Everybody left the next night. They wanted to leave under darkness so it'd be harder to track them. Berlin was always bustling regardless of the time so it was easy to fall into the traffic. Tsuna felt himself nervously picking at his sweater, wrapping a loose cord around his finger again and again. Half the reason he was so anxious was because Mukuro was in the car he was and the other half being that he could very well be about to fight.
Before they had all left, Verde pulled Tsuna aside. Tsuna had never really talked with Verde so he had no idea what was happening. But he was handed a small bottle with ten pills inside.
"These should help your breathing when running." Verde said. He was cool and efficient as he talked. "I designed them to suppress your asthma and help your lungs expand more without pain."
"Why did you-?" Tsuna started to ask.
"Luce suggested I do it and I had nothing better to do. Might as well give us an advantage so I can go back home quicker." Verde shrugged, walking off. He was staying behind in Germany with Luce so that they could have a command centre with Mukuro's family.
Tsuna felt the pills pressing against his side in his pocket and he took them out again, turning the bottle around and around in his hands. He had been told briefly to take one before he started fighting, right before they infiltrated Angelo's base, but he still wasn't sure if he could trust them. They hadn't been tested most likely so there would be side effects. It was the best they had though and it'd be helpful that Tsuna wasn't a weaker link.
It was a requirement that Tsuna came in the first place. He was content to stay back in command centre. But Luce had suggested that if Tsuna was the one Reborn saw if he was being woken up in the base, it'd be easier for things to go there way. Tsuna was the person Reborn trusted the most, Tsuna wanted to argue that but everybody had agreed when that was stated.
"We'll be there in a few minutes, Tsuna." Mukuro said from beside him. Tsuna flinched, looking up quickly before going back to staring determinedly at the floor.
"Alright", was all he said.
The rest of the ride was quiet. Tsuna was somehow forced into the car with Mukuro's family. Everybody else were in other cars following behind. Tsuna had tried to slip back out but it was too late as he was stuck, the door closing behind him. Mukuro slipped in the other side so there was no hope for him to leave. Two people were in the front and they were solemn faced and quiet the entire way. Tsuna was forced to anxiously look out the window, avoiding eye contact or any sort of conversation with Mukuro the best as possible.
The beautiful scenery was the only solace. Forests sailed by and buildings and farms slowly became more and more present. They had to travel far out in the countryside to find where they were going. The base they were told about, it was underneath a dusty and old church. Mukuro's family had drawn up a map of the place from what the one counsellor said it looked like, giving a perfect replica according to the counsellor when he was shown it. The map was stashed safely in Gokudera's jacket in another car where they had studied it for hours.
The windmills were coming clearer and more frequent now and Tsuna felt his entire body stiffen. He was so scared to be going so close to the people that had hurt Reborn so much. He was scared to see what had happened to Reborn. He wasn't dead, he knew that for a fact. Killing Reborn would be too easy. But it was almost favourable to find him dead because then he wouldn't have to suffer anymore.
Tsuna knew he would be coming back with a plethora of problems. This was Reborn's worst fear come back to life. Quite a few times Reborn had woken up, shaking, from a nightmare. Reborn never told Tsuna what they were about but now...Tsuna didn't want to know what horrors had happened.
The car stopped, the gravel crunching finitely. The two people in front turned to Mukuro and spoke fast German. Mukuro seemed neutral and answered without emotion. Only when they heard cars behind them, stopping on the gravel path off behind trees, did they stop talking. Mukuro motioned for Tsuna to get out as he opened his own door. Tsuna scrambled out as fast as he could, his hands shaking as he waited for Yamamoto and Gokudera to step out and stand by him.
He found that they calmed him down when Reborn wasn't there. The three had bonded a lot more the last few weeks and Tsuna finally felt like he had friends he could count on. He wished he could say the same for Mukuro. He hated how scared he got near Mukuro and wished it would stop but...it didn't work like that.
Mukuro turned to Tsuna and the group when everybody was settled and said, "We need to split up into two groups. There are two entrances. I'll mark them off; give me the map."
