Chapter 12:
"Alright let's move," Visconti gruffed harshly, signalling forward with two fingers. His back was pressed against the wall facing forwards waiting in apprehension for Hana and, the other guy, whose name she was unable to remember much to her embarrassment; as she was not the type to be forgetful, and joined the other man's side. Upon arriving Visconti held up his hand brining them to a halt, his brows furrowed, as his lips could barely be seen. Something had captured his attention. He remained in his spot eyeing the direction cautiously, his backhand lowered down to the side swinging impatiently against his leg and brushed against the back of his coat. In a swift motion his arm snapped up and lowered again sliding the hand into his pocket very casually.
Hana knew she missed something. A bright and sharp glint reached flashed before her eyes for only a second, vanishing before her brain could understand what happened. Unfortunately, Visconti had went ahead again forcing her and the other man to follow after him, keeping ample room between them and him. The ceiling above covered in shadows. Since there was no cameras that were in view Hana wondered briefly if they were in the clear or not; however, she was not so naive to believe things were that easy. The place was likely to be crawling with surveillance and guards. One false move and...
A cold shiver ran up her spine which she ignored it. Hana tried not to think of the possibilities, continuing onwards gripping the pole she had brought; while not as glamorous a weapon as like Yamamoto's bat-sword or Gokudera's dynamite, at least what she had was something Hana held confident in handling.
The question remained as to why Tsuna had been taken. What reason was there for it, other than a moment of opportunity?
Just thinking about it made her head hurt trying to figure everything out on her own. The information that had been presented back at Dino's manor had been too little for her tastes. Even so, Hana understood that rescuing Tsuna of was the upmost importance. Who knew what his kidnappers would do to him! Her bottom lip curled, while observing the two men sprint forwards, pressing their backs to against the walls and exchanging a briefly but sharp nod.
The dark skinned man, whose name continued to escape Hana's memory, motioned her over. A brief moment of hesitation passed through her. As Hana did trust the two, was it wise for her to head over? A frown soon marred her features; darkened eyes glanced discreetly at the roofs trying to locate anything that would compromise her position. Feeling slightly more confident Hana hurriedly joined the two by the walls, leaning against the left wall with Visconti. Holding in a sharp sigh of relief, she could feel her heart pounding against her chest. It was starting to finally sink in. This rescue attempt was dangerous. Swallowing thickly, she slowly inhaled and mentally counted to ten before regaining her composure.
Hana could not afford to show weakness, especially not now of all times.
A sudden change in her weight brought her back to reality looking up at Visconti, the man wore a grim yet empathic gaze on his wrinkling features. His hand placed on her shoulder squeezing tightly before turning sharply away.
Stunned by the sudden gesture of kindness from the man, she quickly snapped back to reality in time to see Visconti raised his hand to reveal a ring. The design of the ring wasn't anything special except for the red marking carved around the ring. Within the centre seemed to be red glass that, started to glow quietly beneath the shadows of his chin. She had been exactly at the right angle at the exact moment to gain a glimpse of the red light that burned brightly before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. The gears in her mind began to wind slowly; questions whirled within her, while she masked the stupor expression. Nothing good would come of it. That much she was certain. Nonetheless her curiosity remained.
"Bouche," Visconti whispered, his tone harsh gazing darkly.
Hana felt the urge to smack herself. 'Bouche! Of course that's his name, urgh I can't believe I didn't remember. How stupid can I get?' At least she now knew the other man's name, feeling a tad embarrassed that she had forgotten. Her pride would not allow her to admit that she had problems with remembering people's names, unless they captured her suspicions or she knew them long enough. Still Still, Hana realized it was not an excuse for not attempting to remember, despite recalling Bouche hardly interacting with anyone at the manor.
Bouche remained silent and stared back. "...I understand." Holding out his hand towards her, Hana blinked. "We must go."
"What about Visconti?" She asked taken aback by the suddenness of his actions. What had she missed?
"He'll be fine, Miss Kurokawa. He needs to do something and thus needs us out of the way in order to do it," the man disclosed subtly, his posture was straight as he led her away from the area, ignoring the inquisitive gaze that she threw at him. "It would be for the best if for you picked up the pace."
Hana flushed briefly. "I'm going as fast as I can!"
Bouche glanced back to her, lips curling into a slight frown. "My apologies, unfortunately, we cannot afford to slow down now. We need to keep going if we are to reach the rendezvous point. Visconti is fully capable of looking after himself, Miss Kurokawa. I assure you he is no slouch when it comes to defending himself, now I must insist on moving more quickly. Remaining in the same place will not do us any good." Despite the polite manner of speaking, it was laced with a strict, hard edge that had not gone unnoticed by her.
