A/N: So after a very, very long wait, here's your next chapter! Apologies. : So I just watched Code Geass, and oh my god, it was so good, why did I not watch it sooner. The last episode, I cried. I cri errytime. So much angst and sadness and NO! moments. D:

Anyways, reviews are welcome once again. Thanks for keeping up with this fic! Also, shoutouts to everybody who commented, favorited, and followed this story! You have my gratitude.

Also...do you guys read this at 3 in the morning or something? I keep getting notifications at like, 3 or 4 in the morning. Tsk tsk, go to sleep guys.

(I'm such a hypocrite.)

XxX

Byakuran tapped his fingers on the table, frowning slightly. His guardians were late. He got antsy when his guardians were late, especially when they were delivering one of his two favorite items.

Marshmallows…and Tsu-chan.

The tattoo of his fingers increased in speed, and his lavender eyes narrowed as he felt a blip in his senses. Something, something he recognized but couldn't quite place his finger on, was coming into his domain. He rose from his seat and slinked to the door of his office, opening it and peering outside. A sly smile blossomed on his lips, and he practically pranced outside.

"Ah, I see that you're back!"

A black haired, narrow eyed man's eyebrow twitched in a small amount of irritation at the carefree manner in which his boss conducted himself, but he bowed deferentially to the leader of the kitsune.

"Byakuran-sama, I have returned," he demurred.

Byakuran hummed and peered exaggeratedly around the sword user.

He spotted a familiar, red headed man behind Genkishi. The man wore thick glasses and was clutching nervously at his stomach, but he held a wavering gaze with the white haired kitsune. Byakuran's smile widened, sharp canines poking out as he drawled in a slightly menacing manner, "I believe you have things for me, do you not?"

Shouichi Irie gave Byakuran a nervous smile. "He's…ah…resting in the main sitting room, Byakuran-sama. Your marshmallows are also in there."

Byakuran beamed happily and breezed past a miffed Genkishi to pat Irie on the head. "Good job! I'll be in there if you need me."

Both of his subordinates knew that they weren't supposed to need anything from Byakuran, and that they were only to interrupt under very, very dire circumstances. Byakuran would not have taken kindly to being removed from his objects of affection.

Byakuran stalked down the hallway. The walls swam with magic, with purple and pink swirls flowing over the ground and the air hazy with energy. The kitsune blinked slightly and shook his head. Honestly, as much as he loved his home, the magics were disorienting at times. He frowned.

What if the environment upset Tsu-chan?

He hurried his pace and arrived at the largest sitting room of the compound in record time. Another haze of disorientation swept over him before he opened the door and poked his head in. He spotted a hair of fluffy brown hair and equally fluffy marshmallows before spying another object that held his attention nearly as much as the first two items did.

"Yuni-chan!" Byakuran sang in surprise, stepping fully into the room.

A tiny goddess, with a strange, white mushroom hat and a white and golden cloak smiled gently and floated over to the kitsune.

"Byakuran-san. I'm glad to see you're doing fine," Yuni said. She glanced at the man that was currently lying unconscious on the couch. "I cannot say the same for this young man. Why is he here?"

Byakuran plopped himself down in an armchair and reached for a bag of marshmallows. "I wanted him here. It's just been getting so busy these days that I need a distraction, you know? And I haven't seen him in so long." The kitsune gazed adoringly at the human.

"So you kidnapped him," the goddess of fertility and beauty deadpanned, and the kitsune beamed shamelessly.

"Exactly!"

Yuni sighed and took in the sight before her.

Byakuran looked to be in fine health. He was as perky and infuriating as usual (Yuni still loved him, though, despite his overwhelming enthusiasm), but there was something off about the kitsune that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Her worries had grown when she'd heard that the kitsune's leader had abruptly started neglecting to his old subordinates, kitsune that were powerful and loyal to their leader, and instead started instating new beings, kitsune or not, as his closest advisors. The old members had been suitably sullen, and the new members too suspicious, but Yuni couldn't prove that anything had gone wrong. For all she knew, the old subordinates had tried to overthrow their leader, and Byakuran, in a fit of mercy, had merely exiled and replaced them. However, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Byakuran had always been close to her, and the fact that he had acted without consulting her or even mentioning something about this drastic change to her made her wary.

