DISCLAIMER: I don't own KHR or any of the associated characters aside from my OCs.

Using his own box and flames as a demonstration, Dino was teaching me the way to fight and win in the bleak Millefiore-dominated future. It was rather simple. If the ring and the flames and the box are all the same type, the box will open and I'll be able to use the weapon or beast inside to my advantage.

"Just imagine your resolve as a flame." Dino was telling me but I had failed to light up a ring for the last two hours.

The purple stone on my finger was as lifeless as it had always been and I slammed my fist against Dino's chest in frustration, "What are you even saying? I'm always resolved!"

Having a hard time, he scratched at his head, "I don't know… The Kira I knew was a genius and lit up her flame right away. She had the purest, strongest Cloud Flame out of anyone I know including Kyoya so… There's no way you wouldn't be able to do it."

"Maybe you're a bad teacher." I huffed, crossing my arms to give it thought but the more I thought about it the angrier it was making me.

How could I be less resolved than someone who abandoned the Varia to marry Dino following my mother's last wish and then failed to kill him?! It's preposterous. And then it hit me.

The words the Dino of the past had given me. Of course. The Kira of this time had a different sense of resolve because her situation was different when she learned to light up a flame. She must've been using regret and remorse as her motivator but for me…

"The secret to lighting your flame is probably going to be straight out anger. Imagine your anger as a burning flame."

Dino's voice echoed in my ears and memories of our last moments before I came to this ugly future came flooding back. I. Am. Not. Marrying. Anyone. Weaker. Than. Me.

"Fight me!" My own voice echoed in my ears and my flame surged to life, immediately going out because it shattered the ring the minute it came to life. Surprise replaced anger and I flinched back, staring at the chunks of the purple stone now littering the floor, "What…?"

"Now that's my girl." Dino's brilliant smile made my heart pound painfully in my chest. He reached into his pocket and handed me a small velvet box, "It's late and it's not the right Kira… No, I suppose I always wanted to give my everything to this you. The Kira who isn't chained down by anything. The Kira I fell in love with so many years ago."

"The second box is the key to victory but I am unable to open it because I've lost something in ten years that you still possess. You will certainly open it. I have the utmost faith because you are the me who flies without chains."

I heard my own voice ringing in my ears and feelings belonging to someone else flooded me. Everything was so very clear. The thing I lose in ten years is a sense of self. In ten years time, I fall so deeply in love with Dino that I gave up everything. I gave up everything including my identity to be with him. Herbivorous.

I have many things I want to say to the future me but none of it matters. I just have to stop myself from becoming this herbivore. Even if I'm in love with Dino, there's no reason to become an herbivore because the person on the inside will never change. She can hide me away, she can lock me in chains, she can use loyalty or love as excuses for blocking my path but those were all things she did with her own will-my will. And right now, more than ever, my will is to never give up. I choose victory over myself-my future.

"You…" I accepted the ring for now but I knew I couldn't go on without saying something to him, "You think you have me all figured out but maybe your thought process was backwards. I am in love with you. The me of this time, I understand better than anyone. I am lost because I'm in love with you. The me who doesn't understand love or compassion gave up everything to be with you."

"Wh-Wha-?" Flustered, he took a clumsy step back, shaking his head, "W-Wait. You've never-"

I shook my head along with him, "Of course… I'm not talking about the me right now. I'm talking about the me of your time. Tell me one thing. If I choose happiness over being together with you, will we still be friends?"

Breaking down in tears, he held me, "Yes. God, yes."

Dino must've always felt guilty. Thinking about it, it's the same for me. If someone I loved, let's just say Kyoya for now, was unhappy because of me… I'd be extremely unhappy. I'd feel guilty. So, I can understand.

"I'll take your ring for now but when I return to the past and your Kira returns to your side. Give it back to her and let her know what you have told me and done for me." I was telling him this but I knew things would not be the same, "Everything happening here is happening because of Byakuran who disturbed many different worlds. If we defeat Byakuran, everything will return to the way it was meant to be. If I am not at your side for much longer, forgive me because I always know where I long to be."