Gokudera pulled the map out, spreading it onto the hood of a car. It was just becoming light out so they could see what was being pointed out. Mukuro leaned against the hood, too close for Tsuna's tastes.
"The guards will be switching over about the time we get there; it'll be easier for us to go in because of that. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Colonnello, Mammon, and Skull will go to the south entrance. That's the smaller one so not as many people will be there. You can get the other half of the kids being kept there. The rest of us will go near the north entrance. When we go inside, I'll take Tsuna through to where Reborn is being held with Fon and Analeese."
One of the people raised their hand, signalling that they were Analeese.
"What happens if we're spotted?" Gokudera asked. "Where could we run to or hide in here?"
Mukuro pointed to multiple niches in the map. Tsuna was surprised how detailed it was considering that they'd never been inside before. "These spots are closets and rooms used for...other things. They aren't regulated and nobody looks into them as they're pushed off to the side. You can all split up and have one hide in there and wait in ambush for somebody to try to come inside."
Gokudera nodded, satisfied.
Mukuro rolled up the map. "Anymore questions?"
There was a soft, murmured no from everybody. Mukuro nodded, turning to the two that had sat up front. They were speaking German again. Colonnello looked confused as he snapped his head over to where they were standing, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He looked away before they noticed though and murmured something to Lal Mirch, who was standing beside him and had seen everything.
Tsuna was too scared to do anything other than stand there, shaking. He didn't want to be alone with Mukuro without Yamamoto or Gokudera. They were the only people he knew really well here. Lal and Fon were going to be with him but he was still scared. Mukuro was too close to him and nobody cared about how he felt towards him.
Yamamoto slung an arm around Tsuna, smiling as usual. "Don't worry, Tsuna! It'll be fine. You're really good at booshing people in the face. You'll get Reborn in no time."
"That's not what I'm worried about", Tsuna said softly. Yamamoto squeezed his shoulder gently before he let go, looking down sympathetically.
"It's only for a bit", Gokudera said. He gave a confident smile to match Yamamoto's.
"We'll be here for you when you get back though! And we'll have Reborn too!" Yamamoto exclaimed.
Tsuna couldn't help but smile at the two's optimism. It was contagious and Tsuna breathed a little easier. They'd get Reborn. There was no doubt in his mind. And soon, Mukuro would be out of his life again.
The group had to trek into the woods, following a path to the church. There were farms all around them so finding the right path was not the easiest task but they managed it, creeping into the ditches on either side of the path just in case somebody came by. Tsuna was the quietest in the bunch for once as he took extra caution not to trip or step on anything like dry branches as they went.
Soon the path lead into a field with a broken stone church. It was small and looked like it had been deserted for decades but there was a small padlock on the door that was too new.
Analeese was the one to step over to it, followed closely by the driver in Tsuna's car. They stepped inside, disappearing. The group waited for half an hour before Mukuro had a text on his phone from the two.
"We're clear", Mukuro said. "If you're entering from the south, go to the entrance near the last pew on the right side. The rest follow after me."
Nobody argued and filed in. The church was dusty, an inch of dirt on everything. It made it easy to see the path of footprints leading to the alter. There was rough redwood for the floor and the pews were made of the same kind of wood. The darkness made it easy to hide the small hatch hidden behind the last pew. There were wood accents along the entire thing. There was once cushions lining the rest of it but it had moulded or been chewed through. The wood accents were still there though and there was a small button on the underside of the accent. It was near the end by the door in the floor. Mukuro pressed it so it opened and the group filed through.
Tsuna edged along behind Lal, trying to put as many people between him and Mukuro as possible. They all filed into the door near the alter. There was a similar mechanism with a button you push for the floor to open. Tsuna was the second last on to file through and he was crawling down a tunnel on a ladder. He wasn't sure where it lead but when the hatch closed, it was incredibly dark. The only way they managed to make their way down the steps was because it was metal and easy to step onto.
As they went deeper, Tsuna felt himself become more and more ready. He wasn't sure if it was anxiety or adrenaline or maybe both. But he wasn't going to let Reborn and everybody else stay in this place any longer.
