Laesk: No, thank you!
ShyAnon: I think you may get a sense of what they are thinking in either this chapter or in the next one. Definitely by the next one. Thank you for reviewing!
I don't own KHR.
Takeshi looked around in a panic, as he tried to figure out what he should do. His first instinct was to take his brothers and hide behind a tree or some bushes but that's what they did last time. And that definitely didn't work.
Takeshi would have liked to climb one of the tall trees but there was no way he can climb one while also carrying a baby and an unconscious little brother. He thought about just throwing Tsuna over his shoulder and just run away with Lambo in his free arm but he didn't want to be any farther from the meeting spot than they already were.
Maybe if he managed to run around-
"Ah, I still can't believe you attack three little kids! And one of them a baby!"
Takeshi felt the color leave his face. He was out of time, he had to make a decision now.
"And I can't believe you don't know how to listen Primo. For the last time, I never laid a hand on the baby and they attacked me first. I was just defending myself," Takeshi heard Reborn protest as he grabbed Lambo with one arm and carefully threw Tsuna over his shoulder with the other. He then placed the Shigure Kintoki back into its sheath, because he definitely couldn't leave that behind. "Also, I was only planning to just roughen them up a bit, not actually hurt them."
Roughen them up a bit? You shot at Tsuna! Twice!
"Well you shouldn't have tried to rough them up in the first place!" Primo exclaimed as Takeshi took a deep breath and quietly rushed to the nearest bush.
"Now now Giotto, what done is done," spoke up a new voice that sounded calm yet kinda tense at the same time. "Let's just focus and find the kids before they get into anymore trouble okay?"
Takeshi made it to the nearest and biggest bush just in time for the sound of loud, crunching footsteps to fill the air.
"You're right as always Asari," Giotto conceded with a sigh as Takeshi ducked down behind the bush. "They couldn't have gotten far. We'll find them."
No you won't.
Takeshi gripped his brothers just a bit more tightly as he gritted his teeth and waited. Because that was all he could do now was wait. Wait to see where exactly the three men will turn up. Wait until they were either gone or looking away so he can run away with his brothers safely.
It might not be the best plan, but it was all Takeshi had right now.
The mafioso were almost here.
As if to prove Takeshi's point, a tall blond man in a black cloak stepped into Takeshi's view. Despite himself, Takeshi felt his jaw drop at the similarities between the man and Tsuna.
This must be Primo, also known as Giotto, the man who Chrome told Mukuro was Tsuna's doppelganger. The Vongola Don.
The next person Takeshi saw through the green leaves was Reborn, his black suit somehow still crisp and clean as he peered around the forest with his dark eyes. Takeshi held his breath as Reborn walked by, his eyes and ears on high alert for any change in the man's behavior.
Reborn will not sneak up on them again.
Then the third person came into view, making Takeshi's brown eyes widen in surprise. He had heard that there was an adult doppelganger of him, who wore traditional Japanese clothing and liked to smile as frequently as he did. When he had first heard of him, Takeshi had been intrigued and admittedly wanted to meet him a little bit.
Now though, with an unconscious Tsuna and a baby Lambo depending on him to keep them safe, Takeshi just wanted the man gone.
The fact that Asari was not smiling didn't help matters.
Granted, he wasn't wearing an evil smile, in fact it seemed more worried and impatient more than anything. But it also didn't help calm Takeshi's nerves down at all.
The next minute or so felt like an eternity to Takeshi as the three men kept on walking forward, getting closer to their hiding spot with each step. Takeshi felt his breath get caught in his throat and his heart beat a bit more rapidly when they were finally in front of the bush. The young boy had to fight to keep his eyes open despite all the fear and tension that was swirling around in his stomach.
Please, please don't find us...
Then Primo landed his eyes right on the bush Takeshi and his brothers were hiding behind.
Please, please don't see us. Please, please, please.
A second passed. Then Primo tore his eyes away from the bush and continued to walk through the forest. Reborn followed him without a pause in his step and Asari followed suit, his dark eyes roaming about the forest as he did so.
