Aaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back, folks!
Let's see... a few things to mention.
If you noticed, the fic description changed, just a tad. Things have changed slightly, thus a need for an updated description.
Second! Once we finish this story, (it's gonna be soon), we were planning on doing a remastered version. Cuz you know. Those first few chapters or so, completely embarrassing to read. Not to mention, completely inaccurate and out of order and completely messy. Things will change slightly, uhm, more of a aligned storyboard, more descriptions, all that jazz and good stuff.
That's it, I think... Enjoy.
Still don't own KHR.
Chapter 25- Can I Go the Distance?
Of all the time in the world, why did the Storm Funeral Wreath decided to pick a time like this?! Byakuran, you and your family sure have the best timing in the world!
Sakurako grumbled in her head while running alongside Tsuna toward the direction of the sound, but at the same time Sakurako felt her confidence deplete.
...Tsuna-kun...can you really trust me?
"I was trying to tell you. He's here already… We gotta go." Aoyuki muttered, taking a few slow steps backwards.
"This is already too much!" Sakurako angrily grimaced.
Gokudera and Yamamoto's voices could be heard over the crumbling structure, getting ready to fight against the opponent. Just before they could release their box weapons, Squalo stopped them, saying, "You're all useless. Take Yuni and get out!"
"Let's head out of the base everyone!" Tsuna as well as the rest of them followed behind. Only Squalo left to face the storm funeral wreath known as Zakuro. Once the group left the base, a few more explosions were heard from behind. Unfortunately the only choice left for the group was to go see this supposed realtor Haru suggested.
"Well, see you later Squalo. Hopefully you won't be too bitter about this." Aoyuki let out a sigh before following the others to Haru's 'secret hideout home'. Catching up to Sakurako, he nudged her gently, "You okay? He didn't do anything bad to you right?"
"It's nothing, Yuki. I'm just...mad at myself." Sakura clenched her teeth, "You were able to talk to Yamamoto-san, but I...I wasn't able to finish what I wanted to say to Tsuna-kun."
"Hey hey hey. Don't be like that. You were interrupted, there's no helping that. You'll have time to explain it to him more clearly later." Aoyuki looked ahead towards the rest of the group.
The rest of the group, or rather Haru and Tsuna were trying to open the door to the realtor's shop. Until someone else opened the door.
"Hurry up and get inside. You're being chased, are you not? I'll take care of the real six funeral wreaths for you. Now hurry up." The stranger calmly continued eating his bowl of ramen, as if it were a daily occurrence.
While the group stood around in shock, Sakurako and Aoyuki quickly strode inside, while giving the man a sideways wary glance. "Thanks for the help." With a bob of his head and a wave of his hand, Aoyuki trailed after Sakurako into the store.
By the time the two entered the shop, slightly away from Kawahira's listening range. Sakurako whispered to Aoyuki, "...Do you get the feeling that someone is watching us?"
"Him, maybe. Cuz he, as Checkerface, would know about us, if anything." Aoyuki replied, with a quick look towards the entrance, before returning his gaze to the interior decoration. "Oh! Let's hide here!"
"Alright." Sakurako nodded, crouching down behind the couch.
Time seemed to slow down for most of the group once Zakuro entered the shop. Aoyuki and Sakurako were just waiting for the moment to pass so they could prepare for the next event.
….I hope I don't throw up….
Sakurako thought reminiscing of what's going to happen quite soon.
Luckily, Zakuro, fooled by Kawahira's mist flame, left in a hurry, allowed the rest of the group to heave a sigh of relief upon his departure.
"Honestly, are we stable enough to face the next funeral wreath?" Sakurako questioned Aoyuki.
"Well…. The logical answer is no, but… You know what happens. Surprise surprise. We gotta let it happen, no?" He let out a sigh, and scratched at his head in frustration. "I wanna go with him, though!" He whined softly.
"Then why didn't you go with Yamamoto-san?" Sakurako asked her friend.
Aoyuki blushed, then looked away sheepishly. "Eheheh… Because I don't know what happens. Better to stay with something I know, then go be happy and at risk."
Sakurako closed her eyes, "True."
In a flash, Torikabuto had made his way inside the shop disguised as Lambo.
"Oh no….Whatever shall we do? He got Yuni… Aaaaah. The 6 holly berries..." Aoyuki spoke sarcastically to Sakurako.
"I think I'll be covering my mouth for a while." Sakurako groaned as Torikabuto unleashed his other form, "Urk…"
"...What's wrong? You sick? Was it from the stress? Did Tsupid do something to you after all? You gonna puke? If you are, point it towards Gokudipshit." Aoyuki began asking rapid-fire questions at Sakurako.
"Do you not see us floating because of this illusion made by Torikabuto?"
"What illusion?" Aoyuki looked at his friend, completely baffled.
Sakurako sent Aoyuki a glare while trying not to puke.
Looking around, he looked at Sakurako again. "I see no illusion? I'm standing on the floor? Like everyone else is?"
"...Don't make me hurl my vomit at you."
"Gross. Projectile vomit is nasty." Aoyuki snuck glances at the others' faces and found it amusing that they looked just as sick as Sakurako did. "Oh. Yo is it that dude's ugly ass moth wings?"
By that time, however, Tsuna finally blasted his X-burner thanks to Chrome's guidance of Daemon Spade's Evil Lens. The remaining two funeral wreaths left the scene immediately.
"Huh… I guess it was. Nice." Aoyuki gave a little fist pump, and returned his attention to his wobbly friend. "Any better?"
"...For now." Sakurako regained herself.
"X-Burner!"
-Kimiko with the Kokuyo gang-
"We're here to protect a girl named Yuni."
"Hn. Why should we have to help the Vongola-byon?! And what's so important about this Yuni person anyways?" Ken scrunched his nose.
"Dumb dog. Yuni's just the most important player in this game. Plus, if we don't go, the universe would be destroyed." Kimiko spoke up from her spot on the floor, where she was busy eating Ken's snacks. "Really, you're just useless without me. What ever have you been doing the past ten years?"
