Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.
Word Count: 7816
The room was filled with the sound of revving engines, Hayato having challenged Takeshi to see who could complete the cone course Reborn had set up for them the fastest. Tsuna had parked his bike off to the side, shaking his head while Ryohei stood beside him, bouncing in place looking as pumped as he ever was.
"Beat him Takeshi!" the white haired teen yelled, slightly enjoying the irked expression that crossed Hayato's face.
Reborn stood in front of the two teens, holding to flags up. He waited until he got nods from the two, holding out the flags and bringing them down. He turned and watched as the two went ahead, not at all surprised at how quickly they had gotten the hang of driving the bikes.
The two leaned and shifted as they drove around the cones, making sure not to touch a cone as they did so.
They had all improved so much over the past two weeks that it was really a surprise that they could continue to progress and though Reborn wouldn't have liked to apply so much pressure at once, he was quite liking the results.
The only time they were together now was to practice their driving, afterwards they would break for lunch and then do whatever it was they wanted to do. Sometimes Reborn would drop in on some of them, other times he left them to their own devices.
More than anything they were all trying to figure out how to open the Vongola boxes that had been left to them by their counterparts. After Tsuna's failure the first time with his box, they were slightly hesitant in dealing with their box animals, though he knew that Takeshi and Hayato were able to summon theirs out without much trouble.
(They saw what happened when the boxes were opened without much thought.)
He'd check later on today on Hayato and Ryohei, though he was sure Hayato had a better understanding of the functionality of the boxes than anyone else with his Sistema C.A.I. If only he had better control over the small leopard and could figure out a better use for it.
The one that would be tough to actually get to open their box would be Lambo, though Fuuta assured him that that wouldn't be a problem.
There was a crow of satisfaction, Hayato pumping a fist in the air as he got to the finish line first, before he flipped off Takeshi, who laughed at that. Reborn heard Tsuna sigh, turning to see the brunet shaking his head, before turning to Ryohei, "Our turn?"
"Let's go!"
Reborn strode forward, back in the same spot from earlier and holding up the flags, dropping them and already hearing that Ryohei was giving too much throttle. Tsuna took it more carefully, getting ahead of the older teen, whose bike nearly turned off when he released the clutch a lot sooner than he should have before shifting and lurched forward.
Ryohei recovered at least (that was one of the things about motorcycles and manual cars that most people had to practice with, how much to give and how much to take.)
"Nice one Tsuna!"
The boys huddled together, Tsuna and Ryohei fist bumped, the boxer exclaiming that he would be better by tomorrow. Tsuna laughed, "You almost caught up with me Ryohei-nii!"
"I almost had it that time," Ryohei muttered, remembering to shift down on the gear to put the bike in neutral.
"There's a lot to coordinate," Tsuna said, understanding what the older teen was talking about. Hayato merely scoffed before taking off, deciding that he didn't want to feel Tsuna's disapproving stare. "We can do it again, if you want Ryohei-nii."
"That would most definitely be helpful to the extreme!"
/ | \
"Hey Natsume."
"Yeah Kyoko?"
The auburn haired girl hesitated, "I have a question."
Natsume looked up from her bowl of honey covered fruit that she had served herself, having popped a strawberry in her mouth and merely nodded at Kyoko to continue as she idly chewed her fruit.
"Is Hana okay here?"
Would Kyoko notice that she was taking her time to chew now as she quickly debated with herself how to answer that question, "I would say yes."
"How sure are you about that?"
Ah, she preferred when Kyoko didn't have that gleam in her eye, she could definitely lie about it and Kyoko wouldn't know, but she would feel bad about it. Not that she was going to lie about it; she wasn't going to keep secrets like how Tsuna and Ryohei had done to the girls.
"Very sure, I accidentally ran into her when I went out with Fuuta the other day."
"That's good to – wait you went out? I thought it was dangerous?"
Natsume held up her hands, shrugging, "I mean I didn't think it was dangerous, though it's probably safer now than it was before I got here."
"Can we go out? Please," Kyoko looked at the doorway, before bringing her voice down even lower. "Haru's been really quiet and not her usual self, I think going outside might help her."
"Hmm," Natsume hummed, popping a banana in her mouth, "I mean, yeah, I can go with you two if the others decide to say anything, also," she narrowed her eyes and Kyoko blinked at the sudden change in attitude. "What's wrong with Haru?"
Kyoko laced her fingers together, seeming uncomfortable for a second before she started talking, "Okay so at first Haru was fine, shocked, yeah, but she was okay," she ran a hand through her not so short hair now, the ends now brushing past her shoulders. "The other night we talked and she was just not her usual self, she was really quiet and withdrawn."
