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Chapter 14
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My phone buzzed, quickly followed by a ding in each earbud. I paused in my run, jogging in place as I pulled out my cell phone and checked my messages.
I didn't usually get messages in the morning; almost everyone I knew was aware that I jogged at this hour and didn't really bother texting me but—
Oh? From Kusakabe.
Ryōhei-san, I'm currently caught up at the Disciplinary Committee.
Please understand that I would only do this under extreme circumstances, but would you be able to check in with the Momokyokai? Tachibana-san should have returned from the Annual Summit with Hibari Souma and he has the documents for me.
Ah… I inhaled, stopping my movement to better clear my suddenly full head.
He was with Hibari, I could tell. It had become some form of habit for one of us to be with him whenever any kind of interaction with Hibari Souma came to be. To protect him maybe? I don't know.
He was still in China, Hibari Souma that is. Yet he had frequent meetings with all branch heads in Japan.
And… the Disciplinary Committee...
The Disciplinary Committee was under Kyōya's command. That was one hundred percent for sure.
Yet the group operated in Namimori, which was rightfully Hibari Souma's territory, and so had to follow the rules all branches followed.
No matter how much Kyōya hated it.
I was glad I wasn't Kyōya's second in command. I don't think I'd be able to deal with it.
Kusakabe had my utmost respect and more for it.
Okay. I replied back, adding a thumbs-up emoji and starting my music up again.
I continued my jog, this time altering my course to head towards the Momokyokai base.
Kusakabe worked hard. That's why I agreed to go. Kusakabe must have been in a situation he really couldn't step out naturally in, for him to ask me. That's why I agreed to it.
Because he knew how much I hated interacting with those fuckers.
I hated it.
I exhaled, trying to reign in my temper.
For Kusakabe. For Kyōya.
But—
"Huh?" I paused outside of the familiar building, watching Tsuna and Yamamoto and Octopus Head? exit the building with a tall, older, blonde man and other older men in business suits who weren't the Momokyokai in a wave—
What the fu—?
"Ah? Ryōhei-senpai?" Yamamoto grinned when he saw me, stepping closer in greeting. "What'cha doin over here? Jogging?"
"Oh, Senpai? Ōhayo…" Tsuna bowed lightly, the octopus head merely grunting.
"Uh…" I pointedly eyed the men behind them, some of them nodding or waving in what I assumed to be a greeting, "Ōhayo..." I replied weakly, pulling the earbuds out of my ears rather slowly.
Strangely enough, the word felt like a question leaving my mouth—I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that these three boys just exited the building of the Momokyokai—
"What are you guys extremely doing here?" Seriously.
"A friend of yours Tsuna?" The blond asked—
The baby was on his shoulder.
My stomach dropped when I made eye contact with him, and I quickly averted my gaze in mild fear.
Somehow, from the corner of my eye, I could feel him smirk.
It was suddenly hard for me to swallow—
"Huh? Yeah, this is my senpai, Sasagawa Ryōhei." I looked at Tsuna at the sound of my name, redirecting my gaze to the brown orbs of the blond male, "Senpai, this is Dino, he's…" He mumbled something I couldn't catch, but the blond seemed to pick on it and continued for him.
"My name's Dino Cavallone," Ah, a foreigner. He had a slight accent, but he spoke Japanese well enough. It was actually kind of endearing, "I'm the boss of the Cavallone Famiglia, and Tsuna's Niichan. Nice to meet you."
If I were drinking water I would have done a spit-take. Instead, my jaw dropped slightly in mild shock.
So much confidence for being in the mafia?
I didn't even dare say out loud whatever the fuck Kyōya would be up to on the daily.
Even if it wasn't, technically mafia-esque— Well...
"Nice to meet you." I echoed, extending my hand and clasping his. I somehow had the confidence to say, maybe to tease and clear the air— "I'm Tsuna's Nēchan—"
"Ryōhei's part of Tsuna's family too." The baby said, interrupting me.
