Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.
Word Count: 8159
"Sawada Natsume asked a favor of me," Gamma spoke, earning Shoichi's attention, along with the two Cervello in the room.
"You spoke –"
"I spoke with him because I let him," a different voice left Gamma's mouth, a sly smile giving life to his previously slack face. The blond raised his hand, waving over at the Cervello who fell over seconds after the movement, leaving Shoichi and the Black Spell member alone.
"You."
A crescent moon appeared on Gamma's forehead flashing purple and then a dark gold. The man stepped forward, the sharp grin not at all slipping away, "Oh? Already know who I might be?"
"What did you do to Gamma?"
"A favor for a favor, I don't think he realized what that entitled," the man pursed his lips, casually shrugging as he stopped before him. "Sadly I can't do anything at the moment, but I just wanted to know if it was true, that you were really here…" Gamma trailed off, leaning forward.
It was uncomfortable to have a man lean in so close to him, but Shoichi wasn't about to lean back, even as Gamma's hands reached up and patted his cheek, nose brushing his, "And that it all leads back to you…why am I not surprised."
"What are you talking about."
Gamma pulled back, the hand that had touched his cheek, curling in front of the man's mouth as his brows furrowed in thought, "Oh, Gamma wanted to confirm something, that the past is in the future and what I want to know now, is why the past is tied to you?"
The blond froze, looking over his shoulder at the closed door before turning back around with a sneer curling his features, "I'm not a fool, I know what I sense and I know what I am seeing, consider yourself lucky."
The Cervello were already up and going as if they hadn't just keeled over and Gamma was giving him his usual pissed off look. There was a minute twitch from the man, as he thumbed his nose, before he turned around and left the room.
'I got one of yours~'
"Sho-chan~~"
Shoichi could already feel the knots in his stomach twisting; the tension in his body getting worse. He just wanted to lie down and not deal with any of this.
Still he turned around and gave Byakuran's smiling face a pretty apathetic look, "Byakuran-sama, were the flowers really necessary?"
The cutesy smile only made Shoichi sigh, "How's Japan treating you?"
(No it wasn't and it probably never will. He was between Vongola and Millefiore – either one could end him, depending on who got the upper hand in the next couple weeks. He was neither ally or traitor, just someone that wanted the world to make sense again.
His want to make that happen would eventually lead to his end, be it at the hands of Vongola or Millefiore, Shoichi didn't know.
He was already this far in it and he was damned if he wouldn't see it to the very end.)
Part 61: The Days Pass
(Past)
Chrome stared at the starry night ceiling, watching it waver as young Fuuta lost concentration. When she began to levitate off of Natsume's bed, she curled a little into herself, wrapping the blanket Nana had gifted her for Christmas around a little tighter.
She never liked it when young Fuuta connected with what he called the Ranking Planet, the feeling of being lifted by something unnatural was cold and unusual and always left her feeling colder than she usually was.
"What is to come is a test for you and your family, a time of judgement will befall all, and only true understanding will hurt feelings heal."
Fuuta's usual ranking voice was different, a lot more croaky than the smooth monotone it was when he rattled off rankings.
There was a hiccup and Chrome bounced when she fell back onto Natsume's bed. She used the momentum to make herself sit up to be able to see over the edge of the bed, down where Natsume and Fuuta sat on the floor. Natsume looked confused, blinking slowly as she carefully reached out for Fuuta who held a hand at his throat.
"I…didn't mean…what happened?" the sandy haired boy asked, sounding panicked, his eyes wide as he looked to his older sister.
"Well I can tell that wasn't a ranking," she answered, letting Fuuta scuttle closer to her as he reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. There was a moment's pause and the ten year old got into her lap and Natsume wrapped him up in a hug, one hand coming up to ruffle his hair. "What do you feel now?"
Chrome watched Fuuta's face scrunch in thought as he tucked his head under Natsume's chin , "I feel like I know there's something going to happen…but I don't know what….I don't like it, it's…I'm worried."
"Mmm."
They got quiet and Chrome just watched, not even bothered when Emi came up to her after coming through the window and curling up beside her. Chrome sighed, "I think young Fuuta shouldn't be worried," she spoke softly, but loud enough for the two on the floor to hear her. Fuuta's dark eyes were on her and Chrome tried to smile like she had seen Nana do at the children, "I think if you take it to heart you expect for bad things to happen, just don't give it too much thought."
"Chrome's right," Natsume spoke up soon after, pulling back so that she could look down at Fuuta. "If you feed into it, it'll only get worse, just…take it as a suggestion, but don't take it too seriously, okay?"
Fuuta sniffed, nodding his head, "Can we continue tomorrow?"
"If you want too we can," Fuuta stood up from her lap, not leaving without giving Natsume a hug first. The boy made his way out, Emi following after him, and the two were left alone. Natsume stood up, turning her head and an audible crack being heard. "If that happens again I'm taking him to Kawahira."
