Cryostasis
A Chilling Discovery
Cryostasis – Noun. (1) The deep-freezing of humans or other organisms at death.
All was well in the wonderful city of Palermo, Italy. The sun shone brilliantly, and there were only a few clouds to be seen in the bright, blue sky. A flock of birds flew over the streets, where people of different cultures and races were either working or having a little break from their daily lives. A large tourist group walked the streets, admiring the different sights, occasionally stopping to take a picture, or perhaps buy some things from the local stalls.
One tourist was admiring the different articles in a store's display window when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a local woman in a white shirt and skirt which complimented her olive skin nicely, and a sunhat placed on top of her head of long, curly, dirty blond hair. The man tilted his head to the side.
"Is there something you want, miss?" the tourist asked.
The woman nodded. "I'd like to pull you aside for a moment, if you don't mind. I don't want anyone to hear me when I say."
The man seemed confused, but complied anyway. He was led into an isolated alleyway.
"So…" The tourist dug his hands into his pockets. "…What do you want from me?"
The woman smiled brightly as she pulled out a cat-o'-nine-tails from her purse.
"I'm just on a little mission, see~?" she said cheerily. "Now, what is an agent of Vongola doing wandering around the streets of Palermo as a tourist, hmm?"
At first, the man seemed startled, but then he heaved a sigh.
"I'm on vacation, dammit…"
"Oho~! Is that so? So you're not doing a little investigation here?"
The man bristled.
The woman chuckled as she stepped closer. "A top agent of Vongola, from its joint branch CEDEF, doing some personal investigation in Palermo…" She slipped on a ring, and her cat-o'-nine-tails was engulfed in fierce Storm flames. She smiled at the man. "You're a little out of place here, hmm?"
The 'tourist' pulled out a metal rod, which was lit with Rain flames. "Expected as much, encountering someone affiliated with that mysterious group. Thank goodness no civilians are around."
The two lunged at each other in a flash, and were soon exchanging blows. Sparks of red and blue danced in the air, their clashes echoing throughout the narrow alleyway. After a few minutes, the man had his rod held up to the woman's neck, both hands on either side of the weapon, and he himself standing behind the other Mafioso.
"Game over, signora," the man growled, the Rain flames of his rod still dancing about on the weapon. "Mind telling me about your little organization, or am I going to have to drag you all the way back to HQ?"
The woman, however, didn't seem the least bit worried by the fact that she was now unarmed and at the mercy of her opponent. On the contrary, she seemed rather happy, cheerful even, about it. She chuckled, earning a cocked brow.
"What's so funny?"
"Ahahahaha, nothing you would find amusing, dear~!" She grabbed the rod with one hand, and the hand of the man which held his ring in the other.
"You can count on that~!"
As the head of CEDEF, Sawada Iemitsu has to deal with a lot of crazy things, and an equally crazy amount of paperwork.
The Young Lion of Vongola ran a hand through his short, blond hair as he scanned the documents whilst taking a long sip from his mug of coffee.
I wish I was back home with my lovely wife and adorable son… he mentally whined.
Upon hearing the door creak open, he looked up.
"Ah, Oregano, it's you," he greeted the agent. "What is it?"
The woman in question seemed rather trouble, and quite shaken, but Iemitsu seemed to pay no mind to it.
"We have a problem," she declared. "Remember that little vacation Antonio took to Palermo?"
Iemitsu nodded, his face suddenly serious.
"He just came back, but…"
As Oregano finished her sentence, Iemitsu abruptly stood up.
"Where is he now?"
The CEDEF head frowned as he took in the sight standing behind a window of the room.
Antonio, one of their best agents, was sitting up in a hospital bed, looking worse for wear. The nurse was currently examining the man's arm.
What looked to be gray streaks, akin to a tattoo, decorated his appendage, from his hand to his elbow. His Rain ring was sealed in ice, a circular red marking faintly visible on it.
The man spoke a few words to the nurse before taking off his shirt and adjusting his position so that the nurse, as well as Iemitsu, could see his back. And both people gasped at what they saw.
Visible slash marks, barely healed, were etched into his back to form three words.
'NEXT IS VONGOLA'
Sawada Tsunayoshi woke up with a start, his hands covering his mouth to muffle a scream. After a full minute of muffled screaming, the brunet finally came to his senses. He ran a hand through his brown, gravity-defying hair.
A nightmare! He realized. But what…
His thoughts were interrupted as a mallet descended upon his head, causing his face to meet the floor.
