Choice Chosen:
Go in the painting
Reborn snapped out of his train of thoughts and clenched his hands into fists. If the boundaries were broken, that only meant one thing: one of the guardians was either corrupted or dead. However, there was no sign, no clear indication whatsoever.
He took out his yellow pacifier from his suit, the symbol of his burden. It was neither glowing nor faded in color. He clenched it tightly in his hand.
"Help...me..."
That voice was very familiar. He couldn't quite place it as well. Maybe it was because of the pills.
Before he knew it, he walked over to the fallen painting and took a deep breath. I'm sorry, Yuni.
He jumped in, the world around him swirling in darkness. His feet landed on a pool of blood and a sickening squelch echoed in the air.
This...was never in the painting he drew. He surveyed the world around him. There was nothing but darkness and chains dangling all around him, stained with blood, rusty and worn. The floor beneath him was red and every step he took he slightly winced, but kept composed.
His senses flared and he barely dodged a knife sailing towards him, which nicked him in the cheek.
Immediately, his body was alert and all of his military training flowed back into his head. The presence was almost demonic and highly unfamiliar. Wait, demonic?
There was a small giggle, a child's giggle. Something dashed by his legs and he only saw a blur.
"Ushishi," the child said from the shadows, his voice echoing in the sinister realm. "Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She had no children, only her dolls."
Reborn stuck his hand out and his ring glowed a bright yellow along with his pacifier, penetrating through the shadows. A large yellow seal appeared in front of him, protecting him from several knives that the child threw.
"If you see her in your dreams." The child instantly vanished before Reborn could take a good look at him.
He jumped in the air, a barrage of knives flying underneath him. Once he landed on the ground, he strained his ear for any other noise. At the corner of his eye, he saw a small flicker.
A sudden tug from behind caught him off guard and he fell to the ground. Strings wrapped around his body and he saw two blonde boys standing above him, a Cheshire grin stretching on their lips.
One of them straddled his chest and wrapped his hands around Reborn's throat, choking him.
"Be sure you never, ever scream," the boy said, his grin splitting wider across his cheeks; blood dripped onto Reborn's face as he struggled for breath.
Snip snip.
The other boy held a pair of bloody scissors in his hand and lowered it to his mouth. "Or she'll rip out your tongue at the seams."
Reborn struggled to move but the wires were tight. His eyes roamed to his hand which was bounded tightly to the ground. Pain coursed through his body as the wires unconsciously pulled his fingers into several different angles, intent on breaking them.
Snip snip.
His leg started to slowly twist, but he clenched his teeth from crying out. The boy on top of him tightened his hold.
Suddenly, he was sent flying across the room along with his twin. They both snarled as a cloaked figure appeared. The person's hands were ignited with flames, the gloves shimmering underneath the blazing fire.
Reborn slightly widened his eyes. Luce...?
He shook his head. No, impossible. She did not use gloves. But those are definitely Sky Flames. What the hell was going on?
The twin boys shrieked synchronously and went down on all fours, their bodies emitting a terrifying killed intent. They shot forward with their mouthes wide and almost hanging. Their teeth elongated into fangs and their nails turned into razor sharp claws.
The mysterious person propelled himself forward with his flames in blinding speed. He brought his hands up and sliced their necks, blood squirting everywhere. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he rotated and sprinted towards the screeching twins.
Their heads rolled on the ground but they continued to shriek. Their bodies were still standing and their hands reached up to where their heads were supposed to be.
Reborn felt the wires gradually loosen and sprung up from the ground. He summoned Leon into his hand and raised the gun at the bodies. He pulled the triggers several times until they both collapsed to the ground. He aimed his shots at the heads and watched the bullets pierce their eyes, foreheads, and cheeks.
Their screams were reduced into gurgles and small coughs. The cloaked person motioned for him to follow and ran away.
Reborn ignored the sea of blood and followed him cautiously, a million questions racing through his head. He was left with one: who was he?
He didn't know how far they were going, but it gave him time to think. Those twins...They were definitely maspiras. He narrowed his eyes at the person's back who slowed down. A nagging suspicion festered in his chest and he couldn't help but feel distrustful. However, the Sky Flames he possessed were the purest he'd ever seen. They were definitely more powerful than Luce's.
As they continued to walk, Reborn saw a mutilated corpse to his right and instantly recognized it. It was Kyoko, the one he painted in The Mourning Cliff. Her long orange hair was soaked in her own blood and all of her limbs and fingers were twisted in unimaginable angles; one of her arms was missing. Her tongue was lying next to her nearly severed head.
