If we could stop time... could we protect the things that matter forever? According to principle, that is...
Jinnai and Raiden sat by the shore. They had traveled far to a quiet beach, arriving well past 9:00 PM. They sat on the sand with a box of fried chicken bought from a roadside stall. Raiden held a beer, while Jinnai lit a cigarette, only to crush it and stuff it back into his pocket without taking a single puff.
"Not smoking? You usually do," Raiden noted, his brows knitting in surprise.
"I quit," Jinnai replied. "Force of habit, I guess."
"Quitting is good. At least in this matter, you're using your love with some sanity," Raiden remarked. Jinnai's eyes widened as the older man continued, "I quit for my wife back then, too. Now I just drink beer. Even if she's no longer in this world."
"I don't feel that way about My Lady," Jinnai countered. "It's just loyalty."
"You can't fool an old man like me. Your acting isn't that good," Raiden said with a smirk. "But don't worry, it stays a secret, just as you want. I swear on everything I have, I won't tell a soul."
"So... what did you want to talk about?" Jinnai asked as Raiden took a sip of beer.
"Honestly? I just wanted someone to sit and drink with. Don't you usually like fried chicken with mayo?"
"I do. But I have things to do."
"Vongola's orders?"
"Something like that."
"Tell me," Raiden asked. Jinnai showed him the paper. "Investigation."
Raiden looked at it for a moment. "Why?" Jinnai pulled it back.
"Tell me first... why did you send me to bring Lady Saya back? Is it because of the Nocturna Family?"
"I'm an elder there, as you know. An ex-Lightning Guardian of Nocturna. I do what benefits Nocturna and the Izagami family..."
Nocturna was an ancient family from Spain, founded around the same time as Vongola by a mix of Spanish, French, and Italian refugees during the Thirty Years' War. Originally a group helping war refugees and the homeless, they eventually grew into a mafia family, moved their base to Spain, but kept their original branch at the border. Though they nearly vanished from history during the Great Mafia Purge, they still existed in the shadows.
A year ago, Raiden had invited Jinnai to a "skill trial." Jinnai, who loved fighting enough to lie to Saya just to spar in illegal underground arenas, accepted. He didn't know that trial was actually the selection for the Nocturna Guardians.
"Nocturna is having internal issues, right?" Jinnai said. "A bloodline succession battle."
"Balthazar and Gadian, the two brothers, are competing. But then a 'Sky' variable appeared—Alessio, the current head's illegitimate son."
Jinnai remained silent, waiting for Raiden to continue. "So... why did you block all news from Nocturna and hide the true purpose of bringing My Lady back?"
Raiden fell silent. Jinnai moved to stand up, but Raiden caught his hand without looking, gently pulling him back down.
"My Lord intends to use My Lady as a political bride to whoever becomes the next head of the family after the succession battle. That's all I know."
Jinnai froze. He washed his hands with water before removing his prosthetic eye. He adjusted the mechanical iris to reveal two rings hidden inside. He pulled out a large ring with a brilliant purple gem, etched with the image of a goddess. He flicked it into the palm of the older man.
"You are the Cloud Guardian of the Nocturna Family, brat," Raiden said. "You were chosen."
"Not anymore," Jinnai replied. "I am Jinnai Kaede, the personal servant of My Lady alone. Not Vongola, not Nocturna, not anywhere else. Compared to her happiness, those things... are meaningless."
Love has made him so obsessed he's gone blind in the other eye, Raiden thought. But he didn't hate it. "Spoken like a true Cloud."
"Someone said the same to me a few hours ago," Jinnai smiled, his eyes reflecting his genuine mood. "It felt strange... but good."
Raiden studied Jinnai's smile. Usually, Jinnai only smiled like this for Lady Saya. Whoever he had been talking to was clearly no ordinary person.
"Anyone I should watch out for? Besides that Mist Guardian I fought?" Raiden asked.
"Where did Mukuro-san hit you? The Vongola Mist Guardian." Raiden rolled up his sleeve to reveal a heavily bandaged arm.
"Severe burns, almost infected," Raiden said with a fascinated expression. "He's an incredible illusionist. At that age, I have no idea where he gets those powerful illusions from. It's a shame Vongola found him first. If I'd known, I'd have recruited him too. We're still missing two guardians... three, counting you."
"To be honest, none of them are ordinary. You have to be careful with all of them," Jinnai warned. "And there are three Arcobalenos there—Reborn, Fon, and Master Skull. Plus Varia's Squalo and Lussuria."
"You took an Arcobaleno as a master?" Raiden asked. Jinnai shrugged.
"Master Skull wanted a student and a driver, so I obliged. He's an Arcobaleno; showing him respect doesn't hurt. Besides... most of the people there are good people. Though there's one I can't stand."
"Who?"
"Hibari Kyoya."
