DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN
Tsuna's POV
"Why don't you come inside? I don't need my neighbors questioning why there's suspicious people crowding my area." Sakurako walked ahead of us, gesturing for us to follow her in. And though she asked us, it was more like she was telling us to listen or else. We weren't in any position to deny her offer/ command that we listened quietly.
To say that the atmosphere was tense was an understatement. I don't think Sakurako even noticed as she comfortably walked around her house. It was relatively small compared to the other types of places that high end Mafioso stayed in. It was probably around the size of my house from the looks of it. Varia took one couch and we opposite of them as both sides filled up the living room.
Sakurako paid no mind as she moved a single chair to the end of the room. It should be no coincidence that she sat in between the two groups, as if she was setting a line straight down the room. She took her sunhat off, placing it on her lap. "I'm aware that there are some unanswered questions regarding myself. Besides what Natsuki was planning, I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Please do so now or forever hold your peace."
I was going to go first when Belphegor beat me to it. "How are you alive? I made sure that every single person in that mansion was dead. Even in the safe rooms. There's no way I could have missed you."
"Do you really think that the entirety of my family was in that house all day?" She asked with clear disbelief in her voice.
"No but someone as important as you shouldn't have been away from your family in such a crucial moment. I couldn't care less about the few stray aways as long as they didn't know it was us attacking. You were not any where nearby or with Hime in school. There should have been no reason for you to be gone."
"Unlike what you think, I did have a reason. Two years, now four, before you attacked my family, my mother gave me an order to travel the world."
"That hag sent you away?" Squalo questioned. She glared at him but pulled it back quickly. I assumed it was she was her trying to maintain a professional view but there was something more than only that.
"My Mother," Emphasize on the mother, "Gave me an order to travel the world for research purposes. For me be considered a proper tactician I need to be aware of human behaviour from real life experiences. By meeting more than people in my neighborhood I developed a keener eye for these subjects."
"So you haven't seen Nat-chan in four years?" She sighed.
"First Hime and now Nat-chan? Never would have imagined stoic Natsuki to favour such strange titles. But yes, we've lost contact when the news was broken to me of all their deaths. It wasn't only until about a year ago that I found that she was still alive."
"And how did you do that?"
"Eyes are everywhere. Did you know that people enjoy gossiping about Decimo and his pals? One in particular was a gray haired woman with a strong intuition. She wasn't a guardian nor a friend as she was seen to be particular violent towards the group. Rumors had it that she was a part of CEDEF as she never intervened with any actions but had clear training. Many wanted to recruit her but could never approach her without being caught."
"That doesn't mean that it was Fia."
"No it doesn't. I have to admit I was a bit skeptic and hopeful at first but I knew it was her after some news was released. Though a picture was never captured people have stated that in some lights, she had gray eyes. All those characteristics tied together with gray eyes. What a coincidence I would have to say." I caught Xanxus eyebrows tighten. "After that I just had to observe Kuudaime for a while and I pieced everything myself."
She looked between Xanxus and I. In a sense I felt like she said that directed to us as the ones that were related to Kuudaime.
"What about your ring then? How did you find that?" Reborn asked. She looked down at her simple ring. I don't even think that the ones not holding a Tri-Ni- Sette item could tell the pressure radiating off of her.
"The Sognare ring, I found this by accident, not too far from here actually. About 3 months ago we came here out of instinct. Long story short, I was granted this ring and was briefly informed about what it's capable of. That's why my guardians and I decided that it was time to reclaim my title. We went our separate ways for the time being to train while I learned to master it. Not sure if you are aware but this is quite a draining power."
Kyoko and Haru unconsciously nodded. Since the Vongola ring was split up between my guardians, I didn't have the same stress as they did. But just by sitting in a room with Kyoko, Haru and Sakurako was enough to make me nauseous and this was before any flames were used. If it was anything like Checkerface's flames that would be more than enough to kill all of us.
"Do you know about Natsuki-san's ring?"
"The only thing I know is that she has a ring and that was from what Xanxus says."
One thing I picked up about Sakurako was that she wasn't as easily angered as her sister was. Even if she was, she didn't show it. Natsuki could hide her anger with intimidation but that reserved smile on Sakurako's face never left. I, honestly, didn't know which one was worst. Mentioning Xanxus's name wasn't helping in keeping her calm.
"From what we know her ring and the Buco Nero ring are connected that if we kill one of them, the other will lose their powers to keep the balance. There's even a chance that the lose of their powers can result in their deaths as well. Because of that Natsuki-san planned to suicide but couldn't commit to it in the end as she promised Belphegor. That's why we've decided to help her out but we don't really know where to begin."
