AN: Guess who is back? Not me. Not at all. Also I think I may have lost my way here.
The Jurassic Park theme is giving me hope of finding my way, so we'll see.
Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.
Shamal had taken Gokudera aside, had promised to call him when he was done patching up the silver haired teen leaving Tsuna to have some time to visit Lambo. His visit with Lambo was short, Reborn had told him to get some rest and so the brunet bid his mother and sister goodnight.
These battles were exhausting, both physically and mentally.
Reborn pushed him as hard as he could go and Tsuna gave as much as he could. Poor Basil – the fair haired teen didn't deserve to have all of Tsuna's brunt force, all of his feelings on the current situation directed at him.
He could almost understand Ryoehi-nii and even Hibari-senpai's need for a good fight. It bled off any frustration he had or it made him focus on something else while he tried to figure a way to deal with whatever was heavy on his mind.
He thought almost, because he didn't like seeing his friends and family have to fight and put up with the current situation.
At first he had been in denial, passively refusing Reborn's words of him being a mafia boss. Lately he had been seeing the mafia for what it was and compared to what his ancestor had truly wanted, it had fallen a long way.
A good boss didn't casually toss his subordinates lives aside –that was what he had been taught by Reborn that all subordinates had a purpose in the famiglia no matter what happened.
The thing was Tsuna wasn't a boss, he was Sawada Tsunayoshi, he had a mother that taught and constantly showed him and his ragtag group of friends care and love (especially when knowing that neither Yamamoto and Gokudera had mothers), accepted them as they all were even if they were all scratched and beat up.
He had a sister that could (and would) stand up against whatever came their way, that made him want to be as headstrong as her when it came to defending the people she cared about.
He had a tutor that was a hell of a task master that wanted him to succeed (and survive) – though that was sometimes hard to see when Reborn literally tried to kill him every other day of the week and enjoyed it.
He had friends that were willing to put their lives on the line for him, to fight for him and stand with him.
Tsuna almost scoffed as he remembered his sisters words from long ago.
The mafia – Vongola especially – was a mockery of what it had originally stood for. He felt how his flames swelled in his chest, moving and responding to his thoughts, how they became much warmer and easier to take notice of.
A bland smile appeared on his face as his thoughts came to one conclusion, Vongola would have to change. He would have to fight, to sweat, and to bleed for his realization to come true. Vongola would either return to its roots or he would make damn sure that no one else could rule the underworld like Vongola did.
And the very first people to learn of this would be the Varia.
When it came to his battle, Xanxus would feel every bit of his rage, would know the pain Tsuna felt as he watched his friends put their lives on the line for him.
Tsuna's smile sharpened a little more, Reborn noticed it and the arcobaleno noted how the boy looked like his sister in that moment – all sharp eyes and smile. The small hitman felt his chest swell, noting his student's thoughts and though what the boy was thinking could be considered treasonous, the boy wasn't going to be a typical grunt – he was going to be Vongola Decimo.
Reborn smirked, almost happy and completely relieved that Tsuna could be vicious in his own right. Natsume had her temper and her wits, had long ago already cemented herself to watching over her little family and now Tsuna had something that he was willing to stand up to and protect.
After Tsuna had left, Dino had stayed behind with Natsume and Nana. Lambo should be waking up soon either early morning or later on in the day. What was mostly keeping the young child out was the huge literal shock to his system due to being hit by lightning and the stress of the battle.
Though trained up to be an assassin by the Bovino, the child shouldn't have been allowed to fight nor should he have been picked as a Guardian – sure even as young as he was he had a strong flame, but Iemitsu was wrong in having chosen a child.
Then again everyone currently fighting was a child, the only one over fifteen was Hibari and he was the only one with any true experience in fighting due to his need to have control over any and everything in Namimori.
The blond refrained from making too loud of a sound, his gaze flicking over to mother and daughter. Natsume did her homework in peace, asking her mother a couple questions when it came to certain problems and he saw that for what it was. To take the woman's mind off and having her focus on something else even if it was for a second.
Someone cleared there throat and all three occupants looked up to see who was at the door, a bandaged up Gokudera stood in the doorway a little surprised at the sudden attention, but shrugging it off as he strode into the room.
He took the empty seat that Reborn had been in no more than ten minutes ago and all but sagged in relief.
"Oh, Gokudera," Nana chose this moment to excuse herself, wiggling her eyebrows at her daughter. Judging by the affronted looks both on Natsume's and Gokudera's faces, along with the light blush that appeared on said boy's, Nana was teasing the two.
"Going to the cafeteria Sawada-san?" Dino asked, getting a nod from the woman he stood up and decided to follow her, "May I come along?" Nana regarded him with a rather unusual look, the smile that curled her mouth wasn't fake, but the way her eyes seemed to be judging him made him pause in his steps.
