Katekyo Hitman Reborn

My Fate is Certainly Uncertain

Chapter 32: What They Don't Know

Overall warnings: Swearing, disclaimers and other things. And lots and lots of feels. If you're this far in, don't expect anything else. As seen in past chapters, as pointed out by LeoInuyuka-chan and the rest of the crew.

[Written to: BabyMetal: Megitsune - A really unique band btw. ]

~o0o~

I knew that the plan was to sneak up on them while they tried to sneak up on us. That meant keeping out of sight, not only from the enemy, but my comrades as well. That way, I'd be able to help if they got into trouble, with the skill of surprise of my side, so be it for only a few moments. In battle, a few moments can allow for decisions. And decisions can change anything. Something wasn't right, in accordance with those storm flames. They certainly didn't feel like Gokudera's, no, too brash for him. It felt and smelt different to a normal flame.

Avoiding that are was a must for me. I wanted to get to Kikyo without tipping his senses anywhere near my co-ordinates. This forest was a little thicker than what I was used to back home, so it took a little longer than I had anticipated to get to where I was needed.

Forgot to mention that I was a little late.

Whoops.

I tried to stay close to the ground as I could when I got near his radius. Luckily, the bushes gave me some cover. So, at least, I wasn't wide in the open because I was wearing black shorts and a white singlet. Plus a waistcoat that Leon made for me, on the request of Reborn. Not exactly army gear stuff, but I had work with what I had available.

All of the funeral wreaths were floating. That was a given fact, and it meant that I had to somehow try and reach him from the ground, or at least, attract him to a lower altitude so that I could whoop his ass into place. There were a group of others, consisting of Basil, Ryohei, Lambo and the two Black-Spell dudes, already trying to belt it out with the wannabe fairy guy. I think he really needed a mano-e-mano intervention with a pair of shears.

I could feel his flames from two miles away. Yuni and the others were at least five, so I was worried that he wasn't the only one coming after her. Of course he wouldn't be the only one! There was that Bluebell freak, Magna and Captain Marshmallow.

I didn't want to run into the last one.

Just a little further, I urged myself, feeling the pain in my legs play up. Just as long as I did a light jog, I'd - hopefully - stay in one piece.

"It appears you've forgotten that you're dealing with one of the real six funeral wreaths." I heard him say, and through small patches in the tree canopy above, I could make out his shape in mid air. "We didn't bring any men with us because we can handle this by ourselves."

Oh my.

In my head, I went over the contemplating thought of their hubris'. My gut was telling me that without those reinforcements, we could potentially knock them over. Over-estimating opponents in battle was a contributing factor for fatalities. Tried and proved before, trust me.

I couldn't see what he had brought out, but I could see his arm lift, and his voice saying," This is all I need to deal with pests like you. I'm in a hurry to take Yuni back, so if you'll excuse me for my haste."

I didn't realise that I snorted at the sight of what came out of that box of his.

Dinosaurs.

Mother-freaking-pointy-teeths.

While I hate the guy for all he is and wish nothing more than to flush his head in a toilet and sit on him while the process is taking place, I loved dinosaurs as a kid. They were bigger than me and scarier than me and that's what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Hey, I was four. Don't hate the fabulous.

They were quick and versatile bastards, with the capability of learning, meant that as the others tried to fend them off one by one, they were being swarmed in hoards. It wasn't a good situation. And before this, Tsuna had made it clear that he wanted to take everyone back to the future safely. That we were going to win. He couldn't exactly reinforce the last statement, but I was determined to win. Definately.

I turned on my flames, concentrated on my palms and knees, and looked forward as the ground shook more, in the opposite direction to where I was heading. Orange flames mixed with red in the sky.

I stopped running and perched in a nearby tree and then had to jump back on the ground. Certainly, I didn't want to become dino-food - (Ha, dino food.) - however, I didn't have a choice to stay in that tree, because the left side of my stomach was killing me.

And my waistcoat was smoking.