It wasn't that Hana was worried about Visconti, since she could tell that he was a fighter. After all the man was one of Timoteo's bodyguards. Her confusion remained as Bouche continued to pull her along until Visconti could no longer be seen in the distance.
Just what had he planned on doing?
Once the two were out of range, Visconti cautiously removed his hands from his pockets and remained eerily in place, swinging his arms absently. Inhaling softly the elder man's features became tired –almost resigning even, the smile that spread across his face was self-indulgent. Cautiously, he lit a cigarette and took a long drag of it, and swung his arm back down with the cancer stick in hand.
"...Are you going to stand there all day," Visconti called out lazily, snorting. His head turned entering the darkness that stretched from beneath the roof, his eyes reflected within it his posture seemed relaxed. Casual. "Or...are you going to come out and play?" He inquired with a humorless chuckle. With a stroke of his finger the shades that rested on the bridge of his nose were pushed back up, his stance did not change.
Another had appeared from the edge of the shadows, a much younger man wore a pair of shades and a similar suit with the exception of a dark green shirt underneath the jacket. "..."
The elderly male snorted. "Has a cat got your tongue, boy? I suggest you speak before you pick a fight with me."
"...Visconti, the Storm Guardian to Vongola Nono. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to fight you. Nevertheless I shall not lose to you," the younger male said. He pulled out a knife as green electricity wrapped around the steel blade.
A feral smirk slid on his face, eyes dancing with an unreadable expression. Turning towards the other, Visconti bellowed out a laugh. "A dying will flame, and lightning at that! You've got me interested, boy." He gestured them to fight, eagerness rang through his body. Oh how he enjoyed the thrill of battle. "Are you just going to stand there and make nice? I'm waiting for the first move!"
And with that, the battle began.
An explosion echoed in the distance, the ground shook violently. With the aftershock, everyone had been thrown off guard before panic and chaos erupted throughout the area. Not even an hour into the mission and they had already become compromised.
Dino let out a hiss, throwing his head back, furious and confused. "What the hell is going on Damn it. It looks like we may not be able to reach their rendezvous point if we're caught. Continuing on our own may be the best option at this point. The possibility of the enemy figuring out whom we are may lead them to take more drastic measures to ensure Tsuna's..." His expression and tone took a rather grim tone. A logical maneuver considering whom they were up against. Whether or not they would try to get rid of Tsuna to guarantee their own survival wouldn't be too surprising. Nonetheless, the chances of him being used as a bargaining chip might also be up their alley. His frown deepened even more as the possibilities began to fill his head. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he didn't want to risk doing anything that could bring harm to his younger brother.
There were simply too many outcomes that left the Italian uncertain as to which course of action to take. Locating Tsuna quickly was logically the best decision. Unfortunately, if they were unable to find him...the blond swallowed thickly. They would most likely never find him again.
"Dino," Romario spoke up, snapping the blond out of his thoughts.
The boss stared at the elderly man for several moments, inhaling roughly. "W-what is it, Romario?"
"Might I suggest that we get in contact with the others? We might be able to come up with a backup plan and go on from there," his right-hand suggested calmly, wearing a stoic look. It brought the blond relief knowing that Romario was keeping a cool head even in this situation.
"That's a great idea Romario," Dino agreed nodding sharply. Then he switched his attention to Yamamoto. The teen had a pensive gaze, staring pointedly towards the area where the explosion had occurred. He sympathized greatly with Yamamoto. While he was certainly aware of the prowess that the teen possessed and his adapting to the dangerous and albeit strange events that started upon Reborn's appearance; it was clear that the teen was experiencing his first real battle. And not just him; the others too. A stare of empathy had been sent towards Yamamoto, understanding that the other teen probably had no idea what was going on or what would be happening, and just for that Dino felt sorry for him.
Reality would be crashing down on the taller teen. Dino only hoped that Yamamoto wouldn't break under the weight of it.
"HIE-IIIII!" Tsuna cried out, tumbling backwards and knocking straight into Albito's side. The blond managed to grab him by the waist, preventing him from falling to the ground. He let out a sharp sigh of relief, and Tsuna shot his eyes up towards him with a grateful smile. "T-Thanks Albito." Quickly readjusting himself from the tall boy's hold, he managed to stand despite the shaking ground. He turned his head sharply towards the window that hanged far above them. The three had made several attempts to trying reach it to with no avail. It seemed almost pointless to try.
