Chapter Thirty Seven
And by distracted, Fon meant that a black, flaming portal opened up right in front of him and all he could think was, of course. Of course, he finally got a chance to be back in his body and the vindice show up.
Chains rattled, breaking most out of their dumbfounded staring, both at Fon's adult body and the pitch black flaming portal that anyone in the Underground knew and had nightmares about. Even those in the Triads knew of the Vindice, who didn't really interfere with them unless it was something to do with flames. A cold chill settled in the Varias' and the Arcobalenos' bones. Fon and Reborn shifting slightly to cover Tsunahime more effectively. Reborn was happy that Fon was in his adult body for this (even if he regretted not suggesting to go first so he'd be in his body and be the one to more effectively protect their sky. Not that he didn't trust in Fon's abilities, because he did -trust in Fon's skills, he means- but Reborn would have felt better if he was in that position nonetheless). Reborn did remember Tsunahime mentioning that she was on good terms with the Vindice (and that should not be a thing in any universe) but he didn't really process that thought with the beings, that made professional killers cry (not him, of course, because he was Reborn but the point still stood), step out of the portal. It was the same when he saw Hibari, who was usually the first one to acknowledge a threat against his pack, not bat an eyelash at the sudden appearance. Reborn saw the detail but didn't really process it when the only thing on his mind was, there is a threat near his bambina whom he wouldn't be able to kill easily and that was bad, very, very bad.
The lackey exclaimed, stumbling back in shock and part terror, "W-what the hell?!" It pretty much summed up what was currently going through everyone else's' minds. Xanxus stood up, his hands near his twin guns but knew better than to aim them, which could be counted as an attack. No one attacked the Vindice and got away with it.
Despite the warm temperate, cold swept through the room as a cloaked figure stepped out of the portal. He was covered in bandages, the only bit of his face that could be seen his the single piercing, gold coloured eye. A black cloak covered his body, the style very old fashioned, not that anyone would tell that to any of the Vindice. A top hat sat upon the man's shaggy long, shoulder length hair. He was tall and imposing but that wasn't what drew the Arcobaleno's attention, well, not all of it, they weren't stupid enough to ignore the man (could he be called that?), as a baby sat upon the vindice's shoulder. A very Arcobaleno-like baby with a clear pacifier hanging around his neck. He wore similar clothes as the man he was sitting on but the bandages around his face covered everything, hiding every feature, even his eyes, from view.
The Vindice Arcobaleno? (what was happening?) looked at Fon for one long moment, no one daring to even breathe until his bandages moved, indicating that he had opened his mouth to speak, "Interesting. I see now why you asked me to be here, Tsunahime." his voice was deep despite his baby figure, his voice seemingly intent on etching itself in their skin with it's rough, emotionless tone.
Tsuna beamed happily, sending her flames to calm her storm and sun, not that it did much given how tense they were at the moment, "I thought you would want to be involved, Bermuda-chan."
Xanxus twitched, a scowl forming as disbelief entered his voice, "You mean you asked the Vindice to come here, mini-trash?" he was ignoring the word 'Bermuda-chan'. That did not happen. That couldn't have just happened.
"Of course, Xanxus. This includes them too."
Tsuna ignored Squalo's, "How do you even do that? And Bermuda-chan? Voi, who the hell are you?!" Really, if she was actually starting to enjoy frustrating people, she was obviously spending too much time with Reborn. Not that she was complaining about that.
"You have increased your family since we last met." Bermuda stated, using his night soul flames to scan the area and seeing the flames that were connected to her own, the not baby looked to Bat, thoughtfully, "And only you would be able to convince Bat to work for you on breaking a curse such as this one." The leader's tone was bordering on pride and approval but not even Reborn was willing to think about what that inferred with a ten-foot long pole. He did, however, take note of the way Bermuda, the leader of the vindice (why, Tsuna, why?), said Bat's name. As if she was of so much importance that she was renowned even among his group of devils. He was going to ask about that later. When the Vindice weren't here. Bat didn't react fearfully in any way to Bermuda, merely nodding in his direction with a blank expression.