She gazed at his violet eyes and shook her head before darting another glance at the young brunet.

This was another point that had worried her. It was well known that Byakuran was particularly fond of a human by the name of Tsu-chan. The kitsune rarely went a day without mentioning the human in some form or manner, and he doted on his friend constantly. He was over-protective and very territorial with Tsu-chan. The fact that Byakuran wanted to keep Tsu-chan close was not unusual. What was unusual was that the kitsune had brought him here, of all places, where magic could bring down a healthy man and make him sick or where dangerous beasts lurked. Byakuran was possessive, but not to the extent of endangering his precious items.

Something was wrong with her old friend, Yuni thought, and she'd find out what.

"Yuni-chan?"

Yuni turned her attention back on a pouting Byakuran and smiled. "Yes, yes, I came to visit you, didn't I? How are you?"

As Byakuran launched into a narrative of his past week, Yuni vowed that she'd find out the reason behind Byakuran's strange behavior. Meanwhile, she had a kitsune to entertain.

XxX

Silence reigned over the common room. Gods floated stiffly, some twirling their weapons menacingly and others glowering at their visitors. Standing in a too-small space were several kitsune, all narrow-eyed and serious. Eyes glared, pointed gestures were made, and tensions soared.

"So let me repeat what you just said," Reborn said calmly, fingering her gun. "Your leader has kidnapped Dame-Tsuna, and you expect us to get him back. At the same time, you need us to overthrow the guardians to the kitsune leader."

Several kitsune shifted uncomfortably at the way Reborn had stated their demands but nodded. The leader, a sharp eyed, teal haired kitsune who'd introduced himself as Kikyo, stiffened imperceptibly and answered, "You will want to rescue your human anyways. We will lend you our support in retrieving him, and we are only hoping that you return the favor through taking down Byakuran-sama's guardians with us." The way he hissed 'guardians', with venom dripping out of his mouth, told everybody exactly what he thought of them.

"Our part of the bargain seems to weigh much more than yours," Reborn commented. "Why would you want to destroy the main forces who serve your leader? You clearly still respect him."

Kikyo's lips pursed, and it was the redheaded kitsune who answered. "Our leader has been...poisoned by the words and motives of his guardians. We suspect that they hold some degree of control over him, and we want to remove them. Byakuran-sama has been swayed and manipulated. We desire your help in this matter."

"Byakuran? Manipulated?" Lambo piped up incredulously. "Are you kidding?"

A small girl, with hair the shade of the ocean and wide eyes, scowled. "Of course we're sure, shitty cow," she shot back disdainfully. "Why else would Byakuran replace us with those fakes?!"

"Bluebell!" a somewhat ghostly figure snapped. He was pale, nearly translucent, like a wraith, but still solid in a strange way. It was this kitsune that put Reborn most on edge, but she merely eyed the ghostly figure before returning her attention to the small girl. Bluebell fell into a sullen silence, small hands clenched. Kikyo sighed and turned to his audience. He met guarded eyes before lowering his head and, to the astonishment of everybody present, lowered himself to his knees and bowed, head touching the ground.

"We beg of you," he started, only to be interrupted by Bluebell's protests and cursing. She was silenced by a hand over her mouth, and the girl glared daggers at the red headed kitsune. "We ask you, please help us. Not only does the sanity and survival of our leader rest upon us, but also the survival of the kitsune lifestyle. With their sway over him, Byakuran will make rash decisions. Please."

Reborn narrowed her eyes and glanced at the other gods. Hayato looked rebellious, unwilling to help, and Takeshi looked reluctant as well underneath his mask. Mukuro, on the other hand, looked uncharacteristically contemplative, a scheming shine in his eyes, and Lambo looked somewhat sympathetic. Kyoko was nearly in tears, and Ryohei was vibrating with excitement. Kyoya merely looked bored, but his eyes were also gleaming with the promise of a good fight.

Reborn turned back to the still kneeling Kikyo. She sighed, knowing what she was about to decide was not particularly wise, but they did have to go retrieve Tsuna (whether he was in any real danger was another question, since Byakuran was incredibly fond of the fluffy haired man), and if the kitsune were in such a precarious position, returning Byakuran to his right mind would be a good decision.