"It's just the one time," Chrome trailed off as Natsume shook her head, the girl coming around and sitting beside her. "Oh it's happened before?"
Natsume nodded her head, sighed out a yeah, "So what did you want to do today?
Chrome pursed her lips in thought, "Haru and Hibari-san's birthday is coming up."
"I was thinking of getting Haru a charm bracelet, she liked the one I gave Hana and Kyoko has a similar one too."
"Matching charms then?"
Natsume nodded, half smile curling her features, "To show proof of our friendship, speaking of," Natsume pushed herself up and headed to her desk. She picked up a small box, turned back around and held it out to Chrome. "That's for you."
Chrome blinked slowly, feeling her cheeks burn slightly as she carefully took the box from Natsume and lifted the lid. A silver looped bracelet was in it and like the other girl's, there was a little Japanese doll charm in a red dress hanging from it.
"Oh, Natsume-san I can't…"
Natsume's hands were clasped in front of her, a kind smile on her features, the one were her eyes crinkled shut, "You don't have to wear it if you don't want too, but it's yours Chrome." There was a brief pause, "I'm going to go downstairs and see if there's anything to eat, I'll be back in a bit."
With that Natsume left, leaving Chrome to her thoughts.
'She genuinely accepts you, why do you shy away?'
"…do I deserve it? I haven't done anything…"
The voice hummed, 'Perhaps you think that, but everyone around you thinks differently. We've spoken about this Chrome…'
"I know, I just…sometimes it doesn't feel real."
'Don't be so hard on yourself, you have to heal from what has happened, you'll slowly get there.'
"I want to believe that."
The voice didn't respond and Chrome sighed, unbundling herself from the blanket. She smoothed her hands the front of her skirt as she stood, "Mukuro-sama can be such a hypocrite sometimes," and she left Natsume's room, heading towards where she heard Bianchi and Natsume's voices, debating what they should make with the defrosting chicken Nana had left out.
Maybe one day she'll be able to bring over Ken and Chikusa and they can be a part of this too. They had changed a lot since Natsume had started coming over to Kokuyo. Chikusa and Natsume got along fairly well, Chikusa looking forward to the checker matches, while Ken still had his moments where he just completely ignored her, even though they did banter when the blond was in a good mood.
Chrome waited in the entrance of the kitchen, watching as Bianchi patted Natsume's head and started shooing her out, the girl pulling a face, "I need to watch Bianchi."
"You'll be fine, have a little trust."
That was the whole thing about them wasn't it? Just a little trust.
(Then again trusting Bianchi with cooking could go either way, but the woman was in a good mood today, maybe there wouldn't be a story about anyone rushing to the restroom this time around.)
/ | \
(Future)
Ryohei hadn't expected to see a baby faced Kyoko and he hadn't realized just how much his sister had grown in the last couple years until he was forced to catch her as she threw herself at him. A purple butterfly floated by and he knew the culprit of who had told his sister where to find him. Later on he would thank Natsume as he pretty much carried Kyoko into his room and let her cry on his shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why now?" she had asked, repeating herself until her voice was a choked whisper and she couldn't speak through her tears. "You…couldn't trust me?"
A question he had heard before and that still made him flinch as if he had been slapped harshly, "I'm sorry Kyoko..." was all he could offer as he hugged her tighter, feeling her hide her face into the crook of his neck.
He trusted her with so much, he always would. It wasn't that he didn't, he would never doubt his sister who supported him even though she didn't like his boxing matches, who was able to temper him when he was too excited.
How to tell her that he couldn't trust himself, to hold to his promises to always be there for her, to protect her, when she was constantly surrounded by danger? He had wanted to protect her, had even once tried to push her away so that no one bothered her and would have succeeded in doing so if it hadn't been for Natsume nearly beating his face in for doing something so stupid.
"I can't ask for your forgiveness, but please don't hate me, Kyoko."
The auburn haired girl hiccupped, shaking her head, "I can't hate you Ryo-nii," her use of what she used to call him when they were younger was enough to let him know that he hadn't completely messed up with this younger version of his sister. "I just…I don't know…this is all too much."
Ryohei nodded, resting his cheek against the top of her head, "One step,"
"Two and then three,"
"And eventually we'll get there, don't you agree?"
Kyoko's laughter sounded watery, her breath catching as she fell into a coughing fit, "You still remember that…after all this time?"
"And forget the first place ribbon you won for it? No way!" Ryohei lightly jostled the girl, who straightened up and now looked him in the eye. He reached over into one of his drawers and took out a few tissues and began to clean up her face, even going as far as to lick the tissue when it came to getting rid a of a smudge on her cheek.
