113. Go

Mukuro had, by some form of a planned coincidence, brought along Sae and Sui. To make it worse, Sae and Sui had taken an instant liking to the strange man on the way here.

Any form of hostility to Mukuro was no longer tolerated, and Yuuichirou, begrudgingly, had to leave the hospital with his daughters.

"Worry not," Mukuro was heard talking to Yuuichirou as he left, "I assure you, your son is not dead yet. He is merely asleep, deep within."

Upon Tsuna' assurance that Mukuro seemed not to be lying, Yuuichirou fought his instincts and left. Casting a forlorn glance toward Takeshi, he left with a painful expression.

Gokudera was next to excuse himself to go home, and Tsuna followed him. Although with reluctance, Takeshi followed. Takeshi had nothing to say to Drew, after all. He cared for Rei, not his female proxy.

Kuma and Amano, reading the mood, didn't take much longer to leave the room. He did give Drew an extended warning on her dos and don'ts, though. For example, no more grappling around like a karate master wanting to show off.

Mukuro had offered to reconstruct Rei's broken lungs.

But Drew refused.

That is not of your concern now, Drew told him, Right now, you have somewhere to be, someone to protect, and it is not Rei.

As selfish as that sounded, Drew believed that if Rei were fated to die here, he would have to accept that as his fate.

Instead, I have a favour to ask of you.

The clock on the wall moved into three o'clock, sharp.

Drew, bringing up a smile to her face, simply offered a proposal. It's something only you can do, she promised. 

Mukuro's eyes narrowed in displeasure. It seemed he knew where this was going already.

Drew's eyes-- they were a sight he scorned. Something he was painfully familiar with. He's seen thousands with those exact same eyes, and not all of them regained life.

Ken and Chikusa once had those eyes too, and so did Chrome. 

The eyes of the dead. Expressions of someone who had long lost their spark of life and hope.

Mukuro didn't like it at all.

Hey Mukuro, would you kill me?

If it was Mukuro, a Mist user-- he would be able to destroy something like Drew, who didn't have a physical body. And Mukuro knew that well.

"It seems you would reject my illusions as well," he spoke miserably. In the bac of his mind he thought of Chrome, who had refused to accept replacements for her own organs. Jokingly to say, it seems Mukuro really fails to understand the mindsets of women. 

"I shall take my leave."

Mukuro turned around and left the room.

-

A little later, Sae and Sui returned to the room.

It seemed Yuuichirou had come back to converse further actions with Amano and Kuma, so the girls were allowed to loiter around. They ran up to Rei excitedly-- Sae plopping down at her bed side while Sui sat down calmly at a sofa beside.

Biting down at her bottom lip, Drew sighed. She couldn't do this. She couldn't trick another person-- not these girls, never. Not when they were so innocent and loving.

I'm not Rei, she broke the news.

"We know," Sae's response made Drew flinch.

"We know," Sui added on.

Internally, Drew warned herself about the horrors of Rei's younger sisters. They'll grow up to be horrifying, she thought. No, I can't even imagine what they'll become. It's beyond me.

Holding up a green leather book, Sui beamed, "It was written here!"

"I found out myself!" Sae chimed in.

Drew chuckled awkwardly. 

Then why?

"Even if you ask," Sae mumbled, "Rei-chan is Rei-chan."

Sui nodded.

Huh? No, I'm not Rei...

"Eh? You're different?" Sui asked, "How?"

Even if you ask how... I just am.

"That Mukuro-nii told us," Sae spoke up, "That what determines a person isn't appearance or personality, it's their soul," she spoke in a low voice very unlike her, "or something."

Soul. That word rang a little in her. Her soul. Something-- the only thing she and Rei had in common now-- the only thing she and Rei shared. A soul.

Sui nodded furiously.

Drew felt herself crying again--

Sae and Sui crawled up to give her a hug.

-

"We're going home, Sae, Sui." Yuuichirou popped up again in the room-- it was nearly six now. Perhaps, they needed to get back for dinner.

Sae and Sui, giving Drew a smile, said in unison, "See ya, Onee-chan!" 

Flinching, Drew blushed. I didn't tell them to call me that!

Yuuichirou's eyes narrowed, but he eventually gave in with a sigh. "Look, you-- Drew, your name was?" he spoke up, "I'm not trying to sound cold, but do you think Rei will come back if he's healed up well enough?"

If you healed, Drew thought. That was a good point. But now-- Drew was constantly feeling a suffocating warmth in her chest. It had been there since she woke up, but...

Even if other wounds healed, the lungs will continue to corrode. Until Rei gets a transplant... until Rei gets another set of lungs. Drew firmly believed Rei will not get back until that occurred.

She nodded. Rei will come back if he's healed up well enough.