Natsume continued eating her fruit long after Kyoko had trailed off, not really understanding why the girl was lying to her, but deciding that she would eventually find out why. It seems even people like Kyoko had a breaking point and they were all pushing her towards that edge.
"I'll talk to Haru," she said, fishing for another piece of banana, considering it before putting it in her mouth. "What about you Kyoko, how are you?"
The girl seemed startled, wringing her hands in a way that had her fingers cracking and Natsume only watched, idly licking the honey off of her fingers. Kyoko seemed to deflate, resting her upper body against the table and looking on the verge of tears.
There was a moment of pause, Kyoko breathing in shakily,"You all lied to us and now we're here, stuck and we don't even know if we're going to return home," she let out softly, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "Did any of you consider us? Did Ryohei even think to tell me, because by the way he's been acting, it seems he would have been happier if I didn't know anything! How could he even make the decision to do this, didn't he think of his future?"
Natsume schooled her features, not wanting to make any faces less the girl think she was mocking her but instead she was called out for apparently not expressing any concern or emotion.
"Of course you don't care! I remember how you were in the beginning, have you always known?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down Kyoko," Natsume said, surprised at the turn this had taken, not even her own mother had reacted like this when they told her about everything. Her father had taken the brunt end of that ire and knew he deserved it. "I've been dragged into this as much as you have –"
"Then why are you so okay with it? Don't you care that they –"
"Enough, you need to calm down," Natsume interrupted, voice stern, eyes narrowing at Kyoko, who looked like she wanted to get up but couldn't. Natsume stood, picking up her plate and setting it in the sink, filling it up with warm water so that the honey would be easier to wash off.
She washed her dish, waiting for Kyoko's breathing to steady. Once done with that she turned around, leaning back against the counter looking over Kyoko whose hands were covering her face, "Kyoko the one thing you need to understand is that none of us made the decision to be a part of this, but we're making the best of it."
"So what are you going to do about it now?"
Natsume left at that, not bothering to look back at the girl.
She gave the gathered people in the hallway a displeased look as she walked passed, the way they looked away from her gaze said enough, "It's rude to listen on other people's conversation, y'know."
The gathered teens looked at one another, Ryohei being the one to leave the group and follow after Natsume. Hayato was the one that made the disapproving tsk and Tsuna couldn't help but agree when he said, "I would have gone in to comfort my damn sister."
Tsuna just hoped that Ryohei and Natsume didn't end up fighting.
"Should we talk to her?" Takeshi asked and Tsuna bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about it. He shook his head, feeling guilty as they stepped back and headed towards the main kitchen.
"I don't think there's much we can talk about that we didn't already hear," Tsuna answered quietly, taking a seat on one of the stools, hands coming up to rub at his face. "I thought they were doing fine."
"You boys," Hayato made a weird sound, between a yelp and choking noise that reminded Tsuna of a frog. Bianchi only sighed, pulling down the goggles over her eyes, so Hayato could at least look at her while she spoke. "Shock does that to a person, what happens when you start to realize what exactly is happening?"
Takeshi was the first one to speak up, "None of us reacted that way."
Bianchi's brow rose though they couldn't tell, hands coming down on her hips, "No one reacts the same, don't assume your experiences are relatable to others."
"What can we do to help them?" it was Hayato that asked and years ago that would have surprised Bianchi, but having been around the Sawada's long enough (even during the teen's time) she knew it would change her brother in some way.
"You can't, they're going to have to figure it out themselves."
"What if they can't?"
The way Bianchi's lips pursed made Tsuna consider the possibilities if Haru and Kyoko couldn't come to terms with what was happening around them.
/ | \
Ryohei did not follow Natsume, he instead found his way to the gym that Fuuta had said he could use. He headed straight to the punching bag in the corner, giving the bag a good punch, ignoring the voice in his head that he should warm up.
He ignored it, continuing to punch and kick at the bag to the point that it started tearing apart.
He exhaled loudly, refusing to scream when the bag finally broke in half, sand spilling everywhere. The teen stood there, fists clenched, feeling something within him stir, but didn't know what it could be. He kicked at the sand on the floor, watching it stream further across the room, finding it odd how loudly it clattered.
An odd chirping sound sounded behind him and he was about to curse at the octopus head for not keeping track of his cat again (how it kept evading Hayato, Ryohei didn't know.) Imagine his surprise when he turned around and instead of seeing the tiny cat glaring at him, it was a Kangaroo much taller than him, with yellow fire coming out of its ears.
This hadn't happened before.
The Kangaroo made the sound again, hopping off its feet and back onto its tail, which had Ryohei noticing the yellow box he had gotten the other day.
Hadn't they been trying to open these? He knew Takeshi and Hayato were getting the hang of it; he didn't have to bother questioning if Natsume had an idea, and Tsuna had tried twice, succeeding the second time.
