DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN
Kyoko's POV
I stood beside Haru watching Chrome and the rest of the Mist users gathering up. Chrome held a strange staff in her hands, different than her usual weapon. It was something I saw in history books as to what monks would hold. I knew it was more than that though. Maybe it was because of my Scudo ring that I became more aware of the strength around me. Everyone had such brilliant flames around them that when they held items with the Vongola gear, it was like there was an extension of their being.
"You don't have to worry about anything Chrome-chan. Kyoko-chan and I will make sure that nothing bad happens to you." Haru reassured Chrome. She nodded in response. I looked at the group of Natsuki's friends and the small apple boy that joined us. They didn't speak much. Their leader's flames were scary. They were the same as Yuni's and Tsuna's. Orange. But they didn't feel the same. His made me feel scared.
They all did. I think it was mostly because of Natsuki though. I didn't have my Scudo ring before when they were together. But during my training with her, I couldn't explain it. Seeing them together, I wasn't afraid. Maybe it was because I felt safer with her. Or maybe it was because they felt happier with her. Right now their flames were... quiet.
"Um Chrome-chan? Do you think it's going to be safe in Natsuki-chan's mind?" With this many Mist flames for one purpose, it made me kind of nervous. They weren't weak illusionists either. Mammon having his Arcobaleno pacifier, Chrome having her Vongola Gear, and the small apple boy and Mukuro having some strange shaped rings to them.
"It's hard to say. This is the first time I'm going to be taking people into other minds so I'm not sure how it can go. Shadows-san is, also, an illusionist as well so trying to force our way in is the hardest part, not to mention her Tri-Ni-Sette ring. The main thing is that we have to last long enough for Varia to talk to her. But Fran and Mammon will be inside as well that it can change their input and Mukuro-sama is going with Boss. If any of us runs out of strength, we could be rejected out."
"We're getting Nat-chan back." I turned to Natsuki's colourful friend, Lussuria.
"You girls didn't hear about us? About Varia quality?" Leviathan chipped in. I looked to Haru and back at them.
"N-No?" Belphegor snickered a creepy laugh at us.
"We're Vongola Kyuudaime's independent assassination squad. We've never failed a mission. Hime is coming back with us, whether she likes it or not."
"It's time. Dokuro, get into position. We're getting started." Chrome nodded at Mammon, rushing to her spot beside Mukuro's body. Sakurako walked closer to me, looking directly at Tsuna in front of us.
He was already in his Hyper Dying Will Mode standing next to Reborn. Close by were all his guardians. All of them together implanted that image in my head. None of them had their flames out but I could clearly see them. I felt shivers at how they connected with one another. 'Does Haru-chan see the same thing that I do? Did Natsuki-chan?'
"Let's stick to the plan. Decimo, you and your members go forward to the building while we stay here with your Mist guardians to defend Varia. Reborn-san please deal with any strays; I want an upfront confrontation with Tachibana. If Varia fails to convince Natsuki then I will flare out a signal to retreat and we end it there. However, if Natsuki does return her physical body would still be with you and she will give you the code word to signal you that she is on our side. Then you will capture Azalea to find out how to break their link."
A felt an increase of Mist flames coming from behind. I could, also, feel what Chrome meant by they would have to force themselves into Natsuki's mind. All the illusionists' flames were flaring around and Varia was falling like flies as they were consumed by the flames. I couldn't believe the amount that they were giving. I was caught off guard when my ring lit up. I looked at Tsuna, Sakurako and Haru's rings seeing that they were displaying the same show of colours. 'The Tri-Ni-Sette owners are reacting with one another.'
"I'll go ahead and hold back Azalea as much as possible. The rest of you follow as fast as you can." I heard Tsuna, knowing that he was letting us prepare ourselves. "Sakurako-san, please take care of Kyoko-chan and Haru."
"Not that they need it but of course, Decimo." He looked at Haru and I. We nodded at him in response. He gave us a small smile before becoming serious. His flame size increased giving off a wave to the rest of us. I looked at his flame getting a sense of calmness from it. 'Tsuna-kun. Dame-Tsuna, I never liked that name. Your flames now are the purest ones here. I know I could trust you more than anyone just by looking at them.'