My stomach twisted, and I unconsciously gripped Dino's hand harder. "Ah, sorry." I apologized, stepping back and bowing slightly. "Uh… I don't know what that means, but I'm just Tsuna's frien—"
"Reborn! I told you they're not my family. They're just my friends." My mouth clamped shut at Tsuna's words. I watched him for a little bit, surprised at his confidence in facing this thing that had just tried to kill him not too long ago—
"Um," I interrupted, feeling so so confused and mildly winded at everything going on, "I really need to know what you guys were doing in there…?" I asked, pointing at the Momokyokai entrance.
"Oh? There? We just beat up the yakuza." A suited man said, shrugging like it was no big deal.
No big deal.
No. Big. Deal.
"You what?" I shrieked, running forward and checking the inside.
He wasn't lying.
Holy fucking—
"Ugh!" I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. I could feel a faint pounding at my temples, like a ghost pain that I knew would be more prominent later on. This is gonna be a pain in the ass to fix.
And I wasn't talking about the paperwork.
I hope this isn't blown out of proportion… I already know a lot of members will take this event as an act of war.
And if it hadn't been Tsuna and Yamamoto exiting the building, I would have believed it too.
"Eh? Why are you looking for the yakuza, Ryōhei-senpai? You're not in any trouble are you?" Yamamoto asked, following me inside and starting to look concerned.
"No, no," I sighed, waving his concerns away. "Don't worry about it, really." I didn't have the time nor energy to explain anything to anyone.
"I tried talking to them, but they didn't listen very well." Dino said, looking mildly embarrassed.
That didn't surprise me too much, honestly.
I stepped forward, bending to try and identify the characters on the papers strewn everywhere. What made it all worse was that I didn't even know what the documents Kusakabe needed looked like. "I just need to pick up a few pieces of paper for Kyōya…" I mumbled to myself.
"Are you looking for something, Senpai?" Yamamoto asked, seemingly trying to copy my actions. "What is it? I'll help you."
"I don't think it's a good idea to go through their things Nēchan..." Tsuna mumbled from the doorway, and the fact he took my tease seriously and was calling me Nēchan made me grin at him.
"I'll help too. It's partially my fault for making such a mess," Dino followed us inside, grinning sheepishly. It was a look I found familiarly endearing, and it seemed to right any shock and exasperation I was currently feeling.
"It's fine guys," I said, straightening and exhaling slowly. I looked around the room and decided I was too tired to deal with all of this bullshit right now. "I'll come back with more manpower to sort through all of this extreme crap," I said honestly, pulling out my phone to inform Kusakabe.
"Are you sure, Senpai? We're all here to help out." Yamamoto tilted his head, looking like a puppy and nearly making me grin.
I was just immensely grateful instead.
"Yeah, it's totally cool—"
A hand grabbed my ankle, and I nearly jumped through the roof in surprise.
"Sa...sasagawa… sama…" I looked down, recognizing the face of the Momokyokai's Head.
"Ah, Tachibana-san," I said, crouching to better look him in the bloodied face. "Kusakabe sent me for those documents from the Summit. Where are they?"
His breathing was shaky, but I already sent word for an ambulance, so I couldn't really help him at this point. Plus, he was kind of an asshole and I didn't want to anyways.
"Sasagawa… sama… please…" This particular inhale was longer than the rest, and his grip on my ankle tightened. "Avenge… us…" Inhale, "these bastards thought they could—"
I punched him in the face.
And made sure to add a good amount of force into it.
Tsuna shrieked, but I ignored him. "Tachibana-san," I sighed, hoping I hadn't knocked him out. I lifted him by the collar, his head lolling but eyes just barely meeting mine.
He was barely conscious then. "I would extremely appreciate it if you didn't call my friends derogatory names." I smiled, knowing the feral look wouldn't normally shake him but it was the fact that I had Kyōya on my side that gave it it's extra push.
