I don't own KHR as always.
Mukuro was not having a good night.
First off, Daemon stopped him from finding his siblings, making Ryohei's offer to be the distraction along with Kyoya basically worthless. Second, Daemon's illusions, while they hadn't actually hurt him, hit him with enough force to make him take a few steps back.
And Daemon was smiling the whole time. Mukuro wanted to wipe it off his face but every single darn time that he sent an illusion Daemon's way, the mafioso just waved it away, like it was a pesky mosquito.
Then, to top it all off, that green-haired, good-for-nothing mafioso electrocuted Ryohei. That blasted punk had seriously injured him to the point that for a short while, Mukuro was actually afraid that Ryohei had died. That he had come to rescue Chrome and Hayato only to lose Ryohei forever, his little brother that hadn't even been captured.
Luckily, before Mukuro could totally lose it, Ryohei opened his eyes and was able to have a coherent conservation with him. Alas, that conservation had to be cut short due to Daemon entering the scene again.
Then Kyoya got defeated and Alaude dared to cuff one of his brother's wrists with his handcuffs, like it was okay to take yet another sibling away from him. Mukuro wanted to go to him but he was the only one between Ryohei and Daemon and there was absoluetely no way he was going to leave his injured brother in that mafioso's hands.
And if that wasn't enough, a fourth mafioso named Knuckle (the one Chrome said was the doctor) arrived and had the gall to act like he was geniunely worried for him and his siblings, especially Ryohei. He even went so far as to run towards his little brother, in the pretense to stop Ryohei from hurting himself.
So of course Mukuro stopped him by summoning a bunch of cobras and spiders to appear between them and the doctor. It was quite easy to do, and it was satisfactory to see Knuckle skid to a stop. Ready to defeat the mafioso, ready to finally turn the tides of the battle in their favor, Mukuro raised his trident. But before he could send the spiders and cobras out to attack Knuckle, Mukuro's night suddenly got worse and better simultaneously.
Hayato and Chrome suddenly walked into the hallway, quickly stopping when they saw the scene in front of them. Hayato had his arm slung around Chrome's shoulders and she was doing her best to help support his weight with her petite frame. They were also in unfamiliar clothes and barefoot and Hayato's face was paler than he would have liked but...they were alive. After about a week of them being separated, Mukuro had finally found them.
But they had also walked straight into the lion's den, and both of them looked absolutely terrified.
"DON'T!" Chrome screamed. Immediately, Daemon and Knuckle turned around to face his younger siblings.
Mukuro felt his anxiety rise even further.
"Oh my...Chrome," Daemon said, strangely looking like he was tearing up. "You talked!"
Chrome's eye widened in realization and fear and if that wasn't bad enough, Knuckle took a step towards them.
"Oh kids...it's alright," Knuckle assured them in a voice that just had to be filled with fake kindness and concern. Then he felt a hand on his arm, making him turn around.
"Mukuro," Ryohei whispered, fear in his gray eyes as he began to lean on Mukuro. Though he didn't say anything else, Mukuro heard Ryohei's question loud and clear.
What should they do? How are they going to protect Hayato and Chrome? How were they all going to get out of this?
Mukuro looked back at Kyoya, who was still pinned under Alaude. They made eye contact and began to have a silent conservation.
"I swear...this...those kids aren't in danger," Knuckle continued as Kyoya nodded, prompting Mukuro to nod back.
Mukuro knew what to do.
"Lampo and..."
"AHHH!" the blasted green-haired mafioso screamed as vipers and black widows suddenly fell on him, as well as Alaude. Trusting Kyoya to take this opening, Mukuro then turned his head back around and focused on the spiders and cobras that were still in front of them to swarm towards Knuckle and Daemon.
"Oh my boy, this isn't-whoa!" Daemon exclaimed when an unexpected, heavy mist quickly filled the total expanse of the hall. Mukuro couldn't help but smirk.
That's his Chrome.
But it was still too early to celebrate, which was reinforced when Ryohei's hand got forcibly taken away. Mukuro didn't panic because while Chrome's mist practically blinded the mafioso, he and his other siblings still had the ability to see.
In other words, he could clearly see that Kyoya had escaped Alaude and was currently carrying Ryohei over his shoulder while running towards Hayato and Chrome (though he still had Alaude's handcuff attached to his wrist). Mukuro quickly followed suit, pleased to see that out of the corner of his eye that Daemon and Knuckle were still preoccupied with Chrome's mist and the animals he was able to summon thanks to the Third Path of Reincarnation.
But Mukuro wasn't sure just how much longer they would be preoccupied. So he ran to his younger siblings at the end of the hallway, who were waiting for them with their free hands outstretched (though Chrome was carrying her trident in her free hand). Every step seemed to take forever making Mukuro both anxious and afraid.