Albito bowed his head and frowned. "Something's going on outside." His tone was a cautious one, almost as if he did not trust his own ears. His stance seemed rather relaxed, yet there was a nagging suspicion that the blonde was wary.
"The question is what." Rizona continued, also frowning cynically. Her eyes narrowed, clearly displeased and just as cautious as the other.
Tsuna blinked in confusion. "I-Isn't that a good thing? Wouldn't that mean someone is coming to rescue us?"
"We don't know that, " Albito shook his head firmly. His posture became defensive and his face hardened staring directly at the wall, his arms slid up to his chest. "Just because there's something going on outside, doesn't necessarily mean whoever is causing the commotion is our ally. For all we know, they could be someone even worse."
It took a few moments for that to settle into Tsuna's brain. Someone even worse? Was that even possible? It was almost unthinkable! And it didn't entirely make sense. Who else other than the ones they knew could even be aware of their locations? Tsuna was pretty damn certain that Dino had some method of finding them, and if he didn't, it was more than likely his grandfather probably had a way of doing so. He was, after all, the Vongola Nono. If there was one thing that Tsuna had gripped onto during the torturous session that his demon tutor had placed him through, it was that the Vongola were resourceful.
Very resourceful.
He assumed that they had to have some kind of security network that allowed them to find their location.
"I...don't really think that they're going to harm us," Tsuna tried trying to get the words out. The nagging feeling at that back of his head returned. Upon seeing the incredulous looks from the two, he flushed under them. "I-I don't know why, but it's just a feeling I have. B-besides you guys were taken from your homes right? Wouldn't it make sense for your families to look for you? Or at least for them contact the police?" Suddenly an eerie silence fallen over the cell, Tsuna looked curiously to the two looking each st other with strained faces. Had he said something that he wasn't supposed to? "H-hey Albito...Rizona...what's wrong?"
Alibto's mouth opened, hesitantly. "It's...it's nothing, Tsuna. Y-you're right, they should be our allies." The forceful smile that he gave was not lost on Tsuna. "We should still try to find a way to get out of here."
"...O-okay," The brunet piped up, plastered with a worried smile and glancing between the two. The air around them became rather uncomfortable much to his confusion. What had he said that had garnered such a cold reaction from the two? It felt oddly similar to the initial relationship that he had with Gokudera; stiff, awkward and almost not entirely there. And while his and Gokudera's relationship as friends had improved, if little by little, Tsuna thought he and Albito had hit it off from their first meeting. But now? He wasn't so sure anymore.
Regardless, Tsuna knew that now was not the time to be concerned with such things. They needed to free themselves from their confinement. Staying here any longer could get themselves injured, possibly killed.
"Should we try for the window again?"
Before Albito could even say a word Rizona let out a low snort. "We've tried that and yet, have we succeeded? We should try to pick the lock."
"Didn't you two try that first?" Tsuna inquired curiously.
The two stood staring at him silently, exchanging a look with one another, before turning towards him. "We didn't really think of that, to be honest," Albito admitted truthfully, flushing brightly wearing a stupid grin.
A sudden urge to face-palm washed over him. Opting for a heavy sigh instead, Tsuna levelled the two with a deadpanned stare. "...Alright, then." Deciding that he was better off not asking why they hadn't done so earlier would save him a giant headache. He was simply too tired and annoyed to really care by this point. "Well, do we have something that we can use?" He added. Though Tsuna was uncertain what would be useful. Movies stated a hairpin would work, but that was the movies, not real life. It wouldn't actually work...would it?
"Rizona?" Albito prompted as the girl nodded, swiftly digging straight into her pockets to reveal a small light blue compact.
Tsuna stared. "W-wait they didn't take anything from you two?"
"We didn't have much on us in the first place," Albito answered casually, shrugging his shoulders. "We're targeted late at night safely in our homes. There was no need to. Next thing we know, we were knocked unconscious and ended up here. I guess they assumed we'd be empty handed upon arrival. Though, they seemed to underestimate Rizona here." He gave a faint chuckle and threw the girl a smile.
Tsuna slowly nodded. "That's what happened to me too. I guess...they thought we were easier targets when attacked at night just before bed."
"Apparently," Rizona remarked quietly, pulling out a small, metallic thin strip. "It's not much. But it's better than nothing at all."
"W-what is it?" Tsuna asked eagerly, hoping that they were closed to escaping the cell. All he wanted to do was escape and find his friends. The faster they were able to do this, the better, in his opinion. He couldn't stand being trapped in the cell any longer than he had been.
