Twenty Letters and the Replies

Kurama walked calmly amidst a crowd whose collective gaze brimmed with undisguised curiosity and scrutiny. He faced forward, shoulders straight, as if completely oblivious to the furtive gestures and whispered exchanges of the boys trailing behind him, who believed themselves discreet.

For once, Reborn was not perched on Tsuna's shoulder, but rather shared Kurama's embrace with Mokona. With a faintly mocking smile, Reborn turned to glance at him.

"You seem quite at ease."

Kurama looked down and responded with a radiant, sunlit smile.

"Is there any reason I shouldn't be? As I've said, the Count is an old friend of Mokona's, and the gifts he gave me were merely out of respect for Mokona."

Yet, their interaction proved a bit too stimulating for the boys, prompting Gokudera and Yamamoto to spend the entire walk scrutinizing Kurama and carefully preventing any interaction between him and Tsuna—as if a single word exchanged would result in Tsuna becoming pregnant (hey!).

Kurama felt thoroughly wronged by this. True, he hadn't been entirely forthcoming about the Count's affair with Tsuna and the others, but… he'd done nothing else to warrant such guarded treatment!

Completely unaware that his full kitsune charm was responsible for the heightened vigilance, the kitsune blinked innocently, deliberately ignoring the slight twitch at Reborn's mouth.

The demonic infant sighed helplessly.

"Regardless of your true relationship with that 'Count,' Kurama, I'll remind you just this once."

His expression suddenly grew serious, solemnly intoning, "That man gives me a very dangerous feeling." His tone was grave as he locked eyes with Kurama. "Whatever your reasons—whether by choice or necessity—be exceedingly cautious in any dealings with him."

"That man is far more dangerous than Xanxus."

Kurama's steps faltered just for a moment.

"That's quite a high evaluation, Reborn, the legendary soldier of resistance." He tightened his hold on Reborn and Mokona, his tone light and unforced. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, and I know what kind of person the Count is. I won't allow myself to fall into danger."

Moreover, Reborn, what you don't know is that as long as he remains Kurama the Kitsune, the Count will never harbor any intent to harm him.

This was precisely why Kurama accepted the Count's gift so brazenly, and even dared to flirt back with the beautiful man.

Hearing the confidence in Kurama's voice, Reborn simply nodded, saying no more. He turned and repositioned himself in Kurama's arms, yet from an angle the kitsune couldn't see, he revealed a smile of indeterminate meaning—

Perhaps he ought to thank Kurama as well? After all… in some way, Kurama had helped a certain someone become a little more "enlightened."

Sensing the clear hesitance and confusion radiating from his own apprentice behind him, the dark-haired infant lowered his hat brim and silently pondered how best to "comfort" him that night.

＊＊＊

The entire day lost to the chance encounter with the Count meant Kurama's first shopping expedition was not entirely successful. Fortunately, the following days were school holidays, and Tsuna had plenty of free time to accompany Kurama about town.

They made another trip to Tokyo, this time wisely choosing a large shopping center. From instant foods to semi-prepared ingredients, vegetables, fruits, rice, flour, clothing, shoes, and daily necessities—every item Tsuna thought Kurama might need was purchased.

The brown-haired boy declared with conviction, "Since Kurama has space to store things, why not be fully prepared? No matter what world we face next, at least we won't have to worry about daily life!" He continued his mad spree through the department store with his friend.

Though it sounded like a lot, Tsuna was quite judicious in his choices: practicality and variety mattered more than quantity. After their shopping, they seemed more like housewife warriors than anything else, drawing little attention otherwise.

Watching Tsuna gradually regain his usual energy during the shopping, Kurama decided to let him be—after all, as Tsuna said, he had plenty of storage space.

The only challenge was transporting all these goods from Tokyo back to Namimori. With so many people bustling about the city center, Kurama couldn't very well use his spatial grass to store things so blatantly.

In any case, after nearly two days preparing, Kurama was ready: he simply needed to wait for the Dying Will Pills to arrive, connect with Yuko to exchange for a portion of his power, and then he could leave this world.

After these days, Tsuna had also come to terms with Kurama’s imminent departure.

The boy had spent nearly every moment with Kurama, cherishing their time together, determined not to let any regrets mar their friendship. His resilience and gentle nature moved Kurama deeply, and the kitsune was mischievously minded not to reveal his earlier speculation to Tsuna—he would tell him when it was time to leave anyway, and right now, Tsuna was simply… too adorable!

Lost in his self-satisfied reverie, Kurama failed to notice Reborn’s exasperated expression nearby.

＊＊＊

A few days later, on the afternoon before Tsuna had to return to school, Kurama finally received an encrypted email from Italy.

Giotto had generously arranged for five large bottles of Dying Will Pills for him, each containing twenty pills—a lavish gesture indeed.

