FWG: I don't own KHR, only my OC's.
Reasons Why You Shouldn't... ... Have an Anticlimactic Ending
Not five minutes later, Fon stood next to a beaten up Stubs. The Chinese Arcobaleno didn't have one scratch on him. He looked towards Stubs, his expression unreadable. "Can you please tell us what you meant when you said, 'I have to find Shrimp and the shrimp'?"
Aria stood still, dumbfounded at what just happened. Hibari was off to the side, a smirk on his face. Stubs looked at Fon, in a mix of wonderment and horror.
The three of them had different reactions, but their thoughts were similar. 'A baby can do something like this…' Only Hibari knew that Fon wasn't really a baby, but he didn't know what Fon was either.
"D- Don't you guys know?" Stubs snapped at Fon after he regained his senses. "Hmp. You're really out of the loop, aren't you?"
"Huh? What's he saying?" Aria asked Fon. Although she couldn't understand Stubs, she knew that she was being insulted. Stubs eyebrows furrowed at her question, he couldn't understand English anymore than she could Japanese, but ignored her.
"Answer the question, and you can go on your way." Fon said calmly. His face was so calm and relaxed that it was impossible to know what he was thinking. The other three in the hallway had no idea on just how upset Fon was.
It was his decision to bring Aria and Yuri to the Hibari manor and under forty-eight hours both of them were kidnapped by delinquents. While he knew that the group wasn't much, compared to some of the other organizations that Fon knew, he knew better to think that they would just let Yuri go.
Fon was an Arcobaleno, an assassin, but unlike others he still held a moral code. He was the type of person who understood the sometimes death was necessary if you wanted to win, and has already gotten use to the concept that you couldn't save everyone.
To be truthful, if the circumstances were even a little different, Fon wouldn't be standing there right now, questioning Stubs. If he were the one who was kidnaped, he would have dealt with the situation by himself. If he didn't feel responsible for Aria and Yuri, he would be on another job somewhere in Japan.
But Fon took Aria and Yuri to the Hibari manor. Fon made the two girls targets for the delinquents. As a person with a moral code and honor, he couldn't turn his back when on of them was in danger.
At least he couldn't, right now. Fon had no idea what the future would bring them, the girls from another version of Earth, but as long as they lived in the Hibari manor, Fon would stand up for them.
"Or what?" Stubs sneered, "What can a baby like you do?" Stubs already knew that Fon wasn't an average baby, but like how Aria refused to see reality, he couldn't acknowledge that a baby was stronger than him.
"Very well. I apologize in advance. I'd rather not resort to those methods, but we have to find Yuri-chan before the time limit." Fon spoke softly. The Arcobaleno turned to Hibari, "Kyoya, can you take Aria on ahead. I'll catch up later."
"What are you saying? Fon?"
"Hn." Hibari grunted and started pulling Aria past Stubs and Fon. "Hey!" Aria shouted surprised, "What are you doing? Let me go!"
"Thank you." Fon bowed to Hibari, avoiding looking Aria in the eyes. She was a civilian, innocent in his mind. He knew that what he was going to do would terrify her.
"Idiot Baby. I don't know how you beat me before, but don't' think the same thing will happen twice," Stubs laughed, as he finally stood up again. "Sending those two on ahead won't change anything, I'll just deal with them after I teach you a lesson about respecting your elders!"
"Your right," Fon's bangs shadowed his face, "This time things won't end with you paralyzed for a few minutes."
Stubs didn't have enough time to register the meaning of Fon's words, when the Arcobaleno jump on him. "I'm sorry, but I have to finish this quick." Fon spoke in a regretful tone, but he didn't hesitate in any of his hits.
Shrimp, being the wise fortune teller that he was, knew what Fon was about to and knew that Yuri, despite her uncaring attitude, Shrimp knew that the younger girl (Shrimp is in his early twenties) was not ready to see what Fon had in store for Stubs.
Before Yuri could react, Shrimp pulled her into his lap, buried her face in his chest, and covered her ears. "Idiot. I'm doing this for your own good," he hissed when Yuri elbowed him in the stomach.
She was about to make a rebuttal, when a shrill scream echoed throughout the entire school. Yuri froze in Shrimp's arms and the male turned female tightened his grip on the chibified teenager.
Although he came off as a cold-hearted, emotionless person, and while Shrimp did take pleasure in watching other people suffer, he was not so cruel to expose Yuri to the brute force that Fon was displaying.
