Crossover Together ~クロスオーバ 一緒に~

The very night after their big find, and Twilight, Aladdin, and now Nagisa were all resting their tired minds and muscles all together. Twilight and Aladdin couldn't be more accomplished since finding their old friend, and considering many thought he was dead it was surely amazing to reunite with him once again. Nagisa, being gone for a long time himself, was happy to see his old friends again just as well, though he didn't really burst out into tears like they did. Guess it made sense though since the last time they saw him was being blasted away by Pluton's defeat and not seeing him afterwards anywhere.
The trio were given permission to stay the night at Gaara's house, though despite that they were only allowed in the front room right by the front door and nowhere else, Gaara not allowing them that. All three of them were sitting off just outside the house on the front porch, the clear night very pleasant for them to see, full moon shining down on them and giving them its own natural light. They'd go to sleep, but they all spent enough time away from eachother, and now all three of them wanted to catch up with eachother.

"Wait, the others aren't with you?" Nagisa asked.

"Well, they're much safer back in Central than they are here. I mean, after what happened to you, I didn't want anyone else getting hurt," Twilight admitted.

"You could've at least told them instead of just taking off though," Nagisa pointed out. That was one little detail she felt more embarrassed about. Then again, they would end up after her if she told them that anyway.

"Eh ... yeah," Twilight sighed, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well what about you? Seriously, you basically disappeared for weeks, we couldn't find you for the longest time," said Aladdin, really wanting to know that from his lost friend.

"It's a long story," Nagisa started.

"We got a lot of time, don't worry. I'm just glad you're didn't die as all," Aladdin noted.

Nagisa gave a quick sigh.

"Actually, I did."

... The blank expression on their faces pretty much said it all, their eyes locked onto Nagisa the second he said that with shock. Did he really admit that to them, or were they hearing things?

"What? Wait ... what?! B-But you're here ... you are, are you?" Twilight asked, holding him by the arm to be sure, but indeed he was there.

"I-It's kinda complicated," Nagisa said, trying to calm them down from this sudden news. Not only was his story long, but a bit of a complicated one on top of it, though this just made Aladdin and Twilight even more curious on what happened to their friend.

"Don't suspend us, what happened? We missed you, pal," Aladdin said, sitting down next to him, putting Nagisa in between him and Twilight. Nagisa looked back and forth between the two, and eventually he got up to his feet and took a step or two out to the open, ready to explain his story as he took a look up to the full moon.

"Guess I'll start after Pluton. You know, it all happened so fast, so suddenly, I didn't feel a thing. One moment I threw the sword at Pluton, and the next ... nothing. ... Everything just stopped. ..."

As Nagisa said, everything did feel at a standstill moments after the sudden blast. Nagisa was left in some bit of silence, in the dark, not able to feel too much of anything in his state. He felt still, as if he was sleeping on his back, arms out spread and at ease. Any previous pain, fatigue, or worry had escaped him at this point, the last moment he could remember being blasted to oblivion seconds after Korosensei lost his grip on him. He would be worried over him, but at the moment, his only main thought was what happened in it all. As he looked onto basically nothing but empty black space, light did eventually begin to reach him, leaving him in a light that almost seemed to blind him of anything else.
Then came along a soft, comfortable breeze that grazed his body. It didn't sting, or for that matter wasn't filled with the dust and debris Nagisa was sure it would've been filled of. Nothing but wind, and the scent of the forest for some reason.

A forest?

It was then that Nagisa managed to open his eyes. You'd think he'd end up in another part of Central's complete heap of debris from Pluton's rampage, but instead the area he found himself in a green, clean forest. Healthy, tall trees grew around him, and a flowing river moved steadily on its way just a foot away from him. Quite a big change over the apocalyptic state of Central Nagisa was just in. The bright light of the sun made Nagisa stir, and finally make him sit up to look around. First thing he noticed was just how little he actually hurt. If anything, he felt pretty content, which was strange to him. As he looked too, turned out he wasn't alone. ...

*chirp-chirp*

A little peek by the river showed a flock of about seven birds close by, one of which was looking at him curiously. One look though, and Nagisa could tell that these were no ordinary birds: three feet tall, blue feathered along the head and neck, and the rest of the body covered with what looked like white fluff, resembling a cloud as apart of the wings. No bird on Earth, far as he knew, looked like this flock.

"Where am I? ... I didn't -"

Rustling from across the river. Nagisa turned to look across the river, and sure enough, a familiar deity started to walk out towards him. Nagisa got up to his feet, which felt lighter might he add, and looked to whoever was coming. As for the deity, she didn't stop coming over until she was at the opposite bank. She appeared to fairly young, teenager long him, and in a simple medical outfit as well, nurse hat included. Her hair was short and purple, and her eyes a bright green (a bit of a contrast too), but what stuck out to Nagisa the most though was that the figure had a set of frilly wings, light lavender in color. The figure didn't say much of anything, and looked as curious on Nagisa as he was of her.

"Can you tell me where I am?" Nagisa asked. However, the figure didn't really answer though, unsure of what to really do with him. She looked to him in a similar manor to how the birds were, which the birds flew across the river over towards her after she whistled for them. That would explain why she was here, but it didn't help Nagisa much on his situation.

"Where am I?" Nagisa asked again. She looked to him once more, but instead of answering, she started to herd the flock of birds away from the river, and out of sight. What was he supposed to do now? The only person he saw so far and she wasn't willing to talk to him at all. All he could do was try to follow her.

"Wait up," Nagisa called again. He walked back for a bit, and took his chances to go across the river. A bit ungraceful, and wet, but he did manage to get across the otherside and he started to follow where she went. Nagisa tried his best to keep up with the girl and flock, but eventually they all suddenly started flying away. Nagisa ran as fast as he could to catch up with her, but when he reached the clearing, Nagisa skidded to a stop by what he saw next.
While he thought he was in a forest, he found himself in a completely different area entirely: a world completely up in the sky. The blue sky and clouds were far below him, and far above him, and whatever land he did see were in floating pockets, each big enough to hold a small town. some had trees and dirt, like the one he was on, while others appeared to be man-made (though man-made may not be the right word). Some of these land masses were connected by bridges and pathways as well, though not the one Nagisa was on by what he could see. Unfortunately, he couldn't find that other girl either, nor the flock she escorted out of the area. Despite that, it was painfully clear that Nagisa wasn't back home at all, or even in his world for that matter. Nagisa was quiet, taking in what he was seeing around him and the realization that came with it.

"Is this ... the Overworld? ..." That question floated around in Nagisa's mind for a while, his eyes taking in everything. As he was looking, some other similar figures to the girl were also flying around, different in their own way, but none of them really noticed him. Nagisa tried to wave his arms to get their attention, but it didn't seem to be working. ...

"I was worried about you."

Lugia - a more familiar voice, and one Nagisa was more acquainted with. Looking behind him, Lugia walked out of the same forest, and was soon standing over right next to him.

