Reborn considered the information Tsuna had uneasily come back carefully. He had no doubt that all of the information was legitimate, but he did doubt if it was the whole truth. What part had Izaya had in this war? Were all these people connected in a way different than the obvious? What worried him the worst was Izaya's last, 'bonus' line. He had told Tsuna that for a reason, and Reborn knew that that reason wasn't favourable to them.
"Yamamoto might get roped deeper in to this than anyone else in Vongola."
How was Yamamoto involved? Had those 'bad memories' of his have something to do with this? Maybe he should confront Yamamoto about this matter, but he had no guarantee that Yamamoto would tell him. No, Yamamoto would not tell him. Reborn didn't like any of these blurry circumstances. He could tell, even if the others weren't smart enough to read deeper, that there was some underground planning that would cause major problems.
Be that as it may, he can only run with as much information as he had right now.
"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, call everybody here," He ordered.
A sip from his cup of espresso calmed his mind, even if just barely. Tsuna looked he had something to say but decided against it when he saw Reborn's troubled face. He had a feeling that this war was going to affect them much more than their previous fights.
-insertlinebreakhere-
"So, what we know about the Yellow Scarves is this:"
Reborn was perched on edge of a table with a rather serious expression, and the rest were scattered around Tsuna's hotel room, the exceptions being Lambo and the one who was taking care of him, Basil.
"The Yellow Scarves are the more violent gang of the two, and they seem to be the one who started this war. They think that the Slasher has hurt their shogun's friend, and that the Slasher is part of Dollars. They were also in a war with the now disbanded Blue Squares before. Izaya also mentioned that they are having an internal dispute."
"The Dollars, on the other hand, seem to be on the losing end. Many of their members seem to be quitting out of fear. Their gang is the more ambiguous one, as no one knows who the very top is and they hardly take action. I found out through rumours, though, that their leader has issued a command for information on the Slasher, which may or may not confirm that the Slasher is in Dollars."
Reborn turned to Tsuna, "You are the boss. What do you plan to do?"
"E-Eh? Me? Wait—I already told you I wasn't going to be boss!" Tsuna objected.
Gokudera piped in, "Don't be like that, Tenth! No one else is worthy like you to be the boss!"
Reborn simply ignored this and pinned Tsuna with his stare, waiting for an answer.
"Ah, well," Tsuna thought for a while, "I guess we can try to talk to the Yellow Scarves and Dollars?"
Reborn's matter-of-fact tone killed the idea, "If that had worked, then why did we need to come to Ikebukuro?"
Yamamoto echoed this with a laugh. Tsuna sighed. He still didn't like the idea of violence.
"What if we caught the Slasher? Then the Yellow Scarves and Dollars will have no reason to fight," Tsuna suggested hopefully.
Reborn said, "Unfortunately, I don't think that this war is as shallow as it seems. It's also a bit of a rivalry thing, and it will continue, with or without the Slasher."
"Think of it this way: if the Yellow Scarves continue this war and win, they might try to usurp our other allied famiglias, and eventually come after Vongola. This means everybody in this room will be in trouble. They might even target Kyoko and Haru."
Reborn's words hit everybody hard. The reality that their friends might be injured, even killed was unthinkable. Tsuna's expression turned murderous, visible despite the thick brown bangs that fell over his eyes. I won't let them do that.
Reborn watched his student, and the corners of his mouth turned up in an approving smile. Remember that resolve, Tsuna.
He announced, "We'll go to the Yellow Scarves hideout and give them a warning. If they refuse…"
Hibari nodded. Discipline would be in order. The silence that lingered in the air was heavy and unwanted, but needed. The Vongola split up to get ready for a huge brawl.
-insertlinebreakhere-
"I need to do something."
Anri shuddered, folding her arms tight across her ample chest. A terrible, ominous feeling assaulted her and she knew.
I need to do something.
She wasn't sure exactly what, but she knew that something was changing, and fast. She couldn't control whatever that was, but she needed to know. She needed to know the truth.
