Another Path Part 15 : That was filled with memories
Hello everyone! Here's this week's chapter. Also, just to let you know, I might not be able to post next Sunday. Maybe there will be a new chapter, maybe not, I cannot tell as of yet, so sorry in advance if that is the case.
For those who asked : I had planned for Mukuro to actually defeat Tsuna and begin to take over his body before the others arrived and saved Tsuna. But Tsuna said that after training with Hibari for so long, he wouldn't be beaten so easily, and the two kids decided to be able to protect themselves better than I expected. Then Mukuro kufufu-ed and did his own thing completely. None of the characters listened to me after that, but I'm glad if you still enjoyed it.
To setokayba2n : I just had to say that your review made me laugh by myself for a good five minutes. Thank you greatly for that.
As always, thanks to all those who followed or favorite-d and reviews are always appreciated!
Disclaimer : I still don't own anything from KHR. Do I really have to write that every time?
After Tsuna and Mukuro had completed the deal, Ken, Chikusa and Lancia were gingerly released by Hayato, while Shoichi held the two youngest and Kyoya stood guard besides them. The two groups kept sending wary glares at each other. None of them were really happy with the situation, but Caeruleus trusted their Sky, and the others wouldn't go against Mukuro's orders.
The bluenet's trident was tossed to Chikusa. The two leaders had remained at a distance from the others so as to not give their opponent a reason to be wary. They had also kept staring at each other continuously, and Tsuna had let go of his Hyper Dying Will Mode as soon as Mukuro had let go of his weapon.
"So, how does this work?" Asked the brunet curiously. He couldn't say he had any experience in the matter.
If Mukuro was surprised at the other's open behavior, he didn't say it. "I need a physical contact. After that, I will use the power of my eye to go into your mind. The Sixth Realm is supposed to be used to possess others, but without my trident, I can't, so you have nothing to fear." That was a lie. The trident only helped him overcome the other's mind, he could force his way without it if he had a long-lasting physical contact. However, Mukuro was curious and the boy was a mystery he wanted to resolve. So he would exchange his memories, to see why the Sky before him turned out the way he was (and to scare the gullible boy with his own bloody past). And then, he would still possess him. The boy was a fool for trusting his enemies, Mukuro only made good use of the opportunity he was presented.
Tsuna quirked an eyebrow at that explanation, but didn't say anything. Truthfully, he had detected the lie, but his Intuition still claimed that there was no real danger with his plan, so he didn't say anything. Mukuro continued. "Once inside your mind, I can establish a connection to let you see my memories while I look at your past. From the outside, it will look like we are unconscious, so we need to make sure the physical connection holds."
"So we're going to be holding hands?"
Strangely enough, that little detail was the straw that broke the camel's back. Or rather, the bomber's back. "Tsuna-san, you can't actually hold hands with that bastard!?" Yelled Hayato. Tsuna didn't remember him exerting himself so much during the previous fight that his cheeks were so red. Even weirder was the blush on Shoichi's face. What was that for? Even Kyoya looked disapprovingly at the brunet (and exasperatingly at his two comrades).
"Why not? And why are you freaking out about that rather than the fact that Mukuro will be looking inside my mind?" Inquired Tsuna curiously with a slight tilt of his head. He could have sworn that the Sun and Storm's blush darkened.
"Then let's talk about that." Intervened Kyoya, since the other two were stuttering incomprehensibly anyways. Useless Herbivores. "It's a bad idea." He stated while glaring daggers (or tonfas) into Mukuro who was looking amusingly at the rest of Caeruleus.
"I guess it's not the best idea I've ever had. But I'm sure everything will be alright." Argued the Sky, hoping the others would take the hint and see that his Intuition was currently working. "And it's not like we have any other way to settle this."
"We could bite them to dea..."
"To settle this peacefully, Kyoya." Interrupted Tsuna with a sigh. Why did his friend have to resolve everything with violence? "And what would you do once you've beaten them all, anyway? Call the police to send them to jail? And explain why there are traces of explosions and fire here? Not to mention the unwanted attention this would bring both of our groups, since I doubt Mukuro and his friends wish to be noticed. We're trying to keep a low profile, remember? I'm trying to find a solution that will suit us all."
"It doesn't have to suit the blue pineapple." Retorted Hayato who had recovered by now. Mukuro didn't drop his smile, but it took an even more vicious turn after hearing the nickname. The silveret ignored him. "We could just knock them all out and leave before the cops arrives. Or take care of them ourselves." He added darkly.
Tsuna was about to scold him for even hinting at killing before he remembered the bomber's past in the Mafia. Hayato was tragically used to people being assassinated, or 'disappearing', never to be seen or heard of again. The brunet only shook his head and explained sadly. "We're not going to kill them, Hayato. Killing should never be our first solution, especially when the others agreed to negotiating. We're not criminals, not even you, not anymore." He offered a small smile at his confused friend. The silveret had always lived in a world where murder and violence was common, it would take him some time to be able to see other methods of settling issues. But Tsuna would help him as much as he could along the way, and he knew that the other members of Caeruleus would too, even if most of them also had problematic backgrounds as well (Shoichi was, after all, the only true civilian of the bunch). The Sky would do his best for all of them. He continued softly. "And we're not going to sell them to the police either. First, they know too much about us. And second, I want to see if there's anything we can do to help them. They look as lost as you did when we first met, Hayato."
That last point was a bit low. Tsuna knew that the Storm would not be able to complain if he compared their situation with his circumstances. But time kept running, and Tsuna wanted to get this over with before any of the unconscious civilians he had spotted so far woke up, and alerted the police. He turned back toward Mukuro who was eying him strangely. "How is this going to happen?"
Mukuro shook himself out of his musing. The boy before him had seemed genuinely against what made the Mafia run, and it confused him. In the bluenet's experience, any strong individual used his power to tower over others, especially fighters. And yet, this boy, who was obviously strong, able to defeat his rivals, and in touch with criminals (because the raven and silveret couldn't be anything but criminals in Mukuro's mind) had just denied the right to trample them.
He was even more curious as to what he'll find in the brunet's head.
Still, the boy had asked a question. "We should sit down and hold hands" Mukuro sent a smug smile to the fuming bomber. "and then I'll go inside your mind. It'll be painless if you do not resist, as far as I can tell. Then, I will show you my memories while I see yours. Evidently, we are not going to share the entirety of our pasts. Even in the state we'll be in, it would take days. Fortunately, the mind has a tendency of remembering the most important events and occulting the useless drivel. We will mostly see the marking moments of our respective lives, and the rest will appear hazy and undetailed, and should move on quickly. The whole ordeal should last twenty minutes, given our apparent ages, half an hour at most."
Of course, Mukuro conveniently forgot to mention his traumatic memories, or the fact that he would use the opportunity to take over the Sky's body (which should prove easy if the brunet didn't resist. It was as if he was giving the illusionist permission to possess him, really). The boy didn't need to know these 'details'.
Tsuna nodded and sat down without picking up on the lie he had detected once more. Or rather, on the omission he had felt in Mukuro's little speech. After all, his Intuition still didn't alert him of any real threat, only of a future unpleasant experience. Honestly, it was to be expected; people tend to remember the painful events more than the peacefully happy ones, and the bluenet in front of him obviously had not lived a calm, pleasant life.
Mukuro sat down in front of him and offered his hand. Tsuna took it without hesitation and closed his eyes once he saw the other do it himself. The brunet was sure he would be safe : his Intuition didn't detect anything threatening, and most of all, he could feel the presence of his friends behind him, ready to barge in if he needed them.
Tsuna focused on himself like he did when meditating and quickly felt another consciousness prod him. He let it in immediately.
()()()()()()
Mukuro's plan was proceeding as he wanted. Sure, his first objective of beating the boy and using his trident to overcome his mind had failed, but in the end, he now had a similar opportunity. The only difference being that the boy had willingly let him in his head.
The fool.
In Mukuro's experience, people's mind always had the same basic appearance : a big, empty, circular room, with multiple doors leading to different areas. Some opened to the memories, some to the feelings, to instinct, thoughts, and so on. Usually, Mukuro went straight to the door that lead to 'body control' and left it at that.
But today was a bit different. He had given his word that he would exchange memories, and he would keep it. Even if he would later follow his habitual pattern.
Time spent in someone's mind went differently, and the bluenet was convinced that nobody would attack him for a while (which was not so common for him), so he had the leisure of examining his surroundings. While Tsunayoshi's mind shared the same basic structure as most minds, it also had a few singularities.