"And that's where I come in."
"So what do you think?" I fidgeted with my fingers.
"Well Decimo what do you think about our enemy? With someone like Mr. Reborn on your side, doubt shouldn't even be in your vocabulary. You shouldn't be too bad yourself if he's your tutor." I shook my head.
"Natsuki-san is beyond my league. For her to have to fully surrender to them without any fight, regardless of the hostage situation, that's already enough to say that I'm more than concerned. Azazel, herself, is entirely different."
"Azazel? You only mentioned Tachibana."
"Oh right. We've only seen him once so I don't really know a lot about him. He's the one most likely to be in charge though. He's the owner of the Buco Nero ring while Azazel is the past owner from what we know so far."
She licked her teeth, nodding along. "So that explains why his ego was inflated that much. That makes things a lot easier. I can handle that much. Separate him from the two long enough and he'll sure to crumble."
"That brings up another question. Why do you know who Tachibana is?" Xanxus asked the major question. She all-knowingly smirk at him.
"Shouldn't you have researched about Natsuki before kidnapping her?" She loosely shook her head in disapproval. "I guess I have explain it either way so that doesn't matter much. Tachibana Yoshi is what I call a coward to sum it up. He poses no threat to us in an overall plan."
The room went silent. With what we've seen so far there was nothing in our minds that lined up with Sakurako's prediction. The look in Natsuki's eyes yesterday was enough to say that she was powerless against him. He looked confident that everything was going his way with her wrapped around his finger.
"Is this so shocking of news?" I shook my head out of thought.
"W-well with the Buco Nero ring and from what we've seen from Azaela, to say that they're no threat sounds like a stretch. Natsuki-san, herself, found the need to give in because she couldn't stop them."
"Wrong. Natsuki gave in because of two reasons. One, hostages were taken. That makes any situation difficult as nothing is assured. I only assume that Natsuki, for some reason, valued the life of the hostages enough that she couldn't risk any mishaps. I don't know how she structured the rescue mission but I'm sure that she covered as many bases as she can in the short period of time to ensure their lives."
I glanced at Kyoko and Haru since only they knew what Natsuki was like during training. Though the fact that they were able to get back Fong and I-pin was proof that Natsuki taught them well. "Then what's the second reason?"
She scanned over the members of Varia then back to us. "That's not too important for our mission and can be discussed afterwards."
"Is there a reason why you keep leaving out details?" Reborn asked.
"Merely a reassurance for myself. I haven't interacted with her in 4 years that her behaviour may be different than what I'm used to. A lesson from my mother was that you shouldn't mention any areas of doubt. I'm sure Natsuki didn't flaunt around the idea that they wouldn't take up her offer of sacrificing herself. They could have easily attacked her if they wanted. Not that Tachibana had the guts to touch her."
"And that brings us back to our main question. Who is he specifically and why are you so confident that we can beat him without comparing the strength that he now possess?" Squalo was getting close to his tipping point. Everyone could see that much. Sakurako was purposefully leading them on with the lack of information and avoiding topics.
"He's from Natsuki's middle school. The one she attended before she got kidnapped."
"Eh? How is it even possible from her school to find her? Even more so, though Nat-chan was bullied, she shouldn't have any enemies that would want to find her that badly." Sakurako closed her eyes, taking a second to calm herself.
"Can I please finish my explanation before any other questions are brought up?" She was clenching her fist tightly to stop herself. Though she was overreacting a bit, it was still understandable why she had such a short temper with them in particular. Whatever Natsuki said in that note must have been something to keep her from attacking them.
She took in another breath and opened her eyes, her fist still tight. "First off, I don't know what she told you but Natsuki was never bullied. Ignored and had misunderstands as her main look but it never escalated to the point of bullying. Secondly, Tachibana was not considered an enemy. That's why I was interested in how he could convert so rapidly until you mentioned this Azazel character. Now all the pieces make sense."
She moved her fingers, looking at how her ring was shinning. "These are quite fascinating little trinkets I would say. Tachibana's sudden change in character from love-sick fool to this big enemy. That's what he was to Natsuki. Nothing but a fool that fell for the wrong type of girl. After one incident, Tachibana became her loyal dog that Natsuki did not accept."
I replayed our meeting with him yesterday. He was excessively clingy to her, not because of her being a prize, but because he was a delusional in love with her. That could also explain why she seem dead on the inside. To learn that someone from your past was responsible for everything along with knowledge that there was no escape from him probably threw her into shock.
