This is the second time I've been a day late recently, but all things considered, I'm feeling good about this. I got two issues up last week, and I've successfully restarted a weekly schedule. However, to compensate for my packed Fridays, I'm gonna stop scheduling each new chapter for a specific day. Just know each one will come out at some point during the weekend.
And OMG! This is the 25th issue! Halfway to 50, baby!
Nyx Starlight: Honestly, I've been silently hoping for a review like yours for a long time now. To know the title can still attract new readers, and inspire them to read it in one go…it just makes me so excited! Thanks! :)
…
Reborn! Again
Target 25 – The Bat and The Leach
The darkened corridors and open walkways of the mall were more than just a maze-like pathway to Kori (whose whereabouts were currently unknown); they also were a huge pain in the ass. Even with the light of Kimiko's Lightning Flame-covered blade guiding their way, Sora couldn't see more than a few feet away from his position in the lead.
"GAH!" he cried out, stumbling over a table leg in the food court.
"Stupid Sora," Reborn grumbled as the boy's legs gave out, exhaustion finally catching up.
Luckily, Kimiko reacted immediately and caught her brother with one hand. Helping him back up, she looked over him protectively.
"I can handle this, really…" she said.
"Not gonna let you kill anyone else," Sora grunted, forcing his foot forward.
Kimiko's eyes followed her little brother for a few moments as he struggled forward. She knew that he wouldn't believe any promise she made. In fact, that was probably fair. She was a hitwoman, after all, and she'd lied to him about that fact for years. If she were in his position, she doubted she would act any differently.
"C'mon, I can't see any further!" Sora said. He leaned against a wall for support while he waited, and waved Kimiko forward.
She hardened her expression and nodded, following him. Reborn trotted behind them, the cocooned Leon in tow.
"Gotta be somewhere close. Didn't take the others long to show up after they were called on," Sora thought aloud.
"Funny you mention that," Kimiko said, suddenly freezing in the middle of the food court.
She dived in front of her brother and deflected a sudden attack with her katana. As metal met metal, sparks flew, illuminating the newcomer and terrifying Sora, who collapsed onto his rear.
The black-suited Bat was hovering on a glider of the same color, its wings shaped like the assassin's namesake's. However, the glider's sported razor sharp ends, which Bat had just used in his attempted kill shot. A cruel, yellowing smile was all Kimiko could make out beneath his mask.
The assassin remained speechless as he retreated back into the shadows on his silent glider. Kimiko had lost him just as quickly as she had found him.
"Impressive. Most people can't hear Bat coming. Just what we should expect from one of the Vongola's Prodigies, I suppose," drawled a new voice.
Both Nakamuras and Reborn looked left to discover a petite woman hanging from a beam on the ceiling with one arm and both legs, her face illuminated by the smart watch on her free arm's wrist. Leach sported clothing as casual as her demeanor, simply wearing baggy cargo pants, a white tank top, and sandals.
"I wish I could say I heard him, but I'm not that good," Kimiko began, glancing around, as if looking for something. "I just saw his shadow a second before he…"
She dodge rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding another dive bomb. Bat cackled for a moment before going quiet again as he disappeared into the shadows. Sora tried to push himself onto his feet, but couldn't manage it.
"Even still…" Leach mumbled. She freed her arm to type something into her smart watch, but managed to remain stable on the beam nonetheless.
"Leach and I, we're the best Le Bestie has to offer, weaker only than our boss," came Bat's distance voice.
Kimiko began, "I can see Bat—"
"Call him Wayne if you want to piss him off," Leach interjected.
"—is a class act assassin," Kimiko continued, "He's silent, deadly, and quick. But you…what can you do?"
"Me? Oh, not much. I'm not fast, or strong, or particularly good with a weapon," Leach muttered, "Unless you count this."
Leach stopped typing. Suddenly, a metal hand stuck up through the floor and grabbed Kimiko's ankle. After a Lightning-infused strike couldn't remove it, Kimiko was forced to deflect another of Bat's attacks.
"Kimiko…" Sora whispered, furious with himself. He looked at Reborn. "Reborn, shoot me with a—"
The hitman's face said it all. Sora dry swallowed, remembering…
"Shit! We're out of Dying Will Bullets!" he cried out, before quickly covering up his mouth, realizing what he'd just done.
"Oh…?" Leach cocked an eyebrow, interested.
"Stupid Sora," Reborn chided, shaking his head.
"Sora, leave it to me," Kimiko demanded, as another hand burst from the ground and latched onto her other ankle.
She roared in pain as their metallic fingers dug into her legs, and amidst it all caught sight of a shadow. She threw her sword at Sora's feet, lodging it into the ground. Thankfully, her plan had worked and Bat soared away to avoid her blade.
Sparking her ring with a bright green flame, Kimiko directed the sword to swerve around Sora protectively. She bent over at the waste to duck as Bat zoomed overhead. Metal hands were followed by metal arms and whatever was below her crawled up further.