"Of course Dino-kun and please call me Mama."
That left the two teens alone one still blushing and the other one looking unamused by her mother's tone and teasing, "Anyways," Natsume drawled out, picking up her bag from the floor and pulling out a few papers. "I forgot to give these to Tsuna, but these are the notes for the past couple days for your class."
Gokudera nodded slowly as he took the papers and shuffled through them, the Sasagawa girl's neat writing being precise and clear in what the sensei's wanted them to do for the coursework. He really wondered how the block headed boxer had a sister like her when he was such a loud idiot.
"I know you're tired, I didn't mean to give you more work," Natsume said, taking his silence the wrong way, "I just wanted to make sure you had it so you could help the others after this whole mess." Here she gestured with her hand waving it front of her as if she was brushing off a bug.
"I understand, don't worry about it," he told her, careful in shifting around in his seat seeing as some of the knife wounds he had sustained were still susceptible to opening up again.
A nice silence settled over the two, the only sound being Natsume's pencil making its scratching sounds against the paper she was writing on..
"I never did thank you for this, did I?" he flexed the hand that he wore the ring on, knowing that whatever he had been listening to had something to do with it, or he was just going crazy. There was also the possibility of U.M.A's intervening, but that would result in accusing Natsume of being in contact with them and he didn't know how she would respond to that.
"I thought you practically squealing and spinning Tsuna around was it," he had tried to get her in on the spine-breaking hug and though she wouldn't have minded, she wasn't ready to receive the full brunt of Gokudera's love and care for his friends when he was completely happy, shocked or excited (or a mixture of all three).
It had looked like it hurt too.
Said boy had the decency to blush, his lips pursing as he tried to suppress the actual smile that tried to show.
"Well thank you anyways."
"You are very welcome Gokudera."
"Come one Tsu-chan," said Nana as she coaxed her daughter awake. The girl blinked sleepy eyes at her, groaning sleepily as she sat up on the edge of the extra cot that had been brought into Lambo's room.
Surprisingly the hospital was much more accommodating than she remembered even Namimori General being, small as it may be compared to the other hospital. The staff here was just as professional and a little more understanding of what had happened to Lambo, compared to the time she had taken the twins in to be checked on when they were seven years old.
"Ane? Mama?"
The quiet, very croaked sound of Lambo's voice froze the two. Nana put her hands on both of Natsume's shoulders to keep her from rushing to the young boy's side.
"We don't want to overwhelm him, Tsu-chan," her mother said softly as Natsume got up slowly, one of Nana's arms draping itself over both of her shoulders, while her other hand lightly gripped Natsume's wrist. The two walked over to the six year old's bed side and watched as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Mama?"
"Lambo-kun," Nana answered in a quiet voice, leaning over so the boy wouldn't have to turn his head. Lambo coughed, sniffing slightly afterwards as he gave Nana a wobbly smile.
"Mama, Lambo-san had a bad dream."
Letting Nana talk to Lambo, Natsume pressed one of the buttons by the bedside to call one of the nurses on duty.
"Ane?"
The sandy haired changed places with Nana, leaning down like her mother had been. She smiled at the small boy who reached out a shaky hand to her.
"I'm here Lambo," Natsume whispered, carefully grasping the kids hand and letting his fingers lace with hers. "Ane is so happy to see you."
"Ane was amazing in my dream," the boy said, looking a little more awake. "She protected me from the big meanie."
"Oh yeah?"
"Tsu-nii too," Lambo added, his brow wrinkling a little as he thought it over. "Lambo-san is still sleepy."
The door opened and in walked one of the nurses, who had moved to the other side of the bed to check over the clipboard and the vitals being displayed on one of the machines.
"I don't want to see the big meanie again," Lambo muttered, focusing now on Nana, who pursed her lips.
"I'll be here Lambo-kun."
"Ane?"
"I will be here as long as I can."
There was a stiff nod as his eyes slipped shut and Lambo was out like a light. Mother and daughter moved back a little as the nurse checked over Lambo physically, adjusting the mask that had been pushed away by Lambo when he had wiped his nose.
"Sawada-san, if he wakes again do not hesitate to call again," the nurse told Nana, "He woke up much sooner than we thought he would and if he continues to do as he has, he could be discharged within the next two to three days."
"Thank you Akita-san, I'll be sure to do that."
With that said the nurse showed herself out of the room, leaving the two alone.
"You should go get ready for school Tsu-chan," knowing that her daughter was about to protest it, Nana turned and gave her a 'look'. "No Tsu-chan, you can come back after you're let out, but you will be staying at home tonight."
"You too, you have to go home tonight to sleep in your own bed."
