I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Flash Forward: takes place when the Vongola family is in Italy, and Lambo and I-Pin are in their first year of high school. Slight AU, for in my universe I-Pin is with the Vongola in Italy, but does have a part-time job.
Final entry in Lambo and I-Pin's Wilderness Adventure mini-series. Next one-shot might deal with Fran. If you have a suggestion of a character you'd like to see a one-shot centered on, leave it in a review and I'll take it into consideration.
Lambo and I-Pin's Wilderness Adventure
Part Three: Rescue
Basilio Forest had never seen as many people as it did on April 21st, a damp and misty spring day. It was the morning after the insane downpour and Tsuna had spent the night calling as many people as he could think of, requesting assistance in searching for the teens, who were now missing for a total of four days.
He started with the Vongola mansion, where he barely got through the first ring before an eager Kyoko answered. After breaking the news that they had not found anything, she offered to come down with Haru and help. Refusing, he explained that it would be best if they stayed at the mansion, in case Lambo or I-Pin happened to call or, even better, show up.
After promising to keep the two girls updated, he started making his calling rounds. He informed his mother (who had been told about the situation from Haru two days ago) that there was so far nothing, but not to worry. Nana said she would be stationed at home all day and ordered updates whenever they could be given.
The Varia was next and Lussuria answered with his ever-cheerful tone. It quickly turned serious once Tsuna hurriedly explained the situation and the man assured him that they would be down as soon as possible.
CEDEF was next on the list. Though Tsuna was only expecting to be able to borrow Basil, his father insisted that his whole squad come down and assist, and for once the Decimo was grateful to his father. While Iemitsu was negligent in his upbringing, he was rather attentive to the teens who happily addressed him as 'Papa'.
It also came as great news when Reborn reported that the ex-Arcobaleno members would lend their services. Even the normally reclusive Verde would join with Spanner and Shoichi, who were attempting to find a way to locate the teens by technological means.
Mukuro even got a hold of Ken and Chikusa, who immediately agreed to travel the long distance to join the growing search party.
As the sun broke over the land on Wednesday morning, Tsuna informed his Guardians and Reborn of everyone who would be joining the search.
Gokudera put his hands on his hips. "If we still don't find them after all these people are searching, I'm going to start to believe that they are deliberately avoiding us."
…
Lambo cracked his eyes open and stared blearily at the ceiling of the cave they had taken refuge in. He turned his head slightly to see I-Pin still sleeping, her face pale. Licking his dry lips, he slowly sat up and stared at his empty water bottle. He then looked through the gap to see that it had stopped raining. Silently cursing himself for not refilling the bottles when he had the chance, he got up and winced when his bones gave a painful crack.
Spending the night in wet clothes had not been a good idea. His throat ached and he was shivering non-stop. Ensuring that his best friend was sound asleep, he stripped out of his soaked garments, leaving on his boxers, and took a pair of dirty clothes from his bag. They were mud-encrusted and did not smell good, but they were all he had.
Stepping into the cargo shorts and light green T-shirt, he shoved his wet clothes in his bag along with his blanket. His stomach growled insistently, but there was not much he could do for it. Snack foods only helped for so long. What they both needed was a decent meal.
Lambo went over to the gap and peered outside, squinting against the sunlight. The ground was muddy and everything was damp, all of which he expected. But it would not be nice traversing through these conditions. His muscles screamed in agony every time he moved and he was dead tired. One didn't get much sleep in trees or clearings or caves.
"What time is it?"
He glanced over his shoulder to see I-Pin sitting up, her long raven hair in a tangled mess. Neither of them had bothered with grooming their hair since getting stranded, and he knew that they looked utterly terrible.
"Couldn't tell you. But the sun's pretty high in the sky, so it can't be too early."
"Guess we better get going."
"We could stay in here for a bit, if you want," suggested Lambo.
The girl shook her head. "I want to get out of this place. I don't want to spend another night out here. I want to go home."
Sharing her feelings wholeheartedly, he packed up the rest of their stuff and slung his pack over his shoulders. He helped I-Pin into her backpack and then slung an arm around her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around his waist and hopped along on her good foot, the other hovering off the ground.
