ACT II
When Tsuna returned to his room, Reborn didn't ask him about the conversation with Iemitsu. What Reborn did ask, however, was what happened at school this morning. Tsuna told him about the attempted assassination, but most of all, he told Reborn how he drew out the Hyper Dying Will Mode without any pills.
"Did you use any Dying Will pills before that attack?" Reborn asked, perching on the edge of Tsuna's bed. He didn't look at Tsuna, which was strange because Reborn always initiated eye contact, and Tsuna the one who averted it. Something was bothering Reborn, and this made Tsuna felt unsettled.
"I didn't," Tsuna replied. "I haven't used any since the skirmish two months ago." Things had been relatively peaceful, saved for the expected loudness that came with having mafia-in-training as friends.
"So you drew out the Hyper Dying Will Mode unconsciously?" Something changed in Reborn's tone. Tsuna wasn't sure what it was, but he felt a strange relief washed over him. Whatever bothered Reborn before, well, he wasn't thinking about it anymore, not when Tsuna's well-being was at stake.
But then again, Tsuna didn't want anyone to worry about him, even though a selfish part of him was glad that someone did.
Tsuna suddenly wanted to meet Reborn's eyes.
"I think so." Tsuna could still feel the power of his flame now, lingering in goose bumps on his skin whenever he thought about this morning. It was unlike any other times that he had used his flame, even the times when he was at the brink of death and his desire to protect his family was so overwhelming that it manifested itself in Hyper Dying Will Mode. This morning was different, but Tsuna wasn't sure if it was a good kind of difference. The flame came as easily to him as breathing, and the thought of hunting down the snipers even more so. Usually, he had a good control of his consciousness in Hyper Dying Will Mode, but this morning, a thirst for a fight stirred violently within him, and that was even more frightening than the enemies themselves.
Reborn looked thoughtful at that. "You've become stronger." He tapped his finger against the edge of the bed, and Tsuna watched the steady rhythm of his wrist, feeling uneasy with the compliment.
"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked with trepidation.
"Your resolve had grown," Reborn explained. His face was half-hidden in the shadow of his fedora, but Tsuna could see the hint of a smile. Tsuna remembered seeing the same smile whenever he did something that made Reborn proud of him, but this was odd considering Tsuna hadn't done anything to earn Reborn's pride. It definitely wasn't because Tsuna's flame or the fact that Tsuna's resolve had grown. It was something else, but Tsuna didn't know what he did.
Before Reborn said anything, Tsuna felt that he needed to be cautious of Reborn's words, but was this what Reborn wanted to see from him?
Reborn wanted Tsuna to doubt him. Impossible. Doubt wasn't something that he was supposed to show to his family. There was no reason for Reborn to want Tsuna to feel doubt.
Reborn's expression showed nothing. Tsuna couldn't read him.
"Because of your growing will power, you were able to draw out the Dying Will Flame unconsciously without the pills. However, you're not yet strong enough to do it consciously," Reborn continued, seemingly oblivious to Tsuna's internal conflict, but Tsuna had a feeling that obliviousness was a pretense.
That was fine. He had something more worrying to take care of, mainly his uncontrollable Dying Will flame.
Tsuna remembered that his father was able to go into Hyper Dying Will Mode without pills or bullets, but he recalled the thirst for battle this morning, and he wasn't sure if this was the kind of strength that he would like to gain.
"What is it?" Reborn asked, sensing the hesitance in Tsuna.
"I…when I drew the flame out this morning, I had wanted to fight. To kill." That wasn't right. Tsuna had never willingly wanted to take someone's life before, but in that moment when his body felt like it was being turned inside out, he had wanted to hunt down those snipers and—and—
He didn't want to think about it.
"That's normal," said Reborn. "You've been showing signs that you could control your flame when necessary."
Reborn didn't understand.
Tsuna clenched his fists, feeling irritated for reasons that he couldn't quite grasp. He felt like he was in front of his father again, in front of Iemitsu and his suffocating hope and expectation that Tsuna was to be the Vongola Decimo, and—
"But I didn't want to!" Tsuna protested. He didn't know why he was so upset that he was growing stronger, but there was something about maturing into a mafia boss that scared him. "I—it was like my own thoughts were not mine anymore."
