Chapter 4:Byakuran
It's been a few months now since the fated day that Temari and Tsuna met.
The blonde kunoichi questioned the brunet if he ever had the thought of changing jobs from Jounin to ANBU: Tsuna seriously pondered on that for a while,before admitting that he did so on some occasions.
(Well,in a way,he wasn't exactly the Tsuna that Temari knew though he wasn't exactly lying either.)
Meanwhile,the Kazekage had kept sending him mails and summons--only for Tsuna to realize that all those things were a way for the Kazekage to make him submit.
...Really,he couldn't be anymore subtle about it.
(What surprised him even more was that the said shinobi leader never even attempted to forcefully make him submit and to join the ANBU ranks:he had a sneaking suspicion that it might have something to do with his connections to the mafia of this world and that the Kazekage might have been too wary of said underworld.)
With a slightly annoyed sigh,at last he agreed:and on that day,the Decimo from another world joined the ANBU ranks.
Well,in the end,he had rejoined the Suna shinobi's ranks once more after being away for a year-long mission...but this time,he was not a mere Suna nin,but an ANBU.
But that was months ago.
Today,Temari immediately went to hom to tell him the exciting news of the Chunin Exams.
(Tsuna noted that Temari seem to want and to get away from 'someone' and chose to spend her time in training with him.He didn't know if it was the rumoured crazy 'One-tailed jinjuuriki'--that so happened to be her little brother--or if it was someone else.{Probably the latter.}Although Temari might seem like she didn't want to have anything to do with the redhead,Tsuna knew better.{Contrary to popular belief,he actually saw her just two days ago trying to gather up the courage to even greet her little brother a "goodmorning".Let's pretend that he never saw or mentioned that.}He also saw the bond of friendship that formed between him and the eldest of the Kazekage's children.)
Of course,Tsuna already knew of this upcoming Chunin Exams due to being informed early on by the Kazekage himself.
It would do no good for one of the Kazekage's personal ANBU to know nothing of the ongoings of the Shinobi World.
And yes,he was chosen and appointed to be one of the Fourth Kazekage's personal guards.
(Somehow,he had that weird feeling that he knew who the Kazekage was...and it really confused him to no end.And if his memory wasn't wrong,he was quite certain that he met Primo in this world.After all, Minato told him that he can call him Giotto...that has to be something,right?)
In this world,it was quite obvious that its kill or be killed.
Tsuna could only mentally shake his head at how cruel the world that he had gotten reborn in was.
"So,Tsuna-san...will you be coming with us?" Temari asked,almost anxiously.
Tsuna hummed for a bit,mildy amused at her attempt to subtley make him join them on their journey,before shrugging.
"I don't really know...it's the Kazekage's decision if he wants to take me with him or not." He replied.
Temari's eyes then looked down in disappointment.
Tsuna,noticing this,gave off a soft laugh and ruffled her hair.
"Ne,what's with that look?I never said that I won't be going!" He chuckled.
The blonde turned beet red in embarrassment,before she tried to cover it up by scoffing and rolling her eyes at him:though one can see thar she was eyeing him in slight confusion.
"But you just said that you--!" She started to say in an annoyed manner,but was cut off.
"--That 'I don't know'.Mm,I did say that.But I could always ask for permission to take a few days off for vacation or something like that!" He gently interrupted,smiling warmly at her.
The kunoichi pouted.
"Oh?You look like you wanted me to come with you to Konoha that badly...*gasp*!Could it be that you have taken a liking to me?!" Tsuna dramatically gasped as he clutched at his chest where his heart was,teasing her.
Temari's face exploded into the brightest and reddest(perhaps it was even redder than Gaara's hair--honestly,that in itself,was quite a feat)face that he had ever seen.
"Waaah--?!NO!Of course not!" She stuttered,embarrassed.
No way was she gonna admit that she would miss him badly if she didn't see him in the months of the Chūnin Exams!