He just wants to be with his siblings again, he doesn't want the mafioso to bar the way to their siblings at the very last second, oh please, if they have any good luck left, let them reach Hayato and Chrome, please, please, please.
Then Kyoya, who was just a bit ahead of him, reached them. He grabbed Chrome's hand and started to pull her behind him just as Mukuro reached Hayato. Without a second thought, Mukuro scooped Hayato up into the bridal carry, not wanting to aggravate his brother's chest wound further by throwing him over his shoulder.
The very instant that he did so, Mukuro felt...better. All the anxiety, frustration, fear, and anger subsided at once, leaving only pure relief and a very tender happiness at the forefront. Mukuro didn't even try to resist clutching his little brother closer to his chest as they ran away. Apparantly, Hayato was on a similar emotional wavelength because instead of being embarrassed or being angry over being carried in the bridal position, Hayato just dug his face into Mukuro's chest as he grasped Mukuro's shirt tightly with both hands.
Needless to say, Mukuro was going to be hardpressed to let Hayato out of his sight for a while. That included Chrome of course.
As they ran through the mansion making a few twists and turns along the way, Mukuro strained his ears in order to hear any footsteps pursuing them.
There were. They weren't right behind them, but they were close enough.
"In there!" Chrome exclaimed as she pointed at a nearby door with her free hand, the other clasped tightly around Kyoya's hand (she had made her trident disappear not long after they left the battle scene).
Kyoya immediately steered them there without question or protest. In the next few seconds, all of them had entered the room and closed the door behind them as quietly and quickly as they could. As Mukuro took in his new surroundings, the first thing he noticed were the two unmade beds.
"Is this where they kept you two?" Mukuro asked as he instinctively held his younger brother just a bit tighter.
"Yeah, I figured that they would think that this was the last place we would try to hide in," Chrome explained before her purple eye widened. "Wait, or would they search here first just in case?"
"Well either way, I think we're out of time," Hayato stated as he peeked over Mukuro's shoulder. He was right, the sound of running footsteps were even louder now.
"To the closet," Kyoya ordered as he raced to the door on the right side of the room, still holding Chrome's hand tightly as he did so. Mukuro followed suit and about the time he reached the closet, Kyoya had already opened the door. Kyoya had Chrome go into the closet first while he bent over so that Ryohei could finally get off his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Mukuro snuck into the closet and sat right down next to Chrome. As soon as he settle down with Hayato on his lap, he wrapped his arm around his dear sister's shoulders and pulled her very close to his side. She instantly snuggled against him, making Mukuro want to kiss her forehead because he was finally holding his little sister in his arms again.
So of course he didn't try to resist.
Then Ryohei stumbled in and sat down in front of Chrome while Kyoya closed the door behind him. Ryohei instantly leaned forward and hugged Chrome and Hayato, who hugged him right back (though Chrome kept her hold on Mukuro's side). Then Kyoya sat down right in front of him and joined in on the hug without hesitation. Any other time Mukuro might have teased him that he of all people went straight for the hug in an already crowded space but Mukuro perfectly understood how his older brother felt.
They had been without their siblings for far too long.
So without hesistation, Mukuro wrapped his free arm around Kyoya's back and brought the small group closer together. Even though they were still in danger, even though Tsuna, Takeshi, and Lambo weren't there, Mukuro couldn't help but let out a sigh of satisfaction. They had finally found Hayato and Chrome, and both of them were alive. Once it was safe enough, they would all leave this closet and escape this mansion and reunite with their waiting brothers. Then, with their family whole once more, they would make a new start somewhere else.
Mukuro couldn't wait.
Then the door to the room opened.
KHR
"Tsuna?" Takeshi said quietly as he began to feel a bit uneasy. Tsuna just fell forward without warning and while his head landed right on Takeshi's shoulder, Takeshi was a bit worried.
Tsuna didn't respond. Then Takeshi heard a little yelp, making him look down. His brown eyes widened when he saw that Tsuna's hold on Lambo had loosen to the point that the baby was beginning to slip down Tsuna's chest.
Takeshi quickly caught Lambo with one arm and brought the baby close to his own chest. Tsuna's arm now fell limply to his side.
"Tsu?" Lambo called out as he patted Tsuna's arm. Takeshi hoped that Tsuna would at least react to that but his little brother didn't.
"Tsuna?" Takeshi repeated as he felt his uneasiness increase. When Tsuna still didn't respond, Takeshi forced a smile and shook his shoulder a little bit. "Hey buddy, it's time to wake up."
The only response he got was having Tsuna's head slide down a little.
