Dying Will Flames of the Abyss
Bound by Chains.
" "You're an awful righthand man, Hayato, shouldn't a righthand man do anything for his boss?" she taunted."
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Gokudera scrunched his fists together, face contorted in pain. Tsuna was gone and it had all been that damned Shimon bastard's fault! The itching urge to grab a cigarette nagged him from the back of his mind and he was damn well tempted to grab one of his deathsticks at the moment. But, pushing his craving aside, he recalled the events of that afternoon, wondering if he had been faster he could've saved his precious boss.
/FLASHBACK./
Tsuna stood up in front of Timoteo, trying to put up a brave face for the people in the room who were here for the initial ceremony. Timoteo took the box containing the 'Sin' from the man presenting it to him and opened it up. He turned the box towards Tsuna and awarded it to him.
"I pass this on to you, Decimo." Timoteo's voice rang into the semi quiet room, only to be interrupted at the last moment by the sound of a high pitched screech. Gokudera's hands shot up to cover his ears due to the pain and he coiled inwards slightly. Instantly his worries for his boss kicked in and he looked around him for Tsuna through half squinted eyes. The ninth's guardians had formed a protective barrier around Tsuna and Timoteo, bringing him at least a little relief.
Explosions blew up all around them, dust clouds and rubble caused the people to panic. A smoke cloud flooded into the air, blinding Gokudera. He swore loudly, he wanted to get up and help his boss but the screeching forced him to the ground. He didn't like the fact he was ripped of two of his senses. But, as soon as the event had begun, the smoke began to clear out and the sound began to fade away.
"Are you alright Ninth?" Tsuna's voice cried out. Gokudera's head shot up, instinctively looking towards his boss. Relief flooded him when he saw that he appeared unharmed.
"It's only a scrape." Timoteo replied, wincing from a wound at his left shoulder. His guardians lifted their hands to their ear pieces, readying themselves.
"Th-The 'Sin!'" Tsuna cried out in shock, staring at the smashed vial of red liquid now staining the carpet beneath it.
"Seal off all the exits! Don't let anyone escape!" Timoteo commanded, looking up at his guardians who were already paging security. They guaranteed that the culprit would be caught in less than five minutes.
"Everything is as planned." Schnitten commented. Tsuna looked over at him, confused,
"Everything is as planned?" he questioned.
"It looks like the culprit's motive was to destroy the 'sin'." Reborn piped up. Tsuna looked over at him, worry plastered over his face. He looked back down to the smashed vial, scowling at the bottle.
"The Vongola heirloom…" He said grimly. Timoteo looked back over to Tsuna and attempted to reassure him with a smile.
"Do not worry about it, Tsunayoshi-kun. That was a fake, a replica of the 'Sin' made to lure the culprit out." He explained. Tsuna gasped, "The real 'Sin' is safely stored in the vault in the next room. The flames that shield it is made of our seven properties and cannot be destroyed by any weapon or dying will flame." Gokudera looked over at Timoteo, awed by the old man.
"To have planned this far… you are incredible, Ninth!" he exclaimed. Timoteo's face once again grew hard again,
"We will catch the culprit, no matter what it takes. I will take responsibility for what was done to Yamamoto-kun." He vowed. Tsuna looked over at him worry written over his face.
"B-Bad news!" Ganauche suddenly exclaimed, the door to the room in which the vault was in, thrown open. Gokudera spun to look over there and his eyes widened, "The vault has been broken into!" The vault, appearing to once be fully coated in flames of all colours, was only half lit up, the lid to the vault missing half of itself. A pair of men lay near it, unconscious with rubble scattered all over the floor.
An eerie laughter started up into the room, steadily increasing. Another explosion wracked the vault and seven figures walked out of the clearing dust, revealing the Shimon family. Enma stood at the front of them, a cold glare planted on his face and the sin between his fingers. Gokudera gaped at the family, before taking a hard look at Shitt. P. Was this due to her alien telepathic powers? He studied her, but she only stared into the crowd with hard eyes. As he glanced at the other members, Adelheid glanced back at Gokudera for a second with such cold eyes that it sent shivers down his spine.