He knew that Yuri wasn't innocent as people thought she was, in fact he knew that she pretty 'dark' for a civilian. But that was just it, she was only a civilian. Even if Yuri was prepared to enter the cruel world known as the underworld, Shrimp knew that if Yuri witnessed what Fon was doing, she would lose her resolve and break.
Yuri knew, the moment that she figured out that she was in 'Reborn!', that she would have to be involved with the mafia at some point. And she knew that she had a high chance being exposed to violence and death.
To begin with, Yuri was a realistic teenager. She understood the way that the world worked, but she never tried to fit in with it because she couldn't stand the nature of things.
Deep down, she was an optimist at heart, and because of that, she would always look for the good, the happy ending, so that everyone could be happy. But that clashes with the realist part of her that knew that not everyone could be happy.
It's like one of the character's from her anime's always said, "Saving one person means not being able to save another." In that instance, he was talking about killing one to save another, though, but the overall meaning is the same.
'If you want to be happy, you have to crush other's happiness, before they crush yours.'
That was the saying that Yuri lived by, but despite that, she still wished that everyone could just live happy. Two parts of herself fighting over what to do, what reaction to show, and when to show it.
The realist verses the optimist.
Yuri knew this all to well, she knew her own weakness better than anyone. She understood that if she ever hoped to survive in this world (or her own), she had deal with her problems.
Problems don't get solved overnight, Yuri was still a realist, but an optimist at heart. Shrimp knew this, he saw bits of her past and he knew what was going to happen before he did.
He knew that she was still in the middle of finding herself, that no matter how she acted, right now Yuri was at her weakest. She was fragile, and would break easily. That being said, Shrimp also knew of the potential that she had. There was a chance that she could grow into something unbreakable.
At least mentally.
Aria was the same, if she could get over her demons, she could gain strength that couldn't be measured.
'Really?' Shrimp scoffed silently, 'whoever decided to put these two together was either a genius or madman… No, madwoman.' His eyes narrowed underneath his beanie as Yuri started to shake.
Stubs had stopped screaming a while ago, right now he was telling Fon that Shrimp had disappeared with Yuri, but Yuri still clung to Shrimp. The sound of Stub's scream was fresh in her mind.
Shrimp was a sadistic bastard who enjoyed other's pain and sorrow, but he knew how much potential Shrimp and her sister had. And for him wasting that hidden potential, because she had seen something that she wasn't ready to, would have been too cruel to put into words.
So he decided, that he would protect her. He would make sure that Yuri grew to find her full potential. He wanted to see it, the path that she would take. Let it be known that Shrimp was a cunning, sadistic bastard, and he wanted to know what was in store for the two sisters.
Right now, both of them were weak. They had their own problems to solve, inner-demons to face. But they shared a potential strength. A strength that could change not only the underworld, but polite society as well.
Shrimp couldn't wait to see, which path they would take. Would they stick together? Or would they part ways? Would they stay friends? Or become enemies?
So many different possibilities, most of them cruel in there own way. Shrimp knew that if stuck with the sisters, he would get his entertainment. He had known, since he first laid eyes on Aria.
But he was patient. He could wait, that's all it was now. Waiting the road to split. It wouldn't be long. Two years, that's all it would take. Shrimp smirked inwardly. In two years time the fun would begin.
But with Shrimp's limited and incomplete visions, it was impossible for him to know, the reason behind the sister's cruel fates… Nor, how it was all connected.
Aria tensed when she heard Stubs' scream, she was half tempted to pull away from Hibari and run back to Fon. But she didn't. She couldn't make herself go back down the hallway, and down the stairs to where Fon and Stubs were.
There was only one reason, she only had one reason for not turning back, and that was because she was smart. Aria was smart enough to know that it was Fon who sent her and Hibari ahead, even if she couldn't understand Japanese.
She was already having doubts about this being just a dream, but Aria knew that Fon could handle himself, just like how she knew that Yuri was okay. If you were to ask her, she would call it 'a woman's intuition'.
Aria didn't know Fon, to her, he was just a baby who could speak three languages, had a pet monkey, and owned his own stand. But Aria knew that he was calm and well rounded person. He wouldn't ask for her and Hibari to go on ahead, if he didn't think that he couldn't catch up.