"I would prefer to be here for Lambo –"
The hard stare her daughter gave her cut her off, "Mama, Bianchi can come and watch him. I know you want to be here for him, but you also have to take care of yourself and that means going home, actually eating, and resting." There was that stubborn look in her daughter's eye that Nana knew she wouldn't be able to budge.
"Ara, I will call Bianchi," Nana relented, a wry smile appearing on her lips. "My daughter can be so stubborn."
Natsume grinned, leaning forward and kissing her mother's cheek before she turned around and left, "I get it from my mama."
It was nice to shower in her own bathroom without the light beeping of machines and the weird hospital smell hanging around. Natsume slipped out of the shower, towel wrapped tightly around her body to make sure it wouldn't fall. Making her way out she made a beeline to her room, where she hurriedly put on her uniform.
Zipping up the back of her skirt and smoothing down the front, she realized how much shorter the material had gotten. At nearly fifteen she was about five foot three, compared to the five foot she had been only a year ago. When her body decided to start growing she didn't know, but she wasn't exactly happy about it.
"I hate puberty," she lightly hissed out, deciding to ignore the issue for now and instead focus on the mess of tangles that was her hair. Giving up when her hair didn't look like a rats nest, Natsume took off the hair tie around her wrist and used it to tie up her hair in a low ponytail.
With that done she grabbed her book bag, made sure all her work was there and headed downstairs. She called out a goodbye when she left, the two kids and woman cheerily telling her to have a good day. When she exited the front gate she was a little surprised to find Yamamoto leaning up against the wall, seeming a little startled when she let the gate go and click shut with a slight bang.
"That was my bad," she amended when Yamamoto's light brown eyes focused on her. The tall teen was unusually serious looking, not his usually chirpy morning self, even with the ring battles going on he had always been – light? So she asked him if he was alright.
He gave her a slow nod, "I'm just relaxing."
"Y'know most times people relax in their beds, not in front of other people's homes," she said slowly, noting the way he was tensing up. "But if hanging around relaxes you, I'm cool with that," she told him with a shrug of her shoulder, "I do have to go to school though."
He relaxed, almost slumping forward as he pushed himself off the wall and offered a cheery smile, "I'll walkwith you."
"Ay, ay," she began to walk, Yamamoto matching her pace as he walked alongside her. "So tell me," she spoke up after a couple minutes, when she could tell that Yamamoto wasn't thinking too hard and just enjoying the morning walk. "How are you feeling?"
There was a hum from the taller teen and Natsume wondered if he understood that she was asking about him and not about the ring battles.
"A little nervous," he answered slowly, his hands slipping into his pants pockets, "But I'm actually looking forward to tonight."
It was that competitive streak that Yamamoto got when he was playing baseball and sometimes got with Gokudera when one was trying to prove a point to the other.
"That's happening again," she deadpanned, "How exciting." Yamamoto rolled his eyes, knowing from Lambo's fight how the eldest Sawada felt about everything going on.
"You'll be there right?"
They were near the school gates, Yamamoto stopped walking when Natsume halted. The girl had an odd expression before she gave him a half smile, "I thought no outsiders were allowed."
"Does it matter?"
Her smile widened and she gave him a sharp, cat-like smile, "I never knew you for breaking the rules."
The baseball player only raised his brow, insisting for a straight answer out of the teen before him. To which she rolled her eyes at him and patted him against his shoulder before she continued on towards the front gates.
"I'll see if Emi wants to go on a late night walk."
Well, it wasn't a no.
"Also Yamamoto, you are breaking the rules, you should go home before Hibari-san finds you."
The dark haired teen chuckled a little nervously, knowing exactly how Hibari felt about rule breakers. Adding in the constant damage the school was getting and how pissed the prefect was last night, Yamamoto definitely did not want to get caught.
Turning on the ball of his foot and he began jogging the way he came and headed towards his old man's dojo. He had almost a whole day in front of him; some light activity should get the nervous energy that he could feel building up.
And if not, well perhaps his old man could offer him some last minute pointers
School was the usual, minus the fact that Kim-sensei had asked her once more to be a tutor, which she politely declined. With a sigh the sandy haired teen pulled on her shoes, having already shut away the school ones she used in her locker.
Kyoko had been telling her to join a club lately, that it would look better and perhaps would get the English teacher off her case. Which would probably work, but what could she possibly join for a club? She got along with her classmates now that everyone had gotten the hint (it was probably her brother's constant hanging around Gokudera and Yamamoto that got the others off his case) to stop clowning on Tsuna and her.
It may also be thathis ability to actually keep up and do decently well in any of the sports activities they had to do in P.E.
She left the school, her feet subconsciously taking the path home as she thought about what she could do.
