A/N: Yay! I'm still alive! Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. Once summer started, I went traveling and got sidetracked by another fic I was writing. Also, I just had major writer's block this chapter because I'm a lot like you guys: I want to get to the exciting and juicy parts. However, this was an important bridge into the drama that's right around the corner, so I pushed through. Anyway, enough of my lame excuses. Read on!
"One more lap!" shouted Tsunade as she watched her students gasp and pant.
"Why do you hate us, Yoki-sensei?" asked Hiroshi as he passed by.
"I don't know why I agreed to this," muttered Sakamoto darkly.
"This is a bit excessive, isn't it?" gasped Sakura.
Tsunade only smirked. She asked them to call her Tsunayoki when they were in headquarters and kept her illusion device on, but she never let them forget for a second that behind her disguise was a Spartan tutor who had no sympathy for them.
It's fun being a tutor, she thought to herself with a dark satisfaction. She took on her three students nearly a month ago, and every day was a new adventure for all of them. Three days ago, she made them scale the walls in under five minutes, or else she would make them run laps around the room. Two days ago, she made them memorize and impersonate different personas in under four minutes, or else she would make them run laps around the building. Yesterday, she made them sit on the streets and gain as much information as they could from observing passerbys in under two minutes, or else she would make them run laps around the town.
She made them run anyway.
"Tired already?" asked Tsunade as her students collapsed at her feet.
"You, you're too cruel, Yoki-sensei," complained Hiroshi, struggling to catch his breath.
"What's that?" said Tsunade mockingly. "You want to run more laps? I would be happy to oblige!"
Sakura and Sakamoto quickly covered Hiroshi's mouth and glared at him.
"He said nothing of importance," said Sakura quickly.
"Yeah, he just mumbled something about how wonderful you are!" exclaimed Sakamoto.
Tsunade snorted skeptically but smiled at their panicked expressions. After a moment of intense glaring on her students' parts, they grinned as well. Tsunade knew that they understood her, and they knew she was proud of them and their progress. However, as much as they have honed their skills, her students still haven't had a chance to prove themselves against others or in the field.
Tsunade felt three troublesome presences nearing the door of the training room. At first, she felt a prick of annoyance, irritated that she would have to deal with the three idiots approaching, but then she had an idea. Tsunade turned to her students with an evil grin on her face.
"Are you three ready to have some fun?" she asked mischievously. Before her confused students had a chance to ask her what she meant, the training room door burst open.
"Get out of our training room, Flameless!" snarled Sora, strutting into the room with Toma and Rui by his side.
"Good morning to you too, Sora," said Tsunade sarcastically. "As you can see, my students and I are using this room, so I must ask you to please get out."
Sora snorted incredulously. "You? Teach a Fukui and a Kagano? Don't make me laugh. You're such a weakling that can't even fight, let alone teach."
"Hey!" snapped Hiroshi. "Don't talk about Yoki-sensei like that!"
"You will regret it if you continue to behave so disrespectfully towards our tutor," said Sakura coldly.
Toma, Rui, and Sora exchanged amused glances. "You two might come from prominent families, but you're both still children," said Toma arrogantly.
"In fact, you two must be weaker than I thought if you're taking lessons from Flameless," Rui chimed in.
Hiroshi and Sakura bristled and both took a step towards the other three, but Tsunade held them back. "I don't have the time to deal with scum like you," said Tsunade, winking devilishly at Hiroshi and Sakura. "However, I was thinking that you three would make wonderful target practice for my students."
Sora looked at Tsunade as if she had grown two extra heads and sprouted a tail. "Us, full-fledged hitmen, fight with children like them? You must be weaker than I thought if you're relying on children to fight your battles for you."
"No, I'm just tired of beating your asses into the ground every time I see you three," replied Tsunade flatly. "In fact, I don't even think you three will pose a challenge to my students."
"We don't have time to play with children," hissed Toma. "Especially not with two spoiled brats and a street urchin."
"But this street urchin just stole all of your belongings."