Rizona pierced him with a glare. "It's a needle."
Tsuna stood in silence absolutely stunned by the revelation, gapping in disbelief. "A-A needle? Is that even going to work on a lock?" his tone oozed with skepticism. There was no way that could work! It was way too movie-ish for his liking, despite previously wondering if a hairpin would work. Relenting, Tsuna bowed his head, sighed and gestured towards the door nearly depleted of energy from the insanity that surrounded him. A part of him hoped that the needle would work and get them out of the cell. Even so, he held a great deal of doubt, being the natural pessimist Tsuna knew he was. Many experiences in his life had made him that way. Better not to get one's expectations up, that way the pain wouldn't hurt as much.
Without another word, Rizona nodded, pushing her arms through the steel poles and lowered down into the lock, sticking the needle inside. Her arms wiggled up and down, biting one side of her lip as she picked the lock.
Tsuna couldn't help but give her points for her tenaciousness.
"How's it coming, Rizona?" Albito inquired. He watching carefully, observing with interest as she went to work.
"Almost," Came the gruff, short response. The sounds of her teeth gritting together echoed in the air, Rizona seemed completely focused on the task at hand. Tsuna watched in admiration, he could see the determination on her face and within her eyes. She was doing everything in her power to ensure that the three of them would be able to escape from the imprisonment. "Just..." Rizona growled. "A bit more!"
A click echoed with the cell door swinging open. She turned towards them, smirking at them and took the first step out of the cell, arching an eyebrow.
"It worked..." Tsuna remained stunned in his spot, nearly gaping at the sight before him. Who knew that needles would actually work for picking locks! Shaking his head and wearing a wary smile, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Albito snapped out of his bewilderment. "Good work, Rizona," he praised her, both amused and surprised. "I should have known if we were able to get out of here, you'd be the one to do it. Let's be on our way then/ I think it's safe to say that the three of us have out stayed our welcome, wouldn't you two agree?"
"You could say that again," Tsuna murmured under his breath. How long had they remained in captivity? Obviously the sun was up, as the light penetrated through the window. He quickly joining Rizona and Albito, then the three of them headed towards the nearest door, which would lead them to the outside, or at least close to it. He was far too relieved at the moment to think it would be difficult to leave the building, his mind was swelling with relief at Rizona's ability of picking the lock. "Let's get out of here."
"Roger that," said Rizona, her lips twitching slightly.
Albito lead the charge towards the door. "There's nothing that's standing in our way now."
As if on cue, the door slammed open forcing the three into jumping in surprise. Their good luck seemed to have run out. Standing before them were five men clothed in black uniforms. On their shoulders were grey pads that extended down, becoming a part of the chest. The guns in their hands were what really caught his attention. His body became paralyzed with fear, finding himself unable to tear away from them. Nevertheless he did note that each of them wore masks in order to conceal their faces.
To make matters worse, their own stupor was what ultimately got them captured, as each of the men in black grabbed them roughly and pointed the guns toward their backs. They pushed them forward through the door. To where, Tsuna didn't know.
And frankly, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to know.
'Please anyone...everyone...help us. Find us!'
Everywhere spilled with absolute chaos as men wearing black suits surrounded the area. Fear ran through Haru like a water fall, she was pressed up against the wall, covering her mouth in an attempt to remain quiet. Brow and Schnitten were nearby, checking the route that led to a more secure location. That was if they could avoid all of the enemies in a clear swoop which was highly doubtful in her eyes. There were far too many of them to handle.
Her free arm tightened around her waist, nearly sobbing into her hand. It was finally starting to settle in that there was a high chance that she could die here! The brunette shut her eyes tightly, feeling the tears threatening to slide down her cheeks.
She didn't want to die!
But...Haru remembered that she wasn't the only one that was in trouble. In fact, Tsuna was in the biggest trouble of all! It was at that point when she knew that the others were also going through the same thing she was and that each of them were counting on one another. For his sake. They had all come together in order to save him from the kidnappers, to simply leave him because she was scared was unacceptable. Tsuna wouldn't have left her, Haru wanted to save Tsuna just as much as everyone else did. To run away now because she was scared would make her less than a coward. And Haru was no coward!
Ever since she met Tsuna, her life had never been the same. The strange events that occurred around Namimori brought a sense of excitement into her life that seemed unparalleled. Yet the degree of danger lingered at the back of her mind. Not that she ever really acknowledged it. Haru knew it was there, but the fun that they all had together muted the dangers that came with being around Tsuna, and to an extent, Reborn too, it never seemed important. No matter what the cost she would bring Tsuna back home. Not just for her but for everyone.