"Lugia."

"I've been trying to find you for a while. I'm glad to see your soul is still together, especially after what happened," said Lugia said, sounding very relieved to see him, though Nagisa felt uneasy about it.

"I don't think I am though. Lugia, I'm old enough to take it. Am I ..." Even if he was mature enough, he couldn't bring himself to say it. He could probably guess though on what the answer would be judging by where he was, even if he wasn't sure on where it was exactly. Lugia though looked to him with a soft grin.

"... It depends. What item did you use? To defeat Pluton, I mean," Lugia asked, thinking a little bit.

"What item? ... I had to use Karma's sword to finish Pluton off," Nagisa answered, remembering the last moments he had just before the explosion. That gave Lugia a sigh of relief.

"Then you'll be alright."

"Really? But last I remembered ..."

"The Miracle Sword can heal the user during an attack, remember? And as you were the one to use it. ..." Lugia didn't need to explain the rest for Nagisa to understand. Admittedly, that detail slipped his mind in the moment, but it gave him more relief than ever, Nagisa falling down to his knees, and soon sitting on the edge of their floating island. However, the concept of where he was got another question in mind.

"Thank god. ... But wait, why am I here then? I-If I'm not truly dead, then I shouldn't be in heaven right now ... right?"

"I didn't say you're not dead at all, Nagisa. Your body needs to heal, and your soul had to be put here for a bit. Don't worry, you'll be back in your world before you know it," Lugia assured him, though the concept of him being dead at all still shook him a bit. The least he could say is that he chose the right weapon for an otherwise suicidal attack and defeat on Pluton.

"Sorry, t-this is a bit to take in."

"It is overwhelming for any deity new to this. You'll be safe here."

"By the way, where is here? I guess we're not on Earth, huh?" Nagisa asked, bringing out the second obvious question as he pointed to the islands ahead of them.

"Synapse: one of the Overworld kingdoms. As you have your countries, the Overworld has many kingdoms, same with the Underworld. Your soul just happened to pick this one to stay in, though I can't say you haven't been here before," Lugia explained. Thinking a little harder, and looking at the more inorganic islands of Synapse, Nagisa started to see and remember the areas where he and Twilight had seen in their dreams, matching these almost exactly. Lugia took a seat next to Nagisa, both of them looking out to Synapse at the flying angels and local birds. It surely looked like a dreamscape even with the daylight.

"... So ... how long am I going to be here?" Nagisa asked once more.

"Only for a little while. ... Eh, speaking of which, you might be away from your friends for a while," Lugia revealed, confusing Nagisa.

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm sorry to say, but there was more to Pluton's explosion than just injury. I'm afraid you've been ... well ... moved," Lugia said, sounding a little bad for saying this to him. With what had happened, and what they were dealing with, Nagisa honestly had come to expect this.

"There's always a catch, huh?"

"The rules of magic aren't always consistent, I'm afraid. Still, you do realize that this means things are going to be different. The demons are given the greenlight now, so all of you must be ready for anything now. ... If it eases your mind, I should probably lend you another one," Lugia suggested, turning to Nagisa. Nagisa thought about it for a little bit, but eventually he stood up.

"Me and my friends had been running around all over the world: We've been to England and met Phantomhive and made friends with the queen. We went to Central and basically became apart of the Amestris army, not to mention the many different demons we fought along the way. I'm ready for whatever the future has for me now," Nagisa decided. Lugia's future visions cannot be altered as he remembered, and if whatever he had in mind really will happen, Nagisa won't hold back from it any longer. Lugia was quiet at first, but he too got up and then smiled to him.

"You have such an open mind, Nagisa. They're lucky to have a friend like you. ..." Lugia then moved over to him, and gently placed a hand over his forehead, giving him another Future Vision. This one was clearer, and a number of visions appeared through his mind, one of which show him where what seemed to be a sort of fight, him against one figure as another looked on. ...

It was at this point though something else started to happen to Nagisa, when the boy took a look to his hand. It was rather sudden, but subtle as well.

His hand was starting to fade.

"Looks like I'm heading back now. See you later," Nagisa said, smiling to Lugia. While to Lugia Nagisa was just fading, Nagisa saw the whole place fade away for him, but he wasn't as scared as much here.

"Farewell, Nagisa Shiota."

~~

With his eyes shooting open, Nagisa was back on the human plain, but as Lugia said he wasn't exactly in the same place he once was. Sure, he found himself in a forest again as before, though it wasn't the same forest as before. That, and it was clear Central was nowhere in slight. Broad pine trees were all around him, and at first Nagisa thought he was still up in Synapse, but that quickly changed when he looked up to one of the trees to see a more familiar bird: Murkrow. A pair of Murkrow, both of which apparently observing him for a while now. He managed to sit back up, and turned out not only was his body healed up, but clothed as well (avoiding embarrassment, thank goodness for him).

"Yeah, I'm back home now. Well, let's see where I am now," Nagisa thought, getting up to his feet and starting to walk on his way. Unlike back in Synapse, the weather this time was a bit more cloudy, very slight rain as a matter of fact, but compared to what he just been through, he didn't mind that too much. Looking around, he didn't see much sign of any settlement, road, or pathway, nothing but nature in this part of the world.

So there I was, back from Synapse and, I guess from the dead. Yeah, even now I'm still unsure how it happened, but it's still good. I was left alone with my thoughts though: where am I? How were they back in Central? And where do I even go? To be honest, at the time, I felt simply lost. ... And then I heard it.

*KAW*

Nagisa stopped on the dime on the pain-filled squawk, only to see a bird fall from the air and land not too far away. As if that wasn't suspicious enough, it was then he saw something come out from the tree line, and snatched up the catch. A worrying sight for anyone, but Nagisa felt a red flag go up, his demon sense triggered again. And according to it, this demon was a pretty high level too.
And worse: it soon saw him standing nearby, and was heading his way! Not even a minute back from the dead, and he's already meeting other demons. Nagisa tried to reach for some sort of weapon, but he didn't have anything on him. He was without a weapon, and he had to face this demon alone. Pretty soon, the figure was right up to him, only a few feet away and Nagisa was left with a cold shiver from the figure's green eyes. All his senses didn't make Nagisa be fooled by the human-like appearance.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he asked sternly, his eyes staring daggers at Nagisa. Something Nagisa wished he had on hand just in case he would start to attack him.

"N-Nothing, sorry. Can you tell me where I am?" Nagisa asked, not wanting to fight with him. He stayed silent and observed Nagisa, judging him, and slowly moving in closer to him, keeping a keen eye on his reactions towards him.

"... Who wants to know?" he questioned. Nagisa had to back up to get some sort of distance between himself and his adversary. So long as he showed him he wasn't there to fight, he should be okay. However, Nagisa just didn't want to fight, so rather than push it, he just turned away.

