Re:DUX Chapter XIII [KumiYuriNon, WMatsui, Furuyanagi]

[HitoriYamanaka]

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A/N: This is the first side story of Re:DUX, and it talks about the past of two close friends.
Just how strong is their bond, and when did it all start from?


(I'll try to post the other character's side stories. I'll try. ) Anyways, I'll be posting the 2nd part of their training adventure later, so please do stay tuned.

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Re:DUX - Side Story A - Two Roses

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If it wasn't for her, I would've lost my sanity at any point in my life.

My story began when I was born.
I was a lucky survivor. Out of the 3 pregancies that my mom attempted before I was born, I was the only one who managed to get out alive.
Due to that, my mother, my father, and my grandmother were all happy to look after me.
But my parents, wanting me to live a better life that they had, they decided to work abroad shortly after my first birthday, leaving me and my grandmother alone in the house.
I truly loved my grandmother. She was my everything. Through thick and thin, my grandmother was there for me. Being a small child, I forgot the existence of my parents. I thought that I didn't have any parents, and yet I didn't feel any sorrow nor pain from it.
When my mother came home when I was 3 for a vacation, I refused to talk to her or look at her in the eyes.
I said,"Who are you?" to her, and of course, my grandmother got angry at me for doing so. I simply replied that I didn't know her, and I didn't know why my grandmother was so mad at me.
During her whole vacation, I didn't know how to treat my mother like a mother. I simply did as I was told, I obeyed her every order, I managed to make her happy.
But deep inside, I knew she was hurt. The pain of her daughter not recognizing her must be excruciating, but she stayed strong.
When she left, I remember myself smiling at her and saying good luck. She just waved back, with tears in her eyes.

-

"I want to go to school."
The sudden announcement that I told my grandparents shocked them all. Yes, I did want to study at the age of three.
Being the only child of my parents and the youngest among the children, I wasn't allowed to go out of the house unless necessary.
So, I was curious of what the world was, and doing nothing at home but stare at the ceiling and the television didn't help.
Of course, they granted my request. After debating on which school should I go in, they decided to put me in a Private Catholic School.
When the enrollment arrived, I was interviewed by the principal, though I didn't remember what she asked me or what did I even do.
All that my grandmother and my aunt could say was that I impressed the principal that she let me in at such a young age.

-

Experiencing the new environment of having many children around me, I found it hard to adjust at first.
I managed to slowly cope up with all of the activities in school with my grandmother by my side.
But at a young age, due to my height, I was bullied. There was only one person who decided to stand by me.
Yes, it was Matsui Rena. Though Rena herself can't fight for herself, Rena protected me. Even if Rena was a mere transfer student, she was the only one who decided to help me.
Though granted, afterwards, she herself was also on the floor like me, she smiled and asked me,"Are you okay?"

I was stunned. I have never encountered such a person, and it made me want to fight back, not only for myself, but also for her.
When I decided to fight back, the bullies never challenged me again, and Rena and I became closer. We became bestfriends.
We realized that we have so much in common, and that our houses were actually near to each other.
Rena's house was fantastic. It was so huge, like the ones you get to see on TV. But, only Rena and her mother live in the big mansion, since Rena's father died when she was little.
I am always invited for tea and sleepovers at Rena's house, but most commonly, what we both do is help each other with assignments and our studies.

At the end of the year, we ended up being honor students, and we were both happy because it was a shared effort.

-

When I was four, my mother decided to stay in the country and quit her job abroad.
Our household now consisted of me, mother and my grandmother. I started to know more about my mother and I was now aware of her presence as a mother, a presence I didn't realize back then.
My mother was the one who helped me study, though I would've prefered Rena's teachings over her at any day.
My mother's lessons were horrifying. She would make me stay up at 9 just to finish a certain topic that I didn't memorize.
I used to cry about it to my grandmother, and she would comfort me about it.

But I never realized the paid effort of those hellish studies. I aced almost all of the tests and my teachers told me that I should've skipped a year or two since kindergarten was way too easy for me.
This was the time when I became Rena's private tutor, and sometimes I would come over her house and teach her.

I ended up being a valedictorian, and Rena was so happy about it.

-

There was this one time that I visited Rena, only to find out that she has a really high fever, and her mother was on a business meeting. Her maids and butlers were all on vacation and I barged into their house without warning hoping to surprise Rena.
Well, I was the one who ended up being surprised.
Luckily, I knew how to care for sick people, since I was pretty sickly myself.
Rena was a girl who didn't even know how to cook, so I was worried of leaving her on her own, even though she is responsible.
Aside from feeding her, giving her medicine and wiping her sweat, I also told her a lot of stories just to help her sleep. Even I fell asleep after feeling tired of all the chores that I did, and I didn't realize the time.
When Rena's mother arrived, it was already 9PM.

"What are you doing here?"
"Um, Konbanwa Matsui-san... I visited Rena but I noticed that she was sick and there was nobody around so I ended up taking care of her." I bowed my head and said,"I'm sorry!"

Rena's mom stared in awe as she couldn't believe that Rena already recovered due to how I took care of her.
Not long after that, loud knocks were heard on the door and my mom was out there and was ready to drag me out of their house, but Rena's mother defended me. Though my mother is a bit hot-headed, she believes what other mothers would say, so I guess I was lucky for coming home unscarred.

-

For the first time in my life, my father went home when I was 6. There could be little information that I knew about my father. All I knew was that he sends me gadgets in exchange of my good grades.
Come to think of it, I didn't have anyone to play with except my gameboy and Rena, so I have to be thankful to him about that.
When he arrived, my birthday was a month away, so my mother was convincing him to stay for my birthday.

One day, I was at home, playing my gameboy as usual. I managed to become the Pokemon League Champion that day.
I heard shouting coming from my parent's room. I looked to have a peek at their conversation, which was getting a little ugly.

"I told you, I won't be able to attend Jurina's birthday!"
"Why? Is it because of her? Huh?!" Mother held my father's cellphone and yelled,"Do you think that I haven't realized what were you doing in Taiwan?!"
My father was shocked, and he stayed quiet.
"Your friends even decided to help you huh?!" she then grabbed my father's wallet and pointed at the picture,"You're gonna leave your family for this?!"

I ran away, and I knew deeply inside my heart that I wished that I never knew anything.

The next day at school, Rena wrapped her arms around me asking,"Is something wrong, Jurina?"
I shrugged and smiled at her,"Nah, don't worry..."

Rena looked at me in the eyes, and I knew that she didn't believe what I just said. But instead of pushing it further, she just gave me a warm hug, a hug that I wished that never ended.
When she pulled away, she told me to close my fist and once I open them, there is something magical that is supposed to happen, which I really believed at that time.

"A rose?" I stared in awe at the flower, it's branches and trunk were cut away. It was a rose, but it had a different color. Half of it was blue, and half of it was red. It was the most peculiar thing.
That's when I realized the reason how she did it. She told me afterwards.

Rena is an esper.

-

I was 8 when I had my first fight with a girl after such a long time.

"Get away from Rena!" I yelled.

"That girl's a freak~ Look at her."

My anger just boiled up inside me and I threatened her by grabbing her collar.

"Don't you dare speak to Rena like that..."

To my surprise, the girl pulled on my hair, hard. And as I winced in pain, I found myself pulling locks of her hair as well. I ended up pushing her down the table while lifting her head up and down, and that's when I saw her crying.
The class president kept on telling us to stop, and as my anger just got the best of me, I found myself pulling at her hair as well. That's when my classmates decided not to mess with Matsui Jurina.

After the catfight, I managed to not tell my mother and my grandmother about it. They were surprised when they were summoned by the principal the next day.
They hoped to give us both a verdict at hand, and it turns out it was my fault.
The girl that I apparently got into a fight with is actually a special child with a condition. But I wasn't aware of this, since this girl wasn't a close friend of mine or anything.
My mother got angry at the principal and decided to transfer me to a new school next school year.

I decided to confront Rena about it and she said,"Jurina... no... don't leave..." she was at the verge of tears as she looked at me.
"Rena... I wouldn't want to leave you..." I said as I caressed her cheek,"I told my mom but she said that the decision was final..."

That day, we cried at each other's arms.

-

When I transferred, girls were already picking on me, so I decided to be friends with guys.
That's when I realized that guys were so much better than girls, since guys were always welcome to let me in their group, while on the other hand, the girls were always being sassy bitches about their shit that I don't primarily care about.

When I told Rena about it, she said,"But Jurina, if you hate girls, then you also hate me?"
I shaked my head with all my power and said,"Of course not! Rena, you're different! Those girls are nothing compared to you!" I grinned at her.

During my whole stay in that hellish school, the girls spread rumors from me seducing guys to me being a lesbian.
And I can't say that all of them stayed intact after I punched them.

-

The dreaded day has come. My mother went away once again to leave for another country, since my father was planning on making a business in the country.
When my father arrived, he always fought with my grandmother.
I lived in a really sad household, and a I lived a sad school life. It was a good thing that Rena was always there to comfort me.
So, when I arrive from school, I would always go to her house and wait for her with her mom.
Her house became my second home, and inside that second home, I was happy.

-

Rena and I decided to enter the same highschool.

"Finally, we'll be together again!" I yelled. "I'm so excited, Rena!"
She nodded and laughed as well, and we walked with our fingers intertwined to the school to undergo entrance exams.
It was a breeze, it was really easy. Maybe the reason why they have entrance exams is to get money from the students who pay for it.

At the same time, my family crumbled into ruins. My father and mother truly separated, and I left the house, leaving my father alone.
We managed to live in a small apartment, which was a bit far from Rena's house.
But that didn't stop me from going there. I still frequently go to Rena's house, even during weekends.
But I myself have decided to not focus on my studies. My grades went from honor student level to average.
I was tired of their compliments and how they pressure me anyway, and who should I even do it for?

When I told Rena about it, she looked at me sadly. She knew that I was copying off other's work, and I was cheating in tests just to get those average grades since I wasn't listening to my teacher nor reading any books at all.
And yet, she patiently teaches me during exams, hoping that I would stop cheating.

-

My freshman year just went by quickly, and my sophomore year was a blast, in so many ways.
My mother was arrested abroad, and she became sick at the same time. She can't walk anymore.
That's when my grandmother decided to entrust me to my father. My grandmother decided to go away and work for my sake despite of being in an old age of 71.
My father humbly accepted me, but I can't help but feel a sense of distrust towards him.
He was always out of the house, so I was always alone. I had no one to talk to.
Sometimes, I would just sit there and talk to myself. I wondered if I was truly lucky to be the only one to survive.
I blamed my supposed to be alive brothers and sisters. Why can't they be with me so that I could have someone to relate with?

During that time, Rena kept on visiting and visiting my house even though I pushed her away.
She never left me, and she kept on insisting that I go to school, though I could no longer see the reason why should I.
There was that time that Rena dragged me off and asked my father if I could live in their house.
My father reluctantly agreed, and ever since, I became really happy with my life, and I could only thank Rena for it.

-

News of my mother going home just spread through the streets like wildfire. Rena was really happy for me, but I couldn't bring myself to be happy in that situation.
I was afraid that this life that I'm living now will disappear, knowing my mother's personality.
I was always following by her orders, but I want to stand up for myself. I can't feel but be conflicted of my new found feelings.

However, time went by and my mother has indeed arrived at Japan. She lived with my other relatives in the province.
Sometimes, my grandmother would drop by and would ask Rena and her mother's permission for me to leave and stay there for a while, especially during weekends.
I was happy since I have time to see my mother and I also have time to be with Rena, but it was troublesome.
Travelling from the hustling and bustling city to the rice paddies have never been my thing for it was tiring.
I feel especially bad for my grandmother that tirelessly sends me home afterwards. I wanted her to stop doing so, but she didn't allow it.
While I was staying there, I saw and experienced how harsh life is,  and I swore to myself that I would get my mother and my grandmother out of there as soon as possible.

Rena was happy since she said that finally, I had a goal for my future.
When I asked her,"What's your goal, then, Rena?"

She raised her brow at me and slightly giggled,"Um... I want to be a Voice Actress."
I nudged her and said,"Why? Cause you love anime?"
She nudged me back,"Why, isn't that your dream when you were young?" she smirked as she poked my cheek. "You'd better not forget about that promise. Highschool's ending in a year, Jurina."
I smiled at her as I made a thumbs-up sign. "Of course!"

-

As highschool was ending, my life decided to be a dick again.
Rena pulled me away one day after class and she said that she has something important to tell me, and we have to go to our province right away. At first, I suspected nothing, but after reevaluating the situation when I came there 3 months ago, my grandmother forced herself to send me home.
Then I realized that there might be something wrong with my grandmother, but Rena didn't tell me a word as her mother drove as fast as she could.
I was expecting my grandmother to be in the hospital, with IV's and things like that.
Turns out I was wrong.

I found myself staring at the face of the very person whom I dearly loved. The person who eagerly took care of me and was prepared to do anything for me.
That person now is in deep slumber, never to awake again.

Tears flowed from eyes nonstop, and it continued from the first night of the wake to the burial.
Nobody could talk to me. I could just find myself staring at the ceiling, thinking about nothing.
I refused to eat. I refused to sleep. My health itself was deteriorating.

My mother, Rena, and Rena's mother were all worried about me. They even said that if I continue to be like this, I'd be next to my grandmother.
Oh how I wished back then that it would, I told them aloud. Hearing my statement, Rena slapped me.

"Jurina, how long do you plan on doing this?" She looked at me angrily. "Your mother is worried about you. We are all worried about you. Do you think that your grandmother would be happy if she saw you like this?"
I snapped back and reverted to my original self. I just felt so guilty, of having done nothing for my grandmother while she was living, and I felt guilty for not being there when she left us.
That day, I stopped crying, and I learned to move on.