"Ow!" He looked up in annoyance as he rubbed his pained forehead. "Reborn!"
"Good morning, Dame-Tsuna," the hit man greeted.
Three months have passed since Reborn's, and the other Arcobaleno's curses have been lifted. They haven't changed much physically, aside from the fact that they're slightly taller (with the exception of Lal Mirch, who had regained her old form), but they're glad that they can finally grow again.
Reborn jumped onto Tsuna's bed. "You'd better get ready for school."
Tsuna sighed. "Alright." A bath and a change of clothes later, Tsuna was headed down the stairs. He quickly had his breakfast, and exited the house.
"I'm going!" he shouted to his mother.
"Have a good day, Tsu-kun!" she shouted back.
The brunet stepped out of his house, only to be greeted by Gokudera and Yamamoto having a one-sided argument.
As per usual.
He couldn't help but sigh, and smile softly. He held up a hand to get their attention.
"Ah-"
But before he could say anything more, his intuition started to flare. He gripped his head and a buzzing sound started to fill his ears.
What the heck?
Slowly, the buzzing sound died down, and he could hear normally once again, suddenly aware of his companions looking on him in concern.
"…daime! Juudaime, are you okay?"
"Tsuna, are you alright?"
The brunet slowly let his hands drop to his sides.
"Yeah…Yeah, I'm alright," he finally said.
"What happened, Juudaime?" Gokudera queried with a concerned face.
Tsuna closed his eyes and shook his head. "My intuition was bugging me."
Yamamoto seemed thoughtful. "That must mean something's coming up…" He immediately brightened up. "But that's nothing to worry about now! Let's get going!"
Gokudera growled at the baseball player. "Juudaime will do as he wishes, Baseball-Freak!"
Tsuna held up his hands. "A-Ah, it's alright, Gokudera-kun. We'd best be headed to school now."
"I-If Juudaime says so…"
As the trio made their way, Reborn watched from Tsuna's window.
Gah…when will it stop?
Tsuna rubbed his temples as he tried to will away the sensation his intuition was making, but to no avail.
What is going to happen?
"Sawada!"
The brunet abruptly looked up. "Eh?"
The teacher crossed his arms with a huff. "I've been calling you for five minutes now, Sawada! Answer the problem on the board."
"Y-Yes sir!"
The young brunet blinked, once, twice, thrice at the scene.
He, Gokudera and Yamamoto had decided that they would have another study session together. The three arrived at the young Vongola's house only to find that there were quite a few Mafiosos guarding it. Said Mafiosos parted to make way as the trio awkwardly went inside.
"What was that all about?" Tsuna wondered out loud.
"Basilisco is what happened."
Reborn walked up to the three, a little mug of espresso in his hands.
"'Basilisco?' Basilisk?" Gokudera asked, and Reborn nodded.
"It's an organization which has been shrouded in mystery for quite a while now," he explained. "They've recently surfaced, and are causing quite a bit of trouble."
"But what does that have to do with the guards?" the brunet queried.
"We have reasons to believe that they're targeting you next," replied the hit man.
"But we can handle ourselves alright, can't we?" Yamamoto queried.
"As much as I'd hate to say it, Baseball-Head is right." Gokudera crossed his arms. "We were able to defeat the Varia, the Millefiore, the Shimon, and even Vindice! Can't we handle ourselves just fine?"
"True, but this enemy is different." Reborn took a long sip from his espresso, prolonging the tension.
"They can seal flames."
"…and that's the gist of it," Reborn finished.
Tsuna sighed as he leaned back on his bed, running a hand through his hair. Gokudera was processing all this information, and Yamamoto looked genuinely serious.
"So…" Everyone looked at Gokudera, who was wearing a pair of glasses, and his hair in a tie. "…These Basilisco guys have some way of preventing people from using their flames, a prime example being with this Antonio guy you mentioned. It works a bit like Juudaime's Zero Point Breakthrough, sealing their rings in ice, with the addition of gray markings appearing on their arm. And so far, we haven't found a way to reverse the effects." He looked up at Reborn. "Am I correct?" He got a nod.
"That's why we need the extra precautions. As far as we know, simple physical contact can get your flames sealed by these guys. If push comes to shove, we're going to get a little more support," Reborn elaborated. "The Cavallone have already said that they would help, though the Shimon are still rebuilding their family. The Giglio Nero and Gesso families (or the Millefiore, rather) have yet to respond."
