A/N: Heeeeeey guuuuys. Rose again! So, uh, new chapter? I can say I honestly don't like it, but posting it and getting it out of the way is better than mopping and not knowing how to fix it while you all are waiting. SO, you all finally get some Mist Guardians! Good for you. Sorry that she kinda got thrown under the bus with all the other stuff. If you don't get how the timeline is playing out, tell me, because I can't even tell you the number of papers I've got laying around in an effort to understand the timeline of my own story. I'll stop talking now, enjoy reading :)
Chapter Seven
Easier to Lose than Find
Its ears twitched as he pasted it, and he comfortingly patted its shoulder. Maru's eyes narrowed at him, and with a hiss, he lunged forward with his knife.
Chrome stared at the object in front of her. She wasn't really sure what it was, and Mukuro's snide comments in the back of her head didn't help. She gingerly poked it with a silver fork, and she swore the prongs turned black. She glanced over at Ken, who was busy making more of the . . . stuff. She was trying to convince herself that her friend hadn't taken cooking lessons from Bianchi, but found it very hard. Mukuro pointed out that Ken didn't have reliable taste buds because of his Channels, and shouldn't be the judge when it came to food. It made her wonder in return why she had agreed to let him cook today.
"Chrome," the illusionist lifted her head at her name. "Is something bothering you?" Chrome frowned and worry laced her features. She knew her master was sly and mischievous, but he was more on the blunt side when there was an issue. He chuckled in her head. "Is it those idiots at Vongola? I have felt restless as well. Perhaps we should go for a little stroll?" Chrome pushed out of her chair, and turned to gather her friends, when he stopped her again. "No, leave the others here. You should go alone."
Mukuro-sama . . .? The official Mist Guardian didn't reply, and her sense of distress heightened. Stuttering a cover story that Ken probably saw straight through, Chrome ran to her room. She couldn't help but think that her master's warning was abrupt. He didn't betray any concern, but the fact that he had hinted about trouble, even before Tsuna, had her grabbing her trident and heading straight for the door. When she prodded at his mind, he remained surprisingly silent. She knew this kind of silence well; it was him resting before a large scale fight – it was the calm before the storm.
Chrome arrived at Namimori High by the last class hour. She noticed the skylark on the roof, clearly debating her reasons for being there, and if she was worth a fight. Apparently she wasn't, as he soon swept away to the front roofs. From the inside of the building, she heard the final bell ring for dismissal, accenting Hibari's exit nicely.
The second Mist lingered by the back courtyard's fence, true to her flame's namesake, and watched with strained senses. She didn't find anything out of place. It put her on edge; it was too quiet, and Mukuro still wasn't replying. She waited there for a while longer, before her nerves grew too much for her, and she decided that moving would be for the best. She wandered to the front yard, thinking to catch her boss on his way out.
She froze at the corner of the building. Pressing herself to the wall, she peered around the corner at the scene unfolding. Dust was settling from where someone must have kicked it up, presumably from sprinting suddenly. She wondered briefly if it had anything to with the Cloud who had headed this way earlier. Meanwhile, black-suited SWAT members were crawling around like overgrown ants. Pulling back, Chrome employed her Mist flames to cover and hide her from any stray eyes. Mukuro had been right; trouble was never far from those who dwelled in the Mafia.
The sudden ring of bullets blasting through concrete forced her to cover her ears. Chrome might come in harm's way if she stayed here much longer. She knew most of those bullets would be ricocheting all over – the only safe place would be far from here. She felt she wouldn't have much to gain here anyways; she wasn't one to pick unnecessary fights. She would leave that to Hibari.
Fleeing to the backyard again, she noticed an odd arrangement of crates. She frowned disapprovingly at them; even when placed strategically next to carts of sports equipment, they looked out of place. Chrome paused to see if the other Mist wanted to suggest a plan of action, but there was no such comment. Slightly frustrated with this lack of communication, she took out her emotions on the crate via trident. Prying off the lid made her feel a bit better, and she set about looking through the items it contained.
It was nothing that would make her suspicious. It appeared to be harmless school supplies, nothing more, nothing less. The first crate was piled with spiral notebooks, and packets of loose-leaf paper held together in plastic wrappings. The second held miscellaneous sports things - not all she could identify. She noted that the cargo was in a state of disarray compared to the last box, but continued on. The third box was long and stood vertically, unlike the others. This one was harder to pry open, due to the awkward angle. When the lid finally did come off, it revealed more sports equipment, things like bats and hockey sticks. She wondered at the purpose of such items – Namimori didn't have a hockey team, did they? At least her school didn't. Perhaps this school was just very odd; ironic if one considered the oddities of the students here.
Chrome didn't have time to ponder the situation or its irony further. A loudspeaker positioned above the door started to crackle like a witch, and after what was clearly a struggle, it decided it wanted to play the announcement. You could say, neither Mist Guardians were expecting what the following message conveyed.