"We'll help you. Help us find and get Dame-Tsuna back, and we'll help you, ah, rescue your leader," Reborn said, unable to resist the barb in her words. Bluebell bristled, but the redhead's hand was still restraining her.

"Our leader isn't some hapless damsel like your stupid human is," she muttered mutinously.

Kikyo stood and swept his long hair behind his shoulder, back to being proud and self-assured.

"Very well. We thank you," Kikyo said formally, and Reborn merely tugged her fedora down.

"We'll need a plan of action if we need to fulfill our two goals. I hope you're ready to sit down and put your minds to good use, because if we're going to face off against the whole kitsune clan, we'll need plenty of planning," Reborn warned.

Even Bluebell looked slightly intimidated.

XxX

"How is he?" a man sneered, glasses flashing. His eyes were poisonous and malicious, and fangs poked out of his mouth.

"He's fine. Manipulating his mind is challenging, he's wily and very resistant to the flames, but he's slowly turning to our influence," Genkishi replied stoically, sitting on the couch and sipping his drink. He lowered his hand and glanced around the meeting room. His mouth curled slightly at the sight of the naga, who licked his lips. The kitsune suppressed a shiver at the sight and downed the rest of his drink.

The naga emitted a low laugh, malicious, dark, and undeniably slimy. "So we will soon be controlling the kitsune clan, yes?" he asked.

"Very soon, Glo Xinia, very soon," Genkishi replied before turning away. As wily, sharp, and brilliant Glo Xinia's mind was sometimes, and as necessarily ruthless he was, he was still a repulsive individual.

"I-I don't feel too confident. Perhaps we should put off the plan a little longer, wait to make sure Byakuran is in our grasp," Irie Shouichi said, clutching at his stomach. His eyes darted nervously around before settling on a blond man, whose face was stormy.

"Do you doubt my manipulation flames?" Genkishi growled menacingly.

Shouichi laughed nervously and quickly backtracked. "O-of course not, I believe in your flames! I just think we should make sure, confirm that he'll follow our commands!"

"Shut up, Irie. All we need is your tactical mind and technology. Leave the rest of the planning to us," Glo Xinia sneered, dismissing the redheaded human. Genkishi gazed at Shoichi contemplatively before turning to the next speaker.

"And what of the previous guardians?" Gamma asked. Gamma was, essentially, the powerhouse of the group, all battlefield instincts and corded strength.

"What, the original Funeral Wreaths? Hah! They've been driven off, and they wouldn't dare to defy their precious Byakuran-sama's wishes. They won't interfere," the naga said, dismissing the blond kitsune and studying his pointed claws. The only other kitsune of the group snorted internally. As stable as the situation was right now, and as well as their plan was proceeding, Genkishi still felt uneasy. Glo Xinia was too reckless, too cocky. Something could go wrong very quickly, and very suddenly.

"Usheshe, when will we proceed to the next stage?" a heavily scarred blond asked. His hair covered his eyes, and his lips were stretched in an unnerving grin.

Genkishi replied shortly, "Soon."

"What are we going to do with the boy?" Gamma asked. He had a stable head on his shoulders, Genkishi noted, and he only lamented that he'd had to threaten the kitsune into joining them. It was lamentable, but they had his loyalty. The safety of that little goddess was very important to Gamma, after all.

"Kill him," Glo Xinia said carelessly before pausing. He blinked before a truly lewd grin stretched across his lipless mouth. "Or give him to me. I can take good care of him."

"Usheshe, we should torture him. I owe him and his gods a favor, and a prince always repays his favors," Rasiel laughed. The defeat of Enrico was well known, and while Rasiel's part in it was less known, the sting to his pride still hurt.

"We can't do that!" Shoichi said hurriedly, somewhat panicked. Genkishi turned his narrow eyes onto the human, and the redhead quickly explained. "The whole reason we brought him over was to stabilize Byakuran, right? The changes we're making to his mind is making it extremely unstable, and a minor event may tip his mind into insanity. We need control, and Tsuna's the only being that Byakuran still fully trusts, right?"