She wasn't an idiot. She could tell that something about everything was off. Her two best friends dazed off in to obliviousness when they thought she wasn't looking. Mikado kept obsessively checking his cell phone, and always seemed too alert when people walked by, spouting rumours. He reacted strangely when the topic of colour gangs came up. Kida wasn't much better, frankly. He was always deep in thought. When they hung out, he would always have to leave suddenly because 'something came up'. His eyes clouded with pain when he looked at her. She couldn't stand not knowing.
The world around them now buzzed with caution. Everybody felt the danger in the air. They all acted like a riot was going to start any moment. There was no logic to this feeling. She just knew.
Then, it came. A gunshot that set off her course of action.
Kanra:「By the way, Saika-san, do you know of a gang called the Yellow Scarves?」
Saika:「You mean, the people who wear yellow cloth around the city?」
Kanra:「Yes, them!~ Well, there's another gang like them called the Dollars.」
Kanra:「Due to the Slasher incidents, the two of them are in a pretty dire situation right now!~ ( ゚ Д゚)」
Saika:「Ano… What do you mean by that?」
Anri was worried. Could that insecurity she had been feeling recently be her own fault?
Setton:「Give it a rest, Kanra-san.」
Setton: 「Don't bring up that sort of dark stuff with people who don't know about it.」
Anri smiled when Celty intervened. It was so like her ethereal friend, whose concern for her was one of a kind.
Kanra:「No, no. You have to know if you live in Ikebukuro!」
Kanra: 「The perpetrator for the Slasher incidents hasn't been caught yet, right?」
Kanra:「A lot of the Dollars and Yellow Scarves members have been hurt by the Slasher.」
Kanra:「Apparently, they both think that the Slasher is involved with the other gang.」
Tanaka Taro:「The Dollars don't seem so hung up over this, though.」
Tanaka Taro:「 I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, since they both don't know much about each other (_)v」
Kanra:「Either way, if one of them don't take things in to hand with the Slasher, blood will rain down on Ikebukuro (ーー;)」
—Motono has joined the conversation—
Motono:「Yo! (^▽^)」
Kanra:「Ah, a new face? Afternoon!~」
Setton:「Afternoon.」
Tanaka Taro:「Afternoon, Motono-san.」
Saika:「Good afternoon…」
Motono:「Is this an Ikebukuro chat? It sounds like you guys are having fun.」
Tanaka Taro:「Ah, more or less, I think.」
Kanra:「We're talking about the Yellow Scarves and Dollars~ Do you know about them?」
Motono:「I heard that they're starting a war.」
A war? Anri was startled beyond belief.
Kanra:「Now they have a real rivalry!~」
Kanra:「It's scary ヽ(≧Д≦)ノ ウワァァン!」
—Setton wants to start a private conversation with you.—
Setton:「You don't have to worry about anything, Anri-chan.」
Setton: 「Those are running amuck by themselves. You don't have to turn yourself in or anything, since you're not the true culprit.」
Setton: 「Don't be hasty.」
Setton: 「The police are really scary these days! They really are! Really!」
Setton: 「Especially the traffic cops!」
—In the main conversation.—
Saika: 「Thank you very much.」
—In the private conversation.—
Setton: 「Ah, right. I'll teach you about private chats later ヽ(´ー`)┌」
—In the main conversation.—
Saika: 「Ano… Excuse me. This is it for me today.」
Tanaka Taro: 「Ah, okay.」
Tanaka Taro: 「See you around, Saika-san.」
Kanra: 「Good night~」
Motono:「That's fast! Good night, ne.」
Setton: 「Bye (´・ω・`)」
—Saika has left the conversation.—
Anri flopped on to her bed, sighing.
I have to do something.
-insertlinebreakhere-
Author's Note:
Gah. That's a lot of the chat. It was tiring to type, because I decided to implement the '「」' and the evoticons that Japanese use. I'll admit: I copied the evoticons off Google. Haha.
'Motono' is written as '本野', meaning 'just'. It's also a combination of two words that are related to that person. If anyone manages to figure out why I chose that name, tell me.
Was this chapter okay? I don't really know. The next chapter is going to be pretty interesting, though.
R&R?
-Rin-
