A/N: I do not own To-Love Ru
Rito... Please, stop...
Red
All Rito Yuuki could see around him was red, suffocating, thick, syrupy. Was it blood? Was it even real? Rito didn't know, and didn't care, all he could feel was his lungs burning as he held his breath, desperately swimming upwards to break free of the choking, foul liquid. He couldn't stand it, whether it was really or not, and felt with every sluggish stroke, every bubble of air escaping his deflating lungs, the darkness creeping at him from the corners of his eyes. Rito Yuuki was going to die, yet he struggled in vain to free himself of this fate. Finally, after what seemed like forever as his lungs were burning, Rito gasps for breath in the middle of a sea of red. Finding nothing but a black, sandy beach off the horizon, Rito defied his aching muscles and swam to the shore ahead, renewed with the knowledge that he could live. His heartbeat quickened as he realized there was another figure washed up on the shore, clothes stark white and pure even at a distance, despite obviously having drowned in the same sea of red that Rito now swam in. Finally hitting a point where he could crawl up on his hands and knees out of the thick, viscous water, as Rito preferred to think of it as a trick of the light rather than something undesirable. Collapsing not even a foot from the other person, the waves lapping at his feet as he lay out to dry on the burning, black sand. He notices the color of her hair is pink, and that revelation causes his heart to leap for joy, as he recognizes her build, sheepishly from her behind, and laughs in disbelief. He had found her, after all this searching within himself, he had found her!
Laying out on his stomach, as tired as he was, he dragged himself the final inches over to her, and gently tried to shake the sleeping figure awake. "Come on," he says, voice raggedy as his burning lungs protested with every word, "Lala, come on, wake up!" Whatever he said must have awoke her, as she groaned to life with her face away from him, shifting the sand beneath her as she tried to turn her head towards the source of her annoyance. "Lala, it's me!" he croaks eagerly as possible, "It's Rito!" He grasps at her left hand, noticing the black ring on her hand. He finds the pink diamond, strong and bright, yet he notices with a pang that his diamond, once orange and solid, seemed to be wavering, flickering from clear to very light orange.
"R-Rito?" she groans, sitting up and wiping the black sand off of her face as she slowly sits up, "I-it can't be..." She stares right at his smiling face, as he tries to move himself sideways, trying to force his own ring forward for her to see. "You can't be Rito," she states dejectedly, eyes turning downcast despite seeing the ring on his hand, "Rito is gone, so you can't be here..." Rito's smile falters for a second, before grabbing onto her hand and holding to it tight.
Thump. Thump. Ba-Bump.
His ring flashes pink, to the rhythm of her heartbeat, as her does with the color orange. "I'm here," he reassures her, "I'm sitting here, right besides you, ring in hand and alive, I swear it!" He gulps in more air, as he begins to feel tiredness creep into his bonds and drag him back down. "They said- they said you were gone, dead," Rito croaks out, tears building in his eyes, "But- But I knew you weren't dead, you were here, right by me, in my heart!" The look of confusion that crosses her face is long, and painful to watch, but its as if everything is as thick and slow to rise out of his mind and memories, like he was still swimming in the sea of red.
"Tha- that's not right," she states slowly, as her eyes brighten up and she clearly focuses on Rito, "No- no, that's not right." She scrutinizes Rito, giving him a once over, even locking hands with him and the hand that holds his ring. "You feel real, Rito, I feel your heartbeat, your pulse-" she hesitates, "But it can't be real-" She begins to cry, then slowly pulls away her hand, and Rito watches as she pulls away a spark of red light seems to flare to life between them, as it grows and entwines around both of their ring fingers, lengthening as she pulls away from him. "I'm not gone, Rito," she states simply, "You- you were the one who died..." Rito looks up at her, seeing the clarity held in her eyes, that hurt, the pain at seeing him before her. He feels his heartbeat falter for the merest, briefest, faintest of seconds, and he looks down as he feels the warm, syrupy liquid begin to drip down his shirt again. As he looks down at his wet shirt, he notices the growing stain accompanied by the gaping slit in his chest, right around the area of where his heart and sternum meet.
