"Yuuichi! Could you get the door?! I'm a bit-" Yuuichi yawned and stood up from the sofa he had perced himself on after waking up, staring into space as he was still half awake. "Alright alright.." He winced when a loud clatter resonated from the backyard and he shook his head at his parents laughter that followed closely. "Coming!" He hurried to the door, fixing his appearance slightly. 

He opened the door and blinked when a girl probably of his age in a sundress smiling brightly at him. "Yes?" He was almost blinded by the smile that stretched wider at some point. He wondered if it was possible for someone to smile this brightly but quickly dismissed it in order to comprehend her sentence.

"Good morning. I'm Yuni. Is Ryuuichi-kun home?" He raised an eyebrow at the foreign name and his brother's name but nodded. "Please come in" He stepped aside to let her in, closing the door afterwards. The girl, Yuni, muttered a thanks and apologies for intruding as he took out a pair of extra indoor shoes they had, placing it in front of her.

She smiled gratefully and wore it, following him as he led the way to the backyard where Ryuuichi and their parents were.

"Ryuu" He called out.

The said teen with a black smudge on his cheeks and hands on the pots turned to him, blinking. His eyes widen the girl behind Yuuichi as both Sakura and Kei turned to her as well, wondering who she was and that she looked so familiar. Ryuuichi immediately put down the pots and practically tore the gardening gloves off and rushed in, passing Yuuichi and engulfed her into a tight hug.

He ignored his brother and parents' surprise, smiling with a heavy sense of relief. "God- Yuni." He pulled away to look at her properly, before hugging her again. "Welcome back" His words dripped out easily, too easily to his family's shock. 

Yuni smiled just the same as he did, returning the embrace. "I never left, Ryuuichi-kun" Ryuuichi laughed at that, finally letting go. They stared at each other, gleeful in a sense. A cough from Yuuichi broke their stare as they both turned to him. 

"Care to explain, Ryuu?" He sweated at the frown Yuuichi had but he couldn't stop grinning. "Ah, right. You were in training camp that time" He placed his hands on Yuni's shoulder. "This is Yuni, a transfer student from our class for a week" 

Yuni bowed. "Please to meet you. I'm Yuni" At her smile once again, Sakura and Kei's eyes widen. They both exchanged bewildered look and a single thought ran through their mind. 'Why is the daughter of Giglio Nero Familgia's boss here?!' Yuuichi, unaware of their faces, bowed as well, curtly. "Likewise" 

Ryuuichi was honestly, really happy, and the others could practically see it. He then remembered something about Byakuran and blinked. "Umm... Can I go out for a moment? I'm taking Yuni sightseeing around Namimori" It wasn't exactly a lie, Yuni really doesn't know much of Namimori. He could be her guide while they walk to Tsuna's house.

His brother stared into his eyes for a while, before reluctantly shrugging. Their parents nodded slowly. Ryuuichi noticed that they were wary of Yuni. 'Do they knew about Yuni..?' He frowned but said nothing of it.

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Ryuuichi and Yuni was really sightseeing, for one. He decided he would go visit Tsuna a little while later, seeing that he already knew what they would talk about. He, after changing out of his already dirty dark blue T-shirt into a grey, long sleeve button-up, cheerily chatted with Yuni, who was excited and happy as well. 

"So what were you doing just now?" He blinked and laughed. "I was helping my parents with the plants. They wanted to rearrange them" That, and they had actually wanted to make a small pond but he shot the idea down for their backyard was too small for that. They pouted a little, smudging soil on him as revenge while smiling evilly. He didn't really mind it, but he did return the favor by doing the same.

"I take that you had fun?" He nodded. He did, that's for sure. He then spotted a flower shop and stopped, telling Yuni to stay put as he hurried to the shop. Yuni blinked and tilted her head in curiosity, watching Ryuuichi popping into the shop for a moment and came out the next.

"Here, this is for you" He held out a stalk of flower, a Yellow Rose, to be exact. She was pleasantly surprised, a soft, pink hue formed on her cheeks. She smiled gratefully and took it, thanking him. "Is this as a 'Welcome back' and 'Friendship', or 'Jealousy'?" She teased.

Ryuuichi wasn't even a bit offended of it as he chuckled. "The former two, of course." 

Yuni giggled. "Thank you, Ryuuichi-kun" He smiled, patting her head. "Anytime" 

They then decided to finally make their way to Tsuna's house, but not after treating Yuni a cup of smoothie. They were walking in silence, the excitement died down slightly until Yuni broke the silence. "Ne, Ryuuichi-kun," He hummed, showing that he was listening. "Have you found the truth?" 