She enjoyed cooking with her mother, didn't mind helping the children with whatever Nana set them up with. She liked going to the beach and living in the water until it was time to go, not that she was going to go up to the Swim Club and ask to join.
Something that she could do with her friends that wasn't eating, browsing through the stores or drinking coffee – Haru had a thing where she liked making costumes, Hana was in one of the book clubs and in the archery club, and Kyoko was a complete monster in that she was in various clubs that even Natsume couldn't keep track of them (it was only four of them, but really who was counting when Kyoko began listing them?).
Dancing was a thing she liked doing right?
If not her the other her.
Wasn't her past life a little geek in music? Interesting it may be to do, she was not about to learn something completely new just for the sake of getting into a club.
Could she go around saying she was good swinging around a staff?
"I can probably be a decent flag twirler," she muttered to herself, crossing the street on habit as she approached the house with the Chihuahua (the demon dog as Tsuna put it) that was usually unleashed decided to not slip out and nip at her heels.
"Speak up Natsume, some of us can't hear your thoughts."
She almost froze in mid-step but having a small hitman try his best (and succeed) in sneaking up on you wore off after a while.
"I'm wondering what club I should join so Kim-sensei can stop asking me to tutor."
The tiny babe hid a smile of approval, jumping down from the top of the wall he had been walking along and landing right on Natsume's shoulder.
"You know that's uncomfortable," she remarked at him reaching up so she could carry him in her arms, which he let happen. Nothing much was said after that, not until they reached the Sawada household and Reborn got out of her hold.
Raising a brow, Natsume reached out to open the gate all the way keeping her attention on Reborn. The hitman pulled down the brim of his fedora making it cast a shadow on the upper half of his face.
"I've heard the idiot cow is getting better."
Bringing up Lambo was rarely a thing Reborn did unless the boy was actually there and he was about to explain why what Lambo was doing was completely wrong and stupid. Then again anything that went up against Reborn ended up being wrong and stupid.
There was a beat of silence that she would have appreciated if it continued on because the way Reborn's mouth twisted did not soothe her. At all.
"It's come to my attention that my sessions have been amiss, after all this is over, you'll be joining in on Tsuna's one on one lessons. We wouldn't want a repeat of the other night to happen again, would we?"
Something cold settled in her stomach and Natsume wondered why Reborn decided to ask about Lambo if this was what he had really been wanting to talk about.
"We can also bring in the others and have it made into a club that is by invitation only," Reborn's shadow wavered for a second, but it stayed its regular size even though it didn't soothe the teen at all. Reborn looked up and the girl felt absolute dread.
"S-sure." She hadn't meant to stutter but really Reborn could be absolutely intimidating when he felt like it, perhaps Dino had a right to say that the hitman was 'fucking downright terrifying'.
The cute peace sign he threw up as he began to toddle away did nothing to make her feel peaceful.
Kawahira had merely clucked his tongue when she told him (after he had told her he knew what she had done) what had happened and told her to figure out how to keep from overreacting. Reborn on the other hand had put a gun to her head and she had pretty much swatted it away.
Now he was going to fix it and he was going to make damn sure she learned or else.
The sandy haired teen had gone upstairs and had promptly laid in bed, trying her best to smother herself with her pillows she instead fell asleep. It was only the light knocking on her door that stirred her up. A slight groan escaped her as she got up and answered, barely covering the yawn that escaped her with the back of her hand.
"Natsume."
"Bianchi?" she shook her head slightly in hopes of it waking her up a little more, "What's up?"
"I'm going to be leaving in a bit, will you be here long enough to get the children to bed?"
"Oh yeah, mama's actually coming home tonight right?" from the magenta haired woman's nod, Natsume hummed. "Sweet, I didn't think she'd actually do it." Her mother could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to be.
Even though she was still in her uniform, she was too lazy to change out of it and followed the Italian woman downstairs.
"Your mother is lucky to have someone like you," Bianchi commented as she gathered her hair into a bun when they made their way to the kitchen. Natsume not knowing how to respond only raised her shoulders in a 'what can you do' gesture.
"I guess?"
Gods know that she's caused Nana some of her gray hairs, what with all the fighting she would get into when she was in grade school. Not that she did so willingly, she had said before and was constantly proven right that kids were assholes.
She just had protective streak that had grown wide and any attempt to mock or put down either her brother or talk bad about her mother Natsume squashed down. The pointers that her mother had given her on how best to protect herself hadn't earned her any good points, because then she was able to somewhat properly hold off the idiots that had wanted to get a little physical.
"You watch out for you family in your own way," the older teen said, pulling out a pot and setting it on the stove so she could cook some quick food for the children. That was another thing that the seventeen year old was happy for since coming to Namimori, she could make simple meals without her Poison Cooking getting in the way. "It's very admirable."
"Thank you?"
