Ciaossu! I finished this chapter last Friday and my editor took time to edit and I took a little more time to make changes but here it is. Sorry for the late update. I had never wrote this long before. XD
Edited by Isabelle-chan
Disclaimer: I do not own KHR
Please enjoy!
Choice : Chapter 11
"Ah, it's working."
"Hn."
The red-haired technician checked the device one last time before switching it on. The moment it was switched on, it had to be switched off. Apparently, the sizzling sounds were so loud that their eardrums might burst. The said technician smiled sheepishly as he modified the device.
"Maybe I should try to reduce the static so it won't be so loud."
"You should have done that earlier. Now you took another 2 minutes."
"S-Sorry, Reborn." The glare shot by the said Arcobaleno sent shivers down Irie's spine. Composing himself, he tried to suppress the stomach ache that threatened to trigger. "Now it's really done."
He passed it to the hitman infant, who grabbed it and switched on immediately. Irie let out a sigh of relief as this time, the static was gone, or to be exact, it was much softer. However, there was no sound other than that. Supposedly it should connect to Tsuna, but it seemed to be useless.
"TEME! This doesn't connect to Juudaime at all!"
"Maa maa, Gokudera. We should wait a while more."
"I've waited for long enough!"
Suddenly the shuffling of sounds could be heard from the mini device. Everyone turned to focus on the device Reborn held onto.
"What was that?"
"Tsuna!"
"Juudaime!"
"So it worked. Good job, Shoichi." Reborn complimented Irie, who was currently beaming with happiness and relief.
"Huh?"
Everyone was stunned when they heard another voice. It sounded like a child.
"Did you hear the sounds? It's loud."
They continued to listen.
"What sound? You mean the thunder?"
"Uh, yeah maybe it's the thunder."
Reborn decided to stop the nonsensical doubts his student had.
"Of course it will be loud when it's just by your ear. Dame-Tsuna."
…
"Ehh? R-Reborn?" Came the reply from the device. "Am I hallucinating? I must be hearing things."
"Dame-Tsuna. You're not hallucinating. I can't believe you're that ignorant."
"How did- Is it really you Reborn? I'm not dreaming right?"
It took all of Reborn's might to not try to break the device. How could his student be such an idiot? He had an urge to quickly find his dame-student and smack him on his head. Yet, he was glad to hear that he was fine in the parallel world.
"Tsuna, did you forget when you disappear your earpiece is still with you?"
"Woops. I forgot."
"That's why you're dame."
"Reborn!"
The rest who were listening to the conversation were trying to restrain themselves from snatching the device over. A certain storm guardian who have had enough decided to be the first one.
"JUUUDAIMEEEEEEEE!"
The brunet almost had his eardrums burst. "G-Gokudera-kun?"
"JUUDAIME! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALLRIGHT! I'M SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"
"Ah, I'm fine Gokudera-kun. You don't have to worry. Oh, how is everyone?"
"Everyone is good! Juudaime shouldn't worry about us! We can take care of ourselves! We will definitely make a time travel device and bring Juudaime safely back!"
"E-Eh? Ano.. Gokudera-kun."
"Yes, Juudaime."
Noting the tone in the brunet's voice, the sun Arcobaleno and some others leaned forward to hear what was going on.
"Actually, this few days…"
Few days? The ones who were attentive enough were able to spot it.
"Matte, Tsuna. You have been in the parallel world for a few days?"
"Yeah, in fact it has been a few weeks already. Not?"
Now everyone was confused. It had only been 8 minutes since Tsuna time travelled. The only conclusion they could draw was that time was altered. That would mean the time in parallel world was much faster than their original world, hence there was such a big difference.
"No. We are still where we are. It had only past 8 minutes after you disappeared."
"Ehh? 8 minutes? That's weird."
"If you have no idea, use that brain of yours and figure it out yourself."
"Reborn!"
"Stop shouting my name, dame-Tsuna."
The other guardians laughed knowing that everything was fine and Tsuna was safe. Before they were all very tensed, praying that their boss would be fine. Now that they heard their beloved boss's voice, their shoulders relaxed and they cheered up. Random conversations with Tsuna started as everyone snatched the device here and there trying to speak to Tsuna. But, the most they could speak was 2 sentences as it was again landed on another's hand.
"SAWADA! HOW ARE-"
"He answered that already. So it's my turn. I want to speak to my little brother."
"Dino-san?"
"TSUNA! ARE YOU ALLRIGHT? I MISS YOU SO MUCH!"
"Ano... D-Dino-san… It has only past 8 minutes… And I'm fine." The brunet face palmed as this was his 7th time saying 'I'm fine.' Everyone asked the same thing.
"GOOD TO HEAR THAT! Anyway, Tsuna. About the Millefiore guardians…"
"Ah, them…"
"They are still here. Do you want to talk to them? Or, should we kill them?"
"N-No, Dino-san! Don't kill them!"
"They will have to be punished though."
