CHAPTER 35

SEEK THE DEVIL

Okay, Tsuna. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat the cycle. Breathe in. Breathe out.

What the heck? Why was she supposed to feel this way? She's got absolutely nothing to do with it.

This was all Reborn's fault, that's what.

But hey...it doesn't matter, because she's still here, a subject of Reborn's ridicule and to her own conscience.

I've got nothing to do with this. I don't care what happens to them. Nothing!

As an answer, she felt her insides churn and twist uncomfortably. I must look as if I'm constipated. She moved in her chair.

"What's wrong boss? Is there something you need?" Gokudera came up behind her. He was holding a jar filled with liquid that Tsunahime suspected was wine. And not to mention that he also wore a toga and sandals to match the occasion.

"Nothing Gokudera- kun." She shifted her glance around the pavilion. "When do you think they'll come back?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, boss. But I sure wish none of them comes back." He grinned happily, as if Christmas has come earlier than expected.

"Um. Okay, Gokudera- kun." She bowed her head to avoid his gaze. Heck! Isn't there a device Gianini can make in order for me not to look up ever again? They're killing me!

It was true.

For the past hour, everyone has been looking at her direction. And they even did so with so much concentration that their eyebrows met and their brows wrinkled. Levi even had his teeth out.

Kyaa! They're torturing me! They're imagining of ways to torture me!

That was also true. But of course Tsunahime misunderstood what kind of torture it was.

Hibari was thinking of killing everybody else in the room and run off with Tsunahime.

Xanxus was thinking of killing everybody else in the room and run off with Tsunahime.

Mammon was thinking of kidnapping Tusnahime and trade her off for a lot of money.

Bel was considering the notion of sitting on her lap this time.

Levi wanted to think that he could think of something worth thinking about, like say, can he even think about thinking?

Lussuria was praying to all his okama gods to bring back his little goldfish (Squalo- chan) back to his mother (which was Lussuria, as Lussuria wants to think).

Ryohei was tortured that he did not get invited to his little sister's wedding.

Yamamoto was drooling at Tsunahime's cuteness and if he could just touch her cheek for just one time...

Reborn said: "I know what all of you are thinking about."

Everyone lowered their gaze.

"Eh? How'd you do that, Reborn? Those should be the stuff you should be teaching me!"

"You're too useless. That will never have any effect on them if you did it."

"Hey! Don't talk to Jyuudaime like that!" Tsunahime turned around to face her storm guardian with a shocked expression on her face.

Reborn's eyes were already quite small, who would imagine it getting smaller?

"What did you say?" Everyone was quiet. Even Kyuudaime was just standing there silently and waiting for the next move.

"Um...I uh- I said can...can you please talk to her nicely? Please?" Beads of sweat were racing each other down his body.

"That's quite a fountain you got there. Ha ha ha." Yamamoto laughed his nervousness away. Reborn can get really scary when he does that.

The others followed suit, smiling nervously and then laughing.

And soon the Reborn-nearly-killing-Gokudera was out of their minds.

Maybe if they die, this will all end?, thought Tsunahime.

Wah! I'm so evil! Did I really want my friends to die like that? Mukuro is even there. Did I just want him to die? And that Byakuran... She felt her lips and the memory of hot lips crashing down on hers made her flush.

"What's wrong Tsunahime-chan?" Ryohei was immediately in front of her, concern written all over her face.

"I'm fine onii-san." She smiled sincerely up at him. And he blushed this time.

"Are you okay, my princess?" Belphegor felt her forehead with his palm.

"You feel hot. Heck, you look hot. Ushi shi shi."

"Hey! Hey, get away from her!" Yamamoto and Gokudera even chorused while swatting away Bel's hand and getting in between him and Tsunahime.

"Belphegor." And from then on, whatever it was that everybody was doing came to a standstill. Fudge, even their breathing stopped. Xanxus rose from where he sat and made his way to Tsunahime. I've never heard Xanxus call anyone by their name before. Tsunahime thought back and came up with no memory where Xanxus has ever called anyone like that. Maybe it's good news! Like he and his friends are finally getting close. Strange as it is, Tsunahime felt happiness bubbling up her chest.

"I'm gonna kill you if you do that again." So much for good news.

"Y-yes, boss. Understood." Belphegor backed up with a look that resembled a boy parting with his best toy.

But Xanxus immediately changed his target when he turned around and saw Hibari touching his forehead with Tsunahime's. And he even have his arms around her waist! 'O.O'

"What the f-"

"Hey omnivore princess, you might have a fever. My arms are cold so jump here and I'll bite you- I mean or else I'll bite you." And Hibari thought, this is so uncool. I spoke two sentences.

