-Hello and thank you for the nice reviews. Sorry this took me a while but this one is really long so I hope you guys enjoy it. I've added more action into this one although the start is still conversations. I believe the next chapter will contain mostly action so I hope you guys enjoy. Thank you for reading. Oh and I'm not sure how to reply to reviews so I'm sorry about that.-
*at the school*
Tsuna was already on his desk. He had left early so he could talk to the others before school started. Sasagawa had gone to a different school but somehow Hibari-san and Yamamoto were at Namimori High too. But now that he was here he was having second thoughts about asking them. He had no idea how to approach Hibari-san about it or how he could really explain the situation to Yamamoto. Since entering High School he had started taking baseball even more seriously so Tsuna didn't want to distract him from that. Hibari-san had quickly formed something akin to a disciplinary committee with his fellow committee members from middle school. Apparently the disciplinary committee at the High School was not up to his standards, although Tsuna thought they were nice people. Then his thought turned to the other members of his family. He had no idea where to find Mukuro, and he wasn't sure he really wanted to find him. His thoughts turned to Lambo, he was the one Tsuna really didn't want involved, Lambo was still just a child.
"Ugh, why did I agree to this?" he yelled, just as Kyoko and Haru came into the room
"Tsuna-san? It's rare to see you here so early" Haru said
"Ahh, Well I had something to do so I left early. Um, good morning" Tsuna replied, a little flustered
"Good Morning" both girls said
"Um Tsuna-kun? Are you alright? It's just that I thought I heard you yell out" Kyoko said
"Oh, um yes I'm ok" Tsuna said, he didn't want to get the girls mixed up in some mess again
"Oye, so you're here" a voice called from the other door
Tsuna turned and saw Hibari-san walk into the room
"Ahh, Hi-Hi-Hibari-san?" he stammered
"The kid said you needed something from me so I came here" Hibari-san said
Tsuna just stared at him. Reborn had started moving even before he'd made up his mind. Tsuna saw Haru and Kyoko looking at him.
"Um, it's not a big deal I just needed your help with something. Let's talk on the rooftop. I'll see you guys in a little bit" Tsuna said quickly moving out of the room with Hibari following him
"Bye- bye" Haru said quickly after him
"I hope everything is alright" Kyoko said looking at the empty doorway
"Hmm" was all Haru said in response
*at the rooftop*
"So what do you want" Hibari said.
Tsuna jumped at his tone. "Um, well I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me with something…um well it's about the Vongola" Tsuna said hesitatingly. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to convince Hibari-san but he decided that he would at least try.
Hibari seemed to be thinking about it but he kept glaring at Tsuna. "Well I don't really mind as long as you don't end up damaging the school" Hibari said
"Really?" Tsuna was resolved to get his help but this was too easy
"Well the kid said that it would be interesting if I got involved." He said and walked away
Tsuna let out a sigh of relief. Well he'd agreed but Tsuna wasn't sure how involved he would really get. But he was glad that he'd agreed. That's when the bell went off
"Ahh, crap" Tsuna yelled and ran to class
*in the classroom*
"Ah, Sakura-chan! Good morning" Haru said as Sakura and Enma walked into class
"Oh Enma too? What were you to up to?" she prodded
"I don't follow" Sakura said raising an eyebrow.
"Well you know walking to school together" Haru said with a mischievous grin
"Haru?" Kyoko said in disbelief. They didn't know Sakura that well so Kyoko thought it was rude to make remarks like that
"You're misunderstanding" Enma yelled, blushing
"Yes, I was merely rescuing the princess" Sakura said
"Eh?" Haru and Kyoko said in unison
"Wait, that's gonna make them misunderstand even more. She just helped me out with some bullies" Enma said, trying to save the situation
"Oh, I see. I hope you're alright" Kyoko said before Haru could say something to make things weird again
"Um yes I'm fine. Thanks to Sakura" Enma replied
"No need to thank me. It's a knight's duty to help a damsel in distress" she replied giggling and taking her seat
Enma stammered, trying to come up with a reply. But before he could say anything a voice came from behind him
"Yo, is Tsuna here?" Yamamoto said walking into the room
"Yamamoto-san. Good morning" Haru said.
"He was here a little while ago but he left with Hibari-san to the rooftop. Did you need something?" Kyoko said
"Uh well, you know that kid that's always with him came and told me Tsuna needed my help" he replied
"Reborn-san again?" Haru said
"Again?" Enma said recovering from the previous conversation
"Uh yes, Hibari-san said Reborn spoke to him too" Haru said explaining
"Ah, then it must be about…" Enma trailed of looking at Sakura
She realized what he meant and nodded.
