Author's Note: I've been on KHR roll lately, I guess, and while I was in the middle of writing "MisTaken" I was attacked by this little ficlett. Like my other stories, this one will have no romance. There are too many romance stories in this genre, especially since the canon is the generic action-filled shounen. So, here is another fic about the moments before Tsuna was 'killed' right before the future arch. I know this is kind of an over-done idea, but I figured I would try my hand at it too :)
Warning/Rating: T for violence
Disclaimer: I have no rights over any characters you recognize. I'm just playing in the grand sandbox that is KHR.
Summary: Vongola's fight with the Millefiore Family has been going much worse than Tsuna and his friends thought it would. Desperate to save his Family, the Decimo creates a plan with a hidden ally that will give the Vongola one last chance at victory.
Timeline: Ends right as the future arch begins.
Title: Desperation
Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Tsunayoshi paced around his office in the underground Vongola headquarters, waiting impatiently for word from Gokudera and Yamamoto. His two Guardians were out on assignment at the moment; one that Tsuna had been hesitant to send them on in the first place. All of the Guardians, even Hibari and Mukuro, were constantly out doing things for the Family in hopes of keeping as many members alive as possible. The Millefiore turned out to be much more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Even Reborn had been surprised by the sudden appearance of the Family.
"Juudaime, can you hear me Juudaime?" Gokudera's voice broke through Tsuna's deep thoughts from the black and red headphones that were attached to the Tenth Generation's ears. Instantly, the pacing stopped and a hand went up to touch the earpiece, as if to reach through the device and touch his friend.
"I hear you Gokudera-kun, how are you and Yamamoto? Is everything alright?" Gokudera did not sound hurt or distressed, but Tsuna wanted the young man's reassurance.
"We are fine- more or less. Things went better here than we thought they would, but we still lost some men. Thankfully, there were no civilian casualties. Have you heard from the Aho-Ushi or Hibari yet?" Gokudera sounded like he was walking as he spoke, Tsuna could hear other faint conversations in the background. Yamamoto sounded to be next to the Storm talking to someone else on his own earpiece.
"Good, I'm glad things went well and you guys are okay," Tsuna allowed himself to smile slightly, "Lambo checked in about an hour ago and should be back home any minute, Hibari hasn't said anything, but that is not unusual for him. Do I need to send Onii-san out to your location?" Tsuna was now walking out of his office and towards the living area. Lambo and any of his other Family that was out would come to the living room when they returned. Tsuna liked to welcome them home personally whenever he could.
"Ah, no there is no need for that annoying guy to come out here, Juudaime, we can take care of everything. Might be back a little late, or tomorrow sometime. Don't wait up, you need to get at least a few hours of sleep," the smile on Hayato's face could be heard through the headphones. Gokudera and Yamamoto were walking side by side outside the building that had become something close to a war-zone. Negotiations with a once allied Family had gone badly, but both the Rain and Storm were expecting as much and were able to subdue the attackers. Tsuna was against killing if at all possible, and had requested his Guardians to try and bring back some people they could interrogate. "We were able to capture two of their men alive, but they are not answering any of our questions. I don't know how useful they will be, but we searched them and they have no tracking devices or anything on them, so we will bring them with us when we return."
"Alright, good job Gokudera-kun. You and Yamamoto get home as soon as you can," Tsuna said as he opened the refrigerator in the room. He smirked and pulled out the desired bottle. "Did you get anything on our agenda done at all? Lambo had to escape his meeting, he was ambushed. Yeah, he is fine, lost four members though." Tsuna moved to the cabinet and placed a tall glass on the counter as he reassured Gokudera of the youngest Guardian's safety. The glass in front of the Decimo was filled to the top with grape juice.
"Well, I'm glad the Aho-Ushi is still alive. It would be troublesome to find a new Guardian at this time," Tsuna chuckled at the reply from his right-hand, and smiled as he heard the 'Maa, maa' from Yamamoto in regard to Gokudera's reasoning. "Well, we have work here to do. I will contact you later tonight and let you know when we will be back. Get some sleep and be safe, Juudaime," the last sentence was said with serious concern.
Tsuna's attention was drawn to a familiar voice coming towards him in the hallway picked up the glass, "Don't worry, Gokudera-kun, you two stay safe and look out for each other. I will talk to you later." His friend responded with a respectful, yet fond, 'Hai, Juudaime' and the transmission was ended. Tsuna sighed and turned his focus to the fifteen year old boy who was walking into the room, his clothes dirty and face scratched up. The black headed boy limped slightly but Tsuna knew that he had been through worse.
"Ah, Tsuna, I'm surprised to see you here. Thought you would be out when I got back," Lambo said with a smile.
"Yeah, my meeting was cancelled and Hibari-san volunteered to deliver a package for me," Tsuna replied and held out the glass to his Lightening, "He was saying something about not wanting to hang around when everyone was getting back, you know how he is about crowds."
