Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.
Word Count: 9163
Part 42: One More Day
Natsume was woken up by her cellphone ringing.
Without much thought she flipped it open and answered, "Buenas, qué pasa?" The words didn't register in her head, but Naito was laughing, before complimenting her on her accent.
"That's really good Sawada! Didn't know you were picking up Spanish, maybe we should practice together sometime hmm~" and she froze as Naito's words made some sort of sense. She shot up in bed, quietly grumbling to herself, ignoring the meow of protest from Emi who had been curled up by her side and had been shoved away by her movements.
"You don't call Longchamp, what's up?"
The boy whistled a merry tune of his making, instead of answering right away. She would love to strangle him, but he was so far away, so she settled for hoping that he pissed off Pantera and that the girl pummeled him without remorse.
"How are things, you haven't really been texting back with updates."
"Things are as good as they're going to get here," Natsume said, pressing her palm against her forehead before running it through her hair. She made a soft 'mou' as her fingers pulled at a knot in her hair and she knew if she looked in the mirror her hair would be some type of wild that she didn't want to deal with.
And people wondered why she kept her hair in a braid or a ponytail. At least it didn't stick up like Tsuna's, but it was still just as thick, at least it was more manageable than her brother's.
Ugh, thoughtless distractions, that's what she was doing. She picked through her clothes, pulling out one of her skirts that didn't fit her short like the others, along with a undershirt and a clean uniform shirt and setting them on the bed. "Todays the last test y'know."
"Ah, that's what Mangusta says, you'll probably see me in class soon."
"Joy."
She would have probably noticed his absence more if she wasn't more preoccupied with everything going on. She had also promised that she would try to get back on top of her physical work, though thinking about it she may have found a way to cover that.
Hopefully either Hibari and maybe Chrome if she decided to go along with what Mukuro asked of her, helped in that end on keeping her on her toes. Kawahira wasn't going to be nice anymore by giving her freebies.
"Bring me something yeah?"
"I may consider it, what does the Prince like?"
"Prince?"
"I know what I said."
Natsume snorted, already used to Longchamp calling her 'kun', "Whatever you think will suit me."
"Ohoo~ My time to make Sawada-kun a pretty prince then!"
"Good luck with that."
"I have to go," the boy said after his snickering died down, his voice taking on a much more serious tone. "Be careful, Sawada-kun."
And he hung up with that. Natsume pulled the device away from her ear, staring as the backscreen lights went black. It was her cat curling between her legs that brought her out of her stupor and Natsume closed the phone, throwing it back on the bed before bending down and picking up her cat.
She held the cats lone orange paw, thumb rubbing the 'pink nubs of cuteness ', "I'm sorry for startling you, how about a good morning snack, hm?"As she passed by Tsuna's room, she knocked her knuckles against his door, "Oi, wake up!" There was the sound of shuffling and as she was heading down stairs the door opened.
"Too early," Hayato grumbled as he walked out like a zombie, rubbing at one eye while glaring at her with the other. She waved at him with Emi's paw, earning a snort from the boy as he turned to go to the restroom and get ready for the day.
/ | \
"Sawada-dono!"
"Please Basil just Tsuna."
The sandy haired teen nodded, "Of course Sawada-dono," which earned a sigh from Tsuna and a curious glance from Natsume. Basil turned to the girl and bowed, "We have not been formally introduced, I am Basil, Sawada-hime."
Natsume was more than a little taken back (it was way too early and she was sure she remembered this boy spoke Japanese in very an old fashioned way, then again, that was probably the memories overlapping or her being weird) at the address, "Hi, um please don't call me hime?"
The boy nodded, "Of course Sawada-san."
Tsuna cast her a disbelieving look, but before he could say anything, Basil spoke again, "You are visiting your friend today yes?" Basil then smiled at all of them, hands clasped behind his back, "Reborn-san called me, I am to be escorting you today if you are visiting the hospital."
"Escort, is that necessary?" Natsume asked as she forced her foot into her already tied shoes, too lazy to bother untying them to put them on normally.
"Yamamoto-kun is under strict care," she felt as if there was more to that, but she had a feeling if she asked Basil wouldn't give her a straight answer. She sighed after succeeding on putting on her shoes, straightening up, hands on her hips as she rolled her shoulders back.
"So I'm assuming we have a just as strict time schedule," Hayato asked as Natsume turned to ruffle through her gym bag and switching out her shoes with another pair that she had in the closet.
Basil nodded, "The car is waiting outside, if you are all ready, we can leave now."
Hayato and Tsuna slipped their shoes on, following Basil out as he led them towards the plain black car that waited for them out front. The ride to the hospital was a quiet one with Basil sitting up front and the three making themselves comfortable in the back.
It ended with Natsume putting her legs on Tsuna's lap, Hayato knocking her feet away before she could place her heels on his thighs. "Ma, Hayato," and before she could say anything else Tsuna got her attention by grabbing the arm she had put over his shoulder and bringing it over his head. He lifted the sleeve of her sweater, his fingers brushing over her forearm as he looked over the now healed over cuts.
"Tsuna?"
"Are you going to be able to play fine at practice?"
