The Bureau of Unexpected Tales

You know that seminar I was talking about for the past two chapters? Yeah, I've literally nothing on it. Nothing. Zip. Blank. Nada. I know I'm going to regret that very, very, very soon :')

This is Chapter Nine. I hope you guys like it! ^^"

Song of the day: The Suicide Circus (the GazettE)

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!


Chapter Nine

The temple was worse for wear when they finally stumbled upon their home. It was still the same majestic red building that gave them a comforting sense of welcome, but there were obvious signs of attack upon it. The stone steps were littered with rubble and the two statues at the front were broken into dozens of pieces. The gardens were no longer filled with blooming plants or small animals, but hosted piles of bricks, stones, and two massive catapults. The monks were walking around the area in pairs of twos, holding spears and wearing bronze breastplates. Tsuna, Reborn, and Fon all stared at the temple when they finally arrived at the doorway, stunned at the amount of change that had been made in half a year's time. The war was so very nearly upon them.

"Brothers!"

All three hunters spun around to see Dino and Basil run up to them, a look of shock and intense relief on their faces.

"Dino! Basil!" Fon said, hurrying over at once. Tsuna and Reborn followed. Tsuna bit his lip when he saw how worn down the two looked; Dino's hair had grown out long enough to be tied back into a ragged ponytail and Basil had a temporary medical eye patch over his right eye. Their arms were bandaged and they too, held spears. It was also a painful reminder of how much time had been lost.

"You're back, you're alright," Dino said in relief, clasping each of their hands. "Good grief, you better go in at once, the others would be delighted to see you!"

"I don't think delighted would be the right word," Reborn sighed, but he jerked his head up to the open doors. "Let's go."

The inside of the temple had also changed. For once, the decorative statues, paintings, and bookshelves had been packed away to be replaced by a massive collection of spears, swords, and rifles ready to be used at any time. Torches were burning daily in dishes hanging from the ceiling, and even inside, people rushed about, glancing nervously at the sky, as though anticipating attacks.

"What's happened to the temple?" Fon asked breathlessly, watching two monks carry a giant crate outside.

"A lot, my brother," Dino winced. "Attacks upon the temple have been growing frequent and harsh. We've had to rebuild several parts of the hall from the outside and we're always on guard. We've armed every open space and are developing defence tactics around the forest and river."

"I see," Fon said quietly, glancing up at the temple that suddenly looked much older and bent. "Take good care of this place, Dino. It's not only our home, but it was Luce's as well."

"Of course, brother. This way." Dino motioned them into the dining hall, and there they all were.

Mukuro was leaning over a giant map spread over two tables with Verde, his foot heavily bandaged, and was currently conversing with the green-haired man about the possibility of setting up a defensive perimeter around the river running down from the mountain. Near the back, Lal was sitting with Colonello, fixing something in a giant sniper rifle while her husband handed her tools, balancing a toolbox and a weird bag-like thing in his other arm. The hunters were all so busy they didn't notice the group that had entered the hall until Dino gave the new arrivals a tentative smile, and cleared his throat before casually slipping out of the hall. Basil gave Tsuna a small wave.

Eight pairs of eyes snapped up to them, and widened. Lal dropped her screwdriver with a clunk and Mukuro pulled his glasses off, staring.

"Ahn…" Fon said softly, hesitantly, "We're back."

And all hell broke loose. Verde got to them first, and went right for Reborn. He shoved the dark-haired man up against the wall by his collar while Reborn snarled and shoved back, tussling violently.

"Jackass!" Reborn shouted fiercely. "What are you—?"

"WHERE IN GOD'S NAME HAVE YOU THREE BEEN?" Verde bellowed, spinning around now to grab Fon by the arm, a furious look in his eye. "You imbeciles! You've been missing for six months! And you have the audacity to show up now!"

"We couldn't help it!" Fon retorted, "Time in the Underworld warps in ways you don't understand! Believe me; I didn't know how much time had passed until I saw the newspaper in the village!"

"This is the exact reason why I hate all of you," Verde growled, stepping back, a strange look in his eye. "You all are the single most idiotic group of people I have ever encountered in my whole life!"