"Eh, nevermind, I'll just figure it out," Nagisa decided, starting to walk away from him. A fight now, and Nagisa would never figure anything out from it. Nagisa kept walking, but it didn't take long until he glanced back, just in time to see him walk in the opposite direction, a dead Murkrow in one hand. That, and a notable assassin's blade in his pocket.

Thank god I didn't push it, Gaara probably would've killed me if I did that. Anyway, for the rest of the day it was just me, and trying to find out where I was. Unfortunately for me, the weather just wasn't letting up for my sake.

Sunset, and the rain was really starting to come down. At least Nagisa had trees to block off the rain, but even so he was still left soaked, cold, and not sure where he was even going. Any animal now was hidden out of the rain, something Nagisa wished he could do right now.

"Damnit, where do I go?" Nagisa wondered, arm trying to block off some of the rain from hitting his eyes as he continued walking along. There had to be somewhere to go for Nagisa to rest, somewhere in this place. Cold and tired, he took a moment to rest over by one of the trees, trying to dry his hair a little bit.

"I sure hope the others are doing better than I am. ... Where can I stay for the night? ..." Nagisa thought. Though, he could only wonder if they were even still alive. Nagisa looked around the forest some more, trying to find some sort of shelter from the heavy rain going on around him. Eventually, and indeed it was eventually, Nagisa took sight of something else that might just be what he could be looking for: a lone house in the forest.

"This is so cheesy, but, beggars can't be choosers," Nagisa thought.

And so, off he went to it. It took him a little while to get around the main boundary wall, but he did get to the front entrance, and got himself right over to the front porch with little to no trouble. As suspicious as this may be, at least he was dry from the rainstorm. Taking the moment, he went on to dry his hair and get himself rested just inside. The main room appeared pretty much empty, wooden floors and walls making up the main room. nothing too fancy, but it'll have to do just until the rain stops outside. For Nagisa, he didn't need to take more than five steps for his demon sense to start going off again, making him shiver. ...
One leap saved his life: Gaara was not only right behind him, but he jumped down from the roof beams directly at him, knife drawn out and trying to slice him. Nagisa landed over further into the house, but Gaara was soon on top of him, his knife aimed directly at his throat. Nagisa got a hold of Gaara's hand before he could slice open his neck, but Gaara would rather kill him than talk.

"You again."

"Yes, sorry. Again. ... I guess this is your place?" Nagisa asked, not letting go of Gaara's hand for any moment.

"Does it matter? Now let go," Gaara growled, trying to make Nagisa release him. Both tried their best, but eventually Gaara pulled free and tried again to kill Nagisa, him rushing out of the way just in time to avoid fatal injury. That didn't mean Gaara didn't hit him though, finding a cut on his shoulder from Gaara's knife. Gaara rushed him with his blade again, but Nagisa reacted almost instinctively, and gave Gaara a whack to the side of the head, the hit just enough to leave Gaara a little stunned. Nagisa got himself outside, despite just drying off, as Gaara stood just under the overhang, his knife stained in Nagisa's blood. Nagisa didn't want to fight, but at this point he had no choice.

"You had your chance to leave, kid. You couldn't leave me alone," Gaara said, cleaning off his knife in the falling rain.

"He's calling me a kid?" Nagisa thought. That was the least of his problems though, still unarmed and this demon was still after him. ...

What else could he do?

"I didn't want to fight you, demon, but if that's what you want, then fine," Nagisa finally decided, locking his gaze to Gaara. Gaara paused for a moment, but he quickly took the offer and got his blades ready. Turned out, he had about seven throwing knives on him, and he started to throw his blades at him. Nagisa had to keep moving, but the blades were cutting him very close, cutting the fabric off his clothes and little cuts into his skin. One good thing out of this was the amount of weaponry left on the ground. Nagisa managed to grab one of the knives before Gaara rushed around and grabbed the rest. At least Nagisa was armed and he tried his luck against Gaara. The demon though gave a quick lightning fast kick to Nagisa's legs, knocking him off his feet. A perfect opportunity for Gaara to finish Nagisa off and be done with it. And he would've too, but he then ... jumped back?
The moment after was very quick, and Nagisa needed a moment to figure things out. Nagisa took a look at Gaara when he did that, finding Gaara up on top of the overhang, no longer looking threatening, and instead looking more surprised, heavy breathing as if he just saw sheer horror. As for Nagisa, he then found that something did land not too far from him. Just his luck, the sure item of his halo blade was now on the ground, actually stabbing the ground where it landed, being where Gaara was standing moments earlier. It didn't take long for him to connect two and two together, Nagisa picking up his weapon and holding his shoulder from Gaara's cut. Nagisa was now properly armed to face the demonic deity.

"You know when to come, don't you?" Nagisa commented, referring to the blade in question, as he looked back up to Gaara. Apparently, he shook off his shock and tried at Nagisa again, blades raining down at him. Nagisa took the moment and rushed forward, avoiding the blades, and Gaara landing down in front of him. It was rather quick, but Nagisa was having an advantage this time, Gaara finding himself unarmed and Nagisa coming at him. As Nagisa took his attack, Gaara had to dodge him and try for his blades outside, but Nagisa wasn't giving him the chance this time, and copied what Gaara did earlier: his foot hooking him by the leg and making him tumble to the ground. Nagisa went to him, blade in hand, and Gaara spun himself around and grabbed him by the arm, making him stop.
Both of them simply stopped, Gaara frazzled by Nagisa's halo blade, hovering just ten inches above his head, and Nagisa breathing heavily for the energy used. for now, there was room to finally talk.

"Look. I know what your thinking, but I swear I didn't come here just to fight you. I'm just trying to get out of the rain and figure out where I am. I promise, as soon as I figure that out, then I'll leave you alone for good, ok?" Nagisa explained. If there was a moment to actually talk to Gaara, it would be now, but even after that Gaara didn't really answer him. Gaara stayed quiet for a minute or two, snapping himself out of shock, and pushing him away. Nagisa saw that his eyes were more fixated on the halo blade than actually on him, though him being a demon as far as Nagisa knew made that understandable.
As for Gaara, he stayed silent, and with a huff, he walked back into the house. Nagisa took a step to follow, but Gaara threw his remaining knife right at his feet, keeping him from entering. Nagisa raised both hands up and stayed outside the door, and Gaara disappeared inside the house's shadows.

Compared to what could've happened, I was let off easy. ... Even if it meant I had to still sleep outside. At least I had something over my head for the night, but even with all that, I never could've guessed what was coming. ...

As the night went on, Nagisa remained motionless and huddled up outside the door, rain still going down fairly hard but Nagisa was keeping himself dry at the very least. Chilled, but dry nonetheless. For the moment, Nagisa was quiet and laying with his back to the building. It was not a bed he'd ever get used to, but since Gaara wouldn't let him in, he just had to work with it unfortunately. With the clouds and rain blocking off whatever moonlight was left, he was literally in the dark and vulnerable to whatever was around. ...