Ken jumped up, "That's right! Fran! What the heck is this girl doing here! Wasn't she going to stay with the Varia? And why is she younger all of a sudden?! Why-mmph!"
Kimiko shoved a scarf in Ken's mouth. "Stop barking. You've gotten more wild over time. I really need to teach you some damn manners when I get back."
"This is silk! How dare you!" MM grabbed her scarf from Ken, who made a face as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth. "Listen you! I don't know how the older you tricked Mukuro to marry you, but now that you're younger, you have no chance here!"
"Look here, hag. I don't know how I managed to score that either, but it's definitely not because I was a thirsty gold digger unlike someone. Hint hint, it's you W.W." Kimiko stuck her tongue out at the other girl.
"You little brat," M.M's expression twitched as a dark aura swelled behind her while reaching for her instrument, "You're looking for a beating with that attitude."
"Hell yeah. You wanna go? I'll shove that lame flute or whatever some place the sun don't shine." Kimiko grinned, upbeat at the change of pace. Then her expression simmered into a mocking stare, "Oh? But wait a minute. Would your back be even able to handle bending over, granny? You don't want to chip a nail picking yourself off the floor, right?"
"Kiki-senpai...M.M." Fran called out to the two, "Master is waking up."
Halting their argument, the two side glanced at the other thinking the same thought.
You got lucky this time.
-With the Vongola-
Back in Japan, the group made refuge in the middle of the forest.
"Ohohoho… Now maybe a nice time to tell him some things." Stepping up next to Sakurako, Aoyuki let out a puff of air. "Regain a little trust and reassurance?"
"I'll try." Sakurako got up from the ground, heading over to Tsuna. Before Sakurako reached Tsuna, a sense of hesitation surged.
I can't hesitate now. I have to tell Tsuna-kun the truth.
Making up her mind, Sakura tugged onto Tsuna's sleeve.
"Tsuna-kun, is it alright if I talked to you….alone?" Sakurako requested from the Tenth Vongola Boss.
Tsuna taking notice of Sakurako's change in tone, nodded, agreeing to talk with her.
From a small distance away, Aoyuki could barely be heard saying, "You got it! Don't be afraid!" to Sakurako, followed by a thumbs up and a wink.
Sakurako gave a small smile to Aoyuki, afterwards she and Tsuna ventured to an area close to the group. However, it was far from listening range.
"Is this about what you were going to say earlier, Sakura-chan?" Tsuna started breaking the silence between the two of them. '
Sakurako nodded, gulping down her fear. The fear of losing Tsuna's trust. "Yes. You see, Tsuna-kun...I have another flame besides sky flames."
"You mean, like Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna looked amazed at this, giving a bright smile to Sakurako. "That's amazing Sakura-chan!"
Sakurako continued still troubled of the outcome soon to arrive, "Yes, but a little different."
"Eh?" The gravity-defying haired boy raised a brow in a confused expression, "What do you mean?"
"I mean it's a flame, but it doesn't exactly follow the seven flames of the sky. It's called star flames." Sakurako explained as she placed another ring onto her hand, "Watch."
Closing her eyes, Sakurako's star ring glowed a white flame.
A...white flame?! This is Sakura-chan's other flame…? Star Flames?
Sakurako stopping the small amount of star flames, she directed Tsuna one statement, "Tsuna-kun...please swear to me that you won't say anything about my other flame to anyone else."
"W-Why, Sakura-chan?! Your other flame might be able to help us for the battle tomorrow!"
Sakurako shook her head, "That's the thing , Reborn, and my friends are the only ones of our time who currently know about my other flames. However we're facing someone of the future, a person by the name of Byakuran. Plus...he kind of knows about my other flame due to my future self, which eliminates the element of surprise completely.
"Also...there's a reason as to why Reborn and my friends never mentioned about this flame to the others. It's because we're up against Byakuran right now. Our focus is to defeat him and protect Yuni at all costs. Please understand Tsuna-kun…"
Tsuna stared at the ground for a few minutes, and then answered Sakurako, "I understand, Sakura-chan." Smiling at Sakurako, Tsuna placed a hand on the girl's shoulder as he gave his thanks, "Thank you for being honest with me Sakura-chan."
Sakurako felt relieved.
Tsuna-kun didn't lose his trust in me...thank goodness...
"Hey hey heyyyyyy. Wowwie wowow. You told him a bunchsies. Anyways, I'm glad that that's all done and done, but please don't forget to remind tell him it's a secret and that he needs to swear not to tell anyone anything, not just your flame." A voice floated gently in Sakurako's ear.
Sakurako jumped a bit, before realizing it was none other than Aoyuki's voice.
My gosh….Yuki…
Calling out to Tsuna again by grabbing Tsuna's sleeve, Sakurako asked, "Please don't tell anyone yet. I along with my friends are going to explain everything once we return to our present. I won't lie or run away from telling you and the others the truth this time."
Blinking for a minute, Tsuna reassured Sakurako, "I know, after all...I trust you."
"Tsuna-kun…" Sakurako's mouth formed a smile.
While I'm at it….
Sakurako decided on her own, and leaned close to Tsuna's face. Then she placed a kiss on the Tenth Generation Vongola Boss' cheek.
"Thank you." She muttered afterwards.
Tsuna's face flushed red upon Sakurako's sudden forwardness, "S-Sakura-chan?!"
Walking a few steps ahead of Tsuna, Sakurako grinned as she extended a hand to him, "Let's go back to where everyone else is, Tsuna-kun."
Reluctantly, Tsuna took Sakurako's hand. Unable to keep himself from blushing right in front of Sakurako.
Upon Sakurako's return, Aoyuki was having a laughing fit.
"...What're you laughing about?" Sakurako eyed Aoyuki.
"*snort* Hehehahaha… All I can think…. Hoo hoo hoooooo…. *wheeze* Ohmygod... " Aoyuki couldn't stop laughing, kneeling on the floor holding his sides. He turned to Sakurako, wiped a tear from his eyes and whispered, "Kiss kiss fall in love," before bursting into laughter again.
