'Thoughts'
"Talking"
Spells/Other's thoughts/Skills
[Captions]
{Korin's Voice}
Inner Voice
Chapter 11 The Varia arrives; the Knight's bloodline!
Korin was still busy reading up the scrolls was given by Fon, already memorized a lot of the stances in his head. But he notices some of the scrolls includes spiritual training, even basic western magic spells. 'Now, how did Fon-shifu get something like these…?'
He looked over to one book, then read out loud the title, "[The Golden Flames]… Eh?" He picked up the book and starts reading it, finding all sorts of information of this Flame of the Knight, including mentioning that it will only come to one person in every new generation, 'Come to think of it… Ray said something about me being the only person in the entire Yan-clan current generation possessing the golden flames…'
He read on, trying to find out more about the legendary flames, but there is limited knowledge and it only ended explaining the flames properties and the abilities that can be used on it, "Damn, is this all…?" He looked down at his hand, "I wonder…" He breathed in and focuses completely on his hand, but not a single flicker of flame appear.
"Darn it!-!" He shouted all of the sudden, startling Fon was busy brewing tea, "Oh dear, Korin sure is noisy today." Fon sighed as he picked up one of the tea cups, "Now… how should I explain things to him…?"
Xx Flashback, Last Night xx
Korin is currently asleep on the ground with the books and scrolls all scattered around him, "So they have arrived, huh?" Fon said to Reborn, who just came to tell him that the Varia has arrived.
"Yeah, but for some reason, the Ninth decides to put some kind of ring battle against the people with the same type of rings." Reborn stated, "This just doesn't suit him at all."
"Should we tell Korin?"
"Better not." Reborn said, "He may seem calm but I know he can be reckless when it comes to protecting Tsuna. Besides, from what I can tell, he is still not good enough to take on the Varia."
Xx Flashback over xx
Fon sighed as he tries to come up with ideas on how to prevent Korin from finding out about the ring battles. Back with Korin, he is back to reading the scrolls and books. He then heard a rustle in the bamboo forest, turning around to find Dino running out with bruises all over and his brown whip ready to strike, "Ah? Aren't you…?"
"Oh, the Knight…? Why are you…?"
"Are done running?" An extremely unexpected person came out, the skylark raising his tonfa in front of him with plenty of bruises all over his face, "Then be prepared to be bitten to death."
"Oh boy… this is bad…" Dino muttered worriedly.
"Hibari Kyouya…?" Korin mutters as he got up on his feet, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh? The herbivore's friend." Hibari smirked as he got into a fighting stance, "We haven't really settled the score yet, have we…?"
"Score…?" Korin then remembered the time he attacked him on his first day, "Oh, that time. Well, you kind of attack me first so I have to fight back, you know."
"Get bitten to death." Hibari rushed towards him with a full intention of breaking his bones with his tonfa, swinging the metal weapon at him at full force. Korin dodged it, with difficulty to his surprise as he jumped back a little in shock, 'His attacks are much more constrained than his previous wild strikes.' He thought, 'How much has he improved?'
"Are you running away now?" Hibari dashed at him once more with several strikes coming at him, Korin dodging and blocking as many as he can, but some managed to grazed his arms and came in contact with his body.
'Looks like I have to go on the offensive…' Korin got into an offensive stance and charges forward at Hibari just as he charges at him, blocking one of his attacks and lands one insanely strong punch to his gut, sending him back a few miles back into the bamboo forest; breaking a few bamboos on the way.
"Hm, so you have those fangs, after all." Hibari smiled beastly as he got up on his feet, "A worthy prey."
"Looks like I just dug my own grave…" Korin muttered tiredly, "But oh well." He raised his palm up in a Jeet Kune Do stance, "I needed the practice anyway."
"My, my…" Dino muttered as he looked at the two who starts their fight right away with clashing of fists and kicks against metal, "It seems a lot crazier then needed."
"Thanks for the well, Dino." Fon said as he descended down onto him, "I was troubled on how to keep him distracted and you just achieved that."
"You're… Arcobaleno Fon!" Dino said in surprised, "But… what do you mean keeping him distracted?"
"Reborn asked me to keep Korin in the dark about the ring battles until he is ready, or at least until his match is up." Fon explained.
"Ah, I see…" Dino nodded in understanding, "That's true; Korin's current skills aren't good enough to take on the Varia's Knight."
"Plus, I guess this is a good experience for both of them." Fon said, "To have a fight with someone with equal skills and similar goals."
The fight was dragged on for at least three days straight non-stop without rest or sleep, or at least Korin found a way to run away from his fight to drink some water from the river nearby before Hibari caught up with him and start the fight again.