They emerged out of the cave and took a moment to look around. "Well, we came from that direction," said I-Pin as she pointed. "So let's try going in that direction." She swung her finger to the side, to an area where they had yet to trek through.
"We better pass this class with flying colours," grumbled Lambo as they started off. "I swear, if we get anything less than an A I'm throwing grenades all over the place."
"Never mind the dumb class. I'm thinking about the food I'm going to eat once we get home. Spaghetti."
"Lasagna," sighed Lambo dreamily.
"Pizza."
"Minestrone."
"Gelato."
Lambo's stomach gave a loud noise of protest and he glared down. "I know, I know. I get it. But I can't do anything about it."
I-Pin sighed wearily. "We're not going to last much longer, Tsuna-nii."
"So hurry up and find us already," added Lambo.
Unbeknownst to them, the various members of their family were spread throughout the forest, but unfortunately not close enough to where they were.
Squalo moved through the foliage, using his sword to cut down anything that got in his way. "This is completely stupid," he snapped to his companion. "How in the hell does Bovino stay missing for four days? That kid doesn't know when to shut up."
Belphegor shrugged, following after the silver-haired man. Despite his lazy posture, his eyes were intent behind his blonde bangs, sweeping back and forth. "Maybe he can't make a sound anymore."
Squalo knew the prince long enough to tell that the jab was nothing more than his dark humour attempting to make light of a tense situation. He shot a glare over his shoulder. "Don't let Sawada hear you say that," he warned.
"I'm not stupid," returned Belphegor. He paused for a moment before saying, "Do you think they are?"
Squalo pictured the carefree smile of Lambo and the dangerously sweet appearance of I-Pin. "I hope not," was all he could say in response.
…
"You're mad."
Fong's lips tightened together, his dark eyes focussed straight ahead. He was moving with untold speed through the trees, ears tuning out the sounds of nature and straining only for the sounds of his student and her best friend. Reborn was following after him with ease, never breaking his stride.
"I am not mad," he responded.
Reborn lifted an eyebrow. "I suppose that was the wrong choice of words. You don't get mad. Your training does not allow that. But I suspect you are irritated."
"Perhaps. You waited days to tell me I-Pin was missing. I could have been here much sooner if I'd been alerted the second you were all aware the kids were missing."
"We wanted to do a search ourselves first. We didn't think it would take this long to find them. An oversight on our part, I will admit. But you're here now, aren't you?"
Fong glanced over his shoulder. "I still would have liked to have been involved from the start."
"I didn't want to deal with your worrying."
The martial arts master shook his head. "I'm sure." But there was a slight smile on his face, and Reborn knew that the spell of annoyance had left.
They continued their rapid walk in silence for a moment. After a while, Reborn spoke, "You taught her well, Fong. I-Pin can take care of herself and Lambo. They're fine."
The confident words delivered a relief that Fong needed. After the curse was broken, the former Arcobaleno members found themselves remaining in close contact with the Vongola. Fong found himself quickly attached to Tsuna's family, and it wasn't long before he and the others were incorporated in the tight-knit organization (with the exception of Mammon, who already belonged to the Varia).
And of course, there was I-Pin. The girl was incredibly special to Fong. She was nothing more than a small toddler when he discovered her and she was talented then. She was charming and rather smart and articulate for someone so young. Intrigued by her, he did something he rarely ever did-he invited her to come on as his student.
It was a decision he was very happy he made. She changed his life for the better and brought him completely out of the gloom of his Arcobaleno fate. It was in fact I-Pin who convinced him to take up residence in Italy and provide his services by training new Vongola recruits.
Letting out a soft sigh, Fong moved aside a low-hanging branch. "I know we'll find them," he finally said. "But you know what I don't understand?"
"What?" asked Reborn.
"Why is Lambo being quiet the day we want him to make large amounts of noise?"
Reborn barked out a laugh. "Because that's how life works."
…
It was late afternoon and the heat drenched the two teens struggling through the forest which seemed to now be mocking them.