"That's not good," said Reborn, and Tsuna snapped his head up to meet Reborn's gaze. Tsuna didn't notice that he was looking at the floor until he glanced up. "When you go into Hyper Dying Will Mode, you should always retain your consciousness." Reborn peered at Tsuna with a tilt of his fedora, so that Tsuna could only see his left eye from underneath the shadow.
"What you did was an incomplete Hyper Dying Will Mode, where your Hyper Intuition went out of control."
"Incomplete?"
"Yes." Reborn crossed his arms. "In drawing out your flame without the pills or the bullet, you need more training and a stronger resolve to maintain your consciousness. If not, pure survival instinct takes over, and that could quickly get out of control."
"Out-out of control?" Tsuna recalled the wild storm sweeping all rational thoughts from his mind, and knew that what Reborn said was true.
"On the road to Italy, if you're being attacked, try to maintain calmness in your mind as best you can," said Reborn. "Use the pills I gave you, and don't, under any circumstances, draw out your Dying Will Flame without them."
"Oh." He could do that. "Will I be able to learn how to control Hyper Dying Will Mode by myself?"
"Yes," said Reborn. "But not now. You might not be able to for a while, no matter how much training I put you through."
"What do you mean?" Tsuna was surprised. He had thought that Reborn would train him to death until he reached that stage; for Reborn to admit that his training would not be enough was…unusual.
"Until you learn to accept yourself" was Reborn's reply. "And that's something I can't help you with."
"What does that mean?" Tsuna asked, but instead of answering, Reborn jumped on Tsuna's desk, peeking through a gap between the close curtains. There were other things that Tsuna wanted to ask, things like 'why are you acting stranger than usual?'
But most of all, he wanted to know if Reborn was upset. There was something unusual about Reborn's manner, and Tsuna wanted to ask, but he didn't dare to because he didn't know what he would do if he found out that Reborn was upset, that Reborn was not okay with everything that had happened thus far.
Tsuna knew that he couldn't be a coward. It was a routine that both of them were familiar with: Reborn feeling bothered, Tsuna pretending that Reborn wasn't, and Reborn let Tsuna indulged in denial.
"Reborn—" Tsuna began, but couldn't finish.
Tsuna could see the slight turn of Reborn's head, an indication that he'd heard Tsuna and perhaps was waiting for what Tsuna was going to say. However, Tsuna's word hung in the heavy air between them, untouched.
"Are you o—" Tsuna didn't have the chance to finish before Reborn cut him off.
"Your guardians are here early," said Reborn." Something is wrong."
If Tsuna didn't know any better, he would say that Reborn was trying to avoid his question.
QQQ
When Tsuna and Reborn walked downstairs, everyone was standing in the hallway, and Gokudera reported right away. "Everyone's here. Hibari is outside."
"Are you guys alright?" Tsuna asked, taking in the disheveled state of his friends, while Reborn asked, "What happened?"
Tsuna would rather know if his friends were okay first, but he kept a hold on himself. Gokudera had a small gash on his left shoulder, and Yamamoto had a shallow cut along his jaw. Luckily, Ryohei and Chrome seemed unhurt, but Chrome hovered by the doorway, keeping a good distance from everyone else.
Gokudera answered Tsuna first. "No one's hurt. Someone ambushed baseball idiot and me, but we took care of them. I've gathered everyone because I wasn't sure if they were going to attack the other guardians, and I thought—"
"We should leave before they attack again," Tsuna finished Gokudera's train of thoughts. It had only been a few hours and everyone was already in danger.
"Yeah," Gokudera said. "I'm sorry."
"Oh no, it's not your fault, Gokudera-kun, you don't have to apologize," Tsuna said, keeping his eyes on his shoes because it suddenly became difficult to look at anyone in the eye.
"Tsuna." Reborn's voice was sharp, and Tsuna remembered 'The mentality of the Boss is the mentality of his Family.' He couldn't afford to be in self-doubt because he could throw everyone else into confusion. His family had been strong for him. He had to be strong for them to.
"Do you have everything you need with you?" Tsuna kept what he hoped was a reassuring smile on his face.
"Yes, Tenth!" Gokudera said, suddenly motivated by Tsuna's mask of confidence.
"Everything ready." Yamamoto gave Tsuna a thumb's up. Of course, because it was Yamamoto, Tsuna felt like Yamamoto was cheering him up rather than the other way around.
