Mukuro
I don't own KHR.
"Come to Tsuna's house to fight against Hibari on a brand-new battlefield," Ken read the card out loud as the Kokuro group all stood outside Tsuna's front door. "Did Vongola just make a battlefield or is it someplace we have never been to?"
"I imagine it's both," Chikusa answered as he idly scratched his cheek. "Though this is definitely Reborn's doing, not the Vongola Decimo's."
"But he's probably doing it with the Vongola family's backing right? So what I said is still correct!"
"I wonder if we're actually going to fight or it's going to be a contest of some kind," Chrome said as Mukuro heard footsteps from the other side of the door.
"I hope it's a sleeping contest," Fran replied with a yawn as he kept his hold on Chrome's hand.
"Kufufu, maybe you and Ken shouldn't have stayed up playing that game so late last night," Mukuro chuckled with no real malice.
"It wasn't that late!" Ken protested. Fran opened his mouth to protest as well but at that moment, the door finally opened.
"Oh hey, there you guys are," Tsuna greeted them with an expectant smile.
"Oh, so you were the one who sent us that invitation?" Mukuro surmised with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope, it's all Reborn," Tsuna denied as he popped the p. "I don't even know what we doing yet, it's just that all the others are already here so I figured you guys would show up sooner or later," Tsuna explained as he stood aside so Mukuro and the others could enter.
"Fran!" As they were entering, Mukuro looked up and saw I-Pin and Lambo running towards them, Fran in particular.
"You came! I told Lambo that you would!" I-Pin declared proudly as both little kids came to a stop in front of Mukuro's little apprentice.
"Yeah, but he already looks super tired! I bet he's gonna sleep the whole time!" Lambo exclaimed as he pointed at the dark circles underneath Fran's eyes.
"I'd like that," Fran admitted as he yawned once more.
"Hey I-Pin, hey Lambo," Chrome greeted the two kids while Ken and Chikusa went on ahead into the rest of the house.
"Chrome!" both kids cried happily before they hugged her like Chrome hadn't just visited them two days ago.
"Hey, what about me?" Mukuro teased when they continued to hug her tightly while babbling about everything that had happened in the last two days.
"Oh, hi Mukuro!" I-Pin gasped excitedly for some reason before she stopped hugging Chrome to hug Mukuro instead. Mukuro was instantly caught off guard but before he could figure out how to respond, Lambo joined in on the hug.
"I had a dream where a ghost tried to steal my grape candy, but I scared him away instead! Are you proud of me?!" Lambo proudly shared as he beamed up at Mukuro.
Mukuro felt his face flush red as he looked down at the kids hugging him, feeling very bewildered. His teasing the kids had been an impulse, he had not been prepared for this type of reaction.
He especially was not prepared for a part of him to actually enjoy this sign of pure affection.
"Uh…" Mukuro stammered slightly as he pointedly ignored Tsuna's and Chrome's knowing expressions. "Yeah. Good job kiddo."
This, along with giving Lambo's curls an awkward head pat, seemed to make Lambo's smile grow even bigger. Even I-Pin's smile got bigger even though she wasn't the one getting praised.
...Did he just feel an urge to protect these two from everyone and everything?
"Everyone, go gather in the living room! I'll be explaining the rules in a few seconds!" Mukuro suddenly heard Reborn call out from somewhere upstairs.
"You haven't even explained what we're doing," Tsuna mumbled as Lambo and I-Pin finally stopped hugging Mukuro and proceeded to drag both him and Chrome to the living room by the hand.
When they got there, everyone else was either sitting throughout the room or standing near the walls (or in Kyoya's case, leaning against it). Mukuro himself looked around and decided to stand behind the sofa that Yamamoto was sharing with Kyoko, Haru, and Hana. Then, right after Chrome sat down in front of Haru's legs, Mukuro saw someone enter the room out of the corner of his eye.
