The Historian

Second Life

Alaude, for the first time in 400 years, felt a familiar warmth at the man that suddenly appeared. He can't say that it wasn't the same to the rest of the First Generation. It has, after all, been 400 years since they last saw him. Same to the man himself. He scanned all of their faces, along with the Tenth and his friends. The latter ones had something akin to shock while the former, let's just say they were blasted in nostalgia. He locked gaze with Alaude, and gave him a loopsided smile.

He broke the eye contact and turned to Ryuuichi, giving the teen a nod.

"Shiroki Ryuuichi"

The teen visibly tensed up, blinking at him with uncertainty and definitely surprise. He chuckled. "Calm down" Ryuuichi furrowed his eyebrows. He had a weird feeling coursing through him. The man seems very familiar, yet he wasn't. Ryuuichi opened his mouth once, before closing it once more, succeed at looking like a gaping fish. ".. Who are you?"

The man, very much amused, chuckled at him once again. "I'm Caelum. The First Historian" 

"Ne, Ryuuichi-kun. Are you and Tsunayoshi-kun plotting something? Because I'm definitely not amused seeing your lookalikes" The said teens turned to him, Ryuuichi narrowing his gaze with an annoyed glint because Byakuran had disrupted him from asking questions. Nope. He's not happy at all. "Yeah. Your death" 

Byakuran twitched at that. Before he could do anything to Ryuuichi, Caelum addressed him. "You're Byakuran, the current Mare Ring owner, yes?" He gave him a cold gaze and affirmed his question. Caelum looked directly into his eyes, metallic blue eyes glinted for a split second before he broke it off, humming. He said nothing more and turned back to Ryuuichi. 

"Giotto, please continue with your task in hand" And with a snap of his finger, they're gone. Well, not exactly. They were still there, except no one could see them. Hibari was about to go havoc when Alaude stopped him. "Stop. They're alright" Hibari glared at him, but Alaude gave him a look. Similar to Dino. Alaude glanced back at the panicking blonde and gave him said look that somehow made the blonde shudder in fear. 

Reborn raised an eyebrow at that. He was curious at Alaude's behavior, but Caelum intrigued him even more. He had saw the so said First Historian's eyes flashed for a moment, and he immediately remembered about the older Ryuuichi. He tilted his fedora down, shadowing his eyes. The older Ryuuichi's eyes had flashed in the exact same color as Caelum's eyes. 'Two similar yet different people.... No. Three.'

"Primo, may I know what do you mean by Historian?" Yuni asked. Giotto, without battling an eyelash, answered curtly. "The one who records the world's miracle events" He gave no chance for anyone to ask anymore and turned to Tsuna, as per told, continue with his current task. "Now, Decimo. I'm going to unleash you"

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"What the-" Ryuuichi looked around him. He, and Caelum, were in this transparent sphere. The others seemed to be taken aback by their disappearance, but they didn't even moved. They were still on the same spot. Caelum smiled softly at him as he frowned.

"They can't see us. This sphere make us invisible to them, as to avoid being a distraction." Ryuuichi couldn't understand what he was saying. He had not even the slightest idea what the hell was going on but before he could ask any further, Caelum beat him to it. "Now, we'll leave your questions for later. Please wear your ring" He was not satisfied with it, but did as told, sliding the ring onto his right, middle finger. 

Caelum nodded and suddenly held his hands, intertwining their fingers. He ignored Ryuuichi's flinch and held on tightly, leaning in until their forehead bumped softly. He looked into the dark brown eyes that widen a fraction. The teen tried to lean away, but Caelum's eyes froze him on his spot. The man was too close for his comfort, but for some reason, he found himself not minding it. Hell, he realized that he pressed his forehead against the man's just as hard, gripping back the pair of calloused hands. (He was quite baffled at his own reaction)

If Caelum noticed it, he said nothing about it. Instead he asked a whole different question. "Shiroki Ryuuichi. Are you ready to hold the resolve to carry the gift and the curse of the Historian? Are you ready to accept the truth? Are you ready to accept the light and the dark respectively?" As he spoke, the ring on his hand glowed, as though reacting to the man's words. In fact, it was. It glowed brighter at the emphasized words, as though it was pulsing.