"Reborn! But-"
"You are too soft, Tsuna. They attacked Vongola. Hence they have to accept the consequences."
"…"
"Tsuna."
"I got it."
"Hn."
"Who are you talking to?"
"Umm… Well…"
"Tsuna. Who's that?"
"Um… This… Reborn actually-"
"Tsuna-nii! Who are you talking to?"
TSUNA-NII?
"Ooi dame-Tsuna, answer me..." The hitman infant demanded, unfortunately the device had overused, the loud static was back.
"Dammit. Tsuna quick answer me."
"Re… I…weeks…so he…Nat…and..." Tsuna tried to explain but the static masked Tsuna's voice which made him inaudible.
There were a lot questions for Tsuna, about what happened in the parallel world despite him saying he's fine. They wanted to know who the kid with him was, how they met and what was going on. It seemed that Tsuna was keeping things from them. Whenever they said they would bring him back, he would fall silent and be deep in thought.
For Tsuna, he was really confused. Here beside him was the younger version of him pestering about who he was talking to while a certain tutor was buzzing in his ear demanding for answers too. To add to the chaos, the thunder outside was deafening and by this time, the rain was so heavy that it was flooding outside. The static in the earpiece was irritating. All in all, he was frustrated. He hung his head low, and sighed wearily.
Never did he realized that outside his cozy small apartment, hidden in the shadows and a few blocks away, was a little hitman infant observing the apartment and surroundings.
"Hn." The hitman infant glanced around in the dark alleys. It was a rather poor district. The apartments were small and worn down; the paint on the wall was falling, not to forget the dirty and deserted streets. Some of the streets light fused and there was no replacement. The heavy rain flooded the streets and probably the void deck of the first level apartments.
A while back…
The hitman infant decided to go further ahead than the CEDEF to investigate the strong flame user shown in the report. As the report only shown the flames, he had to use it to find the user. It was not hard, assuming if the user was the culprit responsible for Tsunayoshi's disappearance, he would eventually need to use his flames again. Knowing who Tsunayoshi was, yet still taking him away, the user must be very strong and confident. Reborn checked the CCTVs around that area and the town. There was no one suspicious.
Of course, who would walk in the streets after kidnapping a kid? Immediately, he remembered that the user used flames to propel. Fishing out a map he located the Estraneo base and from the report, the flames were moving in the North-west direction. He traced the flames and with a little thinking, it led to where he was now, the poor district.
"So they are here…"
Natsu sneezed. He shivered as a gush of cold wind entered the room. Wasn't the window closed? He stood up and went over to check. Tsuna was busy trying to clear the static in the earpiece, and had totally forgotten about Natsu was who pestering him a moment ago. He stood on a chair, so that he was tall enough to reach the window.
Outside, Reborn saw a small figure struggling to reach the window. He assumed the child was balancing on a chair. How dangerous, to let a child stand on a chair near the window. He thought, shaking his head. He looked up to see what the little child was doing, and to his surprise…
The child had messy spiky hair, the exact gravity defying hair that was so familiar to him; unfortunately, the lighting was not bright enough to see the hair color. He looked around Tsunayoshi's age, and he had huge caramel eyes. It was distinct. No one had such innocent and huge eyes like Tsunayoshi.
"Tsuna…yoshi?" The hitman infant whispered.
[Future parallel world]
The static was back, and it was irritating the Sun Arcobaleno to no end. For a simple and crude device like this, though it was considered a well-made device that can be sold at a rather good price in the market despite it not lasting. But then they are the Vongola. It was expected that they have such high standards. Which Reborn have HIGH expectations for the technicians. He was disappointed that the mini device lasted only 12 minutes. Irie, who knew very well that he needed to work extra hard from now on in order to stay alive from Reborn's wrath did the best he could to improvise on his 'time-communicator' he named it.
[Past parallel world]
Reborn rubbed his eyes to get a clearer look. He looked up again, but the boy was replaced with a taller teen, who had the same gravity defying hair and hazel brown eyes. "What…Impossible!" The hitman was bewildered. Was it his eyes? Did he mistake the teen as Tsunayoshi? Or did Tsunayoshi become…
Tsuna noticed Natsu had climbed onto a chair and immediately put him down.
"It's dangerous Natsu. Don't do this again."
"You didn't shut the window properly and you're talking to yourself."
"I wasn't talking to myself and I'm sure I shut the window properly." He said as he walked to the window checking to see if it was shut properly. "See. Shut tightly."
He looked out of the window. It was raining really heavily and even the streets were flooded. Tsuna let his eyes gaze lazily around and sighed for the umpteenth time. Geez, the weather has gotten so bad. From the corner of his right eye, he noticed a dark figure hiding in the shadows. If it was not him, no one else would be able to notice the figure. It was dark and foggy outside. As if on cue, Tsuna's hyper intuition acted up. Something was wrong. He looked towards that direction, trying to look as if just admiring the surroundings, which failed miserably as his face, was panicky. Tsuna's heart beat fast and he felt butterflies in his stomach. Who was there? He slowly calmed himself, knowing panic would not solve the problem. Even though he did calmed down, it did not help as his hands were shaking. The mysterious figure backed further into the shadows, successfully hiding himself from Tsuna's view.
