Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.
Word Count: 7266
"So that's what was in one of the boxes," Natsume muttered as she watched the harpy fly away with Hayato. Torikabuto had been struck by two out of the three lightning strikes Hayato had sent out, allowing the harpy to tear apart the form of the man.
(She took note to be careful of Lightning users as being struck head on by them seemed to not only stun a person, but disrupt whatever illusion they had going on.)
"They're weak," Hibari said, looking over to Natsume and Chrome.
"They're probably underestimating them," Chrome said, hands laced together in front of her. She hadn't taken her eye off the screen as she spoke, "Which is better for them because then they can get away with surprises like Gokudera-kun did."
Hibari scoffed, shaking his head, "This could have been over quicker."
Chrome and Natsume shared a surprised look, Natsume pursing her lips, "Oo~h?" The girl had the audacity to look amused when Ryohei put an arm around Hibari's shoulder, lightly jostling the older teen.
"Your bloods pumping too!" the white haired teen said in as much of an inside voice as he could manage. "That is extremely great!"
The prefect scowled at the teen, shrugging off his arm and stepping away from him, but not leaving the group. Which was progress as Hibari would usually just walk away from them when they were all together.
"What do you think Natsume? With how things are going how are they going to end?" Ryohei asked, bring his arms up behind his head. "It looks like everything's going well."
Natsume nibbled on her lip as she shrugged with one shoulder, "Their team is down two people – " she stopped as she watched the pretty man that had ended Saru come around the corner where Torikabuto and Hayato had been fighting. " – what, how does he just keep appearing around?"
The four of them kept their attention on the screen, watching as Kikyo knelt down besides Torikabuto's body, who shook his head as he tore down the already mangled cloak to reveal a bloodied chest.
"His chest," Chrome said breathlessly, a sound of disgust leaving her as the man plucked something out of the Mist's chest. "Is that a box?"
Not only did he take the box, but also the mask and when it was pulled off the 'body' faded away, leaving nothing in its place.
"That's extremely not good."
Natsume stiffly nodded her head, lips pressed tightly together.
She should have kept quiet.
/ | \
Hayato grunted as he was dropped on the floor, the creature on the other hand landed gracefully on top of the base. A head of blond hair peaked out as the side door opened, eyeing the nude woman who completely ignored him and stared straight ahead.
"What's the update?" Hayato asked, straightening up and resetting his boxes by flaring all the rings on his fingers. A soft 'sch' sound was made as everything, but the wrist weapon went back into the boxes.
Spanner tilted his head, half lidded gaze on Hayato as he looked him up and down, before gesturing for him to come over, "Daisy's been secluded on the other end, if the young Decimo and the Rain can get there fast enough, we won't have to deal with Kikyo."
"Were the decoys able to get anything about him?"
"We didn't have much time to get that much programming in," Shoichi admitted, watching Tsuna and Takeshi's location. "Tsunayoshi is coming back this way, Yamamoto is heading towards Daisy."
"They're not worried about running into Kikyo on their own?" Spanner asked, checking the last known location for the Cloud.
There was a screech from the creature above and Hayato, who was at the entrance of the base stepped out, the door shutting as he did so. The red haired creature had already moved forward, its clawed foot reaching out to grasp at the Cloud.
"Ha-han, interesting to bring creatures of mythology alive," Kikyo murmured, holding up his arm to cover his front. The creatures claws wrapped around his arm, attempting to pull and throw him into the ground.
He didn't budge.
He smiled at the creature as it hissed, its arm rearing back to swipe at his head, "While I may not have had all the information, it seems you will still be easy to deal with." He ducked beneath the swipe, hauling the creature with him as he brought his captured arm down, attempting to slam the body into the floor.
She let go, flapping her arms to get high above him and moving back towards Hayato, landing in the mid-way point. Her pointed ears twitched as she bent her knees, head tilting to the right as she extended one arm back and the other to the side.
"Not so mindless are you?" Kikyo asked, smiling as he brought out Torikabuto's mask and held it up. Hayato's nostrils flared as he inhaled heavily when he saw the dark mask begin to swirl with Mist, levitating out of the man's hand. "Let us show you why we're considered the Funeral Wreaths."
/ | \
"We should send out one of the Mosca's," Spanner said, activating the camera that let them see out to see Hayato just barely holding off with Kikyo.
"Do it, before that masked thing finishes forming," Shoichi agreed, "To Sawada, there are two Funeral Wreaths before the base."
Mini Mosca deployed.
