A/N: This is 'Ragi. 'Ragi is finally back from her hiatus of several months! Yay! I actually didn't particularly plan this fic. I had always wanted to make a B26 but I never really had any inspiration. But then, one night while talking with my co-writer Teru, he brought up the idea for this fic. We talked from midnight until two in the morning, sorting this out. We have put our entire heart and soul into this idea so we really hope you enjoy it!
Warning: Will contain violence, language and adult themes.
Disclaimer: Akira Amano owns Katekyo! Hitman Reborn. Teruragi owns nothing but the story.
"Master. I'm here," calls a figure clad in a midnight cloak, his monotone voice echoing slightly in the empty hallway. A click is heard on the opposite side of the door so he pushes it open to reveal a dark, windowless room. The only furniture decorating the room consists of a shadowed desk and a bed, which is currently occupied by similarly shadowed man. The man's dichromatic seem to be the only light in the foreboding room.
The visiting figure in the midnight cloaks knows this man very well. He was taken in by this man, Rokudo Mukuro, at a very young age. He may not seem like the caring type but he really is, and as soon as he discovered that the orphan he found had special powers he took him in as an apprentice. But it wasn't long before Mukuro told his new apprentice Fran that they wouldn't be able to train all that often. For unknown reasons, after expending a fair amount of his power, Mukuro becomes comatose and unable to move for several weeks. So now, Mukuro bides his time, gathering up power until finally being able to expend it. Now is one of those times.
"Kufufu… Ready Fran?" Mukuro's red eye seems to flash and the dark room distorts. Where Mukuro used to be sitting transforms into a round grey mass. The walls seem to sink into the ground, revealing a vast expanse of mountainous land. Fran's feet, though unmoved, is now ankle deep in a bright, clear stream. The stream branches in two when it reaches the boulder that was once Mukuro's bed. Soft calls from unseen birds permeate the air, overwhelming Fran's senses.
"Pretty, isn't it Fran?"
"Master just copied his heart: cold and empty."
Mukuro takes his time getting off the boulder as if moving is already exhausting all of his energy. He walks through the water to stand before his small apprentice. Without preamble, Mukuro leans down and presses his lips on Fran's forehead. Suddenly, the scene becomes nightmarish. The soft purple and grey colors of the mountains turn into a swirling mass of fuchsia and orange. The stream that once ran clear now runs in a putrid green color. It is as if the world is being shown through the eyes of a blind person. Shapes are recognized but everything seems wrong.
"This is the true form of our illusions, Fran. It is dark and ugly and it often reflects the personality of the user. To be able to control this as skillfully as I, I can use a multitude of textures and colors. By doing so, victims will have a harder time trying to see through an illusion because there is more to focus on. Now let's-"
"Master. Was it really necessary to kiss my forehead?"
With a vicious smirk, Mukuro kisses Fran on the forehead once more, making the scenery go back to the pretty place it just was. "It is always necessary. Now show me what you can do."
"You're lame, Master," Fran monotones. However, he still conjures up the image of a large griffon. Its golden brown feathers shine with Mukuro's midday sun. Its glossy black eyes stare at Mukuro and it snaps its beak. His talon flex into the streambed and its leg muscles being to twitch as it prepares for launch. It never takes off though. Mukuro places a sturdy hand on his flank and it bursts into bright neon colors. It consists of vibrant red and gold. Strangely, the colors are still and stale as if they have always been set in stone. Even when the griffon moves his head again, the colors remain stagnant.
Mukuro shakes his head slowly. "Fran, you are wasting your talent. You have the ability to make wonderful things but you don't put your heart into it. This is nothing more than an emotionless statue." Mukuro swings his hand through the griffon and it vanishes in a plume of color. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"It isn't necessary to kiss my forehead to show the colors. Master is such a girl."
Mukuro is about to say something when suddenly, someone enters the illusion. "Mukuro. You are needed by His Majesty Iemitsu immediately. It appears that the Miura and Sasagawa kingdoms have begun fighting yet again and we are caught right in the middle of the crossfire. He's requesting your assistance in defending the castle."
The king's sorcerer sighs, dropping the illusion he had created and threw them into darkness once again. "That isn't my job. Doesn't that fall upon whatshisname? Oregano, if I remember correctly."
The messenger averts his eyes. "It seems Oregano is having difficulties organizing his faction on the walls. They need someone strong who can defend a large area by himself."
"Oya, oya… Seems like I have no choice then." He turns to his apprentice. "Fran, I want you to go out and work on your illusions. Don't be so lax on your work. Put some effort into it. I will check up on you as soon as I get all of this figured out."
Fran cocks his head, giving his usual dead look to his teacher. "But Master is still weak like a little girl. He couldn't protect a fly."