"Don't mind him," Colonello suddenly called out from the table. "He's just trying really hard not to cry." He offered them a lopsided grin, putting down his tools and walking over with the weird package, holding Lal's hand. Lal herself looked angry, but when she walked over to the three previously missing hunters, she just huffed and reached over to wipe a smidge of dust off Fon's face.

"Assholes," she growled. "You had no idea how worried we were!"

"I second that," Mukuro said dryly. "You've missed my spectacular show of losing my foot for a third time. But Verde can tell you all about it."

"To hell I will!" Verde cussed, but he didn't sound too upset. There was a moment when they all stood, a bit awkwardly, but then all burst into laughter. There was just something in the air; a huge slice of tension had completely dispersed and suddenly, all of them felt happier than the first time in ages. Well, for the Overworld group, they were finally reunited with three friends whom they thought they would probably never see again. Tsuna, Reborn, and Fon were just really glad to be home.

"Colonello," Reborn said suddenly, squinting at the awkward bundle in the blonde's arms, "What the hell are you holding?"

To the new arrivals' surprise, Colonello blushed a little, smiling a genuine smile. "Damn, I almost forgot how long it's been, kora. Don't drop him please," he added as he extended the bundle out, which, up close, proved to be wrapped in a soft, blueish blanket. Reborn raised an eyebrow, suddenly reluctant to take it.

"What, is it going to bite me?"

"No, he's got no teeth yet," Lal rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"Is that—" Fon leaned over, and his eyes widened. He raised a hand to cover his mouth, pointing between Lal and Colonello. "You—you two—"

"Told you it's been a while," Colonello joked, smirking at Reborn. He gently brushed a bit of blanket aside, and pushed the bundle into an extremely confused Reborn's arms. The bundle wiggled, and to the hunter's astonishment, a beautiful baby boy yawned up at him. Tsuna, looking over Reborn's arm, clapped his hands to his mouth and half-shouted, "It's a boy! He's so cute! It's Lal and Colonello's son, Reborn!" he added excitedly, tugging on Reborn's arm like a child seeing a favourite toy.

"Why am I holding this!" Reborn stuttered out, looking up at Colonello and back down at the baby.

"Don't be so flustered, Reborn, it's only a baby," Tsuna chided, gently reaching out to brush several strands of soft, almost white-blonde hair back from a smooth forehead. The baby whined and squirmed a little again, opening a giant pair of stunningly familiar baby blue eyes. It was a lot like looking at an extremely younger version of Colonello, but the shape of the boy's chin and the slightly disgruntled expression on his face was clearly his mother's. It was so surreal, seeing such an innocent soul in the midst of such dark times. The baby murmured, hiccupping cutely, and then closed his eyes, back to his afternoon nap. Reborn was staring at the boy with a mixture of interest and utter disbelief, which was rather amusing to look at.

"Here," Tsuna said lightly, easing the hunter from his dilemma by taking the baby into his own arms, rocking the bundle gently. "He's so light," he said to Lal and Colonello. The blonde grinned. "He'll weigh up soon enough. He's going to be a tough little boy, kora."

"What's his name?" Fon asked, smiling down at the baby.

"Dante," Lal replied. "It means endearing."

"Fitting," Fon laughed, eyes crinkling. "I'm happy for the two of you."

"Not sure why anything that looks like Colonello would be appealing," Reborn snorted, "But I think the boy looks prettier than his father."

"Hey, that's mean, asshole!" Colonello protested, but Lal rolled her eyes and bonked him on the back of the head.

"Shut up, fool, he's only saying that to provoke you."

"As wonderful as this reunion is," Verde interrupted, clearing his throat. "There's something more important that we need to get a move on."

"Right," Lal said briskly, taking Dante from Colonello's arms, her expression suddenly dark. "We succeeded in gathering the last two elements while the three of you were missing."

"All of them?" Tsuna gasped, eyes widening.

"That's right," Mukuro said, "And now that you three are back, we can successfully summon the Overking." His words hung heavily in the air.

This was it. The final step of their mission.

The elements were stored away in the same underground room as the scriptures had been in. From the moment they entered, the powerful wave of energy could be felt. The elements were placed on a small table in the center of the room. The water droplet swirled slowly, soothingly while the flames burned fitfully, as though it was having a seizure. The earth element was single seed with a tiny greet sprout protruding from its solid shell. The scent of grass and soil wafted up to them. Lastly, the air element was nearly invisible; recognized only by a giant black feather tossing and turning in the air, as though invisible currents were holding it afloat. The smell of ozone filled the small space.