Besides, Reborn wanted to shoot something in frustration. He really did. Everyone else around them were obviously unnerved, waiting for the Vindice to attack at any second, but not Tsuna. Oh no. Tsuna, his secretly mischievous bambina, decided to ignore the growing tension that cloaked the room and casually chat with the Leader of the Vindice. A leader she invited in the first place, without telling anyone else this was going to happen (they needed to talk about letting them know important details such as this). Which was obviously annoying and frustrating for everyone as no one knew how to react to whatever the hell was going on.
If it wasn't the Vindice in front of him, he'd be so proud…
Still, there was something to address and seen as no one else seemed to have the backbone to ask it, he was going too instead. Though Hibari didn't seem bothered about the Vindice, rather than scared of them, and Fon was focusing all of his attention into protecting Tsuna, should it be needed, without being obvious about it so Reborn couldn't really comment about them, "How does this include the Vindice exactly?" he demanded, trying to ignore the pacifier around Bermuda's neck and the implications of that.
Tsuna hummed in thought, looking at Bermuda, who nodded, "The vindice are made up of the previous Arcobaleno." And there went his denial.
A blink, "What?" Verde cut in, bluntly, mind spinning with things that small sentence implied.
"Checkerface-" Tsuna paused as and two Vindice covered the room with killing intent, angered by the mere name of the man who did this to them, "Now, Bermuda-chan, Jager, I understand your fury but this isn't the best place to let it run wild." she summoned her own flames and called upon the calming quality they had, letting it fill the room and dull their temper if only a little. Colonello made a small, whimpering noise at the back of his throat at the sight of Tsunahime not only scolding the Vindice but using her flame to calm them down. Reborn completely understood, even if he'd never admit it. Especially, when the Vindice themselves didn't seem to care, actually listening and pulling back their killing intent, even if it was still the air, it was at a more manageable level. Seriously, what was the bambina's relationship with these people? Going to a party or two (Reborn wasn't thinking about that, he wasn't) shouldn't suddenly endear you to the Vindice! "As I was saying, Checkerface," another pulse of intent before they got a hold of themselves once again, "took back Bermuda-chan's and his generation's pacifiers when they were running out of flames. Refusing to accept his fate, Bermuda-chan clung to his flames and his will, turning them black and therefore living even without the pacifier. In its place, he has a clear one. Bermuda-chan, once he realised what he had done, became the Leader of the Vindine, creating the Vendicare."
The gathered Arcobaleno really didn't know how to react to that information so Mammon asked, wanting a hoard as much knowledge as possible before going over it later, "Muu, so the other Vindice did the same?"
"I can't say that I know the details, having only learned about it when looking into breaking the curse and needing more knowledge about it, but, from what I can understand, Bermuda-chan used his flames to keep the strongest of each generation of Arcobaleno from dying, turning them into one of the Vindice." Tsunahime wondered if she could use the word 'alive' when talking about the Vindice because they were technically dead but they lived as well... sort of. It was an… un-life in a way. It was confusing to explain but they were both alive and dead at the same time. Their hearts didn't beat and they didn't breathe, but they could still walk and were capable of thinking for themselves. They were zombies. Really, really powerful zombies... Who didn't have the annoying tendency of preferring to eat human flesh... At least, she didn't think they did.
The tall one -Jager, Tsuna knew- nodded in confirmation, "Lord Bermuda doesn't care about the curse being cured but if we were able to break it, we would be able to take something away from that man." Everyone could hear the smirk in his voice that spoke of dark satisfaction. The Arcobaleno couldn't really hold that against them, if they had a way to get back at Checkerface, they'd take it as well. After trying to kill them, of course. Though if the Vindice had a grudge against him and couldn't find him/kill him, they wondered how powerful Checkface really was.
Bat stepped forward, "Does that mean you'll lend your knowledge of the curse?"
"We will lend our assistance for the time being. We shall contact you with the information at a later date." finalised Bermuda with a decisive nod. Bat returned it with one of her own and stepped back as the Arcobaleno stared, very lost and confused.
"You… you asked the Vindice for help...?" Fon asked, slowly. Sure, he knew the the Vindice were somewhat known in the supernatural community but even than they weren't exactly the friendliest bunch. Even with the strange parties he heard they hosted, though you had to personally be given an invite to that or come with someone who had been given an invite. Fon, honestly, couldn't see the appeal of attending one of those but then he knew the Vindice through the triads first, and later, the mafia before he knew them through the supernatural side of things, so his wariness was natural.
