Another Path Part 25 : That worked for science
A thousand apologies for the delay and a million thank yous for all the encouraging messages you sent me. I won't bore you with the details, but you can both blame real life and the main character of this chapter for not cooperating. Thankfully, this arc is over and I will now be able to move on to the next KHR character to appear in this story. Any guesses?
For Verde, science has always been the most important aspect of his life. He was born for science, lived for science and would probably die for science if he had any say on the matter.
He also never let anything get in the way of his pursuit of knowledge. The Arcobaleno curse was a setback, since he had to adapt his whole labs to his new annoying size, but it didn't stop him (like it had not stopped any of his fellow cursed babies, they were all far too stubborn). Being systematically ridiculed for his appearance whenever he went to any scientific convention never stopped him either; if he wanted to attend, or to host a conference, then he damn well would and just throw out any pesky naysayers.
So of course a small, useless little thing like morals was never going to prevent him from furthering his research.
One of his most significant (and longer-lasting) projects was naturally about the Arcobaleno curse, how it worked and how to hopefully remove it. He had to say that while his knowledge of Flames had greatly increased since he was forced into a baby's body, he was still very far from answering these questions. There was just too little data.
So when he -thoughtlessly, he had to admit- activated his Flame-revealing device and a handful of kids reacted to it, he was over the moon.
You see, active Flame users were almost exclusively adults, or teens that had already started puberty. That meant that their body had to forcefully grow used to their Flames to survive once they awaken them, instead of growing alongside them and being more in tune with them. It affected the structure of their body, yes, but it was in no way comparable to how a the body of a child with active Flames would react.
Despite being adults in mind, the Arcobaleno were babies in body, so they had no comparable data to work with. But at least three of the kids that had shown active Flames were obviously young enough not to have underwent puberty yet, meaning they could give Verde so much new data.
First of all, he had to make sure they all really had Flames, and he had to assess their mastery over them. What better way than to force them into a stressful situation and have them fight their way out? Thankfully for Verde, he always brought with him some of his robot bodyguards, so it was easy to hijack a bus, close the streets around the bus stop without letting the kids know, and then drive them towards one of his lairs, where he could unleash some of his fighting robots on them and observe their reactions.
He had at first programmed his automatons to be weak opponents. No need to damage any of his samples, and even he was not aloof enough to willingly harm children without a valid reason. But the boys had been stronger and more battle-ready than he had expected, and after they managed to behead one of his creations, he remotely upped the other's combat abilities. The whole point of this experiment was to push them to their limits.
The three remaining robots eventually fell, but Verde was satisfied with the results. Two Skies, a Storm and a Sun was much more than he expected. He had already installed spy drones to follow them home so he could set up more experiments on them later, when the brunet Sky looked at the fake tree he was hiding in.
"I know you're here. You can come out now." Stated the boy. And Verde noticed that his eyes were still glowing with his orange Flames. How fascinating.
Scraping his previous plans, the scientist jumped out of his hideout, no need to remain there once he was already discovered.
He heard shocked gasps from three of the boys -the two Skies seemed strangely unsurprised- when they recognized him. Perhaps the automatic search for their backgrounds he had launched earlier would explain why. The results should be sent to him any time now.
"Why would Verde attack us?!" Cried the Sun boy incredulously. If Verde had to put a name on his expression, he would probably go for 'betrayed'. He supposed that any regular person would feel guilty by now, but he was over such trivial feelings.
"For science, of course." He replied. As if there could be any other reason for his actions. "I need data on the way children handle Dying Will Flames, and you were the perfect test subject. It is ridiculously difficult to find prepubescent Flame users, so I took the opportunity when it presented itself." He supplied. He honestly didn't feel the tiniest bit guilty for his actions, but if he explained his purpose, perhaps he might be able to convince them to participate in new tests. A bit of emotional manipulation could also go a long way, especially with suggestible children.
"My companions and myself have been wrongfully cursed to live in the bodies of babies. You will probably not believe me, but-"
"We already know about the Arcobaleno curse." Cut off the white-haired Sky with a cocky smirk. That boy was probably slightly too old to participate in Verde's experiment, how dare he interrupt something he had no part in? "We know the Storm Arcobaleno."
