The Cloud That Bites The Skies
Summary: A scary person with a fearsome reputation finds Tsuna and Co on a normal, sunny day, bringing news of an assassination plot on Don Cavallone. Insanity ensues.
All in all, by the time everyone bought acceptable outfits, got ready and Dino drove them to Midnight Mafioso, Reborn was rather satisfied with the strong, united front they made as they stepped out of the rented limo and got in line to wait for their cue to go in. Even if they had an invitation, the line was long and everyone was thoroughly checked for weapons, sedatives, poisons or any other drugs before they were let in, thus taking a considerable amount of time. Still, the line was moving up at a relatively fast pace, all things considered, and soon they were near the front when a sleek black car pulled up right in front of the entrance of the club.
Everyone stared as 'Alaudi Kumo' stepped out, all feline grace and elegant hidden strength, confidence and power oozing off of him, radiating a subtle hint of danger as he casually straightened out his suit, handed the car keys to a bellboy and strode into the club without bothering with the line. Everyone was a bit too stunned and terrified to try and protest the gorgeous black haired man's actions and soon he was checked over for weaponry, his entrance ticket approved and he was in the club before anyone could even start gushing or grumbling about him. There were more speculative whispers and gushing than there were angry muttering and death threats since even if they didn't know him, the way he held himself made them think 'Alaudi Kumo' must be someone very important and very powerful.
Reborn couldn't help but be amused, especially as Tsuna and his Guardians - sans Hibari and Lambo, who obviously weren't there - gawked while the girls couldn't help but appreciate the good looking man's appearance. Sharp suits really did work for him, didn't they. He could pass as a model as easily as he could a businessman or a mafioso.
They were just lucky that Dino had been distracted with a phone call and wasn't looking when 'Alaudi Kumo' had walked by. Reborn had a suspicion as to why his drinking partner of the night was so adamant that the blond didn't see him, but he can't confirm it until speaking with the man. Tonight promised to be very interesting, though he also had questions about matters that rather bothered him ever since 'Alaudi Kumo' talked about his role in the future.
After everyone regained their bearings from being exposed to someone like that, it took about ten more minutes before their group was admitted into the club. As was to be expected of any nightclub, there was loud, blaring music, flashing lights, dancing and grinding bodies on a dance floor, tables and chairs and even five separate bars to keep up with the alcohol demand. There was even a sushi and a fancy finger sandwich bar on one side of the huge room, as well as 'exotic dancers' in cages, a DJ stand and, for no other reason than appearance, a beautiful black baby piano in the middle of the dance floor on a raised platform. There were, of course, doors leading to private rooms, be it for business or more intimate indulgences of the night, a pool table, a ping pong table and even a separate, sound proofed TV section where guests could watch sports games they had money riding on. If Reborn remembered correctly from the last time he was here, there was another section of the club that functioned like a casino with its own bar and he would have immediately set off in that direction to search for his drinking buddy of the night had he not caught how people kept glancing in the direction of the main bar.
Reborn understood why immediately, as sharp silver-blue eyes met his, a brow lifted in invitation from behind a raised glass of some strong liquor before those same eyes swept over the rest of the group, rested on the golden haired Cavallone boss and then continued sweeping the room. That particular bar seemed to have a great view point over the rest of the room and, more importantly, the crowded dance floor.
The World's Greatest Hitman spent a couple of minutes on briefing his companions about what the club had to offer, how to act and how not to act before bidding them adieu and making his way over to the man that was effortlessly drawing all eyes to him tonight. How Dino hadn't noticed him yet, Reborn could only attribute to the idiot's lovesickness for a certain Skylark. Which was just sad and ironic.
"Ciaossu," Reborn greeted, jumping up onto the stool obviously saved for him and raised an eyebrow at the waiting drink. Scotch on the rocks, with a straw.
The Cloud smirked. "I told you the wait must have almost killed you the first time around," he fairly purred, heard even over the music despite not raising his voice. "You try to drag me into a high end bar whenever you get the chance. Well, the future you, anyway. Sawada Tsunayoshi and your fellow Arcobaleno exasperate you quite a bit where I'm coming from."
"Good to know I have some company to get away from that." He completely believed the other, as not even his fellow Arcobaleno, Nono, Iemitsu or even Dino knew that, even before he became an Arcobaleno, he preferred to drink his scotch with a straw.
"Hm, you usually get that tone only when you are deeply displeased. It doesn't happen all that often, which makes me curious," the black haired man narrowed his sharp eyes on the 'baby'. "What could have possibly pissed you off this much since we last spoke?"
"What we spoke about, actually."
'Alaudi Kumo' immediately rolled his eyes, as though he were expecting it. "You cannot tell me that you grew angry on my behalf because of what Sawada Iemitsu tried to pull."
