Edit: I had to put in two of the dividing lines that I forgot~ Sorry if anyone was confused
Quite a lot of Italian in this chapter. Scroll down to the bottom for translation. You'll want it if you really want to understand~. By my story hits I know that there is at least one person from Italy who is reading this. If I have screwed up on the translation then I apologize for butchering your beautiful language and point the blame at Google Translate.
The reason why I didn't put the translate in parentheses when I wrote it is because I'm making a point that Ashlynn does not know what is being said. Better said that everyone knows Italian except those who obviously don't know it (Kyoko, Haru, Nana), and Tsuna and his Guardians minus Gokudera and Mukuro (And Lambo).
Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguished the strong soul from the weak.
- Thomas Carlyle
Having a sense of purpose is having a sense of self. A course to plot is a destination to hope for.
- Bryant H. McGill
Someone...
Was playing with her hair?
Not exactly something she normally woke up to every morning. If anything her mother would run her fingers through her and Norene's hair when she would try to get them to fall asleep when they were really little. While sleepily thinking of that matter; what was with everyone with touching her hair? First Yamamoto started patting her head, and then there was that one time with Dino when he, Romario and Reborn had checked up on her that one time a few days after the stunt in Kokuyo...
Wait...Hadn't she put her hair in a braid...?
'Not that I'm complaining...' She thought drowsily.
Ashlynn squinted her eyes and her vision showed her a single purple eye, the other being covered by a black eye patch with a skull embroidered in white, and dark purple hair splaying on the pillow next to her. Chrome did not notice the sleepy stare as she carefully moved her fingers through Ashlynn's hair with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"...Good morning." Ashlynn mumbled covering her mouth before yawning.
Chrome eeped pulling her hand back and looked at her blushing. "I-I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay." Ashlynn soothed closing her eyes. "It felt nice."
"..."
"How are you feeling?"
"Oh..." Chrome blinked. "Better. Thank you... f-for...bringing me here...and letting me use your things...you really didn't have to do that. I could have gone whe-"
"Chrome."
"E-eh?"
Ashlynn opened her eyes. "Best to stop trying to explain how it would have been a better idea to leave you on the floor in the gymnasium in a Junior high school where students attend, M'dear."
"U-um."
"It's okay. Where did Fon go?"
"...With Dolly-san, he said..."
"Hm." Ashlynn turned around and reached for her alarm on the nightstand and sighed. "Jeez, it's only seven?"
"Do you have somewhere to be, Principessa? Kufufu."
Her eyes widened looking down realizing the fact that she was only in her dark blue colored underthings and a big t-shirt that barely covered over her thighs and groaned moving the covers over her lower body as she turned back to find Mukuro next to her. She frowned taking in his paler than normal skin, squashing the righteous female fury instantly. "Are you okay being here?"
"In bed with you?" The boy gave an amused smile. It was tired looking, Ashlynn decided.
"You know what I mean, Mukuro. From the point you showed up last night the battle went on for about another fifteen minutes, five of which was happening while I was in the future. You are paler than normal. And you're still very skinny."
"Kufufu, is that concern for me Principessa?" He asked the smile on his face disappearing. "You forget that I-"
"Forget nothing, Mukuro. And we already talked about that...technically it was with Chrome but you were listening in. What happened in Kokuyo, frankly, sucked like Hell and I certainly won't be forgetting it for a few reasons and-"
"Reasons? You have more than one?" He closed his eyes. "The fact that I attempted to take over your Boss's body should have been quite enough."
"Dolly has a daughter."
He frowned but did not open his eyes waiting for her to continue.
"She was the child that had been taken hostage along with Fuuta. The kid is like my sister. You've hurt my friends both physically and psychological..." She paused a moment. "...I made my first two kills there...heh, I guess that gives you reason to hate me because of that."
"Sanem and Yann."
"...Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera think that they were dragged to Vindice along with you..."
Mukuro opened his eyes there a curious glint shining within them. "...They do not know that you took their lives?"
"No and I would like to keep it that way for a while."
"So soft. Trying to keep them from the horror."
"Ha, my intention isn't that noble. Selfish, actually." Ashlynn confessed. "My first thought was to keep it from them because I don't want them to hate or fear me because I killed them while they were merely defeating their opponents and leaving them unconscious for someone else to take care of. Reborn, Dino, and Romario know about it and are keeping quiet for me...also that Bianchi, Fon, and Keiko know as well. I couldn't sleep for a while after that..." She stopped a moment on the matter then murmured. "...Speaking of sleep, I'm surprised I didn't wake up at all last night. No nightmares or anything... "
"You gave Chrome a little fright when she woke up, Principessa. She would have thought you yourself were dead had you not been breathing."
She cringed. "...Sorry, Chrome."
"What did you see while in the Future?"
"I saw your 'sea of blood' in a warehouse. Not exactly the world wide scale that you had in mind and it wasn't caused by you...at least as far as I know, I was only there for five minutes and my supposed partner for that particular operation wasn't all forthcoming with any information other than telling me her name and ordering me to hurry up because we had to get a move on and she didn't have time to wait for the five minutes to be up-." She cut herself off as she realized she was rambling. She frowned. "I...I was told I shouldn't bother joining Tsuna's Family because I freaked out...Also said that I'd have to get more used to the fact that people are going to die by my hand." She sighed. "..I don't want to talk about this anymore." She turned back to the edge of the bed and put her feet on the floor, looked over her shoulder to her 'bed mate'. "Hey. Close your eyes."
"Oya? Whatever for?"
"Just close them." She didn't move until he did as she asked and the smirk came back on his face.
"Are you planning something naughty?" He asked teasingly. "Kufufufu."
She snorted her cheeks turning red, slipping the covers off. "You wish. And you say that I'm not supposed to be corrupting Little Chrome?"
"Then why am I having my eyes closed?" Came the counter.
"Because I'm going to change and I've already had one person make a crack about my underwear." She explained reaching in to her dresser. "I don't need that coming from you too."
"Strange how you women are fine when walking around in a bikini but are suddenly so modest when in your underwear."
"Ha ha, You have a point, I'll give you that." She laughed rummaging around in the drawers. " But it's the principle of the matter. Bathing suits are for swimming despite how skimpy some are. And I'll have you know that I wear a tankini for that purpose. I don't want you looking at my underwear because sometimes I might wear a print that I find cute but embarrassing if anyone sees me actually wearing it."
"But you're not wearing an embarrassing print, but a dark navy that looks very flattering on you."
She growled snatching a book off the top of the dresser and chucked the thing at him. It missed hitting the wall just above him. He laughed smirking at her one last time before switching with Chrome.
Ashlynn sighed in defeat. "I'd tell you to remind me to smack him the next time I see him but I'm sure that you'd probably say you would but end up not doing it because he said so, huh?"
The girl looked down at her hands. A yes then, Ashlynn decided. A knock on her door turned her attention away from the girl, it opened and Dolly walked in with in with Fon on her shoulder and Chrome's uniform and the top part of the trident in her arms. She nodded to her then handed the bundle of clean clothing and the weapon to the girl in bed.
"Th-thank you..."
Dolly nodded. "Did you two just wake up?"
"I did just a few minutes ago."
Chrome shifted. "I've been awake for about an hour..."
"What's wrong?" Dolly frowned asking while Ashlynn changed into a different t-shirt (a plain red one) and a pair of jeans.
"...Principessa..." Chrome glanced up but quickly turned her eyes away, a blush on her face when she saw her changing.
The woman raised an amused eyebrow at her ward hopping on the floor to pull her jeans up. "She calls you 'Princess' too?"
"Yes." Ashlynn zipped up her jeans. "Chrome?"
Chrome looked down again. "You were very still when I woke up...I thought you were dead before I looked to see if you were still breathing."
Dolly blinked then gave a small incline of her head in understanding. "She's right. You do normally sleep lightly but it's easy to tell when you're exhausted or sick, Niamh, because you sleep like the dead. You were like that when you first started living here. I actually thought you had drugged yourself. You were in a daze last night on the way back here. Looked like you were a zombie."
Ashlynn grimaced. "I'm sorry."
Dolly shrugged. "Not totally your fault but it doesn't make it any less creepy to see."
"'Niamh'?" Chrome questioned glancing back up.
"An old nickname from my brother." Ashlynn explained sitting at the edge of the bed. "Meaning 'Bright' or 'Radiant' in Gaelic. In myth she was a Goddess and one of the Queens of Tír na nÓg, The Otherworld or the Land of Youth, called Niamh of the Golden Hair who was the daughter of the Sea God."
"How did he start calling you that?" Fon asked.