Fon would regret interfering with science the next time Verde met him.
"In that case." He resumed. Perhaps bluntness would yield better results than emotions. "You know we're looking for a cure. Unfortunately we lack data on the way young bodies create and process Dying Will Flames. It differs from adult bodies significantly. I would appreciate it if you accepted to participate in a series of tests; I would even be willing to pay you for your efforts." He stayed polite and even dangled a prize in front of them. He could easily afford to give them some pocket money.
And if they still refused, he could always track them and force them into some more fights, this time with more sensors than he had managed to gather in so short a time to collect data. As though responding to his thoughts, his self-made cell-phone pinged to alert him that his search on their identities, place of residence and other records was complete.
He completely ignored the baffled looks he was getting from the five boys (could they not understand that he was willing to hire them? Or were they shocked that he would dare to ask after ambushing them?) to parse through the results. They were all rather remarkable.
The non-Flame-active blond was from Great Britain and had already participated in several invention contests and won. His robot -the one that had fought his own killer automatons- was especially noteworthy for someone so young.
The Storm was the heir of a small Mafia family that had ran away from home and had begun to make a name for himself as a hitman before he fell from the map. He apparently had a talent for explosives and made his own ammunitions.
The older Sky was also the heir of a Famiglia, although the Gesso were certainly higher on the food chain. He had been adopted from Japan after his Flame had been discovered, but there was not much on the boy himself. He seemed whimsical to the extreme, and rarely followed the code of the Mafia.
The Sun was from Japan as well. Verde was quite proud of his search engine, since it covered the whole world and could draw some links between one report and another, allowing him to expose the entirety of his target's life, even if they changed names or countries. It could hack into any database, including CCTV records and had the most efficient face-recognition program ever coded. The only reason he had not shared his invention with the world was that he liked to always have an edge over others. As such, Verde knew that the Sun came from Namimori in Japan, and had disappeared with two other boys, only to resurface in Italy with new surnames and to create a business. A business that currently hired several children, including the two Skies and the Storm. Perhaps there were other Flame-active test subjects to be found there.
However the most interesting report was about the youngest Sky. He was one of the runaways from Namimori, was the leader of their little business -not surprising considering his element. But the most remarkable piece was the report attached to his profile, a recent document made by the Vongola over the disappearance of the son of CEDEF's head. It was classified information that he should not have access to, but it was invaluable to Verde. Iemitsu Sawada was of Vongola blood, with all that it entailed, meaning his son also had the Hyper Intuition and the Dying Modes. That probably explained a few things about his behavior and glowing eyes.
Verde almost trembled in excitement; he had never had the opportunity before to investigate the Vongola abilities, and here he had the means to force his test subject to participate. Judging from all the precautions, the boy didn't want his father to find him.
"Tsunayoshi Sawada." He called. As he expected, the younger Sky tensed, his burning orange eyes sharpened in wariness. The Storm and Sun looked equally suspicious, while the older Sky only tilted his head to the side, as if curious to see where this would lead. The blond didn't seem to understand what was going on -he probably had no ties to the Mafia.
"I need you and your friends to take part in my tests, and that includes any Flame-active child at your shop -Caeruleus, was it?" He stated. "If you refuse, I could always inform your father of your whereabouts."
The Storm cried in outrage at the blackmailing, but the brunet Sky silenced him, his eyes were two glowing slits. The others stayed silent, awaiting their leader's decision. "You would lose your test subjects if you did that."
Verde had not expected the boy to pick up on that. Hyper Intuition? "I would still have you friends to experiment on." He reasoned. "I'm sure Vongola won't mind a few civilians and would-be civilians being tested on."
The boy clenched his fists where wisps of orange fire escaped through his fingers. "But you would lose an opportunity to study Vongola blood." He argued with a too calm voice. Hyper Dying Will? A young boy like him could have Hyper Dying Will? Verde had to learn more about that. "Besides, Dying Will Flames reflect their user's state of mind; you would have much better results studying willing subjects. Isn't that right Shoichi?"