That was what Aria thought, and so she after a pause, she continued to follow Hibari down the hallway. Hibari glanced at her, when her pace picked up and let go of her arm. If she could handle herself, he saw no reason to continue to lead her around.
Hibari suddenly stopped in front of a classroom, causing Aria to run into his back. "Hey! Why'd you stop?"
"Wha! Rin-nee! Rin-nee, he's here! He's here!" A dark haired teenager boy in kakis, a cow print shirt, leather jacket, and a cow shaped hat was panicking a few feet in front of them. "What do we do? What do we do?!"
"Min, calm down. He's not doing anything." A short haired woman in a yellow sundress told the boy calmly.
"Hn," Hibari glared at the two teens in front of him, itching for a fight. "He-Hey. Are they enemies too?" Aria asked uncertain. Hibari's English wasn't that good, but he understood what Aria was asking.
Which made him even more aggravated. To him, Aria was nothing more than a Herbivore, just like everyone who he knew. Even if she could fight, and had the potential to be something other than a Herbivore, all of her annoying questions that he barely understood were grating on his nerves.
"Stay back, Herbivore." Hibari pushed Aria back with one hand as he reached for his tonfas.
"What?" Aria's face twisted in shock as she fell to the ground. Out of all of the things that she expected him to do, pushing her to the ground was not one of them. A moment of silence had passed, and then the dam broke.
Normally Aria was a calm person, she wasn't as collected as her sister, but she was better at controlling her emotions. She was good at hiding her anger, controlling herself so she didn't do anything that she would regret.
At least, that's what she normally does, but for some reason, Hibari got on Aria's nerves in way that no one has ever done before. And she was easier to anger because of it.
"What the fucking hell?" Aria snapped at him. She pointed to the skylark's turned back angrily. "Why did you just push me down? You fucking retard!"
Hibari glared at her from the corner of his eye, she was even more annoying now that she was yelling. Even if she was Yuri's sister, if she kept this up, he was going to have to make her shut up.
"I'll bite you to death," he growled at the two people in front of him, ignoring Aria completely. "Don't ignore me asshole!" Aria got to feet, glaring at Hibari.
"Hn," Hibari moved to bea- fight the girl in front of him.
"Whhhaa! Rin-nee, he's attacking!" The boy cried out to his older sister. "Stay calm, Min. It's just like practice, remember?" The girl told her brother as she moved to block Hibari's tonfas with her batons.
"Rin-nee," The teenager calmed down, "You're right. This won't be the same as last time." And so he too, joined in on the fight against Hibari.
Aria watched the three of them silently. Hibari was holding his own against the two siblings. Rin was holding Hibari off with her batons, making sure that the skylark didn't get past her and Min was attacking from a distance with a whip. Hibari, himself, was deflecting most of the attacks with relative ease.
Now if Aria was thinking calmly, she would have tried to help Hibari, but (un)fortunately, she wasn't. She was pissed, and not in the right state of mind. "Bastard, don't fucking ignore me!"
Leaping up, Aria did the first thing that came to mind, and that was to kick the-person-who-pissed-her-off's butt. Unlike last time she wasn't mad at the people who kidnaped and threatened her sister, no, this time she was pissed off at Hibari.
That was why she aimed a straight punch for Hibari's back. But he was Hibari Kyoya, the most feared delinquent in all of Namimori, he would never allow anyone to sneak up on him, let alone allow someone to hit his back.
In one solid movement, Hibari caught Min's whip with his tonfas, landed a strike in Rin's gut, and countered Aria's attack- sending her flying through a window.
Yuri ignored the screens in front of them, to glare at her capture. "When are you going to let me go?" Shrimp looked down to the girl on his lap emotionlessly, and Yuri shivered at the stiff expression on his visible face.
"Hmm, so you want to go join Hibari and them?" Shrimp asked her. Yuri didn't know Shrimp, they weren't friends, and they were barely acquaintances, but Yuri did know one thing about Shrimp's personality.
He loved to tease people. The question that Shrimp asked her, normally he would ask in a playful tone, but he was emotionless. Serious, Yuri realized. "Shrimp? What's with the change of attitude?"
"You know," Shrimp pulled out one of his cards from his cloak, "My gang, as you call them, thinks that I can only use my ability whenever I have my cards out, but you see… That's a lie."
"Shrimp?" Yuri gave him a confused look, but he just ignored her. "I can have visions whenever I want. The cards don't even do anything, they're just decorations." He let a bark of laughter that made Yuri visibly flinch.