Ashlynn shrugged. "I...I don't remember. I just remember him and Seanmáthair calling me that. And now Dolly and sometimes Birdy calls me that"
"Oh..."
"You'll being going out today?" Dolly asked.
She nodded. "I need to stop by the clinic and check in with Shamal and I'll be going to work a little after that."
"Alright." The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Have you been keeping with your assignments for school during this fiasco?"
"Yes. I've been getting them in the mail. And there was a note said that I can turn everything when I return. No doubt Reborn's doing. I'll have to remember to thank him later."
"Alright then. I'll see you later, Niamh, Chrome." Dolly waved her hand and turned for the door, pausing a moment. "By the way, I made bread this morning. There are two loaves on the counter. And there is pound cake in the fridge."
"Thanks Dolly." Ashlynn thanked her while pulling a brush through her hair. "Bye Fon."
"Have a nice day, Miss Ashlynn, Miss Chrome."
Chrome nodded slipping out of the bed as the two left the room and the apartment. Ashlynn tilted her head as the timid girl nervously wrung the hem of the large t-shirt before she stepped out of the room.
"If you want you can take a bath or shower. I'll be in the front room okay?"
"Okay...Principessa?"
Ashlynn poked her head back through the door. "Yeah?"
"Thank you."
She smiled. "You're welcome, Little Chrome."
"And Principessa?"
"Yes?"
"...Mukuro-sama said that...the bra you're wearing matches nicely-"
"Thank you Chrome. You can go bathe now." Ashlynn said smacking her head against the wall next to the door mentally berating herself for not remembering to at least turn around when she had changed even though Chrome had averted her eyes. Ashlynn decided not to comment further and pretend that she did not hear Chrome saying that she thought the little white bow on the front of her bra was cute.
"Alright sweetheart! You're good to go~." Shamal grinned then held out his arms, closed his arms and puckered his lips. "How about a kiss for my amazing work?"
Ashlynn rolled her eyes pulling down her shirt to cover the very slight scarring on her tummy. "You are already entitled to a baker's dozen of cupcakes, Shamal."
"Meaning, a little professionalism would be appreciated, Shamal." Ozumi-san added with a grin.
Shamal pouted. "Eh? But I am the epitome of Professionalism, Kentaro! Just because my payments are different than yours-"
"You sexually harass your female patients which are the only patients you actually take...well except that one time you tried to treat that one woman; the large ginger with the big warts that fully expected you to come up with a miracle because she couldn't be bothered to make an effort take care of her own body."
Shamal shuddered. "That woman was the uncutest thing I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. To be honest I genuinely thought she was a man when I first met her. Now, now Ashlynn-chan don't give me that look. It wasn't only because of her looks that I was repulsed: it was also because she was a horrible screaming banshee that blew up with every word I tried to speak, wouldn't agree with the treatments and health diet I tried to assign her, mocked the way I spoke when I could get a few words in, sabotaged the room I was staying in and oh lord above her pits stank something fierce."
"That wasn't the only thing that stank." Ozumi-san said. "Didn't you have to wear an illusioned gas mask while in the same room as her because she would let a fart rip every so often?"
"Not every so often, my friend; it was every few minutes without reprieve and I was in that household for six days before I was able to get away. And she had the gall to ask why I wasn't flirting with her and had even demanded that I..." The man rubbed his arms. "Luckily one of the servants took pity on me and gave me a chance to escape because the woman apparently developed a crush on me (how that happened I'll never understand) and was planning to go screaming to her rich porky daddy and tell him that I touched her and I would be obliged to marry that monstrosity."
Ashlynn winced in sympathy.
Shamal continued. "I was really lucky I got away. Speaking of lucky~, will you be testing for those cupcakes soon?"
"I'm going to work today so I'll talk to Keiko when I get there, so most likely we'll be seeing what the trigger is."
The man cheered. "I'll look forward to it!"
Ozumi-san snorted. "While the rest of us wait with trepidation."
"Oh, you're just jealous I'm gonna get lucky with the ladies~."
"I don't need to get lucky. You forget that I'm a married man with two kids." Ozumi-san held up his left hand to show off his wedding band.
"Your loss~." Sing-songed Shamal.
"So everything is good to go?" Ashlynn made sure cutting off Ozumi-san's retort.
"Good as a whistle."
"...That doesn't make sense." She blinked. "If I was a whistle then these injuries mean that I've been cracked-"
"And you've been fixed. Go on, Ashlynn-chan. You're good to fight and work out."
"Okay then, thanks Shamal, Ozumi-san."Ashlynn shrugged waving a hand as she went through the door. She shut the door behind her and made her way back to the stairway to go down to the first floor to wait for Chrome to be dome with whatever it was she was doing.
"Eh? Ashlynn?"
"Hmm?" She looked down. The tired looking group consisting of Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei stopped at the door leading to the second floor hallway.
"EXTREMELY good morning Senpai!" Ryohei greeted. Gokudera nodded while Yamamoto reached forward to pat her hair.
"Morning. What are you guys doing?" She asked following them into the hallway.
Gokudera snorted. "We ran into each other on the way here because we all had the same idea to talk to Dino and ask him how Hibari will fare tonight against that Mosca guy. Are you the same?"
"Nope." She told them. "I came here with Chrome to check with Ozumi-san and Shamal."
"Oh? Are you okay?" Yamamoto asked.
"Apparently I'm as good as a whistle...whatever that is supposed to mean. In get it, it's just...yeah. Weird comparison."
Ryohei rubbed his chin. "That Chrome girl is here?"
Gokudera scowled. "Why?"
"You forget that her stomach caved in last night. Ozumi-san worked with her for a while. I guess after this she's going to go and find Ken and Chikusa."
"...Aa."
"Anche così, Romario, voglio che stanotte pronto per ogni evenienza."
The group of four perked up as one of the nearby doors opened and Dino and Romario walked out for a moment and paused when they saw each other.
"...Uhm, hey guys." Dino smiled walking over. He kissed Ashlynn's cheek in greeting.
"Wow Dino." Ashlynn mused.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I have no idea what you just said a few seconds ago but you sounded really cool."
The Boss sighed. "Meaning I don't always sound cool?"
"Oh, you are." Ashlynn quickly said catching Romario's eyes as the man tried to smother his laughter and continued. "Just so long as you're not tripping over yourself and ruining what you just said..."
"Were you talking about Hibari being ready tonight?" Gokudera glowered. "Is he preparing right now, Dino?"
"I suppose he is. He was very...excited for the battle the last time I saw him which was earlier this morning. Is that why you're all here? To ask how Kyouya would do tonight?"
"I came here to check with Ozumi-san and Shamal." Ashlynn piped in. The others funnily enough agreed with her.
Dino frowned. "Are you sure..? I mean...Shamal is good and all...and Ozumi-san is really your doctor but..."
"It's fine, Dino, and I already saw them, just came down from seeing them and they said I'm good to fight again. Also I'm not worried at all for Hibari-san's fight by the way." She said answering before he could form the question. "I am confident that he will win. Hell, I would be willing to bet on how much time it would take for him to beat Mosca."
"Oh. Well it's good that you have faith in him."
"So Hibari will win?" Ryohei asked.
"Well, I'm confident that he will as well." Dino said then elaborated. "That Kyouya is a very tough and volatile person. Like I said a few nights ago, even I don't truly know his full potential; just that he has grown exponentially from the first time we have fought."
The prefects weapons clanked away across the ground as Hibari glared from his kneeling position holding onto his injured arm, covered in bruises and blood from the current battle with the hulking Varia Cloud Guardian.
"Hi-Hibari-san!" Tsuna yelled.
Xanxus smirked lounging from his throne like chair. "Gola Mosca. Finish him."
"No! Don't! Please Stop! STOP!" Tsuna cried running towards the barrier.
Gola Mosca raised his arm, his fingers aimed directly at the fallen male.
"No! Don't do it! Hiiiiiie!" Tsuna screamed his eyes wide as he shot up from his pillow, fumbled around the tangled bed sheets before he fell off the bed hitting his head hard on the ground. He stayed there regaining his breath from terror. He untangled himself and rubbed where he had hit his head. "It...Just a dream...? It wasn't real...thank goodness." Tsuna sighed in relief. "I shouldn't be worried though. There's no way that Hibari-san would lose...but then Reborn looked...worried...? When he said Xanxus was sure that Mosca would win..." He sighed again and pulled himself back into bed. "It's still early so I should be able to get at least another hour of sleep..."
"..."