"Uh? Oh, right. Yeah, the- the quality and quantity of Flame varies greatly depending on the user's state of mind." The Sun stammered, visibly falling back on scientific facts when his nerve failed him.
"And what do you propose, then?" Inquired Verde dismissively. "You won't agree to become test subjects, and I won't back down on my experiments." He was already planning killer robots raids to force them to use their Flames in front of his sensors.
The Sky looked at him for a minute. If he was being honest with himself, those eyes were rather unnerving. "How about a compromise?" He eventually offered. "You don't tell Iemitsu or anyone else about me and my friends. In exchange, we partake in some of your experiments. But we still have the right to refuse some tests." His eyes hardened. "Some of my friends suffered already from scientists experimenting on them, I won't force them to go through that again. Any test you perform has to be non-invasive and based on volunteering. We have a few science enthusiasts, I'm sure you will always find willing subjects if you keep things safe." The Storm and Sun spluttered in indignation at their leader's words, and the Sky began to convince them, but the scientist was no longer paying attention to their antics.
Verde pondered the offer. It was the absolute truth that the state of mind of the test subjects had a significant impact on results in Flame-related experiments. It would be advantageous to actually have willing test subjects. Plus, the way the Sky talked, it sounded as though there were multiple other young Flame-actives, meaning more data and likely more types of Flame. Sure, he might not be able to perform all the experiments he wanted, but he was sure he could find ways around that and devise methods to investigate everything he wished without being invasive. He wasn't the world's greatest scientist for nothing.
And if things fell through, he could always resume his former plan of launching surprise raids on them and collect data from their battles. Easy.
"I accept." He declared, interrupting the children's argument. "And I will accompany you to your residence to start gathering data on your environment." And hide sensors throughout the building, but they didn't need to know that.
The Sun looked caught between fear of his presence in his home and reluctant admiration. Of course : he was a famous figure in the scientific community. The Storm still looked irate, but restrained himself at his leader's decision. The inactive blond still seemed lost, but also eager to follow them. The older Sky was definitely amused by something (Skies could be mercurial and hide a lot more knowledge than they seemed, he knew. Luce had taught him that, so he would keep an eye on the white-haired boy) and the younger Sky seemed to deflate as tension left his body and his eyes stopped glowing. How foolish to let his guard down with just a few words.
"Kyoya is going to kill me." He muttered, looking at Verde and the inactive blond. "And Mukuro, Chikusa and Ken won't be happy either." He shook his head to get rid of distracted thoughts and turned to the scientist. "I assume you already know where we live. Could you drive us there? You did hijack our bus." He accused.
Verde didn't gratify that with an answer. He typed a few orders on his phone, and his assistant robots immediately pulled out of his underground hideout (the boys jumped in surprise when the trapdoor opened) with some of his devices and sensors before dropping them off in the bus. The scientist jumped inside the vehicle on his driver-robot's head. "Well, are you coming or not?"
He gracefully ignored the children's grouchy mutters. They should be thankful that he was not leaving them to walk the way home.
()()()()()()
As Tsuna had expected, Kyoya had not been happy to discover he had brought back two new weirdos to their home. The raven was glaring daggers into the heads of everyone involved.
Spanner had been explained the basics of Dying Will Flames by Shoichi on the way back, with a few inputs by Verde every now and then. Hayato, for all that he loved talking science, had chosen to remain by Tsuna's side and guard him from anything the Arcobaleno might do to him. Byakuran had been blissfully asleep in the back of the bus.
Anyway, the blond had not flinched when faced with Kyoya's animosity -more a proof of the inventor's mental issues than his fearlessness in Tsuna's opinion- and had chosen a room on the second floor immediately. He had thankfully been convinced to leave his Mosca turned off in one of the smaller training rooms in the basement – soundproofed and with reinforced walls.
Verde had started by inspecting the labs. Tsuna was fairly sure than he had been impressed by the devices and the research reports he had found. They had probably nothing on his own labs, but they were still too young to expect that level of technology and money.
In fact, he had liked what he had found so much that he had proceeded in choosing a room for himself and declaring it 'his workplace until he finished his study'. Shoichi was ecstatic at the idea of using some of Verde's devices for himself, so he helped him move in all his machines and convinced Hayato and Byakuran to help. The driving robot and the bus were sent back to one of the Arcobaleno's bases as soon as it was done.
Tsuna was left to explain the situation to the rest of his friends, especially Mukuro, Ken and Chikusa.
"He swore only to perform experiments with the test subject's permission." He clarified. The three former lab rats didn't look mollified at all. "You can just tell him no and he should leave you alone. Also, any test has to be non-invasive. If he tries anything you don't like, you're free to respond accordingly or tell the rest of us and we will do our best to drive him away."
Mukuro still had a thunderous expression, Ken was jittery and Chikusa was tense as a ramrod, with his eyes darting from one corner of the room to the next. Tsuna sighed. "Look, he's an Arcobaleno, even if he's a scientist. I doubt we would have stood a chance against him in an actual fight, especially on his territory. Plus, he had too much blackmail information about us. About me. He knew that Iemitsu was looking for me, and that we could not afford for him to find us. The best I could do was a bargain : willing test subjects – and you don't have to be one, I promise – in exchange for limitations and the right to reject some of his experiments. I assure you that Shoichi and Hayato are more than willing to participate in his tests as long as they are not pushed too far; you know those two. I will take part as well, and maybe a couple others, so there will be no reason to force you to have anything to do with Verde."
The three looked a bit less pale at his reassurance, so the brunet kept going. "Besides, if things still go South, we will have the option of calling Fon or Mammon for help, now that we are back home. I'm sure a fellow Arcobaleno will be able to talk some sense into Verde, or stop him altogether if need be. You know they like us enough to do that."
The tense silence stretched for long seconds before Mukuro let out a sigh. His shoulders slumped the slightest bit, telling Tsuna his point had gotten through. And if the Mist was OK, then the two others would be too; they still followed his lead. "I understand." He reluctantly admitted. "You had no other choice faced with his blackmail, and you negotiated the best deal you could. I don't blame you, only that scientist." The loathing in that last word was potent. "But if he ever tries anything against us three or he goes over the line with any of you, we call backup immediately. Is that clear, Tsunayoshi?"
The Sky nodded resolutely. He couldn't stop himself from sweeping his three traumatized friends in a group hug. They all stiffened at the unexpected contact, before allowing themselves to accept the reassurance. Tsuna would never let any of his friends be harmed, physically or mentally, so he would make absolutely sure that Verde behaved. Those three had suffered enough.
()()()()()()
Compared to the three former outlaws, Kyoya had been ridiculously easy to convince. He had glared at everyone when two more people had invaded his territory, going so far as taking a room without his approval, but one explanation from Tsuna had been enough to appease his wrath.
Verde – and apparently Spanner – were good at creating and improving weapons.
After that, the Cloud had allowed the two newcomers to set their things without protest. He still scowled at everyone, but it was back to his regular expression rather than the irate glaring of before.
For all that Kyoya could be complicated, he was also very easy to please when you knew him well enough. Fortunately, that was Tsuna's case.
More surprisingly, Verde behaved. He set up his devices in one of the underground laboratories and set to creating a protocol to test Flames in young subjects without opening them up or any unsavory operations.
Shoichi was assisting him full time, and Hayato gave a hand pretty often – once he had calmed down and realized that helping him meant he was at the best place to ensure the Arcobaleno kept his word.
Tsuna had still sent a message to Mammon and Fon to inform them of the situation and tell them of the bargain he had cut out with the scientist. They had both replied that Verde was a man of his word (it was a matter of pride, something all the cursed infants had aplenty) and that he should follow the terms of their deal. They had also added that if anything went messy or if he had any doubt, that he only had to call and they would come immediately (for a fee in Mammon's case, but she kept it surprisingly reasonable). The young Sky felt touched by their concern and thanked them both profusely.
Life went on at Caeruleus, with a few more explosions in the labs than before (as much from the experiments as from Spanner learning to wield his recently awakened Lightning Flames, as from Kyoya having fun with the newly built and improved Moscas).