Hello, hello, hello! We have news here from The Baker's Daughter HQ!
FANART! WE HAVE MORE FANART!
The lovely lady Rolling-id on TUMßLR has created two amazing pieces of fanart for The Baker's Daughter! So, if you want to see our strong little bread bun all dressed up and pretty, head over to her blog! She has also created a cute as all fuck Daiki x Takeshi fanart for Daiki's brithday, honestly, I screamed.
HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY DAIKI!
21st January, 2018
(I'm a terrible mother.)
Chapter Warning: Gore/Torture
All Daiki's interludes contain MATURE CONTENT!
Skip if you believe yourself easily unsettled!
Word Count: 10,266
|SHAMAL|
Poor Doctor Shamal didn't sign up for this bullshit.
When he had first picked up on the Yamaguchi child's situation, his mind had immediately flown to the plethora of erotica that had followed such a storyline. He just wanted some good time messing around with the Sun's ego and temper - and maybe give them some help along the way. Because really, being a doctor gave him the visual perks too.
And also, he may, kinda, not really, only a little bit, just the teeny-tiniest bit, be fond of the brat now. Maybe. Probably. Possibly.
"Oi! Pervy! Why're you taking Lambo-san!" The little Lightning whined, hitting his tiny fists on his back.
Mephistopheles snapped and snarled at the doctor's ankles as he hauled the child into his car, free seat at the back taken up by the bag packed by Yamaguchi before whatever the fuck happened to them. The pup had blown its metaphorical top when Shamal had injected Kaede with a light tranquiliser, her volatile behaviour requiring sedation or risking endangering herself and those around her.
"'Guchi-chan better be ready to pay me back for this." He muttered, belting himself in as he winced, feeling the bite marks in his achilles as he pushed down on the accelerator.
The woman was bound to wake up within the hour, and if the effects of the serum within the needle kicked in correctly with her disposition, she would have forgotten his involvement in the incident, new memories written over of Yamaguchi escaping with Lambo to an unknown location.
"Where are you taking Lambo-san!?" The child shrieked again, making the doctor groan and slump in traffic. "To Reborn's house."
"Ah! An ally for the cause of Lambo-san's rule!"
The Nami nurse sighed and thanked every scripture that he never was dumb enough to screw without a sleeve.
"Ugh," He groaned, looking towards the clock on his dashboard. "They better be alright."
|SHAMAL|
I was not alright. With any of this.
I grit my teeth as people in lab coats and medical masks gazed down at me as if I were a phenomenon, their hands and sleeves bloodied and grime covered, scalpels and straight up butcher's knives wielded in some.
"Um..." I breathed, preparing to stand and get the actual hell out of there.
A curse spouted from me as hands grabbed me from behind, at least seven pairs dragging me back down as Italian shouts echoed in the metal and concrete room, more people dashing forwards to heave thick, heavy chains over to bind me to the metal chair that groaned with the added weight.
"He- Fuck!" I roared, thrashing as I tried to fight my way out of the hold, before crying out as a thin little blade was rammed between the ball joint of my shoulder to contain me.
"Calm down young one." A woman cooed from behind, her dry, gravelly voice going right into my ear and sending an involuntary shiver up my spine.
Just as she finished 'calming' me, the blade was clumsily ripped from my shoulder in two, blood curdling movements, both purposeful and incredibly painful, laughter bursting forth from a select few when they saw my teeth grit against it.
The camera before me whirred as the focus and zoom changed, a crackled laughter coming through the speakers.
"Look at that! A brand new canvas for you all!"
My eyes widened as I slowly placed the voice, tapping around in my mind as I raced through a dusty catalogue. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no-
Byakuran's people bustled with renewed excitement, high pitched giggles and low chuckles escaping those around me, gleams flashing in their eyes as they examined me.
I snarled and yanked at the obscene layering of chains, wondering just how jacked my future self had become to condone a good 6 inches of metal upon metal for each fucking arm. The links bit into my skin and sent my arms up in goosebumps with the cold.
"Daiki-chan! I must say, you gave me a surprise there!" The man laughed through the camera, "You came right on time! Your current- well, future, self was just about at the end of her thread! Seven days of intense infection, tetanus and blood loss does that to people. Of course, her lung being shot didn't help much, must say."
I blinked at him, jaw slack in shock as an undeniable cold, coil of dread settled in the bottom of my stomach and spread from the back of my skull.
People swayed on their feet, knives, needles, chains, tables and trays catching the light and gleaming with metal, dry and wet blood caking the surfaces and making them tacky with their wielders. Smiles and grimaces pulled the medical masks taut as they looked at me through crescented eyes, ready and waiting for their signal to go.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit- I wasn't going to come out of this unscathed. Not in the least. I couldn't get around this like I did the others, I couldn't watch from the side lines. I was right in it, right there.
I was scared. Oh God, I was scared.
"Daiki-chan? C'mon, talk to me!"
But like fuck was I going to give him the pleasure of seeing that.
"Seven days?" I breathed, relaxing back into the uncomfortable chair, planting my feet deeper into the floor to hide the quiver of my legs. "Damn, I can't wait for that power up."
"Haha! Yeah, you become a darn hard thing to take down!" Byakuran giggled, the sounds of a packet opening reaching me through the com.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone tap their foot irritably, impatient. Their sole made a sticky sound against the concrete floor, and I didn't want to ask what was the cause of said stickiness.
"Oh, but I have a question!" The Millefiore Boss chirped quickly, catching my attention back. "Do you have a Vongola Ring with you, by any chance?"
I thinned my lips, but found relief in the question, not needing to lie and dodge it. It was a simple answer, one I could spill without having to materialise half of it.
"Nope," I answered, shaking my head. "Not with me, sorry. I'm not a Guardian."
"Ah, thought not." He sighed, pout audible in the voice. "Your future self said the same thing. Said it was 'with her gut'."
"Gut." I repeated, thinking over the word. "You mean Ryohei-kun?"
"Yup! But that was before! So now, as a precaution, you'll have to excuse us." Byakuran hummed, before a 'bing!' came from a computer off the to side.
One of the people dashed over, the others shifting, a murmur falling over the crowd and crawling up my arms, tension rising in my shoulders.
"Okay. Understood, Byakuran-sama." The man at the table declared, before turning back to me. "Our orders are to 'open her up'!"
The room absolutely rippled with excitement at the declaration, people in medical garb dashing over to tables and pulling free scissors and blades, my eyes widening at the chaos and cackles filled the air, cooes and chuckles making my skin pebble. I shouted as a cloth was forced between my teeth and used like a horse's mouthpiece to pull my head back.
"Can't have you biting any more fingers off," A man chuckled, showing me a gnarly, torn up hand, blackening and wet. "Already lost too many to your nibblers."
