Hey darling cats! I got some news to share that explains my long absence. I moved across the pond! I'm an idiot that likes to learn & suffer, so after years of working my flat bum off, it paid off and I'm doing a Master in Arts. It has always been my life goal, and as I was getting older and jaded, I decided it was time to finally do it.
I'm still settling in, working hard to pay rent and attending lectures and I don't know how much workload I will have in the following months, but know that TSTB will continue. ✨️ wish me luck!
TW: violence / blood / some scenes could appear as Older?/younger27 but it's NOT the intention or objective / panic attacks / graphic description of injuries / war themes /
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The base was being overwhelmed by low tremors of energy. There was a soft humming vibrating through the walls and setting sparks in the darkest corners; and like a golden thread pulling a wild beast in, Hibari stalked the halls like a man going to war.
The night had already fallen when he felt the first wave of allure. His disposable ring lighted and broke in reaction to her call just as he finished sorting some reports. He was already up and walking when the second wave hit, and by the third, the closer he got to the burning room, the stronger his bloodlust became.
He almost cussed out loud. The one thing he told her not to do, she did. She was warned not to light her flames unsupervised or overwork her already scrawny body outside of sleeping hours, but when did she ever listen? Stubborn little thing, but what else was new.
Younger Sawada Tsunayuuki was as much trouble as the older one, with the difference being that this one didn't have the deadly accuracy to be suicidal; yet.
With a snarl, and the third disposable ring on his way here, he called his companion to block the training room's door for any drunk herbivores that would inevitably make their way was a dangerous situation, for the brunette and for the ones behind the door.
He wanted to beat her, break her and lock her in a box to stop her from being a reckless idiot, but seeing her surrounded by flames with a wild look on her face was a sight to marvel on its own. There was blood covering her face and tears printing her cheeks, orange eyes glaring fiercely at the fire she was harboring inside, raw; a little animal trying to tame a bloodthirst carnivore not yet fit for her resolve.
Idiotic, foolish, but still, beautiful.
Something inside of him stirred, the beast that saw a star fall from the sky and tried to swallow it to keep the embers alight.
It was Light.
Harmony.
Calling.
Wakening.
Beckoning.
Whatever it was she was trying to do, this clearly wasn't it. And he wanted so bad to sink his teeth and claim her, but he couldn't, because while they were the same heart and body, this younger brunette was not the Sawada Tsunayuuki he bonded with. She was dawn, while his Sky had long since set and turned dusk.
He gritted his teeth and marched on, unafraid of the blazing hell around him that reached out in hunger.
Tsuna couldn't see him, couldn't even sense him as she was too drunk on the feeling of her own flames. Whispering and screaming, pulling and pushing her despite the heaviness in her legs locking her in place. The flames were embracing her, enclosing her from all sides and angles, a blur of time and space colliding with her in the middle.
The inner struggle was at its peak, she was well on the path of self-destruction if she kept burning herself out - and others - like this. And for a brief moment, a breath, he wondered what would happen if he let her. Will she be reborn from the ashes she left behind? Or will she simply fade with the wind?
Cruel were the fates, but crueler she was.
She never gave them the option, so he wouldn't give her one either. With no hesitation, and purple flames ready to strike, he held her face and kissed her. Not out of love or out of lust, but for the simple and fastest way to eat her flames and steal her energy to feed his own; enough to propagate in sizes and pin hers down, snuffing and tearing the stubborn embers to lay low.
Only his flames were able to consume and turn against their holder, something he stole from her cursed arsenal. It was easy to adapt to her fighting style when he helped build it and fought along as against. It was also something he tinker with in the box weapons from the foundation, something she must surely despise; but wasn't around anymore to scream at him. Too bad. He missed the challenge she brought, not this misfire.
Her orange eyes became half-lidded as her mind snapped shut, drained and subdued; he might as well be the only person holding her from the precipice of insanity of whatever brain-rattling battle that was her mind.
Her lips tasted like blood and matcha, a terrible combination for a kiss to be stolen, she didn't like green tea, after all. He amused himself with that thought, but quickly dismissed it as the fire started dying down.
"Come back" He whispered, thumb slightly rubbing over her lips to wipe the blood on them, making a mental note to track her nosebleeds.
She breathed and panted, until little by little the fire started disappearing into crystalline dust. The training room started to dim and become enclosed by shadows, with the only light being the crown of Sky flames still burning brightly on her head until it too disappeared with a soft whisper after some time.
Hibari held her for a moment longer, let himself have this moment and letting her breathe and come back to her senses on her own. And when she did, with a dying sound at the back of her throat and buckling knees, he was there to catch her as she fell.
In a swift move, he cradled her unconscious body against his chest, and breathed out.
She needed more weight, rest and lots of practice if she wanted to go at it again. Stupid fool, as if he was going to let her break down on her own. Fighting head on and forcing her flames to get used to her body exertion and energy was their best outcome, not to release them like a deflating balloon on a whim with no plan, food or muscle repose.
With one crisis averted, in came the next one.
He could make his own way out, just blast his way through the indestructible walls of the training room and create his own door, but that would take time. The only way out was through the blocked doors, where the herd of herbivores was no doubt loitering and waiting. He really was not in the mood to deal with a crowd, nor did he have the patience to stand the knowing looks, the worried glances and the suspicious glares.
It was already troublesome to have the mist girl locked away in the medwing, he also had to deal with the Sun Arcobaleno hovering like a wolf sniffing a carcass.
Forcing his way out it is.
"Roll"
He called as he walked without stopping to clarify his order. His threat was clear in his stance as his flames reacted fiercely to his Will. His box weapon multiplied at the entrance, stretching and growing spikes that blocked the way for others to even see him exit. Now that his flames had leeched the brunette's, he was stronger than ever, more dangerous than before, and certainly deadlier than he could be tomorrow.
If it were any other lesser being, they would be seconds away from combusting. But he had control, for years he learnt to tame his flames while enhanced with hers, so even if he wanted to devor and bite others to death, he walked leisurely towards his chambers. And people said he had no self-control? Herbivores, the lots of them.
Tomorrow he will send Kusakabe to deal with them. The Arcobanelos might have allowed him control over the brunette's training, but it wouldn't be long before they hover, argue and try to take control back.
But it was fine, he supposes. In the end- body, heart and soul, the girl in his arms was his Sky. And while his bond with her was gone from this world, he'll bite to death anyone who dares try to take her from him again, even if it means having to break time and space itself to do it too.
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When Tsuna gained awareness, it was like waking up in a cloud.
Fluffy and soft, there was sweet cotton all around her; at her sides and in her mind. Slow and drowsy, it took her probably some minutes to really wake up, maybe, she wasn't counting.
She was waking up, right?
Events of the night before were a blur in her mind, it felt more like a dream; she was almost certain she dreamt burning herself to crisp but there was no pain or jolt of awareness as she came through. There was no burning in her hands or in her head, it was quiet, almost peaceful after the inferno of emotions she thinks she felt. Too lost in her still cloudy head, it took her intuition a yawning moment to catch up and hold her back from jumping at the sudden paws kneading her.
Okay. Cats. Awake. She was awake.
She didn't remember what happened after the burning room, if it even happened, where she was or why the cats. But there was no danger or sense of warning, in fact, it felt more like waking up from a sunday nap in a cozy bed on a rainy day. A vast contrast from the nights before, so she just laid there, on a comfy tatami while she was apparently being cuddled and used as a pillow by purring felines.
Excellent therapy and what a wonderful way to wake up.
"Awake?"
"Am I?" Her lips curled in amusement at the inner joke, idly wondering if the Daemon from her time was freaking out at her absence and if he still existed in this future. Probably not, he would have come to gloat or smack some senses into her for destroying Vongola if he did.
She doesn't know how that made her feel.
Probably a thought for another day…
Her lips pursed, and she sacrificed a cat by moving it away from her arm so that she could rub the dust from her eyes. Her hair must be a mess, and if she did in fact sneak into the training room then she must smell too. If she was a little more awake, she would have been mortified that Hibari-san saw her like that.
"You're an idiot, Sawada Tsunayuuki"
And he kept calling her Sawada Tsunayuuki or Tsunayuuki. She wasn't little animal anymore, she was never Tsuna to him and being called by her full name like a stranger addressing another stranger hurt more than it should.
"Am I in trouble?"
"It was reckless, your body was almost torn apart"
"Why has no one taught me how to control it then?"
"How long did it take you to fly?"
Days, weeks, months. Many falls and scraped knees, a broken ankle, and lots of emotional baggage lifted from her shoulders before she finally gathered the courage to fall and take flight. She still hasn't gotten the hands of it, and now with stronger flames, her landings still sucked.
"Your body was just getting used to the weaker flames" Hibari-san said as if reading her mind. "If you burst them like that, you'll combust from the inside"
"So baby steps" She groaned, and hushed the cats when she moved to sit up and face this oddly calm version of her friend sipping a cup of tea. "Baby steps through beatings"
"It worked before"
"Did it?" She questioned before thinking "They told me that my flames were pure, that I was the Sky, but didn't explain how to bond or how to use them. You guys keep giving me expectations and vague answers; the world is upside down, I'm dead and expected to win a war, so keeping me in the dark will not work anymore"
It was quiet, Hiabri-san didn't give anything away. If he was mad at her or sad about her future death, he didn't show it. And it infruitated her, she wanted to scream, maybe throw a cat at him to make him react, anything. But he was like perfect marble of a cold statue. He ignored her silent fuming and when the persian cat crawled on his lap as he filled another cup of tea, he only nodded at the plates in front of him.
"Breakfast"
"You're surprisingly homely" She noted before cooing softly as she wiggled her way towards the low table with light Japanese breakfast without dislodging the cats from her body. They wouldn't have let her, even if she tried. "Am I to assume you're Scissorpaws' favorite?"
"He was my stray first"
She wanted to joke and tease, expecting a tonfa to sweep over her head and bitter green tea from the disciplinary office. Instead, he was wearing loose robes, drinking tea and letting six orphaned cats loiter in his presence after he no doubt went and rescued her last night from her own rash actions.
Her throat was hoarse and the ginger tea tasted bad when she swallowed it. It wasn't matcha, but it tasted bitter all the same. She ate her full, grateful for the food on her empty stomach and the homesickness of her natal dishes. Has it been that long she almost forgot the taste of miso? Will she forget the taste of curry too?
Tsuna didn't want to.
She didn't want to lose time and memories anymore.
"If I ask, will you answer?"
"Perhaps"
"You know I will know eventually, right? So why hide it? What else could possibly go wrong if I know the whole truth?"
"Can you stomach it?"
She already puked one heartbreak, what is another one?
Being forced into this situation was sickening; her hands were tied and there was a noose on her neck. She truly didn't want to fight, but there was no other way. But it didn't mean she would sympathize with her future self, Tsuna had at least managed to separate their actions and intentions. She wouldn't carry her sins or fix her mess; it already happened. What she wanted and needed to do was fix her own mess, which was to return to the past with all their sanity and lives in one piece.
She wasn't asking for much. Not really.
But to not fall into the same mistake, she needed to know and understand just what the hell happened. They knew of her hyper intuition, and it worked at picking crumbs towards a bigger bread, but they can't possibly expect for her to know everything and fall in line.
"Please" She whispered, not really expecting an answer but begging all the same. "Why did I… Why did I died for?"
It was quiet, this little shrine Hibari-san had claimed as his residence after his town was destroyed. There was still life out there, Tsuna could hear birds and the wind rustling the trees. Beyond that, she imagines people waking up in their houses not overrun by the blackspell army and going on with their mundae life, as normal as it could be with warfare in the streets.
When Hibari-san talked, it was soft and quiet.
"There was a fracture between the Arcobanelo and Vongola, you were in the middle. You chose wrong. Maybe you chose right. It doesn't matter anymore. No one is innocent of that fight" He said, voice giving nothing away. "As for the reason, you simply gave more than you could bare and it left you hollow"
Still talking in riddles, she wanted to slam her hands on the table. But it was odd for him to volunteer so much information. Not wanting to risk it, she hugged the closest cat to her chest and listened.
"The white carnivore already had his eyes on you, when you started to break, he tried to claim what little was left of you too. The Rings were destroyed to stop him from having total control, but it was your suicide letter. You kept many secrets, this the main one. You planned to die; only me and another knew of it. The plan was to trick Byakuran and use a special bullet to put you in a death-like state to buy us time. We still needed the rings to overthrow him, and it worked, but the nebulous annoyance ruined everything"
"He didn't kill me-
"Don't" He snarled, fierce and venomous, she and the cats flinched back.
She has never been scared of Kyoya before, despite the beatings and violent nature, he was like a hedgehog to her, all spiky and hisses but soft on the inside. I mean, he let her sleep with cats and get her breakfast instead of leaving her in her room or locked somewhere else. He has always been like that with her, rude, but caring in his own way.
But now, that reaction and anger. It didn't scare her, no. It just deeply saddened her.
She lowered her eyes, petting a cat to distract her from the fury in his cold eyes. Kyoya already disliked Mukuro in the past, she can't even fathom what he felt after everything that went down.
She doesn't want to think about what she did to him.
But there was one thing for certain intertwined in all this mess. There was a lot of miscommunication. Everyone, each and every single one of her /older/ friends seemed to know something vital that the other didn't, and just like herself, they withheld that information. They hated and blamed each other, no one had all the facts but they felt too much for what they each knew.
So what's the lie? What's the truth?
Hibari-san sighed.
And Tsuna knew he wouldn't say anything more.
For now, she hopes.
"Help me get stronger"
Six years ago in her time, she didn't ask. Kyoya saved her from drawing after an attempt at saving a drawing cat. One look, and he tried to turn her into a carnivore by taking her under his wing. It was insane and crazy, and he never asked for anything in return. But now…
"How would that benefit me?"
Things have changed; so have priorities.
So have people.
"You're already training me, you took over Reborn. That's something. I don't… I can't understand this power by just intuitive fighting. I need more"
"You had everything-
"I'm not her!" She snarled, tired of people overlooking and blaming her for things that she hasn't done. The pity looks. The blaming glares. The guilty stares. They looked at her tiny, scrawny body and saw the burnt corpse instead, and she was sick of it.
