»How is that possible?« Nana's confused question echoed throughout the room, but nobody dared to answer, until the owner cleared her throat once more that day.
»All I know is that he put himself on this list, and that he had corresponding Identification to his claimed name — otherwise, he wouldn't be on this document«, she made herself clear, »licensed or unlicensed, we know how to do our job. You're paying us after all.«
It wasn't as if it was impossible, Nana knew that. In the end, it was her who pressed on in this case. She did so, because she believed he would be somewhat fine. Yet, it felt oddly anticlimactic.
All her efforts suddenly seemed in vain. Then again, how could she feel anything but relief? It was as if her chest had been weighed down on, the moment she realized what had happened on the other side.
»Do you wish to wait here for the caravan to arrive?« Elyade Aarenwayth was someone who got used to a list of things, but having a herd of people with dirty shoes, sullying her perfectly white shop, wasn't on it. At the same time, she couldn't throw them out, as the whole ordeal seemed pretty convoluted to the unaffected bystander. In retaliation, she shrugged her stiff looking shoulders and turned on the little white radio on the shelf behind her. »Might as well get comfy, since it's gonna take some time.«
And some time it took.
Iemitsu leaned on the counter next to his wife; Reborn sitting on his shoulder, listening to the radio, while waiting for any kind of signal coming from Typha, the world that Tsuna supposedly was held back at.
»… as of now, heavy rainfall, tidal waves and thunderstorms have been reported«, recounted the woman on the channel in a concerned voice, »Meteorologists all over the world seem flustered at what's happening right now. Today our guest, Dr. Kimble, an expert in the field from the United States, will give his opinion on what transpired these last two days. What are your thoughts, Dr. Kimble?«
It was at that moment, when the alleged expert started talking about how he was basically just as incredulous as everyone else about the phenomena, when it happened. A sound like a drop of water falling into a pond resonated in the atmosphere of the small boutique.
Upon hearing that sound, three of the people in the room turned toward one spot, as everyone else kept looking around. That faint sound seemed to echo loudly through the walls, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It made their hair stand on end and gave them the chills, even though it was such an insignificant occurrence.
»What was that? Water?« Yamamoto opened his lips for the first time on that awfully long day.
»Don't think so.«
The curt answer came from the silver haired shark on the other side of the shop, while being unusually quiet. Even he had a bad feeling about this.
Meanwhile, Xanxus sat there, on one of the few chairs used to accommodate waiting customers like a bored king, but Squalo could tell he was affected as well. You had to take a closer look to notice, but the hand he used to rest his head on was unusually clenched into a tight fist.
In the end, the owner took a few seconds to wait for the unrest in the room to settle down, before she reached back into the drawer she had opened once already.
What looked like a mirror shard, maybe as big as her handy, was retrieved from within the compartment and placed it on top. Within a second after Elyade put her hand on it and a sliver of black mist seemed to chase over the back of her hand, the shard went dark. It was an endless darkness, like a whole cut into the table in the shape of the mirror. It had a surreal feel to it, as the onlookers tried to understand what they were seeing.
And then, suddenly, they heard a voice that resembled a teenage boy's: »Ely, are you ready?«
Romario, standing behind the confused Dino, tried to locate the direction that person spoke to them from, in case it got dangerous after all. Every word crawled under his skin and he certainly wasn't the only one who felt it. In fact, everyone in the room had that same feeling – except for the usual suspects, which would be Nana, Mammon and the owner of the shop, Elyade.
The latter picked up her shard and grabbed something from the pocket on her tight pencil skirt. A lack thread was revealed upon her trying to slip into the sling on said thread with only one hand available for her endeavor.
It looked complicated, but even so, nobody offered her any help. Most people in the room where still trying to understand why they couldn't breathe normally, while others either preferred to watch her work – only Nana, in this case – or didn't help because they generally never did, like Mammon.
She got in front of the bigger mirror, the one that was built into the wall behind yet another mirror. A narcissist would have been extremely pleased with this shop, that much was for sure. She tapped the cold glass with her finger, letting some of the shadows she had control over run free into the mirror. Some blackened veins traveled over her skin and almost made her shiver, but it was over as soon as it started.
