Il Cielo dei Tre Regni
by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series as they both belong to their respective owners. Also, considering Koihime†Musou could be considered a fanfic of the Three Kingdoms, I'd like to say I don't own anything related to the stories of the Three Kingdoms.

-()-

Those Drawn to the Sky

-()-

"You should gather your guardians soon, Sawada Kazuto."

"Why is there such a hurry? My father is the strongest Vongola Boss there has been, even, according to rumors, surpassing the strength of Vongola Primo and Secondo! I'm unlikely to inherit the title any time soon."

"It's not for the sake of succession, Bakazuto. This is for your own sake. A sky without a single element is just empty. Nothing to harmonize, nothing to hold, nothing to protect. If not a guardian, then endeavor to find someone to add to your family soon. Not even your father, even before he learned of his destiny, ever truly desired to be alone."

"So you want me to gather Guardians so that…"

"You have someone to protect and be protected by. I can find some suitable members if you are still unwilling to make your decision."

"The choosing of my future Guardians will be on my terms. That was what was agreed upon between you and my father."

"All because I didn't let him choose his Guardians, I guess. Not having the ability to choose his own future without someone giving him a hand is and has always been one of your father's weak points that I had to knock out of him. And it was definitely difficult." That's likely because Reborn keeps taking the initiative. Kazuto dryly thought. Reborn might not act like it, but he isn't one for being idle for a long time. He's able to stay still for stakeout, but, technically, at those times he's actually doing something. If nothing is going on, he'll be trying to do his best to break the monotony one way or the other. It's almost like a character trait of a sun flame user if his rather extreme uncle Ryohei and fidgety uncle Shouichi are anything to go by.

BANG!

"Don't shoot me!" Kazuto yelled as a bullet hole appeared on the wall just behind where his head just was.

"You were thinking something rude," Reborn replied with that, as though that was enough reason to try and kill him. He then turned away, looking at the sky. "A boss is not alone in his journey. So I decided that, if by the time you graduate from high school you still haven't chosen at least one Guardian, I'll force Decimo to retract his restriction and allow me to choose a Guardian."

"… Fine. I'll just have to have a Guardian before I graduate, right?"

Did he regret not having a Guardian? Yes, Kazuto does regret not having a Guardian yet. But he never did feel as connected to the other (non-heir) mafia children his age. Something about them just didn't click with him. Like he was expecting more from them. Maybe his sense of scale is skewed having been in the presence of his father's exceptional Guardians, but his intuition has always told him what feels best, and it told him to be patient, to wait for the time that he meets exceptional people to become his very own exceptional Guardians.

-()-

Aisha woke up as the sun rose. She calmly started preparing for the day ahead. Today there will be much to do. The aftermath of a battle doesn't end at just the memorials after all. Reinforcing the army, giving proper treatment to those who were injured, giving the troops some more training… today will certainly be a very busy one.

'Is Rinrin awake yet?' Aisha wondered as she changed out of her sleepwear and into her usual attire. After walking a little bit so that she could be standing in front of Rinrin's own room (which is right next to hers). Putting her hand on the door handle, she pushed it open.

"Rinrin, are you awake yet?" No sound came as a response, and Aisha sighed as she entered the room. Well, no big surprise; she already expected Rinrin to still be asleep. Peeking into the younger girl's room, she easily found the redhead on the bed, managing to toss off the blanket that Aisha had put over her. Sighing slightly, she pulled the blanket and folded it on the corner of the bed.

"Rinrin, wake up."

"Funyanoda…"

"Rinrin, it's already morning!" Aisha shoved the girl hard, causing the girl to flail a bit before striking back at her "attacker". Aisha easily dodged this one.

"Ah!" Rinrin quickly stood up, before seeing Aisha. "Ah… Good morning, aneja!"

"Morning, Rinrin. Get ready. Today will be a very hectic day."

"Alright, nanoda!" Rinrin grinned, and she sauntered off to her closet to grab her day clothes. Aisha chuckled as she left.

"There's training with the soldiers today, so you better be there as soon as you could."

"After I eat breakfast," Rinrin responded easily.