Lambo was dragging his feet, sweat coursing down his back and neck. I-Pin sagged against him, all energy spent and her ankle burning with pain. Both were close to losing consciousness from fatigue, lack of nutrition and water. There was only a quarter of water left in I-Pin's red plastic bottle, but both were too lazy to reach for it.
"What the heck is this?"
I-Pin managed to lift her head to see what her friend was talking about. They were at the edge of a steep slope, which dipped down to another stretch of wilderness below. "There's freaking layers to this place?" cried Lambo in dismay.
"I don't think we want to go down," muttered I-Pin. "We've spent the past…uh…four days, I suppose, walking on higher ground. So the road is up here somewhere."
"So you say. Alright, we'll-"
The piece of ground he was standing on, at the very edge of the slope, gave way and Lambo pitched down, letting go of I-Pin in the process. I-Pin fell back with a yelp of shock while her friend made a quick descent to the bottom of the slope, rolling and tumbling the entire way.
"Ouch!" he cried when the struck the bottom. He slowly rolled over and peered up. He was dismayed to see that the slope was large and that I-Pin would not be able to traverse down without injuring herself more.
"Now what?" she called down, having the same thought.
"It's too muddy to climb back up," he answered. "You keep going straight. I'll do so as well. We'll call each other's names every now and then to make sure we haven't lost each other."
"Okay," said I-Pin, though she didn't like it. Managing to find a decent enough stick near her, she used it as a crutch. Together the two set off and when they couldn't see each other they started to speak loudly every so often so that they knew where each other was located.
The inevitable happened and after a few hours, Lambo could no longer hear I-Pin's answering shouts. He also completely lost track of which way he was going. Standing still in the middle of the trees, his heart fell and tears burned in his eyes as the realization set in. He was now alone.
He wanted to go home.
I-Pin was in a similar mood, but her training allowed her to not show pain or tears. She gritted her teeth and pressed on. She didn't have a clue where she was going. Her main objective now was to find Lambo. "Lambo!"
But for the hundredth time, there was no answer.
Dusk approached and though she knew she ought to keep moving, she could not continue and she collapsed, slouching against a boulder. She panted heavily and gingerly pressed her fingers against her crudely bandaged ankle. "I'm so done with this right now," she groaned.
A low snarl caused her to slowly turn her head. Dark eyes widened in horror upon seeing the rabid wolf from earlier slink slowly towards her, foam dripping from its mouth.
Guess Lambo only knocked it out when he hit it with his bag…
She was defenseless. She was injured, she no longer had any energy to move. Lambo was not there to help her. She was going to be rabid wolf dinner.
But there was one last weapon left in her arsenal. She just hoped it worked.
With every fiber of her being, with all the volume she had, she screamed, and she did not stop.
…
"Aaaggghhh! Aaaggghhh!"
Reborn and Fong froze for a moment at the sudden, shrill scream that echoed across the landscape. In a second they were moving, flitting through the trees with lightning fast speed, hearts pumping with worry and adrenaline.
When they burst through a section of trees, they immediately spotted I-Pin shrunk against a rock, screaming her lungs out as a rabid wolf advanced towards her. With rapid accuracy Reborn lifted his gun and fired, nailing the creature three times. It dropped to the ground, blood oozing from its wounds.
"I-Pin!" Fong rushed over and dropped beside the stunned girl. He grabbed her trembling hand. "It's okay. You're safe now."
Reborn studied her intently. She was pale, covered in scratches, insect bites and dirt. Her ankle was clearly swollen and she looked completely and utterly spent.
The girl's eyes filled with tears. The hitman crouched down and inspected her ankle. "Shamal will have to look at this." He looked up to see the tears trailing down her cheeks. "Hey, you're fine now. No need for that."
"I missed you," was all she could sob.
Reborn clucked his tongue and said, "You've definitely been out here too long."
He took her bag from her and slung it over his shoulders. Fong stood up and lifted I-Pin easily into his arms. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and whispered, "I lost Lambo, Master."
The two men frowned. "Where?" asked Reborn.
"A while back. He went down a slope. I don't know where he is."
"We'll keep a look out for him while we take you back to the cars. Fong will keep you company until we find Lambo," assured Reborn.
"How long have we been gone?"
