A/N: Hey people! This is the regular update~ Now as you all know; I was suppose to have a 'quota' about the review I needed to continue a chapter. I know that this might come as unfair to some of you who don't really like posting or typing reviews but I foolishly accept a challenge given to me by sweetangel014. Yeah, I know it's too troublesome but I have to make at least 56 reviews before posting a new one :( If I received 56 within 2-3 days, I promise I will make the earliest update and a bonus request ficlet you can vote via my profile as a thank you and an apology for making you guys write a feedback.
I would like to thank the following who'd reviewed the previous chapter:
MentholCandy: Thanks for reading the story, I really appreciate it :)
masaari: You're reviews never cease to make me smile :D I never thought I could make anyone happy by just my stories! I was a little worried that I messed up the whole "Shimon is mafia" scene. It's a good thing you approve of it! I promise, I will update sooner :)
TheLuciferPerson: Hmmm, I rather view Gokudera as a brash hotheaded teen but with a rather 'innocent' view in sexuality. I'd prefer him being blissfully oblivious with the female body since he's too focused on protecting Tsuna rather than oogling at girls with nice bodies. Plus it would be rather weird if he doesn't make a reaction if Chrome stripped in front of him but he blushed when he saw Adelheid's lederhosen… (refer last chapter)
Silverbell1410: I'm really sorry you didn't get to review, but it's all good! :) And it's really good news for me to know that the characters aren't OOCs. Hope you like the story so far!
Disclaimer: I don't KHR!
All about Acceptance
\*\-5996-/*/
"Creating something from nothing, and nothing from something; thus bewildering the enemy. Rendering the family's true form intangible with visions of defeat… that is the role of the mist guardian"
It's cold…
Very cold… like walking barefooted in snow. It felt like tiny needle stabbed you in every exposed flesh and you can't breathe from the limited oxygen. Then you began to feel sleepy, like you never wanted to pen your eyes again because your lids feel so heavy… Chrome looked up and so nothing but mist, silky purple mist that enveloped her whole form. She can see her breathe as she tried to call out for someone, anyone, to come and save her. She heard footsteps, at first they were light, like a child's pitter-patter but gradually became heavier and then it became a rhythm; following the beating of her heart. She looked at the mysterious black figure that approached her. She couldn't see the face just the outline; it had to be a male. He was tall, thin and a bit lanky but the trait that caught her eye was the outline of a pineapple.
"Mu-Mukuro-sama!" she yelled, her eye brimmed with happy tears and she temporarily forgotten the cold mist. She ran to him, not caring if she was shivering but as fast as her feet could carry her, a step she took became a step backwards. She held out a hand towards the shadow, "Mukuro-sama… help…!" The shadow said nothing and instead looked at her with a white outline of almond shapes for eyes and a mouth that turned into a sadistic smile. She immediately stopped running and held a hand and gripped her chest. This… was not Mukuro. Whenever she talked with Mukuro, even just with her psyche, she always felt warm and secure. This person was emitting a sense of forbidding, like there a multiple snakes wrapping themselves on her body, making it hard for her to breath. The person continued to smile sadistically at her. Her voice was caught in her throat and her whole form was trembling. This has to be a nightmare… Yes, just a nightmare. Any second, she would open her eyes and see the ceiling or maybe, if she was lucky, she might even get a glimpse of Gokudera-san. Or if she was really lucky, Mukuro might talk to her again and calm her down with his serene presence.
'Nufufufu, unfortunately, this is no dream my dear~'
Her eye widened and tried as she might, she can't summon enough strength to use her trident that was by her side the whole time. Her face covered with cold sweat and the hairs on the back of her neck stood. She opened her mouth to scream for him to not come any closer but no words came out, it was like a choked scream. His hand was reaching to her, inching closer.
The next thing she knew, the hand was slowly gouging on her right eye…
"No… no… HELP ME!"
"Chrome! Hey, wake up! Hey!"