"Yuki….you did not...you spied on us after that?!" Sakurako seemed ready to get her fan out to whack Aoyuki directly in the head.
At the same time a certain arcobaleno decided to question Tsuna.
"So Dame-Tsuna...how's it like being the one receiving a kiss from a girl than giving one?" Reborn smirked watching his student flinch remembering Sakurako's recent as well as the previous kiss from her.
"R-Reborn!" Tsuna yelled at his tutor in embarrassment, "Y-You were watching?!"
"Nothing goes unnoticed from my eyes." A gleam shined in Reborn's eyes. Tsuna deadpanned noticing the gleam.
….I don't want to know how much of what you seen…
NIGHT OF THE SECOND DAY
As night fell, everyone had already gone ahead to get some sleep. Reborn and Yuni, as they were the few who knew the truth about the trio, wanted to discuss Sakurako's and Aoyuki's part of the plan.
"From what I heard, you and Shimizu-san met two of the 'gifts' Byakuran created for you three, correct?" Yuni questioned the two.
In return, Aoyuki and Sakurako nodded.
"Don't even get me started on how bad it was. One word: Absolutely horrible...That's two words. Oh well." Aoyuki gave a disgusted look, unhappily remembering what had occurred in the base raid.
"Right, those gifts were nothing but trouble to us." Sakurako explained, not too fond of the memory.
"I know you two would rather avoid fighting them, but is it alright if we leave them to you two?" Yuni looked at the two of them with hope in her eyes.
The pair looked at each other in unison, and nodded, "Absolutely."
Once Reborn, Yuni, and Tsuna left to return back to camp to get some sleep, Sakurako patted Aoyuki on his shoulder and asked worriedly, "Are you going to be alright for the battle?"
Aoyuki let out a deep sigh and shrugged, "I should be okay. I have a few things that can counteract her powers this time, now that I know what I'm up against, so…. What about you?"
She dropped her hand, and turned her gaze to the ground, "This time, I don't know…"
The two stood in silence for a while, before Aoyuki glanced at Sakurako and smiled, "Want me to show you?"
Sakurako tilted her head in wonderment, "Show me what?"
"You know how my parents are, right? Pops is a police guy and mum is a doctor, so to protect myself on overseas travel, they taught me what they know, which include fighting basics for most available weapons: fisticuffs, single hand, two hand, firearms, short range, long range, blades, staffs, stuff like that, The general weak spots of a person: their pressure points, nervous system, fracturing and dislocating bones and the sort." He let out a small chuckle as he took a couple steps back.
…? What's Yuki doing?
Sakurako felt as if she was forgetting something.
Something...what was it...ah!
Sakurako faltered in realization, "D-Don't tell me…!"
"Hahah! Yeup~" With a wild grin, he brought his hand down from his head, the hues of his hair and left eye darkened considerably. "Don't worry about me Sakura. Worry about yourself. I can handle anything and everything that comes my way with certain death."
I forgot that Yuki and Kiki are the only two capable of switching attitudes for battle purposes. At this point...I really should be worrying about myself than Yuki.
As the two went to rest, Sakurako's hand formed into a fist.
DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY
"So is everyone ready?" Tsuna questioned before the groups set out to their station. Everyone answered, affirming each group's preparation for the upcoming battles.
"You ready? I know I asked earlier, but…" Aoyuki questioned Sakurako as they walked out to their destination.
Sakurako nodded firmly, "I'll be fine, Yuki. Our job right now is to prevent those two from heading to Tsuna-kun's group."
"Yeah… But I'm more worried about you. You still look… I guess the term would be...shaken… from what happened earlier. And with another rival battle coming up, judging by how bad I was last time, I'm not entirely sure you'll come out unscathed." Aoyuki scratched at his head, casting a worried look to Sakurako.
"Like I said before," Sakurako repeated the same words, "I'm going to face him one way or the other."
"Still…" He sighed deeply before throwing his hands up. "If you say so. I'll try to finish as fast as I can just in case."
"Take all the time you need, after all she personally insulted you."
"Worry less on me. I have everything I need to beat her." Grinning, he swung around in front of Sakurako and patted his pockets knowingly.
"Now that I think about it," Sakurako recalled, "When are you going to show me that scrapbook your ten years later self gave to you?"
"Oh right! Lemme just-" However, Aoyuki was interrupted by two figures dropping in from the sky in the forest clearing. "Goddamnit."
Being lifted into the air, Sakurako felt herself being dragged off, "Hey?! What the-!"
"Uh… okay? Bye Sakura." Aoyuki watched Sakurako get stolen by a long bunch of yellow hair, before turning to a similar bunch of pink hair. "Gross. Let's get this over with then."
Sakurako finally released after being dropped somewhere else, started raising her fans close in defense.
"So, you've arrived just on time. Shimizu Sakurako-san." Dropping to the ground was the same long blonde haired enemy proclaiming that he's a model. Probably a gothic one at that by his dark attire accented by cross earrings.
And his name is….huh? I think I forgot his name….I guess I was too angry to even try remembering his name.
Sakurako blanked out, "Uh...what was your name again?"
"Oh for the love of…" The blonde face palmed anguished at the fact his rival daresay forgotten his name, "It's Yanagi Yunokawa Masaru."
"Oh...yeah! Monkey Angel!" Sakurako pointed at the man.
"I'm not a monkey angel, you damn prick!" Masaru yelled to silence the girl's sudden outburst, "That's it! Meteor Toss!"
Chanting at high speed, Masaru aimed his staff directly at the raven haired girl. Hastily, Sakurako pulled herself away from the incoming sky inflamed projectile. Lifting her head, Sakurako found Masaru's staff steadily slam into her stomach. Gritting the pain down, Sakurako threw one fan toward the monkey angel. Side stepping to the left, Masaru was able to avoid the projectile weapon directed at him. Unfortunately he didn't see the fan reverse its direction, to the back of Masaru's blonde head. Slashing away some of Masaru's blonde hair as it returned to Sakurako's hand. .
"You b-" Masaru almost cursed, before calming down and pointing at the girl, "...You there. Has your trust in others depleted ?"
