AN: So much action. So much. I hope it came out okay. Did I ever mention I'm horrendous at action scenes? /pushes face into keyboard
CHAPTER 29: RETURNING SAFELY
When they approached the city, it was dead quiet.
It was very uncharacteristic of the place, which was usually bursting in bustle and colors, but now more than ever, it seemed like it was just a giant empty hulk of grey that matched the sky above it. It was an eerie sign, one that set all their teeth on edge. They couldn't in their life understand why there was no one outside, no stragglers out, unaware of the end close at hand. Not many knew, and yet, the streets were cleaned, devoid of movement and life.
The only sound was the thundering claps of the horse's hooves on the pavement and Hibari's motorcycle's mechanical rumbles and grunts of its exhaust. However, Hibari couldn't help but pick up the slightest movement just south behind them. He flicked his eyes to the back and away. Good.
They took no chances in slowing down. Basil pressed in closer as they picked up more speed. With another quick peer, he could see they were being followed, but they didn't take any offensive attack just yet. Even if they did, and even if it was against his nature, they could not engage in combat. They had to bring them away from Acrobaleno, from Giglio Nero, from Tsuna. He could not afford to stop, so he had to swallow his pride back as a flame hit the exhaust pipe of his bike teasingly. Obviously, they were toying with them, they believed they had the upper hand, and Hibari wanted nothing more than to pull over and show them exactly who they were toying with.
With gritted teeth, he made a sharp turn, almost stumping Gamma who was still following closely behind into a wall before he himself made a sharp left. Their pursuers, however, were just as quick on their feet as them, most likely on transportation that made no noise, as Hibari could not hear anything behind themselves.
Looking forward again, he slammed on his brakes as soon as he noticed what was ahead of them. His tires squealed loudly as they skidded to an abrupt stop, alarmed and taking the hint, Basil and Chrome ducked their heads further into Hibari's and Gamma's backs. A great wall of white, an amazing contrast to the grey stopped them: a ragtag wall of Millefiore White Spells, each with a stoic expression. He scanned their oppressors, calculating their next course of action quickly through his head. To plow on forward or to retreat?
And he realized something: where was Byakuran?
—
When they gates closed again, Uni and he hurried quickly with Dino and Reborn back to the base. They shoved past the onlookers, who stood dazed until suddenly spurred into action. The children were herded by their mothers away, into the safety of their cobbled houses.
"We gave Gamma a tracker," Reborn explained as they swiftly fell into a small crowd in the kitchen. Gokudera was there already, headphones over his ears, staring intently at a laptop, tapping furiously at the keyboard, his face was illuminated palely by the screen. "We should be able to see their situation from here. Gokudera? What's the status?"
"They're surrounded," Gokudera hissed frustratedly, "God damn it, couldn't they have stalled longer?"
"And what of Basil and Chrome? Have they been discovered?" Reborn asked. Tsuna looked curiously at the screen, not comprehending the small green dots on the black screen.
"Not yet," Gokudera replied. There was a short pause. "I don't see Byakuran anywhere though."
Byakuran wasn't there...But he should be there if they thought they were surrounding Uni and Tsuna. If Byakuran wasn't there, and they were surrounded...then...Tsuna paled, turning a ghostly white color. He sharply looked to the window, then to Uni, who looked back confused at his expression. "No," Tsuna choked, "No!" Tsuna stood up, grasping at Uni's upper arm. "We have to get out of here!"
—
He hissed, when he looked around themselves, finding no sign of a man. "You're looking for Byakuran-sama?" A teasing lilt of a girl's voice called from the front. Gamma looked back, alarmed to suddenly find a small girl standing only just meters away from them.
"Sorry," She said with a sneer, not looking in the least apologetic, "He's gone to fry—if you know what I mean—some real fish. You know, he's in no need for," She laughed, throwing a sea shell. It whizzed past Chrome but managed to rip the hoodie off Basil. The boy gasped, hands frantically trying to pull the hoodie back on, but it was too late. The horse was spooked, grunting loudly and shifting from one hoof to the other. "Small bait."
Hibari's world was slowing down. Everything was falling apart and they hadn't even got started. Their cover was blown, and the Millefiore had known from the start that they were only a distraction.
"Damn!" Gamma growled as the reality of their situation hit them. Now that they were discovered, obviously, Uni and Tsuna were sitting ducks back in the Acrobaleno base. Hibari thought of Tsuna, thought of his promise, and he knew he had to get back. He had to go back to help Tsuna. But how could he make it there in time without hasty casualties?
And Byakuran had already gotten a head start.
"Your actions only proved our theory right you know," Bluebell said, throwing her long aquamarine hair over her shoulder, "Face it," She said, and they all watched with wide eyes as she enveloped in bright blue rain flames and her body morphed, her legs gluing together, turning into a marine hybrid, "You failed."
—
Right as he said so, the room combusted, impossibly, into fire. Gokudera shouted, jumping away from the laptop as it imploded inwards than outwards, speckling black and silver liquid over the scorching table top. Everything was suddenly so hot and Tsuna felt like his face was melting off. Gokudera and Dino practically jumped over to him, throwing their arms around the two royals in their hurry, eyes wild. He tugged Uni along out of the room, she did not fight, she limply allowed herself to be manhandled. Reborn was atop Gokudera's shoulder, fending the heat away from his eyes with his sleeve.
They ran down the breaking hallway, the wood screaming in agony all around them. Tsuna watched, feeling the world slow down as the pictures on the wall burned away into black crisps.
Dino let go at once when the door came into view, tugging off his jacket and draped it over the iron-hot doorknob, he twisted and cursed loudly over the roar of fire. "The doorknob is melted in!"
"Affanculo," Gokudera cussed, propelling Dino backwards with a tug of the back of his collar. Dino practically fell onto Tsuna and they watched as the silver-haired teen stuck two cigarettes—no, dynamite—around the knob, with melted elastic. Gokudera ran back, throwing his arms over the group.
