Disclaimer: I Own Nothing Except For Mizumoto Akihiko, my OC. KHR belongs to Akira Amano!
AN: Boy, that was a long wait. It's been a while since I've last worked on this story. When I was going through my hard drive, I found this chapter already half-written. And BAM! I was struck with this sudden urge to finish the chapter. One day later, the chapter was completed and here it is! Enjoy reading.
Chapter 10 - Dark Moon
Thunder rolled dangerously as rain pelted heavily against the window. A figure stood behind the window as he stared endlessly at his reflection. The storm was not a big one, yet inside the heart of this young man, it was as if the sun had hid itself away, leaving behind a raging typhoon. The storm within his heart swelled and raged in a mixture of anger and worry. A battling of emotion that threatened to consume him, draining him of his light, almost plundering him into a spiral of pessimism.
He will make it. He thought.
He will not. Fist clenched.
He will make it… Relaxed.
Will not…Clenched again.
He must make it! Tighter now.
He must… To the point his nails dug deeply into his skin.
Looking for something to distract himself, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. After a moment of ring tone, a female voice reached his ear.
"Moshi, moshi, Aki-kun?"
"Mother, Ryohei is hospitalized." He stated emotionlessly. "They are operating on him right now."
A sharp intake of breath and slight pause indicated the shock the other party was feeling. After another short pause, she replied. "I see. I'll let your dad know." Knowing her son, he would most likely stay until Ryohei's operation was finished.
"Thank you, mom."
"Don't forget to eat, son."
Hanging up the phone, he continued his brooding as he watched the sheet of water rolling off of the glass. His reflection wavered as the refraction angle changed whenever the water went over it. He drawn his gaze toward the people further down the hallway—the Sasagawa family. Ryohei's dad was pacing around as if standing still would burn him. Kyoko sat next to her mother, who occasionally glanced at the red "Operating" light, as if glancing at it would make the light turn off.
Time flowed by endlessly as Akihiko stared at the lit up light. It was 6 o'clock when Ryohei was rushed into the room. It had been three hours since the operation began and the waiting party restlessly awaits the result. Off to the side, Kyoko sniffled as her parents gently comforted her. He didn't know how long he had been staring or since when had Kyoko cried herself to sleep. The only thought that plagued his mind was the wellbeing of Ryohei. From an outsider point of view, it looked as if the boy was a statue, whose only function was to stare at the red light. Upon Kyoko's mother's urging, Kyoko's father reluctantly carried his daughter home, leaving behind a tired mother. After a while, she too had fallen asleep.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock's tick seemed exceptionally loud in the waiting area, as if the tension had acted as an amplifier for the sound. Tick. Tock. Tick. To—. Something changed.
Footsteps, a very familiar set of footsteps fell within Akihiko's hearing sense. Closer and closer, until the red light in his sight abruptly disappeared. He blinked. Had the operation finished? No, that was not it. He blinked again. A person had stood in his sight. He glanced up and met Hibari's gaze; no, a glare was more like it, but why? Akihiko was confused. What had he done to warrant such reactions from Hibari?
As if reading his mind, Hibari growled and threw a bag at him. The bag collided with Akihiko's chest and landed with a thump on his laps. He gazed questionably at the bag and gently peeled it open.
"Eat." Hibari grunted and took a seat on the far end of the bench, away from Akihiko and Sasagawa-san. After all, Hibari Kyoya was a loner and loners simply do not mingle, especially not with a group of herbivores.
Looking at the food on his laps, Akihiko gave a tired smile at Hibari before picking up an onigiri. He stared at Hibari and called, "Hibari." Akihiko raised his onigiri in a motion to toss. Thanks. Have you eaten yet?
"Eat it." Hibari stated. That was Hibari's version of saying "Don't mention it. I've already eaten. They are for you." He paused and later added as he closed his eyes, "Herbivore." Take better care of yourself, idiot.
Akihiko munched slowly on his onigiri as he resumed to what he was doing before, staring at the red light. One. Two. Three. Akihiko soon finished the late dinner that Hibari had bought for him. He got up to look for a trashcan and by the time he came back, Hibari was putting away his cell phone. Standing up, Hibari fixed Akihiko a stare. "I've gotten the location." He said.
Akihiko immediately narrowed his eyes and gave Hibari a sharp gaze. Are you sure?
Hibari growled. Who do you think you are speaking to?
Akihiko seemed torn between wanting to stay and wanting to rush to avenge Ryohei. He shut his eyes in contemplation and Hibari waited patiently. With his arm crossed, his body language seemed to ask, "You coming?"
Snapping his eyes open, Akihiko's gaze locked with Hibari's, who scowled in displeasure. When Akihiko did not break his gaze, Hibari's scowl softened.
After a momentary pause, Akihiko breathed out slowly, but heavily. Not now. That was the message and Hibari conceded. The fact that Ryohei, whose fighting power Hibari knew perfectly, was defeated indicated the amount of threats their enemies possessed. Blindingly barging into the enemies' stronghold without a plan will just give the enemies an easy kill.
