Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.
Word Count: 7898
Intermission 28
I stood in the middle of my room, hands on my hips as I looked around for what I wanted in that moment. The candles I could use were in the bottom boxes of the bookshelf where the other me kept her herbs and crystals.
I wondered if there was something I could use, a small table or anything. Nothing in the room stood out and I didn't want to start going through more things than I already have.
With a sigh, I moved over to the bookshelf, crouching down and pulling out five candles, two black and three white and a few sticks of incense that my older self had.
I went to stand in the middle of the room, holding the candles from the bottom up in my left hand and in my right hand the incense. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply.
Out goes the worries and doubts.
In comes something fresh, a new energy.
Out goes the negative feelings.
In comes new ideas.
As I settled into that mantra, my body relaxed as did my mind. The wicks of the candle flickered, a long flame coming from each one, slowly floating out of my hand. The incense began to burn, the smell of sandalwood filling the room as I opened my eyes to see the candles floating around me and lightly blew out the flame on the sage.
Smoke curled around me, my mind feeling quiet and calm.
I pray for the protection of my people,
I pray for the safety of those who cannot fight.
I pray for health, for a better life for us.
That we overcome our greatest struggle, to be allowed to return home and be given the right to a better future.
The flames on the candles flickered, seeming to stand tall, but instead of becoming small, they stayed flaring bright.
I give my will as always, my heart and mind. I give my hope and love and I wish….I trailed off, opening my eyes and seeing the way the candles were moving around me, flames tall and bright, a flicker here and there. I wish for those of this time to heal.
The smoke from the incense curled inward, seeming to wrap around me and I let myself think. I brought my hands up, taking off the necklace I wore and holding the crystal in the palm of my hand. I covered it with both hands and thought on it.
Jasmine's knowledge of this life had come to an end, what I was living through now was beyond what she had known.
A lump formed in my throat and I couldn't help but cry.
"I think it's time."
I may not have considered her much, but the idea of what I was, of what I knew, of what I had experienced – a previous life, death, and a rebirth – I think it was time to finally come to terms with it.
Maybe Mukuro was right, maybe I had to let it go.
I opened the palm of my hand, a small flicker of red in the clear crystal.
"But she'll always be with me."
Part 76: A Game of War
Tsuna eyed Bianchi, whose expression he couldn't read as she was wearing her goggles. The way her mouth quirked though let him know that she was amused by his reaction.
"Are these our actual sizes?" Tsuna asked, holding out the suit in front of him. "How did you even get our size?"
"I will never reveal my secrets," Bianchi mused, openly laughing at the way Tsuna hung his head. She watched as Tsuna grabbed his suit, holding it over his shoulder as he left with his head shaking. Hayato had taken it in stride, taking his own suit down and heading to his room to change.
Ryohei and Takeshi should be finishing up their morning training.
Surprisingly enough Kyoko and Haru were whispering loudly between themselves, feeling the material of their outfits. Haru sounding a little hysterical which earned a concerned look from Natsume, who Bianchi waved away, "let them be."
"Are you sure?"
Bianchi hummed, watching how Natsume slid the material of her dress pants between her fingers, thumb rubbing against the seam of it, "Haru's just excited about the designer."
Natsume squinted her eyes, mouth pursed slightly as she slowly checked the name on the tag of her suit jacket.
"Oh."
On the tag was a Haru's name printed in the prettiest cursive writing Natsume had seen and she could understand why the girl was having a slight freak out. Natsume looked over her shoulder, the corner of her mouth quirking up, eyes bright with happiness.
"Finally some good news for them," she said to Bianchi, making the older woman shake her head as she chuckled.
Natsume stuck her lip out when Bianchi ruffled her hair as she headed over to the two girls, putting a hand on Haru's upper back, patting her back as she began to talk to Haru in a low voice. Kyoko looked over, looking proud of her friend and as she caught Natsume's gaze the girl gave her a shy smile.
She smiled back, before waving at her.
Making her way back to her room, she hung the suit on the back of her door, giving the simple black ensemble a once over. The more she looked at it, the more she could tell that this had been made with her in mind.
She brushed her fingers over the front of the jacket, feeling out the stitching of the plumeria flowers that had been embroidered in black. It made her wonder what Haru had chosen to decorate the others clothes with.
"How did they even make this in our size?" she asked aloud, slipping out of her hoodie and jeans. The dress pants weren't baggy like she had expected them to be, having to jump a little to get them up. They fit her snugly and even as she stretched, nearly doing the splits, she had a feeling the material wouldn't tear easily on her.
It was almost as if the adult Haru had designed these with them being able to fight in them.