He puts a hand to his mouth, muffling a scream,a s tears begin to sting at his eyes. Pulling away, he feels blood at the corners of his mouth, and he begins to choke from the puncture wound in his chest. "Rito!" she begins to cry out, trying to grab him and lay him on her lap, "Rito, no, don't go; I'm sorry!" He feels her grip his hand, he feels the warmth of her body, of the burning in his ring as the string entangles her hand in his. "Please..." she weeps over him, as he watches too helpless to say anything, "Don't go Rito, stay with me forever, you promised me, you promised Mikan, you promised Celine you would never leave them..." She presses her hands to the oozing wound, trying to stem the bleeding. "Listen to me Rito, you're different, stronger, changed!" she cries, as if trying to bargain with him to stay, "You can't die from being stabbed, Adam can help heal you, just stay awake with me, you hear me, stay awake..." He feels the ghost of a smile on his lips, as they burn while he tries to smile up at her, trying to focus on her. "You stood up to Lacospo, Azenda, Bladix, you became a living weapon and the rightful wielder of one of the most powerful weapons in existence," she states as fact, crying now over and a confrontational tone rising at him, "You're my Fiance now, Rito, you can't die on me after promising to marry me!" He feels like he could laugh, if his lungs weren't slowly filling with blood, but he knows now that she is right. Rito knows he shouldn't be dying from such a wound, yet it seemed that with Creed literally having infused his essence with Zastin's body, the power of the living embodiment of his own sword, triumphed over his own abilities. It took an indestructible object to make a dent in another indestructible object after all.
He felt Lala trying to hold onto him, keep him grounded and alive until help could come, but he knew the truth was inevitable. Rito Yuuki felt himself slowly slipping away, as the red tide began to climb and cover his whole body now. Distantly he could hear her screaming, though the roar of the red sea crashing in his ears drown her out. He felt himself slip from her grasp, and dragged down with the undertow current, into the thick sea of red. The sea of blood had been fed by a weapon, and now it was calling for his own blood too. And so Rito Yuuki, age Seventeen, son of Saibai and Ringo Yuuki, brother of Mikan, Papa of Celine, Fiance of Lala, and inheritor of the Devilukean position of King, died on the floor where ancient Kings had held their seat of power in years past. Innocent blood shed on the sacred hall of memories, where Rito noticed the ancient paintings donning the halls ceilings, a forgotten relic of the past. He saw stories painted of Kings, betrayers, of Princes, of Outcasts, of Gods and Monsters. Of a man who weld a black stone in his hands, hefting it high above the others, leading men and women transformed into devils into battle against those forces with pink and black hair. In his dying moments, he saw the man, no the boy, stuck in the middle of a war, hands outstretched against both sides, as he protected those pictured beneath him, huddled together, afraid of the encroaching armies on either side. Rito saw the depiction of the beginning of the first, great Galactic War. And then he saw nothing but Red. And beyond that, da̢͔̻͎̻̻͙͍r͙͕͟k̦̱̭̞̮͍n̰̩̬̥͈͍ͅe̘͇̪̜̥̪͡s҉̖̲̜͉̟͈s̘͉͉̟̜͍̲͞...
OoOoOoOoO
Gasping awake, Rito finds himself sitting on the sheets of his bed sweating as he felt the images, no, the memories of his death burning in his mind, yet trying to fade away like a dream. "It's no dream, Rito," a voice says, and Rito turns to find Adam in his younger form, sitting on a chair and watching him as he sleeps, "That really happened, or at least most of it did; the last bit at least..." Rito looks down and finds the sword and scabbard sitting against the head of his bed, showing that the thing with Mikan and Celine hadn't been a dream.
"Celine..." Rito muttered, as he thought to the ashes and the distraught figure of his sister, as he literally ripped that... thing, from her chest, "What- is Mikan... okay?" Adam opens his eyes, and Rito sees him smirk so much like Nemesis would, it was uncomfortable to see.
"Yeah, I put her and Celine-nee to bed," Adam states, uncrossing his arms and sitting up from his slouching position, putting a hand up before Rito could speak, "Yes, Celine is fine, she just used up a lot of energy last night; I don't expect either of them to wake up until after we are gone." Rito sighs in relief at that, happy to know that something in his life hadn't gone wrong. "But-" and there it was, as Adam continued to speak, "It doesn't matter Rito; none of this really matters, and you know it." Adam stands up, grabbing his own shadowy blade and scabbard, clipping it to his side as he forces Rito to get up and change, tossing clothes into his hand. "Can't you feel it, Rito, the beating of your heart in your chest?" he states turning around to allow Rito to get dressed in new clothes, "Your real heart is beating again, Rito, outside of this mental prison you've somehow locked yourself in..." Rito pulls his shirt over his torso, adjusting his pants before placing his socks on.
"Here?" Rito asks, "Aren't we at my house, our house, on Earth?" Adam turns to Rito with a serious look on his face, while Rito clips the scabbard to his belt, setting the sword inside it to a position it won't get in the way. "We're home, I'm alive and Lala is dead, Adam, and you didn't even exist until last night; neither did this damn ring!" he yells exasperatedly showing his hand, as Adam coolly waits for him to stop, "So forgive me if I think this is all a little too darn crazy for me to believe that this whole 'life' is fake; especially after I pulled a freaking sword out of my Sister's heart!" Adam crosses his arms and stares Rito down, as the young man simmers down.
