From Another World

41. Finding Our Way

On our way back to the boat, I lagged behind the group with Tsuna and Reborn. Kyoya had disappeared somewhere but I knew he would find me again when he needed me. I fiddled with my fingers out of nervousness, having a slight idea of what they wanted to talk to me about.

"Tell us." Reborn finally spoke. "What happened in that separate dimension? It's not something one can easily break out of, but somehow you did."

"Is it something bad?" Tsuna asked, looking at me with worried eyes.

I shook my head with a shaky smile. "Not really... My flames somehow worked together to break down the barrier. The tranquility of the Rain created cracks along the walls and the propagation of the Cloud spread the cracks out and I just somehow broke out."

"You exhausted yourself with your flame output," Reborn said, a worried tone laced into his words. "That never just happens."

"That's... that's right...! Satsuki-chan, what happened in there? What caused you to release all your flames to the point of exhaustion? Even when you broke out... you released more flames, they came out of your whole body rather than your ring or weapon. That's how-"

"That's right..." Reborn hummed, looking down at the Vongola ring I was fiddling with. "That ring belonged to Liliana, did it not?"

I nodded, holding my right hand out a bit to inspect the piece of jewelry. "Yeah. When Talbot-san gave it to me, he said, "The owner died many years ago", and I'm assuming that was Liliana since she was wearing the ring in the extra key that the Vindice showed us."

I could feel their stares at me as I actively avoided looking into their eyes. I racked my brain for a new topic to talk about but came up blank.

"You lost the memories of your past life, didn't you?"

I winced, looking at Reborn with a small smile. Tsuna's eyes were wide open and he grabbed my hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worry written all over his face.

"No, but... I will be."

Tsuna nodded but didn't take his hand away from mine as we continued walking. One would see this as a romantic gesture but I knew that it was Tsuna caring about me as a family member, as a friend... I didn't take him for being so physically affectionate, but I didn't mind. Speaking of family...

"That extra key..." I mumbled, thinking back to Jaeger's words. "What that one Vindice guard said..."

"That they were forced to take a vow, correct?" Reborn said, recalling the situation.

"Yeah... I guess they were talking about someone like me." I said, looking up at the sky. "My dad was dropped off at an orphanage as a kid and never knew his family, and it somehow worked just like Liliana said... he was brought back into the Vongola through your dad, Tsuna."

"And the memory that we received let us know that you have Vongola blood in you." Reborn mused. "No wonder you look so much like Liliana."

I nodded. "Just like how Tsuna looks like Giotto-san. We're related, Tsuna."

Tsuna took a second to process the information and squeezed my hand in response, turning to me with a big smile. "I'm glad that you found a place to belong."

I tilt my head at the statement and smile. "Yeah... thank you."

-

Once we made it back to the ship, we made a report to Timoteo. He thanked us, commending us for our hard work, and ordered medical attention to the ones that needed it. The Shimon were attended to as well, and Timoteo welcomed them with open arms.