Beta'd by SawadaTsunayoshiLover and pamellka
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"Where is it, you filthy thief?"
Noise. A voice? Unfamiliar voice.
"I've told you!-Urg."
A familiar voice. Who? What is that loud sound? Somebody was being beaten?
"There's nothing there. You liar! There's nothing in that damn box!"
His skin was drenched with sweat. Uncomfortable.
Clanking sound. Cold. Metal around his wrists.
Am I bound? Why?
Who's the one in pain? His voice sounds familiar.
"Maybe we should pull out your teeth. You won't need them if you keep lying."
"Don't blame …s-somebody just because your brain is too tiny to process a simple instruction t-to find it…You bastard!"
That voice. He knew it!
Hayato!
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His whole body was so heavy he couldn't move an inch of his body. Tsuna groaned as a migraine silently reigned in his mind, drowning his thoughts into a deeply tangled mess. He decided he hated being drugged with a passion; these disturbing feelings after waking up should be banned at all cost.
For a moment all he could do was screw his eyes shut. Then he opened them, blinked a few times in an attempt to ease the dizzy state of his mind.
It worked wonderfully, until a thunderous sound rang through his ears, causing his brow to furrow as a result. He averted his eyes quickly to the source of the noise… and, well, Tsuna just felt it.
The feeling he had long forgotten recently. The dark emotion lurked in the corner of his old life, the one igniting his very spirit to fire.
Fury.
The man who had threatened Hayato had dirty blond hair and a bulky build. He wore black pants and a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his arms. If things went the way Tsuna thought, the man would find himself losing one or some limbs quickly. Perhaps some broken legs would teach him a lesson.
Because how dare he swing at Hayato like he was a practice dummy just like that?
The thing was, he didn't like pain. One might think he had that tendency for having a sadist as a tutor. But no, he was not a masochist, thank you very much. He just had a high tolerance for pain thanks to his crazy life style before, and again, for said sadistic tutor.
The most important thing was that he loathed seeing his friends in pain. It took him some times to realize, but apparently he'd developed quite a destructive and protective trait when dealing with the situation in which his friend got hurt.
Somebody hurt him badly, they might met with mercy.
Somebody hurt his friend badly? They'd better have a death wish, since there would be no mercy for them.
It was kind of aggressive, Tsuna admitted, but if you didn't draw a line of virtue clearly, someone would have no qualm to take advantage of it and abuse it for their own good.
Seeing Hayato gasp in ragged breaths then pass out by the hard kicks aiming at his stomach fueled his fury further. It didn't help at all to soothe the beast inside him that wanted nothing but blood for revenge. There was a roar in his ears, a pinch in his chest. Tsuna saw red, the sound coming out of his mouth almost like a growl as he snarled, "STOP!"
The cool, thick rings of handcuffs dug into his skin as he frantically struggled. The whole metal chair shook along with him, but it still didn't move an inch. Its legs were firmly attached into the floor.
There was an amused sound in the air, and it soon evolved into some kind of deafening laughter. The piercing noise crashed through the otherwise quiet room, agitating the other men to laugh along.
"Look who's talking now. Seems like the Sleeping Beauty is finally awake. Hey cutie, wanna join the party?"
Tsuna knew he was being razzed.
He craned his neck around to see who had sprouted that nonsense, so he could vent his rage on them later. Whatever he'd expected, however, went out the window the moment he laid his eyes on the man. He stared hard and unbelieving, wondering if it was a trick, because there was no way it could be him.
The Lightning Arcobaleno, Verde.
Verde looked exactly like the last time he saw him, with his usual white lab-coat. What the heck is he doing here?
"Verde?" Tsuna said, incredulous.
"You two know each other?" A young, black haired man clad in expensive suit chimed in. Tsuna had totally ignored him in favor of focusing on the Arcobaleno. He must have been the one who had laughed at him.
The Lightning Arcobaleno didn't answer, nor did he change his expression; in fact, he looked... bored.
Tsuna held his breath as the green haired man shook his head after mometaritly inspecting him through his glasses.