The door shattered with a boom! and extra heat didn't help, but the cool air that followed from the gaping hole did. They stumbled out, all wheezing out the black smoke in their lungs. Breathing hurt, but he had no time to contemplate on what just happened, even if he did have a good idea of what had transpired. He shook Uni, who was leaking moisture from her eyes from the pain. She looked up at him, wanting to say something, but took a good glance behind Tsuna and screamed.
Tsuna whirled around, expecting to see Byakuran standing there but was faced instead with the sight of Giglio Nero, enveloped with hot white fire over their houses and screaming from the people inside. He watched, almost entranced by the image of destruction, he hadn't noticed Dino picking him up bodily. "No!" He could hear Uni scream as Gokudera picked her up at the same moment, "Giglio Nero! Giglio Nero has—!"
"Gokudera!" Reborn roared, his voice strangely as deep as an adult's, "Get Uni and Tsuna to the stables!"
Dino set Tsuna back on his feet, "Reborn and I will hold off Zakuro." He squeezed Tsuna shoulder before pushing him roughly after Gokudera, "Now go!"
—
Her shonisaurus form looked deceivingly beautiful. Being the CEDEF's own rain specialist he was, Basil whispered to Hibari, "Take caution, Hibari-dono. Her box carnage form can create a pool. If we're caught in the area she sends it out to, we'll be paralyzed due to the high purity of the flame's tranquility. It's fatal: we could actually die from the lack of cellular movement."
He didn't plan on dying here. "We're going back," Hibari growled fiercely, "There's no need for us here if they have already discovered our plan."
"I agree," Basil said back, pulling his boomerang out. It bursted into blue fire.
"Wow," Bluebell smiled, her teeth baring sharp, hiding her mirth behind a mockingly polite hand, "You're actually going to fight me?"
Hibari stared blankly before he himself smirked, "No."
"Wha—" She began to speak, but a sharp resounding crack cut her off, her big eyes turned wider as she realized that balls—billiard balls—surrounded her, spreading high in the air and imbedded themselves into a neat circle at her feet. Basil's flamed boomerang spun in a neatly tight circle around the girl, who stood dumbfounded as water—rain water—poured over her. The billards sparked in green strikes, electrifying everything between her and the ground, making it impossible to dodge. It was further powered by Basil's own flame, and the range spread easier, more agonizing, than without it.
Bluebell could not scream, or she had, but the lightning had been much too ear-shattering to hear it.
It was an easy distraction, the White Spells were momentarily distracted by the horrifying sight of their strongest rain specialist burning to a crisp that Hibari nearly ran them over as he accelerated past them. Gamma came bowling after, billowing gusts of lightning behind them.
He had a promise to keep, he thought, his mind and chest racing. He had failed, and most likely the Millefiore had already arrived in Giglio Nero. But he knew that Tsuna was very resourceful when it came down to it. He was just hoping to god that Tsuna wouldn't do anything particularly herbivorous until then.
—
Tsuna didn't need to be told twice. He threw himself after the silver-haired teen, both sprinting past burning buildings at a back-breaking pace. They were all here in this same marketplace, only days before, surrounded by friends and food. Now, there was nothing left but ruined blackened fruit, the stands were breaking apart, falling over each other, throwing up clouds of hot sparks and black wisps. He saw some people, screaming as they tore out of their houses, they themselves on fire. They pushed themselves through broken stone, squeezing to the other side.
"Princess!"
They looked up, seeing a tall bald man run towards them. He was in Black Spell uniform, two red claw-like tattoos were creeping on his temple and cheek. He had two large piercings, one on his nose and one below his lips. "Nigella!" Uni cried, dropping out of Gokudera's arms and into Nigella's. "You're alright!"
"I should be the one saying that, you shouldn't be here," Nigella drew back, wiping stray strands from the girl's face worriedly, "You need to get to the stables!"
"What has happened?" Uni asked, eyes wide. "Why is Giglio Nero on fire?"
"Byakuran." Nigella said angrily, "And the Funeral Wreaths. His special task Millefiore force is here to find you and the prince. Their storm specialist, Zakura has done this."
Hating to break the reunion, but having no choice, the silver-haired teen pushed gently at Uni's shoulder, "Excuse me princess," Gokudera said urgently, "We need to go."
There was no reply, instead, Uni and Nigella ran ahead determinedly, Tsuna and Gokudera following closely behind. The field that was padded with dry grass and dirt was engulfed in a maze of fire, and they ran through it bravely until the stables came into view. They could hear the horses inside screaming, whining in pain. "I'm going to save the horses," Nigella said hastily, drawing Uni to her feet quickly, but gently, "Your highnesses, you need to get Alato!"
He held Uni's hand as they ran past the walls of fire, practically running into the stable door. Gokudera pulled it open, gasping for air. Tsuna didn't think twice as he stumbled over the dry hay—dear god, if he didn't hurry that would catch on fire—and opened Alato's fence. The large beast eyed him urgently, wise as ever, as if it knew exactly what was happening. He pulled himself up Alato, using the wall as leverage and urged the stallion on. The horse shot off, pausing briefly so that Tsuna could pull Uni on too.
Gokudera grasped at Tsuna's arm, squeezing tightly, reluctant to let go, "Tenth, don't do anything reckless, please." Tsuna looked at him, using his free arm to grasp tightly at Gokudera's wrist, squeezing back. He smiled as reassuringly as he could. "Be safe, Tsuna."
He turned on his flame, blinking the fire back in his eyes. "I will." Alato's tightly-strung muscles rippled in appreciation under them.
"Prince!" They turned to see Nigella on his own horse, a gaping black hole with purple bordered flames at its edges. It was a familiar sight, Tsuna realized, this is what Hibari used in order to move from place to place. But it looked different, because he wasn't as scared of it as he was back then, it looked different when it wasn't reaching for him like the hole in his closet. Nigella Beabankul is a cloud user, he deduced.
Tsuna turned to the silver-haired teen, "Take care, Gokudera-kun. I don't know when we'll meet again," If we meet again at all, "Tell Hibari-san I'm sorry."