The white haired teen frowned, one hand coming up to grasp his chin in thought, "What am I supposed to do with you?" In turn the kangaroo tilted its head, bouncing in place while still balanced on its tail.
And then it hit Ryohei.
Literally.
The teen hit the wall behind where the punching bag had been, not noticing how he left a large indent as he righted himself on his feet. "Oi! What's the big deal! You're my box companion aren't you? You're not supposed to fight me."
(Honestly that was debatable. Just look at Hayato.)
The kangaroo snorted, once again bouncing in place before going onto its feet, bringing its paws up – why hadn't he noticed it was wearing boxing gloves?
"I'll extremely fight you if that's what you're looking for!"
/ | \
Natsume stood outside, head tilted to the side, puffing out one cheek in thought and considered if she really wanted to go into the gym after all the yelling she had heard. Ryohei was not one to be approached like the others.
Tsuna liked to either ramble or listen to her talk and was soothed just by hanging out with someone who he could get his thoughts out. Hayato liked being distracted by talking about everything else but what was bothering him and had even delved into topics about space and aliens with her. Takeshi either avoided the problem until he felt like talking about it, or someone called him out on it.
They all eventually got to what was bothering them, though often than not it was Tsuna who got them talking after she nudged him about getting them to do it.
"Hahi, is everything okay in there?"
Natsume cursed in her head, turning to look at Haru and shrugging her shoulders, "I think he's just frustrated."
The brunette gave her an odd smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes and Natsume could see what Kyoko was talking about. She didn't feel like her usual, bubbly self and that didn't sit well with Natsume, "Hey Haru are you…" she saw how she flinched and Natsume changed her question, "Free? I was planning on going topside."
"Really?"
Natsume nodded, "Go tell Kyoko, I think she's in the kitchen and we'll leave in next thirty minutes." She hadn't expected the girl to literally shine at the possibility of going out and was pleased with herself at the change in Haru.
"I'll go get her!"
It was quiet for a second, "Aren't you quite the problem solver."
Natsume rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wall and sliding down it. She went back to staring at the door, watching as Reborn walked up to it and pressed a small, pudgy hand against it, "You have to realize you can't solve everything for everyone, Natsume."
The hitman walked in, the screech from within loud before it was muffled by the door closing.
She sat there a while longer, arms crossed against her chest, mouth pursed as she mulled over Reborn's words, "Helping is not the same as solving."
/ | \
It took nearly an hour for the girls to get ready and Natsume felt odd when the two walked ahead of her instead of beside her as they usually did. Not that she could fault them for that; Kyoko was still upset from earlier, though she was trying to hide it and Haru looked just a little too happy to be going outside.
She squinted when they finally made it out of the tunnel, the sun was up high, the sudden warmth she felt through the sleeves of her hoodie felt awesome and she regretted not wearing a shirt underneath. They walked until they were somewhere familiar and Natsume realized this exit brought them close to Namimori Middle.
"I'm surprised it's still the same," Kyoko murmured as they stood in front of the gates. "I mean, it's been ten years."
Namimori Middle was still as she remembered seeing it just a few days ago, minus the students, which was surprising as it was the first month of the new school year. Maybe the school schedule had changed?
"Hahi!" That was when Haru spun around, eyes a little wide, "How are we going to catch up on the school we are missing?"
"Uh, that's a good question," Natsume said, brows furrowing, what had the boys done when they missed too many days of school? Reborn probably did something, "I think Reborn might have that figured out when we go back."
"You're trusting a little kid?" Kyoko asked in disbelief, though her face was clouded with confusion. "I know he's smarter than most children, but I think that's too much to believe in."
How could she explain the demon-child that wasn't a child to the girls, when they couldn't even tell that it was Reborn in the disguises? Natsume instead shrugged, giving them a wooden smile, "Reborn knows people?"
"Oh does he now?"
Natsume resisted the urge to glare at Kyoko, not liking the airy and rather dismissive tone the girl used; instead she continued to force a smile, "Yep…or, y'know," she finished off lamely. "We figure that out when we get there."
"You'd think there'd be more planning ahead," Kyoko said, tugging on Haru's arm. "I brought some money with me, let's go to the plaza, maybe the café is still there."
The pair went off, not noticing that Natsume stayed behind, eyes closed and breathing in deeply, "This makes me wonder how this conversation went in a different time."
She began to follow after them, a purple butterfly fluttering from the hood of her jacket. She'd let Hana know that these two were out and about, though that would mean leaving Malana with Kawahira. With a sigh, Natsume trailed behind the two, and was nearly left behind by the girls when she stopped in front of a familiar restaurant.
Closed Until Further Notice (1)
"Kyoko, Haru? What are you two doing out by – oh."