Granted, Hibari did not give a damn to any of those arguments. He was a Hibari and he will do whatever he wished; no one can chain him down. Despite that, Hibari could not force Akihiko to go now when Ryohei's fate was still undecided. Besides, Akihiko would need to make some preparation for the upcoming "raid." Hibari was sure that Akihiko had made some deadlier works that were not suitable for a friendly spar. Called it an artistic whim or something, but Akihiko had produced certain versions of fans that should not be in the possession of anyone—well, except the mafia—much less a middle school student.
"Thank you." Akihiko sighed. The usual silent Akihiko felt the urge to verbally voice his gratitude. Not only had Hibari agreed to his selfish decision, Hibari had also provided a location. The fact that Hibari had conceded was a miracle in and of itself.
"Hn." Hibari snorted.
The red light turned off and the doors swung open, startling both Akihiko and Ryohei's mother, who jolted awake from the noise.
"The operation was a success. The patient should wake up when the anesthetic wears off," the nurse informed them. Ryohei's mother cried tears of relief as she muttered, "thank you," over and over again.
The sound of rolling cart faded into the hallway as Ryohei's peaceful body—albeit all bandaged up—came into view. Even so, Akihiko could not get the image of a wounded Ryohei out of his mind. On his arm, hiding behind those pristine white bandages was a variety of rope burns and punctured wound.
Akihiko felt tension left his body as he saw that Ryohei was alright. To his side, Hibari hummed in satisfaction. They watched as Ryohei and the rest of the people disappeared around the corner.
"Herbivore." Let's go.
Wordlessly, the duo exited the hospital and walked toward the awaiting car. In the middle of the lightless street, two blaring beams of light illuminate the quaint neighborhood. Zooming down the street, the car soon arrived at the Mizumoto household. As Akihiko closed the car door, he looked to Hibari. "Tomorrow, I won't be at school." Akihiko stated. Do forgive me for this blatant disregard to the school rules.
Hibari clicked his tongue in annoyance but make no further comment when Akihiko turned toward his home. When Akihiko grasped the doorknob, Hibari spoke. In the silent of the night, his voice rang loud and clear, "Be prepared." An exception has been made for this special event and Akihiko better be readied when Hibari come by tomorrow evening. In the meantime, he would need to gather more information before they meet up at the agreed time.
With his back still turned, Akihiko smiled softly and nodded. Message acknowledged. The gesture was faint and to the outsiders, they wouldn't be able to see this subtle body gesture. Hibari smirked and rolled up his window. Before the window completely rolled up, Akihiko heard Hibari barking order to his chauffeur.
Swinging the door opened, Akihiko softly stated "I'm home." With a gentle click, the ray of light that emitted from inside disappeared as the door closed, leaving behind the silent night. High above, the waning moon shone softly, basking the neighborhood with a silvery hue.
…
The next day passed by in a blur and school was already over. The door to the Mizumoto's residence rang loudly as a boy in his signature gakuran pressed the door bell. His two trusty tonfas were tucked away underneath the sleeves. Shortly after, footsteps could be heard stopping at the other side of the door. Hibari waited silently for the door to open.
Dressing in a simple button up gakuran, Akihiko offered a serene smile as he greeted Hibari. If he was surprised by the attire, Hibari didn't voice it. Akihiko rarely wore gakuran, preferring to wear the standard yellow blazer that was a part of the Namimori's school uniform. The fact that it was buttoned up was even more so suspicious.
Merely giving him a glance, Hibari grunted and turned around, expecting Akihiko to follow him. Soon after, the footsteps of the two middle school students faded down the streets of Namimori. Akihiko, while not knowing their destination, trusted Hibari to correctly lead the way. As they ran passed streets after streets, Akihiko began to recognize his surroundings.
Before long, they had already reached the abandoned Kokuyo Land. Bar of rusted metals curved and connected into what was once an amusement ride. Remnant of the steel carts and rides littered around the area like stone slab found on cemetery, rectangular and covered in moss. Now abandoned, the decaying smells of trash and organic matters were faint, but it was enough to cause mild discomfort to Akihiko's sensitive nose. Sounds of broken merry-go-round fanned throughout the park. The unstable power generator stuttered, breaking the sounds into an eerie tune. A cold wind swept by and Akihiko shivered, already disliking this atmosphere. Venturing into this place alone was like asking to be haunted by ghosts. As a firm believer in the supernatural, he did not want to go in there if he could help it. He glanced at Hibari nervously and questionably, as if asking if he had led them to the right place.
Hibari scowled and swung his tonfa at Akihiko in irritation. Ducking, Akihiko sheepishly rubbed his head when he stood back up, apologizing for his comment. As quickly as the moment came, it was gone when both boy schooled their expression to a frigid mask. Together, they stepped into enemy territory confidently. Even though he dislikes it, if the one who hurt Ryohei were here, he would charge in without a second thought.
It wasn't long before they heard a female voice sang, "Are you lost?" Despite the sweetness of her tone, she still managed to convey a feeling of being sneered at.
Immediately on guard, Akihiko scanned his surrounding for any movement.
"Up here." She drawled.
