XXVI
Of Agendas and Abilities
The end of the ring conflict was finally drawing near. The tension in the air was almost tangible; sparks flew every time a Guardian glanced at someone from the opposing side. Well, at their fury was just. Whenever Tsubame closed her eyes, she saw the image of the Ninth's worn-out body being carefully extracted from the torturous contraption known as Gola Mosca while Xanxus leered at the scene, his red eyes narrowed with madness.
"Xanxus wants to create a dictatorship," surmised Reborn as the end of what was meant to be the Cloud Guardian battle. His voice was tight with rage, putting everyone on-guard. "Even if he dominated this showdown, the Family still won't accept him after the cradle incident"—and what was that, honestly? The term had been thrown around countless times since the Varia had first shown up, and no explanation was being provided—"but if he frames Tsuna for the Ninth's death? The Vongola will be his without fail."
He's insane, realised Tsubame, her stomach churning. She swept her eyes over the other members of the Varia. Belphegor and Leviathan regarded the situation apathetically. They all are.
"Please refrain from such conjectures," intoned one of the two Cervello. "Everything that is said will be recorded into our official archives."
"More like manipulated," scoffed Gokudera.
The Cervello didn't even bother to deny it.
"Do whatever you want," said Reborn, and Tsubame could sense whatever control he had over his temper begin to loosen. "I've already lost my patience with you lot."
Tsuna straightened himself. After swooping in and saving the day, he'd been staring at the melted hunk of junk that used to be Gola Mosca. Reborn's rage must've stirred something within him. Slowly, he turned around, and looked Xanxus right in the eye. "I'll be taking that ring back," he said, almost growled. "You will never succeed the Ninth."
More than one person stared at Tsuna in surprise. Even the Varia were taken aback by the fierce determination he was radiating.
For one, painfully long moment, Tsubame expected them to come to blows right then and there. But the Cervello—ever so assiduous—intervened, postponing the match for the next night. It wound be the final, definitive battle between the Sky ring holders, an end to the chaotic scuffle for the inheritance of the underground powerhouse that was the Vongola Family.
Tsubame's mind was awhirl as she walked home with Gokudera. He despised the Kokuyo Gang, and the feeling was relatively mutual, so they had decided to find their own place to stay, wherever that was. Gokudera could at least tolerate Chrome (even though she had kissed Tsuna on the cheek as a 'greeting' the other night) and so she was the only one who felt comfortable crashing at their place for the time being.
"What happens if we lose tomorrow?" she couldn't help but ask, disturbing the strained silence between them.
"We won't," Gokudera said without a hint of doubt. "There's no way we can lose to scum like them."
Chrome nodded. "Boss will win. Even Mukuro-sama is sure of that."
As usual, Gokudera's lips twisted at the sound of Mukuro's name, but he couldn't deny how valuable an asset their ex-enemy was now, not after the battle last night. Tsubame had heard all about it from Ken and Chikusa when they returned, while Gokudera was practically frothing at the mouth when he learnt that the Kokuyo Gang would be staying at their place, at least temporarily.
Sleep was hard to come by that night. Tsubame was staring at her ceiling when the crack beneath the floor glowed as someone switched on the TV. Curious, she gave up all attempts of getting a good night's rest by walking into the living room. Chrome had risen from her makeshift bed on the couch and was watching a cooking show, of all things.
"Mind if I join you?" Tsubame asked, flicking on the lights.
Chrome smiled slightly. "It's your home," she reminded her, a tinge of amusement colouring her voice.
"Yeah, well…" she mumbled, trailing off as she made herself comfortable on the couch next to Chrome. Curling up on her seat, Tsubame tucked herself in the blanket and watched as the male chef tried to teach them how to make a cheap, easy lasagne that would satisfy the entire family.
"He has an enormous tongue," she pointed out after ten minutes of watching him mispronounce his words slightly.
Chrome's giggle was cut short by a huge yawn. Tsubame switched off the TV and was about to get off the couch when Chrome's hand tugged back at her arm. "Could you stay please?" she asked, a desperate plea shining in her eye. "I can't sleep well by myself."
"Oh," murmured Tsubame. "Sure. I can grab a futon and put it in my room?" The couch didn't look big enough for two, and sleeping while sitting up was just plain unpleasant.