Someone with scissors walked up to me with too large a smile and made a show of snipping the air before my nose, the blades loud and stained with fluids I didn't want to know the origin of. I watched as they fell downwards, before biting into my clothes and ripping upwards, the buttons of my school shirt lost in the mess of the room as my singlet as attacked next, the thin material torn apart by metal.
I bundled my fists and jerked my arms and legs, trying to undo inches of metal to escape the horror show, nausea from iron tainted air and vomit off to the side making me dizzy, adrenaline and panic flooding my system in spasming waves. My breath quickened around the gag as they worked their way through the material of my binder, the snipping slow and jagged, blades getting caught in the fibres from overexcitement and an unsteady hand.
"Oh, get out of the way!" A young sounding woman snapped, pushing the scissor person off before grabbing the two sides of my binder and ripping it apart, material giving out under the rough handling.
I grit my teeth and glared murderously as she grinned at the display before her, pushing my clothes further away before taking a pen out of her pocket. She leant forwards and drew three dotted lines across my abdomen, humming after a moment and giving a nod.
"Cut on the dotted lines, everyone!" She giggled, before getting out of the way as blades and needles descended on me.
|Y.T|
The Rain thinned his lips as he ran his thumb over the material of the black and red jacket of his other, the 'no.5' resting under his palm, the pillow stuffed within acted as a pseudo chest for him to rest his head on, curling around it as he thrummed with worry.
"Tou-san! I need to go!"
"Look, Takeshi-kun, Kaede-chan called me before you got home. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go barging in there again tonight." Tsuyoshi sighed, shaking his head as he helped the diner rush of orders.
"But Daiki-kun-"
"Not now," He warned, trying to concentrate on several things at once. "He said it wasn't urgent, right? Then it can wait."
Takeshi's brow furrowed in helplessness as he grit his teeth, a harsh nod coming after a while of simpering under his father's gaze.
"Good, now help out in the front."
The swordsman couldn't contain his anxiousness since, pacing around the store when his mind couldn't be quelled by customers or odd jobs dictated by the old chef. The restlessness had apparently disturbed the peaceful eating of the patrons, so the Rain had found himself banished to his room for the rest of the night, the worry boiling over with no distraction or filter.
Takeshi grit his teeth and clung to the substitute, inhaling sunshine and caramel as he buried his nose into the makeshift shoulder, the scent settling him slightly as he closed his eyes. Hiking his leg up, the Rain curled around the pillow body and let out a quiet coo as he relaxed, absently touching at the soft chest-
"It's my-, silly Takeshi-kun."
"You wanna feel under it?"
What was 'it'?
The Rain sat up with a new alert and pressed and pushed at the recreation, a frown on his lips as he tried to spark more memories, the blur of alcohol frustrating him as they continued to come up blank or horrendously disfigured.
Takeshi paused, and looked to the Sun's chest for a moment, his brows furrowing. Wasn't there...meant to be something there…?
"What's up, love?" He asked with a laugh, nudging the Rain's temple with his nose.
No, Daiki's never had anything else there.
The swordsman shook his head, Daiki definitely had something there. Something he couldn't remember.
Biting his lip in agitation, the Rain pulled himself up against his headboard to sit up properly and hiked the pillow substitute into his lap, mimicking how he recalled Daiki straddling him in a warm room. He curled his arms around the waist of the replica and gazed up at the lolling hood, trying to put together a vague outline of his other, running his hands over the expanse of the back.
"Daiki-kun..." He muttered, lowering his eyes down the front of the figure, flashes of a melting kaleidoscope of golds, cobalts, coppers, earths and ebony making him dizzy and warm.
Giving a growl of agitation, the Rain tossed the substitute back onto the bed and dropped his head on it with a huff of annoyance, eyes narrowed in concentration as he tried to piece it all together. It was something he couldn't remember clearly, so it was definitely something that Daiki didn't show him often or at all.
The Vongola swordsman could recall everything he had seen of Daiki, he could easily recite facts and tales, comments and topics of discussion. They had all been committed to memory and stored in a safe box to be valued and protected. He loved Daiki too much to bear to let anything slip, want anything and everything to be forever branded into his mind, the sound, taste, sight, smell, touch. So having something about his Daiki, that he couldn't remember was…
Takeshi sighed and curled closer to the pillow, tracing the 5 absently as he cuddled it to ease his state, wishing that there was a weight and a warmth to the form. Looking up, the Rain imagined a flash of amber-earth, saturated with affection gazing down at him and making his heart swell with comfort.
"Kiss?" He asked quietly, before pressing his lips to the heart of the jacket. "I love you..."
He'd talk to Daiki on Monday. Then he'd get answers.
He can wait two days.
|Y.T|
It hurt.
It hurt so badly.
I wanted to cry, I wanted to throw up. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep, and never have to wake up, never have to remember how much it hurt.
My hands had stopped shaking at this point, they just hung limply over the edges of the armrests, swaying if anyone jostled me too hard or bumped them. There was a little flower carved into the back of one, a young boy having absently traced it into the thin flesh with a scalpel as another rooted through the hollow of my torso, trying to 'find' something.
"Aw, I guess you were telling the truth, Daiki-chan!" Byakuran whined, tuning back in. "Sorry 'bout that!"
A drop of saliva left the gag, saturated with it as I breathed in long, deep breaths. Someone unhooked it from me, the material falling into my lap, joining the scraps of flesh.
"You..."
"Yes? Me?"
"You know what I realised?" I coughed, a dribble of metallic tang coming from the corner of my lips.
"What did you realise, Daiki-chan?" He asked, sounding amused, voice losing its high giggle and mellowing into a thicker tone.
"When someone's telling you to 'hold your horses', they're telling you to be stable." Came my comment, eyes shining with mirth as I forced a smirk onto my lips. "Isn't that just bats?"
"You know what I realised?"
"Hm?" I breathed, refusing to acknowledge the apron-clad man approaching.
"Today's the day you would have let your little secret out~! Shame it didn't work out this time, eh?"
|JUN|
Hayashi Jun scampered through the halls with a hum of worry, big eyes glancing between teens as he tried to locate his Lord, but finding himself coming up short. His feet moved fast to make up for a limited stride as he moved quickly, finding the sign for 2-A quickly and gently sliding the door open, peeking in shyly.
"U-um, I'm looking for Yamamoto Takeshi?" He whimpered to a girl who walked up upon seeing him. "Is he here?"
"Oh, aren't you just adorable." She cooed, before looking over her shoulder and calling out for the boy. "Yamamoto-kun!"