"Welcome to Vongola's training session!" Reborn greeted them as he strode right to the back of the room so that he could look at everybody and everybody could look at him. And look at him Mukuro did since instead of Reborn's regular suit and fedora, he was wearing a full army get-up complete with a camo combat helmet and…
A cigar.
A real one?
"Today, we are going to learn something that anyone who is a part of the mafia or has affiliations with the mafia," Reborn began with a nod to Haru, Hana, and Kyoko at the word affiliations. "Needs to know."
Then Leon turned into a shotgun which Reborn cocked.
"How to properly fire a gun."
"I knew this day would come," Tsuna said, sounding somewhat resigned.
"Don't Juudaime, I've shot guns before, I can help you," Gokudera assured him quickly.
"Oh, does this mean we get to own guns now?" Haru asked with her hand raised. "Can I get a pink one?"
"Are there pink guns?" Kyoko pondered, as she put her index finger on her bottom lip.
"If there aren't, I'm sure they can arrange for one or two to be made," Hana answered confidently while jolting her thumb at Reborn.
"Uh, I don't know how happy Pops would be if I learned how to shoot a gun," Yamamoto admitted with an uneasy expression.
"It's unnecessary for me," Hibari stated as he took out his tonfas to prove his point.
"But what if someone stole your tonfas, or your sword, and the only other weapon is a gun?" Reborn pointed out as Leon changed into a pistol. "I'm not saying that you should change your preferred weapon to be a gun, but it's always wise to expand your weapon expertise. A backup if you will."
This seemed to be appeased Yamamoto and while Hibari still didn't look pleased, he didn't protest anymore as he put his tonfas away. Mukuro himself accepted Reborn's reasoning. Even though he had used a gun for the possession bullet, Mukuro had never felt inclined to actually use a gun with regular bullets. A trident was way more fun than a gun could ever be. But Mukuro supposed that it would be a decent backup weapon if all crap absolutely hit the fan. Especially if it was silver with a cool design on it or something like that. Yeah…
"And besides, we're starting off with baby steps anyway," Reborn continued as Leon turned into a sniper rifle (at least that's what Mukuro thought it was, he wasn't a gun expert by any means). "We're going to play paintball."
Any lingering skepticism or nervousness about learning how to shoot firearms in the room quickly disappeared to be replaced with excitement and anticipation.
"I've always to play that at least once," Tsuna confessed with a genuine smile.
"Me too!" Takeshi agreed with a joyful laugh.
"This is going to be extreme!" Ryohei yelled enthusiastically as he pumped his fist.
"Paintball is the number five activity for mafioso to vent out their frustrations without casualties," Fuuta helpfully added.
"So are we going to some civilian paintball place or are we going to someplace that Vongola owns?" Ken asked.
"Vongola backed the place up with a good deal of money and thus had some influence on how it was built," Reborn answered, causing Chikusa to nod and Ken to mutter 'it's both.' Then Leon suddenly turned into an alarm clock. "Oh, looks like we need to get going or we're not going to be there when it opens. Let's hop to it, soldiers!"
"I bet you 500 yen that the cigar is actually just chocolate," Yamamoto offered to Gokudera quietly as they all started to leave the room.
"Are you serious? Reborn is an adult, not a kid! You're on!" Gokudera accepted in a harsh whisper.
"Kufufu, this is going to be fun," Mukuro chuckled to himself as he glanced at Hibari, remembering the note they found on their apartment door that got them to come here this morning. He didn't know yet if there were going to be teams or some kind of battle royale, but either way, he would get to mess with Hibari.
Mukuro was really looking forward to this now.
Then, right after Mukuro left the living room, the front door suddenly slammed open to reveal a blond man wearing a dirty carpenter's outfit.
"Nana, Tuna Fish, I'm home!" Iemitsu called out as he walked into the house with a wide smile. Then his eyes landed on them. "Oh hey, what's the occasion? Is this a party that I didn't get an invite to?"
"I was just about to take them to play paintball," Reborn answered, his tone less friendly than it was a minute ago. Mukuro looked around and saw that some of the excitement and joy in the others' faces (especially Tsuna's) had evaporated as they stared at Iemitsu.
Not that Mukuro blamed them, because he felt more or less the same way. Iemitsu, while probably not the worst dad in the world, definitely wasn't in the running for the best dad in the world, not in a long shot (even he could tell there was hardly any proper father-to-son interaction). And even though according to Fuuta's rankings he loved Nana dearly, he definitely wasn't the best husband in the world either (he spent most of his little time at home getting drunk for crying out loud). If all that wasn't enough, he was too much of a cunning mafioso for Mukuro's liking.
Even so, it was because of Iemitsu that Mukuro didn't have to worry about Ken and Chikusa getting sent back to Vindice back when Mukuro was still a prisoner there. Eventually, thanks to the deal between him and Iemitsu, Mukuro became a free man due to good behavior. Because of Iemitsu, he became a part of the fam...he got to have fun with Vongola.
In short, while Mukuro couldn't bring himself to actually like the man, he could at least find him trustworthy and respectable to a certain degree.
"Oh, that's a good idea! I haven't played it in a while myself, but I remember it being a fun training exercise," Iemitsu approved with a nod. Then he stepped aside. "Well, don't let me stop you guys, go ahead and have fun! See you later Tuna Fish!"
"...Bye," Tsuna replied shortly as he gave Iemitsu a nasty look as they all started to leave the house once again. However, right before Mukuro, the very last one could walk through the doorway, Iemitsu placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping him.
"Actually, can you stay behind? There's something that we need to discuss. It shouldn't take long," Iemitsu requested. Mukuro's back instantly stiffened as he looked into Iemitsu's serious eyes. He tried to calm himself down by saying it was probably nothing, or at least not what he thought it could be. It has been months since the Vindice set him free, surely Iemitsu would have done it much earlier?
"Oh, alright," Mukuro replied as he forced himself to smirk. At the corner of his eye, he saw Tsuna start to turn around. Iemitsu must have seen this too because he quickly closed the door.
"There, with luck, they should be on their way without being any the wiser," Iemitsu stated as he turned around and started to head to the stairs. "Come."
"...Kufufu, whatever happened to this talk only being a few minutes?" Mukuro ended up asking as a tumultuous cloud of mixed emotions began to grow inside his chest.
"It still will only be a few minutes, you'll see when we get there," Iemitsu assured him, a somewhat cold tone creeping into his voice as he continued walking up the stairs without looking back. Knowing that he didn't really have much of a choice, Mukuro followed the mafioso as dread began to really seep into his bones.
It couldn't be...not after all this time...
Mukuro followed Iemitsu right up the stairs, down the hall, and right into the master bedroom. As soon as Iemitsu closed the door behind them, he sighed.
"Well, I'm going to get straight to the point. Your services aren't required anymore. So I would like you to leave Namimori as soon as possible. In fact, it would be preferable for everyone if you get on the next flight out of Japan."
This conservation was exactly what Mukuro, deep down, had been dreading. He knew that as soon as he had been freed from the Vindice prison his time as the Vongola's Mist Guardian had been coming to an end. After all, when Iemitsu had come to him with the offer to become Tsuna's Mist in exchange for Ken and Chikusa's freedom, Mukuro had been contained. Thus, he was a dangerous beast that despite his past deeds, was easily controlled and manageable.
But now that he was a free man and Chrome, his dear partner, had proven herself to be a powerful illusionist in her own right, Mukuro knew that Iemitsu would want to see him gone. He was the one who not only destroyed several famiglias in Northern Italy but also attacked Tsuna himself. So why have a dangerous monster like him stay around when their previous deal became practically moot? If anything, Mukuro was kind of surprised that Iemitsu was approaching this so calmly, and also wasn't currently trying to kill him.