"I see." The young man smirked. "Good! Hey, what are you waiting for, Buck? Get your job done. Our honorable guest right here is a busy man. We shouldn't let Mr. Verde waste his time."
The man-that-would-soon-have-broken-legs, Buck, turned around to face Tsuna and… Okay, that bare-teeth smile was totally creepy. He glared at the bulkier man as he approached, and tried his best to keep his face away from the large hand reaching out to touch him.
"Tsk, who do you think you are, kiddo?" The man said, raising Tsuna's chin up with the tip of his fingers.
"Not a bastard like you!" Tsuna responded, venom crawling in his words.
Buck smirked, released his chin but ran a hand down his neck to his collarbone instead. Tsuna didn't even twitch. He knew the man was just trying to unsettle him, to make him uncomfortable; to mess with his mind so it would race with all the possible things that could be done to him. Standard interrogation tactic, subtle yet effective.
Too bad it didn't apply to him.
"The little shit over there stole something very important from us. And he went so far as to lie to us about its whereabouts. You'd better be a good boy and tell us where it is. That pretty face of yours, I really don't want to ruin it."
And now they were threatening him? Oh, it would be so exciting to show them what he could do to their face.
Feeling his patience wearing thin, Tsuna averted his gaze to get a general look at the whole room.
Enemies: A bored Arcobaleno(?), a young man (a young Boss?), an absolute asshole that begged to be punched, and 3 men (minions?)
His status: chained, small external wounds.
Aims: Kick somebody's ass, get the hell out of here.
Conclusion: He must activate his HDW mode, make him a hostage and find a way out.
Taking a deep breath, Tsuna closed his dark brown eyes, concentrating.
When he opened his eyes again, they were the color of pure amber, tinted with golden threads around the pupils.
With a newfound strength, the brunet easily freed himself out of the chains, and wasted no time to pursuit his plan.
Tsuna punched at the Solar Plexus of the nearest opponent, snapped his head back, watching the way the strapping man gaped in pain, his eyes out of focus as spit slid down his chin. Not giving the others a moment to recover, he approached another man in a blink of an eye and kicked him hard in his shin, satisfied to hear a piercing scream coming out of his mouth . The man's leg would be useless for a long time.
The question was, should he carried on his sweet revenge thoroughly?
An eye for an eye could turn the world blind, Tsuna thought , repeatedly until it became a mantra ringing through his mind, echoed in his head and spreading through his body. It was like an anchor to calm the bloodthirsty beast seeking for poetic justice for those who dared to harm what was his.
Not now, he told himself, we must escape first.
Then there were bullets raining down on him, fast and lethal. Just plain, normal bullets for a Sky Flame User.
Really, is this the best you can manage? Are you kidding me?
Tsuna didn't know whether he should laugh or feel offended at these pathetic attempts.
For a fraction of a second, he swiftly dodged aside, letting the missing bullets hit empty air. He then came straight to the young man next to Verde, who was the apparent leader, and had no difficulty to disarm the gun aimed at him. It was even easier to pry the gun off and made it his own.
Just a few seconds and everything was done. By the time the other men barely noticed it, Tsuna already had a gun barrel aim at their leader's temple.
"That-that is a Flame!"
"The kid is a Flame User!"
Surprised murmurs broke out in the room, each one was louder and more terrified than the previous one.
"The flame… the color of your eyes, the color of your flame… Impossible! It can't be… You ..You're the future Vongola Decimo, Narumi?" The young man looked at him like he was a monster, and Tsuna mentally agreed with him. A monster he was and would be, for his Family.
Tsuna stated calmly, "Everyone hold their hands above your heads. NOW!"
His order was immediately obeyed.
"I think there is a misunderstanding here, Decimo. We're not meant to take you along."
"I'm not the Vongola Decimo," was Tsuna's cold response.
"Ah, it's just a matter of time… Everyone knows it. Signore, you see, I just want to fetch back what the kid over there stole from us. I swear I never mean to… to reflect any harm to you. Please believe me. Can-can you lower the gun a little bit?"
"That boy you hit, he's my friend." Tsuna said, watching the color drained from the young man's face.
The young man then turned his eyes to Verde, silently asking for help in desperation.
