A Piano's Requiem
Ch 03 – The Man with the Many Books
"Boy!"
Lavi looked up from where he sat, the color clearly drained from his face. He had been hurt so badly from Sheryl's rage, and the virus inside him wasn't helping him, either. Bookman wasn't doing so well, either. He had his own share of beatings already, but he had enough strength to sit up and glare at Fiddler, who was limping his way towards them. Lavi blinked blearily, wondering why the Noah was injured.
Fiddler crouched down before Lavi, and grasped his hands. Lavi yelped weakly at the sudden feeling of being drained of something, and long after that, he felt less heavy, as if he wasn't so ill like he had been just a few months ago. He looked questioningly at the Noah, who stood up to face him.
"I'm taking out the virus out of you," He said bluntly. "You need to get out of here."
Lavi flinched, and gaped at the Noah as if he turned into fluffy pink bunny. Why was he no longer hostage again?
"W-What's going on?" He asked, and Fiddler looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"Adam has lost his cause," he said briskly, looking back to where he had come from. "He's lost sight of what we all wanted. We opposed him, so now he's been killing us all."
"Noah killing Noah?" Bookman snorted. "That sounds beneficial on our part."
"Yes," Fiddler sighed, but he heard a shuffling from behind them. They all glanced quickly at the sudden source of the sound, and saw Road, gasping for breath. She must have fought her entire way here, and she looked completely exhausted.
"Are the Bookmen safe?" She asked. And Fiddler nodded weakly.
"I've removed the virus," He said. "We'll have to make a passage out for them from here."
Then the two began babbling too quickly, Lavi himself couldn't catch what they said, except for terms such as "exit" and "help." Since when were the Noah helping him, a possible ally to the Black Order, Noah's enemy?
"Wait! Wait!" Lavi shouted, and all of them stopped talking to stare at him. "Can someone tell me what's going on?"
It was Road's turn to answer questions, and she turned towards him. Much to his horror, she was clearly lacking the playful airiness she usually carried whenever they met. The only thing that seemed "playful" at all was the rather skimpy mini dress she was donning.
"We don't know, exactly," She said. "But… we can't leave you prey to his wrath. You two must escape quickly."
"Why?"
"Because," Road's voice became smaller, something he had never seen in the Noah of Dreams before. "He's going to kill Allen."
"Allen…?" Lavi muttered, and he wasn't sure how to react to this. Hadn't the Earl wanted to kill Allen numerous times? This was not an uncommon situation he could hear of.
"But without Allen," Road said. "Time will be destroyed."
A serious shock ran through Bookman, and everyone looked at the elderly Exorcist.
"No," he said quietly. "That would be bad after all."
"Gramps," Lavi cried. "What's going on, Gramps?"
Dark round circles around the eyes stared up at him, the feeling of defeat reflected so easily out of them.
"I'll stay. I'm actually unable to move any longer."
Lavi blinked, his one green eye widening in surprise that his teacher would say such a thing. With all the chaos going on, he wasn't sure if he was going to make it out at all.
"But, Gramps…"
"You're more important than I am," The man with dark circles in his eyes sighed. "Besides, you've learned quite enough to already take on my position."
He slowly reached into his pockets, and gave him a slip of paper. The redhead took it slowly, and stared at it, noticing the address. This meant something really bad, especially if his teacher was giving him the location of this certain place.
"Gramps…" His voice choked at the sudden realization. "No… you shouldn't be…"
"Don't be rash, Junior," Bookman glared at him with steely aged eyes, and Lavi shut his mouth. "I taught you well not to act like this if I die."
Lavi nodded quickly, and averted his attention. Bookmen weren't supposed to feel the sense of loss, so he had to take his teacher's death lightly. It wasn't a good choice, but he was abiding by the rules of the clan. Road motioned to him to come forward, and he did so, looking back Bookman, who seemed to be saying something to Fiddler. Road tugged on his tattered sleeves, earning his attention again. There, he saw a pair of checkered doors, and they opened immediately when he set eyes on them. He received a small push to walk forward, and the Bookman apprentice looked at Road in question.
"Hurry," she said. "I made a Gate for you to go through out of the Arc. Hopefully, Adam's not at my portion of the Arc yet."
Lavi nodded quickly, entering. Even if he wasn't sure of what was going on at the moment, he had a firm goal in his mind: to save Allen Walker. If he failed, goodness knows what he would do to himself.