Reborn turned away, but the image was ingrained in his head. He know knew whose voice that had belonged to. Kyoko...I'm sorry.
"I apologize," the person said in a blank voice. "I was too late to save her in time." He halted in his step and turned around. "Please keep up. We don't have much time."
He continued to walk, which somehow irked Reborn but he didn't say anything. He'd seen many soldiers on the battlefield, including himself, turn down that path and this person was no different from the rest of them. The way he carried himself was that of a war veteran.
"Who are you?" he said, almost casually.
The person never stopped. "Questions should be saved for later. We mustn't waste time."
They stopped in front of a door that had multiple scratches and blood spattered all over it. A handprint was planted near the bottom before it smeared downward to a torn arm. Kyoko's arm.
The person kicked it to the side and a small spark of fury ignited in Reborn's chest. He grabbed the person by the shoulder and forced him to turn.
"Who the hell are you?"
The hood fell. It was a boy who looked no older than fourteen. There were intricate black markings that covered nearly half of his face and his eyes were almost terrifying to look at; his left eye was completely black with no pupil or an iris while other eye was black with a glowing red pupil.
"I am Tsuna," he said slowly. "That is all you need to know."
He placed his hand on the handle and it glowed a bright red before a lock clicked. The door swung open and Reborn was greeted with a familiar dining room.
It was empty just the way he painted it. Tsuna walked inside and glanced at him. "Why are you standing there? Come."
Reborn walked inside and the brunette closed the door behind him. The windows were open and the gentle breeze circulated throughout the room, almost soothing Reborn's nerves. The sink was clean and the cabinets were drawn shut. He could hear the carriages going about outside on the streets.
Tsuna walked over and opened the windows, revealing, not the streets, but Reborn's office. "You must go back."
"They were maspiras, weren't they?" Reborn said. "Why are they here?"
"Go back," Tsuna said, betraying no emotion. "They will come b - "
The door suddenly shook in great vigor and Reborn heard muffled snarls behind it.
"The man in black will soon be here," one of the twins said.
"With his cleaver's blade so true," the other one said almost delightfully.
"Just you wait, it won't be long."
"He'll make mincemeat out of you!"
They went into hysterics, the door shaking louder. Tsuna walked towards it but he showed no indication of fighting. "Leave. Once you do, destroy the painting in which they dwell and this one, too."
Reborn was a bit uncertain. He still didn't know what was going on or how the maspiras escaped from their realm. Since they were here, then that meant...Luce was dead.
"Leave!" Tsuna said, a bit of anger in his voice.
Reborn climbed over the sink and tensed when he heard the handle of the door crack and saw it reduced into dust. The door slowly creaked open and there was only silence.
A scream tore through the air and Reborn placed his hand on the water surface of his office's image. It rippled and he saw Yuni on the ground, her wheelchair toppled behind her. Everyone was screaming as they ran out of the gallery, shoving each other in the process.
"Yuni!" Aria said, kneeling down next to her daughter.
Reborn turned to see Tsuna wrapped around in wires as the twins pulled him towards the other realm, their realm.
The brunette did not struggle and he glared at him. "Leave. Remember my orders."
I don't take orders, Reborn's subconscious nearly snarled.
Why were they only taking Tsuna? It seemed that they were paying no attention to him. A ghost of a smile flickered on Tsuna's lips. "They only want me."
The door shut behind him. Reborn turned when a loud wailing pierced the air. It was another maspira. There were three women, circling around Aria and Yuni in the air, wailing in misery. Their white skin sagged and it seemed that they were slowly melting. A drip of their skin fell near Aria's ankle and she screamed when it burned a hole on the ground. She clutched Yuni to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The women were closing in quickly. Reborn prepared to go until a pained scream rang through the room. It was Tsuna.
Save Aria and Yuni.
Save Tsuna.
A/N I apologize for the late update. Thank you for the favorites and reviews!
The rhymes the twins were saying are real children rhymes:
From Dead Silence - the one with Mary Shaw
From Fritz Lang's M - the man in black
Haha, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear the last chapter about the pairings. It will be decided by the path and the choices you guys make in the story. I'm not taking votes and for this story I'm being strictly unbiased. Haha, I already made a whole outline on the choices and which pairing it will lead to. Choose wisely if you want the pairing that you want. ^^
Maspira is just a word I made up. No need to look for translations~
Thank you for reading!
Tough choices, huh? XD
See you in the next chapter!
Go in the painting - 3
Ignore it and go to the art exhibition - 2