Raiden choked on his beer and burst into laughter. "Is it wrong to hate someone who's exactly like you?! You old geezer!"
"That boy must like My Lady too, and she probably likes him back, huh? Oh, poor you!" Raiden teased. Jinnai couldn't argue; he was red with both anger and embarrassment. Raiden laughed until his stomach hurt.
"If you laugh any more, I'll pray for you to go to the next world faster, old man," Jinnai grumbled.
"Sorry, sorry," Raiden tried to stop but kept grinning. "It's been a long time since I've laughed like this."
The two fell into silence once more.
"Jinnai, you know what returning the ring means?" Raiden asked slowly. "It's abandoning your duty to the family. It won't just be the Sanzen-in family hunting you... it will be everyone."
"I know, old man. Has 'Weiss' contacted My Lord again?" Jinnai referred to the white-haired man. Raiden hadn't spoken to him but had seen him.
"Occasionally." Jinnai nodded.
"The next time we meet, nephew..." Raiden said with difficulty, "We will have to kill each other for real."
"...Then... aren't you going to try and persuade me?" the boy asked.
"I know your stubborn nature too well. Why waste time?" Raiden's answer made Jinnai burst into laughter. "That would be the ultimate waste of time."
They didn't speak much after that. They watched the sea and the stars, understanding each other through a wordless connection.
Just peace... Until we want to stop time forever...
O God... please do not grant us the morning.
Please, make this night last forever...
If the scene before us is a canvas, may You take the brush and paint peace.
Make this land free of slaughter. May people love each other sincerely and beautifully.
Free of sin and pain...
Amen.
Ah... O Lord, are the two of us too late with our prayers?
Far too late... indeed.
The sun began to rise. Time was up. Both Raiden and Jinnai knew the paths they had chosen.
Jinnai stood up first, brushing sand off his worn denim jeans. He walked past Raiden as the morning breeze mingled with the sound of the waves.
"Jinnai," Raiden called. Jinnai stopped and turned. The older man gave him a smile more gentle than any he had ever shown before. "Good luck, nephew. Take care of your health. Don't use your Sun Flame too much; it wears out your cells."
"...You too... Raiden. You're strong, but watch out for those Mist Guardians. Don't be careless," Jinnai lowered his eyes before calling him by the name he always used. "You nagging old man."
Raiden's grin widened. "Since it's the last time, give this to My Lady for me."
He tossed something to Jinnai. It was an old rabbit-shaped keychain. Jinnai remembered Raiden trying to give it to her many times but always hesitating, afraid of becoming too attached.
Every servant in the mansion loved Saya, but they were forbidden from building a bond with her. They were masters and servants. Only Jinnai had dared to cross that wall. To him, love was like sinking into a sweet sea of sin; even if God tried to pull him to heaven, he wouldn't want to go.
"If you put a tracker in this, I'm doomed," Jinnai joked before tossing it back.
"Suspicious brat," Raiden chuckled. Jinnai shrugged with his usual mischievous grin.
"I'm off... old man."
Raiden watched as the red sportbike grew smaller and smaller until the sound of the engine vanished, leaving only a tiny dot on the horizon.
Jinnai arrived at another beach, far from where he had left Raiden. He was traveling at over 120 km/h. At the white sandy shore, he saw two figures. One was a tall man with white hair, wearing a brown shirt and beach shoes. The other was a woman with long white hair reaching her knees, dressed in a white sleeveless top and a denim skirt. Her boots were cast aside; she was walking barefoot.
"Hello, Weiss-san," Jinnai greeted. The man turned—it was a young man with a clean-shaven face and squinted eyes. He smiled brightly and waved, a bag of snacks in his other hand.
"Hey, Jinnai," the man walked over and offered a snack. "Marshmallow?"
"No thanks," Jinnai declined with a smile, knowing the man was teasing him with sweets. "The job you gave me is done, Weiss-san. Or should I say... Byakuran."
"Call me Weiss, Jinnai-kun. I want to be someone other than Byakuran for a bit," Byakuran said playfully. Jinnai then looked at the woman beside him.
"And who is she?"
"Oh, her?" Byakuran said. "Go on, say hello. You know her, don't you?"
The white-haired woman turned, her bright purple eyes glowing. Her face was one he knew by heart, awake or asleep.
"Hello, Jinnai. It's been a long time. I missed your ten-years-younger self," her sweet voice greeted him. Her smile and eyes were just as sweet, but she had changed. She was more beautiful than he could describe—the same beauty he had seen briefly in the hospital after she had been shot.
On her left wrist was a glowing purple bracelet—the symbol of the Cloud Flame. On her other wrist was another bracelet he had never seen before.
Jinnai could only stare, mouth agape, as the woman he knew but had never truly met was reflected in his confused eyes.
"My Lady..."