"Uwaaaaah! I got myself worried and now I can't sleep!" Tsuna cried sitting up and glancing at Reborn sleeping peacefully in his cot. "And he's sleeping away without a care! Not fair..."
Tsuna grumbled pulling off his plane patterned pajamas and slipped into his school uniform, grabbed his bag, snatched a piece of toast from the kitchen table, slipped on his shoes and rushed for the clinic. "If anyone knows how Hibari-san will do, it will definitely be Dino-san..." He slowed down to a jog when the building came into sight and he walked up the few steps to the front door. 'Though Reborn did say that he had something really important to do last night but it should be okay to talk to him now, shouldn't it?' He wondered to himself pulling on the handle, not noticing someone was already pushing on the same door from the inside. The door smacked into his face.
"Oh! Boss...I'm sorry, are you hurt?"
Tsuna rubbed at his forehead looking to the speaker. "Uhh, no, it's okay. I-I'm fine."
Chrome nodded though she didn't look very convinced as she hugged a black bag and the trident's prongs against her chest.
'...Where is she...? Oh, that's right! She fainted after Mukuro left and Ashlynn and Dolly-san took her home.' Tsuna fidgeted standing in her way. "Umm, what should I call you? Chrome-san…or Dokuro-san?"
The girl maneuvered to the side and walked passed him. "Anything is okay, Boss."
"Aa. Um, where are you going?"
Chrome stopped to look over her shoulder. "They said that Ken and Chikusa ran off somewhere..."
'That's right! They left her behind because she was unconscious!'
"I came with Principessa to this place to check with her doctor. She's asleep now with the others so I'm going to go look for Ken and Chikusa now."
'Principessa? Who's that? I should know, right?' Tsuna wondered. "Well thank you for showing up last night." Tsuna said looking back to where she was but found the girl already rushing off. 'She-! She wasn't even listening! And she's running off at full speed!'
Tsuna sighed carefully opening the front door and entering the clinic looking through the doors on the first floor for anyone before walking up the steps to the second and following the sound of voices from one of the rooms. As he got closer he found he didn't understand a word that was being said but he definitely recognized Dino's and Romario's voices from behind the door.
"Allora?"
"Non c'è stato alcun cambiamento, ma, in ogni caso questo è tutto ciò che possiamo fare in questo momento."
"Lo so! Ma perché questo lavoro abbiamo bisogno di essere in grado di muoversilui da questa sera al più tardi, a mezzogiorno al più presto!"
'They're...speaking in Italian. And Dino sounds so serious.' Tsuna gulped turning the handle of the door and knocking as he poked his head through.
"Who's there?" The Cavallone Boss demanded.
"Uhmmm, it's just m-me." Tsuna stepped through the doorway
Dino nodded to Romario before turning to grin at Tsuna. "Yo, Tsuna! Sorry, I didn't expect to see you here so early. Good morning!"
"G-Good morning, I couldn't sleep, sooo, umm..." He trailed off. 'Whew...it's the same old smiling Dino-san again.'
"Oh. You wanted to find out from how Kyouya will fight tonight at the battle."
"E-eh?" Tsuna started. 'He, he's sharp!'
Dino patted his shoulder. "Come on in Tsuna, I'll make you some tea."
"You don't have to...you seem really busy right now, Dino-san." Tsuna protested but followed the older male into a lounge area.
He laughed. "I'll always have time to talk with my cute little brother...Hm? Where is that Chrome girl? She's disappeared..."
"Oh, um...She just left. I ran into her just a few minutes ago." Tsuna spoke up. 'Well, I actually ran into the door right when she was opening it...'
"I see...well, you're worried that if Kyouya loses tonight then it will all be over, right...? These guys; they were either worried or just bored...well except for Ashlynn apparently. She was here for Ozumi and Shamal."
"E-everyone's here...?" Tsuna wondered staring at the group asleep on the couches; Gokudera was on one couch with his leg crossed over the other and his head tilted down, Ryohei was kneeling almost uncomfortably on the floor with his upper body lying flat on the furniture, Ashlynn was on the other couch sitting but using her arms as a pillow on top of the arm rest while Yamamoto curled across the remaining space with his head on her lap.
"Yeah. After Ashlynn told me the reason why she was here they all used the same excuse, checking on their injuries to see if they were good to start training again. I would have believed them if they all hadn't fallen asleep after I told them about Kyouya's training."
"So that means..."
"That's right. Kyouya is a perfect finish. And as his home tutor, and I say this without any favoritism, that boy is really strong."
"I'm glad to hear that." Tsuna breathed easier. '...Now that I'm relieved, somehow I feel really sleepy...'
"You have to get to training."
"Hiiiiiie!" Tsuna shrieked surprisingly not waking any of the sleeping persons, pointing at the ninja dressed Reborn perched on the window sill.
"Let's go Tsuna. You need to perfect the zero point breakthrough by the end of today." The hitman ordered.
'Damn, he gave me a fright. Looks like I haven't shaken off that habit since he tutored me.' Dino rubbed his temples.
"Re-Reborn! People will stare if you dress like that! And, and, wait a minute! The battle tonight will decide it all! There isn't any reason for me to continue is there? Because Hibari-san-"
"It is precisely why you must continue to train, Tsuna. What will you do if something happens?" The hitman asked him seriously.
'What if...?'
"Exactly. Let's go, we need to get you prepared for the worst possible outcome."
Tsuna gulped. "B-but what about-?"
"Leave Hibari's battle to the other Guardians." Reborn motioned his head to the sleeping group. "All you need to do right now is focus on perfecting your technique."
"I still don't-."
Reborn cut him off again. "I'm being very serious, Tsuna. Now let's go, we're wasting daylight."
She whimpered standing within the confines the of the dark warehouse. Slowly, ever so slowly, the building started to lighten slightly revealing the image of death and gore she had seen in the future. And she, she was standing in the middle of the room dripping with the red substance that had once been pumped from their fragile beating hearts.
Sanem and Yann who had died by her personal hand laying closest to her, Sanem's legs chopped off and bullets through the young woman's brow, her face looking up in cold dead horror while Yann simply laid on the floor with his face splattered on the ground below him. The others bore the faces she had seen in the future.
"How, h-how could you?"
Ashlynn whirled around to the voice with her already bloodied weapons. She hesitated at the look of terror on the boy's face. Tsuna's face. "You...you killed them! Ashlynn, why! You didn't have to go that far! You could have just knocked them out and even if they did go back into Vindice they would have still been alive!"
"Tsuna...I had to...I would have been killed!" She tried to explain. "They were double teaming me and I didn't have anyone to back me up! She, Sanem kept throwing Yann's weapons back to him whenever I was able to knock them away from him. I was extremely lucky she wasn't paying attention to where my chakram was and Yann, he was choking me! I had no choice, Tsuna!"
"Of course you had a choice."
She snapped her neck to the second voice. Don Timoteo limping forward with a hand pressed to his chest to cover a dark bleeding wound. "You should have informed us of your knowledge. Perhaps we would have been able to cull the number of casualties."
"B-but! Seanathair! You ordered me to keep my counsel!"
The old man gave a bitter smile. "You could have tried harder to convince me otherwise, my dear. And even if I could not be fully convinced otherwise you could have dropped hints, subtle ones, but hints nonetheless."
"But you didn't." Tsuna spoke again, a hard and sorrowful light in his eyes. "So many people are hurt now and many destroyed by you yourself. You, you're nothing but a monster."
"Ts-Tsuna-!" Ashlynn cried reaching a hand out.
He slapped it away the sorrow completely taken over by terror. The brunet scrambled away eyes wide in fear and crying. "Hiiiiiiiiie! N-No! Don't touch me! Please! Please don't hurt me! D-Don't kill me! All I wanted was to be friends! I didn't want myself or anyone else to be pulled into the mafia! I-I'm sorry! Ashlynn! I'm sorry! I should have tried harder! Then you wouldn't have ended up like this! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"
"Step away from my heir, Miss Ashlynn." Timoteo walked a wide berth around her to step protectively in front of Tsuna with a gun aimed at her. The younger male sobbed into the man's back gripping the material of the dark suit. "I'm sorry, my dear, but I cannot allow any more of my Famiglia to be threatened by such a hostile and dangerous person. It was a big mistake to perform that experiment to bring you here and an even bigger one to make you a Guardian. We should have taken our chances with the young Bovino child."
"S-Seanathair!" She choked out, tears making smudged paths through the blood splattered on her face.
"You should have stayed dead instead of coming here."
"NO! Seanathair please!"
The wizened Godfather narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger of the pistol, shooting the bullet straight through the heart.
