In Their Story, There was a Girl
Chapter 36: Mist, Part 2
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This isn't good!
The temperature in the gym suddenly dropped to the same level as what it had been during the Battle of Snow. Ice formed quickly from below Chrome's feet and soon traveled up to her thighs. The illusion of the giant snake, the illusion of the bursting fire, and the ice that can even freeze the fire—everything was too real for Tsuna and the others to comprehend. Chrome was stronger than Yotsuba had expected; however, going against an Arcobaleno might just be too quick for her. Yotsuba was amazed, though, at how strong Chrome's will is as she quickly propped herself up after being thrown across the room. Mammon, on the other hand, noticed another detail.
"It seems as though that weapon is important to you," Mammon pointed out, after seeing Chrome tightly grasping the trident.
At that moment, Chrome's expression distinctively changed. As the yellow pacifier which hung around Mammon's neck lit up, the trident also shattered in Chrome's hands. Chrome's eyes suddenly turned lifeless, and she started to cough up blood as well. A few seconds later, she collapsed to the floor.
"Chrome!" Yotsuba shouted, turning toward Ken and Chikusa. "What's going on? What's happening to her?!"
"Oi! Look at that!" Ryohei pointed at the unconscious girl.
Yotsuba looked back and saw the unnatural way that Chrome's abdomen sunk in. The first thing that she told herself was that she was only seeing illusions. However, even Mammon confessed that it was not an illusion, and even he was confused. Chrome could barely move or speak on the floor; sounds of "Mu…sama" were the only thing audible.
"It's hard to believe, but…" Mammon said, "It seems like this girls is only able to live through an illusionary organ."
"Illusionary?!" Tsuna yelled. "Then… does that mean this girl doesn't have internal organs in reality?!"
Suddenly, it clicked in Yotsuba's head. All form of manipulation needs some sort of medium. Back in that time when Mukuro tried to possess Tsuna, the medium was the blood that was drawn from the person's body. This time, the medium was Chrome's organ. The girl must've lost her organ somewhere in her life before. It's surprising to Yotsuba that Mukuro would actually save a girl's life, but it also bothered her that he would use a weak girl like Chrome to his advantage.
As Chrome's breathing gradually became weaker and weaker, a fog started to surround her body. Everyone looked to Tsuna's side as he grasped the sides of his head.
"He's coming! Rokudou Mukuro is coming!"
Just as Tsuna said, Chrome's body was transformed through the fog. The tiny hands of Chrome were replaced by Mukuro's big, gloved hands. The watery round eyes of Chrome were changed into Mukuro's cold blue one. And nonetheless, the red eye was glimmering as ever without the eye patch that Chrome once wore. And there he stood; Rokudou Mukuro, so real that it cannot an illusion, chuckling his eerie laugh, bringing the world into darkness.
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"Mukuro… he's alive!"
"Kufufu… it's been a while. I've come back."
The exchange of words between Tsuna and Mukuro became a sort of echo behind Yotsuba's head. Looking at Mukuro, in his solid being, standing there in front of Mammon, he looked more real than all the previous times that she's seen him. Mammon, not convinced that he is the actual Mukuro, tries to freeze him up with ice once again. However, even with his whole body constrained with ice, the eerie chuckle of Mukuro was still heard.
"What?! What is this?!" Mammon could not believe what was happening. Hundreds of lotus flowers emerged and their stems tightened fast around Mammon's body.
It was illusions after illusions. Everything was getting too hard for Tsuna and the others to understand. Mammon was finally able to break away from the lotus flowers by cloning, but Yotsuba saw the smirk on Mukuro's face. It's too much, she knew. The gap between Mukuro and Mammon was too much, even if Mammon is an Arcobaleno.
Because he's a man that's been through the Six Reincarnations…
Mukuro raised his weapon, and the room started to crumble, shake, and deform. At that moment, it seems that Mukuro has released his true power. Yotsuba felt like she was falling off the earth even though she was standing on the ground like everybody else. Then, a splitting headache started from her temples and took over her brain. The shouting of her friends became mere echoes in the back of her head. As she made out that they were shouting the names of Tsuna and herself, she looked to their side and found Tsuna grabbing the sides of his head, also in pain like she is.
And then her vision was smeared.
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It was that feeling again—the feeling of weightless suffocation. She remembered it very well; the place that the real Mukuro is right now, she is there again. When she opened her eyes, however, she saw a dark forest.
"Mukuro-sama! Our pursuers are…"
"It's impossible! We can't escape!"
Yotsuba looked to the side where the voices came from. They were Ken and Chikusa, and behind them was Mukuro, all in their prison uniforms. Mukuro had his usual smirk on, but Yotsuba could tell that he was exhausted. The barely visible frown on his face gave Yotsuba a bad feeling.
"Let's split up and escape our own ways," Mukuro said, "I can manage to do something on my own. But if you guys tagged along, it would be a burden."
So then, believing Mukuro's words, Ken and Chikusa left. Yotsuba waited for Mukuro to run his own way as well, but he did not move from his place. Silence engulfed the forest, and then the heavy air pressed down on them. The Vindice was here; Mukuro didn't get the chance to escape. Thick chains were locked at his neck and Yotsuba could only watch as he was taken away. She couldn't see the expression on his face as he disappeared in front of her.
"You are truly the mastermind, Rokudou Mukuro," the Vindice taunted him.
At that moment, Yotsuba started to cry. Anger, sorrow, and a strange feeling inside her heart whenever she sees Mukuro, all formed into hot tears and burned her eyes as they fell into the streams on her cheeks.