Both Hibari and Akihiko snapped their heads toward the girl with bright red hair, who stood onto the tree in a bored manner.
"Who are you?" Akihiko asked in an even tone.
Scoffing she flipped her hair and clicked her tongue. "Rude."
While Akihiko was at least civilized, Hibari on the other hand, did not wait for her to finish before rushing at her with his tonfas. He struck at the tree in one angry strike and the tree shook. The tremor forced the girl to leap away from the branch, landing softly on the ground.
In a blink, Hibari suddenly appeared in front of her sight, tonfa readied to contact with her head. In one swift movement, however, the girl produced a clarinet out of nowhere and blocked the incoming strike. With a click, it snapped into two, turning into an impromptu nun-chuck. Twisting the nun-chuck around tonfa, she hoped to pull it away from Hibari's grip.
That proved to be bad move as Hibari's iron grip refused to break hold. With his other hand, the tonfa came swinging at her. Sensing the danger, she twisted her body, demonstrating her flexibility to dodge the strike. At the same time, she freed her nun-chuck and used it to block the attack.
"Stop, you crazy person. Why are you attacking me?" She shouted.
Without dignifying her with a response, Hibari growled and increased the force behind his attack. One particular strong attack pushed away, causing her to slide toward the wall. Without waiting for her to recover, Hibari followed up with a dash. Slamming her against the wall, he pressed the tonfa against her throat in a threatening manner.
"Tell me, who hurt Ryohei?" Akihiko calmly approached the duo.
He was surprised by Hibari's action at first, but that surprise quickly gave way to realization. Without a good reason, Hibari would not attack stranger. He reasoned, though for some reason, he felt like a lot of people were disagreeing with him. Anyway, since he attacked her, she must be with the group of people that injured Ryohei. If that was the case, then there shall be no mercy.
"Are you crazy? I don't even know who this Ryohei is!?" She gasped from the forced against her windpipe.
Pressing down harder, Hibari's glare sharpened to the point that it could cut air.
"White hair, bandaged, boxer," He grunted.
However, before she could reply, both Akihiko and Hibari sensed two approaching presences. Back leaping, the two escaped the swipes from two suddenly sickly looking male, whose lack of hair just made their sunken face that much scarier, as if they were corpses. The lack of nose the stitched eyes and lips made them looked like something that stepped out from the horror films. Their elongated nails glinted beneath the evening sun.
Watching the new arrivals, Akihiko drew his fan while Hibari readied his stance. The walls where he and Hibari had faced had claws like marked on it, like a giant cat had left behind its claws mark. Coughing violently, the girl fell forward and massaged her windpipe.
"Bloody twins, good…timing," She coughed. "They are…here for…Mukuro-sama!"
The twins turned their heads to an inhumane angle, a sight that greatly disturbed Akihiko, who never liked anything horror in the first place. Wordlessly, they flung themselves at the duo, nails scraping against the cemented ground in a sickening sound.
Cringing internally, Akihiko calmed himself and slid his foot forward. Sliding effortlessly into the approaching twin, he smacked the twin across the cheek with the back of his hand. While he was staggering from the blow, Akihiko twirled around lifted his leg up. Following the momentum, the kick connected soundly against the back of the skull of the enemy. Like a plant whose bud was snipped before it could even flower, the twin was knocked out cold. Glancing over at Hibari, he saw that Hibari too, had already defeated his opponent. In a raid like this, it was best to finish off the opponent as soon as possible. Conserving strength for the next opponents was the most ideal.
They didn't have to wait long however, when they felt something dangerous coming their way. Rolling out of the way, the ground at their feet exploded. Turning their head toward the source of the attack, they saw the girl was blowing on her clarinet. A dangerous glint settled over her face.
Continuously, she played the silent song of death as explosions occurred one after another, causing the duo to roll and leap out of the danger. By this point, while he was still unsure if they were the perpetrators, he would need to incapacitate her to defend himself. He subtly signaled Hibari, who merely blinked and looked away.
Using the explosions as a smoke screen, he threw his arms in a cross, unleashing two projectile at the unsuspecting girl. Concurrently, Hibari was fast approaching the girl. With an attack from two separate fronts, the girl could only focus on the bigger threat, Hibari, who was getting closer at a frightening pace. It was as if the boy was immune to explosion. Any normal civilian person would have been intimidated by this invisible attack, yet the boy was obviously not.
In truth, it was already checkmate. If she went for Hibari, Akihiko's projectile would still catch up to her. If she focused on Akihiko, Hibari would get to her. The best course of action would be to retreat by blowing up the wall behind her. However, in her moment of panic, she made another mistake. Taking her eyes off of Akihiko, she blew another note at Hibari, who side stepped. Before she could continue however, two spinning tiny fans sliced through her hair and lodged firmly into the Clarinet, disrupting the circulating air within the instrument. She was momentarily stunned by the blood trailing down her face where her cheeks were grazed. Not to mentioned, the clarinet was already damaged. For the first time since the fight start, notes could be heard from the clarinet. However, the sound that it produced was not one that was suitable for a performance, if it could even be called a performance at all.
