Title: The Unlikely Duo

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Epilogue: The end of a story

His fingers brushed the photos of the children he once taught, a pensive smile on his lips, nostalgia overwhelming him as he browsed more the pages of the thick graduation book. Aoki sat cross-legged on the apartment floor, an almost empty bookshelf in front, and an array of books and boxes around. He had been organizing his crammed bookshelf, by removing books here and there, when he stumbled upon the thick book.

"What are you looking at?" Tomoe, fellow teacher and wife, asked when she entered the room.

Aoki flipped a page. "Their pictures." He didn't have to explain further whose. Tomoe smiled in understanding, before she took what she needed in the room and went back to their kitchen.

They had long since graduated, but Aoki could still remember it—that memorable year when the unexpected pair was born.

Honestly, the bespectacled man didn't believe at first that the two were friends. But as he observed them each passing day after that impromptu engagement with Tomoe, the doubt slowly faded away to joy when he saw how the "unlikely duo" interacted with each other.

"Pfft..." Aoki stifled a laugh at the nickname the faculty came up for them. It really fitted the two—after all, no one really thought that a shy, easily-scared boy and an aloof, somewhat-scary one could become friends—much less best friends, for that matter.

But... The mirth in his eyes now faded to melancholy as Aoki remembered that just the day after his graduation—Hibari Kyoya left.

He was shocked when he heard the news that Tsuna was admitted to a hospital the same day, apparently in a coma. But his worried heart at last found calm when Nana phoned him two days later, when Tsuna finally awoken, that he was alright—though there might be a little complication. He found out what the complication was when the new school year arrived.

Somehow, in those two days when Tsuna was unconscious, his mind managed to locked away the memories of the past year. He barely remembered anything he did and anyone he met—his teachers, his classmates, and his friends were all vaguely recalled. It was also apparent, that Tsuna somehow reverted back to his old self—to the shy and easily-scared him before he entered kindergarten. But what saddened Aoki the most, was that there was one person Tsuna had forgotten all together—all the memories he had of him deeply locked away, or maybe erased, forever, from his mind.

"Hibari Kyoya." Aoki suspected then it wasn't only Kyoya's sudden departure that made Tsuna like that. He later found out that week that Tsuna's father had also abruptly gone away to work in a foreign country, the date of his return still unknown.

Aoki sighed, wondering now if the duo would ever return. He gazed at their pictures again, for one last time, before finally—he closed the book, closed the story of that one memorable year and placed it inside a nondescript box—in order to create the much needed space for new ones.

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Now you all know why there's a sequel, though thinking back about it now, I actually thought up the sequel first before this one. I just wanted to publish their backstory first so this got written... first.

Anyway, thanks for reading until the end!

Thanks also to those who reviewed, favorit'd, and followed this story! I didn't plan for TUD to be this long—it was supposed to be a 12-chapter story, but then it turned to a 20, and then a 30, and then—you get the picture...

Oh, and the SEQUEL WILL BE UPLOADED ON THE DAY AFTER GIOTTO'S BIRTHDAY.

I don't want to upload it immediately 'cause I want to give you all some time to rest and heal your... umm... probably broken hearts (coughsothatIcanbreakitagaincough). And also because I need time to edit.

Lastly, a little something for you all to mull about while waiting for the sequel—this is connected to canon. And the sequel is post-manga. So to those who haven't read the manga, I suggest you read at least a summary of the arcs from where the anime left off, since I'll be referencing some of the things that happened there.

So until then, Ciao~

Yours truly,

xmelonBreadx