Everyone, except Tsunade, whirled around to face Sakamoto, who had somehow made it all the way to the far left wall of the training room without everyone noticing. He pushed himself off the wall and strolled to Tsunade's side, emptying his pockets at Tsunade's feet.
"Three cellphones, three wallets, several expensive throwing knives, a nice looking watch…seems like you three have been on a spending spree!" said Sakamoto innocently.
"Wha—what?!" shouted Sora, frantically checking his pockets. "You little bastard! When did you—"
"When did he take all your belongings?" said Tsunade with a smirk. "He was counting your money before you even started talking. It must've been easy for him, seeing how you three are such ignorant hitmen that you wouldn't register a threat if it came and stabbed you in the chest."
"Why you—" Sora gritted his teeth and nodded his head at Toma and Rui. "Fine. I guess we'll show these little brats the difference between us and them."
Tsunade laughed and took a step back. "Have fun!" she said gleefully to her students.
The following battles were so short that anyone less experienced than Tsunade wouldn't have been able to see the details of all three fights at once. Toma came at Sakura, swinging his own sword at her with impressive speed. However, Sakura simply sidestepped his swings, probably thinking that Toma was moving so slowly compared to how Tsunade sparred. She sighed and abruptly moved out of Toma's range, letting his momentum carry him forward, before hitting him in the back of his head and knocking him out.
Hiroshi didn't have any trouble either. Never the one to run away, he met Rui head on in hand to hand combat. To Tsunade, Rui was incompetent, but anyone below her level was a weakling to her. Rui was actually a seasoned martial artist who, once upon a time, could've given Hiroshi a run for his money. But now, he was simply an arrogant fool whose blows were as annoying to Hiroshi as a fly. After exchanging a few moves, Hiroshi decided to stop playing around and landed a solid punch to Rui's jaw, sending him flying into the wall.
Sakamoto's spar was perhaps the most interesting because there was no actual fighting involved. After Sora saw Rui and Toma both collapse like sacks of potatoes, he came at Sakamoto in a rage…only to walk right into Sakamoto's threads. With a simple tug, the steel-like threads tightened around Sora in a blink of an eye, completely immobilizing him and leaving him dangling in the middle of the room.
"You coward!" snarled Sora, swinging from side to side. "You didn't even fight me!"
"Don't you know?" said Tsunade, strolling over to Sora with a smirk. "A spider doesn't need to fight if its prey is stupid enough to wander into its web."
Her students snickered. Tsunade pushed Sora and turned to her students. "So?" she asked. "How was it?"
"A disappointment," said Sakura flatly.
"Yeah, I expected something more exciting!" lamented Hiroshi.
"Pickpocketing them was more exciting than this," agreed Sakamoto.
Tsunade chuckled. "I guess that shows how much you all have grown," she said, expressing just a little of the immense pride she felt. Her students were truly becoming fine hitmen. She saw them beaming at her, and her heart warmed a little bit. Maybe I have grown as well.
Tsunade heard soft grunts of pain behind her and realized that Rui was getting up from the wreckage. She sensed that he intended to run at her, and she rolled her eyes.
What a bother, she thought, irritated. She was about to throw a knife at Rui's leg when she heard Rui scream.
"What a bother," muttered Reborn, pulling his knife out of Rui's leg.
Of course he beat me to it. Tsunade wasn't even surprised that she barely noticed when Reborn entered the room. She was so used to Reborn's presence now that him entering her range was like a puzzle piece clicking back into place. "I had him," she snapped when he walked up to her. "You didn't need to intervene."
Reborn snorted. "As if I'd let such scum touch you," he said, glaring at Rui.
Tsunade scowled but turned away. She and Reborn agreed to act like an actual couple around Sakura and Hiroshi because the Kagano and Fukui families were still watching Tsunade. However, Tsunade still wasn't used to hearing Reborn say things like that.
"Why are you in here anyway?" asked Tsunade, pretending like her heart didn't skip a beat. "I thought you said you had some errands to run."
"I finished early," replied Reborn, looking at Sora dangling, amused. "Your brother also had an urgent mission for us."
