Takeshi didn't know why his dad sent him out with his old bat. He hadn't used it in several months now and was starting to forget his old instincts.
He also didn't know why his dad was firm that he had to go to one of his old practice spots, which was somewhat out of the way.
Confusion turned to shock and some dismay when he realized someone was already playing a minor pick-up game in his old spot.
It took him several seconds to register the ball flying at his face, and another two before he reacted accordingly. Hearing the sound of the ball sent flying away from him created a nostalgic feeling.
"Are you going to stand around all day playing spectator or are you going to join in?" asked the pitcher, a girl who bore a really weird resemblance to Ieyasu Sawada.
If he didn't know any better he'd swear she was his twin sister or something.
Takeshi plastered on his fake smile, which came far too easily.
"Ahahaha... you sure you want me to join in?"
Most people avoided him after the incident with the yakuza.
Takeshi cautiously joined in, and was rather shocked when they didn't bother to hold back. It was rather strange to play his favorite game with people just as strong as he was, much less the odd camaraderie that was slowly beginning to form between them. He had to laugh when he recognized Prince Belphegor, who seemed rather pleased to have a reason to let loose without restrictions.
So it was with great shock that his bat erupted into blue flames tinged with indigo.
Hotaru face-palmed.
"Do I have some sort or weird catnip for Mists or something?" she asked.
Mammon snorted at that.
"There's a distinct possibility you might have a Mist secondary in you. Or it could be your Clound and Sky are calling them to you," said Mammon.
Takeshi began to sway, as activating his Flames took a lot out of him.
Hotaru caught him easily, and felt his Rain gently slide into her Sky.
From what Byakuran told her, Takeshi was much like Squalo except far quieter but just as loyal. Once he got to the first level of mastery in his family's sword style, she was going to toss him the Sword Emperor to be his new training dummy until Takeshi had the moves ingrained into his very muscle memory.
At the very least he wouldn't be wasted in a civilian life.
Tsuyoshi was entirely unsurprised his son had gone Active, and agreed to teach Takeshi how to use a sword when he asked. He would not nudge his son to go with his potential Sky, but he would not hinder him either.
While the newly-Active Rain slept it off, Hotaru went to find a certain carnivore.
Hotaru had to sweatdrop...she did not expect Kyouya to recognize her on sight and charge at her like that.
Fon was too busy laughing his ass off at their flirting to be of any use while Reborn took pictures.
"Come on Kyouya, how could I grow into a carnivore like you if I was always in your shadow? You have the worst habit of taking out all the strong players and making them leave and then keep the lesser carnivores from having their own fun because you won't let them leave!" she protested irate.
Kyouya paused at that logic. It was true he tended to target the stronger players the second they became known to him. And that he would go after anyone who tried to become a carnivore in their own right, to test his own strength and prove his superiority.
Hotaru took a few breaths before he charged again.
"What if I offered you a deal? A chance to challenge other carnivores that might be worthy of your skill and power while still maintaining your den in Namimori? I have no interest in claiming this territory but even wolves don't hunt alone if they can help it. A pack can help you find better prey and more chances to prove your superiority as an alpha without having to worry about lesser animals trying to take you out because the pack would have your back!"
Seeing she had Kyouya's interest now, Hotaru pressed in for the kill.
Claws of flame appeared on her hand as the silhouette of a large black panther formed behind her. Eyes of amber stared down at the Cloud, and he couldn't help the feeling of anticipation in his blood.
A strange sensation filled him, and if he had been more experienced he would have correctly identified it as lust. Fon watched the entire scene with open amusement and eagerness.
It wasn't uncommon for female Skies to draw multiple lovers, however for such a thing to happen they had to be exceptionally powerful.
These days it was unheard of, as families tried to marry off the female Skies in an effort to breed even more. And even if they avoided that fate, they usually picked a single partner of their own for political gain or to strengthen their family ties with another.
Hotaru was unique in that she was secure enough in her own right to remain a 'stray cat' and was only taking the Decimo position because she honestly had no idea what to do with her life otherwise. Rising to the top as the World's Greatest Hit (Wo)man was only a stop gap measure and that was only if she were genuinely interested in the idea.
