A/N Hello~
So we're making some progress. From the last chapter we kinda opened into the Byakuran arc and that will continue to unfold slowly as we work through the Kokuyo and Varia arc.
We are also pushing are way to the harem here...No man will be left behind hehe...
~Chapter 17 – With Intentions Neither Good nor Bad
"What in the world was she thinking?!" Reborn slammed his fists onto the table in a show of anger, the cooling tea in front of him spilling over the edge of the cup as it shook. He'd like to say he couldn't understand her thoughts, but her intentions were more than obvious, and to some extent he was angrier at himself for not expecting the sudden turn in the situation.
"Maa, calm down Reborn, Ietsuna only did what she thought was right," Fon, despite the quality of his flames, remained calm. He had known the girl for longer, knew that the urge to protect was built into her nature, and that she would pick the option that suited it the best.
"I leave for one moment, and she throws all my effort into the nearest bin." The hitman cradled his head in exasperation. He had left for approximately two hours, just to take some time to work out the schedule between him Fon, and then when he had returned Iemitsu, had greeted him with a that stupid foolish smile of his. He had been told the news as if it were something to be celebrated, and he supposed to the blond idiot it was, but how did no one but him see how wrong it was? Why could they not see the potential she held? "It's my fault," Reborn muttered despondently, "It's what I get for trying to keep her hidden." He should have had her stake her claim the moment she had left the hospital, regardless if she wanted the title or not.
"It wouldn't have changed the fact she's a lightning element." Fon said in an attempt to comfort the man.
"Do you truly believe that?" The hitman pressed, "That Ietsuna is not a sky?"
"I admit I'm a bit stumped, but the evidence is there isn't it?" Truth be told even he had been 100% sure that she was a sky before this incident.
"She forced it," Reborn explained through gritted teeth, "She's likely a dual wielder, and during the test, supressed her sky flames in favour of her lightning ones. I've seen her in Hyper Dying Will Mode before and her flames had definitely been orange."
"But I suppose it's a bit late to reveal that if the CEDEF Head is set on making her a guardian…"
"Exactly." The Italian slumped down in his seat, feeling an odd sort of exhaustion wash over him.
"So, have you confronted Ietsuna about this?" His old friend asked.
"No."
"And why not?" Fon received a helpless shrug for his troubles, Reborn obviously sinking into a more childish mindset. "Don't you think It's something you do?"
"Why? It's not like she talks to me about anything," The hitman complained, "Or listens to me."
"Reborn," The Storm Arcobaleno sighed, "Fine, I'll go have a chat with her then. Do you know if she's at home?"
"She should've been," He answered, meaning that she currently wasn't, "Maman might've sent her off the pick-up groceries." Reborn seemed content to remain where he was, slouched across the table and looking nothing like the refined Italian hitman he was. "Oh, but I just remembered," his head perked up ever so slightly, catching the Chinese man just before he walked out the door, "I think that apprentice of yours was there, trying to assassinate Baka-Yoshi if I remember correctly."
Fon had chosen that moment to test his title as the Fastest Arcobaleno, though he was sure it didn't exactly apply in this way. In practice it took an average person twenty minutes to run from the dojo to the Sawada residence, and Fon accomplished this in just under five. He had burst into the house prepared to intercept his apprentice's attempts at assassination, but instead the commotion he had thought to be a fight had turned out to just be a rowdy household.
"I-pin!" First and foremost he checked the girl for injuries, and only after confirming she was unharmed did he turn to the rest of his gathered audience. "It's come to my attention that there may have been a misunderstanding and I'd like to apologize for any trouble cause by my apprentice."
"It's fine," Vongola's Young Lion waved off, "Nothing we couldn't handle. In fact it was good experience for Yoshi."
"Ara, Fon-san," Nana, as always, remained oblivious despite the lingering hints in the air, "Are you here to pick up I-pin? Or can I convince you to stay for dinner?"
"The former sadly enough Nana-san," He replied politely, "I'd hate to decline your invitation but I'm currently on some urgent business." If that was what consoling a moping hitman could be considered.
"Next time then." The woman promised, retreating back to the kitchen to resume whatever she had been doing prior.
"Do I want to know why you are so familiar with my wife?" The blond was still smiling though his gaze turned sharp and wary.
"You don't know?" The man turned to his son, and was rewarded with a confused shake of his head. "I am Ietsuna's current martial arts teacher," Fon eventually explained, "Reborn had already discovered this early on so I had just assumed he would pass on the knowledge. He likely forgot to mention it, seeing as it was far from pressing."