That earned him another giggle and Ryohei smiled, letting Kyoko take the tissue out of his hands and cleaned up the rest of her face herself, "No more secrets…unless…you just can't say them, okay?" Ryohei nodded, holding out his pinky and waiting for her to link hers with his.
"I'll try my best."
/ | \
Tsuna didn't know how to feel about his training sessions with Hibari. There was no holding back from the older Cloud Guardian and there was none of that guidance that he got from Reborn when his tutor was starting him on something new.
Hibari pushed and prodded, whatever he expected of Tsuna wasn't clear and it left the fifteen year old floundering and just reacting to whatever Hibari sent his way. It was definitely different from what Bianchi was helping Hayato on and what Reborn was refining in Takeshi.
Tsuna held onto his flames for a second longer, making sure that Hibari was done and once the man began unrolling his sleeves and buttoning them, he released them.
"When will Natsume be back?" he asked, moving closer to Hibari so he wouldn't have to yell. The man looked at him from the corner of his eye and shrugged. Tsuna frowned, "Why does no one know, isn't it dangerous out there?"
"Natsume is capable, or do you doubt her?"
"I mean if something could happen to the older me, something could definitely happen to her don't you think?"
Ah, wrong thing to say, Hibari did not look amused (but he never really did look happy), "Tomorrow same time," and Hibari turned to leave, his footsteps echoing in the big training hall. The door closed a bit loudly and Tsuna decided to slowly make his way out of the room, though he didn't feel at all bad about that jab at Hibari.
It was true wasn't it?
If his older self couldn't be protected or protect himself, how could Natsume be trusted to go around without word of anything that she was doing?
Mew~
The black cat with the orange paw was very familiar, it's large amber eyes blinking up at him, before it slunk over to him, "Emi?" he called, crouching down and holding his hand out to be sniffed by the cat.
There was a chirp, the cat's nose twitching as it sniffed him before she rubbed her head against his palm, "Hey you," he murmured, picking up the cat and holding her up against his chest.
It was always odd when Emi was being openly affectionate, if only because it always happened when he was alone. The cat purred, tongue scraping against his jaw, meowing softly, "I didn't know you were around," he murmured petting the cat lightly.
"There she is," Fuuta's voice came from a distance, Tsuna looking to his right to see the older boy walking up, who gave him a sheepish smile. "I suppose she couldn't help herself if she smelled you."
"Why do you say that?" Tsuna asked and quickly regretted the question when Fuuta's smile slipped. "I'm sorry Fuuta."
"It's okay, Tsuna," the twenty year old responded, reaching over and patting Emi's back. "She must have missed you something fierce if she came all the way from the shop."
"Shop?"
Fuuta realized he had said something he hadn't and before he could correct it, Natsume's voice cut in, "I found some old man to babysit my cat while I'm away," The suddenness of both her voice and presence spooked the pair. They both turned to look at the amused woman who was standing by them with her hands on her hips. "I'll introduce you to him soon enough Tsunayoshi, he's been very helpful."
Emi meowed loudly, earning an eye roll from Natsume who reached over to stroke the top of her head, "And you're too much, really Emi, you had to come here?" Another meow and Natsume sighed, "More than anything she probably sensed you when you came, Kawahira did say she was acting up a couple days ago."
Why did it sting that she was using his full name? Pushing that aside because even Fuuta had given her a queer look, "You've been busy, Natsume?" Fuuta asked, resuming stroking Emi's fur, the cat content to stay in Tsuna's arms than to head for the older woman.
The smile that Natsume gave Fuuta had the young man making an odd sound, going a bit stiff, "Alright then, I'm not going to ask." Well it wasn't really a smile; it was a sharp smirk that wouldn't have been out of place if Hibari had done it.
"Fuuta please gather everyone after dinner, I have somethings that I'd like to give out to the young ones."
"Wait!" Natsume didn't look at him, but she didn't move away, and Tsuna wanted to stand up right then and there and just grab her and shake her. What was her problem? "Natsume, can we talk?" She glanced down at him and none of the ticks he expected of her showed – no sticking out her lower lip in thought, her even biting down on it – just a stoic, blank face.
"Afterwards perhaps…"
And she left, her booted heels not echoing in the hallway as Tsuna would have expected them too. When he turned to look back at Fuuta, the young man seemed dejected, his head leaning into Emi's nuzzling as he had taken her from Tsuna.
"It's best not to push her, Tsuna-nii," Fuuta murmured, letting Emi nuzzle against his neck after taking her from Tsuna. "Natsume as distant as she has been, won't leave you or any of us behind because..."
"...family sticks together."
Fuuta's smile was bittersweet and Tsuna couldn't even manage a half smile. This interaction had been one of the more exhausting ones and he had only been around the older version of his sister for a few minutes. Everyone else (well, mostly everyone, Hibari disappeared to wherever it was he went too) tried to keep the spirits up.