His sky's completely relaxed response to them was not, in any way, natural.
He got a unconcerned smile in return, "Of course. If I want to break this curse as soon as possible it would be for the best to get as much help as possible."
Skull whimpered, "Reborn-senpai, your student is scary." Tsuna pretended not to hear the whispered comment even as Mukuro chuckled, pleased and Kyoya smirked. Reborn, following Kyoya's example with an even more smug air about himself than usual, flame radiating pride and swirling around her own sky.
A black portal opened but as Bermuda and Jager (who she still hadn't properly introduced, she realised, that was probably very rude of her) prepared to jump, Tsuna called out to them, suddeningly remembering, "Ah, if you could wait a moment." Jager stopped and Bermuda turned his head, "Thank you. I wanted to tell you earlier but I figured doing it in person would be easier. The mafia seem to be under the impression my mist is still a criminal but I thought you dropped his charges."
She got the impression that Bermuda narrowed his eyes, "We have." he growled out, not liking that his law was being undermined. Sure, he didn't drop his charges very often (or ever) but he sent out a notice all the same. Bermuda turned to the mist, "You haven't committed any crimes recently?" he questioned.
Mukuro smirked, "Kufufufu, I don't believe I've massacred anyone recently…" he trailed off, like he was trying to remember if he had, actually adopting a thinking pose, as Kyoya twitched, obviously very close to bring out his tonfa. He really had no patience for Mukuro. Not that Tsuna blamed him, Mukuro went out of his way to rile the wolf up, "Nope, I have my dear Chrome to look after now and as much I loved the pained cries that come from your Vendicare, I don't want to be imprisoned there. I hear you use water tanks." he stated, as if the thought of being trapped in a water tank was worse than actually being imprisoned and, no doubt, physically tortured. Than again. she had heard those water tanks tended to infer with the person's flames and shut off their senses so could be counted as torture, just more geared to the mental aspect.
Bermuda stared at Mukuro for another moment (which made Tsuna wonder because Bermuda's eyes were covered, what was he seeing? Or could he see through the bandages? Maybe he was similar to Bat and used his flames to 'see') before nodding and turning back to Tsuna, "The Vindice shall make clear the status of your mist." and with that slightly ominous statement, for the mafia at least, Jager stepped into the portal and disappeared with Bermuda on his shoulder.
The room warmed.
Everyone seemed to let out a breath of relief, shoulder slumping slightly.
Tsuna watched on, amused with her cloud and mist.
Tsuna smiled happily as Fon relaxed slightly, now that the potential threat was gone, "I'm glad that I got that sorted out. I was wondering what would happen if the mafia knew that I had Mukuro as my element while still thinking him as a criminal." she mused, if only to fill the silence that seemed to hang in the air.
Reborn sighed, feeling his tension slip away, muttering, "I told you to stop breaking reality, bambina."
Tsuna chuckled, amused, "In my defence, I didn't expect Bermuda-chan to drop in while this was still going on. I thought he'd come in afterwards."
"I don't think that was the point, Tsuna." pointed out Fon with a fond, exasperated smile before returning to his baby form, not wanting to waste his two hours of the week in it if he was just going to chat. Given his nephew's anticipating smirk, he'd be fighting in it soon enough. He sat back down with Reborn.
At the reminder of the seal, the other Arcobaleno turned back to the box on the coffee table, trying to forget what just happened (who the hell can just ask something of the Vindice and get it without any consequences?! And who the hell calls the leader of the Vindice, 'Bermuda-chan' and gets away with it?! Sure, she was Reborn's student, and so was going to be crazy by association eventually, but they were pretty sure summoning the Vindice willingly was even outside of Reborn's type of insanity. Skull got it right for once, she was scary… Not that any of them would admit to thinking that but they at least knew to stay a healthy distance away if anyone got her mad. And to abandon whoever was foolish enough to invoke that anger in the first place). After looking closely and seeing the difference between each ring, they slipped on their respective ones, immediately feeling the seal working. Any uncommon (that was becoming more and more common as time went on) exhaustion was washed away and with that they channelled their flames into the rings.
