"W-Why?" big brown eyes stared up at him, confusion and shock clear upon them as slivers of pain managed to creep up and darken the orbs.
He could only stare back as he allowed silence to fall upon them. The air was thick with tension as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as their stunned gazes landed upon him.
"You really think giving yourself up like a sacrificial lamb would solve this?" his voice was familiar yet strangely detached at some point. It was a tone he never thought his boss would be the receiving in the end. It made his thoughts churn and rationalize only to be halted by a solid hit on the jaw that made his head turn with a quick snap.
Lawn-head. He concluded as he gazed to meet a pair of burning silver depths.
"So we wait here?" he fumed, silver eyes flashed.
Anger.
"We need to do something!"his grip tightening into a choke.
Desperation.
"We HAVE to, or –" A pause.
Panic.
"They have my little sister dammit!" he exclaimed in hot fury.
Pain and Guilt.
They flit and mix across the surface, concocting into the worst of poisons as the Sun Guardian held him roughly by the collar, bandaged hands shaking with restraint.
"Calm the hell down. We're going to get them back." He said as he pushed himself away from the fellow guardian's grip.
"By doing nothing?" he challenged, it was rare to see him like this, full of killing intent and will.
"We don't even know their location." He presented, hoping to show how stupid it would be for them to just randomly charge into various – possibly wrong – locations, wasting energy and strength for nothing but hopeful guesses.
A spark of reason.
A flash of justification and sheer impulsivity.
"Then we start looking." Ryohei growled, his rough voice turning savage as he turned to leave.
"You really think it's that easy?" he asked in turn as he blocked the boxer's path.
"Out of the way!" he yelled while punching his way through the bomber.
A clash of silver, brewing tempests against the burning sun..
With one swift twist, he was on his knees.
The victor was clear.
"Right now, our main concern is how to save the girls without losing anyone. The Tenth or you." the Storm's voice was steady and cold, he didn't dare loosen his grip as he made his point with the boxer.
He was beaten, but it didn't mean he was going to give up.
He looked up to meet the frozen jade depths challengingly as he yelled out another retort.
"What makes you think I'm going to listen to someone who hurts the ones he cares about? What kind of right hand hits his own boss?"
A nerve was struck.
He could help but feel a bit of bittersweet triumph when he felt the bomber's grip tighten and turn stiff at the words.
A crash of hesitation and guilt came when flashes of pain invaded the gray green depths.
"Onii-san." The words were sudden and reproachful as he turned to meet a pair of darken chocolate browns.
It was a low blow and they both knew it.
"Gokudera-kun." The voice caught him, it was steady and clear.
He awaited for the order to come.
"Can you please contact the Ninth?" the shadows have long hidden the brown depths from his view, obscuring him the chance to read what his boss what really feeling.
He did nothing but nod in assent.
He may be young and inexperienced but he was still his boss.
He was still the man he'll protect.
He was still the man he'll always be there for.
"Don Cavallone, I apologize for our outburst." He stopped as he turned to gawking blonde-haired boss that instantly managed to compose himself into a semblance of formality.
This was not the time to return to old habits.
He knew whatever happens after this, he'll have some things to fix and some may be have to be broken forever. Each step seemed to echo within him, each step indicating the changes to take place and the changes to accept.
The oak doors closed.
Heavy and silent, he sat on a nearby chair.
It was a hard choice.
"Not bad. But I never thought that you'll actually have it in you." a small voice roused him from his brief trance. As he turned to the pair of onyx eyes one thought crossed his mind.
He regretted nothing.
"We don't have time for you to feel guilty on this. What's done is done." Added the arcobaleno as the dark eyes continued to regard him observantly.
"It's not something I should regret, Reborn-san." He replied in a strangely detached tone.
All he got was a nod of acknowledgement, he could only stare as the so-called baby turned back to return only to halt with a few parting words.
"If you didn't do it, I would have."
Finally, peace. He sighed as he tried to clear his mind, he still had a very important call to make but he had to organize a few things before he goes informing the Ninth.
There were situations to analyze, decisions to weigh, possible risks and causalities to consider.
The list goes on.
His head was already pounding at the mounting tasks.
His nerves were frayed and something in him just wanted to sink into the chair and sleep.
I never thought handling hostage situations could be this tasking. He commented as he recalled himself already picturing several situations and plans the moment the man introduced himself. His head was already processing and connecting new and old information when the damn bastard bared his cards.
He let his thoughts drive his brain into hyper drive and the emotional toll on him in dealing with the others just takes the cake.
"You'll drive yourself into to the brink of insanity if you keep on thinking like that." the voice roused him from his chaotic musings.
Romario.
"You all right?" asked the man as he leaned back against the wall beside his chair.
"Yeah." He nodded.
It was lie.
He needed to ease his thoughts.
He needed to calm down.
"Your first real hostage taking?" he dared ventured a guess, he was not unfamiliar with the bomber's unstable moods.