Yes the situation they were in was bad, but they had gone endured a bunch of bad stuff.
So why was this all sitting heavily now?
Part 62: Discussions
"What are you playing at?" Natsume tried her best not let her anger color her words, but Kyoya knew her too well after so many years.
"What –"
"I met Shoichi, I just talked to Tsunayoshi right now, what are you playing at Kyoya?" Natsume all but hissed out, keeping her distance from him instead of approaching him and grabbing him by the neck like she wanted too.
"I am playing at nothing," Kyoya responded, lifting his cup to his lips and taking a sip of the hot tea. "I would consider controlling yourself Natsume."
The short haired woman snarled, hazel eyes shifting colors, "Once all this is solved, I'm going to make you regret everything."
He would let her have that. Kyoya watched as she headed out, slamming the shoji door behind her. He and Tsuna had both known the consequences of what could happen when they had planned this all out. They had considered every option, but just going into hiding wouldn't be enough for Byakuran to back off Vongola.
Someone had to actually die and in this case Tsuna had offered up his life to do just that. Natsume was the first one to know outside of those present that her brother had been killed and the Varia had had a hard time reining her in when the bond between her and her brother snapped. It had not been pretty from what Squalo had said and the moment Natsume was able to leave the Varia, she had gone off with Malana to who knows where until Kawahira was able to tip him off.
(And though he had been tipped off, Natsume wasn't at all surprised when he showed up.)
For the brief moment he let himself get lost in his thoughts, drinking his tea as he did so. Lal and Ryohei should be coming in soon, Natsume should have calmed herself by then and then they'd be able to discuss what would be happening.
If anything Lal's itch to go out and head to the Millefiore base would either be put to a stop or fully supported, depending on how Natsume decided to handle the situation.
"Lussuria said they would try to send a few of their people to help out with the situation, but the Varia can only lend out so much help without creating holes in their own guard," Ryohei said, swirling the small saucer of sake in his hand before taking a drinking. "Millefiore doesn't just have it out for this base, but the ones out in Europe and those of our allies."
"Speaking of our allies," Lal Mirch picked up, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table top. "Communication with the main branch and CEDEF has been cut, so has the ones with the Longchamp's and the Cavallone have been quiet."
"They're all accounted for, no need to worry about them just yet," Natsume answered, uninterested in the current conversation, but being a part of it since this had been one of the reasons why she had been away.
Well her reasons, she hadn't exactly told anyone else that.
"Our biggest worry is dealing with the young ones and making sure they're ready in case of any emergency, these mock fights and training sessions won't do them much good in the long run."
"What do you propose then?" Kyoya asked, barely glancing down at the drink Ryohei had nudged over to him, completely ignoring it instead.
"A test run to see how well this all sticks with them," Natsume answered, drumming her fingers against the table top, though she didn't look at him as she spoke. "I ran into Lightening Gamma a few days ago, he doesn't realize it, but he's mine now.
Figuring out who exactly is there won't be hard and along the way we can pick up some nifty information."
So that's how she had figured it all out, probably not from Gamma herself, but she must have done something to be able to meet Shoichi to be able to tell that something was up.
"You can add Glo Xinia to that as well," Chrome's voice filtered in, a transparent version of her appearing beside Natsume. The image of her held up a tiny bauble in her hands, looking more interested in it than paying any of them actual attention.
"Gianni should have received a signal from Kokuyo Land; the alert should be coming to you all soon."
"Please don't tell me you let yourself…"
"I'll be waiting for you all to pick me up," Chrome answered after Natsume trailed off, her form dispersing. Natsume reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, grinding her teeth to keep herself from cursing out.
"This is what you get for influencing her," Kyoya said in a suffering tone of voice as Ryohei laughed at Natsume's reaction. "And let me remind you, she may not be Rokudo, but he chose her for a reason."
Natsume's brow twitched, one hand coming up to rub at her temple, "Shut. Up. Kyoya."
Lal cracked a little, while Ryohei merely hid his laughter by finishing off his drink. Natsume merely pressed her lips together, ignoring the pang of nostalgia that hit her in that moment.
/ | \
"Kyoya can't be here right now because of reasons," Natsume began, earning an odd choked sound from Ryohei and a sigh from Lal Mirch (so what if she had given the man a migraine? He deserved it.) She stood at the head of the table, a few boxes stacked on the table, which she gestured at, "I brought you all clothes and snacks that you might enjoy and be more comfortable here."
With a light snap of her fingers the boxes moved to their designated person, Natsume taking a seat as they all began to go through them, before bringing up her next topic. She waited until one of them took out a small purple, overly ornate box with black webbing.
"Those boxes are for emergencies only," she spoke up, gesturing with her lips to the box Takeshi had pulled out. "They are not to be used lightly."