Whatever Sawada said was drowned out by one of the Mosca's leaving through the roof, the lights on it glowing a brilliant yellow.
"You sent out the Sun one?"
"Robotic medic, kid needs it," Spanner responded, glancing out of the corner of his eye as Shoichi grabbed his stomach. "The Storm has access to different flames, I doubt he can currently use them to their fullest potential and he's already injured."
"There's only enough Sun flames stored in it to keep it running, if it tries to heal more than one major injury it'll deactivate."
Spanner frowned, about to tell Shoichi that it was still the better idea only for him to focus on the screen as the creature Hayato had summoned, brought her arms together and swung them in an arc parallel to the ground.
A powerful red tinged wave arced towards Kikyo and Torikabuto, the backlash of it seen as it made Hayato slide back, while she kept in place by digging her clawed feet into the floor.
The Mosca flying behind Hayato, pressing its hand into his back was what kept him in place, a brief glow of yellow surrounding him. While surprised, the silver haired teen didn't let it deter him from pressing his ring against one box around his waist.
The creature's ear twitched again, taking flight as he thumbed the ring with a purple stone on his left hand, a small purple flame sprouting from it, which he used to open up the box it related too. A thin tube popped out from it and he inserted it into the back of the skull head.
"Kikyo is just watching him," Shoichi observed, not sure how to feel about the mint haired man.
"Should we activate wheel drive and get away from the scene?"
"No, this is the closest support he has," Shoichi said, fingers hovering over a few buttons, holding three down and repeatedly tapping two. "It's locked on Torikabuto."
There was a blast of purple, a tree like webbing spreading out from the shot as red and purple flames dug into the ground. They saw Kikyo merely tilt his head in curiosity, before the man started chuckling.
"He's going to meet that head on? The Storm properties would make him disintegrate."
Shoichi frowned, "Not unless he knows his flames are stronger than Gokudera's."
Mini Mosca update: Gokudera Hayato, 15, Storm. Status: mildly healed and energized.
The update came as Kikyo punched into the oncoming spread, fist coated in purple. They watched as the rooting of Hayato's shot had started shatter.
"Analyze him," Shoichi uttered, a beep following as a camera focused on Kikyo, the screen blacking out almost completely except for the white outline of the man's body and the purple vein like lines appearing throughout inside the outline.
There was a concentrated mass on his chest, the distinctive figure of Torikabuto's appearing behind him, but only lighting up on the mask and also on a spot where his chest should have been.
"Uh, what is that?"
"The young Decimo is within five hundred feet," Spanner commented, picking up Tsuna's signal coming in closer.
Shoichi watched as the incoming form of Tsuna came in closer, while Hayato opened up another of his boxes, large circular things surrounding him as Kikyo's deflection of his attack came towards him. The teen braced himself, the creature landing beside him in a crouch.
The backlash of what Kikyo did was rebuffed by the shield like circles, though Shoichi and Spanner had to hold down as it shook up the base.
'Shit sorry, I didn't –'
"We're fine, focus on what's in front of you," Shoichi cut off the teen, not liking the fact that the camera that had been analyzing Kikyo had been broken by the backlash. He watched as the incoming form of Tsuna got closer and hoped that this was enough.
(Byakuran….what are you thinking?)
/ | \
"They're just playing around and wasting time!" Bluebell pouted as she let herself fall back on the couch beside Byakuran. Said man quirked a brow in amusement, smiling at the younger girl's antics.
"Oh, but they're having fun," Byakuran said, slouching down as he looked over the fight that now included the young Tsunayoshi.
While not everything was going exactly to how he had pictured it would go, he was more than a little happy to be introduced to something different. The concept of bringing the younger Vongola counterparts to the future wasn't foreign to Byakuran, but in very few universes had they held off Saru and Torikabuto so easily.
(What was the difference?)
Not that he was worried about it; more than anything he was excited.
Excited on how the end would reach this group and if it'd be as a good as what he was seeing.
There was a soft 'oh' from Bluebell as Sawada Tsunayoshi blocked what Torikabuto sent his way, the half formed Mist, creating a maze of sorts to keep the teen away.
"He's the strongest Mist I know of," Byakuran smiled as Torikabuto continued to weave his intent within the maze, small beams appearing and forcing Tsunayoshi to move towards the middle. "The oldest and most experienced, so we'll see who wins…"
Watching Tsunayoshi be confined to a cage that would soon skewer him was much better than having ended his life with a gun. Not only was he being forced back, but he could also see what his Storm was fighting against.