In the place of the Strongest Babies, were the Strongest, the best of the best, in their prime. Colonello grinned, feeling his strength returned to him, "This is awesome, kora!" he exclaimed, Skull being quick the shout out his excitement afterwards. Viper was busy staring at his hands with wonder and awe emitting from his flame. Verde was muttering something under his breath, staring at the ring on his finger with analytical eyes. Reborn was looking over his body with a pleased smirk, flames radiating his joy over having his body back.
"As stated before caution and discretion is expected when using the rings. They are durable. Meant to withstand combat, but do not abuse them. I will not make you a new one." reminded Bat. Everyone nodded, too busy reveling in what was happening to say anything of value.
Well, that was the case until Verde's curiosity got the better of him, "Why rings?" he asked.
"My partner, who worked with me on the seal, had previous knowledge about how to infuse rings with power. It was the logical choice. Plus, the mafia has been known to have certain special rings. It should prove as an extra cover if needed."
"And how does one infuse rings with power?"
Bat narrowed her eyes, threatening, "As stated before, the knowledge of the seal and how it was made is a secret. It shall remain so. Be mindful of your curiosity, scientist."
Verde began to glare at the bat demon before stopping himself and reluctantly nodding, she and Tsunahime had made headway into breaking the curse and granted him the seal without wanting anything in return. He wasn't so ungrateful to spit that in their face. At least, not about this in any case.
Tsuna sighed, tiredly, as she relaxed against the sofa. The Arcobaleno had finally gone to wherever they were staying before leaving the country which allowed her to relax once more. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't expecting them to suddenly attack her but they were called the Strongest for a reason (Reborn and Fon showed her that) and lowering her guard against them would be stupid. Tsunahime made a point to not be stupid whenever possible. After all, being stupid was to be like her 'father' and she did not want that.
Reborn patted her head in silent sympathy. He had turned back into a baby almost as soon as he turned into an adult, wanting to save it for later. Fon smiled up at her and jumped on to her other shoulder, flames curling around her along with Reborn's. Mukuro's and Kyoya's were quick to follow the two Arcobaleno's example, her other elements having left to go home some time ago and Lambo, Fuuta and I-Pin were safely asleep in their warm bed. It wasn't very late but it was getting dark outside and most had parents who would be worried about them. Chrome had gone home to make sure Chikusa and Ken didn't worry while Mukuro stayed by her side during the whole meeting.
Honestly, they pampered her, she thought, almost dazed by the flames curling around her, with a smile. Unfortunately, a knock sounded and she pushed away that feeling as much as possible to be more clear-headed, "Come in." she allowed and sat up once more. The door opened to reveal the Varia. They strolled on in, all cool confidence and bellowing cloaks. Tsuna's lips twitched.
"You wanted something, mini-trash?"
"I just wanted to let you know I talked with Timoteo. I thought you should know incase he brings it up." The man seemed to be the type to manipulate information to his liking so she thought it'd be easier to give him the full story straight away. Plus, she liked Xanxus and figured him knowing someone share his obvious opinion about the man would help him settle. Wrath flames, while rare even among the supernatural, could be tempered by sky flames. They would always rage but the user would find it easier to hold onto their calm and let go of their anger. Regardless, her and Xanxus weren't at that stage of trust just yet and she didn't want him to jump to the wrong conclusion if she started summoning her flames around him, so she wouldn't be able to help him just yet.
"Really?" Xanxus raised an eyebrow, dropping into the other sofa with feline grace (it reminded her of a larger cat though, not a house cat, perhaps and tiger of some kind though Xanxus temperament reminded her of an stereotypical western dragon), his guardians were more relaxed now that the Arcobaleno were gone. Mammon had used up his two hours straight away, in endless and also silent awe once he obtained his adult form and so was on Belphegor's shoulder once more, "How was the bastard?"
Tsuna tilted her head, an amused tint of her lips, "As you would put it, he was 'trash'."
Xanxus laughed as own guardians showed their amusement and agreement, "I knew there was something I liked about you, mini-trash."