"I understand your confusion Rito, but we don't have the necessary time to argue here," Adam states, as he puts a hand to Rito's neck and then to his own pulse, frowning as he does so, "I can feel your heartbeat slowing down, and I can feel my own beginning to slip beats as well." Rito looks at him like he is mad, putting a hand to his neck to check his own pulse, just to show this was all too crazy.
-ump. Thump. Ba-Bump-
Rito widens his eyes, as he feels his normal beats per minute having slowed down. Adam smirks at the fact that Rito's disbelief is showing on his face. He sits down, a little shell shocked that he was arguing with a figment of his own imagination. "I'm no figment," he says, as if reading Rito like he would a book, "This isn't real, like I said, you're not really here, and neither am I fully here." He drags his chair so he can be across from Rito, sitting down and staring him down. "I should say, I'm only about thirty three percent here, whereas you, Rito Yuuki, would be about sixty seven percent here..." Rito nods as the kid talks, though he doesn't know if he really understands it, "You died, or very nearly died, and what you are experiencing right now is something equivocal to a personal, parallel reality being created for you right before your eyes." Rito blinks, then begins to laugh, until Adam's blank stare brings him back to an uncomfortable silence. "The Pearl of Wisdom, alternatively the White Taoist's Pearl, is a cosmic artifact born from the regrets and souls of its creators, the Taoists, who recognized their inevitable fate during the conclusion and aftermath of the first Great Galactic War," Adam sates, "You do not remember it, but you have interacted with the Black Pearl of Power, which enhanced you to a state of being higher than that of a 'normal' human." Adam closes his eyes and crosses his hands to bite his thumb in indecision.
"The Pearls- they are each unique in their own ways, as the Black Pearl allows their user to fundamentally alter their body to the point they can become a 'perfect' physical specimen of their race," Adam says, sighing, "Whereas the White Pearl allows the user to shape reality to their whim, essentially becoming 'God' and allowing them to recreate the universe as they see fit." Adam stands up at this point, putting his arms behind his back and pacing the room. "Except, except- the user cannot retain their sense of self once becoming 'god', and any attempt at recreating themselves is attributable to an artist self portrait proclaiming itself to be the artist," Adam wrings his hands at this, and he turns back to face Rito with a grim look, "Since you are the focus of this reality one should assume that you, in fact, are not the real Yuuki Rito, and yet you contain all of his memories of the previous universe that you had hidden within me; before 'you' hid me in the one person you could trust above all else to view you as your real self- your sister, Mikan Yuuki..." Putting his hands to the side of his head and groaning, Adam rings his fingers into his scalp and even draws blood that shows up in his blonde hair. "This whole situation is impossible, Rito, as facts and events that did not happen in reality, have been unraveling before you in ways that shouldn't be possible, as if you are in fact the 'real' Yuuki Rito, are in actuality rejecting the reality that is being-" Adam suddenly trails off, as an epiphany suddenly dawns on his face, "-created for you, this reality, Rito, is being created for you!" Adam suddenly tosses the chair aside and puts his hands on Rito's shoulders, shaking him viciously.
"Rito, you can't be 'god' in this situation, because an artists self portrait cannot be the artist, yet the fact you are here enforces that you are not a self portrait, but are clearly the subject, the focus surrounding this new reality!" Adam's crazed ramblings aren't making sense now, yet he assumes that it must make sense to him, "You can't reject this reality unless you are really here, and you are really here, since you 'died' in our true reality, the Pearl was then used to remake reality, with you as the focus, but something, or someone, must have shaped the new reality around you, and that someone couldn't have been you, because you are subconsciously rejecting this new reality in favor of the old, true reality." He touches the ring, and suddenly the red string becomes visible to him, a single red string that stretches out into the world beyond the room. "I wondered why these strings of fate, of love, or- or destiny, have suddenly become visible to you, and to everyone else," he states, as he plucks the string, making it vibrate, "These aren't strings of fate, or strings of love, they're tethers, Rito, they are what is keeping you locked into this reality, because these seven strings have had to do with the people that act as your strongest emotional anchors." Adam lets him go, stepping back and putting a hand through his hair in realization. "My god, Rito, its drawing on something so common, so ingrained in your people's stories of love and emotion, that it made it reality, a universal constant," Adam sits down, floored by this realization, questioning everything, he then turns his focus back on Rito, "Rito, if you've faced six of the seven tethers keeping you here, if you manage to severe them all... you could undo everything, you could go home, undo your death even..."