"Don't be dumb, he won't help you… Right, Verde? How's your new invention going? The last time I dropped by, I remmember that you still complained about the lack of elegance in the way it works. I'm sorry I broke one of your tubes. But to be fair, I honestly had no idea how important it was until you explained. I know you're still angry at me but please forgive me. If you need anything from us, just ask. The offer is still on the table." Tsuna lied smoothly, his expression betrayed nothing but self- confidence with a touch of arrogance.
The scientist remained expressionless, while a defeated, ashen-look dominated the young man's face.
"Can you help me move my friend to the outside? I'm a bit preoccupied." Tsuna continued.
He watched as Verde hesitated for a second before he reluctantly walked over to Hayato's side and picked him up.
Inside, Tsuna sighed in utter relief. It seemed that he'd won. With his HDW mode, his sense were much better than normal. And when it came to illusion territories, his intuition, like a radar, was always right.
This man was not Verde. He's an illusionist wearing Verde's face.
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They made it to the exit without trouble. It really was a miracle to how co-operative one could be when they had a gun aimed at their temple. Or maybe it was because of the back–up power coming from the title of "future Vongola Decimo", that could terrify anybody in the underworld, especially when accompanied with an Arcobaleno, or maybe both. Well, whatever. The bossy man was behaving. It was a good thing.
In short, things went so smoothly Tsuna couldn't help but fear the moment it would all go downhill.
Damn his pessimism and his hyper intuition.
Closing the door to the underground basement behind him, Tsuna screwed his eyes shut momentarily at the bright light, then opened them tentatively. The sun was high in the sky, and an eerie silence wrapped its fingers around them, everyone keeping quiet.. Seems like it's afternoon already, he thought, scrutinizing his surroundings for any potential threat.
There was nothing unusual until he caught the sight of a dense bush five feet away from his place. Just looking at it made his gut churn. Tsuna went rigid, his guard up.
"Who's there? Step out!" He called out.
Nothing happened. Tsuna pressed his lips into a thin line, his body ready to bolt. He was sure somebody was there. If they didn't want to show themselves, he would do it for them.
The bush remained silent for a few seconds before a shadow stepped out from it. Considering the tall frame and outline shape, that person was a man. Only when the man let himself walk under the sunlight did Tsuna see him clearly: fedora hat, dressed in black with an orange shirt tucked beneath, a faint smirk on his mouth.
"Reborn…" Tsuna mumbled, feeling like he was paralyzed. He suddenly had the urge to rub his eyes, just to see if he was hallucinating. The man… He was Reborn in all his glory. Feral and inquisitive.
Tsuna stared at the adult form of the Arcobaleno, but the gaze of said person didn't focus on him, his black eyes darting between him and the one besides him.
"What are you doing here, Verde?" The hitman said.
The other Arcobaleno didn't utter a word. He just let out a long sigh, like he was suffering from something abhorrent and exhausting.
"Hey you! I don't know who you are but if you can save me from these bastards here, I promise you will have generous pay- Arg!" The young boss could only groan before collapsing onto the dirty ground, unconscious.
Tsuna took a step back as the man and locked his onyx eyes to his own, a cold smirk tugging on his lips. Is it too late to turn around and run? Tsuna wondered, swallowing hard.
"Don't worry, he is just sleeping." The Sun Arcobaleno said. The gun in his hand transformed into a chameleon. It climbed up the hitman's arm, and rested on his shoulder.
Tsuna tried not to stare too much at the familiar scene.
The man stalked forward until he was in front of Tsuna, all tall and intimidating. And too close to his liking. Tsuna managed not to flinch away at the sudden intrusion to his personal space.
"And you, your mother didn't teach you not to follow a stranger?"
Tsuna stiffened, a chill running down his spine at the deep and sensual baritone timbre.
"She doesn't know."
He did his best to look the other straight in the eyes, returning the intense gaze with an unwavering one of his own. It was a difficult task, since it was Reborn. Not his sadistic tutor Reborn, nor his personal advisor Reborn, and not even the baby or kid Reborn, but Reborn, the hitman. In his adult form.
