Chapter 4:
Impossible! How did he find me when it's raining this hard? Chrome thought. Suddenly, the heavy rain stopped pouring. Chrome finally saw who her attacker was: it was Glo Xinia, the Millefiore's 8th squad captain. Trailing behind him was his famous box weapon, Kraken di Pioggia.
Don't tell me the rain from before was produced by his box weapon... Chrome's eyes widened. He used it as radar to find me!
"What do you want?" Chrome asked with caution.
"The information is true: you are planning to break Rokudo Mukuro free from the Vendicare Prison," Glo Xinia said, "We can't let you do that."
"What?" she accidentally said out loud. Was the plan leaked? Chrome thought.
Seeing the confusion on his enemy, Glo Xinia decided to enlighten Chrome. "This afternoon, a Millefiore Informant saw a certain redhead meet with an old woman. He tried to follow the woman but she just disappeared without a trace, so he decided to capture the redhead instead."
Redhead? Chrome's eyes widened at the sudden realization. "What did you do to M.M.?!" Chrome shouted as she pointed her trident at Glo Xinia.
Glo Xinia chuckled darkly. "Who knows?"
Dark thoughts started to form in her mind. No, No. I mustn't be distracted. M.M. is stronger than she looks. She can handle herself. I must stick to the plan and believe in them, Chrome chanted in her mind.
She decided to resort to one dirty trick in her book that she rarely use, only for special occasions. "Attack me, and it will be the same as declaring war against the Vongola Family," She threatened. As much as possible, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary fight.
Glo Xinia's right eye visibly twitched. Chrome lowered her guard down to see if her threat worked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Glo Xinia said, "The negotiations have already started; it will be a matter of hours until Vongola surrenders."
"What are you talking about?" Chrome asked sharply.
Glo Xinia wore a creepy smile. "I see. The Vongola Decimo didn't tell his guardians anything." Chrome glared at him. "Earlier, our headquarters received a report that Vongola Decimo went to the Japanese base of the Millefiore Family. Alone." The word 'alone' was clearly emphasized. "Right now, I'm on standby to capture you."
Chrome finally lost her cool: she twirled her trident and slammed it on the ground, summoning an illusion of lava erupting. "Lies! Bossu would never do anything like that!"
Glo Xinia avoided the attack. "I see, I see. You trust your boss that much? How painful it must be to be betrayed by him!"
Chrome lunged forward, thrusting her trident swiftly and simultaneously towards Glo Xinia. Glo Xinia defended himself using his Rain Whip. The only sound that could be heard at that moment was the clashing of the trident and the whip.
Chrome continued her attack for a moment. She felt her fatigue already catching up to her and starting to slow her down. Glo Xinia noticed this and used it to his advantage. He commanded his box weapon, Kraken di Pioggia, to attack Chrome. Chrome successfully defended herself from the attack but was thrown back due to its force and hit a nearby tree.
She heard a snapping sound. Her right arm broke.
Chrome panted as she slowly felt the pain from her arm. She leaned against the tree, trying to come up with a plan with the precious time she had, when she suddenly felt the presence of mist flames behind her. The tree was used as a foundation for an illusion? Chrome's eye widened. Don't tell me...!
She concentrated and used a little of her flames to dissolve some parts of the illusion. I was right. I was already near the entrance to the cave of the Vendicare Prison.
I must finish this fight before Ken and Chikusa give the signal that the Vendice is on the move.
She slowly stood up, her left arm clutching her right while her right arm still grasped her trident tightly. Glo Xinia slowly made his way towards her while he commanded Kraken di Pioggia to return to his box.
Chrome slowly pulled out her Box Weapon from the pockets of her skirt. She ignited her ring and injected her flames into the box.
I'm sorry, Ryohei-san. I know you forbade me from using this skill, but this is one of those extreme situations. "Farfalla di Nebbia," she whispered.
Her box weapon was very different from the others as she didn't rely on box weapons that much (again, she preferred her trusty trident by her side over any other weapons, and that included Box weapons). Her Box Weapon, Farfalla di Nebbia (which she affectionally named Chouko), or the mist butterfly, was not made to use illusions to hurt others. Rather, her main use was to support Chrome by merging with her body. She would take over the job of providing Chrome her illusionary organs. She could also numb pain, lessening the strain Chrome would feel whenever she engaged in a battle that needed her illusions.