"It's more like how they all seem to be treating you," Reborn said with true anger, his voice frigid cold. He'd grown fond of his student and his Guardians, each for their own qualities. If he might express that fondness more openly for some than the others, that's because they'd done something to earn his respect or he saw a glimmer of his own younger self in them. The man before him was a mix of both. "You are not a weapon to be sent on suicide missions, to face whole families all on your own just because you're strong enough to do it. You may be a Cloud, but you're still family and should be treated as such. Have I failed as a tutor that neither Tsuna nor any of his Guardians realize this? That Dino doesn't protest the way they treat you? How didn't Xanxus pull you to him if he can see how they're risking you? Because I know damn well that not even the commanders of Varia take on missions like that alone, let alone in a time when such dangerous weapons are spread out all around for everyone to use as they please, if they can afford to purchase it. Xanxus seemed rather pleased with your younger self when you two first met. People like him get possessive. How could he allow Vongola to just throw you away like that?! How could Tsuna change so much to let it happen!? Have I actually misjudged them all? And you mentioned Fon ... No way Fon approves of all of this ... "
Gray eyes watched him, seeming apathetic and Reborn knew his reaction was being taken apart so every meaning hidden between the lines can be properly deciphered. It's what he usually did to people and he could somewhat understand why most found it unsettling. Perhaps it's the sharpness of the other's eyes or even the sharpness in there, too, that made it so unsettling. Reborn had never tried to look at himself in the mirror with such a gaze, so he wasn't sure if it was the same.
Again, he felt like he was facing a true predator, but this time he felt vulnerable.
The last time he had ever opened himself up enough to react so genuinely - but when it wasn't anger involved - in front of someone, it had been to the Arcobaleno with the Orange Pacifier. Not that he could have actually ever hidden anything from her, but she had been relentless in burrowing her way into his closed off, black little heart. He felt like he'd grown soft since then. He must have. How else could Dino, Tsuna and everyone else become so dear to him? Hell, over the years, even his fellow Arcobaleno became somewhat endearing, even if most of them still annoyed the hell out of him most of the time.
"Did you know," 'Alaudi Kumo' began, distracting Reborn from his spiraling thoughts and bringing his attention back to the Cloud. "That when I took that first mission, it was by accident? I was simply meant to oversee two rival families, one of which was a Vongola ally, make peace after generations of bloodshed. What Sawada Tsunayoshi was thinking in sending me of all people to oversee a peace meeting, not even he himself knows. It might have been the Vongola Hyper Intuition at work, though he swore up and down that he never got the usual 'feeling' that apparently goes with it whenever it strikes. Anyway, it turned out to be a good move, because an alliance had already been made in secret between the previously rival famiglia in an attempt to take Vongola down and kill Sawada Tsunayoshi and his Guardians. That night, they were expecting a bigger escort for the 'peace treaty', perhaps even Vongola Decimo himself. Instead, they got just me. They, of course, underestimated me, because while I may be strong, it was three hundred to one, maybe even more. I came back to HQ bathed in blood. They spent two months fretting over me non stop until I completely fell off the radar out of annoyance and returned only to find more fretting because I had, in three months, taken down two more enemy famiglia all by myself. My name spread, my reputation became bloody. One time, I came back to the Vongola mansion with three swords sticking out of my back, half of my left leg covered in burns and on the verge of severe blood loss. It took Sasagawa Ryohei, Lussuria of Varia and three other strong Sun Flames users to keep me from meeting the Shinigami. Sawada Tsunayoshi forbade me from going out on such ventures ever again, alone or otherwise."
Reborn felt his eyebrows shoot all the way up beneath his fedora and he just knew Leon's eyes must have bulged. "Tsuna what?"
Pale, thin lips pulled up in a wry smirk. "He even locked me up in a Box Weapon training room, the one they built for group training that can withstand even the full might of all seven Arcobaleno. He tried to joke he was 'grounding' me, as if I were a child that had made a boo boo and needed a time out. I broke out, of course."
"Of course," Reborn agreed, never having doubted it for a second. "But to do something stupid like that ... To try and restrain a Cloud, ground a cloud ... Damn, maybe I need to increase Tsuna's awareness of the nature of his Elements so he doesn't make a mistake like that."
"Xanxus agreed to it, you know," 'Alaudi Kumo' continued, apparently amused by Reborn's grumbling. "Like you said, he grew possessive of me easily. He loved when I visited the Varia Mansion for sparring sessions, since I'm actually one of the rare few people who can give him a good fight and who actually isn't intimidated by him one bit, no matter what. Also, his Box Weapon liger, Bester, likes me and the rest of the Varia try to behave when I'm around. They also cook the meat better, since they don't want out combined ire directed at them. Needless to say, you can even say that he's 'fond' of me, in his own Monkey King way. So when he heard how close I was to death, he forbade me from going on such missions, though the key word in his attempt to stop me was 'alone'. He wanted me to have someone from Varia as backup, not trusting 'that weak Vongola trash' to be anything more than a hindrance I'd have to worry about. He's the one who chased me down personally every time I escaped from whatever new form of confinement Sawada Tsunayoshi could think of."