"Most of the visions are blurry and confusion, but as the event gets closer the vision gets clearer," he pocketed the card and took something else from his pockets, "I knew that I would need this, I just didn't think that I would be using it against you."
"Shrimp? What are you-" Yuri froze when she saw what was in Shrimp's hands, a needle. "Wait! Shrimp!" Yuri tried to struggle against his grip. "Sorry, Yuri." Shrimp said without emotion as he brought the needle down on her neck.
~~ Aria's POV ~~
Everything was red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red.
Then I heard the sound of glass breaking. A once smooth, pristine object shattering into a thousand different pieces. And everything was cool calming the never-ending red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. Into a dull black.
I felt the wind blow my hair into the face, a soothing notion. The previous pent up frustrations disappeared, like never existing in the first place. As my body began to relax, I could feel my eyelids gain weight.
I was so very tired, it felt like I haven't slept in ages. Even though I knew that this was all just a dream. Maybe, I thought, just maybe, if I fall asleep now, I'll wake back home.
Mom and Dad will be sitting at my hospital bed side, and say how worried they were. Yuri would be staying afterschool to catch up on another missing assignment and ask me to help her.
John and James will come down from Penn State. Taking a break from their studies just to see if I was okay.
Rebecca will show up the next day, and tell me about everything that has happen since I fell asleep. Maybe Alex will make an appearance too. I have no idea of what I would do if he did show up, the last time we saw each other…
Just how did everything end up this way? Why can't things just go back to how they were?
I spent the first eight years of my life as the youngest of three. John and James, were fraternal twins, they did everything together, but were complete opposites. John was loved sports he could never sit still. James, on the other hand, loved learning. He had a first for knowledge like no other.
The two of them were six years older than me. When I was younger I used to be jealous of the two of them. Popular with their friends, well liked by the teachers. I thought that everyone was comparing me to them, and that I could never measure up.
Eventually I realized that just part of having siblings. You're bound to feel resentment for them, but you love them anyways. What's that saying? The grass is always greener on the other side.
My best friend is my cousin, Rebecca. We shared the same interest and hobbies, and better yet we were the same age. As kids we used to play with each other every other day, weather we liked it or not. Even now, after all of these years, she's still the first person I go to with my secrets.
Then there was Alex, he was the rascal little kid next door. By proximity we where childhood friends. But he had to move away right after Elementary School, and I didn't get to see him again until High School. He was my first crush, Mom called it 'playground love'.
Mom worked with a computer programing company. It wasn't one of the big time ones that supplied the government with their firewalls, but it paid the bills.
Dad was a retired agent. He didn't talk much about his jobs, but I knew that he's worked with the FBI and CIA. I didn't like asking what he did, I saw enough of a cop's life on tv. I knew how damaging it was for them, so I never brought it up in conversation.
At first, I tried my best at staying ahead of my class. Not because I wanted to know more, not because someone was pressuring me, but because I wanted to prove that I was better than me older brothers. At recess, I would always play kickball or basketball, trying to get the high score.
It was a child's jealousy, but it shaped me to be who I am today.
Then everything changed, I didn't know it then, I thought that it was just another one of Mom's and Dad's fights. They had been fighting getting more frequent, and the fights had been getting worse.
It was late one night, I remember it particularly because there was this huge storm that knocked out the power on our block and the house was filled with candles. Lightning flashed in the background, moments later there was a clash of thunder.
It was like a scene from a horror movie. I couldn't sleep and had gone to my parent's room to ask if I could sleep with them that night. I was scared that I was going to have a nightmare. Standing outside their door I heard the entire conversation.
Most of it escapes me now, but I remember what it was about. They were arguing about someone, a girl. Dad wanted to help her and Mom said that we shouldn't stick our necks out for a stranger.
They went at for what felt like hours, and I stood there listening to every world. I can still picture the scene. Me standing in my Barney pajamas with my baby blanket wrapped around my shoulders and my favorite stuffed bear in my hands, shivering at the cold and jumping at every sound.
Eventually, they realized that I was there and they acted like the fight never happened. Naturally I didn't say anything either, and acted like I never heard a thing. There is one thing, though, that Mom said to Dad. 'Do what you want. But just remember that she'll be your responsibility.'
I didn't know what she meant at the time, I thought I was hallucinating, but looking back I know what she meant when she said that. 'Don't expect me to treat her like she's mine.'
