Here's a new chapter for your amusement. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
The next day… Vendicare Prison…
"Mukuro Rokudo."
"Yes?"
"Crime: Genocide of the Estraneo Famiglia."
"Oh, they deserved it."
"Murder of numerous members of the Estrella Famiglia, using Lanchia Estrella as a proxy."
"Oh, they didn't deserve it."
"Escape from the Vendicare with several other inmates."
"Maybe."
"Attempted murder of the Vongola Decimo."
"I wasn't going to kill him. Just going to steal his body and turn the world into hell."
"Sentence: Death," The Vendicare finished. A gavel was slammed down. Despite the fact that he was about to die, Mukuro smiled. His muscles were weak against the restraints of the electric chair.
"Don't I get any last words?" He asked. The Vendici answered by turning on the power. The electricity coursed through Mukuro's body, sending him into weak spasms. The electricity was shut off, and Mukuro's body stilled like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Mukuro Rokudo was dead. Time of death: 9:35 AM.
The same two jailers who had come to take him from his tank and drag him to the Vendici's Judgment Room undid the latches on the chair and carried the body to be disposed of.
They didn't notice.
They didn't notice that his right eye was missing.
The previous day… After school…
Tsuna turned the small box over. It was able to fit comfortably in his hand, and colored orange, with the Vongola coat-of-arms on the sides. On one side, there was a small hole. Tsuna shook it. No sound.
"I'm sorry, what did you say these were, Innocenti?" Tsuna asked. It was about two hours after school had ended, and the Decimo Famiglia had assembled in the throne room for a meeting called by Reborn. When all the Guardians had assembled, Reborn introduced a scientist named Innocenti, and his two apprentices, who were both around sixteen. The apprentice on Innocenti's right was tall, blonde, and with an altogether bored expression on his face. A lollipop that Lambo was eyeing greedily hung out of his mouth. On Innocenti's left was a Japanese boy that Tsuna found almost familiar, with scarlet hair and glasses, and he was staring at Lambo as if he'd just seen a ghost.
"Box weapons, Ser Vongola. Wrench, would you please explain to them?" Innocenti requested. He was a tall man in his mid-forties with graying hair and just a few wrinkles. 'Wrench' rolled his eyes.
"My name is Spanner, old man."
"Oh, just get on with it."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Spanner grumbled. He cleared his throat quickly.
"Box weapons are a new type of weapon around the mafia. Upon activation, they release specially made tools or animals with the attributes of your own flames," Spanner explained.
"Cielo is Armonia, Tempesta is Distruzione, Pioggia is Calma, Serena is Attivazione, Fulmine is Indurimento, Nuvola is Propagazione, and Nebbia is Construzione," The other apprentice cut in.
"I could have sworn this was my explanation, Shoichi."
"Just trying to help," Shoichi said, raising his hands in his own defense. Spanner rolled his eyes.
"Anyway. The old man was commissioned by the Nono before his death to make the Decimo Famiglia's box weapons. And so, here they are," Spanner finished. Innocenti smacked him on the back of the head.
"A monkey could give a better explanation, Wrench!"
"Spanner!"
"SHUT UP!"
"Don Lambo is bored!" Tsuna rubbed his eyes. Now Spanner and Innocenti were in the middle of a full blown shouting match, with Shoichi desperately trying to mediate.
"Could you please just get on with it?" Tsuna asked calmly. Innocenti and Spanner glared at each other one last time, and were silent.
"Innocenti-sensei, should I finish the explanation?" Shoichi requested. Innocenti gave him the go ahead.
"Alright, here I go. Recently, it was discovered that mafia rings, such as the Vongola Rings, could channel the willpower of the person wearing it, taking the form of a flame. The seven classes of flame that have been discovered so far correspond with the seven Guardians of the Vongola. It was also discovered that the flames could be used as a power source for certain pieces of technology. The box weapons were originally drafted up in the third century, but they couldn't be made for lack of the proper technology. Now, the boxes are capable of being made, and they've become considerably common in the mafia," Shoichi explained.
"We've just got to tune the boxes now to your own specific flames, for maximum output," Innocenti added, removing seven small gray orbs from his pocket. He handed one to each of the seven Guardians.
"What are we supposed to do with these things, old man?" Gokudera questioned impatiently. He placed his two boxes on the armrest of his throne.
"Just picture something that really, well, puts a fire in your belly. Pardon the pun," Innocenti said, chuckling at his small joke.
Almost instantly, Lambo's sphere crackled to life, turning a brilliant green. Lambo was staring at Spanner's lollipop like a hawk regards a mouse that is about to become its dinner ("It was like he was staring into my soul. And he didn't like what he saw," Spanner would later remark). After a few tries, Chrome was able to ignite her own, turning it a soft indigo. Shoichi started tapping a few keys on his laptop.