Ryuuichi blinked at the questions. He didn't get it. But those words sounded so familiar, as though he had both said and heard it a lot of times. The answers was at the tip of his tongue, but he could help but paused for a moment. The faces of his parents of this life, Yuuichi, Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Hibari, Dino, Reborn, and on and on flashed in his mind. He didn't why they suddenly popped out, but they did. 'Is this worth it...?' His lips tugged down for a moment, still looking directly into the metallic blue eyes. 

Those alluring eyes, glinted, as though he understood something. The man's eyes soften a moment. "Whatever you choose, will be your own destiny. Whatever you answer, is your own choice. Hold onto what you want, none will hold a grudgeRyuuichi saw the message and he gulped. He breathe in once, shakily, in fact.

"Yes" There weren't a single hesitation, despite the loud thumping of his heart, so loud that he thought that Caelum could hear it. The man smiled softly, eyes held something akin to resignation and pride, and sadness. Ryuuichi didn't know why was he sad, but he had a hunch it might have something to do with his answer.

Nodding at his answer, Caelum closed his eyes. "I release you, from the restrains" Then, he heard as though a chain cracked and shattered. His eyes widen as he went rigid. His fingers gripped on Caelum's tightly, to the point that his knuckles turned white. Caelum, if felt hurt from the grip, said nothing of it and held on. His ring pulsing.

Ryuuichi winced and snapped shut his eyes, his head throbbing painfully as though he was hit by a hammer. He could feel something coursing through him. He saw quite a lot of things in his mind, but they disappeared as soon as they appeared. He saw something seems like pieces of memories, but before he could properly grasp it, it was gone. A tingly feeling were right at the tip of his finger, his back stung like something was going to sprout out from it, (fortunately,) nothing did. (Or did it?) There was a strange sense flowing, it felt both foreign yet familiar. He somehow knew though, that it was his. A part of him.

He bit out a painful whimper when a particular throb coursed. Caelum did nothing to help, as he, with a blank look, waited. He waited for the headache the teen was experiencing to subside a little, for him to concentrate on his next words. "Through the eyes, nothing but truth is seen. Through the memories, the past are remembered. Through the soul, the power shall only be the one and only the one."

Ryuuichi calmed down, hearing Caelum's soft voice. At the back of his mind, there was another voice reciting the same words. The voice, however, was cold and monotonous, unlike Caelum's warming one. Unconsciously, he whispered out the last ones.

"Gifted by the God of Judgement, Blessed by the Death God, The Historian shall forever be the only one balancing the world. Should the Historian cast any judgement, none but he himself can undo it. The soul of the Historian, in thy new vessel, awaken"

His ring stopped pulsing. And it suddenly burst out bright orange flames with a tint of sliver. His snapped his eyes open, feeling so absolute free. Like he wasn't even restrained by invisible chain before. Feeling completed. Then he felt recognition and realization. "You're.... Me?"

Caelum, smiled wryly, backing away slowly, still not letting go. "No. You knew that too, no?" True. Ryuuichi knew that he and Caelum weren't the same person. Even if they have the same soul. "Now, let's focus on our duty first, shall we?" He blinked, but narrowed his eyes and nodded. Caelum returned a nod of his own and they turned to the scene, finally letting go of the teen's hands as a loud explosion was heard. 

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"What's wrong, Byakuran? Reduced to a human once you lose your wings?" Tsuna taunted as he let go of the burning wings. A hysterical giggle resonated, before it turned to maniac laughter. The brunette narrowed his eyes. "This Tsunayoshi-kun is amazing! I've been to many parallel worlds, and you're the first to deal me so much damage! Man, I'm so happy! I've never expected this day to come! Why am I so happy? For the first time in my life..." Black inks splattered out from the spot that previously held the wings.