"To the extreme!" Onii-san seemed as cheerful as usual.
Tsuna turned to Chrome, who looked like she wanted to blend into the walls. "Chrome?"
"I—I don't have anything to take with me," said Chrome.
"You could borrow some of my clothes," his mother's reassuring voice drifted from the doorway. Tsuna gave her a grateful look.
"I don't want to impose—"
"It's alright," his mother said. "You could give them back when you return. When all of you come back."
"We will come back." Tsuna knew that it was a large promise, but he had to keep it not only for his mother's sake but for all of his guardians as well.
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Tsuna was shocked to hear that from Iemitsu, whose no-good father attitude was suddenly replaced by a cold, professional demeanor. He watched his mother's retreating back, and abruptly felt a burst of anger.
"Sometimes, it's good to try and bite more than you can chew," Reborn's calm voice cut in Tsuna could find a way to retaliate. He shot Ietmitsu a sharp look, and Tsuna was surprised at the sudden hostility.
"Reborn," said Tsuna, feeling surprised with Reborn's words. Reborn wasn't one to get into Tsuna's fight for him.
Iemitsu and Reborn stared at each other, neither saying anything nor breaking away their gaze. It felt like a contest, and that made Tsuna nervous because they couldn't afford to have another internal conflict now, not when Tsuna needed everyone's cooperation.
Luckily, Iemitsu was the first to look away.
"You've raised my son well," Iemitsu said, although Tsuna sensed another hidden meaning behind his words. He wasn't praising Reborn, but Tsuna didn't know what he was trying to do either.
"Only as splendid as you did with Basil" was Reborn's reply; a gibe that even Yamamoto knew wasn't a joke.
Noticing that Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei looked uncomfortable with the exchange, Tsuna decided to cut the not-argument between Iemitsu and Reborn. "Let's head to the kitchen and talk about how we're going to leave for Italy."
QQQ
"No" was Tsuna's answer. "Absolutely not."
The plan was simple. They were going to make a false leak in their communication network. Then, the group would be split into three fractions—first would be Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Chrome, second would be Hibari and Tsuna, and the last would be Reborn, Ryohei, and Lambo. They would leave Japan in that order, and each group would take a different route.
Naturally, the enemy would attack Gokudera's group first. Where the right hand man was, the boss was.
"I don't want to risk Gokudera's group like that," Tsuna said. "We're stronger when we're fighting as one."
"Traveling in a large group is more risky," said Reborn. "If the enemy decides to kill us all at once, they can."
"We don't know what the enemy is capable of," Tsuna pointed out. "We could be killed just as easily if we split apart."
There was no way that he was going to permit using Gokudera's group as bait.
"But we do have an idea," said Reborn. "If the enemy managed to assassinate the Ninth within the presence of all his guardians and the security force, then they will have no problem killing you with all your guardians. We need a tactic beside our physical strength. "
Tsuna knew that, yet— "I can't leave my friends to face danger without me. Besides, Hibari-san wouldn't have agreed to it." He was sure that Hibari wouldn't want to be tied down with Tsuna.
Gokudera was silent, and Tsuna wished that he would speak up. Usually, Gokudera would protest that there was no need to leave Tsuna in the hands of Hibari, of all people, but now, Gokudera said nothing.
"I've spoken with Hibari," Reborn said. "He agreed."
"But-but—" Tsuna spluttered.
"Tenth, have faith in me," said Gokudera. "It's my duty as your right hand man."
"You're my friend first before you're my right hand man," Tsuna said. He couldn't believe that after all these years, Gokudera couldn't understand that. "I can't use a friend like that." He caught Iemitsu's disapproving look, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to utilize friends like they were tools.
"Tsuna," a gentle hand at his shoulder startled him, and Tsuna turned to face Yamamoto's carefree smile. "We want to do this for you because you're our friend. We can't let a friend be killed without protecting him."
"Yamamoto."
"They aim to kill you, Tsuna," and here, Yamamoto tightened his grip on Tsuna's shoulder. "We'll fight with everything we have to keep you safe because we know you would do the same for us."
"Believe in us, Sawada!" Ryohei pumped his fists in the air. "We'll protect you to the extreme!"