Then before Takeshi knew it, he couldn't see the three men anymore. It wasn't until they had been gone for a few minutes however when Takeshi finally let himself let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close," Takeshi whimpered with a soft chuckle as he clutched his brothers just a bit more tightly. Lambo responded with a gurgle as he looked up at Takeshi, making the older boy chuckle again.
"You did good at being super quiet buddy," Takeshi praised as he kissed the top of Lambo's forehead, making the baby giggle softly. "Now let's get back to the others, huh? What do you say Tsuna?"
Tsuna didn't respond. Takeshi sighed because while he didn't really expect Tsuna to be awake already, it would have been nice. Oh well.
Takeshi, not wanting to waste anymore time, stood up and started to run in the opposite direction as quietly as he could. Running while carrying both Tsuna and Lambo was harder than he expected but Takeshi hadn't been part of his old school's baseball team for nothing. He pushed himself without a thought to the strain he was putting his body under and kept on running. As minutes passed by without any sign of the three mafioso, Takeshi felt hope blossom into a beautiful flower in his chest.
The mafioso really didn't see them, they really were gonna to reunite with their other siblings, everything really was gonna to be okay!
As soon as Takeshi thought that, a flash of orange fire dived down from the sky and landed right in front of Takeshi. In order to not run into the familiar-looking orange fire, Takeshi had no choice but to skid to a stop. However, whether it was because of the extra weight he was carrying or the slight exhaustion he was feeling (or both), Takeshi lost his balance and landed right on his bottom.
Still holding onto his brothers, Takeshi looked up and to his surprise, saw Giotto standing right in front of him, orange flames covering his hands and a single orange flame protruding from the center of his forehead.
Just like Tsuna...wait...is this why Reborn asked Tsuna if he had any Italian relatives? Wait, that's not important right now, Giotto was in front of them, he found them, he has to move!
"It's okay Takeshi!" Primo told him as he put his hands up, the orange flames on his body dying completely as he did so. "We're not here to hurt you, we want to help you!"
Takeshi wanted to rebuke to that but he found that he didn't have the breath to even say a single word.
Even so, Takeshi tried to stand up on his tired legs, still holding on tightly to his brothers. He was not going to let the enemy, especially the Vongola Don, touch his family. Not while he was still awake and standing.
Then, to Takeshi's even greater surprise and horror, his foot slipped on a leaf. The next thing he knew, Takeshi was falling forward, with no apparent way to stop himself.
Takeshi closed his eyes out of instinct and prepared himself for the harsh collision with the ground, protecting Lambo with his arm as much as possible. Then suddenly, Takeshi wasn't falling anymore. Confused, Takeshi opened his eyes and saw that his face was inches above the ground. Takeshi tilted his head so that he was peering at his torso and to his surprise, he found that there was a hand holding him up.
"Well that was close," Asari said in relief. Takeshi's eyes widened in horror as Lambo let out a worried gurgle.
He has to-
Then, without any warning whatsoever, there was no more extra weight on his shoulder. Takeshi shot his head up and saw his sleeping little brother being held gently by Primo.
"No! Tsuna!" Takeshi cried as he tried to get back up, his heart beating rapidly now. "Give him bac-"
"Take!"
Feeling his baby brother leaving his grasp, Takeshi looked down and saw two arms covered in black sleeves pulling Lambo away from him.
"Don't you dare!" Takeshi screamed as he clutched Lambo against his chest as he swung his arm right at Reborn. However, before he could hit his target, a hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him effectively.
"It's okay Takeshi, it's okay," Asari told him calmly, his hand still wrapped firmly around Takeshi's wrist no matter how much the boy tried to rip himself free. "Your friends are in good hands, my friends aren't going to hurt them. Even Reborn, what happened earlier was just him testing your potential, even though it really wasn't the time or place for that."
"So you are saying that if you were face to face with a mini Giotto in Hyper Dying Will Mode, you wouldn't test their abilities? Where's your sense of curiosity?" Reborn asked before he just pulled Lambo out of Takeshi's hold, with seemingly no effort at all.