"Are you not?"
"Train me" She stated, or begged or demanded. "Help me, keep me from drifting and I won't make the same mistake again"
"And if I don't?"
"I'll find someone else"
Reborn was like a vulture, always lurking and biding his time, and if she had to grovel and beg Lal for some guidance, then she could do that too. Hell, she could also ask Giannini to build her some training ring or even Bianchi's and Ipin's assistance in physical workout. There were many options, she only had but to ask but this is what she wanted.
Hibari-san's answer by smiling sardonically.
"You are Sawada Tsunayuuki" He said while petting the cat in his lap, gray-steel eyes gleaming with a faraway glint she couldn't possibly understand. "But perhaps there's something good in that"
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She was on dish duty as punishment for leaving the base and training unsupervised late at night. When she returned to her room; and she didn't run or escape, she simply nodded, waited and held her anger and frustration and all but sprang back to the underground base when Hibird the II - as she came to know - came singing the school's anthem at precisely 8 am.
This time, the cats followed her.
Lal was already waiting for her, arms crossed and looking like the meowing creatures were the only thing holding her back from murder. She was chastised, bonked in the head and grounded, but she kept quiet and accepted her punishment as Lal kept ranting words like 'Fool' and 'Allure' and 'Suicidal Idiot'.
Then her friends asked over lunch just what the hell happened, and it was then when Tsuna realized that perhaps she did something she shouldn't have, for somehow, when she lighted her resolve and tried to burn her fears and frustration, everyone on the base felt her screaming flames. They woke up, they wandered, only to find the training room being blocked by spikes.
Tsuna blushed because apparently, they made it seem like she was a Siren calling for them to drown in the water. Gokudera was gushing about -the potency of her flames to be able to feel them 10 meters away, while Yamamoto laughed about how he felt his skin vibrating in tiny ember sparks.
None of them seemed to understand what the hell that meant.
Lal has been giving her the stinky eye ever since.
But training progressed that day. Hibari-san acted like nothing happened, which was fine. Nothing happened. He didn't say things she hadn't already connected or thought of. She didn't want to puke, but she was also bracing herself for whatever may come. But it didn't; and training continued.
There were cones lined on the floor and hoops hanging from the ceiling. The drill was simple, she just needed to run, glide and fly through them without crashing or missing the mark. It felt like having sports class at the circus, thankfully she was the only thing on fire in the room.
Hibari-san was surprisingly leinlet to her wishes. He knew what she wanted to do last night, so he humored her during break time by giving her a candle and ordered her to light it without melting it completely. It was ridiculous because mafia flames were not real combusting fire. It was condensed energy created from her own Will and effort to the point of making it tangible, or so has Reborn explained.
So she spent close to 30 minutes glaring and hissing at the candle to light up.
The day passed just like that. She wore ankle & wrist bracers, as well as knee pads that she heavily used as she kept slipping and sliding with too much force. There wasn't much progress, but at least the instructions were clearer now. The best way to move was to accelerate with the raw flame and decrease to a stop with the softer one.
They weren't given a time limit, but by the huffs of Lal and Giannini's murmuring from the control room, things were going slow on their side.
Gokudera had no patience and too much pride to let Lambo AND Bianchi help in his training. While his sister had all the good intentions to aid and support him, he took Lambo's tauntings like the holier-than-thou jabs that they were and his training was more yelling and experimenting by himself than letting anyone else tell him what to do.
Yamamoto on the other hand, was slowly training his body for actual fighting. Ipin was a great instructor, she was kind and patient, but stern and focused. And it's not that he was taking it for granted, he was having fun learning how to actually fight, but he missed training with his sword, which he was not allowed to wield until Ipin said it was okay.
Tsuna couldn't tell them what was best for them or be against their insecurities, just like they couldn't choose for her. All they could do was listen and be there for each other when it became too much.
Kyoko and Haru were a breath of fresh air. They took to cooking and cleaning, making sure they ate and rested and slept when it was time to sleep. It's only been three days since they all came to live in the underground base, but they made it clear they were the bosses. Gokudera learnt not to cook at midnight after Haru whacked him with a flaming broom.
And Tsuna almost cried - a few tears did escape her eyes - when Haru declared Lal had taken her as an apprentice. Although they were not going to participate in any fight, infiltrations or battles, they were stubborn enough to at least learn how to defend themselves if the situation arises. They were still wrapping their heads about the mafia, time-travel and magical flames. The wonder had long faded once news of the world outside reached and what needed to be done to be able to return back home.
Tsuna still hid from them, excusing training as a top priority.
It was during one of their lunch breaks that Chrome's condition and confidential documents her future version was carrying finally came up. It was clear the older people knew about - or believed - Mukuro's betrayal and thus distrusted Chrome just the same. When Tsuna was given reports of another underground base hiding below a shopping center, her intuition didn't react negatively.
Well, it did. It warned her, it was bad news, terrible things could and would happen if they go there, which was the best response to answer the validation they needed.
The documents were real, and they had located the enemy's secret base.
"Is that the Irie guy?"
"He looks like a nerd to me"
"Take this seriously!"
Tsuna hummed, tuning out the chatter around her as she inspected the pictures. Irie Shoichi looked like an average guy, red hair and big frames hiding half of his face. He looked… normal. Boring? Like he wouldn't hurt a butterfly, but her intuition warned her that he could. It was odd, she felt no danger coming from him, even knowing what she did.
Like staring at a domesticated wolf, but at the same time, knowing at the back of her mind its teeth were still fangs. Irie was the enemy, although he didn't feel like one. Of course she couldn't say that outloud without being called ungrateful, so she kept the thoughts to herself and kept sorting the pictures.
There were some of the future Namimori. The townsquare changed and the shopping center that didn't exist in her time, stood now tall but abandoned. Why were people building underground secret bases? Couldn't they get more creative? Why the hell did she even allow it to happen? There was circulation and humidifiers, but Tsuna could still smell humidity and closeness to the point of having to breathe deeply and glue herself to a wall.
Ironic how the only time she was allowed to go out was to kill a man. They have been using gentle wordings like 'capture', 'incapacitate' and 'take down'. But Tsuna could read between the lines just fine.
Sighing, she grabbed another picture. It was dark and blurry so she almost dismissed it; almost. Because her intuition hooked her attention on it, and the more she stared the more she could see a metallic sphere that looked all too familiar as it was strange.
"I have seen this before"
"What do you mean you have seen it before?" Lal growled, eyes narrowed. And just like that, all attention in the room focused on her.
Tsuna closed her mouth, shifting in her seat. The whole seeing the future business was still freaking her out. It was one thing to prank her friends with her hyper intuition, it was another to be thrown on the spot like this.
"Before coming here… the day Reborn disappeared, I had a dream. I saw this thing"
And they knew, right? Surely they must know. The future people should know how advanced her precognition was; there was no way she could have lied and hid something like that.
"Don't take Tsuna's dream lightly" Reborn said after the brief moment of silence.
"Well, what is it?"
"I- I don't know. But… but if it opens, something will shatter"
"That's not ominous" Lambo huffed, arms crossed and standing on the corner at the other side of the room.
The two kids that used to beg for her attention and were taller than her now made it their mission to avoid her. Ipin would smile sadly at her whenever they met up, always alone. Tsuna didn't blame them or even made an attempt to confront them. If they wanted to talk, they should do it when they felt ready, not bombard them and hurt them more than they already were.
"We need to move" Lal addressed the room "If you don't adapt soon, we'll leave you here and infiltrate by ourselves. I won't be responsible for any more casualties"
Tsuna swallowed a sigh of relief, because she knew that wouldn't come to be. Prepared or not, she and her friends were going on that mission. She made the mistake to look at them, seeing them looking back at her with confident smiles and determination shining in their eyes.
"We'll be ready"
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They weren't ready.
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Three nights before the operation, Tsuna couldn't stop feeling like something was vibrating out of her skin. Could be nerves, could be the flames.
Sometimes you just need to pull a person you trust into an empty room, close the door, cry a little, scream about the futility of your efforts, curse the higher powers that are responsible for your suffering, then get it together and go back to training. But with everyone here facing their own shadows, how can Tsuna possibly burden them with her own?
And so, because she was worried about the upcoming danger and slow progress, it reflected poorly on her training.
She was more desperate and intense, so she released more power in hopes of controlling her flames faster. But all it did was overheat her body to the point of having to take her shirt off and dunk her face with the bucket of cold water. Hibari-san was relentless and didn't care about her state, or if he did, he showed it by not giving her a chance to breathe and sort it out.
It was annoying, and the lack of focus added weight to her already overworked mind.
If she wasn't gritting her teeth as she slid and fell on her knees, she was glaring at the stupid candle that refused to light. If she wasn't ducking under violent spikes and purple flames curling over her skin, she was laying in bed staring at the dark ceiling praying for things to work out.
It was too much.
Puberty, Bianchi called it when she went for some advice on how to calm down, because she didn't know how to stop her emotions from scaling. But that wasn't it, Tsuna almost cried in embarrassment. Even if she couldn't light the stupid candle, she still felt like she could combust at any moment. She was given some tea and forced to meditate before and after training.
But meditating reminds her of Fon and the fact he was dead along with so many people and there goes her mind again.
Find an anchor, Reborn ordered her in the brief moment they had before dinner. Just because he wasn't in charge of her training meant he wasn't unaware of what was going on. He demanded results, improvements and achievements. Ignore everything else, and focus solely on one thing. Everything else will depend on your success of that one focus, so do it with your dying will, it's what he said.
But how can she possibly choose to focus on just one thing and not think about all the other ones that required agonizing time to ponder about?
Use your heart and turn it in your favor, was Ryohei-senpai's advice when she went for some vitamins after the intense workout. It sounded easy and simple, but her heart wanted to break and crumble, and she couldn't exactly do that right now so how can she make her heart stop crying and turn to ice? Or maybe not ice, but stone or hard enough to stand anything without flinching.
Being sweet, soft and kind wasn't going to win them a war, much less survive a battle. But she knew the consequences of shutting everything and everyone out. She couldn't abandon her friends, couldn't ignore their efforts in trying to be better so that they could fight together, even if it was killing her inside.
How can she balance the strength of knowing she was so blindly loved that her friends would follow her through the end of the world and fight for the place they call home against the absolute despair at knowing she was the cause of said end?
She had supposedly come to terms with it, and yet at night, when she hid under the covers and held the little candle in shape of a white lotus flower, she came back to it. Wondered what had led her future self to fall so low and feared, in the darkest hours of the night, if she could fall as well.
She didn't want to. There was no pity or sympathy or even an attempt to understand her future version's actions, but she really wanted to know so that she never becomes her. Someone that lied so blatantly and caused discord between her family to the point of tearing it apart. But… but wasn't she already doing that? Lying? Using people? Hurting her friends and leading them to danger?
It started that way, she reassured herself. Excused herself. A year ago she wouldn't have cared, wouldn't have minded if someone swore her loyalty and friendship and ended up being used and hurt. She knew she couldn't do things alone, she needed help; help from people she could easily move and discard in case they tried to betray her. But then stuff happened; she became soft, happy, weak, desperate. She got too attached, and now that she experienced what real, honest friendship was like, she didn't want to give them back.
So what now?
Let it fester, Xanxus used to say. Back when things were small and simple, where all she wanted was to play and light some fire in her hands so that she could impress him. She wanted to wield flames so that she wouldn't be alone, so that she could stay with him and belong. And when she couldn't, she raged but no fire came out. She screamed, but no light flared in her hands. She cried, and begged, and hoped, and wished, but her fingers remained bare and the spark she thought she felt was all but a summer breeze.
But things changed.
Somehow, someway, she awoke Sky flames. Dying Will, for whatever reason, was hers now too; and she wasn't going to let it go either.
If happy thoughts didn't work, then she needed to turn her heart around. Spite and hatred was her fuel right now, the need and want to defy those that threaten her and ask too much of her was too big, the fear and misery almost too consuming.
Let the anger rot and the rage fester, Xanxus had said with power on the palm of his hands.
Tsuna didn't understand it then, how that rancor and anger he held inside could make his flames shine bright and burn warm. And she wanted and wanted and wanted, so badly to shine and burn warm too. But when she did, when she lit orange blaze and wore a crown of flames, she felt cold and empty. Until she didn't. And that feeling of warmth, fulfillment and belonging- she didn't want to let it go.
She wanted to burn. It was bubbling inside of her, the want to just scream and explode, of burning and putting a stop to everything. Time, space, memories and enemies; she wanted everything to disappear and go back to normal, back where her greatest challenge was if she had the courage to hang out with someone and flunking tests. No hyper intuition to guide her hand, no hitman baby to raise her morale, nothing.
Just her, Tsuna. Living, as she wanted.
But now, she is angry, hurt and scared. Terrified with guilt eating her raw form the insides. It was so strong, she was choking on it when no one was looking; couldn't let them see the damage. But she's also pathetically hopeful, and a little naive; that things will work out, that somehow, they will go home and this time misplacement will be nothing more than a nightmare waiting to be replaced and forgotten.
Let it go, she breathed out.
Let it in, she took a breath.
Let it wither, decay and eat you. Turn it in your favor. Anchor that hatred and anger, burn it. Use it. It's yours, Will it.
Tsuna exhaled, and the wax became water in her hands.
.
.
.
"What is that guy teaching you?" Ryohei sighed tiredly as he finished healing her wrist. It was luck she was wearing her mitten gloves when the candle melted, otherwise her fingers would have been burnt too. Her bedsheets weren't so lucky.
"It was a good idea"
"Not alone, in your bed, unsupervised and at night time"
"I think I'm fireproof at this point" She joked weakly, totally ignoring the fact she was not - in fact - fireproof and needed a bucket of cold water every time she came out of her HDWM trance to cool down.
Ryohei didn't even look impressed at her humor. It was luck he was even awake at this hour, Tsuna didn't want to bother anyone but the burns in her wrist were starting to itch despite having panicked and ran a cold bath to wash them, so blindly she rushed towards the med-room for some ointment, only to see Ryohei-senpai enjoying a cup of noodles.