I stipped the coat away immediately and threw it to the ground, small clouds floated off the coat. If it had been any other material, the coat would have been in cinders. And then, I would have had another rad scar to add to the collection I already had, which would have sucked because the ones on my back have only started to fade since Reborn had started to fix them for me.

It turned out, that the heat was coming from the Animal Box, the one that Verde had apparently designed with me in mind. It was like a hot piece of coal, sizzling while in the folds of the cloth.

"The hell….." I muttered, holding my side as the pain subsided. "Look, whatever you are, I don't have time to deal with a tantrum of yours, if that's what you're going for! My friends are fighting out there and if I don't hurry, that man that killed my brother will most likely kill again. I will not allow that to happen, do you hear me?!"

Through fizzling shards that crackled off of the surface of the box, it slowly cooled down, whatever orange indentations that were there beforehand disappeared, the surface of the box returning to its normal gray hue. I simmered the tip of my temper and sighed out loud, not hearing any other signs of life except for the explosions and cries of pain coming from my allies minds.

"Quiet you." I whispered, picking it up with my right hand and asserting much pressure on it. "I'm not who I am ten years in the future. Please bear with me. Help me."

And with the pressure I applied, the box crushed into particles that sparkled in the air, mixing with the dust, and all I saw was coloured contours.

And the voice spoke again.

~o0o~

Monsters caused by the open carnage box spurred out of the water's edge, breaking out into the air with snapping jaws and bloodshot eyes. They hissed erratically. Some had trouble stabilizing, and others waited patiently for further direction from the one who summoned them here.

They didn't have a choice. They never had one. They never chose to be revived, and stuffed inside a small, incapacitated space with no room to breath. They didn't think at all. The monsters smelt the fear of the ones across the lake, and it riddled their inner, instinctual minds that overrode anything else.

Sweat dripped off the body of the sun guardian and it smelt divine. Mixed with fear and other bodily fluids made the monsters excited, and they bared their teeth even more.

"Oh-o." Kikyo said, with a smile. "You were drawn to the area where I am. On the battlefield, the one with a better grasp of the situation will win." He smirked. "You don't have time to worry about your box weapon."

They clamped down on Xanxus's body, chewing his flesh apart, blood splattering over the treetrunks.

"A quick end."

"You did it Kikyo!" Bluebell cried, pumping a fist in the air like a child would.

"Idjit! I'm the one who brought him here!"

Kikyo chuckled, looking upon the fallen crowd. "Ha. The Vongola's defense has been completely wiped out.

Bluebell laughed tauntingly. "What a bunch of weaklings!"

"What a bunch of weaklings!"

Surprised at the new, sudden voice, all three of the turned to look at the ground behind them, and saw dark gray smoke billowing onto the surface of the lake.

"A fire?" Kikyo muttered, his eyes wincing.

Zakuro sniffed, and shook his head. "No, it's not. Doesn't smell anything like a fire."

And they soon realized that it wasn't at all a fire, when two arms made of the same smoke stretched all the way up to them, grabbed Kikyo roots of his hair and tore him back down to earth.

~o0o~

While I was dealing with the sudden attack to my mind that was making me feel extremely light headed, I tried to stop the swaying. It was hard to control myself and I saw in different volumes. Everything was more focussed and despite the simple contours, I couldn't concentrate.

What the fuck was happening?

"I'm happening." It replied, and I realised that I suddenly wasn't alone.

"Of course you're not, you fucking idiot!" The thing taunted, making sure that it was heard properly. I didn't like the way it spoke, and I was almost afraid to speak up. But I remembered the others, and I knew I couldn't leave them alone. I thought of Al, and my chest tightened.

"Sorry." I mumbled, finding my words. "I'm sorry, but I'm running out of time. I can't speak for much longer."

"That's why I'm here, aren't I? You called me, master. I guess I still have to call you that, but I can see you have no clue in you petty little brain of what I am."

"I don't." I admitted. "But there's no reason for you to fight with me right now. So please, help me help myself so that I can help the others."

