Chapter 9! I tried to get it done soon, so here it is.
Also, big thanks to the people that have favorited/alerted/reviewed, it really is inspiring. Please review, any suggestions and comments are welcome.
"Mukuro-san! Where are you?" Ken hollered as he went through the hallways of the Kokuyo Healthy Land, checking every room along the way.
Chikusa followed him, calm and collected, while Ken ran into every room and slammed every door. "Ken… don't barge into rooms like that."
Ken snarled as he ran up to another room. "We need to find-" He stopped with the door half open. Before Chikusa could look, Ken quickly closed the door.
Chikusa examined Ken's red face. "E-eh… we should just wait downstairs for now," Ken stammered, pointing down the hall. When Chikusa continued to look at him, Ken blushed more. "It's just kinda hot in here!" he protested.
Chikusa watched Ken storm down the hall and followed with a last look at the door. "Okay, then. We'll go with that story."
xxx
"Mmm…" Mukuro opened his eyes. He looked down and found Chrome leaning against his shoulder, breathing steadily. "I must have fallen asleep…"
"Chrome," he said, nudging the girl softly. "Chrome, wake up."
Chrome's eyes fluttered open. "Oh, Mukuro." Mukuro smiled, as bright as ever. That alone was enough to make her happy.
He chuckled to himself. Chrome's warm hands held Mukuro's tightly, but the girl didn't seem to notice it.
"Anyway, Chrome, we start training soon," Mukuro said. Chrome nodded eagerly.
xxx
"So in other words, disobeyed my strict orders, failed the mission, and came back late."
Roland and Rayner knelt down in front of the throne. "Yes, boss," they replied in unison.
"Heh, so Roland and Rayner were defeated by the Vongola… how pathetic."
"There were a lot of them, so I can understand losing the fight, but you were about to disobey the boss's orders? That's unforgivable."
"But really, I can't believe you just ran away after that. You should have kept fighting."
"That's idiotic. This isn't some heroic story. What's the use if you die in a fight?"
"Be quiet. You two have failed. There will be consequences." An uncomfortable silence filled the room. "But it doesn't matter. The job will be completed no matter what. This time, I'm going."
"W-what? Boss! Wait a minute! I wanna do something too!"
"Boss, are you sure? That's a pretty rash decision, I think we should think it over some more."
Roland stood up. "Boss! We can do this! Please, give us another chance!"
A wave of murderous intent filled the room. No one dared say another word. "No. All of us will be going. I've waited long enough. We'll leave today."
xxx
"I wonder if Chrome and Mukuro are okay…" Tsuna said absentmindedly. The four guardians looked up at him.
Yamamoto patted Tsuna on the back. "Of course they're fine, Tsuna," he assured. "Mukuro is pretty strong."
Not to be beaten by Yamamoto, Gokudera yelled, "Of course! Reborn-san wouldn't choose someone weak to be one of the Tenth's guardians!"
"Yeah," Ryohei added, "And he was alright when he fought those guys before. Don't worry, Sawada."
Lambo sighed. "You can't be sure. That was only because Hibari- ow!" Gokudera glared at the boy, daring him to continue. Lambo rubbed his arm sullenly. "Umm… I meant to say that he's as strong as Hibari."
Reborn, who was watching silently, smiled at the responses. "See, Useless-Tsuna, even your guardians have more faith than you do. But I'll keep an eye on them. If anything happens, I'll tell you."
Tsuna looked at his tutor, surprised at the strange attitude. "Yeah… thanks, you guys."
xxx
"Chrome, I think we should take a break." Chrome shook her head and slowly stood up, but Mukuro still watched her worriedly.
"B-but… I still can't make good illusions…" she protested. Chrome had always been a burden, and she went so far as to ask Mukuro to take care of her forever. The least she could do was learn how to protect herself.
"You're doing fine, Chrome. We can practice more tomorrow, but you should rest today," said Mukuro. Chrome looked away, uncertain whether she should obey or object. "It's fine. We'll go to Namimori today. You did say you wanted to go somewhere, right?"
Before Chrome could react, Mukuro took her by the hand and led her towards the exit. "M-Mukuro!"
"Ken, Chikusa, we're going to be outside for the rest of today." Ken looked up from his video game and nearly dropped it when he saw Chrome blushing and holding Mukuro's hand. Chikusa was the only one who noticed.
xxx
Mukuro sat down next to Chrome on the bench. The sun had only begun setting. "Did you enjoy the day, my dear Chrome?"
"Yes… there were so many people in the shopping district, and I've never seen baseball before," Chrome said, dazed by the experiences. "Yamamoto Takeshi-san is very good."
Mukuro smirked to himself. They'd paid another visit to Namimori Elementary, more successful than the last one, this time to watch the baseball game. Chrome had been unusually insistent about it.
"That's a relief," he said, standing up. "We should go back soon." A sudden wave of murderous intent made Mukuro swear under his breath.
"You." The prefect held his tonfas in both hands, but he was obviously restraining himself.
"Hibari Kyoya. Now is the worst possible time for you to show up." Mukuro turned around to face his rival. Of course, he was worried about Chrome's safety, but Hibari was proven to be a nicer person than he seemed. But Chrome didn't approve of their fights, which was even more of a problem. Nevertheless, he materialized his trident.
"I'll bite you to death."
xxx
Reborn sighed as the two began to fight. He wondered how Tsuna would manage the Vongola Famiglia with such brash guardians. Perhaps the boy would actually mature in a few years, when he actually succeeded the position as boss. Mukuro and Hibari were strong, though, they could beat the other guardians in a fight. There still was the problem of teaching Hibari how to use the Vongola ring.
As Reborn pondered the future of Vongola, he sensed a disturbance in the atmosphere. "Hmm…" He took out his cell phone and called the Sawada household.
xxx
"Tsu-kun! Reborn-chan wants to talk to you!" Nana called from downstairs. "He says it's important!"
"Okay!" Tsuna hurriedly picked up the phone. "Hello? Reborn?"
"If it's Reborn-san, then it's probably about them," Gokudera commented.
"Huh? Does that mean something happened to them, to the extreme?"
"I told you not to get your hopes up, and now- ow! Gokudera, stop that!"
"You don't know yet," Yamamoto pointed out. "Tsuna, what's happening?"
Tsuna listened intently to the phone. "Hibari-san! Again? …Huh? What do you mean, 'disturbance'? ...Okay then, we'll be there." He put the phone down and looked at his guardians, who were waiting for the news. "I don't really know what's going on, but Reborn wants us to go. He says they're near Namimori Elementary," Tsuna finished.
"Okay then!" Ryohei roared. "We'll get there in less than a minute, to the extreme!"
"Aw… I'm too tired to run," Lambo complained. "I'll walk."
"Come on, stupid cow! Reborn-san needs us there!" Gokudera hollered. "Let's go, Tenth!"
"Y-yeah!" With Ryohei in the lead, Tsuna and his guardians ran out the door, shouting goodbye to Nana. They headed towards the school…
xxx
"What're you doing? Fight me seriously." Hibari growled. He swiped at Mukuro furiously, annoyed that his rival didn't take him seriously enough to fight at full strength.
"Don't you notice it too, Hibari Kyoya?" said Mukuro, while blocking each attack with his trident. "Something's wrong."
Hibari did not let up. "I don't care. As long as I can bite you to death."
"My, my… how rude, to ignore us like this."
Mukuro's eyes widened at the voice. Hibari stopped fighting and looked up.
Seven people stood on top of a building, Roland and Rayner among them, neither of them happy in the face of the people who defeated them.
The man in the middle, a dark-haired adult, grinned. "It's great to see you again, Mukuro."
