" What the hell? We're trapped? " Gokudera tried to force open the the door and kicked it. Hard.
" Don't even try. That door is reinforced with flames. " said a male voice. They turned and saw a boy who was slightly older then them. " Ah, Kagehane Tsukiyo! Never thought I would see an experiment alive again. Haha... " he said with a dry laugh.
~~~~~~~.
Tsuna laid on his bed, staring at the plain white ceiling and let off a heavy sigh.
" You're too young to be sighing like that, " Aaron chuckled. " Is something the matter?"
" I-I was just thinking... What are the Emozione crystals? What's going on with the Girasole?..."
Aaron's smile faded as he sat on Tsuna's bed. " The Emozione crystals are the things that gave us our power. The power to affect emotions. "
" Ehh? " Tsuna exclaimed, noticing Reborn sitting at the edge of the bed.
Aaron nodded to the infant and continued, "When we were found by Aoi, she gave us the crystals and if we were accepted by them, it would be absorbed into our body, fusing the power with our body. Deimos is the only one whom the crystal rejected. "
"Eh? Why? " Tsuna was curious, after all, Deimos was pretty strong. Probably as strong as the others so why?
" I'm not sure but judging from that conversation with Cravias, Deimos might have worked with the higher-ups of the Girasole and also through her little speech, it seems that we have been taken for a ride, even Aoi. We were probably their guinea pigs for their prototype testing... Looking on the bright side, the crystal cannot be extracted beyond a certain maturity rate and we have already long passed that time. This means that they can never have our powers and we get to keep ours."
" What was the black flame that Aoi had? It didn't look like the eighth element that the Vindice have. " Reborn inquired.
" Most likely one of Lorenzo's inventions to increase power which completely failed. "
Tsuna clenched his fist into a tight ball, his knuckles becoming white as he gritted his teeth. How can he use his own granddaughter as an experiment? How could anyone use their own family?
Reborn and Aaron noticed Tsuna's actions and the infant dutifully kicked Tsuna on the head. " O-Ouch! Reborn! Why are you hitting me? "
" Don't think too much, we have more things to worry about now. " his Leon changed into a phone and started to vibrate. He picked it up and smirked as he heard a voice. " Dame-Tsuna, catch. " he said, throwing the phone at Tsuna. He caught it and put the speaker to his ear. " H-Hello?... "
" Tsuna? H-Hi... I-It's been a while... "
" Enma? You're okay! " Tsuna broke into a smile as he heaved a sigh of relief. " Thank goodness you're okay... "
" We received a message about you being held hostage and brutally tortured... Luckily, Adelheid decided to double confirm it with the Vongola or else we'd be falling into a trap... Haha... "
Reborn suddenly changed into a detective cosplay and stroked his chin, nodding. " My conclusion is that Lorenzo is trying to lure dame-Tsuna by using a picture of an injured Enma, knowing that Tsuna will respond immediately while dame-Enma is lured by a message of Tsuna being kidnapped because Lorenzo doesn't actually have Enma as a bargaining chip...-"
" ... That would be logical but I don't think Lorenzo is behind this. Not trying to offend but he can't pull this sort of thing off. He may be a genius but he isn't cunning. He's... Rather daft, I would say. " Aaron explained, leaving Tsuna and Enma on the other end, gaping." He is probably under the 'master' and most like the leader of Girasole. "
Reborn raised an eyebrow, " Most likely? You don't know? "
Aaron gave a small laugh before continuing, " Initially, we thought that the Girasole was a small family but after snooping around with Deimos, we found out that Lorenzo was never the boss of Girasole, neither was Aoi. I'm guessing that the Girasole is just a cover for another family or organisation and the boss would be the so-called 'Master'. We couldn't find out his name either."
"This is so... Confusing..." Tsuna whined, falling onto the bed as he handed the phone back to Reborn.
"Dame-Enma, if anything happens, call. Understand?" Reborn demanded, a serious look on his face.
" H-Hai Reborn... "
"Well then, I better go and prepare dinner or else Neko will be complaining..." Aaron said, walking off.
"And I better make some calls to the Ninth about the situation."
" W-Wait! Reborn! H-How are we going to continue from here?... " Tsuna said tensely as he got up.
