Finally getting better with updates
Dear diary,
The past 12 hours have been a nightmare. Namimori was thrown into some ridiculous mess because of a group of fugitive middle school students. Yes, I kid you not, fugitive middle school students.
It all started from when Yamamoto and I were dismissed from school on account of it being a half-day. With all the students in the hospital from the recent attacks you would think school would be closed down, but go figure. Yamamoto being the annoyingly protective person he is, immediately offered to walk me home after class.
"Hey!" he smiled, waiting for Michiko by her seat. "I'll walk you home."
"I already told you I can take care of myself Yamamoto." she glared.
Of course, I was still offended that he thought of me as a child. Not to mention he made it sound as if I was a fragile damsel who would break down if left unprotected. I made it on my own for this long; I think I'll be just fine.
"I'm just trying to be cautious with all the attacks happening. It's not safe for anyone to walk alone." he responded.
"Okay, I'll take this as you saying you need me to be around to keep you safe. In that case, I'd be honored to walk you home." she retorted, with a sickeningly sweet smile.
He chuckled. "Yep, I definitely need you to protect me."
His sentence was undoubtedly full of sarcasm, but there was no point in arguing. I was not going to win against Yamamoto. Thus, we made our way down the streets, eventually hearing the news of a Namimori student involved in a fight. The only uninjured person who would do something so stupid given our current situation would be none other than Gokudera.
"You can walk home the rest of the way on your own right?" asked Yamamoto.
Michiko rolled her eyes. "You are not going to send me home right now. If you're going, I'm coming along too. Besides, if Gokudera got into a fight, he probably needs first aid. I have an emergency kit in my bag."
Yamamoto appeared hesitant, reluctant to let Michiko through. She rolled her eyes once more, pushing past him and heading towards the location of the fight. He sighed, hurriedly following behind.
Once we arrived, we saw Gokudera who laid bloody on the ground with an even bloodier figure hovering over him. Seems I'm going to need more than just a couple of bandages and alcohol wipes. Yamamoto successfully chased away the other guy, but there was still the matter of taking care of Gokudera's wounds.
"Why is Hayato here, instead of the hospital?" asked Bianchi, holding a gift basket in her hands, completely unamused.
That is exactly what I wanted to know. According to Reborn hospitals were "unsafe", but the school nurse seemed a larger threat to be wary of.
From the corner of her eye, Michiko noticed Tsuna and Reborn exiting the room. Seconds later, she heard Tsuna's shrieks fill the hall. Though this was a habitual event, she was still curious as to see what triggered this reaction. She headed towards the source of the noise and saw a panicked expression on Tsuna's face.
For some twisted reason, Sawada was assigned to stop the massacre. In doing so, he would prove himself as a mafia boss. That sounds all good and well, but why exactly is the current boss sending a child to stop other murderous children? As an adult, shouldn't he be more responsible and take matters into his own hands?
"Honestly, I agree with you Sawada." she nodded. "I don't see why this should be your responsibility. If these people are as dangerous as they are made out to be, how are you supposed to stop them? You have no notable skills and even the few that come to mind are virtually useless."
"Um… thanks, I think?" he questionably replied.
Reborn shook his head. "Even so, if you keep escaping from this the victims will only increase."
Tsuna frowned, gripping his fists tightly. "What those guys are doing is really strange. Why get everyone into trouble…. That Mukuro guy pisses me off!"
"Well, if he pisses you off that much, go over there and beat him up." Michiko suggested with a nonchalant shrug.
Tsuna groaned. "There's no way that I can go against a guy like that when even Hibari-san hasn't come back…"
She shrugged again. "No one is forcing you to go alone. Besides, these people are also just a bunch of middle school students. How dangerous could they actually be?"
Kokuyou, is in fact, a hazardous landfill littered with broken down buildings, animal carcasses, and potential psychopaths. I never thought the day would come where I would be covered in animal meat. But of course, traumatizing experiences are a must when you're with Sawada & Co. I must say, today wins the prize though because I am both disgusted and appalled.
And somehow, it only gets worse. Yamamoto falls down into a pit and is forced into a battle with some shape shifting animal-human hybrid. Turns out Kokuyou middle schoolers are not only dangerous, but also freakishly abnormal.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Michiko asked, kneeling down to peer into the dome. "Maybe if we throw a big enough rock down there, it'll hit him and knock him out?"
"That's unlikely." replied Reborn. "But speaking of throwing something down..." he smirked, jumping up and kicking Tsuna's back. Tsuna stumbled forward, falling into the hole.
Thankfully, Sawada didn't get injured as he fell. And even managed to serve as a motivator for Yamamoto to overpower his opponent. That was the end of that guy. Afterwards, Reborn gathered us to show a picture of the supposed trio we had to eliminate.
"The one in the middle is Rokudo Mukuro."
Michiko furrowed her brows looking at the picture. "Full offense, but I thought you said he was a middle school student. He looks like he could be 30 in this picture."