The tonfa blitzed toward and lodged itself deep into the cemented wall, forming hairlines crack all over the point of contact. If that had been her skull, she dreaded thinking about it. Dropping her clarinet in shock, her will to fight completely left her when Hibari's demonic gaze looked into her eyes.
"Speak." He hissed. "Who hurt Ryohei?"
"I-I don't know what you are talking about!" She screeched.
Knitting his eyebrows together in annoyance, Hibari smacked her across the cheek and she was out cold. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and Akihiko merely quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Real smooth, now we can't even question her." His expression deadpanned at Hibari who turned his glare at Akihiko.
"The Kokuyo gang was the one behind the assault." He huffed, as if that explained his rash behavior.
Glancing at the unconscious group, Akihiko took notes of their uniform, which had the Kokuyo emblem sewn on it. Something clicked in his head and Akihiko adopted a poker face.
"Unforgivable." He verbalized his dissatisfaction. With just a single word, it was enough to indicate his anger at their actions.
A predatory smirk bloomed on Hibari's face. He loved it when Akihiko was angry. He would always provide a good fight. Mentally shaking his head, Hibari temporarily squashed the temptation and scanned the area. If he were the boss, where would he be? He questioned.
"The biggest building there is." Akihiko answered the unspoken question, knowing his friend too well.
Their feet soon took them to the Kokuyo building. Entering it, they cautiously trail along the hallway. Shortly after, they heard a set of voice echoing through the hallway. It seemed to have come from the other end of the hallway.
"Tche, the bloody twins sure are taking their sweet time." Two pair of footsteps accompanied his grousing tone.
Whereas Akihiko slipped into the shadow, Hibari strode forward, not giving a damn to the incoming threats.
Rounding around the corner, they spotted two eccentric individual, one with blond hair, whose bangs were kept neatly in place by hair clips, and the other, a beanie to cover his head.
"It wasn't like their opponents were the white-hair brat. How could they be so incompetent?" The blonde spat and grumbled with his hands in his pocket.
His companion simply ignored the grumbling and rolled his eyes, already used to his partner's antics.
"Let's get this over with." Mumbling under his breath, he quickened his pace, leaving behind his stoic partner.
Meanwhile, the moment the word "white-haired" left his breath, Akihiko had narrowed his eyes in focus. However, before he could even act, Hibari was already ahead of him. He sighed. It seemed to be the norm whenever he was with Hibari. Bite first, question later.
"You, herbivores, were you the one who fought the white-haired boxer?" He brandished his tonfa and growled threatening at the two.
The blond sneered back. "So you come for revenge eh?"
He put something in his mouth and Akihiko watched in fascination as his hair turned to red.
"Lion channel!" He called and his canine teeth elongated. "For the record, I am a carnivore!"
Hibari snorted in challenge. "For claiming to be a carnivore, I'll bite you to death."
The bespectacled male, on the other hand, sighed, "Troublesome…"
Stepping back, he took out two yoyos and got into a stance. However, he didn't get to do much when Hibari's tonfas smacked the blonde across the cheek and his chest, swinging him crashing through the glass window.
When Hibari made to follow, a torrent of needles was shot at Hibari, but two twirling fans made their appearance, deflecting the offending needles away from their target. Without even a nod of thanks, Hibari jumped through the window, intending on pursuing his target.
Meanwhile, Akihiko calmly stepped out from the shadow. The two silent males stare at each other, as if sizing one another up. Akihiko, on the other hand, was much more fascinated by the yoyo as a weapon. It was unique and judging from the steel wires used, it matched with the rope burns on Ryohei's wrists.
That was all Akihiko needed to make sure the person standing in front of him would be taught a lesson. A silent signal rang out and both of them leaped into action. Yoyo met steel fan with a clang.
The male pulled his hand back and the yoyo settled back nicely in his hand. Catching the fan, Akihiko spun around and send out another twirling fan in one smooth movement. It was literally a dance between flying steel fans and swinging yoyo, each projectile recoiling when colliding with each other.
Akihiko's hands grabbed and threw the fan in a well trained movement. Snapping his wrists, he expertly controlled the trajectory of his fan in a manner that seemed like he had strings attached on them. He somersaulted through the flying projectiles and directly toward the male, who twisted his yoyo so that the tension on the strings would cause the two yoyos to bounce and spin using each other's string's tension. They spun like a shield in front of him, causing Akihiko to stop his approached and leap backward.
Upon landing, he caught both of his flying fans. Flicking them close, he held them like two small daggers. Wordlessly, he charged forward again just as his opponent leaped back ward and reposition his yoyos.
The male rolled one of his yoyos along the ground until it passed the approaching Akihiko. With a tuck of his finger, the yoyo hissed and sprayed a torrent of needles at Akihiko's back. Using his toe as a pivot, Akihiko spun rapidly in a circle, deflecting all the offending needles with his fans.
The moment he stopped, another yoyo made its way toward his head. Ducking, the yoyo flew and left a dent at the nearby wall.