She didn't want to throw Hibari-san under the bus, but when asked why she had wax glued to her skin, she had to blurt the truth. If there was anyone brave enough to curse and call any version of Kyoya stupid, it was Ryohei. It was nice in a way, as she sat and let him examine her burns and heal them with sun flames. She wondered when he learnt to use them, why and how.
Ryohei was a physical fighter, fist before words and yells before questions. To see him calmly heal wounds tells a journey of patience and commitment. It was wonderful, but strange all the same. He was holding her wrist with too much care, as if he could break them if he held tight, but when he coated his fingers in that yellowish flame,
What she had gathered so far, is that instead of sticking to the rules of bonding with her chosen guardians /her friends/, she apparently bonded with someone else. And that was bad.
"Can I ask you something? Yes. that" She quickly pointed at the badly covered grimace he did and frowned "Why are you all so scared to tell me the truth?"
"It's not that we want to hide it, rather, we're afraid of the EXTREMELY consequences"
"Of what?" She pressed "Shouldn't knowing what happened be the best weapon for not doing it again?"
"You're right. But, Sawada… You know that movie of how that funny dude almost disappeared by changing things in a time he didn't belong?"
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Cool movie. The remake, not so much"
"But he changed the past? We're in the future. If I go back and make things right… I'm not the one who will disappear"
And wasn't that another stone trying to sink her? She has seen enough movies to understand the basics of time-travel, and knew, though he tries very hard not to think about it, that this future and this person that survived will cease to exist, because Tsuna was going to destroy it.
She already did.
"We know this timeline is doomed. And we're all EXTREMELY rooting for you, but… ahh how to explain it?" Ryohei rubbed his hair, looking not perturbed at all of the existential crisis that his time was limited. "Say I tell you, that even if you like jello now, you hated it in this future so much that it created a node in the timeline. And knowing that, when you return, your reality and cognition will change regarding that actualization of knowledge and breach a new timeline that won't synch with your gravity axis of the one where you did liked jello"
"I'm confused" Tsuna said, blinking. Her stomach still in knots at how uncaring he was of his own doom or that she was the cause of it. Wasn't he married? Shouldn't he be blaming her?
"Yeah, I'm probably not the best one to explain this" He shook his head with a breathless laugh "Just trust us, Sawada. We mean you no harm. There's a lot to talk about, but let's focus on one thing at the time. You won't rest if you're overwhelmed, so let's aim to get stronger and this infiltration over with. After, you can ask"
He wasn't lying, but Tsuna knew she wouldn't get answers because there was no after. Once this bootcamp is done, they will execute an infiltration on an enemy's base. Once that is over with, they will have to deal with that aftermath with no time to sit down, drink tea and talk about where in the timeline things went south.
"Okay"
She could still feel it, the frustration simmering into rage. But instead of lighting her hands in hot tantrum, she just felt tired. Drained, would be the right world. Nor her body or mind were fit to experience so many emotions in one go, let alone process them.
"I know it's hard, but try to get some sleep, yeah? If it were up to me, I would leave you all here. We lack in numbers, but we don't need child soldiers. And yet…"
"It's fine" She sighed.
It's not fine.
It probably will never be.
Tsuna took that as an opportunity to leave, to run, before she starts demanding more questions and Ryohei's kind patience drives her mad. With fingers tingling with new warmth, she debated between returning to her quiet room and her half scorched bed, or venture towards the kitchen for some warm milk with honey.
Decisions, decisions. Tsuna hummed tiredly but walked the now familiar path towards the kitchen. That's all she has been walking, her room, the kitchen, training room and med-wing back and forth, back and forth. Really depressing, another reason to never build an underground secret base again.
Her intuition hummed, that was the only warning it gave her as she turned on the lights and froze at the entrance at noting the kitchen wasn't empty.
"Sorry, I'll…" She made an abort motion to flee, to run - again - but Fuuta stopped her by his own aborted motion of reaching out to her.
"It's alright" He said softly, and sat back down. In the table in front of him was a closed book. Either he came here for a late-night snack or to read in the dark. Still, Tsuna approached carefully, but rather than sitting down with him she walked towards the fridge to get some milk. It was what she came here for, she told herself.
"Honey's on the third cupboard, to your left"
Nodding, she went to get it and stayed looking at the stove as she boiled the milk, tiredly thinking if she could burn it as well if she stared long enough. She wasn't allowed to cook either, shouldn't be near the stove after she burnt her bed but no one was coming to tell her off. Using the microwave would be faster but she needed time, however ironic it was. She wanted to stall, like the cowards she was, and don't have this conversation.
But she really wanted to talk to him all the same.
She was reaching for a second cup before her mind catched up, and with trembling fingers, she added a spoonful of honey and stirred carefully.
"W-Would you like some?"
"Thank you" He didn't move when she placed the steaming cup on the table, and she held hers tightly, welcoming the new source of warmth as she sat down in front of him. It was quiet, as they drank and let the night continue to pass. A little awkward, a little sad, it was probably due to the late hour and complete exhaustion that she didn't become a stuttering mess. Her body still jumped when Fuuta broke the silence, but the drops of hot milk that spilt didn't hurt.
"I'm sorry for running before"
"Don't apologize" She whispered with a grimace, her thoughts immediately jumping and comparing her night with older Yamamoto and how it ended. "I'm sorry"
"You don't have to apologize either"
She knew she shouldn't, that it wasn't her fault, and yet…
She looked up, and for the first time since she got stuck in this place, she saw the little boy who begged for a home all grown up. He still had a youthful look, but gone was the baby fat and sparkle in his eyes. His hair was longer, a little messier, and he was avoiding her eyes the same way she was.
It was sad, but at least it was progress she didn't knew she needed. It wasn't closure, not even the start or even an attempt at it, but no one was running or pointing fingers, so that counted for something. She breathed out, and all anger, fear and stress she harbored drained and was replaced by bleak melancholy.
Maybe after this, and there was that after again, but after this… maybe she should consider some real therapy that was trustworthy as well as fireproof. She knew she couldn't go on like this, it wasn't healthy, and despite wanting to just scream and burn everything to the ground, she wanted to walk out of the ashes anew, not drown in them.
"Tsuna-nee, read me a story"
Startled, she looked up to see Fuuta sliding his book towards her. It was big and old, no doubt an antique that should belong in a museum. The light from the kitchen wasn't the best, but Tsuna swore there was golden dust on the frames of the yellowish pages.
"It's 2am"
"Tsuna-nee is ranked #1 as someone who won't sleep tonight"
"I can't be the only name"
"You're in mine"
"Cheeky brat. Aren't you supposed to be 17?"
"I'm a child at heart"
They both were, otherwise they wouldn't be drinking warm milk with honey at ungodly hours because they couldn't sleep. Shaking her head with a tiny smile, Tsuna chose a page at random and opened it carefully. But before she could admire the lackluster illustrations, she stared at the text in utter dismay at realizing it was all written in Italian. Well, she thought with her nose scrunching, this was a very good distraction.
So she started to read.
"Once upon a time… King Fëanor, the ruler of the sky, married a beautiful and kind woman named Elenwë, ruler of the sea. Their vows became a song that transcended the world in a dance of harmony and magic. When the Sky lit up in bright auras, the Sea responded in matching colors. When the tides changed by season, the Ether responded by pouring water so it never run out. It was a show of undying love, one that outlived many legends.
Together they had six children, four sons and two daughters. They grew and brought life and death to the world below. Sometimes in rain, sometimes in light. Sometimes like mist, sometimes as clouds; starting an era of prosperity and change. They taught humans how to build and adapt, wise as they were. Time was bliss, until Elenwë died of sickness, a curse that could even kill a god.
Fëanor tried to save her, but in an attempt to preserve her soul from fading, he broke the world into pieces and she slipped through his fingers in scattered splinters.
Heartbroken, he searched for her. But while there were many oceans and many seas, not one was the same as the one before, and the sentiment of emptiness consumed him. In the dark, he married Lyanna, druid of the Earth, to ease his drowning grief. But while there was care and warmth between them, there was no love like the one the Sky had for the Sea.
And so Lyanna became increasingly jealous of the time Fëanor was spending with his children in the Sky, so far away from her reach and domain.
So she plotted and used her magical powers to destroy them. She knew that if she killed them, they would come back to haunt her, so she took them to the deepest pit under a mountain and turned them into burning stones; jaded and sharp, bright and oblique, binding them to spend 1000 years buried underground.
The spell could only be broken if the Sky graced the Earth with his bare soul and not with gifts alone, but as was their physical nature, it was but an impossible task to achieve.
Lyanne told Fëanor that all his children had drowned in a lake to be with their mother in spirit, so he went to where he assumed their grave was and mourned them. And there was no one he could turn to but her; so he weep in her lands and flourish her gardens. His rage devastated corps and destroyed mountains, but his downpour brought new leaves and creatures to the ecosystem.
At long last, the shadows the Sky had casted down on Earth were thriving and nigh.
But as is a moment in time, it was not meant to last.
Even in their dormant state, the precious stones were alive. Fëanor's eldest daughter, who was gifted the means of transcendence, appeared before him in a dream and told him what happened to her siblings.
Betrayed, he did not have the heart to kill Lyanne, but he banished her from the realm by setting a curse of his own down on her. Not much is known of what it entailed; perhaps, the storytellers suggest, that was the curse. To be alive but forgotten, a punishment worse than death.
But King Fëanor did not escape that long night unharm, as he could not descend from the Sky to dig the stones out, nor could his children escape their fate on their own. All they could do, was hope. Hope and wait that when the fallen snow melts, the hour of Dawn will be close at hand, and it will shine down all the way to the underground to free the precious gems from their imprisonment.
Until then, as the world waited for the drums of liberation to be heard across the Sky, in the 1000 years that followed, time passed, space changed and the stones that once were children did not remain the same in mind. For the Earth, venomous and narcissist as she was, nurtured them in sacred ground; gifting them magic of her own, enhancing their desires and cursing them with a human face.
Perhaps that was Lyanne's last laugh, a surprise for her ex-husband, that despite reuniting with his children they wouldn't be the same anymore. For when the curse is broken, and the children escape their imprisonment, they will change, they will grow and they will fade away like sand in time. And the Sky will remain empty of love and fellowship, unless it falls to the Sea or walks on the Earth.
The world waits with bated breath for the drums to resonate, and when they do, order will change and the balance overturn. Will the Sky bring a new dawn or will it remain at night? Will the Sea ever rejoin life and will the Earth be found again? So is the legend of the Children of Fëanor, their love vast as galaxies, their hurt deep as an abyss. Their story is a mystery that will forever intertwine space and time."
"That's…" Tsuna trailed, unsure at what she just read, wondering if she even translated it right. Wasn't this supposed to be a fairytale? She didn't recognize the myth, so it must probably was a Slavic one or maybe even Celtic, she wasn't sure. All those tales at least were mysterious and didn't had a concrete happy ending.
"Love stories are always ranked #1 to break your heart" Fuuta nodded with all the wisdom of a teenager who has seen enough heartbreak in the world. With his ranking powers, perhaps he has. Perturbed at the chilling folktale, she opted to close the book and was dismayed to find her milk had run cold.
"Please tell me I didn't read you this for bedtime"
"We stuck to the child friendly versions"
"Thank god"
"This was a present for my college admission. I wanted to study literature, hence the material. It was buried deep in Vongola's vault, but you raided all the books and paintings that interested you as soon as it opened"
"And you're not going to tell me what this is suppose to mean to me"
"Not tonight" He smiled, and she huffed, feeling the flare of annoyance creeping back into her stomach that was soon extinguished when the first part of his explanation sank in on her. Her death not only brought pain and misery, it also stopped whatever plans and dreams they all had set and made.
"It was my graduation" Fuuta began to say, as if reading her somber thoughts "But she never came. The thing is, I always knew she wouldn't make it, but she had defied my rankings so many times, I hoped so hard… You wanted to go, but I never asked you stay"
"My death is not on your hands" She said, eyes burning at the sudden urge to cry "Or on your book"
"I should have done more. I knew… I knew something was wrong, that the odds were against us, but still, I let you go"
"Hey. I didn't pick you up and bought you ice-cream to have your book save me"
"Tsuna-nee, that was one of the best day of my life" He gave her a watery smile, but was brave enough to meet her eyes "I wanted to save you too"
Will the guilt never end? Every talk she has with someone was like a stab to her heart, and she has told herself, over and over, that she shouldn't care. That it wasn't on her that things got so bad, she doesn't even know what the future her did wrong, but she was here now to either walk on the shards or pick up the pieces.
Either option felt wrong to her.
"When you return, please buy me another ice-cream"
"Fuuta"
"Please"
Should she? Did she even have the face to promise something like that? Kyoya read her intentions the moment she let the little boy tag along. Even if she denied it, even if she didn't voice it, deep down in her thoughts she knew that if needed, if the situation arises she would ask the boy to work his magic, and he would do so, because he wanted to help.
He would help her.
What does that say about them? That neither of them really learnt their lesson and gave too much of themselves /that they hid so much/ to the point of losing what mattered? Tsuna knew what he was asking, it was so apparent on his boyish face, desperate and vulnerable, and rather than saying yes to simply make him sleep better and dream of a better future, she said what she wanted to say to the little boy waiting for her back at home.
"I promise"
.
.
.
Two nights before the mission, Tsuna had another therapy session with the cats. When Hibari-san found her moping alone in the kitchen, he all but carried her from the scruff of her hoodie and left her with the purring felines.
Training had been hellish that day, her arms felt too heavy and there were ants crawling on her legs if she didn't stop moving, not to mention the blisters in her blisters that refused to heal. Her control was a bit better, she channeled her frustration and fear sorely on stopping Hibari-san from hitting her. She has bruises on her shoulders and arms, purple spots as if his flames had marked and blended with their target.
Kyoya had never hurt her that much. He has landed hits on her, recklessly forcing her to fight and defend herself against his whims, but never strong enough to brand on her skin. And that distinction was enough to ignite her anger and fight back at the indignation and shame she felt.
