Hey minna-san! I finally made it to the tenth chapter *applause*
I know I know don't throw tomatoes at me, I know it took me freaking long this time LOL but hey I have an acceptable reason. I mean my house is being repaired. Truth to be told, I didn't have much to do but my mom, she gonna murder me right on the spot if she saw me touch my laptop and I still want to live, thanks a lot.
Well one day I had chance to turn on my laptop and Holy Primo, I have freaking 176 reviews *jump around in joy* I have never received this much reviews before, I mean 41 reviews this chap? OMG thank you AAALLLLLLLLL for all the reviews and faves and alerts, I'm really happy now *cry in joy*
Okay enough crap, now I present to you the beta'ed version (by ShamelessDilettante, ugh Shade-san I have to use copy paste here) of...
CHAPTER 10
As soon as the Vongola private jet landed on the Mansion's rooftop, the world's greatest hitman took no time getting out of the jet and making his way down the stairs. The raven haired man felt constantly tired due to lack of sleep: he had been feeling restless ever since the start of his trip.
But at least, it had been better than how he felt now.
Too peaceful.
The hitman brought his hand up to tilt his fedora down, letting the rim shadowed his eyes. He was now recalling how the Mansion had been before he left: noisy, chaotic with the sounds of fighting and explosions everywhere, loud screams and shouts were heard continuously, along with the carefree, or creepy, laughter of the fighting idiots, workers dashing back and forth at all times just to fix the mess the occupants left behind.
Yes, that was how the Vongola Mansion was meant to be.
Reborn walked along the marvelous corridor with long strides, not even bothering to stop once to admire its beauty. He headed straight for his destination; the boss' office on the fourth floor. The Tsuna's Guardians and the brunet himself were nowhere to be found; only the subordinates greeted him. Moreover, the hitman could easily pick out the strange behavior they all displayed as he passed by; still respectful but with hints of sadness and a sombre tone, as if afraid and upset. They also avoided looking directly into Reborn's face, retreating quietly as soon as they were done.
He didn't like it one bit, the silence and the peaceful atmosphere should not exist nor deem to grace the mansion with its presence; not with the Decimo's Guardians around. Reborn didn't need Vongola's famed Hyper Intuition to figure out something was wrong. It was just like the calm before a storm, a sign that something terrible would happen, or it was like the silence after a crash, as if something had already happened.
Now he was standing in front of his student's office door, his hand tightly fisted on the knob, white knuckled. No, he should not fear of such a simple action. He was the fearless and invincible number one hitman in the world. He feared nothing, absolutely nothing. Just open the damn door and get in, Reborn.
But he couldn't deny the fact that on the other side of the door; he couldn't sense his student's presence. There were many people there, everyone but the one he registered as warm and calming. He just couldn't lie to himself that when he opened this door, the young boss would smile his sweet, naïve smile and greet him back warmly, only to be kicked across the huge room, and sit up, grumbling or muttering something under his breath something along the lines of 'sadistic Spartan tutor'.
Is was so much like how he had felt when he was sent to the future in his baby form and heard about the brunet's death and his own. The very first time in his life, he felt like turning around and walking away, /running/ away, from the harsh reality.
The hitman inhaled and exhaled deeply, pulling himself together. This was completely wrong, completely out of character of him. He wasn't the world's greatest hitman for nothing. He had good control of his emotions, he feared nothing and more importantly, he was always prepared for the worst.
With that thought, the hitman opened the heavy wooden door and stalked in.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Reborn was seeing red.
Never before in his life had the hitman felt this angry, not even when he was suddenly turned into an infant. No, he was not angry, he was beyond that; in utter rage. And nothing could guarantee that he would not blow up all the morons' brains in front of him with some well-shot bullets.
The Guardians- how dare they call themselves his student's Guardians- except the Cloud one, were now shivering under his intimidating gaze. No one dared to utter a word in fear of making Reborn snap and ending their lives instantly. They could /feel/ the livid aura roiling off the hitman in huge dark waves.
Ungrateful, selfish brats. After everything the brunet had done and sacrificed for them, this was how they repaid him?
"Would you like to repeat that, Gokudera?" asked the ex-tutor in a monotone, if it weren't for the cold and threatening gaze from those narrowed black orbs and the aura, you would have thought he was talking calmly about the weather. The other occupants flinched and instinctively took one step back.
Inside the young boss' office now were the Guardians, Reborn's ex-student, Dino Cavallone, along with his trusted subordinate Romario, and Enma Kozato the Shimon head, his guardians were nowhere to be found. The two bosses were both wearing unreadable expressions, which Reborn suspected had something to do with their little brother and friend's absence: they kept staring into the distance, eyes lifeless and dull, as if they were mourning over someone.
The boss' self-claimed right-hand man was now standing in front of him with his head hung in shame. On his heels was the former baseball fanatic. The usually hyperactive boxer was on one of the couches with the bratty cow teenager on another, both were unusually quiet and serious. The female illusionist stood timidly behind the boss' empty desk, holding her trident tightly to her chest as if it were her lifeline, while the male one leaned against the wall by the office's only window, a frown decorating his handsome face. The only Guardian absent was Hibari.