"What do these do exactly?" Hayato asked taking his own out, noticing that although the webbing was black; it flashed a dark red when his fingers had touched the box.
"Protect you when you can't do it yourself," Natsume answered, sitting up and leaning forward onto the table. "Onto more important things, you have all heard of the plan to infiltrate the Millefiore base, yes?"
Getting nods from the young group she continued, "Chrome let herself be captured for this information; she can get herself out if you all decide against it, but this is where we will find out what exactly the Millefiore is planning and if there's any information on their behalf on what's keeping you all here."
"If you all decide to go, we will move in five days," here she looked at Tsuna, holding the young teen's gaze, "The decision will be left for you to make Tsunayoshi."
Oh, that was an odd feeling.
He never expected the pressure to be put on by his own sister and yet here it was happening. He nodded that he heard her and he realized he had all night to think of his answer, but he already knew what it was. Their Vongola Rings were the only ones in existence, they could do something about this situation that the older them couldn't have done.
His sister wouldn't also be pushing them into a situation like this unless it was necessary and it wasn't as if she was just leaving them to it.
"Will you be going with us if I'm for it?"
The sharp smile his sister gave him made Tsuna want to shiver (why did it remind him of Xanxus?), "I was of the mind that you wouldn't, but if you'd like me too….why not?"
"Your help would be appreciated if you go Natsume," Ryohei butted in, holding Natsume's gaze, before looking at the others. "We'll plan this accordingly so everything goes as smoothly as it can."
"I suppose that's all," Natsume stood up, rapping her knuckles against the table top.
"Until tomorrow then."
We can talk now.
The sudden whisper in his ear made Tsuna jump, but he got up without any further prompting or explanation to anyone else and ran to catch up with Natsume. He caught up with her easily, a silence falling between the pair and he wondered if he should say anything.
What exactly could he say?
Natsume opened a door and Tsuna stared wide eyed into the darkly lit room, watching it come to life as little orbs of amber flame popped up and lit the room up, revealing plush red carpet, shelves upon shelves of books, jars filled with herbs, candles, and odd little knick knacks.
There was a desk that was topped with notebooks and drawings, beside it pushed up against the far corner was a decent sized bed with a pile of blankets on top of it.
She led him to the middle of the room, gestured for him to sit down on the carpet as she did herself and for a few minutes she just looked at him. It was hard to read this Natsume, just as it was starting to get hard to follow along with his own sister's thoughts, he couldn't help but flinch when she reached out to cup his cheek.
Natsume apologized, but didn't take her hand back, instead moving it down to grasp at his hand. The smile she gave him was pained and Tsuna couldn't help but think how much he hated his future self for making her feel like this.
"Mama and Papa, Mama's family, I've made sure they're as safe as they can be, so don't worry about them," she brought up, looking down as she pulled his hand to her face, pointer finger tracing over the lines in his palm. "Now, you wanted to talk…you can talk."
Tsuna blinked, knew he hadn't missed the hitch in her voice and moved, wrapping his arms around her neck and hugging his sister as tightly as he could. Natsume froze and slowly wound her arms around his middle, forehead resting against his shoulder as her shoulders began to shake.
There was no connection, no familiar ping, or warmth between them, just the scent that reminded him of childhood. He had assumed that it was just the distance between them that made her feel so empty and cold, but no, that was the truth.
"I'm sorry, Tsume."
To see that she was still standing strong after being broken for who knows how long, really showed who she was.
"You shouldn't be sorry about something you haven't done," she murmured, not pulling away from him. "You can't be sorry for things like this Tsunayoshi."
"But he is me, I will be him one day, and for that I'm sorry."
Natsume straightened up, looking at him and he felt bad for the tear streaks on her face, for how red her eyes had become and the obvious hurt she was in. "That was wise for a child to say," she said, voice sounding a little rough. "But I've learned that young ones like you have some pretty interesting insight."
The smile she gave was small and sad, but definitely genuine, "Now you wanted to talk, so how about we do that."
Part 63: Playing the Damsel
Chrome had half a mind of taking a leaf out of Kyoya's book and just killing the idiot before her. Glo Xinia wouldn't stop gloating about her defeat at his hands. She had assumed that being his captive would have her being tested by him, but all he would have his people do was dressing her up and presenting her to him.
"…are you listening to me, my dear?" The man before her asked, one thin brow raising as he demanded an answer of her. The weight of the owl on her shoulder felt heavier in that moment, the bird's talons digging into her shoulder.
She shivered, gasping lightly feeling as if she had broken the surface of a pool and wondered how much would everything be thrown off if she just 'lost it' on the man before her. Pretending and acting like such a victim wasn't hard, but doing so for the last couple of days was beginning to piss her off.
"Not so strong, are you?" Glo mocked, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "I've always wondered about you Vongola Guardian's, Mukuro was such a disappointment and now you? I expected better and yet here is proof as to why your famiglia is failing."