At least being Decima would give her something to do, as it took a lot of work to keep a famiglia together...especially since she would have to do a lot of "spring cleaning" to get rid of the useless or dangerous elements that had been allowed to fester under the current Don's reign.
Elements like her own father, Iemitsu.
Fon watched with avid interest as Kyouya's battle-lust started to shift into something far more amusing. By now an unspoken understanding had been reached that Hotaru and her group were not interested in his claimed territory and were more than willing to allow him the freedom to come and go as he pleased...while calling him to the more fun fights where he could challenge himself properly.
Kyouya was all too aware he was a rather large fish in a rather small pond and that finding a decent opponent was nearly impossible at this point. By stepping onto a bigger playing field he might be able to find opponents worthy of his weapons and rise to even bigger heights.
And then Hotaru went for the 'kill' so to speak as she managed to pin Kyouya under her. She could feel his interest and reaction and smirked.
"Remember to wear protection," cackled Fon.
Hotaru grinned at Kyouya.
"Let's see if Rosethorn and I can put that stamina of yours to better use...and show you a more fun way to bite someone to death."
Fon was humming while he left to get his tea fix. Kyouya was in for one hell of a night, the lucky brat. Fon was all too aware that Kyouya had never been with a woman...or a man, for that matter and he was about to be caught by surprise by the scheming Sky and her Lightning girlfriend.
Rosethorn had no interest in anyone but her Sky...but she was at least open minded enough to share with those she considered worthy.
Considering the bedraggled appearance of Kyouya the next morning, along with the odd looks his right hand was shooting him, Fon could only smirk.
That smirk turned rather devious when he felt Kyouya's flames purr as Hotaru lightly touched them with her own. Clearly he approved of her to some extent, but then again Hotaru was part Cloud herself and knew how to handle his instincts.
Takashi stared at Hotaru, who smiled back.
"You're offering me a place where I can be free."
"I'm offering you a chance to break free of the nightmare you've endured in this town. Namimori is a small pond and you are a medium sized fish that has shown it's fangs. It's the same reason I left when I was eight, even if Kyouya was displeased that a small animal dared to leave his territory without permission."
Takeshi stared at her hard.
"So... are you really related to Ieyasu Sawada?"
"He's my twin brother. He was safe enough here and our mother has an untreated condition that had her focusing more heavily on him than me. They were better off without developing bad habits that would have turned me into a scapegoat for their own problems," said Hotaru bluntly. Takeshi wasn't the only one to wince... his father did as well, because he had seen Nana and her son before and could agree that such a situation was well within the realms of possibility.
Hotaru smirked at him and pulled out Hades.
"This is my weapon Hades. In the underworld I'm collectively known as the Black Cat, a hit woman who's well on their way to taking over the spot as the world's greatest hit man...or hit woman, since I have little interest in taking Reborn's title from him. If you want, you could join our group and find your own path without being bound by the petty fools that live in Namimori who strike back at anyone who shows even a fraction of individuality or strength. If they weren't so scared of Kyouya they might have gone after him as well."
"Who's Kyouya?" asked Takeshi.
"The demon Hibari," deadpanned Hotaru. He choked at that. Hotaru looked at Takeshi with a dead serious expression. "I know about the darkness in you. The one that allows you to kill without remorse or regret. The sort of thing no civilian would ever understand."
Takeshi cast a glance at his father, who held a resigned but not horrified look.
"I should have expected you would inherit that sort of thing, considering I was a hit man myself before you were born. I gave it up for your mother, but it's still there," said Tsuyoshi. "If you wish to find your own path and follow her, I will not stop you."
"Dad..."
"However if you do decide to leave, then I want to test your resolve. You'll have to master all eight forms of our family's sword style before you step foot outside the town limits."
"If he does learn it, then I fully plan to toss him to the current Sword Emperor until those moves become ingrained to the point of muscle memory. If anyone can teach him how to be a good Left Hand, it's the Right hand of the Varia Boss," said Hotaru.
Tsuyoshi looked skeptical.
"Why would the Sword Emperor agree to that?"
"Their boss likes me and so does the majority of the group. It doesn't hurt I let them rent apartments in the building I own for cheap when Mammon is cutting into their limited paycheck again because they're pissed off with their division," said Hotaru dryly. "At the very least Sqaulo would have far too much fun whipping Takeshi into shape just so he has a decent sparring partner for later."