His moments of where he focused too long on the silver haired teen were obvious by the tears that were appearing on his cothes, his body getting littered by cuts as he just barely dodged back.
Even his little flame throwing technique he had done earlier wasn't able to break through completely as Torikabuto's little prison grew back instantly and faster than before.
Byakuran almost laughed as Tsunayoshi curled into a ball as the last of the beams rose up, filling the whole maze and prison. Almost, because while the boy's flame may have sputtered out for a few seconds, it came roaring back.
Seeing Torikabuto's mask freeze at the edges as the prison was crystalized before it was shattered was a sight to behold. The black ball floating in the middle unfurled itself, the long black cloak fluttering in the wind, the hooded figure of Tsunayoshi reaching up to bring down the hood which transformed back into a lion cub that settled on its shoulders.
Byakuran laughed, his head falling back as he did so.
"This is so much more interesting that I thought it would be."
Zakuro threw the laughing man a bland look, not at all disturbed by the way he was acting. He and Bluebell shared a look, the girl sniffing as she looked away from him, noise pointed in the air. The man scoffed, turning back to look at the screen that showed what the Rain kid was doing.
Compared to the other side who had devised a bit of a base that doubled as a shelter for them, Daisy had merely found a building in which he could sit in. There was no light in the room he had claimed, the only thing that shown was the light yellow flame mark on his chest.
The question was would Daisy toy with the kid or would he deal with him outright?
/ | \
There was silence in the room as they all watched Takeshi's sword pierce Daisy's chest. The Rain's face was cast in shadow, so they couldn't see exactly what he felt in that moment, though a few of them could imagine just what he could probably be feeling.
(Nauseous? Nervous? Doubtful? Guilty? In disbelief?)
The room went dark as Daisy's flame sputtered out, his body being laid down gently as Takeshi removed his sword.
"It's over?" came Kyoko's soft voice as she came up to them, Haru beside her.
Chrome and Ryohei looked away from the screen to look at the two girl's, Ryohei being the one to hold out his arms as Kyoko stepped closer and let her head rest against his chest after what they had witnessed.
Natsume stayed staring at the screen, while Hibari looked over at the continuing fight between the Cloud and Hayato. Now that Tsuna had been able to join, the two were having an easier time of dealing with the mint haired man, even managing to push him back to get him away from the base.
Natsume stared, having an idea of what Takeshi could be feeling after what he had done.
So she saw when the mark on Daisy's chest flickered to life. Whatever noise she had made drew the attention to her, "No way," Ryohei whispered eyes wide as he saw what was happening on screen. Kyoko also stared at the screen, brows furrowed. "That's fighting dirty and unfair!"
"Let's not think like that," Natsume said her tone light though by looking at her face they could tell she was angry. "Something can be done."
(I hope, please let there be something that can be done.)
Part 78: Strike down the Sun
'I…keep….why won't he stay down?'
The tight feeling in Shoichi's gut that had been easily ignored at first was getting harder to push aside. Not when the cramping sensations were intensifying, or that deep down he realized that this would all end on his life.
How funny was that?
He put a brief end to Sawada Tsunayoshi's life to bring forth the young counterpart and there was the possibility – no the absolute guarantee – that his life would be forfeit.
(What would happen afterwards? Vongola would lose and Byakuran…what would he do to these kids? What would he do now that it was all being served to him on a silver platter?)
Shoichi could only watch as Tsuna's flames surged towards Torikabuto, Kikyo just barely dodging the attack from the lion cub that attempted to bite him. The golden colored flames wrapped around Torikabuto, his flames sputtering as Tsuna's turned it into ice and enveloped his entire form.
The lion cub moved towards Hayato, who was kneeling on the ground, one hand clutching the left side of his face, blood seeping through his fingers.
"What are you thinking?"
Shoichi didn't look at Spanner, feeling his friend's concerned gaze on him and Shoichi just shook his head.
How did he tell his friend that he knew he had to die?
/ | \
Kikyo opened Torikabuto's box as the pieces of the mask fell to the ground, the last remnants of the Mist's flame swirling on the Mare ring as it was pressed against it. Small winged insects swarmed up, half of them going in Tsuna's direction, the other half towards Hayato.
Natsu roared, the wave of energy that left him burning up half of the swarm that came at them, their ashes falling on them. The cub shook his head, a tiny gao leaving him as his fiery mane brightened for a second before being a soft, flowy amber again.
"Really impressive," Kikyo complimented, dropping the Mist box and pulling out a purple one. "But I'm afraid this has gone on long enough."
