Note: Please be aware of the large time skip.
Namimori was in a state of chaos. Despite no longer teaching at the middle school, Fuyu could feel the underlying tension that the town was buzzing with. She hadn't had any luck finding a job yet, so she decided to take some time to look into the matter.
The students that had been attacked were all missing teeth. What interested her however was that the number of teeth decreased in the order they had been attacked. As of yet, she hadn't figured out the relationship between the two, but it was only a matter of time before she realized it.
It was purely coincidence that she had spotted Sasagawa Ryohei being attacked. The attacker had just yanked out the last tooth when she turned the corner. The blonde wearing the Kokuyo uniform immediately left after finishing his job. She called the ambulance and made sure the boxer was in safe hands before setting off in the direction of Kokuyo.
If this had merely been a fight between schools then she wouldn't have bothered with it, but something told her that the problem ran deeper than that. Therefore it made sense to head straight to the root of the problem.
Clearly she had done the right thing because a path of unconscious bodies littered the Kokuyo Land grounds. She followed it to the cinema on the third level and peered inside cautiously. What she saw made her eyes widen in alarm. The room was covered in sakura and in the middle of it all was Hibari Kyouya who was wobbling unsteadily.
Throwing caution to the wind, she ran in and caught the boy just as he fell. He looked up at her weakly and growled, "What are you doing here?"
She realized the tactical mistake she had made, but replied, sighing, "I would ask you the same question but I suppose your devotion to the school made it impossible for you to stay still and not take action."
"Kufufu what's this? Another little bird has found her way in." A new voice said, startling her. "What's your name, angel?"
She looked up and jerked in surprise; she hadn't even noticed the other person there. She glanced around and the situation dawned on her. This boy was the final boss, of sorts. She gently set Hibari down and stood up to face the blue haired, mismatching eyed boy. "I don't believe in giving my name to just anyone."
"Oh? Then, a fair trade? I am Mukuro Rokudo. It is only fair for you to give me your name now, isn't it?"
She didn't reply, staring at him suspiciously.
The boy stood up and approached her, "Ah, I've found something interesting: a manner-less angel. Kufufu perhaps this will be more entertaining than I had first thought."
"I didn't come here to entertain you unfortunately, so you'll have to excuse me" she replied calmly.
"I'm surprised you haven't drawn a weapon yet, angel." The boy said calmly. Fuyu stiffened. In a matter of seconds, he had somehow gotten behind her. "Perhaps you do not think I am much of a threat?" He whispered in her ears.
She lashed out behind her with her elbow. The boy dodged out of the way and then grabbed her hand twisted it behind her, bringing her to her knees. She slid a foot behind her and attempted to kick the boy off balance, but it seemed he had already predicted her move. Before she knew what had happened, she was tied up in rope that had appeared out of nowhere.
"I don't really like it when I'm underestimated, little angel." The boy said, pouting. He pretended to think for a moment and then said brightly, "I know! How about I do something like this?" He walked over to the incapacitated boy on the ground and lifted him up by the hair. A gloved fist went crashing into the anger filled face. "If I do something like this, will you think of me more highly, angel?"
She was unable to respond as the boy continued to brutally attack the helpless prefect. "Wait…stop" she whispered softly, throat constricted with fear.
Mukuro ignored her. Instead he leaned forward to speak to the prefect, "Your face is saying 'how did he know about my weakness to sakura'?" He dropped the boy, smirking, "I wonder why, hm?" Catching sight of the glare the prefect had on his face, he raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Are you thinking, if there was no sakura, you'd be fine? If so, you are dead wrong. I have seen many equal to your level in skill and every time, I've buried them. In a place much like hell."
She attempted to call on her flame, but the beating taking place in front of her eyes was too harrowing. Her pleading grew more and more frantic, but she was paid no attention. "Get your hands off of him!"
"Hibari-san! Hibari! Hi" Her eyes widened as she heard the crunch of bones being crushed, "KYOUYA!" Her voice rose in a crescendo as tears inadvertently came to her eyes.
Something within her was pulsing rapidly and suddenly her world exploded in flames. The ropes tying her down crumbled into ash and expanding her batons, she launched herself at Mukuro. The boy dodged her attack nimbly, "Oya oya, I didn't expect for you to actually get free."
She ignored him and attacked him fiercely. As she swung up with both her chopsticks however, he caught them in his trident and with a flick, they were yanked out of her hands. The split second where she was frozen and weaponless was enough for the boy who pinned her to the wall. "But that flame is quite familiar. Perhaps, you are not who I thought you were. Perhaps, you are in fact someone rather important to the mafia. The lost daughter of the Vongola Ninth. Serena, maybe?"