In the end that was what they were truly fighting for, wasn't it? Not just to save Tsuna but to make sure that they would all come back in order to make sure those days continued.
"Miss Miura," her thoughts were interrupted as Brow called her name softly, motioning her to where he and Schnitten were standing. Recomposing herself she diligently moved to join the two men by the side. Their backs were discreetly covering her position. Brow threw her a quick gaze. "We need you to stay close to one of us at all times. Do you understand?"
Haru nodded furiously. "Y-yes." That's what she had been doing in the first place! Going off on her own would only get her captured. Or worse. 'I don't even want to think of the possibilities!' she thought to herself, suppressing a shudder.
Brow gave a tiny smile. "Good." His expression changed quite quickly. Turning serious, he gave Schnitten a sharp nod.
"I'll lead. You two follow behind me, keep a good distance," the scarred man murmured quietly. He swung his hand and gripping onto a long, thick, black object that was obscured by the tail end of his jacket. His fingers wrapped around the object cautiously, resting in that position for several moments before his left arm allowing it to remain near his side. The action was weird as Haru dismissed it as some kind of 'guy' thing.
As Schnitten had gone ahead, Haru remained where she was. Her eyes tried to follow on the man's retreating figure, which barely remained within her sights. The sounds of footsteps echoed loudly.
"Don't worry, Miss Miura," Brow reassured her with parental-like gentleness. He flashed her a warm smile that placed her at ease. There was something about it that made Haru trust him and in his words. "Schnitten is a strong man, he is fully capable of handling himself. There's no needed to worry about him, even if he tends to be a bit reckless," the man chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes in a dry manner. Brow held out his hand towards her. "Shall we follow then?"
Haru nodded, placing her hand into his.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the eldest Weasley brother asked, watching Ganauche playing with the strange muggle device. It was a strange rusted red box-like object that hung against a wall filled with colored strings and switches. The men that had been in the building laid unconscious on the floor. There had been few of them, which had made it easier for them to subdue. In fact they hadn't put up much of a struggle.
Ganauche threw him a smile. "Oh don't go worry your pretty little head over this. I know what I'm doing, so just sit back and watch the master at work, hmmm...okay?" Without another word he returned to doing whatever it was he had been up to. At least the older man seemed rather confident, letting out a hum that carried quietly through the air. Bemused by the antics of the older male, Bill resigned himself to observing from the sidelines as his line of sight moved to the third, and last member of their team.
The small raven haired boy was leaning against a wall gazing at the door. Apparently the box that Ganauche was meddling around with was the main source of power to their electricity. Despite his initial ignorance of muggle technology Bill made an attempt to keep up if only to be able to navigate around the non-magical world when called for. That said, it was not as if he lacked any interest in their world. It was mostly due to his father's influence that he gained an insatiable curiosity of the other world, and he believed in firmly that both worlds needed one another in order to coexist.
Perhaps one day them to exist as one community.
Needless to say, that was neither here nor there. As his attention drifted back towards Harry Potter, Bill had been rather surprised to see the young teen in Italy rather than back in Britain. As far as he knew of his family, Harry stayed with his relatives. Though, from what Ron implied his relatives had been less than pleasant. Still, that did nothing to explain his current appearance in Italy and how he seemed to be well acquainted with Dino's little brother.
A frown soon found its way onto his handsome features, he made a mental note to talk with Dino after they had successfully rescued Tsuna from his abductors. Thankfully, with Ganauche already aware of existence of magic, Bill was able to cast a minor invisibility charm upon them in order to avoid detection. Unfortunately, the spell was not nearly as reliable as an invisibility cloak and lasted for a short of time. It was a standard spell that curse-breakers were taught upon entering apprenticeship, under specific circumstances and whatnot when certain situations called for it, the spell was rarely ever used otherwise. For now it was proving to be useful.
"...I wonder how long it will be before they find us," Harry murmured grimly. The anxiety in his eyes was present as he tapped the side of his hip nervously. His body tensed, as if he expected them to be attacked at any second.
Ganauche hummed from behind the box. "Not too long I reckon. I'm surprised that they haven't find the others yet, to be honest with you two."