Tsubame surveyed her room while Chrome made use of the bathroom. After quickly weighing the pros and cons, she came to a decision and slid her mattress off the frame and onto the floor. It felt weird, making Chrome sleep on the floor while she rested above her like some sort of ancient monarch.
"This way it's like a sleepover," she informed Chrome when she returned, a puzzled look on her face.
"I've never been to a sleepover before," Chrome confessed quietly as she settled into the futon.
"Well," Tsubame said as she laid down in her own makeshift bed, "as long as you stay here, every night will be like a sleepover. We can even pull pranks on Gokudera to make it feel more authentic."
The only response Tsubame received from Chrome was soft snores. Smiling, she allowed the peaceful sound to wash over her like white noise, and this time, sleep came much more easily.
Grimacing, Tsubame twisted her ring off of her finger and placed it into the box in the Cervello's hands. All the Guardians were to be involved in the final battle, as the Sky was always responsible for the elements within it. Tsubame predicted as much, thanks to the hints both Reborn and Fon had dropped throughout the conflict.
The Cervello woman accepted the ring without comment and moved onto Hibari. "I lost it," he said, so bluntly and shamelessly that Tsubame had to choke back a laugh.
"We've already seized custody of it," the Cervello informed him coolly.
The pink-haired women circled back to the front. The Cervello on the left only had two rings—the Storm and Lightning—while the one of the right had the other five. Amongst them all, only Xanxus still kept his.
"Now that we have all the Guardians' rings, let us explain the rules of this match," they said in sync.
"The field will be the entire school, which will be monitored through the cameras implemented all over the place. The feed will reach the large screens built into the observation areas as well as these." The Cervello with the blazer held up what looked like a chunky wristwatch. Instead of there being a clock in the centre of the band, though, there was a rectangular screen with an opening beneath it. The hole was shaped like a medieval shield – the Vongola's shield, in fact.
The Cervello in the white blouse and black pants handed a device to each of the Guardians, who were insutrcuted to put it on. Those who were incapable of doing so—Lussuria, who was strapped into his vertical gurney and Ryohei, who only had one working arm—were assisted by the Cervello themselves.
"Once you've been equipped with the wristbands, will each Guardian please move to the field you fought in."
One of them turned to Tsubame. "Wind Guardian," she said tonelessly, "your field for tonight will be by the pool."
Oh, good, she thought faintly as she turned to the proper direction. I love large bodies of water.
"Wait, Tsubame!" called out Ryohei. "We need to do our cheer circle first!"
"Even now?!" cried Tsuna.
"Especially now."
"As much as I hate to say it, the turf top's right," said Gokudera. "We need to get our spirits up, Tenth."
Tsubame made a show of sighing and dragging her feet towards them, but secretly, she was relieved by their almost easygoing attitude. It was oddly reassuring, if embarrassing. She tried to ignore the fact that Hibari was right over there, no doubt looking down his nose at them.
Ryohei remembered him, too. "You guys can stay there," he told Chrome and Hibari, although they showed no sign of moving towards them in the first place. "We've switched to the ten-metre rule."
Tsuna blinked owlishly. "Ten-metre rule?"
"Anyone within ten metres is included in the circle," Ryohei informed them with a grin.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tsubame noticed Hibari's frown deepen, and she was willing to bet he was deciding whether or not to bring himself down to their level and put some distance between them, both acknowledging their made-up rule but also weaselling out of it.
Gokudera groaned. "That's so dumb."
"Let's do this!" roared Ryohei, ignoring him.
Like all the other times, they fell into a circle and placed their arms on the shoulders of those beside them. For some reason, Basil liked to join in as well.
"Sawada!" began Ryohei.
"Fight!" they bellowed. (She muttered.)
They dispersed after that, but not without a parting message to Tsuna, either to wish him luck or promise to see him soon. Hibari simply stalked off, annoyed by their crowding and perhaps even feeling humiliated by his indirect inclusion in their cheer circle.
Tsubame occupied herself by smoothing out her clothes as she walked. While everyone wore the same thing they always did, she had changed it up by wearing a kimono – sort of. Instead of reaching her ankles like the traditional robes did, hers ended at the hip like most tops did. It was a blue so dark it was almost black, although it lightened slightly starting from the navy obi around her waist, giving off the impression of the night sky. There were even tiny white stars printed into the upper half of the top.
Supple black shorts covered the lower half of her body, made of a material so malleable that it could keep wayward weapons like thrown blades from finding purchase, instead forcing them to graze right past her.