Hana's voice registered to her, Natsume looking away from the sign and staring at the woman and she grimaced slightly as she saw the child in her arms.
"Hi Hana," Natsume called out and the girls before the woman exploded with questions, mostly directed at the child in her arms as well as the 'how are you's' and 'what have you been doing's'. "Hi Malana."
"Hi Tsu-chan."
A wave of relief went through Natsume. If it were possible, she would buy the girl whatever it was she wanted. While not at all bothered that she would eventually have a child, she was trying not to think about how she came to be. Even at her current age she didn't like anyone more than a friend and now knowing that there was the possibility of her being the first of their friends to have a child.
It made her want to scream. It was why she wanted to avoid seeing the young girl more than she already had. It brought up too many questions and the fact that she may brought someone else into this life because of her feelings and then had a child (an actually pure being) and let them live amongst the mafia.
The last thing she had ever wanted to happen in her life was creating a situation like her father had. She hoped to whatever God there was that that hadn't been the case here.
"Come on you three, we were heading to Matsumoto's Diner."
Hana noted how Natsume was keeping her distance and she could only wonder what had happened. Though judging by Kyoko and Haru's attitudes, she could guess.
Coming clean about the mafia business had been difficult, but having it happen during this whole shit storm?
Yeah, saying that sucked was putting it mildly.
Part 74: We Try
"Malana-chan is such a cute girl, I'm surprised Hana had a kid," Haru said, almost seeming to skip even with the bags hanging around her wrists. She may have splurged a bit, but Hana had said that it all would be paid for by Vongola, and why wouldn't Haru take advantage of the beautiful fabrics that were available at the stores.
It would give her something to do and take her mind off of things at least.
"I wonder who the father is," Kyoko said, her voice slightly hoarse. "I mean for Hana of all people to have a kid, that's honestly shocking, don't you think Natsume?"
Natsume held up her drink as if toasting to the idea, "Oh yeah, totally wasn't expecting it." She took a sip of her drink, pouting slightly as it got the last bit. She swirled the cup, trying to get the fruits at the bottom to sit on top of the ice so she wouldn't get any stuck in her straw.
Kyoko nodded taking Natsume's unimpressed tone as surprise, "It seems there are different types of surprises in the future."
VOOIII
Natsume felt her eye twitch and without much thought, she led the girls away from the sound, even though the two looked curious, "Please, trust me when I say you don't want to know."
"Is this more secrets?"
Natsume snorted, shaking her head and then groaning when the two before her instead of just going along with her, decided to turn back and head towards the noise. "For fucks sake," she grumbled, bringing her cup up to her mouth and chewing on the straw. "You know what, I've done enough."
She was going to bed.
/ | \
"What happened here?" came the girl's voice, getting the boys in the room to straighten up and the man wondered why he made it a point to come here.
He should have taken his time, he was damn tired.
"Kyoko!" it was the tall idiot who had been the least involved in bothering him. "Where have you been?"
"I went outside with Haru and Natsume."
He narrowed his eyes, where was that one.
"I see Haru but where's Natsume?"
The girls frowned and turned around to gesture to the person that wasn't there, "Ah? Where'd she go, she was right behind us."
Probably annoyed with them, hell he was already more than annoyed.
"VOI! If we're done here, we're fucking done! You, trash come with me," he gestured to the tallest idiot, who narrowed his eyes. Takeshi looked at everyone else, smiling at them all as he said,
"See you at dinner guys!" He turned that cheery smile on him, "Let's go Squalo-senpai!"
"What the hell did I say about that, shitstain?" Squalo didn't approve of the way the girls seemed to quail at his voice, nor did he care, that wasn't his problem. He grabbed Takeshi by the collar and dragged him, "Honestly I take time to be here and see if your dumbass understands the videos and you're still fucking around."
Takeshi waved at Tsuna, signaling to them that it was okay; even as he turned the corner a frown was marring his face. "I'm not."
Squalo scoffed, letting go of the teen, "Could have fooled me."
Whatever way that conversation was going to go, wasn't heard and it brought the others back, "What'd you get, Haru?"
"Some fabrics," the girl answered, rustling the bag in her hand and seeming a lot chipper than when they had last seen her. "Have any of you seen Bianchi?"
Hayato made a noise, one of his shoulders rising higher than the other, "She's probably in one of the meeting rooms with Fuuta."
"I might know the one!" Haru turned to Kyoko, "Did you want to come with me?"
"Wait, wait," Ryohei started, hands settling on his hips. "I thought it was dangerous to go outside, why did you three go out?"
"I asked Natsume if we could," Kyoko answered, arms crossing against her chest, her eyes narrowing at her brother's tone. "And look, we're fine."