Hayato leaned over, noting how faded the cuts looked even if she had gotten them last night, "Yeah," she answered, letting her brother reach for her other arm and giving that one a look over. "They don't really ache; I think I've suffered worse from Reborn and sensei."Here Tsuna gazed up at her, giving her a curious look, and he didn't notice it, though Natsume did, but Basil's as well, "No one's hurting me more than they should, plus I'm able to give back just as much if I'm lucky enough."
"You can only be so lucky," Hayato said, leaning back and slouching against the door, turning his attention to the passing by scenery.
"True, gotta hope I get good enough soon, eh?"
Tsuna frowned, keeping his hands over his sister's. A brief squeeze from his sister had him looking at her again and her expression pretty much asked if he was okay. He nodded minutely, she didn't seem to take that as much but she let up, mimicking Hayato as she too leaned back against the door.
Tsuna looked straight ahead, not at all really seeing where they were going, his sister's words echoing in his head.
'hope I get good enough'
Yeah, he couldn't hope, not anymore. None of them can hope to get good enough, they had too.
/ | \
When they got to the hospital, they were told to wait a couple minutes for one of the staff members. A middle aged woman, dressed down in puppy patterned hospital scrubs came to get them. Natsume felt a chill settle over them as the woman led them, moving to be between Tsuna and Hayato to keep them close just in case anything happened.
The other two didn't seem to notice, but Basil did, the teen noting this to report to his Boss.
They were led up three floors and towards one of the more well-lit rooms in the unit they were brought into.
"He's still sleeping, so don't be too loud," the nurse told them, checking over the clipboard before she put it down and exited the room.
Tsuna was the first to move to the chair that was beside Takeshi's bed, Hayato moving and sitting on the arm rest as Natsume stayed near the foot of the bed. The tanned teen was sleeping, looking a lot more peaceful than the night she had pulled him out of the building. There were bruises on his face that were more yellowish and faded than the dark coloring they should be, along with various bandages peeking from beneath the sleeves and collar of his shirt.
"He looks a lot better than yesterday," Hayato said, arms crossed against his chest, watching as Natsume made her own assessment of the baseball player. "If he had stayed any longer in there, he could be worse off."
"You really came in handy that night," Dino's voice piped up, startling the two, though it earned him a bland stare from Natsume.
"And you were a bit of downer," she commented and if Dino's expression became just a bit more pinched, she pretended not to notice, though she did feel a hint of satisfaction.
"I was only watching out for him, he's lucky he's still alive."
She tilted her head, one brow raising, "Yes…lucky," she murmured softly, fingers reaching and curling into the blanket that hung over the edge. "Dino-san, you do know that whatever energy you put out there has a tendency of shaping the moment."
"Is this that what goes around comes around?"
"No," she answered and then she shook her head with a sigh escaping her. "Similar, but ah, it's more like if you know you're going to fail and you end up setting yourself up to fail."
"Self-fulfilling prophecy," Reborn spoke up, who smirked at the reaction that he received from all of them. It seems even Dino still had his moments where he could miss him, something to be looked into at a later date. "But that's more of how a person deals with it, are you saying that Takeshi set himself up for failure?"
She let go of the blanket, her thumb rubbing against her pointer and middle fingers, "No, but yes? It has more to do with outside forces influencing an outcome; it also depends on the power of the individual to be able to make it actual reality."
Natsume looked at Dino and held up her hands, shaking her head, "I'm not blaming you Dino-san. It's just your vibes that night kind of killed the mood?"
The blond gave her a deadpanned stare, shaking his head, "If that's what you believe, but I highly doubt what I thought and said had anything to do with it." Squalo was just that much of an obstacle; he wasn't called the Second Sword Emperor because it had been handed down to him, but because he took the title from the previous man through pure force and bloody skill.
Very bloody skill.
She gave a tight smile, could already hear Kawahira criticizing him, and nodded, "That is my belief, but it's also yours."
Dino heard, but didn't acknowledge her saying that, instead turning to Tsuna, "He'll be discharged tomorrow morning if he keeps healing at the rate he has."
"Tsuyoshi-san would be happy to hear that," Tsuna said, looking more relaxed, if confused over what had just happened. "Thank you Dino, for all this really, I don't know what –"
The blond held his hand up, cutting off the younger teen, and giving him a kind smile, "Hey, you're my little bro, if I'm able too, I'll help you in any way you can."
"How's Timoteo-ossan by the way?"
Natsume had moved from the foot of the bed, to stand in front of where Tsuna sat her butt just barely on the edge of the bed as she leaned against. The conversation going on behind her was more background noise as she looked over Takeshi. She ended up focusing on the top bandage just above his collar bone and with care to not make it obvious, she pulsed her flame lightly against his quietly thrumming one.
The response wasn't immediate, though his flame did react in turn. It took a couple seconds longer for Takeshi's eyes to flutter open and Natsume straightened back up, smiling kindly down at the baseball player.
"Hey sleepy head," she said softly, getting the attention of the others in the room. "Good dreams?"
The teen hummed, breathing in deeply before letting it out slowly, "Sometimes there's a shark, other times there's this pretty mermaid….I don't know which is more terrifying."