-

After finishing highschool with good grades and planning on going to a school specifically for voice acting with Rena, I felt that I accomplished half of my goals.
My mother was also allowed to stay in Rena's house. Our mothers were always chatting about how they think of us as couples, which we would try to deny.
When Rena and I graduated, we jumped in glee and immediately decided to apply for the audtions in Sakae Studios, though some misfortune regarding the names Kumi, Yuria, Kanon, Airin and Churi got in our way, that could be put aside for later.
Right now, even with the most impossible situation at hand, I was ready to face them, and it's all thanks to the person who was with me the whole time. The only person who didn't leave me till the end, and the person whom I dearly love as she loves me back.
Having her by my side is what I truly call... being lucky.

-
End
-

[saeseki]

the previous chapter made my heart goes  especially when they kissed 
Kanon like Kumi right?? I can't wait to read the next chapter I'm curious 

and the side story is  and please write another side story please~~~

[Shinoki]

*clap clap clap*
I dunno if I should say this: but~ I'm touched by this story...
Aaaah.... :3
*thumbs up*

[HitoriYamanaka]

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A/N: Finally, here's the part two of the fourth chapter! And yes, this is the last part. As for why it is the last part, you guys are gonna have to wait for the next chapter.
Anyways, a huge thank you for everyone, especially to those who left a reply and a thank you to the previous chapters!
Please do enjoy. 

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Chapter IV pt.2 - Dodge or Die
-

"Where have you two been?" Jurina donned her usual Cheshire cat-like grin at Kumi and Yuria.
"Somewhere." Yuria smirked as she proceeded to lay down the beds on the floor. Kumi saw what she was doing and helped her, while Rena and Jurina proceeded on preparing their dinner. After they have successfully laid down the futons, Yuria realized that Akane, Airin and Kanon hasn't come back yet. She decided to ask Jurina about the three.

"Jurina, have you seen Churi, Airin and Kanon somewhere?"

Jurina shaked her head in disagreement,"Nope." then she raised the ladle to taste some of the soup.
"So, how does it taste?" Rena asked.
"Needs a bit more salt." Jurina said as she grabbed the salt container,"But overall, it tastes good. Rena, you've really improved huh!" Jurina said as she playfully jabbed the girl.

"Where the hell are those three?" Yuria scratched her head before standing up.
"Probably in the jungle. You told them to look for food right?" Kumi said as she raised her arm, signaling Yuria to help her up.
"Well, Jurina was the last to go inside the jungle and yet she's the first to come back." Yuria said as she pulled Kumi up. "I expected much more from them."
"But don't they have their weapons with them? They can handle themselves."
"You don't know what Sakae Island is, Kumi. It's full of random things that can both be beneficial and can be dangerous." Yuria gulped before she continued,"That's why even though this island is full of natural resources, nobody would dare to live in it."

Kumi shuddered at what Yuria said. It seems that this island isn't as harmless as she thought. Maybe that is why Yuria moved the futons from the hotels to this battle ground, since it has a forcefield that no one can penetrate.
Yuria grabbed Kumi's hands and led her to the jungle after saying a ,"Be alert" to the older girl, who just nodded. Kumi then retrieved Ace using her free hand from her pocket, in any case that they were both attacked.
After a few minutes of searching for the three, they found some footprints on the mud.

"Could they be their footprints?" Kumi asked Yuria, who was analyzing the situation.
"There is a high probability, since.. well as I have said before, we are the only inhabitants of this island."

They both decided to go and follow the footprints, and the trail somehow ended in a lake. Seeing the majestic sparkling body of water that reflected the moonlight, the two of them stared in awe. They then heard screaming coming from the other side of the lake.

"Don't you dare, Airin."
"Oh I do dare." Airin said as she raised her bucket near Akane's face, which made her step back.
"Seriously, you two." Kanon held the two's collar from behind and said,"WE NEED TO FISH, NOW."

The two nodded in defeat, but ever since they came to the lake... well they haven't caught a single little fish.
Suddenly, the sound of the crashing waters startled Akane and Kanon, as they saw Airin fall face-down on the water. Behind her was Yuria and Kumi who were both laughing, and Kanon and Akane followed suit. Airin looks annoyed as she snorted while trying to stand back up to her feet.

"That's not... funny." Airin stuttered as she felt the cold night breeze chill her to the bones. "IT'S... COOOOOLD!"
Airin smirked as she sprayed water to all of them who yelped from the cold water. Airin continued her counterattack by splashing waves at the four while laughing maniacally.

"That's it!" Akane pointed at Airin. "Let's go, everyone!"
The four of them charged at Airin, trying to drown her down the depths of the lake. Airin struggled to break free, but having 4 people constantly push you down isn't an easy task for someone inathletic as her. After much flailing around, the four finally decided to let go, and once they did, Airin gasped as she inhaled much needed air.

"Are you okay?" Yuria smirked as she splashed water on Airin's face.
"I used to be..."

---

"What the hell happened to all of you?" Jurina raised her ladle up in the air then pointed at the five.
Airin was sneezing, while the rest of them shuddered while gritting their teeth due to the cold.

"Airin was responsible." Yuria smirked as she pointed at the girl who immediately hung her mouth low at her sudden accusation.
And as if it was some sort of a gag, the others followed suit. They all pointed at Airin, who just sighed and fell on her knees.

"I WAS THE CULPRIT!" Airin shouted as the rest of them laughed, except for Rena.

"What are you guys doing?" Rena said as she peeked from behind Jurina. "Change your clothes immediately, unless some of you plan on catching colds."
"Hai!" The five shouted in unison.
"Good. Since dinner is almost done." Rena smiled as she watched the five scamper away.

"Wait. We don't have any spare clothes." Airin paused before removing her shirt.
"Ah, don't worry about that." Yuria said as she picked up the glowing cube once again. "I've got that covered."

They proceeded to remove their clothing and hang them to dry. By the time that they were done, their dinner was already ready.

"Hey!~" Jurina yelled at the girls. "Dinner's ready!~"

They didn't even bother to shout due to the hunger they were feeling. They immediately ran to where the food was served and Airin, Kumi and Akane ate like they haven't eaten since forever. On the other hand, Jurina, Rena, Kanon and Yuria were all camly eating and chewing their food well.

"Hey, watch it!" Rena yelled at Airin, and she pointed at the chunk of fish on the table.
"IWM SWORWY RWEWNA." Airin replied back, causing more unknown things to fall out of her mouth.
"Ew." Kanon scoffed as she flicked it, only for it to hit Airin's face.
"I miss rice." Kumi said calmly, and Akane and Airin seemed to nod their head in agreement.

It didn't take more than 10 minutes to finish their food, and when they did, they immediately slumped on the futon that Yuria and Kumi laid earlier. The futons were arranged in a circle, and of course, Kumi slept beside Yuria, and next to Yuria was Rena, then Jurina, then the Furuyanagi, and finally, the one sleeping on Kumi's left was Kanon.

As the others fell asleep easily, Kanon was the only one who seemed to be restless. She tried turning over to Airin, who was snoring and told herself it was a bad idea. She tried turning on her belly, and it didn't really help. She finally turned on her back and gave up. 'I better go outside for a walk. Maybe I need some fresh air.'

When Kanon was outside, she immediately met the nice and cool evening breeze. It cleared her mind, and she met a conclusion. She thought that maybe... just maybe, the reason she can't fall asleep was... Kumi.
She sighed. Kumi has known her for more than she could remember, and yet she never showed those feelings to her like she did to Yuria. She felt defeated, but nonetheless she also felt challenged. She promised to show a good fight, and she decided to fight equally, at least.
Diabolic, sensing that her master is awake and is in deep thought, resonated from Kanon's pocket. Kanon was startled as she felt a vibration from the weapon, who is in it's hilt mode and immediately took it out.

"Are you troubled, Non-sama?"
"I am..." Non-chan answered. "Though I'm feeling a bit better than I was."
"I think you need to sleep more, Non-sama." the weapon paused before saying,"The training resumes tomorrow, after all."
"Thank you for your concern, Diabolic. I think that I should take up on your offer." Non-chan smiled.
"Very well, Good Night then, Non-sama."

Kanon returned Diabolic in her pocket and once again went inside, only to find the others still sleeping in such awkward positions. Airin hugging Churi, Jurina hugging Rena and... Kumi hugging Yuria. She sighed as she went inside her futon, hoping to get a good night's sleep, and thankfully, her wish was indeed granted.

-

"WAKE UP!"

Kanon immediately jolted out of bed and was surprised by the sudden yelling from someone. She then realized that Rena was the one who shouted as soon as she tried to look around. The others though, even if Rena had already shouted, seemed to be heavy sleepers as they refused to get up. Kanon looked at Airin who was beside her and saw that Churi was indeed awake, but Airin wouldn't let go of her. To help her, Kanon decided to tickle the purple-loving pervert, only to moan and not laugh at what she's doing.

"What. Ew."Kanon scoffed as she stopped from tickling her.

Kanon saw Churi mutter a soft,"Help" before she awkwardly shuffled in her sheets. Not knowing what to do, Kanon leaned in near Airin's ear and shouted,"AIRIN! HENTAI AIRIN WAKE UP!" Causing Airin to wake up wincing and grabbing her somewhat injured ear.

-

Kumi felt a soft tug from someone and she immediately opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a bright light, then she blinked, hoping to see a better view. Next, she saw Yuria. Ah, it's a normal day as always-
Yuria. In front of her was Yuria.
Kumi panicked as a tint of pink flowed from her cheeks.
She then realized that she was hugging the girl and she awkwardly removed her hands from her back. Noticing the action, Yuria also woke up and rubbed her eyes immediately and sat back up before saying,"Good morning" to Kumi.
Kumi was still dazed from what she saw the first thing she woke up and was staring at Yuria who's now doing some stretches.

-

Jurina, on the other hand, brought the covers to her face. Rena tugged and pulled at the cover, but she wasn't able to. The next thing she did was remove the sheets from Jurina's feet and grabbed it.
"RENAAAA!" Jurina yelled as she was dragged inside the room.
"Give! Give!" Jurina screamed at the top of her lungs,"I'M AWAKE, RENAAA!"
Rena heaved and panted as she felt exhausted from dragging the girl from what seems to her to be a distance,"... That's great then..."

Rena sighed as she now knew why Yuria asked her to wake up the others. Not only was Jurina troublesome, she has always experienced waking the girl up, but the others were as well. Even Yuria herself didn't wake up from her first shout.

After their breakfast, Yuria immediately gathered all of them in a circle.
"Okay, so as for your training today... well.." Yuria seemed to be thinking, and let's just say that an imaginary light bulb lit up near her head,"You'll do some drills."
"Drills?" The six echoed.
"Yup." Yuria smirked before saying,"Think of it as your... 'warm up.'"
"After some drills, I need you guys to spar. And I want it to be hand-in-hand combat." Yuria said as she leaned in forward and held out her hand,"So, I'll be confiscating your weapons. Only I can get access to these."
"After that, one last exercise."
"That seems tiring." Airin said unenthusiastically.
"It is tiring." Yuria scoffed.

-

Airin fell down on the ground within 3 minutes of their training.

"Airin, you've got 10 push ups to go, you know." Yuria said.
"I... can't take it anymore..." Airin heaved as she tried to pull herself up. "I'm seriously inathletic, you know..."
"We... We are seriously inathletic, Airin." Kumi answered back weakly.
"Same..." Rena joined in.

Yuria watched as Kumi, Rena and Airin both fell on the ground face-down, and she knew it spelt trouble. These girls don't have enough vitality to last a fight, that's for sure.
The others, on the other hand were managing well. Jurina looked athletic as she seems, Churi was unexpectedly good at exercises, and Kanon was doing pretty well.

"Fine. As for you three, I'll be focusing on helping you improve your stamina. We're going jogging."
Airin, Kumi and Rena's faces brightened up.
"But I swear, if you're not able to keep up with me I'm gonna destroy you with Peace." Yuria scoffed as she held on to her weapon momentarily, causing Airin, Kumi and Rena to gulp in nervousness.
"Churi, I'm putting you in charge. Keep doing that for 7 more minutes. That's a good pace. Afterwards, I suggest that you spar among yourselves. I'll be back before the the cool off." Yuria waved as she dragged the 3 hopeless unathletic girls outside.

-

Kanon, Churi and Jurina finally finished 10 minutes of their warm-up exercises and decided to take a break.

"That was seriously tiring, I can't believe that it has only been 10 minutes since we started." Jurina panted as she stood up.
Kanon, feeling tired from all of the exercise, sat down only to be yelled out by Churi,"Kanon, stand up! Never sit down after a strenuous exercise!" and immediately stood up.
"Ma'am yes Ma'am," Kanon replied weakly.

"So you guys up for some sparring?" Jurina grinned before the two.
"Hm, I am. Are you okay, Kanon?"
"I'm fine."
"Well then," Jurina raised her fist up in the air,"Let's do Janken! The winner gets to choose who to fight with from the losers."

"Jan.. Ken.. Pon!"

In the end, Kanon won. She wasn't sure who to pick, cause if she picked Jurina it would spell trouble, and if she chose Churi, it would also spell trouble. Either way, she's screwed, but she decided on Jurina, because she has been acting so hyper, raising her hand up just to be picked.

Kanon nervously stood feeling like some sort of chicken in the middle of the battle ring while Churi was... doing whatever a referee does. Jurina of course wore her usual Cheshire-cat like smile as she waited in anticipation for Churi's 'Go' Signal.

"Ready... Set... GO!" Churi yelled.

As expected, Kanon backed away from Jurina, but Jurina, being Jurina followed Kanon's movements closely. Kanon was startled by Jurina's sudden punch, which hit the air.
"Kanon, you've gotta fight." Jurina spoke as she looked into Kanon's eyes.
Realizing the situation she was in, Kanon had no choice. Kanon jabbed at Jurina's jaw, which made the girl back away slightly from the pain. Next, Kanon kicked Jurina's shin, then her stomach. Jurina smiled as she went near Kanon, like as if she wasn't affected by any damage dealt on her. In one fell swoop, she kicked Kanon's shin in a force much much more powerful than Kanon's, and it made the girl nearly fall on her knees. Next, Jurina karate-chopped the back of Kanon's head, which rendered the girl unconscious. Thankfully, Jurina managed to catch the girl before it was too late.