For a split second, the surface of the mirror got distorted, as if someone had crumpled it up; as if it had been a piece of tinfoil. She reached through with her hand, crumpling the icy picture even further and making some of the Mafioso around her gasp.
It wasn't something they could understand so easily. They been to the future and back, so what was it that was so hard to believe about a mirror you could walk through? Honestly, none of them knew, they simply couldn't take their eyes off of what was happening but weren't able to comprehend any of it at all.
It took the Kali royal a while, maybe about a minute, before she held up her shard again, parting her perfectly shaped, rather thin lips. »K, where are you? It's not connecting«, she said.
A rustling sound was heard, after a moment of silence. »It should be connecting soon, give me a moment.«
She sighed on her end and waited yet another few seconds, until finally, she slowly withdrew her hand from the unknown place behind the liquefied glass. The thread that had been slung around her wrist, which had a cut-off thread dangling from it, was now held tightly. It got longer and was pulled by something behind the mirror; something from inside.
»I got you«, the woman stated, »come over slowly.«
After a few seconds of watching her, gently tugging on the thread, a collective frown formed on the spectator's faces. Iemitsu was just as lost as everyone else and only reborn had apparently come to some conclusion or understanding of that messed up situation.
Very slowly, Elyade seemed to pull something in with that thread in her hand, seemingly leading someone to her side and that was exactly what she did. The connection on her Mirror broke a moment ago, which means they finally went into the Inbetween, basically, it's the original Twilight, but more free. If the Twilight was a world that was left unfinished and became a magnet for the Remnants, like a beehive of powers that went off their leash, without time and a distinct space, the Inbetween was just a pit of nothingness and shadows. If you got lost in there, you were done.
It's the realm in between worlds, where there's nothing and anything at once and time was of no essence – as long as you weren't connected to a place where there was time.
In this case, the group inside – or outside, for that matter – was connected to the realm of light, Earth, where the Mundi roam; a place with certain time and space. So long as the owner of the Port held up that thread, the ripped open whole in the dimensional wall could not mend back together; as long as the Ferryman held onto that thread, they would not get lost.
When she stepped aside, a first piece of black fabric came into view, with a fair hand almost hidden underneath. Said hand held onto the other side of the black thread, tangled up in it, as if they had raked it in in order to follow it. The Vongola and affiliated members couldn't say a word; most of them were simply searching for Tsuna, as his impending arrival was the only thing they really understood of what was happening. That was what they were waiting for – every other question could wait for a day or two. But when the hood that covered this first visitor was lifted, they saw mostly white hair, with just a few black strands in the bangs. Easy to say: He was another Kali – but a Dirty Blood, to boot.
A young man, seemingly not quiet twenty years old, stood in front of them with a puzzled expression. »Am I supposed to take those back right away? That's gonna cost extra, just so you know.«
The Vampire next to him had a laugh at that reaction of her nephew. »Don't worry, they're not here for that.«
The boy shook his head and pulled on a rope that they had just realized was there. It was attached to something beyond the Mirror; it was connected to the Caravan traversing through the Inbetween.
Since the first Person was fully through, one after the other followed. Nana held her breath every single time. They were five already, approaching the limit of passengers allowed to travel in one go, before the strain on the dimensional wall was getting too high.
It was called a ›Wall‹, which gave off a sturdy feel, but in reality, once you ripped a whole in it, was no thicker than a sheet of paper. That was why one should never open a Portal with a frameless mirror. The frame is not just for decoration, and even hit in-built one had a frame fitted into the wall along with it. It was strengthened and kept the rip from spreading out. But when you kept it open for too long, trying to fit too much through it, that strength wouldn't last. The whole you ripped might grow bigger to cause a Rift with devastating results.
If they really operated like a legal Port, they wouldn't bring more than eleven average people. But there were already nine out of the Mirror. Each of them gave a coin to the woman in white and took some piece of clothing from the store with them – whatever they could reach. Nana didn't use Ports, because frankly, she didn't need them, but she did know of the customs. You tipped them and took something worth less than what you gave. That's how they sold stuff to appear somewhat normal in front of human tax examiners and got tipped for getting them safely to the other side in one go.