The bomber eyed the Leon-gun in the hitman's hand fearfully. Swallowing an imaginary lump in his throat, he stuttered "Ju-Juudaime has gone m-missing, Reborn-san!"
*Bang!*
A few drops of crimson liquid fell onto the carpet. The bomber froze in his spot as all the blood drained out of his face. He brought his right hand up and touched the skin on his right cheek where the bullet had grazed it, and found his fingers wet with blood. Just an inch to the right and he might have never see the sunrise again.
All the other occupants in the room were startled at the hitman's shot, almost jumping upright. They slowly looked at the bullet hole in the wall behind the boss' desk, just a few inches from the female Mist Guardian's head. The one-eye'd woman's legs buckled beneath her weight as she shakily slid down the wall.
"Explain, slowly and detail. Lie, then face the consequences." Demanded the ever-intimidating man as he pointed his Leon-gun directly at Gokudera's forehead.
The remaining Guardians glanced at each other nervously, clearly fearing for their own lives. Suddenly, they found it so much harder to breathe, as if the hitman's killing intent had sucked away all the oxygen in the room. More than anyone, they were all well aware that the hitman's words were meant to be taken seriously.
Reborn gritted his teeth, showing that his patience was running thin and if someone didn't give him what he wanted soon, he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
After a moment of pregnant silence, the would-be victim of his first shot swallowed thickly and finally managed to stutter out an explanation.
"W-well… about t-two weeks after you left…"
The Vongola Storm Guardian stalked along the hall to the elevator. He needed to hand in a detailed report on his newest mission to Japan to his boss. His mission was a complete success, he even finished it before the deadline and managed to drop by the idiot woman's house. He blushed and scowled at the thought of the other girl. Just as he arrived at the other's house, they started arguing about nothing in particular non-stop until he left. However, despite all the bickering, the bubbly brunette still managed to give Gokudera his early Christmas gift: a (normal-looking) hand-knitted scarf, thank god, which he was happily wearing at the moment.
Speaking of Christmas, a few hours ago, he had seen some of his fellow Guardians arrive at the Vongola Mansion, probably looking forward to the Christmas party the next day.
It had become a routine- no, a tradition- ever since his Juudaime had inherited the title of Vongola the Tenth, that on every Christmas night, the young boss and his respective Guardians would have some bonding time together. They would hold a party with all their close friends: Nono, Reborn, Dino (and his subordinates or else he would cause a big mess), Enma,… For some odd reason, all those parties always seemed to end up in fighting and destruction everywhere, which resulted in the poor brunet buried in a mountain of paperwork the next day. Despite all of the cons, the Christmas parties were still held regularly every year and all of the participants found themselves enjoying it whole-heartedly. It was actually one of the rare chances where they could all be together and they treasured it, even if most of them showed that in /unusual/ ways. There was another reason that they enjoyed those meals, though.
The right-hand man still couldn't understand how his boss managed to convince the fighting freak to join them once every year though all the bastard did was sit as far as possible from the 'annoying crowding herbivores' and glare at everyone. He suspected it had something to do with 'a good fight' and 'bite to death'. ("Juudaime, you are awesome as ever, even be able to tame that untamable monster!" The bomber yelled heartily to his beloved chuckling boss, earning himself a death glare from said 'monster'. The ex-prefect instantly retorted with his tonfa bared and a trademark. 'I'll bite you to death!')
And now here he was, standing in front of his boss' door, right hand raised in the process of knocking on the door. He knocks once. No answer. Twice. Nothing happened. Thrice. Still no answer.
He started to worry. His boss always answered after the first knock. What if something had happened to him? It wasn't lunch time yet, so it wasn't likely the brunet had left his office for a meal. And Gokudera was sure there was no meeting today since Juudaime always canceled all the meeting on Christmas and the day before.
With that thought, he decided to just open the door without his boss' permission, inwardly apologising for the rudeness. "Juudaime, excuse me for my intrusion-" only to be dumbfound by what he saw in the office.
His boss was sitting there, looking perfectly fine; there were no visible signs of harm. But that was only physical; he wasn't sure about the mental part. The petit brunet was situated in his chair behind his desk, not doing the paperwork like he usually did. Instead, the brunet rested his chin on his tangled hands, elbows on the table surface. His eyes clenched shut and his breathing even as if he were sleeping, but the right-hand man knew his boss wasn't asleep. He was just unresponsive, which made it even more worrying: he was always well aware of his surroundings even in his sleep. And right now, he wasn't.
The right-hand man quietly walked up to his boss, not wanting to startle him. "Juudaime!" He called softly
The brunet finally snapped out of his daze as his eyes fluttered open, revealed caramel orbs tinted with orange. The man blinked a couple of times and slowly refocused on the concerned face in front of him.
"Hayato?"
"Juudaime, are you OK?" The right hand man asked nervously.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" the young boss stretched his limbs a little and let out a content sigh. Then he picked up the forgotten pen on his table to start on his paperwork.