He doubted he could hold onto the staring contest any longer than a few minutes. A large part of him declared this whole standing up to Reborn-the-hitman-in-his-handsome-adult-form (and don't forget the super sadistic part) spelled similar to 'stupid' and 'suicidal', and quitely added that he should call it quit ASAP because, dude, do you want to survive or not?
"Who are you?" He broke the eye-contact.
"The best hitman in the world." The man said, arrogant in every word.
Tsuna suddenly felt a moment of déjà vu, like, yesterday, he and Reborn the kid had exchanged these exact words under a night sky.
"You…" He said, frowning as he realized he didn't know what to say. How did you return to your true form? Is your curse lifted? He was really curious, but knew better to actually ask these questions.
In this close distance he could smell a compelling fragrance from the older man, a pleasantly mix of espresso beans, dark and bitter chocolate… along with something like patchouli, and a scent of which reminiscent of clove and some unknown herb. La Via del Profumo Milano Caffè. One of Reborn's favorite colognes. The hitman liked to wear it on his missions in Italy, since it helped him blend better in the background there. Tsuna had told the hitman that he just loved his drink so much he couldn't resist the scent. Needless to say, Tsuna had suffered for his slip of the tongue that day.
Am I his mission? Tsuna thought deliberately. He didn't like the sound of it.
In the background, A cough interrupted their staring match. Tsuna drifted his eyes to meet Verde's impatient look.
"Let's get out of here." The Lightning Arcobaleno said, already stepping forwards.
After a minute of walking in silence, Reborn called out, pointing to the opposite direction. "The escape path is actually on the other side."
The Lightning Arcobaleno, who was on his way far ahead of them, stopped abruptly and turned his head back scowling.
A moment later, he came back, shooting Reborn a withering glare. "You can say so sooner."
Reborn just smirked.
Tsuna gave Verde a sympathetic look.
Sometimes, if not always, one would pay generously just to see Reborn being punched in the face.
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Together, they walked quickly with the instruction from Reborn. The initial plan was to run so they could move faster, but after watching Hayato's body bouncing up and down like some kind of ragged doll on Verde's shoulder, Tsuna talked them out of it. Now Hayato looked like a sack of potatoes on Verde's shoulder.
He kind of wanted to help Hayato more but … Tsuna gazed down at his slender arms, heaved out a frustrated sigh. his frame was even shorter than that of the silver-haired boy; there was no way he could move the teen but drag him on the ground. It would surely made Hayato's injuries worse.
Tsuna kept his temper in control though. Reborn was currently staring at him like a hawk, while Verde was staring at the both of them.
Suddenly he had a strange feeling that made him stop abruptly. His heart was beating fast. Too fast.
"What's up?" Reborn asked. The hitman ceased to walk, too, and was now looking at him curiously.
"I don't know." Tsuna shook his head, confused. A shiver ran down his spine. It was a bizarre experience, he had no idea what made his body react that way. Usually it was a sign of bad luck or…
Oh.
Oh.
Do you really need to walk down that path again, Mukuro?
"Where are we?" Tsuna asked slowly, afraid of the upcoming answer.
It was Reborn who answered his question. He looked skeptical at Tsuna's change of tone. "Estraneo Famiglia's estate."
Tsuna's eyes widened at that statement. It really is… He averted his gaze to Verde. The scientist currently stared vacantly ahead, like he was not paying attention to their conversation.
Now that Tsuna thought about it, the stillness in the air and silence in the area made sense... Surely there must have been some guards in the underground basement warning other guards and members in this base about their escape. But if the ones they called to was dealing with trouble too... Well, the game would change dramatically.
And that meant he needed to alter his plan, too.
"Hey, can you help me?" Tsuna said to Reborn, "It seems that I've dropped my phone in the basement earlier. Would you mind getting it back for me?"
Reborn narrowed his eyes, seemingly annoyed. "You can buy a new one."
"Yeah, but it's my third phone in four months and uhm, as you can see, I'm not rich. Besides, it contains all of my important contacts and other stuff." Tsuna sighed, resting his face on his hand. When he looked up again, he schooled his face into his 'puppy mode' – including big, sad, and helpless eyes that made everyone cringe inside with pity. "…Please? I really can't leave without it."