She gasped as she felt someone shaking her and immediately opened her eye to see Gokudera watching at her with an alarmed look on his face, his hair was dishelved and his hands were tight around her shoulders and tears were rolling down to her cheeks. "You…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say; she embraced him, making him let go of her out of shock. He came back to his senses and tried to pry her off of his body, "Oi! Let go!" he kept pushing her back but it made her hold on tighter.
"Please… even just this once…"
He stopped his pushing and leaned closer, "What?"
"Just this once… please… don't leave me alone…"
As much as he wanted his midsection to be free again, he didn't have the heart to refuse her wish. And so he leaned back and just let her cling to him, once again. The girl became a magnet for trouble; more than ever, even when she became the chink of the armor of the otherwise iron defense of Vongola. He felt her erratic breathing went back slowly to a usual rhythm and he arms slackened to his side and she leaned back, not meeting his face and stared at the ceiling through her slightly red eye. "I… I'm sorry for the indecent behavior…"
"… Enough of this. Next time you get all crazy again, I'm going to have to inject you with Reborn-san's serum" he threatened as he stood up and straightened his now slightly damped shirt. She sat up and rubbed her eye while muttering an apology about soiling his shirt. He didn't say anything and just went out and closed the door. He leaned on the door and heard her sniffling again, the sound was enough to make him frown. The mafia world doesn't allow weak-hearted people with a weak body to boot. "You… don't belong here…" he whispered, his hand flattened on the door and closed his eyes. Footsteps began to approach the door so he just walked into the kitchen and washed the dishes he used earlier. She came out, wearing her Namimori uniform and holding her bag. Chrome placed her trident in her bag and drank some water in her canteen.
"Reborn-san will talk to you after class so don't wander off."
"Hai…"
By the time they've reached school, Tsuna was fidgety to say the least and Enma had numerous new bandages all over him. They covered all the basics of the Edo period and then the principal announced that school was declared half-day since there was an urgent call for all school organizations. Yamamoto chuckled happily and raced towards the baseball field while the other students celebrated at the extra free time. Tsuna slumped to his seat and sighed, earning Gokudera's attention, "Did something happen Tenth?" Tsuna was silent and was hesitant to tell Gokudera what happened yesterday when Reborn appeared and jumped on his stomach, "Tell him what happened yesterday after he took Chrome home!"
"But-!" before he could protest, Reborn took out a huge hammer with the word DEATH on it. Tsuna seemed to get the message as he cleared his throat as he scratched the back of his head, "It started after Gokudera-kun took Chrome home…"
Flashback:
Tsuna was walking back home as he walked by the Namimori Shrine, his head filled with the thoughts of becoming the next Mafia boss. 'I don't want power or insane wealth. I just want the small happiness in life…' His face scrunched he imagined dozens of scary burly men in business suits leering at him while handing out suspicious looking attaché cases and some shady characters who're holding guns and knives; "Aaaah! No way am I going to be a mafia boss!" he yelled on top his lungs, making the birds fly away from the branches they once perched.
"Why don't you run away?" a solemn voice asked.
"Huh?" Tsuna turned around to see Enma lying on the shrine's floor with a hand clamped down on a handkerchief, pressing it on his right eye while there were visible fresh wounds on his face, "I'm always thinking about running away too…". Tsuna's eyes widened and ran towards his side, his face filled with concern towards the quiet transferee, "Enma-kun! Those wounds- Were you bullied again?" Enma looked up with a blank expression on his face. He took a deep breath and suddenly spoke, "When humans have power, they use it rashly. The mafia, the school bullies… they're all like that"
"Hey… Are you alright?' Tsuna asked as he continued to walk closer to the injured boy. "What about you?" Tsuna stopped his advance and looked at him, "What?" Enma stared at him warily and repeated, "What about you? Don't you want to run too?" Tsuna didn't say anything as he tried to scrutinize what Enma told him. Enma grew tired and stood up and walked past Tsuna, "See you…" he whispered.