"Answer me this dearest, La Strega Nera, is that one of Vongola's big mythical tales they've come up with?" Glo asked, reaching forward and grasping her hand, his thumb rubbing over the silver band he had put on her hand. "Seems to be more name than anything else, did your people think that would put Millefiore off?"
Chrome opened her mouth, then closed it and opened it again, "The Black Witch is not Vongola's. They belong to no one."
"So you believe in them? Have you met them?"
"…yes…."
"Then I will find them if they are and I'll figure out who they are and show the world the fraud they are."
I hope you do.
And you will burn far brighter than any fire.
The owl gave a soft 'hoot', flapping off her shoulder and over to Glo's chair, the man sighing as that signaled the end of their time together, "Until dinner time, my dearest."
Chrome was happy that he didn't try to kiss her goodbye again, the aids that came to get her weren't her favorite, but better than being helped by Glo again. She shared a look with the owl and once again Chrome really wondered how much of an idiot the 'genius' Glo was.
As long as that owl was by her side, she wouldn't do anything drastic, at least until she could. Then Mukuro would let her do whatever she wanted to her little heart's content.
/ | \
He should have considered what Natsume had told him last night, it probably would have saved him from being in this situation now.
'Kyoya's pushing you to get you to a point that your older self didn't reach until he was nineteen. There's always more to what he does than the actual thing he's doing so watch him carefully.'
He had considered the hedgehog that Hibari had unlocked from the box, watching as it floated by the Cloud Guardian's shoulder, cutely cleaning its nose.
"The training wheels are coming off," was all Hibari said, Tsuna was about to make a remark about what part of their training had any type of 'training wheels'. The cute little hedgehog didn't give him a chance as it rolled towards him like Sonic the hedgehog. Unlike Sonic the hedgehog the deceptively cute animal had spikes on its back that were about to come down on him if he didn't move or block it.
It was small, he should be able to stop it, right?
Tsuna held his ground, bringing up his arms and flaring his flames around his wrists to strengthen the plated part of his gloves. There was a grinding sound as the hedgehog's spikes connected with his gloves and for a second he thought they were evenly matched. Just as he was about to give a bit more, the hedgehog began to spin faster, a whirring sound coming from it as it also began grow, the excess of it encasing him quickly.
Tsuna chanced a glance up at Hibari, just barely seeing the man's smirking face as he held his hand up, the ring on his middle finger crumbling away. He would have been left shrouded in darkness if his hands weren't lit with his flames, the silence that followed beginning to unnerve him.
It was too quiet.
Too empty.
It was nothing.
/ | \
Kyoya knocked against the large purple sphere, "It's airtight Sawada, you only have so much time before your oxygen runs out." Kyoya let his hand fall away from the dome, his attention falling from it to the figure that appeared beside him. "You can't save him Natsume."
It was hard to get a read on Natsume; her feature's smoothed out in a blank stare as she stared at the purple dome. "I'm not here to save anybody Kyoya," she responded, arms crossed beneath her small chest. Here she looked at him and Kyoya felt his skin crawl, the feeling not leaving even when she looked away. "Unlike you, I'm here to find a solution to all this."
"What solution is there to a situation like this, its do or die."
Natsume scoffed, mouth curling into a sneer, "I never took you for being dramatic, that's more Mukuro's thing." She finally turned to face him, arms still crossed beneath her chest, "Do you really believe this was the best course of action?"
"…."
She shook her head slightly, clenching her jaw as she did so, before giving the dome one last look, "You have a while to figure out the answer to that when the others ask you." And as she appeared, she left, turning away and then there was only a slight breeze and she was gone.
Kyoya shook his head, fighting the urge to cross his arms and instead just pocketing them in his pants. He knew what he had gotten himself into when this plan had started to bud, in the end, if everything went according to plan, it would be worth having gone through this.
/ | \
Malana poked at the trinket, curious honey brown eyes imagining how the porcelain figures would finish their dance. Poking at it again rewarded her with a small tinkering sound and she pouted. Her mama had stopped by two days ago, picking up things that she needed for the young people at her work place.
Two days was already too long to be without her, especially after having been with her every day for the last couple months.
A figure came up behind her, bending down over her and the smell of peaches let her know that her nina was the one behind her. A larger hand than hers came out and prodded at the figures, a brief flare of green and the trinket was tinkering away, the porcelain figures moving awkwardly, but doing as her imagination had pictured them.
"How'd you know?" she asked quietly, staring entranced at the figures, just barely hearing her nina's chuckle.
Hana leaned back, giving the thought bubble that had appeared over the brunette girl's head a brief glance before wrapping the girl up in her arms, "Oh, I just know."