They landed in what seemed to be the entrance. There was a deserted hall on either side of them with lights along the floor so you could where you were going. There was rock as the walls, tiling as the floor. Doors were scarce, if at all present in this spot. There was distant noises of hums, yells, and drills. They didn't question what it was for.
Mukuro lead them through the halls easily. Tsuna guessed he might've been here before. He wasn't sure how Mukuro could remember where to go though as the entire thing was a dizzying maze of rock and tile.
They heard footsteps walking ahead of them and Analeese stepped forward, pushed a small mirror around the corner ahead of them. She jerked her elbow back and Mukuro nodded. He motioned for everybody to follow him and they crept back down the hall, back around a corner out of sight of anybody coming ahead of them.
There was a commotion ahead where a guard said something in Italian before there was a grunt and the sound of something hitting flesh. There was a thump before Analeese was dragging the guard around the corner and into one of the many rooms along this hall.
They kept going and dragged any guards they met into a room. Verde had disabled the cameras throughout the entire facility so there was nothing watching them. As they had predicted, the guard change over was happening so next to nobody was around.
Finally, they made it to a big open room with a hall leading up into a clean hall. In the room there was a set of bars caging kids in. The ones that were awake were glued to the wall, fear in their eyes and face.
One kid stepped forward, pointing towards Tsuna. They held a picture and offered it through the bars. Tsuna stepped forward, accepting the photo gently. Reborn's handwriting was on the back in Italian so Tsuna couldn't read it but the picture was of him and Reborn. They had gone on a date and took a picture in a photo booth. Tsuna had the other two but this one Reborn was smiling along with Tsuna. Reborn wanted to keep this one, insisting that Tsuna looked cutest in this one.
Tsuna breathed in, putting the picture in his pocket. He smiled at the person through the bars and stepped away for Lal to open the door. She could pick locks and the entire time she was unlocking the door, she was explaining what she would do in English. The kids that didn't know English had it translated as the buzz of excitement erupted in the cell.
"Tsuna, let's go. Reborn's this way." Mukuro called.
Tsuna stiffened, closing his eyes briefly before he turned, waving slightly to everybody inside before he jogged back to the rest of the group. Lal and the driver would stay back to help Lal heard everybody out while the rest went down the next hall. Tsuna took his pills out of his pocket as he followed, managing to dry swallow two.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing in here!" Somebody screamed.
Mukuro whipped around, throwing a knife towards the voice and somebody was pinned to the wall by their hand. They had a scream building in their throat but Fon was faster as he hit a pressure point in the neck, making them slump to the ground unconscious.
Mukuro took his knife back before they kept going. Nurses were walking through and they were the only nuisance that Mukuro and Fon dealt with every time. There were windows on every wall, looking into every room and it was painstaking looking through all of them, trying to find Reborn.
Before they could though, quite a few people were filing into the hall, stopping in shock at the group. The four grouped up, covering everybody's back. The people paused before they surged forward as one.
Tsuna dodged around a punch, elbowing the person in the groin before aiming at the gut. They groaned and doubled over, making it easy for Tsuna to knock them unconscious. He danced around yet another hit, dropping to the ground before shooting up and knocking his head against the underneath of somebody's jaw. They stumbled back, holding it, and Tsuna body slammed them against the wall with all his weight. They stumbled and crashed into a nearby gurney. They were also knocked out.
The number of people slowly went down until Tsuna was being yelled at to run through and keep going. He didn't argue as he ran, sliding through legs before he was sprinting down the hall. Nobody had any firearms surprisingly so he was safe to sprint through, looking into windows.
He went through all three wings and not a single person even resembled Reborn. Tsuna paused at the end of the last wing. He leaned against the wall, panting and sweating. He felt his eyes sting but he tried to breathe, ignoring the panic attack he knew was going to happen. This wasn't the time. He needed to keep going.
And so he did. He ran back through and down the hall, through the wings again, and back to where Fon, Mukuro, and Analeese were all standing among unconscious people. Fon was helping Analeese push them to the side. When they saw Tsuna run back, they straightened, looking perplexed as to why Reborn wasn't with him.
"He's not here!" Tsuna yelled. He stopped, still panting. "I checked...I checked all the windows to every room. All three spots. He-He isn't...He's not here…"
Tsuna's shoulders slumped helplessly and he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Fon walked forward offering a comforting arm on his shoulders. They stood there for a moment before they heard a soft, "aha", from Mukuro.
"What is it?" Fon asked.
"I know where Reborn is. I'll take Tsuna-"
"No, you will not", Fon interrupted firmly. He glared at Mukuro, who stared back.
"Fine, all of us will go then. Reborn's in one of the rooms. They put him in a private room so people couldn't see in if they accidentally wander in."
"How will we know what room he's in?" Tsuna asked.
"Trial and error." Mukuro shrugged. "He'll be kept near everybody else most likely so we'll check that part first."
Everybody filed back down the hall. The cage was standing open and the place was still deserted. There was a guard crumpled in a pile without clothes on though. Tsuna could only guess what happened there.
There was a hall with three doors. Mukuro went to the farthest one; Analeese went to the next one, their blonde hair swishing as they walked; and Fon went to the last one. Tsuna watched anxiously from the head of the hall to make sure nobody would sound the alarm before they were done.
Mukuro unlocked his door, peeking inside. The inside had the same reddish, grey speckled tile of the hall covering the entire room. There was a bed inside but it was empty, only a bare mattress on top of a frame inside.
Analeese had similar luck. There was an identical room with the same tile and another empty bed, but this one had the stench of bleach and acetone.
Fon was the last one to unlock his door. When it swung forward he breathed a sigh of relief. Reborn was glaring at the door, holding himself up against the frame of the bed. Tsuna peeked behind Fon, just to make sure and was pushed in, the door shutting behind Tsuna.
"What are you doing here?" Reborn asked suspiciously.
"I-I couldn't just leave you." Tsuna said. He stepped towards the bed and held his hand out. His eyes welled as he said, "I love you too much to let you s-suffer here."
"I can't walk, Tsuna. I'm not supposed to move."
"I'll carry you then. There's no way you're staying here. Everybody else is gone. All we need is you, Reborn."
He looked at the ceiling, his breathing picking up. He sat up, motioning for Tsuna to come closer. "You need to untie my legs first. The rope's on my thighs but they take your clothes as a humiliation tactic."
Tsuna nodded. Reborn closed his eyes before he pushed the thin blanket off of him. He started working on his left leg while Tsuna undid the right. They only had to undo the top knot so it didn't take long before Reborn was swinging his legs over the side. Tsuna pulled the blanket off and wrapped it around Reborn's shoulders before grabbing Reborn's hands, hoisting him up gently.
Reborn sagged against Tsuna immediately. Tsuna barely managed to hold himself up. Reborn had lost a lot of weight though so he wasn't as hard to support.
"I got you", Tsuna muttered. He heard Reborn laugh dazedly before they were carefully stepping towards the door. Reborn made strained groans with every step and Tsuna felt anger boil inside him. How dare these people do so much to Reborn.
Fon took Reborn's other arm when they walked out. They made their way slowly along, Analeese behind them and Mukuro guiding them out. Tsuna wasn't sure how Reborn was going to climb a ladder to get out if this was hard.
They didn't talk. Reborn had sweat dripping down his face from the exertion and he was barely aware of anything going on. He was so concentrated on just leaving that nothing else mattered. Halfway through they had to stop so Reborn could sit down, catch his breath for just a moment. Tsuna sat by him the entire time. He only offered his hand but Reborn was shaking too much. He slumped over against Tsuna instead until they had to get up again.
"We have to keep going, I hear somebody", Mukuro announced.
Tsuna tensed slightly at the sound of Mukuro's voice but Reborn tugged on his arm. He needed help getting up so Tsuna pushed everything to the back of his mind and held his hands out to hoist Reborn up. He collapsed against Tsuna immediately as he stood up but Fon helped take the weight off of Tsuna so they could keep going.
They didn't make it far though. There was a rush of footsteps and they heard screams and yells and the sounds of flesh hitting the ground. The entire group paused, looking all around them.
Three people came from behind and another three could be seen walking down the hall. Reborn made a small sound at the back of his throat before he dropped to his knees. Tsuna was brought down with him and he was the only thing holding Reborn up as he shook worse, tears gathering in his eyes.
"Viola always was dramatic", somebody said.
Tsuna jerked his head up towards the voice. He knew that voice. It was the personal that always taunted him on the phone. Tsuna stood up, putting himself between the person. He didn't know their name, he was never told, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that they never touched Reborn ever again.
"Just let us go", Tsuna heard Reborn whisper.
Everybody had closed around the group. There was no getting away easily. Mukuro didn't seem concerned though as he looked the leader dead in the face.
"We had a deal", He said.
The leader looked thoughtful before sighing. "Oh, very well. I'm a man of my word. And actually a man! Please follow these two lovely people to where Chrome is."
"You're only here for-?" Tsuna started angrily. He cut himself off, not sure how to finish. Mukuro glanced back with a slight smirk, shrugging. He always did that. Never really answered or gave an infuriating half answer before dropping the conversation.
He left with Analeese, down a hall and around a corner. Tsuna was glad to see the back of him.
"Now, now, Tsunayoshi", the leader piped up. "There's no need to be like that. You can stay here too if you want. Nobody's stopping you."
"Reborn doesn't deserve anything he's getting, no matter what you think. You've done enough to Reborn as it is." Tsuna stepped forward, edging in front of Reborn so he was blocked from the leader's view.
Fon stepped away as well, making himself known. He'd been so silent Tsuna almost forgot he was there.
"There is no need for useless fighting and pain." Fon said, "Reborn has, as Tsuna said, been through enough. If we part ways now, you will be able to escape and so will we. There's nothing beneficial for us to keep going as it is."
"Mm, that's no fun." The leader nodded to the people surrounding the three. "Hold them down."
Tsuna gasped as he felt people rush onto him. He didn't have enough time to react so he was pinned with a knee on his back, hands holding his arms and legs down. Fon was luckier though as he was able to dodge through the hands easily but the people that had gone towards Reborn went towards Fon instead.
Fon had started fighting back instead but was quickly overpowered. There had been five people on top of him until he was finally still. He looked calm but his breathing had picked up and his hands shook just slightly.
"Now", the leader announced. He walked closer to Tsuna as he talked. His black lacquered shoes clicked on the tile and his blue eyes were almost translucent in the dim light. "What I'd like to do is teach Reborn a lesson about obedience."
"What are you-?" Reborn rasped.
The leader motioned for the person holding Tsuna down to stand up. He did, leaving Tsuna panting on the ground.
Without any warning, the leader stomped onto Tsuna's hand. Tsuna barely held back from screaming until his hand was released and he was being kicked in the ribs. The velocity made him skid along the tile, bumping the wall. He sat up but the leader took him by the hair and threw him back to where he was. He slide along the floor again, landing near Reborn.
Tsuna sat up unsteadily, his arms shaking just holding his weight. There was no warning for any of this and Reborn sat, frozen in shock. He didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life he didn't know. He was always the one people turned to for help. He should be able to do something.
But he couldn't. He just stared dazedly as Tsuna was getting hurt; hearing him retch as he got kicked yet again in the abdomen; seeing bruises starting to form along his arms and face.
Finally, the leader picked Tsuna up by the throat, pressing him to the wall. Tsuna tried to kick, scratch, bite, do anything for him to let go. When he started to go limp, only then did he hear a shaky voice say, "Stop…"
Tsuna was dropped where he gasped, clawing at his throat as he regained his vision. Reborn was kneeling exactly where he was, staring at Tsuna desperately.
"Please", Reborn said in a shaky whisper. "Don't hurt him. He has nothing to do with this."
The leader seemed thoughtful. He put his foot onto Tsuna's back and pushed him into the dirt until he was struggling to regain any air. "I think he has everything to do with this. You see, Tsunayoshi here is the most important person to you. Last time it was Bianchi, now it's Tsuna. We always try to target the special interests of our clients. We need to get to your very core for you to change. And what better way than to threaten who you love? It's one of the main reasons we got you in the first place."
"I get it. You hate me and everything I am. Take it out on me. I'm the one that ratted you out in the first place. I'm the one that killed your wife. Tsuna and I hadn't even met when that happened."
"See you're just not understanding the dynamics, Viola!" The leader lifted his foot from Tsuna's back and walked over to Reborn. He plopped down in front Reborn and pulled on one of Reborn's sideburns. "If I hurt Tsuna, I hurt you! And that's my end goal here."
"I know", Reborn muttered. "I get it though. I'll go with you to your new camp. Just-Just leave Tsuna out of this...please."
Reborn's voice broke at the end of his sentence. Tsuna closed his eyes, trying to regain his breath and think of something, anything, he could say to stall. He couldn't lose Reborn. He'd most likely be dead if it weren't for Reborn.
There was a second rush of footsteps from either side of the group. The leader looked confusedly at the people on top of Fon, who all looked just as clueless. They loosened their hold just slightly and that was enough for Fon to attack all of them, swiftly and efficiently taking all five out. They were all unconscious as the police in full on SWAT gear converged on the tunnel, followed closely by Gokudera, Yamamoto, Lal, and Colonnello.
Yamamoto and Gokudera pounced on top of the leader, holding him down the minute he tried to escape. Lal was beside Reborn, checking his eyes. Colonnello went to Tsuna though, helping him stand up and looking to see if he was okay.
Tsuna didn't care though and rushed to Reborn the minute he'd come to enough through his haze. He was barely awake. The stitches he'd gotten had broken open and he'd started bleeding an alarming amount. The police were trying to ask him questions but he could barely stand as he was swaying where he sat.
Tsuna sat beside him, asking softly, "Hey, still with me?"
Reborn breathed out. He didn't have the energy to laugh like he wanted to. He fell back and Tsuna slipped behind him to hold him up. Reborn rested his head into Tsuna's neck, his breathing shallow and quick. Tsuna ran his hands though Reborn's hair, looking up at Fon hopelessly. Fon nodded, turning to Lal, muttering something in Italian.
Lal turned to the police officers, shouting what Fon had just said to her at them. Two rushed forward, first aid kits in hand. They ignored Tsuna and started working on staunching the blood flow. Reborn's eyes fluttered and he started breathing heavier. He gripped Tsuna's hands in fear, trying to anchor himself.
The thing he focused on to keep him awake through the haze of pain was Tsuna. His hands gripping back just as tightly, the small frown he had whenever Reborn let out a slightly louder sound of pain, the hair glued to his forehead at the exertion it took to support Reborn; the soft 5 o'clock shadow Tsuna had. He'd never noticed that before. He reached up, touching Tsuna's face and Tsuna cupped Reborn's hand. He smiled tenderly and that's all Reborn needed It was the only thing Reborn could focus on.
"Keep smiling", Reborn mumbled.
Finally, it was the time for Reborn to get up so they could actually leave. He refused to be touched by anybody but Tsuna anymore so they were forced to help Reborn limp along. When it got to the ladder, only then did Reborn let him be carried as he was carefully carried up the lander and handed off to a waiting Skull.
Even in his half-conscious state, Reborn still never missed a chance to be mean to Skull; muttering, "If I hear one damn word about you carrying me, I'll put super glue in your liquid lipstick again."
All of them trekked out into the field beyond the church. A group of people were huddled together near an ambulance where a group of paramedics went through, checking vitals. A few stood up and cheered when they saw Reborn and he waved tiredly.
Fon and Tsuna helped Reborn lay on the ground so paramedics could rush in. Tsuna had meant to sit back but Reborn looked straight at him, grabbing Tsuna's shirt and muttering harshly, "Don't leave me alone."
Tsuna closed his hands around Reborn's. He kissed it gently and he felt Reborn relax slightly. His eyes softened and he slumped against Tsuna, his hand refusing to leave Tsuna's shirt.
"Don't worry", Tsuna said. He hugged Reborn to him, whispering, "I promise I won't."
Hah oh boi this was fun to have people screaming at me over. I had like three people coming at me from all side omg it was wild i hope i don't need to put any warning on thi but if i do please let me know! i have to put some on the previous chapter [i keep forgetting to aaa sorry] but if there are any needed here, don't hesitate!
-Gate