Gokudera nodded, eyes solemn. He turned to Mukuro with a fierce stare, who Tsuna just realized arrived, "I'm counting on you to take care of him. I know we got off at the wrong foot, but you need to take care of Tenth because I can't." Mukuro nodded, closing his eyes. Mukuro's physical image wavered until it was nothing but a misty haze.
He straightened back forward and Uni tightened her grip around Tsuna's waist. Mukuro's mist lifted, raising above their heads. The plume of mist moved along with Alato as its thunderous pounded against the dirt below. They followed Nigella into the familiar hole.
Then it was all dark.
The coldness washed over him again, the emptiness of the cloud-space. He felt scared for a moment, feeling as if he was only a little boy again who feared the dark. His stomach dropped, and everything felt weightless. Just empty, quiet darkness. It reminded Tsuna of nightmares. He felt like the boy from a few months ago, who had reached out in this same darkness and found city lights, who found Cielo. He thought of home, thought of his mom. He wondered what she was doing right now.
There was a flash of bluish white, and a new kind of cold hit them. Everyone gasped, unfamiliar with this sensation. It was absolutely freezing.
And they hit the ground.
Alato whined loudly as his hooves met crunching snow. Tsuna blinked, confused, at the sight of the swirling white the surrounded them, falling slowly, falling erratically from the sky—the sky—Tsuna looked up sharply, and was met with the sight of darkness, a blackened sky, with clouds heavy with snow.
It was snowing. It was night time. He almost couldn't comprehend it. But if it was snowing—they weren't in Cielo. They were...they were...
"We're in Namimori," Mukuro unknowingly finished for him.
They were in Namimori. He was home. Tsuna gasped loudly himself, his breathing wheezing out in disbelief. He knew he was sort of panicking, but he hadn't expected to come home. He thought they were going to end up in the Vongola base, he thought they were going to go to the Kokuyo hideout or something, but they were in Namimori. He always thought of returning home, and when he discovered that he was the prince, when he discovered that he was going to die, he prepared himself to never see his mom, his friends, Namimori never again.
But now...now he could.
Gaining some semblance of control, he knew where they were. The familiar crossroads that lead one way led to his house and the Sasagawas, one leading to Gokudera's and Bianchi's house. But they stood in front of the familiar red mailbox that only one neighborhood in Namimori uses. Other neighborhoods relied on their own mailbox that were attached to their own homes, not sharing a giant one. "We're near Haru's house." Tsuna said, voice cracking. Oh god he could go see Haru, if he wanted to.
Uni slipped off Alato's back, jumping in surprise as her own booted feet hit the white frost. "What is this?" She leaned down to scoop some in her hands, entranced, "This white stuff. It's cold."
"It's snow, princess." Mukuro supplied in Tsuna's stead. "It's a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice. It consists of multiitudes of snowflakes that fall from the clouds. Or in other words: it's frozen rain."
"I never knew..." Uni said in awe, "That something like this existed."
"This is also my first seeing something like this, your highness." Nigella said, staring around himself. The two continued to stare at the fluffy white, watching in astonishment at the floating flakes in the air.
But Tsuna was getting antsy. He too, was slightly amazed by the snow, but now that he knew where they were, that they were home, he was stricken with the desire to move. "I know where we are," Tsuna said, "We can get to my house. I'm sure you're cold, Uni."
As if the girl realized it herself, she suddenly began shivering on the spot. She only wore shorts and a light cardigan. It didn't look like much to stave off the cold. Neither was his own attire. With a helpful hand, he pulled Uni up, and Tsuna could still feel her shivering violently from behind himself. Alato grumbled, complaining of Uni's most likely annoying tremors, but did not seem to want to kick her off.
Tsuna led the way, but at a slow pace. He did not wish to awaken anyone despite his haste, because surely, their appearance was very strange. A boy and a girl dressed skimpily outside, clothes blackened and half-scorched, atop a horse on fire was not a normal sight in Namimori.
No one bothering in starting up conversation as they reached the Sawada residence, sensing the heavy weight of Tsuna's situation. This was a boy, now teen, who had not been home for a very long time. It was best not to bring up anything too painful, so they all settled in silence. Tsuna slid off Alato, turned to put a finger to his lips at the people following. With careful, but shaking hands, he unlocked the gate. He pulled Alato through and into the fence. He was met with the familiar sight of his backyard, also covered in a light layer of snow.
The others followed behind, standing awkwardly at the entrance. Tsuna returned after pushing Alato to stand beneath a tree, well out of sight of the living room's wide glass doors. He had to be cautious if his mother was really home. It would be difficult to explain the horse that was on fire in the backyard. He closed the gate, Tsuna bit his lips as he held up a hand, to make them wait here for awhile longer.
Dropping to his hands and knees, Tsuna reached for a neatly-made wooden box under their porch. He pulled that out, kneeling on the back of his ankles as he opened the box. He was relieved to see the small pill bottle that was inside. With slippery fingers, he managed to pop the container opened and upturned it into his shaking palm. The extra key fell on his skin with a smack. He grasped it, heart racing as he got back up on his feet, motioning quietly for the three to follow him.
They did, looking wary as Tsuna shoved the key into the lock and twisted. A quiet click. He opened the door with two hands, forcing his weight on the knob so it wouldn't make any sounds.
When he crossed the threshold, he breathed in the air of his home. It was welcomingly warm inside. He took in the familiar stairs, the small hallway leading to the living room and his parent's room. He took in the small cupboard where they put storage under the stairs. He felt as if he was going to collapse right there and then when he remembered he had an audience watching him, waiting for him to do something. He pulled each of them inside, shutting the door quietly.
He pulled off his shoes, watching as the others mirrored him, perplexed looks plastered on their faces. Mukuro took a little longer, for he had laced boots on. He took a quick peek in the kitchen, and was a bit alarmed by the webs of masking tape on the window pane's glass, as if it had shattered from a large blast. The blackened kitchen counter was a testament to that. Obviously, his mother had tried to clean it up, but failed to get rid of the hardest leftovers from the fire.
He wondered why there was a fire, wondered if his mom was okay.