Reborn's expression was very complicated.
Before Tsuna could interpret it, the hitman had already regained his poker face. "…Okay, where is it exactly?"
Tsuna told him its (fake) whereabout with a detailed description of his phone. Not until the hitman was out of sight that Tsuna swept a thin line of sweat forming on his forehead. By any means, a suspicious Reborn was a scary Reborn. Tsuna didn't want to think what would happen to him later when Reborn found out that he was tricked by a teenager. Nope.
"You want to talk to me?" Verde, who kept silent from the beginning, said. The scientist looked like he want to cross his arms, but with Hayato currently laid on his shoulders, it was kind of impossible.
"What makes you think I want to talk to you?" Tsuna titled his head to the side.
'He could almost smell it in the air.. The familiar scent of blood. Lots of blood.
He bristled at that sensation, and held down the impulse to disassemble the illusion wrapping this place and search for the illusionist. This whole scenario was ridiculous. He wanted to meet him, but not in this sort of situation.
Verde said nothing,his eyes glinted with impatience.
"If I were you, I would run away quickly. Preferably now." Tsuna continued, waving his hand to the direction where Reborn just disappeared. "That guy…he's an Arcobaleno. A real one."
A crack of emotion appeared on Verde's otherwise emotionless face. It was all Tsuna needed to go on: "Hey, don't get it wrong, I'm totally okay with it. You can put on any glamour you want. But seriously? Just run! I don't know who you are, but as far as I'm concerned, Reborn won't let you go easily. Trust me, he won't. He will probably drag you to a warehouse and start his so-called interrogation. And I've never seen him fail in taking one's sanity apart."
Tsuna observed a glint of hesitation and doubt in Verde's orbs. Perhaps it would have been better if he'd said something else – like, Are you Ken? Chikusa? Fran?
He did not, however, expect fake Verde to fling Hayato to the ground… Okay, he might have expected it, since his own body promptly reacted automatically, catching the silver-haired boy in time before he fell down to the hard ground.
And then he was stabbed by a blade, because it went through his skin so smoothly and almost painlessly. Almost. TPain bloomed and Tsuna stared wide-eyed, his hands moving to touch the hilt of the blade.
"I'm sorry…" It was the voice of a girl, but the face –Tsuna stared at the face of Verde the Arcobaleno, trying to find any edge that could give out the identify of his assailant.
Deep down inside he'd already made a guess, but still, he wanted to know, to see, to confirm.
Impossible. Why is she here? She shouldn't be here.
In the corner of his eyes, he could see Reborn running to him with a thunderous look. He knew the hitman wouldn't be so easy to fool. Of course the hitman would pretend to go along with his words and observe them from afar. But whether the murderous aura currently surrounding him was direct at him or the fake Arcobaleno next to him, Tsuna had no idea.
"You have one hour to give him the antidote. If I were you, I'd get him out of here right now, Arcobaleno."
All of a sudden, everything went blurry. There was a gunshot ringing through his ears, the sound so near and loudly.
N-No, Tsuna opened his mouth to object but his words seemed trapped under his breath.
Everything hurt. Everything was dark.
Blackout twice in one day. It was not cool. Not cool at all.
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Extra:
A turn of Namamori High School history's page
"...From now on, this school is directly under my charge. I don't care who or what you are. Break my rules and I'll administer your punishment. Crowd and I'll bite you to death!"
A cold, predatory smirk tugged on his lips as he said these last words, like a promise for blood and bone, an absolute exclamation. With a swift motion, the raven haired teen walked out of the auditorium in long strides, his black coat billowing after his steps.
In his way out, every single student wearing armbands on their sleeves bowed their heads deeply to show their utter respect, while the rest of the students silently watched his every move with a mingled depiction of emotion: fear, bewilderment, confusion, awe... yet no one dared say anything until he was out of sight.
It was the longest silence in the history of Namimori High School's entrance ceremony.
Then there came the chaos.
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Amidst school officers, arguments broke out.