"Maybe somethings in the future aren't too bad," she murmured as she straightened up and went to put on the black dress shirt. It buttoned just above her chest, not all the way to the collar like Reborn's dress shirts did. Natsume looked up at the mirror, smoothing her hands down her front, "Will I ever…" she trailed off, shaking her head before proceeding to tuck her shirt into her pants.
Now was not the time to think about her body.
She looked down at her feet and then at the collection of shoes her older self had. Heels were out of the question, she would probably break her ankle trying to get out of the room in them. Hopefully older Natsume wouldn't mind that she was going to borrow one of her shoes that had a label sticking out the back end.
"Doc Martens, hmm," she tried them on and found the boots surprisingly comfortable. They were black leather, with red roses stitched up and down the side of the boot, which added some color to her all black attire.
Okay she was definitely getting a pair of these when she got back.
With that done, she slid on her usual rings and necklace, along with clipping the pouch she'd been using the last few days around her waist. Natsume grabbed her jacket and put it over her arm running her hand through her hair as she left her room. When she got to Tsuna's room, she knocked on his door after tying off her hair into a high ponytail, waiting a few seconds as Tsuna stumbled over something inside.
The door opened and there was her brother, brow wrinkled as he was focusing on trying to do his tie, "Can you make sure Takeshi doesn't go overboard with Squalo?"
"Sure, which room are they in?"
Tsuna looked up, a little surprised at the all black getup his sister was wearing, "Uh, they should be in 3T."
"Alright, we're meeting in the main kitchen still?"
Tsuna nodded and before she left, she flicked his forehead, a sly smirk on her features, "We're going to own them today Tsuna."
/ | \
Squalo saw the girl enter the room, staying by the door as he and the brat were still sparring and it wasn't long until it was over. Both of them had their swords pointed at vital areas and Squalo scoffed as they locked gazes, waiting for the other to call it.
"For fucks sake, I'll call it," he said, pulling his sword arm back and holding it out at his side. "Now get out of my sight, you're as good as you're going to get."
Takeshi nodded at the older man, sheathing his sword before he bowed to him, "Thank you Squalo."
"Tch, don't fucking die."
Takeshi turned around and was a little taken back when he saw Natsume, who wiggled her fingers at him. "Time to suit up," she said, an easy going smile on her face, breaking a lot of the heavy tension in the air.
"Looking sharp," he said, gesturing to her figure, to which she stuck her tongue out, though she did do a slight pose, pursing her lips as she held up a peace sign against her the side of her face. The dark haired teen rolled his eyes, putting an arm around her shoulder and getting her in a headlock as he pulled her alongside him.
"Someone's in a good mood."
Squalo watched the pair walk out, noticing a shimmer in the corner as the door closed behind them. The image of Natsume appeared, gliding over across the room to stand in front of him.
"You're too fucking short to talk to me," he told her, earning a slow blink from the girl, brow furrowing slightly. She kept standing there, head tilting to the side as she gave him a curious once over. "But the idiot's right, you're in a good mood."
"I'm always in a good mood," she responded, earning an amused huff from the older man.
"And I'm fucking nice."
"It's good to see you still alive."
He glared at her, before rolling his eyes and dug a knuckle into the top of her head, "Stop being a shithead and leave me the hell alone!"
She had the audacity to laugh as her image flickered away and Squalo was left alone in the training room. Honestly somethings never change, though he was a little surprised that she had approached him as nicely as she did.
/ | \
Natsume dug her fingers into Takeshi's side, making him let her go, a surprised laugh leaving him as she found his ticklish spot. She was giving him a pouty glare as she began to fix her ponytail which had loosened over his rough housing.
"Remember to shower before you put on your suit," she said, wrinkling her nose as she looked up at him. "Can't leave the clothes we're borrowing too stinky."
"Why am I being attacked?" he asked, eyeing the girl and swallowing slightly as he got a better look at her.
"I'm sorry," she said sarcastically as she undid her hair and began to put it up again. "It's not like I was just being manhandled." Takeshi merely smiled brightly, Natsume clucking her tongue at him. She lightly shoved him, making him pout at her, "Cute," she deadpanned, "now go, we'll be in the main kitchen."
She walked ahead of him and he wondered if he should probably tell her how he'd been feeling. His mouth felt dry, heart beating a little faster than it had been as he opened his mouth, "Hey Natsume."
"Yeah?" She turned too looked over her shoulder at him, before fully turning around and walking backwards. She saw how he gripped Shigure Kintoki , stopping when he did, a concerned look on her features, "You okay?"
He nodded, "I'm fine…just that…" he swallowed, before exhaling loudly. "Let's do well today so we can go home."
That didn't seem to be what he had wanted to say, but Natsume didn't push, having the feeling that Takeshi would be able to tell her what he had really wanted to say another day. She stepped forward, reaching for his hand and giving it a brief squeeze, "We will, of that I have no doubt."