"Instead of focusing on the details why don't you go bandage up Yamamoto's arm." commanded Reborn.
She shrugged and went on to complete the task.
"Anyway, looks like the spectacle freak is still out. And we've beaten the animal freak. I didn't expect bringing Mukuro down to be such a breeze." said Gokudera with a grin.
Of course, Gokudera's rare positive attitude turned out to be a jinx because we immediately fell into further trouble.
From the bottom of the dome, everyone could hear animal boy laughing at the gang's naiveté. "I was faking so that I didn't have to confess anything to you. But, no matter what I tell you guys there won't be a problem because there's no way you can defeat Mukuro-san!"
In retaliation Gokudera threw sand at him, whereas Bianchi threw a small boulder down the hole. Michiko stared at Reborn prepared to retaliate with an 'I told you so.'
However, before she could, he responded, "He was tied down, there's a difference."
While we continued our journey we ran into the previously mentioned trouble. Turns out Mukuro's gang was larger than we expected. The first was a young girl whose weapon of choice was a clarinet. The second was a gross old man. Clarinet girl was easily handled by Bianchi. Word to the wise; if your opponent fights with poisonous food, maybe don't use a weapon that requires oral contact. The bigger problem was the creepy old man also known as Birds.
Birds proudly showed the cameras he had on Kyoko and Haru as well as the disfigured pair of twins he sent to follow them.
Gokudera immediately grabbed the man, threatening him to call off the assassins. He laughed in response claiming the orders would go through regardless. His first request was for Tsuna to get beat up until he was bleeding.
"I'll do it!" shouted out Tsuna. "Yamamoto, Gokudera-kun, beat me up!"
Bianchi quickly threw her fist out at Tsuna. Satisfied with the result, Birds demanded Tsuna be stabbed with a knife down to the hilt.
And the sick freak got a nosebleed because he was that excited. Honestly if we had murdered him first how was he going to give out any commands? Thankfully, the girls were saved right before the knife pierced Sawada. He even managed to land a punch on Birds.
Following the battle with Birds, Fuuta appeared and ran back into the forest. Tsuna quickly ran after him, as did Michiko. They searched for Fuuta, calling out his name, but to no avail.
"Maybe we should have turned right earlier." said Tsuna.
Michiko frowned. "I could have sworn he just ran straight ahead. Why are there so many trees in the way?" she clicked her tongue, pushing through the branches.
The pair made their way out of the bushes, stumbling upon a Kokuyou student. The boy was ecstatic at their arrival and their intention to rescue the group. He barraged Tsuna with questions while Michiko eyed him suspiciously. She lightly tugged on Tsuna's sleeve; eyes narrowed at the stranger.
"Sawada we should get back. The others are probably worried." she whispered.
The boy's ears perked up. "Oh, there are others? How many others? They must be strong."
His super human hearing should've been the defining factor of why he was obviously evil. Aside from the obvious interrogation he was conducting here.
Tsuna continued to disclose information, causing Michiko to grimace. She interceded, grabbing Tsuna's hand and pulling him away.
"Okay well we really have to go." she called out over her shoulder, giving the boy one last glance.
She turned away, a shiver running down her spine as they walked back. "Sawada next time we go into a forest, do not talk to any creepy strangers on the way."
Tsuna furrowed his brows, confused. "He was a hostage and he gave us information on Hibari-san. I don't think he was that bad of a guy."
She side-eyed him and raised a brow. "You're too trusting. I don't know who he was, but he was obviously digging for info. Didn't you see how he kept asking about Reborn? I don't think his main concern were your child rearing skills. Also, if we managed to find a hostage wandering the woods, this Rokudo Mukuro person obviously doesn't keep very close watch over them. If he escaped this far on his own, why does he still need rescuing? Why not just run away?"
Tsuna wore a confused expression. "That is a little odd."
"It reeks of suspicion! Which is exactly why you don't go blabbing off to people you've just met. What is he planning to do with all this info? What if he's secretly a spy?"
"That would be terrible." agreed Tsuna. "But everything should be fine once we beat Rokudo Mukuro."
"Speaking of which, isn't that him right over there?" Michiko pointed out. Both of them were at the top of a hill, from where they spotted a man at the bottom, swinging a giant iron ball in his hands.
"That is Rokudo Mukuro!" He quickly analyzed the situation, eyes frantically darting from Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Bianchi, two of the three who were already down.
"Hey you! What are you doing!" he shouted out, immediately regretting his outburst. Reborn quickly shot a bullet at him and he rushed into the battlefield to take down Rokudo Mukuro.
Who would've thought the guy Sawada defeated was unsurprisingly not Rokudo Mukuro. Instead, he was a man named Lanchia, another victim of Mukuro's. Now who exactly is Mukuro? Remember that suspicious boy from earlier? Yes that's the one. We didn't figure that out until a bit later though.