We just don't know if that's possible.

Yuuichirou let out a sigh of relief. "I'm... really sorry," he admitted softly.

Drew perked up. What was he apologizing for?

"For like," Yuuichirou mumbled, unable to meet Drew in the eye, "a lot," he stumbled his words, "I still value Rei a lot, so, I'm sorry I can't treat you the way I do Rei."

Perhaps he was lectured by Kuma. Or he received the story of Rei's reincarnation from Kuma. Regardless, Drew felt her heart ache at his words.

"Rest well, alright?" Yuuichirou managed a fatherly smile, "And goodnight."

Closing the door behind him, Drew felt the corners of her lips curl upward.

-

-

Yuuichirou walked home with his daughters, holding them on each hand, listening to his daughters talk about their day.

"Hey, Sae and Sui," Yuuichirou spoke up, "Do you like... Onee-chan?"

He was a little upset his children had already warmed up to the 'girl'. He wasn't too keen on chasing her away, but he wasn't sure if he would like her to replace Rei completely.

"Uhn!" the twins grinned, "we love her!"

Yuuichirou was conflicted. Drew and Rei... they were the same, but they weren't. They were two different people in the same heart. Yuuichirou knew deep down he shouldn't reject one to keep the other. That was unfair. 

But if he were to accept Drew now-- would that mean he was rejecting Rei? What would he do if Rei came back? Just forget about Drew?

That was cruel.

A wisp of black flames froze him in his tracks. With wide eyes, Yuuichirou swore under his breath. A will-o-wisp, flaring into life-- slowly expanding. Yuuichirou didn't wait for it to finish forming.

Tugging his daughters to his back, he turned around quickly. 

"Run!" he hissed, looking back just in time to see the black chain thrown towards him. Emerging from the portal, Jaeger, of all people-- his chains fully equipped this time.

Taking his daughters by the shoulder and swerving aside, he narrowly dodged.

The girls did not scream, but they were badly shaken. Looking up, they caught sight of Jaeger and reached for each others' hands. Sui was scared, barely keeping her calm-- but Sae braved it with a glare.

Looking them over to make sure there were no injuries, Yuuichirou turned back with a glower.

"What the fuck do you want this time?" he demanded, holding an arm over his children protectively, "I thought you gave up on me."

Pulling his chain back, Jaeger did not falter. "The situation has changed," he said. "Your daughter-- she holds the information we seek." 

Yuuichirou's eyes snapped toward Sae and Sui. What? he could never perceive that his children would possess information he didn't have. He thought he would be able to brave all the burden of information breaking on his own-- now all that effort was for naught.

Sui's eyes widened in realization. The green journal. She had finished reading it with Drew a while ago-- when Sae was sleeping-- so these people, she quickly realized, were the Vindice. 

Information. They wanted information. The information in the green journal that belonged to Rei.

"I'm not giving it to you!" Sui raised her voice higher than she thought it could, instinctively reaching for her bag at her side. "It belongs to Rei-chan and Onee-chan!" 

Jaeger's brows furrowed in displeasure. "I see."

A chain shot toward Sui.

"Get down!" Sae threw herself toward her, and they both toppled to the ground. 

But that wasn't going to stop the chain. The Vindice's chains were controlled by Night Flames. If willed to, they wouldn't just go on a straight line.

"Sae! Sui!" Rushing forward, reaching his arm out-- Yuuichirou didn't think.

The excruciating sensation of nerves tearing, flesh ripping apart-- the sound of bones crushing, shattering into dust as it it drilled through by hard, unspeakable metal-- and the warmth, and the cold of blood leaving him--

A hole in the shoulder wouldn't have been too bad, Yuuichirou thought.

But right after, the second chain impaled him right in the center of his stomach. 

He remembered feeling relieved. Sae and Sui were before him, splashed by blood, but they were conscious and were safe. No injuries. 

But their expressions-- Both wide eyed, mortified-- on the verge of screaming-- but no tears were making their way. They were simply frozen in silence-- their heads unable to even realize, forgetting what even was the proper response to such a situation. 

Yuuichirou forced out a smile.

Reaching a shaky finger to his lips, he smiled.

"Sa...e, ...S- Sui..." he managed, "...go."

Sui looked like she had something to say, but Sae, taking her by the arm, bolted in the direction of the hospital and didn't look back.

Ah, Yuuichirou felt her chest swell in pride, Sae is strong. That's a good girl.

Without another moment, Jaeger pulled back his chains. Yuuichirou groaned in pain, his wounds numbing him and his head breaking down at the flood of emotions in his head.

Blood burst from his wound, not ceasing, and Yuuichirou found himself giving up on breathing.

Lying on the hard, uncomfortable ground, he felt cold.