"You think so?" Harry responded worriedly, the stoic expression broke under the other man's words, showing his more vulnerable side to the two. It was almost complete opposite of from the stories that Bill had grown up with hearing about the boy-who-lived. It seemed unreal, seeing the legendary boy \ be...a normal person. The worry was clear as day; it spoke volumes to Bill. It was slowly beginning to dawn on him that Harry was like everyone else. "We needed to find the others as soon as possible then, we can't remain here for long. Who knows what's happened to them!"
"Calm down, kiddo," Ganauche waved his hand wistfully. "I'm sure they're fine. The others know exactly what they're doing."
Harry shot him an exasperated look. "That's not stopping me from worrying, you realize."
The man shrugged. "I tried."
Harry snorted in response and shook his head, yet a small smile found its way onto his face. After, he redirected his attention back to the door. For that one moment, there had been a softness Bill hadn't seen before.
"What exactly are you doing, anyway?" Bill inquired.
"I'm re-rotating the wires to cut off electricity," Ganauche answered with a grin stretching across his face.
"How's that going to help us?" Bill's brows knitted together in confusion, he understood the basics of electricity, but how would that help them? It sounded more of a hindrance in the long run.
The Italian man's smile grew even wider. "Simple. Creating even more chaos would help stir the uncertain within the ranks, allowing us access to their databases. From there we might be able to find where they're keeping Tsuna."
"We can't assume that they're using computers," Harry pointed out thinly, with a frown.
The man arched an eyebrow. "We can't rule it out either."
The two remained at a stand still, staring back at the other without wavering. Not long did Harry sigh in defeat, relenting to the man's words. Better to be safe than sorry did, hopefully the plan wouldn't backfire on them. The rendezvous had been compromised, forcing them to take matters into their own hands. At least they had solace with the fact that their communications with the other groups was still operational. If things turned for the worse, they would be able to warn the others.
"Done!" Ganauche announced very cheerfully, a smirk slid on his features proud of his accomplishment and turned towards them. "Alright, we're done here. Time to get our asses moving!"
Harry covered his mouth with his hand. A very faint smile could be seen behind his hand it. "I suppose we should be off then. Who knows how long it would be until this place is crawling with them." His eyes narrowed at the thought. "I'd rather not be here when they arrive. Too troublesome for my tastes," he said, wrinkling his nose in irritation, throwing his head back towards the oldest of the trio. "The cell that Tsuna is located should be near here, right?"
"More or less, yes," The man stated waving his hands deeply into his pockets. "Our surveillance satellite was able to pick up the location and get a general map of the area as you are aware."
"So you know where Tsuna is being held, then?" Bill guessed, mentally cheering himself for remembering what a satellite was. "Shouldn't we be on our way there?" Since they knew where the kid was being held, wouldn't it have made sense for them to have headed there?
Why did they have to take a detour? Bill understood that a member of their little entourage had been discovered, thus placing them all in great danger. Ganauche explained his plans of creating chaos among the buildings, forcing the enemy to head towards their current location to check on things. It was at this point where his eyebrows shot up in realization. He was trying to lead them away! A large portion of enemy lackeys were already running around like headless chickens, the others would be drawn to investigate matters, leaving an opening of sorts for the others.
However, that was only in theory. The plan could backfire at any time. Getting too cocky now would only lead to failure. If worse came to worse Bill could use his magic.
Without a moment's hesitation, Harry approached the door and opened it easily. Cautiously his head peeked out to the side and lifted his arm, slowly giving the clear. Sharing a nod the two silently followed the younger boy, until Ganauche cut past Harry and continued as the lead. Since they out in the open, the three moved quickly back into the shadows to avoid being seen by the enemy. So far nothing happened, yet outside the urgent shouting from the lackeys' still echoed loudly. Luckily, it appeared that the others managed to avoid being captured.
Hopefully it would remain that way.
"Seems that we've caused quite a ruckus, wouldn't you say?" The smug tone that came from Harry made the atmosphere a bit lighter as the boy's smirk held a mischievous edge. It turned more serious not too long afterwards. "From here on in, I think it would be safe to head to the cell rather than the rendezvous point. The others are probably heading that way, too."
"We hope," Bill interjected, trying not to be a downer. They didn't know for certain whether the others had similar thoughts about checking out the cells. For all they knew, everyone else decided to remain inconspicuous in order to avoid detection. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the eldest Weasley sibling let out an insufferable sigh, using the invisibility charm again seemed like their best bet to get past the other lackeys. He had just used it not that long ago and reapplying the charm before the time-limit was up seemed pointless in his eyes. The spell needed to finish its course before being re-casted.
