Chapter 12
"Famiglia"
05/05/2011
"Juudaime…" Gokudera said as he went to his boss's side, carelessly letting go of Vin's body from his hand behind, and looked straight at the unconscious enemy, "Reborn-san was right. I asked that guy over there and I have confirmed it." He pointed Vin with his eyes with his last sentence.
"Ah," the soon-to-be-tenth agreed, "It's weaker than the ones we had."
"It seemed that their box weapons were from the black market. Those were indeed Verde's rejected experiments… I've concluded as much when I saw the Lightning serpent. He must've sold these to the black market to escalate his funds for more research... Do you think he's planning something big?"
"I hope not… but following that man's mindset, it's probably something dangerous,"
"What's the plan, Juudaime?"
"Let's just ignore him for now, we still have no idea what to expect from him… and besides, I need to fix something first before taking action to anything else…"
"Hai!"
Tsuna paused and stood still. He closed his eyes, reminding himself of what he has decided to do. His eyelids lifted and observed the bloody mass he had done to the supposedly strong leader of their enemies. And apparently, the man wasn't that strong. Ace has been reduced to a pitiful state, which was almost unrecognizable if not for the distinguishable scar above his left eye.
He frowned at the scene.
The sight was disgusting. However, he was even more disgusted with himself as he has caused such peril to the said man. He has let his emotions run wild within him that has resulted to the bloodstained spectacle. That man has caused the deaths of many individuals may it be innocent or not, directly or indirectly; but it has to be done, be it against his morals. It pained him to have done such a thing for he is gentle by nature.
He gritted his teeth and curled his fists into a tight ball. It wasn't hard to see that he's pissed and frustrated no matter how much he tried to cover it. Then, he noticed a pair of eyes staring straight at him. His sight roamed to its source and found his dear friend, looking at him innocently.
Kyoko-chan…
He blinked as he came eye to eye with her. He just couldn't digest those worrying eyes were directed to him. Those amber eyes held so much care and worry on them, but beneath those emotions he could see a tinge of fear.
He smiled sadly at her.
She's afraid. Is it because of me?
He abruptly turned away and walked off to the shrine's exit. He couldn't take looking at her eyes anymore.
She must have developed hatred and fear to me now. Who wouldn't? Anyone who has experienced those despicable things would naturally hate that person who had dragged them to that situation. And in this case, I wouldn't be surprised if she'd find me as the subject of that hate; even though it wasn't really my fault. I never had wanted to be part of this side of the society in the first place but with the past circumstances I just couldn't let myself ignore it all. He let out a dry laugh, earning a worried glance from his silver-headed friend. The irony of it all. All I wanted was to protect them and keep them away from harm but what I produced were bigger problems that are becoming harsher than ever. Whether I detach myself from the mafia by running away or have myself to just acknowledge the given position such as being the next boss, it will all be the same. Either way, it's going to be one hell of a dangerous ride to all of us; the only difference between the two is that the latter gives me a better chance of attaining my original will. I guess the best answer I can come up with is to take the second option.
"I guess I'll just have to give up my selfish dream of a normal life," he said to himself as he ran a hand to his hair.
"Juudaime…" Gokudera patted his shoulder from behind, feeling sorry for him.
He stopped walking then peered from his shoulder, "I'm fine, Hayato. I'll be fine…" He returned his sight ahead of them and watched sun's beams brighten up the world, "Don't you agree how much the sunrise looks a lot more beautiful than the sunset?"
"…Ah,"
He took a deep breath.
Tsuna was standing in front of the door of his own house. He could hear some noise behind the door. He concluded it was his mom preparing breakfast from the kitchen.
Now how should I explain this to mom, he looked at himself then sighed. He was sure anyone who'd see him now would freak out if they'd see his figure now. HE was a bloody mess. His shirt and pants were both tainted by a vile red liquid, even his hair had dried blood smudged all over. He looked like he had just murdered someone, not like he could deny that. What he did was close to that scenario anyway. He was lucky no one had seen him like that when he walked through the town or else it would be even more troublesome. He could just wish right now that his mom wouldn't call the police saying he's an imposter and had replaced his sweet son.
How could things get even worse than it is… he sighed.
"Open the door Gokudera. Dame-Tsuna seemed to have forgotten how to open a door," the squeaky voice of the baby infant made him sigh some more.
"No need to do what Reborn said, Hayato. I know as much how to open a door. You can go home now, and rest," he reached for the knob and turned it open to let himself in.
"I'm sorry Juudaime but I can't do that. As your right hand, I can't allow my boss to face the problem alone," the bomber resolutely declared, not daring to back down.
He didn't argue so instead he just lazily took off his shoes and went directly to the stairs; with Hayato and Reborn trailing behind. He was hoping his mom wouldn't notice him or his friend. Hayato was in a better state than he is but the chars on his clothes and scrapes on his body isn't exactly the ideal image he wants his mom to see. But his luck seemed to have run out when the sound of a bowl being dropped to the floor rang in the air. The look of horror in Nana's face greeted him as he shot his head to the door of the kitchen.
"Oka-san… I-" he stopped midway through his sentence when she slowly walked to him, the broken bowl and beaten egg lay forgotten on the ground. She stopped an arm away from him and reluctantly reached for his cheeks. He looked at her blankly as she took back her hand and ran off to the bathroom. He could understand the reaction he got and he couldn't blame her for that. He might have even acted far worse than that if it were him.
He stayed standing by the stairs, smiling sadly as he looked at his hands. The other two didn't say anything and only waited for him to do something. He was about to go off to his room when he felt something cold pressed on his cheek. He didn't expect his mom to hurry back to him with a basin full of water and a towel on her hand. He stared at the older female with wide eyes as she carefully took him to the living room to sit. He sat there frozen as she damped the wet towel to his face and wiped the dried blood off. She wiped off the blood on his body as carefully as she can. While doing so, her eyes begun to water. Her touch was gentle like how she would do it when he arrived home one day with mud splashed all throughout. Only now, it wasn't mud she was trying to get rid of but blood; and it wasn't him who was crying this time, it was her. She enveloped him with his arms as soon as she finished cleaning him. Then, she cried and cried.
Oka-san… arigatou…
Awhile after his mother's breakdown, Tsuna brought his mom to her room and let her stay there and rest. He doesn't want the kids to see them like that when they wake up. And so he went to his room to go and have a shower, feeling the water wash away the blood left from his whole body. He then went off to get some fresh clothes. After getting changed, he laid on his bed, tired. Slowly, he felt light headed. His body wouldn't move no matter how much his mind screamed to stay awake. Soon, he found himself falling asleep.
A/N: Okay, so maybe it's been like months since I updated because of school. You see... it has been quite stressful on those months that I literally got sick over it and i had so little time for writing on those moments. So yeah... Sorry about that. Anyway, this will be a double update so I hope it would be fine.
Oh, and please bear with my crappy updates. It's been awhile since I wrote something good, so my writing skills had become quite rusty. I've been exposed with thick books and script-writing these past few months so yeah, this may have turned out rough. Not that my writing skills are that great to begin with anyway. But I'll try my best to get the flow back.
So, how do things look so far?
There's not gonna be much fight scenes for a few chapters or even none at all but there will be… soon. So you can look out for the future happenings. I'll make as interesting as I could, and make it better. I'll do my best, ne~
And of course, a many thank you to all of you reading my fic, for waiting for the slow update, to all that have faved this fic as well as faving me, and the reviews are very much appreciated as well. Arigatou na, minna~
luvtuna27- don't worry I'm not going to make this into a HibarixChrome.
Kanojo wa Rinko- Yeah, I guess I noticed that as well. Hehe… my bad…
SadisticPrincess13- thank you!
Hanazono Aya- I'm glad you love it. And yeah, Sakura is scary and crazy. I intended her to be that way... hehe… ^^
Syrlai- Oh my, that seemed too much for me, my head would get big with that praise. But thanks nonetheless. It's very much appreciated. XD
Clippit- yup, Super Tuna indeed. And yes again for your right guess. I was actually panicking when I read your review on the other chapter 'cause you guessed it right. I was panicking 'cause I want my stories to be unpredictable as much as possible. I guess, I am still not that good. But I'll do my best. Oh, yeah. I remember the request you had. Don't worry I haven't forgotten it. In truth I've already written halfway through it months ago but I was just too busy. But since its vacation now, I could finish that and update faster.
SakuraHaruno9- I hope my fic would continue to interest you as it advances. ^^ And sorry for the long wait.
ShiningStarz94-ahh, I'm really sorry about my fic updates' months long absence. But I'm happy you're excited about it. XD
IchigoStrawberryXX- haha… here's the next one. I hope you enjoyed it.
Reiyayru- why, thank you~ yes, yes… don't worry I plan on fixing that one of these days… I'm just getting lazy here.
Sherry Leblanc- Of course, I would. I don't have any reason not to so yeah… I am continuing this story. My updates just got delayed because school took all my time, is all. And thank you, your awesome too.
