Confessions of a Gold-Digger
#34. Torture or Pregnant Lady?
"Where are you sneaking out to?" Tsuna's voice startled me and I tripped over a branch.
"Fuck!" I hissed with pain, clutching my now sprained ankle. My face went paperwhite when I saw Tsuna. "What are you doing here?!"
We were near the peak of the Namimori hill– where Byakuran was waiting for me!
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Tsuna and I had decided to stay overnight at the Sawada Residence, after dinner with Maman and the kids. I thought he would be snoring in his bed with Lambo drooling all over his stomach.
"You were so loud when you snuck out of the house," Tsuna said, helping me up, "I mean, you're wearing three hoodies and it's summer. Is that handkerchief around your mouth really necessary? Any cop would've stopped you for suspicious behaviour."
"Just going up to star-gaze," I lied quickly, "Need some me-time."
"I don't need Hyper Intuition to know that's a big, fat lie," Tsuna narrowed his eyes, "You are trying to do something stupid, aren't you?"
"Go home and get some beauty sleep. You look fugly–" I tried to push Tsuna away.
"Elena, is that you?" I heard Byakuran's voice approaching our direction.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Who is that?" Tsuna looked towards the direction of the voice.
It was dark and there were trees so he couldn't see Byakuran but I could hear footsteps.
Tsuna needed to leave before Byakuran found us.
"He's my Italian lover. He came here all the way from Italy to make love to me under the stars. You are invading our privacy–" I bullshitted.
"What?!" The look on Tsuna's face stunned me to silence. I didn't know what to say anymore, words frozen in my throat.
"Oh, there you are, Elena–" Byakuran froze when he saw Tsuna.
Tsuna's mood shifted and he broke into Hyper Dying Will Mode in seconds. Everything about him was poison and death and destruction. It frightened me.
I could feel that my Sky only wanted to do one thing– kill Byakuran Gesso.
I clutched Tsuna with my Dying Will and I knew the only thing stopping him from trying to burnhimburntheforestburnthehill was my hold on him.
"Let. Me. Go," Tsuna hissed and I was so tempted to do just that because I was also so, so, so scared.
"What is he doing here?" Byakuran asked, taking a step back.
"Well, we're gonna have to start our plan now," I said, pulling a knife out of my pocket with my other hand. Tsuna seemed too furious to notice our exchange.
"What is the plan–" Byakuran asked.
"As Storm of the Vongola Decimo," I ran the blade over my hand and blood fell on the grass, "I request presence of Vindice."
Tsuna snapped his head to my direction, "Elena, you're bleeding– what did you just do–"
"Fuck," Byakuran said and I turned to see what he was looking at. "What were you planning, Elena?"
A fog of shadows and darkness appeared first and then I saw them– the Vindice.
Their presence had slightly sobered up Tsuna's wrath and I could finally let go of him.
"Tempesta Elena, you requested for our presence," the baby Bermuda sounded like I had made a grave offense, "Why?"
"Byakuran," I turned to him, "What I am about to do will cause you intense pain but this is the only way."
"For my Famiglia," Byakuran said seriously, "anything."
I took off the handkerchief around my mouth and stood straight. I still looked ridiculous with my three hoodies on but I needed to act like a Vongola Storm. I took three steps towards the Vindice.
"I request a trial testing Millifiore Don, Byakuran Gesso," I said. "Vongola Decimo wishes to terminate the Millifiore Famiglia but it should be tested whether Byakuran is guilty of his accusations."
"What are the accusations?" Bermuda asked.
"In the Future, that basta–" Tsuna regained his composure and went into Boss-mode, "Byakuran Gesso killed my Storm, Elena, who was pregnant with my child."
The hatred in his voice chilled me.
"I would never kill a pregnant woman," Byakuran said, firmly, "I lied. Elena was not pregnant when I killed her. I had lied to catch Tsunayoshi off-guard."
Tsuna glared at Byakuran.
"Murdering an heir qualifies the Vongola to wipe out your Famiglia but it should not be done without proof," Bermuda said, "We will test the man you are, Byakuran Gesso– whether you are true to your principles. If you fail, the Vongola can do as they wish with you."
"And if I pass?" Byakuran asked challengingly.
"Let's humor you," Tsuna said cruelly, "What do you want from the Vongola if you can prove your innocence?"
"An alliance," Byakuran said, "The Millifiore will be one of your core allies, right up there with the Cavallone."
"Fine by me," Tsuna agreed quickly.
"Now that the conditions are set," Bermuda said, "Let Byakuran Gesso's trial begin."
Smoke engulfed us all. The world went dark and the stars had disappeared.
"You're up," Tsuna said. He was tying a bandage around my hand.
I was lying on hard, concrete floor– not the Namimori forest– and I immediately sat straight, checking my surroundings.
"We're in a Vindice facility room," Tsuna said.
It was just the two of us. All the walls were white except one– it was made of glass.
I turned to face the glass wall Byakuran was tied to a bed and he was being… tortured by one of the Cervello. His eyes were covered and he was screaming but I couldn't hear him.
"What the hell–" I ran towards him but I was stopped by the glass wall.
"They can't see us or hear us. He's going to be tortured for ten more hours and, apparently, then there's going to be a test," Tsuna said. He crossed his arms, watching Byakuran suffer with a smirk in his face. "It's fun to watch. The Cervello girl is more creative than I could have ever been."
I took three steps back, "Who are you?"
Tsuna turned to me an raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"This isn't you. The Tsuna I know wouldn't want to kill an entire Famiglia. The Tsuna I know wouldn't enjoy watching someone being inhumanly tortured. The Tsuna I know wouldn't–" I started.
"The Tsuna you don't know would take a knife, cut his throat," Tsuna walked towards me, "and watch him bleed. He'd tear out Byakuran's heart from his ribcage. And, then, he'd…" His face was just inches from mine, "kiss you and fuck you with the blood of your murderer all over his hands. If you don't like this Tsuna, you can leave because I'm not going to apologize for wanting to destroy the man that killed you."
His words didn't make sense to me but I had never been so intensely attracted to anyone in my life. The attraction was so painful that I felt like someone punched my guts, the oxygen leaving my body.
I imagined his hands, warm with his enemies' blood, grabbing my hair and kissing me.
"I–" I tried to speak.
Tsuna turned away and increased the distance between us, "I am furious at you with you. Secret rendezvous with Byakuran, calling on the Vindice, setting up a trial– you didn't even bother telling me."
"I wasn't going to let you kill a Famiglia for an unborn child in the Future that I was not pregnant with," I said firmly, "He told you I, of all fucking people, was pregnant with your child and you believed that bullshit–"
"We are not having this conversation," Tsuna said, looking back at Byakuran being tortured. "Get some rest and let me savor the next ten hours. The Vindice have great taste in torturers."
"You just don't get to be mad at me," I said, "You're the one who decided to cause a genocide over my death. He freaking killed me. I get to choose what happens to him."
"He killed me, too," Tsuna said, "He destroyed universes and universes filled with my friends and family. All because he wanted to rule worlds. One universe wasn't enough for him. He needed to destroy them all."
Oh. Yes.
Yamamoto's Dad. The Acrobaleno. Tsuna's comrades. Tsuna.
If that bullet hadn't been a part of TYL!Tsuna's plan, Byakuran would have really killed him.
A wave of emotions flashed over me at the thought of Tsuna's death by Byakuran's hand.
Suddenly, Byakuran's silent screams didn't make me feel all that bad.
A gentle shake snapped me out of my nap.
"His torture is over," Tsuna said and I stood up, looking into the glass wall.
Byakuran looked rattled and vulnerable. He was sitting on the bed, massaging his wrist. There were cuts and blood all over his body.
The Vindice walked into Byakuran's room and Byakuran stiffened.
What surprised me was the presence of an extremely pregnant woman next to the Vindice.
We could finally hear from the other side of the glass wall.
"Byakuran Gesso," Bermuda said, "how was the torture?"
"Nothing I couldn't handle," Byakuran said. His voice was scratchy and layered in agony. He looked at the pregnant woman with concern, "Should she be here?"
"You have two choices," Bermuda said. "One– you kill this pregnant woman and are set free. Two– you spend the next sixty years being tortured here. This is the test. Pick your poison."
Tsuna looked like he wanted to break the glass wall and rescue the dazed pregnant lady.
"And what of my Famiglia?" Byakuran asked.
"They get to live either way," Bermuda said.
Byakuran gave a shaky, relieved sigh, "Torture it is, then. Just give me a glass of water before the Cervello continue with the pain. And take the pregnant lady away. I am a Don, but I'm no monster."
There was no hesitance, regret or reluctance in his decision. He'd rather be tortured, brought to the precipe of death, for decades than kill a pregnant lady.
Silence and, then, a crash.
The glass wall broke with one punch from Tsuna's fist.
The pregnant lady disappeared into Mist flames.
"Byakuran Gesso, you pass your trial," Tsuna said.
Step #2: Accept the fact that people change.