"Um, is everything alright?" Kyoko asked
"Uh yes, It's nothing to worry about. Sakura just needed help with some stuff so she asked us. It's nothing to worry about really" Enma said. He knew Tsuna wouldn't want the girls involved in this.
"Oh, I see" Kyoko said. She wished Tsuna and the others wouldn't hide things from her and Haru but she trusted them so she didn't pry. She turned to Haru who simply smiled and nodded indicating that she shared Kyoko's sentiment.
Just then the bell went off
"Ah, I need to get back to my class. Tell Tsuna I'll come by during lunch" Yamamoto said running out
"Will do" Haru yelled after him
Tsuna ran in a few minutes later just before the teacher and took his seat. Since the teacher walked in soon after, Haru just threw him a note with Yamamoto's message. Tsuna tensed as he saw it. He still wasn't sure if he wanted Yamamoto involved, but it seemed that once again Reborn had made the decision for him. 'Why was he so adamant about this issue?' Tsuna thought as the teacher began the class.
*lunch time*
Tsuna sighed. He hadn't been able to concentrate at all because his thoughts kept returning to how to speak to Yamamoto. Just before he started sinking into those thoughts again, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Um, I- ah I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Sakura said. She looked just as troubled as he felt
"Eh?" Tsuna replied
"Well I didn't know that this would trouble you this much. I thought your life at school was just a cover but it's clear that that's not the case at all. So I'm sorry. Even though you have a normal life, I…but you have to understand at this point I had no choice. If Pandora escapes then…then-" She stammered
"It's ok." Tsuna said trying to calm her. "I want to help you. It's just I'm a little reluctant to get others involved. I can tell you aren't the kind of person to selfishly involve others into your problems so you don't need to justify asking for help and it's not like you're forcing me" Tsuna said smiling
"Thank you. Really thank you. You and Enma, I don't know how I'm ever gonna repay you but thank you"
"Is everything alright?" Haru said walking over with Kyoko and Gokudera behind her. Gokudera had been late coming in so he had no idea what happened in the morning.
"Tenth, I'm sorry for being late this morning" He said walking up to Tsuna
"Ah that's ok. But well there is something I would like to talk to you about. We'll talk as soon as Yamamoto gets here" Tsuna replied
"Che, that baseball nut?" Gokudera said, making an annoyed face
Tsuna just laughed nervously in response just as Yamamoto walked into the room.
"Tsuna, Reborn said you needed me" he said walking over to the group
"Reborn-san? Then this is-" Gokudera started
"Ah, well let's go discuss this outside" Tsuna said interrupting him.
Gokudera quickly stopped, realizing Tsuna's intentions.
"Yes, that's a good idea" he said quickly
"Tsuna! Would you like me relay a message to my brother?" Kyoko said as they started to leave.
"K-kyoko-san. You don't have to, I mean…" Tsuna said nervously, not knowing what to say
"It's ok. I trust you Tsuna" Kyoko said with a smile
"Kyoko-san. Um well if you could ask him to meet me sometime in the next two days" he said blushing a little at her comment
"Got it" she said cheerfully
"Haru will help too if you need help" Haru said chiming up
"Thank you, you two" Tsuna said as the boys began to leave with Sakura following them
"I would like to discuss something with you as well" she said
*on the rooftop*
Sakura stood aside to let Tsuna and the others discuss. She didn't want to pressure him by listening in so she stood out of ear shot looking of the roof at the front entrance of the school.
Tsuna wasn't entirely sure of how to begin so he decided to just tell Yamamoto the entire story. When he was finished telling him Sakura's story he stood quietly waiting for a reply.
"Ah so it's the mafia thing again right?" Yamamoto said
"Um well yes. I was hoping that you'd be able to help but if you can't it's not really a problem" Tsuna replied
"Of course I'll help." Yamamoto said
"R-really. Thank you Yamamoto-kun" Tsuna said. He was surprised that everyone had agreed so readily. Then he thought of what Reborn had told him. Maybe it was really ok to rely on his friends.