It was a stale mate. As a mid to close range fighter, he was at a disadvantage when it came to facing a range opponent like the bespectacled male. 'No wonder Ryohei had trouble with this one.' Akihiko thought. 'But no matter…if it's range you want…'
He flipped through the air to dodge another incoming yoyo. At the same time, flicking his wrists in a rapid manner, he sent out several projectiles in the shape of a triangle, modeled after a miniature fan. The tiny triangles slipped through the air amidst the chaos and headed toward the male. With his two yoyos extended, he couldn't recall them in time and was struck across the chest with Akihiko's projectiles. However, that was not before he triggered the poison channel on his yoyos, sending a flurry of needles at Akihiko again.
With a soft grunt, Akihiko used his well trained muscle to perform a half twist in mid-air, dodging the onslaught of needles like a cat.
Landing with a soundlessly, he stood up in a graceful manner. He stalked toward the male, who was shakily stood up. His blood stained cloth clung to his body as he stumbled over the projectiles, dislodging them from their place.
Kicking the male, Akihiko did not spare him even a glance as he exacerbated the wounds. "Go to hell." He growled and smacked him across face, causing the male to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"First and foremost, I hate dishonorable tactic." Akihiko bended down and leered into the bespectacled male's eyes. "But above all that, you hurt what is mine and I'll kill you." Grabbing the glasses, Akihiko forcefully pulled it away from the enemy and crushed it beneath his foot.
Mercilessly, he pulled back his hand and drove it into his opponent face, knocking him unconscious. Before going after Hibari, he made sure that the wound was not severe enough to take a life. No matter how much he wanted to cause the other's pain, killing another person would be counterproductive. He wouldn't want to be charged with a second-degree murder after all. Although in the gang world, one or two death wouldn't cause much different.
By the time he found Hibari, the boy was already done with his fight. However, it seemed like he was not done inflicting bodily harm to his opponent just yet, even though his opponent had long lost consciousness. Flinging around like a rice sack, Akihiko watched in fascination at the display of strength.
"Hibari," Akihiko coughed, which translated to, "anymore than that and you would really kill him."
Hibari paused momentarily and with one last growl, bashed the blonde away, who collided against the tree in a sickening crack.
Examining his wrist in an interesting manner, Akihiko rubbed at them as if loosening up his muscle after a fight. Taking in at Akihiko's cleanly state, Hibari grinned sadistically,
as expected." The grin conveyed.
Catching the glance, Akihiko snorted, an action that was very out of character, and quirked his eyebrows at Hibari, "same to you."
The exchange happened wordlessly and in the silent of the scene, a voice suddenly interrupted.
"Oya, oya, seemed like you broke my tools, kufufufu," It echoed throughout the clearing like they were in an auditorium. Speaking of which, the grass beneath their feet suddenly disappeared in a swirl.
The next thing they knew, they were in a spacious room, similar to an auditorium or a gymnasium. A lone boy sat on a throne-like chair. With his leg crossed, he looked like a prince staring down at the peasant. Except, his attire simply consisted of the camo-shirt and the green blazer of the Kokuyo school. Off to the side, Akihiko vaguely saw their previous opponents faded into view like objects coming out of the fog, lying in the corner of the room.
"So the boss shows himself." Hibari gave a blood thirsty grin at the newcomer while Akihiko just stared passively, wary of the new threat. He briefly questioned how he had transported them into the building when they were outside mere moment ago. This must be the Mukuro-sama that the girl had said.
"Hibari Kyoya, I have just the right things for you." The boy smiled creepily and a trident faded into his hand.
Acting immediately, the two approached the boy in a rapid manner, intending on stopping whatever he was doing. It was too late, however, when he slammed the trident onto the ground and a forest of sakura trees blossomed into view, scattering waves and waves of pink petals across the invisible winds. Like a puppet without string, Hibari collapsed onto his knees as strength left him.
"Hibari!" Akihiko cried in alarm and threw several projectiles at the opponent, who batted them away in a bored movement.
"Mizumoto Akihiko, why don't we dance a bit?" He smirked sardonically. With that said, his eyes briefly glowed and a swarm of snakes popped into existence, surrounding Akihiko from all side.
Frowning, he weaved around the snakes using dance steps. His path was broken off when a trident went straight to him, which he twisted his body to dodge.
Seeing that his attack was dodged, the boy grinned and continued stabbing at Akihiko, as if playing with an opponent far weaker than he was. In the meantime, Akihiko was making his way closer and closer to him as he jumped and weaved. A sweeping kick here and there swung the snakes away from him. Some managed to latch onto his legs, temporarily hindering his movement.
The trident tips headed toward him and he slid to the side. Still, the attack managed to rip through his sleeves, drawing blood from his bicep. He grunted when a snake bit him, but he endured through it. With a roll, he jumped out of the snakes' attack and landed behind the boy.
Meanwhile, Hibari was struggling to stand up as he watched his friend being toyed around. He was annoyed at the appearance at the snakes, even more so when he saw the smug look on the boy face. Growling, he forced his body to move, but found that he couldn't do so.
He could only painfully watch as Akihiko's movement slowed; the snakes must have been poisonous!