"Oh, and here."
Lavi looked down at the shorter Noah, and saw that she was handing him something. It was his Innocence, that trusty hammer he always used. Belated, he took it back, and stuffed it into the remains of his belt.
"Thank you."
"No," Road nodded. "Thank you, you were a great opponent."
"Um… yeah, you, too."
"Would you like some more water, sir?"
Ryohei looked up at the young girl in a bright orange yukata gazed up at him with big brown eyes, her dark orange hair settled in short locks. He bit back his tongue as he looked away quickly, his attention attempting to shift to a rather nice bamboo mat he was sitting on. He couldn't look at this woman at all, not when she looked too much like his little sister.
"N-no thanks, Miss Yoko…"
"Oh, I see," the young lady got up to her feet and left the room quietly, the sliding doors clacking against the wood. Ryohei sighed deftly as he stopped tensing up, and looked across the room where Chrome was sitting beside Tsuna and the younger children. Their clothes had been damaged when they came to this shelter, and the people here were kind enough to offer everyone some clothing. They were a bit too traditional for their tastes, but they had to go along with it, if they wanted any clothes.
Fuuta and Lambo had fallen asleep in the middle of the day, since they've already lost perception of time from staying inside here for too long. The fact that the sky was blood red nowadays wasn't of much help either. Ryohei slipped a small smile that he had a hard time bringing out these days. They were young children, without much to really concern themselves. But they were resting now, and that was all he wanted to them have.
Tsuna, on the other hand, had woken up quite a few times when they had left Namimori last month. He seemed to be waking up like any normal person, and he was recovering well from his injuries (With Ryohei's Sun Flames, he was able to walk and run within two weeks). However, the Vongola Boss didn't speak at all, nor did he even change that bored, glazed expression that he took up ever since they found him and Yamamoto at the Sawada residence. No one, not even the other people of the inn, were comfortable with the thousand-meter stare that the boy gave off whenever he looked at anyone. It was nerving, and his friends were not at all familiar with that look in his eyes. Reborn and Hibari didn't seem to mind. Reborn's reason was that Tsuna was just "shell-shocked," just like any rookie Mafioso, and Hibari didn't even bother to give a reason. With Tsuna in a terrible mental state, there was great unease through the entire team.
The door slid open, prompting both Chrome and Ryohei to see who had come to see them. Their apprehension faded when they realized that it was just Yamamoto and Reborn. They had returned from their rounds as guards of the inn, making sure whoever came in were not a rogue monster or that no massive army of those creatures came flying to them.
"Yo," the boy with his bamboo sword greeted them warily as he settled down in the corner of the small room. His gaze fell upon Tsuna, who was awake but didn't return the greeting like he always did, back when these demons weren't lurking around. After one month of this, Tsuna's behavior was more of a commonplace occurrence to them all, and they minded their own business unless he tugged on their clothes to ask for something. They had known him for quite a while, so it was easy to tell what Tsuna wanted, whether he was pointing at things or he was just staring at them with cold blank eyes. Otherwise, the other people in the building here didn't know how to deal with Tsuna.
"There hasn't been much as last week," Reborn muttered darkly as Leon turned into a small chair and table for him. The hitman had not gotten his hourly dose of coffee for a month, and it was taking a toll on him. He was all work, no play, much to Lambo's chagrin, and he was becoming more irritable and gruff whenever he was approached. The Arcobaleno even developed a more serious case of trigger-happy temper, so much that even Hibari himself didn't dare so much as sit next to the hitman whenever they slept.
"Less?" Ryohei blinked. "Sounds like they might be coming in numbers by next week. We might have to leave this place."
"I agree," Chrome nodded weakly as she stroked Fuuta's hair. "It's sad... This place is a really nice place, though..."
"But where can we go?" Yamamoto asked. "We were lucky we found this inn in the first place."
"That's true," Reborn noted. "The best option is to go hide in the forest near here. No one lives in these forests and we could make do with what we have here."
"That's cutting it close to the Akuma if they come here," Ryohei frowned, his tongue winding on the new term. The correct term for the demons that popped up since last month was Akuma, as the innkeeper said. It was rather easy for all of them to get used to the name, but they occasionally slipped to "demons," and "creatures."
"Yeah," Yamamoto agreed. "But if that's the best option, I guess we'd have to go with it. But… can we take some people here with us?"