Along with Kurama’s pills came two small bottles prepared for Tsuna—supposedly for emergencies.

Kurama raised an eyebrow at this unexpected subplot, and recalling the imminent Future Arc, thought Giotto’s decision could not have been more correct.

"Tsuna, be careful with these. Keep them on you at all times—never put them down except when bathing, alright?"

He pressed the bottles into Tsuna’s hands, speaking with solemn earnestness.

Though he didn’t understand the reasoning, Tsuna knew Kurama was thinking of his well-being, and nodded seriously.

"Don’t worry, Kurama, I’ll carry them faithfully."

Kurama gave him a gentle smile.

Just then, Reborn walked over briskly and handed Kurama a handful of bullets.

"These are Dying Will bullets produced by Leon. Their effects are impressive, but they aren’t as stable as the pills. If you study both together, progress should be quicker—and more valuable."

He looked up at Kurama. "Take them."

The kitsune paused, then smiled again, crouching down to solemnly accept the bullets from Reborn.

"Thank you, Reborn."

Even if these weren’t all the demon king’s stock, it must be at least half. Unexpectedly, the demon king who had always disapproved of his closeness with Tsuna turned out to be a true brother after all.

Kurama smiled.

"Mokona?"

He turned to the white bundle perched on his shoulder.

The little creature nodded with serious determination.

"Alright, I’m starting now."

With that, Mokona leapt from Kurama’s shoulder, hovering in midair. The red gem on his forehead began to pulse with intense light, and after a few breaths, a wide projection screen burst forth from the gem, illuminating the space before him…

"Ah, long time no see."

The figure on the screen was none other than the black-haired, red-eyed dimensional witch.

She seemed neither surprised by Kurama’s sudden contact nor curious about the presence of Reborn and Tsuna. The witch simply lounged in her chair, enjoying Watanuki’s service, listening as Kurama briefly recounted his experiences in this first world.

"I never expected you’d have such good fortune." Hearing that Kurama wished to exchange something, Yuko’s expression finally became a bit more serious. She adjusted her sleeve, sat upright, and gestured for Kurama to hand the items to Mokona.

Kurama obeyed, passing the Dying Will Pills and bullets to the floating white bundle. Soon, the items vanished from sight.

On the other side, the black Mokona had already delivered them to Yuko.

The witch examined the items intently for a while, then suddenly looked up, smiling as if deeply satisfied.

"Very good."

Kurama felt relieved.

"So…?" he asked, blinking in inquiry.

"Watanuki, fetch the box from the warehouse," Yuko nodded knowingly, waving to Watanuki, her gaze never leaving the screen. "By the way, you met the Count, didn’t you? So, didn’t he give you a welcome gift?"

Kurama’s brow twitched at the question.

He hadn’t intended to hide anything from Yuko, but…

Instinctively, he did not wish to offer the Count’s gift for exchange.

Kurama sensed that keeping it would prove far more valuable than trading it for demonic power. Yet, under Yuko’s curious gaze, he took out the necklace with its gemstone pendant.

And then—

Kurama rarely saw such shock—and what seemed like envy and jealousy—on Yuko’s face.

"The Count is truly generous to you."

Her eye twitched, but she simply made this remark, and nothing more.

No suggestion to use the gift for the exchange, no hints as to what it was. Not a word.

Seeing that the witch was in poor spirits, Kurama wisely refrained from pressing the matter. After Watanuki returned with the box, Yuko took out the core of demonic power which felt so familiar and dear to Kurama, and then—she snapped off a piece with casual force.

"…!"

Kurama stared at the small shard of demonic power suddenly teleported before him, stunned beyond words.

"These pills and bullets, along with their unique power states, are interesting, but nowhere near enough to buy back all your demonic power. However… considering your effort, and the Count’s favor, I’ll return these to you—it’s already quite fair."

With that, Yuko cut off communication unilaterally, leaving Kurama standing there with a crystal containing nearly twenty percent of his power, utterly bewildered.

Was the Count’s gift really… that extraordinary?

Author’s note: And so Queen Yuko is left envious and jealous. What exactly is so special about the Count’s gem for Kurama? That will be revealed later~ For now, the most important thing is Kurama regained part of his demonic power, enough to protect himself in the next, more dangerous world—and more besides… cough, no spoilers yet.

Next chapter’s illustration… Well, since we’re about to leave the Reborn world, let’s show adorable Tsuna and the demon king one more time—

Even in formal suit, Tsuna’s presence can’t overpower the demon king… *covers face*

And finally, the usual preview: Leaving x Arrival x Wrong Timing. I suppose I needn’t say more—the title alone tells everyone where the next world will be. But what does the last part, ‘wrong timing,’ refer to? Please look forward to the next chapter.

PS: Thank you to Sunshine Distant, Smiling Host, and yo yo yo for the landmines! Tackling and smooching each in turn~