"I…." Tsuna didn't know what to say. There was something pricking at the back of his eyes, so he looked away and blinked a few times.
"Tsuna," Reborn said, and Tsuna met Reborn's gaze even though he didn't want Reborn to see his eyes becoming wet. "Trust your family."
Tsuna blinked a few more times to get his eyes dry. He looked at Gokudera's determination, Yamamoto's confidence, and Ryohei's enthusiasm. He then turned to Reborn, who had nothing but patience, as if he had faith in what Tsuna would decide.
"Let's go with the plan," Tsuna said at last, and felt a tension bleeding from the room. The sudden lightness shocked Tsuna, and he didn't quite understand it until Reborn pointed out. "Your decisiveness kept your family confident."
"Oh." Tsuna then remembered that he had to keep a strong mentality for his family's sake. He was coming to understand Reborn's lesson.
It was a frightening power, this leadership. Just one sentence and he had control of everyone's motivation. He almost wanted to wrap it up and return it to wherever it was from.
"I will make sure the base is safe when my group arrives first, Tenth," said Gokudera.
"Thank you, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna didn't have anything else to say now, not when his friends were so determined to risk their lives to protect his. "Thank you, Yamamoto-kun, Onii-chan."
They talked about the technical details of the plan—the transportation, the routes to the base, the time, how weapons would be transported. Gokudera already took care of the plane tickets since they couldn't use their private planes. Tsuna didn't want to be a danger to a flight filled with innocent passengers, but Reborn pointed out that the enemy would be reluctant to catch the attention of national and international security ever since the other plane incident. Each group was going to Italy through different route—Tsuna's, in particular, involved getting off a plane in Southern Italy and then driving up to base. A fake driver's license was ready for Hibari.
"Hibari knows how to drive," Reborn said before Tsuna could protest.
Chrome joined the conversation when most of the plan was already thought-out. She didn't say anything when she came in either, just walked to the back wall and watched everyone talked things out. Tsuna thought about asking what she thought about their plan, but whenever he caught her gaze, she looked away.
Tsuna approached her afterwards.
"What do you think of the plan?"
Chrome seemed startled that Tsuna had asked. She folded her hands together, keeping her eyes on the floor instead of meeting Tsuna's gaze.
"I think it's very good."
"Chrome-san, I'm sorry that we plan everything without asking if you're okay with it first." It was short-sighted of him to exclude her. Now that Tsuna thought about it, throughout many of their battles, Chrome rarely voiced her opinions or her worries. She had always kept to herself, and Tsuna had been too focused with the whirlwind of everything else to see that she was often left behind.
No one in the family should be left behind.
"It's fine," Chrome played with the hem of her skirt. "It didn't matter because I wouldn't have much to say anyway."
"I don't think that's true."
"Eh?" Chrome let go of her skirt, glancing up at Tsuna in surprise.
"I think Chrome-san has a lot to say," Tsuna smiled. "One day, I'd like to hear it."
Chrome fell silent at that, and Tsuna knew that she would speak to him when she was ready.
"Thank you, Sawada-san," Chrome said softly, finally meeting Tsuna's eyes. "One day," she promised.
"I'll wait." In these times of trials, they needed to be more united than ever, and Tsuna didn't want anyone to feel rejected.
QQQ
Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Chrome left around 1 AM, when the rain had stopped completely, but the streets were still wet, and a strong mist lingered in the air. It was not the best weather for traveling, but Gokudera reassured Tsuna that they would be cautious on the road.
"Everyone, please be careful," said Tsuna.
"Tenth," Gokudera began, but paused in his track, and Tsuna didn't know what to think of his hesitance because the Gokudera he was familiar with always jumped into things without a second thought. Tsuna realized that while he had grown stronger, Gokudera had matured as well.
The thought was reassuring and saddening.
Gokudera smacked both of his hands on Tsuna's shoulders and gripped them tightly, and perhaps Tsuna had changed more than he thought because his body didn't even flinch at the impact. "You've taught me that I have people I need to return to. I will do everything I can to protect you, but I will remember to take care of my own life as well."
"Gokudera-kun—"
"Not only because you're my boss," Gokudera continued. "But because you're my friend."
There was a time when Gokudera would leap into death with welcome arms because it was all for honor, for the name of the mafia, for the Vongola boss that he thought Tsuna would become; but today, the life that Gokudera was going to risk, all that his friends were willing to sacrifice, were for Tsuna too; Tsuna, the friend.