Both were gifts from Fon, who had broken into her house (again) sometime when she was out and left a sizeable gift box on her kitchen table. A note with his signature was placed on top, which dismissed her paranoia as soon as she saw it.
A good-luck present for tonight, it read. Lichi and I will be cheering you on.
The sign-off included the onyomi for wind as well as a paw-print that could only belong to Fon's tiny familiar.
Warmth bloomed in her chest as Tsubame read over the note once more. She tucked it back into her sports bra, wondering if Fon and Lichi had arrived yet.
The screen on her wrist flickered to life, cancelling her train of thought. "The Sky match will soon begin," declared a Cervello.
"You will have noticed by now a pole in each of your fields," continued the other. "Placed onto the circular platform at the top are the rings which correspond to your field."
As if its formidable height wasn't bad enough, it was also situated in the middle of the swimming pool that should've been the size of her roomy flat, but was instead altered so that it became a lake of its own. Whereas before she could've stepped on the tips of her toes and have her head stick out of the water, now it was so deep that she'd need a human ladder if she ever hoped of breathing while in there.
Those Cervello sure did their research, she thought spitefully, eyeing the pole. Even if she did somehow manage to knock it down, the ring would only topple into the pool, and then what? Was she supposed to wait for someone who could swim to come and help her out? How mortifying.
"You may fight over them. If you can, that is."
Those ominous words were the only warning they got before their screens grew bright red. Tsubame felt something needle-like emerge from the bottom of the screen and stab into her skin, and her gasp quickly escalated into a tortured yell as lava flooded her veins.
"The poison built into all the wristbands has been injected into each of the Guardians. Unless they receive the antidote within thirty minutes, they will die."
That was the last thing Tsubame heard before she fell to the ground, her body now numb with pain. It felt like all the blood inside of her had been turned into flames of white-hot fire, of which was gradually roasting her from the inside out.
Thirty minutes. She had half an hour before she met her lame end. She couldn't die like this – she refused to. Not without a fight.
Tsubame placed her trembling hand against the ground and painstakingly heaved herself up. The slightest of movements intensified the dull, burning pain into something sharper and piercing. Hot knives were digging into her skin and bone, the shock of it forcing her arm out from beneath her, sending her back to square one.
Her breaths came out as short, quick gasps as she fought through the pain for a second attempt. Now mentally prepared, she began her tedious crawl to the edge of the pool. She didn't know how long it took—it could've been three seconds, it could've been ten minutes—but eventually she reached the water's edge, and plunged her arm straight in.
Nothing happened. The cool relief she had been expecting didn't take place, and her body sagged with defeat as the motivation fuelling her evaporated. The pain returned ten-fold, and she swore she could feel her heartbeat in her head and her hands, and everywhere it shouldn't be.
It wasn't until a shadow hovered over her did Tsubame realise she was no longer alone. She peeled her eyes open, dreading the worst, and it took her a moment for her gaze to refocus and identify the person kneeling beside her.
She mouthed his name, her voice buried beneath the agony overcoming her.
"Save your breath," commanded Hibari as he lifted her arm. It terrified her that she couldn't even feel his grip on her as he fitted the ring into its slot. Like a valve that was turned off, the pain stopped. Her breathing evened as it the poison receded, its antidote counteracting its effects and soothing her body momentously.
He released her. "Now we're even."
Even? For what? Tsubame dismissed that train of thought; it wasn't important right now. "How did you get the ring down?" she asked, tilting her head to gain a better view of him and the pole. The latter wasn't destroyed and Hibari wasn't even the tiniest bit damp, so how…?
"I destroyed the contraption holding my one up," he said, flashing the Cloud ring in her face.
So hers was still up there. Tsubame inhaled deeply. "Please help the others, senpai. I'll get my own ring down."
Hibari frowned, but didn't argue with her, thankfully. By the time he was gone, Tsubame was sitting up and flexing her muscles. It was as if she had never been poisoned in the first place. Some of her had slipped of the bun she tied it back in before reaching the school, and she fixed it back into place as she stood up.
Now that she was more alert, she could spot the signs of combat happening above her. Tsuna and Xanxus flew through the sky, powered by their Flames, as they attempted to get a good hit in on each other. Privately, she hoped the Cervello were hit by the crossfire.