Sakurako stood up grabbing a notebook and pen nearby. She set the book on the table so that we could all have a clear view of what she wanted to do. She drew 7 circles on the sheet. "We are currently at an advantage and disadvantage here. First off is mere strength as a disadvantage."
She crossed an x over three of the circles. "Though part of the Tri-Ni- Sette the Vongola, Mare and Arcobaleno parts are practically useless. The three stones were split into 7 parts that compared to the whole rings that we have, they wouldn't stand a chance."
Gokudera scoffed at her. "You don't know anything about what Juudaime can do."
"No Gokudera-san we should listen to Sakurako. You guys might not be able to tell but her ring itself is... too similar to Kawahira's. Even if the three bosses were come together right now, I don't think we can handle one of them. Sakurako posses a ring for a reason so we have to listen to her." Gokudera quietly lowered his head in apology.
I didn't like this. It was like she said, we were powerless here. I looked at her paper at the remaining four circles. 'All of us except Kyoko and Haru.' I quickly turned to the two of them on both sides of me.
"That's our advantage Decimo. These girl's flames are halved from looks of it. That means that they can handle the weight more than the three of us could. If I assume that they're friends with similar training regimes. This can benefit us more as they can work on a better wave length than all your seven guardians planning an attack together."
The three girls looked at one another. "Actually Natsuki-chan was the one to train us, individually. She wanted each of us to learn separately so that we wouldn't influence each other. Haru doesn't even know what Kyoko-chan's weapons are."
"Do you think that Shadows purposefully separated them so that they wouldn't become stronger together?" She shook her head at Gokudera.
"You have to stop placing the negative filter on her. Her initial plan was suicide, do not forget that. I'm getting really irritated with the words directly poorly of her at this point. If you do not fully trust her to bring her back, then I will not waste the effort in leading this raid." She threatens him.
"I have another request Decimo, Xanxus. All guardians minus the Arcobaleno must exit this building and remain outside until we have finished discussing." Squalo shot up.
"VOOOOI WHY US TOO? THEY'RE THE ONES BASHING ON NATSUKI!"
"You also can't order us around! I'll only listen to Juudaime."
"Why are you arguing with the technician that your Boss had requested to assist him? Guardians are meant to serve the don to the best of their abilities. Not act immature as a representative of them." Gokudera flinched at how calm she was despite the clear ominous around her.
I patted Gokudera's shoulder, gently pulling him away from Sakurako. I made eye contact with Xanxus, tilting my head in the direction of his men. He clicked his tongue not having any other choice. "Oi Trash get out until I tell you to come back."
"You guys too. Reborn will still be here in case of anything. We'll tell you guys everything later." Yamamoto held onto Gokudera's arm, dragging him out with the rest of Varia grumbling behind him. She waited until we heard the sound of the door clicking closed.
"Now that that's gone, let's continue. Have you girls tested out your powers? Or the properties that are given?"
"Um we've read the journal that Re- the previous predecessors wrote in. We only read it last night so we haven't had a chance to test them out. From what we read, apparently it just has the properties of a shield. Its hard and works to defend against anything. I don't see how we can use that as a way to help."
"No this does help Kyoko-chan. Even Lightning flames have a hardening factor that can be used. Lambo's power is amazing if you actually see it." I pitched in to help her feel better.
"Wrong Decimo. If the Scudo rings can be degraded to the same of Lightning, it would be pointless. Protection, huh? We can use that to our advantage once they practice it more. May I see your hand first?" Sakurako held her palm out. Kyoko, who was the closest to her hesitantly put her hand in hers. Sakurako gently inspected it with a fond smile on her face. This may have been the first time she smiled without any malice behind it.
"You can tell a lot about a person just from their hands. And I don't mean palm reading if that's what you're thinking." She chuckled lightly at Kyoko's innocent face. Sakurako turned her head to Haru as well. "The teacher is only as good as the student's effort. I can tell that the two of you trained hard. You are the rightful owners of these rings."
She released Kyoko's hand leaning back into her chair. "With a bit more practice those flames of yours can be controlled."
Their eyes widen. "You mean that you can use your flames without getting tired-desu?"
Haru seemed to forget about me being in the middle to lean in closer to her answer. "Of course not. The Tri-ni-Sette rings were not meant for humans to wield, from what I've been told. We'll always have a toll on us. The difference is when that toll takes place."
"Repression then. Its similar to your hyper will then Tsuna." I nodded at Reborn understanding the concept. My body stiffened at the memory of the pain I had felt after every major battle. Each time wasn't any better.
"What exactly is your power then?" Xanxus asked. She lit a small pink-purple-white mixed flame on her fingertip. Her hand moved elegantly tracing something in the air leaving a trail behind her finger. She suddenly crushed the shape taking a moment to relax herself. Slowly unraveling her fist, she presented two white roses offering them to the girls.