He began to work his way up the stairs, the others cautiously following him, watching where he stepped so they would not make the mistake of making sounds. Tsuna still wasn't sure if his mom was home. But he'd rather get changed first before she saw him. He didn't want his mom to see him half-burned as he was.
As he took the last step upstairs, he rounded the corner and was met with a barrel of a gun pointed between his eyes. Uni gasped, stumbling back onto Nigella. Mukuro stepped forward, trident hoised up dangerously. A familiar woman, with long dusty rose hair. The woman seemed to recognize him too, for her eyes—so much like Gokudera's own—widened. "Tsuna?"
"Bianchi?" Tsuna replied, absolutely bewildered. What was she doing here?
Suddenly, he found himself buried into a very generous chest, arms squeezing tightly around him. He was about to bring up his arms to hug her back but she pulled away and slapped him on the face. The sound of skin on skin was blaring in the quiet of the night. His head snapped to his right, left cheek stinging, causing tears to spring from his eyes. "Where have you been?" Bianchi hissed furiously, tears in her own eyes. "We've been worried sick!"
"Sorry..." Was all Tsuna could say, reaching up to rub at his heated cheek. He peered at Bianchi through downcast eyes.
Bianchi looked even further frustrated by his answer, looking as if she was about to shove his apology up somewhere unpleasant when she noticed and was distracted momentarily by the stunned onlookers behind Tsuna. She looked at them warily, and Tsuna didn't blame her. Mukuro and Nigella didn't exactly look like the friendliest people even to him. "Where's mom?" Tsuna asked, bringing Gokudera's half-sister's attention back to him. "Is she asleep?"
"No, I'm right here."
Tsuna looked over Bianchi shoulder, to see Nana, who had pushed her momentum into her bedroom's threshold. The only thing keeping her up was the door. At the same moment she pushed her self up and started towards him, Tsuna was already running. He threw his arms around his mom, who had her arms already wide open and welcoming.
"Mom!" The arms closed around him, nearly choking him in response. It almost hurt, but he didn't care. It was his mom, his mom.
"Tsuna," She cried into his hair, "My baby boy, my boy." She kissed his scalp a couple of times, breathing him in, as he breathed her in. His mother's familiar smell, a natural smell that you could not find in any shampoo or perfume. It was all so overwhelming. He had thought he was never going to see her again, thought he would never hold her again. She pulled him back, to get a good look at his face, cradled in her hands, when she realized why she smelled smoke in his hair. "Tsuna! What happened?" He realized, again, why she would say that. His face was smeared in grey soot.
His clothes were blackened by smoke, charred and scorched by stray flames in their escape. "And is that a piercing?" Her voice shot up an octave as she snapped his head abruptly to the side. He felt his cheeks burn in shame, though he didn't understand why. He didn't know how to explain himself, how to describe what he went through, why he was like this. He had forgotten this other fear of his, that his parents would see how changed he was...how hardened their precious son had become.
"Mom..." Tsuna began, eyes lowered, "I think...We should talk."
Nana looked alarmed by this, but nodded after a moment's pause. She looked to everyone else, at the strangers in her house and Bianchi. "Bianchi, could you please wake up Haru and Kyoko?"
"Haru? Kyoko?" Tsuna repeated as they watched Bianchi retreat quietly into the guest room. "What?"
Nana looked at the three Cielonians, who stood awkwardly at the top steps of the stairs, "Let's go down stairs and have a chat, yes?" There was no room for argument, if they wanted to, because Nana began pushing at Tsuna shoulders back down the stairs and the others had no choice but to follow.
They reached the living room, and Tsuna and Nana settled for one sofa as the other three sat down in the opposing couch. There was a tense silence before two pairs of footsteps thundered down the stairs, one pair following coolly behind. Tsuna watched with blinking eyes as Haru and Kyoko crashed into the living room, nearly hitting the wall in their haste. They really had just awakened for they had not bothered changing out of their sleep clothes.
"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko cried, running around the couch to embrace him. Haru had let out a high-pitched cry, not quite a squeal or a scream though, and had draped herself over on Tsuna's unoccupied side. He hugged them back, smiling sadly, and watched over the girls' shoulders as Gokudera's sister sat deftly on a stool near the kitchen counter, crossing her legs.
"It just so happens that they slept over tonight, Tsuna," Nana smiled sadly at him. "Bianchi has been staying here since...since you and your father left.." She ran a hand through his hair, "It was nice of them to keep us company on Christmas night, even if that meant spending that away from their own families. They were very understanding."
"It's...Christmas?" Tsuna marveled at the coincidence. Of all nights to come back, it was Christmas night, he never spent one away from his family.
"Yes," Kyoko nodded into his neck, pulling back to smile tearfully, "I'm just so glad you're safe, Tsuna-kun."
"It's the best gift anyone could ask for," Haru managed to choke out between hysterical gasping, "Tsuna-san, they said you were dead! They said that you were never going to come back!"
He wasn't about to tell them that he hadn't planned on coming back, and he most definitely wasn't going to tell them he was planning on dying either. For if he did, there was no way they would let them go. He had a duty to fulfill and he couldn't fulfill it here. Nana looked distracted as she continued threading her fingers through his dirty hair, "Tsuna, where is your father?"
Tsuna looked at his mom, confused, "Dad? He's not here."
Noticing his lack of question in his tone, Nana looked at him closely, "Then you have seen him, right? He said he was going to look for you?"
"Well," Tsuna began, swallowing, he didn't know how to tell his mom, "Truth is, we were in the middle of meeting up, but things...happened...but I did manage to speak with him, through phone, that is." He wasn't going to tell his mom that he hadn't planned on meeting his dad either. She'd probably ground him.
"I think..." Tsuna began, unraveling himself from the girls' arms. He stood up and leaned on the couch opposite of them, next to Mukuro. "I think I should introduce you." He gestured respectively to those seated on his right, "This is Mukuro, Uni and Nigella. We were going to go to dad but somehow managed to come here in Namimori."
Mukuro said nothing.
Nigella mumbled a quiet hello.
Uni smiled, brightly, holding a hand out to the girls, "Hello. I'm Uni."