The Lord Yamamoto looked up with a bit too much alertness, and Jun could already feel the dread in his stomach as eyes settled on him, the hope in them quelling his own. The boy came over and gently urged the girl away, quick to sick the mouse with questions.
"Where's Daiki-kun? He wanted to talk to me today, but I can't find him."
"Oh no." Was all Jun uttered, and they both knew something was terribly wrong.
|JUN|
I groaned as someone carved random designs into my bicep, cross-hatch and geometric lines dribbling crimson sluggishly as the sting and swell of infection settled into new wounds.
A needle had been inserted into my vein at some point, maybe an hour ago, when they had realised that I might just be on my way to dying of blood loss. It was meant to supply me with something, but I was too out of it to remember clearly. Whatever it was, I wasn't sure if I was thankful or if I just wanted it all gone.
"Do you like my art?" Someone whispered, touching my shoulders gently. "I made these designs just for you. I do hope you like them."
I jolted as their fingers dug into the open wound under my collarbone, choking on a dry heave as they scratched at the exposed nerve ends and gathered flesh and blood under their nails.
"I'm gonna make you so pretty. Thank you for replacing yourself, it gives me so much more room to draw."
|S.R|
Sasagawa Ryohei was absolutely vibrating with anxiety and unspent restlessness.
His hands were bundled beneath his desk, and his shoulders as tense as anything, his jaw set and his eyes dark with fire. It made those sitting near him unsettled and twitchy, not even the teacher free from the permeating aura he exuded.
Absences.
Earthy eyes flashed to the empty chair beside him.
Absences from Daiki was a bad thing.
A leg bounced irritably under the desk, heel tapping the ground in a grating rhythm.
Absences from Daiki after that run in with Kaede was a dangerous thing.
The class shifted immediately as the bell rung out for lunch, people bustling to get away from the ball of nerves that was the Vongola Sun, instinctual, gut feelings telling the to stray away from his domain.
Ryohei bit into his own teeth as he pulled out his phone and snapped it open, lips thin and frowned as he checked for any sort of response to his barrage of texts, finding none. The boxer growled deep in his throat and got from the table, feet carrying him out of the classroom and towards the roof as he clicked onto call, bringing the device to his ear and listening to it ring, perking when the tone finished.
"Hello-"
"Daiki-kun! The EXTREME hell are-"
"Sorry I can't come to the phone right now. You can leave me a message, and I can try and call you back later. Goodbye."
Ryohei exhaled slowly when he heard the dial go off, pinching the bridge of his nose with rising stress.
"Daiki-kun, you EXTREMELY stale piece of bread, call me back when you get this! You're freaking me out here, bro!" He roared into the receiver, before clicking the hang up button and ending the connection.
"Ryohei-kun!"
"Onii-san!"
"Turf top!"
The Sun whipped around as the second years came running up to him, the door to the roof closing behind them and providing privacy for their plight.
"Hey, why're you guys up here TO THE EXTREME?!" Ryohei bellowed, putting a smile on his face.
"'Cause the fucking giant's skipped town." Gokudera grit out, earthy eyes jumping to how the Rain bristled quietly at the words, unseen by his peers.
"He didn't 'skip town', Gokudera-kun," Takeshi insisted, somehow keeping his voice a steady optimistic, "He had something to tell me. He said he was going to come"
"What did he want to talk to you about?" Tsuna asked, looking up at the taller boy.
The baseballer opened his mouth to respond, before pausing, and slowly pressed his lips thin.
"I don't know. He said it had to be in person, face to face. Something about me deserving that."
"Huh?" The Storm scoffed, scrunching his nose in a rough manner. "And you passed up a chance to snuggle with your 'shujin-kun'?"
"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna breathed, making the Italian flinch, before looking to the side.
"Sorry. I guess it's getting to me too..." He apologised shortly and through grit teeth.
Ryohei wasn't sure if it was because the Vongola Storm didn't want to apologise, or because he didn't want to admit that he was worried too. Either way, he didn't have long to ponder on it as the Rain shook his head, a shaky smile coming across his face, which he directed at the pale boy.
"It's fine, I get it. Honestly, I wouldn't have said no, but tou-san just wasn't letting me out. Kaede-san-" Ryohei blinked, hearing the dissociative suffix, wondering just when the rogue's partner had dropped the 'kaa-san' part. "-She apparently called him and told him that we were annoying her."
"She cut us off." The Sun breathed, crossing his arms. "Kaa-san and tou-san came down on me Saturday morning as well."
"Actually, kaa-san talked to me about that on Friday too, gave me an earful about being impolite!" Tsuna joined.
"My landlord gave me the stink eye but that's about it on my end." Gokudera shrugged, tapping his fingers together, Ryohei's mind bringing up that it was a piano exercise.
"She's trying to seclude him." Takeshi grit, lips nearly pale with tension. "Do you think she has him locked in his room or something? That's why he didn't come today?!"
The group felt a chill go through them, the idea making their bones heave with preparation, but was quickly extinguished when a loud denial came through the air.
"Yamaguchi Daiki is not at the Yamaguchi residence. He hasn't been sighted there since Friday night." Sawada's tiny baby friend stated, walking up to them firmly. "I can tell you who was there Friday night, however."
"Ah, who?!" Tsuna yelped, paling at the ominous wording.
"Dr Shamal. He was witnessed arriving in his car at the house at exactly 10:34 pm and leaving at exactly 10:41 pm, with an infant and a dog."
They looked at each other, before collectively bolting to the door, the Rain wrenching it open and leading the group in a dead sprint through the halls and throwing open the infirmary door. Shamal shrieked and slammed a drawer shut quickly, his finger catching in his haste and making him curse in a twisting European language.
"You lot again!" He scowled, blowing on his poor fingers and nursing them to his chest. "Whaddya want?"
"Daiki-kun!" Takeshi blurted out. "What happened?!"
In an instant, the hazy, lazy nature of the man was stripped from his self, and he straightened. The Nami nurse looked at them through strict eyes, and urged them into the room, gesturing for the door to be closed and locked behind them.
"So you've all finally realised, hey?" He huffed, making them still. "But, first things first, you, tall one, this thing is yours too, yeah?"
The Vongola team jolted when Shamal pulled the curtains aside on a medical cot and revealed Lambo napping on it, the fluffy, white form of Mephistopheles curling around him protectively. Tsuna whimpered when he saw teeth become bared at them, ears flattening against his skull as the dog growled.
"Miphy!" Takeshi yelped, closing the distance and touching the mutt.
Mephistopheles snapped at the hand that fell on his back, making the Rain draw back quickly.
"Miphy! Miphy, it's me, c'mon boy. Calm down." He hushed, lowering himself until he was closer to the pup's level.
