Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for this story. Katekyo Hitman REBORN! rightfully belongs to Amano Akira.
Title: "Discarded Humanity"
Author: Kumo no Shugosha
Prologue
The unsteady intonation of gunshots rang across the mansion, mixed with the agonised screams of several people in the area. The unsettling noise blended well with the scenery outside the Vongola Decimo's window; the pale moonlight being cast on the ground was tinted with an unsavory crimson colour as if drenched by blood.
A silver-haired man with emerald eyes was running breathlessly in one of the many hallways of the mansion. A look of panic was etched on his face as he increased his speed to get to his destination. Gokudera Hayato gripped the top of his blood-soaked Armani suit as if his anxiety were eating his heart. His once lively eyes were now wide with a mixture of bewilderment and fear.
"Juudaime," Hayato murmured with urgency lacing his voice, clutching the cloth above his chest tighter. In the dimly lit hallway where the man could almost not see anything, a loud rumble erupted outside, signaling him of the ongoing fight outside. Hayato pursed his lips firmly, determined to reach where his boss was currently located in. He had an important information that needed to be said to the Decimo right away!
Finally reaching his destination, Hayato lightly tapped on the wooden door despite the fact that he knew that such actions didn't matter anymore. However, he was more or less worried about his behaviour towards their leader that actions such as this was deemed necessary to him. Careful not to break the door, Hayato gently opened it and announced his presence, "Juudaime... There's something urgent you need to know!"
Silence was the only thing that answered him; Hayato became bothered by this fact. "Juudaime?" He didn't even spare a glance at his surroundings, having memorised where everything was whenever he entered the Vongola Decimo's office. The carpet was Persian-blue, the wooden bookshelf containing numerous files were at his left side—which was also the one concealing a secret passage to an escape route—and paintings of the past Vongola leaders were at his right side.
Hayato stared at the figure sitting on an office chair by the window in uncertainty. However, when he saw the faint colour of a familiar brown, spiky hair being illuminated by the moonlight, Hayato felt assured that his boss was still inside the room. He carefully approached the Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi, as if frightened that even the slightest rough movement could hurt the aforementioned man.
"Juudaime," the silver-haired male said in a hushed voice, "is everything all right?" Receiving no reply once more, Hayato decided to remain silent. Perhaps Tsunayoshi all ready knew of their current status? But, if he did, his actions didn't really match up with his personality. What was going on?
"Juu—" Hayato started once more, albeit his speech got cut off when Tsunayoshi began to speak, "The sky tonight looks like it's enveloped in flames."
"Huh?" The Storm Guardian stared at the brunet in wonder, confusion etching his facial features before a look of understanding dawned upon him. He wanted to say comforting words to his boss, to tell him that everything was okay, but...
"Juudaime, traitors..." the silver-haired man uttered with profound confidence; his voice did not waver as he braced himself for what was to come. "We... would never have expected for it to be... them," Hayato tried to prevent any foul tone from entering his voice when speaking towards Tsunayoshi, but he couldn't help himself from doing so.
They had hurt him. They had the nerve to be called a "Famiglia" of Vongola. They dared betray the Family's trust... And they shamed Vongola Decimo.
Those people deserved more than death itself. They should be tortured relentlessly and brutally for what they did. But how could the remaining members of the Vongola Famiglia stand up against them? Damn it all!
"The... traitors had allied themselves with the Fuoco Famiglia not long ago," Hayato moved to stand beside Tsunayoshi, his long fringes shielding most of his upper face as if to hide his inner turmoil. "Those bastards planned this attack a few nights ago and made a fool out of us," Hayato unintentionally growled at the horrible memory.
When one of the renegades showed their true colours, Hayato was more than rendered speechless. The Storm Guardian almost dropped his weapon, Flame Arrow, despite it being securely wrapped around his left arm.
"You're surprised, huh? I bet you didn't expect for this to happen, did you?" the man said slyly, a small smile forming on his lips as he glanced at the aggravated expression of Hayato. The man felt like laughing at Hayato's idiotic face, wanting to mock how blind Sawada Tsunayoshi's Right-Hand Man was, alas he did his best not to release a chuckle.
"Bastard!" Hayato clenched his fists tightly; his nails digging into his palm and making it bleed. He couldn't describe how humiliated he was because of this revelation. How stupid had he become for not noticing this insolent fool's unusual actions? Hayato was more than seeing red—he was feeling extremely murderous.