" Just rest first, we'll talk about it later... "
Wow, Reborn is being nice? Wait, that can't be right! I'll bet that there's a motive behind it...
"... Because training will resume tomorrow. " Reborn smirked, leaving Tsuna aghast.
I knew it! Reborn would never be nice!
" Hmph, " Reborn's fedora shadowing his eyes, " There's much more to this Girasole than we see... "
~~~~~~~.
" Who... Are... You...? " she asked, warily. He did look familiar though...
" Aww, you don't remember me? I'm so hurt! " he whined as he put on a fake hurt face. They sweat dropped at the sight of his act. What is wrong with that guy?
Memories started to flood through her head and she tried to remember him " You!... I remember... You were the one that shielded me from a bully! "
" Ding ding! Correct! I was pretty worried when we had to leave you there. No one expected you to live till now! Good thing I had faith in you! Haha! "
" Who's they? What are you talking about? "
" You really don't know huh?... That's no fun, then I can't have fun with you... "
" Don't ignore us! Who the hell are you? " Gokudera said angrily.
The teen smirked and stepped forward, standing under the light. His features became visible under the soft light, his dark blue hair and blue eyes showing. He continued walking forward until he stood in front of Tsukiyo who never left his gaze. He tilted her chin and went closer to her face whispering, "I'm sorry I can't play with you today~ You will know more about yourself soon so don't worry too much about it! Ah yes, My name is Kugare! Nice to meet you! I am supposed to prevent you from going through that room where Lorenzo is." he said with an innocent look and pointing at the green door behind him. "Listen, " he said, lowering his voice." I'll let you go and Tsu-chan here can owe me a favour! Yeah? "
Mukuro raised a brow and folded his arms. "Kufufufu, does it seem like we need your mercy? "
" Oh, you'll be needing it! " Kugare laughed. He called a guard in and the moment the door was shut, Kugare disappeared and when he reappeared, a bloody dagger was in his hand and the guard's head slid and fell to the ground, splattering blood.
"W-What the fuck was that? " Gokudera spluttered. Everyone was silent with shock, Hibari's steely eyes narrowed, Mukuro's mismatched orbs eyeing the smiling teen who had cleanly cut off a head with a dagger at such a speed. Yamamoto had a serious expression on his face as he bit his lower lip. What just happened? Finally, Tsukiyo spoke up. " So if I agree to owe you a favour, we can go, safe and sound?"
"Yup!"
"Okay fine. I agree. Can we go now?" Why do I have to keep making deals? Kugare stepped back, allowing them to pass him and go through the door. Tsukiyo placed a nervous hand on the handle and looked back at the others. Yamamoto gave an assuring nod and she pushed open the rusty door. They came to a large room with a huge computer screen and a man was hunched in front of it.
"Didn't I say that no one is to disturb me? Are you so bent on disobeying me, Kugare?" He turned around and his angered face turned into one of fear and dread. " V-Vongola g-guardians? Wh-what, why are y-you here? I transported you elsewhere! "
"Ahaha, actually, your transporter thing transported us here! " Yamamoto replied. Lorenzo turned pale and scrambled out of his chair, looking for an escape route. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his collar.
" You're the bastard that made juudaime suffer! Now it's your turn! " Gokudera growled, flinging him across the room and throwing a few sticks of dynamites at him. Tsukiyo quickly made her way to the computer while the others watched on as Gokudera continued to vent his suppressed anger on Lorenzo, exploding him and beating him up.
" Maa, maa, Gokudera, relax... We don't want to kill him! " Yamamoto said, trying to restrain him.
" But I do! Didn't you see what he did to juudaime! He should atone with his life! " the storm guardian retorted.
" Before you kill him, I have some questions for that old fart, " Tsukiyo said. She turned towards Lorenzo, glaring daggers at him. " How is it possible that you are still alive? What did you do? "
" Hah! Not what I did, but what Master did! He is the most powerful and he can revive people! He revived a genius like me! " cackled Lorenzo, making the gaps between his teeth more obvious after getting a good beating from Gokudera who was apparently still seething with rage over the fact that his precious boss was tortured by a cowardly old man.
"Who's your stupid master?"