Rito stands up and walks over to Adam, before grabbing him by the hand and forcing him to stand up. He doesn't know why but seeing Rito's face as blank as he sees it, unnerves him greatly. "Are you saying, all these people I've been rejecting were here to keep me down, Momo, Nana, Run," Rito states somberly, "Even Kotegawa, Yami, and Mikan, they were all just obstacles to keep me here, happy and unaware?" Adam nods, and he waits to see how Rito reacts, noticing the older Yuuki sibling gripping his knuckles and turning them white with rage. "Alright," he says calmly, as he holds up the ring with a single red strong tied to it, "If I do this, if I go back, reject this last love of my life in exchange for dying on some tiled floor on an alien planet... do you think I could remember everything, remember who it is that still is missing in my life?" Rito hadn't said anything to Adam since he had remembered more chunks his missing life, but the Trans symbiotic life form knew that Rito still had a whole chunk of certain memories missing. Memories that were also missing from Adam as well, pieces that he knew kept him from being of any help to Rito as he had only access to what Rito knew, and what he couldn't or chose not to know, he extrapolated from his surroundings.
"Haruna Sairenji," Rito suddenly said, breaking Adam from his thoughts, "If we're going from least to greatest, it makes sense that Haruna is my greatest anchor..." Adam blinked at that, until he recognized what exactly Rito was implying. He had been cutting emotional ties, regrets that kept him anchored to this reality, from order of least impact to most. Rito had the least amount of baggage with Momo, as he had made his feelings towards the youngest Deviluke sister evident with the whole situation that had led up to this. Nana, equally, had little impact or regrets focused around her, as Rito's own tenuous stance regarding the middle child of Deviluke was try not to get in her way, and apologize to her even if it was an accident. Yui Kotegawa had always been a source of strife for Rito these past couple of years, already thinking Rito was a poor moral character, she did warm up to him, but mostly kept her distance and feelings contained within her. Secretly Adam wondered if Rito had begun to suspect that his friend Kenichi harbored feelings for the strict morals officer, as his own 'perverted' nature seemed to mature over the summer, resulting in his friend insisting in helping him 'break up' the harem plan.
Adam knew that Run had been a focal point, a perilous fulcrum balancing between love and hate, reflected in his relationship between herself, Ren, Rito, and the eldest Princess of Deviluke, something ever shifting but cemented in his mind as firm. Yami, contrarily, had become more prevalent a pestering thought in Rito's head, as she and her sisters threatened Rito's life on a daily basis, and possibly have been the straw that broke the camels back regarding Rito finally dealing with his feelings, his nature, and even his relationships with other girls, having been the most controversial impact on Rito's psyche. Mikan could be considered a rock that he could firmly be centered upon, both for familial life and amidst his chaotic daily struggles as prospective candidate to an innumerable gaggle of girls, despite her own callous attitude she has occasionally show towards him, Rito knew her own kind of love would anchor him. Now that it was Haruna Sairenji that was identified as the last tether, both Rito and he would have to figure out just what it is that he regrets, if he is to cut himself free. While the fact she was his first love was the greatest argument for being an anchor, it shouldn't be the strongest, at least not where regret was concerned. Unless...
Rito stands up and walks towards the door, leaving Adam hurrying after him. "Rito, where do you think you're going, we don't know where Sairenji is!" Adam states, struggling to put his own copy of his sword back in its scabbard, "She could be anywhere here, she could even not be anywhere in Sainan, Rito, just stop and think about it for a second!" Rito stops at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at Adam and causing the blonde clone to stop.
"Adam, it's time you realize that you aren't really here either; we both should know that by now," Rito states, as he offers a hand out to the little copy, "I'm here because I died, but you can't have, since you merely inhabit my body and sword." He pauses at those words, looking down at himself for a moment, before staring tearfully down at Rito with a smile. "You're probably killing yourself just staying here, am I right?" Rito asks, "Just stop hiding the truth from yourself, from me, 'cause I need you to be honest with me now."
"So, you finally figured me out, eh, Rito," he states, as he puts a hand to his head and begins to chuckle, "I t-thought I nearly had you there... I just wanted to s-stay around, and help a little bit longer-" Suddenly overcome with a look of pain, the knees of the dark matter clone buckle, as he begins to melt back into the shadows, falling down the stairs and coming to rest at Rito's feet. "Y-you're right though, you need to be w-whole, and I can't h-help you anymore it seems," he begins to reattach to Rito, melding back into him and making the incomplete Rito nearly whole once more, 'I c-couldn't keep my f-freedom for long, but I left just enough of myself to free yo-' The experience, the feeling of Adam being there evaporates like water, and Rito is alone with his thoughts now. He smiles, knowing that his friends, his family, are waiting for him to come back to them. Turning around to exit his house from the front, he is stopped by the appearance of his brunette haired younger sister.
"Rito, please don't go..." she states, her bangs hiding her eyes as she stands her ground in front of the door, "I don't want you to go and leave us, Onii-chan!" Rito smiles, as he watches her tremble, sobbing escaping from her every so often, ever so quietly. Celine, restored and a child once more, is hiding behind Mikan's legs and looking between her mother figure and her Papa with uncertainty.