Then again, they basically threw the money and fled the scene, probably because it was so crowded in there. And as she watched the latest and particularly hurried passenger squeeze through Yamamoto and Basil at the entrance, her brain did the quick maths. There had to be one more, the rope was still leading into the Portal, held up by the owner herself, as the person originally attached to it was already gone after all.
But why was he not coming out? They waited and waited and Nana felt frustrated at the prospect of having to wait even longer to see what would happen. There was still a tiny little part of her left which wouldn't believe it really was him. It was his name, sure, but couldn't someone else have taken the place instead?
Of course, they would have to identify themselves, but someone could have the same name? No, the name of Valhaym only belonged to Valhaym, so that was impossible. Also, you couldn't actually steal someone's ID, so that question didn't even come up in her mind. An ID was created, using the owner's core energy to validate, after all. There's no picture on it, so they have to check with your blood if it corresponds or not – how would you even try to forge that? It had to be him.
»Sorry, but when is the tenth going to come out?« Gokudera had been extremely patient until now.
He didn't quite believe what was going on in the beginning and he still had his doubts. To be honest, they had guns to use for time traveling and Mammon was able to cast powerful illusions on basically anyone in this room, as he – or she – had been an arcobaleno after all.
Still, if the tenth was going to come out of there, no matter what, he would be waiting for him right here, in front of the door to greet him. That feeling didn't change. But he was getting fidgety, same as he could tell from Yamamoto and Ryouhei – even Chrome showed signs of insecurity by gripping her trident tight enough for her knuckles to turn white.
»Don'know«, the Ferryman slurred, »The last one is kinda weird. No kidding, said he wanted to stay behind, so I made his rope longer.«
»What does that mean? He's still in there?«
»Well, out there would be a more fitting way to put it, but yes, as it seems«, the older Kali answered.
»It's the space outside of dimensions, not fucking Hawaii. Who wants to stay there?« He leaned in on his aunt to whisper, though you could still hear him clear as day. Obviously, he wasn't really trying, as he could have spoken a lot more quietly, with Elyade being a vampire and all.
But nonetheless, it finally happened. »There he is, so we can start closing the Gap.«
The last person, wrapped in a black cape and covered up with far too big of a hood on it, managed to step out of the mirror, right before the distortion settled down and the Portal closed up behind him. Taking off the mantle and handing it over to the owner, brown spikey hair and brown eyes with dark shadows underneath them were revealed.
He smiled at the Porter and the Ferryman, thanking them shortly, before facing the problem up ahead. His smile fell right away, as he directed his attention to the one person in the room who had the same eyes and hair as him.
Crossing over to her felt like parting the red sea to him, as he stuck out his arm in annoyance. »I thought most Italians were Christians«, he said, urgently shooing them away, »Leave room for Jesus.«
Slightly perplexed, the ones relieved and excited, just as well as those who seemingly didn't care and only came to spectate whatever was going on, stepped back a little toward the other end of the shop – the part where the door and store windows were located.
He didn't give a shit as he headed for the one person that could answer him any of his questions. That said person only looked at him in disbelief. Her obvious tears that formed in the corners of her eyes stung a little, but he braced himself for it.
»What the fuck is going on, Mother?« He sounded rather cold and the accusing tone of his voice was hard to miss.
Nana knew exactly what he was referring to as it would have been harder not to know. »I had to involve them.«
He shook his head and sighed then sat on the corner of the desk that was now behind him. »It seems everything worked out fine, so I would ask you all to leave, if there's nothing else you need.« Elyade Aarenwayth had the patience of a saint, if need be, but that patience was now running low, as she had to wipe the floor and basically rearrange half the interior after the lot of them left.
She got back to her seat and looked at the final arrival with a hint of displeasure at his leisurely way of putting his ass on her spotless white counter, while fishing for something in the pocket of his black slacks. With a small whirring sound, a golden coin with the width of about six centimeters was thrown into the air and flipped a few times until it landed safely in her manicured fingers.