"But that's not the real reason you're here, is it? You wanna murder that man, even though you know by all means that it's wrong."

"I know." I whispered as my voice wavered under the tense air. "But I don't know what else I can do but that. Him, and even everyone from the Millefiore will kill them. I don't have a choice."

I felt the entity sigh and breathe in, like it actually needed to. I couldn't sense a body, and I wondered if it was him that was impairing my sigh, for a lack of a better word. "I will help you this once, but until my past becomes reality, I cannot help you again, regrettably. We only get one chance together. The choices you make can go either way, and you can never expect the outcome. You've got to try and try and keep on hoping that the decisions you're making are the ones that cause the better regrets. Because either way, you don't let go of things. You can never.."

"I know." I repeated. "What's going on right now? Why is my vision like this!"

"You're seeing what I see. We both, are not entirely human. I was meant to be based off of an animal, but the process failed when Verde captured me out of a wormhole in the fabric between space, time and imagination."

"Alien. You're an alien?"

"I wouldn't be so quick to classify me as that. Who's to say you're the alien? Now hurry up, goddammit!"

And while I could only just see my enemies outline, I could definitely hear their voices. Who could mistake that annoying shrill that Bluebell had to her voice?

"What a bunch of weaklings!"

"...oho, you little fucker. " I shook my head and gritted my teeth tightly, wanting to grasp them and crush them. Revenge was a bad word for what I was doing, but it was what I needed to do. "Yeah yeah, keep on saying that sugar. I'll beat you anytime."

"What a bunch of weaklings!" The voice mimicked, and I went into battle with a new bond. I was going to do what I set out to achieve.

And I didn't even know its name.

~o0o~

Time seemed to slow down, once Fran had set up his illusion. It was set up waaaaay before the games had been plunged into action and Mukuro was there to watch his, as if it was a test. It was, nearly all the time, actually. His bluntness was almost as refreshing as the looks on everyone's faces when their own heads appeared on the monsters that came up from below the water, like some leviathan tale.

But, his surprise did not show itself on his unchanging face when the ghostly hands bellowed out from the suspicious mist that hung on the other side of the lake like an ominous plague. It came silently and it's speed was downright scary. To say that Fran was shivering in his boots was an understatement, despite his composure.

It was definitely not an illusion.

"Mukuro." He called, once they had revealed themselves and everyone else, stating that they were in fact alright and that they had been fooled by a bunch of illusionists. 'What do we do? Something scary is in the forest."

The so called king of hell himself didn't know for sure what lied in the mist, but he could tell that the flames weren't any he'd encountered before. They certainly weren't mist either, so Mukuro wondered why they took that property.

Shrivels underneath the slain clouds echoed throughout the portioned forest floor that sent shivers to anyone who heard it. The two above were thinking of whether or not to interfere but the shrivels turned into blood curdling cries and silence fell upon the land quickly after the mist emerged.

"Who knows." Mukuro replied, shrugging. "For now, we should keep our distance and focus at the matter that matters."

Gokudera hissed at the involvement of not only Mukuro and his gang, who should be in the Vincice care, but also the Varia. He t'ched. "I hate to admit this, but they actually make good allies."

"Yeah." Ryohei agreed, getting to his feet.

In the distance, up ahead of them, a green light glowed brightly, lighting the daytime sky with a sickly tinge. The pit in Fran's stomach grew and Gokudera braced himself, for what would be the next indirect on assault on everyone he knew.

"What's that?"

~o0o~

A green hue filled my vision as I looked up into the sky, Hot, sticky blood formed in clots on my hands. They seeped down in blots and undoubtedly staining my clothes in the process of escaping my presence. The body that was at my feet was slowly beginning to degrade underneath the pressure of the mist, which was beginning to become heavy for me, even. I wasn't done burning him, but it wasn't worth it anymore to degrade someone who could feel the pain. He was melting anyway. The whites of his bones were showing as flesh was peeling away, muscles dissolving, teeth shattered in, everything mixing in with the dirt of the earth.