Hayato bit his lower lip until it too bled like his palm. He raised Flame Arrow and aimed at the man's head, his emerald eyes shining with a ferocious glint that promised eternal pain to the enemy. Hayato took a step back, placing his right hand on top of Flame Arrow as he readied himself to launch an attack.
"I hope you'll suffer in Hell," Hayato spat harshly as the mouth of Flame Arrow began to glow in red, "... Yamamoto Takeshi."
Tsunayoshi still kept silent, letting all the information sink in—or so that was what the Storm Guardian thought. His boss had not uttered a word ever since he started talking about the deceivers. Heck, Hayato would bet that the Decimo had not moved even the slightest bit on his chair... and that was very peculiar.
"Juu—" Hayato began to speak again, but was once more cut off by Tsunayoshi, "Gokudera-kun, do you know who they were?"
Standing up straight with a determined and remorseful look on his face, Hayato began listing the offenders, "The Rain Guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi; The Sun Guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei; Sasagawa Kyoko, Miura Haru and... The Bucking-Bronco, Dino Chiavarone."
"Hm... Is that all? I was expecting a bigger group than that," Tsunayoshi scoffed and that was when Hayato's body began to freeze.
This... This man before him wasn't his boss! Who was this guy? Their beloved Vongola Decimo would never say such things, even if the situation was dire! The Tsunayoshi everybody knew wasn't like this!
"You fucking bitch, what have you done to Juudaime?" Hayato demanded, lighting his Vongola Storm Ring and injecting the hole of his box weapon with a huge amount of storm flame. In less than a second, his Flame Arrow wrapped itself around his left arm and Uri ascended from another box he opened. Soon enough, the little feline bared its fangs at the intruder whilst Hayato positioned himself for an attack.
"Hahaha," the man laughed cheerily, arising from the office chair he was occupying as he clapped in what seemed to be amusement. The imposter walked around the wooden desk, approaching the light switch beside the bookshelf and flicking it. The sudden flash of light momentarily blinded Hayato and the imposter took that chance to knock Uri out and wrap his hand around the Storm Guardian's neck.
"Ah, y—you son of a bitch," Hayato choked out, feeling a little light-headed from the lack of oxygen he was receiving. Hayato willed himself to raise the arm containing Flame Arrow, but the man caught up with him quickly and stroke a nerve on Hayato's arm, paralysing it. The grip around Hayato's neck became tighter, making it harder for him to breathe.
"Fufufu," he chuckled in delight, throwing Hayato's body against the wall with a lot of strength. "You know, it's very rude to call someone a 'bitch', Gokudera Hayato," he made a tsking sound with his tongue, advancing towards the silver-haired male.
Hayato stared at the man in distaste before his emerald orbs grew wide at the sight. He looked a lot like his precious friend, Sawada Tsunayoshi. The man had the same unruly dark-brown hair and slightly tanned skin. He was wearing identical suits with Vongola Decimo—the sides of his trousers had stripes of purple and gold—and black shoes. The only thing they didn't have similarly was the eye colour—Tsunayoshi had gentle brown eyes while this intruder had cold, menacing crimson eyes.
"Tch. Like hell that matters, asshole," Hayato scowled fiercely as the unknown man knelt before him and grabbed some of the silver-haired male's hair harshly. The man narrowed his eyes dangerously, all traces of amusement gone.
"Listen, Storm Guardian, you don't want to get on my bad side. I don't like it when someone speaks rudely of me. However, seeing you in this state and the way you talked to me earlier... I'll tell you something interesting." Tsunayoshi's look-alike grinned demonically, blowing Hayato's ear teasingly as he whispered, "I'm the boss of the Fuoco Famiglia, Malignità Esposito."
Malignità stood up, brushing his suit for dusts that might have clung to it. He looked down at Hayato's disgruntled expression and smirked, "By the way, you might want to give up. Your Vongola Decimo is gone... as in dead, and your friends will no longer return to your side." Malignità was about to walk away when he remembered something, "Oh. Here's a little present for you, ingannare." Malignità snapped his fingers and gazed expectantly at Hayato.
Suddenly, a mixture of gold, crimson and blue flames enveloped Hayato's body, making the aforementioned male scream in agony. His body felt like melting... his blood was bubbling inside forcing him to throw some of them out of his system through his mouth.
As Hayato suffered, Malignità took one last look at him before disappearing in a thick mist, his chilly laughter resonating inside the Vongola Decimo's office until it slowly faded.
I hope you enjoyed reading the prologue... and that you wouldn't kill me for whatever I've done to the characters. XD Please review! I would love to read your thoughts regarding this story. ^ ^