Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Timeline: Lambo is 2 years younger than Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto, making him 5.
This chapter was co-written by my friend pangpang9
"Well, something like this is a piece of cake for me!" –TYL Lambo
The citizens of Bovino trembled in fear as lightning shook the town from the ground up. The monolithic mountain loomed eerily over the village, casting a dark shadow over the land. Rain poured steadily down from the skies, coating the earth in a slippery sheet of water.
The ground shook again and people shrieked in fear as a deep, rumbling laugh echoed past the mountain.
"Gyahahahaha!"
As the next flash of lighting came down, accompanied by the threatening crash of thunder, for a split second the shadow of a monster with horns protruding from its tangle mass of fur appeared before everything returned to a black canvas.
People who had been staring affrightedly out their window would soon tell the tale of an evil mountain monster that brought storms of lightning and thunder.
The day was bright and sunny—a perfect time to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Not far away, soft lavender snow-capped mountains stood proudly against the horizon. If you squinted, signs of life could be seen just past the lush greenery. A trail of smoke wafted up from a chimney and the soft lull of laughs and colloquies filled the air.
Within a few minutes, the small trio of friends had arrived just outside of the town.
With a start, they realized that the whole village was still: completely silent save for the tiny rustles of clothes hung up to dry in the sun.
"What's wrong here?" Hayato asked, but of course no one had an answer.
"I swear they were making noise before we got here." Tsuna hummed thoughtfully.
"Maybe they're just asleep?" Takeshi suggested cheerfully, taking a few steps forward then calling out. "Hey! Is anyone awake?"
"Shut up Takeshi! What if the town is hostile?" Hayato growled, throwing a glare at the raven-haired boy.
"Don't worry Hayato, I'm sure they'll welcome us with open arms!"
"Shh!" Tsuna hissed, pressing a finger to his lips. "There's someone coming."
Immediately they fell silent and waited for the figure to approach.
The man was old. His body was withered from years of hardships: numerous wrinkles spread across his face, and he leaned on an equally old wooden cane.
"Greetings, young'uns. What brings you to my humble town?"
Tsuna ducked his head in a bow. "Hello sir, we're just passing by. If we could, we'd like to stay here for a day or two before taking off."
"Hmm, 'yer a little too young to be travelin' by 'yerselves now aren't ya?" The man opened a cloudy eye to peer closely at them.
"We're perfectly capable of traveling on our own!" Hayato snapped, crossing his arms defiantly. "Look, all we are asking for is some shelter and nothing more. Before you can blink, we'll be gone. Clear?"
"He means to say: could we please stay here for a day or two?" Takeshi smiled optimistically.
"I won't stop ya', the village inn is jus' down the road. But I'm warnin' ya, this town is plagued by a beat. Comes at night, bringing storms and lightning. Strikes fear into everybody too. Worst of all…" The man trailed off and leaned in.
In a low whisper, he said, "It steals Grape Candy."
Tsuna faceplanted. "Grape candy?!" He cried incredulously, "How is that so important?"
The elderly man gasped. "Do you now know how much Grape Candy is cherished in our land?"
At this point, the three friends felt like insignificant bugs that could be squashed under the man's flaming gaze.
"No." Tsuna squeaked. "I-I mean yes—no, wait, yes but, uh…" He waved his hands frantically.
"Look!" Takeshi held up a piece of purple candy. "We have some!"
Tsuna gave Takeshi a grateful glance, which was returned with a grin.
"Good. It's long due time that youngsters like you were enlightened." The man nodded solemnly. "Would you like me to lead you to the inn?"
All three of them bobbed their heads in agreement.
"Very good, now come along."
The subject of the monster completely slipped their minds.
Night fell and with it came a turbulent storm. Winds whipped through the air and squeaked past windows. Rain fell heavily, large puddles already forming on streets. Flashed repeatedly brightened the area before falling dark again only to be cast in another luminescent glow.
Tsuna jumped as another boom of lightning shook the inn. He subconsciously inched closer to Hayato and Takeshi.
"Can't sleep?" Takeshi murmured, rolling over in his bed to face Tsuna.
"No."
"Then what's bothering you?"
"I don't know." Tsuna rubbed sleep from his eyes and glanced out the window, briefly catching sight of a small, fluffy-looking shadow darting across the streets. "It just seems like someone is…crying."
"Crying?" Takeshi asked, still half-asleep.
"Yeah. With every flash, it seems like the lightning's thunder is a wail of loneliness." Tsuna stifled a yawn and slipped out of the blankets to look out the window.
For a second there was nothing but, a flash brought the image of a tiny boy, sitting alone in the rain.
"There's someone out there!" Tsuna gasped, "We need to get him, it's dangerous out there!"
Takeshi bolted out of bed, accompanied by a clueless Hayato. "Where?"
Tsuna pointed as best as he could against the window. "It's hard to see but the last time I saw it, he—or she—was right beside that barrel under the roof."
"I don't exactly get what's going on but, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Hayato growled, already heading out the door.
"Yeah, c'mon Takeshi." Tsuna followed Hayato's lead, slipping on his jacket as he went out. The three of them burst out of the front entrance and dashed over to the overflowing barrel of water.
Tsuna wiped rain from his eyes and stared hard at the area.
"He's not here anymore." He shouted over the pounding rain. There were no traces of footprints as the rain had most likely washed any away.
"But where would he go? We're in the middle of a freaking storm!" Hayato yelled back over the roar of the rain.
"Maybe you were just seeing things, huh Tsuna?" Takeshi suggested.
"Yeah, maybe." Tsuna answered absently. "I'm sorry, you guys. I dragged you out here on a false call of alarm. Because of me, you're all soaked now."
"Haha, don't worry about it Tsuna! Nothing a good day in the sun could fix, right?"
"But still…"
"Shall we head inside now?" Hayato questioned, flicking raindrops away from his eyes.
Sodden with water, they re-entered the inn and returned to their room, an uncomfortable silence hanging thickly over them.
With one last glance, Tsuna looked back. 'There was a boy there I wasn't imagining anything. He was there, so where is he now?'
By the time morning came, the town looked half-destroyed. Townsfolk were staring listlessly at caved-in roofs, shattered windows, splintered wood, and stray items strewn across the ground. Puddles were quickly forming inside buildings as a result of leaks.
Tsuna woke up when something wet splashed over his face. He brought up a hand to his cheek to rub it off but another drop came and landed on his nose. Irritably, he looked up.
A long crack stretched across the length of the roof. The wood was dark where the water leaked.
"Where did that come from?" Tsuna wondered aloud, accidentally waking up his friends.
"Tsuna, what's wrong?" Hayato sat up, immediately alert.
"Oh, nothing, just a little leak. From last night's storm I guess." Tsuna replied, waving his hand.
Takeshi yawned, "We're not expected to fix it are we?"
Tsuna shrugged. "It's not our fault but we should. The Elder was nice enough to let us stay here without payment."
"We are supposed to help people." Hayato added, "The Vongola was created specifically for this."
Takeshi smiled. "Better get started then. Let's hope the town isn't as bad as our roof."
"What the—"
"Haha, I just jinxed us didn't I?"
Tsuna sighed. "Well, we should start somewhere, right? Let's go get some tools."
"Hayato, have you ever fixed something before?"
"No, sorry."
"Takeshi?"
"Nope!"
Tsuna sighed again and set down his hammer in defeat. "Neither have I."
"Everyone, come quick!" A man ran through the streets, yelling and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"What is it?" A man who was sweeping up shattered glass looked up worriedly.
"Our crops, they're ruined!"
Everyone, already devastated from their losses, dashed over to the fields and gazed over to the crops.
The tiny green sprouts had been trampled into green pulp and a few lay scattered with their roots hanging up in the air.
"What happened?" A women gasped in horror, "Just the storm couldn't have done it!"
"Then what is it?" A man looked helplessly at the crushed crops.
"It's the beast!" Another person cried. "The beast did it!"
Outraged shouts followed, a few terrified weeps mixed in.
"Silence." The village elder slowly made his way to the center of the crowd.
Everyone fell silent.
"We shall not jump to conclusions, think wisely, not rashly."
"But it's obviously the work of the beast! No tree has fallen, the rain might be strong but not this strong, and the wind cannot tear up newly planted crops."
A thought hit Tsuna when he remembered their night's events. "Um." He cleared his throat. "It could have been anything, the rain washed away any traces of what it was so there is not exact way to tell."
"Yeah!" Hayato glared, backing Tsuna up fiercely. "Use common sense before drawing conclusions." Then he brightened. "If you want to find out, we have a plan." Smirking, he stuck a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled something out.
Realizing where Hayato was headed, Tsuna joined in. "Grape candy."
"Ahahaha!" Takeshi clapped his hands enthusiastically, "Sounds fun!"
Gradually, more people joined in.
Tsuna smiled gratefully (again) at Takeshi who good-naturedly winked at him.
The Village Elder beamed, only to make his old features twist up his face in an ugly sort of way. "The power of Grape Candy."
Hayato suddenly put on a pair of glasses. "You said that this monster steals grape candy, yes?"
The elder nodded in affirmative.
"Does this monster steal anything else?"
"Mainly Grape Candy but sometimes other candy and Grape juice." A man said.
"Ok, so we know that the monster likes grapes. If so, we can lure it out into the open using this." Hayato held up the purple candy. "It would have to be at night with rain. The darkness should hide most of our actions, providing stealth. The rain will wash away our scent but it might be harder to move around without making noise. Make sure to walk carefully."
"But what if the rain gets rid of the Grape Candy's scent?" A woman asked.
"I was just getting there. Basically, the rain should dissolve the candy. If and when most of the candy is in the surrounding puddles, the sweet smell it makes will spread out, not necessarily increasing the scent but making it easier to locate."
Hayato had a long stick in his hands and he began to draw out all the plans for the trap in the dirt.
"Once the monster is in our range, use fishing nets to restrict its movements. If it fights back, knock it out but do not kill it."
A/N: Heya, here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long. But I've got the next chapter written up already; I just have to type it. It was originally part of this chapter but it got too long. Anyways, tell me what you think.