"They're both morons," Reborn cursed vehemently, actually downing his drink in one go before ordering another one. It was promptly delivered, despite there being other patrons already waiting for their orders. The barman obviously had a keen eye for whom he can and whom he shouldn't piss off if he wanted to survive the night.
"It was, in the end, only thanks to Dino that I actually stayed with Vongola at all," the black haired man said, sounding between amused and frustrated. "I am a Cloud, so I kept finding ways to escape. I would travel, I would stumble upon either people with a vendetta against Vongola or against me personally, sometimes against Cavallone or the Varia - and then there was that one fool who thought that if he could kill me, he could get back at Fon for some stupid reason I didn't bother to listen to, let alone remember - I would deal with them. Occasionally, Byakuran, who was enjoying the chaos, would point me in the direction of strong opponents for me to fight and would even go out of his way to come and watch the massacre. The Vongola, of course, chased after me. So did the Varia. Cavallone never made a move. Byakuran would sometimes give them a hint as to my movements, other times he would send them in the completely opposite direction, depending on his mood. It lasted about five months."
'Alaudi Kumo' sighed, finished his drink and ordered a glass of water, as if already preparing to sober up from what little he had drank. Reborn wasn't even surprised. He knew why the other was here tonight, why the invitation had been extended so that Dino would be here, too. The other was on the hunt tonight, after all. Reborn wondered how many have been taken out since the last 'report' given to the older Lambo.
"It all came to a head when, one time, they interfered during one such raid against an enemy famiglia that kept stealing children from Vongola's territory and that ended in disaster. I took out the famiglia, of course, but I came out with severe injuries. I am ashamed to say I was exhausted, to the point that I actually fell into a coma-like state so that my body may recover properly. I was only turning twenty, still a bit rash, easy to anger. I woke from the coma two weeks later, but those imbeciles decided that the best course of action was to keep me under for a month and not tell anyone, not even Fon or Tetsu or Bucking Horse, that I was back, that I was hospitalized and in a drugged sleep. Cavallone found out. I'm not sure if it was you who told him or if it was Byakuran or if it was Mukuro Rokudo, but the word got to him and he came and he made them realize that if they kept trying to restrain me, they might just drive me mad or make me turn on them. He said a Sky should be understanding and accepting of his Cloud's particularities, especially of my particularities. I hate to admit it, but that Bucking Horse might just be someone who knows and understands me best. He made them understand. And so, Sawada Tsunayoshi and I came to a compromise. I would be allowed to go on any such missions if I sent some form of notice to him beforehand. It didn't matter if it was moments before I started fighting, he wanted to know. He also gave me a week-long ultimatum after the beginning of such missions. If I didn't report to someone that I was still alive, Vongola would come rushing in. Things changed a bit since then, especially since I took over the management of CEDEF, but the agreement still stands."
The sharply dressed man from the future turned around to study the room again, whirling the ice in his water with small movements of his wrist. "In short, baby, you shouldn't be angry with them. I have created the role I play myself. You can only blame them for misunderstanding how to deal with that role in their youth until someone enlightened them. Sawada Tsunayoshi, the Monkey King, Marshmallow-head and Bucking Horse have all been treating me correctly to the best of their abilities. I know you are fond of me, as you are fond of your students, so this must have been quite a conflict on your part. Worry not about us. The Vongola is strong."
Reborn would have once denied the worry and the fondness, but he figured there was no point lying to someone who was his drinking companion. Reborn never had a lot of those. He had comrades, he has the Arcobaleno, he even had friends, but he drank with very few of them. So he just smiled in a pleased manner at the man and took another sip from his second drink. "I guess that's a relief. Though I'll be sure to teach those no-good wimps more about how to treat their Elements. That's extremely important for a healthy Harmonization, after all."
His companion chuckled. "I think I remember Bucking Horse and the little animal reminiscing about some 'Flame lessons from hell' that one time they got drunk when hosting the Cow's twelfth birthday party. They were too intoxicated for me to make any sense of their words and your future self refused to share the story. I think I finally understand now." The smirk that followed his words was downright wicked. "I'll be sure to get the details this time when I ask."
"Get me into the Midnight Mafioso and buy me a drink again and it's a deal."
'Alaudi Kumo' gave him another smirk, this one in agreement as they clicked their glasses together in a toast before he got up gracefully, put down his half empty glass of water and rolled his shoulders. "Perhaps you should join the herbivores, baby. Cinderella's about to find that her glass slipper is full of thorns."
"The dance floor is packed and I rather doubt the others have the sense to pick up on random mafioso being murdered in a loud place like this. Though you probably already know Gokudera has a sharp nose and Dino has experience in places like this, so they might become aware of a commotion."
Reborn heard him snort but 'Alaudi Kumo' made no reply. Reborn also made no move to join the group he'd come in with, instead staying at the bar.
After all, the show was about to begin and this seat had the best view in the club.
He didn't want to miss a second of it.