A week after the storm had passed, Dad came home late from work. So late, in fact, that he didn't get home until morning. I was so happy to see him, I ran up and hugged him.
Then I saw the figure behind him. The small figure of a girl younger than me, my attention went straight towards her eyes. Eyes are the gateway to the soul, Dad used to tell me, they tell you all you need to know about a person.
When I first looked at her, I thought that she was a ghost, but then I noticed that she was breathing. It was steady, slow and shallow. Ghosts don't breathe, therefore she had to be human.
I looked into the stranger eyes, and I saw something that should never be in a child's eyes. A child's eyes should be filed with hopes and dreams and innocence, but the girl's eyes had none of those things.
They were red and puffy from crying, black bags that meant she didn't get any sleep for the past few nights, and what struck home for me, they were lifeless. Dad said that you could learn everything about a person by looking into their eyes and I understood.
Just by looking into her eyes, I could tell that the girl was defeated- a shell of her former self- and without hope for herself. I didn't know what had happened to her, and I still don't, but I knew that she needed someone to stand by her more than anything.
Not five seconds after we first met, I jumped off my stool and hugged, for no reason other than I knew that she needed it. After I let go of her, I felt Dad kneel down next to us.
'Go on, why don't you two introduce yourselves?'
That's when I noticed my rudeness, someone just doesn't hug another, for no reason. A total stranger too.
'Hello! My name's Aria and I'm eight years old.' I counted out the number eight on my fingers. 'Yu-' She paused and looked towards Dad (a terrified glance), but after a nod from him she regained her courage. 'Yuri. I'm six.'
After that we got into a conversation about how Yuri, the defeated stranger, was to be my new sister. I was glad, for once I wasn't the youngest, I didn't have to worry about people comparing me to my siblings. But the other way around.
For a moment I felt guilty about forcing the girl into that position, a position I myself hated, but I shrugged it off and continued eating my breakfast.
Several years had passed since Yuri's arrival and there were changes. I grew apart from Rebecca, after she was sent to a private catholic school. And I grew closer to Yuri.
She never told me about what happened in her past, but one time she let it slip that I reminded her of her older sister. 'Onee-sama' she called her, I didn't know what it meant, but I assumed that it was just a nickname.
The two of us where put into different years, and even now I don't know anything about her school life, other than the few of her friends that I knew. She always internalized everything, never letting anyone know.
I didn't realize it at first. I thought that everything was okay. The dead look in her eyes had vanished, she looked like any other girl her age. It wasn't until that incident that I started to realize that Yuri was just playing the part.
It was in the last months of me freshman year of high school. Alex and Rebecca were going to same school as me, we were in the same class and everything. But it wasn't the same as when we where kids.
Rebecca was friends with the theater kids, she even got herself a lead role in the school's play. Alex was a member of the popular kids, who never paid any attention in class, but was somehow at the top of the grade. And I was an athlete, the star of the track team.
I managed to make a new friend, Juliet. Like me, she was a member of the track team. I had thought that the two of us would be friends forever, but I was dead wrong.
I barely knew Juliet. I thought that I did, we had a lot of classes together and we where members of the same club. I didn't think she had anything to hide, just like how I thought Yuri was better.
I was an idiot for not realizing it sooner. I should have noticed the warning signs. I should have done something. Instead all I could do was watch… I was powerless then, just like how I'm powerless now.
The one thing that I can be thankful for is that Yuri never tried to jump… Not like Juliet. I wonder, did she feel like this as she fell, moments before she hit the ground and her life ended.
Just like a bug. Splat. Is that all humans are bugs, waiting to killed off by something so big we can't even see it? If that's the case, I won't except it!
I have choices and I make choices. I chose if I should live or die, no one else. Nothing else has that power over me! I won't let anyone, or anything, boss me around. Screw Fate and all divine powers.
I'm in control of my life. I chose what to do, and when to do. I won't make the same choices that Juliet did. I refuse to die!
The cold blackness of the night turned orange and burned. I felt the burning heat of the flames around me. For a moment I panicked, who started the fire, but then I realized that the flames weren't burning me.
I could feel them, hot burning against my skin, but I was not being burned. "Just what…" In my moment of realization then flames spurted out, leaving me hanging in the night sky.
I didn't even realize that the flames were keeping me from falling until after I hit the ground. Thankfully the fall wasn't that big and I didn't die or gain any serious injuries.
