Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. Please don't make me say it again.
A/N: Hmmm…warnings for the beginning of the chapter: This chapter does not deserve a rating M, more like a K. No smut on this one, and only mild angst. I previously promised this to be a two-shot but I'm afraid I'm going to have to break that. It's going to be a three-shot. Sorry. Can you read just 1 and 3 and it would still make sense? Maybe. But its better to read chapter 2 too.
Chapter 2
The car stopped a mile away from the target destination. I will have go the rest of the way on foot to avoid detection.
"Sir, best of luck on your mission," said the driver; a subordinate wishing the rain guardian well.
"Haha. I'll be back before dinner so make sure to leave some for me" I laughed and the car sped away.
I have to get back tonight. Not for dinner, though that would be nice, but for Gokudera.
He had left five days ago for a treaty signing in Italy and would be getting back tonight. Despite the fact that parted we parted less than satisfactorily, or maybe because of it, I absolutely feel the need to see him as soon as possible..
I had seen Gokudera to the airport. The storm guardian brought nothing with him but his papers and the treaty documents for the new members of the allied families. His apartment in Italy contained everything else he needed.
As he turned to board the plane (private use of the Vongola, of course), I grabbed him from behind, wrapping my arms around him. I could feel him stiffen from the surprise. I couldn't help but chuckle and say "Come back soon, Hayato. I'll be thinking of you."
At that, Gokudera quickly tuned around and gave me a pointed stare. "Oi! Stop joking, baseball idiot! While I'm away, you better focus what little brain power you have on protecting the 10th!"
I sighed inwardly but I unconsciously muttered lowly "Tsuna again."
"What was that?"
"Haha. Nothing, nothing. Of course, I would. With my life." I have no intention of letting Tsuna be hurt in any way while I was still around. I completely mean that despite the fact that I'm feeling a little jealous of him right now.
"Tch!" Gokudera gave me an irritated look and turned back again to board the plane. For some reason I didn't want us to part on that note and I grabbed Gokudera's hand, stopping him for the second time. This time, Gokudera did not turn around.
"Come back soon. I love you."
Gokudera jerked his hand away from my grasp and headed towards the plane. "I have to go. I'm going to be late."
It was certainly not the best way to part, even if it was only a separation of a few of days. This and many other little things bothered me, sad to say. It has difficult for me to reason out and put into words (I do most things by instinct and feel) but I feel as though something is off with the storm guardian. It feels as if he's drifting away from my grasp and the actual physical separation we have now doesn't help matters at all.
All the more reason to see him tonight.
-x-X-x-
"I see. Keep me posted. I will be arriving in 8 more hours." I put down the in-flight phone. I'm in the middle of my flight back to Japan. The treaty signing was needless to say, a success. What's bothering me now is a certain research assistant named Camellia, also known as Youka Iris.
Youka Iris, had previously been undetected by the Vongola's information network. Ever since the Vongola had banned human experimentation Iris had disappeared from sight and had eluded detection by the Vongola. However, news arrived awhile ago that a certain biology student named Camellia had been hired as a research assistant some 6 months ago to Dr. Ichikawa and Dr. Nakajima, leading authorities in advanced cell research in a university in Saitama. Photographs taken of the said student confirmed that it was indeed Youka Iris.
Both are well-known figures in the field. During the past few years they had made near-miraculous breakthroughs in the extensions of telomerase in cells, prolonging their multiplication abilities. Using this breakthrough it is now almost possible to repair parts of the body without the need for surgery. It would be possible for the body to be the one to internally replace damaged cells and even entire body parts. This is the future of their research if they can find a way to direct, moderate and control the rate, quality and direction of the cell multiplication.
Cell multiplication. Multiplication. Propagation. It sounds too much like the Death Stalk Unit for comfort. There isn't any confirmation of danger yet but neither researcher has been seen in a week. Yamamoto had been sent out to investigate the university. I know I shouldn't be worried. Yamamoto using the Shigure Souen Style is damn near invincible, but its useless. No amount of rationalization is able to shake off this feeling.