"You don't know what –"
"Everything was okay," Kyoko interrupted her brother, "It's nice to be reminded that at least somethings don't change so suddenly."
"You said you were fine, why are you acting up now, Kyoko?" Ryohei asked, not understanding why his sister (who had been safe, who had told him she was fine) was being like this.
Hayato tried not to groan, one of his hands coming up to rub at his brow. He looked at Tsuna who was looking at the situation with a frown marring his face, mouth pressed into a thin line. Maybe things had been going too smoothly, at least when it came to the bomb drop that was being involved in the Mafia.
"I am not acting up," Kyoko seemed to bristle, stepping forward and jabbing a finger against her brother's chest, before looking at Hayato and Tsuna and seeming to suddenly deflate. "I….I'm scared."
The huff that left Ryohei was ignored, who wrapped his arms around his sister. He rested his chin against the top of her head, eyes narrowed in thought as he looked over at Haru, "You too, come here." Haru frowned, hesitating but still moved to stand beside Kyoko before she too was enveloped in Ryohei's arms.
She squeaked, cheeks red and feeling way too warm to be comfortable.
"I think we're all a little scared," Tsuna spoke up, stepping closer to them and putting a hand on both girls' shoulders. "I really wish things hadn't happened this way, but it happened and all we can do is just try to get through this."
Hayato stood where he was, hands in pockets. The teen shook his head, not believing that all this drama was currently happening. When the tears started coming down heavily, he squinted over at Tsuna who just waved his hand at him and he took it as he could leave.
Girls could be so dumb sometimes.
/ | \
She gasped; not having expected to see such a clear face, "Princess?" was all the girl had said before she had jolted awake. The pacifier around her neck thrummed with renewed warmth and she wondered what that could possibly mean.
It faded after a few minutes and the girl, gently grabbed the pacifier, brow furrowed as she considered how that had been the second time in the last two days that had happened.
Was someone trying to communicate with her?
How was that possible?
"Uncle Kawahira…is this your doing?"
It had been written in her mother's journal about how Kawahira had been changing over the last few years, though the reasoning as to why was never found out. There were very few people who could cause the glow of the pacifier as it was, but what she didn't understand how the girl she saw came into play.
Maybe it was a vision?
They weren't as intense as the ones that her Grandmother described in her journals, nor were they as clear. Most of the time she heard voices or saw fuzzy faces of people, she wouldn't know what exactly was happening until the very moment and only then she would feel a sense of déjà vu.
"Where are you Uncle Kawahira? Do I need to find you?"
This continued to happen over the coming days and though she tried to read the notebooks that had been left to her, the fact that she had people distracting her didn't help. They pulled her one way or another, dressing her up a certain way and having her interact with Byakuran.
"Please forgive me Princess, but I will have to leave for a few days," the man said over tea, placing a blueberry scone on her plate. "You shouldn't have to worry as you'll be taken care of as you usually are."
The way he smiled made her stomach twist and she wondered if he knew, knew that whatever he had done to her was fading.
He knows, but he believes he is above it all.
A God amongst men.
The ancient voice in her ear crooned, He may have lived a thousand lives, he may have seen the downfall of many, he may have had success, but even the mightiest of warriors falls, even the smartest man makes a mistake.
He does not believe in hope.
He does not believe in showing thanks.
But he will learn.
"Thank you," she murmured as he finished pouring her tea.
She wondered if her mother and grandmother had heard the voice, maybe the visions for them were clearer and they didn't get to hear the voice. Or maybe they had failed to mention it and decided to live with it.
She wouldn't know.
Byakuran tapped the small golden spoon he had used to stir honey into her tea to get her attention and she thanked him again, knowing what was coming once she took a sip. Her tongue felt heavy after a few drinks, her mind growing hazy.
"i…ay…ta…..er…-cess." (2)
When she opened her eyes again and actually noticed her surroundings, she felt a weight settle in her chest. Her throat tightened up and she had to quickly wipe the tears that fell, it wouldn't do well for her if she was caught crying.
(Why was this supposed to happen? Why couldn't everything have happened differently? )
Should she complain?
She was very much alive, she had a roof over her head, she was fed and taken care of.
(but at what cost?)
"Princess Uni?" a voice brought her out of her thoughts and she sat up, relaxing her shoulders and giving the older man a carefree smile.
"Tea again?"
"And some lunch," the man's eyes twinkled in a way that had her questioning if she should trust his lunch. Then again Byakuran would know if anyone had any motivation to harm what he considered his (he would also wait until the last possible moment to help.) "In honor of Byakuran-sama heading to Japan to complete his quest, I arranged some traditional Japanese food."
Japan.
What was in Japan again?