"You know how it goes, Yamamoto," Reborn said sternly. "We're already one big party. We won't be able to move out fast if we add more people to our group. Besides, everyone else seems to have their own escape options. They're not as dull as we think they are."
"Mmmmm…"
Everyone turned to Tsuna's direction. The boy had been settled in his futon, and he was merely rolling over to the side, groaning as he went to sleep again. Chrome shook her head worriedly, and glanced at the other men in the room, who were also as deeply concerned.
"I should go get more water for Tsuna," she suggested, gently placing Fuuta and Lambo's head down on their respective pillows, and walked towards the sliding doors, leaving then with a hollow thump of wood. She took small meek steps down the halls, encased in many screens that were lit from behind. All the girl could hear were faint whispers and crying, both men and women alike. The people here must have been having a hard time dealing with the sudden appearance of Akuma, too.
She was finally at the back door, a heavily sealed lock awaiting her. It had taken quite a while for her to figure out how the door could be opened properly, but thanks to the people who stayed here at the inn, she was very knowledgeable about the many inner workings of the inn's exits. Reborn was quite pleased to know that there was someone in the party who could help trace escape routes should there be Akuma that came to attack.
Chrome's hands hovered over the first lock when she heard a faint clap of clothed feet on the wooden floor.
"Be careful when you're on the way out, Miss Dokuro."
The girl spun on her feet and noticed that a middle aged man standing at the ark of the doorway, his hands leaning on the wooden posts of the doorway. He was dressed a handful of scarves and robes, so much that one look at him would have made one believe he was quite big boned, but his hands and head told otherwise of his size. His red hair was speckled with strands of brown and beige from the dust and cobwebs that he caught whenever he walked into the deeper parts of the inn. What was most striking to Chrome was how strangely brilliant the shade of green in his eyes were. They were clearly a color she considered more than normal, and she couldn't place a finger as to how they should be called. The best she could say about him was that he was most definitely a pure foreigner.
"Mr. Bookman," Chrome muttered, embarrassment rising to her cheeks, and she backed away from the door, hoping she didn't look too suspicious. "I… I was going to get some water..."
The innkeeper chuckled, stepping down to the entryway, slipping into his own pair of sandals. He walked towards the door, reaching for a lever at the top of the door, just the place where Chrome couldn't reach. She could hear the lock click open automatically, and Mr. Bookman smiled down at her, that warm demeanor glowing out of his face.
"For the ill boy who is staying with you, no?" He guessed, and received a nod. "Shall I accompany you? It will be much better if a young lady like yourself would not go by herself."
"Th-thank you…" Chrome muttered, and with a small laugh, Mr. Bookman pushed open the heavy metal doors. They stepped out into a run-down village square with a strong lack of civilization behind its walls. Akuma had come here invading long before Chrome and the others arrived to this village, and the place literally uninhabited, save for the inn that they found later. The sunlight had been cut off for so long, the trees themselves were wilting, and the houses lost their painted luster. A lone wind was the only that could be heard in this vacant town.
A small tap on her shoulder made her jump, and she stared back at those unsettling green eyes.
"Now, we shouldn't be standing out here for too long," he said, pointing to his storage cabin. "We should get out of this not-so-fresh air and get water for everyone. It won't do for the two of us to get sick from this Akuma dust flying everywhere."
Chrome nodded quickly, and followed him in a scurrying manner, hoping she didn't cause an embarrassment out of herself just walking with the innkeeper.
"You're volunteering for guard duty, yes?"
Reborn nodded quietly, his eyes trained on the redheaded innkeeper. Something was entirely off about the man, and the Arcobaleno didn't like it at all. Mr. Bookman always carried this strange aura that only Reborn and the Arcobaleno themselves possessed, as if their age was a complete lie. Was this man even thirty years old as he claimed? It sure didn't seem like it.
Mr. Bookman got up from sitting on the pillow cushions on the tatami floor. In just a few light steps, he was already across the room where his massive collection of drawers, scrolls and books, all stacked up neatly and rolled with extra care. He procured an interesting little wooden box that had little appeal to it, other than the fact that Reborn could identify the box to be of a nice kind of cherry wood.
"If you are going to fight the Akuma," he said. "It would be best if you decide on my offer here."
"What do you mean?" The frown deepened on Reborn's lips.
"You seem to be having a hard time taking down an Akuma at all, no?" Mr. Bookman really hit that weak point now, and he seemed quite aware of it, too, by the knowing glint in those sharp green eyes.