"It'll be alright Mikan, Celine," he states, as he stoops down to hug both child and sister close to him, "I'll be alright, and you know I'd never leave you all together." He feels Mikan's tears like they were real, hot and wet on his shoulders, while he feels Celine's soft hair draping against his legs, her little arms squeezing around his leg in a hug. "But I can't keep lying to myself, not when I'm still missing someone very important to me, something very important to me," he states, "I have to find Sairenji, and you can't stop me anymore than this, I can't have you both trying to keep me locked into a world that I've already burned plenty of bridges with." Mikan stops crying, and pulls away from Rito, eyes red but nodding as she gently detaches Celine from her brother's leg. "Don't worry, by the time this is all over," he states, opening the door and walking into the bright sun, "We'll be together again, I know that..."
OoOoOoOoO
Stop Rito, you don't know what you're doing...
Very well, if you won't stop for your family...
On the dark side of the moon, where the animated bodies of the former princesses of Deviluke and their loyal bodyguard stand waiting for orders in the vacuum of life, an order is given and the three open their eyes as one. In a single flash of dark light, the three are gone from the lunar tomb, leaving behind one final figure who stares up at the shining beacon of light and hope above her head.
Rito, if you will not accept this new reality, I will force you to!
OoOoOoOoO
Finding Haruna's old apartment with her sister wasn't as hard as it had been now that most of his memories were restored now. While he had no basis to believe his former crush still lived in the same apartment she had years ago, he knew it was still a possibility. Walking up to the door and noticing it looked the same as it had years ago, he smiled as he knocked on the door, hoping that above all that Haruna still lived here, making his decision easier. The door opened to a head of purple hair, and as his hopes were rising, they were dashed to pieces when he found that it was not Haruna who answered the door. "Hello?" the woman asked, clearly taller than Haruna, and looking him over as he stood in front of her, "I'm sorry, can I help you?" Rito smiles and finds his mind going blank, trying to figure out exactly what to say now that he had no excuse.
"I'm sorry, I was looking for Sairenji Haruna, I was told I could find her here..." Rito states, as the girl crosses her arms to stare Rito down, "I'm- I'm sorry if this is the wrong address, I just- used to be in her school years ago, I just wanted to find her and ask her some questions..." Rito blushes as the woman remains unimpressed with his story, Rito blushing under her scrutiny. "I- uhh- I-uhh, ha-have a-amnesia, and Haruna was one of the g-girls I knew," he lamely states, blushing madly, "I've been trying to-to get to know people from be-before the accident, and everyone says I used to have a c-crush on her in our f-first year." Smirking, as if hitting the jackpot, the girl turns away from Rito towards the interior of her house.
"Haruna, someone claiming to want to confess their unresolved feelings of loneliness and regret is making some ridiculous excuse about having amnesia to find out if you live here!" she yells casually into the room, before looking back over Rito for a moment, then turning back again, "He isn't too bad looking, sis, so don't dis him until you see him for yourself..." Turning back to wink at Rito, he merely blushes furiously as the older woman is violently pushed aside by someone much younger.
"Nee-chan, don't just go yelling stuff out like that!" she says, blushing furiously while pushing her smiling sister back into the room, "And go clean up that mess in the kitchen I hear you making!" Turning out to look at Rito, she pauses as if noticing that he was there for the first time, sheepishly she smiles at him and looks him over, eyes straying to the scabbard and sword at his waist. "I'm sorry about her... she's desperate to pair me off with guys right now, even though I told her I already have someone in mind!" she yells that last part into the apartment, Rito graciously ignoring it as well, before Haruna turns her attention back to Rito, "I don't think I recognize you, what was your name again?" Rito chuckles and gives a slight bow of his head.
Before Rito could say anything, Ahiko Sairenji was back, coughing to interrupt the two before they could go any further. "Sorry kiddos, but Yuu just emailed me about meeting up for lunch with his family, so sorry sis, but I'm going to have to duck out on this sweet little reunion," she states, squeezing past her startled younger sister and winking at Rito, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do; oh, and sis: the third box on the left in the cupboard~!" Rito watches confused as the well dressed woman suddenly disappears, laving two teenagers behind. He turns back, awkwardly staring at Haruna, who suddenly has a fierce blush on her cheeks as she stares back owl-eyed at where her sister had stood. Deciding to announce his presence again, this time a bit more relaxed and confident, Rito clears his throat to catch her attention and introduce himself properly.