Most mindscapes were painted in pastel colors, barely different from white, but this one was completely orange. A bright and warm orange that would have hurt Mukuro's eyes if this was not the inside of one's soul and eyes were only a representation of the mind. The illusionist knew that the color was due to the boy's active Flame. He had had the chance of possessing several individual that could channel their Dying Will, and the walls of their minds were always painted the color of their Flames. Mukuro knew for instance that his mindscape was indigo, while Ken's was yellow, Chikusa's was light blue and Lancia's was red.
What was really surprising was what stood in the middle of the room. All the souls Mukuro had ever visited (or invaded) were empty. Except this one. In the center was a large circular table the same colors as the walls. Several items had been placed on it : a pair of purple tonfas, a yellow laptop, red sticks of dynamite (with thin stripes of blue, purple, yellow and green), a green figurine of a cow and two red carved eastern dragons, one fearsome and imposing, the other small and pretty cute.
Mukuro was puzzled until he remembered that Tsunayoshi was a Sky, the first whose mind he had ever visited. As such, he could harmonize with others with active Flames, and the items on the table were probably the manifestations of said bonds. Each object represented the way the boy saw his Elements, and indeed, the illusionist could guess which item stood for each of the people he had seen earlier. The only one he couldn't place was the tallest dragon.
Anyway, the bluenet had things to do, and even if time was slower in here, it still flowed. He needed to get to work. Mukuro located his objective, after glancing suspiciously at the door of instinct, who was ajar and covered in winding golden patterns. He stood before the door of memories and activated his right eye. He started to pour his own memories out, so that Tsunayoshi could see them, opened the door and stepped inside.
Shortly after, a dark blue trident materialized on the table.
()()()()()()
Outside Tsuna's mindscape, the rest of Caeruleus, along with Chikusa, Ken and Lancia were waiting for their leaders to wake up. None of them liked the current arrangement. Unfortunately, they also knew that Tsuna and Mukuro were too stubborn to be reasoned with. Those two had decided on a deal, and wouldn't be persuaded out of it. All the others could do was wait, and prepare themselves for the possible fight that might take place when the exchange of memories was over.
So the two groups stood apart from each other, a coupe meters behind their respective leaders, weapons sheathed, but ready to be used at a moment's notice. Lambo and I-pin had fallen asleep in Shoichi's arms; the fight and hostage situation had stressed them out and they were exhausted. The older ones were grateful in a way, they didn't know what the bluenet would do inside Tsuna's mind, and didn't want impressionable children to witness that. Not that they wanted to see it either. Their Sky had assured them that he would be fine, but that didn't mean they weren't worried, or that their imagination wasn't driving them crazy with possible scenarios.
Due to their location, Caeruleus couldn't see Tsuna's face becoming more and more white; while Ken, Chikusa and Lancia missed the progressive furrowing of Mukuro's eyebrows.
()()()()()()
Mukuro hadn't expected that.
He had done his research on Caeruleus before attempting to possess their leader. He knew that it was run by kids, which was one of the main reason he had targeted them. But he still thought that their business was helped by some adults, supervisors if you will. Probably the leader's parents.
The memories exposed in front of him showed quite the contrary.
Mukuro saw a younger twin brother, adored and spoiled, while he-or rather Tsunayoshi, but Mukuro saw through his eyes and felt his emotions in the memory- was neglected or abused. Not to the extant that the bluenet had been abused, but still... He felt a pinch of sympathy for the small boy.
Memories blurred in front of the illusionist, until it focused and he saw the first time Tsunayoshi had called his Flame. The warmth and the feeling of right. Then the lonely and hidden training to master the ability, and the push of a strangely accurate intuition.
The meeting with Hibari Kyoya. The fear, which turned into friendship. The overwhelming gratefulness when Kyoya sided with him against Ienobu. The safe haven that was the Hibari mansion. The first birthday party.
The revelation of his father's true job, and Kyoya's decision to stick with him.
Encountering Irie Shoichi, befriending him and explaining everything to him. His acceptance, and the warmth that followed.
The creation of the Discipline Committee. Ienobu's first murder attempt. The beginning of a plan to escape. Kyoya and Shoichi's promise to follow him. So grateful...
The second attempt on his life. Planned and ruthless. And worst of all, the injury on Shoichi. The fury of having one of his own harmed, even if he didn't know the meaning of Harmonization yet.
The third and final attempt at murder, cruel and carefully executed. The sleeping drug and the fire. Waking up, meeting Kyoya's mother (Mukuro noted the name of Tsunayoshi's incredible Intuition, it could be useful), and finally, finally leaving Namimori, Ienobu and everything behind.
The first jobs, then the new house/shop. Being happy and free with his friends.
Meeting Hayato, the immediate sense of kinship. The silveret's near death at the hands of those who should cherish him. The fury, again. His rescue, and welcoming him in Caeruleus.
Crossing Lambo in a cold street. Parting with him, only to meet again later. The way his Flames raged when he learned of the boy's circumstances. His adoption from the Bovino, who should all be bitten to death by Kyoya for hurting such a delightful child...
Fon and I-pin. The adult-in-a-baby's-body who wanted to protect his student. His help with training and Flames. I-pin and Lambo's instant friendship, however it appeared on the surface. Fon's request, his agreement. I-pin settling in her room with Lambo with a smile...
At that point, Mukuro had almost lost his desire to take over Tsunayoshi's body. He was used to dealing with scum. People who thrived in violence and other's tears. Not children who fought their fate with whatever means they had, and who cared so deeply for the wellbeing of their own.
But the bluenet was also desperate to escape his own fate. And he would do anything to make sure that he (and Chikusa and Ken, because despite everything that he claimed, they were his only comrades) would survive. And right now, he had the Vindice on his heels and no other way to elude them than to use the boy whose memories he was seeing. So he would possess the poor boy. He had to.
That's when he saw the final memories. Those of his and Tsunayoshi's encounter, clear and understandable due to their freshness.
Getting isolated in a supermarket. The fear for the safety of his two wards. Finding himself face to face with the perpetrators, except for the obvious mastermind. A fight, to protect the two children. wasting time, so the others can arrive and help.
Lambo and I-pin being caught and threatened. The strange state of calm, again. Hyper Dying Will. The leader showing himself. Looking into his unusual eyes, and yet, to Mukuro's shock, not being scared of them. Instead, seeing the pain and desperation, and an urge to give him a hand. Mukuro didn't know what to think of that.
Noticing the look in the other enemies' eyes for the first time. Fear, need for help. And he wants to help somehow. Reaching out to them. In vain. Kyoya, Hayato and Shoichi's arrival.
The fight continues, and they win. The opponent is down, but he still wants to help. He just needs to find a way to make them accept it. A way to show how genuine his offer is.
An idea. Crazy, unreasonable, and that the rest of his own will refuse. But they need help, whatever the cost, and he knows he will be fine. Whatever the bluenet before him might be planning in his desperation and suffering, he will be fine.
They accept. Reluctantly, and because they have no other escape route. The bluenet plans to use him, to trick him, and lies. But it's fine. It won't matter in the end, if he can show them that he cares and will help.
He takes the hand offered to him and closes his eyes. Trust.
Mukuro had no idea what to think. The idea that the memory had been tampered with briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly rejected it. Tsunayoshi obviously had no experience with matters of the soul, and Mukuro was too talented to be deceived by an amateur.
That still didn't explain anything. Why would the boy try so hard to help people he didn't know? Worse, people who attacked him and his charges, and tried to possess him? Mukuro couldn't comprehend how someone could be so selfless. And yet, after what he had just seen, there was no denying it.
Suddenly, Mukuro wasn't so sure about his original plan...
()()()()()()
Tsuna wasn't so sure that had been a good idea after all.
All he could feel was pain. Death and pain. And screams, pleas and begging.
Mukuro's past was gruesome. It was all a blur, but Tsuna had managed to gather a few things. The bluenet and two of his current companions -Ken Joshima and Chikusa Kakimoto, if he remembered correctly- had been born into a Mafia Famiglia, the Estraneo. Something happened and the Famiglia had been baned from the rest of the world, or something of the like. And those assholes had had no better idea than to go into human experimentation. And since they couldn't go outside to get test subjects, they decided to work on their own kids.
Their own fucking kids!
And they didn't go easy on them either. None of the many children were treated in a humane way. From the moment the young Mukuro had been put in the common cell, his life had been nothing but painful experiment after painful experiment. A torn eye, replaced by one of their inventions. And then, he was killed. Six time, each worse than the previous. Each time visiting a different level of Hell and painstakingly escaping. Only to return to the 'tender care' of his so-called Family. A vicious circle with no end in sight.
So he forced it to end. Once he was strong enough. Once the power that had been forced on him had matured enough. And he escaped from this Hell. Because that was what it had been. An escape, and the slaughter had only been a means to an end. Not that he hadn't taken pleasure when they had been the one to scream in pain. But nothing he could have done would have ever been enough to pay them back.
He ran, with the two only other survivors of the Estraneo's experiments. Ken and Chikusa. He called them pawns, disposable, but deep down, they were all he had. The only one who could understand his circumstances. The only ones who would never leave him.
They were picked up by another Famiglia. A large one. Ken and Chikusa had felt at ease and admitted to being part of the Estraneo. He was more doubtful. They had been placed under the youngest member's care. Lancia. He was a good man, if a bit gullible. The same couldn't be said about the other Mafiosi.
They acted nice around him, Ken and Chikusa. But he could see better than that. He was used to the darkest side of humanity, and deception came to him as easily as breathing. He could see the way the Boss was looking at him. Like a tool. Like a weapon. Like an object.
He started to listen in on conversations, and his suspicions were confirmed. They had been adopted into the Famiglia because it wanted their power. All but guileless Lancia, who honestly cared about his three damaged charges. But Ken and Chikusa were not deemed powerful enough, and would be 'disposed of' soon.
Not if he had anything to say about it.
He had no mercy for the others, but didn't want to kill Lancia. The man was naive, but not evil. However, he could not let him go either. Lancia knew too much, and a grown man could be useful in their flight. Because this time, Vindice would go after them. The Estraneo were ostracized from the rest of the world, but not this Famiglia.
To make sure that Lancia would stay with them, if only out of guilt, he possessed the man and made him kill his Famiglia. He knew it was cruel, but it was necessary, for him and his two comrades. Lancia was strong, they would need him. It was a good excuse not to kill him as well. He kept a link with his soul, to possess him again if he attempted to escape.
Their run didn't go as planned. Vindice caught up to them faster than he expected. At least Lancia was still with them, due to the man's guilt and with a push from his new eye's power. At least the cursed thing had its use...
But still, Vindice was hounding them. Always closer. They needed a solution. Something to shield them. He thought of using another Famiglia, but quickly abandoned the idea. No Famiglia would help them with Vindice on their heels. A civilian company? No, too easy to find, their pursuers would be onto them in a matter of days, and any adult would question and report three obviously abused children.
That's when he heard of Caeruleus. A jack-of-all-trades business that was ran by kids around their age. With at least two of them known for their prodigious fighting skills. Perfect. They would blend in and disappear from Vindice's sight.
He planned to attack the boy known as their leader. A small brunet that couldn't hurt a fly was the boss of two bloodthirsty fighters. Go figure.
He decided to possess the boy when he was alone. On grocery shopping. There were two young children with him. Unfortunate, he didn't like harming kids, mentally or physically. It reminded him too much of the Estraneo. But he couldn't stop now. They needed to be hidden by Caeruleus.
Surprisingly, the brunet could put up a fight. A good fight, actually, and he even had the rare Sky Flames. This would be useful once he was in control. And the kids had gotten away. Good for them, but he had to get them to finish this quickly.
Ken had found them, and he was about to possess the brunet. Good, because those eyes unsettled him. They saw too much. There was no hate in them, just a calmness that shouldn't be there.
Then the rest of Caeruleus barged in. The fight had taken too long, and he felt his plan crumble. They were overpowered, and he was soon at the mercy of the brunet with flaming eyes.
There was no escape left, and yet the boy left him a chance. The idiot. He would do anything to survive, and had no qualms tricking the boy. An exchange of memories. Easy for him to twist his plan and eventually go back on track. Everything would be fine. He could even indulge the fool and actually show him his past. It would freak him out for sure. As if the boy would have really helped them once he knew the whole truth. He was an experiment, a murderer, a manipulator and on the run. Who would help him, knowing it all, apart from those who had the same beginning?
The rest of Caeruleus protested, but the boy stupidly shut them up. How naively nice was he? No matter, it would all change once he saw the truth.
So he went along offered the boy his hand. Like a contract stating that he agreed to his plan. And the fool took it without missing a beat. He closed his eyes, and began his invasion of the brunet's mind.
That was the end of Mukuro's memories, and Tsuna had been silently crying for a while.