"Yamamoto is out of this." affirmed Reborn, glancing at the boy's fatigued body.
"Let's move him to a safer place." suggested Bianchi.
Reborn looked up at Michiko. "Kobayashi, I think you should stay behind and watch Yamamoto."
"Seriously?" she asked.
He nodded. "You can't fight, it's best if you stay out here."
"I agree Kobayashi-san." interrupted Tsuna. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt during this fight with Mukuro."
"Fine." she complied, plopping down onto the ground. She knew when it came down to it she'd find her way inside the building somehow.
Waiting for people is always the worst part. For 15 minutes I restrained myself from going inside to see what was happening, but once the explosions went off I was done with waiting.
Michiko's eyes widened as she heard a barrage of explosions go off in the building. She looked over at Yamamoto who was still unconscious, lying by her side. Leaving him behind wouldn't hurt, there was no one left to attack either of them anyway. Heading towards the building, she hurried up to the third floor.
Once there, she saw Tsuna on the ground, covered in heavy injuries. She ran into the room, rushing to his side. Pulling out gauze from the first aid kit, Michiko attempted to halt some of the bleeding.
"Kobayashi," Reborn called out. "You're supposed to be waiting outside."
She threw him a pointed look, still applying pressure onto the gauze. "That's your concern right now when Sawada is bleeding out in this rat hole?"
"Tsuna will be fine, it's you that's more worrisome." he replied.
Me? I was the worrisome one? How was I supposed to know he shot Sawada with some kind of super power bullet? All I saw was a boy seconds away from death.
"Sawada, you better not die on me." she muttered, clenching her jaw tightly. Relief poured through her body when his eyes suddenly shot open.
"Oh, thank god" she breathed out a sigh. "Don't you dare move, you're in no condition to-"
Michiko was cut off as Tsuna quickly sat up and pulled her close to him. His arm was wrapped tightly around her shoulder, her face pressed against his chest. She gasped, turning her head to the side. His free hand tightly gripped the sharp edge of the enemy's weapon. Clearly, the sicko had been inches away from stabbing her. Mukuro smirked and backed away, pulling his weapon out of Tsuna's grip.
Tsuna looked down at Michiko with a stern expression. "Didn't I tell you to wait outside?" he asked, his clear orange eyes staring intently into her brown eyes.
She slowly nodded her head, processing the entire situation. Noticing that her mind was distracted, he gripped her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Stay right here and don't move. The battle will be over soon."
She gave him a quick nod, to which he responded with a small smile. He then stood up and walked over to face off against Mukuro.
When Sawada said it would be over soon, I didn't imagine he meant in under ten minutes. The battle was short, but also intense. I've seen Sawada do things that normal humans couldn't, but today's feats were of a new level. He stopped Mukuro from causing any more harm, but after hearing Mukuro's backstory… It makes sense why he would want to destroy the mafia after they ruined his life. It was still wrong of him to target and attack innocent people. I guess it doesn't matter who it is, so long as they're part of the mafia, they're an enemy. They were all taken away afterwards. Who knows what'll happen to them….
Tsuna approached Michiko, still seated in the spot he had told her not to move from. "Kobayashi-san, aren't you going to get up?"
"I would…" she frowned. "…but I don't think I have any strength left in me." She pressed her lips together, slightly embarrassed by how weak she was.
He gave her soft smile, turning around and crouching down in front of her. "I'll carry you down then."
She hesitated; Tsuna had already gone through enough in the battle. She had done nothing to help and was now going to be an even bigger burden? Absolutely not. She shook her head, waving her hands in refusal. "I'm fine Sawada, just give me a couple of minutes."
"It's okay Kobayashi-san." he replied, grabbing her arms and putting them around his shoulders. He stood and she placed her legs around his hips to steady herself. "It must have been hard on you, seeing the fight with Mukuro."
"It was probably worse for you." Michiko mumbled, leaning her face against his back. "You worked hard today."
"I'm just glad everyone is safe now." he replied.
"Yeah…"
Today, Sawada did something immensely dangerous and certifiably insane. If any of them even think about doing something this dangerous again, they better hope they don't come out alive because I'm going to kill them for all the stress they put me under.
Tsuna exited the building and witnessed the rest of the group being treated by the medical team.
"Thanks, Sawada," she nudged him. "You can put me down now."
"Yeah, no problem." he replied, lowering Michiko down. As he bent down, a shocking spasm hit his joints and traveled all throughout his parts. He keeled over, his body seizing up in pain. The pain grew exponentially, causing him to pass out on the ground.
She sighed, placing a hand on her forehead in disappointment. "I told him I'd be fine walking, but of course he decides to overexert himself."
She shook her head and slid down onto her knees. Carefully, she lifted his head up and gently laid him down onto her lap. "Consider this a repayment for carrying me."
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Did anyone else not realize the Mukuro stuff all happened in the same day? In retrospect the Kokuyou arc was considerably short. Next chapter will be the start of the Varia Arc.