"I can finally use my full power!" 

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Ryuuichi cringed slightly at the sight. The black inks were slightly unnerving. Especially if it's out of someone's body. Definitely not a nice sight to see. "Don't turn away. Focus. Absorb everything you see" Caelum said, his eyes not leaving the fight that was happening in front of them. The teen twitched to a pause. He indeed did wanted to turn away for a moment, but stopped short at the man's words.

"... Can I ask you something?"

"You are already asking" Ryuuichi rolled his eyes, wasn't really annoyed or anything because there was a hint of amusement in Caelum's voice. "You haven't tell me what is my duty, or what am I suppose to do now" This time, Caelum turned to him briefly before looking back. 

"Blink" Ryuuichi did. Thrice, actually. The first one was out of surprise at the answer, second one was to let the so said information sink, and the last was the one told by Caelum. And when he did, his vision changed slightly. Not much to the point that there was almost no difference, but he noticed. There was a slight tint, his sight turned slightly sharper. He, could somehow, read one's body signs more than usual. (Which would be creepy to the others seeing that Ryuuichi himself is already a master on it)

"What the heck?" 

"It's a gift from the God of Judgement. A gift that enables you to see true one's lies, and to determine what kind of judgement and retribution should falls on one. That, and it records the events a Historian sees or had seen" He raised an eyebrow. He was quite curious about the God of Judgement and Death God thing, and rather intrigued. Well, it wasn't everyday to see someone knowing, or had seen those mythical being that could be considered as a myth.

But instead of asking that, he questioned another rather weird question. "And said events are recorded at...?" Caelum chuckled.

"Whatever a Historian sees, it will be written in this record that only the Death God, God of Judgement, Historian and of course, the highest of those beings touch and see. No one knows where it is, let alone it's mere existence. But one thing for sure, it does exist. And to be exact, the Historian can't really see nor touch it, but they can reread the recorded information. As said, the smallest and useless information can serve to be a big piece of a puzzle"

Ryuuichi blinked. That, somehow confirmed that those mythical beings isn't exactly mythical. Though, it didn't exactly answered his questions. However, he did came to the conclusion that his task, as a Historian, is to record everything that happens in the world. Even the slightest thing. Fortunately for him, Caelum added shortly after he said nothing, the events wouldn't be permanently imprinted in his memories, unless he himself decided to remember it. Very fortunate.

(He rather not have any headache from everything he saw clumping together in his brain and form some kind of lump of, no offense, s)

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'There's an incredible amount of Dying Will Flames coming from Yuni's body' The girl was surrounded by a ring of orange flames, the pacifiers she was cradling was burning in bright Sky Flames too. 

"She's begun the process of feeding her flames to the pacifiers. So you're seriously going to do it? Yuni? You're seriously going to sacrifice your life for the pacifiers." It was a statement rather than a question. Everyone knew that. But all of them couldn't accept it. How could such a young girl be so selfless, just for the sake to bring back the dead Arcobaleno? They had enough of deaths already. Even though a few of them are killers because of their profession, they, too, had enough.

Gamma, Nozaru and Tazaru, however, had it worst. Yuni is their princess. She's their ever caring and loving, late boss's daughter. She's their family. She's Gamma's...

"Wait, Yuni! You don't need to sacrifice yourself to bring back the Arcobaleno!"

"No" She softly begun. "I must revive them to ensure that you all return to the past safely. And many lives will be saved in the process. I finally had the opportunity to use my power for good. This is the only gamble I can take. One I cannot avoid. This is my fate"

(Ryuuichi clenched his fist, subconsciously gnawing his inner cheeks to stop himself from saying something stupid. A habit he had since his previous life. He was feeling anxious and worried. Yuni's sacrifice, or rather, death, is something he couldn't stop. For their sake, she rather end her life. He wanted so badly to help her, to stop her. But alas, it was out of his bound. If she, in this era, was fated to die, he couldn't do anything.)