Bianchi smiled, turning on the stove as she began to pull things out of the fridge while the pot heated up. "I'm going to get this started; you can make sure it doesn't burn right?"
"Why Bianchi, I thought you knew I am absolutely fantastic at burning water."
The magenta haired woman laughed, rolling her eyes at the teen's humor. Natsume excused herself for a quick moment, saying that she was going to change out of her uniform and by the time she got back downstairs, Bianchi had already chopped and thrown in the onions, followed by the sliced pieces of meat.
"Gyudon?"
The Italian woman nodded and moved the pan back and forth so the vegetables she had thrown in cooked all around. She left it to Natsume for the remainder of the time it took to cook, as the woman went about getting ready to leave for the night. Not even twenty minutes later the food was done and Natsume had packed up some food for Bianchi.
"Take care Natsume."
"Bye Bianchi, be safe."
Natsume stayed leaning against the door, enjoying the slight breeze that began. It was fresh at the current moment, compared to earlier when it had gotten all hot and humid – being out on the track with her class today had not been fun, not that said class ever was.
A car pulled up, one that looked oddly familiar. The passenger window rolled down just as the door in the back opened and out came Nana. It was the brunet man she happened to meet every time Dino happened to be in town, she waved at Leonardo, the fair haired man flicking a two finger salute at her back.
Once Nana walked in, the Italian man drove off and the two closed the door behind them.
"Bianchi made gyudon mama, if you're hungry."
The brunette woman nodded, a little taken back at the reception she got when Fuuta and I-pin rushed up to her and wrapped their arms around her legs. The tanned woman chuckled, her hands resting on each child's head respectively.
"Hello you two," Nana smiled, even though it was obvious how tired she was. Natsume went on ahead and began to set the table as Nana was asked by I-pin how Lambo was. Fuuta only looked over at the woman, a whisper niggling in the back of his mind. "Lambo-kun has gotten better, he'll be coming home in a few days."
The nine year old noted how exhausted Tsuna-nii's mother was, could tell how emotionally spent she was because of what happened to Lambo and because the woman sensed something else was going on. Ranked as one of the most understanding mother's, Sawada Nana would wait until either her children or her husband were ready to tell her what was happening.
Fuuta hoped it was soon, because he didn't like seeing Nana constantly worrying and wondering what on earth was happening. It wasn't his place to tell, so he could only hope either Tsuna-nii or Natsume did it, because if it was left up to Iemitsu, the man would continue to hide it from his wife even as he dragged his children into the Mafia.
It was fifteen minutes before eleven when Yamamoto and the others showed up to the fighting grounds. Wisely he ignored the blood thirsty grin that was cast his way, offering up a cheery smile to the other team and hoping his boyish (if a little silly) charm threw the other man off.
The long haired man's smile only got creepier.
Yamamoto would have shivered if it wasn't for the soft cry of a cat, the slight pain of claws digging into his back, and a weight settling on his shoulder.
"Is that –"
Tsuna barely refrained from burying his face in his hands and was proud that he hadn't flinched when an arm flung itself around his shoulder and brought him up against who he assumed was his sister. Peeking through his fingers, he was right. He had thought she would have only come for Lambo's fight, yet unbeknownst to him (and everybody else, including Reborn) she had been spying on them since their training had started.
"Emi wanted to go on a walk, she was rather insistent."
Said cat, who seemed to have understood what its owner said, blinked its amber eyes at Natsume from where she was now cuddled up against Yamamoto's chest, who completely ignored the cats judgmental look. The baseball player seemed a little more relaxed for some odd reason.
"The whole gang's here," Yamamoto chirped as he handed the black cat over to her owner. Watching the little byplay between owner and pet, was a little amusing, especially by the exasperated expression on Natsume's face when the cat perched itself on her shoulder.
"VVVOOOIII! ARE YOU READY TRASH?"
The group of teenagers stared at the loud man – Basil refused to fidget around, Gokudera merely frowned, and Ryohei only slapped Yamamoto on the back as if saying he was with him. Tsuna flicked his eyes from the swordsman to his friend, who was smirking.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
Natsume eyed this all, head dipping down a little, her bangs shadowing her eyes.
When the Cervello popped up and began to lead the group to Building B, they all followed. The building they were led into had Natsume whistling in surprise, she was more curious on how they did such drastic changes to the school without any sign showing that there had been fighting there the following day.
She didn't really listen as the fighting area was explained, instead looking around and letting the boys have their moment together. The area was perhaps one of the worst places for anyone to fight in – water everywhere and with it constantly rising, any surface that they would have had a chance to fight over would soon be covered up.
"Will the Guardians of the Rain please gather in the center, everyone else please find your way out."
A hand landed on the shoulder that wasn't taken up by her cat and she looked up. Yamamoto nodded at her and she did the same back.
"No matter what you come back kicking" she all but ordered him, reaching for him and digging her knuckles into his side. The teen gave her a lopsided smile, his fingers squeezing her shoulder before letting go. With a deep breath, Yamamoto walked towards the center of the building while they exited.
It was Tsuna who came up to her, his eyes on her.
"Tsume…"
"Hmm?"
"What was that?"
Tsuna had noticed when he felt something going on between Yamamoto and his sister and he was curious to know exactly what it was. The girl crossed her arms, eyes squinting as she gave him a fake, closed mouth smile.
"I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Do you like Yamamoto, is that why you did that?" he was curious and maybe that was it? The young Sawada didn't really know how people displayed affection for one another, but maybe that was it. Judging by the affronted look on his sister's face, he was either right or wrong.
Something was telling him he was wrong.
"I jinxed him."
What.
The evil eye he got was also telling him to not push it.
At least for now.
Reborn only pretended he wasn't listening in and was curious himself to find out what Natsume meant. He caught up quickly with the others who had pulled ahead of the siblings. When they finally stepped into the designated spectator's box, the Cerevello had finished telling the two participants the rules and what was to be expected.
"Now for the Ring of Rain: Superbi Squalo versus Yamamoto Takeshi – let the battle begin!"
Yamamoto breathed heavily.
The match had been going so well. His left hand was shaking, he couldn't bring it to hold his sword, the cut across his stomach and the one going down his front were starting burn worse the more drenched in water he got.
It hurt getting up from where he had laid, eyes narrowed as he stared up at Squalo.
'Autumn Rain?' he had no clue what the swordsman was talking about, but he knew he wasn't losing, not yet. All he had to do was focus now and get his left hand to move along properly so he could prove that he was good and not at all the worthless idiot the long haired man tried to make him feel like.
Calm settled over him as he stood up once more, legs actually supporting him instead of giving out on him like they had the first time he tried to get up after Squalo's final attack. He gave a shuddering breath and forced himself up, jumping up to meet the swordsman one last time.
Squalo heard the kid get up and while he wasn't at all impressed with him, he would give the brat points for being stubborn about it.
Not that that would help him now.
He should have just stayed lying down, now he was definitely going to die by his hand only to make sure the brat wouldn't be getting up again.
"Fine! Let's go brat!"
'Pouring Rain.'
The move got Squalo by surprise as his Autumn Rain was taken down by the kid. It was the silver haired man's turn to breath heavily, a weird smile spreading over his features as he watched the kid settle int another pose.
"Swinging that around like a bat won't help you kid," he pushed himself up, now completely serious as he brought his sword up. "I'll fucking show you how it's done!"
'Scontro di Squalo.'
Yamamoto waited and as the wall of water and pure power descended upon him, he moved. The bamboo sword changed once more as he brought up his own wave of water, one that arced over him. He moved quickly enough to get out of the way, not noticing the way the blue flames lit and made him appear fuzzy.
He watched as Squalo slashed behind him and he took the chance to attack him from his side.
The man's surprised look wasn't something he wanted to see as he cut him down, but it was the only way to end this. Squalo fell face first into the water, barely maneuvering his body so that he wouldn't drown. Silver eyes watched as the brat before him reached and unclasped the chain around his neck and joined the two ring halves.
"Match over: Yamamoto Takeshi is the winner."
Squalo snorted, ignoring the way his nose burned as he inhaled water afterwards. By the way his stump ached, he didn't dare wonder how Xanxus was feeling – if anything the bastard was probably a little too pleased at him having lost.
The little flame she had touched Yamamoto with was fading away and soon the boy's consciousness would go with it. Natsume turned away, her brows scrunching up as she felt a familiar presence, she didn't notice Reborn's smirk that he quickly hid away behind his hand.
The collective shouts that came from the boys around her had her looking over her shoulder up at the screen to watch as the Varia's Rain was engulfed by a shark.
She swallowed, disgust welling in her and a little urge to vomit.
That was horrendous; did these people seriously not give a damn about each other? She already knew the question to that what with having seen the Sun Guardian nearly killed off, the way the Lightening Guardian was written off after he had won (even if it was against a five year old). She couldn't really speak for the Storm Guardian, the boy was completely insane.
Yamamoto had made his way to them, limping as the last bit of Natsume's flame that encouraged his body to continue on faded away. She would feel bad about that later, knowing that the way the teen had moved would have aggravated his injuries much more especially since he couldn't really feel them once her 'jinx' took effect.
Sometimes she was happy that school on Saturday's were only half days. Most of the time she wondered why they had school on a Saturday even though she had long ago come to terms with it.
Well at least it was Saturday and school was over.