"Fulmine, check. Nebbia, check," He said.
Meanwhile, Ryohei was having a shouting contest with his sphere, and winning. It shone a fierce yellow.
"Serena, check."
"I think mine's broken," Yamamoto said. He was having no success igniting his sphere. Innocenti took out a slip of paper from his lab coat.
"You just have to, uh, move your gyu-gyun…Is that right? Move your gyu-gyun to your bi-bam, and then fazoom?" Innocenti struggled. Yamamoto just stared at him.
"…That's it?" In a second, his sphere turned a deep blue.
"Pioggia, check."
Gokudera was doing some mental calculations. After he was done, he easily turned his sphere a burning crimson, with specks of green, blue, yellow, and purple all throughout.
"Tempesta, check."
Tsuna was also having troubles with his. He couldn't think of anything that 'put a fire in his belly'.
"…I can't get it."
"Dame-Tsuna. It's just like your Death Wish," Reborn told him. That inspired Tsuna. He closed his eyes and thought. The first thing that came to his mind was a picture of Kyoko. Her shining face. Her shining smile.
Kyoko.
In a heartbeat, his sphere burst into a perfect orange.
"Cielo, check." Shoichi didn't notice that there was another spike directly behind it, a Serena.
Meanwhile…The Serena Manor…
"Eighty-eight…Eighty-nine…" Kyoko chanted as her foot smashed into the sandbag each time.
She was in the Serena Manor's enormous training room, practicing her kicks. With each slam of the bag, she thought about why she was doing this.
"Ninety…"
She thought of Tsuna.
"Ninety-one…"
Dear, sweet Tsuna.
"Ninety-two…"
His promise to protect her.
"Ninety-three…"
How he had made good on that promise earlier that day.
"Ninety-four…"
The blazing fire on his hands and forehead.
"Ninety-five…"
That warmth.
"Ninety-six…"
That brilliant warmth.
"Ninety-seven…"
She could feel it spreading throughout her entire body.
"Ninety-eight…"
Flowing through her veins like lava. Focusing in her legs, so warm it nearly hurt.
"Ninety-nine…"
Tsuna.
"One…"
She pulled her leg back for a final kick. Underneath her skin, her muscles began to work overtime. She felt like she could kick the world like it was a soccer ball. Her eyes began to shine yellow.
Tsuna.
"HUNDRED!" She screamed. Her leg cleaved straight through the bag like it was made of air. The sand spilled out onto the ground at her feet. Kyoko stared at it, bewildered, her leg still in the air. The yellow glow faded from her eyes.
It was at that exact moment that Tsuna's sphere activated.
"Cielo, check."
"All we need is the Nuvola, now," Innocenti nodded. Every pair of eyes turned to Hibari, who was just staring at his sphere like it was useless. When he noticed that he was being watched, his brow furrowed.
"What are you all staring at?" He snarled. His sphere turned a dark shade of violet, with light streaks of indigo.
"Nuvola, ch- HOLY SHIT!" Shoichi screamed, staring at the data. In Hibari's hands, the sphere began to whir frantically, the light continually brightening, before the light disappeared in a flash. The sphere began to smoke.
"I-I think he broke it…"
"Now that SO comes from my side of the family!" Kyoko placed her leg back down on the ground and turned around. Standing in the doorway, almost in tears, was her mother.
"I extremely THOUGHT you had it in you! That was beautiful!" She complimented, clapping her hands together as tears of happiness began to stream down her face.
"M-mom, that was…" Kyoko began, but stopped midsentence. Her mother had popped up directly in front of her. Not even a second ago, she had been at the doorway.
"That was the Eccedere Limite," Hanabi answered, "Although, I personally think it should be called the Kyokuten Heki, but that's just me." Kyoko looked down at the sand littering the ground.
"Mom-"
"Sensei."
"Sensei, how did I do that?"
"Simple. Like this," Hanabi replied, then blurred, and reappeared about ten meters away next to another punching bag. Her eyes were burning yellow. She pointed her left hand at it, and pulled back her middle finger, holding it back with her thumb. She flicked the bag. It swung back on its chain as far as it could. Hanabi stepped out of the way, shaking her smoking finger.
"Gah, I keep on forgetting how much that hurts," She grumbled. Her finger wasn't exactly meant to use that much force, so it sprained slightly. Kyoko looked on in awe. When Hanabi saw her daughter's amazed expression, she smiled.
"If you wanna learn it, it's gonna be extremely intense. You up for it?" She asked. Not like she already knew the answer. Kyoko clenched her fist.
"Yes," She answered. 'Just watch, Tsuna. I won't be protected again,' She thought.
Later… Innocenti's Laboratory…
"Jesus, no wonder the thing broke. Ser Nuvola had about ten thousand fiamma volts a second of Nuvola, and about two thousand Nebbia," Shoichi remarked, poring over the data from the tests. Spanner whistled.