She watched Ryuuichi's dark brown eyes glinted slightly, saying nothing as she waited for his answer. "Yeah," He sounded almost thoughtful. "I'll tell you when all this ends, alright?" Yuni was happy for him. She knew that Ryuuichi very much wanted to know the truth. She was glad that he could discover it. She was even more relief to see him less tense than he was when they first met. It was as though the chain that held him down cracked and shattered.

(Little did she knows, that did happen)

"Ara, Yuni-chan, Ryuuichi-kun." Byakuran sounded not exactly surprise, much to Ryuuichi's mirth. Ryuuichi smirked at him, and went ahead a punch him not so lightly in the shoulder. Byakuran whined in pain. "Ryuuichi-kun, why?" He shrugged. "No particular reason~" 

He then continued walking, leaving Byakuran and Yuni with a wave, knowing that they won't follow him. Before he turn the corner to the brunette's house, he looked back and grinned at them. "I'm glad that you're back, the both of you" And he continued on.

Byakuran and Yuni exchanged gaze and a smile tugged on their lips.

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Ryuuichi sweated slightly, his hands on the cup that was on the table. Opposite of where he sat was Basil and Iemitsu. He at first wanted to straight go upstairs after arriving at Tsuna's house but they somehow dragged him into a conversation. They were talking about their team as Colonello's representatives and such. They knew that he wasn't in their team, but Reborn's, they still forcefully sat him down and talked. Something along the line of Ryuuichi wouldn't say anything to Reborn was said, much to his chagrin, even though that was true.

"E-eh?! Ryuuichi?" He turned to the door and saw Tsuna, who looked as though he was rushing out, looking at him with surprise. "When did you arrive?" 

"A few moments ago" A certain hitman, out of nowhere jumped onto the table and in front of Ryuuichi. Reborn smirked and held out a watch, one of the representative watches. "Here" Ryuuichi nodded and took the watch. "Thanks" 

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. He wondered why the teen didn't need any explanation from Reborn, and that the hitman didn't call Ryuuichi for their meeting. Though, he knew very well that Ryuuichi was well informed and knew a lot. He wouldn't really be surprise if he knew of this messed up thing. Probably.

He was about to open his mouth and ask for a confirmation when Reborn suddenly send him a flying kick on the face. He yelped in pain and stumbled backwards, a weight landed on his head. "Come on, let's go find Enma" The hard tug of his hair made him wince and he quickly did as though, rushing out of his house. 

A moment later, Dino came down as well. (Ryuuichi almost laughed out loud when the blonde stumbled, almost falling down. Almost) His eyes met Ryuuichi's and they engaged into a staring contest. Ryuuichi's eyes were practically screaming at him, pleading him to drag him away from Basil and Iemitsu. He sweated lightly when those two merely blabbered on, changing the topic for a moment when Nana passed by.

"Ryuuichi. I'm going to look for Kyouya. Do you want to join?" 

Ryuuichi looked so relief and thankful. Too much, Dino would say. He nodded, standing up and hurried to Dino's side. "Yeah. See you again, Basil, Iemitsu-san" 

Once out the door, he let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks" He murmured, not fully looking at the man. He didn't know why but he was feeling slightly awkward when he was very well aware that he shouldn't. Especially in front of him. Dino quirked a soft smile when he noticed that. He had supposed that the teen hadn't exactly sort out the fact that they are cousins even though Ryuuichi thought he had. (Actually, he really had. He was just feeling self-conscious when he realized Dino let all of his guards down in front of Ryuuichi after he knew of their relation. Gosh, Dino. Please.)

Dino reached over and ruffled the dark brown lock, grinning. "Shall we go find Kyouya?" Ryuuichi reached up to push the hand away from his hair, annoyed at that. He looked up to Dino's eyes again and huffed. "Sure" 

(He mentally pouted at Dino's height)

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"Yuu, let's go home. Now" Ryuuichi ushered his brother out of their classroom, waving at Tsuna and the others. The last thing he needed was to drag Yuuichi into the representative battles. He would be damn if that happened. Yuuichi frowned but let his brother dragged him out. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him. His brother had been acting weirdly since morning where Ryuuichi actually went to his practice, waited by the bench before engaging into a argument with his basketball coach about letting him off from practice a few days. Interestingly (Or not), Ryuuichi won the argument, the coach actually relented and gave in.

It made him wondering why Ryuuichi was so adamant on it.

It didn't help much when he noticed Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto and Enma being so edgy the whole day through. Well, excluding Gokudera since he literally slept through the whole day. No teacher was brave enough to wake him up for the fear of his anger. Not like Gokudera needed to listen in class anyway. 