"Um, I've spoken to my family as well." Enma said
"Oh, did they agree?" Tsuna asked
"Ah well more or less. They weren't entirely ready to help but for some reason Adelheid convinced them. So I guess we're more or less ready and we're ahead of the deadline too" he said
"I'm still not sure if I trust that girl" Gokudera said, looking over at Sakura as Tsuna waved her over
"I think she's a nice person" Enma said, touching his cheek where she had bandaged him
"Are you guys finished discussing?" she said
"Ah well yes and it seems that most of friends agreed to help you" Tsuna said
Sakura brightened up and bowed her head saying, "Thank you so much to all of you"
"Ah you don't need to do that" Tsuna said
"You're pretty interesting" Yamamoto said laughing
Sakura lifted her head and blushed realizing she might have over reacted.
"Um, you are Yamamoto Takeshi, correct?" Sakura asked
"Ah yea nice to meet ya" Yamamoto said in his usual cheerful tone
"Um yes, nice to meet you. My name is Akagi Sakura." She replied
She had thought about what she had sensed last night since that morning. After seeing Tsuna interact with his family and seeing Enma getting hurt she didn't want to keep it from them. She could probably hold off the scouts but in case she wasn't able to she didn't want them attacking these guys and those they held dear while they didn't even know they were in danger.
"I- I have something to tell you guys!" She said, maybe a bit too loudly
"Uh, ok" Enma said
"You see before she disappeared Sakurai taught me how to sense Pandora and his followers…and last night… I…um I sensed two of them" she said
"What?" Tsuna exclaimed
"I know I said you had four days and I intend to keep that promise. I plan on holding them off until you've made a concrete decision after discussing with your family properly. I just wanted to tell you because, well if I'm going to ask for your help I don't feel it's right for me to keep secrets from you and I want you to be properly prepared" she said trying to explain
"Um well, I've already discussed with my family. Tsuna still needs to ask Ryohei-kun but if you need help in the meantime you can ask me." Enma said
"That's right. If something happens you shouldn't try to handle it by yourself. We're helping you now. Kay?" Yamamoto said as Tsuna nodded in agreement. Gokudera simply grunted.
"Thank you" Sakura said smiling
Just then the bell began to ring.
"Ah I guess we should head back. I didn't even get to eat any lunch" Tsuna said
"I'm sorry" Sakura said
"Ah, you don't need to apologize" he replied as they all headed back to the classroom.
*at the end of the day*
Sakura had stayed behind a little trying to plan her next move. She'd decided against the contacts but she thought she should still try to figure out a way to hide herself more. She sighed and decided for now she would head home. The morning's incident came to her mind. 'I hope those guys weren't a part of a gang or something' she thought. The last thing she needed was to make a name for herself among the less savory characters in town. She'd reached the shoe lockers and she stopped when she saw Enma waiting by the entrance. She quickly got her shoes and walked over to him.
"Why are you still here?" she asked
"Ah well. I was waiting for you" he replied startled at her rather sudden appearance
"For me? Why?" she asked confused
"Ah well I just wanted to make sure that the guys from this morning didn't come after you again" he replied
"Huh? Oh you didn't need to do that. I can easily handle those guys myself" she said, pretending to flex her biceps and walking towards the gate
"Oh well, I just wanted to make sure I guess" he replied going after her
"Ah by the way. Those guys, they're not part of some gang or anything right?" Sakura asked
"Eh oh I'm not sure. I don't know much about them either" he replied
"Oh I see" she said
"Why do you ask?"
"Hmm, well I just didn't want to gain a reputation with the gangs. It's not good for me to draw attention to myself right now you know" she said turning to him
"Oh I see, that makes sense I suppose" he said
"Yea, it would be pretty-" she stopped walking abruptly
"Are you ok?" Enma said stopping a few steps ahead of her
"They're close. Why are they so close?" she said quietly as the three boys from that morning walked through the gate. As soon as she saw them she realized what that feeling had meant and who it was that they had sent. This guy wasn't just a mere scout. She raked her brain trying to figure out how they could have found her so quickly. Enma grabbed her shoulders snapping her back into reality
"Sakura, are you ok? What's wrong? You suddenly went still." He said with a worried expression on his face.
'What the hell am I doing?' she thought. Now was not the time to freeze up.
"Enma, I'm sorry. I think I'm gonna have to go back on my word." She said with a sad smile
"What do you mean?" he asked even more concerned
"You see those boys walking over here?" she said nodding her head to the boys slowly crossing the yard towards them
"Yes" Enma said tensing up as he remembered he event of the morning. He knew those guys wouldn't back of so easily but he wouldn't let them hurt her. As the thought crossed his mind he turned to face them, hiding Sakura behind him.
"No wait, you don't understand. Those guys aren't just some bullies. They're-" before she could finish one of the boys charged forward knocking Enma down as the loud-mouthed one grabbed her. She quickly activated her flame and channeling her flame into her hand punched the guy in the face.