"Today?" Tsunade frowned. "Tsuna knows today is a training day though."
"Yes, but it has to be you for this particular mission." Reborn jerked his head towards her students. "In fact, Tsuna even suggested that you bring your students along."
"A mission from the Tenth himself?!" exclaimed Hiroshi. "What an honor!"
Tsunade shot her students a sideways glance. Though Hiroshi was the most vocal of the three, the other two were also buzzing with excitement. She sighed.
Well…if Tsuna thinks it's ok for them to tag along, then it can't be a difficult mission, thought Tsunade.
"Fine," she said reluctantly. "Since these three fools were such a disappointment for my students, I guess it wouldn't hurt to bring them along."
"Yes!" shouted Hiroshi, pumping his fist in the air. Sakamoto grinned and Sakura smiled slightly.
"If they can maintain their covers, of course," Tsunade said loudly, effectively ending Hiroshi's celebration. She sighed and crossed her arms. "What's the mission about anyway?"
Reborn grinned evilly. "I'll tell you four on the car," he said, walking towards the exit of the training rooming and holding the door. "After you."
Tsunade punched Sora in the abdomen before nodding at Sakamoto to loosen and retract his thread. Her students were practically walking on air as they exited the room, which made Tsunade smile.
"Wow, and I thought you just lacked the muscles in your face to smile," said Reborn mockingly.
Tsunade shot him a dirty look. "Whatever," she muttered, brushing past him. As they walked down the hallway, Tsunade avoided looking at Reborn. She recently noticed that when she started staring at him, she couldn't stop.
I'm growing weak, she thought to herself in disgust.
"Give me a summary of the mission," said Tsunade, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts as they joined her students in the elevator.
"A new weapons dealer has reached out to the Vongola about doing business with the famiglia," explained Reborn. "However, according to the Vongola's spies, the leader of that organization, has an ulterior motive. Tsuna was going to meet with said leader today until this intel came in, so we are going in his place and discerning the leader's true intentions."
"What, so this is an interrogation?" said Tsunade, frowning in confusion. "Why does Tsuna need us to go then? He can just order a retrieval and throw this weapons dealer to Keiko."
"Waste of resources," said Reborn. The elevator door opened, and they walked out of the building to where a black car with tinted windows was waiting.
"Besides," said Reborn as they all climbed into the car. "Dame-Tsuna actually came up with a decent plan this time. Somehow."
Tsunade rolled her eyes, but she was starting to feel as excited as her students did. "And what would that be?"
Reborn smiled slightly. "First things first…
Keep your illusion device on."
Kazuto Koduka was pleased.
Here, in his very office, was the leader of the mafia world. The tenth boss of the Vongola, which was the strongest famiglia the world has ever seen, was in his office.
Sawada Tsunayoshi, thought Koduka as he scrutinized the man sitting across from him, smirking at the sight of the Vongola Decimo's spiky gravity-defying hair. He doesn't look any older than me.
"It's an honor to meet you, Sawada-sama," said Koduka smoothly. "I'm glad you could meet with me to discuss business today."
"The pleasure is all mine," replied Tsuna, though his eyes remained cold.
Koduka chuckled inwardly. The Vongola Decimo had quite a fearsome reputation in the criminal world, but Koduka didn't build his company from the ground up by relying on rumors. His sources said that the Vongola Decima was actually a very compassionate man who let his sentimentality blind him from profitable business prospects. When the Decimo came to power, the mafia world completely changed, becoming a group of organizations that picked up where the law left off.
Koduka hated it.
Erasing the sins of the past? Don't make me laugh. Koduka created his business for one reason and one reason only: money. He didn't care what his weapons were used for as long as he made a buck. Working out a contract with the Vongola would bring in a lot of money, but if that didn't work out…
Koduka briefly glanced under his desk at the .22 pistol in his lower right drawer. The Vongola Decimo's biggest mistake was allowing Koduka to hold this meeting in his company building. Koduka was shocked that the Reborn, the Tenth Giglio Nero boss's Sun Guardian and the World's Strongest Hitman, accompanied the Decimo, but he quickly recovered and politely required that Reborn stay outside the building since this was a meeting between him and the Vongola. Reborn seemed less than pleased, but the Decimo reassured Reborn that he would be fine with his other three bodyguards. However, his other "bodyguards" were just children. One of them didn't seem any older than 12.