As he let was pulled to the shoe lockers, he scrutinized Ryuuichi's back. His back looked broad, but it was actually smaller. Yuuichi can confirm that. He gazed to the left hand that was pulling him, noting that the watch Ryuuichi was wearing wasn't the usual watch. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a smaller one alongside with it. 'Why the hell is he wearing two watch?' He didn't verbally question that when Ryuuichi's long hair, tied up into a pony tail, brushed into his vision.

He peered at it, musing that his hair had grew longer. 'It wouldn't be long until Ryuu wants to cut his hair...' He smiled when he remembered the time his brother complained about his hair tangling up, too long and all. Ryuuichi got a hair cut straight after that, by their mother. That was the time his brother had short hair for a while. (Ryuuichi didn't let Sakura cut his hair shorter than shoulder length after that. He wasn't too comfortable without the tug of his hair tie)

Just as they reached the lockers, Ryuuichi turned around slightly to look at him and blinked in surprise when their eyes met. "Yuu?" 

Yuuichi wordlessly stared into his eyes. He watched as concern flashed in Ryuuichi's eyes. "Are you alright?" Ryuuichi's other hand was placed on his cheeks, his brows knitted. 

The younger shook his head, gripping onto Ryuuichi's hand that was holding his firmly. He tilted his head slightly, leaning onto the hand. "Yep. I'm just peachy" 

The corner of Ryuuichi's lips tugged up, a soft, amused chuckle slipped out. "I see" He shifted his backpack and jerked his head slightly to the locker. "Let's go" Yuuichi smiled as well and nodded. "Yeah"

Once out of school ground, they started chatting up nonsense, laughing at random, hilarious stories, their intertwined hands still glued to each other. Halfway down their journey, Ryuuichi's watch, the watch he had never seen before, beeped loudly. He peered over, frowning when Ryuuichi's grip tighten significantly and turned to Ryuuichi's face to see those wide eyes and hearing the murmured curses under the breath.

"One minute remaining until battle commencement" Ryuuichi clicked his tongue and tugged Yuuichi, pacing up to their home. "50 seconds remaining" He scowled. 

"Ryuu! What is that?" Yuuichi pulled at the hand, jerking his brother into a stop and Ryuuichi did. They both ignored the voice from the watch as Yuuichi was firm on getting answers. The emotions swirling in Ryuuichi's eyes was making him worry. Ryuuichi was in a dilemma how he should explain. 

Ryuuichi ruffled his hair in frustration, looking away, head down.

"It's.. A countdown of sort." He looked at the watch. "We're playing a 'game'." 

"Wait- 'We'?" He nodded. "Tsuna and the others," He wasn't exactly lying. It was indeed a game. A wicked, twisted game from Checkerface. He huffed. "I joined, but I wasn't exactly keen on the rules and the process of the game itself, so I decided to isolate myself from them for a few days. And I'm dragging you with me. Sorry" 

Yuuichi didn't exactly expect Ryuuichi to answer him, even with an answer that was altered. For all this time, Ryuuichi either asked him to wait or said that it was nothing. He hated when Ryuuichi did that, and his brother knew that very well. If Ryuuichi decided to tell him, then perhaps it would soon be the time Ryuuichi finally tell him everything he had been hiding from him. 

Something tugged in him at the guilt plastered on Ryuuichi's face. He moved forward and engulfed him into a tight hug. He ignored the way Ryuuichi's frame stiffen slightly as he placed a hand at the back of Ryuuichi's head. "It's okay. Thank you" For telling me, even when it wasn't the whole story.

He raised an eyebrow when he heard a soft croak at the back of Ryuuichi's throat and pulled away enough to see his brother's grateful but flushed face. He laughed when Ryuuichi tugged him into another hug, hiding his red face from him. 

Ryuuichi really, really didn't know why he was blushing, but damn, was Yuuichi cool. And adorable. He pouted at the laughter but joining in a moment later as well. 

(He ignored the burn of someone's pricking stare. But he did narrowed his eyes at one of the trees full with bright green leaves, noting the familiar dirty brown hair. He turned away when he deemed that he wasn't going to attack them, and he was thankful for that)

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Basil sat by the tree, eyes wide as he watch the twins walked away. He leaned back onto the tree bark, his Metal Edge slack on his hand. He breathed in, trying to control his pounding heart. He had did all he could to hide his presence from Ryuuichi and Yuuichi. He had to admit, he wanted to attack Ryuuichi at that moment, but the narrowed gaze had him frozen. It didn't help when there was a civilian as well. 