A snort from behind the counter and Kawahira covered up his slip by coughing. Hana rolled her eyes; pulling away from Malana and standing up, ruffling the girl's already tousled looking hair. "What are you choking on…air?"
"Save your sass," Kawahira said, pulling up his stool and taking a seat. "Gods know I got enough of that from Natsume."
Hana frowned at that, "Got?"
Plum eyes narrowed slightly, considering Hana before he sighed, "It's been a long time since Natsume has acted anything like herself, I'm sure you've noticed."
"Well if the self-imposed exile and scattering off to who knows where for the last couple months doesn't say something about that, I have no clue what will."
So she was slightly upset that Natsume had taken off, a lot of the Guardians were, having expected Natsume to take over for Tsuna when he had passed. Well perhaps upset was not how she felt, hurt, if only because she had thought Natsume would have taken her with her. Then again her life was made here in Namimori, her family, her husband, she was rooted here.
She couldn't exactly expect Natsume to be that selfish and take her away, Hana just wished she had asked, had had an idea she was leaving instead of finding out one day that Natsume and Malana were gone. At least she had stayed in contact, Hana couldn't imagine how she would have been like if she hadn't heard anything from her best friend.
"Well when one half of you is forcibly shut away, you can't help but seek solace."
Hana gave Kawahira a queer look, brows furrowing, "Shut?"
She never liked Kawahira when he smiled like that, as if he knew all the answers to the world, Natsume had picked up that smile, and it was just downright creepy sometimes.
"Yes, shut away, like when you shut the blinds so the light won't come in, do I really have to explain this?"
She nearly hit him with a crackling green fist, but he merely moved away from her, her lightening only brushing against him and getting a chuckle out of him, "I'm not an idiot, I know what shut away is, but why do you phrase it like that?"
"All truth comes out in the end, for better or for worse."
Hana refused to make a sound of disgust, instead she threw her hands up and grumbled about 'old wise ass people who couldn't give a straight answer to save their goddamn life'. Kawahira's eyes twinkled with mirth as he watched the short haired woman approach Malana, the girl having been mesmerized by the active trinket and keeping it going with her own push of lightening flames.
At least someone still reacted to him like that, life would be dull without having someone to antagonize.
Part 64: Moving Ahead
(Past)
The pad of Kawahira's finger lightly traced the rim of his tea cup; Wonomichi stared at the man's idle movement. The panda eyed young man looked to see Kawahira's face and wondered just how much more self-control the man had. His expression may be the epitome of serene, but the movement of his hand, and the way the tea was being disturbed expressed the man's true feelings.
"Time is ticking, don't you think Wonomichi?" Wonomichi didn't answer, dark eyes focusing back on Kawahira's hand, but still listening intently to what Kawahira was saying. "I find it that it is just too coincidental all that has happened in the last two years…" the white haired man trailed off, his finger coming off the edge, moving his wrist as if he was stretching it out, his pointer finger still extended.
The image of a man in a pressed suit, a checkered cape attached to his shoulders and a similarly checkered half mask blurred Kawahira for a second and Wonomichi felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.
'You will not question, you will only do as he asks, understand?'
It had been years since that voice had popped into his head, the last time being when the current set of the arcobaleno had been chosen.
"You will begin the search for the seven strongest of this era," the command was clear and Wonomichi already knew which individuals could be considered for that. "This will be your second time doing so, though the first time completely on your own."
Kawahira's finger curled in and a wooden crate box pulled itself out from one of the taller bookcases pressed up against the wall. "Your father's notes see what he has to advise you for this."
Having said that Kawahira stood up, taking his cup to the kitchen and setting it on the counter, before he headed out into the shop. "I'm sure you already have an idea of who I want to succeed the Mist attribute," was all Kawahira left him with as he passed through the beaded curtain, leaving Wonomichi alone in the living room.
Wonomichi eyed the crate that had been set before him, anxious to thumb through the leather bound journals, but keeping himself from doing so. Out of all the things Kawahira had him do, this was the most hated one.
He was sure if he thumbed through the pages of his father's journals, the sentiments would be shared. He moved slowly, the usual bounce in his movement gone as he began to reacquaint himself with his father's memory, the dead man's voice filtering in when he began reading.
'The cycle cannot be broken, for if it does, a lot more is at stake. Consider your choices, take your time, don't be too hasty. There's always an answer.'
/ | \
(Future)
Kyoya had long since taken a seat on the floor, having grown tired of standing (and also hearing the sad attempts Sawada tried to break the dome.) It had been quiet for too long and he may or may not be starting to get a little worried when a scream of absolute anger broke the silence.
"Enough!"
The word seemed to ring in the nearly empty room. Kyoya took his attention off the dome and looked over his shoulder to see Reborn walk up to him. The man merely raised a brow at that, deciding that it was probably better if he was standing now. The dome began to break apart and Kyoya couldn't help but smirk at the sudden flux of power that came from the shining cracks, before it completely shattered.
