Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you enjoyed it in the best way possible. ^^ Even though it is later in the day, here is your Halloween treat from me; the newest Caught In The Middle chapter. Credit to Katekyo Hitman Reborn goes to Akira Amano-san.


The bullet left the barrel of the gun. A bolt of lightning stopped it in its tracks. Ghost's fingers were in a snapping position. Either his Flames were replenished or the Millefiore Lightning Guardian tricked Orcus.

"Was that a last attempt to prolong your lives?" The brown haired man asked.
"My boss ordered me to protect the one I hold dear to the bitter end." The yellow haired man responded.
"It's a shame he didn't decide to take his own advice." Orcus forced Mukuro to meet his gaze by lifting his chin.

Mukuro tried to mask what he was feeling. He could not allow Orcus to see him in a weakened state. The brown haired man pressed their lips together, almost like he cared enough to take some of the Illusionist's pain away. No matter what he meant by it the blue haired man hated the Bloody Syndicate boss. The turmoil he felt even caused him to harbor a grudge against Kikyo. A lot of this really was his fault or so Mukuro tricked himself into believing.

"You're lucky I'm not in top shape, otherwise I would end your life without hesitation." Mukuro muttered full of malice towards Orcus.
"I can shove my cock in your mouth to make you shut up." The brown haired man hissed, "I could care less who witnesses me do it."

The trio from before appeared in the office doorway. They looked pleased to see the Millefiore boss dead on the ground. They were ready to take on Kikyo and Ghost.

"Sorry we're late boss. We needed to take some time to recover." One member of the trio said.
"I'll let you all slide if you dispose of the Millefiore Guardians."
"What about that one?" The one on the right motioned towards the Vongola Mist Guardian.
"Leave him be. He's my plaything. Maybe if I'm ever feeling generous enough I'll allow you three to play with him too." To Mukuro he whispered, "Now I'm no longer tied with Chiaro."

That made them all the more eager to fight Kikyo and Ghost. Each of them carried a weapon that they had not used earlier. Before they could make a move Ghost used larger bolts of lightning to electrocute the trio. The three of them dodged with ease because the lightning was slower than it had been when it was used to stop the bullet. The two guardians needed reinforcements at the rate they were going.

A mist started to form at the base of the entryway. It took little to no time for the thick fog to fill the room. The seven in the room could not see a thing. From Orcus' point of view his office was beginning to warp. He heard panicked noises coming from his three men. He wondered what was wrong until he noticed the floor was falling away, leaving an endless void behind. The void swallowed them up.

Ghost, Kikyo, and Mukuro found themselves safe in an entirely different room. The Millefiore Guardians knew Mukuro hadn't the strength to pull that off, meaning another Guardian of Mist was near. Torikabuto appeared in the center of the room. Their relief settled in with the sight of the Millefiore Mist Guardian. The moment was short lived when the depression settled back in to replace any relief. The blue haired man didn't even care that he was still indecent.

"If only you would have arrived sooner...Byakuran-sama might have made it out alive under those circumstances." The mint haired man wept.
"I need to explain more about his death to the three of you. I do not know how much time we have either. Orcus could figure his way out of my illusion in seconds, minutes, or hours. It is hard to tell which one for certain." The masked man spoke.
"What is there to explain? He's dead...That's about all there is to it." The blue haired man said.
"We knew such an extreme measure would greatly impact you, but the fact of the matter is, Byakuran-sama is very much alive."

Torikabuto further explained that Byakuran made the decision to fake his own death. He had not been hit with the liquid that could deplete his Flames. However, he ended up using most of his Flames to fend off the endless amount of henchmen. By faking his death he could hideout somewhere safe in the enemy's base in order to recover enough of his power to defeat Orcus.

"I thought he ordered you to stay back at the mansion." Kikyo was confused about how that part of the plan fell into place.
"He did, but only in front of you and the other guardians. Beforehand he sought be out personally to tell me that he wanted me to follow him here. I suppose I was to be the backup plan just in case his original plans fell through. Seems he is always one step ahead of the game." Torikabuto explained.
"How can I believe a story like that when I have no visual evidence?" Mukuro sounded bitter.
"Visual evidence? We are both illusionist's. Why would you need something as simplistic as visual evidence? Even with your Flames sapped you should have been able to tell the difference between an illusion, and the real deal. For instance-" Kikyo clapped a hand over Torikabuto's mouth to stop him from saying anything further.

It was easy to understand why the Vongola Mist Guardian wasn't on top of things like he usually was. He and Byakuran shared something the blue haired man had never felt for another. Growing up he viewed people as pawns or toys to be used at his disposal, but finding the feelings he shared with his lover changed that. Though that's not to say the two of them ever officially stopped being cruel. Just the thought of losing Byakuran shook him to his core. He never thought it had a high possibility of happening because of how strong the Millefiore boss is.

The masked man moved the mint haired man's hand away from his mouth, "I can take you to him, but when need to remain hidden from prying eyes."

The blue haired man stood up on shaky legs. He used the wall to support himself, especially when he bent down to pull the underwear back up his hips. Afterwards, he tugged his coat up around his shoulders, and zipped it up. That was all he could do to stay covered. He took a few steps forward to see if he could walk. Walking turned out not to be the problem, it was the insistent pain from his wounds.

"I can carry you if that would be easiest." The masked man offered.
Mukuro brushed him off like the offer was more of a nuisance, "No thanks, I'll do just fine on my own."