The place I want to be is amongst the Varia-amongst the strongest fighters of the world. I gave him a firm push back and I replaced the shattered ring with this new one. Anger is not my fuel. Imagining my anger as a flame was the ignition but from now on, I know how it feels to light up my resolve. To me, resolve is what I have decided to do. I absolutely refuse to half-ass anything from here on out.

My first order of business. The ring surged to life and I took up the box left for me by the Kira of ten years in the future. Responding to me, it surged to life.

The roaring alligator snapped at Dino with its mighty jaws and sent him flying with a second stroke from the reptilian tail. Cavallone Decimo was immediately on the offense when he realized, I was going for it. He was just about to open his box weapon when he realized my alligator was still growing. It was easily filling up the room and crushing Dino to one side as it grew and grew and grew.

He let out a long whine when he became pressed to one corner, "Kiraaaa!"

Laughing at his helplessness, I let my beast crush him a moment longer before recalling it to my side in a normal size, "Tell me, Dino. In this time, am I the strongest?"

Dino gave me a lopsided smile and shook his head, "That would be Kyoya."

"Oh?" Pride swelled in my chest at the thought of my brother being our generation's top fighter, "Is that so? Then… where do I stand?"

Smile turning into a frown from the reaction he didn't expect, he murmured, "Sorry… I forgot. You were initially someone who wanted to beat down all the men too, huh? Uhh…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I already knew before I asked but I wanted to hear it out loud.

"The Kira I'm married to is… she's… I don't know how to put this nicely, Kira." He forced another smile and said, "She's in a slump?"

"Slump…"

"Uhhh… The mafia is already dominated by men, right?" He laughed awkwardly and then frowned and gave it to me straight, "Kira, your name is gone. Long forgotten. No one talks about the Cannibal anymore. There are no female fighters in the mafia who are viable threats. You and Bianchi, I-Pin, Chrome. You're all pretty much… useless and even then only you and Chrome could even hope to open a box weapon."

Nothing but laughter fell from my lips as my alligator marched forward in response to my maniacal laughter, "I'll show you useless."

Scuderia freed from its confines, Dino mounted and took off running. I don't know if it was my face or my alligator that terrified him but yes, my beast was growing once more. Rather than fitting itself through the door, it took off after Dino by breaking through the door and the wall all together. All the doors in the hall were damaged or pierced by my reptilian companion's scales and claws. Teeth snapped at anyone who tried to leave their room to help him.

"You're useless horse!" I was easily giving chase. Scuderia's speed was nothing compared to a beast who covered five feet in just one step, "Come and fight! I'll show you which one of us is useless!"

"God, Kira! I just answered your questions! Why are you getting mad at me?!" He whined, not able to even look back because my beast was snapping at Scuderia's tail already, "What about your other box?! The other box!"

Laughing, I declared, "That one's for the Varia! You get bitten to death by this one!"

"Dino-san!" Sawada was finally rushing down from the other end of the hallway with his guardians in close pursuit, "We'll help!"

"Oh?" Looking down at them from atop my nine foot beast's head, I found amusement in the varying weapons they had pointed at me like semi-professional mafiosos, "Well, so this is how I get revenge for the Sky Battle. Come at me, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Their expressions went from resolved to fight to complete and utter horror in 0.2 seconds as my beast became coated in purple flames right down to his very teeth. My ring was overflowing with the same flames, my whole hand nearly ablaze from the ring down.

"Come die."

Alligator in motion, Sawada's whole crew turned and made a dead sprint back towards the safety of their training room, "I'm sorry, Dino-san! We want to live!"

"K-Kira!" Dino shouted over the roar of my monstrous companion, "Flames are life energy! If you keep over using it, you'll die early!"

"I have ten years, Dino. I become an herbivore in ten years so I have to die before then. It's a must."

"No no no! I'm serious! What if you can't even get up tomorrow?! We still have more things to talk about! More training! AND ABOUT SQUALO! I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT SQUALO!"

I put my hand up and my box weapon came to a screeching halt, teeth surrounding Dino's pretty little face. I laughed at the way drool fell from the reptile's lips as he beheld Dino as his next meal, "What about Squalo, herbivore?"

"You'll get to see him soon. He's on his way here right now." Dino heaved a big sigh of relief when my partner backed off, "So you'll be able to open the other box soon."