"It was a dish that wasn't too difficult for our chefs to make, though I do say that nothing beats authentic ramen."
Sliding off her bed she made her way to the table that was placed in the patio outside of her room. It was early in the afternoon, Uni feeling oddly strange as she heard the birds trilling happily in the trees. The Spring weather was nice, not too hot, but not too cold, the temperature just right where a bowl of soup can be enjoyed without feeling too warm.
"What type of tea is this?" she felt brave asking, curious over the dark yellow, almost green drink. The man smiled, eyes creasing as he indulged her questions
"Green tea, it is also popular in Japan, Princess," he watched her sip it, looking at her curiously and getting a pleased hum from the girl. "I'm afraid I am not the best at brewing teas, I have a friend and she is much better at it, she even creates her own blends."
Her mind didn't feel fuzzy for once after drinking a whole cup, not even when she started on her second did she feel any different.
"Don't let the ramen sit too long, the noodles will get soggy."
It was delicious and though she would have liked to continue using the chopsticks he had brought her, she exchanged them for a fork. She heard the man chuckle and even though she was in the middle slurping her noodles, she turned to him, giving him a questioningly look.
"Did…I do something wrong?"
The man shook his head, eyes crinkled shut in his mirth, waving at her to continue her meal. Once she was done, he poured her one last cup, leaving the teapot behind while he took everything else. "Please call on me when you need me Princess, I'll be ready whenever you are."
Part 75: Fate is just an old man's excuse
(T-Minus 3 Days Until Choice)
Things had somewhat settled.
Somewhat.
Natsume had managed to get Ryohei and Hayato to go with the girls to go outside again, while brilliantly smiling at them that it was their duty as brother and Guardian to watch out and make sure that the needs of the family were met.
She was completely bullshitting of course (but was she wrong?)
"Lal," she greeted the woman, who nodded in greeting, "Inoue-san." The nurse smiled at Natsume, who was cleaning Lal's arm so that she could give her the shots she needed. "Are we stabbing Lal's arm today."
"I wouldn't say stabbing," Inoue murmured, getting one of the syringes ready, the flicker in the substance making Natsume curious. "Maybe gentle prodding?"
Lal sighed, "What do you want Natsume?"
"I'm just visiting so you don't feel lonely," Natsume responded, eyes on Inoue as she injected Lal. "What does that do?"
"Nusyxs, it's a mixture of sun and sky flames," Inoue answered, keeping the syringe in place as it drained itself into Lal. "Dr. Kurokawa, Dr. Shamal, and Sawada-san, amongst a few others in the alliance started working on ways to help the arcobaleno survive through the radiation."
"There are other variations available, but this one has worked best for Lal-san and even Reborn-san when he was brought in three weeks ago," Inoue finished, capping off the syringes and disposing them in a red box that was underneath Lal's bed. "I think another dosage tomorrow and the rest of it should be cleared up, though," Inoue paused as she wrote down on a clipboard, brown eyes narrowing as she looked at Lal. "It would be best for you to stay inside from now on, but you seem to think otherwise."
"If I can be of use to the end, then so be it, I'm not going to waste away inside while others are out fighting," Lal scoffed, leaning back against the pillows. She looked at Natsume, "That's like this one deciding she's going to stand back and let her idiot brother and friends get into trouble."
Natsume puffed her cheeks, lips slightly pursed as she was called out though she didn't argue against Lal, "You're not wrong, but please don't call me out like that."
"Ha," Lal scoffed, "Tell me has your idiot brother still been talking with Shoichi? He's been snooping by, but every time I call him out he disappears."
"They met up, Shoichi finally explained what this Choice that Byakuran was talking about was," Natsume told the woman, scratching her face. "Apparently it's a war game the two came up with while they were in college, if you ask me it sounds pretty dumb."
"You don't get it."
"I do get it, but like I said it's pretty dumb," Natsume reiterated. "I think Byakuran's plotting something, but he's using this stupid game to cover it up."
"No shit," Lal said, giving Natsume a halfhearted glare. "If I'm unable to go, which I'm guessing is going to be what happens, tell the idiots to take the box your older self gave to them."
"Box? What box?"
"Tell them what I said, I'm not explaining those boxes to you."
"Are you always like this? You were so nice a few days ago!"
"You're being annoying –"
Natsume gasped, pretending to be offended, "How?"
Lal sniffed, tilting her head and raising a brow at Natsume, who was pouting at her, "Trust me, you're annoying."
She wouldn't call out the girl that she felt what she was doing with her flames, nor the fact that she did it well enough that Lal almost hadn't caught her. Lal let her head fall back against the pillows, blankly staring at the ceiling as she felt the vaccines that the red headed nurse had given her start their course.