She faltered a little, but continued struggling, snarling, "What business is it of yours?!"
He smiled and ran a finger down her cheek, "Such a beautiful flame. It would be a pity to let it go to waste." His red eye changed to the kanji character one and suddenly she found herself falling. A scream rose to her lips but the boy leaned forward and kissed them, silencing her. In her shock, her flame flickered and disappeared. Despite her attempts to get away from the boy, he managed to deepen the kiss. Angrily, she bit him but even as the copper taste reached her tongue, he merely bit her back, drawing her blood as well.
He leaned back, "Kufufufu…kuahahahahaha!" Roaring with laughter, he turned to face the boy behind him. "How is it, Hibari Kyouya? How does it feel to watch as your entire world crumbles before you?!"
The prefect struggled to stand up, his eyes burning with rage, "I will bite you to death."
Mukuro regarded him for a moment and then lazily waved his hand. The air filled with the scent of cherry blossoms and the beautiful petals began lazily drifting down. Hibari's eyes widened and he collapsed.
Abandoning all decorum, she rudely growled, "You bastard", and thrashed violently, attempting to free herself from the death grip the boy had her in. "Let me go!" she shrieked.
He cupped her face in a gloved hand, "But why should I? Such a delicate angel should not be with such a violent boy."
"At least he's not the devil himself" she retorted.
"Ah ah ah, I've been through all six hells and there was no devil to greet me, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't take your comment seriously."
Two boys entered the room as she was searching for something loathsome enough to toss back at him. "What do you want us to do with the body, Mukuro-sama?" One of them asked in an apathetic voice.
"Ah Chikusa, put him somewhere where no one will find him."
The other boy grabbed Hibari by the foot and started bounding out of the room, "Anything you say, Mukuro-sama, byon!"
"Where are you taking him, you asshole?! Bring him back! Bring him back right now! He's hurt!" She shrieked.
The boy walked towards her and placing a hand on her head, said, "Sleep for awhile, angel."
"…met…Vongola…found something…wake up…"
The Vongola?! She slipped out of unconsciousness in a second, careful to remain silent. Whoever this Mukuro person and the person he was talking to were, they were bad news and clearly after the Vongola. Which in this case meant Tsuna and the others who had joined his family.
And what had happened to Hibari?! After the fight, he had been dragged off somewhere and she had been knocked out. How much time had passed since then?! The senseless brutes probably hadn't even treated his wounds so he could be bleeding to death even now! But she didn't know where she was and she was still tied up!
Perhaps a quick peek wouldn't hurt. As long as they thought she was still asleep, she should be safe after all. She gradually opened an eye a crack. Red filled her vision and she opened her eyes wider to properly see. A red eye stared back at her, amusement evident. She couldn't help the scream which burst out of her as she attempted to scramble back. Rokudo Mukuro was lying on his side right next to her, and she hadn't even noticed!
"Good morning angel!" The boy called cheerfully, putting an arm around her and pulling her closer.
She struggled uselessly against the ropes that had her tied down. Realizing it was useless, she instead glared venomously at the boy. He laughed a little, "Don't look so mad angel. I haven't done anything to you. I was simply wondering when you would end your little sleeping charade."
She shrank back, avoiding his touch and asked, "What do you want with me?"
"Kufufu getting straight to the point, I see. Well, I'll tell you then. I want you to be mine."
"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. I've only known you for so long and during that time, you attacked me and threatened one of my students."
"Ah, but isn't it true that Hibari Kyouya was just as violent during the time he spent with you? In fact, he attacked you the first time the two of you met as well. What is the difference between the two of us?"
"The difference between the two of you," she said hotly "is that Hibari-san was protecting the rules he abides by, whereas you are cruelly attacking people."
The boy started laughing loudly. When he had regained control over himself, he replied, wiping tears from his eyes, "Truly there is no difference between me and the bloody skylark. He fights to protect the old order, and I fight for a new order. One where the world will understand just exactly what true pain and fear is. Can you honestly tell me that they are not the same?"
She scoffed, "I can and will. A new order that involves attacking innocent middle schoolers? It doesn't sound very amiable to me."
"Innocent middle schoolers?" Mukuro raised an eyebrow, "You have been led astray, angel. Hibari Kyouya is hardly an innocent middle schooler. He is cruel and merciless. He has killed before."
She froze and a flash of red and bodies fluttered across her vision. She shakily cleared her mind and retorted, "And so what if he has? His crimes do not make your crimes any lighter."
Mukuro sighed, "Truly you are an angel in this world of misery. So innocent. I will not allow the disgusting mafia world to taint you any further."