But Akihiko was not one to give up that easily. He could feel strength sapping him as the poison traveled across his blood stream. The more he moved, the faster the poison will act. Realizing this fact, he gritted his teeth and tried to think of something, but he found it hard to do so when the enemy was attacking him relentlessly. While he had managed to counter most of them with his fan, he did not think he could win the fight. Mustering his strength, he made a mighty leap and gained some distant from the opponent.
Mukuro was having fun. Even though he was confident in his fighting prowess, even he did not feel like fighting two of Namimori's top fighters, courtesy of Fuuta's ranking book. Besides, as an illusionist, it was only natural for him to win the fight through trickery rather than a frontal assault. As such, he had deliberately gathered information for Namimori's top fighters, just in case he decided to go after them. After all, his goal was to draw out Vongola Decimo. It would be inappropriate if he was weakened by any other people. Where else would he get the strength to attack the main target if he were worn down by others?
He watched in fascination as Akihiko disengaged from their dance of fans and trident. Twirling in one place, a bombardment of projectiles came slicing at Mukuro. They whizzed through the airs like hummingbirds. Scoffing at the pathetic attempt, Mukuro merely deflected the projectiles with his trident. He never noticed the smirk on Akihiko's face. Several projectiles missed their target altogether. Just as when Mukuro was focusing to deflect the attack, he heard several clanging sound behind him, where the projectiles just went passed. Akihiko had used a set of projectiles to alter another set's trajectory so that they would be deflected back at Mukuro vulnerable back.
Not even a moment after, he felt them pierced into his back and he growled. However, this level of pain was nothing in comparison to the inhumane torture he was subjected with. With a shake of his head, he disregarded the pain and focused back on Akihiko. Right after, he rushed forward to follow up with another attack, hoping to take Mukuro off guard. Trident once again locked with steel fans. He pushed the trident down with one of his fan. With another, he swung them at the supposedly defenseless Mukuro.
A loud grunt and Mukuro overcame the oppressive force, breaking Akihiko's stance.
Staggering back, he felt his strength leaving him even faster. He glanced at Hibari and a thought passed through his mind. If he failed here, Hibari would be next. At the very least, he must take his opponent down with him!
Taking in a deep breath, he prepared himself for the nearing Mukuro. A mad grin plastered over his face. "Not so fast now, are we?" He taunted.
Instead of answering, Akihiko withdrew steel fans after fans from his sleeves. He had purposely worn this modified gakuran in order to hide his weapons. Every flick of his wrist, he sent it spiraling into the air and very soon, he was juggling five steel fans at the same time.
Steel met steel in another new vigorous performance. Although hindered by his slowing speeds, it didn't stop Akihiko from skillfully controlling his fans' path. Though it was slow, Akihiko was surely pressuring Mukuro from the different attack angle.
Chuckling mysteriously, he slipped away like a snake. "Kufufufu, how dangerous, but unfortunately for you, your time is up." He smiled coyly and only then that Akihiko realized the poison had caught up to him. Missing the returning fan altogether, he fell down to his knees and very soon, he was lying face down on the floor, finding it harder to breath.
As Akihiko was gasping for breath, Mukuro turned to the fuming Hibari, who looked like he wanted to rip Mukuro to pieces. The last thing Akihiko saw before everything went dark was Mukuro stalking tauntingly at Hibari.
…
Tsuna was growing concerned. It had been several days since he last saw his upperclassmen. The first day it was Ryohei that was missing, the second, Hibari and Akihiko went missing. Finally, on the third days, none of them had shown up. He had thought they had fallen ill or something, but with the recent nightly assault, he feared that something terrible might have had happened to them. A part of him argued that nothing could possibly go wrong, for they are his upperclassmen. However, he couldn't get this feeling of out his chest that something was wrong, terribly so. It was with this mindset that he decided to ask around for the trio. The first person he logically went to was Sasagawa Kyoko.
"Kyoko-chan, I haven't seen your brother in a while, is he alright?" He asked out of concerned.
He was unprepared when Kyoko suddenly sniffed. She shakily nodded. "Yes, he was currently hospitalized."
"What why?" Tsuna exclaimed in shock, just in time for Yamamoto and Gokudera to show up.
"Yo, Tsuna!"
"Juudaime!"
"Ah, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun! Ryohei-nii was hospitalized," he broke the news to the equally shocked duo.
The two couldn't believe their ears. How could someone as strong as Ryohei be hospitalized? They turned their questionably stare toward Kyoko, who cleared her throat to calm herself down. Recounting the events, the boys listened in disbelieve at the outrageousness of the situation. Judging from the aftermath of the scene, the fight had been very destructive.
"The doctor said the operation was a success, but he was stuck in a coma." Kyoko sobbed openly. "Even H-Hana too…"
Tsuna internally panic at the unexpected situation. In this scenario, he didn't know how to calm Kyoko down and looked to his friends for help. They were like deer caught in the headlight, both equally as flustered as he was.
"Maa, maa," Yamamoto helpfully provided a tissue for Kyoko to wipe her tear.