All at once, the floor behind her crumbled as an enormous white robot burst from it. Before she could escape, the golem-like metal monster wrapped its thick metal arms around her and clasped its hands together, trapping her. As her mind raced in an attempt to come up with an escape plan that would also keep her brother safe, she felt energy quite literally drain from her every pore. It was like she was in a blistering heat, being dehydrated by the second as swear poured down her body.
"Oh yeah. You're feeling it, aren't you?" Leach rhetorically asked, dropping down onto her feet. "Percolare there inserted a tiny needle into you the instant he caught you. That needle's pumping a very interesting chemical into your bloodstream…"
"Comagen," Kimiko grunted. Sweat beaded into her eyes, causing her to blink furiously to bat away the stinging pain.
"So you're smart, too?" Leach drawled. "Yes, Comagen, for the less enlightened," she glanced at Sora, who glared back at her, "reacts quite…poorly with water. Use enough, and you'll drain a girl dry."
For the first time, Bat willingly came into the light, cackling maliciously. "Sloth's a genius. She designed all our tech, including this baby." He patted his glider. Suddenly, Kimiko's katana soared toward him, but he dodged it easily enough and continued, "Nice try, Boltie. Guess we overestimated you. You got some fancy tricks, but against us you're nothing."
"Heh. HehehahaHAHAHA!" Kimiko broke into laughter. Sora eyed her warily. She sounded insane.
Suddenly, Kimiko's head shot down and she looked venomously between Bat and Leach. "You're not the first person to call me 'nothing.' You know what happened to the guy who was?"
Leach glanced at Bat, "Finish her now."
"B-but Percolare—" Bat stammered.
"NOW!" Leach demanded.
Nodding, Bat faced Kimiko and soared toward her.
Seething, Kimiko whispered, "You will…"
-XI-
"Pathetic," the older swordsman spat, kicking a teenaged Kimiko to the ground. The girl tried and failed to get back up, leaving the man to sneer down at her. "You're a speck. You're dirt. You're nothing compared to me. Why even try, girl?"
Kimiko couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. She just stared at the ceiling, willing her tears away. The man sighed, and walked away, followed by a flock of impressed fans.
"Wow, Dai-san, only two minutes—"
"You're undefeated!"
"—beat her in no time flat—"
"When are you gonna challenge the Sword Emperor?"
Kimiko tightened her hands into fists. She heard the door slam shut as the voices faded. Her breathing shallow, she forced herself onto her knees and screamed, eyes shut.
"VOOOI! What the fuck was that?!"
Kimiko blushed, opening her eyes. She thought she was alone. Wiping away her tears, she looked at the source of the voice, a middle-aged man with long silver hair and a face that looked too unfriendly to know how to smile. On top of all that, he was missing an arm, leaving his jacket sleeve to hang loosely at his side.
"I—I'm sorry," Kimiko said, bowing her head.
"Don't give me that shit. Look up," the man growled. Upon her gaze falling only onto his knees, he pointed at his eyes, "Up here, dumbass."
Kimiko regretfully did so. On the plus side, her frustration with the man's lack of manners had driven away any hint of tears.
"What just happened?" the man demanded.
Kimiko furrowed her brow, unsure if she understood. "…I lost…"
"To who?" the man pushed.
"Daichii Hikaru," she said.
"Oh, wow, never would've thought an—" the man stopped, his frown deepened, and he asked, "How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"Never would've thought an eighteen-year-old would beat the Vongola's third best swordsman and member of their esteemed Varia. Big surprise, then, that she lost," he said.
"Certainly, but—" It was beginning to become incredibly difficult for Kimiko to control her temper, even though the man was crippled. When he interrupted her yet again, she nearly lost it, her face reddening.
"No buts. You're a kid. What are you doing here, anyway?" the man wondered, although the way he spoke almost made Kimiko think the question was rhetorical.
"I'm attending Vongola University in order to one day join the ranks of the Family, maybe even become a Guardian to the Eleventh or…or join the Varia," Kimiko admitted, her gaze falling.
"And how are you doing at VU?"
"I'm…well…" Kimiko shrugged. "I'm the top of my class." She began to ramble onwards, emotion flooding her mind. "I tested out of every kendo class, so I'm left to teach myself, and I wanted to prove that I was competent, that it wasn't just sheer luck that I passed them all, which is why I challenged Daichii—"
Kimiko covered her mouth, cutting herself off. It had all just slipped out. But the way the man was smirking…he'd expected that. He'd wanted her to admit that—
"There's no reason to be ashamed, dumbass. You're incredibly talented; you've just never had a decent teacher," the man grinned.
The way her looked down at her…it was like a predator looking at its prey. Kimiko gulped.
"Who…are you?" she asked.
"Don't recognize me, idiot?! I'm Superbi Squalo—"
"—the former Sword Emperor!" Kimiko exclaimed.
