The air between Varia and the others was getting heavy as each second passed.
The only thing that broke the silence was an awkward cough from the third party that just arrived.
"Ehem!" The attention, of all the people present on the scene, turned to the person.
"I have received orders from Nono on how to deal with this problem." Iemitsu said as he raised a scroll he received from the ninth boss of vongola.
"Wai- Dad?!" Tsuna said in shock, the scary version of him disappeared in a second.
"I just received word from Nono on how to resolve this situation." Iemitsu said as he held a scroll up.
Hikaru walked home with the others as soon as Iemitsu settled the agreement of the battle between Tsuna, Xanxus and their guardians. Reborn was also one of the people who certified that the letter that was given to them was written by Nono.
It did had Nono's sky flames along with his signature, so there was enough proof that the ninth wasn't taking sides.
"Ugh. I'm tired." Hikaru murmured as he and Mukuro went in his house's gates. Judging by how dark it was, it might be 2 a.m. in the morning.
Mukuro walked behind Hikaru protectively, afraid that the albino might get kidnapped again.
Rokudo Mukuro, afraid? Now that was an emotion which Mukuro didn't expect he would have. The man really wanted to ask what else happened when Hikaru was taken by Varia.
Hikaru opened the door, only to be met by a hug-- tackle-- that almost knocked him back, if not for Mukuro who caught his back.
"M-Mom?! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Tokyo?!" Hikaru exclaimed despite his fatigue and the woman pulled back from the hug.
"Where have you been? We've been looking for you, dear?" It was a sentence composed of worry, but the woman said it in an different tone.
"I was with... some people..." Hikaru said, not knowing how to describe his relation with the varia.
"Well, we best hurry, we need to go back to Tokyo. Right now." Himiko said as she handed Hikaru a luggage.
"Eh? Eh?" Hikaru was being dragged by his mother by the hand while Shunji walked towards Mukuro with an apologetic face.
"Sorry about my wife, but she's kind of right. We need to deal with some family business in Tokyo. Please take care of the house while we're gone." Shunji asked and walked towards their car, still with an apologetic face as he glanced at Mukuro.
The blue-haired male nodded and looked at Hikaru who was trying to talk to his mother while being pushed in the car.
"Wai-- Mom, what's--" the door of the backseat closed.
The car started revving and slowly backed up to the street.
Mukuro watched as the car left with a very confused Hikaru on board.
Must be about their yakuza business. Mukuro thought as he remembered that despite Hikaru's personality, he is the son of two yakuza bigshots.
It was five hours of travel by car from Namimori to Tokyo, giving enough time for Hikaru to sleep.
Himiko watched as her son slept soundly at the backseat. They don't tell their son, but they knew that he was somehow related with mafia too.
"We're here, we're here." Shunji said with a smile as he turned the car to a corner, only to show a very wide garage area and courtyard.
They ignored that place and passed through it and went in the large wooden gate, which had a very wide area and large traditional house covered in a tall fence.
It was a place that looked like it cane out from an Edo-esque setting.
"Hikaru, wake up." Himiko said and the boy groaned before opening his eyes.
"Ugh... why am I even take to tokyo...?" Hikaru mumbled as he dragged his luggage with him then walked in the house while his mom supported his still sleepy self.
Shunji carried their other luggage inside and saw that Himiko let Hikaru lay down in a futon for a few more hours.
"So, how are we gonna tell him?" Shunji asked with a worried tone to his wife.
The woman placed a hand on her cheek and had the same expression as Shunji.
"It can't be helped. Hikaru is already 18. Father is already asking for it." Himiko said as the two of them watched the boy who was sleeping peacefully.
It was the cause of the many meetings they were attending for the past few months ever since Hikaru turned eighteen.
Rather than it concerning their yakuza business, it was actually about their clan. Their family lineage.
"Mom, could you trim it a bit more." Hikaru said as he has asked his mom to a bit of his hair. Being the dense person he was, Hikaru thought that it was his long hair that made people mistake him for a girl, but in truth it was his face.
"Okay." Himiko said with a smile, continuing to fix her son's hair.
They already talked about it to Hikaru, and the boy surprisingly accepted it calmly. It made Himiko and Shunji relieved to know that their son could understand where they were talking about and how important it was.
It's totally about my flames.. it's just called differently by my family.. Hikaru said and stood up after his mother finished fixing his hair.
"Well then, your father and I will wait at the main hall. Be dressed with this kimono, okay?" Himiko said and handed the boy a folded set of clothing for the upcoming ritual.
No, he was not some sort of sacrifice, but rather it was a ritual for Hikaru to receive his powers.
Based on what he understood from his parent's story, their family, has been a clan that birthed many gifted onmyouji* since the middle of Heian period* of Japan.
They were straight out descendants of the famous Abe no Seimei, and Hikaru is one of the people in their line that had the most compatibility and almost the same kind of soul that Seimei had.
Hikaru walked through the quiet halls and stopped, then faced a door. He slowly opened it and was greeted with different people that is most likely his relatives. The boy looked around a bit to look for his parents and found the two at the second row of the people that were there.
He glanced at the front of the room and saw an elderly man with the same color of hair as him but the elderly's hair color was caused by his age whole Hikaru's were naturally white.
"Sit down, my dear grandchild." The older Fujimoto gestured to the pillow set in front of another door.
Hikaru bowed before walking there and sat down.
"We will now begin the ritual to determine whether Fujimoto Hikaru possesses the right to be a successor." His grandfather said and the door opened by itself.
No words were said to Hikaru, but the boy somehow knew that he needed to go in that dark room.
Shunji and Himiko amxiously watched as their son went in the room without saying any word nor even glancing at them.
"It's gonna be okay. He's our strong boy." Shunji said in reassurance to Himiko while the other people also started murmuring to each other.
"I believe in our son. We must."
The ritual has been done for many years by their family, it is as successful as it is dangerous. A very straight 50/50 chance of success and failure. At worst case, Hikaru might die.
And Hikaru knew that as well, but he still went in the dark room with no shed of fear in his eyes. Fujimoto Masuki, the grandfather of Hikaru, saw that. His grandchild was a promising one. He silently hoped for Hikaru to be accepted by the spirits.
The door closed behind Hikaru with a thud and he was soon covered in darkness.
But that wasn't enough to stop Hikaru.
The boy walked a few steps before stopping, deciding he walked enough inside the room.
He stood still, waiting for something to happen.
As if on cue with his thoughts, balls of fire appeared, creating a circle that trapped the boy.
"This is him? This is him?"
"He smells familiar."
"Seimei. Where's Seimei?"
"A young boy?"
"He looks familiar."
"He looks almost the same."
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"Are you Seimei?"
"Where's Seimei?"
The embers stopped moving around and the voices trailed off.
Then...
"You're not Semei!"
One ember charged towards Hikaru, but the boy kept his straight face on as the fire approached him quickly.
It abruptly stopped right in front of his face.
"I apologize if I'm not Seimei, then." Hikaru said as the fire started to float away from his face.
"You're not him."
"Who are you, then?"
"Where's Seimei?"
"Why do you smell like Seimei?"
Hikaru brought his hands together and placed them inside the hem of his kimono.
"I am Fujimoto Hikaru, a direct descendant of the great onmyouji, Abe no Seimei. Through the years, we have reserved Seimei's knowledge, techniques, and most importatly, his familiars which is you, the great river of spirits." Hikaru bowed his head a bit and the embers seem ro converse with each other as they floated around.
"Seimei?"
"Seimei?"
"Is that why you're like Seimei?"
"You have the same smell."
"You look the same."
"Seimei's soul?"
"Is it his soul?"
The embers floated and disappeared one by one with those words.
"We like you human."
"We like the human."
"He's the next Seimei."
"We decided."
"Draw the seal human."
Hikaru bowed once again and draw the star seal. A circle envelopes the star and different kanji characters appeared. Words like contract, seal, master, and servant, was read by Hikaru before it disappeared.
The boy closed his eyes when a blinding light appeared.
"Seimei!Seimei!"
"Seimei-sama."
Hikaru opened his eyes and saw the owner of the voices that seem to be calling him as Seimei.
He saw two boys that were almost identical but their color differ them from the other. One was grinning while the other has a stoic face.
"We are Shiro and Kuro. We are glad to be of service to the great Seimei-sama once again."
It has been an hour since Hikaru went in the room where the river of spirits was sealed.
