Obscure Sympathy

By: PhoenixJustice

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is owned by Akira Amano. I only own this story and make no profit from this.

Warning: Rated Mature for swearing, violent situations, sexual situations, yaoi, etc.

Pairings: eventual 6927 (Mukuro/Tsuna), with some S80 (Squalo/Yamamoto), etc

Setting: Post-TYL!arc

Summary: He didn't understand what it all meant, at first. Then he learned what liking someone truly meant. That would have been the end of it if he wasn't the next Vongola Boss and the person he liked was a ex-Mafia guy who wanted nothing better than to take control of his body to destroy the very Mafia that he came from, and which, Tsuna would soon be apart of. And that was the least of their worries.

: :: :

Part Four

: :: :

There were a lot of things in the hitman Reborn's life that many were unaware of, for he valued his privacy more than almost anything. Though at the same time, he longed for much company around him, so he could forget about some painful things in his past...not that he'd ever admit that to anyone, of course.

The Curse had taken a toll on all of them; not just the fact that they were reverted to a infant state, but the things that it did to the mind and spirit. It also tore their group apart; Viper had been presumed dead sometime after, though of course he and Colonnello learned during the ring battles that he was still alive, under the assumed name of Mammon. Verde, always one for study and research, went off to France, then somewhere unknown in Italy, to continue his research. Skull, more used to receiving orders than giving them, had floundered for awhile (and had one point begged Reborn to take him to the Vongola's, but he had refused), wandering off to whatever Family he could, taking on more and more leadership roles.

Colonello, of course, had taken charge of a lot of things in Mafia Land. Reborn suspected that part of the reason that Colonello had accepted it was because of the distance it gave him away from Lal Mirch. Lal had taken up with the Vongola family like Reborn had and had never left. She was quite the workaholic and he was sure that part of the reason was because she was trying to run away from her memories. Whether of Colonello or of the Curse and everything that had happened in general, he wasn't sure.

Luce was...dead. Leaving her daughter behind to take over the legacy of the Arcobaleno's, to take up the Sky Pacifier and with it, the leadership of the Arcobaleno. Luce had been...an amazing person and he missed her greatly.

Fon, soul weary, went off to China, taking on a few apprentices sometime later, one of which was I-Pin. And Reborn didn't think that Tsuna and the rest knew that Fon was Hibari's grandfather; he doubted that Hibari had sat down with any of them and had any sort of heart-to-heart with them.

Just as much as he doubted that Hibari remembered that he had met Reborn before, when he was much younger; one of the few times that Reborn had had a real break from his duties to the Ninth and had traveled to the Hibari's estate, where Fon was visiting. Hibari's mother was Fon's daughter, and the young Hibari reminded him greatly of her.

The trip hadn't lasted long, due to the fact that a rogue mob faction had tried to infiltrate Namimori. They didn't count on Reborn. Or Fon for that matter. They both took care of the group in record time, but he could see how much Fon had been holding back. Loathing exuded from his very being at the people they had taken care of, people who dared disrupt the harmony of Namimori.

That had been years ago, and he had done, and seen, things since then. Some maybe he wasn't so proud of, and some...

"Eeee! Squalo! What are you doing in my kitchen?"

He grins.

And some things...he was growing prouder of everyday.

: :: :

This...letter.

He couldn't believe that Xanxus sent it to him. He had no idea why the older man would inform him of something like this, even if it was something that Tsuna would have wanted to know about.

The letter read:

Vongola Famiglia,

We are here to inform you that one of our prisoners, one Rokudo Mukuro is to be put to trial soon for further offenses. We have received information from various families regarding him and the crimes he has committed while he was younger and in the care of these families.

Due to the situation of him being one of the Guardians to the Vongola Successor, we are allowing visitation before the trial. Note: if any party involved is caught in trying to aid Rokudo Mukuro's escape, there will be severe consequences.

Vendichi..

They were looking to punish Mukuro then.

Not that Tsuna didn't think that what he did in the past was right, no it wasn't at all. But...but what would happen to Mukuro now? Things were...happening, and he didn't want to see Mukuro punished severely or (and he didn't even want to think about it) killed.

He looks up from the letter and sees Squalo still there, watching him closely and also surprisingly quiet for once.

"Why?"

Squalo raises a brow at him.

"Why did Xanxus-san send this to me?"

Squalo shrugs. "I have no fucking clue, kid. I'm just the messenger. He doesn't tell me everything, you know." He stands up and puts his coat on, glancing back at Tsuna. "Tell the fucking baseball brat I'll see him later."

And just like that, the swordsman was gone, leaving Tsuna to his ever confused thoughts. He stares at the letter for a time, not noticing or caring just how much time passed. He felt stuck, unsure of what to do and he hated the feeling. Hated feeling powerless.