"Haa, that's just like him," Iemitsu agreed, never once thinking that the hitman might've purposely withheld information, "But who would've thought you'd choose Namimori for your retirement."
"It's peaceful, and the culture is not too different to the one I grew up with," China was no longer their home, even if they left the Triad on civil terms, "I also thought I-pin might enjoy a civilian life here."
"And yet she's still taking hits?" Fon frowned at his apprentice, the uncommon expression radiating his disappointment.
"That was one of mine," He admitted, "In return for taking I-pin I was given another set of targets. She thought to help me out but really I would prefer she start distancing herself from all this." His words were as much of an explanation as they were a warning to the other man. He would not take it well if he tried to pull I-pin into the mess that was the mafia. With that said he peered down at the girl now hugging his left leg, "Did you see Jiejie?"
"No… I looked but there was only Broccoli Monster!" The girl hid further behind him and following her gaze he spotted the young Bovino heir making rude faces.
"Sawada-san, do you know where your daughter is? I wanted to talk to her about her training." The blonde shook his head unhelpfully. But his son seemed to have at least some input.
"She said she was going to visit some friends," Her twin inputted, "But that she'd be back in time for dinner."
"In that case I hope you wouldn't mind if I waited for her." Fon replied looking at the clock. It was almost six o'clock, which meant Nana was already preparing dinner in the kitchen. Tsuna should returning anytime now.
"No problem." Iemitsu relayed the news to his wife who excitedly sat the martial artist down with some hot tea. All in all it made waiting a far more enjoyable task, especially as he got to watch his apprentice resume 'playing' with the other child. It was a simple enough task, Fon simply watching as the minutes ticked by. And yet despite her brother's words, despite what had been her own words, Ietsuna missed dinner in its entirety, never returning home that night.
"What are you doing Mukuro?" It had been a long time since she had stopped adding the honorific, not that he had ever cared for it.
"What are you talking about Ietsuna-hime?" Despite his mannerisms and the down of his voice, he failed to come off as confused, with a knowing glint lingering in his eyes.
"There's something wrong about this," She stated, folding her hands in her lap, "And I know it's your doing." Tsuna remembered arriving in Kokuyo in the late afternoon, just as the sun began its descent and took on a distinct orange glow. She had passed on some food, enough for the four of them, Chikusa and Ken included because even if they only recently started to respond to her greetings and chatter, they had been part of the group from the beginning.
"Such distrust," He held his heart in mock pain, "But really I haven't done anything." His act wasn't really going to fool anyone and she didn't even need her intuition to tell her it was a lie. "You do look a little bit tired though. Maybe you should take a nap," He suggested genially, "I'll wake you up later." Suddenly he was beside her, or maybe he had been there from the beginning, coaxing her head down onto his lap. And as his fingers worked themselves ever so gently into her hair and she found her eyes too heavy to keep open. But as nice as it was, it didn't help remove the feeling of wrongness. Her mind refused to relax, and there was an odd ungraspable feeling that nagged her. It brought her to her memories, which were far foggier than usual. She had arrived in Kokuyo, late in the afternoon, and passed on food simply because she remembered a time when they all looked far too thin. Then she had talked with Chrome, sat and chatted idly, something they really didn't do enough of. And even though her memories were vague at best, she could swear that the eyepatch wearing girl had suggested a nap just like her brother. That brought Ietsuna to a very simple problem as she couldn't remember having ever woken up.
"So I'm dreaming," She said knowing, feeling a slight twitch in his knees, "And you're here with me." The expression she saw when she opened her eyes was one she had never seen on his face in the years they had known each other. But then again, they had always been holding each other at an arms distance hadn't they. "Would you let me wake up?" Ietsuna asked.
"I can't." Mukuro answered, his hands never stopping their soothing pattern.
"You mean you won't." There was no urgency in getting up, not when the only way she would be waking up was if he allowed.
"You're right, I won't." He clarified, pressing his lips into a firm line.
"Mukuro," Something had clearly changed in the short while that they hadn't met, and she was fairly sure she knew what had been the catalyst, "Is this about the mafia?" She felt the muscles in his legs tense, a sure sign of confirmation.
"When isn't it?" She watched as his right eye shifted into something unnatural, red with the character for six engraved onto it in place of his pupil, "You know, things would have been easier if we hadn't met." There was a certain tone to his voice, a feeling she didn't quite have the words to describe.
"But what a shame that would've been." Tsuna uttered, catching sight of his wistful indigo shroud.