"What kind of point are you trying to make?" Sakurako glared at monkey angel, "Or are you asking for another plethora of arrows to your head?"
"...As if you'll be able to." Masaru chuckled as he reminded Sakurako, "I'm not just any model you know. This fallen angel, Yanagi Yunokawa Masaru, has seen the many times your future self lost trust from the people who trusted you."
"...What are you…" Sakurako faltered.
Shoot...he's gaining the upperhand Sakurako. Don't listen. Don't listen. Don't listen to anything of what he's saying!
"I remember those times. You and that storm guardian of Tsu-Tsu's would often argue to the point where he'd disregard your presence. He didn't accept you as Sawada Tsunayoshi's wife at all. Then there's the two girls whom Sawada Tsunayoshi could've ended up with, but he chose you instead of them. Don't you think they despise you for taking away the one they love? Hey, even Reborn, the Sun arcobaleno was beginning to doubt on you too for the many mistakes as well as white lies you ushered. Then again there was a rumour that you were intimate with the cloud guardian of Vongola Family, Tsu-Tsu probably was going to divorce you the moment you returned from Greece."
Sakurako froze thinking about all of what Masaru stated.
Was my Ten Years Later Self lying to me?
Would Gokudera hate me to that extent?
Do Haru and Kyoko really despise me?
Didn't Reborn already begin to doubt me from the moment I fell into Tsuna's room?
….I don't remember ever wanting to be in a relationship with Hibari or how the heck a rumour like that even started…but would Tsuna really divorce me for being untruthful?
It's possible...I've always been lying whenever I try to tell myself that everything is alright. Was it all in order to protect myself from the horror of being rejected by everyone else except for Yuki and Kiki?
Sakurako's bangs covered her eyes, as the girl continued to sink deeper and deeper into her own questions.
Why were we sent here to KHR..?.
Why did we have rivals...?
What was our purpose for being here in the first place?
….
Why am I still alive?
"Don't you wish for someone to save you...once you die, no one shall worry about you...I'll make sure everyone forgets you, even Tsu-Tsu...I'll even make your death seem painless!" Unleashing his staff, Masaru swung the weapon toward the defenseless girl. Only to be sent flying by a pair of steel-toed shoes.
"What?!" Shouted Masaru as he groaned from the blunt attack.
"Hey… Sakura… You okay?" Aoyuki dropped to one knee in front of the fallen Sakurako, recovering from his flying drop kick.
Sakurako didn't respond.
"Come on. Stand up. He's a fool, and so are you for believing his words." He leaned over and extended his hand to her. "You are irreplaceable, just like the rest of us. As for something as trust being fragile? Don't make me laugh. If you really think their trust would be shattered so easily just because of a few white lies, or rude actions, then you really need to re-evaluate their personalities and priorities. Now come on and finish this."
Sakurako slowly got up from the ground taking her friend's hand, " ...I know everyone doesn't trust us...but...what is trust, Yuki?"
Aoyuki grinned, and slapped Sakurako's back. "Trust isn't easily definable. But I think its something similar to believing. They believe in you, as do I, and that becomes something like trusting you."
Believe…?
A snap sounded in Sakurako's mind.
That's right…!
Sending a glare to Masaru, Sakurako grabbed a card from her weapon belt, "This...this doesn't mean you can brainwash me into thinking I'll let you replace me! Wheel of fortune!"
And the random card is...the Hermit: Scorpio!
Scorpio stood atop of Sakurako's fan, while the girl pointed the desert animal toward the monkey angel.
Masaru, unable to avoid Scorpio's paralyzing injection, muttered to the girl walking over to him, "You damn b*tch…"
Pointing one fan under Masaru's chin, Sakurako proclaimed, "Monkey Angel...I never liked you since Byakuran gave you and the pink mistress of doom as gifts to us. But hear me out...I'm never going to let you touch Tsuna-kun."
Slamming down her fan, Sakurako aimed to land a blow to the model. By the nick of time, Masaru blocked the incoming weapon from hitting his face. However didn't realize Sakurako's other fan. Bashing it behind the monkey angel's head, Sakurako headbutted Masaru's forehead. Knocking Yanagi Yunokawa Masaru out cold.
"A model you say...?" Sakurako's face darkened as she wiped the blood trickling down from her forehead sent an ominous stare to angel, "Tsuna-kun doesn't care for people who are obnoxious as you."
After a few moments, Sakurako decided to not shoot the angel as she remembered a certain scene arriving quite soon.
"I'll use you as a shield for Ghost."
Turning over to Aoyuki, Sakurako asked him, "Can you help me carry this poor sack of potatoes?"
"Don't use words that start with the letter 'P' anytime soon for the love of all that is good and delicious." Aoyuki blanched, "Or any kind of lightish red colors or words."
"Let me rephrase that. Help me carry this modeling monkey angel?"
"Sure. Lemme grab mine….What's left of mine too and then we'll be off."
SHOT THROUGH THE HEAD. AND YOU'RE TO BLAME. YOU GIVE FIGHTS A BAD NAME. I GAVE MY LIFE. AND YOU WON YOUR GAME. YOU GIVE FIGHTS A BAD NAME.
"So what happened during your battle?" Sakurako questioned Aoyuki as they dragged their enemies.
"... Oh, you know..." Aoyuki reminisced of what previously took place before heading to Sakurako.
Pink Ball of Death Vs. Aoyuki
"Ugh… You again. Pinky, was it? You couldn't have chosen any other color for your dress?" Aoyuki grimaced with disgust at his opponent's hot flamingo pink outfit.
"For the last time, it's a combat skirt, you poor pygmy prick! Hime-sama's name is Sora! S-O-R-A! Best not forget Hime-sama's perfect prestige again." The girl in question huffed, and brushed her hair away with a gloved hand. The other hand adjusted her parasol to perch daintily on her shoulder and protect her from the sun.