She rolled her eyes, "You can punch the shark in the nose at least, I don't' know about the mermaid," she offered helpfully, crossing her arms beneath her chest.
"You sure do know how to sleep," Hayato commented, jade eyes watching as the baseball player pushed himself up slowly. Tsuna had already gotten up to help straighten up the bed and add another pillow, while Natsume settled once more against the end of the bed, having grown tired of shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
One hand fiddled with the necklace she wore, her thumb pressing against the sharp point of the crystal that was attached to the silver chain. Tsunayoshi was soothed, happy to know that his friend was well and looking a lot better than he had a couple nights ago, Hayato was as calm as he could be seeing that his friend and boss were fine.
Natsume chanced a glance over towards the entrance, where Dino stood talking with one of his men and Reborn. She caught Dino's gaze, but she looked away quickly, tuning into the conversation going on between the boys around her.
She doubted anybody would understand, unless she explained it thoroughly.
But now wasn't the time.
And she still hadn't asked Kawahira.
She barely made a sound as she felt the tip of her crystal pierce the fat part of her thumb, drawing a small droplet of blood.
They still had to get through tonight, Tsuna had to prove himself against Xanxus and insure a win. If not, well, she wouldn't mind going out in a fight.
(At least here she'd have a standing chance, unlike before.)
Part 43: The Hours Drag On
It was nice to get into this state without the aid of the pills.
It was like trying to blink away the fog he sometimes got in his eyes, fuzzy one second, he blinks, and when he opens them again everything is clearer. It's almost surreal how much he feels at peace and in balance, how he can relate everything to his person and everything outside of his person and just understand.
He could understand without having to turn around that Basil was taking a pill; that the sandy haired teen's Rain was oozing out in a flowing pattern over his body, that he took a slight step back before running at him.
At first it had been overwhelming and he had to get used to the extra input he was getting and also accommodate whatever was coming at him with the intention to hurt him.
Not that Basil would actually hurt him.
But the teen didn't pull his punches, so Tsuna tilted his head to the left, his body falling in that direction, palms facing down and with a brief flare of fire that also turned him around, he dodged Basil's strike and Tsuna's own jab to the face was blocked.
A short hand to hand fight ensued, Basil pushing back his forehand and using his height to try to push Tsuna down before he tried to kick him with a Rain imbued leg that would have numbed the right side of his body if it had connected.
He only had five minutes, that was the limit Basil had given him this time around, so that the teen wouldn't be as exhausted as he usually ended up.
Tsuna smiled, one that from far away Reborn recognized as something all the Sawada's did when they were about to get their way or something good was about to happen – it was a half-smile, more of a quirk of one side of their mouth than anything, but they all did it. And then the boy moved, his smaller build letting him get around Basil much faster than the CEDEF apprentice thought he could.
Basil would later on say that he completely blanked out, that one second he was trading blows with Tsuna, he caught the younger teen's amber gaze and then the next second the boy was throwing him over his shoulder, digging his knee into his stomach, the edge of his hand held against his throat, an uncomfortable warmth starting there as the boy slowly released his flames.
"That was good Tsunayoshi-kun."
Tsuna pulled his hand away as Basil's flame dispersed, straightening up and holding out the very hand to help the teen up. (Tsuna didn't say anything, but he was also really happy he managed to get Basil to drop calling him Sawada-dono.)
"You've helped me a lot this week Basil-san," he said, grunting a little at the effort as he helped Basil up, before dusting off his clothes. "Should we try it again in ten minutes?"
The sandy haired teen's hair swayed as he bobbed his head in approval, "Of course, I will be as ready as I can be."
/ | \
"You've been away awhile."
"I was here the other day and I saw you yesterday."
"Of course, of course, tea?"
The beads leading to the back room parted, making a rain stick-like sound as they clacked against each other, soon followed by Natsume's bags hitting the floor with a dull thud and then her rustling about the kitchen. Kawahira refrained from rolling his eyes, though he did huff lightly when he heard the undoubtedly familiar sound of his student cracking her back as the bones popped and she sighed in content.
"You're going to hurt yourself one of these days," he said over his shoulder, for once comfortable at the counter, if only because he had switched out his regular stool for a more comfortable looking one that Wonomichi had dragged in the other day.
The beaded curtain jingled and he saw the amused look in his student's face, "I can deal with hurting myself."
This time he did roll his eyes, turning his attention back to the small book he was writing in to keep track of the sales of the day, along with adding up the numbers of the overall funds. There was a dull chime and without much thought the sign on the door flipped over to display 'closed', the next five chimes that followed had the lights going out, a corner of the room that had been messed with by a pair of young children righted itself, the clothes rearranged themselves to the order he had them in, the blinds on the door unfurled, and the sense that the shop was as safe as it was going to be let him know that his protections had gone up.
He closed the book, putting it away in the drawer just beneath the register, and then made his way to the back room, where he saw his student going through his fridge, already chewing on a banana as she took out a few ingredients to make herself a sandwich.
"Why does this all have to smell like this," her nose twitched and the white haired man only poked the back of her head.
"That is a question for which I do not have an answer."
"It smells terrible sensei."
"Yes, well if your sensibilities do not like it, find something to mask the scent."