So why did Iemitsu's demand for him to be an exile sting so much?
"Kufufu, I admit, I was expecting this, but why now? After all this time?" Mukuro asked as he fought to keep his face calm and collected.
"I wanted Chrome to be a bit more independent from you. As well as grow a bit more as an illusionist," Iemitsu admitted. Ah, that actually made sense. Despite being one of the main reasons for his exile, Mukuro couldn't help being proud of Chrome for all her accomplishments so far. He just wished he could have seen more of her growth as a strong and beautiful young woman.
As well as spent more time with her in general.
Heck...he wished he could spend more time with the others in general.
As a wave of distress crashed into him, Mukuro had no choice but to clench his fist. Oh, why couldn't have Iemitsu revoked his Mist Guardian title as soon as he left the prison?! Back then, Mukuro hadn't truly gotten attached to Tsuna and the other guardians. Back then, he probably would have accepted Iemitsu's order without complaint, without any sort of anguish. Well, he would have been sorry to leave Chrome permanently behind but at least he would have consoled himself that she needed him to go in order for her self-esteem to grow.
But now, despite his best efforts, he had gotten...to like Tsuna and the others. Now he felt random, sudden urges to protect them from any sort of harm (not just Lambo and I-Pin). Now he laughed when they said or did something funny, played entertaining games with them, and chatted with them amicably.
He...He enjoyed their company, even Hibari's. And despite everything he had done, he could tell, at the very least, that they had accepted his company too. Accepted him. This was why he had ended up dreading Iemitsu revoking his Mist Guardian title, why he ended up dreading becoming an exile. Though as time went on without a word from Iemitsu, Mukuro had let himself believe that it wasn't going to happen.
So much that hope did him, huh?
"Can I assume you want me to leave while they're playing paintball?" Mukuro inquired as he fought to keep his voice even. He was honestly surprised at how hard it was to do that.
"Yes."
"...What about Ken and Chikusa? Fran?"
"Oh, you can leave them a note saying where you're heading and they can come after you if they want to, I don't care what they do, as long as Chrome doesn't know," Iemitsu granted him. "Though maybe you should try to convince Fran to stay here. He's just a kid, he doesn't need your bad influence."
Mukuro sighed, feeling a bit of sweet relief. At least he would have Ken and Chikusa, he knew without a doubt that they would follow him. Fran...maybe it would be a good idea to try to convince him to stay here. Although he might try to hide it, Fran was happy here in Namimori and was good friends with Lambo and I-Pin. Life here would be better for a kid than to live with an exile. He was going to miss him though.
He was going to miss all of them…
Then suddenly, the door slammed open to reveal Reborn, with the cigar still between his lips and the helmet on his head, standing there.
And he was glaring right at Iemitsu.
"Reborn, what are you-"
"Shut up. Mukuro, nothing's changed, get in the car. I'll be there soon."
For a moment, Mukuro just stood there, in shock. Then Reborn stopped glaring at Iemitsu to look at him and Mukuro remembered that one just didn't ignore an order from the hitman. So without a word, Mukuro walked past Iemitsu, and even though Iemitsu looked angry, he didn't utter a sound or move to grab him. When he reached Reborn, the hitman stepped aside and as Mukuro walked out of the room, he noticed that Reborn was biting his cigar so hard that there were now dark marks on his teeth.
As soon as Mukuro stepped out of the room, Reborn closed the door. That was when Mukuro realized that Reborn had never ordered him to go straight to the car so he decided to stay. He had to hear what they were going to say.
Luckily for him, their loud voices made that task not difficult at all.
"What do you think-" Iemitsu started to say before he got cut off by Reborn.
"Nono has agreed to let him stay on as the Mist Guardian along with Chrome, and since I'm under his contract, I'm making sure that his wishes stay fulfilled."
"Oh really? I remember you being on my side when Xanxus came to fight Tsuna for the right to become Decimo!"
"Well, considering that Xanxus had actually kidnapped Nono and put a fake in his place, I was actually on both of your sides."
"You didn't know that at the time!"
"I knew something was up. And even if I didn't, you are still not forcing Mukuro to leave just because you feel like you don't have enough control over him."
"Have you forgotten what he has done?!"
"Of course not. I also made sure to remind Tsuna to never forget either."
"Then why-"
"Because he has improved that's why!" Mukuro, who had honestly agreed with Reborn's decision to tell Tsuna to never forget about his crimes, let his eyes widen.
...Did Reborn really think that?
"What are you-"
"You may not see it because you're a workaholic drunkard who's hardly ever here, but Mukuro before was cold, apathetic, and considered other people like his personal tools. Now both he's genuinely smiling and laughing more often and he is more sympathetic to others' pain now if him giving the kids candy of his own volition after they got their flu shots is any indication. Not to mention, he is starting to look for or make up any kind of excuse to hang out with the Tsuna and the others, no matter how small or wild it is."
...Well, that was embarrassing to listen to.
"Of course, he still has a long way to go, just like the others," Reborn continued. "But after everything that happened to him as a young child, he's finally healing now and you are not going to impede that!"
"But Chrome deserves to be the Mist Guardian, not Mukuro!"
"Who says that Tsuna can't have two Mist Guardians? Luce pretty much ended up getting two Rain Guardians and I don't remember anyone causing a ruckus over that. And besides, are you deaf? I said earlier that Nono agreed that Mukuro could be the Mist Guardian along with Chrome."
Iemitsu sputtered at that, finally having no rebuke to that. Mukuro himself was stunned. While he knew that Reborn accepted having him around, Mukuro didn't know he was this...vehemently supportive of letting him stay. He even supported the option of letting Tsuna have both him and Chrome as Mist Guardians, something Tsuna never straight up said but always heavily implied. Mukuro, even though he admittedly liked the idea, hadn't been too sure it would work out for obvious reasons. But apparently, Mukuro had been seriously wrong.
It made Mukuro feel-
"So, are we done here?" Reborn asked after several seconds of silence. Realizing that the conservation was just about over, Mukuro quickly but quietly walked away. Within a few minutes, he walked out of the house to find Tsuna and Ken pacing in front of the car with Chikusa leaning his back against the car. Chrome was standing outside the car as well while fiddling with her trident. The others were in the car crowded by the window but the one thing they all had in common was that as soon as they saw Mukuro, their concern and worry vanished to be replaced with pure relief.
Even Kyoya looked a bit more at ease.
"Mukuro! What happened?" Tsuna asked him as he rushed up to him, Chrome, Ken, and Chikusa not far behind.
"Why did he make you stay behind?" Chrome asked as she pinched the sleeve of his jacket.
"He wasn't harassing you, was he?!" Ken exclaimed furiously while Chikusa looked just as angry behind him.
"Do I need to fi…uh, talk to my Dad?" Tsuna asked with a determined gleam in his eyes. Mukuro looked at him silently for a moment before he looked at Chrome and the others, some of whom (like Fran) had stepped out of the car in concerned curiosity.
Mukuro let himself genuinely smile.
Yeah, it really was nice to feel wanted by his family.
"Kufufu, don't worry sweet Chrome and Tsunayoshi, nothing happened. Iemitsu was being an idiot as usual," Mukuro assured him. This seemed to appease everyone to the point where some of them nodded their heads in agreement. "Oh, by the way, Gokudera?"
"Yeah, what?" Gokudera replied in his usual curt manner, though Mukuro could tell that he was more confused than anything that he was singling him out.
"You owe money to Yamamoto. The cigar's chocolate."
"Darn it!"
And that's Mukuro's chapter!
So what did you think? Was the chapter easy to understand, were the characters in character, etc? Please let me know your thoughts in a review and I will update as soon as I can! Until then, stay safe and have a great day/night! See ya!