"Over! The victor is Matsui Jurina!" Churi yelled.
"I probably went a bit too far..." Jurina looked at Kanon worringly.
"Yeah, you did. Now it's my turn, Jurina." Churi bit her lower lip before curling her lips into a smile.

-

"If I would be able to catch you three... I'm gonna slash you with my sword for real!" Yuria yelled.

Airin, Rena and Kumi ran for their dear lives. It wasn't a matter of improving stamina anymore. It's a matter wherein your life is at hand, and one wrong move and you're dead. Yuria was chasing them down with her katana, and the three felt like as if they were in a slasher film, where there was this guy who's holding a chainsaw. Except the fact that Yuria was more dangerous and more unstoppable than that guy, that is. And Yuria would also do more horrifying and gruesome damage to them if they won't comply to her wishes.

Yuria, seeing the girls slow down for a second, purposely hit a tree, and it was cut in half. Hearing the sound of a tree falling down the ground, the more fear befell upon the three girl's hearts. All they ever thought was getting out of this place alive. Yuria chasing them down made them feel what true fear was. If you think that a spider is scary, wait till Yuria hunt you down with a freaking overpowered katana, then whine to me about it.

"Damn it, my legs are starting to give out!" Airin yelled.
"Don't give up unless you plan on dying before we could even save the world!" Kumi shouted back.
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Rena yelled at the top of her lungs.
"LALALALA SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG!" Airin unexpectedly shouted back.
"WHO DID YOU CALL AN OLD HAG?!" Rena furiously responded, and Kumi would've sworn that she saw steam come out of her ears if this was a cartoon. Luckily, it wasn't.

"Stop being acting so brazenly and run!" Yuria shouted at them.

They have finally reached the foot of the mountain, and Yuria gave them an order,"Okay, we go back to the battle grounds from that point!" She said as she pointed at the area near the cave.
The three have finally felt that this would soon be over and felt complacent. Yuria, noticing the change in their behavior and pace, swung her sword upwards, causing a explosion that looks like a bunch of powerful fireworks explode in the sky.
Seeing the dangerous explosions above them, the three tried to run faster again. After reaching the checkpoint shortly afterwards, they went back to the thick plantation.
Suddenly, Airin hears a hissing sound that seemed to be coming from somewhere. She tried to look at her right, only to be in a staring contest with... a snake.

"F*ck F*ck F*ck it's a goddamn snake!" Airin yelled.
Rena and Kumi, realizing the girl was in a pinch, decided to walk away from Airin.
"What the hell?" Airin muttered under her breath as she pulled away the snake,"YURIA! HELP ME!"
"What the hell do you want?" Yuria yelled.
"THERE'S A F*CKING SNAKE WRAPPED AROUND ME FOR GODDAMN SAKE, HELP ME!"
Yuria ignored her pleas as she realized that the snake wasn't a poisonous one. She decided to scare Airin by shouting,"OH MY GOD AIRIN IT'S A VIPER!"
Yuria giggled as she watched Airin overtake the other two. She wasn't of course familiar with snakes, but Yuria was sure that the snake that wrapped itself in Airin's neck was one of those snakes in a zoo. She has held one before thanks to Kuuchan, who was super persistent on letting her touch it. She sighed as she watched the other two slowed down considerably.

"Rena and Kuuchan, if you two are unable to catch up with Airin, prepare yourselves!" Yuria yelled.

-

"This is turning out to be an interesting fight." Jurina said as she wiped the blood from a cut in her lip. "You fight pretty good for someone who looks fragile."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Churi smirked.
Churi lunged at Jurina with a feint, only to sneak a powerful jab at Jurina's ribs, making Jurina back away slightly. Jurina then punched Churi's solar plexus, and the girl groaned as she said,"Ouch, Jurina." Churi mockingly teased Jurina.
Jurina immediately removed her hand from Churi's abdomen. She knew that it would be fruitless, since she felt how hard Churi's abdominal muscles were when her knuckles touched it.
Next, Churi attempted a high kick to Jurina's head, which the girl easily dodged. Jurina fought back by using her fists, and it landed on Churi's cheek.

"Got my revenge." Jurina smiled as she looked at Churi's bleeding lip.
"Tch."

Churi then attempted a low swooping kick to Jurina's feet, making the girl jump in her place. Churi smirked as she seized the chance to punch the girl in the area which she successfully hit a while ago. It sent Jurina flying in the mid-air momentarily, but she somehow regained her balance as the entrance to the battle grounds suddenly opened, with Airin by it.

"HELP!" Airin yelled as she pointed at the snake still hanging on her.
"What..." Churi giggled before saying,"Is that?"
"It's a snake, of course! What do you think it is?"
Jurina smiled before saying,"Let's do that sometime again, Churi." and Churi just nodded and went off to her friend.

-

"So, we're finally at the last part of this training." Yuria paused before taking Peace out of it's sheath once again. "It's simple. Dodge or die. Sounds fun? Yes? Let's do it!"
"B-But..." Airin weakly raised her hand. "W-We're so beat up..."
"Then you'll die. It's okay, there's a lot of land in Sakae Island for your body to be buried in, Airin. There's enough wood for your coffin as well. Rest be assured." Yuria smirked.
The group then continued their useless blubber and without a warning, Yuria swung their blade at them, making them disperse from the attack.

"Remember, if you value your lives, you'd better dodge as you possibly could!" Yuria laughed maniacally that made the group shudder in fear.

-

After a hellish game that Yuria calls 'Dodge or Die', no one was left without a scratch. Everyone had injuries ranging from grazed cuts to hella large ones, and Rena had to tend to all of them one by one by herself. Yuria then announced the dismissal and everyone was free to do anything they would want for the rest of the day. The group sighed as they managed to pick up themselves and went outside for a breather. All except for Kumi.

"Hmm? What's the matter, Kuuchan?" Yuria made a questioned look to the girl in tatters.
"I want to ask a question."
"Yup, ask away." Yuria smiled.
"You're 'that' Kizaki Yuria... right?"
Yuria shifted her gaze before saying,"What do you mean? Could you please go on more with details?"
Kumi brought out her mobile phone and showed her a news article.

"Kizaki Yuria, the national idol, buys Sakae Island from xxx Enterprises"

"Yup. I'm Kizaki Yuria. In this timeline, I'm a recent graduate from a really popular idol group." Yuria smiled weakly.

-
TBC~

andurooo-san: I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading
Minamiyuki-san: Thank you and I hope that you would also enjoy the upcoming chapters
Shinoki-san: I love you too. Thank you for reading my fic
saeseki-san: Thank you for reading! And yup, Kanon likes Kumi. And I'll also try to make more side stories as the stories go on 

[Shinoki]

Ah~ so fast~
*hugs* to be wonderful or not to be, the former is the answer.
Lol, the 'viper'...
And...'Old Hag'
...*thumbs up*...
And at the end, something is revealed...dun dun dun...
I wonder~~ :3

[saeseki]

that is one hell of training. Poor Kanon (let me hug her

I guess I had to wait for the next chapter   

Good luck in whatever you are doing hitoriyamanaka-san

[Minamiyuki]

I hope you will update about what happen to the future, about the future Kuumin....

Really like this story so far...

Waiting for your next update... 

[HitoriYamanaka]

---
Chapter V.1 - First Encounter with a Foe
---

Kumi's mouth hung low at Yuria's confession. How come nobody from their party recognized the most popular idol in Japan who just recently graduated to pursue her career in acting?

"Are you really from the future?" Kumi looked at Yuria's eyes.
"I am." Yuria stared back with seriousness,"Though if you wouldn't want to trust me, then it's fine." and walked away from Kumi, but Kumi grabbed her wrist before she could do so.
"Kuuchan told you to hide your identity." Kumi gripped Yuria's wrist. "Am I right?"
Yuria nodded before saying,"Yeah. I'm not even supposed to reveal who I am, and what can or will happen in the future."

Suddenly, a shout snapped the two from their conversation. Realizing that Jurina, Rena, Kanon, Airin and Akane might be in danger, Kumi and Yuria immediately ran to where the sound came from.

"Kizaki Yuria, huh." the girl smiled and pointed at Yuria, who seems to be shocked at the scene that she saw.
Yuria scoffed and glared at the girl. "What the hell are you doing here... seriously..."
"Hm... well... no idea." The girl smirked.
"Who are you?!" Kumi yelled, and Yuria face-palmed herself because of her inability to shut the girl up.
"Kumi from the past... huh." The girl smirked as she went near to Kumi. "You do look younger."
"Who are you and what did you do to my friends?!" Kumi shouted as the girl went nearer and nearer to where she stood.

While the girl was distracted by Kumi, Yuria immediately ran to the fallen girls. Jurina and Churi weren't seriously injured and was just watching whatever was happening. It was maybe one of them who shouted for help. Rena and Airin on the other hand, are conscious but struggled to get back on their feet. Kanon was the only one who was unconscious, maybe prior to her battle with Jurina.

"Are you guys okay?"Yuria asked the four.
"You think?" Rena said as she tried to raise herself using her arm.
Yuria ignored Rena's comment and helped Rena and Airin to stand back on their feet. "You two stay here and take care of Kanon."
"What about us?" Churi tapped Yuria.
"Well, since you two look fine..." Yuria rummaged through her backpack and reached for the two's weapons and handed it to them. "Here."

Yuria then remembered that she forgot to hand Kumi her weapon and face-palmed herself. "Damn!"

-

"Who are you?" Kumi sneered at the girl.
"Mizuki..." The girl paused. "Kuwabara... Mizuki!" then maniacally laughed.
"You're weird. And you have a preettyy... protruding chin." Kumi giggled. "And you're wearing a pretty funny looking outfit too." Kumi said as she pointed at the seemingly hilarious tuna outfit that Mizuki was currently wearing.
"What the hell did you say about me?"
"Ago. Ago. Ago*. Agotuna." Kumi teasingly chanted as she ran away from Mizuki.
"Nandeyanen!" The girl angrily ran after Kumi. "You're really gonna get it you rabbit!"

Yuria saw what she was doing and immediately planned something with Churi and Jurina. The two nodded before taking their formations, while Kumi was still running away from Mizuki.

Yuria ran fast, and from a human's naked eyes, it looks like as if she teleported in front of Mizuki.
"Get hell out you round-faced idiot!" Mizuki yelled.
"Shut up you small fry!" Yuria glared back at Mizuki and shouted.
Yuria then continued to block the way, and Mizuki was unable to proceed in chasing Kumi. As much as she tried to push through, Yuria was always in front of where she was planning to pass through.

"Let me through!"
"Why the hell would I?" Yuria shouted back angrily. "You even insulted me, you should be glad that I'm not using Peace on you!"
"I'll give you money!" Mizuki begged.
"I DON'T NEED IT!" Yuria scoffed. "You can just use your... um... fish wand to pass through, anyway!"
"It's not a fish wand! It's the ultimate tuna god's relic, the ultimate tuna wand you idiot!" Mizuki said as she gripped her weapon tight and swung it to Yuria's direction. The wand emitted bubbles, and to Yuria's surprise, she tried popping one... and it was just a normal bubble.

"Weak."
"Oh, this isn't even my full power!"
"That didn't even do anything!"

Mizuki chanted a few words, according to Yuria was her tuna language and once again swung her weapon at the girl, who dodged the attack. It was a splash of water, and after Yuria dodged it, it just fell to the ground uselessly.

"Are you a fraud?!" Yuria smirked.
"B*tch I must be..." Mizuki said as she stared at her wand. "Maybe I actually am!"
"Stop it, it's useless... Ago Mizuki. You have no chance on beating us." Jurina shouted.
"Yeah! We're supposed to like barge in the fight and hit you in the back... but you're so weak that we have to do nothing here and shout at you!" Churi yelled. "You killed our screentime!"
"Jurina, Churi, grab her." Yuria ordered the two, and Mizuki didn't resist and surrendered to them.

-

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yuria yelled.
"I'm not telling!" Mizuki glared and instead teased the girl. "BLEEEH!"
Yuria held on her scabbard and emitted a black scary-looking aura,"IF YOU WOULDN'T TELL ME, THEN I HAVE NO USE OF YOU!"
Mizuki stayed quiet as she saw the girl looking at her angrily with her glowing eyes.
"I'm gonna ask once again. If you plan on being stubborn..." Yuria gripped her katana tight. "Then off be your head."
"Who sent you here?"
Mizuki fiddled with the tight rope bounding her at her back and said,"... You already know who, Yuria."
"Kanako?"
"She's not Kanako! She's Kanako-sama!" Mizuki yelled. "She's a god, Yuria!"
"Shut up!" Yuria yelled back. "I'm not calling her a god. Only you idiots think that she's one, even if she's not!"

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard behind Yuria. A girl with a hood over her head approached her and said,"Give me back Mizuki."
"Take her." Yuria said as she pushed Mizuki to the girl.
The girl smirked before saying,"This isn't the last time you'll ever hear of me... Yuria." and disappeared like bubbles.
"Of course it isn't... Hiramatsu Kanako." Yuria looked down at the floor.