Before he could open it Kikyo had to bring his arm in time to block Tsuna's punch, giving the brunet a smile that made the teen narrow his eyes at him, only for them to widen as he flared his flame on his ring. A vine like thing sprouted, trying to snatch and hold Tsuna, the teen moving away before they could do so.
He landed in front of Hayato, glancing back at Hayato who merely nodded at him. Natsu jumped up on his shoulder, hunching low as they both stared at the stalks that began to spread around Kikyo.
Tsuna held his hands out in front of him, the heel of his hands barely touching as he formed a v-shape that he turned sideways. Natsu jumped onto his wrists, tail wrapping around his arms, another gao leaving him as he too focused on what Tsuna was doing.
"Ikaika Ikehu (Energy blast)," Tsuna murmured, the blue tooth in his ear beeping as it registered his words. "Seventy five percent."
The contacts in his eye showed the amount of power and easily levelled it out, shooting off instantly as Kikyo opened his box. The last Tsuna could see clearly of the man was a smirk, eyes seeming to gleam in interest before his flames obscured his vision.
Ceasing fire.
The flowers that bloomed as he relented made Tsuna curse himself for pulling back.
/ | \
Daisy wasn't staying down and Takeshi had already summoned Kojiro and Jiro to aid him in getting the man before him to stay down for more than ten seconds.
Honestly the minute the flame went out the first time, it should have been called, but no. It kept coming back and coming back and Takeshi had even gone as far as trying to take Daisy's head off to make the man stop getting up.
It obviously hadn't worked.
"How long can you go?" Daisy asked, crouching down to pick up the raggedy rabbit that he had dropped when the bird had swooped down on him earlier. It had slowed him down enough for the Rain to get another hit in, though he hadn't expected him to go for his throat.
Takeshi merely scrunched his brows, taking a step back as Jiro stood in front of him in defense, Kojiro stopping behind Daisy, though the man didn't pay him attention.
"I'm the living dead, don't you realize it?" Daisy murmured quietly, holding the doll in his hands and moving the arms of it. "I'm sure you understand what that means."
He hadn't wanted to think that, but he knew there was some truth in Daisy's words, because he had stabbed the man in places that should have had him dead.
"You're not going to give up are you? Can you at least talk?"
"Cambio Forma Rōndine di Piojja," was all Takeshi said, Kojiro zipping past Daisy, a cut appearing on the man's cheek, the swallow's form burned entirely blue as it melded into Shigure Kintoki. Takeshi slid his right foot back, angling his sword to the left as he observed Daisy's next move. "Tsutsuki!"
He moved forward, sword coming down and quickly switched his gripped so that he could bring it straight up and then across to once again attempt to end Daisy.
A bell tolled loudly as Daisy crumpled to his knees, the sudden heaviness in his limbs much harder to fight against than the slashes the teen had landed on him before. It almost felt as if he was drowning and he fell forward, his stuffed rabbit falling from his hands as they splayed forward to catch him as he heaved.
'It seems there is a clear winner.'
The voice rang loud and clear and Takeshi refrained from screaming as he held his sword out to his side, Kojiro fluttering away from the handle and landing on his shoulder.
He sheathed his sword, the thoughts that went through his head nothing nice as he called back Kojiro and Jiro to their box and he left.
(I failed them.)
/ | \
The doors in the back opened up, Natsume being the first one to leave with Squalo and Dino close behind her.
"Onii-san…."
"Be prepared for anything," Reborn's voice came from beside them, Fuuta and Bianchi, along with the kids coming up behind them. "Keep the non-fighters in the middle. Ryohei you're up front, Chrome and Hibari stay back."
There was an edge to Reborn's voice that neither Kyoko nor Haru could have imagined, the cherubic face of the toddler hidden by the way his fedora fell over his face.
Hibari didn't complain about the order or his place in the group, understanding that now wasn't the time. Chrome was beside him and the pair shared a look, Hibari slowing his pace to walk behind her.
They made their way out of the building, moving in the direction of where they could see the smoke billowing up. Their group was quiet, distantly hearing Squalo's shouting at someone for acting like an idiot.
Turning the corner they saw the destroyed street, Kikyo long since having left after destroying the base and getting rid of Shoichi's mark. Tsuna was kneeling beside the red head, hands pressed against the wound in his chest as Hayato attempted to spark his Sun flames in an attempt to not allow the man to bleed out.
Spanner had hauled out a Mosca that had barely managed to escape unscathed, tinkering with it to make sure it wouldn't burn out on as he manually adjusted the settings to heal with the small use of flames he had installed all of them with.