*thump**thump**thump**thump*

Footsteps. And they sounded like they were coming towards him. Nagisa stayed sleeping for a bit more, but as his own feelings started to take over, Nagisa started to stir just a little bit. The irritation of the feelings were especially bothersome to him, as the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.

"Wakie-wakie, little hero."

Such an ominous, hissing voice finally made Nagisa open his eyes to check the area around him. Despite the spine-chilling voice though, Nagisa didn't see anyone at first. Only him, the empty porch and the rain outside. Or it seemed that way, anyway. In such a dark setting, Nagisa couldn't see a figure anywhere, but as he took one look up, the voice's true owner was visible, his arms and legs gripping the overhang like a spider, his head turned completely one eighty degrees, his demonic eyes staring straight down at him. Nagisa was surely spooked, but he didn't bolt for it right away, as the figure dislodged himself from the overhang and landing with silence, his head facing the correct direction and now in front of him with a toothy grin.

"King Sombra?" Nagisa asked. That answered turned the face from cheeky to annoyance.

"Sombra? King som - ugh - don't you compare me to that pathetic twat! I surpass that creature ten fold. I. Am Tirek," the figure hissed, leaning in towards him. Nagisa kept his composure, his hand reaching for his halo blade. However, the figure was quick to grab it ... and eat it. Right in front of him.

"You think this little toy will always work for you?" said the figure, leaving Nagisa with nothing but a small stub of chewed up blade, spat down at Nagisa's feet. Again, Nagisa didn't budge from his spot as he saw what remained of his only weapon shrivel in Tirek's saliva. Nagisa looked back to Tirek, who was now right in front of his face, eyes locked with his.

"What do you want. Tirek," Nagisa questioned, at least wanting that out of the way. Tirek straightened up and started to walk around him, back and forth.

"You'd know better than to ask, human. I mean, you did technically slay Pluton, as contrived as that bullshit was."

"Contrived?"

"You cheated: using someone else's sword and Korosensei as leverage! You call yourself a hero and you barely ever lifted a finger. Those worms barely even needed you," As Tirek said this, he grew in size, and his colors faded from red to black, drool turning into blood. Nagisa couldn't turn his gaze away from the horrifying deity, looking more and more horrifying as he spoke.

"You think you can save anyone by yourself? HA! A dipshit like you's lucky to save a friend from a Chuchi moth. Ever since you killed my Jizo, all you've done was hold your ass back and let everyone else fight your battles for you. You even got FUTURE VISION for fuck sake, and you can't even get that right!"

"That's not true!" Nagisa immediately stated.

"Oh really? Ok, tell me one fight, just one fight when your friends didn't clobber their little beastie and only you could finish off the bastard, eh? Or one time you actually put that Future Vision to use for once and actually try to change things instead of letting it happen?"
Nagisa tried to think, but the more he tried, the more he realized just how ... well, little he did. When it comes to the actual threat, his friends actually did most of the work for him, and all he did was stand behind. As he'd normally do. ...

"But ... but I ..."

"But what? Thank your goddamn lucky stars no one important died yet ... underline: YET. Just face it you pathetic creature. Without them ... you're nothing."

.......

"AH!!"

Nagisa felt a strong hit whack against the side of his head after that horrifying statement. Needless to say, Nagisa woke up with a startle, and a bump on his head. Not the best wake up call Nagisa had gotten. It was morning now: nightmare over, his blade still in tact, and as it turned out Gaara was standing there instead of Tirek. Nagisa rubbed his head, and now was fully awake, looking up to Gaara. Far as Gaara was concern, he was up and that's what mattered.

"About time," Gaara simply stated, sounding a bit impatient with Nagisa more than anything. Seeing him move his foot too, it was clear who actually hit him. Nagisa managed to get himself back up, feeling sore, shaken up, but alright overall. At least better than he could've been thanks to Tirek.

"You had your night. Now, there's the exit," Gaara said, pointing off to the exit for Nagisa to take. He gave a sigh and started to walk, but then a quick thought about the dream came to him and he soon stopped. That dream seemed VERY real to him one way or another. A little too real. ...

"One question. ... Did you notice anything happening last night?" Nagisa asked.

"What's it to you?" Gaara asked back.

Well, so much for that.

"Nevermind. ... Well, thanks anyway." With that, Nagisa began to go off on his wasy, Gaara watching him the whole time until he was well away from the exit. Gaara allowed him to stay one night, Nagisa wasn't up for forcing him on anything, especially since it almost cost him his life. Nagisa took one more look back, just to find Gaara no longer in sight. It was a bit of a bother for him, but Nagisa had to basically be good with what he got.
A demon did decide to let him live, after all ...

For the next half an hour, it had been nothing but wandering around in the forest, trying to figure out where to go. It was almost like the path to the 3-E building back at home, to be honest ... well, only then I'd known where to go. I was just stuck wondering, pondering, what could've happened to you. ... And what Tirek had said. ...

"Good sleep?~"

Nagisa stopped cold in his tracks, looking around the forest for the all too familiar voice, eerily familiar. The voice also set off his demon sense, his whole body shivering slightly in response to the voice. Though, he'd probably get shivers, even without the demon sense going off. This time though, unlike before, he found the figure far quicker, whom of which was up in one of the pine trees. Laying on the branch, swaying his legs behind him and arms crossed as if he was laying in bed, the demon lord Tirek was back! There was no mistaking him this time, and seeing this supposed dream beast now alive and in flesh and blood made Nagisa jump back a little. Tirek swung down from the tree, and landed right by the humbled human.

"T-Tirek?!"

"I know who I am, bitch," Tirek said. Clearly his behavior didn't alter from dream to real life either, but that hardly made him feel any better. Each step Nagisa took just made Tirek step closer again. Unlike before, Nagisa kept his blade hidden away (he didn't want it gobbled up).

"But ... wait, how're you -"

"You REALLY going to question it?" Tirek brought up, stopping Nagisa cold. Nagisa would protest, but this was a demon lord here, so what was the point?

"... Yeah, good point. What do you want?" Nagisa asked, wanting that out of the way. Tirek started to circle Nagisa, who kept himself still.

"Oh, just checking in, wanted to chat a little bit, see how easily I can crumble you. Oh, is that a midday snack for me?" said Tirek, yanking the knife out of Nagisa's pocket. Nagisa expected Tirek to try to eat it again, but all Tirek did was pick his teeth with it and tossed the now saliva-covered item to Nagisa, who looked in disgust.

"Hands off," Nagisa demanded, wiping the knife clean of the spit. The least he could say is that Tirek wasn't hungry for that.

"Damn, I expected that from Karma, not you."

"So you know him too?"

"I know lots of ya: Aladdin, Pinkie, Ciel, ol Bassie ... Twilight.~ hope you said your goodbyes to them before your suicide," Tirek said, though most of his tone was mischievous rather than sympathetic. His mention of Twilight, especially by her specific nickname, made Nagisa troubled more than most. Any demonlord who knew of his friends by name only meant one thing ... well, one or two.