He shuddered under my touch, and his reaction was satisfactory. "Now, where are those documents?" I raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for his response.
"The—the drawer," He breathed, looking like he might cry.
"Thanks." I said, headbutting him hard enough to knock him out.
"Nēchan!" Tsuna yelled in protest.
"What?" I asked, blinking at him innocently. "He would've continued extremely whining if I hadn't knocked him out."
"But—but…" He stuttered, seemingly trying to find a good answer and not finding one.
His reaction made me smile. I stood and walked over to the desk I knew Tachibana liked to look intimidating in, stepping over unconscious bodies and sighing at the damages I knew Kusakabe would be complaining about for a while. The packet was in the first drawer thankfully, Hibari Kyōya-sama written in a messy scrawl I found vaguely familiar. I didn't waste any time snatching it and making my way towards the door.
"Got it. Let's go. I already called an ambulance, so we're all covered here." I said, flipping the clasped envelope in my hands in a self assuring way that this was Kusakabe needed. I was vaguely aware of Yamamoto following me but—
I paused when I came to Dino who still stood close to the doorway, unmoving and blocking the exit. "Uh…" I started, looking up at his face in confusion.
He stared at me for a moment, completely unseeing, and then—"Oh!" He said too loudly, jumping in place. "Yeah, sorry, let's go—um," He stuttered, seemingly more shy than he had ever been. He moved to the side abruptly, "After you Ryōhei-chan."
I blinked at the sudden familiar name, not minding it too much but still surprised.
Then again, he's a foreigner. So I shrugged it off.
"Thanks, man," I mumbled, voice still slightly confused. I ignored Gokudera who was smoking lazily against the wall and the sea of black suited men presumably working for Dino. I was done with this building and ready to get out of here as fast as I could.
"I'ma head off now, Sawada-mouse, Takeshi. I'll see you in school." I really needed to get these papers to Kusakabe soon, plus I could hear the faint sounds of sirens and I did not want to be around for all of the questions they would give me.
There was a sort of agreement between Namimori Hospital and the Momokyokai and even the Disciplinary Committee but I wasn't technically a part of anything so—
"B-Bye, Nēchan." Tsuna muttered, looking nervous and mildly exhausted with this entire adventure all at the same time.
You and me both kid. His expression made me want to ruffle his hair. So I did, the boy giving a squawk in surprise.
"Be good, Sawada-mouse." He mumbled something I couldn't catch, but the words seemed to make the baby still on Dino's shoulder chuckle.
A sound I forcefully ignored.
"Do you want me to go with you, Ryōhei-senpai?" Yamamoto offered, looking expectant.
"Nah," I said, not wanting him to leave Tsuna alone for some reason, "I'm gonna hand these to Tetsuya and then extremely finish my jog. I'll see you during lunch, okay?"
He tilted his head again and smiled, looking satisfied with my answer. "Okay, be safe."
When I had Kyōya on my back, I didn't really need to be.
"I will," I said, more for him than for me.
I turned to the last quiet member, who seemed to be much pinker than he had been indoors. Maybe it was the sun…? I didn't know him well, so I didn't have a good grip on his character. "It was nice meeting you Cavallone-san. I hope you'll extremely take care of Tsuna when I'm not around."
God knows the baby wouldn't.
"Of course! Yeah, uh, I'll keep an eye on him, you can count on me, I'm really responsible, I take care of five thousand people daily so—"
The baby slapped him, and the action made me jump.
I had been avoiding looking at him so forcefully that his sudden movements made my heart rate spike in double time.
"Good bye, Ryōhei-chan." Dino finally concluded, looking much more shy and pink than the beginning of our conversation.
"Bye," I said, to all members present. Waving weakly in mild confusion and awkwardness. "I'll see you later."
"Bye, Ryōhei-senpai!" Yamamoto called as I jogged away, the only interaction I found to be the most natural during that small exchange.