Ashlynn's head shot up from its place on her arms gasping and sweating, moving clammy hands to move her hair out of her face making her find out that someone had taken her hair out of its restraints again. 'Well,' She thought sardonically once she calmed down enough that the fear in her stomach faded away a little. She wiped at her eyes, brushing away some tears. 'There's the nightmare I was expecting last night...'
"Ash? S' wrong?"
'...Ash? I haven't been called that for a very long time.' She frowned looking down at her lap and finding Yamamoto laying on her sleepily. 'When did he get there...?' She sighed moving her hair over her left shoulder. "Nothing. Just my subconscious parading my insecurities without mercy. Time is it?" She fumbled her hand into her pocket trying not to move the drowsy male too much and sighed again when the numbers glared back up at her almost mockingly. "It's only been about forty-five minutes. Sorry Yamamoto but I've got to get up."
The boy made a small puppy like whine in the back of his throat but did nothing to stop her from getting up. She knelt beside him and ran her fingers through his scalp as an apology which he amusingly tilted his head into. "If it weren't for the fact that you'll back asleep in a few moments and whatever I tell you, you'll end up thinking it was a dream, I'd say that I'm off to work and so you shouldn't worry when you wake up and find me gone...I'll just write a note...or find Dino if he's still here. Mmkay sleepyhead?"
"Mmkay~."
"Cute. See you later then." Ashlynn got up from her kneeling position and walked first to the lounge's sink and splashed some water in her face and dried off with a towel before leaving the small waiting area. She found Dino and Romario talking again in one of the rooms in Italian. She just knocked on the door and when they looked up she waved from the small window in the door and mouthed that she was going to work. Once she got a nod and a cheerful wave from both men she stepped down the stairs and out of the building for the bakery.
Keiko squealed from beside the door when she caught sight of her walking passed the glass windows and across the threshold. The woman rushed forward smothering Ashlynn into her large bosom. "Sugar sweetie! Good morning! I was so happy when you said you were going to come in today!"
"Morning Boss Lady." Ashlynn voiced through the hug. "I wanted to see if we could find what the trigger was to those cupcakes if that's okay?"
"Of course darling! Let's go!" The woman smiled joyfully dragging Ashlynn to the back of the building to her workstation and sat down as Ashlynn pulled her apron on and tied the strings around her back. "I guess I should start by asking what you were doing the first time through~."
Ashlynn nodded pulling everything out and accepting the hair tie that Keiko offered. "It was cupcakes, though I'm not sure if it's only limited to that. I...it was the day of my battle..."
"Hmmm, go on."
"My mind was wandering while I was working." Ashlynn told her Boss not minding the curious sates from the coworkers that she hadn't seen in almost a week and a half who were staring at her curiously. "I was really restless and...I remember thinking how cool it would be for our side to be really lucky, especially Dino and Tsuna since in normal situations they seem to need it the most..."
Keiko hummed in agreement sticking a finger into the frosting that was being stirred in the mixer and sucking on the sugar covered digit. "And?"
Ashlynn paused before shrugging and getting back to work. "That's kind of it, Boss Lady. I'm sorry, I should have at least wrote down what I thought the moment that I thought that we had a breakthrough but I had to go pick lunch up and run it to that cliff where everyone was training at-."
Keiko pressed her hands to the girl's cheeks. "How did you sleep last night?"
"What?"
"How did you sleep last night?" The woman repeated herself.
She shifted. "Pretty well considering..."
"Considering?" Keiko prompted releasing her employee.
Ashlynn bit her lip pulling out the pans that she would put the batter in. She waved Keiko closer before murmuring for only her to hear. "I got hit by the Ten Year bazooka...I was in a warehouse surrounded by bodies and blood...I slept well I guess because it hadn't really fully sunk in though Dolly did mention that I was walking home like a zombie last night with Chrome on my back. Once I finished meeting with Shamal and Ozumi-san I met with the boys and fell asleep in the lounge at the clinic..."
"And then what happened?"
"Nightmare. Tsuna and Seanathair saying I was a monster for taking out Yann and Sanem back in Kokuyo and all those people that my future self killed...He claimed that I was hostile threat...and...At the end Seanathair shot me..." Ashlynn pressed her hand to her heart.
Keiko nodded and didn't say anything, just sitting there and watching as Ashlynn started to let her mind wander as she flitted around and didn't speak until the girl finished frosting each little cake and placed them on a long rectangular platter to be take out to the front and put in the display cases. The woman swept in taking the platter and sat Ashlynn down and told her to stay until she came back.
And she did come back into the baking area with a thoughtful look on her face not ten minutes later. "Well," She said in a normal speaking voice which made Ashlynn look alarmed at the other workers. "Don't worry my sweet; you forget that I am an illusionist. They can't hear us unless I wanted them to. Now to start I'm going to say that normally when you work there is nothing lucky about what you make otherwise this shop would get a lot more publicity which probably wouldn't be such a great idea given the fact that this is a mafia run shop though everyone except you and a few of my business allies know. Anyway, seeing you work now I think I've figured your trigger." She paused.
Ashlynn tilted her head. "Yes?"
"It's tied to your emotional state and your dying will's reaction to it."
"...Longer detailed version please?"
She nodded. "Bare in mind that this is mostly speculation since the full mechanics of the Dying will flames are still considered a great mystery but the first thing you should understand is that your will is like a shapeable aura."
"That part has been explained to me already. I've likened it to a cloak that covers me like a magical security blanket and since my affinity is for lightning that cloak is sparking bolts of it."
"That's a good image to use and visualization is an important component in learning to master your affinity." Keiko tapped her fingers to her lips. "Hmmm, I'm trying to think of a way to explain this without thoroughly confusing you."
"Well," Ashlynn conceded. "I don't need to know the scientific specifics of how it works; I mean I've done fine so far believing I have awesome magical powers. Right now I'd like to understand why my emotional state is linked to making lucky cupcakes. Is it doing that because of the excess energy I'm putting off is doing something productive without me guiding it? And if I had refined its use would it be more potent? And-?" She stopped and yelped when Keiko crushed her to her chest.
"Cinnamon, you're so smart! I didn't even have to try and explain and you figured out on your own with only knowing it was tied to you!" Keiko gushed.
Ashlynn hummed in throat as she was released. "But if this is tied with how high strung I am...this means that I'd have to work myself up to make anything remotely lucky? That doesn't sound fun."
"It could be much more often, like if you actually had mood swings like a normal female during your time of the month."
"Your envy is duly noted but that's getting off track." Ashlynn leaned against the counter.
"Not exactly but I'll move on. It won't be fun, I know, so you'll just have to make do with that fact and take advantage of times when you meet the requirements for this particular skill. And now that we have the trigger we should see how long they will last. I'll call up Shamal and Kentaro. Shamal because he's the one who'll be having them first and Kentaro to help make observations."
"Alright, but why not you, me and Bianchi?"
Keiko giggled. "I knew you were going to ask that. The thing with testing this is we need other people to do so. Rest assured that Bianchi and I will definitely be involved but sadly it won't work if you test them. And I know this because I had been called in on a favor to help Bianchi shortly after she first started out in the mafia underground." She raised a hand here to stop Ashlynn from asking any questions. "Let me finish, sugar, I'll no doubt answer whatever you're about to ask. The reason why it wouldn't work for you is the same reason that Bianchi can consume her poison cooking without any dire side effects. It was because of something in her aura that made her creations poisonous in the first place so she has immunity to it. So while you can make people very lucky or unlucky depending on whom," Keiko gave her a mischievous smile. "Your mind wanders to make them more receptive to luck but you will not be able to use the effects for yourself."
"That makes sense I guess." Ashlynn bit her lip.
"And a little unfair, I know, because luck is such a fickle mistress and to have an ability to crank that into your cooking makes this skill invaluable down the line but not very practical with the inconsistency because of the requirements."
"Okay, so now what?"
Keiko stood from her chair and gently pinched Ashlynn's cheek. "You go ahead and bake another batch while I get something other than sweets for lunch. When you're finished wrap it up, come see me, eat and then you'll be taking a nap on my lovely new couch in my office."
"Boss Lady, I-"
Keiko held up a hand. "If I let you do more you'll make everything lucky for your Famiglia but it will end up being unlucky for our customers and that may drive some away even if I do damage control with illusions. Oh, now, now my peanut, believe me you're looking half dead on your feet. Just do what I've just told you and I'll take care of the rest." Keiko patted her cheek. "You don't have to work everything out by yourself, Lovely. I worry for you."