"That's it, there we go. You recognise me, yeah?" The Rain hummed, letting the creature sniff his hand before gently running his fingers across the soft scalp. "Am I allowed to climb on? I promise that I'm not going to hurt Bo-kun. You know I won't."
Tsuna gulped audibly as he watched his Rain climb onto the cot, fearing for the boy's life as the dog watched and analysed his every move. It shifted unsurely at the Guardian when he gingerly drew Lambo into his chest, making the others of the Vongola raise an eyebrow.
"Finally, that mutt's been trying to bite out my ankles for the entire weekend." Shamal groaned as the pup settled down, jaw resting on his paws, ears up and alert.
"He's anxious. Something's spooked him." Ryohei breathed, coming up and reintroducing himself to the canine gently, slowly allowing himself to pet at the nape.
"Kaede-chan, no doubt." The nurse sighed, tapping his desk.
"What did she do?" Tsuna asked.
"I'm not sure of the extent of the problem, but I do know that 'Guchi-chan needed the kid out of the house because of it." He muttered, before clicking at his computer, at least fourteen different password tabs coming up before a set of files took up the screen. "Here, listen to this."
"What do you- What is that noise?"
"Shamal-sensei, I need you to take Lambo-kun, can you do that for me?"
|S.R|
I cooed a song down at Takeshi as I cradled him to my chest, a soft smile on his lips as he listened quietly, pleased by the warmth and the affection I was lavishing him with. His fingers languidly curled and played with the short hairs at the base of my skull, the sensation soothing me and making my eyes heavy. He smiled at me lovingly and nuzzled his nose into my collar, inhaling deeply, before giggling when I moved to croon directly into his ear, breath washing over his nape.
"I love you, my darling." I sighed out, grazing my fingertips along the rise of his cheekbone, tucking a piece of stray hair behind his ear.
Takeshi grinned a brilliant radiance before pulling me down for him to kiss, lips moulding together warmly as he hummed into my mouth, happy hues taking our faces as I tightened my hold on him.
"I love y-"
A bucket of water and an electric current were my designated alarm clock for that day.
|REBORN|
Oh. Oh, this wasn't good.
Reborn hummed into his coffee as he looked over the missing person's report that had been filed by the Yamamoto's, the details of Yamaguchi Daiki sprawled all over it. The baby didn't know where he could have gone, in all honesty, the facts didn't add up.
Shamal claimed that he had been hit by the TYL Bazooka, but that had been long ago. The bazooka was meant to replace them for five minutes, not five days. Nonetheless, it had caused quite a stir in the Sawada house and greater community, and that would not do at all.
Tsuna and the others had been tripping over themselves to try and go after Yamaguchi, despite the fact that they didn't even know where he went, and now that Tsuyoshi man had filed a report. Not to mention, the Bakery was officially closed until Kaede was fit for work again. Everything just wasn't working out for the poor hitman.
After some time, the baby had managed to quieten the Vongola generation, assuring them that he must have just wandered off or been called away, reminding them of his regular disappearances through the school year. It had worked for the most part, but he could tell they were all on higher alert than usual, Yamamoto Takeshi not buying his story in the least. Tsuna seemed reluctant to swallow the pill as well, and Gokudera followed by example.
Reborn sighed and called for Leon, the creature scuttling over and transforming into a mobile for him without command, allowing the baby to lift it to his ear and call in some contacts. The civilian police would be of no help in this situation, they'd only be an inconvenience.
First things first, calling off the search for Yamaguchi Daiki.
|REBORN|
I couldn't help the spill of bile and blood that poured from my mouth as a foot buried itself almost directly into the organ of my stomach, eyes and nosing burning as I puked the acidic contents onto the floor between my feet. With my senses blown, I was unable to contain the cry that followed, cuts on my feet screeching with the stinging liquid that was pooling beneath them.
"Stop moving!" Someone shouted, grabbing a handful of my hair and yanking me backwards, stretching my neck and causing the cuts along it to open more and scabs to pull taut.
They released me and I slumped forwards again, feeling their scalpel etch careful and deep designs into my shoulder blades, tsking when a muscle spasmed on its own.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breath, counting the seconds between each in and out, trying to drag my mind and attention away from the spiderwebs of pain that spread along my nerves at any given moment.
One...Two...Three...Four...Fi-
"I'm back~! How y'all doing?" Byakuran cheered.
A scream tore through me as a knife came down out of nowhere, the blade piercing between my radius and ulna, pinning my forearm to the armrest and making blood bubble up around the blade.
"Ah, what an enthusiastic greeting, Daiki-chan!"
Biting my lip, I pinched my eyes shut to stop the water from welling up, tears being the last thing I needed in this situation. Gritting my teeth, I bared them at the camera and snarled around the gag, teeth red and outlined by not only my own blood, but that of those who let themselves stray too close, too casually without the gag in place.
"Anyway, so what was I up to before I had to go deal with that boring stuff? Oh yeah!" He chirped, the crackle of a marshmallow bag coming yet again. "So, I really hate it when they put on re-run's rather than new episodes when they're, like, seven seasons in because a) that doesn't make sense timeline-wise and b) it's boring! Not to mention filler episodes! Gawd!"
My finger twitched as a scalpel sliced my ear down to the cartilage, creating little lacerations down the back of the shell, my lips coming to press together as I quieted myself.
I just had to wait for a little longer…
|S.T|
Sawada Tsunayoshi was ready to pull his hair out in stress.
First Yamaguchi, then Reborn! They had both poofed off the map! Just gone! Literal poof!
Since the rogue Sun had vanished, everyone had been noticing Yamamoto becoming increasingly snappy - well, as snappy as someone like Yamamoto could get. As well as the raw and bloodied state of his knuckles.
People had thought he had been fighting, throwing punches to blow off steam and calm his stress, but it just didn't settle right with the Sky. Then he and Gokudera had found him curled up in the bathroom, gnawing on his knuckles as he clicked through text messages, eyes flying though the pixelated kanji erratically, reading the coos and devotion the Sun had sent him. Yamamoto always came back to the same text, however, the same message that made him sink his teeth into the flesh of his hand and choke on his own tongue whenever he punished himself with it.
From: Shujin-kun
I'll see you Monday then.
It had gotten to the point where his father had taken his phone away from him, unable to see his son cradle the phone like it was his lifeline in bloodied hands. The Rain was driving himself up the wall with worry, and perhaps he was only just managing to keep a fraction of himself for the little Lambo who was peacefully oblivious to the drama of his world.
They had thought it best to keep Lambo at the Sawada house, I-pin, Fuuta and Bianchi doing wonders on his attention span and distracting him from the absence of his pseudo father, though, now and again he'd look out the window and ask where he was, making Reborn lower the rim of his hat. Yamamoto came over more often due to the child's dwellings, sometimes to 'play' and sometimes just to curl up on the couch with Lambo settled to nap on his stomach, staying perhaps longer than was usually polite - but Nana didn't mind, found it endearing. Each time with varying stages of damage on his knuckles.