"Indeed." His gaze softened and his voice remained sincere, vastly different from his younger self that she had also shared a dream with. "Ah, I remember that," Her thoughts in this dreamscape seemed to drift between their minds and were as much his as they were hers, "There's nothing wrong with running, correct? I remember that young girl, troubled by the sight of a man being shot down, and how much she wanted to return to Japan. I was curious as to what was so great about this 'Namimori' so when I escaped that was the first place I had thought to go. Though in my haste to leave Italy I regret that I didn't do more than burn down the labs. There's nothing wrong with running, yes, but I regret that I hadn't spent the time to crush them."
'Estraneo' Tsuna heard hatefully whispered into her head, putting the name aside for later amongst the other things she had gleamed. "And what you're doing now is a step towards that revenge?"
"Yes," The blue haired teen answered truthfully, "I will bring down the mafia in its entirety, but for that I need a certain amount of power and authority that no illusions can replace."
"You need the Vongola then," She slowly pieced together, remembering Reborn's long winded spiels about the strongest mafia famglia, "Is that why I'm here?"
"Yes and yes," He acknowledged, "I'm thankful you have quite a good relationship with the future Decimo, after all it makes you better bait. So eventually he'll come to rescue you, if not for that then as revenge for a couple of his subordinates I may or may not have targeted, and when he arrives I'll simply help myself to his body." He spoke of absurdity in the most serious manner, leaving Tsuna no choice but to accept it as a possibility.
"Would I not be good enough?" She asked, "I can stake as much of a claim on the title as Yoshi can, and you already happen to have me at your mercy so to speak."
"But that would put you in danger," The words came out slowly and purposefully from his mouth, "And that's unacceptable."
"Mukuro, you-"
"Chrome was distraught when we saw you in the hospital," The heterochromatic teen interrupted, "And I couldn't say I felt much better." He raised his free hand and gently laid it against her side, fingers tapping against where a scar had recently bloomed on her skin. Already she had come to terms with the fact he knew far more than he was supposed to. "The mafia is dangerous, more than you know, more than you think you know," He silenced her with a look when she opened her mouth to protest, "Don't underestimate it Ietsuna-hime."
"This, this is something I have to do Mukuro…" The amber-eyed girl tried to reason.
"No, you're still not getting it. This is something you are being forced to do for a compromised outcome," He held back a snarl on the sole premise that it wasn't for her but instead owed to those around her, "I don't know what lies the Arcobaleno fed you to get you dancing to his sick tune, but know that it won't help at all in 'saving' your dear brother. You don't get to just up and leave the underworld like that," There was a lot of hate in his words, directed both outwards at the world around them and spitefully, inwards towards himself, "It's not as simple as playing the substitute. The only thing you'll obtain is your own demise, and regardless of what you do, those around you will fall accordingly.
"I'll protect them." It went unsaid that her 'them' included Mukuro just as much as the rest of them and not any less.
"How? With what power?" His words should have come out more condescendingly, more mockingly, but all he managed was an unclear harshness, "You're hopeless if you can't even break an illusion this weak." That being said he hadn't held back at all when casting it, nor would he lessen the intensity despite the growing drain he felt, "I am strong," He told her with a certainty that wouldn't be swayed, "Strong enough to protect one measly girl and smart enough to know when sacrifices must be made. Your problem is that you think your soul alone is enough payment to save everyone around you when really, it's the opposite. The way I see it you lack resolve," He paused for a second, catching her gaze with his own, "Logically protecting a group of people is far easier than the entire town, and similarly a small handful is easier than a large group. A couple people compared to that group is once again easier, more assured. If you follow that thought sensibly, you should find that choosing a single person would be the most undemanding and have the highest success rate. You're stuck on trying to protect you friends, your family," His expression flickered to distaste briefly before settling on something akin to pity, "You can't choose, no, you refuse to choose, So I took my pick instead. I will protect you and only you, even if the rest of the world has to burn for it."
A/N Thanks for reading.
So I think this was brought up already but yes, the general idea is that a person who only uses sky flames will have purer flames than a sky flame user that has high aptitude with other flame types (i.e. in layman's terms, Ieyoshi has purer sky flames than Ietsuna, but he is unable to utilise other flame types). Some pro's, some con's...
So some things are different and yet we're still trying to follow the canon. The whole I-pin incident more or less happened again (and actually Ieyoshi's probably earned a bit of loyalty from the girl after going through that ordeal).
I did though, change some of Mukuro's past (call it the influence of meeting Tsuna). Estraneo, unfortunately still exists, because in this world he made escape his priority (immediately removing himself and his friends from the mafia scene in Italy). Really I'm just delaying the inevitable though...