Glo Xinia harrumphed in disappointment before turning towards the door languidly.

"Fine. We'll keep this up for the next week and then proceed to the next stage of the plan."

With those parting words, the naga left, and a large amount of tension left with him.

Genkishi swept his gaze over the rest of their dysfunctional group.

While all of their motivations for this were different, they all had their talents and strong points, and by now, they were all in this together. Genkishi would use them, and when the time was convenient, he'd throw them away. Irie was useful for his brains, Rasiel for his abundant resources and funds (despite his status as a fallen tengu, he still had retained a large amount of his assets), Glo Xinia for his ruthlessness and sharp mind, and Gamma for his sheer power.

And when he disposed of them, then solely he would hold the reins of the kitsune clan.

Xxx

Tsuna was very, very confused when he woke up.

The air felt hazy and suffocating, almost as if a comforter was covering his head, pressing down on his body and making the atmosphere muggy. He drew in a breath and tested his limbs. He felt as if he was wading through molasses.

What happened? He remembered talking to his dad and…nothing much after that, actually. He gnawed at his lip. Was his dad okay? Were the others okay? Were they worried?

He levered himself up, blinking lazily. He was in an unfamiliar room, sitting on a comfortable couch. The coffee table in front of his held a bag of marshmallows, and a creeping suspicion as to who exactly had brought him to this strange place soon formed in his head.

This suspicion was confirmed.

"Tsu-chan! You're awake!"

Tsuna sighed and turned his head towards the double doors of the room. Byakuran, in all his white-haired and smiling glory, entered the room and beamed at the human sitting on his couch. Said human smiled weakly and waved a hand at the kitsune.

"Hey, Byakuran. Err, where am I?"

Byakuran's visage only seemed to grow more pleased, and he chuckled happily before gracefully flipping over the back of the couch and landing right next to the brunet. He grabbed the bag of marshmallows, tore it open, and offered one to Tsuna, who only shook his head bemusedly.

"You're in the kitsune realm, of course! I had to bring you here, because you see, I'm lonely all by my lonesome, and I found that your gods don't protect you well enough. So, here you are! I have so much to show you, Tsu-chan! You've got to meet my guardians, and then there are so many sights to see-" Byakuran jabbered excited, hands waving excitedly in the air and bouncing like a child. Tsuna only smiled indulgently.

"I hope you plan to do this only after your paperwork is done, Byakuran-sama," a voice interjected. Byakuran pouted and glanced over his shoulder at the new arrival.

"But Gamma, there's so much, and won't you let me take a break?" Byakuran smiled winningly. The large blond, Gamma, quirked an eyebrow.

"Yuni-sama is also waiting for you."

"Oh, Yuni-chan!" Byakuran exclaimed before his whole face brightened and he grabbed the, by now, incredibly confused Tsuna. "You've got to meet Yuni-chan! She's a goddess like the ones you know, but she's so much better. Come on, I'll show her to you."

And with that, Tsuna was dragged down multiple hallways, Gamma following behind quietly. His disorientation from the strange, ominous atmosphere of the place only furthered his confusion, and he quickly lost track of where exactly he was going. He glanced at Byakuran, who seemed perfectly fine with the thick air, and then at Gamma, who only had his eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully but kept up. Tsuna sighed.

Something was wrong with this place, he could tell, but he couldn't place his finger on why.

He soon came upon another set of double doors, and as he entered, he noticed sunshine peeking through the heavy curtains behind a desk. Marshmallow bags littered the area, but otherwise, the completely white room was pristine. He quickly spotted another figure, a small goddess clad in white and orange, with dark hair and luminous eyes. She smiled, and with her smile, so did Gamma, a tiny quirk of his lips.

"Good afternoon, Tsuna-kun. My name is Yuni, otherwise known as Kichijouten, the Goddess of Fertility and Beauty. It is good to finally meet you. Byakuran's told me quite a bit about you," the goddess said, holding out a small hand.

Tsuna took her hand gently, his larger one dwarfing her small palm. "It's a pleasure."

Byakuran beamed at how well his best two friends were getting along. "Well, now that you've got company, I'm afraid I have to leave you! I do have a lot of paperwork, and I'm busy planning."

