khr ain't mine

Exposition ahead, well a bit. I hope this chapter ain't too dreary... I wanted to keep this fic as light-hearted as I could :) Let's see how it goes.

Lemme know what you think of the fic ^^ Any comments are welcome.

Hope you enjoy the story, let's go on now!

Chapter 7

Break the deadlock

Reborn had left the two alone to snoop around the grounds. Their charades would tire him, so he retired ASAP from their company. He moved towards the roof to get an aerial view of the town. The middle school was tall enough to be spotted from Tsuna's house, so he thought it'd be a great place for recon.

When he opened the door to the rooftop, a beam of light concentrated on his eyes, making him squint a bit. It really didn't help that the citizens kept things dark for a motif.

It seemed that he had company. There was a girl whose figure got illuminated in the sunlight. She looked straight at him with her brown hair swishing with the wind as she spoke,

"I think that you've met all the people you mainly should and your tour should be finished by now. In that case, if you're planning on staying for now, you should play along with the townspeople, starting now.

So Reborn-kun, don't blink or look away from me."

"What-"

"I play the role of the Weeping Angel. I'm willing to give you the deeper look into this town- just as you'd like.

But, for that- the ones that approach me should follow those rules. It's a fair deal I think. Especially, since the others won't let you off with even a single peek- if you don't decide to become a part of the town's folks."

When the hitman's face scrunched up and his shoulders tensed at the unfair position he was being tucked away in, she told him-

"Do you think I'm threatening you, Reborn-kun? I think I'm being way more straight forward than the people you've met. It's not like I don't know why they hide those things.

It's because if they tell you everything, you might ruin the delicate balance that supports this town. After all, you don't really know us or understand us or empathize with us. You might not even cooperate properly.

The state of the way things are... they're closely linked with what makes themselves."

He didn't know what she was playing at, but he decided to hear her out at least.

"But first things first, I'm Sasagawa Kyoko. I'm Sasagawa Ryohei's little sister. It's nice to meet you, Reborn-kun." she smiled sunnily at him.

"You mean that Chaise Lounge?"

"...You shouldn't believe Yamamoto-kun's words at face value, Reborn-kun. I'm sure that Lambo-kun and Mukuro-san would have warned you."

That guy lied again? Rather than being the killer clown, that guy should be Pinnochio.

"It's not like he's the biggest liar. But he does lie often with strangers.

Anyway, my brother... he... plays the... ragdoll role." she seemed physically pained to say that.

Reborn figured it was a way to show him that he could trust her. He kept her in the corner of his eyes as he looked around to scope the place, wondering why was she bothered by his Halloween like role? When he noticed blood on the railing, she whispered,

"You see, my brother used to get into a lot of fights to protect me. I don't like it, but people used to try to get my attention- like it was some kind of trophy or achievement.

Some of their methods to do that... was not very nice.

My brother used to be infuriated when he saw the ones I didn't manage to hide. I don't like how he dealt with the ones who went a bit too far. He used to get into hospitals for that- so much so that he learned some of the ropes himself.

But violence begets violence... and eventually he couldn't even fight as a sport.

...Not that he knows this himself. They told him that the cushions were to stop him from crashing stuff, but I think the cushions are to support his actions- to be the substitute for what his arms and legs could no longer do. I doubt that my brother would notice anything... at least he'd keep going until he breaks down..."

Reborn looked at her, shocked at realizing what it meant for him to wear the supports as integrally as becoming a chaise lounge itself. What was inside the chair? How did he look like underneath all that?

"I won't be telling the other's story- it's not mine to tell. But this one I can tell since it's our matter. But I can answer the questions if you've got some- enough to let you get a foothold in this place so that you can make a decision that's not influenced by the rest."

"...Say, did someone get hurt near the rails?"

"Yes, that someone almost died here."

"What happened?"

"...There was a sports meet that week. We had something like a bitter rivalry with the opposing baseball team that we were supposed to play against.

They... went too far. That made that person almost lose his will to live. But things didn't go his way, so he made it go his way in the end. But because of that, the meet was canceled-"

"Kyoko. That's enough." Gokudera entered the place just then, looking stern. He told the hitman, keeping his eyes on her own with a look of reprimand,

"Reborn-san, we found the cow brat. So, it's fine to leave the place. School's over, anyway."

When the hitman saw the brunette leave the place, he felt a sort of dread wash over him. The way she put things it was almost like she was talking about dead people. But he had to keep things under control. He couldn't run away from the truth, especially when he was close to it for once these days. He couldn't let this opportunity fly past him.