Tsuna didn't know what to say. The stinging at the back of his eyes returned, so he blinked a few times to get rid of it, only to find his lashes wet against his cheekbone.
"Thank you."
Have faith in us.
Tsuna watched as they left, their figures disappearing in the early morning mist. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and stood at the front porch for a long time, watching the darkness that swallowed the world beyond the comfort of his home in a bottomless pit.
It would be his turn soon to be devoured by that darkness.
"What are you standing around for?"
"Hiieeee!" Tsuna jumped, turning to meet Hibari's gaze. "Hibari-san!"
Hibari was leaning against the tree, well hidden in the shadow, his arms crossed and his face scrunched up in an annoyed expression. Tsuna wondered if he had watched the whole exchange without a word. Strange.
"Well? Stop crowding around me with your pathetic presence."
"Yes, Hibari-san!" Tsuna wasn't sure how well traveling with Hibari was going to be, but it might be even more challenging than Reborn's harsh training.
"If those herbivores died, then they were too weak to be worthy of living," said Hibari. "Now stop moping around and scam."
"Yes, Hibari-san!" Tsuna immediately opened the door, intending to get out of Hibari's sight as quickly as possible, but stopped in his track when a thought occurred to him. "Would you like to come inside, Hibari-san? It's cold."
"I have no intention of joining a crowd."
Tsuna knew it.
"Do you want me to bite you to death?"
"I'm going right away!" Tsuna ran into the house and slammed the door behind him before Hibari could change his mind and turn him into a bloody pulp. Hibari-san was always Hibari-san, no doubt about it.
But—
Hibari had stood by that tree the whole time, and he didn't say anything, even when Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Chrome were crowding. Tsuna still had a long way to go, but he thought that he might be on the road to have Hibari respect him.
QQQ
Reborn was in Tsuna's room when Tsuna was looking for him.
"Reborn."
"What is it?" Reborn was staring out the window again. He didn't turn when Tsuna spoke to him.
"Thank you," said Tsuna.
Reborn did turn his head to the side at that, but not enough to look at Tsuna in the eye.
"For what?"
"For that…thing…with my father." Tsuna didn't know how to describe it, but he was grateful that Reborn stood up for him when Iemitsu shot down Tsuna's promise to his mother that he would return. It didn't do any good to have others fought his battles for him, but a small part of him was glad that Reborn did.
When Tsuna was seven, he had gotten into a fight with another boy two years older. The other boy overpowered him completely, partly because he was older and bigger than Tsuna, and also partly because Tsuna couldn't fight back. When they went to the principal's office with their parents, the other's boy father had defended his son fiercely, and Tsuna's mother had told Tsuna to apologize to the other boy. His father was nowhere to be found.
"You shouldn't get into fights," his mother had said, and Tsuna was so angry and jealous because it wasn't his fault, and he really wanted that thing that the other boy had and he didn't. He had wanted his father to defend him like that boy's father defended his son.
The older Tsuna knew that he shouldn't let his father fight for him, that he needed to fight for himself, but a small part of him craved that childish parental protection. 'It would feel warm,' he thought. 'Comforting, like being loved. But then when you grow older you feel embarrassed for having it.'
Reborn, who would never let Tsuna back down from his own fight, had given Tsuna a small glimpse of childish parental protection, even though Tsuna didn't need it. And it felt just like Tsuna thought it would: comforting because someone tried to protect him, but embarrassing because he didn't want to be treated like a child.
"He was upsetting Nana as well," Reborn said. Tsuna could hear the unspoken 'He was upsetting you.'
Tsuna smiled. "Thank you."
Reborn met Tsuna's eyes at last. There was a deep frown in his face.
"Reborn?"
"You can't rely on Iemitsu, Tsuna," said Reborn. "You can't rely on me either."
Perhaps Reborn did want Tsuna to keep a reasonable amount of doubt for him, but...
"I know," Tsuna smiled sadly. "But thank you anyway."
"I mean it," said Reborn.
"I understand," said Tsuna. There would come a day when he had to stand on his own, but for now, Tsuna would like to have at least this small remaining trust.
Reborn's frown slowly melted away, and Tsuna felt relieved. Even though he knew it was coming, he didn't want to think about the day when Reborn would leave him—when Reborn had nothing left to teach him. He didn't want to think about the person that he would become after Reborn either.
Just when he thought their conversation was coming to an end, Reborn beckoned him to come closer with his fingers.
"What is it?" Tsuna asked cautiously, walking slowly toward Reborn.
"Sit," Reborn ordered when Tsuna was in front of him.
Tsuna sat on on the floor and leaned his back against the bed. Reborn was still perching at the edge of the bed, expression unreadable.
A tiny hand reached for the top of his head, and Tsuna froze as Reborn ruffled his hair.
Reborn's touch felt warm. It made Tsuna thought of his younger self listening to his mother's soothing voice and cold nights when he snuck out of his room to sit on the front porch, waiting for a father who wouldn't come home.
"You have to stop trusting others so easily," Reborn sighed. "What if I intended to kill you just then?"
"You wouldn't."
Reborn retracted his hand, and Tsuna almost regretted saying anything.
"I mean it about Iemitsu, Tsuna," Reborn said sternly. "I know he's your father, but you can't always trust fathers."
Tsuna wanted to argue, but something in Reborn's eyes stopped him.
Tsuna wondered what kind of person Reborn's father was.
QQQ
Tsuna and Hibari set off at 5 AM. The mist had lifted, but the roads were still wet, and the city was still shrouded in complete darkness. They were leaving for the airport by Hibari's motorbike, and Tsuna was still in shocked that Hibari would actually let him ride along without a complaint, even though Reborn had mentioned it to him earlier.
Hibari tossed Tsuna a helmet, and he fumbled with it for a while before he actually caught it in a steady grip.
Hibari will not give you a problem until you reach base in Italy, Reborn had said. Tsuna translated that as Hibari will tolerate you until you reach Italy, where a promise of a good fight against a strong enemy will satisfy him. At the same time, Tsuna's intuition told him that there was more to Hibari than the explanation Reborn gave him.
"Hibari-san," Tsuna didn't expect that Hibari's eyes would sweep to meet his. "How's your left arm?"
Last month, Hibari had gotten into trouble with a few yakuza members, and Tsuna and the rest of the guardians had gone after him, clearing Naminori of the yakuza influence in the process. Hibari suffered considerable damage, especially his left arm, where a nasty hit from a tetsubo had fractured a bone.
"It's fine," Hibari brushed Tsuna's concern aside as if a broken limb was a common occurrence in his life. It probably was. Then, Hibari gave him an odd look. "I owe you nothing."
"No, you don't," Tsuna agreed.
So Hibari wasn't accompanying Tsuna because he felt obligated to return a favor, but because he wanted to. That was fine with Tsuna.
"The baby promised me powerful enemies in Italy," Hibari explained, as Tsuna expected, but then Hibari gave him that odd look again, the one that he shot Dino sometimes, the eyes of a predator itching for a fight, like Tsuna was also an enemy, and Tsuna wondered if Reborn had ulterior motives in pairing him with Hibari. It felt reassuring but dangerous to be near this man, and Tsuna entertained the thought that this was another special training that Reborn came up with.
Tsuna put on the helmet, hoping that it wouldn't get to the point where he would have to fight with Hibari because the man got out of control. Dealing with Hibari was his job now, and he couldn't possibly rely on Dino forever to keep his guardian in line.
"Where are your gloves?"
"I have them." Tsuna patted the pockets of his parka.
"Keep them on in case we get attacked on the road," said Hibari.
"Right." Tsuna pulled his mittens out and put them on, understanding that if Hibari had his hands tied with steering the motorcycle, he had to be on the defense. Tsuna waited until Hibari got settled on the motorcycle, and then, with a jerk of his head, Hibari signaled Tsuna to get on.
"From the left side," Hibari reminded even though Tsuna already had an idea of how to handle a motorcycle. But then again, Tsuna almost toppled them both when he mounted clumsily, so perhaps being the driver and being a passenger were two different things. Tsuna had expected Hibari to bite him or at least to threaten to bite him, but Hibari just said, "Don't disappoint me, herbivore."
"I will try not to." Tsuna gulped, feeling a phantom brush of his Dying Will Flame on his mittens even though there was nothing there.