She made a sound similar to that of the kid from the grudge as she closed the fridge. A bad idea as she inhaled while she had been eating a piece of banana and nearly choked on it, "Watch me," was all she managed out.
Kawahira rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers to get Natsume's attention and pointing to the cupboard right beside the fridge where he kept on his herbal teas and blends. Already knowing what he was asking for she pulled out a jar and handed it off to him, "A step in the right direction for those lotions of yours, no?"
Natsume only grumbled as he uncorked the jar, holding it out to her so she could decide how much was enough for her that day. Five pinches of the herb had been the amount she had drank the first time and it had been enough to make her drowsy, so she put in the same amount.
He didn't say anything to her, merely raising a brow as he grabbed at the wrist that held the banana peel, looking over her arms which were littered with healed over cuts and a few fresh bruises. "Make your food, the tea should be done by the time you're finished."
She grumbled quietly as he headed back into the main room, where she could hear him setting up the room for whatever he had planned that day. The sound of a match being struck, the accompanying scent of burning wood let her know what they would be doing today.
She should probably make an extra sandwich for later to make up for the energy she would be losing in the upcoming session.
Unlike what she had done earlier in the week with the small prayer and burning candle, Kawahira was going to put her through the whole ordeal, which would end up exhausting her more than her body putting up against a small dose of poison.
The Order of Reciprocal (or as she called it equivalent exchange because that's all it came down to in the end) something that was often taught in many religions, but under different names and through different attitudes, usually to give unto others as one did to oneself.
Or to treat others how you would like to be treated, which ended up being the same thing, no? She made a face as she thought about it, thinking more if she should add another piece of ham to her sandwich after quickly getting over her previous train of thought.
The kettle was starting to whistle, her time was nearly up.
Nastume honestly couldn't wait for this week to be over.
Really all she wanted to do was sleep.
/ | \
Hibari didn't find it odd that he was able to find the Sawada girl only after she left the market area. She apparently hadn't been expecting him to show up anywhere around her by the way she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Hibari-san?" she broke the silence after it was obvious that he was following her, the little bird that had been nesting in his hair having flown over to settle on her shoulder. Yes he was walking in front of her, but his pace matched hers and the prefect probably had questions over last night, or the previous night.
Or he was doing as he pleased, which wasn't at all unusual for Hibari.
"That Monkey man will be fighting your brother today."
Was he referring to Xanxus like that? She was going to assume yes, because who else could he be talking about?
"Yeesss," the word was a little drawn out, she still felt a little sluggish over the tea and expending her flames on Kawahira's ritual, even if she felt a little bit lighter and better after going through it.
It was still exhausting.
"Hibari-san how is your leg?" he had been hurt and she didn't notice if he had taken off on his own or had gotten the injury looked at. Judging by the way he was walking it seemed he had gotten it healed (though he could also be fronting like he had back in Kokuyo.) She frowned, eyes narrowing when she didn't get an answer from the prefect, the older teen just walking as if nothing was wrong. "I'm going to assume its fine then."
And here would have been the part where she would have loved to lightly tap the back of his knee with her foot to have his leg suddenly go out and see if he could catch himself in time or not. Of course she didn't want to do that, because one she didn't know the boy that well and two that was asking for a fight.
"Hibari, Hibari~" the little bird on her shoulder chirped as they got to the last main intersection before it all just became side streets through the neighborhoods, fluttering from her and back to the dark haired teen.
While she waited for her crosswalk to signal green, Hibari's was giving him the right to go, "If Sawada hesitates, that man is mine," he said to her, just barely turning his head so that he could catch her eye. She rose one brow, mouth pursing before being drawn into a strained seeming smile and nodded at him.
He walked off, not waiting for whatever she had to say.
Natsume watched him go, shaking her head.
She highly doubted Tsuna would hold back, if she knew her brother well enough, all his buttons had been pushed as Ryohei would say 'to the extreme'. The people he cared about had been hurt, she who was not supposed to be involved in this had gotten hurt, and if he even had a clue about the previous two attacks at home, he would be beyond pissed.
Tsuna was currently keeping his temper in check, but even she could tell her brother was waiting for that moment. Compared to her he was much more level headed, he waited and held back, while she just went for it.
And she would be there tonight; though she was sure she had a feeling Tsuna didn't want her there. Kawahira would be there as well to see how well she had taken to the tea and to accompany her in case things went wrong.
Again.
Not that he didn't do anything about it yesterday.
Natsume sighed, first things first though, get home, shower and maybe a nap? She'd have to remember to power a crystal to hold up a clone of herself to finish off her homework, other than that she could catnap for an hour before she had to get going.
/ | \
Tsuna had made off from their training site a while ago, instead of heading home like he said he was, he found himself coming to the clearing he and his sister had made months ago. Unlike the last time he had seen it (the grass and bushes had been burned up, the ground scorched up, Reborn had made for higher ground, but even the trees came down eventually, becoming ashes under the heat of the combined flame of he and his sister) there was more green to it than how they had left it.
It was quiet in the small area, a peaceful atmosphere coming from the place. Tsuna could feel himself breathe a little easier, his shoulders not as tense as he relaxed. Getting to the middle of the area he decided to sit, laying out on his back, staring up at the canopy and darkening sky above.