"Almost five days."
"It felt like five months," said I-Pin tiredly.
Reborn frowned. "I'm sorry we took so long," he said, sincerely guilty that he and others had not been able to find the teens sooner.
"It's okay. I knew you'd find us eventually." I-Pin closed her eyes. "Where is everyone?"
"Searching this place inch by inch for you and Lambo," replied Fong. "They'll be happy to know you were recovered safely."
They reached the road a little while later, where several cars were parked along the side of the cement. I-Pin frowned. "Geez. We weren't even close."
Reborn pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket. Since there was no service in the forest, Tsuna decided it would be a good idea if everyone had one of them so they could keep in touch. The hitman pressed a button on the side and lifted the device to his lips.
"Tsuna?"
"Reborn? What's up?"
Reborn shifted his eyes to I-Pin, where a wide smile graced her exhausted features. Lips curling upwards, he said simply, "We found her."
As the good news travelled across the channels, he was soon answered with delighted exclamations (with the exception of the Varia, who expressed their relief with grumbles of it's about damn time and Lussuria's squeals of happiness).
I-Pin reached out her hands and Reborn handed the walkie-talkie over. "Thanks, guys. But there's a still a problem. Lambo is still out there," she informed glumly.
"Damn Bovino." Squalo's voice came blasting through the speakers. "Don't you have a leash for that kid yet?"
I-Pin grinned. "I'm working on it, Squalo-kun. He sort of got away from me."
"We'll find him," promised Gokudera.
"Hmmphf. If we have too," added Xanxus.
Smiling, I-Pin handed the walkie-talkie back to Reborn. The hitman slipped it back in his pocket and looked at Fong. "I'm heading back in there. Tsuna will probably be here soon."
"We'll be here."
Reborn snorted, dropping I-Pin's pack to the ground. "You better."
He strode off and I-Pin looked up. "You can put me down, Master. I'll be fine on the ground."
"Your ankle is injured. You don't want to aggravate it anymore." Fong brushed a few stray hairs away from the girl's eyes. "What happened?"
"I tripped and landed wrong," she answered. "Lambo and I, we were trying to get away from that rabid wolf you saved me from."
Fong frowned deeply. "It didn't get either of you, did it?"
I-Pin shook her head. "In our first encounter, Lambo hit it with his bag and knocked it out. When it woke, it must been tracking us. But when you found me, it was only the second time I've seen it and Reborn killed it." Her eyes closed and she sighed. "I'm tired, Master."
"I know. You'll be home soon."
"I-Pin!"
The girl opened her eyes and removed her head from Fong's shoulder. "Tsuna-nii! Chrome-nee!" she exclaimed happily.
The brunette rushed over, Chrome right behind him. His brown eyes lit with concern at the sight of I-Pin's ankle. "You're hurt."
"Not badly," she responded.
Fong extended his arms and Tsuna gladly took the girl into his hold. "Are you in pain?" Chrome asked anxiously.
"Little bit," admitted I-Pin, sagging against her elder brother. "But it's fine."
"Do you want Fong to take you home?" questioned Tsuna. "Shamal can take a look at your ankle-"
"I want to wait for Lambo."
"Of course you do." Smiling fondly, gave her a kiss to the forehead. "We'll find him. Until then, Chrome and Fong will keep you company. Is it okay if I go back out and keep looking?"
"Of course. And you can set me down now. I don't think my ankle can get much worse."
Tsuna gave a nod. He set the girl down on her backpack, and she lifted her ankle and set it carefully against her knee. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised before hurrying back to continue the search for Lambo.
"I missed you," said I-Pin, extending her hand to Chrome.
The indigo-haired woman grasped the appendage. "I missed you too, I-Pin-chan. You had us all so worried."
"Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," spoke Fong. "It isn't your fault."
"It's not Mr. Fionchi's fault either," she said pointedly.
"Yes, it is," both Chrome and Fong returned.
Shaking her head, I-Pin could not help but smile.
Alright, Lambo. Hurry up and get found so we can go home.
…
"I hate nature. I hate trees. I hate mud. I hate camping. I hate hate hate this."