Natsume was getting yelled at by Squalo, obviously ignoring the man while Dino had made his way over to Tsuna in an attempt to help.
"There has….to be…"
"Shut up, idiot," Hayato gritted out, managing a small Sun flame on his ring and pressing his hand against Shoichi's chest. "Shit, how do I do this?"
"Intentions, Hayato," Natsume answered, glancing over her shoulder, an unusually serious look on her face. "You need to relax first, breath in and out and focus on what you want it do."
"What do Sun flames allow for? Healing and growth, right?" she asked, turning away and keeping her gaze out for Takeshi who still hadn't arrived. "Think of happy memories, something that makes you want to be better and use that."
Hayato's brow furrowed, not exactly understanding how happy memories would help use these stupid flames, but attempting it nonetheless.
(He thought of his friends, the banter and laughter. His sister who was trying her best. He thought of Sawada Nana and his own mother.)
"Well you're doing something," Dino muttered as the yellow flame grew to cover the whole ring. "Keep up the flow; it's slowing down the bleeding."
Squalo turned to the girl, who had closed her eyes and was breathing in and out slowly. So he didn't have to worry about her going crazy.
Good.
(That shit wasn't fun.)
"Where's the damned shithead?" he asked, gaze flicking up to the rooftop of the building in front of them. There were people gathering up there and he didn't enjoy the feeling of being watched, or being out in the open.
"Communications are down," Spanner answered, slightly muffled as he held a tool in his mouth. "He should be here soon."
His words were followed by an exclamation of victory, a loud whirring sound as Spanner managed to switch the flame controls of the Mosca. He ran over to Shoichi's side, Tsuna moving so that the man could place the Mosca and allow it to do what it was supposed to do.
"It's going to patch you up," Spanner said as the machine beeped, its fingers flexing as its hands pressed against Shoichi's chest. Hayato pulled back, falling onto his butt as he let his head fall into his hands.
The dried blood flaked as his hands happened to brush up against the left side of his face, a wince accompanying the feeling.
They'd lost.
It was a bitter feeling.
Hayato let himself sit like that for a few minutes, only lifting his head up when he felt the familiar 'ping' of being searched out.
Fucking finally.
Takeshi didn't look worse for wear, but the look in his eyes didn't sit well with anyone. Not even when he attempted to appease them with a smile that looked as if it would break apart at any second.
"Hayato," Tsuna called to him standing up from his crouched position and moving to where Natsume, Squalo and Takeshi stood. The silver haired teen stood up without a complaint, not even when his body protested the movement, he followed after Tsuna, standing to his right as they checked over Takeshi. "Takeshi."
The tight lipped smile the dark haired teen gave them spoke volumes.
"Get ready," Squalo muttered, letting his left hand come down, sword at the ready for whatever came next. "You," he said to Natsume, gesturing with his head for her to fall back.
She didn't argue with him, stepping back and letting her brother take the spot she had been standing, only stopping when she was by Dino who had stayed close by Shoichi.
"My, my you all put so much effort into this," Byakuran commented as he floated down, grinning down at them all. The funeral wreaths merely jumping down from the low rise building once he touched the ground, standing in a half circle behind him. "So sad to see it end this way."
The grin faded as he opened his eyes, a gleam in his eyes that didn't sit well with anyone, "The subject of payment Vongola owes Millefiore," he extended his hand, "are those –"
"This wasn't discussed with me," a young girl's voice spoke up, cutting off Byakuran who looked beyond the group at the figure who shouldn't be there. "As I am also a Millefiore boss, neither this fight nor the subject of payment was properly approved."
(Uni….What the hell?!)
The girl stopped by Natsume, who was staring at her in surprise, before looking back at where the girl had appeared from, an amused look crossing her features as she realized just who had brought Uni here.
(The absolute bastard.)
"Uni-chan," Byakuran's sweet tone had a dark edge to it, his head tilting to the side as his eyes slipped shut again. "I had thought since you were unwell…that I would make the important decisions."
Uni smiled kindly at the man, slightly tilting her head forward, "I believe I am better thanks to a friendly magi's help."
Natsume refrained from making a sound, but the moment everything was fine and good and just ten types of better than everything was right now, she was going to throttle the shit out of Mukuro.
'Hello Princess~'
Natsume ignored the voice in her head, focusing on Uni as a warm feeling blossomed in her chest. This was hope and judging by the twinkle in Uni's eye, this was going to be for the better.
/ | \
Okay so maybe things weren't going for the better.