And Ryuuichi's aura, oh man his aura. He resembled a lioness protecting her cub with a very fierce prowess. It was so, terrifying in a sense that he couldn't stop the chill from running down his spine. His breath was taken away when that aura almost suffocated him, only to felt an aftermath of cold sweat when it died away.

His lips tugged into a feral grin. He never fought Ryuuichi before, and now? He definitely wanted to fight him. Even there was a high chance he would lose due to the nerve-wracking look.

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"So let's hear about the results from the First Day of the battle. What kind of fights did everyone get into the ten minute period? I'm excited to find out~" Ryuuichi sweated at the gleeful, sing-sang tone of Reborn's as he sipped on the ice tea he had ordered, sitting beside the Arcobaleno. He had reached home when Reborn called him along with the others in for a meeting, much to his chagrin. 

And unlike the others, he wasn't nervous or in a bad mood or whatsoever. He was, however, unnerved by the gloomy atmosphere they created. 

As Ryohei gave in his report on Hibari, he watched each of their faces, starting with Yamamoto and Gokudera's. They weren't exactly looking that bad, though Gokudera's usual scowl was harder. He then turned to Dino, tilting his head at the resigned look. Ah, the negotiation with Hibari. Right. Remind him not to wear the watch when disturbing Hibari for the time being.

He looked to Tsuna, staring at him the longest. He could clearly see the discontentment on the slightly sulking brunette's face. Well, to be fair, Tsuna didn't knew of his father strength and experience. Iemitsu had been gone from home for years and irritation on the man had built up quite a lot in Tsuna's heart. It wasn't much of a surprise that Tsuna would, even though he didn't realize it, look down upon his father slightly.

Ryuuichi bit the straw out of habit as the conversation on their alliance with Colonello's team drifted from his mind. "What about you, Ryuuichi?" 

Reborn waited for the daydreaming teen to respond him, but he clearly didn't hear his question. He, with a deadpanned face, raised his hand and brought it down onto Ryuuichi's head, causing a loud yelp of pain from him. "W-what?!"

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow but was amused of the reaction. "Did anything happened during the ten minute period?" 

Ryuuichi grumbled under his breath as he rubbed his head. Fortunately, Reborn didn't use much strength or he might just have a case of concussion. Okay not that bad, but it still hurts. "Well, nothing much. No one attacked." He didn't mention of Basil for he found that it wasn't much of a point. 

Just after he had answer, a grin appeared on the hitman's face. 

"Well done, everyone. This announcement is coming from all the participants of the representative battle watches" 

Ryuuichi peered at the watch with a frown as he was surprised by the sudden announcement, almost causing him to drop his drink. He placed it on the table and leaned back.

"I'm the proprietor of the 'Representative Battle of the Rainbow', Checkerface" He snorted at the name of the battle, mildly wondering of the voice that sounded so different from what he had thought it would be. "Every future battle will occur exactly like this one did. And after each battle, I'll report each team's ranking. A hologram will be broadcast out from your wristwatches with this information"

And a hologram did appeared. Ryuuichi whistled, impressed. Verde's team had defeated five, that was very, not surprising. Mukuro is strong after all. That, and the combination of a blood-thirsty maniac and a mad scientist was just too overpowered. Then again, they do have Fran now. 

Somehow, he had a bad feeling now that he think about it. He hoped nothing out of his knowledge would happen.

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A/N= Ahh, well, not much action. Chapter 357-half of 364. 

Starting off with Yuni wasn't exactly my plan, but I've no idea how to start it so meh. 

Fun Fact= Ryuuichi was woken up earlier than usual on weekends just because Sakura and Kei wanted him to 'let loose' a little. He complied, but not without a couple of grumbles here and there.

Fun Fact= Iemitsu and Basil talks a lot. I mean, a lot. About what? About damn fights and blood and all. How gruesome. Not.

I've never mentioned this, but Yuuichi's basketball coach is a 21 years old man who used to study at Namimori. A spartan coach and stubborn as hell. If anyone says that the coach was the most stubborn person, too bad they've never met Ryuuichi. 

I had a canon on Basil that he is actually as blood thirsty as Hibari and Mukuro, though low-key and controlled. 

I'll be on Semi-Hiatus mode on updates for about two months or so, as contrary to what I've posted. My finals are coming up soon, and I haven't study a single thing. Then there's about two crappy assignment or so that I needed to do. Dammit. That's just enough to cause distraction for me to write, so yeah. Though, there might be one or two updates in that period, depending. No promises though. I'll still reply to messages or etc..

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