He felt as if he could think a little more clearly, his thoughts not all hung up on his worries, his fears or his anger. He felt as he did before all of this started, before Reborn ever showed up. Sure he felt more whole now than he had been at that time, but there was a bliss that came with not knowing about the life he had now.
Maybe that's why he was so angry with his father, he had taken that away from them (maybe he was also just as angry, because he felt that in some way his father hadn't volunteered to be a part of this life, that maybe he also had no other choice, but still….his father could get away….he was capable wasn't he?) had taken himself out of their lives for long periods of time, could barely makeup his absence by staying a couple weeks before he had to leave them again.
Now it wasn't just hurting them, it was hurting his friends, people who shouldn't have been involved with this and yet here they were being dragged in. It didn't matter if they were more than willing to do this, to go along with this for him, Tsuna didn't have the right to take a peaceful life away from them.
He closed his eyes, feeling the light sting of the oncoming tears.
He shouldn't be crying damn it, he should be doing something about this.
When he blinked open his eyes again, a tear fell, but his mind was made up.
He had no other choice but to do something.
And for his family and friends, he would do anything – even fight a rage-filled man, who wanted the title and power, because he thought he deserved it more than him. Well, Tsuna would like to see Xanxus try. He would like to see what a man full of anger could get, when he couldn't even appreciate the people he had around him.
Part 44: The Last Midnight Battle
"The final battle is one between not only the Sky ring holders, but the Guardians as well," the Cervello kept talking, not at all pausing to take notice of how those words got a loud reaction not only from Tsuna, but the others with him. "It is to test the Sky, to see how they fight when their elements are fighting their own battles. Will the Skies let their elements fail or will they help them succeed? Will the elements hinder their Sky, or will they prove themselves to them?"
"That's bullshit," Natsume muttered, shocked at what she was hearing.
"Did you honestly believe they would play fair when they were on the losing side?"
"The others have already gone through their own fights, why pull them into another one?"
Plus Takeshi was missing and Lambo hadn't been brought, "They brought the child themselves it seems, I wonder how they managed that?" Kawahira pointed out. He didn't bother looking over his student, already knowing that she would be visibly upset, instead he reached over and put a hand on her shoulder and gave a brief squeeze, "A summons perhaps? They did bring back the Mist girl and the Cloud boy."
"Hibari-san just wants the chance to get at Xanxus," Natsume mumbled, her eyes trained on Lambo who was led towards Tsuna. She was obviously not happy and her brother seemed to be feeling the same by the way his mouth was pursed.
The Cervello nodded to each other, "All the Guardians are accounted for, the match will begin in five minutes, please be at the selected grounds within that time frame."
Natsume watched as Tsuna crouched down for Lambo, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders and told him something that made curly haired boy nod. Lambo held out his wrist to Tsuna, before patting the brunet's face and following the pink haired woman that had brought him in.
"Sensei,"
"Hm?"
"If they can pull this, can't we do something as well?"
Kawahira made it seem as if he was thinking over what his student was suggesting, before shrugging, "Perhaps, wouldn't you want your brother to pull through this on his own?"
Natsume breathed heavily through her nose, crossing her arms against her chest, almost hunching in on herself as she did so, but she didn't say anything. If she recalled correctly, Squalo wasn't even supposed to be fighting, that gave the Varia an extra edge that they didn't have in that old story. There were three grown ass adults, whatever the Mist baby was and the blond teen, people who were obviously better trained and didn't really have much morals to get the job done.
She tapped her finger against her elbow, Kawahira watching her debate with herself internally.
Hayato had his ring that she could probably get too, it had only been a couple weeks since she had made sure to 'bless' it for him as she had done for the bracelet Lambo had. She cursed to herself, Tsuna was without the necklace she had meant to give him for his birthday, but her brother could get by. Chrome could get by with Mukuro's help if he felt well enough and Hibari….well….he would want to get back at these guys for deciding to use his school and tarnishing it.
Ryohei was probably the one she should really be worrying about; everyone had something extra to them, unlike the boxer, whose one ace had been revealed at his battle.
"Last resort, I don't want anyone dying."
Kawahira nodded, once more folding his arms within the sleeves of his yukata, "No deaths will happen today then."
/ | \
The seconds passed by slowly, the five minutes nearly up and Tsuna didn't know if he wanted the time to come any sooner or if there was a way to pause time. His opponent sat a ways away from him in a throne like chair (and he could almost hear Natsume making a smart ass comment about it), looking at him as if this was all a waste of his time and Tsuna was nothing more than a bother.
Well.
Maybe.
But had Xanxus considered that maybe he was wasting everybody's time and energy on something that was so selfishly wanted?
No.
Of course he hadn't and Tsuna doubted Xanxus would ever really care to think over what he had done, unless of course Tsuna was able to give him the beat down of a century and send him into thinking over what he had done, which was the plan.
He did have to be careful about it, Xanxus could pull some bullshit at the last second which would hinder his friends and that was something he really didn't want to happen.
(There were a lot of things that he didn't want to happen anymore and he was about to show everyone why Tsuna was the worst person to piss off.)