Tsuna gritted his teeth. "I can't accept that, Yuni!" "That's right!" Byakuran was rushing towards Yuni, maniac look plastered on his face. "Don't think that I'll let you die without my permission!" Tsuna stopped the man's path, clenching his hands. "I'll never let you have Yuni!"

Byakuran clicked his tongue. "You're always getting in my way! If you insist on interfering, I'll eliminate you first!"

And they went into fighting. As they fought, the ones outside the sphere decided that they could no longer watch and had to do something. But it was no use. They couldn't break through the barrier no matter how they attacked. It was tough and strong. 

Yuni had a lonely, sad gaze. She would soon be joining her mother and grandmother. Gamma's face appeared, before a skeleton of her flashed hauntingly in her mind. It scared her. Death itself scared her. It was so terrifying, that she hesitated for a moment, the ring getting smaller. Tears cascading down her cheeks, as she fell onto her knees, the fact that she was absolutely terrified of it dawned herself.

Everyone worryingly watched Yuni, not knowing what was wrong with her. Byakuran, then, hit bulleyes. "Perhaps she's scared of dying?"

"It's okay, Yuni! We can think of another way!" She shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's fine. There's no other way" She got herself together again, forcing herself and stood, the flames grew back full blast. Just as they were distracted, Basil prepared for an All Box Weapon Combination System. The sheer amount of flames should be able to break through the barrier.

And it did when Basil's Metal Edge, but it was simply just a small crack. It was enough. It was big enough for Gamma to jump in. "Yo, Princess. Running off again after we finally meet. That's cold. My flames are yours to use." He moved forward and embraced her. "I won't let you do this alone" He softly said. 

That was when Nozaru and Tazaru realized, as the youngest tried to stop their eldest brother. Gamma was going to sacrifice along with Yuni. Gamma heard his brothers' cries, but paid not much heed and focused on the girl. She was stunned. Surprised. Dumbfounded. It was clearly written on her face. Gamma smiled. "Do you remember when you whispered in my ears? I never got a chance to give you my reply." He then leaned in, and whispered into her ears.

Tears started to fell out even more, but it was out of happiness. "Hey, you shouldn't look so sad when we're about to set out. That's not what your mother taught you."

"Yuni. You should smile from your heart if you're happy" Those are the words that her Mother had told her before. Her lips tugged, unable to control it. She hugged back Gamma, no longer feeling lonely. A bright light surrounded them, and when it dispersed, they're gone, their clothes fell onto the ground along with the fully fed pacifiers. 

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Ryuuichi lowered his head, giving them both a moment of silence. It wasn't a full mourning. No. Not yet. He will when all this havoc ends. He will. He tried to surpass a shudder and a sudden emptiness in him. Their passing took more blow on his heart more than he had expected. It took him all his will to not choke out the tears, but he let one fell. The tear dropped onto the ground, and he lifted his head, face stoic. 

Not yet. 

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"Gamma! Yuni!" Tsuna shouted, rushing towards the fallen clothes and pacifiers. His hands trembled, voice stuttered as he reached for the Sky Pacifier.

"Hold on a moment. What have you done? I finally found the last piece of the puzzle, and she's dead. It was all for nothing. My dream of awakening the Tri-Ni-Sette and become the ruler of all space and time was shattered by your little act of friendship. Do you... Do you understand what this means?!"

Disbelief took over, dread, grief and then rage. Rage burned in him, as if it was overboiling. It was. It even overflowed. How dare Byakuran. How dare he talk about Yuni as though she was nothing but a chess piece, to be thrown after usage. How dare he had the audacity to even think like that. Byakuran, Tsuna wouldn't forgive him. He wouldn't. Not for what he had done. He clenched the pacifier, his flames flared, throwing Byakuran back. 

