel a group hug coming on!
"Yuzu... Yuzu!"
Yuzu blinked and looked around the room. She turned around to spot Sayaka standing behind her, a small basket of candy goodies in her hands.
"You've been standing around this whole time, not talking or answering," Sayaka said. "Are you guys talking again?"
"Just giving the others a pep talk!" Yuzu assured her. "And we're all ready to party, Sayaka!"
"That's good!" Sayaka said cheerfully. "It'll be really fun, getting to know you and the others. If you're anything like Ruri, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends."
While Yuzu finished unpacking, Sayaka cleared a spot in the middle of the floor for them. She placed a pile of treats in the middle of the floor, and a pillow to its left and right. The girls would each sit on the pillows and enjoy the candy while they talked.
Admittedly, it was a bit of a simple start for a slumber party. But they didn't have television, internet, make-up or magazines. Turns out that the rebuilding of Heartland focused more on rebuilding houses and uniting families, than getting party supplies.
Sayaka was now regretting not asking the girls to bring over some goodies.
But at least they had games to play. And as Yuzu took a seat on the pillow across from Sayaka, the girls all got themselves psyched up for the old, non-card game-based classic: Truth or Dare.
"Okay, here's how we'll play," Sayaka explained. "I'll go first. Then Ruri, then Yuzu, then Serena, and then Rin. The person who went last will ask the question for the next person."
How do we play? Serena asked.
"We ask the person to pick between truth or dare," Yuzu explained. "The person chooses one, and the person asking the question gets to ask them a question they must answer truthfully, or make them do a dare."
Yuzu's eyes flashed with orange, signalling Rin's turn in control. "So I ask you a question, right?"
"Yep," Sayaka responded, nodding politely. "It'll be great getting to know you Rin."
"Likewise!" Rin giggled. "So, truth or dare?"
"Ah... I would pick truth."
"Uh..."
Rin tilted her head and put a finger to her lip. She let out a soft hum as she thought about her question. There were so many ideas in her head; now it was a matter of picking the right one.
Rin kept humming and thinking. The choice had to be perfect here. She had to make a good impression on Sayaka, and she had to-
Hurry up! Serena insisted. It's been over a minute and you haven't said anything.
Don't rush me, Serena. I'm trying to think.
Think faster. We're all waiting for our turns.
"Sayaka!" Rin exclaimed. "Do you... like... vam... pires?"
Sayaka raised an eyebrow. The other three bracelet girls appeared before Rin and also gave her looks of confusion.
See, this is what happens when you rush me, Rin scoffed.
"Well, I suppose vampires are cool," Sayaka mused. "I actually like supernatural stories. Oh! I really loved the book about Crimson Vampire Knight Bram."
Rin's eyes shifted to pink. Ruri was in control now. "Oh yeah, I remember! Remember when we went to the book fair?"
"And while we were getting books we liked, Yuto tagged along and bought all those edgy books?"
"And then he started wearing that black collar!"
The two girls burst out laughing. Serena and Rin looked at each other in confusion, but knew that they were missing out on a memory shared only by Ruri and Sayaka. Yuzu, however, egao'd and nodded her head; these two were having a good time and enjoying their time together.
Ruri sighed, content. "Oh, we should go book shopping again. You should check out the books they have in the Pendulum Dimension."
"It's a date!" Sayaka nodded. "And Ruri, truth or dare?"
"Truth!" Ruri said quickly. "I have nothing to hide."
"What is your honest opinion on living in the Pendulum Dimension?"
"Ah..." Ruri tilted her head and pressed a finger to her lips. Her words were slow, but also clear. "It's a very beautiful place, and there are a lot of great people there."
Her voice lowered a bit. "But to be honest... I miss Heartland a lot. It will always be my home."
"Sorry..." Sayaka murmured.
Yuzu placed a hand on Ruri's shoulder. Ruri wouldn't be able to feel it, but the intent behind it was meant to be more emotional support than physical.
Sayaka also leaned over the snacks and put a hand on Ruri's shoulder. And Rin joined in, too. Serena just kind of stared a moment, before she realized what was going on and joined in.
"Okay, let's not feel down," Ruri said. "We're here to have fun, not be sorry. Truth or dare, Yuzu?"
Ruri's eyes closed, and Yuzu's eyes opened.
"Truth," Yuzu responded.
Back to Ruri. "What do you think of Shun. Cool big brother, or annoying, big pain?"
Yuzu bit her lip. "Can I say both? Because I like how protective he is of us, and I always feel safe when he's around. But he keeps staring at me from out my window at night."
Ruri cringed. "Yeah, I've noticed."
I kind of like that about him, Serena said. We don't need his protection, but we can appreciate his vigilence.
And how he can stand in a tree all night without sleeping, Rin added.
"But I've never had a big brother before," Yuzu continued. "And I'm glad that Kurosaki's mine, now."
"Agreed," Ruri, well, agreed. "He can be a pain. He can be overprotective. He can be loud. But I wouldn't trade him for anything."
I'd trade him for two Kurosaki's and some cards, Serena said.
The others didn't respond to her.
What? That's a great deal.
"Serena, truth or dare?" Yuzu asked.
Serena took control for this round. "Dare! I'm not a wuss, I can take anything."
"What would be a good dare, guys?" Yuzu asked. "Serena says she can take anything, but let's see if she can back up her words."
"Make her eat as much candy as she can in a minute," Ruri proposed.