"Planning? For what?" Tsuna asked curiously. Gamma looked away, a dark look coming over his face, and Yuni narrowed her eyes in interest.

"Indeed, for what? I can't tell you yet, Tsu-chan, but I will! Don't you worry," Byakuran sang before ushering his company out the door. "Take them to the gardens, it's beautiful around this time. Make sure to show them all the pretty flowers!" he directed to Gamma, who bowed in understanding.

After the door shut, Gamma glanced at Tsuna, but his focus was mainly on Yuni. His stern, harsh features softened in the face of the goddess, and he gestured to the both of them. "Follow me please."

Yuni looked after Gamma longingly and sadly before shaking her head and pasting on a smile. She floated beside Tsuna, who'd seen the display of emotions. There were strange dynamics, some untold story behind all of this. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get involved.

"So, how long have you known Byakuran?"

Tsuna hummed. "I think since freshman year at my university. I believe that's around two and a half years now? I'd met him half a week after school started, and he took a liking to me, I guess."

The goddess laughed, a tinkling sound that put Tsuna in better spirits. It seemed, around this small sprite of a woman, the muggy, oppressive air receded slightly.

"Yes, he's like that. Almost like a child, but he's mature in his own ways. He's more cunning than you may think," she replied, and Tsuna nodded.

They kept up a light chat as they followed their blond guide. When they reached the gardens, Tsuna's breath was stolen away.

It was absolutely beautiful. Colors painted the green grass and bushes, and Tsuna's fingers itched for a pencil and pad. It seemed like forever ago when he'd last created art for himself.

He wanted to sketch the blue, blue sky, the wisps of clouds and shining sun that bathed the grounds in yellow light. He wanted to depict the motions of the wind stirring greens, yellows, blues, and reds, flowers bending under the gentle onslaught, to shade in the shadows of the strategically placed benches and color in the bold accents of the shade of a large tree.

His breath left him, and he knelt in front of a bed of white flowers, fingers skipping over velvet petals and cupping buds.

"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" a tinkling voice asked, and Tsuna nodded, spellbound. A smile stretched across his lips, and he completely forgot about the strange foreboding he'd had since he'd woken up.

Yuni invited him to sit on a bench, and he did, bonelessly, eyes wide in wonder. Gamma had receded into the background, keeping a watchful eye out for any dangers. Yuni settled on the grass.

"Do you know the names of these flowers?" Tsuna asked suddenly, and Yuni laughed. Tsuna noted that there was a wistful and sad note to the dulcet tones.

"I do. Byakuran didn't stop bragging about this garden since he'd had it planted," Yuni murmured. She pointed at different flowers and explained. "See, those are white orchids. Byakuran's always been partial to those. He thinks they're the most beautiful, with the white petals and pink centers. They're very pretty, aren't they?

"And those, those are bluebells. Over there, daisies, but I'm sure you recognize those, hm? And then those are Chinese bellflowers, and these are wolfsbane. Those white ones, the fragile looking ones are ghost flowers. The red ones you see on that tree are pomegranate flowers. The pomegranates grown from that tree were the best, tangy with sweetness and sourness mixed together. Eating them with everybody…it'd been great."

The wistful tone grew more pronounced, and Yuni ducked her head. She traced a blade of grass. "This place…it used to be my favorite place. When everybody was here…"

"Everybody?" Tsuna asked, gentle brown eyes worried for this gentle goddess that he'd only known for not long at all but who had already wormed herself into his heart.

"…hey, Tsuna," Yuni called, and when she looked up, her eyes were steely. "There's something wrong with this place, don't you think?"

Tsuna blinked. Was this a trick question? Would Yuni take offense since Byakuran was such a good friend to her?

"I feel something in the air, but it might just be my imagination," Tsuna commented slowly.

Yuni shook her head. "It's not just you, Tsuna-kun. Byakuran, his behavior his changed drastically in the past month. I want to find out why, and since you're one of his other closest friends, I'd like your assistance."

Tsuna grew alarmed. "What, are we doing something behind his back? What's wrong with him?"