-

"Who was that... Yuria?" Kumi asked with curiousity filling the gaps of her brain.
"She's from the future." Yuria answered honestly. "Anyways, are you all okay?"
"Yeah. We couldn't stand up because of hellish training, don't worry." Airin smiled.
"And Kanon was knocked out by Jurina a while ago." Churi added. "And... I shouted because I was being touched all over, but Jurina immediately intercepted and helped all of us."
"I can't believe that she was so weak... and perverted..." Jurina softly spoke. "I was so looking forward for a boss-fight."
"Oh, well... about that." Yuria nervously scratched the back of her head before continuing,"Well, that wouldn't take long."
Jurina smiled in anticipation, while the rest looked confused.
"What do you mean, Yuria?" Churi made a questioning look to the girl.
"Well, Mizuki was just a lowly soldier of what they call the 'Water Goddess' from the future..."
"Was she the one who caused the typhoon?" Rena asked.
"Yes. She's extremely powerful and dangerous. Though she isn't a God. She was just gifted with an immense power." Yuria gritted her teeth before saying,"Her assault could either be tomorrow or the next day... Who knows. She's an unpredictable woman."
"And... I think that Mizuki isn't the only friend she brought..." Kumi gulped nervously before saying "Am I right?"
"Yes, in minimum, she has about an army of 500."
"EHHHHH?" The group shouted in unison.
"Though that might not be happening this time. 'Cause the time machine could only hold a few people inside. Unless of course their leader managed to do something about it." Yuria smiled.
"By... a few people inside... How many people can fit inside their time machine?" Churi asked nervously.
"100 or 200." Yuria said after thinking,"That's what Kuuchan told me."
"How about you Yuria? Couldn't you just send 100 or 200 people in our timeline and just beat the hell out of them?"
"No, I told you that I'm alone. I am a test subject, and unless I report to them they wouldn't bring in reinforcements." Yuria calmly said.
Jurina sighed in defeat, but muttered,"Why were you the one chosen to be the test subject anyway..."
"You'll know one day." Yuria smirked before standing up. "I guess that you gotta be patient if you wanna know. Cause it's gonna take a long time."

-
TBC~
-
A/N: *ago means chin
A short chapter. Sorry I was goofing around and I only managed to type this.
Now I'm rushing to finish the next one. Anyways, thank you to all who already finished reading this chapter and to those who replied and left a thank you to the previous chapter!

[Minamiyuki]

Nandeyanen?? 

That moment when Kuumin do something crazy.. Makes me laugh....

Waiting for your next update.... 

[saeseki]

That was hilarious  , cannot stop imagining Mizuki in tuna outfit

this story is getting interesting, keep it up 

[HitoriYamanaka]

A/N: This is finally the 2nd part of the fifth chapter! I'm sorry for cutting it into 2 parts and having a short 1st part. I'm gonna make up for that with this chapter though.
Enjoy, and let me know what you guys think!

(The ones in Italics are Yuria's dreams. ) (And I'm also working on the next one so sorry if I'm not able to reply properly.)
---

Chapter V.2 - Importance

---

After Yuria's short warning about the so-called 'Water Goddess' Hiramatsu Kanako, she dismissed us early for bed, all except for Kanon, who was unconscious in the first place. She told everyone to be always on the alert and never leave the battle grounds unless accompied by someone else. She also gave their weapons back, asking them to always keep it near them wherever they go. And so, after turning off the lights, well, everyone went to bed.

-

"Yuria!"
Yuria widened her eyes and saw a familiar looking figure. The girl waved back at her, grinning. Yuria immediately ran to the girl and hugged her.
"Kuuchan!" Yuria shouted. "Kuuchan... I miss you so much..."
"I miss you too... Yuria." Kumi smiled as she hugged back.
Kumi then looked at Yuria's face after pulling away. "Yuria... don't cry..." Kumi said as she caressed Yuria's cheek and wiped away the tears.
"I'm worried about you guys..." Yuria softly spoke. "Especially you..."
"Don't... don't worry. We're managing just fine..." Kumi reassured the girl.
"Kuuchan. Stop lying." Yuria said as she stared into Kumi's eyes.
"Ahahaha... I got caught..." Kumi wryly smiled. "... But they need you more than we do, Yuria..." Kumi said as she let go of Yuria and pointed at the space behind her.
Yuria was shocked as she saw the younger Kumi, Airin, Churi, Kanon, Jurina and Rena. She then looked back at Kumi shortly afterwards.
"Yeah... the younger you is quite meddlesome, I must say." Yuria giggled.
"Yeah, my younger self is quite the idiot." Kumi smiled. "I hope that you can handle her, and everyone else. They're pretty annoying in their own ways..."
Kumi was immediately cut off by Yuria's hug. "Kuuchan... I love you..."
Kumi laughed as she said,"I love you too. Gosh, you surprised me. I thought that you were gonna strangle me to death."
Yuria ignored Kumi's comment and embraced the older girl tighter. "Nee... I wanna kiss you, Kuuchan."
"What now?!" Kumi panicked.
"I. Wanna. Kiss. You. Now."
Kumi gulped and nervously looked at Yuria's eyes. She held the girl's face and planted a short kiss in her lips, and quickly pulled back. Touching their foreheads together, Yuria saw Kumi crying while saying,"I miss you so much, Yuria... Don't forget the promise we made that night..."
"Kuuchan..." Yuria was starting to break down as well. Seeing the most precious person in her life cry in front of her was one of the most painful thing that she had experienced. And the next thing that Kumi did was more painful. She pulled away from their hug and walked away in a dangerous looking world, with chaos and despair enveloping the lands. Yuria cried and fell down on her knees while muttering the name,"Kuuchan" and hugging herself.

-

"Yuria!" A tap startles Yuria and jolted her out of her sleep.
"Kuu...chan." Yuria said weakly before staring at the younger Kumi.
"Are you okay?" Kumi asked softly. "You were crying and mentioning my name... what happened?"

To Kumi's surprise, Yuria broke into tears. It was the first time Kumi saw the usually strong girl cry, and she didn't know what to do. She just naturally held the girl and reassured her, hoping that the girl would calm down.

"Yuria... you can talk to me..." Kumi said softly.
"Kuuchan..." The girl muttered before crying again. "Kuuchan... I miss you so much..."
"I miss you too, Yuria." Kumi said as she patted the girl's back to calm her down. Kumi pulled away and stared at Yuria's crying face and said,"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be crying... you know." and planted a kiss on Yuria's forehead. "Don't worry, even if the future Kuuchan isn't with you... I hope that I would be fine as a replacement."
Yuria nodded and said,"Thank you... Kuuchan."
Yuria hugged the girl and said,"I'm sorry... but can I stay like this with you?"
Kumi nodded and said,"You allowed me to do this to you the other night anyway, so why not?" and hugged back.

As they both fell asleep in each other's arms, both of them dreamt of happy things. Yuria smiled, feeling reassured of Kumi's warmth. She began to dream about her first meeting with Kumi and all the other happy memories she shared with everyone right now.

-

"Yuria, Kumi!"

Yuria and Kumi were awakened by a tug on their shoulders. They were greeted by a panicking Churi, who seemed to be staring at their position weirdly.

"What... are you two doing..."Churi blushed while giggling and hid her face.
"What did you disturb us for~" Yuria said as she caressed Kumi's back. "I was enjoying my time with Kuuchan~"
Kumi immediately felt her spine straighten up as it responded to Yuria's touch. Her face immediately flushed red and she was unable to look straight.
Churi, on the other hand, was now laughing,"We... We've got a problem..." she said as she wiped a tear. "Kanon... has been captured..."
Yuria immediately widened her eyes and sat up. Kumi followed shortly after recovering from Yuria's assault.
"Where are the others?" Yuria said as she looked around the empty futons.
"They went looking for Kanon." Churi said as she went back to her usual composure. "I was left behind to wake you two up, but I was fascinated at your pose that I kind of stared for a minute or so..."
"Are you jealous?" Yuria smirked. "You can do that with Airin later."
Churi immediately blushed and shouted in a higher pitch,"Wha- What... no! Of course not! Not with her!"
"You tsun tsun tsun-" Yuria said as she flicked Churi's nose. "Dere."
"Anyways, let's go! I'm worried about Kanon, Yuria." Kumi said.
"Oh yeah." Remembering the reason why they were awakened by Churi, she said,"Let's go. I'm going to discuss a plan with you two later." Yuria said as she grabbed Peace and positioned it at her belt. The three then ran outside, and when they did, they found Jurina, Rena and Airin who were relieved after seeing them.

"Did you guys find Kanon?" Yuria said. "Or any clues at all?"
Much to her disappointment, the three shaked their heads in disapproval.
"Tch. She might've been taken away by any of Kanako's henchmen..." Yuria said as she stroked her chin. "Goddammit, Jurina why did you have to knock her out..."
"Sorry." Jurina smiled.
Yuria thought of something for a while, and when the idea finally hit her, she immediately reached for her bag and retrieved the glowing cube once again. She ejected a device that looked like a small tracking device.

"Well... it's a good thing that I secretly attached these to you guys..." Yuria paused. "I mean, it's a good thing that there was inaccidentally a GPS chip in Kanon, right?"
The machine beeped, and a red mark indicated the place where Kanon supposedly was.

"Churi, you carry Airin. Rena you carry Jurina." Yuria instructed, as she flew while holding Kumi.
"UWAAAAAA Mommy~" Kumi yelled.
Yuria held Kumi in her arms and said,"Don't worry."
"Ahaha, scaredy cat~" Airin teased and didn't realize that Churi was dragging her off mid-air. When she looked down below she said,"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!"
"Shut up, Airin!" Akane yelled.
"Please shut your mouth, Airin-sama." Bird calmly spoke.
Jurina on the other hand was slumped down on the ground. "No, No, No~" she yelled like a little kid.
Rena sighed. "What am I supposed to do with you, Jurina?"
"I want Rena to hug me while flying~" Jurina grinned. "I'm too scared!"
Rena pulled the girl with all her might and said,"You're really a spoiled brat, aren't you."

-

"Is this some joke or what?" Churi yelled.
"No, this is where the signal supposedly said Kanon's location was." Yuria analyzed the device again.
"REALLY. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN? ARE YOU CEREAL?" Airin shouted.
"No." Yuria coldly replied. "I guess that Kanako made her castle... or whatever I have no idea what the hell did she build in the depths of the ocean below."
"But... how are we supposed to..." Yuria immediately brought out suits and cut of Rena's question. "Okay then."

After changing into their suits in a nearby island, on Yuria's command, they plunged in deep into the waters.

"Is the water pressure gonna affect this suit?" Kumi asked out of pure curiosity.
"Nah. It's from the future. It's not as crappy as this timeline's scuba gear." Yuria replied.
"So, where is Kanako's hideout?" Rena swam near Yuria and peeked at the device,"Inside... that scary looking... cave?"
"It seems so." Yuria said as she stared into a huge cave with no lights in the distance or whatever. It was indeed scary looking, it seems like as if all of the sea monsters you could imagine can fit inside.
Airin, being the scaredy-cat immediately shuddered as she remembered a particular film where the protagonists are chased by a huge and fake looking shark.
Kumi, Rena, Jurina and Akane hesitated a bit, but since Yuria already went inside, they followed the girl. Churi had to drag Airin while the girl begged for her life.
Inside of the cave, it was like a never-ending tunnel. There wasn't a source of light, and the only thing that was glowing in the scary darkness was Yuria's red eyes, which wasn't calming at all.
"A-Are... we there yet..." Airin asked.
"I hope so." Yuria said as she looked at Airin, who immediately felt spooked at the sight of Yuria's eyes.
"Churi... hold me..." Airin pleaded.
"W-Whatever, Airin. Y-You're such a scaredy cat." Churi said as she hugged the girl close. She thanked the darkness, for if the lightings were normal... well it would be as plain as day that she was blushing while holding the girl.

Finally, the machine beeped and beeped. According to Yuria, they were indeed in the location. Yuria immediately spied a dim light above them and said,"Get ready to go back up."
On her count, all of them swam to the surface and saw the magnificent palace that stood in the middle of the water.

"What now, Yuria?" Jurina asked.
"Well, since that palace is the only structure in the whole goddamn area, then maybe we have to go there." Yuria smiled.
"Yuria's scary..." Jurina whispered to Kumi and Airin. They couldn't agree more.

-

When they arrived and just recently stepped foot on the island, they immediately removed the suits under Yuria's orders. They went to the entrance of the palace wearing their training clothes and when arrived, they immediately noticed 2 guards slovenly watching the entrance.

Yuria held onto her katana and sliced the two down without hesitation, in order for them to not attracted much unneeded attention. After returning her blade to the scabbard, she warned the others to walk slowly and be aware and alert of their surroundings.

"Should we split up?" Jurina asked.
"No. We'll get cut down easily if that's the case. That's not good."
 They bravely went inside the palace and saw a girl with a hood over her face.

"Welcome... Yuria, Kumi, Airin, Churi, Rena and Jurina..." the girl spoke.
"Cut off the crap, Kanako. Where's Kanon?" Yuria yelled.
"Hmm... I wonder..." Kanon smiled wide and clapped.
All of a sudden, a huge tank with blue fluid appeared, and inside of it was Kanon. Yuria gasped and immediately fumed with anger.

"No... you bastard."Yuria sneered. "You're supposed to be cute..."
"This... is what happens... when you reject me..." Kanako smirked. "For that rabbit looking idiot over there..."
"Me?" Kumi pointed at herself.
"Yes, you. You idiot."
Jurina nudged Kumi and said,"Girls love you too much."
"Shut up... you don't deserve to speak just because you're ikemen..." Kanako coughed and pretended that she didn't say anything before,"Anyways... welcome the new Kanon... minna. By the way... don't call me Kanako... call me KanaKana."
Kanako clapped her hands once again, and the compartment that held both the blue fluid and Kanon opened, while the fluid stayed inside the tube.
Kanon immediately opened her eyes and held Diabolic and transformed it to it's usual scythe form, only that is was white-colored, and not purple anymore. Yuria gasped as the girl nimbly sped up towards her and started attacking her. After backing away from a distance, she unsheathed Peace and immediately swung at Kanon, who deflected the attack. Jurina and Churi were running to Kanon, but it was shortly cut off by Kanako's clapping, and a bunch of tunas that resembled Mizuki swarmed the place.