There was an exchange of names and polite smiles. His mom looked at them, smile strained, as if she knew the answer, "Are you going to stay here?"
"No," Tsuna said quietly, "I have to return."Tsuna bit his lip. No. He couldn't stay here. This was possibly the last time he was ever going to see them, but he couldn't tell them that. It would only break their hearts.
"But why?" Haru raised her voice, standing up, obviously upset, "Why do you have to go? You're finally home! I'm not going to let you—"
"Haru," Nana interrupted softly, her eyes were gentle as she looked at Tsuna, "Let's hear him out first."
"I," Tsuna began, running his hand over the side of the sofa, "I first thought that if it wasn't my business, it just wasn't my business. Whenever it concerned me, I always felt the need to run away." He fisted his hands, "But now, this matter isn't about me. There's something I have to do. The people I care about need me. For once, I'm not going to run."
Haru shook her head, closing her eyes shut, "We need you! Let someone else do it! Look at you," She gestured to his clothes, to Uni's own ruined ones, "You're planning on going back to the place that did this to you, aren't you? You've been through enough! No one your age, or Uni-chan's, should ever go through with something like this. "
"Its my duty," Tsuna replied hard, "And I want to do it right."
Uni spoke up beside him, all eyes turned to her, "I also agree. Like Sawada-san, I also have something only I can do. People's lives are at stake here. People I, we, care about. I just cannot find it in myself to stay here and do nothing about it."
Nana handed them two mugs of hot chocolate. It seemed like a delicacy he hadn't had in so long. "How long have I been away?" For Tsuna had lost track around the fourth month.
"About six months," Kyoko said, nursing her own mug in her hands, "That's usually the time span used when someone missing is confirmed dead. Haru-chan and I came here to keep Mrs. Sawada and Bianchi-san company for the night."
Six months. Tsuna thought, feeling weight settle on his shoulders, making him slouch in worry. He was gone, taken from his house, for half a year. It felt like more to him. And now he was confirmed dead. He couldn't exactly adjust coming back here, even if he wanted to. Not many people who were confirmed dead returned to school out of the blue lived the rest of their lives unscathed. They would question him for his true whereabouts, and Tsuna would not give an answer.
Staying silent was better than being labelled crazy for telling the truth.
He didn't know where that landed his dad either. If Tsuna was confirmed dead, then his father was still considered a suspect, a murderer now. His dad would not be able to return to work, unable to walk out of the house. He just prayed that Hibari would somehow fix this problem, somehow have his father live free and without worries. Return to the life they had before they had a son.
"Tsuna, can't you tell us where you went?" Haru asked desperately, "At least tell us that."
"Sorry..." Tsuna shook his head, resolved, "I can't." Giving up, she sank back down, head hung low. "It's not that I don't trust you. But it's just for your own good." He looked at everyone, "All of you, all of your own good I mean."
"Tsuna-kun..." Kyoko spoke, staring into her steaming cup. She pulled a long strand of orange behind her ear, "You've really grown up, haven't you?"
"Sorry..." He apologized again, for some reason.
Everyone jumped when frantic knocks resounded through the quiet. They looked at Bianchi, who was the furthest, so everyone assumed she had done that. As she shook her head with some shrugging, another series of knocks followed, even more urgent than the last dozen. Tsuna was wondering whether or not they should get out of there quickly when Haru spoke, shyly and embarrassed, "I'm really sorry, Tsuna-san." She hesitated before she ended, "But I called Yamamoto."
Tsuna's stomach dropped. Anyone would think that Tsuna would be more scared with reuniting with his mother but to think that he was terrified, horrified even, of meeting with his other best friend again. It was different than meeting with Hibari, Gokudera, his mom and the girls. It was just different because Tsuna knew that both he and Gokudera had left Yamamoto completely alone. Talking from personal experience, Tsuna did not have any need for any other friends than Yamamoto and Gokudera, and he knew the other two thought the same way.
But they left him, and if it had been Tsuna in that situation, all alone and confused—suddenly friendless—, he would've been hurt. "He deserved to see you!" Haru spoke, trying to justify her actions. "You both just disappeared!" Tsuna didn't, couldn't, reply. Because he knew he sort of had it coming. He deserved Yamamoto's choice of punishment, whether it be a punch or an end to their friendship.
"I got it." Bianchi said, when she realized Tsuna wasn't going to open it himself anytime soon.
The shame pooled hotly in his chest when the door opened to reveal Yamamoto, who had probably only threw on jeans, only jeans and his sleep shirt, in the cold Christmas night. Yamamoto looked older, taller. His skin a lot paler than he remembered. His shoulders were much broader, hands grown wider, legs stretching. He didn't even look like a middle schooler, if he were to be honest.
His eyes were wild as he scanned the room, not even caring much for the strangely dressed Nigella and Mukuro, until his gaze landed on Tsuna. He didn't even bother taking off his shoes, not that anyone minded, as he flew over, wrapping Tsuna in his arms in a bear hug. He let go just as abruptly, and stepped back. His eyes were pained, as was his smile. It looked like he was torn between happiness and something else. Probably anger, Tsuna thought, with a guilty wince. "Tsuna," He said simply, "Don't ever, ever do that again."
Tsuna smiled, ruefully. Yamamoto wouldn't have to worry about that. For he wouldn't have the chance. "Hello Yamamoto," Tsuna greeted. The shame still boiling hot inside him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you."
"It's..." Yamamoto trailed off, wanting to say 'its okay', but couldn't. "I can't forgive you, Tsuna." The teen winced. But Yamamoto finished, "Next time, take me with you." Disbelieved, Tsuna shook his head. Where he was going, he didn't want anyone he cared about, especially Yamamoto, coming along. He couldn't guarantee his safety. The taller teen seemed to sense Tsuna's evasiveness and looked around, furrowing his eyebrows, "Where your dad? Gokudera?"