"You're the one that exploded part of the school? Hmph, I will have to bite you to death for destroying school property." Hibari snarled, tonfas ready to strike.
Mukuro took a step forward, looking down on Lorenzo with a trident in hand. "Kufufu... How dare you endanger Nagi's life, you should just go to hell."
"You extremely disturbed my training you know! "
Yamamoto seemed to be the only one who had nothing against the sick inventor and just laughed about. Sigh, nice to be so happy-go-lucky at this time... Tsukiyo thought before turning her attention back to Lorenzo. " I would probably answer the questions if I were you. " she said menacingly, smirking when he nodded vigorously after feeling the deadly aura from the guardians. "Hehe, let the interrogation begin..."
~~~~~~~.
"Tsuna, get up. We have information about the Girasole."
"Hm... Five more minutes... " Tsuna moaned. Upon hearing a click of a gun, he shot up. "I'm up! I'm up! "
They went downstairs and saw Aaron, Deimos and Neko sitting in front of a computer. "We found one of their hideouts and we're planning to ambush them soon." Aaron said, pointing at the screen.
"Eeeeh? Isn't that the forest behind Namimori park?"
"Yes it is. It should be easy since it is a small base. We will surround it and create a diversion by blowing up one section, forcing them to escape and we'll finish them off. "
"Just wondering... Do you have flames?... I mean your emotion affecting crystal things..."
" We do. Only those with flames can use the crystals. Mine is of the cloud attribute while Deimos is the Storm and Neko is the Sun. "
Tsuna looked slightly confused and asked, "I didn't see you guys use any of your flames in the battles... "
"We were told to hide it. Not sure why though. Most likely to scare other enemies into thinking that we have new powers." Aaron and the others got up and made their way towards the door when Tsuna called them.
"Erm... What about me? Can I follow?" Tsuna asked.
"You will stay-"
"I-I want to come along..." Tsuna said, his hands fingering the hem of his shirt.
"Are you sure? I have a rather bad feeling about it..."
The Decimo took in a deep breath before answering, "They might have something to bring back my friends... I can't just sit here and do nothing!"
Aaron looked Reborn who just nodded. "Okay fine. Let's go."
Tsuna immediately brightened up and went to get his pills and gloves.
" I really do have a bad feeling about this... "
- Outside Girasole Japan base –
"Hey hey, isn't that a little too big to be hiding in a forest which is just behind a park? Won't people see it? How do they hide it? Wow it's big! Look- Ouch! " Neko cried, rubbing the sore spot on his head where Deimos had hit.
"Shut up will you? Our cover will be blown before you can even finish!" Deimos grumbled. Tsuna sweat dropped at the scene and Aaron just sighed.
"Deimos, you take the front-"
" Yes! This is going to be fun! "
Aaron's eyebrow twitched as he continued, "Neko will take the back, I will take the left and Tsuna can take the right okay?"
"O-Okay... Erm... D-Do I have to... K-Kill?..."
There was a slight pause before Deimos said, "Do whatever you want. Petrify, decapitate, put to sleep, faint. Whatever." Tsuna nodded, flinching when he said 'decapitate'.
" Let's go. " Aaron motioned for the others and they left for their respective positions. Within a few minutes, a loud explosion was heard and people came running out in all directions, except for the right wing.
Why isn't anyone coming out? There's clearly a door there! As he thought that, the door creaked opened and a small girl strolled out.
"Hehe, we meet again, Vongola weakling!"
- Left wing –
As the smoke cleared, masses of the Girasole members came rushing out towards fresh air. Aaron drew his sword from a flurry of purple flames and pointed it at the group.
"Shit! Run! " one of them cried out as they took out their guns and started shooting. Aaron blocked the bullets and charged towards them.
" I expected much more of a challenge than this... " he sighed, knocking out his opponents in a flash.
- Front –
"I told you we should have installed that laser thing!"
"Oh yeah? We should have reinforced the wall with a stronger material! Look what happened!"
"It's just a temporary base! Why bother?"
" Oi. " They continued quarreling till they saw a very menacing looking Deimos.
Giving a very girly shriek, they shouted, " D-Deimos-sama! "
He smirked and summoned his spear. "Good night. " he said, knocking them out in an instant.
"Deimos!~" a woman came running out from the building. "You came back! "
Deimos face-palmed himself and sighed. "No, I'm not coming back! How many times do I have to say that, Cravias? "
"Grrrr... Then I'll make you come back!" she swung her staff and the flame arrows appeared again, aiming straight at him. He dodged them and used his spear to knock back the arrows to her direction. She quickly jumped out of the way and suddenly paused.
"Hmph, master has called for me. Time for me to go~ bye bye Deimos!" she said, blowing a kiss before disappearing. Deimos frowned and strolled towards Tsuna's position.
- Back –
"Nyahahaha! All of you look like little ants! Hm, this looks like fun! " Neko cheered from the top of the tree, watching the little people scurrying for safety.
"What the hell, it's just a little kid!- "
"A kid? Neko is not a kid! " He flicked his fingers and thin threads coiled round the people, tightening them with a flick of his fingers. Suddenly, the people felt tired and dropped to the ground like flies as a small glow wrapped itself around the thread and travelled towards Neko.
"Nyahaha! How's that? I sucked your pathetic life from you! Now how does that feel, suckers? Nyaha! You can't beat me! You're too weak! Hey! Aww they stopped moving~" he giggled, jumping off the tree. " Time to meet up! "
- Right wing –
" Y-Your the one that H-Hibari fought! " he stuttered.
"I have a name okay? Yuri. And you know what? Master doesn't like you so even if I'm not 'gonna kill you, I'll make sure you suffer forever. " she hissed, a devious smirk crawling onto her child-like features.
"W-What are you talking about?..." that girl is seriously freaking me out...
"Hmph, I'm surprised that a weakling such as yourself is still alive. While you were kidnapped by that perverted old man, we could have killed your guardians and your family you know. We were sooooo close~ " she said as she emphasised it by pinching her index finger and thumb together, rubbing it as if she was crushing an ant. At this point, Tsuna felt his stomach churning and bit his lower lip. How could they...
"Also," she continued, " That pathetic Shimon family... Hah! Bunch of losers, just like you! I'm pretty sure we could just send some of our guardians to finish them off~ Haha, dame-Tsuna and dame-Enma indeed! You can't protect anyone! Pffft, your useless right-hand man, totally obsessed with you. Your little puppy is gonna stray soon! Oh and that best friend of yours, that baseball loser. That stupid smile irks me. How can he wear that smile all the time? Disgusting."
"Enough, " Tsuna clenched his fists, his brown bangs shadowing his eyes. Anger was starting to boil within him and he tried to suppress it. How dare she insult my precious friends!
"Hmm? Getting angry are we? Well, too bad~ I have more to say~" Got to stall for master's plan... " You have that anti-social cloud guardian and hah, your pathetic excuse of a lightning guardian, he just a little annoying kid! Stabbing him would be as easy as breathing! Oh and don't get me started on your noisy sun guardian and mist guardians freaks-"
"Shut up! Stop talking about them like that! " he burst out, the rage in him was on the verge of breaking out and his eyes narrowed dangerously, crazed and uncontrollable. Where was Reborn when he was needed the most?...
"Oh well, in conclusion, the Vongola Decimo guardians are crap and the boss itself is a complete failure! I think I'll call some guards to get rid of them!- "
"Shut up! Just shut up! " Tsuna snapped. He grabbed a knife that had mysteriously appeared on the ground and lunged at Yuri who made no effort to avoid it. I'm so glad I could have been useful to you, master...
As Tsuna raised his knife and was about to stab Yuri, a portal appeared a few metres away beside them. Ignoring it, Tsuna brought the knife down, plunging it into the little girl's chest. Her scream resonated throughout the entire forest followed by a deathly silence. The group who had came out from the portal witnessed the scene unfold, a horrified look on their faces.
" J-Juu... Daime...? "
Hey erm... reader(s), thanks for actually reading this story so far... This is the last chapter that I have written to and I don't feel like continuing anymore. I have some unedited future chapters but I don't see much point in it so thanks and... Bye I guess. I know I just left a cliffhanger there but seriously, I don't think this story will ever take off. I'll probably delete this story in a few weeks or days or whenever I come back on. Anyway, why not go read "The Sky's Reflection"? At least it's not as much of a failure as this one haha... Thanks again!