He squeezed back, feeling his face get warm.
Hopefully he had another chance.
/ | \
Tsuna stood by Lal's bed, the woman eyeing him up and down, before she settled on glaring at him, "Well? Spit it out."
Tsuna swallowed, "We're going Lal."
"Oh?" she raised a brow, arms crossing in front of her. "Is that so?"
"I…we'll come back."
Lal looked up at the kid, noticed the way his brow was furrowed, the way the edges of his mouth quirked down in a frown, she couldn't help but note some familiarity. "You remind me of Iemitsu when you make that face."
He looked like a young man that was conflicted between what he had to do and what he wanted to do. Watching him blink slowly, confusion clouding his features made her want to laugh. The sardonic grin he gave her cut the feeling out, "Let's hope I don't make any stupid decisions then."
Did he think Iemitsu capable of making stupid decisions?
Lal wouldn't doubt it, she had watched the Young Lion of Vongola grow and come into his own. Some choices he made were questionable, like keeping his family in the dark for so long, but overall Iemitsu was more than capable of making the right choice.
Even if it meant making a choice that would hurt those closest to him.
Iemitsu would do anything to choose what would be best.
"Stupid decisions have merit, Sawada," she said, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the pillows. It was getting around the time where Inoue would put her to sleep, so she wouldn't put her body under more strain than it already was. "Whether you think so or not, your father made decisions that others wouldn't be able to go through with and some of them were for the better."
"I can't relate," this wasn't what he wanted to talk about it, or hear. Tsuna breathed heavily out through his nose, "Rest well, Lal."
/ | \
"It's time."
There was a heavy silence as Tsuna looked over everyone seated at the table. Hibari and Dino were missing and Tsuna hoped the prefect showed up soon before Choice was supposed to begin, he didn't want to know what Byakuran had planned if everyone wasn't there.
"We're going to play his game," Tsuna said softly, his voice loud in the quiet room. "And we're going to show him why he picked the wrong people to mess with."
Reborn stood in the back of the room, beside the others of the future. He watched as Tsuna spoke to his friends, how his voice didn't waver and how he looked everyone in the eye.
Everyone in the room had worked hard and this was their chance to fight back against all the wrongs that had been done to them. Whether it be physically fighting the enemy, or standing in support for the ones that were risking themselves.
Things had been rocky the last few days, which had been slowly getting better.
The broken trust between Kyoko and Haru was slowly being mended and Reborn knew it would take a while before they gave their trust easily again.
Whatever happened today would hopefully mend some of that broken bridge, seeing what they would be up against face to face instead of just hearing about it would be different.
"Together we'll get through this," Tsuna's voice floated over, a soft smile crossing his features as his gaze landed on the girls, who timidly smiled back.
"Just believe in me."
Not long after he finished talking, Fuuta's phone rang, the chime of it particularly bubbly tune that cut off as he answered. "They're ready Tsuna-nii."
"Let's go."
/ | \
"It's about time," Natsume muttered, giving Hibari the stink eye as the prefect came down from the steps that led up to the shrine. The others had gathered around Shoichi, Spanner and Giannini, listening to them as they explained the contraption behind them.
Hibari stopped beside her, watching as she unzipped the large pouch around her waist and tossed a black and purple box at him, "You weren't there last night when I told everyone they needed to bring these."
"What is it?" the prefect asked as he inspected the small box, bringing out the Vongola box and comparing it.
"Lal wouldn't tell me what they do, so I asked Fuuta," she sighed out, scratching the back of her neck, giving the box in his hand the stink eye. "He said it's for emergencies, so I guess in case of zombies break it open."
"Zombies?"
"Did you not see what one of those Funeral Wreaths looked like?" Natsume asked, her hands coming down and resting on her hips. Not getting much reaction from the older teen she shook her head, "You were more talkative the other day."
"I wanted answers."
"Tch," she scoffed and was about to say something when the sky brightened, the clouds looking as if they were being vaporized as a head formed. "He looks like a giant marshmallow."
Byakuran greeted them, eyes closed as he grinned widely down at them, "Thank you for making it on time and with everyone accounted for Tsunayoshi-kun." A circle of light shown down on them, "I'm glad we won't have to find out what could have happened if that wasn't the case."
Natsume moved closer, Hibari trailing behind her as she went to stand closer to the others, stopping beside Dino and Squalo.
"Now~ Since we're a few minutes shy of noon, I hope you're able to gather the amount of fiamma volts to gain access to our battleground~" a sly smile curled Byakuran's face, eyes squinting even more. "Five million fiamma volts!~"
"What?
"This isn't happening in Namimori?" Tsuna asked loudly, frowning as he tried to think about where Byakuran could possibly want to hold this.