She then began to splutter and stumble over her words as she tried to think of any excuses or anything else to say.
Tsuna,seeing her struggle cutely(in his opinion,since he quite found it adorable...not that he'll say that out loud,lest he risk an angry Suna kunoichi chasing after him)laughed as he patted her head gently.
"Maa,maa~!I was just messing with you!" He said,smiling widely as he raised both his hands up in an 'I surrender' motion;before winking playfully at her reaction.
This time,Temari not only turned red in embarrassment,but also turned red in anger.
"Why you--!"
Then she proceeded to take out her giant tessen from her back,swinging it around as she ran after the laughing brunet:who ducked under her attacks and sprinted away from her with a mad cackle.
The townspeople watched on as some of them stopped their daily chores for a moment,and somehow...it warmed their hearts to see the two being happy;which made them just as happy as well.
Not far from the watching spectators,stood a lone redhead boy,watching the joyful sight with a blank face and a frown on his lips.
With a small tornado of sand,the redhead disappeared from the rooftops.
The next day,Tsuna was walking around and humming a tune,when a familiar presence brushed against his senses.
With a small jolt,he halted in his steps,and looked around him curiously.
His surrounding wasn't crowded,but it wasn't too empty of people wandering about their daily routines.
Some gave him a curious glance.
Others warily made a wide berth around him,as he was notorious for being one of the top strongest in their village and one of the strongest known shinobi.
And then,there were those who gave him looks of admiration,envy,or longing...to which he all ignored as he focused on the familiar presence that flitted just slightly out of reach of his heightened senses.
He didn't know why...but something told him that someone he knew would be coming to either check up on him or to visit him.
As he stood in the middle of a slightly crowded park in Suna,his Hyper Intuition flared up in warning for him to dodge something...
Woosh!Thud.
...Or rather,someone that is.
A white blur had dashed towards him,and Tsuna had sidestepped it to avoid the said blur.
Because the brunet had sidestepped the white blur,the said 'thing' made contact with the ground with a loud thud.
Tsuna placed a fist in front of his mouth slightly as he faked a cough;he ignored the cloud of dust rising because of the white blur and the odd looks that the townspeople shot both it and him--instead,he chose to address it.
"Byakuran...its nice to meet you again,after so long and all that,but...what the hell are you doing." He deadpanned.
The white blur,Gesso Byakuran,stood up and dusted his clothes,smiling that ever present fox-like smile of his.
...As if he hadn't kissed the ground a while ago.
"Tsuna-chan~!I finally found you~!Did you know that you're the hardest person to find and what I had to do to avoid getting caught by my guardians and doing paperworks?I had to run around the whole world to search for you~!" Byakuran exclaimed dramatically.
Tsuna sweatdropped at the last part,before deadpanning again.
"Are you serious--"
"No,I'm Bya-chan~!"
"--Don't interrupt me."
"...Gomen,gomen~!"
"Anyway--that can't be true now;that's an exaggeration,isn't it?You could have contacted me in my dreams instead!That way,it would have been easier for you to find me!" He exasperatedly sighed,massaging his temples.
Then he continued on,
"And what's up with this world?Shinobi,killing,hidden villages,jinjuuriki...why are there so much killing?Its like I'm back in my world again!" He exclaimed as he groaned.
Byakuran--with his usual fox-like smile--patted his shoulders playfully.
"Haha~don't go into a rambling mess now,Tsu-chan~!And since when were you supposed to be free of that kind of world~?You're the Vongola Decimo~!It would do you no good to worry or rant yourself into a mess after all~!"
Tsuna gave him a dark glare,then sighed.
"I suppose you are right...come with me." The brunet gestured with his hand for the albino to follow.
The other did so with a happy hum,prancing around him before settling to walking beside him.
The two walked on in companionable silence,until they reached an empty clearing a few good kilometers away from the hidden village.