Ganauche remained silent. "Nothing to do but continue, I guess. You still have the communicator, right kiddo?" At Harry's sharp nod, the man smirked. "Call them up then. They should get an update on what's happening-"
"Or you could turn around, instead of standing there like a moron," chipped a sharp feminine tone causing the three to snap to the side to see a less than pleased Hana standing behind them, folding her arms against her chest. Her smirk held a hint of smugness within it. She seemed to enjoy the shocked silence that settled on them. "Flies, boys." As if in unison all three of them clamped their mouths shut as her grin seemed to grow.
"H-hana how did you...?" Harry trailed off, his brows furrowed in confusion to the girl's sudden presence.
"Find you," the brunette continued his sentence, an arm fell to her side. "Bouche used his communicator to track you guys. Right?" Hana turned to the side as the dark skinned man appeared from the side wearing his usual expressionless gaze.
Bouche nodded, slowly. "Yes, this is correct. We separated from Visconti not too long after the operation began. As far as we are currently aware, he is holding off a small portion of the Persca forces near the split point. Unfortunately, the two of us have yet to meet up with the others. I sincerely doubt that they are too far behind us." His stance was stiff, remaining completely in place as he announced his report. Bill couldn't help but think that the man was being a tad too formal for his liking.
"Visconti will be fine on his own; the old bat always loved a good fight," Ganauche chuckled, grinning cheekily. "I bet you he's kicking ass and taking names like no tomorrow!"
"That does seem to fit Visconti," Bouche murmured, turning away to hide the tiniest of smiles, apparently agreeing with the other man's words.
"So what does that make the two of you then?" Harry inquired, raising an eyebrow curiously.
Ganauche grinned approaching Bouche and draped an arm on his shoulder. "Isn't it obvious, kiddo? Visconti's the fighter, Coyote's the hardass, Brow's the all-around polite guy, Schintten's the misunderstood nice guy, I'm the handsome one and Bouche is the stoic bastard!" He said, waving his hand about.
"...I'm not stoic," the dark skinned man chided flatly, pinning him with a cold stare.
"But you never show emotion!" Ganauche retorted.
Bill almost snickered, seeing the look on the man's face. One could say that it was rather cute. "I don't think Bouche is that bad," he interrupted in an attempt to try and mediate between the two men. Though Bill was well aware that a fight wouldn't break out between the two, call it brotherly instincts, he just knew. Perhaps it was the family-like bond that the two seemed to share that made Bill believe it. "He balances you out."
"What's that supposed to mean!" the Italian man said, switching hisattention to Bill frowning with an almost angry gaze, which he knew wasn't serious.
"Nothing!" the redhead grinned innocently in response.
Ganauche rolled his eyes and folded his arms together, letting out a mocking huff. "You guys are no fun."
A chorus of quiet laughter bubbled up within the small group, albeit even Bouche had cracked another smile. The air become lighter, but it didn't last for long. The sounds of rushed footsteps quickly reached their ears, and as a response took defensive stances. Bouche stepped in front of Hana, holding out an arm to protect her and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles from his coat pockets. Ganauche gripped his gun loosely just barely visible from his sleeve, their eyes focused towards the source where the sounds came from. Much to Bill's surprise, it seemed that he was the only one who lacked a muggle weapon. Hana gripped the pole she had against herself tightly, appearing nervous.
Even Harry had a weapon! Pulling out pair a of muggle wands – guns he recalled. Licking his lips, Bill watched on with apprehension, hearing the footsteps grow louder and louder.
At the very edge of the corner, a shadow loomed and revealed a silhouette of the figure ahead of them. The person was too far to make out any distinct characteristics. For the moment they were all in agreement viewing the figure as an enemy.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bouche lunged towards the figure. raising his knee and colliding with the figure's side. He swiftly moved his foot and tripped. In a swift motion, his cane twirled around his shoulders, landing into the opposite hand before it shifted upwards slamming into the enemy's face. The dark skinned man jumped backwards by a few feet, narrowly dodging the second man in black slashing him with a small knife that flashed yellow. Swipe after swipe, the man attempted to inflict harm on Bouche, who whacked the man's arm with his cane, followed by smashing his elbow straight into the other man's head, knocking him unconscious.
Unfortunately, it seemed that there had been a few more, and two others donning black charged at him furiously. One of them had a pair of sai and the other had nunchaku. Both simultaneously attacked Bouche, whom used his cane to deflect said attacks dodging in tandem.