"... It's not for Squalo-senpai." The unopened box began to shake wildly in my pocket and I reached for it, pulling it out for everyone to see as it shook back and forth, "Soon. We'll see him soon. I know it."

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Squalo's arrival was something I hadn't expected. The Squalo of this time was not anything like the Squalo I remembered… Well, I mean he was the same guy but he didn't respond to me the same way. He scoffed, glaring down his nose at me. He declared he was here to train Yamamoto. He had nothing to say to me.

I didn't blame him. What words could he have for a traitor? But then again, what right do I have to ask forgiveness from someone I abandoned? That's right. I can't ask forgiveness for something I didn't do in the first place so I just have to be me. Without Squalo. It… doesn't feel right to think of a future where I'm not with Squalo or Lussuria or Bel or Mammon or even Levi.

But what happened to the boss?

Dino noticed the coldness immediately and frowned, "Sorry, Kira. It's kind of my fault he won't even talk to you."

"No. It's something I chose on my own. I'll bear the responsibility." I shrugged, "Now about this Cambio Forma business. I've tried. I can't do it. Explain it better."

"I can't explain it any better than I already have… It's kind of a Vongola thing?" He admitted, "Because I can't do it either. I don't even really know that much about it. It's just described as the ultimate bond between ring users and their box weapons."

I had the aching feeling that I couldn't achieve Cambio Forma like the Tenth Generation Guardians because I wasn't meant to use this box for it. The other box is hiding my ultimate partner. I reached for it, automatically understanding the shaking of the box was a scream for freedom.

"Not yet." I told him, "Wait a little longer. You and I will both fly soon."

In just a few days, we would gather for Choice. Training aside, I was here doing my thing just as I always have done. When I think about it, I'm the weakest one here. I spent the least time in the future out of all the people who have come from the past and of course, all the people who belong in this time are already accustomed to the fighting style. I wanted to flip the ladder of strength.

Obsessed with power, many strong people meet their untimely end. If I'm one of those people, I'm okay with that too. Thoughts of facing off against my mother swirled in my mind and heart. The desire to win was overwhelming but… what good would it be to win against mother in a time where she didn't recognize me? Not that it matters. Nothing matters if I can't return to my time. That's all I need to focus on for now.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Choice was a battle with many rules and complications. I heard the explanation many times but never had I thought I would have to follow someone else's plans.

"We're a team so you'll stick with us." Irie was clear on his point, never backing down, "We need you as much as you need us. If I'm defeated, we lose but if you all go down, there's no way I can fight them alone. Please just listen. This is a collective victory or a collective loss."

Collective loss…? I'm done with that. Be it my loss or our loss together, I refuse to be defeated ever again. Especially not with Squalo in the crowd. Not with Squalo-senpai watching me. I can't lose.

"It's fine, isn't it?" Yamamoto grinned at me, pulling at his tie, "I mean, we're all one team wearing the same uniform now. Just until we go back. Right, Kira-san?"

I heaved a long sigh, rubbing at my neck uncomfortably, "I don't know about your skills but… fine. If we lose, I'll kill you all before Byakuran does, deal?"

"It's a damn good deal, Cannibal." Gokudera spat, "Cause I'd do the same to you."

"But can Kira-san ride a motorcycle?" Sawada hesitated, gesturing to the vehicles we'd be using during the game for mobility, "I didn't see you practice…"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" I was mildly offended, "I can ride better than anyone else on the Varia."

"Wow." Yamamoto whistled at me, "Sweet. We're counting on you then."

"Only make one promise with me as my allies." I was telling them. This was not a negotiable point, "If you make contact with my mother before me, run away. She'll kill you. If you cannot flee, cover your vitals first and foremost. Throat, heart, stomach, eyes. In that order."

Byakuran's voice came on over the intercom before anyone could protest or ask questions, "Ah. Ah. Ah. Well then, Tsunayoshi-kun, we're starting. Let the countdown begin. Ten."

The numbers echoed throughout the area.

Nine. Eight. Seven.

I turned, facing the camera that should be projecting our team's base to the people who were not chosen to participate in Choice. My current teammates were just Sawada, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Irie and Spanner. Everyone else was in the "stands" waiting for our victory.

