In Their Story, There was a Girl
Chapter 34: Pure White
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The day has finally come. Instead of training hard in the morning, Yotsuba slept for the whole day as Reborn told her to. She had thought that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all, but she fell asleep quite easily. Of course, she's as nervous as Tsuna was, but she wasn't going to show it in front of Malvolia. Xanxus had once told her, if her aura is not as strong as her opponent, then it's a definite loss for her. So she gathered up her courage. She never imagined that she'd have to use what she'd learned from her brother to beat him. She wondered how Xanxus would feel if she lost her life in this battle.
"Yotsuba-chan!" Tsuna was the first to greet her when she arrived at Nami Junior High. "Did you get a good rest?"
"Yeah. I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow," Yotsuba said in the most carefree way she could manage.
"Don't force yourself, Yotsuba-chan," said Tsuna worriedly, "If things become bad, don't risk your life for it! That Malvolia person seems really dangerous. I'd rather have you come back alive than the Vongola Ring!"
The inside of Yotsuba felt warm all of a sudden. "Don't worry, Tsuna-kun, I'll come back alive for sure!"
Because it's either me or her, and I can't let it be her.
In a few minutes, the Varia also arrived. Malvolia grinned at the young ones, especially at Yotsuba. The blue-haired Varia seemed to be extremely excited for this battle, and it gave Tsuna chills down his spine. Momentarily, the Cervello brought the two groups to the indoor pool in Nami Junior High. Screens were set up outside of the room, and they were able to figure out why. The doors were pulled open and a snow blizzard rushed out from the room. When they looked closely, even the pool has been frozen into ice.
"It's so cold!" Tsuna exclaimed. "They're going to fight in there?!"
"Only the two Guardians of Snow can enter this room," the Cervello explained. "The snow maker in the room will continuously lower its own temperature, which means that this battle will have a two-hour time limit. Spectators can watch from the screens on the outside. Now, will the two Guardians of Snow please step in."
Hearing her cue, Yotsuba advanced to the door to the snowy room. As she was going to pull open the door, Tsuna grabbed her wrist.
"Yotsuba-chan," Tsuna said a little nervously, "Let's do it… the group hug…"
Yotsuba was a little startled, but after seeing all her friends smiling at her, she thought it'd be unfriendly of her not to join in. But truthfully, she'd wanted to do it, anyway. They gathered in a circle. Tsuna's arm over her right shoulder and Gokudera's over her left. She looked at Gokudera, who made a face at her.
"You better not lose, stupid woman," he muttered in a voice only audible for the two of them.
"I'd never lose like you did, octopus-head," she smirked, earning herself a death glare.
Yotsuba felt the arms crossing her shoulders tighten. Giving her an encouraging squeeze.
"YOTSUBA!! FIGHT-OH!!"
His caring eyes, his carefree smile, his heart-pumping voice, his stubborn glare—those are the things that she will be fighting for. And just for that, she'll fight against anyone.
"Yocchan!" a familiar voice called for her from behind. She looked and saw Dino clumsily ran up to them, waving his hand childishly. "I thought I'd come cheer you up! Kyouya should be here too, probably somewhere unseen!"
Yotsuba smiled. Yeah, and him. She twisted the doorknob and pulled it open after letting out a big breath.
And him… are you here watching me, also?
"Of course, my little clover," muttered the young man outside of the school, watching from afar with his two followers. His blue hair shimmering under the moonlight, and his smile was more gentle than malicious. "It's a promise."
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Yotsuba was new to all of this. Although she has been through rigorous trainings with Xanxus, HIbari, and Iemitsu, her heart still felt like it's dropped to the bottom when Malvolia's blood splashed onto her body. What scared her even more was her lack of hesitation when Malvolia said, "I'll give you one free shot." But it didn't seem like Yotsuba's attack affected Malvolia much at all. She seemed even more excited now that she has been wounded. It was as if the shot was the real initiation of the battle; Malvolia darted at Yotsuba. The movement of Malvolia's claws were barely able to be seen.
"What speed!" Yotsuba thought.
Malvolia laughed as she swung her claws at Yotsuba nonstop. Yotsuba was only able to dodge the attacks at the last second. Thanks to Hibari's trainings, Yotsuba was able to defend herself better at close-distance combat. However, defend was the only thing she could do.
Malvolia's weapon is good for mid and close ranged attacks, while mine is only useful for long distance. If this keeps up, I'll just drain my own energy and I'm done for!
Yotsuba focused her strength at her feet and heaped backwards, making the distance between her and Malvolia further. Once she set her foot down on the icy pool she fired at Malvolia. Even when she slipped a little bit, she was at least able to wound Malvolia on the leg. But it wasn't because Yotsuba was skilled with the gun. It was because the lowering temperature was getting to the both of them. A thin layer of ice could be seen on both of their skins if looked closely, and this clearly made Malvolia's action a little stiff.
Malvolia chuckled as her blood trickled down her leg. "Too bad, little brat! You didn't kill me with the last shot, you won't be able to kill me now!"
"What do you mean?" Yotsuba growled.
"You can't fool me," she smirked. "I can tell that your fingers probably can't move anymore!"
She was telling the truth. Ice formed even faster on the body of Yotsuba's gun, and that ice stuck to her already-stiff fingers. If she tried to tear off the gun from her hand, her skin would probably be torn also.
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"What's wrong, Tsuna? You don't look too well," said Yamamoto as he noticed the uneasy look on Tsuna's face. "I'm sure Yotsuba-chan will be able to think of something!"
"It's not that…" Tsuna said as his brows furrowed together. "Don't you guys think Yotsuba-chan seems a little different lately?"
"Different? I don't see it," said Gokudera.
"Whatever it is, I don't like it," Tsuna said worriedly, "It kind of scares me…"
Gokudera and Yamamoto looked at Tsuna, not understanding what Tsuna was seeing that they don't see. Tsuna continued to stare at Yotsuba through the screen. Her black eyes reflected the red color of the blood spilled.
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Yotsuba took another leap away from Malvolia. She was at a disadvantage right now; she could not shoot quick enough because of her frostbitten hands, and Malvolia has claws that are attached to her hands already. Malvolia charged toward her, ready to win instantly. Yotsuba jumped in the air, remembering that she would have no chance of winning if she only defended. She kicked out her left leg, aiming at Malvolia's head. Surprised at the unexpected attack, Malvolia pulled her claws back to defend her head.
Ow! Thought Yotsuba as her leg made contact with Malvolia's claws.
"You're pretty dumb for not keeping a distance away!" Malvolia smirked. "You know that close-range battles are my specialty!"
The smirk on Malvolia's face suddenly disappeared. She looked down to see Yotsuba's icy cold gun against her own stomach. She looked back up to glare at the young girl, who showed her a smirk similar to her own.
"But being in close-range also means that I can't miss!" Yotsuba said coldly as she fired. She hissed as the ice pulled on her skin, making her hand bleed a little.
But it was nothing compared to Malvolia. Her whole body jerked backwards from the strong push of the shot. Blood splashed out from where the bullet went, and landed on Yotsuba's cheeks. To Yotsuba's surprise, Malvolia's blood was actually warm like anyone else's. However, just that split second of her mind wandering off, Malvolia was behind her. Yotsuba tried to jump out of the way, but Malvolia was still able to slash her back.
"Stupid brat!" Malvolia howled. "You're in just as much danger as your advantage when you're in close-range with me!"
She's mad. Yotsuba thought as she felt her own burning blood run down her back. Before she could take her mind off the pain on her back, Malvolia came at her again, jumping into the air. In less than a second, Malvolia's knee made contact with Yotsuba's cheek. Yotsuba almost made a 360 degree turn from the power of the kick; when she got up; blood was running down her nose. As she wiped her nose something clicked in her head. All the while, Malvolia threw down some more punches.
"Don't think this is over, brat!" Malvolia growled. "I'm gonna make this a slow and painful dead for you!"
As Malvolia slashed down her claws again, Yotsuba's two hands shot out. With a swift movement, Malvolia's attack was diverted away. Malvolia was shocked for an instant as her balance was changed. When she looked back, Yotsuba stood up shakily and put her left hand to her mouth. Ripping her skin with her teeth, a gush of blood ran down her arm. Malvolia raised an eyebrow.
"With my blood like this, my hand wouldn't be frozen for a while," Yotsuba said quietly and dangerously. Malvolia widened her eyes at the revelation.
In that split second, Yotsuba ripped the black gun from her right hand, pulling out her skin while doing so, and held it in her left. Not thinking further, she shot Malvolia five times in a row. The blue-haired woman's body jerked away with the bullets. Two on the shoulder, one on the stomach, and two more on the legs. Malvolia's body fell to the ground. She glared hard at Yotsuba, not believing that she had lost.
"I cannot believe this…" said Malvolia with hatred, "Kill me. I'd rather die than live in shame."
"You don't have to ask twice," said Yotsuba coldly, pointing the gun at Malvolia's forehead.
"Stop!!" Tsuna's voice came shouting from the speakers. Yotsuba turned her head abruptly toward the screen that showed her friends' worried faces. "Don't kill her, Yotsuba-chan!"
"What are you talking about?!" Yotsuba shouted back. "I'm about to win, Tsuna-kun! She deserved this for killing all those people!"
"I don't want you to kill, Yotsuba-chan!" Tsuna shouted, almost in a pleading way. "I don't want any one of us to become killers!"
Yotsuba hesitated, lowering her gun a bit. Malvolia smirked while seeing this. At this rate, the two of them both are done for.
"The time is running out," the Cervello announced. "the next time that the temperature lowers, they would both freeze to death."
"What?! No!" Tsuna panicked.
I have no more time… sorry, Tsuna-kun! I have to do this… for the Vongola and for you! Yotsuba thought. Raising her gun again, she was ready to end it all.
"No! Don't do it, please! Yotsuba-chan!" the pleading voice of Tsuna pounded on Yotsuba's eardrums. She frowned, hesitating once again. Her heartbeat beating faster than each second that passed by; if it weren't so cold, she would be drenched in sweat.
What do I do? she felt like tears were going to fall down. She could feel Xanxus's eyes on her, waiting for her to do something.
"Listen, Yotsuba. You cannot use the white gun with the intent to kill." Iemitsu's voice appeared in Yotsuba's head.
But what does that mean? What am I supposed to do? I don't want to kill her… I just want everything to be over! I want to be back by Tsuna-kun's side!
"Three minutes before the temperature changes," the Cervello announced again.
Yotsuba shut her eyes; a drop of tear was squeezed out. She pulled out the white gun from inside her jacket and pulled the trigger. When she opened her eyes again, everything in front of her eyes was white. And then the white faded; a healed, woundless Malvolia appeared in front of her. She widened her eyes, and so did Malvolia, who checked all of the places on her body that should be wounded.
Malvolia started to laugh uncontrollably. "You fool! Now you've healed me, and you're still the same from before! It's my victory now!"
Yotsuba stepped back. But as Malvolia stood up, she stopped all of a sudden. A horrified expression appeared on the blue-haired woman's face. She lifted her claws slowly and shakily.
"What happened to me?" she muttered. "I don't remember… I can't remember… I can't remember how to fight!"
Everyone was shocked to hear what she said. All except for Reborn, who smirked at the situation in front of them. "This is the power of Yotsuba's guns—Alpha and Omega. Omega, the black gun, is used solely for attacking the enemy. And Alpha, the white gun, destroys all powers belonging to the enemy. Although, the Alpha rarely produces bullets for the user to use."
"What?!" Malvolia bellowed. "This is ridiculous! Give it back to me! My life… I cannot live without fighting, killing… it's the only thing I can do!"
But Yotsuba could not hear a word that Malvolia was saying. She was still shocked about what happened with Alpha and Omega.
"Always at the core of danger, the white snow that falls down from the sky that covers the vast land… sets everything for a new start," said Reborn, "that's the role of the Guardian of Snow."
"Since the Snow Guardian of Varia is no longer able to fight, the winner of this battle is Mikami Yotsuba!" the Cervello announced.
As the Cervello's voice faded, the doors to the indoor pool opened. Tsuna and the others rushed in and ran beside Malvolia. Dino, who ran in without his subordinates, slipped and fell on the ice. Yamamoto and Ryohei patted Yotsuba on the back happily. Gokudera muttered congratulations under his breath.
"Wow, it's so cold in here!" Yamamoto said. "Yotsuba-chan, you're incredible for lasting so long in here!"
"Maybe because I spent some time in the Himalayas last year…" Yotsuba said tiredly. She looked up as Tsuna approached her; his eyes seemed a bit red. Yet, he still smiled at her.
"It's great that you're all right, Yotsuba-chan!"
Yotsuba blushed. "Sorry, Tsuna-kun… for worrying you back there."
"It's okay, Yotsuba-chan! If you really killed that Varia person back there, then you're probably not the real Yotsuba-chan, right?" Tsuna said laughing.
Yotsuba smiled. Before she could say anything, Reborn kicked the back of her head. She stumbled out of the cold room and into the warmth.
"Quit the reunion and get your hands treated! Shamal should be happy to do it!"
Everything was back to normal. Yotsuba was more than thankful for Alpha, for granting her wish. Even the cold glare Malvolia was giving her didn't stop her from almost skipping toward Shamal. As she was within reach of the doctor, who in her blurry eyes held a snowy white towel, she almost instantly fell into slumber. And then it was warmth that surrounded her.
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TBC.
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A/N: Finally it's done! This is my last update before school starts… so please be nice if I don't update for a while! I'll try every week, but I can't guarantee it (because I'm still quite uninspired)! Lastly, please review!