Kyoko muttered a 'thank you' as she took the two flowers, handing one to Haru. Reborn and I examined the flowers even noticing the faint smell of pollen off of it. There was nothing wrong with the way it felt. No remaining flame residue. The petals' texture looked exact with the small hairs covering it. It was a real flower.
"Impressed? Sognare meaning dream. As long as I have the strength and the imagination I can create anything I want. Much more powerful than any Mist flame could produce and more stable." I caught Mammon giving Xanxus a tiny confirmation nod. As an illusionist himself he knew the limitations that their works were susceptible to.
The only real thing stopping her was her own restrictions. The flowers were small enough that two of them fit in the palm of her hand. Not only that but her face had shown all the signs of exhaustion as she slowly relaxed herself. At her current state something like a gun would only get her one shot in. Even if she was controlling herself.
"So you see why we need all the help we can get for this operation. Though we have powerful items, these are not toys that we can use so recklessly. I want to split up our groups to take on a specific opponent matching to our skills then. We'll need to get into contact with the Mare and Arcobaleno bosses as well. I want at least the two bosses with us on standby."
"That simple of a plan? We haven't had the time to explain everything to you but do you realize that we wouldn't be coming to you if they weren't someone serious? We still have nothing on their abilities and -"
"Are you doubting me Mr. Reborn?" She shook her head at him pointing back to her paper. "We have 2 full rings to their 2. And though they can hire as many bodies to protect them, we still have stronger forces. The thing that separates them the most is the disharmony. There's a reason why Azalea finds the need to accompany him while the other predecessors left their successors. He is not trustworthy. We're going to take advantage of that." She grinned at the idea.
"You know that, for sure, how?" Xanxus questioned.
"I know him well enough. Tachibana is an extremely weak child. That's why he stuck to Natsuki like a moth to a flame. Tachibana can not be trusted with that kind of devotion. No matter how much Azalea could train him its nothing compared to years of training that our side has." She drew an arrow pointing downwards next to another circle.
"Next up is Azalea." She branched off of the circle. "She's the mystery element but at the same time very obvious."
"Judging by the look on your face I've say you've had experience in this kind of people." Reborn said.
"Not exactly though if you were able to go head to head to her, its easy enough to see her weakness. That's why the Vongola team is going to go after Azalea. Bring how many people you want but I find that your guardians are enough."
"You've never felt her strength Sakurako-san." I told her.
"And neither have you." I stopped to process every detail about Azalea. She would always appear near us without us ever noticing. She had no presence to us, unless she revealed herself. She never attacked us in the end. Even with the Vendice, their injuries are only from the Buco Nero ring's flames. How strong was she really?
"Are you really going to leave her to those trashes? Even if it was a bluff compared to Tachibana, she's the main obstacle to overcome."
"No, the main obstacle will be left to Varia. I want your group to be the ones to retrieve Natsuki." Xanxus glared at her.
"Why?" She drew a heart over the last circle. It seemed the only time that Sakurako had soften up was when it came to Natsuki.
"Because you're the only ones that can do it. Natsuki is a natural born fighter. Your group would be the best option to see her fighting style and counterattack it most efficiently. Regardless of how she may have betrayed you, I know that she cares about you. That's why you're the only people that I entrust to snap her back into her senses. Contact anyone that may have a special connection with her as well." Mammon and Xanxus looked at each other.
"Its only right that Fia gets taken down by Varia. We'll have to bring Fran with us too then." She gave an exaggerated sigh at him.
"Of course, say whatever and bring whoever makes you pleased. Remaining is us girls to take on Tachibana. As we are the least experienced fighters its left that we keep him preoccupied while Varia convinces Natsuki to come back. She will then be the one to stop Tachibana, her loyal dog. Simple yet thought out."
"And what if Azalea actually was holding back her strength? If Natsuki refuses to come back to us? Or if Tachibana goes rogue on his power? There's too many variables to work around with a tricky system like the Tri-Ni-Sette." Mammon reasoned. Sakurako looked at him scanning him up and down.
"Normally when someone refuses a plan its because of two reasons. Either the plan is completely useless or... They don't want the plan to be put into action. So what's the reason for you to be against it Arcobaleno Mammon?" The air was tense as he refused to answer.
She smirked giving a mocking laugh. He frowned deeply. "Ah I see. So that's how it is. Natsuki is quite amazing isn't she? That settles that. I expect full compliance from you then."