I know I should be used to it by now. How many missions have we gone through the years anyway? But no matter if it's a thousand or a million missions; it only means that I'll worry a thousand or a million times. What he said before only makes matters worse.
With my life
Some things just aren't funny, stupid! The 10th is important but then so is he. That's the whole point of training, of getting stronger. So we won't have to say "…with my life" when we protect.
-x-X-x-
The biology research lab of the university is located on the 3rd floor of the Science department off the west side of the compound.
No security. I guess they don't feel the need to have any, especially since this is a pretty normal university. Looking around, there doesn't seem to be anyone nearby, so I cautiously enter through the back door. Inside the building some students are leaving for the day, heading to the main entrance. I make sure to stay close to the walls and to avoid notice.
Once the students have passed, I head towards the fire exits. Attaching a small red contraption of Gianinni's designed to unlock and deactivate alarms. Going through the main staircase would have been too noticeable.
Inside the staircase, standard monitoring cameras are located on each floor. That Gianinni is a genius. The contraption beeps once, signaling that the cameras are now displaying a simple loop. Taking the stairs two at a time I arrive at the Biology Research Lab.
I'm in a simple, undecorated hallway with four doors on each side. A quick inspection of the rooms reveal that it five of the rooms were separate research labs filled with complicated equipment. I don't recognize any of them. Not that I expected to. Gokudera might know what they are though. One room was a cold storage and the two rooms at the end were the offices of the two researchers.
Looking inside the offices, there doesn't seem to be anyone in either office. Looks like I'm going to have to look through all the rooms. A low moan comes over from the next room. That doesn't sound good but at least it saves me a lot of trouble.
The next room is the cold storage and it's locked up using a biometric scan. It's a good thing Gianinni's invention covers everything. I have one hand on the handle of the door, the other on the Shigure Kintoki.
The whole room is filled with a thick fog and visibility is low. I cautiously reach out with my free hand in front of me, advancing slowly. The moan sounds again, louder this time and to the left. I inch towards the left slowly. The room is filled with pipes, tubes and steel barrels. It wouldn't be good to hit one of those and give away my position.
Towards the far side of the room, I could discern the outline of a large mass. As I got closer, I could see that it was human, barely. Tsuna and Reborn were the only ones who have seen the Death Stalk Unit in action but their descriptions were not enough for what I saw. The person before me was bloated beyond recognition. Muscles rippled disproportionately throughout his body. For all its muscles, it seemed unable to support its weight and simply lies in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Who…are…y-you!" he demands. His voice was barely recognizable. It just came out as guttural sounds.
"Dr. Ichikawa?"
"ICHI-KA-WA!!!" The voice was more beast than human.
"I'm afraid you got the wrong person. That's Nakajima, this is Ichikawa, Yamamoto Takeshi, Vongola rain guardian."
"Camellia…" Nakajima whispers almost tenderly, raising his arms in an attempt to reach out to the woman standing behind me. Youka Iris is standing calmly with hands on her hips, wearing a lab coat. Behind her stands an even more grotesque monstrosity than Nakajima.
"What have you done to them?" No sane person would allow this cruelty to happen.
"I didn't do anything. They did this to themselves. They thought it would make me happy but I never asked them to do anything." She says in a sickly sweet but remorseless voice.
"However, now that you've seen them, I can't allow you to return to the Vongola. I won't stand them interfering." At that Ichikawa came charging right at me.
The suddenness of his attack did not leave me enough time to prepare a good offensive but I could still create a defensive to deflect his attack. Spraying Rain. The whirlwind-like shield stops him in his tracks and gives me enough time to put more space between us. I adjust my hold on the Shigure Kintoki so as to use the blunt edge of the sword. They were still human, underneath all that and they still had a chance of reverting back. They were only victims of Iris. Shamal might be able to do something.
Ichikawa is surprised but it's only a second longer before he charges again. It doesn't seem that he has much fighting skills. He's only going berserk, only reacting. If that's the case then its best to create confusion and a distraction. Duplicate Rain. To do that, I would need a little elemental help.
A quick thrust and slash through the pipes sends most of the vales and metal barrels bursting and water from the cooling system start filling the floor of the cold storage. Almost immediately an ear-shattering scream resounds throughout the room.
"Wrong move, guardian" says Iris. Nakajima's form had started to shift and morph, growing bigger and bigger. "The temperature in this room was designed to slow down the propagation of Nakajima's experimental body. Now that the temperature's rising, I'm afraid it can't be stopped anymore."
Nakajima had, in just a span of a few seconds, grown to double his previous size. Now instead of just one opponent I found myself facing two. Nakajima is now battle ready and has joined Ichikawa in the charge. Their arms kept reaching out in the attempt to reach me and crush me in their grasp. It was becoming very difficult to maneuver in this tight space filled with debris.
With them so close the only option available is Pelting Rain. That got their attention and they back away. Before they could react, I charge in with Axle of Rain; thrusting into Ichikawa's middle. He stumbles back, clutching his bleeding torso. But this did not stop him. It only enraged him more. He charges blindly while I barely avoid it, he's unable to stop his momentum and crashes right into the wall, creating a fair sized hole on it.
While I stand still, shocked at the sheer power, I feel a powerful blow crash into me. I had forgotten about Nakajima. My ears are still ringing but I shake it off as I run back away from the wall, towards the direction of Youka Iris. Predictably, Ichikawa and Nakajima followed.
Nakajima was the faster of the two and was quickly closing the gap between us. I stop abruptly and charge him. This is my chance to finish this with Duplicate Rain. He continues to charge towards my image in the water while I ready myself to strike him down. He crashes into the wall of water and right on top of Youka Iris. She had been hidden behind the curtain of water. "No, you fool!" she shouts but its too late. Nakajima falls on top of her, crushing her rib cage and piercing her lungs. At the same moment, I deliver the blow to the back of Nakajima's head, knocking him out.
As if realizing the death of Iris, Ichikawa shouts an incoherent battle cry and stampedes towards me. But this time I'm ready. I circle around the room leading him on. If I can lead him back to the wall where he crashed earlier I might get him to crash against it again. That moment of shock when he crashes coupled with the Scontro di Rondine will completely immobilize him.
I reach the far end of the room and wait for him to come at me at full speed. Just a little bit longer. There. He crashed into the wall just like before, widening the previous hole. I move behind and come at him with Scontro di Rondine, aiming for his injured torso. It's a direct hit. He stumbles and grasps in front of him for a handhold as he crumples forward.
"Shit!" I underestimated Ichikawa's bulk and speed. As he crumpled forward, his grasping arm manages to snag my arm and he quickly throws me over. Before I can react I find myself through the hole and in a complete freefall, the ground rushing to meet me.
Gokudera.
-x-X-x-
I woke up startled from restless sleep. We were preparing to land. Thank God! I needed to get in touch with headquarters regarding the progress of Yamamoto's mission.
As soon as I disembark the plane and head towards the waiting car, I dial the rain division's number. "Tell me what's happening" I don't bother to introduce myself. They know who I am.
"Gokudera-san! Yamamoto-san has been rushed to the emergency room!"
"What?!" My mind has started to go numb and my fingers feel too cold and frozen to maintain their hold on the phone.
"Dr. Ichikawa mutated and Yamamoto-san was thrown off the building during the fight! The doctors are seeing to him right now! He's…"
I don't hear the rest as the phone falls to the ground. "Yamamoto…emergency room…thrown off…"
Come back soon. I love you.
I love you…
A/N: Thank you for reading Chapter 2 and my attempt at action scenes. For those who were expecting Smut and Angst (since that was what I said in Chapter 1), I promise more of that on Chapter 3. Not that my smut and angst writing is anything to look forward to. (Sweat drops).
Please read and review because reviews are very much appreciated.
Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter! Love you for it! =)