Mukuro begins to walk out of the room. "Don't push it, little one." That is all he says before disappearing into the castle hall, followed by the kings messenger who leaves without a simple goodbye. After standing absently in Mukuro's room for several minutes, Fran runs a hand through his sea green hair. Out? Where did his master mean when he said go "out"? He's never been "out" before. The castle has been his home for as long as he can remember. There is little he can recall about before being taken in by Mukuro.
Shrugging, he pulls his hood over his head and enters the halls of the castle. The Vongola Kingdom has been around for a long amount of time. There appears to be only one record of when the Vongola was created and it is kept in Mukuro's possession. The only people who know of this record are Fran and Mukuro himself. However, the sorcerer refuses to show the tome to Fran. He has only spoke of it on fleeting occasions. Fran doesn't doubt that there is more to Mukuro's agenda then that of serving King Iemitsu but he doesn't care to find out. As long as he doesn't go into one of his fits, there is really nothing to worry about.
The small apprentice travels to the main halls and rooms where all sorts of caretakers of the castle and important people of the kingdom traverse. There are many faces he recognizes and knows but he doesn't bother speaking to them. They all seem threatened by him. It is most certainly because he is Mukuro's apprentice. As loyal as Mukuro has been to the king, he has always been a bit of a loner. Therefore, the people seem to get the wrong impression of him. There are always rumors and stories that go around about him sneaking behind the kings back and giving out Iemitsu's secrets to rival kingdoms. There is also the story that he has been planning to assassinate the king when given the chance. Whatever. Fran doesn't really care about what people think of him or his master. They don't mean anything to him anyways.
He finally makes it to the grand entrance. The entry room is spacious and made completely of a strange white glossy substance laced with black and grey designs. No one really knows who created this stone or how but it has always been the greatest feature of the castle. Even the grand staircase is made with the beautiful stone. Once again, Fran has no interest in this. It does not concern him or his actions. Completely irrelevant.
However, having the guards open up the main entry doors for him sends small butterflies into his chest and stomach. He refuses to let his nervousness be shown on the outside but that still doesn't stop those butterflies from making his heart beat wildly. There isn't much that upsets Fran but going outside seems to hit an unknown nerve. It is as if his body remembers what happened back before he was found by Mukuro but his mind refuses to tell him what that reason is. The open air and early morning sun seem too overwhelming and he hasn't even exited the entry room. But there is no point in being scared. There are many things in the world that are worthy of being scared of but the open isn't one of them, especially right by the king's castle. There are always soldiers nearby, keeping watch in the town surrounding the castle and even beyond the walls. There is nothing to be afraid of.
After a quick minute of gathering up courage, Fran steps into the outside world. Without a destination to aim for, he begins to amble between houses and down streets until he can only see the very top spires of the castle he knows so well. "If only stupid Master would have told me where he wanted me to go then I wouldn't be lost like this. Stupid Master…"
As if on cue, a small girl in a similar choice of clothes seems to manifest from an alleyway. She is a very familiar figure to Fran. She is nearly the spitting image of Master. Her hair is navy blue and spiked in the back. Where Master has his red eye, she has a black eye patch. Somewhere deep down, Fran wonders if the two of them are siblings but because it doesn't really mean anything, he doesn't care to find out. This girl, Chrome, often runs errands and takes place for Mukuro when he is immobile. The relationship between the two seems to be very complicated indeed.
"Sir Fran," she addresses in a near whisper. "Sir Mukuro has asked me to lead you to the outside training grounds. He has told me that he sees you roaming aimlessly and disapproves of your lack of training."
"It's Master's fault for not telling me where I needed to go."
Despite his complaints, he follows Chrome to the wall entrance. After exchanging several words with the guards on the wall, they allow Fran to go out on the condition that he is back before the sun sets. Chrome however, is not allowed past the wall. Fran couldn't care less.
Beyond the wall is an even starker difference to the town than the town was to the castle. There seems to be no human life as far as the eye can see. It is all a vast land of trees and water as shown by a wide, fast flowing river running close to the wall. It was all so new and strange. The fear begins to fade as he walks further into the woods. There are so many interesting sounds and smells. Yet, once again, none of this concerns Fran. All that matters is finding this training area Master was talking about and make him happy. As much as Fran doesn't care about things, Master had taken him in and cared for him. He owes Mukuro this much at least.
Fran's travels suddenly bring him to a small opening in the trees. There seems to be a barrier of some sort because as soon as Fran steps into the open grass, all background noise seems to fade into nothing. The chilly breeze is nonexistent now. It's like its own world. Thus being so, a sense of peace washes over him. It almost seems to have the same strong, protective aura of that that belonging to Mukuro. This has to be the place. Even all the butterflies in his stomach have faded away.
The young apprentice wastes no time conjuring up a small green amphibian. He reaches out, and runs a finger down the frog's slick back. The true form of the amphibian seems to be just like the griffon from earlier. Though its colors are bright and many, they are stagnant. There is no life to it. It is nothing but a blank image. Though his details are impeccable, it wouldn't be hard to see right through him. Perhaps all of the illusions Fran makes are destined to be lifeless. What did Mukuro mean to put his heart into the images?