"The lightning guardian,,,," I mused, contemplating that maybe it was him. "...Lambo?"

"No." It whispered, right beside my ear. "He's too innocent for this kind of impassioned malice."

"You're right. It's not Lambo, it must be someone else…..wasn't the Millefiore missing their lightning guardian at choice?"

If I could've seen it physically, the entity would have shrugged, probably. "Hey, you were the one there, not me."

"We have to." I said quickly, getting ready to take off. "I have to go."

"I will escort you. But I'm warning you now, my child, that you will find that your appearance isn't what it was five minutes ago."

"What do you mean?"

"Before, I said I was pulled from a place, that I should have never been taken from. By whom, I'm not sure, but here I cannot…...take a physical appearance. For me to help you, I'm having to use you in the process." When it stopped talking, I looked down at my hands to see what she meant. But all I saw was lines of different colours that co-ordinated with one's flame affinity. "They'll see you as an ominous mist. I don't even know if you'll be able to speak for a while. It's a miracle now that I'm talking to you."

Fuck.

I shook my head with determination. "I can worry about that later. For now, I want to see this to the end. What happens after will come."

~o0o~

The feeling in his gut told Fran that this too wasn't an illusion, by any standards. It was more like a phenomenon, or something supernatural, because of the weird markings under his eye that would have led him to believe that it was Byakuran, if Mukuro hadn't pointed out that it was on the wrong side. Many attacks from their side were put forth to try and stop the marching lightning ghost but none were successful, and most, if not all, were absorbed in an instant.

Numbers on both sides depleted when the tentacles came forth from the barrier that surrounded the lightning guardian, attacking anyone and everyone, regardless of status. In honesty, he wasn't sure how to go about this.

He was still plain Fran, after all.

"Are those tendrils?!" Squalo shouted, leaning on Dino's shoulder for support. He wouldn't if he wasn't in the state he was in. "The fuck!? VOOOOIIII!"

Squalo's patience as strategy capitan was definitely being pushed to every limit the man held. He was a hunter by natural instinct but even the box animals who hadn't been forced to fight against the entity were scurrying away from its reach, trying to hide back in their boxes, if they hadn't been previously destroyed in the fight.

"Things are getting fucked…"

"They are..." Dino muttered, gritting his teeth.

But they were no longer grinding together, when the gray smoke appeared again, heading straight for what that man named Zakuro called Ghost. In the volatile state that the gass presented itself as, a ghostly figure bellowed out of it's dark interior, eclipsed in a coat of smoke that appeared deceptively enticing, like a narcotic. Dino noted how some who were close to the cloud fell to their knees, stating that they could no longer feel them. Entirely numb, they lay on the ground, covering their mouths.

However the smoke did not hang around them like a storm cloud, or a corporal against his underlings. The tense air followed the human-like form to where Ghost was striding and then stopped metres away.

The two were like puddle images of each other, as the two commenced into battle. Both were in transparent states as they attacked and both had tendrils that reached out onto each other. Distinctively though, the cloud was by far scarier. Nobody could forget those distinctive mouths filled with sharp teeth, things that were made of fairy tale monsters.

Her mouths chomped down on Ghosts outer linings. His body wasn't physical anymore, not since being dragged into this world, but they were able to grab onto him. They weren't made of physical material either, but of something else, something far more were eating away at him, at his flames in general like they did with everyone elses, and everyone who watched flinched at the ferocity. Their grip was undeniably strong, and even though he didn't speak, you could see the emotions in his face as Ghost tried to retaliate by absorbing its enemy's flames. They both continued to absorb, like an infinite loop, supplying each other.

"Phillipa…" Squalo whispered and Dino's eyes widened a fraction, realising how correct he was. It had been so long since he'd seen her in action like this that those mouths frightened him a little. But never had she gone this far.