That was… strange. Maybe too strange?
Then again, this entire interaction had been.
"Kyōya's going to spend the night at the hospital," I say through cheeks full of rice, reaching over and placing more side dishes on Kyōko's plate. I swallowed, "He woke up with an extremely little cold, so he left early." He was the type to go to the hospital at the slightest inconvenience his body showed. It was kind of amazing that he was so in tune with it, then again I was kind of the same.
And… considering how Leilei Suzume had gone, his behavior didn't surprise me terribly.
Kyōko hummed a little bit at the news, chewing slowly before replying, "Did he eat something before leaving you think?"
I grunted in assent, sipping at my miso, "I made him something extremely fast before he left," I answered. I had been cooking when he had walked into the kitchen, and he had made a face that implied my cooking was terrible when it was anything but. The three of us switched off making food by the day; today was mine, tomorrow will be Kyōya's turn, and Kyōko after that. It was an easy relationship. "I'm gonna make lunch and send it over to him. Wanna come with me?"
Kyōko pursed her lips, looking genuinely conflicted, "I was going to visit Tsuna-kun with Haru-chan." She admitted, "He has a broken leg." She blinked in curiosity upon seeing the surprised look on my face. "Do you want to head down together? Hibari-kun won't see me without you…" She mumbled the last part like a shameful secret, and it made me smile sadly.
"He… is shy," I said lamely, knowing that Kyōya had only initially put up with her for me. But now, I think he actually liked her. A little? Maybe? Hopefully. He helped her with her homework sometimes so— "If you're visiting Sawada-mouse with your friend, I don't want to drag her to meet Kyōya." God knows that wouldn't be fun at all for the poor girl. "You can head out before me. I'll extremely say hi to Tsuna too, while I'm there."
She cocked her head slightly, "Okay," She mumbled, looking down to continue her food, "I'll wash the dishes."
I grunted in assent, stuffing my mouth appropriately.
"Hm?" I paused just past the hospital sliding doors, making eye contact with the blonde Cavallone I had met a few days ago. "Hello," I greeted, bowing appropriately and mildly surprised at seeing him here. "It's extremely nice to see you again, Cavallone-san."
"Ryōhei—" He choked, blushing and giving a cough, "-chan," He finished belatedly, looking everywhere but at me. "Um, hi, yeah. N-Nice to see you again…" He mumbled, almost pouting and stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets in a move I guessed to be self conscious.
"Are...you here to see, Sawada-mouse?" I asked gently, noticing his behavior and wanting him to relax with me. He might be really shy around strangers, or even uncomfortable around them; but if he was going to be hanging around Tsuna and my sister, he better get used to me sooner rather than later.
"Yeah, he—I mean, it was my fault so—" He cleared his throat again, cheeks flaring a brighter pink, "I should take responsibility…"
I leaned forward slightly to catch the end of his sentence, but the action seemed to scare him because he startled and jumped back to place at least five feet of space between us.
"Oh...kay…" I said slowly, surprised and mildly insulted at his reaction.
I knew I was intimidating but this…?
"I'm going to extremely go see Kyōya and Sawada-mouse now," I said, taking two steps back to give him the space he seemed to want, "I'll see you later Cavallone-san." I gave him a wave and a small nod to the wall of suits behind him, walking away quickly to get away from that awkward encounter as soon as humanly possible.
I don't know whether I heard correctly or not, but it sounded like Cavallone was wailing as I got into the elevator…?
"Hey Kyōya, I brought you lunch—" I paused, noticing two familiar faces in the room. "Oh, hey Director," I greeted, bowing and accepting the hand from the older man.
"Sasagawa-kun, what a pleasure to see you again," He smiled, shaking my hand firmly and releasing his grip just as fast. "Well, take care."
I blinked and he was gone. Just as fast as I had escaped the lobby a few minutes ago.