"Yes," Reborn answered, with uncertainty dripping from that response.
"Then I have something that would be of use to you, and your party," The redhead suggested, and he opened the box for Reborn to see.
In the box lay a vial of a strange green liquid, glowing faintly a shade of neon at times. It had been placed cleanly in the capsule with a rather thick piece of corkscrew at the top of it. Reborn was not really expecting such an item to be hidden in that box, but this glowing water was rather interesting to look at.
"What is this, you may ask?" Mr. Bookman clearly read the hitman's mind, much to the latter's frustration. "This is an ancient weapon used by specialists who formerly worked to eliminate these Akuma. At that time, they were called Innocence. We have different names for it now, but old-timers like me call it Innocence. There's a long story about how it came to be, but I'd rather not waste your time."
"I'd highly suggest that," The hitman retorted. No matter how much this man seemed so nice, Reborn couldn't help but really want to leave this room. For once, he was actually anxious about life, and this was no good sign.
"Now, usually, Innocence chooses its wielders," Mr. Bookman continued. "But we can accommodate for that by your other unnatural source of power."
Reborn tensed at the mention of it, and repeated almost hesitantly. "Our… flames?"
"That's what they're called?" The innkeeper raised an eyebrow skeptically before returning to the conversation. "Well, anyways, you can enhance your weapon with just one drop of this substance. Usually, I'd have a big stash of it around me, but on my trip this time, I've only got one of these bottles, it's good enough for ten people, considering that your party may hold several weapons, you might want to chop that down to five."
Mr. Bookman set the open box before Reborn and looked up at him expectantly.
"So, what do you say? Do you want to use this, or not?"
Reborn pondered on the thought of just grabbing the vial and destroying it, but there was not a chance he would want to risk anyone in his group for a bottle of nothing. He stared at the bottle, and then up to Leon, who was sleeping on the rim of his hat. He wasn't sure how Leon was going to take a foreign substance, or what difference it would make to Leon's shape shifting ability. Oh, how he hated sink or swim situations like these.
"Fine," the hitman's mouth spouted out words that were not clearly his own. "I'll be the first to try it, and if it works, I'll consider the rest of my party to use it as well."
Mr. Bookman gave him an appreciative smile as the small hitman reached for the vial. At this moment, the Arcobaleno was ready to regret having ever listen to the redhead to follow through all this, but after he realized he could destroy the first Akuma he saw after that in a one-hit kill, he had a small ounce of respect for the innkeeper for giving him such a gift.
Hibari was not exactly ready to leave his post from Akuma duty, but Yamamoto and Ryohei increasingly persisted after ten minutes. After much persuasion, he had to get back inside because he couldn't stand the crowd of just two more people shouting at him and pointing repeatedly at the front doors of the inn. He could see where the front door was very well, thank you very much.
He was approaching the entryway, when he noticed that a certain pair of sandals were missing. Suddenly, he had a deep urge to draw out his trusty pair of tonfas and deliver an uppercut to someone's jaw, and he was becoming very irritated indeed. Then he felt it, that very annoying aura of a certain herbivore… well, it couldn't be a herbivore… it was too hollow.
However, before he could move, a small tap of metal on his head clearly determined his twentieth loss in the past few weeks.
"Nice to see that a young boy like yourself is getting some rest," a cheerful chirp whizzed past him, and Hibari was now looking at the back of a mass of cloth and flying scarves, and little flash of red hair. Sticking out of those bunches of clothing was a hand waving a small metal hammer, entirely made out of some black metal he couldn't identify.
Mr. Bookman always seemed to carry that blasted item everywhere, and it was always in his hand before they could blink. Now, the prefect never saw that blasted innkeeper use the hammer for anything but thwacking people gently over the head. At least could tell it was not a hammer for mechanical work like fixing doors and bookshelves, since it was far too intricately crafted to look like something that should be kept on a shelf of antique collectibles.
But never mind that, since Hibari was far too much beyond anger to think about how pretty a little black hammer looked like. A low growl came out of the former prefect's mouth as he grumbled to take off his shoes before entering the rest of the inn. Why was that man always able to get to him so easily, that bastard? He could feel the man approaching and retreating from him, but never had he caught Mr. Bookman in the act of his little pranks. It frustrated him to no end, and he was rather ready to tear down the inn just to find answers, but out of common courtesy, he had to let it slide. At a time like this, he shouldn't let his antics get ahead, especially if he wanted to find the real cause of "Akuma."