"Twelve thousand fiamma volts a second? The max we've recorded is, what, five thousand?" Spanner guessed.
"So, he's got a, I suppose we'll call it X-Rank, Nuvola flame, and a B-Rank Nebbia flame," Shoichi decided.
The ranking for flames had five, now six, ranks: D, C, B, A, S, and now X. Ranking depended on how many fiamma volts a second the flame had. D was from zero to five hundred, C was from five hundred to one thousand, B was from one thousand to three thousand, A was from three thousand to four thousand, S was from four thousand to five thousand, which was the highest recorded so far. X was anything higher.
"Alright, tune Nuvola's box so that it can take that much power, Spanner," Shoichi requested. Spanner started tapping a few keys on his key board.
"Oi, Shoichi, I just remembered. Why were you staring at Fulmine like he was a ghost or something?" Spanner asked. Shoichi gulped.
"That kid's name is Lambo. Lambo Bovino. I suppose you could say he's the entire reason we're here now. It was maybe a year and a half ago, and he made a, shall we say, explosive entrance. Took out half my room," Shoichi chuckled. "Because of that, the Bovino Famiglia sent us a care package that had been meant for the people who were taking care of him. My mom made me take the brat and the box back to his house. On the walk there, not only did he exhaust most of my candy supply, he started chatting up about the Bovino Famiglia and the mafia. I didn't think much of it at that time, but then six months later, at the robotics convention where we met, I overheard Innocenti-sensei talking about some problem regarding the magnetism of the Bovino Famiglia's skeletons, or something like that. Well, you know the rest, I suppose," Shoichi shrugged. Spanner nodded.
He and Shoichi had been talking about what the best robot would look like, and Shoichi had overheard Innocenti, who was there as a judge for the competition, talking about the Bovino on his cell phone. Shoichi had approached him, and somehow landed himself an internship with him. Spanner got roped in, too.
"What happened to that box?" Spanner asked.
"That thing? When we got to the address Lambo had stitched onto his clothes, a few things happened. When I saw a weird kid in his boxer running around with cheeks the size of bicycles, I kind of freaked out, dropped the box, and ran home as fast as I could," Shoichi paused, then burst out laughing, "And I just realized. That weird kid was Ser Vongola!" He continued to laugh at the irony of the situation. Spanner wasn't listening. He was staring intently at the data for the Tempesta, a light in his eyes that Shoichi recognized as his light of inspiration.
"Shoichi, can you finish the rest of this stuff up?" Spanner asked, quickly printing out the data and grabbing a pen and some paper. He began to furiously make calculations, drawing up several boxes on the paper, his mind working overtime.
"What?! I can't…" Shoichi argued, but Spanner cut him off.
"I'll do the dishes for a week."
"Two."
"Deal," Spanner agreed without really listening. Shoichi smiled. He returned to his work, now looking over the data for the Decimo. A few clicks later, he gasped.
"Hey, Spanner, can you…"
"No."
"Thank you so much," Shoichi grumbled, picking up the laptop and carrying it to Innocenti's office.
"Excuse me, sir? There's something I think you should see," Shoichi said as he entered. Innocenti looked up from his work. He gestured for Shoichi to bring it forward. Shoichi placed the laptop down in front of him. Innocenti glanced over it for a little bit, his interest growing each second.
"Well, I'll be damned," Innocenti remarked, smiling.
Later that evening… Vongola Mansion… Tsuna's office…
"Famiglia A is allied with Famiglia B, but is at odds with Famiglia C, who are allied with Famiglia D, the boss of whom is personal friends with the boss of Famiglia B. What course of action could Famiglia A take in order to defeat Famiglia C, without opposing Famiglia D? GAH!" Tsuna groaned, rubbing his head. The homework he had been assigned for Famiglia Interactions class was making no sense whatsoever. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in," Tsuna called. The door opened and Innocenti walked in, bowing his head in respect.
"Good evening, Ser Decimo. I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour," Innocenti apologized.
"No, it's alright. Is there some problem?" Tsuna asked. Innocenti took out a few pieces of paper from under his arm and presented them to Tsuna.
"Here, sir. It's your data from the test earlier today," Innocenti told him as Tsuna looked over the graph on the first page. It was just a printout of his flame output over a period of one second as an orange line. On the second page was another graph, showing the wavelength of his flame, which Tsuna had no idea how it was determined. It was the third and fourth page that threw him for a loop. It looked exactly the same as the previous graphs, with perfectly matching output and wavelength, but with a yellow line.
"This is?" Tsuna asked, confused.
"An eighth spike, sir."
"Eighth? But there were only seven of us!"
"Your sphere logged two different flames, sir. We're fairly certain that the other flame came from a second person, however."
"How did it get picked up?" Tsuna asked. Innocenti pointed at the charts for wavelength.
"Because of this, sir. Usually, the wavelength is unique to a person, but in some rare cases, there are people who have perfectly matching wavelengths such as this. To my knowledge, it's quite rare. People who share wavelengths could be called the ultimate team, or even soul mates, in some cases," Innocenti said, as Tsuna blushed, "Now as far as we know, your flame and the other person's flame ignited at the exact same moment, and your flame picked up the data from the other flame, which pretty much piggy-backed on your own flame to get transmitted as well."
"Do you know who it belongs to?" Tsuna asked. Innocenti shook his head.
"No idea, sir. All we can tell you is that it came from somewhere within a kilometer and a half radius from here," Innocenti answered. 'That covers just about the entire complex,' Tsuna realized.
"And how can I tell whose it is?"
"It wouldn't be that easy. I'd have to run tests on just about everybody here in the complex, which totals maybe three hundred, counting security and staff. Well, there is one way to tell, but that'd be just stupid…"
"What?"
"Just try roasting every person here. The person who has the same wavelength as you won't be burnt by your flame. Theoretically," Innocenti admitted. Tsuna sweat-dropped.
"I-I think I'll pass on that one, thanks."
"Thought you would. While I'm here, we finished tuning your box," Innocenti remembered, placing the orange box in front of Tsuna. Tsuna picked it up cautiously.
"How do I open it?"
"Just ignite your Death Wish on your ring, and put it in the box. The flame will activate it."
"What is it?"
"It's a lion, sir," Innocenti answered, then took his leave. When he left, Tsuna lit the flame on his ring and pushed it into the box. When he pulled it out, the box opened, but nothing came out. Tsuna peered into it. Inside the box he saw two eyes, shivering with fear. Tsuna smiled.
"Aw, come on out, ya big baby," He called, trying to shake the little creature out of the box. It growled in response. Finally, it came loose, sending a little lion cub with a mane made out of orange fire tumbling to the ground. It turned back to look at him shyly, and then flipped down the mask on top of its head so that its features couldn't be seen.
"You're nuts, you know that?"
The lion whimpered.
"Nuts."
While Tsuna tried to bond with his box animal, Reborn stood at his front door, next to the fireplace.
"Oi, Dame-Tsuna," He called out. Simultaneously, Tsuna and Nuts jumped in instinctual fear.
"Wh-what?"
"Ga-gaor?"
"What do you think of what Innocenti said?" Reborn asked him. Tsuna paused for a moment.
"I'm not really sure what to think of it, honestly," He admitted. Reborn sighed.
"Come with me," He ordered, leading Tsuna out the door.
Later…
"Reborn, why did you bring me here?" Tsuna asked, looking around at all the paintings. Reborn had led him to the same place that they had gone to in order to enter the vault, and they stood in front of the portrait of the Primo Famiglia.
"To show you something. Look at Belladonna," Reborn told him. Tsuna did. His eyes were automatically drawn to her face.
"She's beautiful," He remarked.
"Now, look at her right hand. Closely," Reborn added. Tsuna did so, bringing his face as close as he could to the painting. Then he saw it. On the ring finger of her right hand was, obviously, a ring. The word 'Vongola' was written on it.
"Th-that's a Vongola Ring?" Tsuna asked. He thought there were only seven Vongola Rings. This ring looked more like the Cielo ring than the others, and in the center of it was a large pearl.
"Yeah, the Vongola Madonna Ring," Reborn answered, "It traditionally belongs to the Vongola Madonna."
"Vongola Madonna?" Tsuna repeated.
"The Madonna is the boss's closest person, who completes him, or her, both as a person and in battle," Reborn told him.
"And?"
"Look at the other paintings," Reborn said. Tsuna began to walk around the room, looking at all of the paintings. In each one, he noticed one thing: There was a woman sitting next to the boss, with the Madonna Ring on her finger. The only exception was in the Ottavo Famiglia. Next to her was a man.
"Notice it?" Reborn said, joining Tsuna next to the Ottavo Famiglia painting.
"Yeah. But what does it mean?"
"All the Madonna's have one thing in common: Each of them had a synchronizing wavelength with the boss," Reborn said, "Well, at least we think."
"W-w-wait, don't tell me that you're saying…"
"Yeah. The person who has the matching wavelength with you would probably be your soul mate," Reborn told him. Tsuna gulped.
"So what should I do?" Tsuna asked.
"I know of a surefire way to find out just who it is, but it'll take a few days. In the mean time, just wait," Reborn told him, before opening a door underneath the painting of the Ottavo.
"Good night, Dame-Tsuna."
"Ah, wait, Reborn!"
"I'm not helping you with your homework."
"Oh, COME ON!" Tsuna begged, but Reborn shut the door. Tsuna groaned, and stood up to leave. Before he left, however, something in the painting caught his eye that chilled his blood.
Standing in the background of the painting, leaning against the doorway, was a tall man in a dark suit, wearing a black fedora with an orange stripe. But that wasn't what chilled him, however.
The man had an all too familiar pair of curly sideburns.
The next day… The Accademia… About 9:30 AM…
If anyone asked Valeria what was going through her head at that moment, the answer would have had two parts: First, about her beloved Chrome's chest, and second, the fact that she was mentally humming the 'Pink Panther' theme. It seemed to fit the occasion. She was slowly creeping up on the poor girl, invisibly, her hands fully ready to grope.
Chrome glanced behind her. Nothing. She couldn't see through Valeria's illusion, which had been tempered by years of practice. Chrome slowly returned her eyes to the board. Behind her, Valeria was getting closer. Two meters… One meter… Half a meter…
The clock struck 9:35. In the Vendicare Prison, Mukuro was electrocuted. Chrome's trident shattered.
Chrome gasped, her pupil dilating to a pin point. Her breathing became quick and shallow, and her illusory stomach caved in. Chrome Dokoro collapsed, falling out of her seat. Instantly, the window shattered, Ken flying in among the shards of glass. Fran stared at him.
"Oiii, Ken-senpai. Aren't you a wanted criminal?" Fran reminded him.
"LIKE I GIVE A SHIT, BYON!" Ken screamed, scooping up Chrome and dashing off in a flash. Fran rolled his eyes.
"Just for the record, I didn't do a damn thing," Valeria told the remainder of the class, reappearing.
"Sure you didn't," One of the female students, a former victim of Valeria, grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Meanwhile…
"S-so, uh, th-that law against the, erm, drug… control… stuff. P-personally, I really think that's, uh, kind of, well…" Tsuna stumbled. He resorted to simply poking the instructor with the wad of fake bills. Most of the class was in uproarious laughter. The instructor sighed.
"Ser Vongola, your form is completely off. A proper bribe needs to be smooth, the bribed needs to have proper knowledge of what they're being bribed for, and the bribe itself needs to be handed off in a manner that does not arouse suspicion. Could I get a volunteer to show Ser Vongola what a proper bribe looks like?" A multitude of hands shot up. Before the instructor could choose a person to humiliate Tsuna, the door burst open, revealing a panting freshman.
"Is… Ser Vongola… Here?" He said in between intakes of air. His classroom was on the other side of the building, and he had run the entire way, after all. Tsuna gulped. This wasn't looking good.
"I'm here. What is it?" He answered. The freshman smiled in relief.
"You're needed at the infirmary… Signorina Nebbia… Collapsed…" The freshman panted.
"What?! When?!"
"Not five minutes ago. Her… pitchfork thingy… shattered and she… passed out. Some guy came in through the window and took her to the infirmary," The freshman finished, having regained his breath. Tsuna rushed towards the door. Kyoko stood up to follow him, but he declined.
"Stay here, Kyoko."
"What?! But…"
"I'll be back soon," Tsuna promised, and then he was gone. The entire class was silent. The teacher cleared his throat.
"Uh… Free study?" He guessed. Nobody complained. People started bunching up and chatting, some started studying for tests or doing homework, and some tried to sleep. Kyoko groaned at the absent Tsuna. From behind her, Maria grabbed her.
"Whatsa matter, Kyoko!" She said, looping her arms around Kyoko's shoulders. Kyoko jumped slightly.
"M-Maria, don't do that!" Kyoko said. Maria started giggling.
"Aww, are you worried about your husband while he's away?" Maria joked. Kyoko turned red, and shook Maria off.
"I told you, we're not married!" Kyoko griped. Maria just started cackling.
"But you two are just so damned cute together!" Maria stated, making Kyoko blush even deeper.
"Y-you really think so?" She mumbled, twiddling her thumbs in embarrassment.
"You kidding? Why else do ya think that everyone so readily believed that rumor?" Maria reassured her, clapping Kyoko on the shoulder. She gave a small grateful smile.
Meanwhile…
Ken placed the stethoscope on Chrome's chest in Shamal's stead. He wouldn't trust the man with an ice cream cone.
"What has the world come to when an honest man can't touch a cute schoolgirl's chest?" Shamal lamented. In the meanwhile, Fran picked his nose.
"Oiii, Ken-senpai. How much longer do I have to keep this up?" He moaned. Ken had gone back and picked up Fran after dropping off Chrome, and forced Fran to make Chrome an illusory stomach while they thought of different alternatives.
"You can drop in when I say you can drop it, byon," Ken replied. Behind them, the window was opened, and Tsuna flew in, the flame on his forehead extinguishing when he touched the ground.
"Couldn't use the door, could you?" Shamal joked, noting Chrome's heartbeat on a clipboard.
"Flying was faster," Tsuna shrugged, "How's Chrome?"
"Thanks to the kid," Fran flashed a peace sign, "She's stable, but unconscious. We're not sure how long the illusion is going to last, so I'm trying to think of some longer term solutions," Shamal explained.
"Such as?"
"First, and most obvious, would be getting her a transplant, but I would assume that since she's had an illusory stomach for so long, her body would reject an actual stomach. Second would be teaching her how to make a real illusion on her own, but that would be too time consuming. The third option would be to find out what happened to the creator of the former stomach," Shamal explained.
"Leave that to me," Tsuna said, taking out his cell phone. It had been a gift from his father, and had been programmed with the numbers of various contacts for Tsuna's use. Now, Tsuna called his contact in the underworld, the Vongola spy named Moretti.
"Hello, Moretti? It's Tsuna. No, you don't need to bow. Yes, I'm picturing you kissing my ring. No, Moretti, no need to go that far, thank you. I need you to find something out for me. Do you have any contacts in Vendicare? Wow, you do? Great. I need you to find out what's happened to a certain prisoner there. Rokudo Mukuro. I don't care how many palms you need to grease, just find out. Wait, how much? Yikes. Alright, you've got a blank check. Report back to me as soon as possible," Tsuna finished, and hung up.
"Moretti has a drinking buddy in the Vendicare that he can get some information out of. We should know soon," He reported.
"Don't bother," A voice from the window told them. Tsuna turned around. Standing on the windowsill was a black cat with white spots, with an indigo ribbon around its neck, and a small black ring box underneath one of its paws.
"Never seen a talking cat before?" It said. Tsuna jumped.
"T-TALKING CAT!" He screamed, slipping out of his boss persona back to his usual one. The cat rolled its eyes.
"Long time no see, Specks," Shamal greeted. Ken treated the cat with indifference, as if talking cats were something he saw every day. Fran didn't really care.
"WH-WHY IS THERE A TALKING CAT HERE?!" Tsuna continued to freak out.
"Why is there a talking monkey here?" The cat responded.
"That's not the point!" Tsuna said, but the cat ignored him and stalked towards Shamal, the ring box in his mouth. He deposited it at his feet.
"This should help, I think," He said. Shamal picked up the small box and opened it. His eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw the contents.
"Yikes. Where'd you get this?"
"Vendicare. If they ask, you never saw me," The cat noted. Shamal turned to his assistance, a young blonde woman who was trained in both medicine and Ju-jitsu, which she had let Shamal know the previous time he had tried to grab her ass.
"Prep for surgery, hot stuff. We'll need anesthetics for the girl; don't want her to wake up in the middle of the operation. Get going!" Shamal ordered, as he wheeled the bed Chrome was on to the infirmary's operation room. The nurse first flipped him off, then did what he had asked.
"Hey, brat! I'll need you in the room with me to keep her stomach in existence. Move it!" Shamal ordered Fran. Fran was about to complain, but a bestial glare from Ken silenced him.
"Oi, pervert! I'm coming, too, byon!" Ken asserted. In response, Shamal struck him on the back of his neck, knocking him both unconscious and to the ground.
"You'll get in the way," Shamal responded, and continued to the OR.
"Wait, Shamal! What's going on?" Tsuna demanded, tired of being left in the dark. In response, Shamal showed him the ring box he had gotten from the cat. When he flipped it open, Tsuna's jaw dropped.
"Any questions?"
Tsuna vigorously shook his head.
"Good," Shamal said, then disappeared into the OR, the nurse with surgery tools and anesthesia and Fran in tow. Ken lay on the ground, forgotten.
"I take it you want to know what's going on, young Vongola?" The cat asked. Tsuna, too confused to be further confused by the talking cat, nodded.
"Long story short: Rokudo Mukuro is dead."
Meanwhile…
The leader of the delinquents, coincidentally the same ones that had gone toe to toe with Tsuna, and had gotten the stuffing beaten out of them by Beppo, collapsed to the ground, thinking about how bad his luck had been. Hibari lowered his tonfa, unsatisfied.
"Next time, don't crowd around me, herbivores," He said icily to the unconscious delinquents surrounding him. He sighed. So boring. While the people Hibari regarded as being carnivores were tough, they were still only herbivores against him. The only carnivore who had really gotten his blood pumping was that Selvaggia woman, and he hadn't seen her since their fight had ended yesterday. Now Hibari had to resort to the weaklings again. He still hadn't gotten a good chance to try out his box weapon, but oh well.
The clock struck nine thirty five. Hibari simultaneously got a good feeling and a regretful feeling. One that he only got whenever a person he despised passed away. He got the feeling a lot.
"What are you doing standing around, Kyoya?" A cold voice demanded. Hibari smiled in anticipation. Walking towards him, stepping over or on Hibari's unconscious prey, was Selvaggia, her staff readied.
"I thought this would get your attention," Hibari mused, and their fight restarted.
Later…
"The Vendici could have executed him at any time; why now?" Tsuna wondered, soaking in the news he had received from Speckles. Ken had regained consciousness, and was sitting on a bed in a slump, silent tears running down his face.
"That, I don't know. All I know is that he's dead," Speckles admitted, giving the closest he could to a shrug. Tsuna's cell phone rang, and he picked it up quickly.
"Ser Decimo, its Moretti."
"Do you have any news?"
"Yep. My contact got me the information. Rokudo Mukuro is…"
"Dead. I know. What I want to know is why."
"Well, apparently he slaughtered the entire Estraneo Famiglia, he…"
"I know that. I mean, why was he executed now?"
"Well, the Vendici were keeping him alive as a precaution. However, a few weeks ago, one of their prisoners, a particularly brutal serial killer responsible for numerous deaths in the mafia, escaped. A small Famiglia caught him, and returned him to the Vendici in exchange for one thing."
"Don't tell me."
"The execution of Rokudo Mukuro."
Tsuna clenched his fists in anger. Sure, Mukuro had himself said that he was only on their side so he could possess Tsuna when his guard was down, but he was still (technically) his Guardian. And Tsuna was not going to like having to break this news to Chrome.
The door from the OR opened, and Shamal and Fran, who had a slightly frightened look on his face, walked out.
"All done. Her organs have returned, thankfully," Shamal said as he removed his face mask. Ken pushed past him to get into the room.
"Shamal, is she conscious yet?" Tsuna asked.
"Not yet. She probably won't be awake for a while. I know you came here to see how she was doing, but you should probably head back to class now," Shamal suggested. Tsuna nodded, and left.
"Oiii, Shamal-hentai."
"What, brat?"
"I'm never becoming a doctor."
"Good. And don't call me 'hentai'."
Later…
It was so dark. So cold. So, so, so cold. Chrome felt lonelier than she ever had in her entire life, even before she had been saved by Mukuro. It was so cold.
"Chrome! Chrome!" A voice called from the darkness. It was Ken's voice. Chrome slowly opened her eyes. She blinked. Her eye patch had been removed, and replaced with medical gauze. When Ken saw she was awake, he smiled.
"Oi! Pervert doctor! She's awake, byon!" He called out. Shamal casually strolled in to look at her.
"Well, you're up quickly," He noted, taking out a small flashlight and shining it in front of her eye. Chrome squinted. When that was done, Shamal started to unwrap the gauze.
"I-is something wrong with Mukuro-sama?" Chrome asked right off the bat. Both Ken and Shamal stopped dead. Shamal lowered his hands from the bandages.
"Chrome, Mukuro-san is…" Ken began, dreading what was about to come. Chrome was shaking in fear, as if she already knew the answer to her question.
"Mukuro-san is dead."
You could have heard the sound of Chrome's world shattering.
Several days later…
None of the Kokuyo gang took the news very well. M.M. moped around all day long, and sobbed uncontrollably when she thought nobody was around. Chikusa started talking even less than he usually did. The Bloody Twins, Jiji and Djidji, had both been heartbroken when they heard the news. After Birds had died, they had become exceedingly attached to Chrome, and she hadn't come out of her room in days, barely eating. If Chrome was unhappy, the Twins were unhappy.
Ken had taken it upon himself to try and make Chrome eat. Their chef, a plump, motherly woman by the name of Sarti, had cooked very nutritious food for Chrome to eat ("Girl needs some meat on her bones," she had said in her jovial way of speaking). Ken fell into a habit at every meal of taking Chrome's food to her room, leaving it in front of her door, asking her to come out, getting no response, and then taking the last meal's food, barely touched, and leaving.
After four days, however, Ken was beginning to get a little bit fed up.
On the morning of the fourth day, Ken left a mouthwatering breakfast, fruit, bacon, eggs, and a frothy glass of milk, at Chrome's door.
"Chrome, will you please come out?" He said to the door. He knew that the occupant of the room wouldn't respond. Ken looked down at the meal from last night. Chrome had barely touched it.
"Oh, that does it, byon! Chrome you have three seconds to open this door or I'm knocking it down, byon!" Ken shouted, fully ready to make good on his threat. No response.
"THREE!"
Nothing.
"TWO!"
Still nothing. Ken popped in his Gorilla Channel.
"ONE!"
Silence.
"ZERO!" Ken screamed as he flattened the door. Chrome, curled up on her bed facing the wall, didn't even turn around. Ken glared at her.
"Chrome, will you quit your moping around?!" He screamed. She didn't respond. Ken angrily walked towards her, grabbing her by the shoulder and forcing her to look at him.
"WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME?!" He shouted at her. Chrome shook him off and curled up into an even tighter ball.