Tsuyoshi snorted. That sounded more like it.
"How long are you lot in town?"
"Mammon and Belphegor will be returning within a few days, but Rosethorn, Fon and I will be staying for at least a week or two. We weren't expecting to have such an easy time locating a proper Cloud and Rain guardian and this means we can have a small vacation."
Tsuyoshi smiled. That was plenty of time to teach his son how to use the family's sword arts. His son might be baseball obsessed but he was rather bright in some respects. He already had the right muscles trained...it was just a matter of teaching him how to use them in new ways.
Perhaps it was a sign of fate, or perhaps it was just a strange stroke of luck (good or bad, it was hard to tell).
But as they were sitting down eating sushi in the restaurant a mother and son came in.
Hotaru recognized them the second they walked through the door, but of the mother-son duo only the son paused when their eyes met.
He frowned as if a great puzzle had appeared before him and demanded he solve it. A strange shiver of recognition passed in his soul, as if he should know that girl almost as well as he knew himself.
Then it passed and he silently shook his head.
The others picked up on how oddly tense their Sky was around that boy, and silently observed him. It didn't take a genius to realize this was the twin she left behind.
Really, she should have expected this confrontation to happen. It didn't take much for Ieyasu to follow her to an empty park with a confused look on his face.
"Why do I feel like I know you?"
Hotaru debated on what to tell him, then decided the truth was best.
"I'm your twin sister. When we were younger, we were somewhat close but our mother's depression and her obsession with trying to replace our father with you resulted in me leaving of my own accord. You were safe here and I could tell our mother wasn't so far gone as to delve into depraved acts, so I left you behind."
Ieyasu wanted to deny her words, to say that it was impossible he had a twin.
Except he had always had weird dreams, odd memories of playing with a girl the same age as him (only a few minutes older) with warm amber eyes. They lived and grew up together, before she abruptly changed and vanished. After that he had a mostly lonely childhood. Don't get him wrong, his mother doted on him and he had a few friends, but there was always something missing. Like a void in his heart that he knew would never be filled.
He had asked about the girl to his father, the rare times he was around, but Iemitsu never knew who he was talking about. As if the girl had never existed.
Seeing her standing before him, he felt as if a hole that had always been present was starting to fill.
"Why did you leave?"
"Our mother is so determined to stay in her little fantasy world that her depression made her dangerous. She fixated on you because you resemble that man so strongly, but she barely paid any notice of me. Only a fool would have stuck around in a situation where things could swiftly become intolerable. All it would take was a single good push and she would have easily turned against me, treating me as the source of her ills while she treated you like a prince. Furthermore with how easily children are swayed, it wouldn't have taken much for you to follow her lead."
As much as he wanted to deny it, he could easily admit to himself that he had done similar things in the name of making his mother happy. He wasn't that blind to the fact she was absolutely miserable unless Iemitsu was around.
Hotaru swiftly made a decision. There was no telling if Ieyasu had Sky flames as well, but he was still a source of the Primo's bloodline. Once she made her move he would become exposed, regardless of whether she was the culprit or not.
Iemitsu and the Ninth would never accept her claim as Decima...she had humiliated them too much and was too free for them to control. However Ieyasu was an innocent and therefor useful as a potential puppet if they played their cards right.
Such as sending Reborn to acclimate him to the underworld.
A wicked thought occurred to her.
"I wonder how Nana would react to a sudden win that brought her to the same area of Italy that Iemitsu has been working in, with a special voucher to the restaurant he favors the most?"
Ieyasu had a sudden chill down his spine.
"What are you planning?"
"Just opening her eyes to what he's really been doing while she wastes away in this town. A few well placed words and he'll have no choice but to keep her close while you disappear from their radar. Mama gets to spend a lot of time with her lout of a husband, you don't get dragged into their ridiculous schemes, and I get to have my brother back. It's a win for all three of us and the perfect way to block the idiots who call themselves wise because of their age and 'experience'."
Ieyasu almost debated on agreeing to such a thing...except he felt like he was caged in Namimori, and this was the doorway to an exciting adventure.
He would not let his twin slip away so easily again, even if he had to walk the same path!