"You just going to stand there scum?"
"Depends how long you're willing to sit around for."
Ah, and people wondered how he could be related to Natsume when he was considered such a mouse. No, Tsuna was quite capable of being a little shit just as much as his sister could be; he could also pack quite a punch if he really wanted too.
"Poison will be administered within two minutes to the Guardians."
Tsuna grit his teeth, his eyes merely crescents as he smiled at Xanxus. The leather of his gloves was heating up and Tsuna decided that he was done. Without much thought he raised his hands and did the kid like 'finger gun' that Xanxus was about to scoff out, only for a ball of orange flames to come his way. The scarlet eyed man leaned down, giving the smoldering part of his chair a casual glance before flicking it back over to the brunet.
"The fuck you think you're playing at trash?" If he wanted to compare guns and power, Xanxus was going to show him what that really meant.
"I'm not playing, Xanxus."
As he stood up, Xanxus couldn't help but laugh, head falling back as he did, and moving just as Tsuna did, if not quicker, he pulled out his own gun and shot at the teen, who ducked down, feeling the heat of the shot against his neck as it exploded above him, "Let's fucking go then."
/ | \
Reborn watched as Tsuna and Xanxus' flame clashed together, a high pitched whine coming from the pair as their flames rubbed up against each other. (Kawahira cringed at the sound of discord, hearing it echo long after the explosion that resulted and sent both fighters back. It was a horrid thing when flames couldn't live amongst one another, it disturbed not only the flame holders, but it seeped out and encouraged chaos to spring up from the world itself.)
It was discord itself that began the end of his people, with humans fighting and going against one another, trying to prove themselves the better flame user than the other (and the most powerful and so on and so forth, when in reality it was the way the person handled their flame in its most delicate state.)
It was unsettling after that, watching Tsuna and Xanxus fight and it was interesting to see how those who were connected to the Skies reacted to the distress that was created.
Squalo was already headed to where the Varia boss was situated, wanting a front row seat of the battle. It was something only Kawahira picked up on as the Varia members slipped up the angrier their Sky got when Tsuna kept dancing around or sending back his own glancing blows. Leviathan had already slipped up and young Lambo (who was accompanied by Hibari, surprisingly) took a cheap shot at the Lightening, returning the power that Leviathan had sent to him like he had the first time they fought.
It was sloppy, the poison long since having been injected into him and as Levi made his way shakily over to the six year old who had collapsed after that last redirection, Hibari swooped in, taking advantage of the older man's shakiness and knocking him out cold.
The crack that followed that hit was sickening to hear, Hibari didn't care as he snagged the ring around the assassin's neck and made his way over to Lambo, joining the kid's piece with that and then pressing it against the little round nitch in the watch they had given the kid.
(Natsume's respect for Hibari rose as the prefect then picked up the already weak child and brought him along to the next area that he was going to haze through, even though it probably wasn't Hibari's own words fuck these guys.)
Mammon had drifted away from his area, dragging Chrome along with him as the girl had already succumbed to the poison that had been injected into her, heading towards where Belphegor was. The Prince was having a pretty fun game of hide and seek with Hayato, who was breathing heavily as he ducked around the classroom he was in, using the desks as coverage from the incoming blades.
Lussuria had been one of the first of the Varia to fall, being forced to fight even though he could barely stand up straight. Ryohei had taken pity on the man at first, but found out the hard way when the man took advantage of his hesitance and nearly knocked him out.
The cut that bloomed and bled freely on his cheek, stung and as Ryohei ducked beneath Lussuria's punches and kicks, who realized he could only wait until the man slowed down or left himself wide open to attack.
Tsuna's guardians would be fine, Reborn noted as he focused back on his student, who he wanted to kick in that moment (Tsuna you idiot move! Don't just stand there and watch as Xanxus comes at you! Do something!) The only thing the arcobaleno could do was watch as the flame on his student's forehead blinked out, could only listen to Xanxus' crow of laughter as the boy finally gave in.
(Kawahira placed both hands on Natsume's shoulders, leaning down and telling her to just watch, his own eyes not straying from the brunet. The white haired man felt the goosebumps rise on his skin at the light pulse that his student's brother's flames were doing.)
The boy seemed to have understood something beyond what any of them could comprehend and it showed his birthright – the intuition to just know and understand a person by just fighting them. A gun shot went off, sounding like a canon as an explosion of red and orange fire charged towards the boy and everyone that was watching could only hold their breath as the fire bore down on Tsuna, hiding his figure from view.
Part 45: Birthright
With every glancing blow, with every burn and rejection, Tsuna was understanding Xanxus. Xanxus' flames burned brightly and were hungry to take and destroy. He honestly didn't get why, but he understood.
As he laid there on the ground, his skin tingling from being so close to such scalding power and trying to hold it quietly, Tsuna breathed. His hands were crossed over his chest, palms facing up, fingers curled tightly into the meaty part of it. He felt as if he could drift off to sleep and he really wanted too, but he couldn't, not yet at least. (For a split second he was kind of happy he had made the split decision to coat himself in his own flames, if not he'd be naked and he'd rather not have to continue on like that, he had enough of that when Reborn made him prance around those few times in his underwear.)