He had noticed that the kitsune hadn't been around much when his father was visiting, but he didn't think much of it. His thoughts had been preoccupied with his wayward father, and frankly, he hadn't cared much for anything else at the time. How selfish of him, to not notice Byakuran's change in personality.

"I don't know, and that's what I'd like to find out. With you here, I hope to stop whatever's happening, or to at least help him with whatever he's planning. He's planning something big, and his new guardians, I don't like them. Please, help me, Tsuna-kun. Please," Yuni beseeched.

Tsuna's heart ached for the small goddess, and he looked over the gardens, the beautiful flowers, and his sharp eyes caught small signs of neglect. Drooping flowers, bug-eaten leaves, browning petals. When he turned back to the small goddess's pleading eyes, he mentally cursed his bleeding heart, and answered.

"I'll help you."

XxX

Gamma felt his heart pound, his eyes water, his muscles screaming to save the small goddess in front of him. To yell at her, "Don't butt into their business! They'll ruin you, they'll destroy you, please, please, stop this!"

Yet he could not say a word, could not ask the goddess that he'd served for most of his life to leave Byakuran and the corrupted guardians' business be. If he even let slip of the danger, they'd activate that accursed piece of technology, and then where would Gamma's reason for living be? Dead, that's where, and he could not afford such a price. He was caught, essentially, between a rock or a hard place. Help the fake guardians, the Fake Funeral Wreaths (and no matter how much they gloated that they'd become the real ones, Gamma knew, they'd never reach the former guardians' power level), or let Yuni die. There was no question. Gamma would set the world on fire and watch it burn if only to preserve Yuni's happiness and life.

His pained eyes watched the human and the goddess's interactions. He heard it all, their plans to find out what went wrong in the once peaceful realm of the kitsune, to find the former guardians. Seeing the determined glint in their eyes, he noticed the similarities between the human and the goddess.

Compassionate. Loyal to a fault. Rigid morals, yet understanding and flexible. He closed his eyes and breathed in.

He had two options. The first, to report to the fake guardians that Yuni and the human kid would be interfering with their plans. The second to ignore them, let them carry out their business and turn a blind eye.

He opened his eyes and shielded them from the brightly shining sun.

Yuni was a beautiful, pure sight in such a corrupt world. She radiated joy and gentleness. His lips quirked at the small flying figure looping around Tsuna, laughing and playfully tugging at the human's hair. Her smiling face, he mused, was the reason that he had devoted himself to her, to serve her until his dying day. Her laughter was the reason he'd left her when Glo Xinia and Genkishi had threatened her with the machine that Irie had thought up. To protect her, he'd offered his services to them. Yes, she was every reason for his actions.

The first option couldn't be an option. He wouldn't, couldn't betray her trust like that, not again.

(He remembered her hurt and wounded countenance when he'd announced he was leaving her for Byakuran. He remembered her small, bitter smile and unshed tears as she bid him farewell and good luck within the newly formed ranks of Byakuran's close subordinates. He had turned a blind eye, and it tore at his heart.)

And ignoring them…no, this could not be an option either. To ignore them would be putting them in potential danger. Even this small risk he would not allow.

No, he'd have to take action himself. To divert Glo Xinia's and Genkishi's attention elsewhere, somewhere they would not think of Yuni.

He clenched his fists and firmed his stance. He'd take action to protect the radiant goddess he lived for, and perhaps even for this gentle human that accepted so easily and gained her favor so easily.

Gamma hardened his resolve and watched the two plan in secret.

XxX

A/N: Hopefully, the next update won't take this long. Once I get to winter break, I for sure am gonna majorly update, cuz I'm going on a cruise to Antarctica (my dad's idea), so that means one to two weeks of no internet, which means that I'll either be studying my ass off for MCATS (did you know that there are NO available spots for the January MCAT except for in Guam? Apparently everybody wants to take the old one, and now anyone who didn't sign up doesn't get to take it anymore. Tragic.) or writing this fanfic. Or starting another one! I have several ideas, several OC ones, a couple of Tsuna/Reborn ones, and one that centers of Byakuran's backstory, how he turned out to become the way he is, and stuff. I find his backstory and the backstories of his guardians really interesting.

So, please review, tell me what you think, follow me in the wee hours of the morning, I will never complain about those, I promise.

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut