I stood before the two men who attacked us and I could never understand why even Lambo was hiding behind me. Sure, Haru being scared to death was given, but Lambo too?
"How are we supposed to get out of here?" I asked nobody in particular.
"Haru is scared!" Haru declared, which wasn't really needed since it was so obvious.
"Hey, Lambo! Fight them! Use your Electricco Cornata!" I urged but Lambo adamantly refused and I realized it might be best for him not to fight. He was the target and if he used that attack against the enemies, there would be a lot of possibilities that were not in our favor. I wouldn't want to risk any of that.
"What do we do..." I muttered under my breath.
People were all in a wild panic. I heard somebody had already called the police but I wasn't entirely sure if the cops would be much help. I had already watched too many action/fantasy animes.
Suddenly, the bigger dude brought out a small metal stick which grew into a long javellin when he tossed it into the air. The javellin's tip was wickedly pointed. It looked like it could cut you with just a graze.
"Come out here now, Guardian of Lightning," the enemy taunted. "You won't like it when this thing striked your friends."
Lambo didn't say a word but his cry seemed to have gotten louder. It was so irritating to listen to.
The smaller dude brought out his own weapon which looked like a small metal ball, not any bigger than a baseball. In its center was a roundish symbol engraved in a meticulous manner but I wasn't really able to make out the details of it. He threw it to our direction and it landed just a few inches away from where Lambo was and it exploded. So it was the cause of the explosions earlier. We were thrown from our spot again for a couple of meters away.
We coughed the smoke we inhaled. It had a foul smell which made me want to puke the blueberry cheesecake I had just eaten.
"Got... to... hold... it..." Lambo recited his usual ridiculous mantra and started bawling. Honestly, I wouldn't even be giving the kid a second thought if I were the enemy.
"Akari-chan," Haru called me in a hoarse voice.
I gave her a fleeting glance and set my eyes back to our enemies again. I couldn't take any chances. "Yeah?"
"Sorry for dragging you out even though I knew it's dangerous," she said in between sobs.
"Don't be sorry, Haru-san. I had fun," I said. It was true, but I had a bigger problem at hand. How would I deal with these two goons?
"Reborn-chan gave me this earlier," she said and handed me a cylindrical tube which just fitted in my hand. "He said you can use this when an emergency comes."
The smoke cleared out already and I didn't have enough time to think about what that thing from Reborn was for. The smaller goon was already charging at us.
I thought, "Fuck it, I don't want us to die here," and I threw the damn thing at the goon.
The tube opened from the middle and the inside expanded into a net which immediately wrapped itself around the enemy. As soon as it touched his skin, he was electrocuted. Not a minute had passed and he was down already.
The bigger dude bellowed. It was obvious that he wasn't amazed with what we did.
"You stupid kids!" He raised his javellin and was all ready to throw it to us when I noticed that on the tip of his weapon, the roundish symbol from the other goon's explosive ball was also engraved. Maybe it was the symbol of their family.
"Is there anymore weapon that Reborn packed for us?!" I asked Haru in a panic.
"That's the only one!"
I regretted not using it against the bigger dude.
About a few inches away, I noticed the things we bought that we had already forgotten about since the attack. I saw the pink plate with pig ears that Haru bought for me which was just in an arm's reach.
I looked back at the enemy. He was now going to throw the javellin for real and without really thinking about it, I grabbed the plate and threw it to his direction like a frisbee with all my strength. It hit him in the stomach hard, to my own surprise since I didn't know I could throw that accurately. He lost grip of his weapon and fell to his one knee, clutching his stomach with one hand. It must have hurt like hell since it was a metal plate.
"Run!" I ordered and the three of us started running for our lives toward Lambo's parked car.
We were almost there but suddenly the javellin appeared in front of us. It was thrown from behind us and it missed hitting us by some awfully lucky chance.
"You can't run away," the goon said.
We looked back and confirmed our fear. The bigger goon was already back to his feet. We backed away but he just took a larger step toward us.
He gave us a crooked smile. "Just come with me, Guardian of Lightning, so I don't have to kill these two."
"No," Lambo refused and sniffed all the snot that must have already dripped from his nose.
The enemy gave us a deadly glare. "Then I have no choice but to kill--"
A tonfa suddenly came flying from nowhere and it hit the enemy straight to the side of his head.
We all looked behind us in surprise and found Hibari walking to our direction, like he had all the time in the world, with an equally wicked grin.
"The little animals keep coming out of their cages," he said and brought out his other tonfa which was immediately ignited with his purple cloud flame. "I shall bite you to death then."
The enemy brought out another of his javellins which were just a little stick from the start. "Well, if I'm not lucky. The Cloud Guardian shows himself as well. This is hitting two birds with one stone."
"You're so noisy," Hibari charged at the enemy and they exchanged hits one after the other. It wasn't really hard to see who had the upperhand. Hibari was not just biting the enemy, he was eating him.
Somebody suddenly put his arm around my shoulders and Lambo's. "Lambo-san, Haru-san, Akari-san, come on."
I couldn't tell why I wasn't at all surprised when I found out that it was Tetsuya Kusakabe, the vice president of Namimori Junior High's Disciplinary Comittee.
He gave us a hand and helped us stand up to our feet and ushered us toward Lambo's car. "Where are the keys, Lambo-san?"
"H-Here," Lambo struggled to get the keys out of his pocket with shaking hands and gave it to Kusakabe.
"Get into the car now. Kyo-san can handle this," Kusakabe told us as he opened the doors of the car for us.
Haru sat in the back seat and Lambo sat in the passenger seat. I slid next to Haru and I was glad to find that she wasn't crying anymore. Kusakabe took the wheel and sped out of the mall's parking lot. We even drove past Hibari's purple car on the way.
I was thinking that I knew what Reborn's smile was all about now.
It had been over an hour since we got back to the castle. I was alone in the room lent to me, thinking about what happened at the mall.
Everything seemed so real. Maybe I really have to accept that I am in their world now.
It must have felt so nice to have someone to console you. Gokudera immediately went back to the castle after he was told of what happened and went straight to Haru. I needed not to be told of what exactly they were now. Miracles do happen. Kusakabe stayed with Lambo to talk until he calmed down. As for me? I was alone, alright.
I was startled when I heard something fall on the floor with a loud thud. I whipped around to see what it was and I was shocked to find Hibari standing on the doorway and the shopping bags we got from our excursion were on the floor.
"Do I always have to fetch all your things for you, Hope of the World?" he asked with an irritated look in his eyes.
I was too shaken up and lonely to be scared. I marched to where he was and picked up the bags. "You didn't have to."
"Wow," was his only response. I looked up at him and he was wearing a malign grin. I didn't have any time to react because he left already.
I was alone again.
I had to admit that I felt good about Hibari being there. First, I was grateful to him for bringing our things back and for saving us earlier. Second, well, at least I had someone with me.
Then I got to wonder. Hibari never did anything without something in return. What exactly could he get from me? I had nothing.
I rummaged through the clothes and found the sweatshirt with star prints. I decided to have a bath. When I was done, I laid on the bed, facing the big window.
The storm from last night seemed unreal. The sky was so sunny and didn't have any trace of anything unpleasant. It was a good day.
I didn't realize I fell asleep.
I woke to the sound of knocking on the door and I rushed to get up when I found out that it was already night time. I opened the door in a haste and found Lambo there with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Hi, Akari-san."
"Hello?" I answered, unsure.
He looked down. "Sorry about earlier. I got so scared. I wasn't even able to protect you and Haru-san. So much for being a guardian, eh?"
"It's fine, Lambo. You were scared, and so were I," I said encouragingly. "The important thing is, we're safe, right?"
There was relief in his eyes when he looked up at me again. "Thank you."
"Sure."
"Oh. My, my. How did I forget?" Lambo said, shaking his head. He was already back to his usual self. "Tsuna-nii asked me to fetch you. He would like to have you in the meeting room."
That was a shocker. "What?"
Lambo shrugged. "I'm invited as well. Let's go now."
Reluctantly, and nervously, I followed him. I remember the reason I was there. Was it the time to discuss about it? But my primary concern was going back home...
We walked and walked through endless hallways, turning on every corner possible, going down on stairs I didn't know were there until we reached the meeting room. It was almost exactly like a replica of their meeting room in the underground basement of Vongola in the Future Arc, only better.
Everyone was there. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Basil and Tsuna. Hibari's absence was expected and understood already.
There were two seats left and Lambo and I took those. I was sitting face to face with Tsuna who was wearing a white button down with a black tie. The dying will flame wasn't there but his face seemed like it never knew how to smile.
"Everyone's here," Reborn said. He was standing on the corner, just beside the large screen which was situated behind Tsuna, Gokudera and Basil. "Tsuna, start now."