Okay, he needed to focus, he was getting up in his thoughts and that wasn't something he should be doing at all. The sound of gravel crunching beneath someone's feet reached his ears and he assumed Xanxus was approaching him, the sound of clothing rustling as someone bent down and there was something warm being pressed against his forehead.
"Eyes open shit stain," Xanxus ordered and with a deep inhale Tsuna opened his eyes to meet a scarlet gaze that was going to happily burn him alive. The man gave him a sharp, toothy grin, his finger off the trigger of his gun, and Tsuna wouldn't doubt that he could pull that thing as fast as Reborn could. "Should have given up in the first place, wouldn't be dying like a dog."
Tsuna didn't know if it was his heart he could feel beating or it was his flames, "Woof," he said a little shakily opening up his palm and the flames that he had captured earlier released, earning a shout from Xanxus as they bore down on him, not at all caring that he was their originator. They were hungry and ready to burn and destroy; it was what they were created to do.
Eyes blazing a brilliant amber, Tsuna moved, lunging himself at Xanxus, both his palms pressing against the man's chest, snagging at the shining half ring around his neck, which his fingers clenched around while his pointer fingers and thumbs formed a triangle. There was a howl of rage that accompanied what came next, the sound echoing even after Xanxus' body froze in place.
"How the fuck did you manage this?"
Tsuna breathed heavily, stepping back and keeping Xanxus and now Squalo in his view, though he didn't answer the question. How could he just say that there was a whisper that just told him to do that, an old voice that had been guiding him in ways to move and do what he just did.
He wouldn't, because that was craziness to say.
Instead he just kept quiet and watched as Squalo stared in what seemed half-concealed horror, taking in the frozen image of Xanxus, seeing his boss' face frozen, mouth open in mid shout. The Sword Emperor never thought he'd see this again, knew that if he would, it would be all of them and not just the boss falling to this punishment.
A snarl left him as he levelled his sword at Tsuna, who took a step back. Squalo took a step forward, winding up his swing before slashing at Tsuna, "Voi! You're mocking him aren't you trash? Don Vongola told you didn't he?"
"Told me what?" left Tsuna stumbling back, even though the sword didn't come close to hurting him. "Mocking him? How even – hie!" This time the sword came a little too close for comfort and he moved a couple paces back, seeing as Squalo wasn't going to be moving from the spot he now stood in.
"Stop fucking lying and tell me," Squalo gestured with his good hand to Xanxus' prone form. "Fucking Nono told you to do this, huh? Old man's always been funny with the way he's treated this asshole."
Tsuna was about to comment that he just called his boss an asshole, but thought better against it (he'd leave the mouthing off to his sister) "I don't know what you're talking about."
"The Sky Match is over. The Winner is Sawada Tsunayoshi."
Tsuna watched as Squalo's nostrils flared, the man not moving away even as the pink haired women approached them. He felt relief as soon as he saw Reborn and Dino approaching, Reborn right away hoping up onto his shoulder and lightly patting his shoulder, "You can breathe fine now Tsuna."
He shook his head, biting down on his lower, his eyes straying over to Xanxus and just staring, "No, I want to know what happened and why it happened."
Reborn didn't bat an eye, though he felt a hint of pride.
The hitman bobbed his head, "Of course Decimo."
/ | \
"Sensei how did he do that, Tsuna's mentioned that he's been doing stuff, but not that kind of stuff."
Kawahira had left as soon as it had been called, Natsume following after him knowing that her brother would be in good hands now and that everyone would be fine (bruised and a little slow, but fine nonetheless.)
The man turned suddenly, bending down so that he could be eye level with her and placed both his hands on her shoulders once again, looking her dead in the eye, "Never do that Natsume."
She was taken back, "The ice stuff?"
Her teacher nodded, pulling away from her and straightening up, "A prison of ice that uses your own flames against you," he said, turning around and leading the way back to his shop. "Think of it like a sealing, but you're both physically and mentally bound, you can only see what goes on around you, unable to interact with your surroundings."
"Tsuna doesn't know –"
"Your brother is a budding, yet very powerful Sky," Kawahira interrupted, his hands slipping within his sleeves. "It is not unheard of for such a person to be able to hear the previous voices of their line, nor is it uncommon for the Mother to aid a good child in the right direction."
"For she gives to those who receive her gifts, especially so to those who give unto her of their free will," Natsume said the last word slowly as she came to the realization. "Oh…oh."
"Hm?"
"I did a small offering the night this all started and Tsuna, well," she floundered a little, gesturing about and he understood without her having to say anything else.
Kawahira paused long enough to turn around and pat his students head, giving the fair haired brunette a wry smile, "What a way to be repaid, don't you think?"
Intermission 17
If it was possible to scream, I would.
Frozen once a-fucking-gain.
By a wet behind the ears, unknowing, piece of shit brat.
Did the old man tell him to do this? I didn't think he'd be right so quick; then again the old man was always full of surprises, coming up with bullshit on the spot.
What else do I have to lose now?
My brothers – even if they weren't by blood, they were my family – are all dead now, the old man might as well just announce to the world that I'm nothing of his, just a random stray he picked off the street from a crazy woman.