"And for the last time, like I give a damn about what it is. Its a clothing for your lower half that doesn't have leg holes. It's a goddamn dress. Do you go up to a apple salesman and tell him 'This is a fuji apple and this is a granny smith apple and blah blah blah'? Hell no! They're all apples, so who gives ten shits about what specific ones they are? Blanket term, you piece of shit!" He huffed, before calming down a bit, "Anyways. Let's get this over with. I'm going to tell you right now, the same stupid tricks you pulled last time won't be effective anymore."
"Ohohohoho~! You say so now, but observe, pathetic pig! You should be glad that you're once again basking in Hime-sama's glorious persona! Prepare to perish in your own personal purgatory permanently!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a neon pink rocket launcher. "The rockets are also a pretty shade of pink. Tee hee hee! Fire!"
How the hell did that fit in that purse…? How?
Aoyuki dodged to the side only to not have dodged anything. The launcher didn't fire a rocket like he expected. It was a blank.
What… a blank…. this little…
"Ugh! That paltry plague plank forgot to restock! When Hime-sama returns, Hime-sama will pierce his posterior and pummel him!" Throwing the weapon to the ground with an angry grunt, Sora then looked away in disdain. "No matter, Hime-sama can still prevail!" Turning to face Aoyuki, she lowered her eyelids into a half-lidded gaze, and placed her left index finger on her chin. "Poor you. Did you ever really ponder that Take-chuuwan would ever place his heart in your philistine palms? Even that friend of yours. Who was it? The one who presumed Masa-chuu's precious Tsu-Tsu actually loved her?"
"That's it. I've had enough. I don't care for your lies and tricks at all. It's time I end this fight so I can return Sakura's favor." Aoyuki slowly closed his eyes, and ran his right hand through his hair.
Sora, noticing the color change in his hair, pranced a few steps backwards. "What are you doing?! Hime-sama commands you to pause whatever you're pretending to do."
"Too late." The last few strands of his sapphire blue hair had darkened to a midnight blue, and when he opened his eyes, they had darkened from his normal blue to almost black.
This new look of Aoyuki was unheard of to Sora, if only because he never had to show this form in any previous world. She broke out into a cold sweat, unable to move due to feeling a strong killing intent emanating from the body in front of her.
"It's my turn to play," was all that he said before disappearing into thin air.
"Pause in your performance! Hime-sama will… Hime-sama will prevent you!" Taking out her box weapons, she opened them to have a pink cornsnake and a circlet. Placing the circlet on her head, it immediately formed a spherical barrier around her. "Ahahahah! What will you do now? This is an unbreakable protection shield! Persian Rose! Find and bind that parasite!"
"Your mind control won't work. One, it needs a visible target within hearing distance. Two, you need to have full control over your emotions to project a sense of submission on your target. And three, your target must believe your words. Unfortunately for you, you have none of those things. I do not care to listen to your words, nor do I care about what you say at this point." A voice called out, as a loud crack rang through the woods.
"The protector!" Already a giant crack had formed in the shield, similar to a baseball smashing into a car windshield.
Several more appeared with the sound following a few seconds after. Unbeknownst to Sora, Aoyuki had reappeared several meters above her shield and was staring down at it. "Time to finish cracking an egg and beating the yolk. However bloody that may be." With a jump, he aimed the reinforced soles of his boots for the center of the sphere, and smashed through, and Sora's head at the same time, effectively .
"What a shame. I would've loved to play more… But Sakura needs my other self's help. Guess my play time's over… for now." With a grin, he closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair.
When he opened his eyes, Aoyuki fell to his knees. "*pant pant* Goddamn. That *pant* always *pant* takes so much *pant* out of me…" Looking around, he saw Sora's headless corpse and shuddered. Edging away from the body, he turned towards Sakurako's fight and saw her slumped on the ground, similar to how he had been in his first fight against Sora. "Goddamit! F**k! Sakura!" He stood up and began sprinting to the offending figure that was approaching his friend.
~Present Time~
"Nothing much, now let's go find Kimimi...probably with Chrome or the pineapple bastard somewhere… All you need to know, is that I won. I'm a little tired, but nothing worse for wear. I'll be A-okay for the next battle!" He returned to his rival's body and began dragging by the arms. "Do you think Ghost will still take this?"
"Probably," Sakurako answered.
~At the same time~
Somewhere...within the area of the final future arc battle…
Kimiko, utterly displeased, ended up separating from Mukuro's group in the process of heading toward Chrome's direction as well as the Vongola's. A certain red headed witch was absolutely going to take advantage now.
"That old hag," Kimiko hissed mentioning the said person, "I can't wait to choke her to death."
Perhaps I should find Kura and Yuki… They're probably wandering around here somewhere.
A voice called out to her from above the treetops. "Oh, well if it isn't my little moon flower."
Aghast, the girl cringed in horror.
...What. What. What...ain't that...oh helllll no..
Kimiko, still in her crouched position, turned slowly towards the source of the voice.
The fucking hell?! Didn't xe lose a head!
As if reading her thoughts, the figure waved a hand toward Kimiko, "Tsk. Tsk. Tetsume Kimiko."
"It seems you underestimated my beloved Master's abilities." The sincubus hugged xyr own body, in a position which caused Kimiko to gag, "Byakuran-sama's power is truly spectacular, but...it's too bad my King will never return to me."
The sincubus poetically proclaimed, "Oh my darling! My one and only precious Rasiel-sama! Allow me to use this newfound chance gifted to me as a sign of your almighty forgiveness! For I, Tsubaki Kiichi Hikari, shall avenge your beautiful and glorious, but untimely death!"
Gagging internally, Kimiko declared with a disgusted look in her eyes, "Your ugly 'Prince' is dead. Forever. The one who brought you back was Byakuran, stupid. Why don't you make him your new King?"
Tsubaki sighed upon Kimiko's attitude, "To think the moon flower as of now became the wife of that delicious man and friend of the sweet lady of mist."
Xe paused as a smirk formed against xyr face, "Oh wait...you're currently not together with Mu-sama or friends with Chrome-sama as the way you are now, correct?"