»That's from the Forests of Moria, where did you get that?«, she exclaimed in surprise, his unruly behavior long since forgotten, as she saw the imprint of the ›Bow and Butterfly‹ that was the symbol of the Viridescent King. »I thought the Dryads still don't like letting people into their woods.«
He winked playfully and shot a crooked smile. »Trade secret.«
With that, he turned around and attempted to leave, but he was met with the people he had directed there before, as well as the three arcobalenos and his father, wo gathered to form the Chinese wall in front of his escape route.
»Where do you think you're going? HEY!« Colonello seemed a little more stressed out than usual, but that didn't mean he would miss out on how Tsuna had treated his worrying mother a second ago.
Reborn jumped up to bonk his head, similarly to how he had done with Bianchi in the past, but Tsuna didn't even flinch at it. »Get yourself together, stupid Tsuna.« He couldn't think of anything else to say, while Lal only stared at the Sun's student as if she was evaluating the situation.
»Right, where were you? And why were you gone for so long?«, his father demanded to know.
Tsuna blinked at them, as his brain had long lost interest in doing any work and he had no energy left to deal with this shit. »Get out of my way if none of you want to die a painful death«, he said, no sign of him making a joke; his eyes seemed clear and just as freezing as his voice was, his usually warm demeanor was nowhere to be found. »And you«, he shot a glare at Mammon, who couldn't see that anyway, »stop doing that.«
She waved her hand in response, calling back the moisture in the air that was thickening around Tsuna's body. »Sorry, just an old habit.« Her expression didn't change.
»Please, let him through«, Tsuna heard his mother saying.
They were stunned to say the least, but did as they were told, after a moment of contemplating. They weren't getting anywhere right now. All they could think of was how they were all worrying over nothing, as this bratty attitude was all they got in exchange.
Yet, Nana was the one to suffer and work the most, if they were honest about it, so if she said they should just let him go, they should be doing so. After all, now that he was back from wherever he went, they at least know where to look for him.
Before he left, he looked at a small stand with white lacey shirts on it. One stood out, it was very elegant, but playful at the same time, with short sleeves and a transparent back. It was a little longer than the shirt he wore and definitely cut for a feminine body, as it was rather slim.
»I will take that for it«, he called out to the owner once more and she nodded in approval.
With that, he simply walked out of the shop and vanished around a distant corner. The crowd that had been there just to wait for him was left behind, several questions floating through their mind. There was so much they didn't know about Tsuna, aside from everything they were told by his mother. The way he talked and the look in his eyes was something they never knew from him. Was it even the same person? His confidence in how he talked to that woman; the way he was perceived by the Ferryman. Even such a small and insignificant detail as the shirt he ›bought‹ on his way out left a weird impression behind – who was that for? A girlfriend he had hidden?
But their train of thoughts was soon broken, when the white haired doll opened her mouth again. »He's damaged«, she stated nonchalantly, »his plate has not yet mended and the shadows inside his body have been lying dormant for a while.« She only recounted what the water was telling her.
»What do you mean to say?«, Nana threw back at her.
»I don't know. What does it mean if a person is held back in a deep sleep for several days?«
The indication behind her remark hit the mother harder than she expected it herself. She had been playing with the idea of what would happen if he had gotten badly hurt and was even sceptic of how easy it was to get him back. Yet, now that she had to realize that, despite all of that, he really was harmed after all, she couldn't wrap her mind around it.
»… for how long?«, was all that she could muster.
»I don't know why you came to me this late, honestly. But since it all happened about 40 hours ago, it means at least a fortnight has passed on Typha. And I would wager about ten of those days he must have spent in a coma.« She closed her eyes and went for the door herself. »If he doesn't want to break his plate indefinitely, he should rest up for a while.«
»I will try making him«, the brown haired Witch replied meekly and let her shoulders sink at the thought.
She hadn't even known it had happened that long ago, since the pictures only reached her after the connection with her familiar had been lost. She must have blocked it out, when she steadied her condition, but it felt as if she had been irresponsible. And maybe she really was.
»But do not forget about your pledge, Irina von Valhaym. I fulfilled my end of the deal by taking you here, no matter if it was useless or not«, Mammon – no, Undine – started once more, before leaving for good,
»Now you have to fulfill yours.«