'Her being happy just comes naturally to her so it's really just trying to make others happy. You've noticed that she hugs people a lot? She once told me that she craves the contact she has with people. Keiko is one of those people that love everyone regardless of their background. After some operations she will seek out her friends to feel that they are alive and well. '
'That was what Lussuria had said...' Ashlynn's lips twitched but she nodded earning herself another trip into Boss Lady's massive breasts. "...Thanks for looking out for me Boss Lady."
"You've got it, Dumpling. I'll see you when you've finished!" Keiko grinned skipping out of the room to her office while Ashlynn tied her apron a little tighter and cranked out another batch.
Which she finished a lot sooner than she expected to and within the next half hour she was in front of Keiko's desk with a finished platter of different colored frosted cupcakes.
"How cute~!" The woman cooed from her seat behind her desk. "I'm sure Shamal will appreciate the extra work you put in to stay up longer."
"Ehehehe." Ashlynn laughed.
"Alrighty. Here," Keiko handed over a small takeout box with Takesushi's logo on top. "Eat."
She opened the box and popped a piece of the rolled meat surrounded by a ring of rice into her mouth and hummed at the good taste. 'Crab and eel.' she realized pleasantly sitting on the on the long black couch that had a dark red fleece blanket folded on one side with the box opened on her lap. "Thanks. Hey Keiko?"
"Yes?"
"Couldn't we give our group a cupcake for tonight?"
"Luck would be a good thing..." Keiko said shuffling through a few files she had in hand. "But until we have thoroughly tested everything possible about them I am going to have to say no. My reasoning is that we do not yet know if it is only a single instance of luck or you retain the effects until it is fully digested. For example: in battle one can get really lucky by narrowly being missed by a strike that would have guaranteed death but then because of that one instance of luck the buff wouldn't have any effect on any of the other attacks that have the same guaranteed chance of striking you dead."
"Oh."
"It was a good question, Honey."
"Fukano-san!" The door reopened. The female employee that had basically offered her to Hibari-san wrath opened the door without bothering to knock and stalked to the desk irritably. "Meagher's disappeared again. And it's not even the end of her shift yet!" She complained.
Ashlynn raised an eyebrow. 'But...I'm right here in front of her. How have I-...oh, illusion.' She turned her eyes to Keiko who was grinning like a vulpine.
"Ashlynn-chan? She's out running some important errands for me, dearie, no need to worry so much."
The girl snorted derisively. "I'm not worried, Fukano-san. I'm annoyed because she hasn't been bothering to come to work and when she finally does show up she stays for barely an hour and a half and then leaves. I think you should just fire her already. And I would appreciate you not calling me 'dearie' or any of those other ridiculous nicknames, Fukano-san."
'Wow. Drama~.' Ashlynn popped another few pieces of sushi into her mouth while starting to feel a little drowsy.
Keiko pouted a little then just...stared at the employee. Ashlynn watched interestingly as the girl's expression turned from annoyed scowl to a content smile. The older woman smiled in return and waved the younger female off. "I'll check up on you later, Fujishi-san!"
"Thank you Fukano-san." Came the demure reply from Fujishi who stopped to give a short bow before leaving and closing the door behind her.
"...What was that all about?"
"She was going to start asking questions again so I merely played with her perceptions and thoughts. Sometimes this happens when an employee figures out that this shop makes a lot more money than it should be making. It's immoral, yes, and I would have fired one or two already to take care of it but I find it easier to adjust their vision of the truth and then everyone keeps their jobs, then everything is happy again and I don't lose my cute little shop."
"Whoa. And you made it so she couldn't see me either?" Ashlynn asked yawning. 'Why am I so tired suddenly?'
"That's right and I am also the reason why you are beginning to drift off. Take another piece then lay down dear. I'll wake you when you need to leave for Namimori." Keiko said standing up and taking away the half eaten contents of the box, put it on the table then pulled the blanket around the girl. "No dreams, just nice peaceful rest."
"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!"
Fon's cheeks dimpled in an amused smile as he ran beside her through the streets. "Now, Miss Ashlynn there is still another five minutes until the start of the battle and you'll be there in but a mere two."
"Yeah, but I would have liked Keiko to wake me up earlier than she did! And why are all my hair ties disappearing? I lost four today already!" Ashlynn huffed turning the last corner and down the street. She stopped at the gates and looked down at the Arcobaleno questioningly. "You're not going to stay and watch?"
He shook his head. "I will be meeting with Dino and his right hand to make sure there aren't any complications with the transport of...an acquaintance of his."
'Squalo.' Ashlynn nodded. "Alright, I'll see you back home then?"
"You will."
"Bye then." She waved the infant goodbye and when he disappeared she ran in a sprint around the main building to the sports' fields, then slowed down to a jog then into a brisk walk as she walked behind Levi and Bel standing beside a lounging Xanxus to where Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei and Dolly were standing outside of a large fenced off circular area. Just like she vaguely remembered it; barbed wire, Gatling guns space around the circumference of the battle area, Hibari and Gola Mosca standing apart within the innermost part. She nodded to Dolly and Gokudera and smiled at Yamamoto who immediately reached out to pat her hair.
"You made it in time." Yamamoto whispered.
"Oh good." Ashlynn reached into her pocket for her phone pressed through a few buttons and raised her eyes to the Cervello between the two combatants as the women began the explanation of the battleground. She spied the three from Kokuyo sitting on the other side of the fenced off area.
"The Cloud battlefield. The mission of the Cloud is to be 'The aloof, drifting cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint, and whom nothing can ever bind.' Therefore, we have prepared the most extreme field for him."
The second woman nodded. "As you can see the field is surrounded on all sides by barbed wire, as well as eight automatic batteries that will shoot at any mobile object it detects within a thirty meter radius. Furthermore, there are countless pressure sensitive mines buried under the ground. Once activated, an alarm will sound followed immediately by an explosion."
"That's insane!" Ryohei protested.
"If you're scared then just run away." Levi declared a few feet away. "Just like the way your Boss did."
"Ushishishi." Bel chuckled.
"Up yours!" Gokudera snarled viciously. "The Boss didn't run away, you asshole!"
Yamamoto cut in with a smiled. "It's just that there's no reason for Tsuna to take the trouble to coming out. Because Hibari is our Ace. He won't lose here."
"What?" Levi questioned.
"Pffft."
Ashlynn glanced over to Xanxus.
"Ace...Bwahahaahaa! I'm definitely looking forward to this!" The man roared with amusement.
"Crazy bastard." Gokudera grumbled. "Alright. Let's go."
"Aa! The huddle!" Yamamoto wrapped one arm around Ashlynn and the other around Gokudera as Ryohei wrapped his good one around Ashlynn's other shoulder.
"HIBARI...FIGHT! OHH!"
Dolly's lips quirked in amusement but did not comment on the display.
Gokudera glared at Ryohei. "Oi! You were too soft, Lawn head!"
"It can't be bothered can it? Hibari's already in the ring." The boxer scratched his ear.
Yamamoto grinned. "Still, Gokudera was the one who was completely against the circle rally in the beginning, but now you're really motivated."
"Of course. If Boss was here then that's what he would have wanted." Gokudera scowled looking over to the combatants. 'Don't you dare lose, Hibari...for the Boss' sake!'
"Then we shall begin." The Cervello nodded.
Ashlynn held up her phone with the camera on video, her thumb over the button and started recording just as the Cervello said her next words.
"For the Cloud Ring: Gola Mosca versus Hibari Kyouya. Begin the battle!"
Puffs of smoke blew from Mosca's mask as he leaped into the air and rockets appeared at the bottom of his shoes then blasted across the small expanse of the arena where he wouldn't be gunned down by the Gatling batteries or set off any of the buried landmines straight towards the waiting Hibari, raising both hands as the fingertips revealed holes where he shot real bullets from their narrow chambers at the prefect creating smoke where the attacks missed hitting the hard dirt that was the ground, kicking up dust that rose into the air like a smokescreen.
"He-he's flying!" Gokudera's jaw dropped.
Yamamoto's eye widened. "Is, is that even allowed?"
Hibari maneuvered out of the way of the bullets and struck his flying opponent denting the metal head and impaling the other within the mechanical arm and tearing it and its wires out of the shoulder socket. Mosca fell backwards to the ground from another hit from the tonfa that did not have a large arm still impaled onto it. Hibari turned to face them kicking off the severed arm just as the sparking wires from the gaping shoulder caused a short circuit and promptly exploded sending a gust of wind in the spectators direction. He stalked back to his opponent and retrieved the objective of the battle and combined it with the half that he removed from the chain around his neck.