It took the three gathered Mist's to erect a barrier to stop Byakuran's attack and hold off the following ones from the Funeral Wreaths.
"We need to get out of here," Spanner muttered, eyeing the strength of the barrier and wondering how long it would hold up against the enemy.
"That thing that brought us here, it should be able to take us back –"
"We don't have time to charge it up again," Natsume cut Tsuna off, giving her brother an apologetic look for doing so. "There's one thing we can do, but we'll have to split up."
"Will we be able to find each other?" Dino asked, having an idea of what Natsume was planning.
"As long as the clones don't disappear," Natsume answered as she closed her eyes. Kyoko and Haru gasped as it looked like Natsume split herself up, versions of herself walking up to everyone and grouping them up.
Chrome came up beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, her Vongola ring glowing alight with purple fire, "Everyone hold tight, we'll see each other soon enough!"
Someone yelled, whatever they said covered up by the loud crack everyone disappearing made. Natsume looked at Spanner and Shoichi who had been left behind, "Go Princess, I'll hold them off."
"I thought that name would have stopped," Natsume muttered as she crouched beside Shoichi and Spanner, placing a hand on both of their shoulders. Chrome was across from her, doing the same as she tried not to smile at the defeat in her friend's voice. "Spanner how healed is he?"
Spanner checked the Mosca, making a face, "If you're careful, it won't harm him too bad."
The fire that blazed in front of them as Mukuro stepped through the barrier they had made was felt and Natsume grit her teeth, "This may feel weird."
Her flames spread out over them, making them feel as if they had been submerged under a pool. The sensation of tipping forward and being spun really fast was unpleasant and by the time they opened their eyes they were in the middle of a shop.
"Kawahira's?" Chrome uttered not seeming phased by what she had been through, while Spanner leaned forward, resting his head in his hands and Shoichi merely kept his eyes tightly shut.
"Good they're not here," Natsume stood up, snapping her fingers while flicking her wrist, the couches and table being pushed back against the walls. "I'm going to find them and tell them to not come back here; this might end up as a meeting point."
"Chrome can you…?"
"I'll stay here."
Natsume gave her a tired smile, "I'll be back."
"Be careful."
Not much time had gone by when they felt a heavy presence. Shoichi managed to open his eyes, seeing the unblinking lights in the far corner of the room, dread pooling in his stomach feeling like ice as it spread throughout his whole body.
The moment was gone and he felt too warm, Spanner gently pushing down on his shoulders, "You're going to hurt yourself more."
"Chrome, I'm glad to see you well," a man's voice called to the girl, who seemed to relax even further.
(Who was this man?)
"You've aged gracefully, Kawahira-san."
There was a snort and a man stepped out from what seemed to be the kitchen, clad in a simple green kimono, though the obi tied around his waist was patterned with light blues, purples, and orange, "That's not a compliment, Chrome."
"I was just guessing what Natsume-san would have said."
The man pulled out a fan from within his sleeves, flicking it open so he could fan himself, plum colored eyes making contact with Shoichi's, "The girl has such darling friends."
(Who was this man?)
"Please don't make too much of a mess," the man strode by, standing over them and looking at he wound on Shoichi's chest curiously. "In my age, it is hard to scrub the floors." He moved on, beads clicking behind him and Shoichi felt like he could breathe.
"Who…is that?"
"Natsume-san's teacher."
Oh.
"We should leave here as soon as possible."
Chrome frowned, "Kawahira-san is a good man."
(Yeah, a good man who so happened to teach Sawada Natsume whose older self was The Black Witch? No, there was nothing nice about that man if that was what he had a hand in creating.)
/ | \
"Where are we?" Haru asked looking around the bedroom they had appeared in.
There was a small child's bed in the middle of the room, the head of it pushed up against the wall. The bright colorings that were hung up depicted an artistic child and parents who showed off their skills. Wicker baskets were throughout the room filled with toys, blankets, or pillows, and one such basket that was beside the tall dresser caught Haru's eye.
Haru tugged at the quilted blanket, tearing up slightly as she noticed the name on the tag. She extended it out, a soft sound of awe leaving her as she saw the whole picture. With mismatched fabric pieces, the greens, whites, and blues having different patterns but fitting together in the way that they brought out the sunflowers stitched on top.
"Oh, is this Malana's room?" Kyoko murmured as she stood beside her, looking at the pictures on top of the dresser.
"Who is Malana?" Ryohei asked, coming up beside his sister and staring at the smiling faces in the picture. He was surprised to see Hana holding the child in her lap, holding up the little girl's arm and having her wave at the camera. "That extremely doesn't look like Hana's child."