"My thanks." Tsuna drawled, slightly sarcastic, because that sounded slightly like a compliment but also like an insult. Though, Tsuna didn't think Xanxus was capable of a compliment without an insult mixed in. He didn't seem that type of person.
Xanxus merely smirked as Belphegor laughed, "Shishishi, what did the pretender king do?"
She hummed, "Nothing overt but he seemed… manipulative to me. Not to mention patronising. There was something about him that screamed fake and he didn't take me seriously. You'd think after our battle, he'd think me worth more than that." Tsuna shrugged, mindful of her two passengers, Timoteo didn't seem bad on the surface (if she excluded the Xanxus and sealing thing) when she met with him yesterday. He said nothing overly worrying but Tsuna prided herself on her judge of character, which was often helped along by her Hyper Intuition, and it was telling her to be careful. It was telling her that she'd need to watch her back while he was around her and she would have done even if it didn't to be honest. Timoteo was a mafia boss, he couldn't just be all grandfather smiles.
Reborn scowled at the mention of Timoteo, breaking his usual cool indifferent mask that he showed to those that weren't part of the family. Though his indifference was still his go to expression, Reborn was a lot more prone to actually showing his emotions with his fellow elements and sky. The Varia blinked in surprise, "What's up with you?" asked Mammon as he was an Arcobaleno and therefore couldn't get shot by him. Well, at least not physically. Knowing Reborn, he'd try and make his life hell even without being able to injure him. Just because shooting people was his usual outlet didn't mean it was his only one. Though, he would only go out of his way because of the set of rules the Arcobaleno agreed to. Reborn stuck to his word, even if he didn't like it, as long as he wasn't betrayed first.
When Reborn didn't answer, still scowling at whatever memory he was remembering, Tsuna did it for him, "I'm not really sure. After my talk with Timoteo, he asked for Reborn to stay behind. When Reborn came back, he was in a terrible mood."
Reborn tugged his fedora down, hearing Tsunahime's tone and decided to tell her because she was obviously worried, he didn't want to worry her, even when he was as angry as he currently was, "Nono dared to try and order me around." he sneered, still furious about it and the whole conversation really. He nearly killed his bambina!
Xanxus blinked in surprised shock as everyone fell into aghast silence, "Really?" he asked, unable to keep the skepticism out and his voice, "I knew he was arrogant trash but that's like asking for a personalised death wish." Because even though Xanxus was the leader of the Varia, even he wasn't arrogant enough to personally piss off the World's Greatest Hitman. Well, at least, not without good reason and a whole fortress of defences. Better safe than sorry when it came to the strongest sun.
Reborn smirked darkly, his eyes glinting, the Varia would never admit to the shiver that ran down their spine, "Oh, he's got one… He just doesn't realise it yet." he purred, Leon automatically changing into a gun at the sound of his human's voice. Reborn grabbed it, just imagining the satisfaction he'd feel when he could finally shoot the man dead.
Mukuro chuckled darkly, "Kufufufu, now that is something I wouldn't mind helping out with."
"The herbivore threatened Alpha's life. I'd hunt him with you, carnivore." growled Kyoya.
"I suppose I should get involved as well. To make sure everything is contained, of course." added Fon, smiling. His smile seemed to have gained quite the pedadory edge that said he'd be there for more than keeping things 'contained'.
Tsuna smiled, wanting to calm the situation before it got too out of hand despite the warm, fuzzy feeling settling in her stomach as she watched her family get along, even if it was over killing someone, "Perhaps we should hold off planning his death. He is the current head after all."
Kyoya growled, angry, but Mukuro smiled slyly, "Don't worry, Kyoya-chan. Darling isn't telling us not to, only asking us to wait until she the head of the Vongola Family."
Tsuna sighed but tellingly didn't object to that statement so Kyoya calmed down… after trying to hit the annoying fox for his nickname, of course.
"Shishishi, if you're killing someone, the prince wants in."
Lussuria giggled, "I do like a dead corpse or two."
Tsuna hummed quietly as she looked around their room, looking for Reborn as she sat on their shared bed. The Varia stayed for a little while longer, quite liking to talk about Timoteo and his death or just death in general (who would have thought...?) before leaving. Xanxus seemed more at ease with her after she admitted to her… dislike of Timoteo like she thought he might. It wasn't that surprising, she got the distinct feeling that not many people in the Vongola liked Xanxus as a person so being able to bond over a mutual animosity of the ninth was probably something new but welcomed for him, outside his guardians of course, as they seemed to share their boss' opinion on the man.