Suddenly, Tsuna felt something stirred in him and he calmed down. Squeezing Kyoko's shoulder supportively, he calmly comforted her. "I'm sure he will be alright. Ryohei-nii is a strong person. He will wake up to the extreme."
The usage of her brother's verbal tick seemed to calm her down somewhat. She quickly wiped her tears and nodded. "You're right. My brother is strong. He will wake up to the extreme. That's why I need to be strong too." She sniffed into the offered tissues.
At the same time, Gokudera had a dark expression settled over his face. While he somewhat disliked the turf-top and the rude woman, he certainly did not want to see them hospitalized like that. The comatose condition, however, sounded like the work of a poison given the fact that Kyoko said Ryohei was never hit in the head.
Later that day, Tsuna and his friends were given the warning from Reborn himself.
"Dame-Tsuna, I thought it was strange that the attacks happened so soon after Fuuta's kidnapping." He mused while sipping onto his espresso. "So I had people looked into the problems."
Getting the attentions of the three teens, he threw down a set of photos. "These are the escaped prisoners." He said, as if that explained everything.
"Reborn, what does that have to do with anything?" Tsuna whined, earning him a kick from Reborn.
"Idiot, the prisons they escaped from was Vindice."
Hearing the name, Gokudera hissed through his teeth in disbelieve. Shooting him a look, Reborn smirked. "Care to share what you know, Gokudera?"
Stammering quickly, Gokudera immediately launched into the gruesome detail of Vindice, the mafia most guarded prison and law keepers.
"Hieee, what are those criminals doing here?" Tsuna voice shot up several octaves as his heart beat quickened.
"Most likely they are trying to draw you out," Gokudera reasoned. By causing problem in the Decimo's turf, they hope to catch the attention of the Decimo.
Wailing again, Tsuna profusely exclaimed, "Me!?"
"Maa, maa, Tsuna will be safe with us." Yamamoto tried to diffuse the situation with his usual laugh.
"Damn straight!" Gokudera exclaimed in agreement. Then suddenly realized that he had agreed with Yamamoto, he scowled at the person in subject, who laughed merrily and swung his arm over Gokudera's shoulder.
Laughing nervously, Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks guys…"
Reborn voice, however, cut through that flimsy atmosphere with another bad news. "Ryohei, Hibari, and Akihiko had all been confirmed to have been defeated by them." The way he stated it just killed the mood, plunging the trio into a stunned silent.
It took a moment for the statement to catch up to them, but when it did it threw them into a state of chaos.
Several "what" was shouted and Nana's voice reached their ears from downstairs. "Tsu-kun, what's wrong?"
Stammering a quick response, Tsuna hastily discouraged Nana from coming up. "N-nothing, mom!"
Shrugging, she went back to her kitchen, though not without a frown on her face. Back upstairs, the boys were discussing among themselves at the severity of the situation.
"How did you know that, Reborn?" Tsuna questioned, though a part of him felt that Reborn was not joking.
Kicking him behind the head again, Reborn snapped, "Dame-Tsuna, are you questioning my source? They were seen entering Kokuyo land, afterward, no one seen they leave."
He explained when a beetle landed on his infant hand. "The bugs have told me."
"Then I must go help them!" Tsuna suddenly proclaimed.
Reborn nodded in approval. "As befitting of the boss," he smirked and Tsuna protested that he was only doing it for his friends.
"Juudaime, wherever you go, I will follow you!" Gokudera exclaimed and stared eagerly at Tsuna.
"I don't really know what was going on, but count me in!" Yamamoto also chirped.
"You guys… it's dangerous."
"We are your friends, Tsuna. You can always count on us." Yamamoto said and swung his arms over both Tsuna and Gokudera's shoulders. For once, Gokudera did not protest being touched in such a way. Rather, he grudgingly looked aside and mumbled, "Exactly."
Moving back, Tsuna looked at his friends with a teary expression, touched by their words. The positive atmosphere, however, was once again broken by Reborn's remark.
"Dame-Tsuna, I felt like I must warn you. Leon just went into a hybrid state. All of my students so far, all faced a near-death experience when this happened." He warned seriously and showed them the ball-shaped object that he claimed to be Leon. His black beady eyes swept through the trio. "Knowing so, will you continue?"
He asked. If Tsuna answered no, he would beat the crap out of the kid, and then forced him to go through with it anyway. If he said yes, he would nod, but still kicked at him for fun.
Tsuna steeled his resolve and looked into Reborn's judgmental eyes. "Yes, they have my friends. I need to go save them. Besides, it is unacceptable that they are going around hurting innocents. They must be stopped!" He stared back at Reborn, challenging him to say otherwise.
Smiling inwardly, Reborn jumped up and gave his student a kick in the head. "Get ready, we are moving out."
A chorus of yes sounded throughout the room.
"Ara, Tsu-kun, where are you going?" Nana asked from the kitchen as her boy and his friends came down and rushed to the door.
"Ah, nothing mom." Tsuna lied, "We'll be back before dinner!"
Smiling sweetly at her son, Nana merely said, "Take your time Tsu-kun. I'm making a feast tonight." She implied that she would take a long time to cook. Therefore, Tsuna had no rush to get back home.