"Hana told us she is," Haru said, standing up, letting the quilt fold over in her arms. "Aw, she looks so cute in that jumper."
(It was weird to be in a place where everything felt like it was going so wrong, but finding out how right it had been going.)
"Look it's everyone," Haru pointed at a picture were everyone was posing together, dressed down and relaxed as they seemed to be enjoying a cook out.
There was Tsuna and Hayato, posed back to back, Takeshi kneeling in front of them giving the camera a smoldering look. Ryohei stood beside Hana, the white haired man looking and laughing at Lambo who was on his back. Haru stood beside I-pin and Bianchi, all of the women holding out peace signs.
Fuuta was beside Natsume, who in this picture had her hair pulled back in two thick Dutch braids going down past her waist, the little girl Hana had been holding in the other picture was sitting on her shoulders, arms crossed and puffing her cheeks. Natsume was mid eye roll, with Hibari behind them, looking amused.
Chrome sat on the grass, a teal haired boy, a blond man and a another man in a beanie surrounding her, with Mukuro standing behind them, upper body leaning forward, resting his arms atop the teal haired kid's head.
Kyoko's head was in the bottom right corner, brows raised high as she smiled widely at the camera, seeming to have just barely made it in the shot.
"I would stay put for a little while," Natsume's voice came from the doorway, an amused smirk curling the girl's face as they all flinched. "Boo~"
"Whose house is this?" Haru asked, earning a shrug from Natsume.
"I just focused on what was most familiar and I pulled us here," Natsume answered, looking about the room, her smile falling away. "It should be the same for the others."
"Though I wouldn't explore too much," Natsume said as she moved from the doorway, eyes glowing a light purple, "There are things in the future that should remain a surprise."
"We should meet up with the others," Ryohei said, crossing his arms, brow still furrowed in thought as he looked between the small girl, Hana and Natsume. He narrowed his eyes and was about to say something when Haru's stomach rumbled loudly.
The brunette blushed, puffing her cheeks out as she crossed her arms in front of her stomach, "Hahi? Maybe we can find some snacks before leaving?"
"Let's find the kitchen," Kyoko, looped her arm with Haru's, offering her left arm to her brother who took it without much thought. "Hopefully whosever house this is won't mind if we take a few things."
"Hmmhmm," Natsume hummed, making as if to follow them but staying behind to look over the room. "I owe you one Hana."
And she left with that, closing the door behind her and heading downstairs with the others.
/ | \
"Is this the school?" Dino asked, looking around the courtyard. Natsume's clone shrugged, bringing her hands behind her, "Why bring us here?"
Again the clone shrugged and Dino felt his brow twitch, more so when the clone gave him a tightlipped smile, "This is just the spot that reached out to me."
"The hell does that mean?"
The clone tilted its head to the side, pursing her lips as she considered the answer she was going to give the Varia member, "Exactly what it means."
Squalo narrowed his eyes, debating if he should slash at the clone to get his ire across, but held off from doing so.
"Will those bastards be able to follow us?" Squalo asked instead, making sure to hold eye contact with the girl.
"Depends on them," she answered, not looking away from Squalo's intense gaze. "If they happen to find us, they'll be split up, so most of our groups will have an advantage."
Some of them, so not all of them would be able to hold up against the Funeral Wreaths if they were found, which meant, and Squalo could only guess at this, that the girl had probably taken extra care to put those groups in a more protected area.
That or she just winged it.
Which he really didn't want to be the case, but Natsume's manifestations somehow always worked out in a good way.
"Where are the others?" Dino asked and Natsume gave him a closed eye smile, bringing one of her hands forward, extending her pointer finger and making a circle in the air.
"They're around."
"You're so helpful, Natsume."
The clone just continued to smile.
/ | \
"We're back at the Sawada home," Bianchi noted, recognizing the room she was in.
"Why here?"
The dead look the clone of Natsume gave them made Fuuta laugh, reaching out to ruffle her hair, only for his hand to go through, "Alright, I'm assuming people have been asking that."
"I don't know, but they might."
"I want to see Tsuna's room now!" Lambo leapt off the bed he had fallen on top off, dashing out of Natsume's old room and across the way. "Oh! There's nothing here!"
"People move out Lambo," Fuuta said, heading to the doorway and peaking his head out into the hallway. "Let's head downstairs."
"The others should probably be hearing this soon," Natsume's clone spoke up, taking a seat on the bed. "I'll use the last bit of power that's keeping me to cover you all so you can head back to the base."