Aisha simply nodded, as she started leaving. Rinrin could take care of herself once she's awake. It was Kazuto and Touka who needed a bit more nudging before they start being able to do anything productive. Speaking of which…

She walked towards her two elder sworn siblings' rooms. Kazuto and Touka had rooms further from their own since the two were given the rooms of the chief magistrate and any family that might live with him. This was at the insistence of both Aisha and the people of the city, as the two were very reluctant in sleeping in such a place when both Rinrin and Aisha slept in the servants' quarters. They DID try to convince Aisha and Rinrin to take one of the rooms nearer to them, but Aisha easily rebuffed them. It was… an amusing affair. By the way, the two were still trying, if one must know.

Passing by a few giggling servants, Aisha gave them a questioning glance. They only bowed in reply and pointed in the direction she had been walking. Aisha decided that it wasn't worth it, for now, so she continued walking only to be greeted by the sight of the two leaders sleeping on the veranda.

"What are you two doing?" Aisha sighed softly. They could get sick, or, worse, assassinated sleeping outside like that. Even so, it seemed that the two were content sleeping where they are. Kazuto was leaning on a post snoozing away, and Touka was resting her head on the boy's lap. Aisha shrugged as she walked up to them to shake them awake. They can sleep for the rest of the day away if they want to, but they should do it in proper beds.

Wait…

'Kazuto-sama's ring!' Seeing the boy's right hand, resting on Touka's head, she saw that the ring was missing from its proper place on his right middle finger. He never took it off, and she half-suspected that he even took the ring inside the bathroom when taking a bath. (Of course not, Kazuto would've replied at that moment but he was asleep and not a mind reader). She panicked internally. To her, the object was proof of Kazuto's arrival as the Heavenly Messenger, showing time and time again that his flames always originate from the jewel of the ring. She quickly started planning to search every single room for the missing object, as well as interrogate every single person that she comes across only to realize exactly where the ring was.

It was there, glistening on her sworn sister's finger. And she didn't really understand why this bothered her so much. She sighed and settled to just try and carry them back to their rooms. She'll worry about this strange feeling later.

-()-

When Kazuto woke up, he pretty much expected the headache he had. It wasn't a big deal though and it won't bother him at all. What he didn't expect was to find himself back in his own room. He certainly doesn't remember going back there. Last he remembered was… He flexed his hand for a bit before nodding to himself. Yup, the Sky Ring wasn't there. Shrugging as he stood up. So, what happened? Large enemy arrived, drove them off within the same night, and then he was knocked out for the rest of the day. Also then, when he woke up, there was that Checkerface and his decision to join up with the Reborn bandwagon of "Gather your Guardians"… And then a small talk with Touka where he gave the girl the ring and proclaimed her a Sky.

Speaking of rings…

Kazuto looked around his (well, current) room, and found his drawstring bag right there. Stretching slightly as he walked over to it and pulled out a box of rings. He needed to get his spare ring after all and… On his desk was another box of rings, the box that had contained the other ring that he had been using as well as its partner six rings.

Kazuto thought on it for a bit… Maybe he should give the other rings to Touka for safekeeping. And she'll need something to put her ring in any way. Kazuto chuckled slightly before picking the box up and heading towards Touka's room. Well, not before switching out of his clothes to some of the spare clothes that Aisha had tailor-made for him. After all, he's been wearing this school uniform for nearly two days.

-()-

Touka had awoken to see the ceiling of her room. Funny; she didn't remember returning to her room. Her last memory was speaking with Kazuto in the garden, and it was a rather strange feeling. She was telling Kazuto about what had taken place and she probably nodded off somewhere then. She sighed and stretched as she exited her bed. She needed to wash her face…

Yawning, she sleepily exited her room. It was only then that she belatedly noticed that she had not changed clothing either, and had been in her (now) usual clothes instead of her nightwear. She sighed freely as she walked to the well and pulled out a bucket. Splashing her face slightly, she rubbed her eyes a bit before she felt something hard on her face… she looked at her right hand and found something peculiar.

A ring was there, an orange ring. And it was on the middle finger… exactly where Kazuto wore it… No… this is Kazuto's ring, isn't it?

"…K… Kazuto-kun!" Touka yelped shocked as she turned around and ran for the boy's room. 'Did he… did he leave? No… he couldn't have… right?' And she quickly bumped into someone exiting the room in a hurry. Wait… who… white clothes appeared in her vision and she instantly knew who it is… It's not the same white but…

"K… Kazuto-kun…" He was here… She hugged the boy as though afraid that he would disappear. Tears almost fell, but she managed to hold them back enough that no tears fell.