A strong hurricane was formed with the brunette in the center. His words were laced with deep rage. "Why do you think Yuni had to do this? You ruined our world. That's why Yuni.... That's why Yuni died!" He turned fully to Byakuran. His eyes narrowed, tears at the corner of his eyes. "Byakuran! I... I won't forgive you!!" His eyes widen in rage, glowing as his glove shone. The waves caused by the flames were so strong that the sphere started to crack.

Poor, stupid Byakuran, to not take it seriously. "You won't forgive me? Oh?" He laughed. "What nonsense. You're such a joke. I might understand your reaction if you viewed her as a powerful tool. After all, Yuni was a super item that would help me become an omnipotent god! But you treated Yuni like an ordinary girl! Your desire to attack me is but a temporary rush of humanistic emotion! An expression of self-satisfaction! If that's the best answer you've got in this selfish society of humans, then you fail hard!" He flared his flames to, the cracks increasing. 

"Individual desires will trump collective hypocrisy every time! That's the world we live in!" His legs started buldging and strings shot out to the ground. Tsuna, on the other hand, muttered "Operation X" They both were intending to finish it at one go. There was no point on denying that if they don't, they might not last long. They, after all, had fought for quite a long time. 

A black whirlpool formed on Byakuran's hand. "Your actions served no purpose! That girl and the pacifiers were the best toy I've ever had!" "Stop insulting Yuni! Byakuran! You're going down!" The barrier cracked even further, going to shatter in matters of time. And they trusted out their flames, yelling.

Their flames met half way, but it was quite clear that Tsuna was winning. (At least to Reborn and Ryuuichi, seeing that the brunette's flame were going to swallow the black flames. The flames got stronger and stronger to the point that the ground shook and cracked. With one last yell, Tsuna's flames overpowered Byakuran's. 

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"Is it possible for me to punch a dead psychopath?" Caelum burst out in laughter. "No, unfortunately" Ryuuichi shrugged, somehow disappointed. He was no doubt angered by Byakuran's words, but he chose to push it aside. Byakuran would be learning his lessons after all. 

A crater was craved on the ground, the previous spot which Byakuran was standing had only the Mare Ring, the man himself wasn't. Not really. Ryuuichi blinked in surprise. There was this orange glow with slight black tint floating. Apparently, only he and Caelum can see it. The glow drifted to him, passing through the transparent shield and stopped in front of him.

"Hah?" 

"That's Byakuran's soul" He whipped his head to Caelum in shock, his hands below the glow. "What?" The man chuckled. "It's your job to place a path for this soul. For it to drift for years and years, or for it to reincarnate, it is up to you" Ryuuichi was surprised. He didn't know that he had to do this. Then again, he didn't know what to do other than watching the moments currently. He looked back at the glow, hesitant and not sure.

A part of him wanted to let it drift in void and nothingness, but another part of him wanted it to reincarnate. He stayed silent for a moment, his hands reached to the black tint on the glow and grabbed it. The glow was warm, but the black tint, however, was cold and horrific. He pursed his lips and pull it out. 

"It'll reincarnate. No memories or whatsoever, please. I rather not deal with another psychopath like this era's Byakuran. A complete new person" The glow pulsed for a moment before bursting into sparks, dispersing. 

"Well, aren't you kind" Caelum gave him a loop-sided smile, which he snorted, saying nothing about it. "So I have to do this every time someone dies..?" For some reason, he felt awful at that thought. Much to his relief, Caelum shook his head. "No, you don't have to. You'll only do it if you're the one casting a judgement on someone. The Mare kid was an exception" 

"Why?"

"Because it's a task given to you by the Death God" Now, that was mind blowing. Ryuuichi's jaw slacken, almost hitting the ground. Well, not literally, of course. Seeing that he was speechless, Caelum continued. "Currently, you're the one who knew the best what to do with the soul. As I've said, unless you're the one who killed or cast a judgement, that person's soul will go to the Death God for it's path. But in this case, the Death God felt that you're more suited to determine where it should go."