Lambo laughed twice and reached for the glass, but stumbled before he could grab it. Tsuna reacted quickly and caught the teenager, putting a strong and steady hand around his shoulders. The Tenth Vongola placed the glass in Lambo's shaking hands with a sad smile.
"Thanks, Tsuna. I must have tripped on the carpet or something. You should have that checked out," Lambo muttered and sipped at the juice. Tsuna did not bother pointing out that the floors were tile and checked weekly for any cracks or dips.
"Hm, I will get that fixed quickly. Thank you for letting me know." Lambo grunted his response and continued to drink. Tsuna looked down at his friend thoughtfully. The kid was too young to be returning beat up and stumbling all over the place, and not thinking anything of it. 'And the way things are going, it's only getting worse. He might not even have a place to come back to if we don't start winning,' Tsuna was brought away from his thoughts when Lambo coughed a few times and tightly held the glass that still contained half of the grape juice. Concern and remorse surfaced within Tsuna and he squeezed Lambo's shoulders tighter.
"Ah, Tsuna are you okay?" Lambo asked when the pressure around him increased. He looked up at his big brother figure with bright green eyes. Tsuna was deep in thought and had a look of sadness across his face.
Instantly, the dark expression was replaced with a smile and Tsuna said, "I'm fine, Lambo. Get yourself to the doctors and relax a bit." He placed a gentle hand atop the black hair of his Italian friend and watched with pride as Lambo took a deep breath, found some stored strength and stood up straight. For a split second the pride and honor of the Vongola seemed to be represented perfectly in the child that was limping towards the medical ward, and Tsuna could not stop himself from adding, "Lambo," the boy turned, "Welcome home."
"Yamamoto! Get over here!" Gokudera yelled and ignited a ring on his right hand with red flame and clicked it into a box previously hanging from his belt. He and the Rain had split up and taken to searching the different levels of the building that the fight had taken place in. They were weary of hidden attackers waiting for the right moment to strike- such tactics had been used on the Vongola recently and neither Yamamoto nor Gokudera wanted to be surprised. The Storm decided to take the top two levels while Yamamoto searched the lower two. All had been quiet until a crash caused Gokudera to notice a door in the shadows; as soon as he opened the door a blow to the head knocked him back and allowed the attacker to step from his hiding place and prepare for another strike.
"I assume you have company up there as well?" Yamamoto's strained reply reached Gokudera's ears as he dodged a blade covered in purple flames. The skull arm-gun formed and the Storm Guardian loaded a stick of dynamite into the back, firing at his attacker. He saw the bomb hit its target at the same time he felt something wrap around his ankle. Hazel eyes widened as Gokudera felt his foot being jerked out from underneath him, in less than a second he was hanging upside down. Confused, he glanced up to his foot and noticed a flame covered rope wrapped tightly around his ankle and attached to the ceiling of the room. Grunting, Gokudera turned his focus to the enemy and readied his weapon for another shot.
Yamamoto's eyes shot upwards in concern when the only reply to his cry was an explosion. He had found his hidden attacker easily and was about to deliver the finishing blow when Gokudera called for help. The Storm was more injured than he was, but they had both agreed to call for backup if either of them found anything. The second that Yamamoto was distracted, his opponent fought back with some box weapon that the Rain did not care to take notice of. 'If we could only still use the Vongola boxes… Ah, I can't begin to think that way- Tsuna made the right choice in destroying the rings. We will just have to get stronger,' Yamamoto thought and he parried attacks as he advanced on the man. Growing tired of the fight, and worried about his friend, Yamamoto ended the battle quickly with a twist of his wrist and shoved his blade into the middle of his attacker. Wincing, the Rain pulled his blade free and hurried up two flights of stairs.
Gokudera was kneeling over something muttering curses in both Japanese and Italian but turned his head slightly as Yamamoto entered the room. "Took you long enough, Baseball-Freak, it's a good thing I didn't actually need your help," the comment from the silver haired man held no bitterness, only exhaustion from recent events. Neither of them had gotten any real sleep in over three days. As Gokudera stood slowly, Yamamoto glanced beyond his partner and noticed a bound figure lying limply on the floor.
"Eh? You keeping him as a pet, Gokudera?" Yamamoto questioned with a smirk, pointing out the fact that the man was still alive.
"Humph, Juudaime wants as many of them kept alive as possible. He is still too kind," the strained response came and the Storm nudged the heap of person less than gently with his foot. "Might as well drag this lump along with us, maybe he can provide some info on these secret attackers that we have been finding lately."