After a violent workout, of course she couldn't find proper rest in her still charred bed. But once she laid down with the squishy felines, she didn't want to move.
"Why did I die?"
"Because you're an idiot"
She also refused to stop asking questions, even if she didn't get an answer.
"Why did I plan to die?"
If she annoyed people, then so be it.
Hibari-san sighed, and she smiled at the small victory.
"It doesn't matter now"
"It kinda does"
"Focus on training"
"You know I can't do that"
Another sigh, ine that she mirrored. It's not that she was looking for a fight, that's the last thing she wanted or needed, but what else could she do? Nod her head, smile and keep quiet as the world around her gets destroyed? No. Her mom taught her it was okay to want things, Xanxus to demand what she wanted and Reborn to fight for it.
And she wanted answers.
"Hibari-san?" She asked the ceiling while one of her hands petted the ragamuffin cat curled on her chest. "You said that the plan, there was a special bullet… Did Mukuro shoot me with that?"
It was quiet, of course. Hibari-san was on his third cup of tea and was stone cold when it came to a conversation. And suddenly in that silence, she had a terrible realization, a thought soaking in trepidation.
"Am I alive?"
Because that would be the cruelest lie. That after everything that happened, after the shock, the grief, the mourning and heartbreak; to suddenly return and appear as if nothing was wrong would be worse than death for the others.
"No" It was said, stern and clipped.
"You don't know that"
The only one who knew what happened was Mukuro.
And he didn't kill her.
She knew.
But she still felt like she really did die.
"Where is he?"
"Where he belongs"
She winced at the hissed answer, and knew to ask no more. Just saying the illusionist name was enough to ignite Hibari-san's rage, whatever bad blood they had in the past had stirred and accumulated poison that lasted a decade.
She wondered what else happened between them. To have so much animosity spoke volumes that it was more than just not liking someone. Mukuro could be annoying, and he lived to antagonize those he deemed would bring him entertainment. She and Kyoya were his favorites no doubt, but she knew there was something more than teasing illusions and lost battles.
But it scared her to think about it; because deep down she knew she was the reason for the bitter discord.
And then came the aching thought that Mukuro was back in prison. That somewhere in time, he got released and was allowed to walk free, only to be chained back because of her murder.
It was a disaster.
And there was a lot to unpack. A lot of mysteries and questions still remained unvoiced and unanswered. She used to think, back when she was small and Mammon would read her fortune in exchange for cake, that knowing the future was amazing, and she said then, that if she didn'tlike what she saw, then she would change it.
Big words for a little girl who could see the future since then and could do nothing to stop the tragedy that followed.
Mammon would only grumble at her insistence, saying to leave the future alone for they had no business there. Maybe she should have listened.
"Hibari-san?"
"What?"
She winced at the sharp voice, and the cats all meowed as if to scold the man. Seems like he reached his quota of patience with her, it seems. She wouldn't be more lucky if she pushed him further so she pursed her lips and hugged the cat on her chest.
After some minutes of breathing in silence, another heavy sigh was released and Tsuna's shoulders fell at that sound.
"What?"
"Did I ever, did you- I mean, the boxes… did you…?"
And that was one of the questions that has been bugging her since Lal showed them the power they hold in the future. Probably the biggest, on the same necessity as knowing why she had to die. Because the box mystery has been plaguing her for years now.
Once upon a time, a man gave her a tiny box for the promise of salvation. She didn't know what it was, too busy crying for Xanxus and later in her mother's arms. When things were said and done, and she had nothing to do but waste in the tranquility that was Nammimori, she tried to solve the riddle but couldn't open it, she couldn't solve the puzzle, not even Verde knew what it could possibly contain.
Until now.
Her Kyoya was privy of it, her Mukuro knew half of it, and this Byakuran was looking for it to the point of starting a war. Everything seemed to be connected, however slow it was to untangle the strings one way or another. If she couldn't know events that led the future to collapse, then the least she deserved was small answers.
"I still have that couch"
Was his response and she sighed, knowing that at least one thing from the past didn't change in this blasted future.
.
.
.
On the night before the infiltration, Tsuna was pacing the halls like a ghost.
Training had improved slightly. She wasn't slipping as much, but she still used either too much or too small power in her flames. She hasn't found a balance yet, despite her control getting better at flying and moving with them, stopping and propeling herself was the issue. Other than that, she was happy enough that she managed to land one flaming hit on Hibari-san.
It was glorious, but she spent too much time admiring her feat and didn't notice his retaliation. Her intuition moved her on time, but she still had a purple bruise on her cheek.
Gokudera was livid when they met at the med-room for a quick healing and saw it. Tsuna had to hold him back from marching into her designated training room and engage Hibari-san into a one-sided match. He was already busy dealing with a boisterous Lambo, he couldn't waste energy fighting an already annoyed Hibari.
She also wanted to visit Chrome, but she was turned away at every attempt. The only saving grace was that with the poor girl in that condition, there was no way she was going to join the infiltration. Without visiting, she didn't know what exactly was wrong with her, but hopes she gets better soon.
The day passed quickly after that, they were briefed on the mission, saw the base outline and made plan A to Plan Z in case something goes wrong. They oversaw many possibilities that could force them to change and adapt, each one more gruesome than the other. Tsuna couldn't get the feeling of sickness from her system; they were all coming back, yes, but the fear and dread was so tangible it was choking her.
With her training finished early to force her to rest, she escaped to have a long hot bath. There was an indoor onsen built in the underground secret base, because of course there was, and she made use of it diligently. Her skin was pink and pruning when she was ambushed by the girls. She should have seen it coming, but was too tired to escape by the time Haru sat next to her.
It was another testament of trust that she felt comfortable enough to be in just a towel with them, and was double glad that Ryohei had already healed the bruises, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to stand the sympathetic looks. Kyoko and Haru didn't know exactly what the mission was, all they were told was that they - Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto - along with others, were infiltrating a secret base to stop some evil mastermind from destroying Namimori any further.
They didn't know about the danger or the risk, Tsuna wanted to keep it that way though she doubts it.
Surprisingly, or not really, Kyoko has been quiet about voicing her thoughts. She has offered words of comfort and encouragement, but has not pleaded for them not to go or to please let her help someway. She was most likely trying to be strong for them and not be a bother, but Tsuna felt her silent concern stabbing her heart all the same.
"I wish I could go with you" Haru bemoaned for the fifth time.
"Don't be stupid"
"Tsuna-san, I know you want to protect us, but please… don't ignore how we feel to be left behind. Just the thought of you guys risking your lives while we wait here is terrible!"
"Haru-chan"
"If it was on me, I wouldn't have never brought you to this future" Tsuna said, glaring at the water.
"Well, I'm glad I'm here" Kyoko said softly "It was scary at first, but I'm glad we're together"
Tsuna didn't know how Kyoko was brought here or what she did before Lal went to pick her up. As a coward, she didn't ask and as a friend, Kyoko didn't offer.
There was so much heat her body could stand, perhaps she should have taken a cool shower instead of a bath, already she could feel her head getting woozy. Knowing that getting sick would not stop them from sending her to the front lines, she chose to step out of the onsen and change into cotton pajamas.
The two girls followed.
"Can we stay with you?"
Knowing she wouldn't get much sleep that night, she indulged them, if only to get her mind off the upcoming trial. She should have known they weren't going to just lay still.
"It's like a sleepover! Why haven't we had a sleepover before?" Haru said, bundled in her futon and munching on late night snacks.
"Well, Tsuna-chan has slept at my house many times"
"That's betrayal!"
Considering those 'sleepovers' were more a cover up than an actual girl's night out, Tsuna chose not to comment on that. But it was true, in a way, this was their first sleepover. Was it depressing that it was on the night before a dangerous mission? The juxtaposition of painting their toenails and eating candy snacks when tomorrow was going to be brutal was so ridiculous, Tsuna was floating.
"Sooo…"
"So?"
"So! You and Hiabri-san seem close"
"No"
"Oh come on! At least admit he's handsome!"
"Can we not?"
"I don't know, Tsuna-chan. He's quite cool looking. Like a lord from a Japanese castle"
"He's just older Kyoya" Tsuna grumbled, not wanting to partake in the conversation.
"Uh-huh" Haru trailed, making Tsuna huff and hug a pillow "Just Kyoya"
"It's just weird talking to him, he's… old"
"Handsome"
"Haru"
"We need to be real, they all grew up very charmingly. Well, maybe not Gokudera but even Kyoko's brother looks very nice-looking"
Tsuna did not say that to her, older Gokudera did look charming and handsome, if it weren't for the painstriken expression in his hollow eyes, she would have blushed the moment he hugged her. But the circumstances didn't let her, and now he is gone along with older Yamamoto, and the ones remaining could disappear any moment now too.
"Haru, you looked quite sharp yourself" Tsuna said to divert the subject.
"Eh?! You saw future me?! How was I? Was I hot? Did I have curves? What about boobs?!"
"Y-You looked fine"
"Hana-chan looked beautiful too"
"You saw Hana?" Tsuna asked, surprised at learning that.
"Mn" Kyoko nodded, hugging her knees with a small smile "She cut her hair short"
"I bet Tsuna-san was an eye candy too"
Oh. Right. Another lie that she didn't create was that anything concerning her death was kept a secret. Not even the guys knew who did it or why, just that she died but other than that, no one dared talk about it. She wasn't even supposed to know about it, but she does, and not for the first time she wondered if maybe, just maybe, not knowing would have been kidner for her heart.
She was not curious how she looked though, and she wanted to keep it that way.
Tsuna thought if dropping the "your brother is married" bomb on Kyoko would divert the topic, but that could open other unfavorable conversations, so she kept quiet, munching on her snacks。The topic did not drift from there, they started imagining what their future versions careers were, Tsuna did not confirm or denied anything - she has /also/ not told them about her hyper intuition - and thankfully, any notions about Mafia or the like were omitted in their wild speculations.
But their antics worked, and Tsuna was distracted for as long as they remained awake. Haru was the first to fall asleep, Kyoko not too far behind but still had the mind to make one last request.
"Tsuna-chan?"
"Hm?"
"I know promises are silly to you, but…Please come back. We'll be waiting"
Tsuna blinked at the dark ceiling, heart in her throat. Perhaps it was because it wasn't a lie that the soft words "We will" escaped her lips, but that was all she could say and hope, knowing that coming back was going to be the easiest part. Kyoko hummed, already falling asleep, and so the brunette waited and counted her breaths.
When it got too quiet and still, she sat up slowly. She was a master at sneaking out by now, it was no problem at all to tiptoe her way out of the room and quietly close the door. It's not that she didn't feel comfortable sleeping with them, rather she felt too awake to lay still.
So she wandered.
A part of her wanted to see Reborn, despite the absurdity of the thought. He wasn't going to come with them, he couldn't step outside due to the toxin in the air, Lal could with the limitant of not misusing her flames but the risk factor wouldn't hit her as much as it would Reborn. He hated it, she could feel it, and she also hated it too. It was going to be her first task without him there since he first arrived in her life all those months ago.
Almost half a year already, and she has become used to his presence and depended of his teachings, however violent they were. Wanting to please, to surprise him and earn his acknowledgement; to make him proud of her.
How the hell was she going to survive this without his guidance? Not to mention, the utter pressure and expectations of everyone else involved.
"You should be asleep"
She didn't jump at the voice, didn't turn or stop her pacing. It was becoming increasingly annoying how her intuition didn't even react to his presence. Tsuna did not have a destination in mind, but somehow she found herself sitting in the genkan of the shrine, with a purring somali cat - coffeebean - in her lap and the moon shining down on her. It was so easy to pretend tomorrow was a school day, and the nerves were for a math exam.
She wonders if Namimori-middle remained untouched or a battlefield grave.
"Do you hate me?"
"More stupid questions?"
Hibari-san was doing some paperwork in the room, with his own cat - Morgana - on his lap and Hibird-II perched snuggly in his shoulder. He was the picture of homely with an air of loneliness.
"Will you answer?"
"No"
'No', he won't answer, or was 'No' his answer? Tsuna sighed. It was an established pattern between them by now, but she's never felt so imbalanced before, she used to understand Kyoya without relying on her intuition, and now, it really felt like she was talking to a stranger no matter how familiar he acted towards her. It was depressing, but a distraction nonetheless.
She turned her head away from the night sky to see him, not for the last time wondering how he got roped into playing with the Mafia for over a decade. It couldn't just be because of the bloody fights and the underground invading Japan. If she remembers correctly; Italy, France and Austria were places she lived and were currently under attack too, it wasn't just Namimori, this war wasn't personal and yet it was here where the secret base was constructed and they all appeared.
Perhaps she was still wrapping her head around that people she knew and knew her back had stayed for her after so many years, enough to settle down here. It was a spark, a possibility of `what can be' but for how long? Her future self already royally screwed up and everything fell apart, if Tsuna were to make the same mistake…
"You're overthinking"
"I'm scared" She whispered, somehow feeling vulnerable enough to confess her fears to him "What if I can't do this. What if something goes wrong and I can't- I can`t…"
Hibari-san sighed, but rather than sounding condescending or irritated, this one in particular felt so soul tired, as if it was dragged and ripped out of his chest.
"What would you do?"
"Huh?"
"What would you do to stop this war?"
"I don't know" She said, because really, what can she do? This was bigger than her, bigger than just stopping a yakuza ring from spreading, fighting a trickster sociopath or surviving hellfire. What can she, 13-year-old Tsuna do to stop a war that was so deeply connected to her, no matter if she escapes this time, the shadows will follow her back to the past.
Truth was she didn't want to fight. She didn't want her friends to endanger their lives and fight a deadly battle; they shouldn't be the ones doing the fighting, it's what she wanted to scream. It wasn't their fight, it shouldn't be their war, but it was, in a way. She did not play chess, she wasn't a strategist like Gokudera or a clutch time thinker like Yamamoto, she has hyper intuition, but it was not the same.
If it was her choice, she would wait for the Vongola rings to gather here, underground, and then give them to whoever needed them, and wait for someone else to do the magic.
Not her. And definitely, not her friends.