Everything just hurt like hell. Seriously, I thought that it was painful to get sliced in the hand with a sword. Try falling from the second story, floating in mid-air, and then falling again. Hurts like hell, indeed.
"That's it," I groaned barely managing to sit up, "There's officially no way that this is all just a dream."
A sat there, leaning against my arms, looking up at the night sky. Thinking about my realization. How could this be real? It didn't even look real, for god's sake! Could it be what Yuri said, a parallel world?
Oh, god! Yuri, she's a baby. Like an actual baby. How the fucking hell is that possible? Bad, Aria, cussing is a bad thing. Cussing is a very bad thing. Think of the children!
Those were my thoughts when Hibari suddenly jumped from the window- the same window that I just fell from- and landed next to me without a scratch on him. Wait a minute! I didn't fall I was pushed! By this presumptuous bastard!
"Come on," he said in broken English, "We are leaving." What? "What about Yuri? We need to find her!"
A strange expression crossed his face, one that I couldn't describe, and then he let out what I think was a sigh. What was his problem? Last I checked no one pushed him to the ground and then out a window.
No he just jumped all by himself! Asshole. I was about to tell him off when he suddenly threw me over his shoulder and started to walk off.
0000000
Hibari, Min, and Rin watched Aria falling in silence. Min and Rin thought that she was dead for sure, and both had their own resentment about how a civilian got involved and lost her life. Hibari didn't care if Aria survived or not, but he knew that Yuri would be upset if her sister died and he made a point to never upset anyone (or thing) that fell into the 'cute and small' category.
Babies (he does she Yuri as a child mind you) crying makes him feel like a Herbivore, and Hibari Kyoya is no Herbivore. Just as Hibari was debating weather he should save Aria (to avoid the situation described above) or let her suffer the fate of every crowding Herbivore, something unexpected happened.
Aria, the normal civilian and crowding Herbivore, was on fire. To be accurate a soft orange flame had consumed her entire body. Letting her float a few meters off the ground.
Hibari had no clue what the flame was, but he knew that he no longer had to bother with saving Aria- because she was saving herself. Perhaps she is not as much of a Herbivore as I originally thought, Hibari smirked.
"N-No way! R-Rin-n-nee?" Min took two steps back, fear evident in his eyes. "I know, Minotaurus. It seems that Shrimp didn't tell us the truth when he said that those two were 'just civilians'. I don't know of any civilian that can use Dying Will Flames without burning themselves."
"B-But it's impossible! Those flames are Sky flames! All of us looked through everyone in Namimori, and the only person who had Sky Flames was the Decimo candidate."
"But what if Shrimp was hiding her, personally? Or if she was in a neighboring town until now?" Rin crossed her arms, "Either way, there's more at play here. We should retreat and wait for further orders."
"Eh? But what about Stubs?" Min asked his sister, throwing a concerned look down the hallway. "The one who stayed behind to fight him was the infant. Even if he doesn't know anything about Dying Will Flames, he can't loose to a baby."
Hibari, tired of their crowding and acting like he wasn't in front of them, was getting ready to attack, when the baby in question appeared from the shadows.
"If you're talking about you friend, I'm afraid he's taking a nap downstairs." Fon eyes narrowed slightly, noticing that Aria was covered in Sky Flames. At this point Aria was just realizing that the flames were in fact, there, causing the flames to disappear, and she crashed on the ground.
"Wha? Rin-nee, I thought you said that an infant couldn't possibly beat Stubs!" Min screeched, making the other three wince. "You idiot, Min, look at his chest. He's an Arcobaleno!" Rin gestured to the red pacifier hanging from Fon's neck.
"What another one?" Min practically jumped in the air out of fear, nearly hitting the ceiling. "I thought that one was bad enough… How are we going to deal with two of them…"
"Oh? I thought that you were just a bunch of thugs, but if you know what I am, perhaps I was mistaken." Fon tilted his head to the side, "Interesting, you friend didn't mention anything about it."
As if sensing the on coming threat (Hibari was really pissed that everyone was ignoring him), Rin jumped backward. "Min, we're leaving. Now." Without arguing with her, Min followed after his sister.
Hibari was about to pursue the two of them, when Fon jumped onto his shoulder. "Leave them be, I managed to get Yuri-chan's location."
Hibari paused for minute, thought about the pro's and cons of going after them, and deciding to let the Herbivores be- for now anyways. "Hn."