He looked around him for a moment,waved a hand subtlely to release Mist flames(to hide their presence and prevent others from hearing whatever it is that they would be discussing about by foiling their senses)and create a complicated illusion.
Satisfied,he halted where he stood,taking deep breaths once in a while:the air around them turned slightly tense.
"Ne,Tsu-chan...you look serious.What is it?" Byakuran called out.
Silence came,and yet no one spoke a word again for a moment.
Until...
"...You're Byakuran,right?I know that you're a parallel Byakuran,but...have you seen them?Anyone?Or if...if it's really them?And if they're...fine?Were they...were they...also...brought here?" Tsuna asked quietly,his voice hopeful.
"Yes.Yes,they're here.But I've only personally seen Kyo-chan;he's in Konoha right now.Mm,actually...he's been here in this world for years now.Same can be said for Muku-chan and Chrome-chan,as they arrived a few hours prior to Kyo-chan's arrival.As for the others,I haven't met them personally either,but Kikyo-chan and my guardians have met them and are monitoring them from time to time.Turns out that when I ordered for them to look for your guardians,they found the others living their lives normally...that is,except a certain two.They came upon them...who were apparently fighting each other in the middle of a war." Byakuran started seriously(but almost softly)at first,before he sweatdropped at the memory.
At this,Tsuna fell silent.
Worried,Byakuran tried to call out to him to snap him at whatever dark thoughts that he knew the other must be having...and was shocked at what happened next.
"Bwahahaha...th...that is so Kyoya and Mukuro-like!I-I'm so happy!That...That they're fine..." Tsuna sobbed to himself,greatly relieved as he collapsed on his knees,hitting the soft sand.
Byakuran's eyes softened,his eyes dulling a bit with sorrow for him:he recognized this state--it was that stage of grief that a Sky was currently in post-mourning when he and his Elements' bonds where snapped to pieces as they were seperated by death itself.
An unstable,grieving Sky.
In fact,Byakuran is surprised that Tsuna hasn't gone insane yet from how long(even thought its been months since he had came to this world)he hasn't come in contact with his guardians or at least an active Flame users.
In order for a broken or unstable Sky not to go insane,they must at least have an active Flame user to support them.
But this...Tsuna was tipping close to insanity.
Byakuran is completely worried:if there's no active Flame user,then there must least be a pure,inactive Sky.
...It was a good thing that he noticed a slight gathering of negative energy in Suna:and it was another good thing that he hurried to this place...at least he will be able to keep the insanity at bay until Tsuna met his guardians and strengthened the broken bond again.
One of the holders of the Tri-Ni-Setts being unstable would be the undoing of any world:that was why,Byakuran had turned into world-conquering megalomaniac--although he couldn't even begin to remember what made him that way...no one really knew how or why.
You forget all reason if you are an active Flame user in grief:but its even more fatal and dangerous if its a Sky in grief than any of the Elements.
"Tsu-chan..." He whispered.
He wanted to inform the other--to warn him that he was entering the stage where when a Sky grieves,it can be fatal and dangerous...both to this world,the Tri-Ni-Sette balance,and to the Sky himself.
But he held his tongue.
Because there was no need...
Thd brunet still continued to sob tears of relief and happiness as the tension left his body when he heard the news that his guardians had already arrived year before him and were whole and somehow happy.
To melt the grim and gloomy atmosphere,Byakuran told him a lot of jokes,his guardians' misfortunes or misadventures,and a lot of funny things.
Tsuna,somehow always all-knowing,had known what the albino was doing and let himself be entertained:he let the other take his mind away from other pressing matters for a moment as he relish the feeling of the older man's Sky flames protectively wrapping around his almost broken ones.
There was no need to worry and be sad.
Byakuran was there for him.
His guardians are here in this world,waiting to meet and bond with him again--to Harmonized their flames and entwine them again.
Only four more guardians to go and search for...
Tsuna's/He's not alone anymore.