"Who let him make our traditional speech on behalf of freshman?" The headmaster said shakily, his hand clutching on his chest tightly for fear of an incoming heart-attack.
Quickly as ever, the vice principal besides him immediately pulled out his papers. After a minute of searching, he finally answered with a paled face, "It seems he's the second one who has highest score in our entrance examination, sir. The first place - Irie Shouichi, unfortunately, had a stomach ache right before he could make his speech and is now in the hospital. Thus, Hibari Kyoya naturally replaced his position as the representative of the freshman. However, I must say, sir, we're not expected to await that kind of speech."
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On the school courtyard, there occurred the same scenario, only much louder.
"Who the fuck is this maniac?"
"Oh my god, please don't tell me, he is that Hibari? The demon of Namimori? Man, he's even a nutter than I've heard!"
"Hails DC!"
"Hibari-sama's so cool! I know it's a right decision to enroll in a same school as him."
"We're all doomed!"
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"Kusakabe-san, there is somebody over there recording the speech of Hibari-san. Now he seems to send it to someone. Shall I take his phone?" A DC member said.
Kusakabe frowned a bit at that notification. He had made it very clear that any kind of surveillance was not allowed but it seemed that there was still some dumb head having the gall to go against the warning. Jerking his head to the direction that other members was pointing, he took no time to spot a short, black haired teen in the third line who was currently texting on his phone, a huge grin brightened his face.
He stopped abruptly on his track.
"Leave him be," Kusakabe said eventually, his mouth twisting upwards. "He's not an outsider."
Yamamoto was hardly a problem. He hoped that the raven haired teen would send the record to a certain brunet, so the brunet could see how awesome Kyoya-san was just now.
Now, it was time to plot a new recruit campaign to a certain brunet.
"You seem busy a lot, boy."
Kusakabe almost jumped at the familiar voice. The voice had represented absolute power in his younger day, and still caused chills running down his spine at the present.
"Mrs-Mrs… Ayako?" Kusakabe stuttered, trying to put a strain smile on his face but failed miserably. "It's nice… to meet you here. H-How have you been lately?"
"Oh, I'm great. Thank you for asking. I just think I can't miss the first day in tge high school of my son, even if I didn't have any notification of it," Standing five meters near to him was a long, black-haired woman dressed in purple kimono, accompanied with several strangers in black hovering around.
At the first glance, one might say she has a beauty of a white calla lily, captivating yet delicate, with her aristocratic features and slender frame. But if you looked closely, very closely, there was something exceedingly cold and calculating lingering in her gray eyes. It was, as absurd as it might be when describing a dainty woman, strangely resemblance to a dangerous predator.
Kusakabe felt like a hunted prey under her scrutiny.
"So, where is the person that makes my dear son swoon over lately?"
"….That person isn't here, Mrs Ayako." It's useless to deny, Kusakabe supposed, Mrs. Ayako must have been done her own research before coming here. After all, it was her hobby to gather information about her beloved son.
"Oh?"
"Mrs. Ayako, you don't want to see Kyo-san?" Kusakabe asked, in a desperate attempt to change the topic.
Much to his surprise, he succeeded.
"Oh, I think the question is whether he wants to see me. Are you sure he didn't leave ealier because he saw me coming?"
Kusakabe quickly amend his question. "So, do you want me to tell him anything?"
"Tell him his father didn't tolerate his absence in the New Year feast. He expects to see him in two weeks in the annual meeting. And remind him not to forget to bring his new mate along! We are all thrilled to see them. Do you understand?" The woman said, smiling.
And then, she left, escorted by those black men to a limo car waiting outside the school gate.
"…Yes, ma'am. I'll try my best." Kusakabe couldn't help but tremble a bit. That smile was strongly reminisced of Kyo-san's on his bloodthirsty state. And it was never a good sign. By now, sweat had been gathering on Kusakabe's forehead, streaming down his face as he realized what a tangled mess he'd got himself into.
Oh my, are you trying to take my head off, Mrs. Ayako? It's not that you don't know about Kyoya-san's revulsion toward crowds. It's impossible to persuade him to introduce Tsuna-san to the members of the main house… I'll be bitten to death just by saying those words…