Tsuna set his brown eyes on me so I tensed. "This is about the attack earlier today by one of the enemies. Hibari-san had gathered some information about them. The people who attacked Lambo, Haru and Akari were from the Beccio Family."
Beccio? It sounds familiar.
"Is it one of the families from the time you went to Mafia Land?" I asked.
Tsuna nodded. "One of the families who led the militia on Mafia Land to victory from the Calcassa Family's attack. Now they have turned their backs on us like the Nero Family and Trad 6."
Nero Family was also from the Mafia Land militia and Trad 6, from what I could remember, was one of the families who were expected to come see the postponed Inheritance Ceremony.
"Hibari-dono retrieved this weapon from the fight earlier," Basil said and brought out the broken tip of the enemy's javellin. "This weapon had the same symbol as the ones that we had recovered from the previous attacks by the other enemy families."
"So that's why you're thinking there's only one family behind all of these?" I guessed.
Tsuna gave me an intent look which made me so nervous but eventually, he nodded.
I tried to examine the symbol on the weapon. It was a circle with a vertical line in the middle, like it divided the circle into two. There was one horizontal line on the right half of the circle which extended up to its inside line and another horizontal line on the left half which was a bit lower than the line on the right half. It was shorter as well since it didn't reach the inside line of the circle, only halfway through. It was really a simple design, with abstract detailing on random spots just to make it a bit more elaborate. But the lines were the most distinguishable part of it.
"It's one of the reasons, but it's not the only one," Tsuna said after noticing that I was staring at the symbol.
"This symbol is like a kid's drawing," Yamamoto remarked and laughed lightly.
"Baseball freak," Gokudera muttered from beside Tsuna, shaking his head.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, you're right," Ryohei agreed as he examined the symbol as well.
"Stupid muscle head," Gokudera muttered again and that second time, he sounded like he couldn't contain his annoyance anymore.
Basil looked like he didn't know how to react so he just laughed awkwardly.
Tsuna set both elbows on top of the table and put his hands together, as if he was already going to lay out the biggest plan. "Hibari-san told us about how you tried to defend yourself, Lambo and Haru earlier, Akari. He thinks he can train you so you will start your training with him tomorrow."
"Don't forget to add that Hibari said you looked so lame," Reborn interjected, causing Gokudera to stifle a laugh. I didn't know what to say, to be honest.
Oh, I did know. I wanted to say that I never agreed to any of it but I didn't know how to. I knew I would only embarrass myself in front of Tsuna. I would love to speak with him about this but I didn't know where to start.
"Gokudera-kun and Basil-kun went to the Cavallone Family earlier," Tsuna said, switching the topic so naturally. He looked at Gokudera, urging his right hand man to continue the report.
Gokudera's expression suddenly changed. From being plain to being worried. As if he was only holding back all his frustrations about what happened. "Basil and I were too late... As soon as we got there, we had noticed that the place was so quiet. Nobody opened the door of their mansion for us. We waited but we eventually entered as we had already suspected that something strange was going on."
My heart started hammering against my ribcage. Dino was one of my most favorite characters. If something happened to him, I'd be so sad.
"All of Dino-dono's men were dead inside," Basil continued, his tone and face grim.
Yamamoto, Ryohei, Lambo and myself were all shocked. Tsuna's face got darker than it already was. And Reborn looked so scary. He was still a kid but he looked like he could go straight to the enemies and annihilate them all by himself.
"We went further inside the mansion," Basil continued. "As we turned the corner to where Dino-dono's office was, we heard a familiar voice. We went straight inside and found Romario-dono lying on the floor with his blood spilling out of all the holes from all the bullets that he was shot with. He was still breathing, thankfully. Dino-dono was there, kneeling beside Romario-dono and crying. It was his voice that we heard. He was apologizing to Romario-dono and to everyone. When he saw us, he only said, "I was paralyzed. Romario covered for me and took all the bullets." We called Vongola's medical unit immediately."
"We recovered this bullet in the scene," Gokudera said and brought a used bullet on the table. It was a silver bullet and the same symbol of the enemy who attacked us was engraved to it as well. "This solidified our hunch that we are only facing one big and dangerous family here, though it's still unknown which family it was who attacked Dino and his men. All the weapons of the other families who attacked us in the past were all supplied by this bigger family in the shadows. It could be the real enemies themselves who attacked the Cavallone or just another small family at their clutches."