"Ah… uh..." Tsuna started as he tried to catch up but Enma's words resounded in his head, ' 'Why don't you run away?' Enma-kun hates mafias too… It's just as Enma-kun says…' "If I hate it… I should run…" he contemplated, at that time, it sounded appealing. Why force yourself to do something you don't want, right? Before he delve on the thought any farther,
"I won't forgive you!"
In a flash, a hard little tennis ball bounced from Enma's head to Tsuna's then bounced on to the grassy lawn. Tsuna looked up to find where that blasted ball came from and his eyes zeroed in on Reborn wearing a tennis outfit while standing on top of the shrine's roof; "If you run away, I shall smash you with an ace!" Enma looked alarmed while Tsuna yelled, "Reborn! What-!"
"Geez," he sighed as he jumped down, shedding his costume while doing so, "When two idiots come together, they sure think up stupid things. You should think of the Ninth's feelings." He lectured sternly at Tsuna. Tsuna looked at Reborn and repeated, "The Ninth?" Enma also wore the same questioning expression that led Reborn to explain it further;
"For the sake of the ceremony, the Ninth has sent out heartfelt invitations to all the families connected to Vongola. No matter how small or weak they could be. He was very pleased to know that one of those families went as far as to transfer for the ceremony. He thought all of you could be good friends, considering that you're all around in the same age group." Reborn explained as he crossed his arms on his chest. Tsuna looked taken back, "Good… friends?" while Enma didn't utter a word.
"He also said that he expects the Vongola family to take good care of the Shimon family, since they're extremely weak" Reborn said neutrally. Tsuna's right eye twitched and grounded out, "Wait a second! You're making it sound like there's something bad going to happen!" Reborn's face stayed calm as he answered Tsuna's accusation, "Of course. There are some out there who aren't favorable about Vongola becoming powerful. I expect there will be mafia groups who will try to boycott the ceremony." His usual infant-like smile stayed on his face, "After all, the Ninth did write in his letter that he's caught wind that opposing groups are already on their way to Japan in order to interfere with the ceremony."
"WHAT? YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT!" Tsuna screamed, his face is sweating and panic filled his veins. Before he could move, they heard a rustle around the shrine, not knowing there was a spear speeding towards them. "Huh?" Tsuna dumbly reacted while Reborn kicked Tsuna out of harm's way, "Get out of the way Tsuna!" he also kicked Enma to avoid any injury as the spear hit the shrine wall which made the wall tumble down.
"Ouch!" Tsuna yelped as he landed on his stomach while Enma heaved as he was also carrying Reborn's weight as he was flung to the ground. "EEEK! WHAT'S THIS?" Tsuna asked as he turned around and saw his school vest ripped at the bottom part. "Arrived already, have they? They've come to interfere with the ceremony." The arcobaleno said as he stood straight on Enma's stomach.
"Eh? So soon?"
He looked at where Reborn was looking and cringed at the sight; a real monstrous mammoth-ian creature with huge claws and horns; "He's… HUGE!" he shouted as he ran away from it while dodging it's attacks. He noticed the 'horns' were a bit strange, like it made of- "He has cloud flames?" The creature screeched and swatted a large him, completely destroying the shrine and Tsuna was no where to be seen. Reborn jumped to the nearest tree branch while carrying Enma with ease and observed the raging creature, "Looks like he's using cloud flames to magnify himself, but it looks like he's a hired assassin. Don't think of losing to him Tsuna, or else you won't last a week before the ceremony!" he called out.
The beast looked through the rubble to find Tsuna, only to have Enma looking at the opposite tree branch and see him standing upside down with his forehead and hands in flames and his face was way different from what he used to see; like he was a different Tsuna. He brought up a fist on his mouth and announced silently; "Here I go!"
