Another Path Part 29 : That reaped the Harvest of Spring
Sorry about the delay, there was a character in this chapter that I really have trouble writing but that I couldn't avoid. I'm still not quite satisfied with how I depicted them, but I don't think I can do better either. You tell me how it turned out...
I love all of you who read, followed and reviewed this story; whenever I need to find motivation and inspiration to write, I read all the messages you left me. You guys – and girls – are awesome!
After debriefing everyone, they all ate dinner and went on patrol separately (under heavy Mist illusions for the Caeruleus gang). They had a lot of ground to cover and they had no real idea what to look for, so they were not hoping for much.
As hard to accept as it was, Haru's investigation was probably their best bet. It didn't mean Tsuna felt happy about involving an innocent girl...
Predictably, they all returned to the Hibari mansion empty-handed. They were dejected, but not surprised – if the issue could be solved so easily, Kusakabe would not have needed their help – so they all went to bed in a sour mood.
They following nine days were not any better. They started their patrols early in the morning, took a break for lunch, returned to wander the streets until dinner, then went back out until late at night. They were hoping to encounter more thugs harassing civilians, like with the Miura girl, or for any clue as to the location of the new headquarters of the Momokyokai or the name of their Italian benefactor.
They found absolutely nothing, which didn't necessarily mean that nothing happened. They were too few to properly cover even an eighth of Namimori, and illegal operations might be taking place off the streets.
It was the tenth day in Namimori and they were waiting for Mukuro and Chrome (who was not able to defend herself alone yet but wanted to help) to return and share their possible findings. Kyoya was pacing around his living room like a predator in a cage, glowering at the wall and at everyone. His fingers kept twitching to where his tonfas were hidden, clearly eager to have a few criminals to demolish. The rest of the crew were not doing much better.
"Still nothing?" Asked Tsuna hopefully when the two Mists arrived.
"Unfortunately not." Mukuro shook his head and Chrome looked down like she had disappointed them all. "Patrolling the streets at random isn't working, Tsunayoshi. The people we're looking for are not going to wave a flag with the Momokyokai name on it. We need a new approach."
Mukuro was right, of course he was, but it wasn't as though they had a better idea. They could just make a ruckus good enough to grab the Mafia and Yakuza's attention, but that wasn't exactly a better idea. The problem was that, if they didn't get any results soon, they would probably have to resort to such a drastic solution, no matter if it risked getting them caught in Vongola's radar.
Miura had better have something, for Namimori's sake. They were all, especially Kyoya, getting seriously fed up with twiddling their thumbs.
Speak of the devil and she will appear. Just as Tsuna was looking for a way to temporarily soothe the frayed tempers of his friends, a servant of the Hibari mansion knocked on a paper door.
"Young Master," called the man. Tsuna had to give him props : he didn't even flinch under Kyoya's glare. "Three girls are waiting at the door. One of them claims to have important information for her 'beloved Hayato-kun'. Should we let them in?"
From his words and the vaguely dubious look on the otherwise inexpressive man's face, Haru had to be one of he visitors. But who were the other two?
Kyoya grunted and pointed at Tsuna with his head, which the Sky correctly interpreted as him telling the brunet to handle it himself. "Please them in the reception room." He answered the unfazed servant.
Five minuted later, Tsuna, Hayato and Mukuro were sitting one cushions on one side of a low table, with Kyoya standing behind them and Kusakabe behind him.
On the other side of the table sat the three girls. One of them was obviously Haru Miura, who was making eyes at Hayato. The Storm was dutifully ignoring her, as per Tsuna's prior instructions (no need to have their two tempers clash if it could be avoided so easily). It wouldn't last very long, but for now, they had some measure of calm, despite the soft sobbing of the second girl and the suspicious and hostile looks the third was throwing them.
"Hello everyone." Tsuna cut through the mounting tension with a kind smile. "Perhaps we should begin by introducing ourselves. I'm Tsunayoshi, but call me Tsuna. These two are Hayato and Mukuro. The angry-looking boy behind us is Kyoya and by his side is... Kusakabe."
He realized mid-sentence that he couldn't remember what Kusakabe's first name was, which was why he finished his introductions so lamely. He made a note to ask the young man later for his given name. It had been years since they first met after all, and he had never been familiar enough with the older teen to call him by his first name. He seemed to recall Kyoya using it, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was.
