This chapter was waaaayyyy too long, so I divided it into two, separate documents. .
The second part of this chapter (5.5) will be up soon.
Reviews please! I appreciate it! ^-^
Reborn walked on the sidewalk in the cool evening Tokyo air, trying to organize his thoughts.
Why did I care so much about Tsunade's feelings? he thought, frustrated, Leoko has always been good at getting information out of girls, and I never cared even a bit as to what happened to the informants after we were done with them. So why is Tsunade different?
He took a deep breath. Calm down Reborn, he scolded himself, this enemy is far more powerful than the others have been in the past. You're overthinking this. You just don't want to lose your only lead on this guy, that's all.
Reborn stopped in front of a shooting range and walked inside, where he was greeted by a well-built man with a warm smile.
"Ah! Reborn-kun!" said the man, rigorously shaking Reborn's hand, "You haven't come over to the range in a long time!"
Reborn chuckled and said, "Yeah, I know, Akai-kun. I've been pretty busy with my studies."
Akai let out a loud laugh, "Ha! Still pursuing a mathematics major, I see! With your skill with weapons, I think that you'll be better off in Law Enforcement."
I, head of a major criminal organization, major in Law Enforcement? Reborn thought incredulously with a grin, Oh the sweet, sweet irony. "The pressure's getting tough," said Reborn, "That's why I want to release some stress with the Black Diamond Shooting Course."
"The one where the models shoot real bullets?" said Akai, his smile widening, "I think you were the only one who could get through the whole course without a single injury—until two hours ago, at least."
Reborn frowned. "Two hours ago?" he asked with a confused look.
"Yeah!" said Akai excitedly, "A girl came in the range two hours ago and immediately asked to try the Black Diamond Course. I tried to convince her not to go, but she was very insistent, so I relented. After we got the fancy paperwork out of the way, she went in and came out thirty minutes later without a scratch!"
Reborn stared at Akai skeptically, "Is this some sort of joke?" he asked.
Akai shook his head. "No! Not at all!" he exclaimed, "Why don't you see for yourself?" Akai turned on the monitor, revealing an extremely familiar brunette girl with honey-golden eyes who was preparing to reenter the course.
Reborn's mouth fell open, "Tsunade-chan?"
"Oh! You know her?" asked Akai, looking pleasantly surprised, "Well I guess I shouldn't be too surprised seeing that two people with amazing marksmanship know each other." He leaned in closer to the monitor. "Watch, she's about to start."
The computer counted down from three, and once the buzzer rang, starting the course, Tsunade shot off from the starting area like a rocket. She expertly weaved through the bullets that were filling the air, shooting the targets with almost supernatural precision. Tsunade flipped through the air and took down the machines that were shooting from above. She reloaded with frightening speed, and continued with her mass destruction.
Reborn stared in disbelief at the monitor as the red blips that symbolized the number of machines left disappeared from the screen at an astounding speed. Such power and precision, he thought. Reborn felt a sense of strong admiration and…something…else? He tried to shake off the feeling, but a trace of it still lingered. Instead, he turned back to the monitor. "Amazing," he said breathlessly.
Akai chuckled, "You haven't seen anything yet," he said mysteriously, "wait until she gets to the Boss Chamber."
Meanwhile, Tsunade had finished off the rest of the drones in the Main Chamber and was making her way to the Boss Chamber. This course really offers a great chance to hone my skills, she thought, adrenaline running through her veins. Tsunade grinned as the giant dome that represented the Boss Chamber came into sight. The drones in this building actually use thermal detection technology to detect targets. This is going to be fun. She sprinted into the building, taking out the other two guns she had with her.
Four guns? Reborn thought, confused, what is she going to do with two extra guns? His question was quickly answered as Tsunade met the first wave of boss drones. She jumped into the air, throwing two of her guns up while shooting with the other two. Then, she threw the other two into the air while catching and shooting with the other pair. She did it at such at fast speed that her hands became a blur, dodging the wave of bullets that came at her while returning double the fire.
Reborn was glued to the monitor, watching, shell-shocked. That's absolutely insane, he thought incredulously, her technique is nearly flawless and causes such mass devastation with almost no damage to the user. His admiration for her grew, along with the other feeling that he couldn't shake off. I must be sick, he thought.
Five minutes later, Tsunade crossed the finish line of the course. Akai shut off the monitor and turned to Reborn with a wide grin. "So?" said Akai, "What do you think?"
Reborn shook his head slowly. "That was…" he said, "absolutely crazy. She must've beaten my old record by a lot."
Akai chuckled. "Well she would have," he said, "If she hadn't left one drone alive."
Reborn froze. One left alive? "What?"
"For some reason, she always disarms one drone, but leaves it alive," said Akai, crossing his arms because he couldn't understand why either, "When I asked her about it, she said, 'Not everyone in a group wants to share the same fate.'"
Reborn hid a smile behind his hand. Looks like there's still some information to be collected. He turned to Akai, "Where's she now?"