He is so engrossed in trying to figure out this conundrum that he doesn't realize someone else has entered the clearing. The figure is right upon him when Fran finally notices. Faster than his heart can beat, Fran practically leaps back and sends a bolt of lightning down at the intruder. As soon as he creates the illusion though, he knows he missed the stranger.
"Ushishishi… What is a little frog like you doing out in the middle of nowhere. I've never seen anyone like you in these woods." The stranger grins, baring a set of perfect white teeth. "I don't appreciate having people bother me and you seem to strike a very bad nerve." The person pulls out silver knives from his jacket and holds them expertly between his fingers as if they were always meant to adorn his hands. The knives themselves are their own entity. They look as if they are fit to be one of the kings own cutlery for one of his grandest feasts. However, it is obvious they are a bit too sharp to be placed on the table. These weren't meant to be used for eating. They are meant to kill.
For once, Fran can't be his normal cocky self. This whole situation is new to him. Mukuro has always trained him for fighting one day but this the first time he may actually have to do so with his life on the line. There is no telling who this person is or how strong he is. And probably the most concerning aspect of this is that he can't figure out the intentions of this person because his eyes are hidden behind a long set of blond bangs. He isn't ready for this. He can't do anything without Master here to guide him. What was the point of sending him out of the castle anyways? There are plenty of abandoned places in the castle that he could use to train. Why did today have to be different? The castle is his home…
And now he's done for.
The stranger swings his right arm, releasing a whole set of knives. Fran braces himself for impact, unsure of how to retaliate. However, none of the knives make contact with his skin. They have all embedded in the trees behind him. Fran figures this will be the only opportunity to escape and turns to begin his flight.
A splash of red decorates his midnight cloak. Blood slides out of the gash just created on Fran's cheek. A sense of panic begins to wash over him, seizing his chest. He's never bled before. Feeling the sticky warmth slide down his face sends shivers of fear and disgust down his spine. This is the start of the end. It has to be. He can't run because it seems like there were some sort of wires connected to the knives that were thrown. He's trapped in an invisible web.
Fran tries moving away when the stranger begins walking towards him, a strange new aura permeating from him. However, with each little movement, Fran receives yet scratch, drawing blood. Doing so seems to affect the stranger even more. Something seems very wrong with this person… something abnormal. Is he even human with that strange laugh of his? What's he hiding behind his bangs?
Though Fran doesn't really notice it, it is the first time he has ever wondered about someone else.
The person stands right before Fran, grin reaching from ear to ear and laughs hissing through his teeth. As scared as Fran has become, he refuses to show it to the intruder. The blond reaches out and runs his finger over the first cut on Fran's face, gathering up the blood on the tip of his finger. For the first time, Fran catches a glimpse of the eyes hiding behind that fringe of hair. As far as Fran can tell, those eyes appear to be as red as the blood he seems so entranced by.
"Hmm… I didn't know a cute little frog's blood was so red," the person says in almost a whispery voice.
Feeling like he's lost all control, Fran tries to regain at least a little bit of composure. "You are weird, knife manic. I am not, and never was, a frog."
"Ushishishi. Is that so? But you and that little tree frog seemed so familiar with each other. And look, your hair and eyes are the same color. You must be a frog. By the way, where did that little guy go? I want to see if you two share the same kind of blood."
Fran attempts to move away from the stranger once again but only succeeds in slicing himself even more on the wires surrounding him. The only way out of the tangle of wires is forward but forward is blocked by a certain blood obsessed person. Said person seems to grow even more excited at the entrance of more of Fran's life essence. He puts away the rest of his knives… all except one. With a grin befitting the deadliest demons, he plants the knife firmly into Fran's stomach. No blood is spilled but it causes the Cheshire grin to grow ever brighter. At this point, Fran can't even feel the pain. Everything is numb. This truly must be the end.
Fran figures he said something aloud in his haze because the deadly aura that surrounded the stranger suddenly disappears and his face begins to contort into a frown. His mouth forms words but all sounds have stopped reaching Fran's ears. He doesn't really register the fact that the blond has picked him up. Even as the blond begins to run off with Fran in his arms, Fran can think of nothing but Mukuro.
Why did Master want me outside? Did he give up on me as an apprentice? He must have known something like this was going to happen. My life means nothing now, doesn't it?
A/N: Ahh *sweatdrop* that didn't quite turn out how I expected it to. The story just seemed to write itself. Oh well. I'm not complaining. Please review and no flames. I mean… you can flame as long as it isn't brusque. Let it to me softly. Well thank you for reading this chapter to the end! I really appreciate it! And follow me on Tumb1r at Teruragi. Feel free to send me asks and messages there, especially requests or ideas for my currently running fics! Until next time!