"What's wrong, Touka?" Kazuto asked, as he gently hugged the girl back. "Did something happen?"

"I… I thought you were gone!"

"Bad dream?" Kazuto asked, clearly confused. Then she saw the two boxes next to him. He must've dropped them when he was walking.

"N… no… your ring is on my finger and I thought you left because… of something I don't know…" She let the boy go so that she can show the hand with the ring to him… "Like you were leaving some sort of memento or something and…"

"Huh…" Kazuto blinked. "Uh… OH! That! Actually, I just decided to give that to you…" Kazuto sheepishly grinned, "Sorry for making you upset… Although I don't know why you would jump to that conclusion…" Kazuto looked at her with a wry expression.

"S… sorry." Touka sniffed. "Still…" She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the tears that have managed to form. "Why did you decide to give me your ring?" Kazuto shrugged as he grabbed the boxes to his side.

"I said it, didn't I?" He opened one of the boxes, pushed it to her, and grabbed the other one. Opening it, he pulled out a ring of his own, a ring very similar to the one on her hand. "The two of us together are the sky of this family. The orange ring represents that." Kazuto smiled. He placed the new ring onto his finger and shrugged as it fit his finger. A glow came from the ring and it burst into flame. "Seems to work just fine."

Touka opened the box that Kazuto gave her, revealing six rings. Six differently colored rings, similar to the orange rings were there. "This is…"

"I think we can spend the rest of the day talking about them…" Kazuto smiled, as he looked at the afternoon sky. "But a brief summary of it would be: Each color of ring corresponds with one of those special Guardians. Now, let's get lunch first, shall we?"

-()-

Rain: To become the blessed shower that settles conflict and washes everything away.

Storm: Continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious storm that never rests.

Sun: Destroying the misfortune that attacks the Famiglia with his own body, he becomes the Sun that brightly shines upon an area.

Cloud: To be the aloof, drifting Cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint, and whom nothing can ever bind.

Mist: Creating something from nothing, and nothing from something thus bewildering the enemy, to render the Famiglia's true form intangible with visions of deceit.

Lightning: To draw damage to himself and away from the rest of the Famiglia, serving as a lightning rod.

Sky: Rain, Storm, Sun, Cloud, Mist, and Lightning, he influences all of them. He understands and accepts all of them.

Those are the duties of the six guardians and their boss. How a person would interpret these duties differs as they can mean almost anything. But even so, these duties are not for the faint of heart; they are tasks almost as sacred to Vongola as the Vongola Rings (now Vongola Gears) themselves. Kazuto knew this all too well. This is another reason why he can't just pick people off the street, or take any of his childhood friends as Guardians; he doesn't know how well they'll fit into these duties. That and most of his friends are mafia heirs apparent and really isn't allowed to just up and join another famiglia.

But in the end, he arrived in this world and was told to gather Guardians by some mystical prophecy that would probably make sense in the end. And everything in his being told him that it was time to start deciding. And so… this is where it all begins.

-()-

"So today's Aisha's day off, huh?"

"It seems so. She works too hard anyway…" Touka moaned but didn't stop her hand from moving. She can complain all she wants but she didn't want to waste all day writing on this. Her new ring that bears an orange gem glinted as she moved her hand.

"You're just saying that so that you'll be allowed to relax." Kazuto laughed, moving his hand quickly as well, finally used to the tempo of writing in Chinese. Although he still does need to occasionally look it up in his dictionary or ask Touka for help. It's almost been a month since he took up the post of co-magistrate with Touka, and he couldn't help but feel more comfortable in his sworn siblings' presence as time passes. From Rinrin's cheerfulness to Aisha's gentleness to Touka's naivety, all three of his new sisters were precious to him, almost as precious as the sister he had left back home.

"If Aisha-chan was in charge, we would be dealing with this every day, morning till night!" Touka replied, with a moan.

"This isn't that much," Kazuto replied. "And we haven't even started on foreign affairs yet…" Ah, those will be a chore. Touka grimaced, Kazuto chuckled, "Well, I'll leave all foreign affairs issues with Touka-chan."

"Wh… That's mean, Kazuto-kun!" Touka pouted.

Kazuto shrugged before laughing, "Just kidding. I'll help out." Touka breathed a sigh of relief before Kazuto added, "But Touka-chan needs to be ready for that responsibility too."

