The next hour after that was awful.

Reborn concluded the small meeting, saying that was enough information for the day since that was all they were able to clarify so far. Any other details of the situation were still unclear including what the goal of the enemy was, who they were, where they were, and more importantly, what the purpose of that star-flame-whatever was.

I was herded to one of the guest rooms on the fourth storey of the castle's keep by Yamamoto and Basil whom I discovered was the new external advisor and the new boss of CEDEF as Iemitsu Sawada, Tsuna's father, retired to live peacefully in Japan with his wife and Tsuna's mother, Nana Sawada. CEDEF was an independent organization acting apart from Vongola but during special occassions, such as when choosing who was going to be the next boss, wars, or anything major to be decided for the family, they would get involved.

I tried asking Yamamoto and Basil how I would be going home as I couldn't be missing because my obaa-chan would go crazy but they couldn't answer me. They tried uselessly to avoid my question and tried telling me stories about the family after the ending of the manga. Yamamoto seemed particularly interested. He couldn't believe that in my world, they were fictional characters. He said that he couldn't begin to understand how or why but for him, it seemed to be a lot of fun. That was Yamamoto indeed for you.

They immediately left after asking me if I needed anything. I told them none, I just wanted to go home but the only answer they both gave me were sympathy in their eyes.

The room was considerably big and it looked like one from a five star hotel but it didn't do any good for my troubled mind. My body was screaming for the bed but I held myself from indulging the goodness of the luxurious place.

I don't belong here.

I stood beside the bed, facing the big window overlooking the garden where all of these craziness began. The sun had already set and the sky was very dark but it was illuminated by the glowing light of the stars.

"Flame of star, huh?" I muttered to myself.

I wonder what the flame of star's purpose is.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door and as I turned around to face whoever it was, I was stunned to see Tsuna standing by the doorway.

"Did I disturb you?" he asked. The dying will flame was no longer visible but he wasn't the No Good Tsuna anymore. He had really changed. In the manga or in the anime, he would be back to the ordinary Tsuna when the dying will flame was not present but he didn't in that moment. I couldn't begin to fathom why my brain was able to conjure this dream. Tsuna's face and personality ten years into the future were never revealed in the anime nor in the manga yet there I was, standing before that very image of him.

Tsuna looked like the perfect mafia boss. The smile from his childhood whenever he was with his friends was no longer there. Instead, it was replaced by a brooding look and a pair of mysterious eyes. He no longer looked scared, but he looked like he had already faced the worst death before and wasn't afraid to escape from it again.

He looked invincible. And almost scary.

"No..." I had to take a deep breath before answering him. I was mesmerized by the man before me in a very, very dark way.

He let himself in, never taking his eyes off of mine. I should be thrilled, but I wasn't. I was just plainly confused. What happened? What turned him out this way? I wanted to ask but as silly as it might sound, I was afraid of him.

"Sorry for dragging you into this mess," he started. His tone was leveled but it wasn't really soothing. "I did my best to prevent anybody else from getting involved with this but... I couldn't control fate. This is fated to happen and I am very sorry for involving you."

"How to wake up from this dream?" I asked.

My question seemed to take him by surprise because the expression on his face changed a bit. I wasn't mad at him for dragging me to anything because I knew that a ridiculous dream could not hurt me in reality. My main concern was getting out of there. I already tried pinching, slapping, even punching myself, but to no avail. I couldn't wake up for some reason.

Tsuna gave me a sympathetic smile which hurt a lot. Somehow, I knew his answer already. "This is not a dream, Akari. You are really here."

I could feel the tears starting to well my eyelids. "My obaa-chan will look for me..."

He took a deep breath before giving me a look that said that he was about to admit a wrong thing he had done but he had to do since it was what's needed. "We took care of that."

Tsuna then went on to explain that they left a note for my obaa-chan, in the same handwriting that I have, to say that I went on vacation with my mother who lived overseas. He told me they did a research on me first, hence why they were able to duplicate my penmanship.