Bianchi flinched when she heard her half-brother's name, eyes suddenly turning to Tsuna in intense attention, as if they both just realized that there were other people absent that should be there. Tsuna closed his eyes, remembering how he just parted with Gokudera, hearing Gokudera speak his name. It was only on rare occasions he did so, he could only count on one hand the times he did. "I...I'm going to be really vague...but Gokudera-kun is with Reborn right now. My dad is okay too. They're safe."
"You know where Reborn is? And Hayato?" Bianchi was suddenly next to him, holding his shoulders tightly. "Where?"
Uni flinched guiltily, but luckily, no one had seen it for their attention was on the brown-haired teen in the room. Tsuna looked away, it wasn't his place to say. Reborn went into hiding because he had turned into a baby, because of what happened to Uni. He was ashamed of what he had become, so he was forced to leave his bride, his wife alone on their honeymoon without so much a way to get in touch with him. Tsuna didn't know how to fix it, didn't understand why Reborn was still in his infant form when he had saved Uni from Byakuran's control long before. "I can't tell you that either. I'm sorry."
"Is he..." Bianchi squeezed, "Is he making you stay quiet? So I won't find him?"
He was sure, that even so Reborn was ashamed of his form, he wouldn't want Bianchi anywhere near Cielo. He could understand that. Tsuna didn't allow himself to nod or give a confirming reply, only staying stubbornly quiet. Bianchi let go of him slowly and sat next to Kyoko, defeated.
"I'm sorry to break up the reunion," Mukuro said, he had gotten up from the sofa and stood in front of the window. His hands were behind his back as he observed the snow fall outside. "But need to prepare for our departure."
Tsuna nodded in agreement. He was right. They need to wrap this up quickly. He was afraid the temptation of staying here grew as time passed.
At these words, Haru, Kyoko, and Yamamoto obviously still opposed their decision, but he couldn't read his mother's or Bianchi's expressions. There was a tense bout of quiet. "Tsuna," Nana said softly, eyes closed as she stood up, "A word."
Swallowing, Tsuna got up too, following Nana. The two walked back upstairs, and when she didn't speak at all during this duration, he was beginning to wonder if he should run for it while he could. His mother was never a forceful person, but when it got down to it she could probably keep him locked up forever in their house for his own safety. He realized, belatedly that they crossed the threshold to his room.
He stared, almost unseeingly, at the familiar yet unfamiliar scape of his domain since he was just a baby. It was a nursery, years ago, but as time passed it morphed into a teenage boy's room. The little posters he had strung up, like the Earth's map, and free flyers he had gotten from shops were still there. As was his desk, untouched. If only a little dusty.
The only things that changed was his bed, made neatly with its covers tucked in and the closet. He approached it, feeling wary, remembering that night where things that were wispy purple grabbed at him. He had thought Hibari had forgotten to close his hole. But now he knew that there had been some other third party involved that night. Who, he didn't know. Why, he didn't understand either.
The closet's floor was completely decimated by force. The wooden planks were ripped open into a new kind of gaping hole. Sawdust was strewn around the edges. "What happened here?" Tsuna asked, finally looking at his mom.
She had put a fist to her mouth, pressing so tightly against her face that it turned white. She was obviously recalling her memory, and by the haunted look in her eyes, it wasn't good. But she answered anyway, if only a bit strained, "The police. When your father told them you were sucked into a hole in your closet, they tore it apart, looking for you." She looked away, as if she couldn't stand it, "They settled with him as the suspect, when I helped him escape. Your father went to go look for you. His innocence and your safety was at stake. I haven't seen him since." Ah. that was why he saw the kitchen stove charred black and the window broken, if only repaired by masking tape and mesh patches.
"Mom..." Tsuna said, putting a hand to the crook of her arm, "He is okay, you know. He'll be back soon, I promise." He knew Hibari would bring Iemitsu back after all this was over.
"But you're not coming back, are you, Tsuna?"
At this, Tsuna let go, his eyes going wide, "How...how did you know?"
Nana smiled, teary, "I'm your mother, you're my only son, I know things." She walked back, reaching for something at his bedside. He only then realized that Hibird's cage was empty. He wondered where the little bird was now, because it hadn't been with Hibari. She returned, holding a small blue package in her hands. "Happy birthday, Tsuna."
He was stricken with confusion as he parcel was placed in his upturned hands. "It's not my birthday?"
"It passed while you were gone. Go ahead," She waved at the gift in a shooing motion then placed her hands on her hips, "Open it!"
He tore the blue off to find a white box. He opened the lid and was confused when he was met with the gold chain inside. He tugged at the end, and pulled it upwards, squinting at the gold through the dark. "What is it?"
"To be honest," Nana began, shaking her head with a exasperated smile, "I'm not even sure. But your grandfather, from your father's side that is, said it was to be passed to you when you became a man." His grandfather? Not Oji-san, Nana's father? Yes, he thought, he did remember an elderly man when he was very small that came to visit. Long before he met Hibari. He could not remember the man's face, but he did remember feeling warm whenever he turned his kind eyes to Tsuna.
She traced a finger at the lid of the box, "I suppose, that you've become a man now, Tsuna. You've changed these six months from what I last saw you as. You used to be scared of the dark, but when Bianchi had pointed that gun between your eyes—that was an accident by the way, we didn't know it was you, we were only being careful—you didn't even do so much as flinch."
Nana wrapped her arms around Tsuna, resting her chin atop the crown of his head, "You've grown up so much, my little Tsuna. And I do understand what you have to do is important. It's important to you, and whatever is important to you is very much important to me. Just..." She hiccuped a soft cry, her hug tightened, "Please be careful."
"I..." Tsuna smiled sadly, then widely, more true, "I will. Love you, mom."
"I love you too, Tsuna." She kissed his brow. "I'm going to make something hot for everyone, you can go change here." With a lingering pat to his back, Nana left him alone, closing the door behind her. Tsuna sat on his bed, placing the box in his lap.
He couldn't help but sit there and deliriously hope that Hibari would walk out from his closet or from under his bed and just be there with him. But he wasn't entirely sure if Hibari knew where he was. He hadn't even planned on coming to Namimori. Whether from a gift, mercy, whatever from a deity or a god, he was still grateful to be here.