"Look at that," Reborn said quietly, walking around to stare at the elements.

"Let's get into a circle," Verde instructed. They did; crowding around and bumping into others in the small space. Tsuna stood next to Reborn, feeling his skin crawl. Fon was directly opposite him, and in the dark space, the glow of the elements cast a shadow over everyone's faces. The raven reached out and nudged the elements together, exhaling softly.

"Overking, Ruler of the Heavens," Fon said softly. "Accept this offering and acknowledge our summons."

Predictably, nothing happened for a nerve-wracking pause. Then, the seed started to tremble. Before anybody could prepare for what happened next, the tiny sprout started to grow. It was not elegant or peaceful; in fact, the plant exploded from the shell and started to literally mutilate at a violent place. Verde and Mukuro yelled as they were thrown backwards; pinned against the wall by the thick stem of the rapidly growing plant. The roots were puncturing through the concrete floor of the underground, ripping up the stone slabs and shaking the ground.

"What's going on?" Colonello shouted as he and Lal rushed forwards to help the two trapped hunters, but they too were suddenly attacked. The air element on the table had suddenly turned into a full-out hurricane, the winds tossing the couple aside like they were rag dolls, the air pressure holding them down against the shuddering floor. At the same time, the water and fire elements reacted similarly; Reborn and Tsuna were downed by a huge wave of sea water that exploded from the innocent looking droplet, soaking them to their bones, roughly washing them up against the wall on the far left. Tsuna coughed and spluttered as he went under multiple times; coughing on the water he inhaled. Reborn's hand found the teen's collar and hauled him up, pulling Tsuna against his chest as the two were bobbed up and down in the column of water. Furthest away, Fon had been backed up against the wall, a ring of fire encasing him in, the heat searing away at the scriptures stored in the shelves and sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air.

Through the sudden onslaught of attacks by the elements, a white haze rose from the table, slow and steady in contrast to the conflict around the room. Within the smoke, an image started to form in a near ghost-like state. The white wisps thickened, forming a chest, broad shoulders and a head. The image of a man appeared, wearing a cloak over his armor, the thick material fastened by a sun-shaped pin. His face was aging but strong, with crinkles in the corner of his solemn eyes. He had whiskers on his chin and jaw, giving him the look of a typical veteran hunter, but a mysterious scar on his neck that consistently changed into different shapes proved him to be a supernatural being.

This was the Overking.

His eyes took in the hunters in the room, trapped under various states of the element's attacks, and exhaled heavily. When he spoke, his voice was low and deep, each word punctuated and clear. "Who are you all?"

"Sir!" Colonello shouted, straining to keep his body off the floor. "We are students of the High Spirit Luce, and we summon your for help!"

"Help?" the King repeated, turning his head towards the blonde. "What kind of help does the doomed race of mankind need of me?"

"There is a war fast approaching!" Fon shouted, holding his sleeve against his face. "The Demon King, Abaddon, will ruin the earth's natural balance if he takes over! We need your help in this fight."

"We came to uphold the duties passed down to us by Luce," Verde gritted out as the plant continued to constrict around him.

"I speak in the place of Mammon," Mukuro added, the slight shake in his voice betraying his pain as his bad leg was twisted. "We can't win the war alone!"

"For the sake of all those unaware of the situation around us, and for the future generation," Lal shouted out, and Tsuna's heart flipped over. This would be directly affecting baby Dante. It would affect every innocent soul.

"Go to battle with us," Reborn said suddenly, his voice rumbling in his chest against Tsuna's back. "Please."

"We have to protect the human race," Tsuna added, "and we have to fight so that those who died because of this war will not be forgotten for their sacrifice."

Judging by the way Reborn's arm tightened around Tsuna's torso, the elder was thinking the same way too. Memories of Yamamoto vanishing underneath the collapsing house, Alaude dying of his wounds, and Byakuran falling back into Hell were playing themselves over and over again in Tsuna's mind.