I can't even be considered a bastard.
If I could laugh I would, but this fucking ice keeps everything still.
I hate it, I hate it.
I don't know what I hate more, my mother for having made this all possible, my brothers for dying off on me as they did, the old man or the brat.
How about all of them?
…..What about myself?
Shit man, I fucking hate this ice.
/ | \
Two days had passed since, Xanxus and the rest of the Varia were under lockdown in the hospital overseen by a mixture of both Dino's own guards and of Nono's that had been called in. Tsuna was sitting outside Timoteo's room, his elbow resting on the arm rest as his hand cupped his cheek.
The ring rested against his chest, not ready to actually wear one of the first crowning symbols of his future status on his finger. His Guardians followed suit, though he was unsure about Hibari and Lambo (he had a feeling his mother had put away Lambo's ring somewhere safe, while Hibari didn't really seem to care about it.)
Takeshi was already getting up and moving around, had surprised Squalo when the man saw him wondering the floor they were on to find his way down to the kitchens. His friend had very cheekily in a very Natsume like manner, waved his fingers at the long haired man, while winking at him, before getting escorted by a blond man to the kitchens.
Hayato had been off in his own room, having finally finished playing catch up with his homework (and probably getting lectured by Shamal and passing out numerous times from having to be around a very worried Bianchi.)
Ryohei had just moved back into the room he was sharing with Takeshi and Hayato, Kyoko and their parents having stopped by earlier to visit him after his 'sporting' injury.
Chrome had left last night as soon as she had been given the all clear and the medication to make sure the poison didn't have another reaction in her system and had left with those two from Kokuyo before the doctors could begin questioning her about her previous injuries.
Or at least that's what he had overheard.
"Nono is up, he wishes to speak with you Tsunayoshi-kun," Basil spoke, Tsuna looking up at the boy briefly before nodding and getting up. The sandy haired teen led him to Nono's room, posture straight, hands behind his back as he glided through the halls, while Tsuna himself found himself making some sort of nice, whether it was the sound of his clothes or his footsteps tapping loudly against the floor.
One of Nono's own Guardians stood at the door (how said Guardians got here so quick Tsuna didn't know), the older Mafioso nodded, one look dismissing Basil who turned back, while he gestured for Tsuna to go in.
Already in there was Reborn, along with another Guardian, sitting up with a hot drink in his hand was Nono who gave him a kind smile.
"It is good to see you well my boy," the old man opened up with, taking a sip from his drink before setting it down on the lap tray in front of him. "First and foremost, I would like to thank you for saving my life, it is a debt I don't think I can ever repay –"
"You'll have to thank Natsume, Timoteo-ossan," Tsuna noted the slight bristling that the Sun Guardian did, almost similar to Hayato when one of his classmates made a comment against Tsuna.
The old Don nodded, raising his cup to his mouth to hide the smile from seeing his Guardian react and how blasé Tsuna was in addressing him (wasn't ossan a rude way to address someone? It'd been awhile since he last brushed up on his Japanese.)
"Such a good sister you have by your side Tsunayoshi, I'll be sure to thank her if I get the chance to see her," here he sighed, taking a slight moment to think over how he was going to address the next major issue. As much as he had given and cared for Xanxus, the boy - no the young man – had always been a sensitive topic.
And now he had almost cost him the last Heir if he had managed to have his way in the skirmishes.
"I honestly do not know what to do, Tsunayoshi, I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation," to know that Xanxus had been incased in ice a second time, though not by him, unsettled Timoteo a little. How did a boy who knew nothing about the Mafia, nor the techniques and powers of his ancestor know how to do a maneuver that even he had barely been able to do?
"How should Xanxus be dealt with?"
Reborn watched his student freeze up, eyes wide at the loaded question that was directed at him. The room was silent, Timoteo going back to idly drinking his tea while he let the young boy find an answer to his question.
"I would like to know why Xanxus has reacted the way he has before I make a decision," Tsuna responded, looking up at Timoteo whose brow rose at what he was asking of him. "There is a reason for everyone's actions," Tsuna paused a little, remembering what his mother once said, "A tsunami does not come in just because, something triggered it."
A short pause and Tsuna locked eyes with the Vongola Don, "So Timoteo-ossan what was Xanxus' trigger?"
Author Note:
Doing an update before school starts, I don't know when I'll be able to do so again. We're at the end of the Varia arc and the next chapter should be just wrapping up what's going to happen and more interactions between the characters.
The Order of Reciprical is kind of lame I guess, so sorry about that. Honestly this story has been testing me on my creativity and how I use different elements (video games, music, books, etc) as inspiration for these children to use in their fire use. We see it more from Natsume, but Tsuna's also done it a few times (the boy plays way too many video games honestly.)
Uhhhh, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story. It makes me really happy to read your comments and I'm sorry if I don't respond sometimes, but I just honestly don't know what else to say other than a big thank you (and many hugs and cookies and all the great things).
Anyways!
Any weird stuff - wording, or if something doesn't fit because of what's happened previously, please let me know! I do try to keep proofread and go back and read the other chapters to make sure everythings moving along and stuff, but I miss things sometimes.
Other than that, hope you all have a great night/day!
Sorugao