"Let's go." Tsuna kicked some sort of sensor to make sure that we called out Azalea and Tachibana. Everyone had already gone out the instant that Tsuna had done so. He quickly followed them by taking to the sky.
"Now it's our turn, girls." Sakurako turned her attention to the large mass of flames near us. She put on her wrist crossbow, locking it into place. "Like Chrome Dokuro said earlier we have to make sure that this group doesn't get distracted in any way. It'll take some time for Tachibana to get here but we shouldn't let our guards down at any moment."
Haru took a deep breath. I closed my eyes just focusing on the flames surrounding me. There was only Sakurako's, Haru's and the illusionist's flames that I felt prominently. Everyone's presence inside the bubble had been covered entirely. Then was Reborn's still lingering around the area. He wasn't that close but every once in a while his flames would go up as he was fighting. Finally, was the scary dark black flame that was coming closer. It was relatively slower than Tsuna's guardians speed but from what we know about him, this was expected.
I held onto my ring feeling the buzzing increase. "He's here."
I didn't have to say anything knowing the two girls were aware of it as well. I let Haru move the closest to the edge of the forest while Sakurako moved closer to the Mists. She had combat training since a young age but she trusted us to handle the bulk of everything. With our flames being split between the two of us, we had more control over it. That and we weren't involved in how her mind works. Her ideas, plans, strategies they were all in her head that we couldn't begin to figure out every thing in there.
Tachibana ran out of the forest. There was sweat all over his face and he was completely out of breath. I watched him trying to catch his breath, not daring to move. Even in his tired out state I knew not to try anything. We had to be careful because our main goal was to protect Chrome and the other Mists. We couldn't try anything too risky and that's why we had the lesser threat come here as our battle wouldn't as dangerous as Tsuna's.
He finally caught his breath, taking more controlled breathes. He looked at the mass of Mist flames then to us. "Oh Sakurako-senpai. Are you here to visit Natsuki-chan?"
"Cut the small talk. I want my sister back." The air went stiff as they stared at each other.
For a second I forgot that the all knew Natsuki way before all this drama. It shouldn't be surprising that they knew each other. That's when I remembered that Sakurako said that the main reason why Tachibana knew Natsuki wasn't just because of school. It was because he was in love with Natsuki. I couldn't see it though. No matter the form, the look I saw on him before wasn't love for her. It was love for dominance.
"Sure I can let you see her. You didn't have to possess her in order to speak to her. She's not leaving though." He didn't love Natsuki the same way that Haru did when Tsuna saved her. Haru's love grew because she loved who he was as a person. I couldn't see that in Tachibana's eyes. Even assassin's Varia, even for a second, would be a moment a calmness. Tachibana, on the other hand. He talked about her without any shred of compassion. The way he treated her was like an animal. A prized, rare animal that couldn't be touched by anyone else.
They finally broke eye contact, all of them looking in my direction. If I could tell their emotions, then they should have felt mine. We were all on the same level.
"Kyoko-chan?" Haru called out to me.
"You don't love her. You never did. That's why we can't convince you of anything." This plan was going to fail then. We wanted to convince Tachibana to give up or have Natsuki convince him for both of their sakes. This wasn't going to work if all he wanted was to use her. To find an even ground between the ones who wanted what was best for her and a selfish slave driver, would not be possible.
"You know I can see why Natsuki put you as the leader of the retrieval group." Sakurako said to me. "Don't worry about that. I'm already well aware of who he acts to be. Just focus on the plan."
I looked back at her with a smile on her face. 'She already calculated that in. But that doesn't match with what you told us during the training. I don't understand. So what were we suppose to do? Just stall him like you told us? What would that accomplish?'
I clutched my hand tightly. That's when I felt the pen that I was still holding on to. Natsuki chose this for me, not for fighting but for thinking. I need to think this through. 'What did Natsuki-chan teach me? Why was I put as leader? Well for one thing, she didn't trust Bianchi-chan to not betray her. Was there someone that Sakurako didn't want to betray her? Xanxus probably. No, he wouldn't be able to betray her without creating a thousand more problems. What else was there? Natsuki-chan didn't tell everyone the same details in order to get the way she wanted. If we knew that she was going to suicide, we wouldn't have left her alone. So there's someone that could have refused Sakurako's plan if they knew Tachibana's true personality
"Tsuna-kun?" Tachibana noticeably flinched at the name. He looked down to his ring to confirm that Tsuna wasn't anywhere close to. When he took my little outburst as a joke he returned to his cocky attitude.