The Overking remained quiet for a moment, his eyes moving from hunter to hunter, almost as though he was looking right through them. Then, he hummed quietly and said, "I understand your predicament. Indeed, you will be facing Abaddon's wrath and overcoming him will be difficult. Mankind is mortal; and with the war approaching, it is possible that this entire race will be wiped out if you do not succeed."

There was a pause, during all of which the hunters held their breath. Tsuna swallowed, throat feeling like sandpaper. Behind him, he could feel Reborn's heartbeat skipping over itself, as though in a haste.

"But that is the nature of the humans; they will die. Why should something doomed to end eventually be saved? It'll only drag out the inevitable."

"What?" Colonello, Lal, Verde and Reborn all burst out, stunned.

"What are you saying?" Mukuro shouted, eyes narrowing.

"This does not concern me," the Overking rumbles, leaning back so that his smoky figure rippled. "I have seen many races come and go since the beginning of time. Humans are no different."

"So you're just going to let everything fall and burn?" Tsuna screamed, his heart plummeting with every spoken word. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening.

The Overking turned his piercing gaze on Tsuna. "No," he answered. "You will let everything fall and burn, because you humans will be the ones to fail; not I."

"You—you're despicable!" Lal cried, a pained and thunderous expression on her face.

"Is that so?" the figure asked, not even a flicker of emotion his majestic face.

"Fuck you," Fon growled suddenly, and that shocked all the hunters into stunned silence. The smiling, easygoing, gentle Fon was swearing, and it was obvious that if he hadn't been restrained by the flames, he would have found some way to kill the ghostly figure.

"I am not obligated to help any of you," the Overking said quietly. "And I do not see any reason as to why I should."

"Then GO!" Reborn suddenly shouted, a feral, vicious expression on his face. "If you won't help us, then we'll help ourselves!"

"Indeed," the figure said, still as stone. "It is your grave, hunter." and with those words, the King of Heaven faded away as the smoke dissipated into nothing. The moment the ghost vanished, the elements suddenly fell. The plant crumpled in upon itself; its thick stem withering away into a sad, shriveled vine. The whirling air stopped, a slow, pointless breeze slowly easing away into nothing. The fire died out just as quickly as though deprived of oxygen, falling into a small ring of ash around Fon. The powerful waves were suddenly nothing but puddles on the ground, reflecting nothing but the blackness of the ceiling.

The hunters slowly pulled themselves to their feet, taking in the mess around them. Nobody spoke. The once powerful and majestic elements were nothing but piles of broken pieces on the floor, spent and wasted. There was a heavy silence in the air. Lal moved to Colonello, who hugged his wife tightly, burying his face into her hair. Mukuro sat unmoving on the floor, a blank expression on his face, and Verde leaned down, emotionless as well, offering his arm to the doctor, who took it hesitantly. Fon stood where he was, eyes burning against the wall against the opposite wall. A sudden movement next to Tsuna startled him, and to his surprise, Reborn was storming from the room, slamming the door on the way out.

It was so unlike the dark-haired man to lose his temper that Tsuna didn't think twice about following him; he ran after Reborn all the way up to their old room, and by the time he was down the hall, he could hear sounds of demolishment in the bedroom.

"Reborn!" Tsuna cried, running in, only to fly to the ground to avoid getting hit by a chair that crashed into the wall. "Reborn! Stop!"

The elder paid no attention. Tsuna was forced to glue himself to the wall as Reborn grabbed the coffee table and threw it sideways, letting the cups and teapot slide to the floor with a smash. Glass and porcelain shattered on the floor with a high-pitched tinkle, the sound ringing on as Reborn dragged the books off the bookshelf, tearing them apart from their spine, pages flying everywhere like falling leaves. Down went the vase, another chair, their pillows and blanket, but when Reborn finally turned with an animalistic roar and punched through the window, breaking glass and cutting through skin, Tsuna leapt up, throwing his arms around Reborn and dragged him back with surprising strength.

"Stop it! Don't hurt yourself!"

"Let go!" Reborn snarled, flinging Tsuna off, only to have the brunette tackle him onto the mattress.

"No!" Tsuna shouted back, grabbing Reborn's bleeding hand. "You'll just hurt yourself! Calm down!"

"How the hell do I calm down?" Reborn grounded out. "The Overking was our one last, desperate hope. We failed. He won't be helping us in this war. Do you really think we'll have a chance?"