"Of course not, who do you take me for?" the coy lilt in Byakuran's voice made Shoichi grit his teeth, having heard it one too many times when the Millefiore boss was playing naive with others. "I would never put an innocent town on the line; unless of course that's the stake you want to put in this."
"I would never," Tsuna answered, "Fine, we'll pay the price."
He turned to look at his guardians and as he got a nod from everyone single one of them, they all in unison pulled out their Vongola box that they kept in the pouch Bianchi had handed out before they left. She wasn't surprised when Hibari stepped closer and together they all opened their boxes, the amount of flames and power filling the area giving Natsume chills.
"Never thought I'd see that again," Dino murmured and Natsume looked at him.
"Tch, don't say never with these fucking kids," Squalo responded, watching as the tally that Byakuran had made appear went over the amount needed.
"Wao~" Byakuran toned out, eyes going comically wide in surprise, "Above and beyond, I expect nothing less of Vongola."
"Well let's get this game going."
/ | \
Reborn had made an effort, pushing Giannini to make him something so that he would be able to go see how this Choice played out. So far the suit and the hat was repelling most of the radiation that was about, but he could tell that it wasn't perfect.
He couldn't ask Giannini for more when the young man had been dividing his attention between making sure the motorcycles were fully functioning, helping Shoichi and Spanner with whatever it was they had been building for this, keeping up the security of the base and creating something for him to be able to step out.
The dull ache was nothing compared to what he had felt the first time and he was glad that he wasn't fully paralyzed by the first breath he took outside.
(It did make him realize once again how weak his body was, how susceptible it was to the radiation Byakuran had unleashed into the world.)
"You good?" Dino asked quietly while the playing field and players were chosen. The Cavallone boss knelt down, placing a hand against Reborn's back and flaring a bit of his flames lightly, the relief that came would never show on Reborn's face, but Dino could tell.
"You've gotten more perceptive," was what Reborn said, tucking his hands into his pants pockets. "Good to see somethings have improved in this future."
"Don't be mean," the blond chastised, hearing Squalo scoff behind him, but not say anything. "You can say thank you instead."
Reborn flicked his eyes up to Dino, a brow rising, "I was complimenting you."
Reborn heard Natsume snicker, though she started coughing and made her way over to where the girls were. Haru's hands went instantly to touch her jacket, the brunette in awe at how smooth the material was and the stitching pattern of the flowers on the front of it, "Black on black, what was Haru thinking?"
While all this was occurring Tsuna and the guardians turned to look at the group behind them, Ryohei looking unusually stoned face as Shoichi elaborated on what it meant for the circle mark, which had a number two marked next to it.
"They want none ring users?"
"That would mean – "
"Unacceptable."
Shoichi and Spanner shared a look, "Leave it to me, I'll sort this out." Spanner sighed as Shoichi made the final decision for the players, not at all surprised that his friend had volunteered him as the other none ring player.
It was a better decision than choosing one of the other people that had come, at least he knew how to work the system they had created for this fight and he wouldn't have to bother explaining it to someone who would definitely mess it up.
The pressure was serious and when Byakuran's beaming face disappeared, a bright light washed down over all of them, "Let's begin."
Reborn didn't like how much they were depending on Byakuran to get Choice started.
And then for a second he felt as if his body was levitating, a brief zap and they were in a room looking down on the participants who were out in the city streets.
"Hahi, what?!"
"It's okay," Natsume murmured to Haru, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We're safe here."
"They're going to fight," Kyoko frowned, looking up at Ryohei who came over to her to make sure she was alright. "…do you think they can win onii-san?"
Ryohei frowned, looking out the window and over the towering city landscape, "If I know Tsuna, he'll make anything happen." The white haired teen looked back at his sister, putting an arm around her shoulder's, "Tsuna's a man of his word, just believe in him to the extreme!"
Part 77: Match Begin!
"We'll be sending out decoys, a few of them have cameras so we'll be able to see what's coming," Shoichi gestured to the back corner of the camper they had built. "I wouldn't recommend heading straight for the target, unless you know you have a hundred percent success."
The red head briefly glanced up at the teens before looking away as he busied himself with making sure the launch would happen at the correct time. Spanner got up and handed headsets to Takeshi and Hayato, getting them all tuned to the right station, "Sawada yours can be tuned into these as well."
With a little help from the blond, they got them all on the same station, "These will allow us not only to communicate but lock in on your location in case you need some form of back up, we have three mini Mosca's to cover you."
"You guys really went all out," Tsuna muttered looking over at the Mosca's that Spanner had gestured towards.
"We have to pull out everything we can," Shoichi answered, turning in his seat, now fiddling with the flower that had appeared on his chest when they had arrived. "We know little of what Kikyo, Torikabuto, Saru and Daisy are capable of."