Lambo pushed through another clump of trees, utterly fed up with the entire experience. He veered in a random direction, no longer paying attention to much of anything. The sky was getting darker by the minute, only a few rays of orange lingering in the expanse above. He swatted branches from his face and spotted a stone in the middle of his path.
"I. Hate. Nature!" He gave the stone a solid kick, sending it flying through a clump of bushes.
"Ouch! Who threw that, kora?"
The familiar voice filled Lambo with unexplainable joy. Praying that he was not hallucinating, he charged through the bushes and through another section of trees. When he burst onto a dirt path, he found Colonnello rubbing the spot where the stone struck him and Lal Mirch glaring at him in annoyance.
"Colonnello! Lal!"
The two whirled around. At the sight of the teen, in one piece and relatively fine, relieved expressions crossed their faces. "Where the hell have you been, kora?"
"Waiting for you people!" Lambo charged forwards and wrapped his arms around both of them in a tight embrace. "I'm so happy to see you."
Lal snorted. "I can't believe it took this long to find you. Especially with that voice of yours." But her hand moved down to pat his shoulder. "Glad to see you're alive."
Lambo moved back, his smile suddenly falling. "But I got separated from I-Pin. I don't know where she is."
Colonnello ruffled the teen's curly hair. "She was found about an hour ago. She's waiting for your sorry butt."
"We'll let the others know you've been found," said Lal, removing her walkie-talkie from her belt.
Lambo's eyes lit up. "Ooh, ooh, can I sound the call?"
"This ought to be good," said Colonnello with a grin as Lal handed the device over.
"Is this gonna go to everyone?" wondered Lambo, finger hovering over the button.
"Yes. Are you gonna be stupid?"
"Maybe." Lambo grinned. He pressed the button and shouted, "It's about time, people!"
"It's the butt monkey," Skull's cheerful voice said.
"Yo, dumb butt," shot back Lambo.
"Who found you?" wondered Squalo.
"Colonello and Lal."
"Put him back," ordered Levi.
"Lambo! You're okay!" exclaimed Tsuna, his relief evident.
"Great. Now I have someone who can do my math homework again," spoke Fran.
"Is that why your marks have been crap?" quipped Mammon.
"Lambo-chan, you poor thing," cooed Lussuria. "You and I-Pin-chan will get all the sweets!"
More sarcastic remarks, exclamations of relief and banter flowed from the speaker of the walkie-talkie. Lambo grinned broadly. "I missed you people."
"Yeah, they've definitely been out here for too long," drawled Reborn.
"We're going to head back to the road now," called Lal. "We might leave Colonnello out here."
"I'm cool with that," said Skull.
Colonnello rolled his eyes and leaned over Lambo's shoulder. "Reborn, if you see him before I do, shoot him."
"As always."
"Hey!"
"Alright, I'll see you all later." Lambo handed the walkie-talkie back to Lal. "Let's get out of this place. I'm sick of leaves. I'm sick of dirt. I'm sick of all this."
Noticing that the teen was sagging slightly under the weight from his backpack, Colonnello relieved him from his burden. "So I guess a summer camping trip is out of the question?"
Lambo snorted. "Unless you're bringing an R.V. with air-conditioning, satellite and WiFi, yes. It is most definitely out of the question."
After a bit of trekking through the trees they came across Mukuro, Ken and Chikusa. "More people who love me!" exclaimed Lambo, rushing forwards and tackling his elder brother in a hug.
"I don't recall ever sharing that sentiment," drawled Ken as Mukuro ran his fingers through Lambo's curly black hair.
"You share your chocolate snacks with me. That's enough of a confirmation for me."
"He's got you there," replied Chikusa, and promptly received a punch to the arm.
"You put us through a lot of trouble," said Mukuro as the group continued walking.
"You ought to be used to it by now," returned Lambo with an innocent grin. Mukuro rolled his mismatched eyes and kicked the back of the teen's leg lightly.
They reached the road, where the rest of the search party was already gathered. The second Lambo appeared within sight a vast majority of them booed. Lambo set his hands on his hips. "Oh, so funny."
"I'm the favourite!" called I-Pin, gingerly holding her ankle up as Ryohei re-bandaged it with actual bandage wraps.