And it was bitter, selfish and cruel, not wanting to help these people who had definitely watched her grow and grew with her; but she didn't want to. And even if she did, there was no saving this future.
"You're human" Hibari-san said, slow and calm, eyes fixated on the dozing cat in his lap rather than on her, but Tsuna felt his attention still directed at her. It has never drifted. "You're selfish. And scared. But you can be so much more than that"
"How? All I want to do is run away"
"Yes" He said "But where are you running to?"
Home.
The answer came to her mind but no words were spoken out loud, they were stuck on her throat, heavy and ensnaring, as if she didn't deserve to voice it. But she felt it resonate deep within her, flaring a spark of hope - of desperation - that she wanted to keep alit.
"You are going to pull it through, maybe you won't save us, but you will save them, your herbivores. Your past that will transform into a new future, not this one. Remember that"
"But I failed you"
"You don't owe us"
"I still failed you"
"Don't be arrogant, you alone can't destroy the world. And you alone can't save it either"
Tsuna breathed shakingly and didn't ask anymore in fear of opening something she wasn't ready to unravel. What she wanted at that moment was a hug, and not just for her, but she felt too shy to ask for one, so she settled for what she knew best.
"I'm sorry"
"For what?"
"Hurting you"
It was so obvious she did, which is why she kept asking, wanting to know how much resentment he carried and how much hurt he harbored. She didn't owe them empty apologies or hollow promises; that was true, but she couldn't ignore the melancholy in the air either.
"Go to sleep, little animal"
That nickname alone made her almost sniffle in a good way, so she hugged Coffee Bean closer to her chest, who only purred at being moved and nuzzled closer to hide the tiny smile on her lips. Tomorrow was a new day, a new challenge and a new deadly adventure. She would focus on that, stopping the Japan raids and returning to this underground base with all of her friends.
And after, she wanted to do better. Better at communicating, better at training, at breathing and feeling. She will try, swallowing that acidic anxiety choking her and ask for help, or advice, or a hug.
She wanted to try.
Sadly, that will never come to be.
Morning came too soon with the threat that they will have to shift immediately to plan F.
Tsuna had barely finished her oatmeal when she tensed up, her intuition whispering full speed ahead, warning her of the danger approaching. The only reason she thinks she even perceived it is because she was paranoid and thinking of millions what if's all morning.
"Tsuna, what is it?"
"I thought I heard..." She paused, and slowly, looked up at the ceiling of the kitchen. There were meters of soil, blocks of cement, metal, conduits and so many gadgets separating them from the upper ground, but it still felt so very close. "Someone's up there"
"Fuck"
"Don't panic, we shift tactics. Team A, gear up, we leave in five. Giannini, enhance surveillance, expand the electric net"
"Yes, mam!"
Even if the order came from Lal, there was panic and terror filling their nerves. They were good at masking it, with Yamamoto bouncing in anticipation, Gokudera pacing in concentration, and Tsuna shakingly dressing up. Leon once more had created resilient fabric that Reborn had skillfully knitted into another very-ugly argyle vest, this time it was pink. She was very annoyed, and it distracted her enough to change and ignore the fact they were minutes from getting under attack.
And they needed to go out.
And leave defenseless people here.
"Move forward to your next location. Hibari will deal with the rest"
"We can't leave, the girls-
She didn't even say good morning to them.
"I will stay too, Dame-Tsuna. Do you think me a weakling?"
"No! But I just… I didn't…"
"What are you worried about?" Lal pushed her forwards towards a different underground exit "Believe in what you have achieved and don't turn back. March through and then come back"
"But Hibari-san-
"There's nothing that can overpower that chicken" Lambo drawled lazily, unperturbed and calm.
"Did you know that you are Hibari's strength, Sawada?" Ryohei said, and at least it was reassuring that he was tagging along for the mission "Trust the guy, he will keep everyone safe here"
She did trust him, despite everything, she did. She didn't need her intuition to know he will protect this base with every single breath he took and win, because that was Hibari Kyoya for you. You don't mess on his territory and escape without consequences. The base was going to be safe, as will Chrome, Kyoko and Haru with Bianchi and I-pin staying for extra back up.
There was nothing to fear, and yet Tsuna hated the idea of having to separate.
"I just received a transmission. Hiabri-san is engaging in battle at the North gate. Now is the best time to execute our escape" Giannini's voice called through the speakers, loud and final.
"Dame-Tsuna"
She looked at Reborn, imploring and doubtful; the total opposite of his demeanor. She took in his resolute expression, his utter confidence and arrogant faith. How could he be so composed and unfazed in the face of danger?
She wanted to kick that expression off him.
She wanted to keep that expression on her.
[breathe]
"Open the door"
Please be safe... everyone.
.
.
.
Tsuna's first mission as the official Vongola heir was a complete disaster. Not only did they get separated as soon as they infiltrated into the base, but they got found out and gravely Injured.
Broken.
Beaten.
Marked.
Gokudera's heart stopped.
Yamamto cracked his skull.
And Tsuna was branded like a coward.
One was too eager to prove his strength, the other too prideful to show weakness, and the center of it all was too overwhelmed to make the right choice.
The italian bomber could not find balance in his heart. Even if he managed to break down the different types of flames he could wield, and tamed a temperamental cat that could turn itself on hot red fire, the battle of Wills and loyalty against Gamma left him scorched.
The ex-baseball player, for all the training and progress he had in the short amount of time, was still so fresh and inexperienced against a skillful opponent. He saw what he wanted to see, and did not foresee the actual fight he was falling into until he crashed into a wall.
And Tsuna all but collapsed in a bundle of nerves and sobs as soon as her HDWM reached her limit. You can't expect a 14 year old to command a heist in a heavily armed facility and come unscarred.
She was the one that separated them, taking the role as bait to draw the lines away from them. She was fast and agile, with her master tactic being rather than stopping to fight, she let her flames lash out and burn everything; she froze everything and anything her flames touched. And on the chance when she did stop for a breather, and was in the direct line of an attack, she let her flames swallow the energy, condensed it and launched it back with more rage and power.
She was winning, she was destroying and leaving openings for the others to safely travel. But she was also unconsciously burning more energy than she could spare.
The fight against the three Gola Moskas completely overpowered her. Seeing them charging at her while under the HDWM lure still caused a terrified flare to rock her spine. They truly were terrifying machines, and with time, they had become deadlier and dangerous than ever.
The silver lining was that the machines were empty, so she had no heart as she crushed them in fiery ice. And it was then, in the last grip of her consciousness when she tried to recreate what she wanted on that burning night in the training room; with the soft flames behind her, and the rough ones at the front, she fired a blast so raw and potent it completely destroyed the machines and knocked her out into the cold waters.
Waking up was disorienting, she didn't know if it was the shivering or the strong green tea aroma that brought her out of unconsciousness, but as slow as she was to wake up, two alarming things become very clear; she was handcuffed and there was a gun pointed at her head.
She was also wearing just her orange, sport undergarments, but that was the least of her worries.
"What the hell?"
"You truly are a marvel"
Trying very hard not to show her swallowing, she turned her head slowly to show her movements beforehand, enough so the gun wasn't digging into her head as she raised her eyes to meet green eyes staring back at her in unabashed wonder.
"I was fearing you had hit your head too. You swallowed some water, but that was easy to countermeasure. You're still freezing though, but your skin refuses to warm up"
The man explained as if Tsuna's lack of dressing or her health was a concern to him. She tried to stay calm, nevermind that she was vulnerable at the moment with an armed stranger somewhere she didn't recognize, but she recognized his voice; he was the one controlling the demonic Moskas that she fought, praising and giving orders as if he was playing in the sandbox.
"Who the hell are you?" She hissed, bare fingers clenching over the soft fleece that had been covering her sleeping body.
"Spanner. You write my name with the Hana character, but it's read as PA instead"
What the fuck.
Tsuna tried very hard to stay calm. She has been drilled lessons - no matter how confusing and embarrassing they were - by Bianchi and Lal on what to do if an older man ever tries to take advantage of her. Hell, Squalo made her memorize rules and self-defense moves back in the days, even Daemon explained how to kill someone pointing a gun to your head.
And now that she was cornered, there was no way she wouldn't fight back.
She wasn't a powerless little girl anymore, after all.
"I'm Tsunayuuki" She played along "Yuuki its written like courage instead of snow"
"Is it?" He gasped in sincere surprise "All this time I have been calling you frosted fish in my head"
Don't panic, just attack.
Tsuna breathed out naturally, before moving as fast as she could. With her free elbow hitting the wrist of the hand holding the gun up, and the chained hand clenching over the mechanic suit Spanner was wearing, Tsuna let herself fall and brought him down with her, using the muscles in her legs she had built up to turn his weight over and pin him down, pointing the gun he had dropped by the tumble back at him.
"Uncuff me, now!"
"That was cool" He admitted, unperturbed when Tsuna unlocked the trigger of the gun and only sighed "I'm afraid I can't do that. You're currently MIA, my boss doesn't know you're here"
"Why?"
"You intrigue me. I always wanted to see a magical girl in action"
"Are you a pervert?"
"No" He blinked "I'm an otaku"
Tsuna paused, recoiling a little to stare down at him, hand still gripping the gun at his head. It was completely ridiculous, this man and this conversation, even the situation, but she felt no danger coming from him. No ulterior or vile motives, the chains were probably a precaution so she wouldn't run into danger. He wasn't on her side, but he had an interest, and it was the only thing keeping her alive.
"Uncuff me, I won't run"
She backed away from him, still holding the gun and waited expectantly for him to dig the key from his jumper and unlocked the chain binding her to the floor. Why there was a chain in the first place she didn't want to think about, as soon as it clicked, she bolted.
Three steps in, however, and she froze when a bulgy figure landed in front of her, and before her intiont could warn her to duck, it fired.
Tsuna stared, flinching as the tiny projectiles that hit her fell to the ground with low thuds, and she could only gape in shock at the colorful stars laying on the ground.
"Candy?" She breathed out.
"This is mini-moska" Spanner introduced the small monstrosity like a parent introducing their unruly child "He has a mini oven integrated too, would you like a snack?"
"What the fuck?" She finally cried in her hands, done with the absurdity.
At least she got to keep the gun, although looking at it, she wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't loaded with real bullets. It probably shoots sparkles or something alike. Anyhow, she was free, she can find another weapon on her way out, and if she didn't, she could try to combust again despite the brewing headache.
"I need to find my friends. They need me"
"It's best to wait a little, there's a squad of Storm rangers passing above us"
"Can you locate them?" She asked and stared at his computer screen, but couldn't understand what the graphics and illustrations meant.
"I don't have access to the cameras, my boss would know. But I planted some gadgets that track fiamma voltage. It's the reason I targeted you, you were like a shooting star, flying very fast and bright until you crashed. That last attack was beautiful but it's still a prototype, isn't it? Does it have a name?"
"No?"
"Huh, you should give it one. All shonen attacks need their calling name"
"Then you name it"
"It's your power, it has to come from you"
"Fire attack"
"Lame"
"Just-" Tsuna held her nose, for what, she didn't know, it was instinctual as she sighed heavily at her own thoughts and tried to stay calm "Spanner, let's work together"
"Oh?"
"I need to learn how to balance my flames. Help me, and I'll show you what my power it's really like"
"That wouldn't benefit me. It goes against my boss' wishes"
"You already against them; rescuing me, hiding me, even drying my clothes"
"And if you can't meet my expectations?"
"You're not the first to be interested. And you won't be the last"
She really was pulling a leg, talking big and trying to coerce him to her cause. He was not harmful, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous or that he could betray her anytime. His laidback attitude created a sense of lowering her guard, but he was a thinker; Verde was proof that you should never underestimate a mad scientist with a keen eye on you.
"Deal" Spanner said, breaking her scheming thoughts and offered a warm plate of steamy pastries. "Poptart?"
Against her better judgment, she accepted the plate. They were frosted with sprinkles on top.
"Give me 30 minutes, I was already working on something that would be useful to your energy balance"
"And if I hadn't asked to work with you?"
"I would have asked you" He gave her a smile before unwrapping a lollipop and nodding towards the metal lockers on the other side of the room "You can change into that, by the way. Your clothes still have some shards of ice, the fabric is very sturdy and resistant but it's not absorbing heat, I tried setting it on fire and it remains untouched. Really fascinating…"
He started muttering, dividing his attention between her drying clothes hanging from a rail and typing quickly on his computer. Still wary, Tsuna paced the room, keeping enough distance from him and the mini moska who she swears was staring at her. She devoured the poptarts after verifying with her intuition if they were poisoned, but they were delicious, her teeth even hurt by how sweet they were.
It soon became apparent that Spanner got lost in his work, with his back towards her, Tsuna could try and make a run but her mittens were hanging next to that stupid argyle vest, running away would mean leaving them behind, and there was no lie or excuse that she could make to explain that to Rebron. So she changed into an oversized black jumper that was stored in the lockers and kept her distance.
The room was a mess, there were gadgets and machines all over, papers, blueprints, and a lot of anime merch. Tsuna was familiar with some figurines, but there were posters and characters from media she had never heard of. And the more she looked, the more she could see Japanese influence in many things. There were no chairs for starters, Spanner was sitting on the floor, working over a tea table where a freshly brewed green tea was resting.
Across the room was a little Shintō altar, paying tribute to an old man in a photo with burning incense sticks and flowers. They have been talking in perfect Japanese, but it was clear he was a foreign.
"You like Japan?"
"I love Japan" Spanner said without looking away from his work "You Japanese people are so advanced in technology, it's like living in the future. Everytime I visit, there is something new. But even more so, I was interested in Vongola's Decimo Japanese roots too"
"Why is that?"
"You are an artist. That brain of yours, it created many things"
So Verde 2.0 then. At least she knows what she's dealing with, though she didn't like that her future self attracted more weirdos and their need to build gadgets for her.
"Could you show me where my friends are, please?"
"It's a bit tricky, you can't feel it but Shoichi likes to move around" Spanner said, but still relented to her wish and moved towards the central computer to open some windows.
"Irie Shoichi is your boss?"
"Is he your target?"