"We might have the upper hand on dealing with Mists," Hayato mentioned, stretching his arms across chest. He took off his jacket as he realized he wouldn't have easy access to the holster's he had found in his older self's room. It clipped to the pouch he had secured around his waist and now without his jacket he'd be able to grab at the box weapons that were attached to it a lot easier.
"They might be stronger than Natsume," Takeshi said, crossing his arms against his chest. "But we do have an idea."
"So if the opportunity presents itself take out the Mists," Shoichi said, tapping a pattern onto the screen in front of him. "I don't know much about Kikyo, but he's a Cloud, I'd confront him as a team."
"Where do you get off telling us how to plan this all out?" Hayato asked, hooking his thumbs onto the straps of his holster, giving Shoichi a cold glare.
"It's the most obvious plan," the red head admitted, leaning back in his seat and they could all see how truly exhausted the man was in that moment, before he straightened up and gave them a self-deprecating smile. "I'm giving this my all; I promise I'm not here to let any of you down."
"It's sound," Tsuna agreed, striding forward and placing a hand on Shoichi's shoulder, to the surprise of the red head. "We'll try to follow it, but knowing us there's always something that throws things off."
"Knock on wood," Hayato grunted, reaching over and tapping against Takeshi's scabbard, who uttered a soft 'hey.' "What? It's the only wood thing in here."
"Well at least someone's trying to be funny," Spanner brought up, leaning back so that they could all see him. "Though if you survive this, might I suggest being funny next time."
"I wasn't being funny," Hayato deadpanned.
"Ah, well, that was lame then."
Shoichi put a hand against his face, not believing that this was the turn the conversation had taken, "Recover your energy for now, I know opening those box weapons to their full strength tired you out."
/ | \
There were TV screens in the room they had been placed in, which turned on when the game started. The boys left the area they had been put in on their motorcycles, the vehicles quiet as they split up and began taking different roads.
They would be waiting to hear from Shoichi and Spanner as soon as they locked in on Daisy, who was as much of a target as Shoichi now was.
As they road by, they noticed as the bikes dropped little spikes, flaring with specific colors – blue for Takeshi, red for Hayato, and gold for Tsuna.
"My, my interesting tactics," one of the screens tuned to Byakuran's face and the man smiled at the reception he received. "Oh, I'm not that bad."
"Hm~ well, if it's going to be that way, may the best team win."
"He can check in on us," Dino frowned, moving from his spot by the windows and looking around the room. "Just because we can't see him, doesn't mean he doesn't stop watching us."
Squalo stayed where he had been, in the center the room head turned to the side eyeing the TV that focused on Takeshi, before flicking to the one that showed Millefiore's Cloud and Mist separating. He frowned as he watched the three brats meet up once again and taking off down a side street together.
The spikes that they had laid down flared brightly, getting the attention of the Mist, while the Cloud stayed back.
For a second Squalo took his eyes off the screen, to look at Vongola's Cloud who had laid down on one of the couches. He glanced over at Natsume and wasn't at all surprised when the girl met his gaze, raising an eyebrow in question.
She stood beside the brown haired girl, who had started crying, her head resting against Natsume's shoulder, who rubbed her back to console her.
Honestly what a fucking time to be informed.
Sneering at the scene, Squalo turned back to the screen, mindful that Dino was searching the room for any camera's he cut off from Byakuran observing them.
A moot point really.
If the Millefiore wanted to keep his eyes on them, he would keep his damned eyes on them no matter what they did to prevent it.
"Shit," he muttered, watching as the second Mist came out beside the Storm, throwing him off his motorcycle. The other two pulled to a stop, calling out to the silver haired teen and Squalo shook his head. "Keep fucking going, this isn't the time to stop for one another."
"Even if that was advice they can hear, they wouldn't follow it," Reborn piped up from below him and Squalo knew what the hitman said was true.
"They're too damned nice sometimes."
"No one can exactly live up to Varia Quality," the hitman humored him though he didn't smile. "Then again, I remember some brats winning against said Varia Quality."
"And I said, what I said, they're too damned nice."
"It isn't for the better?"
Squalo didn't react to the way the arcobaleno was questioning, he knew his losses and he knew what the brats were capable of. He also wouldn't voice anymore of his opinions, feeling Natsume's stare on the back of his head and like hell he was going to piss off that one what with her beliefs and shit.
(Pissing off either the young or older Natsume was the same as pissing off Xanxus, and like hell he was going to bring that on him.
Shit was annoying enough to deal with, let alone whatever she decided to use to mess with his life.)
"It's whatever the hell you think, Reborn."
Reborn didn't roll his eyes, merely staring at the screen as Hayato kept Saru's focus on him and Takeshi and Tsuna waited for the opportunity. They hadn't taken out their box weapons yet and he wondered if getting Byakuran's desired fiamma volts had tired them out.