A blur brushed past Bill, placing him into a stupor until he snapped out of it upon seeing Harry jumping into the fray to help fight. Ganauche was not too far behind him, and a Hana hesitated before brandishing the pole in her hand and lunged after the two. He couldn't help but stare in astonishment, watching the three's teamwork. The one with the sai slashed at the girl's pole capturing it in a hold as she forcibly pushed them upwards. This created an opening which Harry exploited by crouching from below before shooting up, delivering a sharp uppercut sending the man off of his feet and landed on his back, out cold. The final one seemed to be stronger, opposed to his comrades.
The fact he was able to take on Ganauche and Bouche together without breaking a sweat said much about his fighting prowess. His arms and hands moved rapidly, the nunchaku switched hands and knocking up against opposition. Ganauche made his move whipping out his gun and directing it towards the man's hand, only for it be and received a kick the face, causing him to stumble backwards wincing, Ganauche was left wide open for the opponent's slash.
Thankfully, Hana had been a tad quicker tham all of them, raising her pole and slamming it against the man's head. A loud 'thump' echoed hollowly.
Slowly, a strained but proud smile blossomed onto her face. "That...that wasn't too bad," she stated, her body shook a bit, but overall she seemed relatively fine.
All of them had done something...except for him. Bill had remained exactly where he was, he had been entirely useless during the small fight. Massaging his temple, Bill didn't understand why he had frozen up, it just happened. He dismissed the issue of not being used to fighting as the others were.
A sharp cry from Harry snapped the redhead out of his thoughts, whirling around in time to see a man in black holding up a club that was ready to strike him down at any moment. Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up and promptly fell to his knees before passing out straight onto the floor. Bill's eyes flickered from the unconscious man and found himself staring into the surprised gaze of Haru, and with Yamamoto whom popped out from behind, staring at the unconscious with interest.
"Haru! Takeshi!" Harry cried out, looking relieved with a soft smile on his face. "You're both okay!"
A melodic chuckle flew through the air. "We had a few problems finding our way, but we managed," Brow appeared from the roof, landing perfectly to the ground, turning elegantly towards them. He cleared his throat. "You'll all be pleased to know that Schnitten has located Tsunayoshi. He's currently tailing them as we speak. The three of us got separated as a fight broke out upon making our way to the rendezvous point. It seems by chance that all of us have ended up together. Not exactly the place we were initially aiming for. At least we can count our blessings for meeting up and that none of us have been harmed."
Harry agreed with that assessment nodding his head with a small smile, which was quickly being replaced with a tight frown. "Where are Dino and Romario?"
"They're fine, they're fine!" Yamamoto reassured approaching Harry and wrapping his arm in a headlock. A soft gaze passed through his hazel orbs briefly, a smile etched on his face. "They went to go and give Schnitten some back up, no worries!"
"At least he isn't alone," Hana backed-up the baseball teen.
Bill wondered, none of them had an exact idea of how large the forces that covered this place were. For all they knew, they could in fact be completely surrounded by this point, even with Visconti holding off a bunch of them near the entrance. He didn't doubt the man's formidable strength, especially from what Bill was able to tell. He was no pushover; that was for certain. But even he was only human. Unfortunately they were all too far in now to simply turn tail.
"We should go and join up with them," Harry stated, running his hand through his hair, determined. Somehow Bill wasn't surprised when the emerald pools darted to Brow. "How far are they from us?"
"Not that far." Brow answered immediately, eyes dancing with approval. His arm pointed towards the direction where the others were. "We noticed Tsuna being carted away with two other unknowns heading towards a building at the far end."
A frown marred his features as his eyes flashed with uncertainty, before his lips curled up. "Alright, let's move out. We can't keep the others waiting. And besides Tsuna's waiting for us too." Flashing a smile at the others, he moved towards the direction that Brow had pointed out. An air of charisma seemed to hover around him seemingly pulling the rest of them along, as Bill slowly followed after him.
Yamamoto grinned widely. "That's right!"
"Hahi!" Haru threw her arm into the air, smiling brightly.
Hana crossed her arms, smirking at him. "Hm, you got a plan, then?"
The only response they received was a sly smirk Harry continued. Whatever he had in mind, Bill knew that it was going to be astonishing. That much was certain. Yet why couldn't he get rid of this curling dread that seemed to settle in him?
Chapter 12 End.
And the chapter finally comes to a close. I'm sorry for lateness I ended up hitting writer's block, but now it seems to have finally disappeared. Make sure to read the next chapter, after all who knows what will happen?
Also I want to thank everyone who reviewed your guys are awesome and my brand new, beta doodle808, he is awesome so give up a big hand everyone!