"Well…" I breathed, confused and still reeling from the unexpected encounter. "That wasn't extremely strange at all…" I muttered, turning back to the other occupants in the room.
"Hey Sawada-mouse," I said, walking towards Hibari to place the bento on his bedside table. "Did they put you in the same room as Kyōya?" Which was strange, since he usually requested a single and they had to give it to him, because, well—they had to.
"No—well, you see, I-I'm okay, really—I don't need to be here—I was just about to be discharged—" He stuttered, waving his hands in a gesture I assumed to be nervousness.
I pointedly eyed the cast on his leg, wanting him to understand how ridiculous that sounded considering how he looked right now. "You extremely sure about that?"
He swallowed visibility, knees shaking.
Hibari chose this moment to yawn. Loudly. "I'm going to take a nap." He said, falling into the pillows, "Go home."
I raised an eyebrow at his behavior, "Can you eat lunch first, so that I can take the dishes back with me?"
"No," he grunted, making me sigh.
"Alright then," I muttered, pointedly sitting down on the chair next to his bed with a grunt. "Why don't you lay down Sawada-mouse? I don't think you wanna put such extreme pressure on your leg…"
He doesn't answer, instead he looks at Hibari and starts sweating profusely. "Sawada-mouse," I say again, so he'd look at me. He does, and Hibari grunts at me to shut up. I roll my eyes, standing and walking towards Tsuna.
He shrinks, but I place a hand on his arm and gesture at his bed. He doesn't move for a moment, but my insistence pays off. I help him into the hospital bed, even if he keeps on glancing at Hibari at every movement. At every shuffle. Even as I pull the sheets over his legs, he doesn't look away from Hibari. And I know then that it's because of his, "silent game."
My theory is proven correct when Hibari says, "If you don't quiet down, I'll bite you to death," as I walk back to his side. I can hear Tsuna's breath catch behind me, but I ignore him and take a seat.
"Yeah, yeah…" I drawl under my breath, undoing my hair from it's usual high ponytail. The strands fall, and the sound of them hitting my track jacket makes Tsuna go pale. I smile at him, to calm him, and he shrinks further into his pillows as I look away.
"I'll take an extreme nap too." I mumble, placing my arms on the sheets and nestling my head in them. I sigh into the blanket, not necessarily feeling sleepy, but if I needed to stay still and quiet for Hibari's "game," being asleep was the quietest I can be.
I'm in between being conscious and asleep when I feel fingers stroking my hair.
I know it's Kyōya. He's the only one it could be.
His fingers weave from my temple, past my ear, and through the long strands that ripple to his bedside. Over and over again, until the heat of his hand and the gentle motion of his movements nearly put me to sleep faster than anything else ever could.
He isn't doing this because he cares about me. Or because this is how he shows affection.
He's doing this because it helps him sleep.
When he was younger… he would do this with Leilei Suzume.
When he would fall asleep or nap and his mother would be there…
He would run his fingers through her long hair and the sensation between his fingers would lull him to sleep.
I part my eyelids, and I'm right. He isn't even aware he's doing it. His eyes are closed, and the way he moves slows down more and more until his hand stills at his side. My hair is in between his fingers, pooling in the palm of his hand.
I don't want to move.
He hasn't been able to do this in a long time.
He fell asleep faster than he ever had before.
He must've been tired.
And if he wants to recover fast...
I close my eyes again, maybe hoping to sleep.
…then sleep was the easiest way to do so.
I had been slightly worried about him.
I'm not anymore.
"Are you going too?" I ask Hibari, stopping in the doorway to look at him. He's laying down horizontally on the couch, reading I don't know what, so I lean against the doorframe to wait for a response.
When he doesn't reply I assume he doesn't know what I'm talking about. "Kyōko just went out to pick up Sawada-mouse. We're all meeting up at the zoo." Nothing again, so I right myself, and make to head to my room, "Cavallone-san is picking me up in half an hour, so please don't bite him?" I say it like a question, but it's more of a statement.