Tsuna did briefly wonder why they hadn't questioned her on her unusual flame use, however, Mukuro quickly cleared that up. Apparently, he had had put a small compulsion around the room to stop questions like that from being asked. The fox had put some of his kitsune abilities into the illusion so it was more difficult to spot. Saying that, while Mukuro using his kitsune side tended to make his illusion more powerful, they weren't invincible. It did make the illusion more difficult to be sensed but so long as you got used to it or were looking very hard, you could dismiss it. Providing you had the required skill to detect it, of course. When asked why he did it, because Tsuna really didn't have the foresight to request that (something she'd need to work on, she thought and made a mental note about), Mukuro said that it was a mist's job to deceive and it was his job as a mist element to his sky to make sure the deception surrounding their family was only advantageous to them. Basically, if she wanted to tell Xanxus about their true nature, it'd be on her terms. Though he couldn't make the compulsion stick to people, not without effort and they were in constant contact with the strongest mist, which meant he'd catch up on it eventually, no matter how different his illusions would feel, so Xanxus could ask if they weren't prepared for it.
It was better than nothing and Tsuna appreciated the lengths her fox went for their family, and said so though he just replied that once he trained Chrome properly (something he was still doing, even though the ring battles had ended, as was the rest of her family, wanting to be as strong as they could once they got into the mafia. All of them had a feeling that the mafia would be full of problems) she'd take up the role of drawing attention away while he drew the attention. There were benefits of having two mists, especially when they worked so well with each other.
She jumped slightly as strong arms encircled her middle and pulled her into a torso (a very hard, well-muscled chest, her traitorous mind whispered), she blinked and looked up on an adult Reborn, "Reborn?" she asked with a blush because adult Reborn was pretty handsome, even with those sideburns of his (though they make him look adorable, not that she'd say that aloud) and said handsome man was hugging her.
Reborn eyed Tsuna's blush with a smug smirk, it had been a long time since he had been given that type of reaction and the fact that Tsuna gave it to him just made it even better, "Thank you." he muttered. Despite how quiet his voice was (obviously not very used to saying thank you to anyone), the helpless gratitude he felt could be heard loud and clear.
Tsuna relaxed once it became clear that Reborn wasn't letting go anytime soon, knowing what he was thankful for, and let her eyelids slide shut, going into her half phoenix form on instinct. Reborn only shifted his hold to accommodate her wings, not letting go, "I've already told you, you are one of my Own," Reborn tightened his hold slightly, pulling her even closer to him, and Tsuna tried not to think about why his flames had suddenly turned possessive, "But, you are welcome." she continued, accepting his rare thanks, knowing with the amount of gratitude she could feel from him, he wouldn't let it go easily.
Reborn watched his bambina fall asleep in his arms and he couldn't help but think about how good it felt to be able to do that again. To be able to hold someone he loved in his arms once again. He sighed, feeling Tsuna's flames reach out for his own, as they always did, and mix within them before laying down and bring the bambina with him, burying his nose in her soft hair. The hair tickled his nose slightly but he ignored it, Reborn was way too comfortable to even think about moving.
He was totally saving some of his curse-free time each week to do this again, he thought, as Tsuna gave a small noise of contentment and turned in his arms, nuzzling his neck. She breathed out before going boneless again, sighing, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine as the air brushed against his neck. Yes, he was so going to make this a common thing.
And done!
The Vindice make their first, proper appearance! Also Squalo is the straight man in this fanfic I've realised... Poor guy is probably the only one who's even bothering to speak aloud about how weird Tsuna and her group is... Well, at least for now. I quite like putting in Squalo's confused exclamations in the middle of a conversation, only to be largely ignored...
You all seem to be enjoying the pace of the story so far, which is good because I honestly thought I was spending to long on the Varia arc and the future arc is probably going to keep the same pace, though I can't be sure because I haven't properly written that part out yet. Anyway, thanks for all the amazing reviews, as always!