He nodded in a yes.
This was the real deal.
He had handled hostages before while acting as support but never the one who tried to make things work out.
The fact he had emotional attachment to the hostages did not help at all.
"You 're doing just fine. You made the right decisions and so far so good. But if you're going to drive yourself crazy trying to think about every little detail that might happen or go wrong, just stop and breathe." He the man as he shared a knowing look with him.
"If you are going to worry, worry on trying to contact the Ninth first. Baby steps." He advised as he turned to leave as well.
"Also, I'm sure your boss understands." The Cavallone man halted and turned only to meet a pair of jade eyes.
"But that doesn't make it any less painful does it." he replied casting a smile laced with bitterness.
Yes, he didn't regret stopping his boss from rushing into a foolish move, but it didn't mean that his gut didn't twist when his fist connected with his boss' jaw.
"It comes with the job. Sometimes, bosses have a tendency to become unreasonable. It's our job to snap them out of it." said the old man as he left him to his own devices and memories.
"No. No fucking way in hell am I going to do that!" he denied and lashed as his eyes flashed in angry defiance.
"So you let him have his way?" a raised brow of question.
A silent challenge.
A spoken loss.
"It's not like that." his teeth gritted tightly in frustration and reluctance.
"You and I both know the decision is wrong." The voice was ever cool and flat, as amber eyes remain steady and warm.
So knowing.
So full of secrets.
"But – "
A raised hand.
A signal.
He said no more.
"Whatever you decide, I want you to remember something."
A pause, pregnant and heavy.
He awaited the words to come.
"Sometimes, you have to hurt the ones you care about to protect them."
With determined strides and a straightened back he watched him walk away. Each step muffled but grave as the heavy doors close with an audible click, he turned to the remaining personnel in the room.
"Gokudera's right. W-We have to calm down." He spoke, ignoring the slight throb in his jaw and the twist in his chest.
He was pathetic.
What kind of boss am I? he thought as he began sinking into his dark thoughts of remorse.
Images played in replay.
Feelings of panic and fear clouding him.
The punch that left him in shock and gaping.
"But Tsuna!" exclaimed Yamamoto, dark honey brown eyes sharp and protesting.
It wasn't right.
They should be doing something.
Anything.
We've got to start looking. He gritted his teeth in for he knew all too well, how stupid the decision was and how open they'll be if they ever find the place.
It was risky.
They may be strong but sometimes, strength doesn't always make you win or accomplish things.
A flicker of reconsideration.
Of doubt.
BANG!
The faint scent of gunpowder filled the air.
"Do something stupid and I won't hesitate to incapacitate any one of you." warned the arcobaleno as his green revolver glinted against the light.
The warning was crystal clear.
"We have to save them." His voice was low but the silent determination within the brown eyes burned.
"We have to find them first." Answered the mentor, not bothering to acknowledge his Sun's growls of frustration and his Rain's disapproving glare.
He wasn't alone on the desire to take the risk.
But the popular choice isn't always the best one.
This wasn't a democracy.
"I know." He sighed in obvious defeat.
He was in no place to make decisions.
He was still a bumbling fool.
Clumsy and naïve.
Still No-Good. He mentally concluded as he felt himself succumb to the all too familiar feel of helplessness.
"With your hyper intuition we could pin point their probable location, but the range is still too wide." He heard the Cavallone boss supply but even his intuition has its limits.
"That was quick." He heard the arcobaleno remark as he saw the silver-haired Storm enter the somber threshold.
"Tenth." A quick bow of formality, nothing else came.
"Gokudera-kun." He spoke out, an apology jumping at his throat only to be cut off.
"I've already informed the Ninth." He said coolly as he neared them, his light jade eyes were sharp and icy.
"And?" asked Reborn as he patiently awaited the current Vongola boss' response.
"And he says, they might make contact any minute since they're quite confident that the Tenth is still inexperienced in these kinds of things." The words were too detached and technical, no longer full of passion and fire.
They expected a defense, a jolt of injustice that would give them a brief glimpse of the former Storm only to meet a hit man's cold calculation.
"They weren't wrong about that. Tsuna was already ready to give himself to them on a silver platter if you didn't stop him." Nodded the tutor paying no heed how a flash of injury appeared upon the student's chocolate orbs.
"What he didn't know of course was that the enemy would be planning to use him as a bargaining tool against Vongola." Reborn said as he turned to him, black round eyes sending messages of disappointment and reproach.
He just felt his self esteem plummet and shrivel away under the intense dark gaze.
"What did he decide?"
The pause came, filling the room with tension and anticipation.
His stomach churned with discomfort.
He wasn't going to like this.
"The Varia are on their way."
…to be continued…
A/N: I am EXTREMELY SORRY! I know I'm SUPER late and I have no one to blame but my lazy ass… I can't promise quicker updates but I do promise that I WILL FINISH this fic… so THANK YOU my readers...for the patience and support. Thank you for reading and please review. ^-^