"If you drag me down," Tsuna could hear Hibari's voice clearly through the noise of the starting engine. "Even if the enemy does not kill you, I will do it myself."
Tsuna had seen Hibari killed people for less than that, but he decided to keep that thought to himself. For now, he needed to keep Hibari on the same page with him for a long as possible.
"Understood," Tsuna shouted as the engine roared to life, and the world became nothing but a blur as the motorcycle sped through the narrow street of Namimori.
The sky became lighter by the time they left the city, but the thick mist from last night returned.
Tsuna's nerves began fraying when they reached the edge of the Namimori, and it wasn't because of Hibari rushing the motorcycle at ridiculous speed on wet roads, but because his instinct kicked in, warning him of an approaching danger despite the fact that the roads were empty.
Tsuna peered into the mist, but could see nothing but a ghostly whiteness and buildings dissolving into faint streaks. Tsuna didn't realize that he was tightening his arms around Hibari's waist until he felt Hibari's body stiffened, but before he could rectify the situation, another revving sound rose from the roaring of their motorcycle, and, glancing behind him, Tsuna saw one man on another motorbike catching up to them, holding long and silver—a pipe perhaps.
But then the distance between them shortened, and Tsuna jerked slightly when he realized that the man wasn't holding a silver pipe, but a machete that looked big enough to slice his head off clean.
Tsuna turned back to watch the lines of Hibari's back, wondering what he should do, but then there was a twist in his stomach, and, without thinking, he pushed at the back of Hibari's head as a signal to duck and dipped his head just in time as something swept over where their necks were one moment before.
He didn't have the chance to raise his head before the slight tip of Hibari's shoulder told him to prepare for a sharp left turn. Tsuna molded the tilt of his body's to Hibari's, his heart pounding in his ribcage when he felt as if they would both tip over and crash to the ground. Tsuna let out a breath as the motorcycle righted vertically again, his palms sweaty in his mittens.
Behind them, the revving of the engine told Tsuna that they were still being pursued.
Tightening his left arm around Hibari's waist, Tsuna reached into his right pocket for the bottle of Dying Will pills.
Another twist in his guts and Tsuna ducked intuitively. He didn't have enough time to warn Hibari, but luckily, Hibari managed to dodge the sweep of the machete without his prompting.
Come on, Tsuna fumbled with the bottle, the mitten making it difficult to twist the cap. Then, just as he got the bottle to open, his stomach dropped as the world began to tip to the right.
Tsuna quickly jerked his right hand out of his pocket to clutch Hibari tightly as the motorcycle swerve another sharp turn, leaving behind a long screech and the smell of burning rubber.
Tsuna looked behind them just in time to see their pursuer, who didn't react fast enough to follow their turn, disappeared out of sight.
He'll be back, Tsuna's mind told him. He'll make a turn at the next street over and meet us at the next intersection.
Tsuna's stomach began lurching again, and a chill was starting to pool behind his eyes. It was the same feelings that overwhelmed him yesterday morning with the sniper, and Tsuna felt himself panicking because he didn't want to lose himself, Reborn's advice of don't go into Hyper Dying Will Mode without the pills echoed in his mind. He reached into his pocket, knowing that if he took a pill now, then he would be fine. All he had to do was—
He frowned, searching frantically through his pocket. He needed to take a pill before—
But the bottle was gone.
That couldn't be; he had the bottle in his pocket this whole time.
Tsuna checked again, perhaps it fell deeper into his pocket, it had to be, yes, it was still there, he needed to search harder. He couldn't afford not to have the bottle he needed—
It wasn't there. The bottle wasn't in his pocket anymore, but that wasn't possible because he had it, he knew that he had it; it was still there in his pocket last time he checked. Did the pursuer take it? No, he couldn't have because he wasn't close enough, but Tsuna wasn't sure of himself anymore because he didn't even feel the bottle leaving his pocket. No, that man must have taken it; there was no other explanation. He needed that bottle back.
"Hibari-san," Tsuna shouted over the roaring of the engine. "Let's go after him." Something was burning within Tsuna, a cold shimmering anger, demanding that he catch that man, no matter what. He was going to show him, teach that man not to mess with him.
Hibari didn't give any indication that he had heard Tsuna, but then Hibari took another turn, and their pursuer zoomed past, missing them again.