"He is"
"I won't warn you not to go after him, it's your mission. But I can tell you this, we have known each other since high-school robotic competitions, he's weak and a nerd, but he's sharp, be wary of him"
"You're sharp too"
"Thank you" He opened a new lollipop wrapper and nodded towards the screen "You see this blue dot? That's one of yours. It's too bright and new for the grimy rangers roaming around. And oh, that's new too! It's like a diamond, can you see the blur of colors? It's not a bug, that person is manifesting multiple flames"
"People can wield more than one type of flame?"
"It's peculiar, but yes. Your uncle is an example"
"Uncle? What uncle?" Tsuna asked, confused and attention glued to the screen.
"The angry one that likes guns"
"You mean Xanxus? He's not my uncle! He's my… my something"
"Well, your something is one of those unique cases. His Sky flames are fueled by Storm flames too, making his flame a Wrath type rather than a pure Sky like yours" Spanner pointed at the colorful dot with intrigue. "This person is using 5 different types at the same time. They're very small and weak, but I have never seen someone wield more than two, that's extraordinary. Must be one of yours"
Tsuna remembers older Gokudera healing her cuts, and her confusion at that time when he was supposedly a Storm flame user. It didn't explain how it was possible, if it was a skill that could be learnt or if they were just born with that ability. But it was still amazing.
"Your friends are-
Just then, the ground shook. It wasn't strong enough to stumble, but Tsuna still fell to the ground as she felt the vibrations shaking the floors, walls and ceilings. For a terrifying moment, she thought the room was going to collapse or worse, become smaller, but the shaking lasted less than 10 seconds, and not a sound was made as the room came to a halt.
"I told you Irie likes to move. This base, it's not stationary. It can move and change rooms"
"Shit" Tsuna cursed, tense and gripping the floor as if it would sink beneath her.
On the screen, the dots were separated. If she wanted to reunite with the others she needed to fly fast. The base hadn't changed before, not that she knew of, but the blueprints they had memorized and the path created were all thrown to the rubbish.
"You'll have to climb through the air vents to avoid the cameras"
"No"
"It's the safest way out"
"I don't even know where I am!"
"I will guide you"
"No, I- I can't. No"
"If you're scared to go alone, Mini-moska can go with you" Spanner volunteered, patting his metallic head as he walked back to the tea table and his project "He can play some BGM for you if you need to focus"
That wasn't the issue! She was already stressed and close to puking, the mere idea of having to crawl in a tiny space while her friends were fighting for their lives was nerve wracking. She didn't know what to do now, if she should just let her intuition fling her around until she finds someone or Irie or follow Spanner's instructions.
"Okay, let's try this. Can you do your magical girl transformation?"
"Stop calling it that!"
In the commotion, her mittens had fallen from where they were hanging so she had to stand on shaky legs to recover them. It was a huge comfort to slide her hands in them, and even more so to fall into the warm spark of Sky flames after closing her eyes and just thinking of the terrible situation at hand and the drive to solve it.
"Your clothes should have changed too" Spanner said with disappointment at her lack of costume flare.
"It's not a magical transformation" Tsuan grumbled "Now, what do I do?"
"There's a disparity in the power vectors you use. While you only wield one type of flame, you're channeling it in two intensities that are fighting for control. This will help" He walked towards her, and when he was a few feet away he handed her a tiny box containing two clear contact lenses.
"You want me to poke my eye? I'm on fire. I can go blind"
"It's not real fire though"
"Tell that to my bed"
"You burnt your bed?" Spanner paused "Well, that's better than to wetting it, I suppose"
"Please stop" She grimaced and stared at the lenses "How is this going to help?"
"Your flame attack is unbalanced because your flames are not balanced. The lenses will show you a measure of how much energy you're pouring without disrupting your vision or damaging your eyes. To have a succes attack, the energy levels you use in your gloves must be parallel, not one percent off or it will throw you off"
"Did you mess with my mittens while I was out?"
"Of course I did"
Of course he did, she sighed and stared doubtfully at the tiny contact lenses. She should have done this before she put on the gloves, or not? At least this way her hand wouldn't shake as she tried to stick the tiny circle inside her eye. Blinking the tears away, she waited to feel a difference but there was no discomfort or a blur in her vision. When nothing happened, she looked up at Spanner for directions, who was waiting for her with an ipad at hand.
Was she being too trusting?
"Okay, light it up"
Well, if he turns on her she'll burn him.
In a breath, her hands lighted in orange flames. There was no sound as the contacts became alive and showcased a scale in both eyes, it was translucent and see through, she could see Spanner waving a hand in front of her. Wondering, she looked down, and the moment she sent more power to her hands, like a speedometer, arrows appeared as one side of the scale filled one square red.
"Any discomfort?" She shook her head "Good. It will need 10 minutes to adjust, in the meantime, you should play with it"
"Want me to destroy your lab?" She said, but willed the power down to see the red color fading.
"You're a mean one, Vongola" Spanner said but was not offended by her teasing, even if she wasn't joking. He continued "With more time we can add a voice system to aid you in case you're too into a fight"
"It's fine" She didn't need more voice telling her what to do.
Waiting was the thing she hated most - other than being forced to fight when she didn't want to. She couldn't do anything but pace the room, watching her hands, puring energy and shifting from soft flames to the rougher one. Green and red lights flashed on her vision, it did take some getting used to, but she was getting the hang of it by the time her intuition started buzzing.
"Spanner?" She called to the man behind him and raised her arms "Sorry about your wall"
Not giving the man any more warnings, Tsuna channeled as much energy as she could and once she found a parallel scale in her vision, she braced her knees for impact and let it go.
It was by far the best attack and recoil she has ever created, even Hibari-san should be impressed by it. The soft flames were pillowing her back, making her body remain standing while her other hand released a torrent of strong flames, strong enough to break through the wall in front of her.
Achieving symmetry on both sides by feeling alone was hard, her emotions were hirewire and difficult to separate. But by seeing the level objectively, at least she had an idea how much force she was using, and it gave her time to breathe while the lines overlapped.
Outside the falling rumble, she could hear some groans and pain explanations. Not wanting to stick around, she quickly turned towards where her clothes had been discarded and searched the pockets for the lucky charm Kyoko had sneakily slid inside.
"You could have waited for them to knock"
"No time. Where do I go?"
"Straight ahead" He sighed and she mentally cheered that she wouldn't be crawling in any vents.
It will leave her open and exposed, but she can fly her way through.
Hopefully.
No sooner did she start running ahead, jumping over the bulging masses of unconscious, very muscular men, she heard the sounds of turbines and something heavy following her.
"You coming?" She turned her head without slowing to see Spanner riding on the mini moska not too far behind her.
"I must. Don't worry about me, Vongola. Even a mechanic knows a thing about self-defense"
"I'm sorry if you get burn"
Saying that she took flight, letting her flames people her forwards and her intuition guire her to the best next location. She couldn't pinpoint the state of her friends, she only knew it was grave and she had to hurry. Hurry, she needed to be faster and stronger, deep inside, she could feel something swirling. Fear was rising into her core like acidic bubbles, every harsh breath she took was like a bubble of desperation poping and adding fuel to her fire.
Her hyper intuition was screaming. At her, for her, for her friends; for everything and everyone. If she stopped to even let those thoughts sink in she wouldn't move, she would fall and break and just drown in despair. And she couldn't risk that just yet.
Up ahead there was a barricade, more soldiers rushing in, raising their weapons and trying to stop her. Tsuna wasn't scared, but she hesitated and slowed down, for while she was confident she could break through, her body was not bulletproof, and she also needed time to charge her fire attack.
"Don't slow! Use the acceleration to increase your fire!" Spanner said behind her. For someone using a mini war machine as their personal transport, he was doing a pretty good job at not yelling from how fast they were flying. And he was directing her while monitoring her progress on the go, encouraging her to fly head first into danger.
Right what Reborn might force her to do too.
Thank goodness he wasn't here.
She held her breath as she increased her speed, sending more power to her hands to store enough force for the attack. It was a little bit distracting, having green and red lights flashing on her vision anytime she flared her flames. It was helpful to stabilize her energy but in the long run, it could become annoying. She hopes to be able to do it by instinct, like riding a bicycle with back wheels until she learns how to use it without them.
It was still scary and weird, she didn't know how to work around it despite her intuition gently guiding her. If she shifted in midair with just the soft flames behind her, she could get stuck and hover; she might fall, and become an easy target. But it was her only weapon. As soon as she move her hands to charge the - fire attack? Orange cannon? whatever the name it was - she tried to keep the pressure on her soft flames, using the speed to counter with the power on the front.
What she didn't expect was for Spanner to have her back.
Her concentration was ahead, on the enemies and missiles and the direction of her attack. She couldn't move or turn to see behind despite the creeping feeling of warning, but she didn't have to. The explosion threw her forward, it added fire to her own attack, the heat was sizzling and the smoke thick in the air.
Tsuna exhaled harshly and dropped to the ground.
"Spanner!"
Idiot. The crazy man was all battered and bleeding profusely from his forehead, but he was more concerned about the data in his ipad than the blood pouring down, laying on the floor with the mini-moska hovering as his bodyguard.
"I think you can create an air attack, you just need more flexibility"
"Are you crazy? Take cover"
"And miss the fight? I need proper visual data"
"Are you making a file about me?"
"I'm invested, I need to record your progress"
Taking the moment to breathe, Tsuna shook her head and turned around, looking in all directions to sense where to go next. There was a strong pull on her right side, and a jittering tingle from below. Danger was surowndef her from all points, but the deadliest one was far away from her. She didn't know what it was or who was stalking this base, but just pondering about it had her intuition shivering.
Her best bet was to follow the pull, but with tall concrete walls blocking her path, she would have to blast her own way out.
What a cathartic experience.
She ready her stance, bending her knees and raising her arms. She thought of her kinder past, the sweet memories and what was waiting for her back on their own base, the people praying and supporting them with words and actions, she thought of home and the place she wanted to return.
A breath, and she thought of the anger and agony of having that dream ripped away, of the fear of losing her friends and the pain she was going to cause them. She drowned in the guilt and anger, cursed the unfairness and felt the tragic story crash down with the promise of never again.
Tsuna exhaled, blinked red and green mixing together and let that power go with a roar.
"Now that really needs a name" Spanner said once the stones and metal pieces had stopped falling.
Tsuna huffed, feeling the backlash in her trembling arms that she shook to get rid off. Looking ahead, at least five walls had been destroyed and opened a path. Although it wasn't the best one, it was the safest route for now. Waving a hand to disperse the smoke, Tsuna walked forwards, searching for any signs that could pinpoint where she was. It was then when she noticed a tiny communicator emitting a voice laying among the rubble.
"Hello? Hello? Ginger? Please, respond. What's the situation? Over"
Curiosity has always been her weakness. She knew there would be repercussions and it would give her locaction away, but she couldn't help but pick it up, careful not to break it more than it already was and speak with a cold, detached voice.
"Hello, Irie Shoichi"
"...Sawada Tsunayuuki"
She didn't know whether to be amused or offended that he hung up. It was for the best, and at least now she was certain that if she followed this path, it will lead her right to him.
"Was that Shoichi?" Spanner asked, looking nonchalant despite patching himself up. Tsuna wasn't going to feel guilty about it.
"Can you track where the communication was coming from?" She asked, showing him the broken communicator and wondered then why her team didn't carry ear comms for when they eventually would get separated. It probably worked to keep distractions out of mind, even if she was dying to know if they were alright.
"I'm not a hacker, but sure" Spanner grabbed it before placing a chocolate bar and some wrapped lollipops on her hand "Here, vitamins. And candy for your sugar"
Oh, right. She was on a thin line of becoming anemic. And this guy figured it out in an hour? Was it creepy? Concerning? Already this person knew so much about her, not only of her physical and mental state, but her powers, health and intentions. It was so easy for him to turn on her, to lead her straight to a trap or hurt her. The mini-moska, while acting more like a housewife with his little oven and candy guns, could very well be hiding a rocket somewhere inside.
"Are you Millefiore's tech guy?" She asked, keeping one eye on him typing and the other one of what lay beyond the rubble she created.
"Just an engineer. I helped build this moving base though" For someone who built it, he apparently didn't care she just destroyed it with no trouble. Thinking of his laid back attitude and ease to volunteer information, she tried to dig for more information as she nibbled on the milk chocolate.
"Do you know anything about a white round machine?"
"A little… That's Shoichi's secret project. Deals with subspace or something like that. Pretty sci-fi. He's currently there as we speak, that's where the last call came from"
"Subspace?"
"It has something to do with the interjection of time and space"
She was not a geek like Gokudera, but she can put two and two together with the right nudge.
"Time travel?" She said blankly "Irie is messing with time-travel?"
Why would this guy who is terrorizing Japan, comanding raids and shooting down Vongola assosiates be interested in something as curiously ambiguous as was dangerous geniunie like time-travel?
Unless…
No.
But why would he…?
"Your flames are leaking, by the way"
"What?" She blinked down in confusion to see Spanner standing up and dusting off his already dirty, green uniform.
"Your body is unconsciously emitting Sky flames wavelengths; you can't see them, but they are there. Like a signal trying to draw things in. Or people; your guardians, in this case. But they are latching on everything around you, and once they make contact with another flame user, they'll try to lure them to you. Try thinking you're not available for courting new elements. It should help stabilize your focus too"
Finally, she thought with bitter relief. Ironic, how the only person who was kind enough - and a nerd maniac who wanted to turn her into his guinea pig but, semantics - to explain how this flames magic jumbo worked had to be from the enemy's side.
It was still vague, but at least it was something.
She just needed to find her friends, she thought with fervor. She just needed to know they were okay. Find Irie, stop him, and get the hell out of here. She breathed out and tried to relax her shoulders.
"That's our exit" She faced the unknown hallway before turning to look at the mechanic "It's going to get harder from here. You're really tagging along?"
"I'm a guilty accomplice now"
Not wanting to waste time arguing about safety, Tsuna took flight. She gave her location to Irie, which means he knew where she was and probably where she was heading. He was waiting for her, that she was sure, but he was going to delay her and stop her by any means necessary it seems. The moving walls and flying projectiles trying to block her were way expected, but he really got creative with the illusions of carnivorous plants.