"Rito Yuuki, we were classmates in Middle School, and First Years together at Sainana High," Rito states, "I- I actually do have a bit of amnesia, y-you see, and I've been reconnecting with people I went to school with- I know Yui Kotegawa, and Kenichi Saruyama, for instance." Haruna widens her eyes in recognition of the names, so Rito plays another gambit. "I also knew Momioka Risa, Sawada Mio, Run Jewelria, Lala Satalin Deviluke, and Yami-" The younger Sairenji sister suddenly steps out of her door and forces Rito against the outside of wall, putting an arm out to block him from going anywhere. Rito can't help but focus on her jiggling breasts, the surprising strength she used to force him in this position, and the look of her soft, luscious red lips so close to him, despite never having been able to stand within three feet of her without all semblance of reason leaving his speech.
"How do you know that name?" she threateningly growls towards Rito, but despite himself he can't help but think how adorably sexy she is while trying to intimidate him, "How do you remember her!" Rito blinks, trying to figure out who 'her' was, despite his instincts screaming at him that he knew the answer already. "How do you remember Lala, when no one else on Earth, including my sister, cannot?" she asks, as she pins him against the wall with her other hand, moving closer towards him. If he could feel his brain melting, his sanity slipping, he would have died and been the most happiest he had ever been, until the fact that this was all a distraction from the truth crossed his mind.
"I-I was kidnapped by her sister two years ago, who proceeded to wipe the world's memories of myself and Lala using an invention of hers, then made me think I was in love with her instead of her sister," Rito answers as honestly as possible, "I've found out the last two years of my life have been built on a lie, and managed to make it home with a third sister's help, and now I'm trying to regain my lost memories." He kept the fact that he was also here to resolve any untoward feelings and regrets he had for her, so he could recreate reality back to the way it was meant to be, to himself. "Haruna- you remember Lala, do you- do you remember me?" he asks hopefully, testing her memory, 'Rito Yuuki, Class 1-A,' maybe you have a yearbook, or something..." Haruna steps back, letting her hands fall to her side as she shakes her head.
"Ever since a strange dream I had last night, I've been flooded with memories of this girl, Lala, even though I feel like I should know her, she's vague," Haruna states, as she walks back to her open doorway, Rito following behind her, "I think- I think I still have the photo book from year one here somewhere... you can come in too, Yuuki..." The fact she uses his last name disheartens him a little bit, yet he knows it almost is better that way. She had enough to deal with if she was getting assaulted with memories of a paradoxical girl that his own memories are fuzzy at best at remembering, beyond the outline of a girl with pink hair like her sisters, and an adorable robot that had tried to kill him when he reactivated her on Deviluke. Following Sairenji into the main room, where her sister was eating a grape popsicle due to the summer heat, Rito smiled as Ahiko Sairenji gives him a smile and a thumbs up. Blushing as Haruna pulls him along into her room, he realizes just how clean the place is, and how it is lacking the familiar pressence of a lovable, furry companion that tickled the corners of Rito's mind.
"What happened to Maron?" he asks absently, as Haruna is getting under her bed, pulling out a small box of items that seems to hold old school memorabilia, "Wasn't he only a couple of years old?" Haruna looks up at him for a moment, distracted as she had been riffling through the piles of paperwork and other school grades she had saved.
"I- how did you know we had a dog?" she asks, looking up at him strangely, and Rito blinked, before rubbing his neck sheepishly, "We lost him a year ago, he just ran away for some reason when I had to move to my parent's house for the summer, though I still think my sister gave him to a pound..." Rito coughs, and Haruna calms down a bit, her face softening as she pulls a picture of Maron from the pile. "I'm sorry, you said you knew me, of course you knew I had Maron then too," she states, "Losing him- it was like losing a family member, it still hurts even months after I gave up looking for him..." He nods in understanding, remembering how the proud, little Boston Terrier took to defending Sairenji whenever he was near, wanting to please her. Finally Haruna pulls out a stack of photos, from Middle School to her Second Year at Sainan High. He went to grab the latter picture, but Haruna stopped him, holding onto it tightly. "Sorry, this one- it holds specific memories I'd rather not share with you," she states, putting that one over on her desk, before returning to hand Rito a Middle School photo, "Besides, you said we were only in the same class in First Year and Middle school, I think I'm due my own secrets." A little hurt that she would allow him access to her photos, he acquiesced, knowing that he was still a stranger to this Sairenji, and that he needed to still earn her trust.
Opening the pictures, Haruna was looking over his shoulder, as he pointed himself out. "See, there I am," he states, pointing to himself and then to Haruna, and Haruna stares in amazement at his presence in the photo, "This was the year you stood up for me, when everyone else at school accused me of trampling the gardens, you told everyone I was kind, and that the school knew it was a dog that dug up the flowerbeds..." He smiles as he remembers that memory,a s if a new jigsaw puzzle piece was given to him and filling on more of the gaps, as he looked through a few of the other photos she had. He found the First Year photo, and pulled it open with trepidation at what he would find inside it. "Look, there's me, there's you- here's Lala," Rito states with a fond smile, Ren standing above her, trying to force his way into standing next to the oblivious princess in front of him, held back by others in the class, "She was so pretty here, she wanted to fit in on Earth too, and she made friends with you, Risa, and Mio right off the bat, she was liked by almost everyone at school too..." Smiling at the photo too, Haruna stands up and heads for the door.