"But... we kinda, sorta have to ration this food," Sayaka replied quietly. "Maybe she could knock on someone's door, and then run away before they answer?"
"A better dare would be to duel and defeat whoever answers the door," Serena responded. "I'm no coward. I don't run."
"... Toilet water," Rin stated.
Everyone looked to Rin.
"Make Serena drink toilet water," Rin continued.
"That's disgusting!" Yuzu gasped. "... Do it."
"No!" Serena snapped. "That's disgusting!"
"Afraid?" Rin asked smugly. "Are you chicken?"
"No, I'm not a chicken!"
Serena tilted her head and bit her lip. Her face was bright red. "Ugh... I guess I can't back down from a challenge."
"Uh..." Ruri said. "We share a body. If Serena drinks the toilet water, we all do."
"Oh."
"Oh," Rin added.
"Oh," Yuzu added. "So let's not do that dare."
"I got an idea for a dare," Sayaka said. "Serena, I'll go call Allen, and you have to apologize to him, and give him a hug."
"... Is the toilet water option off the table now?" Serena asked. "Suddenly, that doesn't seem too bad."
Okay, maybe dares aren't going to work, Rin said quickly. Maybe change your answer to truth.
"No."
No?
"I won. Now it's my turn to ask questions."
Rin pinched the bridge of her nose. It was taking all of her strength not to pull Serena out of her control and teach her a lesson about being so... whatever Serena was.
But instead, she sighed. Because this was a time for them to get along, not to fight. So she slipped into control of the body.
"I'm ready to go, Serena," Rin told her.
"Dare, or dare?" Serena asked.
"Neither, I pick truth."
"Weak," Serena scoffed. "Do you want kids one day?"
Ruri turned herself away from the scene. Her eyes fell to the snacks on the ground.
"I like kids!" Rin happily exclaimed. "At the orphanage, I spent a lot of time caring for the younger kids. I didn't like it so much then, but now I can step back and appreciate the time I had with them."
"That's so sweet," Yuzu said. "And it explains why you're so motherly. You'd be a great mom."
"Kids are gross and annoying," Serena interjected. "You two can have them, but I don't have to take care of them."
"I agree with Serena," Sayaka said. "It's Serena, right? Maybe I'm just too young for that decision, but I don't think I'd want kids one day. They're too-"
"You have good taste, glasses girl!" Serena announced.
Serena gave Sayaka a proud egao. Sayaka was a bit surprised, but gave an egao of her own in return.
"I would like a pet, though," Sayaka continued. "Just a small one, a quiet lapdog."
"You have bad taste, glasses girl!"
"You know, this feels really familiar..." Ruri mused.
"How so?" Yuzu asked.
"Like, I get the feeling that this happens a lot. You know, where we have a single issue, and we spend a long time just talking about the issue."
"And sometimes we get off-track and talk about nothing," Serena added.
"I start to police everyone, and then Serena is socially awkward," Rin said. "... And Ruri or Yuzu try to calm us down, but we never listen."
"You don't police. You nag."
Rin pinched the bridge of her nose again. "Yes. Thank you, Serena. That's real helpful."
Sayaka let out a small chuckle. "You guys are doing it again. Getting off-track and arguing."
"I guess we can get a bit too focused on each other," Ruri admitted. "But when you spend all your time with someone, you often get used to talking to talking to them all the time."
There was a knock at the door. The girls all went silent and turned to see the person entering. It was a face more familiar to Sayaka and Ruri, but a face that seemed to fill all the girls with joy.
"Ruri?" Mrs. Kurosaki asked. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Mom!" Ruri squeaked.
Ruri's eyes twinkled to life, and a wave of emotions drowned her. Even though she had just seen her mom earlier, it was not enough to make her forget the time they spent apart. Ruri immediately ran towards her mom and gave her a hug.
For a brief moment, she forgot that she wasn't a prisoner. And she could see her mom any time she wanted. Maybe they could even cut the slumber party short...
Ruri closed her eyes tight.
No, she couldn't see her mom any time she wanted. And her time in Heartland would have to end again, if only for a while. Because she was stuck inside a body that wasn't her own.
It started to sink in now.
Fartnuggets.
A portal appeared at the town square - the designated area for dimensional travel. The Dimension Highway brought several people to the city, and they all eagerly took their first steps into Heartland.
Most of them were workers, come for their late shifts for rebuilding. Some were tourists, or original citizens who were finally able to get back home.
And one of them was Yuya Sakaki, carrying a backpack full of supplies.
It's gonna be great, guys, Yuya assured his headmates. Tomorrow, we'll all get to see my dad in action.
Yuto and Yugo appeared beside him, egao-ing, while Yuri kept himself hidden in the mindscape. They all knew that tomorrow would be a busy day for them.
A/N: Serena's a bit aggressive and mean this chapter, no? Heartbreak can change people. Especially when it's your first love, and the limited social skills you were taught came from people who encouraged unpleasant attitudes at times. Plus I thought it would be funny.
For those who were worried that FruitShipping would end at Scales, don't you worry about a thing. The trials and tribulations of the boys' and girls' bonds has only just begun. I want to really develop the characters' bonds more, but I feel that it would be better to first focus on showing off more of their characters and the relationships they have outside of romance.
One more thing: I really want to thank everyone for sticking with me through all of this. Even if I don't comment on them, I'm reading all your comments, reviews, suggestions and criticisms, and I appreciate every one. You guys are the reason I want to keep writing.
Next time: Class is in session, and Dennis is the teacher. Join us for a School Assembly in Rank 1.