81. Final

"I'm on standby with the girls," I informed, "What about you?"

Russo, pulling his arms through the sleeves of his coat, fixed his collar. "Nowhere," he told me, catching me by utter surprise. 

"Nowhere? But you're a fully, physically capable force at the moment." I reasoned. With Gokudera, Ryohei, and many others quite injured by previous battles, Russo, with not a scratch on him, was ideal for battle.

"Well," Russo chuckled, "I'm on surveillance duty."

"Surveillance?" I could beg to differ, "You'll be reporting back battle progress to the ones at our base of operations? That's something we didn't have in the actual plot." 

Fixing the laces of his boots, Russo sighed. "The real question is," he turned to me, "Do we really need a surveillance member?"

-

-

"Rei-san, are you alright? You look a little tired." Tsuna approached me as I stepped back onto base after sending Russo off. "We didn't catch the both of you coming back here last night, either."

Tsuna looked genuinely worried, on top of all the anxiety he had for the plans that would commence any time now. 

I smiled, trying to ease him off his worries. "I'm alright, I'm always tired." I joked, "Russo and I chatted until morning, pretty much. We returned when Nozaru-san was on Night Watch."

"Until morning??" Tsuna freake dout, "Rei-san, you should really get some-"

Putting a finger over his lips and another on my own-- I shushed him softly. "Non, non," I went into my French dialect, "This isn't the time to be worrying about me, Tsuna. Today's plans are very much more important."

I'm quite sure he was really confused about my sudden language change-- but I turned away quickly, so he wouldn't ask questions.

"I'm back, Kyoko." I called to the girl.

"Welcome back!" she came up quickly, at first with a smile. Her face quickly fell into a worried expression-- "You look tired." she noticed, "Why don't you get some rest?"

I shook my head, giving her a bashful smile. "It's going to start any time," I told her, "I don't want to miss anything." I looked toward the sky-- it was still a pretty, serene blue-- I mumbled under my breath: "Not this time; not this arc." 

"Huh?" she piqued at the last part.

"Nothing much," I chuckled. "Ah, Irie-kun, you look fine."

Irie Shouichi eyed me with a look of 'are you serious?', and sighed deeply. "I really wonder how you could be so carefree at times like these." he mumbled, "If we lose, we all die, don't you know?"

I crouched down beside him, and grinned cheekily. "I'm like this because I know we'll win!" I declared with almost too much confidence. "I wasn't here for most of the time, but I know just how much everyone has trained, suffered, and grown stronger for today."

And when you do your best-- something good will come from it.

Most eyes were on me at the moment-- but no one spoke a word.

The fuzz at the collar of my Varia Coat tickled my cheek-- but I leaned into the fur, enjoying its softness for just one moment longer.

My eyes open at the slightest crinkle of my communications device.

Standing up quickly, I turned to Tsuna and Reborn.

We had tuned ourselves to a channel only both of us were in, so the surveillance would work despite the loss of many earpieces. I would serve as the communications medium between the surveillance and the home base.

"Eins, Zwei," Russo and I said in unison,

"Drei."

On the dot, an explosion occurred in the distance.

The Future Final Battle had begun.

-

"Hey, why German?" Drew once asked her brothers. "Why the German numbers, Eins, Zwei, Drei?"

"That's where Zen was born." Eve easily explained, handing his slittle sister a slice of apple he had just cut, "You learned Chinese first, but Zen learned German first. We started off the Clowns with just the two of us." 

"Hehh," Drew was about half-interested, maybe. "Then, what did you learn first, Eve?" she asked nonchalantly, nibbling on the peeled apple.

"My first language?" Eve needed to actually think for a moment, "I think it was italian."

-

"Uhm, Rei-san..."

Turning to the soft voice, I realized it was Yuni who had called out to me.

"Rei-san, could I have a moment?" she asked me. She wasn't nervous or shaky or jumpy like Tsuna-- in fact, she held herself with confidence and dignity like the leader she was supposed to be.