"Don't worry about me! I can handle Kanon." Yuria said as she swung her katana at Kanon's attack. "Take care of your own!"
"Non-chan, why the hell did you give your past counterpart a pretty badass weapon, goddammit." Yuria cursed.
"Yuria... you're the cause of Non-sama's despair..." Diabolic spoke in a different tone.
"Diabolic?"
"I'm not... Diabolic... I'm his other counterpart..." the weapon spoke.
Noticing the different color of the weapon, Yuria could only mutter,"...Seinaru..."
"Yes." the scythe spoke.
Kanon raised Seinaru up high and swung once again at Yuria's direction. Yuria didn't see the attack coming and panickly used her sheath.
"Peace. Thank you for the sheath!" Yuria yelled.
"Yuria... the source of Non-sama's despair... eradicate..." Seinaru spoke.
Seinaru was supposed to be the holy counterpart of Kanon's Diabolic. It's at least a hundred times more powerful than Diabolic, and Yuria knew that she had to end it fast, unless she wants Kanon to die out of too much depleted energy. There could also be a possiblity of her weapon abandoning her if she went any further.

Yuria then swung her sword and muttered a few words. A big powerful ball of condensed power was formed in the air, and Yuria flew up and hurled the ball to Kanon. A large explosion was heard, and smoke surrounded Kanon. Yuria thought that she got the girl, but it turns out that when Kanon's Seinaru is activated, she could also be granted the power of flight, much to Yuria's anticipation and disappointment at the same time.

"Yuria... despair... eradicate..." The weapon spoke again.

Yuria decided to stay on the ground than risking an air battle with the girl. While on the air, she might risk hitting anyone from her group, so she landed down on the floor, causing a small earthquake on the ground below. Kanon followed suit, and it caused a much a bigger earthquake.

"This is bad." Yuria whispered to herself.

Yuria attacked the girl with Peace in her hand and hoped to slice through the girl, which the girl deflected. To Yuria's surprise, a familiar figure struck the girl from the behind. Kanon dropped on the floor with a thud.

"Are you okay?" Kumi held her hand out to Yuria.
"Yeah... but Kanon..." Yuria looked at the girl. "She's bleeding."
"She'll be fine once we're out of here." Kumi assured Yuria.
"Ughhh." Kanon groaned in pain. "Ouch... what happened..."
"Don't push it, Kanon. I found a place over there. I'll ask Rena to patch you up." Kumi held the girl and guided her to a place that has no more of the tuna people.

Yuria then looked at the others, and it seemed that they were all doing fine handling the tuna people. The tuna people turned out  to be as weak as Mizuki, and they are done in with just one strike from their weapons. Yuria decided to confront Kanako, who she hasn't seen for long.

"Yuria..."Kanako softly spoke.
"Kanako... why don't you just give up..."
The girl leaned in towards Yuria and whispered,"I love you too much."
Yuria sighed and replied,"I don't... I only think of you as a friend, Kanako." and removed the hood above her head.
"I've sacrificed so much for you..." the girl said as she removed the mask covering half of her face. "Even... my own body..."
Yuria gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "K-Kanako..."
"I don't want us to be friends..." Kanako said. "I... love you... Yuria."
"Please, give up, Kanako. I'm willing to forgive you, and the others might forgive you as well..."Yuria smiled weakly. "I missed my bestfriend." and tried to touch Kanako, but the girl sweeped the hand away.
"I told you, I don't want to be friends!" The girl yelled. "I hurts me to see you with that girl. How could you love her more than me? I was with you from the very beginning!"
"I'm sorry... Kanako."
"Don't apologize. It's that idiot's fault after all. You got tricked, right?" Kanako smirked. "I'll take care of her, so that you can be with me forever, and we can annihilate the inhabitants of this timeline and live here forever!" and tried to grab Yuria, which the girl dodged.
Yuria fumed with anger as she yelled,"You're not the Kanako I know!" and paused before saying,"I... don't love you as much as I love Kuuchan with all my heart."
Kanako backed away and looked downwards. She stopped responding, even with Yuria poking her and hitting her. All of a sudden, she looked upwards and laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHA" Her eyes turned from normal to completely dead ones. "You don't... love me?"
Yuria backed away from the girl, but the girl pushed her down to the floor.
"If... you don't love me..." the girl looked straight into Yuria's face and screamed,"THEN I'LL MAKE YOU LOVE ME!"

Yuria couldn't believe what Kanako did next. The girl proceeded on touching different places on her body and made her feel uncomfortable.
"Stop... Kanako!" Yuria yelled.
"No."
Yuria's had enough. She grabbed the girl's collar before she could kiss her and pushed her away. The girl flew for a few meters with a thud as she hit the wall. As the mask also fell on the floor with a shatter, the girl immediately fainted, and the tuna men disappeared, surprising Jurina, Rena, Churi and Airin who was battling them eagerly.

"Yuria..." Kumi stared at the girl who fell on her knees.
Yuria refused to speak and could only stare at the body of her unresponding friend. The rest of the team looked at the girl worriedly. Kumi was the only one to go near the girl, who was close to breaking again.

"Yuria..." Kumi sat down and looked at Yuria's face. Yuria's eyes were in a deeper hue of red, and it looked emotionless and empty.
Kumi couldn't do anything but hold the girl in her arms. The others looked at two pitifully as Kumi cried and cried for Yuria to come back, and until they arrived in Sakae Island, the girl still didn't respond to anything.

-

"Kumi... are you alright?" Kanon asked her bestfriend Kumi who was still in front of Yuria. The girl hasn't responded for 3 days now, and Kumi didn't know what to do. During the nights, Kumi would cry about Yuria, and Kanon couldn't do anything but look at her friend pitifully.
"Please... Kumi, at least eat something..." Kanon begged her friend.
"No. I'm not hungry." Kumi replied coldly.
"You're gonna die. Yuria's not gonna like that."
"Maybe it should be fine for me to die, then." Kumi replied, with no emotions on her voice. "My parents are dead, and now, Yuria's gone. My life feels so empty."
Kanon slapped Kumi and yelled,"We're here! We're here for you, Kumi! Why couldn't you realize that?!" Kanon was crying and pleading,"Please Kumi... I'm fine if you wouldn't return my feelings. Just... please be alive. Please don't give up on life and Yuria as well!"
"Feelings?" Kumi questioned the girl.
"I... I love you, Kumi!" the girl yelled.
Kumi hugged the girl and said,"I'm... I'm sorry, Kanon." she paused before saying,"I'm sorry that you fell in love with an idiot like me."
"Please, Kumi... I can't watch you die before my eyes... like my parents did..." The girl cried.
"Don't worry... I'll try not to." Kumi smiled weakly.

-

"...Where am I..."
"Why... is it... so dark in here..."
"Why... can't I move..."
"It's been so long..."
"Being in here... feels like forever..."

Darkness. All that Yuria could see was darkness. She couldn't move anything, she felt numb all over. All she could do was talk. Talk to herself. Talk with her thoughts.
To Yuria's surprise, there was a faint light in front of her. She felt water drop on her face. She felt water drop on her body. But she still couldn't move.
From afar, she could see a figure slightly moving towards her.

"Hi girl." The girl grinned at her.
"Ka-Kanako..."Yuria weakly replied.
"I'm sorry... Yuria." Kanako smiled. "I.. I..."

From that point on, Yuria could now move. She sat back up and hugged the girl,"I'm sorry too, Kanako..."
The girl shaked her head from side to side,"No, don't worry. It isn't you fault." she paused before saying,"It's my own decision. I shouldn't have let myself be dragged with my emotions."
"I'll miss you, Kanako..." Yuria cried.
"Don't you dare cry on me, Yuria." Kanako said as she faced the girl and wiped her tears. "I don't wanna see you cry. I'll be fine. I'm gonna be fine..."
And yet the girl cried more, and Kanako couldn't do anything but reassure the girl.
"Yuria... do you know what is the most painful thing in the world...?"
"... I think I know what it is... But for you... what is it?"
"... For me, Yuria... it's seeing the person I loved the most cry in front of me." Kanako said as she pulled away from the hug. "So... Yuria, don't cry... promise me that..."
"Promise you what?"
"... That you'll love Kumi in my stead." Kanako smiled. "Now, you have to go back. Your friends are waiting for you. I'm not the only one from the future who came in that timeline, Yuria. I'm merely the first one out of the bosses."
"I... will..." Yuria weakly smiled. "And I will beat her for you, Kanako... I swear."
"Take care, Yuria." Kanako grinned, and pushed Yuria unto the floor once again. "I love... you."

Yuria swore that she saw a drop of tear from Kanako's face after she pushed her. After she was pushed by Kanako, she found herself sitting blindly and staring at the crying Kumi.

"Yuria!"Kumi yelled and hugged the girl immediately.
"Kuu..chan." Yuria replied weakly.

The rest of the girls approached Yuria with tears in their eyes. Yuria was surprised as some of them were even jumping for joy just because she was out, for what she thinks is a few minutes.

"I.. thought you weren't waking up..." Kumi said as she hugged her tighter. "You weren't responding for three days... I didn't know what to do..."
Yuria lifted up her right hand and touched her back,"Don't worry... I'm okay now. I'm here now."
Kumi pulled away from the hug and stared into Yuria's eyes, and immediately noticed that Yuria's eyes went back to their normal glow and color. She sighed in relief and lifted her right hand to Yuria,"Promise me."
"Promise you what?"
"Promise me... that you won't leave me again..."
Yuria was surprised by Kumi's words. She smiled weakly before saying,"I don't know... Kumi..."
Kumi ignored her reply and kept on staring in her eyes. Defeated, Yuria also lifted her hand and intertwined her pinky with Kumi's,"I... I promise."
After Kumi let go of their pinkies, Yuria stood up and held Kumi's hand.
"I'm... I'm hungry." Yuria weakly replied.

"We have food." Rena smiled at Yuria. "Welcome back."
"I missed you so much, Yuria... I don't know why though." Jurina grinned after wiping off her own tears.
"I missed your rantings too, Yuria. Training isn't the same with you." Airin smiled.
"I missed you too." Kanon smiled, and Churi jumped from her seat with tears still in her eyes,"I missed the person who entrusted me to do so many things!"

"I missed you guys too." Yuria smiled.

-

"Wait, I was out for 3 days?" Yuria was shocked after Rena announced how long she was out for.
"Yeah." Rena nodded.
"What happened while I was out, then?"
"We continued with our training everyday, we used your original training regimen though. Drills, Sparring, then Exercises." Rena replied.
"That's okay." Yuria said as she bit on the piece of bread handed to her a while ago. "It was designed for you guys anyway. Anything else happened?"
"While we, Jurina, Airin, Churi and Kanon were doing what we please, Kumi on the other hand refused to leave your side after the training." Rena looked at Yuria before saying,"That girl didn't eat for 3 days. We were surprised when Kanon managed to somehow make the girl eat."
"How did she survive that training without eating?" Yuria asked.
"She drank water... althrough the 3 days of training."
"That girl... seriously..." Yuria smiled weakly.
"Don't you feel anything weird or new to yourself, Yuria?"
"Nope." Yuria replied.
"You're pretty strong, huh. Normally, people who were asleep for 3 days couldn't move properly."
"I was out for a year with coma once." Yuria smiled. "I had surgery, and well... thankfully it didn't fail. When I woke up, I managed to walk fine."
"That's amazing." Rena covered her mouth with her hand and said,"You're really not a human... huh."
"I'm not." Yuria smiled.

-

"But I don't feel like sleeping, Kuuchan..." Yuria tried to drag her arm away from the girl.
"No. You're sleeping, Yuria and that's final."
"Why do you sound so responsible right now?" Yuria sighed. "I've been sleeping for 3 days. I'll be fine."
"No. You should be sleeping."
"Fine." Feeling defeated, Yuria snuck into her futon while feeling a bit angry at how Kumi was acting towards her.
"Yuria." Kumi tapped Yuria's back but Yuria ignored it.
"I'm sorry. I'm just worried... that's all." Kumi smiled weakly. "I don't want to lose you again... and the thought of that..."
Yuria turned around to face Kumi. "It's okay. I'll forgive you."
"Tha-"
Yuria cut off Kumi as she said,"But, you have to hug me while sleeping again."
Kumi smiled as she snuck into Yuria's futon and wrapped her arms around the girl's back. "Hmm... Well, then sleep-"
To Kumi's surprise, the girl planted a kiss on her lips, and Kumi couldn't do anything but comply to it. After pulling away, Yuria smirked and said,"I forgot to tell you about the other condition."
Kumi giggled before saying,"You meanie." and hugged her tight. Yuria wasn't able to sleep that night, but she felt blessed even though she didn't. Watching over Kumi while sleeping turned out to be the most amusing thing that she ever saw, and through the whole night she was able to look at the girl without looking at anything else.

---
TBC~
---

[Minamiyuki]

Kumiyuri's is very strong... It makes me cry..... 

I wonder about the future Kuumin's condition....

Waiting for your next update... 

[Shinoki]

Waaah....
The future...
And stuff...
I need to comment with more useful things...
But, dat was great
The KumiYuri~~

[saeseki]

The KumiYuri moment makes my heart goes 

somehow I feel pity for Kanon 

but KumiYuri is just so cute~~~

[HitoriYamanaka]

---
A/N: Sorry for not posting earlier. Anyways, this is the 6th Chapter of Re:DUX!
I'll be posting Chapter 7 later, so please do stay tuned in.
Thank you for all the replies and for reading the previous chapters! I hope that you guys would enjoy this one as well.

-

Chapter VI - A Day Off

-

As the sounds of people shouting numbers rang the ears of Kizaki Yuria, she became annoyed and quickly got up from her sleep. She then realized that all the futons besides hers are folded in a almost perfect manner, breakfast for one was properly served, and the battle grounds, to her surprise, was not as dirty as she remembered. Her attention quickly went to the girls shouting and doing their early morning drills.

"You're all so noisy!" Yuria yelled and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"But you were the one who told us to practice and train everyday." Airin reasoned out after finishing 10 sets of push-ups without much difficulty.
"Yeah, but..." Yuria scratched her head before saying,"It's okay to take a rest once in a while, you know."
"What are you talking about?" Jurina asked Yuria, who was always strict with training and loved making them all suffer. What could've possibly happened to the usual sadist girl?
"Yeah yeah yeah, today's your rest day." Yuria scoffed before saying,"Did I not announce that?"
"You didn't." Churi raised her hand.
"I forgot. Sorry. After your exercises you're all free to scoot around to wherever your asses bring yourselves to." Yuria said as she walked away to the counter where her food was laid properly. It was the same grilled seafood, and fruits, since Sakae island of course doesn't have rice nor bread or whatever. Of course, she was in no position to whine about the food served to her since she never helped with cooking nor finding it anyway. She sat down quietly and chewed her food properly and drank the prepared juice for her. When she finished her meal and she was about to leave the chair, she bumps to the girls who were waiting for her to finish behind her back.