"We're taking back what's ours." Enma defiantly spat out, holding the 'sin' out to his audience, "This 'Sin' belongs to the Shimon family!" He almost seemed to be shaking with rage; it seemed so unlike the meek, quiet Enma they had grown to know. Even his own family stared at him oddly before suddenly backing away, looking at him with shock.
"E-Enma!" Adelheid cried out, "Your-!" she began before Enma's head rolled backwards, looking over at her. He scowled,
"I know!" he spat, "It's time we cleaned up the traitorous motherfucking Vongola, Adel." he clicked his tongue and a growl rung through the air. A black tail flashed from one side of Enma and the face of a large black cat, poked out from the one side of him. It put one paw in front, three times the size of any normal large cat, crimson stained claws extending from the paws. The cat seemed to grin, stepping out into the opening. It looked like a large panther with ginormous paws and a stunning black mane; was it a box weapon? Gokudera's eyes widened as gasps echoed into the air, maybe it was one of Shitt P.'s alien pets! It's calculating red eyes scanned the crowd,
"How ni~ice of you to let-t me play, Enma!" the panther purred, it's voice very rough and nasally. It looked around at the crowd before it, licking it's lips eagerly. Enma's eyes flickered over to Tsuna and his guardians for a second before looking back to the gorgeous cat.
"Take out the pathetic Vongola, Kitty." Enma declared, using his sinister eyes to point towards Tsuna. The panther turned around, spitting at it's master, fur spiking up in all directions.
"I told you to call me Snowdrop, stupid boy!" It spat, before looking back to it's audience. It let a growl rip into the once calm air and pounced upwards in an ark, landing infront of Gokudera. He pointed his skull gun at the cat, activated only moments ago, and fumbled for ammo hidden inside his clothing. But he wasn't fast enough to load his weapon with dynamite and the giant panther slashed at Gokudera's stomach, sending him flying into the wall before he bounced off it and hit the floor. Groaning, he lifted his head up to see the panther wrap it's tail around Chrome and smash her to the floor while swatting at Hibari like a playtoy.
The people in the room began to make their move to help; Dino gripping his whip and Belephegor readying himself with his knives; but they were stopped by shards of ice. They locked the guests in place, threatening to stab them and trapping them to the spot. Adelheid looked smug to herself. Dino gritted his teeth, praying the fight would end up in their favor.
The panther let out a little rumble of excitement, toying around Hibari as he tried his hardest to block the attacks but the cat was much quicker. Gokudera used his gun to aim at the cat and shot off a flame arrow but the cat quickly dodged it without breaking from pummeling Hibari, knocking into a stunned Ryohei. Tsuna looked over to the beast, his eyes widening. The cat smashed Hibari into the ground, before turning towards Ryohei. The latter went in for a punch to but the panther scooped his arm into its mouth and chomped down. Gokudera sent another flame arrow, but the cat swirled around and had Ryohei take the full front of the attack.
Tsuna turned to Enma, "What the heck do you think you're doing?" he screamed, popping a pill into his mouth and flying in to save his friends. The panther slammed Ryohei to the ground and pounced at Tsuna, it's red eyes wild. Tsuna attempted to escape from it's line of of projectile but the cats paws landed on him and forced him to the ground. He groaned, lashing out his legs.
"Tsuna!" Gokudera cried out, aiming a barrage of flame arrows at the panther. Suddenly a different cry alerted him and he averted his line of sight to look back at the Shimon family, distracted. He ceased fire as he watched Enma clutching at his chest, the rival family's boss' eyes wide. He stumbled forward and suddenly a circle of light entrapped around him. Black hands sprung from the ground and pulled him downwards. He struggled against them, screaming.
"Save me! Save me!" he cried out.
"What- let go!" Tsuna's own cries alerted Gokudera and he turned all his attention to his boss. The cat was also struggling against black hands, encased in a circle of light. It continued to keep Tsuna pinned down, trying to drag him down into wherever they were going. Tsuna lashed out his flaming palms at the panther, trying to fight his way out of the beasts grasp until the hands eventually began wrapping around him as well and dragged him in. He screamed in fright and shock.
"Tsuna!"
"Jyuudaime!" Gokudera struggled to his feet and half ran, half limped to his boss. Tsuna's frightened eyes looked at Gokudera and it broke him in two. He held out his hand to grip his boss' outstretched, flaming palms, but he was dragged under, disappearing. Still running for the circle, Gokudera watched as it began to shrink as the beast was pulled underneath as well.
"TSUNA!" Gokudera cried out. His boss was gone; the circle had disappeared when the cat was completely pulled under. He stared at the now vacant area, shaking with rage and sadness. He looked over at the Shimon family and they looked just as hurt and shocked as everyone else. Gokudera gritted his teeth and pointed at them, "You fucking bastards!" He cried out, trying to keep his forming tears at bay, "Where the fuck is Jyuudaime!" He tore dynamite from his various hiding spots and shoved them into his skull gun, firing them off like a mad man. The family still stood there shocked, aside from Julie who smiled deviously.
The Shimon family seemed so stunned they only noticed the bombs at the last minute. Julie jumped out at the right time, abandoning his family members, the others not so lucky. Gokudera could feel the rage running through his veins, fueling him to beat the Shimon to a bloody pulp. They stole his boss away from him and now they would pay.
\BACKTOREALITY\
Gokudera put his face into his palms, groaning as he recalled of the events that had occurred only that afternoon. He needed his boss. His only real need to live, the drive that kept him going was gone and he wouldn't return. Grief washed over him like an unwelcome blanket, swallowing him whole.
"Jyuudaime…" he mumbled to himself in anguish.
"Do you desire your precious Jyuudaime?" A sweet, calming voice called out. Gokudera's head shot up, looking around for the owner of the voice. It wasn't Bianchi playing a trick on him again, was it? How the hell did she manage to get the keys to his house anyways? She always seemed to be popping up in his apartment…
"What the fuck?" Gokudera cussed, his eyes wandering.
"I can give him back you know." The voice cooed, calming Gokudera's frayed nerves slightly. His eyes opened in shock,
"Where the fuck are you?" Gokudea exclaimed, slipping his rings on his fingers behind his back. He heard a giggled from the other side of the room. Was he being mocked? He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"I'm right here!" the voice exclaimed. Gokudera's ears pinpointed the source and his eyes trailed down to the table at the other end of his room. A bunny plushy sat on it, a stitched smile grinning back at him. It's eyes were hollow, only endless pits of stark black stared back at him. Gokudera shuddered at the sight of them, lighting up his rings.
"What the fuck do you want?" Gokudera spat at the doll, poising his flaming rings above his boxes. The plushy's face tilted down to look at the boxes and then back up to Gokudera.
"I just want my-your precious Jyuudaime to have a playmate, Hayato-san." She squealed. Gokudera's eyes widened before narrowing into an accusing glare. That bitch had the guts to be so informal and disgustingly rude to him. She was mocking him!
"How the hell do you know my name?" he spat once more. The doll shrugged,
"My, my, aren't we full of questions, Hayato-san," she teased, "Well, you see, Tsu-kun used to be quite a talker..." She said absentmindedly, as if it was nothing.
"Used to?" Gokudera roared before letting her words fully sink in. Tsu… kun… she couldn't be talking about Tsuna, could she? What did she mean by that? Maybe she could bring Tsuna back to him. But maybe she was tricking him, the bitch seemed capable of it! He plunged his rings into the boxes strapped around his waist and activated System CIA.
"Yes indeed, Hayato-san, 'used to'." The doll said, watching as the various bone shields appeared in the air, a newly strapped on skull gun on his arm, "That's why I want you to take him back for the time being. Make him cute again, will you?" the bunny giggled, propelling itself off of the table. Gokudera aimed his gun at her, Uri at his side spitting and hissing at the doll, for once not scratching at Gokudera's face. "Oh, I see, I guess you don't want to see Tsu-kun, poor Jyuudaime, he'll be crushed when he hears you didn't want him, Hayato-san…" the doll sighed, turning away. Gokudera's eyes flashed,
"N-No!" he cried out before mentally cursing himself. The doll turned its head over one of its shoulder,
"No?" she repeated. Gokudera growled, the bitch had cornered him.
"W-Well, you say you'll give Jyuudaime back to me, but how can I trust you?" he snapped back, threatening her with his gun. The plushy turned around shrugging,
"I can't show you how you can trust me." She admitted, "But, if you call out to him, like you really want him back, he'll return to you once more." She explained, Gokudera grimaced at the request.
"And he'll come?" Gokudera asked. The doll nodded and he hesitated before spitting out, "That sounds like a load of bullshit!" The doll's stitched, or so thought to be, grin twisted downwards into a frown.
"You're an awful righthand man, Hayato, shouldn't a righthand man do anything for his boss?" she taunted. "You just call out his name…" she tempted him. There was an awkward pause between the two of them, Gokudera hesitating on the offer. If he called out his boss's name, he might just look stupid. But, maybe the doll was telling the truth, maybe all he had to do was call out for him and he'd appear. It almost seemed too good to be true.
"J-Jyuudaime..." Gokudera said awkwardly. The doll shook it's head, sighing. Hey, it wasn't his fault, that's a damn odd thing to do!
"Don't ask for him like the scared, weak bastard you are! Ask for him as the boss' right hand man, sworn to protect him at all costs!" The doll motivated Gokudera, sent his blood boiling at the cold and harsh comments she had made. He'd show her he wasn't work or scared!
"Jyuudaime!" Gokudera called out, praying that it would work. Suddenly a body pressed up against his back and a hand reached over his shoulder. Bewildered, Gokudera spun around, jumping backwards away from whoever was behind him. His eyes widened when he saw the figure of his boss standing there. Tsuna stared back at him, something different about him, but Gokudera didn't care. He thought he'd lost his boss these last few hours after the inheritance Ceremony but now he stood before him.
"J-Jyuudaime...?" Gokudera finally cried out, shaking. He lowered his skull gun, staring at his boss as he approached him. Tsuna's brown eyes stared into Gokudera's emerald eyes, his brown gravity defying hair flopping around with each step. Tsuna lifted a finger to his mouth and bit into it, scarlet blood drops sliding down it. Gokudera's warning signals started kicking in. This was not the boy he once knew, his eyes so emotionless, his face so stoic. Even his graceful movements couldn't match the crude antics of the Tsuna he knew, the clumsy air that had once wrapped around him had disappeared. As Tsuna approached him Gokudera's eyebrows knitted back together again.
Tsuna lifted his hand up, pointing his bleeding finger towards Gokudera's lips. Instead of accepting, Gokudera slapped his boss' hand away, swearing. Suddenly they both widened their eyes, an emotion finally flooding into Tsuna's void chocolate eyes. The two boys suddenly felt draw together, power seeming to surge through both of them. They looked to their hands, still in mid-slap.
The shiny, red Vongola Storm Ring held a drop of blood on the surface.
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END OF CHAPTER 2: BOUND BY CHAINS
Contains real stuff from KHR manga chapter 296, pages 1 - 12, in the flashback. I just realized that there's ALOT of talking... ^^
And, to the people who can guess where Kitty/Snowdrop's name came from will win a cookie!
Enma used to be crazy and corrupted by the chain, but after seeing him in the last chapter looking like a creepster, I changed him to the way you just read him as. I think it suits him better.
O.O OMIGAWD, THIS IS THE MOST I'VE EVER WRITTEN FOR A FANFICITON CHAPPIE! /die
Reviews make me smile. The last review by moonray9 had me giddy all day! *u*