He doesn't move, and I take it as my cue to leave. I know he doesn't care, but letting him know instead of bothering me about it later was the safest thing I can do.
It doesn't take long for me to change, I'm all ready and tying up my hair when I notice Hibari in the doorway.
"Hm?" I turn to him, securing my hair tie. "What's up?"
He's leaning against the doorframe, in the same exact position I had stood not even ten minutes prior. He's looking at me, nearly frowning, and I know it isn't because of what I'm wearing.
"Cavallone." He echoes, and the word sounds almost like a curse. I blink, cocking my head.
Cavallone… ah! "Oh," I say, understanding what he means. "Dino Cavallone. He's…" Mafia? Tsuna's friend? A dork? "A friend of Sawada-mouse. He wanted to go together." I turn around, picking up my wallet and keys, "He also said it wasn't a date. Or at least I think he did." I cross my arms, thinking, "He had stuttered so much I honestly only understood half of what he said…"
I don't know why he was so nervous around me. I was intimidating sure, but to that extent? Even Tsuna got used to me quickly enough.
He doesn't say anything for a moment, even as I walk up to him to pass him into the hall. "Hn." He says, looking at me. I look back at him, and I'm in the middle of blinking when he flicks my forehead.
My neck snaps back, and I drop my keys to clutch at my forehead. "Ouuuch." I whine, looking at Hibari and pouting. "What the fuck, Kyōya?"
He's strong. It really hurts.
"Your head is empty," He says, and turns away, "I'm biting him to death."
"What? Wait!" I follow him, "Kyōya wait! Please don't!"
Omake: What She Knew
Kyōko didn't have nightmares. Not anymore at least. When she slept, she mostly dreamt of nothing. Good dreams came even less.
She had sad dreams though. All the time. Dreams that made her cry, and dreams that had her wanting.
She would wake up with shaking hands and a desperate need to touch her sister and so would stumble her way into Ryōhei's room and crawl into bed and hug Ryōhei tight tight tight and only then would she feel safe.
"Nēchan," she would breathe, and when Ryōhei held her and called her, "Ichigo," the way their father used to, the tears would turn into happy tears.
She missed her father. Her mother too, but she missed her father more. But when Ryōhei held her and stroked her hair and said her name and tickled her and cuddled her—
Kyōko felt happy and satisfied and didn't think of her parents at all.
In a strange way, Ryōhei was her mother and father and sister and brother.
In a strange way, Ryōhei had become the only thing that mattered to her.
Of course, she cared about Hana, her best friend.
And, if pressured, she would say yeah, maybe, she cared for Hibari too.
But not like Ryōhei cared for him.
And not like Hibari cared for Ryōhei.
Kyōko cared for Hibari the way she cared for a cousin. Distant, yet affectionate, and enough to take care of him.
But not like Ryōhei cared for him.
She understood their relationship and just how much they cared for each other.
In a way, she was jealous of it.
Not violently, but in a way that had her wanting Ryōhei to her own more.
She knew that life without Hibari would be strange, because she was used to his presence.
But it wouldn't bother her completely if he weren't there.
He was important to Ryōhei and so he was important to her.
She didn't think about her parents anymore.
She only thought: Ryōhei, Ryōhei Ryōhei—
Ryōhei who held her and kissed her and gave her everything and protected her and—
"Nēchan," she said, looking up from her homework. Ryōhei was sitting in front of the couch, Kyōya splayed behind her and reading and pretending he wasn't listening.
"Hm?" She was redoing the bandages on her knuckles, and it was during these times that Kyōko saw the way her hands had swollen and changed and grown twisted and thought about why she would hurt herself over and over again as if she were beating herself again and again and again—
"I love you," she said instead, smiling.
Ryōhei grinned, and the action was so bright and blinding that Kyōko closed her eyes to laugh at the happiness she felt. "I love you too, Ichigo."