"Go away," She said quietly.
"Eat."
"I'm not hungry," Chrome lied. Her growling stomach told the truth in her stead.
"No good is going to come out of starving yourself!"
"Maybe I'll die," Chrome said gloomily. Ken turned her around and slapped her, anger blaring across his face.
"Don't… you… EVER… say that again. Byon," He snarled through gritted teeth. Chrome's eye quivered in shock.
"Mukuro-sama was my only reason for living! Why should I keep going when he's dead?!" Chrome cried.
"You IDIOT!" Ken yelled, and he pointed a finger at the right side of Chrome's face. "If he DIDN'T want you to live, THEN WHY THE HELL DID HE GIVE YOU HIS EYE?!" It was true. Chrome's right eye socket was no longer empty; inside it now sat Mukuro's red right eye. It was what was inside the ring box, and what was currently keeping Chrome alive.
"I-I-I… I don't know," Chrome admitted, tears beginning to flow. Ken scoffed, turned around on his heel, and left.
"You wanna die so much, then do it, byon," Was all he said before leaving. Then Chrome was alone again, sitting in the darkness of her room. Her two eyes looked over at her mirror. She looked so much like Mukuro, she almost thought that it was him in the mirror, not her.
"Chrome's still not coming out?" M.M. asked Ken as he sat back down at the table. Ken shook his head. This came as no surprise. Sarti came out with heaping portions of food and placed them on the table. It all looked delicious, with the exception of the Twins' meal. It was some type of pulp that they had put together themselves, which even Sarti could not identify. M.M. picked up her fork to stab at her scrambled eggs, but all she met was the table.
M.M.'s plate had been snatched, and was now being scarfed down by a girl they barely recognized. She was around fourteen, had purple hair, untied, and hanging down to her shoulders, and was wearing the Accademia's uniform. In under a minute, she had devoured M.M.'s food, and moved on to Chikusa's, which she ate with equal, if not greater, speed. In less than two minutes, she had both taken and eaten all the members of the Kokuyo gang's food, including the Twins' mystery paste (she licked the bowl clean). Everyone at the table was too bewildered to try and stop her.
The girl was finished. She let out a large belch, then covered her mouth, blushing slightly.
"C-can I have seconds?" She asked, in a voice all too familiar.
"C-CHROME?!" M.M. screamed. She had never seen Chrome with her hair down; it was hard to recognize her. Chrome turned to her.
"N-no, I'm not," She answered, a smile on her face. Both her eyes were uncovered, and the same color, likely due to an illusion. A bewildered Sarti brought out another serving for her, which she attacked as if it was going to run away.
"Th-then who are you, byon?" Ken asked. Chrome smiled at him.
"Nagi. Nagi Akiyama. Pleased to meet you," Chrome, no, Nagi said before continuing to eat.
Ken gave a small smile.
Meanwhile…
"Are the rings being forged yet?"
"Yes, Ser Dragone. I regret to say that the process will take quite a while, however."
"How long will it take?"
"Around a month, sir."
"Good."
"I take it you have selected the recipients of the rings already?"
"Yes. The Vongola don't stand a chance."
"Would you care to enlighten me, sir?"
"I suppose. Naturally, Ilario, you're the Fulmine."
"Thank you, sir."
"Lilia Fiametta is Tempesta."
"Very good, sir."
"Edward Fitzgerald is our Pioggia."
"The cricket creep?"
"Silence. Paco Rodriguez is Serena."
"Hm."
"Nebbia is a girl named Valeria Velius."
"I've never heard of her, sir."
"She tries to keep low. Nuvola is Selvaggia Placido."
"Placido? You can't be serious, sir. How did you convince her to join?"
"I haven't yet. But I have my ways."
"And what about the Madonna Ring, sir?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
"I understand, sir."
Chapter 9 End
A/N Yes, I had to physically restrain myself from making Nagi's last name "Springfield". It was very difficult.
Translations:
Eccedere Limite: Exceed limit (Italian)
Kyokuten Heki: Extreme Burst (Japanese)
Fiamma: Flame (Italian)
Akiyama: Autumn mountain (Japanese)
And another chapter down. I have no idea how long this story is going to be, but it's going to be a while longer. Thanks for sticking with me! Although I'm afraid I lost most of my readers with the killing Mukuro thing.
I forgot to say during the last chapter: I completely made up the name of Lanchia's family. Estrella (star) was all I could think of.
Why did I bring in Shoichi and Spanner? Well, why the hell not? Plus, if you look closely, you'll notice that Shoichi mentioned the exact moment that my universe split from the canon one. And what is Spanner working on? Hmmmm…
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Oh, and before I go, a word of warning: The next person who uses the word "extreme" or any variation thereof in a review will be meeting the business end of my smiting stick.
REVIEW!
I probably forgot to mention something… oh well.