"These guys are under the control of the Puppeteer. If you don't fight back then they'll really kill you" she said as she rushed over and kicked away the guy about to punch Enma in the face.
"What?...Ok, I got it" he said putting his ring on his finger and activating his own flame
Sakura gritted her teeth. This was the worst case scenario. The Puppeteer wasn't the kind of guy to come face his enemy by himself. He probably wasn't even anywhere in the vicinity. She was hoping to dispose of the scouts quickly if they found her so they couldn't report back. But that plan wouldn't work against someone like this guy.
"Oh that was fast. You've gotten quite good haven't you little lamb" the loud mouth said getting up from the ground
Sakura simply stared at him angrily
"And it seems you've made some new friends. Well it's not like we didn't expect this. My acquaintance has gone now to greet you other new friends" he said with a sinister smile. There was something about the smile really bugged Enma beyond the evil look factor.
"What the hell are talking about?" Enma said in a low angry tone
"Oh this one's quite feisty huh?" the guy said still with that grin. And that's when it hit Enma, the guy's eyes were completely blank as if has asleep and looking back he realized how his movements had been strange and jerky too. Now he realized why Sakura called this guy Puppeteer
"Answer him, who the hell are you with and how the hell did you find me?" Sakura said finally speaking up
"Ah she speaks, she speaks" the guy said jumping gleefully still in those jerky motions
"Well I think you know the man who accompanied me. Well calling that savage a man might be an overstatement" the same voice spoke but coming from the other boy on the ground this time
"You don't mean Beast?" Sakura yelled out. This was bad, that guy was brutal there was no telling what he would do if he found Tsuna. In all the encounters she had had with him he'd always attacked anyone who got in his way, be it women or children. She could only hope that Tsuna wasn't at home or with the girls. That bastard wouldn't hesitate to mow them or Tsuna's family down. 'Crap, crap, crap' she thought. She had to get to Tsuna and fast. She didn't know how many people the Puppeteer had his grip on but she hoped she could get out of here in time.
*at the park*
"Reborn, why did you drag me out here? We already have some soda at home and why did we stop here anyway?" Tsuna said. While Tsuna was heading back home Reborn had suddenly said he wanted to get Soda and had dragged Tsuna with him and for some reason he brought him to the park.
"Tsuna, you really are an idiot" Reborn said. Just then the impact from something large hitting the ground in front of him knocked Tsuna off his feet.
"What the-" he started but then stopped as he saw the thing in front of him. It was a big, burly guy, wearing suspenders. His large amount of chest hair was visible from his badly buttoned shirt. His arms were also covered in hair. The guy was huge. He towered over Tsuna with bulging muscles and a tall height.
"Ahhh! Who are you?" Tsuna yelled backing away quickly
"He's the guy that's been following us since we left the school. Really! How did you miss his presence" Reborn said yelling at Tsuna
"Oh oh, you're pretty good and here I thought you were just a baby or somethin'. Guess I'as wrong" the big guy said in a booming voice
Tsuna hiccupped in response and started pulling the Vongola ring from around his neck
"I'd like to ask ya some questions but that bastard told me to make quick work of ya both so guess I'll jus' kill ya fer now" the guy said and then he moved faster thena Tsuna thought a guy his size could possibly move and before he knew what was happening the guy punched Tsuna in the stomach and sent him flying into the fence
"Tsuna!" Reborn yelled and Tsuna stood up, a brilliant orange flame on his head.
"Oh so ya survived that eh? Well I guess ya ain't half bad." The man said
"Who are you?" Tsuna asked
"Huh oh guess I forgot huh? Call me Beast, well ya won't live long enough to use that name" he said and once again rushed at Tsuna. Tsuna used his flame to block the guy and with a yell he pushed him back. Before he guy could recover from the shock Tsuna rushed him and punched him in the face. Beast went flying and rammed into the swings
"I wouldn't be to sure about that" Reborn said as the big man slumped on the ground
"I'm going back to the school. Enma and Sakura are still there and he mentioned another guy" Tsuna said flying up into the air but before he could get too far a large rock was hurled at him. He quickly dodged it and turned to see the big man on his feet again. There was a large hole on the ground to his side and Tsuna realized he hadn't hurled a rock at him. Beast and pulled up a big chunk of the ground and used it as a weapon. This guys was stronger than anticipated
"Oye oye, where ya flying of to pipsqueak. Ya think you can kill me that easily. I'm gonna smash ya to a pulp" Beast said with rage in his eyes.