"Whether or not I allow the mafia to 'taint' me as you put it is my decision alone. It has nothing to do with you."
"And yet, here you are. Caught in the battle between those in the mafia and those who despise it. I think I'm already involved."
"It would be simple for you to allow me to walk away with Hibari-san. That would end my involvement with the mafia, wouldn't it?"
"That does not take care of the problem. The dirty mafia will still exist and attempt to drag you back into their crime filled world."
"By involving Hibari-san and the other middle schoolers you attacked, you are dragging them into the 'crime filled world' as well, are you not? That's awfully hypocritical of you." Before the boy could respond, she said, "Do not attempt to fool or persuade me, Rokudo Mukuro. I am not a child that you can deceive so easily."
"But you are attempting to fool me right now." The boy smirked, "Pretending to be the responsible adult who knows exactly what is happening, when you are in fact confused and torn, and merely fishing for answers. That's not very nice, is it, angel?"
"Don't call me angel." Fuyu frowned, struggling against the ropes that bound her. This conversation was carrying on for too long and the boy was slowly undermining her, digging up her weaknesses and slowly but surely cornering her. "And if you knew that I was searching for answers, then as a gracious kidnapper, you should have provided me with all the facts I needed to know."
The boy chuckled, "Very well. I will tell you the truth. After all, you cannot do anything about it even if I do tell you." He leaned forward, his expression suddenly turning serious. "I plan to destroy the world, starting from the disgusting mafia. You are the Vongola Ninth's daughter. As such, a person with such influence in the mafia will be useful when I crush it. And after I have possessed Sawada Tsunayoshi, who is next in line to inherit the Vongola boss title, I will have two of the most powerful members of the mafia within my grasp."
It was a gamble to reveal the truth, but she wanted no further part of the boy's plans. "So you wish to use me." The girl stated bluntly. "That's not surprising. Although I do find it interesting that you didn't even attempt to keep up pretenses of wanting to 'save' me from the dirty mafia. Unfortunately, I do not have the power that you assume I do. I have already given up any titles, and as such, I am useless to you." She tugged at the ropes, hiding a frown when they refused to budge. "And therefore if you would be so kind as to undo these binds, I will leave immediately and it will be one less person for you to deal with."
"Oh? Then it was a mistake in my calculations in bringing you here and giving you so much information. This is all very regrettable, but I'm afraid you won't ever be able to leave here." Mukuro's red eye started glowing, "Trash should be disposed of properly."
She opened her mouth but before she could, the illusionist had disappeared, and the room started spinning. The door had disappeared and the walls were pressing in closer to her. She shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to rely on her other senses, but it was no use, the illusion was already in place.
"Boss…! Please take cover!"
There was an explosion and from the smoke, Gokudera and Hibari emerged, both severely wounded. "Hibari-san! Gokudera-kun!" Fuyu paused. The voice wasn't hers. She opened her mouth to say something, but no noise came out. What was happening?
For that matter, how had she gotten here? She had been trapped in the room that Mukuro had left her. The illusions had been overwhelming her and then she had- what had happened after that?
"Are you ready to repent?" Hibari growled. The girl's attention returned immediately to the scene in front of her. For some reason he was looking directly at her. And then her mouth opened and she spoke. "What's this? How frightening." What was this?! Why was Mukuro's voice coming out of her?! How was he controlling her like this?
The illusionist continued speaking; she could feel the smirk on his lips, "But please, don't get in the way of the Vongola and me right now. For one thing, you shouldn't even be standing. How many bones in your body have I broken?" Rage filled her. How could he speak so cruelly?
"Are those your final words?"
"Kufufu interesting things you say. Wouldn't it be better if we made a pact?" At Hibari's silence, the Kokuyo boy shrugged and she felt her right eye sting a little, "No choice then. Let's dispose of you first." He charged forward, trident in hand, "It'll all be over in an instant!"
Fuyu struggled to regain control of her own body. Why couldn't she move? What was Mukuro doing to her?
Suddenly Hibari charged towards her, weapons raised. Her initial instinct was to flinch and flee, but Mukuro brought up her arms and blocked the attack. To her shock, her hands had gloves on them and she was holding a trident. Looking at herself more closely, she realized that she wasn't in her body but rather Mukuro's. Nevertheless, she could feel the impact of the hits Hibari was attempting to land. The two boys continued exchanging blows with equal skill and within a few minutes, it was clear that neither could get the upper hand. "So, how long does your instant last?"