Too bad for him that she saw right through them right away. It was easy with Tsuna burning the frontline and Spanner defending the back by drawing a portable machine gun to neutralize the missiles. They were a pretty good teamwork, all things considered, but nothing could have prepared her for what was coming next.
Her fight with the phantom swordsman was perhaps the deadliest, most dangerous and intense fight she has ever been involved with. Forget Mukuro's illusions burning her skin, forget Xanxus rage and ashes in her throat; this, this was kill or be killed.
It was an inevitable fight, one she would lose if she tried to avoid but would barely escape if she stayed. Tsuna knew it even before she clashed sapphire stones with a sharp blade. All senses in her mind, blood and body were screaming and urging her to run, her self-preservation wailing that this was no ordinary man, but a predator.
Her arms trembled by the force alone, buckling under the strength and pressure of that blade mere inches from her neck. Gritting her teeth, she pushed, glaring orange fire into the hollow eyes of a skull. Menacing, he wasn't real, but his mist flames cut her skin like razors, opening bloody lines on her face and arms.
Her intuition flared, and she had to quickly drop away from the blade swinging in front of her and the rocket heading her way from the back. The explosion pushed her around, and she tried to control her balance to fly closer to Spanner and the mini-moska, who were stuck shooting missiles aiming at them, but he waved her back.
"Don't worry about me!"
"He's going to kill you"
"Prioritize yourself!"
Spanner was taking his role as a bodyguard pretty seriously, even if they had just met, were on opposite sides and he was stranded with projectiles exploding left and right, he shot and diverted any missiles heading her way, even if it meant taking the burnt of some of them. But he was right, she needed her whole attention for her own defense.
Not a second to spare, her body moved her to the other side of the hallway, barely avoiding a blast and cornering her in front of that humanoid armor. In a blink of an eye, the tunnel they were at blurred and shifted, walls, floors and even the air heavily coated by mist flames that bended reality to perfection, making the already daunting area more dark and confining.
"Vongola Decimo" He spoke to her "Try as you may, our difference in strength is abysmal. I told your guardians the same thing; funny, they had the same stubborn face as yours now. Fools"
"What did you do to them?" She asked, bracing herself for the upcoming attack.
"They're gone"
Liar. And yet, she could feel something; danger and dread, something more than fear surging inside as she dodged and evaded the blade waltz. Daemon and Squalo tried to teach her how to fight with a sword or something similar, but she never liked it and didn't try. She wants to say Kyoya's tonfas were enough training for a close weapon-ranged battle, but it was clear she was no match to him.
Entering HDWM made her become a bit of a daredevil, but what she gained in fearlessness she lacked in experience.
She has never been so overloaded before; everywhere around her was a spike of danger and lethal warning. The contact lenses and her intuition were on par, alerting her of movement in and out of her vision, but the alarm bells in her head wouldn't stop ringing. It was in the heavy blade she barely ducked under, the flying missiles that exploded with her flames, the hot air she breathed; everything.
This Mist Knight didn't give her a second to breathe or even attack, he forcefully pushed and charged at her, deceived her senses with his deadly illusions and scared her mind with his killing intent. It was suffocating, his flames wrapping around her and his mere aura as he hunted her down.
She tried to burn him, to freeze him in the spot to end this battle, but when her flames found an opening and shot forwards, her fist met nothing but mist.
And then there was cold fire crawling on her back.
For a moment, a minute, or an eternity, there was white noise in her ears and black wisps in her eyes. There were no thoughts in her head or whispers, just blissful silence that slowly left her and uncovered her senses. The first thing she became aware of was her breathing- it was hard, loud and painful. Then, there was a splitting ache in her back that was slowly burning into agony.
Choking on her spit, she tried to blink and move, but all she could manage was to shift her head to the side. There was red liquid slowly slithering out. Blood. That was blood, her blood. She has never seen so much coming out of her, no wound big enough to make a puddle of red where she was currently laying on the ground. And like that, her nerves set her veins on fire as her mind connected back on the situation.
"Vongola!"
She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, and curse, and puke and just stop existing, but the HDWM didn't allow it. While her body was bleeding and mind swirling with thoughts, her cognition was imprisoned inside the cage of orange light. Seeing, feeling, but not able to express it. Never before has she wanted to cry out loud like now.
"Byakuran-sama ordered me not to annihilate you. Wounds can heal, bones can mend, so long as I don't kill you, it will be enough to stop you"
It hurts.
"I'll never question his word, you should have listened to him the first time. Maybe then all of it could've been avoided, but you ran. I won't let you escape again"
It hurts so bad.
"Vongola! Can you hear me?! Move!"
She couldn't.
Through the blinding pain, she recognized Spanner's voice shouting from somewhere, frantic, she didn't think he could sound so panicked before. Hissing at the spams in her back, she clawed the ground and bit her lip. It was a bit disorienting, but through the haze, she managed to see something approaching her. Though the heavy armor remained, his helmet was gone, revealing the face of a youthful man with blank eyes staring down at her.
"It truly is pitiful" He said with no real pity. Tsuna really wanted to knock his teeth out.
Before he could take another step, he was hit by a rocket. Tsuna flinched by the loud sound and the hot air that reached her way, but the Mist user simply waved it off, unaffected by it.
"Spanner, you betray us?"
"Your villain speech needs improvement"
Tsuna huffed, in pain, in amusement, in fear that the idiot was going to get killed. His antics managed to divert the knight's attention from her, and Tsuna willed her body with all of her strength to get up. She needed to move. Ignore everything, ignore the pain, the fear and the danger; if she didn't move then it was game over. Her friend's would have risked their lives for nothing and Tsuna would become prey to this wicked play.
She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't.
Let the fire consume you, fall into the embers, let it rot, let it fester. Nothing else mattered, all she needed to do was get up and fight. Fight and survive, find her friends, beat Irie and get the hell out of here. This knight and Byakuran's wishes were of no concern to her, all she needed to do was get up and survive.
Spanner bought her a minute, but it was enough to arch her back from the ground and sit up. She clenched her fists, her gloves stained in red from where they were gripping the ground for dear life. Numbly, she stared at them, and for the first time in years of a road of lonely bitterness and paranoid relationships, she thought: better her blood than anyone else's.
The stains were soon engulfed by the flare of Sky flames that lighted up on her hands.
[burn bright]
The mist knight took notice of her, dismissing a burnt Spanner, who was barely hanging on his defense by just his machine gun and the mini-moska's rockets.
"You're playing a game, child!" He hissed at her Sky Flame blazing.
She was done playing around.
The flames were alive in her, coating and wrapping around her body like bandages a wound, a blanket a scared child, or a mantle a champion. They hugged her trembling body in a protective shield resembling more a beast of pure orange Will than a simple power show. The sensation made her feel safe, as if she wasn't fighting alone anymore.
And that feeling of warm support and utter confidence allowed her to keep burning.
Even if it went beyond her limits, she didn't give up. It hurt, her body felt weak and numb, but the more she broke and clashed against the knight's attacks, the more she fed on those mist flames. She alone wasn't enough, but if there was one thing she has never let go off was to be greedy and use whatever means necessary.
And she was going to take his power.
Without resting or slowing down, she blocked and stored energy in wisps and breaths, slowly gathering as much as she could while she dodged slashes and flew. She wasn't even aware of the new cuts she was gaining, too busy fighting. She knew the flame-cannon attack wouldn't work, not when it required time to charge and this knight knew to take advantage of that.
So she bid her time.
She still glared and hissed at him whenever he got too close or too far from her range though. And she didn't know what he saw in her, but there was a moment of doubt in those empty eyes before they hardened in acidic rage. He met her fists with brutal slashes and matched her burning resolve by becoming more fiendish looking.
It was hellish, every punch was met with a blade, every orange wisp was swallowed by ghoulish mist. Her bones ached and her teeth rattled, he was strong, indisputably so, but he was becoming desperate in an impulsive way, he used the dirty trick of having the figurative and literal figures of her friends choking her; clawing and bruising her body as they pulled her down to an inferno below.
They were illusions, but it still hurt.
"The only way to save yourself, is to kill them." The knight taunted her. "All that weight and guilt, you can let them go. They're holding you back from becoming what you're meant to be. How can you allow them to taint you? Why do you still hold on to them? After all, didn't your own Mist betrayed you?"
"Mukuro is nothing like you!" She snarled, hot fury coiling inside and spurring, it took a lot of resolve to unclenched the fingers from her right hand.
"He killed you!"
"And you're a coward who couldn't kill his own Boss!"
Her intuition was writing a story, tragic and affronted, the more she swallowed his flames, the more she thought of his anger and intentions. Every bitter comment, every harmful illusion, they were born from his own rotten heart, and it seems she hit the mark.
"Don't look at me with those eyes!" He screamed, wounded Will and pride.
This should be enough.
"Your strength lies in your anger" She said and stared at the crying faces of her friends. Mirages of the real person, but these people were not the ones holding her back, they never have. "But you're broken and distorted, I pity you"
"You dare!"
"X-Burner" She said, calm and resolute.
With a whirlwind of soft flames pillowing her descent, strong and bright, all she needed to do was raise her left hand.
She stared at the Ghost Knight, broken in the darkness of his own making. They were two beasts staring at opposite sides of a mirror, letting their anger and resentment fuel their power and motivations. Betrayal, guilt and resolution; but unlike him, who had chosen to lose everything, Tsuna still had something to hold on to.
She breathed, and let the world burn.
.
.
.
She doesn't remember falling, but one minute she was floating, the next she was lurching down. The moment her feet touched solid ground, it was like a bucket of cold water drenched upon her, an invisible force dragging her muscles down and her conscience with it. The HDWM was fading, and when it did, she puked.
"Vongola!" Spanner was stumbling to her side in seconds, grabbing hold of her just as her knees buckled "I got your hair, just keep puking"
"Ngh" Her body shook and trembled as she dry heaved, vision blurring by the tears and colorful spots that were covering her eyes.
"Oh shit. Hey, no, no. Wake up, up!" Spanner shook her, mindful of her injuries but frantic in his movements. A bulky hand handed him a spray, candy and a wet cloth; he had to maneuver the brunette into a sitting position and move without josling her more further to grab the wet fabric and candy, nodding to mini-moska for his assistance. "Thank you"
He waved the cloth under the girl's nose, which immediately wrinkled and then she groaned.
"Vongola, you up? Here, it's mint candy"
"Uggnh"
"Stay with me, can't have you go into shock" He rocked her a little, letting mini-mosca have access to her back to spray the cleaning agent on the wound. He had to hold her down when she hissed at the contact and tried to move. Tried. She couldn't even move her head away from his neck.
"I have antibiotics for your wounds, and plasters. Eat this, it's for the pain, you won't feel a thing in three hours, trust me"
It said a lot how she wasn't even arguing, just parted her lips enough for the pill to slip through before she clenched her eyes shut and whimpered.
"I won't tell anyone you cried either"
It hurts.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
Was it worth it?
This pain.
It HurTs.
She needed-
She wanted-
Reborn.
Healing.
Her friends.
Are they okay?
The mission.
Time and Irie.
And the purring.
What?
She moaned weakly and opened her eyes, vision still blurry. But the haze was lifting and the cotton in her head was melting into sprinkles as she became more and more aware of her surroundings. The pain was fading, she could feel something glued to her back, it felt cold, but breathable, and she could move her head without flinching this time.
At her side, the mini-moska was vibrating. Purring. It was purring, as if trying to calm her by imitating a cat, it was even making cooing noises and emitting soft pulses of warmth from its hands to her chilled body.
A sob thore from her throat, raw and painful, followed by another.
Fuck. Fuck, she almost… and… fuck.
She has never been so terrified before, there was only one time in her whole life where she was petrified at dying, was so close to it, she couldn't even breathe. But Sky flames had saved her then, just like they did now, the only difference being that this time, she saved herself with her own power.
They truly were a magical thing, weren't they? She thought as she sniffled and rubbed her mittens over her eyes, forgetting about the contact lenses there that could have fallen with her tears and rubbing. Spanner didn't say anything if they came out or not, merely patted her shoulders until she stopped trembling.
How embarrassing.
But still, she was grateful.
Feeling a bit more calm, though her heart was still beating fast, she uncovered her face and stared up at the destroyed walls. It was ironic it a sick way how above, just hiding behind the wreckage she created, was a big metallic sphere peeking through.
"Vongola" Spanner grabbed her arms as she stood up, but she removed them gently without looking away from the machine.
"We go up"
Just a little more, she begged her heart. Just a little more and it'll be over.
"At least let mini-moska fly you. Don't strain your back"
There was no arguing on what to do next, Tsuna knew there was no way for her to enter HDWM again, not without a bigger backlash. And while she was probably drugged to feel zero pain, it didn't mean she didn't have open wounds that could get worse if she moved too much. So she let herself be carried for the last step of their mission.
The machine was just like the one in her dream, huge and imposing; but there was something off about it as soon as she got near it, something twisted around the borders, she wouldn't even notice the blue threads gluing the shape together if she wasn't looking for an imperfection.
It was an illusion.
And as they landed on the top level and stood in front of it, Tsuna's thoughts halted in cold dread. If this machine and operation was so important they risked their lives by coming here, then why wasn't it real? What was the real reason for infiltrating then, other than destroying this base?
The answers, laid with the red-haired guy in white uniform, flanked by two very familiar and very annoying Cervello women.
"This could've all been avoided" Irie said, sounding regretful despite his face not moving from the cold expression he was wearing.
"Give me one good reason not to kill you"
"Look to your left"
Too busy with the round machine, Tsuna didn't observe anything else in the room until it was pointed out. Without turning her body, her eyes slid across the room, away from the haunting illusion, from Irie and towards the corner, where a yellowish crystal chamber that was only fitting for a futuristic aesthetic was connected, and in it, unconscious and beaten, were her friends.
Lal looked terrible. It was like she just returned from fighting the frontlines while battling an illness at the same time. And wasn't that just right? She must have exceeded her limit, and just like Tsuna, fought until she broke and could move no more.