"Aaaand time. From the moment the battle started to Hibari connecting the rings that's...Ha! Thirty-six seconds mofo!" Ashlynn said out loud for the video she was recording switching from Hibari to show Ryohei and Yamamoto just blankly staring in shock while Gokudera had his arm pointing in front of him as his eyebrows twitched. Dolly whistled. Ashlynn grinned stopping the recording, saved it, and then sent it as a message.
"Omnivore."
"Uhn?" Ashlynn looked up questioningly seeing Hibari staring at her.
"Here. I have no use for this." He said tossing the completed ring at her that she had to scramble to catch it.
"You know," She said. "These are pretty important."
He ignored her chiding, his attention now on Xanxus. "Now you, the one sitting there. Come down here."
Ashlynn discreetly brought her phone back out with her fingers ready to record what was going to happen next.
"I'm not leaving for home until I beat the crap out of the King of the mountain."
"What did you say?" Levi demanded angrily.
Bel scowled. "Don't just 'what' you octopus, or haven't you noticed? We've lost the ring contest battles...so what now Boss?"
A smirk slowly grew on his face as he observed the smoking Mosca in the Cloud arena. Xanxus lifted himself lazily from his chair then leaped into the air over the barbed wire and hit the sole of his foot against the out-stretched tonfa in Hibari's grasping before bounding off and landed in a kneel. "Hmmm, my foot slipped."
Hibari's eyes narrowed. "It must have."
"No really." Xanxus replied smoothly jumping to another spot as the ground beneath him exploded. "I only came down to retrieve that piece of junk Guardian, nothing more. We have obviously lost."
"Hnn. The look on your face tells me a different story, Monkey Boss." Hibari shot forward to strike the other male. Ashlynn took the chance to start recording so she could pass along what was happening but the majority of her attention was on the lump of metal that was Gola Mosca with a worried frown. '...What should I do now? Should I let it happen just because it did in canon...? Or interfere and risk a situation that never was supposed to happen?'
Ryohei gaped. "What the heck is Hibari doing? He already won against that mechanical monster!"
"I- I can't believe he called him a monkey." Gokudera sputtered.
Ashlynn nodded. "And I can't believe I got away with calling him a mofo."
"Is that who you were referring to, Niamh? That along with the fact that everyone was gaping at how fast it was over with." Dolly grumbled.
Hibari pressed his new prey who wasn't fighting back but evading him into the thirty meter range of the Gatling guns that began shooting at them as they traveled over the ground, jumping when they heard the high pitch alarm before the land mines went off in an explosion. "How long do you plan on keeping this up?"
Xanxus grinned savagely at the growing irritation on his attacker's face. "Don't worry. I won't raise an arm."
"If you say so." Hibari said throwing another strike. "Either way, I'll be biting you to death."
"That brat-! How dare he mock the Boss!" Levi growled clenching his fists.
"Calmati faccia imbronciata" Bel retorted.
"Che cosa mi hai chiamato!" Levi's eyes flared answering back in Italian.
"Abbiamo già perso la battaglia. Se mostriamo ogni azione ostile contro di loro sisarà preso come ammutinamento contro l'erede in carica decimo. Avranno le nostre teste per ribellione insieme con il capo." The prince murmured.
"Vuoi dire che dovremmo permettere che questa insolenza di continuare?"
"Beh, il nostro capo intrigante sembra avere qualcosa nella manica. Io certamente non ne ho idea ... ma Squalo o Mammon a avrebbe potuto conoscere."
Dolly frowned as the two Varia members whispered to each other in their native language as they watched their Boss fight their Cloud Guardian. Her fingers twitched in anticipation, ready to grasp her shotgun off of her back. 'Something's...not right here.'
'Alright, that's enough. Sending this on.' Ashlynn stopped the recording but didn't bother to take the time to save before she sent the video on. 'I hope you're ready, Tsuna, because I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing and neither does anyone else.'
Cambio da energia principale a energia. Se controllo non possible irruzione in zono bersaglio cattura nemico attaco! Distruzione Totale.
Reborn blinked as a sudden light exuded from his student then the flame burned out from his brow. "Fnn."
"What? Just then..." Tsuna stared at the mitten form of his gloves.
"Congratulations Tsuna. That was the Zero point breakthrough." Reborn nodded before Leon jumped into his hand and transformed into a cell phone. He looked at the two messages curiously as Basil enthusiastically praised Tsuna.
Tsuna looked up. "It's an unexpected technique. And I wouldn't have been able to do it alone. Basil-kun, thank you."
"Aaaaand time. From the moment the battle started to Hibari connecting the rings that's...ha, thirty-six seconds mofo."
Tsuna started at Ashlynn's voice came from Leon's transformed body. "Ehh! What is-?"
"A message from Lady Ashlynn!" Basil crouched behind Reborn to view the attachment.
'Wh-who exactly is she calling a 'mofo'?' Tsuna bit his lip.
"Looks like Hibari won the battle for the ring." Reborn announced before checking into the next video message and found Hibari calling Xanxus down into the battlefield where the two began to make their way around the grounds with Hibari attacking the other male.
"W-what!" Tsuna cried. "What is Hibari doing?"
"Obviously, he's fighting against Xanxus. Let's go Tsuna."
"R-right, we have to stop them!"
Hibari raised an eyebrow as Xanxus caught the tonfa that had momentarily broken through his guard, his hand lighting up for moment with his will but snarled and quickly crushed the flame into nothing and retreating back a few steps. "I thought I heard you say you weren't going to raise your arm?"
"That guy," Levi murmured amazed. "He's actually forcing the Boss's hand? Unbelievable."
Xanxus dodged out of the way of the continued attacks. "Cervello." He called out.
The women perked up. "Yes, Lord Xanxus?"
"Don't forget anything that happens here. Especially the fact that I haven't retaliated in a hostile manner."
Ashlynn narrowed her eyes as the two women slowly nodded their ascent. 'Dammit all!' She ignored the shocked gasps from her group and vaulted herself over the barbed fence, releasing the forms of her chakrams as she maneuvered herself at Hibari's back and blocked his blind spot just as the energy shot blasted from Gola Mosca that was now standing stiffly back on its feet. Hibari glanced at her from behind his shoulder.
She shrugged brushing her hair behind her shoulder; catching a glance at Xanxus to gauge his reaction. "This is taking too long. See, your Guardian is back on his mechanical little feet."
Mosca's uniform tore into shreds as a panel from his back opened and a row of missiles launched into the air destroying a section of the barbed wire and one of the Gatling guns to smithereens and setting off some of the underground explosives causing earth to be blown into the air.
"Crap." Bel leaped out of the way leaving Levi to be hit.
"NGYAAAAAAA!"
Gokudera coughed. "Is everyone alright?"
Dolly hummed pulling her shotgun in front of her. "On our side it seems."
"What the Hell is going on here!" Ryohei yelled.
"And he's attacking after his defeat." Ashlynn noted dryly as she and Hibari dove out of the projectiles paths. She sent a sharp look over to the group and happily saw that they had escaped without any injury. "If you don't mind too terribly Hibari-san, I'd like to unmask this sucker. If it's an actual robot there should be a control on him somewhere."
"Well, I tried to warn you." Xanxus drawled but since she was close enough Ashlynn found there was a slight tightness in his expression. She moved out of the way as even more missiles launched, an energy beam formed from the chest, and the fingers from the unbroken arm began firing rounds of bullets as Mosca flew around the area. "I came down here to retrieve him but I was obstructed by the Cloud Guardian. Now thanks to him, Mosca's restraining system has been broken."
"I call Bullshit!" Ashlynn growled but had to immediately push off from the ground when she heard the alarm from a land mine and into the range of the Gatling guns rounds.
"You mean its gone berserk!" Gokudera exclaimed.
Dolly stepped forward her gun aimed at the flying scrap of metal but cursed as she dove out of the way of another round of missiles. She held up her weapon aimed at the rockets that enabled the monstrosity of flight and fired. She glowered as it didn't deter it and took aim again until she ran out of rounds and cursed again returning the weapon back to its place on her back and retreated from another attack from the berserk Guardian.
Gokudera cursed as well "Shit!"
Ryohei agreed. "It's attacking everything at random! If we don't get out of here then we're going to end up dead!"
"Hahahaha! My, what a terrible disaster this is!" Xanxus laughed.
"He-he's laughing." Yamamoto breathed.
"That bastard!" Gokudera seethed. "He never cared about the battles from the very start! He just wanted to kill everyone and make it look like an accident! That's why he was provoking Hibari!"
Hibari growled low in his throat. 'You used me?'