"I'm Miura Haru!" Chirped the girl without missing a beat. She then sat down on her cushion with a self-conscious smile. "But everyone already knew that..."
"Kurokawa Hana." Stated the girl with long black hair and an accusing glare. "My friend is Sasagawa Kyoko and I'm still wondering what we're doing here. You monkeys are not going to be able to help us."
The other girl, Kyoko Sasagawa, let out another sob. Haru reached out to comfort her as she threw a scolding look over her strawberry blond hair and towards Kurokawa. The dark-haired girl didn't look bothered in the least. "It's not like we can go to the police when we know they're going to snitch on us, Hana-chan! Hayato-kun and Tsuna-san and their friends are at least trying and I have faith in them. If you have another idea, feel free to share, Hana-chan!"
Hayato noisily chocked on whatever retort he wanted to make and let Tsuna speak. "Maybe if you actually told us what brings you here, we can determine if we can be of use?"
"Right!" Nodded Haru decisively. "I told you last time that I would look for information on all the fishy things happening in Namimori recently. I contacted all my school friends and asked them to ask their own friends, but that didn't work very well. Nobody knew anything, or else they were not talking. Then I remembered that all my friends were not from my school. I met Kyoko-chan in a bakery a few months ago. You see, once a month, I have what I call a Cake Day, where I allow myself to eat one slice of any cake in the shop, no matter how high calorie. Kyoko-chan has the same habit, so we met on our Cake Day and became friends, even if she prefers cakes based on strawberry while I like chocolate better. I mean, strawberry is good, but chocolate is so much richer, and you can-"
Kyoya growled in a very ominous way behind Tsuna, which cut Haru's rambling short.
"Right, right, sorry, I get carried away when I talk about cake. Anyway, I called Kyoko-chan and when she finally answered she was in tears. She said her brother had just been abducted by those criminals after they pestered him for days, so I convinced her to come here and give you any information she had."
"And I followed because I don't trust any of you monkeys with Kyoko. Who are you even supposed to be anyway and what are you doing in the Hibari mansion? That place has been empty apart from the servants for years now."
Tsuna shared a look with his friends, wondering how much they could share. "This is actually Kyoya's house." He eventually admitted. "His full name is Hibari Kyoya. He's the one that founded the Discipline Committee before we... before we moved out. He's very good at fighting and he considers Namimori to be his to protect. When Kusakabe contacted us about the current situation and how he couldn't manage it on his own, we came back. We're here specifically to deal with the yakuza, but we're awfully short on information, which is why we," he shot an accusing look at a smirking Mukuro, "asked Haru-chan for help and probably why she brought you here."
"And what can you do?" Shot back Kurokawa bitterly. "You're the same age as us."
Tsuna smiled gently. "We're all pretty capable, and you've got nothing to lose by telling us your story."
The black-haired girl looked at them all one by one even as she snorted in derision. In the end, though, she still nodded to the third girl, Sasagawa.
She made a visible effort to swallow down her sobs, nodded back to Kurokawa and turned to Tsuna's side of the table. Her eyes were red and puffy, and tears still rolled down her cheeks, but there was a glint of determination in her gaze. "I'm- I'm Sasagawa Kyoko." She began shakily. "My brother Ryohei is two years older and already known as a good fighter. He's the captain of the boxing club at school, and he's- he's very good. So good that the yakuza contacted him a few weeks ago to join them. He refused, of course, but they kept coming back. They said they wanted to grow their ranks and they wanted to recruit young, so- so that the newcomers would feel loyal to them growing up.
"Our parents and Hana's work together in the States – they're rarely home, so we didn't have anyone to talk to. Everyone knows the police isn't reliable here. The yakuza came everyday to bully my brother into accepting, until yesterday. The showed up in front of his school." She hiccuped and cried fresh tears as she valiantly tried to finish her story. Kurokawa moved closer to hug her shoulders tight while Haru held her hands soothingly. "I- I was waiting for him, like I al- like I always do because the box- boxing club finishes late. The yakuza didn't see me, so I- I- I hid like a- a coward when I saw them kidnap onii-san. They- they beat him up when he ref- when he refused to go. Ryohei-nii managed to- to hit several of them, but then they- they knocked him out with a taser and pul- pulled him in a white pickup van. I could only- only get the van's license plate and the- and then run to Hana-chan's and tell her everything..."
She burst into tears, so Kurokawa moved to hold her to her chest. Over Sasagawa's head, she glared at Tsuna. "Happy?"
That was the most information they had gathered in the ten days they had been in Namimori, so yes, Tsuna was happy, but he couldn't exactly say that to the cantankerous girl or her distraught friend. "Thank you for coming to us." He replied more diplomatically once Sasagawa's sobs calmed down a little. "Could you write down the license plate for us, Sasagawa-chan? I promise we will do our best to bring your brother home." The strawberry blond looked at him, her puffy eyes shining with renewed hope. She reached for some paper and a pen in her bag, scribbled something on it and handed it to Tsuna, who gave it to Kusakabe. The Discipline Committee as a whole would be used to look for the corresponding van.
Then the Sky looked at Kyoya. Of course, the black-haired teen knew exactly what Tsuna wanted; he put up a token protest in the form of a glower, but quickly relented with a huff and a resigned shake of his head. The younger boy smiled cheekily at his oldest friend : Kyoya really knew him too well if he didn't even really try to stop him.
He turned around to look back at the three girls that had followed the exchange in silence. "You should stay here until the problem is dealt with." He offered, and tackled on before they had time to argue. "Sasagawa-chan, if your brother refuses to follow their orders, those yakuza might go after you to force his hand. If they can't find you, they'll look for your closest acquaintances, which would be Kurokawa-chan. And there is always the possibility that they'll learn of Haru-chan's investigation. As long as you're in this mansion, we can guarantee your safety. Please, consider this carefully before turning us down."
Sasagawa and Haru looked in askance at their third friend. Clearly, Kurokawa was the decision maker of the team. The girl looked testy and unhappy, but she nodded after a minute of reflexion. "I guess it makes sense. We'll go home to get some stuff and we'll come back here to wait for Ryohei's return. But hear me out," she leaned forward threateningly, "if anything fishy happens to us here, I'll make you pay for it, monkey."
Tsuna gulped. He knew objectively that he could easily take the girl down, but the girl had one hell of an imposing aura. "Of course, Kurokawa-san. I give you my word that nothing fishy will happen. Please make yourselves at home."
()()()()()()
An hour or so later, the three girls had returned with bags filled with clothes and other essentials and Tsuna was leading them to the room they would share until they were safe. There was enough space in the mansion to give them a separate room, but he had assumed that they would feel more at ease if they stayed together. In any case, leaving Sasagawa alone when she was so distraught was certainly not a good idea.
Meanwhile, his friends and the Discipline Committee were out looking for the white van used to kidnap Sasagawa's brother. Tsuna had briefly considered keeping Hayato with him, as a 'reward' of sorts for Haru's good work, but he loved his Storm too much to subject him to that, and wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet while he still could. It was already a small miracle that the two volatile tempers hadn't exploded earlier, he didn't want to tempt fate.
Sometimes, Tsuna felt more like an exhausted and overworked single mother in her late forties with several young children than the 12-almost-13-year-old he actually was.
He opened the door to the spacious room where three futons had been prepared in advance. Kurokawa-san peered inside, analyzed everything thoroughly and must have found it adequate, because she nodded briskly, called the two other girls in and slammed the door shut on Tsuna.
The boy sighed, but didn't comment. "I'll be in the living room if you need anything, or you can ask the staff." He still called, and was answered by two acquiescing sounds.
As promised, he went back to the living room, where he reviewed what little files the Committee had managed to compile on the Momokyokai. A maid brought him a fresh glass of grape juice with a smile, for which he was thankful. The staff in Kyoya's mansion was really the best.
He expected to wait for a long time for the van to be sighted, but his friends must have been really bolstered by the breakthrough Haru's investigation brought, because it barely took them half a day to locate the vehicle, parked in front of a seemingly empty office building.
"We attack tonight at 1am." Declared Kyoya – the self-appointed but undisputed head of the operation – as soon as they had the beginning of a plan.
Tsuna nodded with the rest of them. He would have liked a little more time to scout, to work on the details and on back-up plans, but the life of Sasagawa's brother was on the line.
Speaking of Sasagawa, he told her and her friends the news later, around dinner. The girls chose to eat on their own in their room, but Tsuna made it a point to keep them updated.
"With any luck, you'll have your brother back before sunrise tomorrow." He promised.
The hopeful light in the girl's gaze had strengthened, and despite the dark pockets under her too wet eyes, the shy smile that bloomed on her lips made her very pretty. Kurokawa looked vaguely less suspicious than before (which Tsuna chose to take as great improvement) and Haru-chan began babbling about how great her Hayato-kun was and how soon things would go back to normal in Namimori.
Tsuna managed to get away as she was starting on how Hayato would somehow improve the water quality in town. He had no idea where the girl got her ideas from, but she sure had a strong imagination...
()()()()()()
For an office building that was supposed to be deserted two years ago, the Momokyokai base was very lively. Light filtered through several of the hastily boarded windows, allowing Tsuna to easily read he license plate of the white van parked right in front. Maybe at first glance in daylight, the building might have looked to have been left alone for a long time, but there were plenty of boot prints outside to see that it was actually regularly visited. Worst of all, from across the street, Tsuna could easily pick up the loud voices of people talking, shouting and even singing inside. Clearly, some of the inhabitants decided to get drunk tonight, because Tsuna desperately hoped that nobody sings that bad sober.
The four-story building wouldn't be conspicuous if you didn't know that it was supposed to be empty, which was why they had missed it so far. On the bright side, that impression of safety had obviously made the yakuza complacent; they were not protecting the place properly since they were so sure not to be a target.
Blueprints of the place (hastily gathered from city hall) had revealed three entrance points to the building : the front door, a door that led to a small overgrown backyard, and the roof. They didn't know where Sasagawa's brother was kept, but chances were good that he was either on the top floor or – more likely – in the basement. That meant they would have to break in through all the entrances at once.
They had considered sneaking in under the cover of Mist Flames, but they wanted to crush their opponents anyway, and they were confident that they could handle the battle and the rescue at once.
Anyway, Kyoya would act as a diversion and take the front door, making as much of a ruckus as possible (which in his case meant a lot). At the same time, Tsuna and Hayato would invade through the roof, since the Storm was probably less likely to do dangerous structural damage on the top floor than the ground and the Sky could keep an eye on him and rein him in if necessary. Mukuro would give Chrome her first real field lesson on Flames by infiltrating the building through the back door and checking on the basement. The girl had been given the choice of staying at the mansion, but she had insisted, shyly but resolutely that she wanted to help if she could.
There was hidden steel in her, under all her insecurities.
The Discipline Committee would be scattered around the base, ready to intercept anyone who managed to slip away and stop any possible reinforcements. They had no real idea of the numbers or strength of their enemies, so they would not risk playing all their cards on the actual attack mission.
Besides, since the Committee didn't know about Flames (apart from Kusakabe Tetsuya – really, Tsuna should have been able to remember that name, damn it!), Tsuna and his friends couldn't go all out with them around.
(Even if the Momokyokai were somehow unaware of Dying Will Flames, they were criminals and close associates with a mafia family, so there would be no problem with Vindice on that front.)
Getting on the rooftop with Hayato was laughably easy; the Momokyokai were really overconfident in not being found and didn't even bother keeping a lookout. Minutes later, Kusakabe, who was on another rooftop farther away (but still the closest member of the Committee), signaled that everyone was in place and that the operation could begin.
Tsuna and Hayato waited until the first screams – of outrage and pain – reached them from the front entrance where Kyoya was raising hell before they busted open the door and dashed inside the enemy base.
So congrats to Kindnessgoesalongway, Alisha, Salestia, BoyishBlue, Static2000, Azuka Zoaldyeck, Mikan18, WolfSongGirl, KITSUNE TAKAHARI, sayukino11 and foxchick1 for guessing either Hana or Kyoko.
Did you like that Ryohei being the damsel in distress and not Kyoko for once? Honestly, I can see the point of abducting Ryohei for his fighting skills, but his sister? Does she have any hidden talents that I don't know about?
In case it wasn't obvious, I don't like Kyoko much. She really has no point or personality apart from 'sit there, be the main love interest so smile and be pretty'. Haru and Hana are much more interesting character-wise, in my humble opinion. I'll try to make Kyoko mole likable, but I'm afraid she'll end up more of a counter-point to her brother's extreme personality than a fully independent character (if I do anything else, she'd probably end up way too OoC). She likely won't appear much though, if you're worried about that.
(And no, no love story between her and Tsuna. Just no. Sorry if I disappoint some of you, but I can't write something so bland.)
Anyway, TWO new characters next time. One of them is pretty obvious, but how many of you can guess the second? (and never, ever apologize for long comments. Just knowing that some people out there are invested enough in my story to write so much makes me giddy with happiness!)