"You take that back you regurgitated piece of stinking dog shit. My precious Chrome-chan and Muku-kun would never let you get your filthy ass infected hands anywhere near them. I destroyed you once, I can do it again. I'm never going down at the hands of the likes of you, because I'm so much better. Let's go, just me and you. Let's go, time for round two." Kimiko began to pump herself up for the upcoming battle, and silently made preparations to borrow the power of the new moon.
Xe laughed, and spread his wings, "Go ahead and try to hit me if you're able, can't you see that my wings are very able? I can see you hate the way I play my powers, but I think you're just mad 'cause you're single."
Xe did not…
At this point Tetsume Kimiko, began to slowly boil as she quietly lowered her hand to reach the handle of her implement.
This son of a bitch. Trying to use this against me? You think you're the biggest fan? No. You're not a real fan. You may have wings, but you're not electrically powered, nor do you spin yourself in a circle.
"This little me won't ever follow your rules," Kimiko raised her staff. Pointing it directly to Tsubaki, "Come fight me using any of your lame ass moves. Let's go fight in the pit. Let's go just me and you."
I need to be able to stall until the clouds get out of the way of the new moon.
"Tsk Tsk." Xe shook xyr head at Kimiko. "But you won't conquer and win. I will stay with them forever. If you kill me again, I'll just come back newer. And I will always be better than you are.
"Prevail? Conquer? Win?" Kimiko threw the words across like a dart, "The only thing I want...is for you to die."
Readying her weapon, Kimiko lashed out to strike Tsubaki in order to force xem to back up. With the newly gained space, and the new moon in plain sight, the final preparations were complete to use the power of the moon. "Asunder." A mixture of white streaks appeared on Kimiko's hair.
Tsubaki was slightly repulsed by the sudden brightly flashing lights coming off of xyr opponent's hair. "What is that aggravating blinker doing in your hair, my pretty flower?"
Kimiko laughed, "Blinker? Ahahaha! You're quite an imbecile to think that far...I guess someone like you isn't fit to be my rival."
"I take offense to that! I am the perfect person, although I couldn't really be called a human, to be your rival! It's just that… It is an unappealing look for you, my innocent kitten~ After all, the moon glows soft and pretty... Not harsh and strobing like the rave in your silky hair. Although, I must agree that a rave, like most parties, is one of the best places to find another little hunny bunny for myself to play with." Xe licked xyr lips at that thought, almost if recalling a fond memory, and wrapped both his arms and wings around xemself in an overly disgusting manner.
"Gross," The moon flame user pretended to puke as she yet again pointed at xem, "Then...why don't you just die."
Soon, a foreboding sense of fear struck within xem.
What is this? Could this be the power the little firefly's older self had been hiding?
Suddenly pain. Excruciating pain. This feeling that uncontrollably spread through xyr wings felt like being on fire and like being stabbed in the gut.
"Hm…?" Kimiko hummed close to Tsubaki, "Little bat, little bat. What do you see, I mean feel?"
Gasping in pain and clutching at xyr shoulders, xe turned xyr head to find that xyr wings had melting, gaping holes in them.
"What did you do?" Xe asked, outraged and blinded by the pain in xyr wings.
"The power of the moon is separated into several abilities. Haven't you heard of the phases of the moon?" Kimiko smirked, "The two most prominent being that of creation, with the full moon, and that of destruction, by the new moon. At either point, that power becomes the strongest. At any other time, it is based on the wax and wane of the moon. So in short, I destroyed some of the matter in your weak wings."
Kimiko grinned at the shaking body of her rival. "Let me end this now by destroying your flea brained head."
Crack.
The sincubus let out a vicious cry of pain. A demonic-like howling. Screaming as unbearable pain struck through Tsubaki Kiichi Hikari.
"Ahgahghaghahgha!" Until the last blow set the end for the sinncubus.
….Ah. My dear King...don't worry. This time... This time I'll be joining you.
With one final shriek, the sinncubus' headless body slumped to the ground, blood streaming from the exploded stump of a head xe had left.
Kimiko closed her eyes, content by the result as the white streaks returned to her natural hair color.
"Now, it's time to find Ch-"
"Hey hey! Kimimi! You're here!" Aoyuki's voice greeted Kimiko as he appeared from the thickets.
"Kiki! You finally made it!" Sakurako rushed dragging something. Once Kimiko's two friends came closer, she noticed Sakurako dragging an unconscious body. While Aoyuki was dragging a headless body.
Kimiko looked surprised at the pair, eyes flicking between her friends and what they were carrying. "Yo...why are you dragging bodies?"
"To protect ourselves from Ghost." Sakurako explained, "Remember how he tries to absorb everyone's flames? Well I thought this would be a better way to avoid Ghost's attacks...but on the way here...you can say Yuki's rival's...ahem. Lost a head while we were trying to find you."
"Likewise." She used her foot to point out her own brainless corpse. "I guess you could call us the French Revolution, huh?" A loud sigh left Kimiko's mouth before she headed over to her dead rival.
"As much as it pains me I'll do the same." Grabbing the sinncubus' legs, Kimiko began to drag the body over to Aoyuki and Sakurako, "So what now?"
Sakurako glanced over to Aoyuki, signalling him to tell Kimiko on what they learned from yesterday.
"I was shaking my salad, then an explosion of egg, lettuce and cheese in my face. I learned that I should have checked whether the lid was completely sealed or not."
A facepalm sounded, Sakurako groaned, "Not that, Yuki!"
"Oh. No? Then what? Oh, right. Noodle man!"
Sakurako nodded in affirmation, "Correct. I'm actually curious as to why he was watching us during that time."
"Wait! You guys found Kawahira? As in Checkerface?" Kimiko questioned. "Did you ask him anything?"
Sakurako lowered her head, "That's the thing, Kiki. The other characters were there when we saw Kawahira. Nor did we have the time to question Kawahira or rather Checkerface on whether he's involved with our well-being."
"Yeah. Remember the timing? We had just been chased out of the base because of fire boy and so we went to Haru's 'super secret hideout'. Which turned out to be the Kawahira real estate place. I got a picture if you want to see?" Aoyuki began digging into his pockets looking for his phone. "Here it is!"