They couldn't hear what they were saying, Takeshi looking as he was telling Tsuna something, who nodded and took off from his spot to land beside Hayato.
Tsuna held his hands up, fists shining with a refined coating of Sky flames, while Hayato held up his right arm, the weapon he had attached to his wrist flaring up with Storm flames.
"What the hell are they doing?" Dino asked, looking at the screen, getting Natsume's attention who had been laying a sleeping Haru down, Bianchi sitting down and letting the girl's head rest in her lap.
Natsume and Chrome shared a look, "Triforce Huddle."
Squalo glared at the screen, Dino looked confused, and Reborn merely smiled.
"At least this time Hayato has something better to use."
There was a heavy sigh from the two girls', "This is true."
"No more dynamite at least," Natsume responded, twirling the end of her braid. "No more singed hair."
"He's a Storm," Fuuta reminded them. "I think you have more to worry about than singed hair."
"Great."
/ | \
Takeshi was the first one to strike and Saru was slightly taken back at how much faster the teen's draw was. Saru brought his arm up, to block the teen's downward slash, reinforcing his arm to take the force before he lashed out with it to get the teen to back off from him.
Takeshi grit his teeth as he was thrown back, not being quick enough to maneuver himself in the air. Saru had retaliated quicker than he had anticipated and he only had seconds before he hit the ground. Holding the hilt of his sword to the ground, he let a solid beam of Rain flames shoot out from the end and pierce into the asphalt, halting his movement.
He dropped down, ducking in time to Hayato's blast which he accompanied by slashing underneath the barrage of Storm flames, an arc of blue spreading out underneath it and into the incoming area.
From what they learned, or at least on his behalf, it was better to saturate the area that a Mist would work in. Though not as good as Tsuna was when it came to identifying people when he spread his flame, Takeshi could at least tell where the next possible illusion or even Saru himself could pop up.
There was a blast as Saru deflected Hayato's attack, though he had to move away from the following multi-shots that came from the silver haired teen.
"Stay still!"
"If only they could," Tsuna muttered from behind Hayato, a beep sounding in his ear, Spanner's voice informing them that the other two will be at the location soon after dealing with the decoys. "Don't send out the Mosca's yet."
'Then you have less time than you think.'
"Hayato can you keep an open fire on them," Tsuna got a nod from his friend, who with the lit yellow ring opened another box and attached a long ammunition belt to the side, "Takeshi what can you tell?"
'He's hiding in one area, underground, I don't think I'll be able to draw him out.'
"That's fine, just point where and Hayato well get him."
There was a moment of tension and a 'pi-ng' coming from all of them as Hayato envisioned his flame coating the bullets, a sharp edge to them as he shot at the middle of the street where Takeshi's flames began to flare. Tsuna leapt up into the air, keeping himself balanced, arms at his sides as he got an aerial view.
"Point me," he murmured, the bluetooth in his other ear connected to his contacts activating. "60 percent."
A crosshair appeared in his vision, a small circle in the middle glowing. Another 'ping' and Tsuna raised his arms up, his right hand extending forward, pointer and middle finger held out while the others curled in and his left hand behind him, palm facing out as flames flared out from it.
"2 to 1 shoots (1)," he muttered as a figure broke the surface of the street, a thick vine reaching out to grab Takeshi and throw him at Hayato. There was a whirr sound as Tsuna mimicked shooting a gun with his right hand, his left hand flaring to keep him from moving back as a golden arrow shot out of his hand and pierced Saru's shoulder.
Another vine shot from Saru's general area, reaching out to him and just before it grabbed him, Tsuna shot one more out though Saru dodged the second attack.
Tsuna grunted as he was thrown into one the buildings, rolling on the floor and cursing as he felt the shards of window glass pierce his skin.
There was a moment of quiet and then an explosion was heard, a scream accompanying the blast. Hayato must have gotten him at the same time as Tsuna's second arrow found the first. He moved, doing a quick evaluation of what hurt and what didn't.
He was okay.
He'd dealt enough with Reborn that a few cuts and tears in his clothes wasn't going to stop him. Without much thought Tsuna jumped out the window, bring his hands together in front of him and once again flaring his flames so that he wouldn't splat on the ground.
His descent was slowed and he was able to see what had become of Saru.
The mask the Millefiore man wore had melted away, revealing Genkishi's face.
He was barely standing, eyeing Hayato and Takeshi who had started approaching him slowly.
"You won't," the man grit out, holding out his arm, "Not again."
A click from Hayato's weapon was heard as he had switched out the ammunition strip for a barrel, inserting it into the skulls mouth. The red miasma that had been spilling out turned green and a jagged bolt of lightning shot out, knocking Genkishi back onto the ground.