I remained confused as did the two girls next to me. Even Reborn was aware of what Mammon was thinking of from the way he was grinning at him. Mammon remained stone face through it all. "Next problem, how do we find their base?"
"Depends. When do you want to move out?" Xanxus offered.
"You can find her that easily?" Xanxus held hand out in front of Mammon. Mammon's arms moved under his cloak, fishing out a small device. He placed the object in his Boss's hand who showed it to our side.
"Fia never went against her loyalty but she was never fully truthful about her intentions. During the time of their time travelling adventures she was too suspicious for my liking. That's why I had Bel and Mammon implant a tracking device into her locket. We already checked her belongs and its no where to be found. With this we can find her anywhere in the world." Sakurako seemed pleased.
"Two days not counting today is enough time. You'll each be training by yourself. I'll be teaching the Scudo bearers more on control. I own the 100 arches of land behind this building so use it to your liking. The morning of the third day, we will set off to their base and, regardless of the structure and other hired mercenaries, raid their base, find our groups' target, stop them and regroup to end it all. Any questions?"
I meekly raised my hand. "Not that I'm disagreeing with your plan since you seem to know what you're doing but what about after words? We can't keep Natsuki-san away from Tachibana for the rest of her life and its too risky to kill them with their link."
"Decimo you're being mistaken. When I offered to retrieve Natsuki I didn't mean to keep her. I only wanted to give her a second chance. If she decides not to take it then I can't force her. Xanxus should have understood that."
"Fia made the choice herself. I don't need anyone that prefers to leave. With her mask we can easily claim that Haunting Shadows was killed on mission. It wouldn't make a difference on our familigia's reputation that way. I only agreed so that Quattor would hand over her ring and insurance." I stood up shocking everyone.
"The both of you are just abandoning her?!" I felt outraged that I was the only one that wanted her back. Kyoko and Haru were right that leaving her be would be a mistake. Natsuki was only on the other side because she cared about everyone not to drag them into her mess. This was her sister and her boss. Why didn't they care more?
"Tsuna." I turned back to Reborn. "If you want them to follow you then you have to put something on the line that matter to them. Right now in their eyes Natsuki is nothing but a traitor, regardless of her intentions. The benefits of keeping her are low."
I nodded thinking about what was important to them. "If Natsuki-san continues to side with them they have 2 parts of the original Tri-Ni-Sette. That's too dangerous to leave in the hands of others." They both shrugged their shoulders.
"Fia already said that Tachibana's main goal wasn't the Tri-Ni-Sette. Even if they do change their mind, it's not something I need to be powerful."
"After this mission is complete Xanxus is going to own the Sognare ring so what's it matter to me what happens to the system." I looked at the two of them being unbothered by the world possibly going into flames.
'They don't care about the world's balancing system? This is literally the only thing keeping Earth from apparently going into destruction. What's wrong with these people? How am I suppose to reason with this maniacs? Come on think! What would Natsuki-san say at this?' I scratched my head.
I paused looking at the crest on Xanxus's jacket. The Varia crest that they were so proud of. 'These are Mafioso. They couldn't care less about the world or other people. Natsuki-san only did what she did because of her own interest. To avenge Mammon in teaching me about my box. Helping fight the Millefoire. Coming to my house to avoid Varia. To using Kyoko-chan and Haru to get the opportunity to sacrifice herself. Everything was putting her needs before mine. Mafioso only valued the things that matter to them.'
I straighten my back, relaxing my shoulders. I peeked all of their interests as they gave me their full attention.
"You need this plan to work. And for that you need the Scudo rings and the Vongola to keep Azalea and Tachibana busy. If we don't come up with a solution to secure Natsuki-san's safety afterwards then I won't go through with this plan. And if that isn't enough, then as future Vongola Neo-Primo I will not form an alliance with either of you. I do not need people that abandon their family without a second thought. Without the protection of the Vongola, though the both of you are strong, they won't be enough without our support."
I heard Reborn give a proud chuckle behind me. I have to say that I sounded rougher than usual but I couldn't let Natsuki go through this by herself. It may have been out of her own selfishness to help out but she helped us. She was a good person that didn't deserve to have such a heavy burden. Sakurako had a curious look in her eyes.
"Wow Decimo, didn't know you had that in you. Alright then. Though this is not as promising of a plan that I can propose, the outcome would depend solely on your group's success. I know only the bare minimum about the Tri-Ni-Sette. That goes for the rest of us as well. What I want your group to do is capture the only person that knows more about the Stelle and Buco Nero rings. Fail and you can forget about Natsuki coming back."
"You mean Azalea, don't you?" She nodded.
"So Neo-Primo what do you say?"
"I'll take it."