A loud groan directed everyone's attention to Tsuna, who was now slumped on the floor.
"One problem after another…We'll never get a break, will we?" he whined.
"Not as long as you remain as Neo Vongola Primo."
After quite some contemplation, and a little support from his Guardians, Tsuna had finally agreed to become the boss of Vongola. Nono is still running it, though, since Tsuna wants to finish school first.
The brunet sighed. "I guess not…"
"For now, just continue on with your life as usual." And with that, Reborn left, leaving Gokudera, Yamamoto and Tsuna to finish their study session.
"…which is why John D. Rockefeller was one of the best businessmen of his time," Gokudera finished.
Yamamoto tilted his head to the side. "But his business strategies caused several oil companies to shut down. It was based more on gaining money, and took advantage of most people."
"That's the point! He eliminated anything that would weigh down his company."
"Monopoly," Yamamoto corrected. "I still think Henry Ford was a better businessman, since his goals were to provide quality products affordable to the common man." He turned to Tsuna. "Who wins this round, Tsuna?"
What started off as a way for Reborn to teach Yamamoto and Gokudera about business negotiations and Tsuna about deciding which option in such negotiations would be better became a little game that the two would play whenever they had the time. It was supposed to prepare them for being Guardians and handling the responsibilities, and proved rather helpful.
The brunet gave it a little thought before placing a point on the space below Yamamoto's name on the paper. The baseball star grinned, while the bomber glared at the former.
"Henry Ford was a really good businessman in my opinion," Tsuna quietly said. Gokudera calmed down a bit.
"If Juudaime prefers Ford, then I guess I shouldn't complain…"
"Alright…" Tsuna looked at the score sheet. Surprisingly, Yamamoto was in the lead by one point.
"Next is…mmm…" The young brunet hummed as he thought about it for a moment. "Quantum Loop Gravity VS String Theory?" In all honesty, Tsuna didn't know much about the two theories, aside from their basic information, but he's gotten pretty good at judging which option in a debate was the most convincing and ideal.
"I support the Quantum Loop Gravity/String Theory," the two debating teens said simultaneously. Gokudera growled at Yamamoto while the other just smiled.
"Okay, so let's go with that!" Tsuna clapped his hands lightly. "Let's start!"
Gokudera adjusted his glasses. "The Quantum Loop Gravity Theory is the more rational of the two as-"
"Good morning class~!"
Everyone turned to see a foreign-looking woman enter the room. She had curly dirty blond hair, and golden-emerald eyes. She was wearing a white blouse along with black pants and black heels.
She smiled brightly at everyone as she put a hand to her chest. "Your original teacher couldn't come due to matters out of his control, so I'll be your substitute teacher!"
A substitute teacher? But why… Gokudera looked over at Tsuna. Juudaime?
The teen in question seemed to be cringing at the woman's presence.
Juudaime's Hyper Intuition, Gokudera figured out. That must mean… He glared daggers at the 'substitute teacher', who simply returned it with a smile.
"Now," she said as she got out a sheet of paper, "which of you sweethearts is Sawada Tsunayoshi?"
As everyone, excluding Kyoko, Gokudera and Yamamoto, pointed at him, Tsuna felt the blood drain from his face.
"Ah, it's nice to meet you, dear~!" The woman put the paper back into her pocket and went over to the brunet and attempted to shake his hand, but as soon as he saw her do that, he withdrew both of them. The woman pouted.
"What's the matter darling?" she purred as she tried to grab Tsuna's hand once again. "It's just a handshake…"
"…As far as we know, simple physical contact can get your flames sealed…"
Both hands on the backrest of his chair, Tsuna flipped out of his seat and backed away further from the woman. There was a collective gasp, and the substitute teacher's smile became strained.
"You're testing my patience, boy. Why can't you accept a simple handshake?"
Tsuna's face paled as he felt his back hit the wall. But, luckily for him, Gokudera and Yamamoto were there. Both teens each grabbed one of their beloved boss' hands and sped him out of the room.
They ran and ran, until they reached the rooftop of the school. Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, the door burst open, the woman standing there, smiling brightly.
In one hand, she held a cat-o'-nine-tails.
"Time to be put out of commission, Neo Von-go-la Pri-mo~!"
The whip burst into Storm flames.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.
Reviews are appreciated, and I'd love some feedback on how I can make this better.
Fair warning, I won't update on a regular basis. Simply when time allows me the luxury to do so.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed~!