Roll bounced over to him and he reached down to pick up the small hedgehog, petting it slightly before willing it back into its box.
"Test of succession?" Reborn asked, giving Tsuna a careful once over, before turning to Kyoya. "How did you know?"
Kyoya shrugged, shedding his jacket and throwing it off to the side, reaching behind him and pulling out two folded metal bars and flicking them out, "I know." The Cloud wasn't about to ask how Reborn himself knew, but he had better things to do at the moment.
Like test the newly approved successor of Vongola.
/ | \
"How are the girl's fairing?" Natsume asked Fuuta as soon as he stepped into her office. The twenty year old hummed as he made his way over to one of the couches that was close to her desk.
"They seem to have taken the news well."
"Hmm, hopefully it stays that way," Natsume said, hand idly stroking the small storm leopard in her lap.
"When did –"
"A while ago, she must have slipped past Hayato."
The pair shared a look before looking down at the small feline, "Uri probably made a show of leaving." This earned an odd snort from Natsume, who nodded her head slightly, seeming more amused the more she thought about how exactly the small cat could have done so.
"How has Lambo taken to those lesson's you keep showing him and I-pin?" Natsume asked.
"He understands, his issue is drawing it out on his own without any outside help."
"Same as always with that boy," Natsume sighed, standing up from her comfy chair and making her way to sit beside Fuuta. She handed him Uri, who chirped at Fuuta in greeting, happily nuzzling into the crook of his arm. "As long as he's able to use a defense, that's all that matters."
"Then there won't be any issue."
Silence fell between the two and Natsume waited, eyes slipping shut as she began to relax as she counted the seconds until Fuuta finally spoke about why he was here.
"I missed you, Tsume-nee," Fuuta said after a while, voice very soft as he started. She opened her eyes to look at him, watching him as he looked down at the cat in his arms, slowly stroking Uri's back. "Everyone missed you, we needed you."
"No you don't," she said just as soft, reaching over and grasping the hand that was petting Uri. This got the young man's attention and got him to look up at her and she smiled tenderly at him, "You don't need me, not anymore."
She shook her head, mouth pursing slightly as she shushed him lightly, "If you had truly needed me, none of this would be here, Fuuta. You and everyone else wouldn't be here and yet you all are because of your own merit."
Natsume squeezed his hand a little, her eyes crinkling as she gave him a depreciating smile, "Very few people have actual need of me anymore."
"Please don't say that Tsume-nee," Fuuta whispered, feeling his throat start to close up and fighting the urge to cry. "Please don't."
"But it's true no?" Natsume murmured, her thumb gingerly rubbing the back of his hand. "I…am just a shadow Fuuta, what is the actual use of a shadow?"
"To follow," Hayato spoke up from the doorway, jade eyes staring intently between the two, before landing on the storm leopard, who gave a rather pathetic hiss when she lifted her head and looked at him. "To always be there, shadows are the connection to everything they touch…."
Natsume hummed, nodding her head, giving the teen a droll look as he moved into the room so that he could get his box animal, not that he knew that's what Uri was. "So tell me Hayato, what is a shadow without light?" The silver haired teen paused mid grab, barely registering as Uri hissed at him and took off of Fuuta's lap.
"Darkness."
Natsume tutted, "You always have an answer for everything," she said, humor coloring her monotone voice. "But that doesn't leave anyone feeling well, because what does everyone usually consider darkness?"
"It's perceived as bad, some fear it, some consider it evil," Natsume continued, standing up as she did so and standing taller than Hayato who had to tilt his head back slightly so he wouldn't break eye contact with her. She smirked at him, the vibe she gave off as she did so didn't sit well with him, "Sometimes darkness is nothing and isn't that what everyone is usually afraid of, being nothing?"
Her smile slid off, one of her hands coming up to cup Hayato's cheek and giving it a slight pinch, "But you shouldn't worry about an adult's problems, you have your own things to worry about." Jade eyes became cloudy and half lidded, Hayato looking more asleep than awake. "Go find Uri and put her away, and please talk to Bianchi, you'll be surprised at what she has to say."
The silver haired teen nod slowly and shuffled out of the room slowly, pausing at the doorway and giving her one last look before shaking his head and leaving. Natsume sighed, crossing her arms beneath her small chest, "I think I need some time alone Fuuta."
Fuuta made a face, but complied none the less.
"Take care Tsume-nee."
Author Note:
Hey guys!
Sorry for the long wait, but I've been sitting on this for a while now, changing it up and doing this and that and I'm not exactly happy with it, but this is what it is. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, you guys literally always make my day. If there is any issues with grammer, flow, or anything that you think can be done better or what I can, don't be afraid to let me know! I am always trying to improve!
Other than that, hope you enjoyed!
Sorugao