"So you did work with Sombra," Nagisa confirmed. Though, Tirek's cheery attitude immediately turned cold again.

"Quit acting like I give a shit about him! I told you, I exceed that runt ten fold! He can't even kill a group of kids like you," Tirek noted, making it especially clear. Nagisa took his words in, the last part making him think hard about it. ...
By the time he was finished, the boy felt a horrifying thought creep into his head on what Tirek was talking about, and seeing him smiling with his horrid sharp teeth told Nagisa Tirek knew too.

"You didn't ..."

"Easy pickings! And such a lovely look on my mantle: Bunch of shitheads, died on the day of Pluton." Tirek mocked, laughing his head off. Not too clever, but Nagisa felt his heart sink when he heard that come out of him. Whether Tirek really did it or not didn't change the true fact.

"I don't believe you. ..."

"Hoped you say that," Then, to Nagisa's horror, and Tirek's delight, the demon had the nerve to bring up a image, his fingers slicing a square in existence and showing the supposed aftermath of Pluton's explosion: all of his friends laying dead in a post apocalyptic heap of what was once Central Amestris. Just to torture him more, he made sure each one of his closer friends got more of the spotlight in each bit of imagery Tirek left to stick in Nagisa's brain. Tirek relished the look on his face, giggling all the while like the horrid devil he was.

"Look at you, so shocked, it's adorable! Oh, the fun I'll have with you! Too bad for you your only little effort for being mister hero got your pals a little seat up in the afterlife. Really, you're so pathetic, it's hilariously awful!"

Nagisa just stayed quiet, the last remark reminding him what Tirek had said last night.

"Get used to it, kid, cus you'll ALL join them when I'm done!" Tirek announced, fully confident in the statement. As Tirek gave his maniacal laughter, the demon lord strolled off away from him and through a portal he summoned, disappearing right away. He left Nagisa staring off into space, his mind trying to accept the supposed facts. However, his mind was rather torn because of what Lugia told him before back in Synapse and to what Tirek said.

They're lucky to have a friend like you

Those worms barely even needed you

Who was telling the truth? Lugia, or Tirek?

.......

"What was that all about?"

Gaara. A little odd to see him of all people suddenly show up, but Nagisa was still trying to get his mind straight. He knew what he meant, and he knew how much trouble it actually was, and more of a heartbreak to hear how his friends were basically killed because of Pluton's blast. ...

"... You heard all that?"

"More than enough. Saw him follow you and I wanted him out," Gaara said, Nagisa sensing the knife he cradled in his hand. Nagisa stayed quiet for a good while before turning to Gaara, a tear coming down his face. Looking to him though, Gaara could care less about the emotional turmoil. In fact, it kinda annoyed him.

"Grow up, you. Your not going to do anything by crying," Gaara commented, though he wasn't treating the situation as seriously as Nagisa was. Gaara just wanted him gone more than anything, and him going into a crying fit wasn't gonna make that easier. Nagisa did feel a sting in his heart hearing such cold words being spat at him, but truth was truth, and the truth was ...

"Crying won't bring them back."

That final sentenced echoed in Nagisa's head for a little bit, and the words Tirek had said accompanying it. ... That was when one Future vision came in his head as well. ... Time to actually use it. Gaara turned to go, only to feel someone grab him by the arm, and hard, just to find Nagisa standing there.

"Let go of me," Gaara demanded.

"I need to be better than this. ... I need to be stronger. Tirek will destroy everything in this world if we let him go like this," Nagisa insisted. However, all Gaara did was kick him back.

"That's your problem, not mine," Gaara simply stated, starting to walk away. ...

"Does the end of the world mean anything to you? Everyone will suffer, including you."

THAT was what made him stop. Something world-effecting would end up effecting him, no matter the case. Gaara stayed especially quiet, knowing Nagisa was on his feet now and staring at him. ...

"... Damnit, fine. ... On one condition," Gaara made clear, turning around to Nagisa. Nagisa nodded his head, more than willing, whatever Gaara had in mind.

"When I'm done with you, then you go. I don't care what business you have with hell, but I want no part in it, or it'll be your head. Get it?"

"I understand," Nagisa replied.

So, Gaara and I got started the next morning. Earlier for me, I had to admit, but if it meant becoming stronger to go up against whatever Tirek had planned, then so be it. At least I found out what his name was after that, but I knew for a fact he really, really didn't want me around.

There he was, standing over outside the house, facing against Gaara with his halo blade in hand, while Gaara had, well, nothing. Nagisa was put in a different outfit: the training uniform to be exact. No knife in his hand, or really anything that could suggest any attack, at least not now.

"Nagisa. You ready to start, or what?" Gaara asked.

"Sure Gaara, but ... shouldn't you have a weapon too?" Nagisa asked. Gaara rolled his eyes on the question.

"I can kill you without one. Besides, it's not me who you're fighting. ..." Before Nagisa could ask what he meant, Gaara began to get to work. Focusing his own energy with ease, the gourd began to pour out sand like a waterfall, which landed right next to him. Gaara started to manipulate the sand with a few movements of his hand, the sand suddenly rising up in front of Nagisa's eyes. When the sand stopped pouring, Gaara manipulated it off the ground, and soon enough the pile of sand turned into an almost exact replica of Gaara himself, down to the clothes, and even the eyes almost matched up. Nagisa looked less surprised, and more intrigued than anything, as he readied the blade in his hand. Gaara walked over to the door, the sand clone ready to face Nagisa as willing as Gaara himself would be.

"Begin!" Gaara announced. Immediately, with blinding speed, the Gaara clone rushed for him, Nagisa not having too much time to react. Nagisa thrusted his knife forward, but the clone dodged it with ease, and not only did it kick it out of his hand, but it zoomed around, and kicked him in the back, knocking him off his feet. Nagisa tried to get up, but the clone ended up standing on his back to keep him down, just to have his halo blade landing right in front of his face.

"That was quick," Gaara said, feeling satisfied to see Nagisa beaten up. The clone moved off of Nagisa after that, getting up to his feet after a bit and picking up his knife.

"Damn, we just got started and he clobbered me on the spot. I have to be ready." Nagisa thought.

"Begin!" Garra said again, triggering the clone to rush at him once more. Nagisa was more prepared this time, and instead of thrusting, he jumped aside to have the clone rush by him. However, reflexes were slow, and the clone caught him by the leg with a swing of its arm, knocking him off balance a bit. Nagisa stayed on his feet that time, just for the clone to slam both fists into his chest to knock him onto his back.

Gaara clone two, Nagisa zero.

When that was finished, as fun as it was, Gaara moved the sand clone back from Nagisa's midst, as he managed to get back up, him trying to shake off the hits the clone had made in their training. Just two rounds and Nagisa already got owned.