He stayed behind so the others could escape…
The image appeared—the image of Mukuro constrained in the water jail.
Mukuro… I didn't know…
It's not fair… it's not fair…
Mukuro…
Mukuro…
I will save you from that place… definitely…
Yotsuba's vision returned to normal in that instant along with Tsuna's. There were beautiful lotus flowers everywhere, and the room started to collapse. With no standing ground, everyone seemed to fall. But she felt it, the stems of the lotus flowers that kept her balance. Then she looked at Mukuro, who smiled at all of this—at the collapsing reality, the fall of the Arcobaleno, and lovely eyes of the girl who watched him.
"This is my world," Mukuro declared to no one in particular.
And then it was over. Mammon managed to escape from the eyes of Xanxus. And Mukuro was the winner. But instead of coming back to his companions' side with the Vongola Ring, he approached Xanxus with a sly smile.
"I have no intention of poking my nose into your business, Xanxus, because I'm not such a nice human being," Mukuro said. "Just one thing though: the other candidate for the successor, though smaller and weaker than you… is not really someone you should trifle with, for your own good."
Xanxus looked into Mukuro's cursed eye with his own red ones, seemingly unmoved by Mukuro's words, but his eyes surely has gotten more fierce. Seeing this as an opportuniry, Mukuro continued.
"My, my, you really are the dark side of the mafia, aren't you?" Mukuro faked a scared expression. "Now I know why my little clover cries so much for you… I wouldn't be surprised if you were violent toward her!"
"Mukuro!" Yotsuba stopped Mukuro from continuing.
Everyone turned their heads toward the girl. The tears on her face still haven't dried, and her cheeks were red as if she'd been holding her breath. It was just the right time when Yotsuba stopped Mukuro; Xanxus eyes definitely looked furious. However, it all just made Mukuro more amused. With that, he moved away from Xanxus and walked toward the girl.
"Mukuro…"
"Kufufu… don't you look like a lost little kitten," Mukuro said as he placed his gloved hand onto Yotsuba's wet cheek, wiping the sorrowful water as he spoke. But just as he moved his hand to the other cheek, another force pulled his hand away.
Gokudera glared daggers at Mukuro, holding his wrist so tightly it seemed like he was trying to break Mukuro's bones. "How dare you show your face here, bastard?!"
"Kufufu… don't get me wrong," smirked Mukuro, "the reason why I became the Guardian of Mist is so that I can easily possess Sawada Tsunayoshi's body again!"
"What?!"
He's lying, Tsuna thought as he remembered what he'd seen just a while ago… and the way the Yotsuba looked at him. It's not just about that…
"I knew it!" Gokudera growled. "You basta--!"
"Wait, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna stepped in the front. "In any case, Mukuro, thank you…"
Mukuro only smiled. Then, his body gave out from the fatigue. And as his body fell to the floor, it changed back to that of Chrome's. Yotsuba took a step forward and caught the frail girl's body before her head could hit the floor. Checking that Chrome's internal organs were back, she sighed in relief.
"Let's go, Ken," Chikusa said, heading out of the gym first, followed by Ken.
"Wait! You're just going to leave her here?!" Tsuna asked.
Ken turned back and eyed him coldly. "She can walk back on her own. Besides, it's not like she's the real Mukuro-sama anyway."
That's right… the real Mukuro is still in that cold and pitch-black place…
Yotsuba stood to her feet, carrying Chrome on her back. She turned to Tsuna. "Tsuna-kun…"
"Stupid woman! What are you---?!"
"Yotsuba-chan," Tsuna spoke, "I don't exactly know what the relationship between you and Mukuro is, but it's obvious that you know more about him than I do. No matter how much bad thing he's done, he helped us tonight, so… I'll leave him to you, Yotsuba-chan, please take care of Chrome."
Yotsuba smiled in assurance. "Thank you, Tsuna-kun."
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"Ken? Chikusa?"
Chrome opened her eyes to a familiar view of the Kokuyou Center. She sat up slowly, turning her head around to find her companions, but the only person present was the raven-haired girl that her Mukuro-sama cared so much about. Yotsuba smiled at Chrome and helped her sit up straight.
"Those two are looking out outside," Yotsuba told her gently. "They were very protective of you, you know? They threw such a big fit when they saw me carrying you here."
"Yotsuba-san carried me here?" Chrome's eyes widened. "Sorry… to cause you trouble!"
"It's nothing! You're an important person to Mukuro after all…"
Chrome's cheeks sudden turned red as a tomato. Her eyes shifted down to her fingers, which were timidly rubbing against each other. "Mukuro-sama… is he an important person to Yotsuba-san?"
Yotsuba was a little taken back by the question. "Important? Hmm… I guess you can say so. I mean, it seems like we are quite similar…"
I wouldn't kill out of compassion—we're both quite similar on that point, minus the opposite circumstances.
"How about you, Chrome? What is Mukuro to you?"
Chrome's cheeks were still flushed as Yotsuba asked the question. Although the frail girl did not have a smile or anything, Yotsuba could tell that she was happy. For being able to help Mukuro in anyway, this girl was happy.
"Mukuro-sama is… a very, very important person to me."
Yotsuba smiled at the expected answer. She understood exactly how Chrome felt. The need to be needed, she understood it better than anyone else.
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TBC.
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A/N: Finally it's done! I've always liked Chrome's character a lot. It's really hard to put Yotsuba's feeling into words; it only makes sense in my head, but I'm trying my best! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
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