Drawing his legs up, he sat cross legged and pulled the gold chain from the box. He held it close, squinting, when he realized there were words etched on each of the chains. His eyes grew wide when he realized what it said. "Vongola," He whispered. This seemingly innocent chain was a link to Vongola, to Cielo, but why was it here? If his grandfather wanted to give him this when he turned eighteen—the age he was suppose to have arrive in Cielo—, he was pretty sure it was fairly important.
But it came with no instructions on what to do with it, so he wasn't quite sure how it tied into everything, if anything at all.
He shook his head, knowing the time would come when he did know what to do with it. He got up, stripping himself of the charred Varia uniform, and rummaged through his cabinet in only his underwear. It was freezing, and the floorboards were cold to the touch, so he was quick to fish out a sweater and his warmest socks. He pulled on fresh pants and tugged his head through the neck hole and was done. He grabbed his thick padded jacket and pocketed the chain, the watch.
He considered himself decent now, but he still had to wash the soot off his face. He stepped out into the hallway and found Uni already in the bathroom, washing her face also. She was changed, into a winter jacket and pants. They were a little big on her, for they had no young girl's clothes in the household, but he guess she got them from one of the girls.
"Uni," He spoke and she made room so that Tsuna could begin wiping his face too. He dapped a washcloth with water and began working. "How are we getting back? When?"
"Nigella needs to rest awhile longer," Uni replied, finishing up, "Not all cloud specialists are as amazing as yours," She winked at Tsuna coyly, and his face heated in reply. Her face turned serious after a moment of shared chuckles, "However...I wonder why we're here. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely ecstatic, for I have never heard of 'snow' until tonight, but I don't understand how we came here."
"Did Nigella say anything?" Tsuna asked, peeking at Uni through the folds of the now-soiled towel.
"I have already asked," Uni said, furrowing her eyebrows, "But Nigella does not understand why either."
That was slightly suspicious, Tsuna thought with a frown. But he wasn't going to tell Uni that he didn't trust her friend. "Mukuro would know if something is up. But he seems to be okay with being here." He says instead. He would leave it to Mukuro to find out what's the deal with Nigella.
He threw the browned towel into the hamper with a sigh, "Let's go back downstairs."
Uni nodded, but then paused, reaching out to grab at Tsuna's forearm, "Sawada-san."
"Yeah?" He asked, politely curious.
"This is your last chance. To stay. The curse doesn't affect you, you're only half you know." Uni's eyes lowered, "As much as I feel inclined to my duty, I cannot make you throw away your life, your family for our sakes. I understand if you would like to stay here with your mother."
Tsuna smiled, albeit pained, "No, I know. But I'm still going back with you."
Uni looked up, trying to hide the hope in her eyes and failing, "But..."
"No Uni," Tsuna shook his head, "You're doing this...for Gamma, aren't you?"
Uni's cheeks stained red, "How did you know?"
"I'm in a similar situation myself," Tsuna said, biting his lip from smiling too hard, "I understand where you're coming from and I've got to save him."
"Hibari-san," Uni confirmed for herself.
"Yes." Tsuna nodded, determination in his chest. Uni seemed to want to say something at this, to ask something. Something about Hibari most likely, but thought against it with a shake of her head and a secret smile. It made him slightly curious but he wasn't going to push. They walked back downstairs and noticed the slight tense air.
"I assume you're ready, your highnesses?" Nigella asked from the bottom of the banister. Uni nodded, looking at Tsuna. He nodded.
"Your highnesses?"
They spun to stare at Yamamoto, who was standing alone in the hallway. Damn. They hadn't seen him. Tsuna shook his head, waving his arms, buying time to explain or make up some excuse. His friend was really dense, he could really take a lie without any problem. Before he could come up with a good one however, Uni smiled, "Yes." He stared at her before sighing. She was up to something, he knew it, by the unwavering smile she had on. Like she knew something that he didn't, which was almost very often all the time.
"Tsuna." Yamamoto called, and said teen reluctantly looked at him straight in the eye, "I think I understand what you guys are up to is important. It's no game. Gokudera and Reborn...they're in on it too, aren't they?" The taller teen sighed, "You know, you guys are really going to regret leaving me here. I bet I could be of some use to you all."
Tsuna shook his head. "No, you're fine where you are, Yamamoto. You'd be doing much more help here by staying safe for both me and Gokudera-kun."
"I don't know about that," Yamamoto protested with an easy, but pained, smile. They began walking to the living room when the taller teen mumbled quietly to him, "I think you're wrong."
Everyone was finished with their hot chocolate by then, everyone was standing up. They were waiting for final words of goodbye, he supposed. Haru was still strongly against it, for she had crossed her arms and looked at everything in the room but Tsuna. "Thank you," He said, teeth gritted, "Thank you for everything. But I have to go now. It's important to me, I hope you all understand."
Surprisingly, after this, Haru was the first to run to him. She folded her arms around his head, sobbing. "Oh you kind idiot! Just be careful okay!"
He nodded, extracting himself from the embrace and walked over to the back door, where Alato and the other horse was waiting. He didn't think his family was quite ready to see dying-will flames just yet.
Everyone took turns hugging him, Nana taking the longest, lingering one. She was the only one who knew the truth, who knew that her son wasn't coming back home. It went against everything in her, every fiber. She wanted to pull him back, make him stay here. But she couldn't do that. She never seen such a look on her son. And she knew that he had to do this. She had to be strong. And she had to pray. That somehow, by some miracle, both her husband and Tsuna would come home.
The four stood in the backyard, but hesitated when they realized all eyes were on them. "Can you all please..." Tsuna bit his lip, "Look away?" They all were bewildered by this, unwilling to not see the last moments of Tsuna's presence, but did so anyway. Yamamoto pivoted his head away. Haru turned her back, Kyoko pushed her face into Bianchi's shoulder. Bianchi and Nana closer their eyes. Tsuna mounted Alato, Uni pulling herself up. Mukuro misted away again and Nigella opened the hole again. "Goodbye." He managed to say before slipping into the darkness once more.
When they opened their eyes, Tsuna was gone.