They moved from the forest to the rivers, to the mountains, even to a hidden lake nearby, all over Namirmori. At the end of the third day, Korin was getting near his limit, getting one strike to his gut hard, knocking him down to the ground, "Damn…" He coughed as he got back up.
"Are you done yet?" Hibari asked with his tonfas ready.
"As if." Korin said as he got into a fighting stance, 'But it has been a while since I fought someone on my level.' Hibari charged forward with his tonfa swinging at him as Korin moved out of the way and his steps moving in a certain evasive movement, 'My footing is too slow, I have to speed it up.'
The prefect swings the tonfa at him yet again, Korin dodge another, 'I can counter this…!' He spun around and stepped forward getting side by side of him, before giving him one backhand to his face, sending the prefect back once more.
Hibari got back up, getting ready to attack again.
"Giving Kyouya some real-life experience, huh…?" Dino muttered, "It seems that Korin can handle him better than anyone else."
"Not just that, Korin is getting his momentum back." Fon said.
"Momentum?" Dino asked the Arcobaleno.
"Korin is similar to Hibari Kyouya in a sense, in the past, anyway." Fon explained, "You know about it, right? Three years ago, almost 80% of the triads in Hong Kong was erased within a single month."
"Yeah, it was known as a great purge. Almost the entire Hong Kong underworld was removed permanently."
"Korin is the reason for it." Dino's eyes widen in shock, "I didn't know until one month training him. Korin that kid, eliminated over a hundred triads within a month single-handedly, bare-handed. Back then, he was obsessed with becoming stronger, to gain strength no matter what the cost, and this immense hatred towards the mafia."
"Hatred for the mafia…?" Dino said in surprise, just as Korin blocks another of Hibari's attacks, "Then why did he agree to be the Vongola Knight?"
"According to the ninth Knight, he is looking for someone." Fon explained.
"Looking for someone…?"
Fon sighed as he watched the two fought, "Still, it is already the storm battle. Should we really keep them in the dark this long?"
"It's definitely for the best." Dino said worriedly, "If Kyouya finds out that Namimori Middle is used for the battle for the ring bearers, they will definitely go berserk."
"Who would go berserk?"
Dino flinched as the said teen is standing in front of him with a dark aura rising from him.
"What battle, Fon-Shifu…?"
Fon flinched, his disciple too is in front of him with an equally dangerous aura coming out of him.
"C-Cat's out of the bag… I guess…?"
Xxx Namimori Middle xxx
It is just the end of the Storm battle with the victor going to the Varia, and the announcement of the next battle, the Rain Battle. In the middle of the little tension between Yamamoto and Squalo, a fellow henchman of the Varia arrived in front of them with urgent news, "Captain Levi! Two unknown intruders are heading towards here right now!" He cried.
"Bastards! Who could they be?" The man named Levi said annoyingly, "Well, go and stop them! It will ruin my reputation to the boss if we fail to do so!"
"Y-Yes sir!" The man ran back into the corridor.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of flies flew in." The infant on the giant robot said, named Mammon and the robot being called Gola Mosca.
"W-What happened?" Tsunahime asked worriedly.
"Someone is heading this way…?" Basil wonders.
"Those guys came back from training." Reborn said, before clicking his tongue a little, 'I thought I told Fon to keep him in the dark about this…'
"Those guys…?" She asked. At that same moment, another of the Varia's lower rankings man was sending tumbling along the floor. Out walks Hibari with his tonfas out and thirsting for blood, "H-Hibari-san!" She cried, "H-He came! He really came!"
The prefect looked around corridor, noting the broken shards of glass on the floor, "Damaging school property… and trespassing school grounds… for that, I will bite all of you to death."
"Even us?-!" Gokudera cried.
"He's just mad that the school is damaged!" Tsuna cried.
"He must really love the school." Yamamoto laughed.
"Hmm…? Isn't he the opponent's guardian…?" Mammon asked.
"No matter, he's just a kid." Squalo smirked.
"How dare you… lay your hands on my subordinates…" Levi growled.
"Are you a ring holder from Sawada's side?" One of the judges, the Cervello asked, "If so, such behaviour is-"
"Move, Cervello!" Levi shouted as he ran towards Hibari taking out two of his umbrellas from his back, "He's only an illegal trespasser!" The two umbrellas charged up with electricity as he strikes at him. What he did not expect is for another person to grab one of the umbrellas out of his hand by the end and knock him off his feet with a sweep kick, the older man falling on the floor hard.
"I thought I told you not to interfere." Hibari said.