The illusionist sneered, "I see that's how it is then. If he wasn't injured, the outcome of our duel might be questionable." He forced the prefect back with a blow to the shoulder. "This is a waste of time. I'm going to finish you off quickly." Sakura trees suddenly appeared, surrounding the black haired boy in a whirlwind of pink petals. "Kufufu come, kneel before me once again."
The boy seemed to falter but at the last moment, lunged forward and struck his opponent in the stomach fiercely. She felt the effects of the attack fully and choked at how painful it truly was when Hibari used his full strength. None of his attacks on her had been this painful.
From the side, Gokudera's voice said smugly, "Heheh. Too naïve. I got this from Shamal when we came. The prescription for sakura-kura disease." Inwardly, she sighed in relief but she felt the boy's face twist a little in worry. A second later, Hibari promptly brought his tonfas crashing into him, sending him flying back.
As Mukuro lost consciousness, she found her vision going dark as well and opened her mouth in a desperate cry, "Wait-"
Blinking, she opened her eyes slowly, unsure of her situation. Cautiously, she attempted to flex her fist and surprised when her body listened to her command. She slowly sat up and winced when she felt her stomach pulse in pain. Immediately, she looked down at her newly regained body. It took her a moment to realize that blood stained the front of her shirt and that it was definitely not someone else's. While she had been under Mukuro's control, he had ripped a hole open in her stomach.
Fighting back the dizziness from blood loss, she balled up the bottom of her shirt and pressed it tightly to the wound. She looked around the room desperately for something that she could use, only to freeze when she spotted the wall in front of her. In big bloody letters, someone had written a message. Her lips curled up in a weak wry smile when she realized that it had most likely been her and that it was her blood that coated the wall of the room.
Biting her lip to keep from thinking of the pain, she dragged herself over to the wall and then dipping a finger in the still fresh blood on the wall, she proceeded to write her own message. Hand shaking, she forced herself to keep writing. As the last letter was finally inscribed, her vision blurred and slumping against the wall, she promptly passed out.
She woke up to the sound of beeping machines and groaned upon feeling a spike of pain go through her. "Serena?" That voice. She knew that voice. Her eyes opened slowly and sure enough a familiar head of blonde invaded her vision. She groaned and closed her eyes.
"What are you doing here Dino? Shouldn't you be in Italy?"
"I came as soon as I heard that Rokudo Mukuro had escaped and come here." The man's voice was shaking as he replied.
She frowned, "Have you been crying again? You sound terrible."
The mafia boss rubbed at his eyes weakly, "But Serena, when I first saw you, you were covered in blood and in critical condition. My heart almost stopped; I thought you were dead."
Sighing, she said, "I suppose that even after all these years, nothing much has changed. It's always me who ends up waking up in the hospital and you're always there next to me crying your heart out."
This got a weak chuckle from the man, before he responded somberly, "I'd much rather it be the other way around."
"Don't even think about that" she replied sharply, "You have men depending on you."
"I know, I know. I'm the boss of the Cavallone famiglia so I have to be careful at all times. But when I see you covered in blood, I can't help but wish it was me in your place, Serena. I don't want to see you in such pain."
She reached out weakly and softly flicked the blonde's jacket. "You don't have to worry about such things idiot Dino. Besides, I made a contract with you, didn't I? I'm not about to break my word. That would be dishonorable." Neither of them mentioned the confession, knowing that something would change if they were to breach the subject now.
There was no response from the blonde and she looked over sharply. To her bemusement, he was already asleep. A soft smile crept up on her face as she saw the man's head bobbing lower and lower, threatening to make him topple over at any moment. Taking pity on him, she gently tugged the man onto her hospital bed. And then she said softly, "Reborn, I know you're there. Did you get my message?"
From the shadows, a squeaky voice replied, "Ah. Using your blood to write was-"
"Not my idea" she interrupted, "Mukuro was the one who did it initially. I simply copied him when I saw there was no other method." A wave of pain had her gritting her teeth. "I realize this may be presumptuous of me, but could I ask for you to call a nurse for some pain killers?"
Stepping out of the shadows, Reborn walked out of the room to do as she had asked. Truthfully, he had wanted to question her more on her involvement with Mukuro, but it could wait. He tilted his fedora down to cover his eyes as he thought back to the ominous sight he had seen when they had found the girl.
"There's a weak presence coming from this room, Reborn sir. Should we enter and investigate?"
"Yes. It may be someone we know."
The man nodded and kicked down the door. What greeted their eyes made even the hardiest of the group pale. In one corner of the otherwise untouched room was a girl who was limply leaning against a wall covered in bloody writing. Immediately the team of medics snapped into action and had the girl on a stretcher and attached to an IV in a matter of seconds. After they had all left, Reborn reread the message on the wall. "To the Vongola and the Arcobaleno, you may have won this time, but I will surely return from the other side of the cycle to possess the Tenth boss's body. Keep this girl alive; I will surely have uses for her in the future."