"So you're telling me that you've just talked to the Death God?" Again, Caelum burst out laughing. He simply smirked and waved his hand, taking down you the shield and disappearing. "Don't you have something you've been wanting to do? Go on. I'll talk to you in a few more"

Ryuuichi blinked, the tint on his sight disappeared. Just as he suddenly appeared on the other's sight, a bright light shone from the pacifiers, and a certain Arcobaleno's voice was heard.

"You pulled it off, Sawada, Kora!" They appeared, pacifiers glowing. Colonello was holding Yuni's pacifiers, which was also glowing. The strongest infants, The Arcobaleno, has came back to life. It was somehow, a heartfelt reunion for most of them. Except that Reborn had actually glared at Skull who shouted at him when he reprimanded them for being late. 

"We know everything that happened. Since Yuni was using flames to communicate with us when we were in our pacifiers" Fon continued Colonello, explaining everything and that seeing that the Mare Ring had lost it's owner, everything Byakuran did in every parallel world has been erased. Every wrongdoings of Byakuran, will disappear without a trace. 

Ryuuichi practically tuned it out until Fon talked about sealing the Mare Ring in the past, their era, for eternity. He raised an eyebrow, when the Storm Arcobaleno turned to him. "I believe you have something to say, Historian?" The twinkle and smile on Fon's face somehow told him that he knew about the Historian. 

He gave back a small smile. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Tsuna, and practically everyone else looked at him. "Ryuu..." He could practically hear questions in Yamamoto's voice. Why he hadn't lend a hand, why he hadn't help, why he suddenly disappear and all. He lowered his face, bangs shadowing his eyes slightly.

"... I'm sorry, but I won't apologize for not lending a hand. I know some of you may resent me for this, and I won't blame you for it, but I'll make it clear that I've never had the intention to even interfere in anything ever since the beginning

"But..... Even so... Please, at least let me do this" His hands glowed in yellow before growing bigger and bigger, to the point that it covered and blinded all of them. They flinched, suspecting an attack, but instead, a warm feeling wrapped around them. Instead, they felt rather refreshed and recovered. Their injuries, even broken bones, were gone, as if they hadn't had it in the first place.

When the light dispersed and their sights came back to them, Ryuuichi had his eyes closed, falling onto the ground. "Ryuuichi!" Before he fell face first on the ground, Hibari grabbed onto him. The others gather around him, calling out for him but he was unconscious.

(He felt absolutely tired for using that much Sun Flames at one go, but it was something he wanted to do. He had done nothing at all, so he felt that this was the only thing he could do at the moment. And the last thing he felt before he fell into slumber, was a pair of warm arms around him)

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A/N= Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've forgotten what I wanted to write here, so if there's any questions on this, yeah.

The truth will be out in the next chapter for sure. 

I think this one was more towards Ryuuichi's first time as a Historian..? Hmm

I couldn't exactly find the picture of Caelum, so this. Except that his hair is dark blonde-orange and the eyes are dark metallic blue. 

I find this arc harder to write for some reason.... Meh.

[I apologize for any grammar, spelling, etc.etc. mistakes]

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Ashelline
#1
Chapter 16: Ah~The feels ♡
Ashelline
#2
Chapter 4: Wow. I didn't expect this story would be interesting. Definitely no regrets choosing to read this story.
kyungsoobear2407
#3
FIRST SUBSCRIBER YEAH MY CHINGU
hoseokislove #4
got my eyes on this fic:D
seventeenwoozi #5
cant wait for the next chapter!!
sugalovere #6
cant wait^^
xiuhanisreall #7
please update soon^^
niceguy12 #8
looks interesting can't wait
romancefanfics #9
waiting for update^^
joowonlov #10
hehe update soon author-nim ^*^