Will You be the Marshmallow in my Pineapple Shake?
Chapter Eight

A few days later...

It was November fourth- a day where Byakuran would go to what he believed to be the place where his soul found the most peace. It was a place that soothed his heart, making him at ease. It was also a place that opened up his mind, giving him the ability to converse with his parallel selves with little effort.

It was a few miles away from the orphanage (or whatever that place should be called), but Byakuran didn't mind the distance.

The aforementioned place was a mountain, reaching up past the clouds, and blanketed below them with snow. But at the peak, all the snow was cleared away, showing dark stone beneath it that was covered in a paper-thin layer of frost. Byakuran had used almost all of his power to fly up to the high peak, and once he was there, he was completely breathless. He was a little sad, however, that he hadn't been able to bring Mukuro along to share his private thinking time.

"Mukuro-kun," he hummed as he looked around. "If only I could show you this gorgeous sight."

The scene that Byakuran had spoke of was the endless sea of clouds, met by the bright ball of sunshine that lit them up with a bright, fluffy white color that reminded the albino sweetly of marshmallows.

Byakuran crouched down, and brushed his fingertips over the icy ground, before deciding it was okay to sit down. He eased himself on to the smooth stone circle, and let his wings go limp with exhaustion, then curled his legs towards his body. Now sitting and hugging his knees, the albino reached up and touched the lavender marking on his cheek. Happy and content, he gazed at the sight before him, letting the sun warm his slightly stiff, and undeveloped wings.

How had he made this climb before, when he had an even smaller ratio of feather to skin? The answer lied solely on his willpower. Byakuran's determination to make it to the peak of this mountain, every single year pushed him higher and higher into the sky, moving him with the strength of the parallel world's selves. He was able to complete the flight every time thanks to that persevering feeling of urgency that pressed him to fly, to fly all the way to the top. Besides... it was worth the climb for the reward of the thrilling descent he was always granted in return.

Letting out a pleased sigh, the albino closed his eyes, and let the tiniest chuckle break the silence. "I love being up here... maybe I should live up here! I could go back down to the orphanage to gather supplies and food... Ha! As if. If I tried to live up here, there would be something very important would be missed. Yes... Mukuro-kun would never agree to live here."

He smiled sadly and let the faintest breeze fluff his feathers, then sighed, knowing it was about time he opened up his mind to hear the voice of himself. A sigh passed his lips, and he relaxed, thinking hard, when suddenly...
"Byakuran, open your eyes..."

The albino's amethyst eyes flashed open, and he looked up, but, to his utmost suprise, he found before him a man with dark blue hair, mismatched eyes, and an unmistakable crown of hair that looked made his appearance look... fruity. "M...Mukuro...kun?" Byakuran questioned, his eyes sparkling with suprised adoration.

"Hello, Byakuran," greeted the illusionist, sitting down in front of him. "I'm here in place of your other self... and I intend to teach you precisely how you must behave to win what you desire."

Byakuran stared, his heart racing, then reached out in hopes of simply touching the man before him. His fingers touched cold skin on Mukuro's face, and the albino gave a soft gasp. "So then, you're from a parallel world?" he questioned, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes. And trust me, Byakuran, for I wish to nurture your, and my current self's, relationship. See, I never liked you, you never gave me a chance to earn your trust. But what you must do in order to gain my trust is through comfort."

"Comfort?" Byakuran repeated, retracting his hand from Mukuro's cheek.

"Yes... if you watch over me in my sleep some time, I'll show you what's troubling me through murmurings- I occassionally do talk in my sleep, I've been so told."

"Okay..."

"And another thing... forget marshmallows, Byakuran, I'm more of a chocolate person."

The albino laughed quietly, nodding. Mukuro was being kind and pleasant, and it soothed the winged man to have a nice conversation with him. With a Mukuro Rokudo who shared his affections, he felt that everything was just more relaxed. "Mukuro, in your world, have I won your heart, by chance?" he asked. The illusionist chuckled deeply, then patted Byakuran on the head.

"Unfortunately, yes," he said, smiling. "You have indeed."

Later...

After sharing a day's worth of stories with Mukuro, Byakuran had to part from the illusionist, and he did so reluctantly; naturally, he wanted to keep hearing about his relationship with the illusionist. But it couldn't last forever. There was a Mukuro waiting for him back home, anyway. Not to mention that the moon had risen, and Byakuran was growing hungry. Staying much longer would make him to weak to descend back to Earth.

With so many reasons to not stay, the albino sadly gave his personal mountaintop farewell, and prepared to leave. He stretched his wings, now cold again from the fall of night, and took flight, leaping off of the peak and holding his breath as he dove for the clouds. The strong winds steadied him as he entered a jet stream, but he quickly plunged past the winds in favor of the ground.

Such a fast speed caused the air to sear him as he moved, but Byakuran ignored it, though he tried to ease the trip by flapping his wings. It gradually became an easier task for him to slow his fall, and soon, he was gliding just a few feet over the ground. Panting slightly from the fall, Byakuran touched the ground, and he smiled, glad to be back on solid land- as fun as the fly down from the mountain may have been.

Still breathing a little heavily, Byakuran walked the distance back to the orphanage, and soon was making his way back up to his room. He entered, and grinned to see Mukuro already asleep in his bed. He closed the door, and walked over to the illusionist, then knelt down beside him, just listening to see if Mukuro would say anything. And indeed he did.

"No, Chrome, I'll take over your body when I find him. ... Glo Xinia is a big deal, I know that, but this is bigger. That idiot Shoichi won't give me any information- I've looked everywhere, and I can't find him! ... I'm glad you understand. ... One moment, I feel a presence in the room..." Mismatched eyes opened slowly, and Mukuro suddenly sat upright. "Where the hell were you?" he asked, staring at Byakuran in shock. The albino smiled, and stood, then sat down beside the illusionist and embraced him.

"I'm sorry for not saying anything to you," he apologized, "today's a day where I fly out to mt. Okiiyama to sort of meditate."

Arms wrapped arount the albino's body and tightened in an almost possessive hug, and Byakuran could feel each of the illusionist's fingertips digging into his back. "You idiot, you made me think that I'd driven you away or something..."

Byakuran suddenly felt something a little wet on his shoulder, and he blushed, and rubbed Mukuro's back. "Mukuro-kun, don't worry, it would never be you... I... I love you, Mukuro-kun, why would I run away from you?"

"Tell me next time you want to leave this place for a whole day, Angel-kun, I woke up this morning and I had no idea what had happened to you... I suppose I was just worried about losing someone who cared so deeply about me."

Byakuran smiled, and his lips brushed against Mukuro's ear as he whispered, "I promise, Mukuro-kun, I'm done keeping secrets from you."

As the hug tightened further, Byakuran felt something warm inside him.

Perhaps he was on the verge of giving up those world-domination plans.

-End Chapter

Hehehe. Mt. Okiiyama lol. (It just means 'mt. big mountain.')

I'm funny. Sorry for not gifting this to you all as a Christmas present... I wasn't particularly sure what to do here, you see...

Thanks to Kura-Tokiwa69 for the review! It played a role in today's upload!

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