"Yes," Tsuna replied firmly, squeezing Reborn's hand.

"It's a lost cause!"

"It's not lost if there is but one fool left fighting for it!" Tsuna retorted, and Reborn looked as though he wanted to say something back scathingly, but then, the dark-haired man sagged, looking tiredly up at the younger.

"All I've ever seen in my life is lives leaving me," Reborn said quietly, his good hand coming up to brush Tsuna's hair back. "The battlefield is horrible. And we all know it; some of us will die in this war. Abaddon will do his best to wipe us out, and you know what? His chances of victory are pretty high right now."

"I know," Tsuna whispered, resting his chin on Reborn's chest. "But that doesn't mean we won't go down fighting. For the sake of the next generation, we have to go on, like Lal said. Kids like baby Dante can't grow up in a hopeless world. We have to fight for that; for them, and for the people who died because of Abaddon's greed for power."

Reborn surveyed Tsuna for a moment. "Tsuna…I might not be able to keep my promise once we get out there," he said, his voice breaking a little at the end. "It—I don't even know…I can't let you die. I can't."

"I won't die," Tsuna said firmly. "So you can't either. That's a promise, alright?"

Reborn raised an eyebrow, but he pulled Tsuna up so that the brunette was the one hovering over him. "Promise."

Their lips met again for what felt like the first time in years. Tsuna moved up so that his elbows were resting on either side of Reborn's head as the other traced circles on the brunette's lower back, slowly, soothingly. Their tongues slid against once another's, tracing familiar patterns before Reborn pulled back, pressing a kiss to Tsuna's throat instead, feeling the beating pulse underneath the skin. Tsuna gasped a little, squirming, and Reborn nipped again, liking the response.

"R-Reborn, cut that out," the teen pouted.

"Why? I miss you. Did you know how badly I freaked out when you were taken from the Grimm Office?" Reborn murmured, a hand sliding up Tsuna's chest to trace the thin collarbones.

"Well, I'm okay now, right?" Tsuna whispered back, biting down a moan. "I'm okay."

"Don't you dare leave me," Reborn shot back, yanking Tsuna down for another kiss. "Whatever it takes; stay alive."

"Mmmnh," Tsuna muttered, too lost in the kiss to form a coherent answer. They stayed like that for a bit more before slowly succumbing to tiredness, exhaustion, and disappointment. There was no doubt that the Overking's refusal to participate in the upcoming war was a huge blow to them. But they were demon hunters. It was an occupational hazard. And too much had been sacrificed already for them to back down now.

When Fon appeared upstairs a moment later, quiet and calmer now, he was surprised to find a broken chair lying in the hallway. Peering into the bedroom, he raised his eyebrow at the giant mess of broken artifacts and at the sight of Tsuna lying on Reborn's chest, both of them fast asleep on the bed.

It wasn't the right time, but it prompted a small smile on Fon's face. Just as it was rare of him to lose his temper so easily, it was rare for Reborn to act so gentle and calmly as well. Both of them came from violent backgrounds, yet in light of recent events, things had changed them all.

The raven walked over, brushing dust and shards of glass off the blanket before throwing it over the sleeping couple. Perhaps it was this change of pace that gave them a better reason to fight on.

Reborn and Tsuna have each other.

Lal and Colonello wanted a brighter future for baby Dante.

Mukuro wanted to protect his sister.

For Fon and Verde, this temple that they grew up in, the one reminder of their surrogate mother who brought them new life, was reason enough for them to persevere on.

So many things were at stake, but Fon had a feeling that despite all odds against them, their friendship would undoubtedly be the strongest bond that will keep them all together in the face of unavoidable danger.


If any of you know the GazettE, and have seen their PV for The Suicide Circus, allow me to inform you that at the end of the instrumental scene, the part where Reita pauses on the bass was just so. Damn. Sexy. Let me dieee. And if you don't know the GazettE…just carry on, I have some of these moments…. *u* Japanese men…why are you all so beautiful…

Aaaand…everybody's in a fix :'D The Overking won't help them! Abaddon is going to attack soon! I do love putting our dear hunters in such bad situations, don't I? :')

Thank you for reading and all the comments! (ノ゜ω゜)ノ

-BlackStar