"And your new sensei," Squalo finished, resisting the urge to slap her for interrupting him.
"But…why?" Kimiko wondered.
"To tell you the truth..." Silence fell over the room, as anxiety loomed over Kimiko. Why? Why her? Squalo took a deep breath, and…
"I just really, really hate that guy," Squalo admitted.
Kimiko sweat dropped. All that tension and build up for nothing?
"Daichii-bastard is ruining the Varia! His smarminess, his 'ooh, look at me, I'm so goddamn awesome,' approach to everything is the opposite of what the Varia stands for! I swear, if I was ten years younger I'd teach him a lesson…" Squalo grumbled.
"That's…that's it?" Kimiko said.
Squalo looked down at her, his eyes glinting for a moment. "What did you expect? A heartfelt confession? I don't even know you."
Kimiko sighed and stood up, her body aching. "Fair enough. So…when do we start?"
Squalo smirked. "Attagirl."
-XI-
Kimiko's katana sailed toward Bat, forcing him off course. However, it continued past him and straight through Kimiko's stomach!
"KIMIKO!" Sora screamed, finally managing to stand.
Bat stopped in mid-air, shocked. Leach's jaw dropped. Reborn remained blank-faced.
Kimiko sputtered blood, but managed a smirk. Percolare sparked behind her and then loosened its grip. She pushed her way out of it and kicked it down, removing the sword from its gut.
"Just needed a little momentum is all…" she chuckled.
Bat finally found it within himself to attack. However, while the assassin was still a bit out of it, Kimiko was completely prepared. She slid underneath his glider and cut through it, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"You idiot!" Leach roared, typing furiously into her watch.
Percolare stumbled onto its feet, one of its red eyes blinking. For the first time, Kimiko could see the small needle protruding from its gut, or rather what remained of it.
"I have her," Bat roared, drawing a knife and charging.
"Eliminate her," Leach thought aloud, sending a command to Percolare. The robot leaped off the ground.
"Kaminari no Hariken," Kimiko whispered, dropping her sword.
The katana burst into the air and swirled around her like a tornado, slashing away at her two attackers. When it was done, Percolare was but scraps, and Bat's armor lay around him in heaps, as he fell to the ground, covered in blood.
"You…" Kimiko coughed out blood. She glanced at Sora. "…will live. Just like the idiot who first insulted me. Doesn't mean you won't hurt a bit."
Sora met his sister's gaze and nodded thankfully. She managed a smile, and then rushed over to Bat.
"Tell me where my little brother is before I change my mind," she growled.
"You won't—"
Kimiko held her sword to his throat. He gulped.
"Just down the hall in a videogame shop. It's open. You won't miss it," Bat stammered.
Kimiko smacked Bat with the blunt end of her sword, knocking him out. She stood up, and immediately fell back down again. Sora rushed over to her, and slid down beside her.
"No…no no no no," Leach muttered, looking at the remains of her creation. "Percolare lost…How…? He was based on the legendary Mosca; he was their better!"
Something broke in her eyes. As Sora tore off his shirt to bandage Kimiko's wounds, Leach began to type yet again into her watch.
"You fault! I'll tell the boss! He'll know—he'll kill your brother!"
The Nakamuras quickly turned their attention to the assassin. Suddenly, Leach collapsed. Reborn fell down onto his feet beside her, and for the first time Sora noticed the hitman had left their side.
"What did you do to her?" Sora wondered.
"Just a little trick. She's just unconscious," Reborn tutted, walking casually over to them. "Forget her and save your sister, Stupid Sora."
The blond nodded and finished the wrap. He gave Kimiko a once-over, saying, "You need to stay here. Your wound is pretty serious. I'll go get Makoto."
"No," Kimiko grasped his arm. "I've survived worse for longer. Go save Kori."
Sora hesitated. He considered a counter argument, but he knew his sister would go after their younger brother herself if he didn't listen to her. With a sigh, Sora stood up.
"I…I will. I just don't know how I'll…"
SMACK! Reborn slapped Sora with all his might, sending the teen crashing to the ground. He managed to get back onto his knees, but couldn't stand, his limbs shaking.
"A boss is always optimistic," Reborn simply said, looking Sora in the eyes.
The blond nearly talked back, but recognized the sincerity in the hitman's words. He nodded, and forced himself up with strength he didn't know he had.
"I'll be back soon, Kimiko," Sora said, his chin held high, "And I'll have Kori with me."
-XI-
Percolare is Italian for Leach. Kaminari no Hariken means Thunderous Hurricane in Japanese.
Please vote in the character popularity poll on my page, and drop a review if you have the time.
NEXT TIME ON REBORN! AGAIN: Confrontation
Sora- Kori!
Kori- You idiot!
Le Bestie Boss- Reborn-san and the Vongola Tenth have been keeping a very important fact from you.
Sora- What the hell is that supposed to mean?