Chrome, separated from her companions began running from the destruction, unknowingly onto the cloud ground until Ashlynn called out to her just as she heard a high pitched sound from beneath her last step.
"No, Chrome! Go back!"
The girl's eyes widened as two hands grabbed her arms and threw themselves away from the blast. "Ken, Chikusa...!"
Ken sighed irritably. "Just can't keep our eyes off you, stupid girl-"
He stopped as a Gatling gun swirled in their direction and Gola Mosca on the ground stamping towards them with the energy beam powering up before blasting at them for a direct hit.
"They're sandwiched in!" Dolly raised her voice.
"Fuck!" Ashlynn swore jumping through the smoke after setting off another landmine. The surrounding buildings and even the ground around them was either smoking or lit on fire from the random attacks. "I'm not going to make it to them in time!' She cursed again as she heard another telltale sound of the line mine went off but a slight misstep sent her propelled backwards and back within the thirty meter range and would have been mowed down by the rounds had Hibari not snatched her arm and hauled her away, repaying her for guarding his back.
The three Kokuyo members covered their heads and pressed as low to the ground as possible as a blast of orange light shot from a third side shielding the three from the onslaught of bullets and Mosca's attack.
Xanxus glowered. "That flame. Heh, so he finally showed up."
Chrome lifted her head from the ground looking up at the male now in front of them as he released the will from his gloved fists, a flame burning brightly at his brow. "B-Boss..."
"Juudaime!" Gokudera yelled.
"Chrome, Ken, Chikusa!" Ashlynn yelled from beside Hibari. "Get out of the field!"
The two males nodded grabbing both of the girl's arms and dragged her out of there mindful of any land mines, bullets, and rocket explosives.
"You are here but..." Xanxus smirked as another round of projectiles released from Mosca. He turned his attention to the berserking bot. "Eliminate everything starting with scum. That has not changed."
Tsuna's eyes narrowed as yet another wave of rockets were blown from Mosca's back. He brought the flame back into his hands and shot himself into the air using his flame to direct him and destroy the explosives before they could hit any of their marks.
"He's flying!" Yamamoto stared wide eyed in awe.
The boy dropped down from the sky falling faster with the use of his will, slamming his closed fist on the top of the metal head and tearing out the other mechanical arm. Tsuna dropped the wired limb and turned to the face the robot, not yet uttering a single word.
"N-no way!' Levi cried pulling himself off the ground.
The sensor from within the goggle lenses scanned the newly identified threat and changed his settings for total annihilation on the new target. The particle beam charged from its chest and fired at its new mark.
"Sawada!" Ryohei warned the boy as the shot fired from the bot's chest.
Tsuna merely flickered from view and out of the way of the blast that destroyed the ground where he had once stood and appearing suddenly in front of Gola Mosca and slamming his flaming fist in the very place that was charging for another attack, smashing it smoking back into the ground then flew back a few paces in case it got back up again.
"B-Boss!" Levi called. "What do we do now...Boss?"
"Yes!" Basil cheered announcing his and Reborn's presence as they jogged over to the group made up of Dolly, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei. "As expected from Lord Sawada! That Mechanical weapon is no match for him!"
"We can see that." Dolly asserted. "But there's something not right here..."
"You're right about that...Mosca could have fought and defeated Hibari at full strength and won the chance for Xanxus to fight against Tsuna for the Sky ring tomorrow night. He also could have taken the chance to eliminate everyone here too, but, why go through such a long roundabout way?" Reborn frowned grimly.
Tsuna turned to the grinning Varia Boss. "Xanxus...what is this all about?"
"Tsuna!" Ashlynn yelled as Mosca charged flailing at him for a last ditch effort. 'This is it!' Ashlynn swallowed. 'Everything is about to get shot to Hell...'
The boy raised his flaming gloved hand and in a swift chopping motion he cut through the metal of the robotic figure burning through its protective shell to the dark hollow hull within, forcing the broken machine to its knees. Ashlynn's face pinched darkly with anticipation as a hush took over everyone in the area as the tied up wizened body of a male tumbled out from the confines of wires and I.V.'s that ripped out of his wrinkled skin as he dropped directly at Tsuna's feet burns marking along the front of his chest.
"Y-you...you are..."
"There was someone inside the whole time!" Yamamoto exclaimed.
Basil gasped in horror. "That! That is Lord Kyuudaime! But why-! How did he-?"
Reborn gritted his teeth as he shot forward to the fallen Boss with a medical kit just as Tsuna fell to his own knees in shock.
"What...? What's going on...? Why was he in Mosca...?"
The Hitman gently patted the man's cheek. "Oi, hang in there...Che, I've seen... Mosca's construction only once. It looks like the Ninth Boss was forced to be Gola Mosca's source of power."
"Power source? You mean-!" Gokudera bit his lip at the implications of the action.
Tsuna croaked. "Why!"
"It's not 'Why?' is it! You've gone and killed the Ninth Boss." Xanxus looked down darkly at the boy.
He looked down at the mittens that had reverted back from the gloves. "...Me...? I did this...?" He whispered hoarsely.
Reborn cursed. "This is bad. It's not something I can treat with only a first aid box."
"No!" Tsuna cried.
"Who was it?" Xanxus continued. "Who struck down the old man without any mercy whatsoever? Who was it?" He asked his eyes trained on the now quivering junior high student. "Who split Gola Mosca in half with Timoteo inside?"
"N-no...I didn't...I-I...it was...me...I...was the one..."
"Tsuna!" Ashlynn yelled. "Tsuna stop!"
"This is my fault...I...I killed him...it's all my fault."
"No..." The man breathed unsteadily but his eyes staring firmly up at the boy. Timoteo spoke again. "The one at fault here...is me..."
"K-Kyuudaime!" Tsuna gasped.
The man offered a small smile despite his injuries as Reborn set to removing the restraints. "We finally meet again...in person...young Tsunayoshi. I'm sorry...I'm sorry that because of...my weakness...My weakness that allowed Xanxus...to wake from his long sleep..."
"What do you mean by 'long sleep'?" Reborn's face was grim. "After the cradle affair, Xanxus was cast out of the Family and kept under strict surveillance of the Vongola, correct?"
Tsuna looked at the hitman confused. "C-cradle affair?"
"It took place eight years ago...It was the largest coup d'état in Vongola history. Because the rebellion was led by Xanxus, the Ninth's son, the truth of the matter was treated with the utmost secrecy. The only ones that knew are the Family's upper Echelon and the Vongola's highest elite who fought in that battle..."
Timoteo nodded his head. "Xanxus was stopped...and since then he had been asleep...while his hatred and grudge grew to frightening proportions..."
"What-? What does that mean?" Tsuna whispered. 'I...I don't understa-! Kyuudaime!" Tsuna cried as the man feebly turned on his side to cough, droplets of blood hacked out of his throat, staining his lips and chin.
"Tsunayoshi..."The old Boss said quietly his eyes clenched shut. "I have...been hearing news of you from...Reborn...about the girl you like...and about your school, and...The friends you've made...You have a heart...that is really mismatched for a Mafia Boss..." Timoteo opened his eyes, smiling, as he lifted his hand to the boys' forehead; a soft light of his will flaming on the digit as he spoke. "I also know that up to this point you have not entered a battle willingly. You always have these lines between your brows...clenched fists as if you were praying...And that is why...I chose you to be the Tenth Generation Boss."
'X-Xanxus...wasn't actually chosen...?' Tsuna wondered shocked. 'This...Kyuudaime's Dying Will flame...it's warm...and nostalgic...Nostalgic...? I...'Tears began forming in his eyes as Timoteo dropped his hand limply to the ground. "I...I know you...Kyuudaime...you came to the house once when I was really little...'
"I am glad." Timoteo breathed closing his eyes again. "That I was able to meet you again...Tsunayoshi..."
"W-wait! Kyyudaime!" Tsuna cried grabbing at the man's hand, the flame that had touched his head slowly dissipating. "Kyyudaime, please hang on!"
"How dare you..."
"Seanathair..." Ashlynn whispered. 'What...? What am I supposed to do?'
"HOW DARE YOU KILL THE NINTH?" Xanxus roared making Tsuna look up at the older male with tears running from his eyes. Xanxus glared down at him. "That despicable way in which you struck him down, is a direct challenge his own son, Xanxus, as well as the noble Vongola spirit!"
"Wh-what?" Tsuna sniffled.
"No need for investigations! The burns on the Ninth's chest are undeniable! Now that the Ninth Boss is murdered by this upstart, the ring contest battle is meaningless! For the Boss, my father, and for the continued future of the Vongola Family." Xanxus held up his pat of the Sky ring. "I will kill you as vengeance."