"Can't make this easy, can you?" Gaara asked.

"That's my line, demon," Nagisa groaned. Nagisa felt a pain hit him in the side, a hand onto it, as Gaara just stared at him with strong judgement, slightly annoyed too. He then pointed to Nagisa.

"Look, let me make this clear to you. First off: you keep calling me a demon, but I'm not. I'm mortal, same as you. Second: I'm not going to hold myself back just because I'm training you. If this is what you want, then keep up," Gaara instructed. It was clear to Nagisa that this was just how it was going to be for a while until he was ready. However, Nagisa's demon sense was telling him that he was telling a half truth to him.

"So you're an Alchemist?" Nagisa then asked.

"Call me whatever you want, but don't think it'll help you," Gaara made clear, walking back to the front porch of the house, the clone in a fighting stance again. Nagisa sighed, and brings his knife up and at the ready once more.

"Begin!"

Day in and day out was like a military camp for me. It didn't matter to me how brutal Gaara's training was, my main focus was to get stronger, and at the time I was willing to do whatever it takes. ... Even if that meant training with a demonic entity like Gaara. Ironic, I know, but progress was going, and it was showing through each one of our sessions. I can't exactly describe it, but I'll say this: Korosensei would be crying tears of joy if he saw me during it all.

.......

Another training session, three days into it, and admittedly Nagisa felt like he was doing a little bit better in his craft. Well, he wasn't getting knocked out so easily, facing Gaara's sand clone again with blade to blade. At first, Nagisa appeared to be doing fairly well. Nagisa dodged, weaved, and even made a few hits on the clone, stray sand being hit off, though it didn't slow the clone down at all. One strike. Two. Three. For the first time in a while, Nagisa felt on a roll with this! ...

"Nagisa!" Gaara shouted, Nagisa looking to him for just a moment ... only to get kicked off his feet by the clone. Nagisa got up on his hands and knees, just in time to hear ...

"Concentrate on what you're doing."

"Seriously?"

.......

The next following night, and Gaara and Nagisa were out over by the boundaries of the house, in particular over by the pond. Rather than just beating him up this time (as much as Gaara wanted to), the training this time was actually balance, Both Nagisa and Gaara up on some sandstone pillars, rather tiny too. Gaara was standing on it just fine, but Nagisa struggled to keep himself from falling over, arms outstretched, and Nagisa putting as much concentration as he could to stay still.

"OK, just relax, you got this," Nagisa silently encouraged to himself. Of course, Gaara wasn't going to make this any easier for him, and he made another pillar nearby, one for each of them. Gaara made his jump, Nagisa having to follow him onto his pillar. Nagisa had plenty of difficulty just to stay on it, but he was still on after some flailing of his arms to keep him there.

"Let's step it up," Gaara noted, before tossing something at Nagisa. Nagisa thought it was a knife, but it turned out to be some sort of meat, which landed on his head. ...

*CAW CAW*

AND a Murkrow was a little more than eager to land on Nagisa's head and started to peck at the meat. As if balancing on this little pillar wasn't hard enough, now Nagisa had a bird messing with him.

And another.

And another.

"Get off!" Nagisa tried to say, but a simple nudge would make him fall over. Gaara simply watched I'm amusement as Nagisa struggled with the now several birds. Some perched on his arms, some even fighting over the meat on his head. Nagisa really had to balance his weight with the multiple birds, especially those on his arms which were acting like weights. He didn't want to hurt the birds, but he didn't want to fall either. He felt his body lean one way to another, Nagisa struggling to stay upright, the cawing Murkrow bickering over food right on his head. Eventually, one of the Murkrow ended up stumbling off his head, the claws of the bird's feet scratching his head near his ear, one claw close to his eye. Nagisa turned his head so he wouldn't get his eye scratched, but the movement disturbed the birds and they all flew off. The sound of screeching caws, flapping wings, and Nagisa's yelp was enough to tell Gaara that he lost his balance, and fell to the ground under them.

"Good, you didn't snap your neck in that fall," Gaara commented.

"Very funny," Nagisa groaned, as he got up to his feet. One of the Murkrow landed nearby him, giving a loud caw before flying at him, grabbing the neat, and flying away.

.......

"You ready Nagisa?"

Afternoon, and another extra session. Unlike the other previous sessions over the last week, this one was laid out a little different: a set of Gaara clones and placed in a more environmental setting, in particular over by the pond. Nagisa was calmer, more focused, though it was his first time facing multiple clones, each one armed to the teeth with sandstone blades.

"Ready."

"Begin!" Gaara shouted. A now typical response for whenever a session would begin, and Nagisa was more than ready. Nagisa took his attack and started swiping at the clones with his knife, blocking a few attacks here and there. Dealing with one was enough of a challenge, but two were more than enough for Nagisa. Nagisa moved fast to try and gain some distance, but both clones were not making that easy, even getting a few good hits on him as well.

"Ok Nagisa, think for a minute, what do I do?" Nagisa thought, skidding to a stop once he got enough distance between him and the clones. Both clones looked ready to strike him again, though Nagisa's eyes were trying to figure out where else to work for him in this situation. Eventually, his eyes turned to the pond. ...

"Got it. Now if can just ..." Nagisa thought this one out, as he aimed his Halo Blade in their direction, but instead of charging forward as Gaara would guess, Nagisa slowly started to circle them. The clones followed suite, keeping their gaze on Nagisa as they both slowly rotated around. Nagisa managed to stop at one point ... and then dropped his weapon. Even Gaara found this confusing, but he didn't protest it - making things easier to get him gone. Seeing him armless, both Gaara clones charged right for him, but Nagisa didn't move.
Then the plan revealed itself: at the last second, Nagisa ducked and rushed past both Gaara clones, his arms out and tripping them both. The momentum from their own speed made both clones fall forward right into the pond, and since being made of sand dissolved almost immediately. Challenge beat.

"How ... how did I do?" Nagisa panted, looking to Gaara. The fact that Nagisa dropped his only weapon to do that was, while reckless, seemed pretty good in Nagisa's mind, and he could even see some form of interest in Gaara's eyes, though not a word escaped him.

"A little reckless. Watch that."

It was hard to impress Gaara, even after everything I did. I couldn't blame him though: he was at least part demon, so I didn't expect him to open up so quickly. We just felt distant from eachother ... Well, up to a point.

Sunset, inside Gaara's house, and about an hour after a training session with Gaara. Nagisa's body was stiff and sore, some bandages from a particularly brutal training session, but Nagisa still felt pretty good with himself (first time in a while). Gaara got a cup of water for him to drink, which Nagisa gleefully took.

"Thank you," Nagisa said, taking a sip of the drink.

"Yeah, yeah," Gaara simply said, taking a seat with his own drink. For the first minute or so, it was all silent stairs between him and Gaara, both just sipping the water each of them had.