Before Tsunahime or anyone else could do the jumping, there was the bringing out of weapons first. Followed by shouting and death threats. And finally, hell broke loose.

"Idiots! Stop it this instant!" Ninth's voice carried the orders with such authority and power that the monsters stopped dead in their tracks.

"I order you to declare a truce for the remainder of this Engagement games. And if anyone dared to violate this law, their team shall be disqualified. No one is allowed to touch Tsunahime. Keep a good three-meter safe zone for the girl. Can't you see that she's distraught?"

Tsunahime sipped her drink as she sat on the comfy seat they brought her. "Oh, um..." And she did her best to look "distraught".

"The Kyuudaime is right. Even though it pains me to not be able to stay by Jyuudaime's side, I must follow this order to keep her safe." Gokudera was practically tearing up.

"Tss. Fine."

"Fine."

"Whatever."

Kyuudaime nodded at their understanding (Each of them was glaring sig sauers at one another. That was the meaning of understanding for them.).

"Good, now shall we rest easy and enjoy the games?"

…ooo00800ooo…

"Who the heck thought of these stupid games again?" Byakuran was still stranded by the river shore. Reborn and Kyuudaime meant to sneeze, but stopped themselves just in time to prevent embarrassment.

He stood with his hands on his hips, still thinking of a way to cross the bloody river.

Should I build a bridge? And then what? Become a carpenter? What if he felled trees and use them to get across? The heck, the river was over a hundred meters wide. So what then?

Before he could get any more annoying thoughts, he felt a chill run down his spine- as if someone was watching him. And not just watching, mind you, it was like he was being skinned alive. Pivoting, he searched for the enemy. But there was no one. Everything was awfully quiet. And that made his feeling grow worse.

He brought out a knife because he speculated that, no he was sure of it, that the one triggering his alarms was Mukuro. And he knew that letting his flames out would elicit a more dangerous response from the Vongola mist guardian. How did that fool of a Vongola guardian manage to reach it here? But then again, Tsunahime's friends were always a weird bunch.

Straining his senses, he detected movement just a few yards from where he stood. He let the blade fly. But it didn't hit its designated mark, instead, it made its way back to him- straight to his heart. This time, he had no qualms about releasing his flames, which came out in a strong burst of power. The knife flew away sideways and became impaled full hilt into a nearby tree.

"Kufu fu fu. And here I thought I could serve your heart in a barbecue platter tonight for my wedding ceremony."

Byakuran countered him with a smile so irritating that it made Mukuro's red eye glow. "Pity. The feast would've been perfect." And he let out his flame white dragon.

Mukuro sidestepped with perfect timing and ease. The dragon passed him but curved back to take a second bout.

"I don't think so." Mukuro raised his trident up in the air, poised to impale even the heavens. The sky darkened and a strong wind blew leaves out of their anchorage.

"Very nice- for a novice." And Byakuran brought down his hand hard. The white dragon did the same.

It opened its slavering maw, welcoming Mukuro into its toothy confines. An explosion broke out.

…ooo00800ooo…

BOOM!

"What was that?" All of the ones who hang back at the pavillion aimed their sight at the sound of explosion. They saw dark smoke rise from somewhere beyond the woods.

"What was that? Oh my, do you think Mukuro-kun's alright?" Sweat started forming on Tsunahime's forehead.

"Don't worry ,Jyuudaime, it's not a loss at all." Gokudera wore a frown so obvious; you could have sworn he very much wanted to be the one who caused that "loss". But to his disappointment, he saw Tsunahime pale at his words. He knows that it was not right for him to be disappointed if his boss was worrying about that pineapple- head. She was his boss after all. But still...it hurt.

Hibari stood a good ways back, daring anyone to touch even a fiber of Tsunahime's gown. She needs to be pure. I won't let anyone touch her. Then he remembered the white- headed herbivore. He let out an evil miasma.

"Ha ha ha. Don't worry, Tsunahime. Pineapple- head must've been the one who caused that. He must've stabbed Byakuran with his pineapple- haircut or something. Ha ha ha." Yamamoto glanced at Tsunahime through his peripheral vision. He couldn't help but target Byakuran. What he did on the island- it was the most unforgivable sin.

His good humor made Tsunahime smile, albeit with doubt. But the sight of her friends' smiling faces and the sound of their reassuring voices calmed her down a notch. She suddenly felt bubbly inside.

"Boss, what are we supposed to do? Squalo is far behind the other two. Mammon looked up from the scanner he kept hidden inside his black cloak. (Hey! Isn't that kind of unfair to the others?)

"Damn that trash! What do we got?" He lowered his voice because Ninth was standing near to his group.