"I didn't." Korin said, tossing the umbrella aside.
"M-Motoyama-san!" Tsuna cried, 'Wait, what is he doing with Hibari-san…?'
"These preys are mine."
"You can't bite them all just yet."
The two suddenly got really close in a glaring contest, "They are breaking the law, so I'll do so."
"How is biting them all suited for it? And how is this breaking the law?"
"T-They start bickering all of the sudden…" Tsuna muttered worriedly.
"Che, start creating trouble just by appearing…" Gokudera said angrily.
"But it is amazing…!" Tsuna said in shock, "Hibari-san is amazing but, for Motoyama-san to parry against a Varia's attack so easily!"
"Yeah, as expected of them." Yamamoto said.
"Amazing! Who are they?" Basil asked.
"The Guardian of the Cloud and the Knight on our side, the chairman of the Namimori Discipline committee and Tsunahime's bodyguard:" Reborn explain, "Hibari Kyouya and Motoyama Korin."
"If they are the Cloud and Knight, that mean they are Gola Mosca's and Dracul's opponents." Mammon said with the robot releasing some gas out of its mask.
"What do you think of the kid?" Squalo asked.
"As clumsy and problematic Levi may be, he is still a member of the Varia." The hooded infant, "To parry against him so easily is rather an amazing feat. Not just that, he grabbed the parasol without the electric shocks affecting him at all."
"That's true." Squalo smirked, "He's definitely stronger than that time I fought him. But to me, he is as if in slow motion." He raised his sword up with a beastly smile, "VOOOIIII!-! How many slashes you want?"
"Oh? You're next?" Hibari smirked.
'Squalo…' Korin looked at the other two behind him, 'These are the Varia… If I remember right from what Fon-shifu [Forced by him] told us, the score is previously two to one with Varia on the winning side… Since Gokudera don't have the Storm Ring, that will mean that either it was a tie, or the Varia won, either way, it will be a huge disadvantage for us if this keeps up…' He then realized something, 'Wait, where the boss is? That Xanxus fellow…'
"Please stop." The Cervello tells them, "A fight between Guardians outside of a regulated match will lead to immediately disqualification of both participants."
"W-What?-!" Tsuna cried, "T-This is bad!"
Korin sighed as he turned to Hibari, "Enough, Hibari Kyouya. If this drags out, Tsunahime will be troubled."
"I don't care."
"Then I'll make you care."
Hibari turned to him, smirking a little, "Your fangs… I wonder if they can bite me, or my fangs will bite you…" The prefect spun his tonfa for a bit of momentum, and then swings it at the teen in front of him. But surprisingly, Yamamoto somehow got behind him and grabbed the tonfa before it can swing forward.
"Sorry, but we shouldn't really fight among ourselves." Yamamoto stated, "Also, that long haired guy is my opponent, so please bear with it for a while."
This swift and precise footwork of his has startled pretty much everyone in the corridor, 'Hm…? That sword brat's movements just now…' Squalo thought.
'Those are movements of any well-trained swordsman…' Korin thought, 'Considering the way he moved, it's definitely one that utilized a katana, but it seems familiar… what have you been doing these past few days, Yamamoto Takeshi…?'
"Anyone who interferes…" Hibari muttered as he jerked the tonfa away from the baseball addict's hands, spikes appearing on the metal weapon, "…will be bitten to death."
"Crap! I provoked him!" Yamamoto said in fear.
"HIE!-! Hibari-san! Please stop!-!" Tsuna cried.
Korin gritted his teeth in irritation on how stubborn and a battle maniac the prefect is, "I said…"
"Stop!"
That one word echoed throughout the entire corridor, the weight of how that word is said pressing down on everyone there, the power of authority that Korin has in this one word was pretty much both impressive and fearful. Hibari, to everyone surprise, is frozen on the spot, his facial expression never changed but if you look closely, his metal weapon is shaking uncontrollably in obvious fear.
'Fear…? I'm afraid of this herbivore…?' Hibari thought in shock.
"Ciaossu, Hibari."
Reborn stepped in between the three students, stopping the small tussle between them.
"Baby? Sorry, but I'm bust now." Hibari stated.
"While going all wild here is fine, but you'll miss out something even more fun." The Arcobaleno stated.
"Fun?"
"Even though it is not right away; if you tolerate it and join in the Ring Battle, you might get the chance to fight Rokudo Mukuro again."
"Eh?" Tsuna blinked confused at the mention of her previous enemy.
Korin too was confused, but the mere mention of that name makes him recall the fight back in Kokuyo Land, just refuelled the anger he had towards that illusionist. It took all he had not for the red-yellow flames to come bursting out like wildfire.