"It's been weeks since we've met. But, I still don't know much about him. He keeps saying he's a human, but ... should I say something to him?" Nagisa thought. Gaara took a look to Nagisa, Nagisa quickly turning his gaze away when he saw him. Nothing could hide from Gaara though.

"What do you want now?" Gaara asked. Nagisa sighed.

"Sorry, but. ... Well ..."

"If you have something to say, spit it out," Gaara said, frustrated a little. Nagisa took a glance to his drink before he decided to just ask. If he didn't he'll just spent the rest of his time wondering what he was all about.

"... What are you?"

"Eh?"

"Ever since you started training me, you keep telling me you're a human like me ... but ... well, I ... I don't believe you." The final statement was pretty hesitant, but Nagisa just had to figure this out. The Demon sense had been going off for a long time now, and he needed to figure this out one way or another. Gaara simply stared Nagisa down.

"And why would you think that?" Gaara questioned, waiting for what he had to say. Nagisa had to think on that part. Should he tell him, or no? He did promise to try and quiet down about it, but then again not only did Pluton throw that all out the window, but Gaara proved to be more knowledged about this sort of thing with his sand-kinetics. ...

"... I have a Demon Sense. It's basically how it sounds: I'm able to sense these uh ... demonic presence around me. It's been going on with me for months now and ... well, I've been sensing one since I got here. So ..."

"Your other demon must be watching you," Gaara cut in. Not too far from the truth, and Nagisa found that too much sense. Gaara drank his water, placed it down and then got up, taking in mind what Nagisa just said. As for Nagisa, he simply watched Gaara starting to go, taking a glance off outside at the sunset.

"Unless you want a broken back tomorrow, go to bed," Gaara said, before he started to go off into the next room. But Nagisa still wasn't getting an answer on him.

"Gaara, you didn't -" before Nagisa could finish, instead of a closing door, sand enclosed the path and blocked the door, hardening into sandstone on the spot so Nagisa couldn't follow him. Whatever Gaara had in mind, he wasn't going to talk about it to him.

.......

So after that, it was all silence between Nagisa and Gaara. Cutting to night time, Nagisa was left alone down near the front door. Gaara didn't say a single word to him at all ever since Nagisa questioned what he really was over what Gaara kept saying. Not much sound other than the breeze outside, and the thoughts in his head. The big thought being what Tirek had showed him.

Too bad for you your little effort for being mister hero got your pals a little seat up in the afterlife. Get used to it, kid, cus you'll ALL join them when I'm done!

"Tirek. ... Sombra. ... I will avenge my friends. Just you watch," Nagisa thought. And that was a promise he was going to keep too. If they had never released Pluton into the world, he wouldn't even be in this situation. These sort of thoughts couldn't get him to fall asleep, if not the sores he got from training earlier or the lingering Demon Sense. Even if he'd grown used to it by this point, with the uncertainty of it all he just couldn't rest easy (not to mention Gaara's hypothesis of a spying devil around). The moon was only half covered, so vision wasn't all too good except for the stars. ...

"Speak of the devil."

A new Demon Sense was starting to go off on him again, and this time it was much stronger than Gaara's preexisting one. Despite his sore body, Nagisa got up to his feet to investigate. He kept himself off out of sight just inside the house, peeking outside the door at the situation. Nagisa didn't see anything at first, but he still had his Halo Blade at the ready. He kept his eyes locked to outside, ready for the slightest provocation, and as he expected something did begin to move out from the darkness and over towards the house. It was hard to tell, but the glowing yellow irises was a little too familiar to him. Nagisa expected him to come right in and attack him, but instead the figure aimed above and jumped up onto the roof. There was only one reason for it to do so.

"Tirek!" Nagisa thought. He had to get up to him before the demon could do any damage. One problem: the only way up there was trapped with Gaara's sandstone wall!

"Damnit." Nagisa tried his best to get himself through, ramming into the wall time and again, but all that did was make his injuries hurt more so, the wall not budging an inch. The sound of scratching claws echoed from the roof, confirming his worries even further. Nagisa rushed off outside to see where the intruder was, only to find the figure already opening a hole in Gaara's roof. Whoever, or whatever this was, he wasn't paying any attention towards Nagisa. A decent sized hole was torn open from the roof, and the figure proceeded to slip inside. Nagisa climbed up onto the roof after him, and while he got close, he couldn't stop whoever it was to slip inside.
The part the figure got himself into was, to Nagisa's horror, Gaara's own room! It only consisted of a bed and not much else, but Gaara was awake, and looking to the intruder standing in his midst.

"Another intruder," Gaara stated.

"If you want me to be, then I'd be happy to," said Tirek, his sinister grin piercing the dark. Gaara, already armed to the teeth with his throwing knives, launched them all right at the demon, only for them to just bounce off of him in little to no effort. In fact, Tirek grabbed one of them and took a bite out of it, the metal melting in his mouth to form a tooth casing. Basically, one bite gave him metallic teeth. He tossed the end of the knife back at Gaara, Gaara dodging it easily.

"Oh, a feisty one! Not kind to strangers, are you?"

"Get out. If you want Nagisa, take him, I don't want anything to do with you," Gaara demanded, but all that did was make Tirek laugh at him.

"HA! You got involved the moment you saw that blue bitch, piss-head! Training that tyke of a human after a little chitchat? How gullible are you to make that call?!"
That load of mockery only made Gaara attack him, this time with his sand manipulation, turning the sand he had with him into a large set of swords and blades. They did managed to cut Tirek a bit, but the demon lord walked it off like it was no more than a false cold, marching right up to Gaara and grabbing him by the throat! Gaara found himself gagging instantly, thrashing and whacking him every way he could, but Tirek was not budging enough to get Gaara loose. Next thing Gaara knew, Tirek was right behind him, one arm wrapped around his stomach while the other turned to a fist and shoved it in his mouth to shut him up. Gaara gnawed at his hand, but that didn't help either. After that was handled was when Tirek looked to Nagisa.

"Oh, dearie me, look what you did now. You got this lad's life on the line, yet again, just like your other pals back in Amestris. You want history to repeat itself, don't you?~" Tirek cooed, going as far as to stick his pointed tongue out and give Gaara a long, overly sexual lick along the side of his face. Nagisa tried to come up with something to say, but was too angry to even come up with anything. The balls for him to even show up again and screw with another friend of his.

"Let him go, Tirek, or I'll -"

"Or you'll what? You gave no shit about him, he gave no shit about you, what's the point on protecting him anyway? He tried to kill ya, remember?" Tirek reminded, though they both knew he was just trying to get his way and nothing else. That just made Nagisa even angrier, and even jumping into the same room to confront Tirek. Despite his attempts though, he could feel himself tremble when he did that.

"Come on, HERO, you did it last time you didn't hesitate!"

"Just let him go," Nagisa repeated. Tirek pushed the steaks by removing his gagged hand, and dug his claws into Gaara's neck. One slash at his throat, and that will be that.