"How about some snacks and tea, then we can talk more about Lala-chi," Haruna suggests as she goes to the kitchen, "I want to learn more about her, and about you Rito, since I can't remember any of this..." As she leaves to get the snacks, Rito waits to see if she would check back in, before slowly getting to his feet and sneaking over to the desk on the other side of the room. He stares down at the closed binder holding the photo of their second year class inside it. It shouldn't be of any consequence to him, since as Haruna had stated, he had only gone to school with her up to the First Year. Yet the need, the itch to sate his curiosity, only grew the longer he stared at its mesmerizing bindings. Hoping Haruna would forgive him, Rito takes the leap of faith, and opens the book in front of him, revealing its contents to him. Staring down at the photo, he hears someone walk into the room, let go of the plate of snacks and tea pot, spilling its contents everywhere and leaving soaked snacks spoiled by the boiling hot water. "You couldn't help yourself, could you Yuuki Rito," Haruna states, as Rito just keeps staring in disbelief at the photo in front of him, "Why, why did you do it?" She looks down, her hair flowing into her face and covering her expression, as she steps forward and closes the door behind her with a click. Despite having admitted never seeing him before, not remembering Lala, or any of his other friends, the picture before him gave him the shock he needed to finally complete the missing pieces of the puzzle that were his 'true' memories.
Among the steps of Sainan High, stood Class 2-A, all in various states of chaotic and highly unpredictable actions that normally wouldn't be used in this kind of picture. Rito stood in between Lala and Haruna, with Run trying to force herself in behind Rito, with Kotegawa holding her back, and Risa and Mio standing on Run's other side. Behind Lala, on her free side, opposite of her hugging a blushing and confused younger version of himself, was Ren, who was standing next to a glaring Saruyama. The whole class of 2-A was in the background as normal, ignoring the chaos within in favor of taking a proper picture. This was a picture that shouldn't even exist in this version of reality, considering he hadn't even been here when this picture was taken. Noticing something in the reflection of the photo, Rito jumped back just as a Tennis Racket came down fast and hard onto the book, tearing into the picture from the force. "Sairenji, what are you doing?" Rito asks, back peddling on his hands away from the angry tennis player, as she aimed for his head, "Why are you attacking me?" Blocking some savage swings with crossed arms taking the brunt of the powerful, painful swings, he notices for the first time a bruise on her neck, that he hadn't noticed before. "Sairenji, what-" Before he can say more, she swings once more and breaks her tennis racket as she misses and hits the floor with it, falling over herself in the process. She growls and gets up on her hands and knees, staring at him with an almost feral expression crossing her face.
"Haruna, what is going on with you?" he asks as she lunges for him, while he pulls the blunted end of his hilt out and crosses it with her temple, "Sairenji!" He leaps up to his feet and goes to hold her down, hoping he had only knocked her out, and that whatever it was causing her to act out was over. Feeling her pulse, he noticed it was slow, sluggish, but there, so he chose to look at the bruise on her neck. Seeing that there was the barest hint of a thorn in her neck at the center of the bruise, leaking black, he knew something had happened to her because of him. "No, Sairenji, I didn't mean for it to end up like this," he states, grabbing her hand and crying into it, "Dammit, all I wanted to do was ask you to forgive me, forgive me for not being there when you needed to tell me something important..." He feels tears pour out of him as he speaks, wet spots hitting her on the face as he lets them fall. "You could have told me you were moving, I could have had time to process you leaving, we could have made things work-" he states, as he bitterly reminisces of the fact she had up and disappeared from his life, "We could have left on good terms, I could have actually got to say goodbye to you, and I wouldn't have been regretting the past six months of my life it took me realizing just how stupid I was not to notice how much I truly loved Lala without you around!" Blinking the tears away as he forced his eyes opened, he noticed Haruna staring up at him, crying herself as if the words he had spoken had really meant something to her.
"R-Rito," she states, lifting her left arm up and brushing it across the side of his head, "I-I didn't know it hurt you that much..." Rito sits back and lets go of her, allowing Haruna to sit up and stare him down, as Rito looks away in embarrassment. "Look at me, Rito," she states, grabbing for his hand and rubbing her fingers over his, "You can't keep holding yourself back because of me-" She stops, blushing and looking down before returning her gaze to his own. "The sad fact of life is that we grow up, we drift apart sometimes, but we still remain friends," she states, smiling, "Maybe we were never meant to be lovers, Rito, we were first loves, sure, but our hearts are made to heal, our love is meant to grow, not remain bottled up forever..." Haruna leans in, her luscious lips looking as if they were tauntingly going to lock with his own, before she diverts and pecks him on the cheek chastely. "I- I wanted to tell you, Rito, I fell in love since I left Sainan, and with the strangest person I ever could have met," she states, and Rito is genuinely smiling for her as she bares her heart to him, "It's actually Ren, he moved away from Sainan to get away for a year, to actually try and get over Lala, and get away from Run; he finally accepted that you and Lala were just meant to be..." Rito laughs at that, breathlessly smiling as he lets go of Haruna and falls to his back on her floor, followed by Haruna who lays back down.
"We're idiots, aren't we Haruna," he states, staring up at her ceiling with her, "If we weren't so emotional, if love wasn't so hard to express, do you think we could have come to the realization we weren't meant to be together sooner?" Haruna giggles, nodding along with him, and closing her eyes.
"Don't get me wrong Rito, I still like you as a friend, and I still think Lala is my friend, but-" She lifts her hands up towards the ceiling, staring at them both, "No, I don't think we would have ever worked out as lovers, as husband and wife, not with everything that's gone on since Lala appeared in our life." Rito smiled, and nodded in return, lifting up his left hand and letting Haruna fully see the ring on his hand.
"Yeah, I think you're right, and I'm glad I got to tell you this here, now, but I know that there's another Haruna, another life out there, that I need to do the same with," he states, and he feels the burning rush of energy in his hand alight once more, the red string that binds him to Haruna lighting up and illuminating its twin on her own finger, "I'm glad to know I can say these feelings out loud, that I can acknowledge them, and let them go..." The red string on Haruna's hand suddenly untwines from her finger, and an invisible weight is seemingly lifted from his shoulders. He breathes, and for the first time, as a whole person once more, Rito feels that everything is finally right with his life. "I'm sorry Sairenji, I think I need to go now," he states, as he looks out of her window and sees dark clouds forming in the sky around them, "Goodbye for now..." Leaving her room, and a breathless, smiling Haruna behind, he can't see the tears that trail after him.
OoOoOoOoO
Rito is standing in the middle of the road when the clouds that darken around him finally break, revealing three streaking meteors of black heading for him. He pulls the blade from his scabbard and holds it aloft with practiced ease, while adjusting the bag on his back to keep it from slipping. As the three objects crash to earth, leaving craters all around him, he watches the dust settle from impact. Three horrid monsters, mockeries of life, lift themselves from the ground to reveal themselves to Rito: Momo, with her stomach cut into and leaking shadows, Nana, looking more like an oozing pincushion, and Zastin, who looked and moved more like a stiff marionette than a solider, with the vines and flowers poking out of ever crack and crevice of his armor. "Hello Rito," Momo states, smiling wickedly at him as she drags herself forward, "Did you get left out in the cold by your 'true love', come back to beg our forgiveness and be mine eternally now?" The reanimated corpse spoke like her, moved like her, looked like her, but Rito knew the woman speaking now was not, nor was it ever, Momo. The same went for the shadowy caricatures of Nana and Zastin.
"No, I came to ask to see Lala, you three just happen to be in my way, no doubt," he states, as he twirls his blade so it faces the asphalt, before digging it into the ground, "I have no quarrel with you all, so leave me be, or tell Lala I want to speak to her..." The three shadows merely tilt or twist their heads at unnatural angles, staring Rito down before collectively laughing at pitches that send shivers down Rito's spine.
"I'm so sorry, Rito-dono," Zastin states, drawing his sword awkwardly and holding it out unsteadily, like it wasn't made for him, "But there is no Lala here... only D̼̻̫̀a̢͔̻͎̻̻͙͍r͙͕͟k̦̱̭̞̮͍n̰̩̬̥͈͍ͅe̘͇̪̜̥̪͡s҉̖̲̜͉̟͈s̘͉͉̟̜͍̲͞..." With that, the three charged at Rito, and the young red head calmly held his ground.
A/N:Wow, 10,000 views and not even at the finale yet? Coming soon, I promise ;)
Actually I already had the previous chapter, this chapter, and the finale written after I finally decided to post the last chap. I'm already working on writing what comes after our lovely finally. And let me tell you, what comes next actually shows just how much this arc has changed, being written, and rewritten since I finally started to wrap this little arc up.
Bonus: I bet you noticed the name changed once again! I thought it was time for a change, and honestly I find that the new name reflects both the summary and the first couple of chapters better than the original premise I started this with.
Hopefully the pun hits, but it may take a bit of creative arrangement to get it. And now if you notice it lacks the extra 'To', you'll know why...