And maybe it was because she called her that nickname, or because she had already been planning to, Kyōko walked around the coffee table and sprawled herself across her sister's lap to pull her tight.
Ryōhei kissed the top of her head, continuing her bandaging and humming softly in such a way that Kyōko was almost lulled to sleep.
"Hey," she said, as if remembering something, "are you doing this to extremely get out of doing your homework?"
Kyōko grinned against Ryōhei's neck, more in amusement than mischievous. "No, I just wanted to cuddle you, Nēchan."
"Hmmm…" She said lowly, letting her fully bandaged fingers to run through Kyōko's hair. "If you say so…"
"You should think about doing your own homework, Sasagawa." Kyōya grumbled, deftly catching Ryōhei's flying wrist and pressing hard enough to have her whine. Loudly.
"Okay, okay, okay, you little shit, I give." Ryōhei cried, immediately wrapping her arms around Kyōko tighter when Kyōya released her. "Kyōko, Kyōya hurt me~" She whined, seeking cuddles and comfort.
Kyōko chuckled, amused and so so fond of her sister.
This. This was everything to her.
Thanks to:
VeeVeena (ohmygod please, i feel so old haha. thank you so much for reading! i have this whole tab in my inbox of updates i haven't even gotten to lol), rickrossed (i literally am winging this entire story lmao), ChuChewy (hii! im focusing on my other stories lol, it's why this chapter took so long), MiyuKazu (thank you so much for reading! im so glad you're still reading this piece of mine :))), Frozen teen (those... are good ideas, prob won't use those lol), Blackbird0 (i love writing their interactions too! thank you for reading!), .927 (thank you!), dab-of-paint (thank you for reading!), The Independent Variable (thank you so much!), Stopdropanroll (thank you for reading!), Angelicsailor (ohmygod thank you so much, i really wanted to emphasize how past relationships can follow us into the present!), Hyakuma (thank you!), RosieDunne (thanks for reading?), Guest(1) (ah... no), Guest(2) (he's special and will be coming later :))), Guest(3) (kyoya actually doesn't acknowledge ryohei to be an alpha), Guest(4) (i am so excited for fon to come in it's going to be so chaotic :)), Guest(5) (that's IF they end up together), Guest(6) (asexual isn't the same thing as aromantic), Guest(7) (ryohei actually didn't get hit with the bullet in this story, she just saw tsuna get hit with it), ADDBaby (hi! im glad to be back!), MusicOfMadness (thank you for reading!), kimchi759 (oh! thank you for that! i correct it, i was in the wrong), theselfproclaimedgreatest7 (the paring isn't set so who knows? :))), TreesoftheWild (oh! that's a good observation! thanks! i'll try that :))), Hyakuma (lmaooooo i got you good), sallymadrigal605 (thank you!), gabriellesantos2404 (i dm'd you! :))), Sky318 (oh! i see what you mean! ryohei is mainly patient and doesn't give two fucks lmao), ephemeral-times (hi :))), xxjaelee (thank you for reading!), Choking. On. Marshmallows. (lmao, i love making people cry. thank you so much for reassuring me i was so worried T~T highly tempted at this point... kinda slowly reverse-harem-ing as we speak... i love angst so much you have no idea! i'm here! did this new chapter live up to your expectations? :))), BlueBunnyims (hi! thank you so much for reading! i honestly believe people don't read author notes lmao. ohmygod you're so cute please, you're not wrong. but also not right? lol.), Annadidit (hello! thank you so much for reading and sticking with this story. me and ryohei appreciate it a lot :)))
there is no set pairing. just another reminder :)))))
well... it's been a while... haha?
i'm focusing more on thanatos ascending, since... it's my baby... and i started this fic more on... a whim than anything?
but! i'm still writing!
so hopefully, i'll get back into the feel of this one haha :))
please review!
—prince