"Gokudera. What's next after the tour?"

"But it's not finished yet. You've yet to meet Hibari. Or did you want to take a break from the tour?"

"Yes. I wanted to do some individual sightseeing."

"That's fine with me, Reborn-san. But the locals won't let you approach them if we weren't around. They're stranger-shy."

With all the stupid stuff they indulge in, why is it strangers that scare them the most. They live in a horror house themselves.

"With what I've seen so far, I think the graveyard would be the town's holy ground."

"Uh, we don't have one. But the closest ones we could have is the people's houses. We've got a custom of burying the dead right in the house's grounds."

'Why would you create the equivalent of the cliche Indian burial ground?!'

"We keep the dead close by." there was a sinister tone that tinged the bomber's voice. But it could be the subject matter that made him think that way.

"Gokudera. Do you have something planned right now that we've paused that trip?"

"If you want to visit a place, you could let me know and I can lead you there."

"Do you have a shrine?" he asked because he wanted to know if the townspeople were religious, or was there something else to what he had noticed so far. The closest place related to his doubts was the shrine- the place where people give offerings for the living's well being and the peace of the departed.

Gokudera stiffened up at the question. He turned eyes filled with suspicion towards the hitman- it was like a cat hissing at him. This was the reason why he had asked this question to the silverette- it was because he was an open book.

"So you do have one. Will you lead me there or should I find someone else to do that?" he implied that he could always ask Tsuna- the only other person amongst those he met that he could put some trust in.

"...No, I can do that." the werewolf glared at him. It seemed that he finally caught something that was forbidden hidden rule- a weakness. It finally gave the hitman room to stand.

The Namimori shrine was a pristine building. It was beautifully maintained and didn't fit with the town's atmosphere and was removed from the town's geography. Yet it seemed like even if it didn't share its boundaries, it was well appreciated.

"The DC committee maintain it. That's why the place is fine looking."

"I thought you guys like buildings like kokuyo's amusement park."

"I don't. I moved in here, so I was as surprised as you are when I got here. Then I got a used to it."

"What about the DC guys? Why're they maintaining this place to this extent? "

"You don't need to verify it. You've guessed right. It's a type of harassment to the shrine- in particular, it's at the guy who's taken the role of the priest of the shrine.

I guess they don't like that he took that role when he was a shopkeeper before. They don't tell me the whole story."

"Huh? They don't trust you?"

"I know that the information is vital for keeping things the way they are. But I don't like it. They're hiding things from Tsuna- they say that it's for his own good.

I don't think they get to decide that on their own." Gokudera shared that and Reborn knew exactly why he did that. He intended on making an accomplice out of him.

"So you want me to dig information?"

"You're neutral right now right? Might as well get something done, while they're not explicitly targetting you. You're the freest person here right now, so what do you say?"

He could ask about information regarding his role right now, but right now, he needed to know more about his surroundings.

He needed to know, especially since the last hope of Vongola was bounded to the town, with his supposed guardians fettering his chains.

He wondered if Nono meant it when he told him he wanted Sawada Tsunayoshi dead or alive.

His surroundings started to change right in front of him as he felt like floating. The air had a distinct smell of copper and he looked at the buildings that looked desolate- it was truly a place for the dead.

Leon on his shoulders was munching on something. He turned his eyes to the shrine as it looked like the doors were getting covered by vines. One half was wilted and the other looked as fresh as dew.

His eyes picked up well-maintained graves and his nose was flooded with the smell of incense. It was almost dizzying- like as if his senses were picking up what the people here experienced on a daily basis.

It was as if they were drunk and reduced to incoherency from the articles they've collected and barricaded themselves so thoroughly.

Maybe it wasn't that Namimori was a place for the dead, but more like Namimori was a cage for the dead.

Reborn wasn't one to back down, nor was he one to slink around and play down the trust offered to him. So he reached for the door as Leon spit silk that wrapped around his body.

When the door opened, he saw Gokudera who gawked at him. It seemed that his partner draped him in a pure white robe, going so far as giving him a leaf crown. He understood the chameleon's intention right way, and spoke without hesitance,

"I've taken up the role of the Messiah" it was honestly ironic, given his bloody past and his profession.

But the small smile on Gokudera's face looked more real than anything he had been giving the other so far. It seemed that the bomber had been hiding things under a mask, even if he looked like he was as clear as glass.

It seemed that his decision was not unrewarded. Reborn himself had a tiny smile hidden under his black fedora.