"Good. Now while, I go get her, you go get Aria-san." When Hibari was about to argue, Fon flashed a dangerous smile, "If you don't want to go get her, then maybe you shouldn't have pushed her out the window in the first place."
Hibari narrowed his eyes at the Arcobaleno, "I expect an explanation later," and then he jumped out the window. Neither of them had to be told what Hibari wanted explained.
Fon smiled secretively, before dipping his head. "You can come out now, little one." Holding out one hand, Fon waited patiently as a small green lizard crawled out from his arm sleeve and jumped to the floor.
"Good," Fon nodded, "Now, show me the way to your Master, Leon-san."
"Whaa! Why did you do that Shrimp-kun?" Fiona asked her other self, shocked that her male counterpart would put Yuri to sleep. "I thought that you and Yuri-chan were friends. Friends don't put other friends to sleep!"
"Yeah. Yeah. And she's not my friend. We're just temporally acquaintances. Besides if I'm right, then I won't be seeing Yuri for a while." Shrimp let out a crumple sigh, "Do you have to call me Shrimp wen we're alone? You know it isn't my name."
"Shrimp-kun is Shrimp-kun! You aren't anyone else." Fiona said confidently. In the back of his mind Shrimp could picture her standing tall, with her arms crossed over her chest.
"If you say so." Shrimp pulled out a purple phone from his cloak, "Ten, forty-five. To think that this 'game', would end this early. Isn't anti-climatic, Reborn-san?"
Shrimp turned to look at the door, making sure not to jostle Yuri awake. The drug that he injected in her should stay affected for a few more hours, but he didn't want too accidently wake her.
Standing right next to the door was a baby. He wore a suit, had a fedora with an orange stripe, and had an orange pacifier hanging from his neck. His fedora shadowed his black beady eyes. The Sun Arcobaleno, Reborn.
"Says the person who just watched the entire thing play out." Reborn said coldly, causing Shrimp to chuckle. "Those are my orders, 'Just watch and see what they do'. You should know better than anyone why I didn't do anything this time."
"Yet you saved this girl, ," Reborn motioned to the sleeping Yuri- still in Shrimp's lap. Underneath the beanie Shrimp's eyes narrowed. "I don't have to explain myself to you, last I checked."
"Some people just never change, do they?" Reborn smirked, "You're the still the same sharp tongue kid. The only difference is that, now you're a girl."
"See, Shrimp-kun, even Reborn-san agrees with me. You're a girl now, so you have to act like one." Fiona said out loud. Her chirpy, happy-go-lucky voice was a stark contrast to Shrimp's bland, dull monotone like voice.
"Stay out of this Fiona," Shrimp told her, "These matters don't concern you." Besides Reborn just wants to see us fight, he added silently. "I trust that you can handle matters from here." Shrimp addressed Reborn. "I doubt that those guys will trust me again after the stunt that I pulled."
"So you want me to clean up your mess, again. How many times is that you blow your cover and ask for my help?" Reborn jumped up onto the chair that Yuri was occupying just a few minutes prior.
"That was only one time, and that was your fault. If you could control your subordinates, I wouldn't have had depend on you in the end." Shrimp huffed. "The Bovino do what they want, I have no control over their actions."
Shrimp felt like rolling his eyes at that statement, he knew that if Reborn wanted to, he could become a full-fledged member of the Bovino family, but he preferred to work as a freelance Hitman.
"So you'll handle it?" Shrimp stood up and laid Yuri on the seat next to Reborn. The Sun Arcobaleno looked over Yuri, observing her. "I thought that you had planned to recruit her into your organization."
"With the Boss missing, it won't be long before that organization falls. This is going to be my last mission until everything cools down." Shrimp smirked, "I already knew that you were interested in Yuri, so think of this as a favor. If you can even get her to join the Vongola, that is."
When Reborn didn't reply, Shrimp just walked around the chairs and towards the door. "This'll be good-bye then. It really is anti-climatic, usually these things end with a major fight that's been led up with a lot of drama and clichés. Instead, everyone is just leaving like nothing happened."
He opened the door and gave Reborn and Yuri- who was still asleep- one final look. "Give my thanks to the old man." With a wave of his hand Shrimp disappeared down the dark hallway.