"Of course," I answered without hesitation. "Would you like to talk in private?"

-

-

"Do you remember that ranking I made ten years ago?"

Reborn took a short moment to realize Fuuta was speaking to him. 

"Rei-nii was #3 of people possessing detailed, otherworldly wisdom." Fuuta recalled slowly. "I haven't touched my ranking book in a very long time."

Reborn recalled that ranking quite clearly, in fact. He had been wondering about it all this time, but he had since then dismissed it as the reason for Rei's incredible, impossible extent of knowledge. He would get down to it someday-- but that was not today.

"That ranking list," Fuuta spoke slowly, "To tell the truth, it probably didn't refer to how smart Rei-nii was." he admitted.

This caught Reborn's interest. 

Detailed, otherworldly wisdom. 

The strange wording of the ranking really had a hidden meaning to it.

"You see, #2 in that ranking was none other than Aria-san. Although right now, Aria-san is no longer..." Fuuta told Reborn, in a volume low enough to be a private conversation. "However, #4 in that ranking was Byakuran." 

"Rei was at a higher rank that Byakuran, but lower than the Sky Arcobaleno?" Reborn thought out loud. A rhetorical question that no one could answer to. 

But why? How? 

Who was #1, then?

-

-

"So, what did you need me for, Yuni-chan?" I asked. 

She had brought me a little toward a corner of our base of operations, and we spoke in low volumes. Straying too far would be a little too dangerous, after all.

Yuni turned to me-- and not a hint of a smile was on her face. In fact, it was a serious expression.

"I..." she faltered, "I have a vague understanding of what exactly you are." she told me, "Rei-san, you and Russo-san both... are not of this world."

My smile didn't falter much. 

"Well," I chuckled, "I figure if anyone in this world would find out, it would be you or... Uncle Kawahira, I guess. Or Byakuran."

Yuni then fiddled with her fingers nervously, "Uhm, Rei-san," she spoke up, "I would like to ask of you a favour... about the end of this battle."

"Can you see it?" I spoke up quickly, "Can you foresee the ending of this battle?"

I'm quite sure she didn't--

And Yuni shook her head solemnly. "As of the moment, anything I foresee may not come true." she explained. "The state of the parallel worlds are currently at an... unforeseeable situation." 

Unforeseeable. Unable to foresee. 

I guess this world obeys itself, despite being an anime where many know the ending of. 

"Currently, the ones who know the ending of this great battle are only you and Russo-san." Yuni lifted her head to meet me in the eyes. "As such, I would like to refer to your advice regarding our next actions."

Saying I was taken aback would be an understatement.

Because what on earth? Yuni, the one and only Yuni, was bowing her head to me, asking me for advice regarding something. 

"Advice," I wasn't composed, "Ah-- you're not asking for the details of the future in itself?"

Yuni nodded. "I understand fully that the future is not to be altered simply, according to wishes." she was much, much more mature than her age required her to be. "As a clairvoyant myself, I understand the limits of knowing the future."

Ah, that's why she's an arcobaleno. The arcobaleno are adults trapped in a child's body; but Yuni's a child trapped in an adult's role.

I think I'm starting to see the reason she's the Boss of the Arcobaleno.

I smiled.

She's a really, really, sweet child.

"There's nothing to worry about," I told her truthfully. "Just be yourself. Be what you are, Yuni."

I had dropped the honorific.

"Do as you wish, and do what you must." I stepped toward her, crouching down to meet her face to face, "You're very young, but you know better than anyone else what you can do. I want you to trust in your heart and your abilities, Yuni."

Cupping both her cheeks with my palms gently, I smiled as kindly as I could.

"And whatever the case," I gave her a peck on the forehead. A kiss of blessing and admiration.

"Don't forget about your own Family, alright?" I straightened myself, noticing how Yuni looked very, very surprised at my previous action. 

"Just remember, Yuni." I continued anyways. "No matter what, you're not alone to shoulder everything. Put your faith in your surbordinates." 

I wish we could've met earlier than this arc, Yuni.