She could go off and do as she pleased and didn't have to worry about anything school related until Sunday night.
For now she could go visit Lambo and check in to see if Yamamoto was still wrapped up like a mummy.
"Natsume!"
Kyoko's voice had her looking over her shoulder, the girl was running after her and Natsume waited for her to catch up. The auburn haired girl was breathing rather heavily, though once she straightened up the girl was giving her a very determined look.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure?"
"What's really going on at those meetings my brother goes to at night?"
Oh.
No.
Would it come up to her to break the news to her friend that her brother had unknowingly been chosen to be a part of a mafia group. The boxer seemed to realize that these battles were serious, though she had a feeling he didn't understand exactly just how serious they were.
"I can't really answer that, because I barely even know what's happening."
Why did she feel bad about lying to Kyoko? The charm bracelet on her wrist seemed a little heavier as the girl looked at her with those trusting doe eyes of hers. If anything Kyoko looked a little disappointed that she didn't know, if the girl tried to tell her that her brother was a part of it too, well Natsume could throw that back at her.
"I just hope nothing terrible comes of it."
"Yeah," she sighed out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her hands rested against the strap of her bag, fingers rubbing at the soft leather. "Say, I'm going to go visit Lambo, did you want to come with me?"
Kyoko didn't really think much on it as she stepped up beside Natsume and linked her arm with hers. The sandy haired teen felt warmth on her cheeks as Kyoko took the lead, bringing her along as she began to jabber on about the assignments and projects of her clubs.
Natsume listened, knowing that Kyoko was just trying to push back her worries by trying to focus on something else. She added in her two cents every so often up until they reached floor where Lambo was staying in.
A somber silence descended upon the two girls as they came upon Lambo's room, quickly replaced by quiet cheer from Kyoko and an elated laugh from Natsume.
There on the hospital bed sat Lambo, a wide grin on his face as he spoke in rapid Italian to Bianchi. When those green eyes of his caught sight of them, he called out to them, waving wildly even though the movement made him wince in pain.
"Ane! Kyoko-nee!"
"Who is the mist guardian?" Gokudera asked Tsuna as they all stood outside of the gymnasium, waiting for said person to show up. He ran through the list of names that it could possibly be, but he was sure if Natsume had been chosen she would have already been there.
The brunet only shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing himself, even though it felt like he already had a feeling of who it was.
He just really hoped it wasn't them.
When Ken and Chikusa showed up, Tsuna only barely stopped from putting his face in his hands. So his father had really gone ahead and chosen him. The one thing he would give Mukuro was that he was strong, but having him as someone he could trust? Tsuna wasn't so sure about that.
As they were ushered in and told by the Cervello that their mist guardian had two minutes to show up, he tried not to panic.
Was Mukuro hoping to make a grand entrance?
It was the sound of two female voices that made Tsuna breath in relief. Though last he remembered, Mukuro did not have a feminine voice and would definitely not be talking to his sister of all people.
The girl that walked in beside Natsume was what Tsuna would have thought Mukuro would look like if he were a girl or had a sister.
"That's your boss, Dokuro-chan."
"Please, call me Chrome, Natsume-san."
It was very forward of the girl to address his sister as such, by the shit eating grin on her face she wasn't bothered at all.
"Sure, sure."
Just what was his sister getting up too?
First what she had done to Yamamoto and now she was willingly chatting along with a complete stranger who could possibly have ties to Mukuro? He didn't have much time to wonder over it as the shorter girl approached him, bowing slightly once she stopped before him.
"Boss."
There was a strangled shout and if he would have looked up, he would have caught Natsume putting Gokudera in a headlock. The half lidded look that the sandy haired teen aimed at both Yamamoto and Ryohei had the other guardians holding their hands up.
"She's not possessed by Mukuro, for fucks sake."
Well if Natsume said so and he too trusted his own instincts and the girl before him was her own person.
"I believe you're not," he said, loud enough for the others to hear him. The way her one eye crinkled and showed her emotions very openly made Tsuna blush, he was completely sure his face was a much darker color when she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
There was a sputtering sound and a snicker, "Awe, Tsuna has mafia seduction~"
He gave his sister the stink eye, who responded by sticking out her tongue.
Why was she suddenly so playful?
"I'll be going then, boss."
She headed off into the designated battle area and Tsuna hoped that she was strong enough to face against the Varia's Mist Guardian. The feeling he got from that weird baby was similar to that of Reborn, but he couldn't be too sure.
Maybe he was just over thinking everything.
It was an interesting battle to witness.
Natsume wondered how her sensei would fare against the now revealed arcobaleno. She herself wondered how she would fight against him. Her arms were crossed against her chest, face devoid of emotion as she watched.