It made Tsuna's head and heart throb with guilt and ache, the young Sky always one to blame himself and really believe it.
Yamaguchi had never asked to be a part of this Vongola madness, and had even gone out of his way to avoid the whole thing. And yet, there he was, gone in a flash off to some hellish place because of the world Tsuna had dragged him into, kicking and screaming.
The Vongola Sky shook his head before slapping himself in the softness of his cheeks, bringing himself back to the present as he rounded the corner and spotted his home, bursting through the door and just barely responding to his mother as he made a death sprint up the stairs, near stumbling on the last one before grabbing the railing. He panted as he kicked his bedroom door open, shouting upon seeing the little calf strewn across his floor, mucus dripping from his nose lazily.
"Hey, Lambo-kun! Quick, use the Ten Year Bazooka and become an adult! Well, teen, but still- bazooka!"
"Huh?" Lambo grunted, rolling onto his side and squinting at the Sky, pulling a random object from his hammer-space of a head and fiddling it with idly. "Dunno anything 'bout a bazooka."
"It's poking out of your hair!" Tsuna stressed, before grabbing hold of it and dragging it free.
"No! Boss said no one should use it!" The Lightning shrieked, fighting the pull with all his kiddy might.
"You're already using it all over the place! Give it over!"
"You can't!"
His eyes widened when he saw the child's hand slip down the barrel and catch on the trigger, both of them realising what had happened at the same time, catching each other's expressions of stun just as the bullet was released and the ear splitting 'bang!' tore through the air.
|S.T|
Lambo whined as I pulled the hairbrush through his hair, carefully trying to get the knots out of his locks, plastered to his scalp by the bathwater.
"Papa! Stoooop!" He huffed, splashing the water with tiny fists.
"You shouldn't have played with I-pin-chan in the mud then, you know she'd be able to pin you." I chided gently, using my fingers to unravel a tangle before running the brush through it.
"I would'a won."
A soft laugh came from me as I dropped the comb as carded his locks with my fingertips, the young Lightning giggling as he shivered and preened. Lambo turned and streatched up, making me smile before dropping a light kiss to the damp crest of his skull.
"Okay, let's rinse you off." I cooed, pulling the plug of the bath, quickly taking the child from under his arms and lifting him out of the tub. "Does that still scare you, sweetheart?"
"No." He pouted, glancing at the loudly sucking whirlpool, before grabbing onto my shirt. "A little..."
"Oh, love." I sighed, setting him down on the bathmat before splashing the bath's muddy layer away with a plastic bowl and filling it back up with warm water, Lambo shrieking in delight as I grabbed the mint scented bubble mix. "In we go!"
The little Lightning giggled as I mixed the water and soap with my hands, bubbles arising from the violent action and creating a foaming surface for my small son to play with. I smiled and rested my chin on my arm as I watched him create mounds of suds, before pausing when his attention was caught by something behind me.
"Shujin-kun," Takeshi hummed, curling his arms around me from behind as he came to settle on the floor with me. "I was wondering where you were."
I laughed softly and leant back into his chest, exhaling happily as the Rain nuzzled and kissed at my shoulder.
"Hello, my darling."
Lambo splashed and made me jump, a light rain of soapy water coming to my face and making me splutter, arms coming to protect myself.
"Bo-kun, don't make a mess!" I yelped, quickly collecting his hands.
"If you get water on the floor someone can hurt themselves." Takeshi chided softly, reaching around to pinch the Lightning's nose.
The little calf pouted and whined to get away from the tender attack, batting his father's hand away before going back to a milder entertainment, allowing me to thread my fingers with the Rain's as he cuddled into my back.
"So, what've you been doin all thi-"
...
"You've passed out again!"
I jolted awake before groaning as my body rejected the sudden movement, neck and back cramped from keeping me upright for so long, the rest of me simply thrumming a perpetual pain.
It was quiet. That was the first thing I noticed. Painfully, irritably, soullessly quiet in the metal and concrete room, full of browning blood stains and iron pungent air.
"C'mon Daiki-chan, you've gotta build up your resilience! This is the second time this week!" Byakuran chided from beyond the device, camera lense shifting to zoom as I grit my teeth against the pulsing of my back.
My muscles were quivering as pain bombarded my senses with waves at every other second, the wet, slippery dribble of infection making my tattered clothes stick to my wounds. The places I could see were dangerously red, and the disgusting mucus that drooled from each made my head dizzy beyond the definite concussion, breaths laboured through split lips.
"Well, I guess you are, technically, just a kid. So I'll let it slide." He huffed, shifting in his chair, wherever he was. "But c'mon, Daiki-chan, you gotta tell me what that Tsunayoshi-kun's got in store! None of you ever tell me!"
I thinned my lips and remained stubbornly silent, feeling them crack and pull taut with dryness.
"Ugh! Please~!?"
"How should I know?" I sighed, "I've never talked to the man."
"Uh-uh!" The Millefiore White Boss tutted, making me raise an eyebrow. "You rare spawns always know what's going on!"
I blinked and narrowed my eyes.
"Rare spawn?"
"Yeah! Rare spawn! Daiki-chan, you only appear in certain dimensions- and not always as a lady, might I say. Gosh, those are always the most fun to pull apart, they always put up the best fights." He sighed in an almost fond manner. "But none of them ever let anything slip! All of you act like you all have a zipper mouth!"
Byakuran huffed through the speakers after a moment, before the doors opened with a loud beep.
"Ah, lunch is over then."
My eyes widened as the stress in my system rose, lips pressing taut as the people walked in, blood matted medical get up clad as always. I couldn't even listen to the dimension-jumper's words as hands descended upon me in masses, people pulling the flaps of my abdominal skin open again and pegging it aside to allow fingers and blunt instruments to poke and prod internal organs, the white of my cracked rib cage and collar bone on display, shiny with bloods and fluids.
I snapped and bit at wrists and arms before the gag was hooked into my mouth and I was tugged back, the material tied off and placed on a hook to keep my spine straight for my back to be worked on by someone, their scalpel slashing at the crudely infected skin yet again. My growls reverberated in my space as someone flashed a light at me, pupils retracting at the bright and brows furrowing against it.
Someone giggled off to the side and poked the pre-existing scar across my temple, holding a knife close to it, before seeming to rethink their approach and deciding against it, muttering to themselves as they walked off, dumping the heavy blade onto a table and causing the other instruments to jump.
"Please, Daiki-chan? You gotta tell me what's gonna go down!"
The person perked before grabbing a small jar from a metallic drawer, all but prancing over as they grinned from behind the medical mask.
I clenched my teeth as they opened the container and upturned it, spilling the contents into a kidney tray, construction nails spilling out and making me blink before wincing, a tut of annoyance coming from the person behind me. My attention was drawn back when my hand was lifted from its slump, eyes widening as the tips of nails were lined with my palm.
The person whooped before slamming my hand down, a muffled scream breaching the gag in my mouth as the nails came out the other side of my flesh, skin and blood clinging to the iron as fire ripped up my arm and pooled in my tarsals. My eyes watered when my wrist was twisted to bring my palm upwards and bashed into the arm of the chair, forcing the nails back out, jolting and shifting them between my bones.
|Y.T|
Takeshi breathed a deep, sharp breath as he lurched forwards out of bed, heart racing in his chest as his eyes slowly cleansed themselves of the scene he had imagined. He panted loudly, mind askew, before scrubbing his face with his hand, the other reaching to turn on the light and chase away the darkness.
The Rain couldn't sleep after that, after the twisted dream he had conjured.
"Daiki-kun." He croaked quietly, touching the substitute that filled the space beside him. "Daiki-kun."
Taking a breath, the Rain leant over the edge of his bed and grabbed up his laptop from where it was charging on the floor, settling it on his lap before curling his arms around the jacket-clad pillow. He tapped at his documents before plugging in his headphones, mindful of his father, and opened a playlist of video files, settling back with his companion, nose buried deep in the caramel scent.
"Haha, what're you doing?" Daiki laughed, waving his hand to shoo away the camera when he looked up from his work.
"Recording you." Takeshi hummed, zooming in from a safe distance.
"Oh, are you? And how does that relate to your financial mathematics homework, my darling?" He huffed, raising his split eyebrow.
"It'll help me remember if I record you explaining it!"
His husband laughed softly as the Rain placed down the camera and scuttled over to his side, sitting close and cuddling the older boy.
Takeshi smiled as he watched himself bow under kisses and attention, the warmth of the scene making him clutch the red and black tighter. His hand came out and lightly traced the image of the Sun, before pausing when the next clip began to play.
"Look at 'im!" Came the hushed insistence of the Rain, camera focused on the sleeping face of the blue haired boy.
The screen shook as he ran forwards quietly, scrambling onto the bed and fixing the focus to show a more defined sight of the Sun, soft breaths coming through the audio as Daiki dreamt soundly.
"Look at 'im! He's too bloody beautiful!" He stressed, hand coming into the frame to lightly brush cobalt locks.
Amber-earth cracked open at the touch, a sleepy groan coming from Daiki as he slowly pieced together the sight, a deep, heavy laugh falling from his lips as he stared at the camera in languid amusement.
"Good morning to you too, I guess." He hummed, smiling softly as young sun cast him in a bright halo.
There was a long breath off screen, before a whimper followed, the third year giving a huff of humour as he brought the hand from his hair to his lips, kissing the knuckles softly.
"I love you, Daiki-kun." Takeshi confessed, making amber-earth warm lovingly.
"I love you too, Takeshi-kun."
Takeshi felt his heart squeeze.
"One more time for the camera?"
Daiki laughed and rubbed at his eye before rolling onto his back, stretching out his spine even as the scene followed to look down at his splayed form.
"Okay, okay." He chuckled.
Daiki sighed before reaching his arms up as if to offer the warmest hug, his smile unchallenged and illuminated by early light, devotion clear and affection overflowing.
"I love you, my Takeshi-kun. With all my heart."
Takeshi choked and crushed his substitute to his chest, pressing frenzied kisses to the shoulders as he heaved quietly, laptop rattling as his form shook.
"Please be safe, Daiki-kun. Please. Please, please, please."
|Y.T|
|S.T|
This was utter madness! Complete and utter, freaking, madness!
Tsuna heaved as he was forced to sprint through the foliage in order to keep up with the cloaked woman, identified as Lal Mirch, Gokudera muttering curses under his breath beside him. It was a bit of a dig for the Sky, that the Storm was able to speak at all, his own state an ode to his horrible stamina- and thought it was leaps better than before Reborn's mayhem, still was barely enough to wave a stick at.
Not that the little hell baby didn't try, just replace a stick with a mullet. Possibly spiked.
"Hey, woman! Stop a minute!" Gokudera roared, making the little Mafia stumble and flail in surprise.
Tsuna regained his balance and attempted to quieten his Guardian, something in his gut telling him that being loud around here was not the best idea. He was only able to utter the older's name before the Italian born was distracted and began tugging the smaller along, the cheer of a river on his tongue. The Sky only vaguely registered the slightest of clicks that came to his ears, but disregarded it as he swallowed mouthful after refreshing mouthful, his breath calming from the near death-sprints that he had been forced through to get here.
"How long do we have to keep moving?" Gokudera snapped irritably, getting to his feet, bristling like a wronged cat at the Mafia woman. "We still haven't even reached the base!"
"We're camping out here for the night." Lal Mirch stated simply, not at all affected by the teen's attitude. "You guys can't see in the dark and it's too dangerous. Honestly, it's really annoying."
"Bitch- Don't you think you're pushing it!?"
Tsuna barely withheld his volume as the woman raised her arm, the firearm that was settled atop it pointing at them warningly as she kept her face and voice flat.
"I believe that's my line." She scowled, holding them at gunpoint for a few more moments, before lowering the weapon and tucking it back under her cloak. "I'm feeding myself tonight, and that's it."
"Gah! So we gotta get our own food out here!?" Tsuna gaped,
They received no verbal answer, but the message was clear.
"Shitty bitch," mumbled Gokudera under his breath. "Who does she think she is."
"Anyway," Tsuna yelped, tugging the Storm away before perhaps their only chance of survival decided to ditch them. "Let's see if we can find some food!"
…
The two Vongola robotically chewed on the skewers fish that had been caught for them, both adamantly refusing to look up from the point of dirt that they had drilled their gazes into for safety, flashes of the female physique of Lal Mirch surfacing now and again and making them choke.
"All I know about you guys is from the photos I've seen," She started, making them jump. "But thanks to the Ten Year Bazooka, I recognised you."
She chucked her empty skewer into the fire and let it burn down with the rest of it, crossing her arms atop her knees as she launched into a recount of the events leading up to their arrival, the boys wincing and listening.
"The Vongola Headquarters, fell two days ago and was destroyed."
The two Vongola lapsed into silence. A heavy weight in the air as the fact settled on their minds like a thick layer of dust.
"I knew it! She's talking bullshit! How could the Vongola be destroyed?!" Gokudera roared, and Tsuna wasn't sure if he was in denial or not.
Something told Tsuna that, despite how he knew the Vongola was something that was undoubtedly powerful, near unshakable, the woman before them was not lying about its fall. The Vongola Mafia was gone, in this time.
And it was terrifying.
The Heir listened through a kind of buffer as Lal Mirch continued to spew information, Gokudera responding as per his character, Tsuna clouded to it all, still reeling.
The Mafia woman paused mid-sentence, the widening of her eyes making the two Vongola stiffen. She flew to her feet and stomped out the fire they had built, cloak coming to be wrapped around her shoulders as the Storm hissed for an explanation.
"Enemies!" Lal Mirch shouted, getting them on their feet. "If they find us it'll be bad!"
Tsuna inhaled sharply as he and Gokudera scrambled to redress, their clothes still damp, but running in their underwear wasn't high in their to-do list. The Sky had barely managed to wrestle his head through his shirt by the time his Storm had grabbed him by the wrist and they ran after the Mafia woman, ducking into obscurity upon her instruction, breath held in fear.
The metallic whirring, and the heavy, banging footsteps that shook the Vongola Heir's nerves were all the warning they got before the hulking form of a Gola Mosca stepped out of the treeline, a huff of steam escaping it.
"That's a second generation Gola-shell." Lal Mirch explained quietly, her visor on. "Strau Mosca."
Tsuna muffled his yelp into his hands as the head whipped around, skin prickling as he stared wide eyed.
"The Strau won't find us." Their guiding woman explained. "It's internal sensor is looking for the Ring's power. The Mammon Chains will hide us."
It took a step forwards. Tsuna's stomach sank.
Then it began storming over, locked onto their location with severe intensity.
"Shit! It's coming!" Gokudera swore, stepping back.
"That's impossible! You guys don't have any Rings other than the Vongola ones, right?" She snapped, making the boys flinch.
"No, you've seen everything I have!" The Storm denied.
"Yea- Ah!" Tsuna uttered, pulling a Ring from his pocket. "The Ring Lacia-san gave me!"
"Gah! Why didn't you say anything!?" She hissed, before whipping around and tensing to engage. "Fuck! Even with three people, we'll be annihilated!"
"Huh? Pretty lame." Gokudera huffed, though the Sky could see how he sweated. "Guess your pride in the Ring's power was pretty useless."
"Fighting isn't just about power!" Lal Mirch roared, her patience just about depleted with her wards and their resulting situation. "There has to be affinity!"
Tsuna watched as the woman grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes, and arm coming up to aim the firearm attached.
"That being said, we're still going to make it to the base." She declared.
There was a slash, then the sound of metal snapping, and the Mosca rattled to a halt.
They paused their mayhem and waited in tense silence, unsure of what had just unfolded, before a deep voice came from behind the figure.
"Attaco di Squalo." It said, with a deadly confidence. "I bet I can get a point off of this guy!"
Eyes widened as a familiar being stepped out from around the Mosca, grin as bright and blinding as always, though a scar threatened to split the lower lip. Yamamoto Takeshi laughed at their baffled expressions, his sword over his shoulder as he greeted them with a simple sentence.
"The pinch hitter has arrived!"
|S.T|
"Daiki-chan! Tell me, do you think I'll ever get a girlfriend? I mean, I haven't tried to, but none of me have ever been in a relationship! I'm a virgin in every realm!"
I heaved and huffed as the last of my coloured flesh slapped onto the ground, flicked off a blade in a casual manner. The feathers of my phoenix splatted in a bloody mess across the concrete, my arm singing its hatred as the warm sting bloomed everywhere.
That voice. That God damned voice.
If he had planned this, it had worked too fucking well. In the days, or weeks, or hours I had been chained down here, choking on my own blood and bile, Byakuran's voice had been a hovering constant, a side dish to the blinding pain. And now, I had come to affiliate it with the unbearable burn of infection and blades.
His voice made me anxious and his words made my head spin. Whenever he spoke, something else would crawl out of the shadows to slather me with wounds upon the old.
The head of the phoenix splattered at my feet, and all I could think about was how miffed Takeshi was going to be when he found out my tattoo that he so loved was gone.
"Ugh, lost cause, I swear. I'll never get married, have kids- but then again, women are loud and annoying. Well, men are too. People in general are just annoying. Anyway, off track again, haha!" Byakuran giggled, the rustle of a bag - full of marshmallows, no doubt - coming through as he redirected himself. "Gimme the deets of what's gonna go down! There's gossip and I want in!"
I took deep, steadying breaths as he stuffed his mouth like he was taking a shot at the chubby bunny, nausea rocking my head and making me sick. But I held out, and lent back, despite how my muscles begged it to stop.
"Plihh? I ahket ngihcy!"
Opening my eyes slowly, I sighed before parting my lips, cracked and bloodied.
"Byakuran-san," I started, getting a 'whirr' of focus from the camera. "Don't talk with your mouth full. It's fucking disgusting."
There was silence.
The people in medical scrubs didn't move. They remained still, watching me, the camera and the computer. Quietly waiting.
"...It seems you are not willing to cooperate." Byakuran spoke finally, clear and crisp, no longer playful. "You will not be needing to talk from now on then."
The computer binged, and a man raced over, tapping away at the keyboard with bloodied, gloved hands, eyes pinching into a crescent as he nodded erratically.
"Yes, Byakuran-sama. Understood, Byakuran-sama."
He whipped around and grabbed a pair of scissors off the table, surprisingly clean, before grabbing my jaw and prying it open. Hands came and helped him, holding me still as I tried to thrash, jaws locked open and allowing fingers to squirm in and pinch my tongue.
"Our orders are," He smiled, voice high and giggly. "Cut out her tongue!"
"If you've not nothing nice to say, Daiki-chan, don't say nothing at all~!"
The shrill fear that coiled in my stomach and clouded my mind. The heavy 'shink' of blades. The piercing pain. And then the red that dribbled out like water.
|S.T|
Yep, this was definitely Yamamoto Takeshi.
Tsuna smiled at the ease that the man brought to his state, feeling the familiar presence of his friend soothe his state.
"Oh yeah! You've been awesome these past ten years, Tsuna-kun!" He grinned, before looking over his shoulder at the brooding Storm. "You too, Gokudera-kun."
Gokudera scowled, and shrugged it off.
"Hey, why aren't we running? Surely we won't make it to the base before morning at this rate!" Lal Mirch asked, making the Rain blink, before snorting.
"Ah, right! I forgot to tell you, the location you got told was a lie! Haha!"
The woman narrowed her eyes.
"Ah, my bad?" He chuckled, taking a wide arch around her. "We're almost there!"
"Keep up and don't lose sight of me!" He called, reaching into his jacket and pulling forth a box.
Tsuna blinked, and glanced at Lal Mirch, remembering her own box.
The Rain clicked in his ring, and the box burst open, an ave spitting itself into the air and swooping circles around its summoner. He huffed as a squall suddenly hit the group, torrential downpour heavy enough to make the Sky bow over to protect himself.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! I can't see a thing!"
"Come on!"
Tsuna cracked open his eyes, before stilling when he saw a passageway that he was sure did not exist before.
"We're going down." Yamamoto hummed.
…
Reborn was alive! Still an abusive, tiny, hell baby - but an alive one!
Tsuna honestly thought he should be more disappointed with this outcome, but found himself smiling anyway as he rubbed the back of his skull.
"How all this happened, us coming to ten years ahead, I don't know." Reborn admitted, still in his weird get-up
There was a ripple from the two young Guardians, a stress rising when they heard that the usually so in-loop Arcobaleno was drawing blanks here.
"Well," He sighed, somehow unaffected by his lack of knowledge. "Let's just be happy were weren't dropped in some strange place."
Tsuna perked at that, a question that had been tapping at his mind for a while finally able to surface with a segway.
"Where are we exactly?"
"You don't know?" Reborn hummed, before turning to the sizable flat screen that was mounted above a cold fireplace. "Can we see on the monitor please."
Tsuna and his Storm came closer to the device as a display of dark video feeds flashed across the screen, each frame panning for a moment before swapping night-veiled locations. When the Heir voiced his inability, the TYL Rain laughed.
"You really should recognise this place."
Then the screen swapped to show a low angled view of the familiar Namimori Middle School gates, and the two time-travellers blanched loudly, jaws dropping in shock.
"We're in Namimori?!"
"Japan!?" Gokudera blurted, obviously expecting the Vongola to have been somewhere in Europe at the very least.
"That's right," Reborn nodded, hands coming behind his back. "And since we can't get to the past, the issues here, become your problem."
"Our problem!?"
"Currently, every base of the Vongola's closest associates have been attacked simultaneously, all over the world." Yamamoto began, drawing the room's attention. "Of course, it's going on here too. The Vongola Hunt has made it even this far."
"Vongola...Hunt?"
"You must have seen it," Reborn huffed. "The coffin with the Vongola crest?"
Tsuna gave a shout as the Storm struck the Rain across his face, head snapping to the side upon the blunt impact of heavy knuckles, no resistance coming from the man.
"What were you doing!?" Gokudera roared, "Why is the Tenth like that!?"
Yamamoto remained docile, even as the split in his lips beaded with new blood.
"I'm sorry." He uttered, face twisted in a mixture of fatigue and guilt.
"'Sorry' won't cut it, assho-!"
"You were here too, Gokudera-san, so stop it." The Arcobaleno butted, making the Italian's jaw grit and clench, a hissed, stuttered curse slipping out as he hung his head.
Tsuna could only listen and feel his stomach fill to the brim with a heavy dread, the stoney faced Rain hashing out the bloodied details of the situation without missing a beat, showing just how much the man had changed over the years, despite what the Sky had thought. Breaths hitched as the man declared the Millefiore desire for the extinction of all Vongola, hands shaking as they were forced into fists.
"Then, there's only one thing left to do." Reborn sighed, turning on the Sky with an unusual gleam in his eye. "You must assemble the six scattered Guardians."
"What!?" He shouted, thinking of the disaster that would occur should he even attempt to collect the patchwork 'Family' he had created.
"All the previous Bosses have done this. When crisis hits the Family, the Sky must gather all six of his Guardians in order to triumph over the predicament."
"But even if all seven of us are here, what could we-"
"You seven are the only people who can fight against them."
"What are you trying to say?" Tsuna breathed, his spine shaking with tension as he gnawed at his inner cheek. "On top of that, you said our acquaintances would also become targets! Does that mean kaa-san and everyone else are mixed up in it?!"
"The Millefiore's killings are constantly expanding, I'm afraid the girls may also have been..." Yamamoto trailed off, souring his expression.
"What do we do!?"
"We're planning a counter attack." Reborn stated.
"When I went to Lal Mirch-san, I-pin-chan and Bo-kun were looking for Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan." Yamamoto offered. "Now we're waiting for them to report."
"Mama went with Iemitsu-san to Italy for a holiday five days ago, but we've lost contact since." Reborn uttered, referring to the Sawada matron.
Tsuna paled as his eyes widened, a cold blooming forth from the back of his mind.
"Bianchi-san and Fuuta-kun are gathering intelligence. Our other allies, however..." The Rain breathed, face a careful passive. "Longchamp and his Family, Mochida-san as well, have been missing for days. Most of the allies and friends we've made over the years have been eliminated."
A ripple went through the room. Reborn stepped forwards, knowing Yamamoto wouldn't continue.
"Including Yamamoto-san's spouse."
Gears ground to a halt. Eyes slowly widened. Breaths stopped.
Tsuna slowly turned his gaze from the hitman to his friend, taking in the tired shade of his eyes the pained clench of his jaw and the hazy, glazed state of his eyes. The swordsman reached up and touched at his neck, drawing eyes to a fang necklace, a sharp canine tooth wrapped in cord hanging free. The Sky didn't know why, but when he saw it, a flash of that white pup appeared in his mind.
Gokudera was only able to breathe an airy curse of shock, neither of them able to fully register that-
"Yamaguchi Daiki was shot, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn uttered, glancing up at the quiet Rain. "He was shot by a bullet meant for you."
|S.T|
|SIDEKICK COMMENTARY|
Okay there hasn't been one a long time, but I think some of you need an edge of the suspense. I for one am very edged with the suspense. So let's share a line of thought I had while reading this and wrote into the chat:
"i thought when daiki said "ewgh chew ur food" byak would be like *chewing noise intensifies*
instead he just re-routed it to the angstiest route
amateur
smh"
Lenori, being the awesome but a teensy-bit insecure about her baby plot (the only reason she needs a beta like me let's all be honest here) went all like: I can change this but then Daiki wouldn't not talk.
And that would be a travesty. (The Byakuran being an amateur at annoying and the plot not plotting parts, I mean.) SO, I pulled out the big guns and messaged ariesweka on Tumblr, my newest friend in all things Lenori.
"spoiler warning: byakuran is an amateur in annoying ppl" and then went back to the chat all being:
"Me: i think i get along well with ariesweka
also i spoiled someone pls don't let me be a liar
Lenori: Mm
Me: thank you"
So yeah, please appreciate Byakuran not being very good at annoying people. I had to socialize and actually managed to befriend a friend of a friend. I had an amazing script that worked and was alive for the metaphorical punchline. It wasn't alive for long, but it managed to get me a friendy friend. (w0)b