"He's teaching ya isn't he? Here's a little tip from me: You can't save EVERYONE in the world." Tirek said, digging his claws in deeper. Gaara groaned in discomfort, ticked off more than ever. To think he was being used for someone else's game was more than shitty.

"TIREK!"

"Go on, scream your head off, all you're doing is keeping up a cute appearance for the angels up above, that's it. He's a demon, you know it, and you vowed to kill the demons so they won't cause any trouble. Which reminds me. ..." Tirek then tossed Gaara over towards Nagisa, Gaara landing at his feet, gasping for air and gripping his bleeding throat. He was so close to death.

"Why don't you take him out then? You'll be doing heaven a favor."

"... You're joking, right?" Nagisa suddenly said, not even trying to be intimidating now. "You're threatening to kill me, and now you're trying to make me kill him?"

"I'll say this: do that, and I'll stop."

"What?"

"You heard me bitch boy. You take his life away, and I'll call of whatever tiny plan I have for this world of ours. All you gotta do is get a little blood on your hands," Tirek cleared up. Gaara stayed still, looking up to Nagisa with a glare, but this glare wasn't the same one he'd give to one of his targets, or to Tirek, but this one was more serious than just angry. The answer to the request should be obvious to Nagisa, him staying quiet at first ...

And reaching for one of Gaara's blades.

"Don't. You. Dare," Gaara growled, but Nagisa didn't listen to him. Tirek found this VERY interesting, giggling like a giddy girl as he watched Nagisa bring the blade over. It was then that Nagisa gave Gaara a smile. A particular smile, not exactly one of cheer or reassurance, but one belonging to one who was in full control. And here, Nagisa Shiota was in control of the situation. Gaara readied to attack, but Tirek was already on him, pinning him down to the floor so Nagisa could finish him off. Nagisa stopped for a brief moment when he did that, but then started walking forward again.
What happened next was almost slow motion: Nagisa picked up speed, but oddly he dropped Gaara's blade to the ground. Gaara and Tirek had their focus on the blade, but Gaara saw what he was doing first and kept his head down. As for Tirek, he moved just a little too slow before seeing Nagisa move his arm, and bring out the Halo Blade he had on him.

AAAAAAAHHHHH!!

Then it was over. Nagisa stood above Gaara for protection, his blade aimed forward with some slight blood still on his blade. Tirek though got the hit that Nagisa was hoping to make: his eye sliced! His left eye was bleeding black, one hand holding it as the blood seeped to the floor. Tirek hissed as he looked back to Nagisa.

"Now listen Tirek. I don't know how far you're going to go, but I will not stand for it. You were right about one thing: what I did back in Amestris, I barely did anything myself. Everything was basically done by everyone else. But I promise you one thing: I WILL stop Sombra, I will stop you. I already lost all my friends because of you, I will not stand by and watch everyone else die anymore. Do you hear me Tirek, I'll finish you off, just you wait. You'll all regret the day you decide to take over this world!"

Silence. Even Nagisa wasn't sure what happened at the moment, nor how much danger he placed himself in. The only thing on his mind was to protect Gaara from this monstrous deity. Instead of attacking them though, a weaker grin showed on Tirek's face.

"... You just dug your own grave." With that final remark, Tirek opened up another portal nearby, and before Gaara or Nagisa could get him, he slipped away and disappeared from their presence. When all of that was over, Nagisa calmed down and got back to his senses, shaking his head, before stepping back and looking to Gaara. Gaara got up to his feet, hand still over the cuts on his neck.

"Gaara, you okay?" Nagisa asked, only for Gaara to summon up some more sand and aim a sandstone blade at Nagisa. Lucky for him, Gaara didn't slice him to pieces, his mind lost on something else. ...

"Answer me. ... Is that what you had to deal with? ..." Gaara's question floated in the air for a bit before Nagisa answered him.

"Eh ... not as disturbing, but ... yeah, pretty much," Nagisa admitted, shrugging a little. Gaara kept the sword in place before it eventually disintegrated back into nothing but sand on the floor. Gaara kept his gaze away from Nagisa for a moment, eventually moving his bloodied hand away and allowing the blood to come out a little more freely. Gaara looked to his own hand, seeing his own blood glistened in the night light, as little as there was in terms of light. Gaara turned back to Nagisa, his eyes locking with his, looking almost surprised, even a tiny bit.

"And why didn't you kill me? ..." Gaara then questioned.

"Because It's not right. What would killing you even do to stop Tirek anyway? He's just going to kill everyone else afterwards. ... Besides, I shouldn't be thank you by slicing your neck open," Nagisa explained. Gaara turned around completely to face Nagisa, just to see him actually start to remove some of his own bandages, and proceeding to wrap them around Gaara's wounds.

"Here, you need this more than me," Nagisa said once he finished. Gaara placed a hand on his now bandaged neck, thinking over what had just happened. Then Gaara sat back down in his bed, again looking to Nagisa, eye-to-eye.

"Nagisa. ... It's time you and I talk. What happened, the whole story."

"So, what'd he say?" asked Twilight. It took Nagisa a good while to explain everything to them, the moon higher up into the sky. Aladdin and Twilight were pretty deep into this story, and Nagisa was glad to know that. in spite the question though, Nagisa shook his head.

"Sorry, I promised Gaara not to tell you. He'd rather say it himself when he's ready," Nagisa answered, glancing back at the house. Nagisa took a look over to Aladdin, who was psyched on what Nagisa had gone through the most.

"I ... WOW, Nagisa, all that's amazing. You took on Tirek and won?!"

"Well, it was luck, but I'm sure he'll be back. Anyway, Gaara continued training me for the days after, a lot more determined too. As then, out of nowhere, we heard trees falling from your fight," Nagisa continued.

"I knew that was you two! All that training is really showing off," Twilight said.

"Yeah, thanks for saving us back there," added Aladdin. When they both took a look though, it was Nagisa's turn to shed a few tears, which Nagisa allowed to fall freely from his face.

"... I'm so glad Tirek's a liar about your death. ... But he was right about one thing. ... I didn't contribute anything." How could he not say that to them, to be honest?

"No, no, you know better than to believe him. The princess of England would've never escaped without your quick thinking," Twilight pointed out.

"Yeah, and you're the won who made the plan to stop Pluton, didn't you?" added Aladdin. Normally, Nagisa would take their word for it, but this time he shook his head.

"Guys. Those are fine and good, but let's face it: when push comes to shove, I just kept standing back and letting you guys all fight for me. It's not like I was any good anyway: you two, and Blair have magic, Karma and Pinkie has their fighting skills, Ciel Phantomhive has Sebastian ... all I have is a puny knife and few fancy ideas. I'm sorry I wasn't doing much, but things are changing. And so will I." and Twilight and Aladdin couldn't agree more. Nagisa sat down in between them, Aladdin giving him a hug, and the trio were left to look up at the stars for the rest of the time.

Tomorrow, they'll be off. Together.