"What was that for? Hoping that Vongola will come to save you?" 'That's it. Sakurako said that Tachibana was in love with Natsuki-chan so that he would agree with the plan. It was convincing that someone in love would listen to their lover. Tsuna-kun wanted the easiest way. The way that no one would get hurt. If he knew that we would be fighting Tachibana, seriously, there was no way he would let us be here to guard Chrome-chan. She had to make sure that Tsuna-kun wouldn't be able to deny anything in her plan.'
"You really are Natsuki-chan's sister." I calmed myself the way I was taught. I can't fight seriously if I was panicking.
"Aw if you start calming yourself down, where's the fun in that?" His flames started to flicker off his ring. There was a threatening presence off him but he was all bark and no bite. The ring would soon drain him if he was using it recklessly and we had more rings. He only wanted to be on top of everyone.
His smile widens looking past us. I turned back to see the Mist flames decreasing in size. I focused in closely on all the flames inside. Mukuro's was wavering like crazy. They were becoming unstable by the second meaning that a serious battle was happening on the other side. That could have been seen by the eye by themselves. The more Mukuro's was changing, the more Chrome had to make up for. It was unpredictable when either person would run out with all the flickering. There was a balance that they had to maintain but how could they with all this push and pulling?
"AH!" I turned back around to see Haru being put into a choke hold by Tachibana. She was struggling, trying to get out of his hands. He ticked his tongue placing a gun against her head. Even with her training, we were still physically weaker. It didn't help that Haru's weapon worked better at a distance. She was left helpless in this situation.
'I shouldn't have taken my eyes off the target. Haru-chan...' I widen my eyes seeing her with anger. I shouldn't be relying on Sakurako fully. Haru was the one I should have been focusing on. Out of everyone, Haru was the only one that could understand me the most. As the other Scudo ring owner and as the other student of Natsuki, we were linked closer than anyone else. Her anger showed that she was ready to fight. We had already come so far to have it thrown away.
"Let the girl go Tachibana." Sakurako readied her wrist crossbow at him. Neither of them made any sudden movements only reassuring that their weapons were on their targets. Sakurako's training was different than Natsuki's apparently. She wasn't as strong as Natsuki but she should be able to take a shot properly. Compared to Tachibana who, as far as we known, didn't have any real training to be able to kill efficiently. That didn't matter if the gun was right against the head.
"Come on Sakurako-senpai, who's obviously going to lose here? I can pull a trigger. Right here. Its really that simple." He pushed the muzzle once more into her head. Sakurako didn't show any change in expression.
"Let me tell you something. I told Decimo that you were in love in with my sister. Yet these girls were able to see that you didn't at first look. We've never formally met before. Why do you think I was able to come up with your lack of emotions while still telling Decimo opposite?" He took a second to look over her.
"You Celeste sisters were always smart. Back-up plans shouldn't be something to be surprised about. Either I loved Natsuki or I didn't. Shouldn't be that hard."
"Wrong." He tightens his hold on the gun, scowling at her. "It's because a good strategist knows their opponents well. If you can't do that then you go for any word of mouth. So though I've never met you before, I know one thing that I put the entire bet on. It's that Natsuki's intuition is the best of the best. Now!"
On cue, Haru managed to take one her pins from her wrist, pricking his leg. It didn't look like she punctured too deeply but it was enough to make him lose his balance. In the moment, Haru ripped off her Rain ring that she kept on a necklace. Putting it on quickly, she lit a blue flame throwing more pins into him. His body went completely stiff not knowing how to evade. He's not an assassin. He's weaker than what we were trained for.
The pins completely immobilized him to stand in place. Haru rushed to my side. Tachibana's face was the only part of him moving, trying his best to take control of his body once more. "What did you do?!"