"Hm…? Is that so…?" Hibari said, "Will all the damages to the school building be repaired?"
"Hai, that is the responsibility of the Cervello." The Cervello judges stated.
"I see…" Hibari turned around, "Then I change my mind. Don't you lose to anyone before my battle."
"Eh…?" Yamamoto, along with the rest of them was stunned as the prefect walks off without beating any of them to death.
"Hibari-san… actually stop fighting…" Tsuna muttered.
"It just shows how great of a humiliation he considers his defeat to Mukuro is." Reborn stated.
"B-But, are you sure that you should make a promise like that?-!" Tsuna cried.
"Who knows?"
"Who knows?-!"
"VVVOOOOOOIIIIIII!-!" Squalo shouted, "Sword brat! Where did you learn that move?-! Not bad!-! Now your chances of winning have increased from…"
"Zero percent to zero percent!-! Tomorrow will be your last!"
"Are you sure about that?" Korin asked, staring straight at him, "I'm pretty sure he can beat you."
"Oh? You seem to have gotten stronger, but it doesn't really matter to me." Squalo laughed, only to felt a pressure of air to goes past his head, scrapping a bit of Gola Mosca's headgear and denting into the wall far back.
"You sure?" Korin said, his hand smoking, "The next strike will hit, you can be sure of it."
'Just from his fist pressure…?-!' Squalo thought in shock.
"Whoa, what happened?" Ryohei asked, "What did Motoyama do?"
"He accelerated his fist so quickly that the pressure from his punch sends a pressure of air as strong as an actual punch hitting from a far range." Reborn stated, "Only a handful of people can perform such feats. Most of them part of the same bloodline as Korin."
"Who is this brat…?" Levi asked.
"I see…" Mammon said, "Now I realise why Dracul is looking forward to his match…"
"You know who he is?" Squalo asked.
"Motoyama Korin… no, his full name is Motoyama Yan Korin. He is a member of the Yan clan, holder of the Knight's bloodline."
"Knight's bloodline?" Levi asked, "You mean the lineage of the Knights that was passed down every time a new boss is selected?"
"Knight's bloodline, also known as the Blood of Shura…" Squalo said, "That would explain why he was that tough to beat before. And here I thought he is just some martial artist that bitch roped in."
"Knight's bloodline…?" Tsuna muttered in confusion, "Come to think of it, Motoyama-san did mention something about his family being filled with generations of Knights…"
"All the Knights that has been alongside the Vongola Boss all came from the same family." Reborn answered her unasked question, "In the nutshell, they all shared the same lineage."
"Oh, I see…" Tsuna nodded in understand.
"Interesting…" Squalo's lips tugged up to a feral grin, "This has become interesting!" He raised his sword at Korin, "Oi, Knight Kid! After I cut up your katana friend, you'll be next!"
"If Squalo wins tomorrow, the Conflict will be over." Mammon said. "And it will be your end." Levi said as the Varia walked away and jumped out of the window. "Prepare yourselves!" Squalo yelled, "See ya!" He jumped out of the window, his laughter echoes throughout the night.
"…They… They left…" Tsuna muttered.
"Jeez… and I was worried when Hibari shows up and starts rampaging…" Gokudera said, Ryohei nodding in agreement.
"Still, to have Hibari by our side, we'll be stronger." Reborn said, "After the training, he's probably become even more skilled."
"He definitely have." Korin stated, "I have been fighting with him, and he has shown distinct improvements in his attacks."
"EH?-! Motoyama-san fought with Hibari-san?-!" Tsuna cried.
"That's right, for the continuous three days. It was halted when he heard about the Ring Battles." He walked up to the Arcobaleno, his eyes staring down at the cursed infant, "Reborn, why didn't you mention this to me? And why did you ask Fon-Shifu to hide this from me?"
"…It has to be done." Reborn states, "With your reckless attitude, you'll get yourself killed."
"Killed…?" Korin chuckled a little, his bangs overshadowing his eyes in a gloomy atmosphere, "As if… I'll never get killed. I'm a monster, after all…"
"Monster…?" Reborn wondered.
"You're more of the risk here, Motoyama Korin!" Gokudera shouted, "And what do you mean by that?-!"
"By the way, if you don't get treated in the next hour, you won't be able to fight again for the next week." Korin stated.
"Ah! That's right! Gokudera-kun, you have get treated immediately!" Tsuna cried.
"Don't worry about it, Hime-sama. These are only scratches."
"How about getting Dr Shamal to examine him?" Basil asked.
"I don't examine guys." Shamal said walking away, "Bye then."