Mainly a mixture of Sun and Sky flames, but this time she could tell there was another one and she wondered how Inoue managed to get Storm into the mix. It had been possible, but there had also been explosive results the last time it was attempted.
"Lal, I have a serious question," the girl asked, bringing her out of her thoughts, "Do you know the girl that the man Gamma calls princess?"
Lal seemed to have short circuited, before she responded, "Uni?"
"Oh that's her name?"
"Why are you asking?"
Natsume looked at her dead in the eye, eyes narrowed as if she was considering if she should tell her, "My older self made a promise or whatever to Gamma, I ran into them on Thursday, apparently I'm supposed to help their Princess."
"You can't help someone that's not here."
Natsume shrugged, "I thought so too, but he had something that could possibly connect me to her and…it worked," she sighed out at the end. "I think I found her, but ah, I don't know how to help her."
"What does she look like?" Lal asked, wanting to make sure that Natsume at least had the right girl. Natsume held out her hands in front of her, mist pooling in her hands before they shifted up, creating an image of the girl.
And there was Uni, eyes dazedly looking around her, the pacifier around her neck glowing.
"There's one person who might be able to help you, but he hasn't been in contact with us for over two weeks," Lal said, drumming her finger against her covered thigh.
"Who?"
"Rokudo Mukuro."
The face Natsume made would have been laughable at any other moment, "He's been helpful, the you of this time got him out of Vindice, but I don't know the terms on which they work on."
Natsume made a sound,
"This all sucks."
"That's life for you."
/ | \
"Uni?"
There she was again, the brown skinned girl with hazel eyes and long, wavy hair that looked like it couldn't be tamed. She called her name this time and Uni wondered how she knew that?
"Lal…Lal Mirch…..Gamma asked for help….but I don't know how?"
Uni smiled at the older girl, reaching up for her hand and finding comfort that she could actually grasp it. The pacifier glowed, though neither acknowledged it as they realized they could actually interact with one another now.
It seemed the older girl didn't have a problem with strangers reaching out to her (or was it because she was a child?) She understood a little of the Japanese she spoke, but she wasn't entirely fluent in it, so she responded in her native tongue.
"You've been helping me?" she asked in Italian.
The girl gave her a funny look, shaking her head, "I should have realized, sorry," she responded in accented Italian. "I also wouldn't say I've been helping you, since I have no clue what I'm doing."
"You have good intuition then," Uni said, smiling kindly at the girl. "But it's like you said, I'm still here in Italy and I'm assuming you're in Japan.
"Byakuran just contacted us and told us how Choice is going to work," and she murmured under her breath about a stupid blond man, but Uni wouldn't ask about that.
How odd wasn't it?
Was this fate? Is this the worlds way of forgiveness for the wrong it has allowed to go on?
"What's your name?" Uni asked, sitting down on the floor and gesturing for the girl to do the same. Uni tilted when the older girl smiled at her sheepishly, a hand coming up to rub the back of her head and a murmured apology for not introducing herself.
"I'm Natsume Sawada," the girl answered as she sat down and Uni noted just how long her hair was when the ends rested against the floor. Kind hazel eyes that reminded Uni of a cat with the way they tilted up at the edge looked at her as if trying to read her. "I'm glad we've gotten this far, I am sad it's taken so long."
"Somethings take time," Uni answered, sounding much older than her current age. "It's best to let things come and go."
That earned her a thoughtful look from Natsume, who was messing with her hair and tying it up into a bun, "That's very fortune cookie-ish of you." That earned a giggle from Uni, her head tilting down for a second and once again she noticed the pacifier was glowing. "Uni…how can I help you?"
Uni grasped the pacifier in her hands, covering it up with her palms, the glow seeping through the gaps of her fingers.
"Please just tell Gamma I will be fine."
Natsume frowned, lips pursing slightly, "I get the feeling he's just going to tell me off."
"He means well," Uni murmured, one of her thumbs lightly rubbing over the other. "He didn't know what to think of me when he first met me."
"Oh?"
"My mother had just passed, she hadn't told them of me," she paused, sighing softly, "he didn't take well to my appearance." She no longer teared up when she remembered that first meeting with Gamma and the Giglio Nero. "Can you tell Gamma something for me?"
"Sure?"
"If you want to make your surroundings happy, please laugh."
The way Natsume blinked slowly, head tilting to the left, obviously questioning the phrase, though she decided to go with it, "…alright."
"You're a nice person Miss Natsume."
"Ah? You think so? I've been told I can be mean."
Uni smiled, "You have a good heart." The younger girl let go of her pacifier, reaching out for Natsume's hand again and grasping it. There was a brilliant glow and Uni sat up in bed, tears falling down her eyes, "I hope you can continue smiling happily Miss Natsume."
Breathing deeply, Uni got up, leaving her bed.
There was someone she had to find.
/ | \
The girl was outside.
She could have come up to the door already and knocked, but no. She was busying herself by looking at the flowers that were growing along the path towards the greenhouse.
Why were teenagers always such a pain in the ass?
Gamma opened the door, leaning against the doorway, "It's taken you long enough."
She crouched down instead of turning around to look at him. He couldn't see what she was doing, but he was sure she might have been digging her fingers into the dirt. Tazaru and Nosaru were still sleeping, unsurprisingly not having woken up after the training they had yesterday and he may have pushed too hard. He wasn't sure what Byakuran was plotting anymore and now that they didn't have the protection of the Millefiore, they were free to be attacked by the white haired man's minions.
Gamma stepped out, closing the door behind him, making his way over to where the girl was. When he stopped beside her, he saw that she had been tracing circles in the dirt, squiggly lines in the middle of the circle, and a line going right down the middle of it though it didn't touch the edges of the circle.
"Byakuran is coming in three days," she said, rubbing the fingers of her right hand together before she dusted them off.
"I'm not doing anything about that."
She stood up and it was odd to note the she didn't even reach his shoulder, her older half having been tall enough to reach just around his chin. Unlike her older self, her hair wasn't loose, instead pulled back into a thick braid, her bangs pinned back out of her face.
"I'm just telling you in case you want to leave," she said holding up her hands, her middle and pointer finger still smudged with dirt. "Anyways I'm here to tell you Uni is fine."
Gamma stared, not knowing if he should be impressed that she didn't back down from his glare. Most avoided his ire and he could feel his anger boiling up.
"Define fine," he murmured, stepping closer, fingers sparking with lightening as he lifted his hand up to point it at her face. "Last I checked nothing was just fine."
She wasn't scared as she shrugged, shifting her weight from her right to her left side, "Uni said to say that okay, she also said to tell you if you want to make your surroundings happy –"
"Please laugh."
Natsume eyed his fingers, watching the lightening fade and almost breathed a sigh of relief, "Yeah."
The two stood in silence, though she eventually peered behind him, "Your guys are going to wake up soon."
"Will the Princess continue to be safe where she is?"
The girl put her hand in the pockets of jacket, "Depends on how everything turns out here, no?" She looked over her shoulder, a groan leaving her. She started walking away, looking back over her shoulder, "I think it all depends on how much we believe we can do."
She started running, yelling back, "I know there's things you can do!"
What did she mean by that?
/ | \
"Hibari stay the hell away from me!" Natsume yelled over her shoulder, running through a path that would hopefully throw off the prefect following her. "Isn't Dino supposed to be watching you now?"
The whiz of something flying through the air was heard, though she wasn't able to dodge. She stumbled when the tonfa hit the back of her knee, throwing her off balance.
"Dino! You're useless at watching him!" she shouted, grabbing the tonfa on the floor and then swinging it at Hibari. The sound of Dino laughing sheepishly made her want to strangle the blond, even if he was ten years older, he probably got himself wrapped up in his own weapon. "You have a whip, tie him up dammit!"
"You've been holding out on me," Hibari stated, watching the weapons clash against one another, his force pushing her back into a tree trunk. "Kusakabe wasn't able to stop me from reading certain files."
"I have not."
"You have."
"Can you please consider that that is the future me and not the current me?" she ducked beneath his swing, rolling away as he hit the tree. "Honestly I thought we were bonding before," she grumbled under her breath, "this ain't it."
"There you two – ahh!"
Without much doubt, Natsume swapped spots with Dino, "Nice timing Dino! See you back at the base!"
"Hey don't leave – ouch, Kyoya," Dino ducked beneath the now irate teen's punch, moving to grab his arm and hold it behind his back. While they usually got along, Dino was wondering what got Kyoya to chase after Natsume like this.
Still this was pretty tame compared to what the two usually got up too and that's not excluding how Tetsuya said the two left off.
(Oh, yeah, that was not going to be fun once things settled down.)
(1) - It's TakeSushi
(2) - (It's okay, we'll take care of you Princess.)
AN:
I've been listening to Rain on Me on repeat since it dropped an hour ago. I've moved on to Stupid Love and I am grooving.
Today was the LAST day of school for me. Let's pray I passed :D
I am going to try to update at least once a month.
Also guess who had to reread their whol thing (and edit) their story? Me, so I edited some stuff in the other chapters, not too much of a big difference. Overall I think I may not have completely disrupted this story, at least with the way I've been thinking about it. This means I'm actually happy with this, but usually when I"m happy or like something people don't like it (or I fail a test because I thought I did GOOD. its all LIES.)
Anyways, questions, concerns, something weird let me know.
Enjoy~
Sorugao