"Arrivederci, Caiden Archlight." Reborn tipped his head silently. The rules of the Underworld were well known, betrayers had to be punished. Shrimp- his actual name was Caiden- was a well-known spy, who could pose as anyone, anywhere, at anytime.
Reborn knew that Caiden didn't take on small jobs, unless he had a personal reason. If Caiden had posed as a small time thug, and at his boss's orders, there had to something bigger going on.
There was a major player behind the 'small town thugs', and whoever it was, wouldn't take kindly to Caiden snooping around. Whoever the major player was, they wouldn't just let Caiden off scot-free.
Reborn already knew what the thugs were after. There where three 'big name' in Namimori at the moment. Himself, Fon, and his no-good student- the only living person who can become Vongola Decimo.
It isn't that hard to figure out which one the thugs were after- the gang was there before Reborn arrived in Namimori and they didn't know that Fon was living in the town. That only left one person who had any standing in the Underworld, the up and coming Vongola Decimo.
Reborn let his fedora shadow his head he didn't like this. An unknown organization was targeting his student, Sawada Tsunayoshi. His no-good student may be the heir to the Vongola, but the only people who knew about his existence were trusted members of the Vongola or it's allies.
Reborn doubted that one of the few people who Iemtsu and Nono trusted would send thugs to spy on Tsuna, not with Reborn watching over him. That meant that someone who shouldn't know about Tsuna's existence knew, and sent the thugs to confirm it.
Looking down at Yuri, Reborn smirked. He didn't like the currant situation, but that didn't mean that he didn't plan on using it to his advantage.
Pairing Poll-
YamamotoAria- 10 votes
YamamotoYuri- 4 votes
HibariYuri- 13 votes
TsunaAria- 1 vote
TsunaKyoko- 6 votes
TsunaHaru- 4 votes
GokuderaAria- 2 votes
GokuderaHaru- 3 votes
RebornYuri- 7 votes
LamboYuri- 1 vote
FonYuri- 4 votes
I was going back over the old chapters, when I realized what an idiot I am. Serious I'm an idiot who can't think straight unless I'm reminded to. Two chapters ago, I said that I was going to close the pairing poll over summer break because I wouldn't be able to access the computer that I store everything on. that bit is okay, and I do plan to close the poll over summer, I made two mistakes after that.
One, I said that the poll would be re-opening after the Varia Arc, which is just a vague generalization, I'll reopen the poll whenever I can get my computer back. Which, for all I know, might be after I finish with the Varia arc- I highly doubt it, but it could happen. But if I get my computer back before the Varia Arc starts, I'll wait until after I start on the Varia Arc to reopen the poll, simplely for plot reasons that I'm not going to spoil.
Two, I said when the poll reopens all votes will reset to zero. To be perfectly honest, I don't know what I was thinking when I said that. Even to me it sounds completely insane and unfair. All of votes will remain the same, the only difference is that I'd probably only put the major pairings down- like YamamotoAria, HibariYuri, and RebornYuri and stop updating for pairings like TsunaAria, YamamotoYuri, and LamboYuri. I'll still take votes for those pairings but I won't post the votes unless there's a major change or unless someone asks me to. This is mainly just save time for al of my readers and myself.
My third mistake, one that I wouldn't have addressed unless I wasn't told about it, is that in the poll there is the option 'Other'. I only realized it when someone PM me about how I wasn't including the Other votes when I updated, that I never said that if you want me to count the Other votes you have to either tell me via PM or review, what pairing you want to vote for. To put it simply it was a very idiotic move on me part. So if you're one of the people who voted Other in the poll, please tell me which pairing your votes are meant for so I can included them next chapter.
The person who informed of my mistakes said that she was one of the people who voted for Other, and that she voted for YamamotoHaru. I'll be sure to included it in the poll in case anyone else wants to vote for that pairing and count one vote towards them.
Now that I've got that settled, it's time to celebrate! I finally finished the introduction Arc. I know that I'm not the only one who thought that this Arc went on for way to long. Twenty chapters just to introduce the two main characters is to much no matter how you look at it. But after getting my resolve together and managing to write a believable ending, I can finally get on to the good stuff. Actually, I take that back, I just need to write out an aftermath chapter and then I'm done with this Arc.
So after six-thousand words, and my longest chapter to date, I present you with the anticlimactic ending to a arc that was way to long. I even managed to highlight Aria's character in way that I haven't done before.
Thanks to all of my Followers, next chapter is finally the Daily Life Arc, for what little it'll be.