Seconds later, Tsuna shot down from the sky, and moved into the stance that was also used to absorb flames from opponents. This, in turn, caused a catastrophic effect to which Ghost was no longer in power. All of his being and flames were sucked out and into the two separate. But the connection flickered when the stream was connected together by the remaining two participants, until the entity of smoke - Phillipa, Dino reminded himself - broke the connection completely and the force pushed her to the other side of the field. The smoke went inside itself, and they weren't able to see her as it remained there, hovering.

"Wow, I'm impressed." The sky called. "You actually managed to defeat Ghost! Hehe, I'm glad to see you doing well, Tsunayoshi. Ha! What a crazy line-up you have here, and all for me! From the Varia to the members of the CEDEF to the Bucking Bronco, Mukuro of all people and even -" Byakuran looked down at the cloud, who stayed in one spot. " - The girl who was never meant to be. Wow, is this all for me? You shouldn't have! I'm so thrilled to see the Vongola's strongest members lined up here!

Though I must say, what a weird taste you have in men, Tsuna-yo-shi~ Picking people who were once your enemies?"

Mukuro huffed, closing his eyes. "Honestly, you think I'd team up with the Mafia, you impregedious fool?"

And he attacked him, with the rings he flashed.

A ring of hell.

~o0o~

"I'm not ever going to fucking do that again." My voice started, cracking in sound as my hands gripped at the grass. It was wet, but that was bliss for me. It made me much more awake than I previously was, but unfortunately, linear lines were still clouding my vision. I clutched at my forehead. "Oh shit…"

"How are you faring?" The entity asked, and in my mind, I had pinned it down as a female. I was getting that vibe. "It will begin to feel more uncomfortable soon if we keep at it like this."

"How do I s-stop this?"

"You say 'please leave', and I will do so. People, a lot of the time think that dispelling demons is harder."

"So….you're a demon now?"

"I don't kiss and tell."

I thought to myself as the pain subsided for the moment, when I turned my head the other way to look at where the source of heat was coming from. I was getting pretty hot, but in the darkness, I say vague outlines of people, covered in a blanket of orange. And there were only five people here with Sky flames.

Starfish.

Dino

Yuni.

Byakuran.

And Xanxus.

The last person on that last wasn't in there, the bodies were all smaller than his size. And I knew what Dino's flame felt like. It was warm, soothing and it made my mind calm. Not many people could do that. And he was over there, holding Squalo like a soldier, dragging him from the battlefield. I was glad that they were both okay. I thought that Squalo might have died in there.

"Yuni's in there." I whispered to myself, in a way that forced my to sit up. "And so is Starfish. And Byakuran." I closed my eyes, trying to steady out my breathing pattern. That flame drainage system had really taken a chunk out of my stamina. "Why is she here."

"The rings called to her, and she came of her consciousness, not of her will, but of duty. She's trying to give her life for theirs."

"To serve the Queen is to die by her hand." I recited and hazily, I rose to my feet, and swayed over to the barrier of sky flames.

I could taste them on my tongue. The flames. They were enticing and I could've sworn that they were whispering. Maybe it was just the boxes' after effects. But to really felt real enough for me to get focussed.

"These are flames."

Can I absorb these too?

"It's possible, but you will be at your limit and even then, it would probably only make a crack in its surface."

"But I have to try."

"I can't go through with you. All the power used would override mine and it will be over between us."

"So be it then." I looked up and saw nothing but black. "Thank you for lending me your eyes. Thank you."

"Thank you for opening me, for once."

In my mind, I marked the spot where I wanted the attack to begin, and precisely at that spot, I focussed every ounce of my being. Like a drill, one massive mouth whirred into life and sucked down, its teeth shredding parts of the surface. Indeed, this was a suitable barrier. But it was nothing like mine. All that was done was a hole, but it was big enough to fit in.

Through the hole that the mouth stuck onto, I jumped through with arms spread wide like an eagle and down I went into a roll, landing in front of Yuni, who was visibly shaken. I was able to see normally now. Tears were dripping down her nose, and in the space that everyone stopped to pause and gawk - in what I received as confoundedness, strangely - I separated the boys and girls apart. I would've liked to corner Tsuna as well, but Byakuran was quick to the trigger, and barely did I miss his tackle. Sound was repressed and sobs were all I could hear.

"Auntie…" Yuni whimpered, crying even more than she had before. She sniffled her nose, and I looked at the pacifiers she cradled in her arms. "...I-"

"I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier, love. I had to deal with something."

"I know….."

I hugged her close.

"Scared, aren't you. Well, don't fret love, I'm here. We can think of another way around this. Reborn wouldn't approve of you giving up."

He would never say it out loud, but I think he loves you a lot.

Maybe even more than me.

He loved her, with no doubt in my mind.

"I'm not. This way, a lot of other people will be saved by my sacrifice." She whispered, snivelling snot. "There's no other way…...I want to send you guys back home safely."

Yuni shook her head and determinedly tried again and I watched the girl as she gave her life away in the hope of a better future. One that was better than this. I silently wished that it would be more reliable. But I didn't voice that thought.

The roof of the barrier cracked above, and another hole popped up, and for the briefest moment, one person was able to make it through.

"Gamma…."

"Taking off again, just after we met again, princess?" He said jokingly, smiling the best he could. Yuni didn't expect him to embrace her the way he did and that sigh was one of relief. He glanced at me and his face blushed pink, from the heat? I was unsure. "Thank you, Phillipa, for protecting her."

"You don't need to thank me." I told them, taking her hand in mine. Outside, the brothers were screaming. The others were too. Their loving thoughts made me cry, and I knew exactly how they felt. I think I might have started crying. I knew my lip was wobbling, definately.

"I'll come visit you." I said to her, my voice mimicking my lip. "And we'll have tea and cake."

She breathed out a smile, and nodded gently.

"I'd like that."

"Use my flames." Gamma told her. Yuni looked blankly up at him, and he chuckled softly and whispered kind words in her ear.

And I knew the answer.

"Don't look so upset." I told her, in a brave voice. "Just…..go out like a Queen."

She giggled lightly and Gamma nodded. "She's right, your mother taught you better."

Yuni then smiled and I had to take a moment to look at my shoes - sniffing away - and our fingers that were laced together.

"Auntie, I hope you find your brother again."

I couldn't help but chuckle through my tears. I showed her my smile, and lied through my eyes.

"I hope I do too."

And a bright light filled the sphere which blinded everyone around it.

And then the two of them were gone.

I didn't expect them to go so suddenly. My mouth was hanging open out of shock and I had to physically cover it with a shaking hand. My concentration almost fractured, if Reborn hadn't yelled at me.

"Phillipa!" He shouted, his voice not like before. "Protect the Arcobaleno! Keep your shield up!"

"Gamma! Yuni!" Tsuna's eyes shook. "Yuni…."

"Hold on a moment…." Byakuran landed and Tsuna was on his knees. I placed my hand on the barrier, outwards to him, and he kept his head hung. "What have you done?! I finally found the last piece of the puzzle, and she's dead?! It was all for nothing…. My dream of waking the 7 policy and becoming the ruler of space and time was just shattered by your little act of friendship….DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?!"

"Shut up." I whispered, in a tone that wasn't heard by anyone. "Just shut the fuck up."

Rippling heat waves shot out from Tsuna's forehead, and I had to kneel on the ground to allow the need for bracing, since the pressure was pushing me against the back of the barrier. There wasn't a lot of room left. A vortex of flames was spurting from him, and I felt afraid here.

Tsuna was fit to be a boss, with the way he acted after.

I was certain he would be.

"Why do you think Yuni had to do this?!" He growled, standing up. "You ruined our world. THAT'S WHY YUNI DIED! BYAKURAN! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!"

"Hm? You won't forgive me? Oh…..AHAHAHAHA!" He spat on the ground. "What nonsense! You're such a joke! I might understand your reaction if you viewed her as a powerful tool!"

"She wasn't!" I growled, bashing in my own shield.

"Ha! You all treated her like a normal girl, and look where it got her! Dead as a doornail!"

The roof was cracking in even more, as more power was let out. Byakuran's ring glowed vividly, and Tsuna returned the favour. He held his ground and violently retaliated to Byakuran's attack with an x-burner that defied expectations.

And everything in it's path reverted into nothing. The barrier dissipated into the air and I let go of my shield, and collapsed on my knees. My ankles were shaking and for the first time, I actually looked down at myself and wondered why I felt so cold.

"Ah shit!" I cussed, covering myself up. Not only had the box dissolved the flesh of my enemies, it seemed that my shirt and pants were being eaten away, right of this minute.

"Quickly! Put this on!" Dino hurried, covering me with his coat.

I sighed, stood and quickly zipped the coat on, dying of embarrassment. My face was turning red and I flat out refused to stare anyone in the face.

Today was the worst.

~o0o~

Today was the day we were going home. I never thought I would get to say that properly, but we were. We were going home. I wished I could say that on happier terms.

We were allowed to say goodbyes for those we wanted to say goodbye to. Not everyone stayed. Not everyone came. But I waited, and two came for me. Dino and Squalo. It's funny, because I would never usually group them together, if I hadn't seen their memories. Those times were good. They were some of the best either of them had.

I wasn't good at saying goodbyes yet. Luckily, this was the first one I didn't miss, for once.

"This is it." I said, holding my elbow and laughing lightly, just like Yamamoto would. I stopped to think that Squalo would be the one to say goodbye to him, but he'd already done that. I was relieved. "I can't wait to get home, I hate it here."

Dino smiled. "I do too."

I smiled as Squalo grumbled.

And then I punched Dino right in the face.

He wasn't grumbling after that.

"YOU KNOW WHAT, THE NEXT TIME I HEARD THAT OUR DAUGHTER IS BEING IGNORED BY HER FATHER I'M GOING TO COME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND THROTTLE YOU! YOU HEARING ME DINO! NONE OF THIS BULLSHIT YOU'VE BEEN PULLING! GO OUT AND BE HER FUCKING FATHER ALREADY!"

He rubbed his cheek. And then he laughed with tears in his eyes. "Yes dear."

"Good." I said, huffing. "Don't let her turn out like me. Oh, and Squalo, nice seeing you. Like what you're doing with your hair. Though, you know, just five minutes with some scissors and I could -"

"No!" He yelled. "Don't you fucking come near me with those, brat!"

Hearing them together made my heart lighter. "Well, I'm going to be going then. Tsuna will be worried if you keep me here for too long."

Wish I could keep you here forever, Dino thought.

I smiled. "Dino, if you want to find out what happened to me, I suggest looking at a man named Joseph Marchelli, or an alias as Dr Worthsanth. I think I have a good idea what might have happened."

"Who is he?" He said suspiciously.

"Calm your horses." I teased. "He's a man that worked with my mother. Go find him, and I'm sure you'll find something."

He sighed through his nose. "Is it that bad that you can't tell me now."

"I don't know if I can tell anyone yet."

He nodded, and stared at the ground.

Don't leave me alone.

"Goodbye Dino. Take good care of Libby."

"I will." He promised.

My lips smiled and I breathed out.

"That's my man."

I left him there with Squalo, not entirely alone, but not entirely whole. I don't think you could still be whole if the one you treasured the most in the world dies and the spot where they once filled was suddenly there like a target, poking at you to look at it, look at it, look at it.

I told him I loved him, and then, I left.

Today wasn't any better

~o0o~

"Oh god…" Dino whimpered, falling flat on his butt when his younger wife disappeared down the hall. He was holding his cheek and frowning. "Geeez, she hasn't changed a bit…."

"Voi, what did you expect!?" Squalo yelled. "A fucking clown?"

Dino gave him a sarcastic smile and lay out flat on his back, while Squalo started to walk away. He had work to do, and the two of them knew that well.

But Dino sat up and called out to him. "Why didn't you say anything? That could have been your chance to tell her."

Squalo t'ched. "Voi! If I didn't tell her back then, I sure as hell wouldn't have told her now! Haven't you ever heard of the expression don't change the past cause it might change the fucking future!?"

Besides, Squalo thought. Your daughter wouldn't be here if I got to her before you did.

"Oh…." Dino scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Right you are….."

"Seriously…..why she chose you though is a fucking mystery."

"Hey! I'm great! We were perfect together!"

Just then, as the two were about to split apart, Squalo having to return to Xanxus before he totally lost it again, Romario came out of nowhere and was very out of breath.

"Woah there, calm down!" He stood and put a hand on his back. "What's up, what's happened?!"

"Libby, sir….."

"What. Happened. To. Her?"

"She snuck her way to Japan."

Dino blinked in utter astonishment. "You've got to be joking."

~o0o~

"Go back to sleep babe."

My thoughts were certainly not pure when I slowly woke myself from what seemed to be a long slumber. Yawns were ever so pushing through my mouth and I rolled over and smelt cinnamon. Blurry eyed, I peeked up and saw the brief image of Dino, shirtless and lying next to me, his arm draped over my waist, hand lazily hanging.

I yawned again and rubbed my sensitive nose. "...What time is it?"

"Just after two in the morning."

I sighed, and snuggled closer to him. "How in god's name did I end up here?"

His husky laugh rattled in my eardrums. "Heh, you fell into the rose garden."

"I what!?"

Dino shushed me. "Hey hey, hey calm down! You don't wanna wake anyone up, do you!"

"Ah, sorry…."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're awake now. You've been out of it for a day."

I blinked. "Really, a day?"

"Yeah. We we're all pretty worried and all…" He paused to breathe and rested his forehead on mine. "But I managed to get ahold of Reborn."

Oh dear.

He frowned so sadly, and I found myself in a tight embrace that I couldn't let go of. I was overwhelmed by the suddenness. I was surprised at the least that Reborn told him everything let alone what he already knew from retaining the memories of the future.

He kissed me, and I kissed him back.

"Go back to sleep. I won't leave you."

~o0o~

My dreams as of late were becoming repetitive. I saw the one scene over and over again, savouring his screams.

"Get off me!" Kikyo yelled, trying to throw me off. "You're crazy!"

"I am." I said simply, as I begun to burn painful boils into his face and eyes. This wasn't me, I told myself each time. But it was.

That was me.

"But that's okay." I told him, as the mist started to attack his insides.

"The others don't have to know, what I'm about to do to you."

~o0o~

Confession, I really do remember the first time I saw Attack on Titan. It was before it got popular and honest to god, I remember thinking that it's going to blow up. That's going to go far. And I was right for once.

And here ends the anime segment of KHR! I will indeed follow the manga now, but I'll need some time to read up on it again, so that plotlines can be finalised and so I can actually put my head down and work on Uni. The minute this is published, I'll be off for two weeks and when that's up, I'll start writing again. So, bear with me, yeah?

Thanks to every follower, faver and friendo. I love you guys heaps.

Replies:

natachoco: "And ass kicking, thou shalt have!" She proclaims, pointing to the sky triumphantly, while the first opening to Attack on Titan plays in the background.

Akayuki Sawada: Yes yes, I'll take that to mind.

LeoInuyuka: Randomly, I somehow remembered that you mentioned me in one of your chapters so I went to look at that again for inspiration and I may have ended up reading it all by accident. Again. ;D Nether the less m'dear, I'll do my best to try and make you happy again.

My Name is Alice: I like that you're the only one who's pointed that out so far.

hikare mai: My theory is that not a lot of people so much enjoy oc fics like others do. Mind you, I think some of my grammatical errors have a bit to do with it. And, like a couple of my other fics that have ended, I predict that this story will have ones coming in even after I've forgotten about it. And yeah, I trip a lot. And I have bones like an old man.

-Verdigurl