Takeshi moved, sword coming up and pointing it at the man's face.
"I would say sorry, but," Takeshi instead of cutting the man's throat, cut his cheek, once again letting his flames spill down his sword and onto the Mist's body. "You're better off asleep."
Genkishi coughed, his mind hazy and wondering how everything had gone wrong so quickly. The teens walked away, taking off on their vehicles and he just laid there, watching them disappear around the corner.
"I'd made a comment about not bringing you," Kikyo's voice came from above his head, the Cloud looking down on him with a smile that meant nothing well for Genkishi. "We can't let you continue on, you'll have to go."
Genkishi tried to move, but couldn't as Kikyo's hand covered his face, "Bya..kura…n…sa….help…."
"Even with his last breath he still believed in you, Byakuran-sama."
/ | \
Kyoko had moved over to the couch, sitting beside Bianchi and Fuuta who had Lambo and I-pin sitting in front of him by his legs. Giannini sat in the lone lounge hair, not paying attention to his surroundings as he typed away at his phone.
The auburn haired girl had wanted to try and watch the fight and was glad that her friends were on the winning side.
But when the pretty haired man showed up and didn't even bother to help his own and instead hurt him, she had to move away.
This is what Tsuna and their friends were fighting. What they were trying to keep from them. They didn't want them to know yet, maybe this wasn't the way it was supposed to go.
This ere was no one to blame, but the one who seemed to be enjoying every second of this.
The man whose face appeared in the sky, who looked so kind and innocent, but his eyes spoke of his intentions. Even in this game where lives were on the line, he wasn't bothered. If anything he had looked forward to see what would happen.
Is this what he wanted?
Even if his own side was losing, did he still have that sly grin on his face? Was he even worried? Takeshi, Hayato and Tsuna weren't smiling, if anything her friend's looked regretful, they didn't want to do this.
She had been so selfish hadn't she? Reacting the way she did and even letting her emotions get the best of her and treating her friend's badly.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump, "it's okay."
Fuuta who she remembered being so small and adorable had really grown up. His eyes which had always been wide and innocent, viewing the world as if he could accomplish anything were darkened with an emotion she couldn't place.
(It wasn't sadness, but it was.)
"If you don't want to hear anymore," Fuuta began to offer, but she shook her head, hands trembling in her lap as they curled into the material of her skirt.
"I won't watch, but I will listen," Kyoko whispered, looking down at Haru who was blearily blinking her eyes. "….we're all in this together aren't we?"
Kyoko chanced a glance over her shoulder, where Natsume, Chrome, Ryohei and Hibari-senpai (who had gotten up when the fight with the Mist had started) stood by one of the TVs. While her brother was deeply frowning, his arms crossed tightly against his chest, Hibari-senpai didn't show much emotion, though she could tell he was unamused.
Chrome's shoulders were tightly raised, her eyes never straying from the screen, while Natsume looked as relaxed as she could possibly be. Kyoko would have bought the act, would have probably started yelling at the girl, demanding if she even cared at all.
But Kyoko noticed that Natsume was fiddling with the rings on her fingers, slowly turning them one by one with her thumb. (How could she assume Natsume didn't care? Her brother was out there fighting, getting hurt. God why was she thinking so harshly?)
Kyoko didn't bother looking over at where Dino and Reborn were, conversing quietly with one another, while the other man stood off to the side. The loud man was just quiet, the scowl she had thought to be a permanent quirk of his mouth gone as he observed the three teen's split up.
"You know," Fuuta intoned in a low voice, a wry smile on his face as he gestured with his head to everyone. "Not everyone here has it together either, so you're okay."
"Please define 'having it together', Haru is confused," Haru spoke up, earning a chuckle from Bianchi.
"Don't you know, that's what it's like being an adult," Bianchi humored them, her arms stretched out along the top of the couch, fingers digging into the cushions. "Don't push yourselves, everything that is meant to be will come together."
"Oh I haven't heard that in a while," Fuuta smile, his eyes bright. "Tsume-nee used to say that a lot a few years ago, meant it for us," Fuuta gestured at the kids in front of him, "when we were pushing hard and trying to catch up with the others."
Kyoko nodded slowly, relaxing her hands from how tightly she had been keeping them. She was still conflicted, but if her friends were willing to go to such lengths, not only for themselves but for all of them.
Then she could support them.
/ | \
"What the actual fuck," Hayato grit out, opening one of the light blue boxes and pulling out a long object with his left hand that he instantly activated to cut down the serpent illusions. He dodged another one, the light going out in the saber as he used the bladed end of it to shoot off a small concentration of Storm flames.