"Take!" Lambo screeched as he reached out for Takeshi as Reborn stood up, taking the baby with him.
"Lambo!" Takeshi screamed as he reached for his baby brother, only for his hand to catch empty air.
"It's okay, it's gonna be okay," Asari practically chanted as he pulled Takeshi to his chest and held him tightly against his chest with both arms. "Just breathe with me okay?"
But breathing properly was the least of Takeshi's concerns. Tsuna was sleeping unawares in the Vongola Don's arms. Lambo was screaming, kicking, and crying while Reborn held him with both hands a good distance away from his chest, a slightly annoyed expression on his face.
He was supposed to keep them safe. They were supposed to be with him. They're his brothers, his family, and...and he can't lose anybody else.
"Give them back to me," Takeshi pleaded, tears flowing down his face as he struggled wildly against Asari's hold, ignoring the flash of blue flames out of the corner of his eye. "Tsuna! Lambo! Give them back to me!"
"We're not going to take them away from you," Asari tried to assure him as he continued to hug him tightly. Too panicked and terrified to believe him, Takeshi continued to try to fight his way out. However, he found that his limbs were heavier and harder to move than before. "We're going to take you all back with us, where you all will be safe."
Takeshi didn't respond, quickly finding that his limbs were getting heavier by the second. It was taking all his effort and willpower to fight back. However, even that was weakening as a strange sort of calm was dampening his terrified spirit. And if that wasn't enough, it was also getting harder to keep his eyes open.
Was...was exhaustion finally getting to him?
"I...I'm sorry," Asari suddenly apologized as Takeshi forced his eyelids wide open after a few seconds of them being unintentionally closed. "I'm sorry that it took so long to find you, but...but now that I have, I'm going to protect you in your father's stead. I swear it."
Fa...ther's...stead?
Then both Takeshi's limbs and eyelids became much too heavy to move. The very next second, Takeshi knew no more.
KHR
Kyoya instinctively clutched his family tighter as someone walked into the room. The person didn't say a word so Kyoya didn't know who it was but he hoped it was Lampo.
Not only did he seemed relatively easy to fool, Kyoya did promise him that he would bite him to death for electrocuting Ryohei. So even if they were found, at least he would have that satisfaction. Though for his siblings' sake, Kyoya hoped the mafioso wouldn't find them.
Despite the closet door seperating them from the mafioso, their footsteps were still loud as they walked around the room. Kyoya had to wonder if the person normally walked this loudly or perhaps it just the stress and tension of the situation that makes them seem so loud to his ears. In the end, Kyoya decided that he didn't care because he just wanted the mafioso to leave already.
He needed to get their siblings out this mansion and back to Tsuna and the others. His little brothers should be okay but Kyoya was admittedly getting a bit worried for them. If their rescue attempt turned out to be much more difficult than expected, then who knows how Tsuna and the others are doing?
Then the footsteps grew even louder. Kyoya tried to get his breathing, which was already pretty quiet, to be even more silent as the person walked closer to the door. Kyoya closed his eyes and readied himself when the person's loud footsteps couldn't be heard anymore. Whether the mafioso opened the door or not, Kyoya was always ready to protect his family, his pack.
The door suddenly slammed open and Kyoya moved slightly so he could turn around and attack the mafioso when several hands stopped him. Kyoya opened his eyes and thanks to the light from the bedroom, Kyoya was able to see clearly that it was his siblings that were stopping him from fighting, not the mafioso.
Hayato, still sitting on Mukuro's lap, was holding onto his shirt with one hand while Mukuro and Ryohei both had a hand on the back of his shirt. Chrome, the only one who wasn't physically stopping him, shook her head at them.
Oh, of course. Mukuro or Chrome, or perhaps both, were making them invisible. And since the mafioso, whoever it was, still has yet to utter a word, Kyoya knew that the illusion was working.
He could only hope that it would continue to work.
Then, after what felt like forever, there was a sigh, and the footsteps came back to echo throughout the room.