Sakurako calmly walked up to us. "It wasn't me. I told you, I put all my bet on Natsuki's intuition. That includes the two girls she personally trained."
For the first time, he looked over to me. I showed him the hand that my pen had scribbled over. Sakurako didn't know enough of what Haru could do, I did. I knew that her pins were meant to pick at pressure points. I knew how much she studied over the human body and how smart she was. So when Sakurako put her weapon up, she made the already weak Tachibana more nervous. She had drawn attention to herself with the full intention that I had to take some leadership. She kept the spotlight on her while I silently signaled a plan to Haru who knew to always take in everything in a battlefield.
At first I planned to only have Haru escape his grasp, when I remembered that we were suppose to be keeping Chrome safe. We couldn't do that if all of us were in danger of him in front of us. One more thing that no one else knew about Haru. She had Rain flames. Natsuki originally chose our weapons to match our flames until we found out we couldn't control it. We still kept our rings on us in the worse case scenario. We've never trained with our Scudo flames then besides with Sakurako and that was on controlling.
On my hand I had drawn a line around the base of my ring finger with a raindrop above it. Telling Haru to use her Rain flames to capture him. With her eyes she pointed to the gun next to her head. She needed the space to be able to get a hold of her ring. I then drew a stick figure circling the leg closest to her hand with her pins were. She understood this to take a good poke at his leg. Whether or not it was a pressure point or not, he wouldn't be able to process it fast enough to stop her. Haru and I were already held hostage once when we were rescuing I-pin. We knew exactly how to get out of the situation.
So even though Sakurako wasn't actively watching us, she knew more than Tachibana to watch us from the side eye. Her cue wasn't planned but the look of confirmation on Haru was enough to tell her that we were going to take action. The shout scared him and gave Haru the perfect opportunity to attack.
He was seething with anger realizing his mistake. "You think you got the upper hand or something?! Just because you got the girly back?! Don't fuck with me!"
I pulled the two girls behind me as his black flames exploded from him. His body couldn't move but he didn't need to for his ring it be lit. I counteracted with my pink Scudo flames protecting the two and the Mist flames. My flames were meant for protecting and that's exactly what I'll do.
I steadied myself so that I could spread enough concentrated flames around us. I could see the Buco Nero flames effects on the surrounding area. All the flames were quickly turning everything to black dust as they disintegrated. Even the ground was slowly caving in beneath him. It was spreading fast as his anger was increasing.
Sakurako shot one arrow at Tachibana but it was destroyed completely the second it passed through his flames. 'His power is on a completely different scale. We can't wait for him to run out of flames or we can wind up in a coma like Natuski-chan's squadron was in. All we need is a second for either one of them to take a shot.'
"Sakurako-san, you saw how he reacted to Tsuna-kun's name earlier right? Let's use that." She grinned at me.
"Why don't you call for your hero for me then?" She went further behind me. Haru placed her hand on my shoulder, getting herself ready.
"Tsuna-kun!" I yelled out with fear in my voice. I used all my remaining energy to shout out as seven flame presences came up behind Tachibana. Out of panic his flames stopped for him to try to turn around. In that quick second Haru had thrown more pins.
I dropped my barrier without anymore strength left. Tachibana's eyes widen before shutting. Her new pins were found sticking out his neck and had knocked him out. "Is he asleep?"
Haru helped me sit down. "Yeah I picked a relaxation point. Usually this would knock people out for around half an hour. But I think with the amount of flames he's wasted mixed with my Rain flames, we should have a few hours."
Sakurako rested against a tree behind us after using some of her own flames. "You girls did well. My sister would be proud."
"It's only because you created the fake form of Tsuna-san's flames. It gave Haru the chance to get her pins in." It was the Sognare flames that recreated the Vongola flames that confused Tachibana. Paired with my perfected lying face and Haru's fast thinking, we defeated him.
"We all used a bit of flames right now. We need to keep ourselves aware of any possibilities, so rest a little bit. We'll leave the rest to Decimo and Varia for now." She looked towards the Mists. Her sister's fate was in the hands of her family's killers. That must have been a lot of pride to swallow.
'Natsuki-chan, please listen to Varia.'