Ghost offered Kikyo the same help, but he politely declined. Instead, the mint haired man chose to lean on the yellow haired man when he felt really exhausted. The four of them walked on in silence for the rest of the way. They descended down several flights of stairs. It looked to the blue haired man that they were heading to the underground cell. The cell he and Ghost were in several hours earlier was wide open. Along with the door being mangled. A power was rising as they got closer to the cell. It was to intimidate them had they been enemies.

"Relax Byakuran-sama, I have brought the others to come see you." Torikabuto assured his boss.
Byakuran let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Glad to hear it. I don't know what I would have done if I needed to fight sooner than planned. Might as well bring them in so they can get a good look at how pitiful I am."
"As long as Orcus hasn't figured you out then this was all in all a good idea." Kikyo said.

The Illusionist hit the ground almost as soon as he stepped into the cell. He cried harder than ever before while he gripped tightly at his lover's torn clothing. The white haired man slowly put an arm around Mukuro's shoulders.

"You...idiot! I seriously b-began to believe that...you...were dead." The blue haired man tried to steady his voice, but that was impossible for him at the time.
"I know." Byakuran briefly shut his eyes, "I can understand if you were to hate me after the stunt I pulled." He leaned down to place a soft kiss on top of Mukuro's head, "Just let me promise you that I will end Orcus along with the whole Bloody Syndicate organization."

The blue haired man loosened his grip, and wiped at his eyes with the back of one hand. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. Byakuran was preparing to kiss his lover on more than just the top of his head. Those thoughts were quickly tossed from his mind when a painful right hook connected with his shoulder. The white haired man rubbed at the red spot that was forming.

"Did you really have to hit me that hard?" Byakuran asked in a partially whiny voice.
"That's the least you deserve for making me worry like that." Mukuro felt a lot of satisfaction from that punch.
"You're a regular sadist, you know that?"
"Looks who's talking!"
"Things are going back to normal more quickly than I thought they would." Kikyo murmured.

If the couple wasn't having sweet moments or sex, then they were bickering with each other. In actuality that was a good sign, and it was better to see the Illusionist in high spirits rather than seeing him depressed. Kikyo had to wonder how long Mukuro was going to ban Byakuran from having sex with him. Then again, his boss was a smooth talker that could get his way when he really tried hard enough.

"How much longer before you are able to fight?" Torikabuto questioned.
"Probably twenty minutes max. If they find us before then I'll need you guys to keep them busy." He turned towards his lover, "You never did answer me about whether you are okay or not. I know my illusion died before you got the chance to answer, but still."
"He didn't have the time to do much of anything to me. I mean, he did undress me, and his tongue was in places I would only ever want yours in. He completely forgot about the shock collar thanks to the distraction. Umm, he did force me to kiss him a few times, and then there was that threat he made but never actually did. Thank goodness for that. I'm not in horrible condition to say the least. Now that I know you're alive to boot, I'm pretty okay."
"What sort of threat did he make?" He wanted to know even though Orcus ended up not going through with it.
"Something about...shoving his member in my mouth to shut me up." Mukuro mumbled the last part of the sentence.
The mumble was so limited that only the white haired man heard what was said, "I'm really going to kill him for even suggesting that. I do not plan on holding back." He said between gritted teeth.
"So, this is where the intruders went into hiding. What was that part about killing me? I would have to disagree, and say that your odds aren't looking too good." Orcus' voice rang out from where the stairs were located, "I'm quickly growing tired of this game, and plan to have my men end it once and for all. Gaius. Constantine. Lucius. Kill the intruders, but remember to bring my captive back to me alive!" He paused briefly, "You'll find that my generals are going to give you a run for your money. They held back the first time you fought them." Orcus warned.
"Since you claim to have superhumans, what was Chiaro?" From Mukuro's perspective Chiaro was a fairly normal human with twisted desires. Twisted desires weren't very abnormal either.
"I only kept him around as my Right Hand Man because he was an excellent battle strategist. However, that's where his worth ended."
"Storm is your fire, rain is your water, and your lightning that is present is very weak. You don't have a chance in hell of winning." Gaius chuckled.

Ghost and Torikabuto stepped in front of the other three. They held the most Flames, which is why they offered to be the trio's opponents. The masked man was already spinning a web of illusions to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, they were not going to fall for the same trick twice. Pillars of fire broke the foundation of the web of illusions. Ghost debated on sending a current through the floor at the enemy. A member of the trio named Constantine had other ideas.

He would lay down a stream of water if the Millefiore Lightning Guardian were to try his idea out. Constantine could use the idea against them, and have Lucius charge the stream with his own lightning instead. All they would have to do is retreat to the stairs to remain unaffected. He knew Gaius would be fond of the idea, but they would have a problem of getting the Vongola Mist Guardian to go to safety with them. It seemed that the entire group was at a stalemate.

"We need to come to a compromise." Lucius stated.
"A compromise that involves you guys stabbing us in the back? I don't think so." The mint haired man growled.
"Shut up traitor! Or we can cut out your tongue!" Constantine snapped.
"I dare you to try." The yellow haired man challenged.
"That's enough you guys. I'm finally ready to go so just chill out." Byakuran said as he rose into a standing position.

He stepped in front of his guardians with his wings at full span. His white dragon rested its head on its master's shoulder. Byakuran stroked its head like it was the friendliest creature in the world. The white haired man was practically emitting Sky Flames. Now they could get on with the conclusion of this terrible encounter with Bloody Syndicate.


I should probably stop trying to guess, but I think next week's chapter will be the last one. And I can't say how lengthy it's going to be either. Well, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review.