The creature saw Tsuna on the corner of his eye and roared as he tried to stab him with the spear that was connected on his right arm. Tsuna focused his flames and used the X-Burner to melt the spear in half. He then flew past the startled beast who was appalled that his weapon melted, and he turned around to see cute little lion cub growling at him on the tree branch. Distracted, the beast didn't see Tsuna above him before, "Up here" the beast looked as so and as Tsuna proclaimed that "It's over…", something shone under Enma's shirt that caught Reborn's eye. Tsuna handchopped the creature on the right side of his neck, effectively knocking him out and sent him crashing to the trees.
Tsuna then jumped down and his face returned to normal and his voice was shaking, "Ah~ That surprised me!" Reborn jumped down from the branch and let go of Enma as he approached the now unconscious culprit, "This is the tattoo of the Pesca family. Looks like it was in 'Hyper Mode' thanks to an altered version of the dying bullet. They're not even worth our time" he assured as he walked next to Tsuna. Tsuna however, looked even more confused that ever "What do you mean an altered dying bullet? I didn't know there was such a thing!"
"It's new. You get the idea that things will be hectic before the ceremony right?"
"You've got to be kidding me! I'm definitely not taking part in the ceremony!" Tsuna yelled and pulled some of his hair, not noticing another person present on the scene; "You're actually pretty strong!" He turned around to see Enma looking at him while standing near the tree.
"Enma-kun!"
"You're flying" he pointed out,
"NO! IT WAS A MIRACLE! I COINCIDENTALLY BUMPED INTO A TREE AND FLEW BACK!" he explained while waving his hand in front. Reborn frowned at his pathetic lying and thought, 'So you bounced because you're a ball now?' Enma didn't mind but rather centered his interest on Natsu; "Ah! Is this your cat Tsuna-kun? He wasn't here yesterday?"
Tsuna sweat dropped and laughed, "Ah! Hahaha, kinda" 'He's a lion though' he added. Reborn continued to watch Enma petting the now purring Natsu with critical eyes 'What was that? I sensed something from Enma the second of the attack; I've never felt anything like it before…'
End of Flashback
"WHAT? TENTH WAS ATTACKED BY ANOTHER MAFIA FAMILY?" Gokudera shouted, making people out of the room peek in to see what happened. Chrome closed the door under Reborn's instructions and locked it with a click. She turned around to see Gokudera's face flamed with anger and determination, "THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE! CALL ALL THE VONGOLA GUARDIANS TOGETHER!" Reborn smirked, impressed with Gokudera's devotion, "Oho~ You're sure worked up!" Gokudera smirked upon hearing Reborn's remark and said, "Of course I am! I'm the Tenth's right hand man after all! Let's gather up the Shimon as well, it would be a waste not to use them!" Reborn smiled but Chrome frowned at him and peeped, "You're going to use them?"
"That's what I said, ain't it?"
"But… wouldn't it seem unfair for them?"
"The hell are you sympathizing for them anyway? They might as well make themselves useful-" he stopped short when he saw Chrome's frown deepened, 'Oh crap-!'
"Gokudera-kun! Don't talk like that!" Tsuna reprimanded suddenly, making Reborn watch the scene with keen interest; "I wasn't trying to implicate anything Tenth!" he turned to Chrome who was looking at her shoes while her grip on her bag was making her knuckles turn white. "Don't be so sensitive, I wasn't talking about you! …even though it fits the criteria- "
"Gokudera-kun, enough!" Tsuna yelled, his uncharacteristic tone rumbled on his words like a real mafia boss. Gokudera visibly shrunk while Chrome stared at Tsuna with a wide eye, "Bossu…" Tsuna blinked and reverted back to his old self, "I'm sorry for yelling Gokudera-kun! It's just that… you know…" Gokudera jumped back into his vigorous self and shook his head, "It's alright boss! Now… back to my plan… AH-!" he suddenly got distracted as he saw Enma walking through the hall, "Wait here!" he yelled as he opened the door with much power. He grabbed Enma by the shoulder and pulled him to their direction while Reborn asked Chrome, "You locked the door, didn't you?"