Shown on his phone, was a half selfie, with Aoyuki's head half appeared at the bottom. The rest of the picture was the inside of the agency. And if you squinted real hard, you could make out the tips of Tsuna's spikes peeking out behind a couch.
"Oh hoh hoh. Master of quick pics, tis me. Oh hey hey hey! I got a reading!" Aoyuki exclaimed as the phone began its alarm. Which happened to be the soundtrack music for the Pirates of the Caribbean.
"Amazing…" Sakurako sputtered in surprise, "I never even thought you'd be able to take a pic-Wait a minute a reading?!"
The star flame user's eyes narrowed toward the wind flame user, "Yuki. What exactly did you do?"
"Heheh. Wouldn't you like to know? Come on. I'll take you guys there."
Using his wind flames, Yuki envelops the trio. Sending them in Kawahira's direction following the navigation on his phone.
Somewhere in the forest, Kawahira had another helping of ramen. In the midst of slurping noodles, three beings dropped before him.
"...So...why're you three here?" Kawahira asked, still eating.
"Oh god... Eughhhh…" Aoyuki fell to the floor, panting and groaning in pain. "Too much power. I'm just gonna… *pant* leave this to you guys. *wheeze* Ugh..."
"Alright, we got your back Yuki." Sakurako stepped forward, taking over Aoyuki's place in demanding answers, "We should say the same thing about you."
"I think you know why we're here." Kimiko continued.
"You know something about us. Are we going to get answers?" Sakurako inquired to the supposed real estate agent.
Kimiko nodded slowly, "You know that we know and we know that you know, so just tell us what you know, yes? Yes."
Noisily drinking the soup of his ramen, Kawahira ignored the trio. "Delicious. You know, I've been ordering from this same place for a while now. Their miso ramen is quite a delicacy, and is, quite simply, my favorite thing to order from there."
Sakurako and Kimiko deadpanned, "Seriously, dude?"
Aoyuki had ended up on his back, his arm thrown across his face. "Hrrnrgrghh"
Kawahira chewed on noodles, "I have to eat too…" He chugged down the soup, "Now...you three want answers?"
Sakurako found it hard to even make words with Kawahira basically eating right in front of her.
"Uhh. Hell yeah. We only said it, like,, how many times? Jeez talking to old people is such a drag." Kimiko huffed and crossed her arms. "This old man has one heck of a poker face. Fight me. Meet me in the pit, you nerd."
"No thank you." Kawahira seemed to be only listening to some of what the three said, completely ignoring Kimiko's threats as he turned over to Aoyuki and Sakurako's direction, "I understand that you three suspect me, but have you guys ever thought of wanting to return to your original world?"
The standing pair were stunned into silence. Sakurako was vaguely reminded of a similar line TYL Kaji Aoyuki had stated before.
"Even I don't know what would happen if you returned. This timeline, after all, is one where you stayed. You being here proves it. And so do I. But I can only assume that you'd go back to living life in the world we left. Maybe time had frozen, maybe not. Maybe time is somewhat warped, and time here is different than the time there. We're not sure."
While waiting for their answer, Kawahira thought it to be proper to continue eating his noodles.
Aoyuki, unnoticed to the trio who were just staring each other down, stood up slowly, and groggily slapped Kawahira's ramen bowl, dropping the meal to the ground. "To hell with your noodles, old man."
Kawahira blinked in surprise. Looking from his hands where the bowl was supposed to be, to the floor where the bowl was now, to Aoyuki's outreached hand, Kawahira looked absolutely offended at this insult to his noodles. "I was still eating those, you know? A waste of perfectly good food too…"
"Yuki!" Sakurako gently slapped Aoyuki's arm down and dragged him back to where Kimiko was. "Sorry about that… Anyways...back to where we were saying…"
"Yes! Answers. Now. Right now old man." Kimiko pointed her finger in Kawahira's face, and gave him her best scowl.
With a sigh, Kawahira straightened up and looked them in the eyes. "Then, if you want your answers so badly, you better be prepared to handle the consequences…"
The girls looked at each other, tensed, before looking back to Kawahira and nodding.
He held those looks for a few seconds, before smiling. "Just kidding! I always wanted to say that line to someone. Anyways. What happened here is something that can be called a miracle by you normal humans. Somehow, when you three made your wishes to be with your favorite characters from this world, at the same time, there was what you would call, a shooting star in space that holds considerable power. That, along with your strong desires, mixed and created a sort of time-wormhole, connecting both of the worlds together. You three were pulled through that hole, and landed quite close to the ones you hold affection towards."
"Now, for your world, from what I can tell, seems to be paused. Similar of an effect as if you were reading a story. You put it down, the story pauses, and when you pick it back up again, it continues. You three, the readers, have left your world, your story, and are currently in what used to be just a story in your world. Once you return to your original life, then time would continue as if you were only gone for a millisecond. At least, that's what I'm assuming."
Sakurako frowned at Kawahira, "That's what you think? Then what happened to the other versions of us besides the ones in this one. What did they choose? You must have seen the outcome on what happened to them, right?"
"Unfortunately, that power is out of my jurisdiction." Kawahira pointed out pushing his glasses up, "If you recall, there were two people with the ability to look into the parallel worlds. However you three never did have the time to confront either of the two due to the current setting of the storyline."
Seeming to have regained his energy, Aoyuki joined the conversation. "Byakuran and Yuni, right? Damn. There's no opportunity to ask right now… And any later would be too late. What do we do then?"
"That's correct. Yuni, as you all know, is going to die here. So is Byakuran. The question for you three is as of now...is the future you seek. Will you three stay here world and live the life your future selves have chosen? Or return to the world you once called home and move on with your lives?"
The friends turned to each other to talk amongst themselves.
"There is another time we can ask Byakuran and Yuni," Sakurako reminded the two, "But it's going to take time, since we don't meet them until later in the present."
"The group battles… They're both going to be there." Aoyuki muttered to himself. "Oh… But also…. Well… Nevermind."
Sakurako sent a questioning gaze toward Yuki, however she brushed it aside to hear Kimiko's answer.
