Episode 22: Nevertheless Allowed
"Can't believe the words I hear… It's like an answer to a prayer; when I look around, I see… This place, this time, this friend of mine… I know it's hard, but you found somehow to look into your heart and to forgive me now. You've given me the strength to see just where my journey ends, you've given me the strength to carry on…"
-"No Way Out" from Brother Bear
X Byakuran X
The white-haired man chuckled softly, pulling another marshmallow out of the plastic bag and popping it into his mouth with a slight grin on his face. It was all going far too perfectly, but that was the way he liked things.
Everything was going according to plan, down to the last letter. When those Vongola brats lost the Game of Choice, he'd get the Vongola Rings, the last piece he needed to complete that 7^3 Policy. He'd take back the Mare Rings and then, he'd be the creator of a new world, one that he could control forever.
Not even Najika Kamiya or Tsunayoshi Sawada could stop him now.
X Tsunayoshi Sawada X
A base. That was the last piece they needed to fill the requirements for the Choice Game. Tsuna's eyes widened. There was no way that they'd be able to make a base smaller than fifty square meters in time for the battle.
"Wait, I think I've got it." Gokudera stood, grinning triumphantly. "My future self's house was loaded with bedrooms and a huge control room, and I'm pretty sure it's only around forty-five square meters. Just add some stuff to it, and give us some weaponry, and we'll be set to go!" he exclaimed.
Irie looked thoughtful at this point, leaning back in his chair. "That would work, but the only thing is… it needs to be portable…" Gokudera looked a little put out as he sat back down, crossing his arms and staring at the ground. "Ah! But maybe Najika-chan stored some things in there," the former Melone Base head amended sheepishly.
Spanner nodded, a thoughtful look also on his face, his image on the screen blurring in and out a little bit. "Vongola, I'm coming over to your base tomorrow. We need to make this base great enough to ensure victory."
Tsuna sighed. This would be a challenge for the Vongola family.
X Najika Kamiya X
From what Basil had e-mailed me, the turquoise box I'd gotten from that little burst of light was a Vongola Box, made for us Guardians. I looked over to where it was sitting on my dresser and remembered when I received it. Sighing, I stood up to grab the box.
Turning the turquoise box in my hand, I smiled softly, feeling it softly shake in my hands as I aimlessly walked out the door of my room.
I was sitting on my bed when a tiny little glow of light flew through the window. It was turquoise, like the Wave Flame. It dove right down towards me. I held out my hand and when the glow subsided, the box that was sitting in my hand was a small, turquoise box with the Vongola Crest on the four sides and a group of six seals on the top, where the Ring would go.
This was probably from the Future Tsuna, wasn't it?
I stared at the box in my hand, while I sat under a large tree in the Varia's backyard. Frusta was lounging at my side, napping lazily, while Vento was perched on a branch, high up in the tree, watching over us.
Putting the box down, I let Michi and Ryuu out, and they crawled onto Frusta's back. He flicked them a little with his tail, not wanting to move or get up from his place, all curled up at my side, but after a while, he gave up and let them rest there, however reluctant he seemed. I sighed and called, "Vento. Let's practice that new attack, okay?" Vento squawked and took off from his perch. I looked around for the familiar silver-haired swordsman.
The training field was relatively empty. Where was Squalo? But I did see a blond, crowned prince and a giant frog hat. Standing and starting over, my box weapons at my side, I called, "Bel, Fran! Where'd Squalo go?"
Bel simply turned and shrugged. "Our Strategy Captain left for Japan, apparently." I gulped. Oh, boy… Poor Takeshi was really in for it this time. "By the way, Boss wanted to see you again." Xanxus? This was the, what, third time this week? "What did you do to piss him off so much?"
"I didn't do shit!" I cried indignantly. "Maybe he's just having a bad week after Squalo left? After all, I'm pretty sure that he's totally in love with the Captain," I joked.
Fran smirked and Bel laughed, showing off his shining white teeth. "Don't let him hear you say that~ Or he'll probably kill you~" I laughed a little, shaking my head. "He said something about Vongola Training, whatever that is," Bel added, shrugging.
I looked down at the Vongola Box and sighed. That was probably what he wanted to train me for.
"I know, I know. See you later, Bel, Fran." He waved and went back to completely torturing the rookies. I sighed. He would do that to the poor guys. With Bel's training, it was learn fast or die.
Frusta and Vento looked up and followed me, keeping pace with me. Frusta, with Michi and Ryuu still on his back, rubbed his head against my leg, and Vento landed on my shoulder.
Pulling another box from my belt, I tossed it up and down in my hand, humming an old song to myself as I walked towards the Varia headquarters. I probably should say that Hikaru was not only a master at technology, but he'd figured out how to create Box Weapons. He gave me the first one that he made.
His name was Coperture. It was a Tartuga Mare de Onda, or a Wave Sea Turtle. He was a little… temperamental, so I didn't let him out often.
I opened Xanxus's door and asked, "Xanxus? I'm coming in." When I walked into the room, there he was, sitting in his throne, drinking whiskey, or beer, or some other alcoholic beverage. I sighed – had Bel been messing with me again? "Bel told me that you wanted to see me? Something about the Vongola Training."
He stood. "You got a Vongola Box. Read this," he demanded, tossing me a large, heavy-looking envelope. "It's from that damn wimpy boss of yours. The one from this time," he scoffed.
The envelope had the Vongola crest stamped onto the front of it, and my eyes widened when I flipped it over. "Najika Kamiya" was written on it in messy kanji, as if Tsuna was rushing to finish this and make sure I'd get it.
The stamp on it said, "Deliver to the Varia," and that's when I knew. This was planned out from the beginning by the future Tsuna. It must've been a plan between him and me He knew that he was going to die, or at least suspected it, and he planned all of this to go this way. We were brought here to defeat Byakuran because he made it that way.
He must've known about my betrayal from the start.
Inside the envelope were a thick booklet and several letters, all of which were addressed to me, or at least, to my future self. I ripped open the only one that had the Vongola Crest on the front and Tsuna's messy chicken scratches scrawled in ink onto the back.
Dear Najika,
I should've known that you were going to go to the Varia, especially after hearing what the others think. Just know that I never blamed you for betraying us, and I want you to know everything you need to about those boxes.
The Vongola Boxes are Box Weapons specialized to your traits and talents. Your Wave Box is included in that. We all possess one. What you need to do is convey your feelings towards it when you first open it.
Just be careful; if you have nervous or bad feelings towards the Box, it will attack you. Your future self wrote you that book, explaining everything you knew about Byakuran, as you were college friends. Every last personality detail and what you knew from what he told you is written in that book, and only you can read what's inside it. You have to know Byakuran best if you want to succeed.
Good luck.
–Tsunayoshi Sawada, Vongola X
How did Tsuna know about me being from the past, and betraying the Vongola? I shook of the strange feeling and picked up the thick booklet. The book wasn't labeled, and the only thing on the first page was, "This book is property of Najika Kamiya."
I looked up at Xanxus, who was glaring at the floor. "So… does this mean…" I began slowly, flipping through the pages. I narrowed my eyes,
"Open the damn box first," he snapped. "I want to see what the hell I'm working with before I watch you fuck up."
X Hayato Gokudera X
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number that was familiar, yet strange. "Hey, Najika? It's me," he said.
She giggled a little. "Hayato. I was waiting for you to call me. I'm sorry that I'm not there for today's battle. Tell Byakuran why, okay?" She sounded so… happy. What happened? She was empty and sad when she left the past and the Melone Base. She was laughing again… Not that it was a bad thing.
"He… he said that we'd be disqualified if not everyone from the past showed up. You have to come," Gokudera protested weakly. He knew she'd never be there on time for the match, but it was worth a try.
"I'll never make it in time, not even with Chiarore. Just make sure to knock him into next Tuesday, okay?" she asked happily. "I still have some searching to do. I have to find my own power. Besides, I already sent Byakuran a message he'll never forget."
He flinched a little. "Do I want to know?"
She laughed a little. "I just told him that I was sorry that I couldn't be there to see him get his ass handed to him!" Gokudera sighed. Of course, she would say that to a guy who has enough power to take over the world. "And I told him why. I told him that I couldn't face you guys yet. I told him that I'm not ready to be known as a Vongola Guardian. I still have a long way to go."
Gokudera sighed. "I get it. What did he say?"
He could practically hear the smirk on her face as she replied, "He said that he'd excuse me this one time. You guys just have to win, okay?"
"Yeah. I'll talk to you later, Najika." He hung up without hearing her say goodbye. He couldn't take another word without seeing her face. He wouldn't be able to keep his head on straight if he heard her speak once more. He sighed again, rubbing his eyes. It was the morning of the battle. He slipped his phone into the breast pocket of his suit and looked down.
Juudaime asked, "So what did she say?"
Looking up, he replied, "She said that she wouldn't be participating, and that Byakuran allowed her a pass."
The determined look on Juudaime's face slipped off, replaced by a disappointed look. "No way… she won't make it, even if she leaves right now… Well, at least we won't get disqualified for not having her with us."
The rest of the room grew silent. It was quiet for quite a while until the giant screen in the middle of the room lit up. "Hello everyone." A head of brunette hair appeared on the screen, purple eyes staring at them all. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it," the familiar Wave Guardian apologized.
"Najika-chan!" Juudaime exclaimed happily. "Where are you?"
She smiled weakly, and Gokudera noticed the bruises on her face. "Training. It's tougher than it looks, especially since Bel's tossing knives at the newbies every chance he gets. Good thing that I finally got the hang of that turtle. Anyways, that's not why I called." Najika's face turned darkly serious. "I have faith that you'll win, but just to be safe, I'm going to give you three hints about Byakuran."
"Eh?!" She nodded. "Three hints? How do you-?" Juudaime was cut off when Najika shook her head.
"I can only tell you the hints." She sounded apologetic. "Just make good with what I give you."
Juudaime nodded. "Okay, then…"
"The first thing you should know is that if he says one thing, he's bound to be able to twist it. Think of every possibility before answering anything. The second thing is that he's powerful, and so are the Funeral Wreaths. Their Box Weapons are currently undefeated, but then again, so are yours. The final thing I can tell you is that my past, or future, with him may help you. He and I… were the two best students in the college. The only thing you need to know from that is that he shows no mercy, even to his friends. He may just betray his own people." She waved a little. "I gotta go before Xanxus decides to fry me. Good luck."
With that last wave, the screen went black. Everyone looked at each other in some shock. How did she know all that? As she said, the future self had a past with the Millefiore leader.
They could only trust her word as they headed off to battle.
X Najika Kamiya X
Xanxus had pushed me into the Varia's computer room and locked the door, only leaving the instructions to look up as much information as I could on the Arcobaleno and the Funeral Wreaths. I grumbled a little.
What I knew was that there were seven Arcobaleno, five of whom were dead. Verde, the Lightning Arcobaleno, Mammon, or Viper, the Mist Arcobaleno, Colonello, the Rain Arcobaleno, Fon, the Storm Arcobaleno, and Skull, the Cloud Arcobaleno. I knew that the future Reborn was also dead, but the Reborn from my time was still alive and kicking.
As for the Sky Arcobaleno, her name was Yuni. She was, apparently, working for the Millefiore. Yuni was Aria's daughter, but her father was not listed on her birth certificate. Her current whereabouts were unknown. I bit my lip. That was too little to go on, and the fact that she was on Byakuran's side was concerning.
What I found out about the Funeral Wreaths was simple. They all had a group of Rings known as the Mare Rings, and their records disappeared around eleven months ago, around the time when Byakuran appeared as the Millefiore Boss.
All that I knew were their names, their Flame attributes, and how powerful they were. Kikyo, the leader, was Cloud, Torikabuto was Mist, Bluebell was Rain, Zakuro was Storm, Daisy was Sun, and the only one that I knew was inactive was Ghost, the Lightning Funeral Wreath.
I also knew that they were unfortunate people. Bluebell was stuck in a wheelchair after her brother died in a car accident, in which she also lost her mobility. Kikyo had been pushed around by his parents, and eventually was placed in a rough job that never got him anywhere. Zakuro had lost everything, going from a successful business manager to a man on a downward spiral from drugs and alcoholism. Daisy was written off as mental. Ghost and Torikabuto were both criminals, and Ghost was still being held prisoner in Vendicare Prison.
I frowned. Mukuro was there, too…
But the more I read about these unfortunate people, the more I felt for them. By the time I finished reading their biographies, I almost felt… bad for the Funeral Wreaths. They suffered hard lives, too. I sighed. These people had a total hatred for this world, and would be powered by that hate, and wouldn't be easy to defeat.
Hayato, Tsuna-kun, good luck!
X Hayato Gokudera X
They'd chosen what they needed. The field was lightning. The players were Juudaime, the baseball freak, the two former Millefiore, and himself. They were up against the Millefiore's Cloud, Mist, and Sun, as well as an extra Cloud member. The Targets were Irie and the Millefiore Sun.
The Battle of Choice was beginning.
Atogaki-
I know, I know, I'm a failure at life. But I've been dead. School has been stressing me out so much. Omo, I actually want to cry. I've been so dedicated to my schoolwork that I've been losing touch with everything else that has been important to me.
But here's the next chapter! I really rushed to finish this, which is why it's so short. I just hope I'll be able to make the next one longer... /crying inside. Omo omo...