"Hai… I did…"
"He broke the door?" Tsuna exclaimed as he examined the broken lock, "Gokudera-kun is so extreme sometimes…" Gokudera returned with a confused Enma who was looking at them, "…what?" Gokudera puffed out his chest and pointed at him, "You call all Shimon members and tell them to meet as at Nammy's got it?"
"… Nammy's?"
"Yeah at Nammy's! Make sure everyone in your family's there!"
"… I don't know where that is…" Enma shrugged. Gokudera slapped his palm over his eyes and was about to yell at him when Tsuna interjected, "I'll just guide them later okay? Just wait for us downstairs alright Enma-kun?" he asked with a smile. Enma didn't say anything but nodded and went out with his gloomy atmosphere. "Damn he's gloomy," Gokudera alleged, "anyways, is that all Reborn-san?" Reborn shook his head and jumped at the desk nearest to Chrome told her to sit down. She did as she was told and Reborn told Tsuna to close the door and the windows, "But will get suffocating in here!" Tsuna complained but Reborn dismissed it and sat cross-legged across Chrome, "Now, about that voice in your head. It started after you ran after that Mukuro-look alike correct?"
"Yes"
"How did it happen? Was it like someone talking close to you? Was his voice really like Mukuro's?"
Chrome pursed her lip before answering, "At first… it really sounded like Mukuro-sama was calling me. But after a while, the voice is talking to me and then I keep having nightmares-"
"Nightmares? What kind of-" Tsuna interrupted but Reborn gestured her to continue,
"He vaguely looked like Mukuro-sama but he was more… sinister, like someone with darker ambitions…" Reborn looked thoughtful and began to retrace her steps, "What happened at the rooftop yesterday? Was that voice talking to you again?" She nodded and clenched her hands, "He kept calling me, telling me to… to do things… and if didn't obey, there's a sharp pain' her eye blurred as small tears welled up around it.
"What about Mukuro? Did he tell you something about it?
"Mu- Mukuro-sama stopped talking to me after I followed the shadow person. Even when my illusionary organs are present, sometimes I feel like it wasn't him doing this. I feel like I'm turned into a transposable plaything!" Tsuna made a move to comfort her but Reborn told him to stay put and continued to interrogate her, "And that is a pain like something is punching you?"
She shook her head and bit her lower lip, "It felt like… someone's piercing something sharp in my head, my body felt like it was crushed inside and out and I can't think clearly… And that person would laugh and… and…" Try as she might, she couldn't control her tears and just tried to wipe them off from her face with her sleeve. Reborn said nothing while Tsuna and Gokudera looked troubled, especially Gokudera.
'She was suffering that much… and I-
(Flashback) 'Let go!' and 'If you go crazy again, I'm going to inject you with this!'(End of Flashback voices)
-I just let her get hurt …'
He stayed silent and watched Tsuna hold her shoulders and gently rubbed a hand on her back while whispering comforting words to her. He wondered why it came so natural with some people; caring about other people. He's far from being a saint but he's no demon either, Tsuna succeeded at silencing her cries and offered an encouraging smile in which she returned as well. He looked away from this scene, not knowing why it should irk him this much. 'I feel safe with you', somehow the words echoed in his mind and he can't help but feel a little betrayed after seeing her seeking help from someone other than him, it somehow made him feel wanted or important.
'Selfish, egoistic bastard' his conscience reprimanded him.
Reborn stood up and kicked Tsuna away from Chrome, "Enough flirting, do that in your own time after you became the Vongola Decimo. Right now, you have more pressing matters to attend to." Tsuna blushed and yelled that, "I'm not flirting with Chrome!" while Chrome sniffled and visibly more chipper than earlier. Reborn and Tsuna were the first to go out of the room while Chrome picked up her book and placed it in her bag next to the trident. Gokudera sighed and cleared his throat and said, "Wait!" making her look at him, "Um… yes?"
