OpalescentGold: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Present
This is how they return.
Order
When Alaude prowls into her room seconds after Kyoko and Haru have left with outpourings of well-wishing and get-well-soons, Cynthia doesn't so much as raise an eyebrow.
"You," he starts off, hard and curt, "have been negligent."
Some part of her thinks that perhaps she should be hurt or upset. But she isn't, because if there's one thing that Alaude and Cynthia have always had in common, it's justice and duty. "How?"
"The baby Sky's Mist," is all he has to say before she understands. "Both of them."
"...he needed a Mist for the Ring Battles," she says, and it's not so much as an excuse to Alaude as it is an apology to Tsuna. Her shoulders fall, exhaustion suddenly hovering a mere breath away.
Alaude looks terribly unimpressed. "Are you telling me that out of all of the Mists you could have chosen, you decided to settle with that?" He somehow manages to convey an entire universe of contempt though his face never changes.
"He's powerful," she states flatly. "One of the most powerful Mists in the world...and Tsuna deserves the best. Besides, Mukuro isn't that bad."
Half a second after the words leave her lips, Cynthia wonders when she went insane. Is she honestly defending Mukuro to Alaude?
From the twitch of his eyebrow, Alaude echoes her thoughts. He sighs. "Be more careful this time around. You've always been regrettably soft when it comes to - "
Machine
"So we can get back to the past using this machine?"
Noriko leans against the wall and smiles vaguely. She's glad. The activation of the Vongola Rings, the reappearance of the First Generation, the defeat of Byakuran - those were all good things. Excellent.
But she thinks that she needs a little time to herself, just to get her head on straight.
Tsuna's not the only who's openly worried. Hayato frowns at her sometimes, green eyes shadowed, and Takeshi is nowhere near as oblivious as he pretends to be. Ryohei has been distracted recently, but Kyoya and Mukuro...
Well. Noriko has been trying to avoid them for a reason.
And then there's Reborn. So.
Maybe she'll propose a scavenger hunt when they get back. And scatter the items all over the forests surrounding Namimori. That sounds like a good idea.
Candy
"I miss the taste of candy," Lampo says abruptly, splayed out on the floor carelessly.
"...do you?"
"Yeah." He pauses and turns onto his side, frowning a little. "Neh, Cynthia?"
She knows that tone. Knows that she won't like what comes next. After Giotto, she was the one who reigned Lampo in most of the time. "Yes?"
"Was it difficult?" Lampo bites his bottom lip. "Was it painful?"
Cynthia smiles, humorless. "When I died? Or when I woke up?"
He flinches. "Both...?" As an imprint of the Lightning Guardian, it's doubtful that he remembers his own death.
She stares blindly at her hands and thinks of blood pooling beneath her, the loneliness in the howling wind. Remembers dancing through a familiar and unfamiliar world with memories of times begone, whispers of a family dead and dreams of a shattered wish.
"Yes," Noriko murmurs. "It was difficult. And...it was painful."
Time Warp
"Thank you for everything," Shoichi says and smiles.
"Goodbye." Tsuna smiles back.
"Time warp, start!" The button is pressed...and then they are gone.
Home
"Nori-chan! There you are!" Kiku smiles distractedly at her daughter and hands the dazed girl the newspaper. "Did you see the news?"
"I..." Noriko shakes her head and manages to dredge up a smile. "No, I haven't. Did something happen?" Even as she is talking, she is unfolding the newspaper.
"There's been earthquakes around the world." Worry lines the older woman's brow. "I hope no one's been hurt too badly..."
Oh. It's probably from them coming back from the future. Noriko scans the newspaper and notes that there's a mention of some students transferring from Simon Middle School to Namimori because it's an earthquake-prone area.
Simon...
She frowns. "I do, too."
Misgivings
"Do you remember Cozarto Simon and his Famgilia?" Cynthia asks Knuckle.
"I ultimately do!" The boxer pauses. "Why do you ask?"
She blows out a long breath, rubbing at her temples. "It's been centuries," she says. "I know how the Vongola have fared, but the Simon Famiglia has, as far as I can tell, remained in the shadows.
"After that fight, they went into hiding. We helped them fake their own deaths, and that oath they made to the Vindice..." She bites her lip, pacing her bedroom in frustration.
"Cynthia." Knuckle's frowning now. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," she forces out, shaking her head. "I don't know, I just - "
Cynthia closes her eyes. "I just have a bad feeling."
"Your intuition tends to be right," he points out.
"I know. I know; that's what I'm afraid of." She feels like she's going to shake out of her skin. It's too much, everything's happening too fast, with Byakuran and then the First Generation, and now the Simon!?
Cynthia shoves her hands through her long hair and takes a deep breath. Her eyes burn.
"Do you want to talk to Daemon?" Knuckle asks, soft.
"No." Her answer comes much too fast, and he gives her a knowing look. She ignores it.
"No," Cynthia repeats firmly. "I want to talk to Giotto."
She wants to believe that she's just being paranoid, that this is only a coincidence, but Noriko very much doubts it.
Vials
"Before the Vongola and the Simon split, you exchanged something with Cozarto," Cynthia states. "What was it?"
Giotto's gaze is solemn. "Sin," he says, "and Penalty. My blood...and his."
"Where are they now?"
"I gave..."