Tsuna was about to repeat himself, but he didn't get a chance to because Hibari took two more sharp turns, and by the time Tsuna recovered, he saw, past Hibari's left arm, that their pursuer was now in front of them.
Tsuna knew that this was the one and only chance that Hibari was willing to give him.
Their pursuer, probably realizing that the target was behind him, began to slow down.
Hibari decreased their speed as well, but it was fast enough to pass their pursuer, yet slow enough for what Tsuna wanted to do.
One meter gap in, and Tsuna could feel Hibari's body tensing again. Another half meter in, and Tsuna began to let go of Hibari's torso, preparing himself for the moment they were side by side with their pursuer.
Now.
Tsuna ducked and the blade swept over his head, missing him once again, and, just as their bike passed the other, Tsuna shot a burst of flame from his left hand, blasting their pursuer back crashing on the ground and skidding across the road.
Tsuna tightened his grip on Hibari as the flame accelerated them forward at an almost inhumane speed, closing his eyes when he smelled burning rubber again, and it was too late but he entertained the thought that the wheels wouldn't be able to handle the massive friction, and perhaps if the enemy didn't kill them, the reckless speed will.
However, Hibari slowed down their bike smoothly, and Tsuna opened his eyes just in time to see a man lying in a bloody mess on the road at a distance. Hibari circled back and slowed to a stop before their pursuer, who was lying very still on the ground.
Tsuna jumped off, almost toppling the bike over if it wasn't for Hibari, and ran to the man, heart thundering in his ribcage. But by the time Tsuna stood by the dying biker's side, watching his chest rising and falling, he realized that the man was wearing a smooth biker's suit without pockets, his gloved hands empty.
There was no way he could have gotten to Tsuna's pocket without letting go of the blade or the grip on the motorbike.
He watched as a pool of blood trailed to his shoes.
All of this was for nothing.
Hibari reached his side. "It's not the people who are after you. This is just another delinquent who wanted to settle the score with me. He must have recognized my bike."
Tsuna's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Suddenly, his eyes felt hot, and red started flooding in his vision. "All for nothing."
"Let's go," Hibari said, turning on his heels, but Tsuna didn't follow him. The sound of Hibari's footsteps came to a halt, and Tsuna could feel Hibari's gaze burning into his back, and that made him angry for reasons that he couldn't explain.
"What's wrong with you?" Tsuna could hear the annoyance in Hibari's voice, and that irked Tsuna even more because he was the one who was allowed to be annoyed. Hibari should just shut his mouth and leave Tsuna alone, and then maybe he could go back and find those pills because he needed them and he would find them, they shouldn't be too far, and he needed those pills and he was going to get them back even if he had to kill for them, and perhaps he could even finish off this dying man right now, just a clean snap of the neck to—
A hard smack on his left cheek sent Tsuna stumbling onto the ground, but he swiftly got back on his feet, rubbing the back of his hand across the bleeding scraped skin and licked the blood off his mitten, the metallic after taste on his tongue sent a strange sense of calmness washing through his mind. He looked at Hibari and considered returning the favor, but Hibari had his tonfas out, one of them sticky red with Tsuna's blood.
"Oh?" Hibari said, pulling back into a defensive stance. "It's you again."
Tsuna didn't know what Hibari was talking about, and he didn't care. He drew flame to his hands and charged forward, but Hibari immediately caught his forearm with one tonfa.
"Not fast enough," said Hibari, using this chance to send the other tonfa down Tsuna's shoulder, but Tsuna quickly caught it with his other hand and threw a kick on Hibari's chest.
The momentum sent Tsuna flying in the air, but he instantly flipped his body and landed smoothly on his feet. Hibari was knocked several steps back, but he seemed unfazed by Tsuna's attack.
Hibari charged forward this time, and Tsuna braced himself for a hit on the left side, but then Hibari changed his direction and Tsuna didn't react fast enough to stop the strike against his right side.
Hibari swung his left tonfa, but Tsuna caught it, intending to send a punch under Hibari's jaw, which should be enough to draw blood.
A distant wail of a police car stopped Tsuna in this track. That wasn't good. He needed—no, he couldn't afford to be distracted and turned his back on Hibari in a fight because—
—and then there was a pressure on his neck, and Tsuna's vision burnt out.
~To be continued.