Before completely leaving the house, she called after them. "Stay safe!"
"I will, mom!" Tsuna shouted back and the door shut gently.
The moment Reborn, Tsuna and his friends left the house, Nana smiling face dropped immediately. She watched out from the window as Tsuna and his friends disappeared from view. Putting the stove on low, she pretended to stretch and remove her apron. Subtly, she glanced at the different hidden cameras that Reborn had set up in her house. Careful not to act suspicious, she hummed a tune as she walked away from the kitchen.
Heading to her room, she shut the door gently and took some magazines out to read, still putting on the act. Giving the room once last subtle glance, she checked to make sure that no hidden cameras were in her room. At the very least, she trusted Reborn to at least have the courtesy to keep his hand off of the lady's room. When she felt nothing out of place, she put the magazines down on her desk and grabbed a particular book from the shelves. Her hand glowed briefly in a flashy white and a hidden compartment came into view. Drawing the curtain close, she plunged the room in partial darkness. Putting her hand in the hidden compartment, she silently opened it, revealing a set of tiny, marble-sized orbs with different labeling of all the people that Tsuna had met, including the one that he hadn't met.
She frowned and clicked her tongue at the fading silver orb that was labeled "Mizumoto Akihiko." Similarly, the golden orb of "Sasagawa Ryohei" and the purple orb of "Hibari Kyoya" was not faring that much better. At closer inspection, the orbs were actually a spool of thread that bounded so tightly together that it looked like a sphere
Nana lifted her hand up in a loose fist. With a sharp glance her hand burst into silver flames. It began to take shape, turning into strand after strand of wisplike smoke. Some even solidified into actual silken strings that glowed in the darkened room.
Like a spell had been cast, the strings that weren't there before faded into sight, trailing from the room and expanded out to the window. The strings were connected to the each of the individual orbs. The room was like a spider webs or silkworm cocoon that shimmered beneath the sun. Standing in the center of this beautiful sight was Sawada Nana, who's usually aloof and gently smile was replaced with a cool mask.
"Reborn-kun, a little drain from your reserve won't hurt you much." Nana shrugged and pointed her finger at Reborn's shining golden sphere. She twirled her hand and her silver strand of flame latched onto the orb. With another movement, she extended another set of strings to latch onto Akihiko's, Ryohei's, and Hibari's orbs. Pulse of yellow flames began to run up along the string. Like dewdrop traveling down a spider's web, or in this case, up, the bead of golden flame was transferred from one string to the next. Finally, it travelled through the trail of threads of their spools and disappeared beyond the window.
The dying silver spool, upon receiving the golden flame, spluttered and began to glow again. Similarly, the dulled purple and golden orb of Hibari and Ryohei also began to have color seeping back into it.
Seeing the return of color, Nana smiled and cut off the connection. "There we go." She hummed.
Shutting the compartment again, a dangerous glimpse flickered over her face. "If this were before Reborn-kun's arrival, you would have been dead before you even set foot onto Namimori, Mukuro-kun." With a wave of her hands, all the strings disappeared from view, as if they never existed in the first place.
Far away, in a certain worn down room, the almost dead Akihiko felt a wave of strength invigorating him. He felt like some form of anti-venom had been injected to his vein and was actively fighting the poison. However, the extra boost was only enough to keep him alive, but nowhere enough to make him feel like he could stand. He weakly turned his head to the hunched over Hibari. He saw that Hibari too was feeling a little bit better. Inwardly, Akihiko swore he would beat the shit out of Mukuro the next time they meet. He was someone he would never forgive!
Meanwhile, back in Namimori Hospital, a certain white-haired boy woke up from his coma.
Content with her interference, Nana opened the curtains again and went down stairs, pretending nothing interesting had happened. To the hidden camera stationed around the house, it would look as if Nana had gone to look up a recipe in the magazine, but the truth was something else entirely.
Long before the Hibari had even noticed, Nana's reached had already settled so deeply into Namimori's ground. Not even a single fly can escape her notice if it so foolishly ventured into her den. As long as they don't threaten her son's safety, she was content with letting them come and leave as they pleased. However, at the first sign of threat, they would have been drained dried before they could even think about harming any one. After all, it would have been so convenience if they die of cardiac arrest. And no, it wasn't the painless kind where the heart gradually slowed to a grinding halt. It was the violent kind where the victims would feel their blood going the wrong way and ultimately end up dying due to heart failure. The feeling was akin to having something draining one's stamina until their heart gave out. As a result, there was a time in Namimori's history where countless hitman died to this mysterious illness.
No one mess with her turf. After all, just because one couldn't see the moon doesn't mean she is not watching him or her. The moon is constantly watching, guiding those who are lost. Although, where do the paths lead to, that is a whole other question. Be it death or life, it is entirely up to their choice.
Deep beneath the compartment was another secret cavity. This one housed a single ring with a shield shaped design in the center. And in the center of the shield, a moon sat in the middle of a moonbow. This was the ring that hadn't been seen since its last owner death 500 years ago.
Although, how exactly did Nana come to have it, that would be a story for another time.