Yamamoto nodded silently and took a quick look at his friend. Gokudera was breathing heavier than normal and seemed to favor his left leg. Blood dripped down the side of his face, but it looked to come from a small cut on his forehead- nothing to worry too much about. "Well, my guy might still have some life in him, but he won't for much longer. Let's just get out of here and find someplace to crash. I doubt we can make it back home tonight," the Rain said in an easy going tone and walked over to the still lump on the ground. Bending over, the taller of the two picked up their new captive and hauled him over his shoulder, his other hand carrying his blade.
"Yeah, yeah, let's go. Think we can find some food around here? I'm starving and freaking tired of these stupid energy bars you brought. There is no way those things are considered an entire meal!" Gokudera shot a glare at Yamamoto and walked towards the staircase. His right shoulder was burning and a gash going down his right leg made standing more than painful. The sooner he could find a bed to lie down in, the better.
"Maa, maa, at least we have some food! Those were made especially for when were out on assignment and might not be able to get a whole meal," the calm man replied and followed the other. He took note of Gokudera's obvious limp and purposefully walked closer behind his friend in case he fell. The assistance was not needed and the two of them were outside in minutes. As soon as they were spotted by another member of their Family, men came rushing towards them, voicing concern. The Rain assured them that they would be fine and handed over the dead-weight that was feeling heavier and heavier by the moment. He requested a first aid kit and for a tent to be set up for himself and Gokudera. Said Storm added something about real food and an order for the remaining men to get some rest- they would be heading home at first light tomorrow.
In the tent, two futons were rolled out and a box of medical supplies was set on top of one of the beds. One of the sun-flame wielding men offered to heal their wounds, but both Guardians insisted that the other wounded be taken care of first.
"You need help with that?" Yamamoto asked off-handedly after catching a look at the gash on Gokudera's leg. A scoff sounded from the other, and Yamamoto felt himself chuckle. "Of course not, just asking, no need to growl."
"I could ask you the same question, Sports-Nut, and I don't growl! You are worse than that Aho-Ushi sometimes," Gokudera responded, his voice laced with pain as he poured disinfectant over his long wound. He figured he would wrap it up for now and have that loud Turf-Head make himself useful when they returned to the base.
Yamamoto laughed and carefully peeled off his ripped up shirt. His black suit jacket was already on the ground, discarded as soon as they had entered the tent. Bruises already littered his tanned chest and the young Mafiosi was pretty sure three ribs were cracked. His shoulder was raging against its harsh treatment- it needed to be popped back into place quickly. Knowing he did not have to strength to properly do it himself, Yamamoto looked back over to Gokudera. "Ah, I hate to trouble you, but would you mind doing me a favor, Gokudera?"
The man in question looked up from his task and raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds of observation, the bomber glared at his friend. "Aho! How long has it been like that? You know you could lose your arm if it stays popped out too long, you trying to copy that weirdo Squalo or something?" Gokudera chastised the swordsman but was on his feet and next to Yamamoto before he finished talking.
"It's fine, hurt it yesterday afternoon but it only got like this when our negotiations fell apart." Yamamoto's face was turning pale as Gokudera positioned himself over the now lying down Rain.
"That was over an hour ago, you fool," The Storm Guardian licked his lips nervously and slowly lowered himself, sweat breaking out from the strain on his leg wound. He could feel the blood traveling down his leg and soaking into his already saturated sock. Without missing a beat, he continued, "Just be prepared for a lecture when we get back, you know how Juudaime gets when he learns what our definition of 'just fine' is," with that pause, Gokudera slid the joint on his friend back into place and winced at the sickening click that came along with it. Yamamoto's strangled cry did not surprise the Storm, and Gokudera rested a careful hand on the injured shoulder. After the Rain's breath was semi-normal, Gokudera stood and squeezed his eyes shut as the world around him spun. Exhaling, he slowly moved back to his bed and sat down, giving himself time to readjust to the change.
Silence covered the tent while the two fighters self-evaluated and wondered if it would be okay to just fall asleep right then and worry about wounds and such in the morning. The silence was broken when Yamamoto muttered a 'sankyuu' and Gokudera gave a grunt in response. With the trance lifted, they both got back to tending to what injuries they could. Seeming to suddenly remember something, Gokudera brought a quick hand to his ear and activated his earpiece. The swords master knew that Tsuna would not miss the roughness in his Guardian's voice as Gokudera contacted the Vongola Decimo and gave a watered-down report of their injuries and the results of the day's work. The conversation was short, Tsuna wanted them to get sleep and head back as soon as possible- they were missed at home. When Yamamoto heard 'Hai, Juudaime,' he leaned back down on his bad and closed his eyes. Darkness had never before felt so good.
A/N: So, at first this was going to be a quick one-shot, but I noticed that was not going to work out when I was not even half way done and the word count was nearing 5,000. Therefore- I present to you the first chapter of "Desperation". The second should be up in the next few days, I have a good chunk of it done already. Thanks for reading, please, PLEASE tell me how I did. I hope everyone is in character!