Grumbling under his breath, Lambo shuffled towards the road. Tsuna met him halfway and embraced him tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe," he whispered.
"Me too," said Lambo feelingly.
"You're both dropping that infernal class the first chance you get," ordered Hibari.
"We can do that," said Lambo in relief.
"Here, ahoshi."
The teen gratefully accepted the full bottle of water. "Thanks, Haya-nii." He took a few chugs of the cold liquid and paused when his stomach gave a demanding grumble. "Shut up, we'll get food eventually."
"Takeshi called ahead. Haru and Kyoko are making food as we speak," promised Tsuna. "Bianchi and Futa are on their way back from Mom's. They send their regards and wish they could have helped look for you."
"It's cool." Lambo glanced over his shoulder and extended his hand. "Can I have my pack please?"
"Sure, kora." Colonnello handed it over and Lambo unzipped the top compartment. He hefted out his bag of grape gumballs and tossed a chocolate bar I-Pin's way.
The girl caught it and smiled. "Thanks."
"Oi, can I have one?"
Lambo pulled out another chocolate bar and handed it to Fran. "What extra credit class did you take again?" he asked.
"Environmental studies," Fran replied, unwrapping the sweet. "All the joys of nature without having to leave the classroom."
Belphegor turned to Squalo. "Can we leave him out here?"
"You want to do the paperwork afterwards?"
The blonde prince pursed his lips in distaste. "Royalty does not do paperwork."
"You don't do anything," muttered Fran lowly and didn't even flinch when three knives embedded into his back.
Iemitsu regarded the teen in fond amusement. "Your first choice of food to bring on a camping trip is gumballs?"
"And granola bars, chips and chocolate," added Lambo, shoving a handful of the candy into his mouth.
"But we ate the granola bars," piped up I-Pin, accepting Ryohei's hand and slowly standing up.
"Let's go home and get some real food in you," said Tsuna.
"And a shower," added Ken, shoving teasingly at Lambo's shoulder. "You reek."
"Excuse me, Mr. One-Bath-A-Month," said Lambo indigently through a mouthful of grape gum. "We didn't have much options out here."
A collection of wolf howls suddenly sounded in the night sky, causing the two teens to pale. "Okay, let's go home," said Lambo, eyes darting to the entrance of the forest warily. "I want food and warmth and comfort and hugs from Haru-chan and Kyoko-chan."
"Everyone is welcome to join us for dinner," invited Tsuna, and he made a mental note to call Spanner, Shoichi and Verde the moment he got cell service. "I greatly appreciate your help in finding Lambo and I-Pin."
As the group of Vongola family members trekked to the various cars parked along the side of the road, Reborn suddenly asked, "How did you get left behind in the first place?"
The two teens paused, with I-Pin hanging onto Ryohei for balance. They glanced at each other, doing the silent communication they were rather good at. Reborn watched as I-Pin bit her lip and as Lambo nervously shifted his green eyes back and forth.
"Can't remember," I-Pin finally offered with an apologetic smile.
"Bull," declared Gokudera.
Reborn crossed his arms, a slow, sinister smile crossing his face as he levelled his dark gaze on the fidgeting teen. "Let me rephrase. Whose fault was it?"
Lambo felt every eye lock onto him. With quick steps he moved to take cover behind his best friend, where he would protected from Reborn's bullets, Belphegor's knives, Hibari's tonfas and the usual smacks and kicks. "Fine, yes, it's my fault. I had to…go away from the meeting spot for a bit and I-Pin offered to come with me."
"He had to take a whizz," supplied I-Pin helpfully, and the teen buried his face into her shoulder as it heated up in mortification. "I didn't want him to go off alone so I stayed close. When he was done and we returned, everyone was gone."
Squalo summed up everyone's thoughts with, "Damn it, Bovino."
"You can't hide behind her all night," said Reborn. "I'll be sure to shoot you the second I get the chance."
Lambo stuck close to his best friend as they continued moving. He suspected that the celebration part of them being found would end in a few injuries on his part.
Which meant he was finally going back home with the people that mattered most to him.