"Squalo-senpai, if I win here, forgive me." It was not a two-sided agreement. This was a one-sided plea from the bottom of my heart, "This one's for you."

Six. Five. Four.

"Ahahaha." Yamamoto grinned, an arm around my neck, "You're the only one who hasn't achieved Cambio Forma. Leave this to us, Kira-san."

"That's right!" Sawada nodded vigorously, "We've had more time here so you can count on us too!"

Three. Two. One.

"Feh. If it's for the Tenth, I'll help you out too." Gokudera scoffed as we all took to our bikes, waiting for the gates to open.

Start.

The front of our base opened up and we all took off immediately. Headsets roaring with orders from Irie and Spanner at base, we raced down the streets together for a moment before splitting off towards our destinations.

"The flames have registered." Irie said, "Someone's right on top of you Gokudera! The rest of you keep going."

"No." I immediately swung my bike around and shot back towards Gokudera, "Gokudera, I'm coming towards you. Throat, heart, stomach, eyes. Do it."

I felt it. The pang deep in my instinctual stomach. The one approaching Gokudera is my mother.

Gokudera's pained scream cut through our headsets and everyone was suddenly trying to turn around.

Sawada first and foremost wanted to help his right hand man, "Gokudera-kun?! Hold on! I'm going to turn-"

"Keep going!" I snapped, wheels screeching as I turned the corner too sharply, "I'm the closest. Don't worry. As long as I am your ally, I'll protect you."

"Ahahahah!" Yamamoto's carefree laugh had silenced Sawada, "Alright. I'm heading for location B as planned. We'll leave him to you, Kira-san."

One more cornered turned, I spotted Gokudera. He was knocked off his bike for sure but he was still fighting. His hands went through the motions, blocking the fingers poised to stab his eyes out. I didn't slow down. Revving the bike's engine, I shot forward.

"C-Cannibal?!" Gokudera was horrified by my approach at full speed. He dove out of the way as the motorcycle came barreling by, narrowly missing him and my mother who dove out of the way.

I had jumped from the bike at the last minute, immediately rotating into an offensive position. I repeated my mother's killing habits for her to have a taste of her own medicine. My armored fist when for her throat first. Gasping in surprise, she dodged out of the way.

The second blow aimed at her heart and stomach simultaneously. Growling with frustration, she nimbly danced out of the way. My last blow was for her eyes but it was with a fully flame coated fist.

My assault prompted her to light up a flame and release her first box weapon. It was not an animal but a weapon. The spear swooped through the air, narrowly missing my throat as she came at me.

"Get down!" Gokudera roared.

I dove to the floor as a roaring flame shot out towards our opponent. I almost complained but Gokudera was driving the attack and it was certainly pressuring her. The earpieces crackled, Irie was requesting back up for Yamamoto's advance.

A moment of hesitation. I was mildly annoyed. If Irie was requesting back up for Sawada, Gokudera would have run off without looking back.

"Go." I only had to say it once.

I snorted, blocking my mother's advance as Gokudera took off. There were no promises made. He only threw back a quiet word of thanks as he mounted his bike and took off. My mother snarled in frustration, throwing her spear at him like a javelin. I knocked it down carelessly as it tried to pass, my armor made it easier than swatting a fly.

"Hey." I called, "Do you really not know the name Hibari Kira?"

Her eyes narrowed, the crimson orbs glaring at me like I was nothing more than prey, "Hibari…? Are you that man's child?"

"That man…? You mean your husband?"

She reached down, her belt was full of boxes and various weapons. She easily lit up another one and out came a long staff, "Hibari? My husband? Don't make me laugh."

I was the one actually laughing, "I see. So you're not my mother. Thank god."

If this woman isn't my mother, I can win.

Flames and weapons clashing, I observed her. She was… definitely my mother but there was something absurdly different about this woman. If what she's saying is the truth and my father is not her husband then… Then nothing. I can't think about that now. She was not giving me the time and peace of mind to do so.

One mistake would cost me my life. The attribute of the Cloud Flames made her staff grow and multiply at will. I was easily forced into opening my box and even then, my box weapon was not the same as hers. It did not enhance my natural fighting ability. It enhanced my numbers. It wasn't my style but it would have to do.