"What do you guys want now?" Yuria asked.
"Can you... take us back to the city?" Kumi pleaded as she gripped Yuria's arm. "We miss the city, Yuria." The others nodded in agreement as they placed their palms together and begged Yuria to take them back to Nagoya.
Feeling defeated, Yuria once again took her light stick-like device and sighed,"Fine. But only just for today you guys."

The party cheered as they clinged onto Yuria, who just smiled and activated the device. Within seconds, they were transported back to the city they knew.
They went into groups and went into different places that they had missed and they wanted to go to before the day ends.

-
"I want to go to the zoo!" Churi yelled, holding Airin's arm tight.
"Okay, okay. You wanna go and see the birds, right?" Airin smiled at the girl, who immediately blushed from her reply. "Let's go!"
"L-Let's go." Churi embarrasingly spoke with a sudden low tension.
-

-
"Jurina, where do you want to go to?" Rena asked as Jurina was looking around the windows of the mall.
"I wanna go shopping." Jurina said softly as she looked at the new clothes on the mannequin. "Then I want to go eat rice. Then I want to eat ice cream. Then I wanna go shopping again."
Rena patted Jurina's head lightly and smiled,"Okay, okay... But after that, can we go to our house?"
Jurina grinned widely and spoke in a loud tone. "Of course! Let's go!" She yelled and dragged Rena inside the mall.
-

-
"Kumi, can you give me the keys to our apartment?" Kanon said as she tugged Kumi's blazer.
"Okay." Kumi said as she fished for the keys in her bag. "Here you go."
"Um... Kanon... I-I" Kumi shyly stammered as she spoke,"I want to-"
Kanon pushed the girl and said,"Go. I'm not your mother, so you don't have to ask permission from me." She smiled as she said,"Have fun."
Kumi waved back and thanked the girl with a wide grin from her face.
-

-
"Nee... Yuria," Kumi approached the girl who seemed to be doing something with her phone. "Where are you planning to go?"
"This timeline's phone really sucks... Why the heck did my butler have to buy me this overpriced piece of junk?" Yuria sighed as she didn't hear the girl. "Just because it's popular among people? I don't get it..."
"Yuria." Kumi spoke louder than she previously did, and the girl instanteneously looked behind her.
"Oh, What is it Kumi?" Yuria replied with a smile as she stopped fiddling with her phone.
"Where are you planning to go?"
Yuria was never interested to go back in Nagoya, and she planned on waiting for the others in the park on the assignated time. But seeing this as an opportunity to spend more time with Kumi, she answered,"My house. Wanna come?"
Kumi's eyes beamed with excitement. "Really?"

Yuria nodded as she wore a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and dragged Kumi away from the crowd that formed behind them. She knew that those were wotas, from the way they looked at her and the way they pointed and behaved at when they saw her. She wished that maybe they would think that she wasn't the person they were looking for, but apparently after they ran, the fans already knew who she was. Some even took pictures of her while running with Kumi. Yuria decided to call someone to aid them after running around from the fans who were seriously spotting her way too fast. Since they were back at the city, she couldn't use any magical gadgets nor exhibit her superhuman activity. It would cause a ruckus and she might get dragged over somewhere and get bisected by a group of scientists, and Yuria thinks that it sucks if it happens to her.

"Hello! Yes! I'm near the place. Yep, that street. I'll be waiting!" Yuria yelled to the person in the line.
All of a sudden, a black limousine appears in front of them, and Yuria pushed the girl inside carefully and went in afterwards.
"Hit the gas!" Yuria yelled.
"Hai, Ojou-sama." The voice who seemed to belong from Yuria's 'butler' calmly spoke.

All of sudden, the vehicle raced through the road in full speed, startling Kumi, who wasn't aware that the speed of the limousine could exceed to her expectations'. She was almost about to hit the seat in front of her, but thankfully, Yuria caught her before she could possibly go home with a bleeding nose again.
"Are you okay?" Yuria asked worriedly.
Kumi nodded slowly and said,"I am. Thank you."

The two shared an awkward silence after Yuria let go of Kumi. The silence ensued as they reached Yuria's house, which Kumi couldn't really tell if it was a house of some sort. It was humongous, just from the gates that stood in the entrance was the tallest gate Kumi ever saw. The Kizaki's house was like a mansion way back from the Kamakura period, and from Kumi's opinion, though she didn't really know much about history, was as big as an emperor's palace.

"Wow." Kumi stared in awe at the beauty of Yuria's house.
Yuria smiled as she held Kumi's hand and said,"Let's go inside."

As they went inside the Kizaki household, they were welcomed by a bunch of maids and butlers, who bowed their heads deeply as they greeted. Before they cound lunge on forward, Yuria was stopped by her butler.

"If you could excuse me, Yuria-sama..." The butler spoke in a low but clear tone.
"What is it, Yuka?" Yuria stared at the girl and said,"I told you to call me Yuria-chan or Yuria before right?"
The butler bowed before saying,"I am afraid that I would punished by Kizaki-sama if I wouldn't comply to her wishes of calling you by the name Yuria-sama, mistress."
"Whatever..." Yuria muttered to herself silently, but Kumi heard her comment.
"Kizaki-sama wishes for you to see her later."
Yuria nodded and immediately shifted her gaze. "Sure."

Yuria then proceeded to drag Kumi in a seemingly never-ending hallways, where was filled with more ancient-looking things. The doors that the two passed by was overwhelmingly many, and Kumi couldn't even count them. As Yuria paused before sliding the door. and immediately went inside.
Inside the room that Kumi entered was different from the others. It had idol and anime posters all over the place, and instead of ancient looking books, mangas and magazine filled the study table and shelves. All the figures in that room was figmas, and not some Buddha figurine or something that looks really old.

"Who owns this room, Yuria?" Kumi asked as she stared into the new environment she was in.
Yuria smiled before saying,"Mine." Yuria proudly smirked as she said,"This is my sanctuary."
"Wow, Yuria. This looks amazing!" Kumi yelled as she looked at Yuria's manga collection. "You have so many manga... I don't even know some of the titles here!"
Yuria laid down her bag before removing the hood from her head to her shoulder. "You can read some if you'd like."
"Really?" Kumi grinned at Yuria before touching the book she has set her eyes on. "I'll help myself, then!"

Yuria rummaged through her bag and carefully held a contact lens container in her hands. She carefully picked one and put it in her right eye, and successfully put on the other one as well. She tried to look at herself in the mirror, and she felt like as if she was the normal Yuria, the peachy ojou-sama of the Kizaki household, who had a dream long ago to be an idol. She smiled as she remembered how the numbness felt of performing on a stage, with fans cheering her on. Being the center of the group she belonged in was a great experience for her, and she never regretted her joining the group. Without knowing, she found herself singing again, her voice filled the room and startled Kumi. Kumi's focus went to Yuria instead of the manga as she stared in awe of Yuria's wonderful voice.

Kumi, deep inside her heart, something resonated and she felt it suddenly urging her to do something. But her body nor her mind didn't know what to do and she started to feel confused and irritated at herself. When Yuria finished singing, she looked at Kumi who was staring at her without even blinking. Suddenly embarrased that she sung in front of someone for a very long time, she nervously looked at Kumi.

Kumi slowly spoke,"Yuria... your voice is amazing." and continued to stare at the girl. "I wish that you'd sing more often..."
Yuria blushed at Kumi's statement and stuttered as she spoke,"Really?"
"Un." Kumi grinned.

A sudden knock on the door surprises the two. "Ojou-sama, it's about time for lunch."
"Okay... we'll be there in a sec." Yuria raised her voice in order for her butler to hear her. After hearing her reply, Yuka immediately snuck back into the kitchen and helped the cook serve the food.
"Kumi. Let's go." Yuria spoke without looking at the girl with the usual composure she has. "Be on your best behavior, please."
Kumi nodded and raised her right hand,"I promise."
"That's good, then." Yuria smiled as she took the girl's hand and headed to the dinner room. Once again, the table seemed like as if it was made for a banquet that could last a day or two. Different sorts of food colored the table, and Kumi could already feel her mouth watering as soon as she saw the food.

Yuria bowed before entering. "Good morning, Okaa-san."
Kumi awkwardly bowed shortly after realizing Yuria's actions.
"I guess you had brought a friend today for your visit, Yuria." her mother smiled before saying,"Please introduce her to me."
Yuria looked at her mother then to Kumi,"Mother, this is Yagami Kumi, a friend of mine." she paused and looked at Kumi then to her mother,"Kuuchan, this is my mom."
Yuria's mother smiled at Kumi before saying,"Please take your seats, and enjoy the meal prepared especially for the two of you."

The two complied and sat formally, and started eating. Kumi's eyes widened at the taste of the food she just bit into. It felt like as if the delicious-ness of the food seeped into every bud in her tongue. Without herself knowing, she was devouring the food in a fast pace, unlike Yuria who was just silently eating as she chewed. When Kumi was finished with her food, she looked at Yuria, who was just halfway through her food. Yuria's mother laughed before saying,"Yuria, your friend here is interesting."

Yuria smiled and nodded,"She is, after all an entertainer, huh."
Yuria's mother clapped her hands as if she thought of a bright idea,"I know! Kumi, can you perform something in front of us?"
Kumi gulped as she knew that she couldn't refuse someone who just gave her food,"I... I don't know, Kizaki-sama..."
"Do you have any talents?" Yuria's mother continued her onslaught.
"I... I do dance a bit." Kumi's eyes shifted from one place to another. "A bit of hiphop, I guess.."
Yuria's mother clapped her hands in excitement and immediately said to Yuria,"Yuria prepare the music!"
Yuria smiled as she opened her crappy phone and played a familar song, which Kumi of course, knew. At the song's interlude, Kumi was shuffling her feet and didn't look confident at all, but once the lyrics were sung, her body moved like a professional dancer. With her swift, agile and precise dancing, it left Yuria's mother clapping through the whole performance. Yuria smiled as she once again saw Kumi's dancing, thinking that it has been a while since she saw the girl dance.

-

"You want me to dance?!" Kumi shouted.
"I do." Yuria smiled as she said,"If you dance for me... then I'm yours."
"WHAT?" Kumi grinned and yelled happily,"THEN I'LL DANCE, HIT THE MUSIC!"

-

She used the exact same music that Kumi danced for her when she was wooing her, that literally made her fall over heels for the girl whom she already loved deeply. The thought of it made Yuria blush as she looked at the cool part of Kumi that she loved. When the song stopped and Kumi finished dancing, Yuria and her mother clapped as loud as they could.

"That was great, Yagami-san!" Yuria's mother giggled. "I think that I fell a bit for you right there."
"Iya... I'm not that great at all." Kumi shrugged off the compliment and smiled.
"Well, Yuria... what do you think?" Yuria's mother turned her attention to the girl who was blushing while staring at Kumi.
"I-I... I think... that it's pretty good."
Kumi smiled widely as she heard the girl's compliment and made a peace sign.

Suddenly, the sliding door widely opened, as a girl entered without minding the tense atmosphere. Yuria immediately felt herself shaking as she saw the look that the girl made to Kumi.

"Who are you?"
"Ah... I'm Yagami Kumi, and I'm Kizaki-san's friend... Nice to meet you." Kumi said as she introduced herself, but the girl seemed to have just ignored what she said as she went near Yuria's mom.
"Mieko, what the hell are you doing?" The girl shouted.
"Calm down, Rumi. We were just having some fun in here..." Yuria's mother helplessly replied.
"Father, please." Yuria softly and calmly spoke, carefully watching the tone of her voice.
"This is why your daughter turned out to be one of those girls prancing around in miniskirts!" Rumi yelled.
Kumi's eyes widened as Yuria went up to her and firmly gripped her hand. Mieko tried her best to calm down Rumi, and somehow, his attitude changed from his previous one.
"So, Yuria... your wedding with Kanako..."Rumi spoke.
"I'm not marrying Kanako for you to gain more money." Yuria coldly spoke. "If you would excuse us, we're leaving."

Rumi's loud yelling echoed the room as Yuria held Kumi's hand tightly as they left her house. Yuria went back to wearing her sunglasses with her hoodie over her head, and Kumi earnestly followed the girl. When they were outside, Yuria stops and says,"I don't have any more places that I'd want to visit..."
Kumi smiled and said,"I have a place I'd want to let you see."
"Where is it located?" Yuria asked.
"It's surprisingly near your place. We can walk." Kumi smiled.

Kumi gripped Yuria's hand tight as they walked to a place that held something to Kumi's heart. When they finally arrived, Yuria looked down in shock.
"Kumi..."
Kumi smiled at her and gripped her hand tighter than before. "It's okay."
To show her respect, Yuria removed her hood and her sunglasses. She would never expect Kumi to bring her out here of all places. After all, Kumi never liked to talk about her parents, especially the place they were in right now.
"Mom, Dad. This is Yuria." Kumi smiled as she leaned over the nameplates. "This is the girl I love."
Kumi then looked at Yuria and said,"Yuria... say something too."
Yuria gulped and searched around for perfect words to say,"Um... ano... I'm Kizaki Yuria, please do take care of me..."
Kumi stood up and said,"I'll go and get some water. You stay here and talk to my parents, alright?" and grinned and waved at her before she left.
"Oya-san and Mukaida-san." Yuria smiled as she sat down and said,"Your daughter is doing fine, don't worry. I'll protect her with all I can."

Kumi then arrives with the bucket that she immediately places in front of the grave and smiles at Yuria. Yuria stands up and offers a small prayer to Kumi's parents, while Kumi did the same. They then bid them farewell, and walked off to the park where all of them met during the morning.