"But that's not true is it? You have things at your disposal; you just have to acknowledge them, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna's head whips up and he looks around, but sees no one around. He had thought he heard Mukuro speaking to him, but...he must have been hearing things.

: :: :

Hibari walks into one of the dilapidated rooms, halting as he sees Mukuro sitting casually on one of the ratty couches. Mukuro smiles at him, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"I was wondering when you would get here, Kyoya; took you longer than I expected." replied Mukuro, moving to stand up. "And I know why you're here, but right now I-"

He halts and suddenly cries out, clutching his head as if in great agony.

"No, not now. Not now! I need to-Tsunayoshi-" he staggers a bit. Hibari raises his tonfa's, watching carefully just in case this was some sort of ploy by Mukuro to get him to let his guard down (something which he wouldn't put past the young man.)

Mukuro looks at him and Hibari's eyes widen as the illusionist's eyes suddenly roll up into his head and he collapses against the prefect. He starts to slide down, and Hibari finds himself helping him down onto the floor. He stares at the unconscious form for a few moments, frowning. Just how was he supposed to get his wanted fight with Rokudo Mukuro now? Biting him to death while he was unconscious would not be fulfilling at all.

He takes one of his tonfa's and pokes Mukuro with it, trying to get him to awaken. He is momentarily surprised when the form of Mukuro shimmers and disappears and is replaced by the girl he knew was called Dokuro Chrome. Her face clenches in what looked like pain.

"Mukuro...Mukuro-sama," she whispers. Her eyes pop open and she looks at Hibari, grabbing onto his shirt with surprising strength. "Boss...please, get the Boss; Tsunayoshi, get Tsunayoshi. Mukuro-sama needs him. Please!"

He pulls her hand away and steps back, looking at her dispassionately.

"The affairs of herbivores have nothing to do with me."

He starts to walk away, but is suddenly stopped by her grabbing onto his pant leg.

"It does!" she says insistently, attempting to sit up. "It doesn't just include the Boss and Mukuro-sama...Namimori could very well be at stake too!"

: :: :

Tsuna suddenly grabs his head; he felt a sudden agony come over him. He barely registers the concerned voices around him, falling out of his chair and onto the kitchen floor. His eyes shut tightly closed, but he could still see glimpses of hands, of faces, voices of whose words he could not make out. It felt wrong. Something was terribly wrong!

"...Mukuro!"

"What? What did you say, Tsuna?"

"Tenth! Tenth are you okay!"

He feels hands grab onto him and pick him up. His eyes open as he sees that he was taken to his room by Gokudera and Yamamoto, the latter of who closes his door. Their concerned faces help bring him back to himself and the pain starts to leave him.

"Are you okay, Tenth?" Gokudera asks, hovering over him looking unsure. "What can I get you? Is there anything I can do?"

He smiles slightly at his friend. "No...no I'm okay now. Thanks guys."

Yamamoto frowns. "Are you sure, Tsuna? You looked like you were in a lot of pain."

"I'm okay," he insists. "That-that wasn't me, I mean my pain."

"Did it have to do with Rokudo Mukuro?"

Both Gokudera and Tsuna look at him in surprise; Yamamoto was looking quite serious.

Tsuna nods. "Yes, but I mean..."

He looks down and finds that he still had the letter in his tightly clenched hand. He loosens his hand and hands over the letter, watching both of his friends look over it. He sees the play of emotions run over their face; confusion, wonder, concern (though he was pretty sure that it had more to do with him than Mukuro) and many other things besides.

"How did you get a hold of this letter?" Yamamoto asks.

"That's the strange thing...Xanxus-san sent it."

"What?" Gokudera says in shock. "Him? Why the hell would he want to help us in any way?"

"I don't know. But I do know that I...I need to see him. Rokudo Mukuro," Tsuna adds, as if it wasn't clear who he needed to see. "I need to find out what the whole situation is and-"

"If you want to go that badly, then I'll get you there," said a voice suddenly. They all turn to look at the door where Reborn stood. He walks in and looks at Tsuna.

"T-Thank you, Reborn." said Tsuna against a suddenly tight throat. He had come to grow fond of the little hitman and relied on his wisdom, even if sometimes some of Reborn's methods were a little...extreme.

The hitman frowns. "I want to go and investigate this for my own reasons as well." He does not elaborate any further and none of them felt the need to try and get any answers out of him, knowing they'd get a gun in their face for their troubles.

"I'm leaving it to you three to gather everyone else and tell your family where you're going." says Reborn, starting to leave the room again. He stops as soon as he gets to the doorway, turning to glance at Yamamoto. "Oh and I ran into Squalo a few moments ago; he says next time don't be so quick to hit that home run."

: :: :

TBC...