The second Mist user had found him as he had been doubling back to watch over Spanner and Shoichi, while the other two would go forward with reaching their target. The man didn't seem the talkative type and something about him set Hayato on edge.
If anything he was trying to get away from him and not fight Torikabuto, yet every time he thought he was turning a corner away from him, he was back to facing him.
"Little Storm," the masked individual spoke, "I would give up, you are alone in your endeavors."
"Tch," Hayato held out his arm, left hand bracing against his right elbow to steadily fire a barrage of Storm bullets at the concrete to give him some cover as he went to hide. It failed as another serpent came out of the dust, this time wrapping around him and bringing him to the masked man.
'Gokudera is currently being held up by Torikabuto, he is two blocks away from Sawada. Kikyo is also somewhere within that area.'
"Whispers in your ear, do they give you hope?"
Hayato grunted as the serpent tightened around him, the saber falling out of his hand as his arms were pressed and twisted uncomfortably against his body. He couldn't get out of this and the last time he had fully lit himself on fire, he had lost his clothes. As the seconds passed the serpent continued to squeeze him and that's when Hayato's hand pressed against the pouch around his waist, the box inside digging into his hip.
"Do you want to know what they say?" he breathed, as he tried his best to unzip the pouch around his waist.
"Amuse me."
He gave Torikabuto a pained grimace as he burned through the pouch, pressing his flames against the box, "Eat shit."
There was a screech that accompanied the release of the box that Natsume's older self had given him, one that gave him chills. The serpent was shredded as a clawed hand burst through, just barely missing Torikabuto who stepped back from the attack.
Another screech and a figure pulled itself out of the box, a winged creature with the face of a woman bared its teeth at Torikabuto, bringing the remains of the serpent to her mouth and eating it. She clicked her talons together as her teeth ground loudly on the mist construct, eyes glowing in a menacing way as she looked at Torikabuto.
"Another thing to deal with –" whatever Torikabuto was about to prepare was cut off as he had to dodge the woman's sudden lunge, her sideways swipe catching on his cloak and tearing it away. " – I will deal with you appropriately creature."
Said creature didn't respond, instead following the Mist's movements, every one of her jabs and swipes tearing away one of his creations or his uniform.
Hayato watched, knowing that the creature was familiar but not really knowing from where. As it distracted Torikabuto, he quickly set himself up, one of the skull rings on his finger glowing green, a box popping open and inserting the small, oblong pipe into the skulls mouth.
A feather floated by as one of the Torikabuto's serpents managed to bite down on its wrist, throwing off her flight and leaving her to flounder in the air as she righted herself after she bit off its head.
He readied himself, left hand on his right wrist guard, the attachment glowing green and red as he waited for an opening to hit the Mist.
The creature screeched, the sound a high and piercing sound that made Torikabuto freeze and Hayato took the chance shooting a succession of lightning strikes. He moved to pick up his second weapon and began to run away.
He heard the creature screech again as he rounded the corner and he only knew it had succeeded in taking down the Torikabuto when the creature landed in front of him, squatting down low as she tilted her head.
Her eyes were fully black, fangs peeking out from her bloodied mouth, straight long dark red hair that he could have figured it had been drenched in blood swayed in the breeze.
She bared her teeth at him, before hopping up into the air, flying over him and grasping him with her feet. The sharp talons lightly pinched his skin, but he didn't mind as he pointed in the direction he wanted to go.
He looked up, blushing at her exposed chest, "Thanks," his voice cracked on the lone word.
'I'm heading over to the base; I have some form of help. Tsuna, Takeshi keep moving forward.'
***(Triforce Huddle – Rain distracts by lashing out fast, bringing down calm and saturating the area to slow down the opponent.(wisdom) Storm shoots off a blast when opponent slows down in quick succession (originally dynamites were used) (Power) and with the distraction of the two, Sky comes baring down from above, disbelieving or breaking through whatever the opponent set up (Courage) and holding them down so that Storm could finish them.
(1) 2 to 1 Shoots: Two arrows shoot out, one after the other. The first one serves as a homing beacon, while the second one is the actual attack.
Author Notes:
I've forgotten how much I am not able to write fight scenes? I think I did alright? And then I realized the rest of this is fighting and my just wants to bury itself in the dirt like an ostrich. I also feel like I had a lot to say for this chapter, but I...have forgotten...as it seems to be typical.
I'm still going to be editing this over hte next few days, but so far I think everything reads well?
A huge thank you to ADDbaby for helping me out and putting up with my rambling and ranting and well me. Also if you know the creature I described, let me know! It'll be named in the next chapter (i've made a note to remember it). (Hint its a mythological creature!)
A heads up, I might end up just posting the rest of the story on AO3, instead of here. It's still up for debate, but I'll let you guys know if that ever happens.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Sorugao