-
A while ago, Furuyanagi's date.

"Ahh! Airin, look at that Scarlet Macaw!" Churi yelled.
"It looks like the type of bird that lands on a pirate's shoulder." Airin blatantly replied.
"The bird that belongs to the mainstream pirates that are shown on TV is indeed the Scarlet Macaw, Airin." Churi stopped for a moment and continued her rant about the bird. "You know, the Scarlet Macaw isn't just-"
Airin braced herself for another lecture about birds.

-
Airin sighed as Churi finally calmed down and sat on the bench with her.
"Churi... wait here." Airin said as she sat back up and ran towards the direction they just went from.
Churi never suspected anything and was relaxing while sitting in the park she missed so much. She was always with Airin in here, and she knew that the girl didn't have that much interests in birds in the first place. She herself wondered why would the girl bother going with her in a park, when she could just go home, draw, watch anime and sleep?
Airin came back to her running with her hands in her back. Churi yelled in excitement as Airin revealed what she was hiding behind her.

"Ah! The Scarlet Macaw!"
Airin blushed and shouted,"Today... he has a message to tell you." she said as she pointed at the piece of paper in the bird's beak.
Churi reluctantly took the piece of paper, and she was caught in shock. The bird flew to it's trainer afterwards and the trainer yelled,"Good luck, Airin!"
Churi couldn't speak and she just literally hugged the girl and said,"This is my answer Airin. I love you too."
Airin felt like she could soar in the air like the animal Churi liked so much after hearing that the girl loved her as much as she did. Somehow, she just managed to say,"I love you too." and hugged the girl back.

-

"Ah! We had lots of fun, Rena!" Jurina smiled at Rena, who looked particularly tired, probably from moving too much due to Jurina's energy.
"We did." Rena smiled weakly.

"Ah! You guys are here!" Kumi yelled at the two as she waved with her free hand, as her other hand was intertwined with Yuria's fingers.

Slowly approaching the scene was the newly-made couple, Airin and Churi, who decided to don't tell the others about their newfound relationship. But they couldn't resist and they intertwined their fingers, a behavior that they don't usually let the others see, as Churi was a tsundere and Airin was always denying her feelings for the girl. When they arrived, Yuria immediately noticed their flushed faces and their fingers laced together.

"Hm. Did you manage to steal her first kiss?" Yuria smirked at Airin, who immediately stepped back from her question.
"W-What do you mean?" Airin tried to hide her blushing face, as Yuria leaned and leaned to her face.
"You smell like Churi... what did you guys do?~"Yuria teased.

The two immediately felt uneasy from Yuria's stare and was about to tell them about their relationship.
Luckily, Kumi pulled back the girl before she could do anymore damage to the tomato-faced couple.

-

The last to arrive was Kimoto Kanon. She brought a bag with her, and when Yuria asked what it was, well it was some of her things. Yuria then remembered to buy food for them that they'll bring back at the island. At the grocery store, everyone followed Yuria who was too fast and stealthy looking with her hoodie and her sunglasses as she almost bought all of the rice in the store. She also bought a few appliances outside and the others were in shock at the sudden appearance of the golden priviledge card that only the Prime Minister, famous people and politicians have.

"How come Yuria has one of those?!"Jurina whispered to Kumi.
"She's really rich." Kumi replied.
"I'd like her to take me shopping."Kanon looked curiously at the card Yuria handed to the cashier.

Well... if only they knew that Kizaki Yuria was one of Japan's most prominent artists, then they wouldn't be surprised that she has one. Much to Yuria's relief, the staff were all professionals and didn't squeal at her or asked for either a handshake or a signature, or she would've been exposed to the people in the place right now.

After their short grocery shopping, Yuria guided them to a dark alley which was normally visited by anyone and activated her glowstick-like device. It immediately transported them from Nagoya back to Sakae Island. As they tried to enter the battle grounds, something happens that they weren't expecting...

"Hahahahaha..."The figure laughed maniacally.

---

TBC~

---

(Now working on the next chapter, sorry again for not replying properly. )

[Shinoki]

Such quick updates~~~~~
That KumiYuri...
That....Furuyanagi....
....much heart such love very like....
And Kuu-san's parents...

[saeseki]

That part when they are visiting Kumi parents 

Airin and churi are so lovey-dovey yet tsun-tsun 

aaand I wonder what happen in Sakae island

[HitoriYamanaka]

A/N: A short Side Story and this time it's about Kumi and Kanon.
Please do enjoy and I'll bring the 7th Chapter later.

---

Side Story B - Mushi no Ballad

---

Kanon was born in a normal household consisting of her mother, her father and herself. Her mother, Kimoto Nao, worked at a mansion as a maid, and they were allowed to live in there as the caretakers. Her father, Kimoto Nanako, on the other hand, was a normal salaryman who worked for the company of the owner of the mansion. The mansion that Kanon's mother worked at was owned by the esteemed business man, Yagami Oya and her wife, Yagami Manatsu. They had a single child, who were their pride and joy, and her name was Yagami Kumi. Kanon was always with Kumi, and they were as close as sisters. When Kumi's father and mother leave their house to go to work, and Kanon's mother has to fulfill her duties, she was always playing with her.

"Kanon!" Kumi grinned happily at the girl and ran to her.
"Kumi." Kanon smiled.
"Nee, nee, Kanon." Kumi happily snatched Kanon's hand and said,"If we ever grow up Kanon, can you be my wife?"
Kanon widened her eyes in disbelief,"Me?"
The girl happily nodded and said,"Yup, you."
"Maybe..." Kanon shifted her gaze from the girl's,"If I wasn't able to fall in love with anyone else... then maybe..."
Kumi just grinned happily and placed a crown on Kanon's head. Kanon wasn't able to tell her how she felt back then, but she only knew that she wanted to say "Yes, Yes I do!" to what Kumi asked her.

-

Time arrived when Kanon and Kumi were instructed to go to school. Kumi immediately hated the idea of her being in a private school without Kanon. Her parents shook their heads when Kumi asked them to put her in a public school with Kanon, and that was the first time that Kanon saw Kumi get angry at her parents.

"No!" Kumi yelled. "I'm not going to school!"
Manatsu shook her head in disbelief,"But, Kumi..."
"No! I'm not going in there without Kanon!"
Feeling defeated, Oya calmly said to her child,"How about this, then, Kuumin. We'll put you in a private school, but this time, we'll put Kanon with you."
Kumi grinned happily and nodded,"Yes, that would be fantastic, Father!"

Kanon smiled as Kumi returned back to her normal personality, and everything went smoothly in school. Kanon was not that academically declined, but Kumi on the other hand, showed talent in studying but failed in athletics. Kanon though, felt like P.E classes were the best and were a breeze to her. Even though the both of them weren't really close with anyone else besides themselves, they didn't care. Even if the whole class jeered at them and claimed them as a couple, Kumi would just flash her famous grin to them, which annoyed them more.

-

"What's your dream, Kumi?" Kanon asked her friend.
"Well... I want to be a voice actress." Kumi grinned as she continued to flip her manga's page.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"I mean, you're good at both dancing and singing. Why not be an idol?" Kanon asked curiously.
"I'm not up for those kind of stuff, I guess." Kumi said. "You could be one! You look cute anyway."
"Me?!" Kanon said as she pointed at herself and Kumi giggled at her reaction.

-

One day, Kanon was on cleaning duty and Kumi told her that she would go ahead. Kanon just nodded and returned to cleaning what she was supposed to and went home afterwards. When she arrived at her house, she looked around for Kumi.

"Mom, where's Kuumin?" Kanon asked her mother, who was currently doing the dishes at that time.
Her mother shaked her head and said,"Kuumin? Well I wonder. She hasn't arrived yet dear.
"That's weird. Kumi said that she was going on ahead. What could possibly have happened?"

It was already late at the night, and Kumi was still nowhere to be found. Manatsu was starting to get worried and tried to phone her husband, who was supposedly still at work.

"Honey, Kuumin isn't home yet."
Oya gasped,"Then that call must be true!"
"What call?"
Oya gritted her teeth before saying,"They asked me 100 million yen in exchange for my daughter. I thought it was a prank..."
Manatsu broke down in tears and her husband reassured her that she would come home and definitely get her daughter back alive, no matter what it takes. Kanon witnessed the scene of Kumi's pitiful parents as they negotiated over the phone with her abductors, and she herself was also crying when she learned that Kumi was abducted, and she blamed herself for it.

"Manatsu-san, Oya-san... I'm sorry it's my fault.." Kanon bowed her head. "I was supposed to look after Kumi..."
Oya shaked her head,"It's not your fault, Kanon-chan. Those guys wanted money, and they are definitely the ones at fault."

-

"Hand me the 100 million yen." The figure with a black mask over his face said.
Oya threw the bag over the counter and said,"Here, I followed your instructions. I also brought my wife."
"And we didn't call any police or anything." Manatsu nodded as she raised her arms up in the air. "Now, let my child go!"
"Go. Untie the girl and get out of here." The guy said and faced the bag that was supposed to contain the money.

Oya and Manatsu nodded to themselves and immediately ran to the place where Kumi was tied and held at. The girl seems to be in a daze, her eyes were empty and dead. She didn't even respond to her parents' hug and tears. Oya and Manatsu decided to ignore it and give their child some time to be able to move on from this agonizing experience. Oya carried her child away, but when they were near the exit, a bunch of other people wearing a mask over their faces blocked their way.

"What? I already paid the 100 million yen, get out of the way!"Oya yelled.
"You called the police!" One of the people yelled, clear enough for their boss to hear what he just said.
The boss fumed angrily at the three and shouted,"Kill them!"

Oya laid her child on the ground after giving her a hug and a kiss. Manatsu also gave the child a tight hug and a kiss, and stood up before the people blocking their way. The guys pulled out their guns and shot the couple out in the front, while Kumi finally realized what just happened. Her parents fell with a deep thud near her, and the people clad in black masks attempted to shoot her as well, but they heard the cops were coming and abandoned the scene. When the cops arrived, there was no one there, except for a couple with a child in the middle, hugging them with all her might.

-

"That was really cruel, wasn't it? She was the only child, her parents' were gone along with their money. Who's supposed to take care of this kid now?" One of the police officers said as she looked into the file.
"Saa. Everyone except her own parents only cared about money." The chief inspector said. "They'll probably throw the child in some orphanage."
"That's really sad."
"It is."

-

Kumi after the incident was traumatized, and according to the doctor, she forgot everything that she has done and said before the incident. Even if Kumi wanted to know what happened, everyone was advised not to tell the girl anything, as it would cause the girl depression and extreme sadness. At the funeral, she only knew that the people who were about to be buried was someone important to her, but she couldn't remember. When her parents were encoffined and cremated before her own eyes, she felt tears flooding her eyes and she didn't know why in particular.

After the funeral, Kanon tried to talk with the girl.

"Hello Kumi."
"Who are... you?" Kumi looked at Kanon with suspicion in her eyes.
Kanon felt her heart being squeezed while she said,"Kimoto... Kanon. I'm your bestfriend..."
"I'm sorry if I can't remember you though." Kumi said as she held her head. "My memories are all jumbled up."
"Nah... it's fine..." Kanon said as she sat down and continued to talk the girl.

-

Some of her relatives took advantage of Kumi's current situation and didn't even bothered to tell the girl who they were. Some tried to take care of the girl out of pity, but as the chief inspector predicted, Kumi was indeed thrown out by anyone of her parent's relatives who tried to take care of her shortly after the funeral. Kanon and her parents showed pity for the young girl who was rejected by her own bloodline and decided to take the girl in. For the first time in Kumi's life, she experienced being poor and had a tough time with it, but she thankfully coped with her new environment with the help of Kanon's family.
Kumi felt like this was the life she was born into, a happy life even though they weren't rich. She lived in happiness since then, with Kanon and her family.

-

One day, Kanon's mother was brought to the hospital due to fatigue, is what Kanon's father told her. She stayed there for months, and Kanon and Kumi weren't told of her situation by Kanon's father. Due to her mother's condition, Kanon's father decided to go and work twice as harder, and one day when he was about to go home from work, he was hit by a car.
"Um.. How is Suga Nanako-san's condition?" Kanon asked the girl in the reception area.
"He... He's in a pinch." The nurse smiled. "He should be fine."
Knowing that the receptionist was lying to her, Kanon skillfully grabbed the list of patients and looked at it.

Kimoto Nanako - 45 - In dying/Critical Situation
Kimoto Nao     - 44 -  Has Stage 4 Leukemia. May die in a few months or so due to neglect on chemotheraphy.

Kanon was devastated as she heard both of her parents were at the hospital and were in dying condition, while Kumi tried her utmost best to reassure the girl. A few days after the accident, Kanon's father finally said goodbye, causing the girl extreme sadness and depression. Kanon's mother's illness worsened as every day passed by as she wasn't given any medicine due to her family members being unable to sustain the payments. Luckily, his father's insurance covered some of the expenses and his own funeral.

"Kanon. Kumi." Kanon's uncle, Deguchi Aki called out to the two.
"What is it, Oyaji-san?"
"I'll be the one to take care of you." Aki smiled happily at the two who beamed with happiness.

Finally, after a surge of seemingly never-ending bad luck, the two finally found something that they should be happy about. Aki was a salaryman himself, and he was at a slightly higher position than Suga. He owned a condo all by himself, and he was able to send the two to a decent school while taking care of Nao's medical expenses. Kanon's mother's condition was finally stable, but then one day something happened. It seems that there was a machine failure, and it ended up with the sudden death of Nao, which made Kanon really sad. Aki was able to take care of everything, and after Nao's death, it seemed that the things bought for them were getting more and more extravagant. They were wondering why, but they decided to ignore whatever it was and decided to enjoy whatever it was that was given to them.

-

Kumi was about to sleep one late night when she heard the door creak. It seems that Aki went home at that time, and she entered the room brazenly.