"Eh?-!"
"He's just as perverse as always…" Tsuna muttered.
"It can't be helped…" A familiar voice said, "Romario, examine him instead."
"This voice…!" The brunette turned around to find her older fellow disciple, "Dino-nii!"
"Yo." The blonde greeted her, Fon and Romario arriving alongside him, "Looks like we just missed Varia. Kyouya still hasn't showed up, right?"
"Eh? He just came here a short while ago." Tsuna stated.
"Eh?-! When?-!"
"But he left before he could go wild." Korin added, "But it was a close one. If Reborn didn't stop him then, I would have to and it would become much worse."
"I-I see… You two sure are fast…" Dino sweat-dropped, "To think that you guys came back already…"
"Came back?" Tsuna asked, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Motoyama-san for the previous battles… where have you been all this time?"
"Well… if I would to put it simply, a training journey of some sorts." Dino said.
"Training… journey…?"
"That guy never listens to what other people have to say. Even when he's pinned on the, he won't admit defeat…" Dino sighed, the brunette finding it shocking that the prefect is difficult for even the blonde to handle, "So when I was told the stage for the Ring Battles would be Namimori Middle, I was worried. If Kyouya finds out that his beloved school is damaged, he will definitely go berserk."
"So I told him we'd train under various situations, and went far away from Namimori Middle." The blonde added on, "We met up with Korin on the way and the two immediately starts a fight and it carries on from there, going all the way from the ocean, to the mountains, to the rivers."
"S-Sound kind of cool…" Tsuna said.
"Then, how much did they grow?" Reborn asked.
"That would be a rather difficult question…" Fon sighed, "For them, they definitely gotten stronger than before, but by how much, we don't know. Korin still have so much factors to take note of, and Hibari Kyouya… let's just say he's potential is unlimited."
Everyone was shocked at first, but then they knew it would to be expected from him. "That's the way it should be." Yamamoto said.
Footsteps were heard along the corridor, half jogging with a laptop in her hands, Cosma appears from behind them panting, "I managed to caught up to you…" She panted.
"Cosma!" Dino cried in shock, "What are you doing here?-!"
"You told me to go find out more about the Varia members, right?" She states as she opened his laptop, "Well, most of the details have been sent to Reborn already but there are two people I just found new data on." That caught their interest as she taps on the keys lightly and shows them the screen, showing the Squalo but with much shorter hair.
"Superbi Squalo." She stated, "He was once recommended for the position as Varia's leader."
"Huh?-! That long haired man?-!" Tsuna cried, "It's that why he's so strong?"
"If recalled, he and Dino once attended the same school that most of the students are related to the Mafia." Cosma stated as she taps on the keys, "And yes, there is a school for mafia kids, where do you think most of the teens in the underworld learn how to run things from?" She answers the unasked question from the brunette's mind.
'I've always thought they just push it to the next best member…' Korin thought.
"Oh yeah, I remember." Dino said, "His name was rather widely known. They said there was a really strong swordsman… his power and sword skills are unique."
"Back then, he hasn't decided on his own style, so he went around and absorbed every bit of western and oriental fencing skills he could find." Cosma carries on from him, "He's like a greedy shark that only replies and bites into the smell of blood without any second thought. Varia heard of the rumours and scouted for him. As a condition of enlistment, he asked for a match with the Sword Emperor Tyr, Varia's boss at the time. Back then, no one thought it was possible to win against the Sword Emperor Tyr."
"But he won, didn't he?" Korin stated.
"Yes, but that's not all. He also completed the sword style he currently wields." Cosma said, "He was always the top even after enlisting into the Varia, no one doubted that he would be the next boss."
"B-But then, the boss is Xanxus…" Tsuna muttered, "W-Why…?"
"I don't know." Cosma said, "Maybe because he is the son of the Ninth, or maybe he is just stronger. Xanxus' data wasn't that clear. He is shrouded in mystery that I can't dig up. But then again, he's not the only one shrouded in mystery." She looked over to Korin, the teen tensed a bit, "I did some background checks with the Triads in Hong Kong, and one thing kept popping out."
"大湔(Great Purge)."
To be continued…
Done! Decided to leave it there with a cliffhanger!
As you are wondering, yes the other Knights are
coming back, but not in this arc.
I'll add them in slowly as the story proceeds. Oh,
and sorry if you are waiting long for this. I haven't got
as much free time since I started my NS. For those
who are singaporeans or have this in your country
you know what I meant.
So, bear with me for the next two years with a
chapter coming out at least once per month or
once bimonthly
With that, I thank you for reading this!