He quietly walked to his own personal room, well, it wasn't personal very much. They were only allowed one room to share when they came to this inn, so he had the choice of dying on the roof with a sleeping bag, or rooming with the baby and eight other herbivores and living. His choice. His life.
He opened the sliding door with a slow clack, and he saw a young woman (Yoko, was it?) tending to his party's current invalid, Tsuna. Hibari had seen the girl before, tending to a lot of the other people around here like Mr. Bookman himself. While most of the people were very grateful to her help, he and the rest of his group were not very good at giving thanks to someone like her. Mostly because if she had swapped hair colors from brown to golden yellow, she would have made Ryohei and Tsuna faint from guilt and shock. Yamamoto sputtered whenever Yoko wanted to talk to him, and that baby, and the children, and Chrome weren't really that approachable, either. Ryohei, of course, always cleared the room and leave if she came in his sight. All because she was too much like his sister. Way too much.
Yoko looked up at the new addition to the room, and squeaked, quickly setting down the tray of food she had prepared for Tsuna. She scurried out of the room, muttering a quick hello to him before fleeing his sight. Hibari walked into the room, and tried to choose the nearest corner possible to rest. Hopefully, the herbivores didn't disturb his sleep, or they'd very well pay for that.
"Yoko…" A small voice came from the other side of the room. "She… was… kind…"
Hibari glanced at the still "shell-shocked" Tsuna, who was sitting up in his futon, staring blankly at the still open door. He was still wearing those mittens since he was rescued from his own house, and his rings and Box Weapons were set aside by his futon, right on his food tray that remained untouched. Some reason, the prefect felt a sigh of relief in his mind, especially when the boy managed to speak a bit. It was progress that this herbivore was getting better and not dragging everyone down with him. Honestly, that was what he thought.
Reborn, Fuuta, Chrome, and Lambo should be here, but it seemed like they had gone elsewhere. Reborn, of course, would most likely be walking around trying to find anything suspicious. Lambo and Fuuta should be hanging around Mr. Bookman, who was surprisingly very good with children when he wasn't cooped up in his room skimming through those large scrolls he had in there. Chrome, as usual, would be with Fuuta and Lambo, accompanying the two as if she were their mother. So, naturally, he was stuck with this certain herbivore for quite a while.
Since he can't fall asleep with an unemotional herbivore looking at him all day, Hibari decided to examine his tonfas for good measure. He took them out, and checked for any abnormalities. Since he used them daily, he much preferred these things be in pristine condition before and after he used them. Luckily, none this time, so he put them away.
While Hibari did take the Innocence that the baby handed to him for his Box weapons and his Vongola Ring, he was beginning to get even more bored with how much he could these demons far too easily. Now, he didn't want to jinx the security of safety he had at the moment, but he wanted some more thrill into his current fights, perhaps an Akuma who could fight as well as he?
"Um... Mister..."
Hibari looked up and saw that Yoko had come back again, and she was carrying two glasses of water with her. He was quite grateful she somehow knew that the two of would be parched, but his face didn't show it.
"I... I thought you would be thirsty..." she said hesitantly, and she was clutching the cups in fear that he'd pounce at her, but all he did was nod and let her walk in. Yoko took the subtle gesture of welcome to place one of those glasses a few feet away from Hibari before going back to Tsuna again. The Cloud Guardian watched in silence as she continued to help Tsuna by setting the food on his lap and urging him to eat, just like Chrome would, but with more volume in her voice.
"Please, Tsuna," she said to him. "Please eat your food today. Your friends were saying you haven't been eating enough."
Dull brown eyes traced their way to her own and hen reconsidered the tray again. He stared at it calculatingly and he was most certainly going to take the food, especially if it's Kyo-
Just as the young mafia boss could reach the spoon on his tray, the recognizable wail of a nearby bugle made everyone jump. Several shouts sounded in the halls, and terrified people were suddenly filing out of heir rooms.
"Akuma!" a terrified sentry shouted above the din. "An army!"
Opportunity sparkled in Hibari'a eyes, and he rose to his feet quickly, tonfas drawn out. He looked back at Yoko and Tsuna who were still sitting there, looking at him. What to do with them...