Jaws snapping, my alligator was driving her back but it didn't last long. She was as analytical as I remember her, easily finding and exploiting the beast's weak underside. She got her flame-coated staff under him and flipped him over like a useless giant turtle. Satisfied, she was now turned to killing me.

She abandoned her staff and opened a third box-a sword this time. Her first swing clashed against my armored defenses, the second swooped right past my side and scraped against my ribs. Her third swing was poised just a little lower, at my stomach. I turned and narrowly dodged it with gritted teeth. The fourth sweep scraped just above my eyes as I moved back, the blood dripping quickly into my eyes.

One sidedly, I was driven back but I wouldn't stand for it. Another blow came for my throat and I was ready. I slapped my hands together around the blade and pulled, disarming her. I threw her blade to the floor but the minute it was clattering on the floor, she had another box opened and another spear was in her hands.

Using the blunt staff of the spear, she slammed it into my side and sent me flying. I rolled on the hard concrete for a good long moment before I was able to catch and steady myself. It was too one-sided. Her flame coated weapons were getting to me and every time I thought I was adapting to her attack patterns, she would take on a different weapon.

"VOIIIIII!"

I heard the familiar ring in my ears. Squalo-senpai. My heart thumped louder and louder, my heartbeat echoed at the same volume as Squalo's voice.

"HIBARI KIRA, DON'T YOU DARE LOSE!"

Gritting my teeth, I grasped my unopened box and thrust my burning flames against it, "Sorry, boss. I can't wait for you."

My mother gasped and retreated into a defensive position when my newest companion scratched and clawed at her eyes. The wings flapping through the air did nothing to deafen the shrill hunter's shriek from the golden eagle staring her down.

My heart was no longer thumping for Squalo. The dull pounding of my heart was a signal from my ultimate companion. He wanted nothing more than to go wild.

"Aquilos." My companion's name tumbled from my lips as if I had always known it, "Cambio Forma."

The transformation was something I could only feel with my body. I couldn't see what was happening but if I had a mirror I might've been happy. For now, I could only feel the wings sprouting from my back and the armor plating my chest. I could only see the armor over my hands morphing and shifting to tighten around my hands like skin, eagle claw's spreading from the fingers. My head felt light and heavy at the same time.

I reached up, my hands clanging against the armor around the top of my head and around my eyes. My vision seemed so much sharper now than ever before. I moved to roll my shoulders and my wings flapped out and back, expanding to their fullest span. I turned left and right, my wings were dark brown in color. They were so dark they almost looked black but at the same time, they sparkled with the density of metals.

When I turned back to face my mother, she was staring at me with wide, uncertain eyes filled with awe and something else I couldn't put my finger on. I had to hurry and beat her so I can help the others.

As if she had realized the same thing at the same time, she raised her spear and lunged. My left wing closed between us. The spear shattered against the outside of my newly acquired plumage. It was amusing. When I opened it up, the very force of it knocked my mother aside. My shoulder ached.

I wasn't sure if I could fly with these. They felt heavy, extremely heavy and defensive. Rippling with my Cloud Flames, the feathers were multiplying. Giving them a solid flap, I realized they were not solely for defense. The wings sprayed the multiplying plumage towards my opponent in a sharp rain of dagger-like feathers. Each time I sprayed, the weight of my wings seemed to drop. Eventually, I was able to take flight.

It was something I had never experienced before. Flight seemed so… natural. My aching shoulders told me not to fly for long but I refused to listen. I liked where I was going and I refused to stop.

"KIRA!"

My wings froze, I came to a screeching halt midair and I turned towards the owner of the loudest voice I would ever hear in my entire life-Superbi Squalo. I couldn't see him. The camera must be on me but I can't see him.

"FINISH HER!"

I turned back to my prey, eyes shaking in fear as a javelin narrowly missed piercing my head. A voice rang in my head, shrieking for blood and I would grant it. Instinctively, I swooped down. No one, not even I, knew if I was swooping or falling. They say eagles can dive for prey at more than a hundred miles per hour. I don't know about my speed but I do know one thing, my hand did not form a fist when I went to strike. All my fingers were totally straight as I shot down for the kill, claws glinting in the sunlight.