"They're not in here!" Kyoya heard Lampo exclaimed. Kyoya gritted his teeth as he fought hard not to run after the guy who dared to injure his brother in front of him.
Another time. He can bite Alaude to death for defeating him then too.
There was a reply to the mafioso's exclaimation but Kyoya wasn't able to make out the words, or make out whose voice it belonged to. Not that he cared about that, not really. He was too focused on how Lampo's footsteps were dying down.
Then Kyoya couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Kyoya and the others still hid silently in the closet for a few minutes, just in case the mafioso decided to come back to double check. When no one came back, everyone shared a sigh or relief, even Kyoya. Granted, his was much more quiet than the others.
"That was a bit too close for comfort," Hayato whispered as he finally let go of Kyoya's shirt.
"You can extremely say that again," Ryohei harshly whispered as he also let go of his tight grip on the back of Kyoya's shirt.
"Let's get out of here then, before we have yet another close call," Mukuro suggested, causing Kyoya to nod in agreement. Kyoya then stood up, offically breaking the hug and turned around. He peeked his head around the closet and gritted his teeth when he realized that Lampo had never closed the door to the bedroom.
Well, no matter. They will just have to be extra careful.
"We're getting out the window," Kyoya ordered softly. "Follow me when I give the signal."
Without waiting for a response from his siblings, Kyoya quietly raced to the open doorway. When he got to the nearest edge, Kyoya stopped and carefully poked his head out and peered down both ends of the hallway.
There wasn't a mafiso in sight.
Kyoya raised two of his fingers and waved his siblings forward. The pitter-patter of his siblings' footsteps was the only clue Kyoya had that his siblings understood the signal, as he kept his eyes on the hallway. When he heard them stop behind him, Kyoya held his palm out for them to stop.
When he still saw no one in the hallway, Kyoya motioned them to move past the doorway. His siblings followed his order without a word and it was only when all of them were safely past the doorway did Kyoya follow them.
He caught up with his siblings at the window, where Ryohei was already opening the window with one hand while he leaned on Mukuro with his free arm (Hayato was leaning on Chrome again). When Ryohei got the window wide open, Kyoya peeked his head out the window and when he didn't see any mafioso, Kyoya jumped out the window.
After he landed softly on the ground, Kyoya turned around and held his arms out. The first one to jump out of the window was Chrome, who landed right into his arms. Kyoya gently put her down and reached his arms once again. Hayato was next, and thanks to help from both Mukuro and Ryohei, he got on the windowsill safely before jumping into Kyoya's arms.
Then it was Ryohei, who accepted a hand from Mukuro to get up on the windowsill before taking Kyoya's hand so he could get down to the grassy ground safely. Ryohei was clearly still suffering from the after effects of being electrocuted, but he didn't stumble or flinch when he landed on the ground. So either he was getting better, or Ryohei was just enduring the pain. Kyoya hoped it was the former. Kyoya still threw Ryohei over his shoulder anyway, just in case.
Mukuro then jumped out of the window and being the last one to leave the mansion, he pulled the window shut. Satisfied and knowing that Mukuro will either carry Hayato or help him run, Kyoya turned around.
Kyoya looked everywhere and felt a bit relieved when he didn't see the silhouettes of any mafioso crowding about. He couldn't see the fence from here but Kyoya knew that if they just ran straight ahead, they should find it no problem.
Greatly anticipating the taste of upcoming freedom, Kyoya started to run.
"And where do you think you kids are going?"
Kyoya immediately stopped as a silhouette of a man walked out from behind a tree. As he stood in front of them, the moonlight lit up the mafioso's pink hair and the tattoo on his cheek. The mafioso who had to be G then let out a short sigh.
"We have a lot of things to talk about before we can even consider letting you kids go."
Well...at least they tried. They really did put up a good fight though, don't you guys think so? Or do you all think there is still a chance they can all escape? If not, what do you all think will happen next?
Please feel free to leave any thoughts about this chapter in a review and I will update in the beginning/middle of September. Gosh, where has the year gone?!
Anyway, till then, see ya and have a good day/night!