Tsubame approached the pool carefully. The smart thing to do would've been to ask Hibari to fetch her ring for her, but the logical path wasn't always the most ethical, and Tsubame felt as if this was her own personal test set up by the Cervello.
Surrounding the pool was a fence that was easily three metres tall, built in to prevent students from taking a dip whenever they wanted. Despite that, people managed to get in from time to time, much to Hibari's chagrin. Back when she was still on the DC, she heard him contemplating introduced barbed wire on top of the fence, but even he realised how extra that was, and never went through with it.
It was a good thing, too, because it would've made her job a lot more difficult. A month ago, the thought of heaving herself over the fence would've been daunting at best, but now? Now she didn't even falter as she ran onto the bench she had often sat on whenever they were forced to swim for PE. She used it as a booster, leaping off of it and over the fence in one single motion.
This could've been avoided if those damn Cervello hadn't locked up the gate behind me, Tsubame grumbled internally. They were proving to be bigger thorns in the side than anyone had presumed.
Still, getting out was easy compared to getting back in. Spotting a particularly sturdy tree close to the fence, Tsubame jogged towards it and pulled herself onto it using one its thick branches. With a muttered thanks to the tree-planting committee (saving both the environment and her hide – what troopers) Tsubame ran across the branch and flung herself off it.
She had no time to marvel her perfect landing on the fence as she used the momentum of her previous leap to jump into the air once more. For two glorious seconds, she flew up into the air. But the platform was still too far away from her.
As reached the arc of her jump, Tsubame flicked her wrists. Her daggers shot out of their holsters hidden in the large, airy sleeves of her kimono, and she drove them into the thick metal platform as she began to descend. Before gravity could assert itself fully and drag her back down, Tsubame pushed down on the daggers, using them as handholds as she swung her legs up and heaved herself onto the platform.
Tsubame allowed herself a moment to catch her breath as she laid back on the metal disc. Her spirits soared as she grabbed her ring and slid it onto her finger, feeling much more confident now that she had it back. It was weird – she'd had the thing less than a week, and she was already so attached to it.
Getting down was somewhat trickier. Tsubame glanced down at the sea of water below her. If only she could swim…
She shook her head to dismiss the unhelpful thought as she returned the way she came – by unleashing her inner Lichi and running and jumping everywhere. Fortunately, she managed to land and fall in a safe manner, saving herself from some broken bones and a heap of embarrassment.
Explosions filled the air as Tsubame ran towards the school gym. Out of all the arenas, it was the one closest to her. When she got there, the door was already wide open. On edge, Tsubame hugged the side and peered into the doorway, but it was pointless.
"We know you're there," sang the self-proclaimed prince of the Varia. "Come out and play, little Wind Guardian."
Cocky, patronising bastard… Tsubame stepped into the gym, and her scowl loosened slightly at the state it was in. A giant hole had been blast through the ceiling, and whatever caused it had hit the stand holding the Mist ring up. Half of the floor was charred and covered with broken bits of the roof, limiting the range of her current battlefield.
Belphegor's odd chuckle filled the air as her grip tightened on her fans. One of his hands was clasping both of Chrome's behind her back, while the other held out her trident so that it was angled towards her neck. It was a bit of an overkill, since Chrome was so out of it that the only thing she could register was the feeling of the poison destroying her body bit by bit. Mammon hovered on Chrome's other side, a faint frown on his lips, and a small warning rang throughout her mind.
"Surprised?" jeered Bel.
"No," she said, and she meant it. "Dirty tricks like this is what the Varia's all about, no?"
"Running your mouth even in a situation like this?" he asked, pressing the trident closer to Chrome's throat. "Now be a good girl and hand us your ring before anyone gets hurt."
Tsubame forced her body to loosen and relax, even as her mind was running a mile a minute in order to find the chink in the armour that was Mammon's cloak. "How much research did you lot do on us before tonight?" she asked, her tone cool and casual.
Bel's smile slipped slightly at the non-sequitur. "Enough," he said, a hint of wariness creeping into his voice.
"So you know how, a few months back, the mass-murderer Rokudo Mukuro broke out of prison with the intention of killing Tsuna and taking over the world? How he kidnapped and maimed countless innocents for the sake of finding out who Tsuna was?"
She was snarling now, still raw over all the crimes Mukuro had committed but hadn't shown a single sign of remorse over. "Right now, he's trapped in a place where neither light nor sound can supposedly reach him. And yet he isn't – all because of that girl you have with you. If she dies, then so does Mukuro, and whatever plan he has to recapture Tsuna's body."