—
Everything smelled like a mixture of burnt blood, stone, and wood.
It was too late by the time they returned. Basil was injured greatly, bright red flowing from a clothed gash his back, barely awake as Hibari pulled him off the motorcycle and dragged him to the remains of the porter's house. Giovanni was inside with Dr. Shamal, tending to the accumulated, alive yet wounded, they could find through the decimated houses of the village. Giovanni was no doctor, but he did know the basic mechanics of human biology and was able to help Shamal somewhat. He laid Basil on a tattered, half-mattress (the other half was gone because it had been rendered useless) on his stomach, letting his head loll to the side so he could breathe.
They said nothing to him. They were busy, and they knew he was most certainly not in the mood to speak of his great failure.
He walked out, staring unseeingly, at the destruction around him. There were still stray fires, but most of it had just gone up in smoke. The last were being taken care of, the men, what little left of them, frantically threw dirt over the flames. They could not use water, it was just too valuable at the moment.
He could not find Dino, nor Reborn. He settled with sitting on his motorcycle. He closed his eyes shut, unable to believe his situation. He was once again separated from Tsunayoshi. If he hadn't failed, then he would be with him right now. They wouldn't have any need for that illusionist, that brainless horse. All Tsuna needed was him.
"Hey," Gamma nudged his foot with his own. The blonde man stripped himself of his suit jacket and tie. His shirt, once white, now a dirty light tan. He held two bottles. He shoved the bottle in Hibari's limp hands. "Drink."
Hibari complied right after, surprising Gamma. He had expected the man to fight him at least.
"Do you find me cowardly?" Hibari asked after a moment, staring at the bottle in his hands.
Gamma shook his head, "I think you're cautious," He looked at Hibari, "But to equate that to cowardly is a bit hasty. Anyone becomes cowardly when they have something they want to protect. That's how people are." He took a sip of his water bottle, eyes distant.
"But that means you're attached," Hibari protested darkly, staring at anything but Gamma, "You become weak. Vulnerable: herbivorous. You lose sight, vision of who you once were. You change."
Hibari looked up with squinting eyes at Gamma when he replied, "I've been in an unrequited love situation since her predecessor," He thought of the princess herbivore, the fierce electrified goodbye they had. "And to me..." The blonde man smiled, closing his eyes peacefully. "That girl is too dazzling..."
"This is the second time you've lost her."
"As have you. You lost him once." Gamma replied, eyes still closed.
"How could you remain so calm?" Hibari asked, a question that was unlike himself. He wasn't a man that would care to what methods others use, but he was frustrated. Why was this man okay with losing the princess? If he was like him, why was he so much different than Hibari himself?
"Those with something to protect can also become strong."
Even more agitated by this answer, Hibari got up, screwing on his water bottle tightly. Chrome and Gamma walked much further away from him, but following him all the same.
They managed to find Dino with Reborn, both sitting in the dirt a few meters from the stables. Dino's arm was shattered. Reborn was doing all he could make things comfortable for him but also make things insufferable as he did so. "Kyouya," Dino looked bemusedly tired, despite their situation.
Hibari was angry for a moment. Why was this man so amused when they had utterly failed? Because the Vongola have not seen a hair or hide of the princess or prince. Iemitsu was most likely furious at him. He was being counted on to bring Tsunayoshi back, and he couldn't even do something as simple as make a distraction so he could get the boy to the base. It was utter failure.
"Kyouya, Uni...Tsuna he...he escaped..." Dino grinned through the pain up at him.
Oh he knew Tsuna escaped. Speaking from experience on what he discovered these past six months, the boy was just too hard to kill even if you wanted to. Hibari knew how resourceful he could be. But the real actual problem was..."Do you know where he went? Where did he and the princess herbivore go?"
"He's delusional," Reborn waved at Dino with annoyance, "Don't listen to him. Gokudera said that a cloud specialist of Uni's opened up a hole for them. But they should've been at Vongola long ago if that's true."
Hibari's thoughts halted there. "Did you..." He narrowed his eyes in disbelief at this information, "Cloud specialist?"
"Yes," Reborn said, furrowing his eyebrows, "Nigella is a well trusted subordinate of Uni, I've met him on some occasions."
Gamma's eyes widened, "But Nigella...He..."
Hibari felt like he was hit with a realization with a force akin to a train wreck. He knew the name Nigella. He was very recognizable. He was a balded man with tattoos and piercings below his lips and at the bridge of his nose. What Hibari remembered most of all was that he also watched him die. It hadn't been long ago, it was before he went to save Tsunayoshi from the Varia castle. That man died on the turf war, trying to distract the Millefiore as the princess herbivore and Gokudera Hayato escaped. It had been a fatal gunshot to the head.
Hibari snarled, his tonfa slamming into the half-melted wall. "You fool! That man is not Nigella Beabankul!"
Reborn seemed indignant at this, at first, a bit annoyed at Hibari's behavior when he was so irritated himself. But he realized the gravity of Hibari's infuriated reaction, so unlike his cool composure, that he began to pale at this, realizing only far too late. "No...Impossible."
"That man is Leonardo Lippi!" Hibari roared, running back to his motorcycle.
AN: SURPRISE EVERYONE! RANDOM UPDATE! Dun dun dunnnnnn. But what could this mean? In canon, Mukuro is Leonardo Lippi. /smiles/ I hope I managed to write everything okay. And I do hope you enjoyed the surprise reappearance of Nana, Bianchi, Yamamoto, Kyoko and Haru. Also: go check out the poll on my profile! Choose two of your favorite songs on the soundtrack. c: I'm just sort of curious.
EnglishNight has also made a video dedicated to Boogie Man with Light Up the Sky by Yellowcard (the song that inspired me to write Boogie Man,) here: ( youtube. com/watch?v=vqBug4kn44g&feature=youtube )
Hope you had a wonderful New Years. I tried posting this up on exactly midnight, I'm on Eastern time though. C8 I do like reviews, because I like to read what you guys think. And I'm sorry if I don't reply to your review sometimes. It's not as if I am ignoring you, honest! c: