Chapter 23: Dawn
"'Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star,' I said 'It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe the star doesn't even exist anymore. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.'"
-Haruki Murakami
It felt, Fon noted, like a storm was coming. And yet, it was a clear sky tonight.
The storm arcobaleno frowned, long sleeves fluttering in the wind as he sat on top of the tall post. He surveyed the area once more, eyes taking in every detail. Lichi chittered nervously, moving from his master's head to his shoulder. Fon sighed, tilting his head down and closing his eyes for one moment before turning to his companion.
"I know, Lichi. We'll find her."
The small monkey frowned, mirroring its owner's expression. Fon looked to the skyline once more with a worried expression.
Yes, he thought to himself, a storm was indeed on it's way.
He should know best of all.
"Everybody!" Mammon yelled, stricken as they viewed the outline of a Vindice figure, standing ominously against two figures left standing. The Vindice spared him once glance.
"I'll retreat," It declared upon Mammon's arrival on the floor, and vanished into a quiver of black flames. Mammon clicked his tongue, then turned his attention to his teammates, all fallen save for Squalo and Xanxus.
"Voi, Mammon!" Squalo called. "Boss protected his watch..." he trailed off, wavering, "but, as much as he's the boss…" Squalo fell to the ground, completely exhausted from both fights of the nights, "we need a rest…" Xanxus slumped into his throne, the cut on his head still bleeding.
"Boss…" Mammon muttered, swelling with appreciation, before stiffening, and turning to the small figure that jumped on the roof. Fon's eyes widened, taking in the full state of the group.
"What happened here?" Fon asked, his concern only growing.
"The fucking Vindice," Squalo spat, moving to sit himself up stubbornly, "had an out of bounds fight. They were after the boss watch."
"Did everyone survive?" Fon asked, looking at the others.
"The Varia aren't anything to sneer out," Mammon snapped at the martial artists.
"If you were attacked…" Fon muttered, bringing his sleeve to hide half his face, not wanting to come to that conclusion just yet, refusing to.
"Have you seen Nikita?" he asked strongly, removing his sleeve revealing a clear, worried expression. The question threw Squalo, and apparently the others as well seeing that no one answered.
"Not since the end of the battle," Squalo answered, a cold feeling seeping into him.
"She was supposed to meet with her illusionist companion b-" Fon stopped suddenly, coming to a sickening realization. Wordlessly, and without another look at the others, he sped off, jumping off the destroyed floor and back into the night. Mammon nearly growled, glaring after him.
"That guy," he spat, "always going off without an explanation when it suites him."
"Nikita had the boss watch." The group stiffened, then turned to Bel, who looked up fully in realization. The blonde tried to push himself up, only to fall due to an injured leg. Squalo cursed loudly, slamming his fist down on the floor before forcing his body up. He hesitated, and turned to his boss before pursuing Fon.
Squalo viewed his boss's seemingly calm face, but knew better, seeing his various scars darkening across his skin. Vibrant, red eyes of pure animosity snapped open, meeting the cold, rage filled eyes of his strategy captain.
"Go."
"So, you're still going to fight with Fon then?" Dino asked, trailing behind Hibari at a much more lax pace, arms crossed behind his head. Hibari's eyes twitched, and he barely glanced back at his tutor.
"I see how you two are related now," Hibari stated. Dino hummed in question and then stepped back quickly as the prefect turned suddenly, taking a swipe at him.
"You're both annoying," Hibari stated with narrowed eyes. Dino laughed, irritating the prefect further.
"Oh come on, Kyoya!" Dino said, lifting a hand, but wisely putting it away before he made the mistake of clapping the prefect's shoulder, and surprisingly not falling over after the act since Romario had been discovered following his boss since before the battle began and was promptly sent back to the hotel ("I can deal with my own student alone, Romario, honestly!").
"We're not that bad, right?"
Hibari huffed, and turned on his heel once more, ignoring the strain on his body.
"I mean, you still get to fight Fon because of her, right?" Dino reminded him, once again bringing up his key bargaining chip, "and you're really too injured to fight me right now," Hibari nearly growled, once again reminded of how easily Dino had apprehended him when he had tried to attack his tutor earlier.
"And I'm a little injured from fighting Squalo too," he admitted, a bit sheepishly, "so that's why we're going to find her now, right? See? In the end, we're only helping you, Kyoya."
"I don't need your help," Hibari muttered, before stopping completely, causing Dino to straight up run into him. He looked back at the blonde irritably, before glancing back at what had originally caught his attention.
"What gives Ky- hm?" Dino paused, eyes narrowed. "Kashi?" He muttered, watching as the red panda hurriedly made its way down the street. Two more figures swiftly followed the animal, one considerably larger than the other.
"Fon and Squalo?" Dino concluded, now confused and worried after viewing both of their expressions. He paled, beginning to put the pieces together and making his own conclusions from what little information he had. Dino quickly passed Hibari and went after the figures. He slid to a stop, seeing that they had halted up ahead.
"Squalo! Fon!" Dino said, as he approached them. Squalo looked back, seeing Dino approach along with Hibari at a more reserved pace, not having grasped the gravity of the situation. Squalo frowned, with almost pity in his eyes, and returned to examining the scene before them. Dino paled, having reached the two, and now in full view of the scene.
Squalo was the first to say anything.
"She was definitely attacked," he said seriously, walking forward and beginning to recreate the fight, moving his head along with the blood smears and indents in the wall and ground. His eyes narrowed, confused when the obvious chain indents in the wall didn't add up, and the fight he was imitating in his head crumbled.
"You said she was meeting up with an illusionist?" he asked Fon, who was doing the same. Dino stayed back, unsure of what to do, and remained with a solemn look on his face. Hibari shifted almost uncomfortably behind his tutor, even more out of the loop and even more irritated.
"Dayita Koenig," Fon supplied, meeting Squalo's eyes, "Then there's a chance," he let out a small sigh, "that she may still be alive." Squalo nodded, still not relieved, but more determined.
"We ran into her box weapon while looking for her," Squalo said, reverting his gaze to the red panda, "and it led us here. She must have sent it when she was first attacked."
Dino's gut twisted at this, a sickening feeling settling in the bottom of his stomach.
Meanwhile, Kashi ignored them, and became intent on picking up a stronger scent. She stopped suddenly in her sweep, sniffing the ground intently before letting out a small bark. She flicked her tail in the direction, and sprang forward. Squalo scowled, staggering slightly before running forward again.
"What's going on?" Dino asked as they followed Kashi, "Is Nikita… is she okay?"
"I'm afraid that she might have been hurt badly because of me," Fon admitted guiltily. "The Vindice attacked the teams in an out of bounds battle. They targeted the boss watches." Dino paled in realization. Hibari's eyes narrowed as he took in this information.
"And she was alone?" her brother said, fists tightening.
"I'm afraid so," Fon admitted solemnly.
"Hey, Bronco!" Squalo snapped, holding back a wince as he strained his body more, "Don't you fucking go down that path again! Snap the fuck out of it. The brat's tougher than you think, and besides, she wasn't completely alone."
"What do you mean?" Dino asked, then trailed off, realizing that they have come to a stop in front of a small hospital. Kashi pawed frantically at the door, too small to open it herself. Squalo scowled, ripping the door open and walking through first.
"If we're lucky," Squalo said, without looking back, "then that bitch is the reason that she's alive."
"You can't go in."
Squalo shot back suddenly as Dayita appeared in front of him in a flurry of mist, blocking him from the door Kashi had pushed through moments before.
"You're…" Dino said, skidding to a halt as well. Hibari stopped smoothly at the back of the group, still questioning his intentions for coming along, but feeling his usual animosity upon seeing the dark-skinned woman.
"Dayita Koenig," Hibari identified in a cold manner. He noted however, that she disregarded her usual playfulness in this situation.
"What the fuck happened?" Squalo demanded, getting straight to the point, "Is Nikita in there?"
"Is she safe?" Fon asked from his perch on Dino's shoulder.
"Dead," Dayita said simply, seriously. Hibari stiffened slightly, taking in her body language.
She wasn't lying, he realized, but his grip tightened on one of his tonfas, his hand having reached for it in this realization; she wasn't telling the entire truth either.
"Dead? The fuck do you mean she's dead?"
"Dead. No pulse." Squalo shot forward before Dino could grab him, pulling Dayita up by the collar of her shirt roughly.
"The fuck? How can you say that so easily?" he nearly spat in her face. He blinked, the illusion of the girl fading, and whipped his head to the right, seeing the actual illusionist placidly leaning against the wall.
"Like I said," she elaborated, holding up one finger, "she's dead. But," she said, tilting her head, causing her elaborate earrings to jingle and catch light beautifully, her face remaining cold and neutral, despite the movement.
"We'll see what we can do about that."
I blinked, progressively, my eyes adjusting to the almost billowing, misty landscape. No, I corrected, it was far more cloud like than mist. I looked above, and blinked placidly, seeing bits of blue sky, and then galaxy in another break in the clouds arcing above. I looked farther up and then slowly made my way forward, noticing the light becoming stronger and then golden towards the horizon. To my side, I noticed, was an extremely out of place looking security camera. There were more, I released, scattered again towards the golden horizon.
It was then I noticed the line.
I blinked once more, looking ahead of me and seeing others. People. Most were elderly, but some of them…. some of them were ghastly, some torn apart, still dripping blood, hoarding body parts. Some had minuscule injuries, and some had their entire face torn off. Some looked complete and whole, without injury. Some were blue, and one man was holding his head in his own arms. Standing. Waiting.
"Oh, you poor thing." I turned around, then looked down, seeing a kind-faced, shriveled elderly women. She smiled sadly up at me, but reassuringly. Gently. "So young too," she tutted, shaking her head and looking me over. "Looks like a painful death."
It took me a while to register her words, and then finally look down to see my own state.
I hadn't realized I was holding my shoulder, preventing it from falling away from my body and onto the ground, the few muscles left attaching it looking weak and torn. I shifted slightly, careful to keep a hold on my shoulder, to see a large gash across my abdomen, to the point where I could see a few organs, and still dripping some blood. No, I realized blankly; a lot of blood.
"Your face looks a bit torn up as well, dear," the old woman noted, seeing that I was slowly taking everything in. "Doesn't seem like a normal accident." I simply took her word for it, not wanting to let go of my shoulder to touch my face.
"I… I don't remember," I admitted blandly. My reaction to this, to everything, was lack luster, as if I didn't have the capacity to care.
"Ah, yes," the women hummed, "they said that this often happens to those with sudden deaths."
Death.
The word resonated strangely to me, as if I didn't yet comprehend it. As if I was still pushing against it.
"They?" I asked.
"That's right," the women chuckled, "since it was sudden, you didn't get the orientation. The angel- well, they didn't say they were an angel, but I know that's what they were, beautiful godly things, really- told me all about the process. It was like a dream, really, the trip up. And I suppose it was, since I died in my sleep," she said, laughing lightly as if she were not talking about death, "but I knew I was ready to go. You though," she sighed, a sad expression on her face, "you were young weren't you? Do you remember? How you died, that is?"
I concentrated, raking my mind for memories, for anything. Small flashes, some happy, some filled with searing pain. I let out a breath, the pain seeping out of me. I blinked tears away and looked around, feeling like we had moved up in line.
"I'm sorry," the woman said, frowning again, "They mentioned that those with unexpected deaths may not transfer all at once; that means you're not completely gone yet. I can tell that took a lot out of you. My name is Mabel," she introduced, smiling once more and quickly changing the subject. I opened my mouth to respond politely, but hesitated, realizing that I couldn't think of my name. Mabel saw this, and attempted to help.
"Did you have a family?" She asked kindly, "I have two grand kids; twin girls. Beautiful and happy."
"I had… a brother," I started slowly, then corrected, "a few brothers?" My eyebrows furrowed in concentration, remembering numerous figures, different people. All loved ones, my mind told me.
"A big family then?" Mabel asked. I blinked, then allowed a small smile, the first sign of true, blissful emotion since I arrived here.
"Yeah," I allowed, then repeated, "Yeah. A big, loving family."
"That's the most important thing," Mabel told me, reaching to fondly hold my limp hand, "family; love. When you're as old as me, you realize that." I looked down at our hands touching, somewhere, impossibly, feeling the warmth of the dead woman's hand.
A sudden commotion behind us drew our attention. We looked down the lines, seeing various dead complaining and shouting at a figure briskly making its way towards us.
"No cutting, bastard!" A man yelled and then promptly threw his unattached arm at the figure. It dodged it and straightened, almost humorously, pointing accusingly at the man.
"Hey! That is not proper heaven etiquette! I can get you sent to Hell for that!" In the next moment, the figure slumped, and in a miserable voice, admitted, "No, I really can't."
Mabel gave a small gasp of awe as the figure continued, directly approaching us.
"It's one them," she told me, nudging my side lightly, careful not to upset the large gash, and instead touching the undamaged side of my hip, "the angels. Aren't they beautiful?" I blinked, looking over the figure.
I didn't exactly see the 'beauty' Mabel was talking about. In fact, the figure's entire head was covered in a smooth, chrome helmet. They were wearing a plain suit and tie, looking rather professional as they approached us. But, even with this, a certain name popped into my head, pulled from distance memories.
"Daft Punk?" I asked, causing the figure to deflate once more.
"Erika," they corrected, holding up a finger while still nearly doubled over, "actually. Why do people keep calling me that, I mean, my appearance is left totally up to belief-" they stopped suddenly, straightening. They held up a hand, and moved it over the flat chrome where their face would be, composing themselves. Their chest moved as if taking a deep breath before fully facing me again.
Mabel still seemed to be in awe of the beauty she saw, smiling brightly up at Erika in an almost dream-like manner.
"Nikita Cavallone?" I blinked and my eyes shifted to Erika. I barely registered the last name, something about it having a familiar ring.
"Yes?"
"What a unique name," Mabel muttered, never taking her eyes off of Erika. Erika sighed in relief, and put their hand in the inside of their jacket, pulling out a heavily folded piece of paper. Erika cleared their throat, then read.
"Hello, insert name of soul here- ah, sorry," they fumbled, "Nikita Cavallone! There has been a recall of your soul. Please follow insert name of a- ah, sorry. That's me. Erika," they reminded me, moving forward a bit as they nodded, then continued, "We're sorry for any inconvenience that this has caused you. Please be sure to gather all body parts that may have become unattached. Thank you."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"So," Erika started, rolling back on the balls of their feet. They swept their hand in the direction they came from, "please follow me." I leaned forward, looking at the direction we were supposed to go. Endless upon endless eyes of the dead stared back at me.
"You should go," Mabel said, causing me to look at her again. "After all," she told me kindly, "your family is waiting, aren't they?"
"And," Erika cut in, pulling out what seemed to be a smart phone and checking the time, "we kind have a time limit on this, so if you would…" they gestured once more. I blinked, then nodded. As soon as I was beside them, Erika put their hand on the small of my back and increased my pace.
I averted my eyes away from the line, having received glares all along the way. Erika stopped suddenly, and cursed loudly in a language I did not understand. The clouds suddenly stormed around us, and rumbled angrily.
"Sorry, sorry! I forgot!" Erika apologized, taking their hand away from me and turned to the side, bringing out their phone once more. "Geeze, give me a break! It's my first day," they muttered as they typed. There was a soft 'ding' as the clouds returned to white, and Erika put an arm up, wanting me to step back. A large shape rose from the clouds in front of us. An elevator, I realized.
Erika grabbed me suddenly and nearly darted forward. I didn't realize why until I was inside the elevator, and had time to turn around. The other souls had dove for the elevator as well, screaming and begging as Erika pushed their arms back with their foot as the door quickly closed. Their pleading eyes went to me, and I felt a pang of pity in my heart. The emotion carried, and as the doors closed completely, there was a bit more sense in my body.
I could feel the blood running, I could feel my heart aching. Realization, true and raw, hit me there.
"I died," I said out loud. Erika looked over at me after having pressed a complicated array of buttons on the elevator panel, having looked off yet another folded paper. Erika stiffened, then quickly folded the paper, put it in the jacket and pulled out a small book from the same place. They flipped through it almost frantically before dramatically stopping on a page.
"The unexpectedly killed may have trouble committing to death and therefore may come to this realization rather harshly," they read as I turned, tears in my eyes. I let go of my shoulder, not even realizing that it stayed attached, and in fact was slowly healing itself along with the gash across my stomach. I brought my hand to cover my mouth in shock, tears brimming down my face, my memories, all the people I loved returning to me, and realizing that I had left all them. Again. As my emotions were catching up to me, Erika was still reading.
"… as they are going through this process, you, insert name of agent, may help them by calming them and reminding the of happier tim- think of puppies!" Erika said suddenly, "and chocolate! What else do humans like….?" they struggled, frantically, scratching the back of their chrome helmet, "Oh! Wait, this is the happiest of news! You're getting recalled, and so you're not actually dying!"
I took a breath, composing myself, and looking over at them, seeing that they had spread their arms out dramatically at the news.
"I think," I said, cooling myself, wiping my face a bit more, "that I'm good now. Sorry," I apologized, giving them a light smile, "I was just…. I didn't want to do that to them again, you know? And," I said, wanting to move on from that thought quickly, "It's your first day, right? So I'll try not to be difficult."
I would have guessed that they were blushing, if the chrome helmet weren't in the way.
"Oh, stop it! You're too kind!" they said, waving their hand dismissively in the air while the other cupped the cheek of the helmet.
"So," I said, taking another breath and shifting my stance, "I got recalled? That's good, right?"
"Well," Erika shrugged, moving to come stand beside me as the elevator continued moving, "it's complicated." I raised an eyebrow. They became uncomfortable once more, and leaned towards me.
"Look, this doesn't happen a lot; even I know that, and I'm the newbie," they whispered urgently, "but…" they trailed off, raising their head to look around the space, then returned, "since it's technically your soul that's involved, and you won't even really remember this once you go back, at least, you shouldn't remember much…." they trailed off and titled their head, as if in thought. I stiffened when they suddenly brought out the small book again, and flipped though it once more.
"It's not in the guidebook," they muttered, shutting it quickly.
"Then," Erika decided, nodding once, "it's not technically illegal. And, we've got time to kill before we get to your universe. Okay!" The clapped their hands together and stepped forward, pivoting until they were facing me.
"Now, when one of your incarnations, 'Hannah', inserted herself into another universe, that was a mistake and flaw on our part; we have upped our security and that kind of situation will not happen again. Anyway," they said, getting off subject, then snapping back on track, "when that happened, typically, her 'one death' would have followed her. However, another soul began to form; this is the soul of the physical body that Hannah inhabited, or rather, tried to inhabit and actually caused the formation of herself when she personalized her reincarnation. However, the blank, not-yet-imprinted soul that was meant to occupy that body instead formed a personality as the body grew, eventually surpassing and weakening Hannah's soul until it was nothing but a small connection in the back of the body's mind. That," Erika pointed at me, "is you."
"Although it's true that Hannah's 'one death' followed her, after she eventually faded, as was to happen with the presence of your much stronger and brighter soul, that 'one death' became yours, along with your own, original 'one death' that every soul gets upon entering a new world. Is this making sense?" Erika paused. I slowly nodded, reviewing the information.
"So you're saying," I guessed, putting the pieces together, "that I just used Hannah's death? And that's why I'm able to be recalled?" Erika sighed, slumping forward in relief.
"And here I thought I was going to have to explain it again," Erika admitted, humorously wiping absent sweat off of their helmet, "but yes, that's why it's no problem letting you go back. It actually makes it easy for us, in the long run. So thanks for dying!"
My expression dead panned, unamused with their joke.
"Sorry," they apologized quickly, slumping again. "But on a serious note, nothing like this will ever happen again; you only have one death to use now. You're lucky, you know? Even I can see that. Any human would kill you get another chance like this."
"I've got people to return to," I said confidently, "and I can't just leave them again." Erika stood still, looking rather intimidating with their arms crossed and standing tall. Then there was a sniff.
"You're so good!" They cried, jumping at me. I moved back, but ended up hitting the wall of the elevator as they wrapped their arms around me. I shifted both arms, just now noticing that the shoulder was completely reattached at this point, and seeing that my face was injury free in the reflection of Erika's helmet.
"I'm so glad I got you as a first client on my first day!" Erika sobbed, clearly getting emotionally now that the elevator was slowing in it's descent.
"Glad to help," I said a little awkwardly, patting them on the back reassuringly. They straightened suddenly, shooting up, startling me once more.
"I almost forgot!" They cried, whipping out their phone, "I need you to take this survey!" I blinked, then leaned forward, scanning over the contents of a screen.
"Is this… a survey?" I asked blandly, side eyeing Erika. They coughed nervously.
"I will remind you that it's kind of my first day and first soul, so good a review would be nice."
"…. I'll just put all fives."
"You're the best!" I gasped, getting the breath knocked out of me as Erika hugged me suddenly after I had completed the short survey. I patted their pack, then began hitting it, eventually signaling that they needed to let go now. Erika sheepishly rubbed the back of their head and bowed as apology.
"Well," they gestured the door, "as soon as I open this door, you'll be back."
"Home," I said, letting out a small sigh of relief, "with family."
"Is it nice," Erika asked, almost hesitantly, "to be loved?"
"It's…." I trialed off, looking over at them, "more than nice. It's the most important thing."
"Family?"
"And love," I said, laughing a bit at the cheesiness of it all. "But it's true," I admitted, approaching Erika and giving a light kiss on the cheek of the helmet. I could have sworn they were blushing beneath the helmet as I stepped back.
"Thanks," I said genuinely, nodding. They stammered, brushing me off with a jumble of words before pushing one of the buttons on the elevator panel. The door opened, and I spared one last look at Erika.
"Hope I'm not back anytime soon, " I saluted before stepping through the door.
Fran yawned loudly as he approached the hotel, haven taken his sweet time in getting there. After all, he had to plan exactly how he was going to bother the tooth decay fungus. He had a reputation to keep up, after all. He blinked, watching placidly as a familiar figure approached the hotel as well and was just about to enter the doors.
"I'd recognize that matted, unkept mass of hair anywhere," Fran called out, causing the figure to stiffen. Squalo turned abruptly to look back at Fran. The child's eyes quickly evaluated the older man, noting the various, but treated, injuries littering his body. His eyes barely narrowed, noting the tired, almost hollow yet relieved look in his eyes before they filled with irritation.
"Try to mate with a shark again?" Fran asked. Squalo's eye twitched, glaring down at Fran.
"What the fuck are doing here?" He asked, a malicious and extremely forced smile making its way onto the captain's face.
"I'm here to see Big Sis," Fran told him, walking through the doors before Squalo, "I figured that if I took long enough getting her, then she would be done meeting with Shikshikaa, and I wouldn't have to deal with you guys for too long. Hm?" Fran stopped, looking back at Squalo.
"For having such a big-fat mouth, long-hair," Fran addressed Squalo, "you sure are unusually quiet." Squalo's eye twitched, forgoing his momentary thoughtful, almost guilty look. He growled, and moved forward, grabbing the child by the back of his shirt and dragging him behind as he continued walking.
"Hey," Fran called out blandly, "what's the big deal? Where's Big Sis?"
"Shut up!" Squalo snapped, dropping him roughly on the floor of the elevator, "You're sticking by me for now, got it you little shit?"
"Rude," Fran accused, remaining on the floor and not even bothering to get up. However, he was wise enough not to press on the subject, despite his curiosity and worry. Squalo was definitely hiding something from him. But, he could be patient. He could wait.
"Voi!" Squalo called out, walking confidently onto the floor as soon as the elevator opened. Fran sighed and pushed himself up, making it into the room right before the doors closed. "Where's the brief case?" Squalo asked, walking into the room completely and approaching the three hospital beds set up. Fran barely stiffened, looking over to see Xanxus's eyes on him. He met them, not daring to look away first. The boss's eyes barely narrowed, then turned to Squalo, who was being pelted with questions by the three officers in bed, specifically, the blonde prince.
"Oi," Xanxus called, ending all discussions. Squalo whipped around, clearly irritated and about to go off. Xanxus raised one eyebrow in question, not having to ask verbally.
"She's fine," Squalo said curtly, then turned to Mammon sharply, "Now, where the fuck is that extra watch?" Mammon jolted into action, immediately going to the brief case sitting on a table in the room. Fran blinked, deciding this was an opportune time to step out from behind Squalo.
"Yo," he greeted, leaning out first, then stepping into full view of the three injured, "you sure are a lively bunch. Like a circus in here."
"What is the brat doing here?" Levi asked, wincing as he tried to shoot up.
"Shut up! I'm watching him!" Squalo growled, taking the watch Mammon had brought to him and securing it on his wrist. Bel clicked his tongue, and rested completely on his pillow, annoyed that his questions weren't being answered, annoyed that the brat was here and that his princess wasn't, but all the while, grudgingly trusting Squalo's judgement.
"Can you really wear that watch, Squ?" Lussuria asked.
"Of course!" Squalo shot back, "There's no rule saying that if your watch was destroyed you can't fight with a spare! Since I'm the strongest and healthiest of the executives, I'll have my come back," he said angrily, prideful.
"You shouldn't overdo it though…" Lussuria warned, "You're a wreck as well… This is already a big loss for the Varia though. Can't you do something about it, Mammon?"
"I'm doing a lot!" Mammon argued, clearly stressed, "I'm doing my very best! Even now-"
"Mammon." Fran barely stiffened again, his attention called back to Xanxus.
"It's not that bad," he assured the arcobaleno, "just a few more assholes to wipe out." Fran stopped himself from stepping back, and averting his eyes from Xanxus's fierce gaze. So, he thought to himself, storing this information; this is one of those types that his master had told him about, the powerful ones that he absolutely should not piss off.
This was the boss of the Varia. He whistled loudly.
"Wow," he said. "You're pissed, huh?"
Xanxus clicked his tongue, and leaned back in his throne. Squalo growled and clocked Fran in the head. Fran grumbled, rubbing his mistreated skull and reestablishing his apple illusion.
"Just trust us and stay out of our way, brat," Squalo hissed, grabbing his arm and moving him to another room.
"What if another battle breaks out?" Fran asked curiously before they completely exited, causing Squalo to stop. "That's what's happening right? Big Sis told me about them." Squalo's face went neutral, as if just remembering something. He clicked his tongue, and reached in one of his pockets.
"Here." Fran quickly caught the object Squalo threw at him. He blinked, looking down at the watch in his hands. "That was her watch," Squalo said, looking down at him with crossed arms.
"If a battle sta-" They froze, both their watches and Xanxus's emitting a loud buzzing sound.
"One minute until the battle starts!"
"Fuck!" Squalo cursed loudly, scowling as he turned, adjusting the sword on his hand.
"What's he thinking!" Mammon exclaimed, approaching Fran and Squalo, "This schedule's ridiculous! He's just torturing us!""
"Calm down, Mammon!" Squalo ordered, then looked towards their boss, "Learn from our boss."
"Sleep in crisis?" Fran guessed, earning an annoyed look from Squalo.
"He's not panicking!" Squalo said, swatting at Fran's head again, and then kneeling down to his level, "Look, you little shit," he hissed at a lower volume, "I gave you that watch so you could have something of hers right now. It's pretty fucking obvious to me that you're worried." Fran stiffened slightly at this, not knowing how the older man could possibly tell.
(but then remembered his master's warning: "watch out for rains, they're the most perceptive; the most annoying")
"You get your ass out of here, got it? She wouldn't want you involved in this. Go!" He picked up Fran by the scruff and nearly threw him toward the elevator just as a flurry of black flames appeared in the middle of the room.
"This aura! It's them again!"
"This is really bad," Bel noted, "we totally can't fight now! The only representatives left are Boss and Captain."
"And look!" Lussuria pointed out the worst of the news, "One of the Vindice was already strong enough, this time two Vindices are coming!" Squalo scowled, putting himself between them and Fran, who was now nearly frozen in fear, seeing the two ghastly figures emerge out of the inky portals. Xanxus stood up with his guns already drawn. Mammon nearly quivered beside him, not knowing what else to do.
Xanxus and Squalo shared one look before the Vindice attacked, forcing the two into battle.
Fran pressed himself up against the wall, not knowing what to do. He viewed the Vindice fearfully, thinking them to be gods of death. He winced, quickly seeing that it was a losing battle. No matter how strong those two were, Varia-quality or not, they were injured. Tired. Exhausted.
And there was nothing he could do. His eyes shifted to the watch into his hand, thinking of Nikita, thinking of what she would do. He almost moved forward, but with one look at the Vindice, their chain almost piercing Squalo, he froze in fear again.
He couldn't do it, he told himself. He couldn't even do it for her.
"Fran," his master told him, pinching his cheek harshly, "I told you, ungrateful brat." She scrunched her nose and looked him up and down, unimpressed by his frozen stature.
"Turn your fear into someone else's," she reprimanded, folding her arms and turning to look at the awful, horrible illusion she had made, she had dared to make in front of him. "I made this to invoke fear, to get a reaction. Use that. Turn that fear," she said, moving behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning to whisper into his ear, "into your ultimate weapon. Use it. Kill with it. Conquer."
And that was what he did.
"Don't say that about them!" Nikita reprimanded, pinching Fran's nose lightly after he made another comment about the Varia. He scrunched his nose.
"Why not?" he said, rubbing his nose and acting as if the act had actually hurt him, "they're just a bunch of circus freaks."
"Fran," she said sternly, causing him to shut up. She sighed, and shifted, leaning back and looking out the window of the plane.
"They're important to me," she started, her eyes lighting up warmly, "They're family. Understand? Yeah, Levi can be a bit much, but he's loyal. Lussuria's taught me a bunch of stuff that I might of known if I had a mother," she said, a bit sadly, causing Fran's eyes to widen slightly, storing this new information, "and Bel," she smiled again, a bigger smile; no, a grin, "Bel's insane, but I have to claim him. Boss…. well, he's the boss. And Squalo, well, I guess he can take some credit for raising me too, along with Dino and Master."
She paused, thoughts, memories, evident in her bright, clear green eyes. She turned to Fran, and ruffled his hair. He frowned, scrunching his nose again, but did nothing to stop her.
"They're important to me, okay?" she told him, and the disgruntled him further by poking him on the forehead. Her smile dimmed, and she became more serious, looking him straight in the eye.
"I would give my life for them," she admitted, and then smiled once more, "so I would appreciate it if you didn't mock them too much, okay?"
Chrome took a breath and opened her eye, viewing the battle before her.
She had come all this way for a reason. To fight. But it was so much more than that, wasn't it? To prove a point, to prove her strength. To prove she was a fighter, because she was.
Nikita had told her she was, and here Chrome was, proving that point. She only wished that Nikita was here to see it, but that didn't matter now, not really.
She was here to fight, to prove herself as a warrior and conquer, just as she had seen Nikita do, Tsuna do, Mukuro do.
And she could do that too; she knew this now. But not for others, she realized. She would no longer live like that.
For this one time, she would fight for herself, and through that, fight for others she loved.
Her eyes spoke of determination, but her actions would be much louder.
My eyelids fluttered open, groggily. Above, I saw the first bits of sun against the blank, white ceiling.
"A hospital room…?" I muttered. I shifted, then felt a weight holding down the blanket covering me. I pushed myself up, feeling a bit sore, and blinked, surprised to see Chrome, folded arms acting as a pillow for her head, kneeling by my bedside. Hearing something else, I looked to my other side, seeing Fran curled up in a chair, fast asleep as well. My eyes narrowed, seeing a few bandages on his face, and noticing Chrome looking a little damaged as well.
I froze, Chrome's eyelids fluttering open prettily, and squinting against the light. She lifted her head, and shook it lightly, then her eye landed on me, widening.
"You're awake…" she muttered quietly, before springing forward and wrapping her arms around me tightly, the sudden movement from her, of all people, shocking me. She buried her head into my shoulder and held me in a tight embrace.
"You're okay!" She said in relief. I hesitated, then embraced her as well, feeling the moisture from her eyes in the curve of my neck.
"You're better too!" I said, smiling happily, already noticing a healthier glow, "I'm glad you're okay. You look beautiful, Chrome!" She blushed, and retreated to where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hip still touching my thigh.
"I decided was going to skip school today…" she muttered, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear, causing the mist earring to jingle, catching the light of the just-rising sun, "to be here when you wake up."
"How rebellious of you," I teased, causing her to laugh lightly and blush further, "maybe I'm rubbing off on you too much." Chrome's smile faded however, her eyes trailing over my exposed shoulder. I looked, surprised to see a rather large scar on my right shoulder, looking like my shoulder had been nearly torn off and had been healed back together. I lifted my tank top out of curiosity, and trailed another large scar, starting from my left hip and looking like it met my shoulder scar. I traced those, then absentmindedly went over the large lightning looking scars I have received from Zhanna, intertwining with the new scars almost beautifully.
"So it really happened…" I muttered. My eyebrows collided in concentration, and I lifted my hand gingerly, placing it on my head. A cold feeling washed over me, some pieces coming back to me as if out of a dream.
"But it wasn't a dream…" I realized slowly. I scowled, and then softened.
I felt the need to apologize to Mukuro; he was the reason I was alive after all.
Chrome nodded sadly and then reached out to grab my hand, taking it away from my head softly.
"I'm just glad that you're alive after all," she whispered, tightening her grip. "We all are," she added, knowingly, looking me in the eyes.
"The Vindice," I muttered, almost wincing as the details of my fight came back to me.
"The others were attacked as well," Chrome informed me, causing my head to jerk up.
"Are they okay?" I asked, leaning forward suddenly.
"Collonello and Uni's team were eliminated- well, their boss watches were destroyed," she corrected quickly, seeing the concern in my eyes.
"Is Byakuran okay?" I asked before I could stop myself. She hesitated, then nodded, a bit confused.
"The last I heard, he was in the same hospital as Enma," she informed me. This caused more confusion on my part.
"Enma? He got hurt too?"
"The Vindice stole their watches from Skull's team," Chrome said, causing my heart to sink. "They're injured, but fine." I thought of Adel, then sighed in relief.
"She must be worried sick," I muttered, then frowned, "and blaming herself…. but alive, right? Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, the Varia? Everyone? Where's Dino?" I finished berating her with questions and looked to the door, as if expecting my brother to burst in and fret over my condition.
"They're injured, but fine," she assured me, squeezing my hand again, "and Dino left just a while ago to update the Varia on your condition. He was here all night," she told me gently, "and only left when I came. Fran's been here all night too," she said, looking over at the small child. I blinked, softening as I looked over at him.
"He's completely out, isn't he?" I mused, smiling softly over at Fran, looking rather peaceful sleeping, "Like a light. Too bad he's not that quiet when he's awake. Wouldn't raise as much hell that way."
"He fought the Vindice as well." My blood to ran cold.
"What?"
It came out as a hiss. Chrome's eye widened, and she released my hand to hold both hers up in almost a defensive stance.
"He was with the Varia when they were attacked the second time-"
"Second time?" She nodded sadly.
"After the surprise attack, the next battle started at midnight, and the Vindice attacked again. Fran was with the Varia, and fought with your battle watch. It's because of his illusions that they survived, according to Dino. Apparently, Mammon had used all his time in the battle earlier, so they couldn't help, so Fran stepped in, since he was there. He got a little hurt," she admitted, looking over at him sadly, but then nodded, determined, "but he's okay. A little tired, but fine." A bit of pride swelled up inside me as I looked over at him.
"That's a relief," I admitted, putting a hand over my chest. I blinked, looking down at my wrist, paling.
"The boss watch- Master!" I looked up at Chrome suddenly. I ran a nervous hand through my hair, then looked at it, confused, and realizing that a huge chunk was cut off from the right side. I shook my head, getting back on subject, deciding the state of my hair was the least of my problems. Chrome answered my question before I could even finish asking.
"You protected it," she told me, then added almost irritably, surprising me a bit, "with your life, but you protected it. Cloud-man," I blinked, then realized that she was talking about Kyoya, "wore it during the battle, but no one came after him, since they assumed that they had already taken care of the boss watch." I slumped, a huge weight rolling off my shoulders.
"Thank God," I admitted, smiling, and then laughing a bit, "I didn't let Master down…. or Kyoya," I added, shuddering a bit, "I don't think he'd ever forgive me, since he was already pissed." Chrome smiled a bit, and opened her mouth to continue,
But then, and she looked at me again, eyes welling as she lunged forward to wrap me in her arms once more.
"Sorry," she said, almost a sob, having yet to let go of me, "but… I was just worried about you."
Immediately, I embraced her as well, and only after this, did we part; if barely, with our arms still around each other, and still at such a close distance.
"When I heard you died I…" Chrome said again, biting her bottom lip and looking away. I softened, nearly caved and brought a hand to her cheek, turning her head back gently to look at me.
"Hey," I muttered softly, my thumb going to wipe her tear away, "I'm fine now, right? And I'm sorry to put you through that."
She shook her head, moving my hand with it.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything," she said, lifting her hand to put on top of mine, "I'm just… glad you're here."
A moment, and I opened my mouth, my face, my body, the air we shared at such a close distance, feeling warm, but pleasantly so. In that moment, I found myself leaning forward, and Chrome reciprocated this, cheeks heavily tinted as our lips barely brushed –
Dayita burst into the room, throwing open the door gloriously.
Immediately, we separated, and I even hissed a cursed, coughing in surprise while Chrome shifted away, hiding her bright, bright (and extremely cute, holy shit, she was adorable) red face from the other illusionist. Dayita, however seemed to miss these little details completely, or perhaps just ignored it for now, most likely having plans to use this against me at a later time.
(Hooray)
Dayita wafted in the room, an extremely young looking Indian girl dressed in what looked to be too big of clothes and carrying a tray of breakfast foods and a pitcher of orange juice. Dayita's entire demeanor lit up when she saw that I was awake.
"Love!" She called out, enveloping me in her arms and large, billowing sleeves. She kissed me on the cheek, but I managed to push her away, seeing the ways her eyes lit up and stopped her affections before they went too far. My eyes flickered to Chrome, who turned back to us, face still twinged in pink as she looked at me, gentle moving a stray hair from her face, but gave a soft smile of reassurance before focusing on Dayita.
"You're exasperating, you know," Dayita tutted, a bit of malice behind her voice, "dying like that."
"I couldn't fail my master," I told her honestly, managing to recover quickly "and hey, at least I'm still alive now, right?" Dayita's face fell, turning cold.
"You died. Passed on. This was a serious matter," she pinched my cheek harshly, reverting back to her usual personality, "so be sure not to make that same mistake again, okay dear?"
I swatted her hand away as Dayita turned to Chrome. An elegant smile appeared on her face, causing me to stiffen and narrow my eyes. Chrome shifted uncomfortably under Dayita's sharp gaze.
"You know, you're pretty cute," Dayita complimented in a sultry voice, leaning over the bed and getting extremely close to Chrome's face, causing her to blush heavily and lean away.
"Yita," I warned, frowning, and pushing down an unfamiliar feeling (and yet, after what just almost happened, an entirely identifiable feeling).
"What?" She said, shrugging nonchalantly and sending a wink at Chrome, "I'm just pointing out the obvious. Jealous, Nike~"
"Who's this?" I asked, changing the subject and gesturing to the small girl, who had just finished setting up the tray at the foot of the bed.
"Don't you recognize her?" Dayita asked, faking offense. I raised an eyebrow.
"It seems that we keep meeting like this, miss," the little girl squeaked, giving a small bow, "it's me, Madhi." I blinked, then my eyes widened.
"No way…." I said, tilting my head, "Madhi? Your ayah?" I turned to look at Dayita.
"The one and the same," she purred, having fun with my confusion, like a cat playing with a live mouse, or more accurately, a snake throwing a mouse up in the air before swallowing it whole.
"You should be thanking her," Dayita wagged her finger at me, as if scolding, "it's only because of her ability that you're still alive."
"Her ability?" I asked. The little girl, Madhi, I corrected myself, having to get used to her new appearance, cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"As I told you earlier," she began, speaking in a rather cute voice that was a little hard to take seriously, "I have been in Dayita's family for a long time. Generations, actually," she admitted, causing me to raise my eyebrows.
"I have sun flames, much like yours miss," she continued, "and like yours, mine are extremely unique. Ever since I was born, my flames have been more connected to my core than other flames users. This, along with the sun's attributes for healing, allow me to possess an unique ability; I am able to transfer years of my life to another person, heal them, and bring them back from even the brink of death, as you were."
"That's…" I muttered, taking this in, "amazing, Madhi."
"Varick refers to them as corrupted flames, and has put yours in the same category," Yita explained, "there are others like you, you know," she informed me in a sultry matter, "those with abilities that amplify or mutate usual flame properties. Madhi's just takes it to another step above your ability, but it is dangerous. No power like this is without consequence, of course."
"I first discovered this as a child, accidentally saving the life of a stray cat that was injured," Madhi explained, meeting my eyes and once again reminding me of how old they looked. Now, however, I knew why, "and I accidentally reverted myself back to a newborn. Luckily, my brother was there to take care of me, and I have learned to control the ability more. If I'm not careful, and depending on the severity of the situation, I can give my entire lifespan away. Once the process has started as well, I cannot stop it." I grew cold, realizing the exact consequence.
"And you were willing to risk that?" I asked her, feeling guilty, "just for me?" She smiled kindly, knowingly, far too much wisdom for someone who looks as young as she appeared.
"I have already lived far passed my prime, and now serve Dayita's family with my life," she told me calmly, "Dayita cares for you deeply; of course, it would be nothing to give all my years to someone like you."
"We were lucky that it left her with a few years," Dayita admitted nonchalantly, "when injuries like that easily could have taken her whole life."
"We only resort to this when the cause is lost," Madhi finished. "I haven't had to use this ability in at least ninety years, and that was enough to bring you back. That," she said, a twinkle in her eyes, "along with the will of those above us." Dayita scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous," she reprimanded, then moved on, "Either way, you have us to thank."
"And I'm grateful," I admitted, smiling at her.
"But," she added, causing me to frown, "this also means that your indebted to my family." I blinked. Chrome looked between us, unsure and still awed by this information. Fran snorted in his sleep, smacked his lips, and shifted in his chair before falling back into complete slumber.
(I felt warmth again, spreading lightly across my cheeks, just now realizing Fran was there the entire time)
Dayita's eyes twitched, but she never broke contact with me.
"Oh," I said, dreading the statement a bit. She smiled beautifully.
"Oh, indeed, Nikita," she said, practically purring. She stiffened and her eyes snapped to the window. I stiffened as well, then smiled widely, jumping out of bed and going to the window, ignoring my sore body and Dayita's small yell of disapproval.
"Tsuna!" I said, leaning out the window as he approached. I grabbed his arm as he flew in, and embraced him tightly as he landed, his arms enveloping me as well. Dayita sighed and rolled her eyes.
"I leave you to your little 'reunion'," she said almost sourly, walking out the room, motioning for Madhi to follow her. Madhi smiled once more and bowed before exiting. Tsuna gave one last final squeeze before releasing me.
"Dino said you were fine," He admitted a bit sheepishly as his Hyper Dying Will mode diminished, "but," he rubbed the back of his head as he stepped away, allowing me to sit back on the edge of the bed, "I had to see you for myself."
He blinked, looking at the side of my head, humor spiking in his eyes.
"Nice hair."
He nearly shrank back at my harsh look and stammered out apologies. Chrome giggled softly, causing Tsuna to look over at her, and smiling, nodding softly in greeting, a prideful look in his eyes. I punched his arm lightly, his attention reverting back to me.
"Shut up," I told him, pushing his chest as well, causing him to stagger back a bit. I frowned, noticing how tired he looked for the first time. I pulled his arm, forcing him to sit on the bed with me and Chrome. He relented easily.
"I've had a lot more pressing things to worry about than hair, Tsuna," I teased lightly, then frowned slightly, seeing his eyes dart away, "and it seems you didn't just come here to check on me, right?" He sighed, and then nodded, almost hesitantly.
"I've been…. I have a plan," he said, forming the words slowly.
"I see," I muttered, "To defeat the Vindice?"
"Well," he said, shrugging," that's part of it. I.. I wanted to clear it with you, Cloud," he said strongly, looking me in the eyes clearly.
"Me?" I asked, titling my head, causing him to falter a bit. He picked back up quickly, however.
"Well, yeah?" he said, rubbing the back of his head, something I just realized that he, Dino, and I all did often, "you just calm me down a bit, you know? And I'm a bit wound up, especially after the night I've had the people I've had to talk too…" He took a breath before continuing, his exhaustion catching up to him.
"Boss…" Chrome said softly, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He sent her a small, appreciative smile. He continued.
"So, I just wanted to clear it with you… if that's okay?" he asked, looking at the very noticeable scar on my shoulder and wincing a bit. "I just need to know…"
"Are you ready to fight again, Nikita?"
I blinked, then chuckled, ruffling his hair. Tsuna grumbled, and shooed my hand away as usual, while Chrome smiled softly at our antics.
"That shouldn't even be a question, Tuna-fish," I teased, poking him in the chest again, "You know I'm always there for you. And besides," I added, rolling my neck and stretching my arms up as I hopped up off the bed. I tilted my head slightly to look back at them with a bright smile on my face.
"I can't play dead forever, now can I?"
"Flowers grow back, even after they are stepped on. So will I."
- Resilience
AN:
So I've always kind of liked the idea, that when someone dies, they just go to whatever they believe in? So if someone didn't even have strong implications of anything in their mind, they would still see their own interpretation of an afterlife/limbo, and "angels" (anyone get the Night Vale reference there). Next chapter will be the end of the Rainbow arc, and then I'll finish up the rest of the story! Whoo, actually going to have to get back to writing instead of mostly proofreading.
As always, thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews!
-Evenly