"Look about earlier…" he trailed off; apologizing to someone wasn't his strong point. She continued to look at him with a questioning gaze before she turned around to leave when he pulled her roughly by her bag, "I said wait damn it!" She took a step back as he scratched his head in an irritated manner, "What I said earlier… about using them. I really… wasn't talking about you! I mean- I know it's not right to talk like that but…"
"You talk like that because you weren't used by anyone else before…" Chrome concluded, albeit her words backfired on her when his eyes narrowed dangerously and rounded up on her, "Weren't used? I was used by that bastard Mukuro and so was Bianchi once so that he could take over jundaime's body, did he ever tell about that little escapade?" he asked. Her lower lip trembled; "Mukuro-sama has his reasons! Maybe he had a good reason to do that" she defended;
"And what about the people who gets injured because of that?" he tested, his patience wearing thin by the minute.
"He knows that everything will be alright if I just follow his orders, like Boss does when he-" that statement alone was enough to make Gokudera snap;
"Don't you dare put the Tenth in the same category as that backstabbing bastard! You act as if everything he tells you is sacred; you act like his personal cheerleader and kiss the very dirt he steps on. You wonder why people think you're pitiful and no one accepts you but it's because you don't accept the truth yourself!" she turned around to run but he blocked way and pushed her to the wall, "Listen to me so that it will get into that thick head of yours; you say that you don't mind him using you, but the truth is, you don't want to be under anyone else's bidding!"
"That's not true!"
"Face it Chrome! You're not scared of not being accepted, you're scared of being alone! Just admit it to yourself!"
"But I AM alone!" she yelled back, her hands flew up to cover her ears but he yanked them away and held them tight to her sides, "That's bullshit and you know it! Alone? Why the hell did you convince yourself that you are? What about Kyoko, Haru, Bianchi and I-pin? The Tenth, baseball freak, and grass head? Hell I would even say Hibari and Reborn-san! They are all trying to get closer to you but you just push them out or run away. I told you before; accept yourself first before you expect others to accept you! " She stilled and tears started to cascade from her eye, her form shook violently and her fists went limp as her knees bucked forward and Gokudera caught her before she could fall.
"… it hurts…" she said through her sobs, "I'm scared… it hurts to be alone…"
Sighing, he patted her head and rubbed her arms tenderly, "Yeah… I know…" They just sat on the floor until her crying subsided and leaned on him. And for the first time, he just let her lean on him as long as she wants. He stood up, carrying her with him, "Let's go get your face cleaned. The others will be waiting for us in the restaurant so let's get this over with." She nodded and walked next to him side by side and walked into the girls' bathroom to wash her face while he waited outside. She went out and looked refreshed and he mentally said 'She is a little adorable…' then tried to beat himself up by using a word like that as she had little droplets of water hanging on her hair, looking like little diamonds sparkling under the sun. Unbeknownst to him as why he did it, he ruffled her hair in an affectionate manner that made both of them blush within the contact.
He cleared his throat and turned around while a pink blush was turning darker by the second, "Well let's get to Nammy's! I gotta make sure everyone's there!" She nodded and followed him quietly and looked at his hand. She debated in her mind whether it was allowed or not, considering he had a temper tantrum earlier so she pushed the thought to the back of her mind, settling that walking by his side was already enough for her.
At Nammy's
"WHY ISN'T EVERYONE OF VONGOLA AND SHIMON HERE?"
A/N: Ok, that is seriously the longest chapter I have ever wrote and it took me 9 chapters to make Gokudera feel an attraction to Chrome. And NO I did NOT make 'Twilight' as reference to Chrome-chan's wet hair are like diamonds scene. I have no ill feelings towards the book or anyone who enjoys it but it's kinda irritating to see a heartwarming scene or song and some moron would go, "Ooooh it's like Twilight~ or it suits Edward and Bella" garbage! Well, I'm out for now! And don't forget to r and r people! I love every single one of you readers so please, spread the love!
And I would like to say that let's help support the victims of the earthquake and tsunami incident in Japan. For those who has relatives there, I hope that they're all safe since I have relatives there too. Bye for now and TC!