What is this, a field trip? thought Koduka. He allowed the Decimo to bring his bodyguards upstairs but asked him to leave them outside the door. Now, it was just them, and Koduka knew that the Vongola Decimo couldn't use any of his equipment without his Dying Will Flame pills, which Koduka had secretly taken out of the Decimo's pocket when he was helping the Decimo take off his cloak.
He had the Decimo right where he wanted him.
"About the contract I offered to your famiglia," said Kazuto, sliding a copy of the contract to Tsuna. "I hope you find everything agreeable?"
"Everything does seem agreeable," said Tsuna, flipping through the contract to a certain page. "Except for this clause."
Koduka took the contract and read it out loud. "Party A will be allowed to continue doing business with other companies during the time that it is contracted to Party B." He chuckled. "Well a man's got to make some money."
"Not when making said money means supplying RPG launchers to terrorists in Armenia," said Tsuna flatly. "Or selling semiautomatic weapons to rogues in South America."
Koduka paled considerably. How did he find out?
"Those are just a few of your more questionable business ventures," said Tsuna, drumming his fingers on the desk. "If you think the Vongola is going to be your next piggy bank, then you're dead wrong. My famiglia prides itself on repenting for the sins of the past, and if you expect to do business with us, then you'll have to halt your dealings with other companies."
Koduka didn't say anything. After a moment of silence, Tsuna sighed and stood up.
"I'm sorry we couldn't come to an agreement," said Tsuna, shaking his head. "I—"
Koduka got up abruptly, pointing his gun at Tsuna's chest. "Don't move."
Tsuna raised his hands up in the air, but it infuriated Koduka to see that the Vongola Decimo was still calm, even amused.
"Let's not do anything we might regret," said Tsuna calmly.
"You don't seem like you understand your position here," hissed Koduka dangerously. "You see, I received an interesting proposition from one of your enemies. I was offered more money than a contract with you could ever provide if I captured you and delivered you to the man that contacted me. Since we can't do business with each other, I guess I'll have to take advantage of the situation."
Tsuna sighed again. "I'm giving you one last chance to put the gun down."
Koduka laughed harshly. "You aren't a threat to me," he snarled. "I took your pills. I know that despite the legends about your strength, you are completely incompetent when it comes to gun or knife handling. Just come with me quietly, and maybe I'll let your bodyguards live."
It happened so quickly that even Koduka could've missed it in a blink of an eye. Tsuna's hand lashed forward, grabbing Koduka's wrist, forcing it down, and twisting the gun out of his gun while breaking Koduka's finger. Koduka screamed in pain.
"How?!" asked Koduka as he clutched his finger. "You shouldn't have this level of skill when it comes to weaponry!"
"My brother was right about you," said Tsuna flatly. "You're arrogant, and you think you know more than you actually do. How pathetic. You don't deserve to meet with the Vongola Decimo."
"Your brother?" snapped Koduka. "Wh—"
Sawada Tsunayoshi has one twin brother named Sawada Tsunayoki, but he's regarded as a weak hitman and is currently out on a long term mission anyway.
Koduka froze, remembering what his informant told him. "Sawada Tsunayoki," he whispered.
"Bingo!" crowed Tsunayoki. He reached into his pocket and took out a small device, and, with a flick of a switch, the gravity defying hair came down and revealed a long braid instead. "If you're hoping your guards are coming, don't. My students, or should I say bodyguards, took care of them already, and the oh great Reborn Chaos should be working his way through the other members of you organization."
Tsunayoki grabbed his pills off the table and put them in his pocket. "Sleeping pills," he said with a smirk. "We're going to destroy the many branches of your parasitic organization later, but for now…"
He cocked the gun and pointed it at Koduka's head.