At her side, older Ryohei hair was matted in blood, his fingers were mottled purple and black.
Yamamoto was sitting and leaning on the far wall, head hanging low. She couldn't spot any open injuries, but the panic that surged inside her at the mere sight was real and worrying. Gokudera was perhaps the worst in appearance, he was pale and battered, his clothes were burnt and scorched all over with cuts and burn marks.
But he was breathing, both of them were still breathing.
Tsuna had trouble moving her eyes from them, but they slid across to see the condition of the others.
Older Lambo's shirt was matted in burn marks and dishevel, but he looked the least beaten among everyone in there, which sent a pang of relief to her that was soon swallowed by confusion as seeing three new unconscious figures that shouldn't even be here.
Chrome, who was supposed to be in the med-room and back at the base, was curled down on the floor, bruised and hugging a sleeping white owl in a protective grip. How the hell did she get here? Better yet, what of her previous injuries and organs? Why was she even here?!
Older Kusakabe, wearing a black suit uniform and his ridiculous hair style, was looking slightly untidy. But why come here? Was he back up? Did Hibari-san send him? Why didn't he come to rescue them? Although that wouldn't be, he wouldn't abandon his nest. Did that mean their base was secured? But why send Kusakabe?
And the last of them, laying next to Gokudera on the floor looking tousled and a little bruised, was a boy Tsuna thought she wouldn't see in this cursed future. Basil. And it was the Basil from her own time, which meant he was most likely sent to Namimori to investigate their disappearance and was caught in this time war.
God, how long have they been gone? Her mom must be worried sick.
Why were they even here for? If the Vongola rings were all they needed, couldn't future Lambo or Hibari-san come to the past, steal them and sort things over? Why did they have to come fight this nightmare? They were playing a game bigger than them, with the stakes higher than ever and the results deadly than ever imagined. No amount of training could have prepared them to survive a battle like this, not without permanent consequences.
"Wake them up"
There was no bargaining as Irie did as she asked, with the press of a control button, the chamber hissed white smoke,
Some of them started to wake up, some of them didn't.
And she was still wearing both contact lenses it seems, because as soon as her glare shifted back to the perpetrator, Irie was immediately locked as a target. She has never seen herself when she enters HDWM but that one time in the pool incident, so she couldn't have known that her eyes flashed orange whenever she felt too much without the need to ignite the flames.
But Irie paused when he met her burning glare, and that alone brought vindictive satisfaction when her friends started to move.
"Fuck, my head"
"Where…?"
"Chrome-san, are you alright?"
"Guys" Everyone turned to see the brunette staring at them from outside, but they weren't expecting to see her in that poor state either. Wounded, tired, with blood maring her face, and wearing an oversized jumpsuit that had seen better days.
"JUUDAIME!" Gokudera sprang up, but his hands hit the crystallized wall instead, which didn't bulge no matter how much he banged his fist on it.
"Signorina?!"
"YOU!" Lambo yelled and pointed an accusing finger at Spanner, who had been standing very close behind her in case her knees buckled. With their matching jumpsuits and their ruffled appearance, one could only wonder what happened to them. "YOU HENTAI! What did you do to my nee-chan!?"
"Why do you kids insist I'm a pervert?"
"If I may" Irie grabbed their attention back to him. Most of them bristled at his sight, while Basil remained confused and Chrome expectant, Tsuna was more focused that Yamamoto and Ryohei had not yet woken up.
"Irie Shoichi!"
"Cervello! Why are you with Millefiore?!"
"We don't serve a side, we serve the World. And you, Sawada Tsunayuuki, have misused the power bestowed to you. We're here to claim it back"
Not too long ago they were praising her and putting on a ring she did not want on her finger, and now they were regretting their choice?
"You bastards! You have always been against us!" Gokudera exclaimed.
"Please cooperate. Any form of resistance, and your friends will perish at our hands"
One of the Cervello was holding a remote control, the other a bunch of silver jewelry. They had a gas that put them to sleep, a gas to wake them up, and she was sure there was a gas that could poison and kill them too. And not only that, but they had taken all their rings and weapons from them, leaving them defenseless and powerless against their threats.
"Sawada, don't hesitate!" Lal ordered her, her voice carrying the command that whatever happens, the mission was still on, and Tsuna was the only one left standing with a choice.
But… something… was wrong.
And something was holding her back from speaking the truth.
Even as Irie talked about the round machine and confessed that he was the one that brought them to the future, that he was responsible for holding their future selves captive inside to prevent a catastrophe and used that knowledge against them, she let him fool them. She already knew that destroying that machine would mean bad news for them, but why this shadow game? What else was she missing?
"Why would you take us prisoners?! Shouldn't you just kill us in the past if we were that much of a threat to you?"
"Time is linear, you mess with the Past, you change the Future. If your future versions attempt something in your timeline it will drastically change our future to a point of imminent collapse. We don't need to change it yet, all we need, is your Ring"
"To what end?"
"To destroy the Timeline and create a new World" Irie said, staring at Tsuna. "The Vongola Rings, The Mare Rings, and the Arcobaleno pacifiers. The 7 pieces of 3 sets that allowed the creation of this World. Unite them, and you have access to everything in the Worldline"
"Three circles of seven..." She whispered, connecting.
It fell on her like a snow storm, ice hitting and piercing her very soul in a wave of realization.
"The Tri-ni-sette"
If one falls…
Then they all fall together.
And wasn't that what happened?
Tsuna died.
The Vongola Rings were gone.
The Arcobanelo were dead.
Their pacifiers lost.
And Byakuran…
The world was collapsing; to mend it back together, they needed all the pieces.
They needed the key.
The Sky Arcobaleno from this timeline.
And Tsuna.
"You understand" Irie said, nor his face or voice giving nothing away as he extended a hand towards her "Don't make this any more harder. Hand over the Vongola Sky Ring or your companions will die"
"Don't, Sawada!" Lal shouted. "Just finish him!"
"But..."
"Juudaime, don't worry about us!"
Tsuna exhaled shakingly. They were stuck between a wall and a sword, cornered and one move away from checkmate. They already lost the Storm, Mist and Rain rings, was it mercy that Lambo and Ryohei haven't shifted yet? That Hibari-san didn't come? But what was stopping Irie from changing them now? If he was recollecting the Vongola rings, then why hasn't he called for all of them yet?
Something wasn't right.
There was something missing, something important.
"We'll do this the hard way then" One of the Cervello spoke "Sawada Tsunayuuki, you have three seconds. Chose, your friends or the Ring"
"What?"
"Don't listen to them, nee-chan!"
"Three"
"Juudaime"
"Wait"
"Two!"
"Sawada!"
"Nee-chan!"
"I-
"One"
"Sawada, don't!"
They weren't joking. The threat was real. The danger was there. Her intuition screamed, ranged and knew that if she didn't surrender the Ring, they would kill her friends tight the seconds. But Tsuna hesitated, one hand gripping the other. She hesitated because something wasn't adding up. Or was that her selfishness surfacing?
The truth that she didn't want to let go of the Ring.
The truth that she was too scared to decide.
Thankfully, Irie chose for her, just as her intuition flared and everything fell into place.
-bang-
Fucking bastard.
"Irie-sama?" Cervello groaned weakly as they fell to the ground, scattering the rings and boxes with clanging sounds that resonated loudly in the room.
"Don't think bad of me. I only put them to sleep" Irie shifted as he tucked his gun away, messing with his hair in a nervous manner that completely wiped away the stone-cold expression he was wearing before. "I know this might be unbelievable, but I'm actually on your side"
"What?" Gokudera balked.
"Plot twist" Lambo droned.
"Don't trust him so easily, Sawada! It could be a trap"
"Wait, please let me explain" Irie said, knees trembling as he raised both hands in surrender and looked at her with pleading eyes. "Up until now, my actions were being monitored by cameras and everyone here. But you guys destroyed the place, Cervello was the last obstacle so I'm finally free to move around"
"Why should we believe you!? Juudaime, be careful!"
"The need for the Vongola Rings is true. But there was a plan-
"I know about that plan. My question is, why did I trusted you?" Tsuna interjected, and it was amusing to see him pause, to blink in confusion, breathe in surprise before it drew into realization.
"I'm on your side" He pleaded again, honest and a bit desperate "Believe me"
"I know I can, but why?" She stressed. Because it was one thing listening to her intuition and knowing that she can trust this man. It was a very different thing to actually trust him with her own free will.
"Because I have to fix my mistake" He explained "A long time ago, I- well… in your time, I meddle with the timeline by changing its course, not once but many. And my interference allowed Byakuran-san to gain cognition of the World axis. Because of me, he gained awareness of the parallel world's and awoke the power to traverse them. I thought he was just curious like me, but he changed one day; like a flip. He was… I want my friend back, but in the greater scale of things, I want to stop him. I can't do it alone, and neither could you"
"So it's your fault for all of this mess?!"
"No, please wait. Byakuran-san was always meant to awoke those powers, I was just the catalyst-
"But you still let so many people die!"
Tsuna stopped listening then, her mind focusing solely on one thing because somehow, someway, Irie Shoichi managed to fool her intuition. Somehow, Hibari Kyoya learnt how to fool her hyper intuition too into a sense of serenity and comfort and string her along like a fool to fall for this charade. And that betrayal was utterly heartbreaking.
She wanted to throw up again.
"I know it looks bad, and I'm truly sorry for all the hurting, but this was the only way for the plan to work"
"Then what was the plan?!" Lambo yelled, no longer patient "You say you're on our side, but why did she had to die!?"
"The plan was to fool Byakuran into making him believe Tsunayuuki was gone. Without her and the Vongola Rings, there was nothing he could do but wait for the time machine to be built" Irie started explaining, becoming more and more nervous as he continued; Tsuna could guess why. "We used that time to move our pieces and set the stage, but Rokudo Mukuro found out and jeopardized the operation"
"Mukuro-sama?!"
"He didn't trust anyone else to do it, and for a while, I thought… he, I- I don't understand why he did it, but by the time news got out of Tsunayuuki's death, the plan was already in motion. But even while imprisoned, he took over and played both fronts, acting as Byakuran's spy to steal information and messed with my mission of bringing you all here. It made my job that much harder, not knowing when he would trigger the machine in the past, I had to be ready and alert 24/7 to activate the machine in this timeline without grabbing more attention. It was a nightmare!"
So basically, future Mukuro was being a vindictive bastard.
Not that Tsuna blames him.
"Mukuro is locked in prison, how the fuck would he use the bazooka on us? Besides, Juudimae would know if he acts out!"
She would. But his presence became muted after that last dream, before time broke.
"I really don't know how he's doing it, he's a wildcard, but I had to work with what I had. The plan, was to make the Past become stronger so they stand a chance here. I did not take into account your level of destruction in such a short amount of time. You might not look at it this way now; but that strength and those attacks, they were of the same magnitude as your future versions. This operation was the push for you guys to train and gain the experience needed for what's to come"
War
Tsuna understood the logic behind it, had lived it for months under Reborn's tutelage of torture via training to hone her skills. But there was a difference between knowing what she was getting into and trusting the hitman, and letting outside forces manipulate them for their own selfish benefits. Doesn't matter who planned what, they were all guilty.
Tsuna was across the room in seconds and punched Irie in the face.
"You piece of shit!" She snarled, the spark of HDWM threatening to ignite again at the mere anger and frustration she was feeling "Training? Experience? They could have died! We- We were not ready for this! Do you have any idea what a close call it was?!"
"Vongola" Spanner held her back from clawing Irie's neck despite Tsuna still kicking and screaming in his arms.
"-You fucking trash!"
"I know!" Irie cried back "I understood the risk better than anyone, believe me! But there is so much at stake! Not just you and your friends, but the whole of humanity! I had to take the gamble!"
"Then you shouldn't have lied!"
"It was your plan! Hibari-san and I-
"And you thought that was okay!? Let kids fight your war!? You coward!"
"You don't understand!" He shouted with pain and frustration of his own. "This is the only point in time to stop Byakuran. Without you, without the Rings, this world will cave and change your past too!"
"Punch him again, Sawada!" Lal yelled, and Tsuna almost did if Spanner hadn't pulled her back just as she tried to launch herself forward.
"Please" Irie begged quietly, exhausted and worn "I will explain everything. I'm so sorry for lying, and for this. I knew the risks, I tried to keep the damage to a minimum, but with Byakuran's surveillance and Black Spell, I couldn't protect you until the end" He sighed, fixing his glasses that almost broke by Tsuna's punch and pointed at the crystal chamber where the others were. "The chamber is emitting Sun flame spores, it's healing you all as we speak. I'm truly on your side, please, believe me"
And she did, fuck, she was certain he was on their side and will do absolutely everything in his power to help them, but could he be fooling her again? She didn't know what to do, how to choose, who to trust… she was so tired. There was a lot to do, a lot to talk about and confess, but for the sake of everyone, returning to the base was their safest option right now.
Tsuna breathed out, exhausted to her very soul.
"You'll explain"
"Everything"
"And you'll return us home"
"I promise you" Irie swore to her, before finally succumbing to his nerves and falling to the ground in a shaking mess. "I have a transport at the ready with medical assistance. We can leave as soon as you say"
"Won't your Boss notice your betrayal?" Gokudera scoffed, still not buying his act but going along with his Juudaime's choice.
"Byakuran-san is rather occupied with pressing matters in Italy." Irie explained, gaining more suspicious looks. "It's the only reason this mission was executed precisely at the same time to avoid a bigger clash"
"Italy" Lal echoed before exclaiming "That's where they are!"
"Varia" Tsuna breathed, falling into Spanner's grip. And then she thought with a grimace. "Oh, I'm in trouble"
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Here's a little gift! Go crazy. I couldn't attach it to the previous chapter.
check out buy me coffee nyxgalaxy/tstb-my-gift-go-crazy
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This chapter was a bit rushed because I wanted to get it done before I got more busy, but don't worry, I'll dedicate more time to the plot and write individual flashbacks so that we can have more character development for the next phase of the ARC.
Ciao!