"Shall we go with Plan Alpha? Or Beta? Although Delta is rather bloodier, boss. Ushi shi shi."

As a response, Xanxus grinned vampirically. "Send out the bloodiest we've got."

Byakuran was smirking smugly at the explosion. I bet there's a crater there now, with crushed bones and splashed out blood with tidbits of human flesh.

"Shame, I should've taken his eye first and preserved it in formaldehyde. Tsk tsk." He turned his back and stuck his finger on his chin. Now, how to cross?

"Kufu fu fu. You're quiet a guy for grandeur, aren't you?" Byakuran literally froze. He jerked his whole body to where the voice originated. Amidst the smoke of destruction, he could barely make out the outline of a man and a large monster in the background.

Unfortunately, the wind blew hard. Scattering the dust left behind by his attack, the gust of wind allowed him to visualize Mukuro perfectly unharmed. And behind him, his dragon was grappling with another dragon.

The new dragon was definitely more evil looking than the white one. With glittering red eye on one socket and shining obsidian eye on the other, it had dark scales which color seemed to shift with its movement. Byakuran later realized that the monster's hide was made of dark mist, breaking out then becoming solid at random. The kamikaze dragons continued to battle, bithing each other's tails, bangint their sides on one another and snapping at each other's head. They formed a complete coil with each other's body. Blacka and white completely entwined, they rose to the air vanished among hte clouds.

"Huh. I might have underestimated you, Vongola mist guardian."

"Well, I do have more power than I let on. I am wonderful after fu fu."

Without any warning, heavy droplets of heavy rain started falling. So, yeah, Byakuran was pretty much surprised. And to add to his nearly overflowing annoyance called "Rukudo Mukuro", thunder rumbled far above as well.

As you well expect, the awaited spectacle of the day happened: the great show of definitely sinewy, lean and not to mention very wet hot bodies of Byakuran and Mukuro. (Quite a sight actually, I could almost feel myself dropping dead cold out of happiness. Hey, what else can I do? It was devastatingly hot in here! Hello! But the point is...)

Far above the heavens, clashing fangs and scales sent sparks to erupt in the sky.

"Well, out pets seem to be enjoying themselves over there. They're putting their masters to shame." An evil glint in his eye and Byakuran was attacking Mukuro with a speed that easily could've made lightning proud. But Mukuro saw the move coming, and should I say that Byakuran was quite surprised to have him dodge his flaming attack.

"Kufu fu fu. Watch where you land that thing. It's pretty dangerous you know." And while saying this, Mukuro countered every attack with a move that was stronger and faster. Soon enough, the both of them were perspiring despite the heavy rain. They gave each other a few seconds to breathe, then went on with the fight.

White flames and transparent mist faced each other head on. None of them was willing to give up the fight. They fought and fought, as if their very lives depended on it, which was probably the case.

It was said that the skylark was the strongest of the Vongola, but no one would likely forget that the mist guardian had once captured Hibari Kyoya. So shall I abbreviate the fight? A good hour has passed and the warring parties have lain or slumped on the ground out of exhaustion. Catching every single breath even seemed to be labor for them. But who said anything about giving up?

With weary feet and their heads spinning, they struggled to get up. Both of them agreed that the last stand starts now. They were almost out of flames.

"I daresay you surprised me there, Vongola," said Byakuran. He was panting.

"Kufu fu fu. Of course I did, although I'll also give it to you that you're doing well in facing me off."

"And what's up with your weird laugh? Do you have to do that?" Gee, one of them was about to die in a moment and their last talk would be about Mukuro's weird laugh? If I'd known better I'd say that they were seriously hanging on the same crazy wavelengths.

"Of course I do, kufu fu fu. Girls love it. Even Tsunahime sways when she hears it."

"Um, okay. Let's just finish this." Byakuran was applying pressure on a gash on his arm. No matter what he does, the wound just won't stop bleeding. He reckoned it was deep enough to cause blood loss if this fight won't end soon.

Mukuro also made his way through the debris of the fight. He also sported a wound of his own, but this one was an ugly cut that ran bron his hip down to his knee. Every step he took brought tingles of pain up his spine.

"Congratulations though. Kufu fu fu. I haven't had this much fun for a long while."

"Ha ha. Me too. It'll be a shame to attend your funeral."

"That won't happen." And using calculated bursts of flames, they sped towards each other... Closer. Closer. Any one of them could pass this while the other lies dying on the ground.

BAM! But the decapitation did not come. They just sped straight onto a gigantic creature. And it was hideous. Above them a voice spoke:

"Voi! I do love interrupting fights. Especially when I'm not invited."

…ooo00800ooo…

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