Bel let out a low, appreciative whistle she turned around and headed towards the exit. "Didn't think you pansies had it in you," he admitted, and even though he was on the other side of the hall, she could hear him loud and clear.
The reason for that was obvious, of course. Just like that time she was faced with the Varia underling, Tsubame waited for their guard to lower a fraction before striking.
The Varia members made a choking noise as the knives flew out of her fan and hit their marks. Despite the pain, Bel managed to fall on his left, his right adorned with the knives he had been too surprised to dodge. They didn't sink in too deeply—not like that time with Ken—since she had been so close to them when she attacked, limiting the force of her movements. On a good day, Bel would've stood right back up, but the swathe of bandages he was wrapped in told her he was still reeling from the consequences of his battle with Gokudera.
Mammon fared much better, as her main target had been the assassin holding her friend hostage. He was only grazed by a single knife, cutting through the hood of his cloak and slicing a fine cut along his cheek. Through the gap, Tsubame could spot strands of hair the colour of lavender, which was just mind-boggling. What kind of cutthroat killer had lavender hair?
"Did you see through the illusion?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly.
Tsubame took her time answering as she pressed her ring into Chrome's wristband. Her breathing regulated itself almost instantly as the antidote seeped into her.
"I did," she finally replied. "And I'll see through any and all illusions you try to pull over us for the time being. You seem worried," she noted as Mammon's face tightened. "Is what everyone says true after all? Are you hiding something?"
Whatever it was, Tsubame couldn't see it. The illusion was woven too tightly for her to parse through it, which made her want to know what the secret was all the more.
"Don't!" shrieked Mammon, startling her. She had no time to recover before his cloak burst open, revealing a set of blue tentacles that shot towards her.
That's not an illusion, she realised with a gasp. Tsubame leapt back so that she was directly in front of Chrome, her body a barrier between the recovering Mist Guardian and the writhing appendages rushing at her. Her daggers were in her hands again, and she swung wildly at the tentacles. Mammon released a terrible scream as her blades dug into his tentacles and sliced the tips right off. Coming to the conclusion that he was fighting a losing battle, he retracted them, and they zoomed straight into his body with a disgusting squelch.
"Just take it!" snapped Mammon. He tossed the Mist ring at her, and Tsubame was so busy trying to catch it that she didn't see Mammon disappear until it was too late.
"C…Coward," Belphegor wheezed out, his chest heaving up and down at a dangerous pace.
A spike of pity pricked her before she squashed it down ruthlessly. Psychopaths like him didn't deserve even an ounce of sympathy from her. Hating loose ends, Tsubame knelt down and slammed the hilt of her dagger into Bel's temple, knocking him out.
Chrome was sitting up now, and Tsubame moved to help her out before the stickiness of her hands stopped her. They were covered in a fine layer of what looked like green mucus, which had shot out of Mammon's tentacles like blood when she cut into them. Just what the hell was he?
Tsubame's head snapped up as what sounded like a stampede raced towards her. She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yamamoto, Gokudera and Ryohei run over to the gym, their faces lined with worry. She waved at them to show that she was fine. That didn't stop them from double-checking, though.
"I'm alright," she assured them, tired of their heckling – especially since they were in far worse condition than she was. Yamamoto's stomach wound had reopened, and he shouldn't have been standing, let alone running about the place.
"What happened here?" wondered Ryohei. His eyes darted to and fro from the collapsed gym and Bel's unconscious body. "Did you do this, Tsubame?"
"I beat him, yeah," she said, cleaning both her hands and knives using Bel's jacket. He wouldn't mind. "Dunno what happened to the gym, though."
"It was Boss," murmured Chrome. She stood, leaning heavily on her trident like a makeshift crutch. She must've suffered from the poison the longest out of all of them, if she was still in that much pain. "His fight with that man almost hit us."
Tsubame stiffened. "Is it still going on?" she asked the boys. She cursed when they nodded. "We need to get to him asap."
The decision was unanimous. It was slow-going, dragging their half-dead bodies over to the courtyard. Chrome was still drained, Yamamoto's bandages were growing redder and damper, Gokudera was limping, and Ryohei was holding his broken arm awkwardly. Tsubame's legs were starting to ache, but they managed.
When they got there, the fight was long over.