"That's also the time when Muku-kun is physically there, although…" Kimiko clenched her teeth, "Chrome-chan is gonna go through harsh times alone. I can't leave her as of now…"
Kimiko raised her head, eyeing the other two, "Plus, I never got to see Muku-kun yet. It's not fair to me if you two get to see your Yama and your Tuna."
"Mmmhmm. Yeah yeah… What I really want to know is two things. First of all, we could choose to go back at any time. How would we actually get about doing that? And second… What would happen, theoretically, if someone changed the natural progression of the story?" Aoyuki stared at Kawahira, eyes dark and emotionless.
Kawahira shrugged, "I have no answer toward any possible changes to the story, after all you three are the readers. Whatever you three do, it will either fail to happen in the process or succeed in happening. The other question though, the key to getting back to your world is held by an item that you three had at the moment of the wish."
"The key in is the key out, huh." Kimiko rested her chin on her chest, staring down at the floor.
"The plushies…" Sakurako gasped, "You mean those three plushies?!"
"What if one of us dies?" Aoyuki brought up, "I mean, we already used our 'other' flames to hide them, and in the case of one of us is dying, it gets sent to the closest person between the two of us left."
"Mine's been here in my safe, for at least a few years." He reached out and started turning the air like a doorknob. "Here it is. My secret safe. It's a pocket of air I keep with me at all times. And here's my plushie. A little worn and dirty, but still just as good as it was on the day I bought it." Aoyuki smiled gently at the plushie before returning it to its spot in the safe, and sealing it.
"Then my TYL self hid it also?!"
"Yup. I don't know exactly where, but yeah. KK has hidden hers as well. We did, however, use my wind powers and KK's mist powers to form kinda like a magic link. So, should one of us die, our plushie gets sent to the closest available person between the remaining two."
….That's right. We could use the plushies to return home, but will they ensure our return to this world?
Sakurako thought a bit. Glancing over to Kawahira, she wondered if he knew.
Although, truthfully, Yuni is probably the only reliable one that'll answer questions. Kawahira is too vague and probably knows more than what he's revealing...probably trying to stay as Kawahira for right now until the time of the final arc, and the young Byakuran would probably jerk around about our questions which would lead to unnecessary tension.
*Another Poorly Timed Explosion*
"So...did you three find what you'll be doing from now on?" Kawahira folded his arms, waiting for the three to answer, "I think you three are running on a strict schedule."
Sakurako turned to face Aoyuki and Kimiko. The two nodded confirming their decision.
"It seems that we've come to this conclusion." Sakurako spoke as she turned over to Kawahira, "We decided to-"
Kawahira raised his hand, "You don't need to say any more. From the look of your expressions...I think I know what your answer is. With that settled, let's get into something more pressing, your current living spaces. You're going to need the contents of this box. It has everything you need."
Inside the box were a photo of a high-rise building with an address written on it, the room contracts and accounts for electric, gas, and heating, debit cards with their names on it, and three decorated sets of key rings: blue, orange, and indigo.
"Now...shoo." Kawahira waved his hand, "I need to go buy more food, since mine is already soiled."
"Absolutely not sorry for that. We'll see you later then. Let's go, ladies. That's our cue to go." Aoyuki took Sakurako and Kimiko's hands, and called upon his wind flames for a teleport.
*Swoosh*
The companions reappeared in a small forest.
"...Yuki, are you alright?" Sakurako asked Aoyuki, kind of worried on the fact that he used the same power twice.
"I think I'm going to pass out." Aoyuki looked pale, and was wobbling, stumbling around in an attempt to remain upright. "Yup. See you whenever I wake up." And promptly proceeded to collapse.
"Eek! Yuki!" Sakurako screeched and tried to catch her friend falling in action. Although a figure instead caught Aoyuki in the midst.
"...!" Sakurako stunned made an inaudible shriek, mouthing the words, "Oh my gawd…."
"Oh hohoh? Lookie there. Yuki's prince has come to literally sweep him off his feet." Kimiko snickered to Sakurako's shocked figure.
"Whoa there Yuki! You okay? What happened to you?" The 'prince' in question, was none other than Yamamoto, followed by the rest of the group into the small clearing.
"If you can't tell, Yuki is KO'd the hell out. I mean, just look at his face! Definitely not normal for him to be that pale." Kimiko failed in holding back her giggles, and instead focused on taking pictures.
Should I be glad Kiki isn't taking pictures or…?
Sakurako couldn't decide on time. As the sound running footsteps were heading directly toward the trio.
Tsuna ran up to the group, his body still battered from his recent battle. "You guys are alright! T-Tetsume-san! When did you get here?!"
"Are you trying to say I'm not allowed here, Tuna-fish?" Kimiko sent a glare toward the weakened Tsuna, who in return flinched.
"Hie!"
"You!" Gokudera stepped up in front of Tsuna, as if to block him from Kimiko's anger. "Don't you dare talk to the Tenth that way!"
Kimiko stepped forward, opening her mouth to throw out another retort, but she was grabbed by Sakurako and had a hand clamped over her mouth. "Anyways! The important thing is that we need to get Yuki somewhere safe that he can rest! He used too much power in the uhhh….. battle... and collapsed from stress exhaustion. He's already beginning to show signs of fatigue, might also be low on sugar too. Yuki didn't get enough food from earlier today."
Sakurako turned to Yamamoto, "Yamamoto-san, I'll be relying on you to help Yuki."
"Right! Leave it to me. Up you go Yuki." Yamamoto lifted Aoyuki up into a princess carry, as if he weighed no more than a child, and carefully rearranged the tangle of limbs into a more of a tucked position.
Focusing her attention back on the unconscious Aoyuki held in Yamamoto's arms, Kimiko giggled to herself. "Perfect blackmai- ah.. I mean video opportunity."
As Sakurako walked with Yamamoto to get Aoyuki away, she couldn't help but frown at Kimiko's eagerness in creating blackmail for their unconscious friend.
Kiki...why?
I hope that this was a good chapter. Almost 9K words. Amazing.
To a one TwinsMadness, that YamaYuki fluff? Very soon.