"Is that wise?"
The clone shrugged, "I'm only so good at playing telephone and you don't have those headsets the others have to communicate, it'd be best to meet up again and decide what's happening."
Her face scrunched up in thought, "At least that's what I think Giannini said."
Bianchi brought her hand up, fingers curling over her mouth as she considered Giannini's idea, "Would it be smart if everyone heads there?"
"I wouldn't doubt that the Millefiore have an idea about any possible locations, they were all over Namimori weeks ago," Fuuta answered. "The Vongola base has managed to stay out of their radar, maybe they don't know where it is."
"I still don't think it'd be safe."
"We also don't know how much time Mukuro bought us –" Fuuta cut off as his phone began to ring, surprise showing on his face as he saw the caller. "Chikusa?"
"If you decide to not leave, I can strengthen the wards around the house," Natsume looked at Bianchi as she said this, who shook her head.
"Hold onto what you have right now, I'd rather be able to use you to find the others."
Natsume nodded, bringing her feet up and crossing her legs, one of her fingers hooking into the extended tag of her boot, "If you say so~"
/ | \
"We're close to the Vongola base," Giannini recognized the area around them, turning to Natsume who was staring at Tsuna, Hayato and Takeshi, the boys not being able to steady themselves on the landing and falling on top of each other.
"You did that on purpose!" Hayato growled out from underneath Tsuna who was about to be thrown off if he didn't move fast enough. "Oi! Get off fatass!"
Tsuna was the first one loose from the pile, poking Hayato's face after his remark towards Takeshi who merely picked himself up and off the teen, giving them a strained smile. The other two caught the look, sharing a concerned glance between the two, which led to Hayato standing up and elbowing the taller teen, "Your face is pissing me off."
Tsuna sighed as he also stood up, refraining from rolling his eyes and instead looked towards his sister's clone, "Where are we?"
"I don't know," Natsume seemed to whine out, head falling back as she looked up. "Stop asking me that!"
"You're keeping in touch with the others?" Giannini asked, not knowing how much this young version of Natsume could do. He got a noise of approval, which made the short man sigh in relief, "Could it be possible to bring them all to the base? We're not well connected and it'd be best to be so once things get tough."
The clone turned its head to look at Giannini, one eye closed and the other one barely peaking open to stare at him, "I'm not too good at this relay game, but I'll try," she muttered, closing her eyes and humming.
"They're a rowdy bunch," Reborn commented from beside Uni, who turned to the small hitman.
"They're lively," she said, lacing her hand in front of her, looking up in time to see Hayato put an arm round Takeshi's shoulder, muttering things underneath his breath at him. "You enjoy watching over them, Uncle."
"It's my duty to ensure they survive."
Uni hummed, a knowing smiling quirking the corners of her mouth up, "Of course it is."
"Squalo says he's coming," the face Natsume made as she held a hand up over her right ear, messing with the stud in her ear. "Fuuta said to reach out if you need him, he's staying where they are for now."
"Squalo will find his way in then," Giannini clapped his hands together, "Let's head to the base and see if we can't spread out proper communication with everyone."
"I feel like that's going to be my job."
"If you don't mind Natsume."
The sound of someone giggling got Giannini's and Natsume's attention, the two turning around to look at Uni who was covering her mouth to stifle her laughter, looking away from the three boys. Tsuna had Hayato and Takeshi in a headlock, looking completely unamused at the two as he muttered something under his breath.
"Oh my, how the locks have headed," Natsume commented, earning a glare from her brother. She held her hands up as if to protect herself from Tsuna if he threw himself at her. She looked over at Uni who had glanced over at her and she dipped her head at the girl, "Welcome to our family Uni."
The girl returned the gesture, Reborn seeming amused beside her, "Thank you for having me."
Author Note:
I've edited this as best as I could. I'll probably find more stuff to edit once I reread it again when my brain is actually rested. Please let me know if something is weird or funky. I hope this is all connecting well and at least somewhat flowing alright. The ending was kind of weird. But that's as good as its going to get.
And if anyone is confused as to how Uni got to Japan with Mukuro's help, in one of the previous chapters I wrote specific scene with her eating and drinking with one of the 'milliefiore' members serving her. He even made the comment of a friend who knew how to brew tea well (and who do we know makes and drinks quesitonable teas to build a tolerance to poison, or has at least been mentioned before?)
Yeah that's how thats connected.
Again, I'm sorry for being very confusing with my scenes.
Hope ya enjoyed~
Stay safe and well~
Sorugao