But from the shadows, he saw everything perfectly well. Reborn registered every single thing he saw: his reaction, expression and body language. The teen seemed to discover him. From his expression, he was surprised and alert. He tried to compose himself which was futile as his body was shaking. All of this proved one thing- He was scared that his identity was revealed and was on the verge of freaking out.
Tsuna quickly squatted down so that he would not be seen from the window. He gulped. This is bad. Someone found us.
A lightning flashed past, and the teen was not there by the window. Suspicious…Reborn mentally noted the block and street. He stared at the apartment. 6th floor huh?
"N-Natsu."
"…" He looked at Tsuna, who was currently breaking out of cold sweat, and his face was as white as a sheet.
"We need to leave. Run away as quickly as possible."
"Huh? What? Why?"
"Because someone saw us. We are in the Mafia remember? And we must always have a low profile and be hidden. But now, we are seen, we can't stay here anymore. Quick pack your stuff."
"But wait-"
"NOW NATSU!" The said boy flinched at the tone. Obediently he took a bag and stuff his clothes, there were not a lot though. "D-Done."
"Sorry, I was too… We really have to leave. Or people will get us. Do you understand?"
"Un."
Tsuna closed the curtains so as to prevent anyone else to see. A too obvious attempt to hide. The hitman was now certain that Tsunayoshi was in there. And he would make sure to get him and he would pay for everything.
After a while, Tsuna was still panicky and shaking. It's been an hour since I saw that man… Hasn't he left? He paced around in the small apartment, hoping to stop the anxiety he had. It was suffocating him and he wanted to just scream his lungs out. Natsu was already asleep, unaware of anything.
"We have to leave…Soon." Quietly, Tsuna peeped out of the curtains to check if the man was still there.
"Decimo."
Tsuna jerked at the voice.
"P-Primo! Why do you scare me like this! My heart almost stopped." Tsuna sat down tiredly, letting out his breath, not knowing he was holding it.
"Sorry to scare you, but you're acting like a burglar."
"I know. But I can't help it."
"What is your plan?"
"We will leave." He paused, "We must leave tonight."
Tsuna stood up, walking unsteadily into the toilet. He washed his face to refresh himself. As soon as he was done, he quickly packed the remaining things left into a bag and picked Natsu up. The 4 year old was still sleeping, and he did not want to wake him up. Tsuna, with his hands full- left hand was carrying Natsu, right hand was holding on to two bags, looked like a parent.
"Decimo. You looked funny in this way."
"Primo! You are still teasing me? It's not the right time now."
"Sorry, you are too serious."
Tsuna decided to focus on his current job, which was to leave the apartment quietly and away from this area. It was still raining, and the streets were flooded, but it had to be done. They could not risk staying there now that someone found them. He was at real disadvantage, when his hands were full, there was no lift and he was at the 6th floor. Slowly and steadily he made his way to the first floor. Upon reaching the ground floor, it was heavily flooded. The loud splattering of rain made any other noise unheard. Walking was impossible, let alone carrying a child and bag packs. His hyper intuition continued to bug him making him feel malaise.
There was no choice. Tsuna stepped down from the stairs. The water level rose to his high ankle. His jeans were soaking up water fast which made walking even harder. Still, he managed to walk out of the building and head towards the dark alley. Walking in the dark and cold night, Tsuna quickened his steps, hoping to find a shelter. Using a makeshift cover out of a large plastic bag, Natsu was still sleeping soundly. Tsuna had decided that he should buy an umbrella soon.
[Future parallel world]
"5"
"Wait! It's done soon!"
"4"
"Please! Look I left this screw in and Spanner! Help me!"
"Yare yare, you can just speed up your work…"
"You call this helping?"
"Enough of idle chats and screw it in before I screw your mind. 3"
"YES YES REBORN!"
"2"
Hands moved quicker than mechanics as a certain technician hurried to finish up the device.
"1"
"DONE!" Wiping his sweat away Irie grinned confidently. "This time it can last for 2 hours. I changed the parts inside and extend the batteries power. And the static is now completely gone." As a compliment, Spanner offered him a spanner-like sweet.
Reborn switched on the renewed device. Loud splashing sound was heard.
[Past parallel world]
Tsuna lifted his heavy feet with much difficulty. The plastic bag on Natsu would not last longer. He had to really find a shelter. He decided to run to a nearest shelter in the long narrow somber alley, water splashing violent due to his movements.
Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him.
"Where do you think you are going?"
AN: There were 2 Reborns here... Is it confusing? I hope not. Anyway, something is gonna happen next chapter! What will happen to Tsuna? Stay tune! My major exams are coming, I am scared. Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter! XD