"Aki-san... Um... What are you doing here?" Kumi asked in confusion.
The girl seemed to ignore Kumi's question and creeped up on the bed and stared into the girl's eyes. "Hmm... Kumi I was wondering..."
Her hands then went up and down Kumi's body, making the girl uncomfortable,"Um.. Ano... Aki-san..."
"Yes?" the older girl said as she passionately felt the girls thighs, making the younger girl moan.
"Could you please stop?"
"Stop?" Aki glared at Kumi and said,"What right do you have to make me stop?"
Aki removed the girl's upper clothing as the younger girls squealed, hoping that Kanon would wake up and know what could possibly be happening,"HELP! PLEASE HELP!"
Thankfully, Kanon heard the ruckus and checked out what happened in Kumi's room. She stared in shock at what her respected uncle was doing to her bestfriend and immediately got angry at her. She pushed the older girl aside and tried to dress Kumi back up and declared that they will leave the first thing in the morning tomorrow. Aki raged and ignored them at their last moment in her house.

"What are we supposed to do now... Kanon?" Kumi weakly asked the girl as she held the other girl's hand.
"We're reporting her to the police." Kanon spoke.
Kumi just nodded and seemed to agree with their idea. Kumi and Kanon arrived at the police station and Kumi was recollecting the scene that happened between her and the older woman. She was in tears as she was negotiated, and the verdict was for Aki to register herself a child sexual offender, allowing her reputation to be ruined. According to the humors, she was fired from her job and was unable to pay for her condo. She now works in clubs and bars and lived in a small apartment all by herself. Kumi and Kanon ended up in the orphanage homes, all by themselves.
Kumi and Kanon then later discovered that Aki took all of her mother and father's remaining insurance money, and sold their house. There were rumors of Aki killing Nao by unplugging the devices used to support the woman, but it was just a rumor, and nobody could actually prove that it was true.

-

When the two girls arrived at the orphanage home, they were greeted by the caretakers and the children, but they refused to talk with them. The only reason that they agreed to stay in the orphanage was because it offers free food, shelter, and school. The two girls decided to continue studying despite all odds, and they somehow made it to third year high school without problems.

"What course are you planning on taking, Kuumin?" Kanon asked the girl.
"I'm going to a special school for Voice Acting, Kanon." Kumi smiled.
"Your dream hasn't changed since back then, huh."
"Of course, it hasn't. So what about you?"
"Same." Kanon smiled at the girl. "I love anime, and I think that I would ace this one."
"Yeah, you are pretty good at acting."
"But you're good at both dancing and singing." Kanon reasoned back.
"I don't really need the dancing part."
They both giggled and laughed as they decided to write their desired careers in the form.

-

"The results are out, Kumi." Kanon said to Kumi, who looked really nervous as she said, "Un..."
"Let's... Let's go and look at it together!" Kumi smiled at Kanon.
"Okay."
"1... 2... 3..." Kumi said as she counted off. "Go!"
They couldn't believe what they saw. They were both accepted for their desired college without any problems and hugged each other tight.

-

After highschool graduation, it was also the time for them to 'graduate' from the orphanage, as they could already take care of themselves. The caretakers and the other orphans went on and on about how they are going to miss the two, but in Kumi's own perspective, they didn't even do anything worth mentioning for the inhabitants of the orphanage. When they were finally out of the orphanage, they worked part-time with college in order to sustain themselves as they paid for their apartment and daily needs. Being the hardworking people the two were, they were able to graduate from college without any problems, and get invited into the Sakae Studios by the director herself. They felt their dream going to where it should be step by step, and they swore that they would get at the top of the industry in no time. But it has to wait, for the world is in trouble and they were one of the chosen people to aid in saving the world.

----

[Shinoki]

...waaah.... their parents....
Oi!!! Aki.... 

Well, into the unknown tomorrow that may be filled with dreams or whatnot!

(As always, it's impossible to tell what in the world I'm saying...)

[HitoriYamanaka]

A/N: This is finally the seventh chapter!
I'll try to post as much as I can today since my hiatus begins tomorrow :3
Anyways, please do enjoy! Also, thank you to all who have replied, gave a thank you and read the previous chapters!
I've already got a Side Story C, actually. But I'll post it after Chapter 10. Since that's how it looks like now but actually it's just by chance (that I encountered a wall once again and I can't find any more members to make fun of)

---

Chapter VII - The Nerd

---

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yuria scoffed as she laid the bags on the floor with a loud thud. She clearly looked annoyed at the sight of the megane-wearing girl who snooped around the place, and glared at her, but she just laughed again and said,"Of course, I'm visiting my old friend, Yuria."
"Huh huh... Cut your bullcrap." Yuria said as she returned her hands back in her hoodie's pocket. "You were just interested at them." Yuria said as she pointed at the girls, who still looked confused of the current situation.
"Nah, I wanted to visit this battleground that I made for you." The girl smiled as she brought out a blueprint of some sort. "And I have news about Kuuchan's tablet."
"Wait. Nobody calls Kuuchan 'Kuuchan' besides me and Kuuchan." Yuria said as she leaned in closer and inspected the item that the girl was playing with like a baton with her fingers,"Now that seems interesting."
"Yup. Everything that you need is interesting to you, Yuria." The girl smirked as she hid the blueprint.
Yuria sighed as she went back to the place where she previously was. "What do you want?"
"Before I cause more confusion and weird staring faces at my face, let me first introduce myself." The girl pointed at herself properly and inhaled a lot of air before saying,"I am Niidoi Sayaka, an ultimate Yuria oshimen!"

Yuria facepalmed herself and prepared herself mentally before the situation could get out of hand.

-

"Yuria?! You're that Kizaki Yuria?!" Airin yelled, and the others followed with either a groan or a sigh. "Please, please do shake my hands!"
Yuria shaked her head and said,"You've touched my hands a lot before, so no. What's the point?"
Airin whispered to herself saying,"This time I wouldn't wash it..."
Churi happened to overhear and pinched Airin's ear,"Really, Airin?"
Airin shook her head in fear and weakly replied,"It... I-It was a joke, Churi."

"How come you hid this from all this time?" Jurina asked Yuria with a tone of annoyance in her voice.
"I'm fine with people not knowing who I was." Yuria crossed her arms before saying,"It was a needless information."
"Yuria, it's not a needless information! After all, you are an idol that was certainly different from everyone else. You're the immovable center and-" Sayaka excitedly says.
"Gosh, this girl goes on and on about Yuria like how Churi goes on and on about birds." Rena sighed as she placed her right palm on her right cheek.
"That's enough, Sayaka." Yuria spoke in a low tone and nudged the girl.
"Yuria has a really small and round face, can't you guys notice how cute she is? She's definitely an idol-"Sayaka paused as she felt a blunt hit on her forehead.
"Stop. I told you to stop, Sayaka-chan."Yuria looked seriously at the girl.
Sayaka bowed her head and said,"I'm sorry, Yuria."
Yuria immediately shook the girl's shoulder, wishing for the girl to stop whatever she was doing.
"What do you really want, Sayaka."
"I just wanted to inform you about the tablet. Here's the charger, I think it should probably work." Sayaka said as she handed the girl a seemingly weird charger to Yuria. "I'll go back to Nagoya now, then."
Yuria gripped the girl's hand and said,"Come back tomorrow. I have to tell you something important."
Sayaka nodded as she said,"Sure. By the way, it takes 2 hours for that to fully charge." and went to the exit of the battlegrounds.

The group sighed as they lost sight of the weird girl.

"Is she from the future too, Yuria?" Jurina asked.
Yuria shaked her head,"No. But Kuuchan trusted her to do all of this for me."

An awkward silence for a very long time ensued until Churi yelled,"I'm so tired!~"
And the others groaned and nodded in response.

"Let's go to sleep for now then." Yuria said as she yawned. "And also. prepare for the training tomorrow."

-

The lights were all shut and the dim nightlight was the only one that lit the darkness. When everyone was asleep, Yuria scampered towards the darkness and reached for the tablet being charged and quickly turned the device on. To her delight, the device had just finished charging.

"Kuuchan, Hello, Kizaki Yuria here. Are you guys still holding off quite well? Once my business here is over, Kuuchan, I'll be sure to come back there as soon as possible, don't worry. I miss you." Yuria said as she recorded herself in darkness. She then turned the device off and changed it's settings back to silent and went back to bed.

-

"Kumi, Kumi!"  a yell echoed through the laboratory.
Kumi didn't feel like responding so she pretended to be asleep even if the girl was shaking her.
"It's Yuria!" the girl shouted again.
Like some sort of force pulling her back to reality, Kumi immediately replied,"What does her message say?"
Kanon sighed as she pushed some buttons, and Yuria's face immediately appeared on the screen. "Kuuchan, Hello."
Kumi looked in the screen in fascination. "It's really her..."
"Are you guys still holding off quite well?"
Kanon shifted her gaze from the screen and looked at Kumi, who was on the verge of crying and patted her back.
"Once my business here is over, Kuuchan, I'll be sure to come back there as soon as possible. Don't worry."
"I miss you." A few seconds of Yuria's face smiling lingered before the video ended.
"I miss you too..." Kumi said weakly.

-

"Why are we under the waterfall?" Jurina yelled. "It's too cold!"
"This is your training." Yuria said calmly.
"This isn't training at all!" Airin shouted. "This is torture!"
"I thought that only those warriors from the movies do this thing..." Rena said softly.
"All I want for you to do is shut up and focus on meditating for 5 minutes." Yuria paused as she raised her hand and flaunted a 5 sign on her hand. "Failure to do so will result in added time. For example, if you opened your eyes or talked to someone, I'll add another 5 minutes."
"What..." Jurina groaned.
"Just get in there." Yuria said as she pushed the 6 into the harsh and raging waterfalls.
"You'll be fine." Yuria reassured the 6. "Unless, of course, you plan on being stupid and talk while you're there."

A loud beep suddenly surprises them and Yuria saw Jurina, Airin and Kumi open their eyes.
"Jurina, Airin, Kumi, Five minutes."

She then fished her bag for the tablet that seemed to have been making the noise and quickly turned the device on. Her face beamed happily when she saw that Kumi saw her video and replied. She returned to the banks and sat down on one of the rocks and played the video she received from Kumi.

"Yuria. Hello, it's Kuuchan~ Nyahan~ "Kumi made a weird hand gestured and flaunted a grin.
"Mmm... It's a great news that you're doing fine in there!" Kumi said as she scratched the back of her head,"I was really really really worried."
"I even planned on going after you the other day." Kumi giggled. "But they literally pulled me away from the machine before I could step on it. Then I was observed closely."
"I can't believe that I'm banned from my own invention. That sucks." Kumi sighed.
"By the way, I've heard the rumor that you've beating Kanako-chan. It's spreading here like wildfire and their leader was starting to panic, and I think that they're sending in reinforcements quickly." Kumi said. "Anyways, the teleporter is now running quite well if you were able to survive it. Maybe I'll send one or two people here to help you. Maybe it's Kanon." Kumi said as she pointed at the girl behind her.
"No, it's not gonna be me." Kanon said as she hit the girl's head. "Oh hello, roundface."
"Maybe, it's gonna be someone else other than Kanon." Kumi said after she stopped wincing in pain.
"Anyways, I'll update you later. Something just came up. Bye. I miss you Yuria!" Kumi said as she waved in the video.

Yuria sighed as she saw the video ended. "I miss you too, Kuuchan."
She then turned her attention to the girls, who were now shivering. "Ah, I was not paying attention. How long have you been there?" Yuria said as she looked at her watch. "Oh. 20 minutes. Yabai."
"Everyone, get out of there!" Yuria yelled, and the girls immediately ran off from where they stood. Yuria threw the towels in their direction, and luckily none of them fell in the water.

"Let's get back to the battlegrounds." Yuria guided them back to the battlegrounds, and when they arrived they realized that Sayaka was in there once again.
Yuria ignored the girl and went to the kitchen and served tea, which the members really appreciated.
Afterwards, Sayaka spoke to Yuria,"Hey I figured out something."
"What." Yuria asked in a disinterested tone.
"There are currently a lot of weirdness in the weather."
"Not as weird as you, though."
"Anyway, in some places in Japan, the weather is going haywire." Sayaka explained. "I figured out that maybe in those locations, the superhumans in the future are currently in there."
"So?" Yuria said as she played with her teacup.
"So, you could beat all of them in one go. You're aware of who would be in there since you know all of them." Sayaka said as she handed her a device. "I'll give you that."
"Oh. Thanks." Yuria said as she grabbed the device in her hands. "What kind of weather disruptions were you talking about?"
"Like drought. Extreme drought in a land supposed to be a rich one, it was planted by farmers for years. One day, it just became like that." Sayaka explained before she continued,"And there was this one when a supposedly hot provincial area suddenly had snow that hasn't ended. And the extreme mountain slides and extremely fast wind on the other parts of Japan."
"Then... just maybe." Yuria said as she nodded. "Thank you, Sayaka."
"No problem. I'm leaving, then." Sayaka said as she once again left the room.

-

"Why not plan an attack to one of those superhumans?" Kumi said as she looked at the device and noticed the red dots on it.
"I have to ask Kuuchan for permission." Yuria said as she looked into the girl's eyes.
"Then you have my permission." Kumi smiled and was suddenly met by a kiss in her cheeks.
"Not you. The future Kuuchan."
"A-Ah... the... yeah." Kumi said as she embarassingly removed her view from Yuria.
"But maybe, we could indeed go for it." Yuria said as she faced the others. "What do you guys think?"

"I'm fine with it." Airin said as she munched on her cracker.
"Really? We're doing a counterattack? I'm so excited!"Jurina said as she jumped up from her seat.
"Maybe we should. Before they could attack us first. It's better to be prepared." Rena smiled.
"Where is the nearest one? I wanna know!" Churi said as she pumped her fist in the air.

"Um... it's in... Akihabara. It's the extreme gust of wind." Yuria explained.
"Do you know who is it?" Kanon said as she raised her hand.
"Yeah." Yuria paused before saying

"It's Black."

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TBC~

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