I felt too bad for my obaa-chan. My aunt would still be there to keep her company but I knew that she would still be worried about me as she was estranged with her daughter-in-law, which was my mother. My mother whom I wasn't able to meet my whole life. My father, Obaa-chan's son, had died before I was even born. Obaa-chan practically raised me together with my aunt.

"I'm very sorry, Akari," Tsuna finished. He looked like he wanted to say something more, I could feel that he wanted me to stop crying, but something was visibly holding him back. I could still remember how he would panic whenever Haru or Kyoko cried in front of him. But that day, he never attempted to stop my tears.

"Will I still be able to go back?" I asked.

Tsuna didn't nod but he pursed his lips before answering. "I promise."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Dinner is in thirty minutes. You can join us in the dining pavillion but if you can't, I will just send somebody to bring your food here," he said, looking all ready to leave.

I felt sad. The Tsuna I knew would personally bring food to his subordinates. He did that to Chrome when they were brought to the future.

Chrome. Something has happened to Chrome!

"Wa-Wait," I called since he had already turned his back on me. "What... What happened to Chrome? Gokudera asked Mukuro earlier about it."

Tsuna heaved a sigh and worry was etched on his face. That was only when I noticed that he looked so tired. "Chrome is missing. She was last seen with Mukuro."

"And...?" I pressed.

"We don't have any news about her. Mukuro wouldn't say a thing."

"Haven't you looked for her at all?"

Tsuna met my eyes again and I could tell he was a bit offended with my question. I felt the urge to apologize but he already opened his mouth and I had to hold myself back. "I-Pin, Fuuta and Bianchi are already looking for her for two weeks now. We're afraid that she may be captured by the enemies."

My chest tightened. Chrome was one of my favorite characters. I even dreamt of cosplaying her. "What's making you so worried if you're telling me she was last seen with Mukuro?"

"Chrome is refusing Mukuro's illusion to sustain her life, I'm sure you know that," Tsuna started to explain and he was right, I knew it since it was told in the manga. "Her powers are long gone and her illusion isn't permanent. She could die any moment."

The world stopped spinning for a second. Everything went still.

"Someone wanted to see you by the way," Tsuna broke the silence and went out of the room without another word.

I tried to process what he told me. I realized a lot had changed. Things that were unexpected had really happened after their story.

A moment later, a woman who had short dark hair and was dressed formally as well entered the room. At first I wasn't able to recognize her but as she got nearer, I realized I was looking at a grown Haru Miura. She grew into a fine woman.

"Hi," she greeted in a cheerful tone. I noticed that she was carrying a white paper bag on her right hand. "I'm Haru. Nice to meet you, Akari."

"H-Hi," I greeted back awkwardly. Truth was, I hated her character. I hated how she always interfered to things that didn't concern her and how she tried so hard even though it wasn't needed. I hated how it seemed like she wanted to be treated as an equal when in reality, she was just another burdensome heroine.

But that moment, I had to admit that all those negative thoughts I had about her disappeared.

"Haru brought you change of clothes," she said and handed me the paper bag with a warm smile. But she must have realized something because her cheeks flushed and she immediately cleared her throat. "I mean, I brought you change of clothes."

"Thank you," I accepted the offer reluctantly and took the bag from her. How much I had wanted to take a bath.

"That door is the adjoining bathroom. You can take a shower there," she said with a smile, pointing to the door by my right, then she nodded to the bed. "Why don't we take a seat?"

Haru had changed so much. She wasn't the airheaded girl anymore whom I so much despised.

We both sat on the edge of the bed facing each other. I felt embarrassed but I didn't know for what.

"I heard everything from Hayato-kun," she said.

Hayato-kun?

I blinked so many times, trying to wrap my head around the idea of her calling Gokudera that way. Weren't they always fighting?