"I… I know already…" Touka sighed, as she moved her brush a little bit more before putting it down, "And DONE!" Kazuto nodded, as he put away his own work after rereading it a couple more times. Kazuto simply stretched, standing up. And with that, the last of the backlog that the stupid magistrate had left behind has been dealt with. Well, all the ones that they could reasonably deal with.

"Well, let's take a well-deserved break," Kazuto shrugged, as he grabbed his belt with the boxes. "No, we're not doing a [joyride] today, Touka. You'll just get tired after we do it too much." Still, Touka made a sigh of slight disappointment. "We'll just have a trip around town… in the guise of a patrol of course." Touka nodded, grinning.

"Well… let's go then!" Touka nodded. Kazuto chuckled. Touka's ring glinted ever so slightly.

So far, aside from that one great battle, there haven't been any attacks; none that the guards they had stationed in every town couldn't handle on their own at the very least. As for the bandit camps their scouts manage to find, either Aisha or Rinrin marches to destroy them quickly. The bandit camps always turn out to have too few people, as though there was some sort of mass evacuation that the Yellow Turbans have done from at least their county. Of course, there was the chance that they managed to spook them out so much. They did think he was a sorcerer so that could have affected their morale to the point that they ran away.

But still, Kazuto couldn't help but feel anxious despite that. He knew that this small bit of peace they have attained is only the calm before the storm. There must be something else going on. Something he couldn't see. And this simple fact makes him anxious. He wished he could systematically destroy the local Yellow Turbans, but the information that he gets from scouts can get too confusing for him to analyze. Also thinking on his own always did stress him too much, especially as logical reasoning is not his forte, not completely anyway. Even if he likes to act through logic, he always ends up relying on his intuition to deal with bigger obstacles. Well, his Hyper Intuition was rarely, if ever, wrong; it's just that… the thing about Hyper Intuition is that, while it can tell you about impending danger, it doesn't really tell you more than just that. Great for battle, where all danger is straightforward, but the skill is borderline useless when the danger is still a mere speck on the horizon.

-()-

Aisha smiled, looking at the children that she had been given some charge over. This was a fairly relaxing task, even if she WAS supposed to be on her break. Watching children play always did bring happiness to her.

Recently it's been rather calm, and the county actually had been able to get some peace. Oh, there are still bandit attacks, but nothing on the scale of their first great battle. Something as major as an attack formed by a thousand people or so can't really be hidden. There is also a local lord who had begun cracking down and protecting the borders of each county. This significantly lessened the chances of criminals managing to gather and make a significant impact. If this keeps up, just to keep their status as a volunteer army that is NOT trying to usurp any rule, they'll need to start actually volunteering, and only leaving a token defense in the area. Not a bad idea, all things considered. It will significantly lessen the need for Touka and Kazuto to do paperwork.

Anyway, the peace that they managed to attain, while certainly short, at least allowed them to focus on the development of the county, as well as manage the economy… both of which they weren't doing really great in that matter, sadly enough. Not horrible either, just somewhere in the middle. When the person most knowledgeable in the matter is Touka (Kazuto is a solid second), you don't really get a lot of optimal results. Both were too inexperienced and too gentle on the heavier matters. Kazuto claimed that they need more people good at deskwork, rather than just battle, but Aisha herself didn't really like the thought of expanding their group too quickly. After all, the four of them have only started to get to know each other.

And, she is in no way troubled by what she saw on her sworn elder sister's finger. She was more curious than troubled… of course, she is! There's no way she's jealous.

Why? Why did Kazuto give her sworn sister the ring? Was it not the source of his power? This was a matter that she just couldn't find the answer to. And she couldn't think to bring it up. The very next time she saw her sworn brother awake, he had been wearing a ring and chatting amiably with various staff members. Touka had also been in the vicinity, and she had still been wearing the said ring. So did that mean that the boy had a matching pair, and had only been wearing one of them? Somehow this explanation felt lacking. What did it mean? She knew that she only need to ask, and the two might actually answer it. But… what answer was she afraid to hear?

She couldn't help but sigh at her indecisiveness. And then she heard two familiar voices as she looked up and found herself in the presence of the very same people that she had been thinking about.

"Master? Touka-sama?"

-()-

First of all, neither of them planned for this. Sure they expected to run into her, but they both weren't even bothering to search for her and were content to just wander around town. Of course, they weren't really dreading finding the girl; they were actually okay with her for the most part. But the thing was that it was her break… so they didn't want to bother her too much.

But when they found Aisha surrounded by kids, smiling as she took care of them, Kazuto and Touka couldn't help but look at her with a strange sense of surprise and amusement, as well as think how well the situation suited her. There were none of the frowns that Aisha near-constantly had when helping with military and political work… This was probably Aisha's true nature…

"We should get someone else to do political stuff." Kazuto said off-handedly, "If Aisha is less overworked, she might actually smile more like this."

"Agreed." Touka nodded. "Aisha-chan looks better when she's this relaxed."

"She can just concentrate on helping Rinrin with training the soldiers and stuff." Kazuto nodded. "She's a warrior first, after all."

"Yup!"

"Master?" It seemed that, although they were trying to be discreet, Aisha had heard them, as she turned to them in surprise. "Touka-sama?" Kazuto looked at her, annoyed, noting that she had reverted to referring to him as Master again. As he was about to correct her…

"Ah, it's the magistrates!"

The kids started pointing at them.

"It's the messenger from heaven and his wife!"

"Wah, wah, I'm not Kazuto-kun's wife!" Touka quickly corrected, blushing.

"Are you two going out then?" Another kid asked.

"No, no! Nothing of the sort!" Touka said.

"Stop denying it." Kazuto sighed, "It only makes it worse." Kazuto then looked at the kids and smiled, "We still haven't thought of whether we should go out with each other or not, so please don't trouble your Touka-oneesan too much, alright?"

"""Okay!""" The kids chorused.

Touka looked surprised, "Kazuto-kun is good with kids too…"

"They're a lot easier to deal with than the kids back home." Kazuto shrugged. More disciplined for one. Then again, he didn't really expect too much out of mafia children. "Their parents taught them well."

"It seems that master's virtue is truly great." Aisha nodded with a smile. "By the way, why are you two here, Kazuto-sama, Touka-sama?"

"Before you think that something urgent has happened, no, nothing of the sort happened." Kazuto quickly shot down the idea, "We're just on a patrol around, and we found you here."

Aisha nodded but frowned anyway, "If you're on patrol then why don't you have your guards with you?"

"They're over there." Kazuto quickly pointed behind them. "Didn't want to scare the kids too much." Aisha peered in the direction and indeed saw soldiers just a few steps behind them.

"Ah, I see." Aisha nodded. "Sorry for doubting you…" There was a hint of a blush on the girl's face, and both leaders did their best to act as if they didn't see it.

"Eh, it's no big deal," Touka told her. "Aisha-chan is just looking out for us after all."

"Even though you're supposed to be on break, you still find a way to do some form of work." Kazuto pointed out. "Who helps babysit kids on their break?"

"Ah… this is…" Aisha blushed slightly as she tried to give a reason, "They just wanted to play and I couldn't reject them and…"

"Well, I suppose this is Aisha-chan's virtue." Touka chimed. Aisha blushed brightly at the implication.

"Not like you would be any different if they asked you, Touka-chan." Kazuto snorted. Touka had the decency to blush as she realized her own rather hypocritical statement.

"Same to you, Kazuto-sama." Aisha shot back easily.

Kazuto simply raised his hands in mock surrender. He knew it to be true too. Then again, all four of the [sworn siblings of the peach garden] seem to have a rather soft spot for kids. Kazuto then looked at the children, "Don't cause too many problems for your busybody of an oneechan, alright?" Kazuto gestured to Aisha.

"""Haaai!""" They nodded, and Kazuto and Touka went on their way, leaving Aisha to do what she was doing before they arrived.

"… Neh, Touka-chan… I think I can narrow down a few positions to give to Aisha." Kazuto said, grinning.

"Really? She's going to be one of our six special guardians?" Touka asked, elated. Kazuto gave a bemused smile, almost about to retort about whether they could even NOT consider Aisha for the position. She's literally the most loyal person that they knew and it would be a slap in the face to even consider anyone else before her and Rinrin. Touka continued her barrage of questions, "Which ones would she be?"

"Calm down;" Kazuto chuckled, "We're not giving positions out quite yet. I'd rather not hurry and give them positions but suddenly have someone come in who would do a better job at it than they would."

"I know, I know." Touka nodded, "But I'd like it if we can give them their positions soon. I'd love to see the looks on their faces." Touka dazed a bit, likely imagining their reactions. She shook herself out of her fantasy and turned to Kazuto, "So? Which ones should she be?"

"I think, out of all the positions… the ones that fit her the most is…" Whatever he said after was drowned out by the bustle of the crowd, but Touka probably heard it loud and clear, nodding brightly, and the two went on their way, talking animatedly as they go.

By the way, about the guards from earlier? They were a random patrol. They DID sneak out after all… Don't tell Aisha. She'll figure it out on her own in time, but the two would like at least that much freedom for now.

-()-

"What a long day…" Touka murmured as she stretched her arms. Having just come from a bath (hooray for bath days), she easily managed to get into a comfortable spot in her room. Well, the room being hers is debatable as technically they're only using the place because of circumstance, rather than by right, so, really, calling it hers is not really correct. Eh, she's not too worried about semantics; it was her room now and that's just how it is.

Drying her hair on her towel, she found herself staring at the jewelry box that Kazuto had given her. Inside were seven rings, each bearing a different color. Blue, red, yellow, violet, indigo, and green jeweled rings surrounded a singular orange jeweled ring… Rain, Storm, Sun, Cloud, Mist, and Lightning… the six Guardians that protect the Sky… That was something that Kazuto had told her. Six people that you could entrust your life to… It's rather strange… almost like some sort of child's delusion… But she knew that this was a valued tradition of Kazuto's, so she took it as seriously as she could.

She pulled the orange ring from its perch and placed it on her right hand's middle finger, exactly where she had first found the ring before. She felt the ring vibrate ever so slightly and it glowed softly after a few moments. She removed it for her bath, although she never did see Kazuto himself without his ring save for that one time. She knew that he even slept with it on having seen him during those three days the boy slept at her home… which is why she also intended to do the same. The question was whether he took a bath with it as well, but she frowned at the idea of letting the metal rust… so she simply removed it when she goes into the bath.

"… Rain, Storm, Sun, Cloud, Mist, and Lightning; the Sky influences them all. The Sky understands and accepts them." Strange words, almost like a riddle, or a famous saying… Except it's the duty that the sky has, HER duty. Kazuto also accepted the same duty to be his own, but he told her that she needed to find her own meaning in the words. What did those words mean to her? That was the question the boy asked her. But…

"I don't understand it at all." Touka sighed. Is there a deeper meaning than what is obvious?

But… then again… Kazuto never did say that she needed to figure it out now… just find a meaning that would suit those words. She simply hummed a soft tune and closed the box. Well then, off to bed. Hopefully, her dreams will be peaceful tonight.

-()-

"Oniichan, fight Rinrin again while using that flame forehead thing!"

"We can fight, but I'm not using [Hyper] Dying Will [Mode](1), Rinrin." Kazuto patiently replied as he worked on his (thankfully smaller) stack of paperwork. Today, Touka had been tasked to go to the various districts in the county… It was only then that they realized just how high a level they were (unofficially) promoted to when they were given the task of magistrates for the county. Fortunately, the county they were in wasn't one of the bigger ones; otherwise, they'd be dealing with more problems than they already have. The learning curve was way too steep, and Kazuto only managed to deal with the issues using some of his training. Oh, and it's his turn tomorrow to deal with talking to the other district chiefs… And they'll go together the next day to speak with the various town elders… yay…

At any rate…

"… Hai pa? Dying Will? Mo-do? What's that?" Rinrin was still there, and she seems actively interested in fighting him using HDWM, even if he didn't necessarily want to right now. He'll consider it once the Yellow Turban threat has been completely dealt with.

"Do you even want me to explain what it means?" Kazuto asked dryly.

Rinrin made a thoughtful expression before shaking her head. "… Not really." Rinrin admitted, "It would probably be boring."

"Of course." Kazuto rolled his eyes. "And anyway, I can only reliably use it eleven more times. We'll have our fight when the Yellow Turbans aren't troubling villagers anymore."

"Good point." Rinrin nodded. "So, what are we doing next?" Rinrin asked. "You know… about the Yellow Turbans?"

"For now, we're reacting more than acting." Kazuto sighed, frustration in his voice. "Just because we joined the fray against the bandits doesn't mean we are going to turn the tables on them automatically. The world just isn't some sort of [anime] where things will go totally well just because the heroes are on the job."

"… Anime?"

"Stories told by someone else, usually with a romanticized way of looking at life." Kazuto shrugged, as he continued waving his brush, "Usually fantastical, sometimes mundane, but usually where everything will go perfectly fine in clear-cut ways." Of course, he's describing regular stories here, not actual anime.

"… Like?"

"People who don't wear armor and somehow manage to beat hundreds of soldiers just because of skill," Kazuto replied, looking blandly at Rinrin.

"But I AM good enough to do that." Rinrin pouted.

"And I don't doubt it." Kazuto nodded, "That's why I think Rinrin is an anime character." So is his father if he thought about the stories that he's heard.

"But Rinrin is real!"

"You won't convince me," Kazuto replied with a smile. He could swear that the girl's hair decoration was reacting alongside the girl and it was mildly disconcerting. "Even compared to Aisha, Rinrin is too amazing to be real."

"Uh… is that supposed to be a compliment?" Rinrin asked, confused. "I don't understand…"

"I just mean that: Rinrin is so strong, you might get legends told of you when the time comes." Kazuto chuckled as he mentally stopped himself from reaching out and patting the girl on the head. Rinrin might be fine with it, but he'd rather not know if she is or not when she's already bitten the arm off.

"Eh? Really? That's amazing!" Rinrin gave him a brilliant smile. "But that's a long way away though."

"Yeah." Kazuto shrugged, as he finally put his brush down. Thinking about it… he realized that this is probably one of the few times he's been with Rinrin alone. Aisha was leading some of their forces to deal with a bandit camp that their scouts chanced upon. Touka was gone for the reason mentioned earlier, and they don't have many servants that are bustling about to do much. Rinrin herself wasn't supposed to be here though, since she's supposed to be helping with the training of forces, but well… yeah… Now's a good a time as ever to ask.

"Oniichan?" Rinrin looked at him in confusion. "You stopped doing things."

"Hey, Rinrin…" Kazuto thoughtfully said as he looked at the girl. "Why did you choose to be a warrior?" She's young. Younger than even him, that much could be told, not just by appearance but by actions. She's nowhere as old as Zhang Fei should've been when he joined Liu Bei… So why was she fighting now?

The girl looked rather shocked. She looked to the side, pondering for a bit, before speaking, "Rinrin likes to fight!"

She's hiding something, Kazuto thought when she finally spoke up. "Fighting friends and fighting foes are different experiences, Rinrin. Personally, I don't like either. What exactly do you mean by you like fighting?"

"If it's fighting friends, Rinrin can do it really well!" Rinrin said with a smile, "Friends are fun people to fight with because you know that they are strong… and strong people don't…" Rinrin's smile faltered slightly, "Rinrin… doesn't like fighting enemies. It feels horrible but… Rinrin knows that they're bad people so Rinrin has to stop them! Since they're bad people, Rinrin doesn't mind killing them if it means they'll stop hurting others."

Kazuto looked at that simplistic way of looking at things before smiling at her, "… I see." What would happen to Rinrin if she ever ended up fighting people who are undoubtedly good but are on the enemy's side? Would she be able to wield her spear? Possibly, even likely. This was a world where archaic things like 'dying for honor' and 'sorcery' are still believed in. The sheer innocence the girl had, slightly marred only by the feeling of blood on her hands… should he tell her of these sorts of things, that will make her question her own actions?

… No… As she is… not yet. Right now, there's a clear villain. Introspection can come later.

"Oniichan?"

"… I'll be counting on you, Rinrin." Kazuto smiled softly. "Both your strength and your strong will."

Rinrin nodded with a grin, "Leave it to me, Oniichan!"

-()-

In another place, at a later time, a girl stood by the window of a home, pondering on the information that she has just received. She sat on her desk, reading it properly.

"… A heavenly messenger, huh… I mean… we do want to join an army so that we can make our skills useful…"

"Is something the matter, Shuri-chan?"

The girl looked up to see the new girl appear, "Oh, Hinari-chan! I'm just… I heard of a rumor that a Heavenly Messenger has descended and is currently protecting a city with his volunteer army and a descendant of an emperor."

Hinari-chan looked at the girl with a doubtful expression "A rumor? Isn't that a bit unreliable?"

Shuri-chan looked at her and shrugged, "Maybe, but… according to the rumor, it seems that this Heavenly Messenger is supposed to be the one who will bring peace to the world, desu. I…"

"… You want to help them if it's true?" Hinari asked.

Shuri nodded, "… I'll need to confirm the rumors first though…"

"Why just you?" Hinari asked quickly, "I mean… both of us want to help out in these times of trouble… right? I know Genchoku-chan would also like to help too…"

"But…" Shuri mumbled. "I…"

"Do you really want to leave us behind?" Hinari asked, almost mournful at the thought.

Shuri quickly panicked, "Hawawa… No, no, of course not, desu! I want Hinari-chan and Genchoku-chan to be with me! But… I…"

"… We'll be leaving Suikyou-sensei alone, is that it?" Hinari quietly asked, "But I… I want to be with Shuri-chan. So…"

Shuri was quiet for a little bit before nodding, "Yes. Hinari-chan can come with me… Should we ask if Genchoku-chan would come along?"

"Of course." Hinari nodded, "She's our friend too, after all."

"Umm… There's no need for that." A third girl's voice, spoke surprising the two.

"Genchoku-chan! Since when?"

"Since the beginning, I guess?" The girl smiled softly, "While I'd like to help out, I don't think we should bet all our skills on a rumor… However… if… if you find that both this Heavenly Messenger and emperor's descendant worthy of being our lords… then… you can simply send a letter to me."

"Are you sure?" Shuri asked.

"Yes… if it's you, I'm sure that you'll be able to evaluate them properly. And if your evaluation messes up, I'm sure you will have a way to get out of there as soon as you can."

"Right, we'll do that." Shuri smiled. "Well then, let's prepare, Hinari-chan!"

"Yes, Shuri-chan! We'll… we'll definitely write, Genchoku-chan!"

"… Shigen-chan, I think you should only start talking like that once you've packed and are ready to head out." The girl smiled, causing Hinari to blush. "Well, I could at least help you pack." The three chattered as they worked, as though to make up for any time they'll lose together.

-()-

These two girls were not the first to be drawn into that vast sky, tempered by two souls. The honor of being the first one belongs to those who saw his arrival. But they will certainly not be the last, either. There will be more to come. But here's one thing for certain: these two will be among the few who will help shape the future of the family that will stand alongside the great sky.

-()-

Chapter End

-()-

Chapter Release Date: July 13, 2019
Last Edited: June 4, 2022

-()-

Beta Reader: Genesis SBX

(1) Hyper Dying Will Mode uses the English loan words "Hyper" and "Mode", while Dying Will is translated as "Shinuki". This will be the first and last time I'll enclose Hyper and Mode in HDWM with brackets (which I usually do for any English loan words that I'll use) because I'll probably end up using it all the time. So when you read Hyper Dying Will Mode, it's pronounced Hyper Shinuki Mode. Interestingly, Hyper Intuition is pronounced Chou Chokkan.

Whether you like it or hate it, expect quite a bit of daily life interaction in this story, entire chapters of them, even multiple of them in a row. There will (likely) be enough that people who don't like the filler-like scenes hate this story and people who enjoy the scenes think there's too little of it, so I'm pleasing neither. Cheers! I've already seen people complain about the pace. It's not like I like it that much, I just thought that these scenes are needed for the story.

This chapter would've been completely different if Reborn was also here.

About the Guardian positions: have fun speculating. More discussion about it will happen when the others are brought into the fold.

Sky and Guardians List:

Sky: Kazuto/Touka

Rain:?

Storm:?

Sun:?

Cloud:?

Mist:?

Lightning:?

About "Genchoku-chan", she'll be my first important OC that isn't a main character, although she's not really one. She is technically, rather than being someone I made up completely on my own, more of a blank slate character being given personality and eventually appearance… If you know who she is by the Japanese Version of her Style Name and the hints, then congratulations. Otherwise, know that she was mentioned in Shin Koihime Musou as Hinari and Shuri's fellow student and friend and the one that helped teach them to make sweets. It's just unfortunate that she doesn't have an official True Name (as far as I know), and wasn't even included in the roster for Eiyuutan. But considering how she's referred to using –chan, I'm left to assume that they DID genderbend her, which is why I'm using female pronouns. I might make up a True Name for her if/when she comes back into the story.