Akane huffed and crossed his arms. He glared at the stuttering underclassmen in front of him. The poor boy tried to explain why the whole of the clubs were presently milling around in the gym. Akane rolled his eyes and walked away while he was still speaking – he wasn't finding answers like this.
He wanted, needed, an explanation for what had happened. It was unexplainable, but he had to have it anyways. The strange happenings that led his club and him here, what was it? It wasn't long at all, a simple five, maybe ten minutes ago. Every detail etched itself in his mind.
It was in the drama club that it happened. He was leading in the absence of their real president, and they were rehearsing for the upcoming play. Elise had said her line, and was answered by the intercom system. A few people chuckled at the ironic timing, before the room was silent and they listened. When the message was over, murmurs spread and the crowd shuffled. Many set down whatever they were holding, scripts and equipment, and turned to look inquisitively at him. Akane tried not to panic. This was not part of his job!
The boy next to Akane nudged him. "Hey, uh, you know what's going on, right?"
Akane sputtered and hummed while trying to make up some plausible excuse that he could tell them. His caramel eyes flicked franticly from face to floor and to folders, but none yielded a solution. He saw a small movement in the corner of his eye and all but threw himself at it. The teacher's office door had been left slightly ajar; a plan was quickly taking form in his mind.
"Yeah, just give me a second," Akane spoke easily. His voice had never betrayed him before, one of the reasons he took to acting. Slipping into the side room, he slammed the door shut behind him and braced against it. He still didn't know what he was doing - he had only bought a few precious moments.
He pushed himself up and started to pace. His fingers automatically swept his black bangs to the side. He searched the room for anything that could help him, eyes landing on the phone. He snatched the receiver and held it to his ear with his shoulder, hands busy finding the main office's number. Once he found it, he punched in the digits and the line started to ring. A few puzzling sounds scratched through, the noise of static braking the otherwise constant ringing. Right when he considered hanging up and trying again, the click of another phone came through.
"Hello?" The voice was soft sounding, but was raised to be heard. In the background, all sorts of assaulting sounds could be heard. Akane felt sorry for the one on the other side of the line. The voice was gentle; it could have passed for male or female, but held a certain tone that told of distress.
"Hello? Is this the office . . . ?" Akane was wondering if he had dialed the wrong number.
"Ah, yes! What do you-" the person was cut off by someone else yelling, and the static came back. "Shit! – listen – fast . . . can't get to – go on your- own!" Their speech was broken and fuzzy, and that was all he could make out before the line went dead.
Akane slowly lowered the phone from his ear. What . . . ? He stared at the microphone in disbelief. He couldn't quite understand whatever the person was saying, but he got the gist of it. Something was wrong – that much was clear from their voice alone -and they need to get out here, ASAP. Even with this running through his head, the drama member couldn't bring himself to move. He was in shock of some sort, he didn't know what to do, or what was going on; to the point his body just refused to keep up.
The papers on the desk in front of him fluttered softly, and there was a small clicking sound. Akane looked up and did a double take. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing straight. A white owl was perched on the edge of wood, staring at him calmly.
"W-wha-? I don't-" Akane stuttered, taking a step back.
The bird cooed quietly and puffed its feathers a little bit. It hopped closer, leaning over and trying to peck his hand. The teen snatched his hand away from the offending bird with an objective cry. The owl only blinked its indigo eyes and rolled its shoulders. It hooted in its low tone again, but this time it flapped it wings and threw papers everywhere. It hovered over him and tugged on his hair impatiently.
"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, stop it! What're you doing?" Akane did his best to swat the annoyance out of the air, but only ended up having his hand bitten. "Okay, okay, fine! What do you want?" The bird calmed at that, making a pleased rumbling sound in its throat. It glided over to the door, and slipped out the crack. "Ah! Wait, don't-!"
The drama student looked through the window and grimaced in utter confusion. The white animal was gone. Nowhere in sight – it had vanished into thin air. Akane drifted past the door and looked around the room in a daze. Nothing was making sense it seemed, and there were only more and more problems piling up. He knew that the people around him were asking questions, he could feel them grabbing his arms and shoulders to get attention, but he shook them off and ignore them. Then he saw it - the little indigo dot, hazing around above the hallway door. It was a deep indigo, the same color as the owl's eyes.
Akane somewhat gestured for the crowd to wait where they were, and slowly stuck his head out of the door that the color was coming from. The corridor stretched far, before turning out of sight, and was lined with classroom doors. The other side bared the same results, empty classrooms, but fog was creeping down the hall. The mist was pale around the edges, but towards the center turned darker and darker blue. Steeling his frayed nerves, Akane took a brave step forward.
Entering the mist, he quickly lost any grip on reality. He swore that figures were shifting around him, and eyes were boring into his back. He spun around so many times he lost his way. It was a school hallway, it only goes two ways! So why was it, no matter how far he walked, he couldn't seem to find the wall? The calm he had forced when he walked in was long since gone, replaced by a familiar, choking panic.