Ryohei warned her not to use that skill often. "Your Box weapon is a Mist type, not a Sun type. It only numbs the pain, not heal it. Pain is a natural indicator of our body. It tells you what part of you is damaged and tells your instinct to protect it. Feeling no pain is very dangerous. You won't know what part of you is hurt and inflict further damage to it. Use this skill only when you are under extreme conditions."
Her box weapon did her job. She merged with Chrome's body and took control of Chrome's illusionary organs. She also numbed the pain her right arm was feeling.
"Done already?" Glo Xinia mocked when he saw Chrome struggling to stand up. "I haven't even showed you the full power of my Kraken di Pioggia."
"No. Not yet," Chrome said as she straightened up. She rushed forward towards Glo Xinia and attacked him again with her trident. They engaged again in another clash between a trident and a whip, both attacking and defending at the same time. They were even.
Nothing will change if I only keep attacking him like this! I must change my pace! She jumped backwards and tried to regain some distance. She raised her trident and slammed it on the ground to summon her illusions.
Glo Xinia already anticipated the attack but this time, he didn't move to dodge. He was expecting lava eruptions to surge near him. He would not be deceived by some mere magic tricks. But instead of the usual lava eruptions that Chrome used, lotus vines sprouted from the ground and choked him.
"This is..?!" Glo Xinia struggled to break free. This illusion has a physical body!
Chrome wasted no time. Seeing her enemy caught by her Real Illusions, she twirled her trident and slammed it on the ground to summon another illusion.
Glo Xinia felt the ground starting to feel hot. He looked down and saw lava forming beneath him. He panicked. He would not let an illusion to defeat him. He stopped struggling and instead reached for his sub-box, Gufo di Pioggia's box inside his jacket.
He immediately found it and opened it just in time before the lava erupted. Gufo di Pioggia flew out of its box and created a giant tidal wave of Rain Flames that extinguished Chrome's flames and illusions.
The tidal wave managed to hit Chrome.
No! That tidal wave of Rain Flames is nullifying my flames! It even stopped Chouko! Chrome panicked. Everything was back to square one again. No, not square one, it was way worse than that. The pain her right arm was feeling came back. Her box weapon was now also useless (she returned Chouko to her box to replenish her flames). Her normal illusions didn't work on him. And to top it all off, she already saw the entrance for Vendicare Prison. She was already this near yet she was going to lose again!
"Nagi."
"Mukuro-sama, I'm sorry. The fight might take a few more minutes. Please wait until then. I promise that I will rescue you!"
Mukuro was silent for a moment."No. Nagi, you have done enough. Leave the rest to me."
"But!"
"Listen well, Nagi. I have already lost contact with Ken and Chikusa, and we still don't know what happened to M.M. This is the best course of action for now."
Chrome stopped herself from protesting. "… Yes. I understand."
"Good. Now retreat. We will ambush him."
"Yes."
Chrome immediately followed Mukuro's orders. She withdrew from the fight and ran away as fast as her feet could carry her.
Where? Where is the perfect place we can ambush him? Chrome thought when suddenly an idea popped in her head. The abandoned lighthouse!
Glo Xinia was surprised when he saw Chrome Dokuro retreating. Well, that makes this game more exciting. With that, he swiftly followed her trail.
Her trail guided him to an abandoned lighthouse. He readied himself for any ambush when he entered the building. He reopened Kraken di Pioggia; he wouldn't make the same mistake of unsheathing his weapon before his enemy. With his two box weapons trailing beside him, he entered the building.
There was only a single staircase leading towards the control room, the uppermost room of the lighthouse. He kicked open the door. He let Kraken di Pioggia enter the room first before he followed.
He heard the sound of the doors closing, and turned around to see what happened.
He saw Rokudo Mukuro rushing towards him with a trident on hand. Damn! There's no time to evade him!
He prepared himself to be hit by the trident, but before it pierced him, Gufo di Pioggia shielded him and in his stead, one of his wings got pierced.
And the contract was made.
Chouko - Japanese name meaning "butterfly child"
Edit (07/26/15):
Corrected some grammar mistakes. Beta-read by Aines445. :D