Takeshi gulped in an attempt to not panic. His little brother is okay, Tsuna is just sleeping...yeah! He is just tired from producing those strange orange flames and rescuing him from Reborn. Yeah, there was no need to be scared! Tsuna is just fine.
Though he has never been this heavy of a sleeper...
Takeshi shook that thought out of his mind and turn his attention to Lambo. Lambo happened to look up at Takeshi at that moment, his little baby face scrunched up in worry.
"Take? Tsu," Lambo whimpered as he patted Tsuna's arm again.
"Don't worry Lambo, Tsuna's okay," Takeshi assured him with a little smile. "C'mon, let's lay him down in the grass, he'll be more comfortable that way."
He then sat Lambo down on the grass next to him, who still looked a bit worried. Undeterred, Takeshi wrapped his arms around his brother and carefully placed him down the forest floor. Takeshi then sat up and got his first good look at Tsuna's face since he fell asleep.
What he saw practically threw his optimism out the window. Tsuna's face...was pale. Where just several minutes ago he looked completely healthy, he now looked completely unwell. The image of Pops' deathly pale face sprang to the forefront of his mind, causing Takeshi to shake his head.
"Tsuna?" he tried yet again as he grabbed both of Tsuna's shoulders and shook him. "Tsuna!"
Tsuna didn't wake up.
"C'mon buddy...you gotta wake up now. Kyoya and the others are going to be back with Hayato and Chrome any minute now. You don't want to be asleep when they arrive right?"
There was no response.
Takeshi felt his breathing become irregular as the memory of him trying to get Pops to open his eyes once more filled his mind. Takeshi closed his eyes and pushed the memory back into the abyss as he also tried to get his breathing back to normal.
He couldn't have a panic attack here, not when Tsuna still needed him, not when Lambo was counting on him to be strong, he just can't!
"Tsu?" Takeshi opened his eyes and saw Lambo sitting on his knees by Tsuna's other side. He must have crawled there while Takeshi was trying to get a hold of himself.
"Tsu," Lambo said as he shook Tsuna's arm with both of his little hands. When he didn't get a response, Lambo's face scrunched up. "Tsu! Tsu!"
"It's okay Lambo!" Takeshi tried to assure his baby brother despite not feeling okay himself. "Look, I'll show you!"
Takeshi then bent over so that his ear would touch Tsuna's chest. However, right before his ear could feel the area where Tsuna's heart resided, Takeshi stopped. His arms trembled as fear and trauma killed his motivation and took control of his body and spirit.
What if...what if there was no heartbeat?
What if Tsuna had...sacrificed himself to save him?
Just like Pops?
He...doesn't want to...he can't go through that...
"Take?" Takeshi's eyes peeked up to see Lambo looking down at him, a scared expression on his face as tears threatened to fall from his green eyes.
He's gotta pull himself together for Lambo. For Tsuna.
"I'm okay buddy," Takeshi assured him with a little smile that felt more brave than anything. But it seemed to do the trick because Lambo didn't look quite as scared as before. Takeshi then took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. After he was done steeling himself, Takeshi finally moved his head down until his ear softly collided with Tsuna's chest.
There was a tense, desperately hopeful moment where nothing happened.
Then he heard it.
A heartbeat. Which quickly followed by another, then another. And while Takeshi was definitely no expert in the medical field, the heartbeats didn't sound or feel that weak to him.
Takeshi let out a long sigh of pure relief. Tsuna really did just fainted out of exhaustion earlier, he didn't die.
"I hear a heartbeat Lambo!" Takeshi told him with a smile that definitely felt more cheerful and optimistic. "You want to hear it?"
Without waiting for an answer, Takeshi sat up and reached over to pick Lambo up before laying him down on Tsuna's chest. Lambo didn't react at first but then he made a happy gurgle which made Takeshi smile a bit more.
While he didn't like how pale Tsuna's face had gotten, Takeshi was more hopeful that Tsuna would get his healthy color back soon. All he needed was some rest, which his brother definitely deserved.
Takeshi just hoped that Tsuna didn't need to sleep for too long. It would be nice if he was awake when Kyoya and the others came back with Hayato and Chrome so they could all have a nice reunion.
Speaking of which, how were they going to meet up with them? They were no longer in the spot where Kyoya, Mukuro, and Ryohei left them at and Takeshi frankly doesn't know where-
Suddenly, Takeshi heard the unmistakenable sound of loud voices in the air.
His hope rising, Takeshi strained his ears. The voices rang out through the air again, and while the words were still incoherent, Takeshi felt his hope get replaced by dread.
Those voices definitely didn't belong to anyone in his family.
We almost there guys. I swear, we're almost there.
So...was the reunion worth it? What do you think is going to happen next? Please tell me how you thought and felt about this chapter in a review and I will update later on this month.
Till then, see ya and have a good day/night!