"P-please!" whimpered Koduka, squeezing his eyes shut.
"I'm going to cut off the head of the snake."
A single gunshot rang out.
Tsunade wrapped her leg behind a henchman's ankle and brought him to the ground, breaking his head and snapping his leg in two.
"That's the last of them," she said, dusting her suit off. She and her three students were in a large storage room meant to store large weapons. It was a breeze, getting rid of all the low level henchman, and after clearing the upper floors, they met here to rendezvous with Reborn.
"That was awesome!" shouted Hiroshi, wiping the blood off his brass knuckles.
"Hey," said Tsunade, glaring at him. "What did I say about delighting in the pain of others?"
Hiroshi looked down at the floor. "That kind of sadism is only seen in psychopaths and Reborn's Spartan training methods."
"What about my training methods?" asked Reborn as he walked through the door of the storage room.
"Nothing," said Tsunade quickly. She stretched her muscles, delighting in how light she felt. Despite rebuking Hiroshi for celebrating, Tsunade was also feeling pretty great. Nothing feels better than a successful mission, she thought, noting that Sakamoto, who was retracting his thread while whistling happily, and Sakura, who was wiping down her blade with a small smile on her face, felt the same.
"Wow, smiling twice in one day," said Reborn, coming up beside her. "Should I expect pigs to start flying as well?"
Tsunade snorted. "Say what you want, Ren," she retorted. "But we did a good job here."
"You did," agreed Reborn. "Although I'm still not happy that you let us get separated."
"Sakamoto left you a thread connecting directly into the office," said Tsunade, rolling her eyes. "You were skilled enough to interpret the vibrations, especially when it jerked taut when I was forced to put my hands up."
"Yes, but I would never forgive myself if I let scum like Kazuto Koduka touch you," said Reborn.
Tsunade flushed dark red. She could feel her students watching and listening to them. Just an act, she reminded herself. This is just an act. Even as she told herself that, Tsunade felt her chest tighten painfully.
"Argh!"
Tsunade's and Reborn's heads whipped around to look at Hiroshi, who was clutching his head in pain. Tsunade ran to Hiroshi, catching him before he fell.
"Hiroshi! What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Seconds later, Sakamoto and Sakura fell to their knees as well. "Sakura! Sakamoto!" Tsunade didn't know what happened. Just a few moments ago, her three students were glowing with adrenaline and excitement. Now, they were pale and shaking, cold sweat beading up on their foreheads.
"Tsunade, what's happening?" asked Reborn, bending down to check on Sakura and Sakamoto
"I don't know! I—" Tsunade felt a strong murderous aura and barely moved fast enough to avoid Hiroshi's throwing knife. Despite his weak state just moments ago, Hiroshi was immediately up on his feet and swung at Tsunade with his brass knuckles.
"What the hell, Hiroshi?" yelled Tsunade, dodging Hiroshi's attacks. She briefly glanced over and saw Reborn swiftly roll to his left to avoid Sakura's sword and then jump up to dodge Sakamoto's thread.
"Tsunade, please give me a good reason why your students are now coming after us?" asked Reborn, jumping backwards to her side.
"I told you! I don't know!" What's happening? thought Tsunade. Why would they be randomly attacking us? Unless…
Tsunade's blood ran cold. She looked at her three students and saw that their eyes were dull and unfeeling, trapping their true feelings behind a dark haze. Their movements, though faster, were jerky,
Like a puppet on strings.
You'll regret doing this to me, Tsunade.
She widened her sensory range, searching, and then her heart nearly stopped as she felt a chillingly familiar presence on the roof of the building. Tsunade gasped, barely able to breathe.
"Tsunade?" said Reborn, fending off her students as Tsunade struggled to collect herself. "What's happening?"
"He's here," whispered Tsunade.
"The Puppeteer is here."
A/N: The drama is just beginning! Thanks to Ducki9, Sailor Pandabear, Nekohana, Guest, KuraiUsagiGozoraR27, and ImmortalFriend27 for reviewing!