Clover Tales — Kuroba Tales

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"Did you ever begin to consider what would happen if everyone on Earth believed in reincarnation? If they believed that all that could happen to them in death would be rebirth in another being, we would have mass suicide every time something went wrong in their lives, along with total disregard for individual actions and of course, chaos." -

- Jon Callaghan, Again and Forever

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Prologue

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She never thought much about that quote until it hit her right in the face. Literally. She knew it's wrong, but she can't help but think that if she had only known things would turn out much better in the afterlife, she would have let herself be killed off sooner.

It doesn't really matter what she thought at this point, especially when she's already falling down a sixty foot cliff after getting hit by a rampaging fourteen wheeler. Guess the saying is true, you should be careful what you wish for.

Though while a lot of people would most likely scream in terror as they fell to their deaths, Ivy just felt oddly at peace. It's as if her subconscious knew that nothing bad is going to happen; that everything's going to be alright and that she shouldn't struggle as she fell. As weird as that sounds, she ended up following her gut instinct and just stared and waited for the ground to meet her descent. Time seemed to slow at that moment, and she vaguely heard a couple of screams from the few horrified people that saw her fall. But there was not enough time to ponder this as she saw the ground getting nearer and nearer, her dreadful life flashing before her eyes.

While doing so, she absently wondered if things would have turned out differently if she did not attempt to run away...

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Earlier that day...

Staring one last time at the looming structure in front of her, she hurriedly wiped her tears harshly in her sleeve before taking several steps away from the gates, ultimately sealing her fate as a runaway.

Nobody seems to have woken up, which Ivy is grateful for. She hurriedly flipped her hood up to cover her face and started walking into the night, a backpack full of her personal belongings slung over her shoulders. She had been planning this escape for years, packing ahead of time so she can leave immediately if needed, working in part-time jobs and saving money to buy her own apartment until the right time, and just basically trying to be free from her useless scumbag of a father. And she's not saying that lightly, he really is the Father of all Scumbags. He takes great pleasure in beating her up and just acting like the bane of her existence. Most days, it's mild like insults and the occasional shoving. But when he gets a hold of beer, that's the time she should probably hide. It happens so regularly it's almost become like a routine, but when her father started treating her more badly than usual today, resulting in almost bashing her head in with a beer bottle, she knew that it was finally time for her to leave.

Sneaking out is not a problem at all, as she already did it numerous times before. All she had to do is to wait for her father to fall asleep. Which was easy; he's so drunk he can barely stand. When he finally started snoring, that was the time Ivy can quietly sneak out of her room. However, on the way out, she was ashamed to say that she hesitated.

She wants to say that she has fully made up her mind about running away, but that would be a lie. There is still one thing that's preventing her from doing so: her promise to her dying mother.

Maybe promising that 'she won't ever leave her father's side no matter what' was a mistake, but at that moment, she was too grief-stricken to care. That was where everything started to take a turn for the worse. She never really realized how much her mother was protecting her until she was gone. As it is, she fully experienced it the first few years after her mother's death.

Ivy's eyes instinctively flickered to the marks and bruises on her hands before clenching her fists, refusing to see more. Her father's beatings are always harsh, so much so that she has learned to become apathetic and impassive in order to avoid thinking and showing the pain. In doing so, she was unconsciously acting like the perfect victim. However, just because she acts impassive about it doesn't mean that she likes being beat up. Running away has always been at the forefront of her mind. That is why the moment she was old enough, she began working in various part-time jobs for their expenses and her schooling. Add to that, she also began planning. She knew the day would come when her father will go too far, so it's best to prepare for it. She began listing places to go to if she ever runs away, she began saving money to buy a new apartment, she began packing things in a spare backpack for her to take away quickly if the situation calls for it, and finally, she started packing her most prized possessions: her Detective Conan CDs. With how her life was going so far, watching Detective Conan has really become her only escape from reality, something she didn't even realize that she needed.

Staring back at the gates of her former house, she just wonders what her mother would say to her now if she saw her doing this. Would she be mad? Would she be glad she's finally getting away from the scumbag? Would she even forgive her for breaking her promise?

She hopes so. Surely her mother wouldn't want her to stay with her father forever right? Besides, she's been planning this for years. She finally got the opportunity to escape today, so this is not the time for second thoughts.

Steeling herself, Ivy quickly ran down the road, determined to increase the distance between her and that horrible house. She was determined to leave that life behind by all means necessary. In fact, she was just about to have an appointment with the landlord of the new apartment she saved up for when that damn truck suddenly came hurtling down the road and rammed her head-on, causing her to fall over the deadly cliff they have in their town like a limp doll.

With how horrible her life has been, is it that weird to say that she's almost glad she's about to die?

A last glance at the terribly nearing ground had Ivy shutting her eyes tight in anticipation, adrenaline replacing any fear she has left...

"I'm sorry mom… looks like I'll be joining you soon."

...

She didn't feel the moment her head broke and cracked open like a nut upon connecting to the hard, rocky ground; nor did she hear the horrified screams from the witnesses as they watched her fall several feet to her death. She didn't see her mangled body collapse spread-eagled on the ground with blood pooling all around her; neither did she notice her prized Detective Conan CDs spilling out into the road from her bag that was ripped open from the jagged rocks, each surrounding her like a crude bed. And lastly, she never noticed the moment it produced a faint glow before vanishing completely, taking with it the light in her eyes. She didn't feel any pain at all.

For the first time in her life, Ivy finally felt at peace.

That is, until she heard the tell-tale cries and screams of a baby being born, and of two pairs of bright indigo and cerulean eyes turning to stare at her with tired but joyful smiles.

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