"What about Dino and Romario?" I asked. I wasn't interested in the enemy. I only wanted to know what Dino and his men's situation was.
"Romario-dono is still in the hospital and barely hanging on," Basil said, looking down. It was obvious that he didn't want to be the one answering this question. "Dino-dono was checked but he suffered no visible wounds. He wanted to stay in the hospital to look after Romario but Reborn-dono urged him to stay in the castle. He's in one of the rooms in the west wing's fifth storey."
"Nobody else... survived?" Yamamoto asked, extremely startled and horrified.
Gokudera nodded grimly. "Bono, Ivan, Brutus and Michael were all dead as well. Everyone else in the mansion was. We estimated a lost of at least a hundred of them. They were all in the higher ranks."
"This enemy is extremely dangerous," Ryohei said, his fists were shaking.
"Lambo-san is scared," Lambo said, losing his aloof character all of a sudden and going back to his five year old self once again.
Tsuna put down his arms from the table and squared his shoulders on his seat. He looked invincible and so reliable. "That is why we have to get to the root of this as soon as possible. We have to take the enemy down."
Nobody said a word, just looking at him with unexplainable eyes. I wouldn't deny that I was surprised to hear him say that.
Take the enemy down? The Tsuna I knew would only suggest to stop them. Not to kill them.
"Is that all for today, Tsuna?" Reborn asked to which Tsuna nodded to.
Reborn walked out of the room without a second word and without acknowledging anybody. The rest followed him. I stood up as well, about to go out of the meeting room already but Tsuna called me.
"Akari."
I looked back and saw him still sitting on his seat.
He nodded to the chair I was sitting on just a moment ago so I obeyed and sat again. His expression changed again, from being the man who declared that he would kill his enemies to just a simple and quiet boss. "Do you have anything to say to me?"
"Huh? N-No... Nothing," I answered, perplexed.
"Is there anything you want to object to?"
I felt scared of him. It felt like he was threatening me to object because he knew I couldn't.
Tsuna sighed subtly. "Is there anything you are not agreeing to?"
Now that was more like a question that the Tsuna I knew would ask.
"Can I not agree to being trained by Hibari?" I asked, and his eyebrows arched a bit. "I mean... he's so scary. I have no experience in fighting. I remember your training with him when you were brought to the future to battle Byakuran. How he almost killed you. How would I be able to put up with that?"
"I understand," Tsuna said after a small nod. "Hibari-san will try to kill you but he will not. He will drive you to the brink of death but he will teach you how to pull yourself away from it."
"That's not very helping..." I grumbled.
"I know," Tsuna agreed. "But he's the one who saw you fight. He's the only one who can dance with you in this."
I looked down and gripped the hem of my sweatshirt. "I don't want to fight, Tsuna... I mean, I can't do anything. How will I be able to help you guys? I want to, but I'm not sure if I can. In my world, I'm just a normal student who wishes to get out of that town and be free. It's weird how I feel so attached to you guys, how much I want to help you, but in reality, I don't even have any friends that I want to protect and help. I don't know..."
"You're right, it's weird," Tsuna agreed again. I looked at him and I had to stop a smile because I saw him sitting on his seat like a normal lazy person, as if he wanted to just use the chair as a bed. He was looking up at the ceiling, his elbows resting on the armrests and his hands clasped together above his stomach. "It's weird how I see myself in you."
"Huh? How? In what way?"
Tsuna craned his neck a bit and looked at me. "I didn't have any friends before too. And when I finally had them, I had this urge to protect them all. I also asked myself, how can I? I was just No Good Tsuna. But Reborn taught me that people can change. That I can be strong as long as I have these people that I want to protect. And you can do that too, Akari."
I was at a loss for words.
Tsuna looked up at the ceiling again. "We can be your friends."
My cheeks surely turned red when he looked at me again and I saw a small smile on his lips.
"I just want to thank you," he continued. "For protecting Haru and Lambo earlier. I don't want to apologize because I know it won't help anything. But I'm really thankful."
"I did nothing..." I said, looking down again. "It was Hibari."
"When this is all over, you will get back to your world," Tsuna said. "I promise."
That was the second time that he promised to me about bringing me back to my world. I believed in him but it wasn't enough.
"Go to the dining pavillion now," he said. "It's almost dinner time."
"And you?" I asked.
"I'll follow," he said and whirled his chair around, turning his back on me.
I stood there, watching his back, for about a minute before deciding to leave.