"Out of the way!" A familiar shout resounded in the bustle outside, and Hibari noticed that the loud boxer and baseball swordsman had come back. They were both sweaty and worn out from just wrestling through the crowd. Now that they were here, they would have to move Tsuna to the forest, just as Reborn had planned. Ryohei pitched forward and hoisted Tsuna in his arms, taking the smaller body away and out of the room. Yamamoto followed after, silently giving regards to Hibari for keeping watching over their boss for a little bit.
Yoko also burst out of the room in a panic and went straight for the innkeeper's office. Hibari wondered if that man was still alive at all, so he went after the girl to see the fate of his current nemesis. He followed ways behind as he watched Yoko stumble in her yukata as she tried to run. When she finally found a door and slid it open, she wore a look of surprise, prompting Hibari to peek inside himself.
The room was almost cleaned out, and there were barely any of those books, scrolls and boxes that Mr. Bookman usually stored here. They both looked to the corner where the innkeeper himself was slowly fitting the last of his scrolls into his traveling trunk. He was now flipping the clasps shut as he got up to his feet, only as if he were just going to leave instead of feverishly going for the exits. He noticed the presence of both the former prefect and his assistant, and flashed them a smiling with sparkling green eyes.
"Nice to see that you two have concern about me," He said, drawing out his "antique" hammer, "Or did you want to see my own secret exit?"
Before they could speak, they heard more thundering of footsteps, and they saw Ryohei, Yamamoto, Chrome and the children in retreat. They saw Hibari, and ran towards him, reaching for safety at the door.
"Duck!" Yamamoto hollered, and immediately after that, a massive gust of wind ripped through the paper doors, splintering the flimsy wooden frames. Yoko shrieked in fright as an entire room divider collapsed on her cradled position, and several coughs came from Yamamoto's direction. There were several shouts from outside, and imprints of a large bonfire were going on, crackling with the inhumane laughing of the demons outside.
The ceiling was completely blown off, and anyone who had any view of it could see the large Akuma towering over the inn and the rest of the village under the purple and red sky. This time, they were large spindly creatures with plaster white masks, grinning at the center. With these demons and the presence of those other ones, this was not a good playing field.
"Everyone all right?" Mr. Bookman shouted, and there was a soft crunching of wood as the innkeeper stepped through the rubble. Wooden slabs shifted aside, revealing rather disheveled Vongola Guardians.
"Fine," Yamamoto chirped, and Reborn jumped off of his back, Leon quickly changing into a pistol.
"There was a herd of them outside, just like the sentries said," the little hitman grumbled before turning to Mr. Bookman. "You said there was an exit only you know, right?"
"Sure can do!" The redhead nodded, and he went towards the bookshelf. He fitted his hands in the small gap between two of them, and pushed them apart with ease. As the shelves flew across the room, everyone gasped at a huge set of doors that used to be concealed.
"We'll just have to go in our little safe house here until the chaos ends," The innkeeper noted. "And we can take the passage behind these doors to the forest. You were going to go there, weren't you?"
The sudden knowledge of their plans made Reborn jump, and he answered back, but bitterly, "Yes."
"Good," Mr. Bookman pulled back on the handles, and as soon as the doors were open, Ryohei, with Tsuna, pounced towards the room first. However, they stopped when a slab of wood blew up in front of them.
"They're here!" Mr. Bookman shouted. "Hurry, into the door!"
Yamamoto shoved Ryohei from behind, with Hibari following after, and they took refuge as another pile of broken house was blown to bits by a large bullet. They clambered behind the door, and Mr. Bookman and Yamamoto were ready to shut it closed when they heard a startled shout. Ryohei peered out first and saw that Yoko had tripped on her yukata and fell on the floor, right in the vicinity of an Akuma.
"Yoko!" Ryohei shouted, and he tossed Tsuna to Yamamoto, who caught the boy hurriedly. The boxer blitzed past the doors, with Yamamoto and Mr. Bookman shouting at Ryohei to get back inside, but he didn't listen. He kept running forward, swerving to the side to avoid any bullets coming this way.
Suddenly, the walls were entirely smashed down, and he could see the face of the Akuma trying to fit into the holes it made in the house. Another was a bit smarter and was going upon them from the broken ceiling. Aside from the trepidation of facing two gigantic Akuma, he was fully resolved to save Yoko. Just look at that. The one demon going through the hole in the wall was reaching it hands out to grab her.
He wouldn't make it, they all thought. Even with Maximum Cannon and a proper boost from the floor, he still wouldn't make it. Just before the Akuma could lay a hand on Yoko and Ryohei was ready to jump, a beam of orange light flew past them, and a large wall of orange flames made contact with the poisonous bullets coming their way. Everyone was agape at just how powerful those flames, and further yet, who was making them. The realization didn't dawn on them until Yamamoto noticed how his hands were no longer carrying anything.
"Tsuna!" He shouted, looking forward at the mass of orange embers up ahead, and everyone was suddenly so attentive.
Indeed, the young boss of Vongola was there, and he was fully in Hyper Dying Will mode, as one could tell from his sharp orange eyes, still hollow, but alert. His gloves were set aflame, and his companion of a lion cub was purring right on his shoulder. His arms were outstretched in a human shield right before Yoko, who was gasping from fright of his sudden appearance. Ryohei was very still, not very sure if Tsuna was going to do well. But he was too afraid of the situation to move his feet.
"Oh?" The Akuma looked at Tsuna with a curious expression. "You think you can stop me, mere human?"
"T…Tsu… na…" Yamamoto muttered under his breath, and placed his hand on the hilt of Shigure Kintoki, should he need to go and help his boss. The brown haired boy looked back at them warningly, as if to say "don't come close." He glanced down at Ryohei who was still down at the floor, but with one icy cold stare, the boxer was scrambling to his feet and back to the confines of the safe house.
"You tried to hurt Yoko," the boy said in a hoarse whisper, since he really didn't use his voice in quite a while. "I'll make you pay."
"Ahahaha, you look powerful, alright," The demon cackled. "But foolish human, you've already lost this game."
"You say so?" Tsuna murmured, but he heard a gasp from Yoko. He spun around, and stared at her with wide eyes, taking in the sight of her arms and torso becoming black dust. Pentagrams began to grow and spawn over her entire body as if someone was stamping black paint on her skin.
"Yoko…" Mr. Bookman's tone was entirely crestfallen, and Hibari turned to Chrome, who shrunk back in fear, with the children in tow. Hopefully, they weren't seeing this at all. Tsuna bent down to grasp her hand, but as soon as her delicate, blackened fingers made contact with the metal of his gauntlets, they crumbled to black dust, and Tsuna could only tremble as the fine dust dropped to the floor and out of his palms. He then took a sharp intake of breath when her other hand grasped his, and crumbled away entirely like the first one.
His gaze was directed at her, and her face was already black with stars imprinted on her cheeks. Her eyes were begging for just another year to survive, but her lips were pursed into a tight smile, as if she accepted her fate as of now. She knew, the thought ran through Tsuna's head, she knew…
"Pl-please…" What was left of her mouth was still intact. "Please leave me here…"
"Y-Yoko…"
Only a little bit of the girl's lips were left, and her eyes were glistening, as if she were too happy now, "Just… don't…"
Before she could say anything more, the girl was entirely black and purple dust. Hope drained from everyone's stomach as Tsuna lurched forward and grasped at the black dust, wishing that if he could shape it back into the girl, he could fix it all. Yamamoto grasped his bamboo sword again, knowing he'll have to get out there. He heard the clinking of equipment behind him, and realized that everyone else felt the same.
"Yoko! Yoko!" Tsuna was shouting at the inanimate pile. "KYOKO!"
"See?" The Akuma taunted him, and the wall of fire was slowly disintegrating, making way for the demons to come closer. "You've already lost the game, so just line up here and die-"
The same Akuma's head was cleanly ripped off of its body, and the repulsive object landed a few feet before the party taking refuge in the still open safe house. Chrome huddled Fuuta and Lambo away from the sight of a pained monster, and Yamamoto, Reborn, Mr. Bookman, and even Hibari were appalled by the sudden death of such a powerful Akuma. Ryohei was looking back at them with a shocked expression, until the innkeeper pointed up, that is.
Up in the open ceiling were the sky was littered with demons, large bursts of orange fire were popping up in the unlikeliest of places, in a speed far too fast for anyone to comprehend. Hibari's eyes flicked with the words of "impressive" etched all over his face. Reborn, who could barely make out the battle above, began hopping quickly out of the safe house, earning questioning glances from Yamamoto and Ryohei.
"It's Tsuna," he said automatically. "He's gone berserk. He's lost control of himself, and it won't be anytime soon when he goes off on us, too."
"Sawada?" Ryohei was abhorred. "But-"
A loud battle roar of a child ripped through the air, and an entire beeline of Akuma was annihilated in a spectacular display of lethal fireworks. Reborn looked back at the Guardians, with Leon fully loaded and transformed into a sniper rifle. The sudden realization of what the baby hitman was going to do turned the switch in the Ryohei's system.
He ran forward, and attempted to swipe away the rifle from the baby's hands, but Reborn was too fast for something like that. When he landed in a harsh slide, he looked up at the Sun Guardian, who was clearly enraged by the hitman's decision.
"Don't kill him, Reborn!" He shouted. "We can't kill Sawada! That's… That's just extremely unfair!"
"And how so?" The baby spat back coldly, befitting of a seasoned assassin, but not of a ten month old child. "I'm putting the kid out of his misery."
"Oh, really, I'd like to-"
"Ryohei!" Yamamoto attempted to hold the boxer off. "Pull yourself together!"
"But can't you see it, Yamamoto!" The Sun Guardian roared at his friend. "Tsuna's going to die, and you're just going to-"
"Ryohei," Yamamoto tightened his grip on the man's shoulders, his voice to a dangerous whisper. "You're going mad yourself. Please stop it."
He turned to Reborn with a disappointed expression, and it startled everyone to see that Yamamoto wasn't really in a good mood at all, with explosions and infighting.
"Little baby," the Rain Guardian spoke. "Can't we think a bit more before we off Tsuna? Please? Tsuna's your student, and you may know better how to deal with him, but as his friends, we can't just kill him because he's angry. I'm sure we can make him stop this. I'm sure we can…"
"No." The answer was cold and clear. No exceptions, and the sniper was clicking to shoot.
"Screw this," Ryohei roared, and he lit the golden yellow flames on his two rings. A kangaroo adorned in boxing equipment and yellow flames sprang out of one of his rings, and a pair of boxing gloves and a protective sparring helmet fitted itself on the man's body. He sprang from the ground, and went for the bundle of orange flames up in the sky, punching through any Akuma through the gut if they got in his way.
Yamamoto did the same, and he was propelling himself with his Rain Flames right after Ryohei, busily slashing his way through. Tsuna was their friend, and they will have to save him, no matter what.
"Screw this," Yamamoto muttered to himself.
A clank of a sniper rifle on the ground made left Reborn's mouth hanging. The baby hitman's gaze went to the ground with a regretful expression on his face. It was a pitiful feeling, becoming too brash in a dangerous situation, and he, of all people, was not acting nicely to the problem… How embarrassing…
Hope I could find espresso somewhere, the hitman thought, then I could wind back a bit about this.
"Herbivores," Hibari's snort came from the direction of the safe house, and the Cloud Guardian walked straight out of the safe house. "If you intend to sit there any further, I'll stop the herbi… omnivore myself."
"Oh, me, too," Mr. Bookman voluntarily raised his hand, waving his little hammer with the other. Hibari just glared at him as if he was crazy, but he laughed it off, just like that annoying Bucking Bronco idiot who annoyed him a lot.
"You're going to need my help, you know," he chuckled. "Because, you see, I'm a pro at this stuff…"
He looked up at the blazing sky as a mix of yellow, orange and blue fire flew around, and pieces of Akuma were raining upon the inn and the ground around it. The only way he could say it was impressive was the loud whistle that escaped his lips.
"Your buddies up there are doing quite a good job…"
Hibari merely scoffed and was ready to take off when Mr. Bookman stopped him.
"Wait! I need you for something! Baby, you too!"
"What did you call me?" Reborn growled as he reluctantly made his way through the rubble towards the redhead, his sniper rifle in tow.
"Here, here, I'm going to make this super special attack. Let's work together, yeah?"
"And how exactly is that going to work?"
"First," Mr. Bookman pointed at Reborn. "You, baby, are going to protect the safe-house. So you stay down here. All right? Bye bye."
Before Reborn could say anything, the innkeeper was suddenly carrying a humongous hammer that was five times his size, and he said a command, and the handle of the hammer began shooting up into the sky, carrying him away, while HIbari was hoisted up by the scruff of the neck. Now the hitman was left alone with Chrome and the kids…
"… What?"
A/N: Bookman's move over there does not exist at all. I made that up, because the manga's too slow, and we don't know what the South and West Crime's are. And Hibari's softened up, for some peculiar reason that is really not a good idea. Also, I know it gets chaotic near the end (well, the situation really does get chaotic).
And yes, Lavi is the weird Mr. Bookman we see here (but he did something to make himself age slower, it seems).