"What-?" Gokudera choked out, shaking himself from their stupor. "What the Hell did you just say? He wants to what!"
Reborn looked down. "So that's what you aimed for from the beginning. If you won the ring battles and became the next Boss; those who remembered the cradle incident would object to the succession and would continue to oppose you. But if you trapped Tsuna into the role of the villain, and attacked the Ninth's enemy in a battle of revenge, that's makes an entire different matter. It wouldn't matter what any of us here would say because it wouldn't be believed and thus you would garner the trust and loyalty of the majority of the Family. And if he could prove himself stronger than Tsuna, who was set to be the next Boss, it would be further proof that he was the better choice as the heir. In that case he could easily eliminate anyone who dared to oppose him."
"Then, Xanxus planned to become the Boss and orchestrated a dictatorship at the same time!" Basil gasped.
"Yes." The Arcobaleno affirmed. "It was all a well laid out trap. Mosca was supposed to kill all of Tsuna's Guardians in an accident. When that happened Xanxus knew that Tsuna would be lured here to take it down in retaliation."
"How could he...for something like that...?" Tsuna swallowed thickly, gripped the fabric at his knees his face lowered to his chest.
"Please refrain from speaking such wild conjectures out loud Reborn." The Cervello spoke up. "We will officially record everything that has been spoken."
"That means-!" Yamamoto yelled.
Gokudera snarled. "I knew it! The Cervello have been working for Xanxus since the beginning!"
"Do whatever you want." Reborn directed his words at the two masked women, his hat shading the upper part of his face. "But my patience has run out."
The two Cervello froze.
"However I will honor my promise to Don Timoteo and not interfere...with my students' battle that is. Having said that, I don't know what my student, who hates fighting, will do..."
Tsuna looked up again standing back on his feet. "Xanxus. I will take that ring. I won't allow you to follow the Ninth's footsteps!"
"Fnn." Reborn's formed into a small but proud smirk. "Well said, Tsuna."
Xanxus shook his head, almost amused by the bravado. "Heh, is that so? I'll carve your name into the Vongola books: as the foolish runt that dared to defy Xanxus all by his little pathetic self.
"He's not alone!" Gokudera declared brandishing his dynamite between his fingers as the other Guardians readied their own weapons; Yamamoto drawing his blade, Ryohei clenching his good fist, Chrome spinning her trident in front of her, and Ashlynn raising her chakrams in front of her body. "The Boss's will is our will."
"My will is my own." Hibari growled. Ashlynn's lips twitched but managed to keep a straight face due to the dire stand-off that was happening.
"You want some of this you runts!" Levi reached for the umbrellas strapped to his back. Glaring at each of them in turn.
"Ushishishi." Bel laughed, knives appearing in his hands. "The Prince is ready to play again~."
Xanxus nodded, ordering his men. "Exterminate the traitors."
"Hold it right there, please." The Cervello intervened. "We will be in charge of the battle for the Ninth Boss' revenge."
"What!" Ryohei exclaimed
"Why should we trust you?" Gokudera seethed. "You've been working with him all this time you bitch!"
One of the women held up the message that contained the stamp of Timoteo's Dying will. "Please watch your mouth. We have the official decree from the Godfather himself. Any changing-of-hands of the rings will not be approved without our ratification."
"You've got some nerve!" Basil objected. "You forced Lord Timoteo against his will to give you that decree!"
The women did not react to the accusation but continued on. "The winner of this battle will become the next Boss of the Vongola so..." The women nodded at one another. "We declare this the Sky ring battle. In other words this is the final battle of the ring battle contest. How does that sound, Lord Xanxus?"
The man smirked. "Not a bad idea."
"Then tomorrow night we shall hold the battle here at Nami Junior."
"Heh, looks like the fake got a suspended sentence." Bel grinned.
"Watch it, Asshole!" Gokudera growled. Yamamoto and Ryohei nodded.
"Pffft. Looks like tomorrow will be the finale of this happy comedy. Make sure you're ready for it, trash." Xanxus grinned savagely raising his hand, calling his will, clenching it in his fist. The light burst blinding everyone and when it disappeared he, Levi, Bel, and the Cervello women were gone.
"They're gone! Those ladies too!" Ryohei lowered his fist.
"Lord Timoteo!" Basil broke through the cloud ring without any of the remaining Gatling guns or landmines setting off. He kneeled beside Reborn in front of the fallen male.
"Are we too late?"
Tsuna looked up shocked as Dino ran forward, a large group of his men following closely after. After a split moment's observation of the field and the people in it he started barking orders. "Quickly! Get to the Ninth Boss and anyone injured! Put out the fires and make sure that those guns are disabled!"
"Sir!"
The men and women swiftly moved to follow their Boss' will, a small group breaking off to transport the Ninth off campus while others turned off and took apart what was left of the Cloud Ground and extinguished the fires from the earlier explosions.
Dino stood next to Reborn, Basil, and Dolly with a grim look "I had just heard news from the CEDEF team in Italy...I...didn't think it would have come to this. Everyone- are you alright?"
The hitman hummed. "The damage we received was quite substantial but...
Ashlynn tore her eyes away from where Timoteo had been carted off and sighed pulling her chakrams back into bracelets around her wrists. 'I'm sorry Seanathair...I didn't do anything useful to help you tonight...'
"Are you guys okay? Ashlynn? Hibari?" Yamamoto jogged over to them. Gokudera and Ryohei followed but stopped a short distance away from 'crowding'.
Gokudera tilted his head. "For you to be so restrained even when..."
The prefect snorted jerking his head to where Tsuna was standing with his back to them staring at the smoke billowing from the ashes of the extinguished flames. "If this situation can draw out that herbivores true strength, I won't interfere just yet."
'Tsuna...' Ashlynn bit her lip. He...looked so...lost. Just staring out into the ruined field...Until she saw Reborn bounding to the unaware boy and the baby hitman jumped into the air and kicked the boy in the middle of the back making him squeal in surprise. She shook her head. 'Well, that's one way to snap him out of it...'
"It's time to go home now, Tsuna; before Maman finds out we've been gone from the house at this time of night. And you need to get recharged for tomorrow night's battle."
Tsuna reached behind him rubbing at whatever was within his reach, not much, but he tried anyway as he whined. "Why do you always have to kick me?"
"Because I'm really vexed right now." Came the reply from his tutor.
"What kind of a reason is that?" Tsuna argued hotly. "And- and if you're angry why take it out on me?"
'There is still hope, Tsuna.' She thought waving to the others as she followed Dolly's lead off campus. 'You don't know it...but I do...I just wish there was something more that I could do without causing drastic changes...and for that, I'm sorry. I hope I can do better for you...'
Italian Translation (in order):
"Allora?" = "Well?"
"Anche così, Romario, voglio che stanotte pronto per ogni evenienza" = "Even so, Romario, I want him ready tonight just in case."
"Non c'è stato alcun cambiamento, ma, in ogni caso questo è tutto ciò che possiamo fare in questo momento " = "There hasn't been any changes, but, in any case this is all that we can do at this time"
"Lo so! Ma perché questo lavoro abbiamo bisogno di essere in grado di muoversilui da questa sera al più tardi, a mezzogiorno al più presto!" = I know! But for this to work we need to be able to move him by tonight at the latest, by noon at the earliest!
Calmati faccia imbronciata = "Calm down sulky face."
"Che cosa mi hai chiamato!" = "What did you call me!"
"Abbiamo già perso la battaglia. Se mostriamo ogni azione ostile contro di loro sisarà preso come ammutinamento contro l'erede in carica decimo. Avranno le nostre teste per ribellione insieme con il capo." = "We've already lost the battle. If we show any hostile action against them it will be taken as mutiny against the incumbent Tenth heir. They'll have our heads for rebellion along with boss.
"Vuoi dire che dovremmo permettere che questa insolenza di continuare?" = "You mean that we should just allow this insolence to continue?"
"Beh, il nostro capo intrigante sembra avere qualcosa nella manica. Io certamente non ne ho idea ... ma Squalo o Mammona avrebbe potuto conoscere." = "Well, our scheming Boss seems to have something up his sleeve. I certainly don't have any idea...but Squalo or Mammon might have known."
Cambio da energia principale a energia. Se controllo non possible irruzione in zono bersaglio cattura nemico attaco! Distruzione totale. = Change from primary energy to energy. If control is not possible to break into the occupied zone, target capture enemy attack! Total destruction
/-/-/-/-/
"Not leaving until I beat the crap out of the Monkey King." Every time I read this line I start giggling~