Haru blushed and held her cheek with one hand and waved the other in embarrassment. "Why are you looking at Haru like that?"

I might have made the same wacky face that Tsuna always pulled up whenever he was shocked or surprised by something so funny. I guess she hadn't changed totally. She still referred to herself in third person from time to time.

Then she cleared her throat again and tried to collect herself. "I mean, yes, I heard everything from him. I just arrived, you see. I was on vacation with my family in Vienna. He told me that you are from a parallel world and in your world, we are anime characters."

I had no idea why I couldn't stop a big smile from crawling its way to my lips. Hearing it from her made it sound like it was just another trivial thing. "Yeah..."

"What did Haru look like in the anime?" she asked and her eyes were full of interest.

"You looked exactly the same as you do now," I told her. "The best thing that I liked about your character is how you make wonderful costumes because I have no talent like that myself."

That was true. I was a frustrated cosplayer but I just couldn't make a good costume, even a simple school uniform. I just didn't have the artistic skills for that.

Haru blushed. "Really? Thank you! Come to think of it, in my childhood days, I never got to make a costume for an anime character!"

"You should try making a costume for a titan!" I suggested. "They're from this anime called Shingeki no Kyojin and they're the best creatures!"

"Really? What do they look like?"

"They're big and strong and invincible!"

"I think I may try to make a costume for that. It's been a long time since Haru has done any costume at all. Will you help me?"

"Of course I will!" I exclaimed. I decided right there and then that I liked Haru and regretted hating her character before.

She gave me a sweet smile. "Thank you."

"By the way, Haru-san, where is Kyoko?" I asked out of curiosity.

When Tsuna and the others were brought to the future, they fought with Nosaru and Tazaru. That was the time when the adult Haru and adult Kyoko were introduced. When Tsuna found adult Kyoko, she called him 'Tsu-kun' so I had always thought that they would be together when they grew up. I was assuming that Kyoko was also in the castle but Haru was there and Kyoko wasn't. They were best friends so they should have been together, right?

My question seemed to have given life to something which should not be talked about. Haru's face turned gloomy all of a sudden and she couldn't meet my eyes.

"Hey, Haru-san..." I called in a soft voice. "Where is... Kyoko-san?"

"Don't poke your nose into what's none of your business."

Both Haru and I were startled by that voice. We looked at the door where it came from and saw Gokudera leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him and a huge frown on his face.

Haru abruptly stood up and when I looked up at her, she was giving Gokudera a murderous look. "Hey, Hayato-kun. Didn't I tell you to stop being a bully especially to girls?"

Gokudera didn't seem to mind Haru's nagging and just simply said, "But--"

Haru didn't let him finish. "Apologize to Akari-chan immediately."

Gokudera looked so horrified with the idea of apologizing. Just what you would expect of the lone wolf who only opened up to Tsuna.

But maybe he's opened up to Haru now as well...

When Haru didn't back down, Gokudera heaved a sigh and surrendered. "I will try to be nicer. Let's just go. Dinner is about ready," and he left.

Haru sighed as well and gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, Akari-chan. Take a shower now and head to the dining pavillion after. We'd love to eat with you."

I was about to tell her that I wasn't hungry but she cut me off with a smile and left, closing the door behind her.

I was alone again with my thoughts.

Inside the paper bag was a black sweatshirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of sneakers. Haru had brought me just what I would want to wear.

The sky was still very dark and the only light was coming from the stars and the moon.

I couldn't tell why but it felt like I was looking at Tsuna as I stared at the sky. Well, he was the sky, alright, but that night sky seemed to mirror how Tsuna was now. Dark. Very dark.

From the western side of the sky was a huge incoming cloud which had already covered up some of the stars in that part of the sky. Maybe a storm was coming. I could see a lightning struck from the eastern side of the sky either.

I disregarded my thoughts and went inside the bathroom to shower. Maybe the water could wash away everything. Maybe it could even wake me up from this dream.