"You didn't notice when I came in…" trailed off the other man.
"Is that so? Well, I guess I'm just a little tired." Muttered the brunet, this only served to make the Storm more worried. He watched his boss intensely, spotting when the brunet tensed up for an unknown reason. For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw his boss' eyes turn dull and cloudy.
"Anyway, how was your mission in Japan? I take it that you finished earlier than expected…" As quickly as it had appeared, the young man's eyes reverted to its normal warm-looking ones, though the sadness was still present. He changed the subject "… and still had enough time to pay a visit to Miura household? Nice scarf by the way!"
The brunet chuckled in amusement as he watched his right-hand man's face flush. The silveret himself didn't even know why he always blushed furiously whenever that stupid woman's name was mentioned.
"J-Juudaime! Your intuition is brilliant as ever!" Stuttered the man. He brought up his hand, and scratches the back of his head in a very baseball-idiot kind of way while the other hand clutched a part of his new red and black scarf. "The idiot woman gave it to me as an e-early Christmas present."The man stopped and frowned a little "She was even planning to give you and the others some fucking 'hand-made kawaii Christmas outfits' but I stopped her… So instead, she made a Bûche de Noël and ordered me to bring it back as soon as possible."
The other laughed out loud, effectively relieving the worried silveret: a happy face always suited his boss the most. "Figures! Typical Haru. It seems you two had a good argument."
Gokudera flushed even more quickly turned his head away to hide the tomato-red face. "Wow, Hayato. If someone saw your face now, they would immediately think that Haru and you did something 'intimate'!" Teased his Juudaime. The right-hand man could only become more flustered in response and clumsily handed the report folder to his boss. The brunet took it effortlessly and put it down on top of the other piles of similar folders on his desk. "And I also dropped by the turf-top's house. His engagement with Kurokawa's on January the first, wedding is still undecided." he took out another red card from his breast pocket and put it down. "Turf-top's sister sent her regards."
"Is that so…" the brunet touched the invitation lightly in sadness, Gokudera grimaced- he didn't like this expression on his boss' face one bit. "I'm happy for them!" Tsuna's face immediately slipped on a cheerful façade when he saw his right-hand man's discomfort.
The temperamental man spotted something out of place on his boss' paper-covered desk: a golden rimmed notebook-sized black card with a golden crest in the middle. Who would send such a weird-looking card to his boss, anyway?
"Juudaime!" the man pointed at the weird card in question. "I wonder… what is that?"
"Oh… this!" the other sighed and used his left hand to pick up the card, very carefully. Now that the silverret noticed, the card wasn't even made of paper. It made of glass. Freaking glass.
"Well… perhaps I won't be attending our Christmas Party this year." The boss spoke in a soft voice; just barely beyond a whisper, earning a completely shocked expression from his Storm Guardian "W-why? You attend every year. N-no my apologies, Juudaime! You must be tired dealing with all those fucking idiots, always messing around…"
The young boss chuckled, unsure as to whether he should mention to his right-hand man that the silveret himself, along with the others, were the main cause of his paperwork. "I'm perfectly fine, Hayato. And sure, it would be better if you tried to cause less destruction during missions…" The bomber blushed again, this time in shame. "… but that's not the reason."
"The reason is this" his boss held up the weird card and the bomber took it carefully with two hands, not trusting himself not to break it by accident. In the middle of the glass card were the golden lines:
Dear Vongola Decimo,
On the 24th of this month, we – the Veleno Famiglia- are hosting a Grand Christmas Ball
At 8 p.m
In the Veleno Mansion's Ballroom,
Where all the most renowned Famiglie
All over the world
Are invited to attend.
And your presence- as the most powerful and famous Famiglia in history- here
Would be an honor to us
Sincerely,
Veleno the First
The right-hand man read and reread the invitation all over again. However, he couldn't detect anything different from the others his boss usually received. The only weird thing was the material the invitation was made from. Still, he couldn't sense anything wrong. The fancy glass was just like something one would use to stand out and be noticed. Then, why would his boss decide to miss the yearly family event that they always looked forward to?
"I don't understand, Juudaime! You always refused all the other invitations around Christmas. What makes this one different?"
"The difference is… this." Said the boss seriously as he lit up his Sky Flame and placed his hand under the piece of glass. The other man couldn't help but gape in awe as the whole card glowed orange, momentarily hiding the golden letters, and slowly revealed a new set of words in black:
Where the false Sky is tainted
And sweeps away everything
With the crimson hues of blood.
F. di R
"That is the reason why, Hayato. It's a trap that is set up for us to walk into..."
End of chapter~
EXTREME explanation time~ WOW it gonna be long, I'd better prepare myself.
Well I'm aiming for 200+ reviews this chap, is that possible I wonder? (The skin on my face sure is thick) Actually I feel kinda nervous this chap, my beta reader really helped me a lot ne~ *Glomp Shade-san almost to death*
Good bye minna-san, see ya next chap. Don't forget I love you all (TO THE EXTREME) and of course, your reviews =))
R&R please~