"Kira-san, that's your mother!" Sawada didn't know what was happening. There's no way he could have known but… it must've been some sort of super intuition. I heard Vongola boss candidates often have some sort of super keen instincts, "Don't kill her!"

At the last minute, I jerked my hand away from her heart and it went straight through her shoulder on the opposite side but she was a natural fighter. If she was going down, she was taking me with her. She had opened a box during my swoop, yanked up a blade and drove it straight through my heart or she might've if the blade was just a little more narrow and a little more precisely aimed to make it through the slits in the armor my Cambio Forma had plated over my chest.

This had made it painfully clear. The woman I pierced was not my mother for sure. She was not anyone's mother. My mother was strong because her experienced had shaped her into a keen, agile, lucrative fighter. My mother would have killed me. She would have driven the blade into my exposed throat or into my eyes where the knife had more space to meet success instead of arrogantly trying to kill me under the plates around my chest.

This woman was young and inexperienced compared to the woman who taught me everything. But then again, I failed to kill her too.

I pulled my arm from her shoulder and let her fall, clutching at her wound. When she glared up at me, I smiled, "I see… So, you weren't always the goddess of battle we looked up to. I'm…"

Glad? Relieved? Overcome with joy? I had always put my mother on a pedestal. She was everything I aspired to be and more. Strong, confident, unyielding, and more. To me, she was someone always out of reach. She was someone who protected me and Kyoya like herbivores from our youth. But mothers are people too.

She's strong and valiant but… it was having someone to fight for that made her all those things. Without my father, without me and Kyoya, she was nothing more than another savage. She was just like me. Well… Then again, I suppose with her glaring up at me the way she is, I'm the winner here.

"Kira-san! Kikyo is heading back towards Shouichi-kun!" Sawada's voice was an urgent plea for help.

"She can't come! Her bike was wrecked when she came to help me!" Gokudera reported, "He's flying away from me, Tenth! I can't keep up!"

Cracking my neck back and forth, I gave my wings a testing stretch, "I think I can go."

I flapped my wings twice, once was enough to have me hover and the second launched me off the ground. My shoulders hurt, it felt totally different from anything I had ever experienced before. It wasn't a dull prickling of soreness but a screaming stab of utter agony. I ignored it as long as possible.

Kikyo was in the air, narrowly chasing Irie who was stumbling away on foot. I had nothing left. My gauntlets were back instead of those skin-tight metal claws. My wings were losing their metal coating, armor falling away. The helmet came clattering down away from my head and I gave it my last burst. All I need are the wings.

I launched myself from a nearby building straight into Kikyo's side. The Cloud-Flamed Funeral Wreath slammed into the building on the opposite side and I slammed against the concrete, wings shattered and shoulders screaming in phantom agony. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't there but I was so far gone I couldn't pick myself off the floor.

Everything was happening in slow motion. The blow was coming down aimed for a vital spot on Irie. Sawada screaming in my ear about how he was on his way and it was a wild plea for no one to die.

My fist clenched and I scrambled forward. There's no way I would make it but I still had to try. I couldn't let our loss be on my shoulders. I'm right here. I'm right in front of him. Not again. I can't let victory slip away from us this time too.

No. No! NO!

He was struck, crumpled to the floor, and he lay motionless. The flickering target flame on his chest held out just one moment more before disappearing completely. My hand was left frozen, stretched out. Complete helplessness washed over me as I stared at the result of our battle. It was over. And again… I was-

"I got him!" Yamamoto's voice rang clear, "The target on this side is down for the count too. Flame's out for sure."

The Cervello units assigned to judge the battle came down, confirming Irie's target had gone out just moments before they announced Daisy had also lost his target flame.

Sawada stared blankly at the ruling for our deadly game and breathed out, "So… It's a draw."

Relief flooded me in an herbivorous fashion. It was not victory but it wasn't a loss. This was a good result or so I thought but just moments later, Daisy was announced alive and unbeaten.

"Impossible! I'm su-sure I cut him down!" Yamamoto's guilt was as thick in his voice as surprise, "I didn't kill him but I cut him down for sure!"

Everything from here on out is unimportant. It was a shit fest. This was our loss. We retreated like herbivores. What more can I say? What more do I want to say…? Nothing.