The ground beneath her feet gave way to heat, she didn't flinch away. The illusion of it merely went through her, the force behind it making her hair whip around. Someone pulled her, a hiss escaping them as they let themselves be burned.
She didn't give them any attention, noticing how the others in the room felt the sudden cold that put out the supposed heat.
An illusionist's strength is only as strong through another's will to believe what's happening around them. You disbelieve them and they cannot harm you. But if they disbelieve you, you will be easy pickings.
The girl had it in her to be a great illusionist, she just needed someone to be there for her and continue pushing her forward.
A chill ran up her spine.
"Rokudo Mukuro is here!"
That explained it, the intensity of the battle sky rocketed, the room twisted and turned and even Natsume was being affected. Not as much as the boys, Ryohei had crouched down on the ground, Gokudera was breathing in deeply and out to keep from being sick.
Tsuna was holding his head, a pained whimper leaving him.
Natsume was at his side, reaching out for him when he straightened up, eyes wide and filled with terror as he looked on where Mukuro stood. The sandy haired teen dropped her hands back to her side, a frown marring her face as she returned her attention to the battle.
They all held their breath as Mukuro's form was enveloped by Mammon's cloak, the babe's little animal circling around it and driving spikes into the figure that was captured. Laughter filled the air as pieces of fabric floated down and their stood Mukuro in all his smirking glory, fiddling with two pieces of metal in his hand.
"He got the rings."
"It's not over!"
Marmon materialized and everyone held their breath as they considered how the battle could continue on. Mukuro's shoulders shook from his laughter as he made a wide gesture with his arms.
"Your illusions have been taken over by mine," the teen told the small babe rather politely, mirth coloring his tone, "You're in my world now."
The ground broke and everyone was free falling, an explosion occurred, one that shook the walls of the gym and they were all standing on solid ground once more. A puff of smoke and the piece of a cloak falling to the floor was the only evidence that Mammon had been there.
"He killed him?" Tsuna asked a little dazed.
"No," Natsume answered, completely aware when the blond baby and Reborn hovered over them. "They ran away."
All the boys turned to look at her, but she brushed them off as she kept her eyes on the figure that sauntered up to them. Mukuro smirked down at her and the others, the complete mist ring already sitting on his left hand's ring finger.
"Match over: The winner is Chrome Dokuro."
While Gokudera did a good imitation of an offended cat, his figurative tail bristling she looked over the Mist Guardian. His shoulders were a little hunched, his breathing a little heavier than usual, all signs that he had over expended himself to win.
Or the body he was using was starting to go out on him.
She heard her brother thank Mukuro – Mukuro of all people – and the teen only closed his eyes as he scoffed. He changed abruptly as he fell forward, neither Ken nor Chikusa moving quick enough to catch the girl.
The girl didn't so much as hit the ground, that she was merely laid down. She could see the last wisps of Mukuro's flame leave her and gave the other teen a point in not being a complete ass, compared to his fellow Kokuyo members.
Seriously what the fuck was their issue?
Just walking off and leaving the girl behind. From the short introduction she had (let it never be said that Natsume was not Tsuna's sister, she nearly tripped the girl up when she was making her way to the gym and didn't notice her in the way), Chrome Dokuro was sweet and perhaps one of the purest people she had met.
Almost like Kyoko, except that Kyoko wouldn't walk around with a trident and wasn't as willing to use said weapon to stab others like Chrome had done during her battle.
"What are you thinking?" it was Reborn who surprisingly asked, not Tsuna.
"If I throw dog treats, will that flea bag chase after them?"
"Natsume!"
She huffed, almost prissily as she stuck her nose in the air. Tsuna had that same tone in his voice that mama used when she caught Natsume cursing.
"Treat people nicely!"
"I do!"
There was a smothered cough from Yamamoto and a clearing of throat from Gokudera, who suddenly had the teen's full attention on them. While that went on, Colonello approached Reborn, looking over at the squabbling teens.
"She's a character."
Reborn only shook his head, "She's acting."
Or in a really good mood.
AN: Wow I did not realize this ended so adruptly. Totally my bad. Uh, yeah?
When Mukuro says 'You're in my world now' all I think is of Dr. Facilier singing from Princess and The Frog.
Another note, when Natsume says she jinxed Yamamoto, she did. She influenced his body to believe that it wasn't as badly injured as he was thinking it was, which was why she felt bad afterwards cause he pushed past his pains and actually made his injuries worse. I honestly believe that Mist Flames users are able to do as they please as long as no one over powers them - having been training with Kawahira and having to use her will against that man she's actually pretty strong.
Questions, comments, concerns, I'm all for it.
I'm actually not too happy with this chapter, but if you guys like it, I guess that's cool. If not...well...I will try to do better.
Until Next time.
Sorugao