The people from the other room started murmuring about what could have happened inside.
Nobody that took the ritual lasted an hour inside that room whether it was success or failure.
They started to doubt, worry, and mock.
That was until the door opened and a large gust of wind cane out as it did. It silenced the room, all eyes set on the dark entrance.
A silhouette appeared, one that made Himiko cry in tears of joy and relief while Shunji held his wife.
Hikaru went out the room and it closed behind him. The people all watched as the boy walled a few steps before stopping, their eyes glued to him and the two other that accompanied him.
"Hikaru-sama--" Kuro started
"--is the new Abe no Seimei!" Shiro added, then the two circled around the boy.
"Show your respect to him, commoners." The two said in unison the others present was in a state of shock.
Masuki was the first one who bowed, and snapped the others out of their trance, and all bowed before Hikaru, who was one of the few people that completed the ritual in success.
"The battle for the rings."
"As the sky--"
"Nono's son."
"Xanxus."
"The rightful heir."
"Reborn."
"We are the Cervello."
"The venue will be Nami-chuu."
"The battle for the rings."
"I will have the rings and Fujimoto Hikaru."
"I am not a thing."
"I'll fight."
"I'll kill you."
Tsuna's eyes shot open as he quickly sat up from his sleep with a horrified face.
"WAAH! THE VARIA IS HERE!" the boy shouted but then slowly calmed down when he saw his sorroundings.
"...A dream?" he questioned then looked at his left hand, only to find the sky ring missing.
"Ah. The ring is gone..." he muttered when he saw no ring present.
"Tsuna. There's breakfast." Lambo's voice snapped the teen from his daze.
C-Could it be that all of that was just an unpleasant dream an-- Tsuna's thought was cut off when he turned his gaze to the other side of his room, and saw Reborn holding up a frame that had the letter with Nono's signature.
"No way." Reborn stated and brought the brunette back to reality by showing Tsuna the letter from Nono.
"!THE NINTH'S ORDER IS FRAMED!"
Something seem to sparkle on his hand and Tsuna looked down only to be in for another surprise. "THE RING IS ALSO ON MY FINGER!"
So all of that wasn't a dream... Tsuna thought as he remembered what happened last night. Varia, his dad, the cervello, and about the upcoming battle for the vongola rings.
But then, he remembered something else. It was one of the things that managed to somehow angered Tsuna and surprised Reborn of the change in character.
"I will have the rings and Fujimoto Hikaru."
"I will have the rings and Fujimoto Hikaru."
"I will have Fujimoto Hikaru."
Reborn noticed how Tsuna seem to be firing up so early in the morning, and smirked knowing what the reason for the sudden change in personality.
"You sure like Fujimoto, dame-Tsuna." Reborn teased and made the brunette look at him, flustered and shocked.
"EH?! Ah! Uuhh..."
Reborn's smirk stayed.
Mukuro stood outside the house as he watched a car pull over by the front gate. The fence blocked the view of who it was.
The sound of the car's door was heard as someone seem to be getting off.
The blue-haired male saw a familiar white hair that showed above the fence.
"Seimei! Seimei! Why are we here?!"
"Seimei-sama. The sun is starting to rise."
"Ahaha, okay, okay. Wait just a minute."
Mukuro knew the last voice he heard, he knew that it was Hikaru's voice, but what troubled him was the two other voices that spoke before the albino.
Mukuro walked out of the house gates and saw Hikaru talking to his parents by the window, two small figured sticking close to him.
The boy was dressed very traditionally, wearing a blue kimono with some gold shawl and a few design on it.
"Take care while we're gone okay?" Himiko said and Hikaru nodded.
"I get it already. Didn't you say that you two have some meeting with Hibari's grandpa. You're already five minutes late."
Shunji seem to glance at the clock in their car.
"Oh, you're right." Shunji started up the car again.
Hikaru backed away from the vehicle, the two other with him imitating what he was doing.
"Well be gone for a while again, Hikaru." Himiko said before they drove off while Hikaru waved them goodbye.
Once the car was out of sight, Hikaru sighed and placed a hand on the back of his neck, his face showing how tired he was with all the things happening.
"Seimei! Seimei! Are you okay?" The youth clad in white latched onto Hikaru.
"Is there something troubling you, Seimei-sama?" The other who wore black asked and pulled a bit on Hikaru's sleeve.
"Yeah, things just happened at the same time." Hikaru started to walk to his house but stopped when he saw that someone was standing there.
"Oh, Mukuro, you're up quite early." Hikaru said as the man stood there with a smile on his face.
Mukuro, on the other hand, eyed the two young boys that are clinging close to Hikaru. The other two, Kuro and Shiro, did the same, and stared at the man with hostility.
"Seimei-sama, the sun is starting to rise." Kuro said it again, as he hid under Hikaru's arm, sticking closer to the tenn, making Mukuro's brow twitch a bit.
"Seimei! Who is the pineapple?!"
What Shiro said made Hikaru burst out in laughter.
"Ahahaha! It's the first time he saw you and Shiro already know what's up!" Hikaru said and held his stomach in one hand, while other was placed on Mukuro's shoulder to support himself in case he would collapse from laughter.
"Haa.. that was a good laugh. Well, I'm back, I guess." Hikaru said.
"Then... Welcome home, Fujimoto."
Sparks seem to appear between the two foxes and Mukuro as the all stood close to the white haired male, while Hikaru stood there, not noticing how tense the air that hung around him.
"Hikaru-san, you're safe!" Ken was the first one to greet the male as soon they went in the house.
"We heard what happened from Mukuro-sama." Chikusa said as he stood beside Ken.
"We... were worried." Chrome said quietly.
"I'm okay as you can see. Let's go to the living room, I have something to tell."
The three looked at each other before nodding reluctantly and proceeded to go to the living room.
Hikaru already summarized what happened while he was gone to Mukuro and he knew he needed to say this to the other too.
The five all sat down in each of their places, the four's attention all focused on Hikaru.
"You seem to be gone for a while, Fujimoto." A certain arcobaleno appeared out of nowhere and hopped onto Hikaru's head.
"Oh, Reborn, good timing, I was just about to say something important." That seem to catch the arcobaleno's attention.
"Well, what is it then." Hikaru took out a piece of paper. Also called an ofuda, a paper used by onmyoji's to write their spells.
"Come on out, you two." The paper split into two. In just a second, there were two foxes in the living room, sitting in front of Hikaru.
"Seimei! Who are these people?"
"It's still bright out Seimei-sama."
The foxes spoke making Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome gasp im surprise.
"What is this, Fujimoto?" Reborn demanded for an explanation already, not wanting to be kept in the dark about this sudden magic-like skill that Hikaru just showed them.
"My family. The Fujimoto clan... well... we changed our clan name due to some reasons... but, the Fujimoto clan is a family of onmyouji. In all honesty, I just found out about it."
"Onmyouji? Like those people in movies?" Ken asked.
"Well, I guess kind of like that." Hikaru accepted the comparison from Ken.
"Seimei! This baby is weird!"
"Seimei-sama, he smells like an adult."
Hikaru decides to ignore what was happening concerning the hitman and his two other familiar.
"Don't sniff me, mutts." Leone turned into a handgun and Reborn released a two bullets, each sent to the two foxes.
"How mean, he called us mutts, we aren't dogs!"
"Seimei-sama, the weird baby is shooting us."
Shiro and Kuro didn't seem to even mind that a bullet just pierced them. It was weird how no blood even came out of their wound and it just quickly regenerated back to it's normal state.
"I seem to be a the second Abe no Seimei, or so they say." Hikaru said casually.
"Seimei is Seimei!"
"There is no first or second."
Just like that, Hikaru let the chaos stay, with Reborn relentlessly shooting the two foxes, as the two familiars dodged or just let it hit them.
Hikaru only smiled while the other just stared at the scene blanchly.
For the albino, it was another normal day.
A/N:
-Ofuda, a paper used by onmyouji's to draw seals on.
-Onmyouji are japanese exorcists who are said to use spells, seals, and even familiars to fight off evil spirits.
-Heian period, well basically a time of Japan where things like demons, monsters, and powers exist.
-Abe no Seimei, is a very famous and powerful onmyouji and a legendary figure in Japanese folklore. Is said to be half-human half-fox.
-Shiro and Kuro based their human appearance on Hikaru.