Breaking into a sprint, the drama leader spotted a door. He skidded to a stop in front of it. He couldn't see the normal wall of cement blocks, and when he reached out, he couldn't feel it either. What was going on? Why was there a random door, seemingly floating in mid-air? He walked around it, and found there was nothing behind it. Walking in circles, he came back to the same answer every time. It was, simply, a disembodied door.
Akane came to stand in front of it once again, stumped. He still felt the crippling fear, but it had been suppressed by a large sense of confusion by this paradox. Akane was a very impatient person, and puzzles were not for him. The only thing that had kept him from opening the door thus far was his fear; but now he gingerly laid his fingertips on the silver knob. He turned it slowly and it worked smoothly, without sound, until there was a click. It was locked. What? Akane tried this twice more before throwing his hands up. Seriously?! Who the hell just puts a door in the middle of nowhere and locks it?!
Fuming, he spun around and started to stomp off. It took him a while to hear it, a quiet "drip, drip, drip." He froze and chills went up his spine. He peeked over his shoulder, to find the same door directly behind him. It was as if he hadn't moved at all. Akane felt a rising dread as he read the newly painted words on the door. In wet indigo paint 'Help them' was still dripping.
The teen trembled, stumbling back a few steps. "H-help who? What is this?" His eyes were glued to the wood as the letters rewrote themselves. It now read 'Take them to the gym.' "What? Who am I supposed to be taking?" he whimpered.
'Check your pocket.'
Akane stared and stared at the words, blood turned to ice. He slid one shaking hand into his pants pocket, a felt clod metal inside. He squeezed his eyes closed as he brought it out, already guessing what it was. He cracked one eyelid open to see a small silver key. It was beautifully cut, with swirls and designs all along its length. He forced himself towards the door, and slid the key into the hole. It clunked; the doorknob now turned the whole revolution. He shut his eyes as it opened, and flung himself through the doorway.
The buy landed with his knees hitting the cement, and his hands automatically went in front of him. Surprised voices and yelps greeted him. His head whipped up, only to see the familiar faces of the drama club. They circled him with concern, asking if he was alright and why he had fallen.
What— How – Why – Akane was completely, and utterly, lost. He had never been so confused in his life. He would have taken longer to wallow in this hysteria if not for the fact some boys were pulling him up. They let go of his arms when they were sure he had hid feet firmly planted, and dusted off his back for him.
Reassuring everyone that he was fine (something he severely doubted) was enough to calm him down. The message had told him to lead 'Them' to the gym, and then he had wound up in the classroom again. He was supposed to guide the drama club? His brain was so overloaded right then, he didn't even double think how sketchy this all was.
He quickly explained to his fellows he had found where they needed to go. They seemed generally happy with the announcement, though a few still were looking skeptical. He ignored that minority best he could in his frazzled state, and began the trek to the gym.
It wasn't long until they breached the gymnasium walls, causing dozens of children to look up. He saw mixed clubs within, first the lithe fighter kids, than some scrawny nerds scuttling in back. He even saw the occasional flamboyant hairstyle of a disciple committee member. A black hair teen walked up to him, and started to explain the orders they all had received.
Thus brings us back to the present, while Akane ground his teeth and glared at any brave soul that went near him. He lingered around the back door, leading to the back courtyard which held a pool. From across the room he saw the crow-haired child from earlier slip out an adjacent door. On the far side, another girl exited into the hallway. Well, at least he wasn't the only person tired of waiting. Taking this as a cue of sorts, Akane glanced both ways before backing through the doors.
He grabbed the handles and guided them shut to reduce the noise. After waiting a few minutes to assure himself no one had followed, he turned. He lurched back as he came nose to nose with lively purple eyes.
A short, petite girl stood before him. Her violet hair was elaborately strung up in a fruit-like spike, with bangs framing her cheeks. He know saw she had only one sparkling iris, the other covered with a black eye patch. It was imprinted with a silver skull, and a similar pattern appeared throughout her green army uniform. She blushed from the close contact and shuffled back a bit.
"H-hello," she stammered, "Wha-what are you doing out of the gym?"
Akane tried to formulate a sentence, while thinking alongside 'Why is it always the cute ones?'
Kyaaaaa, I'm sorry this chapter is so choppily paced! My normal cliffhanger kinda fell flat . . . Anywho, R&R. Some of you guess probably just got a PM screaming about how sorry I was I hadn't replied. I would seem my Gmail doesn't want to give me any notifications from FF. Why? NO IDEA. If anyone knows anything that's happened to them and can help, I'd appericate it! I'm so behind on my stories now ;D; Oh, and by the way, I have a poll on my page, and I just updated a few more things on it. So far, KHR X DGM crossover is in the lead!
Thanks for reading, and have a magical day! ~Rose