Below that in smaller print was presumably Serena's own message. "Bluffing. Told him I wasn't Vongola anymore. Disposing of trash."
The message was short and clearly hurriedly written. What concerned Reborn was the fact that the girl had ignored her own condition in order to do so. Was it really possible for someone so young to be so unafraid of death? It wasn't possible for her to be disillusioned about it. She had seen her own share of corpses in her lifetime, had been the one to put them in that condition. He would have to address this problem soon.
"Even though we didn't see you, Reborn says that you still did a lot for us" Tsuna said solemnly. He bowed formally, "So…thank you!" Truthfully, he was concerned for the former teacher. Although she was improving and her wound was healing cleanly, she still looked terrible. There were dark bags underneath her eyes, clearly indicating that she had gotten very little sleep. Her normally pristinely kept hair was in a messy ponytail and above all, the haggard look in the girl's eyes was enough warning that something was wrong with the girl.
Gokudera immediately followed his self proclaimed boss's example and bowed as well, grabbing the back of Yamamoto's head and forcing him down as well. Confronted with the odd sight, the girl laughed. Shocked at the sound they had never heard before, the three looked up to see the girl bent over from mirth. Her face hidden from view, she continued laughing even as tears started pouring down her face. Noticing that the girl had started shaking, Gokudera quickly kicked Yamamoto out of the room and asked Tsuna to do the same, albeit politely.
He stood next to the girl awkwardly, suddenly unsure of what to do. He had forced the other two out because he knew that his sorella wouldn't want to be caught in such a weak moment, but now he was at a loss as to what he himself should do. Hesitantly, he reached out to embrace the older girl. A hand shot out to grab his wrist and he froze. Her voice muffled, the girl said, "Thank you Hayato. But I think I need a moment to myself."
With a last somber look at his sorella, the boy left the girl to herself.
"Hibari Kyouya is hardly an innocent middle schooler. He is cruel and merciless. He has killed before."
She wearily opened her eyes as the familiar voice echoed in her head. The same thing had been haunting her for the past few days to the point where she required an injection of sleeping drugs into her IV to fall asleep. At first it had been allowed due to her injuries, but as her condition had improved, the nurses had become more and more reluctant and concerned about her use of the drugs. Nevertheless, they were the only thing that allowed her to sleep while keeping away the dark thoughts lingering in the corners of her mind.
It scared her to think that someone so young had already been dragged into such a dark world when he had originally had no connections to it, but it scared her even more when she realized that there was a small feeling of relief within her, as if she was happy that she wasn't the only one. The feeling was terrible but it wouldn't disappear no matter how she tried reasoning with herself. Deep down, she was happy that she wasn't the only one who had sinned so deeply.
And she had hardly even taken the time to doubt Mukuro's words. Whether or not Hibari had killed before was something that she had never considered before, but thinking back to all the times she had seen him beat people up mercilessly, she realized that it really wouldn't be a surprise if it had happened. And since the town seemed so terrified of him, he could very well have gotten away with it.
She wondered how Hibari had felt as he had taken the person's life. Had he been happy that he had finally truly bitten someone to death or had he been scared like her? No, she couldn't see the boy being scared of anything. Whatever he had felt, it hadn't been fear like her. The strong people in her life were all like that. Both Hibari and Xanxus had killed without any remorse. Maybe it was just her who was weak.
And then there was the matter with Dino. He had extended his stay in Japan in order to watch over her, worried that if he left, the next time he saw her would be in a casket. And their relationship was more strained than ever. Dino clearly wanted to ask for her answer, but she was doing everything she could to keep him away from the subject. She was unsure of her feelings and dragging Dino into the mess would only cause him to be hurt unnecessarily.
As she once again arrived at the same conclusion, the nurse walked in with her nightly injection. She sighed in bliss as she was finally allowed to sink into oblivion.
Author's Note:
As promised, I finally got back to the action! I hope this chapter made up for the lack of fighting/really anything substantial canon plot-wise in my past couple of chapters. To be honest, I have no idea where I'm going to go from here. I'm completely unsure of which direction I want to take this fic now. The nice ending I had originally envisioned isn't looking good enough D: Next chapter is of course the Varia which means that Serena (Fuyu) will have to confront Xanxus soon. Any ideas on how I should go about